All posts by : Charlie Smith

In this week’s podcast I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with such an inspiring resilient woman, Kelley Gunter: Supervisor for the National Suicide Hotline, a sexual abuse survivor, emotional warrior, public speaker, life coach, and the author of You Have Such a Pretty Face.

Kelley speaks candidly about the numerous addictions she developed as a result of the unhealed trauma she suffered from a childhood riddled with sexual abuse. Kelley’s painful journey to find peace and self-worth began with a 243-pound weight loss, and included many dark moments of despair that eventually brought her to her knees. Those feelings of shame and powerlessness contributed to not only Kelley’s initial weight gain, but the cross addictions she developed following her initial weight loss and the 20-year successful maintenance of that loss. Broken and devastated in the aftermath of her own self-destruction, Kelley’s fractured faith screamed out that somehow, her faint pulse and shattered heart was, in fact, still beating.

Kelley applies her vast therapeutic knowledge to the painful reality that weight loss doesn’t heal the trauma that contributed to the initial weight gain, nor does it systematically prevent the high likelihood that cross addictions can and may develop in people who don’t acknowledge that trauma.

Shame is the core of all addictions and Kelley addressed that shame and the addictions she suffered. Kelley provides not only professional insight into how crucial it is that we begin to address our inner pain, but also provides the compassion that can only be given from one who has walked the path and experienced the darkness herself.

Learn more at https://kelleygunter.com/

Connect on Instagram @gunterkelley

I had the incredible opportunity to sit down in the studio with Retired NFL QB, and ESPN Analyst, Ryan Leaf.

Ryan Leaf spent his college career with the Washington State Cougars, where he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after his junior year. He was selected as the second overall pick by the San Diego Chargers in the 1998 NFL Draft behind Peyton Manning, he played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks. Ryan’s career took a turn when a video went viral of him arguing with a reporter in the locker room but this was just the beginning. Ryan shares so openly how this one event, altered the course of not just his career but his life. Ryan is remarkably self reflective and insightful. He talks about his challenges on and off the football field from battling addiction, going to rehab to serving time in prison, and how being of service to other inmates created a turning point in his life. He is vulnerable and courageous as he holds nothing back. His story of redemption and commitment to a life lived well is something all of us will learn from.

Follow on Instagram @RyanDLeaf

I had the awesome opportunity to sit down with motivational speaker and gratitude enthusiast, Ricky Mendez. He shares how helping one person changed his life and propelled him into quitting his job and helping people and businesses change their company culture and personal lives.

He believes in a systematic process that attacks the issues of procrastination, mediocre sales, and an undefined culture in an organization as well as in life. He is able to shift paradigms and change the way people think; therefore changing what is thought to be impossible to probable. Many businesses either suffer from stagnant revenues and lack of growth or struggle to maintain their foundational culture during times of expansion. Organizations who adopt Ricky’s process change behavior, make better decisions and create action habits that exponentially increase revenues and profitability while maintaining a superior culture.

The techniques that Ricky applies to the corporate world can seamlessly be transferred to personal struggles and adversity. Listen as he shares his secret to happiness and getting to where you want to be.

Learn more at https://rickymendez.com/ Connect on IG @RickyMendezSpeaks

I had the incredible opportunity to sit down and talk to David Smith, a Nike Athlete, Speaker, Writer and Coach. He was born with a club foot and underwent repeated medical surgeries to break and reset the foot. David’s doctors even considered full amputation.

In 2010 he was taken into emergency surgery when a cervical tumor was discovered. The surgery caused temporary paralysis and involved the removal of three vertebrae and rebuilding the spine.

David has competed internationally in several sports including GB Rowing, and British Cycling. He has over come tremendous adversity. Listen as David shares his journey through multiple cancer reoccurrences and life saving surgeries, radiation treatment and rehabilitation therapy. He shares both his experience in high performance sports and his first hand experience of fighting for his life and living with paralysis.

You can work with David as he pursues life as an athlete whilst living with a spinal cord injury. Pushing both mental and physical boundaries in the hope to inspire others to live a flourishing life.

Learn more at https://davidsmithathlete.com/

Connect on Instagram @DavidSmithMBE