The Antony Gordon Show

Finding Purpose with Simon Drew | There Is Existential Meaning in and Outside of Religion

Today I had the opportunity to speak with podcast host, life coach, writer, and musician, Simon Drew. Our culture is heavily influenced by the various voices which dominate social and mainstream media, and when someone like Jordan Peterson speaks or says something that questions or even goes against the mainstream “gospel” so to speak, people lose their minds and all hell breaks loose. “You should conceptualize the highest possible good that you can conceive of that would be good for you, your family, your community, your country, your world. And then you should aim at that highest possible good because what have you got to do that’s better than that?” 14:44. We talk about why someone might still choose to do good even after leaving religion or the idea of God/an afterlife. Looking at Simon’s journey 5:07 The great thing about this culture 10:42 Something Jordan Peterson said that set Simon on a different course 14:44 Purpose 20:21 What keeps people good 34:46 Being at peace 39:23 Helping people to pay attention and ask the right questions 45:58 What Simon wants people to remember about him 51:31 Simon’s podcast 56:20 “I find it very comforting to constantly have that reassurance that I might also be on the wrong path and am likely on the wrong path, but that’s OK because the wrong path becomes the right path as long as we persist in seeking whatever is best.” 11:41 https://dailystoic.com/ https://www.simonjedrew.com/

Fighting Addiction with Andrea Ashley | The True Reason for Dependency on Substances

In this episode I meet with the host of the Adult Child Podcast, Andrea Ashley, who has taken a very courageous journey and will be telling us her story. She learned a family secret at a young age that her mom was an alcoholic, which had a large impact on her, and then affected her development as she grew up. She got into alcoholism and struggled with being an alcoholic from middle school until she was 19 years old when she was finally able to break free from the addiction. Honestly what I really feel like it boils down to is really not a disease of alcoholism, it’s really not the disease of addiction, but I truly believe that it’s the disease of family dysfunction, and that this stuff gets passed from generation to generation and it manifests in different ways.” 24:39 A context of Andrea’s journey and Adult Child 2:39 How her journey can provide life tools for you 8:59 Trying to get away with narcotics 17:42 The underlying issue 24:34 Avoiding blame 31:03 The main goal of her podcast 39:54 What her TED Talk would be 48:45 “So I think in a way that with those personality traits coming out, and that’s what I’m talking about with the toxic shame, I think a lot of it was, I’m going to lean into this role. I’m the girl that nobody likes, and also as a protective measure of like, ‘I’m gonna make you not like me so that you can’t then decide that you don’t like me. Just kind of leaning into that role.” 19:48 https://www.adultchildpodcast.com/episodes @adultchildpod

Live Your Life Like You Just Received Bad News | Understanding Parkinson’s Disease with Larry Linton

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with my great South African friend, Larry Linton, someone I’ve worked with and known throughout my career and also who has suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. The typical diagnosis age for PD is 65 years old, but Larry was diagnosed at 49 and explains what he experiences, and then how he has approached this disease with life. Coming to accept the disease instead of trying to hide it has helped him feel much more free and we discuss how his positivity and sense of humor has sustained him throughout this journey. Some advice Larry likes to give people is not to wait for a diagnosis before living your life. Everybody should live their life like they just received bad news. A little bit about Larry’s journey 3:56 Handling Parkinson’s Disease with work and family 10:52 Approaching the disease in a positive light 15:15 What he would do if money wasn’t every an issue 21:30 Medication 29:51 Stats and information on PD 31:25 How his role as a father changed 34:27 How you should handle hardship 37:58 What Larry would like people to say about him at the end of his life 42:42 Learn more about Larry 45:27 “As soon as I was in a good position where my symptoms were under control, where I could function, and maintain my job, was at the time that I started talking about it. And when I started talking about it my thought process became a lot more positive. I was no longer living in denial. I could live with the condition and my career progressed.” 11:58 https://www.parkinson.org/get-involved/my-pd-story/Larry-Linton Book: SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED: Living with Parkinson’s Disease larry.linton5@gmail.com

Unfinished Business with Harry Rothenberg | Taking Care of Those We Love

Today I meet with prolific attorney, Harry Rothenberg, who has reached multiple seven to eight million dollar verdicts and settlements for his firm’s clients, and we discuss being Jewish and religion. We discuss life and the various experiences and lessons we’ve garnered throughout, and Harry tells various stories of his own life and things he’s learned from his own family and the clients with whom he has worked. Harry tells a couple of stories that illustrate how vital it is to make sure you’re being kind and loving to those around you because you never know how your actions are going to affect people, or how much longer people you love will be around. Reaching a tipping point in life 4:09 Trying to reach a balance between professional life and who Harry is 7:32 Remaining grounded 13:57 A rough story from his practice 22:37 Story #2 28:30 Seeing things that affect Harry 33:46 Life lessons from the Bible 41:44 “So you’re gonna hit traffic. You’re gonna hit speed bumps in your relationship, but it’s in your relationships and it’s so important to make sure that if that ever happens, even if it means you being the big person, you know, you’re 100% right, reach out. Reach out, apologize, reach across the divide because just stop and think. Imagine if I don’t get the chance. So that’s a constant reminder.” 25:43 https://injurylawyer.com/attorneys/harry-rothenberg-esq/ Share-ables: 18:28-19:19; 30:14; 34:29;

Putting Your Full Attention On the Things that Matter | Give Up What’s Not Important with Terri Cole

In this episode I interview love and life coach Terri Cole, whose mission and dharma is teaching women how to attract and sustain healthy, vibrant, Real Love into their lives and how to establish and maintain effective boundaries with ease and grace. We discuss relationships and how Terri has got to where she is in life, what she has learned, and life lessons we can all apply into our own lives. When she was young, she was skeptical about getting help with her alcohol problem until a woman from the 12 step program told her the reasons he was there, which was because she killed a 6 year old boy in a drunk driving accident. We discuss therapy and the benefits it provides for anyone struggling in life and that often people hold themselves back by denying the positive benefits it can produce. Terri’s journey and how she got to where she is 3:15 The turning point/when she decided to change 12:26 About Boundary Boss and how it can also apply to men 23:54 Double standards about sex 30:03 Present moment consciousness and the negative effects of being observed online 37:22 Meditation 44:54 Pearls of wisdom from Terri 56:18 “We have such a fear of being rejected. I mean the highest value for women, some of them, ‘I just don’t wanna have a hard conversation. I just don’t wanna have conflict. I just don’t want someone to be mad.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not that fragile, and neither are the people in your life.’” 29:31 https://www.terricole.com/ terricole.com/boss Her book: Boundary Boss https://boundaryboss.me/antonygordonshow [https://boundaryboss.me/antonygordonshow]