In this episode, I’m joined by Andrea Carter, an organizational scientist and the creator of the Belonging First Methodology — a validated, award-winning framework designed to measure and strengthen belonging in individuals, teams, schools, and organizations.

Andrea breaks down the science of belonging and explains why it’s not a “soft” concept, but a measurable, actionable driver of performance, wellbeing, and human connection.

At the core of the Belonging First Methodology are five key indicators of belonging:

- Comfort
- Connection
- Contribution
- Psychological Safety
- Wellbeing

In this conversation, we explore:
-What belonging actually is (and what it isn’t)
- Where belonging most often breaks down in organizations, teams, and families
- How leaders, coaches, and educators can quickly identify gaps in belonging
- Practical steps to rebuild belonging when it’s missing
- Why belonging directly impacts performance, learning, and long-term success

Andrea’s motivation is simple but powerful: getting the research out into the world so people can clearly see where belonging is breaking down — and know exactly how to fix it.

🎁 Free Resource:
Take Andrea’s Belonging Breakdown and identify where belonging may be missing for you or your team:
👉 https://belongingfirst.com/belongingbreakdown

🔗 Connect with Andrea Carter:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreadcarter/
Substack: https://substack.com/@andreadcarter

If you’re a leader, coach, educator, parent, or anyone responsible for culture and people, this episode will completely change how you think about belonging — and how you build it intentionally.

Mitch Case shares the real story behind leaving a traditional sales career and betting everything on relationships instead of resumes.

After nearly a decade in commercial HVAC sales, Mitch made the leap into entrepreneurship—without guarantees, without a safety net, and with plenty of fear. In this conversation, he opens up about early failures, financial stress, rebuilding from the ground up, and why relationships—not credentials—became the foundation for everything that followed.

Today, Mitch helps people create generational wealth through commercial real estate and community-building, and he leads The Pickup Project, an early-morning basketball community that has sparked genuine friendships and over $1M in business between players.

In this episode, we discuss:
- What stops people from taking the entrepreneurial leap
- Why betting on relationships creates long-term success
- The reality of failure before momentum
- How community accelerates trust, growth, and opportunity
- Building a life around family, faith, health, and freedom

This episode is for anyone who feels called to something bigger—but is scared to make the jump.

📌 Connect with Mitch Case on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellcase/

In this podcast episode, Karen Canham—founder of Karen Ann Wellness, board-certified wellness coach, and nervous system specialist—shares a step-by-step approach to becoming more successful as a leader and professional by regulating your nervous system.

Rather than relying on motivation or willpower, Karen explains why breathwork and nervous system regulation are the real foundations of sustainable performance, emotional intelligence, and confident leadership. This conversation goes beyond mindset and into the physiology of how we lead, communicate, and make decisions under pressure.

Throughout the episode, we discuss:
- Why stress and reactivity limit leadership performance
- How breathwork directly impacts clarity, confidence, and decision-making
- The neuroscience behind nervous system regulation
- Simple breathwork practices you can use immediately
- How leaders can prevent burnout while still performing at a high level
- What “embodied leadership” really means in day-to-day work
- Moving from reactivity to resilience in your career and life

Karen has helped hundreds of driven professionals and corporate teams move from burnout into calm, connected, and sustainable success—improving communication and emotional intelligence by over 40% in organizational settings.

This episode is ideal for:
✔ Leaders and executives
✔ Coaches and high-performing professionals
✔ Anyone dealing with stress, burnout, or overwhelm
✔ People looking to improve leadership presence and emotional regulation

🔗 Connect with Karen Canham
🌐 Website: www.karenannwellness.com
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karenannwellness
📸 Instagram: @karenannwellness

🎁 Free Resource:
Download Karen’s Nervous System Regulation Toolkit at karenannwellness.com