BECOME EMPOWERED

BECOME features interviews with successful individuals from various industries, delving into their personal and professional journeys and the strategies they've used to achieve their goals. The podcast aims to inspire listeners to take steps towards reaching their own aspirations and becoming the best version of themselves. We have to become the person we are meant to be so we can live the life we are destined to live. On our journey, we all face challenges, obstacles, and even dark times. But it's important to remember that we're not alone in this shared human experience. This podcast gives hope and understanding that others have walked that path before us. My guests will share how they overcame challenges and what helped them turn the corner. Listening to their inspiring stories, getting motivated, discovering new ways of overcoming adversities, and taking action to transform into the amazing person you are, truly becoming empowered. Are you ready? Let's get on this journey together.

Ep.158 Why Perfectionism Holds You Back — And How to Choose Progress Over Perfection 11/20/2025

Ep.157 Navigating Autism: Insights from Dr. Theresa Lyons 11/13/2025

Eo.156 The Marathon Man: Jeff Savage on Overcoming Adversity and Becoming Your Own Hero 11/06/2025

Ep.155 Toni Stark - His success, struggle and reinvention in the AI world 10/30/2025

Ep.154 Rediscovering Self After Loss 10/23/2025

Ep.153 The Midlife Advantage: Reinventing Yourself with Angela Vassallo 10/16/2025

Ep.152 The Philosophy Behind Healing - Unlocking the Secrets of Chiropractic Care 10/09/2025

Ep.151 The Stem Cell Activation Patch That Changed Everything-Robin Blanc Mascari 10/02/2025

Ep.150 From Uber Driver to $1.5M: How James Oliver Built Atlas Bars 09/25/2025

Ep.149 From Alcoholism to Advocacy: Rob Rene's Journey of Faith and Healing 07/31/2025

Ep.148 Overcoming Fear: The Transformative Power of Paragliding 07/24/2025

Ep.147 From Poverty to Power: Jorge Olsen’s Secrets to Influence, Branding, and Marketing Karma 07/17/2025

Ep.146 Being different can be a superpower-John Kippen's inspiring story 07/10/2025

Ep.145 The Truth About Working From Home and Being Your Own Boss 07/03/2025

Ep.144 Transforming Pain into Purpose-The Journey of a Multi-Hat Entrepreneur 06/26/2025

Ep.143 Building a Community Through Networking 06/19/2025

Ep. 142 From Orphan to Influencer - The Journey of a Conscious Leader 06/12/2025

Ep.141 From Darkness to Light: Orly Amor's Journey - Making a difference with your story 06/05/2025

Ep.140 Secrets to a Fulfilling Life - Join the Journey 05/29/2025

Ep.139 From Struggles to Success: How Chris Cannon Turned His Story Into a Business Empire 05/15/2025

Ep.139 From Struggles to Success: How Chris Cannon Turned His Story Into a Business Empire In this engaging conversation, Chris Cannon shares his journey from struggling with reading in school to becoming a successful entrepreneur and author. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling in business and personal development, discussing how his experiences shaped his perspective on success and the value of high-ticket offers. Chris also highlights the significance of supportive relationships, particularly in marriage, and how they contribute to personal and professional growth. The discussion touches on overcoming fear, the impact of mentorship, and the transformative power of writing. Support this Podcast and leave a review. Thank you. Takeaways Chris discovered the power of storytelling from his own life experiences. Expectations shape our experiences and outcomes. Entrepreneurship was a natural path for Chris due to his family's background. Supportive relationships, especially in marriage, enhance success. High ticket offers can lead to greater investment in personal growth. Fear often distracts us from our true purpose and potential. Investing in oneself is crucial for personal development. Writing can have a profound impact on others' lives. Mentorship plays a key role in personal and professional growth. The journey of entrepreneurship is filled with learning and transformation. Chapters: 00:00 Podcast Introduction 01:57 The Power of Storytelling in Business 07:31 From Struggles to Success: Chris's Journey 13:05 Entrepreneurial Roots and Early Ventures 18:36 Building a Life and Business Together 21:49 Ad Break – Learn about the all-in-one platform entrepreneurs use to run their business 23:33 The Show Continues: The Impact of Writing and Sharing Stories 29:12 Creating High Ticket Offers with Storytelling Learn more about Chris: Resources: Connect with Sabine on Social Media: Youtube: IG: LinkedIn Facebook Page: /episode/index/show/become/id/36576490

Ep.138 From TV Producer to Career Coach: Navigating Your Second Act 05/01/2025

Ep.137 "The Stepping Stones That Led to 'Become Empowered': Celebrating One Year of Transformation" 04/24/2025

Ep.136 Unlocking Natural Health with Dr. Nigel Brayer, The Reluctant Bladder Doctor 04/17/2025

Ep.135 The Journey of a Trader: Insights from Anmol Singh 04/11/2025

Ep.134 Declutter Your Life: 3 Must-Do Spring Cleaning Strategies 04/03/2025

Ep.134 Declutter Your Life: 3 Must-Do Spring Cleaning Strategies Feel like your life could use a little spring cleaning? Now it's the perfect time to hit the reset button on your life and business. Let’s discuss three essential strategies to declutter your mind, goals, and daily habits." It will make your life feel lighter and brighter. Join our Free Become Empowered community: For more information or to book Sabine for your next event go to: Watch this episode on Youtube: Transcript: Feel like your life could use a little spring cleaning? Now it's the perfect time to hit the reset button on your life and business. Let’s talk about three essential strategies to declutter your mind, your goals, and your daily habits. It will make your life feel lighter and brighter. Hello, and welcome to my podcast, Become Empowered. My name is Sabine Kvenberg, founder of Impact Communication Coaching. In this podcast, we talk about how to become empowered in our personal and business lives. I feature interviews with successful individuals from various industries who discuss their professional and personal journeys, how they overcame adversities, and the strategies they used to achieve their goals. We must become the person we are meant to be to live the life we are destined to live. The content will inspire you to reach your aspirations and become the best version of yourself. Thanks for tuning in and supporting this podcast. And don’t forget to follow our show so you won’t miss when we release a new episode. As always, we would appreciate it if you could give us a 5-star rating and leave a review. Now, without any further ado, let’s dive into the show. Spring cleaning for Q2 success. Are you ready for some Q2 strategies to win the game? Because at the end, it is a game that we play. And if we also approach it in that playful way, not taking ourselves too serious all the time and say, hey, let's have fun. Because too often, that is the first thing. We don't put the fun in there and then it becomes painful. and hard. Most importantly, don't get lost in a maze of to-do lists. Can anybody relate to that? I certainly have to raise my hand. And if I show you right now, the sticky notes that I have in my hand from a meeting that I had earlier, then it's like, oh, I'm going back down that old road. But I also will give you some solutions to that problem. So stay tuned right here with me. Okay. Maybe you can get lost in a maze of piles of paper. Well, maybe your office is not looking like that. Okay. I sure hope so. But I wanted to give you that visual to see how does it make you feel? Right. It's like, Ooh. It's overwhelming. And don't get lost in a maze of demands from others. Ooh, that is a big one. And that demand can come from many different areas. It can come from your coworkers, from your boss, from your clients, from your family, from your friends. So many demands on you. And that sometimes can get us lost in the maze. Ooh clutter, that is a big one. And then the other is the many yeses we give. If we say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes to so many things, we also say no to the others. Now with that said, do we always have a straight line to the target? No, we don't. We do have Sabine Kvenberg (03:56.709) once in a while, a few detours, as you can see there, but we will reach our target at not getting lost in the maze and end up at dead ends. So when your brain is cluttered with excessive thoughts, worries, or a lack of organization, it can lead to difficulties in focus, decision making and overall cognitive function, potentially increasing stress and anxiety. And let me tell you, I have been there. And sometimes we have to declutter our life. So are you ready to do some spring cleaning? Before we go, and before I share with you all the things that I developed and discovered and implemented, let me share with you a story. The other day I was listening to a podcast and one of my favorite podcasts, Jenna Kutcher, I followed her for many, many years. And I just love her personality and what she does. And she's always very hands on. She's just one of those girls, coaches that shares what's on her sleeve. And she talked about spring cleaning and decluttering. And I thought to myself, that was a great, great, great reminder. And I was so thankful because the longest time I had clutters on my desk, in my bins. because there's always something, there's so many things that I have to do, right? There are so many things that I have to accomplish. There are so many things that I thought, all right, I'll do it later. And what's happening? Sabine Kvenberg (06:23.888) those papers and those piles just accumulated. And what happens is it really gets heavy on your shoulders. It was just weighing down on my shoulders. But most importantly, what you saw, our brain can only comprehend so much. And when there are things, when there are piles sitting, And when there's things from even way, way, way back, it all is stored in our brain. And eventually like the subconscious mind, yeah, you have to do this. Yeah. Later. you have to do this. Yes. Later. So what I started doing besides getting rid of those piles and finally filed that way, I saw all the binders from all the years, me developing my business. And I thought to myself, I, maybe I look at it later. Maybe it comes very handy. Maybe. But I also have to let you know that things changed. What worked 10 years ago doesn't work today. So you have to adjust and adapt. But what's still there are the binders that took up space in my office and space in my little brain because it still was there in the background, right? Thinking, should I look at it? Right? So here I was this weekend and I did some spring cleaning in my office. One of the things was a pile, a pile of business cards. And some of them were nicely organized. that was from this event. that was from last year. that was from two years ago. That was the podfest from three years ago. That was, my God, that was an event I attended 10 years ago. Do you think Sabine Kvenberg (08:47.189) These people still exist. They still have the websites. And here was my thinking. Why did I kept them, keep them? Why have I not thrown them away? Because I thought, yeah, there will be some time to enter them into my email list, right? We all have that thinking, but I've never done it. But here's another way. And Like I said, things have changed. How emails worked 10 years ago, they don't work like this today. You may have a huge list, but it doesn't do you any good if they don't open your email. And if you put them in now, they don't even remember you. And who is that? And then I have to, I have to look at myself. I don't like to be put in to email lists. And this is one of the solutions actually that I'm going to share with you later on about cleaning up your email list. But I don't like that. And then I delete or sometimes I even if it comes, keeps on going, I report them spam. And when you report them spam, it's not good for your list. So what I've learned now is be present with the ones that you have. So here's what I did. I took all the business cards. I had a trash can here and I put them all in here. Sabine Kvenberg (09:58.443) Wow, that was liberating. And here's what I did with my old binders. I had an empty bin and I put them all in there. Now, why did I do this? Because right now I'm writing a book and I thought to myself, well, maybe I need to go back and have some references. However, I know they are not important anymore to take up space in my office. So I put them all in and put that bin nicely organized in a closet that I'm not using. So it's out of sight, but I still know if I need it, it's there. And I did the same thing with like, I had envelopes. I'm not using envelopes anymore. So I had like two stacks of envelopes. I kept a few, the others. I put in plastic bins or bags go to goodwill. Some may still use it, right? Maybe they have a business and they put flyers in there. Great. So I do something good. So that in and of itself, I cannot tell you how liberating it was. Sabine Kvenberg (11:24.145) I felt so much lighter. And that is the power of spring cleaning. And here are three strategies to get more done. Declutter, delete, delegate. And starting out with declutter. I just want you to look at the picture. What do you feel? when you see these pictures. What do feel? I mean, we all feel something different, but it's something like heavy or ugly or just not good, right? Now, on the contrary, how do you feel when you see this picture? For me, it's like breathing. It's kind of, that looks good. It gives you a good feeling because now I know, I know where things are. It's just so much nicer. Now, how about that with your office, right? It's just, it's bugging you down. And my, my office didn't look like that. So, but just to give you that, that picture of, of heaviness and overwhelm, or how about that? It gives you space. And this is with everything. We have to create space for us to be creative, space for us to get things done. And that is the power of spring cleaning. Now you may have everything decluttered, right? You got rid of the piles of paper. You got everything packed away. Let's look at the elephant in the room, shall we? How can we avoid future clutter? And that is even more important than everything that we have done this far. You may have cleaned up your office and I have to raise my hand. Who hasn't been there? Sabine Kvenberg (13:18.091) you got everything straightened out. You got everything clean. But a few weeks later, it just looks the same. That was me. That was me. And the reason being is we don't have a system. So step number one, we have to get organized and it can look many different ways. One have a filing system. It can be a physical system. It can be both a physical system and also a digital system. But especially when papers come in to your office, a mail, a letter, we still get mail, right? Or something that you picked up, something that you want to look later, or some important stuff. Maybe you still have. physical bank statements, you know, everybody is different. It has to be packed away, right? So make sure you take the time and get it organized. or in your drawers. Hey, don't we all have those drawers that, okay, I don't know what to do with this little thing. Let's put it in there. We all have the junk drawers, right? But eventually it's overflowing. And yes, I'm raising my hands. I had it all so nicely organized. But at one point or another, it's like, oh, let me put this in real quick. And then there's so many other things on top of those nicely organized things. And again, what I shared with you earlier is our brains cannot handle the clutter. It's all there, but in the back of my mind or in the back of our minds, the back of your mind is, yeah, what did I do with that connector? What did I do with that? Sabine Kvenberg (15:06.123) thumb drive that had very important stuff on it, right? Now make sure that you have a designated area where you put all your thumb drives. So you don't have to think about that. That frees up that space in your brain that now is free for creative thinking. And most importantly, planning. We got to plan ahead. And when you do those things, when you get organized, That is the first step to be more productive, to get more done. Step number two, adopt a new end of day habit. For me, that was a very important step. And that one thing that I did is I want to have a clear desk. Even if I maybe don't have time to put everything or file everything away. At least my desk is clear and I have a designated bin where I put things to take care of the next day. But I have an end of the day habit and that could be a clean desk. It could be a couple other things. You, you are you. You know, I am me. That was me before. And when you get up the next day and you see that you don't even want to get into your office. And maybe it's not you. I'm not saying that you may have that. Ah, beautiful office, right? But what feels better? The before the after, right? The after, of course. It again gives me that breathing. It just lifts something off my shoulders and makes me want to come into my office and start my day because now I can start my day being creative. So these are the strategies to get more done. And we talked about the decluttering process. So, so, so important. Now let's look at delete. What do we need? Sabine Kvenberg (17:20.503) delete. Number one, that's a big one, emails. As I mentioned earlier, nowadays we got so many emails and that is almost a burden. For the more mature audience, can you think back at the time where the World Wide Web just started and AOL came online with dial in using the it took forever. And then finally you have, you've got mail. Whoa. Wow. You've got mail. that was exciting. You couldn't wait to open up your emails, right? somebody sent me a digital mail. that was the most exciting things of your day, right? Now those days are long gone. And now it's like, how can I declutter? How can I delete? There are actually services out there that help you get unsubscribed from emails that put you in their list automatically. Because there are tons of organizations out there that sell your information, including your emails. So I'm using now a organization. I'll share it with you. And they help me get off lists and being deleted on those lists. But there are still things that we have to do because there's still people that we communicate with that sent us emails and we have to delete them. Otherwise you end up with thousands upon thousands. And again, Sabine Kvenberg (19:11.665) That's one of the things that I did when I started my decluttering process, my spring cleaning. I went in and very briefly looked at the most important ones. And then, you know, what I had to do, it was painful, but I had to click the delete all. 925. Now, could there be an important email in there? Possibly. But you know how liberating it is if you only have 50? Very much so. Okay, what else can we delete? Delete some of your yeses and say no, because for every yes you give or every yes means you have to say no to something else. Right. And we think, my gosh. What if this person that I just said yes to, maybe one day becomes famous? Or that could be an opportunity. Or, well, I want to network with this group and I want to say yes to, yeah, I'm helping you. Yes, I say yes to, of course I'm there for you. That would take away time. for what you really want to do. Now, I'm not saying eliminate all, but you have to discern which project you say yes to and which project you say no to. That is also a very important part of the spring cleaning. And then you have to let go of stuff you don't need any longer. Like I shared with you earlier, the business cards that I collected over the years that I have never followed up with the contacts that I have never followed up with that are never entered into my email list. And that probably half of them don't exist anymore. And even though I thought, well, maybe no, forget about it. Get rid of them. Even your closet, how many dresses or pants or Sabine Kvenberg (21:46.731) jackets are still hanging in your closet that you haven't worn for several years. You may think, well, maybe one day I can fit into it anymore. Or well, maybe in 10 years or maybe in 20 years, I have a reunion with my class and I could show off in that dress. Forget about it. Right? Now, if it's a sentimental piece from a loved one that is no longer there, I do have a dress from my mother and I probably will keep that. But that's okay. That's a sentimental reason. But there's so many things that I'm not wearing. And when you get rid of it, you make space for new things, for new dresses, right? Or in your office, make space for new things to come into your life and your business. And then the last thing, delegate. So how can we delegate things? Well, there many different ways. Ask for help. One way can be get a virtual assistant. And you know, you can start out in very many different various ways. I used to have a virtual assistant who just did a couple posts for me. in my social media. That is one way. Now I have a beautiful, wonderful, wonderful virtual assistant, Sabrina, who's helping me with many other tasks besides doing and helping me with my social media, but also being here in my community as we grow and is also doing other things for me. So that might be a way. for you to get help. But if you are not there yet, it's okay. You can exchange services. So maybe someone is good doing social media and you are not, but someone is not good with the finances or someone is not good with online, whatever you do. So you can say, Hey, how about I will do this for you and you do that for me. Sabine Kvenberg (24:16.71) All right. Everybody has something that they are good at, but not so much with the other. So that's a possibility. And that's when you work with your colleagues. That's when you work with someone that you met in your networking group and you just exchange you, you bother, so to speak. So you don't have to pay anybody and they have to don't have to pay you. Or simply ask your family or friends, hey, and I know some of you have a family member who is good doing the online stuff. Ask them. They're happy to help you. Right. But that is important. At one point, if you want to grow, if you want to keep your sanity, ask for help. So Those are the strategies to get more done. Declutter, delete, delegate. And these are the results you're going to get. Instead of ending up the end of the day with thousands of sticky notes and being totally exhausted, you have extra time to just chill. Right? Now, you know me. Action creates change. Only if we take action. So here we go. Number one, set a date and put it on your calendar. Sabine Kvenberg (26:41.576) And I wrote, let's do it now. So I want each one of you to take out your calendar, either your physical calendar or your digital calendar, and look for a date that you will do your spring cleaning, applying all the things that we talked about that you've learned. Okay? Let's do it now. Second, make a commitment to always end the day with a clear desk or delete your email junk, right? Whatever it is for you. These are just examples, right? Wherever you are, right? If you run a physical business, I have done that too for many years. What could that be for you? Right. Always make sure to have a balanced, I don't think we have cash registered anymore, but you know, whatever you need to do at the end of the day that everything is accounted for. Right. And even if it's okay, make sure that at the end of the day, all the service get their tip, get their cash, whatever it is, we all have different things. But if you are working from home, can only tell you having a clear desk coming in in the morning makes a big difference. And number three, post your progress in our Become Empowered group under WINS and celebration. Okay. So post your progress in our Become Empowered group under WINS. Sabine Kvenberg (28:48.248) and celebration. /episode/index/show/become/id/35990510

