Hi friend, This week’s episode is a little different. My guest is someone I haven’t talked to in about 25 years, and I’ll admit I wasn’t sure how it would feel to pick up a conversation that long after it left off. Lyndsey and I were friends back in elementary school. The last time I saw her, I was the receptionist at a nursing center and she was on a break in the lunchroom, and we were still teenagers! Now she’s a practicing nurse working in advocacy, living on a homestead in Huntsville,...
4 days ago • 3 min read
Hi friend, This week’s guest has two origin stories for his name, and they do not agree with each other. His father said it was part Latin and meant something like rising warrior. His mother said it was an oil sheen situation. Both of them delivered their version with total confidence. I picked the mother’s version. You will too. Dysheen Davis is a photographer based in Columbus, originally from Queens. We met while volunteering at an HR event, both of us behind cameras, and I knew within...
10 days ago • 4 min read
Hi friend, This week’s guest found me on Instagram. She posted a reel that said something like “follow me and I’ll follow you,” so I did, and I’m so glad. I had never interviewed anyone with her name before, so this was a first for the show. Monica joined me from Calgary, Alberta, adding to the growing list of Canadians I have on the podcast. She’s a mom to a 5-year-old, a wife, and a full-time business systems analyst. In her words, she’s a software problem solver. (I told her we basically...
13 days ago • 4 min read
What's in the name... Melissa Hi friend, This past week’s guest is someone I met on Instagram, and she was one of the easiest people I’ve ever scheduled. Even when our connection kept freezing, she jumped off Wi-Fi and dialed in from her phone so we could keep going. That tells you a lot about her before we even get to her name. Melissa joined me from her home in Indianapolis, Indiana. She describes herself as an empty nester at 55, trying to figure life out. I love her account, and I was so...
19 days ago • 4 min read
What's in the name... Jeff (part two) Hi friend, This week's episode is a "Part 2", and these might be my favorite kind. We get to peel the onion a little further into the meaning of Jeff's name, and I also incorporate a discussion on grief. This episode was the most emotional one that I've published to date. Jeff was one of my very first guests over two years ago when I first started the podcast. I've known him for more than 18 years, since before I had kids. We worked together at a little...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
What's in the name... David Hi friend, This week's episode showcases a second "David" for the podcast, and I'll admit I was curious whether the same meaning would land the same way twice. It didn't. And that's the fun of this. David Noe has been in HR for 20 years across healthcare, recruiting, and consulting. He hosts SpeakeasyHR, runs a small business with his wife, is writing a book, and has three teenagers headed toward college. We even started our podcasts a month apart in 2024! He also...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
What's in the name... Samuel Hi friend, I've now asked this question more than 130 times on my podcast: Do you know what your name means? Almost no one does. But here's the part that keeps me doing the show and asking this question. When I ask those same people whether they think their name has shaped who they are, how they act, how they see the world, most of them actually say "yes". They feel the influence of something they've never actually looked at. That gap is the whole podcast in one...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read