Alec Eickert on Swinging for the Fences and Keep Going

Alec is a business owner, entrepreneur, ultra-runner, mountaineer, and travel fanatic. He believes in the power and resilience of the human spirit and one who perpetually seeks to optimize life in all of its pillars.

Professionally, Alec is currently the Managing Partner of BDV Capital Group, a boutique capital advisory firm that works with select investment groups, largely focused in the real estate private equity space. Alec comes from an entrepreneurial family and a real-estate-focused family business in recent years.

Personally, he is a former Division One athlete for the University of Oregon, and now an ultra-marathoner and an avid mountaineer — currently climbing the highest point in all 50 states in America, while simultaneously pushing his running endurance limits consistently further, recently completing his furthest race yet, the Ultra Race of Champions 100km (62 miles) through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

His favorite quote encompasses how he strives to live life: “One day your life will flash before your eyes; make sure it’s worth watching.” - GW.

Stephanie Garcia on Hostels, Travel and Connection

My guest, today on the podcast is Stephanie Garcia. Stephanie is a traveler who found herself working and living in a hostel in London for three years alongside this. She has spent a lot of her time teaching children and showing them there's more to life than books.

In this conversation, Steph and I really dive into her travels and the most important one being, or the focal point, the hostel, because from my own experience, the hostel really doesn't have a large play in what I thought about it. I hadn't realized how many different variations on a hostel there could be, and also around the stigma of it.

For someone like Steph, who basically said I'm going to live here and work here for three years, it is one of those moments that really shape and define how you view the world. Especially as someone who's grown and lived in a grown-up and lived in an area that is roughly where I've always lived, is it seems so out of the ordinary. We get into other stories that Steph finds meaningful throughout the conversation, from favorite travel places to stories.

TravelErich WenzelJune 3, 2021Stephanie Garcia, Traveling, Travel Tips, Hostel, Hostel Life, Clubhouse, World TravelComment

Mike Taccona on WHOOP, Tracking and Changing Behavior

Today on the podcast, I am joined by my friend, Mike Taccona. In this particular episode, we talk about his experiences with joining the whoop community. If you're a longtime listener to the podcast, you know how much I enjoy wearable technologies like Whoop and Oura ring.

Mike has been wearing his Whoop for just about just over a month at the time of this recording. Mike is a registered nurse. And one thing that I really enjoy talking about wearables, in general, is that the impact that these devices can have on people with high-stress jobs.

I wanted to get his take on what he's been learning by wearing Whoop. This is a step one conversation since he hasn't been wearing it for too long—this kind of prefaces his opinions early on.

Nick Buegel on Adapting to Change, Nature and Aiming at the Biggest Problems

Today on the podcast is my friend, Nick Buegel. As always, Nick and I have great conversations. This one was the first one we've had in person since the pandemic started. It was enjoyable for me to have him over to record this. There's something special about being in the same room with someone and just having an in-depth discussion about your life or the ideas that we've been thinking about. We expanded on what Nick did to cope with the pandemic, meaning what happened through the pandemic and what did that cause him to explore? What we get into basically is this immersing himself in nature.

Nick spent a lot of the time walking around different forest preserves here in the Midwest, in the Chicago area, and getting closer to it. He put himself on a path to get much deeper with the environmental movement, understanding just how complex and difficult many of these problems are.

This conversation aims not to really talk about how to solve things, but how to tackle these things at a high level, like to behave people. Because at the end of the day, it's all about conflict resolution, and everyone has different set points here. And the hope is that we can agree with the extremes to at least put a plan in place that's better than what we currently have.

May The Force Be With You

May fourth is the day Star Wars nerds rejoice! “May the fourth be with you” in pop culture is the holiday that we all celebrate the impact the galaxy far, far away has on so many of us. At the core of the hero's journey reimagined is a phrase first spoken by Obi-Wan, “May the Force Be With You.” Hearing this phrase for the first time is a bit cheesy. But once you have a deeper understanding of the broader context, it connects you to an in-group. Think about it this way: A phrase has now morphed into a play on words to be celebrated on the day.

Now let's rewind time and go back to the 1970s before George Lucas or anyone had any idea what Star Wars would become.

Erich WenzelMay 5, 2021Star Wars, George Lucas, Film, CreativityComment

Joe Jackowski on Religion, Symbolism, and The Wellspring of Wisdom

Today on the podcast, I'm joined by my friend, Joe Jackowski. Joe now holds a bachelor's from the University of Michigan in biopsychology cognition and neuroscience.

As he finished up his degree, he took it upon himself to continue exploring where his interests have taken him in psychology specifically. He's been exploring two very influential psychologists and psychotherapists, Erich Neumann and Camille Paglia.

So in this conversation, he lays out some of the ideas that he's been exploring for himself while using these greats before him to provide a foundation. In some sense, that's what we do in this conversation because we don't spend enough time looking back at humanity's past at the where the ways of being that we all can share or learn from at a symbolic level.

Ivy on Creative Process, Exploring and Getting Better Everyday

My guest today on the podcast is my friend Ivy. For reasons you'll soon find out, she wanted to remain anonymous on this podcast so that we could share it on her social platform by the same handle.

Ivy is based in LA and primarily works with paintings. Her style is heavily influenced by street art with themes of self-love and life struggle in different emotions, which she portrays by combining portraiture words and color elements. Her goal is to create art that connects with people on a deeper level by evoking emotions and creating a sense of vulnerability.

Erich WenzelApril 21, 2021Xpression Art, Painting, Art, Creativity, Healing, Growth, PodcastComment

Holly Kreczko on The Appalachian Trail, Recovery and Reflection

Holly is the creator of Kick Butt Life. Her brand emphasizes the importance of incorporating adventure, thrills, strength, play, and community into everyday life. She has a deep love for the outdoors and is a strong believer that everyone should follow through on their craziest dreams. She thru-hiked the 2,200 mile-long Appalachian Trail in 2019 and has done extensive hiking throughout Arizona, the Adirondacks, and the White Mountains. Her upcoming adventure plans include the Oregon Coast Trail, adventuring through the Caribbean, and Mount Kilimanjaro. Her journal on taking control of your life story comes out this June.

TravelErich WenzelApril 12, 2021Holly Kreczko, Appalachian Trail, Recovery, Reflection, Podcast, Kick Butt Life, Hiking, Reading, PodcastsComment

Jordan Criss on Workouts, One Year of Lockdown and Fulfillment

In today's episode, I'm joined by my friend, Jordan Criss. What makes this podcast a little bit special is that Jordan was actually in person for this episode.

I'm sure most of you will be able to tell the impact of in-person as I felt in this conversation. I think there's just a certain level of energy that is brought to the table. When two people are in the same room, having an engaging conversation. And I really had a good time talking to Jordan as always.

We talk about the difference or the effect of workouts and mindfulness slash meditation. Highlighting what we think about this first year of the pandemic lockdown starting and how different life feels one year later or one year of living through this situation.

Last but not least, that was the through-line of this entire conversation: fulfillment and Jordan's background around creative interests and how society doesn't help foster creativity in people. We can maybe get more ideas on the table to help create a society in which more people can engage in their creative side.

CultureErich WenzelApril 5, 2021Creativity, Films, Music, Society and Creativity, Fufillment, Jordan CrissComment

Aden Yaregal on Television, Global Stories, and Craft of Storytelling

Aden Yaregal is an LA-based first-gen Ethiopian American working towards cultivating an executive-level career in television development to unite communities through representation and diverse storytelling. Aden is co-producing the Greater Film Festival and working with the Enclave Entertainment Group as a development coordinator and script reader. Previously, Aden began her career in telecoms sales and media before shifting full-time into entertainment.

Erich WenzelMarch 21, 2021Aden Yaregal, Television, Storytelling, Global Stoires, Being Present, Mastering CraftComment

Brandon Wenzel on Childhood Interests, Retro Gaming and Collections

Today, joining me on the podcast is Brandon Wenzel. Brandon is my cousin, as you could probably guess, just by the title of the podcast. Honestly, this was a treat of a podcast for me. So Brandon is a couple of years older than me, but we all had very similar shared interests growing up.

As is normal in our family, or at least seems to be more normal. Wenzel's have this proclivity to collect something, whatever it may be. So for Brandon, his big thing is retro gaming consoles, so that can be really old councils from the first generations of Atari and Sega, but really his what does closest to his heart is the PlayStation.

Erich WenzelMarch 14, 2021Bradon Wenzel, Video Games, Retro Gaming, CollectionsComment

Nick Buegel on Environment, Technology and Longevity of Humanity

My guest today is Nick Buegel, who is returning to the podcast. In this episode, Nick and I go deep into what he's been exploring during the pandemic. As we all know, the pandemic has put unique stress on almost all of Nick and us. But what Nick decided to do was, in many ways, make the most of the situation.

He spent many days and hours outside nature, walking around different parks. Over time, that sparked an interest in him to explore what is happening within climate change and the broader environment as a movement and what's going on at a policy level. What's going on at a technology level? How do people think about the environment?

SocietyErich WenzelMarch 4, 2021Environment, Society, Humanity, Your Forest PodcastComment

Jordan Criss: Reflection, Headspace and A New Year

My guest, today on the podcast, is returning friend Jordan Criss. As always, Jordan jumps on the podcast, and it's off to the races. This particular episode was recorded on new year's Eve, a couple of hours before 2021. We took this time to reflect on the year. This year was a whole bunch of change for all of us personally outside of the podcast. We dove in around the different things we learned about ourselves and what changed in 2020.

Erich WenzelFebruary 24, 2021New Years, Meditation, Viktor Frankl, Connection and Com, Kid Cudi, Queens Gambit, Jordan CrissComment

Sal Abbinanti on The Hostage, Comic Book Art, and Immersing in Craft

My guest today is Sal Abbinanti. Sal Abbinanti was educated at the University of Southern California and the Art Institute of Chicago. Sal began his indie comics career in 2005 with the launch of Mercury Comics and the publication of Atomika-God is Red, and now, The Hostage. By day, he is the art rep for Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz and lives on the North Side of Chicago.

Erich WenzelFebruary 16, 2021Sal Abbinanti, The Hostage, Comic Books, Art, Creativity, ArtistsComment

Three Years of Feeding Curiosity

Each year, I reflect on what it means and why I continue to spend an inordinate about of time on Feeding Curiosity.

This year I was drawn to the first episode of the podcast. I finally listened to it again in its entirety. As someone who criticizes themselves heavily. Had I not put out in the wild less than 24 hours after recording the episode on February 8th, 2018. I don't know if I would have kept going.

Erich WenzelFebruary 10, 2021Podcast AnniversaryComment

Joe Jackowski on Februa, Elaboration of Systems, and Philosophy of Mind

My guest today is long-time friend Joe Jackowski on today's episode. It was mostly us catching up as with the pandemic.

We have not had a lot of time interacting with each other cause he still is living near the University of Michigan. So this was when he was home for the Christmas break, roughly. We got to catch up on what we're reading and thinking about recently.

For Joe, he's been doing a lot of reading with Erich Neumann and Camille Paglia. Much of this conversation is around—both of their bodies of work and what he's been reading on their different writings or ponderings.

We get into different ideas about how humanity has built systems for itself and how. The systems elaborate over time, starting very simple and archaic to us now, modern people.

Creating Liminality Daily

Liminality is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the rite is complete. We can apply this concept of liminality to our daily routines.

Mind SetErich WenzelJanuary 28, 2021Liminality, Routines, TransitionsComment

Anne Kertz Kernion on Nature, Habits and Creativity

Anne is the owner/artist of Cards by Anne, an inspirational greeting card company founded in 1986. Anne's cards, hand-designed in calligraphy and ink, are available online (cardsbyanne.com) and hundreds of stores.

For fourteen years, Anne taught “Cross-Cultural Understanding of Religious Meaning” at Carlow University; for seven years, she taught courses ranging from Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Nutrition, to World Religions and Ethics at a local community college.