Episodes

Lockwood Barr, Country Music Recording Artist Is pushing yourself outside your comfort zone a theme in your life? In this episode Lockwood Barr shares her path from her first writing sessions after arriving in Nashville to becoming a successful artist. She discusses consistently pushing out of her comfort zone, fighting impostor syndrome, her first CMA festival as a performer, and touring for a living. Lockwood also shares the importance of addressing mental health needs and her efforts to bring...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Brandon Barnett, Songwriter and Founder of the Left of Nashville Podcast Network. Highlights include their discussion of how burnout can happen even when you love what you do, and that being extremely passionate about something possibly can lead to an even greater chance of it. Kevin and Lauren also discuss how draining the true-crime genre can be, how an idea without an investment goes nowhere, and the allitera...

Brandon Barnett, Songwriter and Founder of the Left of Nashville Podcast Network Would you walk away from a good living to take a shot at your dreams? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with Brandon Barnett, whose path includes collaborating with one of Nashville’s best known songwriters to his true crime podcast that led to an arrest in a decades old missing person cold-case. Brandon shares his experience of not giving up, the joy and stress of podcasting about cold cases, and the importan...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Amie Wells, Broadcasting Manager for the Tennessee Titans and cohost of Titans All Access. Highlights include their discussion of the importance of sharing your goals with others, how a lot of people are willing to help you along the way, and the reason for not being shy when touting your accomplishments. Kevin and Lauren also discuss what modern networking looks like.

Amie Wells, Broadcasting Manager for the Tennessee Titans; Cohost of Titans All Access Are you coachable? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with Amie Wells about her path from political science major to one of the media faces of an NFL team. Amie shares the lessons she learned as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens sharpening pencils for the offensive line, the importance of being coachable, and what it is like working around household names on a daily basis. In addition to an insider’s loo...

Jonathan Avalos, Founder of Athletic Golf Fitness Do you show people that you are invested in them? In this episode Kevin and Lauren speak with Jonathan Avalos about his path from using his background as an athlete to become a trainer to founding his own business specializing in physical fitness training for golfers. Listen to hear Jonathan’s advice on ignoring your thoughts telling you that you can’t do something, the importance of knowing the intent behind every movement, and how easy it is to...

Dr. Lea Ann Parsley, Olympic Silver Medalist, Former Firefighter and EMT, Registered Nurse and Health Educator, Valor Performance Coach When you encounter something new, particularly something a little scary or risky, do you think “that looks awesome, I’ve got to try that?” In this episode, Dr. Lea Ann Parsley shares with us the life, sport, academic, and work experiences that led her to competing and earning a medal at the 2002 Olympic Games despite starting the sport just a few years prior in ...

Tracy Tutor, Author, Fear is Just a Four Letter Word, and Star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing LA Are you able to embrace fear, put it aside, and nail that big opportunity or performance? In this episode, Kevin and Lauren speak with bestselling author and television star, Tracy Tutor. Tracy shares her path of entering the L.A. luxury home real estate market at a young age, and the drive and determination that it required. She also shares what she has learned about what it takes to be successfu...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Nashville entrepreneur and artist manager, Justin Causey. The highlight is a conversation about the give and take of saying “yes” versus “no,” from the risk of taking on too much to the risk of missing an opportunity. Kevin and Lauren also touch on the power of a like-minded collective and ponder the relationship between participation in high-risk sports and the willingness to take chances in the artistic space.

Justin Causey, Entrepreneur and Music Artist Manager Are you willing to take the Ls in order to get to the Ws? In this episode we speak with Justin Causey about his experiences as an entrepreneur and artist manager in Nashville’s rising hip-hop music scene. Justin discusses his path in the music business, designing a shoe for Nike, and being named one of Tennessee State University’s 40 under 40. Listen to hear him share how a serious injury solidified his entrepreneurial approach, the rarity of ...

Dr. David Eccles, Professor of Sport Psychology at Florida State University (Parts 1 & 2; Science of High Performance) Do you have the patience to temporarily slow down enough in the midst of a high stakes situation to cultivate the best next move? Across two episodes we speak with Dr. Dave Eccles about his 20+ years of research on expert performance in a variety of domains. He describes research findings on how athletes plan ahead and simulate the competitive environment, his fascinating work o...

Dr. David Eccles, Professor of Sport Psychology at Florida State University (Parts 1 & 2; Science of High Performance) Do you have the patience to temporarily slow down enough in the midst of a high stakes situation to cultivate the best next move? Across two episodes we speak with Dr. Dave Eccles about his 20+ years of research on expert performance in a variety of domains. He describes research findings on how athletes plan ahead and simulate the competitive environment, his fascinating work o...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with Olympic Gold Medalist, Former CEO of USA Canoe/Kayak, and Performance Coach with the mic hot. Highlights include the idea of holding competing emotions (excited and nervous), being in the right place at the right time, and a discussion about the purpose of the pre-performance routine. Keep listening to The Path Distilled Podcast to catch future discussions about the pros and cons of goal setting.

Joe Jacobi, Olympic Gold Medalist, Former CEO of USA Canoe/Kayak, and Performance Coach Do you focus on and remember more about your start lines or finish lines? In this episode, we speak with Lauren’s Valor Performance colleague, Joe Jacobi, about his sport career, as well as his experiences with leading a national governing body which led him to becoming a performance coach. Joe joins us from Catalonia, Spain, and shares his “outlier” story of getting involved in the sport, his case for a good...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with stand-up comedian and podcaster Brian Bates with the microphone hot. Highlights include their discussion about developing an identity as a comic, comedy as a coping and defense mechanism, and the tremendous amount of work that goes into comedy. Kevin also shares his perspective from having performed stand-up including comedic timing and the pitfall of “my friends think I’m funny.”

Brian Bates, Stand-up Comedian, and Cohost of Nateland Podcast Would you have what it takes if your dream opportunity came true? In this episode we speak with Brian Bates about his career in comedy, and more recently, podcasting. Brian shares his path from taking a comedy class as a distraction from life events to touring the country and performing in theaters with world-class comedians. We also discuss Brian’s adjustments going from the corporate world to the life of a comic, the work ethic req...

Dr. Emily Pica, Forensic Psychology Researcher and Advocate for Wrongfully Convicted Would a major life detour derail you or would you defy expectations? In this episode, Dr. Emily Pica discusses her path from having a child at 14, to all of her initial PhD applications being rejected, to becoming a well known researcher and advocate. She also discusses her battles with impostor syndrome, the value of criticism, and how much she loves mentoring students. Her story will inspire students, budding ...

Jeremy Tubbs, Director of Music Entertainment, University of Memphis – Lambuth Campus, Music Recording and Touring Artist How would your friends and family react to learning that you decided to pursue music as a career instead of continuing the 3rd year of your pre-med track? In this episode of The Path Distilled, Jeremy Tubbs shares his path, from hating his first guitar lessons to touring the world. Listen to hear him discuss the encouragement he received to make music his profession, his ulti...

Jennifer Farmer, Author of First and Only: A Black Woman’s Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life, Public Relations Executive Have you remained anchored to your why? In this episode of The Path Distilled, Jennifer Farmer shares with us where her path began, the influences of those early experiences, the lessons she has learned along the way, and what it took for her to start her own business. She also discusses her thoughts on being a black female professional and what led her to want to write he...

BONUS: Hosts Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman discuss their conversation with QB Development Coach Sean McEvoy. Highlights include their discussion that many of the guests have mentioned gratitude as a component of their path, the thin line between success and failure, and how improvement can be messy and require repeated failures. The hosts also discuss how putting in the work sets one up to capitalize when the opportunity comes along.

Sean McEvoy, Quarterback Development Coach with Quarterback Takeover Would you be willing to scrap the technique that you literally wrote the book about? Sean McEvoy discusses his path from a side gig as a high school coach to working with a roster of well known NFL quarterbacks. We talk with him about the phenomenon of recruiting players at younger ages, his approach to developing a QB’s ability to diagnose plays and self correct, and the importance of performing under pressure for success. Lis...

Stephanie Quayle, Country Music Recording Artist When you think about giving up, do you stay focused on yourself or get slowed down by focusing on the people passing you? In this episode, Stephanie shares her path from growing up on a ranch in Montana to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. She shares what Nashville has taught her about the craft of songwriting, what helped her persevere through difficult times, and her refusal to change who she is to fit the mold. This episode is full of great advi...

BONUS: Second analysis episode in which the hosts, Drs. Kevin Harris and Lauren S. Tashman, discuss the most recent episode of The Path Distilled podcast. In this episode they reflect on their conversation with Mentalist/Magician Brendon peel. Highlights include their discussion about how Brendon and other guests have mentioned that the desire to take these difficult paths could be an inborn component, how difficult it is to find added value in any experience when you don’t know what you are hop...

Brendon Peel, Mentalist/Magician, and Star on Travel Channel’s Magic Caught on Camera Would you have had the confidence when you were 18 years old to organize and perform a show at the largest and best known festival in the country? In this episode Brendon shares how he was mesmerized seeing mentalists perform at a very young age, subsequently began putting in hours improving his own skills, and ultimately became the youngest ticketed magician in the history of South Africa. His path includes a ...