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 special occasion. This is the 300th episode of The Model Health Show. When I hear 300, I'm thinking about Sparta. 'This is Sparta.'

Alright? This has been an incredible journey and incredible process, and I just wanted to share something really special with you. So I decided that I'm going to go in and look at what are ten of my favorite most powerful moments from the last hundred episodes, and put them together for you in this episode.

And it was so difficult to choose, there are so many- so many, and even I couldn't go back any further. Just even having in the last 100 episodes, it's just been profound.

And so I'm going to share some of those moments with you in this episode, but I also wanted to share a little bit about what this means to me, you know?

This has been the most consistent thing I've ever done in my life, alright? Outside of loving my wife has been loving this show and dedicating myself to the research, and dedicating myself to putting myself in position to be able to transform lives, and really taking that very, very seriously.

And also understanding at the same time not to take this stuff so seriously, and marrying that together in this message of how can we translate this information that's essential for us to be the very best version of ourselves for ourselves, and that trickles out into our families, and to our communities, and really changing the world.

But it starts with the individual, and focusing on self-care, focusing on the things that we need to do as an individual that oftentimes this stuff isn't a part of the normal conversation, you know?

I went to a traditional university, and 99.9% of this stuff, I didn't pick that up there, you know? And you would think that this would just be things that are handed to us.

Like when we get here, learning about how our amazing body works, but it's just not the case. And also learning about other things, you know?

This show is dedicated not just to physical health, but relationship health, our financial health, our spiritual well-being, you know? Mental and emotional health. All of these things create sort of this kind of patchwork quilt that is our lives, you know?

We are the result of these things that we're exposed to. If you're not exposed to information about creating a fit, healthy body, we're going to be deficient in that area.

If you're not exposed to information on creating health in our finances, we're going to be deficient on that. So how can we learn this stuff, is we have to make it a study.

But studying can suck. Studying can suck sometimes. So how can we add some joy to this process? How can we add some energy? How can we add some enlightenment? Right? And that's what we strive to do here on the show.

And this is- it really evolved out of my clinical work, you know? Me having this story of going to college and having this experience of being diagnosed with a disease that I was told by my practitioners, "This isn't curable. You have degenerative spinal disease. You have degenerative disc disease."

My bone density was so poor, I broke my hip from running. Just running! Running at a practice. How is that possible? You know?

I was so deficient in these key nutrients, and I was so off track of what health looks like. I thought because I was fit, I had the appearance of being fit, that I was healthy. I didn't know what health was.

And that experience of literally having my life stripped from me, of being somebody who's a fit person, who's an athlete, who is even cool, my ego was checked. When you have to wear a back brace in the nightclub.

I'm in the nightclub like trying to do my two-step, and I've got a back brace on. It's not cool. Like my ego got checked. And thankfully so, because I was so ironically self-centered, and this was a survival mechanism, you know?

And I talked about this on the show before, I grew up in various environments, but for the majority of my kind of conscious evolution, through grades three to when I graduated high school, it was a really volatile environment. You know?

There was a lot of abuse, there was a lot of- there was violence, there was clear malnutrition, you know? But there was also love, you know?

There were moments, there were very special moments, but it was an environment where I could not wait to get free of because I had an experience earlier in my life of having a free life, of like I had certainty living with my grandmother.

I knew what I was going to wake up to, and then having that where I might wake up to someone in my family having a black eye, or somebody being arrested, or these various things. You know?

And so that drew me in. It really drew me in, and I didn't know. I didn't want to be a self-centered person. I was very loving as a child, you know? But I became very self-centered and self-aware and self-cautious.

In a strange way self-aware, but not the self-aware that I am experienced with today, but going through that experience of losing my own health, and finding out all of these things that enabled me to transform my body, to regenerate the tissue of my spine, and my bones, and my two ruptured discs retracted on their own, and getting this excess weight off my frame, and just feeling so good for the first time in my kind of adult life.

Because when I hit adulthood, I hit disease, right? This degenerative condition, this so-called incurable condition. And I just got a scan of my spine done literally- I just got to see it two days ago. Supple, juicy discs in between the vertebrae in my spine. Alright? Supple.

That's one of those words you just like to say, alright? Supple. That's up there with like 'fluffy pajamas,' right? These are words you just like to say. I've got supple discs, right?

And the story that I was told just wasn't true, and I wanted other people to know that. I wanted other people to experience what it felt like to be free in their body, to feel healthy.

And that really created the course of life for me, and my dedication, and my career path was now I'm shifting from this self-centered approach to being about service to others in the deepest most profound way.

How can I serve? How can I find a way to help this person? Whatever it takes, let me help figure this out.

And in my clinical practice, the opportunity to work with thousands of people over the years in the gym, and also at my office, and doing consulting work, and I got to a place where working with people coming in with type II diabetes, or they're on statins, they're on Lisinopril for their blood pressure and hypertension, and they're on Metformin, and they're on- the list goes on and on.

And seeing this incredibly high number of reversal rates for issues like type II diabetes, for attention deficit disorder, for hypertension, high blood pressure, all of these things.

And I got to a point where the patient would come in, I'd walk them through how this disease manifested. Like let's reverse engineer diabetes.

Here's what it looks like, and I'd be on the board, and I'd write, and I'd make it so crystal clear. They felt empowered for the first time. They understood like, "Oh, this is how it happened. This is how to get better." Right?

Even if somebody's coming in for just general weight loss, like nobody ever explained to them how does your body actually store fat? Like what is the process? How does that happen?

"I just eat some stuff, I eat too much, and then I have too much me." That's what we think, just like if I just eat a lot of food, I get- but there are people that can eat more food than folks that are overweight and not gain weight. Right?

What's going on behind the scenes? And so I would empower these folks. And so- but doing this day after day, person in the waiting room after the others, saying the same thing over and over again, I was like, "I need to write this down. Or I need to record this. I need to share with more people about this information because it's transformative."

It's changing these people's lives, but this one-on-one context isn't going to get it. And so I decided I'm going to make sure that other practitioners have this information. I'm going to be helping to teach more teachers so we can really create a massive movement.

And that was part of the birth of The Model Health Show, was packaging up this information in a way that makes sense, in a way that resonates, in a way that empowers, and from episode one, all the way up to 300, instilling that heart, and that passion to serve, and not just information, but profound knowledge. Alright?

Something that's profound that can literally transform your life, every episode when you push play. That's my dedication.

And also striving to bring the very best of the best people in the world in their respective fields for you to learn from. And many of the clips that we're going to share today, these are people who had a profound impact on my life, you know?

Some of them even early in my career, just changing the direction of where I was even going based on some of these conversations. So I'm very, very excited to share this with you, and I'm just so grateful for you being a part of this mission, a part of my life, and allowing me to be a part of your life.

And I'm telling you, I'm just getting warmed up. Alright? I'm just scratching the surface because we've got a lot- we've got a lot of great things coming up in store for you.

But I just want to take this time to celebrate, and to celebrate you, you know? I definitely have had to learn to stop and take time to smell the roses, you know?

I've kind of had the personality of just onto the next thing, onto the next thing, but I think it's important to acknowledge the love that you give, to acknowledge when you've accomplished something special.

And I really feel that in this moment, and I'm just grateful to be able to share that with you. And so on that note, today we've got ten of the most profound individuals, ten conversations, ten clips from people who've had a big influence on my life, and we're going to dive right into that.

But you know, part of this process has been continuing to upgrade things, continuing to get better, not just with myself, but also with my ability to distribute the information. Right? To really upgrade our level of- from the audio side, the video side, and we've got some big things coming up for that as well.

But who's been there to support this and support that mission is- it's my family at Onnit, you know? They've been there for years with supporting the show.

And I literally- I love them, I absolutely love them. I literally every single day utilize the emulsified MCT oil. It's one of the best products- I think it's one of the best things ever made, alright?

