#11 Courage Muscle with Daniel Greenwald
“As a parent, as a student, as someone making a phone call, as a stutterer, as in anyone, if we’re not in a strong state, everything feels hard.”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.
MORE QUOTES
“ If you're a person who stutters and you didn't get the listening and the patience that you had hoped for, make sure that you can find that in yourself as you go forward in your journey.” -Uri Schneider
“That power to change comes when we're able to tap into that yearning part. Our mind is designed to keep us safe. Alive. Our mind doesn't care if we're like happy or fulfilled.” - Dan Greenwald
TRANSCRIPT:
Uri Schneider: Awesome, great to be here. Sorry for the three minute delay, but, uh, time is of the essence. It's, it's awesome. My name's Ur Schneider, uh, Schneider Speech, and it is an amazing, amazing conversation we're gonna have this morning with my good friend Dan Greenwald. Uh, there's, there's tons to say. . Um, so I'm gonna keep it short, but essentially, uh, I've known Dan for a long time in different capacities, mostly as a tertiary connection.
Before LinkedIn existed, he was like a second degree of separation for much of my life. Um, but just kind of like, just beyond my inner circle and, uh, always admired him and never knew why there was some sort of connection there. And then at different points in our lives, we kind of crisscrossed whether it was on the basketball court or.
catching each other on an airplane flying from Tel Aviv to jfk. And it was always great. And then at some point we took the next step and I, and we started to meet. And what evolved was something that transformed my personal life and, and also our practice, our business. And I'll share more about that. But Dan is a person who is an educator.
He is an entrepreneur, he's a creative, and he's a go-getter. And he is just a. A growth machine. So it's a great honor to have you, Dan. Thanks for taking the time. And, uh, away we go. Very
Dan Greenwald: pleasure. I, I, I, I, I, I like being thought of as a growth machine, maybe even a, like robotic machine at times, but , um, absolute,
Uri Schneider: absolute pleasure being here with you.
Yeah, great. So obviously it's, uh, it's, it's of no surprise that, uh, Schneider's speech. So we're all about, you know, meeting people where they're at and helping them find their voice and, and speak with courage and strength. And one of the first things that you talked about with me was about how stuttering has been a superpower for you.
And I know I shared your blog on that, and I was wondering if you could just share. The journey of growing up. Just take us through what it was like as a kid growing up with a stutter, what your relationship was with your stutter then, and kind of like fast forward version of where it's evolved to and, and kind of how you now see it as this, as this dashboard for your story.
Sure.
Dan Greenwald: So most of my life, it wasn't a good thing, right? The stutter was something that. I believed was the root of
Uri Schneider: all bad things for me. Right? I remember
Dan Greenwald: being aware of it at age four, just saying it like, oh man, that's not easy. Why can't I say this? Why don't they understand what I'm saying? And as I, um, grew up a little bit, I, I, I, I, I found myself being hyper aware almost as if there was this inside world of.
and an outside world interper perception and an and an outside per perception, and I didn't really know what that was until a little bit later on in life. But what I now can look back on is that there was a lot of this negative inner feeling and thoughts I had about myself. and all I wanted to do was just be normal, quote unquote, like, you know, normal fit in.
I don't wanna stand out because I was always standing out, or at least in my mind, I was always standing out. Um, you know, really quickly. Um, the thing that I was recently thinking about, um, was how. For most of my life, I think till about the age of 25, 26, 27 or so, my mind, I was always 12 steps ahead. I was always thinking, you know, um, can I say this?
Uh, am I going to, uh, make a big fool out of myself? Some, it was so hard for me to be in the moment present with whoever I was with or whatever I was trying to. , it was all about trying to avoid shame. And so, um, I, I, I, I, I grew up with this kind of like, I guess it's a balance. It's this, uh, tension. Tension, yeah.
Being true to myself or avoiding shame. And avoiding shame is the ultimate pain. It's greater than any physical pain you could have. You know, um, so there I, so there I was. That was a big part of it. And, um, all throughout, all throughout college, um, you know, it was there. It was there, it was there. And towards the end, uh, towards the end of like college, I was ready.
I was ready to just deal with it, like really ready to deal with it. It was getting in the way of my own personal growth and being true to myself and in college, that's what it was all about for me. Right. Un unpacking what it means to be me. Right? Um, and I was ready and things somewhat aligned that I found this month long intensive, intensive program that was really only designed for teens.
And I was, and I was 22 and I had to convince them to let me in and, um, it was a month. And we went into the psychological and also the, uh, uh, physiological, uh, roots behind my stutter behind us. Stutter the stutter, my stutter, and we broke it down and we rebuild. And, um, you know, I left there thinking that, you know, stuttering was never gonna stop me.
Not saying it really did, but I got my first job teaching fourth grade in New York City a week after. I'm like, bring it on. Bring it on. And so, um, you know, and, and, and, uh, I, you know, as. Wrote in a post, you know, following yours. You know, my stutter now is really a light on my dashboard that reminds me, you know, I stutter.
I mean, it comes up. It comes up when I'm not in a strong state, mentally, physically, spiritually. It shows itself. So it's really now is a light on my dashboard. Be like, Hey, what's going on? Check in. So it brings an intention, an awareness. That's huge. So I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm really at a point as far as my stutter, um, it's turned into a real gift.
It wasn't a gift. Wow. It was horrible. And, and, and it was a source of a lot of pain. But, um, it was, it really helped me grow, I mean, really inside growth.
Uri Schneider: So we, we talked about this and I get shills listening to. I get chills listening to the authenticity and the raw real way that you, you don't have that tension of the inside and the outside of trying to put on the show and trying to fake everybody out, as you did, and as you described, and as so many people who stutter, you know, feel, it's just about getting by, right?
It's about stuffing it in. It's about hiding. It's about not getting caught with your pants down. Um, finally being able to be authentic. I, it literally gives me chills. Can you tell a little bit, talk a little bit more, Pete, you know, get a lot of calls from parents and speech therapists and teens and adults, like, what's your approach and what's the root of stuttering?
What's the cause of stuttering? And you talked about that program, uh, which I think was in the New England, new England area with, with Adriana, our good colleague in New England, Adriana de Grandes. And, um, you talked about the two sides, the, the psychological and the physiological. And then you talked about also how you know the right time in your life.
So can you talk about maybe like what are your thoughts about stuttering and individuals? Is it psychological? Is it physical? How do you tease that apart? And then the idea of like what you're ready for at different points in life and how soon results are expected.
Dan Greenwald: And then I'll throw in on top of that the different stakeholders.
Perfect. So I remember at age four, uh, not four, uh, first grade. Cause my mom used to pick me, me up from school. We used to go to this, uh, we used to go to this like therapist on East 96th Street above this like podiatrist. I remember that. I don't know why I remember it, but they gave out these awesome pens with these colorful feet at the end of it.
And I always would walk away with, and we, there was this terrific candy store across the street, had the chocolate broken out in the like triangle bars that my mom loved and big jars. That's all that I remember from that speech therapy. It, throughout my life I went to different, I went to different type of, um, I went to different type of therapists.
Uh, I guess they each had their own, you know, way to solve my problem, to, to get rid of like stuttering or whatever pitch they did to mainly my mom or dad and me. I think my mom or dad were very in tune that there was, there was a little bit of, in that they saw some sort of inner suffering, or at least they're perceived.
Perceived inter suffering. I remember there was one therapist I went to that was all about, slow down, Dan, just slow down. So my dad, he had this thing like, slow down, slow down with his big giant fingers, like across the room and would, he would see me in a block and he would be like, slow down. And I'm like, ah, made it even worse.
But my dad loved me and he was just trying to do the best job. But the point is, is that. I wasn't really ready to really deal with what need the roots of what was going on until I was like 21, 22. And that's where, and I also found the right leader to guide me through it. Um, but you know, there, there, there, there's, I'm a, you know, I'm a dad of three.
You know, I James 10. Marty seven. Hannah Banana, who's now 10 months.
Uri Schneider: Is that her official middle name? Yeah. On her? Yeah.
Dan Greenwald: Um, my goal is that by the time she's two, she actually thinks her name is Banana. It's kind of cruel, but it's fun for us. Right. Um, , um, so. No, it's actually Ray Hannah Red. I
Uri Schneider: thought, I thought giving me the name Yuri in America was kind of cruel because I had all kinds of nicknames and monikers, which I won't mention now.
It's too early in the morning. But, uh, yeah, names we give our kids and then of course if you stutter, if you stutter, you also tend to think that your parents gave you the most difficult name on the planet and you meet someone else who's got the name you dreamed of, and you find out he thinks he has the most difficult name on the planet.
Dan Greenwald: So, so side noted. Then I'll circle back to the parent piece, which I think is really interesting. . I've since gone. My full name is Daniel Greenwald. Right. I have a hard time saying, Daniel, I've always had a hard time. I don't have a hard time saying Dan. Right? So I decided to make a choice in my work world.
I'm just gonna go with Dan. There are all these different choices that we make, that we make, whether it's, you know, a stuttering or not stuttering. We all make these type of, we all make these type of like choices cuz life is, life is hard. Life is hard, we gotta navigate it. And so that's so adapt. Yeah. And that's one example to be honest.
Be straightforward. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Dan is easier than Daniel for me.
Uri Schneider: So before we circle back, I just wanna acknowledge there are a number of amazing people. That are commenting and liking. So please drop any questions, comments, I'll try to get to them. But there are some epic shared contacts that we have and, and some really leaders in the stuttering community around the world, people who stutter, and speech therapists who are watching.
So thanks for taking your time to join us for this conversation. Ri Schneider from Schneider Speech. Speaking of my good buddy, Dan Greenwald, uh, founder of 30 10 0, we'll put links, and this will be shared later as well again, but we're just talking about names and I think just talking about the invisible side, the invisible experience for people who stutter.
If you think you're someone who stutters and, and you think you're the only person that does a name changing or adapt, , you're certainly not alone. And if you're someone who is someone who loves, someone who stutters or knows someone who stutters, just know that that is one of many invisible experiences that many people who stutter go through.
And the more you know, the more you understand, the more empowered you're gonna be as a shareholder. And I know Dan is gonna go there, and I think that's a good
Dan Greenwald: way to say it. There's this in invisible. You know, there's almost, you don't know unless you. It and stutters, we most often don't have a choice to hide it, right?
So we're living with it. Everyone has their quote unquote stutter. Everybody has their thing, right? That is their negative. That is when we're not in a good state. That's, I'm the worst at whatever. I'm looking like we all. Stutterers, good or bad, we can't hide it often. We can't hide it. I got very good at circum low Houstonian, right?
That's when you are thinking 12 steps ahead and knowing you're, you're like bank of words that you could say, so you're trying to direct the discussion to the words you can say, and you're so not in the. Exhausting. It's exhausting. So that was like going on, I think with this invisible wall, I think it's important for, you know, uh, parents, therapists, um, especially parents, to know that when you experience your child or children going through something, Your experience with what you feel about what you see with your own children, that's about you.
That's a lot. Has to do with your own story about being a parent of someone who stutters, or what it was like for you when you were age. and what you went through. So you're putting on your own lenses on your child and you want them to figure it out and not be in the place of shame or pain or whatever perception you put on them on doing that is really hard, but it's really important.
To helping, supporting your child, navigating the life journey of a stutterer,
Uri Schneider: right? I think both of us, I think we're both comfortable to say, we're striving to be great dads. We're both very imper, very imperfect and ultra unprepared. Um, learning on the job training. Um, so I think for parents out there that are struggling and kind of pulling at.
what? What's the right thing for my kid? I think I just wanna say there is no right, but there are certainly some wrongs, and I think Dan's wisdom here is, you know, not to project and not to assume, but to somehow find a way to stay connected and to stay curious and to stay supportive even in difficult moments.
And uh, one of my dad's best lines, Play stupid. Oh yeah, I know. I see. You're upset. I don't know what's up. You know, just, just, just don't assume too much. Even if you do know more, let the person tell you more. Open a line of communication. Do you have any memories, Dan? And this might touch a cord, and I know your parents were such exceptional people and.
Within the past few years, I know there's been a big part of your evolution the past couple years was losing your, your great parents. Um, was there anything that stands out to you in, in ways that they were there for you or supportive that you would hope others might take less from? Or ways that you wish they could have?
Cuz you know how much they wanted to be there, but with all their best intentions, there were some things you wish they had done different.
Dan Greenwald: Yeah. You know, um, No, they, they were always there for me. And I think that, um, whenever I told them that I was, that I needed to deal with it, I didn't like it, I didn't really speak about it much.
I wanted to just be, you know, accepted normal, quote unquote, normal. Right, right. But when I did speak about it, they would jump on whatever they could to help. You know, kind of navigate it. Um, uh, you know, thinking about it now, right now, I, I, I, I, I, I was very, I felt very alone. Not because they weren't incredibly, you know, loving and, you know, and spending time with me or whatever.
I, I, there, there, there was, the only time I felt a comfort was when I was outside in nature. By the way, I, I've been thinking a lot about this, but, and. Folks, my dad, we spent a lot of time outside of nature and that was really helpful. I'm not sure he meant to help me with my speech to go out in, in my nature, but it was incredibly helpful because it just, you know, it helped ground me and little did I know now at 43.
All of those roots of nature. It just helps me understand that we are human creatures, which is the root of understanding how we work and how everybody is. Um, so, you know, I would say, I would say that one thing I really did appreciate, and I think it's great for the parents to do, um, again, Right age. Not for all children, but the connection with my parents, and I'm, and I try to do this with my kids when we're trying to navigate what they're going through, is being super honest and, and like vulnerable with what I went through.
Not trying to compare it, right. But to be like, Hey, you know what example, Example, right now with my kids, I'm working on being a better listener. Okay? All those years of circle location of always not being in the moment with people and also having other people finish what I was trying to say. Now I'm, I'm not in that boat anymore.
So when my kids are gonna be like, this is why I should have 17 hours of screen time, dad, um, my head's about to explode and I quickly sh, you know, but what they have been saying to me is like, dad, you never let me speak. You never let me speak. One day I was out with them and I go, guys, I've been thinking a lot about this, and I think you're right, and I just wanna let you know that I am working.
