Episodes

  • Double Middle Fingers and a Homecoming

    Double Middle Fingers and a Homecoming
    May 12 2026
    Episode 47 — Adam Castillo: "Double Middle Fingers and a Homecoming"

    Hardcore and At Ease | Mission Ambition, LLC

    You gave everything to a country that claimed to want you back. So what do you do when it doesn't make room for you? You build something they can't take back. And then you come home.

    Adam Castillo came home from Afghanistan ready to work. Corporate America hung the banners. Hire a hero. And then wouldn't get him through the door for a warehouse supervisor interview. So he gave it double middle fingers, packed up, and moved to one of the most dangerous places on earth. What he built there, and who he became, is the kind of story that reframes everything you thought you knew about rejection, reinvention, and what it means to finally come home.

    In this episode, United States Marine and combat veteran Adam Castillo breaks down what happens when the system hands you something that was never actually meant for you, how anger becomes either your exit or your engine, and what a man carries back after twelve years of building in a war zone. This is leadership in crisis. This is the American spirit abroad. This is Hardcore and At Ease.

    In This Episode
    • Why corporate America's "hire a hero" movement felt like a betrayal to returning veterans in 2012-2013
    • How Adam channeled post-service rejection into building a security company in Myanmar that employed thousands
    • What it means to lead a business community through a military takeover with no playbook
    • The VA claim he didn't file for over a decade, and the all-night sign-up in Bangkok that changed everything
    • Why faith and a fellow veteran's words became the turning point
    • What he is carrying back to Riverside, California, and why it fits this time

    Featured Guest

    Adam Castillo is a United States Marine, combat veteran of Afghanistan, author, and founder of a security company in Myanmar that employed thousands at its peak. He served as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, leading the American business community through a military takeover and years of crisis. After more than twelve years abroad, he is returning home to California with a mission to invest in the community that raised him.

    Next Episode

    Episode 48 — Solo. Shelly gets into the process of tying up loose ends on the road to publishing a book: what the journey looks like from the inside, what she has learned, and what is coming next.

    Resources Mentioned
    • Finding Our Voice: A Story of Leadership in Crisis and the American Spirit Abroad by Adam Castillo — Available now: https://a.co/d/05WGMqAe
    • Mission Wildflower on Substack — Women veteran stories and additional content: https://shellyrood.substack.com

    Affiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/

    Get the Gear: 📊 My Business Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-report

    Listen & Connect

    🎙️ Apple | Spotify | YouTube | https://othersoverself.com 📲 Instagram: @TheShellyRood 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missionambition/ 📩 info@missionambition.org

    Character count: ~3,100 | Under 5,000 limit ✓ Draft 1 | Ep47 | Mission Ambition, LLC | Others Over Self®
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Built for a Different Body: How to Claim the Skills Nobody Documented

    Built for a Different Body: How to Claim the Skills Nobody Documented
    May 5 2026
    Episode 46: "Built for a Different Body: How to Claim the Skills Nobody Documented"Hardcore and At Ease | Powered by Others Over Self®You did the work. You figured it out. Everyone celebrated the result and nobody asked how you got there. If that sounds familiar, this episode is going to hit somewhere specific.In this solo episode, Shelly Rood breaks down what happens when you perform a standard inside a system that was never fully designed for your reality, and what it actually means to claim the full value of what that demanded from you. This is not a conversation about fairness. It is about intelligence, accuracy, and owning what you bring to the table.Using a vivid story from her Army days, Shelly unpacks the difference between a tactical executor and a strategist, why the people who do both rarely get credit for either, and how a three-step inventory process gives you the confidence to stop leaving your own value on the table. If you have ever been told to "just figure it out" and did, this episode is your high five.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Promise01:40 Ruck March Gear Story04:09 The Invisible Gap07:07 Executor vs. Strategist10:40 Name the Design Gap15:35 Three Moves to Claim Your ValueKey TopicsThe design gap: what it is, what it is not, and why naming it changes everythingWhy your competence has been keeping your own gap invisibleThe difference between a tactical executor and a strategist, and why most high performers are doing both without credit for eitherThe military phrase that runs entire organizations, and the real problem with itThree moves to take your inventory, separate terrain from identity, and pass your knowledge forwardWhy self-blame and resentment both come from the same unaddressed rootNext WeekEpisode 47 features Adam Castillo, United States Marine and combat veteran of Afghanistan, who came home and watched corporate America run hire-a-hero campaigns without giving him an interview. He left. He built a security company from the ground up in Myanmar that employed thousands, led the American Chamber of Commerce through a military coup, and is now coming home to Riverside, California. His book Finding Our Voice: A Story of Leadership in Crisis is available now through Lioncrest Publishing.Resources MentionedMission Wildflower on Substack — The article this episode is based on, plus additional women veteran stories: shellyrood.substack.comFinding Our Voice by Adam Castillo — Available now https://a.co/d/05WGMqAeLearn MoreHardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.comPersonal Mission Statement Workshop: info@missionambition.orgBook a Strategy Session: info@missionambition.orgAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear📊 My Business Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportListenApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/listen othersoverself.com/podcastConnectLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missionambition/ Instagram: @TheShellyRood https://www.instagram.com/othersoverself/ Twitter/X: @OthersOverSelf Email: info@missionambition.org Community: join.othersoverself.comRate and review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and helps more mission-driven leaders find the show.Work with ShellyOne-on-One Coaching | Personal Mission Statement Workshop | Team Training Book a discovery call: info@missionambition.orgAbout Your HostShelly Rood is a former U.S. Army Reserve Captain of Military Intelligence, Distinguished Military Graduate, and broadcast television executive. She is the founder of Mission Ambition, LLC, creator of the Others Over Self® mindset, and host of Hardcore and At Ease. New episodes every Tuesday.Subscribe: https://othersoverself.com/hardcore-and-at-ease/ Community: join.othersoverself.comHardcore and At Ease is powered by Others Over Self®.
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    22 mins
  • How to Prove Your Value So Others Carve Out a Place for You

    How to Prove Your Value So Others Carve Out a Place for You
    Apr 28 2026
    Episode 45 — Angie Lommen: "How to Prove Your Value So Others Carve Out a Place for You"You have been putting in the work. Doing more than was asked. Saying yes before you had all the answers. And somehow nobody seems to notice until they can't afford to lose you.In this conversation, a 26-year defense industry leader pulls back the curtain on what it looks like to build a career by proving value so consistently that other people start creating roles around you. This is not about self-promotion. It is about standard-setting so quiet and complete that Boeing pointed at her and told their own team: that's what good looks like.Angie Lommen spent her career at BAE Systems rising from contracts team leader to program director overseeing the Bradley Fighting Vehicle program. She never had the full picture ahead of her. She had a standard. And it turned out that was enough.CHAPTERS00:00 Clarity Through Motion03:46 From North Dakota to New Direction05:35 Biology Failure to Contracting Breakthrough13:48 BAE Systems Rise and Becoming the Standard29:36 Health Scare and Comeback30:40 Career Shakeup New Path35:37 Family Support and Finding Why39:20 Michigan Move Legacy and Giving BackIn this episode you'll discover:✓ Why saying yes before you know how is a career strategy, not a gamble✓ The difference between mentors and advocates, and which one actually moves you forward✓ How to find your why before the hard seasons hit, so it can hold you when they do✓ What it looks like to build a career on standards instead of a planFeatured Guest Angie Lommen, PMP — Retired Program Director, BAE Systems Connect: linkedin.com/in/angielommenLearn More: Hardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.com Personal Mission Statement Workshop: info@missionambition.org Book a Strategy Session: info@missionambition.orgAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear: 📊 My Business Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportListen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | https://othersoverself.com Connect: Instagram: @TheShellyRood | join.othersoverself.com | info@missionambition.org Work with Shelly: One-on-One Coaching | Personal Mission Statement Workshop | Team Training — info@missionambition.orgMentioned in this episode:"Violent Positivity," by Doug "Odie" Slocum  📍 www.violentpositivity.comNotion Design Group - Sites That Drive Sales notiondesigngroup. com
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • The Curse of Knowledge Is Costing You Customers

    The Curse of Knowledge Is Costing You Customers
    Apr 21 2026

    Episode 44: "The Curse of Knowledge Is Costing You Customers" of Hardcore and At Ease - powered by Others Over Self®

    You have poured yourself into your offer. You know every corner of it. So why are the right people not finding their way in? The answer might surprise you — and it has nothing to do with your content.

