If you like underdogs and cheesecake -- you’re in for a treat. Greg Franklin's story is a cross between "Rudy" and Will Smith’s "The Pursuit of Happyness".

Featured in the book “Don’t Keep Your Day Job” by Cathy Heller, Greg described an annoying voice in his head that just wouldn’t go away. It pestered, persisted, and repeated the same thing over and over: “You’re gonna make cheesecakes?”

So Greg Franklin did just that …

These Are Greg's Lessons:

4:07 -- Overcoming No

5:38 -- The Voice He Couldn't Ignore

18:17 -- 3 Years to Perfect the Recipe

21:51 -- Fired on National Cheesecake Day

25:31 -- Life of the Cheesecake Ninja

27:30 -- Myth of "I'm not good at"

30:28 -- 5 Things I Learned

31:00 -- Cathy Heller's book, podcast

36:56 -- The Amazing Saul Blinkoff

37:42 -- My Wife's Patience

39:14 -- Finding Positivity

40:30 -- How, When To Take The Risk

42:30 -- Finding The Cheesecake Ninja

How to Find Greg Franklin:

TheCheesecakeNinja.com ⁠⁠⁠

@thecheesecakeninja

facebook.com/thecheesecakeninja

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For the record, when it comes to spirits and the paranormal, I wouldn’t call myself a believer or non-believer, but ever since a strange encounter in The Gettysburg Hotel in 1999, I’d call myself curious … Enough that my wife and I now take ghosts tours in most of the cities we visit -- which is how I met Brian Bloxsom. Brian was by far the best. His captivating tour was a window into the history, haunts and people of Asheville, North Carolina. And when I learned about his career as a 6th grade teacher and football coach at Rugby Middle School, plus his recovery from a motorcycle accident that required 17 surgeries -- I knew this was a person with lessons to share.

These Are Brian's Lessons:

5:44 -- 5 Lost Hours

11:23" -- What the hell is he doing in my house?"

16:19 -- Seeking acknowledgement

22:00 -- Opening Doors, Knocking Pipes, Cigar Smoke

27:06 -- A Gettysburg Ghost Story

33:18 -- Non-normal passions

38:03 -- Lessons in regret

42:52 -- Greatest influence

49:08 -- Don't leave it untried

More on The Great Unfamous: # Origins of The Great Unfamous: ⁠⁠bit.ly/greatunfamous ⁠⁠ #YouTube: ⁠⁠bit.ly/gr8Unfamous⁠⁠ #Facebook: ⁠⁠facebook.com/gr8unfamous⁠⁠ # All podcast platforms: ⁠⁠linktr.ee/thegreatunfamous⁠⁠ #IG: @gr8unfamous #Twitter: @gr8unfamous

We talk a lot about givers on this podcast. Nancy Vinsel typifies the classic giver with a mother mentality -- sacrifice, grit and positivity. She's overcome cancer twice, run a marathon, and earned a law degree at the age of 50. Listen and learn what it takes to evolve from a mother at 20 to an attorney at 50 and why age, motherhood and cancer could not stop her once she discovered her true strength.

These Are Nancy's Lessons:

3:45 -- Motherhood at 20

9:52 -- Benefits of nerd humor

11:29 -- 5 Things I Learned

12:30 -- "I'm not a great runner but I don't give up."

25:16 -- Protect your positivity

27:25 -- A moonlight message

29:49 -- Second cancer: "I am one fortunate woman"

34:01 -- "You've got to deal with it, you can't just put on a happy face."

33:54 -- "I've always thought of myself as a cork caught in waterfalls."

36:10 -- What does it mean to be a strong person?

39:45 -- Advice for those who think it's too late.

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In this mini-episode, we go off the leash a bit. That's because the guest is not a person, but a book. We unpack James Clear’s "Atomic Habits" in great detail via my attempt to build just one habit over 66 days. We dive into the real stories about ...

• What I learned?
• What went wrong?
• What surprised me?
• What was harder than expected?
• What was easier?
• Why it made me more grateful.
• And why this book is the most practical tool I’ve ever come across for change?

I hope you enjoy it.

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#IG: @gr8unfamous

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You probably don’t know many lawyers like Ashley Herd. She’s funnier than most. She’s bold and kind. She proves that empathy in the workplace matters via the inside joke. As a lawyer, Ashley is widely regarded as an expert in employment law and human resources having led legal teams and HR departments for notable organizations like McKinsey, KFC, Cumulus Media and Modern Luxury. But how she shares that experience with people is the story. She offers her down-to-earth wisdom for free on TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn with a wink and nod that teaches employees and managers how to build trust and avoid conflict by stressing the value of empathy.

These are Ashley's Lessons:

4:05 -- Origin of Luke

7:57 -- Power of Standup Comedy

15:44 -- My Breaking Point

20:50 -- Before You Quit, Do This

26:01 -- Field Hockey From a Book

30:10 -- 5 Things I Learned

34:22 -- How to Find Silver Linings

37:35 -- Walk Your Dog in the Pouring Rain

41:57 -- My Biggest Influence

49:01 -- "I Can't Do That"

Ashley's Amateur Standup Debut

IG, TIkTok, Facebook, YouTube

@managermethod

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#IG: @gr8unfamous

#Twitter: @gr8unfamous

Fred Garry has a lot to share because he’s an explorer. He’s traveled the world and lived in central Africa; he’s a voracious reader with a love for banned books, he’s a writer who’s authored a dozen titles, he’s an aspiring chef, a trail guide, an audiophile, a pop-culture fan.

But most of all, Fred is a seeker.

I think of Fred Garry as a kung fu master -- you know, the Bruce Lee “Enter the Dragon” type, the one who speaks in metaphors, opens doors with skilled hands and an enlightened mind. For me, Fred inspires two things I value a great deal … one is calm, the other is hopefulness -- hopefulness that not only are things going to be OK, but that I can play a part in making them that way.
Meet the man who dedicated himself to helping people live their best life and find out who helped him … get so darn good at it.

These Are Fred's Lessons:

4:25 -- I read books

6:24 -- Lucky 214

10:28 -- "We thought we knew you"

12:13 -- A boy and a soccer ball

13:56 -- The struggle with envy

18:41 -- Africa undid everything

22:10 -- A dream of sleeping in a bed

25:31 -- Spitting in the tube

31:00 -- Photo of a jockey

32:55 -- 5 things I learned

34:31 -- My hiking partner

36:03 -- The only reason we do stuff

38:12 -- How to steam crabs

39:50 -- How to find beauty in yourself

40:10 -- How to find freedom

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In this episode, we meet Tania Yuki, a woman who reinvented social measurement back in the day with her company Shareablee in 2013 and now again as the CMO of comScore. But she's no garden variety take-no-prisoner founder or C-suite executive. If you dig deeply you'll learn she’s best known as a storyteller, a mentor and a role model who takes a stake in the success of others. She lifts others up and helps people find their own answers. So let’s meet the brightest voice in media and find out how she came to be that way.

These are Tania's lessons:

3:29 -- Tania's punch-in-the-mouth question

7:48 -- Solve problems by relating to people

12:44 -- When I have no idea

17:51 -- What I learned from cat Iggy

20:54 -- What I learned from surfing

21:38 -- What I learned from Covid

23:21 -- What I learned from my new son Ben

25:15 -- My leadership style, Wimlink

29:55 -- What if I'm not taken seriously

32:35 -- Dealing with untrue thoughts

35:11 -- My biggest influence

36:57 -- My film on my parents' unlikely pairing

41:40 -- Advice for outliers

42:32 -- Getting to what's next

Origins of The Great Unfamous

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