The Simple Life with Gary Collins

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E83: Adam Carolla Ace on The House Podcast Co-Host Eric Stromer Mar 23, 2021

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Are you looking to simplify your life? With all the chaos today, do you want to learn some tangible skills and get some DIY projects done, but have no idea where to start. I often say most people know what a hammer is, but they have no idea how to use it! Today, I have a special guest on the show: Eric Stromer the co-host of Adam Carolla's incredibly popular Do-It-Yourself Podcast - Ace on The House. Hey, I was even a guest on the show discussing my off-the-grid and grid-tied house projects. Chicago native ERIC STROMER is the star of over 300 episodes of such hit shows as HIDEOUS HOUSES (A&E), OVER YOUR HEAD (HGTV) and CLEAN SWEEP (TLC), THREE WISHES (NBC), author of Random House book, Do-It-Yourself Family, and was voted one of People magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive.” Eric’s entertaining DIY advice and infectious personality have won the hearts of millions of viewers nationwide. He’s been a spokesman for SEARS/Craftsman Tools and can be heard regularly dishing out home improvement advice to listeners of Adam Carolla’s nationally syndicated radio show. Also, Eric has a full-length country music album in Nashville, called FIX IT MAN, that was performed on AOL SESSIONS. Eric has also been a special correspondent for the syndicated entertainment news magazine, THE INSIDER. Eric partnered with AOL and GMC to create Home Improvement with Eric Stromer, a series of web videos and interactive features that help viewers conquer their fears and tackle home repair projects themselves. An accomplished author. His book, Do-It-Yourself Family, is a helpful guide for busy parents, with suggestions for home projects that will not only bring the family together but also buy some quality time for mom and dad. Published by Random House/Bantam Dell, it is available in stores nationwide Eric also penned a monthly column, “Superhandy Dad,” for LA Parent magazine. Now a producer as well, Eric has several shows currently in development at DISCOVERY and elsewhere. Eric lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. Topics covered in this episode: How to get started on your DIY home projectsHow to not kill or gravely injure yourself when doing DIY projects The three things you need to know about DIY projectsThe DIY tools you need to ownWhat are the best DIY projects to start withWhat are some great DIY resourcesWhy it is so difficult dealing with contractorsThe main things you need to know about when dealing with contractors Episode Resources: Eric's Website: https://www.ericstromer.com/Ace on The House Podcast: https://www.podcastone.com/ACE-On-The-HouseAce on The House Podcast episode I was on: https://www.podcastone.com/episode/OTH-Off-the-Grid-with-guest-Gary-CollinsMake sure to signup and be a member of The Simple Life Insider's Circle at: https://thesimplelifenow.com/the-simple-life/

E82: From Small Town, to Harvard, to Entrepreneur at 19 Years Old Mar 16, 2021

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Have you ever wondered what it is like to go to one of the most prestigious colleges in the world? How about if you were accepted to such a college without really trying? Today, I have a special guest Mike Evans, a freshman at Harvard University. He has a great story to tell, and it gets even better; he just went on a leave of absence for at least the next six months to pursue his entrepreneurship dreams. Michael Evans is the author of thrillers that feature flawed, captivating characters facing extraordinary odds to survive and fight for humanity's future. His genre-bending stories will leave you turning the pages late into the night. Although a frighteningly realistic yet unique end to the world is always at the core of what he creates, his stories also combine elements of romance, dystopias, speculative fiction, and the adrenaline-fueled thrillers his readers have come to expect from him. And above all else, his stories are ingrained with his mission to enlighten his readers about the darker aspects of our future in hopes that the power of story can be used to propel humanity into a lighter, better world. He is currently a student at Harvard University. He enjoys exploring abandoned buildings, going for long runs to dream up new story ideas, and reading about future technologies, political systems, and survival techniques. He resides in Charleston, South Carolina, with his fluffy golden doodle but is originally from Long Island, New York. To find out more about him or his work, you are welcome to visit here: mevansinked.com. Topics Discussed: How Mike is not really Harvard materialHow Mike accidentally got into HarvardThe current state of our higher education systemAre prestigious colleges just a place for rich kids to hangoutWhy (real) education is the key to leveling the playing field of life and successWhy Mike has taken a leave of absence from HarvardWhy simple living makes things simple for Mike to pursue his dreamsThe many adventures awaiting Mike in the very near futureWhy the tech industry is a disasterWhy good people need to make good tech Why entrepreneurship is the last and one of the biggest keys to living free Episode Resources: Michael's Website: http://www.mevansinked.comMichael’s Vlogs: https://youtube.com/channel/UCk93pa2ztBJ4LNBhdOdTMTgMichael’s Boundless Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCL1j4tc9iiNSRJQ09TuM9TQGary's Website: https://thesimplelifenow.comSignup to be a part of The Simple Life Insider's Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/the-simple-life/Buy Gary’s Physical Books in Canada: www.pinnaclebooks.ca

