Chiseled with Rob Commodari

At a tender age, Craig Moody moved with his family to a new town. His educator mother and a businessman father wanted the best for their son, but while going to stay with family friends during the transition, Craig felt unwelcome and unliked. Later, at school, he was bullied and had trouble making friends despite his best efforts.

Flash forward two decades and Craig was still feeling uprooted. With no job prospects and trouble making fraternal and romantic relationships, a nasty look from a clerk in a grocery store pushed Craig to the brink.

"I went home that night and just thought about that stare I got and was like 'I'm done,'" he said.

And he nearly did himself in save for the beseeching voice of his father. As it turned out, however, Craig's dad was nowhere near the house.

"It was God's voice," Craig said with certainty. "It was a defining moment in my life."

From there, Craig decided to turn his life around. He joined a local church, connected with an old friend who never gave up on him, and jumped into personal growth, studying the works of John Maxwell and others. It wasn't long before Craig was flush — starting his own home restoration business, getting married, and having kids. He later started several other businesses and has gone from despondent "loser" to successful business coach.

The co-author of the booksThink BigandNext Level Your Life, in which, Craig tells a story about getting out of your own way and avoiding self-sabotage, lessons that we all need to learn some time in our lives.

"I acknowledge the imposter in me. It creeps up and I don't let him in," he said.

Craig's story may sound familiar to you; it even may sound like your own, and that's okay — because we all can learn from each other's versions of our own stories. I know after sharing my own stories with Craig, we will stay connected in the future.

Want to talk to Craig? Look him up on craigmoody.co or reach out to him at the email address he shares at the end of this week's episode ofChiseled.

For Amy Somerville, life happens in the transitions. Amy was in the real estate business for 18 years with RE/MAX — as a realtor, broker, team leader, franchise consultant, and coach. She readily admits that throughout it all, she was not a public speaker.
But after nearly two decades in business, Amy needed to help her young family transition to the next stage of their lives. She chose to "take one for the team” and begin a very public-facing position running the professional development department. Within two years, she transitioned from senior vice president at RE/MAX to an independent consultant to an employee with Buffini and Company, whom she lovingly describes as "monsters" in the high-end real estate coaching space (I agree).
Just a year later, while attending a real estate conference in New York, she was approached by eXp Realty CEO Glenn Sanford, a fan of Jim Collins, whoseGood to Greatbook series offers incredible organizational management principles. One of Colins’ principles says you may not know your "what" or your "why," but you are better positioned to take a leap in business when you find your "who."
Sanford,who ownsSuccess Enterprises, which happensto publish Amy's favorite magazine, SUCCESS,told her that she may be his "who."
And shortly thereafter she transitioned again, becoming the new CEO of Success Enterprises.
“It's heavy to carry a brand that has such a reputation and such an impact on so many people, and me included, so it's wild," she said.
With its reputation for excellence, Amy is energized by the challenge of carrying the 127-year-old media group to its next level —by pursuing her own mission to LIVE —lead, inspire, provide value, and empathize.
With her energy, focus, faith, and fortitude, I have no doubt that SUCCESS is in good hands. I was honored to interview her and believe you will feel the positivity and intention in everything she says during thisChiseledpodcast.
Amy is a source of strength and inspiration, with which I am sure you will agree after listening to this week's episode. Want to contact Amy? Listen to the end to get her email address so you can give her a buzz.

Justin Breen was an enterprising journalist in a Midwest media market when his bosses started slashing staff salaries in 2017. With a wife and two young children, Justin knew it was time to take his next step.
It wasn't nearly as challenging for Justin as you'd think it might be. Tapping into his visionary mindset, Justin reached out to his 5,000-plus social media fanbase. Just six weeks later, he had started a public relations company from scratch.
"Someone either can get back into a plane after another one's been shot down without a parachute or they make an excuse. At the highest level, there are no excuses. You just do it," he said of launching a new venture.
From there, the sky was the limit for Justin. During COVID, Justin really started discovering that he could achieve success by living with gratitude, recognizing a higher power, and developing a great networking community. In 2022, he started his next company.
"That's when I went fully global," he said. "The trauma creates the triumph."
Working with entrepreneurs, Justin has turned BrEpic Communications into a global PR firm and runs the exclusive connectivity platform BrEpic Network. His first book,Epic Business, was a bestseller in six countries and No. 1 for entrepreneurship in the U.S. He followed up withEpic Life, which teaches, as the subtitle says, "how to build collaborative global companies while putting your loved ones first."
Justin has a lot on his mind and you can almost hear the wheels spinning in his brain in this clip from this week'sChiseled. He offers so many insights about visionary traits, you need to listen closely to unlock all the tips for discovering your true potential. I encourage you to buckle your seatbelt for this week's episode.
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Want to talk to Justin? Find him onLinkedInor hiswebsite.

