nionradio.com/ep150

"The human mind is the most powerful pharmacy on the planet." - Shawn Stevenson.

"The human mind is the most powerful pharmacy on the planet."

- Shawn Stevenson

Did you know that your sleep can massively impact your ability to be creative?

It’s true. Our minds and bodies depend on getting good, quality sleep to do everything from produce hormones, process memories, and lower our stress levels. It’s more important than you may think! But thankfully, my guest today is here to share a ton of great information about the power of sleep.

When he was just 16, Shawn Stevenson broke his hip running. Suddenly, his dreams of an athletic career were dashed, and he spent the next four years feeling hopeless. But eventually, he realized that he didn’t want to live in hopelessness and poor health. He decided to do some research and discover ways to heal his body, and since then, he’s made it his mission to communicate his research to the world and help us all achieve better sleep.

I’m thrilled to have Shawn Stevenson here on ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION radio) today! Shawn’s story is inspiring, and his thorough scientific knowledge is impressive. I’m excited to get into our conversation — I hope you learn as much from it as I did. 

Who Is Shawn Stevenson?

As one of the world’s foremost authorities on the science of sleep (in a world that’s constantly struggling with it), Shawn Stevenson has increasingly found his insight very much in demand. But he wasn’t always an authority on better sleep, though. 

Shawn set out to become an expert on all things fitness, health, and wellness after suffering some severe pain and mobility issues at 20 years old. His doctors told him he had degenerative disc disease, that it was progressive and incurable, that he had the spine of an 80-year-old man, and that he could only expect to get worse as time wore on.

But instead of accepting the doom-and-gloom prognosis of his medical team, Shawn decided to take matters into his own hands. He started taking a more holistic view of his health, and incorporated some significant lifestyle changes — everything from a better diet to increased physical activity and to the one thing many treatment plans overlook: proper sleep. 

By applying a total-body treatment plan, Shawn was able to not just halt his condition in its tracks, but in some cases, even reverse some of the effects. At that point, he knew he had a mission: to educate the masses on the importance of diet, exercise, and getting better sleep. 

Today, Shawn is the host of the #1 podcast on Apple’s “Health and Fitness” chart, The Model Health Show, which covers everything from diet and exercise to relationship advice. His books have consistently topped bestseller and audio download charts. And he’s been hired as a keynote speaker to deliver his message of total-body health to companies such as Hilton, US Bank, Google, MasterCard, and Whole Foods.

Shawn offered so much wisdom and practical knowledge in this interview. We talked about everything from sleep cycles and brain waves to the effect of physical activity on your creativity and the massive positive effects of meditation. This is an interview you don’t want to miss.

Shawn’s Story: From Degenerative Disc Disease to Sleep Expert

Have you ever heard of the placebo effect? It’s a term often used in medical research, and it refers to the effect we see when someone believes they’re taking a real medication or receiving a real treatment, but in reality, they’re not. It happens all the time — researchers have seen blood pressure drop and even cancer cells die just because the patient thought they were taking an effective medication.

But here’s the thing — the placebo effect works in reverse, too. That’s called the no-cebo effect, and it’s where the patient thinks they have no chance of recovery and so their condition actually starts getting worse. That’s what happened to Shawn Stevenson when he was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease.

“[The doctor] kind of looked at me … and [said,

“What is catnip? Catnip is powerful, memorable, and very fast. Everybody has a story, but the decisions that you make about people and brands is much faster than the story.”

- Marie Griffin

Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of the Onken Radio podcast (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey! 

Today, I’m excited about my special guest Marie Griffin, the founder of Griffin Marketing and PR. Marie’s developed a wealth of experience working with many high-level celebrities, (Stella McCartney, to name one) helping them with their PR and media training. Marie is focused on helping you deliver your message to the world in a very clear way. 

Here’s a quick taste of what’s to come from my interview with Marie:

“Keep chipping and chipping and chipping away so that [your message] is just absolutely you. For someone like [Nick Onken with] so much talent, so many interests, and so many ways of expressing themselves — [the major question is] ‘How are you going to package all that and put a bow on it and own it?’”

