The Power Transformation Podcast
The Power Transformation Podcast hosted by Alethea Felton, celebrates the resilience, determination, and hope of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and visionaries who have conquered adversity and various challenges to create meaningful lives.
With her own inspiring journey of living with autoimmune disease since birth (and now thriving), overcoming severe stuttering, and more, Alethea's authenticity adds depth to intimate conversations with her guests who have overcome extraordinary obstacles.
Alethea's heart-centered, introspective, and engaging style elevates this podcast into a movement that inspires listeners to embrace their inner strength, cultivate empowerment, and rise wiser, stronger, and more courageous to achieve their next level of success.
The Power Transformation Podcast
105. Supporting Veterans & First Responders Through Hope & Healing with John Seeley M.A.
In this compelling episode, multiple best-selling author, international speaker, actor, radio host, and life coach John Seeley M.A. takes us through his unexpected journey from the restaurant industry to becoming a trusted figure in psychology and self-help. John opens up about the multiple life transitions and obstacles that fueled his commitment to mental health especially for first responders and military personnel.
With compassion and drive, John unveils a new initiative to support these communities designed to manage stress, foster resilience, and reignite optimism. Join us as John explores the transformative power of resilience, strength, and adaptability while showing you how your life can be the vehicle to spread hope and healing to those around you.
Connect with John:
Episode 105's Affirmation:
I choose to believe in my ability to find a way forward even in the darkest moments.
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- Want to be a guest on The Power Transformation Podcast? Send Alethea Felton a message on PodMatch, here.
Hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of the Power Transformation Podcast. I am your host, alethea Felton, and I am so honored that you have joined me today. What a guest I have for you None other than John Seeley, m. And that MA stands for Master of Arts, and he is that and so much more, because he is a number one best-selling author, an international motivational speaker, a life coach, former radio host and so much more. He has been coined and called at one point the Dr Phil with soul, because he has a following that is global and he has definitely experienced so many challenges that could have easily caused the average person to just give up on life, but not John. John has chosen to turn those setbacks into powerful breakthroughs and I'm telling you y'all, his story could really be a movie.
Alethea Felton:I can't wait for you to really hear this interview, because John is just incredible. So we're going to go ahead and get started, and if you are new to this podcast, thank you so much for joining me today. And if you are a seasoned listener and have been with me since the beginning, I certainly am grateful for you and I appreciate you. Thank you so much for your support for the Power Transformation Podcast. We're going to dive right into this. We are going to begin with our affirmation. I will say the affirmation once and then you repeat it. I choose to believe in my ability to find a way forward even in the darkest moments. I am so pleased today to have John Seeley as my guest on the Power Transformation Podcast, and I might add, John Seeley M. A. I'm not going to forget his credentials, but, john, welcome to the Power Transformation Podcast.
John Seeley M.A. :Thanks, Alethea. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Alethea Felton:We're going to have a fabulous conversation and I always like to start with a fun, lighthearted icebreaker. And this is the icebreaker question for you, john If you could be any superhero, which superpower would that superhero have, and why?
John Seeley M.A. :Okay, I don't think there's a superhero that has a superpower, but I would love the ability to persuade people to change their lives in a positive way.
Alethea Felton:Interesting. Tell me more about that.
John Seeley M.A. :Well, that's kind of what I work on doing anyway, and I've been doing it for a lot of years. So my goal is to help people to change their lives and to let go of the things that don't work for them and to create new things that will be glorious for them. And a lot of times I run into either denial or just resistance, that they just find difficult to step out of their comfort zone to make the change that they really want, even though it does involve being uncomfortable initially.
Alethea Felton:Got you, yeah, and I think if more people had that type of a superpower, it would be life-changing. I think when I think of a superhero with a superpower, they're not live action superheroes, but I think of the old I think it was a Pixar film the Incredibles about how they were superheroes with superpowers. So that type of superpower that you would possess would be absolutely astonishing. And what I mean by that too, y'all, john, when I tell you this man has had the most incredible extraordinary life and experiences. And the cool part about you, john, you're just so chill and smooth with it, like, yeah, I went through it. He doesn't brag about it, he's not like, look what I've survived. You tend to just from the interaction that I've had with you, you just tend to take everything into stride, and I want to just kind of talk about that is that you are everything from a life coach to a published author. But if you could describe yourself in your own words, john, who would you say? John Seeley, ma is.
