{"id":24443,"date":"2026-06-24T12:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riseupeight.com\/?page_id=24443"},"modified":"2026-06-24T12:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:11:53","slug":"founders-story-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/riseupeight.com\/swc\/founders-story-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Founder&#8217;s Story 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"cs-content\" class=\"cs-content\"><div class=\"x-section e24443-e1 miuz-0\"><div class=\"x-row e24443-e2 miuz-1 miuz-2\"><div class=\"x-row-inner\"><div class=\"x-col e24443-e3 miuz-3\"><!-- Founder Story - EMBED FRAGMENT.\n     Paste this whole block into the AffiliateWP custom tab (or a WordPress Custom HTML block).\n     Do NOT paste the standalone founder-story-sheet.html here - that full document is what\n     caused the gap. Everything below is scoped under .rue-fs so it cannot restyle the\n     affiliate area, and it has no top padding so it sits flush under the tabs.\n     Fonts (Inter \/ Inter Tight) already load from riseupeight.com, so no font link is needed. -->\n\n<style>\n.rue-fs{\n  --green:#639400; --green-dark:#4d7300; --cream:#fdf9e8; --ink:#2c2c2a;\n  --head:#383838; --orange:#e98300; --muted:#6c7060; --line:#e4e3d8;\n  font-family:'Inter',sans-serif; color:var(--ink); font-size:16px; line-height:1.6;\n}\n.rue-fs *{box-sizing:border-box;}\n.rue-fs h1,.rue-fs h2,.rue-fs h3{font-family:'Inter Tight',sans-serif; color:var(--head); line-height:1.12; margin:0;}\n.rue-fs em{font-style:italic;}\n.rue-fs .title{padding:0 0 6px;}\n.rue-fs .title .eyebrow{font-family:'Inter Tight',sans-serif; font-weight:600; text-transform:uppercase;\n  letter-spacing:.13em; font-size:.78rem; color:var(--orange); margin-bottom:10px;}\n.rue-fs .title h1{font-size:2.4rem; font-weight:800; letter-spacing:-.02em;}\n.rue-fs .title .sub{font-family:'Inter Tight',sans-serif; font-weight:600; color:var(--green-dark);\n  font-size:1.05rem; margin-top:6px;}\n.rue-fs .title .use{color:var(--muted); font-size:.97rem; max-width:62ch; margin-top:14px;}\n.rue-fs .body{padding:8px 0 0;}\n.rue-fs section{padding:22px 0; border-top:1px solid var(--line);}\n.rue-fs section:first-child{border-top:0;}\n.rue-fs h2{font-size:.85rem; text-transform:uppercase; letter-spacing:.1em; color:var(--green-dark);\n  font-family:'Inter Tight',sans-serif; font-weight:700; margin:0 0 14px;}\n.rue-fs p{margin:0 0 .9rem;}\n.rue-fs p:last-child{margin-bottom:0;}\n.rue-fs .story p{font-size:1.02rem;}\n.rue-fs .bio{border-left:3px solid var(--green); padding:4px 0 4px 18px; margin-bottom:16px;}\n.rue-fs .bio:last-child{margin-bottom:0;}\n.rue-fs .bio .label{font-family:'Inter Tight',sans-serif; font-weight:700; color:var(--head);\n  font-size:.82rem; text-transform:uppercase; letter-spacing:.08em; display:block; margin-bottom:4px;}\n.rue-fs .bio p{margin:0;}\n.rue-fs .facts{list-style:none; margin:0; padding:0; display:grid; grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr; gap:8px 28px;}\n.rue-fs .facts li{position:relative; padding:4px 0 4px 26px; font-size:.97rem;}\n.rue-fs .facts li .ck{position:absolute; left:0; top:0; color:var(--green); font-weight:700;}\n.rue-fs .method{background:#fff; border:2px solid var(--orange); border-radius:14px; padding:20px 24px;}\n.rue-fs .method p{font-size:1.06rem; color:#3a3d33; margin:0;}\n.rue-fs .pnote{background:var(--cream); border-radius:12px; padding:20px 24px;}\n.rue-fs .pnote p{font-size:.95rem; color:#4a4d44; margin:0;}\n@media(max-width:620px){\n  .rue-fs .facts{grid-template-columns:1fr;}\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"rue-fs\">\n\n  <div class=\"title\">\n    <div class=\"eyebrow\">For introducing Speak with Confidence<\/div>\n    <h1>Dr. David Lee Fish<\/h1>\n    <div class=\"sub\">Founder of Rise Up Eight \u00b7 Creator of the READ Method<\/div>\n    <p class=\"use\">Use anything here to introduce Dr. Fish to your audience. Pull a bio as written, or adapt the story in your own voice. Keep the facts accurate, and remember to disclose the affiliate relationship when you share your link.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"body\">\n\n    <section class=\"story\">\n      <h2>The story<\/h2>\n      <p>Dr. David Lee Fish spent decades as a performer, sharing stages with greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard. Then one night, backing Sonny and Cher, he froze. Everything he knew how to do was still there, and he could not reach it.<\/p>\n      <p>That moment began a lifelong question: why does performance anxiety undo capable people, and what actually helps? He found his answer in an unlikely place. Through Zen practice, under the same Korean Zen master who trained mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn, he learned that the fix is not building confidence people already have. It is quieting the anxiety that suppresses it.<\/p>\n      <p>He distilled what he learned into the READ Method, taught it to his music students, and watched it work. It became his award-winning book, <em>The 5-Day Stage Fright Solution<\/em>, and then his course, <em>Speak with Confidence<\/em>.<\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>Ready-to-use bios<\/h2>\n      <div class=\"bio\">\n        <span class=\"label\">Short<\/span>\n        <p>Dr. David Lee Fish is a performer-turned-teacher who helps professionals quiet performance anxiety with READ, a practical method drawn from decades on stage and years of Zen practice.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"bio\">\n        <span class=\"label\">Medium<\/span>\n        <p>Dr. David Lee Fish spent decades as a performer, sharing stages with Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard, until one night he froze backing Sonny and Cher, sending him searching for answers. He found them in Zen practice and distilled them into the READ Method, which underlies his award-winning book, <em>The 5-Day Stage Fright Solution<\/em>, as well as his online course with personal coaching options, <em>Speak with Confidence<\/em>.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"bio\">\n        <span class=\"label\">Long<\/span>\n        <p>Dr. David Lee Fish holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and performed for years alongside greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard. Then one night, backing Sonny and Cher, he froze. That moment began a lifelong study of why performance anxiety undoes capable people, and what actually helps. He developed his answer through Zen practice, under the same Korean Zen master who trained mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn, and distilled it into the READ Method. It became his Reader's Favorite 5-star award-winning book, <em>The 5-Day Stage Fright Solution<\/em>, and his online course with personal coaching options, <em>Speak with Confidence<\/em>, offered through Rise Up Eight.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>Key facts at a glance<\/h2>\n      <ul class=\"facts\">\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Ph.D., University of Michigan<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Performed alongside Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Studied Zen under Seung Sahn, the Korean Zen master who also trained mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Froze on stage backing Sonny and Cher, the moment that started the work<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Author of <em>The 5-Day Stage Fright Solution<\/em>, a Reader's Favorite 5-star award winner<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Creator of the READ Method: Remember, Engage, Accept, Detach<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Founder of Rise Up Eight and creator of Speak with Confidence<\/li>\n        <li><span class=\"ck\">\u2713<\/span>Endorsed by Mel Fair (actor) and Pat O'Connor (artist manager and CEO, POC Media)<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>The method in a sentence<\/h2>\n      <div class=\"method\">\n        <p>READ (Remember, Engage, Accept, Detach) is a mindfulness-based approach to help people with performance anxiety avoid letting it suppress the confidence they already possess, so they can speak as well as they actually can.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n      <h2>A note for partners<\/h2>\n      <div class=\"pnote\">\n        <p>Present the forthcoming book as \"the all-new edition of his award-winning book,\" since the Reader's Favorite award belongs to the original edition, <em>The 5-Day Stage Fright Solution<\/em>. Lead with the story, not a hard sell, and point people to the free intro lesson first. A simple disclosure, such as \"I may earn a commission if you enroll, at no extra cost to you,\" helps keep everyone's trust intact.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For introducing Speak with Confidence Dr. David Lee Fish Founder of Rise Up Eight \u00b7 Creator of the READ Method Use anything here to introduce Dr. Fish to your audience. Pull a bio as written, or adapt the story in your own voice. Keep the facts accurate, and remember to disclose the affiliate relationship when you share your link. The &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/riseupeight.com\/swc\/founders-story-2\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24443","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Founder&#039;s Story 2 - new Speak with Confidence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/riseupeight.com\/swc\/founders-story-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Founder&#039;s Story 2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For introducing Speak with Confidence Dr. David Lee Fish Founder of Rise Up Eight \u00b7 Creator of the READ Method Use anything here to introduce Dr. Fish to your audience. 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