Strength Through The Struggle

Mary Hyatt is a life coach and entrepreneur who struggled with many trials in her 20s. She was married at age 20 and, a few short years later, found herself completely disconnected from life. Battling depression and anxiety, Mary found solace in food. She was overweight and unhappy and realized something needed to change. She took herself to "self-discovery school" - a personal journey of transfor...

Cara Brookins has led an interesting life. She was married to her high school sweetheart right out of high school, but the marriage didn't last long. She and her first husband divorced after 3 kids. Cara remarried at age 24. Her husband descended into full blown schizophrenia and became a danger to her and her children. They divorced, but he still came around and terrorized her and children. Her t...

Saud Juman is a CEO, husband, and father. He grew up in a strong family, but associated with the wrong crowd. While in college, he found success as a DJ. This led to work as a promoter, and eventually owning his own venue. He inadvertently became involved with (and subsequently protected by) members of organized crime. He had a moment of change when his father reentered his life. He sat in a mosqu...

Justin Bailey grew up in a loving home, went to college, met his wife, got married, and joined the army. Everything seemed like it should be great on the surface, but he quickly learned he wasn't living up to the person he could have been. The person he was nearly broke down his marriage, encountered legal problems, and ultimately was a result of serious character issues. In this episode, Mark and...

Chris Biasutti has searched for acceptance his entire life. Everything he's done in his life has been searching for love and acceptance from other people. He thought he would find it by making money. Eventually, after making the money he thought he always wanted, he learned money didn't bring him acceptance. His pivot point came when he realized he had nothing meaningful to share with the world. C...

Master McNeill has seen his fair share of struggle in his 75+ years on the planet. He's had polio, was orphaned as a young child, and has battled cancer more than once. However, every struggle in his life has led him to where he is today. Master McNeill is a highly decorated martial artist.  In this episode, Mark and Dave discuss happiness, the power of a positive attitude, and the belief that the...

Tucker Collins is an neurochemistry undergraduate student on the verge of graduation. He's looking towards what life holds for him - starting with graduate school. He's making a name for himself - creating his own identity, part of which is his Aspergers.  Tucker doesn't let his diagnosis define him - he embraces who he is and uses his strengths to his advantage. He seeks out relationships, and en...

Reece Anderson is a husband, father, and anxiety and personal coach. Reece had a fairly normal childhood. However, at age 20, he cooked some dinner, sat down, and had what he later learned was a massive panic attack. He saw doctor the next day who immediately put him on antidepressants. Instead of helping, things went from bad to worse. Within 2 years, Reece started developing ticks. His doctor pu...

Chris Smith is a husband, father, and entrepreneur. Chris grew up around story tellers and has been a story teller his whole life. He naturally transitioned into sales, but didn't really know who he was despite his ability to tell a great story. He hit a major dark point in his life when he realized he wasn't being true to himself. This darkness led to separating from his wife. They tried several...

Sean Stephenson was born with a rare bone gene imperfection. The doctors said he wouldn't live 24 hours. That was nearly 38 years ago. Since then, Sean has found his purpose in life: to rid the world of insecurity. In this episode, Mark and Sean discuss how fairness in life is an illusion, the idea that every level has a devil, and the cure to insecurity (hint: it's self-care.) Sean is quick to re...

Melissa Krivachek is an expert in transformation. She can say so confidently because she transformed herself. In 2009, after being fired from WalMart (not for lack of enthusiasm), she was homeless, weighed 306 lbs, was $50000 in debt, and spent 6 days in jail for a speeding ticket. According to Melissa, jail was worse than being homeless.  She realized something had to change, and her journey of t...

Don DeWaay lived like royalty. He started a business from nothing and built it to a half a billion dollars in sales. Everything came crashing down in 2008 when he lost everything. The economic downturn affected his business, which had negative ramifications in his personal life. The biggest sacrifice he made in trying to build and maintain his business was his family, despite desperately wanting t...