Taking something that has all of this research, and more is just pouring in, on the benefits of this medium chain triglyceride oil, and creating an emulsified version that's like a coffee creamer to get people to do healthy stuff that actually tastes good, that's pleasurable.

You're not like taking away, because some people, they need their cream. They're like, "I need my coffee, five creams." Alright? And they're just putting in like this heavily processed artificial whatever. They're putting that hitter in their veins, that artificial right into their veins.

Alright? And wonder why they're acting fake. Alright? I hope you caught that. Artificial, fake, yeah they're doing that versus something like this.

And they taste amazing. The almond milk latte, the new one, outstanding. Absolutely amazing. But this is my family, you know? These are- the headquarters down in Austin is one of the coolest places in the world.

The people there absolutely love what they're doing, and they're doing stuff the right way. And that's what really matters most to me, you know?

The sourcing, the care that goes into the formulas, and making sure that everybody in the process is being taken care of in an upstanding way, you know?

So since this has been something that's been a gift for all of us, and a gift in my life, I want to make sure that you're getting this gift. So I want to give this gift to you from Onnit, and here's what I want you to know about this gift.

There was a study published in 'Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,' that looked at thirty healthy athletes for six weeks to record the effects of cordyceps on their performance.

The group that added cordyceps in their daily regimen had twice the oxygen intake of the control group. Oxygen is supplying essential minerals, nutrients to the muscles preventing fatigue, helping to prevent the build-up of lactate.

And a study done by the same group showed 9% increase in aerobic activity from taking cordyceps. Alright? Cordyceps medicinal mushroom, clinically proven to improve your performance. 9% is substantial, absolutely crazy.

People that are taking these crazy pre-workouts with just all of this- again, processed chemical synthetic stuff, and we don't understand the long-term ramifications of that.

Cordyceps has been used for literally thousands of years, and they're sourcing this- again, they're getting the very best quality, not cutting corners, doing the right thing.

But also what I love about Onnit is that they did their own twelve-week clinical trial that they paid for out of their own pocket, and this was done at Florida State University.

But here's the thing, it wasn't like, "We're going to fund the study and like do it our way." This was a double blind placebo controlled study. Gold standard.

And they found that utilizing Shroom Tech Sport, which is their cordyceps pre-workout formula, increased bench press reps by 12%, increased combined bench press and back squat reps by 7%, increased cardio performance by 8.8%.

There you have it, right on track with the research that was published from the study that I talked about earlier. It's the real deal.

So if you're going to utilize a pre-workout, this is it. Or if you need a pre-life, you know? Sometimes we just need that extra boost, you know? To really push through if you've got a lot on your work plate, or your schedule, everything- it's safe, natural.

There's no like weird crazy spike, it's just natural- utilizing your body's own natural energy, alright? Just helping everything to work a little bit better.

We've got cordyceps, methylated B-12 in there, which is the actual usable form of B-12, and here's what the gift is.

For today, episode 300, free- you're getting a free bottle- free bottle, trial bottle for you to try yourself of Shroom Tech Sport from Onnit. Alright? As a gift.

So I want you to go to www.TheModelHealthShow.com/sport, that's www.TheModelHealthShow.com/sport, you get a free bottle. Alright? Coming right to your door, so definitely take advantage, alright?

This is f-f-free, alright? It's the good F-word. Take advantage, alright? Www.TheModelHealthShow.com/sport. And on that note, let's get to the iTunes review of the week.

ITunes Review: Another five-star review titled, 'Thank you, Shawn,' by MZen.

"You can hear the genuine enthusiasm in Shawn's voice. He truly cares about each topic he covers. I love the dynamic between Shawn and each guest he brings onto The Model Health Show.

I'm engaged, I'm learning, and I feel like they're in the room with me. As someone who is always trying to get their partner to eat, live, and feel healthier, when I finally got my boyfriend to listen to a couple episodes, he's hooked.

Thank you for leading such a great example and for putting love and great energy into what you truly care about."

Shawn Stevenson: Thank you so much. What an incredible story. That is- that's just powerful. Very, very awesome, and thank you for that acknowledgement, and just thank you for being amazing! And for sharing! You know? Because that's what it is at the end of the day.

It's not just about us, it's how can we influence in a kind and compassionate way the people that we care about so that we can all be on this process of becoming the best version of ourselves, and supporting each other, you know? That's what it's really about.

But sometimes, the voices of proximity, we don't listen. Right? So being able to have- this is another reason why I do this, you know? You can send this to a family member, whatever the topic is, and share it with them, and they have kind of a definitive guide in a way that can inspire them, that makes sense to them, that often inspires action.

And so please remember, never hesitate to share, never hesitate in the concern about what somebody might think when you have something that can help. You know?

Because you never know. You never know what kind of transformation that can be created just by sharing something like what we do here on The Model Health Show.

So thank you so much, and everybody, for heading over to Apple Podcasts and leaving a review for the show. Please do so if you haven't done so. Alright? I appreciate it so much.

This sounds like myself, I'd like to introduce myself, alright? But on that note, listen, this is a very special episode because 300- it's just kind of hard to wrap my mind around, and how many hours have gone on behind the scenes of being able to show up as the best version of me, and to deliver this information, and to bring on the very best people in the world in their respective fields.

And this episode, we've got ten- ten of the most influential people who I've had on the show who've influenced my life in various forms, and we're going to go ahead and kick that off.

The first one that I have for you is a conversation that I had with Dr. Bruce Lipton. Now Bruce Lipton transformed my life. He transformed my thinking.

He's the one who introduced into my life, after watching a lecture of his, the concept of epigenetics. You know?

I didn't know what it was. I knew that genes did not determine things like I was taught in school, but I didn't know that we had a whole field of science that was looking at like, "Yeah, this is obvious. We've known this for decades."

And his swagger and his experience, the things that he's been through, and the things that he's had to really- to persevere through to get the information out in his book, 'The Biology of Belief,' is just absolutely classic.

And so to have him on the show was such a special moment for me, you know? And he talks about in this clip correlation and causation. Alright? Which are two totally different things that often get mistaken for each other.

And understanding a little bit about- again, epigenetics is above genetic control, and understanding we have 20,000 to 25,000 genes that we share as humans. Not really that many.

How do we have such variation in our appearance, in our levels of health, in our intelligence? It's because all 25,000 of those genes have thousands of different potential expressions based on the way that we live our lives.

And the man to share that with you, and the man who brought it to my life, Dr. Bruce Lipton. Let's check it out.

Dr. Bruce Lipton: Shawn, there's two words that conventional science mixes up. Well, it's not conventional science, actually the media in talking about science mixes up, and these two words are correlation and causation.

They use these words interchangeably. "A gene causes cancer." I go, "No, no, no. A gene is correlated with cancer. It does not cause cancer."

See, so we have to get out of the belief that genes are making decisions and genes are controlling our lives. And is why the new science epigenetics is a revolution that will change the planet.

It is as much a revolution as when Newtonian physics went into Quantum physics, and the world changed.

Today, going from genetics to epigenetics is the same massive jump that will change civilization. And they say, "Well what's the difference? They almost sound the same."

I go, "When I say 'genetic control,' which is what I was teaching in medical school, genetic control simply means controlled by genes. So people out there believe, "Oh my cancer is caused by genes, my diabetes is caused by genes, whatever it is, is caused by genes."

That's the belief, and I go, "Yeah, but the fact is this; genes do not cause anything. Genes are not capable of turning themselves on and off. Genes have no- in bigger words - self-actualization." Meaning genes don't make decisions, genes are blueprints.

They are blueprints to make the physical body parts. They go, "Well why is it relevant?" I say, "Because when you're building the body, the contractor calls up the blueprints, the blueprints don't call themselves up."

They go, "The contractor?" I go, "Yeah, the mind, the brain, the nervous system reads the world and then adjusts the body to deal with the world."

