Is AI coming for your job? Here's how to future-proof your career before it's too late.

In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Victoria Pelletier — 20+ year corporate executive, board director, #1 bestselling author, and TEDx speaker (2M+ views) — to talk about what AI is really doing to the workforce, and how you can not just survive it but thrive in it.

We cut through the fear and the headlines. Yes, AI is changing almost every job. But the layoffs being blamed on AI right now? Mostly misplaced fear. The people who win in this new era aren't the ones who panic — they're the ones who take ownership, upskill, and remember one thing Victoria said that completely blew my mind: you are the CEO of your career.

If you've felt anxious about artificial intelligence, automation, job security, or where you fit in the future of work, this conversation is for you. We get into how to stay relevant, build real resilience, lead with empathy (what Victoria calls "whole human leadership"), and use personal branding to forge a lasting legacy — no matter what the technology does next.

This isn't theory. It's a real-life, been-there-done-that playbook for taking control of your career in the age of AI.

📘 Victoria's #1 bestselling book: Influence Unleashed: Forging a Lasting Legacy Through Personal Branding : https://www.amazon.in/Influence-Unleashed-Forging-Personal-Branding/dp/B0CRSRYVPD

🎙️ Finding Better is where we learn from people who've actually been there and done that — real lived experience, not theory.

At 20, my guest Ken Kunken broke his neck playing football and became a quadriplegic — paralyzed from the shoulders down. What he did next will change how you see what's possible.

In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Ken Kunken — the first quadriplegic to graduate from Cornell University — for one of the most powerful stories of overcoming adversity I've ever shared on this channel.

After a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed in 1970, doctors told Ken the most he could hope for was selling magazine subscriptions over the phone — a phone he couldn't even dial. Instead, he earned two master's degrees, became a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor, went to law school, and served more than 40 years as a Nassau County assistant district attorney, rising to Deputy Bureau Chief. Then, more than 30 years after his injury and in his 50s, Ken and his wife Anna became parents to triplet sons.

This is a real-life motivational story about resilience, gratitude, mindset, and the refusal to give up — no theories, no fluff, just a man who turned an impossible situation into an extraordinary life. We talk about his injury, life as a quadriplegic before the internet, disability and inclusion, raising triplets, and the lessons inside his memoir.

📖 Get Ken's memoir, "I Dream of Things That Never Were: The Ken Kunken Story": https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Things-Never-Kunken-Story-ebook/dp/B0CFD8R32P

➡️ Website: https://www.KenKunken.com

🎙️ Can AI actually help you become a better version of yourself?

In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Jay Jacobson — a 45-year funeral director, author of Lead By Legendary Example, and founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing — for a conversation that completely changed how I think about AI, leadership, and human connection.

We dig into why knowledge isn't the skill that gets you hired anymore — it's people skills, emotional intelligence, and presence. Jay shares real stories from decades in funeral service and hospitality, and shows exactly how he uses AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Adobe Firefly to write kinder emails, shift workplace culture, train young employees, and communicate like the leader he wants to be.

If you want to use AI to grow, lead better, and become the person you actually want to be — this episode will shift how you see technology.

🔥 In this episode, we cover:

✅ How to use ChatGPT, Claude & AI agents to write more professional, kind communication ✅ Why "leadership" has nothing to do with your job title ✅ How funeral directors & hospitality pros build trust in under 3 minutes ✅ Using AI to train your team and quietly shift company culture ✅ Why smartphones are erasing communication skills in young people ✅ Using AI as a personal coach to become a better leader, communicator & human ✅ Free & affordable ways to get AI-certified (Coursera and more) Jay's take: the goal isn't to compete with AI — it's to use AI to become more human, not less.

📖 Get Jay's book: Lead By Legendary Example — https://www.jacobsonprostaff.com/general-8

🔗 Connect with Jay: https://www.jacobsonprostaff.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayscookies/

🎧 New episodes every week on Finding Better — real stories from real people who found a better way to lead, live, and grow.