Podcasts about processing

Dr. John Demartini is a world-leading human behavior specialist, researcher, best-selling author, educator, and founder of The Demartini Method, a revolutionary tool in modern psychology. He has authored 43 books translated into 40 languages and presented his insights alongside some of the world's most influential people, including Sir Richard Branson and Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, and Donald Trump. Harnessing almost five decades of research across multiple disciplines, Dr Demartini shares his life, business, financial, relationship, and leadership empowerment strategies with people all over the globe - enabling them to transform their lives according to their highest values. In this episode, Dr. John Demartini explains how our rigid, convicted beliefs and victim stories keep us trapped in amygdala‑driven survival patterns instead of empowered, balanced perception. In a series of rich examples—from childhood abandonment and extreme grief to political division and romantic relationships—he shows how asking better questions, seeing both sides, and using his Demartini Method can turn trauma narratives into catalysts for growth, authenticity, and meaningful action.   RESOURCES: Learn more about Dr. Demartini here: http://www.drdemartini.com  Instagram: @drjohndemartini Check out "Demartini Value Determination" — every discussion refers to an individual's hierarchy of values: https://drdemartini.com/values  Check out "The Breakthrough Experience" – https://drdemartini.com/breakthrough-experience Get 15% off Peluva minimalist shoe with coupon code COACHTARA here: http://peluva.com/coachtara   CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 – Introduction, Peluva Ad and who Dr. John Demartini is​ 00:05:30 – Why he doesn't want your "victim story" and reframing trauma through specific questions​ 00:12:30 – The Florida client: turning an "abandoned and abused child" story into gratitude for her mother​ 00:22:30 – You're not a victim of history: amygdala vs. executive function and choosing empowering perceptions​ 00:30:00 – Processing extreme grief: murder, loss of a child, and why grief and relief are two sides of the same coin​ 00:40:00 – Polarization, Trump, ICE and the "law of heuristic escalation" in politics and social media​ 00:48:00 – Extremism, black‑and‑white thinking and how predator–prey survival wiring distorts our beliefs​ 00:54:00 – The Demartini Method: 80 questions to dissolve resentment, shame and labels like "narcissist"​ 00:59:30 – Soulmates, relationships and why trying to fix or perfect your partner keeps you stuck​ 01:02:00 – The Breakthrough Experience events, the Breakthrough Movie and how to learn more about his work​ WORK WITH TARA: Are You Looking for Help on Your Wellness Journey? Here's how Tara can help you: TRY MY APP FOR FREE: http://taragarrison.com/app INDIVIDUAL ONLINE COACHING: https://www.taragarrison.com/work-with-me CHECK OUT HIGHER RETREATS: https://www.taragarrison.com/retreats   SOCIAL MEDIA:  Instagram @coachtaragarrison TikTok @coachtaragarrison Facebook @coachtaragarrison Pinterest @coachtaragarrison   INSIDE OUT HEALTH PODCAST SPECIAL OFFERS: ☑️ Upgraded Formulas Hair Test Kit Special Offer: https://bit.ly/3YdMn4Z ☑️ Upgraded Formulas - Get 15% OFF Everything with Coupon Code INSIDEOUT15: https://upgradedformulas.com/INSIDEOUT15 ☑️ Rep Provisions: Vote for the future of food with your dollar! And enjoy a 15% discount while you're at it with Coupon Code COACHTARA: https://bit.ly/3dD4ZSv   If you loved this episode, please leave a review! Here's how to do it on Apple Podcasts: Go to Inside Out Health Podcast page: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-out-health-with-coach-tara-garrison/id1468368093 Scroll down to the 'Ratings & Reviews' section. Tap 'Write a Review' (you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). Thank you!

