Mahlon Head was forced into foreign mental territory when he suffered the tragic loss of his mother in 2021. Although he experienced seemingly insurmountable levels of hardship, he learned to look inward during his Grief Journey, which catalyzed lessons in loneliness, vulnerability, and our universal connectivity.

This and more led to the co-founding Friends of Felix, a brand that seeks to support challenging conversations and increase awareness of the unexpressed tragedies and traumas we face.

Expect to learn more of Mahlon's difficulties, how to be tactfully vulnerable, why happiness is not the only thing worth striving for, and how compassionate empathy is perhaps the most under-appreciated practices of our time.

This conversation truly embodies much of the spirit that describes this podcast, so thank you for engaging and attempting to move forward. If there is someone you think is struggling deeply or may benefit from more inspiration, please don't hesitate to share this episode with them.

To support Friends of Felix and Mahlon:

WEBSITE or INSTAGRAM @friendsoffelixbrand

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

Christopher Warren is a board member, coach, and inspiring entrepreneur. His combination of curiosity, honesty, and drive are most recognizable in his creations of life.

Expect to learn how recalibration can afford opportunities never seen before, including the frameworks that Chris employs and is trying anew. As well, he discusses how to be honest with yourself, where service to others lies in perpetuation of a better life, and how we can consider the restoration of trust in ourselves to trust the people and institutions around us.

To support and learn more about Chris, visit this link!

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

Dr. Adrienne Shnier is a professor, mother, lawyer, and owner of Apply Yourself Global. In this conversation we understand how Adrienne finds more value in truly respecting her time rather than simply scheduling it. This leads to tactful thought experiments that can help ensure every reflection of time spent is a successful one. We also discuss the forces of trust, and who to trust most in order for us all to move forward. This episode is a continuation of Part 1 with Adrienne, so if you'd like to learn more, please don't hesitate to retreat back to the previous conversation.

To support Adrienne and learn more about her companies:

@applyyourselfglobal on Instagram, this link, or this link for the company website

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

Dr. Adrienne Shnier is a mother, professor, founder of her own law firm and Apply Yourself Global. Her entrepreneurial spirit is a shining example of what can be achieved with a true understanding of one's values and the determination to maintain their truth while acting in service.

Expect to learn how Adrienne's personal drive was fostered through periods of hardship in her earlier life, and how she still strives to maintain it today. She also discusses the potential paths of the educational systems and what students of academia and life need to succeed.

Adrienne also explains her theory that rebuttals the classical sense of "work/life balance" with a proposal to carry success in all areas of life without nurturing unwanted conflicts.

To support Adrienne and learn more about her companies:

@applyyourselfglobal on Instagram, this link, or this link for the company website

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

Alison Fung is an Investigator who recently transitioned from a traditional lawyer's path and is still unpacking her newest decisions. Perhaps most catalytic to her changes was Alison's drive for equity and giving a voice to those who have become more silenced in our modern world, all while attempting to remain as true to herself as possible.

In this conversation, expect to learn learn about some of Alison's greatest inspirations in her early life, which leads to a deep reflection on family and common generational and societal differences. In a simultaneous adventure of dissecting Alison's motivations and understanding her path to take the legal route, we discover some of the true rewards of introspection and vulnerability when encountering difficult decisions in life.

Also, we interrogate the biases that that are often held (by many of us), including ones the come with the potential prestige (or not) of what someone does "for a living". This leads to the admission of where a lot of our fears come from and Alison's opinion on the one thing that's needed to face those fears.

.

.

.

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

Michael Kostka is a former National Hockey League Player who had perhaps a more difficult path to his peak athleticism, but also a most rewarding one. Growing up, Mike was enthralled of his introversion and used it to propel introspection; A skill that blossomed so many of his other passions, notwithstanding his hockey, golf, and constant mental improvements. His path has led him to now serve other high performers and athletes in the ever-so valuable arena of mental performance coaching.

Expect to learn more about Mike's journey as he reflects on who his biggest influences are and how he learned to love his underdog story, even how part of his life was "in shambles" when he first made it to the NHL. This, among many of his tales, act as shining examples of Mike believing in presence as a practice.

Mike also reflects on the biggest misconceptions of mental toughness, the distillation of resilience, and what he believes is the most powerful thing to carry us forward.

.

.

.

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

"I was free to create. There was no roadmap...And you just take risks."

Though being in the relative middle-class, Yahaya Baruwa grew up in an impoverished part of Nigeria where materialism was scarce, but creativity was not. Whether it was creating toy cars out of bottle caps and milk cans, or using plastic bags or socks for soccer balls, Yahaya chooses to feel grateful for being so free in his early life. And he believes that these freedoms from childhood allowed him to create, to take risks, and to trust himself to do what is right along the way, which correlated highly to writing his own book and starting his own publishing company in his early twenties.

Yahaya opens up about the struggles of his journey to writing his book - Struggles of a Dreamer - with intentions of inspiring one million people. What was once a disapproval from his own father became one of the biggest catalysts to his creations. Yahaya also reveals why he wrote in secrecy, how he left home with no plans and learned one of the most important lessons of his life, and why earning his first million dollars came as a complete surprise.

In a story of taking risks, we learn through Yahaya that perhaps the biggest risk of all is not pursuing your own dreams and freedoms. But not merely for yourself. Rather for the service you provide and the people you will inspire to chase their dreams along the way.

To be more inspired, please consider Yahaya's book; Struggles of a Dreamer: A Battle Between a Dream and Tradition. It can also be found on the Indigo website.

To support Yahaya and learn more, please visit https://strugglesofadreamer.ca/

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE

"The times where I didn't get the outcome that I wanted, and I sensed those were missing...Those are the hardest moments to accept."

Jonathan Viscosi is a professional football (soccer) player that has lived his childhood dreams in ways he never actually envisioned. From playing locally in Ontario to representing his country during collegiate years, to playing in Europe and obtaining a Master's Degree in Emotional Psychology, his journey possesses a myriad of learnings that go beyond the academic and athletic realms.

And yet, some of Jon's biggest successes are those where no trophy - or external glory - were involved.

Jon reflects on the most rewarding parts of his professional career before sharing how one of his most impactful moments came at a peak when nearly nothing went according to plan. He also contrasts identity and outcomes and what the best solution may be to separate the two for optimal performance.

We dive deeper into Jon's academic research on how high performance can be achieved through self-regulation and the Multi-States Theory. And as the reflections continue, he shares how it's more than self-talk in addition to simple tactics that allow one to achieve their best performances in sports, and in life.

To view some of Jon's powerful published work and blog posts, visit this link.

To support Jon and his journey, or if you're interested in obtaining high-performance coaching, visit

Jon's Socials

Thank you for your attention and interest! Enjoy this episode and please share it with those you think it may help.

@kevin.p.murphy on Instagram or LEARN MORE HERE