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Last time we spoke about the surrender of Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on August 15, prompting mixed public reactions: grief, shock, and sympathy for the Emperor, tempered by fear of hardship and occupation. The government's response included resignations and suicide as new leadership was brought in under Prime Minister Higashikuni, with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister and Kawabe Torashiro heading a delegation to Manila. General MacArthur directed the occupation plan, “Blacklist,” prioritizing rapid, phased entry into key Japanese areas and Korea, while demobilizing enemy forces. The surrender ceremony occurred aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, with Wainwright, Percival, Nimitz, and UN representatives in attendance. Civilians and soldiers across Asia began surrendering, and postwar rehabilitation, Indochina and Vietnam's independence movements, and Southeast Asian transitions rapidly unfolded as Allied forces established control. This episode is the Aftermath of the Pacific War Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Pacific War has ended. Peace has been restored by the Allies and most of the places conquered by the Japanese Empire have been liberated. In this post-war period, new challenges would be faced for those who won the war; and from the ashes of an empire, a defeated nation was also seeking to rebuild. As the Japanese demobilized their armed forces, many young boys were set to return to their homeland, even if they had previously thought that they wouldn't survive the ordeal. And yet, there were some cases of isolated men that would continue to fight for decades even, unaware that the war had already ended.  As we last saw, after the Japanese surrender, General MacArthur's forces began the occupation of the Japanese home islands, while their overseas empire was being dismantled by the Allies. To handle civil administration, MacArthur established the Military Government Section, commanded by Brigadier-General William Crist, staffed by hundreds of US experts trained in civil governance who were reassigned from Okinawa and the Philippines. As the occupation began, Americans dispatched tactical units and Military Government Teams to each prefecture to ensure that policies were faithfully carried out. By mid-September, General Eichelberger's 8th Army had taken over the Tokyo Bay region and began deploying to occupy Hokkaido and the northern half of Honshu. Then General Krueger's 6th Army arrived in late September, taking southern Honshu and Shikoku, with its base in Kyoto. In December, 6th Army was relieved of its occupation duties; in January 1946, it was deactivated, leaving the 8th Army as the main garrison force. By late 1945, about 430,000 American soldiers were garrisoned across Japan. President Truman approved inviting Allied involvement on American terms, with occupation armies integrated into a US command structure. Yet with the Chinese civil war and Russia's reluctance to place its forces under MacArthur's control, only Australia, Britain, India, and New Zealand sent brigades, more than 40,000 troops in southwestern Japan. Japanese troops were gradually disarmed by order of their own commanders, so the stigma of surrender would be less keenly felt by the individual soldier. In the homeland, about 1.5 million men were discharged and returned home by the end of August. Demobilization overseas, however, proceeded, not quickly, but as a long, difficult process of repatriation. In compliance with General Order No. 1, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters disbanded on September 13 and was superseded by the Japanese War Department to manage demobilization. By November 1, the homeland had demobilized 2,228,761 personnel, roughly 97% of the Homeland Army. Yet some 6,413,215 men remained to be repatriated from overseas. On December 1, the Japanese War Ministry dissolved, and the First Demobilization Ministry took its place. The Second Demobilization Ministry was established to handle IJN demobilization, with 1,299,868 sailors, 81% of the Navy, demobilized by December 17. Japanese warships and merchant ships had their weapons rendered inoperative, and suicide craft were destroyed. Forty percent of naval vessels were allocated to evacuations in the Philippines, and 60% to evacuations of other Pacific islands. This effort eventually repatriated about 823,984 men to Japan by February 15, 1946. As repatriation accelerated, by October 15 only 1,909,401 men remained to be repatriated, most of them in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Higashikuni Cabinet and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru managed to persuade MacArthur not to impose direct military rule or martial law over all of Japan. Instead, the occupation would be indirect, guided by the Japanese government under the Emperor's direction. An early decision to feed occupation forces from American supplies, and to allow the Japanese to use their own limited food stores, helped ease a core fear: that Imperial forces would impose forced deliveries on the people they conquered. On September 17, MacArthur transferred his headquarters from Yokohama to Tokyo, setting up primary offices on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Building, an imposing edifice overlooking the moat and the Imperial palace grounds in Hibiya, a symbolic heart of the nation.  While the average soldier did not fit the rapacious image of wartime Japanese propagandists, occupation personnel often behaved like neo-colonial overlords. The conquerors claimed privileges unimaginable to most Japanese. Entire trains and train compartments, fitted with dining cars, were set aside for the exclusive use of occupation forces. These silenced, half-empty trains sped past crowded platforms, provoking ire as Japanese passengers were forced to enter and exit packed cars through punched-out windows, or perch on carriage roofs, couplings, and running boards, often with tragic consequences. The luxury express coaches became irresistible targets for anonymous stone-throwers. During the war, retrenchment measures had closed restaurants, cabarets, beer halls, geisha houses, and theatres in Tokyo and other large cities. Now, a vast leisure industry sprang up to cater to the needs of the foreign occupants. Reopened restaurants and theatres, along with train stations, buses, and streetcars, were sometimes kept off limits to Allied personnel, partly for security, partly to avoid burdening Japanese resources, but a costly service infrastructure was built to the occupiers' specifications. Facilities reserved for occupation troops bore large signs reading “Japanese Keep Out” or “For Allied Personnel Only.” In downtown Tokyo, important public buildings requisitioned for occupation use had separate entrances for Americans and Japanese. The effect? A subtle but clear colour bar between the predominantly white conquerors and the conquered “Asiatic” Japanese. Although MacArthur was ready to work through the Japanese government, he lacked the organizational infrastructure to administer a nation of 74 million. Consequently, on October 2, MacArthur dissolved the Military Government Section and inaugurated General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a separate headquarters focused on civil affairs and operating in tandem with the Army high command. SCAP immediately assumed responsibility for administering the Japanese home islands. It commandeered every large building not burned down to house thousands of civilians and requisitioned vast tracts of prime real estate to quarter several hundred thousand troops in the Tokyo–Yokohama area alone. Amidst the rise of American privilege, entire buildings were refurbished as officers' clubs, replete with slot machines and gambling parlours installed at occupation expense. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Tokyo, while the display of the Rising Sun was banned; and the downtown area, known as “Little America,” was transformed into a US enclave. The enclave mentality of this cocooned existence was reinforced by the arrival within the first six months of roughly 700 American families. At the peak of the occupation, about 14,800 families employed some 25,000 Japanese servants to ease the “rigours” of overseas duty. Even enlisted men in the sparse quonset-hut towns around the city lived like kings compared with ordinary Japanese. Japanese workers cleaned barracks, did kitchen chores, and handled other base duties. The lowest private earned a 25% hardship bonus until these special allotments were discontinued in 1949. Most military families quickly adjusted to a pampered lifestyle that went beyond maids and “boys,” including cooks, laundresses, babysitters, gardeners, and masseuses. Perks included spacious quarters with swimming pools, central heating, hot running water, and modern plumbing. Two observers compared GHQ to the British Raj at its height. George F. Kennan, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, warned during his 1948 mission to Japan that Americans had monopolized “everything that smacks of comfort or elegance or luxury,” criticizing what he called the “American brand of philistinism” and the “monumental imperviousness” of MacArthur's staff to the Japanese suffering. This conqueror's mentality also showed in the bullying attitudes many top occupation officials displayed toward the Japanese with whom they dealt. Major Faubion Bowers, MacArthur's military secretary, later said, “I and nearly all the occupation people I knew were extremely conceited and extremely arrogant and used our power every inch of the way.” Initially, there were spasms of defiance against the occupation forces, such as anonymous stone-throwing, while armed robbery and minor assaults against occupation personnel were rife in the weeks and months after capitulation. Yet active resistance was neither widespread nor organized. The Americans successfully completed their initial deployment without violence, an astonishing feat given a heavily armed and vastly superior enemy operating on home terrain. The average citizen regarded the occupation as akin to force majeure, the unfortunate but inevitable aftermath of a natural calamity. Japan lay prostrate. Industrial output had fallen to about 10% of pre-war levels, and as late as 1946, more than 13 million remained unemployed. Nearly 40% of Japan's urban areas had been turned to rubble, and some 9 million people were homeless. The war-displaced, many of them orphans, slept in doorways and hallways, in bombed-out ruins, dugouts and packing crates, under bridges or on pavements, and crowded the hallways of train and subway stations. As winter 1945 descended, with food, fuel, and clothing scarce, people froze to death. Bonfires lit the streets to ward off the chill. "The only warm hands I have shaken thus far in Japan belonged to Americans," Mark Gayn noted in December 1945. "The Japanese do not have much of a chance to thaw out, and their hands are cold and red." Unable to afford shoes, many wore straw sandals; those with geta felt themselves privileged. The sight of a man wearing a woman's high-buttoned shoes in winter epitomized the daily struggle to stay dry and warm. Shantytowns built of scrap wood, rusted metal, and scavenged odds and ends sprang up everywhere, resembling vast junk yards. The poorest searched smouldering refuse heaps for castoffs that might be bartered for a scrap to eat or wear. Black markets (yami'ichi) run by Japanese, Koreans, and For-mosans mushroomed to replace collapsed distribution channels and cash in on inflated prices. Tokyo became "a world of scarcity in which every nail, every rag, and even a tangerine peel [had a] market value." Psychologically numbed, disoriented, and disillusioned with their leaders, demobilized veterans and civilians alike struggled to get their bearings, shed militaristic ideologies, and begin to embrace new values. In the vacuum of defeat, the Japanese people appeared ready to reject the past and grasp at the straw held out by the former enemy. Relations between occupier and occupied were not smooth, however. American troops comported themselves like conquerors, especially in the early weeks and months of occupation. Much of the violence was directed against women, with the first attacks beginning within hours after the landing of advance units. When US paratroopers landed in Sapporo, an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling ensued. Newspaper accounts reported 931 serious offences by GIs in the Yokohama area during the first week of occupation, including 487 armed robberies, 411 thefts of currency or goods, 9 rapes, 5 break-ins, 3 cases of assault and battery, and 16 other acts of lawlessness. In the first 10 days of occupation, there were 1,336 reported rapes by US soldiers in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Americans were not the only perpetrators. A former prostitute recalled that when Australian troops arrived in Kure in early 1946, they “dragged young women into their jeeps, took them to the mountain, and then raped them. I heard them screaming for help nearly every night.” Such behaviour was commonplace, but news of criminal activity by occupation forces was quickly suppressed. On September 10, 1945, SCAP issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of reports and statistics "inimical to the objectives of the occupation." In the sole instance of self-help General Eichelberger records in his memoirs, when locals formed a vigilante group and retaliated against off-duty GIs, 8th Army ordered armored vehicles into the streets and arrested the ringleaders, who received lengthy prison terms. Misbehavior ranged from black-market activity, petty theft, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct to vandalism, arson, murder, and rape. Soldiers and sailors often broke the law with impunity, and incidents of robbery, rape, and even murder were widely reported. Gang rapes and other sex atrocities were not infrequent; victims, shunned as outcasts, sometimes turned to prostitution in desperation, while others took their own lives to avoid bringing shame to their families. Military courts arrested relatively few soldiers for these offenses and convicted even fewer; Japanese attempts at self-defense were punished severely, and restitution for victims was rare. Fearing the worst, Japanese authorities had already prepared countermeasures against the supposed rapacity of foreign soldiers. Imperial troops in East Asia and the Pacific had behaved brutally toward women, so the government established “sexual comfort-stations” manned by geisha, bar hostesses, and prostitutes to “satisfy the lust of the Occupation forces,” as the Higashikuni Cabinet put it. A budget of 100 million yen was set aside for these Recreation and Amusement Associations, financed initially with public funds but run as private enterprises under police supervision. Through these, the government hoped to protect the daughters of the well-born and middle class by turning to lower-class women to satisfy the soldiers' sexual appetites. By the end of 1945, brothel operators had rounded up an estimated 20,000 young women and herded them into RAA establishments nationwide. Eventually, as many as 70,000 are said to have ended up in the state-run sex industry. Thankfully, as military discipline took hold and fresh troops replaced the Allied veterans responsible for the early crime wave, violence subsided and the occupier's patronising behavior and the ugly misdeeds of a lawless few were gradually overlooked. However, fraternisation was frowned upon by both sides, and segregation was practiced in principle, with the Japanese excluded from areas reserved for Allied personnel until September 1949, when MacArthur lifted virtually all restrictions on friendly association, stating that he was “establishing the same relations between occupation personnel and the Japanese population as exists between troops stationed in the United States and the American people.” In principle, the Occupation's administrative structure was highly complex. The Far Eastern Commission, based in Washington, included representatives from all 13 countries that had fought against Japan and was established in 1946 to formulate basic principles. The Allied Council for Japan was created in the same year to assist in developing and implementing surrender terms and in administering the country. It consisted of representatives from the USA, the USSR, Nationalist China, and the British Commonwealth. Although both bodies were active at first, they were largely ineffectual due to unwieldy decision-making, disagreements between the national delegations (especially the USA and USSR), and the obstructionism of General Douglas MacArthur. In practice, SCAP, the executive authority of the occupation, effectively ruled Japan from 1945 to 1952. And since it took orders only from the US government, the Occupation became primarily an American affair. The US occupation program, effectively carried out by SCAP, was revolutionary and rested on a two-pronged approach. To ensure Japan would never again become a menace to the United States or to world peace, SCAP pursued disarmament and demilitarization, with continuing control over Japan's capacity to make war. This involved destroying military supplies and installations, demobilizing more than five million Japanese soldiers, and thoroughly discrediting the military establishment. Accordingly, SCAP ordered the purge of tens of thousands of designated persons from public service positions, including accused war criminals, military officers, leaders of ultranationalist societies, leaders in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, business leaders tied to overseas expansion, governors of former Japanese colonies, and national leaders who had steered Japan into war. In addition, MacArthur's International Military Tribunal for the Far East established a military court in Tokyo. It had jurisdiction over those charged with Class A crimes, top leaders who had planned and directed the war. Also considered were Class B charges, covering conventional war crimes, and Class C charges, covering crimes against humanity. Yet the military court in Tokyo wouldn't be the only one. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia, China, France, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. Among these, many, like General Ando Rikichi and Lieutenant-General Nomi Toshio, chose to commit suicide before facing prosecution. Notable cases include Lieutenant-General Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal for his role in the Nanjing Massacre; Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, who was executed in Nanjing for the murder of British and Chinese civilians during the occupation of Hong Kong. General Okamura Yasuji was convicted of war crimes by the Tribunal, yet he was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who kept him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang. In the Manila trials, General Yamashita Tomoyuki was sentenced to death as he was in overall command during the Sook Ching massacre, the Rape of Manila, and other atrocities. Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu was likewise executed in Manila for atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bataan Death March. General Imamura Hitoshi was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he considered the punishment too light and even had a replica of the prison built in his garden, remaining there until his death in 1968. Lieutenant-General Kanda Masatane received a 14-year sentence for war crimes on Bougainville, though he served only four years. Lieutenant-General Adachi Hatazo was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes in New Guinea and subsequently committed suicide on September 10, 1947. Lieutenant-General Teshima Fusataro received three years of forced labour for using a hospital ship to transport troops. Lieutenant-General Baba Masao was sentenced to death for ordering the Sandakan Death Marches, during which over 2,200 Australian and British prisoners of war perished. Lieutenant-General Tanabe Moritake was sentenced to death by a Dutch military tribunal for unspecified war crimes. Rear-Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu was executed in Guam for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered. Lieutenant-General Inoue Sadae was condemned to death in Guam for permitting subordinates to execute three downed American airmen captured in Palau, though his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1951 and he was released in 1953. Lieutenant-General Tachibana Yoshio was sentenced to death in Guam for his role in the Chichijima Incident, in which eight American airmen were cannibalized. By mid-1945, due to the Allied naval blockade, the 25,000 Japanese troops on Chichijima had run low on supplies. However, although the daily rice ration had been reduced from 400 grams per person per day to 240 grams, the troops were not at risk of starvation. In February and March 1945, in what would later be called the Chichijima incident, Tachibana Yoshio's senior staff turned to cannibalism. Nine American airmen had escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, eight of whom were captured. The ninth, the only one to evade capture, was future US President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot. Over several months, the prisoners were executed, and reportedly by the order of Major Matoba Sueyo, their bodies were butchered by the division's medical orderlies, with the livers and other organs consumed by the senior staff, including Matoba's superior Tachibana. In the Yokohama War Crimes Trials, Lieutenant-Generals Inada Masazumi and Yokoyama Isamu were convicted for their complicity in vivisection and other human medical experiments performed at Kyushu Imperial University on downed Allied airmen. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial, which began in May 1946 and lasted two and a half years, resulted in the execution by hanging of Generals Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro, and former Prime Ministers Hirota Koki and Tojo Hideki, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, specifically for the escalation of the Pacific War and for permitting the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Also sentenced to death were Lieutenant-General Muto Akira for his role in the Nanjing and Manila massacres; General Kimura Heitaro for planning the war strategy in China and Southeast Asia and for laxity in preventing atrocities against prisoners of war in Burma; and General Matsui Iwane for his involvement in the Rape of Nanjing. The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, including the last Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Generals Araki Sadao, Minami Hiro, and Umezu Shojiro, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, former Prime Ministers Hiranuma Kiichiro and Koiso Kuniaki, Marquis Kido Koichi, and Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, a major instigator of the second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, former Foreign Ministers Togo Shigenori and Shigemitsu Mamoru received seven- and twenty-year sentences, respectively. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals, including the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, which tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit known as Unit 731. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial, as MacArthur granted immunity to Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ-w warfare data derived from human experimentation. If you would like to learn more about what I like to call Japan's Operation Paper clip, whereupon the US grabbed many scientists from Unit 731, check out my exclusive podcast. The SCAP-turn to democratization began with the drafting of a new constitution in 1947, addressing Japan's enduring feudal social structure. In the charter, sovereignty was vested in the people, and the emperor was designated a “symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power.” Because the emperor now possessed fewer powers than European constitutional monarchs, some have gone so far as to say that Japan became “a republic in fact if not in name.” Yet the retention of the emperor was, in fact, a compromise that suited both those who wanted to preserve the essence of the nation for stability and those who demanded that the emperor system, though not necessarily the emperor, should be expunged. In line with the democratic spirit of the new constitution, the peerage was abolished and the two-chamber Diet, to which the cabinet was now responsible, became the highest organ of state. The judiciary was made independent and local autonomy was granted in vital areas of jurisdiction such as education and the police. Moreover, the constitution stipulated that “the people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights,” that they “shall be respected as individuals,” and that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall … be the supreme consideration in legislation.” Its 29 articles guaranteed basic human rights: equality, freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Finally, in its most controversial section, Article 9, the “peace clause,” Japan “renounce[d] war as a sovereign right of the nation” and vowed not to maintain any military forces and “other war potential.” To instill a thoroughly democratic ethos, reforms touched every facet of society. The dissolution of the zaibatsu decentralised economic power; the 1945 Labour Union Law and the 1946 Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective action; the 1947 Labour Standards Law established basic working standards for men and women; and the revised Civil Code of 1948 abolished the patriarchal household and enshrined sexual equality. Reflecting core American principles, SCAP introduced a 6-3-3 schooling system, six years of compulsory elementary education, three years of junior high, and an optional three years of senior high, along with the aim of secular, locally controlled education. More crucially, ideological reform followed: censorship of feudal material in media, revision of textbooks, and prohibition of ideas glorifying war, dying for the emperor, or venerating war heroes. With women enfranchised and young people shaped to counter militarism and ultranationalism, rural Japan was transformed to undermine lingering class divisions. The land reform program provided for the purchase of all land held by absentee landlords, allowed resident landlords and owner-farmers to retain a set amount of land, and required that the remaining land be sold to the government so it could be offered to existing tenants. In 1948, amid the intensifying tensions of the Cold War that would soon culminate in the Korean War, the occupation's focus shifted from demilitarization and democratization toward economic rehabilitation and, ultimately, the remilitarization of Japan, an shift now known as the “Reverse Course.” The country was thus rebuilt as the Pacific region's primary bulwark against the spread of Communism. An Economic Stabilisation Programme was introduced, including a five-year plan to coordinate production and target capital through the Reconstruction Finance Bank. In 1949, the anti-inflationary Dodge Plan was adopted, advocating balanced budgets, fixing the exchange rate at 360 yen to the dollar, and ending broad government intervention. Additionally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was formed and supported the formation of conglomerates centered around banks, which encouraged the reemergence of a somewhat weakened set of zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi. By the end of the Occupation era, Japan was on the verge of surpassing its 1934–1936 levels of economic growth. Equally important was Japan's rearmament in alignment with American foreign policy: a National Police Reserve of about 75,000 was created with the outbreak of the Korean War; by 1952 it had expanded to 110,000 and was renamed the Self-Defense Force after the inclusion of an air force. However, the Reverse Course also facilitated the reestablishment of conservative politics and the rollback of gains made by women and the reforms of local autonomy and education. As the Occupation progressed, the Americans permitted greater Japanese initiative, and power gradually shifted from the reformers to the moderates. By 1949, the purge of the right came under review, and many who had been condemned began returning to influence, if not to the Diet, then to behind-the-scenes power. At the same time, Japanese authorities, with MacArthur's support, began purging left-wing activists. In June 1950, for example, the central office of the Japan Communist Party and the editorial board of The Red Flag were purged. The gains made by women also seemed to be reversed. Women were elected to 8% of available seats in the first lower-house election in 1946, but to only 2% in 1952, a trend not reversed until the so-called Madonna Boom of the 1980s. Although the number of women voting continued to rise, female politicisation remained more superficial than might be imagined. Women's employment also appeared little affected by labour legislation: though women formed nearly 40% of the labor force in 1952, they earned only 45% as much as men. Indeed, women's attitudes toward labor were influenced less by the new ethos of fulfilling individual potential than by traditional views of family and workplace responsibilities. In the areas of local autonomy and education, substantial modifications were made to the reforms. Because local authorities lacked sufficient power to tax, they were unable to realise their extensive powers, and, as a result, key responsibilities were transferred back to national jurisdiction. In 1951, for example, 90% of villages and towns placed their police forces under the control of the newly formed National Police Agency. Central control over education was also gradually reasserted; in 1951, the Yoshida government attempted to reintroduce ethics classes, proposed tighter central oversight of textbooks, and recommended abolishing local school board elections. By the end of the decade, all these changes had been implemented. The Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands and the Habomai Islets was completed with Russian troops fully deployed by September 5. Immediately after the onset of the occupation, amid a climate of insecurity and fear marked by reports of sporadic rape and physical assault and widespread looting by occupying troops, an estimated 4,000 islanders fled to Hokkaido rather than face an uncertain repatriation. As Soviet forces moved in, they seized or destroyed telephone and telegraph installations and halted ship movements into and out of the islands, leaving residents without adequate food and other winter provisions. Yet, unlike Manchuria, where Japanese civilians faced widespread sexual violence and pillage, systematic violence against the civilian population on the Kuriles appears to have been exceptional. A series of military government proclamations assured islanders of safety so long as they did not resist Soviet rule and carried on normally; however, these orders also prohibited activities not explicitly authorized by the Red Army, which imposed many hardships on civilians. Residents endured harsh conditions under Soviet rule until late 1948, when Japanese repatriation out of the Kurils was completed. The Kuriles posed a special diplomatic problem, as the occupation of the southernmost islands—the Northern Territories—ignited a long-standing dispute between Tokyo and Moscow that continues to impede the normalisation of relations today. Although the Kuriles were promised to the Soviet Union in the Yalta agreement, Japan and the United States argued that this did not apply to the Northern Territories, since they were not part of the Kurile Islands. A substantial dispute regarding the status of the Kurile Islands arose between the United States and the Soviet Union during the preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco, which was intended as a permanent peace treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of World War II. The treaty was ultimately signed by 49 nations in San Francisco on September 8, 1951, and came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes, ended the Allied post-war occupation of Japan, and returned full sovereignty to Japan. Effectively, the document officially renounced Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores, the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica, and South Sakhalin. Japan's South Seas Mandate, namely the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Caroline Islands, had already been formally revoked by the United Nations on July 18, 1947, making the United States responsible for administration of those islands under a UN trusteeship agreement that established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In turn, the Bonin, Volcano, and Ryukyu Islands were progressively restored to Japan between 1953 and 1972, along with the Senkaku Islands, which were disputed by both Communist and Nationalist China. In addition, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan and the United States signed a Security Treaty that established a long-lasting military alliance between them. Although Japan renounced its rights to the Kuriles, the U.S. State Department later clarified that “the Habomai Islands and Shikotan ... are properly part of Hokkaido and that Japan is entitled to sovereignty over them,” hence why the Soviets refused to sign the treaty. Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and as a result the Kurile Islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory. A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Taipei (formally the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty), was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952 between Japan and the Kuomintang, and on June 9 of that year the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India followed. Finally, Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, though this did not settle the Kurile Islands dispute. Even after these formal steps, Japan as a nation was not in a formal state of war, and many Japanese continued to believe the war was ongoing; those who held out after the surrender came to be known as Japanese holdouts.  Captain Oba Sakae and his medical company participated in the Saipan campaign beginning on July 7, 1944, and took part in what would become the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. After 15 hours of intense hand-to-hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead, and Oba and his men were presumed among them. In reality, however, he survived the battle and gradually assumed command of over a hundred additional soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Oba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture, organizing them into mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Oba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of US Marines. He used the 1,552‑ft Mount Tapochau as their primary base, which offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Oba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the Marines' frustrated attempts to find him, the Saipan Marines eventually referred to Oba as “The Fox.” Oba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On November 27, 1945, former Major-General Amo Umahachi was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amo was then able to present documents from the defunct IGHQ to Oba ordering him and his 46 remaining men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On December 1, the Japanese soldiers gathered on Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead; Oba led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Oba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kirgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. On January 2, 1946, 20 Japanese soldiers hiding in a tunnel at Corregidor Island surrendered after learning the war had ended from a newspaper found while collecting water. In that same month, 120 Japanese were routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila. In April, during a seven-week campaign to clear Lubang Island, 41 more Japanese emerged from the jungle, unaware that the war had ended; however, a group of four Japanese continued to resist. In early 1947, Lieutenant Yamaguchi Ei and his band of 33 soldiers renewed fighting with the small Marine garrison on Peleliu, prompting reinforcements under Rear-Admiral Charles Pownall to be brought to the island to hunt down the guerrilla group. Along with them came former Rear-Admiral Sumikawa Michio, who ultimately convinced Yamaguchi to surrender in April after almost three years of guerrilla warfare. Also in April, seven Japanese emerged from Palawan Island and fifteen armed stragglers emerged from Luzon. In January 1948, 200 troops surrendered on Mindanao; and on May 12, the Associated Press reported that two unnamed Japanese soldiers had surrendered to civilian policemen in Guam the day before. On January 6, 1949, two former IJN soldiers, machine gunners Matsudo Rikio and Yamakage Kufuku, were discovered on Iwo Jima and surrendered peacefully. In March 1950, Private Akatsu Yūichi surrendered in the village of Looc, leaving only three Japanese still resisting on Lubang. By 1951 a group of Japanese on Anatahan Island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them. This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorros from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of a Saipan-based B-29. The Chamorros reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawan woman. Personal aggravations developed from the close confines of a small group on a small island and from tuba drinking; among the holdouts, 6 of 11 deaths were the result of violence, and one man displayed 13 knife wounds. The presence of only one woman, Higa Kazuko, caused considerable difficulty as she would transfer her affections among at least four men after each of them mysteriously disappeared, purportedly “swallowed by the waves while fishing.” According to the more sensational versions of the Anatahan tale, 11 of the 30 navy sailors stranded on the island died due to violent struggles over her affections. In July 1950, Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared offshore and finally asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, told authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over. As the Japanese government showed interest in the situation on Anatahan, the families of the holdouts were contacted in Japan and urged by the Navy to write letters stating that the war was over and that the holdouts should surrender. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and ultimately convinced the holdouts to give themselves up. Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” commenced from Saipan under the command of Lt. Commander James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Johnson and an interpreter went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the surrender on the morning of June 30, 1951. The Anatahan femme fatale story later inspired the 1953 Japanese film Anatahan and the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea. In 1953, Murata Susumu, the last holdout on Tinian, was finally captured. The next year, on May 7, Corporal Sumada Shoichi was killed in a clash with Filipino soldiers, leaving only two Japanese still resisting on Lubang. In November 1955, Seaman Kinoshita Noboru was captured in the Luzon jungle but soon after committed suicide rather than “return to Japan in defeat.” That same year, four Japanese airmen surrendered at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea; and in 1956, nine soldiers were located and sent home from Morotai, while four men surrendered on Mindoro. In May 1960, Sergeant Ito Masashi became one of the last Japanese to surrender at Guam after the capture of his comrade Private Minagawa Bunzo, but the final surrender at Guam would come later with Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi. Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi survived in the jungles of Guam by living for years in an elaborately dug hole, subsisting on snails and lizards, a fate that, while undignified, showcased his ingenuity and resilience and earned him a warm welcome on his return to Japan. His capture was not heroic in the traditional sense: he was found half-starving by a group of villagers while foraging for shrimp in a stream, and the broader context included his awareness as early as 1952 that the war had ended. He explained that the wartime bushido code, emphasizing self-sacrifice or suicide rather than self-preservation, had left him fearing that repatriation would label him a deserter and likely lead to execution. Emerging from the jungle, Yokoi also became a vocal critic of Japan's wartime leadership, including Emperor Hirohito, which fits a view of him as a product of, and a prisoner within, his own education, military training, and the censorship and propaganda of the era. When asked by a young nephew how he survived so long on an island just a short distance from a major American airbase, he replied simply, “I was really good at hide and seek.”  That same year, Private Kozuka Kinshichi was killed in a shootout with Philippine police in October, leaving Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo still resisting on Lubang. Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island and harass the Allied occupying forces until the IJA eventually returned. Despite efforts by the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, radio broadcasts, and even a plea from Onoda's brother, he did not believe the war was over. On February 20, 1974, Onoda encountered a young Japanese university dropout named Suzuki Norio, who was traveling the world and had told friends that he planned to “look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order.” The two became friends, but Onoda stated that he was waiting for orders from one of his commanders. On March 9, 1974, Onoda went to an agreed-upon place and found a note left by Suzuki. Suzuki had brought along Onoda's former commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender. Intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Onoda Hiroo thus emerged from Lubang's jungle with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan's formal surrender, and 15 years after being declared legally dead in Japan. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly. He received a hero's welcome upon his return to Japan in 1974. The Japanese government offered him a large sum of money in back pay, which he refused. When money was pressed on him by well-wishers, he donated it to Yasukuni Shrine. Onoda was reportedly unhappy with the attention and what he saw as the withering of traditional Japanese values. He wrote No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, a best-selling autobiography published in 1974. Yet the last Japanese to surrender would be Private Nakamura Teruo, an Amis aborigine from Formosa and a member of the Takasago Volunteers. Private Nakamura Teruo spent the tail end of World War II with a dwindling band on Morotai, repeatedly dispersing and reassembling in the jungle as they hunted for food. The group suffered continuous losses to starvation and disease, and survivors described Nakamura as highly self-sufficient. He left to live alone somewhere in the Morotai highlands between 1946 and 1947, rejoined the main group in 1950, and then disappeared again a few years later. Nakamura hinted in print that he fled into the jungle because he feared the other holdouts might murder him. He survives for decades beyond the war, eventually being found by 11 Indonesian soldiers. The emergence of an indigenous Taiwanese soldier among the search party embarrassed Japan as it sought to move past its imperial past. Many Japanese felt Nakamura deserved compensation for decades of loyalty, only to learn that his back pay for three decades of service amounted to 68,000 yen.   Nakamura's experience of peace was complex. When a journalist asked how he felt about “wasting” three decades of his life on Morotai, he replied that the years had not been wasted; he had been serving his country. Yet the country he returned to was Taiwan, and upon disembarking in Taipei in early January 1975, he learned that his wife had a son he had never met and that she had remarried a decade after his official death. Nakamura eventually lived with a daughter, and his story concluded with a bittersweet note when his wife reconsidered and reconciled with him. Several Japanese soldiers joined local Communist and insurgent groups after the war to avoid surrender. Notably, in 1956 and 1958, two soldiers returned to Japan after service in China's People's Liberation Army. Two others who defected with a larger group to the Malayan Communist Party around 1945 laid down their arms in 1989 and repatriated the next year, becoming among the last to return home. That is all for today, but fear not I will provide a few more goodies over the next few weeks. I will be releasing some of my exclusive podcast episodes from my youtube membership and patreon that are about pacific war subjects. Like I promised the first one will be on why Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Until then if you need your fix you know where to find me: eastern front week by week, fall and rise of china, echoes of war or on my Youtube membership of patreon at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.

