Episode 6

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Published on:

21st May 2025

[006] Innovation in Real Life: How We Built QUEST, GUIDE & Rewired Our Lives with Aaron Proietti

With Aaron Proietti

In this episode of Unrule the World, Mandy sits down with longtime collaborator Aaron Proietti to unpack the real story behind the frameworks and tools that changed how they live, work, and lead. From co-creating QUEST and GUIDE to walking away from corporate consulting, this conversation reveals what innovation looks like when it starts at the kitchen table—not in the boardroom.

Together, they explore how Today’s Innovator was built to empower people to think differently on purpose—and how their own personal paths shaped, challenged, and ultimately redefined that mission.

In this episode:

  • Meet Aaron Proietti: Collaborator and Innovator [02:18]
  • The Journey of Professional Growth [04:27]
  • The Countdown to Corporate Escape [12:17]
  • Life After Corporate: Coaching and Writing [27:32]
  • Developing the Innovator Framework [30:41]
  • Values and Flexibility in Today's Innovator [35:49]
  • EXERCISE: Personal Growth [37:02]
  • Venturing into the Nonprofit World [39:18]
  • Developing Empathy [42:07]
  • Founding Today's Innovator [43:47]
  • Shifting Focus to Individual Coaching [48:10]
  • Navigating Post-COVID Organizational Changes [51:27]
  • The Role of Innovation in Organizations [53:34]
  • Introducing the QUEST Workbook [01:00:03]
  • GUIDE got us there! [1:02:17]
  • Embracing AI for Positive Change [01:05:38]
  • Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions [01:11:17]

Why it matters:

This isn’t just a story about business—it’s a blueprint for reclaiming agency, aligning your life, and choosing to build on your own terms. We didn’t just rethink work. We rewired how we live.

Wildly Recommended:

Reflection Question:

When were you most alive, aligned, and creating impact? What did those moments have in common—and what are they calling you toward now?

Resources + Links:

Connect Further:

  • Aaron is the author of the books Today’s Innovator, Becoming Today's Innovator, and Your QUEST Awaits. He is an innovation and artificial intelligence expert with nearly twenty years of experience driving change in fast-paced, complex organizations. He is a sought after speaker, facilitator, coach, and strategist. He frequently speaks on topics related to AI, disruption, and systems change. Aaron currently sits on several nonprofit boards and works closely with summer camps under the brand Shout.Camp. Aaron has served as Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Customer Advocate at Transamerica, a multinational financial services company.
  • @todaysinnovator on Instagram
  • Aaron's Website

If this sparked a “why has no one said this before?” moment for you, send it to a fellow cycle-breaker. Share it with someone ready to stop playing by the old rules — and start writing their own.

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About the Podcast

Wildly Intentional
Reclaim your rhythm. Rethink the rules. Rewrite your life.
If you’ve ever looked around and thought, There has to be a better way—you’re in the right place. This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a call to live, parent, create, and lead on purpose. To break free from the scripts we’ve inherited and build something better—one season, one story, one choice at a time.

Wildly Intentional is for the ones who:
- Can’t unsee what’s broken
- Crave deeper conversations, rhythms, and ways of living
- Are done waiting for permission to do life differently

I’m Mandy—maverick homeschooling mom of three, proud wife, family culture builder, cycle-breaker, and the person people call when they’re ready to rethink everything. From my kitchen table to your headphones, I’m here to shake up the norms, tell the truth, and light the way forward.

Here, we go beyond quick fixes and curated perfection. We talk about real life—messy, meaningful, and unapologetically intentional. Through bold ideas, honest questions, and that edge-of-your-seat kind of truth that makes you whisper, “Why has no one said this before?”

What to Expect:
🔥 Out Loud + On Purpose – Solo episodes on truth-telling, seasonal wisdom, and the conversations you wish people were having.
🌱 Conversations with creators, educators, healers, disruptors, and wise everyday voices reimagining how we live, learn, work, and raise the next generation.
📚 Books That Change You – I don’t just recommend books—I share the ones that have shifted my thinking, shaped my parenting, and sparked the best late-night conversations. From deep, perspective-altering reads to 5-star books I’ve read aloud to my kids, every book I mention has earned its place here. If I wouldn’t pass it down, I won’t pass it on.
🌟 Family-friendly episodes designed to spark wonder, connection, and meaningful conversations with your kids.
🌀 Behind-the-scenes rhythms from the Seasonal Wayfinder Planners, Roots + Rhythm Almanac, the GROW Framework, and Family Culture Design.
⚡️ Unrule the World – A themed series where we break down old systems, question the status quo, and make space for something better.

This show isn’t just for homeschoolers, entrepreneurs, or deep-feelers—though they’ll feel right at home here. It’s for anyone craving more alignment, more meaning, and a life that feels rooted instead of rushed.

It’s about living with intention, not intensity. About choosing what matters, letting go of what doesn’t, and doing things differently—even if it’s just one small but mighty step at a time.

You don’t have to think like me—just be brave enough to think for yourself. This is your permission slip to live, lead, and parent in a way that’s unapologetically yours. Whether you're raising kids—or just raising your hand to say “I want more than this”—you're welcome here. Because you don’t need a label. You need a life that fits. It’s not about doing life perfectly. It’s about doing it on purpose.

Subscribe to Wildly Intentional and reclaim your rhythm, your voice, and your way of life—season by season, story by story, step by step.

About your host

Profile picture for Mandy Webber

Mandy Webber

I’m Mandy—a mother, maker, mentor, and unapologetically wild thinker. I’m known for my magnetic energy, practical wisdom, and fierce curiosity—and for helping others unlearn the noise and reclaim the rhythms that actually matter.

I’m the one people call when they’re ready to do life differently—not just talk about it. Whether it’s rethinking school, reclaiming seasonal rhythms, starting a business, healing family cycles, or figuring out how to preserve 50 pounds of tomatoes and their sanity... I help people find their own way—deeply, honestly, and without the fluff.

I’m a builder and a truth-teller. A guide for the questioners and quiet disruptors. A pattern-seer, soul-rooter, and cycle-breaker. The kind of person who lights up a room while pulling back the curtain. I live what I teach, and I mother with my whole being—fierce, flawed, and wildly intentional.

I’m here to tell the truth, shake the norms, and light the way forward—one season, one story, one soul-led decision at a time.

Most days, I’m barefoot in the garden, reading aloud with my kids, canning in the kitchen, or following a big idea down a rabbit hole—coffee in hand, steadied by the quiet presence of my husband nearby. I’m a lifelong learner, a maker of many things, and a lover of good questions.

From my kitchen table to your headphones, this show is your invitation into real conversations, soul-stirring questions, and practical insights about how we live, lead, raise, create, and rebuild with purpose.

If you’re craving honest dialogue, grounded frameworks, spiritual depth, and a bold reimagining of what it means to build a life that truly fits—you’re right at home here.

Welcome to Wildly Intentional. Let’s rethink everything. Together.