Today’s guest is the multi-talented and passionate Matt Payne: a touring musician, small business owner, podcast host, AND new dad to his 5-month old daughter.

In today’s episode we touch on the different passions and projects in Matt’s life and how he is able to always stay true to himself and his overall/purpose mission. We pull back the curtain on some of Matt’s biggest influences growing up and what led him to the clarity that he now leads his life with.

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Matt lives an inspiring life that is so…Matt. He has found how to engage with his passions, talents and creativity while also giving back and serving others cultivate their own passions and creativity.

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Dr. Grant Gearhart is a current associate Spanish professor at Georgia Southern University and former professor at UNC Chapel Hill where he taught our host Drew for 3 years. Grant is deeply passionate about language and culture dedicating his life's work to education and spreading cultural awareness.

Grant has a unique perspective as a student and teacher of Spanish as well as being married to his Spanish wife whose family they visit twice a year there. He understands the cultural differences between the U.S. and Spain and ultimately how we can all benefit from learning about different cultures - which is the basis for his famous slogan amongst his students "don't be a tourist, be a traveler."

Grant shares with sincere humility and gratitude recognizing his own teachers that have impacted him, while also zooming out and thinking about the big picture behind his work and passions. A truly inspiring and fruitful conversation!

Highlights include:

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Hooper Schultz is an oral historian, PhD candidate and instructor in History at UNC – Chapel Hill. He previously worked for the Southern Oral History Program at the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC. His work is focused on student gay rights activism on college campuses in the U.S. South during the 1970’s. He is particularly interested in the relationships between students and their college towns, and how we can learn and benefit as a society from the brave (and too-often unheard) voices that came before us. 

In this conversation Hooper shares with us, for what was his first time in a publicly-recorded format, his story of coming out as gay as an undergrad at UNC. Hooper courageously tells his story as well as his life journey since then and how all of his education and work is in service of others who might be going through a similar struggle that he experienced. 

Other areas we cover in this conversation:

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You can contact Hooper at [email protected]

Today’s guest is Jameson Sackey, a personal injury Lawyer in Atlanta, husband, and father of two. Jameson attended The Lovett School in Atlanta, with host, Drew, and this conversation focuses on some of the cultural issues and challenges around race that were present during Jameson’s time there and that clearly have continued since his graduation in 2008. 

While the conversation resembles a case study of The Lovett School, it can be assumed that many of the cultural challenges at a mostly white, independent school are shared in other similar environments. Ultimately, it is a story of a minority group of people not feeling seen nor valued as part of the wider community and thinking about how we can all be a part of the much-needed change.

It is a hopeful conversation and one that encourages more unity in our society and world. 

Some additional topics discussed include:

You can find Jameson on IG at @jameson_sackey

Today’s guest is Sam Pfotenhauer, a former corporate lawyer turned spiritual mentor, life coach and intuitive. Sam tells us the story of her spiritual awakening, how she balanced her corporate law job while exploring her new passions, and ultimately how she left the corporate world to pursue the most fulfilling life for her.

Sam is a trailblazer who shows us all what is possible when we prioritize our personal healing and the path towards our highest selves and most fulfilling lives.

Some additional topics from this deep conversation with Sam include:

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Today's episode is a solo episode with host Drew Stockton opening up about what he considers his spiritual awakening which occurred at a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation course in 2019. It has taken years of integration to come to view this experience as a "spiritual" one and to be comfortable with his intentions behind sharing.

Drew hopes to support the opening of minds to different possibilities and give the listener the opportunity to use whatever curiosity or inspiration they feel to fuel their own search for truth, not to encourage comparison to Drew's story nor just accepting his truth as their own.

Some additional highlights from this intimate conversation include:

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Libby Christenson is a leader who is living by example. Libby opens up in this conversation about some of her big life transformations and how she has learned to embrace change, connect to her intuition and [mostly] flow into the current life of her dreams. 

Libby is not just alive, but ALIVE, and she shares with us how feeling feel-spectrum aliveness is her top priority.

This is an incredibly insightful and inspiring conversation and some additional highlights include:

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Libby helps you free yourself through science, spirituality and somatics so you can own your power and make profound changes in your life and in your community. Libby’s clients have gone on to create high-impact, high-income careers and lifestyles, while honing in on their given energies & abilities for success on multiple levels.

Connect with Libby on IG: @libby.christenson 

Learn more at her website: goldwavecoaching.com

Summer 2011 in the mountains of western North Carolina, 19-year old Burgess Robinson’s life almost ended in a long boarding accident that led to him being airlifted by a helicopter and multiple days in a medically-induced coma. But Burgess survived, and with him a new sense of gratitude, responsibility and intentionality in which he dedicated to living.

In this powerful conversation Burgess opens up about the Near-Death Experience that changed the way he looked at life and how he wanted to act going forward. This is a story of someone who was forced to get honest with with himself and his priorities at a very young age, and someone who was up for the challenge. 

A few additional highlights from the conversation include:

Episode plugs:

1. Tattoo design that Burgess created in the aftermath of the accident - https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:5e538ec4-f313-4e1b-a876-a48f8b6b544b

2. Habitat for Humanity International: https://www.habitat.org/

3. UNC-Chapel Hill Habitat for Humanity: https://www.facebook.com/UNCHabitat/

Today's guest, Carter Pope Jr. is the co-founder and CEO of Creekside Recovery Group, which includes three sober living accommodations in Georgia and Florida as well as a wide range of addiction and mental health treatment programs.

In today's episode, Carter opens up about his personal struggles with addiction and how they led to his downward spiral and "rock bottom" moment, but also to his recovery and ultimately launching his heart-centered, purpose-filled business.

After receiving the treatment and help he needed, Carter has now found a deeply fulfilling life that he previously never thought was possible.

Additional highlights from our conversation include:

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1) Being Brave Brax (ig: @beingbravebrax) - an inspiring account on IG following the life and journeys of the young Cystic Fibrosis warrior, Brax. Created by Jessica Pope to spread love and awareness on CF.

2) Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - the world's leader in the search for a cure to CF. The link to donate on behalf of Brax and the Pope family:

https://fightcf.cff.org/site/Donation2?idb=944289144&df_id=3282&3282.donation=form1&FR_ID=10409&mfc_pref=T&PROXY_ID=4541719&PROXY_TYPE=20

3) Creekside Recovery Group - Creekside Recovery Group manages treatment centers specializing in mental health and substance use disorders, as well as nearby convenient transitional living for program clients. CRG’s practical dual diagnosis treatment protocols are individualized to each client and designed to provide a thriving start to recovery journeys that reflects day-to-day living.

CRG currently operates three facilities in Florida and Georgia — Buckhead Behavioral Health, North Atlanta Behavioral Health and Tampa Bay Recovery Center — with additional openings planned for the southeast, including Gulf Coast Recovery Center slated for August 2024. See more below:

https://www.creeksiderr.com/resources/

Today's guest is Dr. Pat Brown, a hospitalist at Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, South Carolina.

Pat is a passionate healthcare provider and professional who has learned how to prioritize balance in life. Pat sees the big picture clearly and is thriving because of this perspective and his ability to put it into action.

Some highlights from this energizing conversation are:

Links:

A great podcast for functional medicine and one that Pat particularly appreciates the content on fasting, sugar, and ultra-processed foods. He uses formal references from randomized controlled trials and meta analysis to support his recommendations, all very high level reliable data.