Few things bring me more joy than seeing someone shoot their shot, and that’s how today’s episode came about. I got an email from Brandon Fong saying he loves the show and wants to kick it with me in the Diner and I just had to say yes. Brandon is the host of the podcast 7-figure Millennials and wise beyond his years (which sounds like an old-person thing to say… but, well, he is). He shared so many nuggets, including a favorite quote by Carl Jung that I loved: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will control your life and you’ll call it fate.” We talked about business, personal growth, psychology, values, and more. He shared his strategy for goal setting and reflection that will have you reaching for your journal before the show is over.

Today in the booth is TV Host and all-around badass, Elizabeth Ries! I’ve had the privilege of sharing the microphone with her before on live TV, but today we got to kick it via audio. Elizabeth is the host of Twin Cities Live and is a breath of fresh air (which I feel like we all could use in our lives). She shared so much wisdom in this episode about confidence, going after what you want, staying true to yourself, and setting (and maintaining) boundaries. We laughed, we cried, and we talked about how to up your pancake game with some blueberry compote. This conversation feels like a hug, and it will leave you wanting to chase down your dreams while also being kind and curious to everyone you meet along the way.

Sliding in the booth with me this week is Extreme Meetings emcee, Brian Walter! To quote Brian, we are both “raging extroverts,” so this was a good time! We discussed our mutual love for mac n’ cheese and then dove into Brian’s band-geek-trombonist past. After that we talked about being extroverts and how we both have a need to be liked and how both of those have changed over our lives. Brian then shared his a bit of his timeline highlights between college and his current role as an Extreme Meetings emcee. I loved when Brian talked about his philosophy of assertive activism. We finished discussing finding confidence and standing in front of audiences and trying to make them feel.

Diner Talks with James this week is with my dear friend, Sexual Violence Awareness and Healthy Relationships Speaker, Bonny Shade. We first kicked it off talking about buffalo wings with proper “wingo” and diner orders. She then told me about growing up with less than enough in Lake Worth, Florida, and what decisions her family made to set her up for success and make ends meet. From that time, Bonny developed a fascinating and, at times, debilitating relationship with money and finances. She then flipped the script on me and asked me to talk about my insecurities that I am still working on from high school. We talked about the desire to be relevant and fear of being irrelevant. We then discussed the Enneagram. Bonny is a type 3, “the achiever,” so that launched us into a important convo about being perfectionists in work, our marriages, and as parents. One of the most powerful moments was when Bonny told the story about how she never wanted to be a mom and her journey to being proud to be a mother. This was a beautiful episode, y’all. Hope you enjoy it!

This conversation was so powerful that it had both of us welling up. Joining me in the booth was former Fire Chief and lifelong first responder, Rich Gasaway. It’s so fascinating to think about individuals in those roles that we often take for granted until we need them, and it was so beautiful to hear Rich describe the work that he does, how he got into it, and how he stays in it. I will routinely return to a quote he shared – “don’t ever judge the people by the chapter of their life that you happen to stumble into when you respond to a call.” This is advice we can all take to heart. Rich has seen a lot in his time and is doing some incredible work with high-risk-decision-making and helping us identify our patterns. He’s a wealth of wisdom and you won’t want to miss this episode!

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! This week’s diner guest is my favorite human because it’s my wife - Tina VanSteenbergen Robilotta!!! We kicked off the conversation learning about Tina’s love of bourbon and bubbly water then we dove off the deep end. Tina told me about why being a mother is something she has always wanted to do. We discussed the way our parents influenced us in known and unknown ways. Tina and I then discussed our devastating experience with pregnancy loss in the second trimester. She then discussed dealing with loss while trying to grow a young business she was passionate about. Climbing out of that horrible time, we both chatted about the stress of trying to get pregnant again. Then…spoiler alert… it worked! So then we discussed whether or not we are going to raise a good human. Tina shared one thing she is excited to teach our child with a really powerful story. We lighted the mood debating “Duck, Duck, Grey Duck” vs. “Duck, Duck, Goose.” We wrapped up the conversation with Tina discussing the role other women have played in Tina’s pregnancy journey.

