Kevin Miller

Shows

Episodes

  1. Living & Thriving With Pain of Loss That Will Never Go Away w/ Neurosurgeon Lee Warren

    2d ago

    Living & Thriving With Pain of Loss That Will Never Go Away w/ Neurosurgeon Lee Warren

    The concept of trauma has gotten more focus than ever, as of late, it seems. But I feel much of what gets labeled trauma is the pain of loss. Losses we don’t know how to, or maybe never will, reconcile. I don’t claim having trauma in my life, but I have loss that I don’t think I’ll ever get over. I don’t want to minimize trauma at all, but I feel even more people resonate with the concept of loss. Even if it stems from a tragic trauma. And what I’ve been considering is some losses I don’t expect or even intend to “get over.” They are now a part of me. And, I want to thrive in my life anyway. My guest knows much about this, not only from his own life, but with experience with so, so many people. Lee Warren is a neurosurgeon. Every day he is dealing with people who may lose some of their cognitive abilities, or their lives. And he deals with their loved ones who are losing someone significant in their lives. This is Lee’s life. In addition, Lee knows what I’ll call straight-up, big T Trauma. On August 20, 2013, his nineteen-year-old son Mitch died of multiple stab wounds to the neck. Mitch’s best friend died along with him with one stab wound. Whether the knife used to kill Mitch was in his hand or someone else’s, whether he was at fault or a victim, they will never know. An unsolved murder. This could have been the end of Lee. Obviously it was not. But he hasn’t gotten over it and doesn’t expect to. All this adds up to what I found to be a profound conversation that I’ve understood more as time has passed and I’ve experienced more loss. Lee has a book about all this, Hope Is the First Dose: A Treatment Plan for Recovering from Trauma, Tragedy, and Other Massive Things. And wherever you are listening to this podcast, you can find his podcast, just search for The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 24m
  2. Getting Clear On What Is Truly At Risk In Pursuing What We Want w/ Connection Expert Ben Swire

    6d ago

    Getting Clear On What Is Truly At Risk In Pursuing What We Want w/ Connection Expert Ben Swire

    I don’t think we like to hear it, but there seems to be continual evidence that our culture is growing more risk averse, less willing to try new things, and as a result, becoming stagnant. Another data point on our reported, near all time low of subjective well-being. So I brought on an expert to discuss the issue. Ben Swire is an innovative thought leader on human connection and authentic living. Ben is an award-winning designer, writer, and former Design Lead at the iconic innovation firm IDEO, and he co-founded Make Believe Works where they help people build deeper relationships and discover their authentic purpose through creative activities. Ben has spent much of his time working with people and teams, helping them progress toward the things they really want. Ben says we all want inspiring experiences, meaningful work, and deep relationships. But those generally require risking vulnerability, inviting disappointment, and trusting others. So, we hesitate, settle to remain safe, and stay stuck. So he's worked to lessen the perceptions of risk, and this was why I had him on the show. Ben has a new book, SAFE DANGER: An Unexpected Method for Sparking Connection, Finding Purpose, and Inspiring Innovation. As you will hear, I really honed in on looking at what is really most at risk, and so often it is only our identity. Anxiety about what people might think. I’m not going to cheerlead that everyone quit caring what others think, but I’m definitely working to shine light on the issue and help us see how unfounded the concern often is. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 10m
  3. What Becomes Possible When We Quit Protecting Ourselves w/ Jordan Grumet

    May 22

    What Becomes Possible When We Quit Protecting Ourselves w/ Jordan Grumet

    I believe much of what motivates our life perspective and choices is around protecting ourselves. It’s human nature. I’m not talking about self-absorption, but even amongst the most giving and serving and confident of people, I still experience a lot of motive and behavior around self-protection. I’m including myself in this as well. My guest today has a very unique perspective on this concept. My guest is Jordan Grumet. Jordan was an internal medicine physician who left clinical practice to devote himself to hospice care and deep conversations about life. Jordan walks with people who are given an end of life diagnosis and watches a phenomenon happen right before his eyes. Jordan says, “We are all living versions of stories, but when a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness and death becomes a near future certainty, something remarkable happens: the self-protective stories about identity, work and money crumble, leaving them with clarity about who they are, what they love, and what really matters.” He then cites they become free, as there is no reason to hold up pretense and no need to protect themselves. Their focus shifts from fear of loss toward the possibility of what can still be gained, and people focus on true desires, generally for the first time. The tragedy is they didn’t achieve this perspective, long ago in their lives. Which is why Jordan took his experience and wrote a book, Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life. He’s striving to help us leave our lives of self-protection and move to considering what is truly possible, now. Not waiting till death is imminent and we have a short time to do what really matters. You can connect with Jordan at his podcast, Earn & Invest Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m
  4. How To Understand Our Sense Of Self Amongst The Ever Changing World of Tech, Speed, & Transformation w/ Cultural Analyst Patricia Martin

    May 18

    How To Understand Our Sense Of Self Amongst The Ever Changing World of Tech, Speed, & Transformation w/ Cultural Analyst Patricia Martin

    How do you view your sense of self? Do you feel more or less understanding of who you are? How about those around you, friends, family, and others? Do you sense them as feeling more or less stable regarding themselves and their place in the world? I think it’s worth considering, and I feel a continued shift toward insecurity in an of ourselves, culturally. I have kids from 13 to 30 years old, from middle school to grad school, and I see and hear of consistent quandaries vs self and identity. But I’m 55 and even amongst my peers I feel there are struggles. My guest today has been researching this issue and as with so much of the human condition, feels our current age of tech and speed and constant transformation is having an effect on our sense of self. Patricia Martin is a cultural analyst and author whose insights have appeared in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Slate, and Psyche Magazine. She hosts the popular podcast, Jung in the World, as in Carl Young, and she is the author of four books including her most recent, and my focus here, Will The Future like You? Reflections on the Age of Hyper-reinvention. In the book, Patricia asks, “What if the harms of living an increasingly digital life go beyond undercutting our attention spans or blunting our social skills? What if it cuts deeper, to the core of who we are and who we know ourselves to be?” In this episode we explore the challenges that tech and the internet impose on the human psyche and discuss the processes that make us who we are. We also address three conditions Patricia cites as unraveling who we are: persona fog, chronic self-doubt, and cascading crossroads.  As is often the case, I hone in on understanding who we are outside of what we do and how we have grown to measure and judge our sense of self. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 16m
  5. Your State of Mind Is Likely Hurting Your Gut & Digestion More Than What You Are or Are Not Eating w/ Functional Medicine Expert Will Cole

    May 15

    Your State of Mind Is Likely Hurting Your Gut & Digestion More Than What You Are or Are Not Eating w/ Functional Medicine Expert Will Cole

    First, I’m surely not saying that what you are or are not eating doesn’t matter. But after a decade of my own involvement in functional medicine, I see the biggest culprit for gut and digestion issues to be our minds more than anything else. I continue to meet people who are doing “all the right things,” eating clean, taking all the great supplements, exercising, getting good sleep, and they are still dealing with gut and digestive discomfort. I was the same. And I don’t have a magic solution like meditating or something for the mind. But I’m concerned that the normal lifestyle of busyness and fast paced and constant stimulation is going to overpower all your other efforts. So a few years ago I sat down with Dr Will Cole. I became aware of Dr Cole through Gwyneth Paltrow, as he is her functional medicine doctor and one of the providers in her Goop wellness and lifestyle brand and company. Will has admittedly become the health and wellness resource for a lot of influential people and if you visit his IG page with over 800k followers you’ll see many people you recognize. Will has a book called, Gut Feelings: Healing the Shame-Fueled Relationship Between What You Eat and How You Feel, and it gets more into the philosophy of our wellness than just clinical, prescriptive aspects. Which to me is the foundation. Your health and wellness will ultimately be a result of your own philosophy on health and wellness. Will actually coined the term, “Shameflammation”, which I encourage you to listen into. I find that shame is a reality with most men, and one they are ignorant of and prone to avoid even looking into. You’re going to hear some paradigm shifting information here on your health and wellness. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 19m
  6. How To Feel Secure When You Can’t Be Certain w/ Journalist Simone Stolzoff

