You may not realize it, but there is a very sophisticated factory in your brain, and it has the ability to help build your resilience … or even destroy it. I’m going to attempt to explain, in the fastest, simplest terms possible, how that works and why it matters for us both today and for the future. Of course, I am NOT a neuroscientist … although I DO play one on TV. Just kidding. I only accept acting roles that allow me to dramatize the life and times of the Bee Gees . Also kidding. I never ac...
Feb 21, 2022•12 min•Ep. 53
Despite the fantastical title, this is NOT an episode about an upcoming Harry Potter or other fantasy-related book. This episode is about resilience, plain and simple. But it is also a peek inside the overlapping space between fantasy and reality, and it starts LONG ago, in ancient times and ancient lands. Be forewarned, though: It takes a minute to wade through the history and separate out the fantasy from reality, but if you'll stick with me for a few minutes, I think it’ll all make sense. And...
Feb 08, 2022•14 min•Ep. 52
I have a story you NEED to hear. But I also need to warn you: You aren’t going to believe that it’s true. You will feel compelled to research it yourself, to try and “fact-check” it because you’ll say, “No way this really happened. Not a chance.” So feel free to fact check. Because here’s the bottom line. Life has a way of giving us all a beat-down from time-to-time. And sometimes, life even kicks us AFTER we’re down. And that’s when we have a serious choice to ponder: What should we do next? ~~...
Jan 26, 2022•9 min•Ep. 51
For the past 3 1/2 years, friends have been telling me that I *REALLY* should watch the new Cobra Kai series, so I finally decided to give it a go. Yeah, the 80s music is awesome, as are the 80s flashbacks, but what REALLY stood out to me are the characters and the important—even critical—life lesson that I was reminded of when watching. To really explore it, I had to dig out another 80s classic, a book that you also likely read years ago! Here's my 10-minute take on the big life lesson from the...
Jan 18, 2022•11 min•Ep. 50
Question: Is our ability to change, grow, and improve governed by any specific, recognizable laws or principles? More specifically, are there BIOLOGICAL principles of growth that can at least hint at or even point us to some principles for NON-biological (emotional, mental, spiritual, etc) growth? I think the answer is "YES!" ... x5, and this episode looks at those five principles! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every week on Better Mind, Better Life, I combine insights from psychology, theology, and more into ...
Jan 11, 2022•11 min•Ep. 49
Happy New Year! Are you ready for the FUTURE? No, not the future that requires 1.21 gigawatts of power and a DeLorean time machine running 88mph. I'm talking about the future you RESOLVE to embrace! But—and here's the really good part—you can forget about coming up with New Year’s resolutions or even a “word for the year,” because I found a guy even smarter than Doc Brown who has written a few resolutions for everyone and they are 100% supported by science. So synchronize your clocks and let's h...
Jan 04, 2022•10 min•Ep. 48
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing the moment you first learned about: The 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001? Hurricane Katrina in 2005? The deaths of Osama bin Laden and Steve Jobs in 2011? Brexit (or Trump) in 2016? The Global COVID Shutdown of 2020? History is full of iconic, life-altering moments ... and there is one which stands head and shoulders above the rest! That's what this short episode is all about, wrapping up our third and final message in this miniseries on the t...
Dec 24, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 47
We’re in the midst of a three-part miniseries titled “Close Encounters of the Angelic Kind.” In the previous episode we looked at the first of three angelic encounters mentioned by the Gospel of Luke—all of which are connected to Christmas and the birth of Christ and each with a message that matters just as much today as it did then. In that first encounter, the priest, Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, had a life-changing experience while inside the Temple of Herod. In this episode, I want...
Dec 20, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 46
In the late 1970's Steven Spielberg introduced the world to a cinematic portrayal of one man's obsession with UFOs. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind , electrician Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is prepared to give up his life to pursue the truth about what he saw. The movie is considered a classic in the sci-fi genre and for decades has struck a nerve with those who've encountered things that seem to defy logical explanation. One such encounter happened 2,000 years ago to a priest n...
Dec 13, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Santa Claus is surely one of the most beloved figures of modern times. But did you know that he was perhaps even more beloved long before he acquired a fur-trimmed red suit, a big round belly, and nine flying reindeer to pull his sleigh? Believe it or not, the jolly Old St. Nick we know and love today actually took more than 1,600 years to develop! For many years, one of our family's Christmas traditions has been a retelling of the history behind the colors and symbols of Christmas. Each year we...
Dec 06, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 44
It’s difficult to imagine Christmas without decorated trees. But do they have any “redeeming” value for Christians? And how did the idea get started in the first place? I think the answer to the first question is a resounding YES! The answer to the second question is a LITTLE bit longer. Believe it or not, the Christmas tree as we know it today actually took more than 700 years to make! For many years, one of our family's Christmas traditions has been a retelling of the history behind the colors...
Nov 30, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In the previous episodes I talked about #gratitude and #Thanksgiving as the gateway to peace. I looked at the fascinating science behind gratitude as well as what the Bible has to say on the subject. I specifically referenced Philippians 4:4-7 which says "In every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." So I talked about both thanksgiving and peace...
Nov 25, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 42
For several years, many of my Facebook friends have participated in the activity of making a daily post to identify their thankfulness for something or someone. That’s fantastic! A number of years ago, I started the “Let’s Say Thanks” campaign on Facebook and each year try to get a few more people to participate. Also fantastic. And in episode 39 I shared a boatload of research from the past 30 years about the power of gratitude. But even with all this, I believe an important element is still mi...
Nov 16, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 41
In the previous episode, season 1, episode 39, I did my best to give you a brief (and, hopefully, fascinating) look at 30 years of psychological research on the subject of gratitude, a virtue which psychologists say may very well be the most important virtue a human can have. In this episode, I want to continue exploring gratitude, but I want to go back much further in history and take a look from a slightly different angle by diving into some ancient wisdom on the subject—especially as it might...
Nov 09, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 40
I know this probably sounds like a bunch of marketing, clickbait hype, but it isn't at all. After 30 years of research and countless numbers of peer-reviewed studies, psychologists are finally agreeing with writers throughout the ages who argue that gratitude may very well be the most important virtue a human can have. Now, I can't give you a thorough account of all that research in just 10 minutes, but I can give you a peek at some of the powerful benefits of gratitude as determined by these st...
Nov 04, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Are you a "one-dimensional leader"? More importantly, how would you know if you were (or weren't)? This is the fourth and final installment in a series of episodes talking specifically about leadership. In this episode, I want to make one simple argument about leadership, taken from the world of psychology—specifically DISC personality styles—and that argument is this: ALL leaders need to be able to stretch BEYOND their primary leadership styles. The truth is, a one-dimensional leader, no matter...
Oct 27, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Beginning in the 80s, Dr. J. Robert Clinton and his students began a massive study of leaders: historic, biblical, and contemporary. At the time of the original publication of Clinton's book, The Making of a Leader, in 1988, they had researched 500 case studies. Over the next 15 years, they researched another 3,000 case studies. As they have compared findings from those studies, they’ve gained insights that they believe are transferable to other leaders’ lives, including your own. First and fore...
Oct 20, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 37
I’m in the middle of a series of episodes talking about leadership. My goal is to offer you some ways of thinking about the subject that both encourage and challenge you with a unique (or, at least less familiar) perspective. In a previous episode I mentioned that life can be complicated and confusing at times. But it’s in those times when you have to remind yourself that you aren’t lost, and that your situation may be HARD, but it is most definitely not impossible or hopeless. I want to continu...
Oct 12, 2021•9 min
For this and the next few episodes of Better Mind, Better Life, I want to tackle the subject of leadership, and, HOPEFULLY, offer you some ways of thinking about the subject that both encourage and challenge you with a unique (or, at least less familiar) perspective. For starters, it's possible that most of what people hold up as examples of leadership, aren’t leadership at all. And the explanation might be in your hand right now! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks so much for listening to Better Mind, Bette...
Oct 05, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Life can often feel very much like a maze. It feels like each day is filled with difficult choices—left or right—in which the consequences of those choices seem complex beyond comprehension. Will this help or hurt? Will it cause me to win or lose? Will I sink or swim? And some choices, once we’ve fully committed ourselves to them, seem in retrospect like tremendous dead-ends. But that's the wrong way to think. When life starts to feel like a maze, that's when you need to change your mindset! ~~~...
Sep 28, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 34
If I had to pick one thing that I knew for SURE you and I both had in common—along with every other person we know—I’d probably say this: We’re all losers. I don’t mean that in a harsh way. I mean that we’ve all experienced what it feels like to lose. Repeatedly. Even the people we think of as “winners” have most likely lost far more often than they’ve won. And losing can be tough. But what matters most isn't whether or not we will win or lose in any given context, because losses will definitely...
Sep 21, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 33
If you want to do things like improve your performance, learn faster, be happier, be more creative, and be five times more productive (on average!), then maybe you should give some thought to the conditions that will enable you to accomplish this seemingly superhuman feat. And, believe it or not, it isn't complicated! In this episode of Better Mind, Better Life, I'll go over the research and give you the basics to help you get started, all in less than 10 minutes ... which is probably less time ...
Sep 13, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 32
What does it take to “make it,” to be successful? Honestly, there are probably tens of thousands of unique definitions from countless numbers of books and lectures throughout history. The trick is knowing WHERE to look, and WHAT to look for. I’ve done some digging for you, and I’ve found some gold inspired by the work of Dr. Graham Jones. Dr. Jones is a former Professor of Elite Performance Psychology and consultant to Olympian and world champions, so he knows he few things about success. Here’s...
Sep 02, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 31
I saw a post on Instagram recently titled “60-minute self-care” that had 5 simple ways that you and I can take care of ourselves in just an hour a day. It was a good post. I liked it. I even saved it to my phone. But as I read through the tons of comments on the post, I saw plenty of people adding their own thoughts about something they personally would include on the list. And I was struck by how easily this good list for 'self-care' could become a great list for 'soul-care'. Let’s look at each...
Aug 25, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Recently, New York Times Bestselling Author and Leadership Expert, Michael Hyatt, made the following comment on his LinkedIn profile. He said: “Speaking out takes courage. You will never grow into the leader you were meant to be if you are not willing to take a risk and occasionally speak up. Being a suck-up will not get you promoted. Being courageous eventually will—so long as it’s done in the right spirit.” His comment really made me think: When it comes to “speaking up and speaking out,” what...
Aug 16, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Everyone feels angry from time to time: it’s a natural emotion and it’s always situational. But, just because anger is natural doesn’t make it healthy or helpful. Some plants, although 100% natural, are deadly poisonous. Anger can also be deadly, and controlling it is almost always not just important, but critical. Of course, anger isn't necessarily a 'bad' emotion; it can be useful in the right circumstances. The key is learning to CHECK your anger. So, taking that age-old advice to take a deep...
Aug 09, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 28
I recently heard a “success coach” say we have no self-control, our willpower sucks, and thinking we have discipline is delusional. He even said willpower is a "terrorist" that must be fought against. He suggested an "all-powerful alternative," which, ironically, requires willpower to execute. The research is voluminous: willpower is absolutely critical—especially at the beginning—to any and every conscious attempt to improve our lives. Some changes require a "little" willpower energy, and some ...
Aug 02, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Ever heard of the "hot-cold empathy gap"? It's a concept in psychology that was first identified by renowned Carnegie Mellon psychologist, George Lowenstein. It describes our tendency to subconsciously reference our current feelings and attitudes to try and predict how we might behave in the future . Spoiler alert: Our prediction skills aren't that good. In other words, the "hot-cold empathy gap" is our inability during a cool rational peaceful moment to appreciate how we will behave when it REA...
Jul 27, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Every year, me and my sons watch the 1996 movie Independence Day starring Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. It's a fun tradition that we just never get tired of. But there is one scene in the movie that always used to confuse me. After the alien ship blows up Los Angeles, there's a scene where Jasmine, played by Vivica A. Fox, is surveying the aftermath. Everything is leveled and charred. Everything, that is, except two tall palm trees. That scene didn't make any sense until I read about an ancient ...
Jul 05, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Google the word "anxiety" and you'll probably get—like I did—302 MILLION results. That's a lot of talk about anxiety. You may even see that anxiety is “very common, with more than 3 million US cases PER YEAR.” In fact, search trends for the word anxiety have risen steadily from a search score of 30/100 in 2009 to 100/100 in March 2021. As someone who is "anxiety-prone," I've had to learn how to tame that beast. My sincere hope is that what I've learned can help you and/or those around you who ma...
Jun 29, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 24
