The Kevin Miller Podcast

Stress is depicted as the devil of our time. Everyone is stressed out and suffering from too much stress and the thing we want most as a culture is less stress. Our levels of anxiety are at an all time high as if it was a wartime scenario and the pathological manifestations continue to skyrocket. The thing is, however, stress itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s the body’s appropriate response to pressure and tension. The stress of working out and exercise is desperately needed by our bodies. It’s what makes us stronger and/or helps us maintain our strength so we don’t atrophy. But we stress our muscles and lungs, then recover. We can’t stay in a constant state of stress. Mentally is no different. When we are stressed mentally it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In a moment of crisis or challenge it’s the body’s way of dealing with the issue. And then, we need to recover. And there are often times when we are in a state of stress that in health, we should actually be a good bit more calm about. This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…and I’m with Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert, to discuss the good and bad of stress. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My recent show with Dr Robert Waldinger focused on the world’s longest scientific study of happiness. If you heard part 1 in episode 1095, you heard the results are…relationships. So it’s no surprise when I ask Bob what his relational values are, that he cites as a priority…his own social fitness. This is my Values, Motives & Habits show and I walk with Bob through the key aspects of his life. Bob is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital. His TED titled, “What makes a good life?” has over 43 million views and I highly recommend you check it out. We talk about the role spirituality played in people's happiness, including his own. He's been married for 36 years and we discuss quantity vs quality time together. For health and wellness Bob strives to follow Neal Maxwell's guidance of "Never giving up what you want most for what you want today," though we share a strong inclination toward dark chocolate that he moderates to keep his weight where he wants it. He does share that taking care of one's health is one of the two predictors of happiness. He addresses his mental state by meditating and is actual a Zen master and teaches meditation all over the world. He admittedly enjoys his work and is involved in a lot and works a bit more than he should. Regarding finances he views money as neutral after basic needs are met, but regarding the study on happiness cites that having money often gives people a feeling of freedom. I asked Bob about his personal interests and pursuits and he framed the question around what he does to create energy for himself, which I love and am adopting for the show from now on. He shared that he loves talking about interesting ideas and brainstorming, we discussed the concept of flow, and he recently started taking singing and Spanish lessons. Bob’s co-authored book, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study on Happiness, has just been released. Find it wherever you get your books, and connect with Bob at robertwaldinger.com. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing sells more these days than the hope and promise of happiness. We are desperate for happiness because apparently we’re not finding it enough. We look for it in our money, possessions, entertainment and experiences. Now I bring you, literally the world’s longest study on…happiness. And the solution to our need is not surprising. The root of our happiness is…relationships. That’s it. After 80 years of studying generations of people, what gives us the most happiness is relationships. Which is a simple answer, but not an easy one. Many of our relationships bring us more trauma, and stress, and sadness than happiness. So what’s the real story? My guest is Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who is director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital which conducted this study. If you aren’t aware of Bob, you may have come across his TED talk, titled, “What makes a good life?” which has over over 43 million views. Bob is also cofounder of the Lifespan Research Foundation. He received his AB from Harvard College and his MD from Harvard Medical School and is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and he directs a psychotherapy teaching program for Harvard psychiatry residents. Bob is also a Zen master (Roshi) and teaches meditation in New England and around the world. From this study, Robert has now co-authored the book, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study on Happiness, which is being released the day after this episode goes live. Find The Good Life wherever you get your books, and you’re about to hear us discuss the highlights on what provides happiness that were most profound to me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The focus of this show is increasing fertility. Fertility is a growing issue just as so many others. When there are systemic pathologies within us, they can manifest in many ways. Fertility is one. And a quick note, if pregnancy is not a current area of interest for you, please consider passing this on to anyone you know who is trying to get or stay pregnant. They need to hear this. This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others. I’m with my co-host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert, and we began the show talking about infertility, but getting pregnant is step one, then just as important of course is staying pregnant and avoiding miscarriage and premature birth. Nearly 20% of couples are not able to conceive and another 10-20% miscarry. Then about 10% have premature births. Folks, that’s nearly 50% of all couples who will experience significant difficulty ending up with a full term, healthy baby. This show is paramount regarding pregnancy. As you’ll hear, we stumble into an issue that astounds me regarding what causes our bodies to say “No!” to getting and staying pregnant. This is news you will seldom hear regarding the subject. The Self-Helpful podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With every guest I have on this Self-Helpful podcast, I ask them about their personal Values, Motives, and Habits in the key areas of life, following the seven spokes in the Ziglar Wheel of Life. In this show I bring my key co-hosts back to talk through our highlights in each spoke for the year. Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar Inc and son of legendary motivator Zig Ziglar, and Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert, are with me and we all share our highlight learnings, ponderings, and resources in the seven spokes, which include Spiritual, Relational, Health & Wellness, Mindset, Career, Money & Personal Interests. For the three of us, our daily vocations are almost exclusively investigating and leading others in self-help. Tom works with many executives and coaches, Randy works with patients, and I work with you, my Self-Helpful audience, and select individuals I coach. But here I turn the tables on us. What did we most pursue and grapple with, and what resources did we utilize, which include people, books, and more.The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To ring in the new year I have a special show for you where we take to task…leadership. I don’t find that people are as interested in the traditional concept of leadership as they are just being able to be a positive influence in other’s lives and helping and serving them. This is actually what true leadership is. My guests today are my most frequent co-hosts. Randy James, medical doctor and functional medicine expert, and Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar and son of Zig Ziglar. These two men are two of my closest and dearest friends, and two of the greatest experts and students of self-help and personal growth. My initial intent was to have us audit our own year of self-help and offer insight and resources, but Tom got on to this topic of leadership and we just couldn’t let it go, as it hit to the core of our work and personal lives and we did a lot of discussion on parenting and influencing people. I stuck with the topic and my original intent you’ll hear in the next episode of Self-Helpful. We dig deep into the purpose we all find in solving problems and bringing solutions to others. The power and inspiration of being curious. And the necessity of personal and social awareness for ultimate success and fulfillment. The Self-Helpful podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hormone issues affect more and more people everyday. Testosterone and estrogen get major focus but those aren’t the only ones. Could your hormones be off and causing you problems like fatigue, mood swings, menstrual suffering, infertility, low energy and low muscle mass, weight gain and low libido? In this show we cover the primary symptoms of hormone dysregulation in women, men, and children. This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…and today we talk about hormones. When you have physical and mental struggles, we’d all like to find a specific culprit that can be addressed and fixed and all of the sudden we feel great. Seldom is there any one such thing, but if there was…hormones issues are surprisingly common. I’m with my Functional Friday co-host, Randy James, medical doctor and functional medicine expert, and with a lot of his patients showcasing various maladies, he is working with them on hormone treatments. Listen in and see if you find issues you relate to, and some direction to get help. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the workplace and in life, great opportunity comes to those who set themselves apart. We’re not talking about attention seeking or being better than others, but simply being clear and communicating what you can uniquely offer, which is the point. Whatever you do, you can do uniquely. Again, not better or brand new, but something coming from you in a new way, perspective, flavor or application. This is part 3 on Matt McWilliams and the message in his new book, “Turning Passions Into Profits.” In this episode I bring on Dan Miller, famed author of “48 Days To The Work You Love” and one of the premier experts and voices regarding turning passions into profits. Matt cites Dan as a teacher and mentor, so no more fitting person to continue this discussion. Dan is also…my father. We really land on the necessity and opportunity of standing out with what you can uniquely offer, and this isn’t simply a discussion for work and business. Think about your personal life and those you are most drawn to and feel cared by. You will likely be very clear on what about them most stands out to you, and you can audit yourself for what you want people to feel from you. You can still  preorder Matt’s book, “Turning Passions Into Profits” now at passionsintoprofitsbook.com/self and get over $700 of bonuses. You can find Dan Miller at 48days.com. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest has ADHD, but he doesn’t see it as a problem and instead works to leverage it as a benefit. He also has low empathy, but here too he finds times where it’s actually a benefit. I’m back for part 2 with Matt McWilliams after talking about the message in his new book, Turn Your Passions Into Profits. This is my Values, Motives & Habits episode where we go behind the curtain to find out what drives Matt and how he lives from within his passions. He does admit that ADHD makes it hard to practice quiet time, which he knows is important and works to achieve. He shares his journey of losing 88 pounds which he cites was holding him back. In his work and with his team a primary objective is to "ruthlessly protect our downtime." And regarding work and money we discuss a line I pulled from his social media where he says, “I vacillate between wanting to change the world and wanting to be independently wealthy by the end of next Tuesday." You can preorder Matt’s book, “Turning Passions Into Profits” now at passionsintoprofitsbook.com/self and get over $700 of bonuses. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We tend to think of diabetes as something you have or not, like a broken leg. But diabetes in simple terms is an issue of your body being able to deal with sugar, and in our culture we all take in more sugar than our body is equipped to deal well with. In America more than one out of three Americans have diabetes or prediabetes. This is my Functional Friday episode where we focus on our health and wellness so we have the physical and mental capacity to help ourselves and others…and today we are breaking down diabetes. I’m with my co host Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert and he showcases that we are all on the diabetes spectrum and it’s not simply an issue of whether we tip over the edge into a full on diabetes diagnosis or not. The causes and symptoms of prediabetes need to be on your radar for yourself and if you have kids…for them. What are the chief culprits, and it’s not just high sugar foods and drinks. Who is more at risk and why? This show is relevant for everyone, us included. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices