In today’s episode, we cover breathing with James Nestor. James has written for Scientific American, BBC, The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Public Radio and more, and is the author of the best-selling book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.   Breathing incorrectly can have detrimental effects on your sleep, metabolism, inflammation, and even your lifespan, but what is the correct way to breathe, why is evolution working against us so we breathe worse over time, and what exercise can you use to train your body to subconsciously breathe correctly?     What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 How did James Nestor become so focused on breathing? How is evolution working against our breathing? What do people often get wrong about survival of the fittest and evolution?     The Lost Art of Breathing – 11:10  Why is breathing not talked about by the medical community when it’s so crucial to our health and wellbeing? How does breathing impact your sleep and what can you do to improve your sleep with your breathing? How does breathing impact your metabolism and how can you use your breathing to help you burn more calories? How are lung capacity and lifespan connected and how can you increase your lifespan?   Breathe CORRECTLY to eliminate inflammation – 34:00  How is your breathing on a daily basis making your chronic inflammation worse and how should you be breathing instead? Why do you need to stop breathing with your mouth? Why do we feel better as humans when we breathe through our noses and not our mouths? How long should you inhale, hold your breath, and exhale to train your body to breathe correctly? How can correct breathing make you a better public speaker?   Many people go through their entire lives without thinking about the way they breathe. It’s one of those things that our bodies do automatically so it’s easy to shrug off, but breathing is arguably one of the most important activities we do on a daily basis, so time should be spent trying to understand the best way to breathe.   A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it’s a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that’s in your way.   Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That’s 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month!   Resources from this Episode Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor James Nestor’s website Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker   Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, we cover anxiety with Dr. Judson Brewer. Jud is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as head of behavioral health at Sharecare.   Anxiety can make anyone’s life more difficult, but you can take steps to minimize or eliminate it altogether—so how are your habits and thought processes making your anxiety worse, and what can you do to take back control of your life?   What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 What common misconceptions do people have about anxiety? How do habits and anxiety play off each other and what can we do to prevent our habits from creating crippling anxiety?   Taking back control from our environment and biology – 12:51  What can you do to overcome the influence our environments and biology have on amping up our anxiety? What simple exercise can you do to stop bad habits and when should you do it? What question can you ask yourself if you want to stop binging or over indulging?   Is anxiety stopping you from pursuing positive activities? – 34:56  What can you do if your anxiety is getting in the way of doing things that are good for you? How can bringing awareness to your anxiety help you to get your life back from anxiety dictating your actions?   The danger and harm caused by worrying – 49:20  What is going on when you worry and how does it impact your behaviors? What can you do if you’re constantly worrying?   In ancient times, anxiety was useful for teaching us what we should be concerned about. But in the modern world, we are bombarded with a million things everyday that we “should” worry about. Between notifications on our smartphones, the news, that overflowing email inbox, and everything we see on social media, the anxiety can be overwhelming. As a result, we tend to develop habits as a way of coping with the anxiety, and those habits can lead to even worse anxiety.   A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it’s a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that’s in your way.   Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That’s 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month!   Resources from this Episode Dr. Brewer’s website Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Dr. Judson Brewer   Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, we cover healthy relationships and finding the right partner with Dr Yael. Dr Yael is a licensed clinical psychologist, assistant professor at Brown University, and writer about parenting, work, and relationships. A healthy relationship takes work, but how do you know what relationships are worth the work, is moving in together a good test for the relationship, and how do you reignite passion in a relationship?   What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 Why did Dr Yael Schonbrun take the Art of Charm Unstoppable program? What is the trap many of us fall into in the modern dating world and why are we making it harder to find healthy relationships?   Value based dating and moving in together – 13:00  What questions can you ask to figure out what you want to get out of dating? What mindset do you need to avoid if you’re thinking about moving in with someone you’re dating? What signs should you look out for when thinking about moving in with someone?   Looking beyond lust for red flags – 30:40  How should you think about lust when you’re actively dating?   Reigniting passion in a relationship – 44:40  What is the foundation for passion in romantic relationships and what can you do to reintroduce it? What is the evolutionary need for novelty in romantic relationships? How do you know when a relationship is worth ending?   Your relationships require the same work we put into everything else in life. If we go about life acting as if those relationships will always be there, we are bound to lose them. Why should they invest time in us if we’re not willing to invest in them? The first step in developing healthy relationships is making that commitment to invest and following through.   A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it’s a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that’s in your way.   Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That’s 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month!   Resources from this Episode Dr. Yael Schonbrun’s website Unstoppable Coaching Program   Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, we cover what we learned in 2021.  2021 was a wild ride for everyone, so let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’ve learned, overcome, and how far we’ve come.   What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 What was the most powerful takeaway for negotiating we heard from our guests? What simple and effective strategy can you use to make healthy habits much easier to adopt?   Asking for help doesn’t need to be hard – 20:00  What simple mental switch can you flip to make asking for help a positive experience for both people? What proven strategies can you use to better manage your anxiety on a daily basis? Why is the pursuit of balance the wrong goal to chase if you want to be successful?   How do AJ and Johnny decide how to interview each guest – 37:01  What can you do to prepare a solid interview experience for anyone you have on a podcast? What have AJ, Johnny, and coach Michael done and learned over the last year and what can you take away from their lessons?    The podcast has had some amazing guests over the last year. Let’s take a minute to highlight all the game changing tips, tricks, and strategies we’ve learned in 2021.   A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it’s a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that’s in your way.   Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That’s 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month!   Resources from this Episode Victoria Medvec | Master Negotiation By Avoiding These 3 Traps Katy Milkman | Eliminate Unhealthy Habits Today with 3 Scientifically Proven Strategies Dr. Caroline Leaf | The Secret to Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess & 5 Steps to Healing Grief Joe Navarro | Become an Exceptional Communicator by Mastering These 5 Traits Tim Grover | Achieve Superhuman Focus by Annihilating Distractions Erica Dhawan | Communicate Powerfully by Mastering Digital Body Language Carey Nieuwhof | Incredible Productivity and Never Burn Out   Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, we cover the art of gift giving with John Ruhlin. John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, the master of building businesses by giving gifts, and the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. Giving the right gift can radically strengthen any personal or business relationship, but what questions should you ask when thinking about the right gift for someone, what gifts should you avoid at all cost, and when is the right time to give a gift? What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 Who do people often overlook when it comes to building and maintaining relationships? What can you do to make gift giving feel less like a transaction and more like a natural part of relationship building? How can you make gift giving a game changer for all of your personal and professional relationships?   The secret to giving gifts that change your life – 13:17  How much money should you set aside for giving gifts every year and why do you need to plan for it? What is the ultimate recipe for gift giving and what should you think about when giving gifts?   Examples of business changing gifts  – 26:23  What crucial questions should you think about when personalizing a gift for someone? How should you start giving gifts if it’s not something you’re used to doing? What types of gifts should you never send?   Tips for personal gift giving – 45:36 What gifts can you give to deepen your personal relationships?    The right gift can change someone’s life and create a memory that will last forever. But how can you figure out what that gift might be? For one, it must be meaningful to the receiver, and what things in a person’s life are likely to be the most meaningful? In many cases, it’s our values and our families, so think about how you might personalize an item that person uses or sees everyday and incorporate something related to their values or family. An example? How about a knife set in which each knife is engraved with a different favorite quote of theirs.   A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it’s a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that’s in your way. Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That’s 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month!   Resources from this Episode The Top 10 Gifts You Should NEVER Give John Ruhlin’s website Giftology website Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention by Josh Ruhlin   Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.