Staying Power

Episode 53: When Is Enough Enough?  The holidays can be a tricky time for us to navigate expectations of ourselves and from others, whether we enjoy the holidays or not. This week, Ashley and JD address these challenges in a number of areas, all with the goal of helping us see when and how we can trust ourselves to decide - and act on - “enough is enough.”  HOME (benchstrategy.com) stayingpowersho...

Episode 052: Emotional Landscaping  With the holiday season in full swing, it’s a time for preparations and reflections. JD and Ashley take this week’s episode to discuss the interplay between the externals that we often focus on with the internal emotional landscapes that we don’t always realize we can shape, nurture, and grow. This gives us more agency and capacity to navigate those externals in...

Episode 051: Gratitude Continues On…. With Ashley’s birthday and Thanksgiving Day on back-to-back days this year, it’s a good opportunity to reexamine why gratitude and reflective perspective are so necessary and healthy in our lives. This is a practice that can sustain us every day of the year, with or without the celebrations that sometimes go with them. Take the next hour to “join in” on this c...

Episode 050: How the &$@! Do I Stay Alive?!?   As Ashley and JD navigate a massive power outage in their hometown, they take time this week to reflect on the “forced pauses” that sometimes happen in life; how do we respond to them? What can our responses tell us about who and where we are, and about what we can work on and give ourselves credit for? Whatever our answers are, such pauses are im...

Episode 049: “Little Things Always Win Out”  In times of big change, big uncertainty, and big feelings, we can get overwhelmed fast. What’s the best way through that? As JD and Ashley discuss today, it’s a (perhaps counterintuitive) shift to focusing on the Little Things around us and within us. Join them for a look at how little things have helped them navigate their own Big Things, and learn and...

Episode 048: “All Of This Is True”  The day after the general election is a day full of emotions for everyone, which range across the spectrum. JD and Ashley address this in this episode, exploring how we can better listen and observe the “how” and “why” that others have arrived at their beliefs and emotional responses. What are we not hearing? Not seeing? And how can we move forward towards a bet...

Episode 047: “Can Do’s For When We Can’t Do Much” With the general election around the corner, JD and Ashley address the elephant in the room - that none of us have any control over its outcome. Instead, we can identify (then do) all the Can Do’s that keep us grounded and engaged with our lives. What are those for you? Hear JD and Ashley share theirs and get a few laughs in along the way!  HOME (...

Episode 046: Who's On Your Bench?  Last week, Ashley and JD talked about how solopreneurs can get started on building their own business and brand. This week, they go a step further and talk about JD's own experience in building his co-owned performance coaching and consulting company, The Bench Strategy. The story is made up of many parts, some business specific, some decidedly personal, yet all...

Episode 045:  A Solopreneur’s Starter Kit  Ever wanted to start a business but didn’t know how or where to start? This week’s episode has what you need! JD and Ashley talk about their own experiences in building businesses and what that has taught them about how to build a business - and ourselves - successfully and healthily! Below is the list of items they included!  Don’t wait until you’re perf...

When we are “not okay,” for whatever reason, we can want to fix that or run away from that as quickly as possible. This week, Ashley and JD encourage listeners NOT to run, but to instead lean into it. Hear what they say about how to do this, how it can affect our closest relationships and more. Be sure to also take the free values assessment that JD mentions by clicking the link below! Then, let J...

Episode 043: Our Rooms of Requirement Last week, listeners got to hear the power of storytelling in connecting us with others, as JD and Ashley told each other some vulnerable and personal stories about themselves. This week, they take the conversation further by discussing the power of the stories we read, watch, and hear from all the creative sources around us. What draws us into such stories an...

Episode 042: Here's Where We Begin Over the past few episodes, JD and Ashley have been discussing topics related to our difficulties with creating and sustaining intimacy with those we care about, no matter the kind of relationships we have with them. This week, building off of their experience seeing a talk by the renowned psychotherapist, Esther Perel, your hosts decide to hit the challenges of...

Building off of last week’s episode, Ashley and JD discuss the challenges we can sometimes face in meeting new people, connecting with people we already know, and being comfortable with ourselves as we are. Does this have to be as difficult or as scary as we often make it? Perhaps it’s not surprising that Ashley and JD say, “it doesn’t.” Join them for this in-depth conversation that goes to a lot...

Episode 040: The Great Male Friendship Recession Over the past decade, more and more men are reporting feeling increasingly lonely, and having fewer connected male friendships and ever before. What created this “recession“ of friendship among men? What negative affects has it produced for men and for society? What are the ways that men can better connect with other men and with themselves? In this...

Episode 039: "The Gift of 51" With JD turning 51 this week, Ashley asks him some questions about things that he's learned along his way in life and how he might advise people of younger generations to view their own life choices. What follows is a wide ranging conversation touching on relationships, the challenges men and women face in societal expectations, the results of recovery work and servic...

Episode 038: "Slow Down On the Hacks"    Everyone these days is looking for ways to "hack" life - finding easier, better, more streamlined ways to do things, usually to save time and effort. But this risks trying to take shortcuts through or around hard but important things like health, fitness, financial health, and more. This week, Ashley and JD discuss the pros and cons of "hack" culture and ta...

Episode 037: "Too Valuable to be Lost?" A common refrain these days is the fear of "losing oneself" or not being able to "find" oneself. So often, though, these ideas mix up a lot of different contexts that are not only inevitable parts of our human experience but are truly indispensable for us to grow in healthy ways. This week, building off of a poignant share made on Ashley's social media, she...

Episode 036: Living Our Own Olympics  There is nothing like the Olympics to get us focused on what it’s like to achieve dreams, or fall just short of them. The human drama of sport reflects the day-in-day-out challenges we each face in moving towards our individual goals in life. This week, JD and Ashley discuss all the different challenges involved in pursuing our own “Olympic“ dreams in life. Wh...

Episode 036: Change Only Takes Four Words  None of us really enjoy having difficult conversations, whether that is with our loved ones, in our workplaces, or anywhere wise. And yet, they are important to have in order for us - and our relationships - to grow. So how can we initiate these effectively and in ways that don’t scare us away from initiating them? This week’s guest, J. Tucker Miller, has...

Episode 035: Why We Look For What We Want to See   Research on the brain is showing more and more that we all tend to look for things we want to see - in others, in politics, in society, etc. - rather than be willing to take on new perspectives and grow. Why do we do that? What is behind the reluctance to growing that we each confront, and what can we do to move past that stuck space? This week, J...

Episode 034: This is Endurance Challenge Normandie    The new ideas that inspire us will bring new and tough challenges when we work to make them into reality. But sometimes all we need is just one “Yes” to make it all happen! This week, JD and Ashley welcome Kate Curtis and Matt Simms - the founders of Endurance Challenge Normandie - to the show for a discussion about this new ultra endurance run...

Episode 033:  Launching the Flagship  It’s the launch day of the new one hour format for the show! Joining us today are Erik Krema and Eric Reidar of Hubbard Radio Seattle, which hosts our radio home of 1150 KKNW. Hear from them why this new format is so awesome and why this is the beginning of bigger things for all of us. It’s an exciting day, so take a listen and be sure to visit the show notes...

Episode 032: Better is Better than Best Sometimes words and phrases we use can limit our sense of how we can improve our lives. This week, Ashley and JD take a close look at the phrase, "living our / my / your best life", and explore the idea that pursuing a "better" life is a far better way to frame our pursuits. Take a listen and let them know what you think via the email and social media links...

Episode 031: Other People's Versions of Us  Wanting to control how other people view us can be a powerful impulse, but is ultimately an impossible goal whose pursuit can leave us feeling frustrated, fearful, or worse. In this episode, JD and Ashley share their own challenges and lessons learned in this area, and also share some of the latest expert perspectives on things like self-perception, how...

Episode 030: Decisions, Decisions.... Many decisions - especially big ones - can freeze us in place as we want to make the "perfect" or "right" decision in order to ensure the outcome we want. How can we shift our perspective to focus on how to make our choice more successful, no matter which course we take? JD and Ashley zero in on this topic this week, incorporating some of the latest science an...