Michael and Nicole Phelps are experienced competitors – and winners. In 2010, Nicole won Miss California USA, and Michael is the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 Olympic Medals (23 of those gold). But the Phelps also know that winning sometimes comes at a cost. 

In 2014, Michael hit an all-time low in his struggle with mental health, but he found the courage to seek help. Michael checked himself into The Meadows, a residential treatment facility in the desert of Arizona, where he spent 45 days, addressing his depression and anxiety. Michael often felt like he couldn’t talk about his struggles while competing as a swimmer, but the tools he learned in treatment helped him bounce back even stronger than before. In 2015, Phelps opened up about his mental health challenges, becoming one of the first and most prominent athletes to do so. “My last go at the Olympics, it was completely different…I was basically just like, I don't care. I'm going to share and I'm going to be vulnerable. And to me it almost felt like a superpower.” 

Michael’s focus on vulnerability was not only the catalyst to his healing but it also helped restore his relationship with his then girlfriend, now wife, Nicole. Today, as strong advocates for mental health, together they’ve learned to balance high achievement with emotional well-being and embrace both wins and losses. Nicole says they use these skills to instill a sense of resilience in their four young boys. “Please don't ever hand our children a participation trophy, because that's not how we function in this house. There is winning and there is losing. And we have to be able to understand both because you're gonna come out from both still alive, still safe, still breathing.”

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Michael and Nicole Phelps are experienced competitors and advocates for mental health. Find out more about the wonderful work they’re doing in the world of sports and mental health by visiting their website: michaelphelpsfoundation.org. 

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Our theme music was written by Andy Ogden and produced by Tim Lauer, Andy Ogden and Julian Raymond. All other music that you hear in this episode is courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Min Jin Lee’s novels have received accolades and awards, but they’ve also gotten some horrified responses from readers. “They would cite a page where something really terrible happened to one of my characters,” she said. “I've had people tweet at me, like, ‘@minjinlee, what the f**k?’” 

Lee’s characters may sometimes suffer horribly, but her writing is fueled by tenderness. “I'm going to sound so strange for saying this, but I want you to know how much I love you,” she told Tim. “I want people to know how much I love my characters and how much I love my reader.”

Even though the worlds she creates are not friendly, sanitized places, her novels are still full of beauty and empathy. Lee takes on big political questions about discrimination, assimilation, and racism. Her characters are often overlooked and oppressed. The goal is to touch readers’ hearts, so maybe, just maybe, they’ll want to be better people. It’s not an easy task. Lee says it’s already hard enough to tell a good story. “And then, somehow, can I get you to do the right thing? Ooh, gosh, that's even tougher, right?” In this episode, Lee talks with Tim about how she’s able to walk the fine line between writing complicated moral lessons and preaching at us

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Min Jin Lee is the author of “Free Food for Millionaires” and “Pachinko”. You can find out more about Min Jin Lee’s work at her website: minjinlee.com

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Our theme music was written by Andy Ogden and produced by Tim Lauer, Andy Ogden and Julian Raymond. All other music that you hear in this episode is courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When life gets overwhelming and hard, where do you turn? Rainn Wilson–best known as Dwight Schrute, the ambitious, beet-loving paper salesman on The Office–turns to “the notorious G-O-D.” Rainn’s parents raised him in the Baha’i faith and he put it aside in his 20s when he was a struggling actor exploring life in NYC. Years later, after finding success in Hollywood, he realized fame was not enough to calm his anxieties nor soothe the longing in his soul. So Rainn turned inward, returning to the Baha’i faith and discovering the value that spirituality brings to us as individuals and as a community. This “spiritual revolution,” is one that Rainn sees as containing multiple religions and faith traditions, where spiritual tools such as prayer and meditation can go hand in hand. Instead of “throwing the spiritual baby out with the religious bathwater,” as Rainn says, collectively engaging with matters of the soul will help us all find strength and deeper meaning when faced with the highs and lows of life.

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Rainn Wilson is an actor, comedian, podcast host and author of the New York Times bestseller Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution. You can listen to Rainn every Tuesday on his podcast, Soul Boom, available wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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Our theme music was written by Andy Ogden and produced by Tim Lauer, Andy Ogden and Julian Raymond. All other music that you hear in this episode is courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re living in a time where disunity has taken a toll on our spirit. And now more than ever, we need connection. 

As chair of Special Olympics International, as a social leader of healing from our divisions, and a key figure in the field of social and emotional learning in education, Tim Shriver has dedicated his life to serving others and building community, with the faith that we can make a greater difference if we work together. Tim believes the BEST way to connect is at the soul level – where we find each other’s dignity and meet each other as we are. 

On his new podcast “Need A Lift?” Tim invites world-changers to share the spiritual practices and rituals that sustain and allow them to transform some of the most painful moments in their lives into purpose.  

“Need A Lift?” premieres on September 30th wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.