Northstar Unplugged

Deana Zabaldo is a certified coach and a professional guide. She supports inner journeys exploring mind, body, and soul and also leads adventures through the Himalayas. An award-winning trekking and cultural guide, Deana has more than 20 years of hands-on experience in the Himalayas and a passion for its culture and peoples. She designed and led Outside Magazine’s Best Himalayan Trip in 2012 and won first place in the 2013 World Guide Awards based on her service, knowledge, and ethical travel standards. She continues to lead in-depth cultural, spiritual, and trekking journeys in Nepal and Bhutan.As a somatic coach, Deana specializes in helping people to map and bridge the inner territories of their felt experience, intuition, and aspirations and then apply that whole-body intelligence in their professional and personal lives. With pragmatic wisdom, Deana inspires and supports people to discover, value, and cultivate their inner compass — an approach clients report has enabled them to forge their own unique paths toward self-awareness and happier, more fulfilling lives. Deana’s wide-ranging interests have led her to conduct productivity training for businesses, launch and direct cultural exchange programs, design and deliver training in manufacturing facilities, and teach university psychology courses. She also founded and continues to direct Changing Lives Nepal, a nonprofit that catalyzes sustainable, effective change and alleviates poverty through local leadership and grassroots development. Through small, targeted funding and long-term commitment, CLN continues to improve the lives of thousands of people in remote villages of Nepal.Deana resides in Marin County, CA and has lived in rural Nepal as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. She has travelled across the U.S. and more than 25 countries in her explorations of spirit, soul, nature, and embodied awareness. Resources:Parahamsa Upcoming journeys:Snowman Trek (Bhutan, Oct 2021)Spiritual Journey (Bhutan, Nov 2021)Changing Lives Nepal  World Guide Awards Outside Magazine’s Best Himalayan TripSpirit RockInfo about Deana’s coaching + 2021 trips:info@parahamsa.comDeana’s book recommendations:How to Not Always Be Working (Marlee Grace)Inward (Yung Pueblo) The New Silk Roads (Peter Frankopan)Deana’s podcast recommendations:Jay Shetty  (on Rich Roll)Rangan Chatterjee  (on Rich Roll)Michael Singer (on Tony Robbin podcast)|The Moth podcast 

Newton Cheng  has spent his 12-year career at Google developing, launching and scaling global programs aimed at helping Googlers to thrive. Today he oversees Google’s global fitness and massage/recovery programs. He  explores how Google can leverage spaces and services, community, culture and technology to drive the physical, mental, and social health of Googlers, their families, and neighbors. He lives in Sunnyvale, CA with his wife, daughter and four cats. In his spare time he trains as a competitive powerlifter, has set five U.S. and 18 California state records, and is a world bronze medalist and two time US national champion.Resources:Newton Cheng- Haas interview, YouTube, 2018  Articles featuring Ericsson study on correlation between high performers + napsSure, Practice Makes Perfect-- but it isn’t enough Inc.The Quiet Secret to Success- Greater Good Newton’s beer recommendations:Pliny the ElderHazy IPAs Heady TopperHumble Sea  HeinekenNewton’s recommended books:Building Brand Communities & The Art of Community (Vogl)Life on Purpose (Strecher)Relentless (Grover)Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology (Siegel) Together (Murthy)  The Science of Organizational Change (Gibbons)   Doughnut Economics (Raworth)  

Margot Darling and Callie Martin met several years ago while kickboxing and together launched the Starseed vegan food truck in Bozeman which just completed its first season. This episode explores the challenges and joys of launching a food truck, and each of their journeys prior to the collaboration, including Margot’s experience co-leading a whitewater rafting company and raising two kids and Callie’s career as a pastry chef and her battle with anorexia.Resources:Starseed- website   Starseed- Facebook pageForever Strong kickboxing + fitness studio (Bozeman)Krav Maga self-defenseMargot’s book recommendations:Healing with Whole Foods (Pitchford)Oh She Glows cookbooks- (Lidden) The Gene Keys (Rudd)Women Who Run with the Wolves (Estés)Callie’s book recommendations:The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef (White)My Fight/ Your Fight (Rousey)Daring Greatly (Brown)Siddhartha (Hesse)About Margot:Margot is a Canadian girl who never recovered from summer camp. She came to Bozeman over 20 years ago to be a whitewater rafting guide. She is a mother of 2 wild children and a student of all things mystical. She loves eating, and finding ways to make healthy food super yummy. About Callie:Born in Montana, Callie Martin moved back in 2016 and is happy to call Bozeman home again. Her culinary curiosity began at a young age baking biscuits with her mom on the family ranch.  Her passion for health, fitness, community, food, and kickboxing have led her to become a kickboxing instructor, pastry chef at Wild Crumb, head chef at Starseed vegan food truck, and personal chef. All of these ventures allow Callie to find fulfillment in supporting others in living active, strong, empowered, healthy, lives. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, meditating, drawing, creating recipes, cooking and baking, traveling, and getting tattoos. 

