Discover Your Talent~Do What You Love®

What do highly successful people actually do to succeed? For 45 years as entrepreneur, inventor, and author, Don Hutcheson has studied the proven career-building strategies that people around the world have used for decades to create lives of success, satisfaction and freedom. Every Tuesday he interviews individuals from around the world who share their real-world experiences and insights—what worked, what didn’t and why—and any advice they might offer to help you jump-start your life and career to the next level.

1194. Make a Difference Every Day 12/12/2025

1193. Using Technology to Connect Entrepreneurs with Customers 11/11/2025

1192. Switching Careers With an Entrepreneurial Spirit 10/21/2025

1192. Switching Careers With an Entrepreneurial Spirit Liz Chism has been an entrepreneur for over 11 years. She started out her entrepreneurial journey by starting a craft brewery with her husband and being the COO and Head Brewer. After that journey ended, she started Systems into Freedom where she is a business operations coach who strategizes with business about how to organize and streamline their operations so they can create freedom through their business. Liz seamlessly fits coaching around helping her husband in his real estate business, running the house, raising their three children, and homeschooling. “It wasn't until my husband and I decided to start a craft beer brewery that I found my passion for organizing, streamlining and strategizing–how to go from point A to Point B in the fastest way possible. “My husband and I fell in love with brewing, the science and the art mixture. And we fell in love with the community aspect that it brought, the ability to bring people together. What's interesting is that most people didn't think that I would be the brewer. They always put the male as the brewer and the female as the admin/marketing person. It turned out I had more talent for organizing and operations, repeating success and creating the recipes. In the end I was the brewer and did all the operations. My husband’s talents were more of that CEO mentality, that visionary, and he handled the business side. We ran it for almost five years but ended up closing down in 2018 and filing bankruptcy in 2019. And that's actually when we pivoted. There's a lot of things about the brewery that we liked, but some aspects weren't a match for where we wanted to be and what we wanted to do with life. It was actually a moment where we could redesign our life however we wanted to. Based on what my husband and I learned while building the brewery, I started a coaching business called Systems into Freedom. It is designed to really help business owners put the systems in place so they will not get burned out. Those systems need to be incorporated into the culture of the business and leverage their employees to become leaders. /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/38728440

1191. The Power of Trusting Her Journey 10/07/2025

1190. 45 Years in Medicine and Still Makes Time for Other Passions 09/16/2025

1189. A Refreshing Perspective on Productivity Catapults Her into a New Career 08/27/2025

1188. Talent Manager: A Day in the Life 08/12/2025

1188. Talent Manager: A Day in the Life Courtney Bagby Lupinin, CEO and Founder of Little Red Management, is the go-to talent manager for reality TV stars from shows on ABC, CBS, MTV and Netflix including The Bachelor Franchise, Big Brother, Love is Blind, and the Circle. She began her career in the corporate sector at Oracle in San Francisco, managing internal communications and events. A yearning for the celebrity side of influencer marketing led her to Los Angeles where she volunteered her time and built relationships within the reality TV world before taking the leap to launch Little Red Management in 2019 at the age of 25. Courtney has also activated partnerships for huge brands including Disney, FOX, Hallmark, Nike, Adidas, Amazon, and more. “I don't remember who told me this, and I wish I did because I feel like it was the best advice I've ever learned. It was to figure out how you can help those people who you want to work with and bring something to the table for them, but don't expect something back. “At this time I wanted to do side things that would help me meet people and build my resume. One thing I did was volunteer for a nonprofit event called Reality Rally, which is held every year and all the reality TV stars come to that event to support their cause. I tweeted some of the stars from Survivor, Big Brother and other reality TV shows and volunteered to manage their social media in the off-season. And people accepted. That was super helpful because then when the event came along, I could meet them in person and they knew who I was. “Another thing I did was to go after a contestant on The Bachelor who I really wanted as a client. I would tweet at her every time I was in L.A. and ask her to get brunch with me. She would always respond, telling me that she couldn't do it–but she would still respond. One time I left her a message to meet me at The Grove that day, which is a fancy mall in L.A. She didn't respond to that, but I ended up running into her there that afternoon. She totally knew who I was from the emails and tweets I had sent her. We sat down together and I asked her all sorts of questions. “I had tried to reach out to some talent agencies and even social media agencies at the time, but no one would respond to me. So, it turned out for me that my best way of learning was from the talent themselves! “Nowadays I own my own talent management business, and I always respond to anyone who wants career advice and tips on how to get into the business because I know what it is like to be so hungry for industry information.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/37784795

1187. Succeeding in the Music Business She Loves–But Not as a Musician 07/30/2025

1187. Succeeding in the Music Business She Loves–But Not as a Musician Cassie Petrey is the woman behind some of the most iconic artists’ social media marketing including Backstreet Boys, Camila Cabello and Britney Spears. She is the co-founder of Crowd Surf, a leading marketing and music management firm. She’s a fan girl whose admiration for the Backstreet Boys led her at age 12 to create a newsletter that reached fans worldwide — then years later she helped seal the band’s decades-long superstardom by re-introducing them to next-generation fans. Cassie is a social media and artist management Hollywood powerhouse. She and her co-founder of Crowd Surf, Jade Driver, have been named to power lists in Variety, Billboard, and Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” feature. In 2022, the company launched its non-profit Career Development Program — a first-of-its-kind, no-cost educational series for people aspiring to work in the music business. “I worked fulltime the whole time I was at Middle Tennessee State University studying Music Business. I had been fortunate enough to get a job as a college rep at Warner Music Group my freshman year. I was doing that when, a couple months into college, I discovered a website called MySpace. I went to my boss and said, ‘Hey, why don't big bands use MySpace? You only see small, local and college bands using it. I think major label artists should use it, too.’ And she said, ‘I don't really know what that means, but pick an artist. I'll connect you with their manager, and we'll figure out how you can manage their MySpace page.’ “I was scared to ask her if I could do that or not, but I'm really glad I did because if I didn't, I wouldn't have been one of the first to market in this lane that has become so huge. I thought social media was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to get to where it is now! “Looking back on it, it didn't seem such a big deal to me at the time, but a record label vice president, letting an 18-year-old come in and do all this work for their clients on MySpace and more? That's taking a certain level of risk, and I appreciate her taking that risk on me.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/37605295

1186 Orthodontist: A Day in the Life 07/22/2025

1185. Always Self-Driven and Never Stopped by Societal Norms 07/15/2025

1185. Always Self-Driven and Never Stopped by Societal Norms Paval Stuchlik, also known as Noa Aon, also known as Pavel Aeon, is a professional cyclist turned serial seven-figure entrepreneur and investor. Pavel made his first million before the age of 21 and has successfully launched, scaled, franchised and exited many brands, including significantly growing Orangetheory Fitness in seven areas of the U.S. Through all of this, his mission always has been to bring people back to their center, in union with others. He has been able to do this most recently through his NOA AON movement. His methods blend ancient wisdom, modern science, and quantum principles to achieve deep personal transformation. In March 2025 Pavel expanded this with the founding of “Upper AEON.” Pavel is now an internationally conscious DJ and EDM producer who is healing people worldwide by delivering transformational experiences at immersive workshops and retreats, providing digital learning and community, and using science-backed transformation tools. He has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, ELLE & TATLER. “At 14 I had a bet with my friend to both make it into the top ten in a local cycling race that was on TV once a year. I ended up coming in fourth and I think he was 11th. I love that freedom of cycling, the freedom of your mind. And I love the connection to nature. I knew I wanted to become a professional cyclist. “When I was 17 my dad gave me a choice: ‘You either go to school and your life is paid for, or you don't go to school and you are going to do your little cycling thing which you are going to have to figure out yourself.’ “I did make it to pro cycling. I was racing around the world and stationed anywhere from Holland to Asia to South America. It was amazing. I loved it. But at the same time, I knew I needed to support myself. I had started my first company to supply a product cyclists needed. So whenever we would go into different countries to race, I would walk into local bike stores and I’d say, ‘Hey, you guys should have your own custom bike frames.’ And I did well with that business. “But when I was 20, I completely broke down in a Czech national race. And when I say ‘broke down,’ I mean my body completely shut off and I woke up in the hospital. I literally developed chronic fatigue. I did still race for a time, but instead of me resting and recovering, I was on calls with the factories and with customers. “This is how I found health. I literally had to quit cycling unfortunately, and lose my identity of what I thought was important at that time. I wanted to do the Tour de France and I wanted do all of the biggest races, but my health did not allow me to. Before I quit, I fell into a deep depression. It was really a tough life because I wasn’t able to deliver on what I was hoping to do. I had to shave off my identity because I was not going to be a pro cyclist anymore. “I was, however, always self-driven. I knew I was really not inspired by the traditional societal norm. I wasn't inspired by being in a box and being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. So through education and through all of these courses and books and workshops I started attending, and trying various jobs, I ended up molding what my life should be about.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/37453790

1184. A Military Career Based on People, Purpose and Passion 07/09/2025

1184. A Military Career Based on People, Purpose and Passion Major General (ret) Dustin "Dusty" Shultz is a highly accomplished senior military leader, renowned for her expertise in Army Cyber, Intelligence, and Space operations both in the U.S. and Latin America. Throughout her distinguished career, she has often been hand-picked for key leadership roles supporting the Department of Defense. In these roles, Dusty has developed strategic solutions to complex challenges, drawing on her extensive experience in international collaboration to achieve equitable outcomes. After years of dedicated government service, Dusty retired (2025) from her final role as Director of Intelligence at U.S. Southern Command. Now in her own busines, she is using her expertise, abilities, and interests to collaborate strategically with organizations to address intricate challenges and shape a secure and sustainable future, with special interest in security challenges across the Americas. She holds multiple degrees in strategy and is committed to lifelong learning. Outside of her professional endeavors, she enjoys spending time with her husband, David, their two children, and five grandchildren. Her hobbies include cooking and equestrian activities. “On one assignment an Admiral said to me, ‘You've got the skills. You are going to do this. I'm going to advocate for you, and I'm going to also hold you accountable for doing it.’ Having leaders like him has been fundamental. I do not want to receive anything because I'm entitled or special. I want to receive it because I have worked hard to get where I am and because my skills are better than my peers’. “I laugh when I think of my first day with my first unit. It was a field artillery drill sergeant unit, and when I walked in, they literally looked at me and, although they were polite, they directly said something like, ‘Where's Dustin?’ “I am Dustin.’ “ ‘No. Where's the male, Dustin?’ ‘Oh my gosh. I am the female Dustin. Here are the orders.’ And, they didn't even have female restrooms. Later in my career, my XO’s name was Hollis. My name was Dustin. So people always deferred to the fact that we were men. And then they would be shocked when we'd show up. We responded that we're fit, we're prepared, we're capable. We're going to do our job and we're going to do it well. And then we’d do just that. “So I went all the way from these experiences to taking a battalion to Iraq, where over one-third of the organization was females including almost all of my seniors, minus my command Sergeant Major." /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/37344760

