We’re in an age when prescription drugs and surgeries are prescribed with little hesitation, especially in the American “healthcare” system. Yet most health minded people, like you who listen to this Self-Helpful podcast, are not so eager to just accept a pill or to go under the knife. I’ve been prone to boycott such things. But my dear friend Randy James, our resident Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine Expert, has taught me there are times when these methodologies are helpful and even neces...
Nov 25, 2022•1 hr 28 min
How often do we see a movie depict someone bumbling along, not doing so well, lacking in a lot of personal areas…then a big incident happens, and they quickly rise to the occasion, going from hero to zero. I wonder what percentage of movies depict this, the hero story. So we all tune in to all the self-help info, like this podcast, to try and become the hero. But isn’t it interesting that they don’t show this in the movie. They don’t show the person bumbling along and then years of personal deve...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 3 min
We as people tend to think of learning and training and preparing, so that…we can commit to something truly big and worthy. A grand purpose. My guest today argues, in the most compassionate way possible, we have it backwards, and that the greatest people ever known simply committed to something they believed in, and the journey within it is what made them great. It crafted and honed them. The challenge and trials and triumphs along the way is what refined them. Then the charge is not to prepare ...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Here we are striving to motivate and instigate our own good health, and then we have our kids. The cultural norm is to just let them eat, and what they want to eat is what the food industry pumps out to their taste buds. Which I get. As a kid I was eating Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch for breakfast and in my teenage years thought Cheerios and Life cereal were health food. Inspiring kids to eat and live healthy is a massive level of effort. But then, what is our goal? This is my Functional Frid...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Going without close relationships is like going without water. It dehydrates our life and ultimately we’ll die. A slow death of the soul. Yet when we rely on those relationships for our self worth we endure a similar death of the soul. It’s like needing water for life, but drowning in it. This is part 3 of my focus on Melody Beattie, legendary author of Codependent No More. Here I’m with my frequent co-host and dear friend, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert and we get re...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 10 min
If you could choose right now what tomorrow would look like, if you had complete freedom, would you rather be consumed with something you are interested in, or be entertained? Really think about it. And you can take it further if you feel exhausted and would just love a day of entertainment. For how long? Two days? A week? A month? I ask because I’m back for part 2 with Melodie Beattie, legendary self-help pioneer and famed author of Codependent No More and we’re talking through her personal Val...
Nov 14, 2022•52 min
We as humans are driven by our appetites. Yet much of the health and wellness culture is around curbing and suppressing our appetites, and for the most part, it’s just a recipe for failure. Today my cohost Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert discuss our personal belief. And it is that we will seldom succeed in squelching our appetites, and we…don’t. I love feeding my appetites and one of the things that adds joy to my life is great food and drink. Our goal is to strive to ...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 3 min
You are codependent. So am I. So is everyone, to a degree. We are humans and we innately look for the A’s from other people; approval, affirmation, attention, and acceptance. How codependent we are relates to how much we need those A’s to feel ok about ourselves. It’s nice to get them, but are we ok without them? Can we be at peace without desperately needing positive feedback from other people? The answer is yes and this show will discuss how. With me is…Melody Beattie. Yes, the famed author of...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 1 min
When we look at jobs and businesses our natural inclination is to look to something we’ve learned to do, that people will pay us for. Generally it’s something we’ve done enough to get good at, and we work to get better and hope to make more. What we are significantly missing in the culture is the most important thing for our ultimate success potential; doing something we enjoy enough to gain a level of mastery and sustainability with. We have a majority of people in the workplace and business wo...
Nov 07, 2022•57 min
I asked the Self-Helpful audience this question, “For all my health, wellness, and fitness minded friends, what is the primary motive (reason) that drives you to stick with your healthy lifestyle plan?” This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…We received a wealth of responses to this question and I’m joined by my co-host Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert. And c...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 1067
In this episode…I’m back with heralded business leader, best selling author, renowned speaker and top podcast host, Patrick Lencioni, who I find to be masterfully insightful regarding human behavior and performance, which is what he’s famous for and why he’s one of the most influential people in the business world today. This is my values, motives, and habits episode and you’re about to hear Patrick’s insight into his own behavior and performance and what drives him. A key perspective we land on...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 1066
To be your best self, you need to be doing your best work. The great news is, the product or service of your work focus is not what makes your work great, but the specific tasks and roles you are fulfilling, day in and day out. If they fit you, you’ll flourish in your work and have great joy and satisfaction in your life. If it doesn’t fit you, your work success will suffer, and your mental health will suffer far worse. So how do you know which tasks and roles you should be engaged in? We have a...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 1065
If you were on your own, you’d likely make all the positive health changes you desire. Eat cleaner. Exercise. Meditate. Go to sleep earlier. Do less screens. But you’re not alone. You may have a spouse. Kids. Co-workers. Friends and family. People who are living out the cultural norms. There are the office donuts, birthday cakes, and pizza. Beers after work. A spouse and kids who want their meat and potatoes, and chips while watching a show. The church potlucks. BBQ parties. Someone who labels y...
Oct 28, 2022•52 min•Ep. 1064
We generally talk about negative things in our life in a way that brings us and those listening to us, further down. When something hard happens to you and you blame, accuse, and criticize, this is what we call venting. This wraps up my series with Whitney Goodman, author of Toxic Positivity, and she is probably the fifth or six therapist I’ve had on the show who cites from much research, that venting only pours gas on the fire. It does not help. But neither does stuffing it. What does? Sharing ...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 1063
I’m back for Part 2 with Whitney Goodman, author of Toxic Positivity, to walk through her personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment so we can hear what has driven and does drive her to guide us in working through our emotions instead of just slapping a happy face on things, and what she does to design a life that fulfills her. Along the discussion I press in on some of the areas and her perspective as a full time therapist and what she is seeing in the culture. We...
Oct 24, 2022•51 min•Ep. 1062
This show is about figuring out root issues to your health, especially when you are doing so many of the right things. So I have a daughter who eats clean. Cleaner than I do. She works out pretty vigorously near daily. She loves where she lives and her work. She works with a counselor every week on her mental health. She has hope and inspiration. And yet, she has been dealing with increasing discomfort in her guts. Bloating and more. And having skin rashes. And she’s frustrated. Really frustrate...
Oct 21, 2022•57 min•Ep. 1061
In this episode we challenge the cultural concept of positivity. Meaning our propensity to take a hard circumstance, event, and feeling, and simply spray painting positivity over it. We aren’t making a case for being negative at all, but rather, to accept the hard feelings we encounter, consider them with understanding, and then yes, ultimately move past with greater insight and wisdom to ultimately seek a beneficial outcome. My guest is Whitney Goodman, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapis...
Oct 19, 2022•56 min•Ep. 1060
We continue our talk spawned by Richie Norton and his new book, Anti-Time management, but digging more into clarifying what our values are and how we craft our day to day activities and tasks to support them. It can get a bit mind boggling to realize how much we do that does not have much to do with what we truly value, and in the same respects how we can miss the value in many worthwhile activities. I have with me, Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar and proud son of Zig Ziglar, a patron saint of the sel...
Oct 17, 2022•58 min•Ep. 1059
This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…and we are talking about how to best guard yourself against illness and disease. We recently got asked about this and we actually addressed it in a show we posted in March 2020 at the beginning of COVID. So I’m reposting it. Forgive the references to the beginning pandemic, but it is still so highly relevant. Everyday we are all exposed to so man...
Oct 14, 2022•49 min•Ep. 1058
In this episode I’m back with Richie Norton, author of Anti-Time Management, to walk through his personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment so we can hear what has driven and does drive him to help us get the most out of our time and design a life that fulfills him and his adventure seeking family. Some highlights from Richie's values, motives, and habits; spiritually he's constantly seeking after knowledge and has expanded his scope of resources. He feels the most...
Oct 12, 2022•52 min•Ep. 1057
In this episode we’re charged to stop attempting time management and my guest takes the very concept to task as something never intended to benefit us at all. Instead he masterfully guides us in how to tip time to our advantage. It’s not a hack or a secret but a reawakening as to how we are viewing and budgeting our time, and I’d ask you to consider if your so called time management is working for you? Do you feel efficient? Do you have margin? Are you getting things done that are not just urgen...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 1056
This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others, and today we discuss How To Accelerate Your Wellness By Clarifying The End Result. I’m joined by my co-host Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert. Most people look at dealing with their health and wellness as a problem or desire and miss the true end result. We don’t want to lose weight because doing so is fun, we want to lo...
Oct 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 1055
I continue the discussion brought forth by Wendy Smith and the message in her book with Marianne Lewis, "Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems.” Here I bring in my frequent co-host, Randy James, medical doctor and functional medicine expert to further unwrap this concept. Randy and I have been best friends for over a decade and as we grapple, ponder, and consider life as business owners, spouses, parents, friends, and followers of God we so often come to,...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 1054
I’m back with Wendy K Smith, expert on organizational paradoxes and co-author of Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, and we are walking through her personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment so we can hear what has driven and does drive her to help us avoid the pitfalls and anxiety of either/or thinking, and what she does to design a life that fulfills her. Which of course includes holding the tensions of…both/and thinkin...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 1053
We are talking about possibly the number one, easiest way to make an immediate positive impact in your health and wellness, whether it’s losing weight or getting more energy. You ready? Track it. What you track, you just can’t help but improve. I am not a big believer in “hacks”, but if there are any, this may be the one, most true health and wellness hack. The simple act of tracking certain aspects of your daily life will literally result in bettering your health and wellness. It’s simple psych...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 1052
We can better solve tough problems and make decisions we feel confident about, by not taking an either-or, black and white, or right and wrong approach to them. We are in a culture and media that is radically doing just that. And yet most truths and daily decisions we must make are not a result of right or wrong issues that we will live or die from, but rather, choices we make where one may prove more beneficial than another. When we hold things as right/wrong, good/bad, and either or we cause o...
Sep 28, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 1051
Wrapping up my series on Dr Benjamin Hardy and the message from his latest book, Be Your Future Self Now. Tom Ziglar joins me today and the conversation veers into Tom calling us to not fall in love with success, but with the habits that create success, and I absolutely agree with the concept. Think about it. The healthiest people I know, and the ones most at peace in their health, are not those that love looking in the mirror at themselves or love the scale, they are the ones who enjoy the dail...
Sep 26, 2022•56 min•Ep. 1050
This is my Functional Friday episode and I’m of course with my dear friend and frequent co-host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert. We’re going to talk about nutritional supplements. Are they really necessary for you to spend time and money on, and if so, why? We seldom feel much difference in our immediate health from these expensive pills, powders, and tinctures and they are generally just a hassle to maintain. The compliance rate for taking nutritional supplements is ...
Sep 23, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 1049
I’m back with Dr Benjamin Hardy to walk through his personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment. His books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and his blogs have been read by hundreds of millions. His latest book is Be Your Future Self Now and was our topic in part one of our discussion, in episode 1047. I actually walked through Dr Benjamin Hardy’s habits for success in March 2018 when I had him on the show, so here we really looked at how his values and hab...
Sep 21, 2022•58 min•Ep. 1048
We are talking about your future self. Who are you becoming? Who do you want to become? And the question is, can you conceptualize and connect with that person right now, and from this connection, drastically accelerate your personal growth and success? I’m with Dr Benjamin Hardy, who you hear me refer to often. His first book, Willpower Doesn’t Work, is at the top of my book referral list. His second book, “Personality Isn’t Permanent” is up there too. His recent book with Dan Sullivan, The Gap...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 1047
