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The best model shows are not just contests, they are proof that a hobby can feel like a community. We're back with Model Show Spotlight to share what's coming next after Nationals, starting with our own Military Modelers Club of Louisville (MMCL) and the practical choices that make a local plastic model show run like a well-oiled machine.Alex Restrepo joins us to break down how MMCL pulled off a raffle that scaled up smoothly at the IPMS Nationals, from sponsored closeout kits to a barcode-based system that scans, projects, and posts winning ticket numbers online. We talk volunteer coordination, contingency planning, and why convenience for ticket buyers is not a “nice to have,” it's what keeps the room moving. Then we hit the details for the MMCL show at Paroquet Springs in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on September 26, including registration timing, vendor support, nearby hotels and food, and the club's push to welcome youth builders and fast-growing genres like Gunpla.MMCL Show InfoNext, Doug Reed returns to preview the Oregon Modelers Jamboree in Albany, Oregon at the Linn County Expo Center on September 12, which also hosts the IPMS Region 7 contest. The Jamboree approach leans into an expo feel: club tables, demos, display-only space, and social time that makes the event more than “enter, shop, wait, leave.” Oregon Modelers JamboreeWe close with quick early bench impressions of Arma's pre release Hawk 81-A2, P-40B kit and what we're seeing so far.Subscribe for more model show spotlights, share this with your club, and leave a review so more scale modelers can find the show. What's one change that would instantly make your local model contest better?Model Paint SolutionsYour source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!SQUADRON Adding to the stash since 1968Model PodcastsPlease check out the other pods in the modelsphere!KitMasxCustom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler. Bases By BillYour source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Give us your Feedback!Rate the Show!Support the Show!PatreonBuy Me a BeerPaypalBump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed BarothAd Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" BairMike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
More Money, Better Sex & Deeper Love Without Working Harder | Gianna & Genevieve Rackham. EP 183Want more money, better sex, deeper love, and more success without working harder? In this episode of the Sexy Biz Babe Podcast, Gianna Rackham and Genevieve Rackham share how feminine energy, receiving, pleasure, and letting go of control can transform your money, relationships, intimacy, and business.We talk about why high-achieving women can get stuck in overworking and masculine energy, how to become more open to receiving, and what happens when you stop forcing everything and start creating more ease, abundance, pleasure, and connection.We talk about:Feminine energy in money, business + relationshipsBecoming magnetic instead of constantly pushing and provingWhat may actually be holding you back from greater wealthGetting out of boss mode and back into your bodyReceiving more abundance, support, pleasure + comfortWhy men sometimes need space and permission to leadHow we accidentally mother or control our partnersAsking for what you want without trying to control the outcomeWhat to do when your partner doesn't immediately changeLooking at what gets triggered inside YOU when you don't get what you wantCreating safety around being fully yourselfLetting pleasure + purpose exist alongside ambition and successBecause maybe the next level isn't about working harder, controlling more or proving yourself.Maybe it's about feeling safe enough to receive more.Follow our guests on Instagram: Gianna Rackham: instagram.com/giannaloveandlightGenevieve Rackham: instagram.com/genevieverackhamFollow Sexy Biz Babe for more conversations around sex, relationships, confidence, pleasure + creating a life that actually feels fucking good.
*This video is a paid partnership with SpoilMe, an official SWCEO platform sponsor*In episode 198 of "On The Whorizon" SWCEO founder and host MelRose Michaels walks through the three lines to write down on the day you make a business decision: the date you will review the choice, the measurable outcome that proves it worked, and what you will do if that outcome does not show up. The episode maps what the 90 days actually feel like week by week, from the adrenaline of weeks one and two through the silence at week three and the wobble that arrives around week eight almost on schedule. It also covers who to tell and when, the difference between people who disagree with your decision and people who are grieving the version of you who decided differently, and why both revenue and relief will lie to you at day 90.
From 08/26 Hour 3: Age is simply just a number and you should never give up on your appearance. The Sports Junkies have become fascinated at the different ways that you can make yourself look younger. Do you have any tips or secrets to staying young?
What if the changes you're experiencing after 40 are asking you to look at more than your hormones?In this solo episode of Live Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy walks through how she believes women can use the menopausal transition to better understand their nervous systems, reconnect with parts of themselves they may have lost, and begin building the next chapter of life more intentionally.She explores why so many women arrive in midlife already overwhelmed, why learning to regulate your nervous system may need to come before another health protocol, and how years of putting everyone else first can shape the way women experience this transition.Later in the episode, LeAnn Rimes joins Dr. Mindy for a candid conversation about overwhelm, perfectionism, boundaries, HRT, nutrition, self-care, and what it looks like to listen to your body while living a very full life.And for a limited time, you can get Age Like a Girl for $7 with free shipping in the U.S. and Canada only, while supplies last.In This Episode, You'll LearnWhy nervous system regulation matters so much after 40How years of over-functioning can catch up with women in midlifeWhy play, curiosity, creativity, and speaking your truth matterHow to build your own lifestyle toolbox for menopauseWhy women need community as they ageWhy saying no can become an important form of self-careWhat it means to create the next chapter of your life on your termsResources MentionedFREE Nervous System QuestionnaireAge Like a Girl (Get your copy for $7 & FREE shipping, limited-time offer)Reset AcademyQualia Senolytic, use code MINDY for 15% offFor more resources related to today's episode, visit the podcast episode page: drmindypelz.com/ep364Connect with Dr. Mindy:Join Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy's newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.
Lindsay prepares for a 90-day challenge by reminding listeners of the “big rocks” that drive fat loss and warning against overcomplicating the process with hacks, supplements, perfect macro ratios, and excessive training. Topics discussed:(00:00) - Welcome and Purpose (00:34) - Stop Chasing Hacks (02:11) - Right Tool Wrong Job (05:48) - Big Rock Calories (09:09) - Protein Made Simple (10:54) - Lift to Keep Muscle (14:56) - Cardio in Its Place (16:23) - Plan Nutrition First (18:39) - Recovery Is Currency (21:57) - Tools Have Jobs (26:08) - Ignore Calorie Watches (27:46) - Boring Works Best (28:21) - Big Rock Checklist (28:56) - Final Reminder and Wrap Connect With LindsayInstagram: @liftinglindsayJoin the BeStrong Community for science based training, nutrition education, coaching, live calls, and a supportive community of women who want to get stronger, build muscle, and improve their health.Learn more at liftinglindsay.comReady To Train With Us?If this episode resonated with you and you're ready to experience this style of training for yourself, it's not too late to join us inside the BeStrong app.Our newest hypertrophy phase has already begun, but you're absolutely not behind.This training block focuses on:✔ Lengthened position training✔ Strategic pauses and isometrics✔ Improving muscle tension✔ Building strength and muscle with intentional execution✔ Learning how to make the target muscle do more of the workYou'll get access to the complete training program, exercise video demonstrations, nutrition guidance, live coaching calls, and a community of women committed to getting stronger together.Join us HERE
If your business depends on you doing every single task, eventually you become the bottleneck. In this episode, Keith shares the lesson that completely changed how he approached leadership, delegation, and running a landscaping crew. While working as a foreman for one of the biggest landscaping companies in Michigan, Keith couldn't understand why other crews were outperforming him even though he was working harder than almost everyone else. A conversation with a former Marine Corps sergeant showed him the problem: working harder yourself doesn't necessarily make the entire team more productive. Once Keith learned to properly delegate, distribute responsibility, and focus his energy on higher-value tasks, he quickly became one of the highest-performing foremen in the company. Today, with 18 people working across his businesses, that lesson is more important than ever. "Keep them busy to free you up to do the higher-level tasks. Your job is to keep the calendar full. Your job is to keep bringing the money in." – Keith Kalfas What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why working harder than your employees can actually hurt productivity How Keith went from struggling foreman to the highest-producing crew leader Why business owners have to learn to delegate before they can truly grow How to stop believing that nobody can do the work as well as you Why your time is often better spent selling than doing another landscaping task How proper employee training makes delegation easier Why keeping your team busy frees you to focus on higher-level responsibilities The importance of customer communication, referrals, and five-star reviews How recurring maintenance and BAMFAM — Book a Meeting From a Meeting — can strengthen your business Why becoming a better steward of your company sometimes means stepping away from the labor Key Takeaways: Delegation is what unlocks growth. Doing everything yourself may feel productive, but it eventually makes you the bottleneck. Training your team and distributing responsibility lets the whole business perform better. Your highest-value work changes as the business grows. Instead of always grabbing the tools, your time may be better spent selling jobs, following up with leads, talking to customers, generating referrals, and keeping the calendar full. Leadership is about making the whole team productive, not proving how hard you can work. Keith's biggest shift came when he stopped putting all the pressure on himself and learned how to keep everyone accountable, trained, and moving toward the same goal. Connect with Keith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithkalfas/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelandscapingemployeetrap Website: https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keith-kalfas Resources and Websites: 4 Steps to Training Employees: https://www.keithkalfas.com/4steps Build Your Site: https://www.keithkalfas.com/ReBolt Call Tracking Software: https://www.keithkalfas.com/CallRail Start Getting Leads Now https://www.footbridgemedia.com/keith The Untrapped Alliance: https://www.keithkalfas.com/alliance Resources You Need To Build A Successful Business https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources
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I'm joined by functional registered dietitian Brooke Harter from Gut Personal to break down my actual DUTCH test results and what they revealed about cortisol, progesterone, estrogen metabolism, stress, and my cycle. We also dive into the gut-hormone connection, IBS, fertility, carbs and blood sugar, and how to know whether a DUTCH test or gut testing makes more sense for you.Ways to work with Corinne: Join the Mind Your Hormones Method, HERE! (Use code PODCAST for 10% off!!)Mentioned in this episode: Check out GutPersonal products here & their testing packages HERE! Code CORINNE saves you 10% on supplements (& on testing!) or take the GutPersonal Quiz to find out exactly which supplements are best for your unique situation!Book a strategy call with Brooke here!Free Supplement Consultation with Gut Personal — use this link! Gut Personal Masterclass: Why Your Gut Still Isn't Healing, Even If You've Tried Everything — Tuesday August 25th at 2 PM EST, with a replay available. Save your spot here! Join the Mind Your Hormones Community to connect more with me & other members of this community!Come hang out with me on Instagram: @corinneangealicaOr on TikTok: @corinneangelicaEmail Fam: Click here to get weekly emails from meMind Your Hormones Instagram: @mindyourhormones.podcast Disclaimer: always consult your doctor before taking any supplementation. This podcast is intended for educational purposes only, not to diagnose or treat any conditions.
- Demeco tries to kick the team into another gear as the Preseason comes to a close - 49ers Owner caught in a scandal right before Kickoff - Bagwell's new role in the Astros
Over 300,000 Chicago public school students started classes again this week. In Illinois, there are over 1.8 million students. Each one of those kids is going back to school in what most experts say is an era that is tougher than any time period in recent history. On today's podcast, sponsored by Meridian Psychiatric Partners, some help for parents. Host - Jon Hansen Guests - Dr. Nick Hatzis and Dr. Johnny Dominguez, Meridian Psychiatric Partners Medical and Clinical directors of their Child and Adolescent Program Call Meridian at 312-640-7740 Or visit their website HERE www.meridianpsychiatricpartners.com Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HEREWho we areBlock Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way.We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media.Ground-level coverageOur neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a neighborhood.Stories that matter to you — every daySince our launch seven years ago, we've published more than 30,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 150,000 Chicagoans. We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them. Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.
Kyiv of Mine : Chapter 4 – The light that remains - just released to coincide with Independence Day here in Ukraine. This is a must watch!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kOTmNxKRnYhttps://www.youtube.com/@KyivOfMinehttps://www.kyivofmine.com/----------“Help DW and the team at Ukraine Story provide portable power banks to mobile air defense and victims of Russian strikes, learn more and donate at https://www.ukrainestory.org/donate Password: DefendKyivKYIV OF MINE is an unfolding story captured over many years: the story of a city of dreams and a people of hope before, during, and after Russia's full-scale invasion.----------It was a brutal winter, and another cold season is already on the horizon. More than four years into the full-scale invasion, the war has left its mark. In this fourth chapter of KYIV OF MINE, we return to the people living through it and to the traumatic ways life, hope and resilience have changed.Chapter 1 – The Ukrainian Dream" • Kyiv of Mine : Chapter 1Chapter 2 – "It'll be over in three days" • Kyiv of Mine : Chapter 2Chapter 3 – "Holding onto the summer" • Kyiv of Mine : Chapter 3The film series is dedicated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.Below are links to some trustworthy organizations in need of funds to continue supporting and caring for the people of Ukraine and saving lives:https://u24.gov.ua/https://savelife.in.ua/en/https://www.hospitallers.org.uk/https://prytulafoundation.org/en/More information: https://www.kyivofmine.com/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------
New research suggests that the way you ride might be preventing you from unlocking maximum health benefits; we dive into the science of sprints vs. steady-state cycling to find out more. We also bid a fond farewell to the legendary Julian Alaphilippe following his shock retirement announcement and check in on a man cycling from India to Everest on just one wheel. Plus, we've got new tech from Wahoo and Van Rysel, racing updates from the Vuelta, and your weekly dose of Hacks and Bodges!
August 24, 2026: I look at the rise of three-year bachelor's degrees and why the 120-credit college model was never really designed to measure learning. Then I get into new data showing softwAugust 24, 2026: I look at the rise of three-year bachelor's degrees and why the 120-credit college model was never really designed to measure learning. Then I get into new data showing software engineering jobs are rebounding, but junior engineers are being left behind as companies hire more senior talent. Finally, I unpack why annual performance reviews refuse to die, what they still do well, and why feedback, compensation, and documentation should not all be treated as the same thing.are engineering jobs are rebounding, but junior engineers are being left behind as companies hire more senior talent. Finally, I unpack why annual performance reviews refuse to die, what they still do well, and why feedback, compensation, and documentation should not all be treated as the same thing.
Have you ever felt like one person was supposed to carry the weight of your entire world — your happiness, your moments, your everything?In this Monday Moment, broadcaster and author Anna Whitehouse, also known as Mother Pukka, shares the piece of relationship advice that completely changed how she sees love, family, and what a happy ending really looks like.Anna opens up about the reality of divorce. Why it's one of the hardest things she's ever been through and shares the powerful reframe that helped her stop seeing herself as someone who "broke" her family. Together, Zoe and Anna explore what it really means to build a community around you, why putting everything on one person is quietly exhausting us all, and the simple one-minute practice that works better than any spa day. Whether you're in a relationship, navigating big changes, or just feeling the weight of trying to make one person your everything, there is so much wisdom in this moment.
An imperfect drink with a perfect story. My reflections from Black Hat USA 2026 An Analog Brain In A Digital Age — A Newsletter by Marco Ciappelli No time to read? Let TAPE3 read it to you.
UPDATE: ‘I didn’t feel like I could speak my mind’: Seattle Times columnist quits after paper kills Sophie Cunningham story Angela amends her thoughts on the Matt Calkins article and resignation // Getting a WA driver’s license is about to get a lot harder // Celebrity Encounters - Setup with story(ies) and solicit for texts // Americans' Drinking Remains at Record Low
They are still so young, still figuring stuff out, still trying to make sense of their bodies and the world, still doing their best (even when they're screwing up, even when they're driving you crazy).
This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, happy Friday!! Let's start with the fun stuff: we've seen the #BabylistItForward movement (thank you Alex Cooper!) and we want to do this for YOU guys.. or a friend you think could use it! Comment yours (or someone else's!) Babylist links on YouTube or Spotify and we'll be picking a handful at random to send gifts to. (PS: Alex is requesting a story alongside the link!!) Ok, let's get into the episode, because it was a good one. Of course we started with three rando topics no one planned: not all shopping lists are created equal (are you a recipe planner or a free-baller?!), Harrison's new H BOMB segment "Is THIS hard for everyone or is it just ME?!" (this week: printing.. why is it SO hard), and a rare (actually not rare at all lol) Bicker of the Week between Harrison and Jules over a word they were actually both wrong about. Then we get into the good stuff: the back to school decorating trend we LOVE, Alex's new go-to postpartum gift for moms (daytime pajamas!!), what to say when family calls your toddler's big feelings a "temper tantrum," teaching kids discernment (not just independence!), how/when phobias develop, and why playgrounds might be a child's first real taste of the world. Plus a quick note on why we're not covering the Lindsay Clancy case. Our last convo is all about ChatGPT for Teens.. including a really interesting debate on chatbot relationships, how AI is making homework easier but learning HARDER, and who the heck is supposed to be governing all of this?! LOVE YOU GUYS, happy Friday!! Timestamps: 00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast! 00:07:08 Not all shopping lists are created equal (recipe planners vs. free-ballers) 00:04:48 Why is printing SO hard?! (new H BOMB he named “Is THIS hard for everyone or is it just ME?!”) 00:07:09 Bicker of the Week: “Bragocious” vs. “Bragacias” (spoiler alert: it's “braggadocious”) 00:11:31 The back to school decorating trend we LOVE 00:14:14 Alex's new go-to postpartum gift for moms (daytime pajamas!!) 00:16:56 Advice for when family calls your toddler's big feelings a "temper tantrum" 00:22:00 The first time your toddler shows CONCERN
Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!Incline bench press has a way of making strong lifters feel brand new under the bar. If you've ever wondered why your flat bench numbers don't carry over, we walk through the real mechanics that make incline pressing so challenging and so valuable for upper chest strength and hypertrophy. We break it down into five clear drivers: anatomy (the clavicular head of the pectoralis major has less “real estate” to contribute), torque (more distance and tougher angles), leg drive (harder to wedge and get that back-and-up bar path), the SAID principle (you adapt to what you practice, and most people don't practice incline enough), and range of motion (which can expose flexibility limits fast). Along the way, we talk shoulder discomfort on incline bench press, why it shows up, and how to troubleshoot it with better mobility, soft tissue work, and smart exercise selection. We also get practical about programming: when it makes sense to keep barbell incline, when to run a short block with dumbbell incline for a friendlier shoulder position, and how changing fly angles can shift chest emphasis depending on what you're trying to build. If you care about pressing strength, powerlifting carryover, or getting that upper chest to finally show up, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a training partner, and leave a review with your biggest incline bench struggle or PR so we can talk about it next.Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!Want to ask us a question? Email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqANASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com
Think hunger, calorie counting, clean eating and giving up your favorite foods are necessary to get lean? These common diet myths may actually be making fat loss and muscle building harder than they need to be.Here are 5 diet myths that create unnecessary stress—and a simpler approach to eating that can help you look and feel your best.
Send us Fan MailA private equity firm bought a paint company. Turned out their sales reps were handing out 50% discounts to any contractor who asked nicely.That's the kind of blind spot 3 PE leaders talk through in this episode – what actually happens once a private equity deal gets underway.Carl Evander (OC&C), Sean McDevitt (Arthur D. Little), and Dave Clement (Simon-Kucher) break down how a deal actually gets picked, checked out, and sold for a profit.You'll learn:Why the numbers on older deals are forcing PE firms to sell now, ready or notWhat "real diligence" looks like once you've actually bought the companyThe 1 skill partners say will matter more than AI in 3 yearsFull speaker bios and firm profiles here.Resources:See this year's Top Private Equity Consulting Firms rankingIf breaking into a PE-focused practice is the target, Black Belt pairs you with an advisor who's coached candidates into firms like OC&C and Simon-KucherExplore top firms hiring in Private Equity Consulting on the Management Consulted Job BoardCase Competition World Cup – Fall 2026Applications are open. Free for all students. Apply by Sept. 13.APPLY HEREConnect With Management ConsultedCreate a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep todaySchedule a free 15min consultation with the MC TeamWatch the video version of the podcast on YouTubeFollow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTokJoin an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more
In this episode of the Guns Podcast US, your hosts Brent Wheat and Roy Huntington dive into a critical, often ignored reality of the shooting world: the difference between buying gear and developing actual skill. We explore why new shooters—and even experienced ones—frequently fall into the trap of thinking they can buy their way to proficiency. From the common mistake of buying a gun before defining your mission, to the obsession with excessive accessories over fundamental techniques, we break down how to stop overcomplicating your training. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran, this conversation will help you refocus on what truly makes you a better shooter and how to cut through the industry noise to focus on what matters most. Key Takeaways · Don't confuse buying expensive equipment with developing core shooting skills. · Define your mission before purchasing a firearm to ensure it fits your actual needs. · Professional instruction drastically accelerates your learning curve compared to self-teaching. · Prioritize fundamental techniques over collecting excessive accessories or 'cool guy' gear. · Constant gear changes can be dangerous and detrimental to building muscle memory. · Avoid the trap of 'mag dumping' for fun; intentional practice leads to real improvement. · Acknowledge the difference between what you need and what you simply want. -- The GunsPodcastUS is presented by Holosun. Holosun designs and manufactures performance-driven optics and accessories for the shooting sports, law enforcement, and defense markets. For more information, visit www.holosun.com. -- Have a topic idea or a guest you'd like to see in a future episode? Let us know in the comments or email editor@gunspodcast.us Never miss an episode! Subscribe to our YouTube channel @gunspodcastus or sign up for our newsletter to get the Guns Podcast delivered straight to your inbox each week. Buy our Merch! Visit Gunspodcast.us
Sometimes we think we're making things easier for our customers, but we're actually making them harder. Naylor breaks this down in this episode... Thanks for Listening! Join the LCR Media Network Free Community EVENTS: LCR Summit 2026 Tickets HERE CONTACT ME: lawncarerookie@gmail.com PODCAST SPONSOR: Click here for Toro Fleet Promo! Click here for Horizon360 Promo! Click here for Toro Mowers Promo! Click here for Toro American Hero Program! TOOLS: Here's the mic recorder that I use for Truck Talks ReMarkable Tablet... for planning, note taking, and giving presentations! Check out Riverside... What I use for recording video and audio! RESOURCES: "How to Not get crushed by the Spring Rush" FREE Masterclass Download the 5 Costly Mistakes In Business Here! "How To Avoid Burnout"- FREE Masterclass LCR Media Network Free Community Proper Watering Templates Route Density System *THANK YOU TO THE TORO COMPANY FOR SPONSORING THE LCR MEDIA PODCAST!
Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Todd Wilson, co-founder of Exponential and a leader at Multipliers, where he helps churches and ministry leaders pursue multiplication and greater Kingdom impact. Todd has spent decades studying church planting, disciple-making, and movements, and his latest book, How Did We Get Here? Looking Back to Look Forward, explores the evolution of the American church growth movement and what it may mean for the future. Are churches working harder while reaching fewer people? Have our systems become better at producing activity than disciples? Todd challenges leaders to examine the operating system beneath modern church ministry and consider what needs to change if we want to see true reproduction and multiplication. We have a disciple-making problem. // For years, Todd has championed the goal of seeing more churches reproduce. Research once showed that fewer than 5% of U.S. churches were reproducing, and while that number has improved, multiplication remains rare. But Todd believes church planting is ultimately an outcome of a deeper issue: most churches do not have a functional culture of disciple-making. If disciples aren’t reproducing disciples, churches will struggle to reproduce churches. Reproduction has to become generational. // Multiplication begins when reproduction continues beyond the first generation. One disciple makes another disciple, who then makes another, and the process keeps going. The same is true with churches. A church plants a church, which plants another church, which plants another. Once reproduction moves across multiple generations, addition becomes multiplication and the potential for movement begins to emerge. The church growth system has slowly changed. // Todd’s research traces roughly 75 years of church growth history, beginning with missionary Donald McGavran. McGavran originally studied why some churches on the mission field grew while others did not and developed principles aimed at helping missionaries reach more people. Over time, those ideas moved into the American church and blended with seeker-sensitive ministry, the megachurch movement, purpose-driven strategies, multisite, church planting networks, and other innovations. Much good came from these eras, but Todd believes the system gradually shifted toward institutional and programmatic growth. Good intentions can still create the wrong outcomes. // Todd is careful not to blame previous generations of church leaders. Many of the people who shaped modern church ministry were deeply evangelistic and sincerely wanted to reach people. Yet over time, the dominant definition of success increasingly became bigger attendance, larger programs, and expanding organizations. The unintended result is a consumer-driven model that can attract people effectively but struggles to produce disciples who reproduce. The angst leaders feel is real. // Todd hears a growing frustration among pastors: churches are spending more money, employing more staff, and working harder while seeing less fruit. Even churches that appear successful can sense something isn’t right beneath the surface. Todd believes much of that angst comes from trying to produce multiplication through an operating system designed primarily for addition. Naming the problem is an important first step toward changing it. Leaders must model what they want reproduced. // Todd believes transformation has to begin with senior leaders. If disciple-making is going to become the church’s growth engine, lead pastors and elders must personally participate in a simple, reproducible disciple-making process. Rather than merely preaching about discipleship, pastors should be able to name the people they are actively discipling and allow those relationships to shape the way they lead and teach. Keep the process simple and reproducible. // Whatever model a church chooses, Todd believes it must be simple enough for anyone to reproduce. The goal isn’t another sophisticated program but a way of following Jesus that can move naturally from person to person. The same approach should work for a lead pastor, a volunteer, or even a teenager. Simplicity increases the possibility of multiplication. Give the next generation permission to experiment. // Todd isn’t calling churches to abandon everything they’ve inherited. Instead, he encourages leaders to learn from the past, retain what is fruitful, and recognize that the current operating system may be losing effectiveness. Churches should create space for younger leaders to experiment, learn, and discover more reproducible approaches to disciple-making without being forced to preserve every assumption of previous generations. To learn more about Todd Wilson, visit multipliers.org. You can also download a free PDF or audio version of How Did We Get Here? Looking Back to Look Forward at church-growth.org or pick up a paper copy on Amazon.com. In addition, check out Todd Wilson’s conversation with Carey Nieuwhof, and the interview A Simple & Scalable Way to Reproduce Christians with David Putnam. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Your church is doing really well right now, and your leadership team is looking for solutions to keep momentum going! It could be time to start a new location. Maybe you have hesitated in the past few years, but you know it's time to step out in faith again and launch that next location. Portable Church has assembled a bundle of resources to help you leverage your growing momentum into a new location by sending a part of your congregation back to their neighborhood on Mission. This bundle of resources will give you a step-by-step plan to launch that new or next location, and a 5 minute readiness tool that will help you know your church is ready to do it! Click here to watch the free webinar “Launch a New Location in 150 Days or Less” and grab the bundle of resources for your church! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. I am so glad that you have tuned in today for this reason, friends, lean in. um I want you to be a part of the conversation that we’re having today. The leader that we’ve got on the phone, on the I don’t know why say the phone because we have not been on phones for podcasts in, you know, 10 years, but on the line is really pressing on an issue that I know that a large portion, you know, almost 90 percent of the churches in the country need to be doing what we’re talking about today. And they’re not. And I really want you to lean in and learn from Todd Wilson. Rich Birch — If you do not know Todd Wilson, he has been the founding and co-founding member of a number of faith-based organizations, including Exponential and Multipliers. He has designed a number, and been a part of the launch of a multiple of national church planting networks. He’s currently a team member, or team leader at Multipliers and serves leaders and ministries who are pursuing multiplication, helping them develop vision and strategy ultimately for a 100 X impact. You know that I love that. Rich Birch — Recently, he wrote a book that caught my attention that I want to dive in on and kind of um unpack some of the core lessons for us today. It’s called, How Did We Get Here? Looking Back to Look Forward. And it’s really looking at the whole conversation, American church growth movement. Todd, welcome to the podcast. So glad you’re here.Todd Wilson — Rich, it’s great to be here with you. I’m really looking forward to this conversation.Rich Birch — Yeah, me too. So why don’t we start with kind of giving us a picture of Multipliers and the work that you’re focused on now, kind of set the context for us.Todd Wilson — Sure. It’s probably good to have the context, you know, at at my core, my own personal calling. I am an entrepreneurial engineer at my core. I love to envision, envisage opportunities, seek strategies and opportunities of the future. And so where I like to do it anywhere, there’s potential for a hundred X kingdom impact. And that’s what gets me in trouble often is the, wherever there’s potential for a hundred X kingdom impact.Todd Wilson — When I came out of the marketplace over 25 years ago into full-time ministry, the most natural hundred X place for me, in addition to being in the local church was, was church planting. I was just drawn to church planting. I got to spend almost 20 years, ah you know, leading Exponential and co-founding there.Todd Wilson — And in recent years, really trying to get even more focused really on the 100x impact. I want to spend my next decade as I’m getting older here, you know, what’s it look like for every hour, for every dollar, for every bit of energy, to see 100x return.Todd Wilson — And so the idea of Multipliers, and it’s a small team of us that, you know, we have a definite bias within the kingdom space to the disciple-making as the mission and engine of the church. And what’s it look like to get back to Jesus style disciple making. But then church planting and multiplication, what does it look like to be doing things that that are even capable of reproduction that can lead to multiplication and ultimately movement. So our goal is to just help champion at the personal level through personal calling, at the church level through disciple making and cultures of disciple making that can ultimately produce movements.Todd Wilson — And so we are a champion and advocate for that.Rich Birch — That’s fantastic. You and I are are similarly wired. And over the years, you know I’ve heard people talk about, you know, and they always they’ll do like a series at a church on spiritual gifts. And I’ve often wondered because of the kinds of things I’ve been involved in, if, you know, if I have some sort of apostolic gift, just because of the stuff I found myself doing and, you know, launching campuses and all that.Rich Birch — And it’s interesting that gift over the years I’ve heard, which is similar to the kind of work you’ve been doing over the years is the only gift that I’ve ever noticed that preachers, they seem to talk down about it. And they’re like, stop starting things like, you know, they’re like, they always, you know, are like on the negative side of, you know, being the guy who wants to be entrepreneurial and see new things.Rich Birch — And that’s a part of what I admire about you and the good work you’ve done. When you were at Exponential over those, you know, with you that you co-founded, you know, that almost 20 years, you know, they had this, they saw some amazing things happen there under your leadership, where this idea of moving church reproduction from under 5%, really trying to push us towards 16%.Rich Birch — So for people that are unaware of this, I think this is good context to kind of take a step back and talk about why that number, why are we actually, why are you giving decades of your life towards this idea of trying to move towards 16%? What do we mean by that when you you know talk about that? Because I think that’s a good foundational idea for today’s conversation.Todd Wilson — Yeah. I think it’s important it to understand, again, context for me. I didn’t grow up a Christian. I never had a dream to be in full-time vocational ministry. I’ve never wanted to be a lead pastor of anything. You know, ministry was the farthest thing from my mind growing up. When you’re asking kids, what do you want do when you grow up? Todd Wilson — So when God brought me into full-time vocational ministry, and I’m going to say kicking and screaming, I wanted to go start a company. I wanted to go make money. I wanted to go change the world. And so coming into full-time vocational ministry, why in the world would I want to see anything except movements happening? Rich Birch — That’s good.Todd Wilson — We read about movements in the New Testament. Why do I want to be personally satisfied if God’s calling me into a new life of ministry with anything less than seeing movements?Todd Wilson — And so that was my context of stepping in and and leading at Exponential and what was driving us. And your question from 5% to 16%. Well, Houston, we have a problem.Todd Wilson — If movements are multiplication, and multiplication is generational reproduction, and we, at the time we were starting Exponential, there were less than 5% of U.S. churches were reproducing. You just got to let that sink in.Rich Birch — Yeah.Todd Wilson — 95% of churches just 25 years ago, 95% of churches in the U.S. are not reproducing. It’s physically impossible, both mathematically and biblically, to see multiplication and ultimately movements if less than 5% of churches are reproducing.Todd Wilson — So the answer to where’s the 5 to 16, for me personally, God’s called me into a new life and a new ministry. I don’t want to be satisfied with just status quo, but the state of the U.S. church is such that we physically can’t see 100x impact in the operating system of how things are working. Todd Wilson — So the 5 to 16 was very simple. Let’s measure where we’re at. And so the 16% sociologists say that if you can get 16% of an audience acting a certain way, behaving a certain way, it will become normative for everyone else. I like to say, if you’re in a room and you start quacking like a duck to talk, if you can get 16% of the people in the audience quacking like a duck, then everybody’s going to communicate by quacking like a duck.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — And so it just became a conviction. Let’s move the needle from less than 5% to 16%. And then the language we would use is, at 16%, healthy church reproduction would become such a normative thing that we would see multiplication happening.Todd Wilson — Now, the little bit of an elephant in the room before we move on, church planting is just the outcome. So that 5% number, it’s an outcome of the system and what’s happening.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — The more ornery number is that the national studies that we did on what percentage of U.S. churches have a disciple-making culture. That’s also less than 5%.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — So 95% of churches don’t have a functional mission of disciple-making, and that’s their normative growth engine through disciple-making. So in reality, we have a disciple-making problem, not a church-planting problem. And so those two became very tied together, as as will become evident as we have this interview.Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. and And just can you define generational reproduction for folks that are listening in? When you when you when you say that, like, hey, we’re trying to move churches towards generational reproduction, kind of just unpack that a little bit more.Todd Wilson — Yeah, let’s let’s start at the personal level of disciple-making. If one person makes a disciple of another person, you’ve got one generation. If that person goes on to make another disciple two generations, that person makes a disciple three generations. We see that biblically. We see that in the leadership pipeline with Paul, that you know we need to see disciples who make disciples who make disciples.Todd Wilson — Once you get to the third or fourth generation of something reproducing itself, if you drew that on paper, one becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight, eight becomes 16. That is an exponential or a multiplication curve. So all you have to do to go from addition to multiplication is have healthy reproduction broad and wide multiple generations into the future.Todd Wilson — Now we just take that to the church level, a church that plants a church that plants a church that plants a church broad and wide.Todd Wilson — Now you’ve gone from one church to 16 churches. And now look at the collective attendance of those 16 churches. That’s what you call healthy growth. That’s what you call multiplication when you keep reproducing it over and over.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. And there’s actually been progress against this. This is one of the things that I’ve loved as a person just sitting on the outside looking in as you and the team, you know, Dave and the broader Exponential community have really been hammering away at this. You know, we’re not at 16% yet, but we’re seeing progress, which is which is amazing.Todd Wilson — Right. It’s in the studies that we did, and it’s been repeated a couple of times, the needle has moved to at least 7%. That may not sound like a lot, but if you go take the number of churches we’re talking about…Rich Birch — Yes.Todd Wilson — …and that needle moving from less than 5% to 7%. And we’re not taking credit for all that at Exponential. Rich Birch — Right. Todd Wilson — We’re getting to ride a wave that really started around 2000. Prior to 2000, denominations planted churches, not really churches or networks. We saw the birth of networks around 2000 in the U.S. It’s hard for people to realize, but like in the church planting world, groups like City to City and GlocalNet and Acts 29 and ARC and Church Multiplication Network and Stadia and New Thing Network, none of them existed.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Todd Wilson — Literally in a five-year time period, we saw the birth of all these church planting networks, and that happened to coincide with that we saw that need to start Exponential to serve those networks.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — So We we were a little bit the right group at the right place, advocating for the right thing.Todd Wilson — And I do think that generally the the wonderful thing is that as that needle is starting to move and the visibility is getting more and more, the next generation wants it. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah, I would agree.Todd Wilson — They want the scorecard of that. So I feel very optimistic that we’re still a ways away from 16%, but the needle is moving in the right direction.Rich Birch — Yeah, I would echo that too. I think there is, um you know, one of the couple years ago, I had one of those ages in my life flip over with zero on the end that you kind of notice and you reflect back on life a little bit. And I would say one of the things I’ve noticed over, you know, almost 30 years of ministry is this issue is has become more normative. Like it’s it’s a part of the conversation. It’s not that everyone’s doing it, but it’s in the dialogue, which I think is is wonderful.Rich Birch — Well, I, so you know, there’s, you interact with a lot of church leaders across the country. You interact with a lot of people, you have a pulse on a lot of, you know, what’s going on. And there’s a growing sense, you have flagged that there’s a growing sense among leaders that there’s just something wrong. It’s like, you know, there’s like a stink in the bottom of our, our, garbage that’s like, oh it’s a little bit stinky. It’s not like overwhelming, but we can’t put our finger on exactly what that is. Rich Birch — They can’t necessarily name it, but we feel it. We kind of see that there’s maybe something in the way we’re doing what we’re doing that isn’t working. What are you hearing as you sit across the table from church leaders in across the country, you know, around all of these things that we’re talking about?Todd Wilson — Let me describe it a couple of different ways. I think the the word I would put on it is an angst. I think if you look at the definition of an angst, there’s a there’s a growing and an underlying angst. um I’m going to say, if I’m descriptive of the angst, that might not be the way people would exactly say it but it’s how I translate what I’m hearing.Todd Wilson — We are working a lot harder to reach less people and we don’t like the cultural Christian product we’re getting. We’re working a lot harder. We’re spending more money to reach fewer people. And we’re just having this angst that the product we’re producing is a little bit too much consumer cultural Christian as we’re working harder and spending more money. And that leaves somebody full time, know, if I mean, if you’re a full time vocational pastor, there’s an angst that sits in the middle of that dynamic going on. Todd Wilson — My mentor and friend, Robert Lewis, who led Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock for years, Robert’s handed off the leadership back in 2005. Robert describes it this way. He did the foreword on my recent book, and when he read and reviewed the book, he said, Todd, oh my goodness, this is first and foremost a walk down history lane. It’s like going back and looking at history. Todd Wilson — But he said, here’s the thing. I had this angst in 2005. Everything was up and to the right. We were growing. We were doing new campuses. We had started a church planting. Like we’re doing all of the stuff. People are turning to us. They’re looking at what we’re doing. We had started a leadership conference. And I just had this angst that something wasn’t right.Todd Wilson — And he said, I couldn’t name it. He said, I needed a therapist. But where does a megachurch pastor who’s having nothing but success with up and to the right, who’s feeling angst about the system, where do you go for therapy in that? He’s like, I didn’t know whether to feel like I was being ungrateful or what.Todd Wilson — And his words were, as you’ve traced the 75 years of the church growth movement and its evolution into a consumer-driven operating system, you have named my angst. I wish I would have had this book in 2005 to name my angst because half the battle is getting our hands around understanding why we’re feeling the way we do.Rich Birch — Yeah, I was talking to denominational leader within the last year to kind of add a bit more flavor even to that angst, who was saying, and this is a fantastic denomination, you know, Jesus loving, you know, fantastic group of people um and have, you know, very similar what you’re saying, like lots of good things going on.Rich Birch — And this was one of those like, After dinner conversations, you know, long ah a long ways away from a bunch of leaders, we were just chatting on the sideline. And he said, you know, the interesting thing, when you look at our tribe, his movement, he rattled off all their stats. We have a certain number of churches. We have a certain number of pastors. We have a certain number of, you know, baptisms every year. It rattles all that off.Rich Birch — And he said, you know, if you were to look at where we were 20 years ago, the number of churches is the same, the number of, and rattled off all these stats that are the same. Like we’re baptizing the same number of people, the attendance is the same, the the like all these things. He said, the only thing that’s gone up in the last 20 years is we’ve doubled our staff head count. There’s twice as many staff today as there was. And when I read, heard about your book and you talk about this angst, I was like, ooh, that’s exactly what he was describing. He’s like, wait a second. what’s happening here. And him as a denominational leader, he had the same read, hey, there’s something wrong with the way we set this thing up. Rich Birch — So your book, let’s actually dive into a little bit. It starts really at 70 year arc from Donald McGavron from 1955, all the way to today. And so for a leader who’s never really stepped back and thought about the history of like, what, how did we get here? It’s the name of your book. Why does knowing what got us to where we are today, this kind of consumer operating system that you describe, why does, how does understanding that help us as we think about the future?Todd Wilson — It’s a really good question. And I’m not sure, honestly, that I when I, when I set out to write this book, that, that that was even driving me to begin with, but very quickly that became the, I realized that’s why I need to write this book.Todd Wilson — So let, let me explain. And I need to give you a little bit of background to explain, because it’s an important question.Rich Birch — Yep, yep, for sure.Todd Wilson — So when I think about the moment that, that I realized we had a problem. Like that that, okay, we’re on this trajectory, things are moving the right direction to the 16%, and I’m back in the leadership of Exponential now. And I’m realizing, oh my goodness, we really do have a problem. And here’s here was what that looked like. Todd Wilson — I believed we had started learning communities and we had very vibrant learning communities And our learning communities got started because we felt like we need to shift the paradigm of people’s measure of success in the scorecard of church. It was very much about we need to shift paradigm. Alan Hirsch was involved with this on how do we shift from just growing large things to growing decentralized things that saturate. And it was very much about scorecard.Todd Wilson — And if you think about it, we’re wanting to move the needle from 5% to 16%. That’s a scorecard thing. So our initiating event was scorecard. But as we got into these learning communities, which in my opinion were the best things we were doing at Exponential. I mean, they were six to eight month learning journeys and we would rock people’s paradigm.Todd Wilson — We really would. People would go through it and be like, Oh my goodness, I got to have a different view of success in the church.Rich Birch — Right. yeahTodd Wilson — And guess what? They’d go home and Sunday’s coming. Rich Birch — Right. Todd Wilson — There’s, services to run, there’s people to pastor, there’s things to do. And the aha moment for me came, Rich, when I realized the the whole definition of insanity, that if you just keep doing the same thing over and over and hope for a different outcome, but that’s insanity. And here I am trying to lead a national organization to see a change in scorecard to move the needle to 16%.Todd Wilson — And I remember the day that I realized we’re not going to get there with the operating system we have in place in church right now. This operating system is not capable of getting us to the 16% number.Todd Wilson — That was a personal crisis. I’m leading an organization that’s up and to the right that the needle is moving. But as a futurist, I’m realizing we’re not going to get where we need to be with the operating system in the church. So the the operating system part was what drove me to start writing this book. I’ll let you ask a question there, and then we’ll circle back to the how does it relate to understanding how we got here, though.Rich Birch — Yeah, so ah just to underline what you’re saying there, um you know in in other conversations, I’ve heard leaders say, you know it’s like, um you know what you know what you reach people with is what you end up keeping them with. And so if what I hear you saying, just putting, I think, other language around it, but correct me, is kind of a consumer-oriented or a consumer cultural operating system that we’ve we’ve used as a church… Todd Wilson — Right.Rich Birch — …you know, obviously by definition, if you ah use a um consumption-based model, that doesn’t, leave you it’s very difficult to turn around and say, okay, now become a multiplier. You know, we got you here as a consumer. Okay, now how do we make you a multiplier? Is that the core pain?Todd Wilson — It is. And Rich, you’re painting the picture of why looking back to understand how we got here is important. If it’s true, that are ah If it’s true, and I want to suggest people ought to go look at it for themselves, that the underlying operating system that has evolved over the last 75 years, it’s not where it started with Donald McGavern in 1955. And there was never bad intentions by any of the good people through the 70 years.Rich Birch — Yeah, right.Todd Wilson — We have evolved from what was originally one thing. into a consumer model that is way more focused on success is growing big, success is making converts, not necessarily disciples. And we we can diagnose that if there’s a problem today, and I suggest there is a problem today, then how we got here and understanding how over 70 years, what was intended to be one thing, gradually (like the frog getting boiled in cold water) turned into something else.Todd Wilson — We’ve got to go through the the, if we really want to change the operating system, and I’ve seen how hard it is, guys can have the paradigm shift. We need to change. Then they go back home into the operating system that they’re operating in. And it is really, really hard to just throw off one operating system and embrace another oneTodd Wilson — And I wouldn’t even encourage people to do that. Don’t go home and just change your operating system overnight. But if you do want to make thoughtful, progressive change, the best way to do it is to start by going back and learn the lesson of how did we get where we are?Rich Birch — Yeah.Todd Wilson — How did things get off track to where to where we are?Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Todd Wilson — And that’s what ended you know, I started out the book really to go after understanding the operating system itself. And very quickly came to the conclusion, oh, we I’m not sure how we’re going to move to a new operating system if people don’t go through the hard work of looking back and understanding how well-intentioned people over time have delivered for us what we have today in a flawed system.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. You know, I know, again, from my own personal experience, not to bring this back to me, but to my own personal experience, again, it’s been interesting to see similar patterns. You know, every couple years, there’s like some new idea that comes up in the church. And oftentimes I’m like, yeah, this is just like of rehash of a thing I saw 10 years ago or 15 years ago or 20 years ago.Rich Birch — It’s like, oh, this is is brand new. It’s like, ah, it’s echoes of things we’ve seen in the past. So why don’t we just kind of give people a flyover or a walkover of the kind of eras that you kind of define as you went through the book, just to give people a high level. Rich Birch — Ultimately friends, you know, I’m encouraging you to to do two things out of today. One is to pick up, I think this could be a great book for you and your team to go through. You and your leadership team, buy copies of this, read it. I think it could be an interesting book for you or, and go and listen to Todd’s interview with Carey as well. Carey just takes longer in his podcast and has more time. So there’s going to be, there’s lots packed into that as well. Rich Birch — But why don’t you kind of give us a flyover of the eras? And then maybe when you think about each one of those, something that was like, really positive that came from that area something like hey there’s something good there or maybe there’s something there that we’ve got to be cautious about as we think about the future.Todd Wilson — Yeah. And just to be clear, Rich, you know this, ah I’m a local church guy. My calling is a local church. I’m still on staff at a local church. I love the local church. So this part of the, difficulty for me in spending two years and over a hundred hours of interviews and putting this timeline of history together is I love the church.Todd Wilson — And I I, don’t know that I’d be sitting here talking to you if it weren’t for several of these eras I’m getting ready to name to you. So you’ve got really, I think a common thread through across these areas as we jump into them is typically apostolic, evangelistically driven leaders who really want to reach people. Hell is real. Lost people are going there. We got to reach them. And I think that’s the driving factor across all these eras is well-intentioned people…Todd Wilson — And if I can start with the end point, I think we’ve sort of co-opted the more holistic disciple-making growth engine that’s capable of generational disciple-making with strategies for institutional programmatic growth that are not capable of reproduction. They’re very good at growing large things and reaching lots of people, but not necessarily making, you know, through relational disciple making, disciples who make disciples who plant churches that plant churches.Todd Wilson — So here’s how I would do the flyover. When I got started writing this history, I thought I was doing one chapter of this history in another book. Rich Birch — I love it.Todd Wilson — And one chapter turned into two chapters and three chapters. And eventually my editor said, Todd, you just need to do a full book.Rich Birch — Well, that’s a book.Todd Wilson — And it ends up turning into the longest book I’ve written because of the 75 year history. And ah Rich, seriously, don’t, people don’t need to feel bad if they don’t know all the history. I, I’m like a where’s Waldo through a lot of this history. I’ve had a seat at the table for a lot of the stuff through these eras.Todd Wilson — Until writing this book, I did not know how all the dots connected across these eras. And then it became there were so many, oh, oh, oh. So here’s here’s the shot I’ll give to you. Ididn’t really I knew I had heard of Donald McGavern. I knew he was considered the father of the modern church growth movement. I’ve never, prior to writing this book, read about him, gone off and studied him. Gary McIntosh is his by is Donald McGavern’s biographer. So I spent a lot of time with Gary. He pointed me in the right directions.Todd Wilson — And here’s what I learned. Donald McGavern, born in the late 1800s, international missionary in India. um His father and mother were missionaries in India. He came from the mission field and his context was the international mission field. Todd Wilson — Now, get this as the starting point in 1955. He’s an international missionary. He has planted 15 churches himself in his career, none of which ever grew to more than 100 people. So you got to let that sink in. The father of the modern church growth movement planted 15 churches, none of which grew to more than 100. And yet he’s the father of what we consider now the modern