BTE Podcast: Recent Episodes
Bill Anthes, Karianne Anthes
K and Bill chat about the DØSE and what goes into creating novel and powerful experiences using challenging workouts as the mechanism to expand the mind.
This chat explores some of what led them to not just create the DØSE, but BTE as a whole, including their experience as long time CrossFit Affiliate owners, and how a beautiful and powerful 3 part, 5 word mantra is maybe the ultimate benefit people experience by engaging in DØSE and BTE as a whole.
To sign up for DØSE, click here.
To see upcoming ETHOS seminars: click here.
K and Bill return to the podcast with a casual and conversational approach to sharing with you the stuff they find themselves talking about, thinking about, being challenged by, and exploring.
This chat is not about teaching anyone anything, but sharing personal experiences about coaching and training from a place of curiosity.
Michael Blevins is the co-founder of nonprophet and creator of The Space Program. He has worked in the fitness industry for 15-years, training private clients, group fitness, directing training for movie projects, professional athletes, and sports teams, as well as publishing multiple original books and works on the methods and other breakthrough insights on the psychology and physiology of fitness.
Connect with Michael at @gritandteeth and @nonprophet
Check out The Space Program
Support the BTE Podcast and yourself by:
The DØSE
BTE Gear
Carleen Matthews is an early adopter to both CrossFit and our DØSE program. Carleen is a mother, affiliate owner, Games athlete and a person who "wants in" on all things mindset. She shares her beginnings of CrossFit, after becoming sober in 2010, and her journey to and through competing at the CrossFit Games. We dig into the delicate line between being committed to the training process and what can easily become obsessive behavior and how she has used 'mindset' in getting to know her WHO. Carleen will be partaking in The Big Fish fundraising event June 9th that will last 30 hours to support veterans along with some of our other BTE friends Vincent Ruiz and Street Parking founders Miranda and Julian Alcaraz.
@TeamCarleen
@crossfit-st-helens
@bigfish_foundation
DONATE HERE - Please consider supporting Carleen's fundraising efforts
If you'd like to support the show financially, please consider these options:
1. Sign up for DØSE for only $9.99/mo or $99/year
2. Buy a t-shirt and rep BTE!
Please subscribe, review, and share if you find this valuable.
If there was ever a CrossFit OG, Karl Steadman is it. Karl discovered CrossFit in 2003 and was immediately drawn to its counter-culture 'alternative' approach to not fitness but more importantly, a 'career' path. With curiosity and novelty driving his pursuits, Karl has dedicated his professional life to sharing the impacts of CrossFit with others. He has been an affiliate owner, has delivered over 400 CrossFit seminars, and now is the UK affiliate liaison for CrossFit HQ. In this episode we hear about his experience with the Dose, his relationship to 'doing hard things', and how he navigates fitness today. With 20 years under his belt, Karl continues to evolve and shares what 'getting better' looks like for him.
Karl is on Instagram @KarlSteadman
Want to do the DØSE workout Karl shares his experience with?! Head to btwntheears.com for your FREE DØSE.
Please subscribe, review, and share if you find this valuable.
If you'd like to support the show financially, please consider these options:
1. Sign up for DØSE for only $9.99/mo or $99/year
2. Buy a t-shirt and rep BTE!
Miranda and Julian started their company, Street Parking in 2016 after establishing themselves in the CrossFit community in their respective roles. Miranda as a Flowmaster for CrossFit seminar staff and CrossFit Games athlete, and Julian as a CrossFit Games athlete. Their story of building the Street Parking community and the commitment to building it, alongside their family and tight-knit staff, is inspiring to say the least. These leaders embrace authenticity, hard work and vulnerability in their work, their family and their relationship with fitness.
Check out the Miranda at @fearlessmiranda
Julian at @009julian
Street Parking @streetparking
Sign up for the DØSE to immerse yourself in the experiences we dive into with our guests or visit our website for more.
Please leave a review and share the Between the Ears Podcast if you find it valuable!
Oakley Woodhouse is a powerhouse of a human. She owns the incredible Forest Flow CrossFit in the UK, is a member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff team, works for The 180 Project non-profit bringing fitness and health to at risk and vulnerable populations, and is a highly accomplished athlete. Who Oakley is, though, is far deeper than her accomplishments. She is an incredible soul whose energy is contagious, story inspiring, and is certainly leaving the world a better place than she found it.
Check out Oakley at @ojaywoodhouse
Forest Flow CrossFit @ForestFlowCrossFit
The 180 Project @180ProjectUK
Sign up for the DØSE to immerse yourself in the experiences we dive into with our guests or visit our website for more.
Please leave a review and share the Between the Ears Podcast if you find it valuable!
Michael Giardina started CrossFit in 2005. He has worked as a trainer at a CrossFit affiliate and as a CrossFit Seminar Staff Flowmaster and Content Supervisor. He has competed at the CrossFit Games and served as a CrossFit Games Head Judge. He is a Certified CrossFit Coach (CF-L4), has a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology, a Master of Public Health degree, and works as CrossFit’s Senior Manager of Health Education. Mike is a student of life and a natural fit for BTE. This conversation is packed with nuggets of fitness, education, and life wisdom.
You can find Mike G on IG at mikeg_af and @crossfit
Please subscribe, comment or like and check out www.btwntheears.com for information on The Dose and upcoming seminars.
