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The Happiness Quotient

Health & Wellness Podcasts

Adventurer, filmmaker, public speaker and personal coach Thom Dharma Pollard delivers inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire. Guests include musicians, authors, artists, adventurers & influencers alike all discuss their craft while tackling the Big Questions about life's meaning, spiritual inquiry, happiness and self-fulfillment. World class adventurers and NY Times Best-selling authors, leaders in the entertainment industry, musicians, even Jungian psychologists share insights about living a meaningful life and how they've made their intentions a reality by following the core passion of their hearts. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us.

Adventurer, filmmaker, public speaker and personal coach Thom Dharma Pollard delivers inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire. Guests include musicians, authors, artists, adventurers & influencers alike all discuss their craft while tackling the Big Questions about life's meaning, spiritual inquiry, happiness and self-fulfillment. World class adventurers and NY Times Best-selling authors, leaders in the entertainment industry, musicians, even Jungian psychologists share insights about living a meaningful life and how they've made their intentions a reality by following the core passion of their hearts. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us.

Location:

United States

Description:

Adventurer, filmmaker, public speaker and personal coach Thom Dharma Pollard delivers inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire. Guests include musicians, authors, artists, adventurers & influencers alike all discuss their craft while tackling the Big Questions about life's meaning, spiritual inquiry, happiness and self-fulfillment. World class adventurers and NY Times Best-selling authors, leaders in the entertainment industry, musicians, even Jungian psychologists share insights about living a meaningful life and how they've made their intentions a reality by following the core passion of their hearts. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us.

Language:

English

Contact:

603-733-6184

Episodes

#93 - Laura Dekker, at Age 16 Became Youngest Ever to Solo Circumnavigate the Globe

9/16/2021
Can you imagine achieving at the age of 16 what other dream their entire lives of doing and even then never take the first step toward embarking on the journey of their dreams? Our remarkable guest today knew from a very early age that she wanted to sail around the world, alone...in her own boat. It appeared as if everyone in her sphere were conspiring against her, to dash her dreams….well, I should say that her parents were very supportive, and encouraged her to put her thoughts into...

Duration:00:30:08

#92 - Peter Hackett - World Authority on Altitude Sickness & the Doctor of the Death Zone

8/25/2021
Do you think you have what it takes to climb Mount Everest? Did you ever think about what it might be like, and if you did it, would you kill a bunch of brain cells and come home…..different? Or, maybe not at all….? Fact is, today’s guest feels that a person of moderate physical capacity could take on The Big E given the right conditions, with the use of bottled oxygen.... He also says to climb Everest it really helps to have been born with what he calls The Stupid Gene...the quality of...

Duration:00:36:35

#91 - Shrink Wrap for Crap: Diana Yousef CEO and Founder of change:WATER Labs

8/2/2021
It never ceases to amaze me in the way people are brought into your life - today’s guest I discovered when I began researching the garbage and human waste problem on Mount Everest and the KHUMBU region of Nepal - In Episode #90 and in a recent streaming event about the garbage and human waste problem on Everest I discussed how Everest has been referred to as the HIGHEST GARBAGE DUMP ON THE PLANET. Among the many guests on the program I spoke with entrepreneur and businesswoman Diana Yousef...

Duration:00:39:26

#90 - Mount Everest is a Mess! An Investigation Into The Garbage and Human Waste Problem on Everest (PS, It's Getting Fixed)

7/23/2021
I recently hosted a live streaming event for the Musa Masala organization, who in their multiple capacities of forwarding safe and ethical mountain travel are raising money for the Wongchu Memorial Hospital….a good cause indeed. Our event talked about the garbage and human waste problem on Everest and the KHUMBU region - if you look for episode #87 of this podcast you’ll remember my interview with Peter Hillary about the current situation on Everest….he gives us a good picture of the Khumbu...

Duration:00:45:11

#89 - Chris Carter LIVE From the Continental Divide Trail and the Adventures of Jim and Tim (His Feet!)

7/9/2021
Today we welcome back our inspiring and intrepid Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hiker and filmmaker, CHRIS CARTER, who I caught up with on a LIVE Instagram session on July 9, 2021….where he was camping in Jackson, Montana….(population of about 111)…. The first time I spoke with Chris was in Episode 67 to talk about his beautiful and moving documentary about his Pacific Crest Trail through hike called TO MEASURE A MILE… At that time Chris was in the nascent stages of planning a double thru hike...