And I think the reason why it's so hard for me is because I grew up with this stutter. Hmm. And I never had people, people would, I would get caught in a block and people be clear what I was about to say so people would say it. Mm-hmm. . So I have to relearn that and I just wanna let know that that's what I'm really, you know, also working on.
So bringing that like honesty and vulner. and kind of modeling that for your kids because that's what it's gonna take. Mm-hmm. , whether you're eight, you're 17, you're 20, you're, you're like 43. Being able to be honest and open with yourself and modeling that, that's I think, a key point for, uh, any parent.
Uri Schneider: Hmm. I thought I couldn't lose the figure figures of speech. You said your dad grounded. In the outdoors and, uh, you felt grounded and you had your roots on the ground and that feeling of stability. It reminds me, my dad interviewed David Shapiro, who wrote one of the great textbooks in our space, and he lives out.
In West Virginia and, and he talks about his therapy experience as a kid who stutters and he talks about the most memorable thing was no technique and it wasn't the pens with the feet that you got on 96th Street. It was the therapist said, well, what do you like to do? And he said, I like to walk in the woods and I'm not recommending therapists do this without checking with parents and following all the best practices today.
But at that time, that therapist would take him for walks in the woods and in the. There was more spoken, there was more conveyed in that listening to the silent conversation. And that's what he cherished. And I think parents that can learn to exercise what you're talking about and what I experienced, as you know, one of my one two of my kids are less chatty than I am, and so I have to learn that spending quality time with them is not always filled with words, but it's just filled with quiet moments, holding hands, walking.
Trails or just taking a walk around the neighborhood. So for parents, I think groping for the right thing to say, sometimes the right thing to say is to actually turn on the listening. And, uh, you know, when you don't know the right thing to say, you can't do harm by listening. You can certainly do harm by saying the wrong thing.
So listening is always, is always healthy
Dan Greenwald: and, and, and, and, and I think more, two things, two follow ups. I think one of the keys for me and why, um, that. That month long intensive really helped me. The first day we got there, we sat down, I forget, I forget who it was a, uh, Ari. Ari Anna was there. Um, I think, uh, Linda was there.
I'm not sure if that was her name, but she, there was like six of us. They handed around this bowl. In the bowl wa was chocolate chips, raisins, and a. Pass around each one. Take one. Okay, we're gonna close. We're gonna close the lights. Put it in your mouth and listen. They introduced me to mindfulness meditation in which what they were doing was bringing an awareness to our mouth, our physical mouth, our tongue, what it feels like, what's going on.
And for the first time I was a spring, I was a wound up spring, right from that circum. Execution that this, um, this, um, uh, meditation, right? This meditation, it rocked my world so well that I think that was a key, a key for opening me up. It allowed me to stop for the first time. And, and, and that, and that and that.
I, I, I, I think our kids in this Netflix generation that they now live in, that like, I don't like next. I don't like next, right? The ability to be able to breathe through, be in the moment. I, I, I mean, I, I, I, I still, you know, like meditate every day. It, it's, it's such a key piece of my growth, especially as, you know, a, like a, a stutterer.
Um, that's one thing. The other thing is that there's a lot of science now, like we really needed science to tell us, but there's health benefits for spending time outside, let alone now in this whole like, you know, like Covid universe. It's key. It's really key. We are creatures. We forget this. We are creatures, human creatures like other creatures.
Our buildings, we live in our homes, we live in our city. Those are our natural habitats. It's very important to be around other creatures cuz it just, it grounds us. And there's this thing called earthing. Check it out later. But it's spending time. Without shoes on, walking in grass and there's a like magnetic alignment with our bodies.
I'm not saying I'm for it, against it, I just saying I don't need science to tell me that there's incredible health, mental, physical, spiritual benefits for us spending time in, in, in nature. And I would say especially as kids. .
Uri Schneider: Yeah, I think, wow. So to transition into, and it goes with what you're talking about, cuz for some people Earthing was like the most resonant thing they could hear.
And for other people they probably thought this guy is completely off his rocker. Um, I think it speaks to . Look, uh, we did not connect at any Phish concerts, but we could have, um, There are many, there are many people listening. And I think one of the things that I wanted to explore was, uh, you know, and one of the things I'm doing in the research that I'm involved in University of California, is looking at, they're not all people who stutter the same, you know, and as you said, no, you know, we're creatures with great, you know, heterogeneous complexion and the profiles that we have for you, earthing resonates.
And for you it makes sense. It's self-evident. Or there are other things that are self-evident for you. There were things. Chocolate chip exercise was amazing at the right time for the right person. For someone else it might not be. Um, where I wanted to go with this was, I know that eventually for you, your story became very important and, and the insights you got from stuttering launched this next venture of yours, which I want to get to.
Sure. But, um, maybe just share, you know, what were some of the things that were important to you that were alternative type stuff? I know you have the drumm. Exercise, which is a big part of your journey and other pieces here. And I think just talking about, cuz for parents, one of the things that surprises people is I was talking to parents and say, well, how do I help my kid when he is stuttering?
And I said The same way. You want to check when they're misbehaving, like the basics. Are they well fed? Are you know, are they thirsty or hungry? Are they tired? And do they need to go to the bathroom? Because if any of those systems are not in check, they're not in a. You know, they're not in a good state.
And, and I just wanted to give you an opportunity to kind of transition into talking about how that relates for you for stuttering and broader than that. But the idea that beyond our lips, you know, what happens here at the lips starts much deeper, maybe at the hips, uh, or somewhere else. But the, the, there's so many parts of how we get ourselves grounded.
If you could talk about, that, and I think it relates to the questions of, is stuttering a physical thing? But how could it be a physical thing when I get anxious or when I see my kid get anxious, that's when he stutters the most. It must be an emotional thing and I think, I think you have a great way of talking about that.
So if you could share a little bit what you discovered for yourself and what could be helpful for others. Sure.
Dan Greenwald: So what I saw, I was young when I saw, when I saw this. when I was in the zone, whatever that means, right? When I was in the zone, I didn't stutter. Okay. And so, you know, I knew that, but I didn't really understand how to unpack that later on.
You know, in college was all about the true self. What is the self, you know? And, you know, exploring that in it like, you know, you know, like psychological. Philosophical, religious journey, so to speak. But I was trying to figure out what was that zone? How, how, why was there a way that I was able to just be in the moment?
And my speech was just kind of like, kind of fluid, right? Like it's a total boober eye in now, but that's for a different story. Um, , I was craving that I, I I, I wanted, I, I, I, I saw a glimpse of hope that turned into hope for me. And I knew that there was something, and, um, and I, I'll throw it back to, you know, you know, like, what can parents do?
And we are human. We are human creatures. We have a mind whose sole purpose is to keep us alive. Combined with this yearning heart, this yearning, emotional yearning every human has, combine those two is our creature power, right? But what parents can do is really, uh, support and cultivate the passions that their kids have.
So, like you as a great father, Speak about your son and the amazing, like really amazing.
Uri Schneider: I gotta send you the most latest footage. Yeah, I sent you that picture yesterday, but wait till you see what he captured. It's incredible. So,
Dan Greenwald: so just for point of reference, like u's being a great dad, we go back and forth because I think our greatest like leverage right now.
our kids, right? That'll get us to do whatever we need to do. It's leverage no matter what wall it's for our kids. We will go through and what u's done. Again, every person learns differently. Everybody who's watching everybody in the room around you, everybody learns differently, right? And so as a parent, a teacher, a therapist, or whatever you are, if you go in with that awareness that we're different people, how do I cultivate?
Passion. And so Uri saw that his son, um, super brilliant, might not learn the standard boxed in way of learning, but saw that he was an, he was, he had an amazing eye, this like photographer that just saw things differently with this drone footage and it's lights out what he could do. And he's just getting better and better and better.
And you and I have talked about, you've seen the growth in. And so this isn't just about a like stutter, right? It's about, you talk about the deeper aspect, like physiological, psychological. It's about the human element that I believe that everybody, everybody has the power to change, right? That power to change comes when we're able to tap into that yearning part of.
because the mind, we also have a human mind. Our mind is designed to keep us safe. Alive. Our mind doesn't care if we're like happy or fulfilled. So there's that ,
Uri Schneider: I think. I think you just hit it on the head and it's a perfect segue. The question I'm hearing from a lot of people is what in the world is 30 10 0 And, and the way you're talking now about this business, about the mind is there for us to survive.
It's a survival mechanism. So fight, flight and this stuff, and everybody talks about and posts all over, you know, how are you surviving these days? . And as long as we're in a survival state, I mean, that's important and, and our hearts go out and, and our thoughts and prayers to anyone and everyone who should be dealing with any kind of health issues or mental wellness issues or financial issues.
But, um, the goal is, Once you can secure some of the basics to not be in a survival state, but try to be in a thrive state. And obviously that's how you try to live. Can you talk about, these are a lot of high, high language. Sure. And maybe that's a good bridge into 30 10, 0. You know, you're talking about an early age feeling in a flow state, feeling like in the zone, and then identifying what those things are for ourselves, for our kids and, and nurturing those things.
Can you share a little bit about this, this venture of.
Dan Greenwald: So, yeah. Um, so, uh, uh, straight out of college, so I'm trained as a, um, I'm trained as a teacher educator, you know, trained in, trained in curriculum design. I love building things and from a very young age, I, I, I, as you guys, I guess, see, I've been obsessed with how do I change?
but how do people change and, you know, how do people become great and peak state? And I was, been a really, that's my domain, so to speak. And, um, I guess it was, um, really quickly, um, from the time of 2012 to 2016, um, As we all go through our own stuff, um, I had a lot of loss. I had a number of, uh, people really close to me pass away.
