Because This Matters

Mark Poiesz
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Self-Improvement

Because This Matters explores the values that shape us, stretch us, and sustain us. Hosted by leadership coach and musician Mark Poiesz, each episode features conversations with impactful people about the values that guide how they show up in the world—in their work, relationships, and everyday lives. Through stories of change, uncertainty, service, creativity, and connection, guests reflect on what matters to them, what experience has taught them, and what they’re still figuring out. Sometimes it takes witnessing someone else’s clarity to rediscover our own. Subscribe and listen—Because This Matters.

  1. Oct 27

    Beckie Lacey: Showing People They Matter

    Beckie Lacey has spent her life helping people discover their potential and making sure they know they matter. Across 35 years in public education, she built her district’s first program for academically gifted students, created opportunities with limited resources, and advocated for young people even when doing so put her at odds with administrators. Her work extended far beyond the classroom, including through the Central Pennsylvania Honor Bus, which she helped establish with her students to bring hundreds of veterans to their memorials in Washington, D.C. For Mark, this conversation is personal: Beckie was his middle school teacher. Together, they explore the childhood experiences that shaped her commitment to others, the rewards and personal costs of service, and the relationships that continue to give her life purpose and meaning. With her signature humor and candor, Beckie reflects on listening before directing, admitting when she doesn’t know the answer, and trusting young people with responsibilities that help them grow. In this episode: • How early childhood responsibility shaped a lifetime of service • Why honesty matters with children • The interplay between serving others, feeling valued, and neglecting our own needs • Listening to students and creating opportunities around their individual strengths • Humility, resourcefulness, and advocating for people within resistant systems • Finding purpose through relationships, curiosity, and continued growth Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

  2. Sep 22

    Manisha Sharma: Finding Clarity in the Unknown

    Manisha Sharma has spent much of her life moving between countries, cultures, industries, and roles—and somewhere along the way, she became unusually comfortable with not knowing exactly what comes next. Over more than 20 years as an operator and executive, Manisha built teams, led transformation, and helped grow billion-dollar businesses. But after years of achievement, recognition, and measurable impact, she made a deliberate choice to step away and create space for something different—even though she didn’t yet know what that would be. That pause became a sabbatical, a period of unexpected boredom, and eventually a new relationship with time, ambition, and enough. Today, Manisha works as an executive coach and facilitator, grounded in a conviction that clarity precedes impact. In this conversation, Manisha and Mark explore what living across cultures taught her about trust, why boredom can be a surprisingly powerful source of growth, how a lifetime of change shaped her comfort with ambiguity, and why curiosity may be our best alternative to judgment. In this episode: • Why slowing down and making space can sometimes matter more than moving faster • What Manisha discovered when she intentionally stepped away from a successful career • Boredom as a path toward self-awareness, creativity, and growth • What living across countries and cultures taught her about trust • Finding clarity inside ambiguity and change • Why curiosity and judgment cannot easily coexist Connect with Manisha Sharma: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishasharma/ Website: https://www.inscape.solutions/index.html Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

  3. Sep 8

    Danielle Burkett: Unlikely Journeys and Recovery from Life

    Danielle Burkett’s story is not a straight line—and she doesn’t pretend that recovery is one either. Her life has included substance use, incarceration, trauma, family rupture and repair, and a life-altering stroke. Through all of it, she has continued to return to a few central values: spirituality, courage, family, and what she calls “recovery from life.” Today, Danielle is a recovery coach and the founder and executive director of Unlikely Journeys, a nonprofit rooted in recovery, reentry, prevention, and second chances. Her experience helped shape what she calls the “we factor”: walking alongside people with honesty, compassion, and a willingness to see their strengths even in the middle of their mess. In this conversation, Danielle and Mark explore what it means to keep moving forward without requiring the journey to look perfect, how relationships can challenge the beliefs we hold about ourselves, and how surviving a stroke fundamentally changed Danielle’s relationship with her own life. A note for listeners: This episode includes candid discussion of addiction, trauma, loss, and suicidal ideation. In this episode: Spirituality, courage, family, and “recovery from life”Why recovery is nonlinear and sometimes messyRepairing relationships and learning to accept connectionHow surviving a stroke changed Danielle’s relationship with lifeSecond chances, compassion, and the “we factor” behind Unlikely Journeys Learn more about Danielle and Unlikely Journeys: Website: unlikelyjourneys.org TikTok: @unlikelyjourneys2 Instagram: @unlikelyjourneys Facebook: Unlikely Journeys, Inc. Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

  4. Aug 25

    Will Hensley: Riding for the Brand

    Will Hensley has built a life across some very different worlds. He worked as a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Texas, became a tour manager in the music industry, and eventually left Nashville with his family to help build a luxury guest ranch in Western Montana. Across those chapters, the same themes keep showing up: integrity, responsibility, intuition, family, service, and the willingness to act on what matters even when the outcome is uncertain. In this conversation, Will and Mark explore what it means to “ride for the brand,” how to trust your gut without becoming reckless, why time may be the only thing we truly have, and how the people who believe in us can change the course of our lives. In this episode: Reorienting life around family and fatherhoodLeaving one dream job to pursue anotherClarity, uncertainty, and “right action”Why Will sees time as our most valuable resourceHow A New Earth helped reshape his thinkingCowboy culture, work ethic, and “riding for the brand”Navigating a conflict between commitment and opportunityWhy nature can help people reconnect with themselvesThe importance of helping others and giving people opportunitiesLearn more about The Meadows on Rock Creek: Website: https://themeadowsonrockcreek.com Email: info (at) themeadowsonrockcreek.com Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with impactful people about the experiences and values that shape how they show up in the world. Learn more about Mark at https://www.markpoiesz.com/

  5. Aug 11

    Kara Hawkins: Finding Belonging in a Life of Change

    Kara Hawkins has built a life around change. Born in Bethlehem and raised across different countries, Kara studied Arabic and international affairs, worked as a foreign policy analyst in the UAE, taught yoga, spent time on a remote Greek island and in India, and eventually returned to Australia, where she now works in coaching, strategy, and change management. Along the way, she has kept returning to some of the same questions: What creates belonging? How do we know when it’s time to change direction? What happens when clarity points us toward uncertainty? And how do we build lives around what actually matters to us? In this conversation, Kara and Mark explore freedom and belonging, ambition and identity, personal growth and systemic change—and why curiosity may be one of the most important values we can cultivate. In this episode: How growing up across cultures shaped Kara’s sense of identity and belongingThe mental health challenges that began an inner journey in her teensLeaving a high-status career and redefining ambition and successWhy clarity and certainty are not the same thingTaking calculated risks while remaining open to the unexpectedThe relationship between personal wellbeing and the systems we live withinCuriosity as a path toward compassion, connection, and less judgment Connect with Kara: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-hawkins-75091b84/ Website: https://www.karahawkins.com.au/ Instagram (Art): @kara_eh Podcast: Life, Leadership and Change with Kara Hawkins Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and more about the values that shape how they live, lead, and contribute.

  6. Jul 7

    Solo Reflection: Nine Conversations, Three Threads

    Because This Matters set out to explore how values take shape—and become action—through the experiences that define our lives. Nine conversations later, recurring themes began to emerge. Across conversations with musicians, educators, military operators, nonprofit founders, advocates, and business leaders, three values surfaced again and again: compassion, humility, and relationships. In this first solo episode, host Mark Poiesz reflects on the common threads woven throughout the podcast’s first nine guests, pairing his own observations with excerpts from those conversations. This episode explores what these remarkable individuals collectively reveal about growth, leadership, service, and what it means to become more fully human. Featured guests: • Nasim Lari • Joe Arias • Rich Redmond • Nancy Hajek • Steve Rucker • Melissa • Alison Krebs • Dr. Heather Baker • Chad Bernstein This episode explores: • Why compassion begins with understanding • Humility as openness to growth and change • The role relationships play in shaping who we become • Why becoming more fully human may be the work of a lifetime Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:41 Theme: Compassion 07:53 Theme: Humility 15:35 Theme: Relationships 21:07 Synthesis ⸻ Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives. If this episode resonates, please follow, rate, review the show, and share it with someone who might enjoy the conversation. markpoiesz.com

  7. Jun 23

    Chad Bernstein: Belonging, Mentorship and Growth

    A professional musician, educator, mentor, and co-founder of Guitars Over Guns, Chad has dedicated his career to helping young people discover possibilities beyond the circumstances they were born into. What began as a conversation between musicians and youth in a juvenile detention center grew into a nationally recognized organization serving thousands of students through music, mentorship, and community. Underneath the growth of the organization is a more personal story. In this conversation, Chad reflects on the bullying and self-doubt he experienced as a young person, the role music played in helping him find belonging, and the lessons that shaped his approach to leadership, mentorship, fatherhood, and service. Together, Mark and Chad explore what happens when people feel truly seen, the responsibility that comes with leadership, the power of curiosity over judgment, and how growth often begins when someone believes in us before we believe in ourselves. This episode explores: • How music became a refuge during Chad’s early struggles with belonging • The juvenile detention center experience that inspired Guitars Over Guns • Why mentorship is about helping people discover what’s possible for themselves • What young people have taught Chad about leadership, trust, and human potential • The relationship between creativity, service, and personal identity • Why growth in an organization is limited by a leader’s willingness to grow • Gratitude, spirituality, and finding meaning in a complicated world ⸻ To learn more about Guitars Over Guns or support their work, visit Guitars Over Guns⁠ online. The organization provides music education, mentorship, and creative youth development programs for young people in underserved communities across multiple U.S. cities.   ⸻ Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape and become action through the challenges and experiences that define our lives. If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

  8. Jun 9

    Dr. Heather Baker: Vulnerability, Gratitude and Leadership

    Dr. Heather Baker knows how quickly life can change. After surviving sudden cardiac arrest, Heather found herself asking questions far deeper than emergency preparedness or public policy. What do we owe one another? How do we lead when we know life is fragile? And what matters enough to dedicate our lives to protecting? Today, Heather is an elementary school principal, researcher, educator, and nationally recognized advocate for cardiac emergency preparedness in schools. Her work has helped train thousands of people in CPR and AED use, shaped legislation, and expanded awareness around sudden cardiac arrest and prevention. In this conversation, Heather reflects on survival, motherhood, leadership, vulnerability, and the perspective that comes from knowing everything can change in an instant. She shares how surviving cardiac arrest transformed her relationship with stress, why asking for help became one of the most important lessons of her life, and how raising a child with a congenital heart condition deepened her understanding of courage, responsibility, and gratitude. Together, Mark and Heather explore what it means to prepare for uncertainty without living in fear, and how life’s most difficult moments can become a catalyst for service. This episode explores: • Surviving sudden cardiac arrest and its lasting impact • Leadership through vulnerability rather than perfection • Learning to ask for help and accept support • Parenting a child with a congenital heart condition • Advocacy, resilience, and creating meaningful change • Gratitude as a practice during challenge and uncertainty • How awareness of mortality can clarify what matters most ⸻ Follow Heather on social media @heathersheartsquad ⸻ Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives. If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

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5
out of 5
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About

Because This Matters explores the values that shape us, stretch us, and sustain us. Hosted by leadership coach and musician Mark Poiesz, each episode features conversations with impactful people about the values that guide how they show up in the world—in their work, relationships, and everyday lives. Through stories of change, uncertainty, service, creativity, and connection, guests reflect on what matters to them, what experience has taught them, and what they’re still figuring out. Sometimes it takes witnessing someone else’s clarity to rediscover our own. Subscribe and listen—Because This Matters.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Poiesz
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mark Poiesz
  • Show Website
    Because This Matters