With me in the Diner today is the man, the myth, the musical comedian – Tom McGovern. I love having fellow comedians in the booth with me because we can riff on everything from grape jelly to sharks (which is… what we did). In this episode Tom shared about his early love for theatre and how it morphed into this amazing career that he now has creating musical comedy content. He shared excellent advice about giving fewer shits and showing up authentically in your work, and how he has had significantly more success (like performing for American Idol) since he stopped trying to fit into a box. Tom is a ton of fun and you’re going to love kickin’ it with him. See ya in the booth!

This week I got to hang out with communication expert, Dr. Amelia Reigstad, and I’m walking away with so many thoughts and ideas on how I can improve my communication and self-awareness. With her badass purple mohawk, she shares about the importance of living an authentic and brave life and I’m here – for – it! She discusses her research on gender roles in communication and how we can better express ourselves. We also talk about how communication shows up in parenting. Though it’s not always easy, it’s important for us to speak with clarity and stand up for ourselves and stand in our truth – and that’s what you’ll hear more about in today’s episode.

Today I got to kick it in The Diner with fellow New Yorker, Arel Moodie. He’s a professional speaker who helps other speakers start and grow their own businesses. We talked about the experience of fitting in during our younger years (and the difficulty of blending his life growing up in the projects while simultaneously attending Jewish Day School) and how that still shows up in our adult lives, especially when it comes to influencing people and making friends. Arel offered some incredible advice on likability and how to make an impact on others in an authentic way. You’re going to love this conversation, so slide on into the booth and have a listen.

Today’s conversation with Jennifer Cassetta was incredible. She shared a powerful story about her experience in New York on 9/11, how she found safety in her martial arts dojo, and how that moment and that feeling would become a thru line for her work in self-defense and personal development. We talked about confidence and our relationship with ourselves and different avenues, including meditation, we can take for personal growth. I got to learn a little more about her upcoming book, The Art of Badassery, and cannot wait to dive into it. Jenn is absolutely amazing, and you’re going to love overhearing our conversation in the booth!

Today in the Diner is my man, Joshua Rivedal – he’s an amazing storyteller who is full of compassion and wisdom, and he’s got a wit that won’t quit. He gave me so much to think about regarding how we as a society are approaching suicide prevention, and what we can do as individuals to be there for others. He has some dope insights on vulnerability, being a force for others, and how to live a life full of grace. We discussed some powerful topics like suicide and abuse. We also may or may not have burst into a song and dance number while sharing our love for musical theater, so you’ve got that to look forward to as well. CW: Suicide, Emotional & Physical Abuse

My man Dr. James Smith Jr brought the heart today – the wordplay and wisdom was on point! He shared about his experience growing up in West Philadelphia (you know he sang it when he said it) and his experience growing up Black in America. We had a thoughtful conversation about the problematic phrase of “picking yourself up by the bootstraps” and the nuances of that concept. He shared great advice on fatherhood and just being an authentic and incredible man in this world. Dr. James Smith Jr is a gift, and you’re going to love meeting him in this episode!

Today I was joined by professional speaker and storyteller, Joe Mull. This conversation was full of wisdom and wit as Joe shared about his experience of being a social chameleon and learning the moments where it’s more important to give up being liked in order to do the right thing. This ties into his work as a “leadership nerd” (his words) where he helps teams give up their team drama and put in the work to learn how to have healthy confrontation (which, as it turns out, is much easier to deal with than the drama that emerges when we don’t nip things in the bud). He talks about offering the benefit of the doubt and the power of leaning into the discomfort of confrontation. Whether you’re dealing with drama in the workplace or at home, Joe is full of spot-on advice that you’re going to love.

Kicking it in the booth with me this week is Resilience Expert and Leadership Speaker, Summer Owens! I love that Summer’s late night guilty pleasure is dark chocolate and red wine. Pretty sure that makes her the classiest guest in the diner so far! Summer and I then discussed how she used to pull her hair out as a nervous twitch when she was much younger, and the bullying that stemmed from it. Then one day a boy told her she was pretty, he took things too far, and got her pregnant at 15. Summer’s story about being a teen mom is a powerful one and what she was able to accomplish is quite remarkable. Hearing her experience working for the Memphis Grizzlies, getting her MBA, her time with FedEx, and the choices she made along the way was quite profound. We then talked about her definition of resilience and how she helps people move through their problems to solutions as a speaker and coach. This episode was a whole journey, y’all, hope you enjoy it!

Executive Coach and leadership presence expert, Justin Patton, slides into the diner booth with me this week! We reminisce about eating late-night pizza and our topping preferences. Then I learned that Justin grew up on a farm in Kentucky shoveling manure and bailing hay. Though that was not his destiny it is where he learned a work ethic that he carries with him today. Justin told me about he unexpectedly lost his Dad at 18 years old and how he did not deal with the trauma for 12 years. We then talked about his time as a high school English teacher and his transition to the corporate world. I loved our rant about how we both hate the phrase, “fake it till you make it.” Justin then told me about how he coaches executives on their definition of success. We ended talking about leadership presence, how to build trust, and what authenticity means on a daily basis.

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! Rick Daniels dropped all of the knowledge in this episode. He and I recorded this the week that George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis so you already know that we had a lot to talk about. We discussed parenting in the middle of a powerful moment for civil rights and instilling a love of identity in children. I asked him, “When did you fall in love with your blackness?” and he talked about loving your blackness while still loving everyone else. We then dove into teaching the realities of history to children early and teaching them about societal issues. He talked about why we need to get comfortable having difficult conversations and not shying away because it’s hard. Rick then grabbed the microphone and dropped a great lesson about the complexity of racism and a deep dive into critical race theory. Oh, and also, quick reminder that black lives matter :-)

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! This week I am joined in the Diner by social media expert, Dr. Josie Ahlquist! We kicked it off by randomly talking about Josie’s high school dating life. We then discussed her huge transition moving from Wyoming and South Dakota to Los Angeles, what some of the values she missed were and new ones she appreciated. Josie and I then bonded over dealing with imposter syndrome when writing a book and how much better she is at asking for help than I am. Speaking of books, we got to hear all about Josie’s new book: Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Purposeful Social Media in a Connected World. She taught me about self awareness and being intentional on social media as a leader. After a fun random facts segment, we dove back in and discussed Josie’s lack of connection with girls when she was younger and how that has changed in adulthood. We finished up by talking about whether or not social media connecting us or dividing us more, how to own your truth online, and whether or not #activism works. Having Dr. Josie Ahlquist was insightful, educational, and super fun. I hope you learn as much as I did!

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! Tom Krieglstein became my first guest to actually eat while he was in the diner! Since he was munching on a veggie pizza, we started by chatting about the impact The Simpsons had on Tom’s dietary choices. We then dove into Tom’s passion of creating a culture of connection. He told me about his chase for the Guiness World Record for hugging and we let the roll into a great talk about where Tom’s passion for connecting others stemmed from. Tom then opened up and processed the failure of a million dollar business that he started and was then fired from. In doing so we talked about self-help practices because he is a huge proponent for journaling. Then after a fun segment where we learned about Tom’s passport mishap in Indonesia and an embarrassing puberty moment for me, we dove back in. We ended the conversation discussing his new role as a step-father and the difference between being a tourist and being a traveler. Tom dropped a lot of nuggets in here, y’all. I can’t thank him enough for joining me in the booth!

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! I got to sit down with entrepreneur, speaker, and great friend Jess Ekstrom and we jumped right in with their decision to sell their apartment and move into an Airstream. Hearing about her relationship and having different ambitions as a partner and how to communicate about it was awesome. I asked her where do you develop a stick-to-itiveness nature with bring ideas to life. Then we chatted about branding yourself while wanting to still be yourself and how do you know when you can turn around and help someone who is behind you? We closed it out with developing trust in your working and personal relationships.

We are excited to bring you this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes. We hope you enjoy! Joining me this episode in the Diner is body image expert, coach, speaker, and badass mom, Stacy Nadeau! She and I first discuss why she was in her underwear in Times Square and the journey to being comfortable in your body for men and women. We then chatted about ways to silence our inner critic. Stacy is new-ish parent so I wanted to hear about telling yourself stories as a parent and being a brand new mom and being an entreprenuer. We ended with an eye-opening convo about why we should no longer seek balance and what we should look for instead and “Hell yes” vs. “Hell no” when making decisions.