church growth movement.Rich Birch — Right. Interesting.Todd Wilson — So the kind the context was, he became fascinated after reading a research report on why some churches in provinces in India were growing and others weren’t. Sometimes churches in the same village that were growing and just down the street, others weren’t.Todd Wilson — So he kind of took a scientific approach, the study of church growth. Like let’s study this like it’s a science, like what’s causing some churches to grow. And he he had very clear conclusions out of that, but you know, a handful of conclusions of what’s causing that.Todd Wilson — And so ultimately, when he came off the mission field by 1960, 61, he started the Church Growth Institute, not for U.S. pastors, but for international missionaries who were on furlough to come home and learn about church growth principles that they could take back to the international mission field. He had no interest in U.S. pastors. Todd Wilson — So for multiple years in the 60s, he was doing that. And when Fuller wanted to start their International School of World Missions, one of their best faculty member ratings was Donald McGavern. So they invited him to come become the founding dean of the the Fuller School of World Missions.Todd Wilson — But he only agreed to do it if he could bring the Church Growth Institute with him. So by 1970, you’ve got that up and running. He’s built his team. He invited a guy called C. Peter Wagner off the mission field to come be on his faculty staff. And in 1970, 71, Peter Wagner convinced Donald McGavern that they ought to run one class for U.S. pastors on church growth.Todd Wilson — And the rest is history. That one class, it just turned into, Imean, people were very interested in it. Denominations became interested. And literally within a couple of years, you’ve got this up and to the right people latching on to church growth science.Todd Wilson — And that starts the process, you know. Even from the beginning, you start to see a little bit of co-opting away from McGavern’s things. Not fast, but a little bit. Todd Wilson — So right on the heels of that, in the 70s then, you’ve got this young kid, ah Bill Hybels… Rich Birch — Right. Todd Wilson — …who’s running you know going to go into business and he’s running a street ministry with youth. He’s being mentored by Robert Shuler.Rich Birch — Yes.Todd Wilson — And Shuler’s got the possibility thinking, think outside the box, very apostolic. Turns out Shuler not only mentors Hybels, but there’s some mentoring of Rick Warren. And so you’ve got the birth of the seeker-sensitive era then.Todd Wilson — You know, if the first era was the McGavern-Roots era, now we’ve got the seeker-sensitive era. And, you know, that can be a positive or a negative stigma. For me, in 1976, I’m in middle school going into high school, not a Christian, live down the street from this movie theater called the Willow Creek Movie Theater. Rich Birch — Right. Right.Todd Wilson — And my mom drags us kicking and screaming into the Willow Creek Movie Theater. We were the avatar family for the Seeker Sensitive family movement.Rich Birch — Right. Movement.Todd Wilson — From Seeker Sensitive, you get out of that the what Peter Drucker and Bob Buford would call the large church phenomena and the birth of Leadership Network then with the large church phenomena, which became the megachurch phenomena.Todd Wilson — You’ve got Rick Warren and his masterful work with the purpose-driven church. Rick’s able to put handles on this church growth part, but Rick was a disciple of Donald McGavern, so he’s got the McGavern roots. Todd Wilson — You’ve got Hybels with the Shuler roots. And in that 80 into the 90s with the birth of the Global Leadership Summit and the other, you’ve you’ve got this very influential large church phenomena, purpose-driven, being shaped by, you know, in large part, the combination of Leadership Network, Hybels, Rick Warren… And that brings us up to you know about 2000. Todd Wilson — And just as a flyover, I would then call the era of the externally focused church. You’ve got the rapid fire birth of church planting networks. You’ve got multi-site. People don’t realize prior to 2000, there’s less than 50 multi-site churches.Rich Birch — Yeah.Todd Wilson — Leadership Network engages it in 2000. And from 2000 to 2010 you see an up, I mean, radically up and to the right.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — The externally focused church, same thing. Rick Russo has book right in that time period. The missional guys, right in that time period. So the common theme between these church planning networks, the missional guys, the externally focused guys, the multi-site, is we’re now looking outside of ourselves.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — But in large part, we’re still looking outside of ourselves as growth strategies for our things. If you really go look under the hood of a lot of those.Todd Wilson — And then I would say coming out of the externally or outwardly focused era, 2015 to 2025, I just have no other name than the disruption era. As I was doing the research on this book, um I had to stop at like 12 major disruptions that happened in that time period with COVID right in the middle. Rich Birch — Right. Todd Wilson — And so that’s the…Rich Birch — Political upheaval. There’s a bunch in there in that same, you know, yeah, that there’s been a schism.Todd Wilson — You’ve got deconstruction of faith.Rich Birch — Yep.Todd Wilson — You’ve got cynicism. You’ve got platformed individualism with the birth of social media. Now anybody can be their own, you know, playlist influencer. There’s just so many disruptive factors in there.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — Now you look at all those disruptive factors with the evolution of what’s happening in the church and the church operating system. And it leaves us on a very shaky foundation at that point that, you know It kind of brings us up to where we are now, and you can either be a pessimist at that or an optimist. And I choose the optimist path that we’re poised for a new day and a new operating system is my prayer.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s amazing. And friends, as you can see, you just got a real thin slice of, you know, just all the various phases that you do such a great job unpacking for us to help us really understand how we we got here. It was It was wild, it’s wild thinking about a lot of that because I remember, you know, various phases of those over the last particularly 25 years, you know, seeing that up close and seeing, you know, kind of the impact that has had and then wondering about the future and where we go from here. Rich Birch — So thinking about the future and, you know, obviously you’ve, um you know, you’ve you’re making a clear clarion call around, hey, we’ve got to think differently than the consumer driven operating system. We’ve got to we’ve got to come up with something different. After all of that, um and we’ve kind of covered this already, but I’d love to make sure we kind of hone on this, have this resonate with people that are listening in. Why is it so difficult for that system, for the consumer-driven operating system to to really ultimately produce healthy reproduction and multiplication and in churches? What’s structurally ah broken about it? And what what would be some first steps we should be thinking about change to the future as we think about, okay, where we go from here? Todd Wilson — Yeah.Rich Birch — How do we, you know, build on the positive stuff, but also look for something different as we look to the future? Todd Wilson — Yeah. I think we don’t have to make it complex, Rich, if we just keep trying to come back to simplicity for a minute. Like the system that has evolved has actually become pretty complex when you think about it. I would say if we could just focus on, I’m not even going to say changing overnight, but if if I’m a lead pastor, if I’m on staff at a church, I’m really focused on disciple-making as the core mission and growth engine of the church. Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — Like what is it, most churches are going to say our mission is disciple making or it’s going to be part of it. They’re going to say we have a culture of disciple making, but it is not what the data shows. Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — You know, again, 95% of churches do not have a culture of disciple-making. They have a culture of program activity. Rich Birch — Right. Todd Wilson — And so I’m not an advocate of changing everything overnight, but if you want to shift from a culture of program activity to a true culture of disciple-making‚ it has to start with the lead minister having a simple, reproducible, in-practice disciple-making approach that is being modeled for the… I don’t mean discipling the staff. I mean there’s people the lead pastor are personally discipling, modeling that simple, reproducible process. Todd Wilson — Where we’re starting to see traction and where I think the breakthroughs are going to come in getting us to the new operating system of the future, it is going to start, and it’s it’s happening right now, with pastors who say, you know, if I’m really honest, I’ve been preaching the last 52 weeks. I’ve been leading meetings. I’ve been doing, I’ve been doing, I’ve done, but I’m not really personally making disciples. Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — And I think it’s going to start with the lead pastor, the elders, senior people saying, If we could only have one metric of success in the next 12 months, it’s not growth, it’s not the activities we do, it’s not the new building. If we only have one measure of success, it’s how many disciples have I personally, relationally been involved in? me Not how many have I preached to, not how many outreach events have we done where we’ve got, but what have I personally done on the disciple-making front?Todd Wilson — And I don’t want to make it more complicated than that. That’s what we’re missing right now.Rich Birch — That’s good. No, that’s really good. Yeah, that’s good. I love the practical takeaway of, um yeah, it’s like, who are the three people in your life that you’re actually discipling? Let’s start there. Rich Birch — So this is kind of a sidebar to it.Todd Wilson — Can I just look real quick?Rich Birch — Yes. Yep. Push back. Yep.Todd Wilson — So David Putman, who’s part of what we do at Multipliers, David’s longtime kingdom guy.Rich Birch — Yep.Todd Wilson — You should have him on as an interview here. David is completely focused on what he calls the 5-3-2 right now. Five simple reproducible principles, three rhythms, and and two relationships. So it’s a triad of three people that just keeps reproducing.Todd Wilson — Anybody can do it. A ninth grader can do it. A lead pastor can do it. I’m watching this model take different groups by storm right now. And whether you embrace the 5-3-2 or some other model like it, the key is going to be having a simple, reproducible process that works for the lead pastor and anyone else in the church. Same model.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Yeah we had David on back in 2020 and I’m like we got to get him back on uh the podcast. Rich Birch — So sidebar issue, so this is not something we’d you know kicked around ahead of time but it’s kind of adjacent to this. So I am not a I'm not a teaching pastor. Similar to you. I’m not, i never saw myself as a lead pastor. I’ve always been in the like, Hey, my job’s to be in the second chair, cheering for other lead pastors. I’ve worked for um really over my career as an XP three incredible communicator lead pastors who it would appear like, and it is, they, all three of them, God gifted them with this ability to speak and gather crowds. Like that was like core. And, and I, I’ve spent a lot of time like listening to them and watching them. And part of it just appears to be like, it’s definitely a gifting that’s going on there.Rich Birch — And I, over time, ah questions like the following would come up that I would I'd struggle with, where it’s like, it would appear like this person can gather a lot of people, and we can build more chairs in front of that person and people will hear that person and they’ll they’ll take steps towards Jesus. Rich Birch — And I understand that that’s not, or that’s not a full picture of discipleship. That’s one piece of the discipleship puzzle, but it’s not… And the the kind of organizational pressure is, okay, let’s keep figuring out how to build more seats in front of this person and and their gift. How do we get them to leverage their gift well? Rich Birch — And to be honest, I’ve been in conversations where I’ve been the voice of like, I want to line 100,000 people up in front of this person to hear this person speak because I think the way they talk about Jesus is different than what I’ve heard other people say and it it’ll make a difference. Rich Birch — That is, I think, at the center of this tension that there’s some there seems to be something about the gift of teaching that it’s not, I don’t know whether it’s not evenly distributed, or there’s like a brokenness in humanity and we only want to listen to certain kinds of people. I don’t know whether it’s one of those two things. So all I’ve done is describe a problem and I’m going to say, comment on it, Todd.Todd Wilson — Yeah. I think you’re right on the mark. I think I want to affirm that, you know, I mean, everybody has their definitions. I believe the preaching role is, and and the teaching and reaching is a piece of the discipleship equation.Rich Birch — Yep.Todd Wilson — I think if I’m defining the problem statement, We have made it the biggest piece… Rich Birch — Sure. Todd Wilson — …instead of a piece or a playing a role in it. So I think the issue is that how big we’ve made it. Like you, I was an executive pastor for years. And when I look back on that time, my role was not about holistic relational disciple making that could be the growth engine of the church. and it It was how do we get as many people in seats in the auditorium on Sunday? We need great marketing. We need great outreach.Todd Wilson — And again, I think all of those play a role in the disciple-making process ultimately. But let’s just be honest, that’s not disciple-making itself. It plays a role in the disciple-making process.Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — So the elephant in the room here is, how do we scale disciple-making? If I if I could be If I could be the czar of this, I’m not, but if I could be, I want the genius at the end. I want the unique gifts that are represented across the whole mosaic and the church, starting with that dynamic creature that can attract the crowd. I want it. Todd Wilson — But I also want those senior leaders of the organization I really want to be focused on what is our growth engine and what is our holistic disciple-making process. Rich Birch — Right.Todd Wilson — And the number one thing I want from those senior leaders is not their unique gift. I want their modeling, their personal modeling of the simple, reproducible, disciple-making growth engine that anybody in the church can do. Rich Birch — That’s good.Todd Wilson — I mean, that that preaching gift you’re talking about, that that one lead pastor can do, how many other people in the church can do that?Rich Birch — Right. Not many. Yep.Todd Wilson — So there’s their paradigm. So we need them doing it.Rich Birch — Yes.Todd Wilson — But I would argue what we need them doing even more than that inspiration is modeling the simple reproducible disciple making thing that people know that’s how we’re going to win here.Rich Birch — Yeah. Well, and I’ve that lines up, I’ve said it at probably, well, not a thousand times, but hundreds of times with lead pastors over the years that in the context of this conversation, I would rather them weave in the discussion about their discipleship relationships as like just a normative part of conversation rather than the, we’re doing six weeks on discipleship and how to become disciple making. I’m like, if you just pepper that stuff in week in, week out, it just is a normative part of the conversation that changes culture. Rich Birch — The kind of like, we’re going to make it a program. We’re going to brand it. We’ve got a great name on it. And my experience has been, it’s it’s a little bit like nailing jello to the wall. There’s there’s actually some of that containing of what we’re talking about actually kills the exact thing that we’re trying to do. And so, man, I think there’s a real tension there. And how do we help those people? Rich Birch — Because it’s not like we want them to do a worse job. It’s not like, hey, if you could stop talking in a way that attracts a crowd, that’s not the answer. But we’ve got to, like you say, how do we move them into those personal relationships? That’s fantastic.Rich Birch — Well, this has been a great conversation…Todd Wilson — My question would be, Rich, what what would happen…Rich Birch — Yep.Todd Wilson — …if an average lead pastor went on a one-year journey to to of disciple-making themselves? Call it a triad, call it four, five. They’re always, over the next year, going to be in a disciple-making small micro group… Rich Birch — Yep. Todd Wilson — …and all of their preaching is going to be informed.Rich Birch — Yep.Todd Wilson — That’s their laboratory of learning.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s their paradigm. Yeah, that’s good.Todd Wilson — That’s their paradigm. And now they’re bringing it to life, not just as periodic examples, but, you know, my whole frame of reference of my library is what comes out of that experience. Rich Birch — Yeah.Todd Wilson — And our problem right now is that’s just lack. It isn’t that it’s inserted a little bit. It’s just lacking.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s good. Yeah, this has been great. what ah What a great conversation. And as you can tell, friends, there’s a lot we could talk about there. And a lot you know just there’s a rich conversation that could be had around this. Rich Birch — Let’s let’s pivot and kind of talk a little bit about the book specifically. i want to make sure people pick up copies of this. Again, the name of it is How Did We Get Here? Looking Back to Look Forward. People can get this on Amazon. Are there other places that you would send people if they want to pick up copies of this?Todd Wilson — Yeah. So if they go to church-growth.org, church-growth.org, that’s the book’s homepage. You can actually get the free PDF there. You can get the free audio version there. There’s a full wiki there that people can contribute to. What you kind of mentioned it in passing, but I’ll highlight, it is impossible to read this book and not see yourself in it. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah.Todd Wilson — Anyone who’s been a Christian for a while, they, the editor of the book said the power of this is going to be, she said, I can tell you the page in the book that I entered the story. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Todd Wilson — So you’ve got the free PDF, the free audio, the wiki, and then for people that just want the paper versions, you can get it on Amazon.Rich Birch — That’s great. And we’ll link to that friends so that you can, you know, find that quickly in the show notes and, and friends, I would encourage you again, to me, I think this could be a great resource to do with your leadership team, as I mentioned earlier. It would be a great kind of conversation starter and really context setter for us to think through these issues as we think about the future. Rich Birch — So kind of as we, as we come to close up today’s conversation, any final words as we wrap up today?Todd Wilson — Rich, I just appreciate the work you’re doing. I want to be an encouragement to pastors. Don’t let this book be, it’s not a deconstruction book. It’s not, oh my goodness, the church has fallen apart.Rich Birch — No, yeah.Todd Wilson — We need to keep plugging away doing what we’re doing, but we also have to have an eye on the future that this operating system that has evolved, everything has a beginning and an end. And this operating system, I believe, is in its final days. I think we’re we’re seeing you know less and less effectiveness with it. And I think we just need to be in a posture of giving permission to the next generations to do some trial and error and experimentation and not be locked into the paradigm of the of the past inheriting previous things.Rich Birch — No, fantastic, Todd. I appreciate you being here. And I would echo that, you know, you’re you’re the kind of leader that’s in our corner trying to help us get better. And so I appreciate the voice that you’ve had for for decades. And so I really appreciate that. Rich Birch — If people want to track with you, get connected, follow along with Multipliers where do we want to send them online?Todd Wilson — Multipliers.org can get me to all the different ways from email to phone to social media. So multipliers.org.Rich Birch — That’s great. Thanks so much, Todd. Appreciate you being here, sir.Todd Wilson — Thank you, Rich. Appreciate it.
