Truthache

Ryan is a low-stress guy, but when he acquired a business from its retiring owners, he found he had even more things to not stress about. Like many entrepreneurs, he finds himself processing issues at 2:00 in the morning. Staffing, payroll, cost controls, profitability, and anything else to keep you up at night.
Ryan told me that life is too short to put up with these things. And to navigate the stress of business and life, he’s picked up at least three methods to manage stress and anxiety.
The Lookout method
Couch Counting method
The Baby Carrier method
After we talked about how to navigate stress, we talked about how Ryan has 9 kids, which made me want to go back to the first topic. (It’s stressful enough having a dog.)
We talked about the differences he sees in each kid, whether the traditional college path, entrepreneurship, or something else is right for each of them. We also talked about whether AI would make all of their jobs (and ours) obsolete. I’ll ask Claude to figure this one out for me, or just invite Ryan back for another conversation focused on the future of technology.
About the Guest:
Ryan Brubaker is an entrepreneur who recently acquired Select Sewing (https://contact.selectsewingservice.com/) and has served as a CIO for several companies.
About the Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

You could say that you have to fight to get what you deserve. But whoever said that didn't do the math, because getting a better deal at a high cost is not that great a deal. 
We dive into the Trump vs Iran peace deal and apply the same principles to everyday life and business. We discuss our views on good deals, bad deals, and how optimizing to get the best deal sometimes means taking less at a lower cost and leaving with more in your pocket.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

There’s a massive gap between serving your country and surviving a life back in it.
That, as Courtney Zaugg explains, is the big challenge veterans face when transitioning from being a soldier to being a dad, an employee, or an entrepreneur.
Courtney spends her life advocating for veterans, starting with her husband, Nathan, years ago. She talks about the “missing middle” between military service and getting back to civilian life, as Nathan experienced. Finding meaning, finding the work that makes you come alive, and navigating reentry.
After starting a construction business, together they realized that what Nathan needed was something many veterans needed. So they started VentureVets to help other veterans who were starting their own ventures.
She explains to employers that hiring veterans is not “charity,” but it’s hiring someone who has already been trained to navigate complex situations, with little information, and a need to adapt and pick up new skills on the fly. It's a smart decision.
In our conversation, we talked about the most important thing that veterans need for success in entrepreneurship. Ahead of capital, training, and protein, they need community. For Courtney’s business, community is a business strategy.
About the guest:
Courtney Zaugg is cofounder of Venture Vets (https://venture.vet/), a 501(c)(3) dedicated to economic growth through the veteran community.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

We’re releasing this episode as audio only, thanks to a setting Daniel forgot to change on the cameras that resulted in unfit footage. You deserve better, so expect more with the next episode.
Jason was a minister who decided he wanted to get closer to the truth. This led him to a new set of conclusions, not in line with the denomination that he was a part of, and ultimately, they excommunicated him.
We accept him just the way he is, but we didn’t let him get out of the hot seat without being challenged. We talked about his worldview (including literally talking about his thoughts on the heliocentric view of Earth), how he determines it is true, and whether or not absolute truth even exists. 
If you’re uncomfortable talking about sex, politics or religion, one of those is all over this episode, so buckle up.
About the guest:
Jason Graf is a sales manager for Danco Roofing in Indianapolis.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

Getting older has its moments. There’s a sense of freedom, but it is also strange at times. We discuss this with Jeremy Zucker, whom I’ve known since he decided to start a business, then decided to stop. He says work is less hard, but he’s also not looking for any more corporate ladders.
We talked about navigating the loss of the creative edge as you get older, and how to keep it. We also talked about music, and Jeremy’s former side gig pressing vinyl records for select artists. 
About the guest:
Jeremy Zucker works in the medical industry, managing teams of writers, and spends more time going to concerts than literally anyone we know.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

Nick is like Uncle Rico, only with a better story.
I mean that in a good way. We always look back at that time we could have been state champions if things had gone our way. As a charter high school coach, Nick did the opposite. He focused on what mattered more, the whole person, and let the opportunity to play basketball be an opportunity to build character. He took a class of unlikely contenders and made them into winners.
They ended up becoming state champions. A total reboot of the Hoosiers' ragtag, underdog story.
While he didn’t realize it at the time, he was unintentionally creating a recipe for success. He looks back on the experience, seeing it as a lesson in developing the individual, and that makes a winning team. He unpacks it in his new book “Every Player is Bigger Than The Program,” where he talks about how the random ensemble became a true team, and how leaders in any arena can apply the same recipe to theirs.
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About the Guest: Nick Reich is an executive of Abundant Empowerment, a leadership coaching consultancy. https://www.abundantempowerment.com/. Preorder his book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Every-Player-Bigger-Than-Program/dp/B0GJYJ3TJX. 
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About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

How do you divorce your work after years of being married to it?
Angie says that sleeping is her secret to success. Between sleep and therapy, she’s been able to accomplish what entrepreneurs only dream about (if they ever sleep to begin with). 
She’s done her fair share of not sleeping too, when she and Randy, her husband at the time, started and grew One Click Ventures to a successful exit. They both lived their business every waking moment and loved every minute of it. 
After selling the company, Angie had to recalibrate. She shares what she’s learned about herself since splitting from her business, getting divorced, and rediscovering her interests as someone no longer giving every waking moment to a fast-paced ecommerce startup.
We talked about therapy, the benefits, and the stigma, and we also talked about the deeper things – like the meaning of life.
About the guest:
Angie Stockland is the co-founder of One Click Ventures, which was sold to FGX International. She now teaches Entrepreneurship at Purdue. She can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/angiestocklin/ and https://www.instagram.com/astocklin/
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency (HRNDN.com) and author of The Lorem Ipsum (danielkherndon.com).
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads (colored-threads.com).

How do you manage issues of cost, morality, and urban design simultaneously? That’s why architecture needs people who think like Scott Perkins. 
Meaningful design that also functions for humans requires layered thinking, foresight, and often, course correction. Scott and I, over a glass of the good bourbon, talk about how to navigate all the above separately and what to do when they converge. Scott examines the art of places from the inside out, especially when he’s in their waiting rooms. His release, which he shares in his sketchbook, is also his research and development for the work that he does every day to help his clients make great offices, homes, and public spaces.
We also discuss how to navigate politics with his staff and clients and how to survive the sharp claws of his cat, which definitely finds a way to interrupt his sleep.
Unfortunately, Michael couldn’t make it for this episode, but he’ll be back for the next one. 
About the guest:
Scott Perkins is a principal at the architecture firm, Blackline Studio.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads.

What do we talk about when we’re not talking about work?
Rosie would rather talk about the biggest questions. Questions about what kind of dog this is interrupting our podcast, and why is he the best dog ever? Followed by the universal question asked by venerable Doc Brown in the 1985 film, Back To The Future: “Where we’ve been, where we’re going, the pitfalls, the possibilities, the perils, and the promise. Perhaps even an answer to that universal question: Why?”
That’s what this episode is all about. Rosie insists on turning the conversation around on us, unpacking Michael and Daniel. If we were food, we’d be fully peppered (with questions).
About the guest:
Rosie Buchanan is head of business development at @Properties.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads.
 

We return after a two-week break, where Daniel traveled to the UK, and Michael probably read a book or cleaned the side of his pontoon boat. Our surprise guest is a Truthache regular, Chris Handberg, who is up to date on all current events and space-related conspiracy theories.
We discussed every one of them. From Trump's episodes of conquest here on Earth to our takeover of the Moon out there in space. We also discuss whether the Apollo moon landing was staged, and much more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Nicola Tesla’s papers, seized by Dr. John Trump in the PBS Archives.
Missing UFO Whistle Blowers (Newsweek)
A Trip to the Moon (NASA)
Daniel's latest article about the US/Iran peace talks.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads.