Feeding Curiosity

"The choices that you make throughout the day are going to lead to your performance in any setting." - Mike Hagensick

Listen on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

Mike Hagensick is currently the assistant swim coach at the University of Northern Iowa and the founder and director of the Panther Academy for Water Safety. Mike has his Masters in Special Education. He has served as a consultant with the Auburn University Pediatric Movement and Physical Activity Lab and was an author on a recently published paper on adaptive tennis programming. His mission is to provide high-quality and socially equitable adaptive sports and activity programming for individuals with special needs. 

For show notes, related links go to https://feedingcuriosity.net/podcast

"When we tell our stories, people end up saying me too; instead of I can't believe you did that." - Wendy Jones

Listen on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

In this conversation, we are joined by Wendy Jones. Wendy is the founder of the blog, The Optimists Journal. She uses the power of her own story, which includes surviving divorce, parenting four children, overcoming PTSD after her son's near-drowning almost ten years ago, and parenting a child on the autism spectrum to reflect, heal and thrive. Wendy believes that we all have to choose whether we react to life's circumstances or create them with our mindset, practice, and consistency.

Follow her on Instagram @theoptimistsjournal

For show notes, related links go to https://feedingcuriosity.net/podcast

"Your philosophy is the foundation to align your thoughts to who you are, not coupling them to what you do."

The purpose of doing deep work is to align your thoughts, words, and actions. By aligning those three components, it forms the bedrock of how you think. The story that you're telling yourself.

For me, it adds connective tissue to feel fulfilled about anything you do. Many sources will help you find your passion or your hidden talent. Here's the thing: nobody can tell what that is. You have to look deep inside and ask yourself, what do I stand for? Look at the rolls you fill and see if there are common themes. But don't let those rolls define you. Who you are is deeper and more nuanced than any role you choose to fill. Everything you need is already in you. Sometimes you have to have to go looking and uncover what you're really about.

Listen on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

For show notes, related links go to https://feedingcuriosity.net/podcast

"You can't copy paste a conversation." - Jordan Criss 

Jordan Criss joins us for this conversation, which started with a discussion around The JOKER starring Joaquin Phoenix. We concluded the film is much more of a social commentary than only for entertainment purposes. Jordan gives clear analogies what he believes the film was trying to accomplish, and for him, it was an unsettling film because of how real it felt. From there, the conversation expanded into questions about our modern world with subjects of friendship, connection, communication, and mental health. We wrap up with a discussion on what we are working on at a personal level. Jordan's latest goal is to be more positive, which is facilitated by being as present as possible. 

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

For more info head to feedingcuriosity.net

"These are all inflections points in your life. Can you look back and figure out why you thought the way you did? Then compare it to how you think now?" - Todd Myrick

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

In this episode, we are joined by Todd Myrick. Todd was on the show previously, and we covered the first half of his life in a much-abbreviated fashion. In this episode, we are unpacking the last twenty years of growth Todd has had since he turned thirty. The lens at which we use to plot the course of this growth is through a discussion of the film Fight Club. Fight Club was initially released on October 15, 1999, and is based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk. This conversation took place shortly after the twentieth anniversary of the film that is now a cult classic.

For the majority of the conversation, we stay close to major plot points. We expand on the events and quotes as they pertain to our personal lives and broader conversation about what it says about our society. In many ways, Fight Club can resonate with our current landscape even more than it did when it was released. What I mean here is, as we go through the system, we are all told, "You're going to do great things, follow your dreams." But then we hit thirty and have been doing what the system tells us. Then when you stop look around by external measure, you've it figured out, but inside you feel empty. This conversation is our attempt to unpack this story and flip the script.

For more info head to feedingcuriosity.net

Episodes you might enjoy:

#56 - Todd Myrick: Connecting Through Technology

#68 - How to Train Your Mind: Mindfulness

#40 - Film Deep Dive: Ex Machina

Check out our blogs:

The One Who Wears The Mask by Jordan Criss

Wearables: Meet WHOOP and Oura Ring  by Erich Wenzel

Identify Hidden Health Hazards by Jennifer McGregor

Connect with Us on Social Media:

Twitter: @erichwenzel & @feedingcuriosity1

Instagram: @evwenzel & @feedcuriosity

Facebook Page

Support the podcast directly!

Leave us a voice message!

“Applying daily recovery isn't only about wellness; this goes deeper. Daily recovery should be a blueprint for understanding your routine and habits. Over time you can make adjustments so that you can start and end your days to be at your best. Ultimately priming your self to be at your consistently.”

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

In this episode, we are exploring daily recovery. Prioritizing daily recovery for Erich has been striving for the better part of the year. As an engineer, he sees as ultimate quality problem. Companies spend a considerable amount of time and money on focusing on the qualities of their products and services. We've overlooked a significant component, the humans that make the products and services possible.

