A Category of One

Welcome to A Category of One: deep, honest conversations with entrepreneurs about how we show up as the truest version of ourselves, both personally and professionally. I’m Leslie Silverman, brand strategist and curious human, and this podcast was born from one belief: when we let our light shine, we give others permission to do the same. Each week, I sit down with founders, creatives, and business leaders to explore identity, ambition, doubt, reinvention, and the uncomfortable growth no one talks about. We go beyond tactics and into: -Authentic leadership -Building a brand aligned with who you are -The inner work behind outer success -Navigating ambition without losing yourself -Becoming a category of one, not by trying to stand out, but by telling the truth If you care about meaningful work and living in alignment with who you actually are, you’re in the right place. New episodes every Wednesday.

A Category of One is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 31 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts A Category of One, a business show with 31 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #30

  How to Reprogram Your Subconscious for Success with Bri Seeley

  Sep 30, 202638 minS1

  In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Bri Seeley, creator of Subconscious Success Optimization, who uses hypnosis to help entrepreneurs reprogram their subconscious for success. A mutual friend told us there was no world where we didn't know each other. She was right, and this conversation picked up right where our friendship started. Bri describes the subconscious as the operating system running in the background of your life, mostly installed before you turned eight. For her, that meant beliefs formed before the internet existed were still deciding what kind of business she was allowed to have. Layering positive thinking on top, she says, is like changing the wallpaper on a laptop that still has a virus. We spent time on what she calls the success threshold, the point where your subconscious decides things have gotten unsafe and quietly pulls you back. It helps explain why working harder doesn't always move the needle. Her advice is to look at your results. The walls you keep hitting show you what's running underneath. Bri also opened up about what happened when she turned up the heat on this work in her own life. It reshaped her business and her marriage, and left her living by one standard: greatness or nothing. In this episode: Why affirmations alone can't override beliefs installed in early childhood The success threshold and why your subconscious pulls you back to what feels safe Bri's garden metaphor for clearing old beliefs before planting new ones Why rewiring takes 30 days of repetition, not a single breakthrough How subconscious work can ripple into relationships and other areas beyond business Why you can't expand a business without expanding yourself Connect with Bri Seeley: IG: https://www.instagram.com/briseeley LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bri-seeley/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/bri.seeley Website: https://www.briseeley.com/ Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 01:12 Introduction to Bree Seeley and Her Work 01:41 Exploring Subconscious Success Optimization 01:44 Introduction to Bri Seeley's Journey and Work 03:35 Bri shares her personal story of transformation and subconscious work 05:51 Understanding the subconscious mind and its influence 07:29 Childhood programming and limiting beliefs 10:28 The success threshold and how to raise it 13:27 Signs your subconscious may be holding you back 16:14 The process of subconscious reprogramming through hypnosis 19:09 Practical steps to rewire limiting beliefs 21:58 The importance of consistent practice and repetition 25:14 How subconscious work impacts all areas of life 27:56 Tools and protocols Bri uses for transformation 30:53 The role of growth mindset in success 33:37 Overcoming triggers and subconscious blocks 36:31 Upcoming programs and how to get involved

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #29

  How to Apply Improv Principles to Leadership and Team Building with Scott Parker

  Sep 23, 202636 minS1

  In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Scott Parker, a leadership consultant and team building facilitator who uses improv and juggling to help people communicate better. Scott and I know each other from Steamboat Springs, and we hadn't talked in years. It came out early in the conversation that we both went to college in Buffalo. Scott's business is called Just Go For It, which is a fair description of how he's worked. Stripped down, improv is a practice of receiving someone else's idea instead of shutting it down. That matters more in a conference room than most people expect, because what an employee learns from the first "no" shapes every idea they bring after it. We talk about what changes when the answer is "tell me more," and about the other half of saying yes, which is staying open enough to notice an opportunity when it shows up. Scott has spent years getting people out of their comfort zone without them realizing they left it. When people laugh together, they stop defending themselves, and that's where real communication has room to happen. That idea runs through the Chamber of Commerce he leads in Oregon wine country and the variety show he started in a divided town. I share what volunteering gave me that I never saw coming. Scott closes with what an eighth grade classroom taught him about being the same person no matter what role you're in. In this episode: Why "yes, and" changes which ideas employees bring to their manager How playfulness gets into work that's usually dry What it takes to say yes before you feel qualified How a variety show got a divided town laughing together What volunteering gives the person doing it Why you can't be one person in the classroom and another person outside it Links: Connect with Scott Parker: Website: https://www.scottparkerleadership.com/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-parker-89b62522/ Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 00:19 Introduction to Scott Parker 00:44 The Power of Humor in Leadership 01:01 Introduction and guest background 02:59 The Chief Theater's history and community role 06:07 Scott's move to Oregon and community work 07:56 Integrating playfulness into leadership and consulting 10:47 The power of laughter and connection in community 13:38 Improv and the 'Yes And' approach in teams 16:38 Opportunities from being open and positive 19:37 Scott's community engagement and volunteer work 21:29 The impact of giving back and community involvement 24:11 Personal stories of influence and transformation 27:11 The importance of authenticity and fun in leadership 30:00 Scott's teaching experiences and lessons learned 31:53 The value of being true to oneself in work and life 33:43 Closing thoughts and how to connect with Scott

