The Jason Wright Show

Kenneth Depew on The Jason Wright Show I’m very fortunate to have very smart and accomplished friends. Kenneth Depew is certainly no exception. Kenneth served in both Afghanistan as well as Iraq. Recently he became involved with Afghanistan once again not as a soldier but as a congressional aide trying to bring Americans home. He has also spent time on the ground in Ukraine where he gives a first hand account of exactly what the region has gone through, the realities of Russian warfare and just what war smells and looks like. It was a great and far ranging conversation. Oh, and yes we also discuss rucking. This has become one of my new passions and Kenneth is a veteran at rucking for his job as a soldier as well as for fitness. Enjoy the show. Follow me on Insta @jasonwrightnow http://www.jasonwrightnow.com

‘The Stone Chiseler’ was inspired by Viktor Frankl’s ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ It is a story about a young boy, Giovanni Chistianni, who loses everything dear to him in life. He is even cast into the dreaded outdoor prison known as The Stone Yards. However, it is there he discovers who he really is. Will he accept his fate as just another listeless Stone Chiseler? Or will he develop in himself a sculptor? This book is the classical heroes journey. I hope you will have a listen to Chapter 1 of ‘The Stone Chiseler’ and consider ordering the full book at Amazon or Audible. Thanks for listening! Order The Stone Chiseler on Amazon HERE

August 12, 2022 I Why I Haven’t Had a Drink In 4 Years and What I’ve Learned So about 4 years ago I decided to abrogate drinking from my life altogether. It was a huge step. I come from a family of drinkers. We Wrights love to throw back cold beers and have a good time. However, in an effort to reach peak health and performance I decided alcohol wasn’t part of that mix. So I quit. No more. In this episode I discuss what it was like quitting, how people treat you when you’re the guy that “doesn’t drink” and how you too should you desire to quit can improve your chances for success. Let me be clear. This is NOT an episode to try to get anyone to quit drinking or shame those who drink. It’s just a little testimonial I thought might bring value to my audience. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think. Follow me on Insta @jasonwrightnow Checkout my new book ‘The Stone Chiseler’ HERE Subscribe to my newsletter The Vitruvian Letter HERE

So an interesting question came through this week in the Vitruvian Letter. So I did my best to answer. It was a big enough question I thought I’d share it as well as my answer here on the JWS. If you are not a subscriber of The Vitruvian Letter, you can become one HERE. I hope you will check it out. Thanks for listening. Also, please give me a follow on Insta @jasonwrightnow Keep endeavoring to ‘Improve always in ALL ways!”

August 5, 2022 Improve Your Focus Always in ALL Ways With a Word From Dr. Andrew Humberman For complete Huberman episode referenced in this episode click below Winter, 1914.The Belgium landscape looked like the haunted forest from a child’s nightmare. Once-verdant vegetation and trees were stripped and scorched, desolated by artillery fire.Relentless rain called for makeshift bridges, built so soldiers could traverse the mud bogs and continue the push on the Western front.But the rain was slick. Soldiers slipped, their shoulders heavily laden with gear. The mud swallowed their legs, rendering them paralyzed Comrades reached in to pull them out. Shells showered overhead. The smell of chlorine––chemical warfare––was overwhelming, overpowered only by the stench emanating from piles of the fallen surrounding them.Their efforts to free their flailing comrades from the mud failed. Occasionally, as they scrambled to save them, the mud would claim another victim. The sinking soldiers were left behind. Hellfire above them, unable to move, before suffocating, they had hours to sink. The panic, fear, and helplessness drove some of them to the edge of insanity. And the mud swallowed them whole.Of all the difficult and dangerous battlefields of history, the Flanders Trenches during the winter of 1914 tops the list. Military scholars tell us that this is due to a single reason:World War I marked a historical intersection of modern weapons with medieval strategy.Similarly, the 21st century marks a historical intersection of modern technology with ancient biology.There’s a war going on for your attention. And it’s relentless.According to the data, most of us are drowning in the mess and mud; the average knowledge worker is interrupted every 11 minutes, checks their inboxes 56 times per day, and completes 1.5 hours of work per day.If you don’t protect your consciousness, you’ll risk becoming a casualty.The good news? Unlike WWI, the damage from today’s weapons––smartphones, laptops, social media, VR gaming devices––is self-inflicted. This means the attention war is winnable.So what causes all this wasted attention in the