Dying To Ask

Why Happy Is The New Healthy With Dr. Joan Neehall

Be honest. How happy are you?

Americans are the least happy they've been in almost 50 years, according to a recent University of Chicago poll.

There's a lot to be unhappy about these days between an uncertain economy and a lingering pandemic.

But, being unhappy can lead to being unhealthy.

That's why Dr. Joan Neehall says it's time for a happiness reboot. She's a psychologist, an international happiness expert and the author of "Happy is the New Healthy."

If you read one book this year, make it this one.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How psychologists define happiness
• Simple tweaks to improve your level of happiness almost instantly
• Why remaining unhappy is bad for your health

How To Live A Fully Charged Life With Meaghan Murphy

Can you "positive think" your way to a more enjoyable life? Yes, you can. (See how positive I was?)

Meaghan Murphy is the author of "Your Fully Charged Life." Her new book is a roadmap to flipping the switch on negativity. Meaghan is a positivity pro now. But, she wasn't always so optimistic.

Her nickname was Grumpy as a kid due to her perpetual negativity on everything from going to Disneyland to playing soccer.

A tragic experience as a teenager sent Meaghan down a career path in journalism as a magazine writer.

She's currently the editor-in-chief of "Woman's Day," one of the most popular magazines on newsstands that reaches 18 million readers a month. Previously, she worked at magazines including "YM," "Teen People," "Cosmopolitan" and "Good Housekeeping."

Meaghan says it's not about looking at the bright side. It's about looking at ALL sides.

On this Dying to Ask:

• What it means to live a fully charged life
• The tragic life event that sent Meaghan down her career path
• How Meaghan practiced what she preached when she recently caught COVID-19

What You Should Be Doing Now To Live Happier And Healthier Post-Pandemic

It's time to get ready for life post-pandemic. Seriously, it's going to end. Someday.

And, it's time to start preparing ourselves, both physically and emotionally, for life on the other side.

Dr. John Whyte, the chief medical officer for WebMD, says transitioning to a maskless world where you can actually hug your friends may not be as easy as you think.

He, and other medical professionals, worry about the mental beating our brains have taken over the last year. And he says we all need to prepare ourselves and our families for some PTSD upon re-entry to "normal."

Whyte has three-step plan of things we can do now to be ready to truly enjoy the freedom of life post-pandemic.

In the last 20 years, Whyte has gained a reputation for being as good a medical storyteller as he is a doctor. He spent 10 years at the Discovery Channel as the chief medical expert and traveled the world seeing how diseases affected people in different countries.

He's also worked in government as the director of Professional Affairs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Now he's at WebMD because he thinks there's nothing wrong with diagnosing yourself as long as you get a second opinion from someone who went to medical school.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Three things to do right now to be ready to live happier and healthier post-pandemic
• The WebMD search that we're looking at seven times more than we used to before social distancing became a thing
• The question he asks patients knowing they've been googling their symptoms
• And who hooked Whyte up with his first TV gig

How To Close The Deal On Love With Holly Parker

How are your relationships doing after a year of living through a pandemic? If you've broken up with a friend or romantic partner, you're not alone.

Maybe it's time to start looking at relationships the way you might look at a house for sale.

Holly Parker is our guest this week. She's one of the top-selling real estate agents in New York City. The "Million Dollar Listing" type of agent. She's sold more than $8 billion of luxury real estate.

Her new book is "Back on the Market: A Realtor's Guide to Love and Life." It's Holly's personal story of emerging from divorce while applying a lot of the concepts she's learned through real estate.

This is the book Carrie Bradshaw would have written if she did open houses.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How the real estate principles of staging and marketing can be applied to your relationships.
• What it's like on shows like "Million Dollar Listing" and why you're likely to see Holly on her own show soon.
• And how to kickstart your hustle as an entrepreneur if you find yourself dragging as the pandemic drags on.

Why This Is The Perfect Time To Make Goals For 2021

I purposely didn't do a "goals" episode in January. I mean, 2020 was hard enough without the pressure of resolutions. But then, I started thinking maybe goal setting is EXACTLY what we need, despite the pandemic.

The utter loss of structure from commutes, distance learning and working from home has left a lot of people struggling to find motivation to think about goal setting. But life coaches and time-management experts say the act of setting goals can ground you in a world that keeps on spinning.

The ultimate goal-setter is back on the podcast this week.

Tim Collom first appeared on "Dying to Ask" at the beginning of 2020 to talk about his 20-year habit of forming 100 goals every year. Many of you have asked: "What happened to that goal guy?"

Many assumed Tim ditched the list given the pandemic.

Nope! He doubled down on the goal list, and wait until you hear what happened next.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why you need to write down some 2021 goals
• 10 topics to focus your goal setting
• How to know a goal is worth putting on your list
• The goal Tim just crossed off the list that's seriously ruining his sleep

Why You Should Schedule Fun First Into Your Calendar

Are you thriving or surviving? Most of us are the latter these days as we near the one-year anniversary of the term "social distance."

Maybe we all need to schedule more fun into our calendars?

Really, schedule the fun. Plan your happy.

That's been Carmen Micsa's secret for 20 years. Carmen is a successful real estate agent, mom of two and burgeoning rapper.

She starts each week by scheduling fun things first and then everything else. It's like having dessert before dinner.

And, you know what? Carmen is having one of her best years yet personally and professionally, despite the pandemic.

On this Dying to Ask:

• The skills Carmen learned growing up in a Communist country that made living through the pandemic easier
• Why Carmen started scheduling fun first and the instant impact it had on her mental health
• Tips to rearrange your calendar for optimal energy and better weeks
• How a middle-aged mom became a rap star

 

Jamie Hess On How Influencers Make Their Money

How do influencers make money? I scroll Instagram and am borderline obsessed with knowing how girls posing with purses are paying their bills.

Spoiler alert. Most aren't paying the bills.

In this episode, we're getting a rare behind-the-scenes look at the world of influencers with @nycfitfam, aka Jamie Hess.

Jamie worked for nearly two decades in the fast-paced world of public relations in New York City. She especially loved working with health and fitness clients. She started the @nycfitfam page on Instagram to document her fit lifestyle with her husband.

@nycfitfam became a thing. A big thing. Soon, health and fitness brands were approaching Jamie to try their products and post links to their companies.

Jamie left public relations to turn her side hustle into a full hustle. Two years later, she's carved out a lucrative career in front of the camera on social media and on TV, as a QVC fitness expert.

Jamie credits two things for her success as an influencer.

First, she understands what brands need, thanks to her years in PR. And second, her mom is Joan Lunden. Yes, that Joan Lunden. Jamie says her mother's influence breaking ground in television news on "Good Morning America" laid the foundation for her work ethic.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Jamie turned a side hustle into a full-time gig
• Her warning for anyone thinking about trading a traditional job for a life on Instagram
• How she turned her home into a TV studio to continue on-camera work for QVC
• What it was like growing up on TV during Joan Lunden's 20 years on "GMA"
• Why Jamie and her husband left NYC in the middle of the pandemic and never went back
• The two words Jamie says at the end of every day to stay on track personally and professionally

BONUS: Fitz And Team USA Start The 6 Months To Tokyo Countdown

The countdown clock to the Olympic do-over is going. In six months, Tokyo will host the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. It's the first time an Olympics has been rescheduled and it's created worries, frustrations and challenges for athletes, fans and media.

In this episode, Fitz catches up with two-time Olympian and gold medalist Maggie Steffens. Maggie is the captain of the women's water polo team.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Team USA is training during a pandemic
• How Olympians shifted their mindset to fine tune their mental edge
• And why Maggie and Fitz say the Tokyo Olympics could be the best Olympics ever

3 Ways To Slow The Brain Drain With Dr. Christine Koh

"Right now is a lot."

That one sentence sums up life for all of us these days. Dr. Christine Koh, a brain scientist turned lifestyle expert turned influencer, tweeted that gem recently.

It was so good and so dead-on that I reached out immediately to pick her brain about how to calm the overwhelming feelings so many of us are dealing with in 2021.

Christine's take on life in the time of COVID-19 is equal parts helpful and humorous. Her scientific background explains the why behind our overwhelm. Her uncanny knack to connect with people, especially women, provides the how in dealing with all that life is throwing at us these days.

On this Dying to Ask:

• The tweet that took me down a Christine Koh rabbit hole
• How a Harvard-trained scientist became a lifestyle expert, influencer and podcast host
• And the three things you can do immediately to slow the brain drain

Fitz Issues The 'Phone A Friend' Challenge To Tackle COVID Fatigue

It's my first solo episode of the season. And, in this show, I'm talking about a phone call I got from a friend that changed my outlook on everything.

COVID fatigue is legit. A University of Colorado study found 4 in 10 Americans are stressed and/or anxious. Only 4 in 10? This past year has been, well, a lot. In a lot of ways. In ALL the ways.

Living with constant low-level anxiety is the new norm for people trying to work, home-school, not catch COVID-19, etc. And even the most resilient people hit the wall. I did. And, I had no idea it was happening until a close friend called and said, "I'm doing a welfare check."

It was a game-changer and a major reality check.

On this Dying to Ask:

• What I did that prompted my friend's phone call.
• I outline the "phone a friend" challenge and explain why we need to regularly check in on friends and family.
• And the three things that constitute "self-care" in my world these days.

Here's the previous podcast referenced in this week's episode.