The Kevin Miller Podcast

Following is a story of…drive. It’s one of those stories of someone who turned their life around. But the story is not about them. It’s about you. My intent is that it gives you ideas, inspiration, and alters your perception to help you consider your own capacity. Not a capacity to do more. Most all of us need to do less. But do more of what matters. My guest is world-record mountain climber, entr...

Michael Jr. is a world class comedian who is not out to just get laughs. He is out to “give people the opportunity to laugh” and help set the stage for meaningful, purposeful content of the heart and soul. His personal mission is to “comedically inspire people to walk in their purpose.” He is accomplishing this in massive numbers while on stage with The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central,...

We are literally going to stroll through your life, right here and now. I’m going to guide you from Dr Jordan Grumet’s new book, The Purpose Code: How To Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, And Leave A Lasting Legacy. You won’t likely find your purpose and what lights you up from this episode, maybe you will, but I’ll set you on the path. I’m going to pull some key points right out of his book for...

Let me read that again, “What You Do Is Secondary To Who You Be While Doing It.” Think about the ramifications of this. It is entirely countercultural. Entirely. We glorify heroes and their victories, no matter the cost. Make a billion dollars? Win the Superbowl? Be famous? We glorify you and not only do we not seem to care, but we expect a lot of collateral damage. If you end your life, we’ll mem...

In the last episode with Dr Jordan Grumet he differentiated small-p purpose from big-P purpose. And put most of the emphasis on small-p purpose, which is the daily activities that truly light you up. This is where I want to focus right now. What lights you up? What gives you energy? What inspires you? But don’t jump to your appetites. I imagine like you, I have a lot of things that are a pleasure...

Purpose is one of the most overused topics in the self-improvement world. Everyone is talking about it. But as we look at the culture, we see more apathy and depression then ever. It’s similar to all the talk on being healthy and happy and we are just getting sicker and sadder. Why? With purpose, why are we constantly talking about it but not finding and experiencing it? I have with me, Jordan Gru...

Now it’s time to get literal and candid. Patrick Kilcarr again is Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Personal Development. He was my guest four episodes ago where we talked at a higher level about emotional intelligence. In this episode, we get granular. Patrick is a master trainer in emotional intelligence and certifies professionals to use the EQ-i2.0, rated as the most valid and rel...

As we’ve been discussing the power and necessity of emotional intelligence, and I’ve posited the increasing value of it in relation to artificial intelligence, let's look at what human intelligence really is. I’ve never met anyone who did not want to think of themselves as intelligent. I find the label often attached to people who seem to have a wealth of knowledge they can deftly communicate. But...

As we continue to discuss emotional intelligence and it being the root of human connection, I want to revisit the most important human connection that I was ignorant of, most of my life. In 2018 when I was host of The Ziglar Show, I had Robin Sharma for the first time. I used to do a segment called Habits & Values where I asked guests about their personal habits in the key areas of life. When I as...

As I continue to research, learn, and strive to grow in emotional intelligence, I’ve wholly moved from looking at it as some touchy-feely concept to perceiving it as what separates humans from…everything else. In the last episode I talked with psychologist, professor, and director of Personal Development at Georgetown University, Patrick Kilcarr. In our discussion he talked much about emotional in...

I spent a lifetime pursuing external performance. What we achieve athletically, entrepreneurially and even altruistically. I upheld the skill and ability of social awareness and reading and influencing people. I put a high value on controlling oneself. What I missed was knowing myself and understanding emotions. If I could go back, I’d trade in so much…maybe everything, for emotional intelligence....

We all have areas where we are lacking. Weaknesses. I spent a long time trying to deny mine, and it limited my success. Many people recognize their lack, and let them limit their success. Then there are those who understand and accept where they are lacking, and adjust accordingly to not let themselves be limited by it. Case in point, Erik Weihenmayer. Erik is blind. Completely. He lacks the abili...

