Dream Big Podcast for Kids

At the beginning of the school year, we had a conversation with Eva about her classes. Our advice was simple: Take the easy wins! So many kids struggle at school academically because they fail to turn their homework in on time, they have missing assignments, they don't take advantage of extra credit assignments when offered. We explained to Eva that her classmates who don't take the easy wins are facing an uphill battle to get good grades. Eva has followed our advice, and she has seen firsthand how in some classes where she scored Bs or B+s on her exams, she still has an A overall because she always turns in her homework on time, she participates in class, and she does extra credit. Eva shares this "secret" with the Big Dreamers, and explains why it is so important to take the easy wins in school and in life. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/275

Rachel Hollis is the best selling author of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing and host of the Rachel Hollis Podcast. In a recent interview, Rachel explained how early in her career before she had written her 1st book, she believed that she just had to finish a book and then it would get published. But when she finished it, no publisher was interested. Michael Jordan, widely considered the best basketball player of all time, was famously cut from his high school basketball team. There are many who would say that Michael Jordan's coach made the biggest mistake of his life, or those publishers missed a huge opportunity by passing on Rachel's first book. But Rachel shared: "The truth was that I was not good enough yet and he was not good enough yet and we had to keep on doing the work to get to this place. That's what people miss. You have to keep going. You don't know who you are going to be half a decade from now or 10 years from now." Expanding on Rachel's quote in this episode, Eva shares why we can expect to fail (especially on our first try) when we are pursuing our big dreams. And why it is so important that we keep on doing the work and not give up. Rachel Hollis and Michale Jordan would have never shared their unique gifts with the world if they had quit! We all have unique gifts and we must keep on pushing toward our big dreams even when we don't get the early result we were hoping for! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/274

This summer Eva was fortunate enough to go to a sleepaway camp for a few weeks. When she sent us letters in the mail, she would sometimes include a playing card that she had shot with an arrow during Archery, which turned out to be her favorite activity at camp! In fact, Eva loved archery so much that her #1 request for the upcoming Holiday season is her own set of bow and arrows. In discussing with Eva why she loves archery so much, we realized that there are many important life lessons that you learn from archery that apply equally to when you pursue your big dreams. Hint: Eva shares the top lessons she has learned from archery in this episode! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/273

You may not know the name but Bobby Hall, but if you have followed the music scene for the past decade you likely know of the multi-platinum recording artist known as Logic. Logic is Bobby Hall (or I guess Bobby Hall is Logic depending on how you look at it!). Logic has a new book out called the Bright Future which is a memoir of his journey from a horrifically abusive childhood to becoming one of the most accomplished and respected musical artists of his generation. Logic has been out promoting his memoir and in a recent interview, he was asked about how to find happiness. Logic grew up in very difficult circumstances with an alcoholic mother and an absent father who was addicted to crack cocaine. It was a struggle to survive yet alone become successful. In this episode, Eva shares Logic's enlightening answer on how he found happiness. Hint: He didn't find happiness by becoming rich or famous. It is an important lesson for all the young Big Dreamers who are constantly bombarded with messages about how money and fame is all what matters. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/272

Dr. Susan David, the bestselling author of Emotional Agility, has identified a powerful difference between "Have to" Goals and "Want to" Goals. Eva shares that difference in this episode, and offers some examples of "Want to" and "Have to" Goals in her own life. This includes the recent experience of hatching baby quail from an incubator (definitely a "Want to" goal). But more importantly, Eva shares how she was able to apply Dr. Susan's advice to convert studying for math, which she always thought of as a "Have to" task, into a "Want to" task by connecting math with her love of farm animals. Eva also challenges all Big Dreamers to identify a "Have to" goal in your life, and reframe it as a "Want to" goal using the strategy that she shares in this powerful episode. A huge thank you to Dr. Susan David for outlining this important distinction. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/271

Michaela DePrince was born in the midst of a horrific civil war in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Her father was killed by rebels, and shortly after her father's death, her mother died of fever and starvation. As if life was not already difficult enough, Michaela has a skin condition which causes patches of her skin to lose its color. In her village, this was considered the curse of the devil and she was abandoned by her uncle and lived in an orphanage where she was the least favorite child out of 27 kids -- which meant she was the last to eat at every meal. Fast forward to today, and Michaela is a professional ballerina, competed on Dancing With The Stars, performed in Madonna and Beyonce music videos, and spoke alongside Barack Obama at a leadership conference. In this episode, Eva shares how this remarkable lady was able to overcome the living nightmare that was her early childhood and fulfill her dream of being a professional ballerina. Michaela's story is a powerful reminder that circumstances outside of your control do not define you and to never, ever give up on your dreams. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/270

We've told our kids on numerous occasions to "Be Patient. Things Take Time." or even the good ol' phrase "Patience is a Virtue." But we recently stumbled across a quote from the great Tom Bilyeu that challenged our views on patience, especially when it comes to teaching our kids about how to accomplish their Big Dreams. Tom shared: "Stop being patient and start asking yourself, how do I accomplish my 10 year plan in 6 months? You'll probably fail but you'll be a lot further along than the person who simply accepted it was going to take 10 years." In this episode, Eva unpacks Tom's quote and shares why it is so important to not only Dream Big but also to take massive action. While Tom's quote may be controversial, we believe it is an important reminder that Big Dreamers can not wait for their big dreams to unfold but instead must charge towards their dreams. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/269

