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Positivity Effect | weekly chats about positive thinking, gratitude & personal development/empowerment. Join the host Dr. Tom each week to talk about good vibes, improving our lives and creating a ripple effect of positivity throughout our own world. It's more important than ever today to surround yourself with messages and people who will support and uplift you to be the best you can possibly be while you live out this incredible thing we call life.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 27, 2017
Tuesday Jun 27, 2017
Enrichment Through Service
Rich Rotanz. Emergency Manager, Safety, and Fire Science Professional with forty years of experience in public policy, safety and mitigation, emergency management, fire protection, rescue tactics, hazardous materials incidents and planning/research for all natural, civil, and technological hazards including acts of terrorism.
CLICK HERE to contact Rich
On today’s episode we discuss:
- How Rich became so involved with the NYC Fire Department
- Building a life of enrichment and character through service
- Gratitude for opportunity and relationships
- Proving your value through hard work
- How Rich approaches sensitive communication in his line of work
- Having a team mentality
- Communication starts at home
- The simple power of volunteer work
And so much more…
Rich's nuggets of wisdom
"You want to have integrity, you want to have endurance, and you want to have the desire to really go forward and also the courage to say, you know what, “I have to take this on?” OR “alright I failed” and even if you failed, you bounce right back up and keep trying"
“There’s no I in team”
Part 2 with Rich goes live next Tuesday – stay tuned!!
Tuesday Jun 13, 2017
Tuesday Jun 13, 2017
Connection And Purpose Through Transformation
This week is a re-run of one of my most popular episodes with Luis Congdon, The co-founder of Thriving Launch an online business resource and podcast to help business owners map out clear and practical tips that are essential to thrive in today's economy. Luis also hosts a podcast with his girlfriend called Lasting Love Connection where they interview the top relationship experts to help couples and singles keep their love passionate and strong and enduring. Luis lives a life of gratitude and transparency. He has a heart of giving and an incredible drive for entrepreneurship, I’m honored that he joined us on the Positivity Effect.
Luis’ story
- Born in Columbia during the height of the cocaine cartel
- Never knew his birth father and he lost his mother at the age of 5 years old
- Was adopted to the United States and simultaneously felt loved and confused when that relationship ended in divorce
- Through everything he had been through in life, he developed a drive to end human suffering around the age of 15
- His journey led him to practice Buddhism for almost a decade
- After many years of practicing Buddhism, he realized he was missing human connection
- He fell in love with someone but she fell out of love with him and left.
- He used that experience to springboard himself to be a successful marriage coach in the non-profit arena
- Together, he and his now girlfriend Kamala developed two powerhouse internet resources:
Thought on becoming a monk: He was striving for perfection and realized he didn’t have to be.
Luis’ thoughts on having an online business
- Took a long time to become okay with accepting payment
- Through deep reflection of the value he provides, he can internally accept what he charges for an hourly rate
- Recants on how it can be difficult sometimes to find that balance of generosity
- We have to learn to be okay with what we desire (in his case income from an online business)
“Learn how to take care of yourself as an entrepreneur”
Thoughts on life
- Why we need coaching/mentorship: “There are so many things we don’t know that we don’t know”
- At birth: we are safe and 100% provided for
- After birth: We begin the universal journey of learning to obtain what we want in life through tears, demands, & fighting.
- We learn “no”
- Everything is the highest order (i.e. our physical relationships and our spiritual relationships)
- Happiness is magnified when we can share it with someone
Soul Food
- God gives regardless. “Be like God” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
- “Does the sun ever say to the flowers you owe me?” – Hafiz (Imagine what a love like that could do for the world)
- “Love is how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to ourselves” – Don Miguel Ruiz
- “Everything is energy” – Albert Einstein
- Luis believes we add our own meaning to the world
Gratitude
- “Every time we take a breath, that’s the last time we breathe that breath in that moment”
Book recommendation
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
The Crystal Staircase
Jaret Grossman is the co-founder of a popular fitness brand, Muscle Prodigy. Jaret's mission in creating this brand and product was to help debunk fitness myths that have existed for decades and help millions of people change their bodies naturally like he was able to without deprivation. Jaret was 96 pounds his freshman year of high school and was able to more than double his body weight, get down to 6% body fat, and become a 3x All-American wrestler.
