The Next Level

Inspired by his best friend's battle with cancer, Dr. Frank Merritt has engineered the fasting protocol, The 17 Hour Fast, which offers maximum benefits from a minimum fast that promotes an enriching mind, body and soul experience. Drawing on years of medical practice as well as VitalityPro research protocols developed with iconic athletes, respected nutritionists, and behavioral/exercise psycholo...

Stop. Catch your breath. Do you feel that? Most likely right up until now, you were chasing something. Success, love, achievement, your social media feed, your to do list, or even your kids. I'm not sure where it happened in the evolution of humanity, but the vast majority of the human race seems to be in that exact frame of mind. A race. We're constantly in a never ending battle with time. Trying...

Clear goals and an unwavering commitment have the power to propel us forward. My guest today declared that he would win the Olympics in a sport had actually never done. Within 4 years, Jeremiah Brown went from first stroke to Olympic Medalist. Jeremiah Brown won an Olympic silver medal as a member of the Canadian men's eight rowing team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. A former commercial banker...

Bar none, the most simple and useful access point to begin creating change in our lives is by shifting how we talk to ourselves and others. Our thoughts and language directly affect how we feel, breathe, act, and so much more. Today I decided to string together a few powerful episodes where I chatted with experts in language and creating change. You'll hear from four previous guests: Mary Shores,...

Trust is not basing your level of belief on evidence. While evidence builds confidence, trust is a feeling first. It's a sensation. It's a deep knowing that it will all work out. The how of trust is unknown. Our mind even tries to figure it out, weigh options, and logically navigate it. While the mind is a powerful tool to subdue the dragon of defeat or assist in walking up the ladder of good feel...

If you've listened to The Next Level, you know we've done some shows on language and how our language affects our reality. Language has been an absolute game changer in my own life and continues to be a practice in awareness, choice, and presence. Another area where I find great solace is through movement and exercise. It just so happens that a good friend and language ninja Mark England just team...

Loss isn't an easy thing. Whether its a job, the loss of a loved one, or anything that's a major part of our lives, loss seems to leave an empty space. Anything that we invest time in, commit to, or love in many ways becomes a part of who we are, our identity, and when that thing is gone we inherently ask the question "Who am I now?" After the unexpected loss of her husband at the young age of 45,...

Understanding what's important, what you value, is the key to navigating life's many options. Whether you're trying to decide on your next big project, long term goal, or just whether or not you should go out tonight, weighing your options against your values makes all the difference between making the right choice, or the one that leaves you feeling regret. Values aren't something I set out to de...

Face to face with another individual, we have the opportunity to see their body language, tone, eye movement, and many other non-verbal queues that clue us into how to best interact. Translating your offline persona and style into the digital arena isn't always the easiest when these subtleties are left out. I know I've certainly experienced this, and maybe you have too. When equipped with the pro...

Full article at http://jeffa.co/139 We now have the opportunity to fill every waking moment with something… anything. Idle time doesn't exist anymore. Powering down and turning off comes with this looming sense of guilt that "I should be doing something." As if our sense of self is not just subtly, but wholly tied up in doing. The philosopher Blaise Pascal said this: All men's miseries derive from...

To show up fully as leaders, it's essential to know thyself. Knowing your triggers, what trips you up, along with your strengths and being emotionally intelligent is what will create strong and compassionate leaders. Jenna Phillips Ballard began her career in 2006 as a certified personal trainer and life coach for celebrities and has been featured on Dr. Phil and The Doctors. Halfway through her c...

Blame… oh righteous indignant blame. Pointing the finger is easy, and you know what, the more you practice the more you tend to do it. There are many subtleties to blame. Versions of blame that are quiet and others that are big and ugly. There's those passing moments where you can just toss it away, like it never happened. A driver cuts you off in traffic and you erupt for a moment. It's the rain'...

As entrepreneurs, artists, and transformational leaders, we often think we can do it all. But just because we can doesn't mean it's our best use of time or that it will lead us down the path of fulfillment and greater creativity and expression. Before her son Kingston was born transformational leader, entrepreneur, and humanitarian Alexi Panos had her hand in every aspect of her business. With the...

In The Beauty Diet: Unlock the Five Secrets of Ageless Beauty form the Inside Out, internationally acclaimed nutrition and natural beauty expert David Wolfe distills the five factors that lead to exceptional, lasting beauty. David 'Avocado' Wolfe is the rock star and Indiana Jones of the superfoods and longevity multiverse. The World's top CEOs, ambassadors, celebrities, athletes, artists, and the...

If you look at nature, every organism has it's role. In modern times, we've become the exception. From early on, we are taught to conform, to blend in. After starting over at zero financially, after what many would consider a failed acting career, Adam Roa experienced a series of events that eventually led him to the moment of enough is enough. He started to carve his own unique path. Since then h...

In the spirit of switching things up, I thought it would be fun to turn the tables and unpack some of my coaching experience with Lauren Zander. Lauren was on the show back on episode 069 to talk about her book Maybe It's You, and today she is back to help unpack a little bit about the coaching process and what doing the work really means. Before this interview I had a coaching session with Lauren...

David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought after speaker, and associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. His forthcoming book, Friend of a Friend, offers readers a new perspective on how to grow their networks and build key connections—one based on the science of human behavior, not rote networking advice. He's delivered keynotes to the leaders of Fortune 500...

With a fast rate of change and the pace at which we as individuals are evolving and society as a whole, turning the lens inward and cultivating inner strength is a venture worth pursuing if you want to be equipped to handle life's challenges and develop true self-reliance. My guest today, Rick Hanson, was on the show back on episode 059 to talk about his book Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neurosci...

It's pretty tough to deny the fact that we are influenced by unseen forces, energies and frequencies that we can't fully explain or describe from the rational mind. Frequencies, energy, and even emotion are an experience. Giving more attention to how we feel and tending to our personal vibration and choosing to come from what Penney calls our home frequency is what I would consider a direct transl...

I invited Sarah Sherwood back on the show today to talk about adult attachment theory and adult attachment styles. I'm relatively new to attachment theory, but the little I have dug into it helped me start understanding my own patterns of relating and why they exist. The basic understanding of this theory is that how you regulate and experience yourself is in some ways a product of how you learned...

Karla McLaren, M.Ed. is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and empathy pioneer. Her lifelong work focuses on her grand unified theory of emotions, which revalues even the most "negative" emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. Karla also developed the groundbreaking Six Essential Aspects of Empathy model that mak...

Hall's music, a blend of roots and folk music with hints of inspiration from India, has led him to a series of sold-out tours and collaborations with artists such as Steel Pulse, The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Matisyahu, Michael Franti, Xavier Rudd and Nahko & Medicine for the People. Trevor Hall's Chapter of the Forest (2014) and KALA (2015), debuted at #3 and #2 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart...

In this week's episode I wanted to share a little story with you because I realized in the last few weeks as I've been navigating some personal challenges in my life as well as some things in business that I that I found myself over focusing on the details... let's call it the problem, the circumstances and trying to move around the known pieces in the box of my known reality trying to figure thin...

My guest today Jessie May Wolfe describes HeartRise as plugging into the radiant, integral, soul energy (R.I.S.E)... the electricity of the heart. Her presence empowers those around her. Spreading light and energy, her infectious spirit connects many beautiful souls around the world. With a strong creative & corporate background in fashion, publishing & marketing, Jessie May's experience coaching...

If you've ever felt flooded by strong thoughts and emotions, then this one is for you. Starting to create a healthy distance from strong thoughts and emotions is the first step to creating a more resourceful state where you can lower the stress response and work yourself into better feeling thoughts. Today I'll distill a practice I use to loosen the hold on these strong thoughts and feelings to be...