Windmills: Mastering Midlife

In this special podcast episode in honor of America's semi-quincentennial, guest Matt Nagel shares a poetry unit on America that he taught while a high school English teacher. Starting with Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," then Langston Hughes' "I, Too," this poetry unit traces the development and voices of America as represented in poems by Allen Ginsberg, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Ed Bo...

This episode is part of a conversation I had with a dear friend from our graduate school days in Nashville, Tennessee. Although our time at Vanderbilt only overlapped for about two years, we developed a friendship that we still cherish nearly a quarter of a century after the time Matt and his family moved. We begin briefly discussing Matt's current career change, but the focus of this episode is o...

This episode of Windmills explores the nature of motivation through personal stories of academic, professional, and athletic challenges. I reflect on how meaningful goals, accountability, and clear plans have shaped my successes, from learning Spanish in Chile to earning a PhD and completing Ironman triathlons. I contrast vague dreams with actionable goals, emphasizing that motivation often fades...

In this episode, Rob and I discuss common medical complaints and the importance of getting things looked at and taken care of before they become serious. (If you're over 45 and haven't had a colonoscopy, you're already past due!) Aligning with my conversation with Dr. Craig Witt, Dr. Dickson and I also discuss the importance of exercise as the primary key to improving and extending your health spa...

In this episode, I interview Dr. Rob Dickson, who shares his professional journey from graduating from college with a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics to building furniture and having a cabinetmaking business, to starting medical school at age 35 with a wife and five young children. He is now a successful family medicine practitioner and proud "Papa" to two beautiful grandchildren.

This episode is Part 2 of my conversation with Craig Witt, a Ph. D. candidate in Kinesiology at the University of North Alabama. In this episode, Craig shares specific exercise information and we talk about some of the myths and issues that people have surrounding fitness, wellness, and just getting started exercising. 

Against the backdrop story of witnessing a neighbor fail to comply with a basic social obligation, I discuss responsibility and ownership of the different situations we face (messes we make) in life.

This episode is the first of a two-part series. This is the first half of my interview with Craig Witt, a PhD candidate in Kinesiology at the University of North Alabama. In this interview, Craig shares his unexpected personal journey into Act 2 of his professional life after a medical incident effectively drew the curtain on a successful Act I.

An introduction to the host, Scott Infanger, and an explanation of why I chose the title "Windmills: Mastering Midlife."  Join me as I examine the challenges and opportunities we face in midlife. How do you balance all of the responsibilities and demands on your time? Who are you as you look at life as a parent, grandparent, child, professional, retiree, hobbyist, community member and/or leader? H...