#LITA- Love Is The Answer

Season 2 Episode 4: Joel Hodroff- Money Innovation: Is the World Ready?

I’m your host, Jeff Conner and I’m excited to jump into part two of my conversation with Joel Hodroff, my economic futurist friend who is trying to change the world through money innovation.

Before we get to the show, I want to share with you a development with the foundation I started in memory of our son Waylon, who passed away in November of 2019. For those of you who have been listening for a while, you know that the #LITA podcast was inspired by Waylon’s life. If you want to learn more about why I started this podcast, go back and listen to Episode 3.

Season 2 Episode 3: Joel Hodroff- A Better Alternative to Win-Lose Competition Over Money

This week’s guest is Joel Hodroff. He is an inventor, a 40+ year business entrepreneur and an economic futurist. He often feels like a Stranger in a Strangle Land (if you Grok). Joel believes that emerging business models—based upon cooperation and sustainability—can rapidly solve our most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. All the needed technologies are already at hand to update money, economics and commerce towards an ever-improving quality of life for individuals, families and communities. He has been a Visa Innovation Provocateur and a Twin Cities Innovator of the Year. He’s playing for (and praying for) a “25-year overnight success story” and is only 2 years behind schedule.

Joel is a great friend and mentor to me. We have spent uncountable hours talking about economics, money, life and love and that’s why this conversation is split over two episodes. We had a lot to unpack in looking at how we could build a better world of win-win-win cooperation over money.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Show Notes/Resources

Joel’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelhodroff/

Season 2 Episode 2: Gigi Langer- Don’t Believe Your Whispered Lies: How to Love Yourself and Create Your Best Life

This week’s guest is Gigi Langer, author of 50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity and Connection. She holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education and has 34 years of sobriety herself.

Gigi and I have an extremely fun conversation talking about self-awareness, how to worry less, and how by believing our own whispered lies we are cutting off our own potential. Our conversation is broad and covers alcohol, marijuana, and sex addictions. We also discuss energy healing, forgiveness, Katie Byron’s The Work, and much more!

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Show Notes/Resources

Bonnie Lemke is my guest this week. Bonnie and I went to high school together and she reached out to me after seeing my social media posts about the podcast. Bonnie wants to use her experience to help others and she thought that telling her story would be a good first step to do that.

You see, Bonnie, like many of us went through trauma in her childhood. She endured sexual, physical and mental abuse as a young girl and as an adult, she used alcohol to numb the pain from those experiences.

I think Bonnie is a perfect example of how we each have a story and we’re all just trying to find our way to happiness. Bonnie shows great courage in her willingness to be vulnerable by sharing her story. I believe it’s this type of courage that is going to help change the face of mental illness, substance abuse and other issues we face as a society. It’s people like Bonnie helping us to see the pain behind their stories that will help others overcome any shame so they can start getting the help they need to live better lives.

Some technical issue happened at the end of the recording and our conversation ends abruptly as Bonnie is sharing her own stories about her suicide attempts, so I apologize for that. However, I think the conversation leading up to that point is very meaningful and worthwhile.

If you find our conversation helpful, please let me know. I’d love to hear how this show impacts your life. Thank you for listening and please remember that you are loved.

Thank you for supporting the #LITA Podcast! Please connect with us & keep the conversation going!

Erl and I have an extraordinary conversation together and we spend a great deal of time discussing religion and spirituality.   Here's more about Erl from his own LinkedIn profile:

I'm a bridge builder! I connect leaders in communities of abundance, with those in communities of need. Thus, I do my best work with leaders of noble character -- the kind-hearted, generous, compassionate leaders who want to increase their capacity to do greater good in the world. Success, for them, is merely a foundation for even greater significance in their lives.

A 30-year veteran of the Personal Development industry, I have been a highly effective Mentor, Trainer, & Executive Coach to these high-impact leaders around the world. From entrepreneurial Founders & Owners of small businesses, to the corporate offices of governing Boards, CEOs, Executive Leadership, and their teams.

We work together on the strategic clarity, unity, & direction that creates "spiritually sustainable initiatives" that contribute directly to the causes you care about.

An International Speaker, Master Trainer, Mentor, & Coach, I go right to the core of the culture, communication, & character development of your team, and the initiatives & movements you lead.

Why? Confronted as a child with the inequities of apartheid in South Africa, I devoted many years to an intense study of human change dynamics, with a particular emphasis on how to cultivate the mindset, habits and character that bring prosperity at a personal, corporate, and community level.

From this perspective, I developed keen insight into the heart of an enterprise, providing a whole-hearted approach to leadership development and the integrity of the enterprise.

My focus is to inspire leaders to greater excellence by helping them understand and master the inner dynamics that make it work - whether in private conversation with world-class leaders, training trainers internationally, coaching six-figure executive coaches to greater significance, or helping community or national leaders transform their organizations into instruments of greater good.

Leslie Jackson is the author of her book titled “Change Course; One Lady’s Race from Acceptance to Adventure”. She has professionally raced cars on a WISSOTA dirt track for 7 years and is the co-founder, president & CFO of a top 5 Minnesota commercial roofing company for the past 14 years.

Leslie and I have a great conversation and you’ll hear us discuss how she was teased for a rare skin condition which gave her red spots all over her body and what she did to minimize this teasing. You’ll also hear about how the death of her sixteen-year-old brother, when she was only fourteen, affected her and her family. She shares with us her addiction and attraction to men with addictive personalities affected her and how and why she ultimately “changed course” to find a life of love and joy.

Leslie believes God has given everyone unique gifts and encourages you to dig deep, grab hold of your potential, and live life to its fullest. She also invites you to live with love and meaning, act with purpose, and aim to make a positive difference in the world.

Teresa Thomas connects people, possibilities and purpose as an award-winning professional speaker, networking expert, facilitator, and author of Win/Win Networking and 50 Fun Things® – Enjoy the Small Things.

This week, Teresa and I have a wide-ranging conversation talking about her latest book, 50 Fun Things. We cover topics like giving, gratitude, self-love, being silly and playful to reduce stress & the danger of trying to please everyone.

Teresa is a master connector and her book, Win/Win Networking helped my entire sales team at my catering company get better at networking to increase their sales. She brilliantly tied what she does to the #LITA Movement by saying,

“We are all Connected, when everything else is stripped away, it's how we treat each other that matters.”

If you, like most of us, find yourself taking things too seriously and are filled with anxious feelings, our conversation and the highlights of her book can help you stop that cycle and connect to what truly matters…creating a life of joy!

She is the recipient of the 2019 Women in Business Champion through the Small Business Association (SBA) of Minnesota. Teresa is also named as one of the 2019 50 Over 50 leaders by AARP and Pollen.

Do you find it difficult to have tough conversations where the stakes are high and emotions can run even higher? I know I have and still do. Unfortunately, we often either really botch these conversations, or avoid having them altogether.

This week’s guest is Sayre Darling. Sayre and I have been friends for a couple of years and we met at a heart-based leadership breakfast we both attended. Over the years I’ve gotten to know Sayre and hear about her work helping others have Crucial Conversations. She has great insights into what it takes to have meaningful and purposeful conversations that enhance relationships rather than erode relationships.

If you, like me, struggle with confrontation, then this is a great episode for you to hear. You’ll get actual strategies to help you better communicate with the people who are important in your life.

We had a bit of technical difficulties with our connection. Unfortunately, our good-byes were cutoff at the end. I’ve done my best in post-production to preserve the essence of our conversation. The ending is a bit abrupt, and I don’t want you to be surprised by that. I think you’ll really enjoy our conversation even with these tech issues.

I hope you get a lot out of this and it helps you like it’s helped me. Enjoy!

Here’s a bit more on Sayre:

This week I talk to a really fun guest, Kevin Fortune. Kevin was introduced to me by a mutual friend because of Kevin’s view on the necessity for freedom to pave the way for true love. Kevin is from Atlanta where he owns his business, Kevin Fortune, LLC to help others build and retain wealth. He’s also the host of his own Podcast, The Liberty Show, where he discusses freedom and politics as an activist within the Libertarian Party.

We cover a lot of ground in our time together. Some of the many topics we touch are understanding without judging, race relations, his involvement in the Civil Rights movement, and accepting people first. We also dive into tough topics like reparations, white privilege and black lives matter.

I think you’ll find this to be a fun and lively talk with some great perspectives coming out. We don’t solve all the world’s problems, but we sure give it a whirl!

Here’s a bit more on Kevin:

Join me for a real and raw conversation on the importance physical fitness on the quality of our lives. This is a conversation with William Israelson, founder of Ascension Fitness and all-around great guy.

Our conversation covers a lot of ground, starting with the loss, in William’s life, that led him to a maximum weight of 350 pounds and what led him to his transformation to being a fitness trainer and owner of a gym where he helps others reclaim their lives.

We’ll talk about a lot of the mental junk that gets in our way as we try to transform ourselves and claim our best lives. Whether it’s work, kids, tragedy, or whatever we use to create excuses to be less than who we are meant to be, William has faced each of these down and is living his most triumphant life!

And, he’s not done yet! So, if you want to get inspired to start living your best life, then you won’t want to miss this fun, informative and motivating conversation. Make sure to listen all the way through so you get to hear all the great advice William has to give.

*Explicit Language warning. Because you haven’t heard strong language from me yet and when two guys get together, there’s bound to be a few choice words said, I want to warn you of this in advance. It’s not too frequent or too crass, but will definitely show you an edgier side to me than you’re used to hearing.

If you’d like to connect with William, you can find him on Facebook and through his website:

Lorie Corcuera is a survivor of mental and physical abuse. Having observed her mother go through this with her father, Lorie found herself married to a man who was much like her father. Having escaped the cycle of abuse, she reclaimed herself and learned how to love the person that she is.

Having persevered through the abuse and rising above the notion of trying to please others above herself, Lorie recreated her vision of what it means to be able to serve and love others at the highest level. Having done this, she created her company, Spark Creations & Company Inc. where she helps others create meaning in their lives. She teaches workshops on saying “no” and how to respond to emotionally charged situations.

Our conversation covers a lot of ground and I found Lorie to be very vulnerable in sharing her history. Her courage is evident throughout our time together and her love of others shines through her lessons. Lorie is definitely putting #LITA into action!

If you’d like to connect with Lori, you can find her on LinkedIn:

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please get help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255.

This week’s guest on the show is Jami K. Jami is a suicide survivor and mental health advocate, using her chosen platforms of Twitter and Medium to promote love and kindness to those who are experiencing mental health trouble and suicidal thoughts. She is 51 years old and lives in Florida. She is a wife, mother and daughter to her family.

I met Jami via Twitter and once I learned and saw what she is doing, I knew I had to have her on this show. Jami was very nervous about agreeing to do a recorded conversation with me and it really put her outside her comfort zone. Ultimately, she decided to push through her discomfort for the opportunity to further promote her message and help more people.

In our conversation we take a pretty big swipe at the topics of mental health and suicide awareness. We both believe it’s our willingness to be vulnerable and talking about mental health, in our own lives, that is going to be the difference maker on this issue. We both firmly believe we need to remove the shame around having mental health distress, no matter how big or small the problem is for someone.

Some bullet points for our discussion are:

- Importance of being nice to others

- Suicide awareness

- How and what to do guidance when someone you know is talking about suicide

- Medication for mental illness

If you are someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you will want to listen to this episode. Please know there are resources to help you. You can connect with either Jami or me and we will not only give you love and kindness, but we’ll also help connect you with resources to get more help.

Here are a few resources to help you:

“You want to spread love and freedom in our world. But the more you reach for understanding, connection or growth, the more they argue, defend themselves and pull away. And, even though you know better, you still find yourself trapped in dysfunctional power struggles that you’ve been trying to get free from for a long time. Why don’t they listen? Why can’t they see what is so obvious to you? What’s getting in the way of the connection you want?”—www.yvetteerasmus.com

Now on #LITA is Dr. Yvette Erasmus! Yvette works with groups, couples, individuals, leaders and organizations. She puts an emphasis on personal inner work to create a just and peaceful world where everyone’s needs matter. She helps you learn ways to stop sabotaging yourself and your relationships. The “About” Page of her website sums it up best:

It’s time for a change, and it starts with you.

I am here to help you connect the dots, find the missing links, heal the hurts, and deeply understand yourself and others so you can move forward with clarity, empowerment and love.

It’s time to step into your inner authority and to act from your most authentic, aware and empowered self.”

I got so much out of my conversation with Yvette and I think you will too. We talked about what it was like growing up in South Africa with two parents, each on opposite sides of the apartheid issue. We also discuss trauma and its impact on our lives and our relationships. You’ll hear us talk about anger and other negative emotions and what they mean. How we use ‘violent’ tactics like fear of consequences and promise of rewards to manipulate others into doing what we want.

We don’t just talk about problems and challenges. We also talk about solutions. Yvette gives practical ideas to living our best lives and having deep, meaningful relationships with others.

Our guest today is seriously frickin' awesome. But here's the thing... she believes YOU are frickin' awesome, too!

Alissa Daire Nelson is regularly featured on television news segments, inside major blogs and publications, and on podcasts from all over the globe.

She's an accomplished Success Coach, Speaker, host of the Frickin' Awesome Entrepreneur podcast as well as the brand-new podcast, Making The List. She’s the author of the book, From Frustrated to Frickin' Awesome: 4 Steps to Achieve the Success You're Wired For.

But more than anything else she's an exceedingly proud wife and mother of two, who loves helping others discover how to own their perfect lopsidedness and learn to have it all.

Please enjoy this energetic and moving conversation as we discuss a wide range of topics that help to promote love as the answer. We talk about success and what it means. The relationship between success and happiness and joy. You’ll also hear ideas on the Law of Attraction, the fear of success and the importance of embracing discomfort in order to grow.

Alissa is one guest you won’t want to miss on the #LITA Podcast.

Speaking of success, I cannot tell you how much I love doing this podcast! I am definitely living my best life as I do this show and I’m excited each week to bring you fantastic content that has the power to change lives. This podcast audience continues to grow and is happening because of your awesome support! Thank you!

Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences sharing the platform with everyone from today’s business leaders and broadcast personalities to even a former U.S. President.

Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, marketing and influence, with total book sales of well over a million copies. His book, The Go-Giver, coauthored with John David Mann, itself has sold over 950,000 copies and it has been translated into 28 languages.

His and John’s newest parable in the Go-Giver Series is The Go-Giver Influencer.

Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic, and is a past member of the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch in his town of Jupiter, Florida.

Bob and I had a great conversation and I believe the work he is doing exemplifies LITA in action.  He shows how creating value, serving others, building influence and being your authentic self are time-tested ways to show your love for others.  Perhaps most importantly, as we build a giver's mindset, is the idea of being receptive to the givings of others as a critical component to the flow of giving and receiving.

You can learn more about Bob and The Go-Giver on these websites:  www.thegogiver.com and www.burg.com.

You can also view a fun video that gives a great overview of this incredible book.

Finally, you can connect with Bob through social media here:

Today’s episode I explain what led me to starting the #LITA Podcast and movement.  This movement has been germinating in me for some time and the death of our 17-year-old son, Waylon, last November is when I first began saying and using the hashtag, Love Is the Answer and LITA.

This came into my vocabulary as I was preparing to deliver Waylon’s eulogy. I knew I’d be speaking to three or four hundred of Waylon’s high school classmates, and I wanted to impress on them how many of these tragedies could be avoided if we all practiced loving on another.

This episode is about my journey and what led me to the place where I knew that love is the answer. I have been discovering the amazing power of love over the past several years because I haven’t always believed this myself. My journey has taken me on several twists and turns, but has ultimately led me to the incredible truth behind the words “Love Is the Answer.”

You’ll hear about this journey and how the struggles of being a business owner brought me to a moment of surrender. How being on a path of personal growth and development has opened doors for me I never imagined possible. In short, you’ll gain an understanding of how and why I came to the conclusion that love really is the answer for all our problems.

Welcome to LITA and our second episode of Love is the Answer! Thank you for joining me, my name is Jeff Conner and I just love talking to people about love. I’m an author, entrepreneur, speaker and business coach and I’ve found my greatest successes come when I help other people get what they want.

You may recognize my guest today from the hit television show, The Voice.

Kat Perkins grew up in Scranton, North Dakota surrounded by a family of musicians and quickly knew at a young age that performing is what she wanted to make her life career. She moved to the Minneapolis area to further pursue music and ended up gaining success with her band, Scarlet Haze where she opened for Bon Jovi.

However, like all of us, Kat had her struggles. She had vocal cord surgery which threatened her musical career. However, after a three year hiatus from performing, she made her comeback on NBC’s The Voice where she became a finalist under coach, Adam Levine.

Kat has gone on to Chart in the top 5 on iTunes several times since The Voice and she is using her platform to help others. Kat really puts LITA into action through school speaking engagements, across the nation, where she speaks to students about pursuing their dreams and living a fearless life. She has also started a non-profit foundation called The Rising Star Foundation, providing scholarships and opportunity for aspiring musicians while also giving back to the local community.

I found Kat to be full of energy and a vigor for life. It as obvious to me in the first few minutes how much Kat nails the idea of LITA.

During our conversation, Kat and I covered a lot of ground! We discuss love, race, education, and art and how our response to each of these will impact the world around us.

So, Please, sit back, relax and enjoy listening in on the fantastic conversation that follows…

Show Notes

My guest today was amazing to talk with! I want to introduce Vonshan Billingsly. Vonshan is a black American. A father, husband, brother, son and friend. He is also a recovering addict.

He and his wife, Nicole (also a recovering addict), own and operate Nivon Wellness Center, The Center for Healing. They have both been clean for 8 years and Nicole is about to earn her doctorate degree!

They help treat folks with substance abuse and mental health issues at their two locations in the St. Paul area in Minnesota.

You’re about to hear a conversation I had with Vonshan concering the racial divide we are seeing in the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a police officer here in Minneapolis.

Vonshan and I wanted to have a real and open conversation about race and racism. What follows is an extraordinary civil discourse between two men. One who happens to be black and one who happens to be white.

You’re in for a real growth experience and to be clear, we’re only scratching the surface. There’s much to be done, but to Vonshan and me, conversations like this seem to be the best place to start.

So, without further delay, listen in to this fascinating conversation with Vonshan.

Show Notes:

If you or someone you know is experiencing problems related to substance abuse and/or mental health, please reach out to Nivon Wellness Center.