Ihad a really fun time with Ken Walls, my guest on this week's episode ofChiseled,and I'm sure you will too. Theauthor of the No. 1 bestselling bookWalls of Wisdom,andcreator of "Grow Live Academy," an online program that is part Mastermind part family, Ken has one of the most positive and energetic attitudes of anyone I've ever met.

Growing up in a "poor family" with "a lot of violence, drugs and alcohol in the house," Ken was a successful entrepreneur from a young age, having started work at 8 years old. But by the time he was 34, his success could not keep him from hitting rock bottom.

"I had no business trying to run a business of any kind in the state of mind that I was in constantly, which was drunken at all times," he said.

When he finally surrendered, through the "grace of God" and a lot of Alcholics Anonymous meetings, Ken knew it was time to pay it forward. And so he did, setting out to help any person he could.

"If you help enough other people get what they want out of life, you will have way more than you could ever possibly imagine having in your own life," he said.

Ken has had incredible success in business, with perseverance, focus, and a little help from some of the biggest names in the fields of personal growth and sales. It's no surprise. He is energetic, positive, forceful, and so funny. I'm certain you're going to be wound up listening to him and will leave this episode ofChiseledbuzzing with motivation and ready to act.
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Want to talk to Ken? You can reach him atkenwalls.com, kensbizcard.com, or on his podcast's website,BreakthroughWalls.tv.

Will Heaven be boring? During a trip to the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, I looked out at the vastness of it all and thought, if this is Heaven, I can't wait.

One step closer to the edge and I may have found it. But I'm not ready yet. I have a lot of life left in me,plus I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I get there.

Apparently, I'm not the only one. Many years ago, D. Scott Smith's five-year-old son asked him a similar question. In fact, seems that a lot of people are wondering about the afterlife when they haven't yet figured out what to do with themselves right here on earth.Scott began pondering questions about time, space, and how we maneuver through them, and he came up with some amazing ideas about how to best live our lives in the moment.

Scott noted that age matters. At five years old, time feels like it's moving six times more slowly than it does for an older person. So, when he tells his son, it will be an hour until dinner, it's no surprise his son starts questioning whether he is going to be bored in Heaven.

But the questions don't stop as we age.

"We're notoriously dissatisfied," he said.

On this week's episode ofChiseled,Scott offers his "octodecim" or rule of 18.In short, we live through seasons of life, which are designed for growing, learning, establishing, reaping, and benefiting, not to mention enjoying a little bonus time at the very end. But in Scott's theory, most of us aren't living the experience appropriate for their octodecim and are instead spending too much time evaluating the past or anticipating the future.

From the first minute of this week's episode ofChiseled,I'm certain you will be pleased with how you're spending your time. This was a fun, logical, metaphysical discussion (if such a thing is possible) and a great conversation no matter what age you are.
Want to reach Scott? You can catch up with him on hiswebsiteor follow him onYouTube,LinkedIn, orX(Twitter). Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this week'sChiseled.

When Chad Kneller was in his 20s, he “was all about sex, drugs, and rock androll.” Laser-focused on being a singer in a rock band, Kneller figured life ends at age 27, just as it did for a host of famous musicians who burned hot and died young.

Through the lens of that existentialism, Chad drank too much, partied too hard, and ignored basic rules of society. Eventually, the warrants piled up and Chad found himself doing a couple two-week stints in jail. During one of those sojourns, he picked up a Bible and read it cover to cover. He then approached the prison minister.

“I said, ‘Hey, I got some questions,’ and he didn't know I have three hours’ worth of questions. He answered them all. And that was the beginning of a new life for me,” he said.

Upon his release, Chad returned to his new girlfriend and the two set upon a path of finding their future together. A marriage, two military stints, and three kids later, Chad and his wife are now serial entrepreneurs.

Chad has also published a book calledFinding Happy, which seeks to help people, especially young people, get beyond the intensity of their emotions and gain context to get through the most difficult seasons of their lives.

“I feel like if someone would have given me a book like that when I was in my early 20s I could have saved a whole lot of time. I wouldn't have wasted almost a decade after that.”

Finding Happyhas received great reviews and Chad says he’s even been told it saved one person’s life, a true win if ever there was one.

It was a pleasure talking to Chad and I know his chiseling is going to continue to help others. If you want to reach Chad, his email [email protected] you can check him out on all his social media channels @chadkneller or on hiswebsite.

Many of you have been listening toChiseledsince I started podcasting in 2021. I love interviewing new people and hearing what they have to say. I hope you have found some useful insights from my guests on personal and professional growth.
Most of all, I hope the podcast has entertained you.

Turns out podcasting has brought me closer to an already strong band of brothers. In this week'sChiseled, I talk to four of my buddies in real estate who also have a taste for the mic and have launched their own shows.

We're not making a lot of money from these labors of love, but the return on investment has been enormous. Not only have we found our voices, but we've learned several profound lessons.

"Your compensation is directly impacted to how well you serve people and how many people you serve," said Louisville, Kentucky's Mike Gandolfo, who co-hosts the Horse Racing Happy Hour.

