Teach, Coach, Mentor
Teach, Coach, Mentor
Podcast Description
Welcome to Teach Coach Mentor, the podcast for anyone who believes learning is a lifelong mission, not a one-time event.
Whether you're a student trying to find your footing, a professional chasing your next edge, or someone who's been called to teach, lead, or guide others, this show was made for you.
Every week, we sit down with exceptional teachers, coaches, mentors, and learners from every walk of life: classroom educators, athletic coaches, business leaders, military instructors, and everyday people doing the hard work of growth. Together, we unpack what it really means to teach with clarity, coach with purpose, and mentor with heart.
If you've ever asked yourself:
How can I learn faster, remember more, and actually apply what I know?
How do I motivate my students or team when the fire fades?
How do I mentor someone without giving all the answers?
What do the best teachers, leaders, and guides do that others don’t?
You're in the right place.
Each episode blends research-backed strategies with real-world stories, because learning isn’t just about knowledge, it’s about people. We go deep on:
Learning science, habits, and memory techniques
Communication and connection
Building trust and accountability
Creating transformative experiences for students and teams
The mindset, methods, and mistakes that shape great educators and leaders
Hosted by Mike Wish, Marine Corps officer, teacher, and founder of Velle Logos. This show is born from a lifelong obsession with helping others grow. Mike brings humor, heart, and a teacher’s clarity to every conversation, challenging guests and listeners alike to dig deeper, think harder, and never stop becoming.
No matter your role, age, or stage, this podcast is here to equip you, challenge you, and inspire you to be better at what matters most: the people you serve.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes of lifelong learning, teaching efficacy, coaching strategies, and mentoring dynamics, with episodes covering topics such as learning science, communication methods, building trust in education, and real-world applications of memory techniques and transformative experiences.
Welcome to Teach Coach Mentor, the podcast for anyone who believes learning is a lifelong mission, not a one-time event.
Whether you’re a student trying to find your footing, a professional chasing your next edge, or someone who’s been called to teach, lead, or guide others, this show was made for you.
Every week, we sit down with exceptional teachers, coaches, mentors, and learners from every walk of life: classroom educators, athletic coaches, business leaders, military instructors, and everyday people doing the hard work of growth. Together, we unpack what it really means to teach with clarity, coach with purpose, and mentor with heart.
If you’ve ever asked yourself:
How can I learn faster, remember more, and actually apply what I know?
How do I motivate my students or team when the fire fades?
How do I mentor someone without giving all the answers?
What do the best teachers, leaders, and guides do that others don’t?
You’re in the right place.
Each episode blends research-backed strategies with real-world stories, because learning isn’t just about knowledge, it’s about people. We go deep on:
Learning science, habits, and memory techniques
Communication and connection
Building trust and accountability
Creating transformative experiences for students and teams
The mindset, methods, and mistakes that shape great educators and leaders
Hosted by Mike Wish, Marine Corps officer, teacher, and founder of Velle Logos. This show is born from a lifelong obsession with helping others grow. Mike brings humor, heart, and a teacher’s clarity to every conversation, challenging guests and listeners alike to dig deeper, think harder, and never stop becoming.
No matter your role, age, or stage, this podcast is here to equip you, challenge you, and inspire you to be better at what matters most: the people you serve.
In this inspiring episode of Teach, Coach, Mentor, host Michael Wish sits down with innovator, writer, and AI educator Mike Todasco, former Senior Director of Innovation at PayPal and current Visiting Fellow at the AI Center at San Diego State University. What begins as a conversation about creativity and artificial intelligence quickly evolves into a deeper dialogue on democratizing technology, defeating self-limiting beliefs, and why curiosity is the ultimate superpower.
Mike shares his unconventional journey—from accountant to entrepreneur to PayPal’s innovation leader—where he proved that creativity belongs to everyone, not just the “creative types.” Since leaving PayPal, he’s become a leading voice in helping people use AI to expand their potential, not shrink it. If you’ve ever wondered how to embrace change, use technology without losing your humanity, or silence the inner critic that says “you’re not a writer” or “you’re not creative,” this episode is for you.
💡 Topics We Cover:
- Mike’s winding career path: from green visor accountant to innovation leader at PayPal
- How AI can make us both “smarter” and “dumber”—and why it depends on how we use it
- Using AI as a tutor, creative partner, and blank-page buster
- The role of taste, judgment, and human “messiness” in an AI-driven world
- Why self-talk is the biggest barrier to growth (and how Hemingway’s advice helps)
- The MFA journey: going back to school at 48 and embracing the discomfort of learning anew
- How culture shapes perceptions of human vs. AI-created work
- Why live, imperfect, human experiences—from small comedy clubs to Broadway—will only grow more valuable in an AI-saturated world
🛠 Tools and Resources Mentioned:
- AI tutors and ChatGPT study modes for personalized learning
- Claude and other large language models for structuring lessons and overcoming the blank page
- Humor writing exercises and publications as a practice ground for creativity
- Experiments at SDSU on how people perceive AI vs. human creativity across cultures
🔥 Notable Quotes:
- “AI can write you a B+ paper. But it can also help you learn an entire grade level more—if you use it the right way.” — Mike Todasco
- “Taste and judgment are going to matter more than coding in the future.” — Mike Todasco
- “All first drafts are crap. Even Hemingway said that. The point is to write anyway.” — Mike Todasco
- “The thing I’d regret most on my deathbed isn’t failure—it’s never trying.” — Mike Todasco
📌 Connect with Mike:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todasco/
- Medium/Substack: Search “Mike Todasco” for essays, humor, and AI writing
👥 Join the Community:
Are you a student, teacher, coach, or lifelong learner looking to level up? Follow the Teach, Coach, Mentor podcast and join us as we explore the tools, mindsets, and habits that empower people to become who they’re meant to be.
If you are a student and want to join our community to discover your own values and embark on a guided journey of self-discovery, visit https://www.skool.com/self-architect.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.