This week’s episode is very special as Light finally gets to interview his lifelong inspiration: his father. It’s an absolute pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. Donald V. Watkins. Understandably, Light and his father have a lot to discuss, so the conversation with Donald will be a two-part series. In part one, we learn about Donald’s childhood of growing up in a close-knit community in the South during the civil rights movement, with loving parents who demanded a high work ethic, and with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a Sunday-school teacher and Rosa Parks as a close family friend!  Donald recounts his first memory of experiencing direct racism and how his teachers taught him to be resilient against it, before explaining how he got into architecture and why he eventually left it to study law. We hear about a special custodian who mentored the black students of Alabama State College, what Donald learned from his days as an attorney, what inspired him to run for city council, and how he fought back against police misconduct while he was in office. Donald’s life could be written as a movie, and you can get a glimpse of him as an attorney in action in Episode 4 of season 1 of the Netflix series, Trial by Media. We wrap up part one with Donald V. Watkins by exploring his incredible 154-case win streak, how he ended up in prison, and why he believes that prison was his finest hour as a lawyer. Be sure not to miss this riveting, wonderful, wholesome conversation, and be on the lookout for part two! Disclaimer: Please note that this episode contains graphic accounts of racism and prejudice. Please listen with care. Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

Today’s guest, Steve Izen, is a true inspiration who made his mark on the world by getting everyone around him to follow in his steps and embrace the idea of impermanence. After hearing of his grandfather’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Steve began to toil with the idea of how we are all constantly experiencing highs and lows and the aim is for us to find balance. That seed grew into his company Lokai, a bracelet brand that combines actual water from Mount Everest with actual water from the Dead Sea (the highest and lowest points in the world) to preach the word that life is ever-changing, and one should always seek internal peace and balance in an otherwise chaotic world. We talk about how Steve’s idea of success has changed from when he was younger to now, how he thought up Lokai, why many retailers rejected Lokai at the start, and how word-of-mouth was crucial to Lokai’s success. We explore the value of community, Steve’s hiring process and Lokai’s manufacturing process, why Steve prioritizes family and friends over everything else, and the ins and outs of the other company he founded, Elements of Balance. Steve truly is an example of how to work hard, earn well, and give money to charity and time to the people you love. You do not want to miss this remarkable conversation!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

In this episode of the podcast, host Light Watkins is in conversation with Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith. Beckwith is the founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, California, which has a congregation of over 9,000 people a week. He is also known for his work in the film and book called The Secret, which is about the law of attraction.The episode dives into Beckwith's life story and his journey toward spirituality. He shares how he found his calling and created the Agape International Spiritual Center, as well as the foundational principles of affirmative prayer. Beckwith's experience growing up in a family with a probate officer turned judge father and a mother with psychic powers also shaped his perspective on life and spirituality.The conversation covers Beckwith's new podcast, Take Back Your Mind, which is designed to guide listeners back to their minds and away from worry, doubt, and fear. The episode is full of inspirational stories and insights that will leave listeners feeling empowered and motivated to live their best lives. If you're looking for a transformative and inspiring conversation, this episode with Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith is not to be missed.Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

The natural world has so much to teach us, and the different ways we are able to interact with it in the modern context, offers endless inspiration. Today on the show we welcome documentary filmmaker, Louie Schwartzberg, to talk about his intriguing life and career, and what has inspired his amazing films, such as Fantastic Fungi and Gratitude Revealed. The child of Holocaust survivors, Louie felt the impact of his family's trauma acutely, and in our chat, he talks about how this shaped many parts of his upbringing, in both positive and negative ways. He shares his recollections of his early fascination with plants and film and the events that led up to his exploring early time-lapse photography.Louie underlines his prioritization of learning through watching and doing, and his desire to tell different kinds of stories. We also get into the practical steps that allowed him to build a career and reputation. Louie remains hopeful of building a movement that can change the world and believes that our gratitude is central to this project. So to hear it all from this amazing guest, be sure to tune in!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

Imagine falling in love unexpectedly and then after only six short years together, you get the news that your wife has 15 months to live. Today’s guest, Ray “Willie Qool” Singleton is no stranger to knowing love and loss. With experience in singing, sales, and social media influencing, Ray quickly became ‘America’s Husband’ when a video of him singing to his wife with cancer went viral. Join us today as we discuss Ray’s upbringing, influences, time at college, years as a salesman, and so much more. Ray describes the incredible story of how he met his wife. He goes on to share how they handled her cancer diagnosis, touching on communication in their marriage, and staying positive in tough times. When Ray and Roslyn were invited to the Ellen Show, they became overnight celebrities, and in this episode, he shares how his social media community supported him and his wife through the last days of her life. He tells us about how music kept him going and the peaceful way his wife left this earth before telling us what he feels his purpose is and what is next for him. To hear from this incredibly talented and inspirational man, tune in now!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

We’ve come full circle here on The Light Watkins Show as today, we are joined by this podcast’s very first guest! Leon Logothetis is an explorer, TV show host, speaker, and author, and he is here with us to chat about his latest book, Go Be Brave. After a quick recap of Leon’s extraordinary background, he tells us how he defines bravery and courage, his earliest memory of having to be brave, his extroverted and introverted selves and the one that is closer to his true self, and the correlation between being yourself and speaking your truth. Then, we hear about the power of the truth diary and taking action, how to use nature to reconnect with your humanity, why taking action is more important than understanding the concepts in Leon’s book, and what Leon believes is the most fundamental and non-negotiable aspect of being brave. We end this delightful and inspiring conversation with an exploration of the type of bravery that is needed to build long-lasting relationships, why our guest is closer to his life’s goal of marriage than he’s ever been before, and why you should be comfortable saying both yes and no, and knowing when to say them.  Enjoy!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

Today we are joined by international speaker, consultant, coach, podcaster, and unapologetic champion of honesty, Africa Brooke! Africa was born in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK, and we get to hear all about our guest's early years, challenges, and paths of self-discovery. Having struggled with an alcoholic father, Africa herself fell into a pattern of substance abuse, and she generously talks about what this looked like and what it took for her to break out of these habits. She explains the impact that learning about self-sabotage had on her, as well as the power of sharing her story publicly. From there, the conversation transitions to her outspoken comments on transcending the confines of wokeness and cancel culture, and how stepping into her truth changed things for her in so many ways. Listeners will come away with some inspiring and fearless thoughts on purpose, truth, making peace with contradictions, and intentionality; all things we can all use a bit more of! Africa also talks about the central role that ritual plays in her life, finding her voice as a storyteller, becoming a better listener, and much more, so tune in now!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

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In the chaos of life, it’s easy to get caught in the mess of it all, forgetting that your pain and struggle can actually be turned into a motivational message of strength and perseverance. Today’s guest has valiantly turned her mess into her message, and it is a pleasure to be joined by fitness influencer, speaker, coach, @NYCfitfam creator, and the founder of The Big Ask Method, Jamie Hess. After Light and Jamie reminisce about when they first met, we get a sense of Jamie’s childhood and what it was like growing up with a celebrity mother, and how horseback riding saved her life. We discuss an injury that sent Jamie down the drug rabbit hole, how her drug use affected her relationship with her mother, the dangers of some prescription and harm-reducing drugs, and the definition of a high-functioning drug addict. Our guest then walks us through how she adopted a lifestyle of gratitude, her journey to finding fitness as a vocation, why she decided to be vulnerable in sharing her story, and the blind date that eventually led to 11 happy years of marriage! We discover how Jamie and her husband George started NYCfitfam, what they did to grow the account, how Jamie fell into an eating disorder (and how George helped her through it), and the ins and outs surrounding her decision to make her unhealthy relationship with food public. Finally, Jamie explains how she became a coach and why coaching also needs a dedicated, self-motivated student, before she offers listeners of the show a 20% discount that they can apply to her upcoming Reset Retreat!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!

If you want to hear the uncut, 3-hour long, full interview with Adriene Mishler, join Light's online community, The Happiness Insiders Community: http://community.lightwatkins.comOnline health platforms were already on the rise before the pandemic of 2020, but we have seen a sharp uptick in the utilization of video classes and communities since quarantines have kicked in. One such community was built by Adriene Mishler, and had humble beginnings as a yoga class hosted on YouTube in the early 2010s. 'Yoga with Adriene' grew steadily after a slow start, and by the time 2020 came around Adriene was the highest searched yoga content on the internet! She has built a huge community which she helps instruct from her living room. To give you an idea of her impact, she has been called 'the Mr. Rogers of yoga'! Having been born into a theatre family, Adriene has a lifelong passion for performance and connection to an audience. We hear from her about her earliest memories of the theatre, how this grew into a career in acting, and how this career led her to pursue teaching yoga. Constantly juggling a number of intense projects has kept Adriene on the go from a young age, and it is only through her consistency and a deep desire that she has made it through challenging times and reaped the rewards of the hard work. We see how her authenticity led to the videos she was publishing eventually catching fire, to the point where she now has 7 million subscribers on YouTube, with over 600 million views on her channel! This is a beautifully meandering conversation about this process of growth, the obstacles that Adriene encountered, and the lessons she learned along the way. Adriene talks about the role of her angels in the journey and what it means to contribute to the future of yoga! Listen in with us today for this amazing conversation!Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!