Podcast
🎙️ 33 CONVERSATIONS PODCAST
Hosted by Michael Abney · EN
33 Conversations Podcast helps mission-driven founders, creators, and leaders in transition turn honest conversation into visible authority.
Each episode goes beneath the polished bio, pitch, or success story to reveal the real person behind the work: the tensions they are navigating, the identity shifts shaping their leadership, and the deeper signal behind what they are building.
This is not performance-driven thought leadership. It is authority built through clarity, presence, and truth.
For listeners, it is a window into the messy middle of meaningful work. For guests, it is a conversation that helps people understand who they are, what they stand for, and why their work matters now.
49episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Doing Good Shouldn’t Require Suffering
2d ago00:34:10Tap to summarizen this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with Andy Choi, founder and CEO of DoGood, for a conversation about profit with purpose, social impact, faith, capitalism, nonprofit scarcity, and what it means to build something that serves without losing yourself in the process.Andy shares how growing up in a Korean immigrant family, being shaped by faith, witnessing nonprofit life up close, and building multiple startups led him to question the old separation between making money and doing good.Together, Michael and Andy explore why mission-driven people are often expected to sacrifice, why the nonprofit system can become scarcity-driven, and how business might be redesigned to support human flourishing instead of extracting from it.This episode is for founders, nonprofit leaders, faith-driven entrepreneurs, social impact builders, and anyone who has ever felt torn between ambition and service.It is worth listening to because it challenges a quiet but powerful belief: that doing meaningful work requires suffering. Andy offers a different possibility — one where purpose, profit, and sustainability are not enemies, but parts of a better-designed system.
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The Missing Human Training in Healthcare
4d ago00:32:42Tap to summarizeIn this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney speaks with Shannon Scandozza, a virtual clinical simulation designer, healthcare educator, patient advocate, and founder of Inspirational By Design.Shannon’s work focuses on building psychologically safe, cost-efficient clinical simulation environments where healthcare learners can practice communication, make mistakes, receive feedback, and prepare for real patient care before lives are at risk.Together, Michael and Shannon explore virtual patient simulation, AI patient avatars, healthcare education, patient advocacy, provider burnout, medical communication, and the deeper human issues inside healthcare systems.This episode is for healthcare educators, nurses, medical students, patient advocates, founders, and anyone who has ever felt small, confused, or powerless inside a medical setting.It is worth listening to because it offers a hopeful but grounded view of how healthcare can become more human: not by pretending the system is fine, but by training people differently, building safer spaces, and refusing to wait for permission to solve problems that are already visible.
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Leadership After the Title Disappears
1w ago00:35:37Tap to summarizeWhat happens to your leadership identity when the title, team, structure, and external validation are no longer there?In this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with Dr. Julie Armstrong, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, leadership development coach, and consultant, for a grounded conversation about career transition, self-leadership, and rebuilding identity after decades inside organizations.Dr. Julie shares what it has been like to move from 30 years of organizational leadership into independent consulting, including the unexpected emotional weight of losing the structures that once reflected her value back to her.Together, Michael and Julie explore external validation, vulnerability, learning in public, relationship-building, local influence, structured reflection, and the difference between excellence and performance.This episode is for executives, consultants, founders, coaches, solopreneurs, and leaders navigating a transition where the old identity no longer fits but the new one is still forming.It is worth listening to if you are learning how to lead yourself when no one else is watching.
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Stroke Recovery, Identity Loss, and Building Community
2w ago00:33:29Tap to summarizeIn this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney speaks with Ralph Preston, founder of Stroke Buddies, about the long and often unsupported road after stroke.Ralph shares how his own stroke nearly 18 years ago revealed a major gap in recovery support: survivors often receive care at the beginning, but are left to navigate the physical, emotional, mental, and identity challenges that continue long after formal therapy ends.The conversation explores stroke recovery, self-advocacy, caregiver support, physical therapy, emotional resilience, neuroplasticity, community building, and the personal discipline required to keep going when progress is slow.This episode is for stroke survivors, caregivers, health advocates, mission-driven founders, and anyone rebuilding after a life-changing event.It is worth listening to because Ralph’s story is not only about recovery. It is about what happens when someone sees a gap, refuses to ignore it, and builds something that helps others feel less alone.
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Trust, Fractional Work, and Owning Your Value
2w ago00:29:09Tap to summarizeIn this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney speaks with Gary Parkinson, a fractional content strategist, copywriter, and author, about the transition from being seen as a service provider to becoming a trusted strategic partner.Gary shares what changed when he left corporate life, built his own path during the uncertainty of 2020, and began helping clients move beyond surface-level content into clearer, more empathetic storytelling. The conversation explores imposter syndrome, client trust, pipeline building, stoicism, business uncertainty, organic content strategy, and knowing when a client relationship has run its course.This episode is for fractional leaders, consultants, solo founders, content strategists, and service-based entrepreneurs who want to build deeper trust, own their value, and become more than the person executing tasks.It is worth listening to if you are navigating uncertainty, trying to position yourself more strategically, or learning how to stop proving your worth and start embodying it.
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Train The Pressure
3w ago00:38:49Tap to summarizeIn this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with Nate Roy, founder of Cortex Flex and co-founder of Capsule Inc., for a conversation about neuroscience, resilience, leadership, authenticity, and what it really means to grow under pressure.Nate shares why mindset alone is often not enough, how the nervous system shapes our response to adversity, and why leaders must learn to move between being the teacher and being the student. The conversation explores how pressure constrains the brain, how training can expand our capacity for precision under stress, and why authenticity may be one of the most important leadership skills we often overlook.Key themes include nervous system regulation, founder resilience, athlete mindset, leadership development, neuroplasticity, emotional adversity, youth athletics, and the role of environment in personal transformation.This episode is for founders, entrepreneurs, coaches, athletes, parents, educators, and mission-driven leaders who are trying to grow without losing themselves in the process.It is worth listening to if you are navigating pressure, rebuilding after adversity, questioning old leadership models, or looking for a more grounded way to develop resilience beyond motivational advice.
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The End of More and The Return to Human Storytelling
3w ago00:34:19Tap to summarizeMarc da Motta, founder of Pathfinder Content Marketing, joins Michael to discuss the quiet rebellion against the 'more is more' content machine. This conversation explores why Marc walked away from the traditional agency model to build a boutique consultancy focused on the foundational power of brand positioning and the 'narrative spine.'Key Themes Include:- The pivotal shift from content quantity to messaging clarity.- What a 'narrative spine' is and how to build one for your brand.- Why 'positioning-first' is essential in a noisy, AI-saturated world.- Letting go of vanity metrics to focus on the deep work of your craft.- The relationship between storytelling, authentic value, and human connection.This episode is for founders, marketers, and entrepreneurs who feel trapped on the content treadmill and want to build a more authentic, effective, and sustainable brand narrative. If you're tired of creating content that doesn't connect and want to get to the root of what makes your business valuable, this conversation offers a clear path forward.
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The Energetics of Branding
4w ago00:35:40Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, Michael sits down with brand strategist and founder Gio Petrucci to explore the delicate line between the founder and the human. Gio shares his journey of realizing his business, once built as 'proof' of his worth, was consuming his identity | and the path he's now on to separate, nurture, and reintegrate the two.This episode is for founders, creatives, and strategists who feel the tension between who they are and what they're building. This is for anyone who has used their work as a shield or as proof, and is ready to build from a more authentic place.Key themes include:- The internal conflict between founder and human.- Letting go of the need for 'security' and financial validation.- The influence of immigrant parents on an entrepreneur's drive.- Why human connection is the core of meaningful branding.- Navigating founder anxiety and self-doubt.- Building a business that is honest, not just big.This isn't a conversation about marketing tactics. It's a vulnerable look at the inner world of a founder, touching on the universal fears and desires that drive us. It’s a permit to be more human in your work.
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Authority, Vulnerability, and the Search for Your True Voice
May 1400:37:48Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, Michael sits down with executive communications strategist J.T. Compeau to explore the gap between earned authority and the feeling of uncertainty many leaders face when asked to speak. They discuss why credentials aren't enough, the delicate balance between authority and vulnerability, and the 'unnamed' shifts in our culture that are changing the way we must communicate.Key Themes:- The search for certainty, not just words.- Navigating the authority vs. vulnerability equilibrium.- The evolution of leadership communication post-2020.- Why 'authenticity' is a misunderstood and overused concept.- The power of being a 'witness' to someone's message.- How to find your core message by asking 'What's this really about?'This episode is for founders, executives, and emerging leaders who are masters of their craft but feel a sense of doubt when it comes to public speaking or shaping their message. It's for anyone who wants to communicate with more clarity, confidence, and human resonance.If you've ever felt that your expertise gets lost in translation, or that you're not quite connecting with your audience, this conversation will provide profound clarity. J.T. Compeau offers a masterclass in the subtext of communication, revealing how the true work of finding your voice is about calibration, not just performance.
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Seeing the Universe in People
May 1200:25:30Tap to summarizeWhat does it mean to lead from the heart? Daniel Tataje, author and founder of a 13-location, Inc. 5000 dental group, joins Michael Abney to discuss his journey from an immigrant dentist facing endless hurdles to a CEO building a company culture rooted in service and humility. This conversation is a deep dive into his core philosophy: that every person is a unique universe, and the role of a leader is to help them flourish.In this episode, you’ll learn about:- Seeing the universe in each person- The 7 Marks of Leadership: a practical framework- How personal struggles shape a leader’s empathy- The power of saying 'I believe in you'- Scaling a mission-driven business- Living a life of service as the key to happinessThis episode is for founders, leaders, and entrepreneurs who are navigating the complexities of growth and want to build an organization with a strong, positive culture. It's for anyone who believes business can and should be a force for good. If you're tired of leadership advice that focuses only on metrics and strategy, this conversation offers a refreshing and actionable alternative.
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