Connect The Dots

About This Episode: In this week’s podcast, we meet Michael Heppell- professional speaker and personal life coach, author and life-long learner.  Michael talks about his life’s journey and the many influential people who have guided him and carved his journey. We hear how his experiences and the connections he has made over the years enhance the way he inspires and brings positive attitude to each and every day. Michael’s mission was to positively influence 1,000,000 lives. Having already achieved it, he is now committed to positively influence everyone he interacts with. Mentions: How to Be Brilliant Michael’s Books Michael Heppell Website Connect with Michael Heppell:  Twitter Facebook Connect with nine dots:  E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Media Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook        

About This Episode:   In this episode we meet wildly creative Pete Angevine, who co-founded Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Fishtown, Philadelphia. Their distinctive voice and hand crafted artisanal ice cream has a curious and dedicated following that are always intrigued by the next new flavors…   In this week’s podcast, we hear about some of the stories behind the unique and surprising flavors such as lucky charm & champagne and grilled cheese and tomato soup- that Little Baby’s Ice Cream is well known for.  Flavor is in the mouth of the beholder…     Mentions:   Little Baby’s Ice Cream Connect with Pete Angevine:               Twitter             Instagram Facebook  LinkedIn   Connect with nine dots:                     E-mail Geoffrey                   nine dots Media            Twitter                   Instagram                   LinkedIn                   Facebook Please let us know what you think!  Share and comment.

About This Episode: In this episode we welcome the award winning Belgian artist, filmmaker and doodler, Vincent Bal. Inspired by his mother’s unique storytelling and his love of comic drawings, Vincent went on to study film directing.  We talk about the importance of the combination of intelligence, humor and atmosphere in telling stories. In this week’s podcast, we hear about the personal journey that lead to the evolution and success of Vincent’s visual stories- Shadowology.  Mentions: Shadowology on Amazon Shadowology on Etsy Connect with Vincent Bal: Twitter Instagram Facebook Connect with nine dots:                   E-mail Geoffrey                   nine dots Media            Twitter                   Instagram                   LinkedIn                   Facebook Please let us know what you think!  Share and comment.

Inspired by the hilarious storytelling of stand up comics such as George Carlin, Richard Prior, Jackie Mason and Steve Martin, Doug Chernack is the New York Times bestselling coauthor of AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS. He is a professional screenwriter and producer who has created shows for E!, Fox Sports, and the Golf Channel and co-created the hit website AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. Doug’s projects include multiple books such as Awkward Family Pet Photos, Awkward Family Holiday Photos, as well as a traveling museum, and a calendar series.   In this week’s podcast, we explore humor, relatability and authenticity in telling stories.  Mentions: Awkward Family Photos Connect with Doug Chernack: Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  Connect with nine dots: E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Media Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook If you have any suggestions for podcast guests, please email us! Thanks!

About This Episode: Joe Cross is an Australian filmmaker, New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur and proponent of wellness. In his award winning documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead Joe tells the story of his 60-day juice fast. He is the founder and CEO of Reboot with Joe, a health and lifestyle brand. In this podcast, Joe talks about how important storytelling is as he travels the world sharing his passion for healthy living.  He inspires thousands of people to join the community of Rebooters. Mentions: Reboot with Joe Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead- Movie Connect with Joe Cross: Website Twitter Facebook Connect with nine dots: E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook If you have any suggestions for podcast guests, please email us! Thanks!

About This Episode: Wayne Kimmel is an accomplished and experienced author and speaker.  He is a networker extraordinaire who has created investment company Seventy Six Capital which invests in passionate, smart and nice entrepreneurs who are launching game-changing tech startups. In this podcast Wayne Kimmel talks about how storytelling is important in connecting with your audience and how major companies are evolving by utilizing their networks to expand and connect with their customers across various platforms.  Mentions: Sevety Six Capital Six Degrees of Wayne Kimmel – Book Connect with Wayne Kimmel: Twitter LinkedIn Connect with nine dots: E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Media Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook If you have any suggestions for podcast guests, please email us! Thanks!

Presented by nine dots and hosted by Geoffrey Klein, Connect the dots podcast shares stories and explore their power to impact others. Our aim is to share some edutainment – to give some useful nuggets that can be applied to your business while also entertaining you. Thank you for listening. In Season 2, Geoffrey interviews successful individuals about their perspective on the power of story.  Then each guest shares a story where they connected the dots. We are fortunate again to have amazing guests from best seller authors, a venture capitalist, a juice guru and a professional doodler, among others.  Thanks for listening.

I am a huge poker enthusiast. I like poker much more than I am good at it. That is not true of this episode’s guest, American poker player Scott Blumstein. Blumstein graduated from Temple University with an accounting degree before becoming a professional poker player. Last summer, he entered his first World Series of Poker Main Event, along with over 7000 other hopeful players. Outlasting everyone in a week’s plus of poker play, Scott Blumstein won the World Series of Poker Main Event, a coveted WSOP bracelet and $8,150,000. He won in dramatic fashion when the Deuce of Hearts landing on the river (which for you non-poker players was one of only 3 cards that could have won him the event). In this episode we explore Scott’s story and how he went from online player to a poker World Champ. Not surprisingly his favorite card in the deck is the 2 of Hearts. CONNECT WITH Scott Email Scott Scott on Twitter CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on Twitter nine dots on Instagram nine dots on Linke

