Resilient Mental State

Ed Latimore Ed Latimore is a father, husband, professional heavyweight boxer, published author, and influential figure for anyone interested in transforming their lives. His story is as powerful as his punching skills which he recently used to put away a 258lb man via a body shot in the first round after stepping away from boxing for many years. In this conversation, we discussed: * Ed’s evolution...

Erik Hogan is one of the best photographers on Substack. The only thing that’s maybe more beautiful than his pictures is the writing about his adventures that he composes. Erik embodies artful living. Looking for synergy between all of his pursuits, he will backpack deep into the woods on multi-day camping trips in order to take unique pictures and videos of remote wilderness landscapes and plants...

Scott Shetler If you are in any way interested in being healthier and stronger, Scott Shetler is a must follow. He has been one of my favorite resources for strength-based knowledge for over a year. Scott has the energy, passion, and appearance of a 30-yr old combined with the experience and wisdom of a man his actual age which is a fresh 50. His posts are practical, informative, evidence-based, a...

The most important skill for self-defense is situational awareness. In an ever-changing world, detecting threats before an event occurs is essential for an effective response. Patrick Van Horne co-authored the book Left of Bang more than a decade ago to provide insights from the Marine Corps Combat Hunter program that trained warfighters to have a proactive mindset and recognize anomalies in any e...

At age 45, Gwendolyn Bounds heard an older man ask a young girl what she wanted to be when she grew up. Despite being a successful journalist and published author of a popular book, hearing that question ignited a fire in her soul. She went home and googled, “what is the hardest thing someone can do?” The answer that jumped out at her - Spartan racing. What followed was an inspiring nine year jour...

Andrew Perlot is a writer and practitioner of philosophy across many life domains. Having used philosophical principles to overcome obesity, depression, and manage ulcerative colitis for decades, he is a living example of the power of curious and virtuous living. We discussed lessons from Marcus Aurelius, Socrates, Epictetus, Musonius Rufus, and Seneca; the idea of common stock/collective knowledg...

Michael Woudenberg of Polymathic Being has become one of my favorite sources for continuous learning. A writer and researcher who approaches topics from all angles, the man is a cognitive explorer. His professional background, experience, and personal interests make him well-suited to be an investigative writer exploring all aspects of the human condition with depth and breadth. We discussed what...

Patryk Piekarczyk has been a Nutrition and Performance Coach for 8 years. A constant practitioner of his own methods, he walks the walk and talks the talk. His Substack is one of my favorite resources of practical knowledge for improving your health in the kitchen and gym. We discussed physical activity vs exercise vs training, simplicity in nutrition, benefits of having a coach, removing choices...

Erin Miller is my favorite source of parenting wisdom, period. Unafraid to be unpopular, she highlights paradoxes, counters cultural pressures, attacks unfounded myths, and empowers parents to cultivate resilience in themselves and their children. In our conversation, we discuss some of the most common myths of parenting, the power of uncertainty, physical vs psychological safety, defining your ro...

Personal stories are what provide credibility behind empowering knowledge. Anne Marie Chaker is living proof of the power of intentionally training and maintaining a healthy diet. A chance encounter in a hotel fitness center with a woman preparing for body building competition led to a life-transforming journey that pulled her out of depression following postpartum challenges, a divorce, and the d...

From SEAL to shrink, Jeff Boss’s life has been exploring edges of performance and health. After 13 years as a Navy SEAL with eight deployments, Jeff transitioned to the private sector. After five years of battling grief and finding his place in civilian society, he did something he thought he’d never do - ask for help. In this powerful conversation, Jeff explains his philosophy behind becoming a w...

After struggling with depression in her younger years, Nadia was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 29. She would then be medically managed for 11 years which prevented her ability to have children. When her diagnosis was finally modified to ADHD after an extensive process of re-evaluation, she weaned off of all medications attempting to reset and start anew. She soon realized she needed su...

Resilience isn’t something you’re born with—it’s a skill you train. In this episode, Kyle Shepard , a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, resilience instructor, Guinness World Record holder, and writer on Substack , dives deep into the power of intentional stress and why controlled discomfort is the key to growth. He shares his journey of pushing physical and mental limits, how he trained for a...

We can use intentional stress to build resilience and why that is such an important part of taking care of your mental health and preventing stressors from controlling your life. On a recent episode of the NAVAIR AirWaves Podcast, I discussed the power of intentionally causing stress with prepared strategies to train the skill that is resilience with Mikel Lauren Proulx. Get full access to Resilie...

Stress management doesn’t have to be challenging. If anything, you want it to be straight-forward and simple so effective and efficient strategies can be implemented as soon as one becomes aware of the stress response. On a recent episode of the NAVAIR AirWaves Podcast with Mikel Lauren Proulx, I discussed simple, energy-free strategies to help anyone reduce stress, stay sharp and avoid burnout. G...

In this illuminating conversation, Kyle Shepard shares his journey as a military audiologist who has transformed personal challenges into a pathway of service through stress management and resilience training. With remarkable candor, Kyle reveals how a painful pregnancy loss nearly ended his marriage but ultimately strengthened it, teaching him powerful lessons about intentional communication and...

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Kyle Shepard who is a military resilience instructor, author of Resilient Mental State , fitness coach, and father → to dive deep into what it really means to build and sustain a resilient identity. Kyle shares lessons from 12+ years of serving in the U.S. Navy, training service members to overcome extreme stress, and his personal journey of overcoming har...

What does it take to raise resilient kids in a world full of pressure, milestones, and constant comparison? You may know Kyle from his powerful episode on Mindset Lessons from the Field , but this time, we focused on parenting. And wow... it hit home. Kyle shared how resilience went from a “collateral duty” in his military role to a personal mission the day he became a dad. Suddenly, he wasn’t jus...

Parenting is the greatest crash course in resilience you’ll ever take. In this powerful conversation with Kyle Shepard —dad of (almost) four and fierce advocate for emotional intelligence—we got real about what it means to raise kids who are both kind and tough in today’s overstimulated world. Here’s what we unpacked: Emotional Intelligence Isn’t Taught in the Meltdown Kyle dropped a truth bomb ea...

A hunter-philosopher, Jesse C. McEntee of Next Adventure on Substack has become one of my favorite writers on any platform. Applying his creative and reflective perspectives, Jesse is a master at using nature as a reference for living to the fullest. His writing on fatherhood also ranks with some of the best wisdom I’ve found which is why a good amount of this conversation was spent discussing the...

22 years in the SEAL Teams to high performance coaching, Kevin Stark lives the philosophy behind his company The Arete Path - human excellence in the service of others. I came into this conversation already a fan of Kevin’s and left an even bigger one. Listening to people speak from the heart without any preparation is an excellent way to assess authenticity. No surprise, Kevin is the real deal. H...

From SEAL Teams to the classroom at Columbia University, Sam Alaimo of is a legitimate warrior-philosopher. Just as good live as he is with his weekly essay on What then?, Sam has become one of my favorite modern writers. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about him and his empowering perspectives in this conversation. We discussed life philosophy; Stoicism; war; adversity in transitions; chal...

I had a great time talking to Kirsten Breidenbruch aka The Girl Stoic yesterday. Her story about starting as an intern at BlackRock and quickly becoming Vice President before the age of 30 is incredible in and of itself. What she decided to do once she realized she wasn’t living the life she had hoped for is even more impressive. In relation to her story, we discuss resilience, authenticity, life...

Two moms making whole foods, regular exercise, and healthy habits cool. Anne, a Registered Dietitian, and Avery, a Certified Health Coach, exemplify fulfilled living doesn’t have to be complicated. Their account Noos Substack provides simple, practical strategies to improve your relationship with food, movement, and other behaviors without being miserable. I really enjoyed talking to them and disc...