Behind Greatness by Inspire North

We sit with Wynton in Toronto for a delightful conversation shortly after a show at Massey Hall. Wynton, a Trumpeter, is originally from New Orleans and is widely regarded as one of Jazz’s all time greats, having also won multiple Grammies for his classical and jazz work. He also co-founded Jazz at the Lincoln Center and acts as the Center’s Managing and Artistic Director. We discuss music as core human expression, the responsibility of teaching music, antagonistic cooperation and modern American culture, the latter of which is also something profoundly important to Wynton. He shares with us his thoughts on some types of modern music and the machine of commercialization that has corrupted the real message of music – and how this imbalance has informed our present society. And that’s just the start. We dive deep and learn about the allegorical qualities of sounds (and stories), music as the art of the invisible and being still enough to understand. He talks to us about the “halls of music” and how the vibration comes at him (and all of us) “whole” and how we are all interconnected on the board. To boot, Wynton has an interesting answer to previous guest John Kapelos’ musing about what’s beyond the river’s edge. A melodic conversation. “The ability to rise above your limitations”. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Wynton, Website: https://wyntonmarsalis.org TW: @wyntonmarsalis IG: @wyntonmarsalis FB: @wyntonmarsalis Marsiac Jazz Festival (France): https://www.jazzinmarciac.com/en

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. John Kapelos joins us from his home in Hollywood. He is a veteran actor, with over 40 years of acting experience in Film, TV and Theatre. Originally from London, Ontario, John shares with us his life as a child of Greek parents with older siblings who he adored. As a perennial “leaver”, John explored a young adult life as a creative nomad, living in several cities across North America before spending years in Chicago and then finally settling in LA. He’s not afraid to share some episodes of racial prejudice from those who took culture “hostage” in the business back then in his native country of Canada. John also speaks highly of his parents … and we dare the listener not to shed a tear on the story of his father as a little boy. John endears us with his openness in sharing his experiences of despair, of peer ridicule, of exploration, of hoarding – and of flying and dying. He chronicles his life as a “leaver” – but not as a man who leaves a place, but a man who enjoys the thrill of discovering different places…. Beyond the river’s edge. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north John, IMbD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438127/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/thejohnkapelos/?hl=en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1850ydRHRdl0TCRr9xHRPQ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kapelos-7158985/

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Our dicussion today is with writer, author, philosopher and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Gary Lachman, who joins us from his home in London. Gary grew up in New Jersey and as a young adult he decided to follow his musical curiosities and move to NYC to play and write Rock & Roll. Living in a store-front at 19 in NYC, he spent years writing songs and playing gigs as Gary Valentine until he lived his dreams: co-founding a successful Rock & Roll band, opening for the Rolling Stones, starting his own group The Know and playing with punk legend Iggy Pop. At 28, he retired. Taking his attitude, energy and drive and devoting it to learning, reading and writing – he started writing histories of Hermeticism and the Western Inner Tradition, existentialism, the paranormal, the Occult and the philosophy of consciousness. We discuss the importance and the significance of the Rose and “The All”, our lack of self-remembering, the robot we all live with and the triviality of “everydayness”. We learn from Gary about the taps on his shoulder and about current reconnection with (musical) exploration and living and creating with the lack of preconceptions.   “The promise without the guarantee”. What a treat. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Gary, Website: https://www.gary-lachman.com/ Books: https://www.gary-lachman.com/books-1 & https://www.gary-lachman.com/books-2 TW: https://twitter.com/GaryLachman FB: https://www.facebook.com/gary.lachman.3/

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Today we are speaking with Mark Cecchetto. Mark acts as the President of Nestle Canada’s Confectionary Division and lives in Toronto. Mark grew up in a healthy family environment where he was encouraged to explore and where the expectation for a successful future path was also not negotiable. Originally wanting to have a career in sports management – with the ultimate ideal as the GM of the Blue Jays – Mark saw a different path emerging as he became a young professional. We discuss several “oh crap” moments through his life and his need to look for rougher waters. We discuss at length his passion for mentoring and helping those younger than him and the angst and fear he sees in many as a reflection of his past worries. We learn about what “A” word best defines his expectation for his two children. And what we’re really curious about is what he’s trying to cleanse when we discuss his non-professional life. And staring at water … To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Mark, LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcecchetto/  

We are joined by Dean Radin at his home in Idaho. Dean is the Chief Scientist at the famous IONS in California. IONS was founded by Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell 50 years ago after the Apollo-14 mission. Mitchell had a mystical experience as he found himself in space and walking the moon that he started this Institute when he returned to Earth to study our interconnectedness with the universe. And Dean has certainly taken on those reigns. Contemplating existential questions at a very young age, he was often ribbed for having an extra “why” chromosome when he was merely a boy. Dean became fascinated early about tackling the problem of figuring our how the brain knows it’s aware. We learn about his upbringing both in the South and in the North, playing violin as an aspiring professional musician, the magic of the banjo, a mystical event in Scotland and a Thunderbird experience. We discuss his term “presentiment”, his experience with psychic espionage at the Stargate program, the cracking of belief systems, building evidence of psychic phenomena and using science to study from the INSIDE, and what his scientific research points to about our psychic abilities.   We recommend the listener to reference episode 80 with Russell Targ re his leadership in the CIA’s Remote Viewing program.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north Dean, Website: www.deanradin.com TW: https://twitter.com/deanradin LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-radin-9417877/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/DeanRadinsPage/ Books: https://www.deanradin.com/books    

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Today we are joined by Thomas Verny at his home in Stratford, Ontario. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of prenatal and postnatal environment on personality. Dr Verny shot to international fame after the publication of his book entitled “The Secret Life of the Unborn Child” in 1982. But fame was never a driver for Thomas. Searching the truth suited him better. We speak to a man today who has had his own private practice for many decades, has published several books, articles, short stories and poems and now who also hosts his own podcast – “Pushing Boundaries with Dr. Thomas R Verny”. But, we also learn about Thomas the Boy who was separated from his parents during the Nazi occupation, who was jailed to be shipped to a concentration camp and who was blessed with people close to him of miraculous love. We learn about the hardships his parents endured also after the War and as new immigrants to North America. And, we learn about the boy who became fascinated with the works of Sigmund Freud at age 13.   With a lifelong interest in memory and mind, Thomas soon went on to help establish the science of Pre & Perinatal Psychology. We discuss his work on cellular intelligence and the central role of the cell membrane vs the nucleus and the importance of the body vs the brain. If that isn’t enough, we also discuss his personal experience with a psychic and an illuminating Out of Body experience that became a very informative episode in his life – and possibly an informative one for our host.   And what matters most to Thomas? The teaser says it all.   His is a life lived. And it seems like he’s only getting started.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north                Thomas, Website: http://www.trvernymd.com Recent Book (2021): The Embodied Mind https://www.amazon.com/Embodied-Mind-Understanding-Mysteries-Consciousness/dp/1643137999/ref=sr_1_1?crid=D8CV2ZKKT48H&keywords=the+embodied+mind&qid=1662511995&sprefix=the+embodied+mind+%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-1 Podcast: “Pushing Boundaries” - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1628669415 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tverny/  

Rick joins us from his home outside of Toronto. He is perennially and lovingly known as “Rick the Temp” in his home country. He is a long time national TV & Radio host and a long time friend to Inspire and Behind Greatness. As a shy kid growing up in Hamilton, Rick knew he had something in him. Armed with the love of music and art, a positive life-energy and a heavy commitment to preparation, Rick created the opportunity for himself to become a national video jockey for Much Music in the 1990s. And he never looked back. We learn about throwing Christmas trees off buildings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYvZdqapZw), microphones in microwaves and note-filled footballs. We discuss being cognizant of the nostalgia that he represented for millions of viewers across the country. And we also learn about being ok with facing new experiences with little confidence, high anxiety and lack of polish and how the commitment to learning and pushing has always been the key for Rick. He also stresses the importance of staying approachable and the pact he had with his family members when he first started his journey.   Rick’s positivity is contagious – and real. Listen for yourself.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north   Rick, Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-campanelli-05832231/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/rick_campanelli/?hl=en TW: https://twitter.com/rickacampanelli Z Mornings: https://z1035.com/z-mornings-rick-campanelli-sandra/  

Doug joins us from his home in the Hamilton area, Ontario. Doug is a serial entrepreneur, owning several brick & mortar companies that together employ over 20,000 people. After high school, he decided that university wasn’t for him and began exploring how he could create his own path. And like an artist, create is what he did. We discuss several themes that are important to him: the influence of his family and his parents in his life, having a healthy dose of an inferiority complex, the desire to be underestimated and over-prepared, how to own the coin flip and refusing to accept “no”. Doug charms us with his boyish attitude towards exploration and seeing the magic of creating in the moment. He also shares his experience of being on his death bed in his 20s and how that changed his view on short term vs long term living.   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north     Doug, Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-putman?originalSubdomain=ca Globe & Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-doug-putman-profile-toysrus-hmv-putman-investments/  

Jeff joins us from Houston. He is the current Associate Dean of the Faculty and Graduate Programs in the School of the Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He is also the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. In this conversation we explore the “3rd space” that Jeff occupies and a wide array of topics therein and all connected to the esoteric: a term that is important to Jeff. We discuss Jeff’s position on the physical world vs the immaterial world, Belief vs Beliefs, the importance of the Humanities and the porosity of the human being. We delve immediately into the Paranormal and learn how old religious heterodoxy allowed what we could accept and what we should ignore and linked to how many scientists (social and otherwise) are “in the closet” about these experiences. We discuss how our culture is trying to change itself today as we share our experiences without the societal / cultural shackles of our recent ancestors. We learn more about his thoughts on religion as a mechanism to tap into paranormal forces and then attribute to an external deity. We discuss being in your own story, creating your own story versus believe that you are your own story. We talk about religion as an art, the self, reincarnation, the importance of acting, the persona – and the Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman.   Soo much to talk about and too little time!   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north   Jeff, Website: http://jeffreyjkripal.com Books: https://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-John-Kripal/e/B001IODIT2%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share    

John chats with us from his place in Toronto. John comes from a family – like many of us – that left their country in poverty to make a better life in a new place. John tells us about growing up, living and working in a cocoon of a 2km radius … until he began to poke a hole in his bubble. In the 90s, John worked relentlessly for his firm fulfilling his billable hours, but spending 1000 hours / year trying to build a business with future tech-giants like Microsoft and Oracle. But before they were giants John bet his future on this space, perplexing all of his superiors … until the tech space exploded and he became the authority in the country in this industry. We discuss being on top of the world … until his firm became embroiled global scandal and he lost everything. We discuss in detail a horrific accident, near-death, his comatose state … until Pavarotti, a stage, a white light and the perennial chip on his shoulder brought us to this conversation. Talk about piercing holes in the universe….   To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Behind Greatness IG: @behindgreatnesspodcast & @inspire_north   John, Website: https://www.maverixpe.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joruffolo/ TW: https://twitter.com/ruffoloj