E81: Tech Expert Myles Wakeham Shares The Astonishing Truth About Bitcoin Mar 09, 2021

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Are you chasing fairy dust when it comes to investing or on your way to becoming a millionaire? When it comes to investing today, you are pretty much gambling in Vegas with stocks. Is Bitcoin the answer? What exactly is it? Today, I bring back on Myles Wakeham, who has been a millionaire three separate times in his life. His most recent venture into millionaire land was due to him buying and owning Bitcoin. Today we get to the truth about Bitcoin and how our financial system truly works. About Myles in his own words: I was born and raised in Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide was a wonderful place. Clean, great community, great weather, great food. I mean the idyllic location. My parents were not wealthy, but nor were they poor. My father worked all of his life for the same company. My mother was a stay-at-home parent. My parents owned their own home and paid it off. They struggled financially but were able to put me through private school. I was an only child - I guess I didn't have to share their focus with another, so I got lucky. I had always been interested in technology from a young age. I was such an avid learner that I would go to great extremes to seek out things and get involved in clubs, community groups, etc. I rode my bike everywhere - even for hours to the city's center to spend my Sunday afternoons in the public library. Soaking up every bit of knowledge I could get. Strange things that people often didn't pay attention to. But I did. One day I got exposed to CB Radios. This was in the 1970s. I became obsessed (as I often did with things). I learned about electronics, physics, communications, etc. This led me towards computers, and eventually, I bought one of the first personal computers - in 1978, the TRS-80 Model 1 computer. I learned everything about programming that computer, and it became everything to me. As the computer industry evolved, so did I. I started a software company and became one of the few experts in software development in Adelaide - getting gigs to write software for government departments, big corporations, etc., and I was still not even 20 years old. My passion for technology was matched with a business passion, which started well before I discovered technology. I guess business was in my DNA. In 1989, I moved to the United States, settling in Los Angeles. I realized that the ability to migrate from one place to another was a life-changing experience. It taught me to embrace everything I found within my grasp, learning about business in the USA, I got involved in the music industry, and I was able to leverage my computer programming experience to land work in some early startups - one of which became Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology corporation. Although I spent much of the next 30 years living in the USA, I never lost touch with my home of Australia, and in the late 1990s moved back there for many years before returning to the USA. In 2002 I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, and I've lived here since. I am a self-made business owner. I don't have a job. I do have clients and I do work on software projects and data centers, etc. today. It is because this is what I love to do. It isn't because this is my career. I've never embraced that concept. I think if you are blessed to find your calling early in life and you can turn that into an income earner, you will embrace that far more than a defined "career" that people have to convince themselves that they love to do. I got lucky in that regard. But it was more that at a young age I was passionate to learn things. I still am. I just can't learn them in a classroom, or a lecture hall, or books. I have to go out and see things with my own eyes and touch things with my own hands. It is just the way I operate. Today I run a technology organization, and thanks to my wife and her focus on investments in the 1990s, we learned the power of real estate investing along with other passive income bus...

