Podcasts about stts

Welcome to "The Readiness Brief," a limited podcast series hosted by The O2X Podcast, designed to explore the critical importance of readiness within the tactical community. In each episode, we bring to the forefront seasoned members of the O2X Integrated Readiness Platform (IRP) network, engaging in insightful conversations with senior leaders across the tactical population."The Readiness Brief" aims to foster a deeper understanding of the O2X Integrated Readiness Platform (IRP) while spotlighting successes and valuable insights from organizations committed to preparedness.Part 2 features O2X Human Performance Integration Manager & former Program Manager w/ DEA Training Academy Dan Williams and the former Unit Chief of the Tactical Training Unit at the DEA Academy Scott Seeley-Hacker.Scott Seeley-Hacker is DEA veteran with nearly 26 years of service, most recently serving as Unit Chief of the Tactical Training Unit at the DEA Academy, where he oversaw all Basic Agent training in Tactical Operations, Defensive Tactics, and Human Performance while managing instructor certification programs and the tactical training budget. His distinguished career includes service as Country Attaché at the US Embassy in Rome, where he coordinated drug trafficking investigations across Southern Europe; Group Supervisor for a New England task force combating heroin and fentanyl distribution; Special Agent in Bangkok building international partnerships; operations in New York focusing on organized crime; a brief assignment as a Federal Air Marshal following 9/11; and initial service in Seattle targeting multi-jurisdictional drug cases.Dan Williams is the Human Performance Integration Specialist Manager for O2X on the West Coast. Starting as an On-Site Human Performance Specialist specializing in Strength & Conditioning, Dan has cultivated extensive expertise in supporting tactical athletes. With over 12 years of experience in the human performance field, Daniel has a deep passion for working with tactical athletes, helping them achieve peak performance and resilience. Since 2015, Daniel has served as a Human Performance Specialist in the special operations community. His career began with the Air Force Special Operations Command, working with the 24th Special Operations Wing, Special Tactics Training Squadron (STTS). After two years with STTS, Daniel transitioned to Naval Special Warfare Group 1, where he spent over four years supporting Navy SEALs in optimizing their performance and readiness.Building Homes for Heroes:https://www.buildinghomesforheroes.org/Download the O2X Tactical Performance App:app.o2x.comLet us know what you think:Website - http://o2x.comIG - https://instagram.com/o2xhumanperformance?igshid=1kicimx55xt4f 

We did a contracting episode a few weeks ago where we aired out a few grievances mostly focused on how strength and conditioning coaches in contracted roles with the military are treated. In that conversation we acknowledged that we have limited experience with contracting, and we were open to having an expert come on and set the record straight.  As it happens, this week's guest is exactly the kind of expert we were looking for. Chris Larkin is LMR Technical Group CEO and Cofounder and his background covers enlisted and officer service in Air Force Special Warfare and extensive involvement in military human performance in multiple different roles. Chris spent 28 years total in the Air Force as an enlisted Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, starting to advocate for military human performance initiatives even before commissioning. He served as the first Squadron Commander at the Special Tactics Training Squadron and helped establish the Combat Athlete Program (which pre-dated SOCOM POTFF) working with AF Research Lab and USAFA Human Performance Lab. He had HPO specific facilities built at the STTS and 23 Special Tactics Squadron – some of the first built in the DoD and even ran one of the first ever Human Performance Symposiums (bringing in industry, academia, and other military units to help solve HPO problems). He wrote his thesis at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) on “Combat Fitness a Concept Vital to National Defense” and was an Operational Squadron commander when POTFF came to AFSOC and even deployed HPO staff into Afghanistan to expedite the recovery process. His credentials include a bachelors in Exercise Science, Master Fitness Trainer, ACSM Exercise Leader, and USA Triathlon Coach. He's also an accomplished athlete in his own right. He ran Division 1 Cross Country and Southwest Texas State University. He has represented the Air Force in downhill skiing, triathlon, pentathlon, and Ironman - including 3 Ironman finishes. And he has 3,000 parachute jumps – including numerous demonstrations at events including NFL, MLB, NASCAR.

What if your passion could transform you from a hesitant newcomer to a shining star? Join us on this exciting premiere episode of "Steps to the Stage-Drama Department," where we spotlight the incredible journey of Giorgio Haddad, a 17-year-old actor who embarked on his theatrical path thanks to his mother's encouragement. Giorgio opens up about his initial doubts about becoming a "theater kid" and shares the thrilling experience of his first audition that led to his debut role in "The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens." Through his story, we celebrate the vibrant drama departments in local schools and the importance of nurturing young talent.Ever wondered how community theater differs from high school productions? Giorgio gives us an insider's look into both worlds. After wrapping up his junior year, Giorgio took a leap into the community theater scene, landing multiple roles in "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: The Musical." He reveals the supportive, family-like atmosphere at the 7th Street Theater, contrasting it with the sometimes more stressful environment of high school theater. Giorgio's experiences highlight the unique dynamics and the sense of belonging that community theater can offer, even under pressure.But that's not all—proper theater etiquette and professionalism are crucial for aspiring actors. Giorgio and I discuss the journey of learning these principles, from high school drama departments to community theater and beyond. We touch on the impact of popular productions like Hamilton and Wicked in bringing theater to the mainstream, and how this podcast aims to spotlight the remarkable work of drama departments in the Inland Empire. Giorgio's journey from high school plays to community productions, coupled with his ambitions in film, serves as a testament to the continuous growth and learning in the world of acting. Tune in to hear more about Giorgio's inspiring story and the thriving theater communities that foster young talent.Find STTS:Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | InstagramFacebookSteps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com)Steps To The Stage - YouTubePlease follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

Air Force Combat Controller Jonathan Howard had a very non-standard path from starting in Services at the mortuary to cross-training, to finally living his dream as a Combat Controller. After a long career of being on a team, Jonathan wanted to find a way to give back to the Combat Control career field and found his way to the First There Foundation. The First There Foundation (https://www.1stthere.org/) is a passionate 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to supporting all Combat Controllers during life's most challenging moments. We understand the pain of feeling abandoned and aimless and the profound grief of losing a cherished one. First There Foundation's mission is to offer wide-ranging assistance, covering mental, financial, career, and substance abuse support for the Combat Controller community.Please check out the First There Foundation and consider donating to this amazing organization. 00:00 Peaches opens up by threatening the monetization of the video 01:00 How do our AFSPECWAR skills actually transfer to the real world?12:30 Don't stress about tomorrow, 17:30 Jonathan's Background, pipeline, and finally getting a shot46:50 Being scared of your instructors and STTS smoke sessions58:00 First There Foundation1:16:20 AdviceCollabs:18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1ReadyAlpha Brew Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYATAC Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADY10CardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYEberlestock - Promo Code: OR10Hoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYStrike Force Energy - Promo Code: ONESREADYTrench Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYGrey Man Gear - Promo Code: ONESREADY The content provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The host, guests, and affiliated entities do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. The use of this podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the podcast is not liable for any damages resulting from its use. Any mention of products or individuals does not constitute an endorsement. All content is protected by intellectual property laws. By accessing or using this you agree to these terms and conditions.

Lance "B11" Belobraijdic has one of the craziest stories we have ever had here on the podcast. Lance was the first Special Operations Weather Team cross-trainee and experienced a pipeline like no other. After a great career in the Air Force and Special Tactics, Lance pulled the ultimate Weather Boi move and took his talents to NASA. That's right everyone- space weather. Thanks to B11 for coming on and sharing his diverse experience, we really appreciate it!00:00 Trent crushes the intro, impersonates Aaron, messes up the guest's name, B11's backstory08:00 The first cross-trainee story, bad information, and the weirdest pipeline story ever22:00 Lance had now clue he had to swim, and hundreds of other things29:15 The hardest parts of the pipeline- Combat Control School40:00 NCO expectations, older guy expectations46:00 STTS as the first SOWT Cross Trainee53:10 Getting to the 10th Weather Squadron as a first assignment 1:02:00 Getting to the 21 STS1:12:00 Moving on to NASA, and being a super strong nerdCollabs:18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1ReadyAlpha Brew Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYATAC Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADY10CardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYEberlestock - Promo Code: OR10Hoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYStrike Force Energy - Promo Code: ONESREADYTrench Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYGrey Man Gear - Promo Code: ONESREADY The content provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The host, guests, and affiliated entities do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. The use of this podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the podcast is not liable for any damages resulting from its use. Any mention of products or individuals does not constitute an endorsement. All content is protected by intellectual property laws. By accessing or using this you agree to these terms and conditions.

Welcome to Oz!! STTS is so excited to have our first international episode with our new friends Liv (Olivia) & Em (Emily) from down under. Colin P and our guests discuss their upcoming production of Little Women the Musical that opens tonight! Liv is in the middle of her tour of Broadway Diva and will be soon heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where both of her productions (Broadway Diva/Puppets) will feature. Olivia Ruggiero Productions (@oliviaruggieroproductions) | InstagramLittle Women the Musical | HumanitixOlivia RuggieroOlivia Ruggiero | FacebookFind STTS:Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | InstagramFacebookSteps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com)Steps To The Stage - YouTubePlease follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

NO GRID SURVIVAL PROJECTS by James Walton and others https://offgridsurvivalprojects.com/book-ngp-jw/www.4patriots.com promo code PBN 10% off EVERYTHING! www.prepperbroadcasting.comwww.disastercoffee.comSupport Our Great SponsorsThe Preppers Medical Handbook https://amzn.to/3piYAlUEmergency Antibiotic Kit Jase Medical http://www.jasemedical.com/?utm_source=pbn&utm_medium=podcastThe Preppers Guide to Surviving Pandemics, Bioterrorism and Infectious Disease https://amzn.to/3djoKzwDisaster Coffee www.disastercoffee.comSupport The Prepper Broadcasting NetworkBecome a Member and Receive Exclusive Content https://bit.ly/3pniGLYSign up for the Newsletter https://bit.ly/3Df15e0Check out Patreon! https://bit.ly/3uDkBQHCome Unity; Community https://amzn.to/3ddsN0dThe Christmas Hook https://amzn.to/3rxTlS1Some of My Favorite Preps The Home Security Super Store https://bit.ly/3QmRV72My EDC Bag 3VGear Outlaw Sling Pack https://amzn.to/3oklKZZMy EDC Flashlight Olight S1R https://amzn.to/3djpBQKQuick Aquaponics System https://amzn.to/31keqVA20-1 Gallon Mylar Bags and 02 Absorbers https://amzn.to/3KgN8AaMr. OCAX predator deterrents for chickens https://amzn.to/3Isbg2KAffordable Hot Tent https://amzn.to/3lxKX0ZAffordable Stove https://amzn.to/3Dxu4tPShow DescriptionMusic Credits:Peculate - Opium of the PeopleChecky Brown - City WalkKeiLoKaz - Dar Saltos de AlegriaKeLoKaz - Rainy NightsMeluran - Vanilla There are affiliate links up there! ^^^

Special Tactics Training Squadron, or STTS, is one of the premier training squadrons in the entire Air Force. Every single Combat Controller and Special Reconnaissance Airman passes through the doors of STTS, and for a good reason- it's where ST performs it's final evaluations on all candidates before they hit their unit. Maj Chris Walsh, a Special Tactics Officer, took over STTS after his stint trying out for the Olympic Bobsled team as part of the World Class Athlete Program and has worked hard to make the organization the crown jewel of the ST pipeline. He was kind enough to talk about all things STTS- where it's going, its challenges, and what he has in store for you at the end of your pipeline. Huge thanks to Maj Walsh for coming on, and make sure to follow his IG @walsh.usa . Hope you all enjoy this one and train hard!Enlisted to Officer Application:  https://www.afspecwar.com/_files/ugd/ccb394_94e4733d7cdb4f9bb9b8be6183a15ecb.pdfROTC/Academy/Civilian/Officer Application: https://www.afspecwar.com/_files/ugd/ccb394_a18f3d5ef19a4c3994ea890dbd787535.pdfDon't forget to subscribe to the Podcast on your favorite player! http://bit.ly/2OG2OlfHave a question?  Email us at info@onesready.comFollow us on Instagram http://bit.ly/2OeNoFIAs always, THANK YOU for your support; we truly appreciate it!#specialtactics #onesready #military  Collabs:18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1ReadyAlpha Brew Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYATAC Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADYCardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYEberlestock - Promo Code: OR10Hoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYOut of Regs Pomade - Promo Code: ONESREADYStrike Force Energy - Promo Code: ONESREADYTrench Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADY

Join me as I welcome intuitive astrologer Rachelle Rizzi for a discussion about spiritual astrology and her focus on Chiron and the Lunar Nodes. Click here to book Rachelle's STTS listen special for a 30 minute Lunar Nodes reading. To learn more about Rachelle and all of her services, visit astrologywithrachelle.com.

