In this episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, we look back at some of the best moments that gave us inspiration to move past personal failures no matter how lost things may seem to be. Through Connor’s personal story of triumph against addiction, dealing with mental health issues, and building a relationship with God, we see the picture of a man who has found redemption. We also hear a tidbit from episode 6 where Connor talked to Milaena Ferrarese about taking care of your body in a holistic way. 

It’s always darkest before dawn, so keep holding on until first light. To borrow from the poet Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.” 

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

In this episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, Connor talks about the untimely passing of his beloved dog, Zero and the lessons he learned from it. Connor shares how he met Zero while he was still recovering from heroin addiction, and how the unconditional love he felt from his dog helped him survive those dark times. Connor talks how Zero’s death pushed him to rethink his priorities, but reminds us all that we can do the same without waiting for a tragedy to happen. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• There is purpose in pain 
• A dog's love is unconditional love 
• Live your life everyday like it's going to be the last 
• Rethink your priorities as soon as you can 

QUOTES

Connor: "You can rethink your priorities without having something happen that's detrimental to your life. You don't have to wait till something explodes to rethink what you're doing. You don't have to wait till something drastic happens to reconsider your priorities."

Connor: "Building a business is hard. Being an entrepreneur and balancing a family life is even harder. And one of the things that I've noticed that's suffered over the last year and growth of the company has been my life at home. So ever since that happened, that was the first week that I've ever literally just taken a week off from work and not done anything and just spent all the time with my wife and my son. And it was amazing. And it really started to make me reconsider my priorities and be more intentional about leaving the office at 5pm when I say I'm gonna leave." 

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

What’s working for others may not necessarily work for you because everybody is unique. Often, people give up on their fitness goals because of the frustration that comes when expectations are not met. Everybody is a little different, which is why the future of nutrition is going to be personalized. 

In this episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, Connor talks to dietitian and fitness coach Milaena Ferrarese. Milaena is a registered dietitian with a purpose: she herself suffered from an eating disorder, and is now committed to helping people live better lives through a holistic approach of exercise and genetic-based nutrition. 

Milaena puts a heavy emphasis on taking the long road: shortcuts such as food supplements and crash diets will only hurt you in the long run. Most importantly, creating long-term changes to your habits will result in long-term improvements. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Overcoming bad habits take work
• Everybody deserves a personalized health plan
• A genetic approach to training and workout plans 
• Your health results affect your relationships 
• Crash diets often make things worse 
• The future of nutrition is personalized
• Stop trying to take the easy route 
• It's never too late to make a change
• If you lose your health, you lose everything 
• Be mindful of what you're eating 
• Self-awareness always come first 

QUOTES

Connor: "In entrepreneurship, a lot of us lose ourselves in the work and I think that's a very risky road to go down. Having the self-awareness to be able to take yourself out of that and even saying that you need help, I think is huge." 

Milaena: "Your body is like a house. And to build a sturdy house, you need a sturdy foundation and that's what we consider nutrition and your physical fitness and your lifestyle habits that make up your foundation. And if you don't have those then just like a house your insides are gonna start falling apart. 

Milaena: "It's not necessary that you need to jump on the next crash diet or do what your bestfriend is doing just because it's working for them. The reason why a  lot of people are unsuccessful with what their trying to do ion terms of dieting, workouts, x,y, and z is they always want to do what everyone else is doing and it doesn't work for them." 

Milaena: "How many times have you gone to the doctor's office and they educate you on eat your fruits, eat your vegetables. Amazing. Those are great for you. But you need something more concrete and more personal to you because you have your specific body composition goals. You have your specific health goals. How are we gonna get you there, other than finding out what you need specifically?" 

Connor: "You could literally hit total rock bottom and be a homeless bum on the street at 47 years old, and it's not too late to change your life. The problem is, nobody wants to take the long road, and the long road is the best road. The shortcuts are what put you in the bad positions." 

Connect with Milaena and her work below: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milaena-ferrarese-ms-rdn-59a031156/
• Instagram (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/milaenaelisee/
• Instagram (Business): https://www.instagram.com/monumentalmovements_/
• Website: https://www.monumentalmovements.com/

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

In this episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, Connor talks about a topic that’s barely discussed in the transportation industry: mental health. Connor believes that to be a good leader, you need to make sound decisions; something that’s only possible if you’re mentally healthy. Connor advocates for more mental health support in the industry, and because he walks the talk, he’s started doing this in his own company, ArdentX. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mental health problems can creep up on you 
• Unresolved emotions can result in bad behavior
• Going to therapy and changing for the better
• You need to be mentally healthy to create sustainable success
• Vulnerability is a core pillar of leadership
• Life is a process of trial and error

QUOTES

Connor: "We work in a high-stress industry, and emotions are high every single day. If we don't learn how to deal with those things, we're literally gonna compartmentalize them somewhere in our brain and eventually that's gonna manifest itself in bad behavior." 

Connor: "At least for the industry, one thing that needs to happen is we need to normalize psychological health. We all want to grow, we all want to build these big businesses and we all care about profit and all these other stuff. But none of that is sustainable unless you're level headed and you're mentally healthy." 

Connor: "[If] you're not mentally healthy, you're not gonna execute that deal. And if you do execute that deal, halfway through you're gonna drop the ball at some point because you're not focused." 

Connor: "You have vulnerability as a leader, you build trust with your people. Your people know that you're not perfect, your people know that you make mistakes. Your people know that it's okay to make a mistake and that you're gonna empower them to grow from those mistakes." 

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

In this episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, Connor talks about what finally gave him the push to go through with creating the podcast. Connor recalls how while serving time, he started a personal connection with God through prayer. Through these conversations he finally understood that all his struggles were designed to mold him into the man that he is today, ever willing to share his experiences and the message of God. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• A feeling of confidence coming from being God's vessel 
• You're struggling because you're being molded 
• Just talk to God and have a personal connection
• Life in jail and experiencing divine intervention
• Just be willing to try 

QUOTES

Connor: "I'm not a special person. There's nothing crazy about me. I'm not smarter than any of you guys. I just happen to be open to being used for my experience. And I think that's one thing that's gonna drive everything else in my life to continue to become more successful. It's because I know I can't do any of this shit without God." 

Connor: "All these things that have happened in your life have truly happened to mold you and prepare you for the next best thing that's gonna happen in your life." 

Connor: "My life didn't get really good until like, 2020. And it's because I was not living for God. I was not living for the person who saved me. I was living for myself and I was giving myself all that glory." 

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

HIGHLIGHTS

• God works on you even without you knowing it
• How a heroin overdose led to finding God 
• Change your mind, then change your actions
• Be radically honest with yourself and your goals
• God will put you under trials to prepare you for greatness

QUOTES

Connor: "God meets us halfway when we actually make that decision, when we actually want to change our life, when we actually take those steps. Because that day, I decided, man, maybe I don't need to do these hard drugs anymore. Maybe I can be better than this."

Connor: "It's not like you just wake up one day and you do different things. You don't just change the action, you lay the framework by changing your thoughts over time and then the actions naturally change the byproduct of changing your thought process."

Connor: "It's very hard to have that self-awareness and that radical honesty with ourselves because it's uncomfortable at times. Sometimes you have to stop doing something you've been doing for 20 years. Or sometimes you have to start doing something that you don't even know if you can do."

Connor: "The only reason I know the things that I talk about is because God has thrown me in the fire on purpose. I truly believe that God will throw you in the fire to prepare you for something that you don't even know how great it's gonna be." 

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

HIGHLIGHTS

• Start with building your self esteem
• It's when things get hard that you must not quit
• Strive to live a legendary life 
• When we're ready, God expands our territory
• Change your morning routine and set yourself up for success everyday
• Keep yourself consistent and accountable 

QUOTES

Connor: "We try to overcomplicate things and that's just natural what we do as human beings. So what I would say for the person that wants to make that decision, that wants to actually change their life is to keep it simple. In order for you to feel better about yourself, the first thing you have to do is to build your self esteem. And how do you do that? Well, it’s pretty easy. You do esteemable s***.

Connor: "The problem is most people give up halfway when the s*** gets hard instead of pushing forward even harder when it gets hard. When the s*** gets hard in your life, you have to push forward even harder than you were before."

Connor: "Everything that happens in your life is up to you and God. But you're the man in the driving seat because He's not gonna bless you unless you're actually blessing yourself, you're investing in yourself, and you're making those changes on your own."

Connect with Connor and learn more about his work in the links below: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realconnormiller
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/

In this inaugural episode of The Real Connor Miller Show, Connor talks about his personal life, his business, goals for the podcast, and why he started the show in the first place. Connor shares how he turned his life around from a past filled with drug abuse, incarceration, and wrong decisions. From battling heroin addiction to running a successful business, Connor has seen it all and wants to let you know that despite the bad decisions you may have made in the past, it's never too late to turn around. 

Expect real stories with real impact, no BS. Welcome to The Real Connor Miller Show. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• It's better to run a business on values, not transactions
• Build trust through transparency, no BS
• Balance is an unachievable standard, but strive for it anyway
• Your business should be a community, not family 
• There's no point of no return, you can always try again 

QUOTES

Connor: "One thing that I found in our business, especially in the transportation brokerage business, there's a lot of companies that run their businesses very dishonestly. There's a lot of companies that use certain tactics tog et their foot on the door and start running your business, and that's something that we've never done." 

Connor: "We've always started small with clients that we've had and grown those clients over time through partnership and relationship with the client, making sure that we can deliver on the needs that they have, and that we're not just selling them some bullshit that they don't need."

Connor: "Part of the premise of the show is gonna be that literally, you can f*** up your life up left and right, all the way to hell and back, and still come back from it."

Connor: "People don't realize that it's up to them. It's not gonna fall in your lap. Nobody's gonna hold your hand and take you to the water to drink it. It's gonna be on you to discover how to get there. It's gonna be on you to make that decision to change your life." 

Learn more about Connor in the links below: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realconnormiller/
• Website: https://ardentx.com/