    May 11

    How To Feel Secure When You Can’t Be Certain w/ Journalist Simone Stolzoff

    Most everyone knows the story of holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl who wrote the book, Man's Search For Meaning. In the book he shares his journey of finding meaning, purpose, and peace even as a prisoner in a concentration camp. A primary message he had for humanity was that regardless of circumstances, we have the freedom to choose our attitude in any situation. He feels this is what kept him alive while most around him died. But when the time came when Viktor was freed from his prison, he didn't stay there, saying he'd found peace and was good. He left to embrace the comforts and security of freedom. We as humans seem to inherently desire just that, comfort and security. I don't see that changing, and I'm not criticizing this, as I wake most mornings safe and sound in the comforts of my nice home full of all the latest amenities. But like Viktor, I want my core comfort and security to reside within me so that in times of hardship and uncertainty, I'm not devastated. We live in a time where we don't seem to be doing ok if things aren't certain for us. And they can't be. And as time goes on I align with the quote, “The more I learn the less I know,” usually attributed to Albert Einstein or Socrates. I find less and less that I can claim certainty with. But I’m also finding more peace than ever by accepting, not knowing. My guest in this episode is Simone Stolzoff. Simone is an author and journalist who explores big questions about work, meaning, and identity. He is the author of two books: The Good Enough Job and now, and the reason for me inviting him onto the show, he has written the book, How To Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty In a World That Demands Answers. Simone’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and on the TED stage, and I found that many of the influential leaders I’ve had on this podcast follow Simone’s research and work. Here we don’t discount our desire for certainty, but dig into how we can remain secure when we are not certain. I’ll add that I’m growing more distrusting of those who claim certainty, and at the point of rejecting the concept. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m
  7. Your Sensitivities Are Your Right & Responsibility w/ Sensitivity Expert Andre Sólo

    May 8

    Your Sensitivities Are Your Right & Responsibility w/ Sensitivity Expert Andre Sólo

    The word “sensitive” has a lot of baggage. Much of it is negative. We are critical of people who we deem are not sensitive. Insensitive, we say. We are critical of people who we deem are too sensitive. Over sensitive, we say. If you look for the meaning of the word, you find this - Being sensitive means having a nervous system that processes information more deeply, resulting in acute physical, mental, or emotional responses to stimuli. I find myself today wanting to, as it says, “process information more deeply.” I want to feel the feels and experience all the sensations. That said, there are some things I feel, maybe too acutely. Some emotionally and some sensory. On both accounts I have some areas where I feel overly sensitive. How I choose to perceive them and address them is how I choose to care for myself, and with others regarding me. My guest in this show is my guru on sensitivities, and specifically, HSPs - highly sensitive people. Andre Sólo is the force behind Sensitive Refuge, the world’s largest website for sensitive people, and Andre is the co-author of "Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World." When I first read Andre’s book, I labeled myself an HSP, and you’ll hear me refer to such in this episode. Since then, I do not accept this label, as I don’t really accept any label. I don’t align with saying I’m all of anything. But I do accept that there are some emotions and sensory perceptions that I recognize myself to be highly sensitive to. You may align with this as well, and Andre is here to help us learn how to be highly functioning, regardless of your sensitivities. Find him at his homebase website, sensitiverefuge.com, and find him on IG @sensitiverefuge Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 22m
  8. Detaching From Our Past - Is It Possible? w/ Renowned Therapist Katherine Woodward Thomas

    May 4

    Detaching From Our Past - Is It Possible? w/ Renowned Therapist Katherine Woodward Thomas

    You’ve likely seen movies that depict someone having an accident and getting amnesia, not being able to remember any, or aspects, of their past. Imagine waking today and you know everything about yourself in the present moment, and are even aware of what you do and your future. But you can’t remember any of the hurts and pains and disappointments of your past. Who and how would you be? This isn’t possible of course, and I for one don’t want to forget the past, but my guest in this episode is really calling us to detach from how much we let the past handicap us. Truly, through our memories alone, we inadvertently let the past limit us. My guest is renowned therapist, Katherine Woodward Thomas. Katherine was the New York Times bestselling author of Calling in “The One” and Conscious Uncoupling. She is literally credited with teaching hundreds of thousands of people in her virtual and in-person programs, and also trained thousands of other professional therapists in her methods. I can’t believe how many people who have read and followed Katherine’s counsel. Her brand new book is, What's True About You: 7 Steps to Move Beyond Your Painful Past and Manifest Your Brightest Future. At the end of her career, this is the climactic message she wanted to bring the world. I had the distinct honor of talking with Katherine on March 30th, 2026. We had previously rescheduled due to her treatments regarding late stage ovarian cancer. On April 27, not even a month after our conversation, Katherine passed away. She knew the cancer was serious, but as she told me, she was doing everything possible to fight it, and was hopeful. Katherine and I really connected, and were planning on following up together about a project I’m working on. We traded text messages and I inspired myself to think of collaborating with not only a profoundly accomplished and influential professional in the self-help space, but with someone I experienced as a truly bright light and tender, insightful soul. I’d like to think now that our conversation that follows was influenced by the mysteries of her leaving this earth only 28 days later. I ask you to tune in with special attention and an open spirit to what Katherine has to offer us regarding truly letting go of the past constructs of ourselves that we are holding onto and believing in and keeping us from progressing in the miracle that is our lives. The miracle of living. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m
  9. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Asking The Right Questions & Knowing Your Core Values w/ Psychotherapist Elliott Connie

    12/01/2025

    Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Asking The Right Questions & Knowing Your Core Values w/ Psychotherapist Elliott Connie

    Surveys show there are more people in therapy than ever. On one hand I feel there is more benefit in talking with someone than not. And on the other hand I’m concerned whether all the therapy is paying off. Statistically, mental health continues on a decline. So when I heard about SFBT therapy, I intrigued myself. SFBT is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, defined as a goal-oriented, short-term approach that focuses on identifying a client's strengths and resources to find solutions to their problems, rather than dwelling on the problems themselves. My guest today is one of the foremost experts on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Elliott Connie is a respected author, top psychotherapist, and thought leader in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), takes a fresh approach. He has a book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Future: Overcome Challenges and Create a New Vision for Your Life Using the Principles of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. In his book, Elliott challenges readers to rethink their questions and the thinking behind them, and I resonate with the concepts very much. The idea is using powerful, forward-focused questions that are designed to help you shift your mindset and create meaningful change. The highlights for me were the realization of how much more powerful it is when we think for ourselves and ask questions, rather than be told something. When we are told something by someone else, we can often push back against it. When we consider and come up with an answer to a question ourselves, we listen. We also got deep into the power of knowing and living in accordance with our core values. But not the “big picture core values,” as Elliott points out. We tend to think of beliefs and morality, but where he finds it most powerful is in the day to day values that actually support who we are and want to be. Elliott’s book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Future, is available now, and you can connect with him and SFBT at elliottconnie.com Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 12m
  10. Leaving The Massive Output of Early Life For The Wise Input of The 2nd Half w/ National Columnist & Professor Arthur Brooks

    May 1

    Leaving The Massive Output of Early Life For The Wise Input of The 2nd Half w/ National Columnist & Professor Arthur Brooks

    Out of the 1700 shows and hundreds of people I've had on my podcasts, people, often when they have me as a guest on their podcast, ask me what shows stood out. And my answer is citing shows where a message had a particularly valuable impact on my personal life. My first conversation with Arthur Brooks about the message in his book, Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, is one of these. The book came across my desk at a time when I was feeling burnout in multiple areas of my life. I'll always remember sitting on the couch in my study and reading the first chapter where Arthur depicts the exhaustion I and others in the 2nd half of life are feeling. And the propensity to look at just grunting out the rest of life, just trying to retire and escape, or...another option. To realize that our brains and beings were equipped, neurologically, to function one way in our early life, and a different way in our later life. My paraphrasing is to say, in the first half of my life, I was wired to create and build and innovate and conquer the world in essence. But that wiring decreases in strength over time. But now you have the wiring that is in essence, earned by all that effort. I now have knowledge of experience to impart. I have some guidance and wisdom to offer. It works this way in my life today, in the past, I'd start a new company and be CEO and lead the charge. Now I start a company, and I influence the charge. But I don't want to lead it. I've done that. I've been there. I have other things to offer now. I have recommended Arthur's book, Strength to Strength, to so many people. My peers. And I recommend it again as I queue it up for your benefit now. Since this book and conversation, Arthur co-authored a book with Oprah and I had him back on the show, and today finds him...everywhere. Harvard professor, multiple NYT bestselling author, and national columnist. If you want to connect with him just type in Arthur Brooks anywhere and you'll find him. I get his weekly article he writes for The Free Press. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 27m
  11. Dismantling & Advocating The Power of Your Beliefs w/ Behavior Design Expert Nir Eyal

    Apr 27

    Dismantling & Advocating The Power of Your Beliefs w/ Behavior Design Expert Nir Eyal

    Not truths, but theories to consider in regards to yourself and your beliefs and ultimately how your beliefs are guiding your life for better and worse. My guest is Nir Eyal (Near A-yall). Nir consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and human potential. He previously taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is the author of the international bestsellers Hooked, and Indistractible, which have sold over 1 million copies in more than 30 languages. Nir’s research and writing has been featured in The New York Times and Harvard Business Review, and he is a regular contributor to Psychology Today. Nir has a new book, BEYOND BELIEF: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results, and I took the opportunity to go head on with our cultural perspective on beliefs. To help you see if you're interested, I'll read some concepts that came from Nir and our talk: Beliefs can be helpful regardless of if they are true. Beliefs are the driver of sustained motivation. But not because they are necessarily true. If you make a triangle with belief on one side and behavior on the other, belief is the foundation underneath. Facts are true whether you believe in them or not. Faith is conviction that doesn't require evidence, and belief is the messy space between fact and faith. We don't agree about what we choose to put our faith in, we argue about whether our faith is true and other's faith is false. A belief is only good if it holds up to real-world feedback, remains open to revision, and doesn’t require ignoring evidence to sustain it. Healthy belief requires intellectual humility. And a couple side items that came up, “All pain is real. And it’s all in your brain.” And, “Your brain isn’t seeing reality - it’s seeing your beliefs about reality.” If this sounds intriguing, stay tuned. You can find Nir’s book, Beyond Belief, anywhere. Connect with him at nirandfar.com Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 11m
  12. Redefining Hope & Why It Is The Greatest Predictor of Your Well-Being w/ Psychologist Julia Garcia

    Mar 30

    Redefining Hope & Why It Is The Greatest Predictor of Your Well-Being w/ Psychologist Julia Garcia

    I think we’ve gotten to the point of defining hope as the expectation of something good happening in the future. But I’ve not found many, if any, people who I’d refer to as hopeful, who didn’t exude hope in the right here and now. A primary definition of hope is simply, a feeling of trust. My guest in this episode says, “Hope is the single best predictor of well-being compared to any other measure of trauma recovery.” So if hope includes having trust, then it’s relevant for us all to consider how trusting we feel in our lives. Not just in other people, but in life in general. My guest is Dr. Julia Garcia. Julia is a psychologist and author dedicated to empowering people through the science of mental health. Julia works with people facing life’s toughest moments—helping them overcome fear, doubt, and hopelessness to build lasting habits of healing and hope. She says her mission is to prove that hope isn’t just something you feel—it’s something you practice, one habit at a time. I find hope, trust, in short supply in our culture. And yet I find my own hope in the miracle of living, a constant fuel for my own peace and joy. Julia has written a book on her work, The 5 Habits of Hope: Stories and Strategies to Help You Find Your Way. We start off talking about the cultural concepts around hope, and then walk and talk through her five habits of hope. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 13m
  13. Finding Motivation To Embrace Life When Your Only Exposure Is Motivation Not To w/ Organizational Psychologist Benjamin Hardy

    Apr 24

    Finding Motivation To Embrace Life When Your Only Exposure Is Motivation Not To w/ Organizational Psychologist Benjamin Hardy

    I’m bringing back a conversation that forever changed some foundational beliefs I had on motivation. Dr Benjamin Hardy is a now famous Organizational Psychologist. He’s also now the author of multiple best selling books. I first had him on this podcast for his book, Willpower Doesn’t Work. Then again for his book, Personality Isn’t Permanent. I think he’s been on here four or five times now. But it was during one show that he just touched on a story that I ended up using for the opening story in my book, What Drives You. Ben grew up in what I would call a fairly strict religious construct, where the religion was looked at as the purpose of life. Then he watched his parents divorce, which was antithetical to the religion, and while his mom devoted herself to a sketchy health related business, his dad became a meth addict. Ben couch surfed as a teen, barely made it through high school, and at age 19 found himself playing video games, literally all day, sometimes having to fend off other meth addicts who came to his dad’s apartment. And I hear about this while Ben is on my show with his next bestselling book in the “self-help” category. Meanwhile I had nine kids who I was trying to raise “perfectly” so they’d grow up to…maybe be a renowned psychologist and author making big money with a beautiful family. Like Ben. So following, is the in depth story I was incredibly curious to understand. Find Ben anywhere, just type in Ben Hardy. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 5m
  14. How To Actually Speak With Clarity & Intelligence w/ Communication Expert Michael Chad Hoeppner

    10/06/2025

    How To Actually Speak With Clarity & Intelligence w/ Communication Expert Michael Chad Hoeppner

    We all know the saying and the truth of how much we judge a book by its cover. I feel it is a dramatic metaphor for much of humanity. And I don’t minimize it either. I feel it’s our responsibility to address our “book covers.” I feel we are in a culture that gives a lot of attention to physical aesthetics. Whether it’s how we look or the car we drive or the phone we have and clothes we wear and on and on. But I amaze myself with what seems a stark lack of attention to what’s behind the physical accouterments. A big one is how we talk. How we communicate. My guest is communication expert, Michael Chad Hoeppner. Michael is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and the CEO and president of GK Training, a firm dedicated to giving individuals and organizations better communication skills. He is a speaking coach to…a long list of incredibly impressive people and organizations. Michael is alone a leader among a growing chorus of voices identifying the link between the physical aspects of spoken communication and broader issues of health and wellness. He has a new book titled, Don’t Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life. But as you’ll hear, the title is a bit tongue in cheek. The concepts we discuss go far deeper than our cultural propensity to say, “um, er, like, and you know.” How we speak often gets us judged, for better or worse, much more than what we speak. But we don’t get it. We are intent on what we are saying and talking about and miss how we are delivering it. But how we are communicating really does bely who we are. Using filler words and not addressing our body language doesn’t just make us sound dumb, it honestly questions what level of personal security and confidence we actually have. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 17m
  15. Overcome Your Greatest Health Threat - Cultural Pressure | Functional Friday

