Career

How to Gain Leadership Experience as a Junior Employee, Being Liked vs Being Respected, and Better 1 on 1 Meetings | E44 Ben Brearley

Ben Brearley has been leading people for over 15 years. He saw the struggle managers had with the balancing act of leadership. Ben started writing articles to serve those who aspired to be an attentive and considerate manager. At the time, Ben didn’t...

Relationships Health

First Date Tips, Feeling Complete on Your Own, and Exploring Sobriety | E43 Cara Hays

After college, Cara Hays found herself battling with two identities. Her future self that prioritized her values and her past self that continued to distract with bad habits.   One day Cara decided it was time to look forward without looking back and...

Health

Master Trainer on How to Overcome Your Gym Anxiety and Start Your Fitness Journey | E42 Kawan Karadaghi

Many of us go through quite the physical transformation in our 20’s. Our metabolism slows down and we can no longer eat junk food for every meal. When we get older, we have to be more intentional about our fitness routines.   I invited Kawan Karadagh...

Personal Finance Relationships Health

Former Inmate on Believing in Yourself, Creating Your Comeback, and Proving Them Wrong | E41 Nate Dukes

Joining me on today’s podcast is Nate Dukes. Nate is an author, speaker, property investor, leader at his church, and serves on the board of a non-profit for underprivileged youth. Already an impressive resume for someone in ...

Personal Finance

Why You Should Consider Having a Health Savings Account (HSA) | E40 Sean Mullaney

In our last episode, we covered so much material about tax including terminology, the US tax system, and retirement accounts. One topic that came up but we didn’t get to discuss extensively was Health Savings Accounts or HSA.   I was going to let thi...

Personal Finance

What You Need to Know About Taxes in Your 20s | E39 Sean Mullaney

A month ago, I went to Instagram and asked what money topics you’d like to learn more about. To my utter surprise, taxes had the most votes. I figured side hustles, investing, even budgeting would attract more attention but maybe I failed to realize ...

Personal Finance

How to Negotiate Your Next Lease From a Landlord and Real Estate Expert | E38 Justin Pogue

At one point or another, you’ll probably have to deal with apartment hunting. For some, online searching and taking tours is exciting. For myself, it’s exhausting. You find the perfect place: the floor plan works for you and your roommates, it has th...

Career

Corporate Executive Turned TikToker on Taking a Career Break, Developing Curiosity and Responding with Empathy | E37 Tim Traill

Joining me today is Tim Traill. Tim is a husband and father of 5 children. Tim has spent three decades working his way up to a Corporate Executive in the financial services industry.   Last year, Tim decided he needed a career break. As you’ll hear i...

Health

Happiness Engineer on the 5 Pillars of Human Thriving | E36 Ali Binazir

Imagine if you had two years to travel the globe in order to better understand happiness. Where would you go? I’m assuming the Nordic countries who I hear always rank high on the World Happiness Report. Potentially Australia and New Zealand? They see...

Career

MIT Professor Explains How to Gain Clarity on the Next Steps in Your Career | E35 Mark Herschberg

Most of us have this exciting yet frustrating thing we call a career path. One day we know what our calling is and how we are going to get there only for us to break down in panic the next day. Careers are fascinating because we have to balance what ...

Personal Finance Relationships

Author of Broke Millennial Shares How to Navigate Awkward Money Conversations with Friends | E34 Erin Lowry

If you have a skill of finding free food, you’re consistently dealing with an unreliable laptop or phone, or you furnished your apartment with cheap furniture from family and Craigslist, I’m assuming you might be a broke 20-something and “I Need a Do...

Health

Professional Organizer Shares Tips for Keeping Your Small Space Organized I E33 Lucy Milligan Wahl

One of the best experiences of my 20s has been living on my own. Sure, I have to buy my own groceries and dirty dishes aren’t going to magically disappear, but moving out of my parent’s house gave me the challenge to start figuring things out on my o...

Career

Career Consultant Demonstrates How to Be a Self-Advocate at Work | E32 Stephanie Ritz

I think I’m safe to make an overgeneralization that, at one point or another, we’ve all felt undervalued at work. Maybe we believe we should be paid more, be given more responsibility, or have a more significant title. But believing it doesn’t get us...

Personal Finance

Financial Blogger on How Happiness and Investing Your Money Can Be Congruent Goals I E31 Joel O’Leary aka 5am Joel

Welcome to The Struggle is Real, a show for young adults looking for knowledge on issues they’ll face in their 20s that wasn’t taught in the classroom.   How would you feel about retiring 5, 10, even 20 years earlier than you planned? This probably r...

Personal Finance Career

26 Year Old Director Shares Advice on How to Quickly Rise Through the Ranks I E30 - Mason Burchette

I’m assuming the job you have now isn’t the position you want forever. Most of us hope as we learn new skills and take on more responsibilities, we will get the opportunity to move up within our company. But why do some people seem to get the opportu...

Personal Finance Career

Former NFL player on How to Start Owning Your Mistakes and Make the Change You Need | E29 Marques Ogden

Today’s guest is former NFL offensive lineman, Marques Ogden. Marques played in the NFL for nearly 6 years. He was drafted in the 2003 by the Jaguars and went on to play with the Ravens, Bills, and Titans. While his NFL career ended in 2007, this was...

Personal Finance

Financial Coach Gives Helpful Money Advice For Young Adults | E28 Tracey Bissett

Welcome to The Struggle is Real, a show for young adults looking for knowledge on issues they’ll face in their 20s that wasn’t taught in the classroom.   Why don’t we feel better equipped to handle our finances when we get into the real world?   My g...

Career

Two Leadership Experts Explain How Honoring Personality Differences Could Lead to More Success in Your Career | E27 Brett Cooper & Evans Kerrigan

Today’s guests are Brett Cooper and Evans Kerrigan, Co-Founders of Integris Performance Advisors which is focused on improving team performance. They also co-authored a book called Solving the People Problem: Essential Skills You Need to Lead and Suc...

Relationships

E26: Jay Williams on Commitment Issues, Taking Off the Masks, and Why Men Can’t Talk About Their Feelings

Welcome into The Sandbox, a podcast for young professionals that explores the building blocks for being successful after your 20’s. Today’s guest is Jay Williams, the Founder of Maskless Men, an community based organization built for men to discuss t...

Health

E25: Jared Schuster on Traveling the World, Networking Practices that Work, and Uncovering Your Purpose

Welcome into The Sandbox, a podcast for the 20-somethings who want to live the best version of their life and are seeking the skills, strategy, and mindset to do just that. Today’s guest is Jared Schuster, Founder of Sparks of Consciousness which foc...

Career

E24: Christen Brandt on Creating More Firsts for Girls, Defining Your North Star, and Creating an Impact Pitch

Welcome into The Sandbox, a podcast for the 20-somethings who want to live the best version of their life and are seeking the skills, strategy, and mindset to do just that. Today’s guest is Christen Brandt, Co-Founder and Chief Programs Officer at Sh...

Health

E23: Tippi Thole on Why Receipts Aren’t Recyclable, Why Food Doesn’t Biodegrade in Landfills, and Reducing Waste During the Holidays

Welcome into The Sandbox, a podcast for the 20-somethings who want to live the best version of their life and are seeking the skills, strategy, and mindset to do just that. There is no doubt that humans are causing long-term destruction to the enviro...

Career

Spend Less Time on Job Boards and Get More Responses l E22 James Aiken

Today’s guest is James Aiken, Founder and President of Legacy Search, an independent recruiting agency in South Carolina. Over the last 8 months, COVID has wreaked havoc on many industries causing massive layoffs. I’ve had friends that have worked fo...

Career

Using Job Crafting to Increase Your Career Satisfaction l E21 Dr. Benjamin Ritter

Today’s guest is Dr. Benjamin Ritter, Founder of Live for Yourself Consulting. Ben’s current chapter of life began when he got a wake up call walking into work one day. He was on his way to a Chicago medical center where he worked as an Executive in ...