The Bucket Podcast

John Ondrasik, better known as "Five For Fighting," has some advice for you: "Dude, look around!" That was the thinking behind his hit song,"100 Years", and is still an underlying philosophy in his life. "Our lives are made of moments. For me, the song was like, try to recognize those moments as you're living them. Don't let them just be on some video when you're 92 years old and people are playing your life and you're like, Oh, that was pretty great. Hopefully, while it was great, you were sitting there going, this is pretty great." In this podcast, you'll hear John talk about his songs, career and how he plans to keep potential regrets from becoming real ones. What are you doing with your 100 years? We think listening to John may help you figure it out.

Guess what? YOU are an endurance predator. Keep moving, and your body keeps thriving. Stop moving, and your body starts decaying. That's the reality for anyone over 30 according to Chris Crowley, co-author of the New York Times best-selling book, Younger Next Year. In this podcast, you'll hear Chris talk about the science behind this claim, and what it means for your body as you get older. From getting regular, rigorous exercise ("6 times a week") to simple dietary guidelines ("Stop eating crap"), Chris explains what we can do to control how (fast) our bodies age. If it seems too good to be true, we suggest you give it a few minutes and we're pretty sure you'll be younger next year too.

"If you think every day that when you go out that gate, you could be killed. I don't know how you go out the gate." If you're like a lot of people, listening to this podcast with General George Casey, Jr, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, will leave you with an overwhelming feeling of humility. From his selfless devotion to duty ("I really didn't think about it…I had a job and I was going to do it") to his joyous appreciation for everyday things like seeing his grandkids or riding his bike, we encourage you take a half hour out of your day to be inspired by man who spent most of his life facing mortality head on.

What does Cabot Cheese have to do with The Bucket's mission of helping people lead more fulfilling lives by embracing their own mortality? Find out in this conversation with Roberta MacDonald, SVP of Marketing at Cabot Cheese and a long-time hospice volunteer. From the "Circle of Life" that takes place on the Cabot Co-op's farms, to the "family truths" she sees revealed in the intimate moments of hospice, Berta tells us what she feels are the benefits of talking openly about death as well as why Cabot Cheese is a sponsor of Kimberly Paul's "Live Well. Die Well." You'll also hear her weigh in on The Bucket's mission and how time is like a checking account in which "every minute you have, think of it as a dollar. How do you want to spend it?"

Are you stuck? Stuck in your career? Your relationship? Or even in your retirement? Then take a few minutes to listen to this podcast with Dave Evans who, along with Bill Burnett, has harnessed the power of "design thinking" to help people create meaningful and fulfilling lives. What started as a course at Stanford University to help students explore their potential futures, has turned into a New York Times best seller, Ted Talks, workshops, retreats and online classes that are now heavily attended not by students, but mid-lifers like us who may have hit a snag and are having trouble getting un-stuck. From Mind Mapping and Odyssey Planning to Prototyping and Reframing Failure, Dave talks about how he and Bill have helped people realize what holds them back, and how they can move forward. It all comes down to a simple challenge: Try Stuff. You can start by clicking on 'play'.

Death is not a game. Or is it? Listen to Lori LoCicero and Lisa Pahl talk about their bold new card game, "The Death Deck" and how it's helping people have healthy conversations about dying — and living. From sample questions to poignant stories, they explain the reason they created the game and how they use humor and lively game-play to break down resistance and open up communication. Says Lori, "It's so much easier to approach a parent or a spouse with a silly card game that has humor in it rather than sitting down and saying, 'you know, we really should have this important conversation.' By having a tool or device — something to almost blame it on — it's a lot easier way to open that conversation."

In 1973, Billy Starr's backpack was packed and he was all set to leave for a dream trip hiking in Nepal. But like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life", Billy never got out of town. His mother was diagnosed with cancer and Billy spent the next year at her side in the hospital. When she died in 1974, Billy's mind was not on the Himalayas, it was on something much more challenging — dealing with the pain of his mother's death. It was this pain that eventually drove Billy to start the Pan-Mass Challenge, a fundraising bike ride that began with just 36 riders back in 1980 to become the largest single fundraising event in the U.S. In this podcast, you'll hear Billy talk about the humble beginnings of the Pan-Mass Challenge and how he took his personal pain and turned it into a way to help so many people. George Bailey would be proud.

You may already know that David McCullough is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of such best sellers as John Adams, The Wright Brothers, Truman, Brave Companions, The Johnstown Flood, The Path Between the Seas, and The Pioneers. Or you may recognize his voice as the narrator of The American Experience, the film, Seabiscuit, or Ken Burn's miniseries, The Civil War. But what you may not know is his perspective on how some of the soldiers, pioneers, builders and inventors he has written about perceived their lives in the face of the constant threat of death. In this podcast you'll hear McCullough weigh in on the concept of The Bucket and mortality-based living. He also shares his opinion on the importance of having purpose in life and his secrets for living life to its fullest. Spoiler alert: "It only comes once — life — and enjoy every morsel of it."

Life is precious. And no one knows that more than Andy Wirth. Andy recently retired as the CEO and President of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows ski resort. He's also a former backcountry ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park. In 2013, while skydiving over Lodi, California, a perfect storm of events caused Andy to collide with a high-tension wire that severed his right arm at the elbow. What happened next has got to be heard to be believed. It all started with Andy, a trained first-responder himself, following the advice he had given countless victims he had encountered in trauma situations in the past: Just breathe.

Dr. Sanjiv Chopra is a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, a motivational speaker, an accomplished author and a man who is often referred to as a happiness guru. Why? Find out in this fascinating podcast in which Dr. Chopra explains the four traits of happiness and how anyone can choose to achieve them. In this episode of The Bucket Podcast, Chopra talks about his new book, The Two Most Important Days, and shares colorful stories, quotes and lessons from a lifetime pursuit of helping people discover that happiness is something we can all create for ourselves. Explains Chopra, "We are all gurus. We are all on a journey. We are all seekers."