I’m wrapping up this series on core values in the categories of work and money. These are areas where I find we are very, very often…unclear. We think we work to make money and we make money so we can get the stuff we need. Do the things we want. And we are blind to any core values. And when we are blind, we find ourselves dissatisfied and frustrated with the poor results we achieve. So, let’s do...

Continuing on the topic of core values, let's now look at our health and wellness, and our mental health. Our mental state is what I like to focus on. My muse here is again, Robert Glazer, host of the Elevate podcast, who in our conversation two episodes ago, walked us through how he came to his core values and how the understanding and clarity directed his life to…what he wanted his life to be. A...

As we talked about core values in the last episode with Robert Glazer, host of the Elevate podcast, I am taking the opportunity for all of us to consider our core values in the key areas of life. This is ultimately what I do in my book, What Drives You. The first two I’ll address in this episode are spirituality and relationships. I find a lot of people simply stating, “Yes, I value spirituality i...

My experience is most everyone thinks they know what their core values are, and in truth, very, very few do. And due to this we find ourselves doing things that are not fulfilling to us, and not engaged with what does fulfill us. Amidst that we grow…frustrated. Even to bitterness. Or fairly apathetic and just going through the grind. So I’ve brought someone on to the show to hear his story, of goi...

Everyone lives in their own story. They are a character in their story. If you want to offer them something, a product, a service, a message, your influence, a helping hand…whatever, you want to enter their story. The master of this is Donald Miller. I first met Don through his spiritually based memoirs. Don was a writer. An artist. Over time he sold zillions of books to people like me and along t...

I saw a post that said this, “Instead of finishing the year strong, why don’t we finish the year soft? Why don’t we finish the year restful and grateful for making it through yet another crazy cycle of earth?” It really stuck with me as I pondered the days ahead, through Christmas and the New Year. I thought about what would bless…myself. And then my family and friends. The holidays are happening...

Two episodes ago I had Talia Fox on the show. The turning point in her difficult life was realizing she had to let go of her identity, meaning, quit identifying as the girl who was a victim and had little opportunity or possibility. She did this. And from it she said, “I became obsessed with human and social behavior and how our identities shape our choices and our lives.” I think most of us never...

I’ve been intrigued by the sudden superhero concept for a long time. Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider and turns into spiderman. Bruce Banner gets exposed to radiation and turns into the Hulk. Some other guy or girl falls into a chemical vat and develops super powers. None of them chose those things to happen. But in our daily lives, seldom do specific and acute things happen to us like that. I...

I have a powerful story of drive for you. One that starts with tears and today is an impressive lists of stats. Let’s start with the impressive list. Talia Fox is a leadership strategist. She holds an M.Ed. in counseling psychology from Howard University and she is a Harvard University Fellow. With her extensive background in psychology and education she assists leaders in developing successful st...

This is a story of drive. How a guy found his and how he helps others find theirs. Tom Bilyeu describes himself as a scared kid who worked his way out of his fear and ultimately co-founded Quest Nutrition. You’ve likely seen or bought Quest bars from the grocery store wherever you live. In 2017 he started Impact Theory, a media company focused on human potential to address as Tom says, the pandemi...

I recently watched a little of a movie called “Above The Shadows” where after the death of her mother, a girl fades away until nobody notices her and she is in essence, invisible. But she still exists. Still goes about life. As we talk about changing ourselves and who and how we want to be, I intrigue myself with the exercise of considering how you would be if there were not “who.” You were anonym...

As we look at personal change, I feel it’s an important distinction to consider whether we want to change who we are, or how we are. I think we often feel ok about who we are at heart. We know we are striving to do good and we mean well and we aren’t looking to become some totally different person. However, we also feel dissatisfied with some of the results we are getting and wonder what actions a...

In my previous episode with Karden Rabin, co-author of The Secret Language of The Body, he told the story of adopting the persona of an a-hole and making fun of others for a laugh, until he was 19 years old. And then, he changed his entire persona. Chances are though, you don’t view yourself as being a jerk. You’re ok with yourself overall, but you’d like better results from your life. You’d like...