Can Gratitude Really Help You Turn Adversity Into Success?

A Daughter’s Tough Lessons

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I saw the adversity that my daughter had faced growing up having Tourette's. She was severely bullied in middle school. 90% of our personality is shaped by the time we are 18 in defense of our wounds. If that person passes away, is that the last thing that you want to be remembered for? A janitor is a legend because he keeps the school clean. Everyone's a legend in life. Whatever challenges you have in life, however life is difficult for you at that time, you have no choice but to move forward. There is no turning back. I hate the fact that in their older age they have to worry about me when it should be the opposite.

Welcome To Yog Nation

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Welcome to the Yog Nation, the Spirit of Gratitude podcast on the OneTegration platform. Hello, friends. My name is Yogi Ash Patel, and this podcast explores the themes of building self-awareness and the power of our inner spirit, including the silent battles we all face. Join me every week as I invite high-profile guests as we explore how adversity shapes us, how gratitude lifts us, and how we can all uncover the inner strength that we all have within ourselves. Join the conversation. I appreciate you listening in.

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And today, this week, on September, what is it? We're now at the 29th.

Why This Podcast Exists

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So, number one, what I wanted to do is briefly review why I started this podcast, give you several whys to why I began this venture and in this endeavor. Number two, I just uh wanted to share the exciting new logo design that is gonna be representative visually across all social media platforms to have more of a yoga nation identity, which I think you'll appreciate. And number three, I wanted to share a few moments of some of the most recent guests that I've had on uh that certainly their message has impacted me. So, first and foremost, again, thank you for uh all the followers out there, all the people that have watched and liked and subscribed to the podcast if you're a follower, non-follower. Again, the Spirit of Gratitude podcast, simply what it is, it's a way to build community around this concept and through this lens called gratitude.

Tourette’s Bullying And Two Books

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And how I began this venture was taking inspiration from my daughter, uh, the general why, so to speak. Um again, I saw the adversity that my daughter had faced growing up having Tourette's. Again, she was severely bullied in middle school uh because people and kids didn't, well, kids specifically didn't know what Tourette's was. And so it was her mission to help educate. But in the process of that, again, kids yanking her hair, I don't know why they do that, but the name calling, the teasing that went behind the scenes, that certainly affected her. But um, writing was one of these, all of these talents that uh calmed her ticks. And so, you know, she became an author of two books by the time she was 15. The second book was called The Terrible Bullies, and the word terrible is in quotations because she knows that even though she was bullied herself, all bullies aren't terrible, so to speak. And so her motto and her belief and philosophy is hurt people, hurt people. And this book happened to become a number one release on Amazon when it came out. So um grateful for that. The second adversity she challenged adversity uh she faced was the fact that uh she only had one school that she applied to uh in high school, uh, which was uh a university down in Southern California in Orange. She did not get accepted post-COVID. This university simply um based all of the uh incoming students' recommendations based on their GPA post-COVID. Again, flood of applicants, the university had to decide who to take in and who to take out. And uh Riani wasn't one of them. That's okay. Uh all you know, things happened for a reason. And uh, you know, proud to say that when she became at first sad, it's like, well, you gotta find work here. And then at the time we were living in California, we moved to Arizona, and the Ritz Carleton of all places took a chance on her. So she became a hostess at one of their fine dining restaurants, and you know, she had a chance to interact and collab with celebrities and athletes, you know, sitting down John Harbaugh, uh, former CEO of Apple Computer, we all knew who that is. And so that led me uh to think, as a father, right, you know, granted this individual, she's our daughter, had overcome these various sorts of challenges and adversity in life at such a young age, yet she was able to be accomplished in these two endeavors. Again, being a successful teen author, and number two, working at the Ritz. And that was the aha moment, folks, um, how adversity shapes success through the lens of gratitude. And so that to me is the general why uh why I started

Eye Surgery And Soulful Gratitude

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the podcast. And for me, it's even more uh deep, uh deeply relevant to me. I mean, gratitude was one of these things that was soulful medicine. As uh, you know, for well over 40 years, I've had a history of eye issues and eye problems cultivated in bacterial infections in the eyes, cataract surgeries, glaucoma surgeries. Back in December of 2021, I actually had surgery at the Mayo Clinic to restore and repair vision in the left eye. And I'm always grateful for this blue bag here. This is what uh the kind nurses at the Mayo Clinic here in Phoenix uh gave me. And, you know, again, for all of you that have been patients in a hospital, you know, wondering how you're gonna get better, the faith that you have, the praying of not only the patient as well, but all the family members. You know, this was this was me right here, patient number, whatever the heck that was. And so, and then uh this patient identification card. Again, all these things I kept from the Mayo Clinic that day. And it just brings me back to a sense of gratitude and a sense of peace, knowing the adversity that we all face, whether we are children, whether we're adolescents and adults. Um again, this has been a very purposeful venture for me. Um, I'm grateful for what using my gifts to help others perhaps uh, you know, find something within the storytelling of these guests. Now that I'm nearing 100, folks, believe it or not, I will I'm projected to have my 100th guest episode by Halloween. So I am super excited and more uh on to to to follow on that. But uh again, I'm just so thankful, so grateful to be in this position. I kind of live my values through this podcast again as a son, as a husband, as a friend. Um, so for me, it's just this positive energy that I'm trying to bring out and carry to the world. And we know the world as it stands right now is unjust, it's unfair, um, it's unkind, but you know, sprinkling messaging from myself or any of the 94 guests that I've had on, hopefully it does something to you. And that's simply what this podcast is. I'm simply holding up a mirror in the sense that as the listener, right, as a person who's perhaps watching one of the reels, you know, can you identify yourself in the storytelling from the guest and to the host? And so the adversity that all of these guests have faced, and could you identify yourself in that manner where, you know, simply you become a better person, um, or you know, you become a better neighbor, you know, a better family member. So all of this messaging, you know, leads to how we can change society for the better, um, one conversation, one friendship at a time. So, and you know, just to say a special thank you for the new followers and the existing followers.

How You Can Support The Show

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So, again, from the bottom of my heart, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has subscribed, followed, watched, listened, shared, or supported Yog Nation across the various social media and streaming platforms. Again, the handle is Yognation, 2Gs. Again, uh, with social media, you can find this on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and of course, all your favorite uh uh streaming platforms where you listen. And, you know, again, my hope in these conversations is, as I mentioned earlier before, is to give you a reason to reflect, grow, see something differently, or simply feel a little bit more connected to someone else's story. And if that resonates with you somehow, uh, or if something resonates with you on that note, I'd love for you to become in the become part of this conversation, leave a comment on a full episode or any of the reels I share daily across social media. I generally enjoy hearing about what stood out to you, what related to you, and what made you think. And again, if the content has brought value to you, you know, the one of the best ways you can support the podcast is by either liking and subscribing, baby. Believe it or not, 80% of my reels are watched by non-followers, which is interesting. So my challenge is to convert those non-followers into followers. But nonetheless, you know, again, one of the ways that you can help support the podcast is to leave a review on your favorite streaming platforms and helps more people discover these conversations and become part of this community. And, you know, of course, uh uh, you know, it's all about how this message could be propagated in social media. So again, the algorithms work in such a way that it identifies what is not necessarily trending, but what is certainly interested enough for a listener to then comment, like, or reshare, because that certainly helps the algorithms. Not to say that, you know, I'm playing a this is a game that I want to master. Well, it kind of is, but just in terms of the way that this messaging could approach a broad spectrum of individuals. And there is a target mindset that I want to be able to uh reach out to, and that target mindset are folks that want to become better, want are interested in storytelling, you know, want see the world that they see today and you know make a difference in uh in in their lives or within their community. So um again, bottom line is I'm grateful for everyone uh with uh that has supported me on this endeavor.

The New Logo And Five Pillars

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And so part two, the thing that I'm really excited about is starting today, you will see, as I mentioned before, a new way this podcast is going to look. Um again, if you follow the podcast for a while, you're gonna see, start seeing a very different visual look across social media and streaming platforms. And uh the new logo was inspired by the subway and transit maps of London and New York, London's tube station, and the New York subway system. And that concept speaks for me because, again, as I mentioned before, uh, this podcast is really around how adversity shapes success through the lens of gratitude, around five core pillars that I believe most people can relate to, and that's courage, resilience, appreciation, awareness, and humility. And so, what I wanted to be able to do is bring together these five core pillars in the theme of what that would look like from a transportation standpoint on a railway system. So, you know, without further ado, folks, this is what I wanted to share here. And on this particular slide here, again, you have these five pillars represented by the five colors, and then the tagline of how adversity shapes success through the lens of gratitude. And working with an amazing designer, I'm so grateful for him. If you notice a little subtlety, there's a forward arrow moving uh moving arrow, which denotes what? It's the ability to move forward. And again, going back to the theme of how adversity shapes success, whatever challenges you have in life, however life is difficult for you at that time, you have no choice but to move forward. There is no turning back. And so I'm really grateful for the creativity that the uh designer had done to create, to continue to create this uh vision, uh vision for me in life. And uh, you know, again, as far as the colors and and this, what you see here, different lines, different colors, different journeys. And they all converge on this one central point, and that is the spirit of gratitude. And again, because life can be messy, life is can be just as hard. Things happen that did we not that we did not ask for, did not expect, and certainly would not have chosen. But the goal, again, is to move forward, not perfectly, not without pain, but forward. And in again, inside that arrow is Yog Nation. And that leads me to the next uh picture that I wanted to share here. Uh, and that is all of this is representative of the logo here, which is what you see here. So, again, these five lines in their various colors condensed into this one logo against a blue background, and you'll notice Yognation is inside this right uh pointed arrow. And you know, and the reason why, again, the creativity of the designer is uh it's that represents it represents a community I want to build. Um, again, not a community of people pretending that everything is positive. Not a community, certainly built around those motivational cliches, a community of people who understand grit, who understand survival, kindness, compassion, empathy, believing in someone when they perhaps may not believe that, believe in themselves. And that is the mindset, that is the identity that I want Yog Nation to represent. And that phrase that will now sit in front of uh center with the brand again is how adversity shapes success through the lens of gratitude. And uh, you know, for me, seeing this new rebranded logo, it just and new identity, you know, as a father, it just reminds me of watching your toddler, watching your child, excuse me, grow up from being a toddler to an adolescent. And so I'm just so grateful that uh two and a half years into this, I'm seeing the evolution of the brand. I'm seeing a more mature my in terms of uh you know how every one of these guests have certainly influenced me in some capacity for me to become a better person than I was yesterday. And I think that's what we all strive for. I mean, those that seek knowledge, maybe not knowledge, but reminders, right? Um, you know, again, it's just uh, you know, what we see out there in terms of uh anxiety, depression, um, burnout. Again, what can gratitude do to help just kind of lessen some of the severities that you're going on and that you're dealing with in life? And it's not certainly about uh, you know, doing it by yourself. You have a community of uh of of friends and and then that support level. And and I guess one thing that I wanted to share going back to um this blue bag here, again, it's not the fact that I was able to help heal, but you know, kind of uh in in in a strange way, you know, I was lucky enough to have parents that really cared for me, but you know, they're they're of older age, and so it's kind of you know, I hate the fact that in their older age they have to worry about me when it should be the opposite. So, you know, kind of uh getting a little emotional here, talking about uh, and that's just not even my parents, it's also the family members as well that cared for me, that guided for me that guided for me, that prayed for me. Um again, I wear my heart excuse me. Well, let me get a glass of water here. Uh I wear my heart on my shoulders. I mean, even though the heart's here, the shoulders are here. But again, folks, you can understand the uh how meaningful this word gratitude is. And you know, by the way, just kind of on on a on a more lighter note, you'll need you'll notice that the word yognation is spelled with two G's, even though my name Yogesh is spelled with one G. So I always like to uh tell people as a joke that the extra G can stand for gratitude andor gangsta. So uh Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, this one's for you folks. But uh I digress. And so again, you know, with this logo, I really hope that it speaks to you in a way that you find value in the messaging of the

How The Show Gets Produced

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guests. And again, the way that these podcast episodes are uh created and sent out there is working with a video production company in Phoenix Backlot Studios. Guys, you continue to bring my vision to life. I'm so grateful and the honor to and privilege to work with you. And so, nonetheless, what Backlot Studios does for me is number one, they do three things. They put the platform on on all the audio streaming uh platforms, iHeartSpotify, so you can find Yog Nation there. Then they provide the final video episode that I upload on YouTube as a full episode. And then most importantly, though, and as I should say equally important, they give me five reels. And these five reels is messaging that I feel that represents the heart and soul of the guest in terms of what they share. Again, messaging that uh inspires, educates, entertains. But more importantly, though, uh having these reels that uh bring that matter to you, uh, you know, something that you see yourself in their messaging, that's what they do. And they continue to do this, you know, 95 episodes in. Uh it's a great partnership. And you know, if if anyone's interested, I'd be happy to uh support uh, you know, ask questions about what they do specifically. Um if you're ever interested in becoming a podcaster like myself. So uh and nonetheless, again, what I just mean to say to all this is uh grateful for all aspects of uh what this venture has done to me personally and meaningfully. Um again, it's hard for me to, well, I wouldn't say hard. I just have enough practice and repetitions. As I always like to think that I'm more or less behind the scenes and I'd like to keep a low prow. But with things like this, folks, I'm just uh so excited to talk about this all day, every day, share the messaging of my guests, and you know, in conclusion, that's uh that that's where I want to end off.

