The Chris Voss Show - The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Navigating Information Overload: Empowering Wellness in the Digital Age with Ben Biddick

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

Navigating Information Overload: Empowering Wellness in the Digital Age with Ben Biddick Benbiddick.com Humancapital.vip Well-public.org About the Guest(s): Ben Biddick is a dedicated advocate for personal development and well-being in the digital age. Holding an extensive background in crisis management and holistic care, Ben has served as a combat medic in Iraq, engaged in large-scale emergency management, and performed hostage and crisis negotiations. His work in crisis intervention during the pandemic reflects his commitment to helping individuals navigate complex challenges. Ben is also an author, with his latest book titled "Navigating Information Overload: Empowering Employee Wellness in the Digital Age." He owns Human Capital VIP, which focuses on improving organizational health and employee retention, and leads a nonprofit, Well Public, aimed at integrating tech and wellness education for public service organizations. Episode Summary: In this compelling episode of The Chris Boss Show, Chris welcomes Ben Biddick, an extraordinary individual committed to alleviating personal and societal challenges in the digital era. Ben brings a wealth of experience from fields such as emergency management, crisis intervention, and mental health to the table. The conversation primarily revolves around the theme of managing information overload to improve employee wellness in the fast-paced digital world. Ben's insights into maintaining balance amidst rapid technological changes are timely, especially with the increasing prevalence of AI in our daily lives. The episode highlights Ben's belief in creating human-centric systems that fulfill emotional, occupational, and spiritual health. Drawing on his book and his experiences, Ben discusses the societal impact of unmanaged information overload, advocating for transparency and practical applications that meet real human needs. The conversation touches on addressing the current systemic issues in health care and education, reinforcing the importance of responsiveness and integrity in organizational leadership. Key Takeaways: The importance of managing information overload for personal and professional well-being in the digital age. Solutions and strategies for creating organizations that prioritize empathy, transparency, and human value over commodification. The repercussions of unresolved grievances and discontent within healthcare systems and the critical need for reform. The potential harms of resorting to violence and the importance of fostering dialogue and understanding. Navigating challenges in modern workplaces to improve employee retention and wellness. Notable Quotes: "Managing that information is very important when we look at the entirety of what a human being is." - Ben Biddick "We need to create systems that are human, where people feel heard, their needs are met." - Ben Biddick "Let's get out from under all this negativity and create better solutions." - Ben Biddick "Ultimately, one of the most unique characteristics of human beings is we're alive and we're aware of it." - Ben Biddick "A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say." - Ben Biddick

You wanted the best. You've got the best podcast, the hottest podcast in the world. The Chris Voss Show, the preeminent podcast with guests so smart you may experience serious brain bleed. The CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators. Get ready, get ready, strap yourself in. Keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the vehicle at all times because you're about to go on a monster education roller coaster with your brain. Now, here's your host, Chris Voss. Hi, folks. It's Voss here from thechrisvossshow.com. Ladies and gentlemen, there are ladies and gentlemen, that makes it official. Welcome to the light. at some of the darkest moments in their life, and they come on the show and share them with you on how you can improve the quality of your life.

And if that doesn't work, I'm going to pull this car over and come back there, kids. So you better learn something from the damn show or else, as we say. Kids Watch Show. We have a wonderful young man on the show with us today. We're talking about his books and insight and some of the things that he talks and shares with his clients. His book is called Navigating Information Overload, Empowering Employee Wellness in the Digital Age.

Ben Biddick joins us on the show today. He lives a life of service. His greatest joy is helping transform his clients' challenges into their greatest successes. At an early age, it became clear to Ben there were no guarantees in life. What? There's no guarantees? He sought to respond to the gift of life he'd been given by relieving suffering, empowering the powerless, and protecting the vulnerable.

His journey of service led him to deploy as a combat medic in Iraq, contribute to large-scale emergency management, perform hostage and crisis negotiation, employ crisis intervention for people grappling with suicidal and homicidal ideation during the pandemic. I felt kind of homicidal during the pandemic, let me tell you. Work as a nurse in military, correctional, and civilian environments for decades and more he's lived. He knows how to understand the reality people have experienced and as if he was going to partner with them to create effective solutions for their challenges. Welcome to the show, Ben. How are you?

