The Intentional Athlete Podcast

While there is no denying that we are influenced by the environment and people that we are around, there is also the ability to create yourself in the image that you want.  Thanks to the neuroplasticity of the brain, we are able to 'wire' and 're-wire' the neural pathways in our brain that connects neurons.  This can have a significant influence on the ways we think, behave, and form hab...

A lot of people tend to get their sense of worth through their accomplishments.  Those various things that get them all the attention and atta boys from the crowd create their sense of self-worth.  This is very common.  It was something that gave me a great deal of hardship for many years.  Seeking that external validation is fleeting.  No matter how great the accomplishme...

Today we're going to chat with coach Daniel Debrocke.  Daniel shares some of his life experiences and how they have brought him to where he is today.  A lot of what he does is help people work on their nutrition and fitness by addressing behavior changes with various tactics.  Many of these tactics can be applied in applications that can help support the growth and development of so...

It's completely understandable that we seek to live a comfortable life.  Comfortable in having a nice home, steady job, food on the table, and all of those sorts of things.  However, too much comfort will lead to our complacency.  Nothing will dull your life experience like complacency.  In fact, I think it's a killer that we either continue to choose to participate in or choos...

Today we are going to dive deep with the author of Apex Masculinity, Nick Chontos.  Nick shares the story of his troubled past that led him to deal with his hurt and trauma with substance abuse.  After several years of methanphedamine abuse and multiple trips to jail, we're going to learn how Nick was able to turn his life around to find ways in living a life he can be proud of.  He learned to cli...

Anytime your resist leaning into who you are, you create a limit on your life.  You create that limit.  This means you can break that limit down and open the door to grander ideas of thinking, creating, and being.  Stop playing small and step up to this episode's challenge of breaking down your resistance to yourself.  The Belonging Blueprint Connect with your host Ross Leppala...

It doesn't seem to be uncommon that people don't really know who they are.  This can often block a person from being connected with themselves.  That theme rings strong in this special guest episode with Marina Garcia.  Marina shares her story of overcoming some difficulties in her family life and abusive relationships that left her hurting and disconnected from herself.  As sh...

You don't have to go far in the world today to find someone who is triggered!  It happens, seemingly all too easily.  What do you do with that?  If we are more conscious of that, we can understand that it is there to guide us.  When we take responsibility for the said trigger, we create a deeper understanding of our own hurt and pain.  That awareness is what helps lead us...

Have you ever been sidelined from participating in something you love?  Or something you are REALLY good at?  Eventually, on a long enough time scale, we all will face that adversity.  When it happens, we often find ourselves in the think of an identity crisis.  In this episode, we talked with RTS founder, Mike Tuchscherer about how he managed his time away from a sport he love...

Senseless acts of violence have become an unfortunate part of our lives.  They come in many different forms and are so impactful to anyone who is involved in them.  So impactful in fact that it can create generational wounds that carry on for many years beyond the event.  The lasting impact and effects of such events can lead to more pain, hurt and suffering than many of us can comprehend.  How ca...

What a great conversation to be able to record and share with people.  My friend Newton Cheng is a high-level leader who oversees a mental health program for the employees of one of the most influential technology companies on the planet.  We talk a lot about how he employees the program, asks the tough questions that get ignored, and share a lot about his personal life and mental well-b...

So many people are stifled by the fear of failure.  This results in being frozen and lacking action to move forward in life.  Complacency and stagnation follow.  It doesn't have to be this way though.  That fear is something that can be dismantled and broken down.  When we do that, we create the power and confidence within ourselves to take that action.  To take that...

Beth Syverson has embarked on her healing journey to be better able to support her struggling son.  As she discovered her son was struggling with substance abuse issues and suicide ideations, she knew she needed to find a way to support him.  In that, she discovered that the best way to support him was to work on her own mental health and well-being.  In this episode, Beth shares ab...

As the laws of physics state, an object in motion stays in motion.  In other words, there is no such thing as a steady state.  We are either going to be actively contracting or expanding.  If you don't know what you are doing, you are likely contracting.  Which is going to limit your life experiences.  In this episode, I talk about a few ideas and concepts that will help y...

In this episode, my dear friend, John Alan Reese, shares with me what it has been like to lose his son to a drug overdose.  It's never easy for a parent to outlive one of their kids.  Most parents view that as one of the worst experiences possible.  That can be even harder to cope with when that kid is taken at a younger age.  John shares with us how he manages to find his path...

In the last episode, I was fortunate to connect with my mother in a way I had not ever done.  It was incredibly powerful for me to learn about events that caused pain and hurt in my mom's soul.  That's something that has allowed me to connect and heal in deeper ways that I had not yet experienced.  Our mothers are the first woman we will love.  Healing those mother wounds are f...

Get your tissues ready as we have my mom, Debbie Leppala on the show to talk about how she's experienced this podcast and get into some of the hardships that she has faced in her lifetime.  It was incredibly powerful to sit down with my mom and have a vulnerable and honest conversation.  She shared with me a few things I was unaware that she had experienced and I can see how those things...

In the last episode, I sat down with my sister, Jessica Leppala, to talk about the journey that led her down a path of substance abuse and then on to become an alcohol and drug counselor.  It was an incredibly emotional episode for both of us and we both walked away from that experience connected in ways that we had not ever felt.  It was so incredibly healing for both of us to have that...

I hope you are ready for an emotional episode here!  Today, host Ross Leppala, has his sister, Jessica Leppala, on the show to talk about some of her life stories.  For many years Jessica struggle with substance abuse that nearly took her life.  Now after nearly a decade of sobriety, she has turned her experiences into a gift to help others overcome their battles with addictions. &n...

In this episode, your host, Ross Leppala, dives in on some conversation around what emotional invalidation can look like.  Particularly as a young kid who is already struggling with understanding their emotions.  I specifically talk about a few ways that I experienced as a kid growing up and how that showed up later on in my life where I can often struggle to connect with my emotions. &n...

All too often in our culture, we learn to cope with our life's struggle by methods of suppression.  That suppression can grow as we get older and develop into life-impacting addictions.  In this episode your host, Ross Leppala, has a special guest, Ashely Will, join him to share her story and road to recovery.  Ashely gets vulnerable about her past life where she struggles to cope w...

There is a lot of misunderstanding around the idea of vulnerability.  Many people think it is a weakness, but in reality, it takes more strength to be vulnerable.  It's "easy" to close down and hide your truth, but that also comes at a great cost.  Your inner peace!  Prior to recording the last episode with my friend Matthew Bivens, we were chatting about vulnerable conversatio...

Your host, Ross Leppala, sits down with special guest, transformational specialist Matthew Bivens.  In this episode, we talk about how Matthew has transformed his life from being driven by fear to leaning in and choosing love.  Matthew works with people all over the place to help them live an abundant, loving, life after finding his own way to having it all.   The Belonging Blueprin...

What an incredible year it has been for the Project UnchainED podcast.  It has been an incredible journey and your host, Ross Leppala, has some special giveaways here to celebrate this occasion.  He also flips the script a bit on this episode and does things a bit differently.  Check it out and find out how you can enter the cash prize giveaway! The Belonging Blueprint Connect with...

More often than not, our limits are created by our thoughts.  Things that we believe to be true, end up limiting our experiences in life.  That is a huge part of why Project Unchained is here in the first place!  We want to find those limiting beliefs and break free from them.  Breaking free from those figurative chains that keep us down in life.  Join me as we find and ex...