The Secret to Change and Health Transformation with Alex Balgood, Author, Dancer, and Life Coach
Summary:
Alex Balgood has a long history with health, from her mother being a nurse to her own experiences with health scares and injuries. She has explored many different forms of healing, from chiropractic care to acupuncture to massage therapy and sound therapy. She is also a professional dancer and has traveled the world competing and teaching.
Alx Balgood experienced a life-changing moment when she had a health scare in his early twenties, which led her to make a bucket list and start making changes in her life. She has since become a Renaissance woman, doing a variety of things such as being an author, artist, dancer, massage therapist, life coach, and podcast host. She encourages others to make changes in their lives and to find their own purpose and passion.
Alex Balgood believes that everyone has a spiritual team behind them, whether they believe in it or not, and that asking for help is key to improving one's life. She wrote a book about her father's journey with cancer and the importance of mentors, both known and unknown. Her book, Parents are Our Greatest Teachers, is available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon, and her podcast and Youtube channel focus on alternative healing.
Alex Balgood is also podcast host who talks to practitioners, healers, scientists, and doctors about their views on health and how to make changes at home. She is also working on a non-profit to clean up toxic rivers in India and Mexico, and is looking for resources to make it happen. She is also working on a podcast series called Healing through Cultivating Art, which focuses on the importance of art in the healing journey.
You can find more about her here:
Transcript:
Hey guys, welcome back to the Health Is Paw Hers podcast. I have a guest with us that I was on her show and uh, Herr name is Alex Baal good. She is an author and artist, a creator, a dancer, she is a certified massage therapist, she hosts the Leap of Health podcast, which I am on so super fun, and then she's also a host on Youtube of Doll around the world.
6:21 - Anna Esparham
She's also a life and nutrition nutritionist coach. She is like a well rounded health guru, and so I love to have her on the show. Thanks so much for coming, Alex,
6:32 - Alx Balgood
Thank you, thank you. That's amazing. I mi all that.
6:37 - Anna Esparham
you're all that and more.
6:39 - Alx Balgood
Oh, man.
6:43 - Anna Esparham
You know, we're gonna probably kind of into it a lot, for the audience today, but tell us about your origin story, your healing story, all about. Kind of where you've gotten to today.
6:57 - Alx Balgood
Yes. Thank you for having me again. This is excited. I really don't get to talk about me much. I talk about hail with others, but really this is cool, so thank you, thank you, yeah, so. My background in health, I guesss will goes way back to um, pretty much my mom, she is a retired nurse. I being used to take us to the hospital when she was working and stuff like that. She was a single mom raising three kids and I've been in the hospital, you know, seen uh, for, for forever, for my whole life.
7:41 - Alx Balgood
Later on in life, when I was in high school, one of my, 1st job was as a file clerk at a clinic, orthopedic clinic, and that's kind of like where everything started. I was so curious about the body and how worked and um, as an orthopedic offices I will see a lot of fractures and all these other stuff and also we'll see the physical therapy and how, you know, practic care, acupuncture, physical therapy, help a lot of patients. So I think I just got more curious and curious as the years went on.
8:25 - Alx Balgood
I was lucky enough that some of those, doctors and a punchers, they actually will train me kind of like on the side and explain me a lot of things. So it was really cool because even though I, I didn't go to school for, for any of that, I was like being in, in school and being trained by this really cool acupuncturist and the sky bracker which uh, later on she became one of my best friends. So I was always one of those kids coming to them and be like, why is this the back doing this, why are you doing this surgery, why are you putting the needles and all that?
9:05 - Alx Balgood
Fast forward, many years I actually got to go to school and uh, become certified as a massage therapist, as a nutritionist too. So um, yeah, I mean it is in a long way. Into this, but um, I love it. I, I feel like you know, being in the, in the health system for so long, I just kind of like know all these random facts and I really loved it.
9:38 - Anna Esparham
Yep.
9:39 - Alx Balgood
And also two Um, I had two health scares throughout my life. One was about my mid twenties. I started having these like heart palpitations and I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I went to the Dr., and they kept me there actually at the hospital for like a day or two, we, I think it was like two days. And then, they told me it was just like high levels of stress. So that's when Actually, probably that was like the turning point for me to be like, okay, I have to take care of myself. And I started learning more about the things that, how a co bunch can work, how errors can help, I look for holistic, practitioners and they also help me with that.
10:29 - Alx Balgood
I manage to stress through dancing. I'm a, I'm also a professional dancer, so uh, even though it's such a fun thing to do, doing it professionally in training, twice a day and night and well, and things like that, it was also not helpful. But anyway, you just learn with time the things that you really need to do with, with your body. And then the last one, the last healthcare was like about Mid thirties I had a really bad, pain on um, by the gall bladder, went to the doctor's, nobody knew what it was, they did testing and everything.