Great, great. Thank you so much for having me on, Chris. It's an honor to be here. It's an honor to have you as well. Thank you very much for your service, too. Give us your dot-coms. Where can people find out more about you on the interwebs? Sure. BenBiddick.com is where you can start. You can check out my nonprofit, which is well-public.org, or my for-profit, that I help organizations become healthy, stay healthy, and have great interactions, employee retention, conflict resolution at humancapital.vip. And that'll get you started with where I'm at and what I do. So tell us about this book, Navigating Information Overload. So many people in our world are dealing with information overload, right? We

have numerous different apps, forms of media. We're constantly inundated with different cognitive concepts throughout the day and night and 24-7. We're dealing with those things. So managing that information is very important when we're looking at the entirety of what a human being is, right? There's cognitive concepts, but that's not the only thing that encapsulates our productivity as human beings, right? There's emotional health, there's occupational health, there's environmental health, spiritual health, all of these different focuses where we categorize the different human experiences. We need to not just inundate ourselves with the

cognitive concepts. Otherwise, we have a lack of health in other areas in our life, which leads to emotional turmoil, which leads to conflict, which leads to broken relationships, which leads to mental health challenges. And so that's what I do as somebody who has worked for decades in environments where I help people be resilient, overcome challenges, and maintain their health. This is one focus that I've taken on lately to try to help create a world where we experience less violence, trauma, and awful things and get into a place where we're actually thriving. And you help a lot of people do that. What was the proponents behind writing the book? What made you want to put that pen to paper? I just see so much of that in the clients that I serve. I just see people who are overwhelmed, inundated with responsibilities. All of the

benefits of all this technology is designed to help us be more productive. However, when it's not done in balance, when it's not done with organization, when change management is not involved in the process of incorporating these rapid technological changes into our experience, then we have overwhelm. We have challenges where conflicts emerge, where we don't feel healthy, where we are completely out of balance and we experience a lot of distress. So these things which are designed to help us be more productive, more flourishing, more able to accomplish different objectives at a more rapid pace, as we know with artificial intelligence, which is rapidly escalating how everything is done.

As all these things change how we do the very basics of communication, of family relationships, of work relationships, of work dynamics, work from home, work remote, all of these different things are catapulting us forward in such a rapid pace that people are oftentimes getting lost in the shuffle and experiencing crisis as a result of that. Yeah. I, I, you know, I, with AI, it's moving so fast. It's just whipping fast. Like I've, I've, I've seen a lot of stuff and, and I thought that I understood, you know, everything that was going on, but geez, man, it is, it is whipping fast. Yes, sir. Going on there. Yes, sir. Yeah, those changes are, and they're changing not just a few components of how we navigate

our worlds. They're changing the entirety of how we communicate workflows. And when we have a structure where our health insurance benefits are most often attached to our employment, then that can lead to a lot of crisis, a lot of people going into fight or flight, a lot of people with health issues who are experiencing exacerbations of their conditions. And then, of course, what we see in the healthcare industry at present, when people are not feeling heard, when people don't feel that it's transparent, when people make allegations of corruption, when people are experiencing suffering at the hands of systems that are allegedly intended to help us reduce suffering, all of these things lead to overwhelm, crisis, animosity, anger, and more and more violence.

So we need to create systems that are human, where people feel heard, where their needs are met, where the billboard culture matches the practical application of those services. And people are demanding for that to be a reality with some very real consequences that executives are having to navigate. So what I like to do is create responsive organizations, especially when we're talking about large companies like this, where people feel like they're a number, where staff feel like they're a number, where people who are the clientele are not feeling heard, where they're feeling animosity, all of these things, that's where I step in and increase transparency, increase progress, increase all of the situations that help people feel like

their needs are being met, creating practical applications where they're not overwhelmed, and where they see the value and experience the glory of being a human being. Ultimately, one of the most unique characteristics of human beings is we're alive, and we're aware of it. I mean, these are the core aspects of the human experience where we, to the knowledge of where we're at right now with science and where we realize that the human experience is one that is from birth to death. We want that time to be an experience that is well utilized, that is rich in deep human experience, where we experience fulfillment, where we impact our world in positive ways. That's what people want. And when people are viewed as a commodity to be bought and sold when their suffering is exacerbated by our power structures, when people are not feeling heard,

we get the opposite response. And if anything, COVID taught us in a pandemic is that our mental health and the experience of living during challenges is a vital opportunity to do that. And we don't want to waste the time that we've been given or be exploited in that. So that's what I love to do is step in and create a human experience, awaken people to the realities of our systems of what they're actually doing in their practical application and the messages that they're sending sending and how vital the awareness of that is for leaders and to create staffs that want to work there and stay there. Yeah, most definitely. I mean, you've mentioned the health industry. I mean, we recently saw that