E80: Dr. Shawn Baker Shares Astonishing Insights from The Carnivore Diet Mar 02, 2021

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There is a ton of health and diet confusion these days. Per the first leg of the Three-Legged Stool of The Simple Life—Optimal Health, you know how seriously I take health in what I teach. You have probably heard of the Carnivore Diet, but do you know what it is all about? You are probably wondering if it is complete BS or really a rational path to health. Well, today, I bring on one of the foremost experts on the Carnivore Diet, Dr. Shawn Baker. Today we will dispense with all the myths and get to the truth of the matter. Most importantly, we will learn it is something you should integrate into your pursuit of optimal health. Dr. Shawn Baker’s Carnivore Diet is a revolutionary, paradigm-breaking nutritional strategy that takes contemporary dietary theory and dumps it on its head. It breaks just about all the “rules” and delivers outstanding results. At its heart is a focus on simplicity rather than complexity, subtraction rather than addition, making this an incredibly useful diet that is also easy to follow. Shawn is a doctor, an athlete, a father, and a proponent of the carnivore diet. He is also: Orthopedic SurgeonAthlete – World Record HolderCEO at MeatRxAuthor of The Carnivore DietInternational SpeakerPodcast HostConsultantA lifetime of pursuing excellencePushing the boundaries and not settling for mediocrityFather, Soldier, Revolutionist Topics Discussed: Shawn’s journey in competitive athletics and what lead him to find different nutritional options.How his job as a doctor started to make him question the things he had been taughtHow Shawn found the carnivore diet in his pursuit of better health.What were some of the mistakes he made along the way?What are the biggest misconceptions when it comes to the carnivore diet?How the evidence shows historically, humans have eaten a lot of meat.How the carnivore diet has fixed a lot of modern human’s chronic health problems.Why the human brain has shrunk over the last 100,000 years.Discussing the big lie that raising and eating animals is bad for the planet.How the carnivore diet is actually better for the diet when proper sustainable processes are used.Is the carnivore safe for the everyday person?How does the carnivore diet work for athletes? Episode Resources: Dr. Shawn Baker’s Website: https://shawn-baker.com/Join the Simple Life Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/betterlifeCredit: Episode art background photo by José Ignacio Pompé

E79: What Carey Lohrenz Can Teach You About Being Fearless Feb 23, 2021

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As a kid, did you dream of becoming a firefighter, a policeman, a cowboy, or even a fighter pilot like the movie Top Gun? I know I did. I was lucky enough to be stationed at Top Gun, while in the U.S. Navy, but I wasn't a fighter pilot, but my guest today, Carey Lohrenz, was. And even one better... she was the first fully qualified female naval aviator to fly the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. military. I first met Carey when she went through the Top Gun school in the 90s, funny how worlds collide sometimes. She is now a motivational speaker and best-selling author... huh, a little interesting, I may say, as I am as well! A bit about Carey: As an aviation pioneer, Carey learned what fearless leadership means in some of the most demanding and extreme environments imaginable: the cockpit of an F-14 and the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Here, her teams had to perform at their peak - or lives were on the line. Faltering leadership was simply unacceptable. Through these experiences, Lohrenz identified a fundamental truth: high-performing teams require fearless leaders. Since leaving the Navy, she's translated that lesson into a new field, helping top business leaders, from Fortune 500 executives to middle managers, supercharge performance in today's competitive business environments. In Fearless Leadership, Lohrenz walks you through the three fundamentals of real fearlessness - courage, tenacity, and integrity - and then reveals fearless leadership in action, offering advice on how to set a bold vision, bring the team together (as wingmen, not Top Gun mavericks), execute effectively, and stay resilient through hard times. Topics discussed: What motivated Carey to be a fighter pilot, which males heavily dominate.How did her athletic career prepare her for being a fighter pilot and a successful career after?How was she able to utilize the skills she learned as a fighter pilot into the business world?I share my experiences in a flight simulator landing on an aircraft carrier, then Carey explains how it is really done!What was it like being in the military's quintessential boy's club?Can you use social media positively in today’s world?Why focusing on the things you can change is one of the main keys to happiness.How did she come up with the concept for her book "Fearless Leadership"?What are the fundamentals of Fearless Leadership?Are leaders made or born?What does it take to be truly fearless in life?How she came up with the concept for her new book "Span Of Control: What To Do When You're Under Pressure, Overwhelmed, And Ready To Get What You Really Want."What is the key ingredient in order to be successful in starting and running your own business? Episode Resources: Carey's Website: https://careylohrenz.comHow to be in the Simple Life Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/betterlife

E78: How to Find True Information in a Controversial News Cycle Feb 16, 2021

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Are you struggling to find unbiased information to make political, educational, or just life decisions for that matter? Well, you are not alone, and you know I try my best to give you the most accurate information possible. Ken Lecorte drops in to help us. Ken, formerly of Fox News, is on a mission to get the best information possible and a platform to voice our opinions. But DO NOT be misled. Ken is no "water holder" for the right. Just like a lot of us, Ken sits firmly in the middle on most matters. Ken has worked as a media consultant for over a hundred companies and candidates in the United States and internationally, including presidential campaigns in Colombia, Guatemala, and Venezuela. In 1997, he challenged California law by publishing the state's Megan's Law list. Despite a warning from the state's Attorney General, LaCorte hand-copied the state's high-risk sex offenders and published them online. In 2004, California officially published the Megan's Law database on the internet. LaCorte became the Western Region Bureau Chief for the Fox News Channel in 1999, the national Director of News Editorial in 2003 and the VP of Fox News Digital in 2006. Ken was a longtime protege of Roger Ailes, first in the political world and later at Fox News. At Fox, in addition to running the .com for a decade, he was best known for leading the company’s efforts against Media Matters, as well as successfully spearheading the release of kidnapped Fox staffers in Gaza. LaCorte left Fox News at the end of 2016. In 2018, he recruited former NPR editorial director Michael Oreskes and former Fox News executive editor John Moody to launch LaCorte News, "a digital news startup with the stated goal of restoring faith in media." After watching the media’s self-destruction, in July 2020 he launched the Media Action Network which has three primary goals: 1) expose the dishonest media pretending to be non-partisan, 2) protect the victims of censorship and slander, and 3) help build the conservative ecosphere in media and online world, with a focus Silicon Valley tech.The Media Action Network’s daily email gives its subscribers the ability to not just complain about the liberal media, but fight back. You can get a good sense for their campaigns at www.MediaActionNetwork.com Topics Discussed with Ken Lecorte: Why Ken decided to create his own news networkHow the media has been taken over by extremist, mainly on the left and that isn’t good for any of us no matter what your political beliefs areHow and why our education system needs to be changed, so we can choose freely how and what we want to learnHow to solve the media problem in this countryWhat is Section 230, and how it effects our interaction and relationship with social media companiesHow political tribalism has shown to be destructive throughout history, and why we must move away from this political mindset if we truly want to live freeWhy the freedom to choose is actually what freedom is all aboutHow to counteract the big companies with political agendas from silencing usWhy we need to create our own networks and platforms Episode Resources: Ken’s Website: www.MediaActionNetwork.com and www.lacortenews.comHow to be in the Simple Life Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/betterlifeThe Simple Life website: https://thesimplelifenow.com

