It's not every day that one has the opportunity to sit down with a very funny stand up comedian who also happens to host a top rated podcast called the "Smoking Simian." In this episode Antonio Barbosa shares his comedic journey from bombing in front of a large audience (and subsequently giving up) as the perfect catalyst to rediscovering his innate gift as a comedic talent who is now doing stand up in some of the best comedy clubs in the nation.

Antonio's Bio:

My name is Antonio Barbosa and the pandemic gave me the excuse I needed to start living MY life on MY terms. Realizing the need for independence, I started a podcast in August of 2020 titled The Smoking Simian. The premise of my show is to have interesting conversations with interesting guests and provide some insight into the lives of people you would have never met otherwise. I also decided that after a 5 year hiatus it was time to get back on stage as a comic and chase that dream as well. One I have had since I was a child. Nothing in this life is set in stone. My advice is to get out and DO everything you have ever wanted to, no matter how obscure or risky.

Try this on for size for a moment. Imagine if 100% of the constant chatty inner narrator in your head disappeared overnight. Sudden quiet. Stuff your mind is creating a big time story around would not get in the way of your peace of mind. All of the stuff that you worry would not have such a grip on you. You would have access to more of that inner creativity. That inner state of flow and wellbeing. Everyday concerns your mind creating a worrisome story around would not be a problem anymore. Solutions would appear from our "knowing." Relationships would be richer and easier. Yet it's not possible to stop thought no matter how hard you try to quiet it. Neutrality can still exist even in the noise of our thinking. We can still have a richer, more neutral experience once we begin to question our sped up thinking. We can have a more peaceful experience. We can step back from the judgements and critical analysis of our intellect is constantly trying to convince us is true. Underneath the illusion called thought.

In this episode I had the honor of sitting down with the amazing Rob Cook. Rob shares his own heroes journey about his past conditioning and learning to live from the "inside out." Rob is a decorated Air Force Veteran, he is a brilliant Speaker, Host & Coach, and Founder of unFIT the brand. Born and raised in the housing projects of Birmingham, Alabama, Rob sought to create a brighter future than what awaited many young Black men who grew up there. He joined the United States Air Force, where Rob became a decorated combat veteran. After 21-years of active duty service he retired, moved to the Los Angeles area to transition into civilian life. Rob became a certified life coach through Supercoach Academy, discovering an ideal balance between the mental and physical realms in his work as a coach. As the founder of unFIT, he offers a fresh approach to thriving in the whole experience of life through coaching, training, workshops, and speaking events for start-ups, non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and everything in between.

The conditioned story your mind creates about your ADHD quirks is why we suffer. It's not ADHD. ADHD is made up. It's just how your brain works. Sometimes the story created around ADHD is convincing. A convincing story made up in the moment by a machine based (brain) program. The machinery of the mind has to chime in. That's what a mind does. It does not know better. But knowing that the mind that creates the problem about our frailties is completely false. It's just thought. ADHD is not fun sometimes. The less we pay attention to the made up story we create around our ADHD silliness the less of a stranglehold it will have on our peace of mind. All of us stumble and forget and get caught up in the noise. Underneath the noise, underneath our psychology we see the made-up melodrama unfolding. The melodrama that is not us. It's not who we are. It's just thought.

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with fitness, nutrition, and weight management expert, Narado Zeco Powell. He is also the host of the top 100 ranked health and wellness podcast, "The Zeco Health Show."

Narado Zeco Powell was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and as a child, he was underweight. When he moved to the United States at age 16, he was 5’11” and weighed 113 pounds. By age 18, he was inspired to learn more about fitness and nutrition and took a special interest in fitness. He spent 18 years educating himself by reading evidence based scientific articles, learning from mentors and trying different techniques. Zeco carries 7 fitness and nutrition certifications from the International Sports Sciences Association. Having a large knowledge base allows him to work with a wide variety of clients and design programs that are specific to his clients’ needs. He shares his knowledge with others via several social media platforms including Twitter and Instagram. He is passionate about educating others and hopes to continue to learn, grow and adapt so that he can bring the most up to date and actionable content to his clients, followers and subscribers. You can learn more about Zeco and access his content on instagram: @zecohealth, twitter: www.twitter.com/zecohealth and his website: www.zecohealth.com.

There is no need to fix a feeling when we know how feelings work, especially when we are not so caught up in negative emotions towards our career, our health, and our family. The experience of having feelings is all ok. They have nothing on you. Negative emotion just means you are temporarily farther away from your center which is calm, resilient, hopeful, and full of love. Nothing to see here and nothing to do. Just hang on and let it settle.

"If the only thing people knew was to not be afraid of their experience then that alone would change the world."

- Syd Banks

Join Jami and I in part 2 of our conversation as we explore the gifts of having an ADHD neurodiverse mind that works differently, not dysfunctionally as we have been conditioned to believe. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jami Fregeau, RN, BSN who is a full time nurse and host of one of Apple's top mental health podcasts called the "The Neurodivergent Nurse."

I discuss with Jami what it is like having ADHD in the healthcare industry as well as her experience growing up with undiagnosed ADHD in a small close knit community in the South. Jami and I could have talked for hours about the gifts of having a neurodiverse ADHD mind. That's why we split this episode into two parts.

The Neurodivergent Nurse is a weekly podcast hosted by Jami Fregeau, a nurse who has ADHD. Her journey with ADHD is just beginning as she learns about this diagnosis and how to navigate through it. Enjoy this messy and raw journey as she shares what she has learned and the occasional embarrassing stories along the way.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jami Fregrau, RN, BSN who is a full time nurse and host of one of Apple's top mental health podcasts called the "The Neurodivergent Nurse."

I discuss with Jami what it is like having ADHD in the healthcare industry as well as her experience growing up with undiagnosed ADHD in a small close knit community in the South. Jami and I could have talked for hours about the gifts of having a neurodiverse ADHD mind. That's why we split this episode into two parts. Stay tuned for part 2 of my thought inspiring conversation with Jami.

The Neurodivergent Nurse is a weekly podcast hosted by Jami Fregrau, a nurse who has ADHD. Her journey with ADHD is just beginning as she learns about this diagnosis and how to navigate through it. Enjoy this messy and raw journey as she shares what she has learned and the occasional embarrassing stories along the way.

A brilliant neurodiverse ADHD mind is always working overtime. It's a high performance yet innocently overworked machine. The ADHD mind problem solves with the quickness. The ADHD mind can complete multiple high stimulus tasks at the same time. Ask any emergency room doctor or nurse (who has ADHD) how much they love their jobs. As fast and high performing the brilliant neurodiverse ADHD is, it runs out of gas as quickly. This manifests as feeling overstimulated, anxious and temporarily stuck in a depressed state that I call the swamp of sadness. Especially first thing in the morning. We feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. We also sometimes forget what tasks we have to complete for the day (even when we know we have work or school) when we wake up first thing in the morning. It takes a little while to boot up the supercomputer between our ears.

The content of our thinking doesn't matter when we are caught up in the machinery of our chaotic, anxious, overstimulated ADHD thinking. When we see below the noise of our mind's temporary swamp of sadness do we truly see the illusion of thought.

In this episode I had the honor of sitting down with Lillian Hernandez, author, educator, and host of of the critically acclaimed podcast, "True Lessons." Lillian Hernandez's zest for life and her authenticity has captivated a strong following, and nothing fills her more to make a difference on a larger scale. She went from being abandoned by her father, molestation, and teen pregnancy to a successful educator, podcast host, self-published author and life coach. You can say she is living her best life and now wants others to live theirs! Lillian is the founder of Level Up Coaching. The host of the Podcast: True Lessons (formally known as Wine Down with Lil) and author of Experience Required, a memoir of her life (available in English and Spanish). She also published a short story collection, A Lil Drama for Ya. The collection holds stories her students enjoyed very much in the classroom and inspired her to publish.

"Have the audacity to believe in yourself"- Lillian Hernandez, La Autora

Don't be afraid to be the true essence of you. There is 100% nothing wrong with your brilliant, neurodiverse ADHD mind. Part of being human is being ok with our moodiness. You are going to feel cranky and extra overwhelmed sometimes. THE ADHD neurotype is a brilliant, yet hypersensitive system. There is nothing wrong with you (as long as you are not hurting others). Underneath the noise you are perfect. The more you try to quiet the noise the louder it gets. Modalities never work long term. The realization that you are not your moods is powerful indeed. It is ok to have them, and they are 100% harmless (and 100% mean nothing, and not to be taken on or seriously) and just part of your human experience. You are allowed to be in a crappy mood. If people don't like the totality of you (moods and all) then let them walk away. You will attract your tribe.

Are you afraid of loneliness or failure, confrontation or facing the unknown? Psychologist Dr. Nancy Stella draws on decades of experience in clinical practice in her new book, “Fear Traps: Escape the Triggers that Keep You Stuck” — which presents her concept of the Courageous Brain Process, a six-step, science-based treatment plan to help people overcome fear.

“Fear Traps” equips readers to heal trauma and take on new challenges with confidence and resilience. Dr. Stella shows us that fear is normal, but fear does not need to control you. If you’re feeling trapped in a cycle of coping mechanisms that just keep making things worse, there is a way out. With over 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, Nancy Stella, PsyD, PhD, helps us get unstuck by teaching us how our brain processes fear. Using current neuroscience research, her Courageous Brain Process (CBP) provides transformative, science-based practices to regain control over the emotions that once controlled us.

For people with a speedy neurodiverse ADHD mind it we live in the technicolor noise of sensory overload. And that's ok. There is nothing wrong and more importantly there is nothing to fix. ADHD'ers are not attention deficit, we are attention different. When we get quiet we see our intelligence. We see what's possible. Our fast moving ADHD mind gets us there. That's where the magic lies. The challenge is seeing our self awareness kick in when we become overstimulated, reactive, start forgetting things, or quickly lose our focus. The more we get curious about it the quicker we can catch it when our attention goes south. With a high performance ADHD mind comes the responsibility of active preventative maintenance like an F1 race car.

Recently I had the chance to sit down with Long Island's very own Brenna Guinan, mental health counselor extraordinaire and host of the refreshingly honest and brilliantly funny mental health podcast Real Fckn Talk. We discuss how the pandemic has, in many respects, created a mental health crisis not only for patients but for the dedicated mental health professionals out on the front lines. 

You can reach out to Breanna here:

Instagram: @real.fckn.talk

Email: realfckntalk@gmail.com 

Podcast: Real Fckn Talk (spotify, apple, etc)

Imagine a world without the inner narrator (our inner head chatter) telling us what is what. Imagine your inner narrator not being there. Imagine everything is neutral. You would have no judgement of your outside world. Yet the outside natural world is always completely neutral. It's your internal jibber jabber that adds meaning and creates that noisy world. You can have that quiet. You can view your world without judgement (even if the head chatter is at high volume). You have this thing called stillpower. Stillpower is pointing you back to that quiet everyday. Whether you have a neurotypical brain or a neurodiverse brain. You just don't pay attention to it.

Recently I had the unique opportunity to sit down with an extraordinary young man named Thomas Henley. Thomas is an Autism & Mental Health advocate, creating YouTube videos, podcasts and documentaries. With a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University Of Manchester, a Commonwealth gold medal in Tae kwon do, and a talent for public speaking, Thomas seeks to raise awareness and support others on their own personal growth journey.

Thomas' motives come from his long history with Autism, Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders & Panic Disorders. Experienced in Special Needs teaching, human sciences, and how to help others understand his conditions, he seeks to bring a new face to Autism and Mental Health disorders.

"Life isn't showing you the truth of reality. It is not programming you. You are programming yourself to see life a certain way." - Rachel Francis

This week I spent time with the brilliant embodiment coach, Rachel Francis who hails from East Cork, Ireland. Rachel shares her journey exploring Italy and what's possible when we begin to see every moment as the gift just as it is, the good, bad, and the messy parts in between.

Rachel's Bio

Rachel is a certified Embodiment Coach. She specializes in helping people 1-on-1 in their mid 20s and 30s who feel disconnected to their full potential, unfulfilled and unconfident, embody a new self-concept and cultivate self-authority to obliterate sabotaging beliefs and negative patterns that are holding them back from the person they are meant to be and their happiest life. Rachel is also a Directory Member and Expert Coach with the international holistic retreat group Bien Etre and I am a host of the Spotify podcast 'Spiritual Roundtable Podcast'.

Taylor Roark of Galiant Trainings is not only a masterful intuitive coach aligning consciousness with purpose, he is also a wonderful human being. Taylor and I had a brilliant conversation back in August about what it means to connect with what our heart is calling us to. It happens to all of us if we pay attention to the quiet voice inside of us. That quiet voice is a blissful gift from the universe. It is that leap of faith that your brain innocently turns into a dangerous cliff edge. It's only when we see beyond the illusory nature of the Netflix movie of the mind do we discover it is a featherbed.

I have been patiently waiting to have my friend, the brilliant Chase Marks on my podcast for some time now. I finally got to interview the fabulous Chase Marks, the host of the Bystanders Podcast (which is my top five favorite). To say that Chase uplifts the lives of others (as a podcaster and a mental health advocate) is a true understatement. Chase also works in theater automation which is so apropos to our discussion today about the "theater of the mind" and how the drama of mind is not only made up, (if we really pay attention) it is not a creation of our own doing. It just is and it doesn't matter where it comes from. It's not us. So sit back, relax and enjoy. You will be glad you did.

Mental health is not something you work on. It's not something you obtain. It's not something you "manage." It is your true north. Your essential nature. And it's all there on offer. And in the immortal words of the Scottish mystic Sydney Banks: "We are just one thought away from mental wellbeing. Just one thought." Nothing better encapsulates this truth when we finally see who and what we truly are, underneath the noise of thought and thinking. It's called inner resilience and inner wisdom that guides us along the river of life like a perfect GPS system. We have flickers of our inner wisdom all day long. We just don't pay attention to it enough. Emily Davis, host of the brilliant mental health podcast, "The Wondering Mind," gets this truth. Then she forgets. Then she remembers again (like all of us do from time to time). Emily and I sat down to chat about her journey with ADHD and depression and how, after many years of suffering she started paying attention and trusting her own inner wisdom underneath the noise of her thinking.