PUSHING BACK CHAOS

Mike has deployed and Melon is doing his own training ahead of joining the team instructing Australian military pilots- so life has been very busy for your hosts. Both men have been practicing what they preach around focusing on basics and the individual pursuit of professional mastery as an essential precursor to then generate professional impacts in their work teams. A listener question is asked...

The spirit leads the heart, not the heart leading the spirit. This is a common battle for us all. A battle between mind, body and spirit. It can cause unhealthy thoughts, joy, heartbreak, gratefulness, or even physical expressions, such as fighting or hugging. In this weeks episode, Mike and Melon open up with a in-depth review of their own lives since the last episode. From moving across the worl...

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” -       Lao Tzu “Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.” -       Jim Rohn Change often has a bad reputation. We fear the unknown, and change carries some aspect of the unknown. But if we don’t change, we cannot adapt ourselves to a changing world- we will remain static and stuck. Both your hosts are...

This week, Mike welcomes a  surprise guest., SGT Allen Weddington. A friend and teammate who he hasn't seen since his Afghanistan employment in 2012! In this episode, you’ll hear some shared stories from their time together in Afghanistan. Conversations about engagements, creating a family environment, to losing teammates in combat. The main focus of this discussion is what happens after it’s all...

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  -       Melody Beattie Life throws up challenges for all of us. The challenges ARE life. There is no escaping them. How can we work through these and manifest our best selves to create the life we want to live? Mike and Melon are certainly no...

After an eye opening and informative part 1, the team welcomes back our special guest, British Army LT Col (Ret.) Jimmy Carr. After an exceptional 22 year military career, as everything else, it was time to move on. Time to transition. Time to change. In this episode, Jimmy, Melon, and Mike discuss the challenges that all veterans will face as they transition back to the private civilian sector. F...

Some of us had easy childhoods and happy families. Some of us did not.  Some were exposed to serious early childhood trauma and substance abuse- and flirted with our own demons. Not all of us had the discernment and wisdom to change the trajectory our life was on and forge a path of providence. In this amazingly open conversation, you will be joined by Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Jimmy Carr- veteran...

Have you ever stopped and questioned:  “Am I serving two masters? Am I serving the right master?  How do I know which one to serve most and why?”  Life is extremely busy with endless branches of required action and attentiveness, but what should we focus on every day? How do we know which is most important? Is it possible to serve multiple masters at once? If so, for how long? Join us this week as...

This week, Melon and Mike proudly welcome on their special guest, Brenda, a 5 year Virginia Police veteran. As a former immigrant from Argentina turned American citizen, she proudly serves her community in uniform, pushing back crime and lawlessness.  She discusses the challenges of operating as a female officer in a male dominated line of work, what has helped her overcome those challenges, and m...

Grit is a personality trait possessed by individuals who demonstrate passion and perseverance toward a goal despite being confronted by significant obstacles and distractions. Those who possess grit are able to self-regulate and postpone their need for positive reinforcement while working diligently on a task. Key traits of Grit: Perseverance. Resilience. Courage. Passion. Conscientiousness. This...

Welcome back to a new year! Mike, Melon and the support crew wish our entire audience a meaningful and prosperous 2024! In this episode, Mike and Melon discuss consistency. Is this the secret to long term happiness? When life is working, is it because we have found our way to a solid routine? What can we do to build our way towards our best future selves- especially when things don’t seem to be tr...

Did you wake up today? Congratulations! You have stressors in your life! Now that we got that out-of-the-way, let’s talk about how to address them in a healthy way. This week, Mike and Melon rap about some of their own stresses and how they are dealing with them. Mike digs deep and shotguns Melon with the following questions: -How often do you experience stress? What levels on a 1-10 scale? -Do yo...

There has been increasing attention paid recently to Attachment Theory, which came from research by John Bowlby (1951), and Mary Ainsworth (1967) and has been confirmed and expanded over the intervening decades.  Attachment Theory described the psychological connection between humans, that is based in the connection between babies and their primary caregiver- typically their mother.  According to...

This week, Mike and Melon return after a few days behind our regular release schedule. As we always share, nobody gets a pass in life and all that it has for us.  Recently, the McFadden family lost a patriarch in the family. A father. Melon shares the struggles of dealing with death and how his family has processed the loss in order to discover lessons, deeper meaning, and reforged relationships....

Each year the western world stops on November 11th at 11am for a period of silent reflection.  Why do we pause? What is it in memory of? On this day, at that time, the guns fell silent in 1918, signalling the end of World War 1.  The next year, the first service was held in memory of the fallen who had sacrificed so much- it was initially called Armistice Day. Over the years, it became a day to re...

"It is the responsibility to work intelligently with what is given and not waste time fantasizing about a perfect world of people and choices” -Marcus Aurelius  This week Mike and Melon discuss more of their current challenges and how they have adapted an improve by 1% a day mindset. It’s very easy to get lost in the daily grind or the anxiousness of another day, so what are some things we can do...

All of us will be dealt difficult hands. All of us will have times when we feel pain.  Do we all have to suffer? Is pain the same thing as suffering? Mike and Melon get together and cover the difficult topic of distinguishing pain from suffering. What is “pain”?  What is “suffering”? Mike and Melon contend that pain is the unpleasant experiences or sensations. These are an inevitable part of being...

"Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end." -Roy T. Bennett In life, we have the ability and power to choose the outcomes of very little. What we wear, how we speak, and how we react to situations. Not much more. How do we know what to choose? Who are we supposed to be? What does a “good” person do? For the firs...

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius This week we cover a topic that hits close to home to both hosts Mike and Melon. Recently, both have experienced physical setbacks that will effect their every day lives, which, as we all know can take a toll on our positive outlooks for the present and the future. So what do we do when this happen...

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -       Mark Twain If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,     But make allowance for their doubting too… -       Rudyard Kipling “If” There are times when all of us find ourselves in a dilemma, unsure of which option to take. We have our own intuition about the best path forward, but this conflicts...

Is today the perfect time? How about next week? Next year? How about we just say “one day?” That will cover it! The real question is: When are you going to choose to celebrate and be happy? This week, Melon and Mike are joined by longtime friend and guest, Simon, who is a former Australian military soldier, who also lives a life of traveling and exceptional challenges. Listen in as the three discu...

Are you perfect? Are you the best or you done learning? Are you satisfied? These are the questions we should reflect on as we move through life. Mastery of anything can be considered a temporary view. Life is never at a standstill. Everything is constantly evolving and we would be false to believe that accomplishing  something once would be enough for the future as well. This week, Melon and Mike...

We all have plans in life. Hopes and dreams for our lives and our future. At times, though, all of us will be dealt out a different set of cards than what we were hoping for. Worse than we were expecting. Worse than we deserve. What do we do, what CAN we do then? Your hosts maintain that focusing on the area of life that is under our control is the only strategy that will work long term when the c...

“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” -Michael J. Fox This is probably one of the biggest debates within today’s society.  How do we balance our commitments to both our family and our career? Do we solely focus on the family and not obtain all the resources required through work? Do we focus on our careers so that our families can be supported with resources? Are we being selfish? A...

This week your hosts are joined by Cherie McFadden for an upbeat and positive conversation around happiness. What is it that makes you truly happy? Mike opens with a favourite quote- “Your best ability is availability”, from the famous NFL coach Bill Parcells. If you aren’t participating, you aren’t contributing- in your own life and with your loved ones. He shares feedback he received last year f...