How many battles are you fighting without even being aware you’re in the arena?

It might seem like everything is “fine”. Sure, you had struggles, some hard times and bad luck, and things that didn’t quite go your way. Many people have a story or two about the time they got fucked over BECAUSE they were doing the right thing.

That boomerang can spin around and hit you when you least expect it, like it did for Tony Crescenzo.

Tony grew up in a family of mechanics. Really, all the men in his family were mechanics, except for one grandfather who retired relatively young and bought a farm. They all lived in that same South Philadelphia neighborhood where the Rocky Balboa character trained for his fights with Apollo Creed. So young Tony worked Saturdays as a mechanic and Sundays on his grandfather’s farm, learning the value of good, honest work.

Tony’s parents divorced. His mother remarried to a Navy officer and they moved to Hawaii.

His stepfather’s friend was an old-school Marine whose John Wayne-esque tales of service and heroism inspired young Tony to join the Marines. That’s where he learned priceless lessons about teamwork, being part of something greater than yourself, and the importance of service.

That’s until he was assigned to NIS (which is what it was before NCIS), working in criminal investigations to bring down a paycheck scam. As the only witness for the upcoming court-martial of the accused, he soon found himself being court-martialed – and convicted – for a plethora of exaggerated charges, one of which was that he was UA (think AWOL) even though he was on an approved leave!

So much for Semper Fi, right? Well, not exactly. Tony did get the conviction reversed, along with a commendation for his service and $20 for his trouble. But he decided to pivot to the private sector, working for, leading, and owning various companies and becoming a sort of “Clint Eastwood” of corporate restructuring.

The thing is, his penchant for fighting was affecting every aspect of his life. Both his first and his second wives were used to Tony waking them up in the middle of the night screaming in his sleep. In his own words, he was was one of those people who goes from zero to fuck you in 10 seconds. So things weren’t “fine”. It’s a four-letter word. And then everything changed when he mis-Googled directions to the CIA.

In a moment, when we meet Tony, he is going to give us a master class in accountability, vulnerability, and leadership including the power of meditation and an innovative method he is bringing to market for treating PTSD.

As you listen, reflect on the fact that PTSD is not limited to those who have seen death and destruction on the battlefield. It comes in many different forms from triggers you might not even know.

Tony’s hype song is “Summer Wind” by Frank Sinatra.

Resources:

• Tony Crescenzo’s websites: https://peakneuro.com/ and https://intelligentwaves.com/.
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonycrescenzo

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of...

Ever heard the phrase “may you live in interesting times?” Seems applicable these days. And it’s causing a lot of people to live with a constant feeling of anxiety that nags at you, sapping at your energy throughout the day, so by bedtime, you're exhausted but still can’t sleep. Financial stress is a primary source. According to an April 2025 survey, fewer than 45% of Americans say they’re in better than fair shape financially. Which means more than 50% are not ok.

Well, there's a good chance that it’s not your fault. Because many Americans did not grow up with the family support to develop financial literacy from a young age. Maybe you were told family finances were “none of your business.” Layer on top that often parents and grandparents didn’t have a strong financial foundation of understanding to start with either.

Anders Jones has been taking matters around this topic into his own hands ever since a series of twists and turns brought him into what he and his mother jokingly call "the family business", even though the family doesn't have a business and they never worked together.

Growing up, Anders was fortunate to not really want for much of anything. His mom worked at Fidelity and helped millions of Americans prepare for retirement. His stepdad was a British guy who gifted him his first car, complete with a single CD disc changer and two requirements.

Graduating college in 2009, at the height of a financial crisis, he didn't have a whole lot of prospects for becoming an investment banker or going into private equity. So he joined a Web 2.0 company owned by a serial entrepreneur whose method was to hire young, promising talent and empower them to figure things out. After a while, they sold the company. Since then, he's become involved with several ventures, including co-founding a financial planning firm called Facet.

Now, Anders says that he feels so fortunate that if he were to die and be reincarnated, he'd want to come back as himself. That’s not something many people would say. So at what moment did the boomerang whack him in the face and show him why Fine Is a 4-Letter Word?

Well hang on, because when you meet Anders, you'll find out that this time, it's you, the listener, for whom things are not "fine". Up until now, you've been told that money is a taboo topic. Up until now, you've been told to trust your gut, then gotten lambasted when you did and things didn't work out as planned.

It's time for new conversations on a lot of topics. Anders is going to get us started on three - gratitude, mindfulness, and financial literacy. There's a reason he picks three, which you'll also find out.

Anders’ hype song is “Riding With The King” by B.B. King & Eric Clapton.

Resources:

• Anders Jones’ website: https://facet.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anders-jones/

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of maintaining an awesome corporate culture. Because you’ve got annual all-hands meeting and open door policies, and “fun" team-building events.

