Climbing Kilimanjaro Without Legs? Spencer West, Motivational Speaker & Activist Talks About What IS Possible!
Silver Disobedience® Perception Dynamics with Dian Griesel: How People Think, Lead and SucceedShow Notes
Spencer West on Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself Dian Griesel welcomes Spencer West, author of "Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself," to discuss resilience, identity, and human potential. West shares how being born with sacral agenesis led to leg amputations at age five and how the expectation to be “just like everyone else” shaped his childhood, education, and coming out as gay. Spencer describes feeling trapped after college while working in Phoenix, then finding renewed purpose through a volunteer trip to East Africa that inspired him to move to Toronto and work in international development. West recounts climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with friends while raising $500,000 for clean water for 12,500 people! Throughout this conversation Spencer West highlights lessons on asking for help, self-trust, rest, and play. He also explains how his content and speaking address inclusion, accessibility, and community solutions. You can find more about Spencer West at any of these links: Website: https://www.spencer2thewest.com/ Breaking Free -- the Book: https://amzn.to/4aaxwxC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencer2thewest SilverDisobedience© Perception Dynamics™ is a psychology and mindset podcast for anyone rethinking success, leadership, and reinvention at any age. Host Dian Griesel — perception analyst, hypnotherapist, and the provocateur of perception known as @SilverDisobedience — sits down with fascinating guests for unscripted, no-holds-barred conversations on human behavior, personal growth, mental health, relationships, pop culture, and the B.S. in between. Through bold questions that spark honest revelations and unguarded "aha" truths, every episode delivers real mindset shifts, hard-won wisdom, and inspiration for living — and aging — on your own terms. No scripted fluff. Subscribe! Show Run: 00:00 Meet Spencer West 00:54 Kilimanjaro First Impressions 01:41 Breaking Free From Expectations 02:01 Growing Up Disabled And Queer 06:30 College Identity Wake Up 10:10 Listening To Yourself 10:50 Phoenix Career Trap 12:42 East Africa Turning Point 14:59 Building A Purpose Driven Platform 22:18 Why Kilimanjaro Mattered 25:43 Lessons From The Summit 29:25 Roadmap To Action 33:42 Rest Play And Hustle Culture 37:12 Final Thoughts And Farewell
More from Silver Disobedience® Perception Dynamics with Dian Griesel: How People Think, Lead and Succeed
Wives-in-Law: How Two Women Married to the Same Man Became Friends | Andrea Cataneo & Heidi Prudente On this @SilverDisobedience Perception Dynamics podcast, host Dian Griesel talks with Andrea Cataneo and Heidi Prudente, two women who were married to the same man at different times and chose communication and cooperation over competition in their blended family. Andrea and Heidi share how awkward beginnings, insecurities, and assumptions evolved into trust through shared milestones like graduations, weddings, vacations, and late-night conversations -- all of which ultimately inspired their book, Wives in Law: A Story of Unexpected Friendship. The women discuss finding common ground, being careful with assumptions, addressing conflict directly, and prioritizing the kids while building a relationship that became genuine friendship beyond family obligations. Heidi and Andrea also explain the “wife-in-law” term, reactions from others, and how their approach can make milestone events less stressful for everyone involved. You can follow Andrea Cataneo & Heidi Prudente at any of these links:https://www.facebook.com/WivesInLaw https://www.instagram.com/wivesinlawofficial/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/wives-in-law/ email: [email protected] Get the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4h5WPVJ Andrea: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.cataneo Heidi: https://www.facebook.com/Heidi.J.Prudente Kind Isn’t Weak: https://www.facebook.com/KindIsntWeak If you enjoyed this, please SUBSCRIBE and SHARE! I’m Dian Griesel aka @SilverDisobedience to my hundreds of thousands of monthly blog readers. You can learn more about me here: https://diangriesel.com For three decades, I’ve helped people understand what they may be missing — in themselves, in others, and in the situations they face — so they can communicate with greater clarity, make wiser decisions, and navigate both business and life more effectively. “Raw, truth-driven conversations with fascinating guests — from business & psychology to careers, pop culture & the B.S. in between." Expect bold questions. Unfiltered insights. A few laughs. Real growth. Subscribe & Join the Conversation.
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How Barbara Bronstein Built Second Servings Houston at 60: Rescuing Surplus Food to Fight Hunger and Waste In this @SilverDisobedience Perception Dynamics Podcast host Dian Griesel interviews Barbara Bronstein, founder of Second Servings Houston, who launched a food rescue organization at age 60 after seeing large amounts of prepared food discarded at charity events. After learning food banks wouldn’t accept cooked food, she connected events with a local soup kitchen, researched food recovery nationwide, and formed a 501(c)(3) with pro bono legal help, grants, and a pilot with a Meals on Wheels program using idle refrigerated trucks. Second Servings now operates as a logistics-focused model with seven refrigerated vans, making 30–40 same-day pickups and deliveries daily from events, hotels, commissaries, and grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. The organization runs free Pop-Up Grocery Stores, distributes food through local nonprofits, relies on grants, individuals, and sponsors, and emphasizes legal protections under the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act while addressing Houston’s high food insecurity and environmental impact of food waste. Learn more about the amazing work being done: https://secondservingshouston.org/
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Why You Regress Around Family: Dr. Judith Swack on Trauma Triggers, Damage Patterns & Tapping to Regulate @SilverDisobedience Perception Dynamics host Dian Griesel interviews Dr. Judith Swack, a biochemist and immunologist, who is also the author of “Clear Trauma Now.” Together they explore why capable adults can regress around family gatherings or feel outsized reactions to certain holidays, dates, people, and places. Dr. Swack explains “damage patterns” as unconscious, physiological responses formed when trauma isn’t fully processed, which can shape perception, behavior, health, and relationships for decades. She outlines her Healing from the Body Level Up (HBLU) method that integrates conscious, unconscious, body, and soul levels, and describes using muscle testing to access inner guidance and identify blocks. Defining trauma as a fight-or-flight response that becomes conditioned and “frozen in time,” Dr. Swack proposes to the audience that time doesn’t heal trauma and she demonstrates how tapping/meridian techniques can activate a calming reflex to reduce traumatic reactions and help separate experiences from identity. Judith Swack, Ph.D. Linked in:https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-a-swack-ph-d/ Website: https://www.hblu.org/about Book: Clear Trauma Now https://link.amazon/B04NYDYOp If you enjoyed this, please SUBSCRIBE and SHARE! I’m Dian Griesel aka @SilverDisobedience to my hundreds of thousands of monthly blog readers. You can learn more about me here: https://diangriesel.com For three decades, I’ve helped people understand what they may be missing — in themselves, in others, and in the situations they face — so they can communicate with greater clarity, make wiser decisions, and navigate both business and life more effectively." Raw, truth-driven conversations with fascinating guests — from business & psychology to careers, pop culture & the B.S. in between." Expect bold questions. Unfiltered insights. A few laughs. Real growth. Subscribe & Join the Conversation.