Joy From The Start

In today's episode we speak with Guddia Singh. In this conversation we learn about how Guddia went from a professional in the financial world to becoming a chef, health and wellness professional. We take an inside look at how Guddia listened to her mind and body along a multi-year journey of personal transformation. I am particularly excited about this episode because Guddia is our first "first-hand" expert. She's not a coach, but someone who's lived experience has volumes to teach. Together we explore: How long did it take? What was the self talk like? How she created space to listen - day by day. How did she thought about the massive change prior to making it How she spoke to her spouse and family. And of course...what about the financial impact of a career and life change with kids, expenses and family. You can find her at: https://www.healthandwellnesschef.com/ (https://www.healthandwellnesschef.com/) Before getting into the conversation, a bit about Guddia's impressive professional bio: A top graduate of the Culinary Management and culinary Arts programs at the Institute of Culinary Education. Chef Guddia Singh is a Licensed Wellness Coach and she found her culinary voice in the Health and Wellness Arena.  Advocating a healthy and balanced lifestyle has become Guddia’s mission. She is a chef advocate for the American Diabetes Association and was a finalist for the Women in Culinary Leadership competition, founded by the James Beard Foundation. Chef Guddia has worked in the test kitchen of Everyday with Rachel Ray and presently has her own culinary and Wellness Consulting Business.

Julie a seasoned progressive policy leader and leadership coach. She is the founder of Let's Thrive Consulting. (https://letsthrivecoaching.com/) What I love about Julie is encapsulated in the following snippet from her website: You: Feeling stuck in your career, like you want something else but are not sure what; or you know what you want but don’t know how to get there. Me: Filled with the questions that will help you find the answers. Supporting you with humor, gentle firmness and without judgement. And holding you accountable to making forward progress. She launched her own consulting and coaching business, Let’s Thrive, LLC, to promote gender justice through public policy and also support individuals in their leadership development, career transitions and work-life ease. Julie brings her personal experiences to her coaching. She has over two decades of experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. She has helped to develop several major pieces of federal legislation and her policy development, strategy and coalition work have contributed to the enactment of several federal and state bills into laws. Most recently, she worked with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to develop the recently introduced Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to guarantee rights and protections for nannies, home care aides and house cleaners. As Policy Director at the Make It Work campaign she developed a federal child care proposal that influenced the development of the Child Care for Working Families Act. As a policy adviser to the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Julie helped launch the national paid sick days movement, introducing the first national paid sick days legislation. She also helped enact the second state paid family leave program in the country as deputy policy director to Governor Jon Corzine in New Jersey. Julie currently coaches individuals, and serves as a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation as well as an advisor to the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Julie holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s with highest honors in Political Science from the University of Michigan. She has served as an adjunct lecturer on work and family issues and poverty in the U.S. at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She is a coactive coach, certified by the Coactive Training Institute, and has participated in the Conscious Leadership Forum. You can find her at https://letsthrivecoaching.com/ (https://letsthrivecoaching.com/) I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Amel is a business and marketing coach, a speaker and the founder of Tandem Nomads (https://tandemnomads.com/) . Tandem Nomads is a podcast show and an online platform designed to help expat partners and global nomads grow a successful portable business on the move. In 2010, Amel quit her job in advertising to move abroad with her husband. She built a consulting business providing strategic solutions in marketing and communications to major corporate clients while living across three continents. Amel launched Tandem Nomads (https://tandemnomads.com/) six years later, when she discovered acritical need to support expat spouses in finding their own source of fulfillment and income. Her work for spouses and women empowerment was featured in various media such as Forbes Magazine and Global Living Magazine….She also speaks for organizations such as the United Nations, IMF, World Bank and multinational companies to address entrepreneurship as the solution to dual career challenges. I’m so happy to share Amel’s story I’m so happy to share with you.  She’s got so much packed in this discussion.  She’s a brave, generous, sincere, open, honest and inspiring person who’s journey of personal transformation has a lot to teach us.  She brings her whole genuine self to the table, and well, you’ll see – it’s what makes her so special. You can find her at Twitter (https://twitter.com/tandemnomads) . I hope you enjoy our conversation.

John is another one of my favorite people.  I met him when I needed to lose 40 pounds, but he cares deeply about how your frame of mind influences your physical body.  Hint: it’s a huge influence.  He has the patience of a monk, and the uncanny ability to push you beyond your limits without being a drillmaster. His no B.S. approach and his patience and caring have always resonated with me.  I guess that’s what a dual degree in Exercise Science and Psychology will get you!  The process of mental change to affect the physical was all the reason I needed to share his thoughts with you. A few years ago, John created The Creator’s Course.  It is a 12-week program to help you get in better shape.  Reading his materials “The Fundamentals” I knew this was different.  I had always been overweight.  Maybe a total of 4 years of my life I’ve been “thin.”  There was a lot of emotional shit to go through in order to even think that I, yes this guy right here, even belonged near an ‘athletic’ facility. That’s when this hit me: Guilt is a useful emotion. For example, if you are an ass to your spouse, and you feel bad about it, that’s a good feeling. Guilt says, we did something that needs to change or be corrected. It tells us to change our behaviors. Shame is never, NEVER useful. If you eat a container of ice cream, do you feel like you’re an awful person? “I’m a fat fuck. No wonder why I can’t lose weight.”  And you don’t speak about it with anyone, because you’re too ashamed to. That’s shame. That’s no longer guilt. Hiding your fears won’t change an action, even if you hate yourself for it. Only by bringing it into the light can you start to take constructive changes that are worthwhile for you. I was blown away.  I had never known how much shame I carried, even though I didn’t want to admit it to myself.  I’ve learned a lot since those days, but the decades that I’ve spent with the negative emotions linked to shame….well I knew John was different. I had anger too.  He wrote: And all that anger and hate, it made me some progress, but not nearly as much as when I started to accept my past. When I could accept my anger and my hate was when I could see that that wasn’t — and isn’t — me. I like smiling and having fun a lot more. That’s my shit. But I couldn’t hate or anger my way towards self-acceptance. That took a completely different beast and one that has been infinitely harder to do. Anger is easy. It’s energizing. It gives me the energy to start a change. But it definitely doesn’t give me the energy to finish the change. Eventually I get worn down I had never heard anyone talking about these kinds of issues in approaching physical transformation.  Sure, psychologists talk about it.  Trainers talk about weights, reps and sets. I knew I’d finally found someone who understood a framework of the limits and thoughts within my head AND how to create physical and mental changes. This is the same for anything.   I respect John’s process immensely. John has been helping men and women lose fat, lose weight, tone up, feel more confident about their body and their lives for the past 16 years. With a dual degree in Exercise Science and Psychology  from Rutgers University along with 15+ personal training certifications ranging from National Academy of Sports Medicine to Pre and Post-Natal Training and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, he can help you achieve your goals! His blog The Tao of John (http://thetaoofjohn.com/) has all of his latest writings. Things you will learn in this episode: How mindset effects getting started Shame and guilt in change Belonging & Self-Acceptance Love & Self-Compassion Unconditional Positive Regard Accepting Your fears Accepting Yourself Resources mentioned in this episode:

Mel Schwartz is one of my favorite people.  He has an uncanny ability to take complex emotional issues and make them simple.  His insightful questions have changed my perspective and freed me from my own limiting beliefs. In this episode,  Mel reveals his journey to taking charge of his life and work and how he works with clients to help them achieve their own breakthroughs. Mel has enjoyed several defining moments in his life, which have enabled him to live a life of the self-actualization techniques he espouses. In mid-life, in business and with two young children, he envisioned a life with much deeper purpose. In one of his defining moments, Mel chose to make a move in an entirely different direction, one filled with uncertainty. He decided to enroll in graduate school to follow his passion: serving others as a psychotherapist Mel Schwartz LCSW MPhil is a psychotherapist, marriage counselor, TEDx speaker, executive coach and leadership consultant. He is the author of   100 article (http://melschwartz.com/blog/) s read by more than 4 million people. Mel is a member of The Society for Consciousness Studies. The Possibility Podcast is provoking global interest.  One of the first practicing psychotherapists to integrate the principles of quantum physics into a transformative approach for living fearlessly, Mel practices in Westport CT, Manhattan and globally by Skype. Things you will learn in this episode: How to create space for a breakthrough & keep on track Overcoming fear and the need for certainty Inviting possibility into your life How to see your thoughts How to identify your core beliefs The role of analysis and thinking in your life How to practically deal with road blocks What will happen if you don’t take a chance Resources mentioned in this episode: (http://melschwartz.com/books/)  (Sounds True, Sep. 2017) You can connect with Mel here: melschwartz.com (http://www.melschwartz.com/) Twitter @MelSchwartz7.  (https://twitter.com/MelSchwartz7) Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/schwartzbwu) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MelHSchwartz/) Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/melschwartz7) Share this podcast click the share link below.  

Hello and welcome to my podcast, Joy From The Start. I'm Paul Kuehn. This podcast at heart is about how to find a happier life. I'm making this primarily for myself and hoping that what I learn will be helpful to you as well. It's for people who feel stuck, sitting maybe in an open plan office doing yet another meaningless email and thinking "is this is what my life all about." Or in the quiet moments of your daily commute thinking, "what's wrong with me that I can't find the passion and break free of all this?" You know, the kind of passion that they talk about in university graduation speeches, if only finding were as simple as saying it. I often wonder if the industry of books on finding passion and purpose ever wants me to succeed and like weight loss I tried all the plans. This show is for people who've had enough and want to finally find that thing or things that make them happy. The initial format will be self exploration for two reasons. One, my path to being a more joyful person has led me back to conducting interviews, an old love. And two, I don't have the answers to give you. I'm not a guru, but I have a lot of questions and a lot of people I want to talk to. I wanted license to go and talk with everyone. So I hope as this show grows, we can add your voice as well. So. I'm here to share my journey with you. Our first season is going to be about 10 people who I think have something to share their friends, family, and people I've just heard about in my travels. So how do you live for yourself? How do you find joy in your everyday work? How do you find your own voice? How do you overcome the fear and the blocks? I hope we'll find out that in sharing my journey, maybe I can not only move myself forward. But help you my fellow travelers as well. Thanks for listening.