What if the money rules you inherited were never designed to create financial freedom? Dr. Wayne Pernell talks with Mark Quann—founder and CEO of The Perfect Portfolio, financial educator, investor, and bestselling author—about rebuilding after roughly $700,000 in debt and questioning the conventional financial playbook.

Mark shares how childhood poverty fueled his drive to understand money, how aggressive real-estate leverage collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis, and why communication, sales, mentorship, and resilience became essential to his comeback. He also breaks down the Buy, Borrow, Die concept: acquiring appreciating assets, borrowing against them instead of selling, and thinking about long-term wealth transfer.

You’ll hear a provocative critique of traditional financial advice, a discussion of brokerage accounts and margin loans, and a challenge to raise your financial IQ before making major money decisions.

Learn more about Mark, his books, and The Perfect Portfolio at ThePerfectPortfolio.com.

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Mark Quann's LinkedIn Page: linkedin.com/in/mark-quann-author

What does it mean to “be the bank”—and how is artificial intelligence changing mortgage-note investing?

Fred Moskowitz joins Dr. Wayne Pernell on One Sharp Sword to explain how his career in computer engineering and technology leadership led him into alternative investing. Fred breaks down mortgage notes, the difference between active investing and passive note funds, and the factors investors should understand, including risk tolerance, minimum investment requirements, liquidity, and time horizon.

You’ll also hear how Fred uses AI to speed due diligence, cash-flow modeling, forecasting, research, and the review of large loan pools. Just as important, he explains why AI output must be tested, manually verified, and kept under human oversight.

This episode is about more than investing. It is a practical conversation about adapting to fast-changing technology while protecting trust, accountability, and human connection. The core leadership lesson: use better tools, but keep relationships at the center.

• How mortgage-note investing differs from owning rental property
• When active or passive note investing may fit different time commitments
• Why liquidity and investment horizon matter
• Where AI adds speed—and where people must retain judgment
• How engineering-style testing can reveal faulty assumptions or outputs
• Why being a good human remains a competitive leadership advantage

Connect with Fred: FredMoskowitz.com • GiftFromFred.com

Book: The Little Green Book of Note Investing

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Fred Moskowitz's LinkedIn Page: linkedin.com/in/thefredmoskowitz

Every interaction leaves a mark.

When people walk away from an interaction with you, do they feel more capable—or less?

Dr. Wayne Pernell sits down with leadership educator and author Doug Crandall to explore the central idea behind Doug’s book, Building or Diminishing: almost every interaction either strengthens another person’s capacity or quietly diminishes it.

Drawing on nearly three decades of leadership development experience, including teaching at West Point and developing corporate executives, Doug reveals how expectations, trust, dignity, and presence shape the people we lead.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why there may be no neutral interaction
  • How the Pygmalion Effect influences performance
  • Why leaders should assume positive intent
  • The difference between being kind and merely being nice
  • How to challenge people without diminishing them
  • The four leadership archetypes: Builder, Driver, Cheerleader, and Belittler
  • Why trust makes difficult feedback more powerful
  • How quickly a leader can reshape someone’s confidence
  • Why a phone on the table can weaken human connection
  • The question every leader should ask: “What does this person need to hear?”
  • Why reflection—not experience alone—creates growth

Doug also shares a formative lesson from fellow West Point instructor Everett Spain, who challenged him to “never meet a bad cadet.” That shift in expectations transformed how Doug taught, coached, and led.

The conversation offers a practical challenge for leaders, parents, coaches, educators, and anyone whose words affect others:

Am I building—or diminishing?

ABOUT DOUG CRANDALL

Doug Crandall is a West Point graduate, former West Point faculty member, Stanford MBA, leadership educator, and Head of Teaching at The Referent Group. He has designed leadership-development experiences for thousands of leaders and is the author and co-author of multiple leadership books, including Building or Diminishing.

CONNECT WITH DOUG

BuildingOrDiminishing.com
Doug Crandall on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/doug-crandall-585a4

ABOUT THE SHOW

One Sharp Sword, hosted by Dr. Wayne Pernell, cuts through to what matters most in leadership, personal growth, relationships, and high performance.

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Award-winning director, author, speaker mentor, and entrepreneur Tricia Brouk returns to One Sharp Sword for a powerful conversation about ambition, presence, service, and wise leadership.

Tricia takes Dr. Wayne Pernell from her childhood on a Missouri farm to a global dance career that included performing with Mikhail Baryshnikov. She shares how appearing in Antigone shortly after 9/11 transformed her understanding of art as service—and why influential communicators must show up prepared to care for their audience.

They explore why speakers should share from the scar rather than the wound, the difference between having emotion and becoming emotional, and how Tricia's STILL method—Stop, Tune In, Intuit, Listen, and Learn—helps leaders respond from wisdom instead of ego.

Tricia also discusses Being Smart Is Stupid, The Wise Leopard, the upcoming film Dog Years, and the leadership lesson at the heart of her relationship with Wayne: work with people who make you better.

Connect with Tricia, explore her books, and learn about her workshops: https://triciabrouk.com/

Pease enjoy Tricia’s free programs at www.TriciaBrouk.com/workshops

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Tricia Brouk 's LinkedIn Page: linkedin.com/in/triciabrouk

Can you verify that a private charter is legal and safe before you board—and before your money moves?

