What happens when the people who once cared for you suddenly need you to care for them?

In this episode of the Mile High Success Podcast, Nick Elder sits down with Colorado author Thomas Denning to talk about his new book, Goodnight Mom and Dad: How Terminal Illness Transformed an Ordinary Family.

Thomas grew up as one of 12 children. He helped his family care for his mother as she faced brain cancer and, years later, helped care for his father through his own terminal illness.

Thomas shares why terminal illness is rarely just about medicine. It can change family roles, create hard decisions, test relationships, and force us to think about what truly matters.

He also shares the story behind his book and why he finally decided it was time to write it. After years of journaling and collecting hundreds of pages of notes, Thomas made writing the book his mission. He wrote every day, set a deadline, and learned to stop asking whether every word was good enough. He simply kept writing.

Nick and Thomas also talk about being present during painful times, caring for aging parents, faith, forgiveness, family, and the power of ordinary moments.

Thomas shares one especially touching story about getting Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman to call his mother just days before she passed away. It became one of those ordinary-yet-extraordinary family memories that stays with you.

As Thomas explains, we often think life has to be extraordinary to be meaningful. But sometimes meaning comes from hundreds of ordinary moments that we only understand when we look back.

Thomas hopes his book can be there for the person sitting in an emergency room late at night, driving to care for a parent, or trying to make sense of a difficult season with someone they love.

ABOUT THOMAS DENNING

Thomas Denning is an author, father, grandfather, writer, and video producer. His book, Goodnight Mom and Dad, shares his family’s experience caring for his mother and father through terminal illness and explores family, caregiving, faith, forgiveness, loss, and what matters most.

What if AI is making us more productive while actually slowing down true innovation?

In this episode of the Mile High Success Podcast, Nick Elder sits down with inventor and technology entrepreneur Trevor Chandler for a fascinating conversation about artificial intelligence, invention, patents, and where technology may be headed next.

Trevor has more than 30 patents across areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technology, language translation, and other emerging technologies. His path to becoming an inventor was anything but traditional. Before building technology companies, Trevor spent years traveling as a musician. He later worked at Microsoft and went on to build companies and intellectual property that led to multiple acquisitions.

Trevor explains why he believes many of today's AI systems are very powerful but are still limited by the information and structures humans give them. He shares his concern that AI can dramatically increase productivity while making people more dependent on existing knowledge instead of exploring completely new ideas.

Nick and Trevor also discuss the enormous infrastructure and energy demands behind today's AI systems. Trevor explains why he believes the industry needs to rethink how AI is built instead of simply building more computing infrastructure to support today's models.

The conversation goes deeper into Trevor's own inventions, including a patented self-improving AI system, a highly efficient language model, medical technology, language translation, and his current work exploring AI systems that can create and test new capabilities.

Trevor also shares how he approaches invention differently. Rather than simply following where technology is going today, he looks for problems that leading technology companies have not yet solved and builds new approaches around those gaps.

The episode closes with a look at one of Trevor's newest areas of research: the connection between biological evolution, emergent systems, artificial intelligence, and machines that may someday be able to develop new capabilities in the physical world.

If you are interested in AI, innovation, entrepreneurship, patents, emerging technology, or the future of computing, this conversation offers a very different perspective on where technology could be headed.

What happens when you spend 30 years building a successful career and realize you are ready for something new?

In this episode of the Mile High Success Podcast, Nick Elder talks with Bryan Jepson, a former board-certified emergency medicine physician who made a major career change into financial planning.

After three decades in emergency medicine, Bryan knew he was ready for a new chapter. But simply retiring did not feel right. His career was a big part of his identity, and he still wanted to learn, grow, and make an impact.

So Bryan went back to school in his 50s to study finance. That decision eventually led him to become a financial advisor and fiduciary who helps physicians and other professionals make smarter decisions about their money and their lives.

Bryan and Nick discuss why building wealth is about much more than reaching a certain number. Bryan believes true wealth comes from aligning your money, time, and purpose with what matters most to you.

They also discuss the financial mistakes physicians can make early in their careers. Bryan explains why simple habits like saving early, investing for the long term, staying diversified, and ignoring financial noise can make a huge difference.

The conversation also explores Bryan's personal experience as the father of two adult children with autism. That experience led him to become a Chartered Special Needs Consultant and help families prepare financially for the lifelong needs of a loved one with special needs.

Bryan also shares what he has learned about making a successful career change. One of his biggest lessons is simple: "build it before you break." Instead of waiting until burnout forces a decision, start exploring new interests, building relationships, and developing new skills while you still have options.

Bryan and Nick also discuss why relationships can matter more than resumes, why curiosity helps people grow, and why being willing to fail can open the door to unexpected opportunities.