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There was a woman in Stephanie Duguid’s hometown who knew everybody’s name before they’d finished unpacking their boxes. They called her the Welcome Wagon Lady. She was also Stephanie’s mom. Margie wrote notes. Hundreds of them. She remembered students twenty years after they left her classroom, and she kept showing up long after the welcome basket was delivered. Dr. Stephanie Duguid lost her unexpectedly on her third day as a teacher, and what carried her through was everything her mother had already given away. Fifty years later, those notes are still finding their way back. In this episode: What a Welcome Wagon Lady actually did in the 1970s, and how Margie turned strangers into friends in a matter of minutesThe student who held onto the family recipes for twenty years, and the cookbook that came out of returning themA stack of postcards dated 1975, mailed back to Stephanie just a few months ago by a woman she’d never metThe weekend Margie came to visit with two suitcases, one for clothes and one for stationery, stamps, and her address bookWhy social media is everybody’s A side, and how Margie got people to show her the B sideFlowers in the morning, a car accident that night, and the third day of teaching that changed everything“What would Margie do?” and what to do when you can’t find a mentorLeading with kindness without letting accountability slipAbout Dr. Stephanie Duguid Dr. Stephanie Duguid (yes, it’s pronounced “do good”) is a leadership culture strategist, keynote speaker, and founder of Do Good Leadership. She spent more than thirty years in K-12 and higher education as a teacher, athletic trainer, and administrator, and she now helps organizations build cultures where people feel seen, heard, and valued. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and is the bestselling author of Exponentially Elevate Your Leadership Impact. Connect with Stephanie Website: drstephanieduguid.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drstephanieduguid Instagram: @drstephanieduguid Facebook: facebook.com/DoGoodLeadership YouTube: youtube.com/@stephanieduguid

What does kindness look like when we start communicating clearly? Think about the last time you were frustrated with someone. Did they actually know what you wanted? Dr. LauraLynn Jansen says most of the friction in our relationships comes from expectations we never said out loud. In this episode, she makes the case that clarity isn't the opposite of kindness. It's one of the most generous things we can offer other people, and ourselves. In this episode: Why clarity is a form of kindness, even when we think of kindness as softnessHow to recognize the unspoken expectations you're carryingWhat happens in a relationship when those expectations stay unspokenThe "gremlin" and how unclear expectations at work feed imposter syndromeWhy so many of us choose silence over asking, and what to do if you're afraid asking will make you look incompetentThe basics of Nonviolent Communication: feelings, needs, and requestsWhy clarity matters even more in a world of AI and automationAbout Dr. LauraLynn Jansen LauraLynn Jansen, Ph.D., PCC, is an award-winning scholar-practitioner, keynote speaker, and Co-Active coach who's spent more than 20 years helping people and teams build sustainable connection. She's worked across healthcare, government, the military, nonprofits, and private enterprise. Her doctoral research on what it means to feel truly seen earned the Academy of Management's 2023 Promising Dissertation Award. Her signature message: technology can accelerate what we do, but it can't replace how we relate. Connect with LauraLynn: Website: lljansen.com

Have you ever been around someone who makes you feel like you could say anything and it would be okay? Romaine Waller is one of those people. She's the woman who says hi first at the grocery store, the friend whose confidence is "a vault," and the leader who reminds her clinical research teams that at the end of every piece of paper is a patient. In this conversation, Romaine shares why kindness currency is unlimited, how she stays kind and direct at the same time in a highly regulated corporate world, and what it takes to become a safe, judgment free person for the people in your life. In This Episode Why Romaine always says hi first at the grocery store, and the lesson from her mother that shaped everything: "It doesn't cost you anything to be nice"Kindness currency is unlimited. You never run out, and it costs you nothing to spend it"At the end of everything we do is a patient." Keeping compassion at the center of data driven clinical research, and remembering there's a human on the other end of every emailKindness isn't soft, it's a strategy: how curiosity and listening open the door with teams set in their waysWhat it means to be a vault friend, and how to become a safer, judgment free person for othersA first look at FIND T-squared: the Feeling Inside No one Dares To Talk aboutRomaine's challenge to dig deeper: are your relationships authentic and meaningful, or surface level and exhausting?About Romaine Romaine Waller is a U.S. Army veteran, an operations and strategy leader in clinical research and clinical systems, and a self-described connector of people. She holds a steadfast belief that knowledge and information become truly transformative only when shared, and that the most powerful technology in any room is still human compassion. Her CliftonStrengths of Positivity, Developer, Connectedness, Belief, and Maximizer are basically a fancy way of saying she's going to hype you up, help you grow, and refuse to leave potential on the table. Whether she's leading teams or mentoring the next generation of leaders, Romaine is proof that kindness isn't soft, it's a strategy. Connect Connect with Romaine on LinkedIn. Learn more about Nicole and The Kindness Podcast at nicolejphillips.com.

A note before you listen: this conversation includes references to childhood sexual abuse and trauma. Please take care of yourself as you listen. EJ and Tarah Kerwin were two therapists already barely keeping up: twins conceived on their honeymoon, four kids under five, a new counseling business. Then a medically supervised ketamine session surfaced repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse Tarah had no idea existed, and overnight her nervous system went from calm to chaos. No diagnosis, no doctor's note, no roadmap. Just EJ, feeling like he got it wrong every day. They talk with Nicole about what he finally said out loud, why kindness here looks like curiosity instead of solutions, and what it takes to stay when you can't fix what's hurting the person you love. In this episode: What medically supervised ketamine therapy actually is, and what happened when Tarah's memories surfacedWhy anyone would choose to unearth pain their body spent decades hiding, and what freedom on the other side feels likeThe difference between supporting a partner through something visible, like chemo, and something invisibleThe two sentences EJ said out loud that shifted everything, including "whatever level of connection I have with you now, that's enough"Why kindness in a healing season has to include boundaries and honesty about your own needsHow intimacy gets rebuilt without pressure, and why "you'll be fine in eight weeks" is not an answerEJ's kindness story about a moment between Tarah and his son he had waited years to seeThe tool they give every couple: daily check-ins and real curiosity about someone you think you knowNaming lost intimacy as shared grief instead of rejection, and why that reframe mattersAbout EJ and Tarah Kerwin EJ and Tarah Kerwin are the founders of Relationship Renovation and creators of the Relationship Renovation Model, as well as hosts of the Relationship Renovation Podcast. Tarah is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and EJ is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and together they run the Relationship Renovation Counseling Center in Tucson, Arizona. They blend raw honesty, humor, and decades of experience to help couples deepen intimacy and build emotional safety, drawing on attachment science and nervous system regulation. EJ also founded Men Who Do the Work, a group helping thousands of men show up more intentionally in their relationships. Their work includes a top 1% podcast, the Relationship Renovation @ Home manual, an online community, and private coaching. Connect with EJ and Tarah Website: https://relationshiprenovation.com/Coaching: https://relationshiprenovation.com/relationship-coaching/The Relationship Renovation At Home Manual: https://a.co/d/080cziw4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relationship_renovation/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/relationshiprenovationcounseling/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@relationshiprenovationThe Relationship Renovation Podcast, wherever you listen

Amanda Fornal was on a panel at SXSW when someone asked her a simple question: what gets you up in the morning? "To do good," she said, and then she said the rest of it out loud. A few days earlier she had heard a venture capitalist argue that the smart money goes to sociopathic founders, not kind ones. It did not sit right with her logically or emotionally. So on that stage she said, "I'm kind, and I'm proud of it. If you don't want to invest in kindness, that's on you." A few days later she had a name for her next project. She built the website, started interviewing, and talked with more than 100 leaders, founders, and investors across more than 35 countries about one question: does kindness actually work in business? Here is what I appreciated about this conversation. Amanda is not asking us to be nice. She went and checked. She read the academic research before she trusted her own instincts, and she is direct about the fact that a business has a bottom line and kindness has to hold up against it. What she found is that it does, through loyalty and innovation and the kind of psychological safety that lets a team say the half-formed idea out loud. We also got honest about something I do not always admit on this show. I told her that kindness does not sell. Companies hire me for resilience and burnout and mindset, almost never for the word itself. Her answer to that is worth the listen on its own. Connect with Amanda and dig into the research Investing in Kindness: investinginkindnessproject.comBe interviewed for the project. Amanda is still taking interviews and invited you directly: forms.gle/o4gMVQWdFLfmugXY8Take the survey: forms.gle/Tt3THNeyTUu9Qd968Hypatia Leadership (her executive coaching work): hypatialeadership.comElephari (the story preservation platform): elephari.comWomen in Exploration: womeninexploration.orgFounder Buddies: founderbuddies.comLove Is, the documentary: loveisthedocumentary.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amandadfornalInstagram: @TheOrangeExplorerKindness Pays: The Business Case for Prosocial Leadership: https://www.investinginkindnessproject.com/blog/kindness-pays-the-business-case-for-pro-social-leadershipKindness and Retention: What the Research Says About Why Employees Stay: https://www.investinginkindnessproject.com/blog/kindness-and-retention

