Happy Superhero Friday! This week we welcome back the Mad Scientist and guarantee we'll either better your life or waste your time, but we sincerely hope to do both. We've got more on the Nintendo Switch, we'll dive into some music and gadgets of the week, and we'll also talk about variety.

In This Episode

• The Mad Scientist returrrrnsss!
• More about Nintendo Switch
• ...of the Weeks!
• Variety is the spice of life
• Bad Lip Reading: The Force Awakens

More of the Same

You've heard the adage, "variety is the spice of life"? Because Brian brings it up and expresses his opinion on the matter, I thought it applicable to dive a little bit into the adage. Idioms are funny beasts; they become so much a part of our language, unfamiliar to foreigners or even untraceable in certain cases, that we don't often know where they come from or why they became so popular. This idiom comes from a poem called The Task by William Cowper. (If you're super interested, you can read the whole thing here.) The idealism extends back much further, but the phrase it this form is mostly attributed to William Cowper.

Variety’s the very spice of life,
That gives it all its flavour.

There is another interesting line shortly after this one, which says: "We have run through every change that fancy...and, studious of mutation still, discard a real elegance, a little used, for monstrous novelty and strange disguise." Weeding through the 19th Century verbiage, I interpret this quite simply; in our pursuit of spice, we discard things that are truly pleasing for something that is not so familiar.

I'm terrible at trying new things. I love the things that are familiar and that I can rely on; after some reflection, I believe this is attributed to being disappointed by new things. I go back to what I know because even if it isn't a "real elegance", it is trusted and I know what I'm getting. With new things, unfamiliar things, I don't know what I'm getting. For me, variety is less important than trusting what I'm getting.

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a healthy variety! Without people who take risks on new things, we would not have much of an economy, much less a society which innovates itself into the future. What I love about Cowper's poem, however, is that he shows us the good and bad of variety all in a couple lines. Variety's the very spice of life, but don't shed something that is familiar just because it isn't a novelty anymore.

There's a lesson for me in this, too. Reading between the lines rather than explicitly stated in Cowper's poem, I believe he's trying to draw attention to a balance and discernment between what is new and what is familiar. Hold onto what is elegant, but the spice of life can be found in variety.

Links

• Bad Lip Reading: Star Wars The Force Awakens
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (Trailer)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Official Teaser)

Join us in welcoming Mishael Morgan to The Real Brian Show! If she looks familiar, you need go no further than the Total Recall reboot or shows like Supernatural, Beauty and Beast, and Covert Affairs. Currently, Mishael stars as Hilary (Curtis) Hamilton on The Young and Restless. In this fantastic interview, we hear the incredible story of Mishael's recovery after breaking a neck bone and how her journey as an actor and artist has changed her life in so many ways.

In This Episode

• Meet Mishael!
• Early goals, changing plans
• Serious injury and overcoming it
• Life changes as an artist
• Expectations going in different from the results of acting
• Mishael drops some great advice!

Mishael Morgan

Two weeks ago we heard from Mishael's associate, Andrea Drepaul, who were both introduced to Brian through author Lee Stephen. Andrea and Mishael joined forces to work on their project, The Awakening. Early in life, acting wasn't even on her radar, but in this interview you'll get to hear how a broken back and an influential high school drama teacher transformed her ambitions to become a lawyer into something else. It's a great story about having goals or desires that simmer on the back burner and eventually become necessary to confront and take seriously.

Positive Thinking

We talk a lot about mindset on this show. Mindset and attitude. A couple weeks ago I wrote a bit about how the inner life influences the outer life; what we put into our minds and bodies will eventually reveal itself on the outside, and also how we allow ourselves to think about the world and ourselves affects the way we behave. One aspect of this we often overlook, myself included, is the fact that positive thinking doesn't always mean making less out of a troubling situation.

External influences, i.e. other people speaking into our lives, affect our inner mindset whether we want to admit it or not. Did you know that a significant physiological aspect to balance is a system in our inner ear? The eyes, the ears, and our sense of space play important factors into allowing us maintain our balance. Sensory information we collect naturally through the incredible automated processes in our body is sent to the brain so that it can respond to other actions propagated by the muscles and nervous system. I find this detail fascinating because it makes a figurative concept nearly literal, in that what we hear can affect our fundamental processes. It's not just a metaphor, it's really happening.

If what we hear is affecting our balance, both literally or figuratively, we take precautions to protect ourselves. It isn't good enough to suppress what we're hearing or run away from what is happening, we've got to take even the most troubling circumstances and understand what value we can derive from what can be considered constructive and discard what was destructive. It's not easy, in fact it may be one of the most difficult inner struggles we could possibly undertake, but it is a cognitive practice that strengthens us the more we use it.

Links

• Twitter: @mishaelmorgan1
• Instagram: @mishaelmorgan
• Mishael on IMDb

LIVE Until You Die! Don't live with one foot in the grave. Embrace life and get rid of that negative attitude holding you back from living the life you want.

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.
William Wallace

LIVE Until You Die

Have you heard that quote before? I've played it before, considered it before, but I don't know if I've ever heard it presented in a way emphasizing live until you die. Don't live with one foot in the grave.

I've been hearing it so much lately: "I'm getting old." The attitude and lifestyle that traps us in the negative, sad, fearful and boring life stemming from this perspective, of getting older and thus less capable or less able, is robbing us of truly living. Life is short, dang it!

I talk a lot of mindset on this show because it has significantly changed my life and I am passionate about it. We all have a backlog of experiences that fall into the negative, sucky, bad, or heinously traumatic categories. No one has it easy, but with that in mind we are ultimately confronted with two types of people:

A) The person who focuses on fear, negativity, failure, and everything that's wrong.
B) The person who focuses on joy, positivity, peace, success and things that go right.

Which person really LIVES? Person A or Person B? And which of these people are you?

I'm here to encourage you to live, friend. Live fully! Enjoy each blessed day because it is a gift. While you are still here, while you are breathing and moving about, your purpose on this Earth is not yet fulfilled and only YOU have the ability to fulfill it.

So live! Each moment.

Happy Superhero Friday! We're excited to welcome back CJ Thunder to this anything-goes conversation. If you missed Carl's first appearance on The Real Brian Show, you can listen here! Brian and Carl have a lot to talk about this week, from Zelda and the Nintendo Switch to bullying and suicide prevention, and of course their preferences of the week - everything from food to YouTube videos!

In This Episode

• Zelda - Nintendo Switch
• 13 Reasons Why
• Bullying & Suicide Prevention
• M83, Zayde Wolf, Lecrae
• Caralluma Fimbriata
• You've been thunderstruck

Thunderstruck

Thunder! Thunder! I was caught in the middle of a railroad track. I looked round and I knew there was no turning back.

It's hard to believe this song isn't yet 30 years old, and also that it's as young as it is! The opening guitar riff has got to be one of the most recognizable in classic rock (I mean, after the likes of Smoke on the Water, Whole Lotta Love, Satisfaction, and even AC/DC's own Back in Black). I remember reading an interview with Angus Young a long time ago and he compared the intensity of the opening riff of Thunderstruck to power and, thus, the title of the band (AC/DC = power). It packs a lot of power.

Personally, I could listen to the riff in Sweet Child O' Mine over and over, and generally prefer the incredible voice of Axl Rose over most other rockers. But to anyone who's ever learned guitar, if one of the first riffs you learned wasn't Smoke on the Water, I'd be surprised! Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water and ZZ Top's Bad to the Bone, those were the first riffs I learned on the guitar.

We have a wide array of musical taste here at the Real Brian Show, though! We love the classic rock, but we also love Lecrae. Do you enjoy rap? Lecrae's River of Jordan, the one Brian mentions on the podcast, is a great way to determine whether or not you do!

Only in the last year did I start getting into the band M83. I first heard the song Wait and just had to check out more of their songs. The other artist Brian mentions is Zayde Wolf, so you'll want to check him out too!

Brian doesn't like country music, but I'm rather partial to it. I love country music because it just sounds like the artist had such a fun time composing the song, everything from the rhythm to the lyrics. Like Trace Adkins' I Left Something Turned On At Home or Travis Tritt's Here's a Quarter [Call Someone Who Cares]. I'll listen to pop country and I'll listen to classic country, I don't really care. Lately, I've been digging Eric Church's Like a Wrecking Ball and Jackie Lee's Getting Over You.

Links

• Rouge One: Honest Trailer (yes, you read that right)
• 13 Reasons Why (trailer)

Meet Mabel! Author, speaker, self-proclaimed inspirational junkie. On the road of self-development, there is one vital truth: if your attitude is right, you will succeed. Mabel has an incredible story about her journey through self-development and the transformation it made in her life.

In This Episode

• Welcome Mabel!
• Tell us your story...
• Attitude of missing something in life and "grass is greener" mentality
• Filled with negativity, guilt, shame
• Epiphany!
• Holistic approach to healing

Self-Development

If I want to get better, I have to get real.

The hardest part about getting better is simply asking for help. In order to avoid asking, we often do things that, intentionally or unintentionally, put us in the viewing frame of someone who knows how to help us. Meanwhile, we're overwhelmed with the feeling that people around us are more interested in fixing a problem versus healing a person. When help comes in a wrong form, we react poorly, reject it, and it validates our anger.

No one can take the first step toward self-development, toward healing, but the person who needs it. Others can guide us, make suggestions, and offer advice until the cows come home, but ultimately it is a choice of the person who needs healing to take that first step toward accepting help.

Self-development is one of the most grueling, and rewarding, processes a human being can experience... and no one experiences the same process as someone else. Part of the process, for me, over the last couple years is to limit instantaneous reactions to comments people make and first try to figure out what they meant before reacting emotionally. Usually I can do this through asking them directly, but if that isn't possible, then sometimes it will take the form of sitting quietly and reflecting on that person as a whole, trying to understand the context and motivation behind the comment.

The process can be as vague or as granular as you want it to be, but they key to self-development is identifying what it is in our life that is causing us to live "broken". In Mabel's case, her self-worth was derived from her physical appearance, and her attitude and mentality was wrapped up in that. Removing our talons from what we perceive our self worth to be and redirecting it to where our worth actually comes from requires an attitude shift. And when your attitude is right, anything is possible!

Links

Get to know Mabel better by visiting her website!

Photo credit: Denys Nevozhai

Happy Monday! In today's Monday Experience, Brian talks simply about simplifying and how he didn't even realize the effect it was having on his life. His frame of reference for simplifying was being on time; after receiving a ton of negative feedback and criticism for always being a few minutes late to things, he found that after in his somewhat-separate efforts toward simplifying his life... being on time to things was a natural side effect. Pretty cool!

Simplify

Simplifying doesn't seem simple when life has so many layers. Have you ever found yourself wondering, "Why is this so hard? It shouldn't be this hard!" I've been asking myself this a lot lately, actually. I'm trying to find a place to live, so in one hand I have an ideal cap to my budget and in the other hand I have a list of things I want. Why is it so hard to find something? This week I went from considering a place that had a beautiful wall of windows that let in plenty of sunlight, but was a little higher in price than I wanted and a little too far west, to considering a place that was in the perfect location, but didn't quite let in enough sunlight.

Part of the stress that goes into finding the perfect place, I am quite certain, is just the pressure I'm putting on myself as a result of all the moving pieces in my life. At an initial glance, I don't feel like my life is too complicated. Work, family, hobbies. But the more I break it all down, I do realize how many moving parts there are. For me, they are moving parts that I enjoy working around. Making time for my large family, helping out friends, like Brian, with some side tasks. And then the things that come with the circumstances I'm in: looking for a house.

My scenario is obviously very different from Brian's, so our methods or needs for simplifying will also be different. But he draws out such an important aspect to the effect of simplification; there are always two sides to respect - how we understand our own mindset to be and how our attitude is perceived and interpreted by a second party. He was getting a lot of flack for how being late to things was perceived by others, even when it is a top priority in his life to respect others. And perhaps those who gave him this feedback were being unfair, but we can't control how other people think, right? No matter what we do, we will likely piss someone off! But as Brian started to simplify, he found that he could be on time to appointments and meetings because there weren't so many moving pieces in his life to try and manage.

So what could simplifying do for me? What could it do for you? Maybe when we'd expect it to do is different from what it'd actually do! I think, personally, I would expect simplifying life to mean that I'd just be doing less, but I think the results would yield benefits like better sleep and better overall patterns that go into healthy living. Simplifying doesn't necessarily mean doing less... it just might mean doing more in a better way.

Happy Superhero Friday! Brian's guest today may sound familiar to you... and if so, then you are definitely one of us; if not, please, please go check out his podcasts! You can hear him on The Packers Fan Podcast and The Blacklist Exposed, as well as others (which we will definitely be talking about in the episode). We first connected with Troy while podcasting for TV Talk, and continue to enjoy his friendship through a handful of networks.

In This Episode

• Troy Heinritz... TV Talk, Golden Spiral Media
• Stuff Of The Week!
• 13 Reasons Why... & Big Little Lies
• Police Brutality

Scare the Crap Out of...

It's interesting how context and environment can change the way someone sounds, isn't it? Troy's story of getting the crap scared out of him when Brian's voice comes on in the car is a perfect example of this. A voice can sound so different when it's whispering versus yelling, different in a small room with no one in it versus a large open room with no one in it.

It also changes because of what we're expecting, though. Like when you get in your car expecting the radio to come on but instead your ears are met with Panic! At the Disco blaring from the CD player (this may have happened to me this week). Expecting one thing and getting another can make an otherwise ordinary circumstance set your nerves on edge!

We never intentionally try to scare you on this show, but we take what we can get when we can get it!

Be Excellent to Each Other

Science Fiction is awesome for many reasons. All stories make caricatures reality in some way, either to draw parallels or to exaggerate points in order to draw out differences. But science fiction, for me, is different and more poignant because it is capable of showing simple truths on epic scales.

Unfortunately, this is the only clip of the scene from 12 Monkeys I could find: Jennifer's speech to the daughters. If you've never seen the show, I'll briefly recap: Jennifer is nuts. But she's not nuts for no reason. Time is like gogurt in her brain and she sees and supposes things well outside the normal, linear timescale that most humans do. Regardless of her knowledge of the past and present, she's come to care about, in her own Jennifer way, that Cole and Cassie succeed (the time travelers trying to save the world).

In the darkest and grittiest of times, she demonstrates to her followers what she calls the most important rule of all: "Be excellent to each other." I love this on so many levels, and not just for what it represents at this stage in the show... but on the granular, human level. Pluck her out of context and you see this crazy, ragged woman trying to rally a bunch of women you know don't respect her; backdrop of the scene looks grim and dark. But it's not actually her speech that inspires her followers, it's her actions.

Every day we have a million choices to make. What to eat, wear, how to respond to emails, which projects to pick up and which to set aside, what route to take home from work. But hidden within each choice is another decision, and that's how we choose to behave while we're making those choices. Do we make decisions and say things at the expense of others, or make them in order to make our immediate surroundings a better place? Maybe one day it seems more appropriate to skip lunch so you can talk with a colleague who seems to be struggling, or sacrifice work on your own project in order to help someone else who is falling behind.

Be excellent to each other. Look for the hidden decisions in the obvious decisions.

Links

• Zelda: The most epic way to kill a guardian
• Police Brutality in Colorado
• Join the Real Brian Show facebook group!

In a world swimming with selfish ambitions and entitled attitudes, we are incredibly excited to bring you a breath of fresh air in the form of Andrea Drepaul. You may have seen Andrea on shows like Covert Affairs, Beauty and the Beast, or The Expanse, but how much do you really know about the Canadian-born actress? As both a woman, and a woman of diverse ethnicity (she's of Portuguese and Guyanese descent), she is becoming a huge voice and advocate of diversifying Hollywood while helping to change the perception of actors by modeling leadership in her field.

In This Episode

• Welcome, Andrea!
• Andrea's driving purpose, her story to tell
• Understanding the human psyche and representing that through acting
• Gratitude and starting off every day with 10 things she's thankful for
• Returning compliments with "Thank you!"

Gratitude

Imagine how your perception of a day could change by waking up and, before anything else, bringing 10 things to mind you are thankful for. Big things, small things, the things that often go overlooked.

Did you know that being grateful can actually alter your brain chemistry? Exerting gratitude, if you want to put it in such terms, activates regions of the brain associated with dopamine. Dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers, regulating emotional responses. When dopamine is produced and is dispersed throughout the brain, it literally acts as a positive reinforcement and is vital to driving us to action.

Like most things in life, gratitude must become a habit in order for it to be effective. It doesn't do our bodies any good to work out intensely once every month or two; muscles need a constant cycle of conditioning and rest in order to tone and grow. The brain is not exactly a muscle, but it behaves like one - especially when we treat it like one. Physical activity produces more brain cells, gratitude spawns physical activity... there is a distinct cycle, a distinct interdependence.

We hope the interview in this episode with Andrea encourages you and inspires you to become a leader in your own field. In the words of William Shakespeare: "Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" (from Twelfth Night). Even when it seems like someone else outranks you or outshines you in some way, greatness is representative of the life we want... not of the life we have.

Links

• @andreadrepaul
• Facebook Fan Page
• IMDb Page

Happy Monday! Can I ask you something? Are you content in your life? Do you feel satisfied, joyful, happy? Do you have purpose, and is that purpose increasing the value of the lives around you? I know why I get out of bed every day, and I know that today will be the best day ever. What about you? Can you answer my questions with confidence and share in my optimism about today?

Let me break it down for you. When The Real Brian Show started, my slogan was Embrace Your Inner Nerd and Unleash Your Superhero. The concept wasn't as well received as a I'd hope and people were confused as to what it meant, so I dropped those slogans. In thinking about this, recently, it occurred to me that this might've been a bad move. These concepts are what The Real Brian Show is founded on.

I love chatting about embracing your inner nerd because it is unique for every person. You and I can nerd out about the same things and different things. It can be anything that we passionately love. But it's a new enough concept that I realize I need to explain it more often so that others can catch on. Conversations on Wednesdays often emphasize this topic and I get to ask my guests what they nerd out about.

But I haven't done much with unleashing your superhero. What's that all about, anyway? I want to step further into this topic because, like embracing your inner nerd, it is such a vital component to individualism! Bryan and I talked about this concept on Friday without really giving it a name, but it heavily contradicts this recent kick right now people are on with declaring that "we are all the same". I don't agree with this, at all. We are not the same... that would suck! Each of us is wonderfully unique. Each of us has a set of talents and gifts that is unique to us because each of us has a different set of experiences.

Our superpowers are found in our uniqueness. We learn about what our giftings and talents are so that we can understand them and become masters of them. But, most importantly, after we understand and master them, we need to unleash them! Using our uniqueness in this way makes us superheroes. Superheroes, the classic ones we know and love, aren't superheroes simply because they can do extraordinary things. The things they do are extraordinary because they know how to utilize their incredible giftings.

My encouragement to you today is a reminder that you do have talents, gifts and strengths that make you a "superhero". You can use them to better the lives around you and attract the things that will bring you happiness, in whatever form that means for you. I'm not promising any results, here, but I have a good idea of what people want because we are all so quick to talk about it. Our attitude is a reflection of the inner mindset, remember? It affects who and what we attract.

So embrace it. Unleash your superhero.

It's Brian vs Bryan to ring in Superhero Friday! The culmination of 16 years of friendship spills out in explosions of heinousness. We've got a full lineup for you... including Final Four, Black Insomnia Coffee, the difference between equal opportunity and equal treatment.

In This Episode

• Welcome Bryan!
• Bweenese: the language of the highly caffeinated
• Final Four, Falling Up, Ellogram, Demon Hunter
• New slogan for The Real Brian Show! What do you think?
• Sameness vs Equality

Explosions of Heinousness

You know how it is when you are around one of your oldest friends? The inside jokes, the ease from familiarity, the shared memories. As an introvert, these are some of my favorite conversations to listen to because I can sit back and just let them do all the talking while I absorb the dynamic and chemistry between two people. That's definitely what Brian and Bryan bring to the table, here.

I have this sort of rapport with most of my family, believe it or not. We spend a lot of time together, so it stands to reason I'd have a similar punchy ease with them as the Bri/yans do. Part of the problem, if you'd qualify it as a problem, is that most of the women in my family are really quick with a laugh (a fairly genuine laugh, too). When we're around each other and they get me going, we're the loudest, laughiest bunch you'll ever meet!

After exposure to my family in this capacity, a friend once told me: "Your family laughs too easily. Some day you'll get out into the real world and discover you're not all that funny." This comment has been the premise of our easy rapport for near on a decade now! I don't think my friend meant anything malicious by it, but I think she was right that being around my family gives me a greater confidence in my wit. Whether that wit is truly as refined as my family makes me think it is... well, I guess you can all be the judge of that. I take no offense either way.

Sameness vs Equality

The word same is overused in our culture. Same, literally, means identical. I'm glad that the Bri/yans broached this topic because it's another opportunity to define terms and wrap our brains around the words we toss around on a daily basis. A couple months ago, I produced a podcast for Stuff I Learned Yesterday about being no one but myself. The idea came from something once said by the poet e.e. cummings: "To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."

Society sends a horrible mixed message about individuality. We're supposed to be the same, but different. We should all be treated the same because we are the same. No. No, no. Words do matter, as we say over and over. I, Brian, and Bryan have nothing against a pursuit for equality - for showing each person love and respect and providing people with an equal opportunity. But because we are all unique, because we all have different skills and interests, we do not perform the same tasks in the same way and, as such, can and should be considered differently in different situations. This is far from being a bad thing, it should be a good thing. We should be celebrating the fact that we don't all have the same skill sets and, thus, pursue opportunities that play to our strengths.

Sometimes we fall prey to society's misconception about equal opportunity. There is this mentality that because we provide equal opportunity here in America, it will naturally translate into equal treatment. I think this is a dangerous lie because it makes many people launch from a bad starting point! And when we don't start right, how can we hope to end right? We need to fight to be different, to avoid sameness, because we are not identical. Don't run from it, embrace it!

In this installment of The Real Brian Show, we welcome author, speaker, and entrepreneur Cardiff D. Hall. His book, Tide Turners, was just published in January! We're so excited to share this interview with you not just because Cardiff is a gifted storyteller, but because of how encouraging and inspirational his experience is. After you've listened to the interview, please check out his website and, perhaps, buy his book!

In This Episode

• Welcome, Cardiff!
• Where did it all begin?
• A change of perspective in order to take control
• Time Turners & taking action!
• Passing on what he's learned
• Being of value to others

Take Control

Those of us who don't run our own business have likely had the nightmare, literally or figuratively, where we are unceremoniously fired from our job. Perhaps the reason, in our nightmare, is a self-concocted, far-stretching reason, or perhaps there is no reason at all. We sign that employment contract and promising to give over 40+ hours of our life to a company that will, in turn, give us a bit of money to live on, and become beholden to that entity. Ideally, of course, that relationship isn't so bleak that we consider ourselves slaves to their system, but in capitalist America the bottom line is that business will trump relationship. To expect it another way is asking for pain.

This mentality has changed so much in the last fifty to a hundred years, hasn't it? Loyalty to companies isn't the same as it used to be, people aren't staying at companies as long as they used to. And, as such, companies have had to restructure some to account for higher turnover. It's not so much that we live in a constant state of uncertainty, rather that the unexpected can and will happen. How can you prepare for something you don't know is going to happen?

I enjoy interviews that help us explore different facets of mindset and attitude, because even though it's one of our favorite topics here at The Real Brian Show... there are so many discussions to be had. There are so many requirements from mindset. Being fired, for whatever reason, or encountering professional instability (translate for yourself if you're an entrepreneur!), can bring out the absolute worst in us. But developing habits that enable us to take action and take control of situations can help us react better when the upheavals come.

Yes. When they come. Because upheavals will come! Being prepared doesn't necessarily mean that it will make a bad situation better, but bad situations can feel a lot less worse when we have the right attitude and have trained ourselves to respond well even under stress. It's a process, and no one is perfect, but after this interview with Cardiff I expect you'll want to pick up his book!

Links

• Cardiff's Website
• Tide Turners (Buy It)
• Tide Turners (learn about it)

You've got a "Good" card in your hand, I've got a card in my hand, and there is still one card face down in the deck. Do you pick from my hand or Go Fish? Luckily, we have much more control over how we accomplish our tasks, but when we want things to be good, we need to understand the implications of our next decision. In this installment of The Monday Experience, Brian dives into a lesson that has served him well and helps to illuminate difficult decisions.

Pick Two

There are millions of little decisions to make when accomplishing a big task, but those decisions change fundamentally when we've chosen a certain path. That path is controlled by picking two of three options: good, quick, and/or cheap. Any which-way you pair these up will lead to different outcomes and different efforts. None are inherently bad, but some are likely better than others.

When you sit down to start a new project, do you think: I don't care what crap I come up with, I just want it to be quick and cheap? Be honest... hardly ever. The problem with quick and cheap, whether it's a personal project or the food we put into our bodies, is that it's only quick and cheap now. Down the road we will end up paying for it later; a quick and cheap project (maybe the fastest and most inexpensive contractors to do work on your house) will degrade or wear off quickly and you'll end up spending more money to do it all over again.

It is our prerogative to choose whichever combination suits our needs, but using this idealism as a means to breakdown any project. When you are frustrated by the cost, consider the alternatives and the repercussions of the alternatives. When you are frustrated by the time and effort, consider the implications of sacrificing quick for either "good" or "cheap". Sometimes all the planning in the world won't yield the outcomes we want, but you'll be far more prepared for variations and deviations when you've considered what it might mean to sacrifice X for Y.

Happy Superhero Friday! We welcome a new guest in this installment, Luke the Mad Scientist! Luke and Brian go way back to the days of radio and though they still game together, they haven't yet reunited on radio's most direct ancestor. For this episode of anything-goes, we really mean anything goes. From space wizards to elk meatballs to a health hack of the week... they cover it all.

In This Episode

• Welcome, Mad Scientist!
• Movies: Beauty & the Beast, Power Rangers
• Mad Scientist & Med School
• Overwatch and customization
• Affogato and Elk Meatballs
• Fill your mind with something positive, joyful & encouraging

Fun Is Overrated

Fun is overrated. Be responsible! Because here at the Real Brian Show, we're all business. Not monkey business, straight up business.

Yeah, that's sounds like us.

Not! We like to have fun here and advocate that it is far from overrated, but sometimes the world likes to tell us to "take a chill pill" and "come down off that cloud" while we're having fun. Take an hour today and just have some fun, detox with a little discussion about the cheese-factor of Power Rangers, the awesome customizability of Overwatch, and some great food and beverages our hosts have been digging into lately.

Inside, Outside

This week's health hack involves a practice whereby we take just 15 minutes a day and fill our minds with something positive, joyful and/or enriching. You know the adage, "You are what you eat!" Well, I'm a firm believer that eventually... everything that is inside of us comes out of us. What we put into our bodies, whether it's junk food or films that celebrate crass behavior or music that promotes drugs and violence, works its way into our minds.

Taking just 15 minutes a day as a start, step away from the usual stuff and find something positive to fill your mind. And maybe eat a banana while you do so! The mind is the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal; brawn can get us only so far, but will gets us the rest of the way. How else do you suppose the force works? Filling your mind with things that are positive and enriching will enable you to output those same qualities, and here at the Real Brian Show we are staunch supporters of encouraging behavior that will make this world a better place.

Fine. I'll do it. Where do I start? That's the spirit! Well, we're not just talking about positive self-talk (because it is important to show yourself a little grace now and then!), we want you to go after a spirit of positivity (optimism, can-do). This doesn't mean being unrealistically positive, but rather avoiding the tendency to be strictly negative about a situation and getting your mindset under control so that you have an accurate perception of that situation.

This is something I've been continuously trying to put into practice myself. With various stressors in my life, I've come to associate certain sounds or certain people with intense stress. As a result, whenever those sounds or people come up, my body has this immediate negative reaction and my mind spirals in a hundred different directions telling me about all of the most terrible scenarios I can fathom. To get a handle on this, I've started with simply one thing: get the facts. Take a deep breath, separate what I know from what I don't know, and then ask questions to figure out the things I don't know. Amazingly, I've come to see how many lies my brain tells me in order to initiate a freak-out and ultimately leading to unnecessary physical or mental anguish.

Sometimes positivity can be as simple as information-gathering. Take a step out of the sphere of negativity and enter into a world where things are possible through intentional application.

Links

• Blizzard's commitment to abusing the system
• Overwatch customizations - Ode to Predator
• Android: Netrunner (the living card game)

We've got a sweet, on-location interview for you in this installment of The Real Brian Show! From the factory of Nuance Chocolate we hear the sound of delectable chocolate being made... in one of the most honorable ways you can imagine. Brian got the opportunity to talk with Toby Gadd, the co-founder and co-owner of Nuance Chocolate, a Fort Collins-based chocolate factory.

In This Episode

• Welcome Toby!
• How did Toby get started? Where did Nuance Chocolate come from?
• A little on where the beans come from and how they're ethically acquired
• An audible tour of the factory

Nuance Chocolate

An infatuation with chocolate which began in Costa Rica after visiting a chocolate museum, Toby and Alix Gadd decided to launch their own, rather rare, bean-to-bar enterprise. What's better, they're both committed to making this world a better place... which means they commit their business to purchasing the ingredients that they use in their factory in a fully ethical way.

Fully ethical? What does that even mean? I'm not just talking about a legal methodology of obtaining ingredients, but the actual examination of the process by which ingredients are cultivated and acquired. In order to reduce labor and/or production costs, all manner of approaches are taken by the entities which produce the ingredients necessary for a company to do what they do. Nuance Chocolate goes the extra mile to ensure that they are not enabling distributors from engaging in unethical behavior by purchasing only from sellers who also strive to make this world a better place.

Every day we make a lot of decisions about what and where to buy the things we need. The more we know about the means a company undergoes to obtain the products they provide to us, the more it influences us as to whether or not we continue to buy from them. In American capitalist society, we have both the privilege and the duty to influence companies with our dollars. If you remember the Nike labor abuse scandal from about five years ago, you'll know that sooner or later the truth will come out.

Support good chocolate and good business practices by checking out Nuance's brand-new online store!

How Do I know?

Thanks to the internet, there is little we can't figure out about companies these days. However, it is the internet... how do I know if what I'm reading is a bunch of garbage or fear-mongoring versus the real thing?

There are a couple fantastic resources out there for you to do some simple fact checking. Here are a few to get you started:

• Good Guide (app available which allows you to scan barcodes)
• Free2Work
• Shop Ethical! (app for Android and iOs)

Links

• Nuance Chocolate
• Buy Nuance Chocolate Online!
• Buy Nuance Chocolate Online!

In this installment of The Monday Experience, Brian digs his fingers into the very real world of bullying. Bullying doesn't stop as we grow old; it changes, perhaps becoming more sophisticated or less overt (or not), but bullying does not discriminate by age. He takes a little time to lay out his definition of bully so that it might draw out what bullies might exist in our lives and give us a chance to get out in front of that bully.

StopBullying

bully (v): "use superior strength or influence to intimidate, typically in an effort to impose a will"

The word bully exists in two forms, as the noun (the person or entity that forcefully imposes their will on a weaker subject) and as a verb (the act of utilizing superior strength to forcefully impose that will). Back when I used to do the Stuff I Learned Yesterday podcast at Golden Spiral Media, I would often throw out a word-of-the-day at the top of my installment because I believe in the importance of understanding terms in order to properly talk about something. The truth is, bullies come in many shapes and forms... and we lose significant ground toward overcoming bullies when we make believe that someone or something is not a bully because they don't fit a classic stereotype.

Every bully has a different purpose. They each want something different, they're each driven by a different insecurity or developed an ineffective approach to getting work done. In addition to clearly defining what a bully is, it's helpful to take it a step further and put more definition around the bully in your life. Get specific, even to the point of trying to determine why you have become their victim.

Sometimes this level of introspection can be intimidating, because it's hard to admit some of our most poignant weaknesses, but I am a firm believer in naming my demons. When we give names to our weaknesses (or the people that push us down), when we focus and break them down into their core components, they become less enigmatic...and a fuller picture begins to form. And with that fuller picture comes opportunities to take action.

And that's what we're encouraging you to do here today! Take action against bullies. Sometimes fighting back is as simple as understanding the situation and standing up to someone, or something, that is trying to take advantage of you. Furthermore, be nice to yourself and stop the negative self-talk! If you do this analysis and determine that you are your own bully, stop it!

Yes, we know. It's not that easy. But we're here for you, we're a community here. So let us help!

Happy Superhero Friday! In this installment of Anything-Goes, I, your fearless blog post-writer, come out from behind the curtain and join in the discussion. I join Brian and Sarah in this episode and we cover a lot of material. Since I'm part of the discussion this week, what you'll find in the blog post is information you never really cared about in regard to manatees. And why they are our nemeses.

In This Episode

• MADNESS! March Madness & the like...
• Of The Week: TV Shows, music, movies, lifehacks
• Presidential Debate: Gender Swapping

Manatees

Manatees, aka Sea Cows, are our nemeses. Why, you ask? We hate to totally blame it on rhyming, but that's largely why this phrase began to get tossed around. Interestingly, though they are often colloquially referred to as sea cows, they are more closely related to elephants. Their slow nature and tendency to be eaten by other animals is slightly contradictory to their ability to swim swiftly. I might label elephants as majestic, but certainly not graceful... And that might be owed to the animated Disney film Jungle Book which portrayed elephants trampling down through the forest.

Poor manatees. It's not their fault they look so goofy. Evolution has been incredibly kind to some creatures, and incredibly cruel to others. Isn't it funny how we can look at an elephant and think, 'How majestic!' or watch a panda in captivity for extended hours at a time via live stream... then there are also animals like the blobfish (named one of the top 20 ugliest animals on Earth).

Animals have such a different purpose than humans do on Earth. Their only fault is our perception of their appearance. Manatees spend 8 hours a day gathering food for their young and because of their slow-paced lifestyles, they only reproduce every 2-5 years. Their entire workday is spent ensuring their kiddos have enough to eat. And not just making money in order to buy the food to bring home the bacon, but literally bringing home bacon. Except... not literally bacon because manatees are herbivores. Imagine if we spent 8 hours a day gathering food for the people we were responsible for. Imagine acknowledging what we were capable of and living within our means.

Links

• Star Wars Minus Williams (Auralnauts)
• Trump Clinton Debates: Gender Reversal
• The Real Brian Show Facebook Group!

Meet Jason Hartman! This is one interview you're going to want to listen to because there are many takeaways for us all, whether you're on Wall Street or making good money or trying to be successful in whatever enterprise you choose. Jason upholds the definition of consistency, of slow and steady, and of working smarter (not necessarily harder) as an approach to business. We're so excited to share this interview with you and hope you will take a little extra time to check out Jason's websites.

In This Episode

• Welcome, Jason!
• The 2-track approach
• Great mentorship yielded a successful slow and steady mindset
• Investment: Thou shalt maintain control
• Some excellent advice

Wall Street

You know what they say... When you mess with the bull, you get the horns. I took this picture of the famous Wall Street Bull on my first trip to New York last year. When my small, Northeast Minneapolis company was acquired by an international company, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of business. Wall Street is no joke. New York City itself is no joke, at that. Our office in New York is a handful of blocks north of Wall Street, but well within smelling-distance, and close enough to see just how serious people are about trying to make it in the big world.

While it's not necessarily my scene, I do see the attraction to a life spent at that pace. I could never keep up with what would be required to live and work in New York, but it is stimulating to me in small doses. It's kind of a wake up call to the normal and steady pace that I like to enjoy. But my goals have never been around making money, they've been in trying to go places where I'm most effective, where I'm needed, and where I can make a difference.

Honestly, if Wall Street is your game, or if you want it to be your game, there is no judgment from us. But there are, inevitably, certain requirements, certain sacrifices, that will need to be made when playing that game. In a world obsessed with money and making it to the big time, Wall Street is just another cog in that machine. Whether it's the sacrifice of time, or something a bit more costly, there are prices to pay for playing on that scale.

But what if there was another way? A better way? A way that we could work with people and create a mutually-beneficial situation which enhanced the culture and the lives of everyone you touch! A dream, you say? I don't know. My belief has always been that the most effective gestures [can be] made at the 1:1 level, when goods and services are exchanged on a personal level. (Of course, with any sort of customer-facing services, we also run the risk of making very ineffective or detrimental gestures.) Like Jason, I am all for capitalism, but I have a huge heart for small business.

Because when you're known by someone, it makes a difference. Doesn't it?

Jason's advice to us about investment (Commandment #3) is "thou shalt maintain control". As much as he means this about investing our hard-earned money, I don't see any reason it should stop there. Monday's episode was about being responsible and finding solutions that create mutually beneficial outcomes for everyone whom policies affect, and that applies as much to the investment of our time and energy (involvement in business) as it does to the government "investing" in our lives.

When we start putting everything on auto-pilot, when we give more fuel to the bulls, we have fewer opportunities to wield the most important tool of business we have: the personal touch. I don't believe humans are inherently good, but I believe humans are capable of great good. Even more importantly, I believe that when we practice goodness we see inexplicable, wonderful outcomes that motivate us, and others, to do more good.

The truth is, New York is a crowded place... and the Earth we live on is quite large. Don't stop looking for what your niche is; pursue it and bring your unique skill set to an area of this world that needs it most.

Links

• Jason's Real Estate Site
• Jason's Podcast stuff
• Jason Hartman in the Hot Seat

This week on the Monday Experience, Brian starts a discussion that is larger than any single policy change. While the provoking circumstance was related to homelessness, there is a pervasive entitlement idealism with an approach to policy making in this country that needs a makeover. As much as we should feel responsible for our fellow men, we should also feel responsible for the culture we're passing on to each generation.

Donations vs Government Funding

A lot of research effort goes into understanding the typical American's approach to charitable giving and the close coupling to tax breaks or perception of taxation (or lack thereof) of the money being given. Most people would respond to direct questioning about why they donate with affirmations around trying to make a difference or to feel good about doing good, but when there's talk around changing how that money given to charity is taxed there are some significant shifts in idealism. Tax breaks around charitable giving drastically increase the percentage of taxpayers who will give.

America is one of the most generous nations in the world. We are greedy and arrogant and sometimes the generosity is tinged with a bit of self-righteousness (i.e. tax breaks, making ourselves feel good), but it doesn't change the fact that charitable givings in the United States is somewhere in the $260 billion range, which increases in single digits each year. Interestingly, however, many studies show that when the government gives a large amount of money to a charitable organization, private donations decrease significantly. There's even a name for it, it's called "crowding out"; the perception of the people is that the government "has it well in hand" and that private donations are not necessary.

The government staying out of funding all together for private charities is not a great solution either. Charities are highly localized, supported significantly more by their immediate community than communities at a distance. It's not always, the case, of course, but it is more the rule than the exception. Thus, if a charity is based out of a small town with limited resources, that charity tends to struggle more than a charity in a wealthy community. Funding from the government helps these charities survive when it might otherwise fail.

Responsibilities vs Burdens

Brian talks a lot about responsibility in this episode and coming alongside those in need in order to help resolve a more fundamental problem instead of creating policies which enable a sort of non-responsibility. While none of us would disagree that everyone should have a place to sleep or should have access to the care they need, the basic core problem seems to be this idealism that we, as human beings, are entitled to these things. And as a direct result of this mentality, policies are created to purport that entitlement, removing the responsibility from those who should be helping to support those in need and those who are in need.

But as the government intervenes and creates policies instead of trying to bolster community support for struggling cities or towns, the interest in providing support by members of that community decrease. Bitterness and resentment crop up toward those who are protected by the policy and the divide increases.

So what are we trying to say? What's our big solution? It's not as simple as refusing to support policies, such as the one Brian brings up in today's episode. It requires a response from each and every one of us. We are not entitled to luxury. We're not entitled to making more than we earned. But in this life we've been given, this one shot at being a human, we do have a responsibility to be decent to our neighbors, to support our communities and care about what goes on. When we back off and leave it up to the government, we're left with a bunch of can-do and can't-do laws that make little, practical sense.

Making laws and policies does nothing to change the hearts of the people it affects (whether the affect is good or bad). If you didn't read my blog post from Friday (or didn't listen to the podcast), you'll have missed my rant about how attitude is the outward expression of the inner mindset. Policy is like forcing an attitude, regardless of mindset... and until those two concepts become more intertwined, we won't ever truly see the change we hope for.

Welcome to the Real Brian Show! We're here wishing you a Happy Saint Patrick's Day AND a Happy Superhero Friday with another installment of anything-goes. We are not raising our rates for this double feature, but hope you will find twice as many reasons to share the show. This week we made it into the Top 200 on iTunes, and that is all thanks to YOU! Thank you for listening and being part of this community. In this episode, Brian chats with Whitney whom he met at Happy Lucky's Tea House (which we got to hear a lot about on Wednesday this week!).

In The Episode

• Irish, Irish, Irish
• ...and a little of Japan
• Music
• Drinks & Food (Tea, Wine)
• Logan
• Male Modeling
• ATTITUDE!

Saint Patrick's Day

I would be remiss not to share some of my favorite Irish pleasures on this Saint Patrick's Day. Irish culture is one of my favorites to read about, rich in its history and its distinct culture. For a nation that has seen so much suffering, they've given the world some of the most distinct sounds in Celtic music and possess some of the most incredible landscapes in the world.

I don't joke around when it comes to Irish music. My proverbial music library is full of incredible Irish musicians, many of whom I learned of through Marc Gunn's The Irish and Celtic Music Podcast over the last 7 or so years. From Socks In The Frying Pan to Gaelic Storm, from Sean Macdonnchadha to FullSet, I don't discriminate. Every chance I get, I make people listen to Foreign Lander. And not just listen, but really listen. One of the reasons I love Irish music so much is because they often tell incredible stories or love and loss and unashamed, drunken stupidity.

Do you know the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie? Other than both being delicious, Cottage Pie is traditionally made with beef whereas Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb. Lamb provides a very different flavor to otherwise traditional ingredients, if you're not used to it, but you might try this super yummy recipe.

Let's Talk About Attitude

Brian and Whitney have a great conversation about how attitude is so often driven by circumstance. The situations we find ourselves in drive our outlook and affect the way we perceive the present (and, in turn, how we treat the people around us and closest to us).

Attitude and mindset are tightly coupled concepts. Attitude is an outward expression of the inward mindset. A change in one influences the other, positive and negative. The fake-it-til-you-make-it concept isn't just an old adage, it actually has some merit! It's amazing how much a difference walking around with a smile on makes in your day than walking around with a scowl. And likewise, filling your mind with positive thoughts, encouraging thoughts, as opposed to self-deprecating thoughts, will directly affect your own perception of what you are capable of.

It's easier said than done, but most of the best things are. It is my sincere belief that attitude and mindset are habits that need to be formed. Attitude is reflected in behavior, and behavior, though we can control what we do, is so often rooted in memory. We behave a certain way because that's what we've been taught, or we behave in a certain way because we've been trained. We can train ourselves to be more vigilant about attitude and mindset, but it isn't something that can be accomplished with half our attention.

I've been noticing lately, and this week in particular, that when I can see the results of effort it reinforces a good, behavioral response. When a new workout has a positive impact, or a change in dietary habits improves your health, or doing a renovation on the kitchen makes a huge difference in usability, it makes us more inclined to continue exercising aspects of those behaviors. But sometimes it's hard to get started, even though we always have to start somewhere.

Start by smiling! Seriously. If you know you need to change your attitude, start by choosing to smile. Whether you're around people or alone, just smile!

People who drink a lot of tea every day tend to be on the chattea side, if you know what I mean! In this case it pays off well because George Grossman of Happy Lucky's Tea House shares his wealth of tea knowledge with us in the latest on-location interview of The Real Brian Show. Whether you hate tea, casually drink tea, or consider tea one of the major food groups, we hope that this episode will be enlightening as to what the big deal is around the most popular beverage in the world.

In This Episode

• Introducing... Tea House royaltea George Grossman!
• Steeping, oxidation, flavor
• Why we slurrrrrp
• All roads lead to Oolong
• Why tea caffeine is different from other forms
• George's time as a photographer
• Employee retention
• Training your palate is key to a healthy foundation

Tea House

The interview in this episode takes place at Happy Lucky's Tea House, nested in downtown Fort Collins, CO. If you can't map your next road trip through Fort Collins, try taking the virtual tour on their website! Brian sits down with George Grossman, founder of Happy Lucky's and tea aficionado, to pick his brain about the many health benefits of tea, what makes teas so distinct, and understand what drove George into the tea business in the first place.

If you fall into the "tea is gross" camp, chances are good you haven't properly tried a cup of tea. Like cooking, there is a method to the madness. Brian and George talk about some of the key aspects to brewing tea, including how (and how long) to steep tea and how to develop and train your palate. I like to compare drinking properly brewed tea to the difference between canned asparagus and fresh asparagus. Have you ever had canned asparagus? Apologies if it's your favorite, but honestly, in my opinion it doesn't hold a candle to the fresh stuff. When I first tried fresh asparagus, the vegetable suddenly made sense to me. It was delicious! But the differences between canned and fresh makes them nearly incomparable.

A lot of the pre-packaged stuff you can buy in the stores is actually quite tasty, but if you want to get a taste for tea the way it ought to be drunk, we'd encourage you to find a tea house near you and have someone, like Andy from Happy Lucky's, brew it for you. If you're in Minneapolis, I'd highly recommend The Northern Lights Tea Co! If you're neither in Fort Collins nor Minneapolis and are uncertain of where to go, leave a comment and ask for recommendations!

Links

• Happy Lucky's Tea House
• Taiwan Wenshan Baozhong (George's favorite tea)

Photo Credit: Vee O

Welcome to another installment of The Monday Experience! While playing the video game Overwatch, and consequently getting my butt kicked, a lot of things fell into place for me in a matter of seconds. Confidence or fear? Playing it nice or going after what I want? I want to share that story with you and provide a few insights on my observations.

Confidence or Fear?

Recently I was playing Overwatch and found myself in a situation where my team, and I personally, were getting trampled. I was getting shot at and quickly losing health and found myself just running away from the fight, licking my wounds and searching for a health pack. But I realized I wasn't just running away to find health, I was trying to save myself. I was running away in fear rather than as some strategic ploy.

Here's the kicker: the guy who was shooting at me followed me in my attempt to run away. He hunted me down and still killed me, even though I was running away. At that point I thought the match was over.

In that moment it struck me; I was scared (in the video game sense of scared), ready to run away and find safety, and yet I still died. What the heck? Over the next couple seconds, a lot of thoughts went through my head.

Despite the fact that I strongly believe in loving, respecting and valuing the next person, I had to acknowledge that playing it nice was getting me nowhere. But I don't believe loving, respecting and valuing others equals being nice. I've had numerous situations in my life recently, and even over the past decade, where I've been timid, nice, fearful, hesitant and... guess what happened? Nothing good. Nothing.

In business, friendships, leadership, life, boundaries, health, playing it nice or being timid, fearful, or scared never got me anywhere. And in that moment, when I was getting hunted down in Overwatch, it was clear that just like with animals... when someone is weak or timid or scared or fearful, others will take advantage and prey on that weakness. It's primal, instinctual.

While we hope that others are far wiser and more enlightened than to act on such primal instincts, what I've seen from life is that it doesn't often happen in favor of the weak. I realized I needed to be strong, set aside fear, and seize the confidence I know is within me. Not just playing Overwatch, but in everything.

After getting a little mad at myself for being so weak, I jumped right back into the game when I respawned and pushed full speed ahead with no fear. I took down a ton of players on the other team and we won the match! By the end of the game, the other team was running away from me!

Everything I ever learned, I learned from video games. Sure, it's just a game... but this is a valuable life lesson. It doesn't matter where I learned it, it matters that I apply this mentality in other aspects of my life. So, while keeping in mind that I need to make smart choices and don't do something too drastic or stupid, I still need to stand up. Be courageous. Be strong. Be a leader. Be confident.

Happy Superhero Friday! The dynamic duo of The Real Brian and Miss Light are joined this week by friend Kim for another installment of anything-goes Friday! We talk about how terrible wind is, how amazing finding new music is, what games are getting played and what movies are being watched.

In This Episode

• What's up with the episode title?
• New music!
• What are you drinking?
• TVs & Movies
• Getting out and being the best me!

Viscerally Vicious Vegetation

Enough about vegetation! Let's take a close look at this fricken chicken. A gift from Kim to Brian (which, as you can see, is actually a rooster... not a chicken).

Really, we just wanted an excuse to show this rooster-chicken to you. And, really, as Brian and Kim said, it brings to our minds the simple fact that sometimes all we need is simple, every-day humor. Sit and laugh at that rooster-chicken for a while and tell me you don't feel better. Interestingly, there is a restaurant in Michigan called the Frickin Chicken Shack. Road trip, anyone?

Since we're on the topic of chickens, did you know that the wings have become the most expensive part of the chicken? Chicken wings have exploded in popularity over the last 50 years, becoming a staple at football game parties or easy crockpot finger food for a potluck. A mere half-century ago, however, the wing of a chicken was considered throwaway food, the least desirable cut. The origin of the popular food can actually be traced back to a restaurant called Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY where, in 1964, the use of wings in an appetizer was a necessary by-product of a mistake.

What a great mistake! I love making chicken wings for parties. Put them in a crockpot with your favorite BBQ or home-made Buffalo sauce for a couple hours; then, to get that nice glaze, broil them for about 15 minutes at a high temperature. So easy and so delicious. Sorry, Sarah, but sometimes I just can't help being so carnivorous!

Recipes Mentioned

We heard from a couple listeners that they'd like to get their hands on a recipe or two talked about on the show. This week there were a couple mentioned (Oatmeal Cream Pie, gluten and grain free fudge), but Sarah is sharing the seasoned shrimp avocado lettuce wrap recipe. Try it on for size and then let us know how it went!

Parmesan Shrimp Lettuce Wraps with Avocado

Source: The Wild Diet by Abel James Buy It!
Serves 4

Ingredients

Prep Day
TIME: 15 minutes
Tools: Knife, cutting board, strainer, mixing bowl, garlic press, measuring spoons, storage containers
1. Chop the onion and store in a small airtight container for up to 1 week.
2. Rinse, peel, and devein the shrimp. Place in a large airtight container and set aside.
3. Peel and mince the garlic cloves and place in a small bowl.
4. Add the paprika, cumin, oregano, chili powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and
salt to the bowl with the garlic.
5. Toss the seasoning into the container with the shrimp. Close the lid securely and
shake to coat. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Feast Day
TIME: 10 minutes
Tools: Measuring cups and spoons, knife, cutting board, pan, large skillet, storage container

1. Halve the avocado lengthwise, remove the pit, and use a large metal spoon to scoop out the flesh. Slice the flesh. Squeeze the juice from the lemon wedge over the avocado and set aside.
2. Coarsely chop the cilantro and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
4. Sautê the seasoned shrimp in the butter for 1 to 2 minutes, turn, and cook the other side until the shrimp has turned pink and the flesh is firm.
5. Plate the lettuce leaves and top each leaf with shrimp, onion, avocado, cilantro, hot sauce, and Parmesan.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Welcome back to The Real Brian Show! This week we have the pleasure of welcoming Brian C. Roll to the show. Brian (the real one) and I had an opportunity to meet, talk, and share a delicious Giordano's Pizza with Brian (our guest) and discovered an extremely talented, passionate artist. Brian Roll found an incredible niche in producing beautiful art for comic book and genre television and movies. Checking out his website is an absolute MUST!

In This Episode

• Meeting at Heroes & Villains
• Welcome Brian C. Roll of Odyssey Art
• Learn more by doing
• People are looking for PASSION!

Learn More by Doing

Planning and thinking has its place in every process, but without action there is no product. In the wise words of someone in the past: "Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." Most people attribute this statement to Thomas Jefferson, but there's really no record of it. It would make a lot of sense as to why Jefferson might have said it, though, when taking a serious look at his life. Thomas Jefferson was constantly in the service of the public, from practicing law to helping draft the Declaration of Independence; public service requires a lot of planning and thinking, but without action it's not easy to retain one's position.

So whether you're the creative type or the technical type or the public service type, this interview has a lot to inspire you. We can learn a lot from study and observation, but nothing quite maps true learning like the practical execution of a skill. We learn more by doing.

Brian's Art

Since Brian C. Roll's talent is so visual, I thought it would be a crime not to show you a bit of his amazing work. Please, please use the links at the bottom of this post to go check out Odyssey Art and learn more about Brian's passion!

Links

• Odyssey Art on Twitter: @OdysseyArtTorch
• Odyssey Art
• Like Odyssey Art on Facebook!

It's Monday! That means a new week is upon us filled with fresh opportunities. In this installment of the Monday Experience, I share why the phrase "I got your back!" means so much to me and how I think we could all do with stepping up our game. In the spirit of encouraging those around us and standing up for what's right, this concept bears more weight now than ever.

Got Your Back

Have you ever experienced someone getting your back? Literally, standing up for you in a fight or ending a gossip train that was speeding a hundred miles an hour? Or maybe you are that person. Maybe you get someone else's back in a fight or put a stop to a degrading conversation. From the military (got your six) to sports teams, the concept is nothing new.

I've been blessed to experience people who get my back when it's truly needed, but I also have to admit that it is a rather rare occurrence. Instead of standing up for me, these people who know I need them leave me high and dry. I know I'm not the only one who's experienced this and I'm here to say one thing: it ain't right.

Regardless of who you are, where you're from, what you did (to quote the Backstreet Boys), it's time to step it up.

In the mystery of why we don't stand up for each other, I find that it generally comes down to two things: 1) it will hurt us (maybe even physically), and/or 2) our reputation might take a hit (or we won't be respected). Of course, our perception of taking a hit might need a bit of an adjustment because I personally believe that standing up for others increases the respect of others. Perhaps our popularity will dive, but is that what we're after in the first place?

Here's what I'm doing:

I'm looking out for those people in my community. I am doing everything I can to get their backs. I'm not going to throw them under the bus even if it makes me look better, feel better, or helps me fit in.

When someone doesn't get my back or throws me under the bus, I will confront the situation and the person, but I will not retaliate.

I want to inspire others to stand up and do the same in leading by example.

My hope is that by doing these things I find healthier relationships, stronger friendships, and, perhaps, help stop bullying in the process. Doing the right thing, even when it's unpopular, is how I want to live my life.

Happy Superhero Friday! In the latest anything-goes installment of The Real Brian show we get another peek inside the lives of Mr. and Mrs. The Real Brian. From the health benefits of turmeric and chocolate to the importance of dressing nicely (and the incredible challenges at Brian's size 14 shoes!) to exploring the differences of personalities with the help of personality tests, we cover a lot of ground today.

In this Episode

• What have you been drinking?
• Music recommendations! (Check out Jamiroquai and Ellogram)
• Turmeric, chocolate and eating healthy
• John Wick 2
• Don't judge me by my shoes!
• Personalities make the world go round.
• Groot

Unicorn's Horn

The unicorn's horn is steeped in legendary mystique. There are early writings about unicorns that originally assigned healing properties to it. (It's a story about a snake poisoning a lake which many animals were drinking from. The unicorn makes the sign of the cross with its horn before drinking from the lake itself. The poison becomes harmless and all the animals can drink again.) In general, though, unicorns, though myth, have a lot of symbolism attached to them; wild, but full of grace and representing purity. There is also something to be said about the historical accounts of hunting for unicorns and the fake evidence around alleged sightings.

Unicorns have come to represent a new concept in our culture, that of some higher form of idealism. As an picturesque creature whose presence has evaded eyewitness account, no one loses hope that it's still out there somewhere. They also bear a connotation of over-the-top happiness (i.e. ever heard someone say, "I hope unicorns fart rainbows all over your day?" Me neither.).

So what's the big deal? Some forms of mythology, in modern culture, are not only accepted but celebrated; perhaps not necessarily accepted as truth, but accepted and discussed nearly as though they are so. Talking about unicorns or the Greek gods are useful tools in order to represent abstract concepts in a more concrete way.

We like to have fun here at The Real Brian Show, but we also want to help you form concrete thoughts around abstract concepts. Sometimes trying to eat healthy sounds like a big job with many moving parts. Well, just about every week we have some bit of information that can help you make a healthy choice instead of an unhealthy one. Sometimes fighting with a best friend or significant other can make the world feel too small and too complex, but just about every week we have conversations about how people are different and the decisions that are made to help bridge those gaps.

Focus on the unicorn's horn, for a bit, and think about what sort of healing properties you need to bring into your life. Those properties are so different from one person to another, there is no one-size-fits-all. After you've done some soul searching, come back and tell us about it!

The Shadow's 514 Mix on Spotify

Looking for some new music? Check out The Real Brian's spotify playlist.