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #28

  How to Turn Loss into a Global Reinvention with Liz Brown Morgan

  Sep 16, 202638 minS1

  Liz Brown Morgan lost her mother, her marriage, and her job in the same six months. What she didn't lose was the instinct to keep moving. In this episode, Liz talks about the one-way flight to Athens that started nine months of travel across eight countries, the six weeks she spent in a sober co-living house outside Valencia, and what it took to feel like herself again after everything familiar was gone. I get into her career path too: wilderness guide, environmental lawyer, functional nutritionist, Chamber of Commerce director, published author, and now the founder of Global Love Ghostwriting, a business built on writing newsletters and welcome sequences for small, mission-driven brands. This conversation moves through grief, reinvention, and the strange gift of being seen fresh by people who only know who you are right now, not who you used to be. It also gets specific and practical: why a newsletter is one of the most underrated tools a business owns, and what actually makes people want to stay subscribed. In this episode: How Liz rebuilt her sense of self after losing her mother, her marriage, and her job at once What nine months of travel and communal living taught her about identity Why her career path looks nothing like a straight line, and why that mattered How Global Love Ghostwriting came out of a newsletter she almost didn't want to write Why a nurture sequence matters more than most businesses realize What it means to be reflected back to yourself by people who never knew the old version Links: Connect with Liz Brown Morgan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-morgan-food-health-sustainability/ https://globallovewriting.com/ Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 01:12 Introduction to Liz Brown Morgan 01:39 Liz's Diverse Background and Expertise 02:02 Introduction to Liz Morgan's Journey 03:59 Trauma and the Opportunity for Transformation 05:23 Nine Months of Global Travel 06:06 Community Living in Spain 07:58 Diverse Global Community Experiences 09:56 Reinvention and Personal Growth at Any Age 11:58 Energy Flow and Self-Discovery 13:58 Growth Mindset and Lifelong Learning 15:15 Career Shifts and Decision-Making 18:38 Wild Foods and Connection to Nature 19:58 From Nutritionist to Community Builder 26:41 Inspiration for Global Love Ghostwriting 35:40 The Power of Newsletters and Direct Community Engagement 36:48 Closing Remarks and Connect with Liz Morgan

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #27

  How to Discover Your Life Purpose Through Scientific Hand Analysis with Jayne Sanders

  Sep 9, 202628 minS1

  Jayne Sanders spent years cycling through successful careers that never quite fit, until a Google search led her to scientific hand analysis and changed the direction of her life. She talks with Leslie about what this practice actually reveals, how it differs from palm reading, and why she believes fulfillment matters more than happiness. This conversation moves through the mechanics of the work itself, from the science behind it to what a session actually looks like, and opens into a bigger conversation about what happens when you finally understand who you are at your core. Jayne shares how the process helped her build a business with clients in 12 countries, and how it continues to shape her decisions 14 years later. In this episode of A Category of One: What scientific hand analysis is and how it differs from palm reading Why fingerprints, formed before birth, hold information that never changes The research behind the practice, including a 30,000-person study How understanding your own purpose changes your relationships with others What a hand analysis session actually involves, from imprint to summary report Why Jayne believes fulfillment is more powerful than happiness Links: Connect with Jayne Sanders: https://www.purposewhisperer.com/ https://www.facebook.com/jaynesanderspurpose/ https://www.youtube.com/@jaynesanderspurposecoachha9768/videos Link for special price of $100 off, total $397. Two options: https://bit.ly/3mrHjUv https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/SWKQ3HBU27BFL Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Scientific Hand Analysis and Its Benefits 01:54 How Hand Lines Mimic Neural Pathways in the Brain 03:48 The Personal Journey to Discover Purpose Through Hand Analysis 05:57 Difference Between Fingerprints and Hand Lines in Analysis 07:54 The Process of Conducting a Hand Analysis and What to Expect 09:57 Scientific Research and Certification of Hand Analysis 11:43 How Hand Analysis Can Impact Relationships and Career 13:34 Client Stories and Transformations from Hand Analysis 15:29 Living a Purpose-Driven Life and Personal Fulfillment 17:08 How to Get Your Own Scientific Hand Analysis

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #26

  How to Treat Nervous System Regulation as the Vital Sign of Leadership with Jenn Adamson

  Sep 2, 202636 minS1

  Jenn Adamson built a career that doesn't fit into a single job title. She's a registered nurse, an executive coach, a TEDx speaker, and an author, and on this episode of A Category of One, she explains what all of it actually has in common. Jenn spent years on the front lines of healthcare, including leading a team of 75 nurses through some of the hardest days of the pandemic. That experience shapes the way she now coaches senior leaders and founders. She talks about the moment a doctor walks into a room and everyone's vital signs shift, and how that same effect happens with leaders, whether they realize it or not. Jenn and Leslie get into what it actually takes to lead from a regulated place instead of a performed one. That includes an honest look at ambition, the role ego plays in leadership, and why the most regulated person in a room tends to be the one people trust. In this episode: Why a leader's nervous system state affects everyone around them The difference between ego that protects and ego that drives How to tell if ambition is coming from alignment or from proving something Why journaling became Jenn's most consistent tool for staying regulated What it means to let a calling take more than one form Connect with Jenn Adamson: Website: https://www.jennadamson.com LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamjennadamson/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamjennadamson Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 03:25 The connection between leadership health and organizational success 05:24 The importance of openness and adaptability in entrepreneurship 06:00 Marrying diverse experiences to serve a higher purpose 06:48 The essence of entrepreneurship as a solution-oriented mindset 08:07 Maintaining a clear through line in a diverse career 09:45 The journey to giving a TEDx talk 11:01 Transforming clinical insights into leadership principles 13:19 The power of impactful ideas and the TEDx stage 15:14 The significance of authentic inspiration over ego 16:59 Success driven by purpose and intention 18:35 Balancing ego and authenticity in leadership 21:07 The importance of self-connection and trust 23:25 Evaluating actions and making strategic shifts 26:14 The value of white space and strategic thinking 27:48 Journaling and self-reflection practices 30:12 The benefits of pen to paper and self-awareness 32:03 Building trust through self-connection 33:22 Working with diverse industries and leadership levels 34:24 Gratitude and the power of authentic connection

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on A Category of One. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.