🎙 Golden Ticket

🧩 Season Theme: Hungry
This season, we’re exploring what it means to be hungry not just for food, but for purpose, meaning, connection, and identity. Hunger can drive us, define us, and sometimes destroy us. But it also reveals what truly satisfies the soul.

👣 Guest Introduction:
Remember Charlie Bucket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory the kid who found the Golden Ticket and got a glimpse behind the gates of wonder? This episode plays with that same idea, but through the story of Charles Fernández, a two-time Olympian from Guatemala who discovered that the real “golden ticket” isn’t found on a candy bar wrapper it’s discovered within.

Charles grew up doing humanitarian work with his family in the mountains of Guatemala before rising to become a world champion in modern pentathlon. He’s competed at two Olympic Games, won gold at the Pan American Games, and stood among the world’s best. But after the applause faded, Charles faced a deeper challenge: Who was he when the medals and titles weren’t enough?

Today, Charles leads IMPACTA, a high-performance coaching company helping leaders, athletes, and changemakers align identity, mindset, and purpose. His story is one of hunger for integrity, for presence, and for the kind of success that isn’t just seen, but felt.

💡 Episode Highlights:

What it really takes to compete and win on the world stage

The crash that comes after achieving your biggest dream

Redefining integrity: living in alignment with who you are

The difference between performing and being present

How to pursue excellence without losing yourself in the process

Why the “golden ticket” might not be what you think it is

🔗 Connect with Charles Fernández:
Website: Coach Compare Profile

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode gave you something to think about—or reminded you what your own golden ticket might be—share that with us! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into Charles’ shoes inspired you.

🧩 Season Theme: Hungry
What does it really mean to hunger for something deeper something more than routine, more than the surface-level faith that just gets us through the day? This season invites us to pay attention to what our souls crave and how we’re feeding that hunger.

👣 Guest Introduction:
How comfortable are you in the seat you’re sitting in right now? Not just physically but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally?

This week, I’m joined by Tera Elness, speaker, writer, and author of Sitting with Jesus a 365-day devotional born out of her own mornings spent literally “sitting with Jesus.” Tera invites us to pull up a chair and stay a while: to hear the small, life-changing words “I love you”, to feed our souls daily the way we feed our bodies, and to notice the small details like the sandals people wore in Bible times that reveal surprisingly big spiritual truths about how we walk through life.

💡 Episode Highlights:

How comfortable are you in the “chair” you’re sitting in today?

Why hearing “I love you” from God can change everything

The sandals of Bible-time people what their footwear teaches us about humility, journey, and how we actually walk in faith (Tera shares a memorable story about this)

The daily rhythm that deepened Tera’s relationship with Jesus

How to move from surviving to truly living

🔗 Connect with Tera Elness:
🌐 Website
📘 Sitting with Jesus on Amazon
💬 Facebook Group

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode stirred something in you if it made you think about where you’re sitting and what you’re truly hungry for leave a review and tell us what spoke to you most.

🎙 Access Pass

🧩 Season Theme: Hungry
This season, we’re exploring what it means to be truly hungry not for food, but for purpose, belonging, and meaning. Sometimes, that hunger shows up when the door won’t open and we’re left wondering if we even have the right password.

👣 Guest Introduction:
Ever typed in a password that should have worked… and it just didn’t? That locked-out feeling hits deeper than tech frustration it’s about access, belonging, and opportunity. My guest today, Vinnie Potestivo (or “Vin,” as I call him), knows that world well.

Vinnie is an Emmy Award-winning Media Advisor and Creator Economist, known for helping people unlock their potential and turn moments of creativity into legacy. As the Editor-in-Chief of I Have A Podcast® a Google News-verified platform amplifying independent voices Vin’s mission is to open doors for storytellers everywhere.

Before that, he spent nearly a decade at MTV Networks (1998–2007), where he helped discover and develop talent behind iconic shows like Punk’d, The Osbournes, TRL, Wild ‘N Out, and Laguna Beach. His fingerprints are all over the pop culture that shaped a generation.

💡 Episode Highlights:

The power of access and what to do when it’s denied

How Vinnie discovered and developed talent at MTV

Why storytelling is the real “password” to connection

The creative hunger that drives lasting impact

What it means to open doors for others in a world obsessed with gatekeeping

Why Cass Elliot’s “Make Your Own Kind of Music” still rings true today and how it connects to the freedom of owning your creative voice

🔗 Connect with Vinnie Potestivo:
Website: vpetv.com
Podcast: I Have A Podcast®
Instagram: @vinniepotestivo
🎁 Free Resource: vpe.tv/gift

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode challenged or inspired you, don’t keep it to yourself! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into Vinnie’s shoes helped you think differently about access and creativity.