Behind Greatness by Inspire North

Carol joins us from the Toronto area. We spend some time together discussing what was important for her as she spent decades building a high profile corporate career and being a mother and wife. We learn about her upbringing and frequent moving across the country. She explains how sport and her coaches played a stabilizing role in her youth – and how she parlayed this experience into a foundational belief in building strong teams throughout her professional career. We discuss the stresses, the sacrifices and the compromises as she built her corporate career – and we discussed what wasn’t up for sale. We hear about core lessons she learned from her 5 year old daughter along the way – with driveway stand-offs and Mother’s Day tea.   Some simple and hard-hitting messages about the wisdom of children, the importance of keeping true to your humanity and staying honest with your vulnerabilities. And car-talk.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Carol: Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-stewart/  

Jonathan, a Toronto boy, joins us from his office in Connecticut where he plays out his days as an endovascular surgeon and a Yale professor. Jonathan lives and breathes his passion for surgery – and from that passion we discover a lot of what makes him really tick. We delve immediately into themes like seeking approval, the real definition of confidence and his view on the life of servitude that he’s chosen. We discuss leadership through humility and hard work and the desire to guide and mentor “Al Lawson-style”. We discuss the “filing cabinet of worry”, the intimacy of his work and the dangers of pedestalization. Being a former varsity baseball player, Jonathan also weaves his thoughts with us through the metaphor of sport and the lessons of some of its heroes.   But, more importantly we explore what Jonathan is realizing has become important to him. He explains what “legacy” really means for him. And we go deeper into discovery with him about the connection to the earth and being connected to his own human existence – through both the seen and the unseen.   A clean up batter of a conversation.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Dr. Cardella: Bio: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/jonathan_cardella/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aP9Nai1cEg  

Marysia joins us from southern California. A “green witch”, she is a sought after herbalist and healer in the US. Her own roots lie with a rabble-rousing family in Poland who were active in the Nazi resistance during WW2. Growing up in a matriarchal family, she learned the importance of the plant world and the abundance of the earth from her grandmother. With the understanding that plants create the ecosystem that we are born into, Marysia’s philosophy is centered on our intimate connection we have with plants’ spiritual essence. We have an engaging chat on plants as elders, teachers, healers and guides. We discuss mountains, the (thin) veil present at both birth and death and wholeness being holiness. Oh, and that’s not the half of it …. We talk at length about modern humans’ linear view on production and consumption, the ancient wisdom of mountains and our connection with the “dreaming” earth. Throw in some musings about envy, the genius of the self and human creativity and we have an upbeat, expansive talk with a woman of the earth.   “Working with wild weeds, a part of us wakes up ….” Let’s go! To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Website: www.schoolofthesacredwild.com IG: @Marysia_Miernowska IG: @rituelbeauty BOOK: “The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary: Rituals & Recipes for a Year of Earth Magick and Sacred Medicine Making” - https://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Herbal-Apothecary-Rituals-Medicine/dp/1592339093/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=%E2%80%9CThe+Witch%E2%80%99s+Herbal+Apothecary%3A+Rituals+%26+Recipes+for+a+Year+of+Earth+Magick+and+Sacred+Medicine+Making%E2%80%9D&qid=1638930449&sr=8-1    

Nigel joins us from his abode in the UK. Growing up, he celebrated and channeled the  emotionally charged culture of his Scottish and Irish roots, which helped him make music his lifetime muse. A true citizen of the world, Nigel brings us through his journey in life from a wayward youth to internationally renowned composer to musically-focused healer and humanitarian. We walk through his experience as a head-strong youth who turned his back on a rock and roll career with a global music label and decided to live a high energy rock and roll life instead - in Eastern Europe in the early 1970s, no less. Nigel shares with us his run-ins with secret police in communist Poland and his unlikely collaboration with the KGB in the USSR, in the name of shining the light of art to others. Going on to compose for many of the world's greatest music halls and opera houses as an internationally renowned composer, Nigel always kept his eye on helping to heal the world with his creativity as a badass humanitarian - from Bosnia to Uganda to Syria to India and many other places in between. We talk about the winning nature of art, what the limelight really is to him (as a "refusenik"), the wisdom of music and acoustic ecology of indigenous culture. Nigel also warns us against sentimentalizing "great", imploring us instead to see ourselves as natural creators. Rock and roll, baby. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Nigel: Website: https://skoogmusic.com/ Website: https://www.x-system.co.uk/

We are joined by Robert in Toronto. He is currently a partner in one of the country’s oldest and largest law firms. He has Jesus covid hair. And, he’s an Inspire alumn to boot. We immediately dive into the existential, where Rob also feels at home. He shares with us some of his personal experience in childhood where he spent much time in and out of hospitals, leading up to a long, excruciatingly painful battle with cancer in highschool. We have a conversation about Robert’s journey with his unique perspective on hope – and the recognition that bad things happen to good people. Healthy and profound perspective is what Rob helps us explore ... staring at a hospital ceiling ... humanity’s “de-prioritization” of intuition … inability of modern humans to access beyond the veil … and a certain primal truth through speed. A joy. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-antenore/