If people are recovery more effectively, we will see increases within the workforce. The effects of orienting in this new view go even deeper. For Erich, prioritizing recovery means you can show up more consistently in all aspects of your life. Maybe you want to be a better parent, coach, friend, partner, etc. You name it!

Think of recovery as your battery. The more recharged the battery, the more you can put it into each day.

There are four main categories:

We can expand on these categories in much more detail at a later time. We are trying to lay out the high-level framework in looking at your habits and routines and how these major categories.

Check out our recent episodes:

#69 - Alex Behrens: Coffee Roasting and Starting a Business

#68 - How to Train Your Mind: Mindfulness

#67 - Angels and Airwaves Live: Follow the Maybe

Check out our blogs:

The One Who Wears The Mask by Jordan Criss

Wearables: Meet WHOOP and Oura Ring  by Erich Wenzel

Identify Hidden Health Hazards by Jennifer McGregor

Connect with Us on Social Media:

Twitter: @erichwenzel & @feedingcuriosity1

Instagram: @evwenzel & @feedcuriosity

Facebook Page

Support the podcast directly!

Leave us a voice message!

"There's a trade-off between ambition and patience." - Alex Behrens

In this week's episode, we are joined by Alex Behrens of Maple Leaf Coffee Roasters. In this conversation, Alex shares insights into the world of coffee roasting; from roasting to sourcing and different flavors we are accustomed to. He also expands on ideas of starting a business and just how much thought needs to go into it. Even though he loves coffee roasting, adding a business on top of that takes it to a whole new level.

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

Check out our recent episodes:

#68 - How to Train Your Mind: Mindfulness

#67 - Angels and Airwaves Live: Follow the Maybe

#66 - Jordan Criss and Ben Kapolnek: Football, Music, and Storytelling

Checkout our blogs:

The One Who Wears The Mask by Jordan Criss

Wearables: Meet WHOOP and Oura Ring  by Erich Wenzel

Identify Hidden Health Hazards by Jennifer McGregor

Connect with Us on Social Media:

Twitter: @erichwenzel & @feedingcuriosity1

Instagram: @evwenzel & @feedcuriosity

Facebook Page

Support the podcast directly!

Leave us a voice message!

Over the weekend, Erich saw Angels and Airwaves (AVA) live at the Chicago House of Blues. In this episode, we spice things up with a different style of podcast. Erich shares his thoughts on the experience of seeing AVA, but before that, we need a little bit of background. A common theme of this podcast is how much we resonate with the music. There's deep roots within humanity and the creation of music. We have talked about favorite artist or genres many times.

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

For Erich, Angels and Airwaves is a special band. AVA has been a cornerstone of his musical interests for many years. From an artistic perspective, Erich has resonated with AVA at a deep level. It wasn't until seeing the band live that it finally struck him at how long he has followed the group and in particular Tom Delonge. Up until this point, he may not have realized why it has gone so deep.

Tom Delonge is nothing short of fascinating. Without spending to much time on his current ventures, Tom is unashamed of his creativity. He will always choose to push his boundaries and what he wants to spend his time on. Tom's drive to explore could not be more apparent with the departure from Blink-182. Tom needed a bigger sandbox. He's an example of what you can do if you follow your maybe. Tom is the founder of  To The Stars and To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science. He could have comfortably ridden Blink-182 until the end, but instead, he chose a different path.

For Erich, Tom Delonge is an example of what could be possible, and it doesn't have to be grandiose like changing the world but trying to what moves you at your core.

Ask yourself this maybe I could...

What's the first thing you that comes to mind? Now start moving in that direction, and it doesn't have to be life-altering shift the sails. Keep going and see where that takes you.

Connect with Us on Social Media:

Twitter: @erichwenzel & @feedingcuriosity1

Instagram: @evwenzel & @feedcuriosity

Facebook Page

Support the podcast directly!

In this conversation starts with a discussion opening of American football season.  From sports, we enter into a conversation around music touching on the artists we enjoy or have made an impact on us. For Ben and myself, we've always connected with Tom Delonge of Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves.

We also talk about concept albums; albums meant to be listened to in sequence. Erich share a recent album of Mike Posner A Real Good Kid - The album shares how Mike dealt with the lose of his father.

We close with a discussion around storytelling. We mostly centered around impactful films like The Matrix, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. We talk about what makes characters compelling. Why do we enjoy characters with nuance and flaws more than black and white?

Subscribe on your favorite platform: Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | RSS

Other Episodes you might like:

#61 - Jordan Criss: Creating With A Purpose

#45 - Ben Kapolnek: Invisible Battles

#44 - Dante Brooks and Jordan Criss: Cultural Chameleons

Checkout our blogs:

The One Who Wears The Mask by Jordan Criss

Poem - Digging the Hole by Erich Wenzel

Spiraling Upwards: A Poem on Being by Joe Jackowski

Connect with Us on Social Media:

Twitter: @erichwenzel & @feedingcuriosity1

Instagram: @evwenzel & @feedcuriosity

Facebook Page

Support the podcast directly!