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Dr. Chad Scott is a psychologist, author of "Beyond the Darkness," and expert in dark tourism - the practice of visiting places of death, disaster, tragedy, and suffering. From concentration camps to plantation slavery museums, he's traveled to some of humanity's darkest places and found unexpected hope and life lessons.

In this reflective dark tourism conversation, Stacey and Mark talk with Dr. Chad about what dark tourism really is (83% of Americans have visited a dark tourism site), how walking alone through the Auschwitz gas chamber changed his life forever, and why memories of D-Day helped him survive his liver transplant delay. He explains the difference between dark tourism and voyeurism, and how visiting sites of human suffering makes you love life more, not less.

Dr. Chad recommends two lesser-known dark tourism destinations: Whitney Plantation near New Orleans (which tells the slavery story from the enslaved perspective, focusing on children and women) and Glore Psychiatric Museum in Missouri (showing the evolution from barbaric "lunatic asylum" treatments to modern mental health care). He shares how these places become etched in your heart, not just your memory, and come back to speak to you when you need them most.

This conversation explores finding meaning in suffering, the psychology of resilience, why "comfort zones are for couch potatoes," and how stepping into humanity's darkest places teaches you what truly matters in life. Dr. Chad's message: Your darkness can become your greatest strength if you step outside your comfort zone and let these places teach you. Walking through darkness is the quickest way to see the brightness in life.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 - What Is Dark Tourism?
2:03 - How Dr. Chad Got Into Dark Tourism
5:00 - The Liver Transplant That Changed Everything
6:11 - Finding Perspective in Places of Suffering
8:04 - Do You Feel Presence at Dark Tourism Sites?
9:28 - Alone in the Auschwitz Gas Chamber
10:55 - Two Obscure Dark Tourism Sites Everyone Should Visit
11:26 - Whitney Plantation: Slavery From the Enslaved Perspective
12:33 - Does Dark Tourism Change Your View of Humanity?
13:32 - Glore Psychiatric Museum: The Evolution of Mental Health Treatment
15:15 - Why He Wrote "Beyond the Darkness"
16:23 - Resilience: Your Darkness Becomes Your Greatest Strength
17:48 - The Message: Comfort Zones Are for Couch Potatoes

Connect with Dr. Chad Scott: Book: "Beyond the Darkness" (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, local bookstores) Website: https://DrChadScott.com Facebook: Chad Scott Author

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Keywords: dark tourism, reflective travel, Dr. Chad Scott, Beyond the Darkness, visiting Auschwitz, places of tragedy, finding meaning in suffering, resilience, liver transplant story, Whitney Plantation, Glore Psychiatric Museum, transformative travel, Holocaust memorials, slavery museums, mental health history, personal transformation

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🗣️ Dr. Kim Nugent is a leadership development expert and author of "From Prison to Possibilities" who created a peer-to-peer mentorship program operating in prisons across multiple states. After receiving an unexpected call in 2018, she began training inmates to become certified mentors for other inmates, creating structured 6-month programs focused on behavioral change, employability skills, and release planning.

In this prison mentorship conversation, Stacey and Mark talk with Dr. Kim about why 68% of released inmates are rearrested within three years (recidivism statistics), how peer-led mentorship in prisons reduces recidivism up to 40%, and why men with life sentences often make the most committed prison mentors. She shares powerful transformation stories, including how facilities with her inmate mentorship program saw rule violations drop dramatically - from 300 per month on average to just 6 violations total over three years among program participants.

Dr. Kim explains the difference between mentors, coaches, and teachers in prison settings, why incarcerated individuals respond better to peer guidance than staff instruction, and how ownership of mentorship programs creates lasting behavioral change. She also discusses the ripple effects of prison reform through mentorship: correctional officers seeing inmates differently after graduations, families noticing behavioral changes in their incarcerated loved ones, and participants developing their own community bylaws and leadership structures within facilities.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 - Prison Recidivism Statistics: The 68% Problem
1:16 - How Dr. Kim Started Prison Mentorship Work
2:24 - What Makes an Effective Mentor in Prison
4:01 - Who Becomes a Prison Mentor
6:09 - Why Life Sentence Inmates Make the Best Mentors
7:23 - What Makes This Prison Program Different 10:19 - Can Outside Volunteers Be Prison Mentors?
14:29 - The 6-Month Inmate Mentorship Program Structure
15:39 - Training Inmates to Become Mentor Trainers 16:35 - Prison Violence Statistics: 98% Rule Violation Drop
17:07 - Seeing Transformation in Incarcerated Individuals
18:18 - When Correctional Officers' Perspectives Changed
19:09 - Behavioral Change: People Do Better When They Know Better

