Elevation Nation

The amount of recorded antisemitic incidents in America is at an all time high right now. With the recent events in the news, we have to speak about this topic as two young adult American Jews.

Kyle Gulau (Elevator no. 100) is an entrepreneur who runs a digital creative agency and a real estate company with his wife and father. Kyle was awarded Western Michigan Universities (his alma mater) 30 Under 30 and Southwest Michigan’s Small Business Founder award for his work related to incremental real estate development.As a young adult, Kyle is committed to elevating the lives of those around him particularly in his local community of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Through his blog and podcasts Patterns of Development, he shares his ideas and perspectives on strategy, learning and real estate. WebsitePodcast - Patterns of DevelopmentBlog

Happy Birthday Elevation Nation! It has been two years and over 180 episodes later since we launched the podcast. There has been so many lessons learned and people to thank along this journey. We are so excited to share some of our takeaways and what is next for the Nation because the elevating is not going to stop...

James Dvorak, Tyler Kozub, and Pat Murtagh (Elevator nos. 97, 98, 99) are the co-founders of Handshake Bets, a brand all about "betting on anything, anywhere with anyone". Recent graduates of Indiana University, James, Tyler, and Pat were committed to figuring out a way to create a company around the idea of helping anyone bet on anything. After betting the future of their company on the coin flip of the Super Bowl, they doubled down on their content strategy of creating videos of themselves betting on literally anything. Their videos caught steam on TikTok and soon after they received a phone call that would change their life. James, Tyler, and Pat have been on a wild journey since that phone call. Their company Handshake Bets was acquired by Betr, a Jake Paul backed sports gambling business...James DvorakTyler KozubPat MurtaghHandshake BetsHandshake Bets - IGHandshake Bets - TikTok

Sleep is a luxury, especially as we get older. We all struggle with finding the time to get a good night sleep, but there are some tricks we all can use to help us feel better and more refreshed when we wake up. We will give you a hint, put your damn phone down!

Jimmy Sotos (Elevator no. 97) is a professional basketball player, content creator, fashion designer and actor from the greater Chicago area. After playing D1 college basketball at Bucknell and The Ohio State University, Jimmy continues to elevate himself beyond college in the real world.Amassing more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok, many opportunities have opened up for Jimmy. Even with his fame, Jimmy is trying to balance the pursuit of various passions including basketball, fashion, acting and modeling. And as he become even more busy with the craziness of the real world, he continuously reminds himself of two words that are tatted on his body to help guide him each day: Passion x Purpose.TikTokInstagram

Coffee is awesome. Doesn't matter if you are a young adult or old adult, a frequent drinker or not, we all have some sort of relationship with coffee. This week, we talk through what role coffee plays in our lives and if it is for better or worse...This week's shoutout goes to Elevator no. 63 Brad Kraut and Elevators no. 70/71 Taylor Borenstein and Millie Blumka for their recent successes.

Jackson Dreyer (Elevator #95) is a Nashville based singer and songwriter. Self described as an “easy listening soul artist that just wants to make everyone dance,” Jackson is a man of many talents. He loves to write songs, sing, and play multiple instruments including the saxophone and guitar.As an elevator, Jackson is dialed in on “making” it as a musician but also giving back to the local Nashville community. As a member of People Loving Nashville, Jackson and others in the community “bring relief, community, connection, & restoration to the most vulnerable & unhorsed of Nashville.”WebsiteInstagramSpotifyPeople Loving Nashville

After a six week break, we are happy to be back! We have taken some time to reflect on Elevation Nation and we are so excited about what is coming next. Episode releases will go back to normal as a new episode will come out each Tuesday and Thursday with the goal of helping you conquer the real world!

We are launching a new part of Elevation Nation that we are very excited about. With that, we will be taking a pause on the podcast for the next month to work on it. Cannot wait to share it with the Nation. Stay tuned and see you soon!

Sam and Parker were back together in NYC for an evening. But something came up when same was getting ready to fly back home. Most would say it was a very stressful situation. Sam thinks he handled it the right way. But what about the others he was with….

Ryan Kenny is a young adult continuously pushing himself beyond his comfort zone. Outside of his full-time job as the Director of Partnerships at Crossover Media Group, Ryan focuses his energy on stand-up comedy. Yes, you heard that right. He’s a comedian. Ryan can be found in New York City trying to make a crowd laugh at various comedy clubs and events. However, life as a young stand-up comedian is not for the faint of heart. Ryan continuously has to exercise mental fortitude to get on stage and deliver, with hopes that the audience will react, either laughing at him or with him! Elevation Nation is happy to welcome a young adult who continues to push himself to the center stage just to put smiles on people's faces. YouTube

It’s August and we are taking time to be with our families. Time off is always special when spent with loved ones. This year, family business seems a little different. We reflect on why spending time with family is so special to us.

John Camardella is a World Religion Teacher at Prospect High School in the Chicago Area and Education fellow of the Harvard Divinity School. John has been on a life long journey to educate others about religion while understanding human behavior and beliefs at its deepest level. After a year-long sabbatical to study with some of the most brilliant minds at Harvard, John is ready to bring back new perspectives and knowledge to his students. But first, he joins Elevation Nation (again) to share new perspectives and ideas that young adults need to think about. LinkedInLink to Episode 31 w/ John Camardella

Every day the mind is all over the place. Oftentimes we find ourselves in interesting situations based on what our needs or what we think we want. That can be challenging at times as a young adult…

Nzingha Prescod is an American World Champion and Olympian who spent the first 27 years of her life committed to becoming the best fencer in the world. After retiring from competition in 2020, Nzingha has been focused on the next phase of her life combining her love for fencing and passion for philanthropy. Navigating life beyond competition has not been an easy task for Nzingha. Now the founder of an incredible foundation (The Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Education), she continues to strive to give back to the community while figuring out how to achieve her new life goals. WikipediaInstagramSports Illustrated: Two-Time Olympian Nzingha Prescod Hopes to Make Fencing More Accessible Through Fencing in the Park

Decisions decisions decisions. We make hundreds throughout a given day. In this episode, we get a bit philosophical as to how we make these decisions and if they are truly what make us happy.

Jonny Lazarus is a former Division 1 hockey player and now a content creator, podcast host, on-air NHL analyst and a multimedia planner. After coming to terms with the reality that his NHL dreams were unrealistic after college, Jonny didn’t shy away of his love for hockey. Even when faced with adversity over the past few years, Jonny has remained committed to his goal of staying close to the game of hockey forever through his everyday grind.Jonny is a perfect example of a young adult who never let challenging circumstances deter him away from his passion.LinkedIn TwitterInstagram

With half of 2022 in the books, Sam and Parker take some time off from work to hit the reset button and gear up for the second half of the year. Also, during the time off, some unfathomable events occurred near Sam’s hometown in Highland Park, IL. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the horrific events.Please consider a donation to the GoFundMe of Adan Aguilar, a victim of the 4th of July shooting and friend of Sam’s grandmother. https://www.gofundme.com/f/adan-aguilar-4th-of-july-shooting-victim?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B5806-thank-you-ask-share

Chase Damiano is a entrepreneur, strategist and consultant focused on helping early and mid-stage founders redesign their lives to put purpose and intention first. With his company HUMANS AT SCALE, Chase has worked with many successful entrepreneurs, including former guest Rahul Vinod (Founder of Rasa). Chase’s work has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30 and The Washington Post among others.We talk with Chase aboutWhy we are wired to think a certain wayWhat designing your life looks likeCalculated decisions vs spontaneous decisionsWebsiteLinkedIn

We discuss the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade.

Danielle Dietzek and Julie Griggs are the co-founders of Fourplay Social, a social network for single friends. Danielle and Julie both worked in healthcare before coming up with an idea to make dating for single people more fun. They created Fourplay to allow people to recruit another single friend, create a "fourplay" team, and then match with other pairs, making for a much more fun dating experience. We talk with Danielle and Julie about:Modern dating cultureChallenge with first datesBalancing being best friends and co-foundersFourplay SocialDanielle DietzekJulie Griggs

The current state of the economy is leaving us a bit anxious this week. Although we will never be able to predict what is going to happen for sure in the economy, we can alter our mindset to prepare for both the good or the bad.

Amir Vardi is the founder of Lever, a company on a mission to help people optimize credit card rewards, track spending and improve credit scores. Amir found himself knowing all to well about the world of finances in the classroom and corporate setting. But as a young adult, he struggled with getting a full grasp of his own personal finances.An idea that he wrote on a napkin, soon became a reality when he quit his full time job and went all in figuring out how to start Lever. Now, through his company, Amir is helping people to be smarter with their money.We talk with Amir aboutPersonal finances strategiesThe hard thing to understand about credit cardsHow Lever can help you make the most out of credit cardsLinkedInLever - Website

Nature is healing especially when you live in a crowded city. Sam and Parker discuss their latest adventures outside of their respective cities and the lesson’s they took away from their time enjoying the great outdoors.

Jamauri Bogan is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former Division 1 football player who is on a mission to make the world a better place through real estate development in moderate to low-income communities and philanthropic programs.After playing college football at Western Michigan University as one of their greatest running backs of all time, Jamauri joined the real world with the vision that he would leave his mark. Although he works countless hours on his mission, he often reminds himself that enjoying the journey is what elevating is all about, even when things get a little tough.We talk with Jamauri about:Life as a D1 football playerHis real estate business and philanthropyHow he aligns his mindset with a mission bigger than himselfGiving back to othersLinkedInTwitter

Topics: TikTok has taken the world by storm so spend some time giving our perspective on the popular video app; One of Parker’s videos is getting some attention on TikTok; Is social media helping or hurting us?

