Archive for September, 2007

Podcast 14: Mind Fitness Frontier-Joel and Michelle Levey

If you have not already figured it out, I usually have a meaningful connection with the people I interview for the blog podcasts from previous encounters I have had through my various journeys in life. There’s no exception to this rule with this latest podcast, for these guests are wonderful people and true mentors of mine.

Dr's Joel and Michelle LeveyI first encountered Dr’s Joel and Michelle Levey through a connection I made as a result of research I was conducting in the area of mindfulness and meditation in the workplace. I happen to stumble upon their web site at Wisdom at Work. I was totally fascinated by the work they were carrying out in the workplace and the results they had achieved with various organizations, groups and thousands of employees. I remember my first encounter with Joel was a phone call to their office to inquire about their book and the research they had conducted. My call was received with such a kind reception and open heart, that immediately I knew that not only did Joel and Michelle practice what they preached, but that they were the real deal.

I remember discussing a consulting case I was involved in with Qualcomm, and that the Levey’s work in the area of mindfulness and meditation just might be a perfect match. Qualcomm was experiencing internal challenges with their employees as a result of performance pressures and expectations from management. I worked with my contact at Qualcomm and he agreed that we should have the Levey’s come to San Diego and put on a presentation. The title of the workshop was “Resilience: a Tool Kit for Living and Working with Balance in Turbulent Times”, and it was a roaring success. The coordinator at Qualcomm called me almost everyday stating that so many people had signed up and that this workshop had topped any of his previous workshops. Within two days he had over 144 people registered and he was uncertain how he was going to facilitate the program because the room scheduled for the venue was not going to be able to house that many attendees. We ultimately had to re-schedule into two separate days along with a closed circuit live TV that was broadcast to all Qualcomm facilities.

The Levey’s book “Living in Balance: A Dynamic Approach for Creating Harmony & Wholeness in a Chaotic World” is the cornerstone for much of their work in the fields of meditation and mindfulness. They also have released a new book entitled” Luminous Mind: Meditation And Mind Fitness, which I can highly recommend as well.

I have learned a tremendous amount about mediation and mindfulness from Joel and Michelle and I am forever grateful for all of the wonderful times that I have spent with them in mediation retreats on the Orcas Islands in Washington’s Puget Sound. Each summer for the last six years my family and I have been attending the Levey’s mediation retreats at Camp Indralaya in the Orcas Islands and the experience has truly been blissful. I would stongly encourage the readers of my blog and listeners to my podcast to attend. If you are interested in going deeper into mediation or learning more about mindfulness, contact Joel and Michelle and sign up for one of their lovely retreats.

I have been so amazed at my own personal progress and transformation as a result of my years of mediation practice and my periodic work during the meditation retreats with Joel and Michelle, that we decided to create a course for the Digital Seed learning platform called “Mind Fitness.” If you would like to learn more about this Internet based learning module please visit the Digital Seed web site for a preview of the upcoming Mind Fitness Module. You will find the preview of the Digital Seed software and Mind Fitness module by pressing here.

Dr's Joel and Michelle LeveyI hope you enjoy this podcast with Dr’s Joel and Michelle Levey. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to interview them, for I learn something new each time we speak.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 13: “Pass it On” with David Corbin

David Corbin Movie - Pass It OnWhat a kick it was to interview my good friend David Corbin. David is an amazing man who has been a mentor of mine for many years. I first met David in the offices of Brian Tracy in Solana Beach, CA. David was the marketing manager for Brian Tracy, and he exuded charisma, vivaciousness and a wonderful energy that you just wanted to be around. I immediately resonated with David and from that day some 10 years ago we have been good friends. Like many good friends, you don’t have to speak often, and it seems that when you pick up your conversations with one another that it was as if you had never missed a beat.

I choose to to do this podcast with David because he was the Executive Producer of a recently released, great inspirational film called,” Pass it On“. This wonderfully researched film features over 60 legends in the personal growth industry such as, Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Charlie Tremendous Jones, Mark Victor Hansen, Dennis Waitley and many others. These modern day masters share their inspirational stories which are designed to get you thinking about how you can transform your life in a positive way. As is stated at the Pass it On web site, it is the action behind the attraction that helps you make your dreams come true. I could not have said it any better than that! It is the action that you put behind your intentions that will create the manifestation of your dreams.

The master minds behind “Pass it On” state that it is more than a movie, it is a movement. The viewers that are inspired by the legends in this movie can join communities of support, along with others who are working on personal mastery and share their dreams and passions. I think that David and all the others who had a hand in the creation and production of this movie deserve a round of applause! We need more inspiring and educational movies like this one.

In the podcast with David, I get to ask him many questions about why they made this movie and what the intentions were behind it. I think you will enjoy our dialogue for it will provide you with amazing insights into the movie, movement and the people behind, Pass It On.

I encourage you to visit the Pass it On web site and check out the trailer as well as David Corbin’s web site, I think you will be pleased that you did.

