James Ingram was young, athletic, and healthy when doctors told him he had a massive tumor and might not survive.

What followed was a battle that pushed him to the edge of life, forcing him to confront mortality, fear, and the power of his own mindset.

In this conversation, he shares how visualization, faith, and an unbreakable mentality helped him fight through chemotherapy, surgery, and recovery. His story is a powerful reminder that victory begins in the mind long before it shows up in reality.

In this episode:

-The moment he was diagnosed with a life threatening tumor

-How doctors said most patients with his markers don’t survive

-The visualization techniques he used during chemo

-Why “Not dead can’t quit” became his mantra

-The emotional impact cancer had on his marriage and family

-Lessons about resilience, presence, and gratitude

-How adversity reshaped his outlook on life and success

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Michelle May O'Neil

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James Ingram

https://www.instagram.com/ingie_baby/

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In this deeply moving episode, Dana shares her journey from rock bottom at 20 years old to a life rooted in sobriety, purpose, love, and leadership.

From addiction and identity struggles to recovery, coming out, entrepreneurship, loss, and resilience, this conversation is a powerful reminder that choosing life can begin with one small decision.

This episode explores what it means to ask for help, to live authentically, and to build a meaningful life rooted in love, service, and self-acceptance.

In this episode:

-Dana’s lowest moment and the decision that saved her life

-What it means to ask for help when you feel completely empty

-Addiction, recovery, and 37 years of sobriety

-Coming out in the 1980s and learning to live authentically

-Losing her brother and the gift of being present in grief

-Building community and leadership through love and kindness

-Why “love is my religion”

-Advice for anyone currently in their darkest season

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Michelle May O'Neil

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Dana Derichsweiler

https://www.krddonor.com/contact

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Executive presence is one of the most talked-about leadership conversations in corporate America today.

In this episode, Michelle sits down with Cherise Williams, Director at Maker’s Mark, inclusive leadership expert, and cultural catalyst, for an honest and deeply personal conversation about identity, reinvention, corporate authenticity, and what it really means to lead as a woman of color.

Cherise shares her powerful story of navigating pregnancy, autoimmune illness, family crisis, divorce, corporate pressure, and the constant demand to “perform” executive presence in environments built around someone else’s standard.

In this episode:

-Executive presence and why it’s often measured against a white male standard

-The pressure women of color face to “fit” corporate leadership expectations

-Cherise’s life-changing reinvention story during 2020

-How stress, motherhood, and health forced her to rebuild her identity

-Why authenticity matters more than corporate performance

-Leadership through joy, cultural competency, and accountability

-The legacy of impact: leaving everything better than you found it

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

Cherice Jenelle Williams

https://www.instagram.com/chericejenelle/

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In this episode, Michelle explores the deeper, often overlooked lessons inside Unreasonable Hospitality.

This book isn’t just about restaurants; it’s a transformational leadership framework about identity, culture, and creating organizations where people feel truly seen.

In this episode:

-Hospitality as an identity practice, not a performance

-Why hospitality trains teams to develop awareness and leadership judgment

-How hospitality strengthens resilience, retention, and emotional safety in organizations

-The truth that hospitality must happen inside the company first, not just with customers

-How these ideas connect to the Fifth Move Strategy through diagnosing and documenting culture

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

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Success isn’t supposed to feel like suffocation, but for many founders, it does.

In this solo episode, Michelle O’Neil tells the story of an entrepreneur whose business grew faster than the foundation beneath it. What looked like momentum on the outside became chaos on the inside, until she realized the truth: growth doesn’t break businesses… lack of systems does.

Michelle breaks down the operational and mindset shifts every founder must make to scale without burnout, including why hustle isn’t the answer, why delivery matters more than marketing, and how repeatable systems create real freedom.

In this episode:

-Why success exposes weak systems instead of strong ones

-The danger of scaling chaos in a growing business

-Why fixing delivery comes before chasing more clients

-How founders must shift from worker to architect

-The difference between custom work and repeatable scale

-Four lessons to move from stress to structure

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

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Culture isn’t built in mission statements, it’s built in the small moments leaders choose to notice.

In this solo episode, Michelle O’Neil continues her Unreasonable Hospitality book brief by breaking down how hospitality functions as a real-world leadership and culture strategy.

Through powerful stories and practical examples, Michelle explains how leaders can use intentional care, emotional awareness, and human-centered systems to create cultures that drive performance, loyalty, and long-term success.

In this episode:

-Why hospitality is a leadership and culture strategy, not a soft skill

-How feeling seen and valued changes employee performance

-Real-life examples of unreasonable hospitality inside organizations

-Applying hospitality principles in business, law, and leadership

-How emotional loyalty creates retention, trust, and profit

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

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Debt isn’t about math; it’s about mindset, habits, and the stories we tell ourselves about money.

In this episode of The Michelle O’Neil Show, Michelle sits down with Howard Dvorkin, Chairman of Debt.com and one of the nation’s leading voices on credit counseling, to unpack the psychology of debt, social pressure, and financial behavior.

From credit card traps and consumer culture to smart debt strategy, budgeting, and wealth-building, this conversation delivers honest insight into how people fall into debt, and how they can climb out for good.

In this episode:

-Why debt is a behavioral issue, not just a numbers problem

-How social media and consumer culture fuel overspending

-The difference between good debt and bad debt

-Practical strategies to get off the “debt treadmill”

-How discipline, investing, and compound interest build long-term wealth

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

Howard Dvorkin

https://www.howarddvorkin.com/

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Hospitality isn’t customer service, it’s a leadership strategy that shapes culture, trust, and loyalty.

In this episode, Michelle O’Neil continues her book brief on Unreasonable Hospitality by exploring how hospitality functions as a core leadership discipline.

She breaks down why making people feel seen, valued, and understood is not a soft skill, but a scalable strategic advantage that transforms businesses, teams, and customer relationships from competent to unforgettable.

In this episode:

-Why hospitality is a leadership mindset, not just customer service

-How emotional experience becomes a strategic advantage

-The famous “hot dog moment” and what it teaches about presence and care

-Using hospitality to shape culture, trust, and decision-making

-How to systemize and scale hospitality across your organization

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Michelle May O'Neil

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemayoneil/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.