The Adversity Advantage with Doug Bopst

For this last week of 2020, each day we will re-release one of the most popular episodes of the past year. We will resume our regular schedule with a new episode on 1/4/2021. Have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!   Best of 2020 #2: David Sinclair - Modifying Our Lifestyle to Reverse Aging (Originally released 6/9/2020)   Dr. David Sinclair: Modifying Our Lifestyle to Reverse Aging    Today I’m incredibly honored to host Dr. David Sinclair.  David is a professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. He’s the author of New York’s Times best-seller Lifespan, a book with insights on why we age, and how we can slow and even reverse aging. A top innovator, David was in 2014, named on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, and listed as Time's Top 50 in healthcare in 2018. David’s inspiration growing up David grew up with his grandmother, who was a constant believer in his abilities and always motivated him to set and shoot for his life-goals and he will always achieve them.  In an unfair world filled with cruel and mischievous people, David’s grandmother always reminded him to be grateful and generous where he could. To always do whatever he can to make the world a better place than it is. David owes a lot of current success and grit to this background and claims that every no one needs a positive environment of someone who believes in them, and they too can set to achieve greatness. Hormesis: Using exercise and healthy eating to fight aging. Being a trained geneticist, you’d think that David would vouch for DNA as the major contributing factor for your health and wellness destiny. But oh no, the key to this, David says is the epigenome  The epigenome is the real powerhouse and determinant of our lifestyle i.e how much we sleep, mental stress, physical fitness etc.  A study on identical twins held in Denmark supports this claim, with the findings suggesting that we only inherit from our parents 20% in terms of the predictability of our long-term health.   The key to better physical and mental health and ultimately slow aging, David states, is through exercise and healthy eating.  As for exercise - do anything that gets your breathing level up for at least 15 minutes Exercising triggers the longevity genes which regulate the epigenome - which is in control of how we age. Healthy eating also triggers the epigenome, resulting in similar effects.    Healthy eating and numerous benefits of fasting.  It’s no surprise that what we eat is a big contributor of how our health turns out to be. However, what always seems to be left out, is how to eat.   Having 3 meals a day and zero exercise has a reverse effect on your mind.Your brain loves being relaxed - just sitting down and having snacks is all you need -  By giving in to this kind of lifestyle, you’re sacrificing your body’s ability to fight diseases and aging. Because your body gets the message from the brain that it’s very safe and there’s plenty of security and food to eat. So you relax, and the defense modes switch off. It’s for this reason that obese people who don’t exercise, not only look older, but are actually older.    Fasting triggers the longevity genes as well. Through fasting, the body is tricked into thinking there isn’t enough resources to live on. Amino acids are also restricted and the epigenome is activated too.   Types of foods David suggests you should take when fasting. You don’t want foods with a lot of sugar - as they make you get hungry faster Don’t be too rough on yourself - one milkshake isn’t bad (as long as you’re consistent) Best meal for him is a salad with a bit of olive oil on it or vinegar Protein is good in small amounts.  Green leafy vegetables and practice Hormesis i.e If your plants are stressed before you eat them you get the benefit. So you don’t have to do it yourself. You can eat plants; That have grown without much rain or water in the environment. With bugs on them   Dr. David Sinclair’s Adversity - Growing from the failures and setbacks he’s been through   There’s no way to be successful without massive amounts of adversity, criticisms, failures and mistakes, claims David. We don’t have all the answers, and aren’t perfect either.   Failure is part of the journey. And as David shares his lowest point in life, he certainly owes a lot of his current progress and success as a result of embracing and his setbacks and learning from them. David saw his mom die in front of him, which was of course, a big blow to him, both emotionally and psychologically. But it’s the career setback he really digs into and narrates on the show. Close to the tip of being sacked and losing his reputation (which for scientists is everything) A 41 year old David was completely battered, beaten and destroyed.   When he was 34 years old, David and his team had just uncovered a huge biological milestone through a breakthrough which seemed too easy and good to be true. And so they patented it. 7 years down the line. David would face so much criticism from journalists and scientists, all of whom claimed that everything he had published on his breakthrough was false. And so the company that he had invested so much in, and received millions of dollars in donations for clinical trials was a hoodwink and based on lies.   About half of David’s lab staff abandoned him, deeming his career over. All David could wonder was how it could all go soo wrong. How could it be that the very world he was trying to save, is now punching him in the face? There was nothing more to do. So he went to bed every night sad and depressed.  As time went by though, David decided not to quit. He decided he would put on a fight and prove all his doubters and critics wrong with proof and data. 3 years later, and with the help of the loyal staff that remained, David solved the problem that had resulted in so many individuals misunderstanding and attacking his professional achievements.  Having published his findings in 2013, this put Dr. David and his team back on track into achieving the great  things they had set out to when they started.   Don’t quit mentality Now 50, David knows that it never gets easier and the setbacks never stop. But for him, winners are the ones who decide to get back up as fast as possible and handle all the blocks and obstacles that are a normal part of life. Even till date, David still faces criticisms and hindrances from his colleagues, donors, newspaper and, and university. But now older, that he was, he’s wise enough to know that the challenges never get easier or end, you only get better and tougher.   David’s thinking pattern is that humanity is in all these together. We’re all trying to work out and solve life’s big problems and challenges. And, so we must work together. This line of thought  has landed him into bad relationships with many scientists who try to remain as secretive as possible in matters regarding their research and findings.    In conclusion, David advises us to always have goals in our lives. When you’re low and in depression, and still lacking in goals, dreams and aspirations to look forward to. Then life hits you even harder. So set a goal, go for it, and don’t stop or give up on it until you get there!   Connect with Dr. David Sinclair  Website - https://lifespanbook.com/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidasinclair LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinclairda/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/davidsinclairphd/?hl=en Lifespan on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2BFribo Connect with Doug Instagram: @dougbopst Facebook: Doug Bopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/gift More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss: www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this last week of 2020, each day we will re-release one of the most popular episodes of the past year. We will resume our regular schedule with a new episode on 1/4/2021. Have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!   Best of 2020 #3: Dr. Andrew Huberman - The Surprising Truth About Stress (And How it Can Actually Be Healthy) (Originally released 8/18/20)   Dr. Andrew Huberman: The Surprising Truth About Stress (And How it Can Actually Be Healthy)    THIS EPISODE WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!   Do you want to know the surprising truth about stress and how it actually can benefit your health?   Then, you will not want to miss today's episode with neuroscientist, Dr. Andrew Huberman where we cover addiction, stress, cell phones (as he calls it digital concussion) and his incredible story.    Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has made numerous important contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.    Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, which is given to the scientist making the largest discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by elite military in the US and Canada, athletes, and technology industries for optimizing performance in high stress environments, enhancing neural plasticity, mitigating stress, and optimizing sleep.    Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford Medical School has been published in top journals including Nature, Science, and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.   Andrew’s Journey   Andrew had a great start to his life.  His mother wrote children’s books and his father was a theoretical physicist. Everything in Andrew’s life was going very well, until he turned 13 and his parents separated. When his dad left, Andrew’s mother began to experience stress.    At about the same time that Andrew’s parents separated, his older sister had just left for college. This left him to face life’s obstacles all alone, and reality took a sudden turn for Andrew.   With everything changing so fast in Andrew’s life, he turned to skateboarding as a way to handle and relieve the stress.    It was while skateboarding in Embarcadero, San Francisco that Andrew started to meet new friends, most of whom were growing up without much parental control or influence.  This is when Andrew began to recognize that kids growing up without two parent families, lived lives that were more chaotic than other kids with more normal home lives. As Andrew entered puberty, he started skipping school, and from the ages of 14-17, most of his time was spent either skateboarding or with his girlfriend.    As time went by, Andrew also turned to boxing as another tool to handle his stress.   Andrew was ultimately kicked out of school because of the constant troubles that accompanied his presence. He was offered a chance to resume his studies under the condition of going to therapy.    The therapist was of great help, demonstrating to Andrew that there was a better way for him to structure his life. By adding certain types of life tools and structure to his life, Andrew learned that he could achieve the life he was craving internally without relying solely on fighting, boxing and skateboarding.    Once Andrew returned to school he started to play football, where his football coach advised Andrew to start running and lifting weights as a way to build his frail body.    Always curious and self-driven, Andrew began to lift weights. He fell in love with the body that he was crafting through his new hobby. His great physique ultimately pushed him into being a firefighter as a way to make a living.   With his girlfriend moving to college, Andrew would sleep outside of her dorm in the parking lot as a way to stay close with the most intimate friend he had.   Slowly, his old habits of fighting started to re-enter his life. On July 4th 1994, after getting into a fight in the small town of Isla Vista, Andrew found himself considering the direction in which his life was headed. Walking back home from the fight, Andrew decided to change his life for the better permanently. He started by enrolling in a local community college and dedicated himself to achieving excellence in weight lifting, running, reading and studying.    What followed was a metamorphosis into an organized and self-driven individual.    While at the community college, Andrew started taking Psycho-Biology (now known as Neuroscience) and found himself connecting with his charismatic professor, who ultimately acted as a mentor in his educational endeavors. Andrew was self-driven, highly motivated, and made it his life mission to get a PhD in the field of Neuroscience. He achieved his goal, which is a feat that has contributed greatly to his current success.   Addictions Andrew describes the term addiction as a progressive narrowing of the things that bring you pleasure.    Addictions start and end with the brain chemical dopamine. Whatever we are addicted to overtakes the dopamine circuits and becomes the single most powerful stimulus in our lives.   Dopamine is designed to motivate us and Human beings have evolved as a result of it.   Think about dopamine as a jet engine that propels us towards a certain direction. And when we get to this destination, we get replenished with more dopamine.   Dopamine reinforces the actions that lead to your satisfaction. It's more of a thrill when you want to get what you’re addicted to than actually taking the drug itself.   Therefore, a lot of our daily actions are as a result of dopamine release in the brain. So, it is irrefutable that we need dopamine. The only question is, by what means are you going to get it?   Is it through healthy thoughts and activities that build your life? Or is it through an alternative path that will destroy a person?   Oxytocin and serotonin are the other reward systems in our brain.   They have an effect of making us blissful and feeling a desire to remain still. Examples of times these chemicals are released is when we eat a good meal or after sex.    The addiction to phones.  From Andrew’s definition of what an addiction is, cell phones can definitely be classified as addictive.   Phones have the ability to take a significant amount of people's time and impede upon their ability to experience pleasure with other things.    Industries in the phone industry know this and curated what you see towards satisfying all of your specific needs. Phones now know people better than people know themselves at times. They understand all of a person’s cravings and habits. The more time that an individual spends on a phone, the more that person can exhaust neural circuits and the capacity to focus.  Also, when someone is trying to be creative (writing, podcasting etc.), spending significant time on a phone can make it harder to concentrate for long periods of time.   Learning to be calm The key to leading a happy life is learning to anchor your thinking and maintain control even when you are faced with a lot of problems. Trauma at a young age is a test that many young adults experience, and at the time of the trauma many young people fail to handle it in healthy ways. This is one reason why so many young people turn to drugs as a way to either numb the pain or calm their minds to focus. The good news is, we can learn to cope with stress because the neural circuits that allow us to maintain a clear mind when we’re flooded with adrenaline can be modified by experience.    If you practice how to handle stress on a consistent basis, when someone encounters real life stress, one can learn how to open up your gaze, take a second or two to analyze the situation, and finally react in the right manner.    Being too relaxed is actually the reason why so many people relapse into old habits. Your brain cannot differentiate between the dopamine being released as a result of a good thing such as a job promotion and drug abuse. So, people need to learn to embrace stress because it can be there to help you grow.    Tools to handle stress and anxiety We can re-shape and adapt better to how we react to stressful situations through employing various tools.   These tools help us develop a bulletproof mindset in relation to how we handle problems as they arise.   With enough practice, you develop a higher level of understanding and control over your nervous system. Respiration - Breathing in twice through your nose and breathing out once through your mouth. Vision - Dilating your gaze and seeing as much of the room as you can. Then try to see yourself in that room. Stressful environments - E.g. taking a cold shower or 25-50 quick deep breaths.   Connect with Andrew Website - http://www.hubermanlab.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab   Connect with Doug Instagram: @dougbopst Facebook: Doug Bopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/gift   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss: www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this last week of 2020, each day we will re-release one of the most popular episodes of the past year. We will resume our regular schedule with a new episode on 1/4/2021. Have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!   Best of 2020 #4: Rich Roll - Take Small Steps to Change Your Life (Originally released 11/09/20)   Are you are someone who is in pain, stuck in a "rut," struggling with fear or uncertainty?   Congratulations, you are in the right place.  Today's guest says that you MUST use your pain as a motivator to take the small steps to change your life.   Today is a special treat. I have been tracking down this guy to get this interview for quite some time and after hearing who it is you will understand why. Many of you will recognize today's guest from his highly acclaimed podcast. Some of you have may have read his books or just heard of his incredible accomplishments online.   He hosts one of the most popular podcasts out there and his show was the first major podcast to feature my story.  I am so blessed that the tables have turned and I’m now able to pay it forward and have him as a guest on my podcast.   He is also one of the fittest humans alive. Just to give you an idea he completed 5 ironman distance triathlons on 5 different islands of Hawaii in less than a week. He is also a recovery warrior, having over 20 years of sobriety.  Today we get into some parts of his journey that you may not be familiar with.   I am very excited that Rich Roll joins me on the show today. Rich is the host of the highly popular, Rich Roll podcast. His memoir "Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself” was a best seller.  His newest book "Voicing Change" is available for sale tomorrow and will undoubtedly be equally successful.   In addition to being a podcast host and author, he is also a plant based nutrition advocate and ultra endurance athlete.  He is a beacon of light to people worldwide as an inspiring  example of transformation, courage and healthy living. He is the epitome of using Adversity to his Advantage!   “Change is not only possible, it's freely available to you.” -Rich Roll   Get ready to have your mind blown by the incredible wisdom and inspiration he's gained from his personal and professional experiences.   We chat about the following topics and so much more:   Rich’s effective way of dealing with anything he’s struggling with   Why surrendering and letting go of what you can't control is so important to get yourself out of a hole   How staying connected to people that inspire you is helpful for your recovery   How can someone go from being in such a fear-based mindset to living more with faith   Developing such incredible conversational skills despite being shy in younger years is possible   Why is it so important to play the long game when it comes to trying to achieve your goals   How Rich uses his podcast as a healthy outlet and a major act of service   The steps you can take for someone who's struggling   Some of the biggest actions Rich personally takes that gets  his mood up   Rich’s advice for someone who wants to change the way they talk to themselves and create lasting change in their life:   "Change is not only possible, it's freely available." -Rich Roll   He shares that it starts with taking one very small action and building off of that. It's not going to happen overnight.   "If you are in pain, congratulations, that's the best place to start. Use that pain as a motivator, as a lever to actually get you up off the couch. Whether that's literal or figurative and start to manifest in very small nuggets, the life that you would like to lead." -Rich Roll   He talks about beginning with very basic actions. It could just start with simple steps such as writing down the things you are struggling with in your life and jotting down the things you want to give more attention to. Another "first step" example can be putting your shoes on to go for a walk because you have aspirations to run a marathon.    "It's not about quitting your job overnight and making some broad dramatic statement. It really is about these tiny things that you commit yourself to." -Rich Roll   Rich shares that If you are having trouble staying committed or on track, find an accountability partner that you can trust.   "Ask yourself, how committed are you to change and are you willing to take some uncomfortable actions in order to shift your reality?" -Rich Roll   Rich’s Latest Book: Voicing Change   It's an aesthetic compilation of wisdom that showcases many of the life changing conversations between Rich and many of his guests.   The inspiration for this book is really a desire to canonize some of the wisdom and inspiration that Rich received as a result of hosting his podcast.   It's also a way of honoring the many guests that he had on the show, and also honoring the audience.   He wanted to do it in an aesthetically pleasing way. Which is why they decided to go with a coffee table book format.   Get the book here:   richroll.com/vc   Connect with Rich:   Website: richroll.com   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richroll/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richrollfans   Twitter: https://twitter.com/richroll   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/richroll     Rich’s Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-roll-podcast/id582272991   https://open.spotify.com/show/2TGszFKJEbQuEXrWduK63l?si=ojo6Qb6dSWCjvWvnSOAIeg   Connect with Doug   Website: www.dougbopst.com/   Instagram: @dougbopst   Facebook: Doug Bopst   Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188   Website: www.dougbopst.com/   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss:   www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst   Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this last week of 2020, each day we will re-release one of the most popular episodes of the past year. We will resume our regular schedule with a new episode on 1/4/2021. Have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!   Best of 2020 #5: Shaman Durek - Transforming Your Life Through Spiritual Hacking (Originally released 7/6/2020)   Are you ready to completely change your perceptions on reality and experience change like never before?  If so, then I’ve got two words for you Shaman Durek.    In hands down one of the most soul stirring interviews I’ve ever had, stay tuned into the show and be a part of an uplifting biohacking experience that is certain to change your views on everything you know and believe in.   About Shaman Durek Although he was destined to be a Shaman because of his lineage. Durek had at one point in his life completely pushed the thought of becoming a Shaman away.  Durek then went on a walkabout and chose otherwise, thus becoming the shaman he is today.  Descendent from the West African country of Ghana. Durek’s ancestors were the village medicine people.  As a result of slave trade and colonialism. Durek’s ancestors ended up practicing Lukumi (The merging of African shamanism and modern Catholicism) The merge has had its challenges since the two (African Shamanism and Catholicism) really contradict each other.  Durek for example has always had a view of Shamanism as freedom, liberation, acknowledgment and relationship with everything around you.  On the other hand, Durek views religion as a clause. With consequences as a result of the choices you make.  Growing up and going to school in America was always tough for Durek. Sharing his experience of seeing, feeling and talking to spirits had other kids label him as crazy or evil.  It’s thus been a long journey of trying to incorporate shamanism into the mainstream for him.   The principles of Shamanism You as a human being, already have higher consciousness within you. The only problem is that you haven’t aligned your synapsis and neurological system in order to input the frequencies and codes in your body.  Distractions and inflammations from the environment you are subjected in, is what’s preventing this alignment from happening.    Shamanism is about enhancement and elevation.  To accomplish this, you first need to closely observe your reality and remove the resistance and constrictions that are stopping you from being fully optimized.  These constrictions are belief systems are as a result of what you’ve been taught to understand about yourself and the world you live in. They press against you and prevent your freedom.  Constrictions include; fears, doubts, shame, guilt, worry, insecurities etc   Once you face these constrictions, you’ll be able to operate in autonomy. Your happiness and freedom will no longer be tied down to other people or activities.  Because you are the source of everything you experience.   Blackout.  This is a time when magnetic energy frequencies begin to lift the sediment of things that you have hidden away from your consciousness and society.  A blackout experience is an opportunity to figure out how to stop reacting to everything, and instead, pull deeper into love, acceptance and understanding.    Everything we achieve in life is based on getting acknowledged, noticed, heard, seen, appreciated, valued etc. The black out experience is about learning to break out from this culture.  Instead of hustling and operating under the fear of lacking something, and motivation to get somewhere, you should instead, see yourself as aligned and magnetically drawing everything you need towards you.    The trajectory for success is through cooperation, communication, engagement and authenticity.   If you can apply these principles, then you will be able to come out on the other side as a success.     Why don’t people embrace the Blackout experience then? Because we are naturally designed to be safe.  We are all egocentric control freaks as a result of the system we’ve been programmed to live in.  The key to breaking free is enhancing your spiritual immunity instead of safety.    The Law of Duality  There’s different polarities that are present in our planet.  These polarities are acknowledged by a certain group of people or by an individual more than in other groups or individuals.  We have all, as result, created a very dualistic way of viewing life. Duality has become a tool to understand reality, which of course, is all wrong.  For example, the idea of what’s right or wrong is different in every society, subjective to their belief systems and environment.  Because of this duality, we are stuck in the past and forget that we are changing.  The reality of consciousness isn’t anything that’s dual or solid, rather it’s something that is fluid and transformable. Because the system is ever changing and evolving. Once you accept this reality, then you can be synergetic. You will be liberated from all the attachments, labels, ideas and conditions that have been forced on you subconsciously.    We live in an illogical world.  Your brain operates on frequencies and energy.  If we lived in a logical world, then you would be given the ability to be loved unconditionally, truly express yourself as things happen in your life and maintain your biological system in a functional way.  But because we don’t. Then you do neither of these things.    Being logical means that you know you are free to communicate and operate in intelligence that gives you input, responding to what you want to express.    But because we live in an illogical world, you cannot do all of the above.  So your brain finds a way to compensate for the lack of logic in your environment. It then functions based on protecting you and helping you get what you want.  To be free, means you are possibility driven and open to all ideas.  A wise person is one who can see and consider the diverse options that are at his disposal.   Connect with Shaman Durek  Website - https://shamandurek.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ShamanDurek Twitter - https://twitter.com/ShamanDurek Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/shamandurek/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCvuqLo-Lk6iCp4Q6inOb5Q Amazon - https://amzn.to/2VVZVRU   Connect with Doug Instagram: @dougbopst Facebook: Doug Bopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/gift   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss: www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this last week of 2020, each day we will be re-release one of the most popular episodes of the past year. We will resume our regular schedule with a new episode on 1/4/2021. Have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!   Best of 2020 #6: Lori Gottlieb - How to Improve Your Mental Health Right Now (Originally released 9/28/20)   COVID-19 challenged not only the physical strength of those who suffered from it, but also the mental health of many people suffering from depression due to lack of social connections and interactions.   Are you one of those who feel so lonely during this pandemic? Do you question yourself why you always feel like something’s wrong with you? Then you must hear what my guest says about these.   My guest today is none other than Lori Gottlieb. She is a psychotherapist and a writer. She is the author of the book “Maybe You Should Talk To Someone” and writes the weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column for The Atlantic.   A quick overview about how Lori became a therapist: Lori started working in the entertainment business because she loved stories and the human condition. So whether that was through film and labor through television, she really felt like the reason that people watch those shows and the reason that they make people laugh or cry is because the stories are about being human.    And then she worked in a real ER, where she spent a lot of time, because they used that to do research. And their consultant on the show, who was an ER physician said, “You know, I think you'd like it better here than you might in your day job.”   Being skeptical at first, Lori still ended up going up to Stanford for medical school. And when she got there, managed care was just coming into play. And she realized that she wasn't going to be able to really spend time with her patients in the way that she wanted to. So she started writing, in a way to help people to tell their stories.   Then she left medical school to become a journalist. And after working as a journalist, she had a baby. And she felt really disconnected from other adults during the day, because she loved her child. And for sure, new parents can relate to that feeling -- the need to connect with other people who can speak.   So she called up the dean at Stanford Medical School, and said she maybe needs to come back and do psychiatry. And the dean said, “You're welcome to come back. But you'd be doing mostly medication management. And you really want those longer term, deeper connections. So why don't you get a graduate degree in clinical psychology, and then you could do the kind of work that you've always talked about doing.”   So that's what Lori did. And she feels like she went from telling people stories as a journalist, to helping people to change their stories, as a therapist.    Right now, she still does both. She writes books, she has a weekly column, she has a podcast, and she has a clinical practice. And everything she does is all about a story in the human condition. What does isolation do to people's mental health? As humans, we want to be connected to other people. And even in pre COVID times, Lori thinks that there was a sort of epidemic of loneliness happening because she sees it with her patients.   A lot of the times what happens is we’re kind of distracted by all of these things that are not nourishing to us. And we don't realize how disconnected we are.    People feel anxious, sad, angry, having difficulty in relationships, and having insomnia or addiction. Whatever is happening, people are looking for something else to fill the hole of what really needs to be where connection would go.    So during this time, people are really struggling, because they didn't have a lot of practice. And they didn't cultivate those connections.    And now, the silver lining to this pandemic is that people are really saying, “Wait a minute, I need to prioritize the connections in my life, and I need to prioritize the connections that matter.”   Idiot Compassion vs. Wise Compassion Idiot compassion is what we do with our friends. Our friends will tell us a story, and then we'll say, “Yeah, you were right. They were wrong. That's terrible.” which just reinforces our very narrow view of a particular situation.   Wise compassion is what people can get in therapy. We hold up a mirror to someone, and help them to see something about themselves that maybe they haven't been willing or able to do before.   Productive Anxiety vs. Unproductive Anxiety Productive Anxiety is when you are reasonably worried about something and it's productive, because it makes you take action to protect yourself. And so we are reasonably worried about getting COVID, so we are wearing masks, we are socially distancing and doing other things that we need to do to take care of our physical immune systems.   Unproductive Anxiety is an obsessive rumination. It's like the distraction from doing something productive. You're just ruminating about something and it might not even be about COVID. It might be about that thing that your partner said to you that you can't get over with. You're like, “I can't believe they said that” and you won't let it go.   Being Envious Envy is sometimes really useful, because it tells you what you want. When you feel envy, it's because somebody else has something that you want in your life, too. Tune into this episode to be able to know the answers to your questions, and understand why you feel that way about yourself during the pandemic.   Lori Gottlieb is so amazing, and she can surely enlighten anyone who hears her speak about human conditions and how to effectively deal with it.   Connect with Lori:    Website: https://lorigottlieb.com/    Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoriGottlieb1   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GottliebLori/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorigottlieb_author/    Connect with Doug Instagram: @dougbopst Facebook: Doug Bopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/gift   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss:   www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst   Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mindset Hack to Improve Your Life No Matter What!!!   New York Times Best Selling Author and Digital Marketing wizard George Bryant is on the show today to share his incredible story of overcoming massive setbacks through the years including a chaotic childhood that that led him to join the military where he spent 12 years serving and multiple deployments.   During his time of service, George encountered many other demons while in the military including nearly losing both of his legs, 6 surgeries and also developed an opiate addiction.   An abrupt departure was soon to follow along with a bunch of trauma and PTSD. George then like many began to find healing through the power of health and wellness. George then started a popular food blog called the civilized caveman and he didn’t stop there.    He then ended up starting an app and even became a New York Times best selling author. Some may think this would lead to eternal happiness, but instead, it led him down a darker path. George was still hiding from his past and it began to haunt him. This also included his battle with bulimia.   He ended up voluntarily checking himself into a hospital, which was a much needed first step to force him to start dealing with the trauma and PTSD that was swept under the rug for much of his life.   George decided to delete all of his social media, spend time in isolation, and take some serious space to look within to get started on his healing journey and we talk all about it.   We certainly will get into his story and the methods he has used to heal. But, we also discuss things such as how isolation really helped him, how doing the internal work helps things flow externally, the mindset hack to improve your life no matter what and so many more tips and lessons along the way!   Connect with George:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsgeorgebryant/ Website: https://mindofgeorge.com/ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mind-of-george-show/id1504361992 Highspeeddaddy: https://highspeeddaddy.com/   Connect with Doug   Instagram: www.instagram.com/dougbopst Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougbopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/   Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is none other than Grant Cardone. He is a New York Times Best Selling Author of 11 books including the 10x rule and If You’re Not First, You’re Last. He is also a serial entrepreneur and owns and operates seven privately held companies, and a private equity real estate firm, Cardone Capital, with a multifamily portfolio of assets worth over $2 billion. He is the top crowdfunder in the world, having raised over $500 million on social media.  Moreover, he was named the #1 marketer to watch in 2017 by Forbes Magazine. Grant uses his massive 15 million plus following to give back via his Grant Cardone Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring underprivileged and troubled youth in financial literacy.   He will give incredible tips on how to overcome not only addiction, but any other setbacks, and the value of owning your choices, taking responsibility, and knowing that your identity can change.   He will make us realize that you do not always have to be that victim that messes up, and that you can be something great and experience massive success.   If you’ve experienced some struggles related to any of those mentioned, then this episode is for you! Grant’s Backstory:   Grant was a danger to himself, his family, his reputation, and it was not good and was very painful for him not just because of drugs, but how he felt for himself.    The issue for him was when he went to treatment, people were like, “Look. You're powerless, and your life is unmanageable.” But Grant thought that if he’s powerless, how is he going to go create the rest of his life? And that was the one thing he always struggled with.   He then realized that if his only game was just to stay clean and sober for the rest of his life, he’s just gonna end up back on drugs again, because he needed to replace that thing he was doing with a new thing that he wanted to do, and that was good.   In the beginning, his big problem was really just boredom and a lack of direction and inspiration. He never dreamed about where he is now today, but he knew he was capable more than he was doing. Grant certainly knew he was capable more than being just a “druggie.” He had to quit that, to find and be where he is right now.   More of Grant’s stories as he shares his answers to these questions and topics:   Was there ever a specific moment in Grant’s life when he’s absolutely positive that he would overcome the addiction and never go back to it?   Grant’s experience with the people who always doubt his capability   The story when Grant can’t even do a pull up   How did Grant get into fitness   Grant’s routine to stay in shape   Grant’s advice to the people who fall into the comparison trap The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure Read this book to achieve "Massive Action" results and accomplish your business dreams! The 10 x rule is basically a multiplier that's saying, “Hey, I don't have to depend on one of anything. I can get a lot of things going and help people reach out to a lot of people, not just drug addicts, not just one group of people, but I can help a whole lot other people that maybe don't have the drug problem, but that have a money problem, or that have a physical, they're not taking care of themselves physically, or they're not contributing back to society enough. I want to build the help in all those arenas, not just a small group of people.”   Takeaways:   “Anybody that's actually able to get through an addiction, if you can really harness the energy and power around it, the ability to be obsessed with a target, the ability to get something no matter how hard it is, and no matter what the obstacles are, if you can convert that energy into something positive, you are unstoppable threat for great things.” -Grant Cardone   Being ignored is way worse than being lambasted.   Don’t worry about haters, but worry about people that can’t even see you and can’t even acknowledge you because that just means that you're not doing anything, and you're not doing enough to have anybody actually be annoyed by you.   You just need to be happy with what you’re doing, and not be satisfied with the potential to do more and help out more people.   Connect with Grant:   Website: https://grantcardone.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantcardonefan  Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantCardone  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grantcardone The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure:https://store.grantcardone.com/collections/best-sellers/products/the-10x-rule-book   Discovery Channel's Undercover Billionaire Season 2: https://www.discovery.com/shows/undercover-billionaire     Connect with Doug Instagram: www.instagram.com/dougbopst Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougbopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/   Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss:   www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst   Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is Tracy Tutor -- a top real estate agent at Douglas Elliman Beverly Hills, consulting with some of the world's top architects and developers. She is the first and only female cast member on Bravo's Million Dollar Listing LA which premiered its 12th season in June 2020. Tune into this episode and learn the importance of speaking up, selling yourself with the utmost confidence, overcoming your biggest fears in order to crush it personally and professionally and much more.   Topics we discussed: Tracy’s transition in being a 21 year old who wanted to get into acting and went to USC   How and what got Tracy into real estate industry   How Tracy got into a reality show   Tracy’s advice for people who feel stuck in life, relationships   Tracy’s approach on becoming self aware, and her advice for people who are trying to figure out how to do that for themselves   What role has fitness played in Tracy’s life   What kind of workouts she does and how it evolved through the years   Tracy’s tips to develop a mindset to be able to kind of sell yourself utmost confidence that you can.   Something Tracy has gone through recently that has been challenging for her, and how she got through it   Tracy’s advice for her young self to navigate through her fear Takeaways: When you're true to yourself more often, the answers just come so much easier. You have to really look at yourself in the mirror every day and see exactly who you are, whether or not you choose to share that person with everybody else. Being self-aware is all about recognizing your faults, taking ownership of the mistakes that you make, and the failures that you have in relationships and communication, and learning from that. Having self awareness is kind of understanding what your weaknesses are, as well as your strengths -- and that's a complete person. Being confident it starts with working out and feeling good. Do deal with failure, it's important to kind of have that emotion, go through it, feel it 100% and then move the hell on from it and leave it. Trust your gut and actually use it every single time you're in a human interaction. When you feel something, speak it. Period.   Connect with Tracy:   Website: http://www.tracytutor.com   Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tracytutor   Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Just-Four-Letter-Word-Unstoppable/dp/059318873X     Connect with Doug Instagram: www.instagram.com/dougbopst Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougbopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/   Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188   More on Earth Echo Foods/Cacao Bliss:   www.earthechofoods.com/dougbopst   Use Promo code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All About the Gut Microbiome and How to Strengthen Your Immune System Right Now!   Today, we are going to talk all about the gut microbiome and how to strengthen your immune system right now. Clearly, with everything going on with COVID-19, this episode couldn’t come at a better time. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to one of the best there is on this topic.    Today's guest is Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, commonly known as Dr. B. He is an award-winning gastroenterologist and the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Fiber Fueled.   Many might not know this, but our gut is connected to almost every part of our body including our brain. Did you know that 90% of our serotonin and 50 % of our dopamine is produced in our gut?   So sometimes when we feel stressed, anxious, and depressed, this all might be tied directly to having an unhealthy gut.   It’s incredibly fascinating as is the fact that 70% of our immune system is in our gut as well.   This is why we should really be paying attention to our gut health more than ever as COVID-19 impacts so many people with underlying health issues and weaker immune systems.   In this episode, Dr. B will explain everything you need to know about the gut microbiome, how our gut health impacts things such as COVID-19, our immune system, and mental health. He will also explain the secret to how you can discover how healthy your gut is in the comfort of your and his tip for this will cost you absolutely nothing other than some time.   Finally, he will also provide the blueprint of what you can do right now to optimize your gut health and strengthen your immune system plus so much more.   Dr. B’s Backstory:   Dr. B already knew when he was a teenager that he wanted to be a doctor. He’s always been an idealist, and what he really wanted to do was to help kids, particularly the adolescent and teenage kids, because he feels like they're overlooked and they deserve more attention in this transformative period in their life. So he initially set on a path to go to medical school so that he could become a child psychiatrist.   During Dr. B’s journey to become a doctor, he suddenly fell in love with gastroenterology. At the age of 30, everything went well for his career. He was the chief medical resident at Northwestern in Chicago, one of the top internal medicine residency in the country. He won the highest award in his residency class and published eight papers in gastroenterology journals.   Of all those achievements, he still felt miserable. He hated himself. And that’s when he realized that it’s all about the diet that he was raised, which was the very classic “1980s diet” -- hotdogs, Doritos, Kool Aid, bagel bites. He gained 50 pounds, had low energy, super low self-esteem and high blood pressure.   He did some exercise like what most guys do, but everything changed when he started dating his wife who’s on a very clean diet. Out of curiosity, he followed that thread and started making small changes.   He noticed that he instantly felt better. He didn't have the hangover after meals, he was energized, his skin started to change, and his hair got thicker. His weight also started falling of as well.   Those changes inspired him so much that he became obsessed with digging into the medical literature. He became a believer because of the way that it transformed his own life. He felt that his patients deserved it too. So he brought that into his clinic, and saw similar amazing and transformative results with them.   In 2016, he just felt compelled to share the story, but also felt that it wasn’t enough. That’s the reason why he created his Instagram account. He didn’t expect so much in the beginning, so when he reached 1,000 followers, Dr. B and his wife celebrated and popped a bottle of champagne.   Fast forward, his book called “Fiber Fueled” came out in May this year, and it's a New York Times bestseller. Today, they're closing in on 100,000 copies and it’s only a little over six months since the book came out.   