Run Your Life Show With Andy Vasily

Send us a textIn this episode, I interview Fritzi Horstman, the founder and executive director of the Compassion Prison Project. In 2017, Fritzi won a Grammy Award working alongside Dr. Dre in The Defiant One, a 4-part documentary series. She has worked with many of the top names in the industry such as Richard Dreyfuss, Christian Slater, Jewel, Jennifer Lopez and many more, but it is not her accomplishments in the movie industry that now define Fritzi, but more so the work she is doing with the Compassion Prison Project. At the very core of her being, Fritzi’s Compassion Prison Project is about bringing humanity and compassion to incarcerated men and women. She is currently filming a documentary about the work that she and her team are doing in maximum security prisons in the United States and their commitment to help inmates understand that their true nature is not violent and hateful but instead magnificent and magical. Her new mission in life is to help incarcerated men and women heal and reform themselves in ways that help them re-enter society and contribute back to the communities that they live in proactive ways. Her hope is to provide them with the tools and skills to live meaningful lives that give them a sense of purpose, hope, connection and love. This conversation dives very deeply into the impact of childhood trauma, the importance of compassion for others and compassion for self, the power of belonging and connection, and the need to look more closely at our own lives and the work we need to do to live with more fulfillment and meaning. Fritzi hopes that listeners of this podcast, at minimum, better understand the devastating impact that childhood trauma can have and to understand what the ACE Test is (Adverse Childhood Experiences Test). It is her hope that everybody takes this test to better understand any childhood trauma that they may have experienced and what can be done about it. The ACE Test can be found at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. See the powerful Step Inside the Circle videoFritzi's BioFritzi Horstman is the Founder and Executive Director of CPP.  She is a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on “The Defiant Ones”, has been a producer and post-producer on dozens of television projects and documentaries and has directed several films. She believes it is urgent to bring humanity and compassion to those living behind bars and these acts will help transform our society.  She has a Bachelor's Degree from Vassar College.Connect With FritziWebsite: https://compassionprisonproject.org/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fritzi5Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fritzi.horstman and https://www.facebook.com/compassionprisonprojectPlease consider a donation to Fritzi's Compassion Prison Project. She currently has a fund raising initiative to be able to continue doing the amazing work that she and her team are doing. Special thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textJames Greenshields, the founder of the Resilient Leaders Foundation based in Australia, joins me on my podcast to share his inspiring story. James was a commanding officer in the Australian military who led a combat team of over 100 soldiers into a war zone 15 years ago. Having experienced firsthand the devastating impact that war can have, James developed PTSD and major depression that almost cost him his life. However, he was able to do the deep internal work needed to not only work his way through the recovery process, but to become a beacon of hope for others suffering from mental illness and PTSD. As a result, James and his wife, Kirsty, created the Resilient Leaders Foundation and have devoted themselves to building an organisation that provides people with the skills, resources and structures to lead and collaborate in order to thrive and flourish. James' BioJames is a man with a huge heart and a vision to match, and one of his favourite sayings is “we haven’t hit the causal issue yet …” His experience with Post Traumatic Stress, after serving in Iraq, set him on a path to learn all he could about healing the ‘causal issues’. The success of his healing journey is evident, and he describes himself as a man who lives with post-traumatic growth! As the Lead Facilitator for Men’s Wellbeing at Resilient Leaders Foundation, James is intensely passionate about assisting others reach their highest potential, and his mentoring and teaching programs are transformational, to say the least.James’ ability to ask the hard questions, his extensive leadership experience in challenging environments, and his affable manner mean organisations love his workshops.James is an inspiring and engaging public speaker, with a reputation to move an audience to tears within the first few minutes of a presentation. He will always encourage listeners to lead from the heart by oozing this quality himself.Connect With JamesWebsite: https://www.resilientleadersfoundation.org/mission/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResilientLeadersFoundation/Special thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textDistance learning is tricky to navigate for teachers, but with careful planning that focuses on personalized learning, students can still thrive as they are able to find their own entry points to learning as artists. In this episode, Andrew Shuttleworth, a visual arts teacher from The KAUST School in Saudi Arabia, shares how he is striving to engage his students in a way that not only allows them to have voice and choice, but to work at a pace that best suits them as learners and how they want to create art.If you are a visual arts teacher or a curriculum coordinator and want to see Andrew's very personalized approach to distance learning, have a listen to this episode. As well, please share the episode with any art teachers who may be looking for ways to deliver their visual arts lessons in a distance learning format. Special mention in this episode to Linda Kent who is Andrew's colleague. Both Linda and Andrew are teaching grade 3 and have worked equally hard on creating rich and meaningful art lessons through distance