Alex Neumann is a professional pickleball player based in New York City. Growing up as an avid tennis player, Alex found pickleball in college and fell in love with the up and coming sport. Now he spends his days working at his full-time job while training and competing to become one of pickleball’s best.Alex’s recent success has led him to travel to pickleball tournaments across the country, sponsorships, and new challenges as he tries to navigate the real world. We talk with Alex about:How he became a pickleball professionalThe balance of work and professional sportsHis mindset approach to being the best he can beCRBN PickleballInstagram

Prestige is something that we all know about. It is a term that is used to describe the respect or admiration that one has for another’s accomplishments or status. Sam and Parker have a conversation about how they see prestige and how expectations define different levels of prestige.Thank you to David Perell for the inspiration on the topic. His twitter thread on prestige sparked the conversation this week. Check it out on Twitter.

Xander Chase and Ryan Lane are the founders of FTL, a company focused on developing products that help make productive days a little bit easier to achieve. They are releasing their first product, a fully functional bag that combines your work, gym, and garment bag all into one beautifully designed product. FTL stands for For The Love. We talk with Xander and Ryan about their love for building things and how/why they made the decision to spend three years developing FTL and their first product. Other topics we talk about:Challenges of starting a consumer products brandPassion for building thingsTheir motto: Do more, Carry LessUse promo code ELEVATION20 for $20 off your purchase of an FTL Bag thanks to our generous friends from FTL!

A lot has been going on Sam’s life and his has felt a bit overwhelmed with all he has to do now and what will come doing a soon to be busy summer. On Fortitude in 15 this week, we unpack why Sam is feeling that way and talk through some tips and tricks to take a step back and come to terms with overwhelming feelings.

Genevieve Bellaire is the founder and CEO of Realworld, a platform to navigate adulthood and its life moments. In 2017, Genevieve started Realworld to help young adults navigate the “Realworld” decisions around personal finance, healthcare, and insurance. Realworld has helped thousands of young adults get a better grasp on life after college.Realworld and Elevation Nation are similar in the sense that both companies are on a mission to help young adults conquer the real world, which made for a great conversation.We talk with Genevieve about: How Realworld is helping young adults conquer the real worldThe challenge with transitioning to adulthoodUsing mental fortitude as a mindset Hard and soft skills you needLinkedInRealworld WebsiteRealworld InstagramRealworld raises $3.4M to help Gen Z navigate adulthood

As we get older, our eating habits evolve. This week on Fortitude in 15, Sam and Parker discuss how their habits have changed over the years and how they are going about eating. One thing is for certain: we can't eat like we used to...

Rob Carney is an enthusiast when it comes to wellness and agriculture. His background in sustainable food and farming, combined with his passion for a variety of health practices has helped him grow an enormous following of people looking to better the quality of their lives. We talk with Rob about:Growing Your Own FoodPersonalizing Your DietModern Day FarmingHuman Connection w/ NatureWebsiteeBookInstagram

Parker came across a list that Jesse Itzler (entrepreneur and motivational speaker) posted on his LinkedIn page earlier this week: WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR 21 YEAR OLD SELFFor the 150th episode of Elevation Nation, Parker and Sam discuss, agree and disagree with the ten tips that Jesse provides in his list.

Ben Putzer is a soon-to-be college graduate and entrepreneur. As a student at The University of Maryland, Ben started a company called Visitour, a platform for prospective college to students to find customized campus tours. Visitour has more than 50 unique tour guides across three schools in the Big Ten.As graduation approaches, Ben is mulling a big decision: Will he go full-time on Visitour after college or try to find a job and do it part-time. We talk with Ben about:What is Visitour?Why college campuses need more personalized tour experiencesBen’s big decisionAdvice for college to the real worldLinkedInVisitourTikTok

Sam and Parker catch up after a week of not chatting due to a busy week of travel. Parker is down in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Sam just came home from a trip in New York City. With things getting very busy, they talk about how to they are trying to be more intentional with how they go about their day.

Ilana Dunn is the Host and Executive Producer of “Seeing Other People”, a podcast show about dating and relationships. Ilana’s Snapchat show “Screening For Love”, where she interviews strangers about dating advice, recently hit 50k subscribers. Although Ilana graduated college with a top journalism degree, she struggled to find her fit and fulfillment in the real world. When she was let go from her most recent employer, she went “all in” on herself to start making her dreams come true. Now she is truly elevating herself by helping others with their dating lives. We talk with Ilana aboutHer struggle in the music industry post-collegeHow she made the decision to go full time on her passionVulnerability in datingAdvice on approaching dating appsLinkedInInstagramSeeing Other People

Parker and Sam get together for their first in-person podcast in over a year! In this conversation, they talk through a fear that Sam brought to Parker’s attention while they were talking on the roof about life.

Based in Los Angeles, Ryan Modnyy is a 21-year-old entrepreneur on a mission to bring together influencers and brands with a focus on wellbeing and mental health. Ryan is a partner at S1 Group and Founder of Modnyy Entertainment. After seeing the power and influence that TikTok had on the world early on during the pandemic, Ryan took a leap of faith and doubled down on himself. He dropped out of college and moved to LA. Now, a couple years later, Ryan is working with some of the top creators in the world and is making a difference by bringing awareness to mental health.We talk with Ryan about:Getting bullied as a child and the impact that had on himDropping out of college and moving to LAHow he created one of the most popular mental health conversations on ClubhouseWhat it is like to work with popular influencersInstagramLinkedIn

We all know the phrase “work life balance”. Whether we see it in articles, in the news or hear our employer talk about it, it’s a common term. However, do we always have a work life balance? Is there a reason why work comes before life in the phrase? We talk about some of our work life imbalances and how we go about leveling the scale.

Rahul Vinod is the co-founder of Rasa, a fast-casual Indian restaurant based in Washington D.C. While growing up, Rahul and his co-founder, Sahil Rahman, saw their parents bring Indian cuisine to America through their restaurants. Inspired by their cultural roots, their parents' entrepreneurial drive, and a lack of fulfillment in corporate America, Rahul and Sahil set out to create their own take on Indian food. With three restaurants (and more to come), Rahul and Sahil are on a mission to bring together their American and Indian roots to share the authentic flavors of their youth with the DMV community.In this episode, we talk with Rahul about:Realizing the corporate grind wasn’t for himHow Rahul and Sahil went about quitting and starting RasaHow Rasa plans to inspire taste buds with its Indian foodWebsiteRahul’s LinkedIn

Parker recently came back from a week long trip in Punta Cana. While he spent time to unwind and relax, he also disconnected completely from the outside world by turning off his phone for the week. We talk through his six day experience and what he realized about how digitally connected we actually are.

AJ Eckstein is an entrepreneur and product marketing consultant. As the Founder of The Final Round, the go-to career platform to knock out the competition and advance past the final round interview, AJ and his team are on a mission to democratize fun, tailored, and high-quality career advice. In this episode, we talk with AJ about:College to CareerDelivering an effective elevator pitchBalancing entrepreneurship and 9-5What hobbies can teach about happinessLinkedInWebsitePodcast

Former guest John Camardella posed a question to us the other day: Are young adults in your generation generally happy and content with their lives. In this episode, we discuss our thoughts on the thought provoking question and try to come with terms with what might be a harsh reality.

Sarah Figueroa is the Founder and CEO of GeoJam, the ultimate social media platform for music that’s trusted by world top artists including Mariah Carey, Machine Gun Kelly, 24kGoldn, and more. At 27 years old, Sarah is a four time entrepreneur who has been featured in The New York Times, Cheddar and Grit Daily.GeoJam's mission is to build the creator economy of the future that redirects the flow of incentives back in the hands of the creators and users themselves.In this episode, we talk with Sarah about..The mission behind GeoJamWhat it is like to be a founder through the pandemicCreator economy and cryptocurrencyHaving more responsibility with more successSarah - LinkedInGeoJam - WebsiteHow One Entrepreneur Changed Her Business Model in the Pandemic - The New York Times

The best critics are ones who tell it to us straight but also provide positive reinforcement with the things we are doing well. Sam and Parker discuss some of their experiences with criticism and how it can be both a blessing and a curse.

Joey Lane, the first guest ever on Elevation Nation rejoins the guys to catch up. Joey is a sales consultant a NetJets, former Ohio State basketball player, and current TV personality. It's been 516 days since our first recording with Joey and in this episode we talk about what he has been up to, his hobbies and lessons learned from both work and basketball.Dream CollectionsMarch Madness PredictionsFan Q&ALife as a TV Personalty

With the sweet sixteen of March Madness around the corner, we discuss the awesomeness of an underdog story and how sometimes the David’s of the world overcome a Goliath.

Jordan Gross is reimagining personal development. He is a published author and therapist guiding people to think differently and make daring changes in their lives. Jordan is trailblazing in the personal development field by using creative storytelling to allow people to gather their own insights from the characters he creates and the stories he shares.We talk with Jordan about:Young AdulthoodHis platform: ImagitivetationThe concept of a secure basePersonal development through storytellingJordan received his Masters of Social Work from New York University, Masters of Management Studies and Bachelors in Economics from Northwestern University.LinkedIn