Um, both two of those four were my mom and dad, um, and young very close friends of mine under the age of 41. Um, and, and, and, and so it took me a little bit of time, but I got hit with this dose that life is really short. What do you. , everybody gets hit with that. It's part about being a, like human being, right?
What do you do? What I did, um, was I created my own system and framework for myself that keep, that would keep me focused on what I really was passionate about. What, what, what, what I care deeply about. And that shifts over time. But I didn't like the fact. I care so much and then life does what it does, and I'm, wait, what?
Like what am I doing again? Why wait, that's most, so I set up this system, it, it wasn't named, it was my own personal system to keep me focused in what was most important for me, right? My target leading into my focus. What areas of focus were key to helping me achieve that target, which then led to specific daily measurable.
Easy to win actions that turned into 30 10 0. Your 30,000 foot view of what do you really want? 30,000. When you're on an airplane and you're looking down, you're at 30,000 feet, things are so clear, there's no noise. 10,000 foot view are not more than four or five areas. Key areas of
Uri Schneider: focus. Examples might be.
Dan Greenwald: Like being in a strong state, what do I need to do every day to keep me in a strong state, mentally, spiritually, physically? Cuz if we're not in a strong state and we can get into that, that's a whole nother piece, then everything feels like we're going uphill everything. As a parent, as a student, as someone making a phone call, as a, as a like stutterer, as in anyone, if we're not in a strong state, everything feels hard.
Okay. . Um, and then specific, then that leads to specific easy to win, measurable actions. And then I have, what
Uri Schneider: might those be? Just as an example of two. Um,
Dan Greenwald: meditate, right? Did I sit in meditate and I know that I'm a, I'm a superhuman. If I get a 15 minute, a 15 minute meditation, 15 minutes is hard, three minutes is a win.
I get to check that box. Did I work out? Working out for me is just waking up and doing. I assigned, I do 15 squats in the morning and 40 pushups. If Marty starts counting, I could go up to 60 pushups because he's my leverage. He does something for me. Right. But there's specific process in which you identify the target of what do you really want?
Not just the generic air is good, not just the money, love family, but what do you really want about, like what's important for you? And if. Uncover that, and there's a process for uncovering that, right? That piece that I wrote, that's,
Uri Schneider: yeah. Where's that to be found? Just if people wanna find it. What's the website?
Um, so you could go, I'll type
Dan Greenwald: it in. So you could go to dan greenwall.com. Uh, I have four posts. Perfect. There, uh, blog, blog posts. I started writing just for me. Um, but a lot. A lot of the themes have been about humans, as you know, like human creatures, and the idea of needing to deconstruct ourself so we could reconstruct ourself.
right. So, uh, what ended up happening, I was doing consulting work, uh, for tech and specifically in the, um, ed tech world. And like clients started asking me for the spreadsheet I was working off of, and they're, and they started paying me to help them create their own and my background's in this, like, you know, you know, like curriculum design.
So I created a process. and that's now a guess going on two years. And you went through it, you know, you, you, you know, and it continues to evolve. And God bless, I'm extremely humbled that other people find it very helpful in all sorts of different ways from young, older, it's designed for the human creature, right?
And everybody starts the, there are two steps, right? Step one is this concept called Story watch. Story watch is, you know, Your weapon. Everybody, all humans, the stories in our mind are what make or break all of us, all of us, the stories limiting, uh, uh, limiting beliefs or the voices inside of our head, whatever you choose to call them, those are what pop up and stop us.
You know, the mind is designed to keep us. The three ways that it keeps us alive is, um, homeostasis, right? Our fluids, our measure, we're all aligned and alive. It acts, our mind acts as a a, a file cabinet. It puts our, uh, you know, like memories are, uh, memories, it experiences in the right place. And the third is that it creates.
That drive our actions. Example of a story, don't go outside the classic story in like the sabertooth tiger. Don't go outside cuz you might get eaten by a lion, a sabertooth tiger, or bears from my like, you know, spring, like 2020, which there are bears. Where I was. We also have, you know, the stories are don't go and speak.
Don't put yourself into a like position in which you're gonna stutter your head off because you wanna protect yourself. That's our mind keeping us safe. Our mind keeps us safe by creating these stories that when we have to do something hard, it's like, You know what? Working out, you don't have the right shoes.
You can't go work out. Oh, you missed the class. You can't go work out when you get pound out pushups or do whatever you need to do in seven minutes or less at home. The mind's designed to protect us. It doesn't care if we're fulfilled or happy, right? So this 30 10 0, uh, it's a, it's a framework, right? It's a framework that starts with this concept.
Story watch, which is gives you the ability to recognize your stories before they lead to action or inaction. And it's the process again. The more you do it, the better you get and it becomes a superpower. You know, we've talked about this before, but you become really good at recognizing, oh my God, that's my story.
