Policies are like guard dogs. Ignore their barking, and you’ll get bitten. Brad Sadler learned this the hard way. Once a successful banker, he now shares how overlooking controls led to a four-year prison sentence. In this honest and surprising conversation, we talk about: Why smart people make dangerous compromises What prison teaches you about shortcuts How his marriage survived bars, stigma, and shame Brad has been a paster for the past two decades—but his message isn’t preachy. It’s practical. If you’ve ever thought, “That could never happen to me,”  this episode is for you. 🎧 Listen to Brad’s journey

🎤 From Wu-Tang to  TEDx : What Rap Taught  Robin Nathaniel  About Public Speaking What do freestyling and TEDx talks have in common? I sit down with Robin to unpack how the rhythm and resilience of hip-hop shaped his voice as a speaker. Robin Nathaniel Speaking at Ted We dive into: - How rap built his public speaking “muscle memory” - The emotional toll of having his TEDx talk title changed without consent - Why nonprofits struggle to embrace digital transformation If you’ve ever faced rejection or felt unseen in your creative or professional life, this conversation will resonate. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here

James Clear  says, “Get 1% better every day.” But what does it look like practically? It took me a few years to figure out after reading  Atomic Habits Most people are not sure. So I did the math. There are 1,440 minutes in a day.  1% is just 15 minutes. This is what I have been doing for the past 2 years: I set a daily timer.  ⏱ Read.  ⏱ Reflect.  ⏱ Repeat. This small habit? It doesn’t make you 365% better over a year...It makes you 3,780% better (thanks to compound growth).

15 years ago, Nadine von Moltke-Todd did not think she would ever get a chance to write for a living until someone gave her a chance. 400 interviews with top entrepreneurs unpacked in 30 minutes by Nadine von Moltke Fast forward to 2019, and Nadine has interviewed over 400 entrepreneurs, senior executives, investors, and subject-matter experts over a decade. Nadine is the former Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Media South Africa. According to Marnus Broodryk (founder of Beancounter) and Brian Altriche (founder of Rocomamas) , Nadine is a master at interviewing people. One reason for this is that she asks good follow-up questions. Listen to Charles Hsuan interview Nadine von Moltke-Todd here

Meet Keith Fairhurst.  He wasn’t born into business. In fact, he grew up in a family shaped by war and frugality—his parents from the working-class streets of Liverpool during WWII, later starting fresh in South Africa in the 1950s. Back then, the dream was simple: Get a stable job, stick with it for 40 years, and retire with a pension. But Keith’s dream? It started with a surfboard. At 13, Keith wanted to ride the waves—not just metaphorically, but literally. So, he found a way to fund it. Leatherwork was booming, so he learned the craft, made belts and bags by hand, and sold them at school. His first lesson? You can turn your curiosity into cash. That experiment led to a bigger idea: test small, learn fast, and never wait for permission. From leather belts to national marketing roles, to building and selling companies—Keith’s path is anything but linear. He’s lived the scrappy start-up grind and the corporate climb. But through it all, one insight stayed true: Selling isn’t just a skill—it’s the heartbeat of every great business. Today, Keith helps founders who are great at what they do  but struggle to sell what they’re worth . This episode unpacks the truth behind the 94% of businesses that fail to sell—and what you can do to make sure you're not one of them. Listen here

“This has been the most stressful month of the year.” That’s how my friend opened our coffee catch-up. No small talk—just straight into the chaos. She works in global logistics. With the recent "Tariff war", changes threw her company into disarray. Clients panicked. Strategies had to be rewritten overnight. They didn’t cause the problem, but they were expected to fix it. It felt like steering a ship in a storm—blindfolded, no compass. I remember reading something similar in The Me I Want to Be  by John Ortberg , and it clicked: problems hijack our attention because they point to something that matters. Attention explained Let’s look at the big buckets of life: relationships, work, emotions, finances, health, mortality. Can you name a problem in any of these? Of course you can. Because problems aren’t exceptions. They’re constants. We think: If I could just get rid of my problems, I’d stop worrying. But problems don’t go away—until we do. So how do we live with them? We start by understanding what they do to our attention. Here’s the formula: Attention = Heightened sense of vulnerability + A diminished sense of power. When you feel exposed and out of control, your attention spikes. That’s why you spiral, stress, and stew. My friend’s team felt vulnerable—they didn’t know how tariffs would hit their margins. And powerless—they had no control over client reactions. Once they named that—vulnerable here, powerless there—they shifted. They stopped fixating on the problem and focused on how they’d respond. So here’s your move. Write down one problem. Ask: What about this makes me feel vulnerable? Where do I feel powerless? That’s your cue. Don’t just analyze it. Reflect. Pray. Journal. Talk to someone. Take the steering wheel back. Because when problems shout, it’s not weakness. It’s a signal: You care. Something matters here. And when you name it, it gets smaller. Don’t let problems run the show. Book a Discovery Call with Charles today if you’re ready to sell with clarity, confidence, and control—even in uncertain times. He’ll help you move from stressed to strategic.

In 2016, the receiving area of a world-class hospital looked like a set from Hoarders . Packages piled up. Deliveries were late. And a red phone rang constantly with complaints: “Where’s my order?!” what’s your red phone that keeps ringing? FedEx could get medicine across the country in one day—but inside the hospital, it took five more to reach the third floor. The system was jammed. Until Paul Suett (the newly appointed supply chain performance manager) walked in and asked: “If I can make your job easier and the outcomes better, will you try a new way with me?” That’s when things started flowing. They changed how they worked. Stopped batching. Eliminated unnecessary steps. Bought better carts. Within six weeks, 90% of deliveries happened within a single day. Dan Heath tells this story in Reset , and it hit me because I’ve seen the same thing in sales:Brilliant professionals stuck in systems that no longer serve them. They’re waiting on leads. Checking emails that go nowhere. Doing the sales equivalent of lifting the same package five times. The fix? "Keep the river flowing". Don’t batch follow-ups. Don’t over-explain your value. Don’t make clients chase you. Instead, walk your process, spot the jams, and let your sales flow again. If you’re ready to stop paddling upstream and start building a sales system that actually works for you — 📞 Book a call with me . Let’s find and fix the friction together. Because better flow leads to better business.

The customer was tired. He had already tried five suppliers, each telling him the same thing: “Out of stock”   Then, finally, he walked into Supplier #6.   Why Probing Before Discounting Can Save Your Profits. “Do you have this product?” he asked. “Yes, we do. It’s R900,” said the salesperson. “Too expensive. Others are cheaper.” In a heartbeat, the salesperson offered a 20% discount. R720. Deal done. But the sales director had been watching. He politely asked the customer a few questions: Did he need credit terms? No—he always paid cash. Would technical advice help? No—he had to use the item specified in the job. Same-day delivery? Useful, but not this time. Then the golden question: “Do you know we keep 100 meters of this product in stock at all times?” The customer’s eyes lit up: “I’ve been to five places. You’re the only one who had it!” Let's pause for a second: Would the salesperson have discounted R180 so easily if he knew the customer’s urgency and scarcity? Lesson: Before you drop your price, probe for value . The thing you take for granted might be exactly why the customer is ready to say yes—even at full price.

During a podcast interview, I was asked, “𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭?” Here’s what I said: 💡 Think about when you’re trying to pick a new show or movie to watch. What grabs your attention first? 💡 Probably the trailer or a quick summary, right? That’s like the “elevator pitch” for that show. If the pitch doesn’t catch your interest, you’re likely to move on to something else. Ever found yourself quoting a movie line years later? Well, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭! Even if you have an 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. That’s why I made the “ Words that Sell ” cheat sheet for you. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬, 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. Grab your copy now if you want a guide to 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬! #salestips #wordsthatsell

On a trip to Bali, my in-laws gifted me a volcanic stone bracelet with a sea turtle etched into it. It reminded me of the incredible journey baby sea turtles undertake. Upon hatching, they scramble toward the ocean, instinctively following the moon’s pure light. In an ideal world, every baby sea turtle would reach the sea safely, guided by this natural beacon. But in reality, artificial lights—streetlamps, restaurants, and houses—often mislead them, threatening their survival. As business owners, we face similar challenges. We are bombarded by distractions—advice from countless “experts,” endless social media notifications, and the ceaseless pull of our cell phones. A study shows we check our phones between 58 and 144 times daily. Imagine a mailman delivering 144 letters to your home each day and feeling compelled to open every one. Exhausting, isn’t it? These distractions are like the artificial lights misleading the sea turtles. They pull us away from our true path and values. The question is: what is your guiding light? For me, my values are rooted in faith. I honour the Sabbath by resting on Sundays, a practice counter to the world’s “hustle” culture. It’s my way of staying aligned with my beliefs, not what society dictates. Unlike sea turtles, we can pause, reflect, and recalibrate. When we focus on our guiding light—our values—we avoid the artificial glow of distractions and move toward meaningful goals. What light are you following?

Ever been at an event where you exchange polite small talk but leave without a real connection? (In my 20's) I used to think networking was about handing out business cards—until I learned from one of the best interviewers of all time, Larry King, who said, "A good question starts a good conversation." Larry King Approach to Networking At a conference last year, I met a business owner who seemed distracted. Instead of the usual, “So, what do you do?”  I asked, “What’s a challenge on your mind right now?”  Her eyes lit up. We dove into a real conversation, and a month later, she became a client. That moment reminded me that networking isn’t about selling—it’s about asking the right questions. Here are seven conversation starters  that create real opportunities: 1️⃣ What brought you to this event?  (A simple way to break the ice.) 2️⃣ What exciting project are you working on?  (Gets them talking about something they love.) 3️⃣ What’s one thing you feel misunderstood about your work?  (Helps them open up.) 4️⃣ What’s something valuable you’ve learned from events like this?  (Creates an instant exchange of insights.) 5️⃣ What’s a skill you’re working on right now?  (Great for career-focused conversations.) 6️⃣ What’s one hobby you love doing when you’re not working?  (Moves beyond business talk.) 7️⃣ Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met here so far?  (Encourages them to share connections.) Try using one of these at your next event. You might just walk away with your next big client. What’s your go-to networking question? Drop it in the comments! If you enjoyed reading this article, here are two more for you How to Sell with Value: Ask Great Questions to Communicate Effectively What’s Stopping You from Getting More Yeses in Business?

Most people focus on saying the right things. But the ones who get ahead? They ask the right questions. Take pricing, for example. Say you tell a client, “My consultation fee is R5,890.”  They might hesitate. But what if you asked instead, “ What would it cost you to leave this problem unsolved for 6 months? ”  Now, they’re thinking about value instead of price. Or when making a decision, instead of saying, “Would you like to buy?”  ask, “What would need to happen for you to say yes?” Suddenly, they are seeing how to move forward. Craig Groeschel says, “Your leadership potential will never exceed the quality of the questions you ask.”  And yet, most people stick to weak, predictable questions. Here’s a simple shift: Instead of asking, “Is this something you’d like to do?”  try, “What’s stopping you from moving forward today?”  The first invites hesitation. The second invites action. The difference between "average and exceptional selling" isn’t just experience—it’s the words they use. Better questions lead to better conversations. And better conversations lead to better results. So, what’s one small question  you can change today that might lead to a big outcome?