E77: What it Actually Means to Get Healthy Now Feb 09, 2021

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To most of us in the health world, it is obvious we are in a health crisis in the United States. I would even say the entire world is facing this problem of declining health, but the U.S. is in the lead… by far. You might think I’m talking about Covid-19, but you would be wrong! It appears along with our political divide, Americans have decided to kill themselves willingly, with a fork and a spoon. If you even mention, that you know a way for people to lose weight and be healthy, outside of what I like to call “the healthcare and pharmaceutical industrial complex”, you face the possibility of being banned from all social media and a target for “cancel culture”. Don’t even think of calling someone “fat”, well, when they are actually fat and, in most cases, obese, you will be called a “fat shamer” and insensitive. Today, I have a guest, who like me thinks this is complete BS, and this type of thinking of “it’s not my fault” has to end. Marc Lobliner is very outspoken in the health world, and most importantly he is tired of people not taking responsibility for their actions. Marc Lobliner, AKA; ‘The Machine‘ is an entrepreneur who owns a supplement and clothing line business – mtsnutrition.com, alongside being a chief marketing officer of several different companies. Marc is also a bodybuilder and an internet personality, with fans from across the world following his diet, workout, and supplementation advice. While Marc now enjoys a successful career and happy life, this wasn’t always the case. For the better part of his childhood and teenage years, Marc faced trauma after trauma – being bullied because of his overweight looks, and later, facing the death of his father. However, he pushed through these adversities; building a dream lifestyle for himself through hard work, persistence, and a strong mindset. Topics Discussed: How Marc got into fitness and healthHow getting healthy and into bodybuilding changed his lifeWhat motivated him to start his own business in the area of healthWhy being fat, and morbidly obese today is considered healthy by some people who do not live in realityWhy fat is not beautifulWhy and how the term “fat shaming” became the cry for those who don’t want to take responsibility for their healthHow the pussification of America and Americans is destroying the freest and most prosperous country in the worldWhy health is critical for your path and finding success in life Episode Resources: Marc’s Website: https://tigerfitness.comCheck out the new course on How to Finance Your Off-grid Dream hereHow to be in the Simple Life Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/betterlife

E76: Three Time Millionaire Shares the Backdoor to Success Feb 02, 2021

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Do you dream of being financially free, maybe even being a millionaire, so you no longer have to worry about money…ever again? Well, today I talk with someone who is not only a self-made millionaire but has been one three times during his lifetime. He became a millionaire on two separate occasions and lost it all. But he didn’t cry in his oatmeal… he got up, dusted himself off, and went back to work following his dreams of financial independence. As many of you know, the second leg of The Three-Legged Stool of The Simple Life is financial freedom, so this is a very powerful episode to help you understand what it takes. Remember money equals freedom, and you must use it as a tool to live the life you want! About Myles in his own words: I was born and raised in the city of Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide was a wonderful place. Clean, great community, great weather, great food. I mean the idyllic place. My parents were not wealthy, but nor were they poor. My father worked all of his life for the same company. My mother was a stay-at-home parent. My parents owned their own home, and paid it off. They struggled financially but were able to put me through private school. I was an only child - I guess I didn't have to share their focus with another, so I kinda got lucky. I had always been interested in technology from a young age. I was such an avid learner that I would go to great extremes to seek out things and get involved in clubs, community groups, etc. I rode my bike everywhere - even for hours to the center of the city to spend my Sunday afternoons in the public library. Soaking up every bit of knowledge I could get. Strange things that people often didn't pay attention to. But I did. One day I got exposed to CB Radios. This was in the 1970s. I became obsessed (as I often did with things). I learned about electronics, physics, communications, etc. This led me towards computers and eventually I bought one of the very first personal computers - in 1978 the TRS-80 Model 1 computer. I learned everything about programming that computer and it became everything to me. As the computer industry evolved, so did I. I started a software company and became one of the few experts in software development in Adelaide - getting gigs to write software for government departments, big corporations, etc. and I was still not even 20 years old. My passion for technology was matched with a passion for business, which started out well before I discovered technology. I guess business was in my DNA. In 1989, I moved to the United States, settling in Los Angeles. I realized that the ability to migrate from one place to another was a life changing experience. It taught me to embrace everything I found within my grasp, learning about business in the USA, I got involved in the music industry and I was able to leverage my computer programming experience to land work in some early startups - one of which became Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology corporation. Although I spent much of the next 30 years living in the USA, I never lost touch with my home of Australia, and in the late 1990s moved back there for a number of years before returning to the USA. In 2002 I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and I've lived here since. I am a self-made business owner. I don't have a job. I do have clients and I do work on software projects and data centers, etc. today. It is because this is what I love to do. It isn't because this is my career. I've never embraced that concept. I think if you are blessed to find your calling early in life and you can turn that into an income earner, you will embrace that far more than a defined "career" that people have to convince themselves that they love to do. I got lucky in that regard. But it was more that at a young age I was passionate to learn things. I still am. I just can't learn them in a classroom, or a lecture hall, or books.

