Podcasts about ambassadors

Ashley Pope is an incredible woman by any standard. She grew up mostly in the Ventura area of Southern California. She went to school graduating like any high school senior. She tried college and found that it wasn't for her. She had been working at a department store while in high school and for a bit after that including when she decided college was not her forte.   She spent a few years working in sales for an ophthalmological company before opening her own spice and tea shop in Ventura at the age of 23. During this time her son was born. At the age of two, he was diagnosed as being autistic. Ashley learned how to be a fierce advocate for him and joined forces with Autism Society Ventura where she now serves as president.   Ashley sold her business and took a position with the Ventura Chamber of Commerce to have the time to devote to her son's needs.   Life wasn't done throwing curves at Ashley. In 2020 she was feeling some health issues of her own. She thought they were stress-related. After a STAT MRI's ended in a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis she now had not only to advocate for her son but for herself as well.   You will see from listening to Ashley that she is as unstoppable as it gets. She is by any standard the kind of person I am honored to know and I do hope we will hear more from her in the future.     About the Guest:   Ashley Pope is 33 years old and lives in beautiful Ventura, California with her husband Carlos and their 10-year-old son, Gavin. She is employed by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce as a Membership Development Manager. She feels fortunate to get to work with the business community, including small businesses and non-profit organizations. Ashley is an entrepreneur, having owed a spice and tea store Downtown Ventura for 6 years before selling it, all before the age of 30. During that time, she was acknowledged for being a young business owner, most notably in the Wells Fargo Works national competition and by the National Association of Women Business Owners when she was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015.   Ashley is also a passionate volunteer. She has worked countless hours as a volunteer for Autism Society Ventura County- a role that doubles as a hobby! She is currently the President of the organization and has served on the board for 6 years. The projects that bring her the most joy are centered around workforce development, advocacy, changing the local narrative around Autism one family at a time, and obtaining large grants to put on new meaningful projects and programs in Ventura County. Ashley is also a 7 year Rotarian with Rotary Club of Ventura East.   In 2015, when her son was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with Autism. This diagnosis rocked her world and sent her family on a quest for services and to understand what this meant for her son. Acceptance wasn't immediate, but it was fast. Ashley became a passionate advocate and began to help other families whenever she could. This quest for more led her to Autism Society Ventura County, where she was able to combine her energy with other advocates for greater impact. She credits the organization with empowering her with the knowledge and experience to be the best mom she can be. By the end of 2016, Ashley was known in her community as a disability advocate.   In 2020, Ashley came into another challenge. She had been experiencing some strange medical symptoms that she wrote off as stress induced. She was shocked when STAT MRI's ended in a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Ashley didn't know much about the condition, only that it was debilitating. She quickly learned that unlike Autism, there wasn't much fun or interesting about progressive multiple sclerosis. She is currently in the process of coming to acceptance of her own limitations and grappling with her sense of self as her ability to do a lot changes.   Through her experience with her son, Ashley has learned that the ability to communicate is a gift and is motivated to share her story, even when she feels vulnerable.   Ashley loves to read, spend time with her family, and loves her 2 cats Scarlett and Pebbles and her dog Donut.   Ways to connect with Ashley:   Instagram: VenturawithAshley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.pope.10/     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello once again. And yep, you are absolutely right. This is unstoppable mindset. We're inclusion, diversity in the unexpected meet. And it's always fun when we get to have a lot of all of that kind of stuff on here. I'm your host, Mike hingson. We're really glad you're here with us today. And today we have a guest Ashley Pope, then Ashley would be a person I would describe as an unstoppable mom advocate and she'll tell you all about why that's the case. But that's a good description to start with. Anyway, we've been working on getting this all set up for a while and we finally got it done. And here we are. And Ashley, thank you for coming on. And welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Ashley Pope ** 02:03 Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here with you today.   Michael Hingson ** 02:06 And I am not really if you want to get technical everyone totally pleased with Ashley because she lives in Ventura, California, and I wish I were there. But no Victorville is really okay. Ventura is a nice seaside town, and there's a lot of value in being there. And it's a wonderful place and not too far from where I live. So I could get a ride there within a couple of hours or so. So not complaining too much. Right, Ashley?   Ashley Pope ** 02:33 That's right, Ventura Great.   Michael Hingson ** 02:35 Well, let's start by maybe learning a little bit about kind of the earlier Ashley, you growing up and all that kind of stuff. And we'll, we'll take it from there.   Ashley Pope ** 02:44 Yeah. So I grew up right here in Ventura, California, which is about halfway between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles and super sunny, beautiful place to live. And it's a wonderful place to grow up. And I have a brother and a sister and you know, my parents, we all just grew up here and and I think I think the universe all the time for allowing you to grow up and such a gorgeous place with wonderful people. I really don't think there's anywhere better in the world. And then, shortly after high school, I just jumped right into actually working full time before high school even ended. And I just always have had a really strong work ethic and a really big passion for whatever work I was doing. I never expected that I would find myself in disability advocacy, that's for sure. This is where I landed and I'm grateful to be here as well.   Michael Hingson ** 03:43 So you didn't go to college?   Ashley Pope ** 03:45 No, I did for a little bit. I went to MIT for college. Okay, great. Yeah. And I dropped out. I have I have a short attention span so I knew pretty quickly that college was not my thing. It was really hard for me to sit down and sit still I've always learned better by using my hands and my mind and getting out there and I chose the work route which you know, pros and cons but no regrets at all.   Michael Hingson ** 04:14 Well, and that's really the issue isn't that you are you're happy with what you're doing? There are no regrets. You can always do shoulda, coulda, woulda, and what good does it get us anyway?   Ashley Pope ** 04:24 Absolutely. I actually bought a business at the age of 23. A retail store in beautiful downtown Ventura. And I consider that to be my college experience. I had it for six years. And there's there's no business experience like that experience, that's for sure.   Michael Hingson ** 04:43 And what happened to the business? I sold it. See there you go. So you beat the odds first of all, because they say that typically most startups don't last five years. Not only is it yours last but then you sold it. So you can't do better than that. Unless you wanted to stay in it and there are a lot of reason Since not to necessarily do that, as I'm sure we're gonna discover, but what were you doing? You said you were working even in high school?   Ashley Pope ** 05:08 Yeah, I worked at Macy's. So when I was in high school, my parents moved to Sacramento, my dad's job got transferred. And I kind of refused to start new in high school and opted instead to do homeschooling and ended up working full time at Macy's, while homeschooling for a year, and then I moved back to Ventura to graduate, and kept the job. And shortly after graduating high school, I went on to work at LensCrafters, which was a great management experience and really taught me a lot. I think my days at LensCrafters really helped to prepare me for advocacy in a lot of ways it you know, just working with people who have vision impairments, or have medical issues and need the glasses to see it was really enlightening for me honestly, that to think somebody could lose a pair of glasses or break a pair of glasses and then be unable to see the world and maybe not have the accommodations that they needed to pick glasses right away. Rather, it was financial or transportation restraints, just to have somebody kind of be left without resources for maybe a week before they could get in for an appointment. It was really it was enlightening. For sure. It's pretty cool to to witness that.   Michael Hingson ** 06:39 It's kind of an off the topic question. But I'm just curious, it sort of pops into my head. How do we get people to recognize that eyesight is not the only game in town, and even if you lose your glasses, it's not the end of the world.   Ashley Pope ** 06:52 I mean, I think it is the end of the world in first moments, right? In the first moments, in the first moments, you see, oh my gosh, I can't work, I can't drive. I can't be an effective parent. I can't help my kid with their homework. It's like you have to learn how to deal with what life gives you. But if you only have a week to figure it   Michael Hingson ** 07:15 out, oh, yeah, that's not a lot of time.   Ashley Pope ** 07:19 But you're absolutely right. I mean, that's one thing I did not learn from LensCrafters. But maybe I learned later down the road, is that these things are not life or death. Right? It's, it's not. It's not the end of the world. You're absolutely right. But it's the end of that person's world when they have a week worth of plans that they can no longer make. It feels like the end of their world. And perhaps that's an issue with America and with the world as it is more than it is the way that those individuals were thinking,   Michael Hingson ** 07:54 Yeah, we teach. We teach people so much that I say it's the only game in town and I and I understand why for most people, it really is because that's what they know. The other part about it, and we talked about it here every so often is that somehow we've got to get away from using the term vision impairment, because for visual impairment, because we're not impaired. And people who don't hear well would shoot you if you said they were hearing impaired because they recognize it impaired means you're really comparing it with something, rather than saying, hard of hearing. And likewise, with people who are blind or low vision, that's a much better way to put it than blind or visually impaired visually, we're not different and impaired as also an inappropriate thing. But we're still a long way from getting people to understand that language. And that doesn't help people thinking that it's the end of the world. But I appreciate it. And and the reality is it's an education process. And hopefully over time, it will be something where we'll have better revolution.   Ashley Pope ** 08:58 Thank you, Michael, it. It is an educational process. And there's so many, we've we're always changing and always evolving. And that's something I didn't know I do remember prometrics at one point telling me that we should never say blind, right? And it seems like we've gone backwards or gone forwards but like it's like what used to be acceptable for a while was no longer acceptable, such as like person first language. That's another thing with autism. Like you don't say autistic, you say a person with autism. And then now we're going back to know the person that is who they are. That's part of their culture that they want to claim and part of their identity. So now we got to stick. And we always want to be respectful of the language that one wants to use in the language that's culturally appropriate and no, that's super valid. And thank you so much for for sharing.   Michael Hingson ** 09:55 Well, in the case of blind for example, and I think there are reasons why optometrists should ophthalmologists think that I'll get to that in a second. But the real issue is that blind and low vision is and or are characteristics. And the issue isn't politically correct or not the issue is accurate and how it really classifies people. And that's why the whole idea of impaired is a problem. From my perspective, the optometrist, you talked about his blind impaired, why is that any different than being blind, you know, a, maybe a better way to put it is that guy's light dependent, and he'd be in a world of hurt if the power suddenly went out in his office, and he didn't have a window to allow sunlight in. But he didn't have a smartphone right close by to be able to turn it on for a flashlight. And most people in the world are like dependent. And that's all they know, that I don't expect everyone to necessarily get to the point up front where they're experts and won't panic. But they sure also ought not to assume that just because some people aren't like them, that we're not just as capable. And of course, that gets back to the whole issue of disability does not mean lack of ability, which is something you understand very well. Absolutely. So you sold your business. Cool. That was great. What was your business?   Ashley Pope ** 11:26 It was a spice and tea store, downtown Ventura, and it's very much still there and the new owners are not new anymore. It's been four years. They are absolutely amazing. The store is called spice topia. And it's right on the 500 block of Main Street, downtown Ventura, and I love the tan family. If you drop in, you should definitely spend a lot of money and and visit the family.   Michael Hingson ** 11:52 Well, only we'll go with you. We'll have to get to Venter and do that. I've been a great fan of some Well, vibrant British teas, but I like green tea and other other teas as well. I've never been the coffee drinker and I don't know why. But I've always been since I started drinking hot drinks more of a tea drinker. Of course, I can always be spoiled with hot chocolate, but that's another story.   Ashley Pope ** 12:15 Same same. I love chocolate bars. I'm not so much of a coffee drinker anymore, either.   Michael Hingson ** 12:21 Nothing wrong with hot chocolate.   Ashley Pope ** 12:24 Especially with whipped cream. Yep. Absolutely. Do it.   Michael Hingson ** 12:28 Make it with milk? Yep. We, my wife and I in the winter would get Starbucks cocoa from Costco. And we would make it with milk never water. And so always tastes great. Yeah, spoiled me. I might just have to have some anyway today just because. Well, that comes later. But meanwhile, so what did you do after you sold the business?   Ashley Pope ** 12:59 So this is another point when I had a business, I always had another job kind of outside of the business. Because as you said, small business is hard. And retail is hard. So that was always kind of a side project for me, that I had for a long time. When I went into business, my son was just about a year old. And within another two years he was diagnosed with autism. And so I tried to kind of let go of the job that I had and went to go work my retail store and then ended up with a different kind of job sticking with the optometry ophthalmology field. I would do outside sales for LASIK and cataract surgeons. And yeah, stick with the field stick with what I knew. And then the Chamber of Commerce here in Ventura was hirings. Oh, I've actually worked for the chamber for about seven years. So there was some overlap between selling my business and the time that I worked for the chamber. The time came in 2019, I really was just beginning to feel the squeeze of having a child with special needs, doing my volunteer work that I love to do, and of course, having a job and a business. So something had to go. And I really took a good hard look and thought, what do I want to do? Do I want to quit my job? Do I want to stay in the business? And I ended up deciding to go ahead and sell the business. And that was a really great decision for me. A very wise decision in terms of especially not knowing what was coming next, which I know we're gonna get to about what less than a year after selling I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And so that was really telling why I was having some of the issues that I was having, focusing, holding conversations with fatigue EEG, all of these symptoms that I had been having just in case I was overstressed overworked, which I was, but not really answered some of those questions, and I was really grateful that I made the decision that left me with health insurance versus the one that maybe wouldn't have. So.   Michael Hingson ** 15:16 So the job that you had at that time was the Optima logical one or the optical one or what? No, with the chamber with the chamber. Okay, great. Yeah. So you got health insurance. So you had two different sets of challenges, because clearly MS is not anywhere near the same kinds of issues as as autism. And now suddenly, you had to deal with both. Is there a husband in the picture?   Ashley Pope ** 15:39 There is? Yeah, my husband, my son's dad, he is a stay at home dad, actually, to this day, really supportive also than I assume? Yeah, he's really supportive, and definitely the primary caregiver for my son being that I was working. So that's it. It's been great just being able to lean on him.   Michael Hingson ** 16:03 And, and he does that, which is so cool. Because he cares enough to do that. And so he's able to deal with your son and, and you when necessary. Oh, absolutely. I see you a lot on a lot of different ways. But with the MS and all that, does your son go to school?   Ashley Pope ** 16:23 He does. So he goes to a special education program that's been a typical school, he does have a inclusion where he sometimes goes into the general education classrooms. And he goes to public school.   Michael Hingson ** 16:38 How's he doing?   Ashley Pope ** 16:39 He's doing great. My son is so awesome. He's really positive. He's really smart. He's really happy. He has a hard time with language, both understanding complex instructions or complex ideas even. And then also verbalizing, complex feelings, emotions, he talks a little bit but mostly about, like his needs and his wants. But I really learned that there's a lot of different ways to communicate. And he's, he's a happy kid. So we're really grateful for that. Does he read? He is super good with reading? He does. He doesn't read so much. Books. And the comprehension is still a challenge. But he definitely reads words and is really good with spelling. That's he has been fascinated with the alphabet, since he was like, nine months old. He's been super drawn to numbers and letters and colors and shapes. And that's actually, I think, a pretty common thing with autism.   Michael Hingson ** 17:50 Well, that's cool. Does, does he? Have you ever tried to explore the concept of listening to audiobooks? Or is his listening comprehension just not there yet.   Ashley Pope ** 18:02 He's never really shown interest. He's just barely starting to show interest in cartoons, which is funny, because, you know, so many parents are like, Oh, too much screen time for the kids, like, you know, you don't want him glued to the TV all day. And for us, we're like, thrilled that he wants to watch cartoons and you can kind of like, maintain a focus on it. I know so many people who learn English through watching cartoons, and maybe you know, grew up on learning Spanish only. And were in households that didn't speak English at all. And were able to pick up English through cartoons. So I'm a big believer that this can be a positive thing for him. And it gives me hope, also, that he's interested in the stories being told and in the characters. So I'm interested to see where that will land.   Michael Hingson ** 18:53 Well, so of course, the issue is you're getting something out of it. And clearly, you can see that so that's a really positive thing. Needless to say. Absolutely. Yeah. So he, he watched his cartoons to see what kind of games does he play?   Ashley Pope ** 19:10 Plays, you know, it's he, he likes to do things his own way. So you can usually find him like jumping on the trampoline, he likes to go for walks, he runs around on the beach, and terms of games. He's just not into it. And we try to pull him into like, you know, our space and get him to engage in these different ways. He loves doing LEGO sets, which is really fun. The booklets like, really, really well, he does better than I do. I'll be like trying to help him and put something on backwards and he's like, no, no, like, he'll like take it from me and fix it. So it kind of comes back to that whole, you know, shapes, numbers, colors, letters thing he's really drawn to what's concrete. Which is interesting because for me, that's so not who I am as a person. So it's been fun to learn alongside him and watch the way that he learns. Just because it's so interesting and different from the way that I learned.   Michael Hingson ** 20:18 Well, clearly, there is a lot of awareness there. And that's probably the most important thing. So you may not know just what's going on in that mind. But there's something that that is going on. And he's aware of his surroundings. And I wish more people were aware of their surroundings in so many ways.   Ashley Pope ** 20:38 Yeah, he'll pick out like, the tiniest little thing and hyper focus on like, one, you know, little tiny toy or one little thing in the carpet, or whatever it might be. In so many ways, it's like he'll he'll fully get immersed in one little part of his day. And it's a really beautiful thing to watch that at attention. And that focus is really rare.   Michael Hingson ** 21:11 You've talked about autism or autistic awareness, as opposed to acceptance. Tell us about that.   Ashley Pope ** 21:17 Yeah, so autism acceptance is a term that's been used for decades, or autism awareness, I'm sorry. So autism awareness is basically like, what is autism? What are the first signs that you should reach out for help if you see these, you know, first things not talking, not smiling, not engaging, no eye contact, they have like this big long list of things for parents. And to know those things is to be aware. So society pushed that for a really long time, autism awareness, autism awareness. And just in the last maybe five years, Autism Society of America, as well as Autism Society of Ventura County, and several other organizations have said, Okay, we've kind of met awareness, people know, what is autism, people know someone with autism. People have heard the word autism. So what does it mean? What's the next step? And autism acceptance is really not only being aware of what autism is, but being accepting of who the unique individuals are, who have autism, and also taking a good look at how does our world work? And how do we make sure that it works for these populations? So for instance, in like workforce training, and education and inclusion, pretty much from birth to end of life? How do we build a world that is more inclusive? And that has been the focus now on acceptance more than awareness?   Michael Hingson ** 23:02 Yeah, it makes sense. And we'll know when there's true acceptance when people recognize that just because someone may be happens to be autistic, that doesn't make them less of a person, it means they're going to do things in a significantly different way. But doesn't mean they're less.   Ashley Pope ** 23:23 Yes, absolutely. That's the goal. We are noticing the differences and honoring the differences, and accommodating the differences when necessary. But that we're recognizing that they are just as much human and have just as much right to find their happiness and passions in the world. We're not just creating cookie cutter programs for kids that are so not cookie cutter. And we're definitely not pushing adults into cookie cutter dogs, or cookie cutter programs. And we honor the diversity of everyone else. We hope that we can honor that diversity across the autism spectrum as well.   Michael Hingson ** 24:06 Do we really know what causes autism?   Ashley Pope ** 24:09 We don't. We don't know what the causes are they they, you know, some genetic factor for sure. environmental factor for sure. But they still haven't identified what exactly causes autism. And one thing that I love most. And what really drew me to Autism Society, is that we really don't talk or work on causes or cures at all. We only focus on providing programs and making the world a better place. As a mom. I remember getting that diagnosis and seeing so many organizations that are talking about you know, finding a cure or figuring out what the cause is so that we can eliminate it and just being like, well, that doesn't really help me. Now, it doesn't help my son now like we don't we're not trying to You know, change, that he has autism, it's part of who he is, in a sense, even very early on, I knew like, I don't want to take his wonder or his joy away from him, like, I'm not trying to make him not jump in spin. That's clearly what's making him happy. But I also just want to help him whatever that looks like. And so I was really attracted to an organization that uses their donations, to help those who are already living versus looking at 20 years ahead, to see what they can figure out about causes or cures. And there's a lot of controversy there as well around even finding a cure for autism, because more and more we're learning that it's, that is the genetic makeup, it's a different wiring of the brain, it's a different way of thinking, and it's not wrong, it's not something to be fixed, it's something to be accommodated. So there's a lot of that feeling out there as well that focusing on a cure or a cause is perhaps not the right focus for the time.   Michael Hingson ** 26:10 Well, or using the words we use a little while ago, or you use a little while ago accepted. There's nothing wrong with acceptance.   Ashley Pope ** 26:18 Yeah. It's trying to convince someone that you are accepting, when in the next breath, you are looking to fix what you feel is broken. So   Michael Hingson ** 26:30 that's the issue what you feel is broken. Yeah. Which is, which is all together a different issue. What do you want parents and other people to know about having a child with autism, you must have life lessons, that would probably be valuable for people to hear about.   Ashley Pope ** 26:50 Yeah, for first getting a diagnosis, what I would tell parents is, it's definitely not the end of the world, that there are a lot of positives that can come from, even from the diagnosis, this child is still the same child, and they still have just as much to offer the world and your family as they did, before they got that diagnosis, or the moment they were born, or the moment you dreamed them up. There is still just as much value there. And I would also say that, you know, cry if you need to cry, but then wake up the next day and get to work. Because there's a lot to do, there's a lot of services to find, there's a lot to learn. And the longer you take to process, whatever feelings you need to process, whatever your your grief process looks like, quicker you can get through it. And the faster you can get to work, the better off your child will be. And the more likely they are to be able to be independent to some capacity in this world. So that's a really important message. And then for the rest of the world, I would just say that individuals with autism do deserve the same access and the same experiences. It's shocking, what we sometimes hear, right? In terms of like, well, that program exists, like isn't that enough? Or these services in the community are available? We have one inclusive Park, is that not enough? Why do you need them all to be inclusive? It's like, No, it's not enough, we deserve the same access. And so I will continue to fight those fights, not necessarily for you to park just one idea or one example. But in every area everywhere should be accessible. And the idea that we put any type of limitations on a child or on a person due to a diagnosis or disability is just not okay. So that's it gets.   Michael Hingson ** 29:03 It gets back to what we talked about earlier, blindness being the end of the world or not, and it doesn't matter whether it's being blind or have been being autistic or whatever. It is something that we've got to get to the point of saying get over it. Where's the real problem? The real problem is us who think there's a problem rather than there necessarily really being a problem.   Ashley Pope ** 29:29 The way I put it is the problem is with the world. There's nothing wrong with my son. The problem is with what the world has available for or does not have available for the way that the world perceives, or the way the world thinks about my son. That's the problem. It's not him. And so I think that's a really important piece for people to recognize is that it's the world that falls short never, never ever child and Never the person with a disability.   Michael Hingson ** 30:04 Yeah, and the reality is that we can get over it. And we can move forward. So well, let's let's talk about Gavin a little bit more. So he's 10. What do you expect will be Gavin's future? At some point, will he go into the workforce and have a job? You know, given his level of autism was I'm not going to call it a disability, because it's no more a disability than being able to see as a disability, but, but he is autistic. What, what will that mean in terms of him being able to ever work or be on his own and so on?   Ashley Pope ** 30:47 Here, as the world would say, and this is another term, not, we don't really use, but he does have a lot of needs. And so sometimes in the autism community, we'll hear, Well, is he low functioning, or is he high functioning, or somewhere in the middle, and that is another category of words that we want to kind of let go of using because just because somebody is high functioning doesn't mean that they don't really struggle with things related to their autism. And just because somebody is low functioning, doesn't mean they don't have anything to offer the world. And that the way that we perceive low functioning and high functioning are not, they mean, really very little to like, the actual experience that that person is having. So we've tried to get away from using that language. And my son does have a lot of needs, and he will hopefully be able to work if that's what he is driven to do. He is really interested in things that I think would be good qualities to have as an employee. He's super happy. He's really good at like keeping things organized and clean, you'd make a great merchandiser, for instance, however, he is easily distracted, and he's not really so into direction at this point in his life. He's also 10. So you never know. So to answer that question, I don't really know, I guess it could be anywhere between having a day program or volunteer opportunities up to being like, a legal engineer, I don't know, could be anywhere. So we're not so sure. Um, fortunately, he has a lot of family support. And we've gotten a lot of the supports and systems in place for him, so that he will be okay financially, and with people around him that care for him, he will never be fully independent, which is hard to say or think about. But that's just the reality of it. And a lot of you know, a lot of people in this world won't. So how are we as society, protecting the interests and the rights and the safety of those amongst us who will never be fully independent, or independent, even partially independent, they'll always need someone   Michael Hingson ** 33:27 kind of almost really submit that most all of us really need someone, and that none of us are totally independent. Probably some people would disagree. But the reality is that we all are interdependent on each other in so many ways, and I don't see a problem with that.   Ashley Pope ** 33:45 Yeah. I hear you. I think, obviously, there's levels and you're right. Everybody's independent, in some sense, but But yeah, it's dependents will be a little bit more   Michael Hingson ** 34:01 payments will be a little bit more than, than a lot of people and so on. You know, but he may end up being a great card shark in Las Vegas. We'll see.   Ashley Pope ** 34:10 That's right. You never know, either. Maybe   Michael Hingson ** 34:12 they'll be supporting you. Yeah,   Ashley Pope ** 34:14 it's very true.   Michael Hingson ** 34:16 Does he have any siblings?   Ashley Pope ** 34:19 He does not. So. But no siblings. He's,   Michael Hingson ** 34:23 he's, he's a lot to concentrate on. Right? Yeah. He and her husband for you?   Ashley Pope ** 34:28 Yes. That's enough for me. Yeah, that's   Michael Hingson ** 34:32 a lot of work all the way around. Or your husband has you and he and Gavin to concentrate on and that's a lot for him too. So that is my wife. My wife and I chose not to have kids. We chose to spoil nieces and nephews. So at the end of the day, we could ship them off to home.   Ashley Pope ** 34:49 Nice,   Michael Hingson ** 34:50 worked out well. Yes, it did. Well, we valued each other we valued our togetherness. She was in a wheelchair. And so as I always told people she read, I pushed worked out really well. And so we work together, we relied on each other. And that's, that's as good as it could possibly be as well. So I appreciate though the the fact that we all do happen to be interdependent in one way or another. Absolutely, which is pretty cool.   Ashley Pope ** 35:23 It is really cool.   Michael Hingson ** 35:25 Well, so for you. What, when? When are you when you discover a parent who has encountered autism? And we've talked some about that, but do you have any other advice or any other kinds of words of wisdom that you want to pass on for parents to think about,   Ashley Pope ** 35:48 um, I sometimes come across parents who won't want to tell their child that they have autism. And I think that that's cruel. For lack of a better word, we'll hear that these kids are having a hard time socially, emotionally, maybe with learning. And parents will just be like, oh, you know, I don't, I don't want to give them the label. I don't want them to, you know, feel like they're living with this or under this. Yeah. And we oftentimes hear from adults with autism, that it answers so many questions to have the diagnosis. And so I think that being able to give them the gift of knowing as early as possible, and have them grow up around the word and around being proud of having a different mind, and aware that their mind is different. And there, they may have some struggles, like they may learn a little bit different, or they might have some social issues or difficulties or differences. But that the family loves them and that they are proud of who they are. And that autism is something to be proud of. Because in a lot of ways, it's also a superpower. And look at all the things that you're great at. That is a better approach, and just not addressing it at all, can be really hurtful   Michael Hingson ** 37:21 to that whole thing of living with autism or whatever, it's the same thing about what we were talking about with blindness or any other kind of so called disability. The reality is we've got to get beyond these words that really are only hurtful and not accurate anyway.   Ashley Pope ** 37:39 Yeah, it's, it's a gift to be able to grow up knowing and to find your pride and sense of self, within the life that you have, you're not going to have another one, it's not going to change, you know that you're not going to one day wake up and not have autism. So just live with it. And you loving that about your child empowers them to love themselves, regardless of any difficulties that they may have.   Michael Hingson ** 38:09 And they're going to know that you love them. And if you don't, they're going to know that. It's it's something that so often we don't understand. Children and and other people in general, really observe instinctively as much as anything else. And they know when you're blowing smoke or when you're genuine, whoever you are, and whatever you do. And I, and it's, you know, I learned it a long time ago, I have been very much involved in sales. And I learned a long time ago in sales. They know when you're faking it, they know when you're telling the truth. And you can try to pull the wool over people's eyes. But the reality is, it doesn't work. People really can sense it. I was interviewing someone actually on a recent episode, who was talking about self confidence, and we talked about confidence and arrogance. And one of the points that he made was with arrogance, it's usually because there's an insecurity and you can bluster and, and do all sorts of things. But the reality is, if you're truly confident in yourself and what you're doing and so on, that shines through and people can tell the difference.   Ashley Pope ** 39:27 Very true.   Michael Hingson ** 39:29 And so love is extremely important. And I'm I'm really glad to hear that you can can really support that in the you guys are doing that and Gavin's gonna certainly appreciate it and give it back in return and that's is important as anything else.   Ashley Pope ** 39:46 Yes, he is so happy and and I think lucky. Just how much support he has. And we don't put him in situations where We don't feel like he is fully accepted and embraced and loved. Ever. So if there was a teacher that I felt was not fit, then we would find a new one. It's like those types of situations, because we can't. I want him to be happy and to live that fullest life. And in order to do that he needs to be around people who believe that he can and that he's worth that,   Michael Hingson ** 40:25 who believe in Him. Uh huh. Well, so I want to talk more about you in terms of your diagnosis and so on. But first, what do you do for the chamber,   Ashley Pope ** 40:39 I do membership development. So I meet with different businesses and organizations and people around the community and bring them into the chamber. I also do a lot of the events work, so help to organize events. It's really awesome to be able to connect with the business community on a really deep level. It's a really supportive community here in Ventura. We have a ton of nonprofits who do really great work, and the business community really comes out and supports them. So I'm really in a position to uncover unmet need, and also to find organizations and people who can help to meet that need. And it's one of the things I'm most grateful for when it comes to my job. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 41:25 percentage wise, how many businesses are in the chamber? And when not only in winter? But typically speaking? How does that work? Do most businesses join their local chambers?   Ashley Pope ** 41:38 So our chamber has 700 businesses as members, we represent over 25,000 employees. So it's a really big network. Every chamber is different. They're all operated independently, they all have different initiatives, different boards of directors. So Chamber of Commerce in one city could be doing completely different things than a chamber of commerce. And another one. So yeah, I mean, Fincher is is fantastic. And chambers in general, do networking, business advocacy, it just kind of depends city to city. I love today, a lot of small businesses join. It's hard to give like a percentage or, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 42:22 yeah, I was just curious. I didn't know whether that was even an answerable question. Because unless you have some real way to track every single business, it's it's kind of hard to tell.   Ashley Pope ** 42:33 Yeah. And there's a lot of businesses that do. Like, if you looked at a business license list, you would see a lot of businesses that pull like a one day permit or do business in the city, but aren't actually like based in the city, and so no different than hard to measure for sure.   Michael Hingson ** 42:51 In our post COVID world or sort of post COVID world do you find there are a lot more home based businesses and there used to be   Ashley Pope ** 43:02 a lot of businesses have gone virtual. Although that is slowly but surely, people are getting back into the offices. So back to the physical location, we saw it with big tech first, a lot of big businesses called their people back. And now there's data coming out around productivity, not in the favor of the work from home people. So I think we'll continue to see that those commercial spaces will fill back up. But that will always be able to do some things hybrid and have zoom meetings. And definitely people are working from home when they're sick now, which is a nice change because people used to go to work sick. And now that's kind of unimaginable, you wouldn't go to work sick, that's the worst thing to do ever. So definitely some positive change there. They will be really interesting to see what happens in the next 510 years. If the work from home thing sticks at all.   Michael Hingson ** 44:04 I hope it sort of sticks I think what what you just said is true that there there's this whole work life balance but even in addition to that there's virtual verse is in person life balance and the fact is that there's there's value in letting people do some of their work at home. It's great to get away from the office and the inherent pressures that that provides and do some of your work at home. My job is pretty much all at home except for a few times and when I go speak places of course, and I love to go speak in person because I get to interact with audiences even in ways that I can't virtually but between that and then working with accessibly I actually get to go to accessory in Israel this year, which will be fun. And I go to a couple of conventions a year but the I'm used to working at home, and a lot of my sales life, I did remote offices. So sometimes I was at home and sometimes I was in the office. So I kind of got trained to be able to do it and be disciplined to work at home, which is not something that a lot of people are totally used to yet, but I hope that they get there and that they recognize that there's value in having a little bit of both.   Ashley Pope ** 45:24 I hope so too. I really hope that for our community and for America, especially we're known as workaholics and and not to take enough time, at home or enough time to self. On one hand, the ability to work from home, I think causes people to continue to work when they're done working at the office. But we just have to find the balance there. And we have to be able to maintain some of the positive that came out of COVID as negative as it was there was a silver lining there. Yeah. We kind of toggle back and forth on being able to maintain that as a society or not. And I know for sure in Ventura, but I think that's been kind of a worldwide struggle of do we want our employees to be able to work from home a day, a week or five days a week? Or do we want everybody back in the office? And when do we want things to go back to the way that they were. And every business has different needs. And every manager manager is different, but it's definitely still a demand. This next generation Gen Z, I believe we're calling them they are not going to go work in any setting for 40 hours a week. So there's that generation that's going to change things, and a lot of ways, but definitely the workforce, they're not willing to work. Eight to fives like we were. So that's   Michael Hingson ** 46:57 well, and the reality is that normal will, you know, people can talk about getting back to the way we were but normal will never be the same again. And there have been there are, there's always change. There are times in our history where there have been quantum sudden changes. I mean, September 11 was one which of course I'm very familiar with, but the pandemic is another one and there have been others that are dramatic changes, normal will never be the same again. And there's nothing wrong with not trying to get back to the way everything was before. Because if we do that, then we're going to play in forget what we learned. And so we don't want to do that.   Ashley Pope ** 47:42 No, we don't want to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 47:46 So you had your own diagnosis, you talked about Multiple Sclerosis, and so on. How did you're learning to be an advocate for Gavin, and all that you learned about Gavin and his experiences and adventures? How did all that help you? Because now suddenly, it hits even closer to home for you?   Ashley Pope ** 48:09 Yeah, it was definitely a mind switch. I learned so much through advocating for my son. So being able to immediately know, okay, like I can get through this. I've been through other hard things. And I just need to know what's out there. And I need to find the resources and absorb all of the information that I can and find people who can help. And I'll be okay. So that was kind of my initial thought I immediately reached out to the Multiple Sclerosis Society thinking okay, well, if Autism Society has gotten me this far, breastfeed, MS society that can help as well. And we did there was a lot of help there. There's not a lot of answers with a mess, there's more questions than there are answers. And that has been one of the most difficult things for me. I do find peace through information and through knowing what is going to happen knowing what's gonna come next. And that really went out the window with Ms. I would say with my son, there's this constant belief that things are going to improve and they have improved and they'll continue to improve will continue to learn and older and learn new skills and we can be there for him and with him. And a mess is different, rather than things are going to get better. It's kind of knowing that things are going to get I don't want to say well worse but it is a progressive, debilitating conditions. So   Michael Hingson ** 49:56 unless, unless of course somebody finds a way to birsa Cure,   Ashley Pope ** 50:00 yes, a cure. And that is part of the mission of the MS Society is to find a cure and restore what's been lost, which is awesome. So yes, fingers crossed, but I do have to prepare for more needs down the line. And already in the last few years, I've lost some strength in my hand, and in my right hand and my left foot. So it's just becoming, finding a different level of acceptance. So in a lot of ways, I did it, I don't think I really went through the same. I call it a grief process, I feel like there should be a better word because you don't you grieve when somebody dies. And as we've already talked about, nobody's dying. So but it is that same kind of process, right? Where like, okay, things have just changed, I'm kind of going to grieve things as they are, or denial, or denial, right. And he goes through like the same process of like denial, and, you know, the bargaining and anger or whatever, whatever. So, of course, I went through a little bit of that with my son early on. But I felt like with that mess, it was just like, so much easier to just get straight to acceptance. And I talked to a therapist, and I was like, I know, this sounds crazy, but I think I just like, the whole process. And I think it's because fairly recently in the last decade, I already went through something that's it's not similar, but it's still similar in a way like, they're, they're not connected, but I feel like I was just immediately able to be like, okay, Ms. Like, what is it? How do we deal with it and what comes next, and I just kind of skipped, like, all of these stages of grief or whatever we want to call it these stages that people usually go through when they get news like this. And that I think, was interesting. And I do think it was directly related to the work that I've already done around accepting things as they come being okay with not having all the information. The fact that I'll always be an advocate for my son, but that job is never going to be able to retire from that job. Not that I would ever want to, but it made it easier in a way to find the information and just to move through to where I can have an impact. And I was ready to share pretty early on. I didn't make it super public. But because I was on immunosuppressants during COVID I wasn't shy about telling people like hey, you know, if you're if you feel sick at all, or if you haven't been vaccinated, these are my limitations in that I just started on immunosuppressants. So I did feel really vulnerable in those early days, especially before I knew what immunosuppressants meant for me and during a pandemic.   Michael Hingson ** 53:01 Did you get vaccinated and all that stuff?   Ashley Pope ** 53:03 I did. But with the, the drug that I'm on, it actually greatly reduces the effectiveness of the COVID vaccination, it kills the B cells like that you're the COVID vaccine attaches to to get to its destination. I'm not a scientist, so forgive me if I said that wrong. But basically, I didn't have the cells to carry the vaccine. So I did get it. And then off the boosters, and I, you know, I did all the things, but it was very clear, like, that may have been just basically a shot of water for you, and may or may not have actually worked for you. So I was nervous about dying, because I feel like it's fair to be. But I think, yeah, it just it really did change the way that I think about it, these processes that we go through because I didn't handle it so different at time. And it also the vulnerability, I think is the biggest thing for me that I had to deal with. That was different from my son. Because as a mama bear, you know, you defend your kid at all costs, you get out there and you make things happen for your kid. But when it came to advocating for myself, I found that I would kind of lose the words when it would come time to talk to the doctor, I found myself kind of been like, oh, you know, it's not these things are not that bad or kind of stretching. Like if they'd asked me a question like, how can you do this? I would so want to say like, yeah, I can do that I can do this and that and this hasn't changed that much and just kind of predict things in a positive light. So I kind of had to start thinking like I have to advocate for myself as if I'm advocating for somebody else because it's really hard for me to say that I need help.   Michael Hingson ** 55:00 The same process does fit. We, I was in New York on March 5, of 2020, to do a speech and flew back early on March 6, because of COVID. And also, my wife had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2017. So she was on medications to suppress part of her immune system to help deflect or deal with the RA. So we immediately went into lockdown, and just stayed home. And, and then when the vaccinations when the vaccines came out, we started taking them. And in fact, I, we both were all up to date. And then I learned that being over 65 I could get another vaccination recently. In fact, I could have gone in late February, but I didn't know it then. But anyway, I just went in today for another vaccination, because I'm going to be doing some traveling and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I can be as protected as possible. And I recognize that the vaccine doesn't keep you from getting COVID. But it certainly mitigates it a lot. So my intention is not to get it. I also don't mind wearing masks. I've been on airplanes for long periods of time with a mask doesn't bother me. And it doesn't seem to bother my guide, dog Alamo. He doesn't look at me differently, because I happen to wear a mask, so I'm not going to worry. Yeah. But you know, the fact of the matter is that it's something that is part of our world. And there's nothing wrong with it.   Ashley Pope ** 56:43 Yeah, I may be on the same drug as your wife. Actually. They're both autoimmune conditions. So she took her brinsea Oh, no, I'm mine for Tuckson. So but probably still do the same things. amatory processes similar. Yes, different different parts of the body, tissues, whatever.   Michael Hingson ** 57:03 Same concept, in a lot of ways. Well, so obviously, you have a disease that's very progressive, and I do hope that we find cures for that and other things, or, or at least things to improve it for you as time goes on. But how for you? How has your own diagnosis really affected? How you deal with being an advocate, and how you encourage others to advocate for themselves? You've I think you've hit on some of that. But if you want to summarize, you know, you're, you're now having to be a double advocate, if you will, how is your own diagnosis help with that?   Ashley Pope ** 57:46 Yeah, I think the vulnerability has been good for me, in a sense, I don't think I've ever truly felt vulnerable in my life. Until I got my diagnosis, even through my son's diagnosis, I always have been like that I can handle it, I can handle it, I'll do it. I'll make it happen type of person. And feeling firsthand, like things need to change so that I can live a fulfilling life is a much different place to come from then, even when you're advocating for your own kid. There's a sense of, it's probably, I would think how someone feels when they have a child with special needs. And there they are ending. Like nearing the end of their own life. They probably feel like oh my gosh, who's gonna protect my, my kid, if I can't, and I know that a lot of parents feel that as they age. But this was my first experience with like, oh, I have something that can impact my ability to do what I want to do in my life. And it just made me more I think sensitive, and I have a lot more empathy for people and their unique situations now, because it's a situation that I never could have imagined myself in until I found myself in it.   Michael Hingson ** 59:21 Yeah. What do you want people to know about? Somebody who has a progressive, debilitating diagnosis? How do you? What do you want people to think about that? And what would you like them to do?   Ashley Pope ** 59:37 I see. A lot of people don't know how to respond. Social relationships can become a little bit strained. Because things change in your ability. Like in my case, my ability to say yes to everything. I really had to stop saying yes, which I should have stopped doing a long time ago. But I'm definitely like I've said a couple of times there. In this conversation, I'm a doer. And I had to start saying like, No, I can't, I can't take that on, I really need to prioritize that I'm going to prioritize. And there have been some people in my life who didn't like that so much, or felt that like, I was changing, which I have changed. Obviously, these situations have changed who I am a little bit as we should, I would just say, just be a friend. And don't be afraid to ask how somebody is doing. Don't stop checking in and just, you know, do what you would want somebody to do for you in that situation, which is not to disengage. And then general public. I would say that one in four adults in their lifetime will have a disability. So when you vote, and when you advocate for things to be a particular way, keep in mind that that could be you or someone that you love, that has some kind of condition or extra need. And so we should always take care of each other and consider that things should be accessible to all once again, kind of circling back to that, you know, we can we can do so much better with our resources in this country. And it's rarely the wrong decision when it allows more people access, whatever, whatever it is that we're looking at, that's just a very general statement. But if you're looking at opening the world to more humans who live on it, then that's probably the way to go. Because it's just the right thing to do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:53 And I think the most important thing you said is be a friend, there's nothing wrong with different. There shouldn't be, even if the different is something that maybe you've been taught is a bad thing. Is it really? And yeah, Multiple Sclerosis is progressive right now. But we've seen so many modern kinds of progresses in so many ways. Who knows, and autism the same thing, or blindness or even being a politician? I'm sure there's a cure for that. But I haven't found that one yet, either. So that's another story. But the bottom line is that, in reality, we're all different. And you're right. 25% have what's considered a typical disability, although I've made the case before that everyone has a disability who lives on this planet. And for most people, it's like dependents. But you know, the bottom line is that we all have different challenges. And we all by the way, have gifts that we get to use, if allowed the opportunity. And that's the most important thing. And I'm really excited about hearing and having had the opportunity to hear all the things that that you do and get to do. So what are you going to write a book about all this?   Ashley Pope ** 1:03:09 You know, that was something that I was actually in the process of writing a book when I was diagnosed with autism. And I set it aside, and I just was like, so everything changed. In that moment, I have written quite a bit around diagnosis and accepting of diagnosis and how to be a friend in diagnosis. Rather, it's been a friend to, you know, parent who has a newly diagnosed child, or what that looks like mostly around autism, because that's my experience. And then I had this experience, and I really just had to set it aside and kind of find my, my opinion, and my, my thoughts. But who knows, maybe down the line right now, I'm just trying to juggle everything I juggle. But we'll see, you know, you never know, they may,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:05 you may find that sitting down and writing about some of it will be a help to you. And you now clearly have a whole new dimension that you can add to it, I would think it'd be very powerful, which isn't to say just drop everything and do it. But you might certainly sit down and continue to write thoughts because those then that will help you. I know for me, people have asked if I've ever gone to therapy after September 11. And my response is I hadn't but I started getting requests for television and radio and newspaper interviews and so on and chose to accept those if it would help people move on from September 11. And I got to teach people about blindness and guide dogs and all that. And I've realized over the years that literally going through hundreds of those and talking about September 11 Being asked the dumbest and the most intelligent questions, was invaluable at learning to deal with it, and to talk about it, and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. And so it is, you know, I do know that writing is a valuable thing. You know, we wrote thunder dog, which I actually started in 2002. And it took over eight years to complete. But right from the beginning, I started writing a lot of my thoughts, and that was helpful. So even just writing things down, although you may not ready to be ready to put them in a book might be helpful.   Ashley Pope ** 1:05:33 Yes, absolutely. Or, you know, there's also like voice recording and just getting your thoughts out, I think is really important. So I am a big proponent of therapy and talking and learning, right learning and sharing, I find a lot of peace and volunteering and giving back and talking to other parents and giving people resources. And just learning obviously, even today, it's been a learning experience. I've learned something new about you know, your, your experience, and it's, it's all empowering.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:15 It is and, and you, like all of us can choose how we deal with our gifts and what we know and what we do and what we use. And so I'm sure it's all gonna work out well for you. And I'm really glad that we had the chance to do this. If people want to talk with you, is there any way they can reach out to you or interact with you?   1:06:36 Sure, I would say let's enact first by email. And the email I will give is my Autism Society email. It's Ashley a s h l e y at autism ventura.org. That's a s h l e y autism a u t i s m Ventura, v e n t u r a.org.   1:06:58 And Ventura really means in parentheses hingsons jealous. But that's another story. That's great.   Ashley Pope ** 1:07:05 If anybody is it, is it it's a fantastic place and also a good place to live. It's a good place to live for people with autism because there's great services California in general, has more than a lot of other states. And a mess wise now I'm like, sorry, sorry, family, I can't go visit you. Unless it's less than 87 or 87 degrees, it's probably pushing it like 85 degrees. But I've always been so spoiled here in Ventura, because it's like, we pretty much live between 65 and 73. Like, doesn't change much from there. That's where this town's is all year long. So really good for somebody with an autoimmune condition for sure.   1:07:49 There you go. Well, I want to thank you for being here. And I want to thank you for listening. So if any of you would like to chat with us about this, please feel free to email me. You can reach me at Michaelhi, m i c h a e l h i at accessibe  A C C E S S I B E.com. Or go to our podcast page www dot Michael Hingson m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com/podcast. But wherever you're listening, please give us

