Your Favorite Grinch – Remix

Today’s episode is not your stereotypical Christmas episode. I personally don’t like the holidays. You’ll soon find out why.

But even more than that, I also make fair arguments for things holiday-filled aka jolly people don’t think about.

In this episode, I highlight things such as:

• How you might not be giving your kids the best Christmas experience
• A way to set boundaries in visiting “everyone” during the holidays is important
• Why you’ve misunderstood certain personality types

Don’t worry, you’ll also hear from people who actually do enjoy the holidays, unlike myself.

Enjoy this remixed episode of “Your Favorite Grinch”.

See episode notes here.

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Today’s featured guest is Ambrose Wilson-Brown.

When I first met him, he was introduced to me as a personal trainer. But he’s actually a coach.

Yes, there’s a difference training and coaching. A trainer figures thing out for people and tells them what to do. A coach asks questions and guide people intuitive strategies.

Ambrose has been involved in some kind of training and coaching for most of his life. 

As a young kid, he played football and eventually coached younger kids. 

As an adult, he successfully built a personal fitness business over the course of 7 years. He eventually transitioned from personal training to being a mental performance coach through his business named MISPIBO Fitness along with starting a non-profit named Sky Schools Milwaukee.

As a mental performance coach, Ambrose helps people improve the mind, body, and spiritual health. He's the perfect person to learn from when it comes to working on your  mind to produce better habits and results.

In this interview, we talk about:

• The 10 Pillars Ambrose works with to coach his clients into the transformation they want
• Why goal setting isn’t a map for success
• the idea of "process over outcome" and how it leads to better results long-term

Enjoy the interview with Mental Performance Coach, Ambrose Wilson-Brown.

See episode notes here: https://enemywithinyou.com/ambrose-wb

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Can you believe it’s November already? The new year is right around the corner. 

Let me ask you this. What kind of year have you had? Have you experienced and accomplished everything you aimed for?

If you’re like most people, COVID probably had its way with you and never asked for permission. Quarantine life has left everyone examining their life. Anything you ignored problem wise probably got out of control.

If you were eating unhealthy food before, you probably overdid it during quarantine. If you were unhappily married, your issues only magnified. If you were bored with your career, you probably questioned what the heck you’ve been doing with your life.

The thing is, the pandemic magnified everything for everyone. 

The holidays are approaching fast. Vacations will be in order. Now is the perfect time to begin thinking about your goals for next year.

And you know what? I got you.

Today, I’m publishing a lesson from Legit Goal Setting. Legit Goal Setting is my latest audio course. It helps you gain clarity and direction by teaching you how to identify meaningful goals — no matter what stage of life you’re in.

The course has 6 lessons including an introductory lesson. Each lesson is about 15 minutes long and has worksheets to help you think on paper.

Oh yeah, did I mention the audio course is free? Yup. You get all 6 lessons and the worksheets. 

If you’re interested in taking the course, you can do so by visiting legitgoals.com. That’s legitgoals.com. The link is also in the episode notes.

The lesson you’ll listen to today is the third lesson and it’s named “How To Identify the Gaps Between Your Beliefs and the Life You Live”. 

In this lesson, I explain:

• The difference between healthy tension and crippling stress
• Why we’re all hypocrites, whether people accept it or not
• The chain link between your beliefs, decisions, and action

As you listen to this episode, feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts you have on Instagram and Twitter @luiscreates. I’m always happy to hear from you.

Enjoy today’s lesson on How To Identify the Gaps Between Your Beliefs and the Life You Live.

What would it be like to earn a living from your creativity?

I’m not talking about getting paid here and there for small projects. I’m talking about making a full-time living from projects alone.

Today, we talk to Mauricio Ramirez, a visual artist who went from funding his own art projects to building a legit full-time business. 

He has plenty of experience and advice for his fellow artists. 

If you’re not an artist, that’s okay because the principles we talk about are transferable to any career you’re in.

Mauricio specializes in painting contemporary murals throughout the US. His art is epic and recognizable because of its style and focus.

He paints murals highlighting Mexican cultural figures. The icons he chooses to highlight connect with the neighborhood where the mural will live.

The technical art style in which he paints is called “low poly”. Low poly art consists of images broken into triangles and polygons. It resembles pixilation except instead of squares, he uses triangles.

His art is colorful, bright, and what I call “Instagrammable”.

Mauricio has made a name for himself. His murals are scattered throughout the US and he’s built a legit full-time business by leveraging his creativity.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why every artist should have a conversation with an accountant
• How going through reps shouldn’t feel like work — at least not initially.
• Why he involves the community in his murals
• How saying no to projects can elevate your worth

A few years ago, before the chaos of COVID-19, I used to post up at this place named Fuel Cafe. Every Thursday, I'd go, sip on some beer or coffee and write. Naturally, I became known as a regular and met interesting people.

One of those interesting people is Jesus Gonzalez.

When I met Jesus, he had just opened up Mazorca Tacos, a food truck selling tacos made out of handmade tortillas. About a year later, he co-founded Zocalo Food Park, the first food park in Wisconsin. At some point, he also opened up a commissary kitchen.

And if that wasn't enough, he's an investor in the semi-new startup Cashdrop, a mobile app that enables any business to create and manage an online storefront from their phone.

Did you get all of that? Yeah, Jesus has plenty on his plate — no pun intended.

With a bio like that, you'd think this interview is about food or business... But nope. We barely discuss any of that.

Instead, I decided to dig deep into decisions he made before his business ventures. How did he set himself up to seize so many opportunities?

A key decision he credits to changing his life forever was moving to New York, and later Spain after high school.

Years later, he returned to his hometown fully equipped to start his slew of businesses.

In this interview, we talk about internal realizations, generational patterns, and confronting the fear of the unknown as we discuss Jesus' journey.

Enjoy the food for thought and good vibes from Jesus Gonzalez.

PS — Get some Coffee Talk

Note: Complete episode notes with useful links can be found on the website.

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Instagram: @luiscreates  @enemywithinyou
Website: https://enemywithinyou.com

In March of 2020, quarantine was brand new to the world.

For most people, that meant spending more time at home than they ever had before. A natural challenge of not being able to leave home is creating a living space in which you can both work and relax.

Something I lack in my living space is houseplants.

I have only but one small aloe vera plant that a friend gifted me recently.

When I polled my Instagram followers, I was surprised to learn about the way plants have contributed to people’s lives. Turns out, I’ve been missing out by not having house plants.

So I thought it would be a good idea to create an episode about everything plants. This way, we can all learn how to integrate a little bit more of mother nature into our homes.

In this episode, you’ll listen to a conversation with Enrique “Mag” Rodriguez and Michelle Alfaro.

They’ve co-founded Maranta Plant Shop, the first Black & Brown-owned plant shop located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

They amazingly started their business during the pandemic. Their plant shop is committed to helping people of color with their mental health by reconnecting them to mother nature via house plants.

They’ve also made it a point to reclaim origin stories along with the original names plants were given by indigenous people. You know, before they were European colonizers renamed plants. 

Everything about Maranta Plant Shop is dope. 

If you’re a plant newbie or you’re a plant parent looking to level up in caring for your house plants, then you’ll like this interview. 

We talk about all kinds of things like:

• Best plants for newbies
• Common mistakes plant owners make
• When to repot a plant
• How to propagate
• Ideal placement and temperature for plants in a home

And plenty more, not to mention their inspiring story of starting a plant shop in the midst of the pandemic. 

Enjoy the interview with Mag and Michelle from Maranta Plant Shop.

Note: Complete episode notes with useful links can be found on the website.

PS — Get some Coffee Talk

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Instagram: @luiscreates  @enemywithinyou
Website: https://enemywithinyou.com

In 2016, I was part of an intensive online workshop named the altMBA. It was expensive, it was intense, and I met people who felt the same way I did about goals and dreams they wanted to make a reality. Some of these people have become dear friends of mine.

The workshop was created by Seth Godin and his team. 

If you don’t know who Seth is, he’s an author of 19 bestselling books — yes, you heard, right. 19 bestselling books. Some of his books include The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It’s Your Turn (And It’s Always Your Turn). He’s a marketing genius and he’s been in the game for a very long time.

What do Seth and altMBA have to do with this episode?

They both provide the context of how I met today’s featured guest, Aaron Hankins.

Aaron is an R&D Process Engineer for the world-renowned brand, Nike. 

He was born and raised in Philadelphia. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University, he spent the next 17 years working for a slew of companies, most of which were in the Aerospace industry.

How does an Aerospace Engineer go from manufacturing missiles for the military to helping create Nike shoes that are worn throughout the globe?

That’s precisely what this episode will unpack for you today. 

Aaron’s journey to Nike is full of inspiration, paradigm shifts, and actionable advice that will help you get closer to achieving a goal or dream you’ve yet to make a reality. 

Side note: We had a few technical difficulties during the interview, so the quality isn’t the greatest but the content is worth listening to.

Enjoy the interview with the inspirational Aaron Hankins.

Note: Useful links can be found here.

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If you'd like to contribute to an episode, send a message to Luis on Instagram or visit the website:

Instagram: @luiscreates
Website: https://luiscreates.co/podcast

Deep down you know your relationship has run its course. You’ve been unhappy for way too long. 

You know it’s time to go. Yet, you've not pulled the trigger.

Why is that? What kind of faulty reasons have you been justifying staying for?

If you don't address this now, you'll continue to waste precious days, weeks, months, and in a worse scenario, even years — if you haven't already.

Don't waste your life on a dead relationship.

This episode debunks 6 faulty reasons people use to justify overstaying in a dead relationship.

Listen to featured stories from anonymous people who found it difficult to leave but were thankful they mustered up the courage to do so in the end.

Stop working against yourself and start being real with yourself about the status of your relationship.

Note: This is the second episode of a 2-part series about overstaying in relationships.

Useful Links

• Overstaying in Relationships — Part 1
• Seth Godin's Blog
• Sunk Cost Fallacy
• Avoiding Confrontation
• The "No Regret" Fallacy

Unhappy relationships seem to be the norm nowadays. 

Have you settled for such a thing—either now or in the past?

If so, you've probably overstayed in a relationship. How do you know when it's time to leave? 

Learn about 6 incompatibilities worth leaving your relationship over. Any of them could be responsible for the heartache you're experiencing.

You'll also listen to relatable stories from anonymous people.

PS — This is  the first episode of a 2-part series about overstaying in relationships.

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If you'd like to contribute to an episode, send a message to Luis on Instagram or visit the website:

Instagram: @luiscreates
Website: https://enemywithinyou.com/

The last few episodes have been tough to produce. This episode is meant to help create a buffer so that I can catch up.

In this episode, you'll learn about 

• How to ask a question or suggest a topic
• Potential interview type episodes
• A new audio course I'm working on for you

If you're a new listener, feel free to listen to any of the past episodes. Today's episode isn't our stereotypical format.

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If you'd like to contribute to an episode, send a message to Luis on Instagram or visit the website:

Instagram: @luiscreates
Website: https://enemywithinyou.com/