What does it truly mean to find your purpose — and what happens when the path you were certain of turns out to lead somewhere completely unexpected? In this rich, soul-stirring conversation, Barry Shore welcomes Gavriel Sanders, a Jerusalem-based teacher and thinker who spent over two decades as a passionate Christian missionary before an eight-year journey of deep study and honest reckoning brought him to Judaism.

Gavriel grew up as Mark — not Jewish — and became deeply immersed in the Jesus Movement and Pentecostal church world of the 1970s and 80s. He studied Bible college, learned Hebrew to read original texts, taught on kibbutzim in Israel, and genuinely believed he had found the one true path.

Then, one evening at a Chabad House rally during the 1984 LA Olympics, he heard — for the first time, from Jewish voices — a compelling counter-argument. That moment cracked open a process that would take years to complete.

One of the most memorable threads in this episode is Gavriel’s honest question: “Do I believe something because it’s true, or is it true because I believe it?” He sat with that question through an eight-year gap between leaving the church and entering the synagogue, eventually satisfying the rigorous requirements of the Los Angeles Rabbinical Council of California after nearly two years of scrutiny.

Now living in the heart of Jerusalem, Gavriel reflects on service as the heart of Jewish identity, the concept that chosen-ness means being a model of values — not superiority — and why difficulty, not comfort, is often the Creator’s greatest gift. His journey is a testament to the joy of living with purpose, honesty, and courageous self-examination.

Gavriel Sanders is a Jerusalem-based educator, musician, and speaker who spent 20 years in the Christian church world before converting to Judaism. He has been living observantly under a kippah for 27 years and continues to engage in meaningful dialogue on faith, identity, and spiritual growth.

What if everything happening to you is actually happening for you? In this powerful episode, Barry Shore welcomes spiritual teacher and coach Rudi Riekstins for a conversation that moves well beyond motivation into genuine transformation.

Rudi introduces his Divinity Mindset — the idea that we are souls who chose our human experiences, not victims of circumstance. He unpacks why most people give away their power by placing their worth in job titles, relationships, or external validation, and how a single shift in perspective can reclaim that power instantly.

The conversation dives deep into the law of attraction, clarifying a common misunderstanding: abundance isn’t drawn to you by thinking positive thoughts alone — it’s drawn by elevating your emotional state so your entire being emanates the frequency of what you seek. Rudi reveals that joy and abundance share the same vibrational frequency, making joyful living not just a feel-good idea but a law of creation.

Rudi also shares his own profound story of surviving childhood sexual assault and how that pain became the precise qualification that now allows him to support over 65% of his clients who have experienced similar trauma. His vulnerability is a masterclass in reframing suffering as purpose.

Listeners are invited to access Rudi’s free Mood Elevator Meditation — check the show notes link or message Rudi directly on any social platform.

Rudi Riekstins is a spiritual teacher, transformational coach, and host of the In Powered Life podcast, with millions of downloads and a global community dedicated to soul-centered living.

What does it take to escape a regime that wants to erase you? In this deeply moving episode, Barry Shore sits down with Nizam Missaghi, a Baha’i-born Iranian American who was smuggled across the mountains into Turkey as a young man — simply because his faith denied him the right to a passport, an education, and a future in his own country.

Nizam walks us through what life looked like growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a member of the Baha’i faith — a minority religion that stands for the equality of men and women, the unity of all religions, and universal peace. His mother, a pediatrician, was fired from her hospital. His father, an engineer, lost his job. And when Nizam finished high school, Iranian universities were entirely closed to him by government order. Freedom wasn’t just a dream — it was something he had to physically risk his life to reach.

Born in the United States while his parents completed their studies here in the 1970s, Nizam held an American passport he could not legally use inside Iran. His only path out was a human smuggler known only as “Uncle,” contacted by word of mouth, paid in cash, and reached only by pay phone. Fifteen people crossed the mountains together at dusk — and Nizam’s father sent him off with nothing more than a quiet pat on the back and the words, “God be with you.”

This is a story about purpose-driven living, the power of faith under pressure, and what it means to truly build a life from nothing. Nizam Missaghi is a practicing anesthesiologist based in Phoenix, Arizona, and the author of Passport to Freedom, a memoir detailing his journey from persecution to purpose.

Most people think cybercriminals target technology — but as Sanford Weinberg explains in this episode, the real target is always the person. Criminals exploit fear, urgency, and trust to bypass even the most careful among us, and the results can be devastating.

Sanford walks Barry through a heartbreaking real-world story: an elderly woman living alone lost nearly $40,000 to scammers who posed as Microsoft support, convinced her the bank was complicit, and guided her step-by-step to a Bitcoin machine — all while she believed she was protecting her savings. It’s a chilling reminder that no one is immune, regardless of age or tech savvy.

The conversation gets practical fast. Sanford introduces his PAUSE framework — a five-step approach anyone can use: Pause when pressured, Authenticate independently, Use strong protection like password managers and multi-factor authentication, and never assume your email is unimportant. He explains why email is “the keys to the kingdom” and why reusing passwords across accounts puts everything at risk.

Barry and Sanford also explore the emotional mechanics behind scams — how urgency, authority, and fear short-circuit our thinking — and why even cybersecurity professionals find their own family members falling for these tactics.

Sanford Weinberg is a decades-long cybersecurity expert, educator, and speaker who has protected organizations from small businesses to major enterprises, with a specialty in translating complex cyber concepts into clear, actionable guidance for everyday people.

What starts as a neighborhood poker game at age 12 can quietly grow into something that consumes every waking hour. In this episode, Barry Shore sits down with Sam DeMello — tech entrepreneur, gambling addiction survivor, and founder of Evive — for an honest, eye-opening conversation about one of the fastest-growing public health crises in America.

Sam traces his relationship with gambling from teenage poker nights in Oakland to casino runs four or five nights a week during college at UC Santa Barbara, and eventually to online sports betting at 2 a.m. on Ugandan women’s basketball. He explains how gambling was never just about money — it was a solution to loneliness, a language for making friends, and a way to feel like he belonged. That double life, appearing successful on the outside while silently drowning on the inside, is what he calls the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience of addiction.

Barry and Sam explore why gambling addiction remains the most stigmatized and least-supported form of addiction, why the digitization of gambling has removed every safeguard that once slowed problem gambling down, and why young men are being hit hardest. Sam also references Dr. Tim Fong of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, who describes gambling disorder not merely as a brain disease but as an intense condition of loneliness.

This episode is essential listening for anyone who loves someone affected by problem gambling — or suspects they might be affected themselves.

Sam DeMello is a tech entrepreneur, gambling addiction advocate, and founder of Evive, a recovery support program designed to help people impacted by gambling disorder.

What does it take to find meaning when you’re raised in a culture of ambition-crushing conformity? In this rich conversation, Barry Shore welcomes Rabbi Steve Leder — emeritus senior rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple and New York Times bestselling author — for an honest, warm, and deeply personal exploration of roots, resilience, and purpose.

Steve opens up about growing up in the tight-knit Jewish enclave of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where nearly everyone on his block was Jewish, yet the broader culture rewarded mediocrity and punished ambition. He reflects on what it meant to grow up in a junkyard family — his father and uncle built Leader Brothers Metal from nothing, picking tin cans out of a vacant lot — and how that blue-collar grit ultimately shaped his character far more than any formal education.

The conversation takes a poignant turn as Steve shares the Greek-tragedy arc of his father and uncle’s decades-long rivalry, a story that ends with Alzheimer’s, silence, and a painfully ironic final chapter. It’s a profound reminder of how unresolved dysfunction can consume a lifetime — and why reconciliation matters.

Barry and Steve also explore the winding road that brought Steve to Los Angeles and to a nearly 39-year tenure at one of America’s most prominent synagogues, the role of mentorship in early career decisions, and how creativity is either nurtured or crushed depending on the world you grow up in. This episode is full of purpose-driven wisdom and genuine human storytelling.

Rabbi Steve Leder is the emeritus senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, a five-time author, and a two-time Newsweek list honoree as one of the most influential Jews in America.

What does it mean to raise a profoundly autistic son into adulthood — and to do it while living through years of war in Israel? In this deeply human conversation, Barry Shore welcomes Hannah Brown, Jerusalem Post writer, art and music critic, and mother of a 30-year-old son with severe autism.

Hannah opens with something that genuinely rattled her: many of the highly educated, well-meaning friends she grew up with on New York’s Upper West Side became enthusiastic supporters of a mayoral candidate she sees as deeply hostile to Israel and to Jewish life. She reflects on style over substance — how charisma and sweeping promises can win over even thoughtful people when they stop asking hard questions. She also shares a quietly alarming personal moment: being warned by family not to wear a simple yellow hostage-ribbon pin on the streets of New York City, the most historically Jewish city in America.

The conversation then moves to the heart of Hannah’s life — her son Danny, now 30, who is on the more severe, or profound, end of the autism spectrum. She explains the autistic spectrum with honesty and compassion, describing the extraordinary range it encompasses — from people recruited into Israel’s elite cyber intelligence units, to those like Danny who face deep communication challenges every day. She reminds us that if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.

This episode is a testament to purposeful living even under pressure — a theme Barry Shore returns to again and again through the lens of joy, gratitude, and making a difference.

Hannah Brown is a Jerusalem Post journalist, author, art and music critic based in Jerusalem, and mother of two sons. Her book follows the lives of four families raising children with autism.

If you have ever felt trapped by a secret you were too ashamed to tell anyone, this episode will meet you right where you are. Barry Shore sits down with Blaine Bartel — author, speaker, and founder of House of Resurrection — for one of the most honest conversations the Joy of Living podcast has ever aired.

Blaine opens up about a 23-year hidden battle with pornography and sexual addiction that ran beneath a thriving public ministry. Starting with a single, impulsive moment in a hotel room at age 28, he describes how one choice to cover up rather than confess set off decades of shame, a double life, and eventually the destruction of his first marriage. He was suicidal, hated the man he saw in the mirror, and kept believing he could stop alone — until he couldn’t.

What finally broke the cycle was what Blaine calls the terrifying grace of God — a confrontation that forced full confession to his family, his church, and himself. The road to freedom cost him his career, his finances, and nearly his relationships with his three sons. Yet today, after years of counseling, community, and deep personal work, he has been free for nearly 15 years.

Blaine explains the crucial difference between guilt and shame — guilt says “I did wrong” and drives you toward help, while shame says “I am wrong” and drives you into isolation. Understanding that difference, he says, is often the first step out of the trap.

Through House of Resurrection, Blaine and his wife Lori now offer residential freedom intensives and year-long coaching for men, ministers, and marriages in crisis — with an 80–85% freedom rate in the first year. Whether your struggle is pornography, alcohol, or any hidden addiction, Blaine’s message is clear: you are not alone, and resurrection is real.

Blaine Bartel is an author, speaker, and founder of House of Resurrection, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to helping men, ministers, and marriages find freedom from sexual addiction and brokenness.

In this episode of The Joy of Living, Barry Shore sits down with Heather Henderson, author of Reclaiming and a former tech industry insider with experience at companies including Google and Uber. Together they explore one of the most pressing challenges of modern life: the quiet erosion of our attention by persuasive technology.

Heather explains that presence is the new luxury, not because it costs money, but because our devices are deliberately engineered to capture and hold our focus.

She shares what she witnessed from the inside of big tech, including laptop-down meetings where even employees were asked to put devices away, and how some of the most influential tech leaders build personal boundaries against the very products they create.

The conversation digs into digital addiction, the difference between neutral technology and persuasive technology, and how understanding what a platform is feeding in you is the first step toward reclaiming your time. Barry and Heather also explore the idea that every click and scroll leaves a digital footprint that fuels the data economy, and why dedicated attention is your most valuable resource.

Heather’s core message is that this challenge belongs to all of us regardless of age, background, or location, and that awareness itself is the beginning of freedom. Her book Reclaiming and her personal journey from inside the tech world to advocate for human presence make her a compelling and credible guide on this topic.

