Life in Focus Podcast

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Life in Focus Podcast, where we talk about what it means to thrive, and the difference between doing what’s right, and doing what’s right for you.

This week we interview Nik Hawks, co-founder and operator of Paleo Treats, and all around kick-ass human being. Nik is someone who very early on understood what it takes to cultivate real wealth in one’s life. He is one of the boldest people I know. He is a great example of how it is not only possible to pursue what you want in life, but how much it pays off to just do it!

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Take home:

* Once you decide what kind of life you want, there is little choice to how you live it; follow your heart!

* There are a lot of shoulds out there that don’t help you get what you want. Too many people operate by those shoulds rather than asking themselves what they want.

“There is this idea of what you should do, and there is this idea of what everybody does, it is really tempting to tell folks you should live this wild life or you should follow your dreams or you should follow your power […] I think the only way that you learn something is through your own experience.”

* You have a choice on how you want to view the experiences in your life, the more experiences you have, the easier it is to gain flexibility in your ability to exercise that choice.

* There is potential and intent, whether or not you fulfill your potential depends on your intent.

* Listen I could go on with these points, every two sentences of this podcast there is a gem, a take home message worth sharing. Just listen to it!

Speaking of figuring out what kind of life you want. Check out the INSIGHT Builder email series. Learn how to focus on you and figure out what right for you looks like.

 About Nik:

NH is one of the founders of the dessert company Paleo Treats and a dyed in the wool believer in learning the hard way.  A weirdo magnet and proud of it, he’s cured himself of allergies to dogs through affirmations, sailed a small boat on stormy seas and he keeps himself sane by running up a local mountain every weekend.  He spends his most valuable time with his wife and dogs, with the leftovers going to running single track on the loneliest trails he can find and seeking out hard, cold, and uncomfortably wet experiences.

 

Our interview Steph Gaudreau of Stupid Easy Paleo and The Paleo Athlete fame was more fun than work. Steph is honestly a huge nspiration both by virtue of her lifestyle and her business sense.  Capitalizing on her great success and her clear awareness of what right-for-her looks like, we asked her to share the story of how she turned a hobby into a passion and passion into a thriving business and fulfilling life. We also discuss how she overcame her fears and roadblocks to move forward with unconventional choices.

 

Take home:

* Be consistent, do what you love, make choices that are right for you and you might just end up with an amazing career.

* Never consider your path to be limited, there is always more you can do, should you wish to.

* Listen to your gut, it could be wrong, but chances are it’s telling something worth listening to. Don’t deny what is important to you!

* “Stay agile, plans oftentimes hold us to things that aren’t worth pursuing, or that we are not passionate about!”

Want to know more about Steph? Here you go!

Steph Gaudreau combines twelve years of formal education in biology / human physiology (BS Biology—Human Physiology), science teaching experience (MA—Education), holistic nutrition training (Certified Holistic Nutrition Practitioner), and an unabashed love of tasty Paleo food on her blog, Stupid Easy Paleo. Steph went Paleo in 2010, and it didn’t take long for her to decide that she was never turning back.

Eating clean, nutrient-dense foods has fueled her both in life and as a competitive athlete. Steph’s mission is to spread the word about how to make simple, tasty recipes to help people in their quests to just eat real food. She authored The Paleo Athlete: A Beginner’s Guide to Real Food for Performance in 2014, and her award-winning book, The Performance Paleo Cookbook: Recipes for Eating Better, Getting Stronger & Gaining the Competitive Edge (Page Street Publishing, January 6, 2015).

Steph’s Books

The Performance Paleo Cookbook, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound,Target.com, iBooks and Google Play

The Paleo Athlete, available as PDF, Kindle and iBook

About Stupid Easy Paleo

Steph launched Stupid Easy Paleo in 2011,

Meet Darryl Edwards, author, coach, speaker and founder of the PRIMAL PLAY methodology.

Darryl shares his journey from investment banker technologist to the Fitness Explorer. He talks about moving from financial wealth to real wealth and what it means to live with integrity. He is one of our first guest . I chose to have him share his story because he is proof that making a change and understanding what right-for-you looks like can happen at any age. We evolve and develop throughout our whole lives; it’s never too late to become who we want to be and Darryl is proof of that!

nd us on itunes, android and right here like it, subscribe and share it with your friends.

Of Note:

Darryl will be in the U.S. conducting Primal Play sessions:

May 21st: Primal PlayOut – New York City (Central Park) – http://bit.ly/PPO-NYC

May 22nd:Primal Playout – Hanover – http://bit.ly/PPO-Hanover

May 23rd: Primal Playout – Boston (Magazine Beach) – http://bit.ly/PPO-Boston

 

 

 Read all about it:

My forthcoming book is entitled Paleo From A to Z, available shortly on      Amazon.

www.amzn.to/PaleoFitnessBook – Paleo Fitness

 

 

About the Fitness Explorer

After almost two decades working as a technologist in investment banking, Darryl transformed his health after adopting an ancestral model to well-being.  Darryl now advises people on maintaining a healthy lifestyle – amidst the epidemic of obesity and other chronic lifestyle diseases.

As the founder of the PRIMAL PLAY methodology, he makes activity fun, effective and engaging while getting individuals healthier, fitter and stronger in the process. He specialises in working with children from 4 to 94 – fitness for those who hate to exercise – as well as for those who love it but relish a new challenge.

Darryl Edwards, MSc. Founder of HEALTH Unplugged and owner of Fitness Explorer Training, is an international speaker, coach, nutritionist and author of “Paleo Fitness“.  He has been published in titles such as Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Elle, Men’s Fitness and featured on the BBC.

 

Stay in touch with Darryl

Twitter @fitnessexplorer

Instagram: @fitnessexplorer

Facebook: www.facebook.com/fitnessexplorer

YouTube: www.youtube.com/fitnessexplorer

HEALTH Unplugged, Oct 2015 – www.healthunplugged.co.uk

 

In this edition of the Life in Focus Podcast we get to talk with San Diego stay-at-home-dad Erin Eldred-Brown about what it means and what it takes to be a parent.

We get to hear a lot about parenting from moms’ perspectives, are things different with dads?

Take Home:

* Parenting is not all smiles and loving moments!

* Loss, grief and complete redesign of ones’ identity are part and parcel with becoming a new parent.

* Pressure to be a great parent, and the ensuing guilt/shame is part of being a mother, but may be less prevalent among dads.

* We have not convinced Chris to have children!

* And more, much more, this is our longest episode so far, but only because the discussion was so engaging!

Hey Parents have you checked out the THRIVING PARENT PACKAGE? It combines tools, tips, a community of like-minded parents and coaching to help busy moms and dads find out what they need and focus their efforts on choices that are right for them.

Cost – $49.00.

For more information on how you can be the best parent and still be yourself go here.

This week we talk about our current tendency to treat symptoms rather than addressing the larger problems in our lives.

This modern method of handling stress is really at the crux of our sense of discontent and helplessness today. Are you part of the multitude who treat the symptoms of their discontent rather than handling to root issues? Listen to find out!

Take Home:

* People try to manage stress the wrong way, we drink coffee, grab happy hour drinks, spend endless hours in front of screens in an attempt to sooth ourselves, but we do nothing about changing the triggers.

* Happiness is transient, don’t expect to be happy all the time.

* Want to figure out what the “problem” really is – work backwards from your quick fix, to the symptom, the symptom to the trigger.

* It’s worth your time to practice being distressed and bored and unhappy. These are normal parts of life and if you can’t handle them you’re in for a world of pain.

* Learn to delay gratification!

 

This week we talk about Zombies, pandemics and the Apocalypse.

Beyond our own interest in the Zombie apocalypse and our chances of survival, this episode explores why there seems to be such a fascination with  post-apocalyptic scenarios across literature, movies and in recent pop-culture.

 

Take Home

* Chris and Alessandra are nerds + Chris will not survive the Zombie apocalypse. Alessandra will if she can ditch her kids and husband.

* The fascination with apocalyptic scenarios is actually not a new phenomenon

* Fantasizing about the end of the world by zombies might be safest way we can process our own fear of death and annihilation.

* Dreams of the apocalypse represent a wish to escape our 24/7 always plugged in world.

Do you sleep enough? Do you sleep well?

Sleep is essential to life, deprive someone of sleep long enough and they die. In this episode we discuss how to get better sleep and compare expert advice to real life circumstances.

Take home:

* Sleep or die

* Best conditions to sleep is are dark, cool, quiet and free of distractions

* Bedrooms are for sleep and sex

* For those of us who live in the real world one of the most effective things you can do to get better sleep is cut out screen time a good 30 minutes before you plan on going to bed.

* Also here is Russel Foster’s Talk about “Why we Sleep” 

Meet the crew:

Psychologist and Life Coach Alessandra Wall and millennial, creative and co-host Chris Browning get together and share their thoughts on what it means to thrive and the difference between right and right for you. From stress, to health, zombies to parenting no topic is off topic.

These podcasts feature both interviews and topic driven shows that aim to provide a vision of life as it can be – through the eyes and the lens of those who are already living a great story as well as those who are still trying to find what right for you looks like in their lives.

Episode 1 of LiF jumps starts us off with the ever present, often ignored and rarely properly addressed, stress.

Chris and I explain why it happens, why avoidance and distraction are awful longterm solutions to life’s inconveniences and hurdles,  and what to do with it.

 

Like what you hear? Please take a minute to subscribe to the show and review it on iTunes or any other server you use to listen. Also feel free to share this episode on your social network or with your friends and family – spreading health and thriving life is good karma. Your time is something we truly value!

Take home:

* Stress is good!

* Deep breathing is the cheapest, most available and effective way to manage your physical stress.

* To manage stress on a daily basis take the 5 step approach:

Check in, breathe, assess, address and plan for future problem solving!

* Avoidance is the primary way many people handle stress, but it is the adult equivalent of jumping into bed to keep from being eaten by the monster that hides beneath it.

WANT MORE ON STRESS?

Info Junkie

Stress Management 101 – A 5 step check-in

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