I Am Refocused Podcast

What happens when the business is winning, but your life is paying the price?

George Rivera, founder of the Buy Back Time Formula, joins I Am Refocused Radio to unpack the hidden cost of being the founder who is always available. After helping generate hundreds of millions in online sales, including scaling a brand from zero to more than $200 million, George realized that success on paper did not automatically create freedom at home.

In this conversation, George shares how he moved from being a constantly-on founder to becoming a Father-First Owner, redesigning his leadership through stronger operators, simpler systems, and clearer decision-making. Today, his work helps 7- and 8-figure founders escape “founder prison,” reclaim 10–20 hours each week, and build companies that can grow without sacrificing family, health, or faith.

We also explore the Two-Week Vacation Test, why constantly being available can weaken both leadership and family relationships, what your children will ultimately remember, and how entrepreneurs can buy back their time without shrinking their ambition.

This conversation challenges one of entrepreneurship’s biggest myths: success isn’t just about building a business that needs you. It may be about building one that can thrive without you.

https://buybacktimeformula.com

Leo's Interviews:

https://leointerviews.com/

British independent filmmaker Gregory Mallard joins I Am Refocused Radio to discuss the story behind his feature film Masters and Vices (2025), a project that explores porn addiction and the impact it can have on motivation, anxiety, reputation, relationships, and a person’s sense of self.

Gregory shares why he chose to tackle such a difficult and often uncomfortable subject, what he learned while writing, directing, and producing the film, and the challenges that come with bringing an independent feature from an idea to the screen.

We also explore the responsibility filmmakers carry when addressing sensitive topics, the realities of producing outside the traditional studio system, and Gregory’s interest in self-improvement and using storytelling to start conversations people may otherwise avoid.

This is a conversation about filmmaking, addiction, consequences, personal growth, and having the courage to tell stories that challenge the audience.

Watch Masters and Vices (2025) | Full Movie | HD | Gregory Mallard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxq6v-3PcTY

Subscribe to Gregory's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Gregory_Mallard

What happens when leaders stop performing, take the mask off, and start doing the deeper work?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, we sit down with Trevor Bryce Stevenson, Human Dynamics & Experience Specialist, executive coach, retreat facilitator, adventure guide, and founder of FUNdaMENtal Leadership.

Trevor’s background is anything but conventional. Before spending more than two decades coaching leaders, he guided expeditions across four continents, including wilderness adventures, paddling experiences, overland journeys, and ocean crossings. Those experiences taught him how to read people under pressure, build trust, balance challenge with play, and create environments where people can move beyond what they thought was possible.

For the past 21 years, Trevor has coached executives and teams in emotional intelligence, nervous system regulation, conscious leadership, and human dynamics across public service, healthcare, education, and the private sector. Today, he combines that leadership work with adventure and experiential learning to help people become healthier, more connected, and more effective leaders.

Through his work, Trevor designs and facilitates leadership retreats for EO, YPO, TEC, MacKay CEO Forums, leadership teams, and independent peer groups, blending deep conversations, leadership development, adventure, connection, laughter, and reflection into experiences built to create lasting change.

Trevor is also the founder of FUNdaMENtal, a brotherhood for men who are ready to stop performing, connect more honestly, carry less, and create healthier impact in their lives, families, relationships, and work. The community includes regular conversations, outdoor experiences, retreats, and opportunities for deeper personal growth.

In this conversation, we explore authentic leadership, emotional intelligence, vulnerability, brotherhood, nervous system regulation, leadership under pressure, adventure, joy, relationships, burnout, personal freedom, and why some of the most powerful breakthroughs happen when people finally feel safe enough to be themselves.

https://fundamentalleadership.ca/home

What does leadership look like when the pressure is real, people are depending on you, and there’s no room for empty words?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, we sit down with Jay Jacobson, LUTCF, CPC, CFSP, founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing, author, educator, entrepreneur, consultant, and longtime leader in the funeral service profession.

With more than four decades of experience, Jay has built a career around serving people during some of life’s most difficult moments while helping organizations strengthen their teams, culture, customer service, and leadership.

His journey includes serving as President of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association, holding a position on the Executive Board of the National Funeral Directors Association, responding in the aftermath of United Airlines Flight 232, and even providing testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Aging.

Today, through Jacobson Professional Staffing, Jay provides staffing, consulting, leadership development, professional training, and practical AI education to funeral homes and businesses across the country. He is also the author of Never Stop Dreaming and Lead by Legendary Example, a book centered on integrity, presence, vision, servant leadership, adaptability, and mentorship.