What really matters most in life? The shoes that you wear? The latest video game that you own? The care that you drive? Material items might bring us temporary joy but when you really think about the things that matter most in your life, what comes to the top of your mind? Sergey Young has achieved great success in life. He founded the Longevity Vision Fund to accelerate life extension through technological and scientific breakthroughs. He raised 100 million dollars for this fund, which is investing in companies that are focused on building products and services that will extend healthy lifespans. He's been a successful investor with experience spanning over 20 years, which includes managing a $2 billion private equity fund. But in a recent interview, Sergey beautifully described what comes to his mind when he thinks about what he is grateful for in life. In this episode, Eva shares Sergey's answer, and why Sergey's insight is such an important reminder for our young Big Dreamers. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/268

Lizzie Velasquez was born with a rare syndrome that makes it impossible for her to gain weight. As a result, even though Lizzie is an adult, she has never weighed more than 65 pounds. A number of years ago, a terrible cyber bully posted a video on Youtube titled "World's Ugliest Woman" and the video was about Lizzie. Not only was this a horrible, horrible thing to do, but unfortunately the video went viral so millions of people saw Lizzie in the "World's Ugliest Woman" video and the comments were even worse. When Lizzie discovered the video online, she was completely devastated. In today's episode, Eva shares the powerful decision that Lizzie made in weeks and months after the video was posted so that this nightmarish experience did not destroy her life. Quite the opposite, Lizzie now believes that the video being posted was one of the best things that ever happened to her. Eva shares how Lizzie was able to come to such a inspiring decision, and how this choice has impacted the lives of so many others who struggle with self-esteem or have been the victims of bullying. Thank you Lizzie for inspiring so many. You are beautiful inside and out! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/267

A few years ago, a UCLA gymnast named Katelyn Ohashi captivated the world with a viral floor routine that has amassed over 190M views on Youtube. If you are one of the few who has not seen Katelyn's performance, we are including a link to the video in the Resources section of our show notes. You will literally feel Katelyn's positive energy and fun-loving attitude come through your device when you watch her routine. Katelyn's performance, which earned a Perfect 10, showcased that rare combination of immense talent and contagious joyfulness, which made the whole world stop and collectively smile. That's why it came as a complete shock to our family when we heard Katelyn share in an interview that until recently she was extremely unhappy. In fact, just a few years before arriving at UCLA, Katelyn was so depressed that she was ready to give up on gymnastics entirely. How did Katelyn turn her life around and become the happy, young woman that was on full display in that performance? Eva shares Katelyn's story in this episode, which includes important life lessons for all the young Big Dreamers in our audience particularly about the importance of self-love. Thank you Katelyn for inspiring this episode! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/266

Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and currently ranked No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). As of this publication, he has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles (a record shared with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) and based on his play in recent years most tennis fans believe he will own that record before the end of his career. In a recent interview, Novak shared a story about a very low point in his career when mentally he felt like giving up. It is hard to imagine one of the world's greatest players ever thinking about giving up, and it goes to show that even the world's best, go through ups and downs in their career. Yet at the time, Novak was really contemplating whether he wanted to continue competing in tournaments. He described himself crying, sitting on the floor, and really struggling with this decision. In this episode, Eva shares the advice that Novak got in the midst of this struggle and why he ultimately decided to continue playing tennis professionally. This is a really important lesson because we will all face significant obstacles on the path to our Big Dreams, and Novak's advice will help you reconnect with that passion that inspired you to embark on the journey in the first place. Thankfully Novak implemented this technique, and he continues to share his unique gift with tennis fans around the world. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/265

On October 3, 2012 at the age of 24, Lauren Wasser's life changed forever. As a result of a medical condition called toxic shock syndrome, Wasser was placed in a medically-induced coma. Doctors pumped her with 80 pounds of fluids to get the toxins out of her body and conducted several blood transfusions. Lauren miraculously survived but doctors were not able to save her right leg, which had to be amputated. Overnight, Lauren had lost her identity. As a professional model, she had developed an idea of what it meant to be beautiful and initially she felt that losing her legs meant that she was no longer beautiful. While this story could have ended tragically, thankfully it has taken an inspiring turn as today Lauren believes she is more beautiful than ever before -- inside and out. Leading brands around the world agree with Lauren's assessment, and she continues to book modeling gigs now with her beautiful golden prosthetic legs. In this episode, Eva shares the mindset shifts Lauren made in order to turn her life around. Eva also reminds all Big Dreamers that what truly matters in life is not how you look, but your character, values, and how you feel about yourself. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/264

Like most content creators, Joey Schweitzer started making Youtube videos just for fun not really thinking it would become a full-time career. But his videos, which are mostly about self-improvement, were so well made and he is such a talented storyteller, that his channel quickly amassed a huge following and as of this writing, over 1.3 million subscribers enjoy his videos that inspire you to live your best life. This particular episode focuses on an amazing idea that Joey shared in a video entitled: "How I tricked my brain to like doing hard things." Specifically, Joey shares how he uses a technique called "habit bunching" to build new habits. In Episode 263, Eva shares what "habit bunching" is, and how all of our Big Dreamers can implement this little trick as well! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/263

Have you ever wanted to speak up for yourself and for whatever reason stayed quiet? Eva used to be so shy that she didn't even want to place her own order at a restaurant. Today Eva shares why it is so important to be willing to raise your hand, to ask for help, and to stand up for yourself. This episode was inspired by Maria Menounos. Maria has been a primetime TV personality for many years, serving as host of Extra and E! News, co-host of Eurovision song contest , and TV correspondent for Today and Access Hollywood. She is also a professional wrestler with the WWE and hosts a podcast called Better Together. Now you would think that for someone who has made a living speaking on live TV that Maria would have no problem at all speaking up for herself at work! But that was not always the case, and Maria shares the toxic belief system that held her back from speaking up earlier in her career. And how she gained the respect of her bosses more recently when she became more vocal about her feelings and needs. This is such an important lesson for our young Big Dreamers, and Eva shares examples of how she has learned the importance of speaking up and asking questions in her own life. Thank you Maria for inspiring this episode. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/262

There are so many experts out there claiming to be able to teach you a shortcut to building confidence. These "hacks'' might temporarily help you pump yourself up and act confident, even if you really may not be. Recently we heard Chris Bosh, former NBA all-star, champion and Olympic Gold medalist, describe how he developed his confidence on the basketball court. It may not be the most popular method, but we think it is the most honest way to truly build confidence. In this episode, Eva shares Chris' illuminating answer, as well as an amazing quote from martial arts legend Bruce Lee on confidence. Finally Eva shares how she applied Chris' technique to be confident when she performed a complicated rap in front of her entire school a few years ago. Thank you for the fantastic lesson Chris and congrats on the launch of your new book "Letters to a Young Athlete." For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/261

When we stumbled across a video on Matt D'Avella Youtube channel entitled "The truth about chasing your dreams," we took the bait and had to watch. After all, this is the DREAM BIG Podcast and Eva's mission is to encourage young Big Dreamers to believe in their dreams and take massive action in pursuit of those dreams. In the video, Matt shared his " 3-year rule" which is that in order to find success in any field you need to dedicate at least three years before you can expect to see significant results. And then he introduced Tommy Jackett and Josh Janssen, 2 friends from Australia who in 2018, 3 years ago, started a podcast called "The Daily Talk Show." Now you would expect that since Tommy and Josh had been podcasting for 3 years, they would have found "success," right? It turns out that after three long years of consistent hard work, Tommy and Josh did not have nearly as big of an audience as they had expected, nor had they made enough money to quit their day jobs. But they both still consider their podcasting experience as a huge success! In this episode, Eva explores the meaning of the word "success," why success does not equal making lots of money, and even shares some unexpected "truths' ' about the Dream Big Podcast, which she has hosted for nearly 5 years now! Thank you Matt for the beautifully crafted video illuminating this hard truth about chasing your dreams and to Tommy and Josh for reminding us that followers and money does not equal success. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/260

This week Eva shares lessons she learned from Luvvie Ajayi Jones' Ted Talk entitled "Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable." Luvvie is a bestselling author and world renowned speaker, but for many years she refused to publicly admit she was a writer. She had grown up dreaming of being a doctor, and feared that as a writer she would not be able to make ends meet. When she was turning thirty, Luvvie decided to embrace the idea of stepping outside of her comfort zone, and in her Ted Talk, she shares stories about ziplining, scuba diving, and skydiving -- all of which terrified her but helped her build confidence which ultimately played huge dividends in her career. Inspired by Luvvie's Ted Talk, Eva encourages all of you young Big Dreamers to push outside of your comfort zone, even if the actions you take are not directly related to your Big Dreams. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/259

We were thrilled when Rebecca Zamolo's publicist reached out to see if Eva was interested in interviewing Rebecca, who is promoting her new book "The Game Master: Summer Schooled." Rebecca is one of the most innovative content creators in the world, with multiple award winning Youtube channels with over 30 million subscribers. She also has had a fascinating life story, as Eva discovered while preparing for the interview. Rebecca was a competitive gymnast growing up, which is where she developed her incredible work ethic. She also studied Improv at Second City in Los Angeles, which is where she blossomed into a comedic actress. Everything Rebecca does is entertaining and will make you smile, including her interview with Eva :) Be sure to check out Rebecca's new book The Game Master: Summer Schooled! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/258

Daniel J. Watts is a legendary Broadway performer, appearing in nine Broadway shows including Hamilton, In The Hnines and Memphis. So it should be no surprise that Daniel used performance art when he delivered his recent TedX talk. He literally painted with his feet while masterfully sharing his life experience leading up to and during the pandemic. Daniel uses the metaphor of paint, sharing that in life sometimes we need to let the paint dry. We need to take a break, assess the situation, and then make the next move. With the pandemic cancelling Broadway shows for the past year, Daniel was forced to let the paint dry and now plans to be more conscious of intentionally letting the paint dry in the future. Eva shares how she is implementing Daniel's advice in her own life and why this is such a powerful metaphor to remember whenever you feel overwhelmed or stressed. Thank you Daniel J. Watts for your inspiring and creative TedX talk! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/257

Sara Blakely is an inventor and entrepreneur who created the clothing line Spanx. For the younger Big Dreamers who may not be familiar with Spanx, ask your mom because chances are she knows and can explain better than Eva can! Joking aside, with the incredible success of Spanx under Sara's leadership, in 2012 Sara became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire. In today's episode, Eva focuses on an amazing story that Sara shared about her father in an interview with the great Tony Robbins. Specifically, Sara explained that when she was growing up, her father would ask her "What did you fail at this week?" And he would be disappointed if she did not have anything to share! Now that may seem like a backwards question, but actually Sara credits this ritual with obliterating her fear of failure in the traditional sense of failing to achieve the desired outcome. Instead, Sara's definition of failure became failing to try her best. What a fantastic lesson for all Big Dreamers - young and old! When you are pursuing a big dream, you will "fail" time and again. But rather than hide or be ashamed by those failures, we should share and even celebrate the failures as long as we tried our best! Thank you Sara for this powerful reminder and kudos to your dad for asking you such a fantastic question during your childhood. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/256

Candace Parker is one of the most decorated female basketball players to ever put on a uniform. Candace was the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft, A WNBA Champion, WNBA Finals MVP, 2x WNBA MVP, 2x Gold Medalist, and WNBA Rookie of the Year. But that incedibe legacy was definitely not guaranteed, and in fact could have easily been cut short by a devastating ACL tear during high school that required surgery to repair. In a recent interview, Candace was asked about what it took to develop her winning mindset, and she actually pointed to that injury and her road to recovery as the time in her life that she developed the tenacity to overcome obstacles. Specifically, Candice shared that after a doctor told her that she may never play basketball again, her Dad challenged her to look at herself in the mirror and make a decision to fully recover rather than throw a pity party. We've all had the tendency to throw a pity party when things go terribly wrong, but at the end of the day feeling bad for ourselves and complaining about the situation is never a solution. Thank you Candace for the reminder to rsvp NO to the pity party and instead pour your energy into overcoming the obstacles in the path to your big dreams. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/255

We were listening to Lewis Howes interview Rich Roll, a man who transformed his life from being an alcoholic and drug addict to one of the fittest men in the world. Lewis was asking Rich about how to achieve your big dreams. Rather than just giving the stereotypical answer like "you have to go for it, be bold, take massive action," Rich gave a much more practical answer that Eva thought was super helpful and wanted to share with all the Big Dreamers. Specifically, Rich shared that when you push outside of your comfort zone, the best strategy is to just push a tad bit outside. Start with an action today that doesn't involve a lot of risk. You need to get outside of the comfort zone because that is where growth happens, but you can start small, build your confidence, and then take an additional step. Eva applies Rich's lesson to her own experience as a podcaster, and how her growth these past 5 years has come from many little steps outside of her comfort zone rather than one huge one. Thank you Rick for this very practical advice, and reminder that Big Dreams don't happen overnight but require incremental progress over a long period of time! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/254

This week's episode is inspired by Amberley Snyder, who as a young girl developed a love of horses and was on her way to becoming one of the world's best in rodeo. In 2009, she won the National Little Britches Rodeo Association All-Around Cowgirl World Championship. Amberley's life changed forever on January 10, 2010. She was driving her truck and sadly not wearing a seatbelt. She took her eyes off the road for a brief moment and the next thing she knew her car was rolling and she was ejected from the vehicle and ended up breaking her neck, leaving her paralzyed from the waist down. Instead of giving up on her passion for horses and the idea of riding again, Amberley told her doctors that she would ride a horse again and even compete in rodeo. And only 4 months after the accident, Amberley was back on her horse and ultimately realized her dream of competing in rodeos. In this episode, Eva shares Amberley's story and a quote that Amberley says changed her life forever: "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Please be sure to watch the video we link in the resources section of our show notes. It will give you goosebumps to see Amberley hoist herself onto her horse from a wheelchair, and ride strapped to her horse in rodeo competitions. Thank you Amberley for being such a powerful example of the power of attitude, and how that little decision we make every morning makes all the difference. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/253

Jeff Bezos was once asked what makes someone successful. Jeff is uniquely qualified to answer this question, considering he founded ecommerce giant Amazon.com and is one of the wealthiest people on the planet. In this episode, Eva shares Jeff's response which to paraphrase was that successful people have a combination of gifts (e.g. natural-born talent) and a strong work ethic (e.g. the grit to develop those talents). Jeff further explained that we can celebrate our gifts, but we should not be proud of them. Instead we should take pride in the choice we make to work hard and become the best versions of ourselves. Eva could not agree more, and shares some examples of friends and a past guest who exemplify this combination of gifts + work ethic. Thank you to Jeff Bezos for making this eye-opening distinction, which Eva can now share with all the Big Dreamers! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/252

This week's episode is inspired by Amy Purdy. Amy's childhood and teen years were filled with fun and adventure. She was an incredible athlete and especially loved snowboarding. At the age of 19, Amy had a medical emergency caused by a bacterial infection. The doctors gave her a 2% chance to live, and had to remove her spleen and amputate both her legs below the knees. Her father also had to donate a kidney to give her a chance to survive. Needless to say, it was a very scary time for the Purdy family and life as Amy knew it would never be the same. In this episode, Eva shares Amy's analogy of how after this emergency, she made a decision to look at her life as a book where she would be the author of that book and write an incredible story. Which is exactly what she has done! Eva shares many of Amy's remarkable accomplishments, including winning Paralympic medals in snowboarding, being the runner-up on Dancing With The Stars, touring with Oprah, and becoming a New York Times best-selling author. Amy can inspire all Big Dreamers, especially those going through difficult times, to be the author of their own story. Thank you Amy for inspiring millions and now all the Big Dreamers. We can't wait to read the next chapters in your incredible life :) For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/251

This week's episode is inspired by Dr. Edith Eger. In 1944, when Edith was a teenager, she experienced the unimaginable horror of the Holocaust. As a Jew living in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, she and her family were sent to Auschwitz, the heinous concentration camp. Her parents and fiance were killed by the Nazis, and she witnessed horrific crimes against humanity as a prisoner at Auschwitz. Despite this unimaginable trauma and suffering, Dr. Eger was able to lead a remarkable life after the war. She moved to the United States, started a family, got her doctorate in Psychology, and is still inspiring so many at the young age of 93 years old. As part of a recent book tour, Dr. Eger often shared how she was able to give herself the gift of forgiveness. We thought that was such an interesting idea -- usually when you think of forgiveness you are forgiving the person who wronged you. But Dr. Eger looks at forgiveness differently, and we thought it was a very important lesson for Big Dreamers, young and old, to learn. Thank you Dr. Eger for the gift you have given to the world, and for teaching us that you don't have to forget in order to forgive. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/250

This week's episode is inspired by Lisa Bilyeu, and specifically her journey from being a traditional housewife to the cofounder of a billion dollar company. For over 8 years, Lisa played the role of a traditional stay-at-home wife to her husband Tom. This was actually a one-year plan at the start, as she was supporting Tom's effort to build a film business. But eventually Tom pivoted and launched Quest Nutrition, and asked Lisa if she would help fulfill orders of the company's protein bars from their living room floor. Lisa stepped up to help, and ended up doing far more than stuffing boxes from their house! Quest Nutrition grew 57,000% in 3 years time, earning a billion-dollar valuation and ranking as the #2 fastest growing company in North America by Inc. Magazine in 2014. So how did Lisa go from a stay-at-home wife with absolutely no experience in shipping or logistics to leading a huge team and managing tens of millions of dollars in inventory? Lisa recently shared her secret to learning anything, and today Eva is sharing Lisa's secret with all the Big Dreamers :) For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/249

This episode of the Dream Big Podcast is inspired by Amanda Gorman, the nation's first Youth Poet Laureate. Most of the world first witnessed the greatness of Amanda Gorman at the Presidential Inauguration, when she delivered her masterpiece of a poem The Hills We Climb. Amanda was so poised, so confident, so riveting in her delivery that I'm sure you would have never guessed that she spent most of her life struggling with a speech impediment. Into her teen years, Amanda had great difficulty pronouncing the letter R. So how did Amanda overcome this obstacle and deliver one of the most celebrated public speaking performances in recent history? Eva explores Amanda's journey and shares how Amanda transformed this perceived "weakness" into her greatest strength. Thank you Amanda for inspiring a nation with The Hills We Climb, and for inspiring all the Big Dreamers with strength and courage to overcome this speech impediment so you can share your unique gift with the world. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/248

This episode of the Dream Big Podcast is inspired by Dean Graziozi, a multiple New York Times best selling author, entrepreneur, and investor. Dean has started or played a major role in over 14 successful companies that have changed lives all around the world – including the new Mastermind.com platform with Tony Robbins. Dean posted a video to his Youtube channel on how successful people react when they encounter an obstacle or even suffer a setback. We were so inspired by Dean's message that we wanted to share the lesson with all Big Dreamers. If you are dreaming big and pushing outside your comfort zone, you are guaranteed to make mistakes and even fail. That's why all Big Dreamers must know how to respond when life does not go according to plan, and Dean's advice can change your life by inspiring you to push forward and find solutions even in the face of immense challenges. Thank you Dean for all that you do to impact the lives of millions, and we hope one day to introduce you to all the Big Dreamers by being Eva's guest on the podcast! Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/247

It is not every day you get the opportunity to interview someone considered to be a GOAT -- the greatest of all time. It was such a thrill for Eva to chat with Greg Louganis, four-time Olympic diving champion and the greatest diver of all time. Greg took part in his first Olympic Games, the 1976 Montreal Games, aged just 16 and claimed silver in the 10m platform. Four years later, he was firmly established as the world's best diver, but the United States' boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games meant that he had to wait another four years to taste Olympic gold. At the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Greg found himself competing in front of his home crowd in California. He won the gold medal in both the 3m springboard and 10m platform events. This made him the first Olympian in 56 years to achieve this spectacular double. He repeated this feat in the 1988 Summer Olympics, becoming the only man and the second diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games. Thank you Greg for inspiring Eva and the Big Dreamers with your incredible life story and the lessons you shared about hard work, overcoming obstacles, and never giving up. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/246

This episode is inspired by three of Eva's mentors. (1) Tony Robbins who often teaches that in order to change your life, you need to raise your standards; (2) Jesse Itzler who recently shared in a speech that he sets Olympic standards for himself in the 3 main buckest of his life: Business, Mindset, and Wellness; and (3) Greg Louganis who we are thrilled to announce will be Eva's guest on next week's episode of the Dream Big Podcast. Eva asked Greg about his training regimen when he was in pursuit of Olympic Glory, and let's just say we can think of no better example of raising standards than what Greg demanded of himself during his Olympic training. Enjoy this episode which will inspire you to raise your standards, and be sure to tune in next Monday to Eva's interview with Greg. In our humble opinion, it is one of her best interviews yet! Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/245

Jamie Kern Lima is a self-made entrepreneur, champion of women, philanthropist, keynote speaker and co-founder of IT Cosmetics. Jamie is on a book tour right now for Believe It - How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable. We've watched many of her interviews, and were so inspired by Jamie's story that Eva decided to create an episode about her remarkable journey from a Denny's waitress to the CEO of a billion dollar makeup brand, IT Cosmetics. Of course, when you hear a rags-to-riches story like Jamie's, many assume that the success came overnight. But Jamie is very transparent about the years of rejection and challenges she and her husband experienced before they enjoyed any success. In this episode, Eva shares Jamie's philosophy on dealing with rejection and how she was able to keep on pushing towards her big dreams, even when she only had $1000 left in her bank account. Thank you Jamie Kern Lima for sharing your remarkable story, and now for inspiring so many young Big Dreamers to believe in themselves even in the face of rejection. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/244

Matthew Hussey is an internationally acclaimed speaker, New York Times Bestselling author, and relationship expert. In a recent interview, we heard Matthew share how the trash cans at Disney World had such a profound impact on his life. We were so moved by the story and its lesson that Eva wanted to share it with all the Big Dreamers. There's an old saying "How you do anything, is how you do everything." Disney World trash cans perfectly encapsulate this quote. Most cities have a local theme park with rides, but Disney fans travel from all over the world at great expense to go to Disney World. Thanks to Matthew, Eva shares why Disney makes such an emotional impact and how we can all apply that strategy in our own lives. Thank you Matthew Hussey for sharing your childhood story of discovering the magic of Disney World trash cans, and inspiring all the Big Dreamers who will benefit from this Mentor Magic as well :) Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/243

James Clear is one of the world's leading experts in habit formation and performance improvement. In his New York Times best selling book Atomic Habits, which has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, James shares the remarkable turnaround of Great Britain Cycling which in under a decade went from being a laughing stock to the most dominant cycling team in modern history. But what is even more remarkable is the strategy that was responsible for these then unthinkable results. In this episode, Eva shares how Dave Brailsford, who was hired in 2003 to be the team's performance director, ushered in this amazing new era of cycling for Great Britain, and most importantly, how we can implement the same strategy in our own lives to see remarkable results as well. Thank you James Clear for sharing the story of Great Britain cycling and the underlying strategy with over 3 million (and growing) readers, and now to all the Big Dreamers who will benefit from this Mentor Magic as well :) Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/242

Ed Mylett is one of the top business leaders, peak performance experts, and keynote speakers in the world today. There is a good reason why millions of people are interested in what Ed has to say. He has walked the walk, and achieved great success in all aspects of his life from health, business, and relationships. One of Ed's favorite analogies is how your identity is like the thermostat on the wall of your life. Eva loved the analogy, and thought Ed had captured the perfect way to explain to our young Big Dreamers why it is so important to actively work on your identity -- the thoughts, ideas, concepts and beliefs you hold to be true about yourself. Your kids can listen to every episode of the Dream Big Podcast and learn all the tips and tricks from top performers like Ed, but it is all for nothing if they don't develop a positive identity and believe in their potential. Ed's concept of the thermostat is a brilliant way to explain this, and we are excited to share this analogy with all the Big Dreamers as well as some of Ed's tips on how to raise the temperature of your identity! Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/241

There is an old saying that "A picture is worth a thousand words" and that's exactly how we felt when we stumbled across a photo of a young and unknown Jeff Bezos working at an old wooden desk in a run-down office. Jeff was working on his Big Dream, Amazon.com, which has since become one of the biggest companies in the world and revolutionized e-commerce. But the headline of the photo is what really gave us the chills: "Don't compare your Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 20." We stumbled upon this photo on the Instagram of the great Tom Bilyeu, who often advises his community to focus on your own growth and not compare yourself to the achievements of others. In this episode, Eva focuses on how important it is to work on being the best version of yourself and how detrimental it can be when you obsess on the progress of others, especially those who are much further along on their journey. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/240

This episode is inspired by the the world's #1 brain coach Jim Kwik, who was Eva's guest in episode 69 of the Dream Big Podcast. In a recent interview, Jim shared an analogy about the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Specifically, Jim pointed out that the caterpillar goes through a period of intense struggle inside a cocoon before emerging as a beautiful butterfly. In this episode, Eva utilizes Jim's analogy to help answer a question emailed to Eva by Jenny Bernstein from Austin, Texas. Jenny is working on launching her own Youtube channel, and has not been able to press "Publish" on the handful of episodes that she has already recorded. With an assist from Jim's analogy, Eva shares why Jenny's struggles are just part of her journey. This is an important episode for all Big Dreamers, young and old, who expect overnight results. We need to embrace the journey and understand that achieving our big dreams will not be easy, and that there will be many challenges along the way! Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/239

This episode is inspired by the great Mel Robbins, who was Eva's guest way back in episode 47 of the Dream Big Podcast. We have been closely following Mel's work ever since, particularly her Youtube and Instagram channels, which are chock-full of amazing content. Mel recently posted a video on her Instagram entitled "This Split Second Decision Will Change Your Life" --- an intriguing headline so of course we clicked and watched. Mel explains in the video how we can decide who we want to be, each and every day, with one simple decision. Mel's message really resonated with Eva, who a few days prior had woke up in a bad mood and stayed in a funk for most of the morning before she finally made a shift in her energy. With Mel's advice, Eva realized that she could have skipped the bad mood entirely and wanted to share Mel's tip with all you Big Dreamers :) Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/238

We just had one of the most incredible weekends visiting our cousins in the San Bernardino mountains during a winter snowstorm. It was a short trip. We left our house Saturday morning and were back home before dark on Sunday. But when we pulled up to our driveway Eva said: "We were only gone for a day?! It felt like we were gone for a week!!" It was the same number of hours that we had the weekend prior, but we did 10X more! As an added bonus, we enjoyed many first-time experiences thanks to the snowstorm and our cousin's incredible homestead, which made the weekend's activities that much more significant. In this episode, Eva shares many fun stories from our magical weekend, from sledding at night to holding baby goats to learning how to sew. And Eva shares how all Big Dreamers can slow down time by designing magical moments with your loved ones. Be sure to check out our cousins instagram @purely.living.homestead to learn more about farm animals and gardening - and thank you for a weekend filled with countless memories that we will never forget! Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/237

This week, Eva welcomes Ashley Stahl, a career coach, keynote speaker, podcast host (You Turn Podcast) and soon-to-be bestselling author of You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, and Design Your Dream Career. Ashley has had one of the most interesting career paths of any Dream Big Podcast guest, starting her career as a counterterrorism professional at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Ashley shares with Eva her fascinating journey from counterterrorism to career coaching and entrepreneurship, and offers incredible advice to our young Big Dreamers about discovering their core nature and starting to think about future career options that honor who we are and maximize our positive impact on the world. Be sure to pick up a copy of Ashley's new You Turn book, where she shares the strategies she's used to help thousands ditch their Monday blues, get clarity on what work lights them up, and devise an action plan to create a career they love. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/236

One of our favorite mentors is Brendon Burchard -- and long-time listeners of the Dream Big Podcast are well aware of our admiration for Brendon given that Eva has shared many of his concepts in prior episodes. And today, we wanted to share an amazing quote that we heard when Brendon was interviewing another influential thought leader, Dave Hollis. Specifically, in talking about the need to step out of your comfort zone in order to grow, Dave shared the following quote: "A ship in harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are built for." Our entire family loved this quote so much that Eva decided to make an entire episode about it, filled with some fun stories of course about Eva's personal experiences stepping outside of her comfort zone. And we are currently using the quote to inspire Sophia to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. We adopted the quote just a bit Dave and I hope you don't mind :) "A bike in the garage is safe. But that's not what bikes are built for." Haha. Thank you Dave Hollis for inspiring this episode, and hopefully you can join Eva on the Dream Big Podcast in the future to share more about this quote and why it is so meaningful to you. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/235

It's the start of New Year - a great time to develop new passions and new skills. About a month ago, Eva came to us filled with excitement as she explained her plans to plant a garden in 2021. When Eva sets her mind on something with this level of intention and focus, we know that nothing is going to stop her and so we are thrilled to support her new passion project. In this episode, Eva shares why she is so passionate about planting a garden, what she learned from our family's failed attempt to do so a few years ago, and why this time the result is going to be different. Eva will be getting more active on the Dream Big Podcast Instagram account this year -- so please be sure to follow us to get regular Instagram story updates on Eva's garden, the podcast, and other exciting announcements this year. The entire Karpman family is almost as excited for 2021 as Eva is for her new garden, which means we are super, super excited :)

2020 is now officially history, and we can't be more excited for a New Year. 2021 here we come! That said, with the many challenges of 2020 also came many important life lessons. The final week of every year, our family discusses what we learned from the past twelve months and how our success and missteps can inform our next trip around the sun. So in the 1st episode of 2021, we thought it would be appropriate for Eva to share the top 5 lessons we learned in 2020 and how we can all apply those lessons to our decisions in 2021 to make this the best year ever. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/233

Eva talks a lot about success on the Dream Big Podcast, and she has interviewed many of the most successful people on the planet from Mark Cuban to General Stanely McCrystal and Mel Robbins. But one common pattern that Eva has noticed from all of her incredible guests is that they readily admit to countless failures along their journey to achieving their big dreams. We stumbled across a commencement address that Denzel Washington delivered at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, where he eloquently shared that the way to fail is to fall forward, not backwards. In this episode, Eva shares a number of powerful examples from Denzel's speech, and also how she literally learned the importance of falling forward and not backwards when she learned how to ride a unicycle this summer. Eva encourages all Big Dreamers to push outside their comfort zone as we enter a new year in 2021. Yes, you will fall along the way, but remember to fall forward and you will get back up and keep on moving forward towards your dreams. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/232

We are so thrilled to introduce Errol Gerson to all you Big Dreamers. Errol is the grandfather of Eva's best friend Gianna, and a dear family friend. He also has just reached the remarkable milestone of teaching for 50 years at the ArtCenter College of Design. From his career as an entrepreneur, businessman and professor, Errol is uniquely qualified to share with our Big Dreamers the patterns of success over his incredible life. Errol was born in South Africa during Apartheid and shares with Eva why he immigrated to the United States and the hope he has for our future. Errol also happens to be the King of acronyms, and teaches a few of his favorite business acronyms to Eva (and by extension all you Big Dreamers) during their fascinating conversation. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/231

We are just a few weeks away from closing out 2020. In January of this year, none of us could have ever imagined how 2020 would unfold. In-person schools, camps, sporting events, concerts, extracurricular activities… all CANCELLED. And even worse, millions of people contracting COVID and the impacts the shutdowns have had on the economy. With everything we just mentioned, it is easy to see how many will remember 2020 as the worst year ever. But in this episode, Eva shares how we can look back at 2020 and actually find things to be grateful for. 2020 will soon be history, and one day our kids will tell their kids about what it was like living through a global pandemic. In this episode, Eva shares that how we will remember 2020 will come down to one word :) You'll have to listen to the episode to find out what that word is, but we did want to thank Gary Vaynerchuk for inspiring this episode. Gary is a legendary entrepreneur and thought leader who often talks about focusing on what you can control versus what you cannot. To close the episode, Eva also shares an exercise we suggest you all do as a family before the end of the year to ensure your kids remember the positive aspects of 2020, and not just the negative ones. It no doubt has been an incredibly challenging year, but we are grateful to have grown closer as a family and to have shared this year with all you Big Dreamers. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/230

A few months ago, the family of Eva's best friends Sienna and Cayenne got jet skis. Sienna and Cayenne have been telling Eva about their weekends at the lake, and how much fun the entire family has been having with their new toys. In turn, we've been hearing non-stop from Eva about how much she wants to jet ski. We had the opportunity over Thanksgiving weekend to rent a jet ski and needless to say, Eva jumped on the opportunity :) In this week's episode, Eva shares the story of her experience, as well as the important life lessons she learned which of course are equally applicable to all Big Dreamers. Based on how much Eva loved jet skiing and how determined this young lady can be, we have a feeling this will not be the last you will be hearing about Eva's jet skiing adventures. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/229

Since we just celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving here in the United States, we thought this would be the perfect episode to talk about the central theme of Thanksgiving. Giving Thanks! In other words, Gratitude. This is a subject that legendary researcher Dr. Brene Brown has conducted a ton of research on -- and in this episode, Eva shares a life-changing finding from one of Dr. Brown's studies which spanned 12 years with over 11,000 pieces of data. Specifically, Dr. Brown did not interview a single person who would describe themselves as joyful who did not actively practice gratitude. The key word there is practice. In this episode, Eva shares the importance of incorporating a gratitude practice into your daily routine, and shares the gratitude practice that our family has done daily for over 12 months now. I think we all knew intuitively that gratitude was central to our happiness, but thanks to Dr. Brene Brown we now have scientific evidence that a gratitude practice is the key to a joyful life. Speaking of gratitude, there's no time more fitting to express our sincere appreciation for your support of Eva's podcast. We are deeply thankful and extend to all you Big Dreamers our best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/228

Last week, Sophia was overtired and started to have a temper tantrum. She told us that the only thing that can make her stop crying and cure her sadness was a new toy. In fact, she said that if we got her this new toy she would never be sad again. Of course, we all know that getting Sophia a toy would not lead to her everlasting happiness, but in this episode Eva really dives into WHY money and the material possessions it can buy can never guarantee your happiness. Eva borrows some great lessons from Jay Shetty's new book Think Like A Monk, which is one of our favorite books of 2020. Jay draws the following distinction between success and happiness in his book: "Success is earning money, being respected in your work, executing projects smoothly and receiving accolades. Happiness is feeling good about yourself, having close relationships, making the world a better place." We believe this is such an important concept to teach our children at a young age. I know many of our kids (including Eva and Sohpia!) are excited to open their presents this holiday season. But in this episode, Eva shares why those gifts are not the key to our happiness, and why fulfillment must come from within. Thank you Jay for the great lesson, and we hope you'll be Eva's guest on the podcast in the not so distant future :) Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/227

As parents, we have worked very hard to eliminate phrases like "That's impossible" and "I can't do it" from our kids' vocabulary. Turns out with the word IMPOSSIBLE -- you can just add a space and an apostrophe, and IMPOSSIBLE becomes I'M POSSIBLE. This idea certainly hit home with the US election earlier this month, in which Kamala Harris became the first woman and person of color to be elected Vice President. Let's not forget…. it was just one hundred years ago -- in August 1920 -- that the 19th amendment to the constitution was passed which gave women the right to vote. And then in 1965, just 55 years ago, the Voting Rights act was passed to prohibit the terrible racial discrimination in voting that will forever remain a stain on U.S. democracy.For our American listeners regardless who you vote for, I think we can all agree that shattering these barriers is a good thing for our country. I know that Eva and so many girls around the country heard Kamala's speech and now wholeheartedly believe that women can be leaders at the highest level of government. In this episode, Eva shares her feelings about believing that anything is possible, even if it has not been done before. Show notes at DreamBigPodcast.com/226