LIVE with The Famous Dr AL and Nicholas Volinchak

Episode Overview

In this inspiring conversation, Paul Lawrence Vann, known as The Leadership Catalyst and founder of Wealth Building Academy, reveals how true leadership begins with self-leadership.

From growing up as one of ten children in North Carolina to serving 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and advising Pentagon generals, Paul shares the leadership lessons that shaped his life — and how self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and resilience can transform yours.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Lead yourself first. You can’t guide others until you master self-awareness and discipline.
• Influence > Title. True leaders inspire trust and collaboration, not compliance.
• Adversity reveals greatness. Every challenge is an opportunity to build resilience.
• Empathy wins. Great leaders listen, care, and serve their people first.
• Develop leaders, not followers. Empower others, and your organization thrives.

🎧 Listener Q&A

Q: What exactly is self-leadership?

A: It’s your ability to influence yourself — your mindset, habits, and emotions — before you influence others.

Q: How can leaders turn adversity into strength?

A: Through the “Leadership Trinity”: resilience, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence. These qualities forge true character under pressure.

Q: How can I balance leadership and personal life?

A: Lead with humanity. Foster team connection outside the office and prioritize relationships that matter.

Q: What’s the first step to becoming a better leader?

A: Start small — read, learn, take initiative. Leadership begins when you decide to grow.

📘 What You’ll Learn

• How to lead yourself before leading others
• How to develop resilience and emotional intelligence
• Why empathy outperforms authority
• The habits of leaders who inspire influence and trust
• How to align personal values with professional excellence

👤 Guest Links

• 🌐 PaulVanSpeaks.com
• 📗 Leadership Is Influence by Paul Lawrence Vann – Amazon

💎 FREE DOWNLOAD: The Self-Leadership Mastery Guide

Transform the way you lead — from the inside out.

This exclusive downloadable guide walks you through the five pillars of self-leadership: self-awareness, resilience, emotional intelligence, influence, and action.

👉 Download The Self-Leadership Mastery Guide (Free)

Guest: Kevin D. St.Clergy

What happens when the real problem isn’t what you think it is?

In this revealing episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Kevin D. St.Clergy—transformational business leader, podcast host, and author of Beyond Blind Blaming—to uncover how “blind blaming” keeps people and organizations stuck solving the wrong problems over and over again.

From his early career as an audiologist and founder of multiple successful businesses to his personal journey of rediscovering purpose after a major exit, Kevin shares how he developed the RCD Method—Reflect, Connect, Decide—to help leaders and entrepreneurs uncover the unseen obstacles holding them back.

Through relatable stories, scientific insights, and practical tools, Kevin explains how to identify hidden root causes, make faster, smarter decisions, and create transformation that lasts. His breakthrough framework, the ODNA (Obstacle Deep Nexus Analysis), helps you isolate the one constraint that, when addressed, creates ripple effects across your entire life and business.

If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing the same goals without progress or wondered why “solutions” never seem to stick, this conversation will open your eyes to what’s really going on beneath the surface.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How “blind blaming” forms—and the three hidden biases that sustain it

• Why most people succeed at fixing the wrong problems perfectly

• The 3-step RCD Method to stop overanalyzing and start deciding

• How to use ODNA to uncover one leverage point that transforms everything

• Why faster decisions—with quick pivots—create compounding gains

Connect with Kevin D. St.Clergy:

• Website: blindblaming.com

• LinkedIn: Kevin D. St.Clergy

• Book: Beyond Blind Blaming — Get Your Copy

Click here to claim your free gift:

👉 Download the Free Toolkit The Blind Blaming Breakthrough Toolkit (RCD + ODNA)

Transform how you think, decide, and solve problems with Kevin’s proven framework.

This free workbook helps you uncover hidden patterns, stop blind blaming, and start creating lasting breakthroughs in your business and life.

Guest: Tonya Hennessey

What happens when food becomes more than a meal? In this flavorful episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Tonya Hennessey—San Francisco Bay Area travel and food writer—to explore how simple dishes, local markets, and farm-to-table traditions reveal the soul of a place.

From backpacking in Beijing and tasting dumplings in hidden alleyways, to sipping cava with tapas in Spain, Tonya’s stories uncover how food sparks connection, sustainability, and joy. She shares experiences of kindness from strangers abroad, how agritourism reshapes the way we value food, and why eating seasonally can change the way we travel—and live.

If you’ve ever craved deeper cultural connection, wondered how to travel sustainably, or simply wanted to recreate the tastes of your journeys at home, this episode will inspire you to see food as the bridge between people and places.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How local dishes like dumplings and tapas open doors to culture.
• Why agritourism and indigenous stays connect travelers to food systems.
• How farm-to-table supports sustainability and flavor.
• Why markets and small merchants are the heart of community travel.
• The destinations that surprised Tonya most—and why

Connect with Tonya Hennessey:

• Website: tonyahennessey.com
• Video Show: https://create24.co/

Click here to claim your free gift: The Sustainable Food Traveler’s Playbook

Guest: Vynny Hick

What can a police dog teach us about leadership? In this powerful episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Vynny Hick—decorated law enforcement veteran, bilingual keynote speaker, and leadership trainer—to uncover lessons from 30 years in policing, recruitment, and K-9 handling.

