Vadim Voss, founder of Next Level DeFi, joins the Breakfast Leadership Show to share how everyday people can put their money to work through decentralized finance without trading, without chart-watching, and without being a tech expert. His mission is to help one million people break free from a banking system that was never built to serve them.

What You Will Learn

• Why a savings account earning 2 to 3 percent is quietly losing you money
• What liquidity mining is and why it puts you on the "house side" of crypto trading
• How stablecoins like USDT allow you to earn 20 to 30 percent annually with minimal risk
• Why DeFi positions can be insured for as little as $30 per month per $10,000 deployed
• How Vadim's students manage their positions in just 5 to 10 minutes per week
• Why diversification across real estate, gold, stocks, and DeFi is the smart path forward

Key Insights

Vadim built Next Level DeFi after losing the majority of a $6 million fortune to unreliable foreign banks. Rather than retreat from finance, he learned decentralized systems inside and out and now teaches total beginners how to become the infrastructure that crypto traders rely on. His students are not speculating on the next hot coin. They are providing liquidity to decentralized exchanges and collecting fees the way Robinhood collects trading fees, except those fees flow back to them.

The stablecoin liquidity mining strategy Vadim teaches is designed for people who want consistent, predictable monthly income in U.S. dollars without exposure to volatile assets. Since stablecoins are always pegged to $1, the principal does not fluctuate. Returns in the 20 to 30 percent range significantly outperform any traditional bank product, and the addition of smart contract insurance from platforms like Nexus Mutual makes the position arguably safer than a standard FDIC-insured deposit in terms of the user's control and transparency.

Michael and Vadim both reinforce that education is the true entry point. Just as Warren Buffett observed that those who do not learn to make money while they sleep will work until they die, both host and guest emphasize that passive income is not a luxury for the wealthy. It is a learnable skill available to anyone willing to invest the time to understand it.

Guest Bio

Vadim Voss is the founder of Next Level DeFi, a platform dedicated to helping everyday people generate passive income through decentralized finance. An NYU graduate who built and lost a $6 million fortune through international business ventures across Lithuania, Moscow, and Kyiv, Vadim turned adversity into expertise. With over 14 years of experience in crypto and DeFi, he specializes in teaching total beginners how to deploy capital using liquidity mining strategies on platforms like Uniswap. His mission is to help one million people escape the traditional banking system.

Free Resource for Listeners

Vadim has put together an exclusive bundle for Breakfast Leadership Show listeners called the DeFi Income Blueprint, available free at:

nextleveldefi.com/leadership

The bundle includes:

• A DeFi Income Calculator that forecasts your monthly and annual returns based on your capital and risk appetite
• The Uniswap Ultimate Playbook, a 27-page step-by-step guide to deploying capital on Uniswap. This is the same playbook provided to Vadim's $3,000 coaching clients.

Connect with Vadim Voss Website: nextleveldefi.com Free Bundle: https://nextleveldefi.com/leadership

Most organizations do not fail at strategy because the strategy is wrong. They fail because the organization never learns to behave as if the strategy is real. That is the central argument

Dr. Kyle Harkema makes in his book Strategic Clarity. He is the creator of the Strategic Orientation Index (SOI™), a diagnostic tool that functions like an organizational MRI, revealing the hidden misalignment between what an organization says it will do and how it actually behaves day to day.

In this conversation with Michael D. Levitt of Breakfast Leadership Network, Dr. Harkema explains why strategic drift is rarely dramatic, what the SOI™ measures, and how the three-part framework of think, listen, and act exposes exactly where execution breaks down inside even well-run organizations.

Key Topics Covered Why strategy fails quietly. Strategic failure begins with small, easy-to-dismiss signals: the same decision recycled through multiple meetings, departments generating friction, customers noting a decline in responsiveness, or competitors gaining ground one step at a time. Individually, none of those signals is a crisis.

Collectively, they signal drift, and organizations that catch the pattern early are the ones that survive disruption. The Monday Morning Test. If employee behaviors have not changed by Monday morning following a Friday strategy rollout, you have produced a plan, not an executable strategy. Strategy must live in decisions and priorities, not slide decks and town hall speeches.

The Strategic Orientation Index (SOI™). The SOI™ evaluates three dimensions: how an organization thinks, listens, and acts. Most organizations are strong in one or two areas and significantly weaker in the third.

Dr. Harkema shares a case study of an innovation-focused company with excellent thinking and acting but almost no process for collecting customer insight before making product decisions. The diagnosis was not an innovation problem. It was a listening problem. The Ford Taurus lesson. When Ford abandoned the Taurus, then the number one selling car in the world, for the retro Ford 500 name, the sales collapse was predictable and preventable.

The organization thought carefully and acted decisively. It did not listen. The Taurus name was eventually restored, but the market position never recovered. Listening is not a soft skill. It is a strategic competency.

Notable Quotes:

"If your employees' behaviors don't change on Monday morning for a strategy that you rolled out on Friday, you have a plan, not an executable strategy." - Dr. Kyle Harkema "Strategy lives in behavior. It has to." - Dr. Kyle Harkema "When organizations aren't living and breathing the strategic plan, it limits the impact they cause." - Michael D. Levitt, Breakfast Leadership Network

https://kylejharkema.com

https://kmccontrols.com

What happens when a chemist accidentally becomes an entrepreneur — and then has to figure out who he is after he sells the company he built? Scott Bening, author of "Formulating Solutions" and the newly released "The Back Nine," joins the podcast to share a career story that is equal parts unexpected and instructive.

Scott grew up in Buffalo, New York, earned his degrees from St. Lawrence University and UIC Chicago, and spent just nine months in a laboratory before pivoting into technical sales. That pivot — combining deep scientific knowledge with a learned ability to sell — became the foundation for everything that followed, including leading MonoSol, a manufacturer of water-soluble films with an exclusive supply relationship with Procter & Gamble, and ultimately selling the company to a Japanese acquirer.

In this episode, Scott and Michael explore the underrated power of a technical background in sales, the role that journaling played in Scott's first book, and why integrity and relationship-building are not soft concepts but core business drivers. Scott also shares what he learned from a book tour in Japan, where his first book resonated far beyond the audience he originally anticipated.

The conversation then turns to "The Back Nine" — Scott's candid guide for baby boomers navigating retirement, finding new purpose, and staying mentally engaged after decades of professional identity. Scott speaks openly about his work mentoring university students and business professionals in transition, and why so few high-achieving people plan seriously for the chapter of life after work.

Whether you are building a company, preparing to exit one, or simply trying to lead a more intentional career, this episode delivers hard-won perspective from someone who has done it all and chosen to write it down.

Books: Author of "Formulating Solutions" and "The Back Nine"

Website: https://www.mbs2.org/

Topics covered: Technical sales, entrepreneurship, MonoSol, water-soluble films, Procter & Gamble, career transitions, mentorship, retirement planning, book writing, integrity in business, life after ownership

Current economic growth is being driven by a highly concentrated group of AI-focused companies, yet a significant governance gap threatens the sustainability of this expansion.

Organizations are deploying autonomous AI agents at a pace that far exceeds their internal oversight and decision-making frameworks, leading to a high projected failure rate for these initiatives. This friction is most visible in middle management, where leaders are currently overwhelmed by extreme workloads and excessive responsibilities.

To address these vulnerabilities, firms must stop treating technical and organizational issues as separate problems. Instead, they should pursue an integrated redesign that simultaneously clarifies AI ownership and reduces the operational burden on their human workforce.

Over the next few months, success will depend on aligning agentic capabilities with a robust, sustainable management structure.

Schedule your AI readiness assessment today!

https://www.breakfastleadership.com/executivediagnostic

Episode Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Yasemin to pull back the curtain on what it’s really like to work in the restaurant industry. From the fast-paced chaos of a dinner rush to the emotional labor that comes with serving guests day in and day out, we talk honestly about the realities servers face—and why respect and kindness from customers truly matter. Yasemin shares her personal experiences on the floor, including the small things that make a big difference (yes, including the right shoes!).

We also explore how positive energy, community support, and simple human connection can completely transform the dining experience—for both guests and staff. This conversation is a powerful reminder that servers are more than order-takers—they’re people. If you’ve ever dined out, this episode might just change the way you see the person bringing your meal.

Links & Resources

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitterwaitresspodcast

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/cz/podcast/bitter-waitress/id1837005569

If this episode made you think differently about your next dining experience, I’d love for you to rate, follow, share, and leave a review. Your support helps us continue having meaningful conversations like this—and building a more thoughtful, connected community.

Episode Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Celia to explore something we don’t often stop to think about: how much of our identity is actually shaped by choice. From design in our everyday lives to the deeper layers of heritage and archaeology, we unpack how identity isn’t fixed — it’s constructed through our environment, our experiences, and the decisions we make along the way. Celia shares her personal journey through major life transitions, including parenthood and relocation, and how archaeology and heritage can meaningfully support well-being during times of change.

We also dive headfirst into one of today’s biggest conversations: AI and its impact on jobs, society, and the future of work. Is AI replacing us — or redefining us? We talk about transferable skills, ethical regulation, social prescribing, and why AI might reflect existing systemic problems rather than create new ones. This conversation is thoughtful, honest, and future-focused — and it might just change how you see both your identity and your role in an AI-driven world.

Links & Resources

archaeology-for-wellbeing.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-celia-orsini-archaeology-for-wellbeing/

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, follow, share, and leave a review. It really helps the show reach more people — and I appreciate your support more than you know!

Episode Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Wain Yu to unpack a powerful and deeply personal conversation around leadership and neurodiversity. We explore how understanding neurodivergent traits—both in ourselves and others—can completely transform the way we lead, manage, and connect. Wain shares his journey as a technology leader, researcher, and father, and how those experiences shaped his perspective on unlocking human potential.

We also dive into practical leadership insights: how to move beyond “fixing weaknesses,” why environments matter more than we think, and how traits like hyperfocus and curiosity can become superpowers in the right context. If you’ve ever wondered how to better support diverse thinkers on your team—or even better understand yourself—this episode will challenge the way you think about performance, inclusion, and leadership.

Final Thoughts

If this episode got you thinking differently about leadership and human potential, make sure to follow, rate, and share the Breakfast Leadership Show. And if you haven’t already, leave a review—it helps more people discover conversations like this.

https://www.wainwrightyu.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wainwrightyu/

In this episode of the Breakfast Leadership Show, Michael D. Levitt speaks with Jonathan Sherrill about the connection between mindset, leadership effectiveness, stress management, and burnout prevention.

Jonathan shares insights on how fear, unresolved stress, and limiting beliefs quietly influence decision-making, workplace culture, and personal performance. The discussion explores practical ways leaders can improve resilience, self-awareness, and emotional regulation while navigating uncertainty and pressure.

Key topics include:

• How mindset affects leadership performance
• The hidden impact of stress and burnout on decision-making
• Why fear drives many workplace behaviors
• Strategies for improving emotional resilience
• The role of self-awareness in leadership growth
• How leaders can create healthier workplace cultures
• Practical techniques for managing overwhelm and uncertainty

This episode is valuable for executives, entrepreneurs, HR leaders, managers, and professionals seeking sustainable performance and stronger leadership capacity.

Schedule your Leadership Operating System review at: Breakfast Leadership LeadershipOS