Open Road John Amini

Scott is the CEO and Co-Founder of Verdant Frontiers, an Austin based investment firm with a mission to deliver life changing jobs in Africa and compelling returns for its investors.

Scott has been an entrepreneur for as long as he can remember.  After a successful career starting and selling a number of different ventures, Scott considered retirement.  However, a trip to Africa stopped him in his tracks.  After this trip, he found a resolve to invest in Africa and its people.  So, Verdant was launched to create jobs and in doing so, change lives, and to capitalize on the economic potential of Africa that Scott and his team believed in.

Scott and I talk about daily courage, how to overcome challenges both big and small, and how to go for it with the right motivations.  Enjoy!

Anthony Flynn has seen a lot.  Being raised by a 17 year old single mother in Memphis, Anthony was raised in an environment marked by struggle, racism and little hope.  Despite these circumstances, he eventually became an entrepreneur, author, leadership coach, consultant and now, the CEO of WorkFaith Connection, a Houston based ministry which has a mission to build faith and career skills for the marketplace.  

Anthony and I discuss his childhood and how the racism that he experienced shapes his worldview today.  We talk about how education exposed him to a world outside of the only one he knew.  He shares his experience as a leadership coach and consultant and what he learned from his time with some of the most high powered leaders in the world.  Finally, he shares his Dinner Party Story that proves that when you go for it, you may not be the only one who benefits.  Enjoy!

It's good to be back.  After a nice little breather, we kick off Season Two with a bang with the third episode of Drinks with Friends.

Matt and Marshall crack open a bottle of Pinot with me as we discuss the margin of life and our timely topic: Friendship.  We discuss how friends have changed us and how we have changed as friends.  Tune in as we dig into how the Open Road Lifestyle, living with courage and purpose, is simply impossible without good friends.  

Pull up a chair and join us at the table as wild stories and lessons learned abound amongst three life long buddies.  We round out the episode with three Dinner Party Stories about Friendship that are equal parts outrageous, hilarious and impactful.  Welcome back to Open Road!

Wesley Hunt is a former Apache Helicopter Pilot and Candidate for the United States Congress.  After a close loss in 2020, Wesley is already gearing up for a future run.

Growing up in a family with a long history of Military Service, Wesley knew that West Point was his destiny.  After graduating, he served for 8 years as a Helicopter Pilot and Diplomatic Liaison.  Following his honorable discharge, Wesley moved back home to Houston and decided that his next move in his arc of serving the country that gave him so much was to run for public office.

Our conversation covers the gamut.  Our chat ranges from race relations to the issues with our mainstream media, and from losing his friends in war to rediscovering national unity.  It was a pleasure to talk to my friend about the past, current and future of our country.  Tune in for Wesley's passionate takes and for his truly unique Dinner Party Story about President Trump.

Shannon Sedgwick Davis is the CEO of Bridgeway Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to ending and preventing mass atrocities around the world.  More recently, Shannon and the Bridgeway Foundation have been credited for their pivotal role in mobilizing awareness, civilian protection, and recovery efforts against the Lord’s Resistance Army and its leader, Joseph Kony, the first-ever indictee of the International Criminal Court.

Shannon saw the evil of Joseph Kony and decided to do something about it.  She didn't wire funds to someone else from her Living Room.  She hired private military contractors, flew in Helicopters to speak to Kony and his gang through loud speakers, sat across the table from world leaders to devise ways to bring Kony to justice and save those under the weight of his oppression.  

Shannon sits on the board of several organizations, including The Elders, Humanity United, TOMS, and charity: water, and author of the recently released "To Stop a Warlord".

Shannon is a wife, mom to two, and a doer.  I'm honored to call her an old and dear friend and it has been an absolute thrill to watch her shape and mold the world around her.  Her impact is unquestioned and her courage is undeniable - clearly, a banner carrier for the Open Road Lifestyle.  Tune into our conversation and buckle up to be inspired and wowed by her stories.

Todd Pierce is a cowboy.  A real cowboy. 

Growing up as a wild man, Todd found his calling in bareback Bronco riding.  After being a professional cowboy, Todd launched Riding High Ministries.  Todd & Riding High Ministries host Born Wild events at Prisons, Native American Reservations, retreat centers and church events, wherein Todd demonstrates the gospel of Christ by breaking a wild horse.

The first time I met Todd, I was struck by his uncanny ability to speak with such insight and as if he had known me my entire life.  Todd's rough and rowdy life leading up to his acceptance of God gives him a unique perspective on the world that is clear, simple and worth tuning into.

In our conversation, we discuss how to live differently by breaking out of our comfort zones, the manhood pandemic in our culture and how to fix it, the fatherlessness problem that our world is experiencing, and how to live with a sincere faith.  Finally, we hear an incredible Dinner Party Story that is thanks to a familiar old friend and to going for it.

Todd's cowboy ways awesomely embody the Open Road lifestyle and I am honored to consider him a friend.