Closing the Courage Gap with Margie Warrell – Episode 561 (M01)

This episode marks the launch of our new release schedule. Just 12 books are being featured this year, and the first of those 12 comes from an author who has made three previous appearances on the show.

Her name is Dr. Margie Warrell. She isn’t just a bestselling author—she’s a globally respected speaker, coach, and advocate for courageous action.

Her newest book is called The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action, and I’m thrilled you’re about to hear her wisdom on how to tackle self-doubt, take more meaningful risks, and step boldly into the life you’ve always imagined.

Margie’s perspective on living bravely couldn’t be more timely, and I know you’re going to walk away from this episode feeling challenged and inspired to close your own courage gap.

Do you sometimes hold back when you know you need to speak up or step forward?

Fear creates the gap. Courage closes it.

Margie’s powerful guide cuts through the hype to connect the ‘why’ of courage to the ‘how’ of courage.

Drawing on cutting-edge research woven together with stories that compel head and heart, The Courage Gap will help you bridge the think/do gap between what you’ve been doing and what you can do; between where you are and where you want to be—in your career, relationships, leadership, and life.

Distilling theory and hard-won wisdom spanning from Margie’s childhood in rural Australia to her decades of living around the world and coaching ‘insecure overachievers’ in Fortune 500 organizations, Margie shares a powerful 5-step roadmap to reprogram the self-protective patterns of thought and behavior that sabotage success to bring your bravest self to your biggest challenges and boldest vision.

At a time when courage seems in short supply, in a culture continually stoking insecurity and anxiety, this book will transform your deepest fears into a catalyst for your highest growth and the greatest good.

Applying the five steps will:

  • Ignite passion and unlock the potential fear holds dormant
  • Rewrite the scripts that have kept you stuck, stressed, and living too safely
  • Reset your ‘nervous’ system and embody courage in critical moments
  • Transform discomfort as a cue to step forward and expand your bandwidth for bold action
  • Reset your relationship to failure and make peace with the part of you that wimps out

For leaders, The Courage Gap provides a guide to operationalize and scale the courage mindset across your team and organization to deepen trust, dismantle silos, foster innovation, accelerate learning, and unleash collective courage toward a more secure and rewarding future.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Margie and her new book.

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560: Game-Changing Reads: 11 Books Every Leader Needs – Part 2

In this two part, year-ending series, I unpack the eleven book that should be a part of every leader’s library. If there are any books on this list you haven’t yet made time for, I suggest you carve out time in 2025 for each of them.

In last week’s episode, I covered books #11 through #6. This week, I walk through the top #5.

In that there are 11 books on the list, you can dedicate a month to each, giving yourself a bit of extra time to get through the last of them as the holidays get under way in November and December.

You have two ways to engage with this week’s content. You can simply scroll down and read through the list. Or, if you prefer, click the play button below and allow me to present them to you.

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558: The 8 Step Blueprint To Building A Profitable Personal Brand Business with Mike Kim (E)

I first met Mike Kim at the first-ever Podcast Movement conference in 2014, and I liked him immediately. Unassuming, humble, but incredibly smart and well-spoken. My kinda guy.

Mike Kim

But that ain’t the half of it, as they say.

Mike is someone I have so much respect for. Everything he does, he does with absolute class. He’s an amazing teacher and a fantastic and confident public speaker.

And I love the fact that after meeting him nearly 8 years ago at that “little” conference, he’s finally coming out with a book (just one month before me), making it possible for me to have him on Read to Lead.

Mike’s new book, releasing next week, is called You Are the Brand: The 8-Step Blueprint to Showcase Your Unique Expertise and Build a Highly Profitable, Personally Fulfilling Business.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Mike and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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557: The Quest to Build a Culture That Rocks with Arnie Malham (an Encore Presentation of Episode 367)

How someone could create something called the Better Book Club and it not be on my radar is crazy. Especially considering they’re in my own backyard of Nashville, Tennessee!

arnie malham

Thankfully, I have friends. I know strange, right? One of them is a guy named Dave Delaney.

Thanks to Dave, I’m no longer a stranger to the Better Book Club. More importantly, I’m no longer a stranger to the man who created it. His name is Arnie Malham.

And now, thanks to the magic of technology, I get to make sure he’s someone who know as well. You’re welcome!

Arnie’s book, Worth Doing Wrong: The Quest to Build a Culture That Rocks was released in 2016 and is one of my all-time favorite books on the topic of culture.

In it, Arnie covers executable strategies and real-world tactics for creating a culture that will help you smash you business goals, achieve win-win relationships with your clients, generate buzz in your community, and cultivate a workplace that you and your team members will love.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Arnie and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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555: Lead with Your Values to Advance Your Career with the Wharton School’s G. Richard Shell (an Encore Presentation of Episode 381)

I am extremely fond of today’s special guest for a lot of reasons, not the least of which he has the distinction of being one of my first ten guests ever.

richard shell

G. Richard Shell first visited the show in episode #008 way back in August of 2013, almost 8 years ago.

We talked about his, then, new book Springboard. Today, we’re diving into his latest book called The Conscience Code: Lead with Your Values, Advance Your Career.

It’s driven by dramatic, real-world examples from Richard’s classroom, today’s headlines, and classic cases of corporate wrong-doing. The book shows you how to create values-based workplaces where everyone can thrive.

Richard wrote the book, he says, to point to a better path; one that recognizes that conflicts are coming, learns to spot them, then follows a research-based, step-by-step approach for resolving them skillfully.

By committing to the Code, you can replace regret with long-term career success as a leader of conscience.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Richard and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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