Now that you already know Dr. B’s backstory, take a look at these very interesting topics and lessons we discussed:   The meaning of the gut microbiome   Why stress and the gut microbiome go hand in hand with each other   The different ways our gut can communicate with our brain   The antagonistic pleiotropy   The connection between gut microbiome and COVID-19   Things that people can do to strengthen their gut and immune system   The special connection between our gut microbes and fiber   Why do people need to pay attention to where they're getting the fiber from   The importance of the diversity of plants in your diet   Bonus: smoothie recipe of Dr. B’s wife   The Bristol Stool Chart   The different types of bowel movement   The effect on trauma in the gut   How Dr. B and his team help the patients who were victims of trauma and abuse   Inflammation in the gut Fiber Fueled by Dr. B:   “Fiber Fueled is so much more than a health book. It’s a step-by-step methodology to stop the misinformation madness caused by the diet industry, and show you the simple, science-backed process for a lifestyle that is effortless, sustainable, and above all else, it transforms your health by optimizing your gut microbiome.” Takeaways:   Microbes are not just passively in the human body. They are there with a purpose. They have been there since the beginning of human history.    There's never been a sterile human, we've always had a relationship with these microbes.   The healthy microbiomes give us access to our nutrients. are connected to our immune system. are connected to our metabolism. are connected to our hormones. are connected to our brain.   A healthy gut is the path to a healthy brain, including our mood.   Our bowel movement is actually predominantly made up of your gut microbes.   Plant Diversity in your diet Is king when it comes to having a healthy gut. Simple ways are through smoothies and salads.   Connect with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz:   Website: https://theplantfedgut.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguthealthmd/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theguthealthmd   Get Dr. B's book Fiber Fueled here:   https://amzn.to/37VHhi6   Sign up for Dr. B's Course here:   https://theplantfedgut.com/course/   Connect with Doug   Instagram: @dougbopst   Facebook: Doug Bopst   Private Facebook Group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188   Website: www.dougbopst.com/gift   More on Soul CBD Gummies:   Click the link below and enter the code "Doug" at checkout to receive 15% off Soul CBD Gummies!    www.mysoulcbd.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adulting Like a Mother Father Co-Hosts Daniella Monet and Andrew Gardner join me on the show today!    You may recognize Daniella Monet from her days as a former Nickelodeon star including a main role on the show, “Victorious” alongside Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice, and others.   The show ended up winning the Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards twice and was also nominated for 4 Emmys.  While many young stars find themselves spiraling down a dark path after experiencing fame, Daniella, fortunately, wasn’t one of them.   She has created a new path for herself that includes entrepreneurship, motherhood and co-hosting the popular Adulting Like a Mother Father podcast with her fiance, Andrew Gardner, which I had the absolute pleasure of being a guest on. You are going to want to go to check it out.   Andrew has a story of his own, which we will dive more into during the show. But, just to give you some context, he is a former CPA turned entrepreneur and coffee guru. He took that leap of faith and left the business world to pursue his dreams of making a difference in the world through being a father and starting a company of his own, Drew Coffee. Drew Coffee is a single batch sustainably roasting company that was recently released a few weeks ago that Andrew considers his “second baby” (PS they have another human on the way). Andrew and I have developed a friendship over these last few months and actually had the chance to grab a coffee with him last time I was in LA.   If you are having a hard time making decisions to get to the place where you want to be, and you’re always comparing your status to other people’s lives, then you must listen to this episode.    Daniella and Andrew will make us realize that knowing what you really want, loving what you do, and being happy for other people’s achievements will give us genuine happiness and contentment.   Topics we discussed:   How Daniella and Andrew met each other   Daniella’s story about what she missed out when she was in and out of school at the age of 13   How working full time in the entertainment industry at the age of 15 affected Daniella’s mental health   Why Daniella thinks many young stars spiral downward   What are the things Daniella does to lift herself up and how she pivoted out of acting   Andrew’s backstory from college to being an entrepreneur   How Daniella and Andrew started their podcast   Andrew’s story about his decision to stop drinking   Comparison trap, and how they dealt with it   Other things that shifted Daniella’s energy into continuing her own journey   Daniella’s explanation about what plant-based means   How Andrew and Daniella deal with COVID   Meditations they both do   What’s next for Andrew Gardner and Daniella Monet? Adulting Like a Mother Father   The focus is to ask questions that get people thinking about what they can do themselves versus looking for validation, what they can do to move forward, and whatever they've been dealing with in their lives, how do they succeed in adulting.   Drew Coffee   They use an air roasting process, which is a lot cleaner for the environment.   It's ethically sustainably sourced from smallholder producers who own less than 25 acres. So these aren't these massive farms and their farming practices are typically done in organic fashion, they may not have the certs just because of the cost and paperwork factor. But the work is still done that way.   Takeaways:   In the entertainment industry, where a lot of people are very self centric, you have to be super mindful of who you're hanging out with, and whether they have your best interests at heart at the end of the day.   The important thing is to never close yourself off to other opportunities.    “I'm more happy with my family, my kid, focusing on our businesses, focusing on fitness, coffee, specifically. They fill me up. They make me feel way better than a drink does. And so for me, at this point in my life, it's enough for me to say, I don't really need it because there's plenty else out there for me.” -Andrew Gardner   It's not always easy. But that (applauding others for their success) is the only way you're gonna get what you want in life. There's no other way around it.   If you think about your time ending at some point, and where you're at right now, if it's not where you want to be, you’ve got to do the things to get where you want to be in that short amount of time, because it's ending at some point. Connect with Daniella and Andrew:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellamonet   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaftonguy Adulting like a Mother Father: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adulting-like-a-mother-father/id1486667929 Drew Coffee   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewcoffee.co   Website: drewcoffee.co   Connect with Doug Instagram: www.instagram.com/dougbopst Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougbopst Website: www.dougbopst.com/   Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/690686891674188 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices