Nobody Told Me! Nuggets

On this Nugget, we talk to accomplished professional show jumper, Georgina Bloomberg, daughter of Susan Brown and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  Among her many achievements, Georgina represented the United States Equestrian Team at the 2015 Pan American Games, where she earned a Team Bronze medal.   We caught up with Georgina to find out more about what it takes to compete at this level and how she deals with the ups and downs of such a challenging sport.

It was a true honor to talk to Mikes Mullane, who was a part of the first group of space shuttle astronauts. He completed three space missions before retiring from NASA in 1990. Since then, he has been inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and has won many awards. He has written multiple books, most recently “Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut”. 

Our guest on this episode, dating coach Damona Hoffman, knows just about everything about the topic: in addition to hosting two TV series on love & relationships for A&E, her coaching methods have recently been featured in People, Oprah Magazine, and the Washington Post.  She's also a real life success story, having met her husband online.  In this Nugget, she shares with us why she wishes she'd enjoyed dating more and how she learned that everything would turn out for the best in the end.

Are you a workaholic?  A perfectionist?  An overachiever?  Maybe all three of those things?  Our guest on this episode, Dr. Bryan Robinson is a licensed psychotherapist who describes himself as a “recovering” workaholic.  He’s the author of a new book aimed at helping people break the cycle of over-working.  The book is called #Chill:  Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life.  In this conversation, we talk about how to create a work-life balance, how to deal with burnout, why we shouldn't multitask, the best way to start out your day, and why everyone should try meditation.

In this Nugget, we talk to Diane Barth, a psychotherapist and the author of 'I Know How You Feel: The Joy and Heartbreak of Friendship in Women's Lives'. She writes the blog, 'Off the Couch' for Psychology Today. In addition, her articles have been published in the Clinical Social Work Journal, Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Psychoanalytic Psychology, and other professional journals.  You can learn more about Diane on her website at https://www.dianebarth.net.

Sandra Joseph holds the record for being the longest running female star on Broadway after she played the role of Christine Daaé in 'Phantom of the Opera' six nights a week for nearly a decade.  Now, she has an incredibly inspiring story to share, and opens up with us about her battle with crippling stage fright, her search for her 'second act', learning to choose love over fear, and how to get 'unstuck' when faced with life's inevitable challenges.  She's the author of Unmasking What Matters: Ten Life Lessons from Ten Years on Broadway.

Stephanie Culp is publically recognized in the field of organizing and time management as an expert by the press across all venues for many years.  In this 'Nugget', she shares with us some of her best tips for decluttering.

Kathrine Switzer is one of the most iconic figures in running.  She was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 and made history as she ran it again fifty years later in 2017 at the age of seventy!  Kathrine was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for creating a social revolution by empowering women around the world through running.

A lot of people see themselves as introverts.  They stay silent in meetings, eat lunch alone, never brag about themselves, speak softly and wait to be approached in social situations.  Our guest, business communication coach Nancy Ancowitz, describes herself as an introvert and specializes in helping introverts excel in an extroverts world.  Nancy is the author of the book, “Self-Promotion for Introverts:  The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead".

The best business advice can be short and sweet! Carol Roth is a well-known advocate for entrepreneurship and small business.  She's been an investment banker, business strategist and deal-maker, and is also the author of the best-selling book, "The Entrepreneur Equation".  You can learn more about Carol on her website at https://www.carolroth.com.

Sergeant Kevin Briggs is a retired California Highway Patrol officer who spent many years patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. While on patrol, he encountered numerous individuals clinging to life by a thread – individuals who had lost hope and could see no way out of their current situation - ready to jump off the bridge to what they assumed was a sudden death and ending of their pain and hopelessness. His TED talk entitled, "The bridge between life and death", has had more than two and a half million views. He is the author of "Guardian of the Gate".

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is an inspiration like no other. In 1996, this Harvard-trained and published brain scientist suffered a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain while getting ready for work. The damage was extensive -- she couldn't walk, talk, read, write, or remember her life. It took her eight years to fully recover. Since then, she has given one of the most popular TED talks of all time -- 21 million views, has been interviewed by Oprah, was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, and wrote the best-selling memoir "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey".

There’s been an alarming increase in the levels of stress and anxiety experienced by girls from elementary school to college.  Research indicates the number of girls who say they often feel nervous, worried or fearful jumped 55% from 2009 to 2014, while anxiety levels for boys remained unchanged.   We talked about that on our longer Nobody Told Me! podcast with New York Times bestselling author and clinical psychologist Lisa Damour, who’s witnessed this in her own research, private practice, and at the all-girls school where she consults.  Lisa writes about the problem and what we can do about it in her new book, Under Pressure:  Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls.  In this nugget, Lisa talks about the impact of social media and digital technology on stress levels for girls

“Dark Horse” is a term for those who triumph against the odds…for the winners nobody saw coming.   And, “Dark Horse” is the very appropriate title of the book co-authored by Harvard researcher Todd Rose which looks at men and women who’ve achieved impressive success…even though nobody saw them coming.  In this nugget, Todd shared his insights into why the standard formula for success may not be the best formula for everyone.

Joining us on this nugget is Leigh Steinberg, who is known as one of the greatest sports agents in history and the real-life inspiration for the film, Jerry Maguire.  Leigh has represented the #1 pick in the NFL draft a record setting 8 times and has negotiated well over three billion dollars in contract deals for his clients including Patrick Mahomes, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, and Oscar De La Hoya.  And while Leigh’s life has been filled with unbelievable highs, he’s also had some high-profile struggles which he writes about in his book, The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game.  

Enjoy this NTM Nugget from Jay Pharaoh, a Saturday Night Live alum best known for impersonating people like Barack Obama and Kanye West.  Today, he's on the road as a stand up comedian and has some great wisdom to share with us about what he's learned during his career.

Millions of people suffer from chronic pain and, for some, the pain is so severe it frequently limits their work or life activities.  Sarah Anne Shockley has had debilitating nerve pain since 2007.  On our longer, Nobody Told Me! podcast, Sarah talked with us about why it’s important not to isolate yourself when you’re in pain, even if you don’t really feel like going out

It was fun and inspiring to talk with Nastia Loukin on our longer Nobody Told Me! podcast.  Nastia is, of course, an Olympic Gymnastics all-around gold medallist, a TV commentator, a top competitor on Dancing with the Stars, and the author of the book, Finding My Shine, which is her autobiography.  Her passion these days lies in inspiring other people to become the best version of themselves possible. 

Last year, on our longer podcast, Nobody Told Me!, we got some great information and had a lot of fun talking with best-selling author, Bob Sutton, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University.  Bob’s latest book is called, The Asshole Survival Guide:  How to Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt.

In this nugget, we talk to about worry with Lori Deschene, the creator of the very popular website tinybuddha.com and the author of the book, "Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal --- A Creative Way to Let Go of Anxiety and Find Piece".  Lori says we can let ourselves become overwhelmed with worry, but there are some simple steps we can take to manage it.  Among other things, Lori suggests you write the words "peace" and "calm" over and over again while breathing deeply.

We loved talking with our guest, Michael Crossland, who is one of Australia's most sought-after inspirational speakers.  His autobiography, Kids Don't Get Cancer, is an international bestseller detailing his life following the diagnosis and treatment of an aggressive life-threatening cancer before his first birthday.  His life has been far from easy.  In addition to childhood cancer, he's suffered heart attacks, throat tumors, and fluid on the brain.  Through it all, he's refused to let his dreams die and is passionate about helping other people achieve their dreams too.

If you're even somewhat of a country music fan, chances our you've heard of Bobby Bones, host of The Bobby Bones Show, which has an audience of more than five million per week.  He's been a mentor on American Idol, won Dancing with the Stars and authored the book, Fail Until You Don't: Fight. Grind. Repeat, which is about how Bobby and some of his famous friends made it through their failures and found their way to enormous success.  When we interviewed Bobby on our longer, Nobody Told Me! podcast, he told us his mother was only 15 when she gave birth to him and he was the first kid in his family to graduate high school.  Bobby says he thinks coming from disadvantage can actually be advantageous.  He had to figure a way to get out of poverty and while it may seem like he’s fearless, that’s not the case.  Listen to this nugget to hear why.

We were very excited to welcome best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, broadcaster and musician Mitch Albom to our longer podcast, Nobody Told Me!  Mitch’s books have sold more than 39 million copies worldwide.  His book, Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life’s Greatest Lesson, is the most successful memoir ever published.  The book chronicles Mitch’s weekly visits with his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz battled a terminal illness.  

One of our favorite guests on our podcast, Nobody Told Me!, has been Elizabeth Smart. As you’re probably aware, in 2002, when she was 14, Elizabeth was kidnapped at knifepoint by a pedophile from her home in Utah.  She endured nine months of being shackled, raped, starved and threatened by her kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, and his wife, Wanda Barzee, before she was rescued and reunited with her family.  Elizabeth answered our questions about the kidnapping itself and her recovery from it, as a teenager who’d experience far more pain and trauma in nine months than most of us will go through in a lifetime.

Grief Expert and Licensed Psychologist Dr. Guy Winch joined us to talk about how devastating the loss of a pet can be and what you can do to heal after the death of your dog, cat, horse, or other animal.

We’re glad you could join us for a nugget from our interview with internationally known self-defense expert Tim Larkin, who talks about what you can do if you’re in a situation where an assailant is trying to harm or even kill you. Over the years, Tim has trained elite military special forces and law enforcement units, in addition to corporate and civilian clients.