1183. Never Quit: Homeless Teen to Johns Hopkins 06/24/2025

1183. Never Quit: Homeless Teen to Johns Hopkins Dr. Christopher Smith is a Board-Certified practicing physician who completed his residency and fellowship at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Smith currently lives in Pennsylvania and is a partner with Quantum Imaging and Therapeutic Associates. He dedicates time and resources to raising awareness of homeless children and finding solutions to help them overcome their situation. “Around the age of four, there was a big turning point in my life. My father lost his job at the steel mill. After that my parents struggled financially for the rest of my teenage years. We really had difficulty maintaining housing and lived for months at a time without basic utilities like heat or electricity. “By the time I was 16, my family and I had moved at least a couple dozen times. That year my family got evicted one more time and we had nowhere to go. It was my senior year of high school. My parents and 6 of my siblings stayed in a small motel room. I slept in the truck the entire year, and this was in Utah. It was so cold in winter that sometimes my hair would actually freeze at night. “But I had decided that there was no shortcut in life. I had to work through it and through all these difficult circumstances. I was willing to take risks. I made mistakes. I failed. But that was okay. I kept trying. That's part of the experience, the process and the idea of not quitting when you fail. "A lot of years of my life were very difficult, but I always tried to maintain a positive outlook on my life. I still always try to see potential, the good in the world now. “The statistical odds of me going from sleeping in a truck as a teenager to completing my medical degree at Johns Hopkins Hospital are so astronomically high that I personally think there was some intervention in my life, somebody looking out for me with the purpose of helping me view my past in a different light and of being able to share that with other people, inspiring them to learn from my past. That was my ultimate reason for writing the book Homeless to Hopkins and a children's version because children in poverty are often the most invisible homeless people of all.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/37200435

1182. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Presentation Skills Trainer? 06/06/2025

1181. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Pharmacist? 05/30/2025

1180. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Live Event Technical Producer? 05/23/2025

1179. Using His Talents to Impact the Lives of Others 05/13/2025

1179. Using His Talents to Impact the Lives of Others Sal Hanna is a houseparent at Milton Hershey School, a cost-free residential school for children from low-income backgrounds. At the school, students are given everything they need to remove barriers to education, including meals, clothing and health services. Students live in small groups of 10-12 in on-campus houses, and each house is overseen by a houseparent couple. After working as a camp director, Sal began his career at Milton Hershey School as a houseparent before working to recruit new houseparents. He and his wife, Melissa, loved and missed houseparenting so much that they returned to the role in the summer of 2022. “When I was working at a large kids’ camp in Michigan, I learned about Milton Hershey School and the houseparent role and was instantly sold on the idea. I looked at the requirements on their website and my wife and I made the decision to postpone applying for family reasons, but I knew it was a job of a lifetime. Instead I took a position at the Michigan camp to oversee a team of people who were in charge of guest relations. It was a promotion, but my interactions and relationships with students was lessened. I did that for about five years and was then offered another promotion which would include moving into a beautiful lake house with my wife and two daughters. But that promotion would take me even further away from working directly with children, which is where my talents and my passion really lie. I told my wife I wanted to say no to the promotion to pursue the houseparent position at Milton Hershey School. We ended up going through the hiring process and were selected to be houseparents. In 2013, we moved everything to Hershey, Pennsylvania and began our life at the school. There are roughly 2,100 students now across three schools–an elementary school, a middle school and a high school all spread out over 10,000 acres. In total, we have 180 student homes and 180 houseparent couples that live in residence on our campus. My wife and I can see doing this until we retire because when you use your talents in a way that impacts the lives of others, it is really a beautiful thing.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/36560490

1178. Sometimes You Just Have to Throw Your Hat Over the Fence 04/30/2025

1177. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Human Resources Consultant? 04/25/2025

1177. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Human Resources Consultant? Sally Loftis is the Managing Director at Loftis Partners, a 100% woman-owned human resources consulting firm located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Sally works at the intersection of human resources, organization development, and social justice. Loftis Partners specializes in strategy, people, facilitation, and pay justice. Since launching in August 2020, Sally and her firm have worked with 54 clients across 3 continents. She completed her master's thesis on pay equity in nonprofits. She was published in the Journal for Applied Behavioral Sciences (“Building Trust Through Action Learning in An Uncertain Transorganizational Context”). "I had I kept joking with people that it was a little bit like trying to figure out what you want to do when you grow up–but in your forties. I had worked in human resources for 20 years at that point. “Human resources is a really broad practice area. So part of it was trying to figure out what parts of human resources I wanted to work in. Two things were really helpful in narrowing it down. One is that I had just finished my graduate degree in Organization Development. I was really interested in that field because it is systems change in corporations, nonprofits or government. I had always worked on the strategic end of HR about how the people related to the strategy, so I knew that was a passion. And then I had done my thesis on pay equity, so I knew I had that, too. “Then the second thing was some great advice I got early on from a friend who said, ‘You should do some volunteer gigs if you can't get paying work immediately. That can help you kind of figure out what you do and don't want to do, and then also can give you some immediate feedback.’ Since this was early 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, I was able to do some virtual volunteering. That really helped me in my decision making.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/36351545

1176. Voracious Learner Shares His Knowledge 03/12/2025

1175: A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Commodity and Equity Trader? 03/01/2025

1174. Power of Storytelling in Expressing Your True Self 02/18/2025

1174. Power of Storytelling in Expressing Your True Self An experienced, accredited college admissions consultant and essay coach, Kate Stone received her B.S. in Communications and a minor in Creative Writing at New York University. She continued as a Princeton University teaching fellow in Asia shortly before starting University Gurus. She transformed her passion for creative writing and storytelling into actionable strategies for the college admissions process, essays, and the application as a whole. Through her program she coaches students to develop and strategize their most powerful narratives based on their individual ideas and achievements. “What we learned from the Harvard admissions scandal a few years back–I looked through all the transcripts out of curiosity–was top schools really value a personal development journey. Elite colleges cannot rely on grades and test scores only. They really want to understand a student's character, drive, engagement, impact and their dreams. As you know, with artificial intelligence, Chat GBT allows a student to plug in some prompts and it delivers a college essay that's pretty good, maybe even better than what they could write themselves. The schools and the admissions people are talking about making their essays much more creative and much more personal. That’s where storytelling is going to be even more important. Students have to identify their own focusing lens or thread to hang their content hat on, getting really creative to the degree that AI can't generate an application essay. That’s where personal storytelling is going to be even more important. Students will need to ask themselves if they are skilled enough as a writer to best express their values, what’s important to them, obstacles that get in their way around those values, are they allowing their true self to emerge, etc. If not, they will need to find support on how to express and differentiate themselves. I don’t do the work for my students. I usually spend two to four months helping them dig into themselves and craft their own college entry essays.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/35360835

1173. Autism Advocate Learns by Doing the Research 02/11/2025

1172. Special Forces Veteran Makes Safety and Security a Priority for Others 02/04/2025

1171. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Chief Operating Officer? 02/01/2025

1171. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Chief Operating Officer? Steve Orrin offers three decades of extraordinary success in a series of high-level roles at top-tier companies that include Intel Corporation, Sarvega, Watchfire Inc., Sanctum Inc., First Genetic Trust Inc., Lockstar Inc., and SynData Technologies Inc. He has recently had the honor of being nominated as a Fellow at the Tortora Brayda Institute for AI & Cybersecurity. The Tortora Brayda Institute for AI & Cybersecurity is an International Think Tank dedicated to tackling big challenges within cybersecurity and AI. It engages private and public sector thought leaders worldwide to reshape and develop collaboration and partnering practices to improve business and economies. He has developed a reputation as an industry leader, leveraging a history of delivering results in Innovation, Intrapreneurship, and Entrepreneurship. He is a Tech-enabled business professional who has launched and scaled companies and brought innovative industry-leading products to market. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Senior PE for Intel Corporation, Steve orchestrates and executes customer engagements in the federal space, overseeing the development of federal solution architectures to address challenges in government enterprise, national security, and other federal areas of focus. “My high school mathematics teacher, Mr. Miller, had a unique way of making mathematics look interesting and exciting. I thrived in math under him, took advanced placement calculus and other courses, which helped me in my later life and career much more than it did in college. My appetite for mathematics and the idea that you didn’t have to rigidly stick to the textbooks, that math was much more than memorizing multiplication tables or cosigns, but that you could research and investigate the many other facets and the broader applications of math--what it was really about and how it permeates all dimensions of our world--was a powerful and positive influence on my life and career from that point forward.” /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/35107105

