Scott Grace is a forty year veteran teacher of transformation. He is the author of four books, including his latest "Mindful Masculinity." He has been a stand up comedian and opened up for Robin Williams and Dana Carvey, and a singer-songwriter who produced nine CD’s of original songs. He has shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, Dr. John Gray, Marianne Williamson, Bernie Siegel, Ram Dass, Louise Hay, and many other famous authors and personal growth celebrities. His alter ego is the Spiritual Dr. Seuss, where he is funny and profound at the same time. 

We talk about living in Mexico, his book Mindful Masculinity, observing and becoming aware, the good side of masculinity, the importance of service to others, improvisation, creativity, his song portraits, LSD, joy, right brain and left brain, grief, relationships, meditation... He freestyles about Mexico in Dr. Seuss style, and makes up a song on the spot about our conversation.

Podcast shownotes are here 

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Peter Gooch is is an author, painter, and former art professor. He is the winner of the Bosque Publishing Prize for Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and online. He holds an MFA from Western Michigan University. His short fiction has been published in The New Guard, Bosque Publishing, Etched Onyx, and Light and Dark Literary Magazine, among other publications. His first novel, Seren, is published by Apprentice House Press, will be available in April. 

We talk about his novel Seren, creative writing, books and reading, favorite authors, searching for a muse, creativity and the price we pay for it, finding moments of ecstasy, writing advice, poets, the importance of following the oblique tangent of thought, overcoming the fear to take risk, highlights from his book, what makes for good endings, what makes books great, and much more; enjoy!

Podcast show notes, including links to all the authors mentioned in the interview, are here

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Bert Terhart crossed the entire country of Canada from west to east in a canoe in one season, and he did it alone. He is one of only two people to have done this, and the only to have done it without a dog. 

We talk about growing up in Canada, finding adventure as a child, his adventure crossing Canada in a canoe, the gear he used, finding thousand-year-old portages cut in the rock, the misery and the enjoyment, the necessity of living in the moment, dealing with boredom, foul-weather gear, wildlife encounters, bears, a mountain lion, killer whales, sharks, badgers, and more.

Shownotes and links are here

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Susan Hensley is a transformational coach, speaker, and author dedicated to helping people navigate life’s transitions with joy, creativity, and resilience. She is the author of "Art for Your Sanity," a book to help people deal with uncertainty and tap into their innate wisdom and creativity. Susan’s mission is to empower people to unlock their inner wisdom, creativity, and sense of play during times of uncertainty and change. Through workshops, speaking engagements, and one-on-one coaching, she guides clients to rediscover their authentic selves and infuse their lives with more color, meaning, and joy.

We talk about finding joy, designing a life that does not require a coping mechanism, the importance of creativity and curiosity, art journaling, paying attention to the things in life that spark joy, curating social media feeds, cultivating creativity, and much more!

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

Bob was a mob lawyer until he discovered the I Ching. He is now is a professor at Elon University, teaching Business Law and Meditation (two separate courses). 

We talk about growing up selling hot dogs and cotton candy, becoming a lawyer in Miami in working for Janet Reno as a prosecutor; hitting the mob for $72 million; being recruited by the mafia; discovering the I Ching and Taoism; cultivating wisdon compassion, kindness, and generosity; creating happiness in our lives; the importance of cultivating sympathetic joy; meditation; freeing up your intuitive mind to work on the problems in your life in a non-verbal way; Bob reads Desiderata; Jesus and Budhism; and more.

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

Daniel Brown, aka @mullet_lord, is a former hard partier who nearly died from drug and alcohol abuse. He now lives and surfs in Australia, owns a coffee shop, and leads a healthy life, however, at 24 years old, he needed a drink to avoid seizure, and was also into marijuana and extasy. During a short coma, he had a near-death experience in which he spent, as he describes it, a lifetime in Heaven, where he formed deep relationships with spirits in a dimension outside of time. This was followed by a lifetime in Hell, walking through a firey desert for an eternity, at the end of which he purged himself of his old self. He chose to come back to his body, and now has a new sober life. We also talk about surfing and staying physically fit, yoga, meditation, and much more!

Shownotes can be found here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

In this episode, I read aloud a short story I wrote about one of my favorite places, Isla Escudo de Veraguas. If you like short stories, sign un for me free newsletter at paultrammell.substack.com, and get a story in your email at the begining of each month, as well as occasional poems, essays, and book reviews.

Sung J. Woo is the author of "Lines," a novel I recently read and loved.

His short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, PEN/Guernica, Financial Times, and Vox. He has written five novels, Lines (2024), Deep Roots (2023), Skin Deep (2020), Love Love (2015), and Everything Asian (2009), which won the 2010 Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Literature Award. In 2022, his Modern Love essay from The New York Times was adapted by Amazon Studios for episodic television. A graduate of Cornell University with an MFA from New York University, he lives in Washington, New Jersey.

We talk about New York City (where Lines takes place), how he got started writing, Stephen King's books, other books we love, his inspiration for the novel, developing characters, creativity, writing technique, his muse, the novel, the ending, his MFA, and more.

Podcast shownotes can be found here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

Erden is one of two people to have circumnavigated under human power, and Erden is the only to have done it solo, and he did it by rowing, cycling, kayaking, and hiking. He holds an amazing 18 Guiness World Records. 

We talk about rowing across oceans, bicycling across continenets, hiking across Papua New Guinea, his route around the world, training, dealing with difficult situations, eating coffe grounds, sharks, whales, tuna, sea turtles, birds, recording whale sounds along the way, the benefits of unplugging from society and spending time at sea, entering the 2026 Golden Globe Race, and more.

We talk about the Golden Globe Race on my other podcast Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Podcast shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

Enzo Dal Verme is an Italian portrait photographer drawing on over three decades of experience in meditation. He approaches photography as a path of self-discovery and personal growth. His portraits have been published in Vanity Fair, l'Uomo Vogue, The Times, GQ, Madame Figarò, Elle, Glamour, Vogue Sport, Marie Claire and many other magazines. Enzo has been leading his acclaimed photography retreats in Tuscany since 2011.

We talk about developing creativity, becoming a photographer, getting out of your comfort zone, exposing yourself to inspiration, meditation, creating a fantasy in photography, publishing inspiring stories in stupid magazines, making the world a better place through photography, marketing for artists, teaching photography, dealing with fear, beautiful places, finding friendly people, and more.

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics