Pivotal People

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We redefine wellness with Jen Trepeck, moving from diet rules and the noise of headlines to foundations that build strength, energy, and choice. We talk body composition, habits over willpower, how to eat for stable energy, and how to spot hype in nutrition news.

• defining wellness as dignity of choice and energy
• ignoring goals that are not your goals
• bloodwork as lagging indicator and body signals
• body composition over scale weight
• muscle as a pillar of longevity
• monthly measurements and daily wellness check-ins
• biostack foundations: fuel, movement, hydration, sleep, stress, community
• habits upstream of cravings and willpower
• protein and fiber every meal with quality fat
• vegetables target and eat the rainbow
• decoding studies: funding, bias, correlation vs causation
• less added sugar and fewer artificial sweeteners
• progress over perfection with simple, consistent steps

I’ll be giving away five free copies of Jen’s book. If you want to enter the giveaway, just go to my website, which is stephanienelson.com, and enter your email for the email newsletter, and we’ll send you a book if you happen to be one of the five winners.

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We sit down with educator and nonprofit leader Emilio Parga to explore how children, teens, and families can process grief with honesty, dignity, and ongoing support. Practical tools, better language, and small acts turn awkward moments into real care that lasts.

• origin story of the Solace Tree and 9/11 catalyst
• why kids want stories and names, not silence
• being a doer with specific offers of help
• language shifts from resolving to processing grief
• boys and girls grieving differently and group design
• culture, faith, and continuing bonds respected
• finding or starting grief centers and resources
• phones, public tragedy, and exposure to death
• meaning making through seasons and milestones
• grief support for athletes and performance teams

Learn more: www.solacetree.org • 775-324-7723 • Email: [email protected]

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We unpack why so many teens feel like hope sits just out of reach and share a clear path to rebuild identity, belonging, and purpose. James McLamb explains a coaching model that equips everyday adults to guide young people toward meaning and measurable next steps.

• three core struggles: identity, relationships, purpose
• why self-image shapes choices and resilience
• social media pressures and practical guardrails
• simple habits that say “you matter”
• coaching vs rescuing and how to ask better questions
• inside the six-week Generation Youth Coaching program
• who can coach and how to get started
• resources, links, and where to find more support

Please share this episode with a parent, teacher, pastor, or coach who needs it. Visit jamesmclamb.com or generation-youth.com to learn more and get training. 

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Listen to a fascinating conversation with neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Warren about how the art of "Self-Brain Surgery" can change your life for the better. Do you want to have more peace, contentment and happiness? How about less ruminating and worrying? If so, Dr. Warren's teachings can help you.

We explore how the mind directs the brain, why most automatic thoughts are untrue, and how to use a “thought biopsy” to stop rumination, lower cortisol, and build realistic hope that holds up under grief and stress. Practical tools turn faith and neuroscience into daily habits that steady sleep, speech, and relationships.

• mind versus brain distinction and why it matters
• fMRI evidence of thoughts changing physiology
• neuroplasticity creating worry racetracks
• thought biopsy and replacement with realistic truths
• one-thought-at-a-time focus and gratitude anchors
• chronic stress, cortisol, and long-term health risk
• hope and meaning amid sorrow without toxic positivity
• shifting from patient to doctor of your own mind
• practical steps to feel calmer and act wiser

Get the book “The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery” and “Hope Is The First Dose.” Find Dr. Warren at drleewarren.com and follow @DrLeeWarren on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential 

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Welcome to our second episode with Kristi Nelson, author of the wonderful book, "Wake Up Grateful." I read her book 4 years ago when she was on the podcast the first time and it has influenced my perspective and life outlook ever since. I asked her to come back on to share her wisdom with our larger audience today. You will be grateful for her wisdom!

As an added bonus, we are giving away 5 FREE copies of her book, Wake Up Grateful, to lucky listeners. Just go to my website, StephanieNelson.com and sign up for the email newsletter to be entered into the giveaway.

We explore gratefulness as a durable way of living, not a fleeting reaction, and share practices that turn ordinary days into sources of meaning. Author Kristi Nelson offers a humane path to presence, enoughness, and love while honoring grief as part of a full life.

• difference between gratitude as reaction and gratefulness as orientation
• waking up grateful and taking nothing for granted
• cancer story shaping a daily practice of presence
• contentment, enoughness and escaping social comparison
• top five regrets of the dying as guidance
• super soaking attention to expand time
• appreciation is generative in relationships and care
• legacy check on who matters most
• the “I get to” reframe for daily tasks
• holding joy and grief together without bypassing
• replacing complaint with celebration and generosity

Go to stephanienelson.com and sign up for the email newsletter to enter the giveaway for five free copies of Wake Up Grateful

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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We share Kevin Delaney’s story from life-threatening illness to purposeful living, and explore how quotes, perspective, and daily discipline can reshape a noisy life. Contentment, health span, and identity-based habits tie together into a practical path forward.

• near-death experience leading to a new life mission
• purpose inside and beyond the corporate world
• why negative words weigh more and how to counter them
• timeless wisdom from Socrates to Frankl
• contentment as knowing enough, not chasing more
• perspective as a daily choice under pressure
• discipline versus regret framed as timing your pain
• daily habits, two-minute starts, identity-based change
• health span over lifespan as the real target
• reading, reflection, and Words to Wonder as a daily dose
• newsletter Take Two as a weekly reset

Sign up for Kevin’s free Take Two newsletter at kevinjohndelaney.com — two minutes to reset, recharge, and reimagine the life you’d like to live

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential 

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We trace Missy Young’s path from tech leader to prison advocate through grief, faith, and a mother’s fight for dignity and restoration. Her plan blends therapy, education, and jobs to help people heal inside and return ready to work and belong.

• how ambiguous loss reframes incarceration through a mother’s eyes
• why compassion and accountability can exist together
• the cost of indifference and conditions inside prisons
• prevention through mentoring at-risk youth and foster care
• three tiers of action: before, during, after prison
• private prisons, policy, and public will
• Grit and Mercy’s model: therapy, education, neurofeedback, hiring
• practical on-ramps for volunteers, donors, and employers
• faith foundations in Matthew 25 and Luke 6
• finding purpose and hope that sustains sobriety

Follow Missy on Instagram at missybyte and visit missyyoung.com

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential 

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We welcome Justin Goodman, founder of Project 55, to share a simple goal with big impact: train 100,000 everyday mental health responders and make support as common as CPR. We explore workplace gaps, practical scripts, active listening, and clear off-ramps to professional care.

• 55 percent not getting help as core mission 
• workplace prevalence, productivity loss, and unused EAPs 
• stigma, cost, and access as barriers to care 
• a CPR-style model for everyday responders 
• EAGER framework to engage, listen, support, empower, refer 
• separating identity from illness to reduce shame 
• active listening with prompts for real-life scenarios 
• boundaries, advocacy, and when to pass the baton 
• suicide risk, warning signs, and protective community 
• tell five people you’re their safe call today 
• free, self-paced training and mobile resource library 
• speaking availability and commitment to keep training free

Go to project55.org, find the training, and sign up. Contact: Justin at project55.org or find Justin Goodman on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential 

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We sit down with Chelsea Smith to unpack simple daily habits that make marriage easier, warmer and more resilient, from releasing resentment to reframing our partner’s quirks as strengths. Practical questions, money talks without meltdowns and small spiritual rhythms offer a fresh path forward.

• why a devotional format creates daily momentum for marriage
• letting go of resentment before it hardens into distance
• replacing assumptions with questions and understanding
• using childhood stories to decode present patterns
• talking about money outside of crisis and labeling strengths
• reframing annoyances into complementary traits
• simple tools like notes, prompts and five‑minute check‑ins
• spiritual connection as a grounding, intimate practice
• resources to find the book and guided daily prayers

Get I Do Today wherever books are sold; find daily guided prayer free on the Churchome app or website. Follow Chelsea Smith on Instagram; search “Chelsea Smith” and “Churchome.”

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential 

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We talk with Dawn Cazedessus about building leadership on purpose—moving from survival mode to calling, reframing failure with structure, and choosing optimism that overflows without denying reality. Her story brings grit, faith, and measurable value into practical tools you can use today.

• why leadership matters even without a title
• Dawn’s trailer park roots and early mentors
• stones of leadership as a practical framework
• purpose-fueled grit and the 4:44 a.m. habit
• failing forward with F.A.I.L. (forgive, accept, inspect, learn)
• effective communication with W.A.I.T. and reading the room
• negotiation by outcomes and measurable value
• extreme practical optimism that resists burnout
• faith as foundation and memorial stones as reminders
• one tangible practice: write your stone and place it where you see it

Get the book and connect: trailerparkceobook.com

Subscribe to the Pivotal People newsletter for new episodes, giveaways and more: https://stephanienelson.com/newsletter/
Learn more at StephanieNelson.com
Follow us on Instagram  @stephanie_nelson_cm
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Order Stephanie's book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential