You are not your job title. That’s where this conversation begins.

Today on Experience Over Expectation, I sit down with Theresa Hummel-Krallinger (Theresa H.K.)—two-time Emmy winner, author of Make Waves, President & Chief People Officer at High Five Performance, university professor, and a stand-up comic of 20+ years. She’s helped job seekers since 2003, and she’s seen every season of the market—hot, cold, and confusing.

Theresa’s “Boat Model” is the kind of simple, sturdy thinking we need right now:

• Rudder – your direction
• Hull – your skills/experience
• Sails – your reputation and brand (degrees, certs, public work)
• Motor – your network that moves you even when there’s no wind

It’s humane, practical, and—most of all—doable.

Watch on YouTube: Two-Time Emmy Winner Theresa H.K.: The Playbook to Beat a Cold Job Market (paste your YouTube link here)

Pre-order my book: Experience Over Expectation — Let Go of the Plan, Live on Your Terms →

https://www.marymccorvey.com/

• Why we confuse identity with employment—and how to separate them
• How a comic’s eye for everyday life makes you a better communicator at work
• The Boat Model and how to sketch your own “career vessel”
• Networking for introverts (relationship-first, not schmooze-first)
• What leaders get wrong about retention (hint: tell people they’re top talent)
• Financial right-sizing so a job loss isn’t a life collapse

• Don’t park your soul at the door. You bring your whole self to the work—humor included.
• Tend the garden year-round. Help others before you need help. That’s real networking.
• Stay out of complacency. Keep learning, keep building reputation signals, keep showing your work.
• Live within your means. Overextension turns a layoff into a crisis.
• Leaders: say the quiet part out loud. If someone’s top talent, tell them. It matters.

Draw your boat, honestly.

• What’s your rudder pointing toward? If unclear, write what good looks like for you.
• Is your hull strong? Which skills need reinforcement?
• How full are your sails? List visible proof of credibility (projects, posts, certs, talks).
• Does your motor start? Name 10 people you could help this month—then do it, no asks attached.

Save your sketch. Revisit quarterly.

• 00:00 – Why identity ≠ employment
• 02:00 – The origin of Make Waves and helping job seekers since 2003
• 04:00 – Stand-up comedy for work: building the “humor muscle”
• 10:28 – The Boat Model: rudder, hull, sails, motor
• 15:45 – The twin traps: complacency and overextension
• 18:18 – Networking that feels human (and works for introverts)
• 23:07 – Retaining top talent: tell them they’re top talent
• 26:21 – Making waves by leaving corporate to build your own thing
• 27:58 – Ikigai: joy, skill, need, and pay—finding the overlap

I invited Alan Lazaros on Experience Over Expectation because his story hits the heartbeat of this project: when life veers off script, you can either cling tighter to the plan—or you can build something truer.

At 26, Alan survived a car crash that forced a reckoning. He was already “successful” by the world’s measures, but the inner story didn’t match. That tension became fuel. Today he’s the founder/CEO of Next Level University, leading a global team and hosting a Top-100 podcast with 1M+ listens across 175+ countries. The work? Helping people pursue their version of success—not the one they were handed.

• My Founder Cycle (conceive → decide → resource → execute) and how many of us run that loop without naming it.
• Alan’s “Out-” framework—a deceptively simple sequence: Outfocus, Outrisk, Outwork, Outlearn, Outgrow, Outskill, Outtool, Outlead, Outlast.
• Social courage vs. the performance of success. Are we building reputations… or character?
• Boundaries & belonging as you grow. How to find your “absolutely people” (and kindly release the “absolutely not”).
• What to tell a 12-year-old about responsibility, humility, and belief.
• The one question Alan asks himself constantly: Why?

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/11ZvDQ2g3ls
• Podcast: https://feeds.captivate.fm/experience-over-expectation/
• Alan’s world: nextleveluniverse.com

1. Name one place you’re performing for the plan.
2. Ask why (five times if you have to).
3. Replace the performance with one honest action that serves who you actually are.
4. Tiny moves count. They compound.

My book Experience Over Expectation arrives September 23, 2025. If the message resonates—letting go of rigid timelines and living on your terms—pre-orders are open at marymccorvey.com. Early readers help more than you know.

Pre-Order EOE E-Book

Thank you for being here—for the stories, the courage, and the curiosity to keep asking why. That’s how we grow.

With gratitude,

Mary

Welcome back to Experience Over Expectation. Today’s episode sits right at the intersection I love most: purpose, creativity, and the courage to pivot. I’m joined by Neeti Keswani—host of Luxury Unplugged, brand/story coach, and author of the bestselling Live Your Dreams, Be You. We talk about “inner luxury,” the spirituality of work, and how to tell a brand story that actually feels like you.

Watch on YouTube

• Inner Luxury, defined. How purpose-driven leaders blend high performance with grounded values.
• AI + spirituality. Using tools like ChatGPT for reflection and clarity—plus where human intuition still leads.
• Message–Mindset–Marketing. Neeti’s triad for brand clarity that sounds like you on paper and in the room.
• Identity shifts. Clearing emotional blocks that keep founders from speaking their truth.
• The pivot. Neeti’s move from corporate consulting to creative work—and the courage that took.

1. Inside-out audit: Write your top three values. Now check your last three posts, pitches, or conversations. Do they reflect those values in tone and content? Where’s the gap?
2. One brave sentence: Craft a single sentence that names what you really do for people. Test it out loud, not just on paper.
3. AI as mirror, not master: Ask ChatGPT: “Act as a reflective coach. Help me frame my core message to [audience] in human, conversational language. Push back on clichés.” Then refine it until it sounds like your voice.

• Neeti’s reminder that “perfection is procrastination in a tuxedo”—ship the work.
• The elegant pairing of soulful success + measurable impact (yes, you can have both).
• The practical difference between content you can type and conviction you can speak—and how coaching bridges that gap.

Host of Luxury Unplugged, brand/storytelling coach, and author of Live Your Dreams, Be You. Neeti helps entrepreneurs align message, mindset, and marketing so their story lands with clarity and heart.

Find her: search “Luxury Unplugged podcast” on your platform of choice or Instagram.

• 🎧 Watch/Listen on YouTube
• 🌐 MaryMcCorvey.com — updates, essays, and upcoming episodes
• 📘 Pre-order Experience Over Expectation — out September 23, 2025 (pre-orders help more than you know)