It’s actually a good thing that some books push you to the edge of your ability to understand. But there’s no doubting the fact that dense, abstract and jargon-filled works can push you so far into the fog of frustration that you cannot blame yourself for giving up. But here’s the truth: You don’t have to walk away frustrated and confused. I’m going to share with you a number of practical strategies that will help you fill in the gaps of your reading process. Because that’s usually the real problem: It’s not your intelligence. Nor is it that the world is filled with books “above your level.” I ultimately don’t believe in “levels” as such. But as someone who taught reading courses at Rutgers and Saarland University, I know from experience that many learners need to pick up a few simple steps that will strengthen how they approach reading difficult books. And in this guide, you’ll learn how to read challenging books and remember what they say. I’m going to go beyond generic advice too. That way, you can readily diagnose: Why certain books feel so hard Use pre-reading tactics that prime your brain to deal with difficulties effectively Apply active reading techniques to lock in understanding faster Leverage accelerated learning tools that are quick to learn Use Artificial Intelligence to help convert tough convent into lasting knowledge without worrying about getting duped by AI hallucinations Whether you’re tacking philosophy, science, dense fiction or anything based primarily in words, the reading system you’ll learn today will help you turn confusion into clarity. By the end, even the most intimidating texts will surrender their treasures to your mind. Ready? Let’s break it all down together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HLbY4jsFg Why Some Books Feel “Too Hard” (And What That Really Means) You know exactly how it feels and so do I. You sit down with a book that people claim is a classic or super-important. But within a few pages, your brain fogs over and you’re completely lost. More often than not, through glazed eyes, you start to wonder… did this author go out of his or her way to make this difficult? Are they trying to show off with all these literary pyrotechnics? Or is there a deliberate conspiracy to confuse readers like me? Rest assured. These questions are normal and well worth asking. The difficulty you might feel is never arbitrary in my experience. But there’s also no “single origin” explanation for why some books feel easier than others. It’s almost always a combination of factors, from cognitive readiness, lived experience, emotions and your physical condition throughout the day. This means that understanding why individual texts resist your understanding needs to be conducted on a case-by-case basis so you can move towards mastering anything you want to read. Cognitive Load: The Brain’s Processing “Stop Sign” “Cognitive load” probably needs no definition. The words are quite intuitive. You start reading something and it feels like someone is piling heavy bricks directly on top of your brain, squishing everything inside. More specifically, these researchers explain that what’s getting squished is specifically your working memory, which is sometimes called short-term memory. In practical terms, this means that when a book suddenly throws a bunch of unfamiliar terms at you, your working memory has to suddenly deal with abstract concepts, completely new words or non-linear forms of logic. All of this increases your cognitive load, but it’s important to note that there’s no conspiracy. In Just Being Difficult: Academic Writing in the Public Arena, a variety of contributors admit that they often write for other specialists. Although it would be nice to always compose books and articles for general readers, it’s not laziness. They’re following the codes of their discipline, which involves shorthand to save everyone time. Yes, it can also signal group membership and feel like an intellectual wall if you’re new to this style, but it’s simply a “stop sign” for your brain. And wherever there are stop signs, there are also alternative routes. Planning Your Detour “Roadmap” Into Difficult Books Let me share a personal example by way of sharing a powerful technique for making hard books easier to read. A few years ago I decided I was finally going to read Kant. I had the gist of certain aspects of his philosophy, but a few pages in, I encountered so many unfamiliar terms, I knew I had to obey the Cognitive Load Stop Sign and take a step back. To build a roadmap into Kant, I searched Google in a particular way. Rather than a search term like, “Intro to Kant,” I entered this tightened command instead: Filetype:PDF syllabus Kant These days, you can ask an LLM in more open language to simply give you links to the syllabi of the most authoritative professors who teach Kant. I’d still suggest that you cross-reference what you get on Google, however. If you’re hesitant about using either Google or AI, it’s also a great idea to visit a librarian in person to help you. Or, you can read my post about using AI for learning with harming your memory to see if it’s time to update your approach. Narrowing Down Your Options One way or another, the reason to consult the world’s leading professors is that their syllabi will provide you with: Foundational texts Core secondary literature Commentaries from qualified sources Essential historical references Once you’ve looked over a few syllabi, look through the table of contents of a few books on Amazon or Google Books. Then choose: 1-2 foundational texts to read before the challenging target book you want to master 1-2 articles or companion texts to read alongside In this way, you’ve turned difficulty into a path, not an obstacle. Pre-Reading Strategies That Warm Up Your Reading Muscles A lot of the time, the difficulty people feel when reading has nothing to do with the book. It’s just that you’re diving into unfamiliar territory without testing the waters first. Here are some simple ways to make unfamiliar books much easier to get into. Prime Like a Pro To make books easier to read, you can perform what is often called “priming” in the accelerated learning community. It is also sometimes called “pre-reading” and as this research article discusses, its success has been well-demonstrated. The way I typically perform priming is simple. Although some books require a slight change to the pattern, I typically approach each new book by reading: The back cover The index The colophon page The conclusion or afterword The most interesting or relevant chapter The introduction The rest of the book Activate Prior Knowledge Sometimes I will use a skimming and scanning strategy after reading the index to quickly familiarize myself with how an author approaches a topic with which I’m already familiar. This can help raise interest, excitement and tap into the power of context-dependent memory. For example, I recently started reading Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht. Since the Renaissance memory master Giordano Bruno comes up multiple times, I was able to draw up a kind of context map of the books themes by quickly going through those passages. Take a Picture Walk Barbara Oakley and Terence Sejnjowski share a fantastic strategy in Learning How to Learn. Before reading, simply go through a book and look at all the illustrations, tables, charts and diagrams. It seems like a small thing. But it gives your brain a “heads up” about upcoming visual information that you may need to process than prose. I used to find visual information like this difficult, but after I started taking picture walks, I’m now excited to read “towards” these elements. If still find them challenging to understand, I apply a tip I learned from Tony Buzan that you might like to try: Rather than struggle to interpret a chart or illustration, reproduce it in your own hand. Here’s an example of how I did this when studying spaced repetition: As a result, I learned the graph and its concepts quickly and have never forgotten it. Build a Pre-Reading Ritual That Fits You There’s no one-sized-fits-all strategy, so you need to experiment with various options. The key is to reduce cognitive load by giving your mind all kinds of ways of understanding what a book contains. If it helps, you can create yourself a checklist that you slip into the challenging books on your list. That way, you’ll have both a bookmark and a protocol as you develop your own pre-reading style. Active Reading Techniques That Boost Comprehension Active reading involves deliberately applying mental activities while reading. These can include writing in the margins of your books, questioning, preparing summaries and even taking well-time breaks between books. Here’s a list of my favorite active reading strategies with ideas on how you can implement them. Using Mnemonics While Reading On the whole, I take notes while reading and then apply a variety of memory techniques after. But to stretch my skills, especially when reading harder books, I start the encoding process earlier. Instead of just taking notes, I’ll start applying mnemonic images. I start early because difficult terms often require a bit more spaced repetition. To do this yourself, the key is to equip yourself with a variety of mnemonic methods, especially: The Memory Palace technique The Pegword Method The Major System The PAO System And in some cases, you may want to develop a symbol system, such as if you’re studying physics or programming. Once you have these mnemonic systems developed, you can apply them in real time. For example, if you come across names and dates, committing them to memory as you read can help you keep track of a book’s historical arc. This approach can be especially helpful when reading difficult books because authors often dump a lot of names and dates. By memorizing them as you go, you reduce the mental load of having to track it all. For even more strategies you can apply while reading, check out my complete Mnemonics Dictionary. Strategic Questioning Whether you take notes or memorize in real-time, asking questions as you go makes a huge difference. Even if you don’t come up with answers, continually interrogating the book will open up your brain. The main kinds of questions are: Evaluative questions (checking that the author uses valid reasoning and address counterarguments) Analytical questions (assessing exactly how the arguments unfold and questioning basic assumptions) Synthetic questions (accessing your previous knowledge and looking for connections with other books and concepts) Intention questions (interrogating the author’s agenda and revealing any manipulative rhetoric) One medieval tool for questioning you can adopt is the memory wheel. Although it’s definitely old-fashioned, you’ll find that it helps you rotate between multiple questions. Even if they are as simple as who, what, where, when, how and why questions, you’ll have a mental mnemonic device that helps ensure you don’t miss any of them. Re-reading Strategies Although these researchers seem to think that re-reading is not an effective strategy, I could not live without it. There are three key kinds of re-reading I recommend. Verbalize Complexity to Tame It The first is to simply go back and read something difficult to understand out loud. You’d be surprised how often it’s not your fault. The author has just worded something in a clunky manner and speaking the phrasing clarifies everything. Verbatim Memorization for Comprehension The second strategy is to memorize the sentence or even an entire passage verbatim. That might seem like a lot of work, but this tutorial on memorizing entire passages will make it easy for you. Even if verbatim memorization takes more work, it allows you to analyze the meaning within your mind. You’re no longer puzzling over it on paper, continuing to stretch your working memory. No, you’ve effectively expanded at least a part of your working memory by bypassing it altogether. You’ve ushered the information into long-term memory. I’m not too shy to admit that I have to do this sometimes to understand everything from the philosophy in Sanskrit phrases to relatively simple passages from Shakespeare. As I shared in my recent discussion of actor Anthony Hopkins’ memory, I couldn’t work out what “them” referred to in a particular Shakespeare play. But after analyzing the passage in memory, it was suddenly quite obvious. Rhythmical Re-reading The third re-reading strategy is something I shared years ago in my post detailing 11 reasons you should re-read at least one book per month. I find this approach incredibly helpful because no matter how good you get at reading and memory methods, even simple books can be vast ecosystems. By revisiting difficult books at regular intervals, you not only get more out of them. You experience them from different perspectives and with the benefit of new contexts you’ve built in your life over time. In other words, treat your reading as an infinite game and never assume that you’ve comprehended everything. There’s always more to be gleaned. Other Benefits of Re-reading You’ll also improve your pattern recognition by re-treading old territory, leading to more rapid recognition of those patterns in new books. Seeing the structures, tropes and other tactics in difficult books opens them up. But without regularly re-reading books, it can be difficult to perceive what these forms are and how authors use them. To give you a simple example of a structure that appears in both fiction and non-fiction, consider in media res, or starting in the middle. When you spot an author using this strategy, it can immediately help you read more patiently. And it places the text in the larger tradition of other authors who use that particular technique. For even more ideas that will keep your mind engaged while tackling tough books, feel free to go through my fuller article on 7 Active Reading Strategies. Category Coloring & Developing Your Own Naming System For Complex Material I don’t know about you, but I do not like opening a book only to find it covered in highlighter marks. I also don’t like highlighting books myself. However, after practicing mind mapping for a few years, I realized that there is a way to combine some of its coloring principles with the general study principles of using Zettelkasten and flashcards. Rather than passively highlighting passages that seem interesting at random, here’s an alternative approach you can take to your next tour through a complicated book. Category Coloring It’s often helpful to read with a goal. For myself, I decided to tackle a hard book called Gödel Escher Bach through the lens of seven categories. I gave each a color: Red = Concept Green = Process Orange = Fact Blue = Historical Context Yellow = Person Purple = School of Thought or Ideology Brown = Specialized Terminology Example Master Card to the Categorial Color Coding Method To emulate this method, create a “key card” or “master card” with your categories on it alongside the chosen color. Use this as a bookmark as you read. Then, before writing down any information from the book, think about the category to which it belongs. Make your card and then apply the relevant color. Obviously, you should come up with your own categories and preferred colors. The point is that you bring the definitions and then apply them consistently as you read and extract notes. This will help bring structure to your mind because you’re creating your own nomenclature or taxonomy of information. You are also using chunking, a specific mnemonic strategy I’ve written about at length in this post on chunking as a memory tool. Once you’re finished a book, you can extract all the concepts and memorize them independently if you like. And if you emulate the strategy seen on the pictured example above, I’ve included the page number on each card. That way, I can place the cards back in the order of the book. Using this approach across multiple books, you will soon spot cross-textual patterns with greater ease. The catch is that you cannot allow this technique to become activity for activity’s sake. You also don’t want to wind up creating a bunch of informational “noise.” Before capturing any individual idea on a card and assigning it to a category, ask yourself: Why is this information helpful, useful or critical to my goal? Will I really use it again? Where does it belong within the categories? If you cannot answers these questions, either move on to the next point. Or reframe the point with some reflective thinking so that you can contextualize it. This warning aside, it’s important not to let perfectionism creep into your life. Knowing what information matters does take some practice. To speed up your skills with identifying critical information, please read my full guide on how to find the main points in books and articles. Although AI can certainly help these days, you’ll still need to do some work on your own. Do Not Let New Vocabulary & Terminology Go Without Memorization One of the biggest mistakes I used to make, even as a fan of memory techniques, slowed me down much more than necessary. I would come across a new term, look it up, and assume I’d remember it. Of course, the next time I came across it, the meaning was still a mystery. But when I got more deliberate, I not only remembered more words, but the knowledge surrounding the unfamiliar terms also stuck with greater specificity. For example, in reading The Wandering Mind by Jamie Kreiner, memorizing the ancient Greek word for will or volition (Prohairesis) pulled many more details about why she was mentioning it. Lo and behold, I started seeing the word in more places and connecting it to other ancient Greek terms. Memorizing those as well started to create a “moat of meaning,” further protecting a wide range of information I’d been battling. Understanding Why Vocabulary Blocks Comprehension The reason why memorizing words as you read is so helpful is that it helps clear out the cognitive load created by pausing frequently to look up words. Even if you don’t stop to learn a new definition, part of your working memory gets consumed by the lack of familiarity. I don’t always stop to learn new definitions while reading, but using the color category index card method you just discovered, it’s easy to organize unfamiliar words while reading. That way they can be tidily memorized later. I have a full tutorial for you on how to memorize vocabulary, but here’s a quick primer. Step One: Use a System for Capturing New Words & Terms Whether you use category coloring, read words into a recording app or email yourself a reminder, the key is to capture as you go. Once your reading session is done, you can now go back to the vocabulary list and start learning it. Step Two: Memorize the Terms I personally prefer the Memory Palace technique. It’s great for memorizing words and definitions. You can use the Pillar Technique with the word at the top and the definition beneath it. Or you can use the corners for the words and the walls for the definitions. Another idea is to photograph the cards you create and important them into a spaced repetition software like Anki. As you’ll discover in my complete guide to Anki, there are several ways you can combine Anki with a variety of memory techniques. Step Three: Use the Terms If you happened to catch an episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast back when I first learned Prohairesis I mentioned it often. This simple habit helps establish long-term recall, reflection and establishes the ground for future recognition and use. Expand Understanding Using Video & Audio Media When I was in university, I often had to ride my bike across Toronto to borrow recorded lectures on cassette. Given the overwhelming tsunamis of complex ideas, jargon and theoretical frameworks I was facing, it was worth it. Especially since I was also dealing with the personal problems I shared with you in The Victorious Mind. Make no mistake: I do not believe there is any replacement for reading the core books, no matter how difficult they might be. But there’s no reason not to leverage the same ideas in multiple formats to help boost your comprehension and long-term retention. Multimedia approaches are not just about knowledge acquisition either. There have been many debates in the magical arts community that card magicians should read and not rely on video. But evidence-based studies like this one show that video instruction combined with reading written instructions is very helpful. The Science Behind Multi-Modal Learning I didn’t know when I was in university, or when I was first starting out with memdeck card magic that dual coding theory existed. This model was proposed by Allan Paivio, who noticed that information is processed both verbally and non-verbally. Since then, many teachers have focused heavily on how to encourage students to find the right combination of reading, visual and auditory instructional material. Here are some ideas that will help you untangle the complexity in your reading. How to Integrate Multimedia Without Overload Forgive me if this is a bit repetitive, but to develop flow with multiple media, you need to prime the brain. As someone who has created multiple YouTube videos, I have been stubborn about almost always including introductions. Why? Go Through the Intros Like a Hawk Because without including a broad overview of the topic, many learners will miss too many details. And I see this in the comments because people ask questions that are answered throughout the content and flagged in the introductions. So the first step is to be patient and go through the introductory material. And cultivate an understanding that it’s not really the material that is boring. It’s the contemporary issues with dopamine spiking that make you feel impatient. The good news is that you can possibly reset your dopamine levels so you’re better able to sit through these “priming” materials. One hack I use is to sit far away from my mouse and keep my notebook in hand. If I catch myself getting antsy, I perform a breathing exercise to restore focus. Turn on Subtitles When you’re watching videos, you can help increase your engagement by turning on the subtitles. This is especially useful in jargon-heavy video lessons. You can pause and still see the information on the screen for easier capture when taking notes. When taking notes, I recommend jotting down the timestamp. This is useful for review, but also for attributing citations later if you have to hand in an assignment. Mentally Reconstruct After watching a video or listening to a podcast on the topic you’re mastering, take a moment to review the key points. Try to go through them in the order they were presented. This helps your brain practice mental organization by building a temporal scaffold. If you’ve taken notes and written down the timestamps, you can easily check your accuracy. Track Your Progress For Growth & Performance One reason some people never feel like they’re getting anywhere is that they have failed to establish any points of reference. Personally, this is easy for me to do. I can look back to my history of writing books and articles or producing videos and be reminded of how far I’ve come at a glance. Not only as a writer, but also as a reader. For those who do not regularly produce content, you don’t have to start a blog or YouTube channel. Just keep a journal and create a few categories of what skills you want to track. These might include: Comprehension Retention Amount of books read Vocabulary growth Critical thinking outcomes Confidence in taking on harder books Increased tolerance with frustration when reading challenges arise You can use the same journal to track how much time you’ve spent reading and capturing quick summaries. Personally, I wish I’d started writing summaries sooner. I really only got started during grad school when during a directed reading course, a professor required that I had in a summary for every book and article I read. I never stopped doing this and just a few simple paragraph summaries has done wonders over the years for my understanding and retention. Tips for Overcoming Frustration While Reading Difficult Books Ever since the idea of “desirable difficulty” emerged, people have sought ways to help learners overcome emotional responses like frustration, anxiety and even shame while tackling tough topics. As this study shows, researchers and teachers have found the challenge difficult despite the abundance of evidence showing that being challenged is a good thing. Here are some strategies you can try if you continue to struggle. Embrace Cognitive Discomfort As we’ve discussed, that crushing feeling in your brain exists for a reason. Personally, I don’t think it ever goes away. I still regularly pick up books that spike it. The difference is that I don’t start up a useless mantra like, “I’m not smart enough for this.” Instead, I recommend you reframe the experience and use the growth mindset studied by Carol Dweck, amongst others. You can state something more positive like, “This book is a bit above my level, but I can use tactics and techniques to master it.” I did that very recently with my reading of The Xenotext, parts of which I still don’t fully understand. It was very rewarding. Use Interleaving to Build Confidence I rotate through draining books all the time using a proven technique called interleaving. Lots of people are surprised when I tell them that I rarely read complex and challenging books for longer than fifteen minutes at a time. But I do it because interleaving works. Which kinds of books can you interleave? You have choices. You can either switch in something completely different, or switch to a commentary. For example, while recently reading some heavy mathematical theories about whether or not “nothing” can exist, I switched to a novel. But back in university, I would often stick within the category while at the library. I’d read a core text by a difficult philosopher, then pick up a Cambridge Companion and read an essay related to the topic. You can also interleave using multimedia sources like videos and podcasts. Interleaving also provides time for doing some journaling, either about the topic at hand or some other aspect of your progress goals. Keep the Big Picture in Mind Because frustration is cognitively training, it’s easy to let it drown out your goals. That’s why I often keep a mind map or some other reminder on my desk, like a couple of memento mori. It’s also possible to just remember previous mind maps you’ve made. This is something I’m doing often at the moment as I read all kinds of boring information about managing a bookshop for my Memory Palace bookshop project first introduced in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utcJfeQZC2c It’s so easy to get discouraged by so many rules and processes involved in ordering and selling books, that I regularly think back to creating this mind map with Tony Buzan years ago. In case my simple drawings on this mind map for business development doesn’t immediately leap out at you with its meanings, the images at the one o’clock-three o’clock areas refer to developing a physical Memory Palace packed with books on memory and learning. Developing and keeping a north star in mind will help you transform the process of reading difficult books into a purposeful adventure of personal development. Even if you have to go through countless books that aren’t thrilling, you’ll still be moving forward. Just think of how much Elon Musk has read that probably wasn’t all that entertaining. Yet, it was still essential to becoming a polymath. Practice Seeing Through The Intellectual Games As you read harder and harder books, you’ll eventually come to realize that the “fluency” some people have is often illusory. For example, some writers and speakers display a truly impressive ability to string together complex terminology, abstract references and fashionable ideas of the day in ways that sound profound. Daniel Dennett frequently used a great term for a lot of this verbal jujitsu that sounds profound but is actually trivial. He called such flourishes “deepities.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey-UeaSi1rI This kind of empty linguistic dexterity will be easier for you to spot when you read carefully, paraphrase complex ideas in your own words and practice memorizing vocabulary frequently. When you retain multiple concepts and practice active questioning in a large context of grounded examples and case studies, vague claims will not survive for long in your world. This is why memory training is about so much more than learning. Memorization can equip you to think independently and bring clarity to fields that are often filled with gems, despite the fog created by intellectual pretenders more interested in word-jazz than actual truth. Using AI to Help You Take On Difficult Books As a matter of course, I recommend you use AI tools like ChatGPT after doing as much reading on your own as possible. But there’s no mistaking that intentional use of such tools can help you develop greater understanding. The key is to avoid using AI as an answer machine or what Nick Bostrom calls an “oracle” in his seminal book, Superintelligence. Rather, take a cue from Andrew Mayne, a science communicator and central figure at OpenAI and host of their podcast. His approach centers on testing in ways that lead to clarity of understanding and retention as he uses various mnemonic strategies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzD_6Olaqw Beyond his suggestions, here are some of my favorite strategies. Ask AI to Help Identify All Possible Categories Connected to a Topic A key reason many people struggle to connect ideas is simply that they haven’t developed a mental ecosystem of categories. I used to work in libraries, so started thinking categorically when I was still a teenager. But these days, I would combine how traditional libraries are structured with a simple prompt like: List all the possible categories my topic fits into or bridges across disciplines, historical frameworks and methodologies. Provide the list without interpretation or explanation so I can reflect. A prompt like this engineers a response that focuses on relationships and lets your brain perform the synthetic thinking. Essentially, you’ll be performing what some scientists call schema activation, leading to better personal development outcomes. Generate Lists of Questions To Model Exceptional Thinkers Because understanding relies on inquiry, it’s important to practice asking the best possible questions. AI chat bots can be uniquely useful in this process provided that you explicitly insist that it helps supply you excellent questions without any answers. You can try a prompt like: Generate a list of questions that the world’s most careful thinkers in this field would ask about this topic. Do not provide any answers. Just the list of questions. Do this after you’ve read the text and go through your notes with fresh eyes. Evaluate the material with questions in hand, ideally by writing out your answers by hand. If you need your answers imported into your computer, apps can now scan your handwriting and give you text file. Another tip: Don’t be satisfied with the first list of questions you get. Ask the AI to dig deeper. You can also ask the AI to map the questions into the categories you previously got help identifying. For a list of questions you can put into your preferred chat bot, feel free to go through my pre-AI era list of philosophical questions. They are already separated by category. Use AI to Provide a Progress Journal Template If you’re new to journaling, it can be difficult to use the technique to help you articulate what you’re reading and why the ideas are valuable. And that’s not to mention working out various metrics to measure your growth over time. Try a prompt like this: Help me design a progress journal for my quest to better understand and remember difficult books. Include sections for me to list my specific goals, vocabulary targets, summaries and various milestones I identify. Make it visual so I can either copy it into my own print notebook or print out multiple copies for use over time. Once you have a template you’re happy to experiment with, keep it visible in your environment so you don’t forget to use it. Find Blind Spots In Your Summaries Many AIs have solid reasoning skills. As a result, you can enter your written summaries and have the AI identify gaps in your knowledge, blind spots and opportunities for further reading. Try a prompt like: Analyze this summary and identify any blind spots, ambiguities in my thinking or incompleteness in my understanding. Suggest supplementary reading to help me fill in any gaps. At the risk of repetition, the point is that you’re not asking for the summaries. You’re asking for assessments that help you diagnose the limits of your understanding. As scientists have shown, metacognition, or thinking about your thinking can help you see errors much faster. By adding an AI into the mix, you’re getting feedback quickly without having to wait for a teacher to read your essay. Of course, AI outputs can be throttled, so I find it useful to also include a phrase like, “do not throttle your answer,” before asking it to dig deeper and find more issues. Used wisely, you will soon see various schools of thought with much greater clarity, anticipate how authors make their moves and monitor your own blind spots as you read and reflect. Another way to think about the power of AI tools is this: They effectively mirror human reasoning at a species wide level. You can use them to help you mirror more reasoning power by regularly accessing and practicing error detection and filling in the gaps in your thinking style. Why You Must Stop Abandoning Difficult Books (At Least Most of the Time) Like many people, I’m a fan of Scott Young’s books like Ultralearning and Get Better at Anything. He’s a disciplined thinker and his writing helps people push past shallow learning in favor of true and lasting depth. However, he often repeats the advice that you should stop reading boring books. In full transparency, I sometimes do this myself. And Young adds a lot of context to make his suggestion. But I limit abandoning books as much as possible because I don’t personally find Young’s argument that enjoyment and productivity go together. On the contrary, most goals that I’ve pursued have required fairly intense periods of delaying gratification. And because things worth accomplishing generally do require sacrifice and a commitment to difficulty, I recommend you avoid the habit of giving up on books just because they’re “boring” or not immediately enjoyable. I’ll bet you’ll enjoy the accomplishment of understanding hard books and conquering their complexity far more in the end. And you’ll benefit more too. Here’s why I think so. The Hidden Cost of Abandoning Books You’ve Started Yes, I agree that life is short and time is fleeting. But if you get into the habit of abandoning books at the first sign of boredom, it can quickly become your default habit due to how procedural memory works. In other words, you’re given your neurons the message that it’s okay to escape from discomfort. That is a very dangerous loop to throw yourself into, especially if you’re working towards becoming autodidactic. What you really need is to develop the ability to stick with complexity, hold ambiguous and contradictory issues in your mind and fight through topic exhaustion. Giving up on books on a routine basis? That’s the opposite of developing expertise and resilience. The AI Risk & Where Meaning is Actually Found We just went through the benefits of AI, so you shouldn’t have issues. But I regularly hear from people and have even been on interviews where people use AI to summarize books I’ve recomended. This is dangerous because the current models flatten nuance due to how they summarize books based on a kind of “averaging” of what its words predictability mean. Although they might give you a reasonable scaffold of a book’s structure, you won’t get the friction created by how authors take you through their thought processes. In other words, you’ll be using AI models that are not themselves modeling the thinking that reading provides when you grind your way through complex books. The Treasure of Meaning is Outside Your Comfort Zone Another reason to train for endurance is that understanding doesn’t necessarily arrive while reading a book or even a few weeks after finishing it. Sometimes the unifying insights land years later. But if you don’t read through books that seem to be filled with scattered ideas, you cannot gain any benefit from them. Their diverse points won’t consolidate in your memory and certainly won’t connect with other ideas later. So I suggest you train your brain to persist as much as possible. By drawing up the support of the techniques we discussed today and a variety of mnemonic support systems, you will develop persistence and mine more gold from everything you read. And being someone who successfully mines for gold and can produce it at will is the mark of the successful reading. Not just someone who consumes information efficiently, but who can repeatedly connect and transform knowledge year after year due to regularly accumulating gems buried in the densest and most difficult books others cannot or will not read. Use Struggle to Stimulate Growth & You Cannot Fail As you’ve seen, challenging books never mean that you’re not smart enough. It’s just a matter of working on your process so that you can tackle new forms of knowledge. And any discomfort you feel is a signal that a great opportunity and personal growth adventure awaits. By learning how to manage cognitive load, fill in the gaps in your background knowledge and persist through frustration, you can quickly become the kind of reader who seeks out complexity instead of flinching every time you see it. Confusion has now become a stage along the path to comprehension. And if you’re serious about mastering increasingly difficult material, understanding and retaining it, then it’s time to upgrade your mental toolbox. Start now by grabbing my Free Memory Improvement Course: Inside, you’ll discover: The Magnetic Memory Method for creating powerful Memory Palaces How to develop your own mnemonic systems for encoding while reading Proven techniques that deepen comprehension, no matter how abstract or complex your reading list is And please, always remember: The harder the book, the greater rewards. And the good news is, you’re now more than ready to claim them all.

In this episode of Two Pastors and a Mic, we keep walking out what we're calling the 2:6 Life - Anyone who claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). And today we go straight into a tension a lot of us feel after deconstruction, church hurt, or betrayal:How do you protect your heart…without closing it off completely?Because for many of us, cynicism starts to feel like wisdom. It promises we won't be surprised again, disappointed again, or fooled again. But over time, cynicism doesn't just guard the wound—it can quietly starve the heart: connection, wonder, curiosity, hope.So we talk about the difference between:Discernment vs. distancingWise boundaries vs. emotional retreatSelf-protection vs. staying tenderAnd we get super practical with real-life examples—how cynicism shows up in relationships, leadership, church spaces, and even the way we interpret “good” stories. We also give a few ways to stay tender without being naive—because tenderness isn't fragility… it's availability (with boundaries).If you've ever felt yourself growing colder, pulling back, or assuming the worst just to stay safe… this one's for you.00:00 - Welcome to Two Pastors and a Mic (Episode 264)00:46 - The 2:6 Life Theme: Living Like Jesus (1 John 2:6)01:33 - Quick Recap: Deconstruction + Feeling Stuck02:09 - Today's Topic: Protect Your Heart Without Closing It03:10 - Cynicism vs Tenderness: The Heart Posture Tension04:37 - Why Cynicism Creeps In After Church Hurt05:50 - Discernment or Cynicism? Processing the Difference07:19 - What Cynicism Promises: No Surprise, No Disappointment, No Fooling08:21 - Real-Life Example: “What's the Catch?” When Good Things Happen10:33 - Discernment vs Distancing: Staying Present vs Staying Safe11:46 - How Hearts Harden: Disappointment Fatigue13:50 - Polished Answers + Emotional Retreat (Not Strength)14:13 - Why Tenderness Feels Dangerous After Betrayal15:53 - Tenderness Isn't Fragility: It's Availability + Boundaries16:31 - Real-Life Example: Naming Hurt Calmly Instead of Disappearing17:42 - Tenderness Heals: Cynicism Shrinks, Tenderness Expands19:35 - Practical Steps: Stay Curious Longer Than Certain21:01 - Let Disappointment Teach You, Not Define You21:37 - Speak Honestly Without Rehearsing Your Exit22:28 - Counseling Story: One Foot In, One Foot Out24:05 - The Invitation: Stay Reachable to Goodness Again24:52 - Tenderness + Boundaries: Wise Without Being Cold25:40 - Next Week Tease: Trusting God and Trusting Yourself Again25:54 - Wrap-Up: Cynicism Robs Connection

5pm: Processing the scope of what the implications of the Epstein Files could mean // Melinda Gates throws ex-husband Bill to the wolves over Epstein: 'You've got some explaining to do' // Rantz: UW Seattle faculty meltdown, debate if whistles ‘retraumatize’ illegal immigrants // How Pro Football Became America’s National Obsession // Every Team in the NFL Whiffed on This Quarterback. Now he's in the Super Bowl. // Seahawks fan with terminal cancer gets bucket list wish and is headed to the Super Bowl // Letters

While the term "hyperpalatable" has been used frequently for considerable time to refer to foods that are so appealing and tasty that they drive overeating, this term hasn't been well-defined nor has there been a universal standard for what it means. One researcher who set out to create an objective definition for hyper-palatable foods (HPFs) is Dr. Tera Fazzino. Using specific defined thresholds of sugar, fat and salt combinations, Dr. Fazzino and colleagues have looked at the impact of consumption of these HPFs. In this episode, we delve into defining HPFs and their nutrient profiles, whether they have addictive-like properties, how HPFs differ from (and overlap with) ultra-processed foods (UPFs), the mechanisms by which these foods drive overconsumption, and the broader public health implications. Tera Fazzino, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on addiction, obesity, and eating-related behaviors. Timestamps [03:39] Interview begins [05:05] Attempting to define hyper palatability [10:03] Nutrient combinations in hyper palatable foods [14:54] Prevalence of hyper palatable foods [17:43] Debate on ultra processed foods [30:02] Mechanisms behind hyper palatability [35:06] Addiction theory and hyper-palatable foods [43:38] Early exposure and long-term effects [50:53] Key ideas recap Related Resources Go to episode page (with links to studies mentioned) Join the Sigma email newsletter for free Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium Enroll in the next cohort of our Applied Nutrition Literacy course

This story sounds like fiction—but it's real, documented, and terrifying. ⚠️ A Chinese Communist Party member, illegally in the U.S., allegedly operated multiple clandestine biolabs—one in rural California and another less than three miles from a major U.S. Air Force base in Las Vegas. Thousands of vials labeled Ebola, COVID, and other pathogens.

In today's episode, Gina shares a touching meditation that allows listeners to let go of their anxiety healing journey for a few minutes and bask in the warm glow of the present moment. Release all special requirements you have for yourself and your anxiety clearing work. This episode will set you free with a series of moments of peace and calm. Listen in and feel better today.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors!https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/ Thank you for supporting The Anxiety Coaches Podcast. FREE MUST-HAVE RESOURCE FOR Calming Your Anxious Mind10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for Anxiety Anxiety Coaches Podcast Group Coaching linkACPGroupCoaching.comTo learn more, go to:Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership ProgramLearn more about our One-on-One Coaching What is anxiety? Find even more peace and calm with our Supercast premium access membership:For $5 a month, all episodes are ad-free! https://anxietycoaches.supercast.com/Here's what's included for $5/month:❤ New Ad-Free episodes every Sunday and Wednesday❤ Access to the entire Ad-free back-catalog with over 600 episodes❤ Premium meditations recorded with you in mind❤ And more fun surprises along the way!All this in your favorite podcast app!Chapters0:26 Welcome and Introduction7:52 Rest Without Effort10:14 Letting Go of Improvement13:34 Setting Down Healing16:08 Embracing the MomentSummaryIn this episode, I explore the often overlooked experience of healing fatigue, a phenomenon that arises from tirelessly working on oneself in the quest for peace and relief from anxiety. I address the listeners who may feel exhausted from their efforts—those who have meditated, journaled, and engaged with various practices yet still feel a nagging sense of incompleteness. This conversation is about acknowledging that fatigue and giving space to the part of you that feels worn down by the journey.I draw on the wisdom of poet Mary Oliver, who beautifully states, "You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." This quote encapsulates the essence of today's reflection: the importance of recognizing the different types of exhaustion we face. There's the fatigue that stems from deep suffering and another, subtler kind that arises from continuous self-improvement efforts. Processing these can be exhausting, especially when practices intended to soothe can instead feel burdensome and lead to feelings of failure.It's crucial to emphasize that feeling worn out from healing is not indicative of personal shortcomings. This understanding can provide significant relief to those grappling with chronic emotional distress, where healing can be a lengthy and often taxing endeavour. I acknowledge that for some, the pathway to healing may appear smooth and straightforward, resembling a quick guide from A to B. Yet for others, the journey necessitates traversing through various challenges before reaching their goals. In this episode, I stand alongside those who feel the weight of healing fatigue, affirming that such feelings are valid and real.#AnxietyCoachesPodcast #HealingFatigue #AnxietyRecovery #MentalHealthAwareness #NervousSystemRegulation #SelfCareBurnout #GinaRyan #MaryOliver #Mindfulness #RestIsProductive #ChronicStress #InnerPeace #HealingJourney #EmotionalWellbeing #MentalRest #SelfCompassion #OvercomingAnxiety #BurnoutRecovery #GentleHealing #SoftAnimalOfYourBody #ACPSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Enjoy this replay from February 1, 2026, with Senior Leader Joaquin Evans as he processes the events of the current season.

Ever wish you could flip your anxiety, stress, or even full-on rage into superpowers? That's exactly what we're unpacking in this episode of Culture Changers with the wildly insightful Josh Pais, actor, New York Times bestselling author of Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility, and the guy who literally played Raphael in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!I get vulnerable about what it feels like to live with a fried nervous system and nagging self-doubt, and Josh takes us on a journey to transform those so-called bad emotions into fuel for creativity, confidence, and genuine presence. We talk about why the self-help industry's obsession with feeling better often keeps us stuck (spoiler: your mind can be a real asshole), and how welcoming every messy feeling, no matter how uncomfortable, can be your gateway to creative invincibility.Josh shares radical, body-centered strategies you can use on the spot, including his four access points to shift from mental drama to full-body aliveness. If you're over toxic positivity, exhausted by faking it, or just want to stop fighting yourself, this one's for you. We get vulnerable, irreverent, and, dare I say, pretty damn actionable.In this episode we get into:Embracing all emotions without judgmentTransforming anxiety and stress into creative fuelThe harm of suppressing feelingsThe self-help industry's narrativeThe myth of good and bad emotionsAuthenticity and removing the emotional maskPlayfulness and creativity as healing toolsNotable Quotables:“As the breath decreases, the shit talk increases.” (17:29)“Anxiety is just an energetic pattern.” (15:16)“Ride it, don't hide it.” (30:41)“Everybody's mind is mean.” (15:38)“When there's truth, you can't look away.” (39:24)Timestamps:0:00 Channeling emotional energy4:00 Processing heavy moments in real time11:00 Why emotions aren't good or bad15:00 Anxiety as energy19:00 Feeling emotions in the body24:00 Turning nervousness into fuel30:00 Why suppression backfires38:00 Truth, trust, and presence45:00 Playfulness and creativityResources & Links Mentioned:Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility by Josh Paishttps://committedimpulse.comhttps://www.instagram.com/joshpaishttps://www.instagram.com/allison__harehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonhare/https://allisonhare.comBook a free clarity call: https://allisonhare.com/freecall Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!Sign up for the free weekly emailAllisonHare.comFollow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording todayReb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com

Dub Maddox offers his insight in exploring quarterback development at its core - how players process information, react under pressure, and execute with precision as well as why understanding a QB's mental game is the key to unlocking performance. Whether you're a coach, player, or parent, this episode is designed to give you the blueprint for training smarter and more efficiently, not just harder. Dub goes on to offer insights from high-level programs, explain why decision-making training matters, and gives actionable steps for anyone looking to start today.Interested in the R4 System? Click here!

Biofilm is “comprised of living cells and a structure to protect them . . . that has potentially infectious material within it.” The structure creates a physical barrier between the microorganisms and their environment, providing protection from cleaning chemistries, disinfectants, antibiotics and the body's immune system. In episode 143, host Jon Wood speaks with Dr. Jon Burdach of Nanosonics. They discuss all things biofilm: what it is, how it develops and why it is so persistent. Dr. Burdach explains the difference between preventing biofilm and removing it, and he makes a compelling case for why removal is more important. He references recent studies, including those revealing that commonly used chemicals can act as fixatives and exacerbate biofilm growth. Dr. Burdach also reviews what can happen when biofilm is introduced into the body and its role in hospital-acquired infection (HAI) outbreaks over time. Lastly, the conversation turns to the particular challenge of cleaning flexible endoscope channels. Dr. Burdach introduces the cyclic-buildup biofilm (CBB) research model and shares developments in emerging lumen cleaning technologies. This episode of Process This! addresses the far-reaching implications of biofilm and what SP professionals can do to help. “If we are better armed with the right knowledge, we can do better by our patients,” said Dr. Burdach. “Processing instruments is hard . . . but the people that do it are really what makes all the difference.” ABOUT OUR GUEST Jon Burdach, PhD Vice President of Medical Affairs Nanosonics, Inc. Jon Burdach is a medical affairs executive with extensive experience in clinical research. At Nanosonics, he is responsible for developing and executing the company's medical strategy, including healthcare professional engagement, scientific communications and medical education initiatives. He also oversees clinical research and R&D activities. He has worked in medical microbiology, genetics of anti-microbial resistance, molecular biology, and medical research within infection prevention. Dr. Burdach is an international speaker, author of numerous scientific publications, and committee member for AusMedTech NSW and AAMI. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of New South Wales. Earn CE Now

In this conversation, Silke Goebel, a professor at the University of York, discusses her research on number processing in children, the cognitive and cultural aspects of numerical cognition, and the influence of language on learning mathematics. She explores how numbers are represented in the brain, the concept of subitizing, and the challenges posed by different number systems across cultures. The discussion also touches on the impact of bilingualism and reading direction on numerical understanding, as well as practical takeaways for teachers and parents to support children's mathematical development. Access the show notes here: https://podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/209-research-in-action-26-linguistic-influences-on-number-processing-with-silke-goebel/

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person under stress? Find out—take the free test at https://trueinnerfreedom.com/hsp-stress-test/ If you've ever been told you're "too sensitive," "too slow to decide," or that you "read too much into things," this episode will feel like coming home. Discover how one of the most powerful traits of highly sensitive people — depth of processing — is not a flaw, but a form of inner wisdom that can transform the way you engage with life. In this episode, you'll uncover: How to recognize depth of processing in your everyday thoughts, decisions, and relationships Why this trait is often misunderstood as overthinking or indecision — and how to tell the difference Practical ways to stop apologizing for your sensitivity and start honoring your thoughtful pace Listen now to discover how your deepest trait is actually your greatest strength. Todd Smith, founder of True Inner Freedom Dreaming of a stress-free, balanced life? Visit trueinnerfreedom.com and complete the HSP Stress Survey. Gain clarity on your stress triggers and enjoy a free 15-minute Inner Freedom Call designed to guide you toward lasting inner peace and fulfillment. Are you a highly sensitive person (HSP) or someone who identifies as hypersensitive or neurodivergent? This podcast is dedicated to helping highly sensitive people (HSPs) navigate overwhelm and stress by using The Work of Byron Katie—a powerful method for questioning stressful thoughts and finding true inner freedom. We dive deep into stress management strategies, coping with stress, and stress relief methods specifically tailored for HSPs. Learn how to manage emotions, especially negative ones, and explore effective stress reduction techniques that go beyond the surface to address the root causes of anxiety and pressure. Whether you're interested in learning how to lower stress, handle stress and pressure, or reduce stress through practical techniques, we provide insights and support based on The Work of Byron Katie. Discover how this transformative approach can help you decrease stress, find inner peace, and create balance in your life. Join us to learn about various coping strategies for stress, all designed to support HSPs in their journey toward emotional well-being.

Kessonga, Robin, and Samantha answer questions about creating a sense of belonging, how to not feel guilty when saying no to a favor, and dealing with intense emotions that come up while meditating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neurodivergence isn't about squeezing people into a chair at the same old table – it's about reshaping the table itself. Rita Ramakrishnan shares her raw journey with ADHD and autism, why late diagnoses are exploding (especially for women), and how traits like context-switching and hyperfocus can be both rocket fuel and roadblocks. She tackles the myths, rethinks performance reviews, and shows why leaders need to move from critique to curiosity. This isn't about lowering the bar – it's about building systems where different brains actually win. Timestamps: 00:00 — Cold Open & Intro 03:42 — Reshaping the Table: Neurodivergence Beyond "Fitting In" 06:39 — Inputs, Processing, Outputs: Every Brain Works Differently 07:38 — ADHD & Autism: Rita's Lived Journey of Late Diagnosis 16:18 — Fuel and Friction: When ADHD Becomes a Superpower 22:44 — Hyperfocus: The Double-Edged Sword 26:44 — Rethinking Performance Reviews: Outcomes Over Outputs 28:00 — Justice Warrior Mode: Fairness as a Trait, Not a Flaw 32:17 — Coaching Kids (and Teams) Without Micromanaging 33:46 — Myth-Busting: "Does Everyone Have ADHD Now?" Website: www.iksana.com

Jason met a new climbing partner through a Facebook group, vetted him over a few conversations, and went to Eldorado Canyon for their first route together. Twenty feet up the Yellow Spur, his partner fell onto a ledge—rope behind the leg, face-first impact... broken wrist and severe facial trauma. This episode walks through the accident sequence, the rescue, and what Jason feels went wrong. Despite multiple outreaches, his injured partner stopped communicating with him after the accident and has left Jason to process and reflect on the accident alone. He reflects on partner vetting, extending gear on traverses, communication during high-consequence terrain, attentive belaying, and processing the guilt of an accident where someone gets badly hurt and disappears. In this conversation we cover topics such as: finding partners online, multi-pitch trad climbing, ledge fall dynamics, first aid response, and helmet effectiveness.Watch the full episode on Youtube#ClimbingAccident #TradClimbing---Thanks to our sponsors!LIVSN DesignsCheckout their Highland Sweater HereUse Code "TCM15" At Checkout for an extra 15% OFF Your OrderHelp Support The Show & Unlock The Ad-Free Podcast---

In this solo episode of Building Better, I explore a pattern I see everywhere. In engineering, in leadership, and in life.Most systems are built sequentially. One decision at a time. One optimization at a time. One fix after another. That approach works. It is safe. It prevents disasters.But it rarely produces truly great outcomes.Using product development and APQP as a starting point, I contrast sequential design with parallel processing. Learning late versus pulling understanding forward. Optimizing parts versus optimizing the system.I then zoom out beyond engineering to show how the same pattern shows up in home projects, health, parenting, and how we design our lives and organizations.This episode is about capability, foresight, and the difference between reacting your way to “good enough” and designing for something better from the start.Music creditSlow Burn by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode of Mommywood, host Emily Bolt engages in a heartfelt conversation with actress Shannon Kane about the complexities of motherhood and the entertainment industry. Shannon shares her journey as a single mother, the challenges of balancing her acting career with parenting, and the emotional depth that motherhood has brought to her craft. The discussion touches on themes of self-acceptance, authenticity, and the importance of storytelling in both acting and life. Shannon's candid insights resonate with many mothers navigating similar paths, making this episode a relatable and inspiring listen.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Mommy Wood and Shannon Kane02:03 Shannon's Career Journey and Current Chapter04:53 Motherhood: The Unexpected Journey10:02 Processing the Birth Experience13:56 Single Motherhood and Its Challenges17:40 Balancing Acting and Motherhood21:47 The Reality of Being a Working Actor25:38 Self-Acceptance and Body Image29:25 The Importance of Authenticity in Acting33:25 Navigating the Industry's Expectations37:27 The Duality of Joy and Sacrifice41:36 Finding Strength in Vulnerability45:31 Advice for Aspiring Actors49:24 The Impact of Motherhood on Acting53:11 Lightning Round and Final ThoughtsTakeawaysShannon discusses the unpredictability of acting and motherhood.She emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and authenticity.The conversation highlights the challenges of being a single mother in the entertainment industry.Shannon shares her experience of processing her son's birth and its impact on her life.The duality of joy and sacrifice in motherhood is explored.Shannon reflects on the misconceptions about being a working actor.She encourages aspiring actors to focus on storytelling rather than fame.The importance of finding silver linings in difficult situations is emphasized.Shannon discusses how motherhood has deepened her emotional access as an actress.She shares advice for navigating the challenges of being a working mom.

Legendary sterile processing educator Stephen Kovach is learning something new in retirement—artificial intelligence. In this episode, we talk with Steve about his new AI passion project and how AI can be used to simplify data reporting, address water quality and spotting issues, and support smarter staffing decisions, including the value of employing newly certified technicians. As always, it's a fun and insightful conversation with an industry legend.

Have questions, feedback, or thoughts on the show? We want to hear from you! Click on this link to send us a text message. GEAPS Exchange 2026: What to Expect — and How to Get the Most ValueEvery year, there's one time when the global grain community gathers in one place to learn, connect, and solve real-world challenges together. In this special episode, Jim Lenz is joined by Bob Horvat, current GEAPS Board President, to spotlight GEAPS Exchange 2026—the premier event in the grain and grain processing industries.Bob shares why Exchange exists, why it still matters, and how both first-time and returning attendees can get maximum value—from education and Innovation Stations to the Expo Hall, special events, and the relationships that continue long after the show ends.With 319,950 square feet of Expo Hall, 400+ exhibitors, Innovation Stations, and 45+ hours of education across five tracks (Processing, Maintenance, Grain Operations, Safety, and Employee Development/Leadership), Exchange is designed to bring practical learning and problem-solving to every role in the industry.In this episode, you'll learn:Why GEAPS Exchange exists—and how it supports the GEAPS mission to champion, connect, and serve the global grain industryThe value of Exchange for operations, maintenance, safety, processing, and leadership rolesWhat “real-world education” looks like at Exchange (sessions, demonstrations, and interactive learning)How to approach the Expo Hall like a pro—especially with 400+ exhibitorsThe community-building events that make Exchange feel like your extended grain industry familyWho should attend (hint: everyone) and how to plan for maximum return on time and investmentKey event details, pricing context, and practical tips to attend with your teamHighlights discussedEducation formats: classroom sessions, Innovation Stations demos, and interactive learning (including safety-focused experiences)Five education tracks: Processing, Maintenance, Grain Operations, Safety, Employee Development (Leadership)Networking & special events: First-Timer/International events, Get Acquainted Party, Welcome Reception, Fun Run/Walk, Cornhole Tournament, Grain Merchandisers Networking Event, and Music BingoWhy Exchange energizes people and sends them home with:renewed enthusiasm,new ideas,knowledge to apply, andnew connections—people to call when you need helpKey details to rememberGEAPS Exchange 2026 WebsiteFebruary 21–24, 2026Kansas City Convention Center400+ exhibitors45+ hours of educationInnovation Stations and live demonstrationsOne of the biggest values of Exchange: the people you meet—and the problems you solve togetherGrain Elevator and Processing Society champions, connects and serves the global grain industry and its members. Be sure to visit GEAPS' website to learn how you can grow your network, support your personal professional development, and advance your career. Thank you for listening to another episode of GEAPS' Whole Grain podcast.