Deliciously Instagramable: How To Create A Brand Ambassador Program with Annie Slabotsky, GoNanas Co-Founder In this episode, Annie Slabotsky, Co-Founder of Go Nanas joins me to discuss Instagramable food and their self-feeding brand ambassador program. What Makes Food Instagramable? People tend to post on Instagram what they're proud of, such as cakes or muffins they've made. Origin Story of Go Nanas: Annie's passion for baking led her to start making themed gift bags during college, always including her favorite banana bread. Annie met Morgan, and their shared love for baking and banana bread led to selling loaves as a side hustle on a campus lacking healthy options. The business quickly expanded into foodservice sales but pivoted to online sales during the pandemic, which proved successful and led to their current scalable and shelf-stable business model. The Ambassador Program: Go Nana's has over 2,600 ambassadors!! Ambassadors are rewarded with events, social incentives, free products, merchandise, and a percentage of sales. Their Instagramable product attracts more people to join the program, contributing to its growth. Influencer Collaboration and Brand Relevance: Go Nana's has an influencer program for sponsored posts, but the return on investment can be challenging to measure. Co-branded limited-edition product releases with influencers and a revenue share model are strategies employed to maintain brand relevance and increase reach. Community Building and Event Engagement: Building a community around the founders and brand ambassadors is vital for brand success and Instagramability. Events, both virtual and in-person, foster connections and provide valuable feedback for brand growth, with brand ambassadors being the guiding stars. Making Your Brand Instagramable: Brands can achieve Instagramability through authentic engagement, community building, and collaboration, showcasing passion and purpose to create a captivating online presence. Season 3, Episode 59: GoNanas: Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram Pinterest Bite Into Business Podcast GoNanas App on Apple App Store & Google Play Connect with Annie Connect with Tony About me and my mission and the podcast: Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to discover unique brands and learn about the people and strategies successful companies are implementing in the CPG and Food and Beverage Industry?  The brands featured here take us into the world of innovation, sustainability, good for you, lifestyle, QSR, Foodservice, Distribution, DTC, Club, and more. I am a fun-loving business leader, podcaster, husband, dad, cyclist, and Convention of States volunteer in my spare time. My mission is to discover the people and ideas behind these different, better, and special companies.    Entrepreneurs and CEOs, are you: Searching for distributor or broker partners?  Actively prospecting commercial buyers to gain more points of distribution? Searching for the right person to add to the team? My Direct Response Marketing Service attracts exactly what you need to help your brand thrive and grow.  Here is a NOVEL approach to ATTRACT distributors, buyers, and people (DEMO)   Contact me: Tony@timpl.com Follow me on LinkedIn: Different, Better, Special Brands Join Our Community Music from Uppbeat and ZapSplat https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/get-the-funk-in License code: SF3WUKBUJQULFHXE TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | LINKEDIN PAGE | LINKEDIN GROUP

