The Breakout – Unleashing Personal Growth

The Breakout – Unleashing Personal Growth

A #1 Self-Improvement podcast, The Breakout tells incredible stories of personal growth with the smart, hilarious thought leaders from Abbracci Group. Every day, in big and small ways, we put ourselves in boxes. From jobs to relationships, to entire belief systems, many of us are living by rules that someone else wrote for us. On The Breakout, talent specialists and the founders of Abbracci Group, Dr. Keri Ohlrich and Kelly Guenther, dive into the extraordinary stories of people overcoming self-doubt, pushing boundaries, and finding the courage and confidence to get what they want and achieve the success they were destined for. Every two weeks, our hosts sit down with inspiring change makers and experts who share ways that you can break through boundaries and shift your life into bold new territory, fostering personal development and a growth mindset. With a ton of humor and lots of care, Keri and Kelly also bring their own insights as change experts to every conversation. Their number one desire is that you do whatever the hell you want, and on The Breakout, Kelly and Keri prove you can escape expectations; best of all, they show you how. Each episode is a lesson in living courageously. The show covers topics on self help, leadership, personal development, building success, setting boundaries, growing confidence, mindset change, overcoming self doubt, and knowing your worth. From huge transformations to quiet shifts, The Breakout highlights why every change matters. The Breakout has charted #1 in ‘Self-Improvement’, #1 in ‘Education’, and #7 in ‘All Podcasts’ for good reason. It’s chock full of impactful guests. From awe-inspiring change-makers and innovative leaders to renegade rule-breakers, Robin Landa, Erica Rooney, Tyler Nehila, Beth Dana, Liz Alterman, Kim Sorrelle, Danielle Cobo, Clint Hatton, Janet Livingstone, Rob Cross, Jennifer Pestikas, Dr. Brian Davidson have all graced the mic. Our Hosts: Meet Dr. Keri Ohlrich. With 20+ years on the front lines of the HR field, it’s safe to say that Keri is considered an expert. As co-founder of Abbracci Group and the co-author of ‘The Way of the HR Warrior’, she continues her mission to share insights from these experiences with others whose passion is to be the best in the HR arena. Keri’s professional roles have led to deep insight and expertise in: leadership and organization development, strategic talent planning and programs, defining and developing culture, change management, team building, employee development, engagement and retention and HR department diagnostics. And, meet Kelly Guenther. Co-founder of Abbracci Group, Kelly brings a holistic approach to the table when it comes to HR, focusing not only on the organization but on the individuals who create the team. Her unique leadership style allows for opportunities to diagnose needs and offer solutions through a deep understanding of the people, processes, and practices involved. So, who is Abbracci Group? Abbracci Group is a boutique, results-driven, unconventional coaching, HR management and consulting firm focused on getting the best out of people. The company is on a mission to improve the environment of organizations which in turn improves the lives of employees. We help leaders and teams develop increased self-awareness, strong leadership and team-building skills. We transform HR professionals into HR warriors who thrive on creating happier, healthier organizations. We apply a holistic approach when developing sustainable practices and nurturing organization culture. Connect with Abbracci Group at https://abbraccigroup.com/ Keri and Kelly’s new book, Whatever the Hell You Want – An Escape Plan to Break Out of Life’s Little Boxes and Live Free From Expectations, will be available June 2024. Pre-order opportunities are coming soon. Dr. Keri Ohlrich’s book, The Way of the HR Warrior is available now. Do you have a story our listeners will love? Apply to be a guest on The Breakout at: https://abbraccigroup.com/podcast/

Episodes

March 13, 2024 33 mins

One night, at the tail end of a vacation in Europe, Kelli Field suddenly hit a wall. “I just started crying and I just told my husband, I can't do it anymore”. After decades of working in a high earning, high stress career that took a huge toll on her health, she realized she couldn’t go back to work. Something deep inside her had finally said no.My life had all the trappings of the American dream. Big house, expensive c...

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There’s this really old, really crap story that how we got here is about what the guys did. And women were just like some side character behind a hill, just like pounding some tubers, saying, ‘Oh, sorry guys. I see you're busy. I'm just gonna build the future of our species in my actual body’.” That’s how the brilliant and hilarious Cat Bohannon introduces the idea behind her New York Times bestselling book, Eve: How the ...

Get ready for a Valentine's Day episode like no other. True to form, we're challenging some expectations, and today, it's that age-old ideal of “the couple”.  Why is it still so glorified, and what are some ways to do relationships differently? 

Psychologist and sex educator Dr. Joli Hamilton is one expert who wants to shake up the monogamy paradigm. In her practice, Joli helps people explore non-monogamy and the many ways ...

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I never felt I was Bengali enough. I never felt I was Italian enough…And because of that, I struggled to find my cultural identity”. Urmi Hossain is Italian by birth, and Bengali by blood, but there’s always been friction between those two identities. Born and raised in Italy to immigrant parents from Bangladesh, Urmi grew up at the center of a clash between Italian culture, strict Muslim parenting, and a society that wan...

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“Four years after I left – four long years of being stalked and having my tires slashed – my former husband took the kids one day and disappeared out of country.” That’s the beginning of Lizbeth Meredith’s years-long nightmare of searching for her two young daughters after her abusive ex-husband kidnapped them and took them to Greece. Living on just $10 an hour at the time, Lizbeth embarks on a $100,000 journey working wit...

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With every new year comes the resolutions: the promises of big change, self-improvement, personal growth, breaking bad habits, and even plans for complete reinvention. Whatever your goals for 2024, The Breakout is back to inspire you with powerful breakout stories, perspective-shifting leaders, and thought-provoking expert advice. So, as we jump into the season of new breakouts, Keri and Kelly decided to look back on some ...

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2023 has been a big year with highs and lows for everyone. As the year draws to a close, Keri and Kelly are looking back at their breakout year with The Breakout (sorry, had to).  The show has hit number 1, the audience has had huge growth, and they’ve been hard at work on their new book that dives into a lot of the learnings from the show. It’s called Whatever the Hell You Want – An Escape Plan to Break Out of Life’s Litt...

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“I lived in Southern California, born and raised my whole life. And I was bullied for being different”. That’s how Dr. Zabina Bhasin, better known as “Dr. Zee”, experienced her childhood as a South Asian American growing up in California. Today she is a child psychiatrist who is deeply committed to the health and wellbeing of children. Her work is about building self-confidence and self-awareness in kids, and she’s been co...

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“I didn’t want to be a leaf floating down a stream. I wanted control of the oars in this next phase of my life”.  Stacie Shifflett has always led a bold life. She’s been pushing against boundaries and expectations since she was a teenager and she walked into the principal’s office to demand that she graduate high school early. She went on to several leadership positions, building a construction business, working for a larg...

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 “I was beginning to lose my ability to feel. I would go to movies just to be able to cry, because otherwise I didn't feel anything”. If you’ve ever felt dead inside and  that your job was killing you, you’re going to want to hear Robert Markowitz’s reinvention story. Years ago, Robert was a very successful, and incredibly miserable, criminal lawyer. And then something broke and he traded in his respected, high earning law...

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“The beauty of adversity is it creates these amazing conditions for growth”. Jolie Wills is a cognitive scientist and a specialist in disaster relief who wants us to rethink how we deal with disasters. In 2011, Jolie lived through New Zealand's worst earthquake on record. As she helped her community through the aftermath that included 5 years of devastating aftershocks, she saw how disasters can make people re-assess their...

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“We have so much more in our own control than we acknowledge”. Erica Rooney knows there are big glass ceilings that are tough to bust through, but she also believes that sometimes we also hold ourselves back. Erica is a C-suite executive, speaker and podcaster who’s on a mission to help women break free of what she calls “sticky floors”. Those are the limiting beliefs and toxic behaviours that keep us from moving forward.

O...

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“I like to say that I help people break out of the sucking vortex of ‘pissed off’ ”. That’s how Carol Bowser describes her role as a conflict management expert. Carol is a former employment lawyer but after years of practicing law, she found herself much more drawn to mediation. She realized that conflict, and breaking it down, was her real passion. 

Carol now works to train others in mediation and conflict resolution in th...

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Are people born gritty and resilient, or can anyone learn to be that way? Dr. Brian Davidson says that the tools for success can be developed by anyone, we just need to know what needs improvement. 

We met Brian in our last episode, when he told Keri and Kelly about MindVue, the assessment tool and learning platform that he built which uses positive psychology principles to first measure your mindset and then help you impro...

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Brian Davidson is a psychologist and leadership expert who has always been fascinated by what drives successful people, and whether these same qualities can be taught to everyone. After years of research, he developed MindVue, an assessment tool and learning platform that first measures your mindset and then helps you improve it. But when he began to assess a range of individuals, from high-ranking military personnel to pr...

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When we start our corporate careers, no one gives us any tools on how to enter the working world as a female. And I'm coming back in my mid-forties to say, here's some of the resources I wish I would've had”.  Jennifer Pestikas is a senior VP in financial services, but after battling burnout she realized how many other women also struggle with balance, and being able to thrive in their careers. That’s when she established...

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Rob Cross’s latest book was supposed to be about how relationships have a positive effect on people’s well-being. But during one interview, he ended up discovering something else. When Rob asked his subject what had stopped her from doing what she wanted in life, she’d answered “just life, I guess”. And Rob realized it wasn't the big stressors, like a health scare or a nasty boss that derails people, rather “it’s an accumu...

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“It's so beautiful to meet other people and work with them, because then we can see our own society with so much more clarity and perspective”. Janet Livingstone has a unique perspective on the bubbles we all inhabit. After decades living and working throughout Europe and Africa, she’s learned a thing or two about how our cultural expectations get in the way of understanding each other, and ourselves.


On this episode, J...

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“I looked at the way Gabriel lived and, and he just didn't allow fear to get in the way of anything he wanted to do”. Clint Hatton’s son Gabriel was a bold kid who embraced life completely. So when he died in a plane crash at only 17 years old, Clint made a choice to honor his son by living fearlessly, and helping others do the same. 

On this episode, Clint tells about his devastating loss and how he created Big Bold Brave,...

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A hurricane, premature twins, gallstones, a husband deployed to Iraq, a toxic workplace, and terrible grief; these are just some of the incredible stressors that Danielle Cobo has tackled in the past few years. But as difficult as all this was, it led to Danielle leaving her sales job, and following her passion. Today, Danielle is a change management, leadership development, and burnout prevention consultant, and she uses ...

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