In this week's episode, we are joined by Joe Jackowski, Mike Taccona, and Nick Buegel. Our topic of discussion was work-life balance. How do we manage what we do for a living while continuing to push our boundaries or achieving fulfillment outside of work? In our world, it can be easy to have a job that pulls too much energy from us so that we don't have enough left to pursue other goals.

Mike and Mary Taccona are both registered nurses. Mike works in the Post Surgical Unit, and Mary is in the Emergency Department. Outside of nursing, Mike and Mary are avid travelers. They have traveled throughout the United States and have time abroad while balancing Nursing school and jobs. In this conversation, we look at adapting to their roles as nurses, pulling back the curtain to the type of stress the situation puts on them. From there, we transition to travel. Next, we break down how and why they travel. Finally, we close on an impactful trip to a Field Station in Costa Rica.

Ben Kapolnek shares the unfiltered story of his ongoing struggle with anxiety, depression, and trauma. From early childhood, he has tried to paint a picture of his thoughts. Ben's story is emotional, not only because he's one of my closest friends, but for every person like Ben, countless others share in this mental anguish. We hope that as we share more stories like this, we can begin a healing process for more and more people. For those who don't understand what it's like to have an invisible battle in your head. As a way to work this muscle, when you pass someone on the street, please take a moment and reflect on the fact that they are battling something that you know nothing about.

In this episode, our guest is Rachel Thomas. Rachel shares her story about a former boyfriend named Tyler who became a heroin addict in high school had a downward spiral into homelessness and prison. Rachel shares how the story has evolved and dealt with it over the last ten years. Tyler was found by Chicago based photojournalist Chuck Jines who captured some of Tyler's (who went by the street name Shaggy) experiences during homelessness that fills in the gaps from what Rachel share with us. I highly recommended you check them out, but viewer discretion is advised.

In this episode, we are joined by Marybeth Piltaver. Mary is a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department with a background in Hematology and Oncology with a chemotherapy certification. She received her BSN from the University of Chicago and is currently working on a Doctorate of Nursing Practice at UIC.

We discuss what led her to choose Nursing as her profession and in general health. Here the conversation leads to a more general discussion of the health care system and how it operates. This conversation barely scratches what we could have discussed in this space.

In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Claudia Skowron. Claudia is a Mental Health Therapist specializing in adolescents and young adults. In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover many areas of mental health and ways of helping. One place we talk about is how the culture's openness has started to remove the stigma of speaking out about our mental battles. Aside from her work as a Therapist, Claudia is an avid traveler, usually somewhere else in the world every other week.

In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Diana Fornaris. Diana grew up in Elk Grove Village, IL, and studied Therapeutic Recreation and Spanish with a minor in Psychology at The University of Iowa. To complete graduation, she moved to Baltimore, MD, for a Dual Child Life & Therapeutic Recreation summer Internship at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. Upon completion, she worked as a full-time Child Life Specialist in the Infant and Early Childhood Unit at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital for a year and a half. Although rewarding, the job grew to be something she found emotionally challenging. On top of that, she was battling severe depression and anxiety, later to find out it was bipolar type 1 disorder.

In this podcast episode, we bring on our good friend Mike Taccona. Mike studies nursing, works as a patient care technician at our community hospital, and serves burgers at a heavy metal bar! Mike has a gift of communication and uses it to spread a passion for health and wellness to those in need. He can reform bad experiences and tense people into pleasant and comfortable ones. Mike has a deep curiosity that few people possess. Mike loves craft beer, cooking, traveling, and trying anything.

Dr. Michael Greenberg is a Dermatologist dedicated to providing patients with state-of-the-art care at the Elk Grove office of Illinois Dermatology Institute. He specializes in medical dermatology, as well as treating patients with an emotional or spiritual component to their skin condition. He is a co-founder of Illinois Dermatology Institute.Dr. Greenberg embraces the benefits of a group practice, stating that "practicing in a group that is more family than corporate has added to my joy of being a physician."

In this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Brian Peters.  Brian was a member of seven-time Grammy Award winner Paul Wertico's band for ten years. Plays 15 instruments, has played over 3600 gigs, has released 19 solo records and produced an additional 41, has worked as an audio engineer for 20 years. Co-hosted a radio show on WLFM 87.7 FM. Published 29 video games and pieces of software. Worked as an independent filmmaker and film composer, has worked in the biomedical field for 8 years, and has invented 10 brand new analog audio effects and designed their respective circuits and manufacturing processes, including a circuit once reviewed as "the best low noise buffer/eq circuit ever designed" and "the single most important secret weapon for an electric guitarist".

We have our first interview guest in this podcast episode: Wyatt Mach. Wyatt is an avid hunter and athlete when not working long hours for his family business. But first, we get into who he is and why he pushes himself so hard. He says many times that it’s the chase for perfection that drives him. 

The guys discuss addiction, anxiety, and depression in this podcast episode. The topics we discussed are complex, and we barely scratch their surface. None of us are trained in this area, and we don't pretend to be, so anything we say is just talking through a complex topic. We want to find better solutions for these situations. Lastly, I'd like to thank Ben for articulating his anxiety experiences in such a concise way.

In this episode, Erich and Joe talk about how they started working out and getting themselves into a healthier place. This episode attempted a more structured conversation around our views of fitness and closely related topics.