Episodes
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After getting his Master’s degree and working a few unfullfiling years in the corporate world, Mike Wombacher changed gears, and has been involved with dogs for over forty years. Over thirty of them as a professional trainer. During this time, he has performed around 40,000 private consultations covering the entire spectrum of dog behavior, from the mundane to the bizarre.
Mike is also the author of three other books – There’s a Puppy in the House, Integrated Dog Training, and Good Dog, Happy Baby – and has another book slated for publication – Hey, What’s with the Collar: Inside the War in the World of Dog Training.
Mike has trained dogs for high profile celebrities in the entertainment, financial and academic worlds including Charles Schwab, Robin Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Barry Levinson, Chad Hurley (founder of YouTube), Max Levchin (co-founder of PayPal), Jeremy Stoppelman (founder of Yelp), Dr. Robert Sapolsky (author of many books on animal behavior and neurobiology), Joe Satriani, Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Linda Ronstadt, Kirk Hammet (Metallica) and Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony,
who commented that "Michael Wombacher is a maestro of dog trainers. His clarity of thinking, sense of humor and skills in communicating make dog training fun for both pet and pet lover."
Mike has a great story of overcoming the doubts of others, and persevering, to overcome his buts, and the buts of others!
(Note that this is part 1, and cuts off at the end, but we plan to get Mike’s partner on a future episode to talk about her time in Iraq, Afghanistan, and how they are now working with PTSD service dogs for veterians.) -
From White Gold To White Beaches: How a Wanna be Asparagus farmer ended up running a successful BNB and management company in Aruba.
Meet Rik Maes, Rik was born and raised on a farm in The Netherlands that specialized in White Asparagus (also known as White Gold). Riks story is a story of being at the right time in the right place and meeting the right people and recognizing & seizing opportunities without asking himself the “what if” questions and ignoring the “yes this is an opportunity BUT ……..” remarks from people around him.
His story is the epitome of what happens when you do not plan out your life but just do what sounds right and hope it will all works out.
Find Rik's place at https://stonethrowaruba.com/ -
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Page Skelton is the co-founder of the Cackalacky® Brand – makers of Cackalacky hot sauces, barbecue sauces, snack peanuts, specialty coffees, clothing, and more. ( and our very first sponsor!).
Page attended West Virginia University (1991) where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and, North Carolina Central University (2000) where he earned his master’s degree in Library and Information Science.
Page is an Eagle Scout and father to a teenage son. Page and his wife, Caroline Skelton along with their son, Harry own and operate the Cackalacky Brand together. Prior to creating the Cackalacky Brand in the early 2000’s, Page was a global accounts manager with WorldCom, a telecommunications company.
Cackalacky, Inc. is a family operated company headquartered at 697 Hillsboro Street, Suite 600, Pittsboro, NC with a company store that is open to the public. To learn more, visit BeerBQNuts.com -
Corkey Miller has had one WILDLIFE! I mean wildlife like Lions and Tigers OH MY!! From animal wrangler for iconic movies like Ground Hog Day and hundreds of tv commercials, she has seen it all. To top it all off she has a new pursuit in stand up comedy and was recently on America’s Got Talent!!
www.actionanimalsusa.com -
Molly Goldston is a native to Wake Forest, NC and has been working in animal sheltering throughout north Carolina since 2001.
After seeing the huge need for more adoption options for both dogs at risk for euthanasia and adopters looking for a new companion to be able to meet shelter dogs, she began Saving Grace. Saving Grace offers a positive adoption experience for adopters where they can visit and mingle with dogs looking for homes in a non-traditional shelter environment. Fully funded by donations, all medical care is provided to the pets prior to adoption. Though building relationships throughout the community and programs for volunteers to change the lives of homeless dogs, Molly and Saving Grace has adopted over 50,000 dogs into loving homes.Follow on Instagram and Face Book at Molly Goldston
Follow Saving Grace on Instagram, FaceBook and TikTok at Saving Grace NC
The website is savinggracenc.org for more information or to support the organization.
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Mike Weingarten, originally from Brooklyn, NY, literally got the shaft 25 years ago and has a story to tell!
While working in Manhattan on evening, Mike FELL FOUR STORIES DOWN AN ELEVATOR SHAFT! Nobody thought he'd make it through the night. He spent 30 days in the ICU, and over 2 months total in the hospital having gone through multiple surgeries.
Mike took the time in his recovery to take a different path in life. "I sort of reinvented myself", he says.
He moved to Boca Raton, FL, and dove deep into personal development, working specifically on improving the way he was thinking, and his thought processes, which he shares with us in detail.
Mike recently completed 1330 straight days of exercise (and is still going).
"More for a mental toughness standpoint, however, I'm now in the best shape of my life, and I've lost over 100 pounds!", he told us. He uses this journey to inspire others every day!
(He also just got my first dog. A rescue, of course!)
We hope you'll find inspiration in Mike's story. I know we did!
Follow Mike on IG at @elev8ormike and on FB @mikeweingarten -
Paulo Mendonça is a Swedish funk guitarist songwriter and composer.
Shane became aware of Paulo when one of his songs came on a Spotify mix while he and John were sitting in John’s living room in Delaware one day, and before it was over, Paulo and Shane were talking on Facebook.
Paulo is of Portuguese origin and has released five studio albums, as well as one live album, and is also a multiple award winning song writer. He has participated in the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival and has toured with Tina Turner among others.
Paulo shares his story as well as the highly entertaining highs, and lows, of someone who has been a working musician his whole life, and how he keeps the fire alive! -
Jacklyn Phillips, RVT, is the founder of Action Vet Tech Services, LLC, which she started in 2019, and now employs 42 Registered Veterinary Technicians.
She started her career as an RVT, working for over a decade in various veterinary hospitals, from Large Animal, General Practice and Academia. But, there was a burnout moment, and she left the clinical space in 2016 to pursue Medical Device Sales… “For the money”
Through the experience gained working for two good companies, and her experience working with veterinarians, she learned that Veterinary Hospitals had a need for Registered Veterinary Technicians that were able to do “relief work”, (Fill in for RVT’s who had to take a leave or absence, or to help an understaffed hospital) exactly the same as hospitals fill temporary doctor positions, with relief veterinarians. She created a company, and began to carve out a niche for herself, doing exactly that.
Jacklyn has a passion for leadership, and she realized that she could help other RVT’s in her position, live the life they want to lie, chose where and when they want to work, and still be compensated at the rates they deserve, so she expanded her business to fill this need for both veterinary hospitals, and for RVT’s interested in pursuing this avenue of work. She tells her RVT’s that her motto is, “You’re my celebrity, I’m your agent”Through this, AVTS has connected with the smartest and most skilled technicians in the industry that have a passion for teaching. AVTS has also evolved into training and CE opportunities. Jacklyn finds reward in empowerment and helping people find their happiness.
In her free time, she is passionate about health and fitness, fast cars, and always finds a way to play outside! She has one dog, Muffin, a 10-ish year mixed breed rescue.
We hope you’ll find Jacklyn’s story as inspiring as we did! She’s always looking for people who would like to work with her and join her team! Find her at:
IG: @actionvettechservices
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ActionVetTechServices
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacklyn-phillips-64b69999/actionvettechs.com
Website: www.actionvettechs.com
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Tom Porier has a "From the Kitchen to the Kennel" Story, of sorts.
Tom started "cooking food for money" when he was 13 years old, which led to a three plus decade career in the restaurant business, throughout Connecticut, until one day, he decided he had enough and needed to "Reinvent himself". He went to Craigslist and answered an improbable, and probably unbelievable, ad on Craigslist looking for people interested in becoming a dog trainer. (Written by John).
Fast forward 11 years, and Tom has built an incredible, successful business, www.CamelotDogTraining.com in Connecticut, and just had his 1500th client!
Tom shares his story about how he changed gears, and careers, and not only changed his life, but makes a change in the lives of dogs and their people every day! -
Stephen Jenks is from Alameda, CA, a few miles from San Francisco, and has known John since they were in High School together.
A highly accomplished ice hockey player, who's father played professional hockey in Canada, Steve always figured he would play college hockey, but this plan derailed when he "stopped growing".
After some pretty major setbacks, which he shares, he became an extremely skilled tradesman, and started a highly successful business.
Today, Steve's business specializes in galvanized and copper rain gutters and downspouts. He has owned his own business for 28 years.
Steve shares his story about how he got to where he is, plus some of the highs and lows, and the rules he tries to live by to be successful. -
Jason Patterson is a world class drummer from Raleigh, NC. From Cry of Love to Nantucket, Corrosion of Conformity, and many other bands, he's rock n' roll royalty!
A very down to earth, and humble guy, Jason shares some stories about getting started in the music business, the support he received along the way, and some fun stories about being on the road with Aerosmith, Cheryl Crow, and many others. -
Babette Haggerty (www.haggertydog.com) has owned her own dog training business since 1989, but began working in the business since age 10, with her father, "Captain Haggerty" who is one of the pioneers of the industry, and who mentored John in business many years ago.
Babette originally wanted to go into the fashion industry, but after a few changes of majors in college, and a few changes of mind, her father encouraged her to start her own training business.
She shares her highs and lows of being a business owner, overcoming some serious setbacks in life, and the advise her father gave her - "Always keep moving"! -
Jennifer Wilson from Raleigh, NC has a great story. From traveling around with her "hippy" parents, as a kid, to working in retail, she eventually moved into the corporate world with Petco. From there, she started a chain of grooming/dog care shops, before moving into the hemp/cbd human and pet wellness space. She now owns 5 locations throughout North Carolina, as the founder/CEO of Nature's Releaf. www.naturesreleafhempstore.com
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In the last episode you heard John's story. Now it's Shane's turn!
Learn how he got here, and where he's been.
He had some pretty big buts! -
But Fixer's? What the heck does that mean anyway?
How did we get here? (Part 1)
