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.

After 40+ years in tech — I started at IBM back in 1984 — I've watched technology promise us freedom and productivity, then quietly leave us more anxious, exhausted, and disconnected than ever. In this episode I'm breaking down something almost all of us feel but few of us understand: digital burnout.

I'll walk you through why your brain is so overwhelmed — information overload, nonstop notifications, the social media comparison trap, and the rising wave of AI anxiety. I'll share the truth about the attention economy (if the product is free, you are the product), why the average person touches their phone 2,700 times a day, and most importantly — how to protect your mind, reclaim your attention, and find real balance in an always-on world.

If screens have ever left you mentally drained, this one's for you. Let's take back your time, your focus, and your peace.

In this powerful episode of Finding Better, I sit down with world-renowned leadership professor, executive coach, and author Dr. Anthony Silard to talk about one of the most urgent crises of our time — the loneliness epidemic — and what we can do about it.

If you've ever felt disconnected, anxious, or overwhelmed by your phone and social media, this conversation will change the way you think about technology, relationships, and what it truly means to live a meaningful life.

We dive deep into:

✅ Why smartphone addiction and screen time are fueling the global loneliness crisis ✅ How AI, social media, and digital distraction are destroying real human connection ✅ The shocking statistics behind the mental health epidemic in America and worldwide ✅ Why social media creates envy, depression, and anxiety — not real friendship ✅ Dr. Silard's proven strategies to break phone addiction and reclaim your time ✅ The Love Progression Model — moving from suffering and disconnection to authentic love ✅ How to build meaningful relationships in the age of AI and digital overload ✅ Practical tools for emotional resilience, purpose, and mental wellness ✅ Why human beings who master AI will replace those who don't ✅ How to restore your humanity and find deeper purpose in a distracted world

Dr. Anthony Silard is a professor of leadership at LUISS Business School in Rome, Director of the Center for Leadership and Sustainability, executive coach to G-20 cabinet ministers and Fortune 500 CEOs, and bestselling author of Screened In: The Art of Living Free in the Digital Age and Love and Suffering.

📖 Get the book: Love and Suffering: Break the Emotional Chains that Prevent You from Experiencing Love by Dr. Anthony Silard : https://www.amazon.in/Love-Suffering-Emotional-Prevent-Experiencing/dp/0981785379

👉 Get Dr. Silard's 2 FREE books — The Myth of Happiness and The Myth of Friendship — at: https://theartoflivingfree.org/freehappinessandfriendshipbooks/

In this powerful episode of Finding Better, I sit down with bestselling author, transformational coach, and human potential expert Derek Rydall to tackle the most urgent question of our time: how do you survive and thrive in the age of AI?

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the future of work, millions of people are asking — will AI replace me? What's left for humans when machines can do everything faster, cheaper, and smarter? Derek and I dive deep into why the real threat of AI isn't job loss — it's the loss of meaning, purpose, and human identity.

Derek, author of "A Whole New Human: 10 Ways We Must Evolve to Survive and Thrive in the AI Age," shares the timeless principles and practical strategies you need to become irreplaceable in an AI-driven world. We explore how to navigate rapid change, rediscover your unique purpose, future-proof your career, and build the one thing AI can never replicate — your authentic humanity.

In this episode, you'll discover: ✅ Why AI is triggering the greatest identity crisis in human history ✅ How to find your life purpose and become irreplaceable ✅ The #1 mindset shift to thrive during AI disruption ✅ Why self-knowledge is the ultimate survival skill in the AI age ✅ How to use AI as a tool — without losing your humanity ✅ The role of community, authenticity, and human connection in an AI world ✅ How to future-proof your career, wealth, and wellbeing right now

If you're feeling uncertain, anxious, or overwhelmed by how fast AI is changing the world — this episode will give you clarity, direction, and hope.

🎙️ Guest: Derek Rydall | Author | Human Potential Expert | Host of the Emergence Podcast 📖 Book: A Whole New Human — available now on Amazon : https://www.amazon.in/Whole-New-Human-Evolve-Survive-ebook/dp/B0FCG7FW67 🎧 Derek's Podcast: Emergence

Career reinvention isn't about retreat — it's about betting on yourself. In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe, co-hosts of the award-winning Alex and Annie Podcast, to talk about leaving the corporate world, navigating career transition in the age of AI, and building a life you actually love.

We dig into what it really takes to reinvent your career: shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, overcoming imposter syndrome, the real power of relationships and personal branding, and how a "just-for-fun" podcast became the catalyst that changed both their careers, businesses, and lives.

If you're thinking about leaving your 9-to-5, navigating a career pivot, starting your own business, or just need a serious mindset shift — this conversation is for you. Hit subscribe, drop a comment, and share this with someone who needs to hear it today.

In 1999, Pam Warren survived the Paddington train crash — Britain's worst rail disaster of the 20th century — and became known as "The Lady in the Mask."

In this episode of Finding Better, I sit down with Pam to talk about surviving unimaginable tragedy, rebuilding her identity after trauma, and how she took on the UK government to make British rail one of the safest in Europe.

We talk about: ✅ Surviving the 1999 Paddington train crash and fireball ✅ Life as "The Woman in the Mask" — 2 years in a Perspex face mask ✅ Rebuilding identity, purpose, and confidence after tragedy ✅ Why life isn't fair — and why that's not the end of your story ✅ How an "ordinary woman" took on the government and won ✅ Finding better when life changes overnight ✅ Designing Your Life When All Goes Wrong

If you're navigating unexpected change, loss, divorce, job loss, illness, or any kind of personal tragedy, Pam's story is proof that no matter how bad things get — finding better is always an option.

🌐 Learn more about Pam: https://www.pamwarren.co.uk/