#30 Nina Sossamon-Pogue: Build a Life You’re Proud Of—Not Just a Career You Survive
In Part 2 of her conversation, Nina Sossamon-Pogue moves from storytelling to strategy—offering real-world tools for navigating change, resilience, and reinvention. From building a reverse resume to mapping your own success timeline, she shares frameworks that help Gen Xers (and anyone feeling stuck) turn lived experience into a launchpad. Instead of chasing corporate validation or viral moments, Nina reminds us that real success is slow-built, self-defined, and deeply human. For those designing their next chapter, this episode offers not just hope—but a real blueprint for building forward.>>Your Reverse Resume: What You’ve Survived Matters“It’s not just what you’ve achieved—it’s what you’ve overcome.”Nina introduces the concept of the reverse resume, helping people recognize the hidden strengths built through life’s hardest chapters.>>You Are Not Your LinkedIn Headline“We are so much more than our last job title.”She challenges the conventional resume model, urging listeners to view their lives as full stories—not highlight reels.>>Resilience = Adaptation, Not Just Persistence“Grit keeps you going. Resilience changes you.”Nina explains why true resilience requires positive adaptation, not just stubborn endurance.>>The Successful Timeline: Redefining What Really Counts“A career milestone isn’t the same as a life well-lived.”She shares how mapping your life as a timeline of both triumphs and setbacks can reframe your sense of success.>>The Lego Mindset“We each have a unique set of building blocks. The masterpiece is yours to create.”Using a brilliant Lego analogy, Nina shows how your skills, experiences, and choices can assemble into something no one else can replicate.__________________________Connect with us:Linkedin: Vince Chan and Nina Sossamon-Pogue
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#29 Nina Sossamon-Pogue: Reinventing Before Reinvention Was a Buzzword
Nina Sossamon-Pogue didn’t build a personal brand around change—she built a life out of it. In this first of a two-part series, she shares how elite gymnastics hardwired her resilience, how journalism sharpened her communication instincts, and how a strategic leap into tech proved that reinvention is less about following trends—and more about knowing who you are at the core. For Gen Xers who’ve quietly navigated identity loss, layoffs, industry shifts, and market crashes, Nina’s story is a masterclass in evolving without losing yourself.>>From Falling Down to Rising Up“Gymnastics taught me resilience before I even knew the word.”Nina explains how falling and failing hundreds of times a week built the muscle memory for lifelong adaptability.>>Losing an Identity, Finding a New One“I had to figure out who I was without gymnastics.”She shares the emotional collapse and slow rebuilding that came after losing her first major identity—and how it shaped every future chapter.>>From Laundromats to Live TV“One walk through a TV station—and I knew this was it.”Nina recounts the random campus job that led her from washing football uniforms to anchoring live television for 17 years.>>Laid Off at the Top“Voted favorite news anchor—and still shown the door.”She talks about navigating a devastating layoff that blindsided her mid-career—and the recalibration it forced.>>Jumping to Tech Before Tech Was Cool“I didn’t know what SaaS was—but I knew where the world was going.”Nina shares how she mapped her next career move by combining self-awareness, external advice, and market trends—long before career pivots were branded movements.__________________________Connect with us:Linkedin: Vince Chan and Nina Sossamon-Pogue
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#28 Edward & Tricia: Collaborate to Compete—The Human Advantage
In the second half of their conversation, Edward J. van Luinen, Ed.D. and Tricia Cerrone reveal the system behind their decade-long collaboration—and the framework that became their book, Collaborate to Compete.But this isn’t just theory. It’s a Gen X playbook for how to lead, design, and scale collaboration that actually sticks. Grounded in five core behaviors—generosity, resourcefulness, co-creation, action, and gratitude—and powered by a noble purpose, their method flips the script on outdated workplace thinking. For Gen Xers who’ve quietly led with trust and integrity, this episode validates everything you’ve practiced—and gives you the language to teach it forward.>>Start With Self, Scale With Systems“Collaboration isn’t a team sport—it’s an individual practice.”They explain why collaboration isn’t about tech or tools, but behaviors—and why it must be designed into people first, not platforms.>>Five Behaviors, One Noble Purpose“Generosity. Resourcefulness. Co-creation. Action. Gratitude.”Edward and Tricia walk through the five behavioral anchors of collaboration—and why the ‘how’ must come before the ‘what.’>>Why the Old Workplace Models Are Failing“We’re still running on 1900s bonus structures—and wondering why collaboration breaks down.”They unpack how outdated incentive systems kill trust and team performance—and how leaders can redesign for shared wins.>>The Disney Story That Brought It Home“I watched a father put his arm around his son—and almost cried.”Tricia shares the moment that reminded her why collaboration must be human-centered—because when it’s done right, it doesn’t just produce results. It heals.>>From High Concept to DIY“Take the five behaviors and run a self-check. Which ones are you already living?”They offer tangible steps for leaders, founders, and managers to assess and apply collaborative behaviors today—without waiting for a reorg.__________________________Connect with us:Linkedin: Vince Chan and Edward and Tricia
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#27 Edward & Tricia: The Gen X Way to Build Trust That Lasts
Edward J. van Luinen, Ed.D. and Tricia Cerrone didn’t build a personal brand around collaboration—they lived one. In this first of a two-part series, they reflect on the working relationship that began at Disney and slowly evolved into a business, a book, and a model for how Gen X builds enduring trust. Forget quick team-building hacks and shallow LinkedIn takes—this is collaboration done the Gen X way: built slowly, refined over time, and grounded in shared values. If you’re tired of performative partnerships and want to know what staying power really looks like, this is your episode.>>The Relationship That Didn’t Expire“Most work relationships fade. This one evolved.”Edward and Tricia share how a three-year collaboration at Disney grew into a decade of trust, business, and a co-authored book on leadership.>>No Hierarchy, No Ego“We weren’t assigned roles—we built the rules together.”They reflect on leading a global initiative without clear power dynamics, and how mutual respect became the real structure.>>The First Coffee Was the Turning Point“That coffee wasn’t about a project—it was about character.”Tricia recalls how her initial skepticism melted when Edward showed up with presence, empathy, and zero pretense.>>Why It Worked: Five Behaviors, One Blueprint“We didn’t write the book first—we lived it.”They walk through five consistent behaviors—generosity, gratitude, grace, curiosity, and accountability—that made their team the one others wanted to be on.>>Tech Can’t Fake Trust“You can’t app your way into a good relationship.”Edward and Tricia challenge today’s obsession with productivity tools, arguing that collaboration starts with who you are—not what you use.__________________________Connect with us:Linkedin: Vince Chan and Edward and Tricia
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#26 Jason Bloomfield: From Survival Mode to Systems Change
Jason Bloomfield didn’t learn change in an MBA program—he learned it through real life. As a teenager, he became the de facto head of household. Now, as Global Head of People Change and Experience Design at Ericsson, he leads transformation across 180 countries. In this episode, Jason shares how active listening, design thinking, and human-first systems have helped him move organizations from dysfunction to alignment. From M&A integrations to HR tech failures, from -83 NPS scores to user-designed wins, his work proves one thing: change only sticks when it’s built with—not for—the people it’s meant to serve. For Gen Xers who’ve lived through chaos and are now leading through it, this episode is a blueprint in action.>>From Family Collapse to First Acquisition“I was the only one with income. So I had to figure it out.”Jason opens up about his early years, navigating a broken home while building stability from scratch—and how that experience shaped his instincts in business.>>Career by Constraint“They asked if I’d move to 1 Madison Avenue. I said yes—and just kept saying yes.”From wiring cables to managing a global acquisition across 13 countries, Jason shares how constraints—and curiosity—turned into growth and global opportunity.>>Change Starts with Listening“Active listening sends a signal: you care.”Jason breaks down why empathy is not a soft skill—it’s the hardest one. Especially when leading transformation across 100,000 employees and 180 countries.>>Turning a -83 NPS into a Shared Win“The tool was hated. But people started feeling heard.”He recounts how a globally despised HR tool became usable—through co-creation, honesty, and building feedback loops that actually changed things.>>From Paper to Trust“They didn’t hate digital. They didn’t trust institutions.”Jason explains how assumptions kill adoption—and how design thinking and diverse input helped his teams shift deeply entrenched behaviors.__________________________Connect with us:Linkedin: Vince Chan and Jason Bloomfield
We’re not the lost generation. We’re the underestimated one.While the internet obsesses over Gen Z and glorifies Boomer dominance, Gen X remains the generation history keeps skipping. This show changes that.Hosted by Vince Chan—Global Top 1.5% podcast producer and host of the U.S. #1 careers podcast Chief Change Officer—Gen X Legends features real Gen Xers: coaches, creators, founders, executives, and reinvention artists who’ve outgrown the old playbook and designed careers worth living.Forget the hype, the hustle-posting, and the midlife glow-up myth. This is the generation that weathered dot-com crashes, financial crises, and digital disruption without performative reinvention—and came out smarter, sharper, and still in motion.We don’t chase virality. We design for longevity.If you’re tired of the noise and hungry for honest, grounded, human wisdom…You’re in the right generation. And now, you’re on the right show.
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