The Happy To Speak Podcast with Jim Simcoe

Tackling a huge topic today:  The pursuit happiness. Blake and I discuss the 18 keys to living a happier life.

These are simple, straightforward tactics you can use right away to make your life happier. We talk about: What makes happy people happy? What can you do right now to be happier?

Check out the show and let us know what you think.

See below for the list:

– Adopt a growth vs fixed mindset

– Choose success over perfection

– Express gratitude

– Avoid overthinking

– Avoid comparing yourself to others

– Be kind

– Handle stress like a badass

– Focus on your health

– Figure out how to forgive

– Strengthen your strengths

– Be optimistic

– Get in the ‘zone’ (action meets awareness)

– Enjoy the ‘little’ things in life

– Do work you love (“Do Good, Make Money”)

– Help Others

– Find meaning in what you do (or do something else)

– Slow your role

– Get out of shitty relationships

This episode is a pretty hilarious take on movies and the life lessons we can all learn from them. 

Blake and I chat about lessons  from movies like Good Will Hunting, Creed/Rocky, Avatar, Gran Tourino, Forrest Gump, Remember The Titans and SuperBad. 

You’ll learn some unexpected lessons like: Being blissfully unaware of your God-given faults; the ‘Train for Greatness’ concept; Doing the Right Thing No matter What and why being the underdog is so f’ing cool. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Life lessons are everywhere, sometimes you just need to know where to look.  Today Blake and I talk about TV shows (yes TV!) that are jam packed with life lessons.  We both love Friday Night Lights & the Office so we pick out some great examples and talk about what they each taught us.  I think you’ll get a kick out of the pod today, check it out and let us know what you think.

On the pod today our illustrious friend Blake talks about how to harness your inner power.  This is a big topic and one I’m glad we’re finally discussing.  The ability to tap into your own power is quite..(wait for it).. powerful. In all seriousness we both realized that we’re all way more powerful than we think and most of our blocks are self-imposed.  By changing our ideals and views of ourselves we can break through those barriers.  Anyway, check out the pod and let us know what you think.

Today Blake and I continue the personal leadership topic we started last week.  We dive into creating a personal leadership plan, a personal mission statement & setting goals.  By the the end of this you should be able to create a personal mission statement, set clear life goals and create an action plan.

Working on your personal leadership skills is one of the best things you can do in life. Today Blake and I talk about developing your personal leadership skills in a simple yet effective way.    This is a pretty big topic so it’ll be broken into 2 different podcasts. Check it out.

Today our co-host Blake answers rapid fire questions around all aspects of heath & diet including:

1. What do you believe to be true about fitness that most people don’t?
2. Is there a right way to lose fat/weight?
3. What’s the best diet to follow? (trick question)
4. Are cheat days ok? What is the cost/benefit analysis of cheat days?
5. How to master the ‘pain cave’ of training? How do you consistently push yourself further than most?
6. What are the most common mistakes you see from your gym clients?  (I was very surprised with this answer)
7. Explain the mindset of focused training?
8. Health advice for your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, etc…

Hearing Blake answer a multitude of questions about health, fitness, diet was both illuminating and inspiring.  He gives very practical and easy-to-follow advice for anyone. He talks about the pillars of good heath including good sleep, managing stress, etc. We talk about the value of ‘mindless’ training (not what you’d expect); the power of daily sunlight and how afraid Blake is of spiders:)

Regardless where you are in your health journey, there’s plenty of stuff for you to take away from this episode. I hope you enjoy it!

Today Blake and I share very personal experiences of adversity in our lives and how we overcame them. Blake relates his story of struggling in school and the challenges of getting cut from the soccer team and having to figure out how to re-define himself.

I talk about being sexually abused for several years by my uncle as a teenager. We talk about how I didn’t care if I got hit by a bus at the time (and almost wished I would) and how I made it through everything*.  That experience shaped my life in so many negative ways until I had the strength to deal with it.

The adversity that Blake and I went through was completely different but had many commonalities (loss of identity, shame, fear of the unknown, etc).  We talk though these and came up with 10 ways to overcome adversity.

This may be the best podcast I’ve recorded. It’s definitely the only one where I’ve cried or gotten so personal. It’s also the one I’m most proud of so I hope you enjoy it.

*If you’ve ever been sexually or emotionally abused I hope this episode helps you. It’s the most difficult topic I’ve ever discussed publicly but I truly believe it’s something that needs to be discussed. Stats show that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old. That needs to stop.

**If you’re a victim of sexual abuse, check out the links below OR contact me directly. I’m more than happy to help you in any way I can.

https://www.rainn.org/

https://www.nsvrc.org/

Confidence and self-esteem is the fuel of our lives. When you’re low on it, bad things happen. You feel crappy, anxious and miss great opportunities and often paralyzed by fear.

Conversely, when you’re confident and believe in yourself, life is simply easier and more enjoyable. You’re able to live the life you want without judging yourself or beating yourself up constantly.

So consider confidence as fuel for living.

Today on the show Blake and I talk about the keys to confidence and self-esteem. How to get it, keep it and recover it when you lose it.  You’ll learn the power of writing a personal manifesto, choosing success over perfection and how to power through tough times.

Welcome to another totally unscripted, unplanned and unfiltered podcast featuring dance maniac/gym owner/fitness expert, Blake Bender*.    Today the question is simple:  How you make every day f*cking awesome?   Blake and I discuss: - The five things to make every day awesome - The power of "More Of/Less Of" lists - How to start your morning off right (him- podcasts, me- 80s music) - Finding purpose, fulfillment and compassion daily.   We recorded this on the sidewalk outside the gym today so please excuse any minor background noise.   *Blake will also be joining me as a co-host for a series of upcoming episodes that I think you'll dig.   More on that soon, until then check it out & please leave a comment or rating on iTunes if you feel  so moved.