Stories With Traction

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Stories With Traction

Matt Zaun

171 episodes

5 days ago

SHOW NOTES: In this insightful episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Morgan Adams, an insomnia and holistic sleep coach, to break down why so many high achievers are running on fumes and what to do about it. Morgan shares practical tools, mindset shifts, and behavioral strategies for those struggling with sleep maintenance, middle-of-the-night wakeups, and chronic insomnia. Whether you’re a business leader burning the candle at both ends or someone simply trying to reclaim restful sleep, this epi...

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SHOW NOTES: In this insightful episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Morgan Adams, an insomnia and holistic sleep coach, to break down why so many high achievers are running on fumes and what to do about it. Morgan shares practical tools, mindset shifts, and behavioral strategies for those struggling with sleep maintenance, middle-of-the-night wakeups, and chronic insomnia. Whether you’re a business leader burning the candle at both ends or someone simply trying to reclaim restful sleep, this epi...

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Episodes (20/171)

Stories With Traction

#171: Sleep Is a Skillset: The Surprising Habits That Heal Insomnia

SHOW NOTES: In this insightful episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Morgan Adams, an insomnia and holistic sleep coach, to break down why so many high achievers are running on fumes and what to do about it. Morgan shares practical tools, mindset shifts, and behavioral strategies for those struggling with sleep maintenance, middle-of-the-night wakeups, and chronic insomnia. Whether you’re a business leader burning the candle at both ends or someone simply trying to reclaim restful sleep, this epi...

5 days ago

47 minutes

Stories With Traction

#170: Lessons From the CPA Who Took the Mic (and the Risk)

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Daniel McMahon, Founder and Managing Partner of Integrated Growth Advisors, to discuss how leaders can transition into purpose-driven, sustainable roles beyond their primary career without losing their identity or impact. With over 30 years of...

1 week ago

41 minutes

Stories With Traction

#169: Great Sales Reps Without Systems Will Wreck Your Growth

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Gary Braun, Founder and Owner of Pivotal Advisors, to break down what most companies get wrong about sales and how to build a repeatable system that actually works. He also unpacks the biggest myth in sales: “If I just hire a great rep, we’ll g...

2 weeks ago

32 minutes

Stories With Traction

#168: Inner Game, Outer Growth: The Secret Formula for High-Paid Consulting

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with business strategist and growth expert, Jessica Yarbrough, to discuss how high-achieving professionals (especially those from the C-suite) can escape hustle culture and build scalable, sustainable, and wildly profitable consulting businesses. ...

3 weeks ago

37 minutes

Stories With Traction

#167: From Noise to Narrative: Reclaiming the Power of Real Marketing

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun talks with Kristen Pucci, Founder and CEO of KRAE Creative & Talent, to explore why most leaders get marketing wrong and how to fix it through brand clarity, human connection, and strategic authenticity. Kristen shares her journey as a creative navigating a ...

1 month ago

37 minutes

Stories With Traction

#166: Why Storytelling Will Outlast the Algorithms

SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Luke Frazier, Head of Revenue at Good Agency, to explore how powerful storytelling can transform not only business results but also the human experience behind the brand. Luke challenges business leaders to go beyond tactics and marketing hacks, and instead ask: “What impact are we really making?” In addition, they talk about: ✅ Why brand clarity is both a strategy and a calling ✅ How storytelling builds trust and drives performance ...

1 month ago

28 minutes

Stories With Traction

#165: How a Summer Job on a Golf Course Shaped a CEO

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. Show Notes: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Christopher Brown, co-founder and CEO of Teed & Brown, to unpack what it really takes to grow a thriving service business from the ground up. Christopher shares how a teenage summer job on a golf course shaped his work ethic, how the right partnership fueled early...

1 month ago

28 minutes

Stories With Traction

#164: Build a Business That Sets You Free (Not One That Owns You)

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. Show Notes: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Scott Raven, founder of Corvus Solutions, to explore how high-achieving entrepreneurs can escape the very businesses that are trapping them. Scott opens up about the hidden burnout cycles that plague founders and executives and how he turned his own rock-bottom experi...

1 month ago

30 minutes

Stories With Traction

#163: Unlocking Creative Confidence in Corporate Culture

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. Show Notes: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Mary Messner, a former healthcare executive turned keynote speaker, to explore how creativity, not just innovation, fuels business momentum. Mary shares how creative thinking helped her rise through the corporate ranks, lead global teams, and eventually launch a thriv...