"If I can help other people win, I'm winning," said Brad Noll, who explains how to become a great communicator.

The five of us had several laughs discussing our adventures in podcasting. Hopefully, the conversation will make you laugh too and perhaps even help you eliminate any hesitation that may be holding you back from pursuing a creative outlet of your own.

Interested in checking out my friends' podcasts? You can find them here:

The Horse Racing Happy Hourhosted by Mike Gandolfo.
Student of the Gamehosted by Brad Noll.
Inspire Campfirehosted by Scott Wurtzbacher.
The Karl Miller Showhosted by Karl Miller.

Meantime, enjoy the five guys (not the burger joint) on this week's episode ofChiseled.

Real estate agent Garrett Maroon has never made a cold call, hosted an open house, or bought a lead. He started in real estate in 2014 with just 40 people in his referral database and has since built a business on relationships and referrals only, doing very well selling 550 homes in under nine years.
But about seven years after starting his career, Garrett felt that he was dancing around a subject he really wanted to discuss — his faith. So the Newport News, Virginia-based agent began talking about it with other realtors and even clients, and found that connecting his faith to his work could be wildly successful.

Garrett turned his faith into a successful business model. He operates the "Faithful Agent," a real estate business and a coaching company of the same name. He hosts a podcast with his buddy Tyler Wilson, runs a large Facebook community, andlast yearbegan holding faith-based business conferences for agents. He is also publishing a book on his faithful agent strategy.

"We want to be a place ... where a Christian can say, 'I need to get trained in my business but I want it to come from someone who has the same mentality as I do with this eternal perspective, with Christ in mind,'" he said.

Garrett told me that he wants to make sure that people understand he's not using his faith to try to make a buck.

"At the end of the day, for me, as a Christian, my job is to first and foremost honor the Lord."

I recorded my interview with Garrett a while back. He is a fast-talker and extremely animated about his goals, which he is rapidly achieving. I firmly believe that Garrett, a husband and father of four young children, is going to have great success in his endeavors, and after you hear this week's episode ofChiseled, you will too.

Interested in learning more about Garrett? You can check outhis websiteor email him [email protected].

#faithfulagent

#faithbasedagent

#chiseled

#Christinmind

#awareness

#Christian

If you know anything about me, you know I love words. I'm an avid reader, a public speaker, and a burgeoning author. My book,Better Than You Think,is a study of some of my favorite words and how they shape us and our relationships.
I am not alone in this love of language, which is why I really enjoyed my interview with Kevin Eastman for this week's episode ofChiseled.
Eastman is the former assistant coach of the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics. He is also the former assistant coach and vice president of operations for the L.A. Clippers. He has worked with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant,Lebron James,Paul Pierce, and many others.
You may know Kevin as the Amazon best-selling author ofWhy the Best Are the Best: 25 Powerful Words That Impact, Inspire, and Define Champions. This was one of my favorite reads over the last year.
In this week's podcast, Kevin describes some of the words that motivate him, among them "truth" and "preparation." He offers great insight into the meaning of "humility" and "curiosity."These words are just a few of the many that champion athletes internalize and live by. They are also guideposts for us to use to live with purpose.
Kevin packs a ton of incredible insights into our fast-paced discussion. This episode is dripping with remarkable stories of how successful athletes, coaches, and others learn and succeed. It's no accident that he found so many of the people he interviewed use the same vocabulary repeatedly.
I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to interview Kevin and I really appreciate all he shared. As a professional speaker, Kevin can be booked atkevineastman.net. You can also discover more great bits of wisdom from Kevin on his X (Twitter) handle,@kevineastman.

#chiseled

#powerfulwords

#whythebestarethebest

#champions

#awareness

"I do not fit into a box. I'm certainly not a typical attorney."

Brandy Wilson Edwards was experiencing hardcore burnout. Working as an attorney for many years, she wondered where her passion went. She loved speaking, writing, and helping people live better lives, all activities she did as an attorney. But it wasn't fueling her own sense of fulfillment.

So Brandy took a "pause" to figure out what drove her happiness. She realized that she didn't have to choose between professional and personal goals. She could have it all — if she knew how to pursue it.

Now working as a motivational speaker, author, yoga and mindfulness instructor — and attorney, Brandy turned her passion for personal wellbeing into a mission to empower the legal community and other professionals to become zealous advocates for themselves, not just their clients. You could say it's not even work at all for Brandy.

"I turned burnout into a blessing," she said.

In his week's episode ofChiseled, Brandy shares the difference between contentment and complacency, and gifts and skills, and shares how to "PAUSE," her five step method for setting priorities, taking action, understanding the consequences of your choices, self-care, and existing with intention to "live with more courage and less regret."

Brandy is a bundle of energy and I can see why sitting at a desk is not the greatest use of her talents. I am blessed to have met her and look forward to seeing what she does next to craft memorable messages and spread her contagious spirit.

Interested in hearing more from Brandy? You can take a look ather websiteor email her

[email protected].