Jay also brings an entrepreneurial spirit to his work as the founder of Jay’s Cookies, proving that leadership can show up in the boardroom, the classroom, the community, and even around the kitchen table.

In this conversation, we explore leadership under pressure, the lessons learned from decades of serving families, building strong workplace cultures, mentorship, entrepreneurship, navigating change, responsible uses of AI, and why the example we set may become the greatest legacy we leave behind.

https://www.jacobsonprostaff.com/

What happens when success on paper is no longer enough, and you realize you’ve been playing it safe?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with Dianna Fioravanti, an executive leader, keynote speaker, leadership mentor, TEDx speaker, and author of Flip the Switch: From Playing It Safe… to Crushing It! With more than 25 years of executive experience, Dianna built a successful career in insurance before taking a major leap into the logistics industry and becoming the first female President of Kuehne+Nagel Canada.

Today, she leads thousands of logistics professionals while championing a leadership philosophy centered on authenticity, courage, resilience, empathy, and creating opportunities for others. Under her leadership, female executive representation increased from 15% to 50%, while the organization earned recognition for workplace culture, trusted leadership, and women-led workplaces.

Dianna shares the personal moment that forced her to question whether she was dreaming big enough, why leaders sometimes become trapped by their own success, and what it means to truly “flip the switch” from cautious thinking to courageous action. We explore finding your authentic leadership style, navigating fear and uncertainty, building high-performing teams through trust, creating inclusive cultures, and making decisions before you feel completely ready.

This conversation is about more than climbing the corporate ladder. It’s about becoming the leader you were meant to be, owning your voice, challenging the limits you’ve accepted, and creating a legacy defined by both results and the people you impact along the way.

https://diannafioravanti.com/home

What happens when the biggest threat to a business, family, or leadership team isn’t strategy, money, or intelligence, but the things nobody is willing to say?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with René Sonneveld, a former Fortune 500 executive turned ICF Master Certified Coach, author, and trusted advisor to executives, enterprise families, boards, and high performers around the world. René’s career has taken him from international tax law and global banking to senior leadership roles with organizations including UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank, where he worked at the intersection of family business, governance, wealth, and generational legacy.

René shares what years inside boardrooms and family enterprises taught him about the human side of leadership: unspoken tension, trust, succession, identity, emotional dynamics, difficult conversations, and the decisions that determine whether a legacy grows or fractures.

We also explore ideas from his book The Elephant in the Family Room, which examines the emotional forces operating beneath the surface of family businesses, along with his forthcoming book Invisible Capital: Building the Family Enterprise of Tomorrow, scheduled for October 2026.

This conversation goes beyond business strategy. It’s about developing the courage to address what everyone sees but no one wants to discuss, becoming a stronger leader, and building something that can outlive you.

Because sometimes the most important conversation in the room is the one nobody is having.

https://www.renesonneveld.com/

What happens when success looks great on paper, but the person carrying it feels exhausted, stuck, or disconnected?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, host Shemaiah Reed sits down with Annie Yatch, founder of Reinvention, XO, a former counterterrorism analyst turned leadership reinvention strategist and performance coach. Annie works with founders, CEOs, investors, and high-capacity leaders to identify the hidden patterns influencing how they lead, make decisions, build relationships, and respond under pressure.

Drawing from a background that includes counterterrorism analysis, entrepreneurship, behavioral strategy, emotional intelligence, and leadership performance, Annie explains why reaching the next level isn’t always about working harder or finding another business strategy. Sometimes the operating system underneath the success needs to change.

Shemaiah and Annie explore burnout, over-functioning, identity, leadership under pressure, subconscious patterns, nervous system regulation, relationships, delegation, and the courage required to reinvent yourself when the life that once worked no longer fits.

This conversation is for the entrepreneur, executive, creator, or high achiever who has accomplished a lot but knows there is another way to lead, live, and grow.

Can you keep your ambition without allowing success to consume you? Can you remain powerful without carrying everything yourself? And what happens when reinvention becomes less about becoming someone new and more about finally leading from who you truly are?

Learn more about Annie Yatch and Reinvention, XO at ReinventionXO.com

A dream can inspire you, but eventually you have to move.

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with Debbi DiMaggio, bestselling author, real estate leader, speaker, mentor, entrepreneur, and creator of the Mindset In Motion Method™, for a powerful conversation about transforming ideas, goals, and intentions into meaningful action.

After more than three decades in business and real estate, Debbi has learned that success isn’t simply about having the right goal. It’s about developing the mindset, discipline, confidence, and consistency required to keep moving when the excitement wears off.

Her book Mindset In Motion: Activate Purpose, Power, and Peak Performance introduces a practical framework designed to help people stop waiting for perfect circumstances and begin creating clarity through action.

During this conversation, Debbi shares lessons around:

• Turning dreams into clearly defined action
• Why movement can create clarity
• Building confidence through momentum
• Moving forward even when you don’t have everything figured out
• Developing routines that support your goals
• Overcoming hesitation, distraction, and self-doubt
• Reinventing yourself during new seasons of life
• Aligning your identity with the person you are becoming
• Creating accountability by sharing your vision
• Staying consistent after motivation fades
• Lessons from more than 35 years in business and real estate
• The relationship between mindset, leadership, performance, and purpose

We also explore Debbi’s Mindset In Motion Method™, built around five principles: Dream, Believe, Internalize, Share, and Activate.

This isn’t simply a conversation about thinking positively. It’s about putting belief into motion.

Because the life you envision doesn’t begin when every detail becomes clear.

It begins when you move.

https://debbidimaggio.com/

Mindset In Motion : Activate Purpose, Power, and Peak Performance:

https://a.co/d/0aQIdNi6

Description:
What if the next level of your business doesn’t require working harder, but learning what you should stop doing yourself?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with Kirsten Graham, co-founder of Six Figure Business Coaching, business coach, podcaster, and real estate investor, for a practical conversation about building a business that can grow without consuming your entire life.

Kirsten helps entrepreneurs create stronger systems, delegate with confidence, use Virtual Assistants, embrace automation, and focus their energy on the work that actually moves the business forward. Her approach is built around a simple idea: entrepreneurs shouldn’t have to wear every hat in the company in order to succeed.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why doing everything yourself eventually becomes a barrier to growth
• How to know when it’s time to hire or outsource
• What entrepreneurs should delegate first
• How Virtual Assistants can support marketing, bookkeeping, podcast outreach, video content, and daily operations
• Why systems are essential for sustainable growth
• How AI and automation are changing small business
• The difference between being self-employed and truly leading a company
• How entrepreneurs can increase visibility without living on social media
• Why financial clarity matters when scaling
• How to build a business that gives you more freedom instead of creating another job

Kirsten also shares lessons from her background in real estate, mortgages, entrepreneurship, and coaching, and explains why the right people, systems, and processes can completely change the trajectory of a business.

If you’re an entrepreneur who feels overwhelmed by the endless list of things that need to get done, this conversation may challenge one of the biggest assumptions in business:

You don’t have to do everything to be successful. You have to build something that works without everything depending on you.

https://sixfigurebusinesscoaching.com/

LTC Melva Rivera Perez (Ret.) returns to I Am Refocused Radio with host Shemaiah Reed for an important update on her campaign for Texas House District 119.

Since her previous appearance, the campaign has continued moving throughout the community, and Melva joins us to discuss what she has been hearing from residents, the issues shaping the race, and the priorities she is bringing into the final stretch of the 2026 election season.

The conversation explores public safety, economic opportunity, education, community accountability, Texas values, and how her years of military leadership continue to influence her approach to public service.

With early voting approaching and Election Day drawing closer, this returning-guest conversation gives listeners an opportunity to hear directly from Melva about where the campaign stands, what she believes voters should know, and what she has learned from meeting people throughout House District 119.

Whether you heard her first interview or are being introduced to her for the first time, this episode provides a timely look at the candidate, the campaign, and the issues facing the district.

Learn more:
melvafortexas.com

What if the future of medicine isn’t only about treating disease, but understanding what’s happening in the body long before disease takes hold?

Dr. Michael Aziz joins I Am Refocused Radio for a conversation about longevity, preventive health, nutrition, biological aging, and the ideas behind his book, The Ageless Revolution.

Dr. Aziz is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, author, and media commentator whose work brings together traditional and functional medicine. He has appeared across national media and has spent years exploring nutrition, hormones, preventive medicine, and strategies aimed at improving healthspan.

In this conversation, we explore what happens to the body as we age, why Dr. Aziz believes medicine should pay greater attention to the mechanisms of aging, the difference between lifespan and healthspan, and what people should understand about the rapidly growing longevity movement.

We also discuss nutrition, metabolic health, emerging approaches to healthy aging, and how people can become more proactive about their health without getting lost in every new wellness trend.

https://www.michaelazizmd.com/

What happens when decades of medical knowledge meet a personal mission to rethink wellness?

Dr. Robert Beltran, MD, PharmD, FACS, joins I Am Refocused Radio to explore the intersection of modern medicine, natural ingredients, cognitive health, vitality, and healthy aging.

With doctorate degrees in both pharmacy and medicine from the University of California, San Francisco, and board certification in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Beltran brings a unique perspective to the wellness conversation.

He also shares the journey behind Recomnd, the wellness brand he founded after years of research and his own experiences with health and recovery.

In this conversation, we discuss how Dr. Beltran approaches preventative health, the relationship between science and nature, what consumers should understand about supplements, and why maintaining mental and physical vitality becomes increasingly important as we age.

This is a conversation about more than adding another supplement to the cabinet. It’s about understanding the body, asking better questions about wellness, and exploring what it means to survive, revive, and thrive.

https://recomnd.com/

📌 Connect with I Am Refocused Radio:
📺 YouTube: @RefocusedNetwork
📸 Instagram: @iamrefocusedradio
📘 Facebook: @iamrefocusedradio
🌐 Website: https://www.iamrefocusedradio.com

#RefocusedNetwork #Leadership #Entrepreneurship

U.S. Marine veteran and REI Automated founder Keith Gillispie joins I Am Refocused Radio to share how he built a real estate business while serving on active duty and turned discipline into a path toward financial and time freedom.

Keith talks about getting started in real estate, building systems instead of relying on nonstop hustle, raising private capital, helping new investors avoid common mistakes, and why true success is about more than money.

We also explore how fatherhood changed his definition of wealth, the importance of being present for family, and what it really takes to move from dreaming about a better future to building one.

https://www.reiautomated.io/

Bio: Carson Lueders is a 24-year-old singer, songwriter, and actor from Spokane, Washington. He first gained attention by posting covers on YouTube, catching the wave of social media growth and building a global fanbase around his undeniable vocals, charismatic personality, and heartfelt artistry. Over the past decade, he has released a string of original music that has generated 10M streams and 100+ million YouTube views, and has grown a social audience of over 13 million followers across digital platforms. 

From appearing alongside his musical inspiration, Keith Urban, on national television at a young age to collaborating with award-winning producers like Timbaland and garnering top 40 airplay with his recent release "Toxic," featuring Quavo. Carson’s career continues to evolve, demonstrating that he is one of the standout talents of his generation. 

Carson’s music has earned nominations from Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and Radio Disney Music Awards, while his acting work made him a fan favorite as a series regular on the hit YouTube series Chicken Girls.  Today, Lueders remains a well-known social media personality and entertainer, recognized for his musical talent, online presence, and growing work in film and entertainment. He will next star in the upcoming inspirational drama Beyond Belief, coming to theaters nationwide this fall.

Synopsis:

Set in the 1980s, Beyond Belief follows Andy, a teenage rocker chasing his dream of making it big while struggling to cope with the loss of his father. When a mysterious voice urges him to "run," Andy is drawn into an unexpected journey that challenges his ambitions, tests his faith, and forces him to decide what kind of life he's truly meant to live.  

Filled with heart, humor, and the iconic music of Petra, Beyond Belief is an inspiring story about hearing God’s voice, trusting His plan, and discovering that His dreams for our lives are often bigger than our own.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watc?v=R-5dDVHnYA0

Social Media Handles:

Instagram: @beyondbelief_themovie

Facebook: Beyond Belief - Film

YouTube: @intriguefilms

TikTok: @beyondbeliefmovie

What happens when one of life’s hardest transitions becomes the catalyst for a new purpose?

Hannah Hembree Bell is the founder, CEO, and Managing Attorney of Hembree Bell Law Firm, where she focuses on family law, divorce, and estate planning. After experiencing divorce and a custody case herself, Hannah reshaped her career around helping individuals and families navigate the emotional and practical realities of major life transitions with greater clarity and confidence.

In this conversation, Hannah joins I Am Refocused Radio to discuss divorce, rebuilding after difficult seasons, protecting what matters most, navigating co-parenting and blended families, and why compassion can be just as important as strategy when people are facing major decisions about their future.

We also explore Hannah’s journey from working at a large law firm to building a practice focused on serving individuals and families, and how personal experience helped shape the kind of attorney and leader she wanted to become.

This conversation is about more than divorce. It’s about clarity, resilience, confidence, and learning how to move forward when life doesn’t unfold the way you expected.

https://www.hembreebell.com/

What if the answer to feeling stuck isn’t more motivation, more discipline, or more pressure?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with Kohila Sivas, educator, researcher, founder, and creator of Wholistic SuccessCodes™, to explore why readiness may be the missing piece behind learning, personal growth, and sustainable success.

Kohila shares how an overwhelmed nervous system can impact focus, memory, behavior, motivation, and our ability to move forward. We discuss why constantly pushing harder can sometimes make things worse, how parents and educators can recognize when someone is operating from survival mode, and what it looks like to create the conditions for real growth.

We also explore Kohila’s journey from student, teacher, tutor, and single mother to researcher and founder, along with her mission to help people move away from burnout-driven performance and toward healthier, more sustainable growth.

A powerful conversation about readiness, burnout, learning, parenting, education, nervous-system regulation, and becoming capable of moving forward without destroying yourself in the process.

https://www.wholisticsuccesscodes.com

https://www.instagram.com/kohila_sivas/

What happens when success is no longer enough?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed sits down with David Gerber, mental performance coach, certified lion tracker, TEDx speaker with more than 1 million views, and Partner at Novus Global. David works with professional athletes, executives, and high-performing leaders who want to move beyond achievement and build lives rooted in clarity, courage, purpose, and what he calls radical aliveness.

David shares powerful lessons from tracking wild lions in Africa and explains how those experiences translate into navigating fear, pressure, uncertainty, and major life transitions. The conversation explores why even highly successful people can feel stuck, how breakdowns can reveal clues about what comes next, and why presence may be one of the greatest advantages a leader can develop.

We also discuss themes from David’s book The Lion Is You, which connects the ancient art of tracking with personal transformation, loss, renewal, leadership, and rediscovering the courageous version of yourself that may have been buried beneath comfort and routine.

In this conversation:

Moving beyond success into a life that actually feels alive
Performing with clarity when fear takes over
What tracking lions can teach us about leadership
Turning pain, failure, and loss into a new chapter
Breaking limiting stories and getting out of autopilot
Courage, vulnerability, and deeper human connection
Finding the clues pointing toward your next level

Learn more about David Gerber: https://www.davidagerber.com/

📌 Connect with I Am Refocused Radio:
📺 YouTube: @RefocusedNetwork
📸 Instagram: @iamrefocusedradio
📘 Facebook: @iamrefocusedradio
🌐 Website: https://www.iamrefocusedradio.com

#RefocusedNetwork #Leadership #Entrepreneurship

Author R.W. Fields joins I Am Refocused Radio to discuss his debut novel, The Mullet Man, a moving coming-of-age story inspired by events he experienced in the Deep South during the summer of 1955.

The story follows Richie, a young white boy whose love of fishing leads him across the social boundaries of his community and into an unlikely friendship with Ulysses, an elderly Black fisherman known as the Mullet Man. As their bond grows, Richie begins confronting the realities of racism, poverty, fear and the unwritten rules that were designed to keep people apart.

Fields reflects on the childhood experiences that remained with him for nearly 70 years, why he began writing his first book in his eighties, and how honest relationships can challenge prejudice more powerfully than arguments alone. The conversation also explores critical thinking, the courage to question inherited beliefs, and why the lessons of 1955 still matter today.

The Mullet Man is ultimately a story about friendship, trust and what can happen when two people choose to cross the creek dividing them.

Get the book: https://a.co/d/0awpM32o

What if success, relationships and lasting happiness depend on understanding what is happening beneath the surface of our emotions?

In this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed speaks with therapist and author Bryan Blakeny about emotional intelligence, spiritual growth, human behavior and the deeper search for meaning and purpose.

Drawing from more than two decades of counseling and coaching experience, Bryan shares how our thoughts, emotions and unresolved patterns influence the choices we make, the relationships we build and the lives we create. He also explores why outward success does not always produce inner fulfillment, how anger can reveal deeper emotional needs and what it takes to move from confusion and pain toward clarity, peace and personal transformation.

This thoughtful conversation invites listeners to examine what drives them, strengthen their emotional and spiritual intelligence and begin creating a life rooted in greater wisdom, purpose and authentic happiness.

Learn more about Bryan Blakeny:
https://www.bryanblakenytherapy.com/

What happens when life looks successful on the outside, but something inside still feels incomplete?

On this episode of I Am Refocused Radio, Shemaiah Reed welcomes intuitive life coach and creator of Living Fully with Sarah, Sarah Collins. After spending more than 20 years working as a civil engineer, Sarah began questioning the constant pursuit of achievement, the pressure to reach the next milestone, and the belief that happiness was always somewhere in the future.

Sarah shares how mindfulness, self-inquiry, and a deeper exploration of identity helped her understand the thought patterns, beliefs, and conditioning that can keep people waiting for life instead of fully experiencing it.

Together, Shemaiah and Sarah explore awareness, overthinking, personal awakening, fear, inner wisdom, and what becomes possible when we stop searching outside ourselves for every answer.

This conversation is for anyone who feels stuck, out of alignment, or ready to look beneath the surface and begin living more fully, no matter what life brings.

Learn more about Sarah Collins at LivingFullyWithSarah.com.