Chiseled with Rob Commodari

We live in a world where we frequently take for granted conveniences of modern life. With the touch of a button, we can order goods and products and have them delivered to our door. Even during a pandemic lockdown, we could fire up our phones and computers and see the people we couldn't be near.

But what would happen if that all stopped instantly?

It did for Lauren Donahue, this week's guest on Chiseled. Growing up, Lauren always had an outlet. And I'm not talking about a pastime like co-ed softball, which she competitively played, but an actual outlet where she could plug in her phone, her smoothie maker, her curling iron, and all the other products that most of us take for granted everyday.

Lauren lost that outlet in 2014 after joining a reality TV show. Not knowing the game show's rules, she found herself living in a cave with a group of strangers with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Forced into survival mode, including flossing with a piece of hay and using a squirrel skin for a facial, Lauren found that "it's in the spaces that we're uncomfortable that we grow the most."

Lauren came out of the cave with huge new life lessons, which she has built into a brand centered around taking time to unplug. In this episode of Chiseled, Lauren describes how she ended up on the show, what she was expecting (or not) from her experience, and how she used it to create a legacy for her grandfather and to teach others how to "fill up your cup first so you can help others with the overflow."

It's nearly Christmas and I want to share a very uplifting conversation with you this week on Chiseled.

Jeff Bennett is a friend of mine dating back 30+ years from our time playing baseball at Florida Atlantic University. Jeff doesn't share any terrifying or traumatic stories this week — unless you count the fact he has EIGHT children! But he calls them "the greatest blessing" he could have so it sounds all good.

Jeff is a "salt of the earth" type of guy. He says he and his wife started their family a little later in life. They didn't decide how many kids they wanted to have. As he puts it, they just didn't like the word (birth) "control."

"I am asked all the time are you Mormon or are you Catholic. The list goes on and on, and I say no, I just really like her. I like her a lot," he says.

Jeff's been a commercial airline pilot since 1994, and started flying professionally in 1991. As you can imagine, being up in the front seat at 40,000 feet, you get to see some miraculous creations — the shifting of light between day and night, meteor showers, comets, bright stars, sunsets and moon rises.

Jeff knew his whole life that he was going to be a pilot, just as he knew at age 10 that he was resolute in his faith and accepted Jesus as his king and savior.

In this Christmas episode, Jeff gracefully shares his convictions. His commitment, calm, and the purity of how he lives and loves the Lord are a beautiful testament this holiday season. Whether you're a Christian or not, I encourage you to tune in and feel the power of Jeff's faith wash over you.

Bo Parfet is one of a small group of climbers who has climbed the highest summit on all seven continents. He has stared death in the face on numerous occasions on his climbs and his other adventures. Fear is something we all face in one form or another in our lives. What is on the other side of fear is an amazing feeling of joy, accomplishment, and fulfillment. When Bo made climbing the seven summits more about a cause and not about himself, that is when his determination to overcome fear rose to higher levels.

Bo Parfet didn't start out his life with high expectations. As a second grader with a speech impediment and dyslexia, he overheard his teacher tell his parents that he would never graduate high school. He went home crying, and spent years dreading going to school every day.

But he didn't give up. By 7th grade, his teacher told his parents that he would graduate high school, but he would never graduate college. Long story short: two masters degrees later, Bo found that college not only proved that he could overcome obstacles, but also it fueled his quest to climb mountains.

Bo has now climbed the highest summits on all seven continents. You will be captivated by his story! He describes his journey up the peaks in his book, "Die Trying: One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits."

I met Bo at the "Legendary" conference hosted by Tommy Breedlove. I was so stunned by his generosity toward a stranger that it brought tears to my eyes. You can hear the story of our meeting in this week's episode of Chiseled. I've been a fan of Bo ever since that meeting, and I hope that we remain friends for decades to come.

In this episode Bo shares a bit more about what you can achieve when you overcome fear. You will also hear Bo talk about how to conquer fears and how his desire to achieve something for himself indirectly saved 10,000 lives.

Karl Miller lost four of the fingers on his right hand in a farm machinery accident when he was just 2 years old. Despite the early setback, he never saw the amputation as a hindrance. Instead, he adapted and grew, internalizing the belief that the unchangeable facts of his life make him unique and inspirational. If you ever meet Karl and ask him how he’s doing, he will likely respond, “I’m blessed!”