But let's be real. Leaders who are serious about building real trust are finding better ways to...

If the self-help industry was actually effective, the world would be full of people in perfect health with boundless wealth, always succeeding at everything they set out to do. They'd have perfect relationships, be surrounded by nothing but love and harmony, and know the definition of paradise!

The first time things seem a little off, you'd just buy one book, read it, and voila! You'd never need another book because the stars would align like some freaking celestial rapture put at your service personally. Alas, that's not the case.

Eddie Sand started reading one of those books. Rather than solve his problem instantly, it put him in such a tailspin that he ended up spending five months going through hell. Even his wife couldn't say much that would help him along or make him want to get out of bed.

Raised by his grandparents, lack showed him how different people had different things in their lives, which made him want to become better. And contributed to what’s become one of his biggest values - being genuine.

After several failed attempts to join the Army, he enlisted in the Marines because he noticed a Marine recruiter at his high school who seemed to have a bunch of girls crushing on him. What guy doesn’t want that? I *may* have had a thing for a few Marines myself 😊 So he served four years honorably, then got out because... he met a girl, now his wife and the mother of his daughters. So far so good, yes?

Well, he went out to find a job. What he found - a job selling cologne and perfume in the streets of Newark, New Jersey - made him yearn to go back to the Marine training where recruits are required to stand in containers full of tear gas without masks. One thing led to another, and he found a career in sales. Then he discovered his religious faith. But the initial draw was how the preacher issued a call to action to become better as a person - in a way, another form of sales.

Eddie found his niche, and everything seemed fine - but Fine Is a 4-Letter Word. A client gave him a book to read about Ego, and it tore him up. He found himself, as he describes it, in a cave he had to struggle through - a journey that took five months and that he's about to share with you.

In a moment, when you hear from Eddie, you'll discover the key piece of self-growth that a lot of personal development training misses. As part of the process, Eddie tried to feel multiple negative emotions all at once. Then it all sort of went away. You'll find out what happened and why.

Right now, Eddie is leading a group to teach people how to better approach their sales conversations. And working on how to share his struggles as a means for helping other men know they’re not alone. What does this mean? You're about to find out.

Eddie’s hype song is "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.

Resources:

• Eddie Sand’s website: https://stan.store/EddieSand
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddievsand/

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of maintaining an awesome corporate culture. Because you’ve got annual all-hands meeting and open door policies, and “fun" team-building events.

But...

Some people are just born with it.

Whether it’s the intelligence you need to thrive, personality traits that make you likable – or your dad owning the company you grow up to become “Chief Servant Leader” of – we all have something going for us.

Throughout the 192 (and counting) episodes of Fine Is a 4-Letter Word, I’ve covered stories of pain, struggle, perseverance, and salvation. One of my guests even went to prison for a murder she did not commit!

Kevin Schnieders is one of those guys who, when you first meet him, strikes you as the kind who was just born with it. But as we peel back the layers, you’re going to get to know a man who shows there’s always room to grow and boundless opportunities to make an impact when you see them.

Kevin’s dad was a school administrator who took a bold leap in founding EDSI, a workforce development, customized training, and consulting company focused on providing innovative solutions to close workforce skills gaps around the country. His mom was his dad’s biggest cheerleader, not a big departure since she had actually been a cheerleader for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He was the middle child, partially in awe of his brother who was brilliant in his studies. Kevin was less academic, but he found a niche as an athlete and pursued a dream of becoming a sportscaster. Rather than take to the mic, Kevin went into teaching and then came to work at EDSI – first as a training consultant, then as Director of HR and Operations, then as COO, before becoming CEO. Then he bought the company. Along the way he married and has two wonderful daughters who make him proud every day.

You’d think – wow, everything’s fine for Kevin. We could say, “He’s doing great and he lived happily after ever. The end!” But Fine Is a 4-Letter Word, as Kevin discovered when he was asked at a seminar how intelligent he was on a scale of 1 to 10, and he answered “6”. Bang! At that point, he realized he’d been carrying weight around for not being “as smart” as his brother. I’ll let Kevin explain. Then he attended another seminar and found out that for as compassionate as he always is toward others, he’d been falling short in practicing self-compassion.

In a moment, when you meet Kevin, you’ll discover what came next. How does all this impact him as a father? How does he pass his values to his daughters? As the owner of a company with 856 employees, what’s his secret for creating a sense of personal connection with every single person who works for him – all 856 of them?

Whether you have zero, ten, or 856 employees, or you are the employee, get out a note card – yes, an actual note card – and prepare to write.

