What does it truly mean to strive for more — and how do you get there?

In this episode of the Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Jan Raeder, the Self-Care Sensei — a wellbeing educator, keynote speaker, and author with over 30 years of experience in traditional Okinawan and Japanese karate.

Jan breaks down her evidence-based MORE Framework (Meaning, Optimism, Relationships, Engagement) from her book Strive for More: What Wellbeing Really Means and How You Can Achieve It, and shares how the principles of martial arts — self-discipline, resilience, and perseverance — apply directly to personal growth and conscious wellbeing.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The key difference between wellness and wellbeing (and why it matters)
• How to use the MORE Framework to build a life of clarity, confidence, and purpose
• Why self-awareness alone isn't enough — and what to do with it
• How positive psychology and the science of optimism can rewire your mindset
• The role of gratitude, resilience, and meaning in overcoming life's biggest crossroads
• Lessons from 10,000+ sparring rounds and decades of martial arts teaching

Whether you're navigating a career transition, health challenge, or simply want to live with more intention, this conversation is packed with actionable insights rooted in behavioral science and lived wisdom.

Jan’s Bio and Contact Information

Jan Raeder is a recognized Wellbeing Educator, keynote speaker, and author dedicated to helping people lead lives of clarity, confidence, and conscious well-being. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in traditional Okinawan and Japanese karate, behavior change science, and positive psychology, Jan blends evidence-based insights with lived wisdom to support meaningful, sustainable growth.

As the author of Strive for M.O.R.E.: What Wellbeing Really Means & How You Can Achieve It, Jan breaks down her M.O.R.E.™ framework (Meaning, Optimism, Relationships, Engagement) and offers evidence-based, actionable tools. She delivers dynamic keynotes and workshops that help individuals and organizations make the mindset shifts that lead to lasting change.

Having fought in over 10,000 sparring rounds, Jan deeply understands how practice, self-discipline, honor, and perseverance shape growth. That experience has also taught her a vital life lesson: the moment you start taking things personally, you lose your center—on the mat and in life.

A National AAU Karate gold medalist and former senior instructor and business manager at US Budokai Karate of Albany, Jan also earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just four years. Through her work as the SelfCare Sensei, she empowers others to strive for M.O.R.E.—and to live with purpose, energy, and heart.

Jan's Book: Strive for M.O.R.E.: What Wellbeing Really Means and How You Can Achieve It

🌐 Website: selfcaresensei.com

📱 Instagram: @selfcaresenseijraeder

👥 Facebook: Self Care Sensei | Jan Raeder Well-Being Educator

💼 LinkedIn: Jan Raeder

To connect with Dave: davidrobertsmsw.com

What if the stories you tell yourself are the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this powerful episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Scott Mason — known as The Myth Slayer — a speaker, coach, attorney, and former senior executive who uses the power of ancient Greek mythology to help people identify the toxic myths holding them back from living a bold, purposeful life.

Scott shares his remarkable journey from a high-powered career in New York City government and nonprofits to a complete identity collapse — and the profound near-death experience that became his greatest catalyst for transformation.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What "toxic myths" are and how they silently sabotage your personal and professional life

• How ancient Greek mythology offers a timeless roadmap for self-discovery and reinvention

• The surprising mind-body connection between toxic thinking and physical health

• Scott's extraordinary near-death experience and the dream that changed everything

• Why your darkest moments may be the doorway to your greatest rebirth

• How to shift from the empirical mindset to the mythic mindset — and why it matters now more than ever

• Whether you're navigating a career transition, recovering from personal loss, or simply searching for deeper meaning and purpose, Scott's story will challenge you to stop letting your past author your future.

Scott’s Bio and Contact Information:

Scott Mason is known as The Myth Slayer: a speaker, coach, attorney, and former senior executive who uses the power of Greek mythology to help people name the hidden stories that keep them stuck and begin writing a more powerful life.

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Scott spent more than two decades as an attorney and executive leader in government and nonprofit organizations, including roles overseeing homeless shelter systems, senior services, administrative justice, compliance, operations, and domestic violence shelter services. He has also served on nonprofit boards and currently speaks to audiences across the country on leadership, professional rebirth, resilience, and bold personal transformation.

But Scott’s work is not only professional. It is deeply personal. After experiencing his own career collapse, identity crisis, and painful period of rebuilding -- and later, a profound personal and spiritual reawakening during a mysterious illness that almost claimed his life -- he came to understand that many people are not trapped by a lack of talent, intelligence, or effort. They are trapped by what he calls “toxic myths”—the unconscious stories that convince us we are powerless, broken, invisible, doomed, or too far gone to begin again.

Through his coaching, speaking, writing, and YouTube channel, Scott helps people name their toxic myths, and take concrete action toward a life of greater purpose, courage, creativity, and impact. His message is simple but fierce: your past may shape you, but it does not get to author the rest of your story.

Social Media links:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Myth_Slayer

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.scott_mason/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themythslayer/

🔗 Connect with Scott Mason: MyFreedomRocks.com

📖 Book: The Charismatic Olympian

To connect with Dave: davidrobertsmsw.com

What does it take to go from hitchhiking through a revolution at 19, scaling the deadly North Wall of Denali at 20, and surviving violent conflict in Vietnam — to becoming one of the world's leading voices for peace, purpose, and citizen action?

In this episode of the Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with John Graham — Foreign Service officer, global peacebuilder, and 42-year leader of the Giraffe Heroes Project — for a raw and inspiring conversation about adventure, transformation, and the search for meaning.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• · How John went from adrenaline-fueled risk-taker to compassionate peace advocate
• · Why he helped engineer the UN plan that contributed to ending apartheid in South Africa
• · The difference between smart risk-taking and reckless risk-taking — and the 6-step framework to know the difference
• · How the Giraffe Heroes Project inspires everyday people to "stick their necks out" and solve tough public problems
• · Why building trust is the single most important leadership skill most people overlook
• · How to find real meaning in your life — no matter your age or circumstances

John's memoir, Quest: Risk, Adventure and the Search for Meaning, and his video series Badass Granddad (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) bring these lessons to a global audience.

John's Bio and Contact Information

John Graham shipped out on a freighter when he was 16, hitchhiked through the Algerian Revolution at 19 and was on the team that made the first ascent of Denali’s North Wall at 20, a climb so dangerous it’s never been repeated. He hitchhiked around the world at 22, working as a correspondent in every war he came across. A US Foreign Service Officer for 15 years, he was in the middle of the 1969 revolution in Libya and the war in Vietnam. To the young Graham, adventure was everything, and each brush with death only pushed him to up the ante—and to bury ever deeper the emotional life needed to make him whole.

Then it began to change. At the United Nations he risked his career, crossing his own government to support initiatives for peace and justice in Asia, Africa and Cuba, including engineering a UN plan that helped end apartheid in South Africa. As a global peace builder, post Foreign Service, he contributed to peace efforts in Israel/Palestine.

For the last 42 years he’s been a leader of the Giraffe Heroes Project, a global movement inspiring people to stick their necks out to solve public problems and giving them tools to succeed (giraffe.org). His speeches, blogs, podcasts and interviews have a global audience.

Connect with John Graham:

🌐 johngraham.org | giraffe.org

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who's searching for more purpose in their life — and leave us a rating or review. Your support makes all the difference.

🎙️ Teaching Journeys Podcast — where extraordinary lives teach extraordinary lessons.

To find out more about Dave , go to davidrobertsmsw.com