Vera joins us from the sunny Yucatan. Her focus has been bioarcheology and archaeology of pre-Hispanic and pre-colonial Maya. As a child, she grew up in Germany under a very demanding upbringing. Being an artist at heart, she wanted to explore what was calling her. As a teen, she “fled” to the US to study Art History at Tulane. From there she decided to pursue her studies in Medicine in both Germany and Mexico. But that was merely the beginning. Enchanted by the warmth of Latin American culture, she dove head first in a life of exploration in archaeological and anthropological adventure graduating from Medical School. Now a leading bioarchaeologist in Latin America, she weaves her skills as a trained physician and her sense of wonder as a social scientist and artist to explore human remains and what they tell us about the ideas of our ancient ancestors. We discuss ancient Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures and how their idea of the cosmos was anchored in the divinity of the human body. We discuss some lessons that the ancient Maya teach us about the realities of both the anguish and the intensity of life, including how modern children should live that intensity, instead of being protected from it. Such an intriguing conversation with Vera about veritas.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Tiesler Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00517-y  

Russell Targ, a pioneering physicist and author, shares his fascinating journey from laser development to the forefront of remote viewing research at the Stanford Research Institute. He discusses non-local consciousness and the innate psychic abilities everyone possesses. Targ also reflects on his transformative experiences with remote viewing, precognitive dreams, and the importance of personal connections. He highlights unique applications of remote viewing, including its role in cognitive warfare and practical uses in various fields, all infused with a touch of humor and wisdom.

Joan Koenig has called Paris her home for the last several decades. She grew up playing the piano and falling in love with the flute. Originally from the US, Joan moved often and lived in many states. But one thing that didn’t change was her desire to play music. She eventually found herself studying at the prestigious Julliard School in NYC and after graduation embarked upon a journey that brought her to her lay roots in France, have a family and build a business structured on her passion: music. She has spent the last several decades at the forefront of educating children where she has built an school / laboratory for innovative learning and creative entrepreneurship - through the magic of music and dance. In our dicussion, she reminds how and why in the West we have largely “forgotten” that we are all musical. We hear her thoughts on the blurring of the self and in the feeling in communion with others during musical connectedness. As the teaser shows, she shares a transcendental experience where she found herself disappearing, while in the middle of her art. And what’s at the centre of it? Listen in….   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north   Personal website: https://www.joankoenig.com/ L'Ecole Koenig Website: https://www.ecolekoenig.com/team/joan-koenig Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joan-koenig-7577b3153/ Book: The Musical Child Using the Power of Music to Raise Children Who Are Happy, Healthy, and Whole https://www.amazon.com/Musical-Child-Using-Children-Healthy/dp/1328612961

Nicholas joins Behind Greatness from his office at Yale in Connecticut. Nicholas grew up with two parents who had originally came to the US from Greece as young scholars. One of Nicholas’ heroes was his mother, who suffered for two decades with a form of fatal cancer. This experience was instrumental in Nicholas’ decision to later become a physician. As a physician, he specialized in palliative care. Having been present at countless amount of deaths, he began to take more interest in what he saw made humanity tick: love and the need for human connection. For the last 20 years, Nicholas has been spearheading a unique scientific adventure with his team at The Human Nature Lab at Yale. For too long scientists have pondered and studied the obvious dark side of human nature, but it is his scientific view that the capacity for love, friendship and teaching are much more powerful than our darkest forces. Armed with the increasing knowledge of how human social networks work, he and his growing inter-disciplinary team of scientists have been on a relentless quest to make it even better. Interestingly, we also discuss the reality of “like at first sight” and Japanese interpretation of neighbourhoods as an analogy for contrast against the Western view of interpersonal relationships. Oh, and Brazilian soccer. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors with Canadian address. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north New BOOK Apollo’s Arrow: https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Arrow-Profound-Enduring-Coronavirus/dp/0316628204/  BOOK – Blueprint: https://www.amazon.com/Blueprint-Evolutionary-Origins-Good-Society/dp/0316230030  Human Nature Lab: www.humannaturelab.net Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-christakis-07a01ba5/ Twitter: @nachristakis Website: https://humannaturelab.net/people/nicholas-christakis

Mike joins us from Winnipeg, Manitoba – in Central Canada. He grew up partly in Northern Ontario, Canada in poverty with a single mom. But, at 13 he quit school and started to explore the world. At 21, with 7 years of working experience and survival already under his belt, he founded Manitoba Harvest. Over the course of the subsequent 20 years, he grew his role from start-up entrepreneur to the CEO of a large enterprise – an enterprise which he sold twice for 9-figures. We discuss the societal “trap”, non-traditional pressures, the importance of education through life experiences and the exploration of individual interests. We hear about his musings on the quantum plane, his experiences with psilocybin treatments and his frequent “checks” on his spiritual self. We learn about how Mike’s focus is also on having his “best day ever”.  To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast. Tax receipt issued to donors.  Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north.]   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manitoba-mikefata/ IG: @themikefata TW: @themikefata Clubhouse: @mikefata