On this episode of the podcast I sit down with Emily Hightower. Emily is an incredible human who has taken a traumatic childhood and somehow figured out how to turn that trauma into pure light. We talk about her evolution through years of difficult inner alchemy, and how it all set the stage for her work with people who have experienced their own trauma, including wounded veterans around the world.

I wanted to speak with Emily during this time because of what we are all experiencing, collectively. With the significant uncertainty that is our current world, comes the resulting emotional and physiological response. Emily is expert in the stress response and recently released her educational course through Power Speed Endurance called the Skill of Stress.

What we learn from this conversation with Emily, is that looking outside of ourselves for the answers, is not the answer. Instead, she teaches us to dive into our animal nature and tap into those basic raw elements to address what ails us. The answers are already inside all of us. It starts with building awareness and it starts with the breath.

www.thebravestlife.com/050

www.intrinsicway.com

https://powerspeedendurance.com/skill-of-stress-online-course/

On this episode of the podcast I share my recent conversation with Lance Allred. For those of you who are not familiar with Lance's story he is an accomplished author and speaker, and he also happens to be the first deaf player in the history of the National Basketball Association.

Leading up to the NBA, Lance played for many pro teams around the globe, and then he earned a spot playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside of LeBron James. While all of that is remarkable, it's his inner work leading up to his NBA experience, as well as his metamorphosis and contributions since leaving the sport that are truly impactful.

This is an amazing conversation about perseverance, leadership, empathy, and gratitude. Ultimately, Lance shows us that becoming what he calls 'the new alpha' is critical to success in our rapidly evolving world.

www.thebravestlife.com/049

www.lanceallred41.com

There's been a lot of craziness in our world as of late and most of us are going through some real pain. Some of us have experienced sickness, some of us have lost someone close, and some of us have felt the negative impacts of COVID-19 on our business or income. Ultimately, it all amounts to us feeling like we have zero control over our lives at this point in time.

One concept that keeps circling in my head is the importance of controlling what can be controlled. It's that concept that plays heavily in this conversation with Nick Heath.

It's not likely that the information we cover in this episode is going to cure our collective issues as a global society. But the concepts Nick shares represent a critical method to regain some control over our physiological and psychological state. At a minimum, this will serve as a launching point to a better world considering the weight of stress we are all currently under.

In this conversation, Nick and I discuss his early life with type 1 diabetes, his passion for the art and science of breathing, as well as his recent 100-mile ruck in support of the non-profit Health and Human Performance Foundation.

LINKS

Bravest Website – www.thebravestlife.com

Craig On Instagram - www.instagram.com/craigkasper

Nick's Website – www.thebreathingdiabetic.com

Nick's Instagram - @thebreathingdiabetic

Health & Human Performance Foundation – www.HHP-Foundation.org

Music credit - Friday, The Passion HiFi

Andy Zaremba is the founder of FloatHouse in Vancouver, British Columbia. He straddles the line between entrepreneur, podcaster, and insight seeker. There is one common thread that weaves its way through all of his work, and that is human development.

In this episode Andy and I talk about the premature birth of his daughter and how that served as a catalyst for him to journey down a path of self-exploration. We also discuss his growing business, and we go deep into the world of flotation tanks and the many benefits of sensory reduction.

If you're not familiar with the concept of floating and sensory reduction, hold on for a super interesting conversation. I've been fascinated by the science behind floating for a couple of years, and this conversation really brings together the history, the research and the many benefits that we all can realize from floating.

As you'll learn, the process of simply enveloping ourselves in a controlled environment allows us to minimize sensory information from all channels, to experience simply being. While there's definitely meditative components at play here, the outcomes, as Andy describes, are quite remarkable from a physiological as well as a psychological perspective.

www.thebravestlife.com/045

www.imgreaterthan.com

www.floathouse.ca

This is round two with Jenn Fleischer. Jenn was on episode 038 of the show. If you haven't listened to that episode, I encourage you to go back to that conversation where we go into Jenn's story and her thoughts on why we're at war with food. Just to give you a quick snapshot of Jenn, her background is super diverse, she holds a Bachelor's of Science in nutrition and food science, a Master's in exercise and nutrition science, she's a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, a Licensed Dietitian, a Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and a Certified Diabetes Educator.

So we start by asking the question, 'why does mindset matter?'

Jenn and I then talk about the stories we tell ourselves, and how those stories ultimately determine if we limit ourselves or, alternatively, see the world as an opportunity. We discuss the importance of being OK with not being OK, and how comfort is often times not the best path. (I would argue that comfort is never the best path.) We cover the very real concept of burnout.

Jenn then dives into her four keys to unlock a healthy and balanced mindset. Which includes identifying and working with our inner critic, flipping the script on negative self talk, getting clear on what you want by creating a wellness vision, and incorporating some very simple habits.

This is a great roadmap for all of us to consider, especially those of us looking to take that next step on our path to living a more focused and driven life.

www.thebravestlife.com/044

www.imgreaterthan.com

On today's show we have Dr. Greg Schreeuwer. Greg is a chiropractor by training, but he functions at the crossroads of kinesiology, human behavior, the mind/ body interaction, as well as our interaction with the world around us.

Greg was born in South Africa and was raised in Australia. He describes himself as a curious kid who always sought out new adventures. He characterizes himself as a sensitive kid, who was bullied throughout his childhood, all the way through young adulthood. We talk quite a bit about his specific situation with being bullied and how that served as a foundation for some of his work today.

As a result of his experiences being bullied, Greg has done a tremendous about of inner work on himself. What he has come to understand is that there is actual value in the opposing forces thrown at us in life. And that value is to help us come back to some sense of balance. This perspective surprised me, but as Greg went on to describe his thoughts, it started to make perfect sense me.

We cover a broad range of topics in this conversation, including the anti-hack mindset, how to work smarter towards our goals, and Greg's belief that bullies are actually the change makers for humanity. At it's core, this is a conversation about how we can recognize and find the power in opposing forces in our life and use that to our advantage.

www.thebravestlife.com/043

www.imgreaterthan.com

On today's show with have William Pullen. William has an interesting story that has led him on a path of self-discovery, and ultimately on a path to help others. William is a London-based psychotherapist, and he's also the author of the book 'Running With Mindfulness: Dynamic Running Therapy (DRT) To Improve Low-Mood, Anxiety, Stress, and Depression'.

William takes us on a journey through his early life, his influences, and his breakdown to breakthrough moment. Interesting enough, running played a significant role in his ability to move ahead, find his passion in life and help other in the process.

This is a conversation about psychological well-being, and the crossroads of the mind and physical activity.

During our time together, William goes deep into the philosophy behind his practice, and his book, and he also shares key elements we should all consider to help us move through any challenging point in our own lives.

www.thebravestlife.com/042

www.imgreaterthan.com

This week's episode is a short solo round. We ask: why do most of us allow ourselves to live only when we're confronted with the prospect of tragedy or death?