Florian Schneider - Mixed Martial Arts Expert and World-class Adventurer Welcome to the latest episode of “What Really Matters Interviews”. I have an exciting guest for you, Florian Schneider, a martial arts expert and world class adventurer. Florian spent years mastering mixed martial arts. But he also has a spirit for adventure like few other people i’ve met. In this episode, he shares moments - including some harrowing ones - from a few of his incredible journeys. But he also discu...
How can you create somatic experiences in nature to help heal deep trauma? There’s been a revolution of sorts happening in men’s work, and “men’s groups” are becoming more popular. These are groups where men can communicate more deeply – including about their feelings – with other men. One of the goals of these groups is to help men discover past wounds and heal them. And a powerful tool to help them do that is somatic work. It goes beyond “talk therapy”, and works at the sub and unconscio...
What would it take to leave a cush tech job to embark on a crazy career path in adventure travel writing - a profession renowned for low wages? Even more, what would it take to thrive in that new profession and become an international award-winning adventure and travel writer? And how would you deal with the cataclysmic changes in the travel industry brought on because of Covid? In this wide-ranging interview, Jayme Moye discusses that - and a whole lot more. She’ll a...
Betsy Chasse is most known as the author & producer of "What the Bleep Do We Know?!" But a better description is the way she describes herself: "What I really am is a person—a woman, a mom, a human being trying to make sense of life. Exploring all the possibilities, evolving, changing, listening and being in this amazing reality we have all created together." Here's her official info: "Award-winning Filmmaker, Best Selling Author, Change-Maker, Mom. Best known as the Co-Writer, Director a...
Ned Tibbits has a passion for the lifestyle that's lasted over a half century. He is the founder and head of Mountain Education, an organization dedicated to helping others learn how to survive & thrive in the outdoors. But his journey began when he was a kid in scouting, and deepened in his teens. As soon as he graduated from high school, he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 1974 - one of only a dozen people to do so. That journey was more than just a really long hike. For h...
Imagine being a blond woman traveling through remote China in the late 90s. Where few Westerners had ever gone. On a rickety motorcycle. Alone. That's just one of Carl King's many adventures. She's also ridden motorcycles all over the world. And a bicycle through West Africa. Again ... alone. And then there's her creative and professional side - author, speaker, coach, teacher industry expert and online instructor. In this far-ranging interview, I interview Carla King ...
In this podcast I interview Darcy Gaecther. She is the first woman to kayak down the entier length of the Amazon River. Is she interesting? Well, maybe the intro to her new book "Amazon Woman' will get you juiced up about it. "This 148-day journey began on Darcy Decker's 35th birthday. The emotional waters that would fester and erupt on the ensuing journey were often more challenging to navigate than the mighty river itself. With blistering lips and irradiated fingernails ...
Theresa Byrne was at the top of her game as the most decorated female martial arts practitioner in her style. She had a 4th-degree black belt and her own dojo teaching others the art of self-defense. She was focused, determined and unstoppable – a force to be reckoned with. And then … the accident happened. A car hit her from the rear, forced off the road and into a wall. In the wreck she suffered a traumatic brain injury and had a near-death experience. The life Theresa kne...
Visualize being close to 14,000 feet on a challenging peak in Colorado. You’re looking at a knife ridge on Capitol Peak that separates you from the summit. It falls off so deeply on both sides that if you fall … you die. And it’s not just you climbing it … your dog is also attempting the summit. There are 58 peaks over 14,000 feet – or “14’ers” as they’re often called – in Colorado. For the past eight years Ellie and her dog Loki picked them off one by one. The first peaks she climbed were ...
From a kid trying to escape Oklahoma to spending winters alone in Alaska to being a ranger in Idaho to cancer survivor to becoming a voice for the wilderness … Ed Cannady has led a rich and full life. In this interview he shares what he’s learned from a lifetime of interest in wild places.
In this far-ranging discussion, General Robert Hipwell shares his story as a career soldier and officer. It starts with his years in Vietnam on covert missions behind enemy lines to his commanding the Army base where - and when - Saddam Hussein was captured. He shares his lessons about a harrowing close call with the enemy in Vietnam, the key things it takes (besides luck) to survive the missions he did in Nam, to what it was like to work his way up to being a top commander in the Iraq...
Barry Friedman juggles balls. Really, really well. In fact back in the 80s he was a world-champion juggler. He appeared on the Johnny Carson Show, and toured with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. He even leveraged that into doing corporate gigs. But who knew it would lead to doing multiple TED talks and a high-end coaching career?
She grew up in Atlanta, Beijing and Hong Kong. She's a children's book illustrator. She's Asian-American. She (currently) has blue hair. And she's riding all over North America ... on a Vespa scooter. What would that be like?! What drew me to interviewing Stephanie is her unusual background. Because of that - and because of what she's doing - she can offer an unusual perspective on America. She's a modern-day explorer that is both understated and ultr...
Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed at work, wondering why you’re putting in so many hours - and for what? Maybe you’ve reached a nice level of success, but you still feel empty. Or you’re having a midlife crisis of sorts and thinking “there’s gotta be more to life than this.” And then maybe you get the thought “Wouldn’t it be awesome to just chuck it all - quit the job, sell the house and all the other “stuff” - and go see the world That’s exactly what today’s guests...
In this interview, Tiffany Coates talks about her life as an international motorcycle adventure rider and tour guide. She also gives three tips for anybody considering heading off into a life of adventure.
What Makes Them Tick: Learn Life Lessons from Extraordinary People --- i interview international adventurer, writer & photographer about a lifetime of exploring the world and sharing her creativity through writing and photography. Lone (pronounced "Loo-nuh") splits her time between San Francisco and Copenhangen. She also spent a lot of time in Nepal. As an adventurer, she has been a mountaineer and spiritual tour guide leader in Nepal Tibet. Her first book is called "See...
Lori McNee is an artist, author, teacher and social media rock star. She's also one of those rare people who seamlessly dances between creativity and business. All these areas are explored in this interview. She also gives her top tips on learning how to do this yourself.
I do in-depth interviews with extraordinary people who are finding and living their purpose at the highest levels. They'll tell you in their own words how they found their calling, and then what they did to LIVE it. They'll tell you about the challenges they faced along the way, and how they overcame them. Aimée Christensen is founder and CEO of Christensen Global Strategies collaborating with industries, governments, organizations and individuals worldwide to develop...