There are so many things we can learn from hearing the experiences of others. Today’s show is packed full of wisdom from valuable life lessons as a previous guest returns to share more of his story. Join us!
Chris Stevenson, former Power Ranger stuntman, is the founder of Stevenson Consulting. Chris’s current focus is helping businesses and entrepreneurs of all types maximize their potential. His expertise stems from his past hands-on experience in all aspects of the health club industry. For almost 20 years, Chris and his team successfully owned and operated Stevenson Fitness, a full-service boutique health club in Southern California. The club’s success was based on providing an unparalleled member experience centered on proper staffing, systematic operations, and world-class leadership. This success was reflected in the club’s NPS, which was consistently in the 90s (the industry average is in the 40s). Chris recently founded Be Military Fit California to bring the world-renowned brand to the US. Be Military Fit is the world leader in military fitness and outdoor training. Chris is an international speaker who regularly presents at IDEA, IHRSA, Club Industry, and other fitness and business events. He sits on the IHRSA board of directors and the Customer Engagement Academy. From health and wellness to business strategies, Chris has the unique ability to connect with people instantaneously and to present viable, applicable lectures that resonate with every audience.
Young Chris’s dreams
Do you have a dream you’ve chased since childhood? From the time Chris was very young, the field of martial arts has been his passion. He left all other sports behind to focus on his training, and his dream was always to run his own martial arts school. The martial arts belt system taught him to set goals to accomplish his dreams. He learned the value of having a mentor, the value of trust, and how to listen and learn from an instructor. Chris began with Tae Kwon Do and then branched into other martial arts disciplines, and finally into boxing to hone his hand skills. He stayed busy with college classes while teaching martial arts, but pivoted after college to take time to have fun and enjoy life in CA, where he still lives today. Chris lives with no regrets because his choices back then brought him where he is today.
TWEET: The choices Chris has made has brought him where he is today. @thechrisstevenson #chasingdreams
Controlling your stress response
How do you handle stress? Chris explains that some people struggle with mindfulness and mental health because of how our stress response is wired, which is the same way our ancestors responded when they were trying to get food and not be eaten as food. Our minds are automatically wired to defend ourselves, so we instinctively fall into a negative “fight or flight” response to everything. We have to train our brains to respond differently and react more positively. Even the simple act of deep breathing can have a huge effect as we engage our controllable nervous system to offset our natural instincts.
TWEET: The simple act of deep breathing can have a huge effect on our mindset. @thechrisstevenson #chasingdreams
The best lessons learned
What are the best life lessons you’ve learned? Through Chris’s varied experiences, he’s learned many lessons. While running a martial arts studio, he learned that he could accomplish anything he put his mind to if he committed to working hard enough. Another lesson was when he learned not to let other people dictate his emotions and reactions. The important thing is to be aware and flip the reaction so we don’t give other people control. He learned another important lesson about holding grudges. The truth is that grudges only hurt the people who hold them--so, let them go! Another problem is that we encounter more negative influences as we age, and we...
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.