11:11 - Alx Balgood
And so I went to many doctors, even holistic doctors, and it will help with the pain, but nothing really will come. Like curate and nobody knew what it was. That's what it got. Me too, dive a little bit more into, more of like the medical intuitive, psychic healers if you will. And um, I made this um, really cool, medical intuitive lady and she pretty much went in through to like my energy and so what it was I think she mentioned something about like my soul in our energy body, which I was like very surprised that, that, that was messed up and that's what it was causing me to spin.
12:00 - Alx Balgood
And you know, I had the session with her and she can like patch up my soul if you will. And I know it sounds really crazy and like woo, but that was the only thing that helped me. And after that, you know, I believe it for sure. So there's been a lot of, a lot of things, but that's kind of like my life story in like few minutes.
12:23 - Anna Esparham
In a nutshell, yes. What kind of dancer were you?
12:29 - Alx Balgood
I'm still a dancer. I'm a Latin dancer, so I do a lot of like salsa, Tata cha, but taming a little bit of tango. I was trained in uh, basis of basics of val room, so I did a little bit of that. I was a teacher in La from for like about maybe like about ten years or maybe a little bit more.
12:52 - Anna Esparham
Wow.
12:52 - Alx Balgood
I recently moved to Houston, so I haven't been teaching here yet. I'm still kind of like new and trying to settle in. But yeah, and uh, I did a lot of traveling with that. I competed, around the world. I did shows around the world. I thought, many classes too went to, from New Zealand to Alaska, Mexico, London, Paris, what else Can't remember.
13:25 - Anna Esparham
Wow.
13:25 - Alx Balgood
Oh Hawaii, I went to Cuba too. I w, I went to a lot of like different places that dancing really get me around the world, you know, traveling and having fun and teaching and learning from other artists. So that was pretty cool,
13:39 - Anna Esparham
What led you to be a massage therapist? Was it any injuries from that or just like learning about the body?
13:45 - Alx Balgood
I think. Through my whole life, I've, I've always been, kind of like very athletic and competitive. I have two brothers, I'm the middle kid, so I'm always trying to kind of like You know, compete with them at all times. And since I was little, I've been in sports. At eleven I fell, I broke my elbow and I had to like get some screws in there. So at a very young age I had a few injuries and you know, event and therapy, massage, all, all those things. And then as I grew older. I was in the swimming team in Bal, wall, so that got me to more injuries, but you know, cool injuries I guess I'm,
14:33 - Anna Esparham
Are.
14:33 - Alx Balgood
I'm proud of my life. And then dancing too, I like I never thought I was gonna be a dancer at a, you know, when I was in my twenties. You know, I became a professional. Ad Nr I did a lott of uh, competitions and all that and also from there I got a lot of injuries too.
14:55 - Anna Esparham
I imagine.
14:57 - Alx Balgood
I mean, it's not bad I guess. It comes with it, we, if anybody that's listing it out there, you know that if you're some sort of like dancer and you're in a team, you know, doing shows or competing or just as an athlete, there's always gonna be injuries. But you know, as long as you get some therapy and you're kind of like take, you learn, I guess with the years you're like, okay, I can't do that because I'm gon messed up my knee, But yeah, when you're, younger, you kind like don't care and you're doing stunts in the street and cement.
15:32 - Alx Balgood
Which is, that's not the greatest idea to do. But yeah, as you learn you're like, okay, maybe if I'm gonna learn how to like do back flips, I'm gonna go to a proper place where I'm not gonna, you know, mess myself up more.
15:46 - Anna Esparham
Oh, my word.
15:49 - Alx Balgood
But I mean, you know, that's just we learn. All athletes. I feel like at some point we're like, Oh okay, I shouldn't run in cement, I should do this, I should do that. But you know, thankfully I've been blessed that I have my best friend. She is a car practice. So kind like my whole life.
16:07 - Anna Esparham
Oh, good.
16:08 - Alx Balgood
I'm, she a little older than me, so she has helped me since I was 18.
16:14 - Anna Esparham
Oh, perfect. Oh, good. Wow.
16:15 - Alx Balgood
So yeah, I've got chro, practic care, acupuncture care, massage, so you know,
16:23 - Anna Esparham
Thank you.
16:24 - Alx Balgood
raki to I went like, as I learned through, you know. Health journey. I, I start collecting more and more physicians on my sleeve. So start with chro practic care. Then I got a, acupuncture, which I love. If you guys haven't tried acupuncture, it's amazing. Nothing to it scare. It's is really so good for, for everything. Circulation, massage, I'm, I'm sorry, circulation, muscles and a bunch of other stuff. So it's really I'm a Believer, big believer in acupuncture. But yeah, I went from Cairo.
17:04 - Alx Balgood
Acupuncture, physical therapy, now I do also raki, you know, moustache. Anything that I can find I will do. Now I do like sound therapy, you know, I do now meditation, now I do a little bit more of yoga. When it comes to like self care. So it's always good you through a variety. Of different things because at some point one of those is can help you more than the other one so.
17:31 - Anna Esparham
I agree. I do a lot of different stuff for myself as well. And um, and I just also incorporate new stuff as I learn more about them. So yeah, I'm kind of like you diverse, so you uh, do quite a bit, you're just like this Renaissance woman and so you're You're an author, you're an artist, you're a dancer, you're a massage therapist, you're a life coach, you're a podcast. I mean, you do all this stuff and it's like, wow, how on earth do you have time to do all this stuff and how do you do it all?
18:11 - Alx Balgood
Yes, actually, it's funny that you ask that one of my really good friends here now in Houston. She asked me that the other day and she's like, How do you do all that? Like how do you have? I'm to do a lot of things and uh, she's single. So the 1st thing that came to my head was like, And I put it this way, right, it might apply now to you. But I told her, imagine if you have seven really good looking and hat guys after you. There are seven, one for each day, and they're really hot and they're very into you and they love you.
18:55 - Alx Balgood
Wouldn't you make time for those seven? You know guys out there? And she was like, well, if you put it that way, I definitely will, you know, I, I will put some time and make a time for that, right? In this case, I obviously I don't have seven guys, you know, I really love what I do and so I really make time for it. I think, when I have that 1st. Healthcare. And I had this heart attack. I was in my mid early twenties. Maybe Me being in the hospital with, you know, all these things tied to my heart, just for them to make sure I was not having a heart attack, right?
19:42 - Alx Balgood
Because I was in a very high stress. That was, and I talk about this in my book, that was one of those turning points that I had to kind of like sit with like what about if I die right now, like in a few minutes, what about De is coming for me, you know, even though it was it, it was not true, I learned afterwards, but at that moment it felt so real, it felt like life could just end right then and then. And so you really make me think about everything about my life, what did I do all those 20 plus years, right?
20:24 - Alx Balgood
And really. At that moment I was like, well, I haven't done nothing. I've been kind of like running away from everything I've been. You know I left pretty much my my home when I was very young I was fourteen when I moved with my grandma and I loved my my mom and then from my grandma was there till I was like eighteen nineteen and then I went on my own I was still very young obviously at that at that moment you feel like you know everything you know everything about the world and nobody here hassle saying in your life right obviously now I'm like wow what an idiot I could just finish school, finished university.
21:10 - Alx Balgood
Because after I graduated from, from, high school I actually got a scholarship to be an engineer.
21:16 - Anna Esparham
Oh, oh, wow.
21:19 - Alx Balgood
and so, you know, I had the crazy mindset of Like, I don't need no one to tell me what to do, I do what I want. And yes, I'm really good at being an engineer, but I wanna be an artist. And at that point I had no support, support from anyone. My dad was a chemical engineer and my mom, she is a retired nurse. So I come from these parents that they are like, you must finish school if you wanna be someone. And so I didn't understand that because I was like, you know, I wanna do what I want, nobody is supporting me, so I'm just gonna go ahead.
22:00 - Alx Balgood
And do that anyway. So I, I lost my, my train of thought here. But yeah, I mean Um, going back to me thinking about that and all that, sorry, got a little slid track here, but uh, yeah, so anyway, so yeah, so thinking about like, what have I done? And it was really. Nothing, right. I dropped school, I didn't finished the university, I could have been an engineer by then, but because I really wanted to be an artist and a singer and a dancer and doing theatre and I want to be this painter and all these things, I mean I, I had fun, right?
22:44 - Alx Balgood
I didn't have a bad life at all. But it was the moment of truth like, you know, if I was in front of God or whoever you you go to when you die. It was the point of like, okay, what do you do, what do you do all these years? And here I was with the answer of like, well, nothing. You know, I give my mom and my family a lot of headaches. A lot of them at all times. But I really didn't make a difference in the world, I guess. And that was my, a big thing for me cause I was like, you know, there's really you have done nothing you're wasting life energy here.
