Rise and Thrive: Conversations For Greatness with John Merkus

About Rise and Thrive: Conversations For Greatness with John Merkus

Rise and Thrive: Conversations for Greatness is the podcast for people who want to grow, navigate change and become more of who they are. Hosted by John Merkus, international keynote speaker, enterprise change leader and The Positive Change Guy, each episode features honest conversations, memorable stories and practical ideas for creating meaningful change. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in transformation and leadership, John explores resilience, mindset, personal growth, organisational change and AI adoption with inspiring guests from around the world. Listen for encouragement, practical strategies and powerful conversations that help you move forward with greater clarity, confidence and purpose. Learn more about John and his keynote speaking at https://www.johnmerkus.com (https://www.johnmerkus.com)

Publisher

John Merkus

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Sept 2023

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 115 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   114:How to Reconnect with Your Partner When Life Gets Busy

   You can love someone deeply and still give them whatever energy is left at the end of the day. When work, children and responsibilities fill the calendar, how do you make sure your relationship gets more than the leftovers? On Rise and Thrive: Conversations for Greatness, John Merkus, The Positive Change Guy, joins author and coach Kevin Davis for an honest, funny conversation about reconnecting with your partner, communicating better and making time for the life you’re working so hard to build. Kevin shares how putting career advancement first almost cost him his marriage. Married to Michelle for more than 31 years, he explains the everyday habits they use to keep learning about each other, address difficult subjects and enjoy being together. John brings his own experience of marriage and parenting into the conversation, questioning what it means to be present while pursuing your goals. Together, they explore a revealing exercise: does your calendar reflect what you say matters most? A story about a businessman facing a serious illness makes that question especially personal. There’s plenty of humour too, from Kevin’s unusually titled book to a burnt Jeep that became an opportunity for creativity. John connects these stories to a practical approach to change: recognising what you can control and choosing your next action. 💡 What You’ll Take Away • A question to ask before offering advice: find out whether your partner wants you to listen or help solve the problem. • A simple priorities check: compare your three most important things with how you spent the past two weeks. • Ways to make room for connection: hear how walks, shared activities and dates at home fit into Kevin and Michelle’s relationship. • A reason to address difficult conversations sooner: Kevin explains how waiting can make them harder. • A different way to approach setbacks: explore how humour and a deliberate response can help when plans fall apart. • Permission to enjoy life along the way: reconsider the experiences and small pleasures you keep saving for someday. ⏱️ Episode Chapters 00:00 Who are you beyond your achievements?05:53 Making your marriage a priority12:44 Difficult conversations and listening without fixing15:50 Man, marriage and mission18:13 Does your calendar match your priorities?25:37 Living your bucket list28:12 The book, the stories and finding humour in setbacks37:23 Greatness through service and everyday kindness40:38 Music, motivation and consistency44:25 Making room for fun and connecting with Kevin Connect with Kevin Davis Kevin is the founder of Maxed Out Man and coaches couples alongside Michelle through Maxed Out Marriage. His book, How I Lost My Left Nut and Other Life Lessons, combines personal stories with lessons and practical strategies. Explore Maxed Out ManFind Kevin’s bookFollow Kevin’s platform on Instagram 🎧 Tune In Now to Be Inspired If you’ve been meaning to make more time for each other, this conversation offers somewhere to start. Press play and choose one idea you can put into practice today. About Your Host: John Merkus John Merkus, The Positive Change Guy, is a keynote speaker and PROSCI certified change professional with more than 20 years’ experience in organisational change, transformation and agile delivery. He helps people and organisations navigate change, build resilience and take meaningful action. Planning an event or supporting a team through change? Explore John’s keynotes and watch his showreel. 💬 Loved it? Here’s What You Can Do Next • Share this episode with someone you’d like to make more time for.• Follow the podcast and leave a rating or review where supported.• Follow John for practical ideas and more conversations for greatness. If your partner looked at your calendar, what would they say your biggest priority was? Share your answer or one change you’re making. #RiseAndThrive #Relationships #PersonalGrowth Keep Connected YouTubeInstagramRise and Thrive Facebook CommunityX Music is par

2. 

   20 Sept 2026

   113:Stuck for a Reason? What Your Life Is Asking You to Become

   What if the thing in your life that refuses to change is not there to defeat you, but to change you? We all have something that seems to keep coming back. A relationship pattern. A career that will not move. Money worries. The same fears, frustrations or behaviours, despite all the books, therapy, personal development and effort we throw at them. In this powerful and surprisingly personal episode of Rise and Thrive: Conversations for Greatness, John Merkus welcomes back Colby Wilk for a conversation that challenges the way we think about being stuck. Colby poses a very different question. Instead of asking, “How do I get rid of this?”, what if we asked: “What is this asking me to become?” That question becomes the thread running through a fascinating conversation about acceptance, healing, intuition, identity, personal growth and becoming more of who you really are. John does what he does so well on Rise and Thrive. He takes the ideas beyond theory and into real life. In one of the most revealing parts of the conversation, John openly admits that he came into the interview exhausted after delivering a keynote earlier that day. What follows becomes an unexpected live example of the very subject they are discussing. Was John honouring his commitment by continuing the interview, or ignoring what his own body was telling him because he did not want to disappoint someone? Colby turns the question back on John, and suddenly host and guest are exploring approval, validation, personal standards, keeping your word and the freedom that might come from being comfortable when somebody does not like you. It is candid, funny, uncomfortable at moments and very human. 🌟 In This Episode, You’ll Discover: ✨ Why the parts of your life that refuse to move may deserve your attention rather than another attempt to force them to change ✨ The question Colby believes can change how we approach our biggest recurring challenges ✨ Why continually trying to “fix yourself” can sometimes stop you from accepting yourself ✨ The provocative idea behind “Is healing keeping you stuck?” ✨ Why Colby says relief and evolution are not necessarily the same thing ✨ How hidden beliefs and loyalties can influence choices without us consciously recognising them ✨ Why becoming more of yourself may require letting go of who you thought you were supposed to be ✨ How to distinguish between pushing harder and listening to what something may be asking of you ✨ What John’s own sleep deprived decision to continue the interview revealed about commitment, approval and honouring yourself ✨ Why needing other people to behave a certain way can sometimes give away your sense of safety ✨ The freedom contained in two deceptively simple words: “So what?” ✨ Why acceptance does not necessarily mean giving up ✨ Colby’s view that success and personal evolution are two very different things ✨ Why comparing your path with somebody else’s may prevent you from recognising what your own life is asking of you One of the most powerful ideas from this conversation is beautifully simple: Stop asking only, “Why is this happening to me?” and start asking, “What is this asking of me?” You may not immediately have the answer. Perhaps the question itself is where something begins to shift. 🌱 About Colby Wilk Colby works with people who feel stuck despite considerable effort, intelligence and personal work. His approach combines intuition and healing practices with a focus on helping people recognise beliefs, protections and patterns that may be influencing the way they live. His central philosophy is that growth is not necessarily about constructing a better version of yourself. It can be about becoming more of yourself. During the conversation, Colby also shares details of his Evolve Into You workshop and how people can work with him. 🌐 Find Colby:https://colbywilk.com/ At the time of recording, Colby was also preparing for his free Evolve Into You workshop on 26 September 2026. 🎧 Tune In Now

3. 

   7 Sept 2026

   112:Sean McBride on belief, grit, manifesting, and building a life beyond school results

   John Merkus talks with Sean McBride about how a tough academic start in Ireland did not stop him from becoming a chef, entrepreneur, inventor, and father. The conversation centers on belief, taking action, and the moments that shifted Sean’s life from uncertainty to momentum.In this episode, Sean shares how mentors, curiosity, and persistence shaped his path across Ireland, Canada, and Australia, plus the personal values that helped him build businesses and stay grounded. Key topics Sean explains why he felt school did not define his future, and how early work behind a bar at 15 gave him his first real direction. He shares the turning point with Mr. Cullen, an engineering teacher who helped him build a terrine mold that later led to a gold medal in a regional competition and selection for the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt in 1992. Sean describes how a single restaurant-quality meal from a customer opened his eyes to cooking as a calling, and how kitchens suited his senses, focus, and work ethic. He talks about persistence, including repeatedly asking for a job at the Shelbourne Hotel until he was finally taken on after a year of weekly effort. Sean reflects on “manifesting” as belief plus action, using the example of wanting to move to Canada and later receiving a visa through a chance connection with a hotel visitor. He breaks down the value of stepping back to learn more, including going from an established position back to apprentice-level work in a Michelin-level kitchen to strengthen his foundation. Sean shares the story of inventing a safer cling wrap dispenser after noticing how dangerous and wasteful the standard cardboard box design was in commercial kitchens. He explains how that invention taught him to measure twice, think through systems carefully, and later build successful salad bars by planning the customer flow in detail before rollout. The conversation moves into ego, burnout, and the realization that success in hospitality was less about personal brilliance and more about managing people, systems, and standards. Sean also discusses drumming as his creative outlet after leaving the kitchen world, including how music helped him enter a meditative state and process hard times. He tells the story of meeting his wife Jaya through a chain of synchronicities involving a relationship, a Hare Krishna center, and her parents becoming mentors in his life. Sean ends by defining greatness as having no regrets, giving things a real chance, staying balanced, and being present for family rather than chasing status at any cost. Timestamps 00:00 - Why school results do not define your future 00:33 - Belief, values, grit, and the guest introduction 03:25 - Why Sean was emotional when invited onto the show 04:21 - Growing up in Ireland and feeling he had little to offer 06:34 - Starting work behind a bar at 15 07:13 - The teacher who helped him build a terrine mold 08:25 - Winning in Frankfurt and representing Ireland 09:17 - Discovering a lifelong love of cooking 10:33 - Why academic results do not equal future potential 12:27 - Learning stocks, curiosity, and getting laughed at 13:25 - Persistence until the Shelbourne Hotel gave him a job 15:40 - Manifesting Canada and the visa arriving 18:03 - Stepping back to learn at a higher level 20:36 - Why the only real regret is not trying 21:04 - The Australian emblem and the mindset of never stepping back 22:53 - The core of manifesting is believing you deserve it 24:15 - Inventing a safer cling wrap dispenser 26:43 - Solving the design problems through repeated testing 28:59 - Handling failure and learning to measure twice 30:43 - What the invention taught him about entrepreneurship 31:26 - Reading The E-Myth and thinking like a systems builder 32:52 - Building seven salad bars with no money, only energy and systems 35:35 - The Road Less Travelled and other influences 36:54 - Why drumming became Sean’s creative outlet 39:14 - Learning independence and musical depth 40

Inside a recent episode

84:The Success System You’ve Never Tried

Published 13 Jul 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Well, I think what he's saying is that if you ask somebody, you want to meet more successful, everybody's going to say, yes, I want to be more successful. But it's only a preference. Therefore, they won't do anything to, to make that happen. If there's any level of effort, they're not going to do it. […]

Who has been a guest on Rise and Thrive: Conversations For Greatness with John Merkus

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

• John Mitchell
• Mike Loder
• Colby Wilk
• Ben Savage
• Jon Sabes

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

92,718

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

34 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 77 / 100

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

Quality

78

Social presence

94

YouTube

72

Engagement

71

Contact Rise and Thrive: Conversations For Greatness with John Merkus

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

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