Finding the Eye of the Storm with Richard Greene

In this episode of The Kindness Podcast, I’m joined by Richard Greene, author of Finding the Eye of the Storm. After a near death experience, Richard returned with a new way of seeing the world. Less separation. Less urgency to be right. More awareness of how we treat each other in ordinary moments.

We talk about what it means to live from the “eye of the storm.” A place of calm, clarity, and presence even when life feels chaotic. Richard shares how this experience shaped the five pillars he now lives by and how curiosity and humility can completely change the tone of hard conversations.

This is a conversation about kindness that goes deeper than being nice. It is about being awake. Paying attention. Choosing connection.

Big question this episode explores: What does kindness look like when you have seen the end and come back more awake to the beginning?

In this episode, we talk about: • Growing up feeling both the biggest and the smallest • Richard’s near death experience and how it changed his life • What “the eye of the storm” really means • The five pillars he now lives by • How curiosity and humility shift difficult conversations • Kindness as awareness, not performance • One small shift that can change how you move through the world • A favorite kindness story

About Richard Greene (He/Him)

Richard Greene is an author, speaker, and seasoned business leader who helps organizations create lasting success with a strong human foundation. He is CEO of Clarus Advisors, where he supports mission driven organizations through mindful leadership, cultural alignment, and clear strategy.

He has held executive roles at Bank of America, the U.S. Soybean Export Council, and served as Executive Director of the NC Craft Brewers Guild. His work blends strategy, emotional intelligence, and presence.

Richard is the author of Building Value: The 5 Keys for Achieving Success and Finding the Eye of the Storm, a memoir and reflection on life, loss, and resilience.

He grew up in New Jersey, earned his BA from the University of Florida, and has lived in several states across the country.

Get the book: Finding the Eye of the Storm

Purchase at a discounted price here: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=PTvA0Y4X5dz5ti9cHTlVYYdxi16zi3am4V7ZpW4KGv4

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Episode Description

What if kindness wasn’t soft at all, but one of the most powerful biological forces we have?

In this episode of The Kindness Podcast, Nicole Phillips talks with David R. Hamilton, a former pharmaceutical scientist and one of the world’s leading researchers on the science of kindness.

Dr. Hamilton explains why kindness is literally wired into our genes, how it counteracts stress at a physiological level, and why genuine kindness changes inflammation, immunity, aging, and mental health. They also talk about why “being nice” out of duty does not count, why kindness has real teeth, and how small moments of compassion can ripple out to change lives we will never meet.

This conversation is honest, science-backed, and deeply human.

Show Notes

Guest: Dr. David R. Hamilton Author of 12 books including The Joy of Actually Giving an F*ck Former pharmaceutical scientist turned kindness researcher Based in Scotland, UK

What We Cover

• Why calling someone a “kindness expert” can feel uncomfortable • How Dr. Hamilton’s work in pharmaceuticals led him to study kindness • The placebo effect and why kindness is a mind-body phenomenon • What actually counts as kindness and what does not • Why duty-based kindness gives no benefit to the giver • “Nature’s Catch-22” and why kindness has to be genuine • How kindness directly reduces stress, blood pressure, and inflammation • The link between kindness and slower cellular aging • Why kindness is the true physiological opposite of stress • A powerful personal story about compassion at the exact right moment • What to do when life feels too heavy to be kind • The ripple effect of kindness and how one small act can impact over 100 people

Key Takeaways

• Kindness is not weak. It is biologically powerful. • The benefits only happen when kindness is real. • You don’t need grand gestures. Small moments matter. • You are already creating ripple effects, whether you see them or not. • Kindness changes the quality of other people’s days, and your own body.

Memorable Quotes

“Physiologically speaking, the opposite of stress is kindness.”

“You only get the benefits of kindness if you mean it.”

“Kindness has teeth. Powerful teeth.”

“You are setting waves in motion that reach people you will never meet.”

Resources

Dr. David Hamilton’s website: https://drdavidhamilton.com

Better You Backed By Science vlog: https://www.youtube.com/@davidrhamiltonphd

Sign up for weekly science-backed kindness emails and check out his books!

Dr. David Hamilton's latest online course (Why Woo Woo Works) starts in January. Sign up here: https://drdavidhamilton.com/online-courses/

***A quick heads up. The audio quality in this episode isn’t perfect. We’ve corrected the issue moving forward and chose to share this conversation anyway because Jess’s perspective is too valuable to miss.

Season 7, Episode 5

• Mic Drop Bootcamp Registration is open now. Bootcamp begins January 16.

• New book coming May 2026 Making It Without Losing It How to Stay Motivated in a World Where We Are Never Done https://a.co/d/0CeFDJg

• Free weekly Hype Text Text HYPE to 704-228-9495

Question: What does kindness look like when women encourage women?

Nicole Phillips sits down with Jess Ekstrom for a real conversation about women supporting women without competition, comparison, or performative cheerleading. This episode is about what encouragement actually looks like in practice and why it matters.

What we talk about

• Encouragement that builds confidence instead of pressure • Turning frustration into meaningful ideas • Why optimism is a strategy, not a mood • Helping more women step onto stages • Staying motivated when the work never feels finished

About Jess

Jess is the founder of Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop. She is a two time bestselling author, Forbes Top Rated Speaker, investor in women owned businesses, and mom.

She launched Headbands of Hope with a $300 grant and has since donated millions of headbands to children facing illness, reaching every children’s hospital in the U.S. and 22 countries. The brand is now the official headband provider for the NBA and WNBA and is sold in Kohl’s nationwide.

Jess founded Mic Drop Workshop to help more women share their message as public speakers and authors. Her work has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Forbes, Vanity Fair, and People Magazine.

Books

• Chasing the Bright Side • Create Your Bright Ideas • Making It Without Losing It coming May 2026

Ways to connect with Jess

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jess_ekstrom • Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessekstrom • X: www.twitter.com/jess_ekstrom • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessekstrom • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-ekstrom-59160342/

Key takeaways

• Women lift each other by being specific and generous • Relatability builds trust faster than polish • Purpose grows when your work connects to others • Kindness shows up in action, not just intention

Listen to The Kindness Podcast wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube.

The Kindness Podcast

Episode Overview:

In this episode, Nicole talks with Dr. Caitlin Ryan about what real support looks like for families with an LGBTQ child. Dr. Ryan has spent decades listening to young people and their caregivers, and she brings a clear, grounded view of what helps and what harms.

They focus on the work of the Family Acceptance Project, which has shown how everyday family behaviors strongly influence a child’s health, safety and sense of belonging. Nicole and Dr. Ryan talk about why small relational shifts matter so much, why families sometimes react in painful ways without meaning to, and how practical guidance can change outcomes for both kids and parents.

A key part of the conversation explores the tension families feel when faith or cultural beliefs seem at odds with their child’s identity. Dr. Ryan shares how she has seen families honor those beliefs while still choosing understanding, curiosity and love, and how that choice often opens the door to healing.

The episode returns to one guiding question. What does kindness look like for families who want to support their LGBTQ child? Dr. Ryan offers simple, realistic steps that bring the answer within reach.

Our guest is LGBTQ expert, Dr. Caitlin Ryan.

Caitlin Ryan, PhD, ACSW is a clinical social worker, educator and researcher who has worked on LGBTQ health and mental health since the the 1970s and whose work on LGBTQ health has shaped policy and practice for LGBTQ children and youth. She directs the Family Acceptance Project® (FAP) at San Francisco State University – a research, education, intervention and policy project – to help ethnically, racially and religiously diverse families to support their LGBTQ children. Dr. Ryan and her team conducted the first research on LGBTQ youth and families and developed the first evidence-based family support model to help diverse families and caregivers to prevent health risks and to promote well-being for LGBTQ children and youth in the context of their families, cultures and faith traditions. Dr. Ryan’s work has been recognized by national professional groups in the fields of counseling, medicine, nursing, psychiatry, psychology and social work, and from civic, LGBTQ, advocacy, arts and faith-based groups. This includes recognition for her work by the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 that gave her the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for groundbreaking research on LGBTQ youth and families, by the American Psychiatric Association and by the Human Rights Campaign for lifetime contributions to well-being for LGBTQ youth. Dr. Ryan is implementing FAP’s trauma-informed family support model across systems of care and has trained more than 130,000 families, providers, religious leaders and youth on FAP’s family support approach across the U.S. and in other countries. She works with organizations, faith communities, families and providers to integrate FAP’s family-based support model to build healthy futures for LGBTQ children, youth and young adults across disciplines, services and systems.

https://lgbtqfamilyacceptance.org

https://familyproject.sfsu.edu

Behaviors that help/behaviors that hurt posters: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/posters

https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/publications

In Season 7, Episode 3 of The Kindness Podcast, Nicole talks with Adam Schluter.

Together, they answer the questions: What does kindness look like when we're talking to strangers? and What does kindness look like when we're trying to connect in a world that feels disconnected?

Our guest, Adam Schluter has spent over eight years independently exploring the dying art of genuine human connection – unfunded. It’s not a trick or special skill—he’s an artist, not a psychologist—driven by the intrinsic value of something he believes the world is losing. He’s been published multiple times in National Geographic and given a TEDx talk on it (below) so his spontaneous and intuitive approach belies the emotional intelligence required to actually do what he does so naturally. Adam’s lens on life is both curious and compelling. However, it’s his ability to hold space for others in a way that enables people to candidly share their own perspectives with us that is so powerful. In listening radically to each other in a respectful and undivided space people are able to share their beautiful, humanising vulnerability and wisdom with us. In capturing this seemingly dying art of genuine connection, we aim to celebrate something we all need as humans – real, face-to-face community.

Be sure to check out these links:

• To the whole project: hellofromastranger.com
• For the Monday Night Dinners: https://www.hellofromastranger.com/monday-night-dinner
  • The trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPT4qlo-PZ0

The documentary on the whole project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W72niMR2Dwo&t=4s

The Kindness Podcast

Episode: What Does Kindness Look Like When We’re Talking to Our Teens? Guest: Shanna Reyes, MS, LCMHCS

Episode Overview

Talking to teens can bring out the best — and sometimes the worst — in us. In this episode, host Nicole J. Phillips talks with trauma expert Shanna Reyes about how kindness can reshape the way we communicate with our kids, especially when conversations get uncomfortable.

They explore how to connect instead of control, how to set expectations when college kids return home for the holidays, and what to do when we inevitably get it wrong. Because kindness in parenting isn’t about saying all the right things — it’s about being willing to repair when we don’t.

About the Guest

Shanna Reyes is the founder of Counseling Integrity and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor with nearly two decades of experience specializing in complex PTSD, dissociation, and developmental trauma. She combines cutting-edge neuroscience with deep clinical intuition to help clients heal at the root level.

She is one of only four EMDR Institute Facilitators in North Carolina and serves as Co-Coordinator for the NC Trauma Recovery Network (EMDR HAP). Shanna is also EMDRIA Certified and trained in Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), Parts Work/Ego State Therapy, and Transactional Analysis/Redecision Therapy.

Key Takeaways

• How to open conversations when your teen seems shut down or defensive.
• Why setting expectations before college kids come home can prevent conflict.
• How to recover when you say something you regret.
• Why repair — not perfection — builds lasting connection.
• Simple ways to bring curiosity and calm to tough moments.

Resources Mentioned

• Counseling Integrity – Shanna Reyes
• The Gottman Institute – Parenting Resources
• The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline by Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson (“Repair, repair, repair.”)

What does kindness look like when we can't fix what's wrong in someone's life? In this moving kickoff to Season 7 of The Kindness Podcast, host Nicole Phillips sits down with trauma chaplain Robyn Hare, who spends her days walking into the hardest moments imaginable — emergency rooms, trauma bays, and hospital waiting areas where lives change in an instant.

Nicole and Robyn talk about what it really means to show up for people when their world has fallen apart, how to offer comfort instead of control, and the smallest gestures that bring light to unbearable situations.

If you’ve ever wondered what to do when someone you love is hurting — or how to stay kind and grounded in a world that feels heavy — this conversation is for you.

Be warned -- Nicole and Robyn are good friends and find humor in almost everything.

We thought you'd want to know about this new podcast! You can listen today wherever you get your podcasts and at wowgod.com

Hear the brand-new podcast called "Wow God Stories", with hosts, Lisa WIlliams and Ann Sorenson. This podcast reminds us of a God who is able, alive, and active in our lives. https://www.wowgod.com/podcasts/wow-god-stories/ Click the link, or subscribe on Apple, Google, or Spotify today.

Join us for a heartfelt and inspiring episode of The Kindness Podcast, as host Nicole Phillips bids farewell for a season. In this special episode, producer Jason Rackow sits down with Nicole for an interview, where she shares some of the most valuable kindness lessons she's learned over the years.

From touching anecdotes to personal experiences, Nicole opens up about the transformative power of kindness and how it has shaped her life. Through heartfelt storytelling, she reflects on the importance of empathy, compassion, and God's kindness towards her 

Whether you're a longtime listener or new to the show, this episode is not to be missed. Tune in and be inspired by Nicole's journey of kindness and the lessons she imparts along the way.