Season Three Reflections

06/08/22 • 9 min

It's hard to believe fourteen months are now in the rear view mirror of my podcasting odyssey. Like a long uphill climb at a steady pace, this season's guests inspired me upward--to discover what lies beyond the next bend in the road. My thoughts turn toward lessons from season three: the opportunity to meet kindred spirits, guides known through their works, old friends, even my earliest mentor from high school and college in Florida. I hope you enjoy these messages from our guests this season:

Sara Slattery watched her father lose his entire business. Learning from her parents’ examples of resilience, she picked herself up, turning disappointment into a new opportunity to grow.
John Lee Dumas leveraged his experience from a pivot to swimming in high school, after an injury benched his basketball dreams. He applied the concept of putting in extra repetitions to his podcast career - over 3,600 episodes later hosting the world's leading daily entrepreneurial podcast.

Growing up as a young black man in 1960’s Georgia was not just difficult; it was life-threatening. Benny Vaughn realized that all these experiences sharpened his resolve, defining his life.
Once Becky Karush learned the principles and essential strategies of writing from Suzanne Kingsbury at the Gateless Writer’s Academy, she allowed her creative genius to flow. Today she teaches others to find their own creative force.
Rock Wilk remembered sitting with Jack Rollins on a park bench when Jack was 99 years old. Jack reminded Rock of life’s uncertainty, and the unknown around the next corner.

Carwyn Sharp learned the value of clarity in communication, fostering an environment of trust. Vital feedback can be gleaned from mistakes, leading to an improvement system for his team.
Finding your tribe - one that supports and challenges you, elevates your craft, and creates a nurturing environment - Molly Grant found this in the leatherworker’s community.

Jerry Lynch ran straight toward his passions, not allowing initial rejection to derail his dream. Through self-exploration, a totally new way of thinking about spirituality and sport awakened in him.
Dick Beardsley has not lived an easy life, learning through faith and following his passions to find joy in the moment. Dick’s attitude radiates hope for the survivor in all of us.
Please reach out, let us know what stories move you forward. What type of guests would you like to hear? We are grateful to those who listen, like, subscribe, rate, and review us. This show is for you.
Intrinsic Drive ® is produced by Ellen Strickler and Phil Wharton. Continued gratitude to Andrew Hollingworth—master editor and sound engineer. For more information on this and other episodes visit us at https://www.whartonhealth.com/intrinsicdrive
Music Credits: Would if I Could by The New Fools from Epidemic Sound

Previous Episode

Staying The Course with Dick Beardsley

In the early eighties Dick Beardsley was one of world’s most famous athletes. He is an American distance runner best known for his first-place tie in the 1981 London Marathon and his close finish with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon— frequently referred to as The Duel in the Sun, compellingly told in the book by John Brant--where he ran 2:08:53 breaking the Boston course and American Records.

After retiring from competition, he suffered a near fatal farming accident, requiring a five-month post-surgical recovery. From 1992-1995, he sustained three major car and cycling accidents, requiring over twenty surgeries. After each of his operations, pain medications were prescribed—to which he became severely addicted.

It was a privilege to spend a moment with this inspirational speaker, fishing guide, iconic athlete, and champion of addiction recovery. I caught up with this native Minnesota outdoorsman away from his “floating office,” aboard his 19-foot fishing boat with his Dick Beardsley Fishing Guide Service. He and his wife Jill are co-owners of the Lake Bemidji Bed and Breakfast. Dick is a motivational speaker sharing his experiences of redemption, perseverance, and hope; he has spoken at fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, conferences, sporting events, prisons, and drug treatment centers.

I hope you enjoy Dick’s boundless enthusiasm, gratitude, and approach to Staying the Course, the title of his page turning book with co-author Maureen Anderson—a master class in overcoming life’s adversities. We warmly welcome Dick to this episode of Intrinsic DriveTM.

Next Episode

Victims No Longer with Mike Lew

As an eight-year-old boy from a large family, living together in a Brooklyn tenement, Mike Lew had a singular goal—to meet every person on the planet. Today, Mike and his Next Step Counseling, co-director Thomas Harrigan, travel the world providing individual therapy, couples counseling, group therapy, professional training, and public lectures around the globe.
Mike is a psychotherapist and cultural anthropologist, specializing in the field of culture and personality. Working in tandem with Margaret Mead and Colin Turnbull as mentors, he became a leading expert on sexual abuse recovery, especially with male survivors.
A turning point came when Mike made an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, he returned home from the male survivor episode to an offer to write a book on recovery. Mike’s book, Victims No Longer Harper Collins 2004, now in its second edition (first edition published in 1990), is the classic guide for men recovering from childhood sexual abuse. The book continues to receive accolades for its clinical expertise and compassionate tone. This essential resource educates survivors and professionals about the recovery process, speaking to the pain, needs, fears, and hopes of the adult male survivor.

Mr. Lew has assisted thousands of men and women in their recovery and healing from childhood sexual abuse, rape, physical violence, emotional abuse, and neglect. He has consulted with the United Nations, National Institute of Mental Health, National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, National Child Abuse Hotline, and the U.S. Navy, among many others.

Mike has taught at The University of California Santa Cruz, Quinnipiac College, The College of New Rochelle, and The City College of New York. His second book, Leaping Upon The Mountains: Men Proclaiming Victory over Sexual Child Abuse was published by Small Wonder Books in 1999.
Thom and Mike host Leaping Upon Mountains a transformative annual recovery summit retreat, at the Kirkridge Retreat Center in Bangor, Pa. We are thrilled to welcome this tireless champion for survivors of sexual abuse to this episode of Intrinsic Drive ®.Intrinsic Drive ® is produced by Ellen Strickler and Phil Wharton and Andrew Hollingworth is sound editor and engineer. For more information on this and other episodes visit us at https://www.whartonhealth.com/intrinsicdrive.

Intrinsic Drive® - Season Three Reflections

Transcript

Phil Wharton00:00:00.450

A lifetime of training, practice study, hard work through discipline, some achieve excellence, mastery, fulfillment, self actualization. What can we learn from their beginning, discoveries, motivations and falls? How do they dust themselves off and resume their journey. During these interviews, stories and conversations, we reveal their intrinsic drive.

Phil Wharton00:00:26.059

Sideways sheets of rain turn the f