Month: July 2020

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104. Jill Heinerth – Into the Planet: Lessons from 30 Years of Cave Diving

Jill Heinerth is a cave diver, underwater explorer, filmmaker, author of the memoir, Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver, and producer of the documentary, We Are Water. She is the first Explorer in Residence for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and for over 30 years, she has worked in film, photography, and exploration. As an explorer, Jill documents deep ocean environments and other places where humans have never been, making fascinating contributions to climate change and geology. Jill is a recipient of the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration, granted by the RCGS for her lifetime achievement.

Jill joins me today to explore the role of cave divers as the hands and eyes of scientists. She shares some of the biggest fears she faced in her life and explains how fear can be transformative experiences. She illustrates the experience of cave diving and how she prepares for a diving mission. She underscores the importance of water and describes how we’re already fighting wars over water supply, and what we can contribute as individuals in response to climate change. She also shares her writing process, reveals the most challenging part about having her book written, and explains why it’s essential that we run towards, not away from, fear.

“Fear is genuine, no matter the source or expression. Whether it’s a dark cave we’re swimming or of our own making, there are strategies to employ to deal with that fear.” – Jill Heinerth

This week on The School for Good Living Podcast:

  • How Jill’s relationship with water began and how she transitioned from her career in advertising to become a cave diving explorer
  • What sump diving is and why it’s the most dangerous form of diving
  • What it’s like to cave dive, why it’s not for amateurs, and exploring “The Pit” in Mexico
  • Photographing the cover of Into the Planet and surviving a near-death experience while diving in The Pit
  • What discovery learning means and how failures can become gifts
  • How a terrifying night became a transformative experience for Jill and why experience is the best teacher
  • How Jill prepares for an exploration mission and why she chooses people who have fear to become part of her team
  • Jill’s contributions to science as a cave diving explorer
  • Climate refugees in the US and why we’ll start fighting wars for water
  • The differences a person could make for climate change
  • Shooting Under Thin Ice and consulting for James Cameron
  • The most challenging part of writing, publishing, and marketing Into the Planet
  • What it’s like to write vulnerable and emotional experiences into a book
  • The power of running towards fear

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Jill Heinerth

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the School for Good Living Podcast, with your host, Brilliant Miller. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave us a rating and review.

Don’t forget to visit our website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to share your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media to inspire others to improve their lives and reach their full potential.

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103. Mark Charles – Unsettling Truths

Mark Charles, the author of Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, is a dual citizen of the United States and the Navajo Nation running as an Independent candidate for the U.S. presidency. Mark is a thought-provoking writer and public speaker whose mission is to create a country where the words “We the People” means “all the people.” Together with his family and supporters, Mark advocates for a path of common memory and healing for the nation through a Truth + Conciliation Commission.

Mark joins me today to share his experience living in the Navajo Nation and what he realized about the marginalized and disenfranchised. He explores how the enduring social issues of today are institutionalized and deeply rooted in history. He explains what the Doctrine of Discovery is and how it perpetuates white supremacy. He also reveals how trauma and the lack of knowledge on American history hinders racial dialogue and emphasizes the importance of agreeing as a nation on the meaning of life.

“The way we live and who we are has to reflect our value for life. We have to agree that ‘we the people’ means ‘all the people.’” – Mark Charles

This week on The School for Good Living Podcast:

  • Mark’s background, ancestry, and what life is about for him
  • What it means to ‘walk in duty’ for the Navajo people
  • The practice of walking and praying with the sun and its benefits
  • How Mark maintains his connection with Creation and the world despite living in urban cities
  • Growing up disconnected from his ancestry and the reason Mark decided to move from Denver, CO to live in the Navajo Nation
  • The need to create a common memory and to look at issues from an intersectional perspective
  • How ‘We the People’ are the most misunderstood words in American history
  • What the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ is, its institutionalization, and how it perpetuates social issues and racial injustice
  • The different levels of trauma and how they make it difficult to have conversations about social issues
  • Perpetrator-induced trauma and why people disrupt the racial dialogue
  • Exposing an “apology” buried in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act
  • Mark’s First 100 Day Plans and his proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution
  • The importance of writing a collective value for life in the Constitution

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Mark Charles:

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the School for Good Living Podcast, with your host, Bryan Miller. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave us a rating and review.

Don’t forget to visit our website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to share your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media to inspire others to improve their lives and reach their full potential.

