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Steve GatenaLife, Leadership, and Legacy by pray.com features the world’s most passionate and devoted leaders. In these mini-podcast series we get an exclusive look into the stories, experiences, and lessons learned that make these people some of the
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most influential leaders on earth. Join us as we discover how these respected leaders overcome vast obstacles and defeat the odds by turning massive challenges into success. Learn from their experiences and apply them to live a better life. If you enjoy our podcast please leave a rating and review.
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- 49Rebecca Bender - Life - “God Pursues”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Rebecca Bender is the founder and CEO of the Rebecca Bender Initiative (RBI). She is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert on human trafficking. After escaping nearly six years of modern-day slavery, she wrote her first book, Roadmap to Redemption, followed by her recent curriculum Elevate. RBI’s advanced trainings have equipped FBI, Homeland Security, local law enforcement, medical professionals, service providers, and faith communities across America. Rebecca serves as an advisor to both the Oregon D.O.J. Human Trafficking Council and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. She is also the recipient of the Female Overcomer Award, Unlikely Hero Award, Hero to our Generation Award and multiple FBI and Congressional recognitions. She is a sought-after speaker and consultant and has been featured on the Today Show, NBC Deadline Crimes, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Sports Illustrated. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their four daughters and just completed her master’s degree from Bethel Seminary. “Many will overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony. Our testimonies matter. Your story matters.”
- 50Rebecca Bender: This week on PRAYListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Rebecca Bender is the founder and CEO of the Rebecca Bender Initiative (RBI). She is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert on human trafficking. After escaping nearly six years of modern-day slavery, she wrote her first book, Roadmap to Redemption, followed by her recent curriculum Elevate. RBI’s advanced trainings have equipped FBI, Homeland Security, local law enforcement, medical professionals, service providers, and faith communities across America. Rebecca serves as an advisor to both the Oregon D.O.J. Human Trafficking Council and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. She is also the recipient of the Female Overcomer Award, Unlikely Hero Award, Hero to our Generation Award and multiple FBI and Congressional recognitions. She is a sought-after speaker and consultant and has been featured on the Today Show, NBC Deadline Crimes, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Sports Illustrated. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their four daughters and just completed her master’s degree from Bethel Seminary.
- 51Overview of Whitney Johnson’s Life, Leadership, and LegacyListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Whitney Johnson is the author of multiple books, such as “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build and ‘A’ Team,” which focuses on personal disruption. She co-founded Rose Park Advisors and Forty Over 40 List. She's a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and was named a Future Thinker Finalist by Management Thinkers50 in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the Fortunes 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter in 2014, and is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau. www.whitneyjohnson.com
- 52Whitney Johnson - Legacy - “Plant Cherry Trees”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Whitney Johnson is the author of multiple books, such as “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build and ‘A’ Team,” which focuses on personal disruption. She co-founded Rose Park Advisors and Forty Over 40 List. She's a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and was named a Future Thinker Finalist by Management Thinkers50 in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the Fortunes 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter in 2014, and is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau. “I think there’s that sense that once our children are 18, they’re grown, but the reality is, is that the real challenge, to me, is having a relationship with adult children.” www.whitneyjohnson.com
- 53Whitney Johnson - Leadership - “The Ship and The Harbor”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Whitney Johnson is the author of multiple books, such as “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build and ‘A’ Team,” which focuses on personal disruption. She co-founded Rose Park Advisors and Forty Over 40 List. She's a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and was named a Future Thinker Finalist by Management Thinkers50 in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the Fortunes 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter in 2014, and is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau. “It’s only when we’re willing to ask the question and genuinely be curious, ‘what do you think?’” www.whitneyjohnson.com
- 54Whitney Johnson - Life - “Disrupt Yourself”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Whitney Johnson is the author of multiple books, such as “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build and ‘A’ Team,” which focuses on personal disruption. She co-founded Rose Park Advisors and Forty Over 40 List. She's a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and was named a Future Thinker Finalist by Management Thinkers50 in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the Fortunes 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter in 2014, and is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau. “One of the things I had to deal with is this feeling like I didn’t measure up. And so that has driven me throughout my entire life is how do I measure up.” www.whitneyjohnson.com
- 55Whitney Johnson: This week on PRAYListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Whitney Johnson is the author of multiple books, such as “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build and ‘A’ Team,” which focuses on personal disruption. She co-founded Rose Park Advisors and Forty Over 40 List. She's a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and was named a Future Thinker Finalist by Management Thinkers50 in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the Fortunes 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter in 2014, and is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau. www.whitneyjohnson.com
- 56Overview of Edie Hand’s Life, Leadership, and LegacyListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Edie Hand is an author of or been part of authoring over twenty-five books. She is also a businesswoman, speaker, media personality, filmmaker, and Mom. She founded the Edie Hand Foundation that encourages women to share their stories. Edie is a numerous cancer survivor who found the grit to keep moving forward and turn hard things into beautiful situations. She also comes from a family of musicians and actors through her cousin Elvis Presley. Partnering with Mark Sims, they have begun working on historical film projects based in Birmingham, Alabama. www.ediehand.com
- 57Edie Hand - Legacy - “Trials to Triumph”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Edie Hand is an author of or been part of authoring over twenty-five books. She is also a businesswoman, speaker, media personality, filmmaker, and Mom. She founded the Edie Hand Foundation that encourages women to share their stories. Edie is a numerous cancer survivor who found the grit to keep moving forward and turn hard things into beautiful situations. She also comes from a family of musicians and actors through her cousin Elvis Presley. Partnering with Mark Sims, they have begun working on historical film projects based in Birmingham, Alabama. “A genuine pearl girl gets grit when life is like the string on which we hang our pearls. And we all have been given pearls, we just have to recognize them through acts of kindness.” www.ediehand.com
- 58Edie Hand - Leadership - “Cultivation through Communication”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Edie Hand is an author of or been part of authoring over twenty-five books. She is also a businesswoman, speaker, media personality, filmmaker, and Mom. She founded the Edie Hand Foundation that encourages women to share their stories. Edie is a numerous cancer survivor who found the grit to keep moving forward and turn hard things into beautiful situations. She also comes from a family of musicians and actors through her cousin Elvis Presley. Partnering with Mark Sims, they have begun working on historical film projects based in Birmingham, Alabama. “As a whole, if you want to cultivate a better community, is that you listen to the people in the community.” www.ediehand.com
- 59Edie Hand - Life - “Identifying Your Pearls”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Edie Hand is an author of or been part of authoring over twenty-five books. She is also a businesswoman, speaker, media personality, filmmaker, and Mom. She founded the Edie Hand Foundation that encourages women to share their stories. Edie is a numerous cancer survivor who found the grit to keep moving forward and turn hard things into beautiful situations. She also comes from a family of musicians and actors through her cousin Elvis Presley. Partnering with Mark Sims, they have begun working on historical film projects based in Birmingham, Alabama. “Life is not always fair, and we can’t always have things the way we want them, but the one thing I learned was that you don’t have to react to situations. You have to learn to respond to them.” www.ediehand.com
- 60Edie Hand: This week on PRAYListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Edie Hand is an author of or been part of authoring over twenty-five books. She is also a businesswoman, speaker, media personality, filmmaker, and Mom. She founded the Edie Hand Foundation that encourages women to share their stories. Edie is a numerous cancer survivor who found the grit to keep moving forward and turn hard things into beautiful situations. She also comes from a family of musicians and actors through her cousin Elvis Presley. Partnering with Mark Sims, they have begun working on historical film projects based in Birmingham, Alabama. www.ediehand.com
- 61Overview of Ed Burns’ Life, Leadership, and LegacyListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com California native, Ed Burns, is a long time public servant and first responder. Starting his career as an Emergency Medical Technician, Ed experienced first hand the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Then soon after, he transferred to the city of Santa Monica, where he continued his career, Eventually transitioning into law enforcement as a police officer. As a hobby, Ed Burns enjoys practicing photography by taking photos of headshots, landscapes, and current Southern California events.
- 62Ed Burns - Legacy - “A Humble Legacy”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com California native, Ed Burns, is a long time public servant and first responder. Starting his career as an Emergency Medical Technician, Ed experienced first hand the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Then soon after, he transferred to the city of Santa Monica, where he continued his career, Eventually transitioning into law enforcement as a police officer. As a hobby, Ed Burns enjoys practicing photography by taking photos of headshots, landscapes, and current Southern California events. “The greatest truth I ever learned: sometimes I’m not allowed to learn the truth.”
- 63Ed Burns - Leadership - “Circular Leadership”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com California native, Ed Burns, is a long time public servant and first responder. Starting his career as an Emergency Medical Technician, Ed experienced first hand the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Then soon after, he transferred to the city of Santa Monica, where he continued his career, Eventually transitioning into law enforcement as a police officer. As a hobby, Ed Burns enjoys practicing photography by taking photos of headshots, landscapes, and current Southern California events. “A good leader is going to try and save every person they can, and see them as their equal, and see them as someone who’s valuable.”
- 64Ed Burns - Life - “Life Focused on Community”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com California native, Ed Burns, is a long time public servant and first responder. Starting his career as an Emergency Medical Technician, Ed experienced first hand the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Then soon after, he transferred to the city of Santa Monica, where he continued his career, Eventually transitioning into law enforcement as a police officer. As a hobby, Ed Burns enjoys practicing photography by taking photos of headshots, landscapes, and current Southern California events. “We can take our tragedies, our pains; we can use that to help guide other people.”
- 65Ed Burns: This week on PRAYListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com California native, Ed Burns, is a long time public servant and first responder. Starting his career as an Emergency Medical Technician, Ed experienced first hand the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Then soon after, he transferred to the city of Santa Monica, where he continued his career, Eventually transitioning into law enforcement as a police officer. As a hobby, Ed Burns enjoys practicing photography by taking photos of headshots, landscapes, and current Southern California events.
- 66Overview of Jon Erwin’s Life, Leadership, and LegacyListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Jon Erwin began his filming career as a teenager, with his brother Andrew, in Birmingham, Alabama, as camera operators for ESPN. In 2002 Jon and his brother started their own production company working on commercials, documentaries, and music videos, eventually working with artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, Montgomery Gentry, and many others. Finally, they won Music Video of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards three consecutive years in a row. In 2010 the focus shifted to feature films, producing such films as October Baby, Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, and I Can Only Imagine.
- 67Jon Erwin - Legacy - “The Worth of your Goals”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Jon Erwin began his filming career as a teenager, with his brother Andrew, in Birmingham, Alabama, as camera operators for ESPN. In 2002 Jon and his brother started their own production company working on commercials, documentaries, and music videos, eventually working with artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, Montgomery Gentry, and many others. Finally, they won Music Video of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards three consecutive years in a row. In 2010 the focus shifted to feature films, producing such films as October Baby, Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, and I Can Only Imagine. “The lie you have to break, that is a trap, is: well if you knew this about me there’s no way in the world you could love me.”
- 68Jon Erwin - Leadership - “People Unlike You”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Jon Erwin began his filming career as a teenager, with his brother Andrew, in Birmingham, Alabama, as camera operators for ESPN. In 2002 Jon and his brother started their own production company working on commercials, documentaries, and music videos, eventually working with artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, Montgomery Gentry, and many others. Finally, they won Music Video of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards three consecutive years in a row. In 2010 the focus shifted to feature films, producing such films as October Baby, Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, and I Can Only Imagine. “I went on this transition of valuing what I could create to valuing who I got to develope, and what we could all create together.”
- 69Jon Erwin - Life - “The Breakout Moment”Listen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Jon Erwin began his filming career as a teenager, with his brother Andrew, in Birmingham, Alabama, as camera operators for ESPN. In 2002 Jon and his brother started their own production company working on commercials, documentaries, and music videos, eventually working with artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, Montgomery Gentry, and many others. Finally, they won Music Video of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards three consecutive years in a row. In 2010 the focus shifted to feature films, producing such films as October Baby, Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, and I Can Only Imagine. “If you want your organization to change, nine times out of ten, you need to change.”
- 70Jon Erwin: This week on PRAYListen to more Inspiration at Pray.com Jon Erwin began his filming career as a teenager, with his brother Andrew, in Birmingham, Alabama, as camera operators for ESPN. In 2002 Jon and his brother started their own production company working on commercials, documentaries, and music videos, eventually working with artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Switchfoot, Skillet, Montgomery Gentry, and many others. Finally, they won Music Video of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards three consecutive years in a row. In 2010 the focus shifted to feature films, producing such films as October Baby, Moms Night Out, Woodlawn, and I Can Only Imagine.
- 71Overview of Shailee Basnet’s Life, Leadership, and LegacyShailee Basnet is a native to Nepal and started her mountaineering journey in 2007 as a member of the ‘First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition’ (FIWSE). Following the Earthquake of 2015 Basnet has worked with Global Inclusive Adventure Organization (GIA) to help schools become world class education centers. She also co-leads an empowerment program for survivors of sex trafficking through GIA. On top of her work with these organizations Basnet has begun a career in comedy starting her country’s first stand-up club Stand-Up comedy Kathmandu (SUCK) and regularly performs in the US and Nepal. Hear more inspirational stories like Shailee's on the Pray app: https://link.pray.com/hOzg1zP3i0
- 72Shailee Basnet - Legacy - “Creating the Path Ahead”Shailee Basnet is a native to Nepal and started her mountaineering journey in 2007 as a member of the ‘First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition’ (FIWSE). Following the Earthquake of 2015 Basnet has worked with Global Inclusive Adventure Organization (GIA) to help schools become world class education centers. She also co-leads an empowerment program for survivors of sex trafficking through GIA. On top of her work with these organizations Basnet has begun a career in comedy starting her country’s first stand-up club Stand-Up comedy Kathmandu (SUCK) and regularly performs in the US and Nepal. Hear more inspirational stories like Shailee's on the Pray app: https://link.pray.com/hOzg1zP3i0 “Even when we’re not doing something, there is a consequence of that. So might as well do something that has a better consequence, better outcome, than wasting your life.” Learn more about Shailee here: http://sevensummitswomen.org/
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