2 months ago

33 minutes

Stories With Traction

#162: She Lost Her Mom at 12—Now She’s Saving Lives with Her Story

SHOW NOTES: In this powerful episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Kristen Harootunian, mental health advocate and speaker, to explore her journey from addiction and childhood trauma to long-term recovery and national advocacy work. Kristen shares how losing her mother to suicide at age 12 led to years of substance abuse, and how her path to recovery began at just 17. Now, more than a decade sober, she’s committed to helping others find healing through storytelling, vulnerability, and mental heal...

2 months ago

47 minutes

Stories With Traction

#161: Sex, Secrets & Sales: The Dark Side of High Achievement

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. Habits of Sales Champions Keynote. In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Ian Koniak, founder and CEO of Untap Your Sales Potential, for a raw and powerful conversation about what it truly takes to succeed in business — and in life — when the spotlight fades. Ian opens up about his journey from being Salesforce’s ...

2 months ago

43 minutes

Stories With Traction

#160: The Attention Shift: From Empty Content to Emotional Impact

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Joshua B. Lee, Founder and Chief Engagement Officer of Standout Authority, to unpack what it truly means to be human in the age of AI. Joshua shares his powerful journey from burnout and breakdown to building a business that thrives on authenticity. He challenges the nois...

2 months ago

36 minutes

Stories With Traction

#158: Trust, Talk, and Toastmasters

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Lisa Dy, a mindset coach and public speaking advocate, to explore how leaders can create meaningful change by mastering communication, embracing vulnerability, and developing confidence from the inside out. With over 25 years of experience across multiple industries, Lisa...

2 months ago

24 minutes

Stories With Traction

#159: From Chaos to Creative Power

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Steve Schmidt, Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Owner of Magnetic, as well as Co-Owner and Creative Lead at Spotlight Sioux Falls, to explore how creative content and radical authenticity shape modern business success. From building a $5M company in one year to facing rock bo...

3 months ago

40 minutes

Stories With Traction

#157: Hooks, Heart, and Humanity: What Every Leader Needs to Know About Speaking

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Cody Hand, founder of Speakers Collaborative, to discuss what it really takes to become a dynamic speaker in the age of AI and short attention spans. Cody breaks down the myth that effective speaking is about memorization and instead reveals why authenticity, presence, an...

3 months ago

27 minutes

Stories With Traction

#156: From Navy Cryptologist to Cybersecurity Advisor

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Dave Snell, founder of Snell Advisory Group, to unpack the critical (and often ignored) role of cybersecurity in business today. Dave explains why cybersecurity is not just a tech issue; it’s a leadership issue. From Fortune 100 firms to small startups, he shares real sto...

3 months ago

31 minutes

Stories With Traction

#155: From Rock Bands to Boardrooms: How Creativity Fuels Leadership

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up, go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with David Nast, CEO of Nast Partners, to explore how creativity, storytelling, and grit have shaped his life from the stage as a rock musician to the boardroom as a business coach. David shares how writing fiction every morning has not only improved h...

4 months ago

38 minutes

Stories With Traction

#154: Myths, Leadership, & Life

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up go HERE. SHOW NOTES: SUMMARY: In this episode, Scott Mason and Matt Zaun talk about storytelling and the myths that we tell ourselves. SCOTT MASON: Scott is a transformational coach for attorneys, a keynote speaker, and the host of Myths, Leadership, & Life. MATT ZAUN: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who e...

4 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes

Stories With Traction

#153: From CEO to Coach: The Leadership Lessons That Matter Most

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up go HERE. SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with David Frederiksen, Petra Coach and founder of PatientFocus, to discuss the often-overlooked struggles business leaders face when transitioning from doing the work to leading the team. David shares lessons from launching a company that changed how healthcare organizations...

4 months ago

44 minutes

Stories With Traction

#152: The Identity Crisis of Successful Business Leaders

5-Day Storytelling Challenge Whether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you. To sign up go HERE. SHOW NOTES: SERIES: This episode is part of a Launch, Grow, Thrive series with John Wilson on the Stories With Traction podcast. SUMMARY: In this episode, John Wilson and Matt Zaun discuss why many successful business leaders face an identity crisis. EPISODE MENTIONED | Always Fall Forward with Jacob Brown ...

5 months ago

32 minutes