Small Changes Big Shifts With Dr. Michelle Robin

“We all have gifts. I think it is my responsibility to use mine to build into as many lives as possible in my life, beyond my reach, and beyond my life. I don’t know how to build bridges, I don’t have a whiz bang invention, but I do know how to influence others and change their thinking. Their changed thinking changes their lives. That is my job – by speaking, writing, or coaching.” - Dr. Roger Hall  Author of Staying Happy, Being Productive: The Big 10 Things Successful, Dr. Roger Hall helps people learn to monitor and manage their thinking. For over 25 years, he has consulted with leaders from all types of companies, judges in federal courts, university faculty, social workers, teachers, nurses, construction workers, landscapers, and box-makers. He helps his clients become better versions of themselves so they can improve their own lives and the lives of those they serve. About Dr. Roger Hall Roger does his best as a speaker to keep people like him engaged in what he's talking about. He has had the good for

“You can't run from your passion or your purpose, it will try to find you.” - Dr. Michelle Robin  Dr. Michelle Robin gives listeners a special treat today – a solo episode that celebrates the beginning of her 10th season of the podcast. She will share the story behind how the podcast was born, but more importantly, what has propelled her to continue making episodes all these years later. She will also highlight the most memorable conversations and moments she’s had with guests over the years. If you are seeking guidance on to remain true to yourself, and grounded this year, you don’t want to miss this episode. She will reveal her one-word this year as well, and how it always helps her feel more anchored to her well-being. By the end of the episode, she will share the wisdom she learned in 2022, which are now the lessons she is taking forward into 2023.  About Dr. Michelle Robin:  Dr. Michelle Robin is the founder of Your Wellness Connection, Small Changes Big Shifts®, Big Shifts Foundation®, and the Kansas Ci

“We can find purpose in everything that we do.” - Isaac Lee Collins  From the outside, it may look like Isaac Lee Collins encountered a smooth journey toward success. At 23, fresh out of college, he opened his own chocolate-making store that quickly earned him a half-a-million dollars. However, what people don’t always see is the “life story” that got him to where he is today – which is the owner of seven other businesses (plus one non-profit), ranging from handmade chocolates, construction, real-estate investing, health supplements, yoga teaching, frozen yogurt, and now business coaching. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin invites Isaac to share his story – the ups, downs, and even some of the trauma he endured in life that he managed to turn into good for the sake of humanity. He will uncover some secrets that will help others discover their purpose, and also help listeners see the extraordinary things that can come out of ordinary places.  About Today’s Guest:  In 2011, Isaac’s college football season

“While I was packing, the only thing I was thinking about was how grateful I felt and how I could thank that cab driver who changed my life forever with a small act of kindness.” - Tareq Hadhad  Tareq Hadhad’s life was changed forever during a cab ride home one day. His driver, who was singing and smiling as he drove, noticed that Tareq looked heavy-hearted. After explaining what was on his mind, the driver shared an idea with him that would positively impact Tareq’s entire future – and his family’s safety. It was the answer he had been searching for. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin invites Tareq to share his awe-inspiring story about his family’s refugee journey from Syria to their new home in Canada. He provides a glimpse into what was going through in his mind during this incredibly challenging time of war in their country, but also what he noticed about his father who was losing everything he had built for his family – including his chocolate factory. Enjoy this special holiday episode, which remin

The colder months can make it difficult to stay active, which is why today’s episode is all about how to keep our bodies moving, even indoors. During today’s show, Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes Danelle Husk from the YMCA to share how organizations like theirs are offering new ways for people to stay active during the wintertime. Danelle shares some of her favorite indoor activities, but also speaks to the YMCA 360 portal that allows their members to explore classes that promote a spirit, mind, and body connection to stay well this winter. She provides some examples of why this new platform has been so successful for their members, especially since it gives people an opportunity to try a new workout inside the comfort of their own home rather than a public gym. Later in the show, Dr. Robin welcomes Ant the Trainer, who shares his inspiring story of how he lost 65lbs in 8 months by becoming a mailman – and what motivated him to begin learning the science behind how our bodies work and what they need. He covers so

“We now understand in the rapidly growing field of traumatology, those kinds of traumas can be more damaging to our nervous system regulation and the state of our brain than adverse childhood experiences.” - Dr. Lissa Rankin  Dr. Lissa Rankin didn’t expect to go down a particular path when she left her promising career as an OBGYN in 2007. The plan was to focus on her own health and well-being during a two-year sabbatical, but she soon came face-to-face with people who were doing all the right things – eating well, yoga, and other popular wellness practices – yet they were some of the sickest people she had ever met. When she started asking them deep-rooted questions about their lives, her passion and purpose suddenly revealed itself. She realized what was holding people back from feeling better – developmental trauma. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin invites Dr. Rankin to unpack the story behind what made her go around the globe to collect tools from the world’s medicine bag (from experts, traditions,

“We can’t judge people today who could be different tomorrow.” - Michael Glauser  The greatest of happiness occurs in relationships, yet as a society, we have lost our way in building and sustaining meaningful relationships. We don’t talk to our neighbors as much as we did a decade ago – and the detrimental effects of this lost art is greatly affecting the next generation to lead our world. Over 40% of high school students are persistently sad and feeling hopeless, while 40% of college students say they are too depressed to do their school work. Additionally, 60% of college students say the loneliness epidemic is a very real problem in their own lives. After years of pulling research together about the principles for happiness and civility, Mike Glauser decided it was time to put it all into book form and call it One People One World. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin asks Mike what those six universal truths are that he presents in his book. While these truths have been on this earth for 5,000 years – a

“Stress tends to occur when there’s an imbalance from a demand being placed on you, and it seems like you might be incapable of meeting that demand.” - Megan Walker Many people experience higher stress levels during the holidays, mainly due to having a lot more on our plate. However, creating a stress response toolkit can better help your body and mind manage that stress. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes Megan Walker, who is the Healthy Living Director at the YMCA in the Greater Kansas City area to talk about what that toolkit can include for you. She dives into the importance of understanding what stress is in the body and why it happens, then provides some steps you can start making today before the holiday parties and family events begin. Some key tips that are mentioned include reframing our mindset, physical activity to release stress, blood sugar, hydrating with water, the role fiber has in your body, and where we need to allow more self-compassion on ourselves during the holidays. About

“The value and power of gratitude is that it allows you to shift your perspective. It helps you dig deep and look for good.” - Kim Becking The holidays bring an immense amount of pressure, tension, and stress on us – but are we missing out on life by not finding the good? Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes Kim Becking to the show today to talk about how you can utilize a gratitude practice right now to build a momentum mindset. Kim shares how she redefines what resilience means in today’s world, and some of the practices she started doing when she began a life that was intentionally focused on gratitude. Get ready to receive multiple bits of wisdom and one-liners that you can lean on this holiday season. Some of her advice includes letting go of unrealistic expectations during this time of the year, and she’ll offer some wisdom and other tips to help you have a calmer and more peaceful experience around others. Enjoy this wonderful conversation as they dive deep into why gratitude requires growth and everyday practi

“My favorite definition of compassion is to engage in the suffering of others – and that’s what this small town did. They had true compassion for five days on us.” - Kevin Tuerff Kevin Tuerff was flying from Paris to New York City on September 11, 2001, when the plane suddenly began to appear like it was descending toward the ocean water. A few moments later, the captain came on to say there had been a terrorist attack in the United States, and the plane would be making an emergency landing in a small town in Canada called Gander. Soon after landing, they discovered other planes had been grounded in Gander as well, causing the small town’s population of 9,000 to experience a sudden increase of 7,000 people on their streets. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes Kevin to share this moving and inspiring story about what happened over the course of these five days being stranded there. He explains how people in this town began opening their homes, churches, and kitchens to the passengers like him, aski

“Anything that goes from the heart up creates a vibration that actually has a very positive effect on humans. It will jumpstart other human hearts.” - Sonia Choquette Sonia remembers her mother being a central figure when it came to including kindness as a core value in life. Through all the adversity she faced, Sonia’s mother focused on raising her children to believe that kindness creates the family you need, no matter what the circumstances. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin invites one of her longtime friends to talk about how kindness can raise your vibration – which is the energy that connects you to everything and everyone in the universe. Sonia, who is a world-renowned intuitive, also will share what happens when we intentionally commit to kindness and dives into exactly how powerful your vibration as a human being is to an entire room of people. She ends the episode with some helpful tips about you can begin to show yourself more self-love to raise your vibration. About Today’s Guest: Global aut

“When you look at the Y’s core values since the beginning, it’s all about honesty, respect, responsibility, and caring.” - John Mikos The YMCA was established 178 years ago – and 162 years ago the Kansas City location was founded. Since then, the nonprofit organization has expanded to 135 countries around the world, and annually serves 155,000 people in just the Kansas City community. During today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin invites John Mikos, who is the CEO of the YMCA in Greater Kansas City, to share why kindness is such an integral part of who they are and everything that they do. John began his career at the Y as a lifeguard when he was a teenager, quickly deciding this was the place he wanted to work for the rest of his life – a big reason being the kindness the organization shows every day to its community. He also shares some examples about how they incorporate many of their core values into their youth programs to help kids grow with an understanding and awareness about how these things impact thei

“One of the most eye-opening things when writing this book was my realization how influential we are as leaders. We create a ripple effect that goes out into the world.” - Jim Blake We have been raised in a culture that tell us hard work is the only way to be successful, but self-care often gets left out of the equation. Spiritual seeker and Reverend at Unity World Headquarters, Jim Blake, knows firsthand what happens when we neglect self-care, especially in times of adversity. During today’s show, Dr. Michelle Robin invites him to share more about what inspired him to write his latest book called The Zen Executive: Gems of Wisdom for Enlightened Leadership. One of those things being that if the systems are “off” inside of you, you aren’t making the best decisions for your company. His new book aims to help leaders tackle their well-being and take those small steps he would personally advise in their shoes coming from his own personal experience. Rev. Jim also shares some things leaders should think about whe

Show Notes Coming Soon...

“Acts of kindness, compassion, humor, contentment – all of these things have a spiraling upward effect that actually creates resilience in people. The more you contribute positively to the world, the more you’re going to be resilient.” - Dr. Roger Hall Your brain is malleable all the way through life, meaning your brain has the ability to grow and change the more you practice and rehearse a pattern of thinking. In today’s episode, Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes Dr. Roger Hall, who just released his newest book called DIY Brain: The Mindset Makeover Manual for Peak Performance. He shares what inspired him to write this book – including some backstory of how many years ago he started writing it – and what called him to finally publish it this year. Dr. Hall also explains how kindness, compassion, humor, and contentment all have powerful effects on our brain health and why these things help us to become more resilient and creative in the world. By the end of the episode, you will learn a simple exercise on how you

“Everywhere you wear this message or carry it, it creates kinder behavior.” - Kris Wittenberg As we begin our final countdown to launching the 31-Day Kindness Campaign, Dr. Michelle Robin welcomes a very dear and longtime friend to the show, Kris Wittenberg. Kris is the founder of Be Good to People (BGTP), a company that came to be after a negative encounter with a stranger one afternoon in 2008. In today’s episode, Dr. Robin reveals why the Be Good to People Foundation has come on board as the Presenting Sponsor this year for the Kindness Campaign. Giving back has always been at the root of Be Good to People. Since day one, 2% of every BGTP merchandise purchase goes to the Be Good to People Foundation to celebrate other GoodDoersTM and their nonprofits, support kind work in communities, and to build kindness education programs in schools. Also in today’s episode, Dr. Robin and Kris share an important story about how they met, the wellness benefits of kindness, their personal mental health journey, and why b

“Sometimes it's the things that come most natural to us that we take for granted. We don’t even realize what a superpower that is until we see people who don’t have that ability.” - Jana Stanfield Welcome to our Special Topics episode in September, where we invite our sponsors to present unique topics that help listeners build community, boost wellness prevention, and provide educational opportunities to further their well-being. Today’s Special Topics Episode Music has been a part of Jana Stanfield’s entire life – ever since she was a little girl when she began learning the piano, but eventually chose guitar. In today’s episode, Jana shares part of her life story that includes the moment she had a wake-up call about her career. She began as a hard news television reporter, but quickly realized the words that were getting people to tune in to the network were only inciting fear. Jana realized it was time for a change, and that going forward she wanted to use her words – combined with her musical gift – to ins

“The one thing that pulled me out of my hole was expressive writing. Nothing really happens or changes without expressive writing.” - David Hanscom In 1990, Dr. David Hanscom, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, had his life turned upside down. He began experiencing chronic pain that made him develop 17 symptoms – including OCD, depression, migraine headaches, and many more issues. He shares that his “whole body was lit up” and nobody could help him figure out what was going on. In today's episode, he explains why 90% of symptoms in your body’s physiology (how your body functions and runs), and only 10% of issues are structural. Unfortunately, the medical community tends to treat people backwards by doing structural fixes (i.e. spinal surgery) before treating the physiology, which can end up being more destructive on the body and not what it needs to heal. In 2019, he quit his orthopedic practice to go on a mission full-time to stop the aggressive trend of spinal surgery after years of researching and discovering

“It’s the simple things done consistently that promote long-term health.” - Dr. Dom Fraboni How is mindset connected to chronic pain? Most people describe pain as scary, yet Dr. Jen Esquer and Dr. Dom Fraboni say it’s an incredible cue our body is sending to say we need to shift in the way we’re doing something. In today’s episode, Dr. Jen and Dr. Dom – both physical therapists – explain why many people aren’t getting down to the root causes of their pain and why many treatments are only passive to the body. They unpack some chronic pain myths and provide tips listeners can start doing that more actively (vs. passively) help the body correct itself and reverse the pain. They also share why learning “what to say to the body” is such an important tool and why encouraging fear around movement isn’t the right path toward healing. About Today’s Guests: Dr. Jen Esquer is a top-40 physical therapy influencer. With a Doctorate in physical therapy, she is ranked as one of the Best Fitness Trainers on Instagram by Shap

“Any time you feel stressed and go into that fight or flight mode – everything about your body changes.” - Cindy Perlin Between the opioid epidemic and her own life story, Cindy Perlin set out on a journey to help people see a different side of the story behind chronic pain. In today’s episode, Cindy shares how she became suicidal after battling severe chronic back pain for three years, beginning at age 25 – without doctors being able to help her. The change happened when a friend recommended a book about the mind/body connection that changed her life forever. She began healing herself using many of these techniques, leading her to write a book called The Truth About Chronic Pain Treatmentsso that others could follow in her footsteps. About Today’s Guests: Cindy Perlin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified biofeedback practitioner. She’s been helping people achieve their health and wellness goals for over 25 years. Her practice is located in Delmar, New York, near Albany. She is passionate about