A farm kid who showed sheep for 4-H doesn’t usually end up leading community engagement for Microsoft, but that’s exactly why this conversation hits. We sit down with Taya Spelhaug, Fargo site director and TechSpark engagement leader, to unpack how a non-linear career can become a leadership advantage when it’s guided by values, curiosity, and the willingness to start before everything is clear. Along the way, we talk about the unglamorous skills that actually compound: controlling the controllables, staying steady in change, and building trust without positional authority.

We get specific about rural innovation and economic development, including what TechSpark set out to do after the 2016 election and what it takes to build partnerships in places that don’t look like Seattle. Taya also shares the reality behind ag tech and digital transformation in agriculture through Grand Farm, why a big early investment was worth the risk, and how to keep momentum when progress takes years instead of weeks.

From there, we go inside the human side of big tech: employee culture work, morale after layoffs, and why “business decisions” don’t have to erase care for people. We also dig into responsible AI using the “tools vs weapons” frame, plus one of the wildest examples of applied AI today: the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library experience, where you can literally ask questions and hear TR respond.

If you care about leadership, authenticity, networking vs real relationships, rural broadband and tech equity, AI ethics, or energy management that actually lasts, you’ll walk away with practical ideas and a lot to think about. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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Some of the most important leadership lessons don’t come from a playbook. They come from the people you build with, the hard conversations you don’t avoid, and the quiet decision to care without losing standards. I sat down with my longtime friend and former colleague, Jocelyn Johnson, to talk about the moments that shaped her into the kind of sales leader people trust with both results and real life.

We start with Jocelyn’s roots in Argusville, North Dakota, where hard work was modeled daily by a traveling-sales dad and a teacher mom, and where adoption was normalized early enough that it became strength instead of a question mark. From there we trace the messy middle: college pivots, a mental health reset, career experiments from criminal justice to financial advising, and the gut-level clarity that eventually pulled her into a sales path she once resisted.

Then we go deep on the craft of modern sales leadership: moving from a fear mindset to a growth mindset, not taking “no” personally, and using the buffalo principle to run toward the storm so you spend less time stuck in it. Jocelyn breaks down how she handles crucial conversations, how she leads people who used to be peers, and why “live in discovery” means asking better questions in negotiations, coaching, and relationships. We also talk emotional intelligence, empathy without carrying everyone’s weight, and the one habit she sees in high performers that has nothing to do with sales: healthy boundaries.

If you want clearer communication, stronger revenue alignment, and leadership that feels human without getting soft, this conversation will give you language and tools you can use immediately. Subscribe, share this with a leader you trust, and leave a review with the hardest conversation you’ve been putting off.

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Most people feel exhausted not because they do too much, but because they absorb too much emotional noise from work, relationships, and the world. We break down how to notice negative energy without owning it, and how that one skill changes leadership, stress, and home life.

• redefining energy as emotional, mental, relational, and physical force
• recognizing how unmanaged stimuli create emotional exhaustion
• learning the difference between awareness and absorption
• a leadership story about filtering tension without denying reality
• using stimulus, recognition, regulation, and response to stay grounded
• understanding how stress transfers into teams and families
• practicing the rule that not every stimulus deserves emotional residency

If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you.

Nick@timeandenergy.co

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We talk directly to anyone early in their career who feels pulled by other people’s expectations and wants a clearer way to make big life decisions. We break down how core values reduce friction, protect your energy, and help you avoid getting “successful” at things you do not care about.

• why most common career advice misses the point
• the real question to answer before chasing opportunities
• values as the quiet drivers behind job, city, and lifestyle choices
• time management versus energy management and why alignment matters
• using values as a compass when every yes costs something
• Time and Energy Alignment Studio at timeandenergy.ai for alignment checks and decision support
• Time and Energy Daily Debrief at timeandenergy.us to close mental tabs and spot patterns
• finding core values through Susie Welch’s Values Bridge at thevaluesbridge.com

hit me up, nick at timeandenergy.co.

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Most people think branding is what you say. Amanda Shilling thinks branding is what people feel, and she has the stories to prove it. I brought Amanda on as the founder and CEO of Mint Brand Marketing, expecting a sharp conversation about marketing and brand identity. What we got was a deeper look at how leadership, culture, and customer experience quietly shape reputation long before any logo ever does its job.

We dig into the intention versus experience gap: the promise leaders think they are making versus what customers and employees actually experience. Amanda explains why marketing cannot fix a bad product, a messy team, or a broken process and why the “small stuff” is the brand. From patient journey details to building trust with clients, we talk about what makes a brand believable in real life, not just on a website.

We also get personal about hiring, transparency, personal branding on LinkedIn, and leading a team with empathy without lowering the bar. Amanda shares what changed after becoming a mom, how she protects family-first values at work, and why healthy co-parenting and real connection without phones matter when you’re building a life and a business at the same time.

If you care about brand strategy, leadership, company culture, and building a business people actually trust, hit play. If it helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s building, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re putting into practice.

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There’s something about builders that I can’t stop thinking about.

Not the Instagram version. Not the “look at this cool logo we made” version. I mean the kind of person who wakes up one day and says, “You know what would be fun? Let’s create something out of thin air… and then be responsible for it forever.”

That’s today’s guest — Mike Dragosavich, founder of Spotlight Media.

On paper, it’s simple. Founder. Media company. Visionary. Leader.

But that’s like saying the Olympics are just “some races and routines.” Technically accurate. Deeply incomplete.

Mike grew up on the South Side of Chicago. And you can hear it in him. There’s a competitiveness. A chip. A standard. Not in an arrogant way — in a “we’re not skipping reps” kind of way.

And this conversation isn’t about business tactics as much as it is about that internal standard.

Because what fascinated me as we talked was this: performance isn’t an accident for him. It’s a decision.

I’m fascinated by performance.

The Olympics are wild. Years of work for one moment. No hiding. No edits. Just execution.

Entrepreneurship is similar — except the moment lasts about ten years and payroll is attached to it.

As we talked about the early days of Spotlight, about risk, about pressure, about growth… what stood out wasn’t hype. It was ownership.

Ownership of mistakes.
Ownership of standards.
Ownership of effort.

There’s an edge to him — but it’s disciplined. Directed. Not chaotic.

And this is where it intersects with Time & Energy.

You can’t add more hours to your day, but you can reclaim the energy that gives those hours meaning.

Performance isn’t about cramming more into your calendar. It’s about aligning your energy with what actually matters. It’s about managing your internal state so pressure doesn’t start driving the bus.

Mike talks about competing. He talks about pushing. He talks about expecting more — from himself and from others.

But he also talks about growth. About building people. About culture. About the weight of leadership.

Because at some point, high performance stops being about you winning.

It becomes about what the people around you feel when you walk into the room.

Building a company from scratch sounds glamorous on LinkedIn. It’s less glamorous when it’s your name on the line and the decisions are real.

There’s a toughness in Mike’s story. But it’s not reckless grind-for-the-sake-of-grind energy. It’s intentional. It’s focused.

He doesn’t just work hard.
He chooses where to direct his effort.

Time is fixed.
Energy is renewable — but only when it’s aligned.

You can hear alignment in this episode. Alignment between identity and action. Between standards and execution. Between vision and discipline.

You’ll also hear evolution.

The Mike who started isn’t the Mike leading now. And that’s the other side of performance we don’t talk about enough — you don’t just scale revenue. You have to scale yourself.

As you listen, consider:

Where do his standards come from?
How does he process pressure?
What does he refuse to compromise?
And where has growth required him to change?

This isn’t just a conversation about media.

It’s about grit.
It’s about guts.
It’s about building something that didn’t exist until you decided it would.

And staying in the arena long enough to see it through.

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My conversation with Brady Opheim goes back a long way — about 20 years, give or take a few questionable decisions.

From the outside, Brady’s life looks pretty dialed in: small-town roots, a successful business, a family, and a lot of hard-earned experience. But as we talked, it became clear that even a “good” life can drift if comfort starts to replace intention.

In this episode, Brady shares what shifted for him after a serious injury and a few close calls forced him to slow down and take an honest look at how he was living. Not because things were broken — but because he realized they could be better.

We talk about alcohol not as a villain, but as a distraction. About leadership as ownership before authority. About the difference between being busy and actually moving with purpose. And about how easy it is to argue for your limitations when you’ve been telling yourself the same story for years.

Brady also opens up about a demanding leadership experience that pushed him well outside his comfort zone and reshaped how he shows up — at work, at home, and with the people who matter most.

This isn’t a dramatic reinvention story. It’s more like two guys who’ve known each other a long time having an honest conversation about what it looks like to grow up — again.

If you’ve ever felt successful but slightly off-course, this one’s worth a listen.

Keep Grinding,

NJL

Discover Leadership

Book: "Unreasonable Possibilities" - by Mike Jones

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BONUS: Recap #1 of Interview Through-Lines: Competitive Spirit

We reflect on how to channel the competitive spirit into leadership that people choose to follow. We share why hiring is the first job, how culture grows from people, not companies, and how to build environments where growth is the real scoreboard.

• reframing competition from beating others to mastering systems
• translating sports lessons to professional pressure and coaching
• difference between positional power and lasting influence
• Why hiring and selecting leaders sets the culture
• companies don’t create culture, people do
• designing environments where performance and learning grow
• values as the filter when goals and politics clash
• preview of a deeper dive on values next time

Please shoot me a note. Let me know your thoughts and what else you want to hear about. Nick at timeandenergy.co. Check out the website www.timeandenergy.co

Keep Grinding,

NJL

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