Dennis St Pierre is an actor, singer, dancer, and founder who spent over 20 years performing around the world including multiple appearances on TV and Broadway.

Expect to hear:

- Humble Beginnings and Recovery: Dennis' story of coming from a small town in Maine in a big family below the poverty line and how he overcame an early traumatic experience

- Wild NYC Tales: Bartending at Studio 54, sleeping in his car for two years to attend dance classes, and getting career advice from Prince

- The 4 Week Collapse: How Dennis went from finally achieving his ultimate career peaks on Broadway and TV to the lowest point of his life in less than a month

- Break a Leg: The wild emergency call-up story that gave Dennis his second chance on the big stage as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables

- Redefining Success: How Dennis's definition of success transformed over decades of pivots, why true talent is adaptability, and what lights his soul on fire today

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Relentless Adaptability

(00:58) Returning to Maine (Interview Start)

(05:18) Redefining Success Beyond the Stage

(09:42) Small-Town Maine Roots & Hockey Concussions

(14:19) The Burn Accident & Ballet Recovery

(16:46) New York Hustle & Sleeping in a Car

(22:51) The 4-Week Collapse: Ed & Les Mis Close

(27:57) The Radio Theater Pivot & Losing Savings

(36:22) "Break a Leg": Stepping In as Jean Valjean

(41:30) Professional vs. Amateur Acting

(48:59) Why the Ultimate Talent Is Adaptability

(53:25) What Real Fulfillment Looks Like Today

(57:09) Theater Beyond Entertainment: Emotional Catharsis

(01:04:09) New Projects in Denmark & Actor Studio Helsingør

(01:06:16) Why "The Dirt Path?"

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Connect with Dennis:

Dennis' website is coming soon!

Support the podcast:

- Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedirtpathpodcast/

- Email your questions: thedirtpathpodcast@gmail.com

- Follow Grayson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/grayson-harris-786087148/

If you are dirt path curious, but not yet taken the leap, you are missing out on much more than you think.

In this month's Wanderers episode, we talk about the importance of taking your destined path, past the obvious. We dive into how choosing location independence and career alignment naturally attracts the community, relationships, and opportunities meant for your true self.

Expect to hear:

- How we met: how taking the dirt path lead us to meeting each other

- Showing up authentically online: why being your full self online will lead to aligned opportunities

- LinkedIn authentic branding: Paige gives us her top 3 tips for building an authentic personal brand on LinkedIn

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Importance of taking your destined path

(02:02) Grayson before meeting Paige

(07:54) Paige before meeting Grayson

(10:08) How we met on LinkedIn

(18:55) What attracted one another

(27:35) Change Environment Meet People

(29:19) Authenticity Online Wins

(32:24) Why LinkedIn Needs Realness

(38:42) Authentic LinkedIn Tip 1: Profile Photo Refresh

(42:14) Authentic LinkedIn Tip 2: Show Who You Are

(45:18) Authentic LinkedIn Tip 3: Post for Future You

(51:50) Monday Club In Person Events

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Related Links:

- Paige's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigegoldstein/

- Grayson's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/grayson-harris-786087148/

Support the podcast:

- Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedirtpathpodcast/

- Email your questions: thedirtpathpodcast@gmail.com

Eric Hodgdon is a 2x TEDx speaker, Amazon bestselling author, coach, and the founder of "The Grit Guy" who spent 25 years climbing the corporate ladder in IT before completely restructuring his life.

CONTENT WARNING & DISCLAIMER: This episode contains deep discussions surrounding suicide and severe trauma. We believe these raw conversations are vital to share, but please listen with care. (If you or someone you know ever needs support, free confidential help is always available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, or visiting findahelpline.com).

Expect to hear:

• The Transition Curve Framework: The cyclical trap of building a business, moving from uninformed optimism to informed pessimism, and why 80% to 90% of people quit on their goals

• The Catalyst of Shocking Loss: The heartbreaking retelling of losing his 15-year-old daughter Zoi to suicide in 2014, and how it became the catalyst for his own long-term healing framework

• Micro vs. Macro Recoveries: Eric’s operational toolkit for down-regulating your nervous system out of chronic fight-or-flight

• Grieving an Unlived Life: The moment Eric realized the true origin of his grief, and signs to lookout for on your journey towards greater purpose

• Side-Hustle Method: The highway exit for calculated risk-takers looking to enter the dirt path of entrepreneurship

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Job Offer Reality Check

(01:08) First P90X Success Story (Interview Start)

(02:35) Grit Built in Repetition: Embracing the Boring Operational Tasks

(06:45) From IT to First Break: The Newspaper Ultimatum (12:14) Corporate Costs and Lifestyle: Realizing You Are a Cog in the Wheel

(14:50) Entrepreneur Leap and Optimism: The Illusion of the Corporate Exit

(17:01) The Transition Curve Explained: Uninformed Optimism to Informed Pessimism

(22:36) Finding Alignment in Funnels: Using Technical Skills for Market Demand

(24:46) Loss That Changed Everything: The PIP, The Layoff, and January 2014

(29:39) Helping Others While Grieving: Forging Resilience Through Narrative Storytelling

(34:00) Grayson's Ongoing Struggles: Nerve Damage, Layoffs, and Live On-Air Coaching

(42:07) Nature as Nervous System Reset: Walking the Harraseeket Trail

(44:42) Micro vs. Macro Recovery: Lower-Body Breathwork and 90-Day Sacred Boundaries

(49:04) Zoi’s Lesson: Just Be & Breaking the Cycle of Commuter Rail Self-Blame

(53:09) From Grief to Grit Guy: Building a Chapter on Your Own Terms

(58:36) Highway vs. Dirt Path Signs: Listening to Physical Ailments and Gut Bio-Signals

(01:06:40) Lessons from Near Failure: The $7,000 Boston Mastermind Workshop Disaster

(01:12:11) Side Hustle vs. Leap: Utilizing Fragmented Time to Validate Market Demand

(01:19:56) Why Choose the Dirt Path?

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Connect with Eric:

- Eric's Website: https://www.thegritguy.com/

- Eric's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegritguy

- Watch Eric's Tedx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihp1_szQlM8

Support the podcast:

- Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedirtpathpodcast/

- Email your questions: thedirtpathpodcast@gmail.com

- Follow Grayson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/grayson-harris-786087148/