DAN SIMONS

I thought I may naturally be good at hosting a podcast. Well, that confidence lasted until exactly minute three of my first practice session with WTOP Radio for our Founding DC podcast , when I realized I was struggling to keep the conversation interesting and informative. Somehow, I was making, or allowing, both of us to sound boring. In my brain I knew how awful the conversation was, but I had NO idea how to pivot to something better. Now I have a serious dose of newfound respect for the craft of being a show host, especially a podcast host. Here's the truth about podcast hosting: Anyone can have a conversation, but creating a valuable conversation for participants and listeners? That's pure craft. Lesson #1 : The Magic Happens Before You Hit Record  Perhaps not the biggest shock but an essential truth: 80% of great podcast hosting happens before the microphones turn on.  I used to wing conversations. Show up, see what happens, let it flow naturally. That approach crashes and burns in interviewing and podcasting. Or, maybe it’s fine if your goal is to produce B+ caliber work.  What actually works:  Research your guest like you're writing their biography; hunt for their why, their purpose, and their derailers.  Map out 3-5 key topics (but stay flexible).  Ponder follow-up questions depending on a range of potential responses.  Know their background well enough to ask questions others haven’t.   Map common ground to share, and foreign ground to explore.  Listeners can tell when you've done the work. They can also tell when you haven't.  Lesson #2 : Your Voice Is a Tool to Be Understood  Vocal cords are basically athletic tools that need training and care. Vocal cords are to be cherished, appreciated, and cared for.   What I learned the hard way:  Hot water during recordings = instant voice improvement.  Vocal warm-ups aren't just for singers.  Hydration starts hours before recording, not during.  Speaking and breathing from your diaphragm saves your throat.  If you have a habit of clearing your throat, realize it is likely a mental game; learn to resist the urge to cough. This takes practice….and I am still learning. Cough suppressants also help.  Lesson #3: Audio-Only Interviews Require Completely Different Listening Skills   This one blindsided me. I thought I was a good listener. Turns out, I was a good  conversation participant , not necessarily a good podcast interview conductor . And when you remove all visual cues for an audience, everything changes. In face-to-face conversations, so much communication happens through expressions, gestures, and physical presence. In podcasting, every single bit of meaning has to come through voices alone—which completely transforms how you need to engage. I have learned that my job isn’t to be interesting—it's to help my guest be interesting, to make 1+1=3, using only my voice as the tool.   So, body language means nothing to your listener but may mean everything to your guest. Even your "uh-huh" means everything when communicating in person. And yet, auditory clutter is tragic on a podcast, which means there’s a balance to be found in verbal and non-verbal methods of engaging in person, while knowing the listening audience has only their ears.  Mistakes I made (and certainly haven’t yet perfectly solved):  Talking over guests (sounds terrible in audio).  Forgetting my listening audience can’t see my facial expressions.   Silence is powerful on radio: sometimes powerfully good, sometimes powerfully bad; it needs to be intentional (or edited).  Failing to interrupt and redirect the long-winded rambling monologues.  What works better:  Waiting for complete thoughts before responding.  Describing what you're reacting to (eg, "that made me laugh because...").  Using vocal tone to convey what your face used to do.  Using the non-verbal to interrupt, such as leaning in and using my hands, and then using my voice when the space gets created.  Lesson #4: Being Great at Podcasting Requires Practice, Consistency & Honest Feedback Like almost anything you want to do well, podcasting requires dedication. True skills only develop through consistent, repeated practice; recognizing your areas of excellence and opportunity (aka, where you suck), and working with someone or a team who will give you honest feedback. I am not excellent at this podcast thing YET, but having a great coach helps enormously. Mine calls out my bad habits and won't let me get away with mediocrity. But even the best coach can't help you if you're not consistently showing up to practice what they're teaching. My coach has elevated our sessions well-beyond cleaning up the obvious errors, and we now are analyzing question structure, using AI to count number of words in my questions, and essentially using the audio and written transcripts to analyze the convo like athletes and coaches analyzing game tape.  What consistency looks like in podcasting (for me):  8 to 12 hours of research and prep per guest.  Visualizing the conversation and having clarity on intent for the outcome.  Listening back to my own episodes (painful but necessary).  Reading the transcripts (tedious but incredibly useful in their detail).  Establishing a system for third-party feedback (whether from a coach, colleague, or team).   Being willing to adjust my approach for the next episode, beginning with ensuring the right research, based on lessons learned.  Using AI to analyze speech patterns, sentence, and question structure.  Seeking additional people to provide feedback. If all I get is positive, then I know I'm not getting comprehensive, useful perspectives.    Lesson #5: Being Bad at Something New is Actually Excellent (Even When It Feels Terrible )  I hate being a novice as some of you may have read in my blog, " Maybe It's Okay to Suck."  But experiencing my sucky-ness in real-time is different from philosophizing about it.  Every episode, I hear things I should have done differently. Every conversation, I think of improvements to question structure. Every editing session, I cringe at my own awkward moments. But here's what's happening: I'm getting better. Having a coach who calls out my mistakes, gives me nowhere to hide, and teaches me new tactics and methods has dramatically accelerated my learning curve.  The question every potential podcast host should ask: "Am I willing to struggle and grind at this for long enough to get good at it?" Because no one is actually great at something when they first start. Your first episodes may be painful. Your early interviews will have awkward moments. Your audio quality will fluctuate. The question isn't whether you'll struggle—it's whether you'll stick with it long enough to develop the craft. BUT…. the discomfort of being bad at something new is the price of admission for getting good at something valuable.  The Unexpected ROI of Podcast Hosting  Beyond the obvious benefits (having fun, building an audience, establishing expertise, deepening relationships), hosting a podcast is teaching me skills that transfer everywhere:  Better question-asking in business meetings.  Improved active listening in all relationships.  Clearer communication in presentations.  Deeper research habits for any project.  Increased comfort with being uncomfortable.  Want to hear how these lessons sound in practice? Check out my podcast, Founding DC , available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Kevin’s Boehm, The Bottomless Cup: A Memoir of Secrets, Restaurants and Forgiveness   I could say you should  read Kevin Boehm’s memoir, because it’s a tale of entrepreneurial minefields, restaurant nightmares (including torching himself with a mini oven explosion), love, pain, confusion, perseverance, and self-discovery – and it’s a fun read, a fast read, in parts a very sad read, and you’ll enjoy it. But that’s not why you  must  read it. You must read The Bottomless Cup because it   will make you a better human. You’ll be undeniably opened up as you consider what you might be missing with the people in your life. You’ll be reminded that what’s shown to others, or what’s visible on the outside, is not necessarily what one is showing to oneself or true on the inside. You’ll absorb the reality of the external narrative contrasted with the internal narrative. You’ll see that while America was discovering one of its most iconic restaurateurs, that restaurateur was lost to himself, and then found. If you are in the hospitality biz or even consider yourself a foodie, there’s even more reason to read it. Publishers Weekly  called it “a love letter to the hospitality industry,” as Kevin traces his path from dishwashing and waiting tables in Chicago to co-founding Boka Restaurant Group , the American powerhouse of award-winning, critically acclaimed restaurants. Kevin writes with raw honesty about setbacks and crises, both professional and personal, including struggles with mental health. Bottom line: Read the book. It hits the shelves on  November 4, 2025 . If you live in the DC area, purchase tickets to a fireside chat with Kevin and me at Kramer Books in Dupont Circle on the evening of November 14. As a disclaimer, I know I am a deeply biased book reviewer. Kevin  is a friend. Not a long-time or close friend, but a friend indeed. I met him four or five years ago, as colleagues on an advisory board full of restaurateurs. I knew from the first time I listened to him share insights about his restaurants that I was collegially smitten. We shared experiences, shared restaurant struggles, and I admired the brilliance of his restaurants. And, as I got to know Kevin, I was thinking I was getting to know Kevin. In some ways I was, and in some ways I wasn’t. That’s part of what makes The Bottomless Cup  so powerful. It invites you behind the curtain, into the quiet truth of a man who has spent his life creating joy for others, even as he’s learning how to offer that same grace to himself.

This started as a letter to my three growing boys, which I gave to each of them when they reached their teens. I have revised it slightly with each kid. Below is my most most recent version as my youngest just turned 13 years old. The letter started after many conversations with my partner, their mom. We wanted to write down some guidelines for our teen boys as their lives take them more and more out into the world… and out on their own. After sharing it with my oldest boy at first, and then several friends, I was encouraged to share it with others. To Young Men Near & Far, As a parent, my #1 job has been to keep my children safe. When my kids were younger, I thought of that in terms of keeping them safe from others. As they’ve grown, I realize that my #1 job is still the same, but the dangers have shifted. As a teenager, and forever more, you (your judgment, your actions, your inactions) will probably be the most likely source of danger – for you and those around you. As you spend more and more time out in the world on your own, your parents will no longer be there to intervene in the moments when you’d benefit from their decision-making. YOU are in charge of you. I’m writing this letter to you, because I want to do everything in my power to help you obtain wisdom without needing to gain it through awful mistakes. You have the opportunity to keep yourself, and those around you safe… or to do the opposite. I was raised with a fairly short and simple list of rules given by my wise and wonderful parents. It served me well, but times have changed quite a bit, so I have created my own, more current and comprehensive list of ways to keep you and those around you safe. ( Blue text below shows the rules from my parents; black text shows my additions.) 1. No drinking and driving (and no getting into a car with someone else drinking and driving). No drugs of any sort while driving or operating any vehicle. Ever. That also means: no bicycle, skateboard, scooter, flying car when those become available, etc. #DrinkingDruggingDrivingDead 2. No texting and driving either . No Snapchatting. No Instagramming. No TikToking. No use of your phone when driving. Ever. Never ever. Lock up your phone when you are on the road. Use Bluetooth or smartphone apps to help keep your attention on the road and let others know you are not available. If you need to use a directions app, use another app that locks everything else down. If you need motivation, just google: “texting while driving accidents.” 3. No cigarettes . No vaping. No e-cigarettes. We know you aren’t stupid enough to smoke cigarettes, but vaping is new enough to fool you and your whole generation. #VapesArePoison 4. No means NO (in the context of relationships) . Only YES means yes. Silence means no. “I’m not sure” means no. “Maybe” means no. Consent must be crystal clear. Don’t assume: ASK. At. Each. Step. #CONSENT 5. Always wear a condom . No, not during masturbation or when you’re actually trying to get your partner pregnant. If you end up with a husband though, you don’t have to worry about getting him pregnant. And not just while walking around, but yes, during sex. 6. No chiropractors . We’ve evolved as a family to embrace chiropractors, but are still wary of quacks in any profession, so I like this rule as a general reminder. 7. No motorcycles . 8. Be nice to people (on the way up, because you’ll need ‘em on the way down). Be nice to animals too. Be a rescuer. Build genuine relationships. Be loyal. #BeKind 9. Never stay silent in the presence of bullying, harassment, or oppression. You are obligated to stand up for yourself, your friends, and strangers around you who need aid. Silence is never an option in the face of an assault on you or someone else. #NotOnMyWatch 10. Be a free thinker. Be a critical thinker. Be a skeptic. This includes being watchful of the constant influx of fakery, lies, and manipulations, especially on the Internet and your beloved social media channels. For example, learn what a “deepfake” is (and know that the definition will continue to evolve with technology). Deep fakes may be the single most dangerous thing to someone who has excellent judgement and has learned to trust themselves, their eyes, and their ears… so your judgment needs to reflect this awareness. #DeepFakesAreReal 11. Use technology wisely and with intent . Technology, like your iPhones, will get more and more addictive. Be aware. Track your usage and use technology intentionally. Let the tech add to your life, not be your life. Eye contact and non-verbal communication are where much of the magic of human relationships occur. Don’t let the tech addictions stop you from developing, using, and enjoying these abilities. #BeSmarterThanTheTech 12. Porn is not the place to learn about sex. Porn is not going to teach you what to do during sex. The stuff you see online with pain, fear, force, or aggression is not what the vast majority of women (or men) want from you, nor what the vast majority of men want to do. The only way to know what your partner likes is to ask, and to explore with permission. Porn is addictive. Porn can spoil your ability to enjoy sex IRL. Watch porn if you want. No judgment. Just know, it’s not real life. You are watching a movie, and just like Batman can’t really fly and Transformers aren’t real…. #PornAintRealLifeBruh 13. Masturbation is a great thing . It is totally normal, so enjoy it. Best done in private. Learn to do it without porn. Just close your eyes, use your hands, and figure out how to make it happen. No need to soil your sheets or your socks or t-shirts, just get some Kleenex. Once you’re in a relationship, you can do it simultaneously with your partner. Until then, best to avoid the legends of the circle jerk and the asphyxiation stuff tends to kill people, so avoid that. But, you’ll learn ya like what ya like, so explore as you see fit. #TreatYourselfWell 14. Sleep is important for your overall health . Do it well. #SleepWellDaily 15. Read ingredient labels to avoid toxic ingredients . They can be in your food and drink AND in products you put on your body. #FoodIsFuel #QualityMatters 16. And… Take excellent care of your teeth. Brush ‘em. Brush your tongue. Floss. Do all of it. Twice a day. May you – and everyone around you – be safe, healthy, and happy. Other blogs possibly of interest: 6 Simple Things You Can Do Today to Stop Trashing the Planet Now 7 Steps for Families to Manage Smartphones

I'm not sure if I realized I was anxious about the TEDx talk before or after I said “yes.” I’m definitely sure that whenever that anxiety started, it launched me into a whirling set of emotions and reflections.    I knew I wanted to do a talk about mental health in the workplace. I didn’t know I’d need to do some unpacking and re-packing of my own “stuff” in order to do it.    Let me explain: I knew I'd need to take this assignment seriously. But it wasn’t until I put pen to paper to write it, that I started to realize how much effort this was going to take. Even worse, when I tried to memorize some of what I'd written, I realized I may be in trouble.     Did I have the skills to do this really well? Did I actually care enough to put in the effort to do what it takes? And if I did put in the effort, what if I sucked anyway? I went through some paralysis. I wondered if I could just wing it. I thought about shortcuts. What about teleprompter smart glasses? I had a few moments of telling myself, “meh, I don’t care. It’s not a big deal.” Then I thought about just pulling out and canceling.     If this sounds confusing as you’re reading it, good, it should, because it was confusing as I was living it, and trying to sort it.     And then, after sitting in the garden with my dog Kobe, doing some real reflection, I acknowledged something:  I do really care about this. I want to do a good job. I think I can do a good job.   So, I admitted to myself I was chasing an A+ on the assignment. And I committed myself to doing my best, to putting whatever effort and process was necessary so that when I walked out to that famous red dot, no matter how I performed, I'd be able to look at myself in the mirror and know I did my literal best.    That clarity was powerful. And it set me to work. My steps were serious, focused, and scheduled like any good work.   Coaching Experts Once I had a basic outline for my talk, I attended a coaching session with an expert in public speaking and TED talks (@BrianMiller); I soaked in every bit of his advice that I could. I collaborated with my writing partner to hone my script. I asked for additional input from podcast coach, Joe Ferraro, and leadership coach and keynote speaker, Monica Kang.     Writing & Rewriting My Script  I built time into my calendar to work on my script over a span of four weeks. I can say definitively, my final script was a collaborative effort, and far better than I ever could’ve written solo.    Practicing, Practicing, Practicing   I committed to practicing my script three times a day (yes, you read that right!) for the five weeks leading up to TEDx presentation day. I set up a series of audiences with friends and gave my talk to anyone willing to listen. Yet again, self-doubt hit, thoughts of shortcuts, ways out. I dealt with swirling dissonant, negative thoughts: “I’ll never be able to speak this as well as it is written. Maybe I should bail on the whole thing.” Then I went back to the mirror, back to my original commitment: Do. The. Work.      I kept practicing. After two more weeks had passed, I was really feeling bad for my kids and wife – how many more times would they need to sit on the couch as I practice? How many more times would I need to tell my youngest, “Finn, yes, I'll play ping pong with you, but you have to help me practice my TEDx Talk before we play, and after.” Thankfully, they tolerated me, and they helped me. Kobe was also great, as we’d go on walks and I'd be practicing my speech out loud, or listening to it in my AirPods. He seemed to accept my odd behavior and my lack of engagement as long as I remembered to bring plenty of treats. I practiced at my friend’s front porch; they set up a little audience of two chairs and a little sign that said TEDx Talk. I spoke my talk to the pool, to the trees, to the air.     I was getting better...and then I'd slip backwards.     I used some neuro-science tricks (caffeine after studying, rather than before, and immerse cold shock after studying to lock in the memories), and I got an amazing piece of guidance from a powerful mentor in my life, my eldest sister Lisa. She told me to be careful not to over prepare and explained some aspects of how the mind works with memory and performance. I took heed. I slowed down. In the final week, instead of practicing every day, I cut my practice time in half, practicing every other. I was almost there.    Living My Topic  Whoa, I realized the day before my talk, that I was in so deep, I was actually living my topic. I had made giving this TEDx my job, so this preparation was my workplace. In this land, I had to deal with all my glitches and struggles to accomplish my goal. My operating system. And to be successful, I needed to look in the mirror, understand my glitches holding me back from my best performance. Thankfully, I grabbed a book off my shelf that I knew would help me – Brian Levinson’s Shift Your Mind: Nine Mental Shifts to Thrive in Preparation and Performance. The wisdom Brian shares in the book gave me the clarity I needed to work through some final struggles and be prepared to perform at my best level on the soon to arrive TED day.    How Did I Do? Was my best good enough? I felt good walking off stage. Do I have self-criticism? Of course. But I felt like I had given it my all, like it was literally, my best. As for good enough for you? Well, that’s for you to decide if and when you watch the talk. I would love to hear what you think.

Ponder:    I’m not strong enough.    I’m not smart enough.     We can’t hire the talent we need.     I can’t figure out how to do this.     Compare, and ponder:    I’m not strong enough,  yet.     I’m not smart enough,  yet.      We can’t hire the talent we need, yet.     I can’t figure out how to do this, yet.     And there it is. Three letters, but it may as well be three thousand for all the impact they make. This tiny little word:  "yet ."   ONE WORD THAT CHANGES YOUR TRAJECTORY  Without this one word, it can feel like the show is over, the mission has failed, the difficulties become death traps, and the world ends. With the word, you make space for more, anything is possible, everything is possible, and even better, the solution is just over the horizon, just around the corner, almost in your grasp. Again, compare and ponder: I can’t figure out how to write this blog with the clarity it needs to make an impact or make it worth writing = Never mind, I give up, the blog is never to be written, the task fails to be completed. I’ve lost.  VS.  I can’t figure out how to write this blog with the clarity it needs to make an impact and make it worth writing, yet  = I’m still in the fight, it is worth more effort, all is not lost, I’ve got this, actually, I CAN do this, I will do this. All thanks to my friend, “ yet. ”    It can be hard to change our own minds, to learn a new approach and incorporate it into our personal operating system. I get that. I hear and read all sorts of philosophies about winning at life. Many sound good to me, but leave me unanswered when I ask, “But how? How exactly do I do that?”    With this blog, I’m sharing this incredibly manageable, doable tactic. It almost seems too simple to work. However, when you find yourself stating in absolute terms why you can’t do or accomplish something, build in a new habit to say, write, or type the word YET  at the end. Go ahead, just try it.    I won’t be able to make this a habit.  I won’t be able to make this a habit, yet….and so, I’ll work on it, because I believe I can.    Winning DNA seems to have this word woven deeply into its sequence. Dreamers, visionaries, game changers – none of them could do the thing or make their impact when they first started or first tried. They believed they could add the skills, develop the abilities, grow their own mind, harness the resources, and accomplish, or at least potentially accomplish the thing. None of us have everything we need right now to do everything we want to get done right now.     USING “YET” AS A TOOL FOR GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT  I know this seems too simple. It’s three letters. It should be easy enough for me to do, for you to do. Seriously, why don’t or why can’t we all just say, “I can’t do this _______ (insert the thing),  YET .”    I have been working on it and actually have come to enjoy the process. Going from “I can’t” to “I can’t, yet.” And then allowing myself to consider what I need to add, change, or even delete in myself or my current work to accomplish the thing.    The journey that adding this simple word to our repertoire gives us – perspective, wisdom, fuel, and firepower – is worth taking, because the outcomes we envision are likely achievable.    Of course, I get it – I can’t dunk a basketball, and I will never dunk a basketball, and for that, there is no  yet . Obviously, I’m not talking here about the factually impossible. For pretty much everything else that doesn’t defy the laws of physics or the realm of possibility, I’m willing to believe a path may exist...if we make room for it.    Try it. See what happens when you add these three simple letters. It could change the course of your life, or it could at least allow you to pursue something that has been dancing around in your mind that you weren’t certain you could do, yet.

Anthony Bourdain (who I loved and admired) said that he hated Yelpers: “They are the very picture of entitled, negative energy. They're bad for chefs, they're bad for restaurants.” Interestingly, Bourdain didn't hate Twitter or Instagram, seeing them as a “fully democratic bathroom wall that anyone can write on. And they do. It's up to us to translate [and] to winnow out useful information that we might use in a sensible way.” I get it. Who wants a negative review? Everyone wants to be praised for being awesome. As a restaurateur, people expect me, even want me, to hate restaurant critics, whether elite Yelpers or paid reviewers. They expect me to agree with Bourdain. But I don’t. And I don’t see a difference between some of the Yelp Elite Squad and paid reviewers, other than maybe the paid reviewers are often recognized and known by the restaurants upon arrival. I think of Yelpers, all of them, as guests. In the hospitality biz, how can you hate a guest? And how can you hate Yelp for being the platform on which the guest stands? It’s like blaming the booth the guest is sitting in. It’s my job to respond to our guests’ complaints, however they come at us, to try to figure out what has gone wrong and to solve it. Maybe it’s because I grew up as a restaurant manager and have spent a lot of time standing at, or crouching in front of, tables listening to guests tell me how we have failed, how much I suck, usually very precisely and with a significant degree of animation, or even what they hate about our restaurant. I learned very early on to take their input first without judging them, process it, and then choose my response, a process that I learned from the teachings sometimes attributed to the famous neurologist and psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl: Between stimulus and response lies a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose a response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness. Many people fall into the trap of judging their guests. They often create their own narratives about what they think their complaining guests want. They just want free food. They had a bad day and want to unload on someone, even bully someone. They love their own writing and want to make themselves famous on Yelp. They are seeking likes and a larger following for their own blogs. They’re food snobs showing off. They’re brave when they’re behind a keyboard. Those types of responses and assumptions, as I see it, are just the wrong place to spend mental energy. When a guest (or a client, customer, patient, or patron; because this doesn’t just happen in the hospitality industry) gives negative feedback: Don’t judge. Don’t seek some made-up ulterior motive. Don’t minimize their complaint. Do take the feedback. Do care about what they are saying. Do say sorry. Do solve the problem. Do go above and beyond to make the guest feel heard, understood, and helped. In almost every case, the result will be that the person complaining is left with no alternative but to appreciate your efforts. That’s hospitality. That’s service. In our restaurants we use what I call our Social Media Neutralizer to help all of us walk through the above dos & don’ts to craft our response to a negative review. But whether this is a guest on Yelp, on Instagram, a paid writer on a blog or paper, or a guest in our restaurant, it doesn’t matter. My job and my goals remain the same: Provide awesome hospitality and service.

So easy, are broken bones. You understand the pain, the doctor sees the problem on the x-ray, friends and strangers alike see the cast, the crutches, and are eager to hold the door for you. So hard, are obsessive thoughts, negative self-talk, anxiety, and a wide range of intermittent or chronic mental health issues. You struggle to understand the pain, the doctor can’t image it nor provide a cast, your friends can’t see an icon or an emblem that instantly conveys to them that you need, want, and deserve support. Yet, it does not have to be this way. Each of us can create the change that benefits all of us, whether we have experienced day-to-day stressors, emotional ups and downs, grief, a diagnosed mental illness, or not. We can make a change with ourselves, in our families, with our friends, and at work. The change I’m advocating for is simple: see and treat mental health simply as health. It rolls easily off our tongues when we say: I'm going to physical therapy, because my lower back has been hurting. Or, I think I need to get an ankle brace so I don’t hurt myself on the courts... No pause, no stigma, no surprise. We can create the same level of comfort, to say and to hear: So glad I have time with my therapist tomorrow; my anxiety has been derailing me. Or, I gotta find someone who can help me; some days I don’t even wanna get off the couch . We get mental health out of the shadows and into the light. We can build a simple vocabulary that we can all embrace and understand, beginning with talking openly and honestly about our feelings, eg, I feel anxious today instead of I don’t feel well. For those with diagnosed illness, we can take the brave step to share it more publicly, eg, I am struggling with depression instead of I feel tired today. Or I have social anxiety instead of I have a conflict and can’t make it to the conference. Let’s all call it what it is. If that means we need to use words to describe how we feel, or describe our mental health, then so be it, make it the same as describing any ailment. This seems obvious, so why isn’t it easy? As always, the best place to start is with yourself. Look in the Mirror First Try it. Get a mirror. Look at yourself. Then say what you see and what you think. This can help you better understand yourself and to prepare to let others see you. That is, I see me. Today, I’m committing to letting someone else see me. I’m going to peek out from behind the shield that I put up and show one person something about the real me. I have anxiety; it makes some days really difficult for me. I just wanted you to know that. You don’t need to do anything. I just needed you to know. My Reality: For me personally, I struggle with obsessive thoughts about my eating habits and negative body self-image. At times, these obsessive and negative thoughts interfere with my ability to focus on things that are important to me. Here I am sharing me. Now you can see me. Teach Your Family Some of our best lessons for how to be and behave in the world come from home. Whenever possible, work to be transparent about your feelings and your own mental health journey with your family, especially if you are a parent (as appropriate; no need to pull our kids under when we’re drowning). Role model sharing when you are feeling anxious and what you are doing about it, and even how they can support you. Ask them regularly how they are doing and take their mental health challenges as seriously as you take their other illnesses and injuries. (If you don’t have a safe space at home to be honest about your own challenges, I am not suggesting you put yourself in a more vulnerable position. If this is you, hopefully you can find friends and a community where you can share the real you, or message me, I gotchu.) ​ My Reality: My children and my wife all know that at times I see a mental therapist who helps me navigate things in my mind, just as they know I see a physical therapist to help with my lower back issues. Be Real With Your Friends Make it OK for a friend or a colleague to say they’ve been feeling blue lately and don’t know why. Then, you can make the obvious reply, oh, I’m so glad you told me. Are you getting any help with that from a doctor or therapist? If you were bleeding from the eye or had broken your leg, I’d help you get to the Emergency Room. I’d also be there for you, listening to you talk about the struggle, the pain, the pain in the ass, that these health issues cause for you. I would also offer to bring food or organize regular meals for you. Let’s add mental health challenges to this obviousness. If you’re dealing with anxiety, disordered eating thoughts, or depression, I’m here for you. I’d be happy to help you and talk to you about the struggle, the pain, the pain in the ass, that these health issues cause for you. My Reality: Over the past two plus years, I have been recovering from a concussion . As I talked with friends, sought advice from some previously concussed, and even blogged about it, I realized again how a physical injury, in my case a nasty wipeout while wake boarding, makes it easier to share. It was still a health issue in my brain, like other mental illnesses, but its cause somehow made it feel less private. And allowed me to be less protective. But why is this? Why are people less afraid, and even less ashamed, to share about issues and illnesses in other body parts? Like an irregular heartbeat or the need for a hip replacement? Why is there stigma attached to mental illnesses? In part, I believe, because they are hard to see (as-is a concussion, but the initial trauma is physical and visible) and in large part because we simply haven’t been taught or shown how to talk about them. Lead & Role Model at Work Remind those that work for you, and with you, that they are far more than their “expertise.” They are an indivisible whole person. They can no more leave their problems at the door , than they could leave one of their limbs at the door . We can and should invest in the overall health of the whole person. Not only is this the right and necessary way to operate, it also creates value in the workplace. Regardless of how you define value, I’m certain I have a formula that makes clear that seeing and caring for the mental wellness of everyone on your team is a winning investment. In our restaurants, to ensure our team has mental health resources and to truly walk our talk, we invest in free, confidential mental health therapy. This therapy service gives our team members and their family members access, for free, to their own dedicated, licensed mental health provider to connect via telephone, in-person, or virtual at their convenience and set up live video appointments. All of the therapy is provided through a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform. We also provide access to traditional therapy through our employee assistance program. Our mental health service has proponents and detractors, but I say that breaking down barriers and creating access is always the right path; better to make progress than to stay still awaiting the ideal. My Reality: ​ Prior to our investment in mental health services, my biz partner and I shared our own personal mental health challenges at our bi-annual Town Hall meeting with one hundred of our managers, chefs, and support team. Our goal was to make it part of our company culture to be okay talking about mental illness as just health and a health challenge, and one more element of being human. At every Town Hall meeting, we also start the meeting with an expert guest speaker on mental health. When I am in the restaurants, I make it a point to look my teammates in the eye to convey that I care about whatever is deep in there. I try to stay quiet so they have the space to tell me what’s on their mind, work related or not. I think it is beyond obvious why we should be eliminating barriers to mental wellness. The world would be a much kinder and more productive place if we all worked harder to see and honor the whole person, ourselves and others, and to role model conversations about our mental health. So, let’s talk to ourselves, family, friends, and colleagues, and together let’s make it easy and obvious that mental health IS health.

Highlights from my conversation with the well-known DC cupcake entrepreneurs, Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne. From baking at dawn to navigating a hit TV show, their journey is honest, inspiring, and full of lessons for any entrepreneur. Want to hear the full conversation? Listen to the latest episode of the Founding DC podcast . What happens when you follow your passion and start your own business?  On Valentine’s Day in 2008, sisters Katherine and Sophie took a leap of faith – and baked their way into one of Washington, DC’s most iconic food brands: Georgetown Cupcake . But behind the frosting is a story every entrepreneur should hear.    Katherine and Sophie left stable corporate jobs to open their small bakery. They had no investors, no road map – just two ovens and a dream to build something by hand, from scratch.  Their first week brought unexpected press from  The Washington Post , followed by  The New York Times . A TLC producer discovered them in line, leading to the hit reality show,  DC Cupcakes , which aired globally for three seasons.   Their journey seems sweet on the outside, but the real lessons lie behind the scenes.  What challenges did they face as entrepreneurs?   One of the biggest early hurdles?  Too much demand, too fast.   “Sometimes too much business can be as damaging as not enough,” Sophie said.  Customers lined up around the block. They sold out daily, closed, baked more, and reopened. They maxed out credit cards, slept at the bakery, and did everything themselves.  This is the stretch where many businesses break. But Katherine and Sophie powered through it by staying close to their purpose and each other.  How did Georgetown Cupcake grow while staying true to its values?   Katherine and Sophie made a bold choice:  growth with intention .  They turned down private equity. Kept baking everything from scratch. Chose family over scale. And they never lost sight of what made their brand special.  “We’re probably leaving money on the table,” Sophie shared. “But it still feels like our business – and that matters more.”  In a world obsessed with “more,” they chose  enough . They chose to love what they do, every day.  How do they manage working as sisters?  Their secret?  Radical honesty.  No politics. No sugarcoating.  “If one of us doesn’t like an idea, we just say it,” Katherine said.  Their family bond gives them a superpower most co-founders don’t have: trust without fear. But their advice for solo entrepreneurs? Don’t go it alone.  Build your circle.  Find advisors. Create a space for real talk. Entrepreneurship is lonely, and community makes it bearable.  Can you run a business and raise a family?   Katherine was direct: “It doesn’t do women justice to say you can have it all. You can’t do everything, all the time, perfectly.”  They spoke honestly about the guilt of working during family time—and the gift of flexibility that entrepreneurship can offer. When their mom was sick, they stepped back. When their kids need them, they can show up.  That’s not a perk—it’s the  point .   Entrepreneurship is about creating a life that fits your values.   What do entrepreneurs need to know about discomfort?  "You live in a constant state of low-grade panic,” Sophie said. “But once you accept that smooth days don’t exist, it gets easier.”  That’s the unsung truth: chaos is the constant. Your business will always have fires to fight. The key isn’t eliminating them—it’s learning to lead  through   them.  “You’ve got to be willing to get on the roller coaster and ride it,” Katherine told me.  What’s next for Georgetown Cupcake?  The sisters are now thinking about the  future of the brand —succession planning, legacy, and how to protect what makes Georgetown Cupcake special.  They’re not chasing a billion-dollar exit. They’re building something to last. Something that still feels like them.  What can other business owners and entrepreneurs learn from Georgetown Cupcake?  Katherine and Sophie have shown that you don’t need to follow the standard playbook to win.  They’ve built a company around:  Quality over quantity  Values over valuation  Purpose over pressure  Their story is a masterclass in  authentic entrepreneurship . And a reminder that growth, when intentional, is sweeter than scale for scale’s sake.  How to hear my full conversation with Katherine & Sophie from Georgetown Cupcake?  Don’t miss the interview with Katherine and Sophie on the Founding DC podcast .  It’s a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build a beloved brand—and a meaningful life—on your own terms. Available HERE  on all major podcast platforms.

A few years ago, I experienced something that changed the entire course of my life and leadership: a traumatic brain injury. What started as a concussion turned into a long and humbling recovery process that forced me to slow down, listen to my body, and rethink how I live and lead.    As an entrepreneur, I’ve always been a worker. I grind and push forward. But concussion recovery is tricky. While the myth of resting a concussion is wrong, you also can’t power through a brain injury. You can’t outwork it. And you definitely can’t ignore it. Thankfully, after many years of struggle, I found true experts at the Inova Concussion Program ,  who taught me everything I had been doing wrong, and right, and helped lead me to full recovery.    I recently had the opportunity to reflect on my journey with my lead doctor, Dr. Melissa Womble. You can watch our full conversation below.     Dr. Womble’s insight, care, and leadership in the world of brain health and concussion recovery make an incredible impact. In this video, she talks about concussion treatment and the myths that many well-meaning doctors continue to prescribe. Together, we talk about my road to recovery, including bigger questions about leadership:     The realities of living with a brain injury as a business leader, and what happens when you’re forced to stop.  How I redefined my approach to success and productivity.  Learning to find clarity in discomfort.   Why slowing down can actually make you a stronger, more sustainable leader.  How mental health can be intricately connected to brain injury.     If you're looking for my full concussion backstory (including the day I got injured, my symptoms, treatment, and how I manage life and work now), I’ve shared that all here.  It’s a deeper dive into the physical, mental, and emotional impact of post-concussion life, especially for those of us who don’t naturally slow down.    This experience changed me. I’m not the same leader I was before the injury... and that’s a good thing.    Now, I try to lead with more awareness, deeper and more comprehensive empathy. More vision, more listening. More boundaries, for me and my team. I share this talk not because I have all the answers, but because I believe stories like this matter. And because the work INOVA is doing – from patient care to community education – deserves to be amplified.     Please watch and share this video and the INOVA program if you or someone you know has experienced a concussion or brain injury.

The Motley Fool ’s David Gardner has been picking stocks for 30 years. His cost basis on Amazon? 16 cents. On Nvidia? Pennies. But here's what surprised me during our conversation for my Founding DC podcast: this investment wizard's best advice isn't about stocks – it's about building businesses and the beautiful construct of commerce that advances humanity, aka, one of my favorite topics: conscious capitalism.    "I'm a better investor because I'm a businessman, and I'm a better businessman because I'm an investor," Gardner says, quoting Warren Buffett. After reading his soon-to-be-released book, Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth, which I think should be called “An Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy,” and diving deep into his philosophy during our podcast chat, I realized every entrepreneur needs to think like an investor.   Lesson 1: Don't Fight Goliath – Outsmart Him   "The only way David beats Goliath is by not following the rules," Gardner explains. When The Motley Fool started, they willingly called themselves "fools" – a fool and his money are soon parted. Why would anyone do that?    Because it perfectly set up the framework to spend the rest of their business life proving why what they were doing was right. They didn't try to out-Wall Street Wall Street. They ignored the establishment's rules and built something entirely different.    Gardner draws this insight from an unexpected source – art. "There's a beautiful book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain  by Betty Edwards ," he explains. "I draw very, very poorly, but I got a little bit better when I started realizing it's not the thing itself you're drawing. It's actually the negative space around the thing that you're drawing." The same principle applies to business: sometimes the most important insights come from studying what is not there.  Gardner frames this with a powerful question: What is something that you believe that most people don't believe? That's just a fun question for anybody. For entrepreneurs, if you can answer that question with a business, that's one of the most powerful things you could do. The Entrepreneur's Lesson: Never try to out-Goliath Goliath. Start with what you believe that others don't. Look for the empty spaces – the problems no one else is solving, the customers no one else is serving, the markets everyone else has written off. The most interesting place in any industry is where no competitors are standing. That empty space isn't a warning sign – it's your invitation to build something the world doesn't yet know it needs.    Lesson 2: Your Biology Is Working Against You  Here's a brutal truth: The pain of loss is three times as strong as the joy of gain. We're wired to run when the bushes shake, because our ancestors are the people who ran while the others got eaten.  But in business, Gardner says, this fear response is usually wrong: That pit in your stomach when you're about to launch? That's not danger – that's opportunity disguised as risk.  The Entrepreneur's Lesson:  Train yourself to run towards the fear, not away from it. That uncomfortable feeling when you're considering a big move? That's probably your compass pointing toward growth. As Gardner puts it: "In today's world, there's probably not a tiger behind the bush. There's probably an opportunity."    Lesson 3: Back Genius, Not Just Talent  Arthur Schopenhauer's distinction changed how Gardner invests: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see."    Gardner doesn't just look for skilled operators. He hunts for visionaries who see possibilities others can't imagine. For example, John Mackey when everyone thought organic food was hippie nonsense and started Whole Foods anyway.    The Entrepreneur's Lesson:  Whether you're hiring, partnering, or choosing co-founders, don't just look for competence. Look for people who see opportunities that don't exist yet. Back the dreamers who make others uncomfortable.    Lesson 4: Live in the Future, Invest in the Present  Gardner's license plate reads "FUTURE." He thinks from tomorrow backwards to today, asking: "How do I want the world to look, and what needs to happen now to get there?"    This isn't wishful thinking. It's strategic positioning. As a DC native who's built his business in the heart of one of America's entrepreneurial engines, Gardner understands something profound about commerce: business is beautiful because it's voluntary. "You're good at this, let me buy that from you. I'm good at that, you can buy that from me," he explains. "Look at how it's advanced humanity over the last few centuries."    The Entrepreneur's Lesson:   Stop reacting to today's problems. Start building tomorrow's solutions. And remember – every transaction is a vote for the kind of world you want to create. An entrepreneur’s motive is personal, and as long as it is intentional, it can serve you well. As you think about intentionality, decide where you are on this journey, which reminds me of a blog I wrote long ago, which could still be of use to some: The Capitalist’s Journey to Consciousness: Lessons from the Yellow Brick Road .      Lesson 5: Optimism Is Rational  Gardner's most powerful insight? "Optimism is the rational choice."    Every generation thinks they're living in the end of times, but humanity keeps getting better. The stock market trends up and to the right over any meaningful timeframe, not because of luck, but because people keep working to make things better.    The Entrepreneur's Lesson:  Your job isn't to fix everything that's broken. Your job is to build something that makes tomorrow better than today. Or, as Gardner says: The world needs what you're building, even if it doesn't know it yet.  The Ultimate Lesson: Write Things Down  David Gardner spent 15 years taking notes before writing his book, Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth , which will be released in September 2025.     The Entrepreneur's Lesson:  Gardner’s advice for entrepreneurs and frankly everyone: Start writing things down today. Your future self will thank you. So, here I am taking the advice and getting back to regular writing and blogging.

This is the story of my long (and thankfully full) recovery from a concussion, including the practitioners and resources that have been essential in my treatment over the past six years. There are so many concussion myths that continue to be shared, even by doctors. If you or anyone you love has experienced a concussion, I hope my journey and the experts I met along the way will be helpful.   The Injury I had just carved a perfect turn, rocketed through the wake on the return, and was feeling the endorphin rush of what I was sure was my best ride ever. I’d only been wakeboarding for a few years, but it was a nice segue from years and years of snowboarding. Feeling truly in command of my board, my body, and the water, I remember thinking to myself, I’ve finally got this . I smiled at my son and one of his buddies in the boat, adjusted my grip on the rope handle, and positioned myself for another shot across the wake, knowing I was totally on my game. The tension on the rope, the push from my knees and quads to create the torque, and then BLACKNESS.   As I groggily lifted my head from the water, just in time to take a deep gasping breath, my brain seemed to be going through a reboot and a system check. OK, I’m breathing. OK, I can open my eyes. OK, I see the water. OK, I can feel my body. OK, my central nervous system is working, and it is sending off alerts.   It was as if I’d been watching a movie, mid-scene, and someone turned off the TV. I was having the ride of my life on my wakeboard, my buddy Mitchell driving the boat, our boys Cooper and O.T. spotting and hanging in the boat, and then, whack, instant blackout.   I managed to get my arm up in some sort of “I’m OK,” which I think probably conveyed “I’m alive” more than I’m OK.   As my mind tried to piece together what happened, they brought the boat around, and I could see from the look on the boys’ faces that their question was more than just, “Are you OK?” Later on, my son Cooper told me, “Dad, I wasn’t sure if you would ever walk again. That looked really bad.”   While I have no memory of it, I realize I must have caught a front-side edge in the water, effectively stopping the board, while my body, aside from my feet, which were locked into the board, continued to try to move forward at rapid speed. By the time my brain figured out to let go of the rope, I was accelerating like a physics formula with my upper body and head arcing directly down towards the water’s surface. Yeah, I know, I also think of water as soft. But when you hit it at a high rate of speed, it feels more like concrete.   Fast forward through a week of dizziness, headaches, and general mental slowness. When I returned to work and tried to really think, analyze, and focus, I knew I had a serious problem. I knew I had taken a blow to the head, but every day I had just presumed I’ll feel better tomorrow . My presumption was wrong. I had a concussion. A concussion is a real thing, and no amount of my immortality complex or alleged grit was going to send the concussion away. So, my concussion journey began. That was six years ago.   When I first wrote this blog in 2019, I was four months post-concussion and thought I was close to full recovery. Writing about it was therapeutic. But wow, was I wrong about so many things. Even some of the “experts” I was seeing at the time were misinformed. I have now fully recovered, and this is the complete story. What a journey…   My Symptoms Headaches, headaches, headaches. Three times, for the three types. I had (and had for 4+ years) headaches on the forehead, around the eyes, nose, and ears. I had the top of the head and all-over headache. I had the back of the head and top of the neck headache. For about 10 weeks, I had some version of one or more of these headaches 24 hours a day. They decreased in intensity over time, but it wasn’t until week 11 that I had my first headache-free hour . It was glorious.   Stamina. Very little of it. I’ve always been someone with a long battery. Getting tired or any form of worn out just wasn't ever part of me. The lack of stamina was in two forms: my ability to think for any long stretch of time was severely diminished, and my mind would just feel tired. This also seemed to create an overall weariness. I need a nap was the major feeling. Words. I had trouble finding them. I would stop mid-sentence as my brain searched the hard drive, sometimes taking a few seconds to find the word and sometimes just not finding the word and instead switching to a description of the word so Suzi or the kids could help me fill in the blank. There was a day, about eighteen months after the concussion, sitting in the living room with one of my kids, and I had to ask what our home address was; I just couldn’t remember it.  It scared me, and it definitely scared my son.   Thinking. Slow processing, the inability to synthesize information, and a general inability to focus, think, conclude, or decide. Balance. I had decreased ability to stand on one leg and do other types of physical balancing. I was very lucky that I did not have nausea, dizziness, or any sort of vertigo as an ongoing symptom. I know that many people do, and those can be some of the most difficult symptoms.   What I Have Learned Truth: Every concussion is unique, so there is no one-size-fits-all prescription. Truth: See a specialist in concussions and traumatic brain injury, who is immersed in the contemporary research (and ideally participating in it.) Many general practitioners don’t have the newest, best info, and sadly, even many specialists in concussion are not up to date on the latest research findings.  It can be hard to know who is useful and who isn’t until you’ve invested way too much time and money.  I have shared links to my full team below, as well as some additional resources. Truth: Understand it may be more than a concussion. It is commonly two things: concussion and whiplash, a brain injury and a neck injury. Presuming CAT scan and X-ray rules out anything bleeding or broken, we’re talking about an injury to the brain and a soft tissue injury in the neck, and potentially to the shoulders and back. Myth-busting: Do nothing, stay in a dark room. This is outdated and wrong guidance. Activity is generally the right medical advice. Myth-busting: Just rest, and it will get better on its own. While I suppose this can be true, I’m saying “wrong”; take your advice from a true expert, not the lore and legends of concussion treatment.   This site is an excellent resource about symptoms and initial basic care.   The Experts I Saw & Helpful Care I Received Lemme shout this from this roof – if you get a concussion, get in touch with the true experts. I wish I had found them in 2019 rather than 2024…but regardless, I’m grateful, because now it’s 2025, and I’m truly fully recovered.     Inova Concussion Program : The quarterback of my recovery was Dr. Melissa Womble and her amazing comprehensive concussion team. They oversaw my treatment, even helping guide the care I had from various other practitioners.   Traumatic Brain Injury Specialist: This could be a neuropsychologist, neurologist, or physiatrist with a specialty in traumatic brain injury and concussions. Not every neurologist is a concussion specialist. Let me say that again – not every neurologist is a concussion specialist. I would also say, don’t put your concussion care into the hands of a primary care doctor.   Physical Therapist : Dry needling, manual manipulating, and exercises focused on the vestibular system, whiplash, and muscle-tightness through the head and neck. I worked with District Physio . These PTs are really good, and they helped me a lot. Ultimately, the PTs who helped with my full recovery were integrated with the Inova Concussion Team and had remarkable nuance figuring out what my vestibular and ocular systems needed.   Neuro-Optometrist : Treating headaches related to vision and learning eye exercises to improve my fusion ability. Dr. Keith Smithson was amazing for me.   Cranio-Sacral Therapy & Massage : Treating headaches and stress from the impact; for me, any approach to the soft tissue work that makes a patient feel better, even in the short-run, is worth having in the mix.   Chiropractic : I did have some helpful treatments from chiropractors, especially relating to the whiplash aftermath. My favorites were:   Bodnar Chiropractic and Cedar Lane Chiropractic .   Botox : I also had some headache relief in years two and three from Botox injections into the muscles in the head and neck.   Mental Healthcare : I really gotta emphasize the mental health aspect of concussion – finding a therapist to help with the potential depression, anxiety, or PTSD is really valuable. Just as every concussion is personal to the patient, the mental health aspects are also unique to you. I’d recommend getting in therapy even if you haven’t had a concussion, but with a concussion, I think it’s a must. There’s no downside, and you can stop any time; but always better to start proactively than to struggle and have a deeper hole to climb out of. I definitely have my faves when it comes to therapists, but rather than list them, I’ll say try to find a practitioner who is integrated with the concussion specialist – when they work as a team, the patient gets the best outcomes. Certainly, Inova Mental Health Services is an amazing resource.   Note: I’m not providing the links or information on any of the doctors that I saw in the first few years, because while I made progress, I now understand enough to know those docs didn’t have the comprehensive solutions and contemporary science I needed...)   My Recovery Protocol For me, the initial recovery protocol was to eliminate social activities, preserve what brain power I did have for work and family, and severely restrict my work schedule. I spent lots of time listening to podcasts and audiobooks, rather than reading, because reading sent the headaches sky-high. I slept a lot more than usual, including a regular nap. I religiously took my supplements, followed the dietary guidelines, and as of week five, started exercising daily. My complete list follows. Supplements : There are definitely supplements that science supports; I’m cautious to give any advice about supplements, so I’m going to limit it to just one:  Migranol .   I will provide the reminder that supplements are unregulated; and ideally anything you take, be sure it has a third-party certification about what’s truly in it, or ask the company for evidence of their own testing.   Diet & Nutrition : No caffeine, no alcohol. Yup, none. I think the no alcohol is easy advice for everyone. I can imagine caffeine might be useful for some people, for me, I 100% eliminated it.   Exercise : Research shows that maintaining 25 minutes at 80% of your max heart rate helps speed recovery time. However, this is only true if this level of exertion does not trigger or worsen the concussion symptoms. There is a process to follow to build up to this level that should be directed by a health professional. I started exercising regularly again at 5 weeks, but at that point, I didn’t have the care and detailed guidance of Dr. Womble, so I over did it, and set myself back. I also had no understanding of the damage to my vestibular system, so until year 4, I was continuing to make things worse while I tried to make things better.   Sleep : Nap as much as desired during the day, but ideally keep naps to 30 minutes or less, so that you can still sleep at night. During my first 6 weeks, my naps were a lot longer, but it did make for some nights of difficult sleep. A true block of 8 to 10 hours of sleep at night is vital. This is when the real healing is happening. My sleep was a MESS for about 18 months, and it took me until year three to be substantially improved. Then, in year 4, with Dr. Womble and Dr. Wertz’s guidance, and Dr. Andy Galpin, I was finally able to solve my sleep problems. Limited reading : Whether on screens or paper, I had to cut my reading way back. My headaches were severely compounded by reading or any focused use of my eyes. This was quite depressing for me, as reading is one of my hobbies. I joined Audible, and audiobooks and podcasts became my best friends. By the end of year one, I could read without making my headaches worse, although my headaches stayed present daily for four years. Doing nothing is doing something : Accept that for the brain to heal, it needs to be resting. Not reading, not working, not thinking. Brain relaxation is a serious part of the recovery protocol. However, simply “doing nothing” is clearly the wrong advice when it’s the only advice.   Guided meditation : Twice a week, I worked with a private yoga teacher who led a 10-20 minute guided meditation; she was amazing and really helpful to me. I also periodically tried to do my own meditation. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. I wish I had found recordings of guided meditations I liked to do on my own.   And yes, I understand the hurdle of the cost of all this, the support and resources required to seek treatment and allow myself the necessary time to heal. But I needed my brain back, so that I could earn a living and be the parent, spouse, and person I want to be. The investment of money and time was a must for me, and I realize I’m incredibly fortunate.   By the end of year three, my brain power was back to normal, my memory was mostly normal, and I just had the headaches. I tried a bunch more things, saw more docs, but nothing worked. In year four, I was ready to give up and just accept I’d have these headaches for the rest of my life. But then, I heard Dr. Micky Collins interviewed on Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast – I was blown away by what I heard. I called the Medical Center at Pitt , and I was ready to drive up there and beg them to see me to help with my headaches – and I was told there was a doctor in the DC area that had studied and trained at Pitt in Dr. Collins’ program. I reached out to Dr. Womble’s Program at Inova and begged them to see me.  At first, they said they didn’t have a spot for me, and my initial injury was too long ago – but, after more begging, they saw me. Thank goodness, as Dr. Womble was the true key to unlock the final solutions. Her integrated approach of physical and mental, using a team of doctors who all communicate together in real time during the patient’s visit, was absolutely amazing. She and her teammates built a program for me, and that program was a winner.  Just imagine if I had of found them at month one instead of month 48. Perspective & Awareness Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is serious. Similar to mental health, the struggle isn’t visible like a cast on a leg with crutches or an arm in a sling. But make no mistake about it, it is debilitating. And just as real. Health is health, whether bone or brain, physical or mental. As hard as this experience has been for me, there is a silver lining. I will be forever more empathetic to those around me… as a friend, parent, business partner, and employer.   In our company, I will support anyone that deals with a brain injury. Now I understand that people with TBI may need the flexibility to work less or do a different type of work for a while. They may need help with financial resources or seeking treatment options. Their recovery will likely be shortened if they have the support and time to get better. And I’m adamant about helping people get to the real experts, for the right care. Gratitude Recovering from the concussion was not a solo affair. Not only did it take a team of specialists, I am fortunate to have an amazing group of people who supported my recovery. My thank you list, in no specific order:   Andrea, for sharing your knowledge and story with me, so that my journey could be less difficult than yours. Your optimism and realism were always in the perfect dose. Moc, I’d felt for you during your concussion journey, and now I know I’m able to feel with you… thanks for ensuring I took it seriously, and thanks for knocking me down to earth when you knew I wasn’t going to take it seriously enough. You were very right. Jackie, your words of encouragement and humor were a valuable part of my recovery prescription. Thanks for continuing to check in on me and care. The MofGP, your well wishes and visits made me feel missed and appreciated. Thanks for keeping my chair at the table. Suzi, being the spouse must really suck during this kind of episode, but you never seemed frustrated or annoyed no matter how useless I was or how much I complained, and you always stayed optimistic. Coop, Oli, Finn, I love that you guys were extra nice to me, quiet when needed, and accepted my limitations. Mike V., as a friend and biz partner, I can imagine it was disconcerting to have me on some version of the limited-use/disabled list, but your permanent, relentless support, and never a whiff of frustration was incredibly kind and helped me focus on getting better rather than extra-stressing about work. Daisy & Gina, for the work/home support combo, doing everything from organizing meds to meditation, and everything in between. Dr. Womble, for being my final salvation, when I was ready to give up and just accept I’d never be 100% again, you got me there. My whole team at work who stepped up big time in my absence and showed how well the show goes on without me. Updated June 2, 2025; originally written Dec 11, 2019

Reflections from the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show   The restaurant industry has always been about people – feeding them, serving them, creating experiences for them. But somewhere, somehow, the focus on “them” eclipsed the importance of “us.” Meaning, yeah sure, the customer is the target of our affections, but they should not be the only recipient of our hospitality, care, love, and support. Without all the people doing the work, the customer doesn’t exist, and neither does the restaurant. That’s changing; fast in some places, and slower in others. And I’m doing my part to accelerate the shift, and to ensure as an industry we never slip backwards.  This May at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, I had the chance to share something close to my heart – and directly tied to the health of our businesses –  mental health in the workplace . My session, “A Capitalist's Motivation to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace,”  drew restaurant professionals, operators, and leaders from across the globe. The interest was real. The conversations were real. The need is real.  As an industry, it’s been common for decades to talk about staffing challenges, burnout, turnover – and we’ve tried to patch the holes in a variety of ways – sometimes with pain, fear, and force, and sometimes with bonuses, adapting our onboarding and training, better POS systems, etc. But we’re finally starting to look at the root of the issue: how our humans experience the workplace, and how the workplace culture we build either supports or erodes mental wellbeing.  I focused my talk on the business case for mental health – not just because it's the right thing to do (it is), but because it delivers measurable return on investment. When you support mental health at work, you don’t just reduce burnout; you reduce absenteeism, turnover, liability, and the costs of re-hiring and retraining. You improve retention, performance, and culture. It adds up.  And still, in too many workplaces, mental health is either ignored, parked in the HR department , or brushed off as a “personal issue.” That’s a mistake. Real leadership means naming the hard stuff, creating safety around it, and taking action. I shared examples from our own businesses – how we’ve built systems and conversations that support wellbeing from the top down and the bottom up.  At the conference, I also had some incredible one-on-one conversations with operators, managers, and team leaders at the Expo’s Expert Exchange. These weren’t surface-level chats. These were people ready to rethink how their businesses function and curious about how to bring humanity into the day-to-day without sacrificing profitability. (Spoiler: you don’t have to sacrifice a thing. Done right, you actually gain.)  If you want to dive deeper into this topic, here are a few other talks and pieces where I break it down further:  Creating Value by Prioritizing Mental Health at Work    Why Would a Capitalist Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace    Conversation with Bershan  Shaw in partnership with YPO Presents:  Building a Wellness Culture within Organizations    The Largest Productivity Gain Most Companies are Missing   And soon, my TedX talk will be published  The National Restaurant Association Show is always a big moment for our industry. This year, it felt even bigger, not because of flashy equipment or new menu trends, but because of the people leaning in, asking better questions, and looking for better ways.  Mental health isn’t a fad or a trend. It’s a permanent necessity. It’s a strategy. And it’s one I’ll keep showing up for: on stage, in boardrooms, and in every restaurant I help lead.  Because when we prioritize people, the business takes care of itself.