The Ty Brady Way

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Aug 2026

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Learn Ty Brady’s tried and true formula for success in sales and in life each week on his new podcast.

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September 11, 2026Episode 34635 min

Why Most Leaders Are Not Listening as Well as They Think with Danny Bobrow

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Danny Bobrow to talk about persuasion, emotional intelligence, leadership, and the power of listening. Danny brings lessons from sales, mediation, coaching, mountaineering, ski patrol, and other high-pressure environments where communication can quickly affect the outcome. Danny explains that people usually make decisions based on emotion and then justify those decisions with logic. The goal is not to remove emotion. It is to regulate your own emotions and communicate in a way that helps the other person feel safe enough to think clearly. Ty and Danny discuss what Danny calls patient persistence. You can remain committed to the outcome without forcing the conversation. Sometimes the best response is silence, patience, or simply giving someone time to process. Danny says listening and silence are closely connected, and both can keep a difficult conversation from escalating. The conversation also explores what is broken in many traditional sales and leadership models. Too many people believe they must always be closing, talking, proving their expertise, or overwhelming others with enthusiasm. Danny says this often creates what he calls the care gap and the trust gap. The care gap is the distance between how much you care and how much the other person feels that care. The trust gap appears when someone focuses on credentials and experience before showing that they truly understand the other person’s problem. Danny breaks effective communication into three Cs: caring, connection, and collaboration. Caring means showing genuine concern. Connection comes from listening, asking questions, and matching the other person’s pace. Collaboration means developing the solution together instead of telling someone what they should do. He also explains why enthusiasm can sometimes work against a salesperson. Excitement is most effective as a response, not an opening move. Before getting excited about the solution, you need to understand what matters to the person in front of you. Different personalities process information differently, and strong communicators adjust their pace, tone, and level of detail. You’ll also hear Danny explain why facts rarely change someone’s mind when they feel threatened. When a belief is closely tied to identity, adding more information can make the person more defensive. Questions, respect, and common ground are often more effective than debate. One of the biggest areas Danny sees people struggle with is listening. Many people believe they are listening when they are actually waiting to speak, comparing the story to their own experience, finishing sentences, offering solutions, or turning the conversation back toward themselves. Danny shares how these habits can quietly weaken relationships. Someone may talk about an injury, and the listener immediately responds with a worse injury of their own. Someone may mention an upcoming vacation, and the listener takes over by describing their past trip. These responses may be well intentioned, but they can leave the other person feeling unheard. Ty and Danny also talk about Danny’s own challenges. Danny was born with a serious vision impairment that affected his education, athletic ability, confidence, and relationships. He struggled in school until receiving reading glasses before college and later discovered that his brain often told him to quit long before his body needed to stop. That lesson helped him push past what he calls the psychological fatigue barrier. He went on to succeed in martial arts, mountaineering, and other demanding activities. Those experiences also taught him that persistence alone is not enough. He needed to become patiently persistent and respectfully resilient, especially when working with other people. The episode closes with Danny’s reminder that even high performers need coaching. A coach does not have to be better at your job than you are. They need to see what you cannot see, hold you accountable, and help you make small changes that improve your results. If you want to communicate more clearly, build trust faster, and become more persuasive without pushing people, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗www.dannybobrow.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannybobrow 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

September 4, 2026Episode 34940 min

The $10 Million Leadership Mistake That Changed Everything with David Miller

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with David Miller to talk about leadership, accountability, failure, family, and rebuilding after everything changes. David shares the defining mistake that altered the course of his career. While leading a firm that managed more than a billion dollars, he failed to act quickly when a trader violated the company’s strategy and lost millions of dollars for clients. Although David did not personally make the trades, he was responsible for the people and decisions under his leadership. The situation cost his firm more than $10 million and eventually led to David being barred from the financial industry. He explains that leadership requires more than blaming the person who made the mistake. When you are at the top, you are responsible for what happens under your watch. Ty and David discuss the personal cost of carrying that pressure. David spent years fighting lawsuits, arbitrations, and government action. He was physically present for his children, but emotionally consumed by the battle. Looking back, he says the experience cost him his family and taught him that leadership failures often create collateral damage far beyond the business. David also shares the difficult moment when his attorney warned that continuing the fight could shut down the firm and cost more than 30 employees their jobs. His father reminded him that there is a time to fight and a time to move forward. For years, David believed walking away meant he had failed. He now understands that surrendering one battle is not the same as giving up. Sometimes the strongest decision is choosing a new path for the right reasons. After leaving the financial industry, David built another company to more than eight figures in less than three years. He credits part of that success to timing, but says the business could not have grown without a strong team that understood the vision and believed in the direction. The conversation also explores what separates dreamers from people who execute. David says success requires alignment between thoughts, words, and actions. A person can have a great vision, but without a plan and consistent execution, ambition means very little. Ty and David discuss the mindset shift from believing life happens to you to believing it happens for you. That one change moves a person away from feeling like a victim and toward taking control of what happens next. David also explains that not every season of life should be lived at full speed. There are times to move aggressively and times to slow down, be present, and recognize what matters. That lesson became especially important in his relationship with his children. He shares how work, wealth, and achievement once dominated his thinking. Today, he pays closer attention to sleep, family, faith, health, and the small moments that create a meaningful life. Sometimes love is not a dramatic feeling. It is a quiet conversation in the car with your child and being aware enough to recognize it while it is happening. You’ll also hear David explain why successful people need to measure more than money. Wealth can include emotional health, physical health, relationships, time, and the values passed to the next generation. David encourages anyone who feels stuck to listen to their intuition. The decisions that shape a life are rarely one dramatic choice. They are usually a series of small decisions made consistently over time. The episode closes with David’s reminder that success looks different for everyone. Comparing yourself to others may offer perspective, but only you can decide what matters most. His advice is to measure your time, your relationships, your growth, and the parts of life that cannot be found on a financial statement. If you want an honest conversation about failure, responsibility, rebuilding, and creating a life that goes beyond business success, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗www.davidmillerpeachcap.com 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

August 28, 2026Episode 34830 min

How to Become the Only Choice in a World Flooded With AI Content with Tom Schwab""How to Become the Only Choice in a World Flooded With AI Content with Tom Schwab

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Tom Schwab, founder of Interview Valet, to talk about podcast interview marketing, building trust, and how entrepreneurs can stand out in a world filled with content. Tom shares how his career took him from engineering and the Navy to corporate America, e-commerce, and eventually podcasting. What started as an experiment in using podcast interviews to reach the right customers turned into a full-service agency that helps business owners, authors, and thought leaders connect with ideal audiences. Tom explains that podcast marketing is not about getting on as many shows as possible. It is about finding the right audience, refining your message, and creating conversations that lead to real opportunities. He compares many marketing strategies to a megaphone, where businesses try to talk louder and reach everyone. His approach is more like a magnet. The goal is to attract the right people and make it clear who the message is for. Ty and Tom discuss why many podcast guests fail to turn an interview into business. One of the biggest mistakes is spending too much time talking about themselves. Tom explains that listeners care more about their own problems than a guest’s product or service. A strong guest should help the audience understand a problem, offer a useful point of view, and explain a practical way forward. Personal stories can help, but they should support the lesson instead of becoming the entire conversation. Tom also shares why a smaller, targeted audience can be more valuable than a massive audience. Most small businesses cannot serve everyone, so trying to reach everyone often wastes time and money. Podcast interviews give entrepreneurs the chance to speak directly to people who are already interested in the topic. Instead of fighting for a few seconds of attention on social media, a guest may have 20 or 30 minutes to build trust and explain how they think. The conversation also explores how marketing has changed over the last decade. Tom says entrepreneurs no longer have to choose between video, audio, blogs, or social media. They can create content in the format that feels natural and then repurpose it across several platforms. A single podcast interview can become video clips, written posts, emails, and articles. At the same time, AI has made it easy to create more content than ever. Tom warns that more content does not always build more trust. When businesses automate everything, people begin to question whether there is a real person behind the brand. Tom believes real conversations and clear personal viewpoints now matter even more. Entrepreneurs need to show how they see the world, what they believe, and how their approach is different. Tom compares AI to a chainsaw. In the hands of an artist, it can create something impressive. In the wrong hands, it can cause damage. The tool is not the problem. The skill and judgment of the person using it determine the result. AI can help people communicate and work more effectively, but it should not replace their voice or put their entire business on autopilot. Ty and Tom also talk about leadership and what happens when a business grows beyond one person. Tom shares how he had to move from doing everything himself to leading a team of 22 people. He now sees his role as helping communicate the company’s mission while trusting his team to use their strengths and creativity. Tom also explains how he decides which opportunities to accept. Before saying yes to a podcast, partnership, or public appearance, he asks whether he would be proud to have everyone see it. Since online content can stay visible for years, the people and platforms a business associates with can have a lasting effect on its reputation. The episode closes with Tom’s belief that relationships are the ultimate currency. Money and technology change, but strong relationships can grow in value over time. His final message is simple: what is ordinary to you is amazing to others. People often underestimate what they know and assume everyone else already understands it. Tom encourages listeners to share their experience because it may be exactly what someone else needs. If you want to use podcast interviews more effectively, build trust, and stand out without creating more noise, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗 InterviewValet.com and LinkedIn: in/lAmTomSchwab 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

August 21, 2026Episode 34742 min

The Fighter Pilot Mindset That Can Transform Your Business with Christian Boucousis

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with former fighter pilot Christian Boucousis to talk about leadership, focus, pressure, and how elite teams improve. Christian shares how becoming a fighter pilot was a childhood dream. After years of training, he became one of only a few applicants selected for fighter service in Australia. His military career ended when an autoimmune condition made flying too painful, forcing him to reinvent himself. He later built a large security and humanitarian business in Afghanistan with his best friend, a former British Army paratrooper. The company started with limited money and an old vehicle, but eventually grew into a major operation supporting reconstruction and humanitarian projects. Ty and Christian discuss how fighter pilots are trained to stay ahead of the jet. If a pilot is only reacting to what is happening, they are already behind. Christian believes the same is true in business. Leaders lose control when they spend the entire day reacting to notifications, meetings, and other people’s priorities. One of the most important habits in fighter pilot culture is the debrief. After every mission, pilots compare what they planned to accomplish with what actually happened. The goal is not to assign blame. It is to identify the gap and improve the next mission. Christian breaks the process into four questions: What was the objective? What was the result? What caused the gap? What will we do differently next time? He also explains why pressure is not always negative. Pressure can sharpen focus and improve performance. Stress develops when pressure continues without recovery, structure, or control. Christian manages his own schedule by breaking the day into clearly defined missions. Each mission has a specific result, preparation period, execution window, and reflection afterward. This allows him to focus deeply instead of constantly switching between unrelated tasks. The conversation also explores decision-making. Leaders rarely have perfect information, so waiting for certainty can become another form of avoidance. Christian encourages leaders to make the best decision available, prepare for different outcomes, and adjust when new information appears. Ty and Christian also discuss meetings. Christian believes most business meetings should last no longer than 15 minutes. Teams should confirm the goal, review progress, identify the gap, and agree on the next action. The remaining time should be used to complete the work. The episode closes with Christian’s distinction between perfection and flawlessness. Perfection means trying to control every result. Flawlessness means giving your best effort to what you can control and adapting to what you cannot. If you want to make better decisions, protect your focus, and build a team that improves after every mission, this episode is for you. Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: in/christian-boo-boucousis Follow @thetybradyway and @christianbooboucousis As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗 Linkedin: in/christian-boo-boucousis 🎙️ @thetybradyway with @christianbooboucousis Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

August 14, 2026Episode 35029 min

The Mindset That Took Jim Effner From Caddying to Seven Figures

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Jim Effner to talk about ambition, leadership, adversity, and what it takes to build a successful life and business. Jim shares how growing up as the youngest of five in a middle-class family shaped his work ethic. At just 12 years old, he began working as a caddy at an exclusive private club, where he was exposed to successful people, affluent lifestyles, and possibilities he had never seen before. That early experience gave Jim a strong desire to create a bigger life for himself. After earning a degree in corporate finance, he began looking for a career where the size of his paycheck would be in his own control. A practice interview led him into the insurance industry, where he joined Northwestern Mutual and quickly found success. Jim became rookie of the year, reached Million Dollar Round Table consistently, made Top of the Table in his late 20s, and was earning seven figures by his early 30s. Jim explains that his career was never mapped out from the beginning. He first believed he would remain an individual representative for the rest of his life. As he gained experience, his interests shifted toward leadership. He eventually became a managing partner at 33 years old and led a firm with 150 agents and advisors. After more than 14 years in that role, he sold the firm and started his current company. Ty and Jim also discuss the greatest challenge Jim faced during his career. At 33, Jim was bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile virus. It developed into viral meningitis and caused him to completely lose his hearing. He remained deaf for six months while waiting to see whether treatment would restore it. When his hearing did not return, he received a cochlear implant. Jim describes the implant as a gift from God. His hearing is not the same as it was before, but it has allowed him to continue living, working, and leading. He explains that the experience changed his perspective and made him a better husband, father, and businessman. Rather than allowing the loss to define him, he decided to use it as fuel. The conversation moves into leadership and what effective leaders look like today. Jim says there is no single personality type that makes someone a great leader. Leaders can come from different backgrounds and have very different personalities. What they often share is a commitment to helping others succeed. Jim believes that when leaders help the people around them get what they want, they are more likely to achieve their own goals as well. Jim describes leadership as a responsibility, not a position of authority. Strong leaders create environments where people can grow, perform, and win together. They do not lead through entitlement or dictatorship. They serve, set the example, and make decisions based on values, even when those decisions may not benefit them financially in the short term. Jim also shares two pieces of advice that shaped his career. The first was to never follow his pocketbook. His mentor told him to follow his passion and trust that the money would follow. That advice helped Jim make difficult career decisions, including walking away from a successful sales career to pursue leadership. The second lesson focused on building trust with clients. Jim was taught that every first meeting should leave the client believing three things: that you understand them, that you genuinely care about them, and that you are knowledgeable in your craft. When people feel understood, cared for, and confident in your ability, the rest of the relationship becomes much easier. You’ll also hear Jim explain how trust grows through curiosity, listening, presence, and consistency. Leaders must model the behaviors they expect from others, especially during difficult situations. People are always watching how a leader responds under pressure. Jim closes with a reminder that life is short and everyone only gets one chance to live it. He encourages listeners to stop focusing on the reasons they cannot pursue their dreams and start focusing on why those dreams matter. His message is to think bigger, stay disciplined, let go of negative influences, and refuse to make failure the final outcome. If you want to learn how to turn adversity into fuel, lead with purpose, and build a life that reflects your biggest goals, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗 jimeffner.com and LinkedIn: in/jimeffner 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

August 7, 2026Episode 34536 min

Why High Performers Know What to Do but Still Stay Stuck with Paul Salter

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Paul Salter to talk about performance psychology, hypnotherapy, limiting beliefs, and what keeps high performers stuck even when they know exactly what to do. Paul shares how his interest in performance began as a small high school athlete looking for every possible advantage. He became fascinated by elite competitors like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer. They trained hard like everyone else, but their mindset helped separate them from the competition. That curiosity led Paul into competitive bodybuilding and a career as a sports dietitian. He worked with collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes before helping men and women who repeatedly lost and regained the same weight. Over time, he noticed a common pattern. Most people already knew what to eat, how to train, or what action to take. The real problem was that something kept stopping them from following through. Paul eventually discovered hypnotherapy while pursuing professional poker. Even though he was studying and working harder than many of his competitors, he continued struggling. After hiring a mindset coach and hypnotherapist, his confidence, decision-making, and results changed dramatically. That experience led him to leave poker, become a certified hypnotherapist, and focus fully on mindset and performance coaching. Ty and Paul discuss what hypnosis actually is and what it is not. Paul explains that it is not mind control, brainwashing, or making people do embarrassing things. It is a natural state of focused awareness, similar to becoming absorbed in a book, television show, work project, or athletic performance. Hypnosis allows Paul to quiet the harsh inner critic and work with the subconscious mind, where habits, beliefs, memories, and emotions are stored. He says challenges such as perfectionism, procrastination, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and performance anxiety are learned patterns. Because they were learned, they can also be unlearned. Paul shares the story of a nonprofit founder who struggled to speak confidently around wealthy and powerful men. As a child in foster care, she had learned that staying quiet and unseen helped keep her safe from abusive male figures. Even though her adult circumstances were different, the old belief continued showing up in business meetings. By addressing the original pattern, she gained the confidence to communicate clearly and secure millions of dollars in funding. The conversation also explores why changing your life can sometimes create tension with the people closest to you. Paul explains that humans are biologically wired to belong. When someone begins exercising, eating differently, building a business, or changing old habits, friends and family may respond with jealousy, criticism, or resistance. The fear of losing those relationships can quietly pull a person back toward old behaviors. Paul also shares two difficult seasons from his own entrepreneurial journey. At one point, more than 90 percent of his income came from one coaching company. He realized he was trapped trading time for money, so he walked away, invested heavily in coaching, raised his prices, and rebuilt the business around the work he truly wanted to do. Later, becoming a father challenged his identity and priorities. Paul had always treated his business as his first love, but caring for his son forced him to rethink his schedule, values, and definition of success. Today, he works fewer hours and spends more time with his son, even though the path there looked very different from what he expected. You’ll also hear Paul explain why authenticity matters more in a world filled with AI content. Early in his podcasting career, listeners told him his information was valuable but he sounded like a robot. That feedback taught him that people connect with honesty, imperfection, and personality more than a flawless script. Paul closes by sharing two ways to move forward when you feel stuck. First, create a daily practice of silence, stillness, and solitude. Even five minutes without a phone or distraction can help you reconnect with your intuition and priorities. Second, ask for help. A coach, mentor, or therapist can help you identify blind spots and reach your goals faster. If you want to break limiting beliefs, improve your performance, and stop letting old patterns control your future, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unstuck-high-performer-podcast-hypnotherapy/id1742610817 🎙️ @thetybradyway with @thepaulsalter Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

July 31, 2026Episode 34432 min

Your Business Is Not a Machine, and Treating It Like One Is Costing You with Norman Wolfe

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Norman Wolfe to talk about why so many businesses lose their purpose as they grow and what leaders can do to build organizations that are more human, adaptable, and sustainable. Norman introduces the idea of The Living Organization, a different way of viewing a company, not as a machine made up of individual parts, but as a collective person with its own mindset, behaviors, relationships, and purpose. Norman explains that the traditional business model is built around efficiency. A company takes inputs, produces outputs, and relies on leaders to make sure the process runs as smoothly as possible. In that model, employees are treated like parts of the machine. Norman says that approach may have worked when business was more predictable, but it struggles in a world shaped by constant change, uncertainty, and complexity. His belief is that organizations work better when leaders focus less on controlling people and more on helping them think, contribute, and grow. Ty and Norman discuss why companies often begin with a strong mission but slowly lose it as they scale. A founder may start with a clear vision and a group of people who believe in what they are building. But as the company grows, more structure is added. Departments are created, systems are put in place, and efficiency becomes the main focus. Over time, people can begin to feel more like employees completing tasks than individuals contributing to a shared purpose. Norman explains that machines do not care about relationships, meaning, or customer experience. People do, and leaders cannot afford to forget that. Norman also shares a different way to think about departments. Instead of seeing sales, operations, or marketing as groups managed by individual leaders, he encourages business owners to view each department as a collective person. Each group has a purpose, a way of behaving, and a responsibility to contribute to the success of the whole organization. This helps leaders look beyond individual performance and pay closer attention to how departments communicate, cooperate, and solve problems together. The conversation also turns to profit and purpose. Norman explains that a company exists to create value for the customer. Revenue is the value the customer gives back in exchange for what the business provides. Expenses are the resources used to create that value. Profit is what remains when the company creates more value than it consumes. From that perspective, profit and purpose do not have to compete. Purpose gives people a reason to care, and that energy helps the organization create better value. Problems begin when leaders focus only on cutting costs, improving systems, and increasing efficiency while losing sight of the customer and the mission. You’ll also hear Norman explain the warning signs of an unhealthy organization. Projects begin to stall, departments operate in silos, and leaders are constantly pulled back into daily decisions. Employees may have the skill and authority to act, but they still wait for approval. Norman says this often happens because people have been trained to comply instead of commit. They follow instructions, but they do not feel responsible for the outcome. This becomes a major barrier to growth. Many leaders believe they need more people, more money, or better systems to scale. Norman says the deeper issue is ownership. A business cannot grow if every important decision still depends on the owner. Systems should support people, not control them. When employees are told exactly how to behave, they often become cautious, dependent, and afraid to make mistakes. Norman explains how contribution agreements can help change that. Instead of handing people a list of goals, leaders explain where the company is going and ask each department how it will contribute. Employees are encouraged to think like CEOs of their own area of the business. The leader’s role is not to jump in with answers every time someone struggles. It is to coach people through the process so they become more capable and confident over time. Ty and Norman also discuss artificial intelligence and the growing importance of human connection. Norman believes AI should be used to remove repetitive work so people can spend more time building relationships, solving problems, and creating value. Technology should improve the human experience, not simply replace people. Norman closes by sharing that his first performance review as a manager was unacceptable in every category. That failure forced him to examine how he was leading and what he needed to change. Years later, he was leading a successful organizational turnaround. His message is that struggle often teaches us more than success ever could. If you want to build a business where people take ownership, leaders are not trapped in every decision, and purpose remains just as important as profit, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗www.linkedin.com/in/wolfe 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

July 29, 2026Episode 34333 min

The Branding Mistake Most CEOs Never See Coming with Gal Borenstein

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Gal Borenstein, founder of the Borenstein Group, to talk about branding, trust, entrepreneurship, and the risks of using AI without a clear strategy. Gal shares how he originally planned to become a journalist before a communications textbook changed the direction of his career. One sentence stood out to him: the purpose of communication is to make money. That idea led him to explore advertising, where he could help shape the message instead of only reporting on it. After graduate school, Gal took a marketing assistant position earning $28,000 a year. He and his wife were living in a small studio apartment while she completed a PhD program, and money was extremely tight. After a year, Gal decided to start his own advertising, public relations, and marketing agency. He launched the business with $600, a high-interest credit card loan, a professional brochure, and a leased black Mercedes. Gal explains that the car was not about showing off. It was part of creating trust and looking established when meeting business owners. He called the company the Borenstein Group, even though he was initially the only employee, because he wanted the brand to feel larger than one person. The strategy worked. The company earned $150,000 in its first year, doubled the next year, and eventually grew into one of the top B2B agencies in the country. Ty and Gal discuss the difference between pretending to be successful and building a professional image backed by real skill. Gal had not worked at an advertising agency before starting his own, but he believed in his ability to solve problems, learn quickly, and help clients grow. Gal also shares the three principles behind his company. Treat small businesses with the same respect as large companies. Make sure the CEO is involved in important conversations. And turn creativity into a repeatable process that produces measurable results. The conversation then moves to how marketing has changed. Gal explains that advertising, public relations, branding, social media, and content are no longer separate areas. One strong idea can now become a video, article, case study, social post, email campaign, or sales tool. That ability to create more content has also introduced new risks. Gal wrote his book, Don’t Believe the Hype, after seeing companies adopt AI without understanding what they wanted it to accomplish. Some businesses use AI because they are afraid of falling behind. Others automate weak messages and spread the same mistake at a much larger scale. Gal says AI can make communication faster, but faster does not mean better. A company still needs to understand its purpose, customers, culture, and message before automating anything. One of Gal’s biggest concerns is that many business owners never speak directly with their customers. Instead, they send automated surveys and rely on data without having real conversations. He believes CEOs need to hear what customers, employees, and suppliers are saying in order to understand what is working and what needs to change. Gal shares how his agency worked with a technology company created through several mergers. The organization had 33,000 employees, but its leaders were not speaking the same language or communicating one clear message. His team interviewed people throughout the company, identified the gaps, and helped create a shared set of values and points of differentiation. The goal was not simply to design a new logo or slogan. It was to align the people inside the business so they could deliver the same message to the market. Gal also explains why interviewing employees and customers is non-negotiable in his process. When a company refuses to allow outside feedback, it often means the leadership is hiding from a problem or already knows the answers may be uncomfortable. Ty and Gal agree that negative feedback can be valuable. A business cannot fix what it refuses to see. Strong leaders are willing to listen, question their assumptions, and learn what they do not know. The episode closes with Gal’s reminder that a brand is not what a company says about itself. It is what people say when the company is not in the room. Building a trusted brand requires alignment between the message, the customer experience, and the culture inside the organization. If you want to use AI wisely, strengthen your company’s reputation, and build a brand people actually trust, this episode is for you. As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗www.BorensteinGroup.com 🎙️ @thetybradyway Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

July 24, 2026Episode 34239 min

The PR Mistake That Keeps Small Businesses Invisible with Mickie Kennedy

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, to talk about public relations, storytelling, and how small businesses can earn real media coverage. Mickie shares how he discovered the power of PR while working at a telecom research startup in Washington, D.C. After spending more than a day faxing a press release that produced no response, he realized the problem was not the data. It was the lack of a story. For the next release, Mickie focused on an unusual spike in Caribbean telephone traffic tied to 1-900 numbers. That story earned coverage in The Economist, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and several trade publications. The lesson was simple. Journalists do not want a list of features. They want a story their audience will care about. Ty and Mickie discuss how businesses can make their news more compelling by sharing a founder story, a customer success story, original data, or a clear reason why the announcement matters. The goal is not to promote the company directly. It is to give the journalist a useful story. Mickie also explains the difference between earned media and low-cost press release syndication. Some services place releases on websites, but that does not mean journalists or potential customers will see them. The real value comes when a journalist writes an original article about the business. He shares the story of a company that builds waste and recycling facilities. One trade article led to conversations with cities in Australia and eventually helped generate projects worth tens of millions of dollars. He also describes a flooring company that used media coverage during sales appointments and increased its conversion rate by about 17 percent. Mickie says media coverage can do more than bring in leads. It can build trust, improve sales, reduce customer churn, and give a business credibility that advertising cannot. You’ll also hear why many entrepreneurs assume PR is too expensive or only for large companies. Mickie says small businesses do not need to hire a costly firm to get results. They need a strong angle, a newsworthy idea, and a willingness to test different stories. One strategy he recommends is conducting an industry survey. Businesses can partner with a smaller trade association, ask timely questions, and turn the results into original news. Journalists are often interested because the survey gives them fresh data and a reason to cover the company. The conversation also turns to artificial intelligence. Mickie warns that AI can write a polished press release, but it cannot replace the strategy behind it. He recommends using AI to improve headlines, opening paragraphs, and quotes rather than asking it to create the entire release without direction. Mickie says about 97 percent of press releases fail to earn media coverage. The releases that succeed usually offer something different. They include original research, a strong story, a useful opinion, or a clear reason for the audience to care. He also encourages businesses to treat PR as an ongoing campaign instead of judging it by one release. Some ideas will fail. Others may create results far beyond what the company expected. The episode closes with Mickie reminding small business owners that being small can be an advantage. Journalists often receive more attention for discovering an unknown company doing something new than for covering another announcement from a major brand. If you want to build credibility, earn media attention, and create stories journalists actually want to share, this episode is for you. 🔗 eReleases.com and Linkedin: in/publicity 🎙️ @thetybradyway As always, we would like to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

July 22, 2026Episode 34128 min

From Freshman 15 to IFBB Pro: The Robyn Maher Story

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Robyn Maher, IFBB Pro, national level judge, competition promoter, and personal trainer with over 25 years in the health and fitness industry. Robyn’s story is one of those that catches you off guard because nothing about where she ended up was part of the plan. She started college at BYU thinking she wanted to do interior design, gained the freshman 15, and decided she needed to make a change. That decision to get healthy set off a chain of events that would eventually lead her to the Olympia stage, judging pro shows across the country, and running one of the most respected bodybuilding competitions in Utah. Robyn grew up watching her parents prioritize health and fitness, and to this day her mom and dad are in their mid-70s and not on any prescription medications. That foundation mattered, but she is quick to point out that she is not naturally thin and that she genuinely struggled with her weight in college. Working at Good Earth Cafe in Provo introduced her to nutrition in a real way, and she channeled that into a transformation that most people who meet her today find hard to believe. She went on to graduate with a degree in exercise physiology and nutrition and has been working in health and fitness ever since. Her path into competing started around 2009 when someone asked her to coach them for a competition. Rather than take on a client for something she had never done herself, she decided to do it first. What was supposed to be a one and done bucket list experience turned into a multi-year journey that took her to the national stage multiple times. She placed third at her first national level competition, which lit a fire she did not see coming. Through a divorce, raising three kids on her own, and the grind of competing across the country, she earned her IFBB Pro card in July of 2015 in the Bikini division. The process took discipline, patience, and the ability to come back after setbacks, including a show where her physique was better than ever but she still placed eighth, a reminder that in bodybuilding you are always judged against who is standing next to you that day. After earning her pro card, Robyn noticed there was no IFBB Pro League competition in Utah at all. That gap planted a seed. Having competed in over two dozen shows across multiple states and observed what made some events exceptional and others forgettable, she decided to create the experience she always wanted as an athlete. In 2016 she produced the first ever IFBB Pro League competition in the state of Utah, held alongside Fit Con. That event grew into the Salt City Showdown, which ran through 2019. When 2020 hit and expos shut down, Robyn refused to cancel on her athletes. She rebranded the event as the Wasatch Warrior, complete with a 12-pound custom sledgehammer trophy that has become legendary among competitors. Athletes from 13 different countries competed at the last event, with the show livestreamed worldwide. People fly in from across the country just for the experience she creates. Robyn also walks through what it takes to become a national level judge, a process far more rigorous than most people realize. She has been judging since around 2015 and earned her national certification by passing a sequestered evaluation at the NPC USA in Phoenix, where she had to correctly identify the top call outs in each division before the head judge made a single call from the stage. She has since judged the Pittsburgh Pro and head judged major events including a national level show in Minnesota. As she explains, you have to earn your stripes. The conversation also covers her role at the Olympia, where she has served as a commentator and analyst for the live worldwide broadcast, interviewing athletes as they step off stage including being there for Chris Bumstead’s retirement moment. Most recently she was invited to host a podcast inside the Olympia Expo, interviewing athletes and industry figures like Flex Lewis and Quest Nutrition founder Ron Pena across two full days, all while bouncing over to watch pre-judging so she could speak to what she was seeing in real time. Now her son-in-law and her youngest daughter Ashley are competing, bringing everything full circle in the best way. Robyn’s parting message is simple: whatever you end up doing, just be the best at it. For her, that philosophy is what turned a one-and-done competition into a career, a community, and a legacy. Connect with Robyn Maher: Website: robynmaher.com Instagram: @slcrobynmaher Connect with The Ty Brady Way: Email: thetybradyway@gmail.com Instagram: @thetybradyway As always, share, like, and subscribe. We’ll catch you on the next one.