Episodes Archives - Made for That

Posted on December 28, 2020December 29, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Opening in a New York Lockdown: An interview with Jonathan Kaplan

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It may seem impossible, but Carnegie Pizza is opening in a New York lockdown.

I found Jonathan Kaplan on Instagram. I happened to be following his long-time friend, mentor, and fellow restauranteur, Eytan Sugarman, who posted a photo to show his support for the opening of Carnegie Pizza in Times Square.

I can’t really explain why, but I immediately felt drawn to learn more about Jonathan. It turns out his story is both unique and an accurate depiction of what so many entrepreneurs are facing during this difficult time.

He’s one of too many small business owners swept up in the economic hurricane that is COVID-19, grappling with uncertainty and doing his best to navigate an industry he’s known all of his life.

This is his story.

PS, If you listen to the end, you’ll hear a funny anecdote about the uncanny nature of our initial chat and the minor heart attack I gave him when I reached out to him for this interview about opening in a New York lockdown.

New Yorkers don’t leave. We have an understanding. And if something can take us down, everybody else better be very, very afraid. So we have to accept that nothing can take us down.

Jonathan Kaplan Tweet

There are a couple of other things worth noting about this episode:

We recorded this interview on October 29th, pre-election and before the current indoor dining restrictions in New York City.

For the first time ever, I’m offering Made for That merchandise: https://madeforthat.com/store/

Opening in a New York Lockdown: Official merchandise launch

For each new episode, you’ll be able to purchase t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and more items that feature a quote from my guest. There have been some very memorable moments on the show and this is one more way to let them live on forever.

I’m launching Made for That merch with this episode. All proceeds will support both the podcast and Carnegie Pizza.

Shop your favourite items below to show your support, or choose one (or all!) of the following ways to show Jonathan and Carnegie Pizza some love:

Follow Carnegie Pizza

Send/Order a Pizza

Support Jonathan and Carnegie Pizza by sending a pizza to someone you know in NYC or order in for yourself!

Order Now

Posted on February 6, 2019August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Made to Mend: Megan Bruneau, M.A., RCC

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I think we all wish heartbreak looked like it does in the movies. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.

It isn’t reserved for private moments with a bottle of wine and a friend’s shoulder. It’s always there, threatening to surface at any moment. It shows up as a breakdown in the middle of the produce aisle at the sight of a red pepper you’ll never cook with him again. It knocks the wind out of you when you see a man put his hand on the small of a woman’s back at a crosswalk and you realize he’ll never touch you like that again. It drops your heart into the pit of your stomach when department stores start to decorate for Christmas and you’re suddenly very aware that he might be bringing someone new home to his family.

It’s every good song, funny moment, milestone, interesting email, fun fact, accomplishment, adversity, new jar of peanut butter, job opportunity, inside joke, wedding invitation, newborn baby, holiday, cup of coffee, sip of scotch, new outfit or Sunday morning that you’ll never share with your best friend again.

And it disappears in the matter of one sentence.

Heartbreak isn’t some rite of passage set to a romantic soundtrack. It isn’t a sad face on the subway or a bit of distraction at the office. It’s actually one of the most hideous things a human has to endure. It is an all-consuming, nearly fatal, seemingly never-ending grief that won’t let up.

Until one day it does.

My next guest, Megan Bruneau, M.A., RCC, is somewhat of an expert in helping people piece back together a shattered heart. Her willingness to draw on her personal life makes her relatable and her masters in counselling psychology and over 12 years of experience make her incredibly skilled at what she does. She has written honest, hilarious and helpful articles for The Huffington Post and Forbes, and previously hosted the Forbes Failure Factor podcast.

Megan and I cover a lot of ground in this episode, from heartbreak and loss, to Megan’s move to New York City, to psychedelics, perfectionism and the problem with reaching our ‘potential.’

I hope this episode serves as reminder that we’re all in this together 🙂

Posted on January 22, 2019August 14, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Made to Make Music: Jordan Hart

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I first heard Jordan Hart sing when I moved to Toronto back in 2017. I was out exploring my new neighbourhood when the sound of his voice sent chills down my spine. I followed it all the way to a corner on Queen St where he had a crowd of people in a trance. I’ve followed his journey as an artist ever since and I am so pleased I was able to have him as a guest on the show.

As promised, here are the links mentioned in this episode:

Made for That social channels where you can find exclusive video content

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforthat/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madeforthat/

Follow Jordan on social media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanhartsound/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnvT-vDBpHGGy-jcJbxfzg

https://www.facebook.com/jordanhartsound/

Jordan Hart & Emily Schultz @ Rivoli on Feb 8th

https://www.showclix.com/event/jordanhart02082019

The War of Art by by Steven Pressfield

HIREDHIPPO PROMO

Here is the link for candidates looking to sign up at HiredHippo: https://bit.ly/2UiHV1J

If you’re an employer looking for your next great hire, head to https://signup.hiredhippo.ai/employers/ and enter promo code MADEFORTHAT for a 50% discount for a year with the option to cancel at any time. If you’d like a free trial, you can email the CEO directly at adam@hiredhippo.ai with the subject line MADEFORTHAT.

Posted on December 15, 2018August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Behind the Music: Clayton Taylor

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I had so much fun with my next guest, Clayton Taylor. He currently holds the position of Digital Content Producer at Bell Media in Toronto. He’s also hilarious, animated (you’ll have to take my word for it), and his brain holds more musical knowledge than anyone I know.

I first met Clayton 12 years ago when I took a job at HMV … you know, when CDs were still a thing. He was quick to take me in and show me the ropes of working in a record store, though I don’t think we truly bonded until I awkwardly knocked over an entire display of chocolate oranges in the mall we worked in.

In this episode, Clayton and I discuss the good and bad of social media, whether or not he believes he was made for his job, the common trait he has discovered among successful artists, what happened when he got the chance to interview his favourite band, and a lesson he learned at 17 that he’ll never forget.

I have to ask in advance for your forgiveness on the audio. This was one of the first in-person interviews I recorded and that came with a bit of an equipment malfunction. We had a headset that caused some noise on one of the microphones, but I wasn’t about to hold back from publishing this interview because of it!

I should also note that this is the last episode I’ll be publishing until after New Year’s Day. I hope all of you have a wonderful break. And for those of you who struggle through the Holidays, for whatever reason, I want you to know you are not alone. I will be available from 2-4pm PST on Christmas Day to talk if you need to. Send me a message on Instagram if you want to connect 🙂

I hope you enjoy this episode!

HIREDHIPPO PROMO

As promised, here is the link for candidates looking to sign up at HiredHippo: https://bit.ly/2UiHV1J

Posted on December 4, 2018August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Made to Move Us: An Interview with Stu Larsen

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Stu Larsen is a talented musician, known for songs like San Francisco and Thirteen Sad Farewells. He’s also no stranger to sharing the stage with other amazing artists, like Ed Sheeran, The Once and Passenger (you may have seen that little YouTube hit Passenger – Let Her Go that’s been watched more than 2.5 billion times). I approached Stu Larsen about doing this interview after one of his shows in Toronto. It was the 2nd time I’d seen him perform and I was so blown away by the experience that I knew I needed to have him on the podcast to find out what makes him, him. I sat in silence after we recorded this episode and reflected on what I had learned about his life as an artist and world traveler. He truly is the sort of person that makes you stop and take a deep breath. His love of creating music and capturing the world around him is so pure, as is the joy he gets out of simply being alive. I urge you to listen to every album by Stu Larsen and every word of this conversation. There is beauty and honesty in what he has to say and his perspective on life just may change your own. HIREDHIPPO PROMO As promised, here is the link for candidates looking to sign up at HiredHippo: https://bit.ly/2UiHV1J If you’re an employer looking for your next great hire, head to https://signup.hiredhippo.ai/employers/. Enter promo code MADEFORTHAT for a 50% discount for a year with the option to cancel at any time. If you’d like a free trial, you can email the CEO directly at adam@hiredhippo.ai with the subject line MADEFORTHAT.

Posted on November 20, 2018August 14, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

The Enlightened Life: Deidre Sirianni

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Meet Deidre Sirianni – Entrepreneur, Business Strategist and overall enlightened human being. Her wisdom and insight has helped so many step into their truth unapologetically, as she puts it.

After going through a painful time in her own life and a period of self-discovery, she found a way to begin again and to live life on her own terms. Now she’s on a mission to help others do the same. As it turns out, it only takes a few moments with her until that transformation, that shift, begins to happen. How do I know? Because I found myself being incredibly transparent during our conversation and in an unexpected, fearless sort of way. So much so, I said the two words I didn’t think I ever would. And as you’ll soon be able to imagine, publishing this episode wasn’t easy. But, if I expect my guests to be real, raw, or willing to share their stories, I don’t think it’s fair for me to safeguard my own where I see fit.

Here’s to being brave.

Posted on November 13, 2018August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Made to Lead: Edwin Frondozo

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I sat down with Edwin Frondozo, host of the award-winning Business Leadership Podcast and Chief Product Officer & co-founder at Slingshot VoIP.

It’s safe to say that Edwin’s a busy guy. Not only is he constantly working toward achieving his personal and professional goals, he’s giving back to the entrepreneurial community by acting as an advisor at Startup Canada and facilitating the TechStars startup weekend held for 100+ participants.

In this episode we talk about everything from his morning routine, tips for launching and scaling a podcast, the most common traits among the greatest business leaders, why he runs without music, and more.

Books he recommends:

How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Motivational music (who doesn’t love a throwback?):

I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly

Lose Yourself by Emine

Join The Business Leadership Group on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessleadership

Posted on November 6, 2018August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Life Without Borders: Michael Graziano, Global Degree

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I first met Michael Graziano at Flight Centre Canada‘s head office in Vancouver, BC (my former place of employment). For three years we sponsored his show, Global Degree, simply because it was one of the most inspiring and entertaining initiatives we’d seen in a long time.

What is a Global Degree?

The concept of the show is both simple and outrageously ambitious – Michael is on a mission to travel to every country in the world. His drive to achieve this goal is rooted in his desire to improve the post-secondary education experience, hence the name Global Degree.

He has already made his way to 106 countries, capturing the excitement, and most importantly, the enlightenment that travel brings each of its pursuers. I’ve watched him tear down walls of ignorance, find friends in the unlikeliest of places and fearlessly cross borders some of us wouldn’t even dream of approaching.

If that isn’t impressive enough, Global Degree has managed to build a social media community of more than 1,000,000 followers, and their videos have a collective view count of over 70 million.

More Than a Milestone

He is also no stranger to public speaking, with international engagements under his belt that include the impressive Hostelworld Conference held in Dublin, Ireland in 2015.

His ability to unforgivingly forgo society’s standards for an acceptable career path is resulting in an upgrade that our outdated education system desperately needs. His mission is not only share-worthy, it’s revolutionary for today’s youth.

The Global Degree Academy

Michael Graziano’s influence extends far outside the realm of social media. He bravely took on a project most would have written off as an impossible feat and built the Global Degree Academy, making it feasible for anyone to earn a post-secondary education while traveling to every country in the world. Don’t believe me? I’ll leave it to Michael to explain…

Michael Graziano’s Book Recommendations

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles

Want to continue following Michael’s journey? Find him on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Posted on October 29, 2018August 13, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Made to Fight: Philecia La’Bounty

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“An injury: We rehab and we recover.”

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A post shared by P H I L E C I A (@philecia)

When I came across Philecia’s story, I knew I had to talk to her.

At age 29, on an ordinary day, she found a marble-sized lump in her left breast. By the time she turned 30, she went from living life as a model in Los Angeles to a woman about to take on Stage 4 breast cancer and the fight of her life.

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A post shared by P H I L E C I A (@philecia)

Philecia grew up in Utah as an athletic, fun-loving girl with a big family and the big heart that comes with it. Before her diagnosis, she spent her weekends being physically active, embracing her youth, the outdoors, and a fun and adventurous lifestyle that involved riding on the back of her boyfriend’s Harley.

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A post shared by P H I L E C I A (@philecia)

Listen to episode #002 to be educated, humbled and incredibly inspired by someone who makes mustering up the will to fight seem nearly effortless.

If you’d like to support Philecia’s fight, you can donate to her Go Fund Me page here: https://ca.gofundme.com/5qebeds. You can also continue to follow @philecia’s journey on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/philecia/.

Posted on October 28, 2018August 14, 2020 by KB — Leave a comment

Welcome to Made for That

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What was that thing you dreamt of doing as a kid? That you still dream about now? That feels like it’s just a part of you? You know what I mean. The guitar strings that are simply an extension of your fingers. The code that gets written or the bug that gets fixed before you’ll eat, sleep, or even check the time. The voice that stops someone dead in their tracks, the 100 meters you refuse to let anyone run faster than you or the followers that would be lost without you to lead them.

I want to introduce you to the people that have found their purpose, their calling. Or a fight inside of them they didn’t know was there. I want you to hear about their achievements and their mistakes. The inevitable failures on the path to greatness, how it feels to fall hard and what it means to stand back up… what it means to try again tomorrow.

There is no story I love more than the relentless pursuit of a dream; than the story of someone who looked at something and said, “I was born for this.”

This is made for that.