In this powerful episode of The Joy of Living, Barry Shore sits down with Doug Noll, a former award-winning trial lawyer turned peacemaker, to explore his remarkable nonprofit initiative called Prison of Peace. Doug shares how he and his colleague Laurel Coffer began training women serving life sentences in the largest women’s prison in California to become certified mediators and peacemakers — and how that work helped dramatically reduce violence behind bars.

Doug breaks down the foundational skill behind it all: affect labeling. Rooted in brain science from UCLA studies, this technique involves naming another person’s emotions using simple you-feel statements. When done correctly, it calms the emotional centers of the brain within 90 seconds, bypassing the amygdala threat response and restoring access to the prefrontal cortex. Doug explains why this works on any human brain — whether you are incarcerated, a corrections officer, a CEO, or a parent.

The conversation weaves together neuroscience, compassion, and the transformative power of emotional de-escalation. Barry and Doug discuss the American spirit of breaking through circumstance, the universal nature of human emotion across prisons in Italy, Greece, South Africa, and beyond, and why simply saying you feel angry can rebuild a relationship after 18 years of silence.

Doug Noll is a former California trial lawyer, author of four books including De-Escalate, and the founder of Prison of Peace, a program now active in multiple U.S. states and countries worldwide

In this episode of the Joy of Living, Barry Shore welcomes legendary author and speaker Jack Canfield for a rich conversation about purpose, belief, and the practical tools that lead to a life of fulfillment. Jack is best known as co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, the most widely published secular book series in the world, and he joins Barry to discuss his latest work, The Success Principles Workbook.

Jack walks through several of his life secrets, starting with the idea that joy is your feedback system. When you are living on purpose, doing what you were built to do, joy signals that you are on course. He explains how discovering your life purpose is the first step, followed by building a clear vision, setting measurable goals, and most importantly, choosing to believe that your dreams are possible. Belief, Jack reminds us, is simply a thought you repeat until it becomes a conviction, and it is always a choice.

The conversation also explores the power of inner and outer guidance. Jack shares the remarkable meditation story behind how the title Chicken Soup for the Soul came to him after 144 rejections, a vivid reminder that persistence and openness to guidance can lead to breakthroughs even when the world says no.

Barry weaves in his own story of overcoming paralysis through visualization, belief, and daily gratitude, showing listeners how these success principles work in real life. Together, Jack and Barry inspire listeners to dream big, take action, and never give up.

Jack Canfield is a Hall of Fame speaker, bestselling author, and transformational educator whose work has touched millions of lives in over 100 countries.

In this episode of the Joy of Living, Barry Shore sits down with film producer, author, and philanthropist Peter Samuelson to explore how intentional kindness can transform individuals, communities, and society at large. Peter shares his remarkable journey from Cambridge-educated immigrant to Hollywood producer of 27 films, including work alongside Steven Spielberg, and how that path led him to found seven charities that have collectively raised 1.3 billion dollars serving children in four countries.

Peter opens up about his Pay It Forward class for foster youth through FirstStar.org, where high school students are given 200 dollars to give away and then go do it. The stories that emerge, kids saving shelter puppies because they see their own pain in the animals, daughters sending money to incarcerated mothers, are genuinely moving and reveal how acts of giving lift both the giver and the receiver.

The conversation then turns to ROKindness, a new platform Peter co-founded that functions like a public ledger of kindness. Using a card with a QR code, one act of generosity can be tracked and multiplied down a family tree of kindness, one to three to nine to 27, borrowing the viral growth model of network marketing but replacing profit with purpose. Peter explains that hatred is just fear dressed up, and that building visible bridges of kindness is one of the most powerful ways to push back against division.

Barry and Peter also discuss the big idea behind Peter’s book Finding Happy, which grew out of two dozen recurring topics he noticed while mentoring foster youth. The selflessness-as-self-care paradox woven throughout the book offers a refreshing, grounded take on personal happiness.

Peter Samuelson is a British-born Hollywood film producer, author, and founder of seven charities including FirstStar.org and ROKindness.org, dedicated to improving the lives of foster youth and spreading kindness globally.

Barry Shore welcomes two remarkable true crime experts who appear anonymously as Dr. M and TK Masters, the duo behind the Sleuth and Surgeon podcast. Together they bring a rare combination of skills to cold cases and overlooked homicides: Dr. M is a board-certified neurosurgeon turned attorney turned writer, and TK is a former sheriff’s detective turned undercover corporate espionage investigator.

The conversation digs deep into their first case, Two Horse Sleigh, a Texas homicide in which a woman named Nancy was found dead in a horse stall with sharp force injuries to her throat. Three separate law enforcement agencies dismissed the findings of board-certified forensic pathologist Dr. Patricia Moore and insisted the horse was responsible. The suspected killer, Jose Fernando Bustos Diaz, later murdered a second woman, was convicted, escaped from prison with a fellow inmate, and remains at large to this day.

TK also shares her background in undercover corporate espionage, including a three-year operation in Mexico City targeting an industrial pirate network whose takedown was reported in the Wall Street Journal. Dr. M explains how neurosurgery and law school together sharpened her listening skills, critical thinking, and ability to communicate complex medical and legal concepts to a broad audience.

The pair discuss their second case, Ode to Alexander, a heartbreaking story involving the murder of a baby and a perpetrator who confessed and then retracted. Both guests share that their most fervent desire is simply to make a difference in the lives of victims and their families.

Dr. M is a board-certified neurosurgeon, attorney, and writer whose work spans true crime podcasting, medical and legal journals, and original television pilot scripts. TK Masters is a former Texas sheriff’s detective and undercover investigator specializing in corporate espionage, white-collar crime, and cold case analysis.

In this powerful episode of the Joy of Living, Barry Shore welcomes Jan Jekielek, senior editor of The Epoch Times and host of American Thought Leaders, for a conversation that confronts one of the most serious human rights violations of the 21st century. Jan’s book Killed to Order lays out the evidence behind the Chinese Communist Party’s forced organ harvesting program, a state-sanctioned system that targets religious minorities, ethnic minorities, and political dissidents.

Jan explains how he first encountered the evidence in 2006 and why it took years before social consciousness caught up with the horrifying reality. He walks through how an ethical organ transplant system works, and why the CCP’s version operates in reverse, with prisoners serving as living organ banks matched on demand to paying transplant tourists.

The conversation broadens into the CCP’s United Front Work Department, what Mao called his magic weapon, and how it systematically dismantles civil society both inside China and in diaspora communities around the world. Jan connects this to the American founding, individual rights, and why Western nations were slow to recognize the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.

Barry brings his trademark warmth and the lens of purposeful living to a difficult topic, reminding listeners that understanding evil is part of building a more just and joyful world. Jan Jekielek is a senior editor at The Epoch Times, host of American Thought Leaders, and author of Killed to Order.

In this episode of the Joy of Living, Barry Shore welcomes Michael Libercci, a growth strategist, mental performance architect, and recognized authority in health, wellness, and human performance. Together they explore one of the most important distinctions in modern wellness thinking: the difference between lifespan and healthspan. While lifespan measures how long you live, healthspan measures how well you live across the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of your life.

Michael explains that these three dimensions are not dependent on each other but interlocking, and that focusing on quality of life rather than just length of life is what creates real impact for yourself and others. Barry shares his own powerful story of going from full health to complete paralysis overnight from a rare disease, spending 144 days in the hospital and years in a wheelchair, and how his mental and spiritual healthspan remained strong even when his physical body could not move.

The conversation moves into how shifting your mindset, using the word shift as an acronym for something happening inside facilitating transformation, can move you from a place of limitation into one of expansion. Michael talks about becoming a disruptor by first listening deeply, finding the root cause of problems, and serving others from a place of genuine experience rather than just theory.

He opens up about his own struggles with physical and mental dysfunction, which led him to spend his career helping others transform. This is a warm, energizing conversation full of practical wisdom and memorable insights for anyone looking to live with greater purpose and positive impact. Michael Libercci is the co-creator of the Total Disruption podcast and TV show and has spent decades coaching and mentoring individuals in health, wellness, fitness, and mental performance.