Thrive Loud With Lou Diamond

Sonja Pemberton is a professional speaker and transformational catalyst. With a career spanning more than 25 years, she has been privileged to lead, mentor, and coach across all career levels and generations, sharing her knowledge and expertise in culture and inclusion, and leadership development. The movement she has founded, “Dispelling the Myth of the Other,” has been spoken on and taught worldwide. Sonja and Lou engage in a much needed conversation on Thrive LOUD with Lou Diamond. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD

Lisa Buckley began her career puppeteering on a LIVE morning show back in 1980 and continues to work as a professional puppeteer. Her talent as a performer has brought her literally around the world, performing in Cambodia, Philippines, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Haiti and Bangladesh. She has worked on countless stage productions, movies and television shows including Alf, Men In Black, Lazytown, Johnny and the Sprites and dozens of Muppet productions. Lisa spent ten seasons on Sesame Street where she puppeteered everything from a penguin to a hotdog. Lisa designs, builds and performs all types of puppets.  Her greatest love and achievement to date is her work with No Strings International, an NGO that delivers lifesaving workshops and films to children in crisis around the world. Listen to her amazing story and how she, with no strings attached, is connecting to the world. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD

Kevin Pereau is Founder and CEO of TranscendIT Health, a healthcare management consulting firm focused on helping healthcare payers, providers and innovators better connect with consumers. He is a leading consumer advocate in healthcare, and is author of The Digital Health Revolution and It Takes a Village. He spent the early part of his career managing strategy and management consulting firms with a specialty focus on technology. His first health technology company was a consumer health scoring firm who’s mission was to provide longitudinal context around how what we do and how we feel affects who we are. “You can’t manage, what you don’t measure” is something Pereau is fond of saying and for that, you need a scoring system. From there, Pereau founded one of the most influential boutique consulting firms in healthcare. He serves on the advisory boards of LifeData and HealthSaaS and speaks at healthcare conferences where he also moderates panel discussions. Pereau is probably one of the most connected people

Rob Thomas is the Founder and President of RobThomasUSA, and he is the creator of the Rob Thomas Method (RTM) of Networking and Networking in Diners.  Rob is an entrepreneur, the author of Who Do You NEED to Meet? and is a dynamic public speaker. Rob works with business professionals to help them develop their networking skills to help them achieve business and personal success. Through his unique brand of networking, built on the adage “It’s not what you know, but who you know”, Rob teaches and coaches business owners, senior executive and sales professionals how to identify, maximize, refine and nurture your network of contacts. Rob lives in Milford, CT with his wife Jen and his two sons, Christopher and Luke. While he can’t sing or play the guitar, this former Eagle Scout did work at Disney World but is no "Goofy" when it comes to connecting.  Simply put, Rob Thomas is Smooth! Enjoy this fun conversation between Rob and Lou on Thrive LOUD. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

Sometimes you find something you misplaced and it has an appreciated value beyond your expectations. Well more than a year ago we did a catch up episode with Alexa Curtis and it never made it to the show stream. The team at Thrive LOUD dug it up and it's pure GOLD! Enjoy, what was, a Thrive LOUD Catch-up episode with Alexa Curtis recorded on Instagram LIVE right around the time of the 500th episode of Thrive LOUD. You can also check out Alexa's OG appearance on Thrive LOUD. *** CONNECT WITH LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD

Dan Ashburn and his industry-leading team are responsible for delivering 8-figures in annual sales on Amazon. Operating in online marketing for 17 years, he is an international speaker, advisor, co-founder of SellerEvents, co-founder of Titan Network, head mentor on China Magic and more recently the co-creator of Amazing Selling Machine. Dan comes on Thrive LOUD to chat with Lou about where things are headed in the space and what he's truly excited about moving forward.

Having left a successful career on Wall Street to pursue her vocation as an artist, Virginia Dutton lives and works in New York, New York. She has an uncanny aptitude for sensing, focusing, and expressing energy in color and texture are at the heart of her gift for painting. Her ability to express herself through different and unusual media creates art in which energy takes chromatic, solid form. In a different type of podcast, hear Virginia's story and then watch her brilliance at work as she captures Lou's energy on canvas in this interactive podcast. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

Athena Severi is known the world over as the “Goddess of Networking” and a key person to know in the online sales sector. With 15 years of Marketing and PR experience, she is a Sales Training master and renowned Public Speaker. As an expert at building communities and creating unique Mastermind groups with top names in various eCommerce sectors, she is also known to host and organize international Summits for Entrepreneurs as well as global sourcing trips to China. Athena is the Co-Founder of the 8-figure company, Titan Network, an exclusive invite-only network of elite Amazon sellers. Athena is a strong, powerful, female entrepreneur who is dominating Amazon and is known for helping fellow entrepreneurs to achieve lifestyle freedom. Athena raises the energy level as she connects with Lou Diamond on Thrive LOUD. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

Christopher coaches men to master themselves and go within to manifest their dream reality outside. From the time we were children, we were sold that to be “worthy” and “valuable” we’re supposed to be tough, not show any emotions, be strong and muscular, have a fancy car, clothes, and house, supposed to have it all together and have all the answers. We’re programmed to believe that our answers and glory awaits us in war and battles, sleeping with women and having a fast and furious life.  Christopher Burns is on a mission to surround himself with legendary human beings and leaders because he’s committed to being the best version of himself. He serves men because there are many women’s coaches out there and there’s a fraction of that support available for men. Men are more likely to commit suicide. Men are more likely to keep their emotions pent up and they either explode in violent ways or through abuse with toxic substances or habits. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

David Mowery is The Chairman of Mowery Consulting Group, LLC – a public relations, public affairs and political consulting firm, based in Montgomery, Ala. David is a member of The American Association of Political Consultants Inaugural Class of 40 Under 40, The University of Georgia’s 2014 Class of 40 Under 40 Alumni, and was named a Rising Star by Campaigns and Elections Magazine in 2011. He is a 1999 graduate of The Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Georgia. David’s experience as a fundraiser, political strategist and message maven and early adopter of digital technology, combined with on the ground experience have made him a sought after commodity and trusted advisor in his adopted home state of Alabama. His access and knowledge of the Alabama press, as well as ability to bend the ear of reporters regionally has given him a hidden hand in many of the bigger stories to emerge from Alabama in recent years. David was featured on CNN and MSNBC more than 50 times i

Jen Hope is a Business and Executive Leadership Coach who leans on more than 20 years of executive experience, business acumen, and empathy to create a safe coaching environment where leaders can grow and thrive. Jen partners with leaders responsible for scaling organizations and has a wealth of experience in growing startup companies. Her business acumen and hands-on executive experience allow her to create a culture of courage in high-performance environments, hone leadership skills and empower the next generation of leaders to maximize business outcomes. Jen has experience in growth marketing and is an expert at scaling businesses. She keeps coaching clients and teams moving forward with clarity, focus, humor and structure built on trust and positivity. Listen in to this engaging episode to learn why Jen is the "chief bullshit slayer" and is helping people keep it real. ***CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD***

Kate O’Neill is founder and CEO of KO Insights, a strategic advisory firm committed to improving human experience at scale. Kate is widely known as the “Tech Humanist.” She is helping humanity prepare for an increasingly tech-driven future with her signature strategic optimism.  Her latest book, A Future So Bright: How Strategic Optimism Can Restore Our Humanity and Save the World is EXACTLY what we all need right now. Hit the play button to hear this amazing conversation as Kate catches up with Lou Diamond. Click here to watch the video of their LIVE recording of this interview from (9/9/21) Click the image below to grab yourself a copy of "A Future So Bright" ** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

John Vuong is a seasoned sales professional and Internet marketer with an exceptional track record helping companies grow their clientele and profits. Over the last 15 years, He has developed a deep understanding of local marketing dynamics and consumer behavior. his entrepreneurial spirit and experience working with more than 5,000 local business owners inspired him to start his own company, Local SEO Search, in 2013.  Local SEO Search has been recognized as a top SEO agency in Canada and you get to learn all about it as John connects with Lou Diamond on Thrive LOUD. ** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Vivian, a RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into 17 languages. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, certain they went away the better for it. She penned the international bestselling Charley Davidson series and is currently working on several beloved projects, most notably the Sunshine Vicram Mystery Series with St. Martin's Press and the Betwixt and Between Series of paranormal women's fiction. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. Pulled from their episode on Bedside Reading's Authors That Thrive, Darynda shares with Lou her latest book, "A Bad Day for Sunshine" on Thrive LOUD with Lou Diamond.   *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD

Rob Ferre is an entertainer, speaker, game show host & Master of Ceremonies from Salt Lake City. He founded his company Life of the Party Entertainment in 2007 after spending 3 years in the family entertainment capital of the world, Orlando, Florida, where he worked for Disney, Universal and Nickelodeon. His entertainment company has been awarded Best of State three years running for Event DJ Services. He has presented & entertained for business professionals throughout the country. Rob is currently serving on the Advisory Board for the American Disc Jockey Association & is the President of the Mountain West Chapter of the National Speakers Association. Rob connects shares with Lou his journey and his passion for getting people to be the first to come on stage and the last to leave the party. *** CONNECT TO LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD  

Bill Humbert has been a Recruiter for 40 years, in an industry where fewer than 1% of Recruiters make it past 10 years. He pivoted every time he hit a wall. His business has been referred to as RecruiterGuy.com since 2001. His clients are spread across the US and many industries.  He only recruits for 1 company at a time and charges a flat monthly fee. “Just show me what the person looks like, and I will recruit them for you.” It must work. Many clients work with him as many as 4 or even 10 times over many years. Bill has written 3 books, the third is scheduled to be published in September – Expect Success! The Science Of The Over 50 Career Search. For the past 66 consecutive weeks, he has published two RecruiterGuy Thought Leadership Blogs per week - #TalentAttraction #Tuesday and #JobSearch #Friday. Some Business newspapers have begun to publish selected blogs once a month. He speaks to Associations and Companies on Talent Attraction. His signature speech is Make Your Company ROAR (Recruit, Onboard, Ac

For the 666th Episode of Thrive LOUD - we brought back author and speaker Sharón Lynn Wyeth. Sharón has spent the last 40 years developing the field of Neimology® Science.  So who better than her to look into the meaning of the names linked to the number '666' - the 'devil' and 'Lucifer'. We also look at some of the recent names that have been affecting all of us. And also make sure to check out Sharón's original episode on Thrive LOUD with Lou Diamond.

Ryan Richards has paved an incredible track record of success leading brand strategy teams and departments for many of the world’s Leading Creative Agencies, Fortune 500 Corporations, and Startups. At BBDO NY, Ryan led a team and budget of 10 strategists that repositioned AT&T from a phone company to a connected everything company. In this role, he activated a $3.6b marketing budget to drive all verticals from network to enterprise to smart homes as well as their merger with DirectTV. Driven by a desire to direct creative capabilities toward real human and social problems, Ryan co-founded innovation labs at both DDB Sydney and BBDO NY, where they would crowd-source community problems then develop customized product and platform solutions. Ryan co-founded his record label On Point Productions which made him an easy choice to lead the team that launched Powerbeats Pro with Apple, while managing an impressive roster of 30 athletes from LeBron James to Simone Biles around the Beats Product with the creat

Jena Axelrod is director and producer of the film Absurdity of Certainty, a surreal, spiritual, science documentary on the rise of the rigidity and polarization in the Western worldview, featuring Pari Center founder F. David Peat. Former author of a column ilLogic for SoulPancake where she flushed out many of the ideas for the film. Jena works as a comedian on stage and radio, most notably on Jackie's Jokehunt on Howard 101 on SiriusXM. After Jena's original appearance on Thrive LOUD, Jena shares the continuing story of this film and how HER story in making this film helped bring the whole 'absurd' project together. Click the link below to learn more about this amazing film.  

Keith Smith, co-Founder, and CEO of Payability, originally hails from the Pacific Northwest and now calls New York City home. Keith spent the initial few years of his career working as an analyst at a few financial institutions before founding CyberMortgage and then Zango. Keith was most recently co-Founder and CEO of BigDoor, which provides loyalty programs to large consumer brands, including; NFL, MLB, CBS, Viacom, and Starbucks. A successful entrepreneur, Keith regularly lends his time to early-stage startups via TechStars and also serves as an advisor, investor and board member for multiple tech startups. Keith checks in from the back woods of the state of Washington to connect with Lou Diamond on Thrive LOUD. *** CONNECT WITH LOU DIAMOND & THRIVE LOUD