Chiseled with Rob Commodari Robert Commodari

You would never know it talking to mild-mannered Jamie Krakofsky that he grew up a hard partier in Ft. Lauderdale. Immersed in drugs, alcohol, women, and gang
violence, he was thrown out of his dad's house at age 17. He tried living on his own but couldn't keep a job or an apartment.

Exasperated, his mom challenged him to change his life. She put him on a plane to Bangor, Maine, with a bunch of camping gear and told him to hike the length of the 2,193-mile-long Appalachian Trail. Whatever he did, he was not to return to Florida.

"She said, 'This is something that you need,'" Jamie recalled.

But Jamie didn't realize how right his mom was until he reached the top of Mount Katahdin, the northern point of the Appalachian Trail, on his first day of the journey.

"I just remember being up at the top of the mountain and just truly started having a conversation with God," Jamie said.

The conversation lasted overnight and by time he was done with it, Jamie was feeling detoxed and refreshed. But he still had a long way to go.

He didn't make it. Three and a half months into his adventure, he got injured. Obeying his mom's wish for him to keep out of Florida, he went to Colorado to stay with his mom's friends. The first week there, they decided to go camping. While up on Greenhorn Mountain, Jamie met his future wife, Bianca. 

Together, the two of them forged a new path.
Jamie went into the military but had to take a medical discharge after eight years. He started in real estate and succeeded beyond his imagination. 

They also had three children — and they fostered
16 or 17 more. When their youngest child was 20 years old, the couple adopted a baby.

"I'd like to think I've had an impact on a lot of people's lives," Jamie said.

Jamie shared his incredible story in this week's episode of Chiseled. Usually, I am familiar with the facts of my guests' stories before they come on the show, but
Jamie surprised me. I didn't know about all the parenting he has done, and I am truly inspired by the details he shared. If you're like me, his story will warm your heart and give you a spiritual lift.

Want to talk to Jamie? You can find him anywhere on social media @jamie.krakofsky or go to the end of the episode to hear him share his phone number.

Now, let's go get chiseled!

 

At a tender age, Craig Moody moved with his
family to a new town. His educator mother and a businessman father wanted the best for their son, but while going to stay with family friends during the
transition, Craig felt unwelcome and unliked. Later, at school, he was bullied and had trouble making friends despite his best efforts.

Flash forward two decades and Craig was still
feeling uprooted. With no job prospects and trouble making fraternal and romantic relationships, a nasty look from a clerk in a grocery store pushed Craig to the brink.

"I went home that night and just thought
about that stare I got and was like 'I'm done,'" he said.

And he nearly did himself in save for the beseeching voice of his father. As it turned out, however, Craig's dad was
nowhere near the house.

"It was God's voice," Craig said with certainty. "It was a defining moment in my life."

From there, Craig decided to turn his life around.
He joined a local church, connected with an old friend who never gave up on him, and jumped into personal growth, studying the works of John Maxwell and
others. It wasn't long before Craig was flush — starting his own home restoration business, getting married, and having kids. He later started several other businesses and has gone from despondent "loser" to
successful business coach.

The co-author of the books Think Big and Next Level Your
Life, in which, Craig tells a story about getting out
of your own way and avoiding self-sabotage, lessons that we all need to learn some time in our lives.

"I acknowledge the imposter in me. It creeps up and I don't let him in," he said.

Craig's story may sound familiar to you; it even may sound like your own, and that's okay — because we all can learn from each other's versions of our own stories. I know after sharing my own stories with Craig, we will stay connected in the future.

Want to talk to Craig? Look him up on craigmoody.co or reach out to him at the email address he shares at the end of this week's episode of Chiseled.

For Amy Somerville, life happens in the transitions. Amy was in the real estate business for 18 years with RE/MAX — as a realtor, broker, team leader, franchise consultant, and coach. She readily admits that throughout it all, she was not a public speaker.But after nearly two decades in business, Amy needed to help her young family transition to the next stage of their lives. She chose to "take one for the team” and begin a very public-facing position running the professional development department. Within two years, she transitioned from senior vice president at RE/MAX to an independent consultant to an employee with Buffini and Company, whom she lovingly describes as "monsters" in the high-end real estate coaching space (I agree).Just a year later, while attending a real estate conference in New York, she was approached by eXp Realty CEO Glenn Sanford, a fan of Jim Collins, whose Good to Great book series offers incredible organizational management principles. One of Colins’ principles says you may not know your "what" or your "why," but you are better positioned to take a leap in business when you find your "who."Sanford, who owns Success Enterprises, which happens to publish Amy's favorite magazine, SUCCESS, told her that she may be his "who."And shortly thereafter she transitioned again, becoming the new CEO of Success Enterprises.“It's heavy to carry a brand that has such a reputation and such an impact on so many people, and me included, so it's wild," she said.With its reputation for excellence, Amy is energized by the challenge of carrying the 127-year-old media group to its next level — by pursuing her own mission to LIVE — lead, inspire, provide value, and empathize.With her energy, focus, faith, and fortitude, I have no doubt that SUCCESS is in good hands. I was honored to interview her and believe you will feel the positivity and intention in everything she says during this Chiseled podcast.Amy is a source of strength and inspiration, with which I am sure you will agree after listening to this week's episode. Want to contact Amy? Listen to the end to get her email address so you can give her a buzz.

Justin Breen was an enterprising journalist in a Midwest media market when his bosses started slashing staff salaries in 2017. With a wife and two young children, Justin knew it was time to take his next step.It wasn't nearly as challenging for Justin as you'd think it might be. Tapping into his visionary mindset, Justin reached out to his 5,000-plus social media fanbase. Just six weeks later, he had started a public relations company from scratch."Someone either can get back into a plane after another one's been shot down without a parachute or they make an excuse. At the highest level, there are no excuses. You just do it," he said of launching a new venture.From there, the sky was the limit for Justin. During COVID, Justin really started discovering that he could achieve success by living with gratitude, recognizing a higher power, and developing a great networking community. In 2022, he started his next company."That's when I went fully global," he said. "The trauma creates the triumph."Working with entrepreneurs, Justin has turned BrEpic Communications into a global PR firm and runs the exclusive connectivity platform BrEpic Network. His first book, Epic Business, was a bestseller in six countries and No. 1 for entrepreneurship in the U.S. He followed up with Epic Life, which teaches, as the subtitle says, "how to build collaborative global companies while putting your loved ones first."Justin has a lot on his mind and you can almost hear the wheels spinning in his brain in this clip from this week's Chiseled. He offers so many insights about visionary traits, you need to listen closely to unlock all the tips for discovering your true potential. I encourage you to buckle your seatbelt for this week's episode.​Want to talk to Justin? Find him on LinkedIn or his website.

I had a really fun time with Ken Walls, my guest on this week's episode of Chiseled, and I'm sure you will too. The author of the No. 1 bestselling book Walls of Wisdom, and creator of "Grow Live Academy," an online program that is part Mastermind part family, Ken has one of the most positive and energetic attitudes of anyone
I've ever met.

Growing up in a "poor family" with "a lot of violence, drugs and alcohol in the house," Ken was a successful entrepreneur from a young age, having started work at 8 years old. But by the time he was 34, his success
could not keep him from hitting rock bottom.

"I had no business trying to run a business of any kind in the state of mind that I was in constantly, which was drunken at all times," he said.

When he finally surrendered, through the "grace of God" and a lot of Alcholics Anonymous meetings, Ken knew it was time to pay it forward. And so he did, setting out to help any person he could.

"If you help enough other people get what they want out of life, you will have way more than you could ever possibly imagine having in your own life," he said.

Ken has had incredible success in business, with perseverance, focus, and a little help from some of the biggest names in the fields of personal growth and
sales. It's no surprise. He is energetic, positive, forceful, and so funny.  I'm certain you're going to be wound up listening to him and will leave this episode of Chiseled buzzing with motivation and ready to act.
​
Want to talk to Ken? You can reach him at kenwalls.com,
kensbizcard.com, or on his podcast's website, BreakthroughWalls.tv.

 

Will Heaven be boring? During a trip to the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, I looked out at the vastness of it all and thought, if this is Heaven, I can't wait.

One step closer to the edge and I may have found it. But I'm not ready yet. I have a lot of life left in me, plus I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I get there.

Apparently, I'm not the only one. Many years ago, D. Scott Smith's five-year-old son asked him a similar question. In fact, seems
that a lot of people are wondering about the afterlife when they haven't yet figured out what to do with themselves right here on earth. Scott began pondering questions about time, space, and how we maneuver through them, and he came up with some amazing ideas about how to best live our lives in the moment.

Scott noted that age matters. At five years old, time feels like it's moving six times more slowly than it does for an older person. So, when he tells his son, it will be an hour until dinner, it's no
surprise his son starts questioning whether he is going to be bored in Heaven.

But the questions don't stop as we age.

"We're notoriously dissatisfied," he said.

On this week's episode of Chiseled, Scott offers his "octodecim" or rule of 18. In short, we live through seasons of life, which are designed for growing, learning, establishing, reaping, and benefiting, not to mention enjoying a little bonus time at the very end. But in Scott's theory, most of us aren't living the experience appropriate for their octodecim and are instead spending too much time evaluating the past or anticipating the future.

From the first minute of this week's episode of Chiseled, I'm certain you will be pleased with how you're spending your
time. This was a fun, logical, metaphysical discussion (if such a thing is possible) and a great conversation no matter what age you are.
Want to reach Scott? You can catch up with him on
his website or follow him on YouTube, LinkedIn, or X (Twitter). Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this
week's Chiseled.