Send us a text Brant Hansen’s book Unoffendable , is the inspiration for this powerful conversation today on Strong By Design featuring hosts Jared Haley and Mike Westerdal. Utilizing his ability to write engaging and humorous stories, Hansen introduces and develops the ideology of becoming a person who is not easily offended. We believe this book is highly beneficial to our American culture that is hypersensitive and easily offended. As followers of Jesus, he is always asking the question, how ...
Oct 26, 2022•41 min•Season 5Ep. 254
Send us a text Most of us take for granted how many steps we take in a day. How about in a month, a year or even a lifetime… For a moderately active adult, that’s 3,650,000 steps in a year or 36.5 million steps in a decade! Our amazing feet are what connect us to the earth and carry the full weight of our body every day but unfortunately, many of us mistreat our “dogs” without realizing it. Founder and CEO of Xero Shoes, Steven Sashen, is our guest today on Strong By Design. When it comes to fee...
Oct 19, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 253
Send us a text The message we are so used to hearing is, “Don’t make this mistake like I did…” or “Listen to me because I messed up big time…” and so on. But what about the person who stood their ground (even from an early age in school) and can speak from experience about making good decisions and the outcomes of those good decisions? That regardless of the popularity or consequences tied to them… he was going to do the unpopular thing and to go against his peers. Our guest today, Joel Penton, ...
Oct 12, 2022•57 min•Season 5Ep. 252
Send us a text When you think of a pride of lions, what comes to mind? The lionesses do everything, right!? They do most of the hunting and caring for the cubs. So, what about the lions? Even though it appears that the male lion is lazy, eats much of the food and does not earn his keep, something else is going on entirely. He is patrolling, marking, and guarding his pride. He is the KING and will defend, protect, and provide for his family. He will roar and claim his territory. This is what a mu...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 5Ep. 251
Send us a text Continuing the conversation with our guest today on SBD, Troy Ericson, hosted by Mike Westerdal. Find out in Part 2 how much value Troy puts on focus and its impact on business success. Troy and Mike also discuss why thinking big and surrounding yourself with BIG thinkers is the key to growth in any industry. Troy Ericson Is a Direct Response Copywriter & Email Deliverability Expert whose persuasion has generated over $50MM since 2019. “Focus is like the only way you’re going ...
Oct 01, 2022•42 min•Season 5Ep. 250
Send us a text Often times life throws you a curve ball. And in the case of our special guest today on Strong By Design, life actually took away the opportunity to throw a curve ball. When purpose and passion are connected at a young age, it’s a wonderful thing and you feel invincible. You actually see yourself living out your dream vividly. But when you realize the life that you’ve dreamed of is never going to happen, how do you recover? How do you respond? What do you do to reinvent yourself a...
Sep 28, 2022•46 min•Season 5Ep. 249
Send us a text Here’s the truth — illness starts before the symptoms appear. Treating only the symptoms of a disease does not help you recover your health. You need to get to the bottom of what caused your illness to begin your healing journey. The path of healing helps you discover not only who you are, but enables you to create the life of your dreams. We support this by addressing the emotional and spiritual components of breast cancer, so deep healing can occur. “There is always a path for h...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 248
Send us a text I’ll never forget the moment when my fiancée Anne turned to me after I had been told that I could never be a SEAL again, and said, “What makes you extraordinary isn’t what you can do physically. It's how your brain works, how you think.” (from sealteamleaders.com/about ) Larry Yatch is a retired US Navy Seal Officer - a 10-year veteran. And boy does Strong By Design love our military heroes. Thank you, God, for these brave men and women! He's had a 100% success rate leading and pl...
Sep 14, 2022•56 min•Season 5Ep. 247
Send us a text Anxiety, stress, depression and despair seem to be at an all-time high in our culture today. People seem so weighed down by life. Could it be the fear of failure, overcommitment personally and professionally and what about comparison syndrome… that need to keep up with your peers in a fast-paced world? Our guest today, Erin Pheil, founded MindFix after discovering the magic formula to getting out of one’s own way following her own 3-year battle with pain and depression. People are...
Sep 07, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 246
Send us a text Getting older isn’t all it’s cracked up to be… or at least it’s not what it used to be. We live in a very interesting period in history where science, nutrition and technology are pushing the limits of the aging process. We are literally aging S L O W E R. Every day breakthroughs and new discoveries are made in real time transforming the way we look at old age. Professional athletes are staying in peak shape for longer stretches of time extending their careers…ahem, Tom Brady. Wha...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 245
Send us a text It may be one of the simplest and most truthful health claims ever… you are what you eat. Especially when it comes to sugar and a poor diet. Eat doughnuts, French fries, pizza and ice cream on a regular basis and you will look like a walking fast food advertisement. Eat colorful fruits and vegetables, whole fresh foods and high-quality proteins and fats and your body will turn heads at the beach. Sounds simple yet most of us struggle with sensible nutrition advice and find ourselv...
Aug 24, 2022•59 min•Season 5Ep. 244
Send us a text Where there is no vision, the people perish. —Proverbs 29:18 Whether we realize it or not, we are all leaders. Some of us may be in a position of leading hundreds if not thousands of other people while others just a handful. But to be truly good as a leader you must first get great at leading one person, yourself. Leadership begins with the person you see in the mirror every single day and the decisions made and actions taken by that person. Decisions and actions taking us closer ...
Aug 17, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 243
Send us a text Ever feel trapped by the life you’re living? Like you’re stuck in the hamster wheel of life? Back in 2016 our guest on SBD, Crystal O’Keefe, found herself in corporate America with those same thoughts and feelings. Crystal was successful in her career but it was a grind and somewhere deep down she knew this wasn’t her purpose. She was not fulfilled and it was at this point she tried something new and developed a brand-new passion, Peloton. Eventually this newfound challenge transf...
Aug 10, 2022•53 min•Season 5Ep. 242
Send us a text The conclusion to Never Give Up on Your Dreams ft. Jason Meland… “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” -Babe Ruth Sounds simple enough right, just don’t quit. Many of the greatest of all time (GOATs) in their respective sport or career are known to chant this famous mantra. However, when this principle is applied in your life, in all areas of your life, it can have massive impact and ripple into everything that you do. Today’s guest on Strong By Design is Jason Meland, ...
Aug 06, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 241
Send us a text “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” - Babe Ruth Sounds simple enough right, just don’t quit. Many of the greatest of all time (GOATs) in their respective sport or career are known to chant this famous mantra. However, when this principle is applied in your life, in all areas of your life, it can have massive impact and ripple into everything that you do. Today’s guest on Strong By Design is Jason Meland, a fitness and media coach, who teaches and inspires others to us...
Aug 03, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 240
Send us a text When you think of God or Jesus, what first comes to mind? Creator of the Universe, Son of God, Lord and Savior, Holy Spirit… possibly Father and Son? These are all good things and certainly true however it’s not the only way He wants us to think of Him. How about friend? Having a healthy relationship with God is also about friendship and companionship. Experiencing each other as friends do every day. The feelings associated with friendship are powerful and very real for us… and th...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 5Ep. 239
Send us a text Everyone longs for a hero to save the day and most people all over the world love a good Superhero movie. So then, what are the characteristics we associate with a hero that make them so powerful and amazing? Well, heroes are brave, courageous, strong, and fearless. Yes, those are great but what about this list of attributes… loving, compassionate, truthful, devoted, humble, meek, patient and oh yes, sacrificing. While the first list gets the attention at the box office, the secon...
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 238
Send us a text Most people will never run 26.2 miles. Only a very small percentage of the population are willing to push themselves to that extreme level of endurance. Not only is that distance intimidating physically, the mental demand may be even more jaw dropping for any aspiring competitive athletes. Today’s guest, Dave Frazier, is a longtime friend of SBD host, Jared Haley, and shares some sound advice when it comes to taking control of your health and training for the world’s most popular ...
Jul 13, 2022•56 min•Season 5Ep. 237
Send us a text God says over and over again. Fear not! Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Trust me. Why? Fear doesn’t seem like the most serious of vices, it’s not one of the 7 deadly sins, nor is it the object of church discipline. So why does God tell us to stop being afraid more often than he tells us anything else? It’s not to spare us from emotional discomfort. Rather it is because fear sabotages flourishing. Fear keeps us from following God wholeheartedly. As John Orberg says, “Fe...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 5Ep. 236
Send us a text Ever wish you had more time to get stuff done? Time is a constant… the one thing we all get the same amount of each day no matter our level of success, wealth or determination to GSD. And for many, the feelings of overwhelm and anxiety has reached an all time due to the increasing speed of life. So, what can we do? In today’s episode, host Chris Wilson discusses the many strategies we can all apply in our lives to create more time, live our best lives and slow down time. (Insights...
Jun 29, 2022•41 min•Season 5Ep. 235
Send us a text One thing is for sure, we are all designed differently. The definition of temperament: a person’s or animal’s nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior. In this façade-removing episode of the Strong By Design podcast show, guest Jared Haley and host Chris Wilson discuss what Jared refers to as the BIG ugly: Who we actually are and who we portray ourselves to be in the world. Both guys reveal their personal Enneagram test results and take a closer look at how to t...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 234
Send us a text From where we stand, things can "appear" to look better off in the distance. The famous saying ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ is often referred to by people pursuing interests other than the ones they’re currently involved with. However, in reality it’s more like the other famous phrase that goes like this, ‘good from afar but far from good’. Honestly, how well do we really know other people's stuff? Most people post their highlight reel life and not the day-to-da...
Jun 15, 2022•27 min•Season 5Ep. 233
Send us a text “Real heroes are all around us. They face challenges with fear and grace.” Our special guest today on the Strong By Design podcast show is the embodiment of selflessness, courage, faith, and inspiration. “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” (Maya Angelou) Matthew Miller, also affectionately known as Superman, shares how God prepared him to do something BRAVE and HEROIC for the sister he prayed God would provide when he was a yo...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 5Ep. 232
Send us a text What is passion? And are you living a passion filled life? For our team here at Critical Bench we define passion this way… Passion is a deep love of who we are, what we do and who we serve. It is one of our 7 core values that guides us, leads us and creates the foundation for our purpose at work and in the world. Another important question to explore is, “Are you a slave to your work?” In this episode on SBD, coach Chris Wilson passionately discusses these questions and more based...
Jun 01, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 231
Send us a text Is all of the worry, tension and stress of life festering inside your body? How do we manage our emotional state from one day to the next? Without establishing healthy outlets to rid yourself of the anxiety of life you will spend your time treading water and fighting for air. Never happy, never content. Today on SBD coach Chris Wilson talks about the necessity of finding positive ways to deal with the stressors in life. Simple things all people can do to infuse joy and purpose in ...
May 25, 2022•43 min•Season 5Ep. 230
Send us a text Baptism does not bring salvation. So then, why do believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God get baptized? The concept of baptism seems so simple, get dunked under water by a church pastor and recognize Jesus as your Lord and Savior. But there are so many differing beliefs about ‘why’ we should or should not be baptized and when that should occur. Why do babies get baptized in many denominations of the Christian faith? And what are the three big reasons why adults should get bapt...
May 18, 2022•57 min•Season 5Ep. 229
Send us a text Certainly, you’ve seen or heard this famous Mark Twain quote before: It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. Our guest today on the Strong By Design podcast show exemplifies this statement as good as any human being I’ve ever known or read about. Get knocked down 7 times, get up 8. This is the motto of powerlifter, strongman competitor, trainer, nutritionist, online coach, sports performance coach and Believe Big advisor Jo ‘ANIMAL’ Miller...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 5Ep. 228
Send us a text Overcoming the victim mindset begins with you and some accountability. If you see yourself as someone who does not have control over their own life, that everyone is responsible for your feelings, actions and results, then you are suffering from the victim mentality. Your actions can absolutely dictate what does or does not happen to you. In life it is necessary to get uncomfortable to change and to grow. Having the hard talks when you don't want to and the necessary confrontation...
May 04, 2022•32 min•Season 5Ep. 227
Send us a text How bad do you want to [fill in the blank]? To lose weight perhaps, build muscle or just feel better in your own skin? Listen, we are all busy people, and we all want to look and feel our best. But life is moving at 1,000 miles per hour every single day with limited time to get stuff done. We hardly have time enough to breathe and do anything good for ourselves. So, the BIG question is this: What’s the difference between people who find the time to GSD while others get stuck and c...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 226
Send us a text Above all other things, people ultimately want to find peace in this life. Things often feel out of our control regardless of how much effort or thought we apply. So, in this uncertain, fast pace grind we call life, where do we turn for peace, love and truth? To technology? What about high-priced objects? How about other people experiencing the same frustrations and struggles as us? Nothing fills that hole in our soul like being in relationship with our Creator. On today’s SBD pod...
Apr 20, 2022•56 min
