Bloom Pod 30 for 30 Part 3: Lessons Learned from Episodes 21-30
Y’all know the drill by this point. This the third and final installation of our 30 for 30 featuring lessons we’ve learned from our guests so far. While we are enjoying revisiting these guests, we are PUMPED to bring you new episodes starting next week (10/19).
Until then… please enjoy Part 3, which features guests 21 through 30!
21. Karyn Nishimura Sneath
Karyn Nishimura Sneath is the Director of Education for the Society of Professional Journalists, and the owner of Npower, which is a leadership and organizational development consulting practice. She joined us to talk about how her experiences in Panhellenic ultimately led her to a career in helping teams function at their best.
Lesson: Karyn mentioned that the best advice she’s ever received is to simply “trust your gut.” She shared a story about a big decision she made where she didn’t trust her gut and how that experience has shaped her handling of those big decisions since then. Karyn’s advice reminded us to settle into the discomfort that sometimes accompanies the time it takes to effectively make big decisions.
22. Mike Avery
At the time of our interview, Mike Avery was the head coach of Fort Wayne FC, and he has since been named the Athletic Director of Calumet College of St. Joseph’s in addition to his coaching responsibilities. “Coach” Avery shared his focus on “community centered program building” and his thoughts on why athletes are in a unique position to help heal.
Lesson: Diversity is our greatest strength. Mike shared about one of the most diverse teams he ever coached with athletes from all over the world. He mentioned that the world tells us “that diversity doesn’t work.” He went on to say that not only did it work within their team, but it was a kind of secret weapon. The key, he said, was not to ‘manage’ the diversity of the team, but to celebrate it instead.
23. Blake Konrardy
Blake Konrardy is the Millennial Millionaire. At the time of his interview, he served as the Vice President of Product at kin insurance, and was the creator of more than 40 patents granted by the US Patent Office. Blake talked about his new book, Millennial Millionaire, and the experiences that led him to write it.
Lesson: Do what you want now, you can always come back to something else later. Blake talked about how deviating from his original career path plan led him to a lot of things — personal and professional — that he otherwise would not have experienced.
24. Alexander Martin
Future Dr. Office of the President (IYKYK) Alexander Martin is an athlete development professional and doctoral student. At the time of our interview he was serving as the Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development at the University of Miami (FL), but he has since transitioned to a new role with the Miami Dolphins.
Lesson: Create a CBA plan. Alexander mentioned most people attempt to fulfill their Plan A before moving to Plan B and then Plan C. Instead of that order, Alexander starts with Plan C and moves up from there. By starting on the outskirts of our professional goals and taking small steps — un-somedaying ourselves — we can move closer to our Plan A.
25. Resa Lovelace
Resa Lovelace is the founder and president of RBL Theory, LLC, and currently serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Enhancement at the University of Maryland, College Park. Resa was one of the first repeat guests on The Bloom Pod, as she served on our first-ever panel-style episode last summer. She joined us to talk about the importance of being your authentic self in every space you occupy.
Lesson: Resa said, “When you see me, you know what you’re gonna get, and I’m not gonna sugar coat it.” This lesson reminded us to be our full, authentic selves — every identity that we own — in every space we occupy.
26. John Shertzer
John Shertzer is the Executive Director at the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ). John joined us to share how he went from working in leadership development for youth groups to his current role at SPJ. He discussed the idea of perpetuating a free press and the importance of fact finding and truth seeking in journalism.
Lesson: Questions are what truly drives change. John told us, “If you become really good at being able to frame a question, and being able to ask a question that is compelling and unique and different, you will find a whole lot of interesting information that you wouldn’t otherwise discover.” John mentioned the importance of being able to frame questions in a way that helps remind people of the original mission is critical to driving change.
27. Ashlynn Fields
Ashlynn Fields is a higher education professional, sports enthusiast, and at the time of our interview, she was a part of #TeamAwesome, otherwise known as Women Leaders in College Sports. Since then, she has moved on to a new role at the Catholic University of America. While on the show, she talked about her purpose, which is to enhance the holistic growth of others and increase access for women of color who aspire to work in higher education and beyond.
Lesson: You don’t have to be perfect — aim for excellence every day. This was the best piece of advice Ashlynn said she’d ever received. The idea behind this advice/lesson is that when we let go of our attempts at perfection, we can allow ourselves to be excellent. And when we aim at excellence over perfection, we have more freedom in how we arrive at that point.
28. Ed Jones II
Ed Jones II is currently the Assistant Athletic Director for Player Development at Baylor University and the founder of the Beyond the Field Program, LLC, which creates programming that inspires generational impact. He joined us to share how his grandfathers set the tone for generational impact in his own family.
Lesson: Any one decision can impact future generations. Ed shared the story of his grandfather and the choice he made at a very young age to take care of his family when he was needed. Ed’s story and his focus on generational impact reminds us that constant dripping hollows a stone. While we may not think of every decision we make as a big one, every decision you make has an alternative. When you make a choice to do one thing, you are actively deciding not to do something else.
29. Alex Onion
Alex Onion is the self-avowed #DomesticFeminist and the owner and operator of Mertle and Dot, a Chicago-based floral design company. Outside of Mertle and Dot, though, she works in Chicago tech full-time. Excluding Tayler, Alex was the third Onion to grace The Bloom Pod, and she talked about her domestic feminist hashtag, and the concept of combining multiple identities to form one unique identity.
Lesson: Do things before you are ready. Alex talked about her business, Mertle and Dot, and how it was easy to come up with excuses that she was not “ready” to kick things off. Eventually, she decided to “un-someday” herself and just launch an Instagram page and let the chips fall where they may. The learn-as-you-go model has bloomed into a great business for Alex.
30. Julianna Jung
Julianna Jung is a championship baker and a student in the field of public health. She joined us to talk about her experiences with baking and shared how she ended up on TV. Since being discovered on Instagram, she has had the opportunity to showcase her baking skills for the masses. As a student in public health, she also discussed her thoughts on how COVID-19 might impact the future of healthcare systems. Tayler asks Julianna about the best baking appliances, and the two decide that buttercream icing is (of course) better than whipped icing.
Lesson: Fail forward. Julianna told us that when she first got started baking she threw away a lot of what she made. With the support of her family and friends, though, she was inspired to keep trying and eventually she got her recipes right. This idea of moving forward and appreciating the journey — even after failure — is something that I discussed in a blog post a few years ago.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this series and these lessons as much as we have. We’ll see you (or you’ll hear us 😉) next week with a brand new episode of #thebloompod🧅!
Keep bloomin’, y’all.
