It has been 6 weeks since I last recorded a podcast. It has also been 6 weeks since I last logged on to any social media platform. Today, I share my thoughts that have been ruminating for the last 6 weeks about my journey of detoxing social media and cultivating real human relationships. I hope these 7 points provide value for you in your life. 

Growing up, did you ever attempt to build something with wood? If so - there was a principle that was used called "measure twice, cut once." You see, this principle was designed to help the young builder not waste his materials. Also, it was a lesson in the idea of permanent change. Little did I know that this principle would continue to follow me in my life, especially as we moved into the last two years. You see, when it comes to your health - you can measure everything. However...for some reason, the idea of measure twice and cut once has been thrown out with the bath water due to the emotional super charging and divisive strategies implemented by our media outlets. Never have I seen a more draconian application of health protocols than we have been subjected to in the last two years. Follow the science is a joke. We have arrived at the point to where we don't even measure anything. We simply cut. And if you ask if you measured before cutting...the person in question throws a temper tantrum like a 6 year old. As we move forward in our world, my challenge to you is to challenge your health providers to measure twice before they provide a permanent procedure that you may or may not know the long term impacts of. 

Lots of people want everything...and do nothing about it. This is often a result of a spiritual misalignment, a lack of purpose if you will. What I typically observe is that when people pursue something they want, they are willing to take action and achieve it...however when they achieve it, they are empty. This is often times a result of a lack of purpose behind their desire. As a result, they will enter the rat race of life again and go back to chase something new...to want everything...attempting to fill the void of emptiness with items of this world. When we, as eternal beings, choose to chase all the world has to offer, we are filled with a void. This is when when people want everything, they often do nothing about it. The question then, is, if the world cannot sustain us, how do we fill the void? 

Have you ever taken a step back from the dopamine filled environment we are exposed to daily? Have you truly done a technology detox and removed yourself from the hyper-triggered scroll based environment we live in? It is currently projected that the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 have doubled, compared with pre-pandemic estimates according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The question I ask is this an actual problem of dealing with depression and anxiety OR is this a problem of consuming too much dopamine in the form of media and social media? 

One of the most common statements surrounding health and disease I hear is related to feelings. I don't feel sick so I must be healthy. OR. I feel sick so I must be diseased. While there is flaw in this logic, the more important thing I want to focus on is the concept of a feeling. Feelings are a sign for us. The inconvenient piece of a feeling though is that they cause us to slow down. They interrupt our day. They force us to explore areas of our life that we would rather sweep under the rug. The biggest issue I see in western civilization with feelings is that, too often, we don't dedicate the time to work through these feelings, especially when it comes to our health. Instead, we seek the quick fix. We seek the one thing that the world sells - the cure - and if you are a westerner - you have been trained to want it immediately. But healing and health, much like every other process in life, don't operate that way. Tune in to today's episode to learn what Dr. J has to say about this process and how we can make small changes right now that will help us sift through these emotions and commit to a process of creating health from above down inside out. 

I read a quote today in my Power List book by Andy Frisella that goes like this.  "No matter where you are, there's definitely something you are great at...You're just not putting value on it." This quote resonated heavily with me as I started to reflect on my pillars of health. I like to say that I value my spiritual, mental, physical, emotional and relationship health. However - do my actions in each one of these pillars reflect that I value them? Have I actually taken the time to reflect on what I am great at? Have I actually taken the time to see if I am placing value in this area? Or...Have I simply allowed my values to be dictated by attempting to live the western dream? The idea that I am not working enough...The idea that I am not making enough money...The idea that I am not marketing enough...All these concepts we have to fight aggressively against in order to actively pursue that which we are great at. If we tune in to someone else's dreams then we will start to live their values...not ours. And what they value - we may not be great at. That is the beauty in self-reflection. A time to make sure that I am in alignment with what I am great at and I am actively pursuing it. If you struggle with this in your life - tune in to today's episode to find out the two steps you can take right now to overcome this distraction and dial in to your success.

When was the last time you explored your dreams? Do you even have them any more? One of the biggest realizations I have had in the last two years is that man people have surrendered their dreams. They have given up on pursuing the very thing that gave them purpose in this life. I call this the shrink or swell principle. In the face of adversity, does your life story cause you to shrink? OR... Does your life story cause you to swell? For most of us, we shrink because we are uncomfortable. We are scared. We fear judgement, loss of stability, loss of security, and a litany of other things. However - God did not create you to shrink. God created you to dream big and to chase down those dreams with relentless pursuit. Dream Big.

In a day and age where more people are cow-towing to the masses, we need to stand up. We need to have courage. Our tribe of Hope is designed to help you speak this truth. To speak this courage. To stand up for what is right. In the last two years, I have found that when courageous people stand up, it causes more people to stand up with them. The only way we win the battle that is going on in our world right now is for more of you to take the bull by the horns and to stand up courageously for your freedom. Period. 

Probably the single biggest excuse people throw around for not achieving their goals is the statement: I'm not motivated. There couldn't be anything further from the truth. In today's society, we have given in to this load of crap and just accepted it. We have created an entire industry around it. We have pump up jams. We have support groups. We have coaches. The truth is, the only way you are going to chase down your goals is to eliminate this statement from your vocabulary. In order to succeed in life, you have to be brutally honest with where you are on a day to day basis. On this episode, Dr. Kramer discusses a tool he discovered several years ago to help him eliminate this false story of motivation and start living the story of commitment. 

For centuries, humans have communicated dreams, visions, emotions using the literary tool of a story or a narrative. These stories grab our heart strings when the hero approaches danger. They cause us to feel hate with the enemy. They help us to experience love. Yet, how often do we pause and review the story of our life. Too often, I see that we have a story that is holding us back from our true potential. There is a story that we have decided to live and follow in all actions of our life. Most of the time, this story is one in which you play the role of the victim. A story that follows the script of fear, doubt and shrinking from growth when we are put in foreign situations or situations that make us uncomfortable. In today's episode, Dr. Kramer unravels the steps you can take to identify your own story and help you re-write your life narrative from to take on the role of creator in all areas of your life.