David Corbin Just click on the links above to access their respective sites and to download the free eight (8) minute trailer of “Pass It On.”

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 12: The Platinum Rule with Dr. Tony Alessandra

Dr. Tony Alessandra Book - The Platinum RuleIf you want to learn how to better relate to your friends, neighbors and colleagues, then you have stumbled upon the right guy. For over 30 years, Dr. Tony Alessandra has been studying and applying the concepts of behavior styles in helping people learn how to better relate to one another. Tony believes in the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you“, primarily as it relates to our values, ethics, honesty and common sense consideration of others.

Tony applies what he calls the Platinum Rule when is comes to one-on-one communication and dealing with people. That rule states, “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.” He believes that if we can get on the same wave length with the other person and understand better where they are coming from that we can improve our ability to communicate and create rapport more effectively. We receive signals that tells us if the person is more open or guarded in their communications, and all we need to do is understand these signals to determine how to approach them so that our communication is more effective.

A considerable amount of Tony’s work has been studying the behavioral styles of “Director, Socializer, Relater, and Thinker”. Once you understand the characteristics of these styles, it becomes more apparent how to relate and interact with each style. I know you will find our dialogue about the behavioral styles to be quite informative and will provide you with new ways of understanding people not only by the content of their messages but also through the intent of their messaging.

Dr. Tony AlessandraTony’s work and publications are extensive, if after listening to this podcast you wish to learn more about his assessment tools, books and DVD’s you can click here for a link to his site. I hope you enjoy Tony’s dynamic podcast and that you begin to understand more about the various behavior styles to improve your understanding of how to communicate more
effectively.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 11: Customer Centric Selling with Michael Bosworth

Michael Bosworth Book - Customer Centric SellingThere are many vocations and careers that people choose, but probably none is as heavily chosen as the field of sales. The ability of a good sales person to understand and listen intently to the needs of his or her clients seems to be a rarity at times. I know we have all encountered both good and bad sales people, but what makes a good sales person?

In this podcast I decided to explore what good sales people have to do to become great. You might be asking why would I make this a topic of a podcast on personal growth? Well, I know of no other profession where the people work harder on their own personal growth and mastery. So, I decided to elicit the thoughts and advice from a long time friend and expert in the field of sales and sales training, Michael Bosworth.

Michael Bosworth is the author of, “Customer Centric Selling” one of the best selling books on the field of sales. I thought that he would provide an interesting perspective about what one must do to become more focused on the needs of others. We discuss the behaviors required to become a master sales person. If you have ever encountered an egocentric sales person then you know how you don’t want to be treated. The questions you might ask yourself is what behaviors should one master to become a great sales person?

Michael BosworthI hope you enjoy this refreshing interview about the world of sales and how great sales people think and act. If you would like more information just click on the Customer Centric Selling title above for a link to his book or click here for a link to Michael’s site.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.

Podcast 10: Get Happy-Get Healthy-Be Wealthy an Interview with Michael Framberger

Michael Framberger Book - Get Happy-Get Healthy-Be WealthyIt is great to be back in the USA. I just returned from a trip to England and Sweden to visit friends and attend a wedding. I had a wonderful time experiencing the cultural differences and one of the things I noticed in Sweden was the lack of overweight people. Now, I am not saying that I did not see any overweight people but the numbers in comparison to what I see here in the USA is minimal.
So I asked my friends in Sweden what do they believe causes this difference? Some of the answers we came up were that the automobile is not used as much, thus you just see more people walking and enjoying the fresh air plus the excellent public transportation systems that facilitates more walking from place to place. Not to mention that gasoline prices are over $6.00 per gallon.

I also noticed portion sizes in the restaurants were much smaller. The food prices overall or at least a third higher, I don’t know if this is the reason but portion sizes are definitely not as large. It also seemed like stress levels were lower and people were moving about their business with less hustle and bustle. The system in Sweden is socialized which I believe probably puts less stress on people.

So why this long dissertation about my trip to Sweden and what’s the connection to Michael Framberger and his book on Get Happy-Get Healthy-Be Wealthy? Michael’s information in this podcast deals directly with the problems associated with stress, diet, exercise and our attitude about life. In Michael’s book, Get Happy-Get Healthy-Be Wealthy he discusses in detail and provides the reader with insight into how to lead a more balanced and fulfilling life. Appropriately, Michael quotes an old Swedish proverb “Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.” We choose to be happy or not and much of our stress in life is a choice. Our health is directly affected by our positive or negative thoughts, so if we choose happy thoughts it is more likely that our physical health will be more vital.

Michael FrambergerI encourage you to listen to this wonderful podcast with Michael Framberger and should you wish to get more information about his seminars, book, instructional DVD’s please click here for a link to his web site. So sit back, relax and enjoy this wonderful interview with Michael Framberger.

Want more resources and information on personal growth? Try the resources page.