CLICK HERE for Jaret's personal blog
CLICK HERE for Muscle Prodigy
CLICK HERE for Jaret's Youtube channel
CLICK HERE for Jaret's book "Cracking The Code"
On today’s episode we discuss:
- How fitness shifted his internal self-image
- What is true "work ethic" and why it's so crucial to success
- The importance of defining your vision and defining "deep reasons"
- Breaking down Jaret's motivational audio track, "The Crystal Staircase"
- Take action!
- Why Jaret put a video out on youtube every single day for a year
- Breaking down Jaret's motivational audio track, "time is so precious"
- Productivity
- Controlling what events/things mean to you
- The power of being in a peak state and how Jaret applies this concept
And so much more…
Jaret's nuggets of wisdom
“It's out of my need, essentially to solve problems. Mainly that starts with trying to solve your own problems. You eventually gain some golden nuggets, and wisdom and insight, and that becomes valuable for other people”
“It'ss the middle ground of, well I'm not sure if this isn’t going to work, and we just hesitate. It’s this perpetual hesitation in a way. What’s really holding us back is some element of fear”
"If you can help as many people as possible, not only will it come back you, you will also experience more pleasure and the world will experience more pleasure"
Jaret's Impact: Wants to be remembered as someone who was a force for good and who always put out pure energy into the world
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Tuesday – stay tuned!!
Tuesday May 30, 2017
Tuesday May 30, 2017
The Fingerprint Metaphor
Jim Rees is an Ultra Cyclist, Ironman Triathlete, Author and Executive Coach. Co-founder of The Long And The Short Of It, Jim and his business partner Mark Foster combine the experiences of two very different athletic styles: sprint and endurance. With that, they join as one mind to help their clients understand the required cognitive and emotional discipline for competition how that translates into specific behaviors for success and reaching high-performance targets.
CLICK HERE for Jim's Website
CLICK HERE for Jim's book "A Quick Guide To Emotional Intelligence"
On today’s episode we discuss:
- Applying a "weekend warrior" Ultra Cyclist mentality to everyday life
- The meditative properties of cycling
- The power of pushing through repetitive tasks
- How mastering the skill of "choice" can help grow any area of your life
- Pain/pleasure decisions
- The power of taking personal responsibility
- Tuning into your internal dialogue
And so much more...
Jim's nuggets of wisdom
“Every decision we make is based on pain and pleasure”
The importance of dialing in our awareness to our pain/pleasure trigger points
“We have a feeling which then drives our thinking. Actually, it's the feeling-thinking trap that we get caught up in as human beings. As opposed to what really it should be is, thinking feeling”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Tuesday – stay tuned!!
Tuesday Dec 20, 2016
Tuesday Dec 20, 2016
Rhythm And Flow
Erin Elizabeth Wells is a Productivity Strategist who works with high performers including corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers to improve their productivity, focus, and effectiveness in their work and daily life. Her approach focuses on creating productivity with purpose for her clients connecting to the WHY of our action rather than simply doing more faster. – she’s the founder of the productivity company Living Peace and now functions under the company title Chosen Course.
CLICK HERE for Erin’s Website
CLICK HERE to download her FREE Life Rhythm Map
On today’s episode we discuss:
- Erin’s journey into the productivity world
- Why disorganization occurs in all of us
- Why it’s important to dial in the “Why” of organization
- Focusing on our sense of purpose and direction
- The value of entrepreneurship
- Active vs. reactive
- Getting a hold of your day
- Tasks vs. goals
- Why SMART goals may not work
- Why you can’t compartmentalize balance in your life
- Focusing on the WIN
Erin’s Impact: She hopes that the people who’s lives she’s touched would say that they lived life with intentionality because of her interactions and the things they were inspired to consider based on their conversations
Erin’s nuggets of wisdom
“How many times in our lives has something significant occurred, and the systems that were in place before that event no longer fit the life that we’re living”
“In any major life change, if you are introducing something new, and you don’t know why it’s important to you, the likelihood of it sustaining for a long period of time is small”
“We’re all very good at keeping ourselves busy. Just kind of having a whole bunch of things that show up in our worlds that drive our attention but they may or may not be the things that are most moving the things that we care about most deepest forward”
“I encourage people to throw out the old concept of annualized thinking. Don’t wait for a specific moment like January 1st.”
“Create the shape, but hold it loosly”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Tuesday – stay tuned!!
The post 119: Rhythm and Flow – Erin Elizabeth Wells appeared first on The Positivity Effect.
Tuesday Dec 13, 2016
Tuesday Dec 13, 2016
Visualizing Positivity
Glenn Poveromo is a Personal Development Facilitator. He has created The Power of Visualization, a self-help program offering mental tools and strategies that empower you to live your best life possible. The Power of Visualization will teach you techniques that allow your powerful mind to work for you and gain the confidence you will need to achieve success in all areas of your life.
CLICK HERE for Glenn’s Website
On today’s episode we discuss:
- What drove Glenn to spread positivity
- Flipping the positivity switch
- Glenn’s experience as a teacher and how he would drive his students towards positivity and generate a sense of hunger for life within each and every one of them
- Why anything worthy in life begins with belief
- How to find mentorship
- Why age is not a requirement for positive growth
- The power of mentoring the youth
- How thoughts/emotions manifest physical reactions in your body
- The guitar metaphor
- The power of visualization
Glenn’s Impact: Glenn wishes to be remembered as someone who helped the world a little better.
Glenn’s nuggets of wisdom
“Anyone likes to be reinforced with positive feelings and positive emotions and I just saw that as my obligation, as my commitment as an educator to help impart that to the kids so that when they believed in themselves, they performed at an entirely different way if they didn’t believe in themselves”
‘You uplift people by your own spirit”
“I believe you have a responsibility to bring what you know out to people because you can help people in their awareness”
“How would you like to spend your living time? Would you like to spend it in a positive way of thinking and feeling or would you prefer to spend it in the negative way of thinking and feeling, and what’s the better choice?”
“I was not an innately positive person growing up.”
“We can speak to ourselves as a coach or a critic. The coach is going to give a solution, the critic is going to dig in with a knife”
“There’s a coherent between what we think and what we feel in our heart”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Tuesday – stay tuned!!
The post 118: Visualizing Positivity – Glenn Poveromo appeared first on The Positivity Effect.
Monday Nov 28, 2016
Monday Nov 28, 2016
The Beauty In Broken
Gary Genetti has been designing and making glass art for over 38 years. Genetti received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in sculpture and graphics from the University of Wisconsin in 1976. In 1978 he began his apprenticeship in a production glass studio and in 1980 established his own studio in rural Warwick, NY.
CLICK HERE for Gary’s website
Gary’s Instagram handle: GenettiGlass
On today’s episode we discuss:
- Gary’s thoughts on the word “Positivity”
- How Gary became a Glass Blowing Artist
- Apple trees, beards & spirituality
- Why entrepreneurship starts with believing in your craft
- How Gary’s art become noticed by two prominent museums
- Keeping dreams alive
- Why we need to give our self criticisms a break and focus on joy
- The junkyard glass project
- How Gary’s thinking globally
- Repurposing an old prison
Gary’s Impact: Gary’s wish for himself and for everybody is to see, that near the end of their life, it’s opening it’s expanding, the moment of death is when we really start to live. Life and death is ongoing all the time in us
Gary’s nuggets of wisdom
“An affirmation of positivity, an affirmation of some deeper meaning in our lives, that is there in good times and in bad times. We can always affirm this deeper meaning to who we are and how we relate to the world.”
“I never looked at it as more than anything than meeting my needs because I loved what I do. I felt I was more than rewarded because of that perspective. If you went in to it for the money.. there were people who did that.. they got big… but you became a business man rather than the hands on work… I loved the making and that’s what kept me directed towards being an artist”
“My work has taught me the value of exchange with other people”
“I would testify that I was not born with a talent in the arts, but I did have a wish to do it”
“the feelings of joy teach talent”
“I get into a state where it’s a conversation with a material, as if the material is speaking with me”
“the ego is what dampens us down”
“Submitting in a way, you’re just part of a picture. There’s more to it, that’s in a way, the whole world is praying, if yo can open up to that”
“It’s a healing project for us, the idea of fusing broken species together really is a metaphor for what we were going through as a family”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Monday – stay tuned!!
