Behind Greatness by Inspire North

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

Maurizio currently lives in Istanbul where he leads European professional basketball powerhouse Fenerbahce SK as its General Manager. Prior to this he was the first ever non-American VP of an NBA franchise with the Toronto Raptors and one of the most successful GMs ever in Europe. We discuss a journey riddled with serious life-altering, pivotal moments. It all started with a motorcycle dangled in front of him as a “carrot” before he left for the US for a brief stint as a foreign student. After coming back, he soon became GM of the pro basketball team of his home town of Forli, well before the age of 30. This started a decades’ long journey that has brought him to embrace the philosophy of an andrenalinic approach to learning, impacting people around him and networking. Maurizio’s is a life where pivotal moments were faced head on with the blood of his passion. 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/maurizio-gherardini-1246754/

Indre joins us today from San Francisco. Growing up in Toronto she moved to California (for good) as a young adult to figure out her path as an Opera singer, while also on scholarship as a budding neuroscientist. We learn about her evolution as an artist and as a sought-after science communicator … she also hosts two podcasts: “Cadence” since 2017 and the widely acclaimed “Inquiring Minds” since 2013. Indre shares her thoughts on the necessity of facing the “stuck” as part of the creative process and on viewing creativity as a behaviour and an act. Indre addresses how we are all knowledgeable in music in a sense – as either listeners or performers. We also explore her how musicians are able to bend time. And, for good measure, we sprinkle in some talk about remote viewing as a phenomenon she investigated as part of her work on the Oprah Winfrey Network. A melodic discussion to say the least. 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: https://www.indreviskontas.com Book - How Music Can Make You Better: https://www.amazon.com/How-Music-Can-Make-Better/dp/1452171920/ref=sr_1_1?crid=16URNUUD8YGY7&dchild=1&keywords=indre+viskontas&qid=1633282750&sprefix=indre+%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1 Inquiring Minds Podcast: https://inquiring.show/ Cadence Podcast: https://www.indreviskontas.com/potowski-av TW: @indrevis IG: @drindredirects TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/indre_viskontas_how_music_makes_me_a_better_neuroscientist?referrer=playlist-itunes_podcasts_music&language=en Behind Greatness website: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north

Anson joins us from London, England. His parents were originally from Jamaica and moved to Canada for a better life. He grew up just outside of Toronto with his sister. He was a natural athlete and in his late teens he found a real passion in sprinting. From there, he took off. Winning most of his competitions in Canada, Anson wanted more. On full scholarship at Washington State in the US, Anson soon became All-American and entered the elite world of top sprinters, keeping that same pace as he went professional. We discuss “elite” and elite “savagery” and the difference between the two. For most of his career, he trained with and raced against the world’s top sprinters. Anson describes how he had a front row seat as an observer while always “having a lane in the race”. We discuss how the importance of telling the story of sport-journey has become Anson’s post-racing calling. We also have fun breaking down the existence of the mind of the sprinter, the altered dimension of emotional existence and the need for athletes to leverage their bodies to attain experiences more other-worldly. Daaamn. 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.   TW: @ansonhenry IG: @anson_henry Podcast: “Unconventional Voices of Track & Field” Podcast IG: @voicesoftnf LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anson-henry-5403ba59/ Behind Greatness website: www.inspirenorth.com/podcast Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north