From Civil Engineer to Cookie Empire with Brad Kaplan

Cody Warren was arrested just one month before his college graduation. What followed were four years in prison and a choice: let the mistake define him or use it as a turning point to reshape his entire life. While incarcerated, Cody discovered endurance running by completing his first marathon behind prison walls, finding a new sense of purpose through suffering and discipline.Today, Cody is a husband, father, and a entrepreneur. He is the acting CEO of Two Men & A Vacuum, a commercial cleaning company he started from the ground up in 2012 that now employs over 200 people. He is also the founder of Peak + Restore, a performance and recovery company dedicated to helping others push their physical and mental limits.From the prison yard to completing some of the world's toughest ultramarathons, including the Moab 240 and Cocodona 250, Cody’s story is a masterclass in redemption. In this raw conversation, we explore trauma, growth, and the mindset required to rebuild yourself. Cody’s mission is simple: help others find their "why," because when you find your why, you find your purpose.

Leo Elliott's transformation into a master guitar builder is a remarkable story of second chances. In this conversation, Leo shares his journey from a curious kid in Dallas who loved taking things apart, through years of severe personal struggle, to becoming the founder of Scarlet Fire Guitars.After a winding path that included mining gold in Ghana, Leo crafted his first Jerry Garcia inspired custom guitar. When he took it to Bryant "Pablo" Russell at the iconic Charley's Guitar Shop, the restoration expert was completely blown away. That validation sparked a career that eventually led Leo to track down and work directly with the legendary Doug Irwin.Whether you are interested in guitar building, the Grateful Dead legacy, or incredible human resilience, this episode shows that sometimes the longest detours lead you exactly where you are supposed to be.

Eric Zimmer's story reveals the complex path from rock bottom to redemption. Growing up as a gifted but troubled kid in Ohio, Eric's restless energy led him from childhood kleptomania to a devastating heroin addiction that left him homeless and facing multiple felonies. After getting sober and thriving for eight years, a devastating betrayal in his AA community led to a relapse that looked completely different from his first addiction experience.Now eighteen years sober, Eric hosts The One You Feed podcast, which has been downloaded over 70 million times. His new book "How a Little Becomes a Lot" explores how lasting change happens through consistent small steps rather than dramatic transformations.This conversation goes deep into the psychology of addiction, the complexity of recovery, and how the same energy that can destroy us can ultimately become our greatest strength when properly channeled. Eric's honesty about both his struggles and his success offers hope for anyone working to transform their life one day at a time.Checkout Eric Zimmer's podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-you-feed-personal-growth-emotional-resilience/id792555885https://www.oneyoufeed.net/

Recognized as one of the "100 Most Influential Women in Advertising History," Nancy Kramer built a marketing empire while trapped in the wrong life. After religious guilt and trauma led to a forced marriage, she escaped into a parallel existence as an entrepreneur.In this episode, Nancy shares her incredible journey of launching her agency in 1981 with seed funding from Apple. She opens up about working directly with Steve Jobs, orchestrating a Victoria's Secret live stream that landed in an MIT time capsule, surviving the dot com crash, and growing her business into a 375 associate pioneer before selling it to IBM.But the real story is about what happened when her body finally said enough. Severe panic attacks became the ultimate wake up call that forced her to trust the inner voice she had ignored for decades. This conversation is a profound look at overcoming generational trauma and finding true alignment.

Laura Cooke had everything that should have made her happy — successful career, beautiful family, dream job as assistant head of school at Wellington School in Columbus. But her body was keeping score. Stress-related illnesses forced her to confront a hard truth: she was walking around pretending to be happy while making choices that led to misery.In this conversation, Laura shares her journey from a CompuServe founder's dinner table to building Positive Foundry, a company that brings emotional intelligence and well-being tools to frontline workers. She opens up about the moment Martin Seligman's book "Flourish" changed her trajectory, why she walked away from her dream job, and how installation crews are now having "feelings meetings" because of her work.This episode explores the courage it takes to rebuild your life from the inside out, the power of conversation to create real change, and why the inner work isn't just for people who think they need it. Laura is creating generational change one conversation at a time, proving that transformation happens not through information but through connection.

Jim McCarthy lived every high school athlete's dream until it became a nightmare. State championship winners, local celebrities, his teammate awarded the illustrious “Mr. Ohio".Then one phone call changed everything: their 15-year-old teammate Lorenzo Hunter was found shot dead, and two teammates were arrested for murder. Jim carried this story for twenty years, knowing the truth wasn't being told. His documentary "Mr. Football" isn't just about what happened, it's about what happens when a community finally stops running from trauma and starts healing together.This conversation explores the power of listening and why some stories take decades to tell properly.

Brad Kaplan had never baked a cookie from scratch when he Googled "pumpkin desserts" for Thanksgiving 2018. Six years later, he owns two Lion Cubs Cookies locations in Columbus with a third on the way.This is the story of how an impulsive kid from Cleveland who became a reluctant civil engineer discovered his true calling through controlled experiments in his kitchen. Brad shares the three jumps every entrepreneur must make, why removing distractions revealed his passion, and the three scoreboards that determine success at every stage of life.Whether you're considering a career pivot or starting your own business, Brad's journey offers honest insights into what it really takes to build something from scratch.

Geoff Javer is a lifelong friend of Brett's, and in this episode, they sit down to unpack a journey that spans five decades.From growing up navigating childhood trauma to finding an identity as the "party kid" in high school, Geoff shares how he struggled to fit into the traditional academic box due to dyslexia. A major wake up call in college led to an 18 year career climbing the ranks in the corporate insurance world, where he finally found the validation he had been seeking. Geoff eventually took a massive leap of faith to buy a drive thru convenience store. Twelve years later, he is not just serving a rural community, he is finding deep happiness and connection in the daily grind.Geoff also opens up about his newfound passion for gardening and photography, proving that it is never too late to try something entirely new and find profound mental healing in the second half of life.

Gabby Goldach is a chiropractor, but she does not approach the body as a broken machine that needs fixing. She views the nervous system as a transmitter of life force, and her practice is designed to help your body remember how to heal itself.In this conversation, Brett and Gabby trace the full arc. They explore her childhood in Columbus, navigating her parents' divorce at twelve, and the profound realization in Oslo that allowed her to finally reconnect with her father. Gabby shares the story of moving across the world to Norway, Spain, Andorra, and Singapore, and how those experiences shaped her return home to create "the inside space".They discuss the profound impact of generational trauma, how a mother's nervous system wires her baby in utero, and why true healing requires us to step out of our educated minds and trust our body's innate intelligence. This is a conversation about releasing the narratives that no longer serve you and reclaiming your sovereignty.

Tricia Eastman — author, facilitator, and founder of Ancestral Heart — has spent her career bridging cultures, honoring initiation traditions, and supporting Indigenous-led land stewardship.Right now, she’s part of a grassroots campaign to preserve iboga, the most sacred plant of Gabon — and arguably one of the most significant on earth. Through Ancestral Heart, donations are flowing directly to Blessings of the Forest and Maghanga Ma Nzambe, two community-rooted organizations working to protect this plant, secure livelihoods for forest stewards, and ensure this living heritage endures for generations.This is communities coming together. Forest stewardship as reciprocity. A story worth filling your heart and your newsfeed in chaotic times. Join the journey toward peace, unity, and healing.Donate or learn more at ancestralheart.com or https://donorbox.org/ancestralheart