23:28 - Alx Balgood
You know, there's people out there that are sick and they know they're gonna die and they wish they could be in your You know, on your body right now. And so that led me to, after the whole health scare, you know, they told me, okay, you need to have a stress, you needed to do this, you need to eat better, you need to take care of yourself during water, everything that the Dr. Tells you and more, right? So at that point, I remember like a few weeks later when I was like feeling better, I made a list, like a bucket list.
24:05 - Alx Balgood
And that kind of like when I start changing my life. I did this bucket list and I was like, okay, if I could do anything in the world, what would I do just this year? This is just something that, that I could finish this year. I'm gonna, I wanna taste myself and know that I could do things. So I, I made this list. I can't remember exactly what I where I wrote because it was a big list, but I know some of the thing was like I wanted to travel, so I did that that year. I was like, I wanna travel, I'm gonna do Every month I'm gonna go to either a different city or a different country and whatever, I could, I did and I did visit different countries and, and all that when another thing that, you know, that I put in my, in my Buc was, was to need, you know, to need a sweater.
24:57 - Anna Esparham
Oh, yeah.
24:58 - Alx Balgood
Because that, I thought that was important, right? I don't know why it was important at the point, but I did that cause I think just feel and accomplished, I think it, it really started make me feel empowered. So I, I made up Twitter. I read a book and I think at that moment I think, I read more than one book, so it's really, really good for me, right? I, I travel and I did a bunch of other things I can't remember exactly. But I have a, I had a bunch of things on the list, so by the, by the end of the year.
25:32 - Alx Balgood
I was like, okay, I could, I could do things, I could finish things and, you know, going back to, to, to your question. That's where everything is started. I think with that, with that one question of like, what am I doing with my life and what can I, how can I change the world, how can I change people and make a difference in their lives? Since, since that year, every year I make a list of the things that I wanted to do. Luckily for me, when the pandemia happened, you know, at that point I was, you know, teaching a lot of classes.
26:09 - Alx Balgood
Dancing a lot, still partying a lot, but you know, doing a little bit more of the things that I wanted with a little bit more, purpose. And when the pandemia happened, I was like, Okay, so I never finished school. Now I have all the time in the world. So I'm In school, I finished my massage therapist, Uh program. I finished my nutritionist program. And then I, I said, I always wanted to go podcasts. So I was like, this is the moment I'm gonna do it right now. So I, you know, I started my podcast and then by the end of the year I was like, I'm gonna write a book.
26:50 - Alx Balgood
And I did and I did the all that in a year. And it seems a lot and it was a lot. I think that not only shows me, but I feel like everybody that is listening. It shows you that we are so capable to like do anything and everything that you can. We're like so powerful. If you really want it, you can do it, you know, you just need to really, as, as I tell my friend. You know, think about like this really hot guy that's waiting for you, you No, this really, this person that wants to spend time with you obviously in this case is like the one thing that you wanna do or the one habit you wanna change.
27:35 - Alx Balgood
It could apply for a lot of different things, but I think once you sit on that thought of like If you die right now and got us in front of you and he's asking you, what do you do of yourself? I feel like we all will wanna answer with like a meaningful thing, even if it was little, even if it was very little, I think it just will make a difference as supposed, to living just mindless and just living the same day, every day. I think that's at least for me and my life. It really kind of like bothers me to live the same day every day, like kind of like go to work, come back I don't know, clean, watch Tv, whatever, go to bed and then the end.
28:21 - Alx Balgood
You know, I think we, we have so many things, especially in this era, that we live with technology and there's a lot of things to do. You don't have to be at home, you could just go to the park, you could be outside. I don't know. Plan a garden, you know, if you like art like I do, do a lot of sketches, you know, cultivate the artistic side of you. That's gonna really change your life in a very special way. As one of my friends, said to me once, right? So you could do a lot of things to really change you, change the things around you.
28:58 - Alx Balgood
You know, if you want a better job, do little things that are gonna get you there. If you wanna have a better health, you do also little things that are gonna get you there. You know, if you wanna have more fun, there is a bunch of events in the cities, in all cities. So there's is a matter of kind of like getting out of that comfort zone and start living. And I think that's, that's what I got when I got the healthcare when I was, you know, young. So now I leave as like I need to do more and more and more and more because I don't know if I'm gonna die tomorrow and what by if I, you know, I, I didn't get to talk to this Dr., or this scientist about whatever.
29:39 - Alx Balgood
For my podcast, it's just kind of like the I guess legacy or whatever you wanna call it. But It's just so important and I and you know, like you're listening and you're like, well, you're a podcaster, you're writing, you do this, you're a dancer, you all do this, you don't really have to do all this cause this might not be for you, but you might start your own. Club for Poets, or I don't know, you know. Type makers, who knows, like something really cool or you don't have to do much, just, you know, do what makes you happy.
30:18 - Alx Balgood
I don't know, just just that I just, I'm one of those that I need to be doing things because I have this urgency. I believing, but that's obviously just me and you don't have to be like that. But I hope you get a little fire inside and like a Tom, because you can, and I believe in you.
30:40 - Anna Esparham
I mean, it is interesting how you say you just want to provide meaning, and a lot of what you do is, is helping others, looking at all the services you provide and helping others live healthier lives and provide. Education on all types of alternative healing systems and therapies. Hearing other people's stories of their own healing, I just, it's super important and a lot of people will resonate with that and you know, even if it's just a small thing they heard from you on your podcast or on your Youtube, it's just like it'll stick with them forever.
31:15 - Anna Esparham
It does change lives. It's like a small little thing that just changes decisions and changes habits and, and so it's all part of the healing process. The one thing I wanted to ask you, while you were talking about just, making sure that you know, you're gonna live your best life and you're gonna be happy and you're gonna follow what makes you happy. How do you w how do you talk to people who are A very like depressed state, in a funk, you know, living a life that they don't like, in a career they don't like, but it's very difficult for them to make the change.
31:56 - Anna Esparham
For themselves how, how do you handle those situations?
32:03 - Alx Balgood
I mean, one of the things that I've learned through uh, everything in my life, I guess, is that. I can't change anyone if they don't wanna change themselves. It's sad for me, right? Because I wish I could just go to you and kind of like shake you a little bit and be like, let's go. And then you're like, yes, let Do it, you know. I wish I could do that. You know, if you're in a bad place where you maybe sick or you just lost your job or you hate your job, I don't know all these things that is just life, you know, it's life at, it's best, you know, we all go through that, some of us in a higher level, lower levels, you know, less intensity, more intensity.
32:53 - Alx Balgood
But I guess it's just like You know, we have this hope inside us and this fire, it's there, it's like right there. And if you just maybe at this moment in time, right now when you're like, you know, I'm living in my car, it's bad. What are you gonna tell me that's gonna really help me? What I will say is that we are just full of possibilities. Life is a possibility. Life is uh. Change If I will describe live, it's possibilities in change. And they there for you. If you feel like you're alone by yourself in this hole well, knock, knock, because you are not.
33:43 - Alx Balgood
You know, as crazy as it sounds, we always. And I've been there, believe me, I live in my car. That was homeless type of thing and so You can't come and tell me.
33:51 - Anna Esparham
Wow.
33:56 - Alx Balgood
I mean, well yeah, I guess you can if you have like a major and you deeper in the whole. But what I'm saying is that we feel so hopeless, but we always have a team, a team and, and your team. Everybody that loves you, and you might say, Well, nobody loves me. Well, that's a lie. We always have some one that loves us, even a little bit, but that little of it can't,
34:23 - Anna Esparham
Yes.
34:23 - Alx Balgood
and so everybody that loves us That's our team. And the coolest thing too, and that we don't really think about it, is that we almost have like this spiritual thing team behind us, whether you want it, to believe in it or not, and you might think I'm crazy. I believe that we have these You know, supernatural team, team out there, whether it is God or your ancestors or just spirits around you that are watching out for you and they're just waiting for you to ask for help. I think the main reason why we end up in these holes are because we are not asking for help.
35:12 - Alx Balgood
Believe me, I, I learned at the hard way, it was so hard. I'm always being a very given person. If I see someone in trouble, whatever, I'm always like, let me help you or how can I help you, or if I can talk to them, that might help them, I don't know. And that was me, but it was so hard to ask for help or receiving help. I think as humans we We have this crear tendency to help, but we can ask or receive cause it's just weird, It feels weird, it feels wrong. We're like, no. You know I don't need no one, but in reality is that we all need each other.
35:53 - Alx Balgood
The sooner you learn that that's gonna be just the better your life will change you don't have to be thirty five you don't have to be fifty you don't have to be eighty to realize that you could always ask for help for those that love you and uh, be grateful when you receive the help and ask for help. The thing that's just kind of like the, the key in life and uh, whether you're going through a bad thing, illness, work, whatever. As for help, know that you have the health you need with your loved ones.
36:29 - Alx Balgood
And when just like out there in the universe, God, whoever you wanna call it, ancestor I don't even know who's out there, but I know someone out there is helping me every time I'm like or I feel in trouble or whatever, and I'm like, please help me. You know, And so that's just about it. Nobody can help you if you don't help yourself. If you wanna be in the hole, I pity yourself forever. That's where you will be. And it just takes that 1 s of choice, that 1 s the minute you are like, you know what, I'm gonna do it.
37:05 - Alx Balgood
I could get a better job, I could be healthier, I could be, have a better life, I can have a better marriage, I can be a better parent, can be a better kid and son and daughter, whatever. Just take that 1 s for you to change your life, you know, and just gradually you do little changes but know that you just have that. A power and sigh, and no one else can come and get you ever.
37:34 - Anna Esparham
that is so important. I, I love that you said that you just ask for help because a lot of people forget that basic, simple step, including me. And every time I do it though, it's like all of a sudden all this help arrives and I literally just ask God for help. I'm like, please help me. I'm in desperate need. I'll just hit rock bottom and then I'll ask for for help. I'm better now. I'm way, way better. I start asking for help.
38:02 - Alx Balgood
We get better with time.
38:03 - Anna Esparham
We get better as we, as we learn from all our experiences. But um, so tell us if there are some experiences that you've had where you've asked, you know, your spiritual team, you've asked God, you've asked universe, to help you and what happened?
38:23 - Alx Balgood
Well, when that when I was going back to that moment. In the hospital. T to all these things, to, you know, monitors and all that, you know, I asked, I was like, I wanna ask to be a better person to. You know, sometimes we feel like we don't know our purpose, but I feel like even just asking to like what is my purpose, help me help them help. I think we do, you know, we don't obviously. And I think that's where everybody Fails to keep on asking because we feel like we're gonna ask and suddenly God is gonna come down and be like, you must be a Dr..
39:08 - Alx Balgood
Oh, you must be an artist. Please follow this yellow line to the end. You know, it's like, no, wait. I mean, life is the learning process, and some of us learn it in a very harsh wait. We keep falling and falling and falling until we learn that, you know, when you ask, you're not gonna get an answer. As you go through life, you start learning those cues of like Oh, I'm really good with people and I really feel good doing this. I think, you know, let me try this. And also it's all about trying too, because we're like, we also believe that we must be in love and our heart is on firing.
39:57 - Alx Balgood
And I'm gonna fool my purpose, but your purpose for the next three months might be something and then after that your purpose or life might be in a different path. And I think I don't know if the answers your question, but I think our one of the things too is that we think that right like was my purpose in life. And we feel like it's gonna be like a one word answer. But I You know, in my twenties my purpose was I don't know. Get healthier, help others get healthier, spread the war, tell them that there is more than just Western medicine and medicine and side effects and all that.
40:42 - Alx Balgood
My purpose have changed, even though kind like in the same topic or whatever I feel like, Now my purpose is to reach to more people around the world and that just like a little example,
40:54 - Anna Esparham
Am.
40:56 - Alx Balgood
but you know, your purpose might be like, oh, the next three months you might be the amazing baker. Then after that you're like, you know what? I'm really good with sales, maybe I should go and help the people that's baking, selling more. I don't know. So don't, don't get a rap tap of like what, what is my one thing to do in this life? Cause you might be able to do many things and that goes back to possibilities. We do so many things. Also, if you just wanna be one It's fine too.
41:29 - Anna Esparham
How do I get.
41:30 - Alx Balgood
I have met people that are like, Oh, I'm just on accountant and I really love my job and that's great. You know, don't feel like that. That's, that's it. There's so many more things to do.
41:46 - Anna Esparham
I know I think I'm addicted to doing eight thousand million things and I'm like anna stop torturing yourself I want to slow down, I just want to live a nice, easy, boring life and then I just can't. It's like not in my cards ever. I'm always like, I want to learn the next thing and I wanna do the next thing and uh, so,
42:11 - Alx Balgood
Yep.
42:12 - Anna Esparham
so yeah, I'm kind of like you in that wayy, well, tell us a little bit because we haven't talked about this, but tell us about your book.
42:20 - Alx Balgood
Yes, thank you, thank you. It's cool. Parents are greatest teachers and uh. Remember, I told you it was a big headache for my mom. Two years ago I was like, I'm not we. Well, when the pandemia happened, I'm like, I wanna write a book. And when I started writing the book. Idea was to write a book about my dad. He passed away of cancer And so I wanted to write the book about his journey and his legacy and what I learned from him, and also to kind of like uh s shedd a light on different alternative ways to treat cancer that my dad didn't have an opportunity to try.
43:11 - Alx Balgood
Because obviously I didn't know my mom. She is a nurse, so she's more on the Western medicine mentality. And it just happened so quickly in. And I was very young too, obviously, I was like about eighteen nineteen when when my dad passed so um anyway so on this book I wanted to tell his story and the things that we could do now to make them live longer or make the, make people that have cancer live a better life, I guess. And so when I started writing it, it was, that's kind of like a controversial topic.
43:54 - Alx Balgood
And I knew some of my friends that were trying to publish their books were asked to edit their books because they talk about alternative healing. Being that this was gonna be my 1st book, I didn't wanna go through that. Through the whole process of like I wrote the story and like all these things that you could do if you have cancer and then have those edited out. So I didn't want that to happen. So what I end up doing and this was totally not planned at all. I started writing about the what I learned from my parents I thought that, you know, it could be a, a good book if I read about my experience with my parents and how terrible a person I was when I was younger, just because I didn't have the tools and I didn't understood what, what was happening in my surroundings, right?
44:58 - Alx Balgood
And also I feel like as a younger kid. I kind of blamed them because of certain things that happened in my life, but I was little and, and I had no clue of what life was all about. So I share some of my family story on the book and pretty much, I walk you through different stages of my life. When I realized that all that my parents did was the best they could. And I go one step, one more step backwards in in the family tree. So I go all the way to my grandma. And I explain a little bit of like why my mom was the way she was.
45:46 - Alx Balgood
Of my grandmother. And I talk a little bit about my great grandmother because I got to meet her. My great grandma, passed when she was like one or two or one or three. So I was, when she passed, I, I was probably twelve or something. So I, I remembered my great grandma. And so anyway long story short, the book talks about It shows the reader a different perspective to see your parents, you know, there's never greener on the other side, cause I feel like that's how we think, like ah, my cousin has a better life because of this and this, or my neighbor has a better life because his parents are.
46:28 - Alx Balgood
Cooler than mine. And I think that's like that was like, One of my biggest lessons, too, to learn is that there is never, never, never, never greener on the other side, right never. And so So I talk about that and how they've been my biggest, you know, my biggest mentors, my biggest teachers in my life on how I live now. And also, I was lucky enough to, to have eight, guest writers in my book and they talk about their lives. They're also from different backgrounds, different ages and different genders also too.
47:08 - Alx Balgood
And I have a person from Africa that talks about his life growing up and at some point he's, he's African American and he live in, went to school with, with a lott of Caucasian people. So he didn't feel good about his skin color and all that. He, so he He talks about that. I also have this older lady from Vietnam and how, you know, so they all talk about how they were treated by their parents in and their upbringings. So I think, um too, I wanted to show to the reader the power of a storytelling.
47:47 - Alx Balgood
And so us reading what older people went through, you know, different genders, different ages, different times in life, it gives you really a big perspective of being like, well. Yeah, I thought my life was bad, but reading what this lady in Vietnam went through and war and his, the Par, her parents and all that, or this other guy in Africa and having those, racial conflicts and all that, I think it gives us, a huge perspective on most of our lives are really not that bad. You know at all.
48:31 - Alx Balgood
It's just a matter of seeing it with a different perspective and always know that our parents do the best they can, even if it's very little and even if you think they didn't do enough, that's all they could do. And I think that's, one of the biggest lessons to just know that Do what they can't. No one to judge anyone, you know, by all means, when you read books like that or you look for health therapy or whatever, you better yourself and it start, it starts, cutting those changes. That's when the world starts changing with you, because now you're like, well, I'm not gonna be like that, you know, I'm not gonna hit my kids or I'm not gonna call them names or whatever it is that got hurt from your parents, you know, So you start doing little changes.
49:28 - Alx Balgood
To better the next generations. And so, yeah, I talk about that and just the importance of mentors. One cool thing that I wanted to mention, is that in the book I talk about the mentors that you don't know their names and those are the ones that you are walking in the library or like at the park, or you're going somewhere and someone just gives you the best smile or opens the door for you or Gives you a good, you know, good morning, whatever. And it just really changes you of like, oh, that was cool and that's just like one of those of like pass on kind Typee of things.
50:11 - Alx Balgood
It. Just, they just stay with you, you know, and, and you will do that again for someone else. You don't need to know their names. And they just change your life, you know. And there's also two those jerks and ales out there that change your life too. Like fog, like what do you do that if you really think about it. Also, those bad situations help you to be like that, too. So it's a it's a great book for anyone to give it a try.
50:43 - Anna Esparham
hint, hint, hint, I'll have the,
50:45 - Alx Balgood
Hans.
50:46 - Anna Esparham
I'll have the link on the, on the podcast details and the show notes for everyone who wants to check it out. And then I'll also have your links to, the Leap of Health podcast too. Mention Before we wrap up as well Leap of Health podcast and mention that your Youtube channel do around the world.
51:06 - Alx Balgood
Yes, yes, so yeah. So if you wanna check on my book, it's on barns and novels in Amazon. You can just type either Alex spell good or you can just put a leap of uh, oh, sorry for the book. It's called Parents are Greatest Teachers. And then you'll, you'll find it there. Also, you can send me messages on social media. I'll send you the link. Also, sometimes I have a promocode so you can have a discount there too. For my, Youtube uh you'll you'll uh just same thing Alex belg pretty much all my things if you go to Alex ball good and that's a l e x b smo a l g o o d dot com you'll find uh my youtube channel my podcast as uh anna mentioned it's all about alternative healing.
51:58 - Alx Balgood
So if you are like wondering what else is out there, I talk about pretty much everything. I try to find all, practitioners, healers, scientists, doctors, pretty much everything and talk about their view and what they're doing now for, for a lot of different hell and so, and a lot of what I, they talk about it's things that you could just do at home to really change your health. So it's uh, so it's pretty cool and that's called, leap of health. And that's on all major outlets Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google, iheart Pandora Any where, where you listen to music, There is some podcasts there too, so yeah,
52:42 - Anna Esparham
Oh, nice, okay, all the major platforms,
52:47 - Alx Balgood
yes.
52:47 - Anna Esparham
and, and so do around the world, is that also similar, just alternative therapies?
52:54 - Alx Balgood
door around the world, is still in the, in the works, but it's pretty much Going to different, restaurants, around the world.
53:05 - Anna Esparham
Wow.
53:06 - Alx Balgood
and uh, trying their different foods and what they do. Well, you know, if you really think about it, all major cultures and all that, they started with some sort of dough and they will like just make,
53:18 - Anna Esparham
Oh.
53:21 - Alx Balgood
different things like Mexico makes tortillas, France makes French red, you know, China makes noodles and all that. So they There was always some sort of dough in their main food and dishes,
53:33 - Anna Esparham
Cool.
53:34 - Alx Balgood
and I love food and organic food and just good food out there. So there is some videos on my social media, Hopefully this year, you'll find more of all my travels that I've done to like Cua, Alaska, Us, Europe, Asia, I was in um, Thailand. New Zealand too. So all those videos will be up soon. Stay tuned Oh my God,
54:04 - Anna Esparham
Wo, I wanna see the New Zealand one. That's a place that I've always wanted to go to.
54:10 - Alx Balgood
the, the meat is just amazing. It's the best meat ever in your whole life.
54:15 - Anna Esparham
Oh, really, that's what they are known for.
54:19 - Alx Balgood
So they're known for their meat cause uh, so new Calon hass, their grass is like always greened. So all these cows and Goats and all these animals, they have literally like the best quality grass in the world. So the, their meat, obviously because of that, it just, it's just amazing, it's very clean. Also like their butters and, and cheeses are just so amazing. It's and uh, when they export to different countries too, is pretty much like the best qualities like that you can find.
54:56 - Anna Esparham
Oh, cool.
54:58 - Alx Balgood
It's from, from New Zealand.
55:00 - Anna Esparham
Okay, oh. Cool,
55:01 - Alx Balgood
I'm a,
55:02 - Anna Esparham
oh.
55:02 - Alx Balgood
I'm a big gun food, so I need to know where my food comes from
55:08 - Anna Esparham
That's awesome, okay, cool, I gotta check that out.
55:10 - Alx Balgood
Yes.
55:11 - Anna Esparham
okay, well, what else? Anything else that we haven't touched on, Alex.
55:16 - Alx Balgood
I think just that, if I can say something else, I'll say I'm doing a template. Part series on my podcast is called Healing through Cultivating Art. And pretty much I talk to a lot of artists and why they think about art as, being so important in the world. Pretty much what, you know, just to kind of like sum it up and just because I think it's a very important thing for any humans out there listening, I think Cultivating art helps you through our healing journey so much. Whether he's dancing and you're moving and feeling happy, drawing, writing poetry, gardening, you know, designing.
56:07 - Alx Balgood
Anything, the writing, I mean, just about everything, it really, you know, when I quote my friend Lisa Moser here, cause it was like the best quote ever I ever heard in my life and it was art changes you in a very special way. Think I'll, I'll end up with that. And hopefully you guys get to keep on cultivating your R, whatever it is, because it will really Uh, keep on chang your life in a very positive way.
56:43 - Anna Esparham
I believe we're just natural creators, just we have this natural gift to create, whether it be a human being or whether it is to create art or to create food or, to create beautiful gardens or, you know, beauty in the world, love and hope and help and healing, it's all just creation. So yeah, it's, that's a beautiful quote. I'll put that on the podcast details and the show notes as well. Well, thanks for coming on the show today. Alex Um, I will have all your info in the podcast details and the show notes everyone.