Consequence of Habit

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This week on the pod , JT is kicked out of the host seat by Chris Norris!

Chris speaks with Alex West. Alex was born in South Africa and moved to Kansas City, Kansas when he was 10. He spent 20 years and conducted 15 combat deployments in the SEAL Teams, retiring in 2018.

He is the founder and Managing Director of the veteran surfing non-profit One More Wave. Currently, he is in his second year of graduate school at Pepperdine University, intending to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). As an LPC, he hopes to impact the veteran and first responder mental health space.

In This Episode: 

Chris Norris on Instagram
Alex West on Instagram
One More Wave on Instagram | Website

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“Bad habits are spiraling slides that drag you round and round down the narrowing end of a cone that eventually ends up in a dark, tight, confining spot. Good habits are hooked wings that steadily grow in girth and strength. At first, they grasp and climb until those beautiful wings can lift the bearer out of the darkness and above the clouds to heights few ever experience.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons: Quotes, Poetry, & a few Short Stories for Every Day of the Year

This week’s guest knows a lot about the impact habits can have on our lives, both in a positive and negative way. Over 5 years ago she made the decision to take a hard look at her own bad habits and has gone on to help other women do the same thing, specifically around issues related to alcohol. This week I sat down with the Founder of Sober Sis, Jenn Kautsch. Jenn and I discuss how we can have a regimen of good habits and still be enslaved by negative ones that compromise us in profound ways. See below for Jenn’s bio:

"I'm Jenn (aka SoberSis). I'm a new empty-nester and people ask me all the time what I'm going to do in this next season of my life. Well, you're looking at it. I feel passionate about making it safe for women to have a conversation about alcohol without judgment, labels, or rules. I'm a retired "grey area" drinker. Around the middle of my 40's, I was tired, feeling stuck on auto-pilot, and ready for a change. I didn't want to enter the big 5-0 the way I did 40. I took a closer look at my life. My health...mental, physical, and spiritual. I began to find out ways to have more energy, better sleep, and really stay present in my own life. I began to realize wine wasn't doing me any real favors. In fact, it was undoing a lot of my hard work during the day (I call it the detox just to retox loop). It had also become like an emotional crutch to lean on during times of anxiety or even boredom!

So, I started the 21-day reset for women because I wanted to share what I have learned and experienced first hand. Currently, close to 20,000 women from all over the world have participated. We're more of a sisterhood and a real community of women pursuing being present and soberminded. Each person has the opportunity and space to renegotiate their relationship with alcohol. We are not a sobriety club although many of us do choose to enjoy an alcohol free lifestyle.

I've spent time taking a break from drinking without having to use willpower or feeling deprived. In fact, I'd say it has turned into more of a mindful lifestyle. Learning the science behind what my body/mind was experiencing has empowered me to make different choices. It's like I was living a somewhat divided life, constantly feeling in conflict and stuck in an internal tug-of-war. God really brought me freedom by bringing together the mind-body-spirit connection so I could live a more wholehearted life. That's how I want to live now in my 50's and beyond.

In This Episode:
Sober Sis Website | Facebook | Instagram | Video
21-Day Reset Challenge

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This week I’m joined by Coyote Collective Co-Founder and Brand Director Connor Koch. I became interested in Connor and his story because of the unbelievably beautiful pictures he posts on his social media, as well as the short documentary film he and his closest friends made called, A Study of Self: Methods and Madness.

To be honest, I didn’t know where this conversation was going to go or what I was going to ask. Unlike most of my other guests, there wasn’t very much out there on the intraweb to help me get ready for this interview, other than to know that Connor has a deep love for the outdoors and does an unbelievable job documenting his experiences exploring them. With that said… to say this conversation exceeded my highest expectations is an understatement.

Connor and I dive deep into what it is that motivates us and how our ego can compromise what, on the surface, can seem like a Nobel cause. Connor describes how a random act of kindness made him question his own priorities and motivations, a story that literally brought tears to my eyes. We also discuss the importance of mentors, of which Connor has had some amazing ones, including Erik Weihenmayer (the first blind person to climb Everest) and Dr. Paul Stultz. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Connor and believe this will be the first of many. Be sure to check out the below links to learn more about Connor and the work he and his team at Coyote Collective are doing.

In This Episode:

Coyote Collective Instagram | Website
Connor Koch Instagram| Website
Erik Weihenmayer

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This week JT is joined by former professional cyclist and current endurance sports agent Patrick Lemieux.

As a former professional athlete, Patrick knows a couple of things about the impact habits have on success… and if there’s something he doesn’t know, he could always ask his Olympic gold medalist wife, Gwen Jorgensen. Patrick and JT discuss the power of habit, the role of ego in an athlete’s career, the demands of supporting a world-class athlete professionally and a spouse, and how he went from competing as an athlete to representing them and creating his own management agency.

📸 @talbotcox

In This Episode:

Patrick Lemieux
Gwen Jorgensen
Lemieux Group

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This week we’re re-releasing JT’s conversation with Team Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Performance Manager Aike Visbeek. Aike was formerly Team Sunweb’s sports director and contributed to Tom Dumoulin’s overall victory in the 2017 Giro d’Italia. Anyone who’s been following cycling has been hearing a lot of talk about Intermarche’s recent success, thanks to the coaching of Aike and the talent of riders like Eritrean super star Biniam Girmay. Intermarche’s rag to riches story is cycling’s version of the Money Ball, with Aike taking the place of Brad Pitt.

Aike and JT take a deep dive into the physical and mental challenges required to compete at the highest level in the world of cycling. They examine the intense pressure put on cyclists to produce results and what the repercussions have been for some of the biggest names in the sport. Aike explains the hurdles of developing a team of riders and the importance of buy-in when introducing a new training program. I had a great time talking to Aike and look forward to what he and Team Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert do this season. For more on Aike and the team, check out http://wanty-gobert.be/en/Visbeek.

Team Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert
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This week JT is joined by First In Wellness (FIW) Founder, Danielle Cook Kawash and Creator of the Kettlebell Lifestyle Program, the main fitness component of First In Wellness programs, Mike Salemi. 

Danielle and Mike break down some of the main challenges faced by our first responders when it comes to prolonged exposure to trauma, and poor sleep and dietary habits and describe how FIW’s programs help mitigate some of those challenges.

The team at CoH believes so much in the mission of FIW, that they’ve partnered with them to help develop a fire service recovery program with the goal of improving the overall health and wellbeing of those who serve us. With that said, if you're an active duty, part-time, or retired firefighter, we need your help. 

We are collecting information through this attached survey (found here) and using the information to create programs that support the unique needs of firefighters with a focus on physical and psychological recovery. Our goal is to improve sleep quality, enhance mental agility, train a healthy stress response, maximize physical and cognitive performance, reduce attrition, and lower disease and injury risk.

In This Episode: 

First In Wellness Instagram | Website
Kettlebell Lifestyle Program Instagram | Website
Fire Fighter Survey 

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"Seeing dead bodies every day, every week, year after year is not normal. Throughout my career I found it much easier to compartmentalize any problem I was facing and never seek the help I needed. It never occurred to me that simply asking for help required mental strength. Was I afraid of being labeled by my peers? Too often I turned to alcohol, releasing my anger onto my family and close friends or breaking down crying for no reason, or so I thought.” – John Vargo

This week JT sits down with retired Firefighter, Founder of Turn In (a 501c3 nonprofit), and podcast host, John Vargo.  John discusses how the practice of mindfulness and meditation has completely changed him as a person and has given him new tools to deal with the stress and trauma he’s experienced over his 20 years as a firefighter.  John also describes how he’s helping other firefighters and their families experience the same life changes through his Turn In Foundation and through The Inside Job Podcast that he co-hosts.


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“It’s possible to transcend anything that doesn’t kill you.” - David Goggins

This week we’re going back in time a bit. We’re releasing a past episode for the first time ever, and I’m extremely proud that my conversation with Rob Sievewright is the first of our reload. 

Prepare yourself to be inspired! This week’s guest literally woke up one day, looked at his wife, and said, “I need to change.” Since then, he’s completely transformed his body and way of thinking. Lots of us hope to make positive changes in our lives, but few follow through, especially to the degree of this week’s guest. It was an honor to sit down with Rob Sievewright and have him share his journey on the Consequence of Habit Podcast.

Rob Sievewright on Instagram
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“People are strange: They are constantly angered by trivial things, but on a major matter like totally wasting their lives, they hardly seem to notice.” ― Charles Bukowski

This week, JT Frank will temporarily lose the title as “Host” of the Consequence of Habit Podcast and will instead be this week’s guest. The show’s Producer (and this week’s host), Anthony Palmer, sat down with JT to discuss how his bad habits, and subsequent change, motivated him to create the CoH podcast and how it evolved into a nonprofit. 

JT describes what it’s been like to watch CoH grow and become something much bigger than just his experiences with habits. He also discusses the current status of CoH as a foundation, the fantastic work being done by his fellow board members and volunteers of CoH, and the future of the foundation.

In This Episode: 

Anthony Palmer Instagram | LinkedIn | Palm Tree Pod Co. | Wake. Dad. Drink. Repeat.
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“The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others. And the moment you are unafraid of the crowd you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion. A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.” - Osho, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously

 This week I was joined by Marine Corp Veteran, Entrepreneur, Founder of Lions Guide, Host of the Lions Guide Podcast, and High-Performer Coach and Advisor, Dale Walls. 

When I asked Dale if he would come on the podcast, he immediately offered to make the hour-long drive so our conversation could be in person, and then went on to suggest we go for a run prior to the interview as a way to learn a little bit more about each other prior to recording. But to be honest, my lack of fitness left him doing most of the talking and me squeezing in a few words now and then while trying not to let him know how much I was suffering.

Dale and I discuss his humble beginnings as a kid growing up with a single mom and living with his grandparents, his time in the Marine Corp, and how he used the skills he acquired in the military to start a successful tech company that he would go on to sell by the age of forty. Needless to say, Dale has deep love and understanding of the impact habits have on our health and success. So much so that he recently founded his newest company, Lions Guide, a coaching service that helps high performers get to their next level of personal growth with greater confidence, clarity and discipline.

In This Episode: 

Lions Guide Website |  Instagram | Facebook | Podcast
Dale Walls on LinkedIn
22Zero

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