Connect with Dr. Kim Nugent: Book: "From Prison to Possibilities: Paving Your Path Through Peer Mentorship" - Amazon Website: https://DrNugentSpeaks.com

Related Topics: prison mentorship programs, inmate mentors, recidivism reduction, prison reform, behavioral change in prisons, peer mentorship, prisoner rehabilitation, criminal justice reform, reentry programs, incarcerated mentorship, prison violence reduction, life sentence inmates, correctional officer training, second chances, inmate leadership development

📲 Connect with Our Hosts: Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/ Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/

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🤔 Brad Beeler protected President George W. Bush as a Secret Service agent. Then he spent 17 years giving more criminal polygraph exams than anyone in Secret Service history - interrogating murderers, bank robbers, child predators

🗣️ He sat across from murderers, bank robbers, child predators, and liars of every kind. And he learned something: catching a liar isn't about reading body language.

It's about asking the RIGHT questions.

Brad gives you 3 questions that reveal liars almost every time. These questions work because of how our brains process lies - and most people have NO idea they're being tested.

Bonus technique: The Tall Tale Trick

Plus how to perfect the World's Perfect Handshake.

And why lying is neurologically HARD to do.

Brad's #1 Communication Rule:
"Be the most interested person in the room. Ask 80% of the questions. Let people teach you about what they love. That's when they let their guard down."

About Brad's Book:
"Tell Me Everything" (February 17, 2026) - Not just about polygraphs or interrogation, it's a communication book. How to get anyone to open up, tell the truth, and connect on a deeper level.

Resources:
Instagram/LinkedIn: @bradbeeler1865
Website: https://bradleybeeler.com/
Book: "Tell Me Everything" (Pre-order available)

Chapters:

[00:00] Cold Open
[01:46] Meet Brad Beeler
[06:30] The World's Perfect Handshake
[09:51] The 3 Questions That Catch Liars
[14:51] Why Lying Is Hard
[16:47] The Tall Tale Trick
[19:30] Why Polygraphs Aren't Admissible
[22:51] "Tell Me Everything" - The Book
[24:23] Be the Most Interested Person
[29:00] High Profile Cases

Connect with Gurus and Game Changers:

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GurusAndGameChangers

📲 Instagram - Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/

📲 Instagram - Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/

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🗣️ In 1978, Dave Raymond became the FIRST person to ever wear the Phillie Phanatic costume. He had no training, no acting experience, and his only direction? "Go have fun. G-rated fun."

For 16 years, he brought joy to millions. He danced with nuns. He handed babies to strangers. He knocked over ground crews. He made the Phanatic an icon.

But behind the mask, his life was falling apart.

When tragedy struck, Dave told the Phillies he had to quit. But during his final appearances, something unexpected happened:

"When I got out of the costume, I felt a tick better."

The Phanatic saved his life.

Key insights:
🗣️ His deaf mom taught him physical comedy - becoming his greatest gift when he needed it most
🗣️ "Go have fun" was his only direction - he made it up as he went
🗣️ The fanatic puts the FUN in funerals - powerful fun works everywhere
🗣️ Philadelphia fans threw snowballs at Santa because "Santa sucked that day"
🗣️ He handed babies to strangers for laughs (yes, really)
🗣️ Vodka + water = the secret to cleaning mascot costumes
🗣️ When you're in crisis, your brain tells you things feel "legitimate" that aren't
🗣️ A 17-year-old girl told him she was thinking about ending her life - after hearing his story, she changed her mind

POWERFUL FUN methodology:
🗣️ F = Force (Fun isn't just for break time - it's a tool everywhere)
🗣️ U = Universal (It works at funerals, hospitals, layoffs - anywhere)
🗣️ N = No (Learning to overcome the "fun killers" who say "don't do that")

🎥 Check out this episode on Youtube for photos and videos of Dave in action! https://youtu.be/fj_mmB4pE0Q?si=rtkAT6AvY32ci9ll

Resources:

Website: DaveRaymondSpeaks.com - https://daveraymondspeaks.com/

Book: "The Power of Fun" - https://daveraymondspeaks.com/the-book/

Chapters:
[00:00] Introduction & Hosts Preview
[02:15] Growing Up with Tubby Raymond
[04:19] Becoming the First Phillie Phanatic
[06:08] Meeting the Muppet People
[07:23] First Day: "Go Have Fun"
[10:18] Creating the Ground Crew Routine
[13:50] Dancing with Nuns from "Nunsense"
[16:10] Why Mascots Matter
[19:24] Vodka Spray Cleaning Trick
[22:34] The Baby Story
[25:13] How His Deaf Mom Taught Him Physical Comedy
[28:18] When Everything Changed
[32:51] How the Phanatic Saved His Life
[37:15] POWERFUL FUN Explained
[45:37] The Girl Who Needed His Story
[47:32] Writing the Book
[50:47] Why Santa Deserved Those Snowballs
[52:35] Outro

Connect with Gurus and Game Changers: 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GurusAndGameChangers 📲 Instagram - Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/ 📲 Instagram - Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/

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⚠️ This conversation includes frank discussions about loss, grief, and mental health struggles. If you're struggling, please reach out to someone you trust.

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"You can rent. You can't buy." That's George Goulburn's mantra and it's the key to understanding one of the most emotionally complex professions in the world.
George is a male paid companion in Australia. Most of his clients are women 45-80 who haven't experienced intimacy in years. Some have been in sexless marriages for 10+ years. Others are widows who thought desire was behind them.
He says, "The misconception is that it's just about physical intimacy. It absolutely is not." But George has a problem: He's TOO good. "You've set the bar too high," clients tell him. "No one else will be able to step up to your level." When you provide genuine intimacy—when you make women feel truly seen and desired—they fall in love. Easily. So how does George maintain boundaries while giving someone the experience of their life? "That can be heartbreaking," George admits. "It can be really tough." What these ladies are paying for is feeling seen, desired, and safe—without complications.

🗣️ He vets every client through hours of conversations
🗣️ He turns away 80% of potential clients
🗣️ If he's not the right fit, he won't take the money
🗣️ He'd rather transform a woman once than keep her dependent

🗣️ Our `Australian` guest shares insights on the delicate balance between physical connection and companionship, highlighting how genuine `relationships` offer something `artificial intelligence` cannot replicate. This conversation explores the profound `ai limit` in mimicking true human interaction, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of a simple touch. It truly resonates with the `heart strings`, reminding us that some experiences are uniquely human and beyond the reach of technology.

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction: Meet George Colburn
1:35 - Why He Left His 25-Year Career for Paid Companionship
2:46 - Was It About Money, Freedom, or Connection?
4:09 - The First Time Someone Paid Him: "I Want Emotional Distance"
6:11 - Who Are His Clients? Women Starved for Intimacy
7:54 - More Than Physical: The Nuance of This Work
9:13 - How He Vets Clients: 10 Hours Unpaid for Every Hour Paid
12:30 - Single, Married, or Widowed? The Client Demographics
13:42 - His 80-Year-Old Client: "What You Provide Is Priceless"
15:00 - The Typical First-Time Client Experience
17:52 - When Sessions Focus on Emotional Connection
19:47 - What If There's No Chemistry? The Refund Policy
20:40 - Sapiosexual: Why Intelligence Creates Attraction
21:56 - Breaking Misconceptions About Paid Companionship
24:08 - Dating While Doing This Work: Ethical Non-Monogamy
26:26 - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of This Work
28:06 - Getting Fired by a Catholic Organization
30:27 - "You've Set the Bar Too High": The Problem of Excellence
32:21 - How He Stays Motivated Every Single Day
33:11 - The Scotland Trip: When His Mom Said "You Must Be Really Good"
34:00 - Emotional Intelligence: Managing Boundaries and Connection
35:23 - "You Can Rent, But You Can't Buy" - His Philosophy Explained
37:19 - Why He Talks Publicly About His Work
39:31 - The Future: How Long Will He Do This?
40:12 - Post-Menopause: Breaking the Myth About Desire
41:13 - Maintaining Physical Response: The Pharmaceutical Question
41:47 - His Advice to Men: "Respect Women First"
42:54 - Advice for Women Seeking Professional Companionship
44:41 - Final Thoughts & Where to Find George
45:10 - Outro & Closing Remarks

Connect with George:
Website: https://www.georgegoulburn.com/
Facebook: @george.goulburn.2023

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📲 Connect with Our Hosts:
Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/
Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/
⭐️ Watch/Subscribe to Gurus and Game Changers on Youtube: https://www

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🗣️60% of people are either neurodivergent or highly sensitive - yet every space is designed for the other 40%.

