Real Leaders Inc., Author at Real Leaders

Stage Fright? Here’s the First Thing to Say When Making a Speech

Posted on August 1, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Lisa Vioni, CEO of Hedge Connection asks: “When I step on stage to make a speech, I’m never sure of the best way to start! What should I do first?”

Dear Lisa,

I understand this scenario perfectly. It’s a question almost every speaker encounters. The way to begin, if you have not yet been introduced to your audience, is to state your name distinctly and clearly, your professional or personal association, where you are from and where you’re based. The audience wants to identify. They will quickly think “Oh I lived near there once, or have relatives there, or I own a company near there.” It’s an excellent and easy way to make a connection.

Next, you’ll want to thank your host by name. After that, you’ll want to say how happy you are to be there! Then make a comment about how nice the hall is or how impressive the local community is. Make a statement about people and place.

Now you’re probably thinking: “These things are all intuitive and any speaker will know how to do these things.” Not so! Most speakers don’t know how to do these things. These few introductory things are essential bridge builders. Once you’ve done these basic and critically important things, launch right into repeating the topic of your speech and then plunge quickly into your opening story.

Grab the audience quickly, before they drift away and start thinking about what they need to do the following day. Then you are on your way — telling your whole story and at the end, key points to remember.

That is the best way to begin — It’s a perfect formula.

Let’s hear from our readers on this topic. Tell me what has worked for you in the comments below.

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

Make a Great Speech: Pretend You’re Drowning

Posted on June 25, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking

Claire Harvey, CEO, Claire Harvey Photography asks: “Maybe others have this problem too, but I always have trouble getting started with my speech. Where do I start?”

Dear Claire,

Have you ever just sat in front of your screen wondering where to start? I know I have, and it’s a good topic for us to discuss. Here’s one way: Imagine you’re drowning and have to pass one last, very important tip to those on shore. What would you be screaming to them? Ok, that’s the starting point. Now, tell a story about yourself or someone you know that is related to that outburst; tell it to your audience.

Next, build an outline for your speech around what questions you think the audience might ask about that message and story. Why did it happen? Did it really happen? What is the likelihood it might happen to me? Then, state your answers in numbered points. In other words, use three points to reinforce your main thesis and story. Then, ask yourself: “Will my audience be able to repeat my three points and my story to their spouse, partner or roommate when they get home tonight?” If not, then back to the drawing board.

This dramatic way of kick-starting a speech can work wonders and will guarantee some value and a little drama, too. Every speech is a performance, so be memorable! You’re on stage after all — like any actor in a film. See yourself that way and the audience will, too.

Rethink Your Business Before It’s Too Late

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Real Leaders Inc.

This week I had the opportunity to interview multi-business owner Jared Meyers of Legacy Vacation Club and Salt Palm brands who recently launched Florida For Good to help inform, inspire and connect Florida business owners to rethink the way they do business.

You never know whom exactly you’re going to get on the opposite end of a podcast, some guests try to promote their own brand, book, or thought leadership but for the hour I spent with Jared we focused on what motivated him beyond his businesses.

I got to know the real Jared, and the real Jared genuinely felt obligated to spread the word about what mistakes lead to his epiphany (See below).

“A lot of times our epiphanies in life or the lessons we learn are because we go through tough times…”

Tough times call for tougher decisions. The next decision he would make would change his life [and potentially yours] forever. If the business owner community prioritized stakeholder value over shareholder value how might that impact their bottom-line? So I asked him this…

“Why not be a leader and do it proactively?”

Jared’s debacle inspired a new purpose, one that transparently fosters shared value leadership throughout the value chain. By focusing on all stakeholders one must consider its environmental ramifications and reduce its carbon-footprint, pay fair-trade prices, and reveal their company’s impact. But wait! Doesn’t that mean higher costs? Jared you’re crazy! Are you thinking what I was?

“This sort of an investment makes financial sense.”

Failure, realization, and resolution all in under 5 minutes. Jared encompasses the core values of what I deem as a real leadership and it seems to manifest throughout his company’s entire value chain. I’m excited to see if his decisions result in long-term growth and is a model for the next generation of leaders before it’s too late.

If you learned anything from this read today it would mean the world to me if you shared this with your network and continue the discussion on shared value leadership.

I never know who will be on the opposite end of the podcast but I’m grateful it was Jared Meyers. You too can get to know him better by experiencing the full episode below.

Don’t Say This When Making a Speech!

Posted on May 23, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Stephen Bates, CEO, Global Interconnect Inc. asks: “What shouldn’t I say, and what should I say, when speaking in public?”

Dear Stephen,

You have asked a question at the starting gate of all public speaking. You will always want to start with identifying and outlining the content or your message. Ask yourself: “What essential, knowledge, experience, or facts do I have that are unique to me and would be valuable to the audience?” A speech is really about you, giving. Giving from your insights, analysis, struggles and victories. Once you have your message in mind, ask yourself the next vital question: “Is this message something my audience wants to hear, and will they value it?”

To hit a speech out the ballpark, the message has to resonate with the audience and have them leaving the room wanting more. Are they walking away smarter, more enabled and inspired by what you have shared? Have you addressed what they came looking for? Have you stayed on target?

The toughest speeches are like commencement addresses or when there is no specific topic assigned to you by the host. That doesn’t mean you can’t ask the college or host what the foremost issues might be in the minds of the graduates or audience. Be thoughtful about the fears and vulnerabilities of the audience, and address them. It’s your job to make a connection with the audience, so don’t launch a missile that soars over their heads or misses the mark. Once you’ve settled on your theme, stay with it and come back to it, but drive it home with stories to illustrate the points. Today’s most successful speeches are ones that are laced with stories.

What you don’t want to say are things that are all focused on yourself and your own greatness. Building yourself up in a speech will provoke the opposite reaction and will build yourself down in the minds of the listeners. They will appreciate you more if you share your struggles, rather than your victories. They want you to be like them, but still maintain a level of authority which justifies their coming to hear you in the first place! If you must refer to accomplishments, never use the personal pronoun “I.” Always say, “We did it!”

Lastly, build up your audience. Tell them how good they are, how accomplished they are, and how honored you are to be sharing your thoughts with them. Never, ever, denigrate your audience or look down on them, not only in what you say and how you speak but also in want you think. Remember, thoughts are often audible, even though they go unspoken!

Good luck!

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

Giving a Speech? Here’s How to Make Your Entire Audience Pay Attention

Posted on May 2, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

James Wolf, CEO of CurioCapital asks: “Are there any techniques you prefer to make the entire audience pay attention?”

Dear James,

The most important thing you must do is to make sure people can hear you! Almost 100% of all speakers I coach are not innately aware that they must take charge of the amplification system. There may be a team of sound technicians assigned to your speech, but you alone are responsible for the audience hearing you. There is no excuse for a lack of responsibility in this area of work. I often host panel discussions. There has never been a panel where I have not had to go over to them and place the mic up closer to the mouth of the one speaking — and much to my frustration they often move it away!

If you have something important to say, for heaven’s sake make sure your audience can hear it! You will have a sense if you can be heard by listening yourself! Speak up — loudly enough to reach the audience even without amplification. Rarely is there ever a speaker who speaks too loudly as to draw complaints. Sound technicians can lower your voice, but they cannot always raise it.

Few people know this but the more your voice has to rely on artificial amplification, the more inauthentic and thin your voice sounds. In the extreme you get that irritating feedback because the amplification has reached its limits or is in conflict with its own system. Before you go on stage go to your car or a secluded space and sing your favorite song (even you think you cannot sing) to warm the vocal chords. Never ever drink ice water before you speak. That will tighten the vocal cords. Open and breathe deeply to warm up the chest area and then have an expansive thought about your message and be glad to have this opportunity to share a message.

Next time we will talk more about this subject of getting the audience to pay attention and I will tell you a story about how I got a teenage audience to get off their phones and listen! Good luck!

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

All Episodes

Posted on April 23, 2019January 27, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

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All Episodes and Recaps

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Doug Bystry is the Founder, President, and CEO of Clearinghouse CDFI who shares with you the challenges disadvantaged communities face with receiving loans, the most difficult decision he’s ever had to make, and the importance of following your conviction.

Kevin Chin is the CEO and Founder of Arowana who shares what impact means to him, how culture eats numbers for breakfast and the importance of not letting your hubris get in the way of long-term growth.

Tristan Louis is the President and CEO Casebook who shares his involvement in the creation of the internet, RSS feeds and what made him shift his focus to impact social workers and victims of welfare programs.

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Scott Koloms is the CEO of Facilities Management Services who shares with you how to bake in social responsibility into your business, the growth that comes from employee retention, and the importance of refocusing your vision when fear sets in. Receive $18 OFF a year 1-year Real Leaders magazine subscription here.

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John Denniston who alongside Tony Salas joins you today to share how their for-profit model is transforming the lives of smallholder farmers, regenerating the land, and closing the yield-gap. How will climate change affect their crops? What leadership is needed today to feed us in the future? Find out on this episode of the Real Leaders podcast.

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Trevor Hardy is the CEO of BlueWave Solar who shares with you the specific moment that led to his career change, the excitement for new solar energy storage integration, and the leadership needed for the next energy revolution. BlueWave Solar ranked #15 on the 2020 Real Leaders Impact Awards, a ranking of the 100 Top Impact Companies. You can see the full list here: https://old.real-leaders.com/impact-awards.

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David Young is the CEO of Participate Learning who shares with you the lessons learned from deciding to hand over the reins, the importance of becoming bilingual, and how his family values manifest in their company’s culture and customers. Learn more about Participate Learning by reading our free special edition here: https://old.real-leaders.com/impact-awards.

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Jonathan F.P Rose is the President of Jonathan Rose Companies who shares people are purpose-driven beings, how ancient civilizations can help far-sighted thinking, and the leadership needed in urban development. You can find more about Jonathan Rose Companies at old.real-leaders.com/impact-awards.

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Bryon Merade is the Founder and CEO of Caldera Medical whose organization set a goal to improve the lives of 1 million women in marginal communities by 2025. In this episode, he talks about impact, alignment, and the importance of articulating a specific vision. Caldera Medical placed on the 2020 Real Leaders Impact Awards 100 Top Impact Companies list. You can read more about their company and the 99 others here: https://old.real-leaders.com/impact-awards

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We go live with best-selling author and leadership expert Stedman Graham who thinks the only thing getting in your way of greatness is understanding your own identity. You can get his book at https://www.stedmangraham.com/

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Jay Wilkinson, the Founder and CEO of Firespring, discovered after being fired by board members of his own company that it’s those who hold true to their values and roll with the punches that will inherit long-term success. Wilkinson shares in this episode that your purpose can act as a rutter for decision making, examples of capitalism not being used appropriately, and that leadership is, “instilling a vision to let people fulfill it.” Wilkinson’s company Firespring placed in the Real Leaders Impact Awards, a ranking of the 100 top impact companies. Listeners can receive 25% OFF their next Real Leaders magazine by entering in code: podcast25 at https://old.real-leaders.com/subscribe.

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Mark Wilson is the Founder and CEO of Chime Solutions who shares with you his humble upbringings, the importance of creating a healthy attitude for employees, and strategies to create both an impact and profit. Claim your free special edition at https://old.real-leaders.com/impact-awards.

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How much longer does humanity have? Filmmakers, activists and producers Craig Leeson and Malcolm Wood share why they have dedicated their careers now to exploring the impact of climate change where it is most recognizable – glaciers. Learn more about their upcoming documentary at thelastglaciers.com.

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Jim Adams is the former Deputy Chief Technologist at NASA and today he shares the 3 questions all scientists ask each other, how space has expanded his purpose and what NASA can teach us all.

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Ba Minuzzi is the first Latina Founder and solo GP of a VC firm in Silicon Valley. In this episode, she shares with you the importance of having like-minded investors on board, the cancer of constant internal ideas, career advice, and the foreseeable future of emerging technologies. #RealLeadersPodcast #BaMinnuzi #LatinLeaders

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Emma Rose is the Founder and CEO of Final Straw, who started her career trying to educate consumers about single-use plastic entering oceans. After some digging, she arrived on the idea to harness the plastic straw movement to leverage business fundraising and awareness. Now, Final Straw has raised over $1.8 million. What responsibilities and lessons come with this funding? Find out, on this Episode 50 of the #RealLeadersPodcast.

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Matthew Weatherly-white is the Co-Founder and Client Advisor of Caprock an investment advisory firm that handles over $4.5 billion dollars in client assets with $1 billion deployed in sustainable and impact investments. On our longest episode of the Real Leaders podcast, Weatherly-white breaks down the vocabulary of conscious capitalism related terms, whether capitalism can be updated, and leave business owners with one question they should think about before 2020. Learn more about Matthew Weatherly-white by visiting: https://www.caprock.com/

Receive 25% OFF our Real Leaders Impact Awards edition with coupon code: podcast25 or tap: https://realleaders.memberful.com/checkout?plan=35195&coupon=podcast25.

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Alex Fleiss the CEO and co-founder of Rebellion Research an AI-powered Robo-advisory firm that has continually outperformed the S&P 500 since 2007. Will machine learning overtake human investors? How will AI impact the labor market? And what is Rebellions Research boldest prediction? Find out on this episode of the Real Leaders Podcast. For 25% off our latest magazine use promo code: podcast25 at https://old.real-leaders.com/subscribe

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Erik Rind is the CEO of ImagineBC, a data market access provider with a revolutionary concept to pay consumers for giving their information away without knowing the identity of the users on their decentralized network. Keep it real by signing up for our newsletter at https://old.real-leaders.com/free-subscription

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Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is a Best-Selling Author, Consultant, Coach, Speaker, CEO, Philanthropist, and Neuroscientist who shares that our human instincts can lead to disastrous decision making. If you would like to be notified about upcoming releases please sign up to our Real Leaders podcast newsletter at https://old.real-leaders.com/free-subscription/.

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Likky Lavji is a well-known Business Mentor, Visionary, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur who helps people identify blind spots and live a life of congruence.

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Dr. William Li is a physician, scientist, and author of the book Eat to Beat disease who spent years trying to answer his thesis of “why don’t we get sick more?” In this episode he explains the correlation of healthy foods and a strong immune system. #xMed #SingularityUniversity

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Keely Wachs is the Vice President of Communications and Impact at Zume, a company that appears to be organizing a smarter sustainable food system. Can predictive food analysis reduce the unforeseen increases in food waste and improve misdistribution? Will climate change limit our harvest cycles? How are military officials preparing?

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fG4…

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Heather Flannery is the Global Lead at Consensys Health who shares what vulnerable life challenges lead to overcoming a distaste for healthcare, how the convergence of blockchain and machine learning technologies can lead to a more transparent and secure future, and what leadership concerns must be addressed when designing incentives for a new system.

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Ardy Arianpour is the CEO and co-founder of SEQSTER whose company accidentally fell upon a software that cracked the code of interoperability allowing healthcare providers and patients to access all of their personal health records in one common place.

In this interview, Ardy shares the challenges of a siloed healthcare system, struggles of developing a startup, and the importance of leadership decision making.

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Ryan Hickman is the Founder of Ryan’s Recycling. Ryan began collecting bottles and cans for his neighborhood when he was 3.5 years old. 7 years later he has inspired a global community of citizens who are taking the extra step to make a difference. In this interview, Ryan shares his passion, journey, and advice to people of all ages who want to make a difference.

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Mitch Hedlund is the founder of the nonprofit organization Recycle Across America (RAA) and Recycle Across the World (RAW). In this episode of the Real Leaders Podcast she discusses the U.S. and global recycling crisis and the increasing epidemic of waste in oceans. Her solution involves implementing society-wide standardized labels on recycling bins to help solve confusion at the waste bin.

To join the standardized label movement, click the link below https://www.RecycleAcrossAmerica.org You can find her episode of the Real Leaders Podcast on

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/realleaders/episode…

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/22cQ…

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David Young is the CEO of Participate an organization that enables teachers and students of all areas to experience a fun education abroad. Many B-Corps are mission driven companies that tend to draw employees who share similar core values and interests, in Participates case they attract employees and students who crave new cultures. In this podcast David shares how Participates model has expanded to now over 450 locations.

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Chad Farrell is the Founder and CEO of Encore Renewable Energy who explains where the panels come from, how solar farms are financed and the leadership it takes to sustain a business. This episode was recorded during the Real Leaders Top 100 Impact Companies campaign that highlighted the top businesses who are making a difference

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Episode 36 features Robert Acton, the CEO of Cause Strategy Partners who discusses board seat placement, managing pushback, setting a vision, and inspiring a shared vision.

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Because who doesn’t want to see how dog toys are made? Play the video to the right to see Spencer move throughout West Paws manufacturing plant and learn how pet toys are brought to life.

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Who is the most important person in the building? We sit down with Scott Koloms the CEO of Facilities Management Services who thinks Janitors deserve to be in the discussion. This interview was recorded and published live to our facebook page @realleadersmagazine on January 22 during the Real Leaders 100 Top Impact Companies initiative. Let us know what you think or want to hear by leaving a review!

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John-Paul Maxfield is the Founder and CEO of Waste Farmers who believes long-term thinking fundamentally solves the needs of social and environmental problems. On this episode, we dive a little bit deeper about how short-term thinking has inhibited our success as a society. You learn more about his company at https://wastefarmers.com/

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We sit down with Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy to learn how his mission-driven real estate group is creating a competitive advantage in the housing market. When there are two homes that cost the same but one is environmentally friendly which one would you choose? Visit Green Canopy at https://www.greencanopy.com/

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From music to cryptocurrency, see how one of the world’s most popular artists is harnessing his platform for good. Majority of the public know Akon as the artist who ruled the early 2000’s hip/hop and R&B scene bringing us hit albums Trouble, Konvicted, and Freedom, but little know of his efforts to rebuild and restore the land he came from – Africa. Listen to the never before heard story of how he is activating Africa. Full story at old.real-leaders.com/Akon

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Thomas Raffa, founder of Raffa-Marcum’s Nonprofit & Social Sector Group, shares his thoughts on shared value principles, what lead him to start a mission-oriented company with quality services and how his group is benefiting from a shared leadership approach. This is a great interview if you are curious about how a company can reduce your turnover and lead with a shared vision.

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Kristin Carroll is the CEO of Rescue The Behavior Change Agency who was working for a major marketing firm in NYC when she realized she wanted to align her business acumen with positive behavior change. Rescue does this through health communications, policy change to try and shift environments that shift behaviors, altering social norms to ensure healthier behaviors become normal behaviors.

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Micro-powered design or MpowerD empowers emerging economies by extending clean and affordable energy to create opportunities from problems. On this podcast listen to why MpowerD started, how they are able to reduce costs to reach poverty-stricken areas and the overarching leadership qualities that propel this company forward.

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Founder & CEO, Lisa Curtis discovered a magical nutrient called Moringa in Niger, West Africa when she was 22 years old serving in the Peace Core. “I had never eaten anything that had had such a profound impact on my body”. The plant has now impacted more than just the consumer. Soon after, Lisa went on to raise all sorts of capital to hire women and men in South America, SE Asia, and Africa to produce and export her sustenance adding additional societal value to the supply chain by providing 1 world access to 3rd world countries, “it was really hard for me to get people to take me seriously. I got a lot of, `nice project little girl.’” Now, KuliKuli has raised over $10M, is located 445 stores and ranked #38 on the Real Leaders 100 list provided in the link in our bio. You can access Lisa’s full interview on Facebook: RealLeadersMagazine

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Will is the founder and CEO of P.L.A.Y., a San Francisco-based company that specializes in lifestyle pet products such as pet beds, toys and outdoor gear. P.L.A.Y. is one of the only three companies in the pet industry that is certified B Corp and their mission-driven approach has helped them achieved fast growth in the past few years.

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Shannon Keith, CEO of Sudara, speaks about her passion for social entrepreneurship and the journey towards creating her ethical apparel brand. Sudara is a company that aims to help minimize sex-trafficking in India by providing options for women who would typically have to sell their bodies for survival. Working through organizations that offer training and job placement for such at-risk women, the company enables them to have a life of their own choosing. Pursuing business opportunities and fair trade, Shannon hopes that one day there will be no need for a distinction between business and ethics.

Costa Rica Launches ‘Unprecedented’ Push For Zero Emissions by 2050

Posted on February 28, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

To curb climate change, “we can be that example… we have to inspire people,” says President Carlos Alvarado.

Costa Rica’s president has launched an economy-wide plan to decarbonize the country by 2050, saying the Central American nation aims to show other nations what is possible to address climate change.

Costa Rica’s environment minister, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, said that if the plan is achieved, his grandchildren in 2035 will have the same carbon footprint as his grandparents did in the 1940s – and by 2050 his grandchildren will have none at all.

“Not only are we going to reduce that footprint but we are going to bring many benefits with it”, Rodríguez said.

But Jairo Quirós, an electrical energy researcher at the University of Costa Rica, warned the plan would be challenging, and “should be viewed with some caution”.

Under the roadmap launched Sunday, Costa Rica by 2050 would achieve “zero net emissions”, meaning it would produce no more emissions than it can offset through things such as maintaining and expanding its extensive forests.

Such emission cuts – which many countries are expected to try to achieve in the second half of the century – are key to holding increases in global temperature to well under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Costa Rica plan aims to allow the country to continue growing economically while cutting greenhouse gases. The country’s economy grew at 3 percent last year, according to World Bank data.

Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican former U.N. climate chief, called the goal “unprecedented” in international politics.

Only the government of the tiny Marshall Islands also has laid out a detailed plan to achieve that goal, but “they still do not have the whole plan articulated sector by sector”, Figueres said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

President Carlos Alvarado noted that while Costa Rica represents only a tiny share of the world’s climate-changing emissions, the experiments tried in the plan could be a model for other nations.

“We can be that example… we have to inspire people,” he said at the plan’s launch, noting the country was “doing what’s right”.

But Quirós, of the University of Costa Rica, warned the plan will take hard work to achieve.

Some goals, he said, such as ensuring all buses and taxis run on electricity by 2050, may be difficult, not least because the changes will be expensive.

“Although one tends to see that (electric bus) prices are falling over time, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding that,” he said.

GREEN TRANSPORT

Transport today creates about 40 percent of Costa Rica’s climate-changing emissions, making it the main source of them, according to the National Meteorological Institute.

To cut transport emissions, the plan aims to modernize public transport, including through the creation of an electric train line.

The new line would connect 15 of the 31 neighborhoods in the San Jose metropolitan area and carry about 250,000 of the area’s 1 million people each day, according to the Costa Rican Institute of Railways.

Construction on the lines is expected to start in 2022, according to the institute.

“A modern and efficient public transport system has a much greater impact on achieving decarbonisation than just electrifying our vehicle fleet,” said Claudia Dobles, the president’s wife and coordinator of the transport chapter of the plan.

Dobles, an architect and urban planner, has been coordinating many of the country’s public transport efficiency initiatives, including the electric train project and a reorganization of bus routes.

Under Costa Rica’s decarbonization plan, the number of cars circulating in urban areas would be cut by half by 2040, the environment minister said.

By 2035, 70 percent of the country’s buses would be electric and 25 percent of its cars, Rodríguez added.

Juan Ignacio Del Valle, director of operations for hydrogen-powered transport company Ad Astra Rocket Company, said the plan still needs work on some issues, such as cargo transport.

Technological innovation will be needed to achieve some of the goals, he said.

Ad Astra has been testing hydrogen fuel cell buses in Costa Rica for about eight years – a fuel switch that is “vaguely” contemplated in the new plan, Del Valle said.

Hydrogen transport will need more research, but it could prove the most efficient option in areas where electric vehicles fall short, including carrying cargo and for other heavy transport, he said.

OIL REVENUE

For Costa Rica, the potential political battles around decarbonizing its economy are less than in many other countries because it does not have a fossil fuel extraction industry, Rodriguez said.

But dependence on oil revenue could still cause roadblocks for the switch. Fuel taxes, vehicle import taxes and driving taxes, for instance, account for about 12 percent of government revenue, the minister said.

To phase out fossil fuels without slashing government income, the government will need to push for “green tax reform” to find new revenue sources, he said – something that could take time, as it would need legislative approval.

Under the decarbonization plan, the country’s state-owned petroleum distributor would change course and begin research on alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and biofuels, and look at helping fossil fuel workers move to clean energy jobs.

The plan also calls for further expanding forests – though at the moment most of the money to pay for that comes from taxes on fossil fuels, Rodríguez admitted.

The country already has one of the region’s strongest reputations for forest protection.

“In the 1960s and 70s, Costa Rica had the highest per capita deforestation rate in the world. We have managed not only to stop deforestation but to double forest coverage” as the economy grew, Rodríguez said.

Forests that covered 25 percent of the country in the 1980s covered more than 50 percent of it by 2013, according to data from the State of the Nation report, assembled by the country’s public universities.

Over that period, the country’s GDP grew from $4 billion in 1983 to $57 billion in 2013.

Costa Rica has already carried out some of the needed decarbonization work, officials said.

Last year, 98 percent of the country’s electricity came from renewable sources, according to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, the state-owned company in charge of electricity generation and distribution.

Quirós, the University of Costa Rica researcher, said the country’s plan, while “a little utopic” was clearly “a step in the right direction”.

“It’s good to be ambitious,” he said.

Figueres said she believed the the country faced a “hard task” achieving its ambitious aims, but predicted it would “lead to a transformation like no other we’ve seen in decades”.

By Sebastian Rodriguez, editing by Laurie Goering.

UK Intelligence Agency’s New Mission – Train Girls in Cyber Skills

Posted on January 18, 2019January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

Britain’s national intelligence agency has unveiled plans to train about 600 teenage girls in cyber-skills this year in a bid to get more women into the male-dominated field.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) said it would chose girls aged 12 and 13 to take part in four-day courses in coding, cryptography, logic, and protecting networks following a nationwide competition this month.

A spokesman from GCHQ said the aim was to encourage more young people – particularly girls – to work in cyber security with figures showing only 11 percent of the global cyber workforce is female.

“We are looking to address this imbalance … ensuring the inquisitive instincts of young people to find out how things work are maintained is hugely important,” said NCSC Deputy Director Chris Ensor in a statement.

The initiative was welcomed by the technology industry and viewed as timely with UK government figures showing that in 2017 about 43 percent of businesses and 19 percent of charities reported a cyber security breach over the course of a year.

Girls’ early exposure to images of male James Bonds and teenage boys coding in their bedrooms reinforced stereotypes about who fitted in the tech sector.

Without role models, girls do not consider entering the field which has tried to address the lack of women by training staff in unconscious bias, highlighting female role models on social media, and deleting gender from CVs.

Last year, defence secretary Gavin Williamson announced that women could fight in frontline infantry, the Royal Marines and specialty units previously closed to them.

By Kate Ryan; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith

Tony Robbins: What’s Holding You Back From Massive Success?

Posted on November 11, 2018January 17, 2026 by Real Leaders Inc.

For 40 years I’ve been obsessed with learning the answer to what makes a difference in the quality of people’s lives: Why is it that some people who are given every advantage so often fail to achieve what they desire and deserve.

In contrast, we all know people who have lived incredibly difficult lives – lives filled with unimaginable challenges, and often injustice – who still seem to find a way to breakthrough and get results, not only for themselves, but also to serve others in a very deep and meaningful way.

I’ve had the honor of working in 100 countries with more than 50 million people from every walk of life: from incredible leaders to the most challenged individuals you can imagine. We’ve had four million people in my live seminars, so at this point I’d have to be an idiot if I didn’t see that there are certain patterns that cause people to succeed and other patterns that cause people to fail – patterns that cause people to be overwhelmed and stressed out and other patterns that allow people to find deep meaning and success in virtually every aspect of their lives.

Part of my understanding has come from the fact that for decades I’ve been a leader called upon by leaders. I get the call when the fire starts. When the President of the United States has to address the nation. When an athlete is burning down on national television and I’m required to intervene and create measurable change on a moment’s notice.

The one thing that I’ve found that separates the quality of people’s lives – the single largest difference — is the capacity to lead. Leadership skills are not just a gift. Leadership skills are something anyone can learn.

Who is a leader? You and I both know it’s not always the person who controls things by position. How many times have we been in a meeting when the person at the lowest position was influencing the direction of a decision or a project? We all know that leadership —whether you are the CEO, or the manager, or the mom — is about the ability to influence the thoughts, emotions, and actions of other human beings.

But here’s the key: there’s an energy to leadership. There’s a passion. There’s a level of connectedness that leaders have with others. It’s their ability to get things done and make progress that sets them apart.

All leaders have different styles. But leadership, in its essence, comes from the same core qualities. It’s not just great oratory. The spirit of great leadership is the capacity to take visions and to influence others to do more than they would ever have done on their own. Great leaders help people raise their own standards so that regardless of whether or not the leader is present, the organization or individual still performs at a higher level than ever before. At its essence, leadership is the ability to inspire people. It’s the ability to ignite the human spirit and execute consistently.

Leadership is not luck, nor is it haphazard. Anyone who has been successful in any one area consistently is not lucky. They are doing something unique. Remember, success leaves clues!