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls, with proven results. It is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that help girls take the lead—in their own lives and in the world. Today's Daughter of Change, Mikayla Reynolds, is a prime example of the success of this program. Mikayla, originally from Waterville, Maine is a first-generation, independent college student. During her time as an undergraduate at the University of Maine, Mikayla held several positions and was engaged in numerous activities that greatly shaped and deepened her college experience. She was the Lead Peer Coach for TRIO Student Support Services, a Program Leader for the Center for Student Involvement, a Student Consultant for Black Bear Consulting Corps, an Ambassador for the Maine Business School, and a Teaching Assistant for MKT 371: Services Marketing. She also served as the Student Success Initiatives Intern for the Maine Business School, where she worked on launching the Knack College tutoring program and designing a peer coaching line, as well as developing a personal finance course.Mikayla was involved in All Maine Women, Senior Class Council, Beta Gamma Sigma, Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund, Sigma Alpha Lambda, and the Honors College Student Advisory Board service initiatives, including the Maine Day Meal Packout/Food Drive and Its Personal Campaign. She was also a Sophomore Eagle, Emerging Leaders mentor, and member of the Maine Day Task Force. Mikayla graduated as Salutatorian in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management with an additional major in Marketing. She was selected to be an Alfond Ambassador and will serve in this position while pursuing her MBA with the Graduate School of Business in the Fall of 2023. She will be concentrating her studies in sustainability and public and non-profit management.As I said, Mikayla is a shining example of how the Girl Scouts build leaders. Stay tuned to meet this incredible young woman.Links to Check Out:Girl Scouts of Maine WebsiteGirl Scouts of Maine LinkedInGirls Scouts of Maine FacebookGirl Scouts of Maine Instagram - @girlscoutsofmaineGirl ScoutsDonate to support Girl Scouts of Maine: www.girlscoutsofmaine.org/supportFollow Daughters of Change:Website:Facebook:InstagramLinkedInMarie's LinkedIn:Daughters of Change Podcast Producer:  Sarah StaceySarah's LinkedIn Profile

Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UK and Ireland discusses the issues in Nagorna-Karabakh.

In this installment, Dan and Jordan chat with Solomon Berg and Daniel Jordan (aka Barry and Andrew), the two gents behind the riveting Ambassador saga on Project Camelot.  The conversation gets into all manner of revelations one might come to by entering the the paranormal conspiracy space, and if the strategy of stealthily injecting reality into unreal spaces has any promise.

Is A New Cold War Coming? w/Alastair Crooke fmr Brit ambassadorSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Step into the heart of the cigar world as we bring you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the most revered names in the industry. Join us for a special episode of "Cigar Talk" recorded live at the Micallef Cigar Headquarters, where we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing President Dan Thompson and Founder Al Micallef. In this episode, we delve deep into the passion that fuels Micallef Cigars. Their dedication to the brick & mortar cigar lounges have made them a beloved fixture in the cigar community. We also explore the unique culture that thrives within the Micallef family and extends to their loyal Ambassadors. But this isn't just a conversation about cigars; it's an intimate gathering of like-minded aficionados. We were joined by some of our favorite people from the incredible cigar community, adding to the warmth and camaraderie of the event. Together, we celebrated the shared love for fine cigars and the sense of unity that defines our community. So, light up your favorite Micallef cigar, pour a glass of your favorite bourbon, and join us for an unforgettable episode of "Cigar Talk" as we journey to the very heart of the Micallef Cigar HQ and experience the magic that happens when great minds and passionate souls come together in the world of cigars. Join the ⁠⁠Cigar Talk Discord⁠ Micallef Min - send answer too - ⁠⁠rob@cigartalkpodcast.com⁠ Rob & Bryant's Humidors of Choice - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Case Elegance⁠ ⁠⁠Tabanero Cigars⁠ - Some of our FAV CIGARS --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cigartalk/message

This week Andrew goes down a Star Path, Rick Astley surprises us by not rolling us, Disneyland and other resorts name their new Ambassador teams, a new product tries to fill the hole left in the Lorcana community, Rogers the Musical finds a home on a Spotify, rumors circulate that Drew Barrymore may have moved strike talks forward because the writer's strike is over, and of course, we cap off the episode with our history segment Great Moments with Mr. Andrew with some facts about 1999 and 2000. Listen now at: https://www.podketeers.com/484   Check out our series of Armchair Imagineering episodes here:  https://www.podketeers.com/armchair-imagineering/ --- Join the FGP Squad Family! Support for Podkeeters is provided by listeners and viewers like you! We like to call our supporters our Fairy Godparents (they call themselves the FGP Squad). You can find more info on how to become part of the FGP Squad family by going to:  https://www.podketeers.com/fgp --- We're on Discord! Join other members of our community and us on our Discord server! Use the invite link below to join us: https://discord.gg/gG8kJ2a --- Help us make a difference!  Teamboat Willie is the official charity team of the Podketeers Podcast. For more information on the charity that we're currently supporting, head to: http://www.teamboatwillie.com

Welcome to Episode 1577 Stevie Kim moderates Clubhouse's Ambassadors' Corner – In this episode, Cynthia Chaplin interviews Antonella Cantarutti. These sessions are recorded from Clubhouse and replayed here on the Italian Wine Podcast! Listen in on this series as Italian Wine Ambassadors all over the world chat with Stevie and their chosen wine producer. Which producer would you interview if you had your pick? Co-Moderator Cynthia Chaplin was born in the USA and moved to Europe in 1990 where she has lived in Spain, Belgium, England and Italy. She is a qualified sommelier with Fondazione Italiana Sommelier, a Vinitialy International Italian Wine Ambassador, a Professor of Italian wine and culture and a certified WSET Educator. She has worked with embassies, corporations and private clients, creating and presenting tastings, events, team building sessions, seminars and in-depth courses. Cynthia expanded her communication within the sector as a wine writer, translator, and a judge at international wine and sake competitions. She now works for Vinitaly International in Verona and is the host of VOICES on Italian Wine Podcast. Connect: Facebook: Italian Wines in English Instagram: kiss_my_glassx LinkedIn: Cynthia Chaplin Website: Cynthia Chaplin Wine Guest Producer Antonella Cantarutti was 19-years old when she entered her father's Winery. She began her career in the cellar and then as Italy sales manager, to gradually take on the whole export division. She is very passionate about her wines and her territory, the beautiful Rosazzo hills in north eastern Italy, hosting clients and friends at the winery all the year round. Connect: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/acantarutti?locale=it_IT , https://www.facebook.com/CantaruttiWinesHospitality/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cantarutti_wines/# , https://www.instagram.com/_antonellacantarutti/# More about the moderator Stevie Kim: Stevie hosts Clubhouse sessions each week (visit Italian Wine Club & Wine Business on Clubhouse), these recorded sessions are then released on the podcast to immortalize them! She often also joins Professor Scienza in his shows to lend a hand keeping our Professor in check! You can also find her taking a hit for the team when she goes “On the Road”, all over the Italian countryside, visiting wineries and interviewing producers, enjoying their best food and wine – all in the name of bringing us great Pods! To find out more about Stevie Kim visit: Facebook: @steviekim222 Instagram: @steviekim222 Website: vinitalyinternational.com/wordpress/ _______________________________ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram www.instagram.com/italianwinepodcast/ Facebook www.facebook.com/ItalianWinePodcast Twitter www.twitter.com/itawinepodcast Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@mammajumboshrimp LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/italianwinepodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ Until next time, Cin Cin! Follow Italian Wine Podcast for more great content - winery interviews from the Clubhouse sessions! Psssst…FYI, this show is our most popular show, find out why by tuning-in!

Book A Call With Us:https://www.freedom-alchemist.com/thealchemymethodWant a more intimate fan experience? Join my Exclusive Communityhttp://patreon.com/paulgreeneThe Grass Is Greener on YouTube:https://youtube.com/@thegrassisgreenerpodcastPurchase the physical CD "Long Way Home" https://edifystore.com/long-way-home-cd/Purchase "Long Way Home"https://paulgreeneofficial.bandcamp.com/album/long-way-home"From MY Perspective" with Kate and Paul Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-my-perspective-with-kate-and-paul/id1674016095Purchase My "Freedom For Your Soul" CD: https://edifystore.com/freedom-for-the-soul-cd/SHOP WITH PG: (I receive a small commission for qualifying purchases)Check Out Some of the Things I USEhttps://paulgreene.com/shop-with-pgGet 10% off with the code: PG10 (biOptimizers):https://bioptimizers.com/?rfsn=6761380.4ece190&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=6761380.4ece190%20Get 10% off with my code: PG10 (Rich Nuts):https://richnuts.com/Get 15% off with my code: PG15 (Ion):https://intelligenceofnature.com/collections/shop-all?uid=4&oid=1&affid=24%20Get 10% off with my code: PG10 (Somavedic):https://somavedic.com/?ref=K8N2AGet 15% off with my code: PAULGREENE (Living Prana):https://www.livingprana.co/?dt_id=222366&utm_source=Shopify&utm_medium=Ambassadors&utm_campaign=PAULGREENEJoin and get $60 off your order (Thrive Market):https://thrivemarket.com/l/seasonal-d2m?utm_source=cj&utm_content=default&ccode=bdg60fogwp&ccode_force=1?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliatemarketing&utm_campaign=Greene+Acre+Media&pid=100812767&aid=15349089&sid=&cjevent=9a91de66041f11ee812755bf0a82b836Get 20% off with my code: PG20 (Therasage):https://therasage.com/Get $20 off with the code: ATG20 (ATG Coaching):https://www.atgonlinecoaching.com/?rfsn=7492297.d7bf394Get 10% off with the code: PGTIP (Waveblocks):https://www.waveblock.com/?rfsn=7170640.56551f&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=7170640.56551fGet 10% off with my code: PAULGREENE (Kion):https://glnk.io/j6vy/paulgreeneofficialStatus Audio: https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=887257&u=3887482&m=66767&urllink=&afftrack=Lifeboost Coffee: https://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1765969&u=3887482&m=110103My Favorite Things On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/shop/paulgreeneofficialWebsite: https://www.paulgreene.com/Facebook: http://facebook.com/paulgreeneofficialTwitter: http://twitter.com/paulgreenemediaInstagram: http://instagram.com/paulgreeneofficialText me: 310-564-2579Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/189CwQJhg4MhnnqhdSAnZD?si=UHq3v67NT4uiMj7aBdJ1gwIMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2126366/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@paulgreeneofficial

Today opens with a reminder that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was blown up a year ago yesterday. Seymour Hersh has a fantastic piece out, detailing more information on how the Biden regime came up with idea, implemented it and is still pretending it has no information about it. We now know they did it to keep Germany and by extension, all of the EU focused on not doing anything to help Russia. We harmed an ally so they would not be tempted to turn on the natural gas line connected to Russia in the middle of winter. James Comer released a bombshell story saying they have at least two wire transfers from Communist China that list President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware as the beneficiary address. And, while that bit of news was dropped, the House Ways and Means Committee released testimony from Biden's brother, Jim, who said they tried to help a Chinese firm buy US energy assets. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) once again did more to benefit the GOP investigation into the Biden's than most of the Republicans by trashing Gal Luft. You see, two days ago, the Israeli professor, who has been on the run for the last six months, sent a message to Rep. James Comer (R-KY). He stated he has information about an FBI mole who fed information to Hunter Biden about pending litigation and investigations. Dan Goldman said Luft cannot be trusted given his ties to payment from CEFC China Energy. He said those payments make Luft an asset of communist China. Comer responded, if Luft is a communist asset because CEFC China Energy paid him, that must mean Hunter and Jim Biden are also assets of China given how much money they were paid. You just have to love when Leftist get tanked by the logic bomb. We now move to new information regarding the former Ambassador to Ukraine during the Donald Trump impeachment. Photos show Ambassador Yovanovitch met twice with a Burisma Energy official after being told the firm was corrupt. It should mean we take a much closer look as the testimony she levied against Donald Trump, while also meeting with Burisma and aiding in making them more profitable with US taxpayer money. Seems the CIA smuggled Dr. Anthony Fauci into the CIA to “help” them come to the correct conclusion that Covid-19 did not come from a lab. So, not only were analysts paid-off, but they were also manipulated by the head criminal himself. The Committee looking into Covid just sent a letter to the Inspector General for Health and Human Services demanding a wealth of documents surrounding this bit of new information. Leftist policies in blue cities are forcing Target to close 9 of it's stores. Similarly, Donald Trump wants striking UAW union members to know that Biden's policies toward electric vehicles will lead to mass layoffs in the auto industry if we do not change course. The Left hates America, hates capitalism, hates liberty and freedom and the American dream. They want you to own nothing, while they control everything. As we close, two interesting pieced. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) just signed off on a piece of Republican legislation making the trafficking of minors a serious felony. Seems that was another move toward making him a more palatable presidential candidate when Joe Biden resigns. Also, Axios just put out a piece about the team of people around the President's whose job is to make sure he doesn't trip and fall. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

Being kind prompts kindness in others! Thank you for listening to Encourage-Mint. If you've b een refreshed, don't forget to subscribe, Leave a review on iTunes, and share a little Encourage-Mint with someone you love. Encourage-Mint is a podcast from Family Radio. These moments are just a taste of what you can hear every day. Listen at FamilyRadio.org or find more encouragement on the Family Radio app.  Get daily Scripture and encouragement by following Family Radio on your favorite social media platforms:FacebookInstagram Twitter  

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Zelensky asks "Spirit Cooking" occultist and performance artist, Marina Abramović to be ambassador for Ukraine https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/09/23/report-zelensky-asks-spirit-cooking-occult-artist-marina-abramovic-to-be-ambassador-for-ukraine/

In this episode, we interview the amazingly talented, fun, and multi-gifted Danica Jenelle from Talkulture. We discuss her time as a theatre teacher at NC State, her travels with GalaxyCon and Fanboy Expo, and her hit show Talkulture with her best friend Kid Cadet. Do not forget to subscribe to their show on YouTube and on Facebook. Please give them a follow and tell them that 30&Nerdy Podcast sent you.    30&Nerdy Opening Rift: Kyle Standifer The Ballad of 30&Nerdy: Beth Crowley   Season 5 of is Presented By: Advertising Expressions 30&Nerdy Podcast is a BadCastCompany Production and a member of PodNation and a survivor of theaPODalypse 30&Nerdy Podcast is a member of The #InNerdCircle on Twitter and a founding member of #TheCouncilOfNerds   Join us and our friends at Fan Boy Expo for the next event!    This Episode is brought to you by:   OEB LAW  FOLLOW OEB:  Instagram Facebook   TikTok   Tennessee Legend Distillery FOLLOW TLD: TikTok Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   Gatlinburg Brewing Company FOLLOW GBC: Instagram Facebook   Encore Theatrical Company FOLLOW ETC: Facebook Instagram TikTok   Reaper Apparel Company 30&Nerdy Podcast is an Ambassador for Reaper Apparel Co. If you are interested in checking out all the great attire they have, or learning more about them; click here and if you want to purchase something, don't forget to use our code 30ANDNERDYPOD at check out for 10% off of your order!   You can learn more about 30&Nerdy Podcast by visiting  The Fortress of NERDitude and while you are there, subscribe to our Nerdly Newsletter for behind the scenes, announcements, and Nerdly News updates.    For more 30&Nerdy content, find us on all social media outlets: Instagram YouTube Twitter TikTok Facebook Patreon   Have some thoughts or questions? Email us at 30andnerdypod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail    Shop Nerdy at The 30&Nerdy Tee Public Store   Cheers To Ya Nerds!

Ambassador Joseph Cella served as the United States Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Tonga from 2019-21. Cella Applaud Halting of Ford Marshall EV Battery Plant Construction. Trump Coming to Michigan.  

Are you ready for some next-level storytelling from French/West/Vaughan CEO Rick French? Buckle up! How about the time TSA wouldn't let him through with the original cowbell from "Don't Fear the Reaper"? Or when he had Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ready to play the lead in a movie he was producing, only to bail at the last minute? (But then something better with "The Rock" would come along years later) Or why Rick and Melissa Etheridge will be shutting down Broadway in October? We hear about all of that in this episode, plus Rick shares how French/West/Vaughan became the #1 PR firm in the world. Rick French on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Not Without Hope, by Nick Schuyler Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to produce documentary about USF football players lost at sea Josh Duhamel Joins Joe Carnahan's Survival Thriller ‘Not Without Hope'(EXCLUSIVE) Raleigh-based production company behind new survival-at-sea thriller French/West/Vaughan Chairman & CEO Rick French Recognized as Ambassador of Rock Today's episode is hosted by Jason Gillikin and filmed at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Earfluence⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh.

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Get the links to each show here: http://JustinBarclay.com Get a free special report on the coming global financial reset and find out how to protect yourself and your family. http://JustinBarclay.com/GoldTry Cue Streaming for just $2 / day and help support the good guys https://justinbarclay.com/cueUp to 80% OFF! Use promo code JUSTIN http://MyPillow.com/Justin Patriots are making the Switch! What if we could start voting with our dollars too? http://SwitchWithJustin.com Grab gear in Justin's store http://JustinBarclay.com/store No matter what's coming, you can be ready for your family and others. http://PrepareWithJustin.com #ad

Which: Other country in the world would establish a sovereign enemy state into its centre? Will Canada give independence to Quebec, or Spain to Catalonia or Belgium to the Walloons, even though they are n0t intent to destroy their hosts - ad all of those are even at the edges of those countries. Why does the world focus only the fake invention of so called Palestinians? Our: Answer must be Sovereignty from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. Even in stages. We cannot allow a so called Palestinian State in our midst. Listen: To today's feature interview with the co-founder of the influential grass roots organisation, the ‘Sovereignty Movement', and learn the reason for their advocacy. Hear: What our State President tells the new foreign Ambassadors. Also: Why last week the City of Paris stripped the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority of the highest honour that they bestowed on him in 2015 Plus: A wake up call to the American Jews who are determined to sacrifice their lives for their possessions.. And: More The Walter Bingham File 26SEPT2023 - PODCAST

JR Rivera is a Father, a Husband, a man of God and the creator and host of "The Podcast Factory." His teachers said he would never amount to anything. But God had another plan for him. In this episode, he will talk about how he became from being a drop out to being a faith driven entrepreneur living a life of limitless possibility. He also shared the difference with his life before and after he started having a more intimate relationship with God and why is it important that we also have that same relationship with Christ. He also gave some advice on surrendering and letting it go. We also talk on how to be a better Ambassador for Christ and what it means to him to have Christ as his business and personal partner in his life. Finally, he gave some advice on how to live a life of purpose and fulfillment.If you want to learn more and hear JR's podcast you can do it by going to: https://thepodcastfactory.com/We also want to say thank you to our Spotify sponsor of our show for the beautiful music you heard from in this episode which is called "Walk with You" by Michael Bethany.  Thank you for listening and supporting us and always remember to Come to Jesus Daily! Stay bless and until next time. We would love to hear what you think of our interview and let us know if you have any questions or comments by going to any of our social media links.Connect with us through our Social Media Links:Email us at cometojesuswithannette.mahal@gmail.com Twitter and Instagram: @AnnetteMahal FB: Come to JesusYou can help support our podcast ministry and partner with us reach further to build God's Kingdom through our Patreon account which is www.patreon.com/user/posts?u=81226509 or you can give a onetime donation of donating for our coffee ministry or be a part of our monthly supporters to be a part of our monthly livestream and the other benefits that goes with it by going to: www.buymeacoffee.com/cometojesus

One of the hottest topics discussed in the U.S. today is “artificial intelligence”. Our guest this time, Shayne Halls, has founded a company that helps corporations and companies learn to embrace AI. Shayne teaches his clients that they need not fear AI and rather he shows them how to use it to improve processes and procedures throughout their organizations. After college Shayne ended up going into “talent acquisition” where he carved out a successful career. Being a black man fully supporting difference in all forms, he has helped companies find people not only of different races, sexual orientations, and genders but also he understands and helps companies find qualified persons with disabilities. For the past four years he has explored incorporating AI into his work and, earlier this year, he formed his own company, Manifested Dreams. We spent quite a bit of time during our conversation discussing many aspects of AI and how this revolutionary technology can benefit people throughout the workforce. Shayne is by any definition a visionary and I hope you will find what he has to say to be relevant, timely, and pertinent to you. About the Guest: As the President & CEO of Manifested Dreams, I am deeply committed to empowering corporate professionals and organizations to unlock the full potential of AI technology in their careers and business operations. With over 15 years of experience as a Sr. DEI Specialist, I have honed my expertise in the intersection of diversity, equity, inclusion, and now artificial intelligence, creating a unique vision that drives innovation and fosters an inclusive environment. Throughout my career, I have worked closely with professionals and organizations, providing personalized guidance and strategic insights that enable them to successfully integrate AI into their work processes. My passion for helping others navigate the complex world of AI has led to the founding of Manifested Dreams, where we offer exclusive one-on-one consultations and group sessions, ensuring our clients are equipped with the knowledge and tools to stay ahead of the curve. By joining hands with Manifested Dreams, clients embark on a transformative journey towards growth and success. Our mission is to create a future where AI not only enhances the professional landscape but also contributes to a more equitable and inclusive society. Together, we can shape a brighter tomorrow by leveraging AI responsibly and driving positive change across industries. Ways to connect with Kevin: Twitter - @MnifstdDreams Website - www.manifesteddreams.org About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, welcome once again to unstoppable mindset. Here we are doing another episode. And that is always a lot of fun. You know, I've been doing this now since August of 2021. And I get to enjoy meeting a lot of people and talking about a lot of different subjects. And today our guests, Shayne Halls and I are going to talk about manifested dreams, which is a company that he started dealing with corporations helping organizations grow and using AI which is of course not only a hot topic today, but a very relevant topic to talk about. I've been using AI ever since I actually got my first job working with the National Federation of blind and Ray Kurzweil, Dr. Kurzweil, who developed Omni font optical character recognition software, which included the ability for the machine that he put that on, to learn as it read and grow in confidence. And so this is not a new subject to me, and certainly one I support a lot and looking forward to chatting about it. So Shayne, definitely welcome to unstoppable mindset and glad you're here. And when we really do have you and not just an AI construct, right?   Shayne Halls ** 02:33 Well, you know, you wouldn't know if it was was because AI is that advanced now where you really don't know. No, it is me. For the most part,   Michael Hingson ** 02:44 I remember back in I think it was the 80s Maybe it goes back to the 70s. Even with cassettes. There were commercials that said, Is it live? Or is it Memorex because the audio they said was so good.   Shayne Halls ** 02:58 You listen back on here like yeah, I can hear the recording done. Yeah, that's funny.   Michael Hingson ** 03:03 Yeah. So anyway, well, I'm really glad that you're here and we really appreciate your time. Tell us a little bit about the early Shane growing up in some of that stuff to start the process.   Shayne Halls ** 03:15 Man early Shayne so early. Shayne grew up in the US Virgin Islands in St. Croix. My mother's crucian person born in St. Clair, my dad is Trini personally born in Trinidad. So I'm half crucian, half Trinidad in grew up, Sinclair moved to Charleston, South Carolina, when my mother remarried. And that was quite an experience coming in. So well, it was my first real experience with race in the sense of the constructs of what it is here in state. Because of course growing up in islands, the island is 80% 90% Black. And so everyone from your judges, politicians, police chiefs, store owners, homeless, homeless people, right? Like it doesn't matter, like everyone you see, looks like you and then being moved into Charleston. I was like, oh, it's not like this everywhere.   Michael Hingson ** 04:10 Right. So how old were you when you moved?   Shayne Halls ** 04:14 15 just, yeah, so entering high school or back into my sophomore year in high school. So it was, um, interesting, right, coming into my first bout with racism and, you know, being followed in stores being looked at, looked down upon being spoken to in a condescending manner, a manner in which you can feel what's being said without something being said, right. These are things I'd never experienced before. And I was just I was jarred, I think George's good word jarred by was just like, oh, okay, so this is life outside the island, whatnot. No. So that was that I I left Charleston when I went to college can with North Carolina go to college at St. Augustine University. It's an HBCU here in North Carolina wanted to first find the 1867 was once regarded as the Harvard of South is was a great four years. It's like just loved my experience, they're going to HBCU being able to partake in that life and that culture, you know, see, HBCU is a historically black college and university.   Michael Hingson ** 05:31 Oh, okay. HBCU. Okay, great.   Shayne Halls ** 05:33 And, you know, that was a good transition point for coming out to the real world, you got the chance to I got a chance to be surrounded by intellectuals and leaders of my same demographic background, and then have them prepare me to come into the world, the corporate world and be the best version of myself out here in the world.   Michael Hingson ** 05:53 How did they help you prepare, given the fact that so you're in a historically black college, but at the same time, you needed to prepare to be in a world that wasn't necessarily totally historically black? By any standard? How did they help? Well, they do.   Shayne Halls ** 06:11 The good and bad thing about HBCUs is that we don't get a lot of funding, because a lot of schools are private. But that means that everyone there, the professor's the leaders in school, are usually persons who are successful in their life, and have decided to come back and devote time to the next generation. So a lot of leaders and professionals on HBCU campuses are persons who've already had success in the corporate world had success in the career field, and they come back and they impute those lessons learned on to us. And they put us in situations to be, you know, to hone in on our leadership skills, I can't just count leadership camps I went to, I was a member of the Model UN. My modern school Model UN is a program that's designed for selective college students to participate in United Nations type delegations, and deliberations. And any sort of acts or constructs or contracts or anything that we actually proposed and passed and ratify in the Model UN actually get sent off to the real United Nations. And so participate in Monterey un, which is great, great experience, again, so many leadership, trainings and activities, you just, you get a chance to go out into different conferences across the world and learn and then come back home to your safe place and apply those lessons learned and hone in on what you should have learned, then you can come on to the corporate world and be successful,   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 what kinds of things did you learn doing the Model UN program and so on? I mean, I appreciate what you're saying. And I absolutely believe it. I did not ever participate in that. And maybe it was too early. I don't know. But I appreciate what you're saying. But what what kind of lessons did you learn whether you recognize them right then or after you went back home? Right,   Shayne Halls ** 08:09 exactly right, or when later on in the corporate world, right? When you get something adult, you look back, you're like, oh, okay, so that's what that taught me. I think you learn how to get your idea across without being forceful about it, right? Because in situations where you have to be able to, you got to believe in what you're saying, especially United Nation, right? So you represent a country, no matter you want to work where you are a country, no one knows you, no one knows your real name. No one knows what school you're from, we're soon as you enter the Model UN, you're given a country, that is country, you are for the entire week that you're there. So any thoughts, any ally ships, any sort of, you know, anything we bring to the table must be different perspective of what's best for that country. And so when doing that, you learn how to think about how your idea can benefit you, but then also can be beneficial to others, and then how to convey that to persons in a manner in which they feel like they're actually going to be the ones who are going to be benefiting most from the idea that you come up with, or whatnot. So it's really great in learning how to work in groups and group activities and learning what your strengths are. Because sometimes that people aren't who've that's not for them, like, you know, being group leaders or participating in group activities like that may not be something that is applicable to their future. And that's something they want to do that because it takes a lot of patience. It takes a lot of pacifying, anyone who's done any sort of project in any sort of aspect of corporate life, understands that there's going to be so many different attitudes and demeanors and agendas, that you really have to pacify some folks, you have to kind of pull some folks along. We have to, you know, hold some people's hand. It's just you learned a lot of lessons on just how to be a people person, how to enhance those interpersonal skills that people talk about so much.   Michael Hingson ** 10:05 So is it one person per country?   Shayne Halls ** 10:07 Yeah. Unless you are literally dependent on your delegates in the UN. So whatever your delegate number is that you haven't un, they'll get numbers that are available for that country in the Mario.   Michael Hingson ** 10:19 So like the United States might have more than one delegate, or China or whatever. Exactly. So what year did this take place?   Shayne Halls ** 10:27 Man when my model you when I was in school? So I think I didn't borrow you in? Oh, 203.   Michael Hingson ** 10:38 Okay. So a lot of events had happened. And so on what country were you   Shayne Halls ** 10:45 Venezuela, and one, one year number MacArthur   Michael Hingson ** 10:52 strike any good oil deals.   Shayne Halls ** 10:55 As actually came up with a great, this was one of the lessons I learned Matt came up with a great treaty. And I was working with the US, of course, as one of the allies, we work together came up with it, basically spearheaded by, you know, and kind of brought everybody along. And it was one of the best ones that that week. And as you're going through your delegations and your debates and such judges are moving about the room listening to conversations. And the judges were they're listening to us, and they can really like, Hey, was that you? Did you come up with that? And me stealing this? Like, you know, Dougie, man, I was like, No, it was a group effort between me and the United States or whatever. And then the United States got the award in the week more sustained audit. And that was one of the reasons why that bothered me to stay. Yeah, should have been my lessons learned.   Michael Hingson ** 11:52 Well, so. Yeah, things things happen. What did you learn from that? When that occurred,   Shayne Halls ** 11:58 it's okay to speak up for yourself, okay, it's okay to speak up for yourself. You know, you can't expect someone else to toot your horn, you can't expect someone else to praise you that you have to be comfortable with praising yourself and praising the work when you deserve it. When you do good work, when you have done something that's worthy of recognition and get an opportunity to talk about yourself, and not in a braggadocious manner, but in a matter of fact, man, this is what happens, whatever do so don't wait for somebody else to do.   Michael Hingson ** 12:25 There is there's a lot to be said for teamwork and giving team credit and so on. But at the same time, you're right, it's important that what you do gets acknowledged to especially in the context of a team effort.   Shayne Halls ** 12:41 Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's great, you know, when you can talk about the team and give all credit to the team. But if you're gonna be hit the game winning shot, you're not gonna be like, well, you know, I didn't think it was Wilson Wilson designed a great basketball and basketball had a great bounce to it, you know, just fit so well, in my hand, no, you shot the ball, you start winning. So take your credit when you've earned it.   Michael Hingson ** 13:04 Right? Which makes perfect sense. So you graduated What was your degree in   Shayne Halls ** 13:10 political science with a double minor in English and religion? Yes, and so I love to write and my mother was a pastor. And so church in religion was always a part of my life. And I wanted to kind of be more intellectual about religion. So my religion, English happened English, I tell people this, these are my double minors when English turned out to be an accidental minor, where I just took so many English courses and APA in like advanced English classes that by the time I graduated, I had acquired enough credits for it to be a minor, or whatnot. So it wasn't it wasn't an unintentional minor.   Michael Hingson ** 13:52 Well, but it works. Yeah, it   Shayne Halls ** 13:54 worked, right? I really enjoyed everything, writing in workplace, something that is very, you know, soothing to me, and so, never got my studies done everything that I was like working. It was always fun for him. So I did that with the full intention of becoming an attorney. And then my wife and I decided to get married my senior year of college and got married and about a year later, we had our first kid. And so then it was like, okay, at four years law school, but I need to take care of my family. So started working and got into talent acquisition, I was recruited into recruiting and had no idea what recruitment was, what recruiting is what time acquisition was, and jumped into it and it was a world women it was a whirlwind experience. And I started focusing in on di and wanting to be an advocate for persons who are looking to come into companies and persons looking to grow in companies in just made D Ei, the kind of the heartbeat of my town acquisition work, no matter what I was doing want to make sure that there was always equity. And there was equal representation for everyone across the board. And when we talk about diversity, not just talking about skin color, we're talking about cultural backgrounds, educational backgrounds, we're talking about persons with disabilities, non disabilities, talking about gender background, just about everything, and just diversity as a whole, the more diverse the organization is, the more successful successful they can be. So you know that that was an interesting journey, because you meet leaders who are like, Oh, well, everyone looked at my team, my team is so different, they have different races and women and men. I'm like, what you only recruit from the same college, like there's everyone on your team went to the same exact school has the same major, like, that's not diversity, need to have different people on it, right. And so even some of the most well intentioned persons accidentally show their bias, right. And so as my work grew in di, I started taking on more consultation work on helping organizations understand microaggressions biases, how to build cultural teams, how to find out what your your unintentional or your unconscious biases are. And so that's kind of all led me to opening up my own consultation firm manifested dreams in which we speak with organizations regarding their cultural issues and how to address them and how to have di trainings. And then we also do one on one consultation training for persons who are looking to grow their careers and need a little help in trying to integrate AI into it right. And I think that AI is such a part of our lives now that trying to ignore it is gonna turn you into the blockbuster in a world of Netflix, and you want to make sure that you are staying abreast as to how AI is impacting your particular field, your particular career, your particular journey, so that you don't get left behind, you're able to capitalize it and use it to be successful.   Michael Hingson ** 17:10 Yeah. And there's a lot to be said for for those concepts. And it's interesting that you developed a deep interest in that, why do you think that you were so attracted to developing that kind of an interest in really wanting to focus on this whole concept around diversity. And even more important, I think inclusion because one of the things that I tell people all the time is the difficulty with diversity is that it is left disabilities behind when you ask people what this what diversity means. They'll talk about race, gender, and sexual orientation and so on, but they don't mention disabilities. And so that led us to inclusion. And that's why I'm this podcast, we talk about inclusion, diversity in the unexpected where it meets. And the idea is that inclusion can't leave out disabilities, either you are inclusive, or you're not.   Shayne Halls ** 18:04 That's what got me here, I think just marry out events just being in ta having conversations, having leaders talk being in the room and understanding that people aren't aware, right, people in the rooms tend to look around to see themselves in the room, so they feel comfortable. And it's never an awareness, this, it's never something that they are aware of that there's not others in the room, right, because they just feel comfortable with everyone that's there. And to me always being one tunnel position is a field that is probably 7060 70% female one. And so being a male and then a male color. In this field, I am very rare. In this field, I think in my lifetime, my 14 year career, I've maybe come across 10 other black men who are in talent acquisition. And so being here, I'm always aware of the who's not in the room. And then I'm making my point as to not just talking about it, to always try to bounce it and fix it somehow. Try to be a voice for those who aren't represented and use my voice to try to help others get in the room as well.   Michael Hingson ** 19:27 For me personally, it's it's a strange world because having never seen color. It it's always strange to me that people intellectually I understand this, but that people tend to be prejudice and bias based on the color of someone's skin. A lot of that skin feels the same no matter what color you are. So I don't quite see the problem, but I do understand it intellectually. But for me, having never experienced it. I think I've been very fortunate and in reality is I don't care. But unfortunately also too many people do. And that's something that we really need to figure out how we're going to address. And the problem is we've got too many people who refuse to some of whom are supposedly very high up and on, I use the term in quotes, leadership positions. Yeah, and they still continue to be very privatizing.   Shayne Halls ** 20:28 That's one of the biggest things I tell people all the time is that when I'm starting a training, I was like, Look, if you look around the room, there's a couple people in here who don't want to be here, there's gonna be one who don't want change their idea that everyone wants everything to be happy go lucky. Google, it is a false theory that you need to do away with, you have to understand that in every organization, there are leaders who like it exactly the way it is, right? They don't want to have to make accommodations person with disabilities, they don't want to have to put Braille on the walls, they don't want to have to put ramps on and want to put ramps all over the build, they think it's it's not aesthetically pleasing to their eyes or whatever. They don't want wider doorways. They don't want other diverse persons around the leadership table like these people actually exist. And, you know, if you want to be an ally, for persons who aren't included, then you have to speak up when you have an opportunity for it.   Michael Hingson ** 21:21 We visited in San Francisco, a building that Frank Lloyd Wright, designed and built, it was fascinating because a lot of the building was a spiral ramp that took you from the bottom to the to the top or up to some level. I've spent a long time since I've been there now but but the point is that, that he he deliberately made it a ramp as opposed to stairs. And it was a very steep ramp and would not be something that would be condoned by the Americans with Disabilities Act. But I was able to push my wife up the stairs up the ramp, and get her back down. She was in a chair her whole life. So it still was a building we were able to go into and actually be a part of, and that was really pretty cool. Yeah. And this idea of ramps not being pleasing to the eye. As I understand it again, I understand that people again, are locked into well, it's got to be stairs, well, no, it doesn't.   Shayne Halls ** 22:26 It does not I don't know who came up with that answer, I would love for slides to be a thing go there has a slide somewhere, like I'd like to just be able to come down the slide. That'd be great.   Michael Hingson ** 22:36 Yeah, works for me, you know, to keep in mind, though, you gotta get back up. So what you do is you tip the slide, and you go back the other way, that's all there is to it. But I mean, there have to be ways to do that. But it's just the whole concept that we don't like things different than what we want, we have learned not to go out of our comfort zone very well. And we really need to get over that. And that's what it really comes down to is getting out of our comfort zone. And it's something that that we really should do a whole lot more than than we do. Well, I'm curious, you've been in this business now 14 years talent acquisition, you've been dealing a lot with dei and such, what would you say to your younger self just starting out that maybe they didn't know or that you'd want them to know to maybe make their world and as a result the world of other people better?   Shayne Halls ** 23:34 Um, I would think I would tell myself to stand stand be you know, just stand 10 toes down and who you are, right? I think that early in my career, I felt a need to quiet my voice in time who I should have spoken up. And it's living with nothing but regret later on in life like yeah, what if I spoken up on those situations during those opportunities and whatnot. And so my younger self, I would help him get to the idea sooner of just being unapologetically you and not quieting your voice to keep the status quo afloat.   Michael Hingson ** 24:23 I think it's interesting being unapologetically you but not arrogantly unapologetically, you? Right, exactly. Which is really the issue. And there's a lot to be said for that. I'm sorry. Go ahead.   Shayne Halls ** 24:34 No, you're totally right. Yeah, just be yourself. But don't be you know, arrogant. But I think arrogance stems from this belief of you being able to do things that you have not done or tempted to do confidence comes from the knowledge of having done things similar in the past in Concord those things right. And so it is a way to be confident without being arrogant and so you should always be on Patil. Unapologetically confident in who You are the person, but humble enough to know that there are things that you don't know. And your lessons you still got to learn in life.   Michael Hingson ** 25:06 And there's nothing wrong with exploring and learning and growing because of that   Shayne Halls ** 25:12 knowledge. I think that is one most great things that we have the ability doing, like especially now more than ever, we have these phones. And I think we take them for granted because they're just been a phone to us. But they're literally a gateway to the world. And that is not any sort of exaggeration of the truth. There is nothing you cannot learn that you don't have access to in your hand every day. And that language and the culture and background, you can learn anything you want. And the idea of being ignorant in today's society is a willful choice. If you don't know about a culture or background, you don't know how somebody's functioning with a disability. You don't know what type of activities to plan for your company to include the persons with disabilities. And you don't take a few minutes just to look it up on your phone. That's that's just willful ignorance at that point time.   Michael Hingson ** 26:01 Yeah. And it is a choice. It's willful. It's a choice. And it is the kinds of things that lead to what we talked about before, which are the people who just decide that they don't want to have any change. They don't care about anyone else other than what is in their specific comfort zone rather than recognizing the world's a whole lot broader place than that.   Shayne Halls ** 26:23 Exactly. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you feel that the school system teaching other languages as electives helps to contribute to that, because you've seen other countries where like learning another language like English or Spanish webinar is a requirement. Right. And so a lot of people in other countries graduate high school, already fluent in other languages. While here in America, Spanish is always just an elective or French is an elective. Once you get into high school, you're gonna take a couple of courses of it, whatnot. I think that if we taught our kids more about other cultures and demanded they learned other languages along the way, it would help people in general, understand that the world is bigger than your little part. I haven't studied Spanish for three years, four years now. And the more I learn, you can't learn a language without learning the culture of the country at which it's run. And the more you learn about that language, the more you learn about those cultures, it broadens your interest nationally broadens your horizon.   Michael Hingson ** 27:33 But to answer your question, I absolutely believe that we could do more to give everyone in our society, more of a cultural understanding of other people. And we really should do that. When I was in high school, I studied German for three years. And one of the things that we learned along the way was that in Germany, students in high school did take English as a as a course. And it was a requirement and they had to study it and demonstrate their proficiency in it. I think that English was the choice, but there were other languages that they could take, but they absolutely had to learn a second language. And also, of course, there, they were encouraged to study more about the people than just the language, which a lot of people did, because they had to practice it. When I was in college, I took a Euro Japanese, which was a totally different concept. Yeah, I don't remember a lot of it. But if I hear somebody talking, I know they're speaking Japanese or not. And I've also been to Japan twice and had an opportunity, even before going to learn a lot about the culture. And then of course, learned a lot more about the culture being over there. And I think that we should do that. It gets back to the whole issue of banned books and everything else that we deal with today, people are so insistent on, we want to done just our way, and they don't even know what they're really asking for, which is so unfortunate. I continue to be amazed at some of the books that people want to ban in libraries. And then when you get to the point of saying, Have you read it? Well, no, but somebody said that we should do that because it's racist well, but you don't know do you? And I am a firm believer in knowing not just listening to somebody and taking their opinion and just locking yourself into something because of it. We have to be the the people who rule our own fate and we should understand not just listen to other people and then don't do anything about it other than what they said that should be banned. So that's what we should do.   Shayne Halls ** 29:53 I think that you hit the nail on the head. I think one cool things about Japan that was love is that as they make their school kids clean up, at the end of the school days, like they spent, like the last 15 or 20 minutes in school day, cleaning school, that is such like that is like a lesson that just sits in your soul like you, no one's going to come clean up behind the message you make, like you got to clean up your own thing. You got to be responsible for yourself. I think that in itself, I love that about Japanese culture. And then when talking about person banning books, I've seen so many videos of people where they ask them, What is CRT? What does it stand for? Like, what is the lettering stand for? That you're so passionately against? And no one even though I think can even tell you? Like how are you so angry about something that you don't even know what the acronym stands for us. We   Michael Hingson ** 30:39 all know the CRT stands for cathode ray tube. But that's another story. That's exactly what it is. But you know, the whole concept of of critical race and so on. I don't know that I totally understand the theory, although I believe I do. And certainly not opposed to it. But I'm amazed when I hear people talking about banning a book like To Kill a Mockingbird, which was recognized as such a powerful depiction of how black people were treated, even back in the in the 50s, and into the 60s and so on. And it wasn't racist at all, at all. But I've heard people talk about how that has to be taken on libraries because it's racist. And I actually heard a reporter ask someone who said that, have you ever read it? Well, no. Well, then how do you know, you know,   Shayne Halls ** 31:32 I think that, you know, I know who I blame Michael, I blame the participation, trophy generation, right? Because there was a generation where we decided that everyone needed to feel good. Everyone needed to be like, Okay, so we gave everyone participation trophies. And I think that is, if you've ever listened to people talk about their opposing CRT, it is always well, I don't want my kids to feel bad about what happened in the past.   Michael Hingson ** 31:59 And teach them what happened.   Shayne Halls ** 32:02 Like what like, where you want to get rid of books, because you don't want your kid to know that persons with similar cultural backgrounds are themselves performing the most heinous acts ever in history. But what not, but what was interesting is that when it was just about teaching slavery, and having little persons little kids of color, learn that their history was stemmed in being enslaved, that was fine for everyone. But when the history books started to talk more about the person's doing, the enslaving, and the heinousness of those acts, then it was like, well, we can't talk about this part. This person I, like we talked about anymore, let's   Michael Hingson ** 32:57 check the answer is Sure you can. You can teach kids what happened. And then you have the discussions about how do we make sure it never happens? Again,   Shayne Halls ** 33:08 come on, it seems it seems simple. I think we just saw it. But therefore, there's PTA meetings all across this country that obviously show that they that we're not thinking the way they do because they are staunchly against banning it left and right. I mean, states governors, they're just on a rolling, banning this stuff.   Michael Hingson ** 33:28 Yeah, that and all the other things that they're doing the the governors who decide to ship people who come in across the border, who legally are allowed in, and then they ship them somewhere. When is that going to stop? When are we going to recognize that intolerable treatment? And how can we ever elect someone who does that, and of course, there gonna be some people who will disagree with me. But the bottom line is, you don't treat human beings that way.   Shayne Halls ** 33:57 My mind is blown at the idea that we have persons in power positions, who are so arrogant to feel like someone doesn't belong in this country, because they came across an imaginary line that doesn't exist anywhere, except on your piece of paper, and that they don't have the right beer. And then once they get here, we're going to treat them like pawns, and move them about the country. As if they're like games that you're playing on this big political chessboard, whatnot, it is the way we treat immigrants, as if this country was not founded on immigrants is the most hypocritical thing I've seen. In many years of my life. It is it is staunchly mind blowing, how we stand 1010 toes down on the fact that we can't have anyone tonight. Well, how do you think this country was founded? None of us were born here. Like people came here. Like you landed on Plymouth Rock I like that is the story we tell the children like. So immigration is how this country started, let's not do let's not take away the opportunities that were given to our ancestors to somebody else's ancestors. Right. Right.   Michael Hingson ** 35:13 One of the things I think that you are doing in terms of now having found when did you found manifested dream, by the way,   Shayne Halls ** 35:22 this year, January of this year is when I made it special. I've been doing my own thing. I've been doing it doing the work for probably four years now. But I made it official. And we're kind of just operating under a 1099 guideline for last few years. And I was like, model incorporate? Actually, no, do it in to make it real. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 35:43 Make it real. Yeah. Well, and I know that you when we talked about it earlier deal with using artificial intelligence is as a significant part of that. So tell me a little bit about what is AI in terms of what you do?   Shayne Halls ** 35:57 And so AI in terms of just what AI is, in general, is a great question. Because a lot of people don't even understand the idea of, I guess what artificial intelligence really is, you know. So artificial intelligence is basically the idea that it was a field of computer science that kind of focused on just creating systems that are capable of performing repetitive task, right? systems or tasks that don't require extreme amounts of human intelligence. And so we're talking about things from know But same thing on the administrative umbrella. But anyway, so AI has now been able, using machine learning in which these systems recognize speech patterns, they recognize, you know, patterns in the data that has been inputted into the systems, and they were able to perform, you know, human like tasks, these human like, repetitive tasks with large bit of autonomy, right can kind of like, let it go, and let it do its thing. And it's basically the driving force behind many of the digital tools and services that we use today, and we don't even know like, Siri, is a very basic AI, you know, you ask it to do something, and it does like it, that he asked me to make a notation yes can send to me like that AI. That is what artificial intelligence is on its most basic sense. Google itself is AI, right, being able to go into Google asked a question, and spits back a measure. That is a we've all been using a version of machine learning or version of artificial intelligence. But now it's basically like going through puberty, right. And it's become a lot more conscious and a lot more interactive. And it has a deeper understanding of sentiment and emotions and feelings and sarcasm. And so now machine learning and AI has led to another level. And with the growth of AI, it's now become so effective that you can have one person who is proficient within AI, that can do the job of three or four people, right, because if you know the right prompts, or questions or direction to give AI, you can have aI generate code for you. You can have AI, you know, generate reports, you can have aI put to PowerPoint, and AI can do so much if you know what you're doing. So companies are at this point where they are hiring what's called prompt engineers. And these prompt engineers, one company needs replacing three or four people. And so what's happening with that is that diversity numbers are going to be impacted in every aspect, because many administrative jobs are held by women. And so now we're gonna eliminate many admin jobs. We're talking about your most basic entry level jobs on line two manufacturing lines are going to be completely automated at some point in time, so companies are going to be less diverse. And so I want to make sure that as companies start to integrate AI, they do so in a very meaningful manner, that they understand that they still need to care about what diversity looks like in their organizations, even though they may be now upgrading or changing what that organization looks like.   Michael Hingson ** 39:40 Given what you just described, how do you deal with the people who say well AI is going to take away all of our jobs?   Shayne Halls ** 39:47 Well, I mean, is gonna take away a lot of jobs seeing this not would be crazy. I mean, that that I tell everyone, that's like when blockbuster said no Netflix is gonna go But it's just a personal thing. It's not, it's here. Now what you can do is learn AI and how to use AI in your job that you're doing. Right, you don't want to be the person who put your head in the sand, and you never took the time to understand what AI is, and how you can use AI to make your job more proficient, you have access to a system that you can use, that can basically eliminate any sort of repetitive tasks that you do in your day to day. And then you can spend the rest of your time doing and work on the more intellectual side of your job, the more creative side of your job, you can connect, you can use your, you can use your free time, quote, unquote, to better yourself in the company to grow in the company to be more impactful in your company, right. So yes, AI may replace jobs as we see it today. But that does not mean that you cannot use AI, to elevate yourself to another job or to another place within an organization.   Michael Hingson ** 40:56 And the more AI and all of that entails comes into our lives. While it may replace or take away jobs in some senses, the other aspect of it is that there will always be more jobs that are being created. So isn't like jobs are going to go away, it's gonna be different, they will be different. And that gets back to what we talked about before, which is there are a lot of people who don't like difference. But the reality is, that's what it is. And so there will be differences. And we're going to have to recognize that and ought to recognize that and then use that to grow in everything that we do, which makes perfect sense to do.   Shayne Halls ** 41:42 Most definitely, like 30 years ago, there was no IoT jobs, right. So Internet of Things is a job title in corporate America, that Job didn't exist, because the profession as it is now. But that is a very high paying job to just like it is very high thing. And so you just have to understand what's going on, you had a great place in this wave of AI, there was no college degree of AI, prompt engineering right now. Right, this is just like the beginning of the internet, like everything is just the wide open. So you can literally get a system and learn it. And perfect those skills and hone those skills. And yes, no one's going to be able to, you don't have to pay to learn right now it is free, get it use it in master, right? Eventually, schools are gonna start to regulate how you learn these things, and how you master AI. And corporate America is gonna get their hands on AI. And we're not going to have as easy access to it as we do. Now, in some fashion, it's going to be limited, how things tend to go into in, you know, capitalistic societies. So while it's wide open, while anyone has access to while everyone has access to it, embrace it, learn it, learn how to integrate it into your daily life, so you don't get passed over. So you don't, you know, lose your job. But you can transition to a different job with AI.   Michael Hingson ** 43:05 Well, and as AI exists today, it's not yet grossly intelligent at truly being able to learn on its own. And that's one of the things that people have to be able to do is to take the role of teaching. And that's why things improve as well as people enhance AI and so on. And the time will come when even learning oops, be somewhat simulated or stimulated by the actual software. But even so, it still doesn't mean that that's the end of the road in terms of us. What it means is that we need to recognize that there are different things in different applications that that we need to do. I think it's going to be a long time before the intelligence and the ability to have an intellect through a machine is going to grow to the point where it can do what the human brain does.   Shayne Halls ** 44:00 Right? Yeah. Ai learned from us, our input into systems. And it learns very quickly from what we put, it doesn't learn by itself, but it doesn't take long to learn. And once you start typing into your system and asking questions, talking to it, it's learning every second every input you put into it, it's learning. But again, it's only learning because you're putting information into it. And I think that's one of the things that as corporations are instituting AI into their workforces in their environments that they have to make sure they have a set team there whose job is to monitor the inputs going into their AI systems, right the algorithms that are being used, the searches that are being done, because the AI while can be a great unbiased tool to use and performance evaluations, promotions, hiring, recruiting, it can also be taught by it can be taught to, to exclude person because of someone else's Have no preconceived notions or whatnot. So you got to have teams monitoring the AI between you so that it's not being used for nefarious activities.   Michael Hingson ** 45:09 Right, then the other side of it is, is that because it has such rapid and full access to a lot of information, it by definition is going to teach us things as well. And, and that's as it should be. As you know, and as people here know, I work for excessive B, which is a company that makes products to help make the internet more inclusive for persons with disabilities and a accessories. main product that most people know about is an AI widget that sits up in the cloud, and it can look at anyone's website, and it can do a lot to remediate those websites. And people can learn about it by going to access a B ACCE ssip.com. But as enhancements are made to the widget, because somebody says, you know, I tried to use it on this website, but this didn't happen. And what's the problem? If the people had access to be discovered that you right, it's, it's an issue, it should work, they fix it. And then it rolls out to anyone who is using excessive be so that the new thing that the AI, which it has been taught, goes to everyone, and it will continue to grow. And it learns based on looking at all the websites that it deals with. And now they're well over 190,000 websites that use excessively, which is cool, but AI is going to continue to grow. And it will get better. There are things that on my website, excessive B still can't totally do by itself. And there are reasons why like it doesn't necessarily interpret pictures and describe them the way I want them describe. But But I am amazed at how well they can look at a picture like there's a picture of me holding or hugging a yellow Labrador Retriever on my website. And the way I want that branded is it's my kingsun hugging, Roselle excessively doesn't know my Kingston excessively doesn't know Roselle because they're the the restrictions under which you could go off and identify a picture are still in existence. So it can't, for example, just go to Facebook and realize that's my Kingston and then that's Roselle. So it can't do that. But what excessive B does do when it sees that picture is it says man and white dress shirt hugging yellow Labrador Retriever. I'm amazed that it can do that. But it can and and then I can deal with that and and put an alt tag or my web guy can put an alt tag in. And so that's fine. But by the same token, it's amazing how far it has already come and how far it will continue to go. And that's the way it ought to be if it makes our lives more efficient. And we take advantage of it. Why shouldn't we?   Shayne Halls ** 48:03 Why shouldn't die? I think it's fair that people don't like this. We fear what we don't know. You know, and I think a lot of people hear stories of AI. They see movies, you know, they see Terminator they see iRobot you know, they see all these movies and oh my gosh, AI this evil thing. Yeah, it's not. It's not it's here. We're in such infancy stages of AI, that, well, I'm not taking granted this doing yourself a disservice in some capacity. And yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 48:37 exactly right. Of course, you mentioned iRobot and being a little bit prejudiced. I don't think the movie does the original book and stories by Isaac Asimov justice talking about AI. But there, there's a lot that we can learn. And we really need to broaden our horizons and recognize that this is a world where there are so many adventures and you talked about the Internet of Things. You talked about the internet and so on. What a treasure trove. And you talked about the iPhone being a way that we can get to so many things. The internet in general is such a treasure trove of information. And yes, there's a dark side to it, which we don't need to deal with. And we ought to help not happen. But by the same token, there is so much more that the internet has available to us it is just fascinating to go look at sites on the Internet and learn things which I get to do every day and aim a lot of fun doing it.   Shayne Halls ** 49:36 What's crazy is that I remember being a kid and having the Encyclopedia Britannica and just having all these encyclopedias there to use my mom thought I was gonna go look it up. I was gonna go look at it. Got a second please go look it up. My children have encyclopedias in their phones on their tablets. Like there was no more Encyclopedia Britannica like it doesn't They will have like, I don't know, anyone who still has, like those kits that they used to sell on TV on the infomercials or whatnot, right? Yeah, it changes, it changes things, you have all this information that went to a stockpile. And so hundreds of books, it is at the tip of your fingers to find out anything you want to know, you literally can pop up any question in your mind? And you can find the answer for there and on some page somewhere.   Michael Hingson ** 50:27 And the the comment, go look it up, however, is still valid, very valid. And it absolutely makes sense to go look it up.   Shayne Halls ** 50:37 So which is submit really quickly, what used to take me, you know, 20 minutes to look up the answer, like it's fine to me. So I got that don't worry, I know.   Michael Hingson ** 50:46 I, when I'm visiting relatives and all that, and we're talking about anything from sports to whatever. And there's a question, within just seconds people have the answer. They haven't a lot faster than I do, because they're able to manipulate the phone a lot faster than than I can. And so they get the information. But the fact is, it's there, which is so cool.   Shayne Halls ** 51:09 Yeah, there's no more telling those stories off. There was that game two years ago, where NC State scored 90 points against like, no, let's look it up. And states never scored nine points in any game anytime. You can't find stories in what you can't you can't exaggerate things. Yeah, it's there to fact check everyone.   Michael Hingson ** 51:29 Yeah, which is, which is okay. Again, that's dealing with arrogance. And not you don't want to beat people over the head with it when they're wrong. By the same token, you can still say now, let's really go back and look at that. And you know, what really happened, which is so fun.   Shayne Halls ** 51:47 So finally, just sit back and let people tell their stories, you know, you know what, go ahead, but you're not hurt nobody tell your story. Tell your story.   Michael Hingson ** 51:55 Tell your story, your story. So I know that for me, using iPhones, and so on and doing so much. It's still slower than other people. But I believe the AI is going to enhance my experience at doing a lot of the things that I want to do on an iPhone or whatever. Well, what do you what do you see as ways that AI is going to help persons with disabilities   Shayne Halls ** 52:21 think that the AI levels the playing field, right AI, is now able to take away many of the advantages that persons may have had in the past and much easier now. AIS can be your ears, if you are deaf, they ask can be your eyes, if you are blind eye takes away the need to be in the office for those who may be you know, movement disabled, where they can't get to a location every day, you know, you now have remote jobs where you can log in remotely. So using AI in various aspects is allowing more inclusion into the workforce, right. So even when a person may not be able to go to an outing, because of a disability, movement disability, they can use AI, they can use, you know software like zoom or software in which they can log in and interact and still be a part of the team still can feel that level of belonging as if they're there. With AI, being as accessible as it is, it is now in a place to where no one has to feel like they are at a severe disadvantage in trying to participate or be a part of everyone else because of their disability.   Michael Hingson ** 54:00 I would like to see AI and technology in general progress, to allow me to be able to interact and look up information as fast as you can on your iPhone. And that doesn't exist yet. And that's a whole interface issue. The the ideal way to do it is if my brain could talk directly to the phone. Because you can type a whole lot faster by virtue of the fact that even with the gestures that Apple and the Android folks have put into the phone to allow me to interact with it, it's still going to be slower. And it's a little bit more. I don't want to say obtrusive, but it is a little bit more visible to the world. Because when I'm talking with people, they're looking stuff up on their phone while we're talking and that's a little bit harder for me to do it would be fun to be able to have that level of interface access. And I am sure it's coming.   Shayne Halls ** 54:57 I think that that level of interface that Since is not as big and as far as way as we think it, I think we're just like right around the corner. It's weird when you hear stories about people testing our brain implants. Yeah. And so while that sounds scary, until you know that in the past people had brain implants that helped them here now, right like, like, you know, these things are vastly open and very close, we're on the precipice of really having full AI interactions to where even when you've seen stuff, you've seen companies advertise or preview, persons with movement disabilities, getting AI limbs, and the limbs are reading the nerves from the brain and are able to reflect the movement that the brain is triggering, right? Like these things are happening like these, like this. We're like, we're like right there. And it's very cool. And so I think that it's not going to be very much longer, weird disabilities are more of a momentary discomfort rather than a lifetime. sentence, right? Because we've seen so many ocular transplants are happening now, where people who are blind into our lives are being given the ability to see, again, question somebody offered that to you, Mike, would you take it?   Michael Hingson ** 56:46 To actually gain eyesight? It'd be an adventure, I have to think about it, it isn't. It isn't the most crucial thing in my world. And people who can see, well, how could you not? Well, you know, how, and why should I? That's not the issue. The issue is, will it really enhance my life, if I could truly get that back? It's an adventure. And I would probably do it as an adventure, but not as a desperate need, that overwhelms everything. And I think that's the real issue. You know, with with the whole issue of AI, we will continue to see growth. Ray Kurzweil says it's going to be what 920 45, when computers and brains, basically are connected. And so we'll have direct access to all this computer stuff. And we'll see whether that happens in 22 years or not. He believes it will. That's the singularity, and I think time will tell. But we still have a ways to go to get to the point where we've developed that interface. One of the things about sighted people is, you all have spent a lot of time developing technology to help you. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, which really covers up your disability if not being able to see in the dark. And since 1879, people have spent a lot of time developing lighting technologies, and stable lighting technologies that make it possible for you to pretty much cover up the disability, of not being able to see in the dark until there's some major power failure, and then you nowadays can run off and try to find your phone and activate a flashlight or whatever. But it still doesn't mean that the disability isn't there. And we haven't progressed to the point of making that level of technological enhancement and advancement available to persons with disabilities, the priority is going to have to be to change that to truly create inclusion. And I think it will at some point, but it's it's still a ways off because it's still not really the priority. But the other side of it is a lot of the technology that would help us and enhance our lives, could also be something that would help other people as well. You know, I'm still amazed that while Apple built voice over the screen reader into the iPhone, that Apple isn't doing more to promote it in things like driving cars. If you get a Tesla, you still have to look at the screen to do so much stuff. Now. Of course, Elon Musk would say yeah, but with the with the ability of the Tesla to cruise down the road and yes, you have to be behind the wheel and so on but you can afford that time to look away. Why should you have to? Why not be able to just consistently stay off of her stay on looking at the road and looking what's going on around you and let a voice and vocal technologies help you more enhance your world. We haven't gotten to the point where we totally deal with that yet.   Shayne Halls ** 59:57 Yeah, I think that is a With a non disabled problem of being able to understand how to use technology, we have to enhance the lives of those who are disabled. Think Like, people tend to pay attention to words relevant to their life, and it takes special people to think about how other people's lives are being impacted. That has nothing to do with them at all. That's the more special people there are in the world, the better we all will be. I think that's definitely a thing where persons with disabilities are going to have to be the ones to make sure that they are not overlooked. And those of persons without disabilities have to be allies to go through our and use our voices to make sure that everyone's getting the equal amount of attention for the things that they need to enhance their lives.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:07 Yeah. So what exactly does manifested dreams do?   Shayne Halls ** 1:01:13 What I was necessary to help you manifest your dreams, right. So if a company wants to be more inclusive, we can come in there and we perform cultural evaluations, we can help you put together various sort of cultural groups, employee resource groups, we can also sit down with persons who are on a on a one on one basis and help them understand their career and what they're doing and how to use AI to help their career growth.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:41 How does AI factor into that?   Shayne Halls ** 1:01:45 AI can be used to make an admin assistant be super proficient her job. And then she can also then use the other time to volunteer for other program projects is going on at work, and be proficient at that too, by using integrating AI into the tasks that she's given. So he or she can grow and excel, and be better the organization, I can help a leader understand where the gaps are within the company who's not really promoting people properly, who has bias in their hiring. AI can be used for someone who is looking to grow as a writer, you can use AI to, to literally, you know, proofread your stuff. If you're a writing user, certainly I program live and proofread. Let it give you suggestions on how to change the tone. AIS AI can be used in many different capacities for whatever your aspect of work life is.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:38 And so what I am assuming manifests and dreams does is it comes in and you teach people how to use these tools, and you get them hopefully comfortable using the tools but you teach them how to use the tools and incorporate them into their processes to make the whole company much more effective and efficient. I'm presuming that that's essentially what you do. Right?   Shayne Halls ** 1:03:02 On. Yeah, but that's exactly what I did. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:05 I'm with you. And I think it's it's cool that that you're doing that it's a great service. If people want to reach out to you and learn more about it and learn more about you and so on. How do they do that?   Shayne Halls ** 1:03:16 You can reach me on med so email address would be my name Shayne. So Shayne  D H S H A Y N E D H. At manifesting dreams that org. I'm on Twitter at MNIFSTD dream to manifest your dreams on Twitter. I G manifested dream manifested underscore dreams and see we're everywhere. So please reach out. Let us come in let us help you unless you know show you how to really take things to the next level.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:52 Well, that is cool. And I think you can help a lot of people realize that this whole concept of artificial intelligence and all the things that we're seeing being developed today can really be an enhancement if we allow that to happen, which is what it's really should be about. Right?   Shayne Halls ** 1:04:13 Exactly. Don't be scared of it. Embrace it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:16 Yeah. Well, thanks again for being here. And I want to thank you for listening to us today. This has been a fun discussion. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please give us a five star rating wherever you're listening to our podcast, unstoppable mindset. Love it if you would do that. If you'd like to reach out and comment, I would appreciate that you can reach me at Michaelhi m i c h a e l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. And as I said, go off to www.accessibe.com and learn about the products and learn how to maybe make your internet website more usable and inclusive. If you want to We'll explore more podcast episodes. Do that wherever you're listening to us or go to www dot Michaelhingson m i  c h a e l h i n g s o n.com/podcast. And check out all the podcasts. Of course, again, as you're listening, we certainly would appreciate a five star rating wherever you're listening to us. And Shane, both for you and for all of you listening out there if you have any thoughts of anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. Love to hear that. Please reach out to me, please make introductions. We're always looking for more people to come on and have some more stimulating conversations. So again, Shayne, for you. Thanks very much. We really appreciate you being here. This has been great, hasn't it?   Shayne Halls ** 1:05:44 It has. It's been wonderful. I appreciate the experience and I look forward to talking to you again my friend.   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:53 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much.

Erica and India discuss their intentions for the shows Pause on the Play® and Flaunt Your Fire®.  After nearly 300 combined episodes, they pause to explore how to use them as continued resources and how to stay in the loop about future projects.Ready to dive deeper?Keep in touch and find out what we're up to at pauseontheplay.com

Bryce Eddy is joined by Chad Davidson to discuss Marina Abramovic, Aleister Crowley, Secret Societies and Satanism in the Elite class. Putting the "MAN" back in mankind! Visit https://www.friendofbryce.com/ to get your free copy of Alliance Entrust's book on financial stewardship, 'Wisdom Before Wealth'. BE A THREAT TO THE GREAT RESET! Please subscribe and follow us on the following platforms! Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/TheBryceEddyShow Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0S9VEEBrxdXaKdLvSHPue6 Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bryce-eddy-show/id1635204267 Google Podcast - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9vbW55LmZtL3Nob3dzL2xpYmVydHktc3RhdGlvbi9wbGF5bGlzdHMvbGliZXJ0eS1zdGF0aW9uLnJzcw Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebryceeddyshow/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asks a satanic witch to be an ambassador to Ukraine.Also, a growing number of student loan borrowers are threatening to boycott their upcoming payments because they ‘can't afford it.'Plus, Governor Newsom vetoes a bill that would've required custody courts to consider if a parent has 'affirmed' their child's gender identity. And, a Nebraska mother who helped her daughter get an abortion and bury the baby afterwards… finally gets sentenced in court.

Canada's Justin Trudeau threw a petrol bomb into the opening of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York last week—announcing that there were “credible allegations” that Delhi was behind the shooting of a Canadian Sikh activist in Vancouver in June. Prime Minister Modi is riding high after a successful G20 summit, having entertained a slew of world leaders from the West, all hoping to curry favour with the biggest population in the world. Is Canada mad to start a fight with Delhi at a time when allies are needed to square up to China and Russia? Or does human rights trump geopolitics? One Decision sits down with Canadian Ambassador to the UN Robert Rae to discuss.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on France Niger coup.

On today's episode of Bass Fishin for Noobs, we sit down with Special Guest Trevor Lo, Marketing Manager for Pro Staff and Sponsorships with Omnia Fishing. Trevor is an esteemed angler, who has an impressive title under his belt. He took home the win of the 2015 Bassmaster College Series Championship and also qualified for the 2016 Geico Bassmaster Classic. Trevor resides in the twin cities of Michigan and when not at hard work with Omnia, he's Fishing and guiding on Mille Lacs, and Lake Minnetonka. We get and inside glimpse of the Premium Pro Membership app with Omnia Fishing that we think is going to be a must have tool for every angler. From showing depths, contours, bottom hardness, water temps, water clarity, and even multiple weather options, such as wind direction/speed, radar and lightning! Be sure to tune in to hear all about this awesome app and what the different Ambassador levels and programs has to offer! You can find Trevor at the following links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trevorlofishing?mibextid=ZbWKwL Email: Trevor@omniafishing.com https://tr.ee/XH-VnBJZXV Dale Hollow Lodging- www.eastport.info Waypoint TV- https://waypointtv.com Podcast & Website- www.paddlenfin.com YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/paddlenfin Email- paddlenfin@gmail.com Social Media- @paddlenfin Yak Gadget- www.yakgadget.com Pelican Professional- www.pelican.com Rocktown paddlesports - rocktownadventures.com JigMasters Jigs- https://jigmasters.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As followers of Jesus, our attitudes, values, and goals must be constantly redefined in light of the Gospel. Paul's message to the Corinthians encourages them to live in a new way, embracing the cruciform life of Jesus. Followers of Jesus can live differently through the cross and resurrection and model generosity, humility, and weakness. This week, we work through 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 ESV and how Jesus redefines endurance. Speaker: Michael Bayne Text: 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 ESV

Berserk! The Goon! Ambassadors! Den! And Many more.

The Delta Flyers is a weekly podcast hosted by Garrett Wang & Robert Duncan McNeill. This week's episode is an interview with Martha Hackett.We want to thank everyone who makes this podcast possible, starting with our Executive producers Megan Elise & Rebecca McNeillAnd a special thanks to our Ambassadors, the guests who keep coming back, giving their time and energy into making this podcast better and better with their thoughts, input, and inside knowledge: Lisa Klink, Martha Hackett, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Roxann Dawson, Kate Mulgrew, Brannon Braga, Bryan Fuller, John Espinosa, & Ariana DelbarAdditionally we could not make this podcast available without our Co-Executive Producers: Stephanie Baker, Liz Scott, Eve England, Sab Ewell, Sarah A Gubbins, Jason M Okun, Luz R., Marie Burgoyne, Kris Hansen, Chris Knapp, Janet K Harlow, Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, Courtney Lucas, Matthew Gravens, Brian Barrow, Captain Jeremiah Brown, Heidi Mclellan, Rich Gross, Mary Jac Greer, John Espinosa, E, Deike Hoffmann, Mike Gu, Anna Post, Shannyn Bourke, Vikki Williams, Jenna Appleton, Lee Lisle, Sarah Thompson, Samantha Hunter, Holly Smith, Amy Tudor, Jamason Isenburg, KMB, Dominic Burgess, Ashley Stokey, Lori Tharpe, Mary Burch, AJC, Nicholaus Russell, Dominique Weidle, Lisa Robinson, Normandy Madden, Joseph Michael Kuhlman, Darryl Cheng, Alex Mednis, Elizabeth Stanton, Kayla Knilans, Tim Beach, Meg Johnson, Victor Ling, Shambhavi Kadam, Holly Schmitt, James H. Morrow, Christopher Arzeberger, Tae Phoenix, Donna Runyon, Nicholas Albano, Roxane Ray, Daniel O'Brien, Bronwen Duffield, Andrew Duncan, David Buck, Danie Crofoot, Ian Ramsey, Feroza Mehta, Michael Dismuke, Jonathan Brooks, Gemma Laidler, Rob Traverse, Penny Liu, Matt Norris, Stephanie Lee, Daina Burnes, Morgan Linton, David Smith, & Matt BurchAnd our Producers:Philipp Havrilla, James Amey, Patrick Carlin, Richard Banaski, Ann Harding, Ann Marie Segal, Samantha Weddle, Chloe E, Nikita Jane, Carole Patterson, Warren Stine, Jocelyn Pina, Mike Schaible, AJ Provance, Captain Nancy Stout, Claire Deans, Maxine Soloway, Barbara Beck, Species 2571, Mary O'Neal, Dat Cao, Scott Lakes, Stephen Riegner, Debra Defelice, Tara Polen, Cindy Ring, Alicia Kulp, Kelly Brown, Jason Wang, Gabriel Dominic Girgis, Amber Nighbor, Mark G Hamilton, Rob Johnson, Maria Rosell, Heather Choe, Michael Bucklin, Lisa Klink, Jennifer Jelf, Justin Weir, Mike Chow, Kevin Hooker, Aaron Ogitis, Ryan Benoit, Megan Chowning, Rachel Shapiro, Eric Kau, Captain Jak Greymoon, David Wei Liu, Clark Ochikubo, David J Manske, Amy Rambacher, Jessica B, E.G. Galano, Cindy Holland, Will Forg, Charlie Faulkner, Estelle Keller, Russell Nemhauser, Lawrence Green, Christian Koch, Lisa Gunn, Lauren Rivers, Shane Pike, Jennifer B, Dean Chew, Akash Patel, Jennifer Vaughn, Cameron Wilkins, Michael Butler, Ken McCleskey, Walkerius Logos, Abby Chavez, Preston Meyer, Amanda Faville, Lisa Hill, Cerise Robinson, & Benjamin BulferThank you for your support!“Our creations are protected by copyright, trademark and trade secret laws. Some examples of our creations are the text we use, artwork we create, audio, and video we produce and post. You may not use, reproduce, distribute our creations unless we give you permission. If you have any questions, you can email us at thedeltaflyers@gmail.com.”

Today, Lisa shares about a life changing experience she had at 15 years old with an extraterrestrial to include validation from an unrelated third party. She also shares about some of the different Galactic races and how one can connect with their own Star Guide and family. Dr. Lisa Thompson Best Selling Author, Speaker, Intuitive Transformational Coach www.bigislandufotours.com Dr. Lisa Thompson on YouTube Connection to the Cosmos Find Dr. Lisa Thompson on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BigIslandUFOTours Connection to the Cosmos Facebook group Meet the host of A Guided Life podcast Laura West Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan drives out the Armenian Army soldiers and secures its territory.  Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the United Kingdom https://news.yahoo.com/talks-opened-future-nagorno-karabakh-084454039.html 1941 Malta

At a bazillion years old the Rolling Stones just released a new record. There's a whole new industry of "classic" rock bands still touring with more gray hair than hair spray. And Crue vox Vince Neil has been under fire for sub-par performances for years now. All this begs the question - When should an artist hang it up? Should there be an age limit? Or is it a health issue, positive or negative. How about when a band member no longer enjoys playing with their bandmates? We leave no stone unturned. In our "News, Views and Tunes", Aaron casts his vote for the MLMAs. And we reminisce about old school compilations and when Dee Snider kicked ass at the PMRC hearings. Musically, we crank tunes from Dead Kennedys, MDC, Razor, D.R.I., Blackbaird, Belvedere, Attacker and we introduce Winnipeg hardcore bashers Pink Snot in our "Indie Spotlight". Remember to vote for Snowy for Ambassador of the Year at the MLMAs at www.loudawards.com. Thx! This Episode is sponsored by Trve Kvlt Coffee. Summon the coffee demons to possess yourself a cup today! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram

From time to time, in addition to having stimulating conversations here on Unstoppable Mindset, I am asked to appear on podcasts created by others. One such podcast, Grit, Grace, and Inspiration is based out of Florida and has as its host, Kevin Lowe. I knew little about Kevin's story until he and I talked on his podcast. I knew I had to invite him to be a guest here. He graciously accepted.   Kevin is in his 30s. At the age of 17, he was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. When the tumor was removed Kevin lost his eyesight.   What makes Kevin's story somewhat unique and certainly inspiring is that he chose not to give up, but to live. He will tell us about his challenges, not only related to blindness but also from other issues, and how he overcame everything.   Kevin is as unstoppable as anyone can be. He lives, thrives, and grows as you will see. I hope you enjoy our episode.     About the Guest:   In his 30s, Kevin Lowe has become a shining example of strength, resilience, and optimism. Despite losing his sight after a life-saving brain tumor surgery in 2003 at just 17 years of age, Kevin has blossomed into a Life & Business Coach and the engaging host of the popular podcast, Grit, Grace, & Inspiration. His passion for positivity, growth, and connection has touched countless lives, leaving a profound impact on all who encounter him. Embracing his new reality, Kevin found solace in his faith and the love of his family. Their unwavering support and his strong belief in the goodness of people have helped him navigate life's challenges with grace. Today, Kevin is a beacon of hope and encouragement, always acknowledging the role his faith and family have played in his journey. As a coach, Kevin's unique perspective helps him to empower his clients to overcome their own challenges and achieve their fullest potential. With a knack for forging deep connections and fostering transformative growth, he has made a lasting impression in the personal development world. Grit, Grace, & Inspiration, Kevin's podcast, is a treasure trove of motivation and personal growth. Through captivating interviews and heartfelt discussions, he shares valuable insights on resilience, perseverance, and embracing the beauty of life's challenges. Kevin's dedication to making a positive impact and uplifting others in the face of adversity truly embodies the spirit of a true leader. With his inspiring story and contagious optimism, Kevin Lowe is redefining what it means to live a life well lived – one where leaving an impact and making a difference matters more than anything else.   Ways to connect with Kevin: Website: https://GritGraceInspiration.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grit-grace-inspiration-keeping-a-positive-mindset/id1511704034 Single Promo Link: (1 Page with links to my podcast on all platforms) http://ListenAnywhere.today     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes     Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our r