The Kevin Miller Podcast

You may well have heard of Upworthy. Upworthy is a media brand that focuses on positive storytelling. They have millions of followers on social media and email subscribers, who tune in to hear good news. Upworthy recently came out with a book, that focused on key areas of human goodness, and it is just stories. Just incredible stories of the best of humanity that people share with them each and every day, at a great amount. The book is called Good People and I was really curious as to what led the authors to sift through the stories and land on certain categories, such as chapter one which is, "The Kindness of Strangers." They shared how many stories came in of what we generally call, random acts of kindness. Following is my conversation with the authors, Lucia Knell who is Vice President of Upworthy, and Gabriel Reilich who is head of content and innovation. I think you'll find a really uplifting, inspiring and honestly, equipping discussion here. It really bolstered my faith, which bolsters...everything.Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trialGet 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyouGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discount Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The topic of expectations continues to come up as I talk with people in the human potential movement. As an aspiring person who would be listening to a podcast like this, of course you have some positive expectations for yourself. And yet I’d say the enemy of expectations is disappointment. So how do we have high expectations but not set ourselves up for disappointment? I’m bringing back a podcast from when I did The Ziglar Show, with Christine Hassler. Christine made expectations a focus and wrote a book called, Expectation Hangover: Free Yourself From Your Past, Change your Present and Get What you Really Want. Right off the bat you’ll hear Christine say, “Managing your expectations is not about lowering your standards.” Christine Hassler is the best-selling author of multiple books. She left her successful job as a Hollywood agent to pursue a life she could be passionate about. She is a keynote speaker, retreat facilitator, spiritual psychologist and life coach, and host of the top-rated podcast “Over it and On With It”, www.christinehassler.comSign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trialGet 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyouGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discount Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wrapping up this series on productivity that started with my conversation with Israa Nasir about the message in her book, Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More, I’m looking at un-productive activities. But it’s not just idle time and entertainment. Think of it more like play, which may be a foreign term for you at this point in life. I want to look at activities that aren’t necessarily producing anything, you are just doing them to do them and for the joy and energy they give you. And looking at how they can fuel to be actually be more productive overall.Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trial Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I continue to ponder the message from Israa Nasir in her book, Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More. And I’m thinking about the people in and around my life and what attracts me to some and not others. And I’m realizing that the really busy people, even if they might seem important, don’t inspire me to pursue them. And the people that are more available, I innately have more respect and desire for. Which has me looking at myself and considering how I come off to others and how I’m probably limiting my opportunities for relationships and connection.Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trial Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In my previous episode with Israa Nasir we talked about the message in her book, Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More. Looking at being addicted to productivity and busyness, I want to look at our motives. To a degree, I feel we are often trying to prove ourselves. Prove our worth. Why? Well, our self-worth must be in question. And who are we trying to prove it to? Others, or ultimately, ourselves? Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trial Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think we’re all well aware that our culture has fallen into the idea of being busy is being important. But I’ll admit that even in trying to shed this, I still find myself busy. I just agree to things without counting the cost. But then I find myself struggling mentally with bitterness and burnout and I just want to escape. So when this book, Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More, came across my desk, I was eager to have the author on. Israa Nasir is a New York City-based psychotherapist, writer, and the founder of WellGuide—a digital community for mental health awareness. She has a big following on Instagram at well.guide. In her focus on Toxic Productivity she tries to dismantle the myth that “doing more makes you more worthy,” and this is where I dig in with her in this show. My primary interest was how we associate our identity with what we do, and Israa and I really landed a lot on intention, asking ourselves why we do all we do? What is the outcome we are expecting and what need of our own are we trying to fulfill.Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trial Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I pay attention to shows people refer to, and often in talking about spending money on our personal growth, people will ask me, “What was it your Dad used to say? What percent should you spend on your personal growth?” The answer is 3-5%. My Dad was Dan Miller, famed author of 48 Days To The Work & Life You Love. In 2017 he published a blog at 48days.com titled, ““Your Success is Guaranteed – If You Do This.” In it he cited Brian Tracy who turned him on to the idea, saying that successful people we all listen to and follow habitually invest at least 3-5% of their income directly toward their personal growth. Many spend far more. And as you’ll hear, what follows is your income generally increases as a result and you’re able to spend more and more each year. I greatly appreciate the tangible metric. If you make $7,000 per month, you can be looking for $350 to spend on your personal growth every month. So I’ve brought back this episode with my Dad, back from when I hosted The Ziglar Show, which you’ll hear us reference. You can still find all the gold my Dad has to offer at 48days.comSign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trialGet 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyou Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU.If you're concerned about OCD, visit NOCD.com to schedule a free 15-minute call with their team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, or uneasiness that can be a normal reaction to stress. So, what is stress? Stress is a natural response to a perceived threat or challenge that can cause mental or physical tension. The only reason we would feel stress and anxiety is because we feel a threat. Threat is when we feel an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action. I’ve been looking at myself for a while and asking why I feel threatened? I expect that very few people listening to this are often, if ever, in physical threat. When you are, anxiety is a wonderful and appropriate signal to act in self-protection. However. What about when the threat is not physical? When it’s psychological? What is being threatened? I was recently given some insight on this by a therapist, which I’ll share next. Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trialGet 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyou Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU.If you're concerned about OCD, visit NOCD.com to schedule a free 15-minute call with their team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I believe this world and this life is at the core, truly beautiful and glorious. And, we have some very concerning trends to address. Health care is the number one GNP in America. We spend more money, not on our health, but our unhealth, than on anything else. Why? Lifestyle. Just do the research. It’s not happening to it, we are doing it to ourselves. A very unpopular perspective, but in truth, isn’t that the best news? You have power, otherwise you are claiming victimhood. Healthcare in America has become sick-management. And we address the symptoms. Even cancer, which my Dad just died of, is a symptom. We try to beat cancer and don’t ask…what is causing cancer. We create a new drug to treat every growing problem, without asking why the problem exists and keeps growing. Let’s ask.Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevinGo to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to sign up for your FREE 60-day trialGet 20% off your first probiotic membership order at pendulumlife.com/drivesyou Kajabi is offering a free 30-day trial to start your business if you go to Kajabi.com/kevinGo to cozyearth.com/driven and use code DRIVEN for an exclusive 40% discountJoin thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply in minutes at meetfabric.com/WHATDRIVESYOU.If you're concerned about OCD, visit NOCD.com to schedule a free 15-minute call with their team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the surprising links between diet and anxiety in this engaging discussion. Explore how sugar and caffeine can heighten anxiety levels, revealed through personal anecdotes. Discover the lesser-known effects of synthetic food dyes on behavior and their potential ties to ADHD. Insights on processed foods and their impact on overall well-being are shared, along with strategies for mindful eating. Plus, learn how small choices can significantly alleviate anxiety while enhancing business efficiency. A thought-provoking journey into food's hidden effects!