Let's talk about rest today. During this busy season for many with holidays and family gatherings taking place, maybe even some vacations, shopping, and keeping with traditions, it's important for us to give ourselves time to rest. Regardless of what you're December looks like, make sure you are intentional about setting time aside every week or ev…

Let's talk about more things I've learned from some of my favorite things! This time, we're talking about the video game franchise made by FromSoftware, the studio behind the Demons/Dark Souls and Bloodborne games. What have I learned? Let's dive in! Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Website…

Let's talk about taking care of ourselves. It's something that's important, has already been discussed in this space, and this likely won't be the last time. The most important things to remember are: Your care is worth investing time and energy into. You need to feel safe and secure to thrive. While others can help you, no one is going to advocate…

Let's talk about this month's hero: Zelda from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Considering the franchise is named after her, she's often been more of a backseat character in the stories. One of the things I've enjoyed about seeing her grow is how she steps out from the shadow of the protagonist, Link, in order to be a hero in her own right. Please r…

Today I finish telling my story. There is absolutely more to say than what's been in these last four episodes, but it's a pretty succinct telling of the key events. This is also the one where I share the story of how my partner and I met and the almost romcom nature it details. Seriously. It could almost be a Hallmark movie. Please rate and review …

*Content Warning* This episodes mentions thoughts of suicide and death. If you are uncomfortable with these topics, then skip this podcast. If you are prepared to listen to these stories, then take care of yourself if you ever do get triggered by what is discussed in this episode. US National Suicide Hotline: 988 or visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/h…

*Content Warning* This episodes mentions actions of self-harm and bullying. If you are uncomfortable with this topic, then skip this podcast. If you are prepared to listen to these stories, then take care of yourself if you ever do get triggered by what is discussed in this episode. I continue my story this week, discussing how I lost my voice and …

It's story time! I've mentioned my story off and on for over sixty episodes, but I think it's time to actually tell my story. This is part one focusing on my early childhood up to my years in school. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Website: https://www.betweenthecoverscoaching.com/ Interes…

Let's talk about this months hero, James Earl Jones. For me, the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa, he has quite the legacy and story of overcoming his own trials in order to become the man that we knew. From Shakespeare to voice overs to recording the New Testament in the Bible, there are many who have heard his iconic voice and seen him perform, an…

Let's talk about community, something that is important to our survival as a social animal, and something t hat has been weaponized against us probably more times than we realize. Even a look at politics shows how people in power are trying to pit different communities against each other. It doesn't have to be this way and community can be very hea…

Let's talk about skepticism and being skeptical. This is almost a four-letter word these days because it's often tied to the questioning of Christianity and the faith's stalwart beliefs. As usual, I want to create a safe space to talk about these "taboo" topics and my own journey in asking questions and the power of skepticism. Being skeptical is n…

Let's talk about faith and the nature of it changing. This is something I've seen many people struggle with over the years. Many of my clients who come from a conservative Christian background don't want to admit that they wrestle with the nature of their faith. First off: this is natural! As we grow and experience more in the world around us, we f…

Let's talk about another hero! This time, we look at one of my favorite video game protagonists. Cecil Harvey was the first hero to have a huge character arc and visibly changed during the course of his adventure and it's always stood out to me. The battle between dark and light, forgiveness, loss, and overcoming tremendous adversity to be the righ…

Let's talk about mentoring! It's a large part of the hero's journey. All the great heroes have had individuals invest in them to help them achieve their greatness. Do you have someone in your life who is doing that for you? Do you have someone in your life who can? If not, it's valuable to find those who can invest the time to help you become the h…

Let's talk about creativity. In this consumer society we live in, it seems to be more challenging than ever to create. Not only is more being expected of us in less time, there is so much pressure to monetize our creativity. What if there was a different way? Do you even need to make money off your creativity? Is it pleasurable or work? We'll answe…

Let's talk about Dungeons & Dragons and what I've learned from these adventures. I haven't been shy about my love of D&D and here are only some of the reasons why I enjoy it and other table-top role playing games so much. My original plan was to do ten of these, but I only covered half of them in this episode! Please rate and review the podcast on …

Let's talk about one of my favorite heroes of all time: Samus Aran! She's the protagonist in the Metroid franchise from Nintendo and she has been a defining character in the female protagonist genre since 1986 with her most recent game coming out in 2021. What makes her so heroic? Listen in and find out! Please rate and review the podcast on Apple …

Let's talk about heroes and victims. This is something that I enjoy discussing coming from the perspective of someone who lived in the victim mindset for way too many years and it's still easy to fall back into. There are some distinct differences between heroes and victims, so let's dive into it! Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast…

Let's talk about a very common topic I run into with the people I work with. What do we do when we're bored? What is boredom? When we're talking about boredom, we're talking about stress. Our brains need stimulation to thrive and if we lack it, we are more likely to rely on coping mechanisms to give us some sort of stimulation. In this episode, I s…

Let's talk about how we can make to day better. One of the main issues I've been working through in making my days better have been my own expectations of what the day is supposed to be like. There is also the concept by James Clear of improving yourself by 1% than yesterday. If you do this enough, you will be 365% better after a year. Is this true…

Let's talk about masking. I'm not an expert by any means on this topic, however it is something that I possibly do myself and I've seen in my partner and others in my close circle. In fact, anyone who has some level of neurodivergence likely masks. What is masking? Why do people do it? Let's take a look at this exhausting behavior that helps people…

Let's talk about Spiderman, or Peter Parker, or the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman. He's probably one of the most popular super heroes since I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, and he's still popular today. After looking into what makes him a superhero, it's not a surprise to see why. Let's explore this hero and what makes him heroic. Please rate and …

Let's talk about one of the challenging topics for people in our modern age. Money is one of those necessary evils today and we have seen how it's influence can bring in incredible philanthropy or corruption. It's one of the three topics that can make or break a romantic relationship, though that was fourteen years ago and maybe there are more topi…

Let's talk about pleasing others. Tell me if you've heard this one before: you'll never please everyone. If that sounds familiar, then it makes me wonder why there are so many people I talk with who are so focused on making sure everyone else is happy and pleased. In reality, there is only one person who you can please: yourself! But why is having …

Let's have another talk about relationships. Whether we're talking romantic or not, there are ways we can strengthen our relationships not just through the typical answer of communication, but also through play and respect. Things get a little personal in this one and I'm not afraid to engage in my own mistakes! Please rate and review the podcast o…

Let's talk about my favorite Jedi in the Star Wars universe: Qui-Gon Jinn. He's one of the heroes who, at least in The Phantom Menace, stuck to his morals and beliefs. Courageous to the core, it's a shame I wasn't able to see him in action any more unless you look to comics and books. Let's see what we can learn about being a hero through Qui-Gon J…

I say, "Live strong for today." as the end of every episode of the Between the Covers Podcast and I will continue to say it as long as this podcast runs. Why do I say this sometimes bizarre sequence of four words? Today, let's talk about the origin of what is also my email closing greeting and what the purpose of it is. Please rate and review the p…

Let's talk about identity today. What makes up your identity? What are the messages that you tell yourself that impact who you think you are? Knowing our identity, or having someone else determine what our identity is, can have a powerful impact on our lives. If we have an unhealthy identity, how can we change that? If you are unhappy of who you th…

Let's talk about how necessary it is to listen to and trust our bodies. Growing up, I was often told by those close to me and who dearly loved me that I couldn't trust my body because it would lie to me or they understood the situation or life better than I did. This created a disconnect between my brain and body where I would avoid the signals eve…

Today let's talk about normal, or how normal isn't really much of anything in our lives and society. Who defines what's normal? It's often someone other than you. Is your normal wrong? It absolutely can be. With the people I work with, I often help them discover how harmful their normal is so they can break it down and construct a new, healthier no…

Let's talk about a modern hero: Taylor Swift. Instead of trying to research all of this on my own and bumble my way through, I did the heroic endeavor of admitting I'm not qualified to talk about this individual and bring someone else in who could enlighten me of the work and personality of Taylor Swift. After reconnecting with my friend, Kai Faith…

Let's talk about one of the quotes that has helped me take steps toward my life goals. It's a quote from Zig Ziglar: You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Wow! I want that to sink in a little bit. Really hits me in the parts that want to do things perfectly. How about you? Please rate and review the podcast on Appl…

Let's talk about asking questions and how normal it is to do so, yet many times our questions aren't treated with the proper respect that they should. I've been there many times before. I still ascribe to the belief that there is no such thing as a dumb question if you are genuinely curious and sincere in asking a question. It's how we learn about …

Let's talk about learning opportunities. Not failures; learning opportunities. In a recent trip to Florida with some other coaches, I had a humbling experience facilitating a psychodrama in a group of other coaches. In this experience, I had a revelation on what I perceived as failures due to my perfectionist thinking at the time. Often times what …

Let's talk about another hero. This month it's Rocky Balboa. I listened to music from the Rocky franchise whenever I worked out in high school, but it's not just the music that makes these movies memorable. It's the character of Rocky Balboa. He's another everyman character that most people can relate to who overcomes incredible obstacles in his li…

Let's talk about healthy harmonious passions. Do you have any activities that you enjoy that you feel guilty participating in? Maybe you even call them guilty pleasures. What if these passions and activities were actually healthy for you to do? Today I talk about the difference between harmonious passions and obsessive passions, how we can apply th…

Let's talk about what's credited as a Cherokee parable. It's something I heard years ago and I love this story of what is going on in every one of us, that there are two forces within us and the one that's going to win is the one that we focus on, or the one that we feed. What a powerful message! We have more control over what happens in our lives …

Let's talk about expectations. Ever heard the saying that expectations are disappointments waiting to happen? I did years ago. The trick is to not keep expectations a secret or not expect anything, it's adjusting them so they are healthy and realistic. In my experience, I've had expectations that could fly to the moon and back and all I got in retu…

Today I try my hand at talking about Ellen Ripley, a character in the Alien franchise. A franchise I've never seen. In my research, we see a character who starts out as the Warrant Officer of a mining ship to the alien destroying hero people know and love her for. What's inspiring is she's not anything really special other than being herself and ov…

Let's talk about the difference between clean wounds and dirty wounds. When we're speaking about our emotions, we are talking about the story we attach to a wound. When we experience something difficult, we have a tendency to tie it to a story in our past. Those stories become beliefs. Those beliefs become the lens by which we view our present expe…

Let's talk about resistance. When we are working on ourselves and becoming the heroes of our stories, we often find resistance. This can come from external and internal sources. The external sources of resistance can be: Friends Family Society Community/Religious Groups Even complete Strangers The internal sources of resistance are the thoughts and…

Let's not just talk about communication, but effective communication! Today I explore ways that we can be honest in our communication with others, how to avoid becoming defensive or having others become defensive in our discussions, and how we can be better communicators in general. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast or your favori…

For this month's hero's study, I look at Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings. He's a bit of a controversial character in terms of a hero, but he still has heroic qualities that are worth looking into, especially his perseverance. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast or your favorite podcast app. Website: https://www.betweentheco…

What is love? No, I'm not talking about the song by Haddaway or TWICE. In recognition of Valentine's Day this next week and the many conversations I have with clients about this topic, let's talk about love and what it is. Here's a brief rundown. There are seven different kinds of love according to the Greek language, but we're looking at three of …

Let's talk about the stories that we tell ourselves. In a recent visit to the dentist, and thanks to Kristin Hanggi and Natalie Roy of the CREATE Podcast, I became more aware of some of the stories I was telling myself that were setting me up for more negative experiences. Even words or statements that appear innocuous can have an impact on how we …

In my experience personally and working with others, one of the aspects of our lives that many of us struggle with is loving ourselves. With statements like "I'm my own worst critic," to the hurtful messages we use to reinforce our negative core beliefs, today I want us to work to change that. Let's try loving ourselves and being our most stalwart …

For this month's hero study we're looking at Juror #8 from the play 12 Angry Juror (or 12 Angry Men). This is a character I knew nothing about until seeing the play in the fall of 2023 and I quite enjoyed the integrity of this character. It's my hope you find him as inspiring as I did. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple podcast or your fav…

Today I share some of the helpful tools I've used and books I've read (or am reading) that have helped me through various journeys in my life. Below are links to check them out for yourself if you are interested. These are all paid links. I'm not making anything by recommending any of these tools. The books and app have been helpful for me and all …

Dreams are a driving force for us every day. They help us to aspire to greatness or achieve new heights in our jobs, relationships, and community. What if our dreams are too tame? What if we're looking to the future with too small of a lens that we are missing a much larger picture? Today, let's talk about our dreams. Please rate and review the pod…

Are you one of the many who set New Year's resolutions to launch your success into a new year? Personally, I'm not as I keep that mindset all year, but there's no judgement if you do. Today we talk about resolutions, how to set realistic ones, and set ourselves up to achieve them unlike almost 80% of people who do. Please rate and review the podcas…