On this episode of the Grateful, No Matter What Podcast, I had the pleasure to sit down with Dr. Steven K. Finch, who is the Owner/Founder of Lifestyle Evolution, along with his wife Jeanna. He created a bio-individualized and transformative prevention based on clinical weight loss & complete lifestyle change interventions, for overweight to super-super obese (BMI 60+) individuals with coexisting chronic diseases. Through an innovative, sustainable, and viable health coaching and integrative/functional medicine and nutrition model, he utilizes virtual communication technologies (i.e., text, phone, zoom) to help client achieve their health goals. We discussed many facets of his journey into the Health & Wellness field, how he approaches his clients, and so much more. Enjoy!

If you want to connect with Steven, feel free to reach out to him: www.lifestyle-evolution.com (Website), @lifestyleevolutioncoaching (Instagram), Lifestyle Evolution (Facebook), or [email protected] (E-mail).

I was recently asked the question, "What makes a man a man?", and I honestly didn't know how to answer it. In my head, certain qualities came up to describe a man, but before I spoke those words into existence, I realized that those same qualities could be attributed to a woman as well.

And that's why I couldn't answer the question and felt somewhat confused and taken aback. Not because of my impulsive or knee-jerk thought, rather the fact that in that moment I truly recognized that there is no line of demarkation between what makes a man a man and a woman a woman. 

I understand there are certain physical attributes that can make someone a male or female, but that's their sex, not their gender. And gender isn't black and white at all, which means that gender roles, gender identity, and gender-based qualities aren't either.

On this episode of the Grateful, No Matter What Podcast, I had the pleasure to sit down with Amy Kaufman, who is an amazing soul that is heavily involved in Energy Healing. During a Tarot Card reading in 2009, she was invited to consider becoming a Reiki Practitioner and it rang true for her. This lead her down a path in becoming a certified Reiki Master. In addition, she leads people through Cacao Ceremonies, guided meditations, and provides them the time and space to go within and embark on their own journey of self-discovery. She is giver of love, support and a giver of herself.  Following her path in becoming a Reiki Master has allowed her to continue to give love and support to many in need of healing. Reiki is a method of bringing to light your inner joy, a way to calm and relax you and a way to alleviate physical pain. We discussed this and so many other interesting topics. Enjoy! 

If you want to connect with Amy, feel free to reach out to her: https://amykaufman.co (Website), [email protected] (E-mail), @reiki_withamy (Instagram), & Amy Axelrod Kaufman (Facebook).

Pain is part of life. It does not have to rule your life. Suffering, is not part of life. We do it to ourselves. When it comes to how we respond to physical and emotional pain, we have a choice

Life happens, right? We lose jobs, we may lose a home, we get sick, we break bones, and unfortunately people die on us. This is all a part of life, no mater how hard we try to avoid it. And guess what, it hurts. I'm not going to try to convince you of otherwise.

When we feel this type of pain, it is what we call an appropriate emotion, which is an appropriate response to life events that hurt. If you stand back from it and cast a critical eye over your life, you will find that these events, thankfully, do not occur that often (hopefully).

We can’t choose whether or not we’re going to experience pain. But we can choose to let go and not to fight against it or become overly attached to it and wallow.

Is this easy? Of course not. However, it is absolutely possible. By adjusting our thinking, and how we think about our thinking, we can change our emotional responses, the extent to which we suffer (or not), our level of tension and stress, and in turn, our experience of pain.

Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means learning to live your life as if everything were a miracle, and being aware on a continuous basis of how much you’ve been given.

Once you allow yourself to become oriented toward looking for things to be grateful for, you will start to appreciate simple pleasures and things that you may have previously took for granted. 

Remember, gratitude shouldn't be just a reaction to getting what you want, but a no matter what type of gratitude. The kind where you notice the little things and where you constantly look for the good even in unpleasant situations.

Whether it has to do with personal growth, business, romance, or finances, are you being held back by fear of your own potential? It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Each and every one of us wants to reach our goals, find fulfillment, and be successful in life…right?

Now, this isn’t a question of whether or not you can execute whatever it is that needs to be done. The universe has acted in your favor, which is why you are now at this stage with endless possibilities. This is more of a case of whether or not it’s going to scare you when you finally reach your aspired level of success. Because, it’s like a glitch in the continuum of your life. Things are going along fine and you feel confident that you are hitting the markers. Everything is going great, moving smoothly towards some amazing, something you've always wanted...and then bam. You feel the fear of your own success.

Once you know what it is that scares you about living to your fullest potential, how can you overcome that fear so it does not hold you back or sabotage your happiness and success?

On this episode of the Grateful, No Matter What Podcast, I had the pleasure to sit down with Terrance M. Daves, who is an all-around enthusiast and lover of building anything and everything. As a father of 4, he is passionate about building his family’s legacy by being able to instill confidence and compassion to guide the next generation. Terrance is the unofficial motivational speaker of the people closest to him as he values relationship building, staying true to yourself and just having a good time. He’s committed to living life to the fullest and enjoying what he has been blessed with at all times. We discussed how to maintain a healthy marriage, acknowledging and navigating familial cycles, his various hobbies (that mostly include wheels of some sort), and so much more. Enjoy!

If you want connect with Terrance, feel free to reach out to him: @terranced_ (Instagram).