The Next Level

Inspired by his best friend's battle with cancer, Dr. Frank Merritt has engineered the fasting protocol, The 17 Hour Fast, which offers maximum benefits from a minimum fast that promotes an enriching mind, body and soul experience. Drawing on years of medical practice as well as VitalityPro research protocols developed with iconic athletes, respected nutritionists, and behavioral/exercise psychologists, The 17 Hour Fast embodies a minimum effective dose (MED) strategy harnessing powerful health and performance advantages of longer fasts while avoiding many of their pitfalls. Furthermore, The 17 Hour Fast is carefully synchronized and choreographed with diurnal/nocturnal hormone patterns, sleep hygiene, personal growth and relationship building techniques and suggested training/recovery activities to create a potent combination for success.

The 17-Hour Fast is founded on a bedrock of cutting-edge scientific data and presented in an intuitive and approachable way by Dr. Merritt and acclaimed writer Phil White (Unplugged, Game Changer, and Flight Plan).

Today we'll dive into The 17 Hour Fast and how to get started making it a habit.

In this episode you'll learn

• Fasting as a an effective reset button
• The power and accessibility of a minimum effective dose when it comes to a fast
• The problem with some fasts and how that affects an individual in the long term
• How the fast fosters accountability and sustainability
• Easing into the fast and coming off the fast
• The disadvantage of all the time on 24/7 news, social media, and outside influences and how the vacation night of the fast can keep that in check
• Switching from sympathetic active mode to rest and repair parasympathetic mode

Stop. Catch your breath. Do you feel that?

Most likely right up until now, you were chasing something. Success, love, achievement, your social media feed, your to do list, or even your kids. I'm not sure where it happened in the evolution of humanity, but the vast majority of the human race seems to be in that exact frame of mind. A race.

We're constantly in a never ending battle with time. Trying to use it wisely. Hoping for more of it. Swearing we don't have enough.

In those moments of stress, rushing from one thing to the next in the existential race against time, our body replies. The stress-handling systems get triggered and the body prepares for response. Our digestion slows down. Blood flow goes to the extremities. Adrenaline and cortisol are produced. It's primal as fuck. It's our biological defense.

This can happen from the subtle stress of information overload, someone cutting you off in traffic, an argument with your partner, getting caught in comparison, or an unexpected change of plans that sends you spinning into anger, blame, and pointing the finger.

Often times, months or years go by before we ever notice that something's wrong, or that a change is needed. We're simply just too busy.

Clear goals and an unwavering commitment have the power to propel us forward. My guest today declared that he would win the Olympics in a sport had actually never done. Within 4 years, Jeremiah Brown went from first stroke to Olympic Medalist.

Jeremiah Brown won an Olympic silver medal as a member of the Canadian men's eight rowing team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. A former commercial banker with a big dream, he is one of few Olympians ever to have started learning his sport only four years before winning a medal at the Olympics. After the Olympics, Jeremiah worked for the Canadian Olympic Committee as National Manager of Game Plan, an athlete wellness and transition program supporting 3000 Olympic, Paralympic, and national team athletes across more than 54 sports. Jeremiah is a Canadian sport system expert, author, keynote speaker, dad, and drummer who has played with award-winning artists. He lives in Peterborough, Canada.

His book The 4 Year Olympian: From First Stroke to Olympic Medallist tells his story from barely escaping an eight-month incarceration for robbery to ten years later standing on the podium with eight other men, now a silver medallist in rowing at the London Olympics. The story of how this fiery twenty-two-year-old without a passion—"an unlit fuse"— found himself learning the sport of rowing and four years later competing at the international level is about chasing a goal with everything you've got.

For me this book is about goals. What it takes to stay the course, and sticking with it even against literally painful odds.