John Seeley M.A. :You know, I remember when I was doing job interviews and they'd say give us one word that could describe you, and I'd go result oriented. It's hyphenated to make it one word, you know, and that's the. That is really who I am. It's like I will make things happen. So, yeah, I've been handed lots of lemons and cause I've decided I wanted a life of adventure and and I never knew what that meant until adventure has lots of ups and downs as you go through hills and valleys, and I learned that the secret to life is to get up one more time than you fall down. So that's what I've learned to do.
John Seeley M.A. :And I've had people where I remember one time I had to move. That day I didn't know where I was going to move, wow. And I had someone, a friend of mine, that knew me well and said you always find a better place, it's perfect for you. And I did. And so, yeah, it's like I trust in being loved and supported on the large scale. And so when I'm facing adversity, I found that as long as I hold on to the faith that I'll get through it and I'll work it out somehow and I don't have to know how It'll come and it does. So that was really what saved me and what gave me the courage to continue to step out of my comfort zone, and sometimes the universe pushed me out, sometimes I stepped out. So either way, I got good at being out of the comfort zone, and so I'm comfortable being uncomfortable.
Alethea Felton:And I like that in terms of comfortable being uncomfortable, because once you're comfortable being uncomfortable, then that could actually be that catalyst which then takes you to that next level of getting unstuck. And on the theme of being unstuck, you've had such an incredible journey, filled with both personal and professional challenges. But, John, share with us let's just kind of go back some Share with us a pivotal or a life-changing moment when you realized that these experiences, as painful as they could be, were actually used as the fuel towards your purpose to help others getting unstuck.
John Seeley M.A. :Well, yeah, I've got a perfect example. One of the years I had, I went into the restaurant business and I actually have a degree in hotel restaurant management, and then I changed later to psychology, which I wish I would have went through the first time. But anyway, obviously there was meant to be some challenge in life to help me to learn. So here's one of my challenging years. So I was working for a restaurant that half of the restaurant chain got sold and so then they combined things and they didn't need a manager like me and so I got I terminated, we'll say so. Then I worked for another chain and the same thing happened and I got terminated. And so I thought, well, so I started looking around the country. I thought you know, this is my opportunity Again, I'm taking what the universe gives me. I'm saying let's look at opportunities. So I went to New York City one time and I went to take an interview that they loved me on paper and on the phone, and then they got me in front of them and they go oh my God, we can't hire you because you're only 26. And I go yeah, and they go we know, you know what we want you to teach, but we're going to be teaching people who are twice your age and they're not going to listen to you. So the job went away, anyway. So I traveled the country a lot looking for new possibilities, and my best friend was taking along because he was also unemployed for the moment. He got laid off from another company that was again changing what they were doing. So, again, no fault of our own, but we turned around Anyway. So I was interviewing for oh sorry, so in between.
John Seeley M.A. :So then I met this woman. I fell in love and I started working for her father, because he had a restaurant and he had a manager who was cheating him and stealing lots of stuff. And so he said I'll put you in as assistant so you can learn everything about it, and then I'll kick him out and then you'll take over, like okay. So I go in there and then too long a story to tell you what happened, long and short I was betrayed to my then fiance's father and he fired me. So that's the third time in a year. And uh. So I thought, well, I'll figure something out. So I started looking around, I was interviewing with some jobs, and then, unfortunately, during that time, my best friend who had been taking along with me, uh, everywhere. Uh, he committed suicide and I found him two days later and, uh, it was. The house was filled with gas. So had I sparked anything, the whole thing would have went up. Um, but anyway, that was the tipping point for me. That really took my world upside down. About a week later my dog died, but two weeks after that my fiance left me. Uh, it was just a series like that.
John Seeley M.A. :So it was during that year that I was thinking I actually wrote a song called Life's Not Fair and it's actually upbeat, but I was realizing something about life it isn't fair, but you can get through it anyway. It's like, as long as you know, yeah, life's going to throw you these curveballs, but you can find a way through it and come out even better, or what? In my case, it was slowly redirecting me out of the restaurant field and into psychology, because, because I had all that turmoil and then about 10 years later I had more, uh, I finally reached out and got professional help and and that really helped. And then I got just a fire inside of me to learn about the self-help field. I went to all these workshops. I read literally more than a thousand books, read five books a week on this and I couldn't get enough and I started helping other people because I was learning oh, you can do this, you can do that. And so I started teaching even though I was still learning, and I went back and got my master's degree in psychology and then I just started writing my own books and started doing my own workshops and I've been working with a lot of other people and I did podcasts. I started my own 25 years ago and so I had all the A-list people from the self-help field on. It was great, and so it was those things that I used as the tipping point to nudge me into that other direction that I didn't know I was meant to go to.