Recent Guests And Big Takeaways

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Um, you know, again, some of the most uh some of the recent guests that I've had on. I mean, folks, I'm meeting my heroes. I'm I have the ability to pinch myself every day with the the guests that I've had on, including Dr. Ish Major, who is one of America's top psychiatrists. And at one point he had a uh show on Amazon called Council Culture. Uh still there with Nick Cannon. He was on the podcast. Angela Garcia, bless her heart. She's the wife of ProGolfer Sergio Garcia, who has created an amazing anti-bullying uh organization called Ugly, the Ugly Foundation, standing for unique, gifted, loved, and individual. A distinguished astronaut, uh Lieutenant Edward Mike Fink. Oh my goodness, the way he talked about seeing how lit up the universe is against the backside of uh against the backside of the earth and the sun, and just how he describes what the universe is like. And more importantly, though, talking about humanity's inner spirit. Kareem Grimms, Hollywood actor, best known for his role as as uh playing the fan favorite preach from All American, I believe, now in its eighth and or ninth or final season. And then finally Adam Sudd. Um he is a behavioral research uh uh addiction behavioral researcher and just talks about again, we talk about how adversity shapes success. This individual is one of the prime examples of how this theme is woven into his the DNA of his fabric and his soul. But again, with Dr. Ish Major, again, one of the things that struck me the most, because that relates to me personally, he said that 90% of all of our personality is shaped by the time we are 18 in defense of our wounds. And that to me speaks to me personally because we all have our self-limiting beliefs that perhaps have come from childhood, you know, whether it was good experiences or bad experiences. And so to me, that resonated with me because as I look at this podcast in terms of what I should do to come out of my shell, you know, again, to be more, I wouldn't say vocal or not me, me, me, but again, it's just the value that this podcast I want to bring out uh to the folks that would find meaning to it. And so that to me was Dr. Ish's a meaning for me. Second was Angela Garcia. Again, she founded this anti-bullying organizations uh in Texas, this anti-bullying organization in Texas. I think over 50 high schools in Texas have implemented her programs. And certainly it speaks to me, it speaks to the relevance just because of what Brianni had gone through in terms of her bullying struggles and challenges. And I asked her on a reel, um, is that is, isn't bullying one form of how adversity shapes success? She did acknowledge it and she did provide some extra value to that answer, to that question. So you definitely want to check out to Angela's uh episode. Again, all of these episodes have come out in the past two months. And so you can find them on yognation.com or YouTube or Instagram and of and of course streaming. And so, with again, um NASA asked distinguished NASA astronaut, Lieutenant Mike Fink, you know, again. I uh I was immediately starstruck when I saw him in frame, just because I myself wanted to growing up be an astronaut, uh, NASA. I mean, I think that was the dream of a lot of kids. And so, but again, he the way that he describes how he sees Earth and the fact that it's borderless. And, you know, with all of the fighting and all of the negativity that the world is seeing today, he doesn't, he being there in space, he wants to represent humanities at his best. And to have that ideal come back to Earth. I just think that was a very powerful message that internally it spoke to me. And then for Kareem Grimm's uh preach, um, I love you, brother. Uh, you are an amazing individual. And, you know, one of the things that uh struck me the most is while he was going through auditions, I mean, the man just never quit. He always had side hustles and side jobs to keep uh to keep the finances afloat. And, you know, one of the things that struck to me about what he mentioned is that in terms of interacting with another person, if you say something negative, is that, and if that person passes away, is that the last thing uh you want to be remembered for? Is that negativity? Again, and it kind of speaks to the kindness and compassion, the empathy um of just what this, of what people in general are, right? Um I see it again, I'm probably stumbling on my words here. You just have to watch the episode, have to watch the reels for Kareem Grimms uh for you to really understand why I'm so passionate about his particular messaging. Because, you know, again, that's that's how you view ourselves. I mean, the way, the way you project your energy onto others. Do you want it to be negative or positive? I think that to me is the point of what Kareem Grimms was trying to say. And then finally, it's with Adam said. Um, boy, again, another one of those guests that truly I represent uh the ideals of what this podcast is in terms of how adversity has shaped their success. And so, you know, at one point uh he was very suicidal, um, but he turned his life around saying, What the bloody F am I doing here? And uh, you know, now he is goes on speaking tours and engagements, really helped those in the addiction community get better, not by more treatment, but by certainly acknowledging uh the individual's journey, not and again, without having judgment. Again, um, Adam has had the fortune and pleasure to work with the Matthew Perry Foundation, and uh it's just incredible um the work that he's doing to help others in recovery. So again, you don't want to miss it. And um, and I guess finally, also there's another guest recently that uh speaks to my heart, and that is uh Brian Thompson. He's the first Jamaican to play in a UEFA champions league and champions league, he uh you know goal goalkeeper. Um it's just his journey of being an athlete, and now he's a coach, RTG Academy in Austin, uh, specifically for goalkeeping. But nonetheless, one of the things that he had mentioned and shared was that everyone's a legend in their own right. So, in the sense of, you know, what whatever job or career or profession you have, you are a legend. You are giving value in the sense that he talks about on one of the reels, a janitor is a legend because he keeps the school, he or she keeps a school clean. You know, certainly a mom, a mother is a legend, obviously. Uh we all know that uh in in in our own right. Um everyone's a legend in life, right? And so I think that's some of the just a snip, a tidbit, tidbit of what just all this positive, all of this messaging, excuse me, that is really positive directed, you know, has meant to me. And I certainly hope it has uh meant to you, the listener, whether you find uh yoga nation on uh your favorite streaming platform or catching a reel on Instagram or Facebook, um, and uh you know, and or um YouTube, which uh YouTube has is central to all of the reels and all of the previous episodes as I continue to make improvements uh to make sure that you know this podcast is represented in the best light manner.

Thanks And Final Blessing

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Once again, folks, citizens of Yog Nation, I like to call you thank you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in this purpose, thank you for your kindness of your words, and more importantly, thank you for the energy you project onto others uh from perhaps the storytelling of these guests that you can see uh within yourself. Thank you again, and God bless.