Today on “The Shine Strategy,” I’m beyond thrilled to introduce you to Cathy Heller, host of the popular podcast “Don’t Keep Your Day Job,” which was given the #1 spot on iTunes’ recommended list of shows in 2018 and 2019. The show has received 9 million downloads and helps listeners find purpose in their lives and get paid doing what they love. 

Cathy has interviewed creatives and entrepreneurs at the top of their game, including actress Jenna Fischer, popular blogger Seth Godin, designer Jonathan Adler, make-up artist Bobbi Brown, dancer Mandy Moore, Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon, fitness expert Jillian Michaels, Starbucks’s Howard Schultz and Gretchen Rubin, just to name a few.

Cathy has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, the NY Times and Inc. Magazine. Her book, Don’t Keep Your Day Job, is coming out in November, and is filled with inspirational stories from people within her own tribe who have decided to take control of their creative career path. 

She is an extraordinary motivational coach and recognized for her genuine style. She often says “purpose is the opposite of depression,” and she lifts others to be the happiest version of themselves. Cathy has incredible insight on the power of enthusiasm, and how to do the things in life that scare you the most.

“Playing small and sitting on the bench—as comfortable as it is—is not going to make you feel alive.”

-Cathy Heller

On this episode of “The Shine Strategy,” I’m joined by lively celebrity chef, Alina Z, who was born in Russia to a poor family that started homeless—and then experienced a true rags to riches story. By following her father’s entrepreneurial spirit, they ended up becoming one of the wealthiest families in Russia, and Alina suddenly found herself surrounded by bodyguards and traveling in helicopters.

But Alina craved a different life and wanted to make it on her own, so she left Russia at the age of 15 to pursue the American Dream. Around that time, Alina’s family also lost everything, so she had no choice but to succeed on her own terms.

When Alina moved to the U.S., she took the wisdom from her family’s journey and applied it to her new life. Ultimately, she found happiness in doing what she loves: eating delicious food!

Alina has mastered the balance of healthy and tasty. She teaches people how to listen to their own bodies and create personalized diets that leave them feeling energized and satisfied.

Make sure you listen to this episode to hear all of her secrets on building success from passion, how to reach your target community, and ways to eat healthy—even if you don’t like to cook.

“You don’t need to know where you are going, or how you are going to get there—just follow your passion and your dream.”

-Alina Z

On this episode of “The Shine Strategy,” I’m proud to introduce to you a dynamic woman and longtime dear friend of mine, Lila Javan. We attended high school together at Northfield Mount Hermon, and who would have known all those years ago that Lila would become a 3x cancer survivor and the founder of Climb2Cure for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), raising over $2 million to date for cancer research.

In 2010, Lila’s life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukemia, AML. After intense treatment and a bone marrow transplant, Lila went almost four years of being cancer-free but relapsed two more times: in 2014, and again in 2018. She has survived aggressive chemotherapy treatment and multiple bone marrow and stem cell transplants—one from her sister and also from a stranger in Germany (thanks to Be The Match). 

Just before her relapse in 2014, Lila was planning a solo trip to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The very week that she was booking flights, she discovered that her cancer was back. While in the hospital, a friend designed a window frame with a beautiful photograph of Kilimanjaro in it and hung it on the wall opposite her bed. Throughout her treatment, Lila would stare at that window and visualize herself climbing the mountain. Her doctors and nurses all asked about the picture and soon her solo trip became a group trip comprised of 12 doctors, nurses, therapists and friends. 

Lila then reached out to LLS to see if they could do the trek as a fundraiser for research, and “Climb2Cure” was born. Her solo climb evolved into a new LLS Team In Training fundraising platform that will continue for years to come and is expanding to other mountain tops. Lila’s team raised an astonishing $133,000 for their first climb. To date, climbers have raised over $2M for cancer research. 

Lila’s strength is unbelievable. She is not only one of the physically strongest people I know, but her will and spirit are a shining example of how the energy you carry can literally heal you. Using visualization, she was able to look at her treatment as “training” which powered her through the rough days. She was able to run the LA marathon a mere 6 months after her first transplant! 

You won’t want to miss her unbelievable story and learn what you can do to continue to support the fight against cancer. 

“When you get a cancer diagnosis it feels like your life is over. It feels like you’re going to be a different person. Things will shift and change. I’m not sugar-coating—it’s not easy. But you can still be YOU. You need to hold onto those things that you believe in. Give yourself goals that you can think forward on. That will really help you get through any diagnosis and any issue.” 

-Lila Javan

On this episode of “The Shine Strategy,” I’m thrilled to welcome the brilliant Kate Edwards, co-founder and COO of Heartbeat, and co-host of “The Next Ten” on Podast One.

Heartbeat is a marketing technology platform that connects brands with real consumers to run influencer-style campaigns on Instagram. As of 2019, Heartbeat has a captive network of over 250,000 Millennial and Gen Z ambassadors and reaches over 600 million people on Instagram. 

Kate began her career at top creative advertising agencies working with clients such as Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. She went on to consult for the Global Vertical Marketing team at Facebook and led business development for Three Day Rule. She is a Brown University alumnus and received her MBA at UCLA Anderson as an Easton Technology Fellow. She’s even been a contestant on “Jeopardy”! 

I get really excited when I learn new things about social media and the future of marketing, so my conversation with Kate was incredibly inspiring as well as full of tips on what makes campaigns successful.  Additionally, her passion for changing the perception of women in media and giving everyday people a voice, is truly making a wonderful impact on the world. 

You won’t want to miss this episode to learn how you can become a nano-influencer, what brands can do to maximize their reach, and why it’s important to embrace your individuality.

“It’s all about giving people a voice and that voice should be their own. ​It shouldn’t be manufactured…” 

-Kate Edwards

On this episode of “The Shine Strategy,” I’m so excited to sit with Holly Dowling, a global keynote speaker, inspirational thought leader and all-around exuberant human being. Holly has over 20 years of experience helping managers become stronger leaders, individuals achieve higher levels of performance, and companies discover new opportunities for success.

Holly’s clients continue to bring her back as a keynote speaker, corporate facilitator and consultant, and she is honored to have worked with Facebook, IBM, Gap, among countless others. Additionally, Holly is a proud partner of The United Nations Foundation where she serves as an ambassador for “Girl Up” and promotes equality, innovation and entrepreneurship for women worldwide. 

Holly’s life mantra is “Live life with a passion!” And that she does. Holly and I have worked together and have shared so many special moments that gave us both goosebumps as we re-live them in this conversation. She’s not only full of joy—she’s also open, courageous and real. 

She truly has a gift for engaging and energizing everyone around her. You won’t want to miss this inspiring episode on how she’s pushed through her own dark times, relentlessly and creatively pursued her dream jobs, and what she means when she says, “tell me ‘no’ and watch me go.” 

“Let go of scripts. Let go of all of the stuff that makes your brain go into a no-shine mode. Tap into where your heart is.” 

-Holly Dowling