Ivy League Prep Academy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Expand Your Sphere of Influence Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Do you focus your energy on issues that are outside your control? Do you spend time thinking about how wonderful it would be if the things around you changed for you? Learn what you can do today to begin making your world work for you. Changing yourself, rather than asking that your circumstances change for you, is the key to expanding your sphere of influence.
Learn how today!
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

How, Specifically, to Use Stress to Make You Better Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Following up on last week's episode about how helpful stress can be for us, this episode teaches you HOW to make use of stress. Each time you experience stress, you can understand that your body is giving you extra energy and focus in order to help you perform better.
But in the moment when you feel overwhelmed, it may be hard to shift your perspective to this healthier mindset. Listen to discover the quick and effective three-step process you can use to shift your mindset, and your results!
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Why Stress Makes You Better Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

You've heard that stress leads to health issues, strained relations, and premature death (among other things.) What compelling research now shows, however, is that stress only has these negative effects on those people who believe that stress is bad for them.
In fact, the "fight or flight" stress response is only one of several types of naturally-occurring stress responses. When I was at Harvard, I was impressed with how many people saw stress as natural, normal, and often, positive.
Now I understand why. Listen to find out what the healthy responses to stress are, and also to understand why the highest performers in the world-- athletes, first-responders, NASA astronauts, chefs, musicians, or Navy Seals-- all invite extra levels of stress into their lives and their practice, in order to make use of the extra focus, energy, and momentum that stress brings to them.
Change your assumptions about stress, and you too can benefit from the tremendous gift of stress.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Nneka Faison, pt. 2 (advice for journalism-centric impact projects from Harvard journalism teacher) Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

My journalism class with Nneka Faison is legendary for how difficult it is to get into-- it is so popular at Harvard. When I was close to graduating and could register early, I took Nneka's class and discovered the hype was completely justified.
Nneka's parents came to America with their six children from Nigeria. One of the middle children, Nneka, did her undergraduate work at Princeton, her graduate studies at Columbia, and studied as a Fellow at Harvard. Now, she teaches journalism at Harvard in addition to running an award-winning newsroom.
In this podcast she gives valuable advice for my listeners who wish to make their impact through some form of journalism, like starting a newspaper or a podcast. She confirms the importance of the Ivy League Challenge for students who do have Ivy League and top-tier university ambitions, and gives practical advice to interested students.
This is part 2 of a 2-part series with her.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

My Harvard Teacher (& Princeton, Columbia, Harvard Grad/Fellow) Nneka Faison, Pt. 1 Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

My journalism class with Nneka Faison is legendary for how difficult it is to get into-- it is so popular at Harvard. When I was close to graduating and could register early, I took Nneka's class and discovered the hype was completely justified.
Nneka's parents came to America with their six children from Nigeria. One of the middle children, Nneka, did her undergraduate work at Princeton, her graduate studies at Columbia, and studied as a Fellow at Harvard. Now, she teaches journalism at Harvard in addition to running an award-winning newsroom.
In this podcast she discusses and compares these three Ivy League schools. She shares real stories of her experiences and helps us get a much clearer picture of both the good and the bad at these elite schools. She also confirms the importance of the Ivy League Challenge for students who do have Ivy League and top-tier university ambitions.
This is part 1 of a 2-part series with her.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

This One Tiny Pivot Will Make You Luckier Today Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

One of my favorite researchers in the world has dedicated much of his life to identifying the things that make some people luckier than others. I have really good news! Significantly better luck is within your control. Listen to learn more about the role curiosity and awareness make you more lucky, and how you can ensure that today is luckier for you than yesterday.
If you want to increase your chances of being lucky enough to join an Ivy League or other top-tier college, check out the Ivy League Challenge today.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

The Only Thing All Successful People Have in Common Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

I have been fortunate enough to spend time with some highly successful people. Perhaps surprizingly, there is one (and only one) thing that ALL of them have in common.
Listen to find out that one critical success trait.
Mentioned in the episode is pillar 3 of the Ivy League Challenge: Develop Your Authentic Impact Project.
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

The Tremendous Power of Mini-pivots Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

Frustrated that you haven't stuck with your New Year's resolutions? Listen up. When our results don't measure up to our ambitious expectations, it is tempting to seek out dramatic, revolutionary changes, like in the movies.
That strategy can be effective in many circumstances, but if it isn't working for you, consider taking a page out of nature's book. While dramatic events regularly occur in nature, by far the more common (but still very real) growth and change occurs evolutionarily, not revolutionarily. Tiny improvements, compounded by the consistency and time, create tremendous success.
I discuss an exercise you can do alone or with a group, that can help you identify one or more tiny shifts you'd like to make in your life, right now. This is the kind of work that my students do in pillar one of the Ivy League Challenge, entitled "Optimize Yourself."
Check out three episodes in season 1 if you'd like the science behind this strategy of tiny but consistent positive efforts. Those episodes are "Atomic Habits, episode 1, 2, &3."
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

Play Like a Champion- Today (a Stress-defeating Hack) Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

When stressful deadlines pile on top of each other and you begin to feel overwhelmed, use this quick and easy strategy to shift your mindset and eliminate the stress.
Stress gives us headaches, tense muscles in the shoulders or lower back, a depleted immune system, and more. But it doesn't have to be this way. Once you learn this mindset shift, you may decide to follow my lead, and actually schedule "champions days" into your life in order to increase productivity without any stress, and free yourself up to enjoy other more meaningful activities in your life.
To learn more about this strategy and so many others which equip you to confidently pursue the university of your dreams, sign up for the Ivy League Challenge waitlist. I believe the world needs every student to reach their full potential, and college admittance shouldn't hold you back. That's why I (a Harvard graduate and educator whose been in your shoes) designed the Ivy League Challenge.
Play like a champion today!
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here

YOU are the Role Model Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

I have a challenge for you; to help you begin a new habit you want to adopt, or lose a habit you'd love to ditch. Follow these two steps for the rest of the month (plus a bonus activity for when your will power dips low...)
1. Decide the identity of the person you want to be (a healthy eater, an active person, a star student, etc.)
2. prove it to yourself with multiple wins
Once you have decided what kind of person you want to become, realize that you naturally will be showing the way to others and therefore will be a role model. So each day when you are faced with a choice, make the choice that you as the role model would make. Each time you make the choice that the role model would make, you are proving your identity to yourself once again.
But while you are motivated to add or remove a habit, I want you to leverage the power of gratitude into this process, and make a list of 10 ways that your life and the world around you becomes better when you live your new identity and make choices accordingly.
In other words, when you are tempted to eat junk food instead of the choice that the role model would make, the way you describe your situation will play a big role in how well you continue supporting your new identity. For example, instead of thinking "I really hate eating raw cucumbers, I wish I could have potato chips again!" switch your mindset to the list of things that focuses on how your choices are making your life and the world around you a better place, like "I love how making healthy choices gives me greater control over my body!" or "I really appreciate the miracle of my body and I'm so glad I can supply it with the healthy nutrients it needs to be in top shape."
Follow these simple steps and begin to develop the confidence that comes from making a choice and sticking with it. You got this!
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To register for the Ivy League Challenge, visit our website.
To follow on Instagram: @TheIvyLeagueChallenge
To join us on our Facebook group for parents:
Or schedule a meeting with Steve here