CoachAir founder and CEO Jacob Baumler joins Dr. Wayne Pernell to reveal a largely hidden problem within private aviation: passengers may have no simple way to confirm an operator’s authority, aircraft status, pilot qualifications, insurance, and trip legality.

Jacob’s mission began after he personally experienced an illegal charter and fraud. In response, he and his wife founded CoachAir to help replace aviation’s fragmented, trust-based processes with connected verification and protected transactions.

In this episode:

• The personal experience that inspired CoachAir
  • What makes a private charter legal or illegal
  • Why Part 135 certification matters
  • How passengers can verify before they fly
  • Why aviation still relies on paper, spreadsheets, and phone calls
  • How protected payments can serve passengers and operators
  • How better aircraft visibility could improve emergency response
  • What FBOs and vertiports do
  • How air taxis will change transportation
  • Why advanced air mobility needs verified trust
  • Jacob’s leadership vision for scaling CoachAir
  • The future of safer, frictionless aviation

Jacob also explains why this issue extends beyond today’s private travelers. As air taxis, electric aircraft, drones, and other new forms of mobility become more accessible, the industry will need a safety and trust infrastructure capable of scaling with them.

Learn more about Jacob and CoachAir:
https://www.GoCoachAir.com/

Subscribe to One Sharp Sword for candid conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers who are cutting through to what matters most.

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#OneSharpSword #WaynePernell #JacobBaumler #PrivateAviation #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #AviationSafety #BusinessLeadership #CoachAir

Are you consciously creating your future—or simply following the script you were handed?

Dr. Wayne Pernell talks with entrepreneur, Army veteran, business operator, and author Steve Rolle about rejecting inherited limits and deliberately building the life you want. Steve shares how growing up in a low-income community outside Washington, D.C., shaped his early expectations—and how mentorship, books, an Army ROTC scholarship, and exposure to business ownership expanded his sense of possibility.

You’ll learn how environment influences identity, why the right mentor can interrupt a limiting pattern, and how small, repeatable wins help you prove a new identity to yourself. Steve also explains why joining higher-level communities requires bringing value to the table and shares his motivation formula: value × belief × immediacy ÷ friction.

The episode’s central challenge is simple but powerful: actively reject the future you did not choose, decide who you want to become, and prove it through action.

Learn more about Steve at [SteveRoll.com](https://steveroll.com), follow **@RollWithSteve** on social media, and find his book, *The Future You Choose*, on Amazon.

If this conversation helped you, follow *One Sharp Sword*, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who is ready to stop living by default.

Steve Rolle's LinkedIn Page: linkedin.com/in/steverolle

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What if self-trust is not something you build over time, but a decision you can make right now?

Dr. Wayne Pernell talks with self-trust business coach, author, strategist, and podcast host Dawn Ledet about moving before certainty arrives. Dawn shares how a season of “overworking and underliving” exposed her reliance on external validation—and led her to rethink confidence, identity, self-sabotage, and follow-through.

You’ll discover why fixed labels such as “procrastinator” or “self-saboteur” can weaken your agency, how to treat decisions as data, and how Dawn’s “lobby” and “inner room” metaphor can help you relate differently to difficult thoughts. The conversation also explores productivity, ADHD-friendly work patterns, outcome-based leadership, and why a strong identity floor matters more than trying to break through another ceiling.

Key takeaway: choose self-trust first. Follow-through is its expression, not the price you pay to earn it.

Learn more about Dawn, explore the free **Meet You in the Lobby** tool, and find her books at [TheSelfTrustCoach.com](https://theselftrustcoach.com).
Connect with Dawn Ledet on LinkedIn and listen to *The Self-Trust Solution* podcast.

If this conversation helped you, follow *One Sharp Sword*, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who is ready to trust themselves and take the next step.

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Dawn Ledet's LinkedIn Page: linkedin.com/in/dawnledet

What happens when the rules no longer apply?

In this episode of One Sharp Sword, Dr. Wayne Pernell sits down with transformational CEO Julie Peck to explore leadership in a rapidly changing world. From AI disruption to shifting business models, Julie shares why traditional “playbooks” are breaking down—and what today’s leaders must do instead.

They dive into navigating uncertainty, building organizational courage, and leading with clarity when the path forward isn’t obvious. If you’re leading through complexity, this conversation will challenge how you think about risk, strategy, and success.

Key Takeaways:

• You can’t risk-mitigate your way to success
• Chaos isn’t a threat—it’s an invitation
• Old leadership playbooks are becoming obsolete
• Organizational risk = individual risk tolerance scaled into policy
• The best leaders balance vision (zoom out) and execution (zoom in)
• Failure, when used well, accelerates success
• Leadership today requires courage, clarity, and adaptability

Memorable Quotes:

• “You can’t risk-mitigate your way to greatness.”
• “Chaos isn’t a threat—it’s an invitation.”
• “Playbooks have become our security blankets.”

Topics Covered:

• Leadership under pressure
• AI and organizational transformation
• Letting go of outdated strategies
• Building cultures that embrace failure
• Decision-making in uncertainty
• Vision vs. planning

Connect with Julie Peck:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/juliepeckceo

About the Show:
One Sharp Sword cuts through to what matters most—helping leaders think clearly, act decisively, and lead powerfully.

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