DAN SIMONS

Most people know Carla Hall as an award-winning chef, best-selling author, and beloved television personality. You see her on TV all the time. This summer, you can see her on stage in her show Please Underestimate Me . And now, you can hear her on Founding DC . What I saw sitting across from her was something entrepreneurs instantly recognize:  A masterclass in reinvention.  Not the shiny kind. The disciplined, uncomfortable, intentional kind that actually builds a life and business. Why Entrepreneurial Reinvention Matters More Than Ever If you're asking how do successful entrepreneurs reinvent themselves , Carla Hall's story is one of the most instructive answers out there — and it's not what most people expect. Carla didn’t follow a straight path. She walked away from a stable accounting career, built a food business from scratch, reinvented herself multiple times, and continues to evolve. None of it was accidental. Every move came from knowing herself and acting on that clarity. That's the throughline every entrepreneur needs to hear right now: reinvention isn't a setback. It's a strategy . Key Insights from Carla Hall on Growth, Failure, and Authentic Leadership A few ideas she shares that stuck with me:  Failure isn’t the opposite of success. It’s information.  Knowing yourself is a competitive advantage.  Joy isn’t fluff. It fuels performance.  Alignment matters more than titles.  Sometimes the smartest move is walking away.  Each one sounds simple. None of them are easy. And Carla speaks about them from lived experience, not theory. The Entrepreneurial Mindset Behind Carla Hall's Success  One of my favorite moments was hearing how she thinks about growth. Not as chasing the next rung on a ladder, but as expanding into what’s possible when you stop playing small.  That mindset is pure entrepreneur DNA. It's the same framework I see in the most resilient founders I've worked with and interviewed: they don't define reinvention as starting over. They define it as leveling up with everything they've already learned.  What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Carla Hall's Career Pivots  If you’re building something, pivoting, or questioning your next move, this episode hits on the real work behind reinvention. The decisions. The discomfort. The discipline. And the payoff.  Bottom line: You don’t win by avoiding change. You win by leaning into it.   Listen to the full conversation with Carla Hall on Founding DC — this is one entrepreneurs won’t want to miss.

When I stood on the TEDx stage and said, "mental health is a workplace operations topic," I could feel the paradigm shift happening in real time. The idea resonated, because it reframes something we've been getting wrong for too long.  We created this infographic to distill that talk into a simple framework—one that shows both the problem and the solution.  In short: When companies treat mental health like an operational system instead of an HR issue, they see measurable gains in retention, productivity, morale, and performance.    The Problem: A $1 Trillion Blind Spot  Here's what we're up against: one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness. Over 30% will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity.  Yet the flawed status quo persists: employees hide their struggles, employers ignore them, and when issues surface, they get pushed to HR's silo.  We can talk about broken ankles and torn ACLs at work, but not depression and anxiety. We discuss bad backs but not menopause. What fools made up these rules? And what fools are we if we follow them?  The Solution: The 2-Part Mental Health Operations Framework  The answer isn't complicated—it's a two-part approach:  Pillar 1: Culture (Leadership & Transparency) :  Leaders need to embrace transparency. Share your own stories. Normalize conversations about mental health. Stop pretending that HR is the only safe place to discuss these issues.  Pillar 2: Systems (Tactical Tools, Training, & Access) :  Embed resources into your operations. Apps for anonymous communication and therapy access. Training in mental health first aid. Relationships with local practitioners. Expert-led sessions to help teams recognize signs and have supportive conversations.  Think about it this way: if a piece of software you use at work had a 10-20% error rate, you'd stop at nothing to fix it. So why don't we treat the human operating system with the same urgency?  The Result: ROI You Can Measure  When you reframe mental health as a workplace operations topic—treating it with the same systematization, vocabulary, and problem-solving approach you use for scheduling or supply chain—the returns are tangible. Through embedding mental health into my organization's operations, we have seen:   Lower employee turnover  Reduced absenteeism  Fewer errors and burnout-driven mistakes  Higher engagement and morale  This isn't just good ethics. It's good business.  Your Turn  Where are you and your company on this journey? Maybe you need the cultural shift first. Maybe you've got the culture but need the tactics. Either way, the playbook is there for the taking.  Mental health is health. And ensuring that our people flourish into their most valuable versions of themselves isn't a side project—it's the work.  Let's change the world one workplace at a time.    Watch the full TEDx talk or download the infographic to share with your team. And if you want to bring this conversation to your organization, let's talk.

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.