Finding Better Podcast
At Finding Better, John Suzuki’s mission is simple: To help people build the “better” they seek in life—personally and professionally—by sharing the real-life stories of you who have been there and done that. John’s approach is grounded in the belief that lived experience is the most powerful teacher. Sometimes, the best path to success isn’t to invent it—it’s to observe it, learn from it, and honor those who’ve walked it before you. That’s what makes Finding Better different. Every conversation is rooted in authenticity, not ego. By sharing your story with purpose and heart, you’re not just “selling yourself”— You’re giving someone else the roadmap they didn’t know they needed. John believes we each live three careers: 1. To Learn – in school 2. To Earn – a living 3. To Return – by giving back Now living his “third career,” John’s mission is to help others live better, more meaningful lives—and to bring a little more heart back into the world.
At Finding Better, John Suzuki’s mission is simple: To help people build the “better” they seek in life—personally and professionally—by sharing the real-life stories of you who have been there and done that. John’s approach is grounded in the belief that lived experience is the most powerful teacher. Sometimes, the best path to success isn’t to invent it—it’s to observe it, learn from it, and honor those who’ve walked it before you. That’s what makes Finding Better different. Every conversation is rooted in authenticity, not ego. By sharing your story with purpose and heart, you’re not just “selling yourself”— You’re giving someone else the roadmap they didn’t know they needed. John believes we each live three careers: 1. To Learn – in school 2. To Earn – a living 3. To Return – by giving back Now living his “third career,” John’s mission is to help others live better, more meaningful lives—and to bring a little more heart back into the world.
Episodes

5 hours ago
5 hours ago
48 min
I used to think it took two people to have a good relationship. This conversation with relationship coach Chris Fields on the Finding Better Podcast changed my mind — and it might change yours too.
On this episode, I sit down with Chris Fields — a relationship coach, NLP Master Practitioner, certified hypnotherapist, and former private investigator based in Savannah, Georgia — for real, practical relationship advice on what actually makes relationships work (and why most relationship advice misses the point entirely).
Chris's core message: you can't build a healthy relationship, marriage, or partnership until you understand yourself first. Almost every relationship problem — communication breakdowns, trust issues, even infidelity — traces back to something you learned (or never learned) about love in childhood. Chris walks me through how he uses his private investigator background to trace relationship patterns back to their root cause, why self-audits and journaling are some of the most powerful (and free) relationship coaching tools available, and why letting go of victimhood is the single biggest thing standing between you and a better relationship.
I also open up about a real argument I had with my wife THIS MORNING — and the exact "pause and write it out" technique Chris recommends to couples before things get said that can't be unsaid.
Whether you're working on your marriage, healing after a breakup, rebuilding trust after infidelity, or just trying to understand why you keep repeating the same relationship patterns, this episode gives you honest, actionable relationship advice and self-improvement tools you can use today.
🔑 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:- Why understanding yourself is the real key to better relationships- How childhood shapes your adult relationship patterns — and how to unlearn it- Why self-audits and journaling reveal your relationship blind spots- The real reason people cheat (and why it doesn't mean the cheating is your fault)- How to stop relationship arguments before they spiral — the pause technique- Why choosing to stop playing the victim is step one to a better relationship- The book that changed how Chris understands the brain, love, and communication
📖 BOOK MENTIONED:The Owner's Manual for the Brain by Pierce J. Howardhttps://www.amazon.com/Owners-Manual-Brain-4th-Performance/dp/0062227351
🤝 CONNECT WITH CHRIS FIELDS, RELATIONSHIP COACH:Website: https://mrcbfields.com/ (also reachable at icoachlove.com)
5 hours ago
48 min

7 hours ago
7 hours ago
49 min
AI is replacing jobs faster than anyone expected — but it's also handing YOU the exact same scale that used to belong only to big corporations. The question is whether you use it first, or wait until it's used on you.
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Danny Carpio — organizational architect, attorney, and author of The Unfirm: The New Unit of Scale Is You — to break down how artificial intelligence is rewriting the future of work, and why the old employer-employee scale model is dying in real time.
We get into:✅ Why companies need to replace you with AI before you replace yourself✅ How AI is mass-democratizing scale, giving individuals the same leverage once reserved for corporations✅ Why I built my own website for under $100 using AI — no developer, no designer✅ The real reason Gen Z college grads can't land jobs at Google, Apple, Amazon, or Meta anymore✅ Why curiosity, EQ, and authenticity are becoming your biggest competitive advantage in the AI economy✅ How to become a self-scaled solopreneur instead of depending on a legacy firm structure✅ Why 4 months of mastering AI might outperform a 4-year college degree
If you've ever wondered whether AI is coming for your job, or how to use AI to build your own business, your own income, and your own freedom — this conversation will change how you think about the next 5-7 years.
Danny's book, The Unfirm: The New Unit of Scale Is You, is out now on Amazon in ebook, paperback, and hardcover : https://www.amazon.com/Unfirm-New-Unit-Scale-You/dp/B0H3WCLQ1K
7 hours ago
49 min

8 hours ago
8 hours ago
40 min
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with authority podcasting expert DM Meador to break down why AI can never replace human connection—and how to build real authority online in 2026.
DM Meador has been an entrepreneur since he was a teenager — building businesses in everything from snow-shoveling to SEO before finding his lane helping attorneys and professionals build authority through podcasting. A former pastor turned marketing strategist, DM believes the best ideas never come from selling — they come from real conversations.
In this episode, we get into:✅ Why 50% of AI is just old automation rebranded, and 25% is pure hype✅ Why "those with a soul will always have the advantage" over AI-generated content✅ What authority podcasting really is — and why your clients should be the guest, never the host✅ Why 83% of people find their next professional online before ever meeting them in person✅ DM's own journey from childhood poverty to building multi-million dollar companies✅ Why AI and the internet are the greatest equalizers of our generation
If you're an entrepreneur, professional, or business owner trying to figure out how to stand out in the age of AI — this conversation is for you.
🎙️ About DM MeadorDM helps attorneys and professionals become the authority in their industry through podcasting and personal branding.🔗 thelegalpodcastnetwork.com | theauthoritypodcastnetwork.com
👉 Drop a comment — did AI take your job, or make it better?
8 hours ago
40 min

8 hours ago
8 hours ago
46 min
Harvard invited Kim Sorrelle to teach Heart-Led Leadership — twice. Here's what she taught them about leading with love.
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Kim Sorrelle — author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and one of the most heart-led leaders I know. Kim spent a year testing whether love could actually work as a life strategy, an experiment that became her book, Love Is, and took her all the way to the streets of Haiti — and eventually to a stage at Harvard, where she taught Heart-Led Leadership to a room that runs on IQ, not heart.
We get into:
✅ What Heart-Led Leadership actually means (and why Harvard wanted it)✅ Why servant leadership outperforms old-school command-and-control leadership✅ How to lead with love without being seen as "soft" or weak✅ Turning compassion into real, measurable business results✅ The mindset shift from head-led to heart-led decision making✅ How her humanitarian work in Haiti reshaped how she runs her companies
If you're a founder, entrepreneur, manager, or leader tired of leadership advice that skips your heart entirely — this conversation will change how you show up tomorrow.
👉 More on Kim: KimSorrelle.com
8 hours ago
46 min

8 hours ago
8 hours ago
55 min
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with high-performance coach Steve Barton to unpack the hidden psychology behind peak performance — and why almost everything holding us back comes down to one thing: awareness.
Steve is the creator of The Game of Ten®, a trademarked coaching framework he's spent over 40 years developing (recently presented to Harvard Business School's Case Study Team). We talk about why we hide behind masks of fear, defensiveness, and imposter syndrome instead of showing up as our true selves — and Steve walks me through the exact process he uses to help clients let go of resentment, heal their inner child, and forgive people who hurt them, even if that person never apologizes or even knows they're being forgiven.
This isn't theory — Steve gives a step-by-step "set it and forget it" method for releasing pain at a level where willpower alone can't touch it, because, as he puts it, you can't solve a problem at the same level of awareness where it was created.
By the end of this conversation, you'll have a completely different way of thinking about fear, forgiveness, and what it actually means to operate from self-awareness instead of self-doubt.
🎯 In this episode, you'll learn:✅ The hidden psychology behind peak performance (and why fear masks as "protection")✅ What The Game of Ten® framework is, and how it measures your level of awareness✅ How to forgive someone who hurt you — without needing an apology✅ Why willpower can't heal old pain, and what actually works instead✅ How to recognize and heal your inner child✅ The real difference between healthy boundaries and emotional walls
👤 About Steve BartonSteve Barton is a Gestalt-certified executive and high-performance coach, mentored by New York Times bestselling author Marianne Williamson. He's the creator and trademark holder of The Game of Ten®, co-author of The Father, The Son, and The Aha Moment, and is currently writing his next book on mindset, emotional clarity, and inner alignment.
🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned in This EpisodeSteve Barton Coaching (official site): https://www.stevebartoncoaching.com/ Get Steve's free book, The Game of Ten®: https://thegameof10.com/ The Father, The Son, and The Aha Moment (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Father-Son-Aha-Moment-Happiness/dp/B09QP3KDBK Steve Barton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevebartoncoaching/ Steve Barton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coach-steve-barton/ Marianne Williamson (Steve's mentor, referenced in this episode): https://marianne.com/
If this episode helped you, hit subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it today. Sharing this lifts others — and lifting others lifts the world.
8 hours ago
55 min

Jul 16, 2026
Jul 16, 2026
52 min
🎙️ Can AI actually help you become a better version of yourself?
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Jay Jacobson — a 45-year funeral director, author of Lead By Legendary Example, and founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing — for a conversation that completely changed how I think about AI, leadership, and human connection.
We dig into why knowledge isn't the skill that gets you hired anymore — it's people skills, emotional intelligence, and presence. Jay shares real stories from decades in funeral service and hospitality, and shows exactly how he uses AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Adobe Firefly to write kinder emails, shift workplace culture, train young employees, and communicate like the leader he wants to be.
If you want to use AI to grow, lead better, and become the person you actually want to be — this episode will shift how you see technology.
🔥 In this episode, we cover:
✅ How to use ChatGPT, Claude & AI agents to write more professional, kind communication✅ Why "leadership" has nothing to do with your job title✅ How funeral directors & hospitality pros build trust in under 3 minutes✅ Using AI to train your team and quietly shift company culture✅ Why smartphones are erasing communication skills in young people✅ Using AI as a personal coach to become a better leader, communicator & human✅ Free & affordable ways to get AI-certified (Coursera and more)Jay's take: the goal isn't to compete with AI — it's to use AI to become more human, not less.
📖 Get Jay's book: Lead By Legendary Example — https://www.jacobsonprostaff.com/general-8
🔗 Connect with Jay: https://www.jacobsonprostaff.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayscookies/
🎧 New episodes every week on Finding Better — real stories from real people who found a better way to lead, live, and grow.
Jul 16, 2026
52 min

Jul 16, 2026
Jul 16, 2026
46 min
At 20, my guest Ken Kunken broke his neck playing football and became a quadriplegic — paralyzed from the shoulders down. What he did next will change how you see what's possible.
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Ken Kunken — the first quadriplegic to graduate from Cornell University — for one of the most powerful stories of overcoming adversity I've ever shared on this channel.
After a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed in 1970, doctors told Ken the most he could hope for was selling magazine subscriptions over the phone — a phone he couldn't even dial. Instead, he earned two master's degrees, became a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor, went to law school, and served more than 40 years as a Nassau County assistant district attorney, rising to Deputy Bureau Chief. Then, more than 30 years after his injury and in his 50s, Ken and his wife Anna became parents to triplet sons.
This is a real-life motivational story about resilience, gratitude, mindset, and the refusal to give up — no theories, no fluff, just a man who turned an impossible situation into an extraordinary life. We talk about his injury, life as a quadriplegic before the internet, disability and inclusion, raising triplets, and the lessons inside his memoir.
📖 Get Ken's memoir, "I Dream of Things That Never Were: The Ken Kunken Story": https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Things-Never-Kunken-Story-ebook/dp/B0CFD8R32P
➡️ Website: https://www.KenKunken.com
Jul 16, 2026
46 min

