Today’s guest is known as The Empathy Strategist. He is a sought-after social influencer, executive coach, and entrepreneurial advisor whose passion lies in facilitating profound human connection in a deeply disconnected world.

He is the Founder + Chief Question Asker of the 7:47 Club, an organization that helps elite entrepreneurs build, grow, and ignite their community. Since its inception, the 7:47 Club has awakened over 2,500 leaders and sparked over 210,000 relationships.

He found his calling in helping individuals and teams build strong connections through Authenticity, Empathy, Vulnerability, and Safety. In a world that’s starving for connection, he thrives on curating meaningful relationships.

Please join me in welcoming  Chris Schembra.

In this episode we explore:

• his thoughts on leadership: “The actions I take and the way that I empower people to be the best version of themselves is my leadership calling.”
• how inventing pasta sauce and bringing 15 strangers around his dinner table literally saved his life.
• how he reaches people in transition and who feel stuck, and how his dinner table works to awaken authenticity, empathy, vulnerability, and feeling safe.
• why 7:47 is significant in empowering 11 people to work together to get everything done.
• his thoughts on the importance of diversity: speaking to the same circle will keep your message in that circle only. It’s important to reach people who reach other people.
• the C-Con-C model he uses for community building: Conductor, Connector, and Community.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 75

Today’s guest is a fellow super-connector, serial entrepreneur, and author. Her first business, founded in 2009, is a credit card processing company that spans 38 states. She next launched Network Under 40 in 2011 to help people make valuable social and professional connections that lead to friendships and business. This endeavor is now hosting sold-out events in 7 U.S. cities.

She also founded Finance Whiz Kids in 2012 to teach elementary-aged kids the basics of financial literacy through fun and engaging stories. Her kids’ book series by the same name caught the attention of the World Economic Forum and she was invited to their Annual Meeting in Davos to present about youth financial literacy.

The through-line of everything she does is what she calls “net weaving” – connecting the dots between one person or business to another. She gets so much joy from helping others get closer to their goals and has learned, in turn, that what goes around, comes around. To inspire others to follow suit, she founded the social movement #GiveItForward, which aims to empower 1,000,000 people to intentionally give to one person in some way every day, with no strings attached.

Please join me in welcoming Darrah Brustein.

In this episode we explore:

• her thoughts on leadership: Leadership is assessing whether it is more critical to stand in the spotlight or to provide support for someone else taking the reins, and then working where you are needed to empower those around you.
• how her biggest piece of advice for others is to understand how valuable follow-through is, and how follow-through is the biggest differential between people who are consistently successful vs. those who are not.
• her motivation for starting Networking Under 40, which is now active in 7 cities, with over 30,000 people involved.
• how she was able to grow to a place in her career where she has flexibility with her time, and now gets to pursue her passion for teaching others through speaking, writing, and many other outlets.
• her definition of a super-connector – someone who can’t help but go into the world and pair people together based on their different needs and offerings.
• how she aligns her relationships to allow her to genuinely engage with people on a regular basis and uses Google Calendar to help her engage consistently.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 74

Today’s guest went from high school English teacher to Broadway producer in under two years. How? Relationships. He is a social catalyst who believes in the power of making meaningful connections for others.

His success led him to develop a methodology that he teaches through his company Small Pond Enterprises which specializes in relationship design for founders, authors, and speakers interested in playing a bigger game. He works with thought leaders to curate, extend, and leverage their existing networks.

He cemented his reputation as a connector by founding ConnectorCon, a conference for a powerful community of thoughtful connectors who recognize the power of living in a world of abundance rather than scarcity — and he co-hosts the Access to Anyone podcast.

Please join me in welcoming Michael Roderick.

In this episode we explore:

• how being a teacher taught him the art of truly understanding what another person is going through, and how important it is to offer empathy before focusing on your own wants and needs.
• his mnemonic device for adding value to other people’s lives: RISE-UP.
• his thoughts on diversity: “there are no diversity problems in interests.” If you connect with people around shared interests you can broaden the diversity of your network.
• how he separates his work environment from his home environment by not ever bringing his work stuff into his non-work areas of his house.
• his process for being a superconnector: how he uses a spreadsheet and analyzes conversations to help connect people who will bring value to each others lives.
• his views on connections, and how people often keep draining people in their lives for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. However, “we have complete control over who we have in our lives,” and when we let go of the ones who don’t fit, we make room for others who do.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 73