So the mind calls up the genes, and now when I say epigenetic control, which is the new science, remember genetic control, control by genes. New science, epigenetic control. Sounds the same, but 'epi' means above. So when I say epigenetic control, I am saying control above the genes.

And all of a sudden it's like, "Oh, the genes don't control it?" I go, "No, genes never control anything. Genes are blueprints."

Epigenetics means the environment. And here's the one I want people to just emphasize this one.

The environment and our perception of the environment is what controls our genes. And I go, "Why is it relevant? Because we can alter the environment and we can change our perception."

Meaning then the genes are under our control. We're not under the control of genes, we control them.

So here's an important data fact; less than 1%- less than 1% of disease is controlled by genes. So I say-

Shawn Stevenson: Hang on- Bruce, wait, hold on. You've got to say that again. Say that again.

Dr. Bruce Lipton: Less than 1% of disease is controlled by genes. There are very few diseases that one gene causes disease. Hemophilia, for example, might be one of them. Tay-Sachs Disease is another one like that.

And I say, "Yeah, but my God, 99% of disease didn't come from the genes. It came from lifestyle, and environment." And that's where epigenetics is the controlling factor.

So 99% of health issues are not because the body is defective. 99% of health issues is that the driver of the body, the contractor, the brain, the mind is not in harmony, and when it's out of harmony, the body is a complement, so the body is out of harmony.

And if you look at it, it's like it makes beautiful sense. It says if you're sick, it's a reflection of something that's not harmony.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright next up for this celebration, 300 episodes, top ten moments, is a conversation I had with Lisa Nichols, alright? Lisa Nichols.

She flew in, came in here, in the studio to hang out with me, and just such an enlightening individual. Just like you feel so good being around her.

She has that- she has that vibe. She's something special through and through, and she helps us to recognize how special we are.

And the very best people, that's what they do. It's not about them, it's about them inspiring that life in you.

And so one of the things that we covered, and this idea that I was surprised she talked about in this clip relates to this Nelson Mandela quote that carrying resentment is like drinking poison, believing that it's going to kill your enemy.

And this is what we do to ourselves when we carry around hatred and resentment in our bodies, in our own minds, in our own tissues.

It's not just the fact of like this sounds like something that's emotionally stressful. Like this is a literal physical phenomenon that takes place, because every thought you have creates chemistry in your body.

Your thoughts create chemistry in your body, but to articulate the life behind it, to articulate the message behind what that means, there's nobody better than Lisa Nichols.

Lisa Nichols: My job, your job is to get up and like you, and every other like on Facebook is bonus. But you liked you first.

And I think the journey to liking you, the journey to getting to that place, that's what everyone is seeking. That's what people seek when they step on my campus. That's what people seek, and ideally we watch people get to that point when they study with us for awhile.

And what that looks like is if you want to know- in my opinion, the first thing to do is to become whole and complete with every decision you've ever made.

Because we're holding ourselves hostage to our past decisions, actions, behaviors, the things we did that we felt we shouldn't do, and the things that we felt we should have taken a leap on that we didn't take a leap on.

So one, become whole and complete with all of your past decisions, because when you know more, you do more. And you made all your decisions based on what you knew at the time, and you can't measure the man or woman you are based on the decisions you made back then based on what you know now.

You didn't know then what you know now. If I knew then at twenty-nine, what I know now at fifty-one, excitedly my fifty-one, I wouldn't have made those decisions, but I knew what I knew, and so I did what I did based on what I knew.

So one, become whole and complete with all your decisions. Two, recognize that forgiveness is not about pardoning anyone else in your life. The decision is about opening up more internal real estate for love and possibility in yourself.

So I think forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of others. So if you ask me the two things, one is to become whole and complete with your decisions and your actions from twenty years ago. Become whole and complete with those because you knew what you knew, that's why you did what you did.

And two, recognize that forgiveness is not about pardoning a behavior, it's not about giving acceptance to what occurred, it's about opening up more real estate in your body, in your heart, and in your soul for what's possible in the future because two things can't occupy the same space.

So where there's hate, anger, shame, blame, there cannot be love and possibility.

Those two things, if you just focus on those two things- yeah, I can give you a list of twelve things, but those two can keep you busy.

Shawn Stevenson: Right.

Lisa Nichols: So laser focus. We often operate like a flood light trying to cover a whole lot of ground when we should operate like a laser. Let me penetrate this, let me master this, let me heal this.

Let me go back. When I decided to forgive my son's father, that's all I worked on for a year. Every exercise I did was about him, because I didn't want to keep touching it for the next ten years.

Now I have a beautiful relationship with him. I spotlighted him at my conference, he called me on the phone- from prison. He calls me on the phone, I put him on the mic system, I spotlight him.

He's written fourteen books in prison, like now I use him as a model example for get it done no matter where you are. You know? Because I did the work.

I forgave myself. I was in an abusive relationship where my fiancé at the time picked me up and threw me three feet across the room, and then he choked me until I passed out.

Thirteen years later, I ran into him at a conference. I used to couldn't go to his state, I was so afraid that I would run into him. And he's 6'9, 310 pounds, he was huge. He was physically-

Shawn Stevenson: Imposing.

Lisa Nichols: Imposing, as well as physically imposing in my life, and I did the work on him. I did the work on him for nine straight years. Nine straight years.

So when I ran into him- not ran into him, he came to my conference so it was very intentional, he came to ask for my forgiveness. And I said, "I needed to give myself life, so I forgave you a long time ago for me. So you just need to forgive you, because I already did the work."

I had no angst or energy or anger around him. I felt a little uncomfortable, but I had no- there was no residual anger because I loved- I had to fall madly in love with Lisa.

The woman you see sitting here is simply the result of saying, "What does it look like to fall madly in love me?" And not in a bragging way, not in a way that spews onto other people; in a way that I say every day I'm going to give myself a chance. Every day.

Every day I get to press reset. I get to press reset 1,000 times, and when I get to 999, I get to press reset on the reset button, and what happens if I did that.

And so you're right, valuing who I show up to be means pardoning myself from all my choices that I've been judging and I've had shame around. And then it also means forgiving myself and others for the times in which their actions didn't align with their heart.

I think it's those two things, accepting and forgiving, and those have been the two biggest things in my life.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright next up on this top ten is with Mark Sisson, alright? Mark is just a beast, alright? He's in his sixties, and he's really highlighting- and you can hear the vitality in his voice that there's this idea of we have this kind of chronological age, but today we have this new term called our fitness age.

And you can have your biomarkers be that of somebody five, ten, twenty, thirty years younger than you, you know? And he's incredibly fit, but incredibly- there's so much vitality that just comes through when you're with Mark.

He's just- he's on another level, and he's sharing with people like this is how you do it. And that's what's so special to me about this moment, is I also made it a goal to highlight individuals that can talk about longevity because I'm not that old, you know?

I know a lot about the science, but practical application and experience. I do have a wealth of experience for sure, and the great opportunity is I got in this when I was very young because of- out of necessity, so I was able to kind of get a jumpstart on a lot of these things, and a lot of folks who are coming into the game now in a way, you know?

But Mark has been doing this for decades, and so when he's talking about longevity and the science of longevity, listen. Alright? Get those ears- like pull them out a little bit, poke them out, listen deeply. Listen with your inner ears as well. Listen with your heart, because it's something very special.

This is how we evolved was taking time and really paying attention to the elders, right? The people who've been there before to help you to avoid those problems, and to find solutions if you are going through things to show you the right way, you know? So you could that and build on it.

The concept of standing on the shoulders of giants, that's what I'm into. That's what I believe, and Mark is definitely one of those giants. So here's a conversation, episode 257.

Mark Sisson: There's been about two and a half million years of human evolution. By the way, hundreds of millions of years of evolution before that, all leading up to this ability to consume excess calories.

So we're wired to see a big thing of food, it could be a grove of fruits, it could be a mastodon that we just killed, it could be some roadkill that some other animal got, but we're wired to eat and we're wired to overeat because the body was- in this crucible of evolution, we had periods of feast and periods of famine.

And so during the periods of feast, you're wired to overeat. The beauty of that is we are so adept at taking excess energy and storing it as fat on our bodies.

Now almost to a fault today, right? So many people are adept at storing fat. But our ancestral- our predecessors were also great at taking this stored fat, and when there was no food for a day, or two, or three, take this energy that we've stored as body fat, and then put it back into circulation, burn it as fuel, and use it to live on for days or weeks at a time.

So it was this sort of elegant back and forth ability to store fat, take it out of storage and use it, and that's really the skill that we're trying to develop here.

We have the skill already. We all know that we can store body fat, but many of us have lost the skill to be able to take that fat out of storage, and burn it as fuel, and reduce the amount of stored body fat on our bodies, and trend toward our ideal body composition, and take that energy and not have to eat a meal every four hours all day long, but to be so metabolically flexible and metabolically efficient that that energy is always there for us whether or not we're eating, whether or not we're eating enough.

That energy is always there for us in the face of a business meeting that gets in the way of lunch, or a trip across the country in a plane that doesn't serve food, or just choosing not to- "I'll skip dinner tonight because I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry, why should I eat?"

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, what a concept.

Mark Sisson: What a concept, right. And in developing this metabolic flexibility, we also - like this is the greatest side benefit of all - hunger, appetite, and cravings get suppressed.

You no longer live your life from one meal to the next going, "Lunch was great, but what's for dinner? Shawn, where are we going for dinner?"

You think more in terms of like, "I've got plenty of energy, I've got plenty- I'm building muscle or maintaining muscle, I don't get sick, I'm not hungry. A, why do I need to eat right now? Or why do I need to eat because it says it's 6:30 and that's always dinnertime?"

It opens up this amazing new freedom and flexibility to allow you to untether yourself from hunger, and appetite, and cravings.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright we're at number four, and we've already covered- listen, these three individuals have had a huge impact on my life. Bruce Lipton, that was episode 235. Lisa Nichols, episode 234. Mark Sisson, 257.

But when we talk about huge impact on my life, you don't think I could do a top ten and one of them not be my wife, do you? I mean Captain Obvious, you know?

And so my wife, Anne Stevenson, having her on the show, having conversations with her. I get to talk to her every day, which is just the best. Like I have the biggest smile on my face right now because it's just the greatest gift.

I feel like she is my gift for every good thing that I've ever done in my life. She's the gift that I get, and I'm fine with that. Alright?

I don't need presents, alright? I don't need any Santa Clause situation, I'm good with her, you know? And so this conversation is very important because she's been there, she's highlighting a very profound understanding.

You know, she's been in arduous situations and seeing it in her own household growing up, and also in her earlier years before she met me, alright?

I don't acknowledge anybody before me, but there was a life prior, and she saw the various ways that relationships can go.

And so she has a bit of experience in this, and understanding it's really about you knowing your value, and knowing your worth, and standing firm in your belief, and in your truth, and allowing that to guide your relationship, and not living with fear. You know?

Stepping into your power. This is a continued theme with everybody, with all of these individuals that we're highlighting today on this special episode, you know?

It's not about something that's kind of abstract, or something that's a very- just kind of like it sounds like a good idea, but it's very actionable, you know?

And for us to be the best version of ourselves, we have to step into our power and understand that it is our responsibility. It's our responsibility to live our lives the way that we decide to. And with that, here's my wife, Anne Stevenson.

Anne Stevenson: I know truly that women, we have this superpower that we want to- we try and ignore it. I knew it was there before realizing and having home birth, and all of that, it was there. It was just like I didn't want to own up to it.

I felt that I wanted to shy away from it. But it just kept on coming, and again, situations will come forth for you to express that.

So first it's just the realization that if you are a wife, or a girlfriend, or whatever, it's like you do take control of the relationship in a different aspect, but you're able to- you're kind of the driver.

You're able to- they always say you can train your man how you want them to treat you, and it's just like, "Wow, how am I supposed to do that? Like they seem like they know- you know, they're a hard-head, they can't listen."

The thing is, they don't want to be without you. Plain and simple. Like I mean- and if they don't, like obviously they're not the one for you.

And again, it's not about abusing your power, it's you've always been able to see the bigger picture before it happens.

And I'm speaking to the ladies, we are always able to see it. Even when it's a small inkling, something happens, I know you can testify to this, so many times I've told you about something, and then sure enough it comes to pass.

But it had to happen so many times. I think some men, it might have to take so many times for it to happen where it's like, "I told you so."

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, should have listened to Mamasita. Should have listened."

Anne Stevenson: Right. Until now, he just has to come be like, "What do you think?"

Shawn Stevenson: True.

Anne Stevenson: You know, but-

Shawn Stevenson: True.

Anne Stevenson: And then we talk about that patience of being there and being like, "You know what? He'll get it." But you know who you're in the relationship with, and what routes you have to take.

For you, I knew you would get it at some point, but some things we just have to go through the motions with it. But as women, it's like standing up to their role, because if you don't, no one else will.

And I know sometimes it seems unfair like, "Well he should-" No, he's busy, he has his own role and he knows what he's here to do.

For you, he is the- like he can be the provider, or whatever title that you have, the complexity of the relationship. But standing up, standing up for that because no one else will.

That means you taking control of what happens in the house. "This is what we're going to do in the mornings. We're going to talk this out. I don't care what happens. No. Yeah, you want to go. Okay, if you go, then these are the consequences."

And that's another part I feel they're so afraid if they set consequences that their man will leave them. Then obviously it wasn't for you.

And I'm sorry it hurts to say that, but it's the truth. They were not there for you, because if they are, they're willing to battle it out. If that means they're going to sit there, and ya'll are going to like talk for five hours straight to figure out what is going on, because you are worth it.

But it takes for you to recognize that because a man cannot- is not going to shine that light for you to do that.

And the thing is, every woman knows this is true, they feel it in their heart, it's just that afraid of, "If I do it, the love will be taken away. I don't want to be too strong." Or you know, all these small things.

And the funny thing, a man will embrace that. They will embrace it, and will uplift you up even more. So I think patience, but also just following your innate gut to just follow through, stand up, and being strong.

Shawn Stevenson: Oh my goodness, this is like- babe, when you said, "He doesn't want to be without you," man that hit my soul. Like I definitely do not want to be without you. What does it take? What do I have to do, you know?

And I'm going through scenarios in my mind like, "What if I'm upset? What if I'm like really hurt about something?" So? I still don't want to be without you. So I'm going to do whatever it takes. You know?

Anne Stevenson: And can I say something too, though? And when I say this, sometimes you know, like there will be people where it's like, "I'm just going to do it, and being this strong voice."

But I think also to add compassion to it. Like also seeing what you need to do to become that woman first. Because there's always inner work to be done, and the more you do inner work, the more compassionate you will be for your mate, and you will know the right way to say things, but still being that firm individual that is willing to stand for themselves, to be that voice that they know. Like it's been in their heart all this time.

Shawn Stevenson: Up next is a conversation with one of my favorite people on the planet, Chalene Johnson. Chalene is an absolute power house. She's somebody who has stepped into her power, and she's the walking talking living example of what that looks like.

And the reason that this conversation made it here today was Chalene had a big impact in my life because she was one of the first people who was outwardly promoting the idea that you don't have to beat yourself to the ground in order to be successful.

That you can have it all. You can have a great family life, and create a great business. You can have a great family life and have great health.

And this is something that I believed, I just wasn't hearing that story. I was hearing hustle your face, grind, grind, grind, and work all these crazy hours. But what about the kids?

What is up with these people's kids when they're saying this stuff? What's that relationship look like? You know?

We become deficient in things if we're not paying attention to them, you know? The grass is greener on the other side? The grass is greener where you water it, and we need to take care of the various parts of our life's landscape, you know? If that makes sense.

And so her stepping up and saying, "You know what? There is a way to find not balance, but to be able to have these sections of your life, to have more integration, to have more flow, and it's really about structure."

One of the things in this clip she's highlighting is how our internal environment is a direct reflection of our external environment, alright?

What's going on internally with our health, with what's going on in our mind. If there's a lot of clutter around you, if there's a lot of just mess, if there's a lot of stuff outside of you, it becomes a distraction.

It takes away mental energy that could be going towards getting this job done, and then spending time with your family, or whatever the case might be.

It takes away our efficiency, it takes away our effectiveness, and we have no idea how much until this very special episode with Chalene, which was episode 287, alright? Episode 287, and we got into some of the science, and it's just like- it's shocking.

It was so profound to hear this information, and it also was so practical. It was like, "Oh of course that makes sense," and that's what I love about what Chalene does.

So she shares that she doesn't think people should even start a new diet until they get their life uncluttered, and here's why.

Chalene Johnson: Because it's an obstacle. I think it's an obstacle that most people don't recognize that chaos is not okay. Like chaos prevents you from being present, it prevents you from being focused, it prevents you from moving forward, and then-

So when we have an obstacle that's there and we don't see it, we just keep running into it and we think, "Oh well this diet's failed me." "Oh, I'm not good at business."

But meanwhile there's this obstacle that you just keep hitting and you don't realize that's what it is. So I just think people need to first be aware of how much chaos and disorganization is in your environment.

Shawn Stevenson: Because it does something to your mind.

Chalene Johnson: It does a lot to your mind. It affects our bodies. A study showed that 44% of people said that they make unhealthy food choices when their home feels messy.

And that's a lot of people a lot of the time whose homes feel messy. It affects our happiness, it affects our relationships. Respondents said that 55% of the time, they feel much more motivated when their home is tidy. That's crazy!

Shawn Stevenson: That is.

Chalene Johnson: To think that you can impact- you know, motivation is huge. You need motivation to be kind, you need motivation to eat healthy, to exercise, to start your business, to be focused, to be present.

Like those things require motivation, so if you can be 50% better just by having a more organized space, and that's free, do it.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright we are at the halfway mark, that is five of these top moments in this celebration of 300 episodes of The Model Health Show. And these are the top ten moments we're going through, of these influential people in my life, and just these special moments of the show in the last 100 episodes.

Again it was so, so very difficult to choose, but you know, these people are just very special to me, and they've delivered some profound powerful information for all of us.

And I'm just very grateful to share this moment with you, and to give these highlights, and these powerful nuggets for us to take with us as we continue to move forward.

And part of this process of moving forward is up leveling. It's up leveling our fitness, it's up leveling what we're doing with our recovery, and also with our nutrition.

And who's been there, and who's been a part of my life for the last couple years now as far as like what I'm giving my family to fill those nutritional gaps- we're not doing the- I'm not giving my son a Flintstone vitamin, but I did grow up on them myself, and I would gladly like-

I'd probably, if it was left to my own accord, if my Grandma didn't just toss me one like a Scooby Snack. Like here's one, I'm like- she'd toss a Scooby Snack vitamin and I'm on my way. I would eat the whole bottle, alright?

I'd probably go into toxic shock, but that's not- we think that that's the solution, is like taking these vitamin pills, when they're synthetic.

They're not even from real earth-grown sources, so do we actually know if they're impacting our body, and our cells, our genes? Because those transcribe data directly to our genes. There is no middle man in many senses with the nutrients we bring in.

They directly impact our genes and our genetic expression, alright? So keeping that in mind, what are we feeding ourselves when we're doing these synthetic vitamins trying to cover these bases because we're told this is what we should do?

My mission is to make sure we're getting these from real whole food sources. This is why I love Organifi so much. They're using real concentrated whole superfoods to give us bioavailable nutrients cold processed so that we're still retaining the nutrients, and that's what it's all about, you know?

It's something I use, that I give for my family, I'm always giving away the go-packs. What I'm really into right now is the Organifi Gold. Alright?

You've got to be on the green juice, that's a given. Are you on the gold yet? The gold, the highlight here, the biggest part of the formula is turmeric, and it's such an important thing because of all the data, so many studies showing its profound impact on inflammation.

And this carries over into things like cancer prevention, for example. Compounds in turmeric have been found to have anti-angiogenesis properties.

So this means it literally is able to cut off the nutrient supply, the blood supply, to cancer cells. What do you know that can do that? It's absolutely- it's just like- and it's available for us, this is something we have access to.

And we need to be paying attention to these things as prevention as well, so we're not even in a state where we're trying to fight cancer, you know?

And we have several episodes dedicated to the topic of cancer, you know? Cancer prevention, cancer treatment, so we'll put a couple of those in the show notes.

We've got a lot of show notes today with all of these top ten elements, but I want to make sure that people know about this, and know about the science behind it.

One of the things in the Organifi Gold, turkey tail. Turkey tail. It's not like literally like the tail of a turkey, by the way. It's the medicinal mushroom.

And researchers in 2013 conducted studies on turkey tail extract and found that it had anti-ulcer effects, and it could selectively kill gastric cancer cells.

Yup. Turkey tail, it's in the gold formula, alright? And it tastes so good. And what I love most about it is that it seriously is a treat. It's got like a holiday taste to it.

You know the holidays have a taste. It's like tasting the holiday. It's like tasting a winter vacation, alright? So good.

And we've got- again, turmeric is the highlight, we've got the medicinal mushrooms in there. There's like some coconut in there, it's just such a great flavor, and it's doing some incredible things for our health.

So check it out, get yourself on the Organifi Gold. Head over to www.Organifi.com/model. That's www.Organifi.com/model and you get 20% off the green juice, the red juice, the new gold, which I'm just a huge fan of the gold.

I'll do like a vanilla protein shake, and then I'll put a scoop of the gold in there, sets it off like Jada Pinkett. Sets it off, so good.

Alright so let's get into our final five, the next five here on this top ten moments from the past 100 episodes in celebration of 300. "This is Sparta," alright? 300 episodes of The Model Health Show.

Next one is with the one and only Dr. Mimet Oz. And Dr. Oz has just been- he's an icon. Icon alert. He's an icon in culture, and in the field of- he's a traditional MD. He does heart surgeries, but it started to become apparent to him that he could do more to prevent people from being on his operating table in the first place.

And he really took a shift in his career and dedicated his life to getting some of the latest information out there. And it was a big risk, and he's taken a lot of arrows, but he's such a great human being, such a great heart, such a courageous person, and just being around him and his team, and seeing how much- he's just a very loving, and giving, and focused individual.

You know? He cares a lot about people, and his team just reiterated- like separate conversations with people on his team, just noting how good of a person and how kind he is.

And you know, it's definitely something that I pick up whenever I get the chance to hang out with them.

So having him on the show was definitely a great gift, and we had some incredible take-aways. Just like nugget after nugget after nugget of like insight.

And some of the first things I learned about hormone function in relationship to our satiety controls in our body, and how we store fat, I learned from Dr. Oz.

Listening to his audio books, reading his books and articles, you know? Just such a long time ago, you know? So again, such a great gift, and a joy, and a great fortune to be able to have him here on the show. And so here's a little bit from our conversation with Dr. Oz.

Dr. Mimet Oz: I played sports through college, I studied my body to be able to play sports. I got smarter and smarter as I realized certain things would make me yawn on the sideline, and other things made me a tiger.

And I began to realize it wasn't just about genetics, there were other things that I could do to hack my body to perform at a higher level.

But it was when I went to med school, I learned a lot about why those things worked. And I started to realize as I advanced in my life that I was helping people in the ways I thought they needed to be helped, but it was a little too little, too late.

It was my wife really who was the catalyst who would pester me, it was the last voice I heard falling asleep at night saying, "People aren't getting the message because you're not giving it to them.

Doctors aren't giving America the message that we need to hear. You're doing your best in your offices, but they need to hear it before they come to your office so that it really sinks in." And that's why I've dedicated my life to what we're doing now.

Shawn Stevenson: Absolutely. So was this kind of the catalyst for the YOU books? 'YOU: The Owner's Manual.' That was my first introduction to you, so I was just fresh out of college listening to the audio book in my Ford Explorer and just fascinated.

Dr. Mimet Oz: As you drove along in your Ford Explorer, what you were hearing was a vision that actually Lisa, my wife, had articulated. That it took me a little while to get it, but when I finally got it and it got on my vision board too, it made a lot of sense.

And there's a doctor named Mike Roizen who's at the Cleveland Clinic, and the two of us started collaborating because I had made a series of shows for The Discovery Channel called 'Second Opinion.'

And my thought was everyone ought to get a second opinion, and that can be actually a second opinion from someone who's knowledgeable about health, not necessarily another doctor, because you want to triangulate decisions you make in your life.

And the series had run, and we thought, "There's so much stuff here that we've got to talk about with America." And the problem is people, they see health content as sour and dower.

Everyone thinks that if it's healthy, it can't be good. I'll give you an example.

Companies that make food will often not- even if they make it healthier, won't admit it because they assume you'll think it doesn't taste good anymore.

And so we're in a society where people will hide the good stuff almost because they don't want to turn you off. I thought not to be that way.

I mean I love understanding my body, I adore that I can change it for the better. I think people like that, when they can finally get past the fear of not understanding what's really happening.

And so we started to say, "Okay, how do you best do that?" Well the most intricate things you have in your life - your electronics, your refrigerator, your car - they all have owner's manuals.

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah.

Dr. Mimet Oz: Except you. And then we thought, "Well you know, if we just say it's about you, well you can't duck." And it's not I'm pointing at you blaming you, 'you,' it's The Fonz.

"Hey, how about you, man? Where are you with this thing? Why aren't you showing up in your own life?"

And Mike Roizen's ancestor- relative had made the US Army posters with the guy- you know, Uncle Sam pointing at you, the recruitment posters.

Shawn Stevenson: Wow.

Dr. Mimet Oz: And so it was that same finger. So we took that hand pointing at you, tried to make- so much went into this, I can't tell you. Trying to adjust your head so it's not an accusative head, but a supportive, "Hey come on over here, Guy. We can do it together."

And that was really about you. The whole mantra was be part of us, all of us, because we all do it together. And if you come along with us, we'll make something really big happen.

And that made- the first book was called, 'YOU: The Owner's Manual,' because we figured the most valuable thing you own that dwarfs in importance anything else you ever got from your parents, your body, ought to have an owner's manual.

Shawn Stevenson: Absolutely.

Dr. Mimet Oz: So you actually know how to use it.

Shawn Stevenson: Man, I totally agree with that. And I think it's one of the greatest gifts that you can, is to understand this amazing body that you live in.

Like we're not leaving here with anything, right? And all this- it's kind of like a little morbid, but somebody's going to live in your house one day. Alright? But your body is the one thing you own.

Like this is your home, and the more that you can just basic stuff know about taking care of your body, it can empower you.

Dr. Mimet Oz: But for a lot of people, it's an away game. Right? They don't really understand their body, so they're never quite comfortable in it.

Shawn Stevenson: And they outsource it.

Dr. Mimet Oz: Exactly. And then we get into problems because then it's really hard to put the pieces together, and you don't trust the deepest most valuable judge, your own instinct.

Do you feel good with that or not? And I think not trusting that becomes a problem. That's why people I think will have trouble with diets.

If you go on a diet that's so miserable, you can't possibly do it your whole life. I mean your life will seem longer but it won't be longer.

And so you want to get people to do what they love doing, and just happens to be healthy. And that's why I think thin people who are thin stay that way.

I mean, I'll give you an example. I've been roughly the same weight- I actually lost a little weight since I was playing football in college, just because I had more muscle. Now I'm a little weakling.

But my fat content is probably not all that different. I love nuts. I mean I adore them, and I used to always feel badly when I was eating nuts because I knew they were fattening.

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah.

Dr. Mimet Oz: And I was eating something that was going to made me fat, but I never seemed to get fat. Now go figure.

And then I finally started to research it, and it turns out every study ever done on nuts shows that people who eat nuts actually lose weight or stay the same. They don't gain weight.

Then I got to thinking, "Well why was that? It's fat. If any fatty thing makes you fat, then why isn't it making me fat?" And I had the epiphany.

I think everyone sort of acknowledges now, and I don't know why I was so late to come upon it, that the body's not counting calories. Your body doesn't care about calories, it cares about nutrients.

Give me the stuff that I need to live my life, and if it doesn't have a lot of calories, or empty calories, you'll be fine.

Shawn Stevenson: Dr. Oz is just amazing. I absolutely love him. So that was episode 289 of The Model Health Show. And next up at number seven of these top ten moments is with my truly great friend, Jim Kwik, alright? And this is episode 232.

He's been on the show a few times. The reason that I must- we're covering a variety of different things for sure in this top ten, because that's what health is really about.

It's having health in multiple areas of our lives, and Jim is- he's all about the brain, you know? He's one of the smartest people that I know. I've seen him do mental feats that would just knock your socks off.

There was an event where Jim was on stage, he passed the microphone around to fifty different people, had all of them say a two digit number. Like seventeen, forty-one, the next person passed the mic again. Seven, pass the mic again, thirty-seven, you know?

And just on and on, fifty numbers, and he just stood there. He just stood there like the gee that he is, and after it was over, he wrote all the numbers down from his memory, all 100 numbers just from standing there listening.

Just within a matter of minutes, he just knows how to store this data, and this is what he shares in his programs, and in his live events. I've been to several of Jim's events, and been a part of them, and I just think he's an outstanding human being.

And by the way, he did it forward and backwards. Okay? Crazypants. And by the way, he was just reciting it back. He wasn't writing it down. Somebody was behind him writing the numbers down, and he just remembered them. You know?

So the power of the mind, that's what Jim is all about. And one of the biggest reasons, if not the biggest reason that I included him in this top ten is the impact he's had on my life as a friend.

Like he's been there, I'm talking like early, early in my career when I'm just trying to figure out how do I transition this from like working with people in a one-on-one context to doing stuff online, to doing these events, and things like that.

He was right there as a kind of support, and just acknowledging me, and he saw something- he knew something special was happening, right?

And he's continued to just invite me in, and find ways to pour back into my life. And so he's been a good friend, and I've learned a lot from him, and been able to again kind of pour back into his life as well. And I just love him, you know? So here is a conversation with the one and only Jim Kwik.

Jim Kwik: So the multi-tasking, I completely agree with you, the research is showing- there was a study at the University of London saying that actually lowers your IQ, similar to if you stayed up all night and pulled an all-nighter, you're dropping fifteen points.

And so the goal here is you could task- and when I say 'task' in terms of doing something physical and something mental, you could be on the phone and going for a walk, but two cognitive intensive tests, it's not possible to be able to do it.

And so people are actually- it's taking anywhere from an extra five to twenty minutes to regain your focus and your flow. There's a high level more of errors that's being made if you're trying to multi-task.

So if you feel like you're multi-tasking because you want to be a better performer and more productive, it's absolutely not true. It's actually taking away from your productivity.

The goal is to do one single mental thing at a time. Really multi-tasking is actually a misnomer. The more accurate term is called 'task switching,' because every time you switch tasks, you have to re-focus your energy, and so it takes more time and there's definitely more mistakes.

The second thing that you mentioned is just as we're re-wiring our brains for distraction is- focus is a muscle just like memory is a muscle for you, creativity is a muscle. It's not something you have, it's something you do.

It's like you don't have creativity, you do creativity. You don't have memories, you do a memory. You don't have focus, you do focus.

And the good thing about making it a process is you can duplicate it, right? There's a recipe there because it's a verb as opposed to just a noun, and so with focus it's something you can do.

But every time- that's the benefit of being mindful, right? I think most of your listeners have some kind of meditation or mindfulness activity that they support every single day. If not, I would highly encourage it.

But it's not the twenty minutes or thirty minutes of meditation and getting in that zen-like state. Surely that's good to flow through alpha and theta brain wave states and such.

And what's even more important, I think, is that every single time you lose your focus, and you bring it back in to a thought, or to a mantra, or to a point, or to a space, or to an energy, a gratitude, a feeling, a breath, then you exercise and you build your mental focus- your focus muscles.

So it's not that you don't lose focus, it's when you bring it back that you get the strength. And so I think one of the things is to be able to set your environment up to win, right?

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah.

Jim Kwik: So you talked about stop multi-tasking. Also eliminate distractions. I mean to focus- when you need to study, you've got to turn your phone off.

I mean people are picking up Instagram like over fifty times a day. Over fifty times. And if that's something that- if you're doing it less, that means somebody is looking at Instagram even more than you are.

And there's ways of using technology for your advantage, right? There are self-control apps like Freedom, or FocusMe to block out certain websites like social media or block out sites that you might visit when you should be focusing on something else.

Shawn Stevenson: Right.

Jim Kwik: So that's the other thing is just- and when I talk about focus, the metaphor that I use is that if you're outside and it's a nice warm day and you have a magnifying glass- you remember when you were kids, you used to burn like leaves and stuff like that?

Shawn Stevenson: Yeah.

Jim Kwik: When you see the light go through the magnifying glass, it creates a very bright focus- point there that is very highly concentrated.

And it's interesting that the word bright describes it, because it also- we use the word 'bright' to describe really smart, intelligent people, right?

But maybe they're not smarter, maybe they're just better focused like that magnifying glass is doing to the light.

Shawn Stevenson: Interesting.

Jim Kwik: And so there's a lot of power in being focused.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright that was from my conversating with my friend, Jim Kwik, and that's episode 232. So make sure to check it out if it sparks that fire in you, alright?

Now this one- this one, number eight, is with the icon- icon alert. Another- this is special cloth talk, alright? This is Shaun T. Alright? The creator of the Insanity program, just absolutely taking the world by storm, right?

He is not just with the fitness, but just his ability to communicate, and to instill this sense of inspiration into what he's doing is just remarkable. You know?

He's just really in a league of his own, and to be able to have this conversation with him in the studio, and hanging out. And our friend- mutual friend Danielle Natoni, she would tell me- before we ever met, she knew that once we met, we would be lifetime friends.

And I didn't know. I was just like, "Okay, the Insanity, we're doing the knees." I didn't know, and she was right. Just like instant- like I know, I've got his back, he's got my back, just such a good, good human being, and he really walks his talk.

And what he shared on this episode- man, just so- I mean you've got to check this episode out if you happened to miss it. He shared his story, he shared where he came from in his personal transformation.

Shaun T - T for transformation - and it will grab you by the heart. And to actually understand and to have the courage to share your story.

When you see somebody, you don't know what they've been through. Like we just tend to see the end result, you know? We see the glitz and glamour, we see the cool thing somebody might be doing on social media, we don't know their story, you know?

And a lot of us, we've been through some tremendously difficult times, and the more that we can share and open up, it can help- when you share your story, and you hear a story like what Shaun shared, it can ignite the healing process for somebody else.

And that's why I was so grateful that we had the opportunity to capture this moment, and to share it with you. And again, very special and very powerful, here's a conversation with Shaun T.

Shaun T: And I want to go back to what you said about through struggle comes strength. Everyone out there has a secret backpack on. You, me, full disclosure, the guys in this room with us right now, everyone has something that they've been through.

But a lot of people ignore the strength that they come with it because they just want to get past it and get over it, and they say, "I'm past that point in my life."

But there's something great about survival. In everything that you survive, there's something amazing that you learn.

So my challenge, even at this moment to anyone out there, is what happened to you? What was the struggle that you had? But more importantly, what tool are you pulling out of your secret backpack?

What is the superpower that you have from that moment? And for me, I learned how to not become the victim. You know?

I learned how- should I have said something? Everyone could say, "Yes, you should have said something earlier, or you should have told people, or you should have told the counselor at school."

But I didn't make that choice, but by not making that choice, what I've built up was an immense of power and self-motivation to know that I can get through a lot of things.

Now I didn't find that out until later in life after I went through therapy. Trust and believe I had my struggles along the way, and at that moment at my grandparent's house, it wasn't over, but I just want to make a point that every step of the way of any struggle that you have, there is so much power in your life and in your body, I just want people to know to grasp on, not only to the negative things that happen to you, but when you get through it, there's something amazing that you get from it.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright we're at number nine. Number nine of these top ten moments from the past ten episodes. And this one is with my guy, Dr. Mark Hyman.

And talk about again, early in my career, mentor, somebody who's changing the way that I think. I learned a lot about- when I then helped hundreds of people with type II diabetes, a lot of that knowledge that was ignited from learning from Mark Hyman, alright?

He is the real deal. He's been helping people for decades, and his story, from his own struggles initially. And like he's a doctor, he's like, "Why am I so messed up?"

You know, he was a big advocate for his patients, but then he became an advocate for himself. And it transformed everything.

One of my favorites, we had an amazing time, but again just jewel after jewel after jewel was dropped in this episode. And we're looking at how companies like Pepsi are utilizing some of the smartest food scientists in the world to manufacture addiction. To make you a heavy user of the product.

They're not taking prisoners, alright? And it's just crazy to hear this stuff, and to start to look into what's actually going on behind the scenes, and seeing what's being added to our food supply. It's just- it's outrageous.

But if you don't know, you don't know, and that's why we have folks like Dr. Mark Hyman to share a little bit of the story and get us all enlightened to the real deal with our food. Check it out.

Dr. Mark Hyman: Well Pepsi has a whole meme. They go, "There's food that's good for you, and there's food that's fun for you." Now what they mean by 'fun' is literally fun in the sense of like an addictive party drug.

Because the foods that they produce are designed to create addiction, and to hijack your brain chemistry, and your metabolism, and your taste buds.

In fact, I met with the Vice Chair of Pepsi. Nice guy, smart guy, he was the head of the Mayo Clinic Endocrinology, which is no shabby job before he got the job at Pepsi.

He's also a diabetic, and he was sitting at dinner with me, and he was eating pasta, bread, desserts, sugar, and I'm like, "What are you doing? You're a diabetic."

He says, "No, if I take my medications, and I run, and I jog, I'm fine." And I'm like, "Well let me get this straight. Is 1,800 calories of Pepsi the same as 1,800 calories of almonds or broccoli?"

He goes, "Yes." And I'm like, "Well how does that make sense even intuitively?" Right? We know now that all calories are not the same, so they have a very clear view that all calories are the same, so it doesn't matter if they're Coca Cola, or Pepsi calories, or Doritos calories.

As long as you don't eat too many and you exercise, you lose weight, and that is one of the biggest myths out there; eat less, exercise more will cause weight loss. It's just simply wrong. It's the quality of the food, not how much you eat that matters.

Shawn Stevenson: Right.

Dr. Mark Hyman: And then he said, "Mark, guess what? We've got this Westchester lab, we've harvested taste buds. We're actually going to create models where we can stimulate those taste buds and see how to maximally create pleasure."

So I'm like, "Wow, you don't want to be telling me that." He said, "Come visit." I'm like, "Yeah, there's something called social media. You don't want me like advertising this stuff for you."

And I was like- he was really sincere about it. And he really felt this was a good thing, but when we look at the data on this, it's frightening.

There's a guy named Michael Moss who wrote a book called, 'Salt, Sugar, and Fat,' about the food industry. And he interviewed 300 food industry executives, and scientists, and people who worked for the food industry.