In this episode, I tackle a few of the questions I get all the time around nutrition and training, from intermittent fasting and hitting your protein goals to figuring out where you should actually start when it comes to building a better body. I break down why I'm not a huge fan of intermittent fasting for most people, why awareness of your calories and macros matters more than chasing the latest diet hack, and how to make hitting your protein target much simpler by structuring your meals properly.I also get into what I believe is one of the biggest mistakes people make in the gym: trying to train like someone who is already years ahead of them. You don't start in fifth gear, you start in first. I explain why mastering the fundamentals, learning to move properly, and building a solid foundation should come before advanced training methods, high-volume bodybuilding programs, and all the nuances you see online. Whether you're brand new to training or you've been doing this for years, there's always value in going back to the basics and making sure your foundation is strong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The best part of a national convention is not just the stacks of kits and the contest tables, it's the moment you walk in and realize you are surrounded by your people. We're back from the 2026 IPMS National Convention and talking through the full comedown: the unpacking, the reorganizing, and the small but important truth that some “solutions” in the model room (looking at you, retail paint racks) just do not work at home.Then we get into the conversations we recorded on the floor. We sit down with Jay Chadwell of Mojo Model Works to talk 3D design and 3D printing for the stuff nobody else makes, from real space hardware to pop culture subjects that instantly hit the nostalgia button. We also talk with Randy Chisholm about his USS Texas turret project, a scratchbuilding rabbit hole where scarce references, mechanical realism, and clean construction matter as much as paint and weathering.We also catch up with Keith Zimmerman about building a striking 1/48 B-24 Liberator for a show exclusive release, including what it takes to handle huge decals and tight timelines. And we're thrilled to talk with Arma Hobby about how modern injection-molded plastic kits get designed, why 1/72 scale is having a moment, and how a company stays grounded in what modelers actually want to build. Finally we close with our show host and sponsor, Brandon Lowe of SquadronTop it all off with a “what broke our wallets” recap from the vendor room, and you've got a convention debrief that feels like sitting at the bench with friends. If you enjoy this, subscribe, share it with a modeling buddy, and leave a review so more scale modelers can find the show.Model Paint SolutionsYour source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!SQUADRON Adding to the stash since 1968Model PodcastsPlease check out the other pods in the modelsphere!KitMasxCustom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler. Bases By BillYour source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Give us your Feedback!Rate the Show!Support the Show!PatreonBuy Me a BeerPaypalBump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed BarothAd Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" BairMike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
How do you move forward after getting fired, surviving breast cancer, and completely redefining what success looks like? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Ira Kaganovsky, a former Merrill Lynch and Citigroup advisor, successful financial practice owner, entrepreneur, and breast cancer survivor. Ira's story is one of resilience, tenacity, sales, and knowing when to let go of the plan you originally created. After three friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, Ira began questioning what she was putting on her body and set out to create a natural deodorant that actually worked. Despite being rejected by 18 spas, she kept going until the Four Seasons saw potential in her product and gave her an opportunity to change her packaging. This episode is about sustainable high performance, burnout prevention, and the importance of being willing to "kill the baby" when your business needs to evolve. What You Will Learn: How getting fired can become the catalyst for entrepreneurship. Why entrepreneurial thinking does not always fit within traditional corporate structures. How to replace the dollars-for-hours mindset with an ROI-focused approach. Why working smarter can create greater results while reducing burnout. How leveraging one major client can open the door to an entirely new market. Why sales are essential to turning an idea into a sustainable business. How to recognize when your business is telling you to change direction. Why entrepreneurs should avoid becoming emotionally attached to their original product or business model. How Ira pivoted her company when COVID eliminated her primary spa distribution channel. Why profitability matters when you want to grow, raise capital, or continue making an impact. How launching before everything is perfect can create opportunities that waiting may prevent. Why entrepreneurs need to prioritize marketing rather than simply creating more products. How resilience, tenacity, and adaptability can help entrepreneurs navigate major disruptions. The surprising story behind the Freedom brand name and its hummingbird logo. Connect with Ira Kaganovsky Freedom Deodorant https://freedomdeodorant.com/ Connect with Wickedly Smart Women® Wickedly Smart Women Wickedly Smart Women on X Wickedly Smart Women on Instagram Wickedly Smart Women Facebook Community Wickedly Smart Women Store on TeePublic [5X Award-Winning Book] Wickedly Smart Women: Trusting Intuition, Taking Action, Transforming Worlds Email: listeners@wickedlysmartwomen.com
This November, California voters will consider Proposition 43 — a measure aimed at making it harder for cities and counties to raise local taxes. It's sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. That's the anti-tax group that brought California Proposition 13 in 1978, a landmark ballot measure limiting property tax increases. Marisa sits down with the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal. They discuss Prop. 43 and California's broader tax system. Check out Political Breakdown's weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're BACK! ❤️After a much-needed week of rest, reflection, and allowing God to work on some things behind the scenes, I am so excited to be back with a brand-new episode of the Anchored by the Sword Podcast! And honestly, I couldn't think of a better conversation to come back with.Today, I'm joined by Melissa Miller, author of But I Prayed for This: What to Do When Living in God's Yes Is Harder Than You Expected. And can I just say…this conversation is SO relatable.Have you ever prayed for something, watched God answer that prayer, and then thought…“Wait a minute. I prayed for this. So why is this so hard?”Melissa knows that feeling firsthand. She shares her powerful story of coming to know Jesus while in college, after growing up in a home where God and the Bible were never talked about. Years later, she found herself walking through multiple major life changes at once—including a relocation, a new job, and adopting two siblings from foster care.These were answers to prayer. But they also brought exhaustion, uncertainty, adjustment, trauma, grief, and a whole lot of dependence on God.And that's where this conversation gets REAL.We talk about the pressure we put on ourselves when we're struggling in a season we prayed for.The “I should…” statements.I should be happier.I should be more grateful.I should have this figured out by now.I prayed for this, so why am I struggling?Melissa reminds us that admitting something is hard does not make us ungrateful.We also talk about shame, finding safe community, the importance of compassionate witnesses, and why sometimes people don't need us to fix their situation or give them a Christian cliché. Sometimes they just need someone to sit beside them and say:“I'm here. I understand. That really is hard.”And then we talk about her WHOLE framework and why God cares about us as whole people—not just our spiritual lives. We talk about wellness, our hearts, our mindset, our relationship with God, and our relationships with other people. Because taking care of yourself isn't about being selfish. Sometimes caring for the whole person God created you to be is exactly what helps you stay anchored when life feels anything but steady.If you are currently living in an answered prayer that feels harder than you expected, I want you to hear this:You are not broken.You are not ungrateful.You didn't necessarily hear God wrong.And you don't have to pretend that everything is easy just because it's something you prayed for.Sometimes you're simply walking through the adjustment period that comes with a new season.And God is still right there with you.Bio:Melissa Miller is a family girl, writer, and Reboot Retreat facilitator living in Tennessee. She is a contributor to sites such as Mother.ly, Her View from Home, and the YouVersion Bible app. Melissa has been married for over twenty years, has five children, and is an advocate for vulnerable children in foster care.Having experienced an unconventional adoption as a teen and later adopting a sibling set from foster care, she has a heart to help kids from hard places find belonging. Melissa loves playing pickleball and thinks “just one more chapter” is a perfectly reasonable bedtime strategy. Through her writing and two-day Reboot Retreat process, she loves helping people step out of survival mode, establish life-giving rhythms, and rediscover joy in their everyday lives.Anchor Verses:Hebrews 13:8Psalm 54:5Connect with Melissa:Website: https://www.melissamillerwriter.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/melissamillerwritesFB: https://www.facebook.com/melissamillerwriter/Be sure to check out Melissa's website for current promotions and book-launch offers!***If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to take a minute to rate and review the Anchored by the Sword Podcast, and share this episode with someone who may need this reminder today—you never know whose life God may touch through your simple share!
Ah, the question of the day. We field your texts and stories throughout the show, and also talk to David Asman from Fox Business about the economy, and Wiggins America addresses male secrets that females don't know about.
The 1% in Recovery Successful Gamblers & Alcoholics Stopping Addiction
Text and Be HeardFootball season is back, and so is the loudest lie in sports: that you can beat the book if you just “know ball.” We love the start of a new season, the routines, the locker room mindset, the hope. But we also see how quickly that excitement gets hijacked by sports betting apps, influencer promos, and a constant stream of prop bets that keep you clicking until your money is gone. We walk through why football betting is uniquely stacked against you. Vegas is tighter on football than almost anything, and modern sports data makes the odds even sharper. When you add player props, live betting, micro betting, and prediction markets, the “game” becomes a full-time chase where everything comes down to the last play and your nervous system never gets to rest. That is not entertainment for a lot of people. That is a carefully designed system that monetizes impulse and keeps you thinking you are one smart bet away. We also talk about the bigger impact: kids gambling from their phones, politicians treating addiction like a revenue stream, and a culture that celebrates big wins while hiding the taxes, the losses, and the shame. Our goal is simple: help you enjoy football without gambling, and build real confidence through daily recovery actions that boost natural dopamine and self-esteem. If this hits close to home, listen now, share it with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you do not miss what comes next. If you can, leave a review and tell us: what is your biggest trigger during football season?Support the showRecovery is Beautiful. Go Live Your Best Life!!Facebook Group - Recovery Freedom Circle | FacebookYour EQ is Your IQYouTube - Life Is Wonderful Hugo VRecovery Freedom CircleThe System That Understands Recovery, Builds Character and Helps People Have Better Relationships.A Life Changing Solution, Saves You Time, 18 weekswww.lifeiswonderful.love Instagram - Lifeiswonderful.LoveTikTok - Lifeiswonderful.LovePinterest - Lifeiswonderful.LoveX - LifeWonderLoveLinkedIn - Hugo Vrsalovic LinkedIn - The 1% in Recovery
What if the biggest thing holding back your climbing isn't finger strength, power endurance, body weight, age—or finding the perfect training program? What if the real limiter is much simpler: you're not consistently doing the things you already know you should be doing? In this new episode of the Training for Climbing Podcast, I dig into 9 powerful principles for behavior modification and self-mastery—and how they can help you train more consistently, improve your nutrition, manage your time, recover better, and become a stronger, more disciplined climber. We'll explore everything from questioning the stories you tell yourself and building an athlete identity, to embracing invisible progress, keeping promises to yourself, and making decisions based on principles rather than emotions. Because long-term success isn't about being perfectly motivated or discovering some secret training hack. It's about controlling the controllables, showing up, learning from failure, and repeatedly doing the small things that move you toward the athlete you want to become. If you want to climb harder—and become better at the game of life along the way—give this episode a listen.
We've all done it — the new plan, the new resolve, the "this time I mean it." So why does it never stick? In this episode, we dig into why willpower and self-discipline can't fix a body image struggle, because the real issue was never really about the body at all. In this episode best-selling author and podcast host, Heather Creekmore discusses the distinction between managing behavior and addressing the root, why trying harder can subtly become its own idol, and what practical, lasting change actually looks like when it emerges from being already loved, rather than striving to earn it. Take this with you quote of the episode: "We quietly switch the engine to self-effort, as if right information could finish what only Christ began." Timestamped Overview: 00:00 Struggling with conflicting diet advice 04:42 Sarah's frustrating morning routine 07:47 Myth of a perfect fitness answer 12:06 Jesus and the Woman at the Well 14:32 Breaking free from earning mindset 18:03 Self-effort versus grace in faith 21:42 Practical steps to inspire change 26:18 Embracing rest over striving 27:44 Finding peace in ordinary choices Discussion questions for listeners / community: What's your "well" — the thing you keep going back to, hoping it will finally satisfy? When has "trying harder" worked short-term but failed to last? What happened? What would it look like this week to ask "what am I actually thirsty for?" instead of "how do I white-knuckle this?" Links: Join the 40 Day Journey - learn more here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-day-challenge Learn more about Heather's books and resources here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/books-for-christian-women-body-image Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
When you're mission-driven, frustration can become surprisingly personal. You care, you show up, you adjust, and you keep trying—so when something still isn't moving, it's easy to assume the answer is more effort. But sometimes strong leadership isn't about pushing harder. It's about recognizing when an old approach has stopped serving you and creating enough space to see what the moment is actually asking for. In this episode, you'll explore: How to recognize when healthy persistence has started turning into force Why frustration can activate perfectionism, people-pleasing, and questions of self-worth Three powerful questions to help you step out of the struggle and find a clearer next move Leadership Support If you're navigating a sticky season and want support finding the clearest path forward without defaulting to more pressure, learn more about working with Kc at https://heartglowceo.com. Share the Pod Love Enjoying Heart Glow CEO®? A quick review is one of the simplest ways to support the show—and it helps the right people find it: www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance About Kc Kc Rossi, PCC, is an Integrative Leadership Coach helping mission-driven entrepreneurs and executives lead with clarity, regulate stress, and grow in flow—not force. Her work blends emotional intelligence, nervous-system wisdom, and heart-brain coherence practices to support sustainable success without burnout. Connect with Kc on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kcrossi/
What would change in your business if you stopped starting every month from zero? In this episode, I'm taking you inside the rebuilding season I've been in this year, including what happened when I shut down a program that was producing $30,000 to $60,000 months, and what turning everything off taught me about which assets actually make income predictable. You'll hear the three core functions every business runs on, where most established owners are overcomplicating things (usually their offers and their marketing) while leaving their sales process dramatically undersimplified, and the seven authority assets I'm rebuilding in my own business right now. If your income has felt unpredictable lately, or your business has gotten heavier than it should be, this conversation will show you what to strip away and what to build so your revenue compounds instead of resetting every month. Timeline Highlights [01:59] – The rebuilding season: sunsetting a core program while launching new offers at the same time [02:54] – Why business decisions are rarely black and white, and the house-building analogy for hidden costs [04:51] – The lesson of the year: you don't realize what's working in your business until you shut it off [09:23] – What changes when your business pays the mortgage and your family relies on the income [10:29] – Having levers you can pull for more sales versus wondering where the next client is coming from [12:18] – How chasing top-line revenue created a heavy, overcomplicated, less profitable business [18:33] – The millennial habit of doing the most, and why that attitude is killing entrepreneurs [21:44] – Where businesses are overcomplicated (offers, marketing) and undersimplified (sales) [27:06] – The three core functions and the seven authority assets that make growth predictable [34:34] – The bingeable body of work: discovery content, depth content, and decision content [44:31] – The Compounding Clients workshop on August 20th, plus a free ticket for podcast listeners Top Quotes from the Episode "Most decisions have trade-offs, and sometimes you don't realize what something is going to cost until you actually start building it." "Sometimes you don't realize what's really working in your business until you shut it off." "There's a big difference between having no idea where money is coming from every month and having a system where you know exactly which levers to pull to make more sales." "I tried to make my offer so irresistible to every single person that I built a beast of a business, one that was exhausting to operate and far less profitable than it used to be." "Success is usually not your best teacher. Failure, challenges, and problems are where the best lessons come from." "Simplified business models don't get built by accident. If you're not paying attention, you will create complexity." "You're building assets, not content that disappears after 24 hours. That's what makes a business compound." Links & Resources Compounding Clients Workshop (Thursday, August 20th) CEO Type Quiz If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast, leave a review if it lands, and share it with someone who's ready to build a business that actually fits their life.
Show Notes: Scott Spiezio The Hardest Comeback What happens when you reach the pinnacle of success—and still find yourself fighting for your life? On this episode of the Sisterhood of S.W.E.A.T., Linda Mitchell sits down with two-time World Series champion Scott Spiezio for a powerful conversation about what happened after the championships, the applause, and the fame. Baseball fans remember Scott for his unforgettable three-run home run in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, helping the Anaheim Angels complete an incredible comeback on their way to the franchise's first World Series championship. He later captured another World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. But Scott's hardest comeback happened away from the baseball field. In his new memoir, The Hardest Comeback, and documentary, SPIEZIO, Scott opens up about his battle with addiction, financial collapse, arrests, broken relationships, and the loss of the identity he had built around baseball. Linda and Scott talk candidly about hitting rock bottom, recovery, forgiveness, faith, surrender, and what it takes to rebuild your life when you believe you've fallen too far. They also explore a powerful question: What if the greatest victory of your life isn't the one everyone applauds? Sometimes we believe we know exactly how our lives are supposed to unfold. We make our plans, chase success, and try to control the outcome. But Scott's story is a reminder that there can be something much bigger on the other side of surrender, and that our hardest chapters can ultimately become the ones that give someone else hope. In This Episode, You'll Hear About Scott's unforgettable 2002 World Series moment What was happening behind the scenes while he appeared to be living the dream Losing his identity after professional baseball His battle with addiction and the road to rock bottom The shame surrounding addiction, arrests, and broken relationships Learning to forgive yourself after making painful mistakes The role faith and surrender played in his comeback Why The Hardest Comeback was so difficult and necessary to write What Scott believes being a "champion" means today His message to anyone who believes they have fallen too far to come back Scott's memoir, The Hardest Comeback, is available now wherever books are sold. His documentary, SPIEZIO, premieres theatrically beginning September 10 in St. Louis, around the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship, and will later stream on Re-Discover TV. Sound Bites "I visualized this moment every night." "I started drinking to deal with depression." "Cried out to God and He heard my cry." Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Scott Spizio's Journey 01:55 Scott's Baseball Highlights and Key Moments 04:42 The Pressure of the Big Moment in the 2002 World Series 06:26 Inside Scott's Inner World During Success 07:35 The Beginning of Struggles and Addiction 08:48 The Impact of Addiction on Scott's Life and Family 11:36 The Role of Faith and Surrender in Recovery 12:55 Miracles and Healing: A Turning Point 14:25 Lessons on Hope, Faith, and Rebuilding Life
Drowning in wellness hype, viral "experts," and five-star opinions that feel more real than facts? In this episode, law and public health scholar Timothy Caulfield exposes the certainty illusion — how "scienceploitation", predatory journals, and weaponized opinions quietly shape what we believe about our health. Today, Therese Markow and Timothy Caulfield discuss Tim's latest book, break down the misinformation drivers that are contributing to the delegitimization of scientific expertise, and the three illusions that are being used to distort public perception. From influencers and celebrities to predatory journals and politicians, it feels like "experts" are constantly bombarding us with information, but how do we know what is true? Listen in to find out more. Key Takeaways: So many of the misconceptions about health and science are now closely tethered to political ideological positions. Influencers are having a greater impact on beliefs around health than ever before. For example, the sale of Ivermectin spiked after a Joe Rogan conversation with Mel Gibson. Be aware of products and studies that are using scienceploitation and publishing in predatory journals. While they may look legitimate, they often do not have proper science behind the claim. Most health halos- words like "organic" or "natural" or, now, "protein" do not necessarily make the food or product healthy. But it does often convince people to buy. "Your personal identity, your personal community has just a tremendous impact. So if you can manipulate those opinions, you can manipulate people's perceptions, their beliefs, and maybe even their actions." — Timothy Caulfield Episode References: The Certainty Illusion: What You Don't Know and Why It Matters: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735245886 Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Documentary: https://gem.cbc.ca/harder-better-faster-stronger What is the manosphere? I went inside to find out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzHZFv-Ezg Connect with Timothy Caulfield: Professional Bio: https://www.ualberta.ca/en/law/research/health-law-institute/people/timothycaulfield.html Threads: threads.net/@caulfieldtim Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/caulfieldtim.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caulfieldtim/ X: https://twitter.com/CaulfieldTim Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timothy.caulfield.792 Books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/255688/timothy-caulfield Connect with Therese: Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.
You Down With YPP?Episode Description:I break down YouTube's latest changes to its Partner Program, including doubled watch-hour requirements and higher Shorts monetization thresholds ahead of the February 2027 deadline. I also bring in YouTube expert Adam Ivey's take on why the real story isn't necessarily the new criteria, and I share my own channel's numbers so you can set realistic expectations for your own YouTube journey.Then the AI kids stop by for story time as I take a look at Spotify's decade-long history of making big podcasting promises—and quietly failing to deliver on them. From a scrapped hosting partnership to a Creator Fund that never paid a cent, there's plenty to unpack.Plus, Ray Ortega drops by with the shortest—and most accurate—definition of “podcast” you'll ever hear.YouTube Partner Program (YPP) changes, effective February 1, 2027Watch-hour requirement doubles: 4,000 to 8,000 hours in the past year (new creators only; existing YPP members are grandfathered in)Shorts monetization threshold doubles: 10 million to 20 million qualified views in 90 days to get in, then a rolling 10 million views every 90 days to maintain earningsFull monetization tier: 1,000 subscribers, $100 payment thresholdLower tier (500 subscribers): unlocks YouTube Shopping (affiliate) and channel memberships, requires 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts viewsThe real story behind the changesAdam Ivy's stat: 67% of YouTube creators make less than $10,000/yearYouTube's stated pivot: broadening revenue beyond ads, with bonuses for YouTube Shopping, brand-deal incentives, and trend-based earning boostsYouTube says it expects to pay creators more in 2027 than 2026: money is shifting, not shrinkingSteve Stewart (Podcast Editor Academy): "Don't just sell your audience to sponsors, sell sponsors on how great your audience is"Is YouTube worth it? The dataSounds Profitable's Podcast Atlas (slide 23): Clips lead viewers to watch a specific episode (30% often/always, 81% at least sometimes) and to become regular listeners (33% often/always, 84% at least sometimes)Dave's real channel numbers: 3,523 subscribers, ~$2.49 per 1,000 views, one video with 115 views earned 25 centsBottom line: YouTube ad revenue is icing, not cake. Don't budget groceries on itSpotify: a bedtime story for the AI kidsMay 2015: Spotify launches podcasts through a small group of hosting "partners" (Libsyn, Blubrry), framed as a growth opportunity, not monetizationSpotify initially insists on hosting the media files itself rather than letting partners host. Partners build custom engineering to comply, then Spotify reverses course2019: Spotify buys Anchor for $150 million, turning former hosting partners into competitors overnight, with free hostingSpotify quietly submits shows to Apple Podcasts under its own account, hiding stats from creators and sparking creator frustration (often aimed at consultants, not Spotify)2020: Megaphone acquired for $235 million. 2021: Whooshkaa acquired and folded into Megaphone, then shut down2021: Betty Labs acquired, becomes Greenroom (Spotify's Clubhouse competitor)2021: "New Era of Podcast Monetization": paid subscriptions, Open Access Platform, Spotify Audience Network announcedMid-2021: Greenroom launches with a Creator Fund promised for live audio creators. Payment mechanics never disclosed2021: Music + Talk announced ("play music in your podcast"), restricted to the Spotify app, paying subscribers only, after listening to the full episodeSeptember 2021: Q&A and Polls launch, pitched as "the future of podcasting is interactive"January 2022: In-house production studio "Studio Four" shut down with layoffsApril 2022: Greenroom rebrands to Spotify Live; Creator Fund confirmed to have never launched, quietly shelvedMarch 2023: Anchor rebranded to Spotify for PodcastersApril 2023: Spotify Live shut down entirely, two years after the original Greenroom launchFebruary 2024: Music + Talk and Anchor's recording tools killed; users redirected to RiversideJuly 2024: Q&A and Polls shut down, replaced with CommentsSpotify's "walled garden" habits: video and transcripts only available on Spotify, resistance to RSS since it sends listeners off-platform2026: Skip Ahead ad-skipping button testing begins, available only to Premium subscribers, while advertisers still pay for the adAudiobooks added, bundled with music, resulting in lower royalty payments to musiciansWhat it actually takes to make money on Spotify1,000 Spotify audience members (last 30 days)2,000 Spotify hours consumed (last 30 days)At least 3 published episodesFree alternatives exist too: Buzzsprout (90 days free), RSS.com, Red CircleAlso in this episode:Ray Ortega's shortest definition of a podcast: "An RSS feed with audio or video content"Dave will be at the Empowered Podcasting Conference. Say hello if you see himLinks:Podnews (the definitive investigative piece): https://podnews.net/update/greenroom-creator-fund-mirageHollywood Reporter (original confirmation): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/spotify-greenroom-creator-fund-live-audio-1235132234/TechCrunch (Spotify's official statement): https://techcrunch.com/?p=2302547Tubefilter (stock price angle): https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/04/19/meta-live-audio-rooms-spotify-green-roSpotify's own support doc: https://support.spotify.com/al/creators/article/understanding-skip-ahead-button/Podnews (the deepest industry-side reporting): https://podnews.net/article/spotify-threat-ad-skippingHollywood Reporter (advertiser reaction): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/spotify-new-ad-skipping-feature-1236670480/Forbes (scale/downloads context): https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielalinzainescu/2026/08/10/spotify-tests-ad-skip-button-that-could-upend-podcast-advertising/Variety (original 2024 reclassification): https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/spotify-music-audiobook-bundle-lower-royalty-for-songwriters-1235974942/Music Tech (MLC lawsuit filed): https://musictech.com/news/industry/spotify-royalties-lawsuit-audiobook-bundling/Music Business Worldwide ($3.1bn NMPA projection): https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/nmpa-says-spotify-bundling-move-could-cost-music-publishers-3-1bn-through-2032/Music Business Worldwide (lawsuit dismissed): https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-wins-audiobook-bundling-lawsuit-as-court-dismisses-legal-action-brought-by-the-mlc/Variety (ruling coverage w/ judge's quote): https://variety.com/2025/music/news/spotify-wins-lawsuit-bundling-royalties-1236289823/Time (FTC complaint, $150M NMPA estimate):
Marcus Mariota will be out for the remainder of the preseason. Grant & Danny think this isn't a nothing burger for a couple of reasons.
You're with someone you're attracted to. Things are going well. You want to have sex. And then your body doesn't respond the way you expected. Within seconds, your mind starts racing. What's wrong with me? Why is this happening? What is my partner thinking? For many men, the erection )and whether it works or not) isn't the biggest problem. It's what happens next. The self-doubt. The panic. The pressure. The fear that it will happen again. Ironically, those thoughts are often what keep the cycle going. The truth is, erection difficulties are rarely just about attraction, masculinity, or even desire. More often, they're about what's happening in your nervous system. When your brain shifts from pleasure to performance, your body has a much harder time responding naturally. And if you're the partner of someone who's experienced this, it's easy to assume they're no longer attracted to you. In reality, the opposite is often true. Performance anxiety can happen even in deeply loving, highly desirable relationships. In this Language of Love Bite, I explain what's really happening in the brain and body during erection difficulties, why shame and pressure make the problem worse, and what you can do instead. I also share practical ways partners can help create safety, reduce anxiety, and strengthen intimacy, along with a simple practice you can begin using tonight to feel calmer, more connected, and more confident in the bedroom. In this episode, you'll learn: Why erection difficulties often have nothing to do with masculinity, attraction, or desire How performance anxiety activates your stress response and interferes with arousal What happens when your brain slips into "monitoring mode" Why trying to force an erection usually backfires The connection between chronic stress, nervous system overload, and sexual performance How overstimulation can disconnect you from natural arousal Why slowing down can improve intimacy and sexual response What partners can do to reduce pressure and create emotional safety A simple breathwork exercise to calm your nervous system in the moment Practical strategies to rebuild confidence, trust, and connection without shame Whether you've experienced erection challenges yourself or love someone who has, this episode will help you understand what's really happening beneath the surface and offer practical, compassionate tools to move forward with confidence. If you're ready to go deeper, Sex Magic explores how to work with the body's energy in ways most people never learn, and my Quantum Sex course is built to help you create lasting confidence and connection, not just fix a moment. For more tools, guidance, and support, visit healwithlaura.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ready to step into the version of you that doesn't require you to burn out? My UNHUSTLED masterclass is where I teach you how to make more while working less. How to get out of survival mode and restructure your business around ease instead of exhaustion. If you're tired of the grind and ready to build wealth without burning out, save your seat. We start Aug 25th-27th at 11 am CST on each day: https://go.shaminataylor.com/unhustled In this episode, I break down how your frequency around money is creating your income ceiling. How the woman worrying about the three-dollar difference on a purchase can ripple into chaos in every other area of her life. Why the little things are actually the big things. And why so many women who already have money still don't feel safe with it. Because scarcity and hustle are the same thing wearing different outfits. Both are a nervous system stuck in survival. One makes you grip your money. The other makes you grip your calendar. Neither one makes you truly wealthy or makes you feel free. True wealth isn't the number in the account. It's being able to feel safe with or without it. Inside this episode: The two types of women who come to work with me, and which one creates wealth on repeat Why searching for money tells the universe you don't have it How lack shows up in the smallest spending decisions first The difference between money controlling you and you controlling money Why using money to feel safe is the fastest way to lose your power Wealth from allowing instead of hustle, and why the grind can't get you there The three core wounds sitting underneath most income ceilings
Jay Mota, founder of Divorce Logic, explains why AI gets divorce finances wrong, and how relying on it can cost you.For real financial clarity, connect with Divorce Logic.***Follow WTF Divorce
In this episode Andrea Samadi explores Phase 3 of the Brain's Operating System—movement, learning, and cognition—focusing on the recovery and adaptation side of the "movement loop." She revisits Dr. Kristen Holmes' insights on measuring strain, sleep, and recovery to show how movement provides the stimulus while recovery enables lasting adaptation and greater capacity. The episode offers practical steps: identify your stimulus, track recovery, find your weakest link, and use feedback to train smarter—not just harder—so measurement becomes a tool for meaningful change. IN EPISODE 405, WE WILL COVER: ✔ Why recovery is not the absence of work—it is where adaptation occurs → How recovery allows the brain and body to absorb stress and build greater capacity. ✔ Where Dr. Kristen Holmes fits into the Movement Loop → Movement creates the stimulus; recovery determines how effectively we adapt. ✔ Why measuring your data matters → What gets measured can be adjusted, repeated, and improved. ✔ How to identify your personal recovery patterns → Using sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, strain, stress, and daily behaviors to uncover what helps—or limits—your performance. ✔ Why your recovery formula is uniquely yours → The habits that improve one person's readiness may not produce the same results for someone else. ✔ How recovery helps create more predictable performance → When you understand your patterns, you can make better daily decisions instead of leaving your results to chance. ✔ How repeated behaviors become adaptation → Measure → Adjust → Repeat → Recover → Adapt → Build Capacity. ✔ Where the larger journey is taking us → A preview of The Journey of the Mind Workbook and its five-step process: Understand → Reflect → Apply → Measure → Become ✔ What comes next in the Movement Loop → A Bonus Episode applying recovery science to real-world data, followed by Dr. John Medina on how an activated brain turns experience into attention, learning, and lasting change. EP 405 — From Recovery to Adaptation: Revisiting Dr. Kristen Holmes in Phase 3 WELCOME BACK Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we bridge neuroscience, social and emotional learning, and human performance so we can create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. I'm Andrea Samadi, and if you've been following along through Season 16, you'll know that we've been building what I call The Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—a neuroscience-based framework designed to help us understand how the different systems of the brain and body work together to influence how we learn, adapt, connect, lead, and perform. Our roadmap has five phases: Phase 1 — Regulation & Safety Where we built the foundation by asking: Is the nervous system regulated enough to learn and grow? Phase 2 — Neurochemistry & Motivation Where we explored the systems that drive us to act, persist, and pursue meaningful goals. And now, we are here—Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Cognition. This is where movement becomes the catalyst for learning, adaptation, and performance. The central idea of Phase 3 is that the brain does not change through information alone. It changes through experience. Through movement. Through challenge. Through recovery. And through the repeated process of adapting to what we ask our brain and body to do. I called the framework we are building in this phase: The Movement Loop: Movement (the stimulus) → Brain Activation (the brain responds) → Attention (the brain becomes engaged and ready to learn) → Learning (new information and experience begin changing neural pathways) → Recovery (the brain consolidates and restores) → Adaptation (the brain and body adjust to the repeated challenge) → Performance (the adaptation shows up in what we can do) → Greater Capacity (we become capable of more) Movement is the stimulus. Brain activation is the response. Attention opens the door to learning. Learning creates change. Recovery helps that change stick. Adaptation builds the system. Performance reveals the result. Greater capacity is what we gain. And then we repeat the cycle. In our last episode, EP 404, we revisited the groundbreaking work of Dr. John Ratey, who helped us understand the front end of this loop. Dr. Ratey showed us that: Movement changes the brain. Exercise activates the brain. It supports attention. It prepares us for learning. And it creates the biological conditions that allow the brain to change. But that leaves us with an important question. What happens after we create the stimulus? Because movement alone isn't enough. Training alone isn't enough. And more strain does not automatically equal more improvement. At some point, the brain and body have to recover from what we've asked them to do And that's where today's episode begins with the back end of the movement loop. WHERE THIS JOURNEY IS GOING Before we move into today's episode, I want to zoom out for a moment and share where I believe this entire journey is taking us. Because as we've been building The Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—making sense of the interviews we've gathered over the past seven years and organizing them into five phases we can all understand and apply—I realized we are doing something much bigger than simply reviewing past episodes. I had to stop for a moment and look at what we've built so far. And that's when something became clear: We are mapping a journey. We aren't finished yet—we are only in Phase 3—but as we continue into Phases 4 and 5, I think you'll begin to see the bigger picture. This is about more than learning how the brain works or connecting social and emotional learning skills to our daily lives. It's about asking: What will we actually do with everything we've learned once we've traveled through all five phases? That's what led me to what I'm calling The Journey of the Mind. We could just as easily call it The Journey of the Brain because we now understand how deeply connected the mind and brain are.