Spencer Nix, owner and chief researcher of Behavior & Performance Research joins us to discuss his 20+ year journey in the fitness industry. Spencer discusses his journey from a CrossFit affiliate owner for over a decade to the creation of BPR, which combines behavior and identity coaching with fitness and performance. Spencer shares many of the similar sentiments as we do at BTE, so a connection was bound to happen.
Spencer has been in this space for a long time and actually one of my L1 instructors way back when I took my first CF L1 in 2010. He is a wealth of knowledge but it is his heart, passion, and authenticity that impresses and inspires us the most.
This episode is packed with gems and like all good conversations, the hardest part was finishing it. Til next time.
Instagram: @spencernix @bpr.institute
BPR Field Manual: https://amzn.to/3TmCKww
The DOSE : Explore the Physiology of Psychology with a weekly workout for your body + mindset.
Jason Ackerman, co-founder of Best Hour of Their Day, joins us to discuss creating something from passion and care without the end goal in mind first, taking on challenges to grow through fitness, parenting, the Dose, and more. Jason is an OG in the CrossFit space whose enthusiasm, positivity, and genuine care for what he believes in can inspire anyone, fitness coach or not.
Jason can be found at https://www.besthouroftheirday.com/ Instagram @CoachJasonAckerman @besthouroftheirday
Please subscribe, review, and/or share if you find this valuable.
Curious in The Dose? Join for $9/month or $99 for the year at https://ethos.btwntheears.com/the-dose
Chris Hinshaw, founder of Aerobic Capacity, joins us to discuss coaching CrossFit Games champions, lessons learned as a professional Ironman, his experience doing The Dose workout, tools and practices to improve your endurance, and more good stuff.
Chris is a wealth of knowledge, super generous with his time and energy, and packs this episode with lots of value.
Chris can be found at https://www.aerobiccapacity.com/
Instagram @hinshaw363
Please subscribe, review, and/or share if you find this valuable.
Curious in The Dose?
Join for $9/month or $99 for the year at https://ethos.btwntheears.com/the-dose
Brian Combias is our first coach at BTE Fitness. Brian is an accomplished athlete and student of life whose authentic coaching style makes powerful connections with clients in pursuit of their physical, mental, and emotional fitness goals.
Brian is a natural fit for BTE and we dive into his story of where he comes from, how he got involved with BTE, and how he lives the ethos.
K and I discuss the past weekend's seminar and event, ETHOS. We have struggled and floundered for years trying to explain what it is we do, but words just fall short. Words simply are not the primary language of BTE. But, we have to use them so we process, share, and hopefully communicate what ETHOS is, why it was a powerful weekend, and our plans for sharing this powerful experience moving forward.
Next in person ETHOS at BTE is December 3-4. As of recording there are only 6 spots available.
Learn more at ethos.btwntheears.com
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Peter Crimi is one of the most inspirational humans Karianne and I have ever met. His story is beyond surviving against the odds of his first 72 hours. Beyond persevering against the Sisyphean like disease of spastic cerebral palsy. Beyond the impressive feats of body and mind like doing the Boston Frogman 5k swim. His story is that of how beautiful the human spirit is and how incredible our journey can be. His story is about truly living.
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Ginger Comstock is one of the most inspiring human beings K and I have the pleasure to know. After being diagnosed with multiple forms of arthritis at the age of 5, Ginger's body may have deteriorated but her heart and mind only grew stronger. Ginger's story is truly remarkable and she is a living embodiment of hope, showing all who interact with her it's power and what it means to have an athlete's heart.
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Andrew Kalen Dash (AKD) is our first international guest, joining us from Sweden. AKD's athletic endeavours include 20+ years of professional rugby at both the club and national team level as both player and now coach. He shares his story, how his experience with being a BTE athlete supports his investment in self, improves his coaching style, and serves his Who. Stick around to listen to the whole episode for a debrief on the secret Sisyphus Gauntlet 2.0, where we do a quick review of our experience doing all 4 workouts in 1 day.
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K and I discuss her recent event, the Frogman 5k swim for Team Step-Up Foundation benefiting the Navy SEAL Foundation. We dive into the meaning of this event providing a source of fuel to drive through the doubt and uncertainty, the inherent value of doing hard stuff and the concept of misogi, and what lies ahead for us in this pursuit.
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K and I kick off this brand new season (joke) catching up about what we've been up to, some big changes to life, thoughts on the physical/mental training space, and a look ahead for BTE.
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K and I sit down to process and reflect on our 4x4x48 Challenge experiences. We ran 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours on behalf of VETS (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions) at the Warrior Angels Foundation fundraiser to raise money for psychedelic-assisted therapy.
This event was so powerful in many ways: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially. While we know we can't fully articulate just how transformational it was, we hope this episode gives a glimpse into what it was that everyone contributed to, supported, and helped make happen.
We raised over $11k which is enough for 3 humans to receive life-saving grants through VETS.
Human life is the ultimate form of currency we operate in.
Much love.
Bill + K
https://vetsolutions.org/
https://warriorangelsfoundation.org/waf-overview/
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A few weeks ago I was blessed to attend a psychedelic healing retreat through VETS. Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions is a non-profit started by Amber and Marcus Capone that helps Veterans heal from TBI and trauma through psychedelic medicine.
In this episode, K and I discuss "how we got here" and linked up with VETS, what the process was/is like, my personal experience and how it was the hardest thing I have ever done, how integration and returning to "normal life" is going, and a fundraiser we are participating in March 4-6 to help raise money for VETS so other Veterans can experience this life-changing healing modality.
