My Instruction Manual

Jeff Chegin and Carmela DiClemente, co-authors of Dare to Win, explain how failure helped some of the world's most successful people including Steven King, Adele and David Bowie. And host Keith McArthur speaks with nutrition contributor Michelle Jaelin about eating right in 2018.

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Carmela DiClemente and Jeff Chegwin, are co-authors of Dare to Win: Lessons from 57 of the world's most successful people. A veteran of the UK music industry, Jeff has promoted some of the biggest names in the industry including Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. Carmela is former BBC producer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the UK radio business.

In this conversation, Keith, Jeff and Carmela discuss:

• What it means to "Dare to Win" [2:02]
• Jeff's favorite story in the Book: Adele [3:04]
• Carmela on Steven King [3:56]
• Jeff on how rejection led to David Bowie's success [8:14]
• Carmela on rejection as a driver for success [9:13]
• Jeff and Carmela talk about the celebrities they've met (David Bowie, Simon Cowell, Paul McCartney) [11:20]
• Jeff tells his own Dare to Win story: How he helped Billy Bragg make it big with a bowl of curry [14:58]
  • Scroll down to for a YouTube clip of Bragg's "New England"

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy? [20:55]

• Sleep well
• Run
• Drink lots of water
• Surround self with positive people
• Try to be the same person to everybody

 2. What personal development book do you recommend? [22:04]

• "I don't think I've ever read one" but Fix You by Coldplay as an inspirational song.

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote [25:46] 

• "Believe in your dreams and they will come true"

4. What's your one  guilty pleasure? [26:26]

• Unhealthy food like chocolate and cookies (biscuits)
• Documentaries about the supernatural

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? [29:14]

• Being motivational and helping people

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy? [19:21]

• Connect to nature, even if it's just looking at the trees and the sky in crowded London
• Exercise including yoga, walking and tennis
• Take time to reflect on whether she's being courteous and kind to those around her

 2. What personal development book do you recommend? [22:20]

• My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell
  • "It made me worship nature."

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote [23:31] 

• "You can't fast-track to happiness and you can't shortcut misery."

4. What's your one guilty pleasure? [27:08]

• Playing The Smiths very loud

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? [28:00]

• As somebody who loved well

• Website: Jeffchegwin.com

• Twitter: @sloanesqgal

Michelle Jaelin is both a trained artist and a Registered Dietitian who is known as The NutritionArtist. She appears regularly as in newspapers, magazines and on television as an expert in healthy eating.

In this conversation, Keith and Michelle discuss:

• Why are health-related resolutions so popular? [31:15]
• Michelle explains the "false hope syndrome" [31:43]
• What should people do if they've already fallen off track with their resolutions? [33:24]
• Where to find Michelle:
  • Website: nutritionartist.com
  • Twitter: @nutritionartist 
  • Instagram: /nutritionartist
  • Facebook: /nutritionartistRD

Andrea Owen, author of How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t, reveals 14 toxic habits that are holding us back from happiness. And host Keith McArthur speaks with fitness contributor Kathleen Trotter about exercise resolutions for the new year.

Feedback / Connect:

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• Email: [email protected]
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Episode 13 Details:

Andrea is author of How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back from Happiness. She is a life coach based on North Carolina and hosts the Your Kick-Ass Life Podcast.

In this conversation, Keith and Andrea discuss:

• When Andrea hit rock bottom  [2:13]
• How Andrea became a life coach [4:19]
• Andrea opens up about her struggles with co-dependency, eating disorders, love addiction and alcohol abuse [5:30]
• How Andrea identified the 14 toxic habits that hold us back from happiness [9:31]
• Keith admits that he sees 13 of the toxic habits in himself [10:53]
• Andrea talks about the most common habits that hold us back  [11:30]
  • Negative self-talk [11:30]
  • Isolating and hiding out [13:36]
• So many of us struggle alone with our toxic habits [14:18]
• Dealing with these habits takes work [16:10]
• The habit Andrea is currently struggling with [17:38]
• When you want to cancel, is it because of fear or self care? [18:54]
• Why Andrea doesn't believe in affirmations, but does recommend mantras [22:02}
• Andrea on meditation [25:26]
• Practical tools:
  • Make a list of all the things we're scared people will think about us [28:00]
  • Talk to others about our successes [32:29]

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

In this conversation, Keith and Kathleen discuss:

• Is New Year's really the best time for resolutions? [39:53]
• How Gretchen Rubin's The Four Tendencies can help you with your resolutions [43:11]

In this special edition of the podcast, life lessons from 10 of the most inspiring people on the planet. Host Keith McArthur speaks to Jenny Blake, Kurek Ashley, Robert Puff, Luminita D. Saviuc, Jolenta Greenberg, Greg Wells, Fabiana Bacchini, Celeste Headlee, Morra Aarons-Mele and Martin Gibala.

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
• Visit MyInstructionManual.com for shownotes, more great content and to sign up the email newsletter
• Email: [email protected]
• Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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Episode 12 Details:

[1:30] Morra Aaron-Mele: ‘Own your choices’

[5:37] Kurek Ashley: ‘Choose happiness’

[8:30] Fabiana Bacchini: ‘Live in the present’

[12:36] Celeste Headlee: ‘Don’t pick your career based on job titles’

[15:23] Martin Gibala: ‘Work hard, be humble, get lucky and take risks’

[17:20] Jolenta Greenberg: ‘Trust your gut’

[20:26] Greg Wells: ‘Major obstacles lead to major growth’

[23:00] Robert Puff: ‘You can’t live your whole life in the now, you can only live this moment in the now’

[25:33] Luminita D. Saviuc: ‘There’s darkness in people, so trust your intuition’

[28:42] Jenny Blake: ‘Stressful thoughts are optional’

In this special holiday edition of the podcast, Keith McArthur's son takes over and turns the tables on his dad. Connor McArthur asks Keith five questions to uncover the Keith McArthur recipe for success. Then Keith asks these same questions of the show's regular contributors Joelle Anderson, Kathleen Trotter and Michelle Jaelin.

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
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• Email: [email protected]
• Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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Episode 11 Details:

Keith McArthur is the host and creator of the My Instruction Manual podcast.

Joelle Anderson is a therapist specializing in mindfulness meditation and creator and host of the Kernel of Wisdom YouTube channel.

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

Michelle Jaelin is both a trained artist and a Registered Dietitian who is known as The NutritionArtist. She appears regularly as in newspapers, magazines and on television as an expert in healthy eating.

Martin Gibala, author of The One-Minute Workout, reveals how to make high intensity interval training an efficient and effective component of your fitness routine. And host Keith McArthur speaks with fitness contributor Kathleen Trotter about setting up an inexpensive home gym.

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
• Visit MyInstructionManual.com for shownotes, more great content and to sign up the email newsletter
• Email: [email protected]
• Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
• Join our Facebook page
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Episode 10 Details:

Martin is author of The One Minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That's Smarter Faster Shorter. Martin is a professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada and perhaps the leading expert in High Intensity Interval Training. 

In this conversation, Keith and Martin discuss:

• What is the one-minute workout? [1:51]
• Keith shares his own attempt at a one-minute workout [2:52]
• High Intensity Interval Training creates a calorie-burning afterburn [4:01]
• What led Martin to become one of the world's leading experts in this area of study  [6:13]
• The research Martin's team does to prove the efficacy of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)? [7:57]
• Why is HIIT so effective? [9:32]
• Interval workouts even works for walking [13:14]
• Martin explains the "ten-by-one" workout [14:45]
• Martin responds to skeptics & criticisms around the risks and practicality of HIIT [16:24]
• The idea of "exercise snacking"  [21:00]
• Interval training for kids and teens [23:45]
• Martin Gibala's Instruction Manual [28:18]

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

In this conversation, Keith and Kathleen discuss:

• A home gym as an alternative to a gym membership[35:08]
• Options for home gym equipment at multiple price points. Kathleen mentions Powerblocks. [36:32]
• Kettlebells [38:46]

Morra Aarons-Mele, author of Hiding In The Bathroom, shares tips for ambitious introverts. And host Keith McArthur speaks with mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson about the importance of paying attention to physical sensations when we meditate.

