Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #99 with Irene Lyon[i], MSC. who teaches the world’s leaders and coaches how to work with the nervous system to heal trauma, and live full and productive lives. To date her online programs[ii] have reached people in over 63 countries and Irene clearly has a knack for making complex information easy for ALL of us to understand and apply to our lives, which is exactly the type of person I am always looking for on this podcast. Watch the interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. Welcome Irene, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, as we are approaching our 100th episode! We are always looking for people who can take complex concepts and help explain them so that we can all use them in our daily lives for improved results, so thank you for being here to help us to better understand trauma, our nervous system and our results. INTRO: Before we get to the questions, can you explain exactly what you do as a nervous system specialist and somatic neuroplasticity expert and perhaps who some of your mentors were for you when you began this work? Q1: Since this topic is of high interest, I’m looking forward to diving deeper into the area of trauma so we can all gain more awareness and understanding of what trauma looks like for each person as an individual. I’ve just started to scrape the surface of this topic in the yearlong neurocoaching program I am taking with the study of Joseph LeDoux on trauma, fears, anxiety and memory consolidation. LeDoux says that each person has their own anxiety level, and we respond to trauma or difficult situations in different ways because our brains are “one of a kind, they are wired differently from our genes and our life experiences.” (LeDoux). Can you explain the science of trauma, and why one person could easily walk away from an accident or traumatic situation, yet another person’s life completely unravels with the same incident? What’s happening on the brain level for this to occur? Q2: Can you explain what you learned from Steven Hoskinson, that pretty much ALL chronic and mental illness (conditions that affect our thinking, feeling, mood and behavior) can be connected to dysregulation of the nervous system and unresolved traumatic stress? Q3: What is your 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up[iii] where you take people from a sick nervous system with emotional symptoms like depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue, immune system troubles to a healthy nervous system that includes improved sleep, a boosted immunity, elevated energy levels, and a regulated gut health? We’ve looked closely at Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory on our episode #59[iv] and most listeners who follow this podcast know of the importance of understanding our Central Nervous System when it comes to managing our stress response, but can you share how you show people how to break through anxiety, burnout and chronic symptoms by healing the nervous system—what you teach in your Smart Body, Smart Mind Course[v]? Q4: I have to ask you just one question on your dissertation that you wrote in 2008 while pursuing your Masters in Research in Australia within the biomedical and health sciences, since the topic of your dissertation ties into where we have ended the year on this podcast, with a focus on health and anti-aging strategies. I know this area is of high interest for our listeners since episodes that focus on health and the brain h

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #98 with researcher Dr. Dawson Church[i], the author of the new book called Bliss Brain: The Neuroscience of Remodeling Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity and Joy[ii]. Dr. Church is an award-winning science writer who blends cutting-edge neuroscience with the stories of people who’ve had firsthand experience of brain change. Neural plasticity—the discovery that the brain is capable of rewiring itself—is now widely understood. But what few people have grasped yet is how quickly this is happening, how extensive brain changes can be, and how much control each of us exerts over the process of our thinking. You can watch the YouTube interview here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. Welcome Dr. Church, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today, and sharing the fascinating research you have been doing for the 50-plus years you’ve spent investigating human potential since first learning to meditate as a teenager, is that correct? Dr. Church, before getting to the questions, I’ve got to say that I loved seeing Dave Asprey, the author of the book, Superhuman, and the creator of Bulletproof Coffee as your Foreword. I’m a longtime Dave Asprey follower and fan and loved to see his perspective where he mentions that the top performers he’s come across in his career, those people he calls “Game Changers” all meditate to improve the quality of their life. Q1: This interview is timely and important, since the world is experiencing such difficult times, (on a day to day basis we are all experiencing significant change no matter what part of the world we are living in) your book is needed, and I do hope that people around the world listening to this episode will read your book (Bliss Brain) and implement the ideas. Can you explain what you have discovered to be the secret for tuning our brain towards positivity, directing our thoughts, habits and behaviors to support a long and happy life? Q2: Most people who are listening to this podcast are aware of the importance of meditation, but I do hear some places where people often get stuck with their practice. Can you explain how it’s possible to release emotions that keep us in a reactive state—responding to the past—rather than the present so we can learn to be in the moment, rather than somewhere else? Q3: I remember when I first started to meditate (around 2014), it was because I received a course as a gift that included a meditation program, and I thought I had better use it, knowing I would be asked what I thought about it. I started with sessions that were about 30 minutes long and found it to be a huge learning curve, mainly to sit still and clear my mind. Why do people find it so hard with learning to meditate? What can you tell us about our brain so that we can bypass this roadblock to learning to implement this valuable and important skill? Q4: I think everyone could use more resilience these days, with the world we are living in. It’s not easy to push forward during such adverse times. Can you explain what your research has shown about how we can learn to relax, even during the most stressful times, explain the brain waves associated with relaxation and resilience, and what exactly does this do to the body/its effect on aging or even our energy? Q5: What exactly happens to the brain when we meditate? What health and cognitive benefits do we receive? Q6: What is “the bliss molecule” and how can we access it?

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #97 with Samuel Holston and Kirun Goy, the hosts of one of my favorite podcasts, Brain Tools[i] which focuses on practical brain science for everyday people. Samuel and Kirun provide engaging science-backed episodes to help you to learn how your brain works when it comes to sleep, stress, communication and so much more. What I love about their podcast that’s different from others (besides the fact that they are absolutely hilarious, while covering a very serious topic) is that they offer a regular episode, then they have a 20 minute break-out episode with 6 practical brain tools, or steps, that you will need to master, to be successful with the brain tip for that episode. It’s a great way to access the strategies quickly and easily, to ensure implementation. Watch the interview on YouTube here. I first met Samuel on LinkedIn, when we first connected last summer, and became immediate friends, with neuroscience and emotional intelligence in common. At that time, I had no idea just how much I would learn from their podcast, and that we would check back in with each other occasionally, offering ideas, suggestions, tips and encouragement for eachother. I learned that Samuel began studying neuroscience at age 15 and I immediately asked him to be a guest on our podcast. It took a few months, but they were finally ready, and I grabbed this opportunity to speak with them both today. So here’s a bit about Samuel: On top of being the co-host of the Brian Tools Podcast, he’s a freelance copywriter from Melbourne Australia. He says he’s not a scientist but has been obsessed with the brain (cognitive) science since he was 15 years old. And a bit about Kirun: In addition to being the co-host of the Brain Tools Podcast, Kirun Goy is the Director of Elevate Education where he co-founded the Singapore branch that helps over 40,000 students each year across 10 countries in Asia with workshops and online courses focused on improving learning skills. This is Andrea Samadi, on the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and I’m excited to welcome both Samuel Holston (located in Australia) and Kirun Goy (in Singapore) to the podcast today! How’s it going for you both? Before I get to your questions, I would love to know how you both met. I am guessing at University of Melbourne? Once you answer that questions, I want to know how on the earth did you both decide to start your podcast Brain Tools? Q1: For the past 2 months, I have been focused on health and the brain, especially after watching this documentary from Dr. Perlmutter called Alzheimer’s the Science of Prevention a few months ago, inspiring me to take a closer look at health as it relates to our results, knowing that there’s so many components to look at when it comes to improving our results. Now I know you are both way younger than me, and not yet worried about some of the things that pop into our minds when you are getting older, but tell me, why did you pick sleep as your FIRST episode? Sleep is one of the TOP 5 health staples[ii] that we know we must focus on for brain health and longevity. Why did you find it important to launch your podcast with[iii]? Q2: Your second episode focuses on well-being[iv], and I think this is a hot topic these days. You list self-awareness as one of the tools for well-being, to understand what your stress response looks like. (When stressed, do you go into fight, flight, or freeze mode)? I just had someone suggest this strategy a couple of episodes ago, and I know that when I’m stressed, I pick up my shoes and find a mountain to run up, so I’m guessing that my stress response is flight…How would you encourage people to learn more about their stress style? Should we just ask our friends and family, hey, when I’m stressed, what exactly do I do? Q3: From your episode on “Overcoming Fear[v]” I want to know, what happens at the brain level

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #96 with Dr. Daniel Stickler, MD, a former vascular surgeon who concluded that traditional medicine is not the best route for ideal health. He is now the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of The Apeiron Center for Human Potential (Apeiron meaning Limitless) and is the visionary pioneer behind systems-based precision lifestyle medicine, which is a new paradigm that redefines medicine from the old symptoms-based disease model to one of limitless peak performance. His work now focuses on longevity, epigenetics and lifestyle optimization and along with his work at the Apeiron Center, he’s the Medical Director for the Neurohacker Collective, a Google consultant for wearable technology, AI in healthcare and a guest lecturer at Stanford University on Epigenetics in Clinical Practice. Watch the interview on YouTube here. I was introduced to Dr. Stickler from Luke DePron[i], whose interview opened up my awareness to a whole new level with even just a glance of the title “Limitless Peak Performance and Human Potential, Epigenetics, Aging and Anti-Aging, and the Future of Being a Healthy Human.” For those listening, I urge you to be open minded and think about your own potential. Wouldn’t you like to be limitless? Wouldn’t you like to improve your longevity? Turn back the hands of time a few years? Let me introduce you to Dr. Daniel Stickler, who has no doubt in his mind that these are all things that will be commonplace in the next 10 years, even the thought of living to and perhaps past 150 years of age. Get ready to have your mind expanded and pay close attention if you have been searching for ways to increase your productivity, well-being, and results This is Andrea Samadi, on the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and my guest today is Dr. Daniel Stickler, an author, speaker, medical pioneer and expert in human optimization. Welcome Dr. Stickler, what an incredible honor to have this chance to speak with you today. Thank you so much for your time, and for all you doing to expand the world’s awareness of what is truly possible when it comes to human potential. Dr. Stickler, I’m sure anyone listening will be as intrigued as I was at what exactly you are doing with this whole new paradigm of health and performance. Before we get to the questions, can we just start with the idea of your work being a new paradigm for health and performance and how what you are doing will change the way we perceive the world, just like when Roger Bannister ran the 4 minute mile and changed people’s perceptions of their ability to do the same? Q1: Dr. Stickler, the reason I asked you to come on this podcast, is because I had been looking to dive deep into the TOP 5 health stapes that have been proven to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease[ii] after I watched Dr. David Perlmutter’s Science of Prevention Documentary[iii] and was looking to learn more about each of these 5 health staples. When I saw your podcast with Luke DePron, I wanted to dig deeper into what you are doing, since it seems that your work takes these 5 health staples to a whole new level. Health Staple 1: Daily Exercise Health Staple 2: Getting Good Quality Sleep Health Staple 3: Eating a Healthy Diet Health Staple 4: Optimizing our Microbiome Health Staple 5: Intermittent Fasting Can you explain how you discovered this new world that opened through the lens of genetics and epigenetics and how your fascination for personalized human systems led to the fact that we truly have the ability within us to take charge of our destiny and become the architects of our own future? What is our DNA is versus our epigenetics, and how we can change the expressions of our genes with the application of these health staples like nutrition, exercise, sleep, meditation? THOUGHT: This is powerful right here! Most people are not optimizing these 5 health staples, but to make quantum leap changes li

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #95 with Learning, Mood, Behavior, Author, Educator and Speaker Dr. Sandy Gluckman. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Dr. Sandy Gluckman describes her quest as saving the next generation from a growing explosion of learning, behavior and mood problems. Her work is rooted in the science that shows that children will thrive when parents thrive. Dr. Sandy empowers parents to raise healthy, resilient, confident children primed for success, by showing them how to first heal themselves. Dr Gluckman is sought after for her expertise on a range of children’s challenges such as Anxiety, Defiance, Emotional Resilience, Self-Worth, Screen Addiction, Stress as a Survival Mechanism and the Sensitive Child. Rather than offering quick-fix, superficial solutions to these complex issues, Dr Sandy uses science to teach parents how to create the kind of parent-child neurochemistry that prevents and heals these problems. Welcome Dr. Gluckman! Thank you so much for being available to speak with me today. I have to say, that when I was reading your book, Parents Take Charge[i], and saw the acknowledgements, I can see how you fit in perfectly with the content we have been focused here on this podcast, especially with our most recent jump that focuses on health and mental wellbeing. If we are not healthy physically and emotionally, how on the earth can we expect ourselves to perform at high levels, and we definitely can’t expect it of our children, right? I can see that many who have inspired your work, we have been focused on for the past year and a half on this podcast, with Dr. Dan Siegel a year ago this week, Dr. Amen with his daughter Chloe Amen’s interview[ii] on Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades, and then inspiring the brain scan content,[iii] Stephen Porges with his Polyvagal Theory[iv], and most recently with our focus on health and the brain with Dr. Mark Hymen, and his recent program, Alzheimer’s The Science of Prevention that really did inspire our health and wellness episodes.[v] Your life’s work is a perfect match for us, and I am so grateful to have this chance to speak with you. Today, our topic with you is Reversing Children’s Behavior and Mood Problems by Treating the Root Causes and before I even get to your questions, I have to put my background in context for you, since your work, and this podcast will probably make some things come full circle for me, as well for those listening who might work with or know children with behavior or mood problems. Back in the late 1990s, I was a teacher in Toronto, and I worked with behavioral students. It was my first teaching assignment right out of teacher’s college, and I had no training at all on how to deal with difficult students, and also had hardly any strategies for managing my own stress. I have had author and educational neuroscience leader, Dr. Lori Desaultels[vi] on twice to this podcast, and her work, along with Michael McKnight, focuses on how the students’ behavior usually is a reaction to the teacher or parent’s state of mind. I now know stress reducing strategies that help me on a daily basis, but I wish I knew them when I first started my career. Q1: Can you take me back to the beginning of your professional career, with students in their last year of high school in South Africa, and what made you begin to wonder “why did some students have a robust, healthy and feisty spirit, while others did not?” How did this question inspire you to further your studies and obtain a PhD in clinical psychology, and dive deep into how different people respond to stress? Q2: In your book, Parents Take Charge, you introduce a new way of healing children’s learning, behavior and mood problems, with the story of an 11-year old named David, who was having some challenges with learning at school, was diagnosed with a bunch of different disorders like ADHD, OCD, and depression, an

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #94 with personal trainer and fitness model, Jason Wittrock. Watch the interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. I first found our next guest, Jason Wittrock late 2016/ 2017 when I was searching for answers with my diet. I was at a crossroads with my health, and knew I needed to do some things differently, I just didn’t know exactly what to do, and I had heard some friends in some of my online groups talking about how they were drinking keto coffee, and experiencing health benefits, like increased energy and weight loss. So I went to YouTube, and typed in “how to make keto coffee” and Jason Wittrock’s video came up called “Keto Coffee”[i] and my journey began here, taking my health to a whole new level, and have never looked back. I’m sure there are thousands of stories just like mine. Welcome Jason, thank you so much for your time today to come on the podcast and share what you have been doing with your YouTube videos, inspiring people around the world with their health, nutrition and lifestyle for years. Jason, I’ve got to tell you this. Back when I first found your videos, I saw something different with what you were doing. This was the beginning of my health journey, but it did stick, and here we are all these years later speaking. There’s a few things that I wanted to tell you that stuck out to me, looking back, about why I think the results stuck and it’s that you really come across that you want to help people. You said quite a few times on your videos, as you spoke 100 miles an hour about what you were doing, the products you were using and why, you said “hey, I’m just trying to help” and it really did come across that you were, so I listened. You said “look, some guy just did this diet for 45 days, that’s awesome, make it a lifestyle” so I did, and pretty sure I posted a million times on my social media about how much I was loving keto coffee, and your fat bombs[ii] (those were awesome)! I’m just one person, so can just image the ripple effect of your work. Way to go and thank you for what you are doing. So let’s get to some questions here-- Q1: Jason, I reached out to you, as I have recently recorded an episode on the TOP 5 Health Staples[iii] that have been proven to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and that I’m looking to dive deeper into these 5 health strategies. I thought of you a few times when I was thinking about when I changed my diet after watching your videos. Can you share how your journey to health began, and what’s been happening with you since I first saw your videos? Health Staple 1: Daily Exercise Health Staple 2: Getting Good Quality Sleep Health Staple 3: Eating a Healthy Diet Health Staple 4: Optimizing our Microbiome Health Staple 5: Intermittent Fasting Q2: A few years ago, it was a huge paradigm shift for me to think about putting butter in my coffee. I’m not sure about other people, but you are talking to someone who used to count calories (not anymore) and used to be terrified of eating anything high in fat. I did some research, and then watched you making your keto coffee, then bought exactly the same ingredients, then trusted you. Now this is all from a YouTube video, and maybe from one other person I knew who was drinking coffee this way who I also trusted. Now, we’ve got Dave Asprey and his Bulletproof Coffee products, but back then, he was just getting started with that and I didn’t know about it. What ar

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #93 with Dr. Momo Vuyisich, the co-founder and chief science officer of Viome[i], a healthcare disruptor that’s using IA to analyze your gut microbiome to make personalized nutritional recommendations. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. I’m excited to introduce you to Momo Vuyisich, the chief science officer at Viome, who leads their efforts in product development and clinical research. Momo knows all too well of the importance of the gut/brain connection and how we can take control of our own life and health by optimizing our gut microbiome with personalized nutritional recommendations using Viome testing. Before co-founding Viome in 2016, Momo spent 12 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory[ii], where he was the leader of the Applied Genomics team. His research focused on applying modern genomics to the areas of gut microbiomes, host-pathogen and microbial inter-species interactions, pathogen detection, cancer biology, toxicology, infectious diseases, and antibiotic resistance. In this episode, you will learn How Momo, the founder of Viome.com reversed his rheumatoid arthritis with a change in diet. Forward thinking strategies for taking your health into your own hands. What your poop can tell you about your health. What exactly is microbiome testing and how it works. A vision of the future where chronic disease is preventable and diet is personalized. “Today we have 100% of the science and technology needed to cure every chronic disease and every cancer.” Momo Vuyisich “The only way to predict the future is to invent it.” Momo Vuyisich Welcome Momo, thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to be here today. INTRO Momo, I mentioned to you that I recently did an Dr Q1: Can you give us your background, and what brought you to where you are today, inspiring your work with Viome, whose on a mission to help the world understand what we uniquely need to be healthy, and ultimately prevent and reverse chronic disease like Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, MS and Obesity? Q2: I don’t want to repeat the incredible information you gave Luke DePron on his podcast, so I am posting the links to his episode in the show notes.[iii] For those of us like me who were beginners to understanding what the microbiome is, and the gut/brain connection, you did offer an incredible resource for everyone to check out. You suggested to look up Dr. Robynne Chutkan and her book[iv], The Microbiome Solution, and she has a new book out now called Gut Bliss. She also did a great intro to understanding the microbiome for CBS Morning News that you can see on her website.[v] Can you give a quick overview on why it’s so important for us to understand our gut microbiome, the gut/brain connection and why true health begins in the gut? Q3: Before I heard Luke’s podcast with you, I knew that we need to protect our gut microbiome, and that taking a probiotic can help balance our gut and keep us healthy. I also had heard about prebiotics, or foods that were good for gut health, and do try to stick to low glycemic foods. After listening to some of your podcasts, I know there are medicines (like antibiotics, acid reflux medicine, NSAIDS and birth control pills) that can damage our microbiome and foods that can either help or hurt us, and perhaps that the foods I am choosing from the glycemic index might be spiking my blood sugar? Can you explain why probiotics are limiting and why different foods can be beneficial to my microbiome, but not yours? Q4: How are you helping people to understand what they uniquely need to be healthy and allow them to take back control of their health? What exactly do you do at Viome? Q5: What are you focused on now at Viome, what is your 10-year vision, and what do you need to get there? Thank you very much for your time today, Momo. For people who want to learn more about Viome, they can go to Viome.com and lear

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #92 with neuroscience educator, author and trainer, Sarah Peyton[i]. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. I’m so grateful to have been introduced to Sarah Peyton, a neuroscience educator, and author of the book, Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing[ii]. I took one look at Sarah’s work and website, and immediately had 100 questions for her. She also does have a workbook coming out to accompany this book, this summer. I will put the links in the show notes to learn more.[iii] Welcome Sarah, thank you so much for your time today, to share your knowledge and resources with us. Q1: Sarah, Brain Network Theory is now being talked about all over the place, listeners of this podcast, who follow the most current neuroscience research, will have heard about it. There are many books being written on this NEW Brain Network Theory (I’ve mentioned Dr. Srini Pillay and his book about the power of the unfocused mind in past episodes). I’ve been working closely with Mark Waldman (from EPISODE 30)[iv] this past year and know that applying Brain Network Theory to our life can be powerful. Just as a reminder of what Brain Network Theory is all about, if you were to go to www.pubmed.gov and search for the most recent studies on the brain, instead of looking at different parts of the brain, like we used to do, we now know and study different networks in the brain to gain understanding, and we can measure and see the activity in each of these brain networks. This is a fascinating discovery that comes to life with these images that we’ve all seen with different regions of our brain lighting up. Sarah, can you go over some of the brain function networks you cover in the beginning of your book and how an understanding of these networks can help us with our understanding of the world, and our perhaps ways we can improve our results? (seeing the world, decision-making, discerning importance, dorsal attention, listening, sensing and moving)? Q2: How does trauma show up in the brain? Q3: I did cover the Default Mode Network in EPISODE #48[iv] and mention the fact that this Default Mode Network involves those thought processes that can include worry, doubts and fears like “don’t try that, it didn’t work out last time” and so on. Swiss Psychologist Piaget called this “inner speech” that can be positive or negative, depending on what you are thinking. Chapter 1 of your book begins with “How We Talk to Ourselves: The Default Mode Network” that talks about our beliefs, our self-talk and strategies to overcome some of these limiting beliefs. How would you suggest we first of all identify, and then eliminate limiting beliefs from our brain to improve our results? Q4: The Default Mode Network has also been linked to the Imagination. Marty Seligman, the founder of positive psychology calls the DMN the Imagination Network and my mentor, Mark Waldman created a diagram which he refers to as a map to simplify the 5 major brain networks, and he intentionally put the DMN or Imagination as the largest area, possibly because it develops so early in life and plays such an important role in child and brain development. How would you explain the Default Mode Network and why is it so important for us to understand this network in our brain with our early years of development in mind? Q5: On EPISODE #53[v], w

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #91, with Jessica and John Hannigan, the authors of the brand-new book, SEL From a Distance: Tools and Processes for Anytime, Anywhere. [i] This is a timely and importance topic, with the pandemic this year, and subsequent switch to distance learning combined with recent instances of racial injustice has put a spotlight on the cracks in the practice of social and emotional learning (SEL). I launched this podcast in June of 2019 when I saw the need to highlight leaders in the field of SEL, but now, more than ever before, schools are shifting their focus and prioritizing SEL competencies—around the nation and the world. Watch this interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. Today I am thrilled to have behavior experts Jessica and John Hannigan, who have drawn together a collection of tools and processes for social and emotional learning that can be applied in any learning environment with their NEW book, SEL from a Distance. Dr. Jessica Hannigan is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Department at California State University, Fresno. She works with schools and districts across the nation on designing and implementing effective behavior systems. Her expertise includes response-to-intervention (RTI) behavior, multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS), positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), social and emotional learning (SEL), and more. John E. Hannigan, EdD , is an executive leadership coach for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in California. He has served in education for over 15 years as a principal, assistant principal, instructional coach, and teacher. Under his leadership, his school has received numerous awards and recognitions, including California State Distinguished School, Gold Ribbon School, Title I Academic School, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (Platinum Level). Hannigan, Jessica,Hannigan, John E. (2106-02-06T23:28:15). SEL From a Distance (Kindle Locations 410-414). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition. In SEL from a Distance, you’ll learn: The five SEL competencies and dozens of easy to use processes for building skills in each. How to identify challenging behaviors and prioritize, define mastery, and teach the SEL skills necessary to address them. Tips for identifying, teaching, modeling, and reinforcing SEL skills in a virtual setting. Strategies for applying SEL to the needs of your unique learning environment. Welcome Jessica and John, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, and sharing this new resource for those listening around the world. For this interview, I did want to read what others are saying about this new book, with a question attached to each testimonial. I really do think that everyone listening should go to the link below, and grab a copy of this book, whether you are an educator, or someone looking for ideas to implement social and emotional learning competencies with your children, this book is a must read. Just to give you both some background, since we are just meeting, my interest in social and emotional learning goes back over 20 years ago, when I was a frustrated educator, with no resources in the area of behavior management. When I see a book like yours, I really do want the world to know about it. Here’s what other leaders in the field of education are saying about your book: INTRO QUESTIONS “People are seeing the imp

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #90 with Luke DePron, a Men’s Health & Performance Coach[i], and graduate of Exercise Science, Kinesiology. Luke has done everything from personal training with 100s of clients, to working alongside Drs of Chiropractic as a corrective exercise specialist, training Olympic level athletes, to performance work with world champion mixed martial arts fighters. Watch this episode on YouTube here. Currently Luke works as a Men’s Online Health and Performance Coach—learn more at http://www.livegreatlifestyle.com/ where he helps men step into a lifestyle approach of exercise and nutrition to transform their physique, energy, and confidence. He’s also the Host of the Live Great Lifestyle Podcast[ii] where he’s interviewed former Navy Seals, Mixed Martial Arts world champions, New York Times best-selling authors, personal development speakers, Olympic athletes, adventure athletes, Doctors, Nutrition experts, and inspirational leaders carving unique paths in the world to inspire and empower you to level up your health, fitness, mindset, and lifestyle. Exactly the type of person I look for as a speaker on this podcast. I love that Luke is a believer that stepping out of your comfort zone leads to growth, and he’s always aiming high, routinely practicing Jiu-Jitsu, was a participant on the History Channels show The Selection: a mock special forces selection process led by Navy Seals, was a contributing writer for Huffington post, hosted the La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival, has performed as an actor in local San Diego films, and even worked as a runway model once. Welcome Luke, what a diverse background. I’m so grateful for our connection on Linkedin, and really do appreciate you referring our last interview with Dr. Erik Won that I just did yesterday. I know that you are the host ofThe Live Great Lifestyle podcast with a mission to inspire and empower men to live their life to its greatest potential. Can you give an overview of your past, (that’s full of achievement as much as I know you don’t like to boast about it) and how your past brought you to where you are now? I loved your interview with Dr. Erik Won and the Wave Neuroscience team. I learned so much from your interview. I did stop your podcast often to take notes, as learning Dr. Won’s method of measuring the brain is much different than my experience with a SPECT scan. What made you see the importance of understanding neuroscience as it relates to health/wellness? Diving Deeper- when studying and learning about the brain, there is a learning curve. I remember the first time my good friend, Mark Waldman, a neuroscience researcher sat down with me on Skype in my first attempts at learning “how the brain works” and I can honestly say, I had no idea what he was talking about. I had never studied the brain. I might as well have been learning Spanish. When I listened to your interview with Dr. Won, you had a solid understanding of how his EEG brain mapping technology worked with the rhythm of the brain. You mentioned to me later that you actually went into their offices and had your brain scanned at Wave Neuro. Can you explain what you learned from Dr. Won’s EEG and how did you learn enough about his technology to dive deeper with your questions with him as it relates to athletes and training? Who has inspired you the most as it relates to applying brain science to your work? What is your vision for your podcast and fitness training? I don’t see you as the average trainer. What are you doing differently than others? For those who want to learn more about you, and follow your Live Great Lifestyle podcast podcast, I will put a link in the show notes, and what’s the best way to learn more about you? Is it LiveGreatLifestyle.com? Thank you, Luke, first of all for all you have done to support the work I’m doing here. I really wouldn’t have anyone to interview without people l

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #89 with Dr. Erik Won, a Harvard trained doc turned Navy flight surgeon before becoming CTO of Boeing Aerospace. Now he is the President and CMO of Wave Neuroscience, a company dedicated to creating a world where every individual—regardless of socioeconomic status, can improve their mind. Erik and the team at Wave Neuroscience are the world leading experts in Brain Health, Brain Injuries, PTSD, Depression/Anxiety among others. The tech they’ve pioneered involves using computational analytics to solve problems that have never been tackled before in the mental health space and they are doing it non-evasively, with no medications of any kind. Watch the interview with Dr. Won on YouTube here. I feel so lucky to have been introduced to Dr. Won, from another podcaster, Luke DePron,[i] a former actor, turned lifestyle and fitness entrepreneur who told me that I needed to take a look at the WaveNeuro[ii] Science Team. Luke sent me a link to the podcast he did with Dr. Erik Won and Navy Seal Ned Mason[iii], (if you want to listen to it, you can access it in the show notes). I was blown away with what Erik and his team are doing. If you have been interested in our past few episodes where we talk about the importance of looking at the brain, to improve performance, you will know that this is not just something that is for those involved in Special Operations in the military, elite athletes, or for people who are struggling with a brain disorder. The WaveNeuro Science Team is dealing more and more with mainstream people, like you and me, who are looking to improve their performance. Welcome Dr. Won, thank you so much for agreeing to come on the podcast to share what you are doing to help the world to improve their brains and minds with this groundbreaking technology. Before we get to the questions, I wanted to let you know that I watched your interview with Dhru Purohit (Proit) on his Broken Brain Podcast, and I’m so glad I watched that interview, prior to this one. My last podcast episode was with Dr. Andrew Newberg, the Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, who has dedicated his research to a topic he calls neurotheology, or connecting our brain to our spiritual and religious nature, so when I heard that you actually considered becoming a priest, early in your career, I didn’t think it was an accident that I have this opportunity to interview you after Dr. Newberg, and learn how you chose your current career path, driving you with your mission and purpose to help people with their mental health, which we need more than ever these days. Dr. Won, to get straight into the questions, I was drawn to your work after listening to your interview with Luke DePron because my husband and I recently had a SPECT image brain scan, to see if we could learn anything about ways to improve our health. I was taking tons of notes and had to rewind the interview a few times to learn how you are measuring the activity in the brain and diagnosing ways to optimize brain health with your ground breaking technology. What is the difference between a SPECT image brain scan, and how you are scanning brains at WaveNeuro.com using EEG? Can you explain exactly how the EEG scans work? Let’s say, if I’m an athlete with a traumatic brain injury, and I come in to get an EEG scan, what would your technology and treatment program look like after the scan? From the brain scans that you have done, what are seeing in the brains of regular people vs elite athletes? Is a faster processing brain better? Can you look at someone and guess, oh they are healthy, I bet their brain is processing on the higher side? What has surprised you the most from the research you have been doing the past 10 years, and over 10,000 brain scans? I know that brain scans seem to be something that elite athletes do, to improve perfor

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #88 with Dr. Andrew Newberg, M.D[i]. an American neuroscientist who is the Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital,[1] and the author of ten books (translated into 6 languages), and over 200 articles on neuroimaging in neuropsychiatric disorders and also on neuroscience and religion. Watch the interview on YouTube here. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to speak with Andrew, as he has been exploring the topic of neurotheology, which addresses the relationship between the brain and religious experiences, since his teenage years. Andrew is the co-author of the bestselling book, How God Changes Your Brain[ii] (2009) which was chosen by Oprah for her book club that same year[iii] and Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief (2001)[iv] which both explore the relationship between neuroscience and spiritual experience. He has also co-authored Words Can Change Your Brain (2013)[v] Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality and Truth (2008)[vi] and The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Belief (1999). The latter book received the 2000 award for Outstanding Books in Theology and the Natural Sciences presented by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences[vii] which is an organization that focuses on building bridges between theology and science. I’ve got some powerful, insightful, thought provoking questions for Andy, and I know you will find this topic interesting, especially with his ability to share his insights and years of research, from the point of view of pure science. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. Welcome Andy and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge of this fascinating topic on the podcast today. For anyone who knows your schedule, this is a rare opportunity, and I’m grateful for Mark Waldman[viii] for connecting us after the webinar you did last week where you addressed many powerful and mind-boggling questions that connect theology and neuroscience that I know will benefit those who listen to this podcast in different part of the world. Q1: Andy, I have had so much interest in this podcast, even before we had booked our time to speak today. I just put up a graphic with your book cover “How God Changes Your Brain” and the messages started coming in on all social media accounts. Then I quoted something you say in the book “the more you think about God, the more you alter the neural circuitry of in specific parts of the brain”...and then you say with the utmost confidence that “God can change your brain.” (Andrew Newberg M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain). Can we begin here? Where did your interest in religion and the human brain begin? What is Neurotheology? What does neuroscience say about whether there is a God or not? Q2: I have to ask it. I grew up going to church every Sunday, (Presbyterian), read and studied the Bible, and really do believe in the 10 Commandments but I still don’t really know how I would explain God, other than the fact that I just believe he exists and I do feel more connected to God/spirit when I’m in nature. I know that you have scanned the brains of Franciscan nuns and charted the neurological changes that happen in the brain. What is God? Is God the same as consciousness? What does your research show about religion and the human brain? Is there a certa

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #87 on “5 Important Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies That Everyone Should Know” My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. If you have been following this podcast, you will know that my husband and I had a SPECT image brain scan completed at Dr. Amen’s Clinics, to see if there was anything that we needed to be aware of, to make targeted improvements to our brain health and life, with the idea of preventing cognitive decline, and looking to see if we showed signs of Alzheimer’s that can be seen in the brain years before signs and symptoms show up. If you missed episode #84[i] where I revealed my results of the brain scan, go back and listen to this episode before you listen to this one. If we want to take our results the next level, the best way to do this is by getting a clear picture of what is going on with the organ, your brain, that controls pretty much everything that you do. You might be like me and don’t have any signs or symptoms that you notice, that are giving you problems, but you want to be as healthy as you can to tackle life’s everyday challenges, with more ease. Or, you might be like my friend Doug Sutton, who shared on episode #82[ii] that he was experiencing brain fog and low energy. You can do what we did and get a SPECT image brain scan and follow the treatment plan based on what your scans show. Our plan begins with taking brain health supplements, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, improving our sleep and looking closer at our current health with blood tests. We are working closely with Dr. Creado, from Dr. Amen’s Chicago Clinic as we implement these new strategies for improvement. Many people begin to feel better subjectively and can feel mentally sharper from these strategies. I can say that some of the supplements that we began taking from Dr. Amen’s Brain MD[iii], like their Brain and Body Power Max, I felt an immediate difference with clarity and the ability to focus. After a year or more, many people choose to rescan their brain to see what changes occur physically from their treatment plan. There is also another option for looking at your brain that I have recently learned about. I was contacted on LinkedIn, by one of my connections, another podcaster, Luke DePron,[iv] a former actor, turned lifestyle and fitness entrepreneur who told me that I needed to take a look at the WaveNeuro[v] Science Team. He sent me a link to the podcast he did with Dr. Erik Won and Navy Seal Ned Mason[vi], and when I listened to it, I was blown away with what they are doing. If you have been interested in our past few episodes where we talk about the importance of looking at the brain, to improve performance, you will know that this is not just something that is for those involved in Special Operations in the military, elite athletes, or for people who are struggling with a brain disorder. The WaveNeuro team is dealing more and more with mainstream people, like you and me, who are looking to improve their performance. Stay tuned, as I have on the radar, to interview Dr. Erik Won and Ned Mason, to dive deeper into how they are measuring the brain with EEG (electroencephalogram) that is designed to measure the electrical activity of the brain) to see what parts of the brain are cycling too fast or too slow, and then optimizing these parts from this data. To put it plain and simple, I was speaking with WaveNeuro’s Head of PR, Sean Bartlett, and he reminde

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #86 with Peter Cohen, who was appointed the eighth president of University of Phoenix in April, 2017[i], bringing more than 20 years of leadership in the education and learning science sectors. Watch the YouTube interview here. My name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or is the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with Peter Cohen today. As the 8th President of the University of Phoenix, Peter has been focused on further accelerating the University-wide transformation in service of its vision to be recognized as the most trusted provider of career-relevant higher education for working adults. After 20 years of leadership in the field of education, he brings a deep understanding of the potential for technology to improve the quality of education—an understanding he has developed through a career focused on innovation in service of students and improved learning outcomes. Prior to his work at the University of Phoenix, many of us from the Educational Publishing world, would know Peter when he was the CEO of Pearson Education’s School Group, (where I first met him) or Group President of U.S. Education at McGraw-Hill, overseeing the company's U.S. K-12 and higher education businesses where he helped the organization reimagine learning in the digital world. Peter was on the forefront of change in the education industry, driving the both company’s roll out of multiple technology tools, which is why I reached out to him, at a time when technology has never been so important in our lives. Welcome Peter! Thank you so much for being available with your time to share your knowledge and vision for the state of education, at a time where we really need a positive angle. Just to give our listeners some background, I first met you when you came on board as the CEO of Pearson Education’s School Group, when I was working for Pearson Digital Learning, (for the K-12 School Market) in the Chandler, Arizona offices. This was back in 2008, and I can still remember your introductory speech to our group, like it was yesterday. We were all packed into a tiny room, full of sales reps, and our managers, all with the hopes of making an impact on student learning in the classroom. I remember as you stool at the front, that your passion for education and making a difference with student learning was evident back then. Q1: Can you give us a snapshot of your background, and why you have always been so passionate about education, specifically with the power of technology, making education accessible and engaging for everyone? Q2: Fast forward 12 years, from that day we first met at Pearson, I don’t think any of us in that room would have predicted the surge and importance of online learning, as we see it today. I say this with some disappointment with the group that you spoke to back then, Pearson’s Digital Division, that no longer exists. From your point of view, what is the state of education as you see it today with the power of bringing online learning to the forefront in our K-12 schools as well as your vision for higher ed campuses? Q3: I saw an article you shared on social media that highlighted a positive point of view of the power of connection that higher ed plays an important role with[ii]. I thoroughly enjoyed my University years, and then had the opportunity to work with Higher Ed campuses in the southwest here, with Pearson’s Longman division before I was with the Digital Team, and I know you have a birds-eye view of what’s happening in Higher Education across the country. I wonder what you are seeing with the first few week

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #85 with Dr. Sarah McKay, an Australian neuroscientist, speaker, author, media personality and founder and director of Think Brain and the Neuroscience Academy suite of training programs whose purpose is to explain the brain so you can apply neurobiology to your life and work, which is exactly what we are focused on with this podcast. You can watch the YouTube interview here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. I encourage everyone who wants to learn more about the brain to go to Dr. McKay’s website www.drsarahmckay.com[i] and learn more about her books, online courses, workshops, writing, teaching and online training programs that she has created so you can easily access, understand and implement evidence-based neuroscience strategies into your everyday life and work. But here is where things get exciting. You’ve GOT to watch Dr. Sarah McKay’s TEDx on “Indulging Your Neurobiology[ii]” that has over 27,000 views. I’ve seen Sarah speak many times over the years, and most recently just last week, as she was a speaker in Helen Maffini’s Preschool Neuroscience Summit[iii] where I also spoke, so I watched her session to get some ideas for how I would connect her knowledge, to the topics of the podcast, to help those listening understand her knowledge and insight as she is an expert on “explaining the brain” and then applying brain strategies to your life. You’ll learn more about Dr. McKay’s TEDx, her most recent book, The Women’s Brain Book, and some important brain strategies that I have picked out that I think we all should be aware of. Welcome Sarah, it’s wonderful to speak with you in person after following your work since I first heard you speak on John Assaraf’s Brain-a-Thon in 2017. I just had no idea until I was preparing my questions for you, that your work would tie directly into what I am working on right now. Before we get to the questions, I’ve got to tell you that the first minute of your TEDx Talk, I almost dropped my pen as I was taking notes, as it is all about the importance of sleep, or taking naps, and our brain health. The last 3 podcast episodes I’ve done, were about the importance of getting a spect image brain scan, if you want to optimize your results by looking at your brain, and in EPISODE #84, I share the results of my brain scan from Dr. Amen’s Clinics that revealed my brain might be showing areas of cognitive weakness due to not enough sleep. We can hear strategies to improve our brain over and over again, but unless we actually begin to implement them, we will not have the opportunities that comes along with enhancing the brain. Intro question: I know we’ve heard it over and over again, but coming from an expert on explaining the brain, can you explain, why is sleep so important for our neurobiology? Q1: Sarah, I just love your work, but I also love the story behind you that you can see on your website “about[iv]” section. I relate to it, partly because I would love to live on the beaches of Australia, but also, it was a book that changed the direction of my life. How exactly did Oliver Sack’s book impact you so profoundly that you became fascinated with the human brain that launched you into the work you do today “explaining the brain” with your books, presentations and courses? Q2: I was reading your book this weekend, The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones, and Happiness[v] and it caught my eye in chapter 2 on childhood, the question “Are resilient children born or made?” especially since resiliency was a part of my spect image brain scan results (Dr Amen measures resiliency as a part o

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #84. This is PART 3 of our past 2 episodes on “How Looking at Your Brain Can Change Your Life” with a deeper dive into What We Learned from Getting a SPECT Image Brain Scan at Dr. Amen’s Clinic in Costa Mesa, CA. The results are in (or at least mine are). My husband’s results won’t be in until next week. The reason I’m sharing my findings is so that you can see how important it is to look at your brain. It’s not important to know my results specifically, but how someone can be doing all the right things, and still have the ability to take their results to the next level with what they learn from looking at their brain. I hope that you can take away some new insights that open your eyes to why brain-health is so important, and consider looking at your brain, if you can. Read this episode here for larger images:https://www.achieveit360.com/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/ Just a quick update for those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring awareness, ideas and strategies to our most pressing issues facing educators in their workplace, or parents working from home or in the corporate space, to keep us all working at our highest levels of productivity. The goal is to bring the most current brain research and practical neuroscience, connected to our social and emotional skills, to take our results to the next level. We can do this when we do everything with our brain in mind, since our brain controls pretty much everything that we do. This episode, we are looking at How a Brain Scan can change your life. I mentioned the results of my brain scan are here, but first, just to review, PART 1 of this Brain Scan Series, we spoke with my friend Doug Sutton[i], who had a SPECT image brain scan a few years ago when he was noticing low energy and brain fog. He went to Dr. Amen’s Clinics, one of the most respected psychiatrists in the country, who began looking at the brain, taking his practice to a whole new level. Dr. Amen believes that “when your brain works right, you work right” and his work is focused on helping people improve their lives by improving their brains. The decision to get a brain scan completely changed Doug’s life and gave him an entirely new perspective of this organ that controls pretty much everything that he does. His scan showed him that he had been exposed to toxic mold that might have been contributing to some of the health issues he was having, and he learned about things that could have harmed his brain (competitive kickboxing that he did in his early 20s) that gave him a new perspective of this organ he had not thought twice about in the past. He kept up with his treatment plan and has never been happier, and sharper, mentioning the experience to be life changing. PART 2, was about my husband and I’s visit to Amen Clinics[ii] in CA. We made the decision to get a brain scan after interviewing Dr. Shane Creado from EPISODE #72[iii] on sleep strategies. It was Dr. Creado who suggested “why don’t you just go and get your brain scanned” when I asked him specific questions to help optimize my brain after our interview. In PART 2, I did review what a SPECT image brain scan is, what it can detect, and the main thing that we are looking for, is to see what type of brain we have based on the amount of blood flow going to the Prefrontal Cortex that controls our Executive Functions, as well as anything that he could see that would be important for us to know now, (Dementia and Alzheimer’s can be seen years before symptoms show up) so we could work on optimizing our brain for improved results. The scan could tell us that we have the perfect amount of blood flow to our brain (which I don’t think is the case or we probably wouldn’t have gone), too little—that Dr. Amen calls hypofrontality) since “hypo” is a prefix that means “less” like h

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #83. This is PART 2 of our last episode on “How Looking at Your Brain Can Change Your Life” with a deeper dive into what we learned from getting a SPECT Image Brain Scan at Dr. Amen’s Clinic in Costa Mesa, CA. For those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring awareness, ideas and strategies to our most pressing issues facing educators in the workplace, or parents working from home or in the corporate space, to keep us all working at our highest levels of productivity. The goal is to bring the most current brain research and practical neuroscience, connected to our social and emotional skills, to take our results to the next level. Last episode we did a case study of my friend Doug Sutton, whose whole life changed when he made the decision to get a SPECT image brain scan from Dr. Amen’s Clinics. While Doug was having some noticeable issues with his health, like brain fog and his energy levels, I made the decision to get the scan just to improve and optimize what we are already doing, as well as to see if there is anything they notice that we should be aware of now. When I was interviewing Dr. Shane Creado, episode 72 on “Sleep Strategies that Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage” I wanted to know specific strategies that I could use to optimize my performance and results, and he suggested “why don’t you just go and get your brain scanned. This way, we can look at the results, and see exactly what type of brain you have, and he could make more targeted suggestions from there. Stay tuned for PART 3 of this Brain Scan Series where I will share my results, after I have had the chance to speak with Dr. Creado later next week. This is where the process began for my husband and I. Since I had posted about the fact we were going, I have received so many messages from friends asking “What did you learn? Why exactly did you go? How much did it cost? What was the test like? Does the test reveal a snapshot of your brain as it is today, or in general?” All of these are great questions, and the reason I figured I would break up the experience into parts. If you have considered getting a brain scan, and you are either like Doug, you’ve been noticing some symptoms (brain fog, maybe memory problems, low energy) and you want to look at the organ that controls pretty much everything that you do, and everything that you are, then this podcast episode series is for you. Or maybe you are like me, you don’t have any symptoms, but you just want to get an accurate snapshot of what is happening in your brain, so you can optimize your results, and at least know what’s going on with the most important organ in your body. So, here’s what I would recommend you do if you are thinking about it. Start with doing as much research as you can about Dr. Amen,[i] Amen Clinics[ii] and The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast that he and his wife host, to hear from the many guests he interviews, showcasing different ways to put your brain health first.[iii] Dr. Amen, one of the most famous psychiatrists in the country, found that looking at the brain could tell you a lot about someone when treating them. Adding SPECT Imaging Brain Scans to psychiatry, took his practice to the next level. On his website, you will find all of the locations he has offices (east coast, west coast, and central locations like their Chicago office where Dr. Creado works out of). There’s a lot of free resources you can access, as you learn more about what issues you might be facing, thinking of solutions that he recommends. Once you have trust in his work, the decision to call and learn more about moving ahead with a brain scan is much easier. He has a wonderful overview of the process on how to read the scans called “Brain SPECT Imaging Made Ridiculously Simple”[iv] on his blog. In this overview you will learn: Why Dr. Amen started doing

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #82 on “How Looking at Your Brain Can Change Your Life” with a case study from one of my friends, business growth expert, Doug Sutton, who had a SPECT brain imaging scan a few years ago through Dr. Daniel Amen’s Clinics, when he was noticing some mental fog and lower energy levels. I remember seeing the testimonial from Amen clinics come through social media and the headline I read was powerful! It said, “When Doug made the decision to look at his brain, it changed his life.”[i] You can watch the interview on YouTube here. I know that this episode will help all of us, including myself, to really think about the fact that “if our brain is working right, we will work right.” (Dr. Daniel Amen, from Amen Clinics). For those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring awareness, ideas and strategies to our most pressing issues facing educators in the workplace, or parents working from home or in the corporate space, to keep us all working at our highest levels of productivity. The goal is to bring the most current brain research and practical neuroscience, connected to our social and emotional skills, to take our results to the next level. After quoting Dr. Daniel Amen, (one of the most well-known psychiatrists and brain disorder specialists) from Amen Clinics, for most of the episodes I have done on this podcast, and after interviewing Dr. Shane Creado, episode #72 on “Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes”[ii] one of the sleep doctors who works out of his Chicago clinic, and his daughter, Chloe Amen on episode #11 on the book that she helped Daniel to revise called “Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades.”[iii] I wondered what I would learn about my current and future health, by doing a brain imaging scan from Daniel’s Clinics. I took the online course Dr. Amen and Tana (his wife) did this Spring called “The End of Mental Illness”[iv] to continue learning more about brain health, and the prize they were offering was a FREE brain scan. This was the first time I even thought about getting my own brain scanned, so I took the class, completed all of the work required for the contest, but didn’t win. I forgot about it until I interviewed Dr. Shane Creado, on episode #72 and I started to see how important sleep was for our brain health. It was Dr. Creado who suggested I contact Amen Clinics and set up a SPECT scan to take a look and see what is going on and he could offer more targeted tips for me based on what he sees. Dr. Amen always says, “How do you know, if you don’t look?” So of course, I’m schedule to get a SPECT image scan of my brain next week, and my husband is coming along with me so we can both learn ways that we can look at the current state of our brain health, with the goal of optimizing our brain and future. I’m not sure what we will learn, but I thought a good first step would be to speak with Doug Sutton and learn first-hand from his brain scan experience what he learned, and how it not only impacted, but changed his life. Sit back, take some notes, and if you have ever thought about getting a brain scan, I’m sure you will be convinced after this episode. Welcome Doug! Thank you so much for writing back so quickly about this. I know it’s been quite some time since we hung out through the seminars, but thank goodness for social media, we can reach out and connect as if no time has passed. Before we get into the questions, I’d love to know how everything is going for you these days. When we were speaking, you told me that you had a client that would be a great match for this podcast [v] and they were. I am definitely going to reach out to them for an interview. What work do you do? Q1: Doug, can you share what brought you to even consider going to get a brain scan? I know that you mention in your testimonial video that you were experiencing brain fog, and lower energy

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #81. This episode was inspired by someone I grew up with, Alex, who sent me a DM on social media this week asking me “do you have anything I can use to help my team to learn, develop and improve their critical thinking skills?” Since “thinking” is such an important skill, originating in the cortex, or top layer of the brain, I thought it would be a good topic to cover this week. Alex, this one is for you. For those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who created this podcast to bring awareness, ideas and strategies to our most pressing issues facing educators in the workplace, or parents working from home or in the corporate space, to keep us all working at our highest levels of productivity. Each episode we provide you with specific tools, resources and ideas to implement proven strategies backed by the most current neuroscience research to help you to help improve daily productivity, achievement and results. This week we are looking at thinking, specifically what we can do to improve our thinking skills. Have you recently heard yourself or someone else, say “I’m so busy, I can barely think?” or have you ever told your kids to be quiet so you can “think?” I’ve heard it and said it myself more so these days than usual, as our schedules just seem to be getting busier and busier each month with the new events unfolding in the world, with the fact that many children are going back to school “distance learning” at home, while parents are working, (and we all remember how that went in the Spring) so many of us are finding it difficult to “think, focus and concentrate” under these new conditions that require us to put in a bit more effort than we might have been used to in the past. I hope you find these strategies on thinking as helpful as I have and find ways to implement just one or two of them, to make life flow easier all of us as we move into the final half of 2020. Thinking and the Brain Before we look at strategies to improve our thinking skills, I want to dive deeper into what exactly thinking is as it happens in the brain. When you are thinking, your neurons (86 billion of them) are shooting messages back and forth. This firing of neurons uses “2/3 of your brain’s energy”[i] and “is powered by a molecule called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate if you can remember that from 9th grade Science class) which is generated by the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) which burns glucose” that gives us the energy we need to think. This means that our brain runs on this simple sugar, and if we are low on this fuel, it’s harder for the brain to work. So, we must remember to eat, to provide the fuel our brain needs to think, and rest. But eating and rest are only a part of the solution. There’s much more that we can do to optimize the power of our thinking brain. We have mentioned in previous episodes (#23 Understanding the Difference Between Your Mind and Your Brain)[ii] about ways we can strengthen our brain and thinking with the power of “the unfocused” mind. In previous episodes, we did hear this point mentioned by some of the top thinkers in the world. Bob Proctor, on episode #66[iii] mentioned this fact when he pointed out that at the beginning of Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret” program, Earl talks about the famous Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer who recalled being asked by a reporter “what’s wrong with man today?” and Dr. Schweitzer thought about it for a minute, and then answered “They simply don’t think” which makes sense to me, because I know that life runs smoother when I can take the time I need to think. Eric Jensen also talked about the power of taking breaks in relation to learning in episode #79 when he said he asked Dr. Terry Sejnowskji, a leading scientist from the Salk Institute who co-authored the book called Learning How to Learn.[iv] Eric asked Dr. Sejnowski about t

Welcome back, we have reached episode #80 on the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast. You can watch this interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience and educational research, matched with social and emotional skills, with interviews from experts from all different fields, to bring awareness, ideas and strategies to our most pressing issues that we are facing, as educators, or parents, to keep all of us working at our highest levels of productivity. I’ve been interested in understanding why some people reach such high levels of achievement, and others don’t…since the late 1990s, and recent discoveries in neuroscience has accelerated our understanding of this. I do appreciate the feedback I’ve received through social media. It helps me to know that these topics are helping to bring some new thoughts, ideas and hope when times have never been so uncertain. Today we have Samantha Wettje, the Founder of the 16Strong Project[i], created in 2018 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. If you are in the field of education, you will have heard of the importance of understanding ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences that we did touch on with our last episode) and our next guest is on a serious mission to help our next generation of learners recognize and navigate the challenges they might be facing as a result of ACES in their life. When I received an email from one of Samantha’s colleagues about her 16Strong Project, I remember exactly where I was, because it really is true that when you attach emotion to a memory, it’s something you don’t ever forget. When I read that Samantha had created this project in response to her experience of living with a mentally ill and addicted parent, I literally stopped what I was doing to read more. Is all I needed to see in the email was ACES[ii], (that we just spoke about with Eric Jensen on Episode #79[iii], Harvard and Project…and I was writing an email back to find a time that we could speak so I could learn more about the 16Strong Project, and here we are. Welcome Samantha, it truly is an honor to speak with you today. I do hope that we can use this platform to help more people learn about this incredible initiative you have created in response to one of the largest problems facing young people today. Q1: Can you give some background as to why you started the 16Strong Project, and what does 16 Strong mean to you? Q2: I felt connected to this project BEFORE we spoke on the phone because I had been thinking for quite some time that I needed to find someone that I could speak to on this podcast who had defied the odds that we hear associated with ACES. It’s not an easy topic to bring up with someone, so it was just an idea circled on chart paper on my wall. Find someone to talk about ACES. Eric Jensen opened the conversation in EPISODE #79, giving a brief overview of what ACES are, and the fact that a higher score predicts later life adversity. I know when you are launching a project, it might seem like the project is important to you but will the rest of the world agree. How did my response to your email give you more awareness about the importance and urgency of the 16Strong Project? Q3: I follow the work of Dr. Daniel Amen[iv], probably one of the most famous psychiatrists and brain disorder specialists in the country. He has been working with Justin Bieber on his brain health, (he likes to call mental health brain health since when our brain works right, we work right—so his work is all around keeping our brain healthy). Something I found interesting from his work is that it is being “normal” is a myth. He says that “51% of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime”[v] (post traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorder) just to name a few that are the most common issues he sees young people for. I know how important th

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #79 with Eric Jensen, a leading authority on the science and applications of brain research in education for more than 20 years. Watch the interview on YouTube here. For those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience and educational research, matched with social and emotional skills, with interviews from experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. Thank you so much Eric, for coming on this podcast today. Where have I reached you? Just to give some background of Eric Jensen and his work: Dr. Eric Jensen is a former teacher and Top 30 Global Guru. He co-founded an academic enrichment program, held in 16 countries with over 85,000 graduates. Jensen has authored over 30 books[i] including 3 bestsellers with his 2 most recent being Brain-Based Learning (in its 3rd edition)[ii] and Poor Students Rich Teaching[iii]. He is also member of the invitation-only Society for Neuroscience.[iv] Eric, I know that your background has been focused around students and poverty, and how poverty impacts the brain and learning, specifically as it relates to trauma and stress. While our stress levels seem to keep jumping up to new levels each month as new stressors arise, we’ve got it handled here, as we have both parents working together with our children. I can’t help but think of those families who don’t have the resources or support that they need and would like to hear your thoughts of solutions that teachers and families could be looking at to better support students at this critical time in our world. Q1: Can we start off with a brief overview of what stress does to the brain, specifically when we are trying to learn (if we are a student) or complete our work (if we are in the corporate space) as well as to think about the dangers of emotion contagion. What can we do these days to prevent stress from wreaking havoc on our lives, and improve our resiliency with a mind/body integration? Q2: Right now, it’s such an odd time in the world with this global pandemic, but this podcast audience reaches into over 110 countries, and I know that the tips you have for us in the US, will be relevant to those around the world. Can we talk about the topic that I know you focused on with your doctoral dissertation, the fact that 1/5 children grow up in poverty? How does poverty impact a child’s brain? Q3: I mentioned in the beginning, that many children are preparing to go back to school (at least virtually in my State) this week, and I did just interview authors Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey on their book about Distance Learning which provided some great suggestions for transitioning to 100% online learning. I still can’t help thinking of low-income families, and how they are coping. Our stress levels are high here as we are adapting to our new schedules, creating new workspaces, (suddenly we realized I need to buy 2 new desks with chairs) new routines, and expectations. What support or words of encouragement would you have for teachers serving low income students who might not have everything they need and their parents as we transition back to school virtually? Q4: How does exposure to stressors in the home (that we’ve heard of from children with ACES—Adverse Childhood Experiences) influence a child’s working memory? What strategies do you have to teach students with poverty in mind to help students with impulse regulation, visual/spatial skills, language skills, cognitive skills, social and emotional skills and conflict resolution? Q5: I heard you say that “our DNA is not our destiny” and I just loved hearing this because we don’t choose our parents. Next week I’m speaking with the Founder of the 16 Strong Project, created out of Harvard’s Grad School of Edu

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #78 with David A. Sousa, an international educational consultant and author of more than 16 books that suggest ways that educators and parents can translate current brain research into strategies to improve learning. Watch the interview on YouTube here. It was David Sousa’s How the Brain Learns book Series[i] that is now in its 4th Edition (that includes How the Brain Learns, How the Brain Learns to Read, How the Gifted Brain Learns, and How the Special Needs Brain Learns) that I was given by an educator when I was urged to add the most current brain research to my programs. When reading this series, I was told from other respected colleagues that this book series is one that every educator should read. It also helped me as a parent of a struggling reader to understand how my own child learns to read and gave me more understanding and patience to help put into practice some of the secrets for accelerating literacy that I will share throughout this interview. I also discovered How the ELL Brain Learns[ii] that helped me to create a webinar for an educational publisher called “Nine Brain-Based Strategies to Skyrocket Literacy and Achievement”[iii] and there’s also Differentiation and the Brain and How the Brain Learns Mathematics. The Leadership Brain suggests ways for educators to lead more effectively in today’s schools. He also has a book for educators, Engaging the Rewired Brain that examines how technology changes the way students' brains function and how educators can adapt instruction to keep students motivated and The Power of Student Teams[iv]: Achieving Social, Emotional and Cognitive Learning in Every Classroom Through Academic Teaming[v] that describes a path to predictable success for every student, in every classroom, in every school—all backed by student data, neuroscience research, and experiences from superintendents, school leaders, teachers, and students who have made the shift, teaching through the power of student teams. David is a member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society[vi], has conducted workshops in hundreds of school districts on brain research, instructional skills and science education at the K-12 to University levels. Welcome David, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. It feels surreal after studying your books for the past 6 years. Q1: David, I really don’t think that I would have understood how the brain learns, enough to teach it to others without your How the Brain Learns Series that I was given 6 years ago, but at first, it wasn’t like I read the books and understood the workings of the brain instantly. I was a bit intimidated by the memory charts and thought that understanding this topic might a bit over my head without a degree in neuroscience. I was lucky to have a neuroscience researcher to help me with my questions, and with time, I really started to understand this fascinating organ that I had never really thought of before. Can you go back a bit to BEFORE you wrote these books and share where this series originated from, in addition, how did you take into consideration that many people, like me, at first glance, might be afraid of the complexity of this topic? Q2: I love how each book starts with a practitioner’s corner, assessing your current knowledge of reading, or myths about giftedness, or the special needs brain, to bring out some important differences with how the brain learns to read. Can you explain what happens (in the brain) when a child is learning how to read, and perhaps some of the secrets that we can look for to accelerate reading, like “how quickly and successfully the brain learns to read is greatly influenced by the student’s ability to speak?” and how is the Gifted Brain Different than the Special Needs Brain, or the ELL Brain when it’s learning to read? Q3: We’ve all heard the statistics about the importance of reading proficiency by 3rd

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #77 with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey, who are both professors at San Diego State University in Educational Leadership where they focus on policies and practices in literacy and school leadership. Watch the interview on YouTube here. For those who are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience and educational research, matched with social and emotional skills, with interviews from experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their books, resources and ideas to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or online, a student, or parent working in the corporate space. Welcome Doug and Nancy, it’s wonderful to meet you after enjoying your books for the past few days. Doug and Nancy are also both teacher leaders at Health Sciences High & Middle College, an award-winning open-enrollment public school in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego that they co-founded in 2007. For over 2 decades, they have dedicated their work to the knowledge and skills teachers and school leaders need to help students attain their goals. Their shared interests include instructional design, curriculum development, and professional learning. Doug and Nancy have co-authored numerous articles and books on literacy, and leadership that I’ve included links to in the show notes, including: This is Balanced Literacy,[i] The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+,[ii] All Learning is Social & Emotional[iii], The Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy Playbook,[iv] and most recently The Distance Learning Playbook[v] with co-author John Hattie[vi]. I couldn’t start this podcast, without acknowledging John Hattie’s Visible Learning Research[vii] and the fact that he is the co-author of your Distance Learning Playbook. I 100% agree with the write-up I saw in your book that says “The pandemic teaching of mid 2020 was not distance learning but rather crisis teaching.” But starting now, teachers have the opportunity to prepare for distance learning with purpose and intent.”[viii] I’d love to learn how the idea of The Distance Learning Playbook came about and why it was important for you to include John Hattie as your co-author. (Discuss the playbook style of PD book and about John’s Visible Learning research). My next question for you ties into our last podcast, episode #76 with Michael Horn on “Using a Positive Lens to Explore Change and the Future of Education”[ix] where he spoke about the importance of embracing technology as an important component of our future, and the article you wrote for SmartBrief.com on “4 Steps for Powerful Distance Learning Experiences”[x] ties right into this topic. This morning I had both my girls go “back to school” online and I was grateful that I felt a bit more prepared for this after getting ready for this interview and reading that article. Could you outline these 4 steps as many schools and families are like me, in the beginning stages of going back to school, with distance learning being the platform to launch the school year, before students transition to in person learning? Because this podcast focuses on social emotional learning, I’d love to dig a little deeper into the concept of the all-important teacher-student relationship. I know that building relationships is one of John Hattie’s teaching effects from one of our earlier episodes, #7 with Assistant Superintendent Greg Wolcott, who wrote his book Significant 72 based on the importance of student-teacher relationships.[xi] What type of impact do those relationships have on student learning and how do teachers build those relationships from a distance? Tying in closely with the t

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #76 with Michael Horn, the author and coauthor of multiple books, white papers, and articles on education, including the award-winning book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns [i], (a book I think that everyone should read as it describes how disruptive technologies will personalize and revolutionize learning) making complete sense with what’s happening with online learning in the world today. He also wrote the Amazon-bestseller Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools [ii]and his most recent book, Choosing College: How to Make Better Learning Decisions Throughout Your Life.[iii] that was written to help students and parents stay ahead of the curve as they make important college decisions. Watch this interview on YouTube here. Podcast Intro and Background on Michael Welcome Michael! It was fun to hear your reaction to some of my questions yesterday, that dig back a few years. I first saw you speak, Michael, at the ASU/GSV Summit in San Diego in 2016[iv] when our company was nominated for the McGraw Hill Innovation Award[v] in K-12 Education and wanted to watch this event, learn from the speakers, through streaming video. The title of my notes this year was “Aha Moments from the Eyes of a Disruptor” so I must have been reading your book Disrupting Class at that time. It was from this event that I learned about disruptive ed tech companies like Class Dojo, Clever and Remind who were all skyrocketing their online services within the school market (and now most people have these apps on their phones) and I knew this conference was one that I needed to stay connected to, and learn from these speakers, with you being one of them, if I wanted to stay at the forefront of innovation in education. Things really have changed since 2016, haven’t they? Thank you so much for meeting up with me, to share your vision of education with those who are listening. I’ve been on your email list, ever since that 2016 summit, and felt that it was time I reach out to you when your email subject matter read “Why Developing Character in Schools Matters” as I have been focused on a Character Manual for Educators to put these of these concepts into practice. Q1: Michael, I have so many questions that range from the K12 market, into higher education, and then I found your podcast Class Disrupted[vi] that you started when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted education and changed everything we as parents, teachers, or workers know about what it means to go to school. I listened to a few episodes, and loved them with my favorite being the one about “Why can’t Sal Khan just teach everyone?” Can you give an overview of your podcast, and what your vision is so our listeners can check it out and stay with your content? Q2: Let’s go back to 2016 to that ASU GSV Summit (this was the one that Bill Gates was a keynote speaker), these were the good old days in education. I was watching some of these ed tech companies talking about their growth. It’s crazy for me to look back and see that Class Dojo was only founded 9 years ago, and Coursera 8 years ago or that the Remind app back then was only in 50% of public schools (I am sure they are in 100% by now). We can all see that online education and technology has disrupted education. Remember Moore’s Law[vii] that shocked Gordon Moore, Intel’s co-founder and author of Moore’s Law that states that “computing power will double every two years.” What advice would you have for schools/teachers/parents that were not ready or set up for this wave of online education that we are all now getting used to? Q3: As a parent of 5-year-old twins, what are you focused on at home with their learning? I know routines are important, but what does a typical day look like for you? I’m asking mainly because I’m hoping to hear that someone whose written all these boo

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #75 with Maurice Elias, a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University[i], Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab[ii], Academic Director of The Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research and Service at Rutgers and he is one of the members of CASEL (Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning) which our listeners will know as a trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning programs.[iii] Prof. Elias lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students’ emotional intelligence, school success, and social-emotional and character development. Among Dr. Elias’ numerous books are ASCD’s Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators, the Social Decision Making/Social Problem-Solving curricula for grades k-8, Emotionally Intelligent Parenting, and many others that I will reference in this interview. Watch the interview on YouTube here. Podcast Introduction and Backstory of Maurice Elias My name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, matched with social and emotional skills, with interviews from experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. My vision is to bring the experts to you, and help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or online, a student, or parent working in the corporate space, for immediate results. When I was first introduced to Maurice Elias, it was from Corwin Press’s Marketing Department, who explained to me that his work fit directly into what we are doing with this podcast. When I looked at his website, and the Rutgers Social and Emotional Learning lab, it looked familiar—I know I have been on his page before, while researching leaders in this field, and within a minute of watching a YouTube video of his work from back in 2010[iv] that describes Emotion in Education, I wish I had been introduced to him 10 years ago. Welcome Maurice, it’s wonderful to meet you. Thank you so much for agreeing so quickly to share all the work you have been doing to transform education. After reading a couple of your books, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened, if I had met you 10 years ago when I worked at Pearson Education... At that time, I was working as a sales rep, selling programs and services to the school market and someone reminded me recently of how hard I tried to put social and emotional learning content into one of the products we were selling. For those who have been following this podcast, you will know that I have had this vision for teaching these skills in the classroom for the past 20 years, and finally decided to approach Pearson’s Product Development team with this vision and was told “let’s take it slow, and poll some educators, and see how they respond.” It just wasn’t the right time. If only I had met you back then, Maurice, I would have just played the video I saw of you in 2010 called Emotions in Education to help them catch the vision that you explained in be “the foundation of what learning is all about.”[v] I would have had the right person, with the right sense of the urgency for this vision but so glad to be meeting you now! Q1: Maurice, as a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and the Director of the Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab that guides school-based efforts on SEL and character development, I wonder how and when your vision for SEL and Character began and what’s the vision that you hold now for your SECD lab[vi] and SEL in schools? Q2: I’ve always thought that character was an integral component to SEL and I can see that you agree calling your lab social and emotional and charac

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #74 with Horacio Sanchez, the President and CEO of Resiliency Inc.,[i] an agency leader in helping schools improve climate, instruction, and discipline with tools and resources that include his most recent book The Education Revolution.[ii] Watch the interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. Welcome Horatio, it’s an honor to have you on today, especially knowing that one of our early interviews, EPISODE #3 with Ron Hall, from Valley Day School, Pennsylvania on “Launching Your Neuroeducational Program”[iii] features you in the show notes and YouTube video (2:51)[iv] I highly recommend listeners go back to the video interview, and hear Ron Hall’s story of meeting Horatio by chance at an educational conference, where he says that “in 10 minutes (of his presentation) he saw his future in education change right in front of his eyes.” I want to give a bit more information on your background, since your background is vast in the field of neuroeducation, which is what we focus on here on this podcast. Horacio Sanchez is recognized as one of the nation’s prominent experts on promoting student resiliency and applying brain science to improve school outcomes. Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to the Department of Education in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and other states. His diverse education and background have helped him to merge research, science, and practice which is why he has been so successful in the field of neuro education. His best-selling book, The Education Revolution published by Corwin Press, addresses the decline in empathy, increase in obesity, and the impact of implicit bias on minority students. Welcome Horacio, I have so many questions to ask you, and hope that we can get them all in! Q1: I like how you named your company Resiliency Inc as the word resiliency is important these days in education. Can you tell the story that I heard you tell on a podcast with John Williams, where you talk about how resiliency is built? (early days were hard, every day was a struggle, then they progress with hard work, effort, and now you have only good days and better days). Q2: As a former publishing rep, I have visited thousands of schools in the US (mostly in the Southwest region) and know that you can “feel” a school’s climate within minutes of walking into a school, sometimes even from the parking lot. We’ve all felt this feeling—and you know that our students feel it also. How do you improve school climate and what outcomes does a school typically see with your school climate improvement plan? Q3: One of the motivators for me doing the work that I’m doing with SEL/neuroscience began in the late 1990s with the Columbine tragedy being a huge motivator to take action. With all of your knowledge with students with emotional disorders, why do you think we have these incidents in the US? (My friends in Australia say they have not had one school shooting ever). What types of programs, or things should parents and educators be aware of to prevent these incidents from happening in the future? (connecting with the shy/anxious type) Q4: These days, it’s very clear that students are not learning as much as they could be or should be learning. Parents are just not equipped to be teachers, and I’m talking from the heart, as a parent with a teaching degree, with more resources for my 2 kids at home to learn while schools have not been in session. With a sense of urgency, I’m thinking about students in poverty who will be struggling more these days with less instruction, especially if parents are working. How does culture and po

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #73 with Chris Manning, Ph.D., who is a distinguished clinical professor of finance, real estate and entrepreneurship at Loyola Marymount University. He has authored and co-authored more than 30 articles published in both academic and professional journals (including the Harvard Business Review), and he continues to serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Real Estate Research. Watch the interview on YouTube here. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. Today we have Chris Manning, who co-authored the book Neurowisdom: The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness and Success[1], with my mentor Mark Robert Waldman, and he is the only business professor I know who applies contemplative values and empathetic dialog when working with his Executive MBA students and corporate leaders. It is, in many ways, the psychology of business and work under one umbrella. Thank you so much for agreeing to come on the podcast and sharing with our audience your knowledge on the brain as it relates to business success. Chris, I just met you last week on Mark Waldman’s webinar, but I’ve known about you for years, through Mark Waldman. I didn’t know about your interest and vision to bring this concept you call Neurowisdom to your Executive MBA students. Q1: As simple as possible for our podcast listeners, please tells us What is NeuroWisdom all about? Answer: NeuroWisdom is about learning to use your brain better to be more self- aware and self-directed to better achieve your goals and enjoy your life more; Several years ago, Mark Waldman and I published our research findings learned from teaching our Loyola Marymount University Executive MBA NeuroLeadership course in a popular book (that we could also use as a textbook for our graduate level NeuroLeadership course): This book, NeuroWisdom: The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness and Success, has now been turned into an online interactive course[2] complete with audios and videos to help people learn how to use their own brains better. (I recommend your listeners go MarkRobertWaldman.com[3] to check out our new and improved NeuroWisdom interactive online flipbook course complete with audios and videos and also look over our 10 free ebooks on related topics while there.) In essence, our book discusses the practical application of recent Neuroscience discoveries about our brains that can enable a person to learn more efficiently, with less stress and more joy and become more successful (at whatever that means to them whether it be their career, relationships, an advanced graduate professional degree, or merely making more money). Q2: What are the practical useful applications of recent Neuroscience discoveries that your book explains that our listeners can use every day in their life pursuits? Answer: We call them the “Four Pillars of Wealth” in our book (referring to a person’s search for both “inner and outer wealth”) and they are really more about “How to take advantage of your brain’s natural patterns and tendencies to better learn and achieve things in life” While we all often “get in the way” (or “block”) our natural healthy motivations, and our natural abilities to learn and get ahead in the world, our book explains how to accept and take advantage of four natural brain circuits in everyone’s brain that supports our learning and how get what we want in life. Q3. What are the actual “Four Pillars of Wealth” you talk about in NeuroWisdom and how does each of them help people learn better (faster, easier, and with less stress and more joy) to overcome whatever obstacles get in the w

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #72 with sleep medicine physician, sports psychiatrist and author of the NEW book that I couldn’t put down, “Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes: The Cutting-Edge Sleep Science That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage”[i] Dr. Shane Creado. I highly recommend watching this interview here on YouTube with the visual images. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. I am beyond excited to have Shane Creado[ii] here today. He is a double board-certified sleep medicine doctor and psychiatrist who practices functional sleep medicine, integrative psychiatry, and sports psychiatry, putting all those skills together to uncover underlying factors that sabotage the patients, comprehensively treats them, and helps them to achieve their goals. That shows dedication. I want to give you just a bit about Dr. Creado’s background that shows where this dedication to helping others improve their lives began: He completed an undergraduate degree in physical therapy, went on to do an MD. He then went on to a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at the University of Wisconsin because of the huge overlap between sleep and psychiatric issues. As he believed in optimization, not normalization, he devoted his time to optimizing brain health in professional athletes, executives and anybody who is interested in peak performance. If you have not yet listened to episode #71 from last week, I did a deep dive into his book to prepare for this interview so we could maximize our time together. Welcome Shane, thank you so much for writing back so quickly and agreeing to come on the podcast. I know how busy medical professionals are--these days especially, and I know that you are working with patients in between this podcast. I didn’t expect that I would be able to get this time with you, so thank you so much! After reading your book and recording episode #71 about the most important concepts from your book, I had so many questions. INTRO/PRE QUESTIONS: Shane, I first heard you on Tana Amen and Dr. Amen’s Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast[iii], and then watched your YouTube Live with Tana Amen this week to be sure that the questions I ask you, don’t overlap with questions you have recently answered, but before we dive into the questions, can you explain what you do with Amen Clinics in Chicago? Why would someone come and see you? Can anyone come into Amen Clinics for a SPECT SCAN[iv], or do you need to be referred with a specific issue? Q1: I love how you named your book Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes, as I know you are talking about concepts that EVERYONE can apply. I always look at elite athletes, or friends I see in exceptional shape and always ask them the same question “What foods do you eat and how do you train” to see if I can learn something. When you wrote this book, what message did you want to get across to those who work with elite athletes, as well as the regular person reading it, who may not be an elite athlete, but wants to train, live, eat and act like one? Q2: I came across something you said in your book that I thought was so profound, I instantly created a graphic and shared it as many places as I could. You mention “your brain health and sports performance cannot be optimized unless your sleep is optimized. Once this is achieved, your quality of life will skyrocket. When you sleep well, the fabric of your life will change. When this happens, it will have a ripple effect.” This podcast is all about improving our results with the understanding of neuroscience that I think is relatively new. 20 years ago, no one was asking me “what are you doing to improve your brain

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, I’m so grateful that you are here, listening with me at this time when there’s a lot of chaos and uncertainty in the world. I’m sure you are feeling it—I most certainly am—but I do know that this chaos that we are feeling will always be here. There’s always going to be something happening in the world, and we must be prepared and stay in control, without letting outside influences impact our results. This is one of the key strategies used by the most successful people in the world. They have all have developed sound systems, with a clear plan to follow, and they don’t ever veer of their path. This uncertainty surely has the ability to knock the best of us, even the most productive, off course, without a clearly defined plan in place. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. First of all, I want to thank everyone who has followed, supported and shared this content. With this episode, we are now at over 20,000 downloads, reaching over 110 countries. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to create and share these ideas with such a wide audience. This has been the most powerful learning opportunity I have ever been involved with, and with each expert that we bring on here, we are learning the most current success strategies, to help us to all stay on track. Here’s what we have covered so far on this podcast, so you can see where we started and where we are going. Season 1 EPISODES 1-33 introduced the social, emotional and interpersonal competencies to help parents, educators and those in the workplace to bridge the noticeable gap with SEL Competencies like growth mindset, responsible decision-making, self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation and relationship building. We know that interventions that address these competencies increased students’ academic performance by 11 percentile points[i], compared to students who did not participate in such programs. Students learning these competencies also showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school. The case is clear that these competencies are important for us to practice whether we are a teacher working in the classroom, a parent working with our children at home, or even how we interact with each other in the workplace. Implementing these SEL competencies are the first step towards bridging the gap that employers have noticed exists in the workplace today. Season 2 EPISODES 34-67 introduced more high-level experts with cognitive strategies from many different fields, with a focus on improving learning, focus, attention, goal setting, planning, perseverance and problem solving. These are the core skills that our brain uses to think, read, remember, reason and pay attention and each guest explained how they use these skills for improved, consistent, predictable results in their field. Moving into Season 3 now, with EPISODES 68 and onwards we are diving deeper into these 5 competencies by connecting them to well-known authors and experts and bringing in a cognitive connection. The more ideas, thoughts, and strategies that we can implement in our day to day lives, with our brain in mind, the more productive we will be. If we can learn to do everything with our brain in mind, the results will not only show up in our personal or academic/work lives, but we will be increasing our emotional intelligence at the same time—a skill that will prepare us for future life success. This week, episode #71 focuses on applying self-regulation (everything that we do to feel better) with a close look at Dr. Shane Creado’

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #70 Applying Self-Regulation to Move to Higher Levels of Consciousness and Results with David R. Hawkins’ Power vs Force book to analyze the hidden determinants of human behavior. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. Today we are going to take a closer look at Human Behavior. The past 4 episodes have touched on identifying paradigms or habits that we want to change, with some ideas on how to change them with episode #67 with a Deep Dive into the Most Important Lessons I Learned from Bob Proctor’s Seminars[i] and episode #68 The Neuroscience of Personal Change, with a Deep Dive into Dr. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People[ii]. I have received the most feedback about these 2 episodes, out of all the episodes we’ve done in the past year, so thank you for everyone who listened sent me messages about what you learned from the awareness and application of these 2 episodes. When writing these lessons, they often take many different turns and directions and you never know how they will turn out. I’m so glad to hear they have been helpful. I know that we can still go a bit deeper into looking at human behavior, with some serious introspection, that will improve our self-awareness, as we take serious inventory of what’s working in our life, and what’s not working. When I first heard the term “paradigm” when I worked with Bob Proctor in the late 1990s, it took me a few years to understand what he was talking about. Then it took me many more years to figure out what paradigms weren’t serving me. Then, after writing them down, and staring at them, it took me a few more years to decide I was going to change a couple of them at a time. We all have paradigms that are working for us—so we will want to keep those and be aware of the ones that are preventing us from reaching those higher levels of achievement. If you want to identify your paradigms (positive and negative ones): take out a piece of paper and write out all of the behaviors that you do habitually. You will be able to identify your habits that are working for you (they’ll be the ones helping you to produce better results in your life) and the ones that are not working for you (the ones that hold you back). Circle the habits that are NOT working for you and pick one or two that you want to change. I suggest reviewing episode #35 How to Use Your Brain to Break Bad Habits[iii] as I go into detail here on how to substitute bad habits for more productive ones, with brain science in mind. For the next 90 days, you focus on changing just one habit, and this will take discipline. It will take the ability for you to give yourself a command and follow it. For example: I am going to switch this habit for a new one—like maybe you want to stop drinking coffee, so you substitute coffee for hot lemon water in the morning instead. If you really want to stop the old habit, you will be ready to make this switch. I want to give a shout out here to Mandy Krueckeberg, a social worker who follows this podcast. I recently saw her post on her FB that she was on day 1 of cutting out coffee in her diet, and she did it by replacing the habit she wanted to change (coffee) with something that made her feel better (by drinking cinnamon tea). When I was writing this episode, she was on day 3 of this habit change and the longer she keeps this up, the more likely it will be that this habit change will be a success as her brain will lock into the new neural pathway she’s creating. She applied discipline to achieve the results she was looking for. Awesome work Mandy! There are also tools that you can use to

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, episode #69 with Ben Ampil, a US-Certified Neuroscience Coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Trainer who I have watched all over the news this weekend, even though he is located in the Philippines, his positive message about using your brain to manage your behavior is having a global impact and following. Watch the interview with visuals here on YouTube. My name is Andrea Samadi, and if you are new here, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, to take your results to the next level. I’m beyond excited to speak with Ben Ampil today and we’ve been chatting about our topic the past week or so, adding new thoughts and ideas to his message as things in the world are changing on a daily basis, but Ben’s message remains consistent. He has had extensive corporate experience in the various cross-functional disciplines of General Management, in a variety of Industries and has also been a Keynote Speaker in Conferences in Neuroscience in London and in Bangkok. His background and speaking history is top notch, and I know that he will share some insights to make us all think differently after this interview about the best ways for us to manage our behavior with our brain in mind. Welcome Ben! All the way from Manila, Philippines! This was fun setting up this interview and making sure we had the time zone correct. You are so right, nothing is going to stop us from finding the right time to speak together and from now on, I will be mindful about what it means for me to say “see you tomorrow” because my tomorrow and your tomorrow are 15 hours apart. Q1: Since connecting with you on LinkedIn, I noticed many similarities with how much we are both passionate about the topic of neuroscience. It’s an area I lose track of time when I’m learning and studying and spend all of my spare time with. What got you interested and passionate about the field of Neuroscience? Q2: I’ll never forget the first person who introduced me to this topic. He was a school administrator and he urged me to take my work in this direction. He handed me a bunch of books off his bookshelf, one of them was a series from David Souza on How the Brain Learns[i] (to Read, the Special Needs Brain, the Gifted Brain, the ELL Brain etc) and at first glance of this book series, without any knowledge of how the brain works, it can be an intimidating topic. You’ve created some acronyms to help demystify an otherwise intimidating topic like “Neuroscience” Can we break this down a bit? 2 A) CHANGE OUR PARADIGMS vs BEHAVIOR: The past few podcasts I’ve taken a deep look at the fact that in order to make significant change in our life, we need to change our paradigms vs our behavior….Can you explain how our brains work with your acronym BATMAN and keep in mind that we don’t want to just change our behavior, but change some of our old ways of thinking or beliefs that might be keeping us stuck? 2 B) WHAT ARE SOME STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING THE FEAR WE MIGHT BE FEELING IN THE WORLD TODAY? (Real fears like you’ve lost your job, or someone you know is really struggling with something or even a perceived or imagined fear?) SCORE 2 C) Over the weekend, I created a graphic based on Dr. Bruce Perry’s concept of the Power Differential that describes the fact that there is this power differential that puts one person at a cognitive disadvantage and can cause significant issues with leadership and communication (it describes what happens to a young child’s brain when dealing with an adult, or when anyone gets pulled over by a policeman for speeding etc. What are triggers the fear we feel coming from the amygdala and what are some solutions we can keep in mind to offset this instinctive fear? SCARF as

Today’s episode #68 started out with me wanting to take a look the most important concepts from Dr. Amen’s “Thrive by 25”[i] online course that dives deep into understanding brain basics that we should all understand for ourselves as well as to better understand others, since brain health strategies will lead to a better brain and life. But—while writing this episode, I was sitting in an empty lobby of what used to be a busy local resort, looking around at what was once the hustle and bustle of business people, hurrying off to their events, or families rushing off to the pool to spend time together and the fact that the world has literally STOPPED STILL really made me think. This place looked like a Ghost Town, almost like in a movie where the scene freezes. It made me freeze and think. Things around the world have changed like night and day over the past few months starting with the COVID-19 Pandemic, with the danger of infection and death, and the change continues as the world now faces racism, riots, and global economic upheaval. I thought that this episode needs to go a bit deeper than I was planning at first, and really needs to address the Neuroscience of Change. Since we usually reject anything that we aren’t familiar with, I thought this episode could look at how to consider a change with our thinking or perspective, resulting in a change in behavior around some of the critical issues our world is facing, to see where we can take individual responsibility. If we can add the understanding of how our brain works optimally and how we can improve ourselves by really thinking about some of these issues our world is facing, we can become more empathetic towards others, and set the stage for the much needed change our world needs. If nothing is done at this time, we will look back and there will be no change, but if we can all do some self-reflection, and make our own personal and individual change, 20 years from now, we will know if our actions made a difference. While still thinking about the new direction of this episode, I read a social media post from my mentor, Greg Link[ii], who I’ve mentioned in past episodes. As co-founder of the Covey Leadership Center, Greg was the one who orchestrated the strategy that led Dr. Stephen R. Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, (1989) to become one of the two best-selling business books of the 20th century according to CEO Magazine, selling over 20 million copies in 38 languages. He created the marketing momentum that helped propel Covey Leadership Center from a start-up company to a $110-plus million-dollar enterprise with offices in 40 countries. When he writes something, I always pay attention and what he has to say is always insightful and profound. This time, what he wrote was full of his own personal insight on what was happening in the world today, tied to the 7 Habits book, and he was talking about Habit #5. For such a popular business book, that sold so many copies, you would think I would know the habits off by heart. If you were to ask a room of 100 people “who knows about the 7 Habits Book?” most people should raise their hand, but few people (including myself) can actually name the habits. Did you know the habits were divided up into 3 segments? Habits 1-3 are focused on how we manage ourselves, habits 4-6, how we lead others, and habit 7 how we unleash our potential. The 8th Habit[iii] is a whole new book, published years later in 2004 and it focuses on “Finding your voice and inspiring others to find theirs.” There’s never been a time like this in our world, and more than ever right now, we need to think about how we are managing ourselves, how we lead others, and how we can unleash our potential, and find our voice, in a way that inspires others to do the same. If we can do these 4 things, I am sure that when we look back to this time period, 20 years later, there’ll be some change. If it’s been aw

Today we are going to take a deep dive into the most powerful and important concepts from Bob Proctor’s seminars. If you have not yet heard episode #66[i], be sure to check out this episode first, to get some context behind how I met Bob Proctor, and how he influenced the work we are doing here today. I do suggest going to the show notes and writing down some of the ideas you learn from this episode, since these are some extremely powerful ideas that really can make an impact on your life. These concepts were learned from 6 years of working directly with Bob’s seminars, taking his courses over and over again, and then repeating them periodically over the past 24 years. These ideas changed the trajectory of my life, and I want to share them with you so you can have access them, and see if their application can impact your world, as much as it did for mine. I first met Bob when I was a teacher in Toronto, because his director of sales, Mark Low, lived next door to me at the time, and when I asked him what he did for a living, my whole world changed when he handed me Bob’s You Were Born Rich[ii] book. Be sure to look in the show notes for the links, as Bob gives this book away for FREE on his website under his tips and tools section. Go there, download his book, and this lesson will make more sense once you have had a chance to look at the book first. Before I go into a deep dive of this book, which was also the first seminar I ever attended live (in May 1998), I want to give a backstory that you could relate to, if you’ve ever invested hours of your time creating something. Here’s how I remember this story (and remember from EPSIODE #44 “12 Mind-Boggling Facts About the Brain”[iii] that memories are not 100% accurate, so I’m telling you a story that I remember hearing many years ago and some of the details might be inaccurate, with the way that I’m remembering the events, but you will get the main idea of this story. So, when Bob was first writing this book, (my copy of the book shows a copyright date of 1997 which was just a year before my first seminar with him) and it was years before everyone carried their own personal laptop around. When I think back to writing reports or essays in school at this time, I used a typewriter, so I think that’s how Bob wrote his first book—the manuscript was a physical copy that he had typed, and he would carry it around with him to add more ideas to it, before he sending it off to the publisher. On his way to the publisher, he took a taxi, again, years before we went everywhere via Uber, and he left the only copy of the book in the taxi. This story made me think of all those times I had written something, and then the computer crashed, and the document was not saved, or the times that I just lost something another way, and the only solution was to recreate what you’d lost, and that’s exactly what Bob did with this book. When you are reading it, think of the years of work that went into the stories in each chapter, and these are all true stories—I knew many of the people he wrote about—and then imagine that one day, these ideas were completely lost, and he had to recreate them again, for the world to gain access to them. It will give you an entirely new perspective when you are reading this book. Bob mentions in episode #66 that “he always believed he would reach the goals that he set and believed in the material and that goals are set not to GET—but to GROW.” It’s who we become that’s important in this process, not the things that we accumulate along the way, but the knowledge we acquire and how we use it to help others. When Bob first met me, he asked me “What do you really want?” and it took me back a bit because no one had ever asked me this before. I had to really think about it. I remember not being sure, but in the Born Rich Workbook we had the chance to revisit this and write out our heart’s desire. I still have the workbook from 1998 and what I wrote back then, isn’t far

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. If you’ve been listening to our podcast and wonder what exactly we do at Achieveit360.com, go to our website and take a look.[i] We provide courses, books and tools for teachers to implement Character and SEL programs in the classroom along with other consulting services that can be used in the corporate workplace. You can watch this interview on YouTube, but you won't be able to hear the backstory, unless you listen through your favorite podcast channel. Listen to all past episodes here. Here’s the Back Story behind the programs and services that were inspired by our guest today, Bob Proctor. You can go to our website’s About Us[ii] section to see an outline of the last 20 years, and you will see a picture of him at the top of the page, but first let me explain who he is. In 1961, Bob Proctor started studying the book, Think and Grow Rich[iii] (right now it’s showing as #1 in Entrepreneurship Books on Amazon) and this book transformed his life. If you’ve been lucky enough to see Bob Proctor speak live, you’ll see this book and one look at it, you’ll know he’s been reading it every day. He listened to Earl Nightingale’s condensed recording of the book thousands of times, he said he would put this record player in his car and listen to it (back in the days that I can still remember when we had vinyl records before music and audio recordings became available online). He then created his own position that allowed him to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Earl Nightingale at Nightingale-Conant (that at the time was the largest distribution house for personal development programs). He worked there until 1973, before leaving to start his own personal development company where he’s been training people around the world ever since. Today, Bob has studied thousands of books, continues to read Think and Grow Rich every day, and is considered the world’s foremost expert on the human mind. I can personally say that Bob Proctor is one of the rare speakers out there who truly lives and breathes what he teaches, with full integrity—he walks his talk and inspires those around him to do the same. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Bob in the late 1990s when I was a school teacher in Toronto, when I asked my neighbor, Mark Low, what he did for a living, and he didn’t say much, but he handed me Bob’s You Were Born Rich[iv] book that I read the next day in a staff meeting (hiding it behind my binder as I pretended I was listening to the meeting) and my life was never the same after that day. The book was not just about being rich financially, but was about being rich in potential, saying that we all have deep reservoirs of talent within ourselves, and that we have greatness locked up inside ourselves...everyone has reservoirs of great talent and ability within us and if we can bring it to the surface we can accomplish anything we want. I really liked that idea. That was 24 years ago, and it’s definitely been a journey that started when I quit my job as a teacher and went to work in his offices selling seminars. I want to share some of the top lessons learned from Bob, before we go into the interview. I will definitely do a deep dive into his content after this episode, as it’s so valuable, but looking back to the day I met him, here are my biggest take-aways. If you have some that you want to share, please tag me on social media when I post this interview and share some of yours. Lesson 1: I learned how to set huge goals that most people would say were crazy when Bob asked me “what do you really want?” When I told him, he told me that there were certain steps I needed to follow, that started with writing my goals down on this card he gave me, and if I did all the things he suggested, and believed in what I was doing, I could have what I wanted. I really believed him and followed what he told me to do. Lesson 2: I learned how to be resourceful and make

This is episode #65 with Dr. Barbara Schwarck, CEO of Clear Intentions International, who has been helping people get unstuck and make powerful, lasting life changes for over twenty years. Dr. Schwarck is an award-winning, dual-certified coach with extensive academic training in Psychology, Management, Spirituality and Kinesiology. Through her extensive training, she created her unique Neuro Emotional Coaching, a cutting-edge coaching tool rooted in neuroscience, emotional intelligence, with their implications for leadership, and the Muscle Testing 101 app, a tool for people who want to learn how to use kinesiology. Watch the interview on YouTube here. What’s interesting is that Dr. Schwark and I share some of the same influencers. We have Bob Proctor, my mentor and inspiration behind the work I started with youth, coming on our next episode #66 and Dr. Shwarck, like me, has studied his work along with many others. She has used her technique to successfully coach more than 1000 CEOs, professionals, family business owners and thought-leaders who want to be effective leaders, strong performers, clear communicators and difference-makers. In her private coaching practice, clients work with her on anxiety/depression, self-esteem, relationships and personal growth. Last week, Dr. Schwarck and I spoke on a video conference, and she is located right now in Israel, and she wanted to demonstrate her work before we did this interview. I’m a firm believer in reading energy even if you are not in the same room with someone, you can feel it and Dr. Schwarck is the most advanced person at this skill, that I have ever seen. Through a zoom video, she was able to tap into my energy field and find an area where my subconscious or non-conscious mind was holding me back. Once we identified these 2 areas of work, and we named them, we tamed them (like we just talked about on our last episode with Greg Wolcott) showing me that no matter how much work we are doing on ourselves, there is always something we can do to improve. Welcome Barbara, it’s great to see you again. I feel like we know each other well now, after our last session together and even moreso to hear that you are working with one of my closest friends from high school who is living in Cyprus, Greece right now. What a small world this is! She saw that you were coming up on the podcast this week and sent me a message raving about the results she has created with you. Q1: Barbara, what do you think is at the root of becoming a stronger performer, leader, and be able to communicate with clarity and effectiveness? Q2: How do you use Neuro Emotional Coaching to uncover what is holding you back and when we were speaking, is it always this simple to identify people’s blocks? You picked up where I was incongruent in a few minutes and fixed it just as quickly. Q3: How does someone integrate their beliefs with who they become, especially when they experience quantum leaps with their results? Q4: How exactly would you suggest leaders engage their employees, create stronger teams or become a champion of positive change? Q5: What is emotional intelligence, and can you give some context as to why it’s so important these days and how do you motivate the individual employee? Q6: What are some strategies that people can take away right now to improve their emotional intelligence? Are there strategies to uncover where you have blocks or do you need to work with someone on this one? How are they received in the corporate world today? Thank you so much Dr. Schwarck for your time to share your years of coaching and training to help improve people’s lives and results. If someone wants to reach you, what is the best way for them to find out more about your programs and services? For more information, visit www.clearintentions.net or contact Dr. Barbara Schwarck at [email protected], or USA: +1.412.656.8841 / Israel: +972.54.2178550. REFERENCES: https://clearintentions.net/what

This is episode #64, with a returning guest from our 7th episode, Greg Wolcott, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in a suburb of Chicago as well as an adjunct professor and author of the phenomenal book Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Schools.[i] I first saw Greg on an EdWeek Social and Emotional Learning Webinar back in 2016, where he was talking about this concept that he was using in schools that he called “Significant 72” and this concept wasn’t even a book yet. I thought his idea was powerful—so I wrote it down and began telling his story when I was presenting to educators who could use this idea. It’s really a powerful concept, and I’ll let Greg tell you more about it. When I launched this podcast, a year ago, I was looking for high quality experts to provide tools and resources that we could all apply to take our results to the next level, and I immediately thought of Greg. Watch the interview on YouTube here. We’ve kept in touch over the entire year since we started and he’s reached out to me with thoughts and ideas for how he sees each episode being applied within his schools, and brainstorming new ideas, or applications of how the content can help the education and corporate sectors. He makes connections between speakers that I might not have seen and has been an invaluable resource for me to keep moving forward with new speakers and ideas. Welcome back Greg and thank you so much for all you’ve done to support and cheer me on over here, your help means a lot. Before I get to the questions, can you give an overview of what you do over there, where the concept of “Significant 72” came from and also, what’s your outlook with where things are right now in our schools as we prepare to transition to the summer and into a new year, still living in the midst of a pandemic? Q1: Greg, you sent me a recent presentation that you did called “Creating Connections During a Crisis”[ii] and I loved everything that you presented so I wanted to ask you some questions that would dive a bit deeper into what you covered. We can share you screen here if that helps with the visuals. Can you explain why you think it’s so important right now to prioritize social and emotional learning in today’s educational space? Q2: I saw something that you shared on social media on Twitter, (I think it’s your pinned tweet @GregJWolcott)and it was about how important it is for educators to reach out personally to every student in their class to remain connected, and that tweet you sent had almost 9K likes, and over 2K retweets! I’ve never seen numbers this high. Can you share what stories you are hearing from educators/students who have been keeping in touch during the pandemic and also maybe some students who you’ve heard have been having a tough time with not being in an academic environment so we can keep in mind how important keeping these connections are for our students? Q3: What about the how behind an SEL Implementation? Can you go over the concept of STORY, which is an acronym from your book where you talk about how every student has their own STORY or strengths, tendencies, opportunities, resources and yearnings (which is how you break down this acronym and how SEL and the most current neuroscience research is infused into each of these areas? Starting off the S in STORY, why is it so important for our students, and ourselves to understand our unique strengths? Q4: What about the T in STORY, for tendencies. Why is it important that we understand our tendencies as it ties into the 3 parts of our brain with strategies to overcome those times we become overwhelmed? Q5: What about the O in STORY, opportunity? How do we recognize the opportunities for growth (which is actually one of my top 5 values)—like you talk about understanding our emotions, categorizing them, and then coming up with a strategy to move beyond where we are right now when we are stuck. Can you explain this 3-step proc

This is episode #63 with Hans Appel, who has been a school counselor from Richland SD, WA for the past 19 years and is the author of the NEW book, Award Winning Culture: Building School-Wide Intentionality Through Character, Excellence and Community[i] that you can find RIGHT NOW on Amazon. My husband has worked closely with this District when he was a Regional VP of Sales with Scholastic and he agrees that they go above and beyond with everything they do, and it’s not surprising to hear that they emerged as International Thought Leaders over there but there’s much more to this story than meets the eye. I look forward to sharing Hans’ background and story for those who would like to replicate Award Winning Culture in their school, workplace or organization. Click here to watch the YouTube interview. Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent trying to figure out homeschooling and working from home, or someone working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Today we are speaking with Hans Appel, has worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 19 years at Enterprise Middle School since it opened. He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness. In 2018, EMS was awarded the ASCD Whole Child Award for the State of Washington and the Global “Class Act Award” for creating a culture of excellence through kindness, service, and empathy. Additionally, the were selected as a finalist in the 2019 PBIS Film Festival and took top prize in the Community, Parents, and Staff category. When I first spoke with Hans, just last week, to learn more about his background and new book, his humble nature came through. It wasn’t until last night, when I started to read his book “Award Winning Culture” that just became available last Friday, that I got to know and truly understand where Hans’ passion for building school-wide culture emerged from. I could go on with Hans’ bio, but will include more details in the show notes, and urge you to read his book yourself, and his website[ii] where you can learn more about Hans’s story, and about his wife Jen, who is an educator at Enterprise MS. Welcome Hans! Q1: Hans, when we were speaking last week, you were telling me how all of this started but we didn’t speak at all about your personal story that you share in the beginning of your book. For anyone looking to understand how change takes place, I do highly suggest reading this book to get a deeper understanding with someone who has grown up firsthand with ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Before we get to the questions, can you share how you used your difficult upbringing to fuel your passion for change within your local school District? Q2: Can you explain how this all began at Enterprise Middle School that caused you to write your book, Award Winning Culture and create the framework around what you did to cause such an international interest? Q3: Hans, I’m familiar with how important it is to infuse SEL skills into a school, home and emotional intelligence training in our workplaces, with what we’ve been doing here, but many schools or workplaces are not sure how to begin, where to even get started with a program. Can you give some ideas of where someone can start to implement award winning culture within their school or organization to reap the benefits that will follow with a program like yours? Q4: Imagine a school or an organization that has not yet implemented a program, and they are well aware that change needs to occur. The part in your book about the reporter crying when she “felt” the energy of your sc

This is episode #62: with the President and CEO of CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, which is the trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning) Karen Niemi. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent trying to figure out homeschooling and working from home, or someone working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Today our podcast comes full circle, as anyone who follows our work, will know that we launched this idea almost a year ago, when I saw a huge need for a platform for social and emotional learning when Casel’s first SEL Exchange in 2019,[i] drew an interest from over 850 speakers around the country to present their ideas to help improve our schools, homes and communities with SEL and this inaugural SEL conference drew over 1,500 attendees from 48 states and 30 countries. I am thrilled to have the Karen Niemi, the President and CEO of CASEL here today. Karen oversees and directs all of CASEL’s activities to enhance and expand evidence-based social and emotional learning, including practice, research, communications, policy, and development. This is no small feat, but as an accomplished business leader with a long track record of success in the education sector she blends a deep understanding of school systems and pedagogy with solid business practice and has successfully led educational companies through all stages of growth. She has also helped schools advance their educational mission by making research and best practices accessible and actionable by teachers and administrators and has brought learning tools and strategies to school systems and students nationwide. Welcome Karen, it’s such an honor to have you here today. I must give David Adams from episode #54[ii] a shout out and thanks for introducing us and let you know that we have had a few leaders from Casel, like Clark McKown, the President and Founder of xSEL labs[iii] who is on the advisory board for Casel’s Measuring SEL Initiative[iv] as well as Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence Founder Marc Brackett with his important book “Permission to Feel.”[v] Thank you for coming on today to share your thoughts, experiences tools and resources for SEL at such an important time for parents, educators and everyone for that matter. Question 1: I was speaking with the President of a large publishing company to potentially develop an SEL program, and many people in this company, were still unclear of the years of research and data behind implementing SEL in our schools. So, even though there’s this huge interest in SEL, not everyone has caught up yet to the benefits behind implementing an SEL program (in our schools) or even an Emotional Intelligence Training program in our workplaces for those who are in the workforce and are missing these important skills. I pointed them to your research page https://casel.org/research/ and explained about the 11 percentile point academic gain. How can we spread the word of all of the resources that Casel offers, that’s really been the Hallmark of your work since its founding? Can you give an overview of all of the resources that Casel offers? Question 2: There’s a lot of people who work at Casel with your board, staff, consultants, funders and collaborators. I know Linda Dusenbury from following her Collaborating States Initiative[vi] since 2016 as I watched with amazement when SEL standards slowly but surely started being implemented in schools across the country, and I know of some of the people in your re

This is episode #61: Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent trying to figure out homeschooling and working from home, or someone working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. We’re just a month away from our one year anniversary of when we launched this podcast that is now being listened to in over 95 countries, and we’re thrilled to see that we’ve hit the top 100 charts for Apple iTunes Education How-To Category for multiple countries (Canada, USA, Great Britain, Australia, Sweden and just hit #1 in Switzerland this week) so thank you listeners. I’ve actually lived in 3 of the countries that keep showing up on these charts and am grateful to all our supporters around the world. Today we have someone who I know will share some valuable and timely tips for all of us--Maria Natapov[i], a Certified Parent and Caregiver Coach with a specialty in trauma and neuroscience and its application. Maria teaches practical and actionable parenting techniques to caregivers that bring out the best in their child, with a specialty in healing trauma and breaking its cycles. She partners with parents, teachers, and childcare professionals through individualized, targeted sessions that empower caregivers to curb their child's challenging behaviors and deeply connect while taking care of their own needs. In addition to parent coaching, she has worked as an applied behavioral analysis therapist in home and school settings. Maria moved to the United States from Russia at age 8 and is deeply sensitive to the role that cultural differences play in behavior and parenting. If you were to take the time to hear Maria’s story and background, you would understand where her passion to help other parents navigate through difficult times originated, especially when trauma is involved.[ii] I’ve included a podcast she did on this topic that you can access this in the show notes to learn more about her background. Maria founded Restorative Parent Coaching to help caregivers create nurturing environments in which adults and children can thrive. To watch this interview on YouTube, click here. I first met Maria when she connected with me through social media and saw instantly that we had common ground with our work. The interview questions I’ll be asking today came directly from an article she wrote called “5 Strategies to Mitigate Covid-19 Related Anxiety and Trauma for Children.”[iii] When we connected, I knew immediately that Maria’s work tied into some of our past speakers. I could see her influence from Dr. Daniel Siegel’s work when she mentioned that our children really need to be “seen and heard” during these stressful Pandemic times, and also Dr. Bruce Perry’s work when she speaks about the importance of adults learning how to regulate themselves in order to calm a stressed or anxious child. Welcome Maria, thank you so much for speaking with me today, and sharing your work and ideas with the community. I think that speaking with you is timely and important right now, as many of us are now 2.5 months into working from home (and many people I know now are working a hybrid of home/office hours) while still trying to figure out this new schedule with the addition of home-schooling. How are things going for you right now over there in Massachusetts on the East Coast? I am sure that the timelines are different for some people listening, but here in the US, my 2 girls have been home from school since the beginning of March, and school starts back up again for us here the end of July, and we still aren’t sure of what that is going to look like. I’ve recently

This is episode #60 on The Science Behind a Meditation Practice with a Deep Dive into Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace and created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent trying to figure out homeschooling and working from home, or someone working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. After watching Dr. Daniel Siegel the past few weeks on his “Pep Me Up Talks”[i] where he shares with an audience around the world about his books, tools and resources like the “Wheel of Awareness Meditation”[ii] that I’ve been using every day since preparing for his interview last year, I thought it was important to cover a deep dive into this topic to bring in the science behind meditation, to increase belief and credibility behind these practices that are now commonly seen in our schools, homes and workplaces. We did cover the topic of meditation for beginners with Mindfulness and Meditation Expert Mick Neustadt in episode #25 with “How Meditation and Mindfulness Changes Your Life”[iii] if you want to review that episode. I have been following Dr. Dan Siegel since 2015, reading his books, and learning from his resources, and on the interview I had with him for episode #28 on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence”[iv] (close to the end of the interview) we talk about what I have been learning from doing the meditation tool that he created. At the time—in October 2019, I had been doing his meditation every morning for 2 months. You can see this part of the interview here at (42:52)[v] where he asks me what I have learned from this practice, and although I downloaded this activity, and explored the Wheel in 2015, I didn’t start doing it daily until I was preparing for his interview, because I knew he would ask me what I had learned from this practice, and when I first tried it, and in the beginning, I honestly found it a bit advanced and confusing and didn’t want to tell him that so I put in some extra effort to understand it. If you have not yet tried “The Wheel of Awareness”[vi] Meditation, please do go to the link and download it, so you can see the image of the wheel, and try it out. This episode might make more sense once you do that and if you feel like I did in the beginning, don’t worry, it’s now been 8 months of practicing this daily and I’m just starting to figure out how to explain it now, so just try it and see what benefits you notice. I wanted to share Dan’s findings of asking thousands of people around the world, over the years first. If you have ever heard him talking about the Wheel of Awareness, you will know that the idea came to him when he bought a custom-made round table for his office so that his patients didn’t have to sit at a regular table. His mediation has evolved over the years as he has shared it with experts, and those who hold scientific evidence of the benefits of incorporating a daily meditation into your routine and life. If you are listening to this podcast, you will want to look at the image of the wheel in the show notes so you can physically see each of the segments I’m going to describe. In his book, Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence, Dr. Siegel explains that there are research-based elements of mind training that should include 3 pillars: focused attention, open awareness and kind intentions towards others.[vii] This practice involves all 3 of these pillars and profound changes happen with the body when you do mind training. He also explains that a 3-pillar meditation

This is episode #59 with Suzanne Gundersen. You can watch the interview with graphics here on YouTube. Thanks for tuning into the podcast today! I’m always excited about the guests we bring on here, as each person has achieved high levels of success in their field and I know they can help others by sharing their knowledge. Our next guest is an expert in a topic that has been on my reading list the past year. When I was speaking with Suzanne Gundersen and she mentioned her life’s work has been based on putting Dr. Stephen Porges’[i], Polyvagal Theory into practice, I stopped what I was doing and asked if she could tell me more about this. For the past year, I’ve been watching trainings from Deb Dana[ii] (whose mentor was Dr. Porges) and just bought her book The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy[iii] and had written down that I wanted to interview an expert on the Polyvagal Theory. Plus, I have heard Dr. Lori Desautels mention Dr. Porges’ work the past year, and so I wasn’t surprised when an expert showed up. If you are new this work, like me, you would know why I would be looking for an expert to explain this theory. Someone who could in simple terms explain what we must all understand about our Central Nervous System when it comes to managing our stress response. These days this understanding is more important than ever before and this is exactly what Suzanne does with two tracks, first is stress education (the science of stress) and secondly, she speaks about nervous system with regulation techniques. Welcome Suzanne, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today to share your knowledge, and programs on such an important topic. Like we spoke about, there are many layers to this theory, and at first glance of all the notes I have taken on it, I still can’t explain it very well. Thanks for helping us break down this theory so we can think about how it can apply for our teachers in the classroom, for us as parents working from home, as well as for those who want to apply this idea in the workplace. Q1: What is “Polyvagal?" and why is this theory so important for us to understand these days? Answer is that it's the science of safety and connection, a map for living our most modern survival strategy, social engagement. Porges theory shows how our evolution has delivered us to human form where our unique communication abilities offers us possibilities for secure and deeply meaningful connections to survive and thrive. Q2: I actually have 2 version of the polyvagal chart (one you sent to me) and what we must know to remap our nervous system as dysregulation occurs. I got the first chart from Dr. Lori Desautels last October when I attended one of her live trainings. Can you give an overview of the Polyvagal chart and what’s happening at each level with the Ventral Vegal (safety), Sympathetic (danger) and Dorsal Vegal (Life Threat) stages so we can recognize these stages in ourselves and others? Crash course on neuroscience three branches most modern VV, then SNS, then PNS, and in order to understand it we have to go way back to when we were fish, strategy to freeze, then amphibians with legs to fight/flight, then humans to communicate. We automatically respond to stress, hierarchically, start with most modern first then use more ancient strategies to keep us alive. When we sense threat, our first reaction is to is to look to another for safe connection to help us know we are safe, we look for facial cues, tone of voice, regulated heart beat, if we don’t receive what we need to know safety and connection, we revert to SNS (mobilization), if doesn’t satisfy, then to PNS freeze. Each stage has a co-relating stress symptoms and body system status (SNS- charged system- increase heart, breath, blood to limbs), SNS- systems release/go limp (drop bowls). Q3: We have been talking on past episodes on the responsibility we have as parents and professionals to keep ourselves regulated (or in the green zone of your chart)

This is episode #58 with James MacDiarmid and Natasha Davis. Thanks for tuning into the podcast today! I’m always excited about the guests we bring on here, as each person has achieved high levels of success in their field and I know they can help others by sharing their knowledge. Our guests today hit a chord with me when I saw their work because their vision, and my vision are 100% aligned. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. A few years ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about a thought I had of teaching social and emotional learning skills via virtual reality. I had some prominent virtual reality companies that I had been following and put up on my wall, with the vision that maybe someday, we would see students learning SEL via these new modes of learning that were highly engaging. I had an image of what the lessons would look like (I could see a forest with students choosing different paths and learning new skills with each pathway that they took). For example, if they made a life decision, it would give them the opportunity to see the effects of this decision and see the reality of “if I do this, this will happen” showing them the consequences of their actions. After my interview with David Adams[i], (episode #54) I received a message on LinkedIn from James MacDiarmid (who had heard David’s podcast) about a potential next guest for the show with a video link for me to learn more about what our next guest had created. When I finally had a chance to watch the video, I have to say, I was blown away. This was the vision I had for SEL brought to life. I watched a walkthrough of a virtual reality lesson from the Wise: Emotional Fitness program and there was even a forest in the video. I wrote back to James with tears in my eyes, that yes, I want to learn more and before I know it, I’m speaking with James from Curiious[ii] - that’s with two ii’s- in Australia via video conference about the Wise program. And here we are today. Let me give you more background on James and Natasha. James has extensive experience in education, learning design and consultancy, with a passion for new technologies and enacting transformational change across whole-school systems. He is a published author, contributing writer for TEDx and was a co-creator for PlayFutures, with the LEGO Foundation[iii] where they focus on bringing learning through play to children around the world. After a few minutes of speaking with James, his passion for building authentic learning opportunities and inspiring future generations came through loud and clear. Natasha[iv], who James explained was the heart and sole of the program, is a clinical psychologist with over 15 years experience designing, researching and implementing emotion regulation and relationship building programs for adolescents and adults. She is the Director of a community-based clinic and has held many leadership positions in private and non-profit sectors. Natasha was the lead subject-matter expert during the development of this truly innovative program. Welcome James and Natasha. Thank you so much for being here, and sharing what you have created, all the way from Australia where it’s already Monday morning over there for you. I wanted to learn more about the Wise Program and have some questions for you. Q1: The first question is for Natasha. First of all, congratulations on what you have created. I think it is purely brilliant. Can you explain where this vision began for you? Q2: What is the methodology behind this program? 'Designed for impact, Wise uses an Inside-Out methodology which equips participants with the practical skills to build strong connections from themselves (Inside) to others and the world around them (Outside). This is enhanced by the blended learning context whereby learning within virtual reality (Inside) is reinforced through the verbal and written self-reflective process, and teaching others the techniques (Outside). By using the principles of behavior

This is episode #57 on “Taking Initiative, Your Brain and Change and Leveraging Mentors” Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Since you are listening to this podcast, I’m sure you are like me, and love to learn, grow, challenge yourself and always are looking for that competitive edge, these days more so than usual, I’m sure. This weekend I had a phone call from Marissa Leinert from Parent Led Academy[i] an organization helping parents to improve their skills at being better parents using social and emotional learning resources. She contacted me via LinkedIn and asked if she could brainstorm some ideas with me on the direction of her business, since she is just starting out this field. I told her to call me and sent her my number because when people take the initiative to reach out, asking for help, I think it’s important to lend a hand, share ideas, contacts and resources if you have them, and collaborate. When we finally connected, we chatted about where she was with her company and I thought back to 20 years ago when I first wrote down the idea that turned into Achieveit360’s programs and services for schools and the workplace, and eventually this podcast. I remembered all of the people who helped me to get to where I am today and thought of a quote by Robin Sharma who said that “Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” If you are like Marissa, and have been thinking about an idea that you want to pursue, maybe a new direction for your career, a new product that you want to create, or something and you just aren’t sure of even where to begin, this episode is for you. This episode will focus on some key starting points so you can follow the steps and get moving with something new. Whatever idea you have, that you might be thinking about, start with writing it out, and then expand on your vision by writing down some ideas and see where you can begin to take action. I was lucky enough to have met some of the top leaders in the country who shared their secrets with me over 20 years ago when I first started and I felt that since I had this opportunity, that I had an obligation to take action with the strategies and tips they shared with me. Now that I am being asked more often, how did you get started with this idea, I thought I would share with you the process that I used and hope you find these ideas helpful. Step 1: “Know Your Why” Which Also Can Be Seen as “Know Your Values” Simon Sinek[ii] built his career from this idea and before starting anything new, I always suggest revisiting Simon’s “Golden Circle”[iii] where he talks about the importance of knowing your “Why, Your Purpose, What You Believe.” If everyone in your organization knows this for themselves, then it will be easy to motivate each person towards the common organizational goal. Before any pivot you make, go back and look at your purpose and make sure the new direction aligns to this your why, purpose or values. The “How” or your process will come easy once you’ve identified your “Why” and the “What” you do, or end result will naturally follow. What you believe can also be seen as your values. Once you know the values that are important to you and your organization, everything else becomes crystal clear. For me, I know that we believe that well-being equals achievement and productivity, (with physical and mental health being my #1 value). Everything we create/market/sell/produce must help improve well-being that will lead to an increase of productivity, achievement and results. What are your highest values? Go back and listen to episode 2 “Self-Awareness: Know Thyself”[iv] where we dive deeper into uncovering your values or what’s important in your personal and professional life to

This is episode #56 with Dr. Lori Desautels, a returning guest who I know everyone loves as much as I do. If you want to hear our first interview with Lori, go back and listen to episode 16[i] with Lori and Michael McKnight on “The Future of Educational Neuroscience in our Schools and Communities.” To watch this interview on YouTube, click here. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace and created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Thanks for tuning into the podcast today! If this is your first time here, I am so grateful that you have taken the time to listen. Today I am thrilled at the opportunity to speak with Dr. Lori Desautels for the second time. I first found Lori from her TEDx Talk from Indianapolisi when I was searching for anything in the field on educational neuroscience back in 2014 and watched her videos to understand how parts of the brain worked, how they are interconnected and impact learning. In Lori’s Ted Talk, she mentioned that “neuroscience and education have come together” and it’s a huge connection because every day experiences change the brain structurally and functionally—and I thought, this is incredible that we can finally explain how we can accelerate learning with this understanding of the brain. Over the years as I’ve continue my research in this field, each person I speak with points me back to Lori Desaultel as a pioneer in this field. Her work is groundbreaking as she ties the research into these practices that we must all learn to stay at the height of our productivity and achievement. Welcome Lori, thank you so much for coming back on as a returning guest. I feel like we are old friends now that I had the chance to see you speak live this past October, and with the fact you are sharing your new book with me in real time as you are writing it. I’ve been reading it as you are sending the chapters and emotions really are contagious. Before we dive into the questions, can you tell me more about why this book is so timely, and maybe a bit about the work you are doing on a day to day basis for the field of education. 1- Your new book “Connections Over Compliance, Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline” begins with exploring this new perception of discipline with educator and parent brain state. I wish I knew this when I stood in front of my first class as a new teacher (in Toronto in the late 1990s) wondering why no one was listening, and watched their behavior escalate to where I started to count down the days till the school year was over. I had no idea where to even begin...and never would have thought of—with myself. Can you explain why we must “look under the hood at our own brain state” when we are teaching or relating to others? Q2-Im so grateful that brain research is helping us to gain a deeper understanding of how to improve our results, achievement and learning and that leaders like you are spear heading the way with this understanding. How can we better understand a regulated vs dysregulated brain state? These are not terms I was taught in my teacher training classes over 20 years ago. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to recognize when they are becoming dysregulated with strategies to get themselves back on course. What work still needs to happen for this awareness? Q3- I learned about Dr. Bruce Perry from you, and a couple of our most recent podcasts focus on his research. You quote him in the beginning of your book when he states that “The key to the succes

This is EPISODE #55 with Torsten Nicolini. You can watch this interview on YouTube here. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace and created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Thanks for tuning into the podcast today! If this is your first time here, I am so grateful that you have taken the time to listen. I can’t wait to introduce you to our guest today, Torsten Nicolini[i] a Strategy Coach whose joining us today all the way from Germany. who has devoted his life to helping small business owners fulfill their greatest potential by teaching them how to become more successful at work and in life. I first met Torsten last summer 2019 when he contacted me to review his book called Work Smart in One Day: How to Be More Effective at Work and Get More Out of Your Life by James Barrett [ii] (Torsten's pen name) and I get asked to review a lot of books (I must be on a list somewhere because I do get at least a request each week) and I usually just delete the requests because I don’t have the time, but this time, the title caught my attention because I had launched this podcast and had been researching workplace productivity extensively for the past year. When I read Torsten’s "Work Smart in One Day" it felt like a compilation of the most effective productivity strategies, all in one place. Some history, in the late 1990s, I worked in the motivational speaking industry, and worked closely with some of the leading motivational speakers in the world. Of course I had access to all of their books and content that I read extensively. As I read through Torsten’s book, the great speakers of the past echoed in my head as I could see who influenced him, and the strategies in his book were spot on. He's organized them in a way that ANYONE can improve their productivity, and I can tell that he must also operate this way, with the detail of his examples. I reviewed his book that day, and I remember exactly where I was at the time, on a family vacation at a local resort, and I refused to leave the room until I finished his book and review, it was that captivating. A bit about Torsten: - he is currently working "fulltime" as an engineer at an automotive supplier since 2015 (Yazaki) - he accomplished an apprenticeship as a toolmaker in 2009, technician in 2013, Bachelor of Engineering in 2018 an currently studying "part-time" Masters of Enginering that I will finish 2021. - he started to learn about personal development in 2017 (now age of 32) and with this "initiator" I launched a side business in marketing and webdesign, started a blog and different projects for small business owners (website re-design, marketing, etc.) - Since 2018 I am really loving to create content, to write articles and now publishing books. As many of us are in the middle of figuring out how to work from home, and might be looking for new ways to work with some key strategies for better productivity, I thought I would ask Torsten to come on the podcast to share more about his website, the books he is reading and strategies for productivity. Q1: What are Highly Efficient People Doing Better than the Average Person (and how do they manage tasks be increased productivity) Q2: What are some New Habits That Go a Long Way (making you think about a morning routine, if you've not got one already) Q3: How do you eliminate What's Pulling You Down (identify what is stealing your energy) Q4: What are some Tips for Maintaining Your Success (so that it continues all ye

This is EPISODE #54 with David Adams. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace and created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Thanks for tuning into the podcast today! If this is your first time here, I am so grateful that you have taken the time to listen. I am so excited about our guest today. His name is David Adams, and I’ve been watching his work, seeing his posts on social media and he’s doing some ground-breaking work. I noticed when he spoke on a panel[i] with former CNN host and educational activist Campbell Brown, Founder, The Seventy Four[ii]; (a phenomenal education focused website that I love learning from) Susan Crown, Founder of the Susan Crown Exchange[iii]; (whose mission is to help people acquire the skills needed to succeed and thrive in a rapidly changing and connected world), Marc Brackett, Director Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence[iv] (who did EPISODE #22 on his book “Permission to Feel”)[v] and Karen Niemi, (Neemi) President & CEO, CASEL[vi]. If we are truly “the sum of the five people we spend the most time with” like Jim Rohn once said, you can only guess how impressive his bio is going to be. David is The Urban Assembly’s Director of Social and Emotional Learning,[vii] where his team builds schools' capacity to ensure that all staff and students they work with receive relevant experiences and purposeful instruction to develop the social emotional competencies that impact students’ success in school, work, and life. (Everything that we speak about on this podcast). He is on the Board of Directors for CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) which is the trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning and I have to mention that he was also a Civil Affairs Officer in the United States Army, so you know that he is on a serious mission to achieve results. David, welcome! Thank you so much for being here today. Q1: I’ve read quite a BIO for you, and it seems that when we are dealing with education that we have a certain expectation of what we are looking for (whether it’s our students learning in the classroom, professional development for teachers, or even choosing the right assessments that measure what we are learning). What does it mean to you for a person to be educated? Q2: With everything that you see going on in the world today, why do you think our communities are struggling so much to solve problems across differences? Q3: In your recent article[viii] A New Vision of Education: Reimagining the Social Contract you talk about the fact that nobody is perfect, but we all have a responsibility to strive to live up to the values we want the next generation to embody. You talked about this phenomenon where education level is negatively correlated to the accuracy of perception of people across the political spectrum. Can you explain what you mean here, and why do you think this is the case? Q4: Tell me a little bit about the neuroscience behind this and how SEL specifically improving awareness can help us to all move forward. Q5: What are your final thoughts for how we can use SEL to solve our nation’s most pressing concerns to restore some hope, especially during these uncertain times? Thank you so much for your time today, and for sharing your insights with us. If anyone wants to reach you to learn more about your programs at the Urban Assembly, what is the best w

Welcome to EPISODE #53 “Self-Regulation and Your Brain: Strategies to Bounce Back Towards Resilience.” During these strange and different times that we are all living these days, we need to have strategies that we are using on a daily basis to navigate through these challenging times, where we are all feeling the pressure, so we can stay focused on regulating ourselves first, and then in turn, help others around us to stay regulated. You might have had strategies in place before the corona virus pandemic changed our world, but might be noticing that as each day passes, and we recognize more and more stressors and unpredictability facing us, that our baseline is changing, and our resilience levels are not the same. Since we all have a brain, we will all be experiencing this in some way and I’m sure that like me, you will find this information helpful to build your own resilience levels back up to where we are used to having them, so we can resume our day to day life with a feeling of accomplishment, instead of letting the pressures get the best of us. But First, what is Self-Regulation and Why is it So Important? I do recommend going back to EPSIODE 14[i] where we covered self-regulation (one the 6 social and emotional learning competencies that we launched this podcast with) as “the foundational learning skill for future success.” This episode covers self-regulation strategies to help our children as well as for ourselves in the workplace. Just a quick review. Self-regulation is “the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, to calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations and (the ability) to handle frustration”[ii] In other words, it’s the ability to bounce back after a setback or disappointment, and the ability to stay in congruence with your inner value system. These days, this skill takes practice from all of us, and is one of those crucial life skills that I thought was important to cover on a deeper level. The ability to control one's behavior, emotions, and thoughts is an integral skill to be taught to young children as well, so they can form and maintain healthy relationships and connections later in life.[iii] As an adult, self-regulation is crucial to develop as we all know that life is full of ups and downs (and it seems like more so these days than usual) but we must be able to make our way through challenging situations before we can reach any level of achievement and success. It’s these challenging times that give us our future strength. We all know people who seem to bounce back after adversity. A calm, regulated leader can make others feel safer but it’s not by chance –it’s because they have learned how to self-regulate and intentionally get themselves back on course. This is a learned skill and if we are modeling and teaching this skill well, it will strengthen our students/children/workplace organizations, communities, culture and world, putting us all on the pathway of resilience where we can handle challenge and adversity. What does self-regulation look like in the brain? This episode will dive deeper into what’s actually happening in our brain when we become dysregulated, so we can learn how to recognize when we are in this place, and get ourselves back to a regulated, calm state. Image: Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Network Covid-19 “Stress, Distress and Trauma Series” VIDEO 3 on Emotion Contagion https://www.neurosequential.com/covid-19-resources If you have listened to the last episode[iv], you will know that I have been learning from Dr. Bruce Perry (who is an American psychiatrist and senior fellow of the Child Trauma Academy in Houston, Texas) and his online resources that he has created to help everyone (parents, educators, counselors) to navigate these challenging times with more understanding and he ties the brain

Now more than ever, we need leaders to emerge and take charge whether it’s you as a parent taking charge of your family’s daily schedule, or you as a worker navigating working from home. The powerful news is that you can use your own personal leadership skills to build resilience in your brain that will propel you and those around you forward. As we navigate the constant change we are all experiencing with the corona virus pandemic, I think it’s crucial that we stop and take some time to think about how we can take our own personal leadership skills to the next level to support those around us- those we work with, our families and our community. Understanding how our brains works during times of stress is more important than ever. I highly recommend listening to Episode 26, Simple Strategies for Overcoming the Pitfalls of the 3 Parts of Your Brain.[i] Once we have an understanding of how our brain works, we can use the extra energy we have to build our own personal resiliency, model it in our homes with our family and then reach out to others who might be under more extreme stress and could use your help and support. Together we are stronger. But first, just a reminder of how our brain deals with stress, understanding the 3 levels of stress response. Remember that some stress is good for us. We did cover this in EPSIODE 29 “How to Rewire Your Brain for Happiness and Well-Being to Optimize Learning.”[ii] Here’s a quick review. The Neuroscience of Anxiety: Calming the Basal Ganglia in Your Brain Within our Limbic System, our emotional brain, is the Basal Ganglia that when revved high, makes us feel anxious. Do you know the difference between anxiety (our body’s natural response to stress that can become a mental disorder when someone regularly feels unusually high levels of anxiety) or stress (which is our body’s response to a challenge or demand)? Some anxiety is normal, and the same goes for stress. We know there are 3 levels of stress response. POSITIVE: Mild stress motivates us to complete our work projects or helps us to find solutions to problems that arise. This type of stress keeps us on our toes in our day to day lives and helps us to build resilience (which is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties). We all want to raise resilient children and model resiliency in our homes, and we are doing this when we can manage this level of stress. We’ve all experienced that brief increase in heart rate when mild elevations in stress hormone levels hit our central nervous system when we need to speak in front of a crowd, play a sport, take a test, or that nervous energy we feel before a job interview. TOLERABLE: Serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships. The key is to have support systems in place for this type of stress. In the times we are facing today, many people are unable to get out and connect face to face with people to help manage this type of stress. I have seen news articles about the devastating impacts this type of stress is having on people. If you know someone who might be in this category, please keep in contact with them. Do your best to call them, and remember that connecting face to face over technology is much better than not at all. TOXIC: Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships. This is the one we are most concerned about as this type of stress causes the most damage. I recently learned that after the Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August, 2005, the offspring of people who went through this disaster showed an increase of substance abuse. (Perry, 2020). We must have strategies in place to help us to reduce anxiety and stress so that they don’t interfere with our day to day life. The more we can keep our stress levels on the tolerable side, the more regulated we become, increasing the resiliency we will have for ourselves, our families, our future children, community and workplaces. A calm, reg

This is episode #51, Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. If you are like me, and love to learn, grow, challenge yourself and always are looking for that competitive edge, listen closely to the tips our next guest has to say, and write down the ones that you want to implement immediately. Watch the interview on YouTube here. Our guest today has been training my husband and I since we were dating back in 2006, and I can honestly say that I would never hire another trainer after working with him. He not only challenges our fitness and nutrition goals, but also wants to know what’s going on with our businesses and family life. Let me tell you more about this incredible entrepreneur. Kelly Schmidt[i], is one of the leading personal training and fitness experts in Arizona, who has over 20 years of personal training and health development experience all over the world with his online and in person training programs. When Kelly graduated from high school, he was 115 pounds (which is hard to imagine knowing him today) but he says he felt that he was the little guy, which fueled his transformation that took him to 3rd place in his first professional body building show just 5 years ago (in 2015). He now coaches busy professionals all over the world in person at his gym in Glendale, AZ and with his online training programs to help people fit health and fitness into their lifestyle for long term, sustainable results.[ii] Welcome Kelly! Kelly, the minute I got the notification that all gyms were closing, I thought of you to help people at all different stages of health, with these strange times where we are quarantined inside our homes. You came to my mind immediately because you’ve been working all year with me on workouts, I can do at home so that I spend less time in the gym. I’ve been seeing posts from people all over the place asking questions about the best way to begin an exercise program. I do want to add the disclaimer, that for anyone at the beginning of their health and fitness journey, please do begin with consulting with your healthcare provider before trying anything new. Kelly, thanks, so much for being here today, and sharing your ideas and tips with us to help those who might be at the start of their fitness journey, to those looking for more challenge with a home workout because with you, that’s exactly what you’ll get. The first question I have for you is on nutrition, which is such a wide topic. We all have different health goals (some people want to lose weight, others gain weight, add more muscle) what would you suggest are some best practices for ALL of us with our nutrition these days? I know that you taught us meal-prepping, and what we should be eating/not eating. Has anything you are doing changed? Is there any staple food that you used to buy that you can’t get these days? How has your nutrition stayed the same and how has it changed? I had a doctor years ago get me off sugar when he was researching the impact of sugar on our health and he wrote this book called Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health.[iii] I had some health issues that went away 100% and ever since then, I’ve been wary of even fruits because he had me stop eating anything with sugar, and specifically high glycemic fruits. Do you stay away from any fruits and what do you put in your shakes? What impact do you see sugar having on you? What are macros? How can people figure out what’s the best

You can listen to this episode on all podcast channels, or watch the interview here on YouTube. Before I introduce our next guest, I wanted to send out a message to everyone listening today, as we are recording this, it’s Monday March 30th, 2020, and there is a lot of turmoil in the world. We just can’t ignore it and jump into our episode without acknowledging where things are with the impact of the Corona virus on our everyday life. Wherever you are, we hope you and your families are safe, have the food and supplies that you need, and are managing through these difficult times. More than ever, we need strategies for our mental health, and well-being. Together we are stronger, and just want to remind you to stay connected as we all figure out our new normal. Now let’s jump into this next episode, which just happens to be EPISODE 50 with Shark Tank Season 1 Success Story (that aired back in 2009)[i] Tiffany Krumins, who was awarded $50,000 to fund her invention Ava the Elephant, a medicine dispenser that was inspired by a sweet-natured boy with Down syndrome who struggled to take his medication. As his nanny, Tiffany tried her best to sooth his anxiety. Using her creativity to invent a plastic medicine dropper, and by imbedding a recordable sound chip from a greeting card, Ava the Elephant was born, and is now one of Shark Tank's most well-known and beloved successes. Tiffany’s story immediately grabbed our hearts because as a former nanny here in Arizona, I related to Tiffany’s entrepreneurial path. We used this product with BOTH our girls in our home, improving our experience of giving the girls their medicine when they were sick, which is never an easy task, so thank you for seeing this invention through. Tiffany's infectious spirit has attracted the attention of media heavy hitters, such as Dr. Oz, Fox Business, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and most recently the Today Show. Tiffany cruised from nanny to inventor to entrepreneur on a wave of creativity, business strategies, and ideas that tugged at her giving heart. A respected inventor, iHeartRadio host,[ii] motivational speaker, successful entrepreneur, and mother of three, Tiffany now leads the Mom Genius[iii] team of passionate entrepreneurs by her daily intention that business success and personal fulfillment are not mutually exclusive. Tiffany, it’s awesome to speak with you after all of these years of following and supporting each other’s work. For those watching, some history for you, Tiffany filmed a video[iv] for our early character ed program with her success story to inspire young entrepreneurs) and she has been supporting and cheering on our programs for the school market, which is exciting now, Tiffany, that you have created your own course for inventors that can be used by anyone, including schools. Welcome Tiffany and thanks so much for doing this on a day that most of us are working AND home schooling our children. Tiffany, it’s been a whirlwind since we first spoke over 10 years ago. Can you give a quick snapshot of what’s happened in your life since your appearance on Shark Tank in 2009? I know a lot has happened to you both personally and professionally Can you tell us about your online course[v] (who it is for, and what it covers)? How has your vision changed since you first launched Ava the Elephant and how have you navigated through this change? How do you stay on track? I know over here, I’ve made many mistakes with product creation and marketing. What were some of your most memorable mistakes? Were there times you felt like giving up and if so, how did you get past that to where you are now? I did see an article that you wrote about “facing your fears of public speaking.” Is this still what you would say sticks out as your biggest learning experience? What have you learned most about yourself[vi] the past 11 years since your appearance on Shark Tank? How have you managed being a mompreneur, raising 3 children and handlin