LifeChat Radio

How do we create a culture that is welcoming and inclusive of people that are truly different than what we're used to? And more than that, how do we train and teach our children to befriend those who might have been born a little differently than them? On this very special episode of LifeChat Radio on World Down Syndrome Day, we talk with Michele Thomas, Director of the DeSoto Soaring Eagles Center, on how we can teach those around us to love differently, and love unconditionally.

It's one of our favorite festivals of the year. We're taking you Inside SXSW -- >> literally! If you've never been to the biggest music + film + interactive festival in the country, here's your shot at getting the scoop on the ins and outs of SXSW with a couple of festival vets, showcase presenter of Inside Gospel Live, Mr. Frankie Wilson(mrfrankiewilson.com) and hip hop and spoken word artist, ShySpeaks (shyspeaks.com). Music By: Shy Speaks Sho Baraka

So -- the last day to vote in the primaries is literally just a few days away. But how in the world are you supposed to know who should get your vote? Why is it even important? If it's not the president, should you care? Uh. Duh. Of course you should! And one of our favorite political gurus is gonna give you the ins and outs on how to figure out who you're voting for and WHY. LifeChatRadio.com

First of all, the music in today's show -->> #superdope. Thanks, producer. It’s February, which probably means you’re already slippin’ on that grand resolution you made at the first of the year. Although Esther goes off a time or two in this episode, we promise it won't hurt too bad. So, no worries - we’ll get you back on track in no time flat.

Before you take the big giant trendy leap of "faith," called entrepreneurship, the ladies of LifeChat Radio have a bit of advice that might save you from a bit of sorrow and frustration. We're back! And we've got a great year lined up with some amazing guests, deep topics, and more than a few truth bombs that are sure to make you go, "hmmmm..." Hey, 2018. We're ready.

CULTURE >> it's a word that has become incredibly polarizing by the moment. Either folks are quick to jump into or impact it, or their running away from it, and hiding their children, and their wives, AND their husbands from it just as quickly as they can find the closest rock. So - what is the best response to 'culture' in 2017 for the person who wants to make an impact? We chat it up this week on LifeChat Radio with the one of the dopest emcees we know, ShySpeaks [shyspeaks.com], as well as our in-house Apologetics expert [we just gave him that title, by the way], Pastor Mike Mitchell [churchonthehillag.org] about what to do with the big "C" word.

#39: Pro-Everything w. Cessilye R. Smith by Feleceia Benton + Esther Calloway

"We’ve figured out how to put people on the moon, but we haven’t learned how to stop killing each other." No Badges. No Guns. Just Humans. Dr. Larry Terry of the UNT Dallas Urban SERCH Institute discusses their approach to solving a problem that seems to be be plaguing our country and paralyzing our communities from real reconciliation and forward motion. The Community Leadership Academy is the nation's first peer-led leadership program that pairs police officers and community members together, and believes that "communities change when the institutions that bind them are strategically transformed from within." www.untdallas.edu/serch

How do you make your tiny idea a big deal? You hang out with Faith Anderson from Tenth Child Inc., that's how. This brilliant woman has executed about a million and a half amazing ideas, and caused them to come into fruition, including creating + hosting her own event at MegaFest AND the Stellar Awards. If you don't know what those are, do some Google searching, then be impressed. #ManifestationOnFleek [do they still say that?!] Ah well - who cares. She's doing it.

Everybody's just trying to eat -- we get that. And that hunger makes it super easy to go super cray on social media, especially if you're pushing a product, or music, or a service, or your kid's future career as a model. There's gotta be some balance and some strategy behind how this social media phenomenon works, right?

We've loved Chantae Cann for a LONG time at LifeChat Radio. On this very SPECIAL episode of the show, we get to chat one-on-one with one of our absolute favorite artists and get to know a little bit about her very own journey.

What better way to celebrate two years of LifeChat Radio [AND Women's History Month!] than with an awesome show! Well, we hope it's awesome at least. It's been a CRAZY ride, but we are loving life as much as we are loving this journey with all of you.

OK, ok...so, we recorded this after the first 10 days, and, well, some pretty intense stuff had already happened under America's newly guided hand at that point. So, we did what LifeChatters do -- we chatted about it, because you'd probably do the same -- and you're probably STILL doing the same. We deep dive into some political chatter with super smart [very balanced ;-)] political guru [and straight-up truth teller] Hendrick Maison on this week's show. Love it? Like it. Share it.

What happens when a handful of dedicated churches gather together in unity to create steps toward reconciliation in a single community? LIfeChat Radio recaps the Come.Unity gathering of believers from the Colin County area on MLK weekend. These people give us hope that reconciliation is not only possible, but happening, even if it's only happening in pockets.

Forty-nine years from his death and fifty-four years from the infamous "I Have a Dream" speech, and the country that Martin Luther King loved and fought for so deeply yet seems to lie in deep distress, and perhaps even deeper discourse. Disagreement is our badge of honor. Efforts surrounding ideas of unity seem foreign to a country who touts individualism so much that the very notion of laying aside those ideas for just a moment for the sake of togetherness are concepts unknown. But doesn't unity call for just that? Doesn't unity call for us to lay aside our personal plights for the sake of the good of the whole? Isn't this the very idea for which Martin Luther King fought? We discuss this (and much, much, MUCH more) on this week's LifeChat Radio.

Doing something new is hardly ever easy -- at least that's the way it felt when we launched into the land of podcasting at the start of 2016. But thanks to a "a little help from our friends," we were able to more than get by -- we created something awesome that we think can help make a small dent of impact in this somewhat noisy world that doesn't always feed us the most positive food for thought. So, here's a little recap of what we think was a pretty successful year. And if you hear something you like, go back and listen to the shows you might have missed. We bet it'll make your spirit high.

We hear you. You're angry. Frustrated. You wanna do something, but you have no clue where to begin. What the heck are you supposed to do now? ​Well, if you're like us, you ask the people who are doing it, and doing it, and doing it well. This series is kinda blowing our brains, too. We're learning about not only the passion and fire required for someone to create change, but also the grave intentionality required to make shift happen in whatever space. Wanna create change? Here's your to-do list. ​Welcome to the revolution.

I think we can all agree that the abortion debate is one about which we all likely have an opinion. With extremists on both sides, it's sometimes hard to consider what the in-between might actually look like. Perhaps ur conversation with New Wave Feminist Founder Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa seems to have navigated us to a place of new-found understanding. Perhaps organizations like her's, pro-life-pro-woman-pro-baby loving ones, will continue to reveal themselves and continue to provide resources to women who find themselves feeling the do the unthinkable because they feel it's unavoidable.

Everybody wants to be a revolutionary -- especially right now. Seems like every day, we see a new hashtag, protest or so-called 'movement' pop-up on social media. But how does one actually begin to shift change in a culture or concerning an issue? By definition, the tride and true plight of a revolution is "a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system." Perhaps we've seen more overthrowing than proposed new systems. Something to consider when you're one of the ones cheering for change. In this 4-part series, we're exploring what it takes to create a real revolution in a given area, step by step, inch by inch. #LifeChatRevolutionaries

We're in the homestretch of our Gearing up for Great series featuring one of our favorites, Laura Terhune with the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce. Listen, Laura spits some serious knowledge in this week's show, so don't miss a moment. And take notes, while you're at it.

Sometimes, you just gotta go back. Achieving greatness is no short-term feat. It takes time, energy, effort and a whole lot of patience. Spend a bit of your time with the Toni Holloway as she discusses continuing ed and the next steps for grown folks, and be inspired to get back in the game. Be better. Do more.

Achieving greatness is no short-term feat. It takes time, energy, effort and a whole lot of patience. Spend a bit of your time with the hard-working team at from the Action Center Network who have taken on the giant task of eliminating crime one zip code at a time. From OKC to Dallas-town, Action Center is on a mission -- and we're inspired by that.

We're closing out our #LoveIs series with some sounds that make our souls glad. We're also re-capping ShopTalk: a Battle of Understanding the Sexes with our boy, Jerome Walker.

We're on a constant quest to discover the things that make love works. It's a hard enough journey already, isn't it? Why not dive into the minds of the folks who are digging and working to make their love last?  ​ The LifeChat ladies this week chat it up with The Morrows, a couple that has taken their individual passions and melded them into a thing of beauty and are together creating a union that they both enjoy.  We're digging these "passionprenuers," and we KNOW you will, too. 

If I hear one more #single lady say she's 'ready for love...' #ReallyTho? You've had India Arie on repeat for one song too long...probably. We begin our new series series, #LoveIs: Conversations with the Patient and the Kind, with the founders of Shop Talk: a Battle of Understanding the Sexes -- a new Dallas-based event created to challenge the minds of those who dare to enter into the dating landscape of 2016. We'll go there -- we promise.

Everybody's "woke" these days, but how many people are paying attention enough to simply be plugged into the pulse of their community? We chat with Belyn Bland-Xochia with the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce about their new community initiatives and about how everyday people can get involved in their own cities and towns.

What makes her better? Sounds like such a loaded question, right? But for an artist like Neo-Soul-Christian-Hip-Hop-Rapper-Singer-All-Around boss woman like LaToria [she's on that all things to all men tip], the quest for lifelong improvement boils down to three simple words -- being like Christ. Cliche for many. Real for her. She's also gracing the cover of this month's Elisia Magazine. #CauseSheGotItLikeThat Check out her interview + new song on the podcast - LifeChatLive.com

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” - Ken Robinson. Revision doesn’t mean that your idea was wrong, but it does mean that perhaps there was a problem in your execution. There must be a way to execute your idea and there is no other choice but to revise and revitalize your process if you want to experience success in your goals. Frankie Wilson, CEO of Vision Media and Stellar Award winning radio personality explains how “creativity and innovation exist in the absence of the impossible,” and talks of the strategic methods one can take to revise their original plans instead of reverting and giving up on them.