Join Tawnya and Lucy in conversation with Fiona Aveyard, a 5th generation sheep farmer from Central NSW who has developed a family recipe into a single-origin Aussie favourite - a lamb sausage roll - that not only tastes delicious but adds a resilience revenue stream to a traditional farming business. Episode links: Join the Straight To The Source community here. Find Outback Lamb on the STTS directory here. Learn more about Outback Lamb here. Read about your hosts Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon here. Learn more about Straight To The Source here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 11 of More Math for More People is here! Joel and Misty talk with Wendy Phillips about how she gets her study teams established first thing! They also discuss the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and challenge listeners to come up with some interesting STTS combinations. Lastly, have you heard of Core Matters? They can help you get started in your classroom with ease!

Euwarnii Hughes discusses one of the hardest yet most important skills of life. STTS! What this actually means, how it applies to life and by using it you can truly elevate 2021 to an incredible new level! Plus learn more exciting news on BOLDSAGA Kickstarter, epic new interviews for Great Gale, BOLDSAGA and so more! P.s. Follow us on Instagram at

This week, Jim Reid leads the panel through a forum post about other ways to play No Limit Texas Hold'em. While battling it out against each other in the nightly home game, the panel discusses cash vs tournaments, MTTs vs STTs, field sizes, variance, shootouts, 'double or nothings', turbos, sit and gos and more! Come sign up for a free account at rec.poker today to see all the great comments and replies – and you can post a question of your own in the forum for the panel to review! Link: https://rec.poker/forums/discussion/podcast-subject-holdem-variants/

In Ready For Takeoff Podcast Episode 175 we discussed airline drug testing, and now we're going to learn about WHY airline employees are tested for drugs. An airline accident in 1988 was a major factor in requiring drug testing for pilots. Trans Colorado Airlines flight 2286 crashed during an approach to Durango, Colorado, and investigators learned that the captain had ingested cocaine prior to the flight. In the accident report the Safety Board stated "The NTSB believes that reasonable cause testing (triggered by any of a wide range of potentially safety-related errors), combined with effective management supervision of employees, post-accident/incident testing, pre-employment testing, periodic (medical) testing, and competent drug/alcohol education and treatment, are essential components of an effective anti-drug/alcohol abuse program." From Test Country: When President Ronald Reagan signed an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to create an employee drug testing program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) responded by developing a comprehensive program and cascading it down to all DOT administrations, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to cover pilots and air traffic controllers. Today, drug screening is done for most occupations related to the transport and aviation industry from mechanics to baggage handlers. Extensive studies indicate that drug use is actually uncommon among pilots, but because of the high level of performance needed for flight, drug use in aviation is closely monitored. On top of the FAA regulations, most airlines implement their own drug abuse policies. Under these policies, employees with substance abuse violations are removed from safety-sensitive operations and given the choice to go on a treatment program after which they are allowed back to full duty. A second violation will result in disciplinary action or termination. Background Screening & Drug Testing in Aviation and Airline Companies Under Section 120 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, employers shall conduct drug testing in accordance with the DOT’s “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs” as follows: Pre-employment Drug Testing No employer may hire any person for a safety-sensitive function or transfer any person from a non-safety sensitive function to a safety-sensitive function without having first conducted a pre-employment drug test and have received a negative result for the same. This rule applies to transfers if more than 180 days have elapsed from the time of the original hiring/pre-employment drug test. The substances to be tested for are: Marijuana Cocaine Opiates Phencyclidine (PCP) Amphetamines A metabolite of the above-mentioned substances A DOT 10 Panel Drug Test can be conducted in a laboratory setting ensuring all qualifications are met under The Department of Transportation. Corporate laboratory drug testing is best used while screening candidates for employment. After employment, however, instant drug test kits can be useful tools. Random drug testing This test shall be done on 50% of covered employees selected at random and without warning. Post-accident/post-incident drug testing This test is to be done on an employee whose performance contributed to an accident, no later than 32 hours after the accident Reasonable-cause drug testing If it is reasonably suspected that an employee in a security and safety-sensitive function used a prohibited substance as demonstrated by physical, behavioral and performance indicators. Return to duty drug testing This test is given to an employee after previously testing positive or refusing to submit to testing (and was therefore removed from work) before being allowed back to work. Follow-up drug testing This test is for employees who have previously passed a return-to-duty test. Most DOT programs require 6 follow-up tests the first year from returning to duty, to continue for up to 5 years. The Federal Aviation Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Rules The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a drug and alcohol testing program to make sure that the company provides a safe and healthy environment for both employees and those they serve. The administration follows The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug and alcohol testing policy. Both agencies work together to define and implement the coverage of the substance abuse program. Here are some of the most common questions and answers about DOT’s drug and alcohol testing rules for FAA: Who are covered by the DOT – FAA drug and alcohol testing rules? According to DOT, all employees who perform safety-sensitive functions are subject to employee drug testing. These are: Air traffic control Aircraft dispatchers Aircraft maintenance and preventive maintenance Aviation screening Flight attendants Flight crewmembers Flight instruction Ground security When are covered employees tested? As per DOT, covered employees are tested during pre-employment and during random testing. Employees are also subject to testing during circumstances like post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing. What are drug and alcohol prohibitions as per DOT testing rules? DOT drug testing rules require FAA employers to test their employees for the following drugs: Marijuana, Opiates, PCP, Cocaine, and Amphetamines. For DOT Alcohol Testing, the prohibited alcohol concentration for FAA employees is 0.04% or greater. Instant tests can monitor the Breath Alcohol Concentration of drivers, immediately. Employees who are caught violating these prohibitions must be immediately removed from performing safety-sensitive functions until management decides on their applicable consequences. Who performs the drug and alcohol testing procedures? For drug testing, a DOT urinalysis procedure must be followed. Only certified collectors are allowed to perform the collection of urine samples from employees. They are trained to perform the testing procedure that meets DOT’s drug testing requirements, making sure that all samples reach the laboratory without signs of tampering. For DOT alcohol screening, only a screening test technician (STT) and breath alcohol technician (BAT) are allowed to perform the alcohol test. DOT Alcohol Testing requires 2 tests: a screening and confirmation test. STTs are only allowed to perform screening tests, while BATs are allowed to perform both tests. They are trained to guarantee accurate test results. FAA Random Drug Testing Requirements for Pilots Like most drivers who drive vehicles that require special education and certification, pilots too are subject to the regulations of the DOT Alcohol Testing and Drug Testing Policy. These regulations are designed to maintain the safety of all passengers and aircraft crew who depend on their pilot to be able to transport them from one location to another without incident. This means that the pilot must be able to be on guard at all times for the varying situations that could occur during the course of taking off, flying and landing the airplane under their control. A pilot more than any other major transportation operator needs to have a clear mind and an ability to focus to maintain the safety and well-being of those he transports. These abilities are delayed, limited or severely impaired by the abuse of illegal substances. Pilots are subject to random, unannounced drug testing which is generally conducted during working hours. Those who are chosen are given a notice shortly before testing which tells them where they must go to submit their sample. They must submit a sample for testing once they’re done doing the safety-sensitive job they are doing and arrive at the testing site. If the pilot doesn’t arrive at the appointed time or is thought to be tampering with the drug testing process they are considered to have refused to test. If the pilot has done anything that constitutes a refusal or outright refuses to submit a sample they will not be able to fly or do any other job which is considered safety sensitive until they’ve completed a drug test with a negative result. Getting a positive result on a random drug test also requires the pilot to achieve a negative test result on retest before they can return to safety-sensitive work. Pilots who failed a drug test will also be asked to submit to at least 6 random follow up drug screenings (which are observed) over the course of the next 12 months to verify their sobriety is being maintained. Pilots who received a negative result are referred to a Substance Abuse Professional who will determine the rate and frequency of follow-up drug testing (which may continue for up to 5 years after the failed test) as well as what substances the pilot will be tested for. The FAA random drug testing program (like other DOT-regulated substance abuse programs) also offers those with substance abuse problems opportunities to report their addiction to a counselor so that they may pursue treatment without facing censure from their employer. Education about substance abuse and prevention is also an integral part of the drug testing process as they help employees to better understand the role that drugs take on in their lives. If these pilots feel that they work in an environment that is willing to help them succeed and remove the negative effects of substance abuse from their work and public lives they’ll be much more invested in maintaining the requirements.

The STTS crew gets together to recap the season. Listen in as your host recount the great moments of season one. Learn what a chewch is. And more importantly why you don't want to be one. Ponder what type of cigar smoker are you, a buy and burner or stock and hold? And as always, don't forget to stick to the script.

STTS sits down with Mike Rushing, the General Manager of Casa De Montecristo District of Columbia. Listen as Mike describes starting his career in the Cigar industry at the age of 16 years old. Making his first sale to Drew Brees Mike's journey with the leaf has taken him on a long tour. From San Diego, New Orleans, Florida, New York, and Washington D.C. his story is an exciting excursion with Cigars. Enjoy as we #StickToTheScript!

In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod, I get a lil vulnerable with ya'll. I talk about this woman, Amanda, who shared her life and drug use experiences for a youtube channel, the TV series Little Fires Everywhere and how I related to both. I also share the real reason why I am so tough on myself when it comes to smoking that sticky icky. Please remember to like and share! You are appreciated. Background Tune: Cook & Jango "Mr. Moon"

In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod, Ya girl continues to talk that ish! I go in on how important your thinking is during this pandemic, choosing my words wisely, #blackaf and so much more! I was low key on one lol Remember to like and share!! Background music: Cook & Jango "Fabric Softner"

It’s been a year since we lost the great Nipsey Hussle. This episode is a tribute to neighborhood nip. His legacy will live on forever. The Marathon Continues!!!!!

In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod, I share the energy for the next two weeks via tarot, how I plan to get through the quarantine, some binge worthy shows on Netflix and more! Remember to like, subscribe and share. You are appreciated. Background Music: Cook & Jango "Clem"

69 writes a letter to a judge and fears he’s going to die in jail from the coronavirus. Bun B and his wife gets called the N word by a white women. Jay electronica “A Written Testimony” album review and which biggie album was better?

What if I told you I had an unreleased episode from last year in the stash....Well don’t worry I got you and I’m not alone. I got my homie and longtime friend Laniqua stopping by as we talk about relationships. When lies goes wrong. How to forgive a person after making a mistake and her Babydaddy Drama, well I'll let her explain the situation.

The coronavirus is serious and we need to pay attention. Cities on lockdown. Grocery stores is out of control. Keri hilson 5g Conspiracy. San Francisco is on lockdown for 3 weeks and other cities are doing the same. Also my recap on last week episode, so consider this episode a mini documentary I put together.

Coronavirus and the chaos it’s causing. The truth about the government. Why do black people look at Barack Obama has a god? My co host supports trump and I don’t understand why and yes he’s black. His thoughts on how he feels about black people being called a “Coon” for supporting trump. What is FEMA and the martial law? And the truth behind the New World Order.

69 gets a release date. Da Baby slaps a female fan. Megan thee stallion release Suga Ep and people think the drama dealing with her contract was a publicity stunt. Nicki Minaj husband register as a sex offender and bhad bhabie playing victim once again.

In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod I continue to talk that shit. This time I talk about my 3-day water fast, what support looks like, doing what is best for YOU, the coronavirus, my supernatural experience and more!! Please be sure to like, subscribe and share! You are appreciated Background Tune: Cook & Jango "Arze"

Joe budden pump it up was originally about Masturbation? Royce da 5’9 “the allegory”album review. Geechi gotti 30 twork? Bhad bhabie have a seat, you doing the most. Arsonal disrespect T Top babymother. Drake drop two new songs over the weekend. Whitney Houston hologram tour. Waka flocka calls himself a “Wack rapper.” remember when Gucci mane caught a body? Well It’s a reason why they used to call him the boogeyman. Chuck D kicks flavor flav from public enemy. Tay roc gets expose by a tranny. Mike Tyson gets emotional and says he feels “empty” without boxing. Spike Lee talks about his Incident at Madison square garden and Royce Da 5’9 is becoming more Conscious.

Gillie da kid gives advice to young artist on how they should move in the music industry. Eminem Music To Murder By Album Review. Will Joyner Lucas album live up to the hype? When writing scripts goes wrong and y’all remember the chat line? Well let’s just say I took it old school and called the chat line for a little prank. the reactions is priceless.

In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod, I am talking that shit for the third time. I talk about how we are black history, why its important to always do your best, knowing better to do better and so much more! Please be sure to like, subscribe and share! You are appreciate Background Tune: Cook & Jango "Clem"

T-Rex gets Exposed? And why your homie giving you shots as you giving back shots? Whatever happen to Trinidad James? Why did I stop rapping? Well here’s why.. Pop smoke shot and killed in LA home. Lil boosie thoughts on Dwayne Wade son sex change and learn how to separate your career from family and their lack of support. I’ll give you my honest opinion.

Hey ya'll! In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod "She Talkin That Shit" I talk about what it feels like experiencing my Saturn Return, birthday festivities and why boundaries are so important in ALL relationships. Please be sure to like, subscribe and share!

A Fall From Grace Movie Review. Tyler Perry we respect your work ethic but that doesn’t mean you get a pass. Orlando Brown say what about Nick Cannon? Is Orlando Brown crying for help while battling his demons? Well let me break this all down.

I decided to dedicated this episode to the life and career of the late great “Kobe Bryant” and his daughter “GiGi” we not only lost a legend, we lost a great human being who was a father, a husband and a son. Your name and legacy will live on forever. By the way I didn’t say one word on this episode.

Power fans, it’s time to accept the fact that ghost is dead so please stop with the conspiracies. Kendrick Lamar new album might have some rock influences. It’s time for Kodak and 69 to take responsibility for their actions and advice for artist on the come up. Stop trolling in the comment section to gain attention. It’s not a good look.

SHE TALKING THAT SHIT #1 In this episode of #avocadoandhoneypod, I give you the energy for the next two weeks via tarot. I also share how I am brutally honest with myself and why celebrities death feels like our own. Please be sure to LIKE SUBSCRIBE & SHARE! YOU ARE APPRECIATED

Nick cannon releases a new song and throws another shot at Eminem. Tory lanez chinxtape 5 review. Rapper gets 180 years in jail for snitching on himself. Doggystyle will forever be snoop dogg best album but here’s the catch it’s another snoop album that’s a sleeper and most people won’t mention this album. Will smith admits he was jealous of Jada & 2Pac relationship. Is Jay-z 444 album a classic and the importance behind J Cole Kod album.

Which Lil Wayne carter series was his best? Nipsey Hussle victory lap goes certified platinum. Wale “Wow....That’s Crazy” album review. Is Snow in tha bluff consider as a hood classic? Trick Daddy is not feeling his mugshot being turn into a meme. Future drops a new song and video called “life is good” featuring Drake. Yung joc is a rideshare driver to teach kids how to make an honest living but a passenger thinks he fell off and I have a few things to get off my chest.

Is Ludacris underrated? Dame dash has a ego problem and it needs to be check. Cassidy, we need to talk about this battle and it’s not in a good way. Da baby talks about social media. Can we please stop with this R.Kelly documentary and here’s why. The impact of “Trap Musik” and remember when Houston was on top and took over the hip hop scene? The question remains what happen, why it ended so soon and how it change the game.

Recap our top 10 hip hop albums of 2019. Uncle Murda Rap up 2019 and he didn’t hold back. Which hip hop artist will have a breakout year. 50 cent and French Montana is at it once again. Get Rich Or Die Tryin Vs.The Massacre. Megan Thee Stallion is the female Pimp-C. No Limit Vs.Cashmoney and Does the crunk era gets the respect it deserves?

As we countdown the final day of 2019. We talk about how overrated Kodak Black is. Who is Rod Wave? Should we blame hip hop for influencing kids to take drugs or is it a choice? Jordan’s got you going broke but it’s a way you can look fly and save money. What happen to Lloyd banks? Can we say “makaveli” might be 2pac best album and another sleeper album from pac that no one really talks about and we will give you our top 10 hip hop albums of 2019 also we will explain the albums that didn’t make the list. Trust me this wasn’t easy.

Power final episodes trailer or is it a teaser? Nick cannon diss Eminem for the 3rd time. Joyner Lucas blames hip hop for juice wrld death. Surviving R.Kelly part 2? Fabolous summertime shootout 3 album review. Da Baby is the true meaning of giving back to his fans. Kendrick Lamar and J Cole dropping albums in 2020 and My thoughts on Lizzo.

Mark and Lisa, a staff member at his Martial Arts School, shares a story about a tragedy that hit Lisa two years ago.  Lisa talks about the celebration of life of her son, Leo, and how she remembered the happy times about his life.

Today’s episode is about the two different but powerful meanings for Strength Through the Struggle that you can use in your life. Let’s get right to it. Hello everybody! Thanks for taking the time to tune in and listen to this episode. I really appreciate your time and energy. While this episode isn’t specifically about martial arts I’m going to use them as an example. When I came up with the name for this podcast it was the result of wanting to be truthful about life. At least my experience with life. And what I’ve learned about it from my childhood, into the military and as a career martial artist and student of life. I wanted people who were looking for solutions to life’s challenges to be able to find honest answers, inspiration, and motivation. The first thing that STTS means to me is that we all actually do have the Strength to get through any Struggle that crosses our path in life. Those can be struggles that were thrust upon us through no doing of our own as well as the challenges we create with our choices. You know what I mean, problems of our own creation. There have been a few times in my life that I didn’t know if I had the strength to do what needed to be done when confronted with a problem in my life. One of those times was when I found out I was going to be a father. My own internal dialogue was very negative concerning how I saw myself. I couldn’t imagine anything good could come from me. More specifically, my seed. I grew up with so many experiences in childhood that I wasn’t worthy of anything good or that anything good could come from me that I spent my adult life trying not to become a father. That wasn’t the truth but it was what I believed. And we tend to behave in alignment with what we believe regardless of whether the belief is true or not. I ended up trying to be the best father I could and overall, I’ve done a fair job of it. Not perfect by any means but pretty good most days. And that is with the added challenges of raising a child with multiple disabilities. Even though I didn’t believe it the start, I had the strength to do it. The truth was, I had the Strength to get Through the Struggle the whole time. I bet you can think of times in your own life where this has been true for you. It could be anything. The ending of a relationship. Getting through school or going on and getting a degree in college. What about sickness or injury? The death of a loved one in your life? A financial crisis. The loss of a job. What about that choice that you made that brought on the difficulty in your life that you didn’t think you could overcome or get through. You see. You had it in you the whole time. You made it through. You did have the strength to get through that struggle. The second meaning and one that lines up with the martial arts is, we get Stronger because we go through Struggles. As a matter of fact, we CAN’T get stronger without resistance, without something to struggle against. If I want to make my body stronger, I must find something to push against. For instance, a floor to do a push up against. If I’m standing in the middle of a room pushing against the air, my body is not getting stronger. There isn’t anything in opposition to my arms. There isn’t anything for me to struggle against. I have to get down on the floor and push against it. The floor and my bodyweight work together to give me something to struggle against which in turn creates more strength in my body. The same is true for events in our life that are a struggle to get through. Those events are what give us an opportunity to get stronger on the inside. When my son Josh was hurt in the hit-and-run with two semi-trucks, it created all kinds of opportunities for me to get stronger. The struggle of dealing with both a life-threatening and ultimately life-altering event made it possible for me to have to dig deeper than I ever had to in my life. I had to develop a stronger Faith in order to keep going with everything that was required of me and Joshua. I developed more patience and new perspectives of understanding that have made me a stronger person. I had to come to terms with the idea that I can’t control everything in my life which made me stronger. A new level of compassion was required for my son but also for myself and others in this world has ultimately made stronger as well. I have a deeper level of perseverance now and can endure (which is another type of strength) difficult things if I must. All of this is as a result of the struggle, that ended up in my life. It wasn’t easy and I’m not going to pretend that it was. I didn’t enjoy going through it. It was hard. But I do enjoy the strength that I gained from it. Without the struggle, I couldn’t have gotten stronger. What about your own life? What have you gone through that has made you a stronger person? A better student, employee or boss. What are the challenges in your life, the struggles you have gone through that have made you stronger as a husband, wife, father or mother? That’s right. You have all kinds of examples of how much stronger you are because of the struggles you had to figure out. So let me tie it all together. 1 – We all have the strength to get through any struggle in our life even if we don’t believe it. 2 – We all can gain new levels of strength because of the struggles we go through in life. Pretty impressed with yourself now? You should be! You’ve been getting stronger and showing strength your whole life. I hope that helps. Thanks again for listening and remember, if you want any coaching to reach out at markgoblowsky.com. Let’s get you unstuck and moving again.    

What’s the opposite of “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas? I’m here to tell you in this episode of the STTS. Let’s get to it. If you live in the United States, or possibly other countries as well, you may have seen the commercials advertising a visit to the city of Las Vegas. There are dozens of commercials, all about 30 seconds long with different storylines. Each commercial, regardless of the storyline, promote the idea that as long as nobody back where you live knows about what happens, then do whatever you like in Las Vegas. Because What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas. It’s a bit of a wink-wink, nod-nod approach to life. If nobody knows, there’s no crime. No knowledge = no harm = no foul, is not the actual outcome. Now, I totally disagree with that mentality but that is an episode for another day. I grew up with a similar philosophy in my home. It went like this, “What happens in this house, stays in this house.” I distinctly remember hearing this from my mother one summer day. The neighbors severe alcoholics and parents were raising hell with each other. But the message was clear. Do not repeat what goes on inside this house, outside of this house. To anybody! Ever. Now my mother did the best she could trying to raise us kids. Given, her own upbringing, which was ugly to say the least, the deck wasn’t stacked in her favor. She, and her three sisters suffered many types of abuse at the hands of my grandmother who was mentally ill for most of her adult life. We will never know exactly how my grandma came to be mentally ill and abusive. Rumors have it that she was raped and miscarried a child in Italy while my grandfather came to the United States to find work and a house for them. The abuse my mother experienced growing up along with being married to my father, who wasn’t the best of role models in town, gave her more work than she could handle with five children all under the age of five at once. When my mother told me, “What happens in this house, stays in this house,” I couldn’t understand why she said it. What was so bad about what happened in our house? I mean it wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t the worst place on earth as far as I could tell. As I got older, I started to see there were some houses where things weren’t much different. There were other homes where things were very different. What I couldn’t tell though was just how far off of center our home actually was. My mother knew something wasn’t right. I felt something wasn’t right but I couldn’t define it in my childlike mind. My mother also felt helpless to do anything about it. We are talking about the 1960’s and life was very different back then when most mothers didn't work outside of the home. So what does all this mean? In my life, I’ve found that things done in the dark and/ or kept in the dark are there because nobody wants them to see the light of day. I get it that our bathrooms and our bedrooms are private places. I’m not talking about bathroom habits or somebody’s sex life. Certainly there are conversations, and things that happen in a home where there is no need for them to travel outside the family circle. I’m talking about things like abuse in all its forms. Physical abuse, mental, abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, spiritual abuse. When these things happen, the perpetrator does not want you tell anybody about it. The reason is they are all harmful things at the very least, but many are also criminal as well as unethical or immoral. When I need to keep something in the dark, so the deed remains unknown to the public including authorities, that is for the person doing the abuse to stay in the clear and out of trouble. Things that went on when I was a child, frequently were swept under the rug or given a shrug of the shoulder and a comment like, “It’s none of our business. There are numerous things I and many others lived through that if they happened today, in 2019, people would be arrested for them and likely do serious jail time. The only way to deal with the darkness in this world is to shine some light on it. Light doesn’t allow things to hide. Light allows us to see things for what they really are. Light heals. Light provides one thing that is absolutely necessary for almost everything on earth to grow. It’s safer to be out during the day in the light than it is at the night in the darkness. It’s safer to drive during the day than it is at night. I have more reaction time because my vision isn’t impaired by the darkness. Many crimes are committed in the dark for the very reason of keeping people from seeing something illegal is going. Darkness hides the truth. Truth needs to be stated and shared where people are being harmed. I encourage everyone listening to this to bring the darkness out into the light and let the light do its job of providing an environment of healing and growth. Before you go, thank you again for listening. It means a lot to me. Would you please share this episode with others. It can’t help if it’s not heard. Thanks again and I’ll see you soon.

My wife and I are on vacation in the Dominican Republic. This episode is not about how I live some amazing life, although it is amazing in many ways. It’s not about who we live a life of luxury, traveling to exotic places and living where we want and how we want. It’s about how change for the positive can happen when the environment for it exists. Six years-ago Teresa and I were at the very same resort in the DR. We arrived the second day it was open. We opted to take the trip then because the price was outstanding by virtue of being new. At the time the staff was not that fluent in English and we weren’t fluent in Spanish so sometimes we had a little language barrier. Also, there were many things all over the resort that weren’t completed or ready. Some of the restaurants weren’t open that first week and many of the listed resort activities weren’t ready. The beach was in good shape and the pool was in good shape and while we aren’t much for drinking, it seemed the bars were all fully staffed and fully stocked. We were told by the staff not to drink the tap water as it had the possibility of making us sick. We appreciated that bit of info about the water and took it seriously using only bottled water to drink and went so far as to use bottled water to brush our teeth as well. That was all OK. We are pretty easy going and understand the world isn’t perfect. complete. We had a great time relaxing on the beach, jumping waves in the ocean and enjoying the delicious, fresh fruits, vegetables and wonderful meals that were prepared for us. Being a new resort, the surrounding decorative vegetation was just being planted. There was more dirt to be seen than plants and flowers. The property, because the vegetation that was planted, was only planted recently did not have the time to grow to its normal beauty. As my wife and I walked the property she mentioned how she wondered what it would look like had it all been filled in and the plants had time to grow and mature. Needless to say, it didn’t happen by the end of the week that we were there. Here we are six years later. The difference is profound. Every square inch of the property is absolutely beautiful and filled with perfectly manicured flowers, bushes, ornamentals, and trees. The four to six-foot palm trees newly planted in 2013 are now twelve to sixteen feet tall in all of the atrium gardens of each building. The fifteen to twenty-foot palm trees around the exteriors of the buildings are now thirty to forty feet tall. The decorative gardens surrounding the buildings are perfectly manicured and completely filled in throughout the property. Purple flowers abound and you can hardly see dirt in any of the landscaping because they are so full of assorted greenery and flowers. All of this happened in six short years because the environment was right for growth. Sun, warmth, rain, somebody caring for and tending to the needs of the plants. In Chinese culture and martial arts, we would say that is Yang Sheng. Nourishing or Nurturing Life. As a matter of fact, I believe it is so important that we say it at the beginning and end of all our classes. We say yang sheng in the spirit of not only nourishing our life but also the lives of those around us. Most of my students only spend a few hours a week with me or my staff. We say Yang Sheng when we train with each other multiple times throughout class at the beginning and end of each exercise, while looking each other in the eye, as a way of promoting what we want for ourselves and others. The idea of nourishing or nurturing life is meant to be taken with us out into the world. Home, school, work, activities, hobbies. Everywhere. This is also something you can do in your own corner of the world whether at work or at home. What if you could start the day with the idea that I will nourish life at work or home or school or while out shopping for that matter? How about starting with the idea that when I am speaking with my children, coworkers, husband, wife, in-laws, extended family, boss, coworkers, employees I started with the heart-centered idea of all conversations and actions start with Nourishing life. This has made a profound change in my life. I’ve struggled with staying positive at times in my life. I always want to be positive but sometimes, when my load has been especially heavy it was harder. I would lose my place because of the challenges. When I decided to be purposeful about reminding myself about Nourishing Life, mine and others, I became more positive, forward-focused and energetic. Framing my day, my work and my relationships with Yang Sheng helped immensely in making more positive choices and actions in my body, mind, and Spirit. It makes me feel better because I’m actually doing better by asking myself, how can I nourish life here. I challenge you to do the same. Start your day and your activity with the Yang Shenging everything and everyone. You’ll be glad you did because your life will be improving anywhere you apply it.

Have you ever had a moment of absolute anger? What about Outrage over something? A little indignation maybe? Maybe things didn’t go your way in a situation. Somebody hurt you. A person close to you won’t hear what you are saying. A person wronged you. Someone took advantage of you. You felt disrespected I’ve been there. I’ve lost my cool over plenty of things that were small. True misunderstanding when the other person didn’t mean it the way I took it. What about something that is righteously wrong. There is no arguing about it. It was unfair, unjust and unwanted. Something sexual abuse. People who abuse the elderly. Wanton violence that has no purpose but to hurt another. I have. I’m probably the only one though… wink, wink. Of course, we’ve all been there. We’ve felt the anger at something unjust. We have felt indignation when we see another has had to suffer some indignity such as sexual abuse. What if when we see things that could lead us to anger or bitterness, we could, in turn, use it to go somewhere better? One day I'm watching Josh struggle to get into the truck. Nothing really new. He's had to relearn to do things we all take for granted. Walking, talking, eating. Getting run over by a couple of semi-trucks when you are three years old creates challenges in your life. Today however his challenges were compounded by a neon green cast that encased his left arm. The result of falling over while simply walking. No tripping. Nobody pushing him or falling into him. He simply lost his balance. As I'm watching him trying to get into the truck and struggling to figure this new scenario out of living with a cast on his arm. I'm trying to figure it out myself. And as I’m trying to figure it out, I also notice that I'm feeling frustrated over the whole deal. I realize I'm lamenting our situation. I’m angry because we have to go through this as the result of nothing Josh did to himself. But as the result of someone else. The driver of a semi-truck that kept on rolling. All the emotions of the past challenges and injuries and mishaps and disappointments come rushing into the present moment again. My feelings of frustration for my son having to go through this are amplified from these events that exist in the past yet are haunting my present. As I catch myself starting to feel bad about this, I realize I have a choice. I can see this as an ongoing tragedy with all the negative emotions and thoughts that go with it or an opportunity for me to reframe my own thoughts and meanings of the situation to something positive. And I HAVE to choose. Consciously, I have to make a choice. Am I going to live in the past or the Present? See this as a Tragedy or a Triumph. Become Bitter or Better. I decide to choose Better. To look for a Triumph. To see this as an opportunity to overcome a monumentally difficult situation that nobody would want in their life and turn it into something good. The steeper the hill, the stronger the runner becomes. I choose to be present. To stay relevant. I can't change what landed us here. I can, however, choose how I respond to it. It took me a while to get to this point. I’m sharing it with you because I understand the emotions that go with life. They are all useful. Even the ones you or I would term negative. Ones like bitterness, anger, rage. Those emotions point to something that is screaming for attention. Something that if we choose, can exist to make us better and stronger. Not angry and emotionally weaker. I will never be able to serve my son while I'm limping around feeling sorry for myself or angry at the world. I can only be of value to him if I choose to live in the Present and help him to see his own situation in the best possible light. I am not suggesting to anyone to sugar coat something. I mean if you take a pile of cow manure, put it in a box, put beautiful wrapping paper on the box and tie it up with a pretty bow, it’s still poop. I can, however, take that horse manure, and with a little work and a little time, I can turn it into fertilizer and grow something beautiful or nourishing with it. Bitter doesn’t move life forward. Bitter doesn’t leave us feeling good. Bitter doesn’t create positive energy in my life or yours. This is our Path here on earth. This is our Journey. This is the road we travel on. To hell with Bitter. I want Better.

When Your System in Life Isn’t Working Welcome Back. What we are going to chat about today is how to overwhelm can get us off track and how to overcome that. Let’s get to it. First of all, THANK YOU, to everyone who is hearing this today. I appreciate you and the fact that you took the time to listen in. These podcasts can only help if they are heard. Please share them with your friends and family. Does it ever seem as if at the end of the day things are not going your way? I mean you care. You aren’t lazy. You are working super hard every day. When the day is over you are definitely tired. You are trying to do your best with all of your responsibilities.  But in spite of your best efforts, things aren’t going well or in the direction, you hoped for. Maybe things in your life aren’t changing for the better and you almost feel as if your wheels are spinning and you are stuck in place. There was a time when I felt exactly like that. Actually, there have been a number of times in my life where I went through a period just like that. A number of years ago, the grandmother of one of my students came in with her grandson Edgar. She walked over to me and asked if she could speak to me. They had been a part of my school for a number of years at this point. I had a few minutes, so I was more than happy to oblige. She told me she had a book that I might find helpful. She said the reason she was asking was that she had noticed how tired, run down and stressed I looked all the time. As far as how I looked, I had to agree with her. Inside I felt the way I looked in the mirror and to the world. So this nice grandmother, who was a practicing Buddhist, handed me a book on Buddhism. I wasn’t surprised. People make all kinds of suggestions if they think they can be helpful. I was already familiar with some elements of Buddhism. And while I never practiced it, I had used some techniques in my own life. The following week I read the book. It was good. I enjoyed it and it was helpful to me towards understanding all that I was experiencing in my life at the time. Grief from my son being hurt. Fatigue from caring for him. Frustration with dealing with his mother. Struggling to keep my business afloat. Fighting to keep my attitude positive.  The problem was that I was a Christian who wasn’t practicing what I knew from my faith. I didn’t have anything against Buddhism but it dawned on me, I wasn’t doing the things I already knew. What good would another system do me if I wasn’t using what I already had? This isn’t me coming at this from a theological position. It’s about our psychology. You see, excluding any theology, it doesn’t always matter what system you choose to go through life with. But if you choose a system but aren’t using it, then you don’t get any benefit from it. I wasn’t working the system so the system couldn’t work for me. If I have a system for building a strong marriage and it works for others but I don’t use it, I won’t get the benefits. It’s the same with food choices and exercise or finances. If I have a budget but don’t use it, I exclude myself from its benefit. If I have an exercise plan but don’t use it, I will continue to get weaker over time. Switching to a new program will only help me if I actually use the program as directed. My problem was I wasn’t using the system, which was my Faith walk, to help me cope with and get through my challenges. Switching to another system whether it is Buddhism, Daoism or Cognitive Behavior and Meditation won’t get me what I want and need unless I put it to work for me by doing the work of the system. When I got back to prayer, scripture reading, meditation and study, things started to change for me. I saw the world differently and in turn, the world saw me differently. My energy, my attitude, my behaviors started to reflect what was happening to me from the inside out. We have to learn to take care of ourselves and remember put into play those things that will work as soon as we put the work in. That’s it for today. Hope this was helpful So that’s the lesson for me. If I don’t work the system, the system won’t work for me.  My son had been badly injured in a hit and run collision with two semi-trucks. He needed around the clock care due to a massive traumatic brain injury. His recovery was on my mind 24/7. My business was shrinking by the day and at what point was down by 90%. As a result, I was in the middle of a foreclosure on our home, bankruptcy as well as my truck being repossessed. I didn’t even know how I was going to get my son to his therapy appointments which were a total of twelve per week. I was in a relationship that was difficult at best. Unfortunately, it was with the mother of my son and at the time, it was 100% dysfunctional. A friend of mine suggested that I could always move to a new city in a different state but that would have felt like I was abandoning my  There was a time in my life when if you saw my face, you would have been able to see the stress I was living with as if it had been painted on. It was there every day and around the clock. I couldn’t sleep at night and could hardly stay awake during the day. Son, I could walk away for fear of how not sticking around would have effected Josh growing up. I was also in the midst of a custody battle, as a result of his needs with his mother which was very ugly. The pressure from my son’s daily needs and the conflict with his mother were on my mind had too much going on at once.

A couple of years ago, I was having a really hard time breathing when I would try to sleep at night. As time went by it got worse. I was in Colorado to do some training with one of my martial arts instructors and it got to the point that I was afraid to fall asleep because I actually thought I would die. I ended up canceling my training after the first night of no sleep and flew back home to go to the VA hospital and get checked out. After a CAT scan, the Emergency Room consulting Ear Nose and Throat physician came in to see me to give me the diagnosis. He chucked a bit and said, “Looks like you are going to need surgery. Your thyroid has a rather large mass growing on it. That’s why you can’t breathe at night. It takes up a good portion of the space in your throat and when your body relaxes to go to sleep the airway gets cut off. I went through the surgery and it was a success. Even better, the tumor was cancer-free. My wife and I had plenty to celebrate. I was so grateful. I was so very pleased to be able to breathe again and not have cancer. I GOT WHAT I WANTED. Even though I got what I wanted, what made this so poignant is that I also understand there are times when WE DON'T GET WHAT WE WANT and other times when WE GET WHAT WE DON'T WANT. You see, when I got to the hospital the day of surgery, there was a lady with brown hair in the surgery waiting area. She was carrying on a conversation with another couple. Mostly about the election. Her husband was already in the prep area getting ready for his surgery. Eventually, Teresa and I went back for me to get prepped. We saw the surgical nurse, then the doctor, then the anesthesiologist. Everyone was professional and pleasant. My parting words to the anesthesiologist, "Please make sure I wake up." I didn't want to die that day. My faith informs me that "absent the body, present with the Lord" and in one way - AWESOME! But I really wanted to wake up, be cancer-free and get about my work here on earth. I don't know for sure what was going through the minds of the gentleman who went in to be prepped before me, his wife or two middle-aged children who showed up later. I will go out on a limb though. I think it is likely they were planning for Thanksgiving together in the tradition of their family. Christmas was also on the horizon a few weeks later. Maybe they had even started buying gifts. That day, the day I GOT WHAT I WANTED, they not only didn't get what they wanted, they GOT WHAT THEY DIDN'T WANT. The husband and father who went to be prepped before me didn't go home that day. At least not his earthly home. The Thanksgiving Day meal they were planning for 2016 had an empty chair where he once sat. That man's experience, that family's experience of an unexpected turn that day, made my experience of waking up from surgery more profound. I GOT WHAT I WANTED. THEY GOT WHAT THEY DIDN'T WANT. Since that day in the hospital, my gratitude list has grown. One of the things I see when I work on my gratitude list every morning is a little piece of wood on my desk. It’s the size of the tumor. I cut it out myself and use it as a reminder for me to think about how good life is even when things don’t look the way I want them to. It’s a reminder for me to be grateful for what I do get as well as for what I don’t get.   Might I suggest to you to think about and appreciate what you do get? As well as what you don’t get. APPRECIATING WHAT I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN BUT DIDN'T HAS BEEN A POWERFUL EXERCISE IN MY LIFE. It has helped me to LOVE MORE. To care more. To be more patient. To try to understand others better and to be appreciative of even the smallest things in my life like hot running water in my home   Take more time to connect with those we care about. Take more time to feed our soul and give to the world the gifts that we are here to share.   Things can change in an instant. Frequently for the better like my own outcome. But there are also days when we get what we don’t want. And on those days, if I can remember all the good that is in my life, while it won’t change the pain I feel or the difficulty I’m going through, it can help to feel deep gratitude for everything else in my life.  

I once heard a story about a famous landscape architect. He was a master at what he did. He traveled the world creating amazing gardens and landscapes for prestigious locations. It is said that on days when he felt particularly challenged, he would pull out a piece of paper from his pocket, look at it, nod, fold it up and get to work creating another masterpiece. People were astounded by the brilliant designs that would seem to come out of nowhere after he studied that tiny piece of paper. Eventually, this master designer died. After the funeral, people went to his house for food and to share stories they each had, of this great man. His colleagues approached his widow and asked her about that mysterious piece of paper. They were convinced it contained the secret formula to his success. She told them she did not know what was on the piece of paper. He kept it in his coat pocket normally and she never asked to look at it. After many requests for the opportunity to see the paper, she went upstairs and looked in the closet for his coat. Inside the coat pocket was the folded-up slip of paper. The widow brought it downstairs and handed it to one of his colleagues. As everyone gathered around, the man unfolded the paper. Convinced that whatever was written on it, they would now have in their possession the key to their own success. When they looked at the unfolded slip of paper, it simply said, “When laying sod, always put the green side up.” It’s a brilliant little story about remembering what is most important. It’s also about not taking things for granted. It is too easy to make life complicated. Especially in the United States. But I believe the temptation to complicate life is everywhere in this world. With the growth of technology and the rate of change that it occurs with, it often seems like we are playing catch up every day. I know I have done this in my own life. There have been times when I would worry about what I was doing and at the same time, I would worry about what I wasn’t doing. I would worry about money, my health, my relationships, my business. I would worry about my skillsets that I thought were always falling behind and that I needed to grow more skillsets to keep up with a changing economy and world. One of the most valuable things I’ve ever done was to take the time and learn what I valued most in this world. I’m not talking about possessions either. I’m talking about what was intrinsically important to me to be as a man, a husband, a father, a businessman and as a human being who was created for a purpose in this world. I also had to learn that I couldn’t have everything all at once. But if I did the work of figuring out my own value system, I could have the most important things to me, at the center of my life daily. Figuring out what is most important to me, allowed me to take other, what seemed like important things, out of my life, off my plate and outside my head. That way I was able to give my energy to only the most important things to me. It allowed me to get back to basics. To focus on only the most important five things in my life. My Faith, My Fitness, My Family, My Future, and My Foundation. I learned to remember when laying sod, to put the green side up. If you would like some help clarifying what’s most important to you, and want to simplify your own life, stop by my website and send me a note. I answer all the emails myself and will get back with you ASAP. If you are on Facebook, you can reach out to me there as well and send me a direct message.

An old student of mine stopped by in the middle of July. I didn't recognize him and had to ask his name. As soon as he said it I recalled his time with me. He was a student for about 5 years. Roughly age 9-13. He was being raised by a single mom. She hoped the martial arts would help him get some discipline, direction, and focus. It was a challenge getting him to do what would help him. It was a challenge to get him to make better choices. It was a challenge to earn his trust. He was a boy then and a man of 32 now. I asked him what he had been up to. He extended both arms which were covered in tattoos. It seemed as if he thought I should know by me looking at his arms. I asked him what it all meant. He said, "I've been in and out of prison." I asked him how long that had been going on. He said, "Fourteen years. I just got out again about a month ago." He told me how he had found his way into petty crime and then stuff a bit more serious. He told me how he had been doing this for so long, he just saw himself that way now. Gangster life. I asked him if he wanted a different future to which he responded, "Yes." He kept bringing the conversation back around to what got him where he was at. I kept bringing the conversation back to where he might want to go. After about 20 minutes, I had to get back inside to teach and let him know as much. I also told him he was always welcome and that I would help him if he liked. He said he would like that. I invited him to come back so we could continue our conversation the next day. The next time I saw him was two weeks later when his face popped up during the local news. Police were searching for him. He had stabbed somebody. Ricky saw himself a certain way. God didn't see him that way. I didn't see him that way. I saw his potential when he was still a kid. If he ever saw his potential the way I did, you couldn't tell it by his choices. Not everybody you try to help is capable in the moment of receiving it. Sadly Ricky is back in prison. I'm certain that if what he saw in the mirror wasn't broken but strong and of value, he would have made different choices. This same phenomenon happened in my own life. I was home on leave from the Air Force. I had been in the military for over two years at this point. On this visit home I stopped by the house of one of my Aunt's. She catered for a living at the time and there was always food on the stove, in the refrigerator, or freezer. And it was delicious! We chatted and visited and as per normal Italian life, food showed up almost immediately. Pizza, rigatoni, sauce, bread, Italian sausage with peppers and onions. After we ate, my aunt stepped over to the two, six burners each industrial stoves. She started to prepare more food for the weekend wedding reception she was working on. My cousin and I were hanging out at the table and talking. At one point she says, "Mark, you are so different." My response, "What do you mean?" Well... You... You're... um, what's the word... nice!" After a brief pause, I simply said, "Well, maybe this is who I really am." My cousin wasn't really saying I was "nice" as much as she was pointing out that I was different than when I left home. Our environment, the experiences we have in our youth, plays a heavy role in who we think we are growing up. And who we think we are is reflected in our behaviors. Getting in an environment where somebody hasn't already defined you, allows for your healthy growth. When your soul is nourished, you will grow in a healthy way. Going to a new environment allowed me to be more of who I wanted to be. It was safe. I wasn't going to come under fire for who I wanted to be. I could just be me. Maybe you too grew up in an environment that didn't allow you to be who you were meant to be. I get it. But life doesn't have to stay that way. We can choose a new path. The one we were always meant to get to. And then start being more of us and less of them.

Recently, I had the honor of giving my One Last Talk. If you haven’t heard of OLT, the idea is to share with the world what you would most want people to know if you only had 15 minutes to do it and then you were gone from earth forever. It is the idea and program of Philip McKernan. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for awhile you may have heard of him here or at a conference, you may have attended or on a different podcast. I’ve interviewed Philip 3 times now. If you would like to hear them the first one is Episode 33 and the second is Ep 99. I don’t recall, at the moment, the Ep number for the third. I had the good fortune of giving my OLT in Boulder, Colorado. Philip was hosting the event. There were several other people in the audience I knew. I had gotten to know these other people a couple years earlier at another Philip McKernan event called BraveSoul. That event in Ireland. It was a retreat of sorts and we were there for 8 days together on the west coast in a little village named Ballyvaughn. You could throw a stone into the ocean from some of the cottages. One of these wonderful people I got to hang out with is a lovely woman by the name of Heidi who is from Great Britain. She happened to be one of my two cottage mates, both of whom I feel so blessed to have been there with. After I gave my OLT, Heidi came to me and said she was confused. I asked her why. She said her confusion came from what seemed like two different people regarding what I shared about my life and how I saw myself at my OLT in Boulder in 2019 compared to the person I came across as in Ireland in 2017. I still didn’t really get what she meant. I mean, I live with me, and my thoughts 24 hours a day. And while I knew I was different in many ways over the timeframe of two years they didn’t quite so significant. For the most part, I felt like the same person. What Heidi shared with me surprised me a bit. She said to me, “In Ireland, you came across as this grounded, wise, loving, beautiful kind of soul. After hearing your OLT today, I couldn’t believe how recently it was that you had these, other, darker thoughts about yourself.” Even as I’m saying this, it makes me want to pause. I’m thinking about how different I was 2 ½ years earlier. I was bottoming out emotionally. And when I say bottom, I mean the very bottom. I don’t want to tell the whole story here. I’m hoping that my One Last Talk is released as a podcast episode by Philip at some point and if it is, I will share it with you. You can hear first-hand what Heidi heard. As far as my conversation with Heidi, when she pointed these things out, I could see what she was saying. To hear the OLT and see me in Ireland it did seem like two different people. In truth, I guess I was. There was a lot of growth and change, and shifting between January 4th of 2017, and when I met Heidi in Ireland in June of 2017 and again all the way to when I gave my OLT in Boulder that Heidi was also there for. As I reflect on it, I guess we are never a completely different person and we are never completely the same person given enough time and space and experiences. I had no desire to present myself as two different people. My goal over the last 4 years has been to be as honest and transparent as I can be with myself first but certainly also with the world as well. But it is hard to be completely transparent about everything in our lives. In light of that, Heidi’s question still made me step back and ask myself, “Was I wearing some sort of mask during that week in Ireland?” “Was I trying to put on airs about myself and present to the world some guy who didn’t have a problem and Worse some guy who had all the answers because Lord knows I don’t. In giving my OLT I had to go deeper than I ever had before. I decided to share some things I had never shared before. And in so doing, some people who knew before the talk would have learned something or somethings they had never known before about me. And that is the whole idea behind One Last Talk. To share your deepest pain so others can learn they are not alone in this world. OLT was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life. I didn’t have any intention of sounding like I’m doing a commercial for OLT although I could. I didn’t plan on doing a promo for Philip McKernan although I could and would. And actually, as I’m sharing this with you it occurs to me that I should unpack a little more of what happened for me when I gave my OLT. But that is a story for another day. It’s hard to tell the complete truth. We are so terrified of being judged for what we think. We are so scared of sharing who we really are, what we have really felt and what we truly believe that opening up to the world can seem like a fate worse than death. Having been on this journey for the truth for the last few years, at least the truth of who I really am, Of who I completely am, Of who I really want to be in this world, unashamed, unapologetically, unabashedly, I really wish I could reveal all of who I am at once. The problem with that is it’s similar to when we look out on the horizon. We can only see so far. We don’t know what is beyond the horizon until we get there. And then we can see the new horizon in the distance. Only then do we get to see what is between us and the new horizon. That’s how life really is. We only know in part. We only know the part of us who we are willing to explore and challenge and question. Once we figure that out part out, we get to explore and challenge and question and wrestle with the next part. And on we go. Year after year until we run out of years. I don’t want to run out of years before I run out of understanding who I am. I don’t want to run out of years before I understand the world better. I don’t want to run out of years until I learn how to love this life and everything in it. What do you want to do? Are you willing to go to that horizon in the distance? Are we willing to go that far so we can not only see more of the world but also so the world can see more of us? More of the gifts that we have to share? More of the vision we have for ourselves and others and the world? We may not be able to see far enough that we know exactly what is ahead for us. Maybe we only have to see the horizon, head in that direction and along the way, find out a little more of who we are and the gift that we are to each other and to this world.

First off, I want to Thank You! For listening today. It means a lot to me, that you brought your time, your energy and your attention here today. Thank you. Sometimes as I look around this world we live in, it can seem pretty confusing. There are often things going on that don’t make sense to us as an individual member of the human race. People do hurtful things to others. People do harmful things to themselves. People do illegal, unethical and immoral things to themselves and others. If we try to look at the world from a “logical” perspective it is impossible to do effectively. In part because what is logical to me, isn’t necessarily logical to you. The values I hold may not be the same values that you hold. What I feel is moral or ethical, you may not feel the same way about. That being said, one thing I’m 100% certain of is, I’ve never seen any good come of focusing on the negatives in our lives. With one exception… focusing on a negative is only valuable if we use to create something positive. There are plenty of things wrong in this world that many of us would agree on. Violence, abuse, abandonment, poverty, bigotry, sexism, sex trafficking, homelessness. I mean there is a good portion of the world who doesn’t even have clean drinking water. What kind of world do you want to live in? A world that is a little less poor. A little more kind. Has put a dent in the sex trafficking trade. One with clean drinking water. A world with enough food, shelter, clothing. A world with less waste and pollution. How about a world that is less about consumption and more about compassion or conservation. What about a world where there are more kindness, patience, and consideration for others. I want to share with you a few people who decided they would actually create a world they want to live in. John Walsh – John Walsh’s son Adam, who was only six years old, was kidnapped and killed by a sociopath. John went on to create the TV show America’s Most Wanted as well as The Hunt. Those shows were responsible for putting 1,200 violent felons in prison where they couldn’t hurt kids and adults anymore. Larry Hagner – Larry grew up without a father that showed him how to be a good dad. Larry desperately wanted to live in a world where dads celebrated and worked hard at being good dads so he created the Good Dad Project Podcast and has helped change for better fatherhood for families around the world. Candy Lightner – Candy had her heartbroken when her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. She wanted to live more happily in a world where parents didn’t have their children taken from them by someone who got behind the wheel of a car and drove drunk. So she founded MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Drivers which can be found in all 50 states as well as each province in Canada fighting to keep drunk drivers off the roads. Andrew Lewin – Andrew sees a need for a better conservation in our Oceans. Less Pollution, better management of this beautiful resource. He created a podcast, Speak Up for Blue to help create a world he is happy to live in. One that values our natural ocean resources now and for generations to come. John Williams – John grew up in an environment of poverty, violence, and abuse. He saw how those three dynamics challenged his own life and he wanted to create a world where teenagers were taught how to make better choices with health outcomes. That world is being created by his non-profit, Life that counts. Ryan Michler – Ryan thought he knew how to be a man. He came to the conclusion that in fact did not know how to be a man when his wife took their 10-month-old son and left him. Ryan did some soul searching and realized his ideas of being a man weren’t working so he started to work on himself. Eventually, he founded the Order of Man movement which is shaping men into a strong and positive version of a husband, father, and man. My son Josh and I are creating a world we want to live in. A world where there is more interaction, understanding, and connection between what would be termed normally developed people and those people who were born with or acquired intellectual deficits. I want to see a world where people are more kind to and connected with the intellectual disabilities community. I believe if we were interacting in more ways in more environments between normally developing people and those with these extra challenges, we all will. I live with someone who has that extra life challenge and you know what, my life is better because I do. It has most definitely made me a better person in so many ways. I believe when these two communities to spend more time with each other in school, at play, and at work, the world is a better place. And that is a world that I want to live in. So, I have a question for you… What kind of world do you want to live in? What kind of world could you create that makes this world a better place to live? You don’t have to solve the poverty problem for the entire earth. But what if you solved it for a community? What if you solved it for just one family? What if you solved it for just one person? What if… What if… What if… It’s possible. It’s actually possible to create a world you would want to live in. I want to thank you again for listening. I would love to share a message of encouragement and possibility and how to overcome any adversity with your group or church or organization. If you go to markgoblowsky.com you can click on the contact us tab and send me a message. I will be sure to get back to you within a day or two.

I am a big Allman Brothers fan. I have been since I was a teenager. After Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident, I became a fan of Gregg Allman as a solo artist. There's a song Gregg wrote titled These Days. It's really about regret. And, more specifically, the regret of a relationship that came to an end. The first time I heard the song, the last line got my attention. Let me share it with you. Please don't confront me with my failure. I'm aware of it. For me, it isn't just about the regret of a relationship ending but the regret we all feel when we have made a poor choice or when things haven't gone our way. When talking about the statement, I've frequently made a small adjustment. Please don't confront me with my failures. I'm aware of them. One thing that would get to me when I was growing up was to have my shortcomings or failures brought up to me repeatedly. Not the run of the mill kind of failure like 2+2=5. But the kinds that were a big deal. Like not being liked for who I was being seen as inherently bad because of a stupid choice I made as a child But there are other places where we can be reminded of how we don't maybe measure up with the crowd or what is defined as normal. There have been many times when I have been in a doctor or therapist's office with my son Josh. If you aren't aware of his situation, When Josh was three years old, he was riding in the back seat of his mother's Chevy Cavalier, when a semi-truck hit them which sent the car spinning out of control. That semi kept ongoing and hasn't ever been found. When the car Josh was in stopped spinning, it was hit by another semi-truck which totaled the Cavalier. While that truck stopped, it had nothing to do with causing the accident. That driver was a victim of the first truck, just like Josh. The collision left Josh with a massive brain injury. Ever since that day, he has lived between the world of people with disabilities and those without having recovered partially but never wholly. So back to the doctor and therapist visit. In the past, I had to answer the professional's questions because Josh couldn't. As he gained more and more awareness, he could tell we were talking about him. The more he understood about himself, the more difficult being at these appointments became for Josh. Eventually, he began to cry after being in an appointment and having to listen to all the things that he needed to work on in therapies in order to keep healing. He couldn't understand that it wasn't his fault. He just heard that there was something wrong with him. He's being reminded not of any failure on his part, but of his differences. And for him, those differences are both perceived and real. The differences are noticeable because he can compare himself to others now. He was, and still is, reminded of a day that changed his life completely every time we go to a doctor or therapy appointment. He is much better at handling it now that he is 17 and he can see his life in a more positive light, but it still gets to him. Something that many of us are good at is reminding others of their failures and their differences. We often believe we are doing it out of care or concern or even love. And possibly that is true. Sometimes though, it comes from another place. A not so kind place. A place where we may actually enjoy reminding them of their failure, or misstep or how they are different. I remind them of their failure for the benefit of reminding them of their failure. If you ever find yourself or someone else being overly critical in reminding someone of their shortcomings, there is a way to turn that upside down and make it work for both you and them. Being a teacher, I have to make corrections to students' actions. The more I point out the mistake the more likely that person is to repeat it. Even if I tell them what to do to correct it, if I come from the negative, the thing I don't want to be repeated, more that person's mind is drawn to that mistake and the more that mistake is re-inforced. What I have found that works best is to focus on the thing I want to see more of as opposed to the thing I don't want to see. For instance, if a student is misbehaving, I can highlight and praise different students' correct or positive behavior. We all want attention. In a perfect world, we would only do good things and seek positive attention. But if we don't get what we want, we often change tactics. It's amazing to watch a child who is not getting the positive attention from a teacher, sit straight up, keep their hands to themselves and focus when you point out how well their classmate is doing those very things. It works with adults as well. I can't count how many times I've complimented an adult student and actually had the other students in class adjust their own effort to match the person being complimented. We all want to be noticed... the key is to teach ourselves to focus on what we want, not what we don't want. It is easier for an adult or a child to see what is wanted as opposed to what is not wanted. Of course, people need to be reminded of things. Including to look both ways when crossing the street. Don't play with fire. Be nice to others. What we don't need is someone who is all too ready to confront us with our failures. We are already aware of them. Thanks Gregg!

There was a time in my 30’s and 40’s when I wanted to change my name. Not my first name. I was good with that. I considered changing my family name. Growing up I had a number of experiences that landed for me in a negative way. I was molested at the age of 6 and again at the age of 9. I experienced physical as well as mental and emotional abuse. My father was fond of telling me, “You aren’t worth the powder to blow you to hell.” I heard that “I wasn’t worth the powder to blow me to hell,” so many times that I actually started to believe it to be true. It was a lie, but in my young mind, I couldn’t make sense of it. Why would my father say such a thing if it wasn’t true? I came to the conclusion that I was broken beyond repair. I’m not saying it made good sense for me to end up believing that lie. Those words along with the other forms of abuse seemed to validate each other. Through that process, I came to believe there was something inherently wrong with me. That I was fundamentally broken. And seeing myself that way hung around with me like a dark shadow all the way into my fifties. Maxwell Maltz –was a cosmetic and reconstructive facial plastic surgeon. Over the years that, he was active as a surgeon, he helped many people with reconstructive surgery needed for various abnormalities and injuries to a person’s appearance. Over time he realized that even when his skills brought about a stunning improvement to a person’s appearance if that person didn’t see themselves from the inside as beautiful, the outward changes didn’t matter. Even if they could see a difference on the outside, it didn’t matter to their self-esteem or confidence. The inner negative belief they held about themselves would win out. This same dynamic impacted me in such a powerful way. I wasn’t going to have plastic surgery though. I thought if I changed my family name, I could somehow, miraculously become a new person who would also have value. The problem was I could change my name 1,000 times but that couldn’t change how I saw myself. Even though it wouldn’t work, there was a part of me that believed it would. I never did change my name. Maybe deep down inside me, I knew that wasn’t the real problem. I have been able to change how I saw myself but it took me some time to do it. I tried everything imaginable. Self-help and personal development books, seminars, and programs. I tried praying and affirmations and visualizations. All of it helped but none of it completely fixed it. I had to go deeper. I actually had to go back and wrestle with the truth of what the root problem was. That I had come to believe a lie. It didn’t matter that it was a lie. I believed it to be true and I behaved in accordance with it. After doing the inner work of unpacking the lies, I was able to see myself more clearly. When I could see myself more clearly, I was able to behave differently. I was able to see the world more clearly. Things took on a new brightness. I found more joy even though my circumstances hadn’t changed. When we change how we see things, the things we see begin to change as well. I hope that was helpful to you. Would you please share this with somebody you know. The only way it helps is if it is heard by others. Will you also subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and give a rating and review. I would really appreciate that. If you want the episode delivered straight to your inbox every week, go to markgoblowsky.com and sign up to our list. We won’t spam ever. We will send you each episode though, and stories to stimulate your thinking and help you grow and experience more pa. See you next time.

Mark reflects on the life that has revealed itself for him over the past few decades and realizes how grateful he is to have the life he has.

I discuss the new direction and structure for the podcast that I have implemented today. I have been thinking about it for a long time and I am excited for you to continue to follow me on the j9urney of Finding Strength Through The Struggle. http://www.markgoblowsky.com  

Addiction, no matter what substance or activity it is too, has the chance of taking over our lives. It’s a complicated issue that has played the part in many a broken home, relationship and life. My own family had its share of addictions to various substances or activities. Addiction happens so slowly and feels so harmless in the beginning that we don’t notice what is happening. We are simply enjoying ourselves. Before we know it, we feel like we can’t live without it. It’s a good thing there are people to show us the way out. Our guest this week, Roscoe is one of those people. I’m proud to know him and to help you get to know him as well. Click here and take a listen.

Another solo episode! With school starting next week, the STTS crew is cleansing their minds, backpacks and spaces for a fresh start. That includes writing an open letter to put behind old memories as well as feelings and prepare for an exciting new year ahead! Good luck to all those go back, focus, take care of yourself (read: get some sleep!) but also take advantage of the opportunities that come your way and have fun! We're rooting for you!

We, humans, love a pain free, difficulty-free, existence. The opioid painkiller epidemic is a great example. I know what it’s like because I got hooked once. And I’m not going to blame my doctor either. I had shoulder surgery and the pain was terrible. The doctor wrote me a prescription for painkillers but they did nothing to help me ignore the pain enough to sleep. After a couple of days, I called, explained my problem, and they called me in a stronger one. Those didn’t work. The doctor called in a stronger prescription a couple of days later but I still couldn’t sleep and it was now eight nearly sleepless days and nights. I complained again and this time I had to drive to the doctor’s office to get the prescription and in turn deliver it myself to the pharmacy. This was because of how strong the painkillers were. You had to hand-carry the script and show an ID because they were that dangerous and there was so much fraud that people would do nearly anything to get their hands on them. I finally started to get some sleep. I also liked the way they left me feeling. It was not only the feeling of no pain but also the idea that everything in the world seemed good. It was drug-induced feeling but it was also pleasurable. The pills simply made me feel great when I was taking them. It was if everything in the world was OK and I didn’t have a care in the world! When they ran out I was able to get one refill and then another. A total of three weeks on these very powerful pills.  At that point, they cut me off and I got a little panicked. I then started using the old scripts but I would take double or triple the doses. When those didn’t give me the same feeling of not a care in the world, I started washing them down with alcohol. Because I enjoyed the feeling of euphoria from the pills, I no longer cared about going back to work. My appearance had deteriorated because I didn’t care to leave my house because everything was bliss there. The amount of change in such a short period of time was shocking. By the end of week six, I woke up not feeling right. It felt as if my body was polluted and I very quickly realized my body and my liver were toxic from the massive amounts of pain killers I had been consuming. I could see where this was going and in a lucid moment I knew I had to break this new habit. I took all the pills I had left and poured them down the toilet. By bedtime that night my body was starting to detox and with it came the withdrawal pain and sickness. I was unable to sleep for the next three nights. My body felt as if it was being pulled apart from the inside. I couldn’t get physically comfortable standing or sitting or lying down. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat from nausea and I couldn’t focus my mind on anything other than the physical sensations of my body as it cried out for more opioids. I made it through the next three nights and days before the grip those pills had on my body and my mind was broken. We often start something for one reason and continue for a different one. My guest this week is a good example of wanting a pain free life like myself. When he hit the wall of pain that we all have hit or will hit in the future, David headed for drugs too. His drug of choice though was Extasy. That choice led him down roads he didn’t enjoy being on but he came out the other side a better man. Take a listen here to see how it all turned out

Imagine being on a plane headed to your dream vacation. Let’s say it’s Italy. You spent the last two years planning it. It’s all been paid for. Your itinerary is planned out for each day with all of the sights you want to see most You know all the restaurants, museums and ancient ruins you will be seeing and when. All the details have been checked off and the weather is supposed to be beautiful the entire time. You settle into your seat on the plane. It’s a long overnight flight. You put your seat back in the reclined position, put on your eye mask to block out any light and decide to sleep until your long-awaited arrival. You wake up to the sound of the pilot saying, “We are preparing for our final descent.” A few minutes later the wheels touch down on the runway and he says, “Welcome to Holland!” You are confused. This isn’t what you were planning. You had your heart set on Italy and you have no idea what to do next. We all have our hearts set on certain things turning out a certain way. It can be a relationship, a child, a job or a business. What do you do when the thing you thought was going to come to be doesn’t and the thing that did come to be is so different that you have a hard time accepting the new reality? Our guest this week had this very thing happen to him. Chip Franks shares with us the raw truth about not getting what you thought you would in your new baby. But what he shares applies to every area of life. Take a listen here and enjoy the show.

