In this powerful and introspective episode, Josh Linkner hosts two influential voices—Shelley Paxton and Chris Schembra—who share their unique journeys from corporate success to deeper personal fulfillment. Shelley, former Chief Marketing Officer of Harley-Davidson, and Chris, renowned for his 7:47 Gratitude Experience, discuss the pivotal moments that shifted their careers, their drive to help others break free from the chains of conventional success, and their strategies for building lasting connections. Through humor, vulnerability, and practical insights, they unpack how embracing authenticity and leading with empathy can not only transform lives but create impactful, sustainable professional practices.
Shelley Paxton: Former CMO of Harley-Davidson, Shelley left her high-powered corporate career to pursue a more meaningful path, coining the term Soulbbatical. As an author, keynote speaker, and guide, Shelley helps others redefine success on their own terms, inspiring leaders to build bold, brave, and authentic lives. Shelley’s signature message—“I Quit So You Don’t Have To”—is the core of her keynote and forthcoming book.
Chris Schembra: Founder of the 7:47 Gratitude Experience, Chris has made a career out of helping people connect more deeply through shared experiences. From hosting intimate dinners to delivering workshops and keynotes, Chris focuses on fostering vulnerability and gratitude, encouraging organizations to build a culture of empathy and inclusion. His latest book, Gratitude Through Hard Times, delves into the transformative power of appreciation.
Liberating Yourself from “Success-Empty” to “Success-Full”: Shelley advocates for a fundamental redefinition of success that goes beyond external accolades. Through her concept of Soulbbatical, she explores how true fulfillment comes from listening to your own voice, not society’s expectations. Shelley’s goal is to help professionals escape the trap of “success-empty”—having material success but feeling unfulfilled—and embrace a richer, more meaningful version of success by aligning with their core values and passions.
Fostering Human Connection as a Business Strategy: Chris emphasizes that human connection should be at the heart of every business strategy. By using gratitude as a tool for fostering genuine relationships, he challenges companies to build deeper bonds between employees and clients. His 7:47 Gratitude Experience—a shared meal centered around expressing thanks—demonstrates that something as simple as asking the right question can dismantle barriers, create a sense of belonging, and ultimately drive better business outcomes.
The Courage to Say “No”: One of the hardest, yet most powerful strategies for growth is learning to say no. Whether it’s declining opportunities that don’t align with your values or setting boundaries that protect your energy, they argue that success comes not from chasing every option, but from focusing on what truly matters. For Shelley, this principle shows up in her ability to pass on engagements that don’t resonate with her core message. For Chris, it’s about maintaining focus on his passion for creating meaningful connections, rather than chasing every possible business avenue.
The Impact of Living Your Values Daily: A key theme in both Shelley’s and Chris’s stories is the importance of living authentically. From Shelley’s tattoo of “Authenticity” to Chris’s “Focus Equals Growth” mantra, both speakers emphasize that true success comes from daily decisions that reinforce personal values. Whether it’s through their keynote messages or personal interactions, they model how consistently honoring one’s principles can lead to professional success and personal satisfaction.
Learn more about Shelley Paxton:
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ABOUT MIC DROP:
Hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter its starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is sponsored by ImpactEleven.
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Josh Linkner — a New York Times bestselling author — is a rare blend of business, art, and science.
On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā (moo-DEE-tah) Venture Partners - an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he’s helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion in investor returns. He’s twice been named the EY Entrepreneur of The Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. Josh has been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and has performed over 1000 concerts around the world. His experiences in both business and music led him to become one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation. Josh
is the co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, a global research, training, and consulting firm. Today, he’s on a mission to help leaders Find A Way™ through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.
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Shelley Paxton:
Vulnerably, sharing our stories, speaking our truth, being who we are with our conviction. That's why I use that language 'cause it is me.
Josh Linkner:
Hey friends, Josh Linkner here. Delighted to bring you season three of Mic Drop, the number one podcast for professional speakers and thought leaders on the show. We connect with experts at the top of the field unpacking their success to help each of us grow and thrive from elevating your artistry to booking more gigs. Mic Drop is designed to give you the tools and insights you need to reach the next level. Together we'll accelerate the path to growth, success, and most importantly, impact
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Josh Linkner:
Today's episode features two of my favorite humans, Shelly Paxton and Chris s Shera thought leaders who dare to step away from the obvious dream to create a new, more meaningful path for themselves. Shelly, the former chief marketing officer of Harley Davidson, left a career others would envy to embark on a personal quest, what she called a soul sabbatical. Now she's on a mission to liberate a billion souls from being success empty instead of success. Full Chris, a Broadway producer turned gratitude expert, went from battling loneliness to cultivating deeper connections through dinner tables, meaningful conversation and pasta. We'll dive into their unique approaches to defining success, the pivotal moments that sparked massive career shifts, and how they're each bringing their messages to stages around the world. Shelly and Chris, welcome to Mic Drop.
Chris Schembra:
Josh, thanks for having us.
Shelley Paxton:
Thank you.
Josh Linkner:
This is before we started. Recording was a fun conversation. I, I know it's only gonna become, uh, more fun because we've got super badass people here. And shell, I wanna start with you, uh, 'cause I know you like words like badassery, but, um, give us a little sense of your, your background for those that don't know you. You were obviously the, the chief marketing officer of one of the most notable and iconic brands before, uh, doing this work, but give us a little backstory of how you gotta the point you're now.
Shelley Paxton:
Yeah, so, well, you stole the headline, Josh, so thank you. No, I'm kidding. Um, yeah, I spent 26 years in the corporate world. I was in the advertising and marketing space, and I had the great privilege and honor to work for incredibly iconic brands from McDonald's to Visa to back in the day if anybody remembers a OL, um, in the digital space, like one of the first movers, I did some really cool stuff with a OL and then a OL Time Warner Intel. And then at the peak of my career, I was invited to come into Harley freaking Davidson. And so it was, um, that was such an incredible honor to be invited to help Harley become a truly global brand. And I spent six and a half years there, ultimately became chief marketing officer at Harley. I was riding motorcycles around the world, and I was, I was so honored to steward a brand that people love so much.
They tattoo it on their bodies. And so then I had a bit of a soul crisis. All of that might sound incredibly cool. And it was, and at the same time as I think so many of us know, everything can look beautiful and shiny and sexy on the outside, and you're not feeling it on the inside. And that was a hundred percent my story. I had a soul crisis and a nightmare that woke me up to what ultimately has become the next chapter of my life, rewriting my own script of success and helping others do that. I'm on a, uh, I think Josh, you've heard me say this before, I'm on a mission to liberate a billion souls from success empty to successful. Chris is holding my book up right now. Thank you Chris, for being such a huge champion of mine. Um, and because I really like my success currencies impact and I'm on that mission, and I really knew and felt in my bones that that meant standing on more stages, getting back on stages and spreading the word and inspiring audiences to, you know, figure out what that journey looks like for them.
So here I am, I found you Josh Linkner and impact 11. I'm
Josh Linkner:
So delighted to, to be a little small part of this and, and, and support you because it's, you know, such an important message and I think so many people are suffering as you point out, uh, being successful on the outside, but but empty on the inside. And Chris, you know, there, there's, I know you two are friends and I, and of course we're friends, but I you, you had something similar at 7:47 PM on a fateful night, uh, where you discovered connection. Can you give us a little bit of that story and, and how, how that's led to what you're doing now?
Chris Schembra:
Yeah, great, great question and thanks for the tee up, Josh. You know, um, I was gonna say my, my, my story kind of started in, um, actually on my birthday, uh, which was just last weekend on, on August 31st, 2011, I moved to New York City with no job, no college degree, one suitcase, and living on my buddy's couch in Brooklyn. And I found a mentor. I found a guy by the name of Tony Lo Bianco, who was 74 years old at the time when I was a 24-year-old naive young dreamer, arriving to New York City with just a dream. And he put years of challenge, of perspective, of pressure, of curiosity, of belief and wisdom into me. And we traveled around the world for a lot, uh, uh, for four and a half years producing theatrical productions, entertaining audiences around the principles of human connection, of honor, of sacrifice of service.
And one day, Josh, I woke up, uh, in the be in the middle of the night 1, 1 1 morning, and I realized that all this stuff that people saw on paper, that wasn't it, just because the life looks good on paper doesn't mean it feels good in the heart. And I felt that way after coming back to New York City from producing a Broadway play in Rome, Italy. And for all of you listeners out there who know Rome kind of changes your soul. They walk different, they talk different, they love different, they honor history different. And when I got back to New York City, I realized I felt four things, lonely, unfulfilled, disconnected, insecure. And I thought, this is not it. Last time I felt all those things at once was in my early twenties, led me down a deep, dark path of non-suicidal self-injury, multiple stints in rehab, in jail.
And so I didn't want to go back. So I had to think, Josh, what was it about my time in Italy that changed my perspective on living? It's how they ate their food with their friends amongst community. And I said, I gotta bring that, that communal dining back to New York City. And so in my 350 square foot studio apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan at the time, um, I invented a pasta sauce recipe. And if you can see if you're watching this on video, I'm holding up a jar of my gratitude pasta sauce. If you, if you can't see it, if you're just listening on audio, I got a goofy old pasta sauce jar in my hand. But I thought it was pretty good, and I figured I should feed it to people to see if it's really even good or not. And I decided to host a dinner party that simple.
July 15th, 2015, I invited 15 of my friends over to my home for a simple bowl of pasta sauce, 6:30 PM cocktails begin, 8:00 PM dinner was served. But because pasta takes 13 minutes to cook al dente, I put the pasta in the pot at 7:47 PM and delegated 11 specific tasks to empower the attendees to work together to create the meal. So we had this shared group experience, we sat down at dinner, we had good food, good wine. I facilitated some deep conversation, everybody cried, they loved the sauce. And I said, I'm going to do this for the rest of my life. And it's been nine years ever since.
Josh Linkner:
It's so cool for both of you because you had these moments, there was a sort of an internal, you know, a trigger or, or a moment of, of, of insight. And then you said, I want this and I wanna share it. And, and some people have a, a powerful moment and they keep it to themselves. Both of you felt called to share it, which is a really a beautiful thing that I wanna honor. And, and Joel, I was looking at your website, which is amazing, by the way. I just love the language that you use. It's provocative, it's fun, it's kind of, they got the SAS to it. And I'll just read from your, your, your homepage what, where soul meet success. First thing, I see you in all caps, ready to shake shit up, release the shackles of should live and lead from the soul. Become your most bold, brave, badass, self and rebel for what matters most on your own damn terms. Welcome home rebel's soul. I got you. Unpack that for us a little bit. Like what, what's the thinking behind this? How, how did you, how'd you come up with this type of, of cult arms? Because you're, you're challenging people to become a better version of themselves in this really distinctive way. I'd love to hear your thinking behind such a powerful statement.
Shelley Paxton:
Thank you for that. It's so interesting and I'm gonna be fully transparent. I am in the process of thinking with the next iteration my website looks like, and there are pieces of it that I really wanna hang on to. And so I really appreciate that reflection. The truth is, as I was stepping into this, I mean, I realize that in order to have the impact I wanna have, impact is my success currency. It's not money. I trust that money will follow if I'm truly having the impact I'm meant to have in the world. That I had to be true to me And Josh, you know this about me. It was the very first thing you learned about me that I have authenticity tattooed on my arm. It is one of my top three values. And so as I thought about how I'm stepping into sharing me and sharing my message and sharing my work with the world, I knew that I had to lean into my edge because that's me.
It's who I am. That's how I speak every day. You guys both now know me well enough to know every room I show up in every zoom, every recording, every stage. That's how I speak. That's who I am. And so I really believe this and I've also learned that, you know, the, the speaking business and the world in general, it's noisy. And the best way to break through is to have such a po I mean, Chris just told a story that had, I've heard Chris's story before, and every time I hear it, I am on the edge of my seat. I am salivating for that pasta sauce. And I'm still dying for the invitation for Chris to invite me to one of his events. So I'm just saying I'm planting that seed. But I think it's really important, like vulnerably sharing our story, speaking our truth, being who we are, using our language with our conviction. That's my flavor. And I know Chris has a different flavor, and Josh, you have a different flavor. But that's why I use that language 'cause it is me.