The post 117: The Beauty In Broken – Gary Genetti appeared first on The Positivity Effect.
Monday Nov 21, 2016
Monday Nov 21, 2016
Wisdom From A Yogi
Michael Kohan, or Mukunda Chandra das (affectionately known as Mukunda) is dedicated to helping his clients and students find balance in all aspects of their lives—emotional, spiritual, mental and physical. He is a Certified Health and Lifestyle Coach and a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher who works with others to help them restore balance in their lives by helping them to make healthier and more conscious lifestyle choices.
CLICK HERE for Michael’s website
CLICK HERE for A free copy of his “Mindful Living And Goal Setting WorkBook”
Michael’s Instagram handle: Your_Wellness_Yogi
On today’s episode you’ll learn:
- Why tragedy is not a requirement for success
- Why you are in control of your actions alone and how you handle challenges that come your way
- A “woe is me” moment for Michael and how he rose from the ashes of that experience
- Why pivoting in life is crucial
- How Yoga got him off his parent’s couch
- What healthy eating means to Michael
- The esoteric side of food
- Goal setting & mindfulness
- Weeding through the noise on exercise diet and personal development
- The importance of small actionable steps
- The weapons of mass distraction
- The beauty is in the journey of life
- One of the earliest yoga teachings
- The power of podcasts
- “long distance” mentors
Michael’s Impact: Wants to be remembered as a person who helped people and created a place for people to go to study yoga, spirituality and mindful living in a safe and authentic environment. To develop a learning center in Pennsylvania that people can spend the next 500 years to go to to develop healthy habits and mindful living.
Michael’s nuggets of wisdom
“The suffering is the free will, whether you choose to suffer or not in any situation”
“Yoga gave me the tools I needed to get off the couch and to look at my life and find space to examine who I was as a person”
“When I eat healthy and I have a clean diet, I feel better about who I am as a person”
“Politics, religions, you name it, is an easier conversation to have than when I talk to people about food”
“The food you eat here, affects how somebody else lives down their street”
“Our easiest change is to start with ourselves. The easiest way to start is through diet. It’s the simplest way to change the world”
“If you don’t feel good about your self, and if you don’t feel like you’re moving forward in life, than you’re not going to care about the food you eat. Food is comfort”
“If we’re not growing as an individual, then we’re dying as a person”
“You have to look at your life and say, it’s about how I lived my life today”
“The music that we listen to, the tv that we watch, the books that we read and the food that we eat, that is who we become”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Monday – stay tuned!!
The post 116: Wisdom From A Yogi – Michael Kohan appeared first on The Positivity Effect.
Monday Nov 14, 2016
Monday Nov 14, 2016
The Unrehearsed Heart
Harriet Turk has been inspiring teens and adults to discover their true identities and pursue a life of substance for more than 20 years. She has worked as a probation officer, youth programs coordinator, flight attendant, pharmaceutical sales rep, college-level instructor, and nationally-known professional speaker, trainer, and consultant. Harriet is also a mom, friend, sister, and daughter. When she was a teen, Harriet struggled with her own identity crisis. She fell into the trap of feeling like she had to be perfect. This led to an eating disorder that took years to overcome. Harriet’s life experiences have taught her that success and happiness come from celebrating who you are and pursuing a life that honors your strengths and abilities. Because her stories and experiences come from real life, Harriet’s message is authentic, relatable, and compelling.
CLICK HERE for Harriet’s website
CLICK HERE for a free chapter from Harriet’s book, “Transparent Hearts”
Harriet’s twitter handle: @HarrietTurk
On today’s episode you’ll learn:
- Why tragedy is not a requirement for success
- How most of us show the rehearsed part of our lives on social media
- Taking advice with a grain of salt
- Life lessons from a speaker
- The importance of being authentic
- The power of asking close friends and family, “what do you think of me?
- Outside perception vs. Internal perception of who we are
- Realizing life doesn’t always have an action plan
- How to approach the internal dialogue we have with ourselves on a daily basis
- What to do when you feel like you have no story
- Raising your awareness to life’s smallest moment
- Leaning on others for gratitude reminders
Harriet’s Impact: Remembered as someone who was able to make people feel safe.
