An eight-year-old boy wanted to wear jeans like his classmates. That request exposed a gap in adaptive fashion and pushed his mother, Mindy Scheier, to challenge an industry that kept saying no.

Mindy's son Oliver has a rare form of muscular dystrophy and struggled with buttons and zippers. As a fashion designer, she altered a pair of jeans overnight. Watching Oliver dress independently changed how she understood clothing, confidence, and choice.

Building Runway of Dreams was far from an overnight success. Mindy shares the rejections she faced, why her first designs failed in a focus group, and how learning directly from people with disabilities reshaped her approach.

When brands resisted investing in adaptive fashion, she changed Runway of Dreams from a for-profit business to a nonprofit without abandoning her mission. Her persistence eventually helped open the door to Tommy Hilfiger and mainstream adaptive clothing.

Mindy and Jaime also discuss the medical uncertainty her family faced, the fear of letting people down, and the inner work that helps her keep going. Mindy shares her documentary, *RARE AS F@K, and her hopes for changing disability representation in mainstream media.

Timestamped Chapters
0:00 Mindy Scheier's Journey into Inclusive Fashion
1:56 The Pair of Jeans That Changed Everything
5:04 Rejection Before the Tommy Hilfiger Yes
9:23 Flying the Plane While Building It
12:12 Why the First Focus Group Changed Her Designs
17:10 Parenting Through Medical Uncertainty
22:50 Therapy, Meditation, and Inner Work
27:36 Why No Is Feedback, Not the End
30:30 Pivoting Without Losing the Mission
33:00 The RARE AS F@*K Documentary

Guest Bio
Mindy Scheier is a fashion designer and disability advocate who founded Runway of Dreams, a nonprofit advancing accessibility in fashion and beyond. She also founded GAMUT Management, focused on adaptive design, consulting, certification, and representation. Her work was inspired by her son Oliver's experience with muscular dystrophy.

Quotes from the Episode
"I needed to fly the plane and build it at the same time."
"even if I change the life of one other person, that's a win."
"Don't ever lose sight of what is your North Star."

Leadership Insights
Q: How can leaders create change before they feel ready?
A: Mindy Scheier's approach is to begin while learning. Test ideas with the people affected, listen when something isn't working, and improve along the way. Complete preparation and outside approval don't have to come before action.

Q: How can entrepreneurs use rejection without losing their purpose?
A: Mindy treats rejection as feedback about an approach or potential partner, not a verdict on the mission. When fashion brands resisted her for-profit model, she turned Runway of Dreams into a nonprofit while preserving her goal of inclusive mainstream fashion.

Resources

• Connect with Mindy Scheier on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Runway of Dreams
• Explore GAMUT Management
• Explore RARE AS F@*K at DOC NYC
• Learn more about Jaime Taets and Keystone Group International
• Explore Jaime's Executive Retreats
• Follow Jaime on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook

If you know someone waiting for the perfect plan or one more yes before making a difference, share Mindy's story with them.

Subscribe to Go First with Jaime Taets for more conversations about leadership, growth, and taking that next step forward.

Go First is the show where we talk about what it takes to move forward — first, fast, and with purpose.

Everything you want is on the other side of the next unknown step. Let's Go First together.

Jaime Taets

What if the business that made you successful is now the thing keeping you stuck? For Chip Conley, midlife transitions meant finding the courage to leave before he knew what came next.

Chip grew Joie de Vivre from one boutique hotel to 52, but eventually felt trapped by the company he built. A near-death experience made him confront a truth he had avoided: the success he created no longer gave him the freedom he wanted.

After selling during the Great Recession, Chip joined Airbnb as a "modern elder," mentoring a CEO 21 years younger while learning a new industry himself. He discovered that leadership isn't about staying the hero. It's about coaching people who can lead without you.

Now the founder of Modern Elder Academy (MEA), Chip helps people navigate midlife transitions and identity shifts. He and Jaime explore "forced decoupling," living a legacy through everyday actions, and turning life experience into wisdom.

Chip also opens up about personal loss, illness, and the habits that keep him grounded. His practical advice for navigating midlife transitions: start letting go of what no longer fits, even before the next chapter becomes clear.

