Determination — Podcast

A Family Legacy of Resilience with Dan Grunfeld

In this interview about grit and determination, author and former professional basketball player Dan Grunfeld tells the harrowing story of how his grandmother escaped the Holocaust during World War II. Dan goes on to describe the challenges his grandmother, grandfather, uncle, and father faced as they moved to the United States to begin a new life for themselves after the war. Unable to speak English, Dan’s father, Ernie Grunfeld, used the resilience he inherited from his parents to turn himself into a high school basketball phenom who went on to become a collegiate All-American, Olympic Gold Medal winner for Team USA in 1976, and an NBA player and executive.

Dan describes his personal duty to honor his grandmother, father, and their family legacy by honing his skills, body, and mind so he could be the best athlete and person he can be. He wraps up the conversation by describing his own path to becoming a standout college basketball player and his unrelenting willingness to overcome a brutal knee injury that nearly ended his chances at a professional basketball career.

Dan Grunfeld is a former professional basketball player, an accomplished writer, and a proud graduate of Stanford University. An Academic All-American and All-Conference basketball selection at Stanford, Dan played professionally for eight seasons in top leagues around the world, including in Germany, Spain, and Israel. Dan is the author of the critically acclaimed book, By the Grace of the Game, and his writing has been published more than 40 times in media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, The Jerusalem Post, and NBC News. Dan earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2017 and lives with his wife and sons in Northern Virginia, where he works in venture capital.

The Heart of Boxing World Champion Jamal "Shango" James

On August 8, 2020, Jamal “Shango” James became the World Boxing Association Welterweight Champion. The win gave Shango the same title and belt previously held by boxing icons like Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In this interview, Shango discusses the incredible physical and mental resilience required to make a living as a professional boxer. A native of Minneapolis, Shango shares how he endured the pandemic that disrupted his career and the social unrest when George Floyd was murdered just blocks from where he lives and trains. He talks about what it was like to become a world champion winning the WBA Welterweight title and he candidly shares how he felt when he lost the title 15 months later. Shango also talks about his commitment to helping young people and how representing his family and community fuel him to pursue the title again. A new father, Shango closes the interview with how he would like to help his son develop resilience as he grows up.

When he was just aged five, Jamal “Shango” James made his first visit to a boxing gym. From that day forward, he was hooked. As an amateur boxer, he fought more than 100 bouts and turned pro winning his first match on May 22, 2010. He went on to win his first 20 professional bouts and has amassed a 28-2 professional record. In August of 2020, after months of waiting through the pandemic for his first chance at a title fight, Shango became a world champion with his victory over Thomas Dulorme in Los Angeles. While boxing has been a huge part of Shango’s life, he also writes musical lyrics and mentors young people at the Circle of Discipline gym where he trains.

Surviving in the Amazon with Ky Furneaux

Ky Furneaux spent much of her early childhood running wild in small rural towns around South Australia, having adventures and riding her horse through the bush with a freedom that only small country towns allowed. When she was 19 years old, a car accident fractured a vertebra in her spine. When she was told she would never be physically active again, a resilience emerged that she didn’t know she had. She has been using it ever since in her career as a stunt double in films and as a survivalist in the wild.

In this interview, Ky talks about the accident that changed her life and how she developed the resilience that assisted in her recovery. She also discusses some of the amazing survival challenges she has conquered as a participant on Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid” series. During a 21-day, solo trip in the Amazon, Ky consumed just 1,000 total calories while burning more than 40,000. She shares her methods for overcoming these grueling physical and mental obstacles while convincing herself to keep moving forward. Ky closes the conversation with simple, practical, powerful advice for people who want to further develop their own resilience.

Ky Furneaux is an Australian outdoor guide, TV host, survival expert, professional speaker, and stunt double who has appeared in over 100 films and TV productions. She is co-author of Survive: The All-In-One Guide to Staying Alive in Extreme Conditions with Emily Sullivan. She has also written When the Grid Fails: Easy Action Steps When Facing Urban and Natural Disasters, The Superwoman's Survival Guide: Conquering the Unexpected in the Office, on the Town, or in the Great Outdoors, and Surviving the First 36 Hours: What to Do to Ensure Rescue which is scheduled to be published in August of 2023. Ky also works with young people to help them develop their confidence and resilience.

Raising Resilient Children with Dr. Ann Masten

Dr. Ann Masten is a professor at the University of Minnesota who has been studying resilience in children and families facing adversity for more than 40 years.

In this interview, Dr. Masten shares the factors that contribute to positive development of children, how the pandemic put children at risk during the lockdown and in the months since, and what children who live through stressful circumstances can gain by enduring those hardships. Dr. Masten addresses the downside of “helicopter” or “snowplow” parents who are overly protective and remove obstacles in the way of their children. She also discusses how bullying, social media use, and climate change are challenging young people in ways that previous generations never experienced.

Dr. Ann Masten is a Regents Professor, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She studies competence, risk, and resilience in development, with a focus on the processes leading to positive adaptation and outcomes in children and families whose lives are threatened by adversity. The goal of her work is to inform science, practice, and policy seeking to understand and promote human adaptation and resilience. She is the author or co-author of many articles on the subjects of childhood resilience, development, and motivation. She is also the author of the 2014 book “Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development.”

Never Give Up with Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Rodgers

In 1972, Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers was recognized as the best college football player in the country and winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. As a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his teams won two college football national championships. Johnny went on to play six years of professional football before an injury stopped the man that defenders couldn’t. Undeterred, he left behind pro sports and used his relentlessness to become a successful entrepreneur and supporter of young people in his community.

In this interview, Johnny discusses the importance of resilience for him as an athlete. He shares how he overcame an injury that ended his career after six seasons of professional football and how resilience, grit, and a never-give-up attitude have helped him succeed in life decades after his professional athletics career ended. Johnny even talks about how his mindset helped him overcome a weeks-long COVID-19 hospitalization that many people around him thought would take his life.

Johnny Rodgers played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. He played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes and in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers. As a member of the Alouettes, he was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 1973, a three-time CFL All-Star, and helped his team win the Grey Cup league championship in 1974. As a high school athlete, Johnny excelled in track & field winning a national title in the long jump, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, he was an all-star basketball player, and he was nearly untouchable on the football field. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. When his football career ended, Johnny started the largest magazine in San Diego history and has gone on to pursue numerous other entrepreneurial endeavors and community projects including co-founding The Jet Award which creates opportunities for youth through character, educational, and social development.

Warrior Toughness - Mind, Body, Soul with FLTCM David Isom

In this interview, Fleet Master Chief David Isom discusses the Navy SEAL selection process, the endurance required to survive “Hell Week,” the daily dangers of being a member of a SEAL team and how the stress of that danger is managed, and how the US military approaches resilience at an organizational level. He even talks about his role in the planning and rescue of Private Jessica Lynch when she was a prisoner of war in Iraq.

Fleet Master Chief David Isom assumed his current duties as Command Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in June of 2022. He previously served as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Operations Command Pacific; Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Operations Command North; Command Master Chief, Naval Special Warfare Group TEN; and Command Master Chief, Special Reconnaissance Team TWO. His other assignments include Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Joint Special Operations Command, Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron ONE, and SEAL Team ONE.

Master Chief Isom's assignments have included a full range of duties in Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Teams at Theater Special Operations Commands, and across the joint environment. His combat and operational deployments include Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as deployments throughout the Pacific and the Horn of Africa.

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