Learn From People Who Lived it

The Mindset Makes the Man + Choosing Your Path Past Prison with Drakkar Wright

The Mindset Makes the Man + Choosing Your Path Past Prison 
In this episode, you'll hear:
The path that led Drakkar to prison
What caused the change in Drakkar’s mindset?
The power of delayed gratification 
 
Drakkar Wright grew up with six sisters, a single mother, and the pressure to be the man of the house as the only boy. Drakkar’s father tried his best to be present but wasn’t always around like Drakkar needed him to be. Drakkar used to blame his shortcomings on his upbringing. He wished he had the kind of dad who played football with him or taught him how to fish, but his father was an addict, in and out of prison. Eventually, those generational patterns caught up with Drakkar, and he found himself in a detox center. Drakkar recognizes that his father was dealing with his own traumas and expresses a kindred understanding of those struggles to this day.
Drakkar began wrestling at age 6 and tells us it was a great outlet for him, but around age 12 he began losing interest in the sport. This is about the same time he started failing school and spending most of his time with a group of friends that were selling drugs, carrying guns, and robbing people. Eventually, his best friend was sent to a juvenile detention center, and Drakkar was skipping class and spending most of his time on in-school suspension when he did show up.
A few years later, Drakkar got into a high-speed police chase in a stolen vehicle. He was sentenced to 2 years in the job corps, and from age 16 to 18, he worked on getting his high school diploma and learning a trade in carpentry in Lexington, Kentucky. Before he could find a union carpentry job, he found out one of his sisters was pregnant, so he left Lexington and went home. As soon as he returned, he found his old friends doing the same things they were doing when he left. Drakkar fell back into the old pattern, and not even 10 months after arriving home, the police were raiding his mother’s home looking for drugs and guns. Drakkar, his sister, his aunt, his mother, and his friend were all arrested. This arrest caused Drakkar and his family to lose their Section 8 account and required him to come up with $50,000 for bail. This is where his prison story begins.
Drakkar hopes his story reaches young people who are at a crossroads in life and helps them understand they have a decision to make. He tells us he chose the streets and sees now that was the wrong choice. He wants people who hear his story to know that their time, friendships, family, and all the things life has to offer hang in the balance of each good or bad decision made. Drakkar is on a mission to encourage young people to continue to try their best every day, no matter what they are going through at the moment.
"It's not what you go through. It's what you grow through."
In this episode, you'll hear:
The path that led Drakkar to prison
What caused the change in Drakkar’s mindset?
The power of delayed gratification 
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

LFPWLI, Quitting your job and moving the highest way possible

Welcome to another episode with Mathew and Troy. Troy, as you may recall was instrumental in my healing journey and today we get together for a discussion on quitting your job.  We both walked away from a money, security and big jobs to take on something more meaningful.  
 
In this episode you will hear:
Why and how we quit our jobs
The way our bodies tell us there is something wrong
Plus, we go down memory lane and discuss the first time we were each fired
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson
 
 
 

LFPWLI: Stop SHOULDing On Yourself with Special Forces Veteran Jacob Wagner

LFPWLI: Stop SHOULDing On Yourself with Special Forces Veteran Jacob Wagner 
 
In this episode, Mathew, Dr. Dave, and Jacob discuss the moral injuries we often overlook and how to overcome them. They talk about what epigenetics are, how biochemistry impacts us, and the ways Jacob has been able to use neuroscience and quantum physics to find healing.
 
Jacob Wagner is a special forces veteran of the US Army who served in the Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit 75th Ranger Regiment for his first two deployments, then the SOF Special Mission Unit (SMU) Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC, also known as the Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment) for his third deployment. His first tour was in 2003 and he left the Army in 2006, but his most challenging years were yet to come as he dealt with the moral and physical injuries he was left with. In 2009, Veteran Affairs labeled him 100% permanently and totally disabled, and there were points in his life when Jacob was sure he was on his deathbed. After finding mediocre results with allopathic medicine, Jacob set out on his own spiritual journey, which taught him how to blend quantum physics with neuroscience, epigenetics, and biogeochemistry to heal. Now Jacob is finishing his last semester of an MBA program, where he is being recruited by some of the top venture capital, investment banking, and consulting firms in the world. At age 40, Jacob is healthy, vibrant, and on a mission to share what he has learned.
 
"Where our mind goes, energy flows."
 
In this episode, you'll hear: 
What a moral injury is and how to overcome it
Why the years after his deployments were the most challenging
How epigenetics, biochemistry, neuroscience, and quantum physics impact our minds and bodies
 
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Connect with the guest:
David Leicken, MD
 
Resources:
PBS article on Dirty Wars
Dirty Wars Official Trailer
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill
The Murder Trials of Gary Smith
The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles by Bruce H. Lipton
Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon by Joe Dispenza
The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy by Cyndi Dale
HEAL: Change Your Mind. Change Your Body. Change Your Life Documentary 
What is Quantum Biofeedback? 
Victory Energy Wellness with Jolene Victor
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

LFPWLI: Breaking the Cycle: Solving the Rising Mental Health Crisis with High School kids

LFPWLI: Breaking the Cycle: Solving the Rising Mental Health Crisis Among Young People with Zahraa Alfatlawi, Founder of ZenDen
In this episode, you'll hear: 
Why Zahraa was inspired to start the ZenDen and what the group looks like today
The most common stressors kids experience
How Zahraa thinks the education system can do a better job teaching kids
In this episode, Mathew and Zahraa discuss generational cycles, the things that are stressing kids out the most, how she thinks the education system can do a better job teaching kids, and what she is doing to help solve the problems she sees around her. Zahraa is a high-performing student herself who connects with the pressure put on young people by their parents, school, and themselves, which increases stress and can lead to burnout. She is a big believer in strong community structures that help improve both mental and physical health because they are so closely related, and she knows that a student-to-student connection is inherently different from an adult-to-student connection. She also felt like there was no real outlet for her to express her anxieties, find connections, or get resources, which is why she founded ZenDen. She runs meetings for her group every Wednesday, where she strives to create a relaxed environment for students to focus on their commonalities. By discussing the highs and lows of the week, she is fostering a community that helps kids feel more connected and less alone in their struggles.
Zahraa Alfatlawi is a senior at Central High School in the Phenix Union School District. She founded ZenDen as a sophomore when her class returned to school after the pandemic, and she felt like she had to do something about the rising mental health crisis she was seeing in her peers. As a first-generation Arab-American and the youngest of five children in a family that fled Iraq in 2005, Zahraa has witnessed firsthand the mental health struggles her family experienced when they were in survival mode. They had to focus on issues like where they would be living and how they would get food on the table, leaving little time or resources to take care of their mental and wellness needs. Zahraa can feel the energy of the mental health and wellness crisis among young people. She is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare and psychology to continue her work of breaking down barriers and stigmas that prevent people from talking about important things.
“The first step to change is addressing the problem.”
 
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
TeenLifeline.org
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson