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Anything But Typical

Anything But Typical

By: Gary Frey & Ben McDonald
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Gary Frey & Ben McDonald host round table conversations discussing entrepreneurship, leadership, and success on your own terms.Copyright 2019 All rights reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • 153: Nonprofit Leadership, Foster Care, and Creating Impact with Susanna Kavanaugh
    Oct 7 2025

    “I don’t take no for an answer, & I’m kind of a warrior for kids in foster care.” – Susanna Kavanaugh That line doesn’t come from a podium. It comes from a mom who’s loved, lost, & chosen to love again. At 18, Susanna placed a child for adoption, a wound so deep it could have ended her story. Instead, it fueled her purpose—to shoulder the ache of kids in broken systems & fight to change their stories. Years later, she & her husband fostered a little boy, loved him for nine months—then watched him leave. The heartbreak dimmed her fire, & she swore she’d never do it again. But conviction has a way of roaring back. And when it did, Susanna swung the door wide open. From babysitting “just for a weekend” to launching Least of These Carolinas, she kept saying yes. Yes to heartbreak. Yes to risk. Yes to kids who need more than a trash bag to carry their lives in. She hasn’t just built a nonprofit. She’s built a movement—by refusing to stay quiet when the system says no, & by relentlessly saying yes to kids who just need a champion. Get involved at LOTCarolinas.com. Susanna proves what Albert Schweitzer said: “Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even the smallest act of caring has the potential to turn a life around.”

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    53 mins
  • 152: Early Adoption of New Technologies with Rob Norris
    Sep 23 2025

    “You have an opportunity to take your natural skills and put ’em in a place that they aren’t naturally found.” – Rob Norris That’s not advice. That’s a dare. Because it’s easy to keep your talents where they stack neatly, to stay in the aisle with the labels facing forward. Safe. Predictable. Comfortable. Rob refused the shelf. He dropped sales skills into technology. Made early websites usable before usability was a word. Turned the chaos of employee benefits into a platform big enough for Aflac. Even saw the promise of blockchain before most people could spell it. That’s what he does: He takes complexity, makes it human, & builds businesses from the translation. Every entrepreneur faces a moment where their skills feel out of place. Rob shows us that’s not a weakness. It’s the opportunity. To learn more, connect with Rob on LinkedIn & Launch Key. Rob’s story reminds us to create bravely—to place your gifts where the map says “not here.” Or, as George Bernard Shaw put it: “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 151: Former KGB Spy Jack Barsky Returns For Part 2
    Sep 9 2025

    “I am staying.” – Jack Barsky Three words on a dirt road. Three words that ended one life & cemented another. Three words that turned a mission into a calling. Because by the time Moscow ordered this KGB agent home, Jack wasn’t just a spy with a cover story. He was a college valedictorian, a successful corporate executive, a father raising a little girl who’d stolen his heart. Piece by piece, he had built a life in America. Not perfect. Not easy. But real. A life that didn’t come from forged documents or coded radio signals. One built like any other—by late nights, failed ventures, second chances, & love discovered. So, when the KGB told him to run, he stayed. He chose the life he’d built over the life he’d been assigned. And that’s the real story here. Jack’s tales of espionage may make headlines, but it’s the everyday work of building something that lasts — a business, a family, a future — that defines his legacy. And it’s exactly what defines yours. To stay—to keep building, to redefine yourself again & again—that’s what sets you apart as an individual & an entrepreneur. Ready for more? Connect with him at JackBarsky.com. Jack proves what C.S. Lewis said best: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

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    1 hr and 12 mins
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