Episode Summary

In this powerful conversation, Holly Porter shares the near-death experience that completely rewired her life, business, and beliefs.

After 70 days in the hospital with COVID, multiple intubations, sepsis, and a trach, she left her body, visited what she calls “the stadium,” met an entity in the in-between, and came back with a simple but life-altering message: “Love them where they’re at.”

Holly and Rodric explore what happens when your definition of success shifts from hustle and achievement to happiness, purpose, and service—and how to actually live that in business.

• [00:00] Meet Holly – mom of 8, 19 grandkids & serial entrepreneur Holly introduces herself, her family, and her long history of running multiple businesses with her “calm to my storm” husband.
• [05:00] 70 days in the hospital: COVID, sepsis, trach & the edge of death. Holly walks through how a “perfectly healthy” woman ended up with a 70-day hospital stay, two intubations, and life-threatening infections.
• [07:30] Out-of-body, spiritual experiences & the full NDE She explains the three types of experiences—out-of-body, spiritual transformative (STE), and classic near-death—and how she had all of them.
• [10:30] The stadium of souls, angelic music & telepathic conversations Holly describes being rolled through the hospital in her bed, suddenly arriving in an enormous stadium full of floating souls, blinding light, and music from all directions.
• [13:30] The life review & two clear instructions from God Holly only sees the “good” in her life review and is given two specific assignments:
• Don’t partner with a billionaire-backed software company (even though it would be “faster”).
• Start a nonprofit called Adventure Bucket Wish—with no mission yet, just the name.
• [17:00] The in-between, the entity named Darby & why she felt “kidnapped”. Through hypnosis, Holly revisits her NDE and meets an entity in the in-between who wanted her light. She realizes this is why she came back feeling kidnapped—and why she kept spelling “KIDNAP” to her sister on the alphabet board.
• [20:30] 11 leaves, 11 roots & the language of symbols. How the tree in her software logo and the rose quartz hearts in her nonprofit gift bags later revealed themselves as confirmations of her experience (and the 11:11 thread that runs through her life).
• [24:30] Two years of “hell” after the hospital & the lesson of loving people where they are. Holly openly shares the darkest season that followed—family turmoil, long COVID, PTSD—and the single message from God that changed everything: “Love them where they’re at.”
• [28:30] Rebuilding business: retreats, software, and a redefined mission. Holly explains Retreat R & R, her retreat leader software and concierge brand, and how she shifted the nonprofit’s mission when she got the clear download that long COVID was no longer her path.
• [31:00] Purpose, money & philanthropy Rodric and Holly talk about making money to do good—how building, scaling, and selling businesses can fund philanthropy rather than ego, and why both of them are obsessed with impact over...

In this episode, Rodric sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, and financial literacy coach Angela Goodman to unpack the truth behind “money problems.”

Angela shares the hard-won lessons from leaving corporate HVAC, surviving (and choosing to exit) the restaurant world, and coaching business owners who are great at their craft but broke on paper.

They dig into discernment, boundaries, self-worth, and communication—and why most entrepreneurs don’t actually have money problems… they have people problems and self-valuation problems.

You’ll also hear about fearless experimentation (including cutting into a dream hot rod to learn welding), human design, and why you wouldn’t desire the thing if you weren’t capable of doing the thing.

• Why Angela walked away from corporate America and bought a restaurant she’d “never do again.”
• How short-term rentals, multifamily, and restaurants can make you question humanity—and what those experiences taught her about boundaries.
• The link between communication, self-worth, and cash flow (and why it’s almost never “just the money”).
• How to become radically picky about clients and partnerships—and why Angela tests people before they know they’re being tested.
• Rodric’s Four Futures framework and the moment you hit “no more” and never go back.
• The real cost of refusing to invest in help, even when you’re leaving millions on the table.
• What human design and spiritual work have to do with business, money, and why you’re on earth.
• A simple but powerful reframe from Channel Panel:
• “You wouldn’t desire to do the thing if you weren’t capable of doing the thing.”

Angela describes herself as “just a girl from Virginia,” but the resume is a little bigger than that:

• Started in commercial HVAC, one of the few women in the industry.
• Climbed into leadership managing large teams and a $25M business.
• Left corporate to buy into a restaurant franchise, grinding 24/7, surviving COVID, and ultimately choosing to exit.
• Invested in multifamily and other ventures that taught her hard lessons about partners, discernment, and trusting the wrong people.
• Today she works with business owners on financial literacy, communication, and culture, helping them stop being “poor entrepreneurs” and start running profitable companies aligned with who they really are.

You’ll find her speaking to rooms of accountants, trades, and entrepreneurs on money, leadership, and communication—then heading off to Antarctica and beyond for bucket-list adventures.

00:00 – Antarctica, Easter Island & Lifetime Trips

Rodric and Angela open with travel talk: Antarctica, Machu Picchu, Easter Island, tennis majors, and why Angela wants to go where nobody else has been.

03:23 – “I’m Just a Girl from Virginia” – Angela’s Origin Story

Angela shares how she went from commercial HVAC to buying a restaurant franchise, and why she’s now exiting to focus on helping business owners “figure out their sh*t.”

06:36 – Restaurants, Airbnbs & Questioning Humanity

They compare war stories: restaurant guests, short-term rentals, multifamily tenants… and how certain businesses can make you seriously rethink how much you like people.

08:49 – Learning Discernment the Hard Way

Angela talks about bad partnerships, being owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, and realizing she trusted the wrong people....

Ryan Fahey (pronounced “Foy”) — consultant, speaker, and author of four books helping educators launch and scale as entrepreneurs.

Big ideas & highlights

• Authentic > algorithmic: why clear opinions outperform beige, AI-generated content.
• The “last 20%” of growth: being fully yourself so the right people follow.
• Teachers → founders: turning buried skills into offers, pricing with confidence.
• Speaking starter kit: assets to collect before chasing stages.
• “Add value daily”: the habit that compounds in life and business.
• Impact beyond the balance sheet—and why sticking around wins the long game

Timestamps / chapters

• 00:00 – Cold open, baseball talk, PEI & Blue Ridge vibes
• 03:55 – Who is Ryan Fahey? Dad, husband, entrepreneur, speaker, author
• 05:40 – Authenticity as the growth unlock (“the last 20%”)
• 07:50 – AI everywhere vs. human voice; why 1 real video beats 100 clones
• 09:25 – “Don’t be the mayor of vanilla town”: have an opinion, repel & attract
• 11:45 – Niche & offers: helping educators become entrepreneurs
• 14:45 – Humble pricing, buried skills, and making the leap efficiently
• 16:50 – Should you write the book first? Sequencing brand → book for lift
• 17:55 – Speaking: assets, testimonials, and building your page
• 18:40 – First stage stories and the virtual keynote era
• 21:33 – Listener chain: “What keystone habits make you unstoppable?”
• 22:15 – Impact goals that don’t show up on a P&L
• 23:53 – Rodric on service, time studies, and keeping energy-rich work

Ryan Fahey Quotes:

• “Don’t be the mayor of vanilla town.”
• “People follow real people. One piece of you beats 100 pieces of fake you.”
• “If you add value daily, the market will reward you over time.”
• “Most teachers already have the skills— they’re just buried.”
• “Stick around long enough and you win the long game.”

Resources & mentions

• Ryan’s site: faheyconsulting.org
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fahey-consulting/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnessrf88/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellnessrf
• Rodric’s foundation: Send a Student Leader Abroad (SASLA)
• EF Tours (context around student travel)
• Books referenced: Robin Sharma

Housekeeping

• Ryan’s question for the next guest: “What keystone habits make you unstoppable?”
• Pronunciation note: Fahey = “Foy.”

Resources:

Million Dollar Flip Flops

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Ready to transform your business and your life while making a difference? Grab your copy of *Million Dollar Flip Flops*—the ultimate guide to creating a life and business that feels just as good as it looks. And here’s the best part: 100% of the proceeds go directly to our foundation, Send a Student Leader Abroad, with a goal of sending 1,000,000...

Scott Kelly, founder/CEO of Black Dog Venture Partners, shares 30 years of lessons helping tech and consumer brands fund, sell, and scale.

We dig into why “sales is a lost art,” why your network is your real funding source, and how to build relationships that lead to opportunities.

Plus: keystone habits, outworking 21-year-olds at 61, and why you should love practice as much as the game.

• 0:00 Meet Scott Kelly — exits, accelerators, and why he never really “retired”
• 2:42 What success actually looks like (solve problems, create opportunities)
• 4:13 Sweet spot: early-stage tech & CPG; why sales often fixes everything
• 5:00 The lost art of asking for the sale (and handling “no”)
• 6:37 Stop doing $5/hr tasks when you’re paid for $500/hr outcomes
• 8:02 “Wozniak & Jobs” — know your lane; if you can’t sell, hire it
• 8:45 Learn the ratios: leads → calls → closes (practice, not theory)
• 9:55 Investor-readiness: your pitch, story, questions, & live “VC Fast Pitch” reps
• 11:25 Follow-up matters: most wins happen on touches 5–6+
• 11:45 Money is in your list: coffees > cold banks; DM your “couch money”
• 12:24 Daily relationship reps: LinkedIn to real conversations; 100 lunches challenge
• 13:49 Don’t pitch-slap investors on first contact; relationships first
• 13:57 Old school still works: direct mail & handwritten notes that close deals
• 15:26 Keystone habit: “obscene work ethic” — love the grind, love the practice
• 17:29 Parting advice: never stop learning, be confident & humble, don’t give up

• “Sales is a lost art. Ask for the money—and be okay hearing ‘no.’”
• “Stop doing $5/hour tasks when you’re paid to produce $500/hour outcomes.”
• “Relationships lead to opportunity. Don’t pitch-slap on the first message.”
• “If you can’t sell, be honest—find someone who can.”
• “Love the practice as much as the game.”

📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackdogceo/?hl=en

📲Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blackdogceo

📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/blackdogceo/

🌐 Website: https://blackdogceo.com/

vcfastpitch.com

blackdogventurepartners.com

• Rodric’s books: Million Dollar Flip Flops and The Magnet, The Method and The Machine
• Send a Student Leader Abroad (SASLA) — 100% of book profits support the mission

Resources:

In this episode of Million Dollar Flip Flops, Rodric sits down with Mark Regan — co-founder of Poop Away, a residential and commercial pooper scooper service that turned a $5 Craigslist ad into a thriving national franchise.

Mark’s story is part hustle, part humor, and full of hard-earned lessons. What started as a wild idea between two furniture salesmen became a systemized business that now gives others the chance to find freedom through franchising.

Together, Rodric and Mark dig into:

• 💩 How a simple idea — “we’ll take the poop away” — became a six-figure business.
• 💡 The moment they invested in coaching and why it changed everything.
• ⚙️ How emotional detachment and outside perspective helped them scale.
• ❤️ Why success built on service creates deeper satisfaction than money ever could.
• 🚀 How franchising turned a small local business into a nationwide opportunity.

Mark also opens up about growing up in poverty, discovering the power of sales, and why he believes anyone can create freedom if they’re willing to work hard, stay humble, and take action — even if it starts with something as unglamorous as picking up after dogs.

Favorite Quote:

“Having a coach who’s emotionally detached from the business is worth its weight in gold. He’s the eye in the sky — he sees what we can’t.”

Connect with Mark:

🌐 poopaway.com/franchise

📱 Facebook: facebook.com/callpoopaway

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-regan-02578661/

Resources:

Million Dollar Flip Flops

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Ready to transform your business and your life while making a difference? Grab your copy of *Million Dollar Flip Flops*—the ultimate guide to creating a life and business that feels just as good as it looks. And here’s the best part: 100% of the proceeds go directly to our foundation, Send a Student Leader Abroad, with a goal of sending 1,000,000 deserving kids on life-changing trips around the world.

As a thank you for your support, we’re offering exclusive bonuses available only for our podcast listeners. These bonuses are packed with extra tools and resources to help you implement the principles from the book faster and more effectively.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain invaluable insights, impact a young leader’s life, and be a part of something bigger.

Click the link, order your copy, and claim your listener-only bonuses today!

Together, let’s change lives—one trip at a time.

www.MillionDollarFlipFlops.com/book

**P.S.** Every book you buy gets us one step closer to sending 1,000,000 kids on life-changing adventures. Let’s make it happen!

• The most important shift in business isn’t software, hustle, or the next hire — it’s identity (owner vs. operator).
• “Herb’s Burger Shack” vs. McDonald’s: why systems, not a superior burger, scaled a global enterprise.
• The Operator’s Trap: “no one can do it like me,” “I can’t afford help,” and becoming the most expensive employee in your own company.
• Growth makes operator-mode more miserable (busy at $2M; drowning at $10M).
• Owners still feel fear — they act anyway and optimize for a better quality of problems.
• The Expensive Prison you built: every “I’ll just do it” brick locks you in; structure is the escape hatch.
• Bottom line: become the architect, not the bottleneck. That’s where freedom, scale, wealth, and health coexist.

• 00:03 — Why the biggest lever is identity, not software or hustle.
• 01:07 — The “same year 45 times” warning.
• 01:31 — Herb’s Burger Shack vs. McDonald’s (systems & real estate > burgers).
• 03:46 — Operator belief loop: “No one will do it as well as me.”
• 04:14 — Case study: $7M builder who approves everything and eats zero family dinners.
• 05:00 — 80% psychology, 20% strategy; owners act in spite of fear.
• 06:08 — “The Expensive Prison” you constructed with every “I’ll just do it.”
• 08:12 — The ask: will you keep flipping burgers, or build a franchise?
• 08:33 — DM @RodricLenhart with your takeaways.

• “If you’re still thinking like an operator and not an owner, you’ll default to firefighting.”
• “McDonald’s isn’t a burger company — it’s a systems and real-estate company.”
• “Most entrepreneurs don’t own businesses — they own prisons.”
• “Be the architect, not the bottleneck.”

DM @RodricLenhart on Instagram with your biggest owner-shift takeaway from this episode. If this hit home, share it with a builder who’s still stuck in operator mode.

Resources:

Million Dollar Flip Flops

Follow Us on Insta

Ready to transform your business and your life while making a difference? Grab your copy of *Million Dollar Flip Flops*—the ultimate guide to creating a life and business that feels just as good as it looks. And here’s the best part: 100% of the proceeds go directly to our foundation, Send a Student Leader Abroad, with a goal of sending 1,000,000 deserving kids on life-changing trips around the world.

As a thank you for your support, we’re offering exclusive bonuses available only for our podcast listeners. These bonuses are packed with extra tools and resources to help you implement the principles from the book faster and more effectively.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain invaluable insights, impact a young leader’s life, and be a part of something bigger.

Click the link, order your copy, and claim your listener-only bonuses today!

Together, let’s change lives—one trip at a time.

www.MillionDollarFlipFlops.com/book

**P.S.** Every book you buy gets us one step closer to sending 1,000,000 kids on life-changing adventures. Let’s make it happen!

Summary:

In this episode of Million Dollar Flip Flops, Rodric sits down with Garr Russell — serial entrepreneur, author of My His-Story, and champion for Christian entrepreneurs. Garr’s journey from a failed anniversary trip to leading a 67-location RV rental franchise is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and faith-driven business.

Together, they dive deep into:

• How a failed RV weekend and a Craigslist ad revealed massive untapped demand.
• Why RV rentals are about much more than camping—serving as housing for utilities, insurance claims, and events.
• The bear-through-the-skylight moments that taught Garr how to turn repairs and insurance claims into profit centers.
• His Covid comeback: quitting drinking, reclaiming sales and marketing, and scaling from 12 to 67 locations in under two years.
• How his passive owner model creates income, depreciation, and personal-use flexibility for investors.
• The mindset that drives it all: “Life happens for us, not to us.”

00:45 – Launch-day vibes; intro to Garr

03:57 – The Craigslist “proof of demand” moment

06:52 – Non-tourist use cases: utilities, insurance housing, events

07:38 – Why franchise (legal & strategic); early network effects

09:21 – The hard parts: repairs, claims… and a bear story

12:09 – From passive to explosive growth; “Covid comeback”

15:29 – Where to find Garr + free books

16:01 – Passive RV owner program & depreciation benefits

17:07 – Question for next guest: “Where is your hope?”

17:37 – Setback → blessing: fired in 2007 for sharing faith → legal entrepreneurship path

19:19 – My His-Story and reframing “to me” into “for me”

20:56 – Practical hope building: inventory your past comebacks

22:39 – Why 20–25 minutes wins for podcasts/YouTube

“Life happens for us, not to us.”

“Hope is never lost—stack the times you already made it through.”

“We’re not just ‘camping.’ We’re providing homes-on-wheels for dozens of real-world needs.”

• Instagram: instagram.com/garrjrussell
• Facebook: facebook.com/garr.russell
• YouTube: youtube.com/@garrjrussell
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garrrussell
• Website: garrrussell.com — books, podcast, and franchise info

Book Mentioned: My His-Story

Rodric’s Book Plug: 100% of proceeds from Million Dollar Flip Flops go to Send a Student Leader Abroad.

Resources:

Million Dollar Flip Flops

Follow Us on Insta

Ready to transform your business and your life while making a difference? Grab your copy of *Million Dollar Flip Flops*—the ultimate guide to creating a life and business that feels just as good as it looks. And here’s the best part: 100% of the proceeds go directly to our foundation, Send a Student Leader...

On Rodric’s launch day for his latest #1 best-selling book, The Magnet, The Method & The Machine, he and Aurora Winter jam on books as lead magnets, why early reviews matter, and how to pick (and win) Amazon categories.

Aurora shares her “push/pull” framework for finally finishing your book, the niche-first logic behind standout messaging, and why AI makes your human story more valuable, not less.

They swap tactics (Publisher Rocket, K-lytics, BookFunnel), talk legacy vs. perfectionism, and dig into the kind of uncomfortable conversations that deepen relationships—and your writing.

If you’ve got a book in you (or a business that needs one), this one’s a blueprint for momentum you can use today.

Highlights & takeaways

• Early reviews are oxygen for launches—line them up ~30 days ahead and publish Day 1.
• Use tools to choose categories, don’t guess: Publisher Rocket (easy) and K-lytics (depth).
• Books are scalable service: help millions while serving a small, high-touch client roster.
• “Double down on being human in the age of AI”—your story is the differentiator.
• Niche > general: the “million-dollar message” needs one person’s ears to perk up.
• Relationship depth = # of uncomfortable conversations you’re willing to have.

Notable quotes

• “LLMs make creation easier—but they’re average. Your personal story is where the gold is.”
• “The depth of a relationship is measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations we’re willing to have.”
• “Double down on being human in the age of AI—that’s where the joy is.”

Timestamps

• 0:00 Cold open: Rodric’s world tour + launch day vibes.
• 1:10 Why reviews in the first 24 hours really matter—and how to get them.
• 3:40 Categories that you can realistically win (and why that #1 tag matters).
• 7:00 The viral video that sparked the book (3 Laws & 9 Levers).
• 8:10 AI vs. authenticity: information vs. inspiration.
• 15:55 Aurora’s “push/pull” method to finish your book.
• 17:45 Niche, message, and the 80/20 of communication.
• 27:15 Strategic Basics: Aurora’s weekly YouTube insights.
• 28:20 Wisdom, setbacks, and silver linings.
• 34:30 Why Rodric wrote The Magnet, The Method & The Machine.

Guest links

• Aurora Winter's Media Page: This has recent interviews and general media information: https://www.aurorawinter.com/media/
• Aurora Winter’s PR Photos & Book Covers: https://www.aurorawinter.com/prphotos/
• One Sheet with Sample Questions: https://aurorawinter.com/onesheet/Aurora-Winter-Impact-One-Sheet.pdf
• Turn Words Into Wealth Gift eBook for you: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7o54im0y52
• Magic, Mystery and the Multiverse Gift eBook for you: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/bd91o9fg2z
• Gift for Your Audience - Includes your Turn Words-to-Wealth starter library and a video masterclass on how to attract capital, clients, and media coverage.: https://turnwordsintowealth.com
• Aurora Winter Website: https://www.aurorawinter.com
• Same Page...