Ep.133 Unhooked and Empowered: Dr. Adi Jaffe's Journey from Addiction to Insight 03/20/2025

Ep.133 Unhooked and Empowered: Dr. Adi Jaffe's Journey from Addiction to Insight "Join us as Dr. Adi Jaffe and Sabine Kvenberg delve into the transformative journey from addiction to recovery, unraveling the deep-seated emotional triggers and compulsive behaviors that block our paths to happiness. In this enlightening conversation, they explore practical strategies for overcoming adversity, sharing inspiring success stories that prove change is possible with the right mindset and tools. Discover how embracing curiosity and making adaptive changes can open the door to a life of fulfillment and freedom from addiction." Get in touch with Dr. Adi: Harness your body's flow with X 39. Learn more about Lifewave: Get in touch with Sabine: Bio Dr. Adi Jaffe:: Dr. Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. is a UCLA-trained Psychologist, TEDx Speaker, National Bestselling Author, and a recognized expert on addiction, transformation, leadership and relationship, especially in times of deep crisis. Dr. Adi Jaffe is a UCLA-trained Psychologist and a renowned expert in mental health, addiction, and relationships. After receiving his PhD from UCLA, he lectured in the department for the better part of a decade. Dr. Jaffe’s personal journey includes overcoming addiction; he was once a meth addict and drug dealer but transformed his life after a SWAT team arrest and jail sentence. He is the author of “The Abstinence Myth” and his new book “Unhooked,” and has been featured in numerous media outlets like CNN, Fox, NBC, and The Huffington Post. Dr. Jaffe is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and is known for his non-traditional approaches to addiction treatment. He currently leads IGNTD, focusing on reducing stigma around mental health issues through helping individuals who are released from prisons and jails find addiction and mental health help. Summary: In this conversation, Dr. Adi Jaffe shares his personal journey from addiction to recovery, emphasizing the importance of honesty, humility, and understanding the underlying issues of addiction. He discusses his work with diverse populations, from successful individuals to those coming out of prison, and offers practical advice for living a fulfilled life. Jaffe highlights that addiction is not just about substances but also about compulsive behaviors that hinder personal growth and happiness. In this conversation, Adi Jaffe, PhD, and Sabine Kvenberg explore the themes of habit replacement, emotional hooks, and the importance of adaptive responses to stress in the context of addiction recovery. They discuss the need for accessible help for those struggling with addiction and emphasize the significance of curiosity and the willingness to change. The conversation is enriched with inspiring stories of transformation, highlighting that anyone can change their life with the right tools and mindset. /episode/index/show/become/id/35787815

Ep.132 Never Too Late: Anne Zuckerman's Entrepreneurial Journey - From Lingerie to Innovation: A Business Transformation 03/13/2025

Ep.131 From Struggle to Success: Joseph Drolshagen's Journey 02/27/2025

Ep.130 "From Soccer Star to Real Estate Mogul: Jacopo Iasiello’s Journey of Resilience and Reinvention" 02/20/2025

Ep.129 Prison saved my life; It's never too late to change course 02/13/2025

Ep.129 Prison saved my life; It's never too late to change course In this conversation, Dr. Joshua Caraballo, an industrial organizational psychologist, shares his insights on the importance of employee well-being, the role of nonprofits, and his personal journey of overcoming adversity. He discusses how his upbringing in a Jehovah's Witness household shaped his identity and beliefs, leading to struggles with cancer, addiction, and incarceration. Through his experiences, he emphasizes the power of hope and transformation and the importance of aligning work with personal values. Support this podcast: Learn more about Lifewave: Connect with Dr. Joshua: Connect with Sabine: Takeaways: Industrial-organizational psychology focuses on human behavior in the workplace. Employee well-being extends beyond the workplace into personal life. Nonprofits often prioritize people over profit, leading to greater fulfillment. Aligning work with personal values can enhance job satisfaction. Overcoming adversity is possible, regardless of the circumstances. Childhood beliefs can significantly impact adult identity and choices. Prison can serve as a catalyst for personal transformation. Hope exists even in the darkest situations; it's never too late to change. Self-love and acceptance are crucial for personal growth. Sharing personal stories can help others feel less alone. Chapters 00:00 Understanding Industrial Organizational Psychology 03:07 The Role of Nonprofits in Employee Wellbeing 06:12 Profit vs. Purpose: The Nonprofit Perspective 08:58 Personal Journey: Overcoming Adversity 12:00 The Impact of Childhood Beliefs on Identity 15:06 Finding Redemption: The Prison Experience 18:12 Lessons Learned: Hope and Transformation 21:03 Advice for Overcoming Life's Challenges Transcript: Sabine Kvenberg My guest today is Dr. Joshua Caraballo. We just discussed it as we started. How do we pronounce it in Spanish as Caraballo? So here you go. That's how I say it. How are you today, Dr. Josh? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking Sabine and thank you for your time today. It's such an honor and pleasure to be on your show. Sabine Kvenberg Well, I can't wait to hear more about your story and what you do and who you help. But let me ask you, what is an industrial organizational psychologist? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD What a wonderful question. It really is. Well, if it feels better to you and those who are listening, you could just say business psychologist or business psychology, as we sometimes refer to it as just to simplify things. But industrial organization or I.O. psychology is another way to say it as well, encompasses so many different facets. so instead of telling you everything, Sabine Kvenberg Yeah, it's a mouthful. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD that is underneath this huge umbrella. In fact, I think last time I checked, there's at least 24 different buckets, if you will, that you can concentrate on when it comes to IO psychology. And what I like to tell people, it's pretty much the simplest way to talk about it is anything having to do with human behavior in the workplace, with the caveat that we are not clinical psychologists. So we're not coming in and diagnosing people with ailments. from a mental health perspective or working with leaderships to determine what types of mental health programs need to be instituted. That would be a clinical psychologist who engages in that and maybe even going as far as to diagnosing people with very specific sort of Sabine Kvenberg you Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD (02:11.778) diagnoses that would need a clinician to help them, you know, maybe get through or even try to ameliorate some of those negative symptoms. Instead, what we're doing, work at the individual, the group, and the institutional level with an eye towards so many different things. But what I really like to focus on is employee wellbeing. which obviously goes beyond just the workplace because the wellbeing considerations and human flourishing is another way to put that, isn't just about what you do at work. So a lot of times what we do in the IO world actually spills over into your actual life outside. Another element of that would be employee engagement. And there are many different facets of engagement on how to measure it. and how to help people in your organizations to be engaged. But again, I go with there are so many different ways to apply these principles outside of work, especially if you want to engage in life more deeply, this is something, these are some elements and models that can be utilized. So I'll stop there with those two big buckets, but yeah. Sabine Kvenberg I can see that is probably a very, very broad topic. So the question is, who is hiring you? Is it just like bigger company that wanted to improve their culture, their culture, or is it smaller company or individuals? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Yeah, you're hitting it right on the nail, so to speak. it's, yes, all of those things are viable opportunities for IO psychologists. A lot of times we do work as organizational consultants. We could do that internally or externally. For me, I started out consulting here and there, but it never materialized into something that actually took up 40 hours a week. And so what I ended up doing for my trajectory, was working for nonprofits. I've always had this sort of affinity with the nonprofit mission and mission orientation, generally speaking, because it makes me feel much more fulfilled. This is also part of what we teach and what we learn about implementing well-being and flourishing models into the workplace. When you can align... Sabine Kvenberg Okay, so why would it make you more fulfilled when you work with a non-profit organization? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Well, it's not a guarantee. let me use that as a caveat. You could find yourself just as fulfilled in a for-profit organization. In my experience, and this is not a research assessment, I have found that being in an organization that is nonprofit, when removing that profit motive, has been very helpful for me. I have come across organizations that make decisions based on trying to increase their profit motive. And that to me does not resonate with my own values. And I find that although it is a necessity, I get it and I understand it. If I could avoid doing that sort of work, I tend to find a lot more creative expression, more value and more alignment with who I am. Sabine Kvenberg I totally get it. I totally get it because especially when we see some of the companies out there, for profit companies, it's nothing against making profit. We all do. We live from profits. That's our bread and butter. But I think the difference sometimes is what I see is when companies create profits, on the backs of people, not in a healthy way, of nature, our planet, and the animal kingdom. And I just talked about that with another guest, actually. I don't know how we got to that point, but I believe when, and there are the beautiful companies out there, for-profit companies who have that in mind, who have people first, people before profit. And truly, I believe if you have that in mind, you still can be so profitable, wealthy and create beautiful things. It's just how you, what take you take on the whole situation. So, and I think that probably also goes in alignment with what you teach and do. Because I believe when people are happier in their organization, when they feel acknowledged and valued and not being taken advantage of and get their fair share. Because at the end, if they would not be there working for the big on the top guy, nothing would be happening, right? So what's your take on that? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Mm. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Mmm. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD All right. Yeah. I love what you said. There's so much gold in those statements that you just said. And I agree with you. think when there's a profit motive, more than likely, what's happening is there is an incentive to really extract as much as possible from people, places, and things. And if you think about it, the underlying mechanism at place is really squeezing out the most value. But the difference that can take place here, and what I love about nonprofits, is instead of squeezing out all the most value that you possibly can for your bottom line, it can be about squeezing out the most value for your people, or for the people that you serve, or for the people that are internal to your organization. for the mission and the vision to make sure that everything that is done, every decision that's made, every initiative that is put into place is all about that same thing. How do we provide value from this? And by removing that the fact that you're trying to make more money and increase your bottom line, it's not that money considerations go away completely in a nonprofit world, but... if you're not making a profit year over year, it's not as serious as if you're in a for-profit entity. So that to me is just such a wonderful to be able to get away from the fact that this project, as an example, touches the hearts and souls of people in X generation, you know, just using an example, and it has changed their behaviors for the better by this percentage. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD (09:29.26) However, it wasn't a profitable program. That still might need to be scrutinized in the nonprofit world. However, what ends up happening is, okay, how do we look at gaining more grants, more individuals who can provide additional funds in some way? How do we partner with other entities to try to solve for some of the needs of this program? Because we see the benefit. of it moving our mission and vision forward. That to me is like the purpose of what business actually should be. Although I want to leave space for the entities that do otherwise. It's just as I get older, and it's not just about age, there's a whole swath of younger people who also identify this way. We want to feel value in the work that we do. We want to feel that it aligns with our purpose, even if it's not a complete alignment. It's just a partial alignment. That is fine, because we know it's hard, especially these days, to find that complete 100 % alignment, unless you build your own organization, which is always a viable thing for you to do as well. Sabine Kvenberg Mm-hmm. Sabine Kvenberg Absolutely. And that's why I work a lot with entrepreneurs who follow that calling, that passion, and that serving heart that they have to serve others. And I think there is a good, is always a good balance of the entrepreneurial spirits and individuals and those who work for a company. There's some people who are just more comfortable. They don't want their own company and that's okay too. But what they all want, what I've learned throughout my life, everybody wants to be valued. And those companies, for example, there are a few out there who have their employees participate in their shares or whatnot, so many different ways. So you feel, this is part of my company, I'm working for that. So I make a difference. And I truly believe. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Yes. Sabine Kvenberg that when more company would do that, actually they would be better off. Give a little bit more to your people and give them the feeling they contribute for a greater purpose for that matter and your company will flourish. But let's go to talk about your book. You wrote a book that said, I'm not dead yet. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Right. Sabine Kvenberg What inspired you to write that book? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Yeah, so thanks for bringing it up. I come from, to take you all the way back and not to spend too much time, but I think it's very important to bring you to my childhood. I was brought up in a Jehovah's Witness household, which taught me from a very young age that being gay was wrong, bad, and that God, in this case, his name being Jehovah, as taught to me, would eliminate me and anyone just like me from the earth. when the great tribulation of Armageddon would come. Some of this might sound a little silly to some people, but it might resonate with others who happen to be religious. My point is not to knock religion here. I'm not here to say religion is bad, but I am here to acknowledge that that can affect people in a very negative way. What ends up happening, and this is a psychological principle as well as a personal. sort of principle that has occurred, you start to internalize those ideals, those belief systems, because it's all you know. And it truly can more than likely affect the trajectory of your life when you internalize hate, negativity, especially when it's in regard to who you are and your very being. So that's exactly what happened with me. Although as all of that was occurring to me, I had no idea why it was happening. At the age of 18 when I was able to leave my house, fly the coop so to speak, and do my own thing, it was only about six months later that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in stage four, which for those who are not familiar with cancer, stage four is the final stage. Sabine Kvenberg you Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Almost immediately when I found out this information, I had attributed it to me being punished because that was what I was taught. You act out in a certain way. You're allowed to have these thoughts, but you're never allowed to act on them. And once you do, there will be a punishment for you. And that was my punishment. so, you know, fast forward to where I am today. The cancer came back a second time. And then when I was deemed a... about seven years later and all was said and done, you would think that that would be an indication for me to start flourishing and do all the things that would just constitute my well-being and increasing that as much as possible, but it wasn't. What ended up happening is I engaged in a deleterious cycle that was very, very harmful. And I started using drugs and alcohol and as you might imagine, just things became worse and worse in my decision making and the people that I surrounded myself with all kind of like solidified me getting closer and closer to death. And I started to get in trouble with the law. And once I started to realize why these things were happening, getting to the underlying sort of mechanisms and causal factors, And psychology was very helpful for me to understand those things. I had to square that away and I had to start undoing the harm that occurred. I also had to renegotiate the relationships that took place in my life. I had to square away my belief systems and who I was knowing that I had spent a good portion of my life trying to change myself, trying to avoid what was inevitable, which is me being a gay man, but also understanding that that's just one part of who I am and there so many other beautiful aspects of my personality. But in order for me to allow all of those aspects to shine completely, I had to fall in love with myself. I had to renegotiate, like I said, and re-understand what God is and was and what my relationship to that Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD being is, as well as my family and the people who had called me friends during the first 20, 30 years of my life. That is all what is encapsulated in that book, that memoir that I wrote, because one of the most horrific things that happened to me outside of being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma was actually going to prison. And that experience to me Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD On the one hand, I say to myself, well, it saved my life. It got me out from using drugs and alcohol. I had no choice but to sober up almost immediately. But that wasn't enough. That's not going to keep me away from drugs and alcohol and change me. What needed to happen was that internal sort of assessment and that longitudinal dedication. Sabine Kvenberg it, did that happen while you were in prison that you have all of a sudden the time to first of all, being away from, from drugs and alcohol and then having the time to really start thinking, what am I doing? Were you able to start studying? So what was that time? How long were you in prison? Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD I was sentenced for 16 months and I spent 14 months for good behavior. So yes, the answer is it definitely gave me the time and the space to contemplate, to think, to read, to study, to question. I wanna just make this a caveat here. It's like... I had to go through this journey, if you will, in order to become who I am today. But I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think it's the best way to go about becoming a better person. For me, right, right. So I don't advocate for prison for anyone. There are exceptions to everything. There are atrocities that take place that are so, sad that we even have to talk about it. Sabine Kvenberg No, everybody has their own path and that absolutely. You Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD That's a reality and I think that's a place where it makes sense to put someone in prison. But that's not the majority of people who are in prison, are not murderers, child molesters, but those are the things that we think about, the most horrific sort of atrocities that exist in the world. But there's a whole bunch of other types of people who engage in not so great behaviors like myself. And unfortunately, there isn't a route currently, or at least when I was going through this during 2010, 2011, that would help to rehabilitate persons like myself. It's more about the punishment than it is the rehabilitation. And that says a lot about our prison system and the way it operates. Now I know we can spend Sabine Kvenberg That's another, totally other topic. Yes, yes, yes. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD yeah, right. But, you know, I tried to make the best of it as I possibly could, which meant that not only did I need to make the determination, but I had to do the work. And the work took a lot longer than just 14 months. know, coming out of prison was very important for me to start to reintegrate myself into society and also understand what my sobriety was going to look like and how I was going to maintain that in the long haul. that all was touch and go, reading a lot. I decided to then get my doctorate after I came out. So, I mean, that was a huge sort of goal that I was able to accomplish, which I'm very proud of. But a lot of the things that I learned during that time I was applying in real time. So I finally became sober, completely sober in 2013, which was the same year that I enrolled in doctoral school. Sabine Kvenberg (20:53.526) But you know, that shows me also that, yeah, there are situations where people get into prison, right? But then there are also people, they go right back where they started. And then there are others like yourself who sees this is an opportunity for me to change my life. And don't let that Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Right. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Yes. Yes. Sabine Kvenberg past and that baggage hinder you to become your next greater self. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD Absolutely, yes. And again, you don't need prison to show you that. I did. But what are the universal themes that can be extracted from my experiences so that other people can kind of learn from that and then adapt it as they wish? I love that. And that's part of the reason why I wrote this book is not everybody that reading it is going to be like, I know what prison life is like. No. Sabine Kvenberg Right. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD but there will be elements of that story that you'll be able to say, okay, I see what he's getting at here. It's the learning lessons that took place. Two major, sorry. Sabine Kvenberg So would you say that you wrote the book mainly for yourself to let this out, to write it? what was the inspiration? Or was it, I have to... /episode/index/show/become/id/35237270

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