I am running the 4x4x48 challenge that Warriors Angels is hosting. You might recall previous BTE Podcast guest Toby Guillette talk about his experience, so I am excited to do it, represent VETS, and share in the weekend with K, too.
If you would please consider donating and helping us reach our goal of raising enough for 2 Veterans to attend, it would mean the world to us and quite literally change someone's world.
You can donate here: https://give.warriorangelsfoundation.org/fundraiser/3691417
Thank you for your support and love!
❤️ 🙏 👊
-Bill & K
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We kick off Season 4 debriefing K's Ironman Maryland event. She finished less than 48 hours from recording, so it is a fresh, vulnerable, insightful discussion about her experience. We discuss why she signed up, how her training went, what challenged her, inspired her, and changed within her as a result of engaging in the hardest physical event she has ever done.
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Anthony Falco is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who has extensive experiencing working with individuals who are in pain and want to heal to return to living functional lives.
Anthony is a student of life who has shared his wealth of knowledge with the BTE and CF Motown communities and we thoroughly enjoyed this discussion.
Among the many nuggets of wisdom Anthony shares, he touches upon the role belief has in healing, how working with clients is rooted in curiosity and service, how communication matters in how we work with others and ourselves, and more good stuff.
Fun fact, Anthony was also one of, if not THE, first person to sign up for the very first BTE event, way before it is what has evolved into today.
You can find Anthony on Instagram @falcophysio .
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How well do you know your farmer?
In our case, he has become a friend and part of our family's life. We know his story, we trust him and his farm, and we are inspired by his pursuits and purpose.
Malcolm Salovaara's story is as rare as it is inspiring.
After pursuing and obtaining an Ivy League education, Malcolm decided to choose a different path than the traditional ones his peers headed off to. He chose to pursue a passion that would require hard work, a steep learning curve, and becoming an entrepreneur simultaneously. He chose to become a farmer.
Malcolm resurrected his family's farm, PK's Four Brother's Farm, in Bernardsville and began his future as our local farmer.
Malcolm provides transparency on his farm in an effort to educate people about the regenerative approach he is committed to. He encourages his customers and potential customers to visit the farm so they may witness animal agriculture humanely and safely executed.
His work is more than a business, it is being of service to others in an effort to make an impact in our current environmental and industrialized animal culture. We hope this episode inspires you to consider a closer look at your food, farming, and your community. We hope this episode helps you develop something Malcolm refers to as 'food literacy'.
As one of Malcolm's mentors, Joel Salatin, so eloquently said: "Know your food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen."You can check out Malcolm and PK's Four Brother's Farm on Instagram @pksfourbrothersfarm or visit https://pksfourbrothersfarm.com/
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How do you define toughness? What characters, images, and stories come to mind when you think of displays of toughness?
As athletes, we grow up thinking toughness is never letting anything get in our way of winning. It is playing injured. It is showing up early, outworking everyone, and leaving last. It is doing anything and everything necessary to be as best prepared come game day...and then some.
The toughest are feared by their opponents, respected by their teammates, legends to their coaches, and adored by the fans.
At 17, Kevin Saum was the epitome of tough. Groomed and influenced by the external validation and outcome oriented ideal of what toughness is to an athlete, he would give everything to earn this label.
He did just that. And it almost killed him.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury that nearly cost him his life, Kevin found himself in an entirely new fight: Who am I if I am not Kevin the toughest football player around?
Kevin is one of the lucky few who survived second-impact syndrome, but his identity as a hard-nose, tough player died the night he was airlifted off the field to fight for survival.
What transpired next in Kevin's life is a story of rediscovery through struggle, how he learned to redefine what toughness truly is, and how he serves others to inspire courageous action that could very well save aspiring athlete's lives.
Kevin is a true inspiration, a beautiful human, and one damn tough dude.
You can listen to his podcast Heads N Tales on all podcast platforms, find him on LinkedIn, and visit his website http://www.headsntales.org/.
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Omar Jabri has been a central contributor to BTE over the past few years, despite his geographical distance. His willingness to "do the work" of raising awareness to drive action not only helps him, but he has directly helped others by honestly and openly sharing his experiences.
Omar also was the first person to introduce me to the concept of psychological flexibility and how it is one of the 'whats' that BTE does. We dive into what psychological flexibility is and how developing a practice that facilitates it can, and in Omar's case HAS, directly improved relationships, both to self and others.
In just another example of the serendipitous frequencies and connectedness of life, shortly after Omar shared this concept with me, another friend , BTE mainstay, and fellow podcast guest, Tim Chan, also sent an article on the subject.
When 2 awesome people say the same thing, you listen.
I am confident you will enjoy listening to this episode.
Thank you sitting down to talk and share with us all about this powerful concept you've lived and continue to explore, Omar.
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Do not listen to this episode while doing something else. It is heavy. It is raw. It is authentic. It is strong. It is all things Vince Ruiz embodies.
After going into the darkness and nearly losing his life to the perils of addiction, Vince returned to life with a light that he now helps others shine in their own lives as a mental health professional serving in community based and private practice.
This episode is not for the feint of heart, which is exactly why we are appreciative of Vince sharing who he is with us.
Vince along with his wife, Mary, recently founded H-Hour, a coaching company that blends their vast personal and professional experiences working to help improve human beings.
You can follow Vince on Instagram @vincent_americo and H-Hour on Facebook.
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Solee Natal is an amazing human who has graced those the BTE community with her courage to face the unknown, tenacity to challenge herself, and willingness to be vulnerable and honest with others - something that doesn't come easy to an introvert.
Solee is one of the hardest working and inspiring people I've known and anyone who has shared the BTE space with Solee knows exactly what I'm talking about.
Whether it in the Practice, Immersion, Vector Project, BTE Fitness. If Solee is involved, which she almost always is, the value and benefit of the group immediately levels up.
Solee has an amazing story that she continues to write.
It is an honor, truly an honor, to share her story with you all.
Solee, you have been a teacher to us in ways we will forever be grateful to you for.
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K and I sit down to debrief the morning after her BTE12 event - 12 hours of rucking, running, and carrying a sandbag. There's simplicity in these pursuits that allow for clarity of purpose, questions, and ultimately ownership of why we do hard things. If you've ever questioned yourself, I think you'll hear some nuggets of wisdom you can apply to your own journey. Most importantly, I'm proud of her :)
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Tim Chan has been one of the most involved members of the Between the Ears virtual experience. Tim is a long time friend, former co-worker and a BTE enthusiast who has truly done the work to live his Who when it's been the hardest and mattered the most.
This is a powerful, raw, vulnerable and beautiful conversation about Tim's journey through loss and discovery. He shares how he uses the tools he’s learned in the BTE Practice 1 and 2, how different movement expressions like Pole fitness help him to find joy and gratitude even in the darkest of times, and how he helped me so much when I was at my lowest without even knowing it and just by being Who he is.
Tim is a remarkable human who always brings value to any discussion. When he speaks, we listen. We are grateful to share his light with everyone in this episode.
You can follow Tim on Instagram @timchansd.
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Toby Guillette gifts us with his calm while intense, strong while gentle, steady while curious presence that is full of wisdom earned by over a decade of climbing experience, endurance efforts, and an ongoing project that left both Karianne and I super inspired and grateful to share this space with Toby.
We chat about his recent experience completing the 4x4x48 endurance event that had him running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. What's more impressive than his completion was his intention for doing this event.
You'll want to listen to this episode in it's entirety as Toby graciously shares with us something beautiful, something that I won't even try to restate, that brought the episode to a close in a way that inspires hope, action, and purpose.
Toby can be found on Instagram @tobyguillette
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It's been about a year of everyone's first time dealing with the challenges we've faced this past year. While we may be seeing light at the end of the tunnel physically, we must acknowledge the mental and emotional toll the past year has had and continues to have on us. Here's how we are processing this and an exercise that can help you help yourself.
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We all know self-care is important, so why is it so hard to actually do? What does it mean to be present and how can we practice this so that we can express it when we need it most? These are just a couple questions K and I address as we discuss her recent experience with an aggressive anxiety attack and how she worked through it.
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K and I chat about working through some her challenges with being a victim. Nobody wants to be the victim, but victimhood is common. It is also one of the most misunderstood and inaccurately conceptualized archetypes in the personal development space. Sadly, the victim is chastised as the 'cause' for turmoil and misery, when in reality is is often a symptom of something much deeper going on. How we can see it's true utility as necessary in a very human way is the point of this podcast and to a greater extent, BTE.
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K and I are reengaging with the initial intent of this podcast to have open, vulnerable, honest, real conversations about things we personally are experiencing in the hopes it provides value to others who gift us their time of listening.
We talk about how feeling as a skill shows up in our lives and the challenges we face in when we don't feel.
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An open and honest discussion about whether the overwhelming amount of information, including this podcast, is actually being applied, working, and doing anything.
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K and I share some of our goals for 2021, why they matter, how 2020 went, and how you can get actioning your this year.
Win From Within is a goal accomplishment virtual workshop that will educate and empower you to take action in pursuit of your goals. I just help you turn the lights on, get clear, and establish a plan to engage in.
You can purchase this training for just $25 here: https://btwntheears.mykajabi.com/winfromwithin
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Bob Harper joins as our very first guest to talk about his experience in the fitness and entertainment industry, nutrition, and connecting to clients in order to serve them and get results.
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Following up on last week's episode, we discuss the sobering question: "And then what?"
The depression that comes after an intense pursuit is something that plagues many athletes and one that I have battled from athletics to leaving the military. This is a deeper dive and very personal chat about the curse of the athlete's mind.
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Athletes are revered in our culture. As a society, we look to athletes as models for commitment, hard work, and success. But there is a darker side of truly being an athlete that I have personally struggled with my whole life. This episode introduces an archetype I have been working on for a few years: The Athlete's Mind.
The Athletes Mind is the all-consuming obsession one has with competing, performance, and being better.
There is a duality with The Athlete's Mind that we must discuss and this episode is the beginning of a deeper dive into this archetype.
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"To new beginnings" is a bit of an eye-roll toast, but there's an interesting discussion to have when approaching this with curiosity. I have now been out of the military longer than I was in, and in this episode share some thoughts and experiences with beginning a new life. K and I discuss how each of us has begun anew, what it means, some challenges with expectations, and lessons learned.
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K and I don't pull any punches on this rant about mental health, taking action and growing in this no bullshit episode. This might rub some the wrong way and it might be exactly what some need to hear. Wherever you fall on this continuum, we encourage you to apply what we talk about to your own pursuits with honesty and intention.
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There is an abundance of 'good stuff' out there to do to improve your physical, mental, emotional, and more fitness pursuits. There are so many 'best practices' that it is often overwhelming for folks to prioritize and action ANY of them, let alone ALL of them. The result of this is usually not good...