John Seeley M.A. :Like, I never thought I'd write books. I'm on my ninth book right now. I'm about to publish my tenth, and it's something that I came from the Midwest, so I came from a big small town and I lived in California for 25 years. So I changed my opportunities because I didn't know these other ones existed until I came out and saw, wow, look at these people, they've got this and you can do that. And oh, wow, look at that. And so it's like, even when I return now to the Midwest, my friends many who never moved more than 10 miles away from where they grew up they look at me like a strange being from another planet, because I chose to, like Columbus, to go searching the world and deciding. You know, you don't have to just stay and do the same thing that you thought you're going to do the whole life. So it's taking the lemons and making lemonade.
Alethea Felton:Yeah, but even hearing you say about how you never thought you would be a writer and do X, y and Z, you shared something with me offline about your upbringing that I thought was absolutely incredible, and I wanted to mention the fact that you mentioned to me that your mom was actually one of the first women in the army and your father actually lived to experience Pearl Harbor, and so if we could go back some in leading up to who you are now, john, what would you say? Or rather, how did your parents' resilience and legacy even shape the way that you view perseverance, and how does their influence affect the work that you actually have done over all these years?
John Seeley M.A. :You know, yeah, they didn't talk about their military service a lot, but obviously it had an effect on them. I mean, my mom was, like I said, one of the first women in in the army corps, women's army corps, wac whack yes, and um actually in combat.
John Seeley M.A. :I mean, she wasn't fighting at the front lines, she was actually working with the general and um, and that's what my father ended up doing and uh, that's how they met. But the is, that's a big thing. In World War Two, You're, you're like in northern Africa and then Italy after that, and so it's like, and we grew up you know, I was kind of poor when we started. We're living in government housing for the vets, as a matter of fact at the time, and I could see how they went through Um and uh, I could see how they they went through.
John Seeley M.A. :They both went through the great depression and um, my father's family was wealthy until the great depression and they lost everything, and so that that was a dramatic change for for him, and so I learned his resilience and my mom, again um, growing up in the Midwest, uh, young, uh, oldest of a lot of kids in the family, shall we say and um, and again she was leading the way, going into the military and three of her brothers went into the army. That in world war two they're all survived, Thank God, Um, but it was. It was one of those where you do what it takes to make it work, whatever it is. And that's kind of what I got from them that it's like we'll find a way, Like I never really felt that we were really less than anybody and I never felt that we were without things, even though we really were.
Alethea Felton:I just thought, okay, this is how life is and we'll work through it and we'll find a way to make it better, and that's what we all did find a way to make it better, and that's what we all did At any point on your journey, especially with the obstacles that you've experienced and gone through in any of your life experiences and your life transitions. Did you ever have a point where you said why me? Or were you more of the why not me in terms of why certain things were happening to you, and how did you learn to navigate through either the why me or why not me?
John Seeley M.A. :In my youth I was the why me. I felt like a victim. That one year, like I said, that really hit me hard and I had no skills at the time to deal with it. If I had my friend even hinted at me that he was suicidal and said, hey man, I'm feeling suicidal, I would have went, wow, bummer, I didn't know how to do anything. Wow, bummer, you know, I didn't know how to do anything.
John Seeley M.A. :I actually have written articles since then that have appeared in national publications that are literally here's five things to do if you're feeling suicidal, or here's five things to do if your friend's feeling suicidal, or here's what to do if you're left behind. And so in the initial stages I was like you know, look at all this happening, why is this happening to me? And I certainly can look back now and go well, of course it was happening so that you could understand what it's like to go through that kind of stuff, because I got news for you as a counselor if you're counseling someone and you really have never experienced what they've experienced, it's even though you might have been trained to quote, understand certain things. Unless you really have experienced it, it's not the same and they don't necessarily connect with you if you haven't. Well, I've gone through so much that the people that are attracted to my working is the kind that I can literally look back and say that was me 30, 40 years ago, whatever it might be, and it's because I can understand what they're going through.
John Seeley M.A. :In fact, I wrote a book recently called Second Chances, where I almost died because now I was trying to explain what it's like to have PTSD. When you almost died. And again, from probably 35 years ago on, I took full responsibility for my life as a learning experience that I needed to have, and so I never felt the why me ever again, and I just looked at it like okay, it's more like what can I learn from this and how can I make this something I can help others with. And so that's where I shifted what it was all about, because I even wrote a chapter in my first book where I talked about being a victim, and a victim is where you're powerless because you're not accepting your power. You have power but you're giving it all away by saying I'm a victim. So if you instead say I am choosing how I'm responding to life circumstances, that's powerful, how I'm responding to life circumstances.
Alethea Felton:That's powerful. How did you decide, or when was that aha moment, when you did decide to say, yes, I might be coaching people, counseling people even. But what made you take that leap to say I want to go ahead and start writing books that can help people navigate through this? What is the power of putting pen to paper and writing books to get your word out there when it comes to trauma, resilience and hope?
John Seeley M.A. :You know I had gone through so many things. The last time I was fired, I was actually happy. I was actually my bosses were the ones that were sad because it was someone in another company that had just, they just bought our company and they go get rid of him Because I, I upset their little vice president who was I was saying your policy sucks anyway. So. So they were the ones crying I'm going no, no, don't worry about it. This just means I'm here, I'm meant to do something else. And that's literally when I said you know what? I'm going to write a book. And that was my first one. And I did, and it was like giving me the opportunity because I didn't have to work to do it. So I thought okay, and I started writing because I thought, you know, I've learned so much that I in fact, it was literally the day after I graduated with my master's degree. So that's why I could clearly say I know I'm being let go because I have my new skill now and I got credentials and I can do this other stuff, which is, I know stuff that other people don't know. I can help them. So I thought I want to reach more people. How can I do that and that's why I thought I'd write books.
John Seeley M.A. :I ended up having my email list 122,000 plus in 44 countries around the world, and so I know I had an effect and I'm hopefully still having an effect because we still sell books around the world Because I really want to.
John Seeley M.A. :You know, I've studied for decades why I know most people will never do what I've done and hopefully not have to have, in a way that allowed me to gain wisdom that I could share with people, and my particular skill was to try to take that information and make it easy to understand and easy to use, which, for me, was the challenge, because sometimes I read somebody else's book and it took me to read it four times to get what they're saying and I go like I'm pretty smart, I didn't get it the first time. So I wanted to make sure, when I write a book, it's easy for you to understand and grasp the concept so that you can actually use it and make it try to be usable for someone, so that when I'm making a point, I don't tell you all the different details of why it's working. You don't need to know the psychology behind it.
Alethea Felton:You just need to know you do that and it works, and then your life will be better and they go. Okay, that's what I want. Yeah, exactly, and, and I like what you mean by that because, with your experiences, so, so y'all, let me put this into some context. Okay, john has had over 50 careers yes, you heard me right, over 50. Moved frequently. Okay, lost his business during the recession. Near-death experience has lost 12 friends, sadly, to suicide, and on and on and on. And you mentioned the book Second Chances and of course we'll talk about some of the other projects, but in your book Second Chances you talk about life detouring us and the power of starting again. So at the point, john, where you may have felt totally defeated or so much was just happening to you and thrown, what kind of internal talk did you give to yourself to say I'm not going to let life circumstances defeat me and I believe that a second chance is possible for me?
John Seeley M.A. :That's a lot. Yeah, it's funny when I hear because, as you get older yeah, it's funny when I hear because as you get older, unfortunately my hair is no longer quite the dark brown it used to be you look back on your life in a different way and even I sometimes am amazed what I went through and how I got through it. And part of it was because, again, I had that trust that I can figure out a way, I can find a way out. We can figure out a way, I can find a way out. We can figure it. In fact, the first chapter in my first book was called there's a Way Out, because the people who commit suicide are the ones that don't think there is a way out.
John Seeley M.A. :And again, having gone through these different things and yeah, you're right, 50 careers, I really did it's like it's been an adventure and I looked at life that way most of my life, like I like adventure and I somehow I think part of it is I grew up in a kind of a chaotic world. I mean, back in the day we had a duck and cover under our desk to protect ourselves from an atom bomb. Yeah right, that's going to help. But it gave us solace, thinking, oh, we're protected, even though it would be, you know, kissing goodbye. So you know, I think, growing up with a world that changed so dramatically, our president was assassinated. I mean, I knew Kennedy was when I was four and a half years old, because when my mom was going to vote she took me with her I was the youngest and she's at the school getting ready to vote and I looked up at her I said are you voting for Kennedy, mom? And so I actually knew who Kennedy was when I was little.
John Seeley M.A. :And so when he died, it really was it affected me as well. And so I think growing up in a chaotic world where you learn to like that's how the world is and we'll figure a way through it, and then we do so. I think that's part of what it was that gave me an ability. And, like I said, yeah, you know, 12 of my friends unfortunately have, you know, left their the world by their choice, and so I'm in a different place in the way I look at it, because I do believe in an afterlife and I believe that they chose like I can't take this world anymore and I'll go to the next one and we'll see what happens. I don't advise that, but I certainly understand it now. But that's the point. It's like I've learned skills now to help people to cope with whatever it is that comes up in this world and challenges them so that they can make it better and therefore their life will get better. But they have to have that belief that it can, and sometimes I've talked to clients where they didn't have the belief. I said but do you trust me, do you believe in me? And they go yeah, I said okay, I believe in you. So you have to understand. I have the belief in you that you don't have, but you trust me. So therefore you can trust that there's something there for you. Yet and that's what breaks the tie with them. They're like okay, if he believes in me, I'll. I'll try one more time and then I give them some steps that walk them through it to to get them out of the deep hole that they're in.
John Seeley M.A. :It reminds me of the little story where a guy walks down the street and he falls in a hole and this is not mine, by the way, I just quoted it, but anyway falls in a hole it's too deep to get out of. So a doctor's walking by. He says, hey, doc, I'm down this hole, can you help me out? And the doctor writes him a prescription and sends it down the hole and moves on. Pretty soon a priest is walking by. He says, hey, father, I'm down this hole, can you help me out? Priest writes a prayer, sends it down the hole, walks on. He's like, oh man.
John Seeley M.A. :So his friend comes walking by. He says, hey, joe, I'm down this hole, can you help me out. And then the guy jumps in the hole with him. He says what are you doing? Are you stupid. He says, no, I've been down this hole before I know the way out. That's the point. I'm the one now that's been down the hole before I know the way out. So I offer that to people to understand there's always a way out. But sometimes you can't see it because you're still in the picture that you're looking at and you can't step back from the lens and look at it from an objective position where somebody else can and say, oh, I see what's going on. And of course, having the skills as a guide really makes a difference, because there can be other people who have jumped on the whole, didn't know the way out. Doesn't help much.
Alethea Felton:That's true. That's true, and I think that the fact of a person knowing that someone believes in them can really go far, because I know what it's like to be in such a dark place in space, where sometimes you can't see the forest from the trees, as they say, and I only looked at my situation in that temporary moment and I could have ended it all that temporary moment and I could have ended it all. This was some years years ago. I was engaged and it was a really bad breakup engagement and then lies were spread and it was just a mess and I didn't think that there was any way out of it. But to know that it happened to be my sister in that case that called me just at the right time, the right moment or in an instant, it could have been over.
Alethea Felton:And I think so many people experience things similar to that in nature, where our problems seem to just consume us, where we don't know how things are going to go by, and especially when a person is in their 20s. I know I was in my early 20s then and life was just kind of beginning. But now, with me being in my 40s versus my 20s, I'm a different person in a lot of ways, and so the fact that you are so strategic, compassionate, everything about giving people hope, leads me to think about even your connection with veterans and first responders. You have a special area right now where you actually target them. You have a special area right now where you actually target them, and I want you to kind of share with us a little bit about where that passion for veterans and first responders come from, as well as what is working with those groups taught you about overcoming trauma and how can some lessons that you've learned from them be applied to anyone dealing with overwhelming circumstances.
John Seeley M.A. :Well, that's a long story, but well, let's say again, both my parents were veterans, my brother a veteran, my cousins veterans. I was nearly in the Vietnam War myself, in the Vietnam war myself and, um, and unfortunately, like I said I was I was helped to understand what suicide was and what to do about it. And with the rate of suicides in veterans being more than 22 a day, that means that more of them lost their lives to suicide than actually in the war or the wars in the Middle East, which is terrible. And it's because they're not given the skills or the training to deal with that. And even though I have not experienced the war firsthand, I've experienced trauma firsthand. I've had PTSD twice and it is something that, left unchecked, can lead you down a dark path. And having been on the path and luckily gotten through it and found my way out, I wanted to make sure that others way out, I wanted to make sure that others would have an idea that you can change what you're feeling, you can heal that issue. I actually worked as a drug counselor where we were using hallucinogenic drugs that would literally reset your dopamine receptors in your brain back to zero. So, because a lot of trauma begets other diseases, including addictions, and they've actually been studying this now at Harvard and Stanford, because the drug companies don't want you to know this, because this actually can heal you literally in less than a week where you can let go of trauma you might've had for decades. And there's there's. It's a lot more complex than I'm going to make it, but the idea is there's possibilities to heal those issues and there's all different ways that most people don't know about because it's not in the news and actually there's only a couple of countries in the world, us being one of them that is actually prevented using hallucinogenic drugs to help people. They actually were experimenting in the 60s with it and then the counterculture said oh, this is fun, let's grab that. And they didn't like the counterculture so they shut it off. They said we're not going to do that anymore, so they stopped doing the research, which would have helped a lot of the veterans from then on.
