KPHRED Work - Life Balance Radio

Mary Farias and Barbara Wainwright
The Author's Blueprint - From Your Head to the World

What changes when you shift your focus from getting to giving?

Bob Burg, co-author of the international bestseller The Go-Giver and author of the sales classic Endless Referrals, joins Mary Reiss Farias and Barbara Wainwright on The Author’s Blueprint: From Your Head to the World for a conversation about books, business, relationships, referrals—and the value we create for other people.

For more than 30 years, Bob has helped entrepreneurs, leaders, and sales professionals build stronger relationships, communicate their value, and grow their businesses.

At the center of his philosophy is a remarkably simple shift:

Take the focus off yourself and place it on serving others.

Bob explains that people don't do business with us because we need the sale. They do business with us because they believe they'll be better off as a result.

When you consistently focus on understanding people, solving problems, and creating value, something else happens: people want to build relationships with you, do business with you—and tell other people about you.

That philosophy naturally extends to authorship.

In this conversation, Bob, Mary, and Barbara explore:

• The philosophy behind The Go-Giver
• How Bob Proctor helped inspire the character of Pindar
• Lessons from Endless Referrals
• Why relationships are foundational to business growth
• Creating value instead of focusing solely on making the sale
• Building a business around your strengths
• Why serving others and financial success don't have to be opposites
• Using proven systems rather than continually reinventing the wheel
• How authors can move through fear by focusing on the people their message can serve

Bob also shares an important lesson he received early in his sales career:

Making money isn't the target. Serving others is the target. Money is the reward for hitting it.

For authors, that raises an equally powerful question:

What will your book do for the person who reads it?

Instead of making the writing process entirely about ourselves—our fears, our uncertainty, our sales, or whether people will approve—Bob encourages authors to consider the higher purpose behind putting their ideas into the world.

Can your words help someone?

Can your book create more value?

Can what you share leave a person, a conversation, or even a moment a little better than you found it?

When your answer is yes, you have a reason to keep moving forward.

Learn more about Bob Burg on his website: https://burg.com/

Jim Pehkonen, Desi Bolin
Out On the Skinny Branches
In this episode of Out on the Skinny Branches, Jim Pehkonen is joined by Desi Bolin to explore why so many of us keep repeating the same relationship patterns, even when we know those patterns are no longer serving us. They discuss how childhood experiences, past relationships, beliefs, emotional protection, and unspoken expectations can quietly shape the way we react today. Rather than simply trying to “communicate better,” Jim and Desi dig underneath the surface to examine what is really driving the reaction, whether that means shutting down, overexplaining, chasing reassurance, becoming defensive, or fighting to be heard.

The conversation also introduces the foundation of the Conscious Connection Collection, beginning with one of the most important relationships we have: the relationship with ourselves. Jim and Desi explain how greater self-awareness creates choice, allowing us to recognize an old pattern before automatically repeating it. From there, the work becomes less about perfection and more about presence, curiosity, emotional honesty, and learning how to show up differently. They also discuss the power of doing this work in a co-ed environment, where men and women can better understand each other’s experiences, protective strategies, and communication styles. The goal is to move from reaction to awareness, from defensiveness to curiosity, and ultimately toward healthier, more intentional connection with ourselves and the people around us.

Jim Pehkonen, Chris Eaton Chris
Out On the Skinny Branches
In this episode of Out on the Skinny Branches, Jim Pehkonen continues his conversation with veteran and death doula Chris Eaton about men’s mental health, service, mentorship, and the deeper question of what makes a life meaningful. Together, they explore how serving others without expecting recognition can create purpose, connection, and personal growth. Jim shares how mentoring young people and working with thousands in addiction recovery has shown him the lasting impact one person can have, while Chris reflects on the importance of finding mentors, staying curious, and building a life around something larger than ourselves.

The conversation moves into legacy, authenticity, and what men want their lives to represent when they reach their third and fourth quarters. Jim introduces the vision behind Legacy Forge, helping successful men move beyond achievement and create a living legacy through mentoring, connection, and passing their wisdom to another generation. Chris brings his experiences as a death doula into the discussion, sharing how often people near the end of life wrestle with meaning, regret, forgiveness, and whether their lives truly mattered. Their message is ultimately one of possibility: we do not have to wait until the end to ask those questions. We can choose connection, purpose, brotherhood, and meaningful contribution while we are still here to live it.

In this episode of Out on the Skinny Branches, Jim Pehkonen explores what many men are carrying beneath the surface today: pressure, loneliness, anger, emotional disconnection, old wounds, and the exhaustion of always being expected to hold everything together. Drawing from his work with men, Jim looks at how childhood experiences and survival strategies can quietly follow a man into adulthood, shaping the way he handles conflict, relationships, success, and vulnerability. The episode examines how anger can mask deeper emotions, why so many men struggle to ask for help, and how even highly successful men can reach a point where achievement no longer answers the deeper questions of meaning and purpose.

Jim also shares a different way forward through awareness, connection, and intentional healing. He explains how recognizing old patterns creates the opportunity to make new choices, repair relationships, build stronger brotherhood, and move from simply surviving to living with greater emotional honesty and purpose. This conversation is a reminder that healing is not about becoming weaker or fixing something that is broken. It is about understanding what shaped you, learning what no longer serves you, and becoming a more grounded, connected, and empowered man.

Jim Pehkonen
Out On the Skinny Branches
In this episode of Out on the Skinny Branches, Jim Pehkonen explores what comes after healing. Once a man begins to understand the wounds, patterns, reactions, and survival strategies that shaped him, a deeper question emerges: what will he do with the life he has left? Jim discusses the transition from healing the past to creating meaning in the present, especially for men entering the third and fourth quarters of life. He looks at how unresolved wounds can be passed from generation to generation, but also how healing creates the opportunity to pass forward something different: wisdom, emotional honesty, mentorship, and connection.

The conversation then shifts into the idea of creating a living legacy, not simply something remembered after death, but something experienced while a man is still here. Jim challenges men to consider who could benefit from what they have learned, what younger person they could mentor, what relationship needs repair, and what wisdom should be shared before it is lost. The message is simple but powerful: healing is not the final destination. Healing can become wisdom, wisdom can become contribution, and contribution can become a living legacy that changes lives long before anyone writes the final chapter.