In this episode, Angie Austin explores what it means to find one’s unique purpose in life. From the enlightening principles of the book ‘Shape’ to the incredible athletic feats of canine competitors, discover the diverse ways in which we can connect with the world around us. Angie talks to experts, trainers, and dives into personal stories that illuminate the path to personal development and discovery.
00:21:28 Interview with Dog Trainer and Veterinarian
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey there friend, Angie Austin here and also Dr. Cheryl Lentz, the academic entrepreneur with The Good News. Hey there friend. Hello, hello, hello. You know, you read so many books and you help people write books and you write your own books and you’re a professor. And so I love just calling you up and saying, OK, what book are you reading now? And right now you are reading Mindfulness, A Practical Guide by Tessa Watt. And this is one that you are really into and think will be interested in. Is that right? Yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. I find it fascinating because I often teach my students that sometimes to go faster, we have to slow down. And I started taking some training with one of the universities I teach with, and they started doing mindfulness. And of course, being the smart aleck I tend to be, sometimes I’m going, really, you have to teach me to be mindful? And the answer is, it’s a skill and it is not easy.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think that Of course, I love having movies at my fingertips and being able to, if I take a drive and I want to fall asleep, I put on a podcast if my husband’s driving, not myself driving, of course. And I just use my phone so much for entertainment, but also news and research and contacting our friends and texting. And we’re so connected now. And if we think we’re connected, imagine our kids, you know, the kids that have some new rules. Some of the schools aren’t even allowing cell phones in. And I’m so grateful for that because they find learning to be so boring compared to the phone. And I think mindfulness is something that You think it’s easy. I don’t think a lot of people do it because they’re so distracted by their devices. And, you know, these kids are together and they’re texting each other across the table like little jokes or look over there or whatever. And they communicate more via their phone and texting than they do through speaking with their friends sometimes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. I remember when phones finally first came out and we were trying to deal with them as academics in the classroom. And I was teaching on ground at the time. This was, I don’t know, 15 years ago. And I would literally have we would have to have policies by taking the phone away because the two kids next to each other were texting each other. And we had to eventually instead of punish them. Learn to integrate them and learn to use them. And we had all kinds of cool tech back then. And we would be able to, well, if you can’t beat them, join them, right? And so instead of knowing what they were going to do anyway, I remember I taught classes on Facebook. I made sure that I had the smart board in the classroom. We did polls and surveys, and I taught them how to use their tools in their phone. And now I’m doing it again with AI. And it’s the same types of things. First, we have to slow down and understand the tool. We need to know what it is, what it can do, and how we’re going to use it. And the only way to do that is to take a moment, take a step back, because we have to often ask the question, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Having cell phones at the dinner table, probably not such a good idea, you know?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you know, you figure out you’ve, you know, eaten a sandwich or half a bag of chips or whatever, and you’ve got sticky fingers or salty fingers, but you’re like, wait a second, that’s gone already? Or like, you know, forgetting appointments, I know that I’m distracted and running and stressed and running too quickly through life when I misplaced my keys or my phone for that matter, interestingly enough. And so I think a lot of us are kind of on autopilot. I know the book teaches you about some of these things I want to discuss with you, reducing anxiety and handling our emotions more effectively, enjoying the moment and also letting go of negative thoughts, discovering genuine happiness and recovering from bad moods more quickly. Like who knew that being mindful could help with that? I didn’t know. And then slowing down and finding our own source of calm. I just think it’s easier to for us to be distracted, but it doesn’t lead to a better quality life. So let’s break down some of the things that you’re learning in the book.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, one of the things that I find fascinating is you have to understand a little bit more about the human body. And while I’m not that kind of an MD, I’m a PhD kind of gal, but the idea is learning about the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. These are the things that are the automatic regulators of the body. We don’t think about them. And you were very accurate. They’re automatic pilot. Who thinks about breathing? And God forbid that we should have to, right? Because it’s supposed to be automatic. We don’t think about all the things that happen in our brain and how we’re going to have to focus on whether or not you can raise your arm or not. We have these things and a million things happen in order to be able to do the things we do. But we don’t often take the time to know how. So when we’re looking at the stress, oh, my gosh, you don’t know the places I’ve left my car keys. I put a note right now because I have a car key sitting in my car because I had to take the second car. And I’m thinking if I don’t write it down, I’m going to forget and stress that I put the car keys there. Right. So I get it. But when you’re having too much of that energy, too much of that focus, too much of that running around, that’s where all these chemicals and these busyness and all of the neuroreceptors and all of the things that are fight or flight response is so engaged that We have no idea which end is up sometimes. And so if we just take the time, and it’s hard, and sometimes I’ve had to do this only a couple minutes at a time, to just sit there. I mean, literally just sit. And the mindfulness part is looking at when you’re sitting there, what do your feet feel like? How do you feel like you’re sitting in the chair? What do you hear? What do you see? What do you smell? What do you taste? And the fact that you go through all of those senses enough to slow down and process. Because most of the stuff happens, for me anyway, a thousand miles an hour and I have no idea. The thoughts are already gone before I’ve had a chance to sit there, right? But there’s a lot of cross-discipline that happens. I teach in my leadership classes the idea of John Maxwell’s thinking chair, taking the time to actually think in a specific chair, in a specific place, all those things. Instead of reacting to things, you purposely think about them. mindfulness is nothing more than that to a little bit more of an extreme of sitting in the moment, whether it’s five minutes or five seconds going, oh, I didn’t realize I ate that whole bag of chips. Oh, I didn’t realize that I put my car keys in the freezer, that you just take a moment and you’re paying attention to imprinting whatever it is you’re doing. And then you can go ahead and say, oh, because now we’re going to, slow the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous systems down. We’re going to slow down all the chemicals that make us stressed out. And we’re going to put ourselves back into control of what seems to be automatic that, yeah, it’s not as automatic as we think it is.
SPEAKER 03 :
I wonder why being mindful reduces our anxiety.
SPEAKER 07 :
It reduces the chemicals that are in there. Think about how you have a panic attack or when you get emotional, right? You’re in the fight or flight response, right? That is intentionally to protect us. A lion is going to eat us, right? And so the heart rate goes up and everything gets on super alert. The challenge sometimes is we’re no longer hunting and gathering. There isn’t a lion chasing us 90% of the time. But the body still sometimes thinks it is, and sometimes it’s hard to shut that off when we’re so used to running a mile an hour. I mean, how much does it come at the end of the day when you’re trying to kind of wind down and you can’t fall asleep at night because your mind is still going that thousand miles an hour? And so the hard part is… A lot of these things are automatic. And if we can kind of slow things down and put ourselves more in control, because you’re right, there are times that it is okay. Then you need to be ramped up with those neurotransmitters and all that stuff because maybe the lion is coming to get you or you’re in a car accident or you’re something. But when you’re not, your system doesn’t need to have that ramped up. And that’s sometimes where we get adrenal failure. We get exhaustion because the body is just like stuck on overdrive all the time. And yeah, it doesn’t do well for us. We need sleep. We need downtime. We need to let those chemicals take a day off.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, one of the therapists I have on the show quite often said to start off your day and to feel less down or depressed or less anxious and she teaches her clients to not pick up the phone for like five or 10 minutes. And, you know, for that time to be used for journaling or prayer or, you know, reading something uplifting and, you know, whether it be your Bible or, you know, a journal you have or a devotional. And for me, journaling really helps, but I find myself kind of forgetting to do it or it’s just easier to grab your phone right away. And she says that really reduces anxiety because like the good, chemicals the dopamine is released in your brain uh when you wake up that way rather than just grabbing your phone and then uh what did you um learn in mindfulness a practical guide um on the cover it says discover genuine happiness what did you learn about that i could instead of feeling the need you know that whole idea we feel like we’re missing out
SPEAKER 07 :