    10/28/2022

    Overcome Your Greatest Health Threat - Cultural Pressure | Functional Friday

    If you were on your own, you’d likely make all the positive health changes you desire. Eat cleaner. Exercise. Meditate. Go to sleep earlier. Do less screens. But you’re not alone. You may have a spouse. Kids. Co-workers. Friends and family. People who are living out the cultural norms. There are the office donuts, birthday cakes, and pizza. Beers after work. A spouse and kids who want their meat and potatoes, and chips while watching a show. The church potlucks. BBQ parties. Someone who labels you a health nut if you abstain from imbibing in it all, or go for a walk or run during your lunch break. And on and on. We as humans most long to fit in and the pressure isn’t just about being weak and folding, it’s often about being kind and not wanting to offend. It’s a very real and present danger we don’t give enough gravity to. This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…and today we we tackle this issue. I’m with my co host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert. Cultural pressure is not a conspiracy theory, it’s merely humanity and our very nature. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min
  16. Discovering A More Authentic Self When We Can’t Discount The Influence of Our Upbringing w/ Renowned Marriage & Family Therapist Vienna Pharaon

    Mar 27

    Discovering A More Authentic Self When We Can’t Discount The Influence of Our Upbringing w/ Renowned Marriage & Family Therapist Vienna Pharaon

    I have never wanted to give much credit to genetics or my upbringing. I wanted to feel, and really did, like I’m my own person. Until sometime in my 40s when I realized I kept repeating some patterns that weren’t helping me. Today I amaze myself at the impact our upbringing and family has on us. All of us. For better and worse, but as people so want to be their “authentic selves,” I wonder how fully authentic we can ever be. So…I have an expert. My guest and guide on this subject is Vienna Pharaon. She has a book called The Origins of You: How Breaking Family Patterns Can Liberate the Way We Live and Love. Vienna has been posting her insights, driven from thousands of patient encounters, on Instagram and has over 700k followers tuning in to find their authentic selves. Vienna Pharaon is a licensed marriage and family therapist and one of New York City’s most sought after relationship therapists. She has practiced therapy for almost 20 years and is the founder and owner of the group practice, Mindful Marriage and Family Therapy. Pharaon has been featured in The Economist, Netflix, Vice, and Motherly, and has led workshops for Peloton and Netflix, amongst others. Vienna has become a therapist that many other therapists look to for guidance. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 15m
  17. Productively Process Negativity By Sharing Your Feelings Instead Of Blaming, Accusing & Criticizing | with Dr Randy James - Whitney Goodman Part 3

    10/26/2022

    Productively Process Negativity By Sharing Your Feelings Instead Of Blaming, Accusing & Criticizing | with Dr Randy James - Whitney Goodman Part 3

    We generally talk about negative things in our life in a way that brings us and those listening to us, further down. When something hard happens to you and you blame, accuse, and criticize, this is what we call venting. This wraps up my series with Whitney Goodman, author of Toxic Positivity, and she is probably the fifth or six therapist I’ve had on the show who cites from much research, that venting only pours gas on the fire. It does not help. But neither does stuffing it. What does? Sharing how you feel. This is at the root issue we are circumventing. When something bad happens to you, the blaming, accusing, and criticizing is just victim response to the truth, which is…you are hurting in some capacity. In Brene’ Brown’s book, Atlas of the Heart, which we discuss in this show, she gives us 87 different emotions we can choose from and from them discuss the issue really at hand. When we discuss how we feel, we can then address the pain and gain ground in reconciling it. And in sharing our emotions, not our criticism, with someone else, instead of also dragging them in and down with venting, we instead evoke their connection and compassion which also helps us instead of further hurting ourselves. Join me and my co host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert, as we drill down on this issue and walking it out in our roles as spouses, parents, and co workers. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m
  18. How To Design A Meaningful Life w/ Stanford Prof Bill Burnett