first place?In one word:Distraction.We know by now that distraction stresses us out, makes us dumber, blunts our empathy, and fragments our attention. So in this series, we’ll focus primarily on the distinctions that are most relevant to flow.Neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley defines distractions as “goal-irrelevant information that we either encounter in our external surroundings or generate internally within our minds.”The operative word here is “information.”We’re wired to crave information. In primates, the brain responds to new information like how it responds to food. This served our ancestors because new information was a matter of life or death.Learning that a lion was lurking in the bushes––new information––was more important than staying focused. In a crisis like that, ignoring Simba and finishing a task would be fatal. This is partly why our information-seeking drive is stronger than top-down cognitive control––attention, working memory, and goal management.What’s happening under the hood here?It starts with the nucleus accumbens––a cluster of nerve cells underneath the cerebral cortex. Neuroscientists often refer to it as the brain’s pleasure center. It’s the region that lights up when gamblers place a bet, drug addicts snort, or when people have orgasms.The likelihood that an activity will lead to addiction links to 1) how fast it releases dopamine, 2) the intensity of that release, and 3) the reliability of that release.Inhaling or injecting a drug––as opposed to swallowing a pill––produces a faster and stronger dopamine release. Social media, smartphones, and modern-day tech act similarly. They’re designed to cause a dopamine surge in the nucleus accumbens as fast as possible.And the pleasure of this release is so extreme that many animals would rather die than stop experiencing it.In a famous experiment at McGill University, neuroscientists Peter Milner and James Olds placed a small electrode in the brains of rats on the nucleus accumbens. A lever in the cage allowed these rats to send a small electrical signal directly to their nucleus accumbens.Do you think they liked it?Boy, how they did. They liked it so much that they did nothing else. They forgot all about eating and sleeping. Starved or not, they ignored tasty food. They even ignored sexual opportunities. The rats pressed the lever over and again until they died.The average knowledge worker behaves similarly every time we dispatch an email, tap out a text, or gawk at our news feed. Our brain gets a dollop of dopamine and we feel a tiny sense of accomplishment. This incessant info-snacking constitutes a neural addiction.Again, for our ancestors, this info-gathering was essential. But in a high-tech world where everything is meticulously engineered by the brightest minds of our time to seize and sustain our attention? It’s more a bug than a feature.Technology facilitates the ability for us to be like caged rats – endlessly pressing that lever for pleasure.And that’s just modern tech interacting with our internal dopamine system.Attention is further threatened when you bring in everyone else.There are over 7.9 billion people in the world. 5.3 billion of them are on the internet. 2.9 billion are active on Facebook every month.What do these people have in common?They want you to hear them, see them, like them, understand them, and follow them.But that’s not all.There are 250 million businesses. 150 million have websites. 70 million of them advertise online using 5,000 different tools to optimize their marketing efforts.These companies spend $629 billion dollars per year on ads to do one thing:To get your attention.At this point, it’s hard to imagine life before our personal and professional world was so dominated and switched on. Our devices are as indispensable as they are distractible.We check our phones every twelve minutes (often after first waking up). We check our phones up to 150 times per day (every 6-7 minutes that we are awake).We have become interruptible every second of the day. In the average office, there’s a meager 5 minutes between interruptions. Nearly half of workplace employees respond to an email immediately after receiving it, and spend ten minutes dealing with its contents, only to take another ten to fifteen minutes to return to work. And this sort of rapid response is expected.And these trends are exponential. It took radio 38 years to get 50 million users. For Angry Birds to reach that milestone? It took 35 days. The speed of adoption is accelerating––and our attention span is evaporating in kind.One study by Workplace Options found that this chronic distraction is costing American businesses approximately $650 billion dollars per year in lost productivity.This constant fragmentation of concentration has become the new normal. We’re living in a state of continuous partial attention (CPA)––a phrase coined by an ex-Microsoft and Apple consultant, Linda Stone. By adopting this always-on––anytime, anywhere, anyplace––behavior, we scan the world all the time, but rarely give full attention to anything.Considering we’re still walking around with the same wetware our ancestors had hundreds of thousands of years ago… In the short term, we’ve adapted remarkably well to these demands on our attention.But in the long term?Well, distractions make us dumber. In 2005, research by Glen Wilson at the London Institute of Psychiatry found that persistent interruptions and distractions at work have a profoundly negative impact on our intelligence. In his study, those distracted by emails and phone calls saw a 10-point decrease in their IQ.According to a 2010 study by Daniel Gilbert and Matthew Killingsworth out of Harvard, we spend nearly 47 percent of our working hours thinking about something other than what we’re doing. This “mind wandering” has been shown to decrease cognitive performance. It has a negative impact on working memory and fluid intelligence.Distractions also stress us out. Stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol create a physiological, hyper-alert state. We scan the environment for stimuli––itching for an info-hit––but are only temporarily assuaged. This leads to a constant assault of stress hormones.The biggest problem?Sources of dopamine-inducing information are everywhere, all the time. That means that, in the modern attention economy, winning the war is about what you ignore.Research shows that the primary determinant of high-level working memory isn’t the ability to focus. Instead, memory depends more on ignoring distractions. And that ability is fragile, even among young adults.You may think that being surrounded by sources of distractions––your phone, notifications on your laptop, other people––isn’t a big deal, as long as you don’t give in to the pull.But here’s the key:Filtering incoming stimuli isn’t passive. Andrew D. Huberman (born September 26, 1975 in Palo Alto, California) is an American neuroscientist and associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine who has made contributions to the brain development, brain plasticity, and neural regeneration and repair fields. Much of his work is focused on the visual system, including the mechanisms controlling light-mediated activation of the circadian and autonomic arousal centers in the brain, as well as brain control over conscious vision or sight.[1][2] Huberman has been credited with coining the term “Non-Sleep Deep Rest” (NSDR), referring to practices that place the brain and body into shallow sleep to accelerate neuroplasticity and help offset mental and physical fatigue.[3][4][5] Huberman was awarded the McKnight Foundation Neuroscience Scholar Award (2013),[6] and a Biomedical Scholar Award from the Pew Charitable Trusts.[7] He received the 2017 ARVO Cogan Award for his contributions to the fields of vision science and efforts to regenerate the visual system and cure blindness.[8] Huberman is an elected member of the National Institutes of Health Grants Advisory Panel “Neurobiology of Visual Processes”,[9] and the editorial boards for Current Biology,[10] The Journal of Neuroscience, The Journal of Comparative Neurology, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Cell Reports,[11] and Neural Development.[12] He is a member of Faculty of 1000.[13]

In 2004, I set out to conduct a five-year “Rich Habits” study to explore how the world’s wealthiest people think about their money. Each of the 233 millionaires I interviewed fell into one of four categories: Saver-Investors: No matter what their day job is, they make saving and investing part of their daily routine. They are constantly thinking about smart ways to grow their wealth. Company Climbers: Climbers work for a large company and devote all of their time and energy to climbing the corporate ladder until they land a senior executive position — with an extremely high salary. Virtuosos: They are among the best at what they do, and they’re paid a high premium for their knowledge and expertise. Formal education, such as advanced degrees (e.g., in law or medicine), is usually a requirement. Dreamers: The individuals in this group are all in pursuit of a dream, such starting their own business, becoming a successful actor, musician or best-selling author. Dreamers love what they do for a living, and their passion shows up in their bank accounts. The Saver-Investor route requires the least amount of risk — at least compared to pursuing an entrepreneurial dream or artistic passion. But 88% of the millionaires I interviewed said that saving in particular was critical to their long-term financial success.  It took the average millionaire in my study between 12 to 32 years to accumulate a net worth of anywhere from $3 million to $7 million. Below are their three most common habits that anyone can adopt: 1. They automated, and saved 20% of net pay. Every Saver-Investor in my study consistently saved 20% or more of their net pay, each paycheck.  Many accomplished this by automating the withdrawal of a fixed percentage of their net pay. Typically, 10% went into employer-sponsored retirement accounts and the other 10% was automatically directed into a separate savings account. Once a month, the Saver-Investors would then transfer their accumulated 10% monthly savings into an investment account, such as a brokerage account. Even if 20% is too steep at the moment, saving a smaller percentage consistently can still help you meet your financial goals for the future. 2. They regularly invested a portion of their savings. Because Saver-Investors consistently invested their savings, their money compounded over time. When they started, this compound interest was not very significant. But after 10 years, they began to accumulate significant wealth. Towards the final years of their working lives, the Saver-Investors’ wealth grew to an average of $3.3 million.   The millionaires who pursued a dream and started a business (a.k.a. the Dreamer-Entrepreneurs) did not have the ability to invest their savings, particularly in the early stages of pursuing their dreams. Whatever savings they did have were used as working capital in order to fund their dream. Interestingly, however, once most of these Dreamer-Entrepreneur achieved success in the form of available cash flow, they immediately pivoted and began to invest their earnings. 3. They were extremely frugal. One of the common denominators for Saver-Investors, Big Company Climbers and the Virtuoso self-made millionaires in my study was being frugal. For these millionaires, frugality began the moment they received their first paycheck. For the Dreamer-Entrepreneurs, it started the moment their dream created enough cash flow to enable them to save and invest. Being frugal requires three things: Awareness: Being aware of how you spend your money. Focus on quality: Spending your money on quality products and services. Bargain shopping: Spending the least amount possible by shopping around for the lowest price. On its own, being frugal will not make you rich. It is just one piece to the “Rich Habits” puzzle, and there are many pieces. But it will allow you to save a larger amount of money. And the more you have in savings, the more money you can invest. Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life” and “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.” Don’t miss: There are 4 main paths to becoming a millionaire—and this is the easiest one, says money expert Author who studied millionaires for 5 years: Don’t play the lottery if you want to retire rich Early retiree shares 13 ‘stupid simple’ money rules that helped him save $1 million: ‘I wasn’t born rich’ Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

The Happiness Index Bhutan (The Happy Kingdom) Pickleball After playing golf one Saturday during the summer, Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, successful businessman, returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA (near Seattle) to find their families sitting around with nothing to do. The property had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net.As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together. Rep. Joel Pritchard 1967 The first permanent pickleball court was constructed in the backyard of Joel Pritchard’s friend and neighbor, Bob O’Brian. 1972 A corporation was formed to protect the creation of this new sport. Original Pickleball Court 1975 The National Observer published an article about pickleball followed by a 1976 article in Tennis magazine about “America’s newest racquet sport.” 1976 During the spring of 1976, the first known pickleball tournament in the world was held at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won Men’s Singles and Steve Paranto placed second. Many of the participants were college tennis players who knew very little about pickleball. In fact, they practiced with large wood paddles and a softball sized plastic ball. 1978 The book, The Other Raquet Sports, was published and included information about pickleball. 1982 Pickleball pioneer, Sid Williams began playing and organizing tournaments in Washington state. 1984 The United States Amateur Pickleball Association (U.S.A.P.A.) was organized to perpetuate the growth and advancement of pickleball on a national level. The first rulebook was published in March 1984. The first Executive Director and President of U.S.A.P.A. was Sid Williams who served from 1984 to 1998. He was followed by Frank Candelario who kept things going until 2004. The first composite paddle was made by Arlen Paranto, a Boeing Industrial Engineer. He used the fiberglass/nomex honeycomb panels that commercial airlines use for their floors and part of the airplane’s structural system. Arlen made about 1,000 paddles from fiberglass/honeycomb core and graphite/honeycomb core materials until he sold the company to Frank Candelario. 1990 Pickleball was being played in all 50 states. 1992 Pickle-Ball, Inc. manufactured pickleballs in-house with a custom drilling machine. 