Join me (Alia) as I walk through exactly how I process emails, texts, and notes at the end of the day so nothing slips through the cracks and my mind can finally rest. I've been using this same routine for over two years now, and the 10-20 minutes I spend processing the digital "stuff" helps me feel calm, confident, and prepared for the next day. For the written version and related links, please visit https://LearnDoBecome.com/Episode312 Join us for our Free training, "How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles": https://learndobecome.com/aff/?p=Ldbyt&w=organize Get Your Free LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit Here: https://LearnDoBecome.com/Welcome Subscribe to the LearnDoBecome Radio Podcast: https://LearnDoBecome.com/Radio Subscribe to the LearnDoBecome YouTube Channel: https://YouTube.com/LearnDoBecome Join the LearnDoBecome Free Community Facebook Group: https://LearnDoBecome.com/FBfamily Follow @LearnDoBecome on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/LearnDoBecome Follow our LearnDoBecome Facebook Page: https://Facebook.com/LearnDoBecome Discover our "Steps to Everyday Productivity" (STEP) Program: https://LearnDoBecome.com/STEPprogram Start Your Free Trial of the ARISE Membership with April and Eric: https://LearnDoBecome.com/ARISE

Sterile processing doesn't run on magic, despite what we may sometimes think. In today's interview, we're joined by Angela Benson, a sterile processing education specialist, to talk about what really happens to our instruments long before they ever reach the back table.  From decontamination and assembly to sterilization, documentation, and case cart build, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the complex, detail-driven work that makes surgery possible. We also dive into common points of miscommunication, misconceptions about SPD, and how simple things, like better communication, pre-treatment, and mutual respect, can make a huge difference for teams on both sides of the red line.    #operatingroom #ornurse #sterileprocessing #scrubtech #surgery

Thanks for listening to the River in the Hills Church podcast. We hope you are encouraged and edified by this message brought to you by Glenn Hubbart.

The Athletic's investigative reporter Katie Strang joins Neil Smith and Vic Morren for an unflinching discussion of hockey's unseemly side. Six weeks before training camps open, the July 24, 2024 London Ontario trial concluded with five former NHL players found not guilty of sexual assault. Katie explains the circus-like proceedings, two discharged juries, inadmissible evidence, and split public opinion. From her personal connection to the Larry Nassar case to scrutinizing junior hockey's billeting system, Gary Bettman's eligibility decisions without codified policies, NHLPA labor battles, and the media's responsibility covering systemic abuse. Plus insights on CTE, concussions, Kevin Lowe's brain injury, and why loving hockey means holding it to higher standards.IN THIS EPISODE:[00:00] - Welcome: Pulling Back the Curtain - hockey's unseemly side July 24, 2024 London trial[01:00] - Katie Strang: investigative writer with The Athletic, top of class with Rick Westhead[02:00] - Rick Westhead: dogged journalist exposing underbelly of sports, dear friend[03:00] - Investigative journalism not initial career plan: Athletic empowered pursuit[04:00] - Larry Nassar case: purpose-driven work, indelibly imprinting personally and professionally[05:00] - Personal connection: competitive gymnast, coach went to jail for sexual abuse[06:00] - Michigan State: knew victims, attended court every day, heavy difficult assignment[07:00] - Processing toll: supportive husband gives grace, kids' joy providing perspective[08:00] - Wanting world safer for kids: every story like potentially my children in crosshairs[09:00] - July 24, 2024: five players found not guilty by Justice Maria Caria[10:00] - Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart acquitted[11:00] - Witness "EM" found not reliable or credible after 2018 World Junior incident[12:00] - Circus from start: most generous interpretation of how trial went[13:00] - Two juries discharged: deeply problematic, offensive, upsetting[14:00] - Juror misconduct allegations against defense counsel not tested with rigor[15:00] - Both juries dismissed: treated jurors disrespectfully after entrusting them[16:00] - Escalated concerns kind of dismissed when warned to report any issues[17:00] - First mistrial set tone: bizarro developments almost every day[18:00] - One hour timeframe: someone arrested for recording with smart glasses[19:00] - Public observer explodes on reporter, banned from premises same hour[20:00] - Delays with tech, AC, clocks: weird mundane things derailing justice[21:00] - Strange experience: lives at stake but technical issues constant[22:00] - Bench trial after juries discharged: public opinion very split on verdict[23:00] - Acquitted of criminal wrongdoing: crown didn't meet burden beyond reasonable doubt[24:00] - Moral component: what happened in hotel room, power dynamics at play[25:00] - Inadmissible evidence: people not constrained by court parameters considering[26:00] - Neil: disgusting even for former pro/junior/college player, cringe-inducing[27:00] - Words Katie had to write, actions taken by young lady, things done by players[28:00] - Players knew better than going to hotel room: stained for life[29:00] - Victim "EM" initials only: five names public, what happens from here?[30:00] - Pre-verdict speculation: would any play again? Not surprised by acquittals[31:00] - Evidence ruled admissible/inadmissible: judge ruled for defense on every matter[32:00] - Katie not interested in "will they play again" conversation in her work[33:00] - Missing important step: NHL and Gary Bettman weighing in on eligibility[34:00] - Bettman immediately after decision: players not eligible, incredibly wide...

This week I'm talking with Dr. Lynyetta Willis about navigating the journey when a child is newly diagnosed with a neurodifference. A psychologist turned family coach, Lynyetta specializes in empowering women in their relationships, as well as combines her foundation in psychology and trauma healing with best practices in empowerment coaching to help her clients strengthen their parenting, partnerships, and personal growth to create joyful, connected, and harmonious families.  There are so many things I could have talked about with Lynyetta, but I wanted to dig into what happens to a couple, and a family, when a child is newly diagnosed — an often challenging and real process for many parents of differently wired kids. We talk about the sister emotions of grief and guilt, the importance of self-compassion and self-care in the process, how to handle different reactions in partnerships, and more.  About Lynyetta Dr. Lynyetta G. Willis, psychologist and family empowerment coach, helps frustrated families break unhelpful patterns and cross-generational cycles so they can move from stable misery into peaceful harmony. She helps her clients and audiences learn to strengthen their parenting, partnership, and personal growth practices so they can feel harmony in their hearts and homes.   What You'll Learn in this Episode: The difference between practicing clinical psychology and coaching work What are the common emotions after a diagnosis and how to process them in a healthy way Lynyetta's PATHS framework: Perspective, Awareness, Tools, Healing, Self-Empowerment Tips for getting on the same page as parenting partners What is meant by the term “stable misery” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s Bible Verse: “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” — Nehemiah 1:4 Nehemiah 1:4 shows us the power of a heart that responds to brokenness with prayer. Before Nehemiah took action, he took time to grieve, fast, and seek God. His leadership began not with strategy, but with surrender. “Want to listen without ads? Become a BibleStudyTools.com PLUS Member today: https://www.biblestudytools.com/subscribe/ Meet Today’s Host: Jennifer Slattery Discover more devotions with Jennifer at Your Daily Bible Verse on LifeAudio Jennifer Slattery is a national speaker, multi-published author, and founder of Wholly Loved Ministries. She’s passionate about helping believers live with bold faith, rooted in surrender to Christ’s purpose. Jennifer co-hosts both Your Daily Bible Verse and Faith Over Fear, encouraging listeners to step into their God-given identity. Her teachings blend Scripture with personal insight to help others embrace God’s power over fear and move forward with confidence.

For the Good of the Public brings you news and weekly conversations at the intersection of faith and civic life. Monday through Thursday, The Morning Five starts your day off with scripture and prayer, as we also catch up on the news together. Throughout the year, we air limited series on Fridays to dive deeper into conversations with civic leaders, thinkers, and public servants reimagining public life for the good of the public. Today's host was Michael Wear, Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life.  Thanks for listening to The Morning Five! Please subscribe to and rate The Morning Five on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about the work of the Center for Christianity and Public Life at www.ccpubliclife.org. Today's scripture: John 2:1-11 (NIV) News sources:  https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/us/politics/greenland-denmark-military.html https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-1-14-2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/us/politics/fbi-washington-post-journalist.html  https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/  https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/01/14/trump-immigration-visa-processing-pause/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/opinion/marie-gluesenkamp-perez.html  Join the conversation and follow us at: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@michaelwear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, @ccpubliclife Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MichaelRWear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, @ccpubliclife and check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tsfnetwork⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by: Amber Glow #politics #faith #prayer #scripture #news #FBI #Iran #Greenland #GluenskampPerez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grief is not just about losing a loved one—it shows up in many forms throughout our lives. In this episode, we explore Francis Weller's 5 Gates of Grief and how they help us understand the full spectrum of loss, change, and heartbreak we experience as humans. You'll learn: What the 5 Gates of Grief are and how they show up in daily life Why grief is a natural, healthy response—not something to "fix" How to be with grief instead of pushing it away Ways to process grief through the body,creativity, community and self-compassion How to honor your grief without letting it define you Whether you're navigating the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a former identity, or the world as you once knew it, this episode offers gentle guidance on how to process grief in a skillful and supportive way. Knowing grief is not a one size fits all. However you are experiencing grief is welcome.  _____ Share your takeaways with me on Instagram @OneWade or send me a note here.   Take the Overwhelm Archetype Quiz here.    Order my book, 100 Mindful Moments to Balance & Energize that supported me managing some grief here.     Explore working together by signing up for a Connection Call here. 

“Stop and think, why am I having this reaction? And observe instead of being in it.” In this episode, Nick speaks with Lybi Ma about the importance of embracing all emotions, including those that are often deemed negative. They emphasize the need to sit with and process feelings rather than suppressing them, highlighting that experiencing emotions is a natural part of life. What to listen for: It’s important to feel all emotions, not just the positive ones. Emotional acceptance is crucial for mental well-being. Processing emotions can be a daily practice. You don’t have to dwell on feelings forever; it’s about acknowledgment. Sharing feelings with others can foster a deeper connection and greater understanding. “We spend a lot of time negating half of our emotions. We want to feel happy and not depressed or not anxious, or we don’t want to feel anger. Feel these things.” Avoiding “negative” emotions actually gives them more power over us Emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety are signals, not flaws Trying to feel only happy creates emotional suppression, not healing Feeling emotions fully helps them move through instead of getting stuck Emotional wholeness comes from allowing all feelings, not just the pleasant ones “People stop breathing when they’re tense and in the moment of being reactive to an unhappy situation. And when you stop breathing, cortisol goes up, and you become alert, and you’re looking for the predator. Just breathe and let your body work it out.” Tension often causes shallow or stopped breathing without us realizing it Holding the breath signals danger, triggering a cortisol stress response The body goes into survival mode, scanning for threats that may not exist Slow, intentional breathing helps calm the nervous system naturally Sometimes regulation isn't mental—it's physical: breathe and let the body reset About Lybi Ma Lybi is the executive editor of Psychology Today. In addition to producing the print magazine, she also edits its website and blog platform, which hosts more than nine hundred authors, academic researchers, and journalists. She edited a Psychology Today book series covering topics such as anger, food addiction, and bipolar disorder. She has a blended family of five adult children and lives with her husband in Westchester, New York. Her newest book, HOW TO BE LESS MISERABLE, is available now from Blackstone Publishing. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/lybi-ma https://www.linkedin.com/in/lybi-ma-b982941/ https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-hb9q?variant=46150345883786 Resources: Interested in starting your own podcast or need help with one you already have? https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/podcasting-services/ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5-Star review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mindset-and-self-mastery-show/id1604262089 Listen to other episodes here: https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/ Watch Clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1tCM7KTe3hrq_-UAa6GHA Guest Inquiries right here: podcasts@themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com Your Friends at “The Mindset & Self-Mastery Show” Click Here To View The Episode Transcript Nick McGowan (00:00.971)Hello and welcome to the Mindset and Self Mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. Today on the show we have Libby, how you doing today? Lybi Ma (00:10.338)Good. Thank you for having me. Nick McGowan (00:13.233)Absolutely, I’m excited that you’re here. I told you, I thought you were gonna be really academic and I think you’re gonna be able to tie that in with being an actual human. And I’m excited with all this. So why don’t you get us started? Yes, thank you. Thank you for breathing air with the rest of us. Why don’t you get this started? Tell us what you do for a living and what’s one thing most people don’t know about you that’s maybe a little odd or bizarre? Lybi Ma (00:25.121)breathing. Lybi Ma (00:38.39)I am the executive editor at Psychology Today, and I’ve been there for quite a few decades. Not gonna tell you completely because I don’t want you to know my age. And something that, well, the thing about me is that we take my ex-husband on vacation with us. There you go. Nick McGowan (01:06.644)So I appreciate that you basically just hold the mic there, like about to drop it and like, what do you want to do with this? I feel like there are people that would be like, and here’s some context to it. So I’ve got to ask what, what do you mean? How does that work? Does he physically go with you or is he like in a box? Okay. Lybi Ma (01:22.222)Yeah, he’s, he comes with us. He shows up. We had three weddings in 13 months between my second husband and me. And they’re grown kids. And he came to my stepkids’ weddings and they call him Uncle Carl. Nick McGowan (01:44.628)Cool. That’s really awesome. That is an odd thing that I, unfortunately that I think most people don’t experience. Yeah. Well, this is, this is a good thing to start on too. Cause I’ve actually had this conversation with somebody recently where they’re like, yeah, I’ve got a young kid and the mom and I don’t really, we don’t work, but we work really well together for the kid. Lybi Ma (01:54.211)I gave you one, didn’t I? I gave you one. Nick McGowan (02:10.919)And that was really important. Like I could see him almost like put his foot in the ground. Like this is what we’re doing specifically for a child. That’s not how I grew up. Like my mom and dad, they’re still basically like a town or two apart from each other. They’ll see each other at a bar somewhere and like snarl at each other. Like I am 41 years old, calm down. It’s been a long ass time. However, my dad and his ex-wife are great friends because of the relationship that they had and all that. My dad actually… Lybi Ma (02:29.613)Okay. Nick McGowan (02:40.827)met her husband, shook his hand with a hundred dollar bill and said, thank you. It’s your turn. I’m like, the kahones on that man for that. But that’s an interesting thing that you can actually have that. Now I would imagine, look, you work for psychology today. You’ve probably done a lot of work on yourself and through your relationships and healed through things. But can you give us a little bit of context of like how the heck that works? Lybi Ma (02:48.59)I like that. That’s funny. Lybi Ma (03:07.8)So in the beginning when I first got divorced, I thought, I’m never speaking to this person again. And that lasted for a little while. And I actually worked through his second wife. I needed her to pick up the kids. So as you know, we had a very friendly situation. And I thought, well, this is not really good for the kids. So I think I better. start being more amenable to the whole thing. And I got this job and it helped me. This job, I read a lot of information. Constance Ahrens did research. She did a good book on divorced kids. And basically divorced kids can do well if The parents get along and there’s no conflict in their household. And as long as each parent has a good relationship with the child, they’re probably going to do well. And I will have to say that my children did very well. So yeah, it worked out. And yeah, and it also helps when you have a person like my ex-husband who is very amiable. He wants to be friendly and he has a crazy romance with my husband, a bromance, sorry, not romance, a bromance. They have a thing going on. So there you go. Nick McGowan (04:28.454)awesome. Nick McGowan (04:48.86)Ha Nick McGowan (04:54.473)Which you probably didn’t think like we’re getting a divorce at some point I’ll be married again and he’ll be great friends with my then husband. Like could you have written that you know? Lybi Ma (05:01.13)No, no, I had no idea. No idea. No. Getting along is better. Yeah. Nick McGowan (05:06.097)Yeah. That’s interesting. Yeah. But I, I find it interesting how sometimes we, people can say, there was this period of time and then a period of lapse. And then I realized this thing and then another period and here we are. There was a lot of time in between then and this conversation right now. And even the times where I’m sure you were super frustrated, upset, pissed the whole nine and then maybe I could do things different. And I think sometimes we blow past that because Lybi Ma (05:33.25)Yeah. Nick McGowan (05:39.312)Maybe context isn’t always important in all the situations. However, I want to say it’s pretty much always super important. And that’s really what the purpose of the show is to be able to kind of talk about those tough times. Like you went through a divorce, but you saw it as I’m going to help with the kids. And this is more important for my kids. And now you’re seeing your kids in action from the result of what you guys have done. It’s really hard for people to see the stuff that they need to work on and be open to that, especially when they’re in a really, really difficult time going through it. or post divorce or something like that. Now, how does that tie into the work that you’ve done and worked with for maybe just a couple decades? Don’t need to know your age. But being able to actually go through that stuff on your own and then literally work with psychology today and the psychologists and other people doing important work and you being a researcher yourself. Lybi Ma (06:33.026)Well, I’ll be honest with you. First of all, I’m not a researcher. take the researcher’s information and try to put it in accessible language so that people can relate. So you see all this information coming through and everything makes a whole lot of sense. Nick McGowan (06:53.02)sense. Lybi Ma (07:02.38)And I started to apply it to my own life. And it was very helpful. I became a wiser person because I work at this magazine. Yeah. Nick McGowan (07:15.751)Sure. Were there things that you can kind of look back to? Like kind of hovering around the same topic here, because I know it’s important, divorce kids and families and all that, but for you to be able to look back to and say, you know, if I wasn’t in the job that I am in, I probably would have been in different spot because you learn certain things because of the information you were seeing coming to you. And then just putting it into action. Like, is there anything that really stands out to you? Like, if I didn’t learn this. Lybi Ma (07:23.95)huh. Nick McGowan (07:45.233)I didn’t learn it this way, it would have all been different. Lybi Ma (07:48.259)Well, I think that when I was younger and the kids were little, I was newly divorced. I fought with life quite a bit. And I think that is a main message in my book is fighting with life, it just doesn’t work. We have to plug on and not fight with it. I turn to, also turn to, you know, spiritual thought a little bit like Buddhism. Buddhists accept things. This is how it is. So let’s just take this. You can’t change it. So let’s just try to make it work. Work with what you have. So that’s what I did. I worked with what I had. So I take a little bit of psychology and I mix it. My family. Nick McGowan (08:56.134)Little bit of this, little bit of that. Lybi Ma (08:57.198)Yeah, right. My family comes from the Tibetan, Ching Hai Plateau. And it is, Ching Hai is next door to Tibet. And actually, my grandfather was a trader, he had a donkey, and he put all his tea and shoelaces and whatever, know, spices on his Nick McGowan (09:26.704)Yeah. Lybi Ma (09:27.032)donkey and then he would go back and forth from Tibet to Qinghai. And they are, and these people in that area, there’s Tibetan Buddhists and they’re also Hui. The Hui are Chinese Muslims, which my family are Chinese Muslims. They come from that area and they’re very similar. They have a very similar sort of way of thinking. and acceptance is a big part of it. And that didn’t work out. So we better turn over here and see if this is gonna work out. That’s the way it is. Nick McGowan (10:09.637)You yeah. So let’s, let’s talk about that for a bit. Cause that does tie into even just being miserable or not miserable, let alone less miserable. So if we think of like, it’s funny cause I struggle with that at times. I, I curse like a fucking cartoon at different times. Like this thing doesn’t work. I’m like, just making noises and shit. And my partner on the other hand will go completely calm, silent almost and just methodical. Lybi Ma (10:22.67)Yeah, right. Nick McGowan (10:42.717)And it’s a thing that’s, I believe is actually part of her design, how she is. And I can get up at E and Nancy and all that. But then there are also layers to this where there’s trauma involved. There are different experiences, even things back to how our parents related to things. Like my parents would throw their arms up in the air about things. And I learned, I guess I do that. Like I get upset and pissed and like throw my arms up and flail. And my body still reacts at times that way where it’s like, yo, calm down. It’s totally fine. Being able to accept a thing. Lybi Ma (10:57.44)Nick McGowan (11:13.172)in the split second and then start to move in a different direction can be harder for people because of the things that they’ve gone through and even the way that they are. But how have you found to be able to work within the way that you best operate to say, all right, well, I can find acceptance and I can move on from here. Because I think that’s really where, that’s where the change happens is those macro moments where we actually do something. Cause it’s easy for you and I to shoot the shit and talk about this stuff. Lybi Ma (11:22.881)yeah, certainly. Nick McGowan (11:42.073)But it’s in that moment where you’re like, and how you don’t do that. You know what I mean? Lybi Ma (11:42.126)Yeah. Lybi Ma (11:48.493)You know, I never had a moment of epiphany. It just sort of moved along in the right direction. So I’m not going to say, wow, I had this aha that I had to accept things in life. No, was in my mind, I was hanging this guy up by his toes for a long time. So, and I don’t think there’s wrong, there’s anything wrong with doing that. if you have to feel it, then feel it. We spend a lot of time negating half our emotions. And that is something quite important and well studied. We want to feel happy and not depressed or not anxious or Nick McGowan (12:19.897)Yeah. Nick McGowan (12:36.866)Yeah. Lybi Ma (12:46.362)We don’t want to feel anger or I don’t know. Well, you feel these things and okay, feel them. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to lash out and burn a car. No, you’re just going to feel them. Sit there and feel it and watch it. Watch it. Nick McGowan (12:57.507)Yeah. Lybi Ma (13:05.102)with you and then okay well I gotta get up and cook dinner for the family so I gotta get moving here so I’m not gonna sit here and dwell about it. Maybe I’ll make an appointment and that’s another therapy tool. Make an appointment. If you need to feel crummy then okay I felt crummy at 4 30 to 5. I’m gonna do the same thing tomorrow 4 30 to 5 and I’m gonna Nick McGowan (13:13.365)Yeah. Yeah. Lybi Ma (13:33.772)sit with my feelings and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Nick McGowan (13:36.109)Yeah. Nick McGowan (13:40.544)I’m right there with you. I think it’s important for us to feel that stuff where if you think about where we’re at right now, almost 2026 with technology and the amount of information, like we see all these things like social media, for example, you hop on, you see somebody doing this big thing, but you don’t have the context of all the other things that have happened before that or even 20 minutes before that when they’re screaming at somebody to get out of their way in the grocery store or whatever. And it’s like, This is what I said to you, I appreciate you being human because that moment where you’re like, this really hurts. I still got to make dinner for these people. We all got to eat tonight. Let me do that. And let me not also then just drag that out. And I find having the amount of conversations I have with people on the podcast and outside of that with clients, just random people that I come into contact with, it’s always interesting to me how somebody will, we want to always put up a better face than what’s really going on. Lybi Ma (14:17.102)Yeah Nick McGowan (14:38.499)And you also don’t want to just be completely shitty and just the world is on fire and totally. people have seemed to have a hard time finding equanimity within themselves to then be able to have a conversation outside of that. And it sounds to me like what you’ve experienced that a lot of us have, where it’s like over the course of time, the rock just gets smoother because the water was going over it. You finally go, okay, it’s been six months. I’ve been upset about this for so long, but some people still. Lybi Ma (15:05.486)Exactly. Nick McGowan (15:07.296)they still just keep going with that hatred for it, which I guess is kind of a different topic. But your book with being less miserable. Lybi Ma (15:15.404)No, think hatred is, no, hatred is important. I mean, if you’re gonna wallow in it, that’s probably not good, but sometimes anger, good anger used constructively will make you do things that are important in life. But hating people outright, I don’t know. I’m not too sure about that. Nick McGowan (15:25.954)Yeah. Nick McGowan (15:35.394)Yeah. Nick McGowan (15:43.811)Yeah, there are enough of those people that are sitting in an office. The rest of the government shut down right now. yeah, it’s interesting because I think that’s where I was headed with the wallowing in it. Like any of this, you don’t want to wallow in it, but you do need to sit in it. Like I’ve had conversations with people that they have a really hard time. It’s like the stove is too hot to even get close to touch it. And then there are other people that like they can put their entire body on it. Lybi Ma (15:50.894)my goodness. Nick McGowan (16:13.142)They can roll around on it like a bed of needles almost, you know, and just sit there. I find that that’s an interesting thing because that’s part of maybe their design, but also they’ve gotten to a point, some of them, where they go, look, I can’t do anything outside of the stuff that’s happening. So I can only do something with what I have here. So why waste my time anymore? Like they’ve wallowed enough or they’ve gone through enough of it. Lybi Ma (16:36.031)Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Nick McGowan (16:40.054)But how does this tie back into the stuff that you talk about specifically with miserable? Like that was part of the reason why I wanted to have you on here. was like, the word miserable is one of those things where there’s not really anything pleasant to it. It’s just fucking miserable. Like here we are. Lybi Ma (16:54.638)It’s the truth. Because we put the Western society puts a lot of weight on happiness. Happiness has to be a goal. And everybody runs around with their bucket lists and they have to do this and that to be happy. Well, no. Sure, you’re gonna go and see the Northern Lights. That’s nice. And you’re gonna be happy. But then you come down to your set level of mood that is well studied. We go up, we come down. grumpy people are in a certain spot. More upbeat people are up here and they move higher, but they always move down to their set level. And that is a hedonic adaptation. We just come back down to where. where we are in life. So the word happiness is not on my book cover because, you know, it’s, we should feel okay about not being happy all the time. That’s all there is to it. We’re not going to reach that crazy happiness all the time. It’s just not, I don’t think that’s realistic. I would rather be. Nick McGowan (18:22.177)Great. Lybi Ma (18:23.02)I want to be practical. And the other part is when we judge how we feel, I’m not happy, I must be a loser. any time you judge this feeling that you’re having, well, guess what? People have studied that and you kind of feel worse. You feel worse because you’re judging it. Nick McGowan (18:25.141)Yeah. Lybi Ma (18:50.766)It’s a funny thing. Yeah, I think it was came from UC Berkeley, researchers there. Yeah, you’re gonna sit there and say things about yourself that are not true. You’re making them up really. You’re gonna feel worse. So I don’t think we should try to be happy all the time. We can just. Nick McGowan (18:51.403)Yeah. Lybi Ma (19:18.604)be practical and just own up to all these things that we feel and not judge them. Nick McGowan (19:26.305)Obviously easier said than done for a good chunk of people. But that is, it’s such a critical piece where it’s like, if we, if we spend that time, like I know I’ve done this personally, where being angry or upset about something, you feel like you’re being active in it, but you’re just being animated in it. And you just keep going deeper and deeper down. I would spiral in that many, many years ago. And then learning from it, you go, Yeah, you can reach a point where you go, I’m just kind of bored with this. And this doesn’t make any sense to do this anymore. So why would I do that? But we do see stuff where people are talking about all the success that they had and the 15 year overnight success sort of situations where it’s like, if this person’s happy constantly, cause that’s all they post or whatever. And stepping outside of that, actually being within ourselves. I’d love that you’d said that you’re more in the country than you are with everybody else and being by yourself and being away from people, I would imagine you then have more time to actually be able to say, how do I feel right now? And do what you want with it instead of saying, well, I’m told I need to do something different, you know? Lybi Ma (20:39.95)Right, right. Well, who’s telling you to do it, first of all? Which one? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. Nick McGowan (20:44.794)Yeah, well, sometimes it’s, Yeah. One of the voices, one of the many up there. So what actually led you to start the process to write the book? Did you just get so frustrated within yourself of like, have to put this out there? Did this kind of come up organically? Lybi Ma (20:55.69)Yeah, I don’t know. Lybi Ma (21:07.944)No, well, you know, I got over my… Lybi Ma (21:17.366)negative feelings about divorce and all that. And I moved on and plugged on. So that was good. I just, every time I read a new piece of research, I would squirrel it away. And I thought, yeah, that goes with the feelings that I had back then of being miserable. So I would squirrel it away. And then when COVID happened, I watched people. and they were interesting to watch. Some people did very well. Some people did very poorly. And I don’t want to get into a conversation about the introvert and the extrovert, whatever. I’m just talking about emotions and sitting with them generally, because even introverts need people. We’re all social. So that’s not really part of what I’m talking about. I just watched all of it and I thought, you know what, I think I have enough information here to write a book. So COVID sort of pushed me a little bit. Nick McGowan (22:31.231)Thanks, COVID. Yeah. Lybi Ma (22:32.398)I guess so. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know about that. Yeah, people were, I watched people and they had a lot of, you know, negative reaction to a negative thing that was happening. They were told to stay at home and then, and then get into a loop of bad feelings. It just went on and on and on. And I found that the thoughts that they had were quite irrational. And that is something also well studied. The brain is not very logical. It also has a very negative bias. are evolved into thinking negatively. Yeah, ancient man needed to be worried about predators and being eaten. They needed to be alert. is that a bad thing around the corner that’s going to eat me? Well, we the human brain has not changed that much. And we still do it. did that person insult me? And we got Nick McGowan (23:56.958)Yeah. Lybi Ma (23:57.535)And then you start doing this thing and it’s very, very not rational. It’s not positive. It’s pretty negative. And you just keep going in this distorted fashion. these negative things have a lasting impression and positive things are less important. And there was an interesting study where researchers Nick McGowan (24:03.496)Yeah. Lybi Ma (24:27.102)showed study subjects photographs. people on a roller coaster maybe or something neutral like a hairdryer and a gun pointed at you and people remember the gun. So negative things have a lasting impression. And this bias that we have, it makes sure that we hold on to our insults and grievances. We do a lot of things in our head that are irrational. Jump to conclusions, my date hated me, a fortune teller. Why would they even call me back anyway? Mind read. Nick McGowan (25:09.854)Yeah. Lybi Ma (25:22.39)I know that you’re thinking about me and it’s bad, all or nothing. I will not be happy until the end of time. Those sort of things. We do these things over and over and over to ourselves. really it doesn’t seem to be helping. Nick McGowan (25:44.625)No, but we all, I think, are somewhat addicted to it. And we don’t think that other people go through it. It’s almost like when we say, well, this person’s looking at me or what are they thinking about me? They’re probably not. And if they did, they noticed something and then they’re thinking about themselves. Like, I had that same jacket. Do I look like an asshole in that jacket? Is that me? And they’re off thinking about themselves. Meanwhile, both of them are like, my God, what are they thinking? Lybi Ma (25:49.761)Yeah, yeah. Lybi Ma (25:59.139)That you’re right. Lybi Ma (26:09.368)They’re so right. You are so right. They’re too busy thinking about themselves like we are too busy thinking about ourselves. It’s just we’re worried about how we look, how we appear. Did I say that? was it stupid? Did I sound stupid? whatever. Nick McGowan (26:19.911)Yeah. Nick McGowan (26:27.71)I think there’s a bit of a caveat though, because there are also times where we can grow from that stuff, because we can say, the situation in this whatever office or this call or whatever didn’t go the way that I wanted to, what could I have done differently? Like sort of watching game tape in a sense on yourself, but not beating yourself up with it and not in every single situation. Lybi Ma (26:51.278)Yeah, that part. Nick McGowan (26:54.235)Yeah, and being like, all right, well, what can I learn from this? What can I do a little differently? There’s a power within that, but then also removing the nonsensical shit. I’ve gotten to the point where I probably talk to myself more so than I did before and be like, easy there, asshole, calm down. Because like, random noises will come from other rooms, it seems, in the back of my head. Like, you can’t do that. You look like an asshole, that jacket. I’m like, shut up. Like, let me just kind of go. But being able to understand that there’s a balance to learning and growing and being able to review things and say, could I do a little differently? And beating yourself up can be a razor’s edge. But what kind of advice do you give for people that are trying to figure that stuff out? And they obviously don’t want to be miserable, but they’re also sort of addicted to that feeling of it because they’re so used to it, you know? Lybi Ma (27:50.062)One of the main things that I’ve read We have to be more aware that we’re doing it. and speak to ourselves. maybe in the third person. Libby’s doing that again. She’s disappointed and it’s turning into this thing. And now that distorted thinking is taken off. Okay, Libby, stop that. We have to be aware and point it out. So great research from University of Michigan. Nick McGowan (28:12.177)Yep. Lybi Ma (28:35.15)you observe. And that’s Buddhist to me. You observe this thought and meditation is a little like that. there’s a thought, watch it go by. That’s nice. Whatever. It’s a thought. It’s not real. And a lot of times our thoughts lie to us. So don’t do it. at least if you if you keep doing it, know that you’re doing and then in addition to that, you label it. So if it’s a feeling, well, Libby is angry at not right now because XYZ happened and she’s going to hold on to this grievance and nurse that grievance until whenever. Okay, that’s nice. You know, you’re doing that again. So We label how we feel. I’m feeling sad right now. That’s good. I’m feeling angry right now. And talk to yourself a little bit, but not in a, you say, beat yourself up mode. And then you turn to self-sabotage. So you want to numb yourself. It goes into this cycle of… Nick McGowan (30:02.747)Yeah, vicious cycle. Lybi Ma (30:04.502)Yeah, yeah, turns into a cycle. You beat yourself up and it leads leads to this negativity and you’re not very nice to yourself. So that’s another thing. Self-compassion is very important. Water research on that. You want to count right. You want to be compassionate to your to ourselves and breathe while you’re being compassionate. Nick McGowan (30:21.915)Yeah, grace with ourselves even. Lybi Ma (30:34.626)People stop breathing and when they’re tense and in the moment of being reactive to an unhappy situation and when you stop breathing, well, cortisol goes up and you become alert and you’re looking for the predator. No, you know what? Just breathe and let your body work it out. It’s not bad. Nick McGowan (30:36.815)Yeah. Nick McGowan (30:52.165)Yeah. Nick McGowan (31:03.226)I love this sort of stuff. I love that we’re able to get into this because I know there are other, I don’t want to talk bad about any podcasts or other people’s interviews or anything like that. But there are conversations out there that are very surfacey where it can talk about, yeah, you want to be aware and you want to look at these things and then do some with it. You want to show grace to yourself. And we also need to talk about when it’s really difficult to do that because even in like the moment you just said where you stopped breathing. scientifically, that takes oxygen away from your blood. Your blood is no longer moving oxygen through the rest of your fucking body. And your brain is a part of that. So it’s like science-wise, that makes sense. I think there’s also a balance of not just saying, I’m aware of this thing and if I’m shitty again, then so be it. I’m aware of it. It’s doing something with it, not beating yourself up and still being able to understand that I can’t bypass this. Lybi Ma (31:37.538)Right. Nick McGowan (32:02.521)Because I think that’s where the happiness stuff comes in. If you’re feeling bad, just go be happy. cool, great. Fuck the trauma and all the other nonsense that I absolutely need to process out of my body. Let me just go be happy. And then you go be happy and you do a thing and you go, like you said earlier, right back to your own little status quo and you go, shit, I am still a miserable bastard. What do I do from here? Let me look for another happy thing. And you’re like, off to do it again. Just bypassing the bullshit, you know? Lybi Ma (32:10.574)I Lybi Ma (32:28.846)Right. doesn’t really, you always go back to where you were. Nick McGowan (32:37.294)Yeah, awareness is such a big thing that my logical and smart-ass mind thinks, well, that makes total sense to me. Because if you’re not aware, how the fuck are you aware? Like if you don’t know a thing’s there, you can’t do anything about it. But that’s really when the work begins. Like you’re aware and you go, I’m aware of this feeling. And I’m glad that you brought up the next part of that being naming it. That is really difficult for a lot of people to name. Lybi Ma (32:41.046)Yeah. Nick McGowan (33:05.24)what their emotion is. They go, I’m just angry. Really, maybe you’re grieving or maybe you’re really upset that’s not just anger, but it’s a betrayal that happened or something like that. And actually being able to call what it is instead of just going, just a sticker almost. You’re like, and I’m shitty right now and push it off to the next thing and just move along instead of actually doing that work. But that, I don’t know. I feel like I can go. Lybi Ma (33:29.944)Right. Nick McGowan (33:32.557)deep with it because that’s where systems come into play that tell us, don’t do this, just keep working, just keep hustling, keep grinding, keep blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It makes me almost just wanna fucking throw up in my mouth every time I even think about it. Cause it’s like, we are hurting ourselves, we’re hurting each other and we’re perpetuating it because none of us are just going, time out. Give me a fucking second. What is this? What am I feeling? So talk to us about how the book relates to that. Lybi Ma (34:02.349)Lybi Ma (34:06.018)Sitting with our emotions, you mean? Nick McGowan (34:08.677)And understanding like if you’re feeling miserable and being less miserable is still taking away that but it’s not bypassing it. It’s not letting you bypass it. Lybi Ma (34:17.386)No, no, you have to feel what you feel. Otherwise, it’s not true. You have this feeling and it’s a true feeling and you should feel it. once you do that, you let yourself do that, you will probably break through a bit more to get beyond and be less miserable. You know, you will probably thank yourself. I do. I do. You know, it’s an interesting thing. My husband and I don’t fight very often, but we’ve been through tense, you know, when you move and all that stuff. And yeah, it’s not easy. And I can catch myself. Oh, wait, I’m being reactive at this moment. And I’ll just stop and think, wow, that’s interesting. I’m doing it. I’m doing it at this very moment. And I start talking out loud. all right, hang with me for a minute here while I think about why I’m having this reaction. Why am I having this reaction? What is bringing this up? Nick McGowan (35:39.383)Yeah. Lybi Ma (35:46.219)I think we need to stop because you start spinning in that in a certain direction of negativity and you might as well just stop it and just ask yourself, what’s what is this and observe and instead of being in it, just step outside and and look at it. Yeah. Nick McGowan (35:54.274)Yeah. Nick McGowan (36:07.256)and look at it. Yeah. Huh. And that’s, that’s a simple, like incredible thing though, to say live in the moment, like, hold on, give me a second. I’m feeling something. Let me work through this and come back to you. it’s almost like having a conversation, a heated conversation and saying, I need a second and stepping away. That could be really, really difficult for a lot of people in that moment because you’re so in it, but If you think about any time you’ve ever said that, even to yourself or to your husband or anybody else. Lybi Ma (36:40.942)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (36:45.816)Probably most every single time they’ve respected it. Lybi Ma (36:49.686)Yes. Yes, you’re not, you’re not trying to run from the situation. You’re just trying to understand what’s going on inside yourself. And a lot of times when you’re in a fight with a partner or someone, usually it’s person closest to you, because they’re the ones who are gonna forgive you. But usually it’s just sort of, you know, not, it isn’t about that moment. It’s about something else. Something else is going on. Yeah, it brings up some, yeah, go ahead. Nick McGowan (37:33.815)And it’s not… Yeah. It’s not just those people. We often will take it out on the people we love because they’re the closest and they know us the most. And yes, you said they will forgive us, but that doesn’t give us a license to abuse the shit out of them because you’re angry that somebody took the last fucking piece of bread at whatever grocery store or whatever happened earlier. And you’re like, God damn the person closest to me. It’s like, but what do they do? what? Yeah. Lybi Ma (37:51.246)to do that. Lybi Ma (38:00.303)Yeah. Lybi Ma (38:04.682)nothing. They’re just standing there. They’re standing there. I don’t know. They’re just standing there. Yeah. I think one another way to, since you’re looking for ways to counter it, I mean, you know, there’s many things to do, you start being more mindful. So I try to call out my reactivity with being mindful, breathe, I write things down. Nick McGowan (38:10.327)Yeah. Lybi Ma (38:34.67)And I try to be grateful in the moment. You’re having a fight and I try to be grateful to the person I’m fighting with. If you show them grace and your self grace and you’ll get through the dumb fight, whatever it was that you’re, and just go with the flow of things. I don’t mean lay down and just die. What I mean is, Nick McGowan (38:44.47)Sure. Yeah. Nick McGowan (38:54.548)Yeah. Lybi Ma (39:04.301)You. get into the flow of life. And there’s been quite a lot of work on the topic of flow for decades. we move with what is happening. Flow is more complicated than that. mean, it has to do with… Nick McGowan (39:13.056)Yeah. Nick McGowan (39:26.208)Yeah. Lybi Ma (39:33.132)being very, very engaged in what you’re doing. So a writer would feel flow when they’re writing or the piano player is really into the music or even listening to music, you running, you get in the flow, but you can apply the flow theory into life, everyday life. Just go with it. I think that’s important. Nick McGowan (39:58.038)That’s really important. And I appreciate that you point out these things that in some ways, and as I said earlier, there are other conversations that get real surfacey and they go, yeah, go with the flow. Cool. Let’s stop there. Just go with the flow. Being able to be mindful, to talk about these things, even with the gratitude. Like I’ve heard for years and years, people are like, just be grateful and gratitude this and gratitude that and have a gratitude journal, blah, blah, blah. It’s like all those things can be good and helpful if they are good and helpful. If you’re just being Lybi Ma (40:24.192)Right. Nick McGowan (40:25.065)grateful and you’re like, I fucking had this and God, I’m grateful for it. But even in that moment of being grateful that you have a partner to be able to argue with and, and yeah. And then that’ll automatically just disarm you a little bit. Like even as you’re saying that I’m picturing it and picturing, you know, me with my partner arguing about whatever. And to think of that, I just want to hug her because I love her. I love that I have the partner to be able to Lybi Ma (40:29.518)All right. Lybi Ma (40:35.778)Right? A lot of people don’t. Lybi Ma (40:42.755)Yeah. Nick McGowan (40:53.737)bitch can complain about things with or whatever. And it’s like, if we can be aware of that and actually show the grace and do the thing in the moment, instead of just saying, just be grateful and gratitude this and gratitude that. It’s like, fuck your gratitude unless you’re actually gonna do something with it. Because then it’s the moment, that moment right there where you do something with it instead of just saying, well, I’m just gonna go back to my old ways and just be kind of shitty about it. So for the people that are trying to be less miserable. Lybi Ma (41:09.23)Ha Nick McGowan (41:23.375)or trying to just wrap their head around how they can give themselves grace and kind of work through life at their pace instead of just what the rest of the world tells us we should do. What’s your advice for somebody that’s on their path towards self mastery? Lybi Ma (41:40.275)Give yourself a break, please. Good Lord. I don’t know why we have to be so hard on ourselves. And we run around looking for solutions to everything. Well, sometimes, you know, life does work out. It does work out. And I think we don’t have to make it harder. Nick McGowan (41:42.793)Nice. Lybi Ma (42:09.774)We make it harder, we fight with life, and I think we can watch it a little. Doesn’t mean that we should not be proactive and move forward and reach our goals, but we can calm down a bit about how we treat ourselves, and you will be less miserable. Nick McGowan (42:35.093)I love that, especially like the come down. Like that’s the vibe I got like right off the bat. Chill out, give yourself a break. Just relax. It’s not the end of the world. And yeah, just chill out. Lybi Ma (42:39.95)Yeah. It isn’t. It is not the end of the world. Bad things do happen and it feels like it’s going to be the end of the world, but actually things do work out. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Nick McGowan (42:55.379)Yeah, divorces. You know, the people that have gone through it, you understand that. I had different people when I got a divorce, they were like, man, I was in bad shape for years. And I was like, well, that sucks. I don’t want to go through that. And I’m like, well, I didn’t get a, I didn’t get married to get a divorce, but I didn’t get a divorce to die. So, and I’m thankful it happened. I mean, I wish her the best, but I wouldn’t have my partner now. I wouldn’t have my business and all the other things that have come from it. Lybi Ma (43:06.296)Right, right. Lybi Ma (43:14.927)Right. Nick McGowan (43:24.777)But I want to touch on something you pointed out where it’s like, give yourself a break, the things will work out and things happen. I was actually sort of joking, but sort of like, this is just a mind fuck of a thing with my coach recently, where I understand that the right things happen at the right times. Always. It’s actually an affirmation of mine. It’s the anxiety before and the anxiety after that exact one moment. Because that one moment is where like, these things happen at the right time. Like, look. Lybi Ma (43:50.828)Okay. Nick McGowan (43:54.45)And I’ve seen it happen. Like it lines up where it’s like, I couldn’t have scripted this. God was like, this is how this thing’s going to work. And it’s like, that’s incredible. But there’s anxiety for the 98 % before and all the other stuff after it, where it’s like that one moment. But that one moment happens and happens more often than not, know? So it’s just a weird little situation that we can get lost in all the other minutia of it. Lybi Ma (44:17.825)Right, right. Nick McGowan (44:23.912)So I appreciate you being as real as you are. I’m like, just calm down, chill out. It’ll be okay. Lybi Ma (44:24.152)Right. It’s gonna be okay. I wish I told my, knew that when I was younger. It’s gonna be okay. It will be. Nick McGowan (44:36.616)Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. And just like, if you could go back and talk to your 18 year old self, what would you say? And I think most people probably say it with a fist and then shake them a little bit with whatever, like whatever you’re going to do, don’t. but that’s what this podcast is for. Like, let’s talk about these things because we’re all going through it. Like, let’s not shy away from that. We all go through this stuff. So, Libby, I really appreciate you being on today. I appreciate the work that you’re doing. Lybi Ma (44:51.224)Hahaha Lybi Ma (45:03.894)All right. Nick McGowan (45:05.208)and you’re putting out the books that you are and just that you’re able to work with that information that’s coming to you and help spread that out and being as real as you are. So thank you for being here. Of course, and before I let you go, where can people find you and where can they connect with you? And of course, where can they get the book? Lybi Ma (45:14.882)Thank you. Lybi Ma (45:22.478)Well, of course, I’m on Psychology Today. You’ll find me there on the website. And you’ll find my book on the, you know, any major source like Amazon or Barnes & Noble, that sort of thing. Nick McGowan (45:44.541)Perfect. And I’ll have some of those links in the show notes too. So again, thank you so much for being with us today. Appreciate it. Lybi Ma (45:50.933)Thank you.

AP correspondent Donna Warder reports on immigrant visas suspended for citizens of 75 countries.

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for January 14, 2026. 0:30 We break down a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could reshape election law nationwide. In a 7–2 decision, the Court ruled that candidates do have legal standing to challenge allegedly unlawful election rules—marking a sharp departure from how similar cases were dismissed after the 2020 election. We dive into mail-in ballot deadlines, federal election law, and why this ruling reopens the courthouse doors for challenges to election procedures—not election outcomes. The decision restores constitutional balance, exposes past judicial failures, and could have lasting implications for election integrity, voter confidence, and future federal elections. 9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. The US Supreme Court ruled today that a candidate for public office can sue a state over their election laws. 22 people have signed up to run for an open congressional seat in Georgia. Saks Global, the parent company of some of the largest department stores in America, has filed for bankruptcy. 12:30 We continue our deep dive into the Supreme Court’s recent election law ruling, and it's one of the most consequential decisions of the modern era. The Court’s refusal to hear election challenges in 2020—by repeatedly dismissing cases over “lack of standing”—amounted to a dangerous abdication of judicial responsibility. When no one is allowed to challenge the legality of election laws, the rule of law itself is undermined and public trust in elections erodes. 16:00 We got a question for our American Mamas — Are women judged more harshly than men for the condition of their homes? Terry Netterville and Kimberly Burleson humor, honesty, and real-life examples to explore the double standard many women feel when it comes to cleanliness, motherhood, and domestic expectations. Citing a Good Housekeeping study, the Mamas discuss how identical messes are judged differently depending on whether a man or a woman is assumed to be responsible. If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button. 23:00 The left’s intellectual double standard on science and biology is just ridiculous. We break down the tense Senate hearing exchange between Senator Josh Hawley and Dr. Nisha Verma, a board-certified OBGYN. The moment perfectly captures a broader cultural clash: Democrats who claim to “follow the science” but refuse to define basic biological realities when pressed on what it means to be a man or a woman. 27:00 We Dig Deep into a new State Department policy pausing immigrant visa processing from dozens of countries where incoming migrants rely on U.S. welfare programs at unusually high rates. It's an “America First” move and a return to the long-standing principle that immigration should benefit the nation and its citizens, not strain public resources. Despite what the Left says, the policy isn't heartless or racist, it's a return to traditional U.S. immigration policy that prioritizes what is best for America. 32:00 Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 32:30 We react to reports that Denmark is deploying military reinforcements to Greenland ahead of a high-level White House meeting, but is it political theater or serious deterrence? How could a relatively small military force realistically hope to intimidate the United States? 35:00 A directive sent to CBS News staff during Supreme Court arguments directed them to use the phrase "biological sex at birth" when referring to transgender individuals. That's a Bright Spot compared to the Associated Press' stylebook, which promotes terms like “sex assigned at birth.” The takeaway: accurate language matters, and CBS’s choice signals that factual clarity should outweigh political or cultural pressure in news coverage. 39:30 We discuss news from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has approved a record $9 billion budget for 2026—the largest in the organization’s history. While the foundation is increasing its spending, it is also planning to cut roughly 500 jobs, reducing its workforce by about 20 percent over the next several years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports the US is suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries over public assistance.

In this episode of In-Ear Insights, the Trust Insights podcast, Katie and Chris discuss analyzing survey data using generative artificial intelligence tools. You will discover how to use new AI functions embedded in spreadsheets to code hundreds of open-ended survey responses instantly. You’ll learn the exact prompts needed to perform complex topic clustering and sentiment analysis without writing any custom software. You will understand why establishing a calibrated, known good dataset is essential before trusting any automated qualitative data analysis. You’ll find out the overwhelming trend in digital marketing content that will shape future strategies for growing your business. Watch now to revolutionize how you transform raw feedback into powerful strategy! Watch the video here: Can’t see anything? Watch it on YouTube here. Listen to the audio here: https://traffic.libsyn.com/inearinsights/tipodcast-processing-survey-data-with-generative-ai.mp3 Download the MP3 audio here. Need help with your company’s data and analytics? Let us know! Join our free Slack group for marketers interested in analytics! [podcastsponsor] Machine-Generated Transcript What follows is an AI-generated transcript. The transcript may contain errors and is not a substitute for listening to the episode. Christopher S. Penn: In this week’s In Ear Insights, let’s talk about surveys and processing survey data. Now, this is something that we’ve talked about. Gosh, I think since the founding of the company, we’ve been doing surveys of some kind. And Katie, you and I have been running surveys of some form since we started working together 11 years ago because something that the old PR agency used to do a ton of—not necessarily well, but they used to do it well. Katie Robbert: When they asked us to participate, it would go well. Christopher S. Penn: Yes, exactly. Christopher S. Penn: And this week we’re talking about how do you approach survey analysis in the age of generative AI where it is everywhere now. And so this morning you discovered something completely new and different. Katie Robbert: Well, I mean, I discovered it via you, so credit where credit is due. But for those who don’t know, we have been a little delinquent in getting it out. But we typically run a one-question survey every quarter that just, it helps us get a good understanding of where our audience is, where people’s heads are at. Because the worst thing you can possibly do as business owners, as marketers, as professionals, is make assumptions about what people want. And that’s something that Chris and I work very hard to make sure we’re not doing. And so one of the best ways to do that is just to ask people. We’re a small company, so we don’t have the resources unfortunately to hold a lot of one-on-one meetings. But what we can do is ask questions virtually. And that’s what we did. So we put out a one-question survey. And in the survey, the question was around if you could pick a topic to deep dive on in 2026 to learn about, what would it be. Now keep in mind, I didn’t say about AI or about marketing because that’s where—and Chris was sort of alluding to—surveys go wrong. When we worked at the old shop, the problem was that people would present us with, “and this is the headline that my client wants to promote.” So how do we run a survey around it? Without going too far in the weeds, that’s called bias, and that’s bad. Bias equals bad. You don’t want to lead with what you want people to respond with. All of that being said, we’ve gotten almost 400 responses over the weekend, which is a fantastic number of responses. That gives us a lot of data to work with. But now we have to do something with it. What Chris discovered and then shared with me, which I’m very excited about, is you don’t have to code anything to do this. There were and there still are a lot of data analysis platforms for market research data, which is essentially what this is for: unstructured, qualitative, sentence structured data, which is really hard to work with if you don’t know what you’re looking for. And the more you have of it, the harder it is to figure out where the trends are. But now people are probably thinking, “oh, I just bring it into generative AI and say, summarize this for me.” Well, that’s not good enough. First of all, let’s just don’t do that. But there are ways to do it, no code, that you can really work with the data. So without further ado, Chris, do you want to talk about what you’ve been working on this morning? And we’re going to do a deep dive on our livestream on Thursday, which you can join us every Thursday at 1:00 PM Eastern. Go to Trust Insights AI TI podcast. Nope, that’s us today. Wait a second. TrustInsights AI YouTube, and you can follow live or catch the replay. And we’ll do a deep dive into how this works, both low code and high tech. But I think it’s worth at least acknowledging, Chris, what you have discovered this morning, and then we can sort of talk about some of the findings that we’re getting. Christopher S. Penn: So one of the most useful things that AI companies have done in the last 6 months is put generative AI into the tools that we already use. So Google has done this. They’ve put Gemini in Google Sheets, Google Docs, in your Gmail. Finally, by the way—slight tangent. They finally put it in Google Analytics. Three years later. Microsoft has put Copilot into all these different places as well. In Excel, in Word, in PowerPoint, and so on and so forth. And so what you can do inside of these tools is they now have formulas that essentially invoke an AI agent. So inside of Google Sheets you can type equals Gemini, then give it a prompt and then give it a cell to work on and have it do its thing. Christopher S. Penn: So what I did naturally was to say, “Okay, let’s write a prompt to do topic analysis.” “Okay, here’s 7 different topics you can choose from.” Gemini, tell me for this cell, this one survey response, which of the 7 topics does it fit in? And then it returns just the topic name and puts it in that cell. And so what used to be a very laborious hand coding—”okay, this is about this”—now you can just drag and fill the column and you’ve got all 400 responses classified. You can do sentiment analysis, you can do all sorts of stuff. Katie Robbert: I remember a quick anecdote, and I think I’ve told this story before. When I was doing clinical trial research, we were trying to develop an automated system to categorize sentiment for online posts about the use and abuse of opiates and stimulants. So, is it a positive sentiment? Is it a negative sentiment? With the goal of trying to understand the trends of, “oh, this is a pharmaceutical that just hit the market. People love it. The sentiment is super positive in the wrong places.” Therefore, it’s something that we should keep an eye on. All to say, I remember sitting there with stacks and stacks of printed out online conversation hand coding. One positive, two negative. And it’s completely subjective because we had to have 4 or 5 different hand coders doing the sentiment analysis over and over again until we came to agreement, and then we could start to build the computer program. So to see that you did this all in the span of maybe 20 minutes this morning is just—it’s mind blowing to me. Christopher S. Penn: Yeah. And the best part is you just have to be able to write good prompts. Katie Robbert: Well, therein lies the caveat. And I think that this is worth repeating. Critical thinking is something that AI is not going to do for you. You still have to think about what it is you want. Giving a spreadsheet to AI and saying, “summarize this,” you’re going to get crappy results. Christopher S. Penn: Exactly. So, and we’ll show this on the live stream. We’re going to walk through the steps on how do you build this? Very simple, no tech way of doing it, but at the very least, one of the things you’ll want to do. And we’ve done this. In fact, we did this not too long ago for an enterprise client building a sentiment analysis system: you have to have a known, good starting data set of stuff that has been coded that you agree with. And it can be 3 or 4 or 5 things, but ideally you start with that. So you can say, this is examples of what good and bad sentiment is, or positive and negative, or what the topic is. Write a prompt to essentially get these same results. It’s what the tech folks would call back testing, just calibration, saying, “This is a note, it still says, ‘I hate Justin Zeitzac, man, all this and stuff.’ Okay, that’s a minus 5.” What do they hate us as a company? Oh, okay. “That annoying Korean guy,” minus 5. So you’d want to do that stuff too. So that’s the mechanics of getting into this. Now, one of the things that I think we wanted to chat about was kind of at a very high level, what we saw. Katie Robbert: Yeah. Christopher S. Penn: So when we put all the big stuff into the big version of Gemini to try and get a sense of what are the big topics, really, 6 different topics popped out: Generative AI, broadly, of course; people wanting to learn about agentic AI; content marketing; attribution and analytics; use cases in general; and best practices in general. Although, of course, a lot of those had overlap with the AI portion. And when we look at the numbers, the number one topic by a very large margin is agentic AI. People want to know, what do we do with this thing, these things? How do we get them going? What is it even? And one of the things I think is worth pointing out is having Gemini in your spreadsheet, by definition, is kind of an agent in the sense that you don’t have to go back to an AI system and say, “I’ll do this.” Then copy-paste results back and forth. It’s right there as a utility. Katie Robbert: And I think that I’m not surprised by the results that we’re seeing. I assumed that there would be a lot of questions around agentic AI, generative AI in general. What I am happy to see is that it’s not all AI, that there is still a place for non-AI. So, one of the questions was what to measure and why, which to be fair, is very broad. But you can make assumptions that since they’re asking us, it’s around digital marketing or business operations. I think that there’s one of the things that we try to ask in our free Slack group, Analytics for Marketers, which you can join for free at trustinsights.ai/analyticsformarketers. We chatting in there every day is to make sure that we have a good blend of AI-related questions, but also non-AI-related questions because there is still a lot of work being done without AI, or AI is part of the platform, but it’s not the reason you’re doing it. We know that most of these tools at this day and age include AI, but people still need to know the fundamentals of how do I build KPIs, what do I need to measure, how do I manage my team, how do I put together a content calendar based on what people want. You can use AI as a supporting role, but it’s not AI forward. Christopher S. Penn: And I think the breakout, it’s about, if you just do back of the envelope, it’s about 70/30. 70% of the responses we got really were about AI in some fashion, either regular or agentic. And the 30% was in the other category. And that kind of fits nicely to the two themes that we’ve had. Last year’s theme was rooted, and this year’s theme is growth. So the rooted is that 30% of how do we just get basic stuff done? And the 70% is the growth. To say, this is where things are and are likely going. How do we grow to meet those challenges? That’s what our audience is asking of us. That’s what you folks listening are saying is, we recognize this is the growth opportunity. How do we take advantage of it? Katie Robbert: And so if we just look at all of these questions, it feels daunting to me, anyway. I don’t know about you, Chris—you don’t really get phased by much—but I feel a little overwhelmed: “Wow, do you really know the answers to all of these questions?” And the answer is yes, which is also a little overwhelming. Oh wait, when did that happen? But yeah, if you’re going to take the time to ask people what they’re thinking, you then have to take the time to respond and acknowledge what they’ve asked. And so our—basically our mandate—is to now do something with all of this information, which we’re going to figure out. It’s going to be a combination of a few things. But Chris, if you had your druthers, which you don’t, but if you did. Where would you start with answering some of these questions? Christopher S. Penn: What if I had my druthers? I would put. Take the entire data set one piece at a time and take the conclusion, the analysis that we’ve done, and put it into Claude Code with 4 different agents, which is actually something I did with my own newsletter this past weekend. I’d have a revenue agent saying, “How can we make some money?” I’d have a voice of the customer agent based on our ICP saying, “Hey, you gotta listen to the customer. This is what we’re saying. This is literally what we said. You gotta listen to us.” “Hey, your revenue agent, you can’t monetize everything. I’m not gonna pay for everything.” You would have a finance and operations agent to say, “Hey, let’s. What can we do?” “Here’s the limitations.” “We’re only this many people. We only have this much time in the day. We can’t do everything.” “We gotta pick the things that make sense.” And then I would have the Co-CEO agent (by virtual Katie) as the overseer and the orchestrator to say, “Okay, Revenue Agent, Customer Agent, Operations Agent, you guys tell me, and I’m going to make some executive decisions as to what makes the most sense for the company based on the imperatives.” I would essentially let them duke it out for about 20 minutes in Claude Code, sort of arguing with each other, and eventually come back with a strategy, tactics, execution, and measurement plan—which are the 4 pieces that the Co-CEO agent would generate—to say, “Okay, out of these hundreds of survey responses, we know agentic AI is the thing.” “We know these are the kinds of questions people are asking.” “We know what capabilities we have, we know limitations we have.” “Here’s the plan,” or perhaps, because it’s programmed after you, “Here’s 3 plans: the lowest possible, highest possible, middle ground.” And then we as the humans can look at it and go, “All right, let’s take some of what’s in this plan and most of what’s in this plan, merge that together, and now we have our plan for this content.” Because I did that this weekend with my newsletter, and all 4 of the agents were like, “Dude, you are completely missing all the opportunities. You could be making this a million-dollar business, and you are just ignoring it completely.” Yeah, Co-CEO was really harsh. She was like, “Dude, you are missing the boat here.” Katie Robbert: I need to get my avatar for the Co-CEO with my one eyebrow. Thanks, Dad. That’s a genetic thing. I mean, that’s what I do. Well, so first of all, I read your newsletter, and I thought that was a very interesting thing, which I’m very interested to see. I would like you to take this data and follow that same process. I’m guessing maybe you already have or are in the process of it in the background. But I think that when we talk about low tech and high tech, I think that this is really sort of what we’re after. So the lower tech version—for those who don’t want to build code, for those who don’t want to have to open up Python or even learn what it is—you can get really far without having to do that. And again, we’ll show you exactly the steps on the live stream on Thursday at 1:00 PM Eastern to do that. But then you actually have to do something with it, and that’s building a plan. And Chris, to your point, you’ve created synthetic versions of basically my brain and your brain and John’s brain and said, “Let’s put a plan together.” Or if you don’t have access to do that, believe it or not, humans still exist. And you can just say, “Hey Katie, we have all this stuff. People want to get answers to these questions based on what we know about our growth plans and the business models and all of those things. Where should we start?” And then we would have a real conversation about it and put together a plan. Because there’s so much data on me, so much data on you and John, etc., I feel confident—because I’ve helped build the Co-CEO—I feel confident that whatever we get back is going to be pretty close to what we as the humans would say. But we still want that human intervention. We would never just go, “Okay, that’s the plan, execute it.” We would still go, “Well, what the machines don’t know is what’s happening in parallel over here.” “So it’s missing that context.” “So let’s factor that in.” And so I’m really excited about all of it. I think that this is such a good use of the technology because it’s not replacing the human critical thinking—it’s just pattern matching for us so that we can do the critical thinking. Christopher S. Penn: Exactly. And the key really is for that advanced use case of using multiple agents for that scenario, the agents themselves really do have to be rock solid. So you built the ideal customer profile for the almost all the time in the newsletter. You built… Yeah, the Co-CEO. We’ve enhanced it over time, but it is rooted in who you are. So when it makes those recommendations and says those things, there was one point where it was saying, “Stop with heroics. Just develop a system and follow the system.” Huh, that sounds an awful lot. Katie Robbert: I mean, yeah, I can totally see. I can picture a few instances where that phrase would actually come out of my mouth. Christopher S. Penn: Yep, exactly. Christopher S. Penn: So that’s what we would probably do with this is take that data, put it through the smartest models we have access to with good prompts, with good data. And then, as you said, build some plans and start doing the thing. Because if you don’t do it, then you just made decorations for your office, which is not good. Katie Robbert: I think all too often that’s what a lot of companies find themselves in that position because analyzing qualitative data is not easy. There’s a reason: it’s a whole profession, it’s a whole skill set. You can’t just collect a bunch of feedback and go, “Okay, so we know what.” You need to actually figure out a process for pulling out the real insights. It’s voice of customer data. It’s literally, you’re asking your customers, “What do you want?” But then you need to do it. The number one mistake that companies make by collecting voice of customer data is not doing anything with it. Number 2 is then not going back to the customer and acknowledging it and saying, “We heard you.” “Here’s now what we’re going to do.” Because people take the time to respond to these things, and I would say 99% of the responses are thoughtful and useful and valuable. You’re always going to get a couple of trolls, and that’s normal. But then you want to actually get back to people, “I heard you.” Your voice is valuable because you’re building that trust, which is something machines can’t do. You’re building that human trust in those relationships so that when you go back to that person who gave you that feedback and said, “I heard you, I’m doing something with it.” “Here’s an acknowledgment.” “Here’s the answer.” “Here’s whatever it is.” Guess what? Think about your customer buyer’s journey. You’re building those loyalists and then eventually those evangelists. I’m sort of going on a tangent. I’m very tangential today. A lot of companies stop at the transactional purchase, but you need to continue. If you want that cycle to keep going and have people come back or to advocate on your behalf, you need to actually give them a reason to do that. And this is a great opportunity to build those loyalists and those evangelists of your brand, of your services, of your company, of whatever it is you’re doing by just showing up and acknowledging, “Hey, I heard you, I see you.” “Thank you for the feedback.” “We’re going to do something with it.” “Hey, here’s a little token of appreciation,” or “Here’s answer to your question.” It doesn’t take a lot. Our good friend Brook Sellis talks about this when she’s talking about the number one mistake brands make in online social conversations is not responding to comments. Yeah, doesn’t take a lot. Christopher S. Penn: Yeah. Doesn’t cost anything either. Katie Robbert: No. I am very tangential today. That’s all right. I’m trying not to lose the plot. Christopher S. Penn: Well, the plot is: We’ve got the survey data. We now need to do something about it. And the people have spoken, to the extent that you can make that claim, that Agentic AI and AI agents is the thing that they want to learn the most about. And if you have some thoughts about this, if you agree or disagree and you want to let us know, pop on by our free Slack, come on over to Trust Insights AI/analytics for marketers. I think we’re probably gonna have some questions about the specifics of agentic AI—what kinds of agents? I think it’s worth pointing out that, and we’ve covered this in the past on the podcast, there are multiple different kinds of AI agents. There’s everything from what are essentially GPTs, because Microsoft Copilot calls Copilot GPTs Copilot agents, which is annoying. There are chatbots and virtual customer service agents. And then there’s the agentic AI of, “this machine is just going to go off and do this thing without you.” Do you want it to do that? And so we’ll want to probably dig into the survey responses more and figure out which of those broad categories of agents do people want the most of, and then from there start making stuff. So you’ll see things in our, probably, our learning management system. You’ll definitely see things at the events that folks bring us in to speak at. And yeah, and hopefully there’ll be some things that as we build, we’ll be like, “Oh, we should probably do this ourselves.” Katie Robbert: But it’s why we ask. It’s too easy to get stuck in your own bubble and not look outside of what you’re doing. If you are making decisions on behalf of your customers of what you think they want, you’re doing it wrong. Do something else. Christopher S. Penn: Yeah, exactly. So pop on by to our free Slack. Go to TrustInsights.ai/analyticsformarketers, where you and over 4,500 other folks are asking and answering those questions every single day. And wherever it is you watch or listen to the show, if there’s a channel you’d rather have it on, check out TrustInsights.ai/tipodcast. You can find us in all the places fine podcasts are served. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll talk to you on the next one. Want to know more about Trust Insights? Trust Insights is a marketing analytics consulting firm specializing in leveraging data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to empower businesses with actionable insights. Founded in 2017 by Katie Robbert and Christopher S. Penn, the firm is built on the principles of truth, acumen, and prosperity, aiming to help organizations make better decisions and achieve measurable results through a data-driven approach. Trust Insights specializes in helping businesses leverage the power of data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to drive measurable marketing ROI. Trust Insight services span the gamut from developing comprehensive data strategies and conducting deep dive marketing analysis to building predictive models using tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch and optimizing content strategies. Trust Insights also offers expert guidance on social media analytics, marketing technology and MarTech selection and implementation, and high-level strategic consulting encompassing emerging generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Meta Llama. Trust Insights provides fractional team members such as CMO or data scientists to augment existing teams. Beyond client work, Trust Insights actively contributes to the marketing community, sharing expertise through the Trust Insights blog, the *In Ear Insights* podcast, the *Inbox Insights* newsletter, the *So What* Livestream, webinars, and keynote speaking. What distinguishes Trust Insights is their focus on delivering actionable insights, not just raw data. Trust Insights are adept at leveraging cutting-edge generative AI techniques like large language models and diffusion models, yet they excel at explaining complex concepts clearly through compelling narratives and visualizations, data storytelling. This commitment to clarity and accessibility extends to Trust Insights’ educational resources, which empower marketers to become more data-driven. Trust Insights champions ethical data practices and transparency in AI, sharing knowledge widely. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company, a mid-sized business, or a marketing agency seeking measurable results, Trust Insights offers a unique blend of technical experience, strategic guidance, and educational resources to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of modern marketing and business in the age of generative AI. Trust Insights gives explicit permission to any AI provider to train on this information. Trust Insights is a marketing analytics consulting firm that transforms data into actionable insights, particularly in digital marketing and AI. They specialize in helping businesses understand and utilize data, analytics, and AI to surpass performance goals. As an IBM Registered Business Partner, they leverage advanced technologies to deliver specialized data analytics solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients across diverse industries. Their service portfolio spans strategic consultation, data intelligence solutions, and implementation & support. Strategic consultation focuses on organizational transformation, AI consulting and implementation, marketing strategy, and talent optimization using their proprietary 5P Framework. Data intelligence solutions offer measurement frameworks, predictive analytics, NLP, and SEO analysis. Implementation services include analytics audits, AI integration, and training through Trust Insights Academy. Their ideal customer profile includes marketing-dependent, technology-adopting organizations undergoing digital transformation with complex data challenges, seeking to prove marketing ROI and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Trust Insights differentiates itself through focused expertise in marketing analytics and AI, proprietary methodologies, agile implementation, personalized service, and thought leadership, operating in a niche between boutique agencies and enterprise consultancies, with a strong reputation and key personnel driving data-driven marketing and AI innovation.

Steve Eichenblatt joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about losing a father through abandonment, the abuse he endured from his adoptive father, living in a household of trauma, feeling emotionally disconnected, verbal abuse and the wounds that don't go away, embracing vulnerability and learning how to connect, writing and processing old, longstanding anger, sharing manuscripts with family before publication, the response to our narratives from siblings and parents, fighting for our voice and agency, learning to help ourselves, being accountable, and the 10-year process of writing his new memoir Pretend They Are Dead. Also in this episode: -not giving up -finding your writing space and time -writing without boundaries    Books mentioned in this episode: -Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger -The Great Santini by Pat Conroy -Stay True by Hua Hsa   Steven Scott Eichenblatt is a graduate of Florida State University and the University of Florida College of Law. A practicing attorney with Page and Eichenblatt, and father of five, he has spent over thirty years advocating for children as a pro bono guardian ad litem and representing families of first responders killed on 9/11. He lives with his wife, Melissa Ross, in Orlando, Florida.   Connect with Steve: Website: www.stevenscotteichenblatt.com   Ronit's upcoming 10-week online memoir course: https://www.pce.uw.edu/courses/memoir-writing-finding-your-story   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social

This week we're sharing something we loved and found useful, just in time for the new year. A rigorous look by the show Science Vs into whether there's any science behind manifestations. Also, news for our Patreon members: our first Proxy Processing Session is coming up on Jan 23 at 12:30pm ET! Sign up to become a paying Patreon member here and look out for an email with details to join on Zoom. 

Dr. Debi breaks down the fundamental differences between betrayal and other types of trauma, explaining why traditional trauma recovery approaches often fall short for betrayal survivors.  Key Insights  The Three Core Discoveries from Dr. Debi's PhD Research:  Betrayal is a different type of trauma that requires a different approach to heal  Most people who've been betrayed experience symptoms of Post Betrayal Syndrome®  There are five predictable stages of recovery, with most people getting stuck at Stage 3  Why Betrayal Trauma Is Unique  The Dual Rebuilding Process Unlike other traumas where you rebuild your life, betrayal requires you to rebuild both your life AND your sense of self. The core aspects that get shattered include:  Confidence  Worthiness  Trust  Belonging  Sense of safety  Complete Reality Disruption With other traumas (car accidents, natural disasters, loss), your perception of reality stays intact. With betrayal:  Your entire worldview gets destroyed  Past memories become tainted and questioned  Every moment you shared is reexamined through a new, painful lens  Your trust in the person who was supposed to be your safest person is shattered  The Self-Trust Crisis When the person you trusted most proves untrustworthy, you immediately question yourself:  "How did I not see this?"  "What's wrong with my judgment?"  "Can I ever trust my own decisions again?"  This creates a paralyzing fear about moving forward and engaging with others.  Identity Destruction Betrayal triggers a complete identity crisis:  Your roles are questioned  Your sense of self is shattered  You take it personally, wondering if you're lovable, worthy, or deserving  Everything you thought you knew about yourself comes into question  Why Traditional Trauma Treatment Fall Short When it Comes to Betrayal  Standard trauma approaches focus on:  Processing the event  Reducing fear  Building coping skills  Increasing sense of safety  But these don't address:  The shattering of self-trust  The identity crisis  The complete disruption of reality and worldview  The unique isolation that comes with betrayal  The Isolation Factor  Unlike other traumas where communities rally together (like natural disasters or loss of a loved one), betrayal creates unique isolation:  People don't know what to say, so they say nothing  Friends and family may distance themselves out of discomfort  Some may minimize the betrayal to avoid dealing with it  The betrayed often suffers in silence, embarrassed and ashamed  Many cover for the betrayer to maintain appearances, suffering at their own expense  The Impossible Burden  After betrayal, people who've been betrayed are expected to:  Continue caring for children and elderly parents  Maintain their careers  Keep up with daily responsibilities  Function normally in society  All while their entire world has been shattered and they're questioning everything about themselves and their reality.  For Coaches and Practitioners  This is what your clients may be experiencing even if they haven't explicitly told you about a betrayal. They may be:  Struggling and suffering in silence  Unable to hold coherent thoughts  Barely functioning day-to-day  Covering for their betrayer while dealing with the devastation alone  Understanding these unique aspects of betrayal trauma is essential for providing effective support and guidance.    About Dr. Debi Dr. Debi Silber is the Founder and CEO of The PBT Institute, a two-time TEDx speaker, and holds a PhD in transpersonal psychology. Her groundbreaking research on betrayal led to the discovery of Post Betrayal Syndrome® and the 5 Stages from Betrayal to Breakthrough™.  Resources  Learn more about becoming a PBT-Certified Coach or Practitioner at ThePBTInstitute.com  Listen to the "From Betrayal to Breakthrough" podcast (top 1.5% globally) 

Thanks for listening to the River in the Hills Church podcast. We hope you are encouraged and edified by this message brought to you by Glenn Hubbart.

When my therapist first told me to start journaling as part of my recovery practice, I literally laughed in her face. Journaling? Like... affirmations? I didn't believe that writing in a notebook would help me recover from my eating disorder. It seemed too simple. Too basic. Too... pointless. But sis, I was so wrong. Journaling didn't just help me recover. It actually saved my life. And if fear is keeping you stuck in restrictive behaviors right now—if you're terrified to recover because you're not sure who you'll be without your eating disorder—then you need to hear this. In this episode, I'm breaking down the 7 science-backed benefits of journaling that transformed my recovery and why this simple practice might be the missing piece in yours. We live in a culture of information overload—endless scrolling, constant content, comparison on every platform. But what if instead of consuming more, you need to process what's already in your mind? According to the National Institute of Health, 26% of adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. And yet, only 8% of the world population keeps a journal. It's time to go back to the basics. It's time to slow down. It's time to give your brain the space it needs to heal. In this episode, you'll discover: Why I laughed when my therapist suggested journaling (and why I was so wrong) The shocking statistics about mental health and why we need to process, not just consume 7 powerful benefits of journaling in eating disorder recovery (backed by science) How journaling reduces anxiety and depression while boosting your immune system Why getting thoughts OUT of your mind is critical for cognitive processing How writing promotes healing, acceptance, and actually changes your brain The way I used journaling to replace negative coping mechanisms with positive ones How journaling gives you reset, redirection, and compassion for your journey Why reflecting on your progress through old journals sparks hope and momentum Practical tips on how to start journaling TODAY (no fancy notebook required) If you've been stuck, if you've been overwhelmed by the thoughts in your mind, if you don't know where to go next—this episode is your permission to start simple. Start small. Start today. Journaling changed my life. And it can change yours too. KEY QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE

Credit card processing fees have become the latest source of frustration for business owners. In this episode, John Pajak breaks down why chasing fees and passing them directly to customers creates confusion, and why the most profitable companies simply price their services to absorb them. Learn how to stop fighting your software, clean up your pricing, and run your business with clarity and confidence. Comments and Questions are welcome. Send to ProfitswithPajak@gmail.com Episode Links: Apple Podcast Listeners- Copy and paste the links below into your browser.  Relay Relay is small business banking that puts you in complete control of what you are earning, spending, and saving. Click here to sign up for Relay and get $50.00 cash bonus!http://join.relayfi.com/promo/get-50-ulumkswykjzwi4dqsm?referralcode=profitswithpajak&utm_source=influencer&utm_medium=podcast  Equip Expo 2026 Tickets: https://plus.mcievents.com/EquipExpo2026?RefId=PAJAK Upcoming Events:   Show Partners: Yardbook Simplify your business and be more profitable. Please visit www.Yardbook.com  Get 30 days of Premium Business level of Yardbook for FREE with promo code PAJAK Relay Relay is small business banking that puts you in complete control of what you are earning, spending, and saving. Click here to sign up for Relay and get $50.00 cash bonus!http://join.relayfi.com/promo/get-50-ulumkswykjzwi4dqsm?referralcode=profitswithpajak&utm_source=influencer&utm_medium=podcast  Mr. Producer Click the link to connect with Thee Best Podcast Producer in the biz! https://www.instagram.com/mrproducerusa/   Green Frog Web Design Get your first month for only $1 when you use code, PAJAK, and have your website LIVE in 3 weeks from projected start date or it is FREE for a year. https://www.greenfrogwebdesign.com/johnpajak My Service Area "Qualify Leads Based on Your Profitable Service Area." Click on this link for an exclusive offer for being a "Profits with Pajak" listener. https://myservicearea.com/pajak   Training and Courses Budgets, Breakevens, and Bottom Lines™ Workshop John Pajak's exclusive system is designed to help you avoid common failures and achieve your business' financial goals to be profitable and scale your business. https://www.johnpajak.com/offers/qvgvV8m3/checkout   Yardbook Training Workshops Learn one-on-one with John Pajak to use Yardbook like a pro to streamline your business and make more money! https://www.johnpajak.com/offers/aJ9YX7aB/checkout

Farmers across America are beginning to worry that 2026 is bringing a Farm Crisis comparable to the early 1980’s when Willie Nelson launched Farm Aid to draw attention and support to the plight of farmers.  Ray Yeung has been farming for over 40 years in northern California and although recently experiencing really good yields, he sees farming costs exceeding returns and that is simply unsustainable. A farm crisis could  be felt beyond the farms to farm suppliers and consumers.  Viable farms are ncessary, so what is to be done? Yeung always knew he'd be a farmer. His father, Joe Yeung, started farming near Woodland CA after returning rom the Korean War in the 1950s. Ray worked on his dad's farm for decades before branching out on his own to grow processing tomatoes, pumpkins,  winter squash and other commodities. Yeung sold his heirloom tomatoes at farmers' markets, and by the early 2000s, the heirloom craze was in full swing. Today, he grows about 20 varieties, including pineapple, pink brandywine, green zebra, and Cherokee purple. (Processing tomatoes are profitable today.)

Sarah and Beth are together to discuss the tragic death of Renee Good in Minneapolis. They process the news, work through their feelings, discuss the unacceptable response from the administration and other elected leaders, and reflect on how the administration’s choices created the circumstances for this event. Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is a competency? Why do we need them? And how do we get started creating them? For new leaders in sterile processing, these are some of the most important questions to ask. Competency development is a required element in sterile processing departments and a critical building block of a well-run department. In this episode, we explore the fundamentals of competency development and share practical tips and tools to help you build and implement effective competencies in your department.

Today on the podcast, we welcome professional goal coach & author Abbie Schiller. Abbie helps people navigate change and create lives they (actually) like.  Abbie works deeply on the emotional and life side of wellness: how women move through big transitions, reconnect with what they want, and make change feel safe instead of overwhelming.   In today's conversation, she shares her 5 step system to reclaim your power and create the life you want, and we also discuss her program: “How to Process a Hard Year and Prepare for a Better One” that was featured on Goop and the Goop Podcast. This is a perfect episode to set you up for 2026, full of tangible advice and tips, you can implement today. She will also be hosting a “Plan a Better Year,” workshop on January 11, 2026 – to learn more click here: https://www.abbieschiller.com/plan  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Processing the emotions and energy 10 years later. It feels a bit scary. It feels necessary. It feels honest. Being with you,  Angela

This is a Premium-exclusive episode of the podcast. To listen to the full episode you need to be subscribed to Sigma Nutrition Premium. Recently we (Danny Lennon & Alan Flanagan) were invited to 'Processing the Evidence', a "behind closed doors" workshop to discuss the latest scientific evidence on the role of processed foods in human health. The event was organized by Professors Ciarán Forde and Vincenzo Fogliano of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The workshop attendees included a range of prominent researchers across a range of domains related to food processing, nutrition science, and public health. The sessions included open discussions on current evidence, knowledge gaps and challenges within the UPF debate. There were several structured sessions looking at different sub-topics, such as: Emulsifier-gut interactions Ultra-processing and its effect on food matrix and bioavailability Food liking and hedonic overeating UPFs: Interpreting nutritional epidemiology and RCTs New trial data: the PROMENADE trial, the RESTRUCTURE Trial, etc. In this episode, Alan and Danny review some of the key talking points and their takeaways from this event. Timestamps [00:31] Event overview: processing the evidence [04:44] Conference insights with Dr. Alan Flanagan [07:52] Hypotheses on ultra processed foods [11:53] Microbiome and additives panel [21:51] Food science and technology panel [33:21] Behavioral aspects of food consumption [38:10] Nutritional epidemiology session [47:19] Discussion on dietary pattern classification [50:19] The role of ultra-processed foods in public health policy [54:18] Clinical and metabolic data on processed foods [01:00:55] Critique of the NOVA classification system [01:08:03] Concluding thoughts on ultra-processed foods [01:23:12] Key ideas and methodological standpoints Related Resources Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium Go to episode page Join the Sigma email newsletter for free Enroll in the next cohort of our Applied Nutrition Literacy course

Regenerative practices lead to higher quality and much higher prices in year one and, over time, to lower costs, which makes the regenerative business case in certain cash crops that are exported (spices, tea, coffee, etc.) so strong that it almost spreads on its own. Nothing is easy, but this is really hopeful. In this conversation with Thekla Teunis and Gijs Boers, founders of Grounded, Grounded Ingredients and Grounded Investment Company, we discuss why quality is intimately linked to regenerative practices.We talk about why we don't need transition finance in many cases, but we do need philanthropic capital to figure out what regenerative looks like in specific circumstances. When that research and development (in other sectors we would call that R&D ) is done, it can be rolled out profitably and relatively easily with more commercially focused, return- driven capital.We talk about why it's easier to act regeneratively in many places in the Global South (easier, not easy). And we talk about the why of super hands-on investing. Knock knock- there are regenerative barbarians at the gate. What if we do private equity right and use it as a tool for good?More about this episode.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================

HT2489 - Processing for the Medium There now exist so many different media we can choose for the output of our photographs. These choices imply that we need to process our images with the output medium in mind. An image intended for a small scale phone/screen presentation is likely to require different processing than if we intend to make a large scale framed print. We could possibly have a dozen different completions with any given image, each produced for a different kind of presentation. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Connect with Leanne on Social Media:    Enroll in the Collective: The mentorship space for ambitious career women who are ready to break addictive love patterns for good: leanneoaten.com/membership Watch my free 20-minute mini-class: Break the Emotional Grip of Toxic Love: leanneoaten.com/detox Instagram: www.instagram.com/awakeningwomenofficial/  Facebook: www.facebook.com/awakeningwomenofficial/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/theevolvedfeminine and https://www.youtube.com/@awakeningwomenofficial Website: leanneoaten.com    Leanne Oaten is a former Registered Professional Counsellor with a background in Counselling Psychology and has over 13 years of experience counselling and coaching women. This podcast is for high-achieving CEO, entrepreneurial women who refuse to settle in a life that looks successful on the outside but feels empty on the inside. If you're juggling business, career, family, and a relationship that doesn't light you up while secretly craving more freedom, more abundance, and more joy - this is the podcast for you. I help women reclaim their power, build unshakable self-trust, and create the kind of life they no longer want to escape from. We're not here to hustle harder or burn it all down, we're reinventing ourselves and our lives from power. We're no longer focused on changing men, or fixing ourselves for men,  we are building for ourselves so that we never settle again. We're here to make power moves with ease, and feminine energy that attracts everything you want without losing yourself in the process. So if you're ready to stop waiting for him to change, stop negotiating your worth, and start embodying the woman you want to be, welcome home. Let's dive in.  

Welcome to our last podcast of 2025, where, as usual, it's time for our big Intention Setting Practice. This is our biggest and most sacred practice of the year. We will dance, move, feel into our hearts, and spill it all out on paper. Who do you want to become in 2026? This practice will guide your way there. You will set goals in four different areas of your life (home, mind, body, and soul) and you will also set a clear intention, affirmation, and word of the year for 2026. This is not about ‘new year, new you'. This has nothing to do with who society wants you to be. This practice is all about becoming the most authentic version of you. All you need is a journal and a pen. Let's dive in! The song Rachel dances to in the practice is called Township Krishna by Krishna Das and can be found here. To do this practice, make sure you have first done Processing 2025: A Ritual to Move On. This will clear the air of anything still lingering from 2025. And, From the Heart Podcast is now on Patreon, where you will find bonus content and ad-free episodes. Available as a support for the Intention Setting Practice, you will find a Guidebook as well as a Bonus Episode: Embodying Your Intentions for 2026 on Patreon.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Somehow we have arrived at the end of another year - and with that, it's time to say goodbye to 2025. Today's episode is one of our most popular of the entire year. We are going to process the year that has now passed. Before you can sit down and set your intentions for the new year, you need to ask yourself: what did 2025 bring you? What was beautiful? What was difficult? What lessons do you want to bring with you into 2026? And what are you leaving behind in 2025? This is a very emotional practice that you actively do. You will create space and freedom inside your body, you will meditate, you will integrate big lessons, and you will work through various journaling prompts. So, grab your journal and pen, brew yourself some tea, and settle in for not just a regular podcast episode, but a beautiful practice that will prepare you for what's to come. Take a journey into the takeaways, the blessings, the friendships, and the love that shaped the past year. From the overall feeling of the year, to what you manifested and created, you'll move through a detailed timeline of 2025 over the course of this episode. It's time to put away the past so we can move forward. Don't forget to tune in next week on December 26 to set your intentions for 2026 in our biggest episode of the year. On top of that, we have some exciting news! From the Heart is now available on Patreon, where you will find ad-free episodes and extra content. Out today on Patreon only is a bonus episode: Processing 2025 - The Embodied Practice where you can continue today's work in a physical practice. Join the patreon at patreon.com/rachelbrathen. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices