Real Talk with Benny T

Stories this week include the first fight that's ever broken out in the car, a woman's experience with robbery, a granny that roasted me for the entire trip, plus an encouraging story about a high schooler to end on a positive note.

Also on today's episode, LeBron and the Lakers are NBA Champs and I'm is hyped about it, plus some predictions for Louisville and Kentucky's seasons from here, as well as a take on Kentucky's senate race. Enjoy!

Dr. Marcia Reynolds is an expert in organizational psychology and the President of Covisioning LLC, an executive coaching and leadership development company with clients that include Hersey’s, American Express, and AT&T. She’s also a regular contributor to platforms such as psychologytoday.com, and she is the author of four best-selling books, including Outsmart Your Brain, The Discomfort Zone, Wander Woman, and Coach the Person, Not the Problem.

Dr. Reynolds joined me for an enlightening discussion on emotional triggers as she defined what they are, how to identify their physical manifestations in our bodies, how to “get over it” by telling our stories – a four-step exercise in objectively examining our emotions and choosing our response to them, what to say to others when they’ve made us feel some type of way, and what to do when our emotional needs aren’t being met.

She also has done a few Ted Talks, one of which, titled How to Use Anger as a Force for Good, we reference in the interview and can be found here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZb9qub-RU&t=1s

Check out her work at https://covisioning.com, and follow her on Twitter @MarciaReynolds, IG @Dr_Marcia_Reynolds, and like her Facebook page @MarciaReynoldsMCC

One of the stories this week rises to the top of the Holy Fuck power rankings and just might be the craziest story of any that I've ever heard.

Don't worry, the others are honestly right there with it, as a rider we'll call "the merchant" shares a prank he pulled at his school that is outrageous and something straight out of a movie, but it really happened.

That, plus a introspective story from a 77 year old woman on the parallel between young and old people and the circle of life, followed by another story pretty high up in the Holy Fuck power rankings about a man who literally escaped from ISIS -- yeah, fucking ISIS -- only to come to America and be accused of a heinous crime and thrown in jail for something he claims he didn't do. Then at the end, having fun with some sports stuff. Enjoy!

Fresh off a little time away, I'm back with a couple Uber stories including one woman's near-death experience, a scene that might make you laugh, a one-liner of the week that really hits deep, plus some takeaways from the first presidential debate and following up on the charges (or lack thereof) brought against the officers involved in Breonna Taylor's murder.

This week I met a recent transplant from Minnesota and gave him some words to make him feel better about the move, a player who peels back the curtain and explains why women are the masters of cheating, a lawyer who represented a popular strip club in Louisville and shared some funny stories, a man who tells me about nursing home hookers, some kids that just came from a drug robbery, and a man that overcame homelessness.

Dr. Tony Booker joins the show to discuss his new pharmaceutical consulting firm, By The Book, and share what led him to embark on this journey, how he overcame some initial self-doubt in order to get the business rolling, how his role as a captain on sports teams has impacted the way he approaches leadership in business and in life, plus who his mentors are and what he's learned from them.

Ride shotgun with me as I take you on a trip from rider to rider to show you what it's like to live a day in the life of an Uber driver in Louisville on the Kentucky Derby.

Aaron Harris is a personal trainer and an active member of the Air National Guard in Louisville, Kentucky who made some major changes in his life after being inches away from losing it.

In 6 months, he lost 80 pounds, eliminated negative influences from his life, and got dedicated to his goal of becoming a member of the Air Force. After refusing to give up, he churned that dream into a reality and enjoys serving his country as well as helping others on their way to reaching their fitness goals.

Aaron and I go bar for bar on near-death experiences, reaching for goals in life, creating your own opportunities, and the importance of surrounding yourself with quality people.

Stories this week include the craziest ride I've had thus far which involved a guy sitting next to me telling my about all the armed robberies he had committed... that was nuts.

Plus, I got one about a workplace fight between two ladies, a story about a man with no stomach, and another prison story from a guy that didn’t do what he was convicted of. I know what you’re thinking, yeah right, that’s what they all say, none of them did it, but you decide for yourself. I believe the guy in this case.

Plus, the cowboy callout and craziest shit I saw all week.

Tim Schladand is a licensed counselor and social worker who’s had a private practice for 24 years working with individuals, couples, groups, and facilitating workshops for both men and women. Addiction is one of the areas he specializes in, as well as vulnerability, empathy, self-compassion and shame resilience. We touch on a lot of those topics, but we go really deep into addiction. Tim just celebrated his 34th year of sobriety but has a self-described PHD in drug use, having been addicted to crack cocaine, heroin, morphine and alcohol in the 80s.

He shares some deep insights about personifying addiction as an entity that wants to kill us, the moment he knew he had reached his rock bottom, what kept him committed to change throughout his recovery process, what it’s like being obsessively on-guard against relapse in the early stages of sobriety and how over time it becomes how you do your life, the notion of geological cures, why society has such a difficult time recognizing addiction as a disease, why the stigma of addiction is harsher on women than it is for men, and the power of vulnerability.