In this episode we share some thoughts about how to prioritize the good stuff and not just have it be checking the box, adding more stress/less return, and some approaches we find helpful for ourselves and our clients.
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How do you answer the questions you ask yourself? When do you 'know' what the answer is? K and I discuss the 2 categories of answers that accompany big questions. To be clear: this episode will not tell you the what the answer is, but hopefully helps you when you ask yourself the most important questions along your Path.
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K and I discuss what these mean, why they are important, and how you can build agency to make better choices. BTE Fitness presents daily opportunities to build agency and strengthen the power of choice. The gym is our laboratory and proving ground for personal development, but make no mistake about it - the intent is to improve life outside the gym.
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The Path is the pursuit of getting to know who you are. This doesn't happen overnight or through a 'one and done' activity, rather a continued engagement in living your life with presence, awareness, and connection. We discuss The Path, why it may be challenging to remain on it, and how we can travel along it to continue to get to know and express who we are.
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Fear is a powerful driver in our lives and we can use it to drive positive action IF we understand it. Raising our awareness and understanding of fear requires having a better conversation about it, it's origin, source, and influence in how we engage with life. The intent of this episode is to start this more purposeful conversation.
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Fired up to announce The VECTOR PROJECT, a 10-week program that focuses on your mindset, goals, and purpose, culminating in an in-person or remote event.
K and I discuss why we are doing this, the value of training for something specific, and some of the real value in the pursuit.
If interested, email bill@btwntheears.com.
Vector: Having direction and magnitude, especially as determining the position of 1 point in space relative to another.
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K and I explore and explain what we mean by saying BTE Fitness provides individuals upgraded fitness.
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I put this in quotes to make fun of myself and this kind of headline.
For whatever reason, people look to the military, especially those who have served in a special operations unit, as subject matter experts on mindset, mental toughness, resiliency, perseverance, etc. The question is often phrased as "How do I overcome and navigate through adversity in my life like you did in whatever I think was 'hard' when you were in yours?". I'm calling out all the fancy, good sounding, politically correct, cleanly packaged and sellable recipes, formulas, rules, and checklists that make for a nice keynote presentation. I will share with you something that works better than whatever doctrine someone repeats. It will likely take you off guard and might even offend you a little a little bit. If it does, you need it more than you know ;)
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If you've been alive in the past 4 months, you've been subject to the Big 3 Stress influencers and need to listen to this episode. We dive into how these influences have universally influenced everyone, their impact on our systems, how their influence has presented common responses across diverse clients, and what you can do about them.
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Why was BTE created? How did it get started? What did it look like then? What does it look like now? How does it work? Hopefully this episode provides you some cool background info and insight into the evolution of BTE, which is an on-going process.
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K and I discuss the recent changes to CrossFit ownership and how the past 3 weeks have influenced us personally and what we have observed and learned. While this is still an on-going process, we believe in the title of this podcast to be true in so many areas in life.
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What do you say when you don't know what to say? K and I share some perspectives about current events and where BTE fits into it all. We hope this can provide value to be applied in the unique way that is your life.
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K and I discuss how this simple action can have a powerful influence on your life and those around you. Authentic celebration of something within and valuable in your life is an amazing display of inner strength, especially among challenging times. This isn't just finding the silver lining or pretending 'all is good'. It might surprise you how challenging it is to truly celebrate something, but hopefully this episode can help influence you to express this power.
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Announcing a project that has been in the works for quite some time (years): BTE Fitness. BTE Fitness will be both a brick and mortar gym and an online gym for people to improve their physical, mental, and emotional fitness on a consistent basis.
This episode goes into the concept, the intention, and the execution.
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K and I do a check-in with how the past couple months has impacted us, what has challenged us, what we have learned, etc. Other topics include a little rant on wants vs. needs, freedom, and stress.
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K and I discuss some challenges in the fitness space that can lead to 'fitness disorders'. Fitness is obviously something that improves and saves lives. But there is a darker side to it.
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People love routines. We hear of the power and value of routines. Yet, many of us struggle with routines, haven't found one that works/lasts, or flat out just don't enjoy. I have been one of these people.
K and I discuss our experience with routines (we're on different ends of the spectrum here) and some deeper points about them beyond just 'do these things no matter what'.
We answer user submitted questions about challenges and issues with routines in a way that invites you to explore and engage in a purposeful set of actions that serve your life, consistently.
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How do you know if you are doing your best? What if there was nothing to compare your effort or outcome to? We explore these questions and more in this episode. Hopefully it empowers you to explore how you can give your best.
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What started as a discussion about feeling overwhelmed, standards, and effort turned into a live personal coaching session. Karianne opened up and danced with the coaching questions I asked her and didn't deflect or make it about hypotheticals, something easy to do when put on the spot in a live recording. This is one you won't want to miss.
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K and I discuss openly and honestly some of our insecurities and how we are confronting them, learning from them, and handling them. It's all a work in process and we appreciate your time in joining us on the ride.
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There comes a point when what needs to be said can only be done one way: directly. This is one of those times. Everyone, myself and Karianne included, can stand to benefit from hearing what needs to be said without pulling punches. What was said in this episode has been said 10x over internally between us over the past few weeks (and longer), so trust me when I say we are all in this together.
This podcast is a call to action to be aggressive with working on yourself, serving, leading, and thriving amidst the environment we are operating. Some of what's said will sound harsh, but I assure you it is no harsher than the consequences of inaction, avoidance, and wasted opportunity.