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102. Adam Ward – Brick by Brick with

Adam Ward is a visual artist whose forthcoming book, Brick x Brick, will be available in 2021. As an artist and master builder, Adam works with LEGO pieces as his medium. He is the creator and host of Brick x Brick, a YouTube video series for which he was dubbed the “Bob Ross of LEGO” and where teaches his audience how to unleash their creativity through building with LEGOs. Through his studio, Peace + Bricks, Adam has worked with and created major LEGO builds and installations for organizations such as Zappos, Tumblr, and many others.

Adam joins me today to share how his love of LEGO began, why he set it aside during his teenage years before picking it back up, and how he started a business around his passion for LEGOs. He shares the lessons he learned about earning money, residual income, and sharing your creativity with the world. He highlights the importance of taking action when it comes to starting a business and illustrates the path he is treading in writing his book. He also explores the intersection between creativity and commerce and reiterates his belief in how everybody can earn money by doing what they love.

“Every single person out there can make a living out of doing something they love. It takes a lot of effort and skill but it’s possible for everybody.” – Adam Ward

This week on The School for Good Living Podcast:

  • Why Adam believes life is about creativity and connection
  • Adam’s background and why he studied psychology instead of the arts in college
  • Building a food truck business with friends and the most important lesson Adam learned from the experience
  • Receiving commissions for LEGO builds and the most challenging part about working with clients as a LEGO artist
  • Getting gigs on Craigslist to supplement income as an artist and what working in events production taught Adam about building with LEGOs
  • Why Adam wrote his book, Brick x Brick
  • Finding his passion for LEGO for the first time as a child and why space sets are Adam’s favorite
  • How the unknown makes more room for creativity
  • Rekindling his passion for LEGOs, blending art and commerce, and how Adam started his LEGO business through a Kickstarter campaign
  • Making a living out of something we are passionate about
  • How Adam organizes plans, and structures his time as an artist
  • Adam’s path in publishing and how he conceptualized, structured, and wrote his book
  • Knowing your audience and how constraints can aid creativity
  • Writing evergreen books and Adam’s strategies in promoting his book

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Adam Ward:

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the School for Good Living Podcast, with your host, Bryan Miller. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave us a rating and review.

Don’t forget to visit our website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to share your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media to inspire others to improve their lives and reach their full potential.

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101. Mark Silverman – Only 10s

Mark Silverman is a speaker, leadership coach, and the Amazon #1 best selling author of Only 10s: Using Distraction to Get the Right Things Done and the upcoming book, Mastering Midlife: How to Thrive When the World Asks the Most of You. He is also the host of the Mastering Midlife podcast,  where he speaks with high-performance leaders of all walks of life and discuss their secrets for mastering the stress, burnout, and hardships they have faced throughout their life and career.Prior to becoming the resiliency expert that he is today, Mark built a successful 15-year career at fast-moving, fast-growing companies in the tech world where he generated over 90 million dollars in sales and garnered numerous awards.

Mark joins me today to share his journey from using drugs at the age of 13 and being homeless to getting sober and building a successful career. He defines what Only 10 means and discusses what inspired him to write his book. He shares his morning routine and describes how meditating consistently over the years has benefitted him. He shares his writing process, how accountability partners help him get things done, and his advice for creatives and artists. He also explores how he was able to figure out who he is, his soul’s purpose, and what he wants to achieve in the world.

” That’s where midlife comes in: it’s unsustainable to be successful from fear. Success needs to come from something authentic and organic.” – Mark J. Silverman

This week on The School for Good Living Podcast:

  • Why life is about what you make of it and how Mark found his life purpose
  • Discovering Mark’s calling to coach and connect with people
  • Mark’s morning routine and how setting routines is an experimentation
  • Why Mark wrote his book, Only 10s, and the power of having deadlines
  • How being motivated by fear brings the midlife crisis into our lives
  • The three biggest decisions Mark made and what inspired him to run a marathon
  • What Mark means by Only 10, how we can evaluate if something in our life is a 10, and why Mark is the “anti-list” guy
  • Letting go of things that no longer serve us
  • How Mark chooses to be honest with himself over being disciplined
  • The impact of consistently meditating and maintaining morning pages
  • The negative effects of the hustle and grind culture and of people trying to be in the top 1%
  • Mark’s advice for creatives who want to start, continue, or complete their projects
  • The benefits of having accountability partners and the best way to work with them
  • How to promote your book and rank it on Amazon

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Mark J. Silverman

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the School for Good Living Podcast, with your host, Bryan Miller. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave us a rating and review.

Don’t forget to visit our website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to share your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media to inspire others to improve their lives and reach their full potential.

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