Mind Blend with Karen Chong

We’ve been taught to think of a successful career as a ladder: work hard, move up, take on more responsibility, and keep climbing. But what happens when your career takes a different shape, and the experience you’ve built becomes more valuable than the title you hold?

In this episode, Mark Zides joins me to explore how we can navigate a changing world of work without starting from zero. After more than 35 years as an operator, entrepreneur and business leader, Mark has founded six companies and experienced both corporate and entrepreneurial paths. Today, he works as a growth advisor and fractional executive.

We talk about the shift from career ladders to more nonlinear paths, why real-world experience matters, and how to recognize where you can add value as technology reshapes work. We also explore fractional leadership: what it offers, what it demands, and whether a different way of working might suit the person you’ve become.

Key takeaways

• Rethink career progress: sideways moves and setbacks can still add up to growth.
• Recognize the transferable skills and judgement you’ve developed through experience.
• Understand the value of human skills as AI changes how work gets done.

• Impact of fractional executives and the benefit for companies 

Questions we explored

Does a successful career have to follow a straight line?

Mark shares how moving up, down and sideways can build a broader mix of skills and experience, even when the path doesn’t look conventional.

How can you recognize the value of your existing experience?

Look beyond job titles to the judgement, practical knowledge and problem-solving skills you’ve developed through real-world challenges.

What makes people valuable in an AI-driven workplace?

As technology changes how work gets done, human capabilities such as empathy, listening, communication and leadership become increasingly important.

Is fractional work right for you?

We explore the flexibility and opportunities of fractional leadership, alongside the realities of building your own reputation, finding clients and managing uncertainty.

Why would a company want a fractional executive?

If you are a start up or mid-market company, you may not need a full time C-Suite but someone who can help with a specific aspect of your strategy, whether it’s going public or growing your company to the next plateau in your business. With fractionals, a company can get all their experience in the specific domain starting from day one, without committing to a full time position.

About Mark Zides

Mark is a seasoned business leader, CEO, investor, and leadership advisor with more than 35 years of experience helping organizations perform at a high level as leadership, strategy, talent, and artificial intelligence continue to converge.

A two-time bestselling author of The #PACE Process for Early Career Success and Rewired Leadership™, Mark focuses on the human side of AI-driven transformation. His work challenges a common assumption in the market—that better technology automatically produces better outcomes. Instead, he argues that sustained performance comes from leaders who think clearly, listen deeply, and make better decisions as AI becomes more embedded in how work gets done.

You can connect with Mark on markzides.com and LinkedIn.

Mind Blend is all about real experiences and meaningful conversations—through sharing these insights, I hope to inspire and empower you as you navigate your unique journey.

What resonated with you today? What topics or guests should we feature next? Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me on LinkedIn @⁠Mind-Blend⁠, Instagram Mindblendpodcast or mindblendpodcast [@] gmail.com. 

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What does it actually mean to raise a child who can handle life on their own?

In the previous episode, Ryan Vet and I looked at parenting from the macro level: how our own childhoods, generations and the world around us shape the way we raise our kids. With Dr. Liz Nissim, we zoom in on what children actually need from us to become capable adults.

Liz, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified school psychologist, shares practical advice on emotional safety, boundaries, consequences, resilience and the gradual transfer of responsibility from parent to child. We talk about the difference between supporting a child and rescuing them, why frustration and disappointment are part of growing, and how asking questions can teach children to figure things out for themselves.

We also explore the role of mindfulness and self-awareness in parenting. Our children can trigger things we haven't fully worked through ourselves, so sometimes the work is ours - to regulate our own thinking and emotions.

Key takeaways

• Emotional safety doesn't mean removing difficult emotions
• Boundaries can create security, not just control
• Helping isn't the same as rescuing
• Children need opportunities to struggle, make mistakes and solve problems
• Independence grows when we teach children how to think, not simply give them answers

From Liz

“My job is actually to ultimately teach you how to be able to do this on your own.”

“Keeping your kid happy doesn't mean they're growing.”

Questions we explored

What kind of adults are we ultimately raising?

Capable, independent young people who can support themselves, build relationships and find work they enjoy.

How do we build emotional regulation?

By acknowledging emotions, holding appropriate boundaries and modelling regulation ourselves.

When does helping become rescuing?

When our help starts communicating that a child can't handle something without us.

Why let kids struggle?

Because real experience, mistakes and difficult moments are where competence develops.

Listen to the full conversation with Liz, and the previous episode with Ryan, for two different perspectives on the same bigger question: what are we doing today that shapes the adults our children become?

About Dr. Liz Nissim

Dr Liz Nissim is a licensed psychologist and recognized expert in ADHD, anxiety, autism, learning differences, and neurodiversity across the lifespan. She specializes in comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and anxiety, with a focus on translating complex diagnostic findings into practical, real-world support.

In addition to assessment, Dr Liz provides executive functioning coaching and parent coaching, helping children, teens, and adults build skills in organization, emotional regulation, time management, and self-advocacy. Their work emphasizes strengths-based, evidence-driven approaches that support both individual growth and family systems.

You can connect with Liz on YouTube @DrLiz513, https://www.psychedconsult.com/, and Instagram and LinkedIn.

Mind Blend is all about real experiences and meaningful conversations—through sharing these insights, I hope to inspire and empower you as you navigate your unique journey.

What resonated with you today? What topics or guests should we feature next? Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me on LinkedIn @⁠Mind-Blend⁠, Instagram Mindblendpodcast or mindblendpodcast [@] gmail.com. 

Follow Mind Blend to get notified when new episodes are released!

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The way we were raised shapes what we value, what we question, and what we pass on. But when each generation responds to the world it inherited, what might that mean for the generation after them?

In this episode of Mind Blend, Ryan Vet, a generational futurist and USA Today bestselling author, explores the generational pendulum: how the experiences of growing up can influence what we value as parents, what we choose to do differently, and where we might overcorrect.

We explore examples across generations — from the Silent Generation’s experience of scarcity and family togetherness, to the Boomers’ emphasis on identity and opportunity; from Gen X’s more independent childhoods to the highly involved parenting many Millennials experienced; and how Millennials and Gen Z are navigating parenting in a world shaped by technology, social media and constant connectivity. These are broad patterns, not prescriptions: individual families and circumstances can look very different.

• Our upbringing can influence what we carry forward, what we reject and what we overcorrect.
• There is no universal parenting playbook. Every child, family and situation is different.
• Over-monitoring, outsourcing parenting to AI and avoiding failure may limit opportunities to develop autonomy, resilience and healthy conflict.
• Kids need freedom to fail, real-world experiences, boundaries, community and emotionally invested parents.

“If you don’t let your kid fail now, they’re going to have to fail when they’re older.” - Ryan Vet

Questions we explored

Why might parenting change from one generation to the next

Ryan suggests we often respond to what we experienced growing up — sometimes carrying it forward, sometimes changing it, and sometimes pushing the pendulum too far.

What happens when parenting becomes a playbook?

We can lose sight of the individual child and situation. Paying attention matters more than rigidly following a formula.

What are we risking with increasingly involved parenting?

Children may have fewer opportunities to develop autonomy, resilience, problem-solving and the ability to navigate conflict.

How do we prepare kids for the world they’ll inherit?

Give them room to fail, experience consequences, navigate structure and conflict, and learn from a community of different perspectives.

Listen in for a conversation about parenting, generations, technology, mindfulness and the choices that shape what comes next.

About Ryan Vet

Ryan is a USA Today bestselling author, generational futurist, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience leading businesses and multi-generational teams. He speaks across four continents on generational leadership, technology, and organizational change, drawing on real-world experience building companies, navigating failure, and helping leaders bridge generational differences.

You can connect with Ryan on https://ryanvet.com/, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Mind Blend is all about real experiences and meaningful conversations—through sharing these insights, I hope to inspire and empower you as you navigate your unique journey.

What resonated with you today? What topics or guests should we feature next? Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me on LinkedIn @⁠Mind-Blend⁠, Instagram Mindblendpodcast or mindblendpodcast [@] gmail.com. 

Follow Mind Blend to get notified when new episodes are released!

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We like to think we make our own decisions. But how often are we actually following the crowd or our own patterns without realizing it?

Dr. Loretta Breuning returns to Mind Blend to explore why humans are naturally wired to seek protection, belonging and social approval, and how those instincts can shape everything from what we buy to what we say in a meeting.

We talk about why separating from the group can feel uncomfortable, how our early experiences create neural pathways that make familiar choices feel like “the truth,” and how the internet has made following the herd faster and harder to see.

Loretta also explains social comparison, why a few likes can affect our mood, and how even moral superiority can become another way of establishing our place in the group.

Key takeaways

• Following the herd isn't always wrong. The important question is whether we're choosing consciously.
• Our early experiences can create patterns we repeat without realizing we have a choice.
• Viral content and algorithms don't remove our agency. We still decide where to direct our attention.
• New choices, repeated over time, can build new pathways.

“You just feel like you know the truth.”

“We have agency over our brain. It's hard to use it, but we do have it.”

Questions we explored

Why do we follow the crowd/herd?

Our brains associate belonging and proximity to others with safety and protection.

Why is it so hard to think independently?

Early experiences build powerful neural pathways that can make familiar responses feel automatic.

How do we know when to follow or go our own way?

Ask: Who is “everyone”? How much do I trust them? And what are the consequences of going another way?

How can we change our patterns to make more conscious decisions?

Awareness and attention to your actions, and repeatedly making a new choice can help build new pathways.

Listen in for a conversation about herd mentality, mindfulness and the practical choices that can help us think a little more consciously.

About Loretta Breuning, PhD

Loretta is the author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin Levels. She founded the Inner Mammal Institute to help people build new neural pathways to turn on their happy chemicals in new ways.

As Professor of Management at California State University, and a mom, Loretta was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. While researching alternatives, she uncovered the brain chemistry we share with animals. She learned that each happy chemical evolved to motivate a specific survival behavior, not to make you feel good all the time for no reason. Then everything made sense, and she began creating resources to spread this knowledge: books, videos, blogs, podcasts, infographics, slide shows, social media and a training program. Loretta's work has helped thousands of people "make peace with the animal inside." And she still marvels every day at the overlap between a wildlife documentary and the lyrics to a love song.

You can connect with Loretta and find out more about her work on Inner Mammal Institute and on

Substack: https://innermammal.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@InnerMammalInstitute

Instagram @ inner.mammal.inst

And you can get a free 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart: https://InnerMammalInstitute.org/newsletter

What resonated with you today? What topics or guests should we feature next? Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me on LinkedIn @⁠Mind-Blend⁠, Instagram Mindblendpodcast or mindblendpodcast [@] gmail.com

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On September 11, 2001, Carol Lin became the first American national anchor to report the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Twenty-five years later, on the anniversary of that historic day, she joins Mind Blend to talk about something beyond the headlines: the human being behind the role.

In her memoir, When News Breaks, Carol looks back at a career shaped by breaking news, ambition, identity, love, loss and the moments when her own life suddenly became the story.

In our conversation, we explore:

What it meant to grow up Chinese American, wanting to fit in while never quite feeling that she did and how Carol eventually began embracing the roots she once tried to assimilate away.

What success looks like when it is defined by other people and the pressure of always asking, “What’s next?”

The subtle thread running through Carol’s story: how the roles we build to succeed can sometimes distance us from who we really are.

What you accumulate through experience. Carol reflects on how every story she covered prepared her for her own “breaking news”—and how our lived experiences can become the wisdom we draw on when life changes.

What you don’t see in the headlines: the people, relationships, communities and quiet moments behind the stories we remember.

Why a memoir and a podcast like Mind Blend can create a shared human experience. Carol’s purpose in telling her story is not simply to tell people about herself, but to help them see something of themselves in it.

We also had a fun flashback to Carol’s nose and eyelashes, a passive-aggressive way beauty standards were imposed on women on screen.

If you’ve ever felt you had to fit in, prove yourself, chase someone else’s definition of success, navigate a major life change, or simply wonder who you are underneath the roles you play, this is an episode that may speak straight to your heart.

📖 When News Breaks by Carol Lin is available at on https://www.carollinnow.com/.

About Carol Lin 

Carol, best known for being the first national anchor to report the first September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, was a long-time anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC News. During her career, she covered the war in the Middle East, the aftermath of the Kosovo War, the 2002 Winter Olympics and every imaginable natural disaster from hurricanes, tornadoes, historic wildfires, and floods. Carol received an Emmy, a Peabody, the Alfred I. Dupont Award, and the Greater LosAngeles Press Club Awards for Excellence in both Investigative Reporting and her coverage of the Los Angeles Riots. She currently lives in Hawaii. Follow her on Instagram @CarolLinNow. 

What resonated with you today? What topics or guests should we feature next? Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me on LinkedIn @⁠Mind-Blend⁠, Instagram Mindblendpodcast or mindblendpodcast [@] gmail.com. 

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