This week I’m joined by Susan White – a licensed and trained mental health professional who found exercise and running as a way to search out the hard things. But why? Why search out the hard? We talk about it. And we also dig into why it's vital that we allow our children to fail during our watch. She gives several “Ah-Ha” moments that I can’t wait for you to chew on. Like why the system surrounding young people matters and how a shift in our mentality about our own strength resiliency  and post traumatic growth can wildly affect how we view ourselves and how we can start to run our lives. I hope you enjoy listening  to this episode as much as I did. If so, share it, like it and give Mentality Matters a follow on your favorite streaming service and our Instagram page at Mentality _ Matters _ Podcast. So fill up you favorite mug. Enjoy the conversation. And much love! 

Episode Details - 

0:00 - Intro
2:00 - Damn. There She Goes
4:00 - Social Work as a Calling
7:00 - Risk Factors of Troubled Youth and Why Your Systems Matter
14:00 - Consistency Matters
21:30 - Inherent Strengths
23:30 - Emotional  Boys
26:30 - Unfair Demand on Teenagers Time/Attention
29:00 - Fitness Journey
36:00 - The 3 Goals - Stretch/Achievable/Attainable
38:00 - Power of an Accountable Mentality
41:00 - Welcome to the Thunder Dome
43:00 - The Boston
49:00 - 50 at 50 in the Appalachians
53:00 - It's Vital to Fail
1:00 - Post Traumatic Growth
1:08 - Wearing the Criticism
1:10 - Emperor Moth
1:11 - Man in the Arena

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Much Love!

Season 1 - Episode 6
For this week’s episode I was able to sit down with Mrs. Bonnie Mwanda who I have found to be a natural and exceptional leader. She is continually expanding and enriching the lives of the young people and peers that she interacts with on a daily basis by placing emphasis on building authentic relationships while acknowledging and tearing down the fences that are holding people back from achieving their true success. Finding their true identity. All because 16 year old Bonnie felt stifled and dismayed by the system around her. Bonnie’s is a story of paying it forward in a society that desperately needs the codification of equity while paying homage to a teenage girl that couldn’t comprehend the lack of cultural representation she faced in the public school system. 

Episode Contents - 

• 0:00 - Intro to Doc Mwanda
• 3:00 - Who is Bonnie?
• 6:30 - Honoring What 16 Year-Old Bonnie Needed
• 12:30 - Culture Based on Mental & Physical Safety
• 18:30 - What It Takes to Teach
• 21:00 - The Focus Group Philosophy
• 26:00 - How to Get Buy-In
• 30:00 - Being Visible is Vital
• 31:00 - Leaders are HYPE People
• 37:00 - Relationships Matter
• 51:00 - Staying Consistent with Young People
• 56:00 - Overcoming Barriers
• 1:00 - Helping Kids Dream Big
• 1:10 - What is Equity
• 1:16 - Stand On It
• 1:24 - "I'm That Girl" - Beyonce'

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Much Love!

Season 1 - Episode 5
For this episode, I sat down with a former player of mine that battled the circumstances life threw at him and has since earned his Juris Doctorate from Campbell Law School with a Masters in Trust and Wealth Management, mentors youth as a volunteer coach, is raising a family with his wife Ashley. His is a story about where he’s from and why that matters. His is also a story about breaking a familial generational curse that saw him escaping substance abuse, working a third shift job, living out of his car or on the couches of friends … all while attending high school. So if you’re looking for an example on what the power of self belief and deciding to just keep going, this is it. 

Episode Details

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:00 - Where I'm From and Why It Matters
• 6:00 - Building on Sand
• 10:00 - Deciding to Decide
• 13:00 - Team 1st While Life Sucked
• 17:30 - Setting Audacious Goals
• 23:00 - Fatherly Connections
• 29:00 - Uncommon Amongst the Uncommon
• 31:00 - Why Applaud the Average?
• 35:00 - Climbing Onto the Boat
• 45:00 - Men Supporting Men
• 47:00 - Lessons for a 12 Year Old
• 50:00 - Power of Self-Belief
• 52:00 - Growing in Gravel
• 55:00 - Your Circle Matters
• 58:00 - Just Keep Going

Thanks for listening!
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Much Love!

Bonus Content -
In this episode I talk about the importance of choosing the people in your tribe and why that matters. Are you a Blue Crab? Are you a builder? Do you inspire the people around you? Do they inspire you?

Thanks for listening!
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Much Love!

This week, Kam and I dive into  living with an uber competitive mentality and juggling being a great teammate to her husband and kids; all while bucking the perceived traditional perception of being a woman and a mom.
https://raleighrugby.org/venom/
https://www.instagram.com/raleighrugbyclub/

Episode Notes:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:00 - Competition rooted in Cheer
• 9:30 - Calm in the Chaos
• 10:45 - Timing and Trust IS Team
• 14:30 - Birth and Growth of a Competitor
• 18:00 - Finding Competition as we Age
• 19:45 - Competitors Speak a Foreign Language
• 22:30 - Partners and the Fragile Male Ego
• 25:20 - Being a Great Teammate
• 32:15 - Fog of War and the Medieval Dance of Rugby
• 36:15 - Leading Adults of a Younger Generation 
• 40:30 - Failing Forward
• 47:00 - Mom's are Bad Ass Too
• 53:00 - Warrior Women
• 1:04.0 - Lessons of the Father
• 1:14.0 - ICU Battles
• 1:20.0 - How to Coach Kids

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For this week's Bonus Content I wanted to discuss the role of leaders when developing a team culture based on honest truth that puts the growth of the teammate in their hands because of uncomfortable conversations ~or~ when leaders decide to "dangle the carrot" and avoid conflict because of the peace it falsely brings. How do we foster a team culture that's not afraid of conflict and that's based on truth and growth? Love your athletes enough to trust them with the truth.

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I was able to steal some time from my good friend, Fabrice Shema, and I picked his brain on how he goes about a leadership and business model that revolves around focusing on consistent incremental growth and using his platform and life as a servant leader. I think you'll love listening as much as I love our conversations. You can find Coach Fab and One Soccer Academy at the following links:
https://www.onesocceracademy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/one_soccer_academy/

In this episode:

• 0:00 - Intro to Coach Fab
• 2:30 - 1% Growth Increments
• 4:00 - "Juggling" your way to improvement
• 7:30 - Show the growth to grow the kid
• 9:45 - Can you coach hard in a soft society?
• 10:15 - From Rwanda to Louisville
• 16:00 - For Club and Coaches
  • Seeing the power of hard work and love
• 19:40 - ALL coaches are Life Coaches
• 21:00 - Person over Player
• 24:00 - Why I coach
• 25:45 - Leading with Passion and a Faith Driven Life
• 31:00 - How Fab gets paid
• 34:00 - What holds people back from their full potential?
• 36:43 - For something new to grow...something old must go
• 43:00 - Redirecting Young Leaders - Watering the Garden
• 45:45 - Coaches Coach -- Parents Love
• 49:00 - The Non-Negotiables to success

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For this Bonus Content Episode I dive into what I consider to be a non-negotiable when pyramiding a successful life -- your Attitude & Effort! Controlling what you can control and the often hardest thing to do ... calling yourself out for choices YOU make. I hope you enjoy!

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I was able to catch up with one of my former players, Andre Davis, as he navigates a difficult 1st year as a new Head Coach of a local High School Football team. While we bounce through a few topics, our discussions trend towards navigating the ideals of tradition versus the reality of applying that to today's youth. 

In this episode:

• 3:00 - Where the money goes
• 5:40 - Tradition and its roll in building culture
• 22:00 - Meet them where they're at
• 26:00 - To love is to hold people accountable
• 28:00 - Leading Peers as a Servant Leader
• 35:00 - Preparing for the Player
• 38:00 - Remaining positive in the face of failure
• 45:00 - Process isn't Instant
• 48:00 - Stand on your Standards
• 52:00 - Trial by ice fights and pouring rain
• 55:00 - What motivates Dre - Family above all else
• 61:00 - Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

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Season 1 - Bonus Content 1

I get a little personal and discuss my relationship with resiliency and how I dealt with some of the hardships that I faced and how I chose to be resilient. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to give this podcast some love with a like and follow on your favorite streaming service. You can also follow us @mentality_matters_podcast on Instagram.

Much Love!

Thanks for listening!
Follow us on Instagram @mentality_matters_podcast
Appreciate you rating us on your favorite streaming service and sharing with your friends and family.
Much Love!