How can you boldly walk forward from unfathomably challenging circumstances? Jonathan Pitts, pastor, author and father of four joins us to share how he did exactly this after he tragically lost his wife. Jonathan vulnerably shares his journey of loving Wynter, how he coped with losing her, and how he continues to find peace, strength, and hope in keeping her legacy alive. Our encouraging conversation will remind you that even in the most difficult times, the best of our days remain ahead. SHOW N...
Jan 28, 2021•42 min•Season 12Ep. 328
"Sympathy is easy because it comes from a position of power. Empathy is getting down on your knees and looking someone else in the eye, and realizing that you could be them, and that all that separates you is luck." - Dennis Lahane For almost three decades, my dad has been living with the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Over this time, he's lost the ability to walk, drive, and earn. It's difficult for my dad to speak and lately, becoming more difficult to swallow. I obviously suspected it was ...
Jan 25, 2021•7 min•Season 12Ep. 327
Are you hoping to be rich in significance + success in 2021? Who isn't, right? My friend, this episode is for you. Over three years ago I started my membership community, Live Inspired IN STUDIO - community of like-minded friends who join me monthly via webcast to do life together + make the world better, starting with our own. This month's discussion topic is so relevant, impactful + life-giving that I needed to make sure everyone has access to it! Today we walk through a step-by-step process (...
Jan 21, 2021•47 min•Season 12Ep. 326
Empathy doesn't excuse poor behavior. Rather, it seeks to understand it and strives to redeem it. Today, as we continue to navigate a global pandemic, face challenges professionally + personally, I encourage you to draw from my grandpa's wisdom: Surrender yourself for the betterment of someone else. Let go of your former life as individuals and embrace a unified one, together. Be fused fully to whether storms, chart dreams and achieve goals. *** Learn how to rediscover your childlike sense of wo...
Jan 18, 2021•7 min•Season 12Ep. 325
Matt Miller is a proven + award-winning leader who focuses on building positive relationships that lead to impactful + measurable change. His motto is "love is key" and I'm honored to share that he joined our team as Lead Live Inspired Coach last year. We first met eight years ago, I was invited to speak at the elementary school where Matt was principal. His devotion, attentiveness and respect for and from the teachers + faculty was unmatched. Even more impressive was his ability to empower youn...
Jan 14, 2021•49 min•Season 12Ep. 324
The words we speak, and those we hear, influence and directly shape the world in which we live. Words are powerful and last week in our nation's capital we witnessed a clear example of this truth. Five people were killed, dozens injured and one of the most sacred spaces in our country was desecrated. Rather than debate the cause of this tragedy, let's take pause and heed wisdom from a political voice from our past. Delivered more than five decades ago, Presidental candidate Robert Kennedy speaks...
Jan 11, 2021•10 min•Season 12Ep. 323
How do you respond when something is seemingly impossible? Especially when it's life or death? At 21 years old, Doug Lindsay developed a rapid heart rate, dizziness and fainting spells which led him to fear that he was suffering the same mysterious illness that affected his mother and aunt. As symptoms became debilitating, Doug dropped out of college and spent the next 11 years bedbound. Doctors were baffled, so Doug scoured medical textbooks in a relentless, 14-year pursuit to not only diagnose...
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 12Ep. 322
"Push away from the spot where you're stuck to move toward a new destination, perspective." It is my hope for you to embrace all the hope and joy that are possible in your new year. Please allow this excerpt from my #1 national bestselling book IN AWE to help you see the truth that the possibilities before you are endless, if only you look… ( chapter 1, page 5 ) *** Learn how to rediscover your childlike sense of wonder to unleash inspiration, meaning and joy with my instant #1 bestseller IN AWE...
Jan 04, 2021•10 min•Season 12Ep. 321
"The Enneagram is a tool that awakens our compassion for people just as they are, not the people we wish they would become so our lives would become easier." Ian Morgan Cron is the bestselling author of The Road Back to You and the champion of the Enneagram, an ancient personality typing system that identifies nine types of people + how they relate to one another and the world. Today we'll discuss how the Enneagram can: Provide a framework for how we can live into our most authentic selves Revea...
Dec 31, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 11Ep. 320
The grass is always greener… on the side you water. As we pivot away from 2020, what one word will describe your year to come? *** Learn how to rediscover your childlike sense of wonder to unleash inspiration, meaning and joy with my instant #1 bestseller IN AWE . Visit ReadInAwe.com today! *** Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate & review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts....
Dec 28, 2020•7 min
At a time that many of us feel there is less to celebrate than usual, today's guest reminds us that despite the challenges there is so much good! Even better, he shares tips so you can see it for yourself. Jarrett J. Krosoczka, New York Times -bestselling author/illustrator behind the wildly popular Lunch Lady and Jedi Academy series, wrote the graphic memoir Hey, Kiddo that moved me profoundly. In it, he shares about the gift of his grandparents, who raised him because of his mother's heroin ad...
Dec 24, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 11Ep. 318
"To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible." ― Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach "Is that all?" It's an innocent enough question. Unless it's being asked by one of your kids on Christmas morning. My friends, as you prepare for your holiday season, take pause to celebrate and rejoice in the amazing blessings already present in your life. Be in awe of the fact that the seemingly good and bad of your life have already lead you perfectly to where you are today and providen...
Dec 21, 2020•6 min•Season 11Ep. 217
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Jeremy Camp is one of the most successful artists in Christian music with forty #1 radio hits. Today, he is joined by his wife + fellow singer/songwriter Adrienne Camp as they share how they've found strength during life's greatest heartbreaks. They share how their faith has provided guidance through the unusual circumstances of 2020, why Adrienne encourages Jeremy to share about his first wife's battle with ovarian cancer and the important role of transparency...
Dec 17, 2020•48 min•Season 11Ep. 316
"It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others." – Dalai Lama This time of year, we frequently ask children, "what are you wishing for?" But what if the question was asked of you? What if you could arrange a safe, socially-distant, one-to-one meeting with Santa? Near the end of this wildly difficult year and in the midst of an array of personal challenges we face, I was reminded of a remarkable little boy's answer to that ...
Dec 14, 2020•7 min•Season 11Ep. 315
In 2019, there were 69 million files of child sexual abuse material reported to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. As CEO of Thorn, a non-profit founded by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Julie Cordua is driving innovation to connect the tech industry, law enforcement and government to end the viral distribution of abusive material and rescue children faster. Today, Julie shares how they are equipping the front lines and what we can all do to tackle this epidemic. SHOW NOTES: ...
Dec 10, 2020•56 min•Season 11Ep. 314
"Live every day as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right." - Muhammad Ali This 'trivial exercise' might be the push you need to start living your values and your best life. Assuming a lifespan of 75 years, you can look forward to living 27,375 days. If you've graduated high school, you're down to 20,000. If you're in your early 30s, you've got about 15,000 days left. If you're 60, a bit more than 5,000. Personally, I am counting down from 11,680. Being aware of how finite...
Dec 07, 2020•4 min•Season 11Ep. 313
The odds of surviving a plane crash resulting in one or more fatalities is one in 3.4 million. Today's guest survived two, the odds of which are one in more than 11 quadrillion. In the span of eight years, Austin Hatch survived two plane crashes that claimed five people closest to him. In 2003, eight-year-old Austin Hatch lost his mother, younger brother, and older sister in a plane crash that he survived. In 2011, just days after making his commitment to play basketball at University of Michiga...
Dec 03, 2020•46 min•Season 11Ep. 312
"Being resentful is like taking poison…. and waiting for the other person to die." – Nelson Mandela My friends, how long should you stay mad? I must admit that in my life, and perhaps you've found in yours, that even with the door open and the bridge of reconciliation available, I tug on my jacket, turn around in anger, and walk into the cold rain by myself. But going forward, let's determine to let go of our ego. Let's choose to ring the bell, meet their smile with ours, and come back into the ...
Nov 30, 2020•5 min•Season 11Ep. 311
Every Thursday for the last five weeks we've shared interviews full of tips + inspiring conversations as part of our Electing Gratitude series. This special series was designed to help you navigate + find joy within the complexities of life this year. Today's episode serves as a guide to living inspired while navigating holiday stress + winter blues. I share much-needed perspective + practical tips from past Live Inspired Podcast guests to help stay inspired throughout the season. The foundation...
Nov 26, 2020•28 min•Season 11Ep. 310
As this week ushers us toward my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted to say to try to help reduce the anxiety, divisiveness, anger and general exhaustion you may be feeling. It's been a profoundly difficult year. The need to slow down, count blessings and come together not only as a family around a Thanksgiving meal, but as a nation, is critical. [I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Jackson's pastor of more than 30 years on our most recent Live Inspi...
Nov 23, 2020•11 min•Season 11Ep. 309
"Are you angry with the police?" Just days after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back, Pastor James Ward, the pastor of Blake's mother, was asked this question by a reporter from a major cable news show. His response – one of grace, peace, forgiveness, and righteous indignation was a catalyst; drawing others into a critically important conversation as a nation. Today, Pastor James shares on the deeply rooted cultural and spiritual issues we're experiencing and gives concreted ideas on ho...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 11Ep. 308
Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our Live Inspired Podcast Monday Motivation segment. "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstance, to choose one's own way." – Viktor Frankl During a time when so many feel that life is out of control, overwhelmed with challenges, and trapped in isolation, let's choose to galvanize around an opportunity that is alive and well: To be love, to extend...
Nov 16, 2020•11 min•Season 11Ep. 307
Does having the world at your fingertips 24/7 ever feel overwhelming? Do you ever find yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media, only to be left feeling anxious, frustrated and unproductive? Today, Tiffany Shlain, bestselling author of 24/6 and founder of the Webby Awards , shares her expertise on how to enjoy + leverage technology by first setting healthy boundaries with it! (After hearing the results of her brilliant tips, my entire team has adopted it!) For more than a decade, Tiffa...
Nov 12, 2020•44 min•Season 11Ep. 306
Last week, my wife Beth + I witnessed a microcosm of what happens every day in this country and around the world. People, living their lives the very best they can. Struggling. Dreaming. Striving. Hoping to provide for families, and run errands, and live their lives.... But when there is a need, when an individual is in pain, when someone regardless of their differences is in need of help, people step up. Turns out, during times of adversity our own arrogance and selfishness and political leanin...
Nov 10, 2020•5 min•Season 11Ep. 305
Earlier this week, we officially cast votes in local + national elections. Regardless of our personal politics or if our candidates won the results of tomorrow's election, this season has been nothing short of tumultuous. As we're reeling with elevated emotions, I wanted to make space for our Live Inspired Community to be present to the uncertainty that we are experiencing together. Today, I'm listening to your thoughts and questions and share my thoughts and hopefully, some inspired perspective...
Nov 05, 2020•45 min•Season 11Ep. 304
In the midst of this fractious season, I'm reminded of witnessing an alternative possibility at a burn camp for children decades ago. While there, I was reminded of the transformational possibility of coming together to heal wounds, unify differences and aspire to true greatness. As painful as physical recovery from a severe burn is, the assimilation into your "old life" can be even more difficult; having a strong community helps. As excruciatingly painful as burns, bandage changes, or therapy m...
Nov 02, 2020•7 min•Season 11Ep. 303
Just days away from what might be the most impactful American presidential election in history, in the midst of a pandemic, with high stakes + anxiety regardless the side of the aisle you sit on... It's all unprecedented. Or is it? The headlines continue to refer to this election as "unprecedented" – but I'm not so sure it is! Join me and the host of the award-winning Presidential P odcast Lillian Cunningham for a bipartisan conversation about past elections, presidents, their legacies + what th...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr•Season 11Ep. 302
Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our Live Inspired Podcast Monday Motivation segment. Just a week before the election, in the midst of a pandemic, with recessionary winds blowing, and personal challenges mounting, so many of us are beginning to feel we're trapped in an impossible situation. It is more important than ever to remember that impossible is just a word thrown around by people who find it easier to live in the world they've been given, rather than to explore the...
Oct 27, 2020•6 min•Season 11Ep. 301
What would you do if you weren't afraid? Kara Goldin left her Vice President job at AOL to launch Hint Water with one simple goal: Make water that tastes great. Finding herself overweight, with low energy + adult acne, Kara discovered her diet soda habit was the culprit. To entice herself to drink water in its place, she added "hints" of fruit flavor to plain water. This was the inspiration behind the fastest growing, #1 flavored water in America: Hint. Today, Kara shares how she uses rejection ...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 11Ep. 300
Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our Live Inspired Podcast Monday Motivation segment. "Were you born stupid? Or have you just become stupid over time?" As a 20-year old college finance major, I had an amazing opportunity to work at a world-class financial service firm. When a successful adviser called asking me, "were you born stupid? Or have you just become stupid over time?" I was startled. Although the conversation rattled me as an intern, the reason I am rehashing the...
Oct 19, 2020•7 min•Season 11Ep. 299