- Marie Griffin

When we see people who dominate in our chosen professional field, it’s almost impossible not to know their work when we see it. Still, often creatives have a hard time figuring out what sets them apart from their peers, and this is where Marie comes in. She has a trusted, holistic method to find this part of our brand, our “CATNIP,” and the process has been described as “honest, insightful, grounding, and transformative.” 

Marie uses her wealth of knowledge to help big companies and brands refine their messaging to connect with consumers as well as transform some of the biggest stars in entertainment to help make their messaging congruent. 

Congruence is when the inside and the outside match, and Marie believes this is as vital when conveying your message through body language as it is with how you speak. Her passion and commitment to help people are demonstrated by her clients and her innovative program #whatsyourcatnip? 

In this episode, we discuss how to find what is uniquely you, some of Marie’s tips for finding your CATNIP, and what helps you stand out in a world full of competitors.

Who Is Marie Griffin?

Marie Griffin is the sought-after authority in media and communication training for leaders and personalities in business, film, fashion, music, beauty, sports, media, wellness, and design. Her immersive process is informed by a profound understanding of people and a deep knowledge of the media, branding, marketing, and public relations landscapes. Marie’s hallmark is her one-on-one work from the inside out to elevate clients to their highest potential to help them answer the question, “What’s your catnip?”

As the second of four girls, Marie grew up in Scarsdale, New York in the sixties. Both her elementary school and high school were Catholic all-girls schools where she constantly felt tremendously supported and empowered by the nuns — always believing there was nothing she couldn’t do. Marie used their support to fuel the fact that she always knew she wanted to be involved in fashion. 

Marie’s dream was to work for a magazine, and when it came time for school, Marie chose the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, which is now LIM College in New York City. Located in Manhattan, the college was perfectly positioned to help her get an internship right out of the gate with Seventeen. 

Marie grabbed this opportunity with both hands and, still only 19 years old, was offered a job by Seventeen starting as soon as she graduated. Marie was immediately dropped into the deep end and sent on a 48-city tour around the country to do “meet and greet” events with retailers supporting the magazine. Among other things, she started to produce fashion shows and promote advertisers,

nionradio.com/ep149

“What is catnip? Catnip is powerful, memorable, and very fast. Everybody has a story, but the decisions that you make about people and brands is much faster than the story.” - Marie Griffin.

“Even people with huge networks, they're not thinking about what they can do for other people most of the time, and that's the mistake.”

- Jordan Harbinger

At the beginning of 2018, Jordan Harbinger was running his successful company and podcast, The Art of Charm. By February, he and The Art of Charm executives had a falling out, and he found himself back at square one, looking to start down a new path. 

Jordan started The Jordan Harbinger Show, which had millions of monthly downloads in a few months. He was also able to host several interviews with top influencers and authors throughout the industry. 

But how was Jordan able to bounce back so quickly from such a problematic situation? 

Jordan says that he had been planning on this exact moment for years by taking care of his network and seeking ways to provide value to his friends and colleagues. So when he fell onto hard times, these colleagues were there to support him. He had his "layoff lifelines" waiting in the wings, ready to go when he needed them.

Today on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), Jordan Harbinger talks about what he's learned since he started his new podcast, how he bounced back, and the key elements of keeping and maintaining one's network. We also go over the importance of honesty in building lifeline relationships.

So if you want to maintain your network for the future and prepare for when you go through a career change of your own, then let's get started!

Who Is Jordan Harbinger?

Jordan Harbinger is a Wall Street lawyer turned podcast interviewer with an approachable style and knack for securing high-profile guests. His show, The Jordan Harbinger Show, was selected as part of Apple's "Best of 2018."

Hailing from Michigan, Jordan was a curious kid fascinated by the internet at an early age. He went to law school at the University of Michigan, and shortly after he landed a job on Wall Street as a corporate lawyer.