Jul 15, 2026
Jul 15, 2026
51 min
Is AI coming for your job? Here's how to future-proof your career before it's too late.
In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Victoria Pelletier — 20+ year corporate executive, board director, #1 bestselling author, and TEDx speaker (2M+ views) — to talk about what AI is really doing to the workforce, and how you can not just survive it but thrive in it.
We cut through the fear and the headlines. Yes, AI is changing almost every job. But the layoffs being blamed on AI right now? Mostly misplaced fear. The people who win in this new era aren't the ones who panic — they're the ones who take ownership, upskill, and remember one thing Victoria said that completely blew my mind: you are the CEO of your career.
If you've felt anxious about artificial intelligence, automation, job security, or where you fit in the future of work, this conversation is for you. We get into how to stay relevant, build real resilience, lead with empathy (what Victoria calls "whole human leadership"), and use personal branding to forge a lasting legacy — no matter what the technology does next.
This isn't theory. It's a real-life, been-there-done-that playbook for taking control of your career in the age of AI.
📘 Victoria's #1 bestselling book: Influence Unleashed: Forging a Lasting Legacy Through Personal Branding : https://www.amazon.in/Influence-Unleashed-Forging-Personal-Branding/dp/B0CRSRYVPD
🎙️ Finding Better is where we learn from people who've actually been there and done that — real lived experience, not theory.
Jul 15, 2026
51 min
Exploring Experiences To A Brighter Now

John believes we all have three careers; first to learn and go to school, second to earn and make a living, and third to return and give back. Now in his third career of giving back, John’s mission is to make the world better by inspiring people to live with less fear and divisiveness and bring a little more love into the world. While going to school, John started his earning career selling butter toffee peanuts for the YMCA when he was ten, and then worked on a bait barge in Redondo Beach selling live anchovies when he was twelve (his favorite job ever). John has faithfully served his customers throughout his life ranging from neighborhood families to multi-billion-dollar global enterprises, always offering his utmost care and warm smile. Throughout his professional career, John held leadership and executive sales roles in IBM, Sun Microsystems, Escapia, Vrbo and Expedia Group, where he served as Global Evangelist and Ombudsman, presenting the latest business and technology trends and opportunities for vacation rental partners in Europe and North America.

HONORING THE PAST BY EDUCATING THE FUTURE
American Grit - From a Japanese American Concentration Camp Rises an American War Hero, is the incredible true story about the dark chapter in our history when 122,000 innocent people including 50,000 American children were incarcerated in American concentration camps during World War II solely because of their race, and the thousands of brave young men who volunteered to fight for the United States Army while their families remained imprisoned in the camps by the United States Army. In 2008 the author, John Suzuki, embarked on a poignant journey to Minidoka, one of the ten former U.S. concentration camps that housed over 13,000 inmates. Here, he encountered a remarkable testament of bravery — an Honor Roll listing the names of over 1,000 Japanese American men who volunteered to fight and die for the U.S. Army, the same Army who put them and their families in the camps to begin with. Inspired by this unparalleled act of courage, John set out to tell the story of Shiro Kashino, an American who was incarcerated at Minidoka, volunteered to fight for the U.S. Army to prove his loyalty, and later emerged as one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. Despite learning of Kashino's death in 1997, the author remained undeterred and, with the help of Kashino’s beloved widow, Louise, weaved a tale of hardship, sacrifice, and love. While American Grit tells the story of Shiro Kashino, it is also a stark reminder of ruinous hardships endured by over 122,000 victims of American concentration camps while celebrating their gallantry, heroism and grit during and after World War II as they stayed true to their dreams of a better life in America. As the author delves into this profound and transformative journey, he invites readers to reflect on the importance of learning from our history to shape a better future. The book is a tribute to Shiro, Louise, and all the heroes of the era whose stories of courage and resilience inspire us to honor the past by educating the future.








