Good Life Project

When a stranger thanks Kyle Carpenter for his service as a U.S. Marine, his automatic reply is, "you are worth it." Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 2009, he served for more than a year in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, when he and his fellow Marines came under attack. In an act of extraordinary sacrifice, Carpenter threw himself on a grenade to save those around him. Regaining consciousness briefly and realizing the extent of his injuries, as he drifted back into unconsciousness, he was sure he was taking his last breath. Thankfully, he was wrong. Kyle woke up 5 weeks later at Walter Reed hospital, where he would learn that large parts of his face, head and right arm had been destroyed and needed to be reconstructed and he'd have a long road to recovery. Still, he was alive and grateful. Now the youngest living recipient of the US military’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor, in today's conversation, Kyle shares his extraordinary journey, his deep sense of service, love of people, family and his fellow Marines, what happened on that fateful day, along with his years-long road to rehabilitation, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually, his reclamation of life and hope, and the legacy of kindness and service he is working to build and his desire to help inspire people to embrace life. Much of this is also documented in his moving memoir, You Are Worth It.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even if you don't know Lisa Fischer's name, you do know her voice. A mesmerizing vocalist, Fischer spent decades touring and recording with The Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, Sting, Tina Turner, Nine Inch Nails, Bruce Springsteen, and many others. That earthshaking voice you hear alongside Jagger on the live version of Gimme Shelter, that's Lisa. She's also recorded and toured on her own, earned a Grammy, been featured in the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, and for the last 5 years, Ms. Lisa Fischer has been thrilling audiences with her own shows worldwide.For Lisa, growing up in a neighborhood where loss was a part of the lexicon, she felt like a perpetual outsider. Music was her refuge. She eventually studied opera, then took a turn into R&B, found herself touring with Luther Vandross and other mega-acts, vaulted onto some of the biggest stages in the world. In the midst of this phenomenal success, Lisa wrestled with her own worthiness, and issues of identity, purpose, power, fame, and everything the stage and music industry can bring. We dive into all of this, along with Lisa's take on life, her lens on wonder and possibility, harmony and elevation, alter-egos and true self, and living with one eye on the finality inherent in every moment.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up in Queens, NY, at the age of 13, David Krumholtz, stumbled into the world of acting when he followed friends to an open audition on a lark, landed the role, then found himself on a Broadway stage alongside Judd Hirsh and Tony Shaloub. That launched a decades-long career in acting and eventually writing in TV and film, with credits that include a five-year run on the TV show Numbers, The Good Wife, Law & Order, HBO’s The Deuce and movies like Addams Family Values, The Santa Clause series, Slums of Beverly Hills, and now in his newest role, he plays a police officer in the deeply-provocative movie, Crown Vic.In today’s conversation, we dive into his journey as an actor, but also quickly zoom the lens out to explore his love of music, culture, family, feelings about the acting life and the role of work in his bigger mix, what makes him come alive, the importance of humility and kindness, his experience with depression and cancer, and then we dive into the gritty and provocative story behind his new film, Crown Vic, and the tough questions it asks viewers to consider, while leaving no pat answers.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if social media and tech could be a powerful ally in the process of recovering from trauma? That's exactly what today's guest, Samira Rajabi (@srajabi), discovered. A scholar of digital and social media, trauma and international relations, Rajabi teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her work on personal and mass-scale societal trauma, and how social media and technology can actually be powerful tools for recovering, meaning-making and finding belonging and safety in the aftermath, is truly groundbreaking.Rajabi's own experience of being othered early in life left her in search of a clear sense of identity and belonging. But it was a diagnosis of a brain tumor, followed by 10 surgeries, that led her to reexamine nearly every part of her life, values, relationships, choices, how she chooses to experience each moment, and reclaim a sense of grace and acceptance with whatever her life brings.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Thomas Sadoski, acting has been in his DNA for as long as he can remember. With a decades-long love of the stage, he's landed award-winning performances on and off Broadway, features in movies like John Wick, The Last Word, and Wild, and TV shows including The Newsroom, Law & Order, Ugly Betty, and Life in Pieces. And, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming CBS series “Tommy” where he’ll be featured alongside Edie Falco.What stood out more than anything in this conversation, though, was Sadoski's big, open heart, honestly, commitment to family, as well as his powerful embrace of service. He currently sits on the board of directors of INARA, an organization that provides life-saving and life-changing medical care to refugee children wounded in war, and serves as an ambassador for War Child USA, which works to provide educational, legal and economic aid to children and communities devastated by conflict all over the world. We dive into all of this in today's moving conversation.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nadya Okamoto is a 21-year-old activist (https://www.instagram.com/nadyaokamoto), Harvard student, Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD (https://www.period.org/), the largest youth-run NGO in women’s health and one of the fastest growing organizations of its kind in the US. She is also co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Gen-Z marketing agency, JUV Consulting. Her debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement (https://amzn.to/2mGr1h0), is a call to end period poverty and stigma through service, education, and advocacy. Okamoto was named to InStyle Magazine’s “The Badass 50: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World." Astonishingly accomplished at a young age, Nadya's driven to make a difference, fueled in no small part by her own deep trauma, as she describes living through homelessness, abuse, sexual assault, racism and exclusion. But, it was her experience, befriending and hearing stories of homeless women in Portland that would lead her to found PERIOD, devote herself to giving voice and aid to the voiceless and launch a movement along the way. And, she's just getting started!-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olympic figure skater, Adam Rippon, won the world over not only with a medal-winning performance at the 2018 games, but also with his disarmingly honest, unfiltered and funny on-camera presence. Rippon is an artist, athlete, and activist who's known for his passionate support for LGBTQ+ rights and the freedom to be oneself. He's been named to the 2018 TIME 100 List of Most Influential People, honored by the Human Rights Campaign, appeared on Ellen, Colbert, and Kimmel, and recently released his memoir Beautiful on the Outside (https://amzn.to/35KuJZ5). Adam's journey, however, has been anything but easy. In today's conversation, we talk about his rough start in skating, what turned it into a passion, and the yearslong struggles that come with trying to be the best in the world. We also explore how he stepped into and decided to share his sexual identity, grappled with perfection, family, expectations and eventually reclaimed control of his life and, in no small part, his happiness.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born into a family of conservationists and trackers in South Africa, Boyd Varty (https://boydvarty.com/) began learning the art of tracking lions at a young age. Not for hunting, but rather as a devotion. And, eventually, as a scout for guides to bring guests into the wilderness in search of seeing animals, most often lions, in a protected environment. Through the process, learning to connect deeply with the land and natural environment, he discovered how to see and follow threads that often took hours, if not days, to lead to a majestic and wild end. But, when it came to his own life, he found himself shut down after trauma, operating on autopilot until a chance encounter with Martha Beck changed everything and opened his eyes to the possibility of using his skills as a tracker to find his way back into a life of meaning, joy and connection. Now, a storyteller, coach, tracker, activist, founder of the Good Work Foundation and the author of The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life (https://amzn.to/2Ov4jnJ), he's on a mission to help others find their own paths to healing, wholeness and wildness or, in his words, to “Track Your Life.”-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liz Phair took the music world by storm (https://www.lizphairofficial.com/) in the early 90s with the release of her iconic album Exile in Guyville. That, along with her self-produced Girly Sound tapes, landed her on the cover of Rolling Stone and launched a decades-long career in music. Now, a multi-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, and composer, mom and mentor to so many, Phair’s new memoir, Horror Stories (https://amzn.to/2MY7ulD), gives a glimpse into so many of the hidden moments that shaped her journey. In today's conversation, we touch down on these, and also explore how Liz's lens on life, meaning, music, creativity, quitting, complexity and spirituality has evolved over time.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James S. Gordon, MD is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist internationally recognized for using self-awareness, self-care, and group support to heal population-wide trauma. He is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Center for Mind-Body Medicine, (https://jamesgordonmd.com/), a clinical professor at Georgetown Medical School, and was chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. His latest book, The Transformation (https://amzn.to/31Xi5nl), helps us understand that trauma will come sooner or later to all of us, and how to navigate it.Gordon has been on the ground during moments of profound upheaval, from Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love to Mozambique in the wake of a civil war fought largely by child soldiers, and war in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and more. In today’s conversation, he talks about what it’s like to lead teams in hands-on trauma prevention and integration work in these extremely challenging environments, as well as his hopes for re-humanizing medicine, choosing risks over betraying the self, and the incredible power we have to heal in community.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.