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
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• Email: [email protected]
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Episode 9 Details:

Morra is author of Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert's Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You'd Rather Stay Home). She lives in Boston and runs Women Online, a social media communications firm. She's also the host of the Hiding in the Bathroom podcast.

In this conversation, Keith and Morra discuss:

• When inner peace is interrupted by: "Wait, aren't I supposed to be worried about something?" [3:31]
• Morra's life-long battle with anxiety [4:44]
• In her twenties Morra was very ambitious and successful but unhappy [6:17]
• "There is nothing about introversion that says I am not going to be the most powerful person in the room" [8:25]
• Morra says her privilege allows her to be open about her anxiety and introversion  [10:18]
• Having the best of both worlds comes at a cost [12:37]
• Why Morra says anxiety is a gift [19:41]
• How to manage anxiety [21:41]
• The importance and difficulty of self-love [24:23]
• Trying a "hermit pilot" [25:23]
• Why women graduating today aren't as happy as those who graduated in the seventies [32:01]
• Morra's Instruction Manual [34:18]

Joelle Anderson is a therapist specializing in mindfulness meditation and creator and host of the Kernel of Wisdom YouTube channel.

In this conversation, Keith and Joelle discuss:

• Why is it important to pay attention to the body? [40:33]
• Keith shares that he feels a pit in his stomach that he recognizes as fear [41:02]
• The average emotion only lasts for 2-3 minutes if we let them go [42:04]

Celeste Headlee, author of We Need to Talk, shares her tips on how we can all have conversations that matter. And Kathleen Trotter, our fitness contributor, critiques the fitness routine of host Keith McArthur.

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
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• Email: [email protected]
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Episode details:

Celeste Headlee is author of We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter and radio host of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Broadcasting. Celeste’s TEDx Talk -10 ways to have a better conversation - was one of 2016's most watched TED talks, with over 12-million views.

Keith and Celeste discuss topics including:

• What's wrong with the current state of conversation? [6:10]
• Why talking is usually better than email [7:40]
• How putting your phone away and being present can make you a much better conversationalist [11:49]
• Why you shouldn't bring up your own personal experience when someone is talking about theirs [13:13]
• A simple technique when your brain is really unable to focus on a conversation [18:58]
• The importance of the worlds "I don't know" [20:04]
• Celeste's Instruction Manual [23:07]

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

Keith and Kathleen discuss:

• Keith shares his current fitness routine [28:09]
• Kathleen's advice to Keith [29:21]

Fabiana Bacchini shares how she found joy in her tumultuous through infertility, the loss of a child in utero and the birth of a severely premature son with cerebral palsy. Host Keith McArthur also speaks with nutritionist Michelle Jaelin who tells us the truth about fat.

Fabiana Bacchini is author of From Suriving to Thriving and founder of HandFullHearts.

Keith and Fabiana discuss topics including:

• Fabiana's decision between the path of darkness and the path of light
• How living in the present moment helped Fabiana get through her challenges
• The importance of meditation and self-care 
• Fabiana Bacchini's instruction manual

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
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• Email: [email protected]
• Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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Dr. Greg Wells, author of The Ripple Effect, joins the podcast to talk about the connection between sleep, fitness, diet and the human mind. Host Keith McArthur and Greg Wells discuss topics including:

• Why we can't trust food guides
• Why it's better to exercise outside than at the gym
• What is muscular meditation?
• How 1% gains can make a huge difference in your life
• Why sleep is so important to our success and how to do it better

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
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• Email: [email protected]
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Jolenta Greenberg talks about what it's like to live her life one self-help book at a time in episode 5 of the My Instruction Manual podcast. Greenberg is host of the By the Book podcast and a stand-up comedian and storyteller based in New York City. In this episode, host Keith McArthur also shares some early feedback from a listener and speaks with Kathleen Trotter about how to get started on a fitness routine. 

Feedback / Connect:

• Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
• Visit MyInstructionManual.com for shownotes, more great content and to sign up the email newsletter
• Email: [email protected]
• Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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