horrific assassination of a CEO of a health company. Certainly when society turns to violence to resolve its issues, it's not healthy. And it's usually spins out into the downfall of it. But so you think resolving, you know, I don't know if you want to speak to that, or you think that's, you know, kind of one of the problems we have. We're not resolving these issues. Yes, absolutely. I think that people are angry and they have a right. Rightfully, I was speaking with a physician not too long ago who had a person in the ICU who was intubated, who was not conscious, who they were doing life-saving measures on. And when the business side of healthcare rejects those type of claims

and says they're not medically necessary, the whole world starts to wonder what exactly is medically necessary. And what I see a lot of when we talk about mental health and when we talk about substance use disorders, so people who are dealing with addiction, there's turning to alcohol to cope, they're dealing with addiction-related challenges in their life where they are overwhelmed and they've been taught to resort to alcohol as their mental health treatment option, basically to cope with overwhelming challenges. If they're taught these types of mechanisms to manage that, then rapidly we see people who are in need of treatment when it comes

to mental health treatment, when it comes to substance use disorder treatment. And these are treatable conditions. But the problem is, is that organizations haven't found a way to make money off of that. And so because of that, there's barriers and people are overdosing. People are as a result of fentanyl, as a result of opioid use disorders, as a use of big pharma, basically, as the opioid settlements have come out here, taken ownership for the fact that they've created an epidemic of this and made our health care systems complicit in overdosing, addiction, all of these things. And so, of course, there's a distrust as people go to the doctor and as they work jobs, two, three, four jobs to pay for health care. People are scratching their heads. And more than that, they're punching the walls because when their friends, family, loved ones are diagnosed with a terrible disease and they get mobbed with prior authorizations, they're told that they have healthcare coverage and those needs are not being addressed.

And now in addition to cancer, in addition to all of these challenges that they're experiencing, now they have to go bankrupt because of that. I mean, when GoFundMe is viewed as one of the leading insurers in the United States, and when people are spending so much money to get care that they're not receiving, it has everybody asking these questions. And so it's not a surprise from my perspective that people have turned to violence. Certainly, it doesn't solve anything, and it only leads to horrific outcomes. But there's a reason why, you know, health care companies and executives are more and more looking for personal security details. You know, if the response is to get security and continue to exploit the American public, then they can expect more of that. But if they want to meet the needs of the American public in rendering them the compassionate care that they deserve in a way that's fiscally affordable, so that they can do

the compassionate and humane thing of meeting their needs when they're suffering, then we get somewhere. And so those changes need to happen. And I'm hoping they're coming sooner rather than later. Yeah, no kidding. I mean, that definitely needs to happen. We can't have this. I mean, what was even more extraordinary was to see people celebrating the death, the murder of someone with a family. I mean, we just can't resolve the violence in a situation like this. We can't. Yeah, it's not good. Yeah, we need to create an environment where people feel heard and see actions taken so that their minds don't go to a place where I need

to do something that extreme in order to get change, in order to create a viable system of healthcare that doesn't bankrupt the people who need it along with medical care. So people need a voice and organizations need to be responsive to that voice to create the change that's needed in order to meet their needs so that we don't have this type of violence. Yeah. It's not a way to resolve issues. I think at this point, I don't know how to do it because basically big corporations own the group or own the, call it. And, you know, they lobby and, you know, people won't vote in, people that really protect them from this sort of thing. And, you know, it's a real problem. It is.

And when you have to have an act of Congress to get insulin affordable for people who require it to survive, you know, for parents who have children with type 1 diabetes who need insulin to survive and and they're already working two three four jobs to pay for that never even seeing their kids because they're always at work in order to get the life-saving medicines that these children needs and it takes an act of congress in order to ensure that these medications are affordable then yeah it needs to be completely redone from top to bottom and it needs to be completely redone from top to bottom. And it needs to be done with representation and leadership that prioritizes the health and well-being of people

over profits. And so that is something that needs to be fixed. And it requires the highest level of government, the highest level of business, and it requires absolute integrity at those levels. And I think that's what people are crying out for and demanding. And so that can be done. That could be done today. Solutions could be made and created today if we had the will to do it. And I think the American people are demanding it and looking to our leaders now to respond. Otherwise, they'll be more of the same or worse. We're seeing all sorts of horrific headlines coming out right now. And I think when people aren't feeling heard, then they see the

appeal of violence and want to go that route. So, if we're a wise, compassionate, and if we're a wise and compassionate nation that clearly has the resources, but just not the will to act, then that will needs to be developed to act or the people will revolt. Yeah, they'll definitely revolt. And it's kind of wild how it's doing here. So with your 501c3 nonprofit, what do you do over there? So wellpublic.org, it's well-public.org. We integrate tech, we integrate wellness, and we integrate education to create emotionally intelligent solutions for public service organizations.

So what that means is we're the voice of humanity in tech. We're the voice of integrity in the wellness and healthcare community. And we're the voice of compassionate awareness and empowerment in our education systems, right? Oftentimes, our education system is built upon systems that don't necessarily see the well-being of their students as the end goal. Oftentimes, what was happened with our prior organization of the educational system was basically the wealthy created this educational system to create workers for their organization, right? And that's an obsolete program. That's an obsolete dynamic. And so

what we're seeing is, especially with artificial intelligence and the most compassionate and proactive and empowering educational leaders out there with expertise and who are developing research and utilizing research in order to create outcomes where their students are thriving in the eight dimensions of wellness, as SAMHSA articulates here, that all the ways that human beings thrive, right? Educationally, yes, but emotionally, environmentally, financially, intellectually, in their occupations, physically, socially, and spiritually, we're looking, how are we creating that in people? So utilizing all the advancements when it comes to tech, utilizing the best and brightest when it comes to our educational systems that are designed to have people flourishing in their experience of living in those eight dimensions. And then in the wellness space, then that's merged and fused in there where we're creating and sharing unique and exciting initiatives that challenge some of these obsolete, corrupt systems in order to create systems that help people thrive, where we experience that rich, robust sense of community that we have, where we don't see everyone as an opposition, as a different from a political faction, an enemy that's out there who doesn't believe what I believe.

We get to the point of how are we thriving? There's no agenda other than that. And let's experience that together as our families experience birth, growth, aging, and death. Ultimately, let's make the most of that. This is quite an experience, a miraculous opportunity. Let's not squander that by exploiting one another, harming one another. Let's celebrate that. Let's experience that. And let's reject anything less than the fulfillment of that experience and use all these tools that are available. Let's do that. Let's create that. Let's be that. That's, I think, what people are desiring, what they are demanding. And so let's create that. Let's be that. That's, I think, what people are desiring, what they are demanding. And so let's create that. Let's give it to them.

Darrell Bock Rising tide lifts all boats. So that's what we should do. We should help rise the tides together and all that good stuff. Now, can people buy the book on Amazon or do they need to buy your book through you? Sure. You can buy the book at benbiddick.com. You can buy the book at humancapital.vip. You can go there. I have another book called Get Up the Art of Perseverance with former Major League Baseball player Adam Greenberg, who has one of the most unique stories in the history of Major League Baseball. You can buy that book at these places where he got up after getting hit in the head with a 92 mile an hour fastball on his first plate appearance of his major league career. Tons of tons of content here,

here to help you thrive, here to help you get up when life has knocked you down. There are so many amazing things that we can do when we work together and stop being manipulated by by these systems that are not designed for well being. When we when we get together and stop being manipulated by these systems that are not designed for our well-being. When we get together and do that, hey, check out the book, check out the information, or have me come speak at your organization. Let's get out from under all this negativity and destruction, anger and fear, and let's get into a place where we're thriving because life is too short. Yeah, life is definitely too short. And, you know, seeing the shocking display of inhumanity over someone getting murdered,

it's just, I mean, it's just horrifying. I can't imagine what that's, especially as the children of that person. I mean, you know, I mean, are there evil people in the world? I mean, a lot of these people operate within the rules they're given. You know, if you want better, elect better leaders. You get the government you deserve.