Duration:00:46:16

#88 - Art Crime Professor Erin Thompson on Smashing Statues, Guantanamo and Michelangelo (the World's Greatest Art Forger?)

7/2/2021
Episode #88 on The Happiness Quotient: America’s only full-time professor of art crime. Erin Thompson studies a variety of relations between art and crime, including the looting of antiquities, museum theft, art made by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and the legalities and ethics of digital reproductions of cultural heritage. Erin Thompson has discussed these topics for the New York Times, CNN, NPR, and the Freakonomics podcast, among many others...and coming up next on The Happiness...

Duration:00:49:27

#87 - Peter Hillary, Son of Sir Edmund - What's Wrong With Everest

6/25/2021
Today, a special guest, Peter Hillary, son of the first man to ever climb Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary,…..Peter himself has climbed Everest twice. In addition to being an accomplished mountaineer Peter is a speaker, and he raises funds for Himalayan Foundations around the world.... Together with his sister Sarah Hillary, they manage the intellectual property of the Ed Hillary estate. I can almost guarantee you know someone named after his dad... During a recent conversation, Peter and...

Duration:00:33:02

#86 - Renan Ozturk, Modern Day Renaissance Man on Everest, Creativity and Nutrition, an Instagram LIVE Event

6/18/2021
Greetings to you all - this is a special edition of the HQ. In April I had the honor of doing an Instagram Live event with my old friend Renan Ozturk to talk about Everest, creativity, filmmaking and, yup, nutrition in the mountains. I mean, we’re talking to a guy who used to sustain on candy bars and Ramen and coffee at altitude. The event was hosted by one of our 2019 Sandy Irvine Search Expedition sponsors, Good To-Go foods, the ultimate in dehydrated backpacking food. THANK YOU TO THE...

Duration:00:41:09

#85 - John Branch, Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist and His New Book, Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life From the Back Roads of Sports

6/15/2021
TODAY I HAVE A GUEST OF UNIMAGINABLE INSIGHT AND TALENT WITH US, THE PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST REPORTER, JOHN BRANCH OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TO TALK ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports In 2017 I received a request from today’s guest, whom I’d never met before, but as you’ll find out in the interview, I was well familiar with his work, John Branch, a NY Times sports reporter - not your traditional sports, but rock climbing, skiing,...

Duration:00:38:39

#84 - Oliver Wood Always Smilin' - New Solo Album Release and Music Extravaganza

6/8/2021
This episode has a transcript for hearing impaired. COVID19 wasn’t all bad. A ton of musicians and recording artists invested themselves in projects that they wouldn’t normally have been able to do if they were on tour. On Tour is where the Wood Bros find themselves for much of the year, at least pre-covid. Back in September of 2020 I talked with Oliver where he was at his home in Nashville, The Wood Brothers tour had been effectively shut down and, I learned later, that in addition to...

Duration:00:39:23

#83 - Jamie McGuinness, On Being a Sherpa and the David Sharp Story on Everest

6/1/2021
Episode #83 is an amazing story of Mount Everest with six time summiter and the climber leader of our 2019 expedition to search for the body of Sandy Irvine, New Zealand's Jamie McGuinness. The original intent of my interview with Jamie was to talk about the expedition of ours in 2019, which has since become a National Geographic film called Lost on Everest and is the subject of a book by NY times bestselling author Mark Synnott called THE THIRD POLE, MYSTERY OBSESSION AND DEATH ON MOUNT...

Duration:00:51:50

#82 - Mount Everest 2021 Debrief with 2-Time Summiter Andy Politz From Kathmandu

5/28/2021
Andy Politz has climbed Everest, again, thirty years after his first ascent. At age 61, Andy first climbed the mountain in 1991. I reached Andy in Kathmandu, where he is currently before catching his flight home. This debrief from Kathmandu is an inspiring interview who describes some of the challenges he encountered on summit day with a malfunctioning oxygen mask. ========= For more information about Thom Dharma Pollard: http://eyesopenproductions.com/ For a free downloadable copy of A...

Duration:00:41:18

#81 - Dream Time: Aboriginal Musician Is Ambassador for Culture and Music of His People

5/19/2021
The didgeridoo, the long wooden musical instrument dating back 10,000 years or more, are commonly and rightfully associated with the aboriginal culture. Today I’m going to introduce you to an ambassador of the Aboriginal culture, a fascinating man with a deep and learned understanding of his culture and also of the didgeridoo and the art and dance that goes with it. I first met didgeridoo musician George Dow at Sydney Bay, Australia, at the Circular Quay. My Friend Rod McCurdy and I were...

Duration:00:29:08

#80 - Everest Update: Andy Politz Is Now Leaving for the Summit, 30 Years After He First Climbed It

5/14/2021
Thirty years after he successfully summited Mount Everest from the north side, Port Townsend, WA resident Andy Politz is leaving Base Camp AT THE TIME OF THIS POSTING for his second ascent. Age 61, Politz' first expedition to Everest was on the West Ridge in 1985. During that season was the very first guided expedition in the history of Everest. Today, Andy reports seeing 1,000 or more tents. And, whereas perhaps one fixed wing aircraft flew by for a sightseeing tour, today alone Andy...

Duration:00:24:18

#79 - David Vobora, Growth Producing Fear Encounters at the Adaptive Training Foundation

5/10/2021
"The only disability is a bad mindset," says former NFL linebacker David Vobora, who went from the TOP OF HIS GAME, to the agony of defeat and addiction, and in so doing, discovered his true calling. David was picked LAST in the NFL draft of 2008...which earns the dubious moniker of MR IRRELEVANT. This is anything but a football story, and how wrong the Mr. Irrelevant tag was...for a person who has gone on to help countless broken veterans who’ve returned from the war, emotionally broken,...

Duration:00:50:47

#78 - The Energy of Author & Poet Elisabeth Sharp McKetta: Writing For Your Life

5/3/2021
ELISABETH SHARP MCKETTA is a storyteller and the author of eight books: INCLUDING Fear of the Deep (2016) and Fear of the Beast (2019), both collaborations with artist Troy Passey; the biography Energy: The Life of John J. McKetta, Jr. (2017), a true story of a coal miner–and my grandfather!–who set out to change how America uses energy; and a children’s book titled We Live in Boise (2019). SHE DID A TEDX TALK CALLED “Edit your life like a poem.” projects in the works include the anthology...

Duration:00:56:47

#77 - Jake Norton - Higher Than Everest: Solving The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine

4/19/2021
The man with more boots-on-the-ground experience searching in the Death Zone for clues to the Mystery of Mallory & Irvine, Jake Norton, is our guest today. Jake was 25 when we first met on Mount Everest in 1999. He first climbed Mount Rainier with his dad at age 12. By age 18 he was guiding for Rainier Mountaineering and soon was leading international climbs around the world. Although we were living in two different worlds in 1999, I with a son and a house, he as a guide with a camera. We...

Duration:00:50:27

#76 - Mark Synnott: Mystery, Obsession and Death on Mount Everest, An Interview with NY Times Bestselling Author About His New Book

4/12/2021
This is an episode about grit, about life and death, about the extremes of human endeavor, how far a human being can possibly go when they put 100% of themselves into something….it’s about heart, friendship…. This episode is set within the backdrop of the greatest mountain on the planet….Mount Everest, Chomolungma, goddess mother of the world….. Today’s episode welcomes back my ever talented friend and expedition partner Mark Synnott in anticipation of the release of his highly regarded...

Duration:01:19:41

#75 - Thom Pollard: Lessons Learned In Pursuit of Everest, The Genesis of The Search for Sandy Irvine

4/9/2021
LITERALLY: THIS IS THE TALK THAT INSPIRED THE 2019 SANDY IRVINE SEARCH EXPEDITION, which led to the film LOST ON EVEREST by National Geographic and Mark Synnott's book THE THIRD POLE: MYSTERY, OBSESSION, AND DEATH ON MOUNT EVEREST. This presentation is one of only two sold out events EVER at the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center at Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine. The presentation was captured on camera by a student at the back of the auditorium, using a microphone mounted to...

Duration:01:13:17

#74 - Followed By the Ghost of Sandy Irvine While Training for Everest & The Inspiration of My Mentor Bradford Washburn

3/31/2021
This recap episode recounts the inspiration for this podcast coming into existence. While training for Mount Everest in April of 2019, my daily routine would include a strong hike up into Tuckerman or Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA. Many times I felt the presence of something, someone. Looking back, I believe that the essence of Sandy Irvine, who disappeared on Mount Everest on June 8 in 1924, was asking for assistance. As our expedition set out to locate Sandy,...

Duration:00:31:36

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