Never Ask A Cat For Financial Advice with Alex Joonto
Release Date: 09/30/2025
The Call Center Rebel with Richard Blank
The RebelRebel Podcast
““You shouldn’t use words to burn. They should be for light and for warmth.” Richard has spent the last 19 years running a near-shore bilingual contact center that thrives on empathy, communication, and human connection in an era dominated by automation. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center. Richard has spent the last 19 years running a near-shore bilingual contact center that thrives on empathy, communication, and human...
info_outline
From Teeth to Tech with Brandon Sherwood
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Entrepreneurship is the craziest, scariest roller coaster ever.” What happens when selling RVs leads to buying dental scrap, melting it down for precious metals, and then launching a startup with a mission to bless lives? In this episode, I talk with Brandon Sherwood about entrepreneurship, family, and why it’s just not that serious. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie chats with Brandon Sherwood, an entrepreneur from Heber City, Utah, whose path has been anything but...
info_outline
The Sound of Success with Jodi Krangle
The RebelRebel Podcast
In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Jodi Krangle, a professional voice actor, singer, and host of the Audio Branding podcast. Based just north of Toronto, Jodi has been a full-time voice actor for nearly two decades, lending her voice to clients around the world while exploring the psychology and power of sound . Jodi shares how her journey started in the mid-90s when she volunteered at CNIB, recording articles to reel-to-reel tape for the visually impaired. Years later, after burning out in SEO and internet marketing, she returned to the idea of voice acting and built a thriving...
info_outline
Speed Learning for Rebels with Howard Berg
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Speed reading doesn’t work. Speed learning works.” What happens when a kid from Brooklyn grows up to become the world’s fastest reader and teaches others to learn 100% faster in just four hours? In this episode, I talk with Howard Berg about speed learning, knowledge, and why smarter decisions could change the world. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Howard Berg, officially recognized as the world’s fastest reader by the Guinness Book of Records. Howard reads at a...
info_outline
RebelRebel Takeover Episode: BrandJitsu Uncovered
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Your value proposition is the reason people choose you.” What happens when Michael Dargie hands over the mic to branding legend JP Lacroix? In this takeover episode, they unpack the lessons behind BrandJitsu and why truth and clarity are the foundation of every brand story. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this special takeover episode, Michael Dargie flips the script and lets branding veteran Jean Pierre Lacroix take the host’s chair. The focus is Michael’s book BrandJitsu, which JP describes as one of the...
info_outline
Lead It Like Lasso with Marnie Stockman & Nick Coniglio
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Question everything and see it from every perspective.” What happens when a high school math teacher and a computer programmer leave the corporate grind, write books inspired by Ted Lasso, and create a personal leadership app? In this episode, I talk with Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio about building businesses, books, and better leaders. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie welcomes co-authors, entrepreneurs, and leadership coaches Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio....
info_outline
Rebels, Rogues, and Role Playing with Jim Zub
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Sometimes you just have to create your own creative circle.” What happens when a kid from Oshawa who loved Dungeons & Dragons grows up to write the Avengers, Conan the Barbarian, and create new canon for D&D itself? In this episode, I catch up with my longtime friend Jim Zub, a comic writer, teacher, and storyteller who proves that staying in the game is the game. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, comic writer, teacher, and storyteller Jim Zub joins Michael Dargie to talk about a creative...
info_outline
Bold Moves Only with Dr. Apollo Emeka
The RebelRebel Podcast
“So many people are waiting for permission. A decision is the permission.” In this episode, Dr. Apollo Emeka joins the conversation from Panama City, Panama, where he and his family relocated after wildfires forced them from their home in California. What began as an evacuation turned into a bold life decision—one that exemplifies the very work Apollo now does with leaders and entrepreneurs: helping them make decisions so bold that the path forward becomes obvious. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode...
info_outline
From Sea Kings to Stout with Rob Truscott
The RebelRebel Podcast
“You don’t know what you don’t know—until you travel.” Today’s guest is Rob Truscott—retired Canadian Forces navigator, brewer, and motorcycle enthusiast. From flying in Sea Kings and responding to Swissair 111 to surviving cancer and brewing in Nova Scotia, he’s living proof that memento mori is less about dying—and more about living. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie welcomes Rob Truscott—retired military navigator, brewer at Great Roads Brewing,...
info_outline
Ignite Your Neurons with Utkarsh Narang
The RebelRebel Podcast
“I’m someone who’s building life one day at a time—and loving it.” In this episode, coach, facilitator, TEDx speaker, and podcast host Utkarsh Narang checks in from Melbourne—“in the future,” as he jokes—and lays out a life stitched together by courage, curiosity, and conscious impact. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode Raised in a family of doctors, he followed a straight path into physiotherapy, running three clinics in Delhi. But a restless question kept tugging: what’s my larger...
info_outline“You have a moral duty to yourself to go after the thing—even if you have to go alone at first.”
In this episode, writer and blogger Alex Joonto joins from the border of Spain and Portugal, where he’s about to move into a new countryside home. He shares how writing has always been both his calling and his rebellion—leaving university against the advice of his family, diving into technical writing, and now pursuing life as a full-time author.
This episode is sponsored by my new book BRANDJITSU, helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world.
In this episode Alex talks about experimenting with AI by creating a parody of Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life. He asked ChatGPT to generate its own rules, resulting in surprising gems like, “Never ask a cat for financial advice.” The process showed him that while AI is a useful tool, what gives writing its true value is the human effort, vulnerability, and even suffering poured into it.
He also discusses his debut book, Thank You President Corona, written in the heart of the pandemic. Instead of despair, Alex found growth—embracing fitness, therapy, and journalling while reframing adversity as opportunity. He shares his belief that even in the darkest times, silver linings can be found.
This conversation weaves through his love of journalling as daily practice, thoughts on Medium vs. Substack, his favourite typeface (Verdana), and the family lasagna secret of adding nutmeg to the sauce. His advice for rebels-in-waiting is bold and simple: expect resistance, especially from those closest to you, but pursue your dream anyway. You have a moral duty to yourself to walk the difficult path.
Quoteable Quotes
“Never ask a cat for financial advice.” — Alex Joonto
“A piece of art is as valuable as the suffering the artist puts in it.” — Alex Joonto
“You have a moral duty to yourself to go after the thing—even if you have to go alone at first.” — Alex Joonto
“It just made the vein on my head pulse a little… a wasted opportunity to actually say something that matters.” — Michael Dargie
“Life can be a big joke—you don’t need to take yourself so seriously all the time.” — Alex Joonto
Episode Highlights
Portugal vs. Spain | Why Alex calls Portugal home but keeps returning to Spain.
Becoming a Writer | From technical manuals to novels.
AI Experiment | Creating “12 Rules for Life” through ChatGPT.
Rule #1 | “Never ask a cat for financial advice.”
Going Against the Grain | Dropping out of university to pursue work and writing.
Technical Writing | Manuals nobody reads and why it mattered.
Spain’s Inspiration | Its cultures, history, and lifestyles.
Thank You President Corona | A rebellious pandemic book.
From Push-Ups to Therapy | How pandemic habits reshaped his life.
Medium vs. Substack | Pros, cons, and plans for publishing.
AI and Art | Why suffering and vulnerability matter.
Filling the Bucket | Journalling as mental training.
Favourite Typeface | Verdana for clarity.
Life Philosophy | Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Food Corner | Salads, olive oil, and lasagna with nutmeg.
Books to Recommend | Atomic Habits and Jurassic Park.
Advice for Rebels | Go despite resistance; a moral duty to yourself.
Links from Episode
Alex Joonto Website (https://www.alexjoonto.com/12-rules-for-life-according-to-chatgpt)
Alex on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandro-giuntini-85014a5a/)
Alex on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alexjoonto/)
Get Your Copy of Michael's Book:
"BrandJitsu™: Move Your Brand From 'Meh' To Memorable"
Indigo | Barnes & Noble | BrandJitsu.com