#547: From Burnout to Breakthrough: How Taking Time Off Accelerates Growth, with Michael Walsh
Release Date: 12/22/2025
#566: How to Access Your Genius Creativity on Demand, With Sara Connell
Business of Story
What if your best ideas aren't something you have to grind for — but something you can learn to receive? In this episode of the Business of Story, Park Howell sits down with Sara Connell — 5x bestselling author, founder of Thought Leader Academy, and author of the upcoming book The Download — to explore the neuroscience and quantum physics behind creative downloads and how to access them on demand. Sara introduces the Gamma Walk, a simple daily practice for inducing the brain's channeling state — the gamma wave state associated with flow, breakthrough insight, and original thinking....
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#565: How to Make Your Ad Agency Indespensible, With Marcus Sheridan
Business of Story
Is your ad agency truly indispensable — or is it one AI update away from irrelevance? Marcus Sheridan — bestselling author of They Ask, You Answer and Endless Customers, and founder of AI Trust Signals — joins Park Howell on the Business of Story to deliver a message most agency principals aren't ready to hear: the three services that built most agencies are already disappearing, and the threat isn't coming from your competitors. It's coming from your own resistance to change. In this conversation, Marcus and Park dig into why identity fluidity is the agency survival superpower of the AI...
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#564: From Compliance to Culture: How AI and Story Are Rewriting the Sustainability Playbook, With Bruno Sarda
Business of Story
How are you augmenting your intelligence — artificially or artfully? And which approach is actually sustaining your brand? Bruno Sarda, EY Americas Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, Top 10 Global Sustainability Influencer, and host of the Sustainability Matters podcast, joins Park Howell on the Business of Story to explore the intersection of AI, storytelling, and ESG strategy. Bruno has spent 25+ years helping organizations turn sustainability from a compliance checkbox into a culture-defining competitive advantage. In this conversation, he reveals why the current wave of...
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#563: The Mistakes and Miracles of the Lovesac Brand Story, with Shawn Nelson
Business of Story
Why the Last Couch You'll Ever Buy Is the Most Radical Business Idea in America, with Shawn David Nelson What does it take to build a brand designed to last forever — in an industry built on replacement cycles? Shawn David Nelson started Lovesac at 18 with a hand-sewn bean bag made from his parents' chopped-up camping mattresses. He paid $25 to register the company. Today, Lovesac (NASDAQ: LOVE) operates 300+ showrooms, employs 2,000 people, and is one of the fastest-growing furniture brands in America — anchored by a product philosophy so counterintuitive it sounds almost reckless. They...
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#562. How to Understand the Narrative Behind Your Numbers for Growth, With Nick Jain
Business of Story
BGBrand Genius Genie™ Sent on 3/26/2026, 3:09:10 PM On it — working through Steps 6, 9, and 10 now. Let me start with the Libsyn description. Step 6: Libsyn Episode Description What if the story your business is telling the world is completely out of sync with the story your numbers are telling you? Nick Jain, co-founder of Eagle Rock CFO, has spent his career helping $5–$50M businesses close that gap. A Harvard MBA who graduated top of his class, with degrees in math and physics, Nick has turned around and scaled three companies up to $100M in revenue — across trucking,...
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#561: Why Storytelling Is the One Skill AI Can Never Replace, with Joe Lazer
Business of Story
What if the skill that made us human is the same one that will keep us relevant in the age of AI? Joe Lazauskas — CMO of Pepper, co-founder of Contently, and author of Super Skill: Why Storytelling Is the Superpower of the AI Age — spent five years inside AI companies researching exactly that question. His answer: storytelling isn't just surviving the AI revolution. It's the one skill the machines can't replicate. In this conversation with host Park Howell, Joe reveals why AI slop is flooding the web and driving up the value of authentic human voices, the four story elements —...
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#560: The Story You're Afraid to Tell is the One That Changes Everything, with Rachel McCord
Business of Story
Don't Ever Waste a Heartbeat: How Open Heart Surgery Unlocked Rachel McCord's True Purpose What happens when the woman producing 19 shows, running a Hollywood media network, and appearing on national television is quietly fighting to stay alive? That's the story Rachel McCord tells in this raw, remarkable episode of the Business of Story. Meet Rachel McCord Rachel McCord is the founder of The McCord List, a Hollywood media network that produces McCordless Today — a daily talk show airing on network television and streaming on Roku, Apple TV, Samsung, and Amazon. She's the author of You Can't...
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#559: Why Tone is the Missing Link in Brand Storytelling Success, with Charly Tate
Business of Story
Your audience doesn’t understand your message first—they feel it. In today’s noisy world, tone is the hidden ingredient that makes your brand story resonate, build trust, and spark a real connection. On this episode of the Business of Story, Park Howell welcomes Charly Tate, founder and Chief Kindling Officer at Kindling Works and host of the Tater Thoughts podcast. With over a decade in communications, storytelling, and marketing—and a background in music—Charly helps founders and business owners find clarity in chaos and connection through intentional, heartfelt storytelling....
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#558: Unlocking Message Market Match: The Secret to Predictable Profits, With Charles Gaudet
Business of Story
Unlocking predictable growth starts with one thing: message market match. In this episode, Park Howell welcomes Charles Gaudet—CEO of Predictable Profits, creator of The Predictable Profits Operating System™, and “The CEO Whisperer” (Yahoo Finance)—to reveal why so many founders get stuck working harder for less. You’ll learn how to escape the founder’s trap by aligning your brand story with the real needs of your market. Charles shares how to identify your true super consumer (and why most ICPs miss the mark), the data-driven secrets to effortless lead generation, and the...
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#557: How to Be Heard: Turning Audience Pain into Business Impact, with Dan Manning
Business of Story
Discover how to make your message truly heard with Dan Manning, former fighter pilot, speechwriter, and military diplomat turned professional storyteller. In this episode, Dan reveals his simple, repeatable “Before, Change, After, Meaning” framework that helps founders and executives communicate ideas that move people to action. Learn why understanding your audience’s pain is the secret to engagement, how scenes—not just stories—create connection, and what military storytelling can teach you about clarity and impact. Dan’s clients have raised millions in investment, sold millions...
info_outlineWhat if working LESS is the smartest business growth strategy for 2026?
Michael Walsh went three years without a vacation—grinding relentlessly, believing scaling required personal sacrifice. Then his wife forced him to take time off. The result? He generated $10,000 in new sales—more than any previous week. He tested further, taking the last week of every month off. His income kept growing.
After 30+ years helping $2M-$20M companies scale, Michael has proven that people-first business growth outperforms systems-first approaches every time.
What You'll Discover:
✅ The $10,000 vacation discovery - Why strategic time off accelerates revenue instead of slowing it down
✅ The relationship complexity math - Why 100 people = 4,950 relationships, explaining why your systems break as you scale from $1M to $10M
✅ Survive, Thrive, Connect, Adapt framework - Practical roadmap for understanding human behavior structures that support your people to be at their best
✅ Why your people are your #1 brand story customer - How training influencers (even janitors and cafeteria workers) instead of just executives creates authentic brand ambassadors
✅ The social contract that works - Why professional growth takes pressure off top dollar, and how two-minute weekly conversations replace twice-yearly performance theater
✅ Intelligent ecosystems vs. machines - Why "I'm the boss, you do what I say" fails in service businesses, and how to build adaptive capacity
✅ AI and the Age of Creativity - How AI is eliminating junior jobs and what the shift from Information Age to Age of Creativity means for your business
About Michael Walsh:
Michael Walsh is founder of Walsh Business Growth Institute and author of Freedom by Design: The Established Business Owner's Guide to Grow, Make an Impact, and Find the Joy Again. His myth-busting methodologies liberate owners from operational dependency through contrarian, people-first strategies.
FREE BOOK: Get Freedom by Design free (print, PDF, or MP4) at WalshBusinessGrowth.com
Key Topics: business growth strategies, scaling $2M-$20M companies, employee relationship management, leadership development, burnout recovery, work-life balance, organizational culture, brand storytelling, people-first leadership, service business optimization, AI impact on business, future of work
Connect with Michael:
🌐 WalshBusinessGrowth.com
📧 info@WalshBusinessGrowth.com
About Business of Story:
Business of Story helps business owners and marketing professionals master brand storytelling for business growth. Hosted by Park Howell, featuring expert guests sharing proven strategies.
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Connect: BusinessOfStory.com | @parkhowell | @businessofstory
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