Harriet’s nuggets of wisdom
“I just wanted people to realize that life doesn’t have to be full of crazy stuff”
“Practice and try new things until you have enough in your back pocket so if something isn’t working, yo can switch it out at a moments notice”
“Some of my best stories come from just in the moment, thinking, I’m just going to talk about this”
“The more that we give ourselves positive messages, the more we start to live it”
“We are the microwave generation, we want things now. We’ve been taught that if you follow an action plan, you’re going to have success. Sometimes you follow the wrong action plan”
“You set the tone for your life and people will follow you whether your negative or positive”
“Small conversations can end up having majestic moments”
“Capture the moment? lets change that to, be present in the moment”
“Its true, we get so bogged down on how we define success or what’s going on in our lives that we don’t think about the good things”
“If we look for the lessons, just stop, and look for the lessons in what has happened to us, we will see how to be better for the next time”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Monday – stay tuned!!
The post 115: The Unrehearsed Heart – The Harriet Turk appeared first on The Positivity Effect.
Wednesday Nov 09, 2016
Wednesday Nov 09, 2016
The Liberation Experience
Kute Blackson is an utterly unique visionary in the world of human potential. Unlike those who promise to simply help people “get” what they want, Kute’s life work instead reveals to people what they have to give, by liberating who they are most truly and deeply. The focus: Freedom. Kute’s own background and experience lay out the blueprint for his approach to liberating others, setting their gifts and greatness free. Born in Ghana, West Africa, his multicultural upbringing as the child of a Japanese mother and Ghanaian father, raised in London, and on 4 different continents defies all stereotype. The son of a revered spiritual leader, Kute was speaking to his fatherʼs congregations, in more than 300 churches, by the age of 8. At the age of 14, he was ordained into his fatherʼs ministry and groomed to carry on the familyʼs spiritual legacy. But his heartʼs truth drew him to separate from his fatherʼs ministry and come to Los Angeles in 1995. Kute courageously and daringly, came to America with two suitcases, and a dream seeking out many of the spiritual and self-help icons who inspired him when he was still a boy. He quickly learned that the outside- in approach had to become an inside-out approach. So he decided to create his own process—a process that liberates the individual at the core. This process helps the individual get in touch with who they really. It is a process of breaking free, so that each person can live, give, and share the truest expression of his or her self. This is what he calls “Liberated Living.”
CLICK HERE for Kute’s website & to check out his book, “You Are The One”
In his book you will learn:
- How to find your life’s purpose and live it fully.
- Help you release the pain of the past and stop sabotaging your success once and for all.
- How to forgive, find inner peace and be free.
- The keys to loving yourself fully and being deeply fulfilled no matter what.
- The real secret to manifesting your heart’s desires and living an extraordinary life
Kute’s twitter handle: @KuteBlackson
On today’s episode we discuss:
- A transformational journey with Kute
- Tips on recreating a “Liberation Experience” right at home
- The dangers of technology and new age media
- The importance of listening to ourselves, our hearts and our spirits
- The mind-body connection
- The power of what we think and the way we think
- A powerful lesson Kute learned through writing his book, “You Are The One”
Kate’s Impact: He wants to be remembered as someone who reminded people who they truly are. That he saw the greatness in people, in their souls, and reminded them to love. That in his presence, people rose up to go beyond their limits and to remember the truth of their being, that they are a whole, perfect, complete expression of life.
Kute’s nuggets of wisdom
“part of the journey starts at facing death. I think so often we’re so busy avoiding death, we’re so busy running away from death, we’re afraid of death..I think the more we can embrace death and make it our friend, not as some morbid thing, but just face it, embrace it and use it as a reminder to say hey, we don’t have time to waste, because none of us know when that moment is going to happen”
“real freedom is something that transcends the transitory nature of life”
“give up entitlement. No one owes you anything”
“part of living a fulfilled life is really taking some time connecting with ourselves”
“I am a servant to the book, a servant to the message. I serve the book and I’m a messenger on behalf of the book to remind people of who they are”
Another episode of the Positivity Effect goes live next Monday – stay tuned!!
The post 114: The Liberation Experience – Kute Blackson appeared first on The Positivity Effect.