John Seeley M.A. :So my point is I've studied a lot about this and, having gone through a number of my own issues, I've learned the steps you can take. The first responders are some of the ones that I encountered more recently when I almost died, literally was minutes away from dying, was turning blue because I was being suffocated, and so I saw what they did for me. And that's just a small amount, and there must have been 75 people at least that I encountered in the three weeks I was in the hospital. That's a minimum. And then you look at the police and the paramedics and the nurses and all the people who deal with people who are going through these life and death issues, and it takes a toll on them. So these are the first responders, the firemen, the policemen, all those people. They get such a traumatic view of life that they have to absorb and reflect off to maintain a balance. And so, using the skills that I learned I think is something I want to impart to them to help them to cope, so that they can continue to do that work and help others, because it's essential that we have people that we can turn to in these times that are literally emergencies, to save our lives, and we want to save theirs as well, and we want to save the people who protect us in the military, and the problem is in the military. They offer, you know, psychiatric services, but if you go check in a lot of times, that kills your career. You're never going anywhere anymore because you, you had to go. That, which is wrong. Those people that go for the service are the ones that are gonna be healthy and therefore they're gonna be the ones that you wanna keep around, because they're the ones that know what's going on. And the other ones that are not getting treated, that's the ones that are not the ones that's healthy for the whole service. So I wanna help everyone through that, because the more I help those people, the more the rest of the people in the world, by the way, they, can benefit from the same education I'm trying to give these people.
John Seeley M.A. :And, by the way, what we're doing is we're doing a veterans and first responders book drive, and so what we're doing is we want to give these books free to the veterans, first responders and their families, and that way they can get some, because through the books I mean, I made them like little workbooks they can actually do some of this work on their own. It's really helpful if you get help, but at least you can start with this. That can help you get down the path of using these tools to let go of some of the trauma, and then maybe you'll feel good enough that you can then reach out for professional help if you need it, but we're getting corporate sponsors to cover the costs so that we can then give the books free to all these people. And there's 2 million veterans in the US alone, much less around the world. And then also, if you take into account all the first responders, that's even a larger number, and then if you think about all their families and how all their families are affected, that's an even bigger number.
John Seeley M.A. :So there's a real need for this, and so one of the books that I have is called Get Unstuck Now the Simple Guide to Restart your Life. That one is actually well, I actually have a copy, somewhat somewhat of a copy right there, anyway and the idea is that's like a little workbook that you just follow the steps. I tell people. Read the whole thing through the first time, come back the second time. Read it again, but this time there's questions at the end of each chapter. Second time, read it again, but this time there's questions at the end of each chapter.
John Seeley M.A. :Answer the questions the second time, not the first time, because the first time you can get stuck, and I want you to go through the whole book first so you know what it's about, then go back, then the second time you're through, you read and answer the questions. The questions will be saying, basically, how does what I just taught you affect your life? And that's where the rubber meets the road. That's where people can actually say oh you know, when I learned about keeping your word, I realized I had been breaking my word to myself more than anybody else, and I'm going to change that and here's what I'm going to do. So things like that. It's like I made it effective. I wrote one for kids, so it's for the family to give the kids the same skills so they don't have to deal with things as they encounter them, including, don't forget, if a person as an adult doesn't deal with their emotional things, their challenges, the kids will get them. That's how it works.
John Seeley M.A. :That's why so many people are screwed up because they get it without even trying, even without their own trauma.
John Seeley M.A. :They inherit somebody's previous trauma, and so this will help the kids, because there's actually a story involved in each chapter and it's meant to be read with an adult, whether it's a teacher or a parent, so that the child can experience the concept of the chapter in a story form where there are children experiencing whatever I'm trying to teach, so they can see it, because it's kids going through and learning that lesson in the story.
John Seeley M.A. :And then they go, oh.
John Seeley M.A. :And so one of the questions at the end of the chapter in that case would be, as the adult, tell the child how you learned that lesson in your life, and some will go I just learned it with you, and others will go you know, when I was your age, here's what happened and how many of us could benefit from having our parents tell us how they were vulnerable, how they went through some challenging time, so we would understand oh, then you know, parents are, are real people and they had, they had to learn through struggling too, and so it really empowers the child and really gives a powerful connection with the adult and the child.
John Seeley M.A. :So that's part of what I wanted to create with that, because I think we got to start young with people. We give them some skills and so that they they can face adversity and get what I learned through much adversity before they get to that and therefore change their whole lives and the whole path that they're going to be on and that's so critical because it helps to break generational patterns, generational curses, things that have plagued families for many years and they don't have to as long as we heal.
Alethea Felton:Even when you mentioned the whole trauma piece, I've actually read articles and I know you would know this being in the field about how there is scientific data that certain trauma is even carried in the womb to the child.
Alethea Felton:And that is absolutely incredible is that we're born with a certain level, or we can be born with a certain level of trauma. Now, in terms of this book drive, this is an absolutely amazing thing that you're doing and it's going to really help a lot of lives. But how can we, as the public, what can we do to help support this drive? How do we get involved?
John Seeley M.A. :Well, you can share it. Right now we've got a website up it's called Blue Moon Wonders, with an S dot com that will give you a little information about me and the books that we're using. Actually, I've got two new books that we'll be adding to that, and I even have a book in Spanish for those people who their first language might be Spanish or their families is on how to again deal with the same issues but understand it through. Their first language might be Spanish or their families is on how to again deal with the same issues but understand it through their own language. And we're actually updating the kids book too, and so you can go there and there's a link there. You can make a donation.
John Seeley M.A. :We're going to actually we're working with several different charities for veterans and first responders and we're going to be growing this, hopefully, large. So if you are affiliated with any of those groups, you could contact me. You can send me an email at john at bluemoonwonderscom and we can connect and we'll find ways, because we want to know where we can donate the books to people for their services, for, also for their groups. Everyone that we've approached loves them and I've sent them, by the way, that I did write an article called Hope, which is a suicide prevention article that literally says here's five things you can do if you're feeling suicidal, here's five things to do if your friend is feeling suicidal, and here's what to do if you're left behind. And so we give that away free, and so they love that and they love the way that it's presented because, again, it's meant to be easy to understand and therefore simple to use. So the idea is that's how I write those books is I want to help people by giving them the information they need, without all the extra background that they don't need, and something that they can prove useful.
John Seeley M.A. :So we're looking for more veterans and first responders groups that want to participate. We're putting together, actually, a big book drive. Veterans Day is coming up, although by the time they hear this it might have passed, but there'll be another one coming up, and again because the need is ongoing, and so we'll be taking the donations, whatever, whether it's private or corporate, and also, if there are veterans or first responders groups that want to participate with us, we'd like them to contact us and we want to set that up. Them to contact us and we want to set that up, and the more we can reach. Just getting the word out, because ideally we'd like the government to participate, to allow us to do more for the military and the first responders. I like we've got hurricanes that are coming in and think about all the trauma, all that they're experiencing, because the first responders are in the path of you know, the hurricanes and they're also helping, helping to help.
John Seeley M.A. :Sometimes they help and then they come back and they've got no house. So you know, I've had a friend of mine literally that's what happened with the first hurricane. She's a coach and a helper and she was out there helping and she came back and her house had been washed away. So we're trying to help everybody and give them the tools that can help them change their lives and accept the adversity that life might give them and turn it into something that's positive and help them to move forward in a really positive way.
John Seeley M.A. :So, whatever, if you've got a corporation that you have got a contact with that you think might want to support us, great, give us that contact information. So again, john at blue moon wonderscom and blue moon wonderscom for just some general information on it, and we'll be updating that very information. So again, john at bluemoonwonderscom and bluemoonwonderscom for just some general information on it, and we'll be updating that very soon. So that's what we're really looking for. We're looking for people to understand the need and to connect us with the right groups and any other financial corporate support, whatever you've got, we would love it.
Alethea Felton:Exactly, and I am, as I told you offline in our pre-screening interviews, that I do have some contacts, specifically in the military, more so in the Marine. Of course, I know other people as well. As we come to a close here with the interview, I was intentional with that icebreaker question. I try not to do something that kind of connects but I was intentional about the superhero, superpower aspect of it, because although you're human and you're a man, it's not like you're a god or something like that. My point is this is that the work you are doing doing is extraordinarily powerful and although you might not necessarily be a hero in the fantastical aspects of it, you certainly, john, have superhero qualities with the fact that you've come through such things in your life that could really break and destroy a person, but instead of that, you have literally risen like a phoenix from the ashes time and time and time again. You is, if you can think on your life, from where you were and who you are now what have you learned the most about yourself?
John Seeley M.A. :that has been the most surprising to you? That's a good question. I think it really has been my ability to, um, to step into the unknown. Uh, I've done that so many times and, um, as I think back 40 years ago, whatever, I could not imagine my life to be what it's been. I couldn't have guessed the path that, uh, that it offered me, and the fact that, um, I looked at life as dancing, that, um, I don't know if you about you, but I've been on crowded dance floors and, uh, and, and I really like to dance, so I like to, you know, make some moves, and so I learned how to get around with all the other people on the floor and still dance and and enjoy the concept of, of dance itself, and that's what you do with life. It's like if you, if you learn how to dance around the issues that come up and and so, okay, you bump into that issue, all right, well, then you move around in this other direction. So, okay, you bump into that issue, all right, well, then you move around in this other direction, you do that. So that's been what it's. It taught me to keep dancing and to just bounce off whatever the obstacles are and do it in, hopefully, a joy-filled way.
John Seeley M.A. :It's not always easy, but if you remember, like I've told people time and time again, like I lived in LA for seven years and if you've been in LA traffic, chances are you're going to be in a place where you're not a happy person. And so anytime that happened with me and then when I told clients, I said, if you're in that situation, I want you to stop and think name three things you're grateful for. And the reason is you can't be mad and grateful at the same time. That's true. And so all of a sudden it shifts who you are. It shifts who you're being at the moment. And then that changes the whole situation. Like, yeah, you're in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It's going to take you two hours to get you know from Santa Monica downtown. That's how it is. And like, okay, so now I'm no longer upset that that's how it is. I'm like thinking, you know, I'm grateful that I had such a beautiful day, I'm grateful that I have great friends, I'm grateful that I'm still safe and happy, and you know things like that and you know I remember I started this gratitude thing years and years ago where it was like sometimes I go, I'm grateful I had something to eat today.
John Seeley M.A. :It was like sometimes I go, I'm grateful I had something to eat today. I'm grateful it didn't rain today. I'm grateful that I'm still alive, you know, I mean I had to start with the simple things but I worked up to the bigger things, which I still do even today, because gratitude is one of the. That's another chapter in the book, but gratitude is another way of creating new things in your life. But you have to start by being grateful for what you have and no matter how little that might be, believe it or not by comparison to what the rest of the world is. Most people are like 98% better than everybody else on the planet. We're doing well. So once you get to that place of gratitude, it shifts your whole attitude about how life is and life gets better.
Alethea Felton:Indeed. And so for my last question, john in what ways do you show gratitude each day along your life journey?
John Seeley M.A. :It starts with a thank you when I wake up. Just that, you know, because literally less than three years ago I was minutes away from death, literally, I was literally blue, and when I staggered into the ER they literally yelled out code blue and six people came running and threw me on a gurney. So the fact that I can wake up and be healthy, I'm grateful. So immediately there's that. I'm grateful for opportunity, which for me is like every day is a new day with new possibilities, and I don't limit what the possibilities are anymore because I've had so many amazing things happen. There's another chapter called miracles happen every day. They do. It's just you have to be open to them and you have to be looking for them. And they may not look like what you think, like it's not me walking on water, but it's me like, all of a sudden, I need something to happen and it happens. I'm like, wow, I like the odds were not with me on that and yet it did. And I've done that with clients many times where I said, look, I believe this possibility, even if you don't just be open because you believe in me, just believe that it's possible because of that, and they go okay, and then it happens for them. They go wow, I didn't think it could happen, but I believed in you and it worked and like okay. So to me, that's how you demonstrate gratitude is by being grateful for whatever it is.
John Seeley M.A. :And I still do this, even if I play a sport called pickleball and even if I go like I'm so grateful that I get to play pickleball, because, seriously, when I'm playing pickleball, I'm not worried about anything else, because all I'm thinking about is pickleball. That's one of the benefits that you get. And so, having those kind of moments in your life where you can let go of everything else and enjoy just the joy of being alive, that is a real profound thing. And a lot of people you know you're going through terrible stressful circumstances, but as I deal with people and I help them to reduce that stress level and I help them to understand that they're focusing on the negative rather than the positive, that's what's creating more negative. You get whatever you focus on. So my focus has been, regardless of what happens to me, that I focus on the positive. How can I make this work? How can I be positive? What's positive? What can I learn from this? And with that comes a whole different outcome of what's going to happen.
Alethea Felton:And I am grateful for you. I think that is icing on the cake. I am so grateful for the work that you're doing. I'm going to have all of your links so that people can support the drive, purchase your books, get in contact with you. But I am just grateful for your spirit, for how you continue to show up every day, just not for yourself, but for so many others. And I am so glad that we were connected because you truly and I mean this I've gone through some things in my life but you inspire me, thank you.
John Seeley M.A. :Great to be here.
Alethea Felton:If you enjoyed today's show, then you don't want to miss an episode, so follow the Power Transformation podcast on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you usually listen, and remember to rate and review. I also invite you to connect with me on social media at Alethea Felton. That's at A-L-E-T-H-E-A-F-E-L-T-O-N. Until next time, remember to be good to yourself and to others.
