Category: Podcast

Breaking Free from Unhealthy Patterns with Robyn Firtel

We are all imperfect humans, so we can’t expect to have had perfect parents or caregivers. Most parents do the best they can. It’s just an unfortunate reality that we as their children experienced trauma at their hands. Anything less than nurturing is trauma so the bar is pretty low. We have all experienced trauma in our childhoods. These traumas can still affect us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They can show up in our work, our relationships, our parenting and even our sense of self-worth.  

My guest for this episode number 221, is Robyn Firtel, a phenomenal psychotherapist who I get to experience firsthand at a Secret Society intensive run by the author, Neil Strauss. Invited personally by Neil, Robyn blew me away with her insights and her exercises, including chair work, which we will be talking about in this episode. Robyn specializes in post induction therapy and the treatment of codependency, addiction, trauma, and relationship issues. She’s A student of the internationally renowned Pia Mellody. In this episode, Robyn and I will take a deep dive into childhood trauma, taming your inner demons, unhealthy patterns, including codependency and therapeutic models. This is going to be a groundbreaking episode that everyone needs to hear, including you. So let’s get started.

Achieve High-Quality Sleep with James Swanwick

Sleep is essential if you want to maintain stamina, achieve peak performance during your workday, and not get sick like I am right now. Unfortunately, our natural sleep patterns get disrupted by TVs, laptops, and cellphones that we look at for hours each day. Blue light emitted from the screens of these devices have been shown to delay the release of melatonin to make you more alert and to reset your body’s internal clock. When you’re exposed to blue light before bed, it takes you longer to fall asleep. You have less REM sleep and you often wake up feeling groggy.

One option to combat the effects of blue light is to impose a digital curfew on yourself. But we’re so reliant on our devices that this can be difficult. Another option is simply to get yourself a pair of blue light blocking glasses, like those developed by my guest for this episode number 220, James Swanwick.

James began his career as a journalist in Australia, eventually moving to Los Angeles where he worked as an ESPN SportsCenter anchor and interviewed A list celebrities like Bradley Cooper, Al Gore, and many champion athletes. Although successful, James struggled with sleeplessness throughout his career. Desperate for a solution, he tried everything from herbal remedies to changing his diet without success. Until he discovered a research on blue light exposure. Came to share his discovery with the world, James partnered with his brother Tristan in to create Swanwick Glasses. And after an extensive testing process, they launched their blue light blocking glasses to help people around the world improve their sleep quality and their lives. 

James and his glasses have been featured in The New York Times, GQ, BuzzFeed and Men’s Health. James is also the creator of the 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge and host of The James Swanwick Show. If you’ve ever had trouble getting a good night’s sleep, you’re going to want to hear what James has to say. Let’s get this party started!

The Era of Information Overload with David Shenk

Way back in the 90s, in the early days of my first startup, Netconcepts, I read a book that changed how I viewed the information technology revolution. It was called Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut. I never forgot that book. In fact, I recently looked up the author to see what he’s up to these days. And what came out of that was well, this episode number 219. It’s my pleasure to welcome to the show my guest today, David Shenk.

He’s author not only of the book Data Smog, but many other books, including The End of Patience, The Genius in All of Us, The Immortal Game, and The Forgetting. His books covered topics as diverse as the history of Chess, Alzheimer’s disease, and the Grateful Dead. 

David is also a filmmaker, and he’s the creator and executive producer of the Living with Alzheimer’s film project. He’s a contributor to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, the Atlantic, and many more. 

David was ahead of his time; Data Smog nailed it as far as predicting the negative repercussions of living in an information-saturated world. On this wide-ranging episode, David and I discussed the effects of information overload, including his thoughts on the way it impacts politics and the environment. We also get into the nature of genius, genetics, and Alzheimer’s. It’s a fascinating episode with a fascinating guest. Enjoy!

You’re Too Easily Distracted and It’s Ruining Your Life with Nir Eyal

Put down that phone! How many times a day do you find yourself scrolling Instagram or Facebook? If you are hopelessly addicted, don’t feel too bad. These apps are designed to get you hooked and keep you coming back for more. You’re just one of the millions who spend their days staring at a screen. But to believe that these apps have figured out some magic formula that we will never be able to escape is simply not true. It turns out that, instead, they’ve just learned to manipulate our personal triggers. Thankfully, we can hack our own triggers to remove distractions to live more intentionally, and to live a more fulfilling and productive lives. 

My guest today on this episode number 218 is Nir Eyal, and his new book is about this exact topic. It’s called Indistractable, and it’s all about how you can regain control over the technology that is trying to control you. Nir is also the author of Hooked, the founder of two tech companies, and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. The MIT Technology Review dubbed Nir as the prophet of habit-forming technology. Join us for a fascinating discussion that dives deep into the psychology of attention and why our apps have such an insidious hold over us. The secrets to being more productive, and why you should always plan out your workweek.

Beating Cancer with Michelle Patterson

There’s an Indian proverb that goes something like, “A healthy person has many wishes, but the sick person has only one.” Statistically speaking, we in the Western world are most likely to die from cancer. Yes, cancer recently surpassed heart disease as the biggest killer. It really is no longer viable to stand idly by without taking some proactive actions to prevent cancer and to innovatively treated if you have it. We all have cancer cells in our bodies circulating in our bloodstream. It’s just that our immune system is keeping that in check. Well, until it doesn’t. 

My guest today for this episode number 217 is Michelle Patterson. Michelle is the founder and CEO of the California Women’s Conference. If you’ve ever gone you know how huge this event is. But now Michelle is on a wellness sabbatical from her business, as she was diagnosed earlier this year with stage four breast cancer. Don’t worry about her though, as she is defying the odds and you’re about to learn how. Michelle was on a mission to help women truly own their health and put their own oxygen mask on first. Her goal for 2020 is to build a community of 1 million women united by cannabis as a healing plant medicine. Get ready for a frank discussion that may just one day save your life.

Unlocking Your Highest Potential with Steve Glaveski

Are you born an entrepreneur? Or is it something that can be learned? If you take Steve Glaveski’s success as an indicator then it’s definitely the latter. Steve is the founder of several companies including Collective Campus and Lemonade Stand. They’re all underpinned by the philosophy of making the world a better place by teaching more people to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. It’s a powerful idea and one that I personally find inspirational. One of Steve’s arguments is that we not only need more entrepreneurs, but more entrepreneurial employees and organizations like businesses, nonprofits, and governments. It’s an idea that I wholeheartedly agree with.

Steve is also the author of Employee to Entrepreneur, a great book published by Wiley that explains the methods and tools that freed him from the nine to five grind. And he’s the host of Future Squared Podcast, where he explores the future of business and emerging technologies like AI and Bitcoin. Steve, like me, is also a contributor to Harvard Business Review. As you’ve probably guessed, Steve likes to think big. So strap yourself in, for this episode number 216, as you’re in store for a fascinating discussion on how to really refine that entrepreneurial mindset and build a thriving, adaptable business.

Mastering Your Time, Attention, and Productivity with David Allen

We all love that satisfying feeling of getting things done. Unfortunately, clearing off your to-do list often seems like an epic task without any end. If you’ve struggled with this problem yourself, you probably realize that if you want to maximize your productivity, you need a system.

My guest for this episode number 215 also came to this realization and the system he developed became a global phenomenon. I’m talking about David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, creator of the GTD or Getting Things Done Methodology, and one of the most influential thinkers on productivity in the world.

David needs no introduction, but if you’re looking for street cred, he was named one of the US’ top five executive coaches by Forbes and one of the top 10 business leaders by the American Management Association.

David’s common sense approach to productivity has not only made him a bestselling author, it also has made him a sought after keynote speaker and created massive demand for his accredited training program in dozens of countries around the world. If there’s only one podcast episode you listened to on productivity this year, make sure it’s this one. And if it’s only two then add in my previous interview of David episode number 26. It’s an oldie but goodie, trust me on this one. And now on with the show.

The Antidote to Burnout with Alex Pang

If you want to succeed, you need to work hard right? Hustle. It’s all about cramming in as much as you can in each day, working long hours, and even pulling that occasional all-nighter, at least when you have to. Wrong! At least according to my guest for this episode number 214. Well, and me too, for that matter. 

In his new book Rest, Alex Pang argues that you actually get more done when you work less. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you think about it, it makes total sense. How can you perform at your best when you’re constantly tired and burned out? Instead, by blocking up parts of your week for intensive deep work and then looking after your body and mind by resting, napping and taking a day off when you need it, you can consistently operate at peak performance. 

Alex is the author of four books that have been translated into a dozen languages. He’s the founder of the Restful Company and a sought after consultant and expert on rest and productivity. He’s been profiled in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Financial Times, Guardian and is a visiting scholar at Stanford University. If you’re ready to revolutionize your work-life balance, stick around because we’re going to be discussing the most cutting edge strategies for improving your productivity while also living an amazing and fulfilling life. Stay tuned.

The Web of the Future Is Already Here with Gabriel Rene

We’re entering a new phase of the World Wide Web and most of us aren’t even aware of it, or at least not aware of the full extent of it. It’s referred to by many as Web 3.0 and it will shepherd in a new era of AR, VR, mixed reality, AI, IoT, and blockchain. This new iteration of the web will be a spatial web, where there are no boundaries between digital space and physical space. I’m excited for you to learn in this episode how much of your daily life will be impacted by the spatial web. We will be immersed in a layer of rich dynamic data, which will revolutionize how we work, live and interact with others in profound new ways. For all these technologies to work seamlessly together though, there must be standards and protocols that everyone adopts. 

That’s where my guest for this episode number 213, Gabriel Rene, comes in. Gabriel is the Executive Director of VERSES Foundation, a nonprofit that’s leading the charge and developing open standards for the web 3.0 era, making sure everything is interoperable, and encouraging global adoption and the ethical use of all these emerging technologies. Before his work with VERSES, Gabriel was a thought leader in the tech and entertainment industries for over 25 years, running several companies and consulting for such brands as Verizon, Sony, Coca-Cola, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft. 

Join us for a mind-expanding conversation about this new era of the web that we are entering. In this episode, we’re covering everything from the future of nation-states, and indeed of the Earth itself to the Digital Gaia Theory. If you’re looking to keep your finger on the pulse of this rapidly changing world, this episode is going to deliver some powerful insights. Let’s get this show started.

Wisdom from Another Realm with Paul Selig

What exists beyond our physical reality? Is it possible to connect with other realms of existence and the beings that inhabit them, including loved ones who have moved on from our world? These are esoteric questions, but some have made it their life’s work searching for answers to them. One of these people is Paul Selig, psychic, medium teacher, and award-winning author. Paul was educated at Yale and served on the faculty of NYU for over 25 years. In 1987, a spiritual experience left him with clairvoyant abilities, and he decided to dedicate his life to channeling the messages he hears telepathically. These unique powers have brought him massive success, including praises from top executives and celebrities.

Paul is a regular guest in the mainstream media and has appeared on Nightline, Fox News and The Biography Channel, to name a few. In his latest book, Beyond the Known, Paul channels the wisdom of higher realms via his connection with mysterious beings known as the guides, and invites his readers to move beyond the perceived limitations of their current reality. Whether you’re a skeptic or deeply spiritual, I invite you to join us on this fascinating journey where we tackle some of the big questions and tune our minds into a higher vibration and joy.