What if your business, team, or even your personal work rhythm could actually grow because of friction — not in spite of it?

That’s the question we dig into with today’s guest, Travis Lee Howard, as he shares his powerful framework called the Mindful Business Paradigm (MVP).

This isn’t just another business model — it’s a way to diagnose where things are off, whether you're a leader, creator, or changemaker trying to do mission-minded work that actually matters.

Travis breaks down the four-part paradigm — Self → Customer → Machine → Team — and helps us understand how misalignment between any of these areas can derail your impact.

But with the right questions and reframes, you can find your way back to clarity, connection, and creativity.

• How to use friction as your best diagnostic tool

• The real reason your systems or team might be struggling (hint: it’s probably not the tools)

• How non-founders and employees can use this to find their place and amplify their impact

• Why your most powerful leadership move is to speak your inarguable truths

“When things break down, don’t panic — diagnose. Are you out of sync with yourself, your customer, the machine, or the team?”

• Business leader growing your company

• Employee searching for purpose and alignment

• Consultant designing better systems

• Or creative finding your path back to meaningful work...

This episode is your invitation to pause, realign, and reimagine how your work flows from gift to impact.

• Connect with Travis Lee Howard on LinkedIn

• Explore more tools to create, own, and storytell your real work at reframetocreate.com

About my guest:

Travis Lee Howard’s career is a remarkable blend of entrepreneurship, leadership, and mindful management. From his early days in technology and law to his pioneering work in the cannabis industry and his current role as a coach and consultant, Travis’s journey is marked by continuous growth and impactful contributions. His dedication to fostering innovation, compassion, and strategic excellence makes him a standout figure in the modern business landscape.

With over 20 years of entrepreneurial leadership experience, Travis coaches potential founders and entrepreneurs to reach their full potential through a simple paradigm. In teaching the mindful management pillars he works with his clients to tackle self, customer, machine, and team in a manner that aligns and inspires.

Contact Travis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisleehoward/

Reference Episodes

Reframe to Create Episode 97 - Are you the Gift or the Gift-Giver | Travis Lee Howard

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy’s coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

You already know story matters.

However, a few subtle hang-ups may still be holding you back.

In this episode, I reframe four common storytelling mistakes so you can get comfortable, get practicing, and get your stories working for you.

• Practice over theory: Storytelling is a verb. Shift the ratio from “one more book/framework” to actual reps.

• You don’t have one story: You have many. Build a Story Bank and match moments to context and audience.

• Personal ≠ private: Tell human, lived stories (with appropriate vulnerability) without oversharing.

• Process > product: Storytelling changes the storyteller too. Transformation happens while you craft and share, not only when you deliver.

If after listening to this episode you feel ready to get restoried or prep a stage-ready story, then I want to hear from you!

Explore packages: https://reframetocreate.com/restoried • Email: joy@reframetocreate.com

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Reframe to Create Episode 64 - The Why and How of Building a Powerful Personal Brand | Diane Diaz

• Reframe to Create Episode 88 - How to Build Your Story Bank

• Reframe to Create Episode 108 - The Real Reason Your Story Falls Flat (And How to Fix It)

• LinkedIn Video Series: Your Guide to Storytelling Frameworks

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy’s coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer

“They get to change their mind, and you get to change yours too.”

When Sawida’s mom dropped this nugget of wisdom into a moment of heartbreak in middle school, it was more than comfort.

It was liberation.

In this episode, I take you inside that story and unpack the stunning power of this reframe: the reminder that rejection doesn’t strip you of your agency. You still have a choice. You still get to pivot, reframe, and keep creating.

We explore:

• How “they get to change their mind” frees you from taking rejection personally

• How “you get to change your mind too” reminds you of your own power and choice

• Why rejection isn’t just an ending, but often a signal of completion

• How to use rejection as a springboard into the final step of my C.R.E.A.T.E. framework: Evolve

Because here’s the truth: rejection does not unmake you. It simply points to a new choice, a new path, a new creation waiting for you.

🔑 In this Episode, You’ll Learn:

• A liberating reframe for rejection that helps you stay in your agency

• How to spot when “no” really means “this is complete”

• Practical ways to pivot and evolve when something ends

• Why changing your mind is not flakiness — it’s wisdom in action

🎧 Tune in to hear how this one sentence — “You get to change your mind” — can become your permission slip to reframe, pivot, and keep creating.

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy’s coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer