Podcast 624: The Best Self Journal Co with Allen Brouwer & Cathryn Lavery

I recently had the pleasure of making a connection with the founders of “The Best Self Journal Co,” Allen Brouwer and Cathryn Lavery.  I was inspired to reach out to them because of all the amazing things I was hearing from friends that were using their journal as well as the customer feedback about the product that was prevalent on the internet.

In my podcast interview with Allen and Cathryn, we discuss the inspiration for the development and design of the Best Self Journal. It steamed from the fact that both Allen and Cathryn were not able to find a journal that had all the features that they knew were critical to one’s success. The two were working long hours, seemingly spinning their wheels and not feeling like they were making any progress toward their purpose in life.  They read 100’s of books on personal growth and self-help and compiled the ideas and concepts that they learned into the journal.

This journal is unlike any that you have seen. It features a 13 week roadmap to decide on your goals and break them down into something that is more proximal and easier to get your head around.  It also features a morning and evening gratitude section as well as a place to record your wins for the day and the biggest lessons you have learned daily.  You can record and track the habits you are attempting to develop as well as reflect on your day.    They have even included a section they refer to as freedom pages where you can jot ideas and record notes.

Many people today only use a digital phone to record their meetings, and or take notes.  But there is  something very “cathartic” in putting pen to paper.  The research states that the use of paper and pen vs. all digital recording of our notes and ideas allows our brains make a deeper connection when we write it down versus put it in a digital list-thus we are more apt to attain that goal we are working toward.

I hope you will take the time to listen to this informative interview with Allen Brouwer and Cathryn Lavery the founders and designers of The Best Self Journal.

If you want to learn more about the company please check out their website by clicking here or visit them on Facebook.

Podcast 623: Gen Z @ Work with David and Jonah Stillman

I’ll bet that many of you reading this blog entry are not aware of the Gen Z generation.   So, let’s put this in some context–Gen Z’ers are the generation born between 1995 and 2012.  There are over 72.8 million of them in the US, and they are characterized as a generation that has only known smartphones and are true digital natives, and they have access to information 24/7.   I recently got to interview both David and Jonah Stillman about their new book entitled ” Gen Z @ Work“.

While always being plugged in they are also suffering from what is referred to at FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) because they are so plugged into information 24/7.

In this dynamic interview with a father-son team, they inform us of what is recommended to work effectively with the Generation Z .  Jonah who is a senior in high school states that this generation will bring important entrepreneurial spirit to work.  They are consistently looking to streamline processes and procedures, and are more independent that the Millennials.   David, Jonah’s father states that the Gen Z group responded to their survey stating that they prefer face to face communications versus that of texting or social media platforms—quite interesting considering they are considered digital natives and love technology.

If you want to learn more about the preferences of this generation in the workplace, then I highly recommend that you listen to this podcast with David and Jonah Stillman.  I also suggest that you check out their book website by clicking here.  You can reach them on Facebook by clicking here.

 

Podcast 622: Emotional Agility with Susan David

In my recent interview with author Susan David, we had the opportunity to speak about her new book entitled ” Emotional Agility-Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life.”   The premise behind Susan work is that if people can learn the techniques of emotional agility, they can master the challenges in life that frequently derail them and create depression and despair.

It is all about navigating our inner world which consists of the negative self-talk, our thoughts, feelings and the habitual patterns that we create in our life that do not serve us from releasing our emotional baggage.  Emotional Agility is an innovative approach to navigating life’s twist and turns with insight and accordingly to our values, rather than our knee-jerk “hooks” in which our thoughts, emotions, and stories drive our behavior.

If you want to learn more about Susan’s work you can visit the book website by clicking here. You can also take her free Emotional Agility Quiz and get your free 10 page personalized report. You can connect with Susan on Facebook by clicking this link.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with author Susan David who provides insightful advice on how to release the emotional triggers that are holding us back.

 

Podcast 621: Life Forward-Charting the Journey Ahead with Pamela McLean

“Your past can not be changed, but you can change tomorrow by your actions today.”  This great quote is part of a new book by author and co-founder of the Hudson Institute called “Life Forward-Charting the Journey Ahead.”

At the true heart of “Life Forward“, it is masterful as assisting the reader in understanding how to deal with change.  We all know that change is the biggest constant in our lives, but considering the rapid pace of change in our high tech, alway on society, it would be great to learn how to navigate change more effectively.

Most developing cultures in the first half of the twentieth century looked at the world through lenses prepared to see evolving stability, progress, and in the U.S., the good old American dream.  The lenses that we now see through are change, change, change, change.

The forces of change seem to have no containment, limits or predictable sources of control.  Those of us still wearing the old lenses have increasing difficulty seeing the astounding advantages of the new paradigm–the global marketplace, worldwide civilization, multicultural peoples, new careers, technological advances, transnational political structures and more.

In my interview with Pam we discuss the old rules and the new rules, these new rules are a foundation to assisting the reader in learning how to cope and assess how to deal with change. I know you are going to really enjoy my interview with author Pam McLean.   If you want to learn more about the book, and the wonderful courses and programs that the Hudson Institute offers please click here.

 

Podcast 620: From Egos to Eden-Our Heroic Journey to Keep Earth Livable with Lee Van Ham

So what are the real issues that help to foster the environmental concerns that all of us are faced with?   Author Lee Van Ham in his new book entitled “From Egos to Eden” has identified what I personally believe are the biggest issues.

As a nation and society, we live as if we have a Multi Earth filled with resources for constant consumption.  We don’t understand that we need to start living as a society and nation as if we were inhabiting One-Earth and reduce our consumption of resources so that future generations can inhabit our earth and still have the necessary resources, as well as clean air, water, and soil that will be able to be farmed and produce nutritious crops.

As Lee writes ” The changes Earth is making in this 21st century exceed anything we’ve known in 12,000 years. The ecological crises she’s undergoing mean that by 2100 CE she will not longer be home for millions of species, and our species is the primary reason for their extinction.  If you are at all interested in learning about the shift in our mindset about how we live in harmony with mother earth, then I encourage you to listen to my interview with author Lee Van Ham about his book “From Egos to Eden“.

I also encourage you to check out another of Lee’s books entitled “Blinded by Progress“.  You can reach Lee by visiting his website by clicking here, or on Facebook by clicking here. I hope you enjoy this lively interview with a wonderful author and leader in the ecological movement.

 

Podcast 619: Stealing Fire with Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal

One of my favorite and most admired authors is Steven Kotler.  Has authored  “Tomorrowland“, “Bold“, “The Rise of Superman” and “Abundance” just to name a few.  He is a prolific writer and author.

I recently had the pleasure to discuss with him his new book entitled “Stealing Fire-How Silicon Valley, the Navy Seals, and Mavericks Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work.” 

In our interview together we explore the revolution that is occurring in society today, and shortcuts that are being used to boost insight and inspiration which results in creating alters states of consciousness, thus improving personal performance. Steven and his co-author Jamie Wheal have spent four years investigating the leading edges of this revolution, from interviews with the Navy Seals, Green Berets and attending Burning Man they have compiled the stories and information in their new book “Stealing Fire”.

Steven states that this revolution is spreading into the mainstream, fueling a trillion dollar underground economy and forcing us to rethink how we can lead richer, more productive, more satisfying lives.  In our interview, we discuss recent advances in psychology, neurobiology, pharmacology, and technology are driving this phenomenon which allows us to move past myths, assumptions, and controversies and embrace peak performances as men and women.

As you will find out when you read “Stealing Fire” the quest to attain these alter states of consciousness have been going on since 415BC. To this day the rituals, techniques, and drugs used to attain these altered states of consciousness are changing and the effects are much more powerful.  I know you are going to love this interview with author Steven Kotler about his new book “Stealing Fire”

To learn more about Steven please go click here to be directed to his website,  or you can learn about the book by clicking here.  Enjoy this amazing interview with a fascinating author and explorer of a new frontier.

 

Podcast 618: The Distracted Mind-Ancient Brains In A High Tech World with Adam Gazzaley

I know that everyone in our busy world today is interested in finding ways to stay focused, and create a better quality of life for themselves and their families.  It seems as if we are all moving and working at a frenetic pace just to keep up with all of our demands in life.  So just what are some of the problems we are faced with?

In my recent interview with author Adam Gazzaley we speak about his new book entitled ” The Distracted Mind-Ancient Brains in a High Tech World“.  Adam has studied the brains of thousands of people in his neuroscience lab at UCSF.  His finding are that our brains are limited in their ability to pay attention. We don’t really multitask but rather switch rapidly between tasks. He says that distractions and interruptions, often technology related- referred to by Adam as “interference’ collide with our goal-setting abilities.

The fact is that we are all being distracted way too much, and we are moving between projects, tasks and goals and leaving much uncompleted which is not fulfilling.  It is having an impact on our mental psyche.

So what should we do? Adam recommends that we change our brains to fight distraction. He gives advice and application to such techniques as meditation, exercise and setting boundaries with the technology that we are attached too.  He does not suggest giving up our devices, but that we use them in a more balanced way.

If you want to learn more about Adam Gazzaley and his new book “The Distracted Mind” you can click here to be directed to his website at UCSF which will give you information about the research is is conducting at his neuroscience lab.  You can also watch a trailer video featuring Adam on a PBS documentary by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy this very informative interview with author Adam Gazzaley, about our “Distracted Minds”.

 

Podcast 617: Big Miracles-The 11 Spiritual Rules for Ultimate Success with Joanna Garzilli

In my recent interview with author Joanna Garzilli we speak about her new book “Big Miracles-The 11 Spiritual Rules for Ultimate Success“.  During our interview together we get to discuss the 11 Spiritual Rules starting with ” Aligning with Spirit”.

In my dialogue with Joanna she tells some of her personal story in finding these laws and the personal pain she experienced, but the first law is about being a spiritual being, and knowing that you don’t have to imitate someone else, all you need to do is learn how to be yourself.  While this might sound easy, so many people don’t have the confidence and the self-esteem and they are constantly trying to be someone they believe is better than them—well no one is better than you finding your authentic self and letting the world know.

Joanna’s second law is “Being a Spiritual Vehicle”.  She state that in choosing a spiritual path you are choosing a path of continuous personal growth and actively seeking your spiritual transformation.   Your main purpose is to expand your capacity to both give and receive love.  I hope you will read her new book “Big Miracles” to learn about the other 9 laws to assist you in transforming your life to that of a spiritual being.

Throughout “Big Miracles” author Joanna Garzilli is providing practical advice and techniques to awaken your spiritual being, and in so doing achieving the ultimate success in life you desire.

I hope you enjoy this great interview with Joanna, for more information about the book please click here to be directed to her website, or click here to join her on Facebook.

 

Podcast 616: Dream Yoga with Andrew Holecek

This is my second interview with author Andrew Holecek.  In our interview about his new book entitled “Dream Yoga-Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep“, Andrew and I speak about now only how to utilize lucid dream “dream yoga” to gain insights about your true self and your personal desires.

Andres states that there are three essential ingredients for lucid dreaming (1) strong motivation or intention, (2) good dream recall, and (3) practicing the induction techniques.

So just what are the induction techniques, (1) is something called the “state check” this is a questions that you pose throughout your waking day asking yourself “Is this a dream?”  “Am I dreaming?”, this is designed to bring awareness to your state of consciousness.  (2) is something called “dreamsigns”.  This is when we become sensitized to the out-of-the-ordinary dreamlike events that occur during the day and to use these events that occur as triggers to conduct a “stage check”.  (3) Something called “prospective memory”.  This is where you are remembering to do something in the future.  It’s almost an oxymoron, because memory is associated with the past and prospective is associated with the future.  An example of this is telling yourself that every time you get a text message you’ll remember to do a state check–another way to remind yourself to check in about your state of consciousness and awareness of what is happening around you.

Andrew’s new book “Dream Yoga” is filled with great instruction on how to develop a state of lucid dreaming.  If you are interested in learning more about lucid dreaming and how to practices techniques that will trigger your nightly deep dream states with great recall then I would recommend you obtaining a copy of “Dream Yoga“.  I also think that listening to our interview will provide you with a great overview of “Dream Yoga” and Andrew is truly one of the master instructors on this topic.

To learn more about “Dream Yoga“please visit Andrew’s website by clicking here, or  you can watch a great video that Andrew recorded about “Dream Yoga” by clicking this link.  

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with author Andrew Holecek.

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