1170. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Craniosacral Therapist? 12/20/2024

1170. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Craniosacral Therapist? “My daughter was required to be vaccinated at the end of her fifth grade school year at the age of 11 before she could move on to middle school. For the following couple of years, she deteriorated medically, physically, and emotionally at a very frightening level. And in the end, the diagnosis included autism, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and obsessive compulsive disorder. She had systemic rashes, and severe environmental and food allergies. The sensory processing disorder would make her shut down for up to five days, unable to walk or talk. The list could go on and on, but in the journey to get her to recovery I learned through an occupational therapist about craniosacral therapy and I had never heard of it before. It’s a light touch therapy that improves brain and nervous system functioning. And through that therapy and sensory integration therapy and biomedical supports, my daughter–against all odds–got to a degree of functioning recovery that was literally unheard of.” Tami Goldstein is Diplomate certified in Upledger Craniosacral Therapy (U-CST), Board Certified and an approved continuing education provider through The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. She is a Wisconsin licensed massage therapist. In 2004 she opened A Therapeutic Touch by Tami, LLC. She offers services as a therapist, advocate, international speaker and educator of bodywork specializing in individuals on the autism spectrum and other neurodevelopment disorders. She’s the international award-winning author of “Coming Through the Fog,” an autism recovery journey, a contributing author in a Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism, and other books & publications. Ms. Goldstein is a 2018 World Massage Festival Hall of Fame inductee, 2019 Teacher of the Year recipient at World Massage Festival, the founder of Wisconsin for Vaccine Choice and the parent of an individual with functioning recovery from autism. /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/34543900

1169. Making It in Hollywood Takes Grit, Determination and Talent 12/18/2024

1168. How She Makes the Impossible Probable 12/05/2024

1167. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Branding and Marketing Agency Expert? 11/29/2024

1167. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Branding and Marketing Agency Expert? “I applied to and started the TV program at Haslett High School near Lansing, Michigan and taught TV production there for 13 years. Then at age 38, I began telling my wife that I was not having as much fun at my job any more. This had been my only job. I wanted to do something bigger. I wanted to do something different but still creative. She encouraged me to go for it. “I resigned from the school on a Friday and got an office at an incubator on Monday. In the beginning I had no idea what I was doing. But I did know that we needed to work on our brand and get our brand messaging out there, networking as much as we possibly could. We talked a lot about how important that creative piece is to our brand. Knowing that was a big help for us to figure out who we were early on. “I still say this to my staff all the time: ‘I think we're all creative here at Michigan Creative even if, for example, you wouldn't want me doing your graphic design. But I love to write, I love to shoot videos. A lot of people don't have that creative piece of their brain and we shouldn’t take our creative abilities for granted.’ “Now we're also helping other companies establish who they are and how they go out into the world. As I think you know, in today's world it's more important than ever to establish a brand and brand message.” Brian Town is an author, speaker, educator, and the founder of Michigan Creative, an award-winning branding and marketing agency specializing in web development, video, branding, and social media marketing, designed to help businesses systematize their lead generation and scale their profits. As a fractional CEO, Brian works with dozens of clients who want to scale without building out an entire marketing department so that they can stay focused on their areas of expertise and serve their clients and customers. In his forthcoming book, "The Lonely CEO," Brian shares his insights and best strategies for avoiding resistance, solidifying your belief in yourself as the right person to run your company, and systematizing your marketing and hiring processes to grow and scale a sustainable business. /episode/index/show/dytdwyl/id/34204945

1166. If You Want to Be the Smartest Person in the Room, Be the Most Prepared 11/26/2024

1165. Helping Grads to Grown-ups Get on Their Path to Success 11/21/2024

Discover Your Talent~Do What You Love®

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