The New Minds Podcast

In this episode, NuMinds co-founder Justin Vawter turns the tables and interviews BEN about his journey as an educator, entereprenuer, and coach focused on purpose. Enjoy the rich and meantingful banter of these long-time friends and creators and get a meta-view of the New Minds podcast journey. Lots of surprise gems here that even Ben didn't see coming!

Ben's Links: 

Today's guest, Michael Strong, is one of the most experienced designers of innovative school programs in the United States. His projects include a public school program in which minority female students gained four years’ worth of critical thinking gains in four months (on the Watson-Glaser). He later went into Montessori secondary school program design at The Judson Montessori School (San Antonio), The Emerson School, and Hacienda School. He created The Winston Academy, where middle school students passed AP exams, making it the most academically advanced school in the country at the time.

That's just the beginning! In this episode, Michael and Ben discuss his vision, motivation, and origin story as a school creator, as well as the state and future of education.

Michael is the author of The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice and lead author of Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems.

Michael's Links:

In this episode, two experts in pedagogy and mindfulness present a two-fold path to healing and reinvigorating classrooms as we enter a new era of learning. The best of the progressive Finnish approaches meets the cutting edge of mindfulness and social & emotional learning to present a way forward focused on physiological and psychological safety, a pedagogy of collaboration, and a focus on self-determination. The result...classrooms that flourish!

How do we find our way to a healthy, sustainable way of teaching and learning? Today's guest Petteri Elo, a Finnish educator who has become a world-wide speaker and trainer on the progressive Finnish approach to pedagogy, shares his insights experiences, and hopes for how we can create flourishing classrooms in the decades to come.

Petteri's Links: 

Today's guest, Debbie Reber, is an author, podcaster, parenting advocate, and founder of Tilt Parenting, a community with the mission of changing the way difference is perceived and experienced in the world so that neurodiverse kids, and the parents raising them, can thrive in their schools, families, and lives.

In this rich conversation, Debbie and Ben unpack Debbie's term "differently wired" (the title of her book) and explore how it's an empowering metaphor to understand neurodivergence. We hear Debbie's personal story from challenged parent to thriving founder of a community of positive parenting activists. And stay tuned to the end for a bonus side-discussion on productivity hacks for busy creatives!

Debbie's Links:

Nereida Garcia-Prado is a Educator Scholar Advocate. She has worked with and advocated for underserved gifted students for over 20 years. Nereida is currently the K-12 GATE program specialist for the Santa Ana Unified School District and board president of the Orange County Council for the Gifted.

In this podcast we discuss the challenges of identifying giftedness in underserved populations.

Links for Nereida Garcia-Prado:

In this episode, Ben chats with return guest (see episode 11) Marc Smolowitz for timely updates on The G-Word film and movement, including the Gifted, Talented, and Neurodiverse Awareness Week programming. They go deep on the connection between identity and giftedness, and grapple with the term "gifted" itself. Does the term "neurodiverse" solve many of the image problems associated with "gifted"? 

After trading in a super successful career (and 70-hour work week!) for a travel sabbatical in pursuit of a different life with more pleasure, Nate Postlethwait started writing and sharing his experience of addressing childhood trauma and mental health. That grew into Nate Writes, a beautiful community where Nate shares resources for those who struggle with past traumas. Nate hopes to play an effective role in helping survivors without financial means to find trauma-informed therapy at little to no cost. In the meantime, he shares the impacts of inner child work in the hopes of providing support to other survivors. Nate's upcoming course, Healing the Younger You, is now open for enrollees.

In this week's episode, Nate, Ben, and NuMinds leader Janet discuss the power of transformations and the value of finding life purpose. Nate's inspiring story of awakening, hope, and healing produce an insightful and thought-provoking conversation.

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From the age of 7, Dana-Maxx Pomerantz dreamed of being a successful fashion designer. It was a dream...until she achieved it. But when a dream achieved didn't equal happiness or fulfillment, she was forced into an awakening that gave birth to a new purpose and platform to inspire happiness, self-worth, and growth. It's called The Be Happy Project and its half a million followers are a community of light and optimism for those seeking wisdom on finding and experiencing happiness.

Ben and Dana-Maxx discuss the path to finding true happiness and the challenges that hinder fulfillment. Dana-Maxx's truthful, raw, and passionate insights create an authentic and wise conversation.

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This weeks guest, Nicholas Kemp, is a Coach & Founder of Ikigai Tribe. Ikigai refers to the emotional circumstances under which individuals feel that their lives are valuable as they move forward towards their goals. Ikigai Tribe is a small community of ikigai coaches; teachers, psychologists, business coaches, empowerment coaches, university professors and trainers who serve their personal community using the ikigai concept. 

Nicholas and Ben discuss the topic of Ikigai and how it relates to mindset, purpose, and personal growth. Nicholas' unique and authentic insights illustrate the power of ikigai and its ability to activity cultivate life purpose and potential. 

If you've been following the podcast, you know Ben brings up Ikigai a LOT...he's obsessed with the concept in how it relates to purpose. This conversation, and Nicholas' viewpoint, is a wonderful opportunity to bring some nuance to our concept of Ikigai and how it does, and does not, relate to how we think about purpose.

Resources

This weeks guest, Nadja Cereghetti, is the host and creator of the "Unleash Monday" podcast. She is a Multipotentialite with a passion for Science and the Marie Kondo Method. She has recently discovered the topic of unidentified gifted adults and realized that part of her driving purpose was to have deep, insightful conversations about it on a platform where all could benefit. 

Ben and Nadja discuss the discovery of identity and embracing uniqueness as an adult. Nadja's scientific and thoughtful insights come through through full force.

Links and resources 

This week's guest, Rocky Garza, has spent the past 15 years walking alongside thousands of individuals at Sky Ranch Summer Camp as a Director and counselor and supported hundreds while on the pastoral staff at Chase Oaks Church. Now, as a top keynote speaker and culture consultant for the last 6 years, he speaks to tens of thousands of people each year and has taken thousands through the Identity Mapping™ process. As a result, they have all been led to understand the most vivid picture of who they are and how they operate best as individuals.

Ben and Rocky discuss purpose, meaning, and transformations, while unleashing what it means to be a truth-teller, change-maker, and belief-creator. Rocky's uplifting and purposeful insights expose themselves throughout the conversation.

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Today's guest, Vikas Narula, is an entrepreneur, speaker, facilitator, and blogger. In 2010, he founded Neighborhood Forest, a social venture dedicated to giving children their very own tree to plant for free every Earth Day. Since 2010, Neighborhood Forest has mobilized over 400 schools, libraries, and youth groups, reached over 100,000 families, and given over 50,000 children in 35 states the opportunity to plant their very own tree.

Vikus and Ben discuss spirituality, ecology, and entrepreneurship and how these qualities have come together to create the non-profit organization: Neighborhood Forest. 

Links and Resources:

Today's guest, Dr. Matt Zakreski, is a longtime advocate for the underserved needs of Gifted kids, Dr. Matt has shaped his career around his passion for serving this population, starting with being a counselor (and a camper) at the Center for Talented Youth summer program as a teenager. Dr. Matt has his own private practice, The Neurodiversity Collective, LLC, and offers therapy, consultation/coaching, and assessment. Additionally, Dr. Matt's Facebook page has become a fun platform for mental health advocacy and humor.

In this conversation, Dr. Matt and Ben discuss the state of our collective minds at this unique moment in history. Dr. Matt's empathy, humor, and insights come through full force.

Links and Resources:

Neuroscientist Nicole A. Tetreault's new book, Insight Into a Bright Mind is a very special marriage of updates in cutting edge neuroscience with the reality and tenderness of being a neurodiversity human. In this conversation we cover the myth of brain gendering, asynchronous development, neurotypes, and much, much more. We even get a nice dive into one of my favorite topics: meditation and the brain! 

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Lin Lim, Ph.D. found her self at a profound intersection where her passion as a parent met her intellectual and academic curiosity as a researcher. When the second of her two PG (profoundly gifted) children was revealed to be 2E (twice-exceptional) and no school seemed to meet his needs or nurture his whole being, she went on a quest of study and experimentation that led her across the country through multiple academic programs. In this conversation, she retells her odyssey both as a parent and student, and leaves us with the wisdom of the traveler. Enjoy!

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Today's guest, Nikisha Patton Handy, began teaching in 2005 as a special education teacher, earning a Bachelor's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, a Master's degree in Special Education specializing in Behavioral Interventions, and currently working to complete a Doctorate degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. She is the founder of 2 Inspire Peace, a company and a nonprofit which seeks to inspire peace for children and for  those that pour into children by offering stress relief and healing from trauma by way of mindful meditation, offering retreats, professional development opportunities, art inspiration, aromatherapy and de-escalation products, and life changing events for educators, mentors, and caregivers. Her goal is to create a spark and prompt a change in lifestyle to positively influence the community to shift in a way that will impact children.

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Today's guest is former (or as he says, "recovering") tech executive turned social entrepreneur and author, Carlos Carpizo. He has a LOT of faith in what we commonly refer to as Gen Z, and in his newly published book, "At Risk of Greatness," he lays out the tricky road they must navigate in the 21st century, laden with the potential pitfalls of technology, AI, and the rapidly changing future of work. The antidote, says Carlos, may lie in two very human pursuits...art, and the development of a success mindset. The tone of our conversation is one of enormous HOPE that this generation of digital natives can accomplish remarkable breakthroughs and achieve great fulfillment if they can conquer a few key tools. Join us as we discuss these tools and the context in which they are needed.

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Ashanti Branch is one of the healthiest models of conscious masculinity I’ve met, and an inspirational example of how the universe can support you with “hidden hands” (see Joseph Campbell) when you listen to that song in your heart about what your reason for being (IKIGAI) is. Raised by a single mother on welfare in Oakland, California, Ashanti overcome every statistic he shouldn’t have by going on to complete an engineering degree at California Polytechnic – San Luis Obispo. Highly successful and even wealthy in his first career as an engineer, Ashanti found himself tutoring struggling students, very reluctantly giving up his Saturday mornings at first, when a new voice began to whisper from his heart. He tried to avoid it by doubling down on his engineering career, but before long, that voice became so compelling that Ashanti found himself in his second career, as a teacher.

In his first year teaching, he started The Ever Forward Club to provide a support group for African American and Latino males who were underachieving, and who did not have space for healthy expression. From there, Ashanti’s powerful mission to change the way students interact with their education was put in motion. After his work was featured in the documentary "The Mask You Live In," and he participated in fellowships at the Stanford d.school, Campaign for Black Male Achievement, and The Gratitude Network, Ashanti’s mission has become a non-profit, and a movement he has now launched as the #MillionMaskMovement with a goal of connecting people all over the world in a self-reflective experience that helps people visualize and realize, “I am not alone.”

Links and Resources

When global educator Maya Thiagarajan reflected deeply on her experiences teaching in multiple countries and cultures in both East and West, she saw there was a false either/or dichotomy epitomized by the image of the tiger mom. Why can't we take the BEST of both systems of parenting and schooling and create a model that honors the good in both? So she wrote a book about it: Beyond the Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age.  

In this conversation, we dig into the impetus for the book, the research she put into it, and then make the very important extrapolation of her key insights into 2020 in order to ask the key question: How can we raise inclusive, unbiased and humane children?  

Maya perfectly embodies the dual role of expert educator and global parent, and as a bi-cultural person herself, brings a unique perspective to the concepts of privilege, representation, and other key topics we discuss.   

Links and Resources

What is the secret alchemy between awareness, action, and responsibility that leaders can harness for emotional mastery? How did the ancient Phoenicians demonstrate EQ in a way that can inspire the modern entrepreneur? Just a couple of the intriguing questions tackled in this conversation with Carole Issa, a training specialist, high impact leadership coach, and keynote speaker.  

Instead of mimicking unorthodox luminaries and charismatic figures like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, there are intentional ways aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs can develop the emotional mastery required to impact the world. In the episode, Carole announces two specific ways interested leaders and entrepreneurs can get involved now in development opportunities. One is time sensitive!  

A native of Lebanon, Carole now resides in Australia, where she runs Alephpreneur, a training and coaching organization. 

Links and Resources

Way before the calamities of a global pandemic and forced virtual learning, there existed a formidable equity gap in education. The events of 2020 have both further exposed and completely exacerbated that chasm in access and opportunity for underserved student populations. So is the great shakeup in education we are experiencing a tragedy within a tragedy, or could there be a glimmer of an opportunity?

Today's guest, Byron Sanders, is President and CEO of Big Thought, and has some ideas about it. As a committed advocate for education, economic development and the creation of equitable communities, he's brought his diverse skillset in banking, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and education to a fine point in his role at Big Thought, and is thinking a lot about the current conundrum in education. Big Thought connects people and organizations to prepare youth and children in under-resourced communities for tomorrow's creative economy.

We start this conversation with Byron's epiphany early in his career at Pfizer, that he was not on mission, and not aligned with purpose. His work and journey in response to that realization led him to where he is today, at the forefront of the next waves of education, as a warrior in the highest sense for equity, empowerment, and opportunity.

Links and Resources

Something special happens when you uncover and embrace your true passion and purpose, and entrepreneur Andy Najjar has built an organization to help people do just that. Hear about the 10 life awakenings, how the most powerful passions are those which help others, and how we must resist the societal script in order to embrace our authentic selves.  

Links and Resources

Dr. Christine Farag is a psychiatry resident at the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois and represents a very important union between the power of Western medicine and the wisdom, practices, and interventions of Eastern philosophy and traditions... after receiving her medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, she spent a year and a half working in Tibet, where she trained in Chinese medicine and served as the physician for a Tibetan monastery.

While the formal skills she received during that period in Tibet were invaluable, much of the richness she brought back from that time were the insights she gained in her daily life living with and treating the very heartful, spiritual people of Tibet. Now, Dr. Farag has a YouTube channel where she leads meditation and mindfulness practices to support mental health in a way that makes the practice of mindfulness and meditation accessible to all. 

In this conversation, we explore the ways in which both Western and Eastern wisdom frame her view as a doctor in terms of the best way to heal body and mind in times of crisis. We cover topics like mindfulness, resilience, happiness, the power of movement and the outdoors, and the toll of the COVID crisis on our overall mental health. Importantly, Dr. Christine shows us how we can benefit from both cutting edge medical science, and also apply the ancient inner sciences of meditation and mindfulness to be more complete, holistically healthy humans.

Links and Resources

Award-winning filmmaker Marc Smolowitz and his team are at work on a ground-breaking new documentary that shakes up all our old stereotypes and paradigms about who gets to be gifted and how giftedness manifests in a diverse range of settings and populations. In this beautifully candid conversation, we discuss Marc's impetus for making this the subject of a feature length film project, and hear Marc's "behind the scenes" insights about several aspects of the film. From a super-achieving community at the US-Mexico border, to gifted Shakespeareans in prison, to the unique plights of gifted LGBTQ individuals, this interview, as a reflection of the film, is full of heart-centered insights that come from taking a fresh, humanistic look at what it means to be "gifted."   

Marc's passion as an advocate is clear throughout the interview, and his belief and faith in the role that education and educators can play, based on his wide ranging interviews over several years, is a ray of hope in a moment when most educational institutions seem to have their back against the ropes. Consider this almost a director's "sneak peak" to a film that will change the landscape of education and certainly be a huge moment in the Edvolution we advocate for at NuMinds.   

Please enjoy!  

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Tina Harlow, therapist, speaker, counselor, consultant, blogger, and founder of Guiding Bright, had a moment last April early in the pandemic. It was a moment that punctuated the growing sense of collective fear and panic and worry with something different. It stood out, because what dawned on Tina in that moment was a sense of great hope and optimism, somehow defying the odds of the overall global narrative, but also fueled by the bright spots in that narrative.

The seeds were planted for what would be become The World Hope Project, a worldwide effort, organized by Tina and enlisting the participation of kids in 25 countries (and growing!), that seeks to spark and nurture hope. In this conversation, we explore the backdrop of despair that led up to the moment of conception, and then follow the journey to where the project is today. 

Although early in its evolution, the World Hope Project engenders exactly what it intends to...HOPE. An optimism that as a creative and adaptive species, we humans can take the lessons of these dark times and use them as the basis for amazing updates to how we relate to the planet and to each other.

Links and Resources

In this episode of the podcast, I was honored to hold space and learn from our Washington DC NuMinds Area Director, Barbara Owens. She draws on her experience as a teacher, advocate, and community leader to explain how inherent inequities in the educational landscape have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis, and shares heartfelt insights and thoughts about what is most needed in the ongoing journey toward equity for African American students.  

I'll admit, I was nervous about this conversation. Not about Barbara...she's been a beautiful friend for years. But anxious about how to hold space in the most authentic way, that allowed for a potentially uncomfortable topic to be the heart of a meaningful and healing conversation. Thanks to Barbara's graciousness and wisdom, I believe it is a healing and enlightening conversation, and the key insights are invaluable.  Keep having difficult and compassionate conversations, my friends. It's how we'll seize this opportunity to heal and evolve on together.  

With love and humility,  

Ben 

Today's guest, Haley Taylor Schlitz, might well be considered a prodigy. At age 13 she graduated from high school and fast-tracked her way through an undergraduate degree in Education. Now, at a mere age 18, she's a second year law student, author, public speaker, and growing thought leader on issues of equity in education.

Oh, and by the way, she did NOT qualify for the gifted program in her school as a child. So what gives? Did being a person of color effect her access to opportunity in the public education system? Questioning and working to transform the education landscape for young students of color has now become a driving motivation for Haley, and is the prime impetus for her choosing the path of law.

All this is impressive indeed. But it isn't these achievements, or her appearance on Good Morning America, or getting to meet and introduce VP-elect Harris, or being named Miss Keller Outstanding Teen, or even being featured by Beyoncé as one of her "This Is Black History 2020" honorees that is most impressive.

No, what most impresses me about Haley is her humility, her work ethic, her commitment to excellence and equity, and her ultimate wish to pay it forward. You won't find a more hopeful ray of positivity for the next wave of leaders than Haley.

In this conversation we discuss her journey, but also explore her definition of success, how she faces adversity, and we even get insight on a few of her productivity hacks. Parents...I also ask her a million dollar question: If she were hired to coach the parent of a young student, what's the first piece of advice she would give? Tune it to get that insight!

In the end, it gives me an enormous boost of optimism to meet young people like Haley. The future of our planet is in the hands those who wield their gifts with vision, and walk through the world with a heart of hope. So listen in and see how your own spirits might brighten.

Links and Resources

Mindset, and the dichotomy of a "fixed" vs. "growth" mindset, has come up often in the podcast and in nearly every workshop, program, or training NuMinds develops. That's because it's so foundational to nurturing a full human being ready to survive and thrive in a 21st century landscape that demands adaptability, humility, and a willingness to embrace challenge and feedback.

Today's guest is Shannon Anderson, award-winning author and teacher who has been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and in USA Today. She's taken her wisdom from teaching growth mindset very directly and explicitly with students and leveraged it into a unique portfolio of children's books focused on the topic. I've been talking mindset with smart people for years, but I've never come across someone with Shannon's breadth of both passion and practical understanding of this lynchpin of learning and development.

Educators, parents, and those interested in self-development will find inspiration and tools. Shannon's enthusiasm is contagious, and her analogies and props are the tell-tale sign of a master teacher!

Creatives and aspiring authors...stay tuned until the end, when I pick her brain about her creative process as an author. ;) 

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Networking strategy coach and event host Stephanie Thoma is on a mission to help introverts unlock their full inner confidence so they can inhabit they world in full expression and at the top of their potential. She is author of the book "Confident Introvert: A practical guide to connecting with others at networking events and beyond."  

In this conversation, we define and clarify what an introvert REALLY is and discuss Stephanie's own journey as an introvert and how she discovered her purpose of helping others overcome the barriers of low confidence. Her book is FULL of tools, and her holistic approach fascinates me...visualization techniques, mindset development, step-by-step methods to apply at actual networking events. Stephanie brings a very thorough, human, and empathetic approach.  

Sarah Sampson was the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Facilitator for Keller ISD in Texas, where she led the implementation of SEL and mindfulness-based activities for over 34,000 students district-wide. Among her many new projects is work with Present Moment Labs, who have developed an SEL learning system for teachers, parents, and schools.   

In this rich and heartfelt conversation, we talk about the essence and urgency of SEL and its foundation of mindfulness, including the 5 domains of SEL and the impact it has on the brain and nervous system. Sarah even guides us through 3 essential SEL practices using the cards developed by Present Moment Labs...an opening, a transition, and an optimistic closure.  

In addition to exploring SEL basics, our conversation takes some broader philosophical turns you'll find intriguing, including seeing SEL as a buffer to the dangers of social media and a nurturing embrace for the i-generation. Sarah is such a generous and inviting guest you'll be left wanting more!

Links and Resources

When definitions of giftedness seemed too narrow and insufficient to describe the rich array of experiences, abilities, and sensitivities of her students and clients, educator and therapist Paula Prober created her own definition based on a beautiful extended metaphor: rain forests.   

This inclusive, poetic, subjective way of defining the gifted experience is still going strong, two books and many blog posts later. In this conversation we chat about the origins of the metaphor, the observations and experiences that inspired it, and do even more exploration via metaphor!  

Here are some questions you can begin to ask yourself to see if YOU are a rain forest mind:  

• Like the rain forest, are you intense, multilayered, colorful, creative, overwhelming, highly sensitive, complex, idealistic and influential? 
• Do people tell you to lighten up when you’re just trying to enlighten them? 
• Do you wonder how you can feel like not enough and too much at the same time?