So, it was a shock when as a teenager, Karl visited a ministry camp at the far reaches of Ontario, Canada, and found that the young people there viewed suicide as a way to avoid their hardships and get the attention they badly craved.
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In this episode of Chiseled, Karl describes a conversation he had about suicide with one of those young campers. Karl also shares how he was called to grow; how becoming a counselor at summer work camp for teens in South Carolina challenged him more than anything else in his life; and how he turned his lessons in determination and faith into major success as a world-class real estate agent in Lynchburg, Va. He also shares the monumental emotion he felt reaching the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Karl is someone I deeply admire and through his stories and experiences, he offers great insights about challenging oneself, building tenacity, and enjoying the road ahead.

The youngest of four siblings, Tim Reeder's parents divorced when he was a child. He went to live with his mother, who remarried, and where Tim witnessed lots of mental and physical abuse toward his mom and sisters.

The grandson of a Holocaust survivor who taught him how to rebuild after someone tries to destroy you, David Shar started working as a child scooping poop. He didn't see it as a "dirty job," he saw it as an opportunity to create a safe and healthy environment for suffering animals.

As an adult, he turned an ice cream parlor into a mission for inner city kids in Baltimore. Now, David teaches business organizations how to bring meaning and purpose to the workplace without turning work into the sole identity of their employees.

David is one of the smartest and funniest people I know and this episode is so chockful of wisdom and insight. It's one that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end!

Dan Faulkner came from a middle class background in Kenmore, Washington. His was the kind of existence that appeared normal on the outside. 

But Dan's mom suffered from addiction and volatile mental health issues and his father was a "conspiracy theorist before it was cool." 

That led to early troubles for Dan, who looked for acceptance at age 15 from a group of friends who used drugs and drinking to find community. By age 17, Dan was smoking speed out of a hollowed out light bulb. 

Fortunately, his parents provided him help when he really needed them, and got him into an in-house treatment program. After a few false starts, Dan began his long-term recovery. 

Dan graduated college and started a successful real estate career. Twenty years of personal work later, Dan is now a husband and father of two who credits his sobriety and happiness to "being tired of not having hope" and committing to living a life of surrender.

Deanna Bone is living her best life and says it all started at age 8 when her neighbor gave her her first Bible. And did she use it!  

Not only did Deanna carry the bible her grandfather gave her while walking down the aisle at her wedding but she held it close when she went bankrupt and lost her house during the housing crash of 2008. That good book became a resource again in 2012 when she faced cancer and the prospect of losing her life.

Both events could have spelled the end for Deanna, professionally and personally, but with the help of coaches, oncologists, and an insistent husband, as well as some of her favorite Bible passages, Deanna recovered and returned to the market stronger than ever.

Yet back in action, Deanna said she still felt unworthy and unwelcome among the top tier of realtors in the country. It wasn't until a coach taught her to reframe the way she listens to her voice inside that she discovered that the barriers to the life she wanted came from within and a certain old book she had previously relied on contained new words about building hope and a future.

Listen to the whole Chiseled episode to hear how Deanna discovered that self-care comes in many forms and how she used these tools, and her original source of inspiration, not only to recover but also to succeed beyond her dreams.

Aaron West used to have a horrible relationship with money.  He has always been in sales but even when he was making $125,000 a year, he was just as broke as when he earned $13,000 a year. When he found himself $60,000 in debt, he knew he needed to make a change in his relationship with money.

With counseling and a change in mindset to one of abundance, Aaron soon discovered that the only people talking about money were those with it — not because they had it, but because they weren't afraid of talking about it and the decision that they were making involving money.

Aaron started making disciplined financial decisions, stopped judging himself by his net worth, and broke his family toxic fear of wealth.

Aaron is now a convert for financial stewardship. The transformation has increased his faith in family, religion, business, and body. In this episode, Aaron discusses how he helps people with financial challenges, which advice to take from people with and without money, and how to recognize the difference between being rich and being wealthy.

Have you ever encouraged another person through a tough time only to find out the same words you used to encourage someone were some of the same words you needed to hear yourself? The giver in an act of kindness often receives the same if not more than the recipient.

As a nonsmoker Shelly Slocum was shocked to learn she was facing a diagnosis of lung cancer. But her health scare didn't defeat her because Shelly had already discovered how to face life's challenges. "It's okay to dip your toe in the pity pool, just don't go swimming."

Helping her older daughter — a Navy pediatrician — recover from a breakdown following a traumatic experience, Shelly shared inspirational messages with her daughter every day for months. Her daughter emerged happier and healthier than she had been before and was so transformed by the experience, she encouraged her mother to write a book. Out poured "Love and Inspiration from Mom."

Shelly's book isn't just a list of inspirational quotes. She offers lessons on how to apply these bits of inspiration in the face of any obstacle. To her surprise, she benefited from her own wisdom when she needed it most.