The Kevin Miller Podcast

The title “How To Feast On Fasting” is meant to help us change our paradigm. Look, I adore food and eating. I’m generally always looking toward my next meal. I enjoy it so much I won’t waste the effort or calories on just any food. I want quality food and excellent tastes. I also don’t like to deprive myself, and in my perspective, I literally don’t. I do however, often delay. I look at fasting this way. I grew up with fasting being a spiritual discipline, which is surely can be. I also know of some radical puritans who abstain from many pleasures as a lifelong discipline. Great for them. That’s not me either. I look at it more mechanically. Most of us are running on too much anxiety and cortisol, we eat on the run and thoughtlessly, and we are very, very often eating foods that our body struggles to deal with and a lot of inflammatory ingredients like gluten, dairy, sugar, and chemicals. So think of it like your car overheating and realize most of us have some overheating going on internally in our gut and digestion. What do you do when a car is overheating on the highway? You pull over and let it cool down. You have to. Or it will blow. Think of fasting this way. Whether you do some intermittent fasting and eat less often, or go an entire day. Or two. Or five. You are simply letting your body recover from digesting. Mentally as well though, we can fast from all varieties of things for the same reason, or just to increase our gratitude. I’m joined by my co host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert at truelifemedicine.com. While we don’t expect to get you excited about fasting, I think you’ll find yourself better able to consider the benefits and find ways to do it that you can handle. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Series wrap up on Andy Norman and his book, Mental Immunity. Here I bring on my frequent co-host, Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar and son to Zig Ziglar, to talk about this concept of how we view our beliefs. What came out on the discussion was a question of what is more important. Our beliefs, or relationships? In our culture now that is arguing and polarizing about beliefs, what we most have is just a fight from two warring sides. And how similar is it often in our personal relationships? No one is considering the other, they are just arguing their side. Without putting the relationship first, it’s hard to find validity for even making an effort. We lead off discussing a Facebook post Tom made after listening to my initial talk with Andy in episodes 1033, where Tom said, "To reject unconditional love is to embrace hate." Think about that? As you’re about to hear, this was from talking about how we view and fight for our beliefs. You’ll want to hear more and see how you feel about the statement. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m back with Andy Norman to walk through his personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment so we can hear what has driven and does drive him to help us create mental immunity and consider our beliefs, and design a life that fulfills him. Previously in episode 1033 we talked about the message in Andy’s book,  Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. Andy is striving to help people develop immunity to bad ideas, and my focus with him was looking at how we define and embrace our beliefs. Here we cover Andy’s personal values and habits. The very things from which his own beliefs are derived from. He discusses how he sifts his own ideas through a filter of asking if it’s actually useful or true. Relationally he talks about “emotional dislocation” and we banter a bit about the issue of “objective reality.” Spiritually he cites his upbringing simply expected a devotion to serve a greater good and this still guides him today. You can find Andy’s book Mental Immunity anywhere and connect with him at andynorman.org. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have a story for you. A case study of health turnaround and success for you. Dan Miller is the bestselling author of “48 Days To The Work You Love” and a prolific writer, speaker and coach. However at the end of 2018 at age 71 he found himself barely able to work. He shares the incredible amount of resources he sought for help, including his Primary Care Physician simply stating, “Hey, you’re getting old, make peace with it.” Today he is back to more energy, vitality and overall wellness than he’s experienced in many years. He said, “I didn’t simply get back to where I was before my decline, I’ve far surpassed it.” As you’ll hear in the show, he’s now excitedly finalizing two new books for his publisher and planning out the next 20 years of his productive life. It’s no miracle. It’s just the basics. It’s the things you can do too. Now at age 72, I’d pit his cognitive abilities and much of his physical abilities as well, against the average 50 year old. I believe you’ll relate to much of what you’ll hear in this candid conversation between Dan, Dr Randy James, and myself, as you found out…how Dan did it. What the story is.. And for disclosure, Dan is my Dad! Many of you will know him from his top ranked “48 Days” podcast. You can find him at 48days.com. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I grew up with very strong beliefs and I viewed being resolute and concrete in them as a strength. In our culture today we see this played out every moment of every day as the media pits one side against the other and everyone’s belief as right or wrong, even to the point of the other side as being flat out evil. Social media isn’t a place of consideration, but of unabashed opinionating. In this episode I’m with Andy Norman, a PhD who is the award-winning author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. His work has appeared in Scientific American, Psychology Today, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and The Humanist. He has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, public radio, and The BBC’s Naked Scientist. His research is on the emerging science of mental immunity as the antidote to disinformation, propaganda, hate, and division. Bottom line, Andy is striving to help people develop immunity to bad ideas. My focus is really on the harm we do to ourselves and others when we are so rigid in our beliefs we won’t consider anyone who differs. Andy showcases how many, if not most of our beliefs, are more tied to our self-image than truth, and how this hurts us and everyone else. It’s ok to have strong beliefs, but if you feel strong in them and it’s not just to support your personal bias, then wouldn’t you be strong enough to allow someone to explain their differing beliefs and actually seek to understand them? Even if you don’t change your belief, you are showcasing it by being willing to understand another side. And in doing so, you’ll help your own peace of mind and build better relationships. Andy directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University and is the founder of CIRCE, the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative. You can find him at andynorman.org. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wrapping up my series on Terry Real and the message of his book, US: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship. I’m with my co-host Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert and you’re about to hear a very candid discussion on this concept of being we, without losing me. Randy listened to my conversation with Terry in episode 1029 and came into the discussion with his own insights, questions, and grapplings. We hit on some big issues, like the wedding tradition of each person having a candle, lighting one candle in the middle, then blowing out their individual candle. Is that really the intended idea of marriage? And do you come into union with anyone so they “complete you” as the Jerry Maguire movie celebrated? Are you not to be complete on your own? Randy and I have been best friends for nearly a decade and partnered in multiple business endeavors and much of this US concept is relevant for our relationship, and we also bring in parenting to this US concept. I’m eager for you to hear this conversation and would be honored to hear your feedback. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your personal relationships are likely to make or break you. This is our Functional Friday episode and we are finishing out the four foundational pillars of Functional Medicine with the third episode on Relationships. In episode 1025 we talked about the vital relationship between your body and mind. In episode 1028, the relationship you have with yourself and the world through hope and purpose, faith in essence. Here then we land on your relationship with - other people. I think we all realize to a great degree the positive and negative affect relational health or lack thereof has in our lives. But from a medical standpoint and literal pathologies of body and mind, nothing could be less mainstream. If a stressful marriage and your anxiety, anger, or despair is eating away at you and causing you physical and mental abilities, chances are 99.9% that any traditional medical doctor will never ask, address or uncover the root issue but will treat the symptom with a pharmaceutical. And that is exactly what medical school trains them to do. It’s what they trained my co-host Dr. James to do. So you’re left taking a drug to mask and manage a symptom that you have no idea is being caused by relational strife. We have dramatically impacting relationships in our family, friends, co-workers, employees, business partners and more. Great exercise and good nutrition and solid sleep will help you withstand challenging relationships, but ultimately negative relationships will take down even the mightiest of men. And women. So how does it really affect you and what can you do about it? This is our show, right here. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m back with internationally renowned family therapist Terry Real to walk through his personal values, motives, and habits in the key areas of life fulfillment so we can hear what has driven and does drive him to devote his life and livelihood to helping us have better relationships, with ourselves and others, and what he does to design a life that fulfills him. If you listened to our first discussion together, you heard some of Terry's traumatic childhood. In this talk he discusses relational practices and struggles with his wife, enduring two bouts with cancer, how even into his 50s he loathed himself. And now what he does to help him hold himself tenderly and his testimony that today it's really pleasant to live in his skin. For some reason Terry delivers his insights in a way that is so incredibly humble and real, and I can relate to. He has such understanding and compassionate counsel. And he's a great storyteller, and you'll hear some great ones here. His new book again that I am wholeheartedly endorsing it US: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship. Get it anywhere, and find him at terryreal.com where he has courses and classes and incredibly valuable resources to take advantage of and benefit from, immediately. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this discussion, therapist Terry Real, renowned for his expertise in male depression and relationships, dives into the transformative power of understanding oneself within the context of relationships. He challenges the individualistic mindset, emphasizing the significance of relational health and safety in connections. Real shares insights on navigating emotional trauma, the necessity of dismantling protective walls, and the importance of interdependence over control. He also introduces concepts for fostering authentic growth, creating healthier legacies for future generations.

The fourth pillar of Functional Medicine - The Mind/Body connection. Which we view as a relationship, and as such, are covering different aspects of relationships. I’m joined by my Functional Friday co host, Randy James, Medical Doctor and Functional Medicine expert, and appropriate to be following my last episode where he and I talked about “what’s your Everest” from rock star explorer Colin O’Brady, this is about purpose and hope. Randy is often treating people with physical ailments, often chronic and long term issues. Where most doctors are looking at the lab results, tests, and symptoms, Randy is looking at the person’s life. If he sees a significant lack of purpose and hope, it’s often a root issue to whatever physical symptom they are manifesting. Randy and I candidly cover his experiences around this subject with patients, and the dire need for help in our culture that seems to be losing touch with hope and purpose, and how you can clarify and leverage it in your life, for your overall health. Self-Help(ful) is presented by Ziglar, the most trusted brand in personal and business development impacting over 250 million people worldwide. Visit Ziglar.com to see how they can inspire your true performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices