Shawn Stevenson:  Welcome to The Model Health Show. This is fitness and nutrition expert, Shawn Stevenson, and I'm so grateful for you tuning in with me today. 

This is a very, very, very special episode because I have one of the people that I love most on the planet, and somebody that I helped to make is the guest on the show today. 

It's my youngest son, Braden, and he just turned seven years old about two months ago, and he's in the first grade right now, and he's just in full bloom of himself and his personality, and is just- he's very aware of a lot of the things and processes and the things that he does in his life.

And you know, today's episode, I wanted to share especially during this kind of time of year of family and connection, and also we've got some- having our big goals on the horizon for all of us, is to talk about really creating a culture of health and wellness within our household.

And also I felt that what better way to share this than not just from my perspective, but to hear his perspective as well, being a child, and being in that environment and that atmosphere. 

So I think you're really going to enjoy it, and I know that I did. It was just so amazing to see the things that come out of him, but it's also understanding that it's a part of the environment. 

You know, I've had him exposed to a lot of incredible things over the years. Bringing him to live events with me, he's been around Eric Thomas a lot, and he's one of the greatest speakers on the planet, but also just a real deal human.

You know? And many friends- many people who've been on the show, he's got to break bread and sit down and have a meal with Bedros Keuilian, and things like that. 

Really powerful things that I didn't experience as a child, but I'm very conscious about it, that I want him in these environments because even with me- and you guys know this.

There's only so much that a parent can do, you know, at the end of the day. Real talk. We do help to create the template, and create an environment, but there's also this saying- and I don't totally believe this, but you can't be a prophet in your own land, and just understanding that getting those outside influences, and other voices to reiterate some of the things that you might be sharing as truths for your children can be incredibly powerful to help make those breakthroughs.

Especially if a kid is- you've created a culture unknowingly. Because I know for a lot of us, and I know I grew up in a very unconscious parenting household, you know? 

My mom didn't think about the things that she might have been saying that might have an impact on me. And many of those things that she would say to me out of spite and out of anger stuck with me for years, like I can still pull those things up.

And so it's being more aware of course today that we do have the potential to imprint our children with very negative things, but also very positive things, but also not becoming super neurotic about it. 

Because the truth is this; we're going to mess up. Alright? We're going to make mistakes in this process. There is no perfect template for being a parent. 

But I can tell you one thing for certain, is an incredibly important ingredient is being there, and being present, paying attention, and giving love. You know?

Those simple things that we might think- well, we might think they're simple, but today especially with our hyper distracted world, to be present with your child is one of the greatest gifts that you can give them. 

Alright? So we're going to jump into all of that today, and I wanted to start off the show and let you know one of the places I just had him recently, an environment that I got him into was when we were on the road in San Diego, and I brought him along with me to the Organifi headquarters, and he got to go and see this place that was- I think they're ranked fourth best place to work, and to be around the energy, to see what it could look like to potentially work somewhere where it's happiness, and connection, and innovation all taking place.

Because for him, from his perspective, when he was a kid, I was doing clinical work, he would come to my office every now and then, or he sees me speaking, or he knows that I'm writing and these different things, or coming to the studio.

But to see that there's another way, you know, where you've got- because a lot of that stuff that I do might not have a lot of other people involved, and for him to see that, I thought that was a really great opportunity and imprint.

But also for his concern, it was Waffle Wednesday when we went, and so he was pumped to get waffles. It was like upon entering the building. You know?

So it's keeping that in context too for kids. You know, they just want to have a good time. They just want to eat yummy stuff, you know?

And but the reason that I was there, and that I love those guys so much- you know, I've known Drew Canole for many years, and I've seen his just exponential growth, and him really working on himself, and him finding a way that he can be of service.

Because when I met him, he was like this guy that was a little bit excessively into juicing. It was just like he went hard with the juicing, you know? And just telling the world 10,000 different ways about juicing. 

And I get it, absolutely of course. Even before I met him, almost fifteen years ago, I was juicing, and doing juice fasts, and all of these things, and having these as great tools, but like he was living by the juicer, dying by the juicer, alright?

But he also knew that the accessibility could be an issue for a lot of people, you know? And just even the process. Clean-up? If I could make juice every day but somebody else clean it, I would juice a lot more for sure.

And so what he decided, 'Let me put together a powerful green juice blend that people can have on tap, on access, at any time whether they're traveling, or whatever the case might be, in these simple packets.'

Or they've got the container, and they can get all of these powerful vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes, amino acids, all from real food, from concentrates of these real superfoods, low-temperature processed to retain the nutrition of those things.

And what he came up with eventually, and working with this incredible team, was this formula that- and I say this all the time, that if I was to create a greens product, that's what it would have been. 

And so everybody, we have our own path, our own dharma. I'm so grateful that I didn't have to do it, because I'm the type of person that's just like, "If nobody else is going to do it, I'm going to do it." You know?

But it's opening myself up and working with other great people who are doing great things, and care as much as I do. 

And so one of the things that's in the formula- and I've talked about this before, but I want to share this again because I really want you to get this.

One of the things in the formula is spirulina, and this was a study funded by the National Institutes of Health that revealed that spirulina promotes stem cell genesis.

I really want you to get this. This food helps your body to create more stem cells. This is one of those things that- the way that I was taught in a university setting is a little bit set in stone as far as your stem cell production goes.

This food says contrary. Like it's to the contrary. You can create more stem cells utilizing a food like spirulina. How can it be so magical?

Like there are all these different foods out there, but why is it that this one is so specifically powerful? And spirulina has been around literally for thousands of years, it's one of the main protein sources for long-lived communities like the Aztecs for example, it's a major protein source.

And why is that? It's because spirulina is a complete protein. It's actually the highest concentration of protein of any food that we have. Alright? It's about 71% protein by weight. Alright?

But it takes quite a bit of weight for a spirulina to equal like a piece of chicken. So let's be real, it's not like you're going to get hammered on spirulina and meet all of your protein needs. 

But it can meet some of those needs with your essential aminos, and also non-essential aminos, but in a very, very bioavailable form. It's not just the content of the protein, it's how well your body can utilize it. And these proteins are very, very digestible, alright? 

So that, it also has rare nutrients like phycocyanin, which is the compound related to stem cell genesis. The beta carotene is out of this world. It's just a really powerful, dense superfood in the truest sense of the word.

And so also contributing to your body producing more superoxide dismutase, which is a powerful internal antioxidant, and I can go on, and on, and on.

That's just one. Also the chlorella with chlorella growth factor is in there as well with its powerful effects on your nervous system, and its ability to help your body to detoxify and remove heavy metals. Just- it's nuts. Ashwagandha for the stress management.

But it tastes good, and so my guest today, my little son on a regular basis, he has his Organifi green juice, alright? And so I highly recommend it. 

Kids like it, you can mix it into smoothies. Even if they're a little bit like- throwing it in some smoothies, things like that, or of course mixing it in with some cold water if you just want to keep it simple, www.Organifi.com/model. That's www.Organifi.com/model.

Again, www.Organifi.com/model, you get 20% off everything. The green juice, they have the red juice blend kids really love as well. The gold juice is actually my son's favorite, and their incredible protein blend that they have too.

So head over there, check them out, you get 20% off everything. Alright? It's exclusive, check them out, www.Organifi.com/model. Now, let's get to the Apple Podcasts review of the week.

ITunes Review:  Another five-star review titled, 'Life Changer,' by LLBEANVNM.

"I started listening to the show almost a year ago, and got to say, it was one of the things that changed my life. Thanks to the podcast, and Shawn's humor, and knowledge of course (duh), I started becoming more aware of my own health. 

Reading nutrition books, understanding health, and found an amazing nutrition reset program, upgraded my lifestyle completely, and also learned to become a transformational nutrition coach. 

I take his mindset of valuing my own body to heart. It's true, we only have one body. Excited to be on this path with Shawn as one of my online mentors."

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh my goodness, that is so very powerful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share that, and also the mention of becoming a transformational nutrition coach. 

This is with our work with ITN, alright? The Institute of Transformational Nutrition. This is a nationally accredited health coaching program that I'm a part of, and we're just really changing the game right now.

Because it's also a business school, and so you can really learn to- from the very best people in the field, how to create a sustainable business teaching health and wellness. 

And whatever means that is for you - whether it's doing one-on-one client work, group trainings, if you want to be an influencer doing media, writing books, but getting the right education, the right certification, and the right training with business so that you can really make a living doing something that you love.

And so I'm super passionate about it, and it's been something that's been in the works for a long time. If you're interested in learning about our $2,000 scholarships that we're giving right now, you can head over right now to www.TransformationalNutrition.com/model. 

Alright? That's www.TransformationalNutrition.com/model. You can take our assessment to see what you could potentially qualify for, and we're just changing the game. It's #transformationgeneration and it's just very special, and I'm very happy to be a part of it.

So thank you so much for leaving that review. And on that note, let's get to our topic of the day.

So today on the show we're going to be talking about how to create a culture of health in our family, and I want to give you a couple of quick insights before I bring on my special guest today.

And just a couple of action steps, things that we can start to target when we're trying to work to create that culture of health in our family.

Number one, and this is far and away the most important thing, is to demonstrate by actions. My son, what he's going to be sharing with you in his own way, is a product of the environment. You know?

Again, humans are a product of our environment, but we're also creators of our environment once we become aware. 

And so right now while he's growing, and developing, and creating his template, he's exposed to what I'm doing. Right? I'm not telling him to do stuff that I'm not doing.

He's seeing me meditating each day. He's seeing me choose healthy food, and drinking my water. He's seeing me work out. 

So for him, it's setting the template. He has mirror neurons, right? These mirror neurons that we've been talking about multiple times on the show. 

We have neurons in our brain that are simulating us doing the things that we're exposed to. So whatever we're watching and witnessing, there's a part of your brain right now - if you're in the studio with me, watching this on YouTube - there's a part of your brain simulating you being me, and speaking right now.

It is that powerful. It's simulating you doing the thing that you're exposed to happening automatically no matter what it is. If it's something good or not so good.

And so what you're exposed to, you're going to tend to become. And so for him, and the message that I want to share with you, is demonstrate with your actions. Alright? 

Don't just talk about it, be about it. It's one of the most obvious things, but it can get overlooked because we want better for our kids, but we tend to not want to do better for ourselves, and that's how we're really going to teach them. So that's number one.

Another thing is this gets back to our being present with our children today. Alright? Answer and respond to their interests. 

It's so difficult. Even today I was getting ready for the show, I had a lot going on, but I had to stop. He came in, and he wanted to tell me about this thing that he learned in school about the human body, which I'll let him share with you today.

But I had to stop because he's talking about something that I'm pumped that he's excited about, so let me stop and give him my full attention, turn off my shaving or whatever, just stop what I'm doing, and listen. You know?

So I really am more conscious of not getting caught up in other things, and when he's asking for attention, to really focus on him. Alright? So answer their interests.

Now another thing is to allow them to experience. That's that thin line, you know? Because you want them to abide by certain principles and take care of themselves, but you've also got to understand, we're dealing with the world, Craig. We need security in the world, Craig.

That's from- I think that's from Next Friday. But it's a whole world out here, and there are many different things for them to experience, and we want to encourage that experience with intelligence, right?

Because what I'm doing is creating a perimeter of experiences so that he can go in direct different ways while still keeping him safe and going about it in an intelligent fashion.

This is very- it's kind of complicated, but this just gets back to paying attention to our kids, and knowing that even if you've got a household where you're not eating candy, like there's no candy in our household, don't think they're not going to go over to Billy's house- well, there's probably not a lot of kids named Billy today.

Dillan or what's another popular name today? Chase! They're going over to Chase's house, and shout-out to every parent right now who's listening who's like, "My kid's named Chase and they're eating the candy."

I know you're probably like, "They're not getting candy at Chase's house," but you get what I'm saying. Chances are your kid is going to go over to their friend's house, they're going to have pizza, they're going to have candy.

Let them experience, right? The last thing you want to do is to create this negative resistance. We want them to understand the difference.

And so that's what I allow for my kids to do. Especially my younger son, because I'm very aware now, and so he knows what it feels like. Like he's had the experience of eating too much ice cream.

And like now, he'll eat just enough, you know? Because he doesn't want to feel like that again. He's had the experience. You know?

And also, within that context, we also strive to make things fun, and joyful in our family. So we'll make these things ourselves using better ingredients, right? So he doesn't feel like he is missing out. Like the other kids are getting this, and he isn't.

I'll tell you right now, I never once told my son to not eat pizza. But we'll go to a birthday party, and he's just like, "No, I don't want any." Never told him that, but I guess it just doesn't taste real to him. You know?

It doesn't really vibe- which sounds crazy, I know. Because some pizza is just like the best thing you've ever had, right? But a lot of these birthday parties, it's crummy pizza. Let's just be honest.

And also just the way that he likes to feel. And so it's a culture, you know? Not to say that he's not going to eat pizza sometimes, that's all good.

But what we do is make sure like, "Hey, let's make pizza a little bit healthier, and we'll do this ourselves." Give him that good template, a good experience.

With burgers, he loves burgers, so we'll make it as healthy as we can, and add in- make sure he's getting some vegetables in, that kind of thing. Alright? 

And so there's a couple of other tips and insights I want to share, but I'll share those after this interview, alright? Because I just want to get into it and introduce you to my son, Braden, and I just hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I've got a very special guest on the show today. It is my son, the amazing Braden Stevenson. What's up, buddy?

Braden Stevenson:  Hey.

Shawn Stevenson:  How are you?

Braden Stevenson:  Good.

Shawn Stevenson:  Good. So, you're on vacation right now, huh?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, it's a cool vacation? Are you enjoying yourself so far?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  What did you do today?

Braden Stevenson:  I meditated in the morning, drank some water, practiced my math facts, and was hanging out with Mom.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, and I also saw a ninja thing you was doing?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  With some ninja? You knocked on the door when I was shaving, you had to show me- what was it? A shuriken? 

Braden Stevenson:  No- I think yeah, a shuriken.

Shawn Stevenson:  And what is a shuriken? Is it like a ninja star?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  Where did you learn about that?

Braden Stevenson:  From Teen Titans Go!

Shawn Stevenson:  From Teen Titans Go? Is that your favorite show? What's your favorite cartoon?

Braden Stevenson:  Max Steel.

Shawn Stevenson:  Max Steel? I thought Ninjago was your favorite.

Braden Stevenson:  Oh yeah, it's my favorite too.

Shawn Stevenson:  You can have different favorites, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, that's pretty cool. So I've got some questions for you, if that's cool, to ask you about. 

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  Remember the other day when we were walking - and I just told Mommy as well - that you told me about your idea of everything is exercise? Can you talk about that? Where did that come from?

Braden Stevenson:  Myself.

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, so what does that mean? 

Braden Stevenson:  Like sitting down, it helps your body, like your muscles. Let's see-

Shawn Stevenson:  To relax?

Braden Stevenson:  To relax. Walking, it helps your legs and your body. Yeah, a lot of stuff. Doing exercise, helping your body, drinking water. Everything is. Playing piano, since it helps your hands- gets your hands loosened up so you can play the right music.

Shawn Stevenson:  That's so smart. When you said that to me, I thought it was the smartest idea ever, that everything is exercise. Everything that you do is exercise. 

Even, like you said, like doing the dishes, if you're just walking around your house, everything is exercise, right? Wow.

Braden Stevenson:  Building Legos since it helps your brain, and it's meditation. 

Shawn Stevenson:  I love that! That's so smart. So it's brain exercise, too? 

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  Cool, man. I like that.

Braden Stevenson:  Challenging my brain against the Lego. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh! 

Braden Stevenson:  Like brain is doing it- my brain versus it.

Shawn Stevenson:  Your brain versus the Legos. But you win most of the time, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm, since my brain is getting smart. 

Shawn Stevenson:  So would you say that you're a master builder?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  Is the Legos probably your favorite toy to build?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah. I have so many. I have a zillion Legos. I have more than a zillion. I have one trillion billion, I don't know, it's so much.

Shawn Stevenson:  It is, it's a lot, and you build- what kind of mechs do you build?

Braden Stevenson:  Water Strider Mech, Nindroid Mech, the Fire Mech.

Shawn Stevenson:  So that's from Ninjago, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes, the Ninjago movie. Lightning Mech, the Dragon Mech for Lloyd. The Ice Mech was for Zane. The Quake Mech is for Cole, and the Dragon Mech- I think I already said that, yeah. The Dragon Mech is for Lloyd.

Shawn Stevenson:  And what is Lord Garmadon?

Braden Stevenson:  Lord Garmadon, his robot is called the Garma Mecha Man.

Shawn Stevenson:  The Garma Mecha Man, oh man. So some of these Legos, it says it's for like kids who are like eight to fourteen, and you're seven! How do you do it?

Braden Stevenson:  Just smart. Maybe getting smart, or maybe doing good stuff with my brain. Not feeding it too much sugar, not eating too much sugar, eating broccoli like how we did yesterday, eating brussel sprouts that day, eating healthy stuff.

Shawn Stevenson:  That helps your brain to be smarter?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, cool. But you do have some treats too sometimes, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah, sometimes.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, we've got to have some good treats. Cool, man. So I remember when you first started building the Legos, and it was hard. Do you remember when it was hard?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm, I needed help a lot, but now I don't.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, and what happened? Because remember you would get frustrated? You used to get frustrated more, but then what did I tell you about failure? Do you remember that?

Braden Stevenson:  Failing is good since failing helps you learn more, so when you keep trying again and again, then you'll get it.

Shawn Stevenson:  That's right. I love it, B. And you really got that message because you came from kind of having a hard time with Legos, and now you're a master builder. You can build anything. I know you can build anything.

Braden Stevenson:  I can build anything on my tablet. Like I've built a lot of stuff in Ninjago Shadow of Ronin.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah.

Braden Stevenson:  It's a Lego.

Shawn Stevenson:  So your tablet is one of your favorite things? But we just got you a tablet, it's pretty recent, but do you remember when you bought stuff on your tablet?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  That is crazy. I don't even know how to buy stuff on your tablet, and you went to Amazon, and you bought toys.

Braden Stevenson:  First of all- first of all, I loved doing that. Second of all, I found my toys in the mail, I think. Wait, I didn't find it in the mail, Mom found it on her computer. 

Shawn Stevenson:  And you got in trouble. 

Braden Stevenson:  And third of all, I like better stuff than Amazon.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, but you also learned your lesson, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes, I love Hulu since it has all the seasons.

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, but you learned your lesson from buying stuff on your tablet, right? Right?

Braden Stevenson:  But I still have Amazon. A different Amazon. It's not the Amazon, it's an Amazon movie one. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Right, so you're not buying stuff.

Braden Stevenson:  No, it's just Amazon.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, because you understand money now a little bit more, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  So it doesn't just come from anywhere, you've got to earn it, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  But you're making some bank, huh?

Braden Stevenson:  I have a lot of money, but you guys have to tell me how much.

Shawn Stevenson:  You know how to count money. 

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah, so-

Shawn Stevenson:  I don't want you disclosing. This is a rule from Biggie Smalls. I know you don't know who he is, but it's never let anyone know how much dough you hold. 

Braden Stevenson:  So how much dough a cannibal can roll in or chock rock in?

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, so you're talking about a whole different kind of dough, but that's all good. So let's talk about your brother. Alright? So your brother- I know you guys have a pretty good relationship. He's your older brother, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  But sometimes you act like you're the older brother, right? 

Braden Stevenson:  Yes! One time I put a pillow on his head, and then he was like, "Oh!" And he was jumping around his face with the pillow on.

Shawn Stevenson:  So what do you guys usually do? Do you guys- I know that he works out with you sometimes too, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, what kind of workout stuff do you do?

Braden Stevenson:  We do lunges, and we lift kinds of weights. I remember I used to lift fives, but now I lift tens.

Shawn Stevenson:  So now you lift tens, huh? So you're getting stronger? So the more you work out, then you get stronger? Is that how it works?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, let me ask you about- because you know what you told me the other day that I thought was amazing? You said that you want to learn everything about the human body.

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  Why?

Braden Stevenson:  Since the body is so interesting, there's so much stuff inside that I can learn from you inside the body.

Shawn Stevenson:  Awesome. And you told me something about bones today.

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Can you tell me that?

Braden Stevenson:  Adults have 207 bones. Baby bones have 300 bones. 

Shawn Stevenson:  That's crazy. When you told me that, I was like, "Oh my goodness," because I didn't even remember that. And it's as we get older, all of those seemingly extra bones, they start kind of melding together. So babies have 300 you said, right?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  And then adults- so basically we have like almost 100 less bones, but that's because our bones have all grown together. So like it's kind of like Legos.

A baby has Legos inside for their bones, and then the Legos all start to connect. 

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah, like how we put pieces together to make a giant thing. So first of all, it just starts with one little piece, just one little piece of a Lego, so tiny. Then the one piece becomes into a giant mech.

Shawn Stevenson:  Or a giant person.

Braden Stevenson:  Or a giant red.

Shawn Stevenson:  Got it. Alright, so let's talk about food, alright? I know we definitely like to eat as a family, right? We eat all kinds of good stuff. 

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  What are some of your favorite things?

Braden Stevenson:  My favorite things to eat?

Shawn Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Braden Stevenson:  Burgers. Me and my brother would love burgers. Fries, brussel sprouts. I love those brussel sprouts that we had last night. The day before last night.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah.

Braden Stevenson:  Broccoli. You know how they have that pepper in there? 

Shawn Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Braden Stevenson:  Well it's not that spicy.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah.

Braden Stevenson:  It's not too spicy, but I like it. Broccoli. Let's see, I also like desserts after. Well, we usually- sometimes do desserts like cookies, but not really. I love a lot of stuff. Sweet potato! 

Shawn Stevenson:  Sweet potato, yeah. It's so yummy. Okay, cool. So that's a lot of different kinds of food there, but you get to have different treats and things that you like, and also you make sure that you eat healthy stuff.

Because you know how it feels when you don't eat healthy stuff, right? Do you remember kind of feeling like not the best?

Braden Stevenson:  You need to throw up. Throwing up is not- I know throw up is like sort of, but you don't want to keep that throw up in there so your tummy can hurt.

Well, it's sort of good so you don't have your tummy hurting, but it's just still not good since you- like sometimes it does stuff to your body inside.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, that's right. And also, you make sure you have your water bottle. Like you've got your container. Is it a Captain America container? Your water bottle? 

Braden Stevenson:  No, it's Minecraft.

Shawn Stevenson:  Minecraft? Okay. You've got all kinds of them though, right?

Braden Stevenson:  And Spiderman, Ironman, Captain America. Yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  And you make sure you drink- why do you drink your water every day? 

Braden Stevenson:  So I can go poop.

Shawn Stevenson:  It helps with poop, yup. And what else? What is water good for?

Braden Stevenson:  Your body. 

Shawn Stevenson:  It's just everything, huh?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm. And also, I brought my water.

Shawn Stevenson:  You brought your water? 

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  I know we should have brought it in here, but it's okay. You can get some when we're all wrapped up. So I know that at school you just did this because this time of year, you guys are talking about like the holiday. And so, can you read this for me?

Braden Stevenson:  Sure. I'm grateful for giving love to my family. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Wait, hold on. And so what it is, is you've got 'Gratitude' here, and each of those letters you have to write a sentence for it, or something that goes along with it. It's called an anagram. So it says 'Gratitude.' 

So it says, 'I am grateful for,' and the first G says? 

Braden Stevenson:  Giving love to my family. And also, you have to write something that starts with the letter right here.

Shawn Stevenson:  Yup, got it. So let's talk about the first one first before you go to the next one. 

Braden Stevenson:  Giving love to my family?

Shawn Stevenson:  Mm hmm, why are you grateful for that? 

Braden Stevenson:  Since you let me play Marvel games, you cook nice food for me. You guys show me new stuff in Fortnight- well, Jordan mostly. You play awesome games with me. You pick the awesome shows ever, and cool Voltron lions.

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh yeah, introduced you to do that Voltron life, huh?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  Awesome. Alright, so let's go to the R. So what is R?

Braden Stevenson:  Reading with my family. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, so you're grateful for reading with your family. Why?

Braden Stevenson:  Since then I get smarter. My brain challenges my book now, so the brain wins, and now it's getting smarter by beating the Legos and the book.

Shawn Stevenson:  I love that. I love it, B. Alright, so let's go to the next one. I'm grateful for?

Braden Stevenson:  I didn't have anything else to think of, but I just had to write animals. There's lots that I'm grateful for. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, so let's go to the next one then. 

Braden Stevenson:  No, I have something that I'm grateful for. Since you know bees make honey for us? 

Shawn Stevenson:  Yeah, oh that's awesome. Yup.

Braden Stevenson:  Since some kinds of animals make food for us. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, that's smart. I like that. That is something to be grateful for. 

Braden Stevenson:  Okay.

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, let's go to the T.

Braden Stevenson:  Tickling my dad.

Shawn Stevenson:  You're grateful for tickling me?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  That's funny to you?

Braden Stevenson:  Yeah.

Shawn Stevenson:  I can't stand it.

Braden Stevenson:  I like tickling you with a feather on your nose. 

Shawn Stevenson:  That makes me want to flip out. 

Braden Stevenson:  And your nose itches.

Shawn Stevenson:  I know. That's a little secret about me, I'm very ticklish. Alright, let's go to the next one, I.

Braden Stevenson:  I like playing with my brother. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright. So why are you grateful for that?

Braden Stevenson:  Since he plays nerf gun with me. I got him to do Fortnight. Let's see, we sometimes play other games like-

Shawn Stevenson:  Pillow fight?

Braden Stevenson:  Pillow fights, yes! Pillow fights!

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, let's move to the next one.

Braden Stevenson:  U. Using PS4 game. I have tons of reasons why. Since I'm grateful for it because we get to play games on it, and if we didn't have that, and we wanted to play games, we couldn't even have games and we would be sad. But if we had like an XBOX, XBOX 1, XBOX 2, we would get to use DVDs to play games. 

Shawn Stevenson:  I like it, I get it. Let's go to the next one. So I am grateful for? What do we got now? It's a T? Another T?

Braden Stevenson:  Alright, wait no. So this might be confusing to some- wait. I skipped one! Alright, so I skipped one, just so you know. So I know I already said tickling my dad, then there's another tickling my dad.

Shawn Stevenson:  The next T, so both Ts is tickling me, is what you're grateful for?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes, and then- 

Shawn Stevenson:  Okay, so let's go to the U. So then we've got 'Gratit-' and now we've got the U.

Braden Stevenson:  No, so we already-

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh, you skipped that one, okay. So you went right to the PS4, that's U. So using PS4. So now we're on D.

Braden Stevenson:  So D, Dad tickling me, not me tickling him. So Dad tickling me. 

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, got it.

Braden Stevenson:  Not me tickling you.

Shawn Stevenson:  Alright, so you're grateful for that, too. Now with your last E, I'm grateful for?

Braden Stevenson:  Eating.

Shawn Stevenson:  Eating!

Braden Stevenson:  Since it helps us get strong and healthy food helps us.

Shawn Stevenson:  I love it, B. This was awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that, buddy. That was really good. So I love having you on the show, and this was really fun, and I'm learning stuff, and I'm learning about you. So what are you excited about in your life right now?

Braden Stevenson:  I'm excited, like you said, maybe we can play Marvel game when we get back home. I'm excited Mom made cookies for us. Remember when we put the chocolate chips one time in there? 

Shawn Stevenson:  Yes, I remember. 

Braden Stevenson:  Let's see, driving here safely. Having for me to be on The Model Health Show with you, my Daddy.

Shawn Stevenson:  Oh, that's awesome, B. Well, there are so many things I want to ask you about, but the last thing I've got to ask you about is about your dancing. 

Everybody loves your dancing, so why do you like to dance? Do you like to dance?

Braden Stevenson:  Yes.

Shawn Stevenson:  What is it about dancing that you like?

Braden Stevenson:  That the music, the skills, the new moves I learn from videos and Jordan.

Shawn Stevenson:  From videos and Jordan? That's where you study, you learn your moves, and then you perfect them?

Braden Stevenson:  Mm hmm.

Shawn Stevenson:  So it's you versus the dance, and you will master that, too. My man, I appreciate you, B. So I'm excited that you're excited, we're definitely going to have some delicious food today, and we'll play a Marvel game, too.

Is there anything else before I let you go that you want to share with all the listeners about how they can be healthy?

Braden Stevenson:  Just like I said, I just want to remind you again everybody who's listening right now, to drink two bottles a day, eat healthy stuff, meditate in the morning like how I do every morning, and drink water in the morning, like how I love to on the weekends.

Eat healthy stuff. You can eat some yummy stuff sometimes. Even if you don't, that's okay. If you do, that's okay. But just make sure you stay healthy, and be healthy, just like my dad, and me, and my family.

Shawn Stevenson:  Awesome. Thank you, B. I love you, buddy.

Braden Stevenson:  You're welcome too. I love you, too.

Shawn Stevenson:  Awesome. I hope that you enjoyed that interview with my son, Braden. He just knocks me out, man. It's just so amazing to see, and to talk with him.

He's been asking to come on the show for a long time, you know? Like at live events and things like that, many times he'll come up on stage, and he'll speak to the audience, and- but he wanted to come on The Model Health Show. You know?

And he asked me several times, and I was just like especially right now, and the legacy potentially that can be built, and so I'm just very grateful to share that with you. And so I hope that you enjoyed it.

And like I said, I wanted to share a couple more insights with you about just kind of creating this culture. You know, again, he mentioned his favorite things that he likes to do, but making sure that I'm giving him structure. 

That's another thing when creating that culture of wellness in your family, you have to have some structure. There's so much going on, you've got soccer practice, chess club, school, homework, whatever it might be, plus you running your business, or going to the office, doing your job, making sure that you're going shopping, and preparing food, spending quality time together.

It's a lot. It's a lot, but you can achieve all of these things with grace and space to spare if you're creating conscious structure in your household. It is an absolute must today. 

And so we have certain rituals and routines that we've consciously installed. We have got a morning routine, and we've got an evening routine specifically, you know? And kind of an after school routine as well.

And the brain is always looking for that sense of certainty, and a pattern to follow, and this is why he goes to sleep very gracefully each night, and he wakes up at about the same time as well.

And so he's got his evening routine that we've been doing literally since he was an infant. I can't stress enough how important it is to create structure.

No matter how old your kids are right now, and you're just like, "Well, they're already twelve years old or whatever, they're not going to be into it," this leads to the next piece which is you are the parent. Alright? 

You are the parent, you set the standards in the household, and it doesn't matter how old your children are, there can always be change.

And I've said this before, I'm kind of being a benevolent dictator in a sense, you know? I'm not under any kind of false notions that he's going to be running the household, alright? 

He definitely- his voice is heard, and I love him so much, and I honor his thoughts and requests, but I'm here as a guide, and really working to allow him to of course do the things that fulfills him, but also giving him structure, accountability, responsibility, and the things that he's going to carry into the rest of the world in order to make a positive impact, but also to remain healthy himself, and to really be- just to be a good person.

And so with that said, it's keeping that in mind, that no matter where they are, there is opportunity for change, and to add in some structure.

And so for our evening routine, again he's been doing this since a baby, he brushes his teeth, puts on his pajamas, we do some reading together, and we do the tuck-in. 

I always tuck him in. Nine times out of ten, I'm the one that puts him to bed, give him a hug, we say our words to each other that we say pretty much every night, and we turn the lights out, and that's the process. 

You know? We used to play music for him also. We'd put on this kind of background music ever since he was an infant, up until probably he was like maybe five years old. And it was just like a trigger. It's a neuro-association for him. 

And so by the way, my evening routine last night- part of my evening routine- I don't know if you've ever woken up, got the stiff neck going on, and you're just not right.

Well, I had that happen yesterday, and it's an abnormality for me. It's kind of rare that weird stuff like that happens, you know? 

Of course, I probably slept in an awkward position I guess, and just a lot of execution, maybe some stress. I've been getting back to training a certain way after dealing with an injury, and I really- I felt like it could be one of those things that lasts several days.

But I've got a secret weapon, alright? And I highly, highly recommend that you have this on standby. And for me, it was a topical magnesium.

Magnesium is responsible for over 325 biochemical processes that we're aware of. So that means a deficiency in magnesium, that's 325 things your body can't do or do effectively efficiently if you're deficient. 

And guess what? This is the number one mineral deficiency in our world today. At least 70% of the population is deficient- chronically deficient in magnesium.

Getting it through food, absolutely, but the problem is magnesium is responsible for so many different processes. It gets zapped from your system very quickly, especially when you're dealing with stress.

It's an anti-stress mineral, and so food, yes. I recommend supplementation when I was doing my clinical work for most people, but the problem with that, if you take even a little- even a smidgen more than what's called your bile tolerance- so you take even a little bit more than your tolerance, your bile tolerance of magnesium oral supplement, it will in fact pull a lot more water to your bowels and cause an evacuation, AKA get your diaper ready.

Alright? AKA can't run to the bathroom fast enough, AKA diarrhea. Alright? You have to be mindful of that. So the best way to get your levels up is topical application onto your skin.

So before I went to bed last night, I was like just massaging myself with the Ease Magnesium that I do anyways 99% of the nights, but I don't necessarily massage my neck like that. 

And I really massaged it in, and I woke up, and I felt amazing. It was just like this could last three or four days, and today I feel like a million dollars.

Alright? So it's great, it has a lot of roles with muscle relaxation, improving sleep. Magnesium is an important mineral in sleep-related processes in the body. 

It's related to energy, you know? Just you being able to have energy as well because MGATP binds with ATP to give you kind of this active form of energy. The list goes on and on.

And so for me, it's Ease Magnesium. So you can go to www.EaseMagnesium.com/model. Alright? So that's www.EaseMagnesium.com/model, you get 15% off of this incredible super critical extract of topical magnesium. Alright? So check it out. 

Alright, last thing that I want to share. You know, we talked about ensuring that we're consciously creating structure, ensuring that we're allowing them to experience things, ensuring that we're remaining in our power as a parent, and also supporting them.

But the final thing I want to share, and it's just so important, is the thing that really helped to transform myself personally, is making sure that we're giving them a template and experience of love. Alright? 

This might sound obvious, but today more than ever, just making sure that we're instilling that sense of love, instilling that sense of value and worth, and that they matter, and that we're giving them that attentiveness so that they're not seeking it from external sources or validation, because they're instilled the template of love. 

It's so important today, and so no matter what is going on, whether it's cookies or broccoli, I'm still showing him love. I'm making sure he knows that food is not defining him, right? 

I'm making sure that his work at school, or him building these Legos is not defining him. I'm still going to love you.

And for me personally, having that template of love from my grandmother, she really made me feel like I matter, and it set a template for me that I carried through all of the negative things that I went through in my lifetime and in my childhood after leaving her home.

I still remember what love feels like, and I want to make sure that I give that to my son. So I love him so much, I love on him, I hug him. 

He shared the tickling. He's usually the one doing the tickling though, and he does it like- he'll do it like assault, like a ninja, you know? 

Like I'll be just- you know, I'm like reaching for something in the cabinet. Boom, he sticks his finger under my armpit, and hits me, you know? And I'm just like, "Ah!" 

I laugh but also cry at the same time, but we just- we're very close. And I believe that he is going to just be so overflowing with that love that there's not going to be many things that can make him feel deficient in that love. 

So it's our opportunity to love our children, and to love- just love each other. You know? Love our family members, love our community, love our friends, and set a new template today because we need it more than ever, alright? 

And I appreciate you, and I love you, and I thank you so much for tuning into this episode, and I hope that you have an incredible, incredible day ahead, and incredible week, incredible month, incredible year, and incredible lifetime ahead.

Because all through this process, we're going to keep providing more and more value because I've got some incredible guests and show topics coming up that are going to change the game for you, so make sure to stay tuned. Alright? 

I appreciate you so very much. Take care, have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.

And for more after the show, make sure to head over to www.TheModelHealthShow.com. That's where you can find all of the show notes, you can find transcriptions, videos for each episode, and if you've got a comment you can leave me a comment there as well. 

And please make sure to head over to iTunes and leave us a rating to let everybody know that the show is awesome, and I appreciate that so much. 

And take care, I promise to keep giving you more powerful, empowering, great content to help you transform your life. Thanks for tuning in.