Niners head into week 11 at 5-4 riding a 2-game win streak with wins over the Rams and Chargers (Battle for LA – won by a team from The Bay??). Was a great win (every win in NFL is a great win!) and Niners are now poised to lock it in and get on a roll for the 2nd half of the season. One week at a time yes, but getting healthier each week, finding their groove on both sides of the ball, defense is the best in all of the NFL, and lots of tools on offense to work with. The future is ours to claim!! LET’S ROLL!! 

Niners spent this week in Colorado at the Air Force Academy working out to adapt to the altitude of Mexico City and Estadio Azteca! This is the largest stadium in all of Mexico seating 87,522 and sits at an altitude of 7220 feet/2200 meters (Mile High Stadium in Denver sits at 5280’). Hopefully the cold weather they experienced will add to their preparation from working out this week at 6700’. No doubt altitude can be a thing so we will see how that all worked, as Cards simply stayed in Arizona. Will hope that is an advantage for us. 

This week we are thrilled to have with us a good friend of the family and iconic “photographer of the stars” Brian Bowen Smith. You might ask us, what does a fancy-pancy photographer who has shot pictures of almost anyone and everyone in Hollywood has to do with football, mental performance, mindset, and successfully navigating transitions? That is a good question, but the answer is actually a hell of a lot. This story found its origin way back in 2020 in the midst of COVID lockdown when Brian drove his 1958 F-150 pickup cross country to take pictures of the U.S. during the midst of COVID. The pictures are all from inside the truck and were published in his book “DRIVEBYS”. Anyway, Jan hit him up and invited him to come through Nashville and he did, and our family picture made it into the book. 

From there we have continued to be good friends with Brian and his family. We are also both involved in our favorite tequila (Casa Del Sol), for which Brian is the corporate artistic director. With the trip to Mexico City we though it prudent to include a story that talks about tequila. So we did and this is that story. Brian shares how he worked through photography to capture the heart and soul of not only the tequila itself, but also the people making the tequila.  It is a work of love and spirit and one we really enjoyed telling.

This week with the holidays approaching let’s focus on accepting who we really are, inside within our heart and soul, and to finding the courage to embrace that and life that life out fully. Dropping the masks we wear to make others happy, the rules we follow given to us by others that are not out own. This holiday season let us offer grace, love, and forgiveness, for ourselves and others. But let’s do so without sacrificing who you TRULY are. Let us lead always with love, grace, and kindness. 

Be safe. Happy holidays. Have a great week being uniquely you!!     Bruce

REMINDERS: 

• It is OK TO NOT BE OK (and to tell someone!!) - YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! 
• It is OK TO ASK FOR HELP – that is why YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! 
• CANCER/ILLNESS SUCKS –YOU ARE NOT ALONE! – WE ARE THINKING OF YOU!

Brian Bowen Smith
https://bowensmith.com/
IG: @brianbowensmith


https://www.casadelsoltequila.com/
IG: @casadelsoltequila 

Niners indeed did bounce back in their last game, showing up big at Levi’s South once again (and thank you to all the many, many, many Niner fans who took over So-Fi stadium – WOW!), completely dominating the LA Rams (now 3-5) and took home a 31-14 win into their bye week. Many great performances, including Jimmy G (with an overall QB ranking right now of 16th and he also has the longest active streak of consecutive games with an 80+ Passer Rating with 17!); and of course, CMC who did the trifecta 3 TD performance; and the entire defense who really showed up in 2nd half. Was great to see defense shut them down like that and so good to see offense score points late to close it out. Great game and maybe best of all no injuries. Niners roll into this game at 4-4, playing surging 6-3 Chargers on Sunday Night Football!! Even though we won’t get the Bosa brothers together in this version (Joey is out for year with injury) we are set for a great game and for Niners to make yet another strong 2nd half run. 

In honor of Veterans Day and the NFL Salute to Service game at Levi’s on Sunday night, we decided to limit our show to one segment and offer you a more extended interview with one of our favorite MVP veterans Jason Jarman. Jason is the Program Coordinator for the Seattle MVP Huddle and is in his second full year with MVP. Jason’s story has many twists and turns, like all our own stories, and certainly the stories of all our veterans. But his was an emotional, painful, and yet joyous and victorious experience, and we know that you will really enjoy it. 

Jason’s story covers a wide range of topics including: (1) A lot about love and sustaining hope in the face of loss, (2) Not being OK, learning you are not OK, and then finally understanding that you can’t and shouldn’t try to go it alone (“We never would think of going into battle alone, why would we think we should deal with our trauma, PTSD, and substance abuse issues alone?”), (3) Returning to civilian life after deployment (“My body came home from Iraq but my mind stayed there for another 6 months.”), and (4) That for Jason, finding peace, growth, and healing comes through accountability built on honesty and vulnerability. As most consistent MVP Huddle members know, healing starts when we can “Acknowledge our own shit, own our own shit, and share our own shit.” Secrets in the dark lead to pain and struggle, secrets exposed are no longer secrets and once exposed/shared, they lose their power and allow for healing. 

A shout out to all the Veterans out there, those who have served and those still serving. We are grateful each day for all you do and the many, many sacrifices you make on behalf of our country and each of us. THANK YOU! And it is with great honor that I am able to announce that the Niners have nominated George for the NFL’s 2022 Salute to Service Award. If you are interested in learning more please go to:  https://www.nfl.com/causes/salute/nominees/2022/49ers 

In gratitude for life, breath, health, friends, family, and football. Let us share ourselves with others to connect, heal, and grow. Let us meet at love, kindness, and service. Have a great week!!     Bruce

It is OK TO NOT BE OK (and to tell someone!!) - YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! 
It is OK TO ASK FOR HELP – that is why YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! 
CANCER SUCKS –YOU ARE NOT ALONE! – WE ARE THINKING OF YOU!

#hiddenpearlspodcast 

http://vetsandplayers.org

This HPP short is was filmed at the MVP / SweetBeau Retreat covered in HPP episode 115. Chris Palacios shares his experience in finding MVP and his new brotherhood that would help him find a new way of living and loving himself. Chris has a vision of owning a ranch someday so it was very special and exciting to see him interacting with the horses and getting ideas for his future. 

Link to HPP 15 SweetBeau Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G273TkCw3lw&t=315s

#hiddenpearlspodcast

This HPP short is was filmed at the MVP / SweetBeau Retreat covered in HPP episode 115. Dylan Klumph played in the NFL and is now member of MVP. We had the pleasure of meeting him at an LA Huddle and also linking up again at the retreat. We love this interview as Dylan opens up about living in a very dominant power driven world and how being with the mustangs and learning gentling techniques has shown him how to be more gentle with humans and himself.

Link to HPP 15 SweetBeau Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G273T...

#hiddenpearlspodcast

Niners resting up this week after traveling to Levi’s south and beating the Rams 31-14. Great win for the Niners heading into the bye-week, which offers a much-needed rest and period of recovery as we head into the second half of the season. Sitting at 4-4 Niners control their destiny and if they indeed get 5-7 additional players back from injury and can continue the momentum from this win and high level of execution, especially in second half, then no limit to what we can do and we are in for a heck of run. Let’s go fellas, lock and load and get it done!

In this bye week we offer you a podcast we did this past summer where Emma and I, and Emma/George’s mom Jan, all participated in and recorded the process of an Equine Healing Workshop with a group of MVP veterans and athletes at the Sweetbeau Wild Mustang Horse Ranch in California. What then, you might ask, do veterans and former professional athletes, wild mustangs, round pens, and healing have to do with each other?? A lot as it turns out. 

The answer to that starts with the wonderfully complex and intriguing story of Michael Soffel and Patricia Griffin-Soffel, who are the focus of this interview. In this podcast you will hear their story of an unexpected love (which involved some losses incurred by Michael betting with Patricia against the Niners), a passion for detail and excellence that led to a wildly successful business life and career, the development and eventual sale of their own start up, and a life-long love affair with horses, and their more recent focus on saving, protecting, training and placing wild mustangs. 

You will hear their story of leading the largest ever single mustang rescue in the history of mustang rescues, the search for meaning following the sale of their business, the purchase of their horse ranch, their journey into wild mustangs, and the development of a training and placement protocol that has set the bar for all horse adoptions. 

Sweetbeau Wild Mustang Ranch is a rescue ranch yes, but it is unlike most rescue facilities with their intense focus on horse protection and safety, training, training, and more training, and “forever” placements of these amazing and wild horses with people. From this mission, and actually as part of it, they have stepped into the creation of a “healing portal”, which has been the creation a space of healing for horses, people, veterans, and all who need to find peace, comfort, support and the honest and direct feedback from a wild mustang while you are in their round pen looking each other eye to eye. The intuition, energy, and connection these horses have with humans is so real there is no way to fake anything, and any effort to do so leads to exposure, revelation, and learning. All of it is wound up into a healing journey deep into one’s soul, where these amazing animals teach you more about yourself then you thought possible.

We know you will enjoy this interview, of passion, love, sharing, and healing. Be well and share the love!! 

Bruce 

https://sweetbeauhorses.org
Instagram: @sweetbeauhorses

vetsandplayers.org
Instagram: @mergingvetsandplayers

#hiddenpearlspodcast

This is another  #HPPshort filmed in LA for the MVP Huddle. This time we have West Coast Program Manager Sergio Cuevas sitting down with Emma & BK. 

If you’re not a member already or know someone who could benefit from this tribe please direct them to vetsandplayers.org for more information! 💕

#hiddenpearlspodcast #mvp

We have Andi Ward back on the show!! This #HPPshort is a story we filmed when Emma & Bruce went to the @mergingvetsandplayers Huddle in LA. If you’re not a member already or know someone who could benefit from this tribe please direct them to vetsandplayers.org for more information! 💕

#hiddenpearlspodcast #mvp