    Mar 16

    How To Design A Meaningful Life w/ Stanford Prof Bill Burnett

    “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is…to actually feel the rapture of being alive.” This is a quote by Joseph Campbell that kicks off the book by my guest in this episode. A key aspect of my personal and professional devotion is how we make meaning of life. You will be hearing much more from me about this in the coming weeks and months. In this episode I have with me Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford, Bill Burnett. Bill is a guru of design. He worked at Apple designing laptops and spent years in the toy industry designing Star Wars action toys. But he’s been at Stanford, he says, “since dinosaurs roamed the campus.” Dave Evans is also a master designer and lecturer at Stanford and together they lead students in designing their lives. They recently co-wrote a book, How To Live A Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day. Bill joined me to discuss how we view meaning in life. Bill says, “Meaning is how we experience our felt response to an encounter that matters to us.” Bill and Dave literally go through steps to designing a meaningful life in their book, drawing from the same guidance they give students at Stanford, but I spend most of my time with Bill talking conceptually about how we perceive and pursue meaning. One thing Bill said that stuck with me and I’ve been discussing a lot, is that in his 40+ years at Stanford they are experiencing the loneliest student population ever, which correlates to what we are seeing in the general populace. So I interest myself with the correlation between both our feelings of increased loneliness and lack of felt meaning in life. Find Bill and Dave’s work at designingyour.life Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m
  19. How We Perceive & Pursue Love Poorly & How To Recover w/ Spoken-Word Artist Humble The Poet

    Feb 6

    How We Perceive & Pursue Love Poorly & How To Recover w/ Spoken-Word Artist Humble The Poet

    Ultimately, the research shows what we all most want is love. To be desired past the point of like, and actually loved. And to receive the resulting affection, devotion, care, and commitment. Yet the research also shows that overall, we are not super successful at achieving and maintaining healthy relationships. My guest today feels we define love incorrectly and we pursue it errantly. Humble The Poet is a Canadian-born rapper, spoken-word artist, poet, international bestselling author, and former elementary school teacher. He began reciting spoken word poetry in coffee shops to impress girls and now has four books. He has a huge social media following and uses his platform to help people learn and grow and…love. His book that caught my attention is How To Be Loved: Simple Truths For Going Easier On Yourself, Embracing Imperfection & Loving Your Way To A Better Life. I really resonated with the book, which is why I invited him onto my podcast. Humble headlines the concept of his book with, “Love doesn’t have to be earned or found, it has to be realized.” I think the discussion will challenge your paradigm on what love is and how to better realize it. Find the book and all he’s involved with by searching for Humble The Poet. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 33m
  20. The Benefits of High Heat & Discomfort w/ Health Science Journalist Bill Gifford

    Apr 6

    The Benefits of High Heat & Discomfort w/ Health Science Journalist Bill Gifford

    When a book came across my desk about the benefits of heat, my first thought was, “Really?” We’ve been in the age of cold plunges for quite a while, but now it’s heat? I also wondered, does it take an entire book to explain this? Then I saw the author was Bill Gifford. Bill is a veteran magazine writer and editor who writes about extraordinary athletes and cutting-edge health science. He is coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Outlive, which has sold more than two million copies, as well as the New York Times bestseller Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying). He is a longtime contributing editor at Outside, and his work has appeared in Wired, Bloomberg Businessweek, Men’s Health, Bicycling, The Washington Post, and others, as well as in Best American Sportswriting. This latest book is called HOTWIRED: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger, and in it he does like all the great journalist and shares his personal journey in experiencing heat therapy. What I initially intrigued myself with was Bill’s look into history where we routinely experienced long periods of high heat and air conditioning wasn’t normal until the 1950s and 1960s. We always had fire and the ability to heat up an environment, but when it was hot, for the span of our existence, we adapted to it. We discuss the issues around our seeming inability to deal with any discomfort, and how fragile we seem to be becoming in our culture. So while we can exist in temperature controlled environments almost entirely, and it may be comfortable, is this existence best for our overall health and well-being? Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min
Kevin Miller on Apple