Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Interview Steve Siebold on NBC’s Today Show Tuesday, August 4, at 10:30am EST

17 thoughts on “Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Interview Steve Siebold on NBC’s Today Show Tuesday, August 4, at 10:30am EST”

1. Great interview!
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZEpcuVB9HI

2. Well Elbow Man… Thanks For Nothing! Now, I got to tell you that I agree with the old saying “Paper can cut the tongue”, but that isn’t important here. You see, there I was, doing good, nibbling on grilled, low-fat koala ears (they taste like chicken!) and you said ‘it’! I couldn’t believe it! Of all the things you could say!
   Now I got to tell you Boat Man that it’s been a long, hard road. I haven’t had whale meat since the 80’s, and I can’t remember when I last chowed-down on some Panda and raw sugar, but then you, of all people, had to say ‘IT’!
   You mentioned the ‘D’ word on National Television! I immediately started to get dizzy, and my mind couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing (I was thinking about how long it would take until Friday came).
   Yes… you said the unthinkable. You said… DONUT!
   How could you be so thoughtless? Has Mental Toughness withdrawn too much from your compassion bank? What were you thinking???
   I immediately had to race down to the local donut store and buy enough to fill-up the bath! That was bad enough, but now I find that you even have people making comments on your blog using words like… CUPCAKE!!! What kind of show are you running here??? Just whispering that word is enough to make the mouth salivate and the buttocks spread! Man… you have a lot to answer for!
   We’re watching you Seafoam!
   P.S. Great job on both interviews man! You really cut through! I love your work!

3. To D Vargas:

   “I think that sadly your salient points are lost in your own vernacular that alienates people.”

   About your quote above…How do you know that the vernacular alienates people? How many people have you asked? Alienated individuals become unresponsive. You seem to be unresponsive to the vernacular; so again, I think the vernacular alienates you.

   Suck It Up Cupcake 😉 is not a chauvinistic statement as I used it; since it does not refer to gender superiority or extreme partisanship of any kind. I forgot to include the smiley face.

   But I do see how, if a person were to take things personally, they might be offended and look at it that way.

   “…don’t pass judgement/opinion on someone you know nothing about.”
   D Vargas

   As for my ‘world class thinking’, I’m still learning what that is.

   Be Well,

   With Love and Respect,

   Jaroslav

4. What I understand you to say D Vargas is the message is great and one you agree with BUT the use of poor, middle and upper will cause people to confuse the issues and in doing that be offended or miss the point they should be getting.

   BUT also you don’t quite go along with an all or nothing approach – there’s always gray we all know that – but how does identifying gray or working through variations vs hard core: die fat or get tough as a message impact people and become useful for personal change, that’s another question.

   “by condemning and condescendingly referring to people who agree with you as “world class thinkers” as opposed to those who don’t being “middle class thinkers” you dilute your point and further distance yourself from facts.” — DV

   I see it differently. Say I’m the coach of a high school basketball team. I’m not going to say: “Team, if we work hard, come together as a unit, do our jobs, practice the basics every day, build a strong vision and excel at everything we do, there’s a great chance we’ll come in third place this year. Let’s give it our all! Let’s do it and do it and do it!”

   Steve’s strength is in his direct to the body punch and let’s take it to the top andgo for the Gold message. The world needs more world class thinkers than middle and poverty class thinkers to lift everyone to a higher lever of accomplishment.

   Mike

5. To Jeff:

   D. Vargas basically agrees with Steve but gets hung up on his perception the socio-economic aspect of Mental Toughness.

   — Take a look at what I wrote, I stand by what I said. I think Steve’s message is the right one. Being unhealthy is an individual responsibility, however, words matter – his directness is not my issue his choice of vernacular is. Unlike in his Today show interview which I just watched, where his language was focused on mental toughness – not this world vs. middle class thinking. I should not have to read through Steve’s entire philosophy on mental toughness to decode his vernacular choices – as I said, it dilutes the message, because it does offend those who misinterpret it. As you see, I didn’t throw out what he said because I didn’t like how he said it – I merely voiced my opinion on it.

   As I said, I read through an exerpt of this book that was made available online. I did so prior to seeing him on the Today show and I found his arguments vastly more engaging in that forum than in his written book – where by his own admission he states is downright rude. The fact is that he is being degrading – much like the ‘boot camp’ tear them down to build them up mentality. While that may be deliberate I found it degrading. Again my opinion, and I think his message that WE are personally responsible for our health and it is from within ourselves that we determine our choices (good or bad) is absolutely at the core of success around being healthy in our food and excercise habits. I was very blunt about that in my original posts – no one but me is responsible for my health – period. There is no magic bullet and wishing/wanting doesn’t make it happen.

   I was fascinated when Steve broke it down to being a linear problem – he’s right there is a linear solution to weight/health. However what I think he fails to acknowledge is that not all people are linear in their thinking and the challenge for some is learning to think and act in that linear fashion to gain success. The impression he made (again to me) was that if you simply conduct yourself in a linear fashion – both in mind and body all will be well. I think getting to that place is not as simple as is implied.

   Finally — I think Mike, I liked your parallel example about authoring a book and that thinking small is crippling. For me, that crystalized the agrument really effectively.

   I don’t seek for those of you on this blog to agree with me, obviously most of you are here because you follow Steve, his practices and support his work. I came here merely to offer a counterpoint and opinion that isn’t in lockstep. I think words matter, I think Steve’s message is the right one and I stand behind my original post that his approach will put off as many people as it enlightens – not because he is wrong or because they don’t get it – but because his approach was offensive – something he readily admits in his book and for which I applaud him.

6. Let me first respond to Jaroslav. Last time I checked I don’t know you, because if you did you wouldn’t have been so unbelievably chauvinistic as to say “Suck it Up Cupcake”. I am offended and think perhaps in your ‘world class thinking’ you should consider having respect be a guide post for speaking to others. You apparently didn’t read my entire post, because I don’t feel alienated at all. I merely am offering an opinion – both respectfully and objectively to the conversation on this blog and the author of this book. If you took the time to read it, you would see that there is more that I agree with than disagree with so instead of attempting to toss of a quip, perhaps you should just stick to the topic at hand. What I take personally or don’t is not for you to determine or decide. Disagree with my opinion – fine, don’t pass judgement/opinion on someone you know nothing about.

7. Hey D Vargas!

   If you want to know how the terms world class and middle class are being used, go to the site (below) and listen to the man explain it in his own words.

   After reading your post it sounds like the one who was alienated was you. Don’t take this stuff personally and…

   Suck It Up Cupcake!!

   Be Well,

   Jaroslav W. Waznee

   http://www.speakerstevesiebold.com/index.htm

8. Steve’s designations including world, middle and poor sound like socio economic oriented – and they either may be or they may reflect mirrored images of similiar patterns – are about how one views reality and acts on that vision. When I first came upon his classifications I immediately like probably most people thought of socia economic classifications.

   BUT the more I studied Steve the more I realized that although there can be a pattern there reflected in social/material status, it’s the thinking that produced it or produces anything less than world class expectation and mental toughness.

   Here’s one way to look at it. A local gal wrote a book to help women in their spiritual quests in life and in a local publication she was quoted as saying it probably will never be a best seller but if it helps a few women that’s great. WHAT!

   When I write my book it will become a best seller because I will take it in that direction because I expect it to impact lives around the world. Imagine if this gal were living on that expectation what would happen if not first try then down the road.

   If she believes in her book being important enough to write and capable of helping women she should want every woman alive to read it – that should be the goal.

   Thinking small is crippling.

   The best of success to everyone and mental toughness is another name for objective thinking, positive thinking, assertive thinking, big expectations, and accepting nothing less from one’s self.

   If you’re like me you can speak from the crippling side of small expectation. As Steve would say – quit thinking that way and either die fat or get tough. It’s a fantastic metaphor.

   The best of success to everyone.

   Mike

9. I just posted the GOOD DAY Atlanta interview on U-Tube!

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utkl7WerluI

10. I was not able to see the interview on the Today Show so thanks to Sandra for posting the video.

    Steve was good. The interviewers were less than great, in my opinion. Still, Steve got the message across – It is up to you to deal with the weight and if you stick to the diet and exercise you will get tough and thin.

    I’ve done the Fat Loser Program and it works if you stay tough and aware.

    D. Vargas basically agrees with Steve but gets hung up on his perception the socio-economic aspect of Mental Toughness. If you read the book, or study Mental Toughness you would know the labeling of thought process Steve uses does not refer to any socio-economic class.

    I disagree with D. Vargas that the message is diluted by “degrading” those who have not got it yet. Steve is not “degrading” anybody he is pointing out one of the basic underpinnings of Mental Toughness – recognition of “objective reality.” It is your fault you are fat , unless you have a medical or psychological problem, as Steve states in the book. As Steve states in the interview it is a simple linear solution to this problem – follow a diet and exercise program and you will get thin. That is objective fact and all of us who are or have been fat know this.

    Another key point that Steve makes in the book is this is not easy kiddies. It is the thinking that there is some easy fix to getting slim that creates problems. There is no easy fix – it is sticking to the diet and exercise program BUT, if you do you, will see the results. Those results will affect other parts of your life.

    If you don’t have the book – get it. It builds and reinforces Steve’s method for getting results – Mental Toughness. It is well worth the money. As a past participant in the Fat Loser Program, if you want to get tough, and lose weight, go to the website, check it out, and then sign up. It is an interesting and effective process if you just stop deluding yourself. It is all about how you think.

11. Excellent interview and to the point – tough love is direct and honest with no illusions of having to sugar coat reality AND the decisions you talk about are straight line: do A then B then C will happen.

    What isn’t settled is when or how one makes that decision to change and your approach is a direct one calling world class thinking the most self confrontational change in direction will driven and objective – it happens when strong negative emotions meet conflicting equally strong emerging positive emotions trying to assert themselves and in that internal battle one wins over the other.

    Is a direct confrontation as Steve puts it or something else less caustic – if Steve is caustic in his assertions – as D. Vargas implies, a better way to open up a discussion like this and help people make decisions, that is the question.

    The best of success to everyone.

    Mike

12. I posted the interview on utube!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRNkqPvlDi4

13. I wasn’t home so will have to look for a youtube video.

    Die _________ or get tough.
    Die _________ or wake up.
    Die__________ or take control of your life.

    You know all the rest and of course they denounce the messenger which makes you want to get in their faces all the more. When we have these kinds of direct and meaningful talks with people we are honest and direct when they tell us what they want.

    The best to you.

    Mike

14. To your point, I am not seeking to shoot the messenger and not focus on the message. Here’s what I find troubling your approach to describing the issues around health with regards to weight, diet and excercise – the delineation of classifying people as ‘world class’ vs. ‘middle class’ as though this is a question of rich vs. poor, educated vs. non educated.

    Here’s what I know, that regardless of the validity of your message, your classifying of people and generalizing populations fundamentally dilutes your argument and message, because it comes across as bias and self righteousness. I have read actual excerpts that were posted from the book. What I find troubling in your message is that this is an all or nothing proposition. The fact is that life isn’t all or nothing and ironically healthy life habits follow the same course. There are thin people who eat poorly and are in fact unhealthy, who deprive themselves of food making similar ’emotional eating’ decisions you claim are made only by fat people, the rub is thin people in these circumstances choose deprivation. Extremes on either end of the health spectrum are to the detriment of ones personal health and well being – period.

    As someone who has battled weight issues my entire adult life, I know much of what you say is valid. When my weight balloons it is because I am making food choices emotionally. It is because I am unmotivated and don’t seek out help until I am strong enough to be self motivated. No one but me is responsible for that inaction or action and no one but me can make the changes necessary to live well. I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that until someone is self reflective and honest with why they are overweight and wants to be healthy inherently for themselves (as opposed to a spouse, child, societal acceptance) they will continue to repeat patterns and behaviors that are ultimately destructive to their individual health. This is also true for people who are obsessively thin and not healthy.

    I say all of this because at the base of your arguement I believe you are correct that there needs to be a self reliance that leads to general health and well being. There is no magic bullet, pill or reality TV ranch that will make this change. I think that sadly your salient points are lost in your own vernacular that alienates people. The issue isn’t thin vs. fat. It’s healthy vs. unhealthy – weight is only the visible identifier for health, it rarely tells the whole story and can often be deceptive. Second, by condemning and condescendingly referring to people who agree with you as “world class thinkers” as opposed to those who don’t being “middle class thinkers” you dilute your point and further distance yourself from facts.

    Shinning a light on personal responsibility and self reliance is an important vital issue when we look at the state of health and weight in this country. Degrading those who have yet to embrace the message defeats the purpose.

15. Steve,

    I loved your interview. Thanks for putting it simply, most challenges in life are Linear processes whether it is getting fit, being mentally tough, achieving success. Many people just don’t ever get this point, and live a life sheltered and blaming others.

    Great Job!! And congratulations on the TV interview I think you did great, and am glad you stuck to your guns, even every time they called you a Jerk.

    Thanks, John

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