ÜBER DIESE EPISODE
In this episode of Keep Hustling, Aaron Gordon welcomes Mark Lewis, author of Give a Damn: The Ticket to Cultural Change. They discuss the importance of serving others, the impact of small positive actions, and how empathy and intentional engagement can transform both professional and personal lives. Mark Lewis shares insights from his experience running CEO roundtables, his book's core principles, and how technology is eroding face-to-face interactions. They highlight the value of fostering meaningful connections whether at work, in families, or through community and religion, and address barriers to cultural change including negativity and ego. The episode closes with Mark Lewis's motivational quote: "Individually, you make a difference. Collectively, we change the world."
Get To Know Mark S. Lewis Mark S. Lewis is CEO of Evolve Media AI, a professional speaker, leadership coach, CEO Roundtable facilitator, and best-selling author of Give A Damn! The Ticket to Cultural Change. He is a senior executive with a proven track record of building, leading, and guiding organizations, teams, and executives through growth, acquisition, and turnaround.
Mark co-founded the first locally owned Internet services company in New Orleans and grew its revenue from zero to nearly $4 million in less than three years. He established three remote branch offices, forged strategic partnerships with local exchange carriers, and helped negotiate the company's sale to a Fortune 1000 firm. He later merged three start-ups into a single entity, driving a 30% revenue increase in just two months, then negotiated the multi-million-dollar sale of that combined company to a wireless Internet provider.
His experience spans leadership coaching, sales and marketing, new business development, strategic planning, finance, and operations across both start-ups and established companies. He has led IBM agent firms in developing sales and marketing plans that improved profitability and designed a successful turnaround strategy that rescued a nonprofit organization from bankruptcy. Since 2014 he has implemented and moderated more than 25 CEO Roundtables.
Mark's contributions have been widely recognized. He was named Technology Leader of the Year in Louisiana by the Governor's Office, selected as the Marshall Klein Entrepreneur of the Year by the Entrepreneurial Organization of Louisiana, and honored as Rising Tide Small Business of the Year in Technology by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. In 2023 he was recognized nationally as a Leadership Coach by the Coach Foundation.
Results-oriented and focused on accelerating both growth and fulfillment, Mark continues to help businesses and individuals stay on a clear path to success.
Website LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-s-lewis-053477/ Facebook
3 Key Listener Takeaways
1. Serve Others to Serve Yourself Mark Lewis shows that lasting success grows from putting the needs of others first instead of chasing personal gain. A mindset of service and empathy leads to deeper personal fulfillment and stronger internal well-being in both business and life.
2. Small Gestures Create Culture Throughout the conversation Mark demonstrates how simple, thoughtful actions such as saying "please" and "thank you" or holding a door open can lift organizational and personal cultures. These everyday behaviors create a powerful ripple effect that improves relationships, positivity, and even health and happiness.
3. Make Connection a Priority The episode underscores the cost of letting technology crowd out real interaction. Aaron and Mark both stress the importance of protecting time for authentic, in-person communication through family meals, community involvement, or workplace collaboration so people can build deeper connections and a more balanced life.
Show Overview 00:00 Discovering connected family ties of guest and host in Syracuse
04:31 Improving interpersonal skills
09:13 Thoughtful company culture strategies
12:50 Discussing the importance of the Sabbath
14:58 Link between religion and longevity
17:25 Importance of Religious Legacy
20:19 Justifying wrong actions
24:37 Examining obstacles to happiness
27:35 Podcast sign-off and contact info
