This week we get ready to join the 49ers under the red hot Arizona sun as they face off against the 4-0 Cardinals. 

We are so excited to FINALLY be welcoming Kyle Juszczyk to the show. Kyle shares his story from growing up in Ohio, to transitioning to Harvard where he still holds many records, and then earning his spot in the NFL and being a Pro-Bowl full back for the last 5 years. For our fashion segment he is joined with his beautiful and talented wife Kristin. 

Our MVP guest is co-founder Nate Boyer. He is a former American football long snapper and United States Army Green Beret. He is also an occasional actor. After serving six years and multiple tours for the Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Nate played college football as a walk-on at the University of Texas despite never having played a down of organized football in his life. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Nate founded MVP with Jay Glazer, and is actively involved in the organization and its outreach to veterans, as well as other charitable activities. 

We are sending 6 AZ National Guard members to the game. Our team leader of the week is 1SG Richard Soto. He is joined with First Sergeant Ruiz, Staff Sergeant Barraza, Sergeant De La Peña , Staff Sergeant West and Sergeant First Class Taylor. Thank you for your service and we hope you enjoy the game!

Guests

Kyle Juszczyk - @juicecheck44
Kristin Juszczyk - @kristinjuszczyk
The Origin Shop - @THEORIGINSHOP - theoriginshop.com

Nate Boyer - @nateboyer37 - nateboyer.com

Merging Vets & Players
@mergingvetsandplayers
vetsandplayers.org

Waterboys 
@waterboysorg 
waterboys.org

Get ready to take some notes because there is a lot of wisdom in this episode! 
Tight end legend Marcedes Lewis shares how his growth mindset has brought him to his 16th season in the NFL. Our partnership with MVP - Merging Vets & Players - introduces us to Ajmal Achekzai. He shares his story of fleeing Afghanistan to find refugee in the United States and what it meant to him to return to his home country as one of the first 300 boots on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11 as a US Marine.

GUESTS

Marcedes Lewis
@marcedeslewis
Marcedes Lewis Foundation
https://marcedeslewisfoundation.org
@marcedeslewisfndtn

Ajmal (AJ) Achekzai
@afghanmarine23

Merging Vets & Players
@mergingvetsandplayers
https://vetsandplayers.org

Pangea Legal Services
https://www.pangealegal.org

Afghan Coalition
https://www.afghancoalition.org

#AKSGEORGE
Submit your questions to [email protected] with #ASKGEORGE in the subject line. 

Return to your practice and use your tools!
If we aren't practicing mindfulness in a quite peaceful place, how can we expect mindfulness to be there for us when life hits the fan? 
It's all about returning to our practice. Even the most mindful people get triggered. But through dedication to our practice we learn how to let things move past us instead of getting stuck to them. 

WEEK 2 BABY!! 

This week we’re meeting the 49ers in Philly! Tight end legend Zach Ertz is on the show with George talking football and sharing some wisdom on how he has made it to his 9th NFL season. Please take a minute to check out his foundation, the Ertz Family Foundation, and all the amazing things they are doing to support their community. 

This season Hidden Pearls Podcast is partnering with MVP - Merging Vets and Players. Each week we will be sharing the story of a veteran and sending them to the football game. We are so excited to share Elliot Ruiz's story and also meet him in person!

Make sure to stick around for the #AskGeorge questions at the end of the show!! GK goes off!

--

Zach Ertz - TE Philadelphia Eagles
IG: @zachertz

Ertz Family Foundation
https://www.ertzfamilyfoundation.org
IG: @ertzfamilyfoundation

Elliot Ruiz USMC Ret.
IG: Daboell

MVP - Merging Vets and Players
https://vetsandplayers.org
IG: @mergingvetsandplayers

An important reminder from BK to never get too busy, too distracted or too caught up in the world to let the people you love know what they mean to you. Life is precious and can be very fragile. We encourage take some time today to either call, reach out, see in person your loved ones. Or if that isn't an option, take a few deep breaths and hold their energy with you. Send them love and feel the joy and power that their light brings to your life. 

Join us in honoring and remembering all the victims of 9/11. Please take some time today to sit and breathe and hold the memory of the families and all the brave first responders in your hearts. The world has changed a lot in 20 years but may we never forget the incredible bravery, sacrifice and unity that got us through this monumental day. In this episode we talk with George Kittle and Lion’s TE TJ Hockenson about the upcoming game, TEU and what offseason training was like at the barn. Fire Chief Michael O’Brian joins us to talk about his work in his community and what 9/11 means to him.

Michael O'Brian
Fire Chief
Brighton Area Fire Authority

Yellow Rose Campaign
https://www.yellowrosecampaign.com

Kingston Valley CrossFit
https://crossfitkv.com