Josh Linkner:
So good. And you're right, it's distinctive. It's, it's, you're not trying to blend in. You're trying to stand out, which I deeply admire. And it's, it's core to your beliefs. And, and speaking of beliefs, Chris, you, you know also on your side, I was kinda checking it out, preparing for today and right there, smack on your side, here's what I believe, what a cool thing leading with your beliefs. You're not trying to pander to some buyer. Like, here's what I believe and I'll just read, you know, the future of work is human connection. Not all gratitude given is gratitude heard, focus equals growth. We can solve the disconnection crisis. It's a solvable problem. How about you Chris? What, what's, what's called you to lead with those beliefs and and, and try to share things that are more deep level than transactional? It's really more of it a at a fundamental level, this core belief level.
Chris Schembra:
Hmm. Well, you know, I'll get to focus equals growth in a minute. 'cause I actually literally have focus equals growth as a, uh, as, as, as a, uh, a post-it note on my computer, it, it, it's, it's my core north, my, my true north star in life, um, is that you can't chase two rabbits at the same time. They'll both get away. Focus equals growth. I first heard that on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 from my good buddy Dave Lindsay. But that's a story for another day. You know, you talk about depth, right? Instead of surface level, you talk about depth over formality. That came to me from my mentor Tony. And if you're listening to this, you've all got a mentor like Tony. They take you in as a, as a naive young dreamer. I mean, when I moved to New York City, I came with a dream.
I I had started a little video production company in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. And I said, let me try my, my chops at the big city. And so when I, when I got to New York City, I started cold calling every business owner, every boat captain, retail store, whatever, who, whoever I thought would need a marketing video, nobody called me back. And one day I was biking through Times Square about a month into moving into New York City and I'm looking up at all the Broadway posters and the big fancy lights and I said, huh, I think I wanna be an actor. And so I called my dad, dad, I think I wanna be an actor. He had no advice. He didn't know what to do with that. We hung up the call a couple days later. He said, I've got an idea. I've got a guy, and this is going back to depth over formality.
I've got a guy, his business card, I met him at a charity event years ago. His name's Tony Lo Bianco, you should give him a call. See if you can ask him questions about the business. I said, all right. I googled Tony. So he had a legendary career. Nervously dialed his number. He picked up that phone. He let me come over to his penthouse apartment on Central Park West and asked him questions about the business. And on Friday, September 30th, 2011, I showed up to that man's a stranger's apartment with a whole legal pad filled paper of thousands of questions I had meticulously prepared about the business of acting. And the minute he opened the door, he looked down at that paper and said, don't be silly. We don't need those here today. Just come on in. And that's the first moment I realized this is a man that values depth over formality.
And we went into the, we went into the living room and he picked up a rock from the window. Silt, this rock right here, which is actually a 66 million year old cephalopod. I learned that just last week.
Josh Linkner:
So, good man. So good. And, and Chris, you were, you know, also at that 7:47 PM moment, that one magical night. I understand you asked a question to people and that question I, I've got in front of me is, if you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don't give enough credit to and thanks to, who would that be? Powerful question. Invoking, you know, gratitude and, and, and, and honoring people. So Shelley, I'd like to ask you that question that Chris asked to his friends. If you could give credit thanks to one person in your life that you don't give enough credit to or thanks to, who would that be?
Shelley Paxton:
Oh man. Uh, to be honest, I, that would be my dad. Um, I write about my dad a lot. His story, my dad is still alive. But as af right after I left Harley, about eight months into that journey, I called my sabbatical as I was trying to reconnect with myself, figure out how I wanted to define success, what that looked like. Uh, my dad had a massive stroke, so he was living proof to me of, you know, you can do all things. You can take care of yourself, you can tick all the boxes of traditional success. You can do everything that society says is quote unquote successful. And then you can, you know, keep kicking the can down the road to retirement and say, I'm gonna do all the things when I finally retire. And we know this is, this is what so many people do.
And, um, while my parents enjoyed a lot of their life, they had this sort of dream retirement, you know, painted. They were gonna sail off into the sunset. And at 71 years, young and perfectly healthy, my dad had a massive stroke. He is now brain damaged, he's forever in a wheelchair. He's cannot care for himself. He's no longer CEO chairman on six boards. All of the things that he was in his very high profile, wildly quote unquote successful life. And I had a lot of resentment for a long time because I felt like I was handed his success script. Part of my journey was following his success script. And you know what I realized, it served me so powerfully for 26 years. I was part of all of those brand stories that I shared earlier on. I had the most incredible career living around the world, working around the world, stewarding those iconic brands.
And I felt this level of resentment. 'cause he kept saying, well, you can be president of Harley. Don't just settle for chief marketing officer. You can be all the things. And I felt this brewing resentment of like, I don't want that, and I didn't. And now I realize how powerfully it served me. And he was doing the best he could with what he knew. And that's what got him from, you know, being the first in his family to go to college and getting himself out of a small town with no means to doing exactly what I just described and of so much appreciation for it now, I don't resent it. I'm incredibly grateful for it, because I wouldn't be here now sharing what I'm sharing and having had the life story to have the soul crisis, to have moved forward to see this new path and to share what I share on stages and in my book and in all the places now. So dad, I love you and I'm incredibly grateful.
Josh Linkner:
Charlie, what a beautiful share. Thank you for, for giving us that perspective.
Chris Schembra:
Wait, Jo, Josh, who, uh, who might you answer, Josh, if you could give creditor thanks to one person in your life that you don't give enough credit or thanks to, or that you've never thought to thank, who would that be? I,
Josh Linkner:
I have an answer to for that. And, and, and this is gonna sound weird, but it's true. And the answer is myself. And I know at first it sounds very arrogant and boastful, which is not anyone knows me. That's not me at all, at all. But I tend to give a lot, hopefully a lot of gratitude to those I care about my, my friends, my family. I, I just love poor love onto other people. And sometimes I have a hard time receiving it like many of us do. And then certainly, um, self-compassion, self-love. And I think that the one person I never give credit to is, is, is my own role in, in things. And I give myself a little hug if, if I had to answer that question.
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Chris Schembra:
Josh, what, um, you talked about one of the values on my website is not all gratitude given is gratitude heard. What language of appreciation might you receive gratitude from yourself in not the most convenient for you to give it, but what is the language that Josh, you know, capital s Josh, capital s self, Josh
Josh Linkner:
Um, when you say the language, you mean what format or what type of words? I just wanna make sure I understand your question.
Chris Schembra:
Yeah, so Gary Chapman wrote a book called The Five Love Languages, and he found that people like to receive love and appreciation and gifts, quality time, acts of service, physical touch, you know, quality time. How might Josh receive that?
Josh Linkner:
Yeah, probably like many, many thought leaders. I think words of affirmation are nice, you know, when you, when you hear the impact that you've made on somebody. I got a nice note from a speaking client earlier today, and it, it, it was really moving. It wasn't because I wanted to douse myself in self adulation. It wasn't to be boastful, it was knowing that you created an impact. And so those, those types of of things, I, I don't, I don't need gifts or anything else, and not, not that different people see things differently, but, but prob probably words of affirmation. Chris, thank you for asking that. It's a cool question and, and I'd love to kind of, you know, because so we, we, we talked a lot about depth and substance, you know, kind of where we are now. We have two people that had meaningful internal experiences.
They were called to share these experiences with the world. They both went deep into the substance of it. They both took non-traditional approaches, and now you're both making a real impact in the world. And, and people ask me all the time, like, well, how do you enter the speaking world? You know, and, and, and, and very few of 'em do what you did, which is such a cool thing, which is you went inward first. It wasn't about some external achievement, it was about your own personal growth, and then you wanted to share that, uh, with others. I'm curious now how it's planned out. And Chris, I'd love to start with you and then bot Shelly. How, how are things going now is is in this chapter of your, your professional, uh, uh, impact, like, you, you, you're, you're, you're out there speaking, you, you're writing, you're, you're hosting podcasts. How are things going and, and, and where do you see them evolving?
Chris Schembra:
You know, when you go back to the, the humble beginnings around the dinner table, um, you know, the dinner table was our first product and service. You know, the first client call we ever got was from a guy who said, I wanna, I wanna bring 16 members of my social club together. Can you facilitate a dinner for us? I said, sure, what's your budget? He said, $200. I was ecstatic. And so the dinner table was our first service. We'd help companies connect with their customers, we'd help their executive teams come together, we'd produce dinners to do that. Um, and, and we did about 70 dinners a year, um, leading up into 2020. And then 2020 happened, the pandemic, the world removed our pasta sauce. The world removed the dinner table, but what it didn't take away from us is gratitude. Um, and so we pivoted to producing virtual gratitude experiences, and we produced, uh, a metric ton of those throughout the pandemic.
That was great. And then at the beginning of 2023, I mean, literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of teams brought their amazing leaders through our virtual gratitude experiences. And it was fantastic. It was facilitation. And then at the beginning of 2023, we had 28 virtual gratitude experiences in Q1 alone. And then Q2, they started dying off. So I said, let me go to Impact 11, let me add keynotes full, full, full scale keynotes to my roster. And ever since the tutelage of Impact 11, now we can go out to the market with a suite of services ranging from workshops, experiences, dinner parties, full scale keynotes, and now multi-year long company-wide proactive mental wellbeing programs. And so it's been wonderful to now not just have one tool in the bag, but have a multitude of tools in the bag. And, you know, my time at, at Impact 11 didn't just make me a, a better speaker, it made me a better thought leader across the full suite of our products and services, the books we write, the Rolling Stone column, we run, the podcast, we do, et cetera.
And so, you know, I mean, if I look at my calendar next to my wall, we've got 44 events booked on the year. My goal is to get to 50 or 60 by the end of the year, I'll say 60, because Josh always wants us to push to 11, right? Push to 150% hoping to come back down to 50. And, and I call it a great year. I call it a fantastic year. We've got our, our hottest selling product is our Inquisitive Empathy workshop, where the first 45 minutes is a keynote, and then there's a 15 minute break, and then there's a two hour tactical skills-based training, teaching people how to have hard conversations in the workplace with grace and ease, teaching people how to say no, have courage, self-advocate, negotiate, get vulnerable or valuable information, et cetera. And so it's beautiful to see so many different things. I mean, the perfect day with me, the full C Shera experience is inquisitive empathy workshop in the morning, first keynote, then workshop, then in the afternoon they do what's called the boring business stuff. And then you do a gratitude dinner for the team at night. And so that's kind of the full, full, full day. And it's a mixture of facilitation, of speaking, of custom content creation. Boy, it's been going fantastic.
Josh Linkner:
Hmm. What a beautiful thing. And, and it's so cool because really you're, you're doing important work there. It's hitting people on the hearts and the heads, and you're really making a difference in their businesses and their personal lives. And you can tell that by, by your description of it, the joy that you're, you're, you're getting, uh, by being able to provide and lift people up. It's just awesome.
Chris Schembra:
I love watching people squirm in our workshops when we push and challenge and apply wisdom and perspective that I lo that I learned from Papa Tony, Tony Lo Bianco,
Josh Linkner:
Shelly, you're, um, out there hitting people in the soul as well. And, um, and I know doing some mad traditional formats in addition to keynotes. Give us a sense of your business today and, and how it's sort of evolving and, and, and where you see it heading.
Shelley Paxton:
Yeah, so it's interesting. I, I left Harley in 2016, exactly eight years ago from this conversation right now, it feels like yesterday, in a lifetime ago, all at the same time. And I, so this was all pre pandemic, and I went through, kind of stumbled my way through this very profound journey. I called my sabbatical, and I honestly, it was terrifying because I had no idea, I didn't know if I was gonna end up back in the corporate world, a different role doing things differently, showing up differently as a leader, if I was gonna end up on like a deserted island or living in a refrigerator box under the highway overpass. Like I had no idea where any of this was leading. And then slowly but surely, and at the, the, you know, my dad having a stroke eight months in was the moment of no return.
Like, I was never looking back, I was only looking forward. And I realized, he said to me, you know, that he survived because he knew he had different work to do in the world. And I knew that was a message for me. And so from that moment forward in 20, that was kinda late 2017, early 2018, I knew I was on my own and I was getting enough, enough questions, enough interest, enough intrigue around, what is this sabbatical thing? What are you doing? Tell me more about it. I'm feeling a little empty, unfulfilled, not as energized as I wanna feel by my success. What does this look like? What are you doing? And I started to realize this was my mission and my business. And then Simon and Schuster came calling, it became my book. And so I followed this very organic flow that led me to a full coaching practice that absolutely carried me through the pandemic.
I am so grateful. Talk about gratitude. I'm so grateful to have created a coaching practice, but my sort of moment, I think the pandemic was that cosmic kick in the pants for so many of us. And it was a continuation of my work in my digging deeply to say, what do I really, really want? What feels alive and aligned for me? And what I realized is that I didn't wanna sit behind my computer on a zoom. I love being on a journey with people, but like I said, my success currency is impact. And I realized in that moment, well, I was second city trained. I used to be on stages doing improv in my twenties when I was in my corporate world, I was always the executive they put on stage because I loved being on stage, I was good on stage. I could help a crowd lean into the toughest of conversations.
And so I realized at that moment that I was meant to really scale this message. And scaling this message meant that speaking was meant to be front and center in my business. And so fast forward through some, I got sick, I had some, some challenges. And when I came out of that with even more clarity, I came into 2024 going, this is the year of going big or going broke
I, I just became an adjunct professor at Northwestern University in one of their grad programs. I am a, uh, a guide for the chief organization helping female c-suite lu, uh, leaders be, you know, raise their game as leaders. I teach at Modern Elder Academy. So I've all this school and I do some coaching and guiding and advisory, um, but I have this kind of cool portfolio of things, but speaking is in the dead center of it. And working you, Josh, and the founding members, and Chris and the whole community in Impact 11 is helping me raise my game, get, create awareness for myself and exposure for who I am, who my message is. I'm on the radar of more speaker bureaus now. I am getting far more inquiries. I'm excited about the number of proposals I'm in for 2025 already. So that's exciting. So I'm at a different place than Chris is.
I feel like I'm just a little bit further behind and really ramping up my speaking business. But I'm so excited, and as I think both of you know, I'm really leaning into this positioning of I quit. So you don't have to, it is my new keynote, it is my next book. And what I've realized is all of these beautiful lessons I've learned, these intentional choices that I now see we can make that success is actually a series of choices, not a checklist. And that's what I wanna pay forward and share with the world. So I'm excited about all of the momentum and the energy, and I'm really grateful for the role impact 11 has played and and specifically to you, Josh. So thank you.
Josh Linkner:
It was very kind of you to say, but no, thank you. I mean, and again, I'm seeing the, the, the commonalities here. You know, people who are caring deeply, who the money follows, it doesn't lead. I'm seeing a common commonality that you're both finding multiple ways to monetize expertise, whether seek, speak, gimme the centerpiece, but there's lots of other things from, you know, gratitude dinners to, to, you know, digital coaching sessions and, you know, professoring at Northwestern and otherwise. So it's just really cool to see that you're taking these core ideas that you feel they're not just thought ideas, they're felt ideas, they're they're core beliefs and, and, and helping others to live better lives and grow better businesses and enjoying the benefits, uh, for yourselves. I, I, I wanted to bring our conversation home. Uh, Shelly, you, you mentioned your tattoo, and obviously first of all, Harley Davidson is tattoo worthy.
Funny enough, in our mo uh, I never told you this, but I run a venture capital firm called Mudita Venture Partners. Uh, mudita is a Sanskrit term, which means taking joy in other people's success. So we're trying to lift people up, not not kick them down, not being ruthless like other funds. And we always say we wanna create a tattoo worthy experience. We reference that all the time. But that back to yours, you know, you mentioned authenticity and, and we had a cool exchange. I I, there was a keynote opportunity for you in Chicago, and, um, and i, I, I reached out and, and I said, Hey, do you want this keynote opportunity? And he said, you're awesome. You're like, I, I, I love, love to do something with you, and this is not the right fit for me. And so you passed on it, and I had so much respect for that, you know, talk about living your principle or trying to get our businesses going, and it would be easy to grab the money and move on. But like, you, you stuck to that, you know, you looked at that tattoo and it meant something. It wasn't just ink. It was who you're, I have so much depth and admiration for, for, for living your, your principles. So what I, Chris, me, uh, monitor, if you were gonna get a tattoo that was encouraging you to show up in a certain way, like how do you wanna show up in the world every day? What, what tattoo might that be?
