The Heroic Minds Podcast

Jean-Paul ran the Toronto Marathon 6 times in a row. Why you might ask? Because running is his tool for wellness, power and resilience. Jean-Paul was sexually abused at a young age and didn’t tell his family until he had been married 25 years and had a son in his twenties.

Jean-Paul is a remarkable writer and speaker. He wrote a book called, Running Into Yourself - unlock your strength, heal your wounds, and find new life through running.

Jean-Pauls talks about his journey through exposure therapy, his thoughts on the starting line at a race in South Africa and how this trend of wanting a quiet mind may not be the right approach.

Jean- Paul doesn’t run with music. It gets in the way of the dark conversations that he has with himself. The conversations that deal with things he could otherwise avoid. The conversations that cultivate resilience.

Jean-Pauls Website

Ricky Manetta is a head co-ordinator working world wide with the UFC the ultimate fighting championship. Ricky is also the Founder and senior instructor of MMA KRAV MAGA. He is 50 years old and had his first taste of martial arts when he was just 9 years old.

Stay tuned for the conclusion when we talk about Ricky and the top MMA competitors today.

Ricky went from the victim of bullying to being the bully and now in the position of teaching people how to have the confidence to stand up to bullies without any physical violence.

Ricky takes us through a number of stories, a cab ride that landed him a job as a DJ, the dad that was afraid to stand up to a bully, why we should give a bully a hug, why we should check our own ego and when to listen to the “do right man.”

Ricky Manetta on Instagram

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Drew Butterworth actually started the Original Uber and realized the power of customer experience when bagging groceries as a kid… but before we talk business, we talk real-life, death, masculinity, relationships, and then business.

 Drew, entrepreneur and creator of GoodVibesJuice lost his grandmother, father and dog in grade 9 within the span of 3 months.

Drew makes some powerful points in this episode, two of my favourites were the process and reasoning for accepting his step father into the family and how it doesn’t matter what business you run as an entrepreneur as long as the reason for the business feeds your passion.

I even ask Drew the magical question of why, “Cold Pressed Juice vs regular juice”?
He knocks my socks off with his answer.

Good Vibes Juice on Instagram

Pro Snowboarder to Counsellor.

Ryan was in the middle of what he thought to be a snowboarders dream life; professional athlete, cars, money, sponsorship, parties, travel…

He started to realize he really didn’t have much. Everything he had didn’t make him happy anymore. The lifestyle didn’t make him happy. He was doing things for a lifestyle he thought he should want. He looked in the mirror at 6’4, 170 pounds of an abused and alcoholic body and convinced himself he was fine.

1000 days before recording this episode Ryan got the help he needed. He has been sober ever since. He is now the manager of a bike shop, he’s a mentor to indigenous youth, he counsels people suffering with addictions, living and family problems and is leading a heroic life.

Ryan on Instagram

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Emily is a former inmate at a federal prison. She was dragged into an illegal drug trade.

Before that experience Emily was a very successful marketer downtown Toronto and used drugs recreationally as a form of celebration and to help in being the life of the party… like many people do today.

Drug use became a coping mechanism for a family issue. She was then dragged into a one time, harmless, no chance of being caught smuggling trip to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. On the way back home while wearing a tailored drug smuggling dress she was caught by security.

It was a downhill spiral after being told she was going to prison. Then one day in the midst of this storm Emily turned her life around.

She read 82 books in prison. She decided to live a sober life. She decided to start a business with an impact beyond just incredible popcorn, Cons and Kernels.

Cons and Kernels Website

Emily on Instagram

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Greg is the President & CEO of Sutton Special Risk insurance company that insures thousands of professional athletes. Beyond that Sutton Risk offers insurance for disability, critical illness, war & terrorism, kidnap, ransom, and professional sports to name a few.

We begin this episode with a powerful conversation about how to build long-term, substantial business relationships that go beyond the product or service.

We talk business, we talk about normalizing risk in life, and we talk about how professional athletes have changed their opinion on risk over the last 10 years.

http://www.suttonspecialrisk.com/

Ex-Marine and police officer Brian Murphy was supposed to have the day off on August 5th, 2012. Instead he found himself in the middle of a gun fight at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

In a total of a minute and fifteen seconds he was shot 15 times.

He was then dragged into a police car by his partner, vest cut off with a knife and loaded into an ambulance. The first bullet that hit him in the face is still in his body today.

Brian explains how he stayed calm amidst the gun fire, how he kept fighting even after he was shot in the face, the negative power that pity can play in ones life, how to act as a leader and a whole lot more.

This entire episode is a collection of stories from that day, all with different lessons. Brian concludes with a story to share what a hero is.

CNN Video/Article 

http://bammindset.com/

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Shawn Matthias played 10 incredible years in the NHL. But what happens when you move on from playing? When you have to redefine yourself and find out who you really are?

An enlightening conversation I never thought I would have with a 10 year NHL vet, one year out of playing. We touched on a couple things to say the least...

- 10 years in the NHL
- How the ego is the enemy
- Wake-up calls from a visit to Africa
- Spirituality
- Negative lifestyle habits due to assumptions
- Finding out who you really are
- Not playing hockey doesn't mean retirement

Shawn on Instagram

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On December 14, 2012, Scarlett Lewis experienced something that no parent should ever have to endure: she lost her son Jesse in an act of unimaginable violence after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This conversation is about how to face the impossible, how to find courage when you think you have none, and how to choose love instead of anger, fear, or hatred. 

We can live in anger and resentment, or we can choose love and forgiveness.
With her decision made, Scarlett found some peace and began to believe that choosing love was the key to creating a healthy, safe, and happy world.

She began the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation. the foundation develops programs that teach children about the power each of us have to change our thoughts and choose a life without fear and hate. 
Nurturing Healing Love is Scarlett's story of how choosing love is changing her life--and how it could change our world. To learn more about the foundation or to make a donation, go to www.jesselewischooselove.org

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  Craig Towler is a bilateral amputee. On July 4th, 2016 he was struck by an impaired driver which resulted in the amputation of both of his legs.

He leads a life knowing nothing can take away his happiness and will to succeed.

In this episode we talk about dealing with the anger, the value of reflecting on the past to assist us in the future but not dwelling too long in the past that it takes away from our ability to live now.

The popular saying “It is not about what happens, it is how you react to it” … in Craigs opinion it is how you “interpret” what happens and leverage that for the future.

Craigs Website | Craigs Instagram

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