Chiseled with Rob Commodari Robert Commodari

When COVID-19 hit, Laura Di Franco immediately had to shut down her physical therapy business. She took that opportunity to focus on another project she had been
working on since 2015 — Brave Healing Productions, a publishing company for health practitioners who use holistic approaches to physical healing.

It was a leap of faith that Laura didn't mind taking because she already had a highly developed sense of awareness a tool that she uses to help entrepreneurs in health-based practices achieve their professional goals of sharing their story, building their business, and changing their world.

"With awareness you have a choice, awareness is everything," she said. "Awareness is the practice of healing."

Like everyone who experiences self-doubt, usually from
listening to the little devil who sits on our shoulder, Laura is occasionally tinged with uncertainty about her next steps. But as someone who has published more than 67 collaborations and written 13 bestselling books on
Amazon, Laura's perspective and guidance offer something valuable to everyone who listens.

In this episode of Chiseled, Laura speaks about how to build a purpose-driven life, how to knock out fear
and self-sabotage, and how to recognize when your discernment and intuition are working for you.

There are times in our lives when we meet kindred spirits. Laura is one of those for me. She has one of the clearest senses of mission and purpose as I have ever seen, and her capacity to help people overcome their self-limiting
thoughts is a gift on display in this week's podcast.

Want to find out how to connect with Laura? You can reach out to her on her website LauraDiFranco.com or on LinkedIn. She is happy to talk about book ideas and publishing, or just to have a brain-picking session.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania-native Dan Armstrong was born with a cleft palate, a congenital abnormality during fetal development that leaves a hole in the roof of the
mouth. While today this is frequently surgically fixed during infancy, Dan, 60, had a prosthesis put in his mouth to enable him to speak. As you can imagine, as a result of this condition, he was mercilessly bullied by neighborhood kids and classmates.

While his parents always encouraged him to believe
in himself, even featuring him as lead on a song recorded by his family's musical act, The Armstrong Family, Dan was angry — so angry that at age 10, he nearly killed a childhood friend for making fun of the way he spoke.

"I remember putting my knee next to his head and pushing until I heard a crack. I remember hearing that crack and realizing I came this close to taking someone's life," he said.

Dan knew he had to work on his anger, and
channeled his energy into writing stories and songs, working on his speech and singing, and even acting in school plays. With guiding love from his parents
and practice to build his throat, palate, and lung strength, Dan ended up touring and recording with a band.

But he was also working a day job as a cable guy,
which turned out to be an unexpected love. It enabled him to develop his affinity for connecting with people.

"I'm like a rolling bartender. I walk into someone's house, and they immediately open up," he said.

Dan turned many unbelievable stories from his career into a book, The Adventures of a Real-Life Cable Guy. Since its release, he has written or co-authored four more books with another on the way. He is also on the speaking circuit, turning his story into life lessons that others can follow.

"Right now, I'm very passionate about what I
do. When I speak to audiences, I swear I see people crying," he said.

Dan is an overwhelmingly positive guy with a love
of discovery, a genuine compassion for others, and a complete lack of judgment. His insights on the way to treat people are inspirational and ingenious.

I'm sure you will enjoy his easy-going nature in
this week's episode of Chiseled. Want to connect with Dan? You can check him out on his website, contact him on Facebook or listen to the end of the episode to hear him share his email address.

 

 

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.