Stephanie Lee Jackson is a sensory interior designer who creates spaces for people's actual nervous systems. She designs homes where Mom has ADHD, Dad codes from home, one kid is sensory-seeking, and another is neurotypical - all in one house.

Key insights:

🗣️ Fluorescent lights prevent many neurodivergent people from thinking - their brains can't create visual images under that flickering
🗣️Ambient noise makes conversation impossible for people who can't filter background chaos
🗣️Bars turn up music so you drink more (shouting makes you thirsty)
🗣️High-functioning autistic people hitting total meltdown in their 50s because masking energy finally caught up
🗣️Some people are "sensory seeking" - they NEED coffee shop noise or music to focus

Five principles for better spaces:

🗣️Indirect lighting (not recessed lights pointing down)
🗣️Sound baffling in open spaces
🗣️Neutral air quality before adding scents
🗣️Reduce visual overwhelm
🗣️Trust your body's signals

Resources:
Website: PracticalSanctuary.com
Book: "The Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention" (September 5, 2024)
Free sensory cheat sheet available

Chapters:
[00:01] Introduction & Hosts Preview
[01:22] Meet Stephanie Lee Jackson
[01:29] What Is Sensory Interior Design?
[03:04] Why Designers Don't Think About This
[03:59] Neurodivergent vs Highly Sensitive
[05:23] Retail Store Example: Neurotypical vs Neurodivergent
[07:48] The Sensory Seeking Reality
[08:56] Real Family Design Example
[13:38] Zones for Different Neurotypes
[15:48] How She Got Into This Work
[16:52] Her Book: Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention
[18:00] Why Febreze Is Evil
[19:33] Visual Overwhelm and Bookshelves
[20:55] Advice for Average Person
[22:25] The Five Key Principles
[24:55] Color and Lighting Advice
[26:06] How to Reach Stephanie
[26:53] Closing

📱 FOLLOW US:
📲 Connect with Our Hosts:
Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/
Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/

⭐️ Watch/Subscribe to Gurus and Game Changers on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GurusAndGameChangers
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"I am ___."

How you finish that sentence determines everything. When Mark Papadas, "The Be Great Guy," asked fifth graders to complete it, 50% wrote: "I am fat," "I am stupid," "I am ugly." Adults? 80% just said their name and job title—labels that have nothing to do with who they really are.

After training adults for over a decade working with Tony Robbins, Mark discovered his true mission: teaching people how to create confident, empowered identities using just two words—"I am."

What You'll Learn:

• Why "I am" is the foundation of confidence (and how most people get it wrong)
• The shocking discovery: 50% of kids think they're fat, stupid, or ugly
• How parents accidentally program negative identities without realizing it
• Mark's powerful 2-minute morning practice (he shares his complete version at 17:44)
• The 5-step process to build unshakeable confidence
• Why "wrong means right" and how to make fear fun
• The 3 traits kids have that adults need back: persistence, curiosity, and ingenuity

Mark's Journey: After being beaten regularly by his older brother as a child, Mark became hungry for personal development. He ran operations for Tony Robbins' Chicago franchise before his epiphany: teach these tools to kids BEFORE they develop baggage.

His "I Am For Kids" program is in 37 schools across 9 states, producing 40% grade increases and 60% reductions in disciplinary problems.

Connect with Mark: 📚 Book: "10 Secrets to Empower Kids and Awaken the Child in You" 🌐 iam4kids.com 🎤 thebegreatguy.com

#Confidence #Parenting #PersonalDevelopment #TonyRobbins #GrowthMindset

0:00 - Cold Open
0:29 - Introduction: Meet The Be Great Guy
1:14 - Where "Be Great" Came From
2:30 - The Shocking "I Am" Discovery in Schools
4:52 - Why Kids (and Adults) Think They're Fat, Stupid, or Ugly
6:57 - Mark's Difficult Childhood: The Brother Who Beat Him
9:24 - How Pain Led to Personal Development
10:43 - From Earl Nightingale to Tony Robbins
11:50 - Running Tony Robbins' Chicago Office
13:00 - The Epiphany: Teaching Kids Before They Get Baggage
14:52 - The Five-Step Identity Process Explained
17:44 - Mark's Complete 2-Minute "I Am" Statement (MUST LISTEN)
20:31 - How "I Am" Statements Should Work
22:45 - The Neuroplasticity Connection
24:09 - Step 1: Write It (The Honest Starting Point)
25:00 - Step 2: Revise and Improve It
26:15 - Step 3: Anchor and Believe It
27:30 - Step 4: Share and Synergize It
28:00 - Step 5: Live It (The Lifelong Project)
29:15 - Secret #2: Make Fear Fun
31:20 - Secret #3: Wrong Means Right
33:53 - The "What Else?" Question That Changes Everything
35:10 - How Parents Accidentally Hurt Kids' Confidence
38:00 - Don't Let Them Win (But Give Fair Advantages)
40:36 - The 3 Traits Kids Are Born With (That Adults Lost)
42:00 - Persistence: Kids Never Quit Learning to Walk
42:45 - Curiosity: When You Lose It, Horizons Become Walls
43:30 - Ingenuity: Why Kids Prefer the Box to the Gift
44:20 - Cellular Regeneration: Every 7 Years You're New
45:15 - Mark's Programs: Schools, Academy, Family Coaching
46:21 - Where to Find Mark and Final Thoughts
47:55 - Outro

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📲 Connect with Our Hosts:
Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/
Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/

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After her father died, Liz Entin assumed the afterlife was fantasy - as realistic as the tooth fairy. Then she found university research that changed everything.

Liz Entin is a logical skeptic who set out to disprove the afterlife and ended up proving it exists. She's conducted 80+ medium readings (with hidden identity and fake names), studied children with verifiable past life memories, and discovered research so compelling that even Carl Sagan said it was "worthy of serious investigation."

She's also the woman who testified in the Harvey Weinstein trial - and whose Chihuahua famously chased him around her apartment.

[00:00] Introduction & Hosts Preview
[01:19] Meet Liz Entin
[01:26] How WTF Just Happened Started
[03:00] Driven by Grief and Hope
[03:50] What Blew Her Away About the Research
[04:51] Children with Past Life Memories
[05:56] Thousands of Cases Documented
[06:40] How Does She Explain It?
[07:55] The Logical Atheist's Perspective
[08:55] Preponderance of Evidence
[09:41] Will You See Your Dad Again?
[10:57] 80+ Medium Readings
[12:31] How to Know If Mediums Are Real
[14:32] Talking to Dead People vs Nefarious Spirits
[16:24] Random Number Generators Study
[18:13] Global Consciousness Project
[19:43] Consciousness Affecting Physical Reality
[21:40] Three Takeaways from Her Research
[23:01] Harvey Weinstein Trial Testimony
[24:18] Why She Testified
[27:30] Her Famous Chihuahua Peanut
[28:13] Will We See Our Pets Again?
[29:14] Could She Ever Believe in God?
[31:07] How to Reach Liz

The evidence that convinced her:
- Children with Past Life Memories:
- University of Virginia researchers Dr. Jim Tucker and Dr. Ian Stevenson have documented thousands of cases
- Kids under 5 remember specific details: names, locations, how they died
- James Leininger: Remembered dying in WWII plane crash, knew aircraft details only experts would know, identified three men from his squadron by hair color
- Civil War case: Child knew soldier's name, wife's name, specific battle where he died
- Carl Sagan endorsed this research as valid and worthy of serious study

Her conclusion: "There's a preponderance of evidence - probably beyond a reasonable doubt at this point."

Liz testified in the Harvey Weinstein trial. Her 12-pound Chihuahua, Peanut, chased Harvey around her apartment and he was terrified. The story went viral worldwide. She says without doubt he is guilty.

On grief and hope:
"I'm much more scared of permanent obliteration than any other form of consciousness. Finding this evidence brought joy combined with the worst I've ever felt."

Resources:
Website: WTFJustHappened.net
Podcast: WTF Just Happened
Instagram: @WTFJustHappened (most active)
Books: Available on website
Science & Spirituality Salons: Intimate events with verified mediums
Documentary: Netflix's "Surviving Death" features this research