Timestamped Chapters
0:00 Chip Conley's Three Career Chapters
4:39 Ego, Leadership, and Ripple of Impact
9:45 The Near-Death Experience That Changed Everything
11:39 Forced Decoupling: Leaving Without a Plan
14:00 Lifequakes and the Messy Middle of Transition
16:57 From Hero to Coach
19:51 Turning Experience into Wisdom
22:35 Protecting Energy with Daily Rituals
25:01 Why the Second Half of Life Is About Editing
29:25 Rethinking Housing and Community After 50

Guest Bio
Chip Conley founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality and later served as a "modern elder" to Airbnb's founders. He founded Modern Elder Academy (MEA), a school focused on midlife wisdom and transitions, and wrote Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder. He hosts The Midlife Chrysalis podcast and writes the Wisdom Well Substack.

Quotes from the Episode
"What are you pretending not to know?"
"It's not just about leaving a legacy, it's about living a legacy."
"So the first half of our life we accumulate, the second half of our life we edit."

Leadership Insights
Q: What is forced decoupling during a midlife transition?
A: Forced decoupling is choosing to leave a job, business, relationship, or role when you know it's time, even without knowing what comes next. Chip explains that waiting for a complete plan can become an excuse to stay somewhere you've outgrown.

Q: How can leaders move from being the hero to becoming a coach?
A: Instead of solving every problem, leaders can ask questions that help others evaluate their decisions. Chip explains that coaching may take longer initially, but it strengthens judgment, develops future leaders, and supports succession planning.

Resources

• Connect with Chip Conley on LinkedIn
• Explore Modern Elder Academy
• Explore The Midlife Chrysalis Podcast
• Read Chip's Wisdom Well Substack
• Learn more about Jaime Taets and Keystone Group International
• Explore Jaime's Executive Retreats
• Follow Jaime on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

If you're holding on to a role or version of success that no longer fits, share this conversation with a leader who may be ready to ask what they're pretending not to know.

Subscribe to Go First with Jaime Taets for more conversations about leadership, growth, and taking that next step forward.

Go First is the show where we talk about what it takes to move forward — first, fast, and with purpose.

Everything you want is on the other side of the next unknown step. Let's Go First together.

Jaime Taets

What happens when authentic leadership starts costing you access, reputation, or opportunity? Jaime Taets asks how many small edits it takes before the version of you that succeeds no longer feels like you.

In this solo episode recorded from Taets Farm, Jaime reflects on a conversation about a potential high-profile podcast guest whose public role limits what he can share. The introduction could help grow the show, but what happens when the most meaningful parts of the story have to stay hidden?

Jaime revisits the difficult parts of her own story, including divorce, building a business, scarcity mindset, and anxiety. Sharing those experiences has helped others feel less alone. She believes vulnerability in leadership can make the hard road more human, but only when we speak from a place of healing, not an open wound.

She also draws a clear line between privacy and filtering. Privacy protects the people and parts of life that should remain personal. Filtering is what happens when another person's comfort, a brand image, or a future opportunity starts deciding what you're allowed to say.

For Jaime, authentic leadership means catching those edits before they become a habit. This episode challenges leaders to consider whose comfort their silence protects, and who might need to hear the story they are holding back.

Timestamped Chapters

0:02 Recording from Taets Farm and a difficult podcast decision

2:28 The personal cost of a carefully managed image

4:46 Who misses out when stories stay untold

6:18 Being told you're "too much"

8:20 Why the unpolished parts build connection

10:37 Privacy versus filtering

12:16 Why vulnerability requires someone to go first

12:44 A question every leader should ask

13:20 The hidden cost of playing it safe

Quotes from the Episode

"Nobody decides one day to stop being honest."

"Filtering is when someone else's comfort tries to make that decision for me."

"Someone has to say the true thing first, so the next person knows it can be said."

Leadership Insights

Q: What does authentic leadership look like when sharing personal stories?

A: Authentic leadership means being truthful without giving up your right to privacy. Jaime distinguishes privacy, which protects loved ones and personal boundaries, from filtering, which protects an image, an opportunity, or someone else's comfort. Leaders can share honestly while deciding for themselves what remains personal.

Q: Why is vulnerability important in leadership?

A: Vulnerability in leadership can help others feel less alone and see a way through difficult experiences. Jaime believes the most useful stories come from wounds that have healed, not wounds that are still open. When one leader shares a hard truth, it gives someone else permission to speak honestly, too.

Resources

• Learn more about Jaime Taets and Keystone Group International
• Explore Jaime's Executive Retreats
• Follow Jaime on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook

If you've ever been told to tone yourself down or leave the hard part of your story out, share this episode with a leader who needs permission to show up without all the edits.

Subscribe to Go First with Jaime Taets for more conversations about leadership, growth, and taking that next step forward.

Go First is the show where we talk about what it takes to move forward — first, fast, and with purpose.

Everything you want is on the other side of the next unknown step. Let's Go First together.

Jaime Taets