Ken Kunken - Against All Odds - Paralysis, Purpose, and Power

Ken Kunken - Against All Odds - Paralysis, Purpose, and Power

A single college football play can end a season. For Ken Kunken, it rewrote an entire life. Ken joins us to tell the story of a Halloween 1970 tackle at Cornell that broke his neck and caused a high cervical spinal cord injury, leaving him a quadriplegic and dependent on others for daily living. What follows is not a “feel good” shortcut, but an honest walk through fear, frustration, and the hard work of rebuilding a future when the world expects you to shrink. We talk about rehab and the moment Ken reads a bleak career forecast that suggests he might someday sell magazine subscriptions by phone, even though he couldn’t dial a rotary phone or take notes. From there, Ken explains the mindset shift that mattered most: betting on his mental ability, returning to school, and leaning into psychology, counseling, and rehabilitation counseling so he can give back. He shares what it was like to mail 200+ resumes in the 1970s, get rejected again and again, and finally find an organization willing to hire a person with a visible disability long before the Americans with Disabilities Act changed accessibility expectations. Ken also opens up about the day-to-day reality of dependence, the discipline of asking clearly for help, and the personal surprise he never expected: love, marriage, and becoming a father of triplets through IVF. We close with his leap into law, his years as an assistant district attorney in Nassau County, and his unapologetic belief that disability inclusion and DEI make workplaces better for everyone. Subscribe for more one-on-one stories, share this with someone who needs a reset, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what “impossible” thing are you willing to try anyway? Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu] Are you a guest with a message of hope and faith, overcome tragedy and addiction, creativity, invention, or you just have questions about society and culture? The “They Can Me Mista Yu” brand of podcasts is looking for guests! Book your interview today: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/theycallmemistayu Give the shows a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-call-me-mista-yu/id1535535535 Faith. Society & Culture. Your Inspirational Stories. Mental Health. Entrepreneurship. We talk about what matters to you!  Join Mista Yu across our shows: 🎙 Inspiration Station 🎙 They Call Me Mista Yu 🎙 One on One With Mista Yu 🎙 The Men’s Roundtable Series / MRTS Interview Spotlight If you would like to support the show, here’s how you can do that: https://www.patreon.com/cw/theycallmemistayu [https://www.patreon.com/cw/theycallmemistayu] and https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu [https://buymeacoffee.com/theycallmemistayu]  Thank you for watching and listening!

One On One with Mista Yu - FREE TRAFFIC - How Content Creators Can Win With SEO - Brandon Leibowitz

“Free traffic” sounds like hype until you understand what SEO actually is and why it matters for creators. We sit down one-on-one with SEO Optimizer Brandon Leibowitz to unpack search engine optimization in plain English, from how organic results work to why paying for ads is only one slice of digital marketing. If you’re a podcaster, author, speaker, coach, or content creator trying to grow sustainably, this conversation is built for you. We get into the real-world risks of building your entire audience on rented platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or even a marketplace listing. Brandon shares why a website is the one place you truly own, how it removes distractions like competitor ads and recommended videos, and why buying your domain early can help build trust and authority over time. We also talk WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace, what “site age” means for rankings, and how creators can start simple without needing a business, a book, or a massive tech skill set. To round it out, Brandon explains practical posting strategy in the age of algorithms, when timing still matters, and how to automate distribution using tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Zapier so you look omnipresent without burning your day on manual uploads. His biggest takeaway is refreshingly straightforward: stay consistent, niche down when you can, and play the long game. If you got value from this, subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a creator friend, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening! Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now! Quantum Squares: Support the show [https://quantumsquare

One on One with Mista Yu - Restoring Identity & Family in a Digital Culture | Jasper Hall on Faith, Sexuality & Hope

One WhatsApp call. Jasper Hall expected a small group. The camera turns on and there are more than 800 people in the room, listening closely and asking a question every parent recognizes: what do we do about YouTube for our children? That moment captures why Pure Hope exists and why this conversation matters for anyone navigating a sexualized culture, pornography pressure, and the everyday reality of raising kids with screens everywhere. We talk with Jasper, the founder of Pure Hope, about his path from music and worship leading to two decades at Microsoft and then a leap into full-time Christian ministry. Along the way, he learned that the common denominator is always people and that families don’t just need information, they need sustainable support. You’ll hear how Pure Hope refined its focus to “families restored, hope renewed,” how the “better story” of biblical sexuality starts with identity in Christ, and why shame and fear can’t carry real change for long. Jasper also unpacks Pure Hope’s practical tools: free downloads, pocket guides for parent conversations, devotionals, and recovery resources for those struggling with pornography. We dig into spiritual advisory, a biblically based coaching approach distinct from clinical counseling, plus the premarital framework he calls the “big three” of marriage: communication, money, and intimacy. If you’re looking for clarity, guardrails, and hope that feels personal rather than abstract, this one will land. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more families can find these resources. What part of the digital world is hardest to navigate in your home right now? Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening! Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now! Quantum Squares: Support the show [https://quantumsquare

One On One with Mista Yu - Your Energy Edge: The Formula for Sustainable High Performance With Rachael Edmondson-Clarke

A lot of leaders think burnout is a time-management problem. What we’ve learned the hard way is that it’s often a self-leadership problem, and it starts long before you “break.” Performance consultant, international speaker, and executive coach Rachael Edmondson Clarke joins me to unpack the patterns she sees in high achievers: big ambition, high standards, dopamine-driven momentum, and a dangerous habit of denying symptoms until the body forces a stop.  Rachael shares a vivid moment from her corporate career when she collapsed on the floor outside the boardroom and later realized she was having a panic attack. From there, we get practical about sustainable high performance, mental health, and resilience. We talk about the difference between what needs to be restored (sleep, nutrition, movement, daylight, nature, real connection) and what needs to be resolved (external stressors, boundaries, hard conversations, priorities). We also nod to tools like the Covey priority matrix and the idea of “sharpening the saw” as a reminder that rest is not a reward, it’s the prerequisite for clear thinking and steady leadership.  We wrap with what credible coaching looks like, why the client is always the agenda, and Rachael’s mission through Elivar to help senior leaders come back to clarity, courage, and compassion so they can live well and lead well. If you know the pressure of performing at a high level without losing yourself, this conversation will hit home. Subscribe, share this with a high-achieving friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening! Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now! Quantum Squares: Support the show [https://quantumsquare

One on One with Mista Yu - Michael Leung: From Retinitis Pigmentosa to Assistive Hearing Tech Breakthroughs

A lot of success stories skip the messy parts. We don’t. Michael Leung, founder and CEO of the Flow Group, walks us through what it actually looks like to lose your footing and still find your way back: immigrating from Hong Kong to Canada as a kid, watching his mother battle bone cancer, and then spiraling into years of rebellion, street life, addiction, and deep grief that still shows up as PTSD. From there, the conversation shifts into the reality of disability and health. Michael explains living with retinitis pigmentosa, the shock of a retinal detachment, and the brutal recovery process that follows eye surgery. We also talk about the hope and limits of emerging gene therapy for vision loss, including why some treatments depend on specific DNA matches and why eligibility isn’t always straightforward. What makes this story land is how he turns pain into purpose. Michael shares how ADHD shapes his work style, why he chooses therapy and sobriety, and how discipline becomes a daily practice instead of a personality trait. That drive leads into his mission: building a stigma-free assistive hearing device using bone conduction headphones to help people, especially seniors with hearing loss, feel confident, connected, and less socially isolated. If you care about resilience, mental health, hearing loss solutions, and real-world entrepreneurship, this one stays with you. Subscribe for more one-on-one conversations, share this with someone who needs a push forward, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. What part of Michael’s story hit you hardest? Our team will choose random (but timely) episodes from our previous three seasons (which are our most popular ever!) to share with our listeners during the slower parts of a long podcast season. We think you will enjoy them! Thanks for listening! Coffee aficionados and Health Conscious listeners, our show has some new sponsors and they’re offering you the best discounts their stores have. Links are below. Start saving now! Quantum Squares: Support the show [https://quantumsquare