In this episode of 'Coffee with a Neuroscientist,' Shonté Jovan Taylor delves into the concept of intentional joy, particularly Black joy, as a form of resistance and a power strategy. She explains how experiencing joy can heal hijacked nervous systems and become a tool for individual and collective well-being. Emphasizing the difference between joy, pleasure, and happiness, Taylor frames joy as an intentional, engaging practice rather than a passive state. She discusses the historical roots of ...
Jul 29, 2025•49 min•Ep. 29
In this episode of "Coffee with a Neuroscientist," host Shonté Jovan Taylor delves into the fascinating intersection of neuroscience and musical theater, using the Broadway show and now movie "Wicked" as a focal point. With her new OZ vibes Starbucks coffee mug in hand, Shonté explores how the storytelling and music of "Wicked" impact the brain, fostering empathy, connection and compassion. Shonté discusses how watching Elphaba’s journey in "Wicked"—from being labeled as the Wicked Witch to unde...
Dec 16, 2024•18 min•Ep. 28
🚀 Elevate your performance with Julie Lowe, the high performance coach on the latest ☕️"Coffee with a Neuroscientist" podcast episode! 🔎 Explore the power of habits and discover a few good habits that can transform your life in ways you never imagined. 🌟 Join Neuroscientist & host Shonté Jovan Taylor in a captivating conversation with Julie Lowe as they dive deep into her book "A Few Good Habits." Discover how these habits can reduce stress, increase energy, boost creativity, and improve ...
Oct 05, 2023•37 min•Ep. 26
Are you a creative, healer, educator, leader or activist who is feeling the nudge to take the leap and start your own business? Today’s episode with my special guest is a call for you to listen to your intuition, that voice that is calm, still, non-judgmental and loving, inside of you. In 2010, Jen Shultz , Founder of The Non-Nine-to-Five™ found herself battling anxiety and depression. During this dark time, she received an intuitive persistent message urging her to create a business and generat...
May 17, 2023•41 min•Ep. 25
Today’s special guest is first and foremost a teacher, and someone who has a big mission of bringing joy back into reading, education and the workplace. In this episode, Dr. Danny Brassell shares how the sooner we can get our kids loving words, reading them, writing them and performing them, the better it will be not only for their brains, but for society as a whole. A highly-sought after speaker, trainer and coach known as “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Dr. Danny Brassell has spoken to over 3,500 a...
May 03, 2023•52 min•Ep. 24
What if one little gnome and one tiny suitcase, as well as an app and other educational tools, could change your family? In this episode, you’re going to find out how this is possible and the way that one amazing entrepreneur is improving the brain health of people of all ages, by infusing a sense of adventure into their lives! Anne Armstrong is the Founder of My Gnome on the Roam ® educational toys which inspire a love of reading, writing and adventure for kids, families, students and educators...
Apr 05, 2023•24 min•Ep. 23
Since I like acronyms, and the brain likes acronyms, I want to share with you the acronym “F.O.C.U.S.” In this episode, I cover the importance of fueling your brain and how this can optimize its performance, the role that oxygen plays and how to get more of it to your brain, and a process for creating block time in order to reduce the many distractions that we all face. You’ll learn how to understand your “rocks” and plan for optimal brain power, and you’ll hear why sleep is vital. In addition, ...
Mar 01, 2023•29 min•Ep. 22
Do you think optimism is a bunch of B.S? I’m not talking about that kind of B.S, but I’m talking about brain science! In this episode, I answer this question from the lens of neuroscience, or what I like to call neuro-perspectives, and after listening to what I reveal today, you’ll see that optimism is indeed B.S. - but in a good way! I’m hosting a workshop called Beyond Vision Boards , which goes even deeper into this topic. In this workshop, you’ll get to see how I balance neuroscience with re...
Feb 08, 2023•32 min•Ep. 21
Do you create vision boards each year? Creating vision boards is a common practice that is powerful, even spiritual, but what is happening in our brains that makes this visual tool so effective for manifesting. In this episode, I reveal the brain science behind vision boards, why having a vision board is so important for everyone to use, and the reasons that using images as a tool is so much faster than just saying words for manifesting what it is that you really want! I’m hosting a workshop cal...
Jan 25, 2023•25 min•Ep. 20
In the busy times that we live in, it’s easy to feel like we’re drowning in all the things that we feel we have to get done each day. In what areas of your life are you feeling this way, and you don’t even know it? Today I want to throw you the lifesaver so that you don’t drown. I’m giving you permission to do what I did, by taking time off intentionally and not feeling guilty about it. You are in control of your calendar and how you show up each day, and I want you to be your best self, operati...
Mar 24, 2022•17 min•Ep. 19
Today I’m welcoming a very special guest to the podcast, our own OptiMind graduate, Paddy Moran. Paddy is a NeuroCulture Coach and NeuroLeader whose passion is people development, and he specializes in team development, leadership development, company culture, and organizational change, bringing out the best in the teams he works with. Of course, he’s using neuroscience to do this! Would you like to gain exclusive access to the most advanced brain-based personal and professional development stra...
Feb 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 18
What if I told you that marketing doesn’t have to be dull, boring, and a chore, but it can actually be joyful and fun? Today’s guest works with life coaches and shows them how to do just that, all while being their true, authentic selves. Simone Seol is creating a revolution in how life coaches market online. She teaches coaches how to become profitable by putting love first, leaning into their messy genius, and not being afraid to get a little weird. In the past 2 years, Simone has created mill...
Jan 26, 2022•40 min•Ep. 17
Teach the brain to serve you, Omozua says as she explains her coaching techniques in neuroscience and creating a new mindset for her clients. Omozua Ameze Isiramen went through years of schooling to learn about her craft, when she found the OptiMind program. Originally skeptical if she was a good fit in a program designed around neuroscience, she decided to take the leap and use her skill set combined with the OptiMind program to help change the lives of leaders. Omozua helps people to super fue...
Apr 27, 2021•42 min•Ep. 16
Today, we are having coffee with TWO neuroscientists. On this episode of Coffee with a Neuroscientist, Shonté Jovan Taylor is talking with one of her favorite authors, Dr. Caroline Leaf, about her mission to “shift the paradigms and stigmas” around mental health diagnoses like anxiety and depression. Dr. Leaf is passionate about the fact that all humans struggle with their minds, and need to find ways to “clean up their mental mess” by learning more effective ways to deal with hard experiences l...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 15
How can changing your brain change the world? How can small moments of kindness create ripple effects that echo far into the universe? Shonté Jovan Taylor discusses how compassionate acts, no matter how small, can change both our own and others’ brains in powerful ways. When we witness others acting with kindness or altruism, mirror neurons fire in our brains that help us experience empathy ourselves. From Malala Yousafzai to Greta Thunberg to Oprah to Jane Goodall, Shonté describes countless in...
Mar 23, 2021•14 min•Ep. 14
What does it take to be a thought leader? Not just to guide your team, but to help them think differently -- to encourage them to reframe how the systems we live in work? In this episode of Coffee with a Neuroscientist, host Shonte Jovan Taylor partners with Dr. Ryeal Simms, Neuropsychologist and Relationship Expert, to talk about thought leadership; and, no surprise here, it all starts with your actual thoughts. Shonte and Dr. Ryeal take a neuroscience-based approach to thought leadership as th...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 13
Do you really know your own brain? In this episode of Coffee with a Neuroscientist, host Shonte Jovan Taylor talks with OptiMind Institute graduate, consultant, coach, and successful speaker Alycia Huston about how her time in the OptiMind Institute changed her career, her ability to support her coaching clients, and even her family life. For Alycia, OptiMind was about taking a step back, and looking at the world at a higher level. During the recession, Alycia was the CEO of a pharmaceutical com...
Feb 16, 2021•41 min•Ep. 12
What if you didn’t have to suppress any part of yourself to succeed? In this episode of Coffee with a Neuroscientist, host Shonte Jovan Taylor talks with her inspiration and mentor Marie Forleo, founder of B-School and New York Times bestselling author, about just that. Marie shares her story of starting her own business as a life coach in the early 2000s, before anyone even knew what a life coach was. She shares her process of learning how to listen to her intuition, leave high-paying jobs on W...
Feb 03, 2021•54 min•Ep. 11
Learn what Fortune 500 & 1000 companies know about how to market your business and brand as well get your message out in a BIGGER by understanding how the brain works. According to leading neuroscientists, 95 percent of all thoughts, emotions, and learning are subconscious patterns first and thus influence our consumer behavior. Learn how to tap into the subconscious mind by understanding the most advanced knowledge in neuroscience and marketing research known as “neuromarketing.”
Jun 27, 2017•34 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Success is a habit. But first it is a mental habit. Learn 3 ways to develop a mindset of success.
Apr 11, 2017•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
We've been taught throughout our lives that to be productive and successful we need to create goals and plan. In particular, we are trained to plan using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Based). But as I a Neuroscientist, I know that the brain pays attention in a hierarchal way. At higher brain levels, a mission is seen as more powerful than a goal or task. A goal or task can be limiting, directionless, or unfulfilling if it does not stem from a HIGHER source, the hi...
Dec 10, 2016•13 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Boredom is detrimental for brain functioning. In this episode, Neuroscientist and Success Trainer, Shonté Jovan Taylor describes what a "bored" brain looks like, how it changes the brain and how to reverse its negative effects to have a happier, fulling and stimulating life and profession.
Nov 02, 2016•11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Gratitude is MORE than saying thank you. It is a CONSTANT state of mental appreciation. In this episode, Neuroscientist & Success Trainer Shonte Jovan Taylor, discusses why Gratitude is important to shaping our thinking, emotions and ultimately our brain. She also offers strategies on how to enhance the mental habit of gratitude.
Oct 28, 2016•14 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Oprah has both brains and beauty. Learn how her brain is wired for success.
Oct 11, 2016•19 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode of Coffee with a Neuroscientist you will learn the main reason why you may be stuck and have mental blocks. You learn the 2 mindsets that you can choose to have to be successful or not.
Oct 11, 2016•9 min•Season 1Ep. 10
