The Verdict

What do BBQ and social media have in common?

The answer is Shawn Walchef. In this episode Tom and Shawn discuss why one post a day is guaranteed to change your business in 100 days. Shawn is the “BBQ media guy,” who advocates for digital marketing on your terms while running Cali BBQ Media. During their discussion, Tom and Shawn bring up keys to success and the power of getting uncomfortable.

Show people what you do because no one else will.

 Key takeaways:

–       Using the internet & digital marketing to build your business

–       The power of “smart phone storytelling”

–       What is a BBQ Media guy?

–       Show what you do – no one else will

–       Knowing the difference between documenting & creating

–       Content, Commerce, Communication

–       Stay curious, get involved, & ask for help

Quotes:

• “Everyone wants social media to be someone else’s job. It’s not. It’s your job. It’s literally your job to talk about who you are & what you do.” – Shawn Walchef
• “That’s what consumers are expecting on all fronts is the Amazon purchase. It’s easy. Just a couple buttons. Press, swipe, whatever, put through.” Tom Feher
• “Get uncomfortable today.” – Shawn Walchef

Connect with Shawn:

Cali BBQ Website – https://calibbq.media

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/shawnpwalchef/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/calicomfortbbq/

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/CaliComfortBBQSpringValley

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@calibbq

Twitter – https://twitter.com/calicomfort

Digital Hospitality Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-hospitality-a-cali-bbq-media-podcast/id1235316273?ls=1&mt=2

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

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How would your life change if you found your true purpose?

In this episode Tom and Genevieve Piturro discuss the importance of finding your purpose and following your passion. Gen left her job as a successful TV marketing executive, picked up a pair of pajamas, and built a nationally known 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and named it Pajama Program. Two decades later, she educates audiences on how to change their own course. During their discussion, Tom and Gen bring up why asking for help is okay and the significance of human connection.

Following your purpose and passion is a fast track to happiness.

 Key takeaways:

• An “aha” moment can change the course of your life in an instant
• How the Pajama Program came to be
• The importance of human connection
• Why you should tell everyone your dream
• It is okay to ask for help

Quotes:

• “If this is the next thirty years of your life, is this enough?” – Genevieve Piturro
• “We all have the capacity to be connectors & bring people together.” – Tom Feher
• “If you don’t take the time to know hwat you want to do when you wake up every day… thirty, forty, fifty years is a long drudge of a life.” – Genevieve Piturro

Connect with Genevieve:

• Website: https://www.genevievepiturro.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevievepiturro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenPiturro
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/genpiturro
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/genevieve-piturro/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmGz57bOLTa1EDeURr06vg/featured

Connect with Tom Feher:

• Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 
• Facebook: @feherlaw
• Instagram: @feherlawapc 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Verdict, Tom sits down with Danny Sanchez discuss addiction and gang violence in our youth, and proactive ways to resolve those issues. Danny is the Founder of The City Peace Project non-profit organization where he works as a passionate advocate for students and schools through his coaching, mentoring, and conflict resolution. In this episode, they discuss Danny’s journey to starting The City Peace Project, the universal effect of addiction, and the power of love and healing.

Being a small part of someone’s life can have a huge impact.

 Key takeaways:

• The power of being proactive & connecting with youth
• How addiction effects everyone
• Creating space to have fun
• Not being afraid to ask for help when it’s needed
• The importance of self-advocacy
• Finding inner peace through self-care and healing

Quotes:

• “[Addiction] isn’t something that only effects children… or people that are marginalized… This is a problem that effects all youth regardless of race, color, creed, [or] economic standing.” – Tom Feher
• “The opposite of pain and trauma is joy and fun.” – Danny Sanchez
• “One of the first steps… to get better is to ask for help & sometimes that can be the toughest step of them all.” – Tom Feher
• “I went from the big house (prison) to the White House. Nothing is impossible.” – Danny Sanchez
• “When death faced me, I wanted to live.” – Danny Sanchez
• “When you know that you’re loved, you can love others.” – Danny Sanchez

Connect with Danny Sanchez:

• Website: https://thecitypeaceproject.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-City-Peace-Project/281296935384533
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecitypeaceproject/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/citypeaceprojct
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCityPeaceProject?feature=watch
• Donate: https://thecitypeaceproject.org/index.php/contact
• Danny’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z9KgQT8aY8
• Book: https://posttraumaticquest.com/              

Connect with Tom Feher:

• Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 
• Facebook: @feherlaw
• Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Running a business takes a lot of courage. Imagine starting a company while living with 10 chronic diseases.

In this episode Tom and Adriana Cowdin discuss focusing efforts into the community, running a business, as well as resilience and tenacity. In addition to living with 10 chronic diseases and undergoing 27 procedures in the last 5 years, Adriana founded Dekaf Digital, a digital marketing agency. Tom and Adriana dive into common issues in HR, the true definition of coaching, and taking a leap of faith when starting a business.

Listen to learn more about chronic illness and strengthening weaknesses.

 Key takeaways:

• The impact of pancreatic disease
• How your business can help your community
• Lessons in resilience
• Definition of coaching and how to implement skills
• Avoiding social media blunders 

Quotes:

• “I typically ask people to describe themselves with 3 adjectives and why they chose those. What you find out is that people don’t know what an adjective is.” Adriana Cowdin
• “It’s usually the scariest thing starting a business when you have a product or service. Getting your first customer or whether you’re going to get one or when it’s going to take off. So, it must’ve been scary at first. – Tom Feher
• “If you think something is holding you back, or you got some mental block, or some restriction, you can overcome it.” – Tom Feher

Connect with Adriana:

• Website: http://www.dekafdigital.com/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dekafdigital/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DekafDigital
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dekafdigital
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dekaf-digital/

Connect with Tom Feher:

• Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 
• Facebook: @feherlaw
• Instagram: feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could change your mindset to improve your life?

In this episode Tom and Sam Kabert dive into business, life, and spirituality (mindfulness) through the practice of SOUL/Life Balance. Sam spent 3 years completely overhauling his life after hitting rock bottom and experiencing a “Dark Night of the Soul” that ended up being a gift in disguise to realign him to his own truth. The old version of himself was vastly different as he was running a million-dollar business while working less than 4 hours a day and networking with the “Who’s Who” of Silicon Valley. Despite all of Sam’s ventures and business success and being recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s “40 Under 40” at just the age of 31 years old he soon recognized that something was missing. Sam realized that despite his success, he was unhappy. You will hear ways to bridge the gap between the way we conduct ourselves in business, mindful practices, and how we communicate with everyone, especially oneself.

Take the first step in mindful practice with this episode.

 Key takeaways:

• Ways to bring mindfulness into your daily practice
• How to understand yin and yang
• Lessons in taking your power back
• Finding your dharma
• The benefits of micro dosing and when you should try ayahuasca

Quotes:

“I don’t believe that our purpose is this grandiose thing. I think that it could be as simple as just enjoying this experience of being a human and the highs and lows that come with it.” – Sam Kabert

“It doesn’t have to be a checklist. Like, ‘I did a gratitude practice, I did meditation, I did x, y, z,’ and you start to stress yourself out. It’s counterintuitive to check those boxes.” – Sam Kabert

“The idea of meditating hasn’t been fully adopted, or even close to being adopted as, ‘this is actually good for you.’” – Tom Feher

“If we’re not filling our own cup first and taking care of ourselves, it’s just adding more chaos to an already chaotic world.” – Sam Kabert

Connect with Sam:

SOUL/Life Balance Expert and Spiritual Seeker

Website: https://samkabert.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samkabert/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kabert/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwagSam408

Twitter: https://twitter.com/soul_seekr_

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could make your company more purpose driven? 

In this episode, Tom and Jeff Risley discuss being intentional in business practice. Jeff is the Chief Growth Officer at Saxum, an issues-obsessed agency delivering strategic campaigns and digital solutions for a changing world. With his tram being unapologetically committed to a better world, here he gives tools on how to make meaningful change within your own organization. Tom and Jeff also talk about how to market more mindfully.

Listen and learn how profit and purpose can work in tandem.

Key takeaways:

• What “conscience capitalism” means
• The difference between thinking strategically vs tactually
• How Customer Relationship Marketing is beneficial for the long-term
• Principles of “unite don’t devise”
• Why you need Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Investing
• Current challenges in marketing today & how to address them
• Ways to use integrated & omni channels
• Advice for Marketing & Business

Quotes:

“It doesn’t have to be a competition between these different types of energy generation. We need to figure out how to use each one the best we possibly can.” – Jeff Risley

“Some companies think you have to do either/or – either purpose OR profit. I say, why not do both? Why do you need to limit yourself to either/or?” – Tom Feher

“The hard work of compromise and bringing people together is the right work.” – Jeff Risley

Connect with Jeff:

Website: https://saxum.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saxum/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/saxum

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RisleyRanch

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhrisley

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph Limbaugh has over 30 years of professional Improv and Theatre experience. He was one of the original founders of Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta Georgia and was the Improv Director there for 4 years, he taught professionally at NYFA (The New York Film Academy) in Los Angeles, and was the head of the Improv school and sketch program at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles.

Brian Breiter is a civil trial lawyer practicing since 1995 in the area of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury. He uses his skills as a professional actor for 30 years in the courtroom and depositions like no other in his field. Brian has performed over a 1,000 improvisation shows with ACME Comedy Theater, The Groundlings, Second City Los Angeles, Improv Theater, UCB, IO West, Westside Comedy Theater, Laughing Gas as well as others. Brian is a founding member of The Liquid Radio Players an improvised 1940’s Radio Show.

That is what you see on the surface. Listen to this episode of The Verdict where we dive deeper!

In this episode:

-How to develop greater awareness of non-verbal communication

-Facilitating a deeper connection and understanding of people through body language and tone

-Overcoming stage fright

-Presenting facts and client stories in a compelling way

-How to effectively think on your feet in the courtroom

I hope you enjoyed the episode! Improv for Trial was so generous to share their story and give us some insight into improv in the courtroom

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Improv for Trial:

Website: www.improvfortrial.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvfortrial

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImprovForTrial

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Ciccolini is a Medical Director at the National Mill Dog Rescue, a large non-profit located in Peyton Colorado, and the Director of Non-Profit Initiatives at Galaxy Vets. His background includes serving in the U.S. Army, where he worked his way up from Associate Veterinarian to VP of Operations. In addition to his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, he has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.

That is what you see on the surface. Listen to this episode of The Verdict where we dive deeper! 

In this episode:

• What got Dr. Ciccolini into veterinary practice and non-profit work
• Hear about Galaxy Vets and how they improve access to care for underserved communities, reduce economic euthanasia, and provide animal disaster and humanitarian response solutions
• Information you may not have known about puppy mills
• Find out how you can help families and pets affected by war in Ukraine

I hope you enjoyed the episode! Andrew was so generous to share his story and give us some insight into carrying on a legacy.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Dr. Ciccolini:

Donate at https://galaxyvets.foundation/

Andrew’s social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ac-dvm/

Instagram: @okay_vet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrAndrewDVM 

The Foundation’s social media:

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/galaxyvetsfoundation/ 

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/galaxyvetsfoundation/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/galaxyvetsfoundation

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:   www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Lobel is a results-driven executive with an extensive and diverse background as an entrepreneur over the last 30 years in the application development, gaming, and training and development spaces. Now, Matt is developing the PLAYN ecosystem, a blockchain gaming ecosystem bringing crypto gaming to the masses by dropping barriers to entry, creating fun games, and providing real value to token holders.

That is what you see on the surface. Listen to this episode of The Verdict where we dive deeper! 

In this episode:

• How to find where people fit in your business 
• Details on the metaverse game inner workings
• In game currency becoming cryptocurrency 
• The evolution of gaming into crypto
• Insight into the future of banking

I hope you enjoyed the episode! Matt was so generous to share his story and give us some insight into the future of video gaming.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Matt Lobel:

Website: http://playn.co/

http://darklinwars.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playn_gmg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Playn-105168502098528

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Playn_gmg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-lobel-b910ab2

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:   www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kathryn Starke is an urban literacy consultant, reading specialist, author, keynote speaker, adjunct professor, and the founder of Creative Minds Publications, which is an award-winning educational publishing and literacy consulting company that helps schools achieve reading success. Kathryn helps to motivate children, support parents, and inspire fellow educators to love teaching reading.

Kathryn has been featured on multiple media platforms including Success magazine, Inspire Me Today, Virginia This Morning, and Thrive Global. She has served as a literacy trainer for the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute and VCU AmeriCorps program. She is the creator of Tackle Reading, an annual literacy educational initiative supported by the NFL.

That is what you see on the surface. Listen to this episode of The Verdict where we dive deeper!

In this episode:

• Teachers as the most important factor when learning to read
• Teaching as relationship building
• The difference between an English teacher and a reading specialist
• Motivation as the first step in successfully teaching children to read
• Recognizing one’s individuality and differentiating approaches to help them learn
• Measuring success in literacy education
• A sobering look at literacy statistics in The United States
• Tailoring your curriculum and school culture to its population
• Partnering with the NFL to “Tackle Reading”

I hope you enjoyed the episode! Kathryn was so generous to share her story and give us some insight into how to foster a love of reading with children.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Kathryn Starke:

Website: http://www.creativemindspublications.com/

Instagram: @KathrynStarke

Facebook: @KathrynStarke

Twitter: @KathrynStarke

LinkedIn: @KathrynStarke

Connect with Tom Feher:

Website:    www.feherlawfirm.com 

Facebook: @feherlaw

Instagram: @feherlawapc

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices