A048 - Tom Place - The Don’t Be a Dick Business Strategy

A048 - Tom Place - The Don’t Be a Dick Business Strategy

In this episode of Authbition, Andrew DiMeo talks with Tom Place, co-owner of Outbound Lighting, about building a small business without chasing growth at all costs. The conversation begins with a simple phrase from an Outbound Lighting marketing post on Facebook that genuinely caught Andrew’s eye: don’t be a dick. From there, Andrew and Tom explore what it means to run a company with kindness, honesty, and long-term trust at the center. Tom shares the story of his path from engineering at NC State, to working with LEDs at Cree, to helping build Outbound Lighting into a rider-focused company known for high-performance bike lights and unusually human customer support. Together, they talk about entrepreneurship, product design, career choices, customer trust, mountain biking, and the hidden cost of treating every business decision like a spreadsheet problem. This is a conversation about bicycles and lights, but it is also about something bigger: what business can look like when the goal is not just to grow, flip, and cash out, but to build something useful, honest, and worth standing behind. Find Outbound Lighting Here: https://www.outboundlighting.com/

A047 - Dharna Ashar - From 40,000 Feet to the Yoga Mat

In this episode of Authbition, Andrew DiMeo is joined by Dharna Ashar, a writer, yoga instructor, former flight attendant, and new Medium writer based in Dubai. Dharna describes her life as many lives in one. She began in aviation, serving passengers at 40,000 feet, traveling the world, and learning how little we truly control. From there, her path moved through motherhood, yoga teacher training in India, teaching in Dubai and France, and eventually writing as a way to reflect on the many experiences that shaped her. The conversation explores what yoga really teaches beyond the mat: presence, humility, patience, non-comparison, breath, service, and the practice of returning to oneself. Dharna shares stories from intense yoga training in India, where meditation was difficult, uncomfortable, hot, buggy, and anything but peaceful at first — until practice slowly changed what was possible. Andrew and Dharna also play The Whole Mind Game on the tension between Observe and Absorb. Together, they explore what it means to care deeply without carrying everything, to witness pain without losing yourself inside it, and to stay open-hearted without becoming depleted. This is a conversation about travel, teaching, motherhood, spirituality, writing, human connection, and the wisdom that comes from living many lives and reflecting on them honestly. Where to find Dharna’s writing on Medium: https://medium.com/@fromSky2Soul

A046 - The Biggest Criminal of Your Mind Is in Your Pocket

In this solo episode of Authbition, Andrew DiMeo records from the quiet engineering quad at NC State University during a Saturday bike ride on Mother’s Day weekend. What begins as a test of a new mobile recording setup becomes a more personal behind-the-scenes episode about listener feedback, building Authbition into something bigger than a podcast, and returning to the roots of the show: reading essays out loud. Andrew shares the story behind his essay, “The Biggest Criminal of Your Mind Is in Your Pocket,” a provocative reflection on cognitive offloading, GPS, smartphones, AI, memory, brain health, and the skills we may be losing without noticing. The episode explores the tension between useful technology and overdependence, asking what happens when we let devices do the thinking before our minds have had the chance to grow. Along the way, Andrew reflects on: * Recording from NC State, where he taught for 12 years * Feedback from listeners about the future of Authbition * Why he plans to read more of his own essays again * Building Authbition as a movement, not just a show * Cognitive offloading, dementia, GPS, calculators, CAD, and AI * Why getting lost, drawing by hand, playing music, and remembering phone numbers might still matter * The difference between using tools and surrendering our minds to them Read the essay for free with this Friend Link: https://medium.com/ai-ai-oh/the-biggest-criminal-of-your-mind-is-in-your-pocket-ff610b52c00f?sk=4e9de44905f57504818cc86e05d162d2 [https://medium.com/ai-ai-oh/the-biggest-criminal-of-your-mind-is-in-your-pocket-ff610b52c00f?sk=4e9de44905f57504818cc86e05d162d2]

A045 - Joanna Gaertner - Fear, Trust, and Creative Awareness

In this episode of Authbition, Andrew DiMeo sits down with Joanna Gaertner—ICF credentialed life coach, founder of Yoga Off Mat, and lead at Homebody Yoga in Raleigh, North Carolina. Together they explore Joanna’s journey from New York to Raleigh, her path into coaching, the power of yoga beyond the mat, and why awareness is often the first step toward meaningful change. The conversation moves through mentorship, healing, personal growth, fear, trust, and what it means to live with greater alignment. They also play The Whole Mind Game on the tension between Fear and Trust. What begins as a familiar opposition opens into something deeper: * Fear can create safety, preparation, learning, and energy. * Trust can create connection, integrity, creativity, and courage. * The “best of the best” became: Creative Awareness. This is a thoughtful conversation about growth, embodiment, and learning how to trust life without losing wisdom. Find Joanna Gaertner: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannagaertner/ [https://www.instagram.com/joannagaertner/] Homebody Yoga (Raleigh): https://homebodync.com/ [https://homebodync.com/] #Authbition

A044 - Stefanie Morejon - The Whole Mind Game: Pursue and Surrender

In this episode of Authbition, Andrew DiMeo and Stefanie Morejon sit down to play The Whole Mind Game on the tension between Pursue and Surrender. What begins with stories of travel, creativity, and life transitions opens into a deeper conversation about effort, trust, control, openness, and what it means to move toward something without gripping too tightly. Together, they explore the best and worst of both sides: Pursue can bring clarity, fire, and momentum. Surrender can bring peace, flexibility, and flow. But each has a shadow. This episode is a live exploration of what happens when we stop treating those two forces like opposites — and start looking for the best of both.