Elevate Your Career

About Elevate Your Career

Welcome to "Elevate Your Career," the podcast dedicated to empowering individuals from all walks of life as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of their chosen fields. In this show, we'll be bringing on a diverse range of professionals from various career stages to uncover the secrets behind achieving success in any industry. We'll explore how they achieved their career goals and the paths they took to get there. You can benefit from the experiences of our guests by learning from their greatest mistakes, shortcomings, as well as success stories. Your host is none other than Nicole McMackin, CEO and founder of the Irvine Technology Corporation (ITC), an award-winning Information Technology Solutions and Staffing provider. Learn more: https://www.irvinetechcorp.com/

Publisher

Nicole McMackin

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Nov 2023

Latest episode

11 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

54 of 78 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   11 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   76 | Lisa Merage and Matt Stewart | The Rise of the Female CEO

   Host Nicole McMackin interviews Lisa Bhathal Merage and Matt Stewart about overcoming the myth of readiness and prioritizing success to achieve ambitious career goals.

2. 

   13 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   76 | Liz Zaborowska | Break the Mold: Entrepreneur Secrets to a Life You Really Want

   What if your entire life could pivot on a bold decision you never saw coming? Join Nicole McMackin as she sits down with serial entrepreneur and visionary, Liz Zaborowska, a first-generation American whose family’s journey from communist Poland to her success in Silicon Valley is anything but ordinary. In this exclusive episode, Liz uncovers the mindsets, unexpected hardships and surprising “miracle moments” that fueled her rise, blending discipline with wild ambition and a heartfelt drive to help others. You’ll learn the real secrets behind risk-taking, creating meaningful momentum and building abundance, even when the odds are stacked against you. Listen now to escape career stagnation, shatter outdated rules and unlock powerful tools for growth. If you’re serious about upgrading your career and your life, the time is now. Don’t miss authentic strategies and truth bombs you won’t find anywhere else. Timestamped Highlights [00:00] – The “abundance mindset” her parents instilled and why giving wins over getting [00:05:01] – Running toward or away? How your upbringing shapes ambition [00:10:15] – Wild sacrifices of immigrant parents, and the untold risks behind starting over [00:18:02] – The dream derailed: How fainting in a veterinary clinic led to a business breakthrough [00:21:13] – The single Kierkegaard quote that transforms networking and your bank account [00:27:00] – Dot-com crash devastation: Losing everything, then learning the only lesson that matters [00:32:35] – Career “pivot points”: BMW or Outward Bound? The decisions that secretly set your destiny [00:38:34] – Crushing comfort zones: The pinky swear goal for 2026 that terrifies (and motivates) About The Guest Liz Zaborowska is a serial entrepreneur, executive advisor and high-impact consultant best known for helping companies, teams and individuals build category leadership. As founder and CEO of Bhava Communications, a top go-to-market agency, and Spring Catalyst, a business team optimization firm, she blends deep expertise in tech with an unwavering commitment to purpose-driven work. Liz’s story – from first-gen American to Silicon Valley leader – is full of unexpected pivots and has inspired thousands to think bigger, move faster and build careers (and lives) they love. 🔗 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethzaborowska) | Bhava Communications (https://www.bhavacom.com/) | Spring Catalyst (http://www.springcatalyst.com) | X (https://x.com/LizSails) Mentioned Resources Spring Catalyst (https://springcatalyst.com/) Blue Ocean Strategy (https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/books/blue-ocean-strategy-book/) (book) Impact Players (book) (https://impactplayersbook.com/) Soren Kierkegaard’s (https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Purity_of_Heart_Is_to_Will_One_Thing.html?id=wY6cEQAAQBAJ&amp;source=kp_book_description&amp;redir_esc=y%E2%80%9D%20with%20%E2%80%9Chttps://a.co/d/0BvsDoX)<a...

3. 

   30 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   75 | Dan Van Tran | Breakthrough Mindsets: Unlocking Opportunity When the World Says “No”

   Host Nicole McMackin interviews tech leader Dan Van Tran, who shares his immigrant story and strategies for overcoming adversity, conquering imposter syndrome, and achieving career growth through optimism and resourcefulness.

Inside a recent episode

76 | Lisa Merage and Matt Stewart | The Rise of the Female CEO

Published 11 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] I don't think so. I think that was before that, but I was on four other boards. And my brother's like, okay, you know how to do this nonprofit stuff. You should be the chief impact officer. And I'm like, what does that mean? Okay, I'll figure it out. So I actually, during COVID, did a 10-month program at University of Pennsylvania on social impact strategy to help better prepare myself. So that goes back to kind of like what Nicole said about always being curious. It's also about always working to improve yourself and And just because you've done something for a while doesn't mean you can't go back and do one of these certificate programs and specialize yourself in a certain area. […]

Who has been a guest on Elevate Your Career

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Lisa Bhathal Merage
• Dan Van Tran
• Sherly Anjanette
• Dr Lovelie Moore
• Carmella Cassetta

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

33 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

74

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact Elevate Your Career

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Elevate Your Career