Ever feel like you know where you want to go but aren’t sure how to get there? Maybe you are starting on something completely new. Maybe you have found that making a mid-course correction is necessary. Either way, getting moving in the direction you want can be difficult if you don’t have a system in place to help guide you. I developed a system that has worked very well for me over the years. It has helped me start new things. It has helped me make mid-course corrections and adjustments along the way to get where I wanted to go originally. It has also helped me to stay the course when I felt like throwing in the towel. I share the whole thing in about 20 minutes on this weeks episode. If you would also like a printed copy, click here to get that. Enjoy!

If you could be a Superhero, who would you be? I’m not a huge comic book person so I don’t even know all the different superheroes. But if I could be any superhero that I know of, I would be Super Man. Yes, he has all those cool super powers but the most important thing I see in his comic book life, he clearly knows who he is. He uses his powers for good. I imagine, with a different upbringing by different people he could have been an evil Superman. But when his spaceship landed on earth, he had the good fortune of having good people raise him the right way. In turn, he put his super powers to good use. The influence our parents/ caretakers have over us in our developing years, along with the residual effect of our shaped identity can and will last a lifetime. If we are raised with fear or confidence, a positive or negative attitude mindset, or optimism over pessimism we will behave in completely different ways. We will actually become very different people as adults. That being said, it’s very important for us to choose wisely what we think about, listen to, or watch on a screen. It’s equally important to choose who we associate with because of what we will be thinking, saying, or doing while being around them. Our guest this week, Master Chip Townsend, was shaped by not just a life-altering injury in his childhood but what his parents, especially his mother told him about himself. That he had the power to choose how he saw himself and what he was capable of. That gift of a healthy identity and a “can do” attitude has served Master Chip well. His story is one of Clarity, that turned into Power which in turn has helped him live out his Purpose. There is much to learn from this week’s guest. Take a listen here.

So often we don’t do things in life because we think, we don’t know how to do it. Which may be right, but after you do it the first time, we do something new the first time, we have a chance to keep getting better at it. One day I was playing with my son Joshua on the floor in our living room. I don’t recall exactly what it was. Could have been cars, action figures or maybe Lego’s. He was about two-years-old. My mother was visiting us from Ohio. She was sitting on the couch watching and at one point remarked, “I couldn’t do that.” My mother at this point was in her sixties. I thought she was speaking about how it would be uncomfortable for her to get down on the wood floor and play with Josh. For some reason, I decided to ask her what she meant by, “I couldn’t do that.” She said to me, “I wouldn’t know what to do to play with him.” I thought for a moment and said to her, “I don’t know what to do either Ma’. I just get down here and try to figure it out.” My mother had five children. When the last one of my siblings was born, she actually had five children all under the age of five! Yep. My mother didn’t have time to play. It was the early 1960’s. No disposable diapers. No microwaves. Heck, there weren’t even seat belts in most cars. Attempting to do new things can feel awkward. And in the beginning, they certainly are. But to keep trying is to give ourselves the opportunity to learn and become better at whatever we do. It’s a bit sad that my mother missed those moments when she was young. She did get the opportunity though to learn to play with Josh eventually. Although it was at the kitchen table and not on our hard, oak floor. Somebody else who knows how to learn and improve personally, professionally and as a father and husband is my guest this week, Rusty Ryal. Rusty played Major League Baseball and has a lot of wisdom about life, learning, trying new things, falling down and getting back up. Take a listen here. It’s good stuff!

Being a parent is tough. It’s just challenging try to meet the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our children. We have an idea of how to raise our kids based on how we were brought up. Then there are our friends and family who have opinions. Lastly, there is the endless list of bloggers, authors and “professionals” telling us what works and what doesn’t. It’s not easy to know where all the boundaries are drawn let alone do I have too many or too few? One thing that is hard to argue with is the need for a child to be resilient. Someone who when knocked down don’t get stuck with disappointment but can get back up and move on. The child who when they fail at something doesn’t see it as a failure but as another step on the road to get to where they want to go. Arguably, resilience is the one thing that allows all other good qualities and values to not get swallowed up by failure and disappointment but to actually flourish in a person’s life. What if there is a roadmap showing us not just what Resilience looks like but how to get there? That is exactly what this weeks episode is all about. Chris and Holly Santillo are the authors of Resilience Parenting, During this episode and in their book, they outline an entire process to understand what resilience is and how we can teach it to our children. Which means giving them the gift of overcoming setbacks, failures, and disappointments in order to live their very best life. Take a listen here.

Dara O'Kearney, Irish pro and satellite specialist, has teamed up with poker media mainstay Barry Carter to literally write the book on STTs. They both drop by for our first double-guest episode to discuss some of the secrets they've sealed in this tome of satellite poker wisdom.

The Face of Incarceration The movie Trading Places is a comedy that stars Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd as a homeless man and a wealthy cultured man respectively. Being a comedy there are multiple instances for laughing, however, it was thought-provoking for me the first time I saw it. The two men are unwittingly transposed into each other’s lives. They in turn start to make different types of decisions that reinforce their new circumstances. The poor man who is now in a wealthy lifestyle grew in self-respect and higher expectations of himself. The wealthy man who found all his resources taken away turned to anger and feeling sorry for himself and indulging in petty crime. Was it Nature, their personality or Nurture, their surroundings. I interviewed a man last week, Quan Huynh (pronounced-Hhhhwen). Quan experienced a pivotal event in his life at the age of 13. A painful event. The hurt and the resulting anger from it stayed with him. And over time it grew into rage and violence. It climaxed in a violent night for him as an adult when he took the life of another person. The events prior to him taking that man’s life shaped him into the person who was capable of taking life. In the span of one minute, both families would be changed forever. One minute. One choice. If the story ended there, it would just be a sad story. A painful story. And a story that you might argue for both Nature and Nurture. The story didn’t stop there though. Quan went to prison. And though he went in angry and violent, there was a day when he started to ask himself questions about himself. Important questions. Hard questions. One of them was, “Can I be somebody very different than the person I have been?” Quan’s story is about many things. Pain, Anger, Violence… Guilt, Possibility, Hope… Transformation, Redemption, 2nd chances and how does a person carry on after taking another person’s life. I’m grateful Quan shared his story with me. It’s a difficult story for obvious reasons. There were a couple of things that I struggled with that I share at the end of the episode. Yes, there is residual pain in his story. A life is gone. Nothing will change that. But Quan has become somebody else. He is no longer a man who is a slave to the anger and rage and bitterness that shaped him into a person who took another’s life. Quan chose a different path as his time in prison progressed. He chose to make conscious choices. Hard choices. Painful choices. Choices that have changed his heart. And by changing his heart, he has changed the future of his life and all those he comes in contact with. While he was convicted of murder, he is choosing not to be defined by that moment or his old life. He is choosing not to be trapped in a cycle of pain and violence. His choices are no longer about the past and a hardened heart. They are about the future and the choices of a new heart. As our heart goes, so goes our life. Quan made choices to not be forever framed in by his previous choices. He has made new choices that create a new future distinctly different from the other life he created. Choices to help and not to hurt. Choices that can create a life that can brightly outshine the dark moments of his past.

Mark speaks to Rome Za, a Brazilian Ju Jitsu Practitioner, Life Coach, and Entrepreneur. Rome speaks about his childhood, including immigrating to the US from Chechnya, not being able to speak the language, dropping out of high school, going back to school to become a doctor only to drop out again before graduating as an undergraduate. 

The idea of having a baby can be joy-filled with the idea of how wonderful life will be. The arrival is anticipated and celebrated. The pure love we feel holding the child and the smell of a new baby’s skin can make the world feel right again. As it well should. Then reality sets in for many. Sleepless nights and fatigue start to be the order of the day. The demands of what seems like never-ending attention for the child’s needs. And then the constantly changing personality of the new baby starts to show up. And more and more of that personality shows up as they get older and there isn’t a manual to decipher that personality or tell us how to deal with it. Most of us who become parents tend to follow the examples of the parents we grew up with. I mean if it was good enough for me then it’s good enough for my kids. But sometimes, “good enough,” isn’t really good enough. What if there is a better way? What if I could do some things differently that make raising a child better than what I experienced. What if we could help them more and be frustrated less. Author and teacher, Paul Prendergast outlines six qualities to focus on as we raise our children. The qualities are meant to reduce Painful Parenting and turn it into something that gives parents a solid foundation to launch their children into the world. It gives children the solid character needed to live in an ever-changing world. It is possible to reduce Painful Parenting and turn it into a more positive experience for everyone. Take a listen here.

There have been times I felt like I was ten feet tall and bulletproof. And for a period of time, it felt very much real. Some of those times, shortly after I had the thought of being ten feet tall and bulletproof, I was given a reminder that I wasn’t. Other times, it took a while for the lesson to catch up to me. Unfortunately for me, I had a high level of pain tolerance, an equally high level of being comfortable with ignorance and a fair amount of emotional hard headedness. Not learning very quickly from good information when I got it, I would ignore the obvious, which was to change direction. There have been times when my gut told me to go one way and my mind talked me out of it with a mental follow up a statement like, “What the hell, why not?” I’m here to tell, if you choose to act on the “What the hell, why not?” thought, after your gut, or your conscience, told you to do something else, you will find out “Why Not!” And you won’t like it. My wife, on the other hand, has lived a life for the most part, that when she got the right information, she didn’t question it. She simply followed the right path and frequently avoided landmines that would have gotten in her way. Me, I’ve been a little more thick headed at times. We’ve all don't it to varying degrees. Made the wrong call. Got kicked in the teeth and made adjustments later. Sometimes, it gets very expensive to not pay attention to what our parents told us, our body told us or our bank account told us. Today’s episode is a powerful lesson in paying attention and following through on information when it shows up. Not later. Not paying attention to the information received,  literally became a matter of life and death for Robert “Cujo” Teschner. Cujo was an Air Force fighter pilot and squadron commander with a wife and children. He was given a bit of a medical heads up but decided it wasn’t important at the time. Ten years later, it would leave him fighting for his life. It doesn’t matter how smart we are, or how skilled we are or how many millions of dollars we have. If we don’t act on what our gut, or our doctor or our boss is telling us is in our best interest to do so, It can lead to devastating outcomes. Or dodging the proverbial bullet by the skin of our teeth. Take a listen here to find out how you can dodge that bullet and write a happy ending for your own story. While Cujo had all these responsibilities and skills as an Air Force Pilot, he neglected to pay attention to some indicators that things weren’t performing at such a high level in his body. Actually, Cujo noticed things weren’t quite right but thought of himself as bulletproof so he chose to ignore them. And that nearly cost him his life. Plenty to learn in this episode so let’s get to it. A couple of things about this episode that I found fascinating. This idea that sometimes we think we are bulletproof, and it serves us and other times it can literally be our undoing. Flying missions to defend our country takes a skillset and mindset that is very unique. Yet that same mindset, applied to his body, eventually derailed his Cujo’s career and impacted his family and especially his oldest son in a dramatic way. The second thing that I found especially useful was the idea Cujo shared about how his mindset of, how can I still win? Rolled right into his personal life. He took his health problems and applied that mindset so he could heal and also build a new career taking all of his military experience and his challenge with his health and turn it into something that is helping others. Cujo, in my mind, is a hero for more than one reason. His commitment to finding a way to not just overcome but to succeed and thrive is something we can all model. That’s it until next week. See you then and remember to Live, Learn and Love.

It’s easy to get our lives focused on keeping ourselves entertained. There is a massive marketing machine out there everywhere you turn not to mention how the human mind is so willing to cooperate. Buy this and you will feel great! Go on this vacation and your kids will have memories for a lifetime! Drive this car and people will know you are somebody! Own this, buy that. It never stops. And it is all too easy to be sucked into its energy to consume, consume, consume. But life wasn’t really meant for us to be constantly entertained or on a quest of consumption. There is no lasting value or meaning there for us to build a fulfilling life. Damion Lupo is a guy who took consumption to an extreme for the average person. He regularly spent $75,000 dollars a month on fun, food, housing. Can you imagine that? He spent more money in a month, every month than most individuals make in a year. Eventually, his life bottomed out though. His fortune was lost and his family was gone. Once the ability to consume and be entertained went away, he, in turn, felt an emptiness inside of him. And that brought the pain. Luckily life is filled with new beginnings. Opportunities to learn and bounce back from tragedy or mistakes. Damion decided to get help for the next part of his journey. He found a trusted mentor. Damion, in turn, started to ask himself the same question every week. “What is True?” And that went on for two years as he rebuilt his life around values and purpose, contribution and connection. Damion showed us, once again, what life is all about… This hero’s, or heroine’s, journey to come to grips with what truly matters most in life. Overcoming our weak spots that trip us up, greed, self-serving behaviors, the desire to take short cuts. And in turn, find wisdom from our experiences to bring us to the next part of our life. A life of Connection and making Contribution as a way of life.

If you’re married, you can probably agree with me, there are going to be problems. I’m not negative on marriage. Quite the opposite. But with expectations of each other, the addition of children, money issues, different sexual needs and levels of desire, there is no shortage of challenges once we have tied the knot. I’ve found nobody is immune to the Class 4 rapids, whitewater river raft ride we call marriage. Many, if not most of us, buy into the American Dream of the big house, the job with the big paycheck and the big life of vacations and the perfect home. Because we can’t help but drag our own baggage into this big new married life, all of the above eventually leads to big problems, big fights and the day when we ask ourselves, “How did I get here?” and “How do I now get out?” Yet we got into this marriage for a reason… “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this person.” For those of us who don’t want to give up on the commitment we already made, it frequently makes sense to get help. Help with clarity. Help with communication. Help with healing. Help with a unified vision. Help moving forward together. Lance and Brandy Salazar are my guests on this episode. They have hit the rocks more times than they can count and were ready to divorce. A frank conversation between Brandy and a friend of hers led Brandy to reconsider the wisdom of divorce. Instead, she talked with Lance and they chose to begin to rebuild their marriage together one step at a time. They did it! Not only did they do it but Brandy and Lance now help others to build their failing, so-so or even good relationships into what they call Legendary Couples. This episode was full of honesty, transparency, and SOLUTIONS! If you want to rebuild your marriage, regain trust and be able to rely on each other again or more, the first step is to click on this link and listen to this episode.

For the most part, if we get those positive experiences early in life, we can better learn how to handle the negative moments and experiences later in life. But what happens if early in life you have experiences that teach you insecurity, that the world isn’t a safe place or that you aren’t loved? You can spend a lifetime feeling like you don’t fit in or you can never have what you want or measure up to those around you. The negative self-talk from those experiences can create handicaps in our lives keeping us away from much of the best parts of life. Fear, while frequently seen as a negative can actually work to our advantage if used correctly. Fear, when worked in the positive, can be used to drive us and our lives, away from the negative or harmful and to the positive and helpful. In my own experience, not wanting to be the type of father I had in my youth drove me to make different choices than my father. Choices that helped me to make an experience in my son’s life very different than the one I had growing up. Those choices helped me be the kind of father I wished I had. My guest this week, Mary Shores is a fine example of overcoming childhood trauma. When I asked her, what helped her overcome the adversity in her own life, she said it wasn’t positive thinking or empowerment. It was straight up fear. Fear of not being able to have the type of life she believed others were having. And that fear came directly from her experiences growing up. Mary believed she was handicapped to some degree by the circumstances she grew up with. Yet she found a way to use her fear to drive her to success, happiness, and fulfillment. And she did it one step at a time. Growing into a powerful woman, mother, CEO, and author. Take a listen.

It can be a challenge figuring out business and life. We are all on a Hero’s Journey as we walk this earth although sometimes it seems as if we are just stumbling along. With ever changing roles and responsibilities in our modern culture here in the United States, transforming ourselves has become a necessity. With technology changes and expectations in a state of flux, it feels like a full-time job just keeping up. As we change and grow into different roles at work and at home, we have to become a new, upgraded version of ourselves. We literally have to become a new person, leaving behind the older model that can no longer support the latest version of who we are. I ignored that idea years ago and it turned around and bit me. I accomplished a major goal but didn’t upgrade my skillsets to grow more. I got stuck at that spot and stayed there for years. Eventually I got back on track and the new goals and skills I pursued gave new meaning to my life and what I do each day. Even if we are conscious about what we are doing, where we are going and how we are going to get there, the external forces of our life and culture can come out of nowhere and blindside us. The complicated issues of men and women and what our natural strengths are is being debated daily across the country. One thing that can’t be debated is the crisis men are feeling as the roles and responsibilities of men and women are in such a state of flux. Men have not developed the skills of communicating their feelings and sadly, men are 3-4 times more likely to die by suicide than women. Mental health, be it male or female is something that can’t be overlooked or minimized in this day and age. If you know someone who might be in pain, please reach out to them. If you are in pain, please reach out to someone you can trust. In spite of not wanting to please do reach out anyhow. You are important. You are needed. And if someone knew you were hurting that much, they would want to help you. Reach out.

What if you could develop a Navy Seal Mindset? Who wouldn’t want that? This week we dive into a SEAL mindset with Larry Yatch. Larry is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served ten years as a Navy Seal officer. He was medically retired due to battle incurred injuries and is now helping others outside the military to develop a SEAL Mindset in life in order to overcome challenges and succeed in business and life. Larry offered up amazing ways to get more out of life and about learning how to overcome obstacles, challenges and failures. One of the powerful distinctions Larry made was to consider the words we use can help us or hinder us. That applied to our self-talk or when speaking with another person. That was really just the tip of the iceberg. The entire episode is filled with useful, actionable tools to help you and I become the best version of ourselves. This episode it helped me to see the idea of persevering so much more clearly and usefully in my own life. Persevering frequently felt like a load I was carrying. Like just trying to make it through the day many times. With the distinction Larry made, persevering now it seems more like an open door, an invitation to rise up and not just endure. There was a time when my heart was heavy that I didn’t want to be on my path mostly because it was so damn hard. I didn’t want my son to have to go through with his challenges and his challenges, by extension became my challenges. Looking at the car accident as an event that derailed our destiny wasn’t serving me or Josh. Seeing that event as a destiny that is bringing about a lot of good is way more powerful and useful to Josh and I aw well as the world. I guess you could say me seeing things differently has caused a change in my heart.  Maybe that is what life is all about. Living, Learning, Growing. Changing towards the positive where we can. Allowing our hearts and minds to change where needed and where we can in turn serve the world and ourselves in a bigger, better, more complete way. Live. Learn. Love.

Philip McKernan joins Mark on the podcast today to discuss his latest book called "One Last Talk." This episode showed a more personal side of Mark and encourage you to listen all of the way through to get the full perspective of this powerful episode. Join the Facebook Group to discuss Finding Your Strength Through Your Struggle.  

If you’ve ever been married, you know it can be a challenge. From miscommunication to misunderstandings. From unfulfilled needs to disregarded opinions. It can be a jungle out there. Our guest this week, Larry Bilotta, is here to tell us why the problems exist and it isn’t what you may be thinking. Larry takes us all the way back into the past to enlighten us as to why the dynamics in marriage are playing out the way they do. I like how he put the root of the problems into three separate categories with two types of problems in each category.

Traver Boehm had a great life: a wife, a kid and a great job until he lost it all. He tried to heal himself by going into isolation for 28 days without contact from the outside world and no electricity.  Traver discusses his journey with me during this episode.  Enjoy the Podcast!!!

This is a new phase STTS episode… Essential to the concept of the ‘International White Album Symposium’ at Monmouth University, New Jersey, was that we recorded the show in front of an audience, revisiting and merging the much-discussed topics of Episodes #2 and #4 with a couple of our mates: celebrated Beatles author Mark Lewisohn and our resident musicologist Allan Kozinn. John Lennon and Paul McCartney each contributed 12 songs to the White Album. These could have been justifiably issued as LPs in their own right. And what stunners they would have been; filled with an eclectic array of incredible compositions and unforgettable performances that captured both men—and their bandmates—at the top of their game. Here we review the Lennon and McCartney White Albums, comparing them with each other as well as with the legendary, recently remixed Beatles opus. In comes the warmth and freshness of a live appearance, captured for you by the STTS team. Featured tracks: Birthday I’m So Tired Julia Dear Prudence Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Back in the U.S.S.R. Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? Revolution

This episode was fun for me in that I was familiar with the culture of the Philippines as I served there for 3 years in the Air Force. I was also married to a Filipino woman for seven years. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. This weeks guest is Philip Lomboy who grew up in a home that I would say was culturally intact. Both parents were born and raised in the Philippines. However, Philip grew up here in the United States as a military dependent once his father joined the US military. There were challenges of being from a different culture and having to navigate life here in the US. Additionally, from the age of two, Philipp also had to deal with frequently moving which led to a great deal of insecurity. Can you imagine moving every six months to 4 years of your life? I can’t. I grew up in the same town for the first 20 years of my life and it was a small town to boot. There were aunts and uncles and cousins within blocks or just a few miles of my house. It takes a lot to feel rooted physically or emotionally. It is difficult to understand but I can only imagine what Philipp, and others like him to go through. Definitely something we can learn from and in turn develop some understanding and compassion for those who have had to do the same thing.

Larry Snow with the Secure Transportation and Executive Protection News for Monday, July 2nd, 2018.   In Security News From ASIS Foundation Connecting Research in Security to Practice Report (CRISP) on Sports Team Travel Security From the Executive Summary of the White Paper: Sports Team Travel Security (STTS) provides visible and behind-the-scenes mobile security to traveling athletic teams participating in all levels of competitive sports, from amateur and collegiate teams in practice or competition to pro sports participating in major events such as the Olympic Games, World Cups, and Super Bowls. This report reviews and summarizes the existing STTS literature to meet five objectives: Read More   == From Security Magazine 2018 Security Leadership Issue: The Rising Role of Women in Security Diane Ritchey had the pleasure of speaking with nine female executives who are succeeding in security leadership roles:   Included in the article are the backgrounds of how they achieved their successes and gave career advice. Read More   ===   From Education Dive More school districts turn to online security services to monitor threats The Orange County school district in Hillsborough, N.C. is the latest district to sign on with a new online security service designed to identify online threats to schools and students, WFMY News reports. The service, provided by Social Sentinel, will cost the school district about $10,000, a year but will look for keywords in social media that may pose a threat to students in the district. The service will conduct nationwide monitoring of social media activity related to the school district and identify the Orange County Sheriff’s Department about potential threats to student safety with the goal of prevention.    Read More ======================   In Business of Executive Protection News In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) From ISDACenter.Org It’s Not Easy Being Security How a corporate security team can develop a brand and change perceptions and mindset of employees, customers, clients, and visitors. It’s a hard job, employees think that you are only slowing them down in their daily routines – fire alarm, evacuation, and shelter in place drills. Let’s face it – your job is telling people what they can and cannot do. Asking for volunteers for fire wardens and searchers is sometimes like pulling teeth. Sometimes you are looked at being an annoyance – (I can’t open this door without security and they take forever!).  Some may think you are a drain on the company bottom line.  Read More    ====================== Links to all news stories mentioned in this news briefing are available at the archive website securitydrivernews.libsyn.com. You can also listen to past news briefings and leave comments. As a reminder, the news briefing is available in Apple and Google Play podcast apps, Spotify, and Amazon Echo devices. ====================== This flash briefing is brought to you by the International Security Driver Association. Whether you are exploring a career in executive protection, new to the profession, honing your expertise, or an established security executive, ISDA offers its Members benchmark educational, networking, and marketing programs. For more information about the ISDA membership, articles related to secure transportation, security, and executive protection, go to isdacenter.org. Thanks for listening to the Security Driver and Executive Protection News flash briefing.

2014 STTS Training_Literacy 3-12

2014 STTS Training Grades 1-2

2014 STTS Training_Pre K-K

Tony's got the low down on these topics on this weeks Killer Poker Analysis from Rounders Radio: 1.) Call-in question: hands to get all-in with early in 50/30/20 payout single table tournaments (STTs) 2.) Are there no-limit hold'em (NLHE) hands that are only worth playing in a raised pot? The value of suited connectors in NLHE. 3.) Dealing with tight-aggressive players (TAGs) in no-limit hold'em (NLHE)

Tony's got the low down on these topics on this weeks Killer Poker Analysis from Rounders Radio: 1.) Call-in question: hands to get all-in with early in 50/30/20 payout single table tournaments (STTs) 2.) Are there no-limit hold'em (NLHE) hands that are only worth playing in a raised pot? The value of suited connectors in NLHE. 3.) Dealing with tight-aggressive players (TAGs) in no-limit hold'em (NLHE)