From leaving home at 15 to becoming a respected Ontario Provincial Police officer and national recruiter, Vynny’s journey is one of resilience, transformation, and service. He shares candid lessons about choosing to be “better, not bitter,” why retention matters as much as recruitment, and how gratitude practices keep leaders grounded. And yes—you’ll hear the unforgettable story of the police dog who cracked a cold case.

If you’ve ever faced setbacks, struggled with leadership challenges, or wanted to build deeper trust with your team, this episode will inspire you to lead with clarity, courage, and calm.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why leadership is about mindset, not titles

• How trusting your experts can change everything (including a K-9 story that solved a crime)

• Why retention is the missing piece in most recruitment strategies

• The “bitter or better” choice that builds resilience in hard times

• How daily gratitude rituals strengthen leaders and teams

Connect with Vynny Hick:

• Website: vynnyhick.com

• Social: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Click here to claim your free gift: The Unshakable Leadership Toolkit

Guest: Rafael McMaster

What happens when fear takes the driver’s seat? In this powerful episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Rafael McMaster—creative visionary, social entrepreneur, and founder of Indivisible Arts—to explore how art, mindfulness, and community tools are transforming the mental health landscape for today’s youth.

After hitting his own rock bottom at 35, Rafael turned pain into purpose, dedicating his life to equipping young people with simple, science-backed practices that spark resilience and connection. From his signature “G-flipping” gratitude practice to the ABCs of the Heart morning ritual, he shows how anyone can shift from fear to love, judgment to compassion, and isolation to authentic connection.

If you’ve ever wrestled with anxiety, felt trapped in negative loops, or wanted better ways to support your kids or grandkids, this conversation will leave you inspired—and ready—with tools to rise above fear and live from the heart.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why fear isn’t the enemy—it’s a signal you can flip into love, courage, or faith

• The 7 Core Tools that build resilience: awareness, acceptance, intention, gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, and connection

• How “G-flipping” instantly reframes negative thoughts into empowering perspectives

• Why creative flow—whether painting, cooking, or walking the dog—can act as therapy

• How teens are teaching other teens the very tools that transformed their own lives

Connect with Rafael McMaster:

• IndivisibleArts.org

• RaphaelMcMaster.com

• StreamOfConsciousness.life

• StreamOfConsciousness.org

Click here to claim your free gift: From Fear to Flow Toolkit

Guest: Gregory Russell Benedikt

What happens when you walk away from the “perfect” career everyone else admires but you secretly hate? In this transformative episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Gregory Russell Benedikt—TEDx speaker, ICF-certified coach, and founder of the Bold Action community—to explore what it means to face fear, leave comfort zones, and create a story worth telling.

From quitting finance at the height of the pandemic to launching a 100-Day Rejection Challenge, Gregory’s journey reveals the real formula behind courage: terrified action. With humor, playfulness, and practical wisdom, he shares how to break big dreams into small bold moves and why the universe truly rewards those who dare.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in someone else’s expectations, struggled with fear, or wondered how to spark more meaning in your life, this conversation will inspire you to step boldly into your next chapter.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why staying the same can be scarier than making a leap

• How to use the “Fear Flipper” technique to turn fear into fuel

• The surprising power of “terrified action” and dancing with fear

• What Gregory discovered from 100 days of playful rejection experiments

• Why breaking dreams into bite-sized bold steps leads to lasting change

Connect with Gregory Russell Benedikt:

• Website: gregoryrussellbenedikt.com

• LinkedIn: Gregory Russell Benedikt

• TEDx Talk: How Being Bold Will Change Your Life

Click here to claim your free gift: The 5-Day Bold Action Starter Kit

Guest: Damon Lembi

What happens when your lifelong dream ends overnight? In this inspiring episode, Dr. Allen Lycka sits down with Damon Lembi—former elite baseball player, two-time best-selling author, CEO of Learn It, and host of The Learn It All Podcast—to explore how failure, resilience, and curiosity can transform both leaders and organizations.

From being drafted by the Atlanta Braves to suddenly facing the end of his baseball career, Damon rebuilt his identity, starting as a receptionist in his father’s small computer-training business. Today, he leads Learn It, a global live learning platform that has upskilled over two million people. Damon shares how leaders can shift from “know-it-all” to “learn-it-all,” overcome imposter syndrome, and prepare their teams for the AI-driven future.

If you’ve ever wrestled with identity, career pivots, or the pressure to “have all the answers,” this episode will give you practical tools to lead with humility, confidence, and agility.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why “learn-it-all” leaders outperform “know-it-alls” in every field

• Damon’s 4-step framework to beat imposter syndrome and build confidence

• The 4C’s of leadership: Character, Curiosity, Courage, and Confidence

• How to create a psychologically safe culture where people grow through feedback

• Practical steps to get your organization AI-ready and future-proof

Connect with Damon Lembi:

• Website: LearnIt.com

• LinkedIn – Damon Lembi

• Podcast: The Learn It All Podcast

Damon’s book, The Learn-It-All Leader: Mindset, Tools, and Traits, is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.

🎁 Free Gift: The Learn-It-All Leader Starter Kit

Your downloadable workbook with:

• The 4C’s Leadership Self-Audit
• The 4-Step Framework to Beat Imposter Syndrome
• Manager Essentials Toolkit (1:1 agenda, delegation checklist, feedback script)
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• AI-Readiness Quickstart for organizations of any size

👉 Click here to get your free gift: The Learn-It-All Leader Starter Kit