- 19
- Episodes
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2026
- First episode
About Side Quests to Significance
The most provocative conversations on Side Quests- purposeful pursuits with meaningful activities that awaken part of you that your career alone never could. Side Quests are not simply about doing something enjoyable, they are an invitation to be deeply enriched by life. What is life whispering to you to BECOME through Side Quests? What did you love to do become life became so dang busy??
- Publisher
- Rick Tocquigny
- Category
- business · leisure
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 12 Sept 2026
- Latest episode
- 19 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
19 episodes in the feed.
19 Oct 2026
When You STEP Upon a Star featuring the one and only William Keck
William Keck began his career working for TV titan Aaron Spelling, grew into studio page at NBC and CBS and then graduated to journalism and eventually television production. William honors his Mom as his central mentor and fuel for curiosity to follow Hollywood stars. Hear about the angel and devil that sat on William's shoulders during his days at the National Enquirer. Listen to the guilt and soul crushing moral dilemmas. Of interest is William's definition of truth and how it has evolved from tabloid reporting to where he is today. William's reflection on being trapped in a career and lifestyle is the most revealing. Listen to the end of the show...please. Buy the book When You Step Upon a Star where ever books are sold.
19 Oct 2026
ABC 7, San Francisco Anchor Dan Ashley riffs about the unifying power of our media
Dan Ashley, award winning journalist and ABC 7, San Francisco anchor, delivers a powerful, positive message on the state of our union relative to Significance. Dan has devoted over four decades reporting on the biggest stories in America. Hear his perspective on how Americans see themselves. We often hear "we the people," yet our culture often feels centered on "me the individual." Dan comments on the shift. Pay attention to Dan's stories on Americans at their very best, working together. What is the media's responsibility to highlight stories of unity and service to others, not just conflict. Over his career, Dan Ashley has covered "the power of the people," where we came together for the greater good. Learn what those stories taught Dan about the true colors and character of tight knit communities. And listen to the entire show to hear Dan's graduation speech inspiring all of us to pull in the same direction. (for all you music lovers, enjoy Dan's latest songs by visiting www.danashleymusic.com)
19 Oct 2026
Discover 1906...historic Airbnb in Comfort, Texas with owner Christa Sauers
Do you really know how to put the fast paced life of business and managing people behind you? Escape to Comfort, Texas in the beautiful hill country of central Texas and kick back at 1906, THE ultimate Airbnb escape place. Enjoy this intimate conversation with one of 1906's owners Christa Sauers. And come out to Newsom Vineyards in Comfort for the Texas Wine Month celebration. Partake in the world class tasting room with some of the United States' best tasting wines, hear the Truly Significant Band, be on the LIVE podcast, and kick back to visit with friends old and new. Visit www.newsomvineyards.com
18 Oct 2026
Steve Carlis- pioneer of 2 Market Media...shifting from traditional to digital media
Steve Carlis can be viewed as a Truly Significant pioneer because the highest form of significance is not just building brands—it is seeing greatness in people before the world does. That is a rare gift. It means recognizing talent in its early, unfinished stages and helping it become influence, impact, and legacy. Why That Matters: Many people can judge performance after success is obvious. Very few can identify potential before the applause begins. That kind of vision requires: Discernment – noticing gifts others overlook Pattern recognition – seeing future momentum in present behavior Courage – betting on people early Stewardship – helping talent grow, not just using it Belief – lending confidence until the person owns it themselves That is where significance begins. Through the lens of talent with leaders and communicators like Grant Cardone and Mel Robbins, the common thread is not just fame—it is human potential expressed at scale. To recognize figures like these early or help amplify their gifts means seeing: the communicator before the crowd arrived the message before it became movement the discipline behind the brand the hunger behind the headlines That is different from marketing. That is insight. A Success mentality asks “What did you build?” Significance asks: “Who did you lift?” If Steve Carlis has consistently identified talent, opened doors, and helped people maximize their gifts, then his real legacy is not media alone—it is the multiplication of lives and voices he helped elevate. Steve Carlis is significant not merely because he recognized stars, but because he understood a timeless truth: When you see human potential clearly—and act on it—you change futures. Visit www.2MarketMedia.com to learn more about Steve and his team.
18 Oct 2026
Rock Star Vet, Tina Neel, hear the shocking story of Red Devil
TrulySignificant.com honors the one and only Tina Neel, DVM. She went to Oklahoma State to become a veterinarian. Hailing from the wild and wooly city of Lawton, Oklahoma, she grew up on a farm loving animals. Rock Star Vets series is a high energy, emergency case program. Hear Tina talk to about carrying the life-saving responsibility and along with heartbreak. Learn about compassion fatigue of vets. What happens when you have euthenize a pet that is the ONLY family member that someone has? The pet is okay. It's the people left behind that are grieving mightily. Connect with Tina, the three time cancer survival. Hear her comments on cancer treatment and advancing therapy for humans and animals alike. LISTEN TO THE SHOCKING STORY OF RED DEVIL. Hear about the promising future on cancer treatment centered on Angiex, a cliniclal stage company developing targeted therapies for human cancer. Visit www.angiex.com today.
18 Oct 2026
Deborah Farrone- Rainmaker Lawyer and author of Breaking Ground
Deborah Farone has spoken to and inspired women on four continents often meeting with "rainmakers" who rank among the world's top business generators. As the former CMO of two of the world's most prestigious law firms Cravath, Swaine & Moore, along with with Debevoise & Plimpton,. Deborah made it her mission to shed light on the accomplishments of leading women lawyers in those practices. Hear about best practices from Deborah's experience especially in business development. Of significance is the beautiful metaphor of gardening that comes out of this conversation. Deborah speaks of unique gardens where there was supreme focus to increase output. She watched enterprises/gardens grow as positive patterns were uncovered. Listen to the lovely tribute to her Mom, "never quite knowing where wisdom may find us." The big takeaways from Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices were balancing ambition and authenticity, understanding mindset shifts that can drive significance, and how to transition from transactional service to trusted advisor. Visit www.deborahfarone.com today and purchase Breaking Ground from Amazon.
18 Oct 2026
The Truly Significant Bryan McCleary, speechwriter for Astronaut and Senator John Glenn
Truly Significant celebrates today's Moon Shot, John Glenn...all through the lens of Bryan McCleary. Bryan is the celebrated speechwriter for our hero- John Glenn. This special show honors our hero and weaves in Bryan's career at P&G, his message as an author, and provides timely advice to want to be entrepreneurs leaving corporate America. Follow Bryan on LInked in at Bryan McCleary.
11 Oct 2026
Dr. Michael Suk- Polymath, Side Quester and leader of MDEnvoy reveals life strategy for physicians
Truly Significant honors Dr. Michael Suk, third generation orthepedic surgeon, attorney, former White House Fellow, polymath, and leader of MDEnvoy, a Physician agency representing medical doctors. Dr. Suk is a mission driven physician, selfless servant to his patients and is skilled as an eco-system creator. According to recent reports, a growing number of physicians are taking a page from professional sports and are now seeking the kind of agent representation that athletes have long relied on. Learn from MDEnvoy CEO and co-founder with famed sports agent- Leigh Steinberg, about the impact of MDEnvoy as an "intentional architect of significance." With MDEnvoy, Dr. Suk aims to help today's physicians enter into long-lasting and mutually successful relationships with their employers, providing other strategic support such as relocation planning, wealth management, intellectual property protection, branding and marketing. Learn more at www.mdenvoy.com today.
11 Oct 2026
Ann Keil Dux- Whip Smart, Cancer Survivor, Communicate from your real self
Ann Keil Dux is a person of significance. Former TV journalist, Emmy Award winner and cancer survivor, she has lived a remarkable life. You will be inspired by this whip smart, executive communications coach and strategist. Ann talks about the important soft skills fueled by emotional intelligence. She dives into high impact communication moments and how we should react authentically. Show up as the best version of yoursefl. Communicate from your real self from real places. Consider active verbs that describe you and connect with those words. Self proclaimed as THE GLUE, connect with Ann Keil Dux on LinkedIn or www.DuxCommunications.com.
11 Oct 2026
Luz Marie Mack...after the podcast, shows off Side Quests
Luz Maria Mack is a Truly Significant™ thought leader because she is doing something larger than writing children’s books: she is helping people understand that identity, belonging, and cultural memory are built through the stories we choose to tell—and the stories we choose not to leave out. Luz's significance through six dimensions: 1. She turns representation into belonging Luz's work isn't representation for representation's sake. Her central question is essentially: “Does a child see themselves in the story?” Her Dominican and Afro-Caribbean children's literature gives young readers cultural mirrors while also giving other children windows into experiences different from their own. The Secret of the Plátano, for example, was selected by Bank Street College of Education among its Best Children's Picture Books of 2023. That fits the Truly Significant lens beautifully: Significance happens when someone feels seen, valued, and connected because you were willing to tell the story. 2. Her "side quest" became a mission This is perhaps the strongest connection to Side Quests to Significance. Luz's path wasn't simply, “I want to become a famous author.” Her motherhood, cultural experience, professional life and encounters with the publishing world led her toward a creative calling that answered a need she saw around her. She has described moving beyond waiting for publisher approval and instead creating stories rooted in her community. That's a classic Side Quest: Curiosity → Need → Action → Significance. She didn't necessarily set out to build a cultural platform. She followed a need—and the need revealed the mission. 3. She understands that stories can preserve culture Luz isn't merely entertaining children. She is preserving pieces of Dominican and Caribbean culture for another generation. Her books explore language, music, family, heritage and identity. Her animated adaptation of ¡Pequeña María descubre su baile! won recognition at Bridge Fest and was subsequently featured on PBS.
11 Oct 2026
Parents...show up authentically and watch your children gain courage , featuring Alexander Kopelman
TrulySignificant.com honors writer, advocate, and co-founder of Children's Arts Guild Alexander Kopelman. His profound book is For Real: Helping Children Remain Their Authentic Selves in a Limiting World. Alexander has guided programs that help young people challenge limiting cultural messages and express who they truly are through creativity, reflection, and self discovery. His philosophy is simple yet powerful: when adults show up authentically, childnen gain the courage to do the same. Before founding the Gulld, Alexander served as Director of Marketing at Girls Inc, the leading girls empowerment organization in the United States. Key message: Childhood is NOT a waiting room for humanity.
11 Oct 2026
Trillion dollar leader shares Side Quests to Significance
Tom Jasper is truly significant. His career on Wall Street led him to a pioneering role in the $800 TRILLION derivative market. Tom is debuting his book Wall Street Maverick: Musings on a Career of Innovation, Derivatives, Credit, and Risk. Finding your mentor is a central message from Tom along with knowing when to take risk and challenge the establishment. More about Tom....he is a Risk Magazine "Risk Pioneer" and 2002 Risk Hall of Fame inductee for his profound contributions to the field of risk management. He was instrumental in creating the foundations for today's $800+ trillion derivatives market, among other successes, during his 40+ year career on Wall Street. A business creator and innovator throughout his career, Jasper was a managing director at Salomon Brothers, where he established and led its interest rate swap business. While at Salomon, he founded and co-chaired the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). Jasper went on to become chief executive of Primus Guaranty Ltd., a highly innovative credit default swap business. He is currently a managing partner of Manursing Partners, LLC, serves on several Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI) Fund boards, and continues to give back to his community. He and his wife reside in Connecticut.
10 Oct 2026
Out of Coma, Jenna Phillips Ballard became Significant
By a miracle, Jenna Phillips Ballard is alive today. After a horrific brain injury and coma, she re-arrived in life as a visionary leader, transformational coach, artist. She is now the founder of I•▲M—a global movement dedicated to helping people embody their highest selves and live in alignment with purpose, prosperity, and love. She began her career in 2006 as a certified personal trainer and mindset coach, working with A-list clients including Ben Stiller, Blink-182, and Saudi Arabian royalty. Quickly becoming one of Los Angeles’s most sought-after fitness experts, she was featured on Dr. Phil, The Doctors, KTLA, and Good Morning LaLa Land, with editorial spotlights in Harper’s Bazaar, Lucky, Allure, and Madame Figaro. In 2011, Jenna discovered emotional intelligence and somatic healing, igniting a deeper mission to awaken the leaders of the new era. She immersed herself in leadership trainings and transformational coaching, helping top executives and influencers access their highest potential and create legacies rooted in integrity and impact. In 2016, Jenna and her husband, Brad Ballard, co-founded Ascension Leadership Academy (ALA)—a premier emotional intelligence training company that has transformed thousands of lives, helped businesses 10x their growth, and raised over $4MM for charity. Now based in Austin, Jenna continues to mentor high-level leaders, founders, and creators while expanding her I•▲M ecosystem—which includes her transformational book I•▲M Her Now.
10 Oct 2026
Thirsty for a Miracle...at World Vision featuring Dr. Greg Allgood
Honoring Dr. Greg Allgood, leader at World Vision, focused on clean water to 700 million people in need. World Vision works in a variety of sectors, with water being a central focus. Greg shares a life changing story of Mercy, a woman was taking toxic water to her family. Greg offered his P&G product, a water purification packet, that instantly cleared the muddy water. He saw changed and improved lives. Visit worldvision.org and drop down to water or go to www.drgregallgood.com. It only takes $50 to transform a life or buy two copies of his book Thirsty for a Miracle and Greg's team will contribute $50 to help an individual with clean water. What makes Greg's story is that he didn't simply give to people in need. He used science, business, partnerships, persistence and personal conviction to build a system capable of helping millions. He made clean water a life mission Dr. Allgood spent 26 years at Procter & Gamble and founded the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. With his background in toxicology and public health, he recognized that P&G's water-purification technology could do far more good as a humanitarian program than it could as a conventional commercial product. He turned corporate capability into humanitarian impact This may be the most significant part of his story. Allgood persuaded P&G to create a nonprofit model around its water-purification technology. The little packets could transform contaminated water into drinkable water in about 30 minutes. The program eventually delivered more than 23 billion liters of clean water, reaching millions of people. Greg became a bridge between unlikely partners Allgood understood that no single organization was going to solve the global water crisis. He helped build partnerships involving P&G, World Vision, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, WHO and USAID. That's a powerful Side Quest to Significance lesson: sometimes your calling isn't to do everything yourself. It's to connect the people, resources and institutions that can accomplish something together that none could accomplish alone.
10 Oct 2026
What makes a person desperately want to matter featuring Dr. Arie Kruglanski and Rick Tocquigny
Arie Kruglanski is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland whose career spans human judgment, motivation, goal pursuit, cognition, group behavior, and radicalization. He has published more than 300 articles, chapters and books, and in 2024 received the Association for Psychological Science's William James Fellow Award for lifetime contributions to psychology. His most significant contribution: the Quest for Significance Kruglanski's breakthrough idea is Significance Quest Theory: human beings have a fundamental motivation to feel that they have worth, dignity, respect and meaning. His 2022 formulation describes the quest for significance as the need to have social worth. That idea becomes especially powerful when connected to Side Quests to Significance work. Kruglanski essentially asks: What makes a person desperately want to matter? Side Quest work asks a complementary question: What if we intentionally discover the things that make us matter—to ourselves, to others and to the world—and pursue them? Enjoy hearing about the fascinating bridge.
9 Oct 2026
Side Quests to Significance honors Glenn Llopis- The Identity Catalyst....podcast of the year!
Glenn Llopis rocks our network with the most provocative podcast of the year. We have lost our identity and the next generation is danger. Part of the solution lies in taking an old fashioned immigrant's mindset. After all, we are ALL immigrants. Hear Glenn, the Identity Catalyst, take his immigrant spirit of survival, renewal and reinvention, sprinkle in a dose of agency to the next gen, focus on significance and you find the super power within to be authentically yourself. Read Glenn's latest book Earning Conviction- Practice that redirects leaders from exhausted to unshakeable.
17 Sept 2026
TedX talk teaser
Discover the origin of Side Quests from one person who has studied the concept for 17 years, but has 7 decades of "xplain this Ricky."
16 Sept 2026
Cara Truitt- Ted Talk tips revealed
Cara Truitt's story is worth listening to and embracing. According to Cara-"The only thing you can count on is that everyone is going through something."Thus, the power of community is increasingly important . Imagine, losing your sister, marriage and your business within one week. Cara redefines resiliency and how a network, best known as net-weaving, becomes an intentional life-line. What stands out in the conversation is Cara's superpower to make your ideas impossible to ignore. Inside that, pay attention to micro moments that matter. Hear about rituals as "sacred play" bringing real meaning that could lead to community. Community building is Cara's tapestry. It's inescable. That includes creating a TedX talk for and with you. To learn more, email cara@caratruitt.com (mailto:cara@caratruitt.com).
12 Sept 2026
Side Quests with Former McKinsey exec and author Terry Young- Possibilities Science
Terry Young, former McKinsey and Omnicom execs debuts his provocative book Possibilities Science. You will learn about Possibility Gaps, and how Side Quests awaken something in us that our primary career doesn't. Hear about the role of curiosity, experimentation and "following the INTERESTING thing" to discover true significance. Embrace the concept of "curiosity cash" and how to compound ideas within your company, regardless of the number of employees.
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