On October 16, 2016, Mickey Z. started walking the streets of New York City with food, supplies, and gift cards to hand to homeless women. He noticed something first: homeless men will often walk right up and ask for a dollar, while women, already pushed to the margins, tend to sit quietly with a sign and wait. Those women became his teachers. They told him what they needed, what size to buy, what actually helped. Nearly ten years later, Cheerful Giver NYC has grown into a seven days a week mission serving anyone who asks, and Mickey has stopped calling it a project. He calls it a calling. This one got personal for Nicole. She admits on air that she used to be braver, that she once struck up a conversation with a homeless woman in Chicago about the book she was reading, and that somewhere along the way she lost the entry point. So instead of interviewing Mickey, she asks him for help. What follows is a practical, grace filled conversation about the first words to say, why gift cards work, what to do when you get it wrong, and how to stop separating the person with the sign from everyone else you meet all day long. In this episode: Why Mickey started with homeless women, and what nearly ten years of hands on giving has taught him about earning trustHow a sign functions as an invitation, and why he will not approach someone who has not extended oneNicole's honest confession about losing her courage, and Mickey's response to the question of where a person even beginsThe Carnegie Hall regular who told him that one person's eye contact erases the thousand people who walked pastWhy a fifteen dollar fast food gift card buys far more than a meal: a bathroom, a phone charge, a seat indoors, and the dignity of blending inThe mythology around giving cash, and the double standard we apply to how vulnerable people spend moneyAbout Mickey Z. Mickey Z. is a writer, longtime New Yorker, and the founder of Cheerful Giver NYC, a street level mission providing food, supplies, and gift cards to homeless people and other vulnerable souls across New York City. Born and raised in Queens, he began the work in October 2016 with a focus on homeless women, then expanded during the pandemic lockdowns to serve anyone within walking distance of his Astoria neighborhood who asks for help. He is the author of multiple books, has written for and volunteered with the homeless produced newspaper Street News, and writes regularly about giving, faith, and compassion on his Substack. He was named a Queens Person of the Week by NY1 for his work. He would like you to know he is not an expert. Links Cheerful Giver NYC: https://cheerfulgivernyc.wordpress.com/ (mission information and all donation links in one place, including PayPal, Venmo, Patreon, GoFundMe, Amazon wishlist, and mail)Mickey's Substack: https://mickeyz.substack.com/ (every post closes with how to support the mission)

Dr. Robyn Graham spent years being praised for the very habits that were quietly wearing her down: the perfectionism, the need to control, the instinct to keep everyone else okay. She was a pharmacist, a high achiever, and, underneath it, anxious. It took real work to see that some of what looked like strength was actually anxiety wearing strength's clothes. Now Robyn is an Anxiety Breakthrough Strategist who blends neuroscience with real-life coaching to help high-achieving leaders spot those hidden patterns before they lead to burnout. In this conversation, she and Nicole talk about why perfectionism and people-pleasing are so hard to catch in ourselves, what it takes to interrupt a reactive cycle in the moment, and what kindness toward yourself actually looks like when the pressure is on. In this episode: Robyn's path from pharmacist to Anxiety Breakthrough Strategist, and the life circumstances that pulled her thereWhy anxiety-driven patterns like perfectionism and overcontrol are so easy to mistake for strengths, especially in high achieversHow to tell a genuine strength apart from an anxiety-driven habit wearing a strength's disguiseWhat self-kindness looks like in the middle of real pressure, not just in theoryThe difference between caring for someone and managing your own anxiety through themHow to interrupt the cycle of reactive leadership in an ordinary, everyday momentOne small shift listeners can make this week to lead from calm instead of fearAbout Robyn Graham Robyn Graham is an Anxiety Breakthrough Strategist, keynote speaker, and the creator of The CCC Method, a framework that helps leaders break free from anxiety-driven behavior so they can lead with calm, confidence, and consistency. She draws on her background as a pharmacist, a certified neuroscience coach, and a Master Certified Life Coach, and combines neuroscience with real-life experience to help high-achieving leaders recognize the patterns, like overcontrol, perfectionism, and people-pleasing, that quietly undermine their leadership. She hosts the globally ranked Robyn Graham Show and is the author of "You, Me, and Anxiety: Take Action Over Anxiety to Enjoy Being You." Connect with Robyn Website: https://therobyngraham.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therobyngrahamListen to The Robyn Graham Show wherever you get your podcastsBook: "You, Me, and Anxiety: Take Action Over Anxiety to Enjoy Being You"

Seventeen years ago, Bobby Hoffman was stuck in traffic on a Friday night with nothing waiting for him at home but laundry. A car cut him off. He was angry enough to consider ramming it. And then he heard a question that changed the direction of his life: were you paying attention? That was the epiphany. Bobby called his friends, told them to show up with twenty dollars each, and sent them out into the community to "break the ball of stress." What started as one night with a handful of guys became ePIFanyNow, a Mid-Michigan kindness movement now in its seventeenth year. Their first community event drew 350 people, including a biker gang nobody remembers inviting. In this conversation, Bobby and Nicole talk about what it actually takes to turn good intentions into a movement, why kindness is not a soft skill, and why the kindest people are so often the ones who have been hurt the most. In this episode: The drive-thru moment and the highway moment that sparked ePIFanyNow in 2009Why the name is spelled the way it is (E-P-I-F stands for Pass It Forward)The free venue, the phone call to the mayor, and the 350 people who showed up to the first eventThe science of kindness: why the giver, the receiver, and the witness all get the feel-good chemicalsBobby's answer to the "you're so Pollyanna" pushback, and where the term "soft skills" actually came fromThe difference between being nice and being kind, and why kindness can carry authorityWhat Bobby does when he is the one who needs a break from kindness workGrowing up as the bullied kid, and how that became the fuelNicole shares the Botox study that explains why your face changes the room"Kindness changes the room before you ever say a word."About Bobby Hoffman Bobby Hoffman spent more than two decades as Public Relations Manager at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts before founding Thought Partner Services, a people-first consultancy focused on leadership, culture, customer experience, and communication under pressure. He co-hosts FOX 47's Morning Blend, produces the weekly Good Neighbors segment, and celebrates teachers through the Michigan Lottery's Excellence in Education. He was named Michigan's 2023 Volunteer of the Year. Connect with Bobby ePIFanyNow: epifanynow.comThought Partner Services: thoughtpartnerservices.comEmail: [email protected] "It's not a soft skill. It's a missing skill in our culture right now." "Kindness changes the room before you ever say a word." Remember, what you look for is what you see.

The Kindness Podcast with Nicole Phillips Episode: What Does Kindness Look Like When Strangers Share a Name? Guest: Phil Campbell In 1994, a college student in the Midwest was watching Hee Haw when he learned there was a tiny town in Alabama that shared his name: Phil Campbell. He went mostly because the coincidence made him laugh, and partly because he had a girlfriend nearby. He figured it was a one-time lark. Thirty years later, it has become one of the longest emotional relationships of his life. This week I sit down with Phil Campbell, a former journalist, memoirist, and nonprofit fundraiser whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harvard Review, and Columbia Journalism Review. But his résumé is not why he is here. He is here because of what happened when he started gathering up unrelated Phil Campbells from all over the world and bringing them to one small Southern town that none of them came from. What started as a joke, a loose collection of strangers half hoping to land on Letterman, slowly turned into something none of them saw coming. In 2011, six weeks before the town's centennial reunion, a tornado tore through Phil Campbell and took twenty-six lives. The Phil Campbells came anyway, and the reason for the trip changed completely. So did everything after it. It is a story about how kindness becomes friendship, how friendship becomes responsibility, and how a person can come to love a community he has never lived in. If you have ever felt disconnected, or wondered where on earth you would ever find your people, this conversation is for you. Connect with Phil: Learn more about Phil and his work at philcampbellconsulting.com. His memoir, "I Come From a Family That Won't Talk About It," tells the deeper story behind what we talked about today. You can also find him on Instagram @philcampbellnyc. If this episode moved you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. And remember, what you look for is what you see.

Episode Description This week, Nicole Phillips sits down with nationally recognized health and wellness expert Wendie Pett, a Doctor of Naturopathy with more than twenty years in practice and the creator of the Visibly Fit program. Wendie believes mind, body, and spirit cannot really be pulled apart, and she shares how a major shoulder injury more than a decade ago reshaped everything she thought she knew about strength and healing. From using your own body as your gym to ordering your life around faith, family, and work, this is a hopeful, no-excuses conversation for anyone who feels like they have run out of time, energy, or motivation to take care of themselves. About Our Guest: Wendie Pett Wendie Pett is a nationally recognized health and wellness expert and a Doctor of Naturopathy with more than twenty years in practice. Twin Cities listeners may know her as "Coach Wendie" from KTIS radio, where she has encouraged people toward health for over eight years. She is the creator of the Visibly Fit program, a holistic approach centered on whole-food plant-based nutrition, body weight resistance exercises that support joint health, and shifting unhealthy mental and emotional patterns. Wendie has hosted a nationally syndicated television program and currently hosts two award-winning podcasts, Visibly Fit with Wendie Pett and Your Biggest Breakthrough. Her Visibly Fit TV show received the Exceptional Service Award from the Christian Women in Media Association, and she speaks at corporations, churches, and universities across the country. She has authored several books, including Every Woman's Guide to Personal Power. Beyond her work, Wendie is a mother and community-minded volunteer who attributes her success to putting God first, her family second, and her business third. That same heart for families led her to Grace 'n Action, a nonprofit ministry that supports single moms and children in need, and she serves as an Ambassador for Gospel for Asia, advocating for women and children in India. A Question to Sit With What if the kindest thing you could do today is not wait for the perfect moment, but offer your body one small act of care right where you are? Connect with Wendie Website: wendiepett.com Instagram: @wendiepett Facebook: facebook.com/VisiblyFit

Episode Description What does kindness look like when we treat it as the foundation of the future, and not just a nice thing to do today? This week, Nicole sits down with futurist, keynote speaker, and international best-selling author Michael Neece to find out. After delivering more than 750 presentations inside planetariums, Michael has developed a signature way of thinking about kindness through a cosmic lens, and he believes that lens changes everything about how we build teams, lead organizations, and imagine what comes next. From psychological safety at work to bridge-building across disparate communities, this conversation is a hopeful reminder that the future we end up with is the one we choose to build. About Michael Michael G. Neece is a futurist, keynote speaker, and international best-selling author who believes kindness is essential to building the future we want to live in. His experience spans leadership and educational roles in traditional corporate settings as well as planetariums, where he has delivered hundreds of presentations about team building, kindness, and the wonders of the universe. He is the author of In Kind: Consciously Craft a Meaningful Life and Career and co-author of Joy Unleashed: The Ultimate Guide to Living Your Best Life, and he hosts the podcast Our Future is Kind. Michael is also a co-founder of The Human Summit, which brings together people working to drive more connection among disparate communities. In This Episode How standing under the vastness of a planetarium dome reshapes the way we think about kindness on the groundWhat it means to be a futurist who sees kindness as a strategic advantage, not a soft skillWhy psychological safety is the real engine of innovative, productive teams, and how kindness creates itThe conviction that every person is worthy of a seat at the table, and how being a father to members of the LGBT community has shaped Michael's workThe story behind The Human Summit and why bridge-building across disparate communities matters nowWhat the kindest possible future actually looks like, and one small act any listener can offer the world todayA Question to Sit With What should the future be like? Who will be there? How can we craft it carefully into what we want and deserve? Connect with Michael Website: ourfutureiskind.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yournextkeynotespeaker Instagram: @michaelgneece YouTube: @YourNextKeynoteSpeaker Facebook: facebook.com/meteormike Books: In Kind: Consciously Craft a Meaningful Life and Career and Joy Unleashed: The Ultimate Guide to Living Your Best Life Podcast: Our Future is Kind If This Episode Moved You Share it with a friend who is dreaming about a better future, or who needs a reminder that the world we end up with is the one we choose to build. And remember, what you look for is what you see.

Episode Description In this episode of The Kindness Podcast, Nicole Phillips sits down with Lauren Wu, keynote speaker, attorney, former healthcare privacy executive, and founder of Heart Led Leadership, for a conversation about what happens when life forces us to rethink everything we thought we knew. Lauren shares the unexpected thread that connects her journey from ballerina to healthcare executive to founder, and how a life-threatening health event reshaped her understanding of success, leadership, and her own worth. Together, Nicole and Lauren explore what it means to build a career and a life around being human rather than around endurance, why empathy, authenticity, accessibility, and resilience are strategic advantages in the age of AI, and what kindness actually looks like inside a workplace. Lauren also offers a tender invitation for anyone who has built their identity around being the strong one, the dependable one, the high performer, and is quietly running on empty. About our guest: Lauren Wu Lauren Wu, Esq., CIPP/US, is a keynote speaker, attorney, former healthcare privacy executive, and founder of Heart Led Leadership, where she helps organizations rethink leadership, burnout, and performance in the age of AI. Before stepping onto stages, Lauren spent nearly two decades leading privacy, regulatory, and compliance strategy at companies including Roche, Exact Sciences, and Evidation Health. A former ballerina turned executive, Lauren's work explores what happens when high-performance cultures are built around constant endurance instead of sustainable human systems. After surviving a life-threatening health event that forced her to step away from her executive career, she began speaking about empathy, authenticity, accessibility, and resilience not as soft skills, but as strategic advantages. Today, Lauren speaks at the intersection of leadership, healthcare, ethics, technology, and human-centered design, helping audiences build systems where people can succeed without losing themselves in the process. Links and Resources Lauren's website: https://www.heartledleadership.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-foster-wu/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/heartledlauren

Episode Description In this episode of The Kindness Podcast, Nicole Phillips sits down with Jessica Moyer, TEDx speaker, best-selling author, and creator of the R.E.A.L. Wellness Framework, for a conversation that goes far beyond healthy habits. Jessica opens up about how grief, burnout, illness, and loss reshaped her understanding of strength and what it truly means to care for the whole self. Together, Nicole and Jessica explore what kindness looks like when your body, heart, and life all need care at the same time, why self-advocacy is its own form of kindness, and how transformation is still possible even in the hardest seasons. Jessica also offers a practical, hope-filled invitation for anyone who is feeling exhausted or discouraged and wondering where to begin. About our guest: Jessica Moyer Jessica Moyer is a TEDx speaker, Amazon best-selling author, host of The R.E.A.L. Wellness Podcast, and a certified leadership, wellness, nutrition, and hormone coach with over 25 years of experience. She helps individuals and organizations build health as the foundation for purposeful, high-impact living. A former gym owner and multi-certified fitness professional, Jessica specializes in sustainable habit formation, strength-based wellness, metabolic health, and hormone balance, particularly for high-achieving women and leaders. She is the creator of the R.E.A.L. Wellness Framework, a holistic approach centered on realistic changes, energy creation, aligned action, and self-love. Through her coaching programs, books, and keynote presentations, Jessica equips audiences with practical, science-informed tools to optimize health, regulate stress, and achieve lasting results without burnout. Jessica is also a passionate community advocate, helping raise over $2 million for Cure SMA and serving in multiple nonprofit leadership roles. As a reality show competitor and international model, she brings both grit and creativity to every organization she partners with to drive meaningful transformation. She is the proud wife of Jason of 28 years and mom to four beautiful children, including her angel Steven. Her message is simple yet powerful: when you steward your health well, you expand your capacity to lead, impact, and live with intention. Links and Resources Jessica's website https://www.jessica-moyer.com Get R.E.A.L. Health (book) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1963294394The R.E.A.L. Wellness Podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/641le6K6xAnXAuaiXAPgkP LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-moyer-290bb0b/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Purposefullifewellnesscoach/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jessmoyer/ Email [email protected]

Episode Description In this episode of the Kindness Podcast, Nicole Phillips speaks with Kelly King, a male breast cancer survivor whose journey has reshaped his views on time, purpose, and kindness. Kelly shares his unique experience of being diagnosed through a DNA blood test, navigating treatment, and the ongoing challenges he faces post-cancer. He emphasizes the importance of community, kindness, and gratitude in overcoming adversity, and encourages others to reach out for support during difficult times. About our guest: Kelley King My Why Changed Everything. For over four decades, I’ve helped people build legacies—crafting estate and life insurance strategies to protect families and futures. But I’ve learned that money alone doesn’t lead to a meaningful retirement. In 2023, that lesson became deeply personal. Through a new DNA blood test, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer—despite feeling healthy and having no symptoms. That diagnosis changed how I viewed everything: my health, my time, my why. For me, the answer was clear—my family, especially my seven grandchildren. They are my anchor and my “why.” After completing treatments, I became a co-founder of The Retirement Life, a program that prepares people for more than finances in retirement—focusing on values, relationships, faith, and purpose. My mission has grown from helping dads become better dads to helping men build lives of goodness, health, and vitality in every season. I’ve served on the board of Youth for Christ for 17 years, completed the Prime Movers program, and am a Certified Kingdom Advisor. I live in Alexandria, Ohio, attend Jersey Church, and take great joy in watching my three grown children lead boldly in their churches and communities. Purpose doesn’t end at retirement. In many ways, it begins. Links and Resources The Retirement Life https://www.theretirement.life/pages/home Facebook https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Retirement-Life-61558988862516/ Galleri early cancer detection test https://www.galleri.com Kelley King Financial Services http://www.king-fs.com Kelley’s male breast cancer story https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/post/my-male-breast-cancer-story John Hancock feature Early detection, lifelong impact John Hancock podcast episode https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-why-with-kelley-king-the-value

What does kindness look like when we learn to train our minds instead of being controlled by them? In this thoughtful conversation, Nicole sits down with Shashin Surkund, a technology leader who has spent his career building data and AI systems that shape how people experience products and services. But after a deeply personal life event, Shashin turned that same curiosity inward and began asking a different question: what if we trained our minds the way we train AI? That question became the foundation for a powerful new way of thinking. Shashin has spent the last decade raising awareness around mental health and helping people build lives rooted in gratitude, trust, and a more supportive inner voice. In his TEDx talk, he introduced the world to the idea of “inner ChatGPT,” a way of befriending the mind by being more intentional about what we feed it. In his world, GPT means something a little different: Gratitude and Positive Thoughts. Together, Nicole and Shashin talk about mental spirals, self-talk, positivity, and the quiet but powerful practice of being kinder to ourselves. They explore what it means to interrupt negative patterns, why small consistent messages matter, and how we can begin building an inner voice we actually trust. This episode is a reminder that kindness is not only something we offer to others. It is also something we practice in the way we speak to ourselves. About Shashin Surkund: Shashin Surkund is a seasoned technology professional who works for a leading financial organization and has spent much of his career enabling data platforms where analytics and AI are used at scale to create better products, services, and customer experiences. A personal life event led him to discover a deeper purpose: raising awareness around mental health. For the past decade, he has dedicated himself to fostering a culture of gratitude, trust, and positivity in both his personal and professional life. In November, Shashin introduced his best friend, POSH, short for Positive Shashin, on the TEDx stage. Through vulnerability and insight, he shared an innovative approach to mental wellness by encouraging people to treat their minds like AI language models and train them like their own inner ChatGPT. In his framework, GPT stands for Gratitude and Positive Thoughts. To kickstart each day, Shashin sends a simple email with a few uplifting thoughts to thousands of people in his organization. He calls it Daily Dose of Positivity, or DDOP. His story and openness have deeply resonated with others, earning him an unofficial but meaningful title from colleagues: Chief Happiness Officer. Connect with Shashin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashin-surkund-4288a7 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerchatgpt Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18SshKoJu3/?mibextid=wwXIfr Watch or read more: TEDx: Harness Your Inner ChatGPT https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/harness-your-inner-chatgpt-shashin-surkund-cdake https://youtu.be/BsZg2y9XCQ4?si=hn8tdHVBhXtyDcfu