The Comin’ Home Podcast with John Alan

U.S. Army Fitness Expert Shares With US: Episode 117 with my guest Major Donny Bigham (Ret.)

Military service, religious faith, mental fortitude, physical and mental strength are the keys to Major Donny Bigham's success over the past three decades. In this episode, I talk with him about our shared experiences as champion powerlifters, our brotherhood as United States Marines, his service in the Afghanistan and Iraq and how he has dealt with trauma. This is a great episode to listen to or watch if you are looking for motivation and inspiration. Also: check it out about halfway through the discussion when I tease Donny about his Vanilla Iciness.
Donny Bigham is a retired Major after 27 years of Service. He served as the first ever Strength and Conditioning Coach in the Uniform for the US Army, was instrumental in changing the US Army Physical Fitness test after almost 40 years to the Army Combat Fitness test, and led the effort designing the Occupational Performance Assessment Test (OPAT) for initial screening of potential recruits. He also designed the Tactical Athlete Performance Center at Fort Jackson and re-wrote the Master Fitness Trainer curriculum to ensure all Warriors are successful in all Tactical Tasks! Donny served as the Head Strength Coach for the Tactical Athlete Performance Center (TAP-C) and Chief of Human Performance office at Fort Benning, GA.
The TAP-C is the first ever Performance Center that trains over 600 Soldiers daily within a Combat Battalion that was designed under Major Bigham’s tenure. He also designed the Tactical Athlete Performance Assessment (TAP-A) at the Army Wellness Center to truly test baseline strength for the tactical athlete necessary to move under loads over 30% of their body weights.
Major Donny Bigham was the Army Male Athlete of the Year in 2016 and 2017 NSCA TSAC-F facilitator (Strength Coach) of the Year, and he is also a two-time raw world master’s powerlifting champion with the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and (IOC), had the Squat WR in the IPF and has the WR Squat, Deadlift and Total in the IPL. Major Bigham is a 4x national champion and a 5x member of Team USA Powerlifting.
He served in every position in an Infantry Rifle Company (Enlisted and Officer) and deployed to Bosnia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Yemen (45 months). Military Awards and Schools: Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault, Combat Infantry Badge and Expert infantryman Badge.
Here are some other areas where Major Donny Bigham has served outside of the uniform: Youth Pastor, Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, High School Teacher (Math & Science), Head Varsity Baseball Coach and Owner of OneTimePowerlifting L.L.C.
 
Check out the Major's Instagram page HERE. 
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Crypto Currency is Accessible: Episode 116 with my guest Inia James

How do you start investing/using crypto currency, NFT's and blockchain? The answer, is quite simply to just DECIDE TO GET STARTED. Of course, the process can be easier if you have guidance, and I think that this episode of The Comin' Home Podcast With John Alan shows why Inia James can be the one to help you and me get started. NFT technology is emerging as a way for artists and musicians to take control over their own artistic destiny, and it is what first got me interested in the subject of today's podcast episode. We talk about how Inia got started crypto currency, his successes and what his experiences can do for others who are looking to get started with crypto currency. We also brainstorm a discussion on how crypto currency and blockchain can be used to solve real world problems for real people.
Inia James is a filmmaker. He also teaches an introductory course for those who wish to begin with crypto currency and blockchain. You can find him all over social media at @IniaJames
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Episode 115 with my guest Lisa McEwen

Do you want to find success and personal growth? Follow a dream from Ontario, Canada to the country music scene of Nashville, and reach new heights in the process.
Well, there are several ways to extend oneself and grow in knowledge and life-relevant ability, but this is how country music singer and songwriter Lisa McEwen did it. Join me as she tells her quite adventurous story of traveling from her hometown in Canada to Nashville with a dream, confidence and good support from her family. Please listen to the end, and find out what this journey did for her. Publishing deal? Success? Lessons learned?
Much of what Lisa and I talk about can be relevant to not only musicians and songwriters, but also people outside of the music world. Lisa McEwen shares her story and her concept of "Music and Mindfulness", both of which parallell my thought process, my methods of training powerlifting, and meeting my goals in that sport. (Yet again I feel a sort of kinship with my guest!) There are many ways to realize inner peace and productivity, and Lisa and I compare our thoughts and ideas on that, as well as talk about the importance of and potential effects of meditation and/or prayer. The word POTENTIAL and its synonyms come up often during this podcast episode.
Today, Lisa continues to write and perform her music, and her latest single RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS can be found on Spotify HERE and at her music website HERE 
Lisa also offers a course which teaches you three steps to mindful songwriting. Check it out HERE. 
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Episode 114 with my guest Snoopy

Are you following the trial concerning the death of George Floyd? Many people all over the world are following this case, and Snoopy and I share a few thoughts. No matter where you stand on the case concerning the death of George Floyd, can we agree that nine minutes and twenty nine seconds is way too long for an officer to restrict a man's breathing?
It's been a tough and different kind of life these past thirteen months, and today Snoopy and I talk about the ways in which people have struggled in different ways over this difficult past year, and what the respective governments in the USA and Norway can and should do for their citizens. Is Norway really as good as the image that they portray? Is the USA as bad off as what people outside of the nation's borders think?
I always have the most fun with my podcast when I have Snoopy here as my guest. I had a great time doing this episode today, even though her Norwegian practicality make it very hard for me to make jokes at her expense. I tried. She did compliment me on my coolness as I rock a cowboy hat and the beginnings of a western goatee in the studio today. I wore it in tribute to Bass Reeves, the original and only true Lone Ranger. I also give a nod to American standup comedian Godfrey, who has created a very interesting black cowboy character and features that character regularly on his Instagram page. Read more on Bass Reeves here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Reeves
P.S. The original cowboys were black Americans. Yeehaw, y'all.
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Episode 113: with my guest Robert Gray

Is it difficult for a white American and a black American to have a conversation about race, and is it even more difficult when the conversation is about racism? Robert Gray and I prove during this podcast episode that it is, in fact, quite easy to have those conversations. Race and racism are two separate (but related) issues and discussions, which demand different approaches when being discussed or debated.
Does everyone in the USA have a little bit of a racist in their character? Robert and I touch on different aspects of the dialogue about race relations, as we share our thoughts on structural and institutional racism. Robert and I both agree and disagree on this issue, and we go in depth during one of the best discussion I have had in some time. Listen in and watch our interesting two-sided take on a few topics that occupy a lot of space in American news media and in American culture.
Robert Gray is the producer, director, writer and editor of the 2014 film MOBILE IN BLACK AND WHITE, which takes a look at the ways in which racism continues to pervade the structures and institutions of a supposedly post-racial world. This film stimulates the desire for dialogue, while expertly blending the insights and experiences of local residents and leading experts such as Peggy McIntosh, Michael Eric Dyson, John Powell, Tim Wise, and Bryan Stevenson. You can watch MOBILE IN BLACK AND WHITE here: https://mobileinblackandwhite.org/resources/
You can listen to #TheCominHomePodcastWithJohnAlan everywhere you find podcasts, and you can WATCH it on my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Z-vUvC-19oIYCZw-Sg4ew
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Episode 112: with my guest Thomas Erik Olsen

People who have been incarcerated are very few and far between, and those who have been incarcerated in both the USA and Norway are even fewer. Watch and listen as Thomas Erik Olsen tells me his story of dual citizenship (USA and Norway), issues with violence and temper control which led to his first incarceration in Florida, and on to his return to Norway and eventual incarceration and freedom in Norway.
His story ends with a positive turn of fortune and a new personal awareness for Thomas, and at the airing of this episode of #TheCominHomePodcastWithJohnAlan, he is in a good place (not in prison!). Please watch and/or listen to the end in order to hear how he is doing.
One of the reasons I produce The Comin’ Home Podcast With John Alan is to find hope and motivation for myself, in order to hopefully be stronger and in a better place from which I can help others. I also hope that you, my viewer and listener, can find inspiration, hope, or something that can enrich your life. It meant a lot for me to have Thomas Erik Olsen as my guest for this episode, and I think that comes across. There is a lot of inspiration in this conversation. Please check it out and enjoy it. Send it on to others who you think can benefit, and please give me some feedback through YouTube or at johnalanpod.com
You can listen to #TheCominHomePodcastWithJohnAlan everywhere you find podcasts, and you can WATCH it here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Z-vUvC-19oIYCZw-Sg4ew
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