learning. Andrew and Linda have collaborated in-depth through the process of putting together lessons for online learning in art. As well, Wayne Bartelink who is teaching art at the grade 1 level. Bio - Andrew ShutleworthAndrew Shuttleworth is a visual arts educator currently based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He’s been teaching in different contexts for 13 years at schools in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and now the Middle East. Andrew is passionate about the role the Arts can have in a well-balanced, transdisciplinary education. He is an advocate for choice-based Art pedagogy and strives to run his classroom as a TAB (Teaching Artistic Behaviour) studio. Previous professional experiences include teaching as a grade four and five teacher, tech integration specialist, and integrated arts teacher.Originally from the UK, Andrew grew up in Canada so for him, like many of his students, the concept of ‘home’ is abstract. Outside of his work, Andrew enjoys pottery, photography, painting, drawing, graphic arts, football (soccer) and music. He is also a candidate for a Masters of Art Education through the Art of Education University.Connect With AndrewInstagram: @adshuttleworthTwitter: @mr_s_artLinks to Andrew's work can be accessed at:Distance Learning PlansDistance Learning VideosSpecial thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Clare Dallat, an expert in risk and crisis management, shares her deep insight into how schools and other organizations can navigate their way through the current COVID-19 public health crisis. Clare has a PhD in Engineering Psychology and an MSc. in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management and is the Director of Risk Resolve, an Australian-based consultancy organization. Using a systematic approach, Clare and her team have helped over 100 schools and organization from across Australia and internationally since 2011. It was a pleasure to have Clare on the 'In Times of Uncertainty' podcast series. Clare's Bio:Dr Clare Dallat is the Director of Risk Resolve; an Australian-based consultancy that has provided proactive and reactive risk and crisis management services for over 100 schools and organisations across Australia and internationally, since 2011. Clare has a PhD in Engineering Psychology and an MSc. in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management. Although the majority of her work is in supporting schools in the risk and crisis management of offsite programs (Outdoor Education programs, overseas trips, school tours etc), more recently, Clare has been applying these methods to in-school contexts. She is an experienced outdoor educator and has twenty five years of practice working in all aspects of the led-outdoor activity domain across the world. She is originally from Northern Ireland and has called Wales, the US and Canada home prior to moving to Australia some 20 years ago. Clare is an Accreditation Council member for the Association for Experiential Education and is an adjunct researcher with the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems at The University of the Sunshine Coast. In 2018,  she became the first person outside of North America to win the prestigious Reb Gregg Award for exceptional leadership, innovation and contribution to international wilderness risk management. Her recent research specifically into risk assessment, and the development of the Networked Hazard Analysis and Risk Management System (Net-HARMS; Dallat et al., 2018) has led to many organisations modifying their practices relating to the identification and management of safety risks. Net-HARMS is now being applied by many researchers and organisations worldwide, including Qantas Engineering and The Outdoor Education Group, Australia. Clare is involved in a current project, along with colleagues from the UAE and the UK, to develop and implement adventure tourism safety standards for the emirate of Fujairah, UAE. Connect With Clare: Twitter: @claredallatInstagram: @theoutdooreducationgroupWebsite: Www.oeg.edu.auSpecial thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this new podcast series, I plan to do short interviews with educational leaders from around the world to discuss with them how the current COVID-19 crisis has impacted them both personally and professionally. We will explore ways that they are learning to cope with the adversity and hardship, what is keeping them inspired, and what they are learning about themselves. It brings me great pleasure to have Kath Murdoch on the show to share her learning. Hope you have a listen.About KathKath Murdoch is an experienced teacher, author, university lecturer and popular consultant who has worked for many years in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, America and Europe. She is widely respected for her work in the field of inquiry based learning and integrative curriculum in which she has taught, researched and published for well over 20 years.Kath began her professional life as a classroom teacher in Melbourne. Her fascination in how students’ constructed their understandings - and her interest in the way questions and big ideas could drive curriculum soon lead to a passion for integrative and inquiry based methodologies. This passion has become a career long focus for teaching, research and writing and the methodologies in which Kath specialises are now central to curriculum frameworks in many parts of the world – including the popular International Baccalaureate, PYP program. Critical to Kath’s success is her continued involvement in classroom teaching. Whether it is to demonstrate techniques, coach teachers or build her own repertoire of practices, Kath is committed to regular and ongoing work with students. Her classroom work and research feeds a dynamic and ever-evolving expertise in the area of integrative and inquiry-based learning. Kath’s professional development offerings are diverse. They range from intensive partnerships with schools to develop inquiry programs and practices over several years through to one-day workshops for beginning or experienced inquiry teachers. Whether in her home town of Melbourne or on the other side of the world, working with a team or speaking to a packed auditorium Kath’s style is refreshingly practical, inclusive and always connected to the real world of teaching.Connect With Kath:Website: www.kathmurdoch.com.auTwitter: @kjinquiryInstagram: @kjinquirySpecial thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this new podcast series, I plan to do short interviews with educational leaders from around the world to discuss with them how the current COVID-19 crisis has impacted them both personally and professionally. We will explore ways that they are learning to cope with the adversity and hardship, what is keeping them inspired, and what they are learning about themselves. It brings me great pleasure to have Michelle Remington on the show to share her learning. Hope you have a listen. About Michelle: Dr. Michelle Remington began her career teaching internationally in 1996 as a grade 6 classroom teacher on the island of Saipan. In 1998 she and her husband Jesse, also an international teacher, moved to Venezuela where they spent the next eight years. During this time Michelle taught high school English, earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, and later moved into administration. In 2006 Michelle, Jesse and their two young children made the move from Venezuela to the UAE where they lived until June 2019. Michelle worked as an administrator both at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi and the American School of Dubai.Michelle is joined at The KAUST School by her husband and three children who are all enrolled in the KAUST School. Michelle enjoys traveling, reading, and participating in almost all sports including volleyball, tennis, basketball, pilates, and yoga. The family home is in Bigfork, Montana in the United States where they enjoy camping, waterskiing, kayaking, and hiking each summer.  Special thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this new podcast series, I plan to do short interviews with educational leaders from around the world to discuss with them how the current COVID-19 crisis has impacted them both personally and professionally. We will explore ways that they are learning to cope with the adversity and hardship, what is keeping them inspired, and what they are learning about themselves. It brings me great pleasure to have Anne van Dam on the show to share her learning. Hope you have a listen.About Anne:Anne van Dam is an international educator who has worked in schools in the Netherlands,China, Singapore and Switzerland in a variety of roles; as a teacher, PYP coordinator,assistant principal and school Director. As an independent consultant she has travelled theglobe to work with schools, facilitate workshops and present at conferences. Anne isexperienced with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), is a workshop leader and developer and most recently has worked with the PYP development office in the Hague as a consultant on the enhanced PYP.Connect with Anne:Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnevanDam1966Blog: https://unpackingourpedagogy.blogspot.com/Special thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music. https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, Neila and Andy share their recent learning related to mindfulness and the impact it can have on easing stress during difficult times. In particular how living more mindfully can help to better cope with the stress, anxiety and massive disruption caused by the current COVID-19 crisis that has inflicted itself on the world. About Andy and NeilaNeila Steele and Andy Vasily are international educators who have worked at fully authorized IB schools in 5 different countries over the past 18 years (Japan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China and Saudi Arabia). The both currently work at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Andy is a pedagogical coordinator, and educational consultant, workshop leader, and presenter. Neila is a former registered nurse turned elementary educator and presents and leads multiple workshops in the area of mindfulness around the world. Both Andy and Neila  have devoted themselves to sharing the powerful effects that mindfulness has on promoting greater mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.Neila SteeleTwitter: @neilasteeleWebsite: www.mindfulandpresent.comAndy VasilyTwitter: @andyvasilyWebsite: www.pyppewithandy.comSpecial thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music. https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textThe episode you are about to listen to is with Othman Almulla, who is the first tour golfer from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was an honor and a joy to sit down with Othman to talk about his very unique journey and to learn more about him as a person and as a professional athlete. Othman exemplifies what it means to be a risk-taker and to have the guts and determination to follow his dreams. Othman is the very first tour pro to represent his home country of Saudi Arabia and is a genuine ambassador of the game of golf. Othman grew up playing multiple sports but focused mostly on soccer. Having had great success as a junior soccer player, his dream was to represent Saudi Arabia by playing on their national football team. That all changed when Othman picked up a golf club for the very first time at the age of 15 years old. He fell in love with the game and quickly improved his form becoming a scratch player by the age of 18.Othman earned a scholarship playing golf in the US, but returned to Saudi Arabia to focus on competing at the highest amateur level possible in the middle east region. As well, he became a member of the Saudi national golf team during this time. To refine his swing and improve his game, Othman set out on a journey to work with different coaches, but, during this time, he was led further and further away from the natural swing and style of play that helped him to succeed in the first place. As a result, he experienced great struggle and hardship during this time that ultimately led to him to giving up the game. He decided to go back to university degree to complete his degree. However, the fire to compete and to play the game he loved still burned brightly. Although he had hit a roadblock in his game and had given up on his dreams, he was determined to get his swing back and to compete once again and this is when everything changed for Othman. All great achievers feel compelled to investigate their inner mind in order to confront the internal dialogue and emotions that can hold them back from achieving excellence. Othman is the kind of person who is very introspective and driven to better understand himself in order to not only survive as a professional athlete but to thrive. As the famous writer Ernest Hemingway once said, “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, and the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable, they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed, but never give up.”Othman exemplifies what it means to be resilient and to put himself in the arena to do the hard work necessary to follow his dreams and inspire others to do the same. He recently played in European tour golf events in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and has his sights set on getting his European tour card. HIs self-belief and determination come shining through in this episode. It was great to chat with him and I wish him all the best with his journey. Without further adieu, my episode with Othman Almulla. About OthmanOthman Almulla (born July 9, 1986) is the first Saudi professional golfer, and was the first Saudi Arabian and youngest Arab amateur golfer to qualify and play in the Dubai Desert Classic, a major PGA European Tour event that was held February 1–4, 2007 at the Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, U.A.E. After winning the Qatar Open in January 2008, Almulla qualified to play in the PGA European Tour's Commercialbank Qatar Masters January 24–27, 2008 in Doha, Qatar.Almulla also won the 2008 Saudi Aramco Invitational held at Aramco's Rolling Hills Golf Club in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 7, 2008, becoming the first Saudi national ever to win this tournament long dominated by Bahrainis. He also competed in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2020 and the Saudi International Tournament in 2019 and 2020. Both of these events are official

Send us a textIn today’s episode, I feel very fortunate to have interviewed Simon Dyson. Simon, who is from England, was a 17-year veteran of the European Golf Tour having won 6 times in Europe and 3 times in Asia. Simon played in 20 majors over the years, having made the cut in 9 of them. Anyone who knows and understands the game of golf, knows just how hard it is to qualify for a major, let alone make the cut. Simon played in 2 Masters, 4 US Opens, 9 Open Championships, and 5 PGA Championships. His best showing in a major was in the 2009 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club where he finished 9th place. His best world ranking was in 2012 when he was ranked the 26th best golfer in the world. One can only imagine the hard work that a professional athlete has to put into their game in order to develop the physical and mental skills necessary to compete at such an elite level. In this episode, Simon digs deeply into his own journey and the mental framework that he developed and applied that not only helped him achieve great success but also helped him to get through the lower points in his career.Simon’s journey with golf began by his father taking him to a nearby school along with his brother to hit some golf balls at the age of 10. Simon was captivated by the game right away and would go on to become a scratch player by the age of 15 and represent England in the Walker Cup in 1999. Simon began his professional career in Asia and through a very hard work ethic and the support of his coach Pete Cowan, he was able to have a breakthrough year as a rookie, winning three times in his first season. This led him back to Europe and a spot on the European Golf Tour. He would go on to play 17 seasons on the tour. Unfortunately a serious wrist injury sidelined him in the 2015 season and upon returning to the game, Simon had difficulty getting back on track. However, in knowing his career as a tour player was coming to a close, Simon wanted to redefine his purpose and to find new meaning in his life. This led Simon to change career paths and become a coach. Simon now wants to give back to the game by mentoring others and working with them to unlock their potential with the game of golf. He not only works on the physical skills necessary to play the game but also the mental skills required to to bring on peak performance. In this conversation, Simon shares his authentic self, his ups and his downs, and how he has always been able to stay focused in order to fulfill his purpose and the vision he has for the future. Simon also discusses the work he is now doing with his Elite Golf Performance School which is also known as the Simon Dyson Academy.I really enjoyed this discussion and hope you find takeaway value that you can apply in your own life. With that, let’s jump right into this discussion with Simon Dyson. About SimonSimon’s golfing career began to flourish in 1999. He was runner-up in the English Amateur Championship, won the Finnish Amateur title and was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland side which won the Walker Cup at Nairn. He turned professional in September of that year.The Englishman won the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2000, clinching three titles along the way. His breakthrough on the European Tour came in 2006, with victories at the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open and the KLM Open.Tour wins ENJOY JAKARTA HSBC INDONESIA OPEN 2006 KLM OPEN 2011 IRISH OPEN PRESENTED BY DISCOVER IRELAND 2011 ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 KLM OPEN 2009 THE KLM OPEN 2006Simon sustained a serious wrist injury which sidelined him for the 2015 golf season. On returning to the game in 2016, Simon was unable to find his form which led him to start to plan for a new career path which was going to be in coaching. Simon set up his Elite Golf Performance Center in 2019 and hopes