Danny Johnson's hilarious, clean stand-up has entertained audiences in comedy clubs, corporate events, and churches nationwide for over 15 years. Danny's work as a stand-up comedian has been humbly compared to Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin James, and Jackie Gleason, blending his original material with his renowned facial expressions. Danny's show is relatable, entertaining, and always evolving. Danny has starred in numerous TV commercials, Comedy Central's Laugh Riots, Florida's Funniest Comedian Top 10 Finalist, Winner-Carnival Cruise line Comedy Challenge, Finalist in Search for the One Christian Comedy contest, recently filmed his wildly popular Dry Bar Comedy Special (now available on Apple TV, Amazon, & Peacock), and has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Chris Rock, Damon Wayans, Bob Saget, Billy Gardell, Richard Lewis, Rickey Smiley, Norm McDonald and a variety of others.

We talk about becoming a professional comedian, what he enjoys about it, where jokes and routines come from, improvisation, hecklers, what makes a show go well, humor and what it all has in common, going on stage for the first time, what goes on backstage, drugs, drinking, sobriety, shows that don't work, mental health issues, social anxiety, auditioning, when things go wrong, and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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John David is the author of the novel "The Bystander," which I read and loved. It's a thriller about a journalist who films an active-shooter incident and a "good samaritan" with a concealed weapon taking out the shooter. However, things are not what they seem.

We talk about writing fiction and nonfiction, writing about a real location, setting, the second amendment and concealed weapons, heros, his work in crisis management, school shootings, writing technique and routine, publishing, querying agents, plotting vs pantsing, art, books he reads, other authors, his other book, "How to Protect Your Reputation Online," his next book "The Pawn," and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Libbie Grant, who also write under the pan name Olivia Hawker, is a Washington Post best-selling author of historical fiction and literary fiction. I recently read her novel "The Ragged Edge of Night," which tells the story of a Franciscan Friar in Nazi Germany struggling to maintain his sense of morals and doing what he can to thwart the efforts of the Nazis. Libbie has written and published 46 books under various pen name and is one of my favorite modern authors.

We talk about the real-life story that inspired "The Ragged Edge of Night," the research that went into the book, how it relates to modern politics and the current rise of fascism in the USA, entering the dark side and how it leads to fascism, the value of being unpredictable, blind faith, religion, her book "The Prophet's Wife," Mormons, Joseph Smith, publishing, writing historical fiction, self-publishing vs traditional publishing, editing and marketing, her book about marketing writing "Gotta Read It," marketing tips for writers, Amazon and Facebook ads, how to generate word-of-mouth, how many days a week and hours a day she writes, short stories, artificial intelligence and how not to get replaced by it, and more.

Links to her books are on the podcast shownotes page

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Inna Segal is a pioneer in the field of energy medicine and human consciousness. She is also the bestselling author of "The Secret Language of Your Body," which has been translated into 26 languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide.

We talk about her roots as a healer, clairvoyance, pain, anxiety, meditation, exercise, living consciously, intuitive healing, food choices, understanding what gets into our bodies, emotional wisdom and how to improve it, learning from other people's mistakes, narcissism, boundaries, her book "The Secret Language of Your Body," color, how there is always an opportunity to learn and grow, and more.

links are on the shownotes page

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Thom Barrett is an adventurer, cancer survivor, and the author of several books: "Living While Dying", "Chasing My Northern Lights", "Embracing the Cold", "The Strength of Surrender" and "Beyond the Blueprint." His stories of resilience, adventure, and self-discovery empower readers to navigate life's adversities, cherish their experiences, and uncover the beauty in unexpected places.

We talk about a ski mountaineering adventure in the alps, hiking in Patagonia, hubris, accepting help, making friends while traveling, the value of being still in the wilderness, diving, places where people don't go, predecessor energy, preparing for death, kayaking in the arctic and antarctic, penguins, orcas, polar bears, Greenland, expedition cruises, embracing the cold, winter camping, nearly dying in an avalanche while helicopter skiing, dying on your own terms, and more.

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Check out my latest novel Identity Crisis

Ian Wallace is a dream psychologist who has also worked professionally as a North Sea oil-rig roughneck, mountain guide, session musician, fashion photographer, commercial pilot, military psychologist, relationship counsellor, child psychologist, celebrity psychologist and artificial intelligence inventor. His knowledge of dreams and his ability to articulate this is extraordinary.

We talk about dreams and what they mean, the conscious vs the subconscious, how dreams are the language of the unconscious, lucid dreams, how to deal with nightmares, how a bedroom should be set up to improve sleep, blue light, how alcohol affects sleep, the cycle of dreaming, how we create dreams, analogies between drams and waking life, characters in dreams, spirit, the liminal state, near death experiences, the meanings of various common dreams, recurring dreams, how our instinctive behavior affects our dreams, and more.

links are on the podcast shownotes page

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Mike Pushkin is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and is the Chair of the WV Democrat Party.

We talk about why elections matter, the top of the ticket vs the bottom of the ticket, substance-abuse issues, addiction and recovery, a day in the life of a delegate, representing the people, division of Americans, what we all have in common, the joy to be found in politics, driving a taxi, what one person can do to make a change in the world, SNAP, protests, the demolition of the White House's East Wing, social media, propaganda, white supremacist groups, communism, fascism, bombing boats in Venezuela, due process, keeping a standard of ethics in politics, coal mining, renewable energy, ICE, voter intimidation, authoritarian regimes and how the Trump administration is moving in this direction, the importance of everyone paying attention, empathy, music, and more.

Links are on the shownotes page

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Elliott Hasler wrote, directed, and filmed "Vindication Swim," the story of Mercedes Gleitz, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. He also wrote and directed "WWII: The Long Road Home," which opened in the USA and the UK, and for which Elliott was praised as "perhaps the next Spielberg." "Vindication Swim" opened in select theaters October 17.

We talk about filming the movie, swimming, inspiration, having the confidence to spend a year making a film, being self-taught, writing, the challenge of shooting at sea, boats, cameras, jellyfish, sharks, and more.

Links are on the podcast shownotes page

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