Brian Hoover is a man who loves adventure. And I can't think of a better person to feature on a best-of episode. This conversation comes from way back in Episode 28. 

Brian decided to kayak the Mississippi River from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico. My first conversation with him had been about his trek, hiking from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. 

If you love stories that inspire you to find your own adventures, you will love listening to Brian tell about his mindset that lets him pursue experiences that feed his soul.

Carol Dweck is a psychologist who wrote a book talking about the differences between people with fixed mindsets vs those with growth mindsets.

Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.

Nita Sweeney is the award-winning wellness author of Depression Hates a Moving Target, You Should Be Writing, and Make Every Move a Meditation. UltraMarathoner. Meditator. Writing practice zealot. Mental health advocate. Dog mom. Publisher of Write Now Columbus.

Nita joined me for a great conversation about the power of running and it's relationship to meditation. It's good to be a moving target.

The stories that Sally McRae shared with me stuck in my memory. When I thought of what conversations I could share as a “best of the show” episode, this conversation was the first one I thought of.

Sally is a tough competitor and trains her mind as well as her body. In this episode she shares stories of how she developed the drive to succeed and to keep moving forward.

Your body is designed to heal itself. There is a natural force within us to fix and repair injuries and fight illness. What isn't discussed very often is that your soul/mind also influences what happens in your body.

You have probably experienced the principle that whatever you focus your attention on grows bigger. This same principle applies to those aches and pains or injuries you might have. Your body will eventually heal even when you're focusing worry and anxiety on what is wrong. But your negative attention does tend to make the pain greater and take longer to heal. 

You can speed your healing with the power of gratitude. This is not a denial of the injury or pain. But rather an expectation that healing is taking place and an appreciation of the result you know will come.

Ciara Carter is a mindset coach, a marathon runner, and she isn't afraid to do things that scare her. This year she decided to pack up her stuff and move from Florida to Utah. 

In this episode, we talk about how easy it is for us to get stuck in our comfort zone and settle into a rut. Ciara knew it would be a challenge to leave her friends in Florida and move to a place where she knew absolutely no one. But she went ahead and took the leap. She knew if it didn't work out the way she wanted she could always move again.

There was a psychological study done where people were asked to watch a video and tell how many times basketballs were passed by a group of people. 

About half of the people watching were so focused on counting the passes that they did not see a “gorilla” walk through the middle of the group and beat his chest.

You can see an example of the video HERE

You and I are wired to filter out a good deal of “reality.”

Your brain takes in 2.3M bits of information each second.

It filters out 99.994% of this information. It Deletes, Distorts, and Generalizes.

Ben Reale went into the Marine Corps as a licensed attorney and an officer. He found that the life of a JAG officer was not as glamorous as the hit TV series made it appear. And after his service, he decided to take a very different career path.

He became certified as a personal trainer and then went on to become certified as a nutrition coach. He demonstrates the “ultramarathon mindset” approach to his coaching, encouraging long-term sustainability over the “microwave popcorn” quick-and-fluffy approach.

Most people like to know what to expect. They don’t like change. They don’t like surprises.

The appeal of fast food franchises is they are all the same.

McDonalds in Tucumcari, NM has the same food as New York City.

How would you feel if you woke up one day and discovered that every McDonalds in the world was now vegan? And every one has a different menu.

Vegans: every option you had in your city was now a BBQ.