Category: Podcast

Essential Steps to Awakening with Divya Darling

Befriending your brain is the business of my guest on today’s show, and she has actually created a thriving business around it. A great storyteller with a profound message, Divya Darling is devoted to illuminating the wisdom within. Having researched the mysteries of the mind for decades, obtaining degrees in neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive sciences and being an avid yogi and philosopher, Divya serves as a Transformational Brain Trainer.

In today’s episode, we dive into topics of triggers, obstacles, and essence vs. ego. We discuss how, for anyone on the path of expansion, there is the cycle of awakening, a shakeup, a wake up, an ego death, followed by cleaning up, growing up, and showing up. We talk about learning to tune into the feedback of the body, and how, once we become more in tune with ourselves, we can also be more aware of recognizing other people’s triggers and needs.

Divya has a way of distilling complicated concepts in an incredibly relatable way. She illuminates how we all have vast resources we can tap into if we work at it with intention. It’s powerful stuff, so without any further ado, on with the show!

A Glimpse of The Matrix with Stephan Spencer and Orion Talmay

I feel so grateful and proud because today we are celebrating the 300th episode of Get Yourself Optimized! That is nearly 6 years, and I’ve never missed a week. I’m grateful for you my listener for taking this journey with me and growing with me over these years and I feel fulfilled gathering and sharing with the world amazing wisdom from the most inspiring teachers, masters, and experts.

The last 14 months have brought tectonic shifts to all of our lives. Most of us felt fear and uncertainty during this global shifts. And yet there is always a silver lining. Some of the most powerful epiphanies and transformations have come through these challenging times. That’s the case for me, and I’m guessing for you too.

For this episode, I’m being interviewed by my beloved wife Orion. I dig deep into my personal journey of finding light within the darkness and thriving in times of chaos. I share the intense experience of moving abroad to one of the most strict locked down countries in the world during Covid times, which turned out to be an incredible time of awakening and spiritual transformation. In today’s episode, you will discover the spiritual practices that are helping me tune into a higher vibration and manifest miracles.

Make Your Marriage Work with Drs. John and Julie Gottman

A relationship is like a bank account—you are either making deposits or withdrawals every day depending on your behavior toward one another. My guests today are Dr. John Gottman and his partner in work and life, Dr. Julie Gottman. They are co-founders of the Gottman Institute, where they have been committed to an ongoing program of research and interventions to foster stronger relationships. It has been their mission to make their services accessible to the broadest reach of people across race, religion, class, culture, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

In today’s episode, we talk about how to bank enough positive currency in your account so that when a withdrawal is made, it doesn’t break the foundation of the relationship. We discuss genetics, histocompatibility, learned helplessness in relationships, and how couples can get into (and also break) unhealthy patterns. We delve into domestic violence, and the Gottman’s discuss their work in that area which rather than handling conflict management goes deeper to teach skills for building intimacy and connection. If you’re wondering how to take your relationship from meh to marvelous and you’re looking for actionable insights and tools, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. So without any further ado, on with the show!

From Universal Laws to Self-Awareness with Dr. Frances Yahia

From conception to death, we are all held to universal laws, so it makes sense that we should work to understand what those laws are. I was so impressed with my guest on today’s show, Dr. Frances Yahia after she did an interview on my wife Orion’s podcast, I knew I needed to have her on the show. 

Dr. Yahia is a mental health counselor, akashic records reader, archetypal astrologer, podcast host and college professor. She uses universal laws, metaphysics, mythology and astrology to create theories and therapeutic tools to help clients heal subconscious wounds.

Dr. Yahia weaves universal truths and ancient stories together to help clients understand the story they’re living in their own life. Her book, The Seven Gates: Seven Steps Beyond Self-Awareness, is a 7-step model that teaches you how to take your power back. 

In today’s episode, Dr. Yahia goes over these steps. She provides an understanding of why you attract patterns in your life and discusses explicit steps on how to shift so you stop repeating unhealthy subconscious patterns you probably aren’t even aware of. So without any further ado, on with a fascinating episode of Get Yourself Optimized. 

Harness the Heart Brain Connection with Edward Haschke

The intelligence of the heart is not something you hear a lot about, but it is a powerful force in the career and life of my guest on today’s episode, Edward Haschke. Photographer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur – Edward is a relentless truth seeker and storyteller. His love for all things related to the nature of consciousness has brought him to discover hidden truths that he now shares with those with similar interests regarding forgotten history, suppressed technologies, and the art of Ascension.

In today’s episode, we talk about the heart/brain connection, and how the heart is actually 5000x more electromagnetically charged than the brain. We discuss the importance of listening to your intuition because the more you do, the more magic and synchronicity starts to show up in your life. We talk about the journey of the empath, scalar frequencies and scalar waves in our DNA, which is fascinating stuff. We get into the power of words, and even why you should not talk smack to Alexa! So if you’re curious about tuning your inner frequency to a higher vibration, take a deep dive with us right now on this exciting episode of Get Yourself Optimized.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves with Carl Taylor

The truth of the world we live in, and the power of how we perceive life is within our control. My guest on today’s show is Carl Taylor, who wrote an excellent book called Becoming Bulletproof. Inspired by Superman as a kid, Carl wanted to write about letting those metaphorical bullets bounce off you. The idea is not that you won’t be shot at, but rather you keep moving forward, rolling with the punches, learning and adapting.

In today’s episode, we talked about the powerful work of Byron Katie, which Carl and I share a deep appreciation of. In fact, I had interviewed Katie on this podcast and it is one of my favorites. In this interview today, Carl and I talk about how life is a story: whether the narrative is told by you or by someone else—what you choose to say or believe is simply a way of framing experiences. We talk about how it’s those dark places and challenging times that offer tremendous growth and transformation. Or as Joseph Campbell so beautifully put it, “the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” So, without any further ado, let’s get on with an episode that’s incredibly deep and insightful, and dare I say, spiritually enlightening!

Following the Intuitive Breadcrumbs with Anthony Capobianco

Einstein taught us that everything is energy, or at least interchangeable to energy. So, because everything is made up of energy, every person, place, and thing vibrates at a different frequency. My guest today, Anthony Capobianco has learned that rather than focus on things he wants, he focuses on raising his vibration. He does not believe in luck, but he does believe that when you are in alignment you feel lucky, because things start to show up. 

Anthony entered the corporate world in his early 20’s working long hours as an executive mortgage banker. He gravitated toward tea as a way to ground himself and slow down. His coworkers took notice that in the midst of what resembled the stock room trading floor, there he was “zenned” out drinking tea at his desk. 

In today’s episode, Anthony talks about tea, which he enjoyed with his grandmother growing up, and how he built a business around that positive experience. This is an episode about asking the right questions rather than simply seeking answers. It’s about learning to sit with yourself in stillness to manifest the things you find you need in life, so without any further ado, on with the show! 

Wonders of Sound Therapy with David Khan

Some people feel like they’ve never fit in, and in the case of today’s guest, it turned out to be his gift. David Khan is a lifelong spiritual practitioner, musician, engineer and healer. His main passion is in research and developing therapies associated with sound, music, and frequencies that have powerful effects on allowing people to shift into deeper states of consciousness to activate their own innate self-healing capabilities. 

In today’s episode, we get into the passion that lights David up and has inspired him to take this path in life. He talks about how we can break out of the negative patterning of family and society and learn to be authentic to our own lifeforce energy. As old institutions appear to be falling apart, David works one-on-one with clients and also gives talks and leads events to provide insights from higher energetic perspectives as well as practical wisdom for learning to roll with the punches and come out thriving. David’s mission in life is to turn people on to their true potential and their own source connectedness, so tune in right now for a unique and unforgettable experience!

Lifestyle Over Business with Michael Zipursky

Does your business determine your lifestyle, or is it the other way around? My guest on today’s episode, Michael Zipursky, has learned from his decades in business that if you put your business goals at the top of the pyramid, everything will be in service to that, which he asserts (and I wholeheartedly agree) is the wrong way to live. Michael is the CEO of Consulting Success. He has helped over 450 consultants from around the world in over 75 industries add 6 and 7 figures to their annual revenues. 

In today’s episode, in addition to discussing his business success, we delve into the philosophical and wellness aspects of living a well-balanced life. We talk about the events that shaped Michael’s early years and how a trip to Vietnam at age 16 with his cousin became an awakening that opened the two of them up to the possibilities of working together to blaze a unique path where they could both accomplish great things and feel engaged in the world around them. He has a way of distilling information in a direct and intuitive style, so for an enlightening, multi-dimensional look at finding success and happiness, stay tuned!

Unconventional Wisdom, Uncommon Success with John Lee Dumas

You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, according to my guest on today’s show, John Lee Dumas. Inspired by the idea of spending time with high achievers who he admired, John, an army veteran who had struggled with depression and PTSD, decided to embark on an entrepreneurial path to change his life and the lives of all his listeners. On his podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, John has interviewed over 3,000 incredible entrepreneurs, including Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, and many more, me included.

In today’s episode, we talk about John’s incredible journey and how he aspired to (and pulled off) creating a daily podcast that took off and became wildly successful. We discuss how John was able to distill the wisdom of his podcast guests and boil down common core, foundational principles that all entrepreneurs share, which became his new book “The Common Path to Uncommon Success,” a book that teaches financial freedom and fulfillment. John has always felt that in learning, you teach, and in teaching, you learn, so without any further ado, get ready for an episode that packs a lot of inspiration and heart!