In this week's episode, Bryan and Michael riff and rant on 10 psychological traps that hinder people from achieving optimal states of awesomeness:

1) Discipline

2) Excuses

3) Not listening to others

4) Lack of exercise

5) Judging others

6) Perfectionism

7) Selfishness

8) PC culture

9) Entitlement

10) Lack of appreciation for the mundane

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi

This week’s episode features special guest and close friend Robert as we plunge face-first into the topic of happiness.  We share personal views on the pursuit of happiness, challenge the notion of happiness as an end goal, and explore ways to attain sustained fulfillment throughout life.  This episode was a blast to record and we hope you enjoy the variety of perspectives and honest dialogue shared

It’s the first week of fall, and in this episode Michael and Bryan drop some wisdom on how to stay productive even after that 7th slice of pumpkin pie.  We share personal productivity strategies, common productivity pitfalls and what to do when you fall off the horse.  We talk about momentum, motivation, time management, sacrifice, short-term vs. long-term strategies, and how to stay sane all the while getting things done.  So before you settle into that Autumn-based food coma, give us a listen, make your bed (you’ll see why), and set yourself up for amazing success down the road!

What does it take to be an effective leader?  How do effective leaders champion their cause?  In this week’s installment of the Elevated U Podcast, Bryan and Michael take a stab at the topic of leadership.  We dissect what leadership means to us, examine various leadership styles and methodologies, share our top 3 attributes for effective/ineffective leaders, and discuss how to incorporate leadership into your life to elevate yourself and those around you to succeed!

We admire those people who are able to push through seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve great heights.  The Ghandis, MLKs, Steve Jobs of the world.  In this week's episode, Bryan and Michael delve into the concept of strength, how to find and build your personal strengths, how weakness factors into strength, and how to develop an overarching framework of strength to survive and thrive during the toughest times of your life.  We share personal anecdotes, historic examples (Bryan has one towards the end you won't want to miss), practical tips and a healthy dose of bro-love.

In this week's episode, Bryan and Michael get deep on the topic of regret, what initiates it, how it's affected their lives, and how regret can be used as a powerful tool for altering behavior, inviting growth, and inspiring integrous and value-based living!

In today's episode, we break away from optimism's stereotypical golden throne atop the cultural paradigm and dive into how pessimism and realism can also be useful perceptive tools for living a good life.  We chat about what it's like to be a realist, how to tell which of the three you are, and how fluctuating between all of them can be useful when navigating this beautiful, tragic and ordinary existence.

In this episode, we talk about the concept of "thinking for yourself," the dangers of group think, how to take responsibility for your life, and how to get in touch with your core of awesomness to make decisions to be the best version of you!