    In this solo episode, host Shelly Rood shares what happened when she brought in a customer experience expert to walk through her business as a complete stranger — no context, no tour, no insider knowledge. That expert is Ali Guy, founder of The Shared Co. and a marketing strategist who has spent her career helping businesses see the gap between what they think they are saying and what their audience actually hears. What Ali found in one hour reshaped how Shelly talks about her work, organizes her content, and is building toward the biggest opportunity of her career.

    The lesson she brought back is one every business builder needs before they launch anything.

    CHAPTERS

    00:00 The Blind Spot in Your Offer

    02:50 High Stakes Outside Eyes

    04:55 Curse of Knowledge Explained

    08:58 Secret Shopping Findings

    13:31 Coherence and Gotcha Moments

    16:38 Rewrite Labels as Promises

    21:34 Language as the Gate

    25:21 Run the Stranger Test

    In this episode you'll discover:

    ✓ Why the more you know about your own offer, the harder it is to see what a stranger sees

    ✓ The customer experience audit that revealed three critical gaps in one hour

    ✓ How to tell if your category labels are making a promise or just organizing your thinking

    ✓ The three-question test to run on every label before you launch

    Learn More: Hardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.com Book a Strategy Session: info@missionambition.org

    Affiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/

    Get the Gear: 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school

    Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | https://othersoverself.com Connect: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missionambition/ | Instagram: @TheShellyRood | info@missionambition.org Join the community: join.othersoverself.com
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    33 mins
  • Stop Waiting to Build What Only You Can See

    Stop Waiting to Build What Only You Can See
    Apr 14 2026
    Episode 43 - Melissa Washington: "Stop Waiting to Build What Only You Can See"You can see exactly what's missing. You know you're the one to fill it. But you're waiting for the plan, the money, the perfect moment. What if the gap itself is the signal to move?Melissa Washington didn't wait. With no business plan and no financial safety net, she built Women Veterans Alliance from a single Sacramento meetup into a global organization reaching thousands — with a giving foundation, a national broadcast event, and a Thrive Causemetics shade named after her. This conversation is for anyone building something that matters without a roadmap telling them how.Melissa brings the kind of candor that mission-driven leaders rarely hear: talking openly about refinancing her house to keep the mission alive, giving a business award the same year she was personally struggling financially, and why saying "money is not a dirty word" is an act of leadership.(00:00) No Plan Just Purpose (02:50) Building Women Veterans Alliance (07:31) Funding Giving And Thrive (18:18) Navy Service And Transition (28:02) Marriage Moves Infertility (29:33) Layoff Sparks Reinvention (36:04) Women Veterans Engage Network (51:13) Wilderness Framework ClosingIn This Episode You'll Discover:✓ Why building without a plan isn't recklessness — it's what happens when your Tactical Center is clear✓ How one woman turned a 2009 layoff into a global organization serving millions✓ Why talking openly about money is a leadership skill, not an overshare✓ What the Wilderness terrain looks like for leaders who built something from nothingFeatured Guest: Melissa Washington — Navy veteran, CEO, founder of Women Veterans Alliance and Women Veterans Giving, author, publisher of Women Veterans Magazine, 2025 Military Friendly National Navy Veteran of the Year. Connect: womenveteransalliance.comWomen Veterans Giving Small Business Award — Applications open May 1, 2026. Up to $5,000 cash plus coaching. Founders who served only. womenveteransgiving.orgWomen Veterans Engage Conference — May 30, 2026: womenveteransengage.comLearn More: othersoverself.com | info@missionambition.orgAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear: 📊 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportListen: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/listen Connect: @TheShellyRood | @OthersOverSelf | info@missionambition.orgMentioned in this episode:Notion Design Group - Sites That Drive Sales notiondesigngroup. com
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    55 mins
  • How to Receive the Support You've Been Building for Everyone Else

    How to Receive the Support You've Been Building for Everyone Else
    Apr 7 2026
    Episode 42: "How to Receive the Support You've Been Building for Everyone Else"You can see exactly what everyone around you needs. Recognizing it in yourself is a different skill entirely — and many high-performing leaders never develop it.Sarah Merwin is Executive Director of Holbrook Farms, a nonprofit retreat community serving military widows, women who have lost a sibling in service, and mothers who have lost a child in uniform. She walked into the first retreat she planned with the itinerary ready and her perspective clear: this is for them. By the time dinner ended on night one, she knew she was one of them. The need she had named and structured for every woman in that room had been living quietly in her the whole time.This episode is part of the Wilderness Series. The caretaking wilderness accumulates before we can name it — the things we stopped asking for without noticing, the slow drift from measuring what we receive to measuring only what we produce. What Sarah built at Holbrook Farms over twelve years proves that peer support fills a need that nothing else reaches. Getting it without having to explain is its own category of care.IN THIS EPISODE:✓ Why the leader who reads the room for everyone rarely gets read in return✓ What peer support does that clinical care was never designed to do✓ How Holbrook Farms structures space so healing happens without being forced✓ The plate tug-of-war — and what it reveals about receiving careCHAPTERS:00:00 Caretaking Wilderness Intro04:46 Holbrook Farms Mission and Place07:22 Water Based Healing and Retreat Origins13:57 Retreat Structure Volunteers and Ongoing Support23:33 Alumni Retreat Connections25:07 Letting Go to Heal29:18 Who the Retreat Serves41:33 Caretaking Wilderness ReflectionFEATURED GUEST: Sarah Merwin — Air Force veteran, Executive Director of Holbrook Farms, a nonprofit retreat community for military widows, siblings, and mothers. Know someone who qualifies? Pass this directly to her. holbrookfarms.org | @HolbrookFarmsRetreatLEARN MORE: Hardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.com Strategy Session: info@missionambition.orgAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear: 📊 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportListen: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/listen | https://othersoverself.com Connect: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missionambition/ | @TheShellyRood | info@missionambition.org Work with Shelly: One-on-One Coaching | Personal Mission Statement Workshop | Team Training — info@missionambition.org
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    45 mins
  • The Caretaking Wilderness: How to Keep Your Edge Without Losing Yourself

    The Caretaking Wilderness: How to Keep Your Edge Without Losing Yourself
    Mar 31 2026
    Episode 41: "The Caretaking Wilderness: How to Keep Your Edge Without Losing Yourself"Ever feel like you might be running on empty and nobody would even notice. Are you managing the household, the care, the business, the children — and the system designed to support the people you love doesn't even see you? That is the blind spot. That is where this wilderness lives.In this episode, Shelly Rood goes into the second wilderness type — the caretaking wilderness. It does not look like crisis from the outside. It looks like competence. It might look like you. Drawing on personal experience across multiple caretaking relationships, Shelly introduces five root pulls: the invisible forces gripping your root system and pulling against your forward momentum. Each one is specific, identifiable, and nameable. This is not theory. This is terrain mapping for leaders already in it.The Others Over Self® framework runs underneath all of it — because sustainable service requires leading from a full center outward, and the caretaking wilderness is precisely where that sequence collapses.CHAPTERS: (00:00) Silence to Invisibility (01:25) Entering the Caretaking Wilderness (07:34) Welcome to the Wilderness: Others Over Self® Mindset Shift (17:46) Root Pulls and Boundaries: The Five Root Pulls Explained (29:40) Silence Makes You Disappear: Root Pull Three (33:42) Thankless Math and Resentment: Root Pull Four (38:56) Caretaking for the Leader: Root Pull Five (43:41) Survival Mode to Staying Rooted (49:02) What Now? Three Moves This WeekIN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER:✓ The five root pulls that make caretaking wilderness terrain — and how to name which one has your foot today✓ Why caretaker resentment is not a character flaw and what actually causes it✓ The difference between caretaking and enabling, and how trauma bonding makes the line invisible✓ Why survival mode is a trap inside the trap — and what navigation looks like from the insideLEARN MORE: Hardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.com Wildflower Assessment for Women Veterans: https://othersoverself.shop Mission Wildflower Substack: shellyrood.substack.com Book a Strategy Session: info@missionambition.orgAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear: 📊 My Business Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportListen: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/listen | https://othersoverself.comConnect: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missionambition/ | Instagram: @TheShellyRood | info@missionambition.orgWork with Shelly: One-on-One Coaching | Workshops | Team Training Book discovery call: info@missionambition.org
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    55 mins
  • Selfridge Air Show Canceled: Whose Car Are You Looking For?

    Selfridge Air Show Canceled: Whose Car Are You Looking For?
    Mar 24 2026
    Hardcore and At EaseEpisode 40 - John Stolz: "Selfridge Air Show Canceled: Whose Car Are You Looking For?"When the world is at war and the mission calls everyone away, what's left standing is everything you actually built. This week's cancellation of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base air show isn't just a local story. It's a live case study in what community identity costs and what it's worth.John Stolz has spent years at the intersection of precision manufacturing and military community service, machining components for defense vehicles and aerospace engines while leading the Selfridge Base Community Council as president. He has never worn a military uniform. And he has one of the sharpest trust frameworks we've heard: if you pull into the parking lot and scan for someone's car to confirm they showed up, you already have your answer.In a moment where showing up feels optional, this episode is a direct challenge to lead differently.CHAPTERS(00:00) Michigan Manufacturing Pride (00:48) The Parking Lot Trust Test (03:27) Selfridge Air Show Canceled (05:29) Leadership Trust and Mission Work (19:29) Why Michigan Feels Like Home (20:25) Global Supply Chain Lessons (25:35) Travel Stories and Trust (28:19) Air Show Planning and CommunityIN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER✓ The one question that instantly reveals who you trust and who you're managing around✓ Why the Selfridge air show cancellation points to a larger global reality every leader needs to face✓ What 40 years of manufacturing across four countries taught John about letting go of control✓ How community identity survives when the event doesn'tFEATURED GUESTJohn Stolz - President, Selfridge Air National Guard Base Community Council | Part-Owner, Rocktech Systems, LLC and Industrial Technology Services, LLC precision manufacturer supplying defense, aerospace, and automotive sectors. Military community advocate bridging civilian and defense missions in Southeast Michigan.NEXT WEEKEpisode 41 - Solo: "The Caretaking Wilderness" — The second deep-dive in the Wilderness series. If you chose love and discovered the full weight of what that choice required was never on the brochure, this one is for you.RESOURCES & LINKSLearn More:Hardcore and At Ease Framework: https://www.OthersOverSelf.comBook a Strategy Session: info@missionambition.orgJoin the Community: https://join.othersoverself.comAffiliate Disclaimer: I only recommend products I genuinely use. Full disclosure: https://othersoverself.com/affiliate-disclaimer/Get the Gear: 📊 My Business Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/biz-report 🎯 StoryBrand.ai: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/storybrand-ai 📚 Business Made Simple: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/bms 🚀 Flight School: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/flight-school 📈 My Marketing Report: https://hardcore-and-at-ease.captivate.fm/marketing-reportABOUT THE HOSTShelly Rood is a former U.S. Army Reserve Captain, broadcast television executive, Certified Business Coach, and Certified StoryBrand Guide. She is the founder of Mission Ambition, LLC and creator of the Others Over Self® mindset. Hardcore and At Ease is a top 1% globally ranked leadership podcast publishing every Tuesday.Connect: https://www.OthersOverSelf.com | info@missionambition.org
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    38 mins