Chris Schembra:
I mean, it, it, it might just be focus equals growth. You know, I, I got a DHD, you know, I'm like a squirrel. Uh, I live in New York City, there's distractions everywhere. Um, you know, I meet a lot of wonderful people who always wanna do, you know, partnerships in their industry or they want my help, uh, introducing them here and there and all these kind of things, which are awesome. Um, but, you know, it's like driving down the road with a, a pretty gal in, in the passenger seat. You, you kinda get distracted. And, um, you know, I I, I went snow skiing with, with this Dave Lindsay on Sunday, January 24th, 2016. And after snow skiing, we went back to his apartment on 57th Street in New York City. And Dave's built a, a wonderful company, built a a couple thousand person company in Indianapolis, uh, in, in the, uh, uh, home security space called Defenders.
And, and I really respected what he met in my life and, uh, and him as a mentor. And at that point, after snow skiing in 2016, he, uh, I had just left my theater career. I had, I was 26 dinners deep in my dinners. I had a lot of different things that I was thinking about. And he looked at me and he said, all right, Chris, you're in a very pivotal transition in your life right now. Whatcha gonna do next? I said, I could do a social media company, I could do a real estate company. I could go back into theater. I could do all these things. I got the dinner table, I got my pasta sauce, and he kind of did a icky guy thing on me. You know, what do you have the potential, you know, what does the world have the potential to buy from you?
What do you have the most passionate about? What are your skills on this earth? Can you put, you know, all those kind of great questions. And ultimately, my answer to every single one of those things with icky guy was the dinner table, the dinner table creating safe spaces for, for people to connect. And he says, Chris, I think he got your answer. And that's when he put the, the Russian proverb in my head, you can't chase two rabbits at the same time. They'll both get away. Focus equals growth. And what I really think, Josh, is that, you know, I had a wonderful man named Francesco pastor on my podcast. He's the chief business officer of a 13,000 person paper company in, in Europe. And at the end of it, he said, Chris, strategy is the ability to say no. And you know that as a multi-time founder strategy is not having new ideas. It's the ability to say no to the bad ones. Focus equals growth. I took that and rewrote it, and I said, true human connection thrives on the courage to say no. And I think I've built some pretty amazing relationships in my life by saying no to ones that I shouldn't say yes to, so that I could be all in and a hell yes to the ones that do. And that's been my North Star ever since the first time he told it to me. And I, I should probably go get a tattoo.
Josh Linkner:
It's so good. Well, what a, what a great place to, to bring our conversation home, um, living our principles, living our core beliefs, and, and making the world better as a result of it. So Chris, you are the gratitude expert, but I will just, uh, end by sharing some gratitude for both of you. Uh, there's a terrific conversation, and I think more than some tactic, how do you put this on your website? So the Speaker Bureau notices you, our conversation today was so much better because it shows about bringing perspective and passion and storytelling and insight to the stage and beyond about making the world different and, and, and the, the economic success will follow that. And you two are both modeling it for us. And so for that, I'm deeply grateful for our conversation today. Thank you.
Chris Schembra:
Thank you, Josh.
Shelley Paxton:
Thank
Chris Schembra:
You.
Josh Linkner:
Shelly and Chris remind us that real success isn't about the title, the Money or External Praise. It's about aligning with who we are at the core and having the courage to stand in our truth. For Shelly, it meant leaving behind one of the most iconic brands in the world to spread a new message, one that prioritizes impact over status. Her story of recognizing when the dream job becomes a trap is a wake up call to anyone feeling disconnected in their own lives. And Chris, he's a master at taking something as simple as dinner and turning it into a catalyst for profound human connection. His inquisitive empathy workshops are challenging companies to ditch the surface level stuff and dig deeper into what it means to truly support and uplift each other in meaningful ways. What struck me most was Chris's ability to transform a feeling of loneliness into an opportunity to build connection and community, which is a lesson all of us can take to heart.
So as we think about today's takeaways, ask yourself, what's the script of success that you might need to rewrite? And are you investing in the kind of connection that leaves people better than you found them? I'll leave you with Chris's guiding mantra. Focus equals Growth. The next time you're faced with another new opportunity, maybe the most courageous thing you can do is say no. So you can be a hell yes when it really counts. Thanks for joining us, and until next time, enjoy the pasta sauce. Thanks so much for joining me on another episode of Mic Drop. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. If you love the show, please share it with your friends, and don't forget to give us a five star review. For show transcripts and show notes, visit mic drop podcast.com. I'm your host, Josh Linkner. Thanks so much for listening, and here's to your next mic drop moment.