In this episode, Sally Wolf will share how she combines her love for personal development, positive psychology and the corporate world to empower clients to flourish in both their jobs and their lives. Sally has spent two decades developing strategies for leading media companies and brands, including creating and launching OneFifty, an incubator within WarnerMedia that invests in innovative storytellers and filmmakers. She is a breast cancer survivor and thriver, an avid dancer, and an enthusiastic iPhone step counter.  Resources:https://www.sallywolf.com/“12 Ways to Practice Self-Care After a Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis”(Glamour, Oct 29, 2020)Life’s Twists and Turns: Stanford GSB 15 year reunion   (Sally’s speech, on YouTube)www.onefifty.comSally’s talk to Lake Bryan Mawr Camp counselors Self-assessments:VIA character strengthsSparketypes Sally recommends:Sally’s dance classes & teacherCAPP  (Certification in Applied Positive Psychology)Better Than Before: 30 day/$30 short courses during COVID (next begins 11/23)Steve Jobs’s 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (YouTube, 22 mins)   Sally’s book recommendations:The Crossroads of Should and Must  (Elle Luna) - hard copy recommendedHow To Live A Good Life (Jonathan Fields) The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect, The Rosie Result (Graeme Simsion)The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)anything by Brené Brown

In this episode, Nigel Smith shares his journey from roots in Trinidad to becoming Valedictorian at Howard University and a graduate of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, as well as career chapters at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and AARP.  Most recently, he has begun his latest chapter, focusing full-time on growing his beverage company, Zurena, whose core product is a mixer for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.Resources:Zurena (website)Zurena (Facebook group)@MyZurena (IG) / #MyZurenaUplifting Spirits (website)Uplifting Spirits (Facebook group)@UpliftingSpirits.By.Zurena (IG) / #UpliftingSpirits.By.ZurenaTrinidad links: Trinidad soca musicCarnival Doubles (street food)Pelau dish made with pigeon peas, chicken or beef, coconut milk and burnt sugarTobagoAARP links:AARPAARP Innovation Labs/ The Hatchery The Longevity Economy OutlookBooks & Articles Nigel recommends:Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us (Michael Moss)From Behind the Bridge to The Impossible Dream (Akini Gill)Storytelling for Leadership: Creating Authentic Connections (Charles Vogl)  How Will You Measure Your Life (Clayton Christensen) 

Thea O’Connor is a senior advisor on workplace wellbeing and productivity, helping leaders, teams and individuals improve their workplace engagement and effectiveness through body intelligence and better health. She draws on 30 years of experience in health promotion including in the fields of nutrition (as a dietitian), body image, sleep science and workplace health. Thea is committed to rehumanising our work ethic so it is fashioned around human biological rhythms rather than around machines.  That's why she  is a Naptivist, promoting the powernap as the new coffee break.  She also promotes a life stage approach to worker wellbeing, so different stages of the life cycle, such as menopause, can be accommodated.  Nap NowLearn How to PowernapNap Before You Snap videoThe Change - empowering working women through menopause.2 min video about The ChangeThea’s book recommendations:The Art of Napping at Work (Anthony)Take a Nap! Change your Life. (Mednick)The Curly Pajama Letters (Leunig)northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is the hospitality maverick who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. In Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder he shares his unexpected journey at midlife — from CEO to intern — learning about technology as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, while also mentoring CEO Brian Chesky. Chip is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He serves on the board of Encore.org and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity. www.ChipConley.comModernelderacademy.comSabbatical Sessions / themed weeksWisdomwell.modernelderacademy.comLinkedin: @chipconleysfFacebook: @chipconleyauthorTwitter: @chipconley encore.orgStanford Center for LongevitySleep ScoreChip’s books:The Rebel Rules: Daring to be Yourself in Business  Marketing That Matters: 10 Practices to Profit Your Business and Change the World  PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow  Emotional Equations:Simple Steps for Creating Happiness + Success in Business + Life Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder Chip’s book recommendations:Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor E. Frankl)The 40 Rules of Love  (Elif Shafak)Life is in the Transitions (Bruce Feiler)northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

In this episode, Tara Youngblood, Co-Founder and CEO at Chili Sleep, shares why temperature is such a critical component of getting good sleep. She’s the author of Reprogram Your Sleep: The Sleep Recipe That Works and a highly regarded international speaker to high profile platforms including TEDx, Skookum Tech Talks, and National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Show.chiliPADWhite paper on connection between temperature and deep sleepOOLERHow a Sleep Recipe Changed My Life TedX talk by Tara Youngblood  (Dec 2019)Reprogram Your Sleep (Tara Youngblood)The Sleep Geek CoachInstagram : @the_sleep_geekTwitter: @the_sleep_geek_ Facebook: @sleepgeek.meYoga NidraCOUPON CODES for any listeners who want to purchase the Chilpad or Ooler on the chiliPAD website:NSSS25 – 25% off chiliPAD  NSSS15 – 15% off OOLERBOOKS Tara recommends:Tiny Habits (BJ Fogg)Why We Can’t Sleep (Ada Calhoun)NPR episode with Ada CalhounWhy We Sleep (Matthew Walker)The Order of Time (Carlo Rovelli)northstarsleepschool.com/podcast#tarayoungblood #sleep #insomnia #chilipad #ooler #sleepgeek #gratitude #sleephacking #weightedblanket #grounding #EMF #chronotypes

Alan Donegan is co-founder of the PopUp Business School, which has helped over 7000 people in six countries start their own companies.  Alan is also a well-known member of the FIRE Movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), he’s a Chautauqua speaker (which we talk about in this episode) and an outspoken critic of both traditional business and financial advice.Alan works tirelessly to inspire people to take control of their own financial destiny, making and investing their own money to build the life of their dreams.  He does this through PopUp Business School, Rebel Entrepreneur Podcast, and his blog Alandonegan.comResources:www.Alandonegan.comPop-Up Business SchoolF.I.R.E. resources:Playing with FireChautauqua Choose FI  JL CollinsMr. Money MustacheMillennial RevolutionAlan’s book recommendations:The Simple Path to Wealth (JL Collins) The Four Hour Body (Tim Ferriss)northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

Many of us check our email within 30 seconds of waking. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of three books, Shorter, Rest, and The Distraction Addiction, shares in this episode why we might consider refocusing our relationship with technology (“managing our attention”), why mind wandering, deep play, and rest are so critical for creativity and problem solving, and why many companies are successfully adopting a four-day workweek or a shorter workday.Resources:"How better routines create happier workers," (Financial Times, Sept 2020)"How do you switch to a four-day week?”  Kingsley (The Economist Applied) (Oct 2020)“Surprising COVID-19 Side Effect: More Companies Adopt the 4-day Workweek,” Fast Company, Aug 2020. “To Safely Reopen, Make the Workweek Shorter. Then Keep It Shorter,” The Atlantic, Apr 2020.“It’s Time to End 9-5 Office Hours,” The Guardian, Mar 2020.“Shorter Hours Make Stronger Businesses,” Wall Street Journal, Feb 2020.“Why Companies Should Say Goodbye to the 996 Work Culture, and Hello to 4-day Weeks,” South China Morning Post, Apr 2019.Talks at Google- Alex's interview at Google (2019)Strategy and Rest- Alex’s consultancy  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/askpangTwitter and Instagram: @askpangAlex’s book recommendations:The Innovation Delusion (Vinsel + Russell)Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Csikszentmihalyi)The First Emancipator: Slavery, Religion, and the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter (Levy)Bio:Alex Soojung-Kim Pang studies people, technologies, and the worlds they make. His latest book SHORTER explains how companies all over the world, in a variety of industries, are shortening their working hours while improving productivity and profitability.Through his company Strategy + Rest, Alex speaks and works around the world with companies who want to apply these insights in their organizations.Alex received a Ph.D. in history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania, and has been a lecturer or visiting scholar at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Oxford University, and Microsoft Research Cambridge. Alex lives in Silicon Valley.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast