In all my years of conducting interviews with authors, I have probably never come across one like Dr. Larry Brilliant.  He is literally brilliant, authentic and someone who played a major role in eradicating a disease that was killing thousands of people.

In his new book “Sometime Brilliant-The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst Disease in History” he tell his story with flair and humor.

In my interview with Larry we get to explore his history as a visionary physician and spiritual seeker.  Larry ended up in India under the guidance of guru named Neem Karoli Baba.  Neem Karoli Baba informed Larry that he would be involved in the work to help eradicate smallpox.  At the time over 43,000 people were affected by this horrible disease, and through Larry’s diligence, persistence and fortitude to bring the doctors and World Health Organization together they accomplished the goal and vision that his guru has envisioned.

Through “Sometimes Brilliant” you are on a journey with Larry and the cast of characters, which include Steve Jobs, Ram Dass, Dalai Lama and many others.  You learn about a man and a life well lived, and a contribution to the world that saved and has saved thousands of lives from the smallpox disease.

I hope you enjoy this great interview with a wonderful humanitarian and physician.  If you want to learn more about Dr. Larry Brilliant please click here to be directed to his website, or click here to be taken to his Facebook page.

 

My good friend Dr. Daniel Friedland MD has written a wonderful book entitled “Leading Well from Within” this book is for anyone who is seeking to leverage the stress in their lives and become a better leader in the process.

I know that many of you reading the blog entry are familiar with “conscious leadership” Daniel provides a platform through his book “Leading Well from Within” that gives the reader an entirely new perspective of what it is like to be a conscious leader.  There is a clear correlation between leadership effectiveness and business performance.  Daniel states that “to lead well from within you need to ensure you have the best driver in the driver’s seat to meet life’s demands”.   To become the best driver you need to understand that how your brain reacts to certain stimuli and conditions, and how you are able to learn to control your response is the secret of being a conscious leader.

The difference between being reactive versus being creative is knowing how to reduce and control your stress and removing your self-doubt, while increasing your inspiration.  All of this activity occurs in various areas of your brain, and you can learn how to modulate this through being mindful.  “Leading Well from Within” is the guidebook for any leader wanting to improve their responses to circumstances and events that if handled properly could become the turning point to improving their outlook about the situation, and the outlook of all those that depend upon a well centered and focused leader.

If you want to learn more about Dr. Daniel Friedland and his new book “Leading Well From Within” please click here to be directed to his website.  You can also connect with Daniel on his Facebook page by clicking here.

 

 

Heather ReedEveryone today is focused on wellness, and it is a topic that deserves a lot of focus and attention.  I had the pleasure of interviewing both Dr. Matt Mumber and Heather Reed about their new book entitled “Sustainable Wellness-An Integrative Approach to Transform Your Mind, Body and Spirit.”.   I must state that Matt and Heathers approaching to achieving sustainable wellness uses an integrative medicine approach which if followed properly will certainly help one achieve sustainable wellness with lasting results.

I found their  analogy of using the three legged stool a great way to explain how they both approach the topic of wellness.  If you can imagine a three legged stool with the seat being spirituality , and the three legs physical activity, nutrition, and stress management all feeding into our spirituality.   The stool rests on awareness, which is the foundation of where all wellness begins.   This provides a great visual of the integrative approach that both Matt and Heather take when working with their clients to achieve truly lasting wellness.

Achieving sustainable wellness begins with reflection and exploration.  In the book you will find many opportunities where  Matt and Heather  provide the reader with questions for reflection and thought.  They have also have created and an eight (8) steps process to follow in exploring your personal wellness RX.  Those steps include mindfulness, know thyself, life review and planning, nutrition, physical activity, stress management, spirituality, bringing it all together.  If you follow these steps and practice the wisdom that the authors have outlined in “Sustainable Wellness” you will most likely  achieve a new level of health and vitality for yourself.

Matt Mumber, MDI invite you to listen to this great podcast with both Dr. Matt Mumber and Heather Reed while we explore questions for the listeners about obtaining a peak level of health, vitality and wellness.  If you would like to learn more you can click here to be directed to the Sustainable Wellness website, or you can click here to watch a Youtube video interview with Matt.

Steven KotlerIf you haven’t been paying much attention, “Abundance-The Future is Better Than You Think” has been on the NY Times best seller list for weeks.

In my interview with co-author Steven Kotler we explore the many topics covered in the book that are wonderfully articulated to guide the reader in understanding that we are living in unprecedented times.  Yes–we have our share to world problems, but on the flip side of the coin technology and science are moving at breakneck speeds and are solving many of these problems–and guess what?  Our standard of living is better than ever.

Steven points out that the focus of the book is to help change people mindsets. As fundamental as this sounds, it is a core problem in our society today.  Our brains are designed to be pessimistic  when it comes to getting our heads around global problems we are challenged, but we do much better and are more optimistic when it comes to issues that are in our reach.

Fueling this pessimism is our news media, as Steven states ” if it bleeds it leads” referring to how our media loves to report the doom and gloom and infrequently reports what is good about the world. Abundance certainly takes the bold contrarian and optimistic viewpoint for today’s cynical times, but the authors give proof that we are not living in such dire times.

Steven cites that poverty has decreased more in the last 50 years than in the previous 500. At a global level, the gap between wealthy nations and poorer nations continue to close.  Despite plenty of hardship we are living longer, wealthier, healthier lives.

The authors state that three (3) current forces are leading our world toward abundance.  1) A Do-It-Yourself revolution of backyard thinkers, which now extends far beyond homebrew computers and custom cars it is outdoing governments with high-impact innovationsin neuroscience, biology, genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. 2) A new source of techno-philanthropists who are dedicating their fortunes to solving grand, abundance-related challenges. 3) The poorest of the poor, the so-called “bottom-billion” have been plugged into the global economy by the internet, micro-fiance, and wireless communications.   By the end of 2013 , over 70 percent of the world’s population will have access to low-cost communications.

This perfect convergence of technology, science and communications is forging an opportunity for  abundance and equanimity worldwide.  I certainly agree with the authors viewpoint, and have seen massive changes “for the good” in our society.  If you want to get the facts, and learn more about what amazing technological and scientific advancement will change our world, then you need to read and study “Abundance“.  You will be glad that you did.

 

If you want more information the author have an amazing website, and you can click here to be directed to it.  You can also visit the Facebook page by clicking here, or watch some great YouTube videos about the book.  I hope you enjoy this great interview with a “thought leader” in the field of science, technology and spirituality–Steven Kotler.

Kelly HowellThere has been lots of discussion about the importance of exercising our minds so that we stay sharp and astute as we age.  I recently had the pleasure of interviewing both Michale Gelb and Kelly Howell the authors of a great new book entitled “Brain Power, Improve Your Mind as You Age.”

What Michael and Kelly reveal in our interview together is that what we previously thought  about aging and our brain is faulty.  That current science and the studies being conducted on how our brains work, connect  and  stay sharp are revealing amazing findings.

As discussed in “Brain Power” their are many factors that attribute to good mental acuity, some of them are optimism, forgiveness, being a life long learner not to mention that nutrition and exercise play a significant role in our minds ability to stay sharp.   As a matter of fact, exercise and nutrition the most important factors in our brains health.

I recently conducted an interview with Dr. John Ratey MD and professor of psychiatry at Harvard about his book entitled “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”, and he explains that in addition to promoting better muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness, exercise is “one of the best treatments we have for most psychiatric problems.” Ratey presents compelling research demonstrating the efficacy of exercise in sharpening cognition and memory, and in overcoming anxiety, stress and depression.

As Kelly and Michael explain, our environment is another important factor for good brain health.  Every aspect of our environment stimulates our brain for better or for worse. The sights, sounds, textures, aromas, tastes, and other sensations that you experience every day serve as nourishment for your mind and spirit.  They also state in “Brain Power” that the people that we hang around with and the communities of support we develop are a very big factor on staying brain healthy.  Study after study has shown that the bigger or community of support and connect to others is a significant factor in the reduction of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

 

If you are looking to stay mentally sharp today and well into your advanced years, then I highly recommend that you read and study the techniques discussed and taught in “Brain Power“.  This book could have a meaningful impact on how you decide to treat your body as well as exercise you mind.

 

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Michael Gelb and Kelly Howell.  For more information about Michael Gelb please click here to be directed to his website, or click here to be directed to Kelly Howell’s website.