1997 Joel Pritchard passed away at age 72. Though he was Washington State’s Lieutenant governor from 1988 to 1996, he is probably better known for his connection to the birth of pickleball. 1999 The first pickleball internet website, Pickleball Stuff, launched and provided players with information, equipment, and products. 2001 The game of pickleball was introduced for the first time in the Arizona Senior Olympics through the efforts of Earl Hill.  The tournament was played at Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, AZ and drew 100 players. It was the largest event ever played to that point. Over the next few years the event grew to nearly 300 players. 2003 There are 39 known places to play in North America listed on the Pickleball Stuff website. This represents 10 States, 3 Canadian Provinces and about 150 individual courts. Pickleball was included for the first time in the Huntsman World Senior Games, held each year in St. George, Utah during October. 2005 A new corporation for the sport was established as USA Pickleball Association (USAPA).  Mark Friedenberg was named the first president of the new USAPA and the first Board of Directors included: Vice President – Steve WongSecretary – Fran MyerTreasurer – Lela ReedGeneral Counsel – Phil MortensonGrievance – Phil MortensonMarketing – Erne Perry followed by Pat Carroll in March, 2006Membership – Carole MyersNational/International Relations and the Ambassador Program – Earl HillNewsletter – Jettye LaniusRatings and Rankings – Mark FriedenbergRules – Dennis DueyTournaments – Barney MyerTraining – Norm DavisWebmaster – Steve Wong Steve Wong (former USAPA Webmaster) created the first USAPA website that went live in March. Website activity continued to increase as the popularity of pickleball grows and the features of the website increase. USAPA became a Non-Profit Corporation on July 1. USAPA cooperated with several web sites to have them discontinue their Places to Play links and consolidate all their entries into the USAPA database creating a single reliable source for players to find sites to play.  Today this website is: places2play.org 2006 One of the originating founders of the sport, Bill Bell passes away at 83. 2008 The USAPA Rules Committee, headed by Dennis Duey, published the (1) USA Pickleball Association Official Tournament Rulebook – Revision: May 1, 2008.  Pickleball was included for the first time at the National Senior Games Association (NSGA). There are now 420 places to play in North American as listed on the USAPA website. This represents 43 States and 4 Canadian Provinces and about 1500 individual courts. This does not account for those places that are adding courts at private homes. ABC’s Good Morning America aired live, in-studio segment on pickleball that included a brief demonstration.  This was the first mass media exposure for the sport. 2009 The first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Arizona, November 2-8, 2009. The tournament drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. USAPA establishes the Grant Program to assist players in creating new sites for new players. By the end of 2013 the program has accounted for over 1,400 new sites. 2010 To help foster the growth of the sport on an international level, USAPA established the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) organization and corresponding website (ifpickleball.org). 2013 In January, Justin Maloof joined USAPA as its first full-time Executive Director. USAPA starts the year off with a record 4,071 members. USAPA re-brands with a new logo and red, white, and blue color scheme that is more consistent with other US national sports governing bodies. 2014 USAPA launched a new, more user-friendly website. Pickleball Channel launched making it the first professional media group for the sport 2015 USAPA surpasses 10,000 members for the first time. The first USAPA ambassador retreat was held in Tahoe City, CA. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), there are now just over 2 million pickleball players. USAPA and author Mary Littlewood collaborate with publisher, Human Kinetics to produce a new pickleball book for beginners titled (2) Pickleball Fundamentals, Master the Basics and Compete with Confidence. After 6 years in Buckeye, AZ, USAPA moves the USAPA National Championships to Casa Grande, AZ. Total number of courts per Places2Play continues to grow and breaks through 10,000 courts and finishes the year at 12,800 for both indoor and outdoor courts. 2016 USAPA reports it now has more than 17,000 members. USAPA creates a national certified referee certification program. Pickleball Magazine launched as the sports first full-color, professional print and digital publication.  USAPA members receive a free digital copy and a discount on a mailed subscription. The first US Open Pickleball Championships were held in Naples, FL and included the first nationally televised broadcast of pickleball on CBS Sports Network. More than 4,600 locations are now listed on Places2Play. USAPA selects St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital as it’s national charitable partner. The Super Senior International Pickleball Association (SSIPA) was created and partners with USAPA and sanctions all their tournaments. 2017 The USAPA volunteer Ambassador group exceeds 1,500. Places2Play reflects nearly 5,900 locations. USAPA expands the number of USAPA regionals from 8 to 11. USAPA and the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) partner to co-author the first official pickleball construction book for the sports industry. (3) Pickleball Courts – a Construction & Maintenance Manual provides detailed technical information for properly building pickleball courts and facilities. USAPA and the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA) launched a Pickleball Hall of Fame.  Inaugural inductees were Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum, Sid Williams, Arlen Paranto, Mark Friedenberg, and Billy Jacobsen. With over 1,300 players, the USAPA National Championships sets a record for participants and for the first time, a 2-hour segment of the event airs to a nation-wide audience on CBS Sports Network. USAPA membership doubles in two years and is 22,000 by December. 2018 USAPA membership surpasses 30,000. Total number of courts per Places2Play locations is nearly 7,000 and there are nearly 21,000 known courts across the U.S. USAPA partners with Pickleballtournaments.com to produce and launch the sports first results-based tournament player ratings (UTPRs). USAPA partners with the newly formed Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), a subsidiary of the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR).  During the first 6 months, PPR certifies over 1,000 new pickleball instructors. USAPA members Jennifer Lucore and Beverly Youngren co-author and publish the sport’s first historical book, (4) History of Pickleball, More Than 50 Year of Fun! The USA Pickleball partners with Desert Champions, LLC with a multi-year deal and moves the National Championships to the world-renowned Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA. Registration for the newly branded Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships explodes to over 2,200 participants.  The event featured over 17 hours of live-streamed content to a nation-wide audience on ESPN3 and a 1-hour segment aired nationally on ESPNEWS.  The event also provides the highest cash purse ($75,000) in the history of the sport. USAPA Facebook team carried several live matches of the National Championships on Facebook and had a total reach of over 1.5Million viewers. Pickleball Hall of Fame inductees were Earl Hill, Fran Myer and Robert Lanius. 2019 USA Pickleball Association as part of the growth agenda adds several new staff including Hope Tolley, Managing Director, Recreation Programs, George Bauernfeind, as first Chief Marketing Officer, and Karen Parrish, Head of Competition and Officiating. The Sports Fitness Industry Association 2019 report indicates pickleball continues as one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. as participants reaches 3.3 million. The last of the three originating founders of the sport, Barney McCallum passed away at 93. The Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships places a greater emphasis on spectators and the spectator experience. A VIP lounge and live video screens were placed just outside the stadium court where fans could enjoy the action from the food and beverage areas. The event drew nearly 28,000 fans. Pickleball Hall of Fame inductees were Dan Gabanek, Jennifer Lucore, Enrique Ruiz and Steve Paranto. USAPA reaches almost 40,000 members by the end of the year, a 1,000% growth rate since beginning of 2013. 2020 USAPA rebranded as USA Pickleball, aligning more consistently it with other US sports governing bodies and our USA Pickleball National Championships. The brand re-launch also includes a new, modern logo and an updated website. The new name, logo and website are designed to strengthen USA Pickleball’s worldwide image as the official pickleball organization in the U.S. Stu Upson joins USA Pickleball in December as first full-time CEO. 2021 USA Pickleball Membership reached the 50,000 milestone and ended the year with just over 53,000 members, a 43% increase from the previous year and the largest single growth year to date for the organization. With over 2,300 registered players, the 2021 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships presented by Pickleball Central was the largest tournament in the world to date. USAP continued to reinvest in staff infrastructure and ended the year with nearly 20 staff members. Media exposure also continued to drive awareness with several national segments on NBC’s The Today Show, CNBC, BBC News, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and stories published within top-rated publications including, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Allure, The Boston Globe, The Economist, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Parade, and Axios.

This conversation could have gone on for hours. Brandon Guyer speaks the language of excellence with perfect articulation. A guy who exudes what Dr. Carol Dweck calls a growth mindset, Brandon has shown having a champion mindset will allow you to leverage to the highest degree your physical talents. There is so much wisdom packed into this conversation you may want to listen more than once. Enjoy the show! BRANDON’S BASEBALL JOURNEY MORE ABOUT BRANDON “I was that kid who played outside until called for dinner. I loved and played every sport, but there was just something special about baseball. I knew early on it was my true passion and I set out to be the very best version of myself. This was a series of trial and error stories. I came to realize that hitting more balls and lifting more weights wasn’t the answer for me. To achieve greatness, I knew I needed to seek and acquire tools I felt were essential in my development as a well rounded person and player. So, that’s what I did. I became OBSESSED with learning ways to improve. It started with nutrition, and finding ways to fuel my body for success. It wasn’t an overnight success either. Nutritional training soon turned into mental training, and functional physical training specific to baseball. If it could help me get to the next level, I was all in. I feel blessed to say I’m a 7 year veteran of Major League Baseball. It’s something I am very proud of. Of course I would have loved to play 20+ years, but it wasn’t in the cards, and I’m at peace with that. When I sit back and reflect on what I could have done differently, I can honestly say there’s nothing. I gave my all every single day and earned everything I was able to achieve. My scholarship to the University of Virginia, my promotions in the minor leagues, my call to the show, my role as a player in the bigs. I worked for literally everything. Today I’m better for it. I’m grateful for the demotions and the promotions. I’m grateful for the strike outs and the home runs, for the hits I got robbed of and the ones that blooped in. I’m grateful for the losses and the wins, the struggles and the triumphs, the successes and failures. I’m grateful for the joy and the tears, and for the beginning and the end. I’m grateful for all of that because now I have the experience and knowledge to pass onto you.”

*Battling demons and recovering. Dr. Dan Crawford finds his way back *”Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter is a must read * Peter Attia and the power of exercise (Credit Joe Rogan Experience) This is just a little way to button up the week. I hope you have a great week and continue to improve always in ALL ways #PeterAttia #MichaelEaster #Improvealwaysinallways #longevity

So a year or so ago I’m introduced to Dr. Dan Crawford. He’s the dynamic, Cajun tattooed principal of one of the largest high schools in East Texas. The kids love him. His social media is prolific with him surrounded by the kids he loves, inspires and leads. I fell in love with the guy immediately. He held the title of Dr. but he was more like one of my Sulphur Springs High School buddies. He was a good ole boy, a well educated one, but just a good ole boy nonetheless. Then not long after I saw this report in the Tyler Paper. Police: Cocaine, blood at scene of former principal Crawford’s home By Zak Wellerman zwellerman@tylerpaper.comJun 29, 2021 Updated Aug 7, 2021 When police arrived at then-Tyler Legacy Principal Dan Crawford’s home in early June, documents state he was leaned against the back door of his residence with a red face and neck that were completely covered in blood. He was sitting in a large pool of blood and appeared to have a large cut on the back of his head, according to the arrest affidavit. Police said the officer saw two puddles of blood across the kitchen late at night on June 2, and next to the sink the officer found a small baggie with a “white powdery substance.” That substance was tested immediately and presumptively identified as cocaine. On June 16, results from a forensic scientist at the Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Tyler confirmed the substance was about .22 grams of cocaine, according to the affidavit. I was shocked! No way! Folks, Tyler is not Dallas. There’s nowhere to hide. This down is a fish bowl and Dan has chosen to keep swimming. I’m so glad I was able to get him on the show. “Dr. C” is trying to ‘Improve always in ALL ways.’ As a friend, I’m here for it. I hope you will tune in to this very personal and transparent story of a man fighting his way back from the ashes of a fire he lit.