However, Jordan wasn't interested in climbing the corporate ladder. But he was curious about a partner, Dave, who was never in the office. Dave spent his days at charity events and playing racquetball, and Jordan always wondered how Dave could keep his job.

Dave told Jordan that he brought in business for the firm. To do that, he didn't sit at his desk: he spent his time building and managing personal relationships. After hard work and intelligence, Jordan felt like he was learning a "secret third path" that nobody ever talked about.

This kicked off an obsession with body language and non-verbal communication, persuasion, influence, social psychology, and networking. When he started uploading what he learned to the web, he inadvertently became one of the first podcasters.

Today, The Jordan Harbinger Show has over 11 million downloads per month and features a wide array of guests like Kobe Bryant, Cesar Millan, Simon Sinek, Eric Schmidt, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, to name a few. Jordan continues to teach his skills, for free, at 6 Minute Networking. 

In addition to hosting The Jordan Harbinger Show, Jordan is a consultant for law enforcement, military, and security companies and is a member of the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

But before reaching this massive success with his podcast, Jordan deeply struggled after he was fired from his old company, The Art of Charm podcast. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back from this, and today, he's excited to talk about what he's learned!

Doing Things Differently in The Jordan Harbinger Show

Before Jordan started his podcast, he hosted The Art Of Charm, which had four million downloads a month at its peak. During his stint in the show, he interviewed personalities like Shaquille O'Neal, Lewis Howes, Mike Rowe, or Russell Brand. Because Jordan wanted to take the show away from the pickup dating business that his business partners were running, they negotiated an amicable split that didn't happen. Initially,

nionradio.com/ep148

“Even people with huge networks, they're not thinking about what they can do for other people most of the time, and that's the mistake.” - Jordan Harbinger.

nionradio.com/ep147

"The game of money making and staying creative has always been the challenge of the artist's journey." - Nick Onken

"It’s not about how quick the story is, it’s about how fun and entertaining the story is."

Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!

Today, I've got a very special guest on my show. His name is Alex Banayan, and he authored the groundbreaking book The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World's Most Successful People Launched Their Careers. 

Alex is an awesome guy, and I especially wanted him on the show because his book is all about the business side of creative entrepreneurship. In this interview, we're discussing his journey from being a freshman pre-med student to becoming a bestselling author, how to write a good story, the meaning behind "the third door," and how to break into your creative industry. You're going to learn a whole lot about success and storytelling from Alex, and you're also going to be entertained on the way, so let's dive in!

Who Is Alex Banayan?

Alex Banayan is the #1 International Bestselling Author of The Third Door. Alex started the book while he was a freshman in college, and it took him seven years to complete it. He learned countless lessons from the people he interviewed for the book and from the writing process itself. He interviewed some of the most successful people of all time, including Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Larry King, and many more. 

Alex began his journey writing The Third Door from his freshman dorm room at the University of South California. From a young age, Alex's parents pushed him to become a Doctor of Medicine. He always assumed that he would become a doctor, and he never planned to do anything else with his career. He even wore scrubs for Halloween as a child and attended pre-med summer school programs. But once he entered the pre-med program at USC, he found that becoming a doctor may not be the path for him.  

"I started to feel like something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it. … I remember lying on my dorm room bed, staring over at this stack of biology books and feeling like they were sucking the life out of me. ... Then I started to wonder, 'Maybe I'm not on my path.'" - Alex Banayan

Alex's realization threw him into a whirlwind of confusion. He suffered a life crisis at age 18 and began searching for a new career path. He went to the library and began trying to figure out how successful individuals had started their careers. He wondered how people like Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates had changed the world at such a young age. 

He poured over biographies and self-help books but found no suitable answers for his questions, so he decided to write the book himself. He came up with the idea to interview some of the world’s most successful people and find the secret to their success. Seven years later, he released The Third Door and became the youngest bestselling business author in American history. 