In this episode you'll learn

• How Jeremiah literally went from taking his first stoke to being on the Olympic National team in two years
• Picking a sport that is more in line with your natural build
• Knowing your own unique strengths
• Some of the major stumbling blocks Jeremiah had to overcome to get great at the sport fast
• Overcoming the critical voice on the way to a major goal
• Moving forward even when you feel not good enough and lonely
• The importance of being supported
• Modeling pursuing your goals for your children
• How to trust the journey
• How our goals can shape our identity and what the transition looks like after achieving a goal
• What the honeymoon phase post goal looks like
• And MORE

Bar none, the most simple and useful access point to begin creating change in our lives is by shifting how we talk to ourselves and others. Our thoughts and language directly affect how we feel, breathe, act, and so much more.

Today I decided to string together a few powerful episodes where I chatted with experts in language and creating change. You'll hear from four previous guests: Mary Shores, Mark England, Bonnie Kelley, and Rick Hanson.

In this brief format, you'll hear about some ways to start observing your language and self-talk, some simple shifts to make, and how to make change last.

In this episode you'll learn

• Creating alignment and what that really means
• Barrier beliefs and tapping into your positive potential
• Tapping into the problem solving abilities of your brain
• How affirmations really work and what to do instead
• The power of proximity
• Understanding how conflict language creates a stress response and what to do instead
• What parts of your language forces you to look at worst case scenarios
• Seeing the roots and workings or victim language
• How your language shapes indecision and what to replace it with
• The benefits of the simply slowing down your rate of speech
• How your personal development is like a muscle and it needs to be trained from where you are at
• and MORE…

Trust is not basing your level of belief on evidence. While evidence builds confidence, trust is a feeling first. It's a sensation. It's a deep knowing that it will all work out.

The how of trust is unknown. Our mind even tries to figure it out, weigh options, and logically navigate it. While the mind is a powerful tool to subdue the dragon of defeat or assist in walking up the ladder of good feeling thoughts, trust isn't something you can make sense of. It's a connection you establish, nurture and grow.

Being familiar with this connection comes with understanding the quality of it. What it is and what it isn't.

When we land here we trust. We trust that our needs are going to be met. That our caretakers will inevitably come to our aid.

As we are introduced to the world and begin to venture out of the nest we call home, we learn how to navigate our reality. Most of us are taught to think our way through life. While that's a useful skill, there are other ways to play the game...

Before I dive into how to navigate trust, let's talk about how it works and why we stop too soon.

If you've listened to The Next Level, you know we've done some shows on language and how our language affects our reality. Language has been an absolute game changer in my own life and continues to be a practice in awareness, choice, and presence.

Another area where I find great solace is through movement and exercise. It just so happens that a good friend and language ninja Mark England just teamed up with Mike Bledsoe to blend movement, language and more.

You may remember Mark England the co-founder of Procabulary who's come on the show twice now to talk about language. Today he's back with Mike Bledsoe to dive into their new joint project Flowstated, where they bring together language, breath, mindfulness, and training to help athletes increase their capacity and so much more.

Mike Bledsoe is the co-founder of #1 rated fitness show Barbell Shrugged, Barbell Business, and host of his current podcast The Bledsoe Show. Mark England is a TEDx speaker and the co-founder and lead presenter of Procabulary. He loves to travel, exchange empowering ideas and strategies and practice martial arts. Mark holds a Masters Degree in International Education and was an elementary sports teacher before developing Procabulary.

Today we'll dive into language, conditioning your awareness, what the Flowstated process looks like, and so much more.

In this episode you'll learn

• How Mike started to notice that language was changing who he was
• Being congruent in all situations and getting real with who you are
• Why we as a culture have overlooked the simplicity of words
• Two specific ways to create space between what you think and what you say
• How Flowstated increases your capacity and awareness as well has mental, emotional, and physical dexterity
• Exploring your identity and sense of self
• How language creates separation
• Understanding your inner dialogue, how it shapes your identity, and how to shift it
• How labels can limit how we show up in those roles and make us compromise our values
• Creating what your identity means to you
• And MORE…

Loss isn't an easy thing. Whether its a job, the loss of a loved one, or anything that's a major part of our lives, loss seems to leave an empty space. Anything that we invest time in, commit to, or love in many ways becomes a part of who we are, our identity, and when that thing is gone we inherently ask the question "Who am I now?"

After the unexpected loss of her husband at the young age of 45, Kristine Carlson began a journey that she wasn't expecting to take so soon. With two girls to raise, Kristine began navigating her grieving process and who she was now without her beloved in her life and her own journey back to joy.

Kristine Carlson has captivated readers worldwide with her books, including Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms, An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love, and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Women. Kristine has been featured on national radio and television broadcasts, including The Today Show, Empowered Living Radio, The View, and Oprah. Today, she is emerging as a profound leader in the areas that matter most to the human heart—how to heal and move forward, and how to love.

Kristine is the bestselling co-author of the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series. Her newest book, From Heartbreak to Wholeness: The Hero's Journey to Joy, is inspired by her own personal journey after the loss of her husband and offers a practical plan to recover joy in the face of grief and loss.

Today we'll dive into the healing process, grieving loss, mindfulness, and more From Heartbreak to Wholeness.

In this episode you'll learn

• How we go through an identity crisis when we experience loss
• Grief as a normal process of healing
• Creating stillness and how being very gentle can help with the grieving process
• Working through the self-talk and thinking patterns associated with grief
• The healing power of journaling
• Facing adversity through personal responsibility and acceptance
• How Kristine's values shifted after her husband's death
• Role modeling how you deal with adversity for your children
• The role of forgiveness in the grieving process
• And More…

Understanding what's important, what you value, is the key to navigating life's many options. Whether you're trying to decide on your next big project, long term goal, or just whether or not you should go out tonight, weighing your options against your values makes all the difference between making the right choice, or the one that leaves you feeling regret.

Values aren't something I set out to define. In fact, what was important to me was dictated by others. My Parents, society, social media… the things I thought I needed in my life and what I thought was important… wasn't really important. At all. Let's call those False Values.

We adopt false values by blindly accepting other people's definition of what life should look like… success, happiness, connection, romance, and even who we should be… as our own. Without examining further. Without ever refining or redefining them and truly understanding things like our identity, and how we want to feel once we achieve that thing we're going for...

Face to face with another individual, we have the opportunity to see their body language, tone, eye movement, and many other non-verbal queues that clue us into how to best interact.

Translating your offline persona and style into the digital arena isn't always the easiest when these subtleties are left out. I know I've certainly experienced this, and maybe you have too.

When equipped with the proper strategy and etiquette, the digital space can seem a lot less intimidating and it's a heck of a lot easier to feel like you're being you.

My guest today, Erin Gargan, is an award-winning entrepreneur, Amazon best-selling author, and digital persuasion expert. She sold her first two companies, Jump Digital Media and PMS.com before the age of 30. In 2010, she founded Socialite Agency, a social media firm whose clients include The Oscars, ABC/Disney, VISA, Target, Siemens, Hitachi, and others. She is the author of Digital Persuasion: Sell Smarter in the Modern Marketplace. Erin helps sales, marketing, and event professionals attract attention and increase influence by becoming more effective digital communicators.

We unpack Erin's story, what it takes to be successful in being heard in outbound marketing and the digital area, and the nitty-gritty of Digital Persuasion.

In this episode you'll learn

• How to translate your offline persona into the online space
• What the online disinhibition effect tells us about why we behave the way we do online
• How to make better decisions before we post
• What persuasion is
• The way other people perceive us online and being more of a server or a friend
• The goal of ethical persuasion and moving people to action
• How to widdle down your message and what skill to focus on
• And MORE…

Full article at http://jeffa.co/139

We now have the opportunity to fill every waking moment with something… anything. Idle time doesn't exist anymore. Powering down and turning off comes with this looming sense of guilt that "I should be doing something." As if our sense of self is not just subtly, but wholly tied up in doing.

The philosopher Blaise Pascal said this:

All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone

A deeper part of us knows that being perpetually distracted isn't right, but also knows what happens in those moments of quiet. That we'll actually have to face what we've been ignoring for so long. That we'll come face to face with our insecurities, feelings not felt, and dreams we've set aside while we plug away being a model citizen and believer in the good ol' American dream.

Comedian Louis CK says this beautifully in a conversation with Conan O'Brian about why he hates cell phones. He calls it the forever empty… the knowledge that it's all for nothing and you're all alone...