TOUGH TALKS: Conversations on Mental Toughness

I met Sumukh a year ago when he was 19 at an international event that is for global thinkers committed to making a difference on the planet. --- He immediately astonished me because of his willingness to so confidently occupy a level of leadership and contribution at such a young age. I knew immediately that I wanted him on the show. --- It took us a year to coordinate it, and it's here now. You'r...

This is someone's recent reaction to witnessing today's Tough Talks guest for the very first time: “WHO is this raw mass of unbridled brown energy, seething with sweat and love, this oozing cloud of kinetic inspiration dripping with openness and laughter? --- It’s ASHOK!" --- Have you ever been around someone who simply radiates high vibes all the time? Have you ever met someone who truly believes...

Carolyn Freyer Jones, or CFJ, is a powerhouse coach who has been referred to as a "straight-talking New Yorker mixed with pure compassion." You can tell she's done her work on herself. She has a serenity and a clarity and a confidence about her that is palpable and can only make the experience of working with her so much more profound. --- In our conversation today, CFJ drops a handful of wisdom b...

How many people do you know that have spent 3 months in a Nepalese Monastery, then followed that up with another month in a Thai one, 3 weeks in The Amazon in Peru and another 2 weeks in silence at a California retreat to process it all? Oh, and who trains the brains of Olympic medalists and NCAA Champion gymnasts? --- I know one! --- And we have her as our guest today. She's my former business pa...

Today's guest is Fred Blum and he's back for Episode 2. We had a scintillating discussion a few months back and decided to do a round 2. --- In today's dialogue, we take a deep dive into what it means to be "Energy Rich" or "Energy Poor", why so many of us unconsciously choose energy POOR living, and what we can do when we are energy impoverished in order to enrich ourselves. --- Fred has generous...

We got him back for round 2! And, Man, does he deliver. Again. David Wood is a master of many things. Among them is pausing before he responds. He's pretty damn mindful, and we learn from witnessing that alone. He's also a master of taking MASSIVE ACTION. --- We discuss the 4 reasons why most of us DO NOT live our best lives. He calls them the 4 Villians. And, naturally, we finish with the antidot...

This week we have our first ever repeat appearance by a guest. We have the amazing Stephen McGhee back for Episode 2. Our first conversation focused entirely upon his remarkable experience and subsequent documentary about climbing Aconcagua with 6 other men 7 or 8 years ago, and more importantly, the profound lessons that they each learned about themselves, their relationships and the ways that th...

We’re going for a deep dive here today, folks, into the core of the human experience with a New York-style Monk who has studied around the planet with great minds and mentors. He has degrees in Psychology and Chiropractic and his main focus now is coaching folks on living what he calls an Energy Rich Life. That is, living a life of productivity, vitality peace, connection, and happiness. --- His n...

You ready to PLAY today?! Because that’s exactly what you’re about to do, and exactly what you’re about to watch me and today’s Tough Talks guest, David Wood, do. --- David is actually a former Actuary for Fortune 100 companies like Exxon and Sony Music and Proctor & Gamble. He bounced from his cushy Manhattan gig to go off and explore the worlds. That is, the actual world, but also his inner...

How many people do you know that have not only starred on a major reality TV show, but have also been spoofed on South Park?!?! Well, I know one and you’re about to meet her. Her name is Stella Reid, aka, “Nanny Stella” of Nanny 911. --- Nanny Stella moved to the USA 29 years ago from Northern England, became a celebrity and is now coaching parents, matching nannies and families, and offers online...

Who gathers a group of six NON-mountaineers, trains them mentally and physically for a year and then climbs the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere with them? For personal and professional growth reasons. Who DOES that?! Leadership Guide, Speaker and Author Stephen McGhee does. --- And he’s my guest in this episode of Tough Talks. And what a treat he is! Stephen and I have spent exactly zer...

One of the most important reasons to strengthen the mind is because of its instantaneous, inextricable, and profound relationship with the body. In fact, with the quantity and quality of emerging scientific research these days on the mind-body relationship, I predict there’ll be a new, condensed word soon for “mind-body relationship” and it’ll simply be mind-body. --- Last year a documentary came...

WOW! What an impressive guy, this Mike Haynes. And that he’s an NFL Hall of Famer is NOT the top reason why. In fact, not even close. Rather, it’s his perpetual commitment to serve that makes him so powerful. You’ll notice him use the words “serve” and “service” throughout the entire discourse. --- This dialog rocked me a few times, and those times will be obvious to you. --- Here are a few of the...

Our guest today is a man who definitely walks his talk when it comes to fortifying his mind and living powerfully. You hear it clearly in his language. His name is John Toomey and he is an enormously successful sales leader (SVP North America Sales at NICE Systems), an Ironman and a dedicated husband and father. And he has some true golden nuggets - practical insights and advice - for us in each o...

Holistic Nutritionist, Life Coach and former NFL Cheerleader, Taylor Stone is our guest for today’s episode of Tough Talks. --- Taylor’s work far transcends (but most definitely includes) nutritional coaching in her work with women. She refers to herself as a healer (rightfully so) and integrates emotional detoxing and instilling massive self-love and confidence and exercise coaching in her effort...

It isn’t every day that I get to interview a famous Hollywood Stuntwoman! But I did today. Angela Meryl is our badass guest for this episode and we discuss the unlikely journey she’s had as a model/actress/stuntwoman. --- Angela had a very modest upbringing in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and decided at an early age that she wanted to go to Hollywood and crush it there (“Decided” is the op...

Wow! THAT didn’t go the way I thought it would. It went way better. Today’s episode of Tough Talks turned into an impromptu coaching session on making, keeping (or not) and learning from your (sometimes broken) commitments. And that wasn’t even our planned topic du jour. --- The intended topic was the discipline it takes to commit to wholistic wellness. And our guest is an expert practitioner in j...

The Gallup organization has been doing research on job satisfaction among Americans for decades. The results have been remarkably consistent. And remarkably disturbing. The vast majority of people polled report being dissatisfied with their jobs. Far from in love with them. And “job” is the place where most of us spend most of our lives. --- Our guest today is Chief Strategic Career Advisor at The...

In today’s episode of Tough Talks, we are fortunate to have as our guest the former NFL superstar and current NFL Broadcaster, Adam Archuleta. Adam knew from early youth that he wanted to be a professional American Football player. That’s true for a lot of kids. But one of the distinguishing factors about Adam is that he skipped over hoping and wishing and got straight into deciding. --- Not only...

How has my life been impacted because of the world that I live in? How do I want to impact the world because I have lived in it? --- These are the questions that today’s Tough Talks guest, Dr. J’Lein Liese, has committed her life to challenging people across the globe to answer. Dr. Liese is an international expert in leadership, strategy execution, communication, change management, and conflict r...

Get ready to be mind-blown by this cat. He’s an Ultramarathoner (not just your typical run-of-the-mill normal 26.2 mile marathon runner – he’s an ULTRA one). --- That means he does things like runs 240 miles in 86 hours and change. He runs 50 miles without ever stopping! And he only started running three years ago. Because he was fat. And got tired of it. And he’s 20. Years. Old. --- Ryan Lange is...

Get ready to be mind-blown by this cat. He’s an Ultramarathoner (not just your typical run-of-the-mill normal 26.2 mile marathon runner – he’s an ULTRA one). --- That means he does things like runs 240 miles in 86 hours and change. He runs 50 miles without ever stopping! And he only started running three years ago. Because he was fat. And got tired of it. And he’s 20. Years. Old. --- Ryan Lange is...

Our guest today is a Keynote and TEDx Speaker, Workshop Facilitator, Transformational Coach and author of the internationally best-selling book, Fatherhood is Leadership: Your Playbook for Success, Self-Leadership and a Richer Life, Devon Bandison. --- I like to think of Devon as the Queens, NY version of a hybrid of Yoda and Mark Twain. He is a lifelong student of the mind and a masterful storyte...

In this episode of Tough Talks, we have the great pleasure of visiting with world class golf instructor, CEO and Founder of Make The Turn Performance, Jeff Ritter (with a hilarious surprise visit – albeit almost entirely cut out of view – by his wife, Nutritionist Extraordinaire and Director of Product Development at Laird Superfood, Cate Ritter, oh, and their puppy Penny!). --- Jeff has always us...

In this episode of Tough Talks our guest is Regional Vice President of Sales at Cloudera, and big ass dream ranch owner, Vince Temperino. --- Vince loves discipline, not necessarily in the militaristic sense, but certainly in the “Let’s just go ahead and crush it at life” sense. Vince is so fun to listen to because he never lost his childlike enthusiasm and he brings that into everything...