What does it take to prepare for an Ironman—and what do you learn about yourself along the way?

Dylan Kaplinger joins us for the second time on The Simple Healthy Life Podcast to talk about completing an Ironman, the training that got him there, and the challenges that inevitably showed up along the way.

We talk about motivation, discipline, overcoming barriers, and what happens when the excitement of pursuing a big goal wears off and you're left with the work itself. Dylan shares his experience pushing through difficult moments, navigating setbacks, and continuing to move forward when things don't go according to plan.

But the conversation goes beyond endurance sports. We explore what pursuing something genuinely difficult can teach us about growth, resilience, self-belief, and becoming better in everyday life. Whether you're training for an Ironman, working toward a personal goal, or simply trying to improve some part of yourself, there will always be barriers between where you are and where you want to go.

The question is what you do when you meet them.

There is always some distance between where we are today and where we want to be. We call that space “the gap.”

In this episode of The Simple Healthy Life Podcast, we talk about what actually fills that gap: the barriers, habits, circumstances, fears, expectations, and everyday realities that make change more complicated than simply deciding what you want and going after it.

We break down practical ways to identify the barriers standing in your way, understand why they keep showing up, and build strategies that work with your actual life. Because barriers are inevitable. Motivation changes, schedules fall apart, unexpected problems arise, and even well-designed plans eventually meet resistance.

Whether you’re trying to improve your health, build better habits, change your career, strengthen a relationship, or become a different version of yourself, learning how to navigate the gap is part of the process. We discuss goal setting, behavior change, motivation, self-awareness, problem solving, and actionable strategies for meeting yourself where you are while continuing to move toward where you want to be.

What happens when one chapter of your life ends and you have to figure out who you are without it?

In this episode of The Simple Healthy Life Podcast, we sit down with Jay Soares to talk about his time in the military, the lessons he carried with him from service, and the transition back into civilian life. Jay shares how his experiences shaped his understanding of discipline, identity, purpose, and the person he wanted to become.

We also explore his transition into a career in media, the challenges that come with building a new identity after military service, and the role spirituality has played throughout his journey. Jay opens up about his relationship with faith, finding God, and how that process has influenced the way he understands his experiences and approaches life today.

This conversation touches on military life, veteran transition, career change, spirituality, faith, personal growth, and the search for meaning that can accompany major changes in our lives. It's a thoughtful look at what we carry forward from the chapters that shape us—and how those experiences continue to influence who we become.

How well do you actually understand what you want?

In this episode of The Simple Healthy Life Podcast, we explore the desires that operate beneath the surface of our everyday lives and how easily they can shape our behavior without us realizing it. We may tell ourselves we're pursuing success, being helpful, working hard, staying disciplined, or simply doing what makes sense. But when we look a little closer, we may find desires for approval, status, control, security, belonging, validation, or attention mixed into the things we do.

And that doesn't necessarily make those desires bad. It makes them worth understanding.

We talk about why people can become disconnected from what they actually want, how deeper motivations can disguise themselves in ways that feel completely rational, and why self-awareness requires being willing to question our own explanations for our behavior.

Because the desires we recognize are the ones we can actually examine and make choices about. The ones we never acknowledge can quietly shape our relationships, ambitions, decisions, and ultimately the direction of our lives.

Are we really as divided as we think we are?

We constantly hear that society is more polarized, disconnected, and divided than ever. Politics, social media, news, and algorithms can make it seem as though we're surrounded by people who fundamentally oppose us. But is that an accurate picture of humanity, or simply the picture we're shown most often?

In this episode of The Simple Healthy Life Podcast, we explore human connection, social division, polarization, loneliness, and the powerful influence media can have on how we perceive one another. From the World Cup and other major sporting events to everyday interactions with strangers, we look at moments when our supposed differences suddenly seem much smaller than the things we share.

We also discuss why human connection matters for physical and mental health, how repeated exposure to conflict can distort our perception of the world, and what happens when we begin seeing other people primarily through political, cultural, or ideological categories.

Maybe the deeper problem isn't that humanity has lost its ability to connect. Maybe we've become surrounded by systems that constantly remind us of our differences while rarely showing us just how much we still have in common.

We have more information than any generation in history. So why do so many of us feel stuck?

In this episode, we explore Carl Jung's haunting quote, "Help me so that I do not choke on my own knowledge," and why it may be more relevant today than ever before. From self-help books and AI to social media, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology, we examine why acquiring more knowledge rarely leads to meaningful change.

Together, we unpack the knowledge-action gap, the difference between information and wisdom, why we procrastinate by learning instead of doing, and how true transformation comes from courage, lived experience, and turning inward instead of endlessly searching for external answers.

If you've ever said, "I know what to do, I just don't do it," this conversation is for you. Learn why knowledge alone isn't enough, how information can become another form of avoidance, and what it actually takes to live a meaningful life in an age of unlimited answers.

What if achieving your dream teaches you that it wasn't actually your dream?

In this conversation with Muay Thai coach, author, and speaker Sean Shubert, we explore the unexpected reality of pursuing ambitious goals only to discover that success isn't always what you imagined. Sean shares the lessons he learned after writing his book Fighting Fear, stepping into public speaking, rebuilding his business, and rediscovering the work that truly gives his life meaning.

Together, we discuss fear, courage, purpose, identity, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and why sometimes you have to walk down the wrong path before you can recognize the right one. This is a conversation about rebuilding after setbacks, trusting experience over certainty, and embracing the reality that growth often comes through action, not endless planning.

Whether you're starting a business, changing careers, writing a book, or simply wondering if you're on the right path, this episode will challenge the way you think about success, fulfillment, and finding your purpose.

After 100 episodes, what have we learned?

In this special milestone episode, we reflect on the most impactful conversations, guests, lessons, and ideas from the first 100 episodes of The Simple Healthy Life Podcast. From addiction recovery and resilience to identity, leadership, meaning, emotions, nutrition, personal growth, and the psychology of change, we revisit the insights that stayed with us long after the microphones turned off.

We discuss the guests who challenged our thinking, the ideas that changed how we see ourselves, and the lessons that continue to shape our lives. Along the way, we explore recovery, self-awareness, vulnerability, courage, Kairos moments, purpose, storytelling, and what it means to become a little more human through honest conversation.

If you've ever wondered how people grow, what makes a life meaningful, or why certain ideas stick with us forever, this episode is a reflection on 100 conversations in pursuit of those answers.