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K and I discuss making some tough decisions as we navigate the uncharted landscape that is COVID-19. Topics include closing the gym before it was mandated, transitioning our entire business online and creating a model that didn't otherwise exist, discounting BTE to help provide more people with opportunities to work on themselves during this chaos and why it's important to now more than ever, guidance for staying physically and mentally strong, and how grateful we are for the outpouring of support by those who believe in us.
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There is so much noise with nutrition it can be deafening. Keto, Vegan, Plant Based, Carnivore, etc. Within the fitness industry nutrition is largely geared towards aesthetics. A lot of what is being prescribed has some significant pitfalls that can lead to disordered thinking and fail to address the most important element: YOU.
K and I chat about nutrition, what's 'out there', lessons learned, how BTE and nutrition are 100% interwoven, and have a holistic discussion about the whole person, not just a myopic prescription.
There is so much to cover with nutrition and while this is possibly the longest episode at just under 90 minutes, we still just scratch the surface. Make sure you listen to the whole episode.
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This is the honest story behind my 'Dear Alcohol' Instagram post from Feb 14, on my 1 year of sobriety. I am fortunate to have a supportive wife that facilitated this conversation, as she guided me to open up about some things and share, things that I've never shared before, that are not easy to, but are very much part of this story.
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Care to jump down a rabbit hole? K and I discuss some of the essential elements that make Between the Ears, Between the Ears. A huge part of BTE, literally, is Interoception.
In this episode we examine a huge component of how we as human beings experience life and how influential it is to our pursuits. This is a deep topic, with massive significance, that extends way beyond a single episode, so this is just the beginning.
Our outlet to express who we are and be of service to others is fitness and coaching. It's our profession, calling, fascination, possible obsession, and without a doubt our passion. Diving into this question, 'how do you feel?' has much more significance than you might initially think. It's also a very volatile question with the amount of noise out there in the fitness industry.
I will stand by this assertion: Examining this question and the essence of it's intention can forever change the way you interact with yourself and help improve your life.
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This is a concept I have used extensively with success both personally and professionally in assessing how myself and others interact with dynamic environments. The intent behind naming these three characters is to provide objectivity (as best we can) and not self-judge areas of improvement we identify. There's a major difference between saying "I am playing the role of the Cynic" vs "I am cynical."
K and I dig into this concept, each character, how they interplay, and hopefully share how this can be a very powerful way to raise awareness AND generate positive action within a dynamic and challenging environment.
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Agency is your ability to choose from within. K and I discuss how agency can be empowering to optimize your fitness experience, as well as life. We get alot of folks ask us about programming and our approach, so we try to address how it's not just what is programmed but why you doing what you are doing, how you show up, what your approach is to your exercise/training, what you want, etc. This is definitely a topic we can spend a very long time on will likely address in the future. Today we just scratch the surface to get the conversation started.
Homework at the end, so listen all the way through!
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Essence Over Form is a mindset you can apply to increase awareness, agency, and connection with how you engage with life. It has been a powerful paradigm shift personally and professionally with clients who want to live a fully engaged life. We discuss what it means and how it presents across different areas of life, as well as personal experience in application.
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K and I answer listener submitted questions. Topics include personal/professional goals, nutrition, mindset/awareness, training, and more. Thank you for listening and sending.
If you have a question you'd like us to chat about, you can always email them to me at bill@btwntheears.com
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K and I discuss the power of story in life. We all have a story and sometimes might lose sight of our role within our own story. Stopping to give thought to your own character development, other characters in your story, the setting, etc., can be a really enlightening exercise.
As a way to raise awareness, consider what story are you writing and playing out through your actions.
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K and I explore our thoughts about discipline, how it is commonly perceived, some pitfalls for celebrating self-imprisonment, personal experiences with being considered 'highly disciplined' people, and how we see it in the health and fitness industry. Our goal is to provide you a thought provoking and empowering approach about a misunderstood topic.
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How often are you saying you should do something, but aren't? What's that all about? I believe we can inspect our language to uncover what's really going on and examining 'should' is a great place to start.
Shame + Could = Should.
K and I dissect this commonly used assertion to look beneath the surface at what's really going on so we can raise our awareness of what we are communicating to both ourselves and others.
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K and I discuss a powerful concept we have been working with and through, personally and with others: Projection. We all do it and that probably isn't going to change anytime soon. But if we can raise our awareness of how we project in our lives, we can take action to see what is really there, not projected.
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K and I discuss coaching, how we approach it, different kinds of coaching, trainers vs. coaches, lessons learned, etc. We could probably do the next 10 podcasts just on coaching, but for your sake we won't. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the business of changing lives.
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K and I discuss our experience taking the StrongFit seminar and coaches week, some key takeaways we found valuable, and why I am fired up to evolve BTE and the BTE Seminar.
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This week I posted a very honest and open Instagram post about my struggles with leaving the military and how they still exist today. In this episode, K and I talk about some of them, how they relate to my pursuit of growing BTE, my desire to serve myself, my family, and others, and more. I don't know how it will be received, but I promise it is honest even though an hour long chat about this is hardly enough to cover the full breadth and depth of the topic.
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K and I discuss growth, how we can adjust our perspective towards growing, some pitfalls and challenges we might face when we care about growth and some personal struggles we face in our own growth journey.
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I recently posted a construct I developed a couple years ago and folks seemed to really like it, so figured it would be cool to do a podcast episode talking about it. In this episode, we discuss the 3 types of archetypes: The Hoarder, The Old Guard, and The Student that help raise people's awareness with how they approach learning with doing. We dive into some personal experiences with each and also how coaching enters the picture for you if you are good with identifying the archetype, but want help becoming another.
You can find the written version of "Application vs. Acquisition" here. This was sent out in the weekly BTE Insider newsletter, so please consider subscribing and getting the Monday morning delivery here.
If you are interested in coaching and want to explore working together, please email me at bill@btwntheears.com.
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K and I discuss some lessons learned after 11 years of CrossFit affiliate ownership, training thousands of athletes and coaches, as well as our own experiences to shape where we are going. Our passion and purpose in life is to provide opportunities to make people better in their lives through fitness and mindset coaching. Our gym is an outlet for this and I think this conversation does a good job of capturing the years worth of conversations we've had, experimentation, and core values we want to express.
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K and I discuss her 2019 Lake Placid Half Ironman experience this past weekend. This is an incredibly open and honest conversation where we discuss some serious challenges leading up to and during the event, the coaching discussions, practical application of mindset, and alot more. I believe this is one of the most valuable episodes recorded.
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K and I discuss a topic we touched on last week and have been digging into in our own lives over the past month or so. What is the difference between confidence and belief? We get into it and give some personal examples of our experiences with both, how her Ironman training has brought this to the surface, and some thoughts about how to build belief and confidence.
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K and I are back at it and we open up about why we skipped last week. We share some of the things we failed to do over the past few months that we know are helpful and our take on the value of "falling off the wagon."
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There's no episode this week. I feel compelled to hop on and let you know that, versus hide behind some 20 min bit I'm not into. Frankly, I'd be doing it for me, not you, and that's not something I'm willing to do this week. Thanks for understanding. Chat with you next week.
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K is back from the CrossFit Games. We sit down and discuss her job, what makes it unique and challenging, how she has improved as a result of the work she's been doing, and observations about the CrossFit Games.
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Support is something we can all benefit from taking a deeper look at. I think there are nuances and pitfalls that come about when we aren't 'clear' on supporting, which takes the form of enabling, being a fixer, or just being selfish - the worst of all and the opposite of support.
Are you truly supporting by being your authentic self or are you supporting for yourself?
What are some things that make true support challenging?
How do you know how you can support?
These are but a few of the questions to look at as we seek to improve human connection through Support.
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It's only appropriate to have the first guest be none other than my wife. We have shared in so much over the past 10 years that we want to share with others too.
In this episode, we talk about what we mean when we say 'improving humans' through our pursuits of BTE and Motown. That might sound like 'we know', so it's important to clear up that we don't know what improvement looks like for the individual, but are very good at guiding the process of self-discovery.
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I think widespread cynicism and general distrust has broken our system of believing. I think we've become so good, like scarily good, at knowing what we don't believe or refuse to believe, that it's rotting our ability to believe in ourselves. This is a rabbit hole of a topic, so if you want to jump in, do so with curiosity and an open mind, you might not believe how valuable that can be.
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A bit of the lead-up to my Do Lectures talk and coming home.
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To understand "what" the BTE Practice is, I first want to explain "why" I created it. I think this medium provides certain advantages written communication just cannot accurately relay. I stand by the feedback and believe the BTE Practice is life-changing work, if you put the work in for yourself.
The new and improved BTE Practice will begin on September 1.
If you have questions, please send them to bill@btwntheears.com.
Hope to see you and work with you.
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It's amazing, and scary, what grows that requires zero effort. How easily the nasty stuff can get out of hand without doing anything. If you want 'that' stuff to grow, a great tactic is to do exactly nothing.
On the other hand, beautiful flowers require much more effort, intention, attention, and patience. There are no guarantees either. Just because you 'did all the right things' doesn't protect it from predators, weather, etc.
So is the beauty of life.
This episode goes into the weeds about what is growing around us to apply inward on what is growing within us.
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I'm in the world of personal development, both by my own participation and providing guidance to others. I often hear people say they want to get better at something, improve something, make a change, etc., but honestly, the stats are not good for those who actually do on their own.
In this episode, I examine the fascination with the 'hack', offer a litmus test to self-assess and dive into the thought of improving in a curious and challenging way. You might not like hearing some of my thoughts, but that's ok, as sometimes we need to hear things we don't 'want' to hear.
Towards the end, 'real life' happened while recording and I decided to roll with it and not edit it out and try to talk about what I planned on talking about. I get personal with a couple of things because I want to be honest and highlight my own humanity.
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I recently gave a lecture and learned a tremendous amount as a result of it not going all that great. I'm fired up to get to work and use this opportunity as a way to improve, not just in presenting but in general. Some things I'll edit, change, and jettison. Some things I'll double down on and make even clearer. The thing I know for a fact is that my performance was not a failure. This is because I don't believe failure is a past action, rather future inaction. And I can guarantee I will be taking action.
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I found an old 550 cord bracelet I made years ago and put it on to replace the nakedness of my wrist in absence of my (broken) watch. I didn't expect it to speak to me the way it has, which I finally heard as a result of an inaccurate interpretation at a rest stop.
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My whole life, fitness and the pursuit of improving it have been 'for' something, specifically soccer and the military. Now that I'm out of the military and my cleats have long been hung up, I have found myself asking 'what's it all for?'
What is it that keeps pushing my physical and mental tolerances? I understand all the benefits of health, longevity, etc., but frankly, that's not cutting it for me.