How's that serving? , what do I want? Is it serving me well? And then it becomes really powerful when you identify your target, your 30 of what do you really want? What do you really want? And when you recognize a story, it's like, Hey, how is this story helping me get what I really want? And if you identify your target of what do you really.
that's leverage for, Hey, the story's kind of a mind hack, right? You're, wait, I'm not, I'm not. I'm not an, I'm pretty good. It's not helping me get this so it's not serving me. And you could change that pretty quickly. There's a whole process that people go through in this story watch, in these story watch trainings that we have, because
Uri Schneider: I'm thinking about it, you know, and clearly I just wanna emphasize.
If you're, if you're a person who stutters, this might make sense to you. If you're not a person who stutters, this should make a lot of sense to you. And I think there's two, two aspects of myself that I can relate to that make me a prime candidate and why I think the work was so helpful that we did on this.
And I'll share a little bit about what. What I experienced with it and I highly recommend everybody check it out. Um, so 30 10 zero.com, is that spelled the website? Yeah, you have to spell spelled out. So T H i r t y T E n Z E R o.com is the 30 10 0 model framework workshops and all the opportunities to go through this material.
But I'll just. I think people who either have a very large spirit, uh, ambition, dream appetite to do more than just. Survive. Right? Some people have a bigger drive and appetite than others. Very ambitious types. And then there are people who have ventured out of the safety zone, have ventured out of their comfort zone and have gotten burnt.
And whether it's, you know, stuttering and, and some experience that you had, or whether it was trying to go for something that you really cared about, whether it was a relat. Uh, whether it was purchasing a property, whether it was entering a business deal, and you got burnt, and then when you got burnt, you kind of went back like a turtle back into the safe zone.
And so the story watch, I think is, is, and this whole model is a way to kind of help you keep clear on what you really want to go after and then figure out how to, on the one hand, not endanger yourself, but not allow yourself to kind of slip back into being your. You know, the person who's holding the key that locks you and holds you back and holds you in, you know, this kind of like trapped space and having stories that just kind of reinforce the concrete around you, right?
So for me, what you helped me really hone in on was, uh, what we wanted to do, and this precedes c o v, was really to go after number one being of service. And helping our team, uh, be there to help people who stutter or have communication challenges and see their own barriers to help them transcend and overcome those barriers and really speak out and be the speaking spirits and beings and people and go for the things they want and communicate and connect in the ways that they wish to.
And then at the same time, side by side with that, really helping speech therapists and professionals who wanna be guides for. To give them the wherewithal around the country and around the world so that they can do the same for people that they care for. And a lot of what anyone here that's been following us is seeing, including this very conversation, is really born out of my work with Dan and, uh, from someone who is running around pushing very hard and at other times hiding behind all kinds of walls.
Uh, we would meet by Columbus Circle and Dan would say, get on the floor, we're gonna meditate. I'm setting a. And I'd be like, dude, let, let's get to work. Come on, let's start whiteboard. Let's go at it. I said, no, we're not. We're not in a state, we're not in a strong state. And, and what Dan helped me identify was at times what I needed externally.
The feedback to kind of help me get checked and then ultimately giving me the wherewithal to kind of have that dashboard for myself to identify, okay, I'm feeling kind of tense. I'm feeling kind of pessimistic. I'm feeling like a scarcity, you know, red ocean. Let me check in on my state and, and what are some things I can do to shift that state?
And this has been some of the most liberating and empowering and has opened up a whole new chapter of productivity, but also inner, inner purpose and mission and drive. And it, it hasn't made things easy for me, but it has made things much more focused and my priorities feel at least more in front of me, more in check and the things that.
They're in my way or had been in my way. I've been able to kind of identify them and put them in their place and try to amplify, you know, really going after what I want. So from a personal point of view or a business point of view, Dan has been, uh, he, he's turned on my, my growth machine in a way that, uh, it was churning and, and hus huffing and puffing for a while.
But, uh, this model, and we, you with Dan did a lot for.
Dan Greenwald: Big impact that Well, well, that's what, well, that's what you are, you are a impact making machine. I mean, like we all are. And I think that's what it's about, right? That's, that's what gets you going. I know that's what gets you going, you know, figuring out that the world has shifted and you were, your mindset was like this even before the world started shifting with this covid about how do people.
What's the role of technology? How can we meet people where they're at and have these, a authentic learning experiences around stuttering, but it's not just really stuttering and applying your expertise to that. And then like covid hits, you're at the top of the 10 foot, 15 foot already surfing. So I, I, I'm, I'm so psyched and appreciative from like, the stuttering tribe that I am deeply a part of to, you know, the world of the work that you guys are doing.
I, I'm, I'm, I'm really excited to see, you know, this course that you built out, but also the, how this course is going to evolve. Right. And you and I have been talking about it to me Yep. To meet not just where folks are now, but where things we know will
Uri Schneider: be, and so, One, one plug. I would say if you wanna see more about what Dan is talking about on our homepage, snyder speech.com, you can see, you know, working one-on-one.
You can see the group work that we're doing that's more affordable and accessible to people, especially now. And then the third thing is this online course, and just today and last week. Dan and I are talking about how to reiterate that in a way that's far more reflective of how deep and how dynamic that can be.
It's not an online course, so more to come, but what I wanna focus on that is that the work, the model that Dan is talking about, Is something that that all of us desperately need, which is a dashboard we don't need to be told what to do. We need to figure out how to get the navigational intelligence to recalibrate and shift and adapt as we go through things.
So whether it's your mouth doesn't cooperate when you expect it to and to say the right word that you were hoping it would say. How do you recount? How do you, what's your dashboard for my father who's dealing with Parkinson's? You know, what are his core principles? What are the things he really wants, and how does he shift and adapt as situations come up?
And all of us have that. And so for me, very honestly, every time I, I wanna put something out there, there's a tremendous amount of fear. , you know, will it, will it be something that people will like? Will it be something that will make an impact? And then once I do put it out there, I'm always thinking like, I don't want to be too headstrong on what it is.
I wanna adapt. At the same time, you can't lead by consensus. Dealing with all these things and figuring out, you know, what's my GPS for this and what's really driving me, and what are the things that I need to check in? That's what this model has done for me. So I would encourage everybody, check out 30 10 0 and check out Dan's blog, which I linked here below.
If you don't see the link, you can go to dan greenwald.com and if you wanna learn more about 30 10 0, just spell it out, 30 the word t h i r t y 10 t e n zero z e r o.com, and you can see more about this model. Dan, any, um, any add. Pearls you wanna stick in before we, uh, before we say good morning? Yeah. Um,
Dan Greenwald: you know, if, if, um, if anything, you know, like really resonated with anyone, you know, feel free to reach out to me like one-on-one.
Be happy to talk more about this, you know, 30 10 zeros that this, it's a, it's a, it's a, uh,
A framework designed in the idea of practical, easy, all the way through. It's kind of like giving someone a efficient ride to eventually do their own fishing. That's how it's set up. And so, um, people, we all have our own inner power. We really do, um, during this time now especially, um, it's all about figuring out what drives you, what specific actions do you need to take to help support your strong state, because everybody is different.
And the idea of we have the power, the creature power. That we can deconstruct ourselves to immediately reconstruct
Uri Schneider: ourselves. That's an amazing power. Um, I just wanna share that if you're a person who stutters or a parent, uh, or a spouse, first of all, I think the biggest takeaway is being present. Being able to listen.
Um, if you're a person who stutters and you didn't get the listening and the patience that you had hoped for, make sure that you can find that in yourself as you go forward in your journey. And I hope that listening to this and listening to other conversations and other voices, there's a multiplicity of stories out there and we all get stuck listening to ourselves, you know, on a, on a repeat.
it's so important to, to find voices and stories that get you outta your own head. Not because you should buy into their story, but because it can sometimes give you and shed a little bit of light of what's on the other side of that concrete wall that you're stuck behind. So look out the window, listen to podcasts, check out these conversations that we're doing and others, and people like Dan can really kind.
Open up your mind. And that was my, our hope together was to share some of what, what I've experienced in our relationship and our work together. But also just Dan's personal story for me is so inspiring and I hope that you've, you've been inspired as Dan's dad would say this much as I have been. Um, so thanks for taking the time, Dan, and sharing so much.
And people can contact Dan directly. What's the best way to contact?
Dan Greenwald: Um, any, um, any social, you know, um, you know, uh, uh, you could also just email me, Dan, 30 10 spelled out. Um, you know, I see that all the time, probably too much. Uh, Twitter is good. I, I, I've been into like Twitter lately. Um, Facebook, wherever.
It's not hard to get in touch with anyone these days, so I check 'em all.
Uri Schneider: Totally amazing. So reach out to Dan. Stay tuned. On Sunday, I'll be having a great conversation with Tom Sharpstein from Florida, an entrepreneur, a former board member of National Stuttering Association, and he's got a brand new project that I'm excited to talk about and share with everybody and obvious.
Hear his story. Uh, then I'll be meeting with Scott Yaris, my colleague in in research mentor and, and probably the most prolific contributor to the research and, uh, space of, of learning more about stuttering and helping people, help people who stutter. And then following that, I'll be connecting, um, on Labor Day Weekend with Carl Coffee from Tennessee.
I'm real excited for that conversation too. So, wishing everybody a great day. Stay safe, stay healthy and, and figure out what you want. And. Go for it. Figure out what you need and just break through. All right. Thanks a lot, everybody. Have a great day.