Hacking The Price is Right

When Alex began his journey in authoring The Third Door, he realized that he would need funding to write his book. The night before finals at USC, he found what he thought might be a golden opportunity to make money.

"I'm on Facebook, and I see someone posting saying, 'Free tickets to The Price is Right.'… [My thought] was what if I go on this show and win some money to fund this dream?" - Alex Banayan

Alex knew that the idea was absolutely absurd because going on The Price is Right would conflict with his final exams the next day, but he couldn't stop thinking about going on the show.

"It was one of those ideas that keeps like clawing itself into your mind. So I remember in the library making this pros and cons list to prove to myself it's a bad idea. … . There's like 20 cons. And the only pro was maybe win[ning] enough money to fund this dream.

nionradio.com/ep146

"So much of getting people to come along on your journey is to inspire them, and the best way to inspire them is through story." - Alex Banayan

"How do we embrace all our messy and uncomfortable emotions and treat them as allies on our path rather than enemies that are trying to hurt us?"

- Amber Rae

How much time do you spend a day worrying about something? 

5%? 20%? Maybe even 50%? 

Let's be honest — even when we're feeling comfortable and secure, it's hard to completely stop worrying about our lives. We deal with messy and uncomfortable emotions on a daily basis, and it's just part of being human.

But what if we could transform our worry into wonder? What if we could understand that these feelings are just trying to keep us safe instead of trainwreck us? When we spend time processing our emotions, especially the negative ones, we can use them for good and even unlock our creativity as a result!

Today on the show, we have the wonderful Amber Rae, one of our most popular guests. It's easy to see why: Amber is all about diving inward to find, express, and develop your inner creativity. 

Amber has been on a journey since we last spoke with her back on Episode #40 and Episode #97. Her new book, Choose Wonder Over Worry, is a guide to diving within yourself and asking the right questions to propel yourself forward in the world of creativity. 

Today, I have her back on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) to share her inspiration behind the book, how we can channel our negative emotions into curiosity, and how "struggling artists" can succeed. Amber is full of joy, wisdom, and creativity — I know you're going to enjoy hearing from her. 

Who Is Amber Rae?

Amber Rae is an author, artist, and global voice for emotional wellness and self-discovery. She turns highly relatable insights on the human experience into viral art, performs at sold-out venues, and writes best-selling books.

She's the author of Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential, and her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, NY Mag, TODAY, SELF, Fortune, Forbes, and Entrepreneur. 

Amber has collaborated with brands such as Kate Spade, Apple, ABC, and One Medical, and she reaches over 9 million people per month online with her words and art. She lives in Brooklyn — and travels around the world — with her husband, Farhad.

On her website, Amber offers courses to help you unlock your creativity and make progress on a dream that you've been waiting to start. You can also grab one of her Wonder Journals or Notepads, which will help you process your emotions on a whole new level. 

In Episode #97, we heard all about Amber's dream and how she wanted to inspire the world, and now she's done it through her new book. I was excited to hear the story of how this book started and how we can experience the same transformation in our Creative Alchemy. Let's get started. 

The Process of Writing Her New Book: Wonder over Worry 

In our interview, Amber shared that coming on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) was a pivoting point in her creative journey — she had this ethereal idea about confidence and creativity, and now she's alchemized it into a concept she can share with others. 

On her 31st birthday, Amber woke up and immediately felt sad. But instead of pushing past this emotion and opening the champagne, she decided to journal: 

"I'd been doing a lot more inner work, and so I opened my journal, and I wrote at the top of the page, 'Hey, sadness, what is it that you want me to know?' [I knew] that in this emotion, there was an insight for me if I just turn[ed] toward it rather than push it away."

- Amber Rae

When you feel anxious and sad, do you try to suppress those emotions instead of feeling them? Amber had done that for a long time, but when she finally embraced the sadness, it said something amazing to her: 

"And what the sadness said to me [was,] 'You're playing small, and I'm sick of it. You're hiding — stop hiding.'"

- Amber Rae

This was a wake-up call for Amber — she realized that she wasn't happy with ...