Ray Edwards is a well-known copywriter, working with famous names such as Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, and Jeff Walker. He found success quickly, valuing his intellect as one of his most valuable traits.  In 2011, Ray was at a conference when he noticed his hand couldn't keep up with his brain. After a google search, a conversation with his doctor, and later a consultation with a neurologist, he w...

Ken Davis has been a comedian and public speaker for many years. He recently celebrated his 70th birthday which has brought a season of reflection and new decisions into his life. In this episode, Mark and Ken discuss getting older, finding significance vs having relevance, and taking control of your life. They discuss the importance of finding validation from the right sources. Listen to this epi...

Wayne Warrick is an ordained minister, a doctor of natural medicine, husband, and father. He's also a living example of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Wayne has seen his fair share of struggle. From narrowly escaping capture in Russia while part of a special ops team in the Air Force to losing an eye because of a percussion grenade, Wayne's early years didn't start off smooth. Followi...

Filip Valica was born in communist Czechoslovakia. When he was 5, his mother decided it would be better to leave the country than stay in communist circumstances. Their family was granted a temporary, "health-related" leave on the condition that a family member was left behind. Filip's parents were on the brink of divorce as it was, so he and his mother left his father behind as they fled to Greec...

MeshBanga grew up in Richmond, California - a dangerous neighborhood plagued with drugs and violence. She had loving parents who kept her as safe as possible, often keeping her inside when they knew it would be unsafe outside. Her extended family was not as lucky. She had cousins turn to prostitution and drugs early in life.  Despite the struggles of the area, MeshBanga found music. Her purpose is...

Larry Hagner was adopted by his step-father when he was a young boy. Everyone who knew Larry's father knew he was a good man, but he had a drinking problem that turned him from Bruce Banner into the Hulk. Larry's mother, also a heavy drinker, divorced this man when Larry was 10. At age 12 he met his biological father, but that relationship didn't continue. Every father figure from that point was j...

Tim Matthews never believed he was good enough. After an incident with his father when he was 7 years old, Tim chose the belief that he wasn't worthy or good enough of anything. This belief led him down a path filled with stress, struggle, and sacrifice. Despite this belief, he still aimed for success as an entrepreneur. After University he found personal training, and through that process found a...

Thomas Clifford is a man on a mission. He is a father and a martial artist. Thomas grew up with a blessed life. As he puts it, it's not the kind of story that makes people want to stop and listen. When you peel back the layers, though, you'll find Thomas's story is one that keeps you completely enthralled.  Thomas's grandfather was deeply involved in organized crime. Thomas grew up believing his g...

Matt Trainer had everything. An "average" life to him included a home on the beach, partying in Dubai, and being hungover every day. However, everything came to a head after Wake Up Warrior, which has been mentioned on our show by several guests. As Matt puts it, Warrior inspired him to change his world, and the Universe decided to test him. He went from major success with a company to dealing wit...

Brian Holmes grew up in a strong family and church environment. In spite of the strong culture of faith, at 11 years old he was sexually molested by a 19 year old woman in his home. He was also introduced to pornography at the same time by the same woman and her boyfriend. Brian grew up in a "never mess up" kind of culture which encouraged anything negative to be hidden. He didn't tell anyone - in...

Tina Thomson is first and foremost a mother, though she wears a remarkable collection of metaphorical hats. Her life was changed when her son was born with an extremely rare condition that he miraculously survived. In addition to the struggle of her son's medical condition, Tina herself has battled fibromyalgia while dealing with an ending marriage and extreme career changes.  In this episode Mark...

Dr. Adam Splaver is a cardiologist who had it all. A beautiful wife, 4 wonderful children, a successful medical practice. Everything changed when his wife had hemorrhagic stroke, which they later discovered was caused by a brain tumor. There was too much swelling, too much blood, the tumor was too difficult to reach. The neurologists told Dr. Splaver to take her home and let her die. Dr. Splaver s...

Cameron Gallagher is a high performance coach with a unique background in hypnosis and neuroscience. He began work as a corporate coach but has naturally progressed into a transformational high performance mindset coach for entrepreneurs. In this episode, Mark turns it over to Cameron, who guides him through an exercise to overcome inadequacy. The exercise is designed so viewers can also follow al...