Greg Berard. On Living a Full Life

Part Oprah, part Joanna Gaines, and part Anthony Bourdain, Dr. Therese hails from Santa Monica, CA, and is a Filipina-American Licensed Clinical Psychologist, self-care and personal development expert, and professional life-enjoyer. Dr. Therese founded the LA Digital Nomads and is the CEO & Founder of Exploring Therapy, a wellness community that helps people build a life they don’t need a vacation from. Berkeley educated, she is a mover and a shaker with a passion for sharing about mental health, entrepreneurship, building community, and traveling full time as a digital nomad. Her mission is to inspire people to create more healthy, free, and connected lives. https://www.exploringtherapy.com/

We will always want more, but we can always, at any time we choose, decide to curb our desire, and take a moment or two in the pure bliss that beauty is always around us if we only choose to realize it. This is the lesson. This is the challenge.

I’m working on a new theory of sorts. A dumbed-down, simplified, lay-person theory on happiness and fulfillment, and as I work through this mentally, I want to begin putting some of these thoughts down in writing. My thinking can be summed up by saying I think there are three main modes of living (mentally-speaking). 1. Present. 2. Distracted 3. Deep thought My question is,  why are we so damn distracted all the time? Why can I be one person in one scenario and a different person in another depending on the process or place I am currently thinking? How do I create a bit more balance, a bit more presence?

Bridget is the Founder and CEO of Sampson Coaching & Consulting where she offers leadership training and coaching programs for Fortune 500 companies. As a TEDx Speaker and an Emeritus Professor of Communication Studies at California State University, Northridge, Bridget has shared her expertise on public speaking, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and intercultural communication for over 25 years.  Bridget is a professional coach certified by the International Coaching Federation and The Life Coach School, as well as a recipient of the Don Dorsey Excellence in Mentoring Award. And if that wasn’t enough, she also just launched her own podcast (which I really enjoy) called The Right Questions. Jackie currently serves as an Administrative Aide for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She formerly worked as a Campaign Manager, Communications Director, and Congressional Campaign Field Organizer. A proud LBGTQIA+ advocate, Jackie serves as Vice President of Events and Fundraising for The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club in San Francisco. Jackie is also the recipient of the Certificate of Honor for Transgender Leadership, presented by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  Jackie received her Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Philosophy from The University of San Francisco where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in her spare time, Jackie is an amazing writer and you can follow her writing athttps://jackiethornhill.medium.com/ [https://jackiethornhill.medium.com/]. Impressive bio’s aside, this conversation was really inspiring. More than anything it is about family. It’s about being your authentic self, even when that might be as contrarian as humanly possible. It’s about mistakes, forgiveness, understanding, compassion, empathy, and love. Bridget’s and Jackie’s journey together during Jackie’s transition has had its ups and downs, but the love for each other, the understanding, and acceptance is a beautiful example of how we can and should show up for each other. It’s an example of what real acceptance looks like and it is also a shining example of what true transition means. And I mean transition for both of them. Jackie’s transition may be the more prominent one here, but make no mistake about it, Bridget’s transformation during this journey has been profound. Their shared experience was so powerful and transforming that they decided to launch a new school to help families and the community. You can visittransgenderschool.org [http://transgenderschool.org/]for more information. The website is full of resources, courses, and community, and it’s just getting started.

My guest today is one of my oldest friends, J Ross. His real name is Justin, and that is probably how most people know him, but I only know him as J. This interview happened in a very serendipitous way. We were just having our normal quarterly catchup call and I told him about the podcast, and we got super deep and philosophical and we both came to the conclusion that J needed to be on the podcast. Besides being one of my closest friends, J is one of the most unique individuals I know, but more importantly, his story is so poignant and his transformation into a passionate career as an army doctor and living a life of meaning, purpose, joy, and fulfillment is exactly the type of story that I look to share and learn from during these interviews.