Today's Topics: 1) A Tik-Toker has issued a warning, claiming that more violence will take place targeting children in religious schools and churches https://x.com/ShadowofEzra/status/1961446298143408543 2, 3) Minnesota trans-killer of Catholic school children inspired by "secret satanic network" https://thepostmillennial.com/minnesota-trans-killer-of-catholic-schoolchildren-inspired-by-secret-satanic-network-report 4) We must prepare the child when young to reject satanism https://www.tfp.org/we-must-prepare-the-child-when-young-to-reject-satanism/

Now Trump is saying he wants ABC and NBC's broadcast licenses revoked because ... reasons. This is the mentality of a dictator and every day it is getting more obvious how insecure he is and how much danger we are all in

#SWAMPWATCH / WAPO: Psychologically Rich Life / Men Having Babies / Ozempic Lawsuits.

Why is living in vows is so powerful? In order to get another decent human body, in a condition of a reasonable human life, we need many conditions for that. We are in charge of our life but we're not used to believing it, we somehow feel that someone out there will take care of us, but Buddhism doesn't talk like that. It's up to us. We have to decide what kind of rebirth we want. We have to decide, intention is - I will. To get another decent human mother we need bucket loads of rich intentional non-killing seeds in our mind. So we need to know how to create them. We need to have plenty of those so that when we die peacefully, that one of those seeds can be triggered, and we'll get another decent human mother, and keep on moving on our spiritual path. We've got to go through this inconvenient thing called death, and start again with a little baby body, and off we go again, it's a drag. But given that we have to do it, let's navigate it as well as possible. Let's be in charge of it! Don't just cross our fingers and hope for the best. There are four things that need to be in place in order to have a non-killing karmic seed drop into our complete karmic action bank vault. There has to be first the object of the action, a living being, for example a mouse. The second is your mind involved, discrimination - that is the mouse I must not kill, then the thought, the intention - I must not kill the mouse, now the crucial piece, the motivation is compassion for the mouse. The compassion, the motivation is what makes the action virtuous, and obviously the stronger the compassion, the more the action is virtuous, the more rich and delicious the karmic seed is. The third thing is the action, you save the mouse. Then fourth, the result, a happy living mouse. This is where we can turn an ordinary deluded action into a virtuous action by merely changing our motivation. This is the power of motivation. Let's look at the action of eating. First is the object, for example a cake. Second is your mind involved in it, you intend to eat the cake, normally that intention is completely mixed with attachment, spontaneously, we're programmed with attachment. So what we've got to do before we shove it in the mouth, we offer it to the Buddha, see it as empty of existing from it's own side, and think I'm going to eat this cake so I can be fat and healthy, so I can help others. You make it bodhichitta. It's actually so simple, if we understood how easy it is to create virtue, we'd be over the moon. This is so powerful! Then the cake goes in the mouth, but you've completely altered the character of that action. You've turned it from a typical negative action of mindless attachment to a positive action. It's so simple, it's incredible! That's why we have to remember, every action we do in the day - eating, sleeping, going to the toilet, going to bed, having sex with your lovely new boyfriend, whatever - you can put Bodhichitta in there. But we get shocked when we hear this because we think oh no that's bad, you can't do that, no no. Rubbish, of course you can! Don't go round killing people with Bodhichitta please, that's not cool. But get my point, all the ordinary things in the day that we can't imagine not doing, we can turn them into virtuous actions by being conscious and having a positive motivation. It's better than nothing, eventually when you are a Bodhisattva, it will only be a positive motivation, there won't be any taint of delusions, but we've got to start somewhere. Just to get another human body when we die, we need one seed, but you can't just rely on one, you've got to have plenty there. You need lots of non-killing karmic seeds. This is a really important point to get, this is where vows come in now. If I didn't have a vow not to kill, when I see a creature and intentionally decide that I will not kill, because of compassion, it's only then that I will drop a non-killing karmic seed into my bank vault. But if you don't meet many creatures, then how many times a day do you actually have the intention - I will not kill? Karma is proactive, it's intention, I will! Probably we are sitting here merely not killing, we're not killing at this moment, but we're not creating any virtuous karma of not killing. So how are we going to create the karma of not killing and have enough karmic seeds in our mind? So how do we then create bucketloads of non-killing karma without having to not kill? By living in vows of not killing. This is such a technical simple point, that if we did understand it, we would be sad not to live in vows. We really don't understand it. Psychologically vows are incredible! This is buddha's teaching! Vows are so powerful that they are like a subtle physical energy that can be seen by clairvoyants. Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity, New Zealand, 19th April 2021.

Happiness is NOT necessarily the same as contentment: Learning to be satisfied comes from a combination of not only finding happiness, but doing so without harm to self or others.Contact Us: TheWORDHouse@frontier.com; TheWORDHouse.com; @WORDHouse; or calling 304.523.WORD (9673).

Continuing our work with the Third Chakra, today's insight is about channeling your life force, or zest, into positive action. Unaddressed anger can be a powerful but destructive energy. When you feel anger, it's often a sign of a boundary crossed or an unmet need. Spiritually, this is an opportunity to assert your will in a healthy way. Psychologically, studies show that channeling intense emotion into productive, goal-oriented activities (like creative work or exercise) can lead to a state of flow, reducing rumination and increasing feelings of accomplishment. WELCOME TO THIS WEEK'S SERIES: THE UNCONDITIONAL HEART: TURNING ANGER INTO POSITIVE ENERGY This series is your guide to transforming the energy of anger into something powerful and positive. We'll explore spiritual insights and practices rooted in the chakra system, a concept in Eastern traditions that describes energetic centers in the body. We'll move from the core of your power to the wellspring of your creativity, culminating in the limitless compassion of your heart. This is day 3 of a 7-day meditation series, "The Unconditional Heart: Turning Anger into Positive Energy," episodes 3360-3369. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE Acts of Compassion Quest: For the next seven days, practice one small act of self-compassion and one act of gratitude each day. This could be as simple as acknowledging your own humanity when you make a mistake and consciously listing one thing you are thankful for. YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY DURING THIS WEEK'S SERIES Day 1:   Releasing Anger Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I give thanks to this present moment." Day 3:  Flowing River Breath Day 4:  Mudra to Trust Yourself Day 5:  Second chakra flow meditation Day 6: Flow meditation combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Continuing our work with the Third Chakra, today's insight is about channeling your life force, or zest, into positive action. Unaddressed anger can be a powerful but destructive energy. When you feel anger, it's often a sign of a boundary crossed or an unmet need. Spiritually, this is an opportunity to assert your will in a healthy way. Psychologically, studies show that channeling intense emotion into productive, goal-oriented activities (like creative work or exercise) can lead to a state of flow, reducing rumination and increasing feelings of accomplishment. WELCOME TO THIS WEEK'S SERIES: THE UNCONDITIONAL HEART: TURNING ANGER INTO POSITIVE ENERGY This series is your guide to transforming the energy of anger into something powerful and positive. We'll explore spiritual insights and practices rooted in the chakra system, a concept in Eastern traditions that describes energetic centers in the body. We'll move from the core of your power to the wellspring of your creativity, culminating in the limitless compassion of your heart. This is day 2 of a 7-day meditation series, "The Unconditional Heart: Turning Anger into Positive Energy," episodes 3360-3369. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE Acts of Compassion Quest: For the next seven days, practice one small act of self-compassion and one act of gratitude each day. This could be as simple as acknowledging your own humanity when you make a mistake and consciously listing one thing you are thankful for. YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY DURING THIS WEEK'S SERIES Day 1:   Releasing Anger Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I give thanks to this present moment." Day 3:  Flowing River Breath Day 4:  Mudra to Trust Yourself Day 5:  Second chakra flow meditation Day 6: Flow meditation combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Sarah shares her story about the psychological, sexual, and financial abuse she endured at the hands of her abusive ex. Sarah describes how her partner used 'logic' to manipulate her into compliance, isolation, feeling powerless, and trapped. It's a story of psychological abuse, coercive control, financial abuse, kernels of truth,  logic, isolation, compliance, ptsd, intergenerational trauma, gaslighting, relationship dynamics, invalidation, sexual coercion, and personal autonomy. *** CONTENT WARNING - We discuss Sexual Coercion in this episode. *** Sarah can be found at www.strategiesforhappiness.com If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or send us an email at narcissistapocalypse@gmail.com PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS: Perfect Prey With Dr. Christine Cocchiola | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Covert Narcissism Podcast | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bitch is a Bad Word | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ When Dating Hurts Podcast | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you or someone you know are experiencing abuse, you are not alone. DomesticShelters.org offers an extensive library of articles and resources that can help you make sense of what you're experiencing, connect you with local resources and find ways to heal and move forward. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.domesticshelters.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to access this free resource.  If you need help moving due to domestic violence, Shelter Movers may be able to help you. They operate by referral. Clients may be referred by any person of authority (social worker, doctor, police, crisis counselor, teacher, etc.) or public agency (shelter, hospital, school, workplace, place of worship, sexual assault centre, etc.).  To reach them, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our new Community Social Network at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://community.narcissistapocalypse.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Instagram Channel at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/narcissistapocalypse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Youtube Channel at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpTIgjTqVJa4caNWMIAJllA⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilena as she discusses Common Core, a set of K-12 education standards used to guide the teachings of math and language arts to students. Included are studies of Common Core's effects on students and educators, its implementation across various states, and the uncovered truths about its overall efficacy on children's learning and psyche.  This episode is show 7 in the continuing series of Common Core episodes.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/new-heights-show-on-education--4114185/support.

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Sarah shares her story about the psychological, sexual, and financial abuse she endured at the hands of her abusive ex. Sarah describes how her partner used 'logic' to manipulate her into compliance, isolation, feeling powerless, and trapped. It's a story of psychological abuse, coercive control, financial abuse, kernels of truth,  logic, isolation, compliance, ptsd, intergenerational trauma, gaslighting, relationship dynamics, invalidation, sexual coercion, and personal autonomy. *** CONTENT WARNING - We discuss Sexual Coercion in this episode. *** Sarah can be found at ⁠www.strategiesforhappiness.com⁠ If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or send us an email at narcissistapocalypse@gmail.com PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS: Perfect Prey With Dr. Christine Cocchiola | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Covert Narcissism Podcast | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bitch is a Bad Word | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ When Dating Hurts Podcast | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you or someone you know are experiencing abuse, you are not alone. DomesticShelters.org offers an extensive library of articles and resources that can help you make sense of what you're experiencing, connect you with local resources and find ways to heal and move forward. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.domesticshelters.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to access this free resource.  If you need help moving due to domestic violence, Shelter Movers may be able to help you. They operate by referral. Clients may be referred by any person of authority (social worker, doctor, police, crisis counselor, teacher, etc.) or public agency (shelter, hospital, school, workplace, place of worship, sexual assault centre, etc.).  To reach them, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our new Community Social Network at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://community.narcissistapocalypse.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Instagram Channel at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/narcissistapocalypse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Youtube Channel at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpTIgjTqVJa4caNWMIAJllA⁠⁠

We don't resist change because we're lazy. We resist it because it's psychologically costly. Read the article linked below or listed to learn what we can do to overcome it! Thrive Global Article:Why Change Is Psychologically Costly—and What We Can Do About ItAbout Lainie:Lainie Rowell is a bestselling author, award-winning educator, and TEDx speaker. She is dedicated to human flourishing, focusing on community building, emotional intelligence, and honoring what makes each of us unique and dynamic through learner-driven design. She earned her degree in psychology and went on to earn both a post-graduate credential and a master's degree in education. An international keynote speaker, Lainie has presented in 41 states as well as in dozens of countries across 4 continents. As a consultant, Lainie's client list ranges from Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Google to school districts and independent schools. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/lainierowell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Website - ⁠LainieRowell.com⁠Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LainieRowell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn - @LainieRowellX/Twitter - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LainieRowell ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Evolving with Gratitude, the book is available ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And now, Bold Gratitude: The Journal Designed for You and by You is available too!Both Evolving with Gratitude & Bold Gratitude have generous bulk pricing for purchasing 10+ copies delivered to the same location.

Welcome to Season 3 of Psychologically Speaking, hosted by psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge. This season, we explore joy not as a feeling to define, but as an experience that moves us, connects us, and shapes how we live and work. In this short teaser episode, Leila shares the story behind choosing joy as her word of the year, the psychology of positive emotions, and why joy matters more than ever in a world that often dismisses it as a distraction.We'll explore:The science behind joy, including Broaden-and-Build TheoryHow joy supports identity, motivation, and social connectionReal stories, guest interviews, and solo episodes that dig into joy's role in creativity, leadership, and everyday lifeIf you're curious about the psychology of joy, identity, and the subtle ways we shape our lives this season is for you.

3 Actions to Bring Forth SuccessSet a “trust checkpoint” daily: reflect on one moment where God showed up.Replace fear-based thoughts with affirmations grounded in scripture.Designate one space (physical or virtual) as your “safe sanctuary” to decompress, reflect, and reset.

What does it really mean to live a rich life? Today's guest, Dr. Shige Oishi, challenges what we usually think of happiness and meaning by introducing us to the concept of a "psychologically rich life."A psychologically rich life is about collecting diverse and transformative experiences that shift our perspectives and expand our minds, rather than just chasing positive feelings or a singular sense of purpose. Social psychologist and author of the new book, Life in Three Dimensions, Dr. Oishi shares why seeking variety, spontaneity, and novel experiences can profoundly enhance our growth, resilience, and overall fulfillment.You'll learn:- Why chasing happiness alone can set you up for disappointment—and what to pursue instead.- How psychological richness enhances well-being through diversity and depth of experience.- Practical strategies to incorporate more richness into your daily life and why spontaneity is key- The role fiction and storytelling play in expanding your emotional and cognitive horizons- How reframing setbacks as opportunities for interesting experiences fosters resilience.--------------The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

If you're an injured runner we can help you get back to running pain-free.Click the link to book a free call with ushttps://matthewboydphysio.com/booking/Running Fundamentals Coursehttps://matthewboydphysio.com/running-fundamentals-course/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/matthewboydphysio/SummaryThis episode explores the significance of sprint training for endurance runners, detailing its benefits in enhancing performance, preventing injuries, and promoting overall health. Matthew Boyd discusses the physiological advantages of sprint training, including increased muscular power, improved running economy, and enhanced anaerobic capacity. He also emphasizes the psychological benefits of maintaining a high level of physical activity as one ages. The conversation concludes with practical advice on how to effectively incorporate sprint training into a running regimen.TakeawaysEndurance runners benefit from sprint training despite not racing at sprint speeds.Sprint training increases muscular power, making slower running easier.Improved elastic recoil from sprint training enhances running efficiency.Anaerobic capacity is crucial for handling surges during races.Sprint training can improve VO2 max, raising performance ceilings.Stronger muscles from sprint training help protect against injuries.Sprint intervals can reduce all-cause mortality and improve health.Psychologically, sprint training helps combat the fear of injury as we age.Proper recovery is essential between sprint intervals for maximum effort.Sprint training should be incorporated regularly, regardless of age.

Hey there, welcome back to Authentically ADHD! I'm so glad you pressed play on this episode today, because its on a topic that when I learned it, i found out it was the work i never knew i was missing and this skill has given me so much more access to my authentic self. Today, we're diving into a big, messy, important topic: self-trust – or as I like to call it, the tangled web of self-trust. Now, if you just chuckled nervously or sighed "ugh, self-trust...", you're in the right place. Stick around for the next 25 minutes, and we'll untangle this web together with a healthy dose of honesty, humor, and hope.Host (conversational): So, self-trust. Raise your hand if you've ever said something like, "I can't trust myself to do anything right!" (I'm raising mine high, by the way). Maybe you promised yourself you'd start that project well before the deadline, only to find yourself pulling an all-nighter again. Or you swore you'd not forget your friend's birthday this time, and then... whoops, you did – again. If any of this rings a bell, you are so not alone. In fact, one ADHD coach bluntly observed: "This is the truth about ADHD and self-trust: it doesn't exist. ADHD adults don't trust themselves at all. Our self-concept begins to erode pretty early in life". Ouch, right? That sounds harsh, but for many of us it feels true. Our confidence in ourselves got pretty banged up over the years.Host (relatable anecdote): I want to start with a little story here. Picture late-diagnosed me a few years back, before I knew I had ADHD. Every morning I'd pep-talk myself: "Today, I'm gonna get everything on my to-do list done. I got this." And every evening I'd go to bed thinking, "I screwed it up again. What is wrong with me?" I remember once triple-booking my Saturday because Past Me didn't trust Future Me to actually remember my plans – I figured at least one of those events I'd flake on, so better to have backups!

To sign up for our Patreon go to-> Patreon.com/cultofconspiracypodcast To Join the Cajun Knight Patreon---> Patreon.com/cajunknight To Find The Cajun Knight Youtube Channel---> click hereTo Invest In Gold & Silver, CHECK OUT—-> Www.Cocsilver.com 10% OFF Rife Machine---> https://rifemachine.myshopify.com/?rfsn=7689156.6a9b5c To find the Meta Mysteries Podcast---> https://open.spotify.com/show/6IshwF6qc2iuqz3WTPz9Wv?si=3a32c8f730b34e79 50% OFF Adam&Eve products---> :adameve.com (promo code : CULT) To Sign up for our Rokfin go to --> Rokfin.com/cultofconspiracy Cult Of Conspiracy Linktree ---> https://linktr.ee/cultofconspiracyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cult-of-conspiracy--5700337/support.

Welcome to Coffee House Coaching, where great conversations are brewed one powerful question at a time. I'm your host, Gary Nowak, and each episode is caffeinated by 8 thought-provoking, no-fluff questions designed to tap into the Coaches insight, impact and inner work of their practice. Today's guest is John Schuster where he described  a  philosophical conversation with a client on epistemology (a.k.a. “How do we know what we know?”). "Presence, Poetry, and the Power of Stillness — Coaching with John Schuster."

What happens when you strip your smartphone of its “smart”? In this Doctor’s Desk deep dive, Justin and Kylie unpack a groundbreaking new study showing what really happens when people block mobile internet on their smartphones. The results? Better focus. Improved wellbeing. Healthier screen habits. Drawing on the science, personal experience, and insights from Jonathan Haidt and game designers themselves, this episode offers a wake-up call—and a way forward—for families navigating digital overload. KEY POINTS First-of-its-kind research: A randomised controlled trial published in PNAS Nexus found that blocking mobile internet improved sustained attention, mental health, and subjective wellbeing. 91% improved: Nearly all participants in the study saw measurable gains by turning off mobile internet for just two weeks. How behaviour changes: People spent more time socialising, exercising, and being in nature—activities that are strongly linked to happiness and resilience. Jonathan Haidt’s insight: The greatest harm of screens isn’t just anxiety—it’s the destruction of attention and the erosion of childhood development. Addiction by design: Game developers and social media engineers want you and your kids to be addicted. Their business depends on it. Not all screen time is equal: Watching a movie with someone? Often fine. Scrolling alone on a touchscreen? Psychologically harmful. QUOTE OF THE EPISODE “We are prisoners to our devices—and the smartest people on earth designed it that way.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Study: Blocking Mobile Internet on Smartphones Improves Sustained Attention, Mental Health, and Subjective Wellbeing (PNAS Nexus) The Anxious Generation – Jonathan Haidt The Parenting Revolution – Dr Justin Coulson happyfamilies.com.au The Light Phone 3 (Justin’s personal attempt at going “dumb”) ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS Block Internet Access on Phones Use settings or third-party tools to disable mobile internet on smartphones, especially for kids. Switch to “Dumb Mode” Calls and texts only. Move social and entertainment use to desktop computers to limit impulsive use. Model Change Yourself Consider your own phone use. Try a one-week mobile internet detox and note how your mind and mood change. Prioritise Real-World Activity Encourage (and plan for) more time in nature, exercise, and in-person connection. Educate & Equip Talk to your kids about how screens are designed. Teach them to spot manipulation—and reclaim their attention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons are Gone | India Destroyed Pakistan Psychologically | Col Mayank Choubey

Introduction to Mental Alchemy Ever felt like life melted you down just to see what you're made of? I've been there... lying flat on my back after yet another surgery, stripped of my strength, dignity, and purpose. But that moment became my forge. That's when I discovered the real power of mental alchemy. This article dives into a transformational process that most high performers overlook. Mental alchemy isn't about ignoring pain or pushing through it. It's about transmuting it. We'll explore how ancient Hermetic wisdom, blended with modern performance psychology, can help you convert breakdowns into breakthroughs. You'll learn: What mental alchemy really is Why it matters more than ever How to implement it step-by-step Common mistakes to avoid Advanced strategies for those already on the path If you're ready to stop letting pain control you and start using it as fuel for your transformation, read on. What Is Mental Alchemy? Mental alchemy is the process of transforming emotional pain, limiting beliefs, and internal chaos into clarity, strength, and purpose. Rooted in Hermetic philosophy..."As within, so without"...mental alchemy teaches that true change happens from the inside out. Hermetic alchemists believed in transmuting base metals into gold. But modern mental warriors? We transmute shame into self-respect... trauma into triumph. Psychologically, this parallels the process of emotional integration, shadow work, and cognitive reframing. Neuroscience supports it too: by changing our interpretations and responses, we literally rewire our brains. That's mental alchemy in action. Many confuse it with "positive thinking." But this isn't about bypassing or sugarcoating reality. It's about facing darkness with courage, extracting its wisdom, and choosing who you want to become because of it. Why Mental Alchemy Matters More Than Ever In a world obsessed with hustle and optimization, few talk about what happens when your inner world crashes. Mental alchemy matters because breakdowns are inevitable. Burnout. Divorce. Betrayal. Injury. Business failure. I've been through them all. The question isn't if you'll face pain... it's what you'll do with it. Here's why mental alchemy is a non-negotiable skill: -> Clarity through chaos: When emotions cloud judgment, mental alchemy helps distill truth from the noise. -> Self-leadership: It returns sovereignty. No longer are you at the mercy of triggers or circumstances. -> Performance resilience: Alchemists don't crumble under pressure. They evolve through it. In my own life, surviving a deadly avalanche on Mt. Rainier forced me into alchemy. I came out more centered, focused, and connected to purpose than ever before. Pain became my portal. Common Challenges and Limiting Beliefs Mental alchemy sounds powerful...and it is...but many struggle with common mindset traps: "Pain means I'm weak": Truth? Avoiding pain is weakness. Facing it is strength. "I should be over this by now": Healing isn't linear. Alchemy is cyclical. "I can't change my wiring": Neuroplasticity proves otherwise. I used to believe I had to "man up" and push through everything. It wasn't until I confronted my stuttering, shame, and PTSD that true transformation began. The lie that strength means suppression nearly killed me. Mental alchemy means challenging these beliefs and rewriting your internal code. The Mental Alchemy Method: A Step-by-Step Guide Step 1: Calcination – Break the Illusion This is the ego burn. Identify the limiting identities that no longer serve you: perfectionist, victim, people-pleaser. Write them down. Burn them. Feel the loss. Let go. Step 2: Dissolution – Feel It to Free It Stop numbing. Feel the grief, anger, shame. Use breathwork, journaling, or guided somatic release. Emotions are energy. Let them move. Step 3: Separation – Extract the Lesson Look into the pain.

 Megan At the Sex Shop: Part 3 Megan's strip club education.Based on posts by p Sullivan 2 22 22, in 4 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Megan woke up. The first thing she realized was that her hand was between her legs, her fingers softly rubbing her clit. The second thing she realized was that she was very wet. And the third thing she realized was that she still had dry cum all over her body. The images from yesterday flashed in her mind. José fingers in her ass, the glory hole, all those cocks. She could still remember the taste of all that cum. She wet her lips and moved her tongue around her mouth, reminiscing of when it was full of cock. The memories were turning her on. All those men desiring her, lusting over her. They needed her. They wanted her. She made all those cocks hard with her body, with her wet lips. Megan's nipples hardened and she could feel herself getting more wet. She desperately wanted to keep playing but José and Lauren were very specific that sluts needed to stay horny. Frustrated, Megan pulled her hand away from her cunt. She went about her morning routine of showering, brushing her teeth, doing her nails and makeup.She stood naked in front of her closet and thought about what she wanted to wear. This would be her 4th day at work. The days have been progressively getting more and more wild, and she knew she was addicted. She loved it. She loved the attention, and the lust, and how it made her feel. She knew she had to have more.Megan critically assessed her closet. There was no longer any doubt. This was a stripper's closet. Megan selected a sleeveless, pink lace mini dress. It was the type of dress that strippers wore in between their pole routines when they walk around the club trying to entice men to pay for a private dance. This dress is usually worn with panties, but Lauren was so critical last time. Megan decided that it was better not to risk getting criticized again, so she decided to wear the lace dress with no panties and no bra. Megan rationalized that so many people have already seen her naked, it didn't really matter. And, her regular panties are so small, that it was basically the same as not wearing any, anyways. She paired the dress with a pair of high heel stripper heels.Megan was in the hallway of her apartment building, waiting for the elevator. She was on her way to work. Steve, her next-door neighbor, was leaving at the same time."Hey Megan....holy shit. Damn. What are you wearing?"Megan just smiled. "Do you like it? I just bought it. I have to wear sexy outfits for work.""I love it. You look unbelievable." responded Steve."Thank you.""What kind of work do you do? Like stripper or escort." Steve asked."It was a fair question given how she was dressed" thought Megan to herself."No, I work in the adult toy store, the adult emporium" explained Megan."Yeah. ok. That's cool. But do you also like work hourly. Can I pay you?" asked Steve fumbling with the words."What do you mean. Pay for what?""I mean. The way you are dressed. Aren't you an escort and that story about the adult store is just like a cover story. If you tell me how much you charge? I can totally pay.""You want to have sex with me and pay for it" asked Megan her tone a mix of shock and surprise."Oh, sorry. I don't know how this works. I've never hired an escort before. Do you have like a menu with prices?" asked Steve.Megan felt like she should be furious to be mistaken for a hooker. She wasn't a hooker or a prostitute or a stripper or a whore or whatever other name they go by. She felt like she should be angry and tell Steve to go fuck himself.Instead, she found herself playing along. "I don't have a menu. But what would you like to do, and how much would you pay for me?"Megan couldn't believe it. She was actually discussing a price for herself. She was actually going to put a price on how much each of her holes was worth. She could feel her cunt getting wet, her cheeks flush, her nipples hardening.Steve thought about it, looking Megan up and down, checking out the merchandise. "How do I know what I am paying for. What if your cunt is like really used and loose."Megan felt indignant. "My cunt is not loose. It's the best cunt you've ever seen. It's so tight and always wet. Look. " Megan pulled the front of her dress up, exposing her cunt to Steve. She then used her fingers to spread her cunt lips open, showing Steve how wet and tight she was.Steve stood there for a few moments staring at Megan's cunt."Yeah, you win. Your cunt is really nice" responded Steve, and then after thinking for another second continued. "But, what about your ass. What if I want to fuck you in the ass, and your ass is not nice. ""Oh yeah" responded Megan. "Watch this". Her dress was already around her waist. She turned around, bent at her waist, spread her legs, and then used her arms to spread her ass cheeks, showing her asshole and gaping cunt to Steve. Megan crammed her head back to see Steve's reaction.Steve just stared at her perfect ass and cunt. After a few moments, he recovered. "Ok, fine, they are both amazing, but what about your tits."Megan gave Steve a sexy smile, enjoying the little game. She turned back to face him and lowered the front of her dress, letting her tits spill out. Her dress was now just around her waist. Megan's tits and cunt were completely on display.Steve walked up to Megan and gave each tit a squeeze. Megan just smiled, not making any move to stop him.He then lowered his hand and felt her cunt and her wetness. He played a little with her clit, and then slipped a finger inside her. Megan moaned from the penetration, but stood still, letting Steve do anything he wanted.Steve moved his finger around but kept it insider her."Do you think $100 is too much" asked Steve, while starting to move the finger in and out. Megan's cunt was making wet slushing sounds with every thrust.Megan couldn't answer. She just put her hand against Steve's shoulder to steady herself, afraid that her legs would give out."Maybe $50, or is that too much also? How much do whores charge," asked Steve casually, while continuing a slow and methodical thrusting in and out.Megan was so close. She just needed him to go faster and harder. She needed his fingers deeper. She tried to move her hips to meet his fingers, trying to get him to increase his motion and depth."You're right. $50 is too much. Maybe whores charge $50, but you are not a whore, Megan"The elevator door opened. Thankfully it was empty. After a few seconds, the door closed. They missed their elevator.Steve just continued moving his finger in and out, not letting Megan change speed nor depth, leaving her frustrated."You are a slut, and sluts are cheap," continued Steve.He pushed his finger all the way insider her, and kept it there without moving."I will pay $5 for all your holes. I will use them anyway that I want for as long as I want."Steve finally pulled his finger out. He took out his wallet and took out a $5 dollar bill. He used the bill like a tissue and wiped Megan's cunt with it. He then pushed the wet bill into her mouth."After work, come to my apartment. I'll see you later."Megan stood a little dazed as Steve left through the staircase. Still very horny and frustrated that she was so close. "So, that's what her holes are worth. She sold herself for $5" thought Megan.After a few moments of being in a daze, Megan finally took out the bill from her month. Carefully unfolded it and put it in her purse. She, then re-arranged the dress, putting it back in place, covering her tits and cunt with the lacy material.The rest of her trip was eventful. She arrived in the store. Lauren was there to greet here."Megan. I am so glad to see you. I love this outfit. I see you took my advice about no bra. Great job. Excellent listening skills. "Megan just smiled from the compliment. Happy to have Laurens appreciation.Lauren continued. "Megan, I need your help. You don't know this, but our biggest investor is the same person that owns that strip club down the block. And, he needs more girls working the floor today. I actually already sent José over there to help manage all the extra girls. ""I guess it sounds like he is your pimp today," laughed Lauren at her own joke.Megan wasn't sure she wanted to actually work as a stripper. It was one thing to dress like one, but actually working at a strip club just seemed too much."Can I just work here today?" asked Megan."This is exactly what I am trying to teach you and why we have the probation and the tasks. You can't be afraid of your sexuality. It's not what our brand is about, and I don't think that's who you are, either."Megan just nodded."Have fun. Don't forget. You are representing our brand at the club."Megan agreed, left the store, and walked the short distance down the block to the strip club. The club was nicer, even classier, than Megan imagined. This was her first time inside a strip club.José saw Megan as soon as she walked in."Megan. I am so glad you made it. We are really swamped here. This floor is the green zone. It's open to the public, and upstairs is the blue zone, which is for private members only. For now, just see if anyone wants a lap dance. Lap dances are for one song for $15. I'll let you know when it's your turn to dance on stage. And, if you are good, then you'll go into the blue zone with the V I P patrons."Megan just nodded to everything that José was explaining. "She was just helping. She wasn't a stripper." thought Megan to herself.Megan started walking around the floor like José told her.She walked up to the first person. He seemed like similar age. He had some friends with him. "Excuse me. Would you like a lap dance." asked Megan using her most ditzy sounding voice."I am good. I am just watching that girl on stage. Try my buddies, maybe one of them wants one. "Megan was a bit shocked to be rejected. She turned to his buddies and got the same replies from them."Damn. This is going to be harder than I thought." said Megan to herself.Megan tried a few more people but got rejected. Some people said that they were watching the girl on stage, others said they didn't feel like it, and one guy said that he already got one.Megan walked deeper into the club. She walked up to the next table, and started to repeat her offer and when realized who was sitting in front of her."Hi, would you like a lap; shit, Rachel". Her best friend Rachel and her boyfriend were sitting at the table, equally surprised to see Megan offering a lap dance to them."Meg, you are a stripper," asked Rachel excited and surprised. "When did this happen?""I am not a stripper. I am just helping out. I work at that adult toy store down the block. They were just short staffed today, so they asked me to help out. ""I see. Do your parents know that you are a stripper?" continued Rachel."I am not a stripper.""Ok, ok. I am sorry. I am just playing with you. I'll take that lap dance you were offering, thou."Megan looked around, and saw José watching her. "She had no way out. She had to do it, or she would get in trouble" thought Megan."It has come to this. She was going to give a lap dance to her best friend Rachel."Megan moved closer to Rachel, and straddled her high. Rachel wore a summer dress. So when Megan straddled her thigh, Megan's naked cunt directly touched Rachel's skin.Megan moved herself back and forth, grinding herself against Rachel's thigh. Rachel just watched her, a smile frozen on her face.After a few minutes, Megan changed position. She turned her back to Rachel, and lowered herself into her lap, and started grinding her ass into Rachel's lap.The song ended, and Megan got up, and turned to look at Rachel."Megan, my leg is wet from your cunt. Damn girl. You're like a slut. You are really enjoying this."Megan stood there, humiliated, and incredibly turned on."I want another lap dance. But, next time you need to strip. The lap dances here are in the nude." said Rachel.Megan wasn't sure that was true. She looked around, but didn't see anyone else completely nude. Just the girl on stage was topless and her nipples were covered with pasties. Everyone else seemed to be fully covered.The next song was already starting, Megan didn't have enough time to ask anyone, and José would not like her dithering, either.Megan spread Rachel's feet apart, which caused Rachel's skirt to ride up and expose her pink Victoria Secret panties. Rachel just watched Megan do it, not taking any action to stop her. Megan moved in between Rachel's legs, standing close in front of her and facing her. Megan slowly removed each strap of her dress and let the dress slide off, leaving her naked. Megan then straddled Rachel's hips and started a slow grind against the fully dressed Rachel.As Megan was grinding against her, Rachel slipped her hand to her front. Megan's cunt was now rubbing against Rachel's hand, allowing Rachel to slide her fingers inside Megan. Megan just pressed harder, causing Rachel's fingers to go deeper.Megan was still grinding against Rachel after the song ended. It was only when she heard José voice did she snap out of her horny daze."Megan, there is no nudity on this floor. Come with me. I will take you into the blue zone. It's full nudity there. "José took Megan by the hand, pulling her off Rachel, and started walking through the club, pulling naked Megan behind him.José led her through the club, and then up the stairs. The room was smaller than the club downstairs, and had the same comfortable chairs surrounding a central stage. There were maybe 20 people there, a mix of women and men. Some of the men had semi naked and even naked girls sitting next to them.Without stopping, José led Megan right on stage."Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you our new blue zone star. This is Megan. And she is submissive. So, you will need to tell her what to do." José gave a big wink to the audience, which caused a round of laughter.Megan became aware that there was a naked man that was now standing behind her. She felt his hands on her back, pushing her to bend over. And, then she felt his hands on her inner thighs, spreading her legs wider.José continued talking as if nothing was happening. "This is Megan's first time. Let's say she is a virgin." José paused for an effect. "I don't mean virgin. With a cunt like that, she is not a virgin, let's be honest, folks". This caused another round of laughter."This is Megan's first time performing for us. So, let's make her feel welcome and give her a round of applause." This caused a rumble of applause and whistles

Continuing our theme of the importance of Sustainable Leadership, this episode is a little bit different.  Earlier this month, I facilitated a webinar with my good friend and collaborator Dr. Rachael Skews.  It was the first of our new series of free monthly webinars on the topic of Sustainable leadership - and I'll put a link to the booking site so you can see the details of the remaining sessions. The focus of our session was making the case for boosting psychological flexibility in leaders. I explained what we mean by sustainable leadership, Rachael introduced the concept of psychological flexibility, and then we looked at how it can address some of the many challenges leaders can face at work. We wrap up with exploring some of the ways leaders can cultivate these important skills. And while we have a lovely video recording of the webinar live on our YouTube channel, I know lots of you prefer to access this kind of information via audio, as you go for a walk or a run, do the housework, or navigate your daily commute. So here's a slightly edited copy of the audio from last week. As always, get in touch with your questions, comments and feedback by email via podcast@worklifepsych.com Thanks for listening! Resources for this episode The video recording of this webinar: https://youtu.be/QeGSpYbeguY  Download the slides that accompany this webinar here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Why-leaders-need-to-be-psychologically-flexible-slides.pdf  You can find all the resources that accompany this series at our dedicated page: https://www.worklifepsych.com/SustainableLeadership Download our free white paper on Sustainable Leadership here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Sustainable_Leadership_whitepaper.pdf We're also running a series of free leadership-focused webinars over the next few months. You can find out more and reserve your place by visiting our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563 Finally, you can learn all about Psychological Flexibility by visiting our resources page here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility 

In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Susannah Ward shares powerful insights on physician wellness and the emerging role of Chief Medical Wellness Officers in preventing burnout among doctors. We explore innovative systemic approaches to healthcare worker wellbeing, including anonymous reporting systems for workplace issues and dedicated wellness leadership positions with executive support. Dr. Ward also discusses her upcoming "Be Chill CPD" retreat at Caves Beach, where doctors can complete their continuing professional development requirements while engaging in restorative practices like yoga and mindfulness. Join us to discover how creating psychologically safe workplaces and prioritizing connection can transform medical culture from one of burnout to one of sustainable practice.Resources:drjobraid.comwww.instagram.com/burnoutrecoverydrwww.linkedin.com/in/drjobraidwww.ataraxiacollective.com.au/be-chill-cpd-retreats/pmcwa.org.au/media/attachments/2024/01/12/pmcwa-jmo-wellbeing-guide-2024.pdf I acknowledge that I create this podcast on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people, who have been the custodians of this land around Orange, New South Wales, for thousands of generations. I pay my respects to Wiradjuri Elders past, present, and emerging, and recognize the continuing connection to land, waters, and culture. This acknowledgment is a small but important step in recognizing the sovereignty of First Nations peoples and the deep historical and ongoing relationship with Country. Disclaimer: The information provided on or through our Site, products and/or services is intended to be for informational purposes only. It does not constitute or replace professional advice for individual or specific situations and nor does it take into account your specific needs or circumstances. Under no circumstances should the content made available on our Site, or regarding our products and/or services be relied upon as professional legal, medical, financial, business or other advice. You agree to obtain these services if you need these. Our Site may have articles and content that is of a general nature and is intended to be for informational purposes only. Your access to and use of they Site is subject to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many people, a good life is a stable life — a life that's predictable and filled with purpose. For others, happiness the point. They embrace moments of bliss and satisfaction. But what about a life that's focused on curiosity, exploration and a variety of experiences that broaden our world? University of Chicago psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi says that's a psychologically rich life — and in his new book, “Life in Three Dimensions,” he argues that a psychological rich life is just as important as a life filled with happiness and meaning. Professor Oishi joined Kerri Miller on this week's Big Books and Bold Ideas to discuss the markers of a good life. They talk about the value of risk, the importance of awe and how the American individualism can hinder a good life. Guest: Shigehiro Oishi is a celebrated professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. His latest book is “Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.”Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

Why Karen Read's Words to O'Keefe's Kids Are Psychologically Alarming Karen Read didn't just allegedly leave John O'Keefe in the snow. According to testimony and records, she also ranted to his orphaned niece and nephew—kids he was raising—calling him a “f-ing pervert,” a “f-ing loser,” and accusing him of cheating… all because someone mentioned a woman's name as a navigation marker. In this powerful conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to discuss what these moments reveal about Karen Read's emotional control, potential narcissistic tendencies, and the trauma such behavior may cause to children. What does this say about Karen Read's mental state? Why is this moment so pivotal in the trial? And how might jurors interpret this mix of rage, projection, and cruelty? You won't want to miss this mental health deep dive into one of the most emotionally volatile true crime cases we've covered. #KarenRead #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeCommunity #KarenReadTrial #JohnOKeefe #HiddenKillers #CourtroomBreakdown #NarcissismExposed #EmotionalAbuse #PsychologicalAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872 

Why Karen Read's Words to O'Keefe's Kids Are Psychologically Alarming Karen Read didn't just allegedly leave John O'Keefe in the snow. According to testimony and records, she also ranted to his orphaned niece and nephew—kids he was raising—calling him a “f-ing pervert,” a “f-ing loser,” and accusing him of cheating… all because someone mentioned a woman's name as a navigation marker. In this powerful conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to discuss what these moments reveal about Karen Read's emotional control, potential narcissistic tendencies, and the trauma such behavior may cause to children. What does this say about Karen Read's mental state? Why is this moment so pivotal in the trial? And how might jurors interpret this mix of rage, projection, and cruelty? You won't want to miss this mental health deep dive into one of the most emotionally volatile true crime cases we've covered. #KarenRead #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeCommunity #KarenReadTrial #JohnOKeefe #HiddenKillers #CourtroomBreakdown #NarcissismExposed #EmotionalAbuse #PsychologicalAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Why Karen Read's Words to O'Keefe's Kids Are Psychologically Alarming Karen Read didn't just allegedly leave John O'Keefe in the snow. According to testimony and records, she also ranted to his orphaned niece and nephew—kids he was raising—calling him a “f-ing pervert,” a “f-ing loser,” and accusing him of cheating… all because someone mentioned a woman's name as a navigation marker. In this powerful conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to discuss what these moments reveal about Karen Read's emotional control, potential narcissistic tendencies, and the trauma such behavior may cause to children. What does this say about Karen Read's mental state? Why is this moment so pivotal in the trial? And how might jurors interpret this mix of rage, projection, and cruelty? You won't want to miss this mental health deep dive into one of the most emotionally volatile true crime cases we've covered. #KarenRead #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeCommunity #KarenReadTrial #JohnOKeefe #HiddenKillers #CourtroomBreakdown #NarcissismExposed #EmotionalAbuse #PsychologicalAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872 

Why Karen Read's Words to O'Keefe's Kids Are Psychologically Alarming Karen Read didn't just allegedly leave John O'Keefe in the snow. According to testimony and records, she also ranted to his orphaned niece and nephew—kids he was raising—calling him a “f-ing pervert,” a “f-ing loser,” and accusing him of cheating… all because someone mentioned a woman's name as a navigation marker. In this powerful conversation, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins us to discuss what these moments reveal about Karen Read's emotional control, potential narcissistic tendencies, and the trauma such behavior may cause to children. What does this say about Karen Read's mental state? Why is this moment so pivotal in the trial? And how might jurors interpret this mix of rage, projection, and cruelty? You won't want to miss this mental health deep dive into one of the most emotionally volatile true crime cases we've covered. #KarenRead #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeCommunity #KarenReadTrial #JohnOKeefe #HiddenKillers #CourtroomBreakdown #NarcissismExposed #EmotionalAbuse #PsychologicalAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Are you living a psychologically rich life? In this episode we discuss what it means to be psychologically rich and how you can generate more richness. In "Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life", Shigehiro Oishi, Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago,  shares his research and the ways leading a psychologically rich life can transform how you prioritize your days and goals. As Shige shares, “a  psychologically rich life is a life filled with diverse, unusual, interesting experiences that change your perspective; a life with twists and turns; a dramatic, eventful life instead of a simple and straightforward one”. For those of you who feel that something is missing from your lives, or that your dreams and goals don't fit with societal expectations, this conversation is for you. Shige Oishi has given us the language and concept for living our lives in search of experience, adventure, learning and connection.  Please share this episode with a frriend and follow us on Instagram at @meantforyoupod You can Sign up for our newsletter here Visit our website at www.meantforit.com Guest ideas? Partnership ideas? Comments? Email us directly at meantforitpod@gmail.com Get Shige's book  Topics Discussed: 05:07 - The the three pillars of a happy life  14:13 - How narrating your experiences enriches the experience 20:12 - A psychologically rich day involves a wide range of emotions 22:18 - Happiness used to be good luck and fortune, but now happiness is personal success 25:41 - Happiness is more like a batting average 32:03 - Happiness is not the intensity but the frequency of positive emotion 36:13 - As we age, curiosity and, and exploration wane, and how to balance it 39:09 - psychological richness mindset can help deal with difficult life situations  

Listen to today's podcast... Canada became the first country in the world to have a national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace. This Standard contains a voluntary set of guidelines, tools, and resources aimed at promoting employees' psychological health and preventing psychological harm due to workplace factors. Take One Action Today To Build Your #Resiliency!      Here are today's Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Mental Health Week: Get Clear On What's Required For Building A Psychologically Healthy Workplace Foster overall psychological health and a respectful workplace based on trust, honesty, fairness and recognition. As employees, ask questions, report issues, and propose new ideas for building a positive culture. Be sure to train leaders and employees at all levels on awareness and prevention strategies. Look beyond the workplace to what resources are available to help meet personal, as well as workplace challenges. If you like the tips in this briefing, please leave me a review on amazon or in your #alexa app. Looking for more ways to build your resiliency, take my free on-line vulnerability test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab. #mentalhealth #hr

Send us a textIf you're a parent or a teacher, you've probably wondered about what the best conditions are for psychological development in children, and where we might have gone so wrong as a society. This week, we talk with psychologist Peter Gray about the developmental needs of children, and why long school days, risk free environments, and too much supervision are wreaking havoc with their psychological development.Other episodes on parenting/teaching:Michaeleen Doucleff on the universals of childhood - https://examined-life.com/interviews/michaeleen-doucleffe/Links:Peter Gray's Substack - https://petergray.substack.com/Peter Gray's TED talk on play - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-GEzM7iTkKenny's Substack - https://substack.com/@kennyprimrose?utm_source=user-menuSupport the show

In this episode, we dive into the intersection of physical therapy and mental health. We explore the research titled "Current Practices of Physiotherapists in Implementing Psychologically Informed Physical Therapy in Chronic Pain Management: A Scoping Review."Join our host, Johan dela Paz, as he engages in a compelling conversation with the study's principal author, Dr. Eunice Garces, and this episode's guest reactor, Dr. Jovielyn Mañibo, a licensed psychologist and certified play therapist. Together, they discuss the key findings of the research, the importance of integrating psychological principles into pain management, and the real-world implications for physical therapy practice.In this episode, you'll learn about:The shift from the biomedical model to the biopsychosocial model in physical therapy.The psychological factors affecting patients with chronic pain.Practical strategies for physical therapists to incorporate psychologically informed practices into their care.The challenges and opportunities for integrating mental health awareness in the Philippine healthcare system.Don't forget to check out the research article in the Philippine Journal of Physical Therapy, available for free download in the description below!Links:Philippine Journal of Physical Therapy: https://soar.usa.edu/phjpt/vol3/iss2/4/Subscribe to PT Meal Podcast: https://ptmealpodcast.com

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Julia shares her story of marrying a scary psychological abuser. Julia fell for her husband immediately. He was charismatic, a protector, great with children, and had aspirations to be a fireman. Julia's husband checked all of her boxes. He was the man of her dreams. But unfortunately for Julia, her husband slowly morphed from someone she trusted to someone she feared.  It's a story of caretaking, fear , feeling alien, being good enough, rage, double standards, gaslighting, infidelity, being voiceless, self esteem, patriarchal systems, generational trauma, nitpicking, body issues, mixed messages , cognitive dissonance, intimidation, security, safety, child self harm, suicidal ideation, guilt, trauma, and feelings. *** CONTENT WARNING - This episode has graphic descriptions of child self harm, physical intimidation, and strong language. *** If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please click here or send us an email at narcissistapocalypse@gmail.com To help out our podcast, please fill out our listener survey, click here. PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS: Perfect Prey With Dr. Christine Cocchiola | Click Here The Covert Narcissism Podcast | Click Here Something Was Wrong | Click Here When Dating Hurts Podcast | Click Here If you or someone you know are experiencing abuse, you are not alone. DomesticShelters.org offers an extensive library of articles and resources that can help you make sense of what you're experiencing, connect you with local resources and find ways to heal and move forward. Visit www.domesticshelters.org to access this free resource.  If you need help moving due to domestic violence, Shelter Movers may be able to help you. They operate by referral. Clients may be referred by any person of authority (social worker, doctor, police, crisis counselor, teacher, etc.) or public agency (shelter, hospital, school, workplace, place of worship, sexual assault centre, etc.).  To reach them, click here. Join our new Community Social Network at https://community.narcissistapocalypse.com/ Join our Instagram Channel at https://www.instagram.com/narcissistapocalypse Join our Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpTIgjTqVJa4caNWMIAJllA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ripping the Miami Dolphins for re-signing the one offensive lineman nobody wanted the team to bring back.

What happened to glamour and grace? Many things. Psychologically even...

Do you crave a richer, more adventurous life? On today's episode, we're exploring the concept of a “psychologically rich life”—one filled with novel experiences, deeper connections, and a sense of wonder. It turns out, happiness and meaning aren't the only ingredients for a fulfilling life. Psychological richness can add depth and vibrancy to your everyday routine. I'm talking to Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, a leading happiness researcher, psychologist, and celebrated author of Life in Three Dimensions. With a career spanning groundbreaking research on human well-being, he's here to share what it means to live a truly adventurous and reflective life—and how you can start making small changes to experience richer, more fulfilling days. Some of the things we discuss are: What makes a “psychologically rich life” (and why it's different from happiness or meaning). Simple ways to add adventure and spontaneous joy to your daily routine. Why routines and rigid habits might be holding you back. A powerful mindset shift for navigating failures and setbacks. How storytelling can transform even ordinary experiences into extraordinary ones. Subscribe to Mentally Stronger Premium for exclusive content like bonus episodes, signed books, and 30-day challenges that will keep you growing stronger. Links & Resources Life in Three Dimensions Connect with the Show Buy Amy's books on mental strength Connect with Amy on Instagram — @AmyMorinAuthor Sponsors OneSkin — Get 15% off OneSkin with the code STRONGER at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Calm - Get 40% off a Calm Premium Subscription at calm.com/STRONGER ZocDoc — Go to Zocdoc.com/STRONGER to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today! AirDoctor — Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code STRONGER to get UP TO $300 off today! Shopify — Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at Shopify.com/mentallystronger! Branch Basics — Get 15% off Branch Basics with the code STRONGER15 at https://branchbasics.com/STRONGER15 #branchbasicspod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is often very challenging for us to find meaning in situations that don't make sense. Psychologically, we get overwhelmed, and emotionally, we feel depleted. In this episode, I will discuss ways that you can turn difficult situations into opportunities for growth and personal development. Please let me know your thoughts when you listen and gain insight into how to find meaning in difficult situations.

Alyssa-Rae McGinn is joined by Dr. Zakiya Brown of Pivotal Growth Consulting to discuss the importance of psychologically safe workplaces and how to foster psychological safety for teams that have experienced workplace trauma (Episode 141) ---- Dr. Zakiya Brown: https://www.pivotalgrowthconsulting.com/ Dan Schorr, LLC: https://danschorrllc.com/ Dan's fiction reading and writing Substack: https://danschorr.substack.com/ Dan Schorr Books: https://danschorrbooks.com/ 

How many calories do you burn up just eating and digesting the food you eat? It's an interesting question and the answer depends on what kind of food you are eating. Listen as I reveal the basics of what is called the Thermic Effect.https://www.revolution-pts.com/blog/understanding-the-thermic-effect-of-food The amount of data being collected about you every hour is staggering – detailed, intimate data. What may be more shocking is how that data is used to psychologically target you. Joining me to explain what that is and how it works is Sandra Matz. She is a professor at Columbia Business School and has an informative TED talk about the use of psychological targeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkI_TrPmKgA). She is also author of the book Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior (https://amzn.to/4gGaTCc). In most of our everyday interactions, our questions are fairly shallow: “Hi, are you?” “What's going on?” “What kind of work do you do?” etc. Yet, if you go a little deeper and get a bit more curious with people, it can pay off for you in a very big way. This is according to Scott Shigeoka. He is a leading expert on the topic of curiosity. He is a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin and author of a book called Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World (https://amzn.to/4gQDbKr). Are you one of those people who cherishes the few extra minutes of sleep the snooze alarm gives you? Listen as I reveal some interesting facts about the snooze and why you may not want to use it too much https://www.rd.com/article/why-is-snooze-9-minutes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When moving from being a solopreneur to having a team, a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with hiring high-quality team members, creating accountability, and streamlining processes. In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth expert Jason Hull sits down with award-winning coach and author Kon Apostolopoulos to talk all about unlocking your team's potential. You'll Learn [04:16] Hiring for Competance  [12:48] Leadership and Building a Team [29:19] Developing Team Members [49:42] Tough Love as a Business Owner Tweetables  ”They say the two most important days in your life are the day you come into this world and the day you figure out why.” “They all have their strategies, their business plans, but one thing for sure is that if they don't have the right people in place to execute those plans, they're not even worth the paper they're written on.” “If they're hiring for competence, it's probably a step up, because in most cases, people are hiring for a pulse.” “You can teach people the technical skills. You can't teach attitude. You can't teach certain behaviors. You can't teach integrity.” Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive TalkRoute Referral Link Transcript [00:00:00] Kon: When we are appreciated, we always give more than what is expected of us. So when you are looking at it, build your team around that principle. Show people that you value them. Don't just say, you know what, you get a paycheck, don't you? This is why I brought you on. Do your damn job.  [00:00:16] Jason: Welcome DoorGrow property managers to the DoorGrow show. If you are a property management entrepreneur that wants to add doors, make a difference, increase revenue, help others, impact lives, and you are interested in growing in business and life, and you're open to doing things a bit differently then you are a DoorGrow property manager DoorGrow property managers, love the opportunities, daily variety, unique challenges and freedom that property management brings. Many in real estate think you're crazy for doing it. You think they're crazy for not because you realize that property management is the ultimate, high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. I'm your host, property management growth expert, Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow. [00:01:18] Now let's get into the show.  [00:01:21] All right. I, my guest today is coach Kon. So Kon, how do you say your last name? I want to make sure I don't mess it up.  [00:01:29] Kon: Wow. Well, first of all, thanks for having me, Jason. Last name is Apostolopoulos. It's as simple as it looks.  [00:01:37] Jason: Man, that is fun to say. Apostolopoulos.  [00:01:39] Kon: It rolls off the tongue. [00:01:40] Jason: Yeah. The closest thing that might be as fun was the Snuffleupagus.  [00:01:45] Kon: It's inspired from that.  [00:01:47] Jason: Okay. All right. We'll go, you know, all great ideas have an origin. All right. So Kon, we're going to be chatting a little bit today about the keys to engagement, resilience, high performance, unlocking team potential. [00:02:02] So before we get into that, I'd love to get a little bit of background on you. How did you get into doing coaching and you know, kind of share your origin story.  [00:02:12] Kon: Wow. Okay. So let's kind of take a look at this. First of all, I'll start with one of my favorite sayings. Because I do feel blessed. [00:02:19] It is the season for that kind of a feeling. You know, they say the two most important days in your life are the day you come into this world and the day you figure out why. And so to me, I have always gravitated towards being a coach, being a teacher, being a leader, stepping up and taking responsibility. [00:02:38] And so that's kind of shaped my life. Being the firstborn in a Greek household and the firstborn male at that. It's one of those situations where, Inevitably, you're thrust into that role, but I gravitated towards it, and I found myself, regardless of which industry I've been working in, everything from the military to cruise ships, from restaurants to call centers, from construction to coaching little kids' soccer, I've always been in a situation where I found myself in the role of coach, teacher, leader. You know, I've worked for large corporations. I've had my share of corporate where I've cut my teeth and I've learned a lot of the business secrets and the things that I needed to get. And in the last 12 years, I've hung my own single shingle and been in a situation where I've been able to help clients and transfer three decades of knowledge of managing talent, of being able to build engaged and resilient teams and helping them now achieve their goals. [00:03:34] And the way I do that is I explained to people that most of the companies that I work with have their business plans very much like the audience that we have here. They all have their strategies their business plans. But one thing for sure is that if they don't have the right people in place to execute those plans, they're not even worth the paper they're written on. And so to me, that's where I come in and sometimes that involves providing workshops to build competence. Sometimes that involves individual or group coaching to build commitment. Sometimes that's speaking at events for them to be able to get everybody on the same page. And ultimately that may involve helping them build the systems that they need so every dollar that they spend on their people is a dollar well spent.  [00:04:14] Jason: Got it. Okay. Now I think a lot of times that the challenge I see in a lot of companies is they're bringing in, it's often people are hiring just based on skill. That's the thing they're looking at is like, are they willing to do this job for this pay? Instead of looking for people that fit their values, fit the culture, have the right personality fit to actually be able to succeed in the role. [00:04:38] And so I call those things, the three fits. What have you seen related to this?  [00:04:42] Kon: When people go out and start hiring Jason, they typically do it out of need, and a lot of times they've let it go for so long that it becomes a desperation. If they're hiring for competence, it's probably a step up, because in most cases, people are hiring for a pulse. [00:04:56] They're trying to throw a body at a spot, and that's a desperate place to be in, unfortunately. Hiring process, the selection process, should be an ongoing thing. When you're looking at making sure that you have the right people on your team. That's an ongoing process to me. That's tending to your garden year round, to making sure that you have the right people in place year round. [00:05:17] The mantra that I teach my people is a three part piece, just like you were mentioning earlier. It's hire hard, train smart, manage easy. And to me that means basically being very picky about who I bring on my team. It's easy for people or it's easier for people to look at, do they have the skills? Because that's an yes or no answer most of the time, especially if you do it right. But what they don't realize is that you can teach people the technical skills. You can't teach attitude. You can't teach certain behaviors. You can't teach integrity. You're bringing somebody in your team in their thirties. [00:05:50] If you have to teach them how to be honest, that's too late in the game.  [00:05:54] Jason: Yes.  [00:05:55] Kon: So hire for the attitude, like you were talking about the things that are harder to teach, and then you can teach them smartly about the business that you want. If you have a right person in the right spot, they can do wonders. [00:06:09] Jason: Yeah, I've noticed this. I've noticed this as well. One of the things I've noticed is I call it the process myth. I see a lot of businesses, you know, a lot of entrepreneurs go through this journey of graduating from solopreneur to having a team, right? And that's usually one of the most painful transitions they go through. [00:06:25] It's because they have no clue how to do the hiring correctly. And they're hiring the way a solopreneur sort of thinks. And they're usually hiring based on what they think the business needs. Like you said, out of need, maybe they graduate to desperation. Maybe they graduate to competence, as you said, but at that stage, they usually believe the process myth. [00:06:43] I've run into this a lot where they think they just need better processes. If they just had better processes, their team would actually perform well. Like, I just need to micromanage them more. I need more KPIs. I need more metrics. And what I've noticed is, this weird dichotomy, I've noticed that in companies that have great culture and they have a great team, they have great people, but they even have shitty processes, they still perform well, even without great process documentation, but I've seen companies that have like process documentation, like crazy, and they focus on this heavily, but they don't have the right people. And they're never able to perform well. There's no amount of process documentation or micromanaging or controls that can make a mediocre team with maybe the wrong attitude or wrong culture fit or wrong values to perform well. [00:07:35] Kon: No, I agree with you there. When you look at why people try to heavily process things, it's because they don't feel confident in people's decision making and abilities. They tried to legislate everything. They tried to create a way. We used to have a saying that, you know, every time you think you idiot proof something with a process, they come up with better idiots. [00:07:55] And that's a situation where you have to be very careful. You put a good person in a bad process, the process is going to win. So you have to be very careful because when we evolve this piece and we take it to its natural conclusion, which is why do we hire good people or try to find good people? [00:08:12] Why do we try to create processes that can produce results? It's to get performance. It's to increase performance, to become more predictably good. That's ultimately what we're doing. Performance is about results. When you look at your metrics that you were talking about, you're a pro, you do this and you know exactly what you're trying to do. [00:08:31] You have a methodology, you have a way of doing things, you have a philosophy about how you go about things because you know it works and you know it works well enough for you and for others that you're comfortable going out and sharing that message with others. Well, when you talk about performance, performance happens at three different dimensions. [00:08:50] Think about it like a Venn diagram, three overlapping circles. One is organizationally. How are we set up? How are we set up? Our culture our vision, our messages, our values, all of those things that we want to set ourselves up with. And then you have the process. How do things hand off from one person to the next? [00:09:10] What does the customer journey look like? What does the experience with us look like? How do we engage with each other? And then ultimately, it's the individual level. Do we have the right people on the right seat on the bus going in the right direction? Do they have the skills, knowledge, ability, attitudes that we're looking for to get things done? [00:09:29] So when people say, we're struggling to improve our performance, they automatically Only look at one, maybe two of those areas, not realizing that you need all three of those to hit in order to be at optimal level, when you've reached your peak in your performance, all three of those things are in place. [00:09:47] You've organized the team. Well, you've got your systems in place and you've hired the right people.  [00:09:52] Jason: Yeah, I love this. You know, they say all truth gravitates towards itself, you know, so to speak. And so I actually draw a Venn diagram for clients and they teach them a framework called the three fits and your organization, I would just call culture, this is, do they share your values? Is there alignment there? Because otherwise you'll never be able to trust them. So you want one offload to them and then you always want to micromanage them. And then for process, I usually call that a skill fit. And the question there is, do they have the intellectual capacity to be able to develop the skill or do they already possess it? And that's the one that maybe the needle can be moved on right like you had mentioned they could maybe be trained, but some people are untrainable. They just don't have the intellectual capacity for that particular role. They just won't get there. [00:10:38] You can train and you'll just demoralize yourself, right? And then as then when you mentioned kind of people this is where I look at the personality fit. Are they the right personality for the role? Not everybody can be great or enjoy doing cold calling. Not everybody could be great or enjoy doing accounting, right? [00:10:57] And that means that they would love doing the role if they're the right personality fit, which means you don't have to motivate them. You don't have to try and push them to do it. And they, if they don't have that, they'll just never be great. And so I love this. Like it's always validating to see alignment when somebody's kind of graduated to this knowledge set on their own and see that, Hey, we both kind of arrived at a similar conclusion. [00:11:22] Kon: So, well, the truth is pretty universal and that's how we get there. We each discovered in our own way and application, but even with my company is called Fresh Biz Solutions and the the origin of the name and the philosophy behind that name is that I've worked, as I mentioned, in very diverse industries across continents, across countries, across boundaries. [00:11:45] And what I found is people are people. The needs are fairly universal. And so something, a process, an idea, a solution that works well in one industry, when you take it, look at it, dust it off, repurpose it, repackage it, it can work just as well in another industry. Why? Because you're dealing with people. [00:12:05] You're dealing with principles that are universal. And so, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There is a need for us to find what works and continue to apply it. In different situations.  [00:12:17] Jason: Absolutely. And you know, my personal sort of mission statement is to inspire others to love true principles. I love figuring out what works and sharing it with other people. [00:12:25] That's just fun for me. I would do that for free for fun. And yeah, so, so I get that. And yeah, there's, you know, a whole business book might be just written about one principle, you know, and there's that one nugget that you can pull out of it. But yeah if, you know, as I'm always seeking for those principles and those ideas, I'm then able to share and benefit others and it can be applied to a variety of different situations. [00:12:48] Yeah. Love that. So how do people go about doing this? It's like, usually entrepreneurs are very, you know, focused on just hiring based on as you said, need, desperation, competence. How do you graduate them through this? [00:13:03] Kon: So when we look at the process, I mean, we, when solopreneurs graduate, like you said, when you have, when you've been working on your own for a long time and you decide to bring on team members, one of the mistakes that we make is that we think that everybody is motivated the same way we are. Everybody sees the same vision that we do. [00:13:20] And that's just not the case. Yeah. We don't have that luxury. There's not enough people there that automatically will instinctively know what you're working on and really align themselves. Most of the time you have to do some connection of the dots for them. You have to explain to them why you're doing what you're doing and how they fit into this. [00:13:39] This is part of my engagement model that I talk about in my new book, The Engagement Blueprint. And the principles here are universal, whether it's one person or 1000 on your team. You can look at it and say the same thing. The way to understand this is that when you are leading a team, you're bringing people onto your team. [00:13:57] You're developing them. You're aligning them. What are you trying to do? You're trying to amplify the reach that you have as an individual. You're trying to get more done through your team, but through your team is the key because you need the voluntary contribution of these people. They need to want to do this. [00:14:13] Otherwise, it's a slog. It's a heavy lift to constantly micromanage people That's where the heavy processing comes in. You're chasing them around and the property trying to figure out where are they on where they supposed to? Be are they on their computer? Are they? responding to the needs? [00:14:29] How are they dealing with my clients? You're constantly living on edge and you're in fear and uncertainty all the time. My methodology is all about taking the uncertainty out of that and making sure that when you invest in your people, you know you're going to get a return on that investment. You know that basically they are an extension of you. [00:14:49] Now, the way to go about it is to understand that there are four key drivers of engagement for people. I mean, I've done my homework, I've spent almost two years researching the topic, talked to some pretty smart people across the globe, and pulled together 30 years of experience looking at this. And the four drivers start, first and foremost, with the need that we all have to feel valued. [00:15:10] When we are appreciated, we always give more than what is expected of us. So when you are looking at it, build your team around that principle. Show people that you value them. Don't just say, you know what, you get a paycheck, don't you? This is why I brought you on. Do your damn job. It's easy to say that. [00:15:28] Jason: Yeah, there's a lot of bosses that think because they grew up sort of in that culture and they, it's kind of the dinosaur boss that says, "well, I pay you, so just do your work," like it's very transactional.  [00:15:40] Kon: Correct. And when it's transactional, you lose so much because people will only do up to a certain point and then you have to keep telling them what is part of that transaction. [00:15:49] So. When people are appreciated though, they will continue to find ways to support and help you and do more. When you realize that it's all about that discretionary effort, engagement is about discretionary effort, giving that little bit extra because you feel first and foremost valued. And the way you do that, I mean, here are some ideas that Our audience can go out and do right now. [00:16:13] First and foremost, think about how you can create an environment that is safe for your people. Physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically. I mean, if you're in a situation where you have people out there physically doing work, they're climbing up to clear gutters to do certain things, make sure the environment is safe. [00:16:32] Set a protocol so people can feel safe. Emotionally, if you're in a meeting, make sure that people feel comfortable telling you the ugly truth sometimes, the information that you need to make decisions. If people feel like there'll be chastised or reprimanded for telling you the truth, those stops sharing that information with you, and you will lose opportunities there. [00:16:52] Make sure that people feel that you appreciate them or that they can bring their whole self to work because if they can bring their whole self to work, they'll bring their best self to work. And then ultimately, even if you only have five minutes a week to spend with each one of your people, make sure that those five minutes, you're present, give them your attention. [00:17:13] I mean, these are simple ways that when you ask somebody, "how are you doing?" You pause enough to get the answer to that. That tells people you value them and then say, thank you. You know what? I really appreciate the fact that you treat this property like it's your own, that you take care of our guests, that you take care of our clients, that you went above and beyond. [00:17:34] You'll get more of what you're looking for when you do that. So that's one key driver things that people can go out and do right now simple things  [00:17:42] Jason: Yeah, I think yeah that first item you mentioned feeling valued or feeling appreciated It's interesting because what i've noticed is on a lot of DISC assessments, there's the values index and most entrepreneurs I think focus on things being transactional and focus on trying to motivate people through money because they mistakenly assume that everybody likes money. [00:18:01] And the economic score and a values index for most people is low except for entrepreneurs and salespeople typically. And if the economic score is low, that means they're more recognition motivated. So this is very much in alignment with the appreciation aspect, right? A lot of entrepreneurs are trying to throw money at people when they could save that money and just appreciate them and recognize them. [00:18:25] And they would get far more output. [00:18:27] Kon: But even with entrepreneurs and salespeople, Jason, I mean, look at us from this perspective: we all love being appreciated, but even with the money piece, if I'm driven towards money, it's rarely about the dollar bill itself. It's about what that represents for me. [00:18:41] And for entrepreneurs, sometimes it's a recognition of their arrival, their accomplishment. For some people, it's a representation of financial security that gives them the freedom, the life that they want. That's what you see. When you see all of these people advertising these solutions that produce money for people, what are they putting out there? [00:19:01] The big houses. The freedom, the lifestyle, the cars, all of that stuff. That's what that a big part of what that represents. It's never just about the money, but it's just as much for your entry level laborer in your property that's going around cleaning out things. For them, that money means security. [00:19:20] That means that I am a paycheck away from living on the street. And that's what you need to understand. What is driving? I mean, you mentioned the word motivating earlier, and it's important for our audience to understand that you cannot motivate another person. That is a falsehood. Motivation is an intrinsic process. [00:19:39] Psychologically, you cannot do that to somebody else. All you can do is create the right environment where people will feel self motivated.  [00:19:49] Jason: Yeah.  [00:19:50] Kon: This is the proverbial. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make a drink unless it's thirsty.  [00:19:55] Jason: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make a drink. [00:20:00] But you can salt its oats, correct? Another phrase that I love is "whenever we fail to inspire, we always control." [00:20:08] Kon: Correct. And that's the part where you want to drive that you want to create the environment for anybody that's spent any time out there trying to go fishing. You realize that not every fish likes the same bait. [00:20:23] So you have to put the right bait out there to attract and inspire that fish to bite. And it's the same with your people. The job of a leader is to really set the course, give them a plan, give them the reason why, and the how becomes "this is how I want to motivate you." I want you to achieve your goals by helping me achieve our goals. [00:20:44] That's the second driver, connection. We are tribal creatures, Jason. Part of the reason why we all wear uniforms, for example, at a job, or the same t shirts, is because we want to belong to the same tribe. That builds bonds, camaraderie, connection to people. I mean, think about the last time you met somebody in a crowd that's from the same hometown, went to the same university, supports the same sports team. [00:21:08] I mean, you go to a stadium, there's 50, 000 people wearing the same jersey as you, and you feel connected to them.  [00:21:13] Jason: Yeah.  [00:21:13] Kon: And so people crave that.  [00:21:15] Jason: I just went to one of those Texas Football games that at the university here and yeah, it's like, it's crazy.  [00:21:22] Kon: Correct. So people want to feel part of a team. [00:21:26] And so in order to do that, use your team building skills. Make sure that people understand what it is that you're going after. What game are you playing? Are you playing football? Are you playing tennis? What are you playing? These are different games. Make sure that people understand what's the game, what's the values, how are we going to get there? [00:21:42] And then create that bond and respect between you and each team member while you're building the bonds between the team members themselves. And give people a path so they can see how they can achieve their aspirations by working with you and the team. We talked about that. If my goal is to make sure that I secure a paycheck because I'm financially insecure to pay my bills, or you know what, I have to support my kids, show me how to do that. [00:22:07] Show me how to get there. If my goal is to become the best salesperson in the region, show me how to do that. Because that way, when you align their goals and yours you can unleash huge energy and potential because people will be striving because it's a win win. They don't have to do your goals instead of theirs. [00:22:25] They don't have to sacrifice one for the other. That alignment really gives them permission to give their best.  [00:22:32] Jason: Yeah, we're looking at the proverbial win, like if there isn't a win, it's win lose and either we're going to lose or they're going to lose. So correct. So this kind of speaks to their needing to be for connection. [00:22:42] There needs to be alignment in you know, mission.  [00:22:45] Kon: Correct. And that's what you hire for. Back to your original question. If you find people that are aligned because this is what they want to do and you can show them how they can fulfill their personal mission by working with the team to achieve its mission. [00:22:59] That's where the win, that's where the secret sauce is. That alignment truly alleviates the need to micromanage because when they are confronted with a choice, they will make the right choice because their why is intact. They understand why they're doing something. It's easier for them to take that personal accountability for themselves and for the team. [00:23:19] Jason: A lot of business owners don't even know their why, which is why they're running into these sort of mistakes.  [00:23:24] Kon: Correct. Again, because they are operating at a very tactical transactional level. They're not elevating to their higher self. I mean when you look at it, the people that achieve the greatest things are the ones that have a purpose behind them They are driven by that when you have purpose driven organizations They will always outperform the others the same way that engaged organizations when they harness that power from their team will always outperform their competitors by a lot i'm talking about 20 percent more in operating revenues. [00:23:56] I'm talking three times the profitability. I'm talking almost nine out of 10 people say "I have no reason to go anywhere else." So you're keeping your best and brightest and probably attracting your competitors' best and brightest.  [00:24:09] Jason: Absolutely. I've seen a three times the output from a team if they align with the culture the personality and the values and you know, all that easily three times the output. And that's the biggest, one of the biggest profit levers in a business because the biggest expense in a business is the people and those all connected with people.  [00:24:29] Kon: Correct. And when you start looking at that at that line item in your P and L. [00:24:33] As truly an investment, you're going to approach it very differently because you're going to be smart about where you put the money. I mean, it's the same way you wouldn't find a temporary solution to fix something in your buildings. You want to find a solution that makes sense, the best return on that investment. [00:24:48] And that's where, for example, you come in and you look at the productivity piece, which is the third driver. People want to know that they contribute, that they make a difference, Jason. I mean, the example that I give in my coaching and my training sessions on this topic is If I was to give you a team photo from a recent event that you were together with a group of people, what's the first thing that most of us would do, you think? [00:25:12] Jason: If you were to give a team photo,  [00:25:14] Kon: if I was to give you a team photo that you were in of a recent event, you were there with your team. Let's say you're celebrating something and there's 15 of you on this, in this picture. What's the, one of the first things that you would do? I just handed you that picture. [00:25:27] Jason: I would look to see if everyone's happy.  [00:25:31] Kon: Or even where you are, right? People want to know where they fit into this picture.  [00:25:34] Jason: Oh yeah. If it's a new photo, I'd be like, I'd look at myself first.  [00:25:37] Kon: Yeah. Right. Yeah. So most of us will take a look at that picture and say, Hey, where am I in this picture? And then look around and say, Oh, I can see Steve smiling. [00:25:44] I can see Mary over there. She looked like she was having a good time. All the men. Now we see where we fit into this bigger picture. It's the same thing for entrepreneurs. Show your people where they fit in. Show them that even the most menial task. Joe, thank you for cleaning up that mess over there. You know what, that represents the standard that we have here at the property. [00:26:04] When you did that, that made a big difference. Somebody passing by will look at us and know that we care about this property. They will care about it. That's contagious. And you know what, Billy last week tripped on a mess like that and now he's twisted his ankle and now he's out for three months and now you have to do his job as well. [00:26:21] So thank you for taking care of that. So nobody else got hurt. That tells people That even the most menial task has a purpose they can connect the dots when people feel like they can contribute in meaningful ways, they can be productive your systems your processes allow them to be productive back to our starting point. They will flourish. They want to make a difference. [00:26:43] You're going to spend time at work. Anyway, we spent what a third of our day typically at work at least unless you're an entrepreneur and then you're probably spending a lot more But the thing is are you making a difference? How are you impacting others when you can do that, that fuels you that makes a difference When I see the light bulb go on in my clients and the people that I coach the people that I teach, that is fuel to me. That fuels my passion about what I do. [00:27:10] And so knowing that I make a difference, knowing that people come back to me and say, you know what, I applied your technique, your system, what you recommended, what we discovered together, and it made a difference. That is power. That is a driver. And people want to know that they contribute. You see it in volunteers, Jason, all the time. [00:27:29] They're not doing it for the money. They're going out there because they believe in what they're doing, that what they're doing makes a difference. Get that volunteer spirit on your team. Get them excited about what they're doing, knowing that they can make a difference. That's power.  [00:27:43] Jason: Yeah. It's amazing. You look at churches as a business, they have a lot of people just volunteering. You look at open source software initiatives. They have a lot of people that are working their day job, but their passion hobby is to contribute to this open source thing for free. You know? Exactly.  [00:28:00] Kon: I spent recently 25 hours a week or more coaching kids soccer. [00:28:06] I didn't do it for the money. I did it because I wanted to see that passion. To me, I believed in what I was doing and I was making a difference. I teach girls, especially I coach girls. Why? Because I believe that when we can teach young women how to advocate for themselves, tap into their leadership abilities from a young age, and they know that they can perform well as individuals, as team members, as team leaders, they become better leaders tomorrow, and we need more of those leaders tomorrow. I'm working with the early generations now, so in the future I don't have to go in and try to change the mind of 40 year old executives  [00:28:45] Jason: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when they're young and they won't depart from it. Right.  [00:28:51] Kon: Teach them those foundational pieces. [00:28:53] They become better. I mean, I have kids, I've won and lost games and tournaments and championships, but you know what the biggest reward for me is? When I have a kid coming back to me years later and say, coach, thank you. I still love the game because of you. And these are the things that I've accomplished because of the life skills that I learned playing on your team. [00:29:12] Yeah. That stuff that they pick up from you, I'm sure applies to everything.  [00:29:18] Correct. And then finally, the last driver is people need to feel supported to learn and grow. Speaking of coaching and developing, I liken this Jason to the example of water. Water is a life source, right? Right. But a swamp is water, so is a river. [00:29:34] The difference between the two is the flow, is the is the movement. Nobody wants to be caught up in a swamp in their careers, in their jobs. Everybody wants a flowing river, and they want to know that there's a path, there's a career path for them, there's a way for them to grow. Even if, like you said, they might be limited by their own abilities to some extent, or their own desires, to some extent, show them how they can be the best in the current role that they're in. [00:30:01] Maybe they're not going to be promoted to the next general manager managing a hundred units, but maybe there's somebody who can teach and mentor a young person coming in to your business, and they can offer value through that. Maybe that becomes part of what they do. So there is room for everybody to continue to learn and grow. [00:30:18] Give them that opportunity. This is the train smart, the growth part where everybody has a sense of, I'm showing up to work and I'm a little bit better than I was yesterday, or that there's a clear career path because if they can't find the path in your business, they're going to try to find it somewhere else. [00:30:36] Jason: Sure. Yeah. Nobody wants to feel stuck or stagnant. And, you know, I think that's what our soul craves. Our soul craves growth. I think that I think a lot of people mistakenly, I think the point of, you know, Life of marriage of everything that people recommend that maybe you do is to be happy. I think the point I think happiness is a more mediocre goal than growth. [00:30:59] I think the point is growth. That doesn't always mean you're going to be happy, right? And I love your water analogy. I've heard a similar analogy before where it's like, which would you rather drink? The From the crazy wild raging river or the stagnant puddle in front of your house Right. And it's that sort of turbulence and challenge that purifies the water and that makes it a much safer environment to drink from. [00:31:26] Kon: Absolutely. And I mean, my, my first book was all about managing crisis and about managing sudden change. And even in that you realize that crisis presents opportunities on the flip side of it. Crisis is not all bad. Crisis means that, you know what? Hey, things are being shaken up big time unexpectedly, but who wouldn't want to be? I mean you think about crises over time I mean in 2008 prior to 2008 we didn't have you know Airbnb and uber eats or ubers in general you didn't have any of that stuff I mean, after the crisis of 2008, people got creative and they found new ways of dealing things, you know, sharing out rooms in their house, renting things out, short term rentals, looking at opportunities to replace cabs, using their cars smartly. [00:32:12] You look at the recent pandemic crisis. I mean, wouldn't you have liked to have stocks in some of these virtual meeting rooms, Zoom and others? Wouldn't that be great to have that beforehand because that was an opportunity all of a sudden everybody's gone virtual. So this is important for us to understand. [00:32:27] Growth comes sometimes through turbulence, through upheaval, you know, things change either as an evolution progressively, slowly, or as a revolution.  [00:32:38] Jason: Yeah. Crisis equals opportunity. Correct. If that's your mindset, otherwise it equals something horrible.  [00:32:45] Kon: I mean, there's a lot of entrepreneurs that aspire to the mantra, especially when they're in the DISC profile. [00:32:50] When you say about the D's, the dominant ones, you look at it and you say, if it ain't broke, break it. That's the mantra. Right.  [00:32:58] Jason: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, cool. So we've got four items feel valued, appreciated. Number one, these are the four key drivers, the drivers of revenue, performance, everything else. [00:33:09] Kon: Engagement and engagement leads to the performance. Right.  [00:33:12] Jason: Okay. So we've got number one, feeling value. Number two, connection. Maybe we should stick all of our team members in the same t shirts. I don't know. And, you know, making them feel like a team. Make it feel like a soccer team. Maybe I don't know number three productivity, meaning they feel like they're contributing to something that contribution I think is something that entrepreneurs deeply crave and they want to feel like they have impact And then number four supported to learn and grow,  [00:33:40] correct.  [00:33:40] Kon: Yeah. For the four drivers. I mean, this is basically the 80 20 rule. When you can do those four things, that'll get you the majority of the way there to really create an engaged team and engaged workforce with you as a leader. I mean, think about it this way. Leaders contribute about 70 percent of the variance between an average team And a high performing team. [00:34:03] 70 percent of that difference comes from your leadership style. If you apply these simple four principles, these simple four drivers to your business, and you start engaging your people, you can transform your workplace to win in the marketplace. You're igniting the fire in your people without burning them out. [00:34:22] That's essential.  [00:34:24] Jason: And if you have bad team members, but you have these four things, they're just not going to fit. They're not going to want to stick around. I mean, if everybody's feeling valued, there's connection that, you know, there's focus on making a difference and people are supported, learn and grow. [00:34:37] It's going to be obvious. Like there's going to be these B players that no matter how appreciated they are, they're just, or there's nothing to appreciate or that, you know, they don't want to be a team player. They don't care about the connection with other people. They aren't productive. They don't feel, they don't care if they're making a difference. [00:34:53] They just wanted like, kind of basically they want to complain about you, their boss and live for the weekend. Correct. And they are, and they don't care about growth. They're like, they're just showing up that it's going to be very obvious that they're not a culture fit.  [00:35:06] Kon: And so that's where you look at it. [00:35:08] And now bringing a full circle back to your original piece of staffing. Now, you know, where your holes are now, you know, where the gaps are, and now, you know, what you're looking for. And then you can enlist the help of the rest of your team to bring them on board, to be part of this group, to really embrace your culture. [00:35:24] It's a lot easier once you get this in motion to be able to have this operate because it's a self sustaining organism. It's a community. I mean, one of the biggest things that I tell people in the last closing part of the book is I let them know that people think the grass is greener on the other side. [00:35:44] It's not. The grass is greener where you water it. Sure. So you need to take care of your patch of grass. You need to make sure that you apply these principles, and then that rest will take care of itself. The grass that's flourishing will crowd out the weeds. It'll take care of all of those different things. [00:36:03] Your people, through their own empowerment, they will see your business as their own, and they will start monitoring and managing this process with you. And for you, because that's the power of true engagement. Now you've got people that feel that personal accountability, that ownership, because they feel empowered. [00:36:20] Jason: Yeah. If the grass isn't green on your side of the fence and you're the business owner, the problem is you, this is a leadership factor. I had one of my mentors, he used to say to me, he said, he'd say, Jason, If you don't yet have the business of your dreams, it's because you're not yet the person that can run it yet. [00:36:39] And you know, that's good medicine, but a bitter pill to accept, you know, in moments for a lot of people. But yeah, I think Yeah, I think it's greener where you water it. And if you, if I love these four principles, if you can align your team around this, that creates a really good culture. [00:36:56] The environment then is safe. People are feeling appreciated. And then you're moving people eventually out of just this transactional leadership into moving them towards a transformational leadership that turns them into leaders.  [00:37:11] Kon: Correct. Correct. Because you want leaders at all levels. I mean, great leaders don't create followers. They create more leaders. So you want to be able to empower people and set them in the right direction. You know, create those leaders at all levels of the organization and that way they all feel empowered to take ownership of, they see something that needs to be fixed. They fix it. They need somebody who's struggling. They're going to reach out. They need to communicate information. They will communicate that information because they feel empowered and they feel like leaders. And that's what leaders do. If you just have followers, if you just have people out there that are waiting for you to tell them what to do. [00:37:49] That's a lot of work.  [00:37:50] Jason: Yeah. I think that's the challenge is when the way a solopreneur thinks, you know, they start hiring and they're not hiring usually based on what they need as a business or they're hiring based on what the business needs. And so eventually they have an entire team. Yeah. And their first initial team, usually I've noticed, is the wrong team. [00:38:11] They built a team around the wrong puzzle piece. They're showing up involved in wearing hats and doing things they don't really enjoy doing, and they built an entire team around that. And so by default, And the way I get them to realize this, I say, look, if you've got, if you're, you have an entire team and you are still wearing all the hats you don't enjoy wearing or involved in all the things you don't enjoy doing, then by default, you have to have the wrong team. [00:38:38] Kon: I would agree with that. Again, your job is not to sit here and do everybody else's job. The people that you bring onto your team should be willing to do their job and then start reaching at the next level to start taking on more because you've empowered them and you want them to grow. That's the big part of this. [00:38:54] It's a difference between leading a team and doing the work. Just like in even in an organization, but especially when you're an entrepreneur, the first thing that you're going to need to let go of when you start creating a team is the thing that probably got you there. All of the things that you did well, if you're the top performer on your team, you got a problem. [00:39:14] That's a big problem. You need to now start thinking of it as, I need to create a team of high performers as opposed to me being a high performer. And that's a very different thing for salespeople, for managers, for people that have done well in the past. They've done well and they've probably reached this level. [00:39:30] Either they got promoted to a job to the next level, or they started their own business with that mindset, but they have to stop competing with their people. They have to start teaching all of the good things that they've learned that made them successful. So they can now build the team around them. [00:39:47] There's a reason why from the famous Bulls team of the nineties. Why Michael Jordan, the best player potentially in history, is not a coach, as opposed to Steve Kerr, who was on his team and probably was a big player on the Bulls team, but an important one. Steve Kerr understood what it took to become successful. [00:40:08] He watched some of the best. He played with some of the best. He learned how to teach that. Michael worked hard, tirelessly, but at the same time. Steve had so many natural talents, things that came so naturally to him that those things were very difficult, if not impossible for him to teach. So, whereas Steve, with his limitations physically and his talent, understood how to take good players and make them great. [00:40:35] Jason: You know, I love this example. Michael Jordan, though, before he had the right system, was just a showboat. Before he had Phil Jackson, a good coach, before he had Scottie Pippen and the team that he had. That Phil Jackson built around Michael Jordan's abilities. He wasn't winning championships.  [00:40:54] Kon: Correct.  [00:40:55] Jason: It was just a showboat. [00:40:56] And this is, you know, a good analogy when we can take really good people and put them into the right, we create the right environment, the right system. We give them the right system. Then they become. Become rock stars.  [00:41:08] Kon: Correct. And they shine in that. And you see that sometimes like you call them a system quarterback because they shine in that system. [00:41:15] And the thing is at the end of the day, what are you building? You're not building a place to showcase individuals per se. This is not even about the owner or the entrepreneur to some extent. That's not the vanity piece. You want a successful business. You want to be able to build that around people that can get things done for your clients so you can have success however you define success, whether it's the revenues, the profits, the customer satisfaction. [00:41:38] I mean, those are the three key drivers that all businesses are founded on. And then you look at that and you say, okay, It's not about me. And we've got big companies that went to the toilet because their CEOs thought it was all about them. And that's part of the problem. Part of the challenge, Jason, you look at it and say, okay, when did you start building a team? [00:41:56] It's about the team. It's about how are you performing as an organization? It doesn't matter how many followers I have on social media or how many likes I get on my posts, if my business is in the toilet.  [00:42:08] Jason: Yeah. I think one of the challenges I see is that. In the beginning of the journey for entrepreneurs, is there a solopreneur, there's a lot of ego, and there's a lot of self belief they need in order to get started because there's a lot of difficulty, a lot of friction, the challenges that creates a hindrance in the future. [00:42:24] Because one of the initial things I noticed that a lot of solopreneurs believe when they start hiring is what I call the clone myth. They think I just need to clone myself. I need to go find somebody like me cause I'm so special and so adaptable and so important. I need to go find somebody like myself. [00:42:39] And then they wonder why this person maybe steals their clients and eventually starts their own business. Cause you know, they're, that if somebody's like, yeah, instead of finding people that are better than them, and this is kind of the next level, they don't think that people can be better than them. [00:42:54] And my goal is to hire people that are way better at me on all the things that I don't enjoy doing. That's not difficult to do if I don't enjoy doing it I'm, definitely not going to be the best at it and I can definitely find people that are better at it And then when we hire people and then we treat them transactionally, it's like here's a task you return a report and do it, our team members then don't feel safe as you talked about to make decisions. The safest thing is to abdicate all the thinking decision making to me because then they're not responsible for the outcome. [00:43:26] And so this, there's kind of this graduation of having to learn to let go of going from a transactional leadership system to a strategic or sort of planning system where they have outcomes and goals and we'll do whatever's required in order to achieve it by a deadline instead of just being told what to do because you're the smartest person in the room, so to speak. [00:43:47] Kon: Yeah, I mean a couple of things. Let's unpack that for a second if I may. First of all, I aspire to the idea that like you, you have masterminds, you have groups that you coach, you work with people in a group setting as well as one on one. If I find myself being the smartest person in a mastermind in a group, that's the wrong group for me to be in. [00:44:04] Jason: Yeah. Right. So that's the first thing of being in the group. That's one of the best benefits of being in a mastermind is being able to be around other people that excel in different areas, you know, over what you do.  [00:44:18] Kon: Yeah. Correct. So that's number one. Number two, when you are constantly just telling your people what to do and you're asking them to delegate or you're taking ownership of all the thinking you are teaching learned helplessness. [00:44:31] You see it in parents of teenage kids. When you do all of the thinking for them and you just say, "fine, I'll just do it" or "clean up your room. You haven't cleaned it up to my expectations." Well, guess what? Why don't you explain the expectations and show them how to do it?  [00:44:47] You cannot do that. There's a time and a place. [00:44:49] To be very directive with people when they're first learning a task, you want to basically be very highly directive with them. You want to show them step by step how to do that. And as they become more confident and capable, then you start letting go. It's like you take off the training wheels. When you're teaching a kid how to ride a bike, you're not all of a sudden going to stick them on this racing bike and just push them down the hill. [00:45:11] You want to progressively give them a chance to learn and grow from that. That's how you do with your people. Don't expect them all of a sudden to have mastered that. They're not going to be where you are. Show them progressively how to master each step. That takes time, but that's the job of a leader. [00:45:25] Most people look at why "I don't have time to do that." Well, what are you doing? Where are you spending your time? Because to me as a leader, that is your time. You brought these people on, you're paying them a salary.  [00:45:36] Jason: How do people create this learned helplessness? Because people are doing it and they're kind of blind to it. [00:45:42] I would imagine.  [00:45:43] Kon: Correct. Because they keep saying, well, I don't have time to stop and teach you this. Just give it to me. And when you add all of these things onto your plate, time after time, 30 minutes for this, two hours for that four hours for this one day for this, all of a sudden your plate is overflowing and you've taught everybody around you to sit around and wait for you to do it. [00:46:03] Yeah. Because yes, it might take you longer in the moment to teach somebody how to do that task, but that is compounding interest because the next time they'll do it more and more, they'll eventually get good at it. Perhaps even better than you at something, but the fact of the matter is that you are taking off that time over the course of time off your plate. [00:46:26] That's freeing you up to do the other things that you need to be doing. You cannot afford to try to be, again, the best player on your team. If you are, that's a problem. Why did you hire these people?  [00:46:38] Jason: Yeah, it's like we need to trust them with outcomes and give them outcomes to achieve, goals to achieve, instead of just telling them what to do all the  [00:46:47] Kon: time and giving them that. [00:46:47] Correct. That's the paradox. Most people want to measure outputs as opposed to outcomes. Yes, outputs have a place. How many hours did you spend on this? How many calls did you make? How many widgets did you produce? Yes, I get that part, but overall measure people's success based on outcomes, because maybe you care about effort, but most of us care about results in this business. [00:47:12] Jason: You know, this is one of the things when we coach clients on the operational side of things that we've noticed is that, and we have this formula for the ultimate job descriptions we call R docs, and one of the key sections that are usually missing from job descriptions is results. [00:47:27] This is, you know, they'll have the role of the responsibilities, but there's no methodology in this for prioritization, right? And we want to pay as business owners, we want to pay for outcomes. That's really what we want. We're desiring outcomes. We're desiring results. And so I think just clarity on helping our team members understand Why they're doing certain things and understanding why it matters and then understanding what are the outcomes or the results that we want? We get far better results, you know, not so surprisingly. [00:47:56] So, yeah, so be around others that exceed expectations, love the idea of learned helplessness.  [00:48:04] Kon: Yeah. I mean, we condition our people to do certain things a certain way. I mean, we teach them how to do it and from our behaviors, the things we tolerate, the things we accept, the things that we focus on. All of that is sending clear messages to our team about what matters. [00:48:19] We, whether we realize it or not, we're constantly training them and educating them based on the way that we behave. They're going to respond to that. That's what people do. That's what happens in a system. They're going to look at the leader and say, Oh, What kind of mood is he or she in today? I mean, where's he going with this? [00:48:35] And the more unpredictable you are from that, the more people are not feeling safe in this. And again, that comes back to when they know that they can bring you issues and you're not going to fly off the handle when they know that you know what, Hey, you're going to sit there and listen to them. You're going to appreciate what they're saying. [00:48:51] Even if you don't like the message and thank them for the courage to share that with you, you know, good news, bad news doesn't get better with time. And so you want to know these things ahead of time, you want to find ways and then teach them how to solve problems so they can come to you with potential solutions. [00:49:07] Hey boss, this is what I'm thinking. This is what happened. These are the options that I'm thinking. Which way do you think we should go? Let's talk about that. Why do you think we should go this way? Why do you think we should go that way? Again, teach your people, treat them a certain way. I treated my kids, even my entry level kids, even my recreational teams. [00:49:25] I've won championships. Why? Because I treated them as champions before they even won a damn thing. Because I held them to that standard. Treat your team like champions and they will perform that way. Even if they're not the most talented. That's the thing you condition them to do. You create that culture, Jason. [00:49:42] Jason: You know, a lot of things you're touching on just now really speak to the point of empathy and just being empathetic and you know, caring about people and caring about their situation, caring about what they want and figuring out their motives and it seems like, you know, the highest performing teams are not the teams that have the most KPIs or the most metrics. [00:50:02] It's, there's been studies that say it's that there's the most empathy involved. So it's difficult, I think, for business owners to be empathetic though, sometimes.  [00:50:12] Kon: Well, what is empathy? Empathy? We talk about empathy as an emotional intelligence skill. We talk about empathy as our ability to be aware and understand where somebody else is coming from, where they're going, how they're approaching things, how they're processing things. [00:50:26] It's a it's a way to understand and acknowledge others' behaviors, feelings, et cetera. That's a capacity that we have as leaders, as emotionally intelligent leaders to be able to do. That's key. But to me, empathy unto itself in a business environment, especially or a high performance environment is only half of the equation. [00:50:46] Because to me, empathy needs to be paired up with tough love. I want to understand where you're coming from, but I also want to make sure that we set clear expectations through my understanding of what you can produce and what you're willing to produce. I can set clear expectations and boundaries, so we're both safe from that. [00:51:05] I look at back when I was, for example, working with people during The COVID days when we were all stuck and all of a sudden we're all doing virtual teams, or even now in a hybrid environment where we're operating that. That's one of the biggest challenges a lot of leaders have because they don't know how to manage teams when they're not in front of them. [00:51:21] If I can't see the whites of your eyes, how am I going to know you're working? I have that with a lot of my clients. They struggle with that.  [00:51:28] And to me, it's all about the leadership paradox. And one of the paradox elements that I teach is this empathy and tough love. I need to be empathetic with the fact that somebody is working in a very different situation. [00:51:42] Not everybody has a home office like I do, or you do. People sometimes have to work at their kitchen tables. They've got kids, school aged kids that they're trying to be a business person. They're trying to be a teacher at home. They're trying to be a short order cook. They're trying to take care of an aging parent in the background. [00:51:59] And guess what? They may have to pick things up at 10 o'clock at night after they put the kids to bed to try to cram the rest of the work that they didn't get finished during the day To me it's important as an empathetic leader to understand their situation and their plight, but on the other hand I need to protect them through tough love and say look, let's focus on the things that you can do the most important elements. Here are the priorities. If you get nothing else done, I want you to do one two three things this week. When you do them is up to you. I'm understanding your situation, but these are the three things that we need to agree to get done. That now allows me to pair empathy with tough love and that paradox creates a powerful synthesis that now I am leading from an effective way. [00:52:42] Jason: Yeah, I love the idea of tough love because you know tough love is two two words here, right tough and love and if we're tough, if we're just like shoving leadership at them without empathy, then it's cruel, right? They're going to perceive it as cruel. And if we showcase love and empathy, but we don't showcase any leadership, or any toughness or direction for them, then we're almost keeping them in their mediocrity. [00:53:09] Kon: Because with the tough love piece, again, you're setting those firmer boundaries, the expectations, the clear expectations, but you're doing it from a place of caring for them, caring for the team and caring for everything that you're trying to accomplish. That's the part of it. It needs to be that. [00:53:25] And sometimes as a leader, you're going to have to make those difficult decisions or have those difficult conversations with people and see what you can do. You're trying to manage people from where you think they should be. Try managing them from where they truly are. I've had very talented young people that are coming up and I see them as rock stars and the world is their oyster. [00:53:45] But guess what? Something changes in their lives. The priority, a health issue, an ailing parent, a new kid in the family, their priorities change just because I want to promote them and give them more responsibility, they may not be in a position to accept that responsibility. And it's important for us to really understand that because if I burn that person out or force them to make a choice, I put them in a big difficult situation and then I will lose that person. [00:54:11] Again, make sure that you understand how to harness that power and work with people.  [00:54:17] Jason: We need to know our people and we need to care about them. Well, Kon, this has been really enjoyable. I love your ideas. I love your frameworks that you shared with us today. [00:54:25] You had mentioned your business is Fresh Biz Solutions and you have a book, The Engagement Blueprint. Maybe in closing, you could just tell us like, what are they going to find? What was this book and how can they get in touch with you and any closing words?  [00:54:40] Kon: Thank you. I appreciate that. Well, the book is basically A distillation of 30 years of talent management and team building experience. [00:54:49] And in that book, I've spent a couple of years researching what is it that truly drives this level of engagement from people? How can we harness that? How can we build the kind of workplace that we all want to go to, that we all want to be part of? A place where we can raise the level of commitment and performance with our team members and really get the best out of them. [00:55:10] It includes some of my key frameworks, the things that we talked about. Earlier today, it includes my performance framework and the four elements of what I do for my clients. Building competence, building commitment, building teamwork and building systems and how that fits into the four drivers of engagement that we talked about. [00:55:28] So there's a path and pattern and a method to the madness. I've had the opportunity to interview some wonderful leaders, global leaders that have had broad teams, broad, different industries, different circumstances, but people that I have tremendous respect for, and they've all shared their information. [00:55:45] I've got case studies in the book from places where I've applied this, so it's not just my theory or things that I hope will work. I've showed people how this has actually worked in the real world, and they can take those in practical ways and apply them immediately with them. If people want to reach out to me, if the people are ready to work together, if I can support them in their efforts, they can reach out to me either by going to my website, fresh biz, B I Z solutions with an S at the end. com. And they can find a lot of wonderful information there, including a free engagement assessment so they can immediately see how their team is performing, where their strengths are, or they can reach out to me and connect through LinkedIn. That's where I normally play on my social media there. I have posts and newsletters there that come out weekly, and they can find me there under Coach Kon. [00:56:34] Coach Kon with a K, because it's hard to get people to trust you when you spell Kon with a C.  [00:56:40] Jason: There you go. Yeah, probably true. All right. Coach Kon. Great to have you here on the show. Thanks for hanging out with us on the DoorGrow show. Appreciate you being here.  [00:56:49] Kon: Thank you, my friend.  [00:56:50] Jason: All right. So for those of you that enjoy the show, you know, check out his website, freshbizsolutions. com. And if you are a property management business owner and entrepreneur, and you're struggling with adding doors, getting your systems in place. We would love to support you and see if we might be a fi

A recent study found that programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may actually create the problems they claim to address. The study conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University found that DEI training resulted in people seeing discrimination and abuse in areas where no such cases existed. It also found that people who underwent DEI training became more hostile and authoritarian.Watch our special report on how the Chinese Communist Party is targeting Americans using disinformation and lawfare here: https://ept.ms/CCPPlotUncoveredCR

“Podcast listeners and hosts have the highest income and net worth profile in all social media. Psychologically, these folks are action takers, endures, they're looking to solve their problems and get to the next level.”Marketing isn't dead—it's just evolving, and fast. The smartest entrepreneurs are ditching outdated, ad-heavy tactics and embracing the power of podcast guesting to generate leads, close deals, and build authority. The key? Long-form, unscripted conversations that resonate with audiences tired of being “sold to” and craving authenticity.In this episode, we explore how podcast guesting has become the secret weapon for business growth, drawing on lessons from recent high-profile success stories (hint: think elections). You'll learn why traditional marketing's ROI is sinking and how showing up on podcasts can help you tap into a goldmine of engaged listeners. The guest breaks it down step by step: no fancy tech, no huge ad spend, just real talk that builds trust and drives results.Expert Action Steps1. Embrace Podcast GuestingBegin positioning yourself as a guest expert on relevant podcasts. Identify shows with an audience that aligns with your target market and pitch yourself with a clear message about the value you can provide. Focus on authenticity and storytelling to build trust with listeners.2. Leverage Long-Form ContentUse podcast appearances as a platform to dive deep into your expertise. Highlight how your services or products solve real problems. Long-form, unscripted conversations allow you to connect authentically with an audience, humanizing your brand and establishing authority in your niche.3. Optimize the ROI of Your Marketing EffortsShift your budget and energy away from costly ads with declining ROI. Instead, invest time in podcast guesting, which requires minimal cost and offers a high return by directly engaging potential clients, investors, or partners in meaningful conversations.Visit eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

Recently I was reading a book by Julia Cameron who wrote, “The universe is prodigal in its support. We are miserly in what we accept.” Most of us are uncomfortable receiving and there's a good reason for this. Psychologically, it feels better for us humans to feel like we are giving more than we are getting. This makes receiving hard because our brains, which like things to be even, are always calculating whether we've done enough to deserve the gifts or service or abundance we have. Today on this special Thanksgiving episode of the podcast, I'm bringing your attention to your ability to receive and the thoughts that get in the way of us fully receiving the abundance of our lives. I think getting better at receiving makes your whole life better, enriches your enjoyment of it, and makes all your relationships sweeter. Today we'll talk about how to get better at receiving the goodness that is already present in your life, and I'll share some ideas, thoughts, and feelings to help you practice noticing and receiving the gifts of your beautiful life.   

What does it really mean to be psychologically competent?  In this class, we break it down in simple terms. It's all about understanding and handling your emotions, as well as the emotions of others, in a way that leads to good outcomes. We'll also talk about being mentally and emotionally ready to face challenges with clarity, resilience, and empathy.  Whether you're an entrepreneur, a professional, or anyone focused on growth, this is a skill worth mastering. Let's dive in! Show Notes: [04:33]1 Get and remain focused on the task at hand while ignoring and avoiding distractions. [14:06]#2 Find out what the most competent people are already doing and make sure you are capable of doing the same. [20:42]#3 Keep your sword and skills sharp. [31:51]Recap Episodes Mentioned: 2099: How To Extend Your "Prime" Years In Anything Next Steps: Text Dre Baldwin: Text Dre at 1.305.384.6894 (or go to http://www.DreAllDay.com/Text) Work On Your Game University: http://www.WorkOnYourGameUniversity.com  Sponsor: AG1 by Athletic Greens: http://drinkAG1.com/WORKONYOURGAME  Get Dre's Emails FREE:  Http://WorkOnMyGame.com  Free Audiobooks:  The Third Day: http://www.ThirdDayBook.com/audible The Mirror Of Motivation: http://www.MirrorOfMotivation.com/audible Get The Free Books: The Third Day: http://ThirdDayBook.com  The Mirror Of Motivation: http://MirrorOfMotivation.com The Overseas Basketball Blueprint: http://BallOverseas.com  Basketball: How To Play As Well As You Practice: http://HoopHandbook.com/Free  Donate:  CashApp: http://Cash.app/$DreBaldwin  PayPal: http://PayPal.me/DreAllDay  Be sure to Subscribe to have each new episode sent directly to you daily! If you're enjoying Work On Your Game, please Review the show and let us know!  Dre on social media: Instagram [http://instagram.com/DreBaldwin] Facebook [http://Facebook.com/WorkOnYourGameUniversity] Twitter / X [http://X.com/DreAllDay] YouTube [http://youtube.com/dreupt]  Facebook Business Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6figuresandgrowing/  All Episodes + FULL Work On Your Game Podcast archive at:  http://WorkOnYourGamePodcast.com 

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, or uneasiness that can be a normal reaction to stress. So, what is stress? Stress is a natural response to a perceived threat or challenge that can cause mental or physical tension. The only reason we would feel stress and anxiety is because we feel a threat. Threat is when we feel an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action. I've been looking at myself for a while and asking why I feel threatened? I expect that very few people listening to this are often, if ever, in physical threat. When you are, anxiety is a wonderful and appropriate signal to act in self-protection. However. What about when the threat is not physical? When it's psychological? What is being threatened? I was recently given some insight on this by a therapist, which I'll share next.  Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trial Get 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyou  Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevin Go to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discount Join thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU. If you're concerned about OCD, visit NOCD.com to schedule a free 15-minute call with their team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two Hot Takes host, Morgan, is joined by guest co-host Lauren! So many things we go through in life are psychologically challenging. They put us to the test, add a bunch of straws on our camels backs, and could even be a bit damaging. The stories this weel feel like some of those circumstances.. Can't wait to hear your own takes on these because our opinions certainly aren't facts.  LIVE SHOW TICKETS HERE!! https://linktr.ee/twohottakestour MERCH IS ON SALE HERE ! https://shop.twohottakes.com Bonus Content on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TwoHotTakes I can't wait to see you all in these, especially at our live shows!! Our PO Box!! Two Hot Takes. 5042 Wilshire BLVD. #470. Los Angeles, CA 90036 Our SubReddit to Submit YOUR Stories!!! https://reddit.app.link/twohottakes Full length Video episodes available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoHotTakes Partners: Zocdoc: zocdoc.com/tht Quince: quince.com/tht Shopify: shopify.com/tht Talkspace: talkspace.com/tht Promo Code: space80