Aww Shift

In today's episode, our guest is Michael Fishman, an actor, and producer. He is known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series Roseanne and its spin-off show The Conners.

[4:27] Why should we listen to you?

The first thing I'm probably going to do is ask you a question because I want to know about you. I'd probably ask you not the thing everybody else is going to ask you like How are you? How's your day all that kind of stuff? I want to know what your dream is. I want to know what is it that you what lights you up? What is the thing that brings your world to life? And that's where I started.

[5:49] Dream

I guess the dream is to write, create and produce visceral experiences for audiences. I want to see families that look like ours on TV and I want to show stories from the kind of underrepresented perspectives where we offer inclusion, and you can realize how much we have in common. And then how much we need to learn to listen to each other and grow.

[8:56] Experiences being the parents of an African American child

They came into me later in life. I got them, and they were matured in their way. It's disturbing the way some people's minds can't quite get around to that. Here's all you need to know if you can't tell us is the kids loved. You're never going to understand everybody else's life unless you listen to them and then learn because it's so complex. All you need to know is the children are loved and have a support structure, and then how are all of us behaving and acting.

[11:25] Handling anger issue with my children

You don't have to be together for very long to experience them. Because unfortunately, there's a lot of ignorant people in the world, and hopefully, what I'm doing is trying to come from a place of love, support, and teaching. Kids are kids, and they're all different. There's no owner's manual with any of them; they all got their own thing. Society does something and it's frustrating at times, but I think what you said about your mom is, hopefully, what I was trying to do is help and teach them. I never want them to get to the point where they define themselves based on somebody else's ignorance.

[16:51] What are your wishes for your kids?

So with my oldest daughter, what I would say is, as an actor, director, I would love for her to be able to do the project. I want to see that become more of the norm instead of obscuring things I say of opportunities for young women of color. I'm fascinated to see what transition in 10 years. Hopefully, when the time is right with the right person, there'll be a grandchild.

[19:32] Marriage

I was married for 20 years. We ended up getting divorced as we kind of went in different directions. My wife wanted to live a very different life. It wasn't her thing. And so she's remarried. She has a family, and everything is excellent.

[23:13] What are some things you're excited about that maybe you learned, or were some nuances that made you more present to you over this last period that now you're eager to move into?

I feel like we're kind of in an interesting, almost like a new Renaissance. The first thing I want to do with our crew was to make sure we didn't lose our humanity. I made pins for everybody to start the year. It's our way of acknowledging the humanity and each other from across space. I have this vast documentary that's about refugees. And it's about people who have come to this country. My dad's an immigrant. To tell the story of why people go and the benefits of this country because I feel there are some undertones in the country now where a lot of people, we have a very complex history.

[27:06] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

The promise that I have to embrace every day is to take every opportunity that I've been given. I uplift and promote other people and help people grow emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I bring people together that that's my purpose. That's my goal. And I have a real sense that anything short of that is just not enough of my work.

Key Quotes

[7:52 - 7:58] “If we don’t do something positive with that opportunity, then we really kind of wasted our time here on Earth.”

[8:19 - 8:21] “You're writing your legacy every day, whether you realize it or not.”

Connect with Michael Fishman:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelmfishman/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/reelmfishman?lang=en

 

In today's episode, our guest is Jordan Montgomery, fly from a country and works as a high-performance coach, keynote speaker, and owner of Montgomery Companies, which provides full-scale performance and mindset coaching for different organizations and entrepreneurs. He will give a great perspective about the world of leadership development and the impact our environments have on mindset and our ability to pursue purpose.

 

[3:55] Why should I listen to you?

I think you should probably listen to me because I've listened to you first. And because I've treated you well, and I'm genuinely curious. We exchange great questions and engage in meaningful conversation. The world is a looking glass and gives back to each person a reflection of their image. If I want to be the person who respects others, and if I want to be a person worth listening to, I need to be a person who's listening.

 

[5:33] Where do you get the care for humanity? 

I had people who cared for me from a young age, and I feel so much of it. I think I had mentors, grandparents, parents, coaches that poured into me in a meaningful way. As a young person, I always listen, and I’m coachable. I wanted to be a character model, those that come before me, and it’s part of driven by faith.

 

[7:11] What was that message like you love to share about your journey?

It wasn't accidental, and ironically, I lost everything. I was running a big-time financial firm, and I was working 1416-hour days working weekends. My identity was in my achievement. At 27, it all came crashing down. I got fired from my job. I gained what I have now, so I needed perspective. I needed humility. Often, our mess becomes our message truth, and for me, it became my message. It's the mad guy for me, the reason I get to do what I do now, because it started of my most profound hurt, and it became my most significant ministry. I lacked a lot of authenticity, vulnerability, and humility. And I wanted to learn how to flaunt my flaws.

 

[10:11] What did you do to finish the race?

I'm still running a race, and I'll never indeed arrive, and we both know that. I was fired from a law firm after a staff member took a test for him. I put myself in a position where I refined, and when we deny the story, it defines us the truth. Also, when you own an account, you can write a new ending. You should embrace your willingness to be vulnerable. I have been through some stuff, and I'm not trying to act as I all figured it out. I would say it like this, I decided to own my story and own the problem, and when you do that, someone will say, I like this guy. Eventually, people connect with us through our weaknesses.

[14:22] People who are entering into new leadership.

I think number one; we got to get clear on values. And when your values are clear, decisions are easy. What happens in many young people is they set their goals before they're clear about their values. Right and then, your goal is to take it to a place you never intended to go.

[16:40] Finding core values are anchored to your life.

I think that's where we go sideways; we prioritize what before and so getting clarity. And here's the other thing people buy who you are, not what you do. If you want to do something significant in this world, show your identity in what you are. I don't care if you're in financial services, real estate lending; you're an entrepreneur. Some people buy who you are. They want to trust you, and they want to know that you're a good person. And I want to see what you stand for the right things that figured out.

 

[18:45] What are you excited about right now?

I'm excited about is the work that you and I are doing at this moment. It's content creation; it's taking your voice to the world. It's virtual work, and this is the work right now that matters. It was going to happen anyway. It's just that the pandemic expedited the inevitable.

 

[22:21] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

I think when he made me, he gave the world another warrior, willing to fight for the least of these. I want to help people, and I want to take the person that's broken down and out. I want them to know that they matter, and I hope that at the end of my days, that's one of the things that I'm known for. I hope to give them hope and help them see a better future. That is special and unique. You steward your gifts incredibly well.

 

Key Quotes

[9:06 - 9:12] People can be impressed with your strengths, but I think they connect to you through your weakness.

[15:16 - 15:19] When your values are clear, decisions are easy.

[17:02 - 17:04] People buy who you are, not what you do.

 

Connect with Jordan Montgomery: 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmmontgomery

Website: https://www.montgomerycompanies.com/

 

In this Aww Shift Podcast episode, our guest is Jeff Salzenstein, former Top 100 ATP tennis player, performance coach, and Founder of Tennis Evolution. Jeff was at the tennis world's precipice but realized that being committed to other people is his purpose. Today, Jeff dives into his professional tennis and entrepreneurial journey.

 

[03:56] Why should I listen to you?

I have dedicated my life for the last 20 years, whether as an athlete, coach, or entrepreneur, to wear many hats of different perspectives to help people in need. 

 

[05:11] What sets you apart?

My parents divorced when I was a child. I am on my own, independent, and had to learn my way in the world. I chose tennis, a sport that taught me how to solve a problem, figure things out, and how to be tough in between the lines.

[09:38] I was at a crossroad. Here I was, a 33-year-old athlete chasing this dream, lonely, not making a lot of money, and injured. I asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” I started coaching as a tennis coach, but it was my avenue of practicing my language and communication. I am an innovator, and I saw things ahead of the curve. 

 

[18:19] Legacy

Integrity is the most important word for me. Be remembered for how you treated people, how you lived your life and the integrity behind it. It might feel good to be recognized as the best coach globally, but the best legacy you can leave is how you share your message to the world authentically and with integrity.

 

[23:21] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

To make difference with kindness.

 

Key Quotes:

[03:20 – 03:29] “I am perceived as a high performer but I had limiting beliefs. I had things that held me back at those moments in the big stage.”

[11:36 – 11:43] “There is no blueprint. I had no business plan or raised any money. I start to work, dig while mess things up and figure things out.”

[24:30 – 24:39] “Follow what you are passionate about and believed in. It might change many times but follow what your calling is.”

 

Learn more about Jeff Salzenstein on:

Website: https://tennisevolution.com/

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsalzenstein/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffsalzenstein

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffsalzenstein/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffsalzenstein

In today’s episode, our guest is Stevie Baggs Jr, a retired CFL player. He has written two books, Woke: A dictionary of the conscious mind and Greater than the Game. He’s a philanthropist and has a nonprofit organization. Stevie is also an actor and has been on Netflixs’ Cobra Kai. His main passion is helping people change the way they think.

[8:26] Why should we listen to you?

I wouldn’t say that you should listen to me. If there’s synergy, then we’ll be able to listen to one another because the more I know what I don’t know. It helps me to be open to receive more.

[9:46] A quick experience of how you even got there in the first place

I ended up being an all-state player in high school, broke the state set record. I thought I was going to a big school. Everything ended up going to an HBCU, mainly Bethune Cookman University. Going to Bethune changed my life because I got a chance to be around people outside of football that had an affinity and saw the light in me that I didn’t even see in myself.  And so I was thankful for that because I don’t think I would have gotten that if I would have gone to a PWI. And that’s what I think I needed for that will prepare me for the journey that I was, is about to go on being the only pro football player to play on 11 teams in 10 years.

[13:43] The “Greater than the Game” book was born from that experience. From it, I had to find out that my worth was more significant than the game of football.

[15:07] What was the change? 

I come from a great family of compassionate people. And I had seen my mother when I graduated high school, and she used to bring girls to the house when I was at the door and teach them women’s etiquette from this local orphanage.

[15:53] I was one of the more articulate guys on the team there. They started sending me up, and I fell in love with it. It was an affinity for using that platform. 

[17:02]  What was the driving force to you get into the place you’re at now?

When I got into the league, I thought I had to be a star player in the league to make an impact. But when I found out, it’s 2300 pro football players in the world in NFL, NCSL. There are more billionaires globally, and there are guys on an NFL, CFL roster in one year. Looking at it from that perspective, you are 1% no matter if you’re not the most prominent name guy in the league, you’re doing something that millions and millions of people will be impressed upon just by your presence. I don’t care if I’m on the practice squad; I’m still going to go out here and use this NFL shield to infiltrate, educate, liberate, and vacate. I wanted to educate and liberate myself and bring back information that will help change.

[19:07] If you could give the perfect person this book who’s at four and what would be the takeaways that have from it? 

Dictionary for the conscious mind is for a person whose consciousness is thirsty for information. Money and education alone are not power, but the information is. If you’re giving good information, you can demonstrate excellent power and vice versa.

[19:59] Let go of some of my traditions and open my hand to the truth. I’ll open my hand to righteousness.

[21:58] What I started to recognize that we lived three types of lives. We live our public life, our private life, and our secret life. And then our secret life is where we look within. The world’s essential things start with “I” – Intimacy, inspiration, insight, integrity.

[29:20] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?

It’s just a matter of if you want, which one you want to choose. I go in design instead of by default that the energy that God put into this vessel; spirit, soul, and being are used to help others—to spread the light and truth.

Key Quotes:

[16:38-16:52] “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about for me. Nobody will remember how many quarterbacks they have, how much money you made. They’ll remember you for how you impacted their consciousness, their spirit, their inner being. That’s the most important thing for me.”

[19:32-19:38] “If you’re giving good information, you can display good power. And if you’re giving bad information, you’ll display bad power.”

[25:04-25:09] “I can entertain the idea of what you got, and I can listen to it, but I’m not going to feel better if you don’t believe what I believe.”

In this episode, our guest is KJ Christensen. She is a PR Strategist, Pivot and Performance Strategist, and Coach. She helps Culture-Focused CEOs, Entertainers, Entrepreneurs, Creative Companies, Colleges, Remote Teams, and influencers to pivot and perform best, produce more creative projects, and get proximity and publicity. She has earned press and praise on and off camera as a multi-passionate, creative entrepreneur, thought leader, and high-performance advocate. Today, she is going to discuss how we can pivot to the next chapter in our lives. 

[1:37] Enthusiastic Energy

People often say my energy is within the enthusiastic category, and that makes me laugh because I think at our best when we're in the pocket, we have that levity and joy, yet it's well earned. It would be inaccurate to only think that I'm perky and bubbly.

[2:12]

I'm sure it's inaccurate for them as well because we've all walked some path, and I always find it so interesting. But I also find it to be hard and affirming that I am on the right path. The pivots that I've made in my life and by choice ended me here.

[3:42] The Valley

It's one of those stories that I opened the chapter in that book on resiliency. I did not want my story to be my story. I did not want the identity to be my identity. I didn't love the fact that I knew what it felt like to be rejected. I didn't love the fact that I felt like the underdog and like a late bloomer. I did not want those parts of my story to be my story, but that's not how good stories go.

[5:02]

The life that I thought I had and the future that I had banked on, the devotion, loyalty, and sacrifices that I had made imploded in only three minutes without regard or warning.

[5:50]

Without regard and warning, sometimes you just get kicked in the teeth, you just get sucker-punched, and resiliency is going to come knocking whether we want it to or not, whether we feel ready or not, whether it's fair or not, whether we got money in the bank or not.

 

[7:29] How would you guide someone through those moments?

Betrayal and trauma are the most excruciating pain I've ever gone through. I don't think that I've ever endured anything quite as big as that, and I've been through some things.

[8:53]

Nothing pales in comparison to feeling like the person and life you thought you had to count on. It just bludgeons the spirit, and it boggles the mind. It burdens the heart with this misguided shame.

[9:23]

The truth is, you can't be abandoned and betrayed. It's hard for people to hear this, and it's hard for me to even hear this. It's the truth unless you have betrayed and abandoned yourself first.

 [11:06] Trading Becoming for Belonging

If you're up at night, if your body's doing weird, wonky things, if you're catching yourself dodging certain questions, or you don't want to talk about certain things, you do not own your outgrown. You do not own your truth, and you are not having the courageous conversation.

 [12:17] Own the Truth

You can kick the can for a period of time, and your whole life can change in about three minutes. You might as well own your truth through. You might as well do the tough thing now because it's not going to get easier to build that business or to pivot that career, relationship, address, or whatever it is. The longer you wait, it actually gets harder because now you're more in meshed. You're more entangled, you're more attached, and you become less of yourself.

[14:20]

Live your life and gratitude. Be grateful for the little moments and the people in your life and have that effervescence because you have that reference. But also, don't get complacent and don't ignore the giant elephant in the room, and trust that you can have more. 

 [15:45] Surrounding yourself with the right people

Make sure that you are surrounding yourself as best you possibly can with generous, genuine, sincere, silly folks who are curious about you, who are interested in you, who are invested in asking questions, and are genuinely looking you in the eye at the end of the day and wanting to hear how your day was.

[18:46] How to start pivoting

It's just clarity. It will only be hard if you choose to go into it with the idea that it is hard. You will immediately start to up-level where you're a, and you will feel synergy, and there will be momentum because energy is contagious and proximity is power.

[20:13]

If you need to get momentum or maximize the momentum that you have, the first step is to own your outgrown and draw a line of demarcation in the sand.  

[22:22]

When people think it's going to be so dangerous or awful. The reality is that is the debating is the awful part. You are the half in and half out that seesaw of crazy-making where you're going to blow up your life, plotting, or planning. That's insanity. It's a roller coaster ride of insanity. The moment you choose a goal line and get into massive action, the universe conspires to support you.

 

[24:39] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

This comes out having been through so much loss in my life. I feel like I'm the reminder to get back up. The reminder that you might feel down but you're not done and the reminder to be who you are and go after what you want and honor why you started.

Key Quotes

[10:32-10:40] "I traded becoming for belonging, and that's a trade you don't want to make."

[17:17-17:28] "It's not about running. It's not about blowing up your life. Sometimes it's just about pivoting the people in your life, and the environments that you're in are more aging and that there's more reciprocity." 

Learn more about KJ Christensen on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenjchristensen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kj_christensen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/christensen_kj

Website: http://KjChristensen.com/ 

Subscribe to her podcast on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dreamcatchers-district-podcast-mindset-authentic-marketing/id1275129640?mt=2

In this Aww Shift Podcast episode, our guest is Marc Nudelberg, a former football coach and CEO of Get On The Ball. Developing people to their utmost potential is his mantra and drive. Today, Marc dives into how a coach produced a masterclass to be a world-class sales professional.

[07:23] Why should we listen to you?

I am genuine with not a single malicious bone in my body. I am in the 'people business,' and it will always be my passion—it led me to success. I treat the relationship seriously, invest time and effort to learn about people and figure out what they are about.

[15:44] Get On The Ball

We live to develop people, either individually or organizationally. We created the Get On The Ball Training to make people engage and digest content at their own pace and to make them successful in the sales game of today's generation. Sales have changed, and most people don't know how it changed—the transactional days are gone.

[17:25] We started with a mindset course of teaching philosophy; what to think and how to think. How to organize yourself, the processes and tactics, and how to use LinkedIn.

[19:15] What the market missed

In the learning and development space, online and virtual training missed the engagement part. We ensure that to fill that void that even though it is not one-to-one, you still have the feeling of sitting with us—as we deliver our energy and passion into your learning.

[21:19] How many connections convert to conversations? That is one thing we focus on. If you have a high conversion rate, you will be successful. It is the best way to leverage a platform. It is not virtual selling but virtual relationship building.

[28:31] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

God would give me unconditional love.

 

Learn more about Marc Nudelberg on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcnudelberg/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachnudelberg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachnudel

In today’s episode, our guests is Paul Nuttal, founder of seconds chance saves lives. And today, he will share with us about how he have second chance after imprisonment. 

 [4:19] Why should we listen to you?

You should listen to me because I have a story that might understand something you might be going through that you don't realize the person next to you is going through the same thing. Your story will make you reflect a while I'm thinking about this and when this guy's through is worse than mine on being positive instead of being negative.

[5:07] Lesson Learned in Life

I was a shy elite instructor, I was a three-time world kickboxing champion. I was signed with Don King, and I helped Chris Brid train and I was his personal and his only sparring partner when he beat David tool and about a holy feel like one of the best. I was Selena Gomez security when I was security personnel people. Days got real rocky when I was falsely accused of a crime I didn't commit.

[6:04] 

I spent 14 months in jail. Incarcerated in prison, they wouldn't let me released because I was a flatness risk. The board dropped me. I was homeless. I got back on my feet. And then I went back to prison for child support because I couldn't pay child support for six months. That was it. And with that, I went to Michigan. My family's only my brothers went to prison. They've been they spent 13 years in jail and they told my mom some about maybe Paul has something to do with it.

[8:04] 

Whatever the case, it was just a lie. There are some things.". I want to do forgotten prisoners in prison. It's about remembering what we tried to get Michael = Harris out of prison was on a daily mail World News. All over the world. So I got a showdown called forgotten prisoners. A lot of people that's in prison that's been wrongly incarcerated. And because there's a lot of mayors and we put them on a show like that.

[10:45] Changed in Life

Second Chance is all about people who come with a second chance and how we can highlight them and broadcast to them all from broadcasting worldwide. We had Don Lupo from football-wise this episodes, we have this Jr. Come and do some episodes, you know, as a whole. And then we will have a social call Second Chance rewind, where people want to know about the people we say what's on the show what happened to them that they get the live change that the things happened once they got the live coverage.

[15:57] Get up from problems

I got on my knees and prayed to God. That's the first thing. The second thing I did. Because guarding them put you nothing, you know, putting into your life that you can't handle through, he says of his mother and father. Everybody going to die, we heal or to die. We just live as long as we can.

[16:50]

I want to be remembered as saying, Listen, I help save these lives and people that are going through the same thing I've been through or, if it's the same, like insane progress. If you keep going back in time, every time you think about your mom or things that happen in your life, you want something that you shouldn't, because now you feel sorrow again. 

[19:21]

I just got to keep moving forward with time. Life happens to people, but you can't blame it on life. You look into the responsibility is yours. It's how you do while Chris got back on his feet, and now he's even fighting wants to hold your horses on the car.

[22:50] Always Fight

You fall seven times, Paul got up eight. You can't fight, you keep fighting you just like a champ. Even though you bleeding. Get on up. You know, a lot of things that happened in my life because of this. And it tells people that you didn't give up and liquid. And they should be doing the same thing that gives them hope.

[23:40] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

God already knew what was gonna happen when he created me. forgiven me for the sins that I have done. He and I thought that I would be a successful boxer.

Key Quotes

[16:37-16:43] “do what you got to do. You know, you're struggling with you know how to make it happen.”

[22:50-22:56] “You can fight, you keep fighting you just like a champ. Even though you bleeding Get on up.”

In this Aww Shift Podcast episode, we have invited Chris Freeze, retired FBI agent and speaker. Traumas haunted millions of individuals worldwide, with some getting help while others stay cooped inside their world. With his 23 years of experience during his FBI career, Chris sets his sight on educating the world about leadership, trauma, and hope.

[03:49] Why should we listen to you?

After 53 years of pounding his head against the wall, wondering things don't change, I understood why we keep talking about leadership, wishing things were different and hoping for a better tomorrow, but they're not. It's all because of the adverse childhood experiences and trauma that go to the world. I need to share with people that there is a different way of living.

[12:31] Concept of Trauma

We tend to push those emotions and experiences away from us. We want to escape from it because it was a painful journey. When talking about trauma-informed leadership, transforming other people's minds from contempt to curiosity felt like I have succeeded.

[15:29] There was a study in the late '90s, and they came up with the ten most common types of trauma: physical, emotional, sexual abuse, physical-emotional neglect, substance abuse, etc. And laying on top of these traumas are people telling you how unimportant, stupid, idiot, useless, etc., you are, and you will not amount to anything. By the time you get to adulthood, it will all be ingrained in you because you were told those things throughout your life. Nobody pushed you to achieve your dream.

[16:38] Whether it’s in our childhood or workplace, what’s missing is a person that will allow, empower, and believe what you are capable of. It's not a checklist where if you follow it, things will be different; it's a mindset, paradigm shift saying things will be better, and the power to make things happen.

[22:28] leadership

Leadership is about relationships; relationships are about trust. It’s going to be hard if all the times you live, you don’t have a person to trust or have people violated that trust.

[27:22] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

No matter how old you are or what you have done in life, he wants to have a relationship with you and everybody else.

Key Quotes:

[09:05 – 09:08] "If you're not good at addressing a problem as a leader, you're lost."

[10:50 – 11:00] “I enjoyed serving the American people as an FBI agent, but it did not define who I am or who I watched—it was a profession, and I am something other than that.”

[25:40 – 25:48] “You can have natural talent, but if you don't utilize and practice that talent, it's as useless as me having no talent."

When we think about physical fitness, it helps us improve our body. So we're stronger. We can do more physically. Marc's area is great because it's one of the underserved areas, which is mental fitness, and why we do not want to have a strong mind. In today's episode, our guest is Marc Champagne, who will share about mental fitness.  

[5:11] Why should we listen to you?

I think other than what you pointed out with the unique care and interesting last name of champagne, I think the other unique part is my characters. I'm just obsessed with questions. So for me, good quality questions are something that I collect, and I collect them off the show, and other podcasts and books and whatnot, and I would probably start asking you questions to unpack or at least leave that conversation, so I've got something new to think about when it comes to an excellent prompt. Cause I feel like it's a universal language that we all ask ourselves these questions. Sometimes they're bigger when we have big life decisions and whatnot, but at the end of the day, if we upgrade the questions, we upgrade the life.

[6:25] How do the questions tied to mental fitness?

The thing I like about mental fitness, just like physical fitness, is that there are just so many different ways you can do it.

[7:15] Someone might try meditation and be like, it's just not for me. What about journaling? What about breathwork or just reflection in general. And that's how it ties in for me. It allows us to pause. I really think that we're in a default kind of autopilot mode most of the time. 

[9:21] How did you stumble upon the beauty and the golden questions? 

Was I was coming out of university; I was starting a corporate-type job. Everyone's going through the same type of training. And I remember asking myself, what if we're all doing the same training? How could I come out of this a bit forward if I'm going to do the same thing? So what I started doing was getting up a little bit earlier and started reading blogs at that time.

[10:00] Robin Sharma was a big one for me. One of his most recent books, the 5:00 AM club, is the principles that I was following, getting up early and just taking in content that would fuel my mind versus starting the day with looping narratives.

[10:42] Then podcasts start coming out, and I'd be listening to these interviews. And there would always be these moments where the guests share that kind of pivotal moment in their life or where they hit a wall and like how they got out of it. And they typically would share this question of some sort. But I've found that the hosts would always just kind of glaze over the question and get into what did you do? And then, all of a sudden, this company has started, or you sold something like whatever the story is. And I was sitting back there, I'm like, hold on, hot one question, pull them out of this and sent them off into this whole other ecosystem or whole other world, and I'd write those questions down. The following day I would journal on them in relation to where I was at in my life. So it was always just again, providing kind of real-life feedback, perspective, and awareness.

[12:23] What's the one that you would share with people?

My big thing is depending on where we're at in our life, the questions change. And that was one of the big reasons why I left that corporate world and started a journaling app because the frustration was there are all these template journals out there that are great, but it's the same thing all the time. It just seems very repetitive.

[13:29]  Something that I've asked myself a lot in the last probably two, three years is what do I want for my life and to really take time, it could be 10, 20 minutes to answer a question and taking time to consciously or intentionally design out the life that you want right now.

[14:52] What do you think happens if Someone in life is not asking the right questions or any questions, and what does that default look like?

I am taking a bit of an audit of what do you want for your life? And then taking a look at this is what I've said that I want. Am I doing those things every day, and are the people in my life and everything that's in my life right now supporting what I want. 

[16:06] You've got some work to do, and it could be hard work. It often is hard work, but once you dedicate yourself to put in the position, whether it's a mental, physical, or relationship, then just like exponential opportunity starts to open up, and it feels the world's connecting with you versus against you and all of that.

[17:47] Is there a point in time when the questions stop? 

You could sit there and reflect all day, but if you're not taking action to then back up of this is what I want; you're just reflecting essentially.

[18:28] I'd be listening to these podcasts and pulling in the content and the information, but then not acting on that knowledge. So then if you're reading a book, then it's just knowledge, which is good. It's on the shelf. And maybe you can kind of pull that at one point when you need it very precisely, but often that doesn't happen versus can I apply this in some way right now in my life? So it's a great question on your part.

[20:42]  Is this something where it's an expansion of this conversation or is it like a better put together of the conversation?

At the core of it, there were great collaborations, a lot of great content in there. And we didn't have the technical skills and developers or the know-how from our perspective to keep up to that level of demand for the app. So it got to the point where we couldn't keep it going mentally or financially. I didn't want to go back to my past corporate jobs. So my backup plan was gone. And then that's when the question why did this happen? How could I fail at a colossal level? What would my ex-colleagues think?

[22:18] The feelings of hopelessness and all of that were there. Anxiety, fear, and it was that question that I mentioned, what do I want for the life that pulled me out of that. And the only reason I thought of that question was the hundreds of interviews that I had conducted through the podcast that we're all in this app. That then sparked the idea if we can upgrade and change the set of questions.

[23:27]  So that's what it is called personal Socrates questions that can change your life. And they're two, three-page profiles designed to either be your mental fitness for the day or at least help you pause and think.

[24:42]  What promise did God make to the world when he created you? 

What intuitively comes to mind is to leave people happier in it and more energized than when they first came into the conversation. With me, that's the objective that I always have on whether it's a podcast or any other conversation. 

Key Quotes:

[14:11-14:24] "How do you pause that? Journaling is one way, but it could be meditation or taking walks without thinking or without cramming in a podcast or music and just thinking. There are so many different ways."

[15:08-15:11] “You are the person you surround yourself with.”

 

In today's episode, we have Justin Daniels. He is a Cybersecurity Subject Matter Expert, Legal & Business Advisor, Tedx and Keynote Speaker, and the co-host of She said Privacy/He said Security Podcast. He will talk about many things when it comes to how our world's progressing towards higher technological means where everything is interconnected. Justin will share his perspective of things that affect our daily life we are not aware of.

 

 [4:41] What is our situation in this world of connectedness and our security volatility?

We live in a society where we have transformed from a manufacturing to a service economy, and a subset of that is we've become so technologically advanced. We're in a data economy. That also means that all of the efficiency that we have because of our interconnectedness as a country now makes us vulnerable not only as a country but also as individuals to cyber attacks.

[5:39]

Because of this internet of things or devices, amongst other things I think there are like 127 devices connected to the internet every second, all of these billions of devices connected to the internet create a huge area for cybercriminals and nation-states to create mischief.

[6:58]

All of our efficiency and automation creates a huge common point of failure, which is if you can take down certain parts of our grid, then you can have a huge cascading type of effect.

 

[8:33] The role of the Government on Web Censorship

It's an algorithm. It just does what its algorithm says. It doesn't think as a human would in terms of having emotions, and there's a cost to that. The people who want to make a profit as a corporation, that's just a cost of doing business, but there's a societal cost. It all goes down to what kind of regulations we should have. If we don't get some, we have a real imbalance where it's all about efficiency and ease and stuff about privacy and cybersecurity, which I like to call an inconvenient necessity.

 

[10:49] What is 5g, and what could be something we don't foresee from it as an issue?

5g is all about faster communication. Where it comes into play is it turbo-charges the interconnectedness. And as a society, we've been slow to understand what the real consequences are as it relates to technology.

 

[14:42] What are your thoughts on the whole Snowden situation?

It is a tough call because one could say he was betraying the country, but I think as another way, we have a right to kind of know what is going on.

[15:19] 

There's so much good information that really gets you thinking, "Is Snowden a traitor? Or did he do public service?" The more I learned about it; I'm not sure I agree that the guy was a traitor because it was a dig into what the government is doing with surveillance and how much our digital life is available for the government to surveil.

 

[17:44] What are your thoughts on AI? What is Singularity, and do you see it becoming a reality? 

With all this technology and efficiency, Are we really creating a real blind spot and weakness for us? I think the answer to your question is a resounding yes. 

 

[2:12] Building Awareness and Fighting Unauthorized Access

For most people, it's inconceivable that you wouldn't put on your seatbelt. But 30 years ago, that wasn't a habit. Before we had seatbelt laws, it was the Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign that built awareness. But that campaign alone wasn't enough. It was the awareness coupled with laws starting to be passed that changed people's behavior. It's where we are now today, where we don't think twice about putting our seatbelt on.

[20:43]

With cybersecurity, we have to build an awareness that this matters because now, in a digital economy, what should we do with all this data that's created into? How do we protect it from unauthorized access? Then we have to have regulation because data is now the number one asset in our economy.

[22:17]

If I had to make a little less money and profit on my stocks so we can have a more civil society, I'd gladly accept it because we're not as civil to each other as we used to be because people will yell at each other behind computer screens and say things they would never say to that person to their face if they got to know them.

[25:41] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

Work hard. Help others. And that's how you create opportunity.

 

Key Quotes:

[9:02-9:10] "The business model of all of the big tech is they want your eyeballs on their website for as long as possible looking at stuff so they can sell you advertisements."

[11:59-12:04] "Technology is also a way for authoritarian governments to control their people."

[14:15-14:22] "Technology is progressing so fast that it's kind of outstripped our ability to understand and how to deal with it."

 

Learn more about Justin Daniels on: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinsdaniels/

 

Listen to his podcast, "She said Privacy/He said Security Podcast."

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/she-said-privacy-he-said-security/id1536859760

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q8B2oYUPajIvmvZiLa4K4