And he found that internally they have things called taste institutes where they hire craving experts. These are scientists designed to create addiction, that know how to use chemicals to alter your brain chemistry to create what we call the bliss point of food.

And then they talk about heavy users. They want to create heavy users. So rather than getting someone like me to drink soda, they're going to go to the people who are already using and get them to use more.

Instead of drinking a liter of soda, they want them to drink two liters of soda a day. And they target the poor, the minorities.

And they seem like good actors, and corporate social responsibility, but it's all a big charade to sell more products and privatize the profits and socialize the costs by all the fallout from consuming those foods on health, on our economy, on our agriculture.

So it's really kind of a mess, and I think people don't understand the implications of the food they're eating, and it's not just a personal choice.

You're having- with every bite of food they're taking, they're impacting our soil, our water, our environment, climate change, their health, the economy, our social structures, poverty, violence. Everything is connected to the food we eat.

Shawn Stevenson: Alright now we're at number ten, alright? This is ten on these top ten moments, and these very special people in my life who've had a profound impact on me.

These are in no particular order. No particular order, but I had to bring in the anchor, alright? The anchor on the ten person relay today, and it's my guy, Eric Thomas.

Dr. Eric Thomas, better known as E.T. And he's just had a big profound impact on my life personally, and he's impacting the world. Alright? He's changed the approach and what it's seen to be a speaker, he's the number one speaker in the world.

He's so good at what he does, but there's something very special about what he does, and it's because of the person he is. And I've seen him in various contexts.

Like we've been in small events together, big events, just hanging out. He is the same person through and through. He loves people, he cares about people, and he would go to the moon and back for you.

And that comes through in his message, that comes through in his dedication to the work that he's doing, you know? When he was in St. Louis recently, we did an event together here, the Take Control Conference, which you should have been at.

Don't miss the next one, alright? If we do it again. But prior to that, this was maybe two years ago, they did an event here in St. Louis, and people pay to go to his various events, but what you don't know is that when he goes to a city, especially the last couple of years, he would do an event that's his own, but then he would go to detention centers, he'd go to lower income neighborhoods and school systems there, you know?

The middle schools, elementary schools, and he would pour into these kids, and really give them an opportunity to see what's possible, to remind them that they matter.

That's who he is. And so again, very special moment, very special opportunity being able to hang out with my friend and to feature him on the show. Check out this conversation with Dr. Eric Thomas.

Eric Thomas: I think for me, it's three components. I think the first one is you want to get your credit up in whatever you're doing. You know what I'm saying?

I think Shawn, if you and I both sat here and talked about health, you'd blow me out the water, you know what I'm saying? And not just the information, but you've been doing it in terms of the physical working out for years.

You also had an ailment that you studied and was like, "I've got to get through this." You know? You actually help thousands and thousands and thousands of people do it, so there's a credibility that you have because you've become one with what you're doing.

Where somebody who read a book and then says like, "That's good information, but in some kind of way it's not coming across the right way."

So I think the first thing you need to do is like literally live what you're talking about, and I think a lot of people- like I hear people, Shawn, "How to make a million dollars."

I'm like, "Bro, you in debt. You know what I'm saying? Like what do you mean how to make a million dollars? Like what does that mean? Like you're making that up. You don't really believe that, or you haven't lived it."

So I think one, to live the experience is always the best one. Number two, I did it every day. Every single day. I was even teaching a GED class, or I was going to the hospitals and speaking, you know?

Just when I'm not necessarily in front of people, but like I said my GED class, church, I would get an opportunity. You know, going to speak to an elementary school, you know? Go and serve at a shelter, and not necessarily in front of everybody, but I'm one-on-one with this person, and I'm perfecting my skill.

And then the last one, which I think is the biggest challenge, people do what they do outside of the people they're doing it for. You know? It's the weirdest thing.

It's like people self-proclaim, "I'm a great speaker." Who told you, you were great? Like was it the people that you were talking to? Did they tell you, you were great? Or did you just make up in your own mind you're great?"

And so I've spent a lot of time, what do the people want to hear? What are their challenges? What are they going through?

So when you see me out at Michigan State still, when you still see me at a prison, or at a shelter, I'm doing that because I need to be- I need to know the pulse of the people that I'm talking to.

And there are a lot of people, like they do it, Shawn, outside of the people that they're doing it for. And that's one of the things I appreciate about you, when I was talking to you about my wife's health, you know, it was an, "Okay E, let's talk about-"

Like not some just, "Alright E, MS." It was like, "Oh, okay. What is your wife- what is DeeDee going through right now? What is she experiencing?"

You know? Because there are people who talk to me about MS, and I'm like, "Yo, my wife's not in a wheelchair. You know what I'm saying? Like you're talking to me like my wife- And I know people who are, but like you're talking to me like my wife is in a wheelchair.

Like you have not gotten to know my wife yet. So you're giving me some information not based on what she's really going through right now."

So we need to talk- and I just think a lot of people, when they do their work, Shawn, they don't care about the people that they're actually working for.

They're consumed with the work itself, and speaking, that they're like, "Yo it's so easy for me to do what I do because I spend thirty or forty hours with people, and then when I talk, I only talk about what they told me they wanted to hear."

You know? So I think if you do those three things, that's going to help you get to that next level.

Shawn Stevenson: What better way than to close it out with Eric Thomas? That's episode 263, so make sure to check it out if you've yet to do so.

Again, we've got all of this in the show notes for you guys. So many profound moments, so many incredible people.

Dr. Mark Hyman, Shaun T., Jim Kwik, Dr. Oz, of course my wife, Anne, Chalene Johnson, Mark Sisson, Lisa Nichols, and the incredible Dr. Bruce Lipton.

All of these people have had a profound impact on my life, and I'm very grateful for you making me a part of your life, and allowing me to deliver these people, and to deliver these messages to you, because it means everything to me, because I truly know that we're in this together.

And if we're going to make this shift that needs to be made here in our communities, and our world at large, we're going to be doing this together.

And having access to information like this has never been seen before. You know? There was not a podcast when I was coming up, you know?

There wasn't access like this. I went to the library, it was Dewey Decimal System, alright? What is that even? Like when I would go to the library, it was like Dewey Decimal System, I'd think it was like the Ducktails, right?

Dewey, because it's Huey, Dewey, and Louie, is the three little guys on the Ducktails. Shout-out to Ducktails though. Wasn't that like the best cartoon ever? And if you think about it though, they did a nice little pivot.

Scrooge McDuck was all about his paper, but then he kind of had that opening and he became about his family, too. Right? The love. He's having it all, and that's what this is all about.

So message, be Scrooge McDuck. But seriously, be you. Be the best version of yourself, and in order to that, we need to continue to surround ourselves, to immerse ourselves in information, in experiences, in the people that keep us uplifted, that remind us of how powerful we really are to affect change in our lives and in the lives of the people around us.

Alright? So that's what it's all about. So 300 shows, we've got it. 300 shows in the bank, but we're just getting warmed up, alright? So we've got some incredible, incredible things in store.

So if you found these messages impactful in your life today, of course you can share this out with your friends and family on social media, on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, all that good stuff. LinkedIn? Share it on LinkedIn too with the business folks.

They need to learn how to get healthy as well and get some inspirational messages. But right here in the app that you're listening to this on, or if you're watching the video on YouTube-

By the way guys, if you just listen to the audio, you can hang out in the studio with me, alright? If you head over to YouTube, you can check out the video as well.

Alright, so you can share this out using the social media share features on whatever you're listening to this on, and easily share it out with the people that you care about or any of these past episodes.

We've got a wealth, we've got an archive of massive transformational value that you have access to, alright? And all you have to do is say yes. Click play, take advantage, and that's what it's all about.

I appreciate you so much for tuning into the show today, and again, be ready. Much, much more is in store for you. 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.