The Books That Shaped Me

About The Books That Shaped Me

The Books That Shaped Me is a space for leaders to share their journey. They highlight books, memories, moments that forged them into who they are today. #leadership #faith #UnBreakable

Publisher

Angie Smith

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 May 2026

Latest episode

30 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Oct 2026

   Bloom Where You’re Planted (Even When It Makes You Angry)

   What does it take to go from hiding in the shadows, watching other people live their lives, to running an award-winning media company that shapes the future of a whole city? Laura Terry is a Georgetown, TX-based entrepreneur, marketer, & podcaster who has spent 30 years helping businesses find their voice and connect with their communities. She hosts The Unbridled Creative and Be Locally Loved, and runs Be Local Georgetown. She and Angie talk about saying yes to a calling that terrifies you, why your messaging matters more than your marketing budget, and what happens when you stop performing and just be who you are. ■ Walking on Fire: A grandma at a Tony Robbins live event grabbed her hand and pulled her across 14 feet of hot coals. That moment was the first step toward becoming who she is today. ■ The 2 Millimeter Tweak: You don’t have to leap across a chasm to change your life. Small, consistent adjustments made over decades will land you somewhere completely different. ■ Building a StoryBrand: Donald Miller’s framework rewired 30 years of marketing instincts in one audiobook. The core shift: you are not the hero of your customer’s story. You are the guide. ■ A Day in the Cemetery: Her coach told her to spend an hour walking through a cemetery and call him after. What she found there made her decide to stop being someone she wasn’t, whatever it cost. ■ The Power of Moments: Be Local’s real mission isn’t selling ads. It’s curating the moment when someone goes from feeling like an outsider to feeling like they belong. 00:00 Sponsor: WinStar Insurance Group 1:02 Welcome: Laura Terry 2:46 📚 Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins 4:15 The Tony Robbins firewalk 8:45 The 2 millimeter tweaks philosophy 13:58 Bloom Where You’re Planted 19:33 Be Local Cedar Park and the COVID pivot 21:25 Approaching Mayor Trader shaking in her boots 23:27 📚 The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath 27:25 Be Local’s mission beyond advertising 31:44 📚 Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller 36:27 The day in the cemetery 43:07 The Unbridled Creative Podcast 48:25 Be Locally Loved Podcast 54:48 Angie’s Outro ◼ How Marketing Works by Laura Capes Terry (unpublished) Laura Terry: ◼ Website: LauraCapesTerry.com (http://LauraCapesTerry.com) ◼ Instagram: Laura Capes Terry MBA OK ◼ The Unbridled Creative: theunbridledcreative.com (http://theunbridledcreative.com) The Books That Shaped Me: ◼ Book a call with Angie - https://link.ask4tea.com/widget/booking/u4kVkzFPLBx7jwJLpSZh (https://link.ask4tea.com/widget/booking/u4kVkzFPLBx7jwJLpSZh) ◼ Work with Angie (UnBreakable Life coaching) - https://angiesmithsummitconsulting.com (https://angiesmithsummitconsulting.com) ◼ Subscribe for new episodes every week - https://www.youtube.com/@AngieSmith-SummitConsulting?sub_confirmation=1 (https://www.youtube.com/@AngieSmith-SummitConsulting?sub_confirmation=1) ◼ Listen on podcast- https://rss.com/podcasts/the-books-that-shaped-me-with-angie-smith-fea-gina-dodd (https://rss.com/podcasts/the-books-that-shaped-me-with-angie-smith-fea-gina-dodd) ◼ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-smith-connector (https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-smith-connector) ◼ Follow Angie on FB - https://www.facebook.com/angie.smith.2021 (https://www.facebook.com/angie.smith.2021) #TheBooksThatShapedMe #LeadershipPodcast #AngieSmith

2. 

   23 Oct 2026

   The Books That Shaped Me Featuring Scott Francis

   What does it take to build a company from 35 people to $450 million in revenue, and still feel the pull to start over from scratch? Scott Francis is a Stanford-trained computer scientist and serial entrepreneur who spent 7 yrs at Trilogy Software, 4 years at Lombardi Software, and then co-founded BP3 Global in 2007, leading it for nearly two decades. He and Angie talk about the books that shaped his career at every stage, why the best companies treat reading like a competitive advantage, how process can either set people free or crush them, and what it looks and feels like to follow an entrepreneurial calling even when the safe path is right there. ■ The Iliad at Stanford: Scott explains how a class on Homer’s Iliad as oral tradition, written in strict meter, rewired how he thinks about structure and communication. The constraints of the form weren’t limiting; they made the story last 3K yrs ■ Trilogy’s Reading Culture: He describes how Trilogy Software used books like assigned weaponry. Good to Great, Built to Last, Crossing the Chasm, Solution Selling, Challenger Selling. Every employee read the same books so the whole company could operate from the same mental model. ■ Process as Freedom: At Lombardi Software, Scott learned the difference between process as an enabler and process as bureaucracy. He explains how the right process clears the path for people to do their best work, and the wrong kind just adds friction and blame. ■ Joining at the Inflection Point: He shares what it was like to join Trilogy when it had 35 employees and ride it to $450 million. The growth wasn’t just financial. The experience reshaped his entire picture of what a company could become and what he wanted to build. ■ The Entrepreneur’s Itch: Scott explains why, after years of success inside other companies, co-founding BP3 in 2007 wasn’t optional. The pull toward building something of his own was a calling, not just a career move. 0:00 Sponsor: WinStar Insurance Grp 1:15 Meet Scott Francis 3:30 Stanford and The Iliad 7:00 Why Homer still matters in business 9:30 Joining Trilogy at 35 employees 12:00 Books Trilogy assigned & why 15:30 Good to Great and Built to Last 17:45 Crossing the Chasm and sales methodology 20:00 Lombardi Software & process design Process as enabler not bureaucracy The entrepreneurship itch Co-founding BP3 Global 2007 Leading BP3 for nearly 2 decades Red Fridge Society and meeting Angie ◼ The Iliad by Homer ◼ Good to Great by Jim Collins ◼ Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras ◼ Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore ◼ The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson ◼ Solution Selling by Michael Bosworth Follow Scott Francis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfrancisatx/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfrancisatx/) ◼ Book a discovery call with Angie - https://link.ask4tea.com/widget/booking/u4kVkzFPLBx7jwJLpSZh (https://link.ask4tea.com/widget/booking/u4kVkzFPLBx7jwJLpSZh) ◼ Work with Angie - https://angiesmithsummitconsulting.com (https://angiesmithsummitconsulting.com) ◼ https://www.youtube.com/@AngieSmith-SummitConsulting?sub_confirmation=1 (https://www.youtube.com/@AngieSmith-SummitConsulting?sub_confirmation=1) ◼ https://rss.com/podcasts/the-books-that-shaped-me-with-angie-smith-fea-gina-dodd (https://rss.com/podcasts/the-books-that-shaped-me-with-angie-smith-fea-gina-dodd)

3. 

   2 Oct 2026

   The Books That Shaped Me Featuring Steph Spector

   What if the book that shaped your entire career was one you picked up at age 10 — from the wrong section of the bookstore? That's exactly what happened to Steph Spector, writer, editor, and business writing coach, and it set her on a path that's anything but conventional. Steph helps professionals and creatives find their voice on the page — not the corporate, buttoned-up version, but the real one. The one that actually sounds like them. In this conversation, she shares how lessons from a childhood writing book became life principles, what happened when a shy 23-year-old was asked to teach a six-hour grammar class to a room full of intimidating adults, and why 80% of the people who show up to her classes say the same heartbreaking thing. We also get into farm life in Pennsylvania and Blanco, Texas, tiny house living, coaching writing for Apple's executive team, and the memoir that made her cry on a walk and rearrange her whole perspective on complaining. Books mentioned in this episode: 📚 Robert's Rules of Writing by Robert Macello 📚 Writing Fiction by Gotham Writers Workshop (ed. Alex Steel) 📚 Cathedral by Raymond Carver (short story) 📚 Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain 📚 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby Connect with Steph: 🌐 stephspector.com (http://stephspector.com) 💼 LinkedIn: Steph Spector (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-spector/) Connect with Angie: 🌐 AngieSummitConsulting.com (http://AngieSummitConsulting.com) 💼 LinkedIn | Facebook The Books That Shaped Me is proudly sponsored by Winstar Insurance Group in Cedar Park, Texas — owned and operated by Stephanie Dew. Specializing in first responders, wineries, breweries, childcare facilities, and more. A team that truly values their people. Learn more at [winstarinsurance.com (http://winstarinsurance.com)].

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