E75: How to Best Master Your Health with Able James Jan 26, 2021

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We are in extraordinary times right now. It is more important than ever for you to start working on and mastering the Three-Legged Stool of The Simple Life – Optimal Health, Financial Freedom, and Finding Your Life Purpose. To help you accomplish this, today, I have an exceptional guest and friend for nearly a decade, Abel James. Abel transformed his health and has been preaching and spreading the word of primal health for a very long time. Consider him a brother in arms to The Simple Life! Abel James is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Musician, and Online Creator. He’s the host of the award-winning Fat-Burning Man Show, rated as Apple’s #1 Health Podcast in 8 countries with over 50 million downloads and 2000+ 5-star reviews. A “Coach to the coaches,” Abel has worked with thousands of people across the world to optimize performance, mindset, health, and longevity. Abel is named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness by Greatist and has been featured in documentaries, ABC TV, Entertainment Tonight, People, WIRED, South by Southwest, and hundreds more. Abel’s hit podcast is named as one of the “Top 3 Health & Fitness Podcasts of All Time” by Huffington Post and has won 4 awards in independent media, including “People’s Choice” in Health & Fitness at the Podcast Awards. Also a recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and voice actor, Abel has won several awards including “Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting” in R&B by The Great American Song Contest. Hailing from the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire, Abel enjoys playing guitar and piano, writing, reading, sketching, running, hiking, and discovering delicious foods with family and friends. He lives with his wife, Alyson, and a rambunctious yellow lab in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. His new book of irreverent poetry, “Designer Babies Still Get Scabies,” a #1 International Bestseller in Humor, is available now. Topics Discussed: Why you should think about getting off social media… right nowHow my website was taken down for just being associated with Parler, meaning everyone is fair gameOur thoughts on this crazy, crazy world we are living inAll the lies we have been told are making us destroy our livesWhy it is far cheaper to be healthyGetting grass-fed meat is easier than you think Why national healthcare is not the answerWhy are our rights and free will are slowly evaporatingHow the corrupt businesses and fed gov are running our livesAn estimated 1 out of 100 employed Americans currently work for Amazon, and the dangers this is bringing to our free societyHow the music industry is almost impossible to make a living in for independent artistsWhy you need to support local businesses and pay up for small business productsWhy one of the answers to our problems is bringing private businesses to small towns that are slowly dyingWhy small towns thriving is so important for living the real American DreamAnd much, much more… Show Links: Able's Websites: FatBurningMan.com, AbelJames.com, WildSuperfoods.com Books: Designer Babies Still Get Scabies, The Wild Diet, The Musical BrainPodcast and Video Show: The Fat-Burning Man ShowSocial: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin Press Reel & About Video: http://abeljames.com/about/ 360° Virtual Reality Shows: Adventures with Abel, Improv with AbelHow to be in the Simple Life Circle: https://thesimplelifenow.com/betterlife

E74: How to Effectively Make the Most of Tough Times Jan 19, 2021

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Are you stress (or freaked out) trying to make sense of the world today? Not sure which way is up? Today, I share a recent story and how I handled it. We'll also dive into the best way forward for all of us

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