Because somebody else is doing this and somebody else is traveling there and somebody’s in there. I had to learn to be comfortable with just being in the moment and being okay with, oh, gosh, doesn’t it feel good to just sit for five minutes? You know I like to kayak. And I don’t kayak as often as I would like because we’ve had some horrible rain lately. And storms and stuff, not a good idea to be on the water. But sometimes I will run to the water because I need to have that physical trigger in my mind that says, ah. And we all have to have that moment in there. I mean, I had to get my butt up in the morning to go for a sunrise kayak. One of those beautiful pictures I think I shared with you ever. And it was like being in touch with God. No one else was there but me. I would be able to experience nature, experience life. a way of what did I feel? What did I smell? What did I do? And it was absolutely glorious. And that feeling lasted for much of my day. And it was like, ah, now that’s where it is. Remember this ease is what happens when we’re not at ease, but when we can put ourselves at ease. And sometimes I have to force myself. Cause again, I run, I mean, I was in meetings till 830 last night. It was like, ah, you’ve got to be kidding me. And I have to force myself to have fun. I have to force myself to schedule the kayak. Um, But knowing when I’m there are those breaks that the body just, ah, it’s just amazing, and I can feel happy in that moment. But knowing it’s a choice, and that’s the hardest part, Angie, is to be able to know that we have our choice on whether to be in chaos or ease. And I can’t believe how often my body finds itself in chaos, and it just doesn’t need to be that way, you know?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you’re definitely a high-energy, high-paced kind of person. So mindfulness, a practical guide that you said to me, you were like on chapter 19, you didn’t think it’d be a book that you would, you know, get so much out of, but you are. What changes do you think that you will keep or make in your life after reading the book?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, what you had said about waking up in the morning, I’ve been doing this for months now, probably maybe close to a year, that I get up and before I ever get out of bed, I do my gratefuls or my gratitude list, whatever you want to call it. I have stones that I have that I keep in each hand. And I will sit there before I ever get up in the morning and before I ever go to bed at night is I will be grateful for what 10 things there are. And I list them. And sometimes they’re a little snarky. I’ll admit to it when I’m not terribly pleased about things that you’re like, I am grateful for the sun through clenched teeth, right? But when you’re really getting into this and more of the time you wake up that way, it just sets your compass. It sets the tone and it sets your day to remind yourself of all the good things and not get distracted because chaos happens. And so I love this book that I will read it and sometimes only and I will almost ration it only a chapter. And I take one of the chapters, and that’s where I’m on 19, and I will do a chapter a day, maybe two, just to be able to learn something new and then sit with that learning throughout the day to practice it. And, you know, I probably have about three or four books that are on there, and sometimes I just need to go back to them to remind me not just to read something new and not just to read it, but to actually do it. And that is where the book reminds me first thing in the morning. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love that. I love that. All right, Cheryl, you help people write books. You write your own books. You’re a professor. You’ve got your PhD. You’re a musician. How do people find you?
SPEAKER 06 :
DrCherylLentz at gmail.com or DrCherylLentz.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
Easy peasy. Excellent. All right. Well, looking forward to possibly meeting you in person soon, my friend. We’ll have to give a report on that since we’ve been phone friends or radio friends for 10 years.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. I’m counting the dates.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Thanks, Fred.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Hello there, Brandi. Angie Austin here with the good news. You know, I’m just visiting some family and they have a new puppy and it’s so full of energy. It’s crazy. It’s like the most athletic dog I’ve ever been around. It’s part lab and it doesn’t weigh that much, maybe 60 pounds. His name’s Bo, but he could totally knock me over. When he runs around that dog park and he goes swimming, I’ve actually had two recent vacations with Bo and Bo’s mom and family as my cousin’s dog. So, I mean, he swims and he fetches things and he runs to the dog park. So anyway, my cousin Mary had mentioned to me, oh, I think he’d make a great agility dog. Well, coming up, I have something really cool. We’re going to actually talk to a dog trainer and a veterinarian. There’s a new series coming out on dog athletes. But also this particular dog that trainer Amanda trains, well, two of them actually, they’re these water jumpers. They can jump 30 feet. So anyway, that’s kind of cool. I’ve watched some of the videos, and they’ll be coming up here in the second half of this segment. But I wanted to talk to you first in the good news. about finding and fulfilling your purpose. My girlfriend that I just met for lunch said she’s reading the book Shape, Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life by Eric Ries. He’s at Saddleback where Rick Warren is, and Rick wrote the intro to the book. And my girlfriend suggested it to me. She’s doing the Bible study on her own, and I thought I’d get the book maybe into it on my own. You know, I think many of us, you know, as we kind of progress forward, through life, we have these changes and we’re like, well, what do we do next? Right. So, you know, with two of my kids in college and then just the one home, I mean, we had such a full and busy summer, you know, family reunions and traveling and getting one kid to college, buying a house with another kid and getting him all moved in and getting his roommates and, you know, prepping that house. It’s furnished. So we, you know, have everything in there for the kids and, So that was quite an endeavor. So now things are kind of calming down. I started volunteering with ARC. Once a week with the ambassadors, the ambassadors have cognitive deficits. They’re differently abled, and I love and enjoy them so much. And by the way, if you have anything to donate, please, 303-238-JANE. That’s ARC, 303-238-JANE, or just go to the ARC stores. They could really use your donations right now. They could really use them. Okay, I wanted to talk to you about this book, Shape. because I am starting to read it, and I thought to myself, well, if I’m reading it, you might want to know about this on the good news. The book uses the acronym SHAPE, which stands for Spiritual Gifts. And if you remember, by the way, Rick Warren did the Purpose Driven Life. I think this has a similar, you know, this is written in a similar vein. Okay, so SHAPE is an acronym, the title of the book. SHAPE, it stands for Spiritual Gifts. heart abilities, personality, and experiences. So let’s break all these down. Shape. It represents five key areas that contribute to a person’s unique design and purpose. Spiritual gifts. The special abilities God gives believers to serve others and share his love. And I think there’s a lot of different ways you can find your spiritual gifts if you don’t know them already. I know I’m very encouraging, and that’s something that I really enjoy, you know, talking to younger relatives, younger kids, the neighbor kids, the – The ambassadors, I love talking about what their interests are. Maybe it’s the reporter or journalist. I like to ask them questions about their goals and encourage them with, you know, the things that I already see that they have great abilities in and compliment them and kind of spur them on, you know, to reach their own goals or maybe pursue things where they already have a gift. And so that’s the first one in shape, spiritual gifts, the special ability God gives believers to serve others and share his love. Heart, the passions and desires God has placed within an individual. Heart. So I think with that one, sometimes journaling helps us discover some of these things where we’re kind of perplexed as to, like, what’s next in life or what do we have a passion for? We might think, oh, we have a passion for animals. But, you know, what area of expertise would you like to focus on? Sometimes it really takes us writing and exploring or even dipping our toe into volunteering in an area where we might be interested, right? All right. So we’ve got heart and shape. Abilities is next in the acronym. The natural talents and skills a person possesses. You know, you might be really strong and that might help you in a certain field, etc. You know what I’m talking about. Personality. That’s the next in the acronym. So we’ve got S-H-A-P. The unique way a person is wired to interact with the world. Yeah. And I think that personality can be, to be honest with you, one of the biggest things that can help you in life and your career. I think it’s so underrated. You could do really well in school, but if you don’t have a great personality, I see my son navigate the world pretty well when he’s dealing with his business and talking to adults, which I guess he is one of those adults now as well. But I just see him really using his personality to excel. And I get a lot of feedback from like where he just did his internship at ARC about what a great personality he has. I know it’s really going to help him in life. And then experiences. And this is, again, the book Shape. Experiences, both positive and painful past events that God uses to shape And in this book, Shape, that I’m just starting, I just ordered it, so I haven’t even started it yet, you’re finding your unique purpose. The book provides guidance and tools to help individuals identify their shape and understand how it relates to their calling and life’s work. And it encourages us to actively use these five things in the acronym SHAPE. the gifts, the heart, the abilities, personality, and experiences. So I’ll let you know how that goes for me. And one of my gifts, I think, is working with animals. You know, I’m a little bit of an animal nut. And the Purina Pro Plan Dog Challenge is back for its 28th year, bringing together extraordinary canine athletes from across this country. And today, as I told you, they’re launching a new show, A Different Breed, to take fans behind the scenes of canine sports. And sports aren’t just for humans. Some of the most exciting athletes compete on four legs. The premier competition showcases the amazing speed, agility, and skill of dogs and their handlers as they compete in thrilling events. Joining us today, our champion dog trainer, Amanda Fleck, and veterinarian, Dr. Ruthann Lobos. Welcome to you, Dr. Ruthann and Amanda.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hi, thanks for having us.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Amanda, I’m going to start with you because I’m familiar with your dogs, and I’ve seen them jump, and I so want to try it with my Pomeranians, even though they’re not a similar breed. So let’s just start off. Before we talk about your dogs, what is the Incredible Dog Challenge, and what makes it so cool and unique?
SPEAKER 04 :
The Incredible Dog Challenge is the premier canine performance competition powered by Purina ProPlan. The competition features incredible canine athletes as they showcase their skills like duck diving, flying disc, agility, and even surfing. It’s about trust, teamwork, and celebrating how amazing our dogs can be with the right training, care, and nutrition from Purina ProPlan.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I was kind of, I don’t know, a little bit blown away that you had your first dog, and then I think it was Groot that you kind of ended up like, I don’t know what they call it, a foster fail or something, and you ended up keeping him, and then he’s just as amazing as your other dog?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, yes, he came in as a foster, kind of an unexpected foster, and my kids fell in love with him immediately. And so we actually decided to keep him before we ever knew he could do this. And I just started training him in my backyard pool at home and discovered that he was amazing at this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, he totally is. Dr. Lobos, I know you’ve got a new docuseries. I was checking it out on Amazon Prime and it’s called A Different Breed. It just launched. Can you tell us more about it? I’m excited to see it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, sure. So our docuseries, A Different Breed, is nine episodes, and it takes viewers behind the scenes into the world of canine sports. It follows 18 incredible dogs and their handlers as They train, compete, and chase greatness at the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge. But even bigger than that is it really reveals the transformative power of the human-animal bond and how the right dog can rewrite a person’s history in the best of ways.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s just cool. I’ve got five pets and three kids. My mom lives with us and my husband. So six people and five pets. It’s pretty crazy around here. But I thought, Amanda, after watching you training with your husband and your kids and Declan and Groot, the dogs, I thought, what a great excuse to get a swimming pool and get my Pomeranians in there. And I was surprised. They are athletes. You have them on a treadmill. You’re feeding them the right food, which I use, too, the pre-urine pro plan because it’s got the good protein. So tell us what training is like for these dogs so other people can kind of visualize what I just saw on your video.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, so I do most of the training in my home backyard pool and we also utilize other training techniques to keep our dogs in top body condition. We also go to a local competition dock and pool where we train and compete. But this is something any dog can do, any breed, any size. There are all different dogs that compete in this, and it’s more about just having fun with your dogs.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it’s kind of mind-blowing to see your dogs jump like 30 feet. And if anybody would say to me, oh, you know, they don’t like that. Oh, my gosh. They are so excited when you pick up that toy and you’re getting ready to throw it. Like when you kind of fake them out a few times, like, okay, get ready. We’re going to do it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Like the excitement of them each time thinking it’s time to jump. Oh, not yet. It’s time to jump. Oh, not yet. You can tell how happy they are. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, this is one of their favorite things to do. When we pull out the dog diving toys, they just go nuts. They absolutely love playing this. It’s just a game to them.
SPEAKER 01 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, it looks so fun. All right, Doctor, what does it take to compete at this level? Because Amanda said, you know, any dog can get involved in this, but obviously there are some dogs that really excel, that are strong and full of energy, etc. So what does it take to compete at the level we’re talking about today?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so like you said, these dogs are top athletes. They are diving and twisting and racing all with power and precision. And really foundational to all of that is the proper nutrition to support their muscles and their focus and their recovery. But really the Incredible Dog Challenge isn’t just about winning, it’s really about that bond between the dog and their handler, and every achievement is a team effort. When you take the great training, proper nutrition, and combine it with a healthy dose of love of the sport, any dog can be a champion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, in terms of the series, could you tell us about a couple of the different episodes? I was looking that you’ve got like putting on a show, running like fire, obstacles, etc. Can you tell us about a few of the different episodes people are going to see and maybe one of your favorite topics?
SPEAKER 05 :
Sure. Well, like all things, we’re not allowed to pick favorites. But I do, I love, I just really love the episodes because of the bond and the life-changing experiences that happen, both with rescue dogs that have overcome difficult paths to become champions, to, you know, like Amanda and her family that are building legacies all around being able to bond over the canine sports. And I think that is really important. The beauty of this story is Purina believes that people and pets are better together, and the Incredible Dog Challenge really highlights that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, Amanda, not everyone has the chickens, goats, ducks, horses, hedgehogs, tortoises, and lizards. And I thought, my husband jokes that I need, if I get one more pet, that I need a zoo permit. Hello. You do.
SPEAKER 01 :
So, Amanda, how can fans catch the excitement of the Incredible Dog Challenge and see Declan and Groot and all the other dogs compete?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, they can watch Declan and Groot on the Western Regionals of the Incredible Dog Challenge, which will air on NBC on Sunday, August 31st at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
SPEAKER 05 :
Excellent. And then, as a reminder, we launched a different breed on Prime Video, which is our new docuseries, so they can stream it there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Awesome. I’m going to check that out. Thank you so much. It was a lot of fun, guys.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
