Are you busy all day but not actually moving forward? In this episode, Richard is joined by Chris Adams, strategic growth advisor and founder of CJA Consulting, who works with professional services firms and business owners across the world to cut through overwhelm and build clear, focused growth strategies. Chris breaks down why the biggest block to business growth isn't technical skill — it's the mindset shift that nobody prepares you for when you make partner, go out on your own, or scale beyond yourself.

From the spray-and-pray trap of unfocused marketing to the uncomfortable truth that people buy you not your brand, this conversation is packed with practical insight. Chris shares why your referral network outperforms any social media campaign, how personal brand is non-negotiable in a crowded professional services market, and why even he struggles to take his own advice — and what he does about it.

Key Takeaways

Identifying your ideal client and referral network is the foundation of every growth strategy — without it, all activity is noise.

Personal brand is not optional in professional services; people buy people, not company names.

Your referral network will always outperform thought leadership or social media when it comes to driving new business.

Reflection time is not a luxury — without it, business owners make reactive decisions rather than strategic ones.

You must own your own growth; no advisor, marketer, or consultant can do that for you.

Episode Highlights

The mindset shift lawyers face overnight when they make partner — and why it derails so many high performers.

Chris's lightbulb moment at a personal branding workshop six months into his business.

Why 150 international law firms competing in Dubai is the perfect illustration of personal brand as differentiator.

The spray and pray trap — what happens when you market before you have a strategy.

How AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help business owners get unstuck when no external advisor is available.

The launch of Muhami — a legal knowledge platform built to connect people with legal answers in the Middle East.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction — Richard welcomes Chris Adams

00:39 What CJA Consulting does and who it serves

01:21 The mindset shift from lawyer to business owner

03:36 Overwhelm as the common thread — and how to cut through it

05:13 Chasing shiny objects and losing strategic focus

06:35 Why every business owner needs reflection time

08:01 Meetings — the silent killer of productive time

10:03 The hamster wheel of busyness and how to break it

11:10 Resistance to change — the lawyer who said it was all on Chris

13:07 Personal brand, charisma, and why you are the differentiator

15:32 Dubai's crowded legal market and the power of standing out

17:56 Why sales is not a dirty word in professional services

20:33 Strategy before marketing — stop spraying and praying

21:51 Why referral networks beat social media every time

24:04 LinkedIn thought leadership made simple and systematic

26:52 Getting out from behind the computer — networking that fits you

28:42 Final tips — make a plan, reflect, and use AI to get unstuck

31:28 CJA Consulting, Muhami platform and Muhami Matters podcast

🔗 Connect with Christopher Adams

Website: www.muhami.ae

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisadamsdxb/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muhami.ae/

⭐️ Connect and Subscribe

Thank you for joining us on The Business of Thinking podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and leave a rating! It helps us bring more insightful content on the psychology of high performance. Find more about Richard Reid's work at www.richard-reid.com.

Download the first two chapters of Richard's "Charisma Unlocked", audio or PDF version for free and begin your transformation towards authentic charisma:

https://richard-reid.com/master-authentic-charisma/

Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

What if the thing that nearly killed you became the catalyst for changing thousands of lives? In this powerful episode, Richard is joined by Joyce Bender, founder of Bender Consulting Services and the Bender Leadership Academy, whose personal experience of epilepsy and a near-fatal seizure led her to transform how corporate America employs people with disabilities. Joyce pulls no punches: hiring people with disabilities is not charity — it is a smart business investment, and the data backs it up.

From winning the President's Award at the White House to placing 200 people per year with the National Security Agency, Joyce has spent three decades dismantling the stigma, fear, and ignorance that keep 70 percent of disabled people out of the workforce. She shares the story of her angel at the movie theatre, why people with epilepsy have firepower, and what it truly means when someone arrives at work on a stretcher rather than miss a single day.

Key Takeaways

Something bad can happen to you — what defines you is what you make of it.

Hiring people with disabilities is a business investment, not an act of charity, with exceptional retention and engagement.

Stigma, fear, and ignorance are the primary barriers keeping disabled talent out of the workforce.

Education changes everything — the iDisability software platform was built to tackle workplace stigma at scale.

People with disabilities who have been excluded value work in a way that consistently outperforms expectations.

Episode Highlights

Joyce's misdiagnosed seizures leading to a fractured skull, brain haemorrhage, and coma at a movie theatre in 1985.

The mysterious doctor who appeared out of nowhere, saved her life, and was never identified.

How she pivoted from IT executive search to launching Bender Consulting Services in 1995.

Placing 200 people per year with disabilities at the National Security Agency in STEM roles.

The employee who called an Uber to hospital after being hit by a cab — and was back at work the next day.

The iDisability software platform and the Slaughter Stigma Campaign with bestselling author Karin Slaughter.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction — Richard welcomes Joyce Bender

01:00 Growing up with undiagnosed epilepsy

05:30 Pivoting from IT executive search to disability employment

09:00 Why hiring people with disabilities is a business investment

11:00 Retention, engagement, and the 70% unemployment figure

14:00 The Bender Leadership Academy and anti-bullying work

18:00 Teaching confidence, initiative, and public speaking to students

20:00 500 students on Disability Mentoring Day

22:00 The iDisability software platform — 52 modules

25:00 The Slaughter Stigma Campaign with Karin Slaughter

27:00 The employee who went to work on a stretcher

31:00 New focus: employment for people with intellectual disabilities

32:00 University of Pittsburgh partnership and AI in healthcare 33:00 Final words — paychecks not pity

🔗 Connect with Joyce Bender

Website: www.benderconsult.com / www.benderleadership.org

LInkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-bender-b840081/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyce_a_bender/

⭐️ Connect and Subscribe

Thank you for joining us on The Business of Thinking podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and leave a rating! It helps us bring more insightful content on the psychology of high performance. Find more about Richard Reid's work at www.richard-reid.com.

Download the first two chapters of Richard's "Charisma Unlocked", audio or PDF version for free and begin your transformation towards authentic charisma:

https://richard-reid.com/master-authentic-charisma/

Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

What happens when an ordinary man finds himself on death row? In this gripping episode, Richard is joined by Aubrey Brooks, author of Death Row in Paradise, whose extraordinary life story spans mercenary combat, a failed coup d'état in the Seychelles, 18 months on death row, and nine months in solitary confinement — all underpinned by an unshakeable belief in himself and in something greater. Aubrey traces the mindset that carried him through the unthinkable, from a childhood shaped by a mother who believed anything was possible, to the moment he said the Lord's Prayer with a rifle butt at his head.

Raised in Rhodesia with a can-do attitude instilled early, Aubrey became a special forces soldier, entrepreneur, and adrenaline junkie before a chance meeting led him into one of the most audacious missions of the Cold War era. Shot in the thigh, captured, tortured, and sentenced to death, Aubrey reveals how faith, mental discipline, and sheer will to live became his only weapons. His account of finding humanity in his captors, a presidential pardon, and returning home is both harrowing and deeply hopeful.

Key Takeaways

Belief in yourself compounds over time — the more you do, the more you become capable of doing.

Faith, whatever form it takes, provides an anchor when everything else is stripped away.

Mental discipline in isolation is a choice: Aubrey memorised songs, counted ceiling shapes, and walked daily to keep his mind alive.

Conducting yourself with dignity, even in captivity, changes how others treat you.

One never knows what is around the corner, holding on is always worth it.

Episode Highlights

Aubrey describes the moment a clairvoyant told him he was going overseas and would return — just days before he agreed to join the mission.

The chaos of the failed Seychelles coup when a loaded AK-47 was discovered in customs.

The beatings, the dark cell, and the orange glow of peace he experienced while saying the Lord's Prayer.

How saving two officers during a prison mutiny ultimately led to a full presidential pardon.

Timestamps

01:00 Childhood in Rhodesia and a mother's belief

11:00 Relocating to South Africa and building Mr. Printer

20:00 The mission to the Seychelles and what went wrong in customs

28:00 Shot, captured, and two days on the run

31:00 Arrest, beatings, and solitary confinement

39:00 Mental strategies for surviving isolation

54:00 Meeting the President of the Seychelles

57:00 Sentenced to death and keeping composure

🔗 Connect with Aubrey Brooks

Website: www.aubreybrooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Aubrey-Brooks-Motivational-Speaker-100063549762539/

⭐️ Connect and Subscribe

Thank you for joining us on The Business of Thinking podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and leave a rating! It helps us bring more insightful content on the psychology of high performance. Find more about Richard Reid's work at www.richard-reid.com.

Download the first two chapters of Richard's "Charisma Unlocked", audio or PDF version for free and begin your transformation towards authentic charisma:

https://richard-reid.com/master-authentic-charisma/

Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/