And if you don't like it, I mean, if you haven't checked lately, the government's pretty much become an oligarchy. Right. And people are a little too goddamn stupid to even know what an oligarchy is. But those, you know, we've had billionaires on the show they're great people but they're very invested in themselves like anyone else is and you know they want deregulations and they they want to be able to freely do business like they can in vietnam or china or other places where there are less regulations but resorting

to violence is not the answer right now it it doesn't get you the outcome that you want. Basically, you're paraded on TV as in orange scrubs and in orange jumpsuits. And that's not the way forward. The way forward, and in working in the mental health arena for so many years, when we attribute judgments to these types of situations, we eradicate solutions. You know, we can always find a reason to hate somebody. We can always find a reason to say that they are the ones who need to be crucified. They're the ones that need to be eradicated. They're the ones that need to be scapegoated because ultimately you're operating

out of fear at that point. And so you create a judgment and you scapegoat somebody, some group. And we've seen what that does in history. It doesn't get anybody any liberation. And ultimately, you're being manipulated by your anger and your fear by those who would prey upon you. So if you want better, don't be afraid, create a solution, go out there, learn from somebody who you view as an enemy to see where they're coming from, develop an understanding of where your quote unquote enemy is at so that you can understand where they're coming from and then have a conversation about where you're coming from. And maybe both of you experience an empowerment there that ultimately makes a perceived enemy as a partner in creating a solution. And that's when

we get somewhere. That's when people don't resort to violence. Ultimately, we're coming up, you know, many people in my generation and earlier, you know, celebrate violence as that's ultimately the ultimate way of manlyhood is. And as a combat veteran myself, people talk about, you know, they celebrate, hey, the way you solve a problem is you're tough, you go out there and you obliterate your enemy. But being somebody who has seen what results in that, I mean, how many veterans today have killed themselves? How much epidemic suicide is out there from people who basically have learned, inundated and internalized violence is the answer. And so what becomes integrated in that training is when you have a problem that's

overwhelming, you resolve it with violence. So whether that violence is formulated outward towards another or toward yourself, then you create permanent solutions to temporary problems. And you take yourself out of any sort of solution, you take yourself out of robust and thriving relationships, you take yourself out of renovating massive societal change, and you take yourself out of the opportunity to experience all the amazing parts of living, eating ice cream with your kids, being intimate with somebody that you care about deeply, about doing rewarding work, about going out there and changing systems that have been terrible or harmful to others into ones that are robust and thriving with wellness and satisfaction to creating legacies of tremendous

outcomes of all of these opportunities where you can grow, live, experience the joy of being alive. All of these things, we take ourselves out of that because we were taught, oh, violence is the answer. That's the coolest thing for men to do. That's the most manly thing there is. And ultimately, it's really not. It ultimately leads to a whole lot more suffering. And ultimately, it usually obliterates your mental health, it usually obliterates your relationships. And although in certain times, that's needed during combat during, during warfare to help you succeed, it's not the way to succeed in your relationships. It's not the way to succeed in civilian world where you're trying to create an

income where you're trying to protect your family where you're trying to create opportunities for your children, where you're trying to overcome challenges with people who are a quote-unquote perceived enemy or a block to productivity. If you want to make war on other people as a way to solve your problems, I got to tell you, friend, you're not going to succeed no matter what short-term gains you get. And ultimately, it often leads to really horrific outcomes. So let's do better. Yeah, definitely. We need to do better, people, and just stop mucking around. So final thoughts as we go out, tell people how they can onboard with you, how they can reach out to you and find out more about you, see if you're a good fit and all that good stuff.

Sure. If you want better, if you want to magnify this conversation, share it, send it to somebody you know who has bought into some of these ideas and who you think could have a more fulfilling experience of living. Let's have dialogue. Let's articulate the realities of our current modes of operating. And let's create better. If you're tired of having conflict at work, if you're tired of job hopping, if you're tired of having staff leave your organization because of the amount of toxicity, animosity, passive aggressive harming of one another, if you're ready to have an organization that has a clear purpose that

gives people a sense of meaning, that lifts them up during all of these tremendous challenges, then I'm your guy. Let's make some wonderful things happen. Let's stop these awful things from happening and let's start today. Yep. Let's make better. It's 2025, people. Let's make better. If you're watching this on YouTube 10 years from now, you're like, what? Our YouTube's 18 years old this year. Anyway, Ben, thank you very much for bringing your inspiring thing on the show. I certainly appreciate you coming on and sharing that. Thank you very much, sir. No, it's my pleasure to be here. I appreciate the platform and all the best to you and your incredible work, Chris. Thank you. And thanks to our audience for

tuning in. Go to goodreads.com, Fortress, Chris linkedin.com fortress chris fuss chris was one of the tick tock and all those crazy places in the internet be good to each other stay safe we'll see you next time