Strong By Design Podcast

Send us a text “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”  Becoming the best in the world at something, being truly excellent at it takes discipline and an uncompromising way of doing things.   For Horst Schulze, the former president and co-founder of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, his message for over 5 decades to all businesses and business leaders is clear and uncomplicated.   The idea of treating others with kindness, greeting them with a smile, maintaining eye contact and saying ‘My Pleasure’ is not all that complicated but it is the cornerstone of the greatest hotel company in the world.  Horst created a culture of servant leadership that made his 55 Ritz Carlton hotels the very best in the world at serving their guests. Find out in this incredible conversation what it takes to overcome mediocrity with excellence.    “If I’m doing excellent in what I’m doing, even if I wash dishes, I can still define myself as a fine gentleman. It’s not up to anybody else. It’s only me. It’s not my job, name of job, the society, the country, the neighborhood. It is nothing but me who defines himself.” –Horst Schulze    Time Stamps   00:58 – Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast  04:05 – Meet today’s special guest, Horst Schulze, co-founder and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company  09:01 – Horst recounts his start in the hotel industry at the age of 14  12:30 – What is excellence and what does it mean to be a person of excellence?  20:50 – Discover how Horst navigated through the early part of his career, and what led him to the Ritz-Carlton  Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a textAs iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. -Proverbs 27:17 Our guest today on Strong By Design is Aaron Walker, the founder and visionary for the Iron Sharpens Iron Mastermind group. A group dedicated to helping people live a life of success and significance. If we are honest with ourselves and truly on a journey of self-improvement, to get better every day personally and professionally and to remain motivated to put in the work, one thing is for certain… We need to lean on people we trust to keep us on the narrow path. This is not necessarily about the bank account, the possessions and the celebrity that comes with most success. This has more to do with finding true fulfillment, purpose, and identity in yourself along the way. When you are surrounded by people who know you deeply and you lean into their wisdom, truth, and strength, you unleash your greatest superpowers.   “I came home with a pocket full of money to a house full of strangers... I don’t want that happening to other business people, and I want to go on a quest to help people understand that you can have great success and significance simultaneously.” -- Aaron Walker   Time Stamps 00:00 – Redefining success: Identifying what matters most to you 01:06 – Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast 03:48 – Meet today’s special guest, Aaron Walker of ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ mastermind group 05:54 – Aaron shares how he got into the business industry, and a tragic accident that changed his life 13:35 – Discover how his mastermind group got started 17:57 – What is a mastermind group, and what makes ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ different? 25:14 – The power of accountability 35:30 – Are you a giver or a taker? 43:55 – The importance of community groups and why it matters 50:46 – Level up: Aaron on why you should invest in yourself 54:04 – Aaron shares one of his client’s powerful testimonies 1:02:36 – Where you can go to learn more about ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’     Resources: ViewFromtheTop.com   Connect w/ Aaron: Instagram Facebook YouTube   Connect w/ CriticalBench:  Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text  In the conclusion to living virtually or virtuously…  Jared and Chris talk about setting healthy boundaries with social platforms and why limiting or restricting our children’s time on social media is critical to their future.  And how can we merge our face-to-face connections with our screen time connections for the best possible outcome? Where must the foundation be laid?  Lastly, how does all this lead to living a life strong by design? Find out in today’s Part 2 episode on SBD.    “Different people and different temperaments are going to need to be friends with more or less people… But it doesn’t matter who you are, you need that interaction with other human beings. You were designed for that interaction and if you don’t have it, it’s going to cause us." – Jared Haley      Time Stamps   00:32 – Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast  00:55 – The importance of setting healthy boundaries with the virtual world  08:42 – Jared and Chris on why should we keep children off social media  13:17 – Should kids have smartphones?  17:20 – The power of human connection: Virtually vs. physically  20:43 – Why is connecting with others important?  31:35 – The role of faith and decisiveness in living a virtuous life  Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text  Reality or fantasy? Non-fiction or fiction? Truth or deception? What head space are you living in these days?  Today’s conversation on SBD is two regular guys, co-hosts Jared and Chris, talking candidly about what it means to live and behave with a high regard for other people, to live morally, ethically, and biblically. To live in the present and proximity of others in a world living separated on technology.  In the last decade, there has been a major shift of people living online and projecting what they want others to “think” is their life through social channels.  What are the long-term consequences of this, we do not yet know.  Ultimately it comes down to what matters most to us: Our relationships and connections to other human beings in a real, physical way -or- basing the quality of our lives on how many followers and likes we are getting.    “There is such thing as too much of a good thing and too much of a bad thing… and it’s finding that healthy balance and healthy line of what are my priorities and how much time am I going to invest in that digital space.” – Jared Haley    Time Stamps   00:00 – The negatives of digital life  00:46 – Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast  06:05 – Virtual vs. virtuous life: What is the difference?  13:09 – Are you losing touch with reality in the digital age?  21:58 – Hosts Jared Haley & Chris Wilson on why social media is all a façade  28:36 – The power of unpretentious living  34:01 – Jared and Chris on dealing with habitual sins in a digital ageStart the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a textWhat good is living longer if you are not living well?  So many people are trudging through life on prescription medications, processed foods and sedentary lifestyles resulting in chronic pain, inflammation, poor energy, and brain fog to name a few of the nasty side effects.  Our special guest today on the Strong By Design podcast show is Dr. Steve Hruby D.C., an integrative health professional who has over two decades of helping people uncover their optimal health.   Dr. Steve has a passion for connecting the dots in our lifestyle and habits (good or bad) to help us unleash our healthiest lives and become super human.    "9 out of 10 leading causes of death in America, the strongest correlation to those 9 things, is inflammation of the body… There are some processes as we age that will cause inflammation, but most inflammation that people are experiencing in their body is simply because of poor lifestyle choices.” -- Dr. Steve Hruby    Time Stamps   00:33 - Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast  04:09 – Meet today’s special guest, Dr. Steve Hruby, a chiropractor, and a certified physiotherapist  12:30 – Proactive vs. reactive healthcare: What is the difference?  17:56 – Dr. Steve on the role of inflammation in your body  25:48 – What are the most common reasons people visit a chiropractor?  32:05 – Dr. Steve recounts how he discovered chiropractic and ultimately became a chiropractor  38:24 – Discover how regenerative, rehabilitative, and preventive medicine come togetherStart the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a textBrant Hansen’s book Unoffendable, is the inspiration for this powerful conversation today on Strong By Design featuring hosts Jared Haley and Mike Westerdal. Utilizing his ability to write engaging and humorous stories, Hansen introduces and develops the ideology of becoming a person who is not easily offended. We believe this book is highly beneficial to our American culture that is hypersensitive and easily offended. As followers of Jesus, he is always asking the question, how would Jesus respond to people in our current culture, and how does that reflect on the way we live our daily lives? We want to stand for justice. We believe if we get angry enough about a particular topic then we can invoke that change. However, in the process we often dismiss the people that Jesus loves. We would highly recommend this to anyone as a book that can help you wrestle through issues with anger and forgiveness of others. It is both a thought provoking and challenging book as we journey to discover how to stand for truth in a way that honors Jesus and the Kingdom He is building around us.   "Someone could say something rude to you, yet you could still choose your feelings or how you respond or react to it because it’s not about you a lot of times… it’s something they’re going through that has nothing to do with you.” -- Mike Westerdal   Time Stamps 00:54 - Welcome to the 'Strong By Design' podcast 01:48 – Are YOU easily offended? 10:28 - Healthy ways to respond when you've been offended 15:44 – Becoming unoffendable: Letting go of anger 24:24 - The power of identifying and managing your emotions 29:51 - Are you reacting or responding? 34:07 – Why having a healthy outlet to channel your stress is important 35:44 – The importance of extending grace to others     Resources: Unoffendable – Brant Hansen   Connect w/ CriticalBench:  Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text  Most of us take for granted how many steps we take in a day. How about in a month, a year or even a lifetime…  For a moderately active adult, that’s 3,650,000 steps in a year or 36.5 million steps in a decade!  Our amazing feet are what connect us to the earth and carry the full weight of our body every day but unfortunately, many of us mistreat our “dogs” without realizing it.  Founder and CEO of Xero Shoes, Steven Sashen, is our guest today on Strong By Design. When it comes to feet, few people are more passionate or knowledgeable than Steven.   After a 30-year hiatus from sprinting, Steven became fascinated with running in bare feet and eventually this love of running barefoot sparked his company Feel the World and then Xero Shoes.   By the way, if you’re in Boulder, CO, he is well known for living life shoeless.    “This is about strengthening your foundation. This is about having strong, flexible, supple, responsive, healthy, happy feet. This is about strength… strength starts with the feet.” - Steven Sashen    Time Stamps   00:35 – Welcome to the ‘Strong by Design’ podcast  03:19 – Get to know today’s special guest, Steven Sashen, co-founder and CEO of Xero Shoes  06:22 – Foot fetish: What is it and why do people have it?  09:55 – The importance of having strong feet  11:58 – Use it or lose it: Why we need to FREE our feet from ‘foot coffins’  17:37 – The powerStart the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text  The message we are so used to hearing is, “Don’t make this mistake like I did…” or “Listen to me because I messed up big time…” and so on.  But what about the person who stood their ground (even from an early age in school) and can speak from experience about making good decisions and the outcomes of those good decisions?  That regardless of the popularity or consequences tied to them… he was going to do the unpopular thing and to go against his peers.  Our guest today, Joel Penton, is an ordinary man with an extraordinary message that has been shared with over half a million young people all over the country. You don’t need to fit in to stand out. You just need to stand your ground.  And Joel continues to spread his message through a new passion with Lifewise Academy.    “If you’re willing to work hard, willing to never miss a work out, and if you’re willing to do more than everyone else, then you could compete and you could excel.” - Joel Penton    Time Stamps   01:17 – Welcome to the ‘Strong by Design’ podcast  3:17 – Get to know today’s special guest, Joel Penton, a renowned youth motivational speaker  07:47 – Joel on what it feels like to give a speech to a large crowd and how he’s teaching the Bible in schools  15:41 – Joel on staying on the narrow path to God  21:03 – Joel reveals the biggest influence on his career  28:09 – Why he turns down the NFL dream to pursue public speakingStart the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text When you think of a pride of lions, what comes to mind?  The lionesses do everything, right!? They do most of the hunting and caring for the cubs. So, what about the lions?  Even though it appears that the male lion is lazy, eats much of the food and does not earn his keep, something else is going on entirely. He is patrolling, marking, and guarding his pride. He is the KING and will defend, protect, and provide for his family.   He will roar and claim his territory. This is what a muscular gentleman is all about.  A provider, protector and someone who will restore order and lead his family. It is not about control, it is more about showing up, stepping up, taking action and leading the way for everyone else to be at their very best. It’s living life strong by design!  Our guest today on SBD, Ruston Webb, is a muscular gentleman and he shares his insights and mission to help other men step into their greatness.    “If you change your language, you will change your life… I don’t think most people are aware of the thoughts we just flood our brain with on a regular basis.” - Ruston Webb    Time Stamps   01:02 –Welcome to the ‘Strong by Design’ podcast  03:44 – Get to know today’s special guest, Ruston Webb  07:46 – Ruston recounts his abusive childhood, and how it fueled his strength and personal training  11:26 – Are you a REAL man?  14:40 – The power of self-talk: Why it matters how you talk to yourself  1Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com

Send us a text  Continuing the conversation with our guest today on SBD, Troy Ericson, hosted by Mike Westerdal.  Find out in Part 2 how much value Troy puts on focus and its impact on business success. Troy and Mike also discuss why thinking big and surrounding yourself with BIG thinkers is the key to growth in any industry.  Troy Ericson Is a Direct Response Copywriter & Email Deliverability Expert whose persuasion has generated over $50MM since 2019.     “Focus is like the only way you’re going to grow… You have to be good at being honest with yourself and catching yourself when you get off track.” - Troy Ericson    Time Stamps   00:00 – Welcome to the ‘Strong by Design’ podcast  00:58 – Focus: Why is it the key to business success  12:34 – The power of taking a day off from work  19:35 – Discover how to network the right way  23:15 – Troy on what would he do if he’s not an email marketer  24:16 – The importance of surrounding yourself with successful and like-minded people  27:30 – The art of being vulnerable  34:19 – The power of positive perspective  36:29 – Where you can go to connect with Troy Ericson    Start the New Year with more Focus, Clarity & Mental Energy!Grab some Neuro-Thrive at a Discount - Use Code: SBD2026 🧠 Your Brain will Love you 💙Support the showConnect w/ CriticalBench: Youtube Facebook Instagram CriticalBench.com StrongByDesignPodcast.com