In this episode, I look back at my 'uses' for fitness to find a common theme that has been there the whole time. What I came to identify, while not the final answer, is enough to satisfy my current question and drive continued action.
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"You have to trust your guy." "What does your gut say?" If you've ever had a conversation with anyone and shared a dilemma you're facing, there's a good chance one of these two phrases was thrown your way. There is something understood about the value of your instinct and intuition, your gut.
But how do we learn to trust it?
I think we first have to look at how trust is established and how we can train trust.
Full disclosure: This is a BIG topic I would love to have a way more robust and more in-depth conversation with folks about. For purposes of this podcast, I tried to keep it relatively succinct and share a recent personal experience with this.
As always, when the lights are turned on we each see something different in our respective rooms. I hope this can be a light source for you in yours.
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I love purpose. I think it's up there with breathing in order to live a fully engaged life. There is a huge emphasis on knowing and finding your 'Why'. Yes. This is a great exercise and the likes of Nietzsche and Simon Sinek have great work on the Why.
'Why', in its popularization, has come to stand on top of the podium as the ultimate question to answer. I don't agree in this hierarchy and think primarily focussing on 'Why' can underserve and mislead. I think there is more room up there for an equally important question to answer that provides guidance and follow through in life. We just need to think about things differently.
Enter How.
In this episode, I try to articulate what I mean by 'How' that I think misses the mark when pitted against 'Why', how when used in this context is an incredibly powerful question to answer daily through action, and some pitfalls with focussing solely on Why.
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This song has been with me through life's challenges and I want to share it with you.
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
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This is a concept that has had significant positive influence on my own mindset development. It's a rather simple concept that doesn't require advanced knowledge of optics, rather a basic but important understanding on the difference. The immediate actionability of this concept has been beneficial time and time again. I'm excited to share this and hope I articulated well enough for you adopt and implement in your life.
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It is impossible to truly recap K and my trip to Wales for the Do Lectures Breakthrough workshop. So, I'm not going to try. Instead, I give a little insight as to what the Do Lectures company is, why we went, how we went, and a couple cool things from the trip. I don't listen to these after I record or do any editing, but know I left so much unsaid. I'm good with that though because I think it honors the experience, which can really only be felt in person.
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What are guarantees really supposed to do? Provide comfort and reassurance? I get it if we're talking about a seat belt, but I see guarantees being either demanded or promised in places they have no business being in. I was fired up making a cup of coffee and talking to myself about them, so here's my take.
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Mindset is a word I often hear, but rarely do I hear the conversation go deeper than what's at the surface. I think we can do better than just point and attribute 'mindset' with something that usually 'looks' like success, in the catch-all type way. I offer my definition of mindset as a foundation upon which we can have a conversation and examine what mindset development looks like.
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"Listen to what I'm saying, not for the holes in what I'm saying. I know there are holes." An incredible man, strong leader, dear friend, and mentor of mine told me this while we were in a far away land. It had profound impact on me given the individual and the situation. I still hear his words and it continues to impact and shape the way I try to listen, both to others and myself.
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The concept of boundaries is something I've never really fully appreciated and understood through action, let alone been 'good at' implementing. I've often viewed them as something they are not and myself as someone I do not want to be within their limits. I'm working to reframe and reshape how I view boundaries, both their purpose and utilization for myself and others around me, so they can facilitate forward progress.
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Follow through is how we continue momentum as a result of a positive experience. It is our way of taking things with us to use in our every day. It can also be very fleeting. In moments of extreme clarity and inspiration, follow through is hardly questioned. Then reality sets in. We slip back into old ways, habits and routines and are left wondering where that desire to make progress went.
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I'm beginning to open up about my struggle transitioning from the military, why I somewhat spontaneously drove to Florida, and what I connected with and learned from the sun the past few days.
This wasn't the time or way I thought I would start this conversation, but it's appropriate and as good a time as any.
I struggled recording this episode and know the conversation is far from over, but it's a start and it's a commitment to showing up.
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Leading with Love is the greatest form of inner strength and self leadership. What does taking the higher road look like? I believe it looks like leading with love through action. Otherwise it's just more words and noise.
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I have struggles, beyond just recording this episode. When I consider my contribution to my perspective it helps me find what I am looking for. All too often what is being 'found' is external without awareness of looking for it. This one might be messy, but that's life and that's my experience I want to share with you and honor the intent of this podcast.
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The Unknown is a huge part of BTE events because it is truly an amazing thing. It is often viewed as darkness and a place where doubt, fear, and insecurities fester. These things block out the light and can keep us from truly knowing ourselves in ways we couldn't see if not for the Unknown. Jump into the Unknown and get to know yourself in a way that cannot be known otherwise.
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"Mental Toughness" is a term I hardly ever use, on purpose. I think it is misunderstood and spun out of control, commoditized and pumped out to the masses in a misleading way. Frankly, I have tried to avoid association with it because what I believe it is and what I see it being promoted as are often at odds with each other. I've been in the 'mental toughness' space for a while, keeping my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, sometimes painfully. I will no longer remain quiet about mental toughness. Here are my thoughts and opinions on the topic.
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It's a big question. I think most of my life I have been in search of this answer. I take a stab at answering this question here in an honest and unrehearsed way. I will admit it wasn't easy to do. I also know it won't be the last time I ask myself "Who am I?"
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Here we go. I'm not sure what I'm doing, which is another way of saying I'm learning. I'm opening up, I'm going within myself, and I'm inviting you along for the journey.
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