Podcast 178: When Turtles Fly with Nikki Stone

Nikki StoneWhat a great interview with a fascinating Olympian!  Nikki Stone shows us all that you can accomplish anything if you stick your neck out! Nikki’s latest book entitled,  “When Turtles Fly”,  is a compilation of others who, like Nikki, accomplished remarkable goals against all odds.  Named for a story Nikki’s mother told her as a child, you will be inspired by Nikki’s incredible journey and how she became the first American to win the Olympic gold in the sport of inverted aerial skiing at the 1998 Winter games in Nagano, Japan.  What made this performance so unbelievable was the fact that less than two years earlier, a chronic injury prevented her from standing much less skiing down a slope at almost 40 miles per hour.

The title of her book, “When Turles Fly”, was based on a philosophy taught to Nikki by her mother called, The Turtle Effect. She taught Nikki that to be successful you need to act like a turtle.  Be soft on the inside  – which is your passion for what you love; Have a hard shell –  to help you over come adversity and Be willing to stick your neck out to accomplish your goals and find success in your life…..plus inspire others.

Nikki has used this outlook to overcome a spinal injury, win an Olympic gold medal and to graduate magna cum laude with her Bachelors degree and summa cum laude with her Masters degree in Sports Psychology.

Nikki’s earliest role model was Nadia Comaneci, the 14 year old Romanian gymnast who scored a perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal.  At age 5, Nikki was inspired by Nadia to be the best and at that early age, she set her sights on Olympic gold.  We discuss the inspirational stories in her book from many well known and some not so well known heroes such as:   Lindsey Vonn, Dr. Stephan Covey, Shaun White and Corporal Jason Dunham.  Her book is broken down into chapters entitled: Passion, Focus, Commitment, Overcoming Adversities, Confidence, Risk and Teamwork/Support…all key ingredients and strengths needed to succeed.

Nikki’s bright outlook and motivation to overcome all obstacles shines through in her interview as well as her book, “When Turtles Fly” .  These stories will move you and show you the tests that the strength of the human spirit will endure to become the best.  She has not only put together this book filled with powerful life changing stories, she is also generously donating 25% of the net proceeds to the American Cancer Society.  Nikki comes from a long line of strong women.  Not only her mother who passed along the turtle effect philosophy, but also her grandmother who shared this wise quote with Nikki: “ Brave don’t live forever but cautious don’t live at all.”

Be sure to pick up this book and be ready to be inspired by not only Nikki’s personal story, but all of the 40 great people she carefully interview and included in her book. It will make you think about who you are and will ignite your drive to chase your dreams and fulfill your goals. All the profiles showcased outline the core principles of success and that anybody can make it no matter the background, conditions, or timing.

Enjoy this interview and to find out more about Nikki and her availability for motivational speaking engagements, go to her site at: www.nikkistone.com or to find out more about her book, go to: www.whenturtlesfly.com

Podcast 173: 8 Attributes of Great Achievers with Cameron C. Taylor

Cameron C. TaylorI thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Cameron Taylor the author of, “8 Attributes of Great Achievers”.  Cameron has studied the lives of hundreds of great achievers, and he found that each have possessed or currently possess certain attributes that are foundational to their great achievement.

 

In this podcast with Cameron we discuss the eight attributes of these great men such as Franklin, Churchill, Gandhi and many others.

 

 

Cameron has identified the attributes to be:

  1. Responsibility
  2. Creator
  3. Independent
  4. Humble
  5. Honest
  6. Optimistic
  7. Vision
  8. Persistence

This book has been written to help you develop the character attributes that lead to great achievement.  The author notes that in Jim Collins book,”Good to Great”, that they discovered that the good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge or work experience.

This being the case, it is more important to work on your character development and less on your skills.  There is a saying that echos the importance of character, and it is,
” Hire for attitude and train for skills”. You can always train someone, but you can not always find someone with the character and attitude you would like to have for the position.

The great thing about this book is that it is a quick read, and it is a real reminder of what is important in life.  He also has written several other books, and I recommend that you visit his website to learn more about Cameron and his other publications.  You can click here to be directed to his website.  Enjoy our interview!

Podcast 163: Life Is Tremendous with Tracey Jones

Tracey Jones

I was recently introduced to Tracey Jones the daughter of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones.  Charlie recently passed away, and Tracey has taken over the publishing business which is now called Tremendous Life Books.  It was a pleasure doing this podcast with Tracey and learning what it was like to be the daughter of such an icon in the speaking and motivation business.

If you have never read a Charlie “Tremendous” Jones book, I can highly recommend one of his greats, ” Life is Tremendous”.   In my interview with Tracey we speak about the simple yet valuable lessons that Charlie was always teaching as he would speak and meet with his audiences.  His passion for life was contagious, and he always had a way of helping one see life from a positive and different perspective.  As Charlie says in the front of his book ” Life is Tremendous! It really is.  You can be happy, involved, relevant, productive, healthy and secure in the midst of this high pressure, commercialized, automated, pill-prone society.  It’s not easy nor automatic, but it’s possible through the development of certain personal qualities which make up the traits of leadership.  And you can be a leader, because leaders are made, not born.

Tracy and I speak about the Seven Laws of Leadership that Charlie so passionately spoke about for so many years. The Seven Saws of Leadership are: 1) Learning to get Excited About Your Work 2) Use or Lose 3) Production or Perfection 4) Give or Get 5) Exposure or Experience 6) Flexible Planning 7) Motivated to Motivating.

Please enjoy my interview with Tracey as we explore her father’s work, and how the passion for what he started has transferred a generation to Tracey as she carries on the Jones legacy through Tremendous Life Books.

If you would like to learn more about the book titles that Tremendous Life Books has published please click here to access the Tremendous Life Book website.  I know you will enjoy this interview with Tracey Jones.

Podcast 161: Your Body Speaks Your Mind with Deb Shapiro

Deb ShapiroI have had the wonderful pleasure of being able to interview Deb Shapiro again.  My first interview was with Deb and her husband Ed about their new book entitled “Be The Change”.

In this podcast I will be speaking with Deb about her new book entitled, ” Your Body Speaks Your Mind“.  This new book address the mind body connection, and the role that our mind plays in your overall well being.  Wellness is primarily a state of mind, and your emotions play an important role in how you feel.

Dis-ease manifests itself in various ways within our bodies and what Deb Shapiro outlines in her book is the importance of understanding our mind/body connection.

She utilizes real life stories to help the reader understand the various ways that our body reacts to our mental conditions.  She states “As you think so you become: your thoughts and words are like seeds that germinate and grow. Your state of health shows how you have been thinking: the seeds take root and begin to influence the shape the cell structures of your physical body.  When you think of illness–or life–as being out of your control, or as an obstacle that you cannot overcome, then none of your physical energy will be directed toward healing, as no “living” message will be sent to your body.”

When illness–or living is seen as a learning experience, an opportunity to deepen your relationship with yourself, then healing is possible. The most common blocks are negative attitudes that a lot of people carry around all the time.  Deb states in order to become healed, a person has to throw out hatred, envy, jealousy and other destructive attitudes and feelings.  Although such factors start within the mind, they quickly manifest in our body, becoming a stiff shoulder, a sluggish liver, cancer or other illnesses.

If you want to better understand the mind/body connection then I encourage you to listen to this wonderful podcast with Deb Shapiro.  You can also get all sorts of useful information by visiting her website by clicking here.

To your good health!!!!!

Podcast 158 : Capture Your Flag with Erik Michielsen

Erik MichielsenI was in my office one day, and got a surprise call from Erik Michielsen.   He was referred to me by author Simon Sinek who has appeared on his video blog entitled “Capture Your Flag” and was also a guest on Inside Personal Growth.

The further I dialogued with Erik about his website, I began to realize what an amazing resource he has created for people searching for more fulfillment in their careers.  Erik engages in wonderfully authentic dialogues with the men and women on the street about their feeling, emotions and motivations around their careers.

His online interview show and career planning resource, Capture Your Flag, showcases common character building themes empowering rising leaders’ personal and professional development.  Its purpose is to disarm fears you have and open future planning possibilities.

Interviewees represent an approachable peer group who continue to work through these same challenges in their respective journeys.  Interview segments are categorized by “Fulfillment Flag” to highlight common elements informing interviewee decisions and career progression.

I encourage anyone who is currently questioning their career path, or who is new to the job market to check out Erik’s website.  It is a great resource and will most likely provide the viewer with useful knowledge about his or her next steps in career planning.  You can visit Erik’s website “Capture Your Flag” by clicking here.

Podcast 157: Think Or Sink with Gina Mollicone-Long

Gina Mollicone-LongIf you don’t think you are in control of the choices you make in life, then you best listen to my interview with Gina Mollicone-Long.  Gina’s new book entitled, “Think or Sink“, focuses on the choices we make in life, and how you can turn these choices into our advantage.

As Gina states, the paradox of any challenge or crisis is that it is also an opportunity.  It might seem crazy at first, but in Gina’s new book she will show you how to turn your adversity into your advantage. During challenging times many people look for the focus on what is wrong.  Not only is this perspective harmful because it doesn’t bring about any solutions or relief, but it is also the very thing that ensures the continuation of the crisis itself.

Gina states that her entire book is based on an important premise: everything in our life that happens to us is just feedback.  At the most basic level, this means that you get out of your life what you are willing to put into it.  Your circumstances will always reflect exactly where you are at in your life and what you are putting into it. The real power is learning how to interpret the feedback so you can use it to your advantage. Instead of judging your circumstances, you can learn to assess your circumstances so you can learn from them and leverage them to create a life that you love.

Life is a series of feedback loops.  We want something (input), we do some behaviors (process) and we get an outcome (output).  Gina reminds us in her new book that we are all energy, and that all energy is fluid.  Always moving into form, through form or out of form.  The universe holds the potential energy for an infinite number of expressions to matter.  True power derives from the ability to harness the unformed potential energy so that we can have what we want in our physical experience.

Please listen to my podcast with Gina, and visit her website by clicking here for a wealth of content on how to “Think or Sink“.  Enjoy this podcast.

Podcast 155: Mental Housecleaning with Tomás Lafayette Picard D.C.

Tomás Lafayette Picard D.C.What a wonderful interview with  Thomas Picard.  In his new book entitled, “Mental House Cleaning“,  Picard explains the importance of attitude adjustment, and how important altering our beliefs really are if we are to transform our lives for the better.  We discuss the famous physiologist  Maxwell Maltz and his work in Psycho-Cybernetics.

Picard is an advocate of Maltz’s work in which the basic premise is that your “outer life” is a reflection of how you see yourself on the inside, what he called “self-image.” Dr. Maltz noted that you can never rise higher than your self-image. If your “inner self” is not equal to your “outer self,” then you will always revert back to where you think you belong.

Personal growth and spiritual transformation books can be dry and serious-minded. But if you’re the kind of person who loves pratfalls, jokes, and screwball humor, then Picard’s new self-help book will tickle your funny bone while tuning up your transformation.

Mental Housecleaning (Attitude Adjusting You Can Do in the Comfort and Privacy of Your Own Mind) by Dr. Tomás Lafayette Picard, internationally renowned speaker, author and healer,  is just the thing for someone questing for success, prosperity, happiness and sanity in an insane world. In these turbulent and sometimes depressing times, why not learn and laugh at the same time? You can find truthful answers to life’s real haunting questions illuminated through Picard’s loopy charm.

Profound insights abound in this clever step-by-step book on how to command the power of your mind and the power of the Universe to support your desires. It’s the perfect book for people who have been reluctant to dive in due to the weighty content and possible discomfort of change.

If you would like to learn more about Tomas Picard I recommend visiting his website by clicking here.

Podcast 150: Spontaneous Evolution with Bruce Lipton Ph.D

Bruce Lipton Ph.DAccording to author Bruce Lipton, civilization is on the threshold of a profound evolutionary leap.  He says that the old conventional beliefs hold evolution as a long and gradual process.  However, the new science insights reveal that evolution occurs in what amounts to quantum jumps.

The new science of “epigenetics” tells us about our own powers.  The conventional belief held that our fate was genetically determined when in truth our genes are controlled by our perceptions of the environment.  When we change our perceptions of the environment we become master of our genetic fate.  Now, that is quite powerful if you grasp the significance of what he is saying.

In Bruce’s new book, “Spontaneous Evolution“, he reveals how changing our understanding of biology and human history will help us to navigate these turbulent times and invites the reader to reconsider:

  • The unquestioned pillars of biology including the random evolution, survival of the fittest, and the role of DNA.
  • The blueprint for our sustainable, life affirming future that is literally inside you-encoded in each of the trillions of cells comprising your body.
  • How our beliefs about nature and human nature shape our politics, culture and our individual lives.
  • How each of us can become planetary “stem cells” supporting the health and growth of our world and every individual in it.

I know that these are bold shifts on our beliefs, but Bruce lays out evidence that this is occurring now and by releasing the old beliefs that keep the status quo in place, and by building our lives and world on this heartening new story, we can trigger the spontaneous evolution of our species.

Spontaneous Evolution is an insightful, playful and ultimately hopeful look at the unfolding destiny of our species–how you can play an active role in birthing the evolution of humanity.

I encourage everyone to read and understand how you are going to become part of our new Spontaneous Evolution as a species on this planet.  Don’t resist, resistance is futile.

If you would like to know more about Bruce Lipton and his wonderful books please click here to be directed to his website.  You can also find lots of video’s on You Tube where Bruce is speaking about this subject by clicking here.