[i] But for me, Journey of the Mind has a much older meaning. That phrase takes me all the way back to the late 1990s, when I had the opportunity to watch an unpublished video program with that title, created by my mentor, Bob Proctor. I had no idea where that experience would lead me. But it planted a seed. It encouraged me to stop looking outside of myself for every answer... and to begin looking inward. To become curious about my thoughts. My beliefs. My habits. My potential. And ultimately, the relationship between what happens inside of us and the results we create outside of us. That idea influenced my early writing and eventually became part of the path that led me here. And now, all these years later, I can see that the podcast has evolved into its own Journey of the Mind. Only now, we have neuroscience to help us understand what is happening along the way. We have hundreds of experts. Years of research. Stories. Experiments. Data. And our own lived experience. The five phases give us a way to bring all of that together. We began with Regulation and Safety, because before we can grow, the nervous system needs a stable foundation. Then we moved into Neurochemistry and Motivation, where we explored what drives our behavior. Now, in Phase 3, we are looking at Movement, Learning and Cognition—how experience changes the brain and how recovery and adaptation help us build greater capacity. Next, we'll move into Connection, Emotion and Social Intelligence, because none of us develops in isolation. And finally, we'll reach Integration, Meaning and Human Performance, where these systems begin to come together. And when we reach the end of Phase 5, I want to bring the entire journey into something practical. THE JOURNEY OF THE MIND WORKBOOK I'm currently developing a companion workbook for these five phases. The Journey of the Mind Workbook will help us take what we've learned and apply it to our own lives through a simple process: Understand. Reflect. Apply. Measure. Become. Understand the science. Reflect on our own patterns. Apply what we are learning. Measure what changes. And then ask the bigger question: Who are we becoming? Because the goal isn't simply to know more about neuroscience. It's to use what we know. To identify our gaps. Recognize what is working. Build a clearer understanding of how we learn, recover, connect, perform, and grow. And become more intentional about the future we are creating. The workbook is still taking shape, but it's coming. And my hope is that when we reach the end of these five phases, we won't just have more information. We'll have a map. A clearer understanding of our brain. A deeper understanding of ourselves. A way to measure our growth. And a framework for becoming who we are capable of being. Now, let's return to where we are today... Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition. Before we go further, I want to give you a quick roadmap for today's episode. We're going to explore Kristen Holmes' work through 15 short parts, each one helping us move step-by-step through the recovery and adaptation side of the Movement Loop. (The left side of the loop). We'll begin by clarifying the difference between readiness and adaptation. Then we'll look at the stimulus–recovery–adaptation cycle, revisit Kristen's original idea that what gets measured gets improved, and connect that to what I've learned from tracking my own data over the past five years. From there, we'll explore the difference between training harder and training smarter, why movement is information, why the goal is not maximum strain, and how these same principles apply to learning and performance far beyond exercise. We'll also return to one of my favorite ideas from Kristen's original interview: Your competitive advantage is often built in your downtime. And finally, we'll bring everything back to the Movement Loop and ask the question that really matters: Is what I'm doing building more strain—or building greater capacity? So think of these 10 parts as a guided walk through the second half of the loop... from recovery... to adaptation... to performance... and ultimately to greater capacity. PART 1 — WHY ARE WE RETURNING TO DR. KRISTEN HOLMES? When we first interviewed Dr. Kristen Holmes in 2021 for EP 134[ii], she was Vice President of Performance Science at WHOOP. At the time, I had recently turned 50. I purchased WHOOP because I wanted to improve what I knew was my weakest link: sleep. And in that original conversation, Dr. Holmes introduced ideas that I've now carried with me for more than five years. One of them was this: “What gets measured gets improved.” Another was the idea that what we do in our downtime may actually give us our greatest competitive advantage. At the time, I understood this at one level. Sleep matters. Recovery matters. Strain matters. Your habits outside of the workout matter. But after five years of looking at my own data, I understand her message differently. And I think this is one of the most important things about revisiting experts over time. We hear something at one stage of our development... and then years later, we hear the same idea again with an entirely different level of understanding. We revisited this same 2021 interview earlier in this season during Phase 1: Regulation & Safety on EP 390.[iii] So why are we covering this topic again? Because I realized that Dr. Holmes' work sits at a critical intersection inside our Brain's Operating System. In Phase 1, her work helped us understand regulation and readiness. Her message was: Can your system handle what you are asking it to do today? But in Phase 3, the question changes. Now we're asking: Is what I'm doing today actually helping my system adapt? That's very different. In Phase 1, recovery helped us understand whether the system was ready. In Phase 3, recovery helps us understand whether the system is changing. And that's why we're returning to Dr. Kristen Holmes. Not to repeat what we learned. But to take it one level deeper. Just a note here: while I've been using WHOOP to measure my movement, sleep, strain, and recovery, WHOOP is only one tool. There are many other ways to track these patterns—from other wearable devices and apps to simple measures like sleep duration, resting heart rate, exercise intensity, energy levels, and how recovered you feel. The important point isn't the device you use. It's learning to pay attention to your own patterns and using that feedback to make better decisions. PART 2 — READINESS VS. ADAPTATION Now let's return to the Movement Loop we opened this episode with: Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity In our last episode, Dr. John Ratey helped us understand the front end of this loop—how movement activates the brain, supports attention, and creates the conditions for learning. Today, Dr. Kristen Holmes helps us move into the recovery and adaptation side of the loop—what happens after we create the stimulus. This is where we ask a different kind of question. In Phase 1, we looked at Kristen's work through the lens of readiness: What is my capacity today? How much strain can I tolerate? How well did I sleep? What does my HRV tell me? How recovered am I? Do I have the capacity to push? Or would backing off today serve me better? That was the Phase 1 question: Am I ready? But now, in Phase 3, we move one step further around the loop. Now we are asking: Am I adapting? Is the movement I'm doing helping me become stronger? More resilient? More efficient? Better able to recover? More capable than I was before? That is the shift from readiness to adaptation. And this is where Dr. Kristen Holmes' work becomes essential to Phase 3. Because movement may provide the stimulus... but recovery is what gives the brain and body the opportunity to respond to that stimulus, adapt, and ultimately build greater capacity. Or would backing off today serve me better? That was our Phase 1 lens. And it was foundational. Because if the nervous system is depleted, overstressed, or under-recovered, everything downstream is affected. But Phase 3 takes us another step forward. Now we are not only asking: Am I ready? We are asking: Am I adapting? ADAPTATION asks: What is changing because of what I repeatedly do? Am I becoming stronger? More resilient? More efficient? Better able to tolerate stress? Better able to recover? More capable than I was before? And this is where I think recovery is frequently misunderstood. Recovery isn't simply what happens when we stop working. Recovery is not the opposite of performance. Recovery is part of the process that creates future performance. That distinction changes everything. Because the goal is not simply to recover enough to get through today. The goal is to recover in a way that allows the brain and body to become better prepared for tomorrow. So I want to give you one sentence to keep in mind throughout this entire episode: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. That's where Kristen Holmes' work enters Phase 3. Dr. Ratey helped us understand why movement activates the brain and creates the stimulus for change. Dr. Holmes helps us to understand what has to happen afterward if that stimulus is going to become something useful. Something the body can integrate. Something the brain can learn from. Something that eventually becomes greater capacity. PART 3 — THE STIMULUS–RECOVERY–ADAPTATION CYCLE Think about exercise for a moment. When you challenge your body, you create stress. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some level of challenge is exactly what we need. It's called hormesis, right? The challenge is the signal. It tells the system: Something is being asked of me. But the signal alone isn't what we are looking for. What matters is what your body does afterward. You place a demand on the system. Then the body needs time and resources to respond to that demand. We can think of it very simply: STIMULUS → RECOVERY → ADAPTATION → GREATER CAPACITY The stimulus is the challenge. Recovery is the response period. Adaptation is the change. And greater capacity is the result. The purpose of training isn't simply to create more strain. (Which is what I did for years). The purpose is to create a strain that your system can successfully recover from and adapt to. And that idea changed the way I began looking at my own movement. For years, I thought: Harder must be better. Longer must be better. More must be better. If I could hike for three hours, that had to be better than walking for one. If I could push harder, I assumed I would get better results. If I felt exhausted after a workout, I often assumed that meant I had accomplished more. But the data started showing me something different. Sometimes more strain simply created... more strain. And if I wasn't sleeping enough...(because I was repeating the same thing without enough rest) if I wasn't recovering... if I was stacking high strain on top of stress... then I wasn't necessarily building greater capacity. I could actually be interrupting the very adaptation I was trying to create. This is why one of the most important questions in Phase 3 becomes: How much challenge can my system absorb, recover from, and adapt to? Not: How much can I force myself to do? And this takes us directly back to the lesson Kristen Holmes gave us five years ago. Because if we want to know whether the stimulus we're creating is actually working... we need feedback. We need to see the patterns. We need to understand the relationship between what we do and how our system responds. Which brings us to Part 4: PART 4 — WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS IMPROVED In our Phase 1 episode with Dr. Holmes, I shared something that has become very important to me over the past five years. Once you begin measuring your sleep, your recovery, your strain, and your habits... you stop guessing. And when you stop guessing, patterns begin to emerge. For me, some of those patterns took years to understand. I began seeing that: Too much strain + not enough sleep = poor recovery. Over and over again. I knew intuitively that I was pushing too hard. But knowing something and changing behavior are two very different things. The data eventually forced me to look at the pattern honestly. There were times when I was training hard... waking early... cutting sleep short... and then wondering why my recovery didn't improve. I was giving my system a stimulus. But I wasn't giving it enough opportunity to adapt. That distinction matters. Because the goal is not simply: How much can I do? The better question is: How much can I do, recover from, and adapt to? That is a completely different way of approaching human performance. PART 5 — MY UNDERSTANDING OF RECOVERY HAS CHANGED When I first bought WHOOP in 2021, my weakest link was sleep. I knew I needed to improve it. And I did. Not perfectly. But significantly. What I find interesting now is that as one weakness improves, another one becomes easier to see. That's the value of measurement. Your weakest link can change. In 2021, mine was sleep. Today, I can see other areas much more clearly. Strength training is one. Balancing different kinds of movement is another. And this is where I began looking beyond total exercise time. Instead, I started asking: How much time am I spending in lower intensity movement? How much time am I spending at higher intensity? What happens to my recovery when I increase strain? How much sleep do I need after harder training? How quickly do I recover? What habits seem to help me recover faster? What habits tank my recovery? That's a completely different mindset than: Did I work hard today? PART 6 — TRAIN HARDER VS. TRAIN SMARTER One of the biggest lessons I pulled from Kristen Holmes' work was the difference between training harder and training smarter. In our Phase 1 review, I shared one example that really challenged my assumptions. I went on a walk along the canal near my house. Nothing extreme. I was walking my dogs and wearing a weighted vest. And during this much more moderate activity, I was able to reach Zones 4 and 5 for short periods. That surprised me, because those higher-intensity zones could sometimes be difficult for me to reach even during much longer hikes. I noticed the same thing when I started comparing different trails here in Arizona. When I first moved to AZ, Camelback Mountain—especially the Echo Canyon Trail—was my go-to hike. I used to hike it after work and again on the weekends. It was short, steep, and intense—about a 2.5-mile round trip on Echo Canyon, with the Cholla side a bit longer. So when I later moved to another part of the Valley and started hiking Telegraph Pass at South Mountain, I initially thought: This isn't going to give me the same workout. Telegraph Pass felt less intense. It didn't have that same steep, all-out challenge I was used to on Camelback. But once I started measuring my hikes, or learning new trails that were longer, I saw something I didn't expect. The longer, lower-intensity hikes were sometimes producing more overall strain than the shorter, harder hikes. That honestly shocked me. Because I had always assumed that if something felt harder, it must be giving me better results. But the data showed me that wasn't always true. A longer period of sustained effort—even at a lower intensity—could place a greater total load on my system than a shorter burst of very difficult exercise. And that taught me something important: How hard something feels in the moment is not always the same thing as the total load it places on your body. That was one of the moments when measurement changed the way I thought about exercise. I stopped asking only: How hard did that feel? And started asking: How did my body actually respond? And this is where data becomes useful. Not because the number knows everything. But because the number can reveal something we might otherwise miss. It can become feedback. And feedback helps us learn. PART 7 — MOVEMENT IS INFORMATION Movement is not just calories burned. I hardly ever think about calories anymore. There was a time when I could tell you almost exactly how much effort it took to burn off certain foods. But I think about movement very differently today. Movement is not punishment for what we ate. Movement is not simply exercise. Movement is information. Every time we move, we send signals to the brain and body about the demands being placed on the system. How much strength do I need? How much endurance? How much balance, coordination, speed, or cardiovascular capacity? And when we repeatedly expose ourselves to manageable challenge, the system begins to learn from those signals. It responds. It adjusts. And, with adequate recovery, it adapts. So movement isn't just something we do to burn energy. Movement is one of the ways we teach the brain and body what we want them to become capable of doing. PART 8 — THE GOAL IS NOT MAXIMUM STRAIN This brings me to what may be the biggest takeaway from today's episode. The goal is not maximum strain. The goal is the right amount of strain for your current capacity. Because too little challenge may not create enough stimulus. But too much challenge without adequate recovery can work against the very adaptation we're trying to create. And this is where Kristen Holmes' message about strain and recovery becomes so powerful. In Phase 1, we used recovery to ask: Should I push today? In Phase 3, we can use recovery to ask: Is my current training producing the adaptation I want? That is a much bigger question. And it applies far beyond exercise. PART 9 — THE SAME PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO LEARNING Think about learning. We don't learn best by forcing information into the brain endlessly without rest. We need exposure. Attention. Practice. Then space. Sleep. Recovery. Integration. And then we return to the material again. Spaced Repetition. The brain changes through repeated cycles of challenge and recovery. So while we're talking today about Kristen Holmes, recovery, movement, and strain... the same architecture appears in learning. It appears in work. It appears in leadership. It appears in stress management. It appears almost anywhere humans are trying to grow. Challenge alone doesn't guarantee growth. Challenge + recovery + repetition creates the conditions for adaptation. PART 10 — YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS STILL BUILT IN YOUR DOWNTIME One of my favorite ideas from my original conversation with Kristen was something we revisited in Phase 1. Listen to Dr. Holmes' CLIP here. She talked about the importance of what we do in our downtime. That what happens outside of the performance itself may give us our competitive advantage. Five years later, I think I finally understand how deep that idea goes. Your workout may last an hour. Your hike may last two hours. Your presentation may last 45 minutes. Your game may last an afternoon. But adaptation is happening across the rest of the day. What are you doing with the other hours? Are you sleeping? Hydrating? Fueling? Managing stress? Allowing the nervous system to come back down? Giving the body what it needs to repair? That downtime isn't empty time. It's part of the training. PART 11 — RECOVERY IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS This is another mindset shift that helped me. I used to think of recovery as: Doing nothing. Resting. Taking a day off. But recovery can actually be very intentional. For me, over the past several years, that has included things like: prioritizing sleep hydration meditation breathing spending time outside lower-intensity movement infrared sauna red light therapy And again, the point isn't that everyone should copy my routine. The important question is: What actually helps your system recover? That takes us back to one of the central ideas of our recent Bonus Episodes. PART 12 — FIND YOUR GAP In Bonus Episode 2[iv], we introduced the idea of finding your gap. Instead of copying someone else's recipe for high performance, identify the variable that is currently limiting you. Maybe your gap is sleep. Maybe it's hydration. Maybe it's high stress. Maybe it's too much intensity. Maybe it's not enough movement. Maybe it's inconsistent recovery habits. Maybe it's strength. The point is that your gap is personal. And it can change. This is one of the most useful things measurement can give us. It can show us: Where is the breakdown in my loop? Let's return to the Movement Loop. Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity Where is your gap? Are you not moving enough? Are you moving but not recovering? Are you recovering but not challenging yourself enough to create adaptation? Are you pushing constantly without allowing your system to consolidate the gains? If you can locate your gap, you know where to begin. PART 13 — THE MOVEMENT LOOP THROUGH DR. KRISTEN HOLMES Let's walk through the entire loop now through the lens of Dr. Ratey and Dr. Holmes' work. MOVEMENT We create a stimulus. We challenge the brain and body. BRAIN ACTIVATION Movement changes our physiological and neurological state. This is where Dr. Ratey's work helps us understand why movement prepares the brain. ATTENTION An activated brain is better positioned to engage. LEARNING The brain receives information and experience. But learning isn't finished simply because we experienced something. RECOVERY Now the system needs space. This is where Kristen Holmes enters the loop. How well did we sleep? How much stress are we carrying? What was our total strain? How prepared is the system to absorb what we've done? ADAPTATION This is where the system changes. Over time, repeated cycles of challenge and recovery create new capacity. PERFORMANCE We begin to see the result. We move differently. Think differently. Learn more efficiently. Handle greater demands. Recover faster. GREATER CAPACITY And this is what makes the loop a loop. Because now tomorrow's starting point may be different from yesterday's. The system has adapted. So we can begin again. The WHOOP wearable device may have started with elite athletes, but optimizing performance isn't only for elite athletes. Any of us can measure our patterns, learn from the feedback, and use that information to build greater capacity. PART 14 — THIS CHANGES HOW I THINK ABOUT PERFORMANCE For most of my life, I thought performance was primarily about effort. Work harder. Try harder. Push harder. And effort still matters. But effort without adaptation can become a dead end. What I'm learning through this phase is that performance is much more dynamic. You need the stimulus. You need the challenge. You need the work. But you also need recovery. Because recovery is what allows the system to absorb the work. And that leads me to an important sentence I want us to remember: The goal isn't to prove how much stress you can tolerate. The goal is to become capable of more over time. That's adaptation. PART 15 — FIVE YEARS LATER, DR. HOLMES' MESSAGE MEANS SOMETHING DIFFERENT When we first interviewed Kristen Holmes in 2021, the idea that what gets measured gets improved resonated with me immediately. That idea is partly why I bought a wearable device in the first place. I wanted data. I wanted answers. I wanted to improve sleep. But five years later, I think the lesson is bigger than measurement. Measurement itself isn't the goal. The goal is feedback. And feedback only becomes useful when we do something with it. Measure. Write it down somewhere. Observe what's happening month to month and year to year. Adjust. Recover. Adapt. Repeat. Measurement closes the learning/performance loop. That's why Dr. Holmes' work was worth revisiting here in Phase 3. Not simply because she studies recovery. But because measurement gives us information about whether the behaviors we repeat are actually creating the changes we want. PRACTICAL APPLICATION — HOW TO USE THIS THIS WEEK So let's make this practical. You do not need WHOOP. You do not need a wearable. You don't need complicated equipment. You simply need to start paying attention. Identify your current stimulus. What are you asking your body and brain to adapt to right now? Maybe it's: exercise strength training a new learning goal a demanding work schedule stress adapting to intensive heat in your new sauna Know what you're asking the system to do. Identify your recovery. Ask: How am I sleeping? How am I managing stress? Am I giving myself enough downtime? How do I feel the day after harder efforts? What patterns do I notice? Watch the relationship between effort and recovery. Does more effort always give you better results? Or is there a point where more becomes counterproductive? Find your gap. What is your weakest link right now? Don't try to fix everything. Start there. Look for evidence of adaptation. Ask yourself: Am I becoming more capable? Can I handle something today that used to be difficult? Am I recovering faster? Am I stronger? More focused? More resilient? If the answer is yes, your loop is working. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION To review and conclude this week's episode 405, let's bring this episode together. We brought Dr. Kristen Holmes back into our roadmap intentionally. In Phase 1: Regulation and Safety, Dr. Holmes helped us understand recovery as readiness. Sleep. HRV. Strain. Stress. Recovery. The question was: Is the system prepared for today? Today, in Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition, we've looked at those same ideas through a different lens. Now the question is: Is the system adapting for tomorrow? That's the progression. Dr. John Ratey helped us understand that movement provides the brain with a powerful stimulus. Kristen Holmes helps us understand that the story doesn't end with the stimulus. We need recovery. Because: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. Adaptation improves performance. Performance builds greater capacity. And then the loop begins again. ONE QUESTION TO TAKE WITH YOU Before you move on with your day, I want you to ask yourself one question: Am I creating more strain…or am I creating more capacity? They are not the same thing. You can push harder without improving. You can work longer without adapting. You can accumulate strain without building capacity. The goal is not simply to do more. The goal is to create a system where you can become more. FINAL TAKEAWAY And this brings us right back to Kristen Holmes's message from 2021: What gets measured gets improved. But today, I would add something to it: What gets measured can be adjusted. What gets adjusted can be repeated (in this new way) And what gets repeated—paired with the right amount of recovery—can become adaptation. That is how capacity grows. And that is where Kristen Holmes fits into Phase 3—not simply as an expert on recovery, but as a critical part of the science of change. And this idea—turning what we measure into meaningful change—is also shaping the larger vision for this podcast. At the start of this episode, we mentioned I'm developing a companion workbook called Journey of the Mind—a practical guide designed to help us move beyond simply listening to these ideas and begin applying them in our own lives. The workbook will guide us through five steps to apply what we have covered on this podcast. Understand. Reflect. Apply. Measure. Become More. With each episode we've covered. And this workbook began with an unexpected spark of inspiration. So, I want to offer one quiet acknowledgment: To the person who quietly helped illuminate this path for me—thank you. Sometimes, the people who influence the direction of our lives may never fully realize what their presence helped awaken. My vision from that the spark of inspiration I received will travel through this work and reach you listening—inspiring you to move forward on your own path and create a life that is more intentional, meaningful, and fulfilling than the one you knew before. Because inspiration doesn't end with the person who first awakens it. It moves through us. And when we act on it, one spark can grow into something that serves many others—far beyond what either person could have created individually. We'll explore the transformative power of human connection more deeply in Phase 4. Then, in Phase 5, we'll examine how connection, meaning, and contribution can become something that continues growing beyond us. But until then, we'll continue building this journey—one insight, one application, and one measurable change at a time. COMING NEXT Before we move on to Dr. John Medina and the next part of the Movement Loop, we'll cover our next Bonus Episode and show you what adaptation can actually look like in real life. In Bonus EP 3, I'm going to take you inside one of the clearest changes I've seen in my own data over the past several years: my resting heart rate. We'll look at where it started, how it changed, what may have contributed to that change, and why resting heart rate can become a useful window into how the body is adapting over time. Because this is really what Phase 3 is about. Not simply moving more. Not simply collecting data. But asking: Is what I'm doing actually changing my capacity? Then, for EP 406 we'll return to the research of Dr. John Medina and explore the next critical link in the Movement Loop: Attention. Because movement can activate the brain—but activation alone doesn't guarantee learning. The brain must first notice what matters. It must direct its attention. Hold that attention long enough to encode new information. And return to that information if it is going to become something we can remember and use. Dr. Ratey helped us understand how movement prepares the brain. Dr. Kristen Holmes helped us understand how recovery allows the brain and body to adapt. And Dr. Medina will help us understand what happens between those two points: How does an activated brain turn experience into learning? Because movement may open the door— but attention determines what enters and stays behind that door. And we'll reinforce one of the central ideas of this journey: What we repeatedly do shapes who we become. The question is: Are those repeated actions expanding our capacity and moving us toward our highest level of performance—or quietly holding us back? That's where we'll turn next as we continue building the Movement Loop. I'll see you next time. EP 405 — KEY TAKEAWAYS ✔ Why Kristen Holmes belongs in both Phase 1 and Phase 3 ✔ The difference between recovery for readiness and recovery for adaptation ✔ Why movement alone does not create improvement ✔ The relationship between stimulus → recovery → adaptation → greater capacity ✔ Why the goal is not maximum strain, but the right dose of strain ✔ How recovery completes the Movement Loop ✔ Why your weakest link can change as you improve ✔ How measurement provides feedback for better decisions ✔ Why downtime is part of the performance process ✔ The difference between accumulating strain and building capacity THE MOVEMENT LOOP Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity → Repeat Remember: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. The goal isn't maximum strain. The goal is greater capacity. RESOURCES: Watch the full interview from 2021 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOgivjYhhW8 CLIP 1 Dr. Kristen Holmes https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lg7FiWJKZc4 Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/ Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/ Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/ Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/ Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/ Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/ Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/ Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/ Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/ By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/ Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-matters-how-every-move-rewires-the-brain/ Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. REFERENCES: [i] A Neurologist Looks at Mind and Brain, published October 1, 2003, by Phirose Hansotia. [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 134 with Dr. Kristen Holmes “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 390 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-gets-measured-gets-improved-sleep-recovery-peak-performance/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EP 2 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/find-the-gap-how-recovery-unlocks-predictable-performance
Send episode requests hereIn this episode, I'm breaking down the five thoughts making it harder for you to meet, date, and choose the right men. You'll find out why you feel so drained by dating when you've barely done any of it, what's really happening when you tell yourself you're not ready yet, and why the men who give other women flowers, trips, and princess treatment aren't doing it for the reason you think.Walk away seeing your own dating life clearly enough to know exactly what's been holding you back—and what it would take to finally get different results.If you want to build a roster of two to three commitment-ready men, join my free training on August 16 HERE.Join the Training: Build Your Roster: Attract 3 Commitment-Ready Boyfriends in 90 DaysFollow me on Instagram for more dating gems at: @torahcents @curved2cuffed
Phil Robertson's voice returns to the conversation in an unexpected way, giving Jase and Al a fresh perspective on the message their dad spent years preaching. Al reflects on the complicated spiritual timing of his relationship with Phil and the gift of finally getting to serve alongside him in his later years. The guys turn to the book of Job, the fear of the Lord, and the role of Satan, pushing back on the idea that the devil has power over our choices. In this episode: Hebrews 2, verses 14–15; Hebrews 5, verse 7; James 2, verse 19; James 4, verse 7; Job 1, verses 1 and 8; Job 3, verses 25–26; Job 42, verses 1–6 “Unashamed” Episode 1397 is sponsored by: https://www.bruntworkwear.com/UNASHAMED — Get $10 Off at BRUNT with code UNASHAMED and enter THE BRUNT POTTY OF GOLD SWEEPSTAKES for your chance to win $50,000. No purchase necessary. Ends 9/18/26. Official rules apply. #Bruntpod #sponsored http://unashamedforhillsdale.com/ — Sign up now for free, and join the Unashamed hosts every Friday for Unashamed Academy Powered by Hillsdale College Check out At Home with Phil Robertson, nearly 800 episodes of Phil's unfiltered wisdom, humor, and biblical truth, available for free for the first time! Get it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and anywhere you listen to podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-home-with-phil-robertson/id1835224621 Listen to Not Yet Now with Zach Dasher on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or anywhere you get podcasts. Chapters 00:00 Phil Returns in the Lost Episodes 06:05 Al's Complicated Journey With Phil 14:20 Jase Meets an Old Friend's Daughter 19:05 What Happens After Death? 24:05 Fear God, but Don't Be Afraid 33:15 Are We Giving Satan Too Much Credit? 37:05 Al's New Insight Into Job 40:10 God Goes All In on Job 44:05 Job Faces His Greatest Fear 48:05 God Isn't Bluffing — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Harder to think outside the box?... Kris Cruz update HR visit and USPS struggles… Email: Chewingthefat@blazemedia.com Subscribe to Blaze TV / $20 off annual subscription… www.blazetv.com/jeffy Covid 19 may awaken dormant virius… Who Died Today: Don Nelson 86 / Violet Hensley the Whittlin Fiddler 109... A look at lotto / Powerball is a Billion… Joke of The Day: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode,we're covering the science of blood sugar and the Fab Four, why protein matters more than ever as we age, and how I'm using creatine and magnesium to support muscle, energy, sleep, and my health in my 40s. Plus, we talk about motherhood, raising three boys, the amount of sugar kids are consuming today, and why I'm so passionate about changing the way we use sugar as a reward for our children. And finally, I'm giving you a first look at my newest passion project, Sweet Deal, and the movement I hope will help parents create better boundaries around sugar for their kids. → Leave Us A Voice Message! Topics Discussed: → How do you balance blood sugar naturally? → What are the benefits of creatine for women? → How much protein do women need? → Does magnesium help with sleep and anxiety? → How does sugar affect children's health? Sponsored By: → Function | Check your health the way I do. Function provides 160+ lab tests for $1/day and member pricing on advanced imaging. Join at https://functionhealth.com/bewellbykelly and use code BEWELL25 for a $25 credit. → Be Well By Kelly Protein Powder & Essentials | Get $10 off your order with PODCAST10 at https://bewellbykelly.com. → Minnow | Shop minnow's new apré-ski capsule collection at https://shopminnow.com and enter code MEETMINNOW15 at checkout to receive 15% off your first order. → Hiya | Get 50% off your first order at https://hiyahealth.com/KELLY → Branch Basics | Go to https://branchbasics.com/BEWELLPODCAST and use code: BEWELLPODCAST for 15% off your first purchase. Timestamps: → 00:00:00 - Introduction → 00:01:19 - Kelly's Career Summary → 00:04:08 - The Fab Four + Blood Sugar → 00:10:29 - Glucose Levels → 00:18:30 - Nutritional Science → 00:22:34 - Nutritionist to Entrepreneur → 00:27:34 - You're Never Too Old → 00:31:57 - Building Be Well by Kelly → 00:35:06 - Product Creation + Investing → 00:40:23 - Kelly's Parents → 00:46:18 - Motherhood, Family + Work-Life Boundaries → 00:49:53 - Business Classes → 00:56:21 - Product Sourcing + Heavy Metals → 01:00:22 - Protein Needs For Women → 01:03:29 - Creatine For Women → 01:06:27 - ATP + Creatine → 01:10:21 - Magnesium, GABA + Better Sleep → 01:12:43 - Sweet Deal: Rethinking Sugar for Kids → 01:19:21 - Chronic Disease → 01:23:28 - Cafeteria Food Further Listening: → Why You Keep Overreacting + How to Regulate Your Nervous System | Jonny Miller Check Out Brigid: → Website → Instagram → YouTube Check Out Kelly: → Instagram → Sweet Deal (Book) → YouTube → Facebook
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