The natural world has so much to teach us, and the different ways we are able to interact with it in the modern context, offers endless inspiration. 

Today on the show we welcome documentary filmmaker, Louie Schwartzberg, to talk about his intriguing life and career, and what has inspired his amazing films, such as Fantastic Fungi and Gratitude Revealed. 

The child of Holocaust survivors, Louie felt the impact of his family's trauma acutely, and in our chat, he talks about how this shaped many parts of his upbringing, in both positive and negative ways. He shares his recollections of his early fascination with plants and film and the events that led up to his exploring early time-lapse photography.

Louie underlines his prioritization of learning through watching and doing, and his desire to tell different kinds of stories. We also get into the practical steps that allowed him to build a career and reputation. Louie remains hopeful of building a movement that can change the world and believes that our gratitude is central to this project. So to hear it all from this amazing guest, be sure to tune in!

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Imagine falling in love unexpectedly and then after only six short years together, you get the news that your wife has 15 months to live. Today’s guest, Ray “Willie Qool” Singleton is no stranger to knowing love and loss. 

With experience in singing, sales, and social media influencing, Ray quickly became ‘America’s Husband’ when a video of him singing to his wife with cancer went viral. Join us today as we discuss Ray’s upbringing, influences, time at college, years as a salesman, and so much more. 

Ray describes the incredible story of how he met his wife. He goes on to share how they handled her cancer diagnosis, touching on communication in their marriage, and staying positive in tough times. 

When Ray and Roslyn were invited to the Ellen Show, they became overnight celebrities, and in this episode, he shares how his social media community supported him and his wife through the last days of her life. He tells us about how music kept him going and the peaceful way his wife left this earth before telling us what he feels his purpose is and what is next for him. 

To hear from this incredibly talented and inspirational man, tune in now!

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We’ve come full circle here on The Light Watkins Show as today, we are joined by this podcast’s very first guest! Leon Logothetis is an explorer, TV show host, speaker, and author, and he is here with us to chat about his latest book, Go Be Brave. 

After a quick recap of Leon’s extraordinary background, he tells us how he defines bravery and courage, his earliest memory of having to be brave, his extroverted and introverted selves and the one that is closer to his true self, and the correlation between being yourself and speaking your truth. 

Then, we hear about the power of the truth diary and taking action, how to use nature to reconnect with your humanity, why taking action is more important than understanding the concepts in Leon’s book, and what Leon believes is the most fundamental and non-negotiable aspect of being brave. 

We end this delightful and inspiring conversation with an exploration of the type of bravery that is needed to build long-lasting relationships, why our guest is closer to his life’s goal of marriage than he’s ever been before, and why you should be comfortable saying both yes and no, and knowing when to say them.  Enjoy!

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Today we are joined by international speaker, consultant, coach, podcaster, and unapologetic champion of honesty, Africa Brooke! 

Africa was born in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK, and we get to hear all about our guest's early years, challenges, and paths of self-discovery. 

Having struggled with an alcoholic father, Africa herself fell into a pattern of substance abuse, and she generously talks about what this looked like and what it took for her to break out of these habits. 

She explains the impact that learning about self-sabotage had on her, as well as the power of sharing her story publicly. From there, the conversation transitions to her outspoken comments on transcending the confines of wokeness and cancel culture, and how stepping into her truth changed things for her in so many ways. 

Listeners will come away with some inspiring and fearless thoughts on purpose, truth, making peace with contradictions, and intentionality; all things we can all use a bit more of! Africa also talks about the central role that ritual plays in her life, finding her voice as a storyteller, becoming a better listener, and much more, so tune in now!

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In the chaos of life, it’s easy to get caught in the mess of it all, forgetting that your pain and struggle can actually be turned into a motivational message of strength and perseverance. 

Today’s guest has valiantly turned her mess into her message, and it is a pleasure to be joined by fitness influencer, speaker, coach, @NYCfitfam creator, and the founder of The Big Ask Method, Jamie Hess. 

After Light and Jamie reminisce about when they first met, we get a sense of Jamie’s childhood and what it was like growing up with a celebrity mother, and how horseback riding saved her life. 

We discuss an injury that sent Jamie down the drug rabbit hole, how her drug use affected her relationship with her mother, the dangers of some prescription and harm-reducing drugs, and the definition of a high-functioning drug addict. 

Our guest then walks us through how she adopted a lifestyle of gratitude, her journey to finding fitness as a vocation, why she decided to be vulnerable in sharing her story, and the blind date that eventually led to 11 happy years of marriage! 

We discover how Jamie and her husband George started NYCfitfam, what they did to grow the account, how Jamie fell into an eating disorder (and how George helped her through it), and the ins and outs surrounding her decision to make her unhealthy relationship with food public. 

Finally, Jamie explains how she became a coach and why coaching also needs a dedicated, self-motivated student, before she offers listeners of the show a 20% discount that they can apply to her upcoming Reset Retreat!

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If you want to hear the uncut, 3-hour long, full interview with Adriene Mishler, join Light's online community, The Happiness Insiders Community: http://community.lightwatkins.com

Online health platforms were already on the rise before the pandemic of 2020, but we have seen a sharp uptick in the utilization of video classes and communities since quarantines have kicked in. 

One such community was built by Adriene Mishler, and had humble beginnings as a yoga class hosted on YouTube in the early 2010s. 'Yoga with Adriene' grew steadily after a slow start, and by the time 2020 came around Adriene was the highest searched yoga content on the internet! 

She has built a huge community which she helps instruct from her living room. To give you an idea of her impact, she has been called 'the Mr. Rogers of yoga'! Having been born into a theatre family, Adriene has a lifelong passion for performance and connection to an audience. 

We hear from her about her earliest memories of the theatre, how this grew into a career in acting, and how this career led her to pursue teaching yoga. Constantly juggling a number of intense projects has kept Adriene on the go from a young age, and it is only through her consistency and a deep desire that she has made it through challenging times and reaped the rewards of the hard work. 

We see how her authenticity led to the videos she was publishing eventually catching fire, to the point where she now has 7 million subscribers on YouTube, with over 600 million views on her channel! 

This is a beautifully meandering conversation about this process of growth, the obstacles that Adriene encountered, and the lessons she learned along the way. Adriene talks about the role of her angels in the journey and what it means to contribute to the future of yoga! 

Listen in with us today for this amazing conversation!

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Bringing the focus back onto Light, and in particular his new book, Travel Light, this episode expands on the ideas of spiritual minimalism, following inner guidance, and the process of writing a book.

Light first coined the term 'spiritual minimalism' while reflecting on the last couple of years and his backpack lifestyle, his decreasing need to accumulate possessions and material items, and the gifts that present themselves in each of life's situations. The episode starts off with some helpful insights and tips about the process of publishing a book, either through the self-publishing route or by way of traditional publishers.

Listeners can expect some great information on where to focus one's energy, and the steps that enable an author to get a book out into the world. From there, Light starts to delve into the subject matter of Travel Light, tacking the ideas of choicelessness, the benefits of a unique idea, finding comfort and discomfort, and much more. 

So if you want to hear all of this and more on the background of book number four from Light Watkins, be sure to listen in!

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Life can be extremely challenging at times, throwing hurdles and obstacles at us that often seem insurmountable. But if you can acknowledge ‘the suck’ and find a way to sit in the discomfort, then you will have a better chance at regaining your joyful spirit! This episode explores themes of domestic violence and dealing with severe loss, please listen with care. 

Today’s guest, Dr. Neeta Bhushan, has endured unfathomable loss and hardships to come out the other side better and stronger, whilst helping others realign with their purpose, too.  

We hear of her extraordinary upbringing, which saw her lose her mother, father, and brother all before she turned 20 years old. Dr. Neeta explains the immigrant philosophy in which she was raised, how she approaches spirituality, how she dealt with the loss of three family members when she was a teenager, and how those losses nudged her toward a career in medicine. 

We also hear about her transformative trip to Rome before our guest opens up about how an abusive marriage affected her, and how saying yes to almost everything after her divorce helped her regain her passion for life. 

Turning our attention to Dr. Neeta’s new book, That Sucked, Now What?, our guest defines ‘the suck,’ how we can embrace it, and what it means to be in ‘the thriving stage.’ Finally, the remarkable Dr. Neeta Bhushan tells us how her definition of success has changed over the years, what her relationship with her family is like today, and the wondrous moments she has witnessed as a result of those around her embracing their suck!    

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Our guest today, Kyle Cease, fell in love with comedy at a young age. And while he has had an incredibly successful comedy career, his hard work and ingenuity were driven by more than just a love of making people laugh. 

He also felt a deep-seated need for approval and validation. Today on the show we talk with Kyle Cease, a transformational comedian, and best-selling author, about his fascinating career as a comedian and how it has been shaped by his spiritual journey. 

We hear from Kyle about how he started doing corporate comedy events as a 15-year-old, why he always put himself in a position to learn from the best, and how he became a transformational comedian. 

Kyle goes on to share how reaching the depths of despair helped him let go of old versions of himself and set him on the path he is following today. We also discuss Kyle’s Evolve Out Loud event, how it’s grown over the past ten years, and his advice for anyone starting out on their spiritual journey. 

For a very special conversation on following your dreams, listening to your higher self, and letting go, be sure to tune in today!

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