Rich Middlemas won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing the high school football story UNDEFEATED. Rich began his career in Hollywood working in the office of the President at MGM Studios working on films such as Legally Blonde, Agent Cody Banks, Barbershop and James Bond film, Die Another Day. Rich Middlemas graduated from University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information with a BS in broadcasting. In this episode, Rich shares his Oscar experience as we follow the journey from making a little football documentary to getting into SXSW’s film festival, to his bromance with Bratt Pitt at the Oscar nominations luncheon, to going on stage to accept the little gold statute. We are happy to report Rich’s Oscar is no longer in a paper bag in his cupboard, but you’ll have to ask to find out what place of prominence it now lives. CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on Twitter nine dots on Instagram nine dots on LinkedIn nine dots on Facebook

Aaron Muderick, Owner of Crazy Aaron Enterprises https://puttyworld.com, is the inventor of Crazy Aaron’s thinking putty. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty is available in more than 30 countries around the world and comes in over 30 colors and includes some that can be magnetized or are heat-sensitive. Crazy Aaron employs a labor force of over 500 people made up of individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities that help manufacture and ship Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty. In this episode Aaron talks about how he always wanted to be an inventor, how Steve Jobs served as a role model and his interest in cave exploration. He believes you should never discount an idea just because it seems impossible. Book recommendation: How to Be Rich – J.Paul Getty How to Talk With Practically Anybody About Practically Anything Connect with Crazy Aaron: Twitter Instagram Facebook  Connect with nine dots: E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Media Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook  

William C. Taubman is currently the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. The son of a New York Times journalist who learned the importance of working hard and thinking carefully as well as to accept challenges, but not possible ones. In this episode we learn how Professor Taubman entered Harvard at only the age of 16. In his early career it was unclear if he might pursue journalism instead of academia. Even after he entered academia he almost ended up leaving the halls of learning for the CIA.  As an academic, he considered how he could combine his interest in not only teaching but in research and writing. He worked long and hard to find a way to write scholarship that would be accessible to general readers. His biography of Nikita Khrushchev won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2004 and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography in 2003. CONNECT WITH PROFESSOR TAUBMAN William Taubman Books Faculty Website CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on

Chet Harding is the co-founder and owner of Improv Asylum – a nationally-acclaimed improvisation and sketch comedy theater based in Boston as well as stand-up sister theater Laugh Boston and Asylum Gaming and E-Sports production house. As well as acting, writing, directing and producing, Chet has developed Improv Asylum’s global corporate training program, and has worked with companies such as Google, Harvard Business School, Red Bull and Fidelity.   In this episode Chet talks about his youthful dream of becoming a professional athlete, but recognizing he had more talent for making people laugh.  From his early career in advertising to the famed Improv mecca Second City in Chicago, Chet eventually landed in Boston to plant roots in both family and in comedy. And no, Chet was not a member of Amherst College’s Mr. Gad’s House of Improv. CONNECT WITH CHET Email Chet Website Chet on Twitter Chet on Facebook Chet on Linkedin Chet on Instagram CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on Twit

Judge Renée Cardwell Hughes is the outgoing CEO of the American Red Cross for the Eastern Pennsylvania region. Judge Hughes is also well known for her work with The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce as well as the contributions she has made towards the Beasly School of Law at Temple University. In this podcast Judge Hughes talks about the risk and rewards of her career path and also how she earned her own set of pearls. Judge Hughes talks about what matters most to her and why it’s important to always love yourself. Mentions: Conqueror by Estelle and Jussie Smollet Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Connect with Judge Hughes: Twitter LinkedIn Connect with nine dots: E-mail Geoffrey nine dots Media Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Facebook

Sharon Pinkenson has served as the Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office https://film.org/ (GPFO) for 25 years during the terms of four mayors and six governors. Sharon has been responsible for all aspects of the office since 1992.   Under Sharon’s leadership, the GPFO has been responsible for $4 billion of economic impact to the southeastern Pennsylvania region, as it attracts film and TV productions to the region.   Films & TV Credentials include: Trading Places, Philadelphia, Boy Meets World, Silver Linings Playbook, Sixth Sense, Pretty Little Liars, National Treasure, Split.   In this episode, Sharon shares her story from making her own clothes to becoming a costume designer and dressing a chimp to rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars. CONNECT WITH SHARON Email Sharon Website Sharon on Twitter on Twitter Sharon on Facebook Sharon on Linkedin (make sure to introduce yourself) Sharon on Instagram   CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on Twitter nine dots on

Nick Garnett is a broadcast journalist at the BBC  and has been a  journalist and news reporter for 30 years. Nick’s reports are broadcast on local and regional TV as well as the BBC world service.  He has reported on a number of stories from around the world including Nepal, Tunisia, Paris, Malta, Jordan, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Scotland, Turkey, South Sudan and Iraq. Nick has won a New York radio festival award and a United Nations award. Nick Garnett of BBC Radio 5 Live is now a digital-first journalist after many years in radio storytelling. CONNECT WITH NICK Nick on Twitter Nick on Instagram CONNECT WITH nine dots Email Geoffrey Website nine dots on Twitter nine dots on Instagram nine dots on LinkedIn nine dots on Facebook

Presented by nine dots and hosted by Geoffrey Klein, Connect the dots podcast share stories of success and the dots that people connect along the way. In Season 1, Geoffrey interviews successful individuals to explore their path to success and examines the dynamic between luck or happenstance and intentional planning and the choices people make. From successful CEOs to an Academy Award winner, the aim is to be entertained through these conversations while hopefully gaining some useful insights as well. In the end, the goal is to help others…connect the dots. Thanks for listening.