Hard is relative. "It’s FINE" seems to be the ultimate American distraction, and we are OK with just being OK. As a result, we have no idea what extraordinary feels like because we’ve settled into the contentment of mediocrity. But how does one assess what is around them in order to know how to take steps toward living a life of purposeful amazement and continual joy? Social Impact Guru Chantel LaNeice Hobbs talks with the ladies of LifeChat about breaking through the fear and identifying the best probable next steps in working toward a life of purpose.

Values — that isn’t the first word that comes to mind when most folks think about venturing into the world of entrepreneurship. Whether its the quest for world peace or the almighty dollar, we tend to fix our eyes on an end goal and are not oft deterred by how that little ‘v’ word can affect what we choose to do or not do in business. But that little two-syllable word can either make your decision making process super easy or complicate the living daylight out of the gray issues that regularly rear their ugly heads. We talk with blogger and serial overcomer Brandie Burkhalter on this week’s #LifeChat Radio podcast and learn how she allows the not-so-bright days fuel her toward creating positive outcomes in life and business.

The desire for immediate gratification plagues our generation. As a result, leaving a legacy for those coming behind us doesn't seem to be at the forefront of our minds. The honorable Curtistene McCowan, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of DeSoto, TX, joined us to discuss the mindset needed to create a lasting impression for years to come...and also, Beyonce. We talked about her, too :-/

So, you started that thing you've been wanting to start - that's cool. But what happens when you're right in the middle of starting up, and it seems like it's all falling to pieces before it even gets off the ground? Time to quit, or time to adjust? Grant Skeldon from the Initiative Network talks to the ladies of LIfeChat about the willingness to adjust right in the middle of the beginning.

So you wanna start a business -- that's awesome...and scary. Our favorite financial consultant gives us some ideas about starting your businesses with just the resources you've already got. We'll see about that. Music by: Keite Young Adrion Buter Mattie Michelle

Revving up is hard to do. Here are a few tools to help you get geared up to move from the side gig to the real thang. Music by: 1st song - Van Gammon 2nd song - George Tisdale Special Guest: Sway Buckley: http://www.smartartist.tv/

"I need to organize my LIFE!" Ever feel like all the pieces are ALL over the place? We wear ourselves out with the insignificant, all while time just keeps on slipping right past us. Slightly depressing, awfully true. Mocha Mob Cheryl Rischer and guy about the community Michael Flusche help us get gain some timely perspective about a few things on this week's show.

a·tax·i·a əˈtaksēə/ noun the loss of full control of bodily movements. It's a real disease and also an intense description of what your life can become if you are an entrepreneur and don't get some doggone control of what the heck you're doing. We chat with Brandon Hall of Camp Gladiator and Frankie Wilson of Vision Media about how they grabbed [at least some parts] of life by the horns and took control.

You're in the middle of your morning scroll and your thumb stops, paralyzed, your eyeballs fixated on your used to be friend who always seems to be doing the doggone thing while you're trying to motivate yourself to get your butt out of bed and head in for another tedious day at the office -- Admit it -- you've got social media envy. Why can't that be you? Your next big thing ain't gonna happen on it's on. Sorry friend. Roger Franklin from Action Center USA chats with the ladies of LifeChat Radio about how his lifelong passion has led him to purpose-filled days.

Influence: Everybody wants it, not everybody knows what the heck to do with it. Beyonce, Kanye, Kirk, Kendrick - all mega stars who have used their platforms to make some pretty bold moves in the past few weeks. But were their statements just that -- statements -- or were they more than that? Game changers or noise makers? Influence is a powerful tool that can disrupt the wrong and shine light on the right. But are the moves we make really shifting culture or just causing more confusion? Nick Marino of Tango Tab joins us on this week's show to discuss INFLUENCE: Making Moves or Causing Chaos?

Dallas single gal mogul Stephanie Johnson talks love, singlehood and the big "V" word on this week's show. We'll learn more about Singles and the City -- her very cool movement that was created to help spark passion and conversation outside of relationships -- in Dallas, Austin and Detroit.

Political activist Michael Flusche talks the next big move for America, while author Jonathan Jones discusses how millinneals can prepare for the next big move in their own lives in his new book, Process: 14 Surprisingly Simple Behaviors to Skyrocket Millennials to Success.

Pursue vs. Retreat -- in the game of love, which one do YOU do?

Dallas Takes SXSW by Feleceia Benton + Esther Calloway

SOCIAL CHANGE: Cliche or Real Talk? | We all have a lot to say about how things should be better. But what are we actually doing to become better?

To BE or NOT to be | What the heck does it mean to take the initiative to BE WHAT’S NEXT?

For Better or Worse | The LifeChat ladies recap their best and worst V-Day experiences.