Kevin’s hype song is "Be Who You Are" by Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Resources:

• Kevin Schnieders’ website: https://www.edsi.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edsi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EDSITalent
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edsi_careers/
• X: https://x.com/EDSI_Solutions
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EDSIvideos

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of

Time and again, as you go through nearly 200 episodes of Fine Is a 4-Letter Word, you'll find stories from guests who found themselves disconnected from what's supposed to be a connected world.

Your circle of close friends you see all the time - your "besties"? Go back two years and tell me how many of them are the same people.

Your avid following on social media who hang on your every post? Delete your account and I bet maybe two of them even try to reach out somewhere else.

Sometimes being disconnected is a lonely place to be. Other times, it gives you the advantage of not being indoctrinated into other people's beliefs.

It could also mean your tribe is quietly forming behind you as you go through this journey called life - as Margaret Rogers discovered when her own journey became a giant a-ha moment.

The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, her parents' cultural way of showing love was to make sure she had the security that came with providing for her basic needs. She wanted for little materially, but the rest was up to her. Her parents told her two things: "We want you to be happy, healthy, and have a steady job" and "Money's easy to spend and very difficult to make".

In school, she was the only Asian girl in class. There weren't the thriving, nuclear Asian communities that exist in almost every city today. In college, taking an engineering class filled almost entirely with white men, her professor interrupted his lecture and singled out the woman, asking her, "do you understand?" for no particular reason at all.

Graduating with degrees in both electrical engineering and computer science, Margaret easily got a job during the dot-com boom. But then the bubble burst. She decided she really wanted to do "consulting" with only a vague notion of what that is. So she said "if you're laying people off, pick me" and started her own firm.

This was all turning out just fine. Really. But Fine is a 4-Letter Word, as Margaret found out after another company acquired hers and she became an executive there. When it hit her that the acquirer had bought the company's technical skill but abandoned the culture she had built, she felt like she'd let down the team she'd nurtured and assured she'd take good care of.

So, who had Margaret's back now?

You'll discover that in a moment. You’ll hear her story about the power of mentorship that began when she hired her first employee and recognized how that changed her own life forever. You'll also see how everybody from her Taiwanese grandmother to so many she’s met along the way have come together behind her like a posse. Like she's Wonder Woman and they're her Avengers.

Listen all the way through as it will hit you right at the end.

Margaret’s hype song is "Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas.

Resources:

• Margaret Rogers’ website: https://parivedasolutions.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretpengrogers/

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of maintaining an awesome corporate culture. Because you’ve got annual all-hands meeting

Being an outsider can be challenging – but it can also be your absolute superpower!

We all come into the world as a blank slate with the opportunity to form and grow organically. Taking in the world as you find it before being tethered to a rigid or strongly defined set of predetermined beliefs set for you by others.

John Morris started out that way too, but unlike most people, he never took on the opinions of others. He began questioning fear-based systems, trusting inner knowing, and seeing the world through a wildly different lens than most. This approach has given him a unique ability to use a few simple tools to reinvent himself every time he finds the world not to his liking and decides he can have better and do better.

Growing up, while his mom chased the current popular thing, his dad didn’t really instill a structured set of beliefs – his motto was “as you see it, as you get it”. Not only that, but he was isolated as a child, which had the silver lining of sparing him from having his beliefs molded by others in a hundred silent ways. When he was a teenager, there was a big part of him that knew he was different, knew he didn't process the world in the way that other people did.

John’s grandmother instilled in him his strong religious beliefs, which contrary to some of the stories you’ve heard from others on our show, weren’t constricting to him at all. After 15 years as a youth minister and 20 years as an evangelist, he left the church because of what he saw as scaremongering and politics.

But John came to understand that Fine is a 4-Letter Word because of how the word “fine” was an acronym commonly used in his youth ministry: “feeling inadequate, needing encouragement” – and how this version of “fine” can be brought about by pressure to conform and not speak of anything others don’t want to hear. I love this!

You’re about to meet a man currently in a profound state of metamorphosis. In addition to being a preacher, he has also built up an international reputation as an artist – something that he may be limited doing in the future due to a recent onset of dyspraxia. So with the additional ailments of amaurosis (which affects vision) and dyslexia (which affects the ability to read), what is John doing? He’s on his way to becoming an acclaimed author and is working with some of the biggest publishing houses and powerhouse editors to make it happen.

In just the past couple years, he’s written 25 complete novels, of which there are only two original manuscripts. He has one and His Majesty the King has the other.

All of this is possible due to a few simple understandings and ways of being, which we’ll circle back to after we chat with John.

John’s hype song is "Art From The Heart" by John Morris.

Resources:

• John Morris’ website: https://thejohnmorris.co.uk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnmorrisartfromtheheart/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmorrisartfromtheheart/
• During the episode, we discussed Wayne Dyer’s “Everyday Wisdom” recording – watch it on YouTube or download the audio.

Claim your 10% off your first 3 mental health sessions with John Morris - limited to the first 10 persons who mention his appearance on our show, “Fine is a 4-Letter Word”, by...

Have you been moving through life feeling like there’s something else out there?

You can’t put your finger on it. Even though nothing outwardly seems off, there’s more to the story than you’ve been told or that you can see. Something’s not adding up, but how do you make 2+2=4?

For Jill Valdez, this crept up on her in a hundred small ways. Although she went through some experiences that were far less traumatic for her than they are for others – there was always something else behind door #1.

Born to an 18-year-old mother who put her up for adoption, Jill was raised in a conservative Christian home – but it didn’t feel constricting to her. Her values included faith and knowing that you reap what you sow – all well and good, but she’d come back to question those later.

When she was 15, she felt like she lost both her adoptive parents at once when her mother died and her father emotionally abandoned the family as he became a workaholic to deal with grief that would affect him for many years. Jill went through a rebellious-teenager streak, but recognized that wasn’t the life she wanted. Both she and her husband were called to traditional pastoral work, which she enjoyed until she decided to change how she leads people. Jill went through a lot, but somehow it always worked out. Everything seemed fine. But Fine, as you know, is a 4-Letter Word.

It definitely was NOT fine when shortly after her sister died, a man at church asked, “where’s your smile?” For f*cks sake, her sister had just died! It also wasn’t fine when her beloved nephew Kirky died just 11 days after being diagnosed with acute leukemia. Nor was it fine that Jill wasn’t sure she knew where she came from, other than that she was adopted.

So, she did her homework, found her maternal grandmother, and gave her a call. It took two hours to get through… but her grandmother, with whom she had never communicated before, instantly knew who was calling. As Jill got to know her biological mother, she discovered that being put up for adoption was a blessing. They have a great relationship now – and good thing they didn’t know each other when Jill was growing up!

In a moment, when you meet Jill, you’ll discover what could be a new point of view about why things happen. That in order to be authentic, it’s okay to question your values and the world as you see it, even if you come to agree that it’s… fine. Or more than fine, for that matter. And as you hear about what Jill is doing now with her consulting work, helping her clients get out of the weeds of chaos, it may hit you like a boomerang right at the end how everything she’s gone through has led to this moment.

Jill’s hype song is "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.

Resources:

• Jill Valdez’ website: https://www.linkconsulting.info/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillvaldezlink/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j_valdezlink/

Invitation From Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of maintaining an awesome corporate culture. Because you’ve got annual all-hands...

What if… one of your core values that should be empowering turned out to be something that held you back?

It’s meant to build confidence to try things. But it becomes a sort of low-key vicious cycle that subconsciously holds you back and curbs your ability to change.

That silent boomerang would be ironic for a professional change agent, but that same boomerang has been both catalyst and inhibitor of Suzanne Hopson’s story.

Growing up, Suzanne was taught, to quote her exact words as she said them in the conversation you’re about to hear, to “never think that there wasn't something I couldn't do”. I listened to the recording three times to make sure I heard her right. Did she mean it just like that? Was it a Freudian slip?

Well, she goes on to say that would have been a limiting belief IF she had it, but that life taught her – sometimes rudely – that she couldn’t do what she set out to do. It was a double-edged sword. So was the other core value, that you can’t do anything by yourself. While we can achieve more as a collective than the sum of our individual efforts, it can also mean that you can’t do anything on your own. I’ll let you sit with that one and hear from Suzanne on that.

So where did all of this leave Suzanne?

After three decades working in the multifamily industry, she came to an inflection point where she began to ask whether she should remain in her executive role or strike out on her own as an entrepreneur. Having to go through the experience of laying off employees, due to no fault of their own or her own, was a catalyst.

As you’re about to discover when you tune in for my chat with Suzanne, she did quit her executive job and start Here2Elevate™, which works with companies and their leadership to see the world as they want it to be and learn how to make it that way. Two factors played a big role. One is the power of mentorship, both positive and negative. The other is coming to terms with the visceral power of change management – the “grit” of it.

Whatever you’ve come to believe about change management and change in general, you may find yourself seeing a new point of view.

Suzanne’s hype song is “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten.

Resources:

• Suzanne Hopson’s website: https://here2elevate.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannehopson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/here2elevate
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/here2elevate/
• X: https://x.com/suzanne_hopson

Take Suzanne Hopson's Business Performance Assessment Quiz to discover how your team measures up in key areas like profitability and strategic thinking. Start now: https://elevated-business-performance.scoreapp.com

Invitation from Lori:

This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit.

Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today’s hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn’t built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It’s built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication.

Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it’s easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of maintaining...