What if some of the most meaningful gifts you could give someone didn't cost a penny?

Generosity isn't always about writing a check or making a donation. Sometimes it's about offering encouragement, making someone feel welcome, telling someone a difficult truth, or simply being present when they need you.

In this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass welcomes Leslie Nelson, founder and CEO of Pivotal Connections and author of Giving Recklessly: Testimonials and Examples to Inspire Higher Levels of Generosity.

Leslie shares seven ways we can practice generosity without making a financial contribution, drawing on her experiences growing up in Philadelphia, her years as a military spouse, and the relationships that have shaped her life.

Jennifer and Leslie also discuss whether kindness is disappearing from society, the importance of mentoring, and how unexpected acts of generosity can create lasting friendships.

In this episode:

• Seven practical ways to give without spending money

• Why random acts of kindness can change lives for generations

• How hospitality and belonging create meaningful connections

• Why honest feedback can be a valuable gift

• The role of mentoring and encouragement in developing future leaders

• Why time and enduring friendships matter

• How acknowledging people who often go unnoticed can make a difference

Connect with Leslie Nelson

Website: https://www.pivotalconnect.org

LinkedIn: Search Leslie K. Nelson, MBA

Instagram: @PivotCon

Book: Giving Recklessly, available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart.

Connect with Jennifer R. Glass

PAID GUEST DISCLOSURE: Leslie Nelson paid a fee to appear as a guest on this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business. Payment does not constitute an endorsement by Jennifer R. Glass, the podcast, or Business Growth Strategies International, LLC (BGSI), nor does it determine the opinions or editorial discussion presented in the episode.

DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, experiences, and claims expressed by the guest are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of Jennifer R. Glass, MOJO, BGSI, or their affiliates. This episode is provided for general informational and educational purposes and does not constitute medical, mental health, legal, financial, or other professional advice.

It's Election Day. Millions of Americans are watching the news, tracking election results, and wondering what happens next.

But while everyone is focused on who's winning the election, Jennifer R. Glass has a different question:

Who's winning your business today?

In this solo episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer challenges business owners and executives to recognize the difference between what they can control and what they cannot.

Election outcomes may be uncertain, but your responsibilities to your customers, employees, and business haven't disappeared.

Jennifer discusses the dangers of the wait-and-see mentality, the importance of maintaining momentum, and how leaders can keep their organizations moving forward without ignoring legitimate risks.

In this episode:

• The difference between your circle of control and circle of concern

• Why uncertainty can become an excuse for inaction

• How competitors' distractions can create opportunities

• Why your team's focus starts with your leadership

• Practical steps to finish Election Day productively

Whether tomorrow's results are clear or contested, your long-term business vision still matters.

The world might be hitting pause, but your vision is not on hold.

Join Jennifer for a timely conversation about leadership, focus, and moving your business forward.

What happens when a business puts people first without losing sight of profitability and accountability?

On this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass welcomes Ed DeAngelis, founder and CEO of EDA Contractors, to explore his philosophy of "Humanity as a Strategy".

Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry, Ed shares how his approach to leadership evolved from simply surviving as a business owner to building a people-first culture.

Jennifer and Ed discuss the importance of emotional intelligence, developing stronger relationships with employees, handling workplace conflict, and creating an environment where people feel valued.

They also explore some of the harder questions facing business leaders. How do you maintain accountability while leading with kindness? What happens when economic conditions force layoffs? And can businesses help bring people together in an increasingly divided society?

Ed also shares his personal definition of success and why he believes meaningful relationships matter more than financial accomplishments alone.

Connect with Ed DeAngelis:

Website: https://edacontractors.com

LinkedIn: Ed DeAngelis

About MOJO:

MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, hosted by Jennifer R. Glass, explores the intersection of business, leadership, personal growth, and creating meaningful success.

Paid Guest Disclosure: Ed DeAngelis participated in this episode through a paid promotional arrangement. The views and experiences expressed are those of the participants.

What makes a great network? Is it the number of contacts you collect, the opportunities those connections create, or the relationships you build along the way?

In this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life & Business, Jennifer R. Glass welcomes George Dubec, known as The Ultimate Networker, to explore how meaningful relationships influence business success, personal connections, and the way we live our lives.

George shares lessons from his career, including why he wishes he'd started organizing his contacts decades earlier. Together, Jennifer and George discuss maintaining relationships, reconnecting after long periods, identifying valuable connections, and navigating the uncomfortable experience of being ghosted.

The conversation also explores family relationships, the importance of moving from a "me" mindset to a "we" mindset, and why pursuing financial success doesn't have to come at the expense of kindness or customer service.

And what does success really mean? George offers a perspective on happiness, contentment, and the simple daily habit that can make a difference in someone else's life.

Connect with George Dubec: https://theultimatenetworker.com

Listen for practical ideas to strengthen your network, build lasting relationships, and create value for yourself and others.

Do we need shame to be good people? Or could shame be keeping us from becoming the people we want to be?

On this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass welcomes Emma Lyons, a transformational healer and subconscious reprogramming guide, for a thought-provoking conversation about shame, narcissistic behaviors, self-worth, and the beliefs we carry from childhood into adulthood.

Emma shares her experiences growing up in a dysfunctional family environment and how her journey led her to question the role shame plays in our lives.

Together, Jennifer and Emma explore:

• Why shame and humility are two very different things.

• How childhood conditioning shapes our sense of being a "good person."

• The relationship between shame, control, and narcissistic behaviors.

• Why shame may contribute to perfectionism, procrastination, and imposter syndrome.

• How internalized criticism can interfere with authenticity and business growth.

• What it means to challenge the inner voice that tells us we're not good enough.

Emma also introduces her Reclaim Your Shameless program and shares her perspective on breaking free from destructive patterns of self-criticism.

Connect with Emma Lyons:

Substack: Trauma Matrix

Instagram: @trauma.matrix

Content advisory: This episode contains occasional profanity and discussion of emotionally difficult family experiences, narcissistic behaviors, and shame. The guest's perspectives are shared for educational and personal reflection purposes and should not be interpreted as clinical diagnoses or professional mental health advice.

If this conversation resonates with you, share it with someone who may benefit from hearing it, and follow MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business for more conversations about personal growth, business, and the decisions that shape our lives.

A great product can solve the wrong problem.

Anya Cheng has spent her career building and launching products across companies including Meta, eBay, McDonald's and Target. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Taelor.AI, an AI-powered men's clothing rental service built around a deceptively simple idea: some customers do not want more choices. They want one less thing to think about.

In this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass talks with Anya about the experiences that shaped her career, from an unconventional job search during the 2008 financial crisis to building products for customers around the world.

They explore how Taelor combines AI styling, human input and customer feedback to help busy men spend less time shopping, while providing fashion brands with information about what customers actually like and wear.

But the conversation goes beyond fashion and AI.

Anya shares a product lesson from her corporate career that every business owner should consider: you are not your customer. A feature may seem logical. The technology may work perfectly. But if you misunderstand what your customers are actually trying to accomplish, they still may not want it.

Jennifer and Anya also discuss imposter syndrome, women in technology and entrepreneurship, networking, delegation, investing, leadership and why understanding the customer remains one of the fundamentals businesses cannot afford to skip.

Connect with Anya and learn more about Taelor at Taelor.style.

Anya shared two offers for MOJO listeners during the conversation:

PODCAST25: 25% off the first month.

PODCASTGIFT: 10% off a gift card.

Disclosure: Anya Cheng paid an administrative appearance fee to participate in this episode. Payment did not guarantee editorial control, endorsement, or any particular outcome.

MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business is hosted by Jennifer R. Glass.

What happens when the business opportunity in front of you also connects with the way you want to live your life?

Michael Jacobson didn't set out to build a floral business. After starting his career in corporate consulting, he began asking bigger questions about purpose, service and what he wanted his life to look like. Time spent working at his aunt's orphanage helped sharpen that question. Eventually, an opportunity to help sell his uncle's flower shop showed him something unexpected.

The problems facing that shop weren't isolated. Michael saw similar challenges throughout the floral industry.

In this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass and Michael discuss how recognizing systemic problems can reveal business opportunities, why customer experience has to remain at the center of growth, what makes partnerships powerful, and why money can be the fuel for a business without becoming its ultimate destination.

They also explore:

• Why Michael believes business and service can coexist
• How pain in a market can reveal opportunity
• Why customer experience matters more than operational improvements alone
• What he learned while modernizing a traditional industry
• Why he chose franchising despite initially disliking the model
• The importance of finding people with complementary strengths
• How looking back from age 80 can help clarify what matters now
• Why success is ultimately a personal definition

Michael's story raises a bigger question for anyone building a career, company or next chapter:

Why are you doing it?

And once you have an answer, keep asking why.

ABOUT MICHAEL JACOBSON

Michael Jacobson is CEO of French Florist, a floral company combining traditional floral artistry with technology, operational infrastructure and a growing franchise model.

Connect with Michael: frenchfloristfranchise.com

PAID GUEST DISCLOSURE: Michael Jacobson paid an administrative appearance fee to participate in this episode. Payment did not guarantee editorial control, endorsement, or any particular outcome.

The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of MOJO, Jennifer R. Glass or BGSI.

What will your life mean when you look back on it?

Chris Eaton has experienced success by many conventional measures. A former U.S. Army officer, he spent years leading multimillion-dollar ventures. But after years of unaddressed trauma, PTSD, alcohol misuse and a suicide attempt in 2018, Chris began a very different journey.

Today, he is a death doula, life coach and co-owner of Trinity Yoga Wellness Center. He sits with people approaching the end of life while helping others think more deliberately about how they are living right now.

In this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, Jennifer R. Glass talks with Chris about trauma, purpose, self-care, mortality and what success really means.

They explore why constantly pushing difficult experiences aside can eventually catch up with us, how breathing and meditation can help create space between ourselves and our thoughts, and why self-care doesn't necessarily require hours every day.

Chris also offers an unusual exercise for discovering your purpose: write your own eulogy. What would you want people to say about you? Who would you want to have become? Then ask whether the way you're living today is moving you toward that person.

You'll also hear Chris explain why he no longer defines success by money or accomplishments. For him, success is finding your life's purpose, sticking with it and continuing forward even when life brings uncertainty.

Sometimes that starts with one deep breath and three words: “I got this.”

Learn more about Chris Eaton:
https://withchriseaton.com
https://www.trinity-yoga.com

CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes discussion of PTSD, alcohol misuse, suicidal thoughts and a past suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

DISCLAIMER: The experiences, views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Jennifer R. Glass, MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business, or Business Growth Strategies International, LLC. This conversation is provided for informational purposes and is not medical, mental-health or other professional advice.

PAID GUEST DISCLOSURE: Chris Eaton paid a fee to appear as a guest on this episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life and Business. Payment does not constitute an endorsement by Jennifer R. Glass, the podcast, or Business Growth Strategies International, LLC, nor does it determine the opinions or editorial discussion presented in the episode.