Podcasts about communication consultant

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) is a Creativity and Communication Consultant, and an Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private psychotherapy practice working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in Santa Monica, California. He is the Executive Director of the OpenMind® Training Institute, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in core creativity, mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness meditation. For more than forty-four years, Alexander has been a trainer of healthcare professionals in North America, as well as in Europe, Russia, Japan, China, and Australia. As a Mindfulness and Zen Buddhist practitioner, he specializes in utilizing mindfulness meditation in his professional and corporate work to help people transform their lives by accessing the mind states that open the portal to their core creativity.Alexander is a leading pioneer in the fields of Mindfulness Based Mind-Body Therapies, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ericksonian Mind-Body Therapies, Holistic Psychology, and Integrative and Behavioral Medicine. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA Departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment, a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine Universities. Alexander received his SEP Certificate from the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute in Boulder Colorado. He consulted with and received treatment from Milton H Erickson MD. He personally trained with Ernest Rossi and Steven Gilligan in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy as well as with Daniel P. Brown of the Harvard Medical Cambridge Hospital professional training's seminars in hypnosis and hypno-analysis. He trained with and was certified by the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute and with Erving and Miriam Polster PhD of the Gestalt Training Center of La Jolla. He also received training and supervision in Contemporary Gestalt and Family Therapies, Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology, Relational and Object Relations Therapies.Dr. Ronald Alexander, PhD is a leading Creativity and Communication Coach, International Clinical Trainer, Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California. He is the originator of the OpenMind Training® Institute, a leading edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in mindfulness based mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and meditation. His unique method combines ancient wisdom teachings with Leadership Coaching and Core Creativity into a comprehensive integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program. This system combines techniques that support strategies of personal, clinical, and corporate excellence and growth.Alexander's extensive training includes core creativity, conflict management, Gestalt therapy, leadership and organizational development, and vision and strategic planning. He pioneered the early values and vision-based models for current day leadership and professional coaching. He specializes in Mind-Body therapies and has been studying and teaching Mindfulness Meditation, Creative Visualization and Transpersonal Psychology since 1970. Alexander studied with and was influenced by noted leaders in these fields such as Ken Blanchard, Werner Erhard, Warren Bennis, Umberto Materana and Francesco Variela, and was one of the grandfathers of coaching along with Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield.To learn more about Dr. Ron and his work, visithttps://ronaldalexander.com

Why should companies encourage employees to bulid theitr personal brands? Rana Albasri Mouawad shares her advice. A Brand & Communication Consultant, Specializng in Public Relations, Content Marketing and a Personal Branding Expert. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad https://everything-personal-brand.kit.com/cd9611cb63Find other Café & Networking Business Expert Interviews

Sarah Wood, Founder and Chief Communication Consultant at Sarah Wood Communication, offers valuable insights on how organizations can utilize their owned channels. She emphasizes the importance of repurposing content while ensuring consistency and communication. Sarah also advises businesses not to underestimate the power of public relations in helping them achieve their vision.

Hello to you listening in Ooltewah, Tennessee!Ooltewah Pronunciation GuideComing to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me you look at the analytics, downloads, and likes; they're not measuring up to what you would like. You ask yourself: What am I doing wrong? What am I missing? Why am I even bothering? What is the point of all this effort? Who really cares?    I can tell you this about that. The other day at a very low moment I received a message from a woman I didn't know who had listened to a 60 Seconds episode and wrote to thank me being a divine messenger who somehow knew what she needed to hear in that moment. She received a much-needed spiritual reflection. And I received a reason to persevere.My stories may not hold all the answers; nor are they intended to. This much I can say: we all struggle. Our struggles are strikingly similar even though we might think we are so very different. I've been down with struggles before and I'll be there again. But I know the way out. Meanwhile, I'm here to offer what I can so that one way or another we will continue to find our way out.Practical Tip: Keep on! because someone is waiting for you and your good words. You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer ✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult ✓ Stay current with Diane on LinkedIn, as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack,  and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening around the world!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey with your host Diane Wyzga.About a block from my library or a block from the post office sits a house on a corner. Propped against this house I saw a very large sheet of plywood. Spray-painted in large black letters were these words: Kill Lawyers - Not Cops.    Putting aside any 1st Amendment right of free speech arguments or the notion that many folks don't like lawyers until they need one, I have a question: When and how did we arrive at this place? When and how did we depart from human kindness, civility, and manners?  I've often spoken to the man who lives in this house as I passed by on my walk, admired his sunflowers, commented on the weather. I plan to walk up to his door and say, “I am a lawyer. Are you going to kill me? Or do you wish someone would?” I want to hear how he arrived at his position. And then perhaps get him to put away his larger-than-life sign before some yahoo takes him up on the dare.Practical Tip: Be of speech a little more careful than anything else today, tomorrow, and forever.  You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult ✓ Stay current with Diane on LinkedIn, as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack,  and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.Music: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Dhaka, Bangladesh!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As both lawyer and litigation consultant I've been faced with discerning the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Welcome back for the Conclusion of our story [The Fire on the Mountain] about a rich man, a servant and a bet which came to mind after reading this line by Henrik Ibsen: “A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.” Story Prompt: When in your life have you struggled with the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law? How did you resolve the struggle? Write that story!  Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer ✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack, LinkedIn and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening in Jaipur, India!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As both lawyer and litigation consultant I've been faced with discerning the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Welcome to Part 1 of a story [The Fire on the Mountain] I've often told about a rich man, a servant and a bet, a story which came to mind after reading this line by Henrik Ibsen: “A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.” We've come to the end of Part 1. Please join us tomorrow for the conclusion of the story and your very own Story Prompt!You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer ✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack, LinkedIn and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) is a Creativity and Communication Consultant, and an Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private psychotherapy practice working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in Santa Monica, California. He is the Executive Director of the OpenMind® Training Institute, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in core creativity, mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness meditation. For more than forty-four years, Alexander has been a trainer of healthcare professionals in North America, as well as in Europe, Russia, Japan, China, and Australia. As a Mindfulness and Zen Buddhist practitioner, he specializes in utilizing mindfulness meditation in his professional and corporate work to help people transform their lives by accessing the mind states that open the portal to their core creativity.Alexander is a leading pioneer in the fields of Mindfulness Based Mind-Body Therapies, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ericksonian Mind-Body Therapies, Holistic Psychology, and Integrative and Behavioral Medicine. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA Departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment, a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine Universities. Alexander received his SEP Certificate from the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute in Boulder Colorado. He consulted with and received treatment from Milton H Erickson MD. He personally trained with Ernest Rossi and Steven Gilligan in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy as well as with Daniel P. Brown of the Harvard Medical Cambridge Hospital professional training's seminars in hypnosis and hypno-analysis. He trained with and was certified by the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute and with Erving and Miriam Polster PhD of the Gestalt Training Center of La Jolla. He also received training and supervision in Contemporary Gestalt and Family Therapies, Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology, Relational and Object Relations Therapies.Dr. Ronald Alexander, PhD is a leading Creativity and Communication Coach, International Clinical Trainer, Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California. He is the originator of the OpenMind Training® Institute, a leading edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in mindfulness based mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and meditation. His unique method combines ancient wisdom teachings with Leadership Coaching and Core Creativity into a comprehensive integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program. This system combines techniques that support strategies of personal, clinical, and corporate excellence and growth.Alexander's extensive training includes core creativity, conflict management, Gestalt therapy, leadership and organizational development, and vision and strategic planning. He pioneered the early values and vision-based models for current day leadership and professional coaching. He specializes in Mind-Body therapies and has been studying and teaching Mindfulness Meditation, Creative Visualization and Transpersonal Psychology since 1970. Alexander studied with and was influenced by noted leaders in these fields such as Ken Blanchard, Werner Erhard, Warren Bennis, Umberto Materana and Francesco Variela, and was one of the grandfathers of coaching along with Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield.To learn more about Dr. Ron and his work, visithttps://ronaldalexander.com

Hello to you listening on Orcas Island, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.I volunteer as a story docent at Admiralty Head Lighthouse. Sailing in from the Pacific Ocean through the treacherous Strait of San Juan de Fuca ship captains would look for the blazing lighthouse beacon 127 feet above Admiralty Inlet warning them to steer a hard right to starboard, avoid the cliffs, and continue safely south to Puget Sound and on into Seattle, Washington. How did the captain know he was seeing Admiralty Head Lighthouse? Each lighthouse - no matter where in the world - has its very own distinctive light pattern, or signature. Like your fingerprints. Lighthouses mark points of navigation, warn about dangerous coastlines, and guide boats into safe harbor.But no one harbor serves all boats. Different boats - different harbors. Lighthouses don't chase boats; why do you chase clients?Ask yourself: What is it only you have to offer? Who needs it and wants it? How will you attract your particular client with your own distinctive beacon of light? And, how will they know you are signaling them? Once you have your answers, you will be well on your way to business success.  Guaranteed!CTA:  If you're looking for someone to help navigate you and your message, contact me on LinkedIn or Quarter Moon Story Arts for a no-sales, complimentary consult.  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane on LinkedIn, as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack, and now on Pandora Radio! Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Ferndale, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Earlier in life I had tendencies toward behaving like a spring-butt. You know the type. The over-eager know-it-all with her hand in the air. Teacher! Teacher! I know! I know! Think Hermione Granger in the early years of Harry Potter.  Over time I learned to take to heart what my mother always said: “Just because you thought of something, Diane, doesn't mean you have to say it.” I can still hear her voice as mom continues to pull me back from “I know! I know!”  Practical Tip: Prompted by Jim Burke in a recent BizCatalyst 360 Friendship Bench discussion, I offer 3 questions that might have the same effect on you that mom's voice has on me:Does it need to be said?Does it need to be said now?Does it need to be said by me?  To be continued because .....  I still have learning and practice to do.....You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack, LinkedIn and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening in Lake Villa, Illinois!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (and a bit more) for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As the old ones say, “If we are not grateful for what we have in this present moment, what makes us think we will be happy with more?”  Maybe it's true and maybe it isn't but long ago and far away there lived a man in a small country village. He had everything he had ever asked for: friends, livelihood, wife, family - and yet and yet something was stirring in him: Looking around he asked himself, Is this all there is? Perhaps he was meant for something more. Perhaps he should go and seek it.One summer morning he left his home, carefully closed the garden gate behind him and walked away. He walked for miles and miles until he could no longer see where he had been. Night fell and he found himself deep in a dark forest. Having no other shelter he took off his shoes, spread his coat on the ground, and fell asleep against the trunk of a tree for he was very tired.Watching him sleep his angel shook her head at the folly of his adventure. But what could she do? She could turn his shoes around facing them back in the direction from which he came. And so she did.When the man awoke he pulled on his coat, put his feet into his shoes and began to walk. After many miles of walking the man began to see familiar fields, a few farmhouses, a village - all looking very much like what he had left; but how could that be? People in the village market greeted him as if he was familiar to them; but how could that be? Arriving at a cottage with a garden gate he was startled to be greeted by children and a woman as if he were their long lost father and husband; but how could that be? They welcomed him inside, took off his shoes, sat him at a table very much like one he knew, fed him food that tasted like home; but how could that be?To this very day the man lives with that family in that home in that village and wonders, if this isn't happiness, what is?  Practical Tip: As the old ones say, “If we are not grateful for what we have in this present moment, what makes us think we will be happy with more?”  60 Seconds is your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, including Android, and join us next time! You're invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as well as creativity, imagination, walking, stories, camaraderie, and so much more: Quarter Moon Story Arts✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult,✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack and on LinkedInStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening in Lake Chelan, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.  Unpacking boxes of Christmas decorations the other day I came upon a faded red folder I had first received in early December of my freshman year when I was away at college. It held faded multi-colored sheets of construction paper. On a side of each one was carefully glued the face of a re-purposed Christmas greeting card and under each card was text in mom's careful Palmer style handwriting. A poem, a quote, a few favorite remembered lines.  The cover sheet reads: “Kris Kringle Vitamins One-a-Day Brand. Take 1 while supplies last.” It was mom's way of helping me prepare for the Christmas Season so I didn't get lost in the bright lights of the HoliDazed.  This is the verse I read today:“The weakest among us has a gift, however seemingly trivial, which is peculiar to him, and which worthily used, will be a gift to his race forever.”Question: What particular gift of yours will be a gift to your race forever?   60 Seconds is your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, including Android, and join us next time! You're invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as well as creativity, imagination, walking, stories, camaraderie, and so much more: Quarter Moon Story Arts✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult,✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack and on LinkedInStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Victoria Patenaude, a North American Voice and Communication Consultant, shares her insights on how to overcome communication fears, especially for native and non-native English speakers in a cross-cultural setting. We discuss the nervous system's role in communication, the challenges of American English, and practical strategies to reduce fear in high-stakes situations. Victoria also shares her proprietary auditory recalibration framework designed to improve language fluency. We explore techniques to build confidence, align voice with messaging, and address limiting beliefs. This episode is packed with actionable advice for anyone looking to improve their communication skills in a multicultural environment.

Hello to you listening in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Walking home from a trip to the library and post office the other day in the damp chill that has settled on Whidbey Island I heard them before I saw them. Looking up I could make out two bald eagles hunting over Holmes Harbor. Like a child I held steady in silent witness and thought of this from Kenneth Grahame:      “All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.” ~ Kenneth GrahameIf you are curious and would like to learn more about the bald eagle, click HERE to watch 11 minutes on the Nature Here TV show featuring bald eagles wintering in Oregon and Washington.Question: What has prompted you to be still, live breathless and wonder?You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack and on LinkedInStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

This week we had the wonderful pleasure of catching up with one of our very own alumni! Rachael Vorwerk studied science communication with us many years ago and has gone on to forge an incredible career in the field. Rachael is a science communicator and freelance consultant who has been published in The Conversation, Cosmos Magazine and Eingana. She has helped scientists to share their research in BBC World News, The Independent, ABC and The Age, among others.  Currently Rachael works at RMIT University as the Science Communication, Education and Outreach Manager at a 7-year Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence, the biggest research funding scheme available in Australia. She works with a group of around 50 researchers spanning PhD students through to Distinguished Professors – and helps the team to make their research more accessible to broader audiences. You can follow Rachael and learn more about her work here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/rachael-vorwerk https://twitter.com/rachael_vorwerk Here's how a TV series inspired the KeepCup revolution. What's next in the war on waste? What role does Entertainment-Education play in the adoption and maintenance of sustainable behaviours: a case study of reusable coffee cups in millennials https://www.combs.org.au/ (The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS); AKA the 7-year Research Centre where Rachael is currently working) https://climatethrive.com.au/  (Climate Thrive, the company Rachael co-founded)

As Unstoppable Mindset regular listeners know I have been a keynote public speaker for 22 and a half years. I love it when I get to have a conversation with coaches and experts whose specialty is to help all of us communicate and converse better. Tina Bakehouse, our guest this time, takes communication coaching to a whole new level. As she says, her process is a holistic one.   Even as a child in rural Iowa Tina liked to perform and tell stories. As she grew she sharpened her skills. She has received two bachelors degrees and a Master's degree as well. All are in one way or another concerned with communications and performing.   Tina brings her knowledge of the theater and on-stage performing to her work helping leaders and others to learn how better to connect with their colleagues and others around them. We talk a great deal about good and effective communications. Lots of good advice and many good suggestions and ideas will be found in our episode this time. Tina offers concepts that can help anyone wishing to communicate and connect better with those around them.   About the Guest:   Protecting audiences from boring speakers and speeches, Tina Bakehouse has started her own company, Tina B LLC, to provide holistic communication consulting and coaching to help heart-centered leaders and organizations internationally and nationally to communicate more effectively. Tina is a published author of the book Discovering Our Magnetic Speaker Within.  With more than 20 years of teaching communication and theatre (10 years as an instructor at Creighton University), a former Walt Disney Cast Member, Leadership Iowa participant, and TEDx speaker and coach, Tina is passionate about educating others to become more self-aware and enhance their authentic speaker style through transformational workshops in improvisation, storytelling, temperament, and communication.  After earning two BAs from the University of Northern Iowa, one in communication studies and psychology, and the second in theatre and English teaching, she completed a master's degree in communication studies from the University of Nebraska-Omaha along with certificates in Advanced Professional Writing, Keirsey's Temperament theory, Holistic Coaching, and four levels of improvisation training.  Her past positions have included Malvern Bank's Chief Creative Officer, assisting with community development and coordinating financial literacy and educational opportunities for Mills County and Golden Hills RC & D as Outreach & Communication Coordinator, promoting the arts and local foods in southwest Iowa. Tina has performed and coordinated multiple storytelling shows in southwest Iowa, including two teen shows.  She continues to use her creativity, leadership, and passion for the arts to help people communicate effectively and solve problems. Tina lives at Maple Edge Farm, a 150-year old family farm in southwest Iowa, with her husband Jon and son Anderson and her beloved dog Shyla.    Protecting audiences from boring speakers and speeches, Tina B. has more than 20 years of teaching communication and theatre (10 years at Creighton University), a former Disney Cast Member, Leadership Iowa participant, and TEDx speaker and coach, Tina is passionate about others becoming more self-aware and enhancing their speaker style through transformational workshops in improvisation, storytelling, temperament, and communication including clients Practical Farmers of Iowa, First National Bank, FEDx, Children's Hospital, and many more. She's earned 2 BAs from the UNI in communication studies and psychology and theatre and English teaching and a master's degree in communication studies from the UNOmaha. Certificates include: Advanced Professional Writing, Keirsey's Temperament theory, Holistic Coaching, 4 Levels of Improvisation. Tina has published a book with Manuscripts Publishing: Discovering Our Magnetic Speaker Within with Manuscripts Publishing. Her past positions have included Malvern Bank's Chief Creative Officer, Golden Hills RC&D, and Omaha Steaks.   Ways to connect with Tina:   Website: https://www.tinabakehouse.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinabakehouse/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinaB.LLC Youtube channel: https://www.facebook.com/TinaB.LLC     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 subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   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 and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset, where inclusion diversity and the unexpected meet. You've heard that before, but the unexpected is what's the most fun about this podcast, because it has everything to do with anything except inclusion and diversity. So we get to do that today. Anyway. I'm really glad you're here, and really appreciate you taking the time. Tina Bakehouse is our guest today, and Tina, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Tina Bakehouse ** 01:49 Well, Michael, thank you so much for having me here.   Michael Hingson ** 01:51 Now, I was reading Tina's bio, and I don't want to give too much away, because it'll be fun to talk about all of it, but one of the things that she starts her bio by saying is that she's involved in protecting audiences from boring speakers and speeches. And I'm really anxious to talk about that. I have heard some very boring speeches in my time. Oh, I don't even dare mention names, but I've heard some speeches that were really boring, which is which is no fun. But let's start this way. I love to begin by asking if you could tell us kind of about the early Tina growing up and all that sort of stuff.   Tina Bakehouse ** 02:31 Sure, Michael, I was this little farm kid who grew up in southwest Iowa, and my front porch of this farmhouse became my proscenium stage, and I loved to rope my younger brother and sister into a wide range of performances. We would do little radio talk shows on my Fisher Price, you know, tape recorder, old fashioned style with those little tapes, as well as create scripted performances for my parents' anniversary every year, do dinner theaters and things like that. And I just found this love for the spoken word and for performance. And as I evolved and grew into a young teen, I was part of speech competitions as well as community theater, did the high school musicals and all kinds of experiences of that nature, and went to college and pursued a communication studies and psychology degree. And during that time, I really became fascinated with the idea of, how do we talk to each other, listen to each other, show up in various contexts to connect with each other, because communication is about connection. And I really found love with tapping into learning more about how people work, non verbally, as well as verbally and what really hooks people, because as a child, I loved a great story. I was a humongous fan of Jim Henson and the Muppets, and I always was fascinated how they created story on The Muppet Show and entertain in such a fun, creative way. And that's the power of our voices, is that we can draw people in, and we can bring them to their feet and inspire, motivate action, or we can connect with one another, and in a way, that's a beautiful dance of conversation, and that's that's what I really love doing, and what I found in my journey is guiding people on that, that path of tapping into their inner magnetism, because we all have that ability to communicate with confidence and clarity. So I love the teaching piece. Yes,   Michael Hingson ** 05:00 wow, you have said stuff that opens up so many questions, but we'll, we'll try to get to a bunch of them, but I agree with you, and communication is really all about connection, and unfortunately, it cuts both ways, where people connect and and just go by, whatever they go by, and they don't analyze, or sometimes they analyze. But, you know, how do we how do we deal in our world today? You know, I don't like to talk about politics, but leaving out the politics of it, how do we deal with our world today? And I guess it goes back to the beginning of elections ever you've got politicians who say, trust me, and so many people do, and they just look at what the person or listen to what the person says, but never really analyze, and that's a dangerous thing to do. But the people are the politicians are communicating well enough that they just get people to connect. How do we deal with that? Well,   Tina Bakehouse ** 06:05 I think it goes way, way back to Aristotle's logos, pathos and ethos. In every communication context, there's an a target audience, there's an occasion for what people expect to happen, and the context affects and impacts the content. And so asking yourself in terms of logos, that's tapping into the logic of content and researching, getting that background information and being aware if you're speaking at a conference, or if you're going into a networking event. Or, if you are a politician, it's acknowledging speaking to that given geographic area, that demographic, and doing your research ahead of time. That's the logos piece. That ethos is the credibility of really getting the ethical of showing up in truth. And you mentioned, you know, saying, trust me, trust me. Well, that's on you as the speaker, to be full of integrity and to say what you mean and mean what you say, and you do so with consistency of showing up and being in your being. And the final piece is the pathos. It's that emotional appeal of really speaking from the heart. It's that balance we can get very heady. And I think in today's world, it's maybe even a challenge to tap into the heart, because we we can argue with each other, not meet each other in the middle. And I think if, if we can find, and I've found this in my experience, is do what intuitive abraham hicks talks about, and that is segment intending, and you set an intention prior to the communication and be with yourself Like have self awareness, because communication intelligence, or even conversational intelligence, comes from self awareness of Do you regulate your emotions appropriately? How do you think about the upcoming audience, the event, the content of your message? Because if you don't sit with that prior, you're going to influence and impact how the message lands, it may not land at all. And so I would say really being self aware first, because that will ground you. And once you get grounded into your own energy and awareness of the situation, then you can meet the other where they are. But you're right. We're in challenging times where we tend to have conversations with people that have the same belief system, and I've really been of a mindset in the last while, just to get curious and ask questions. I remember years ago when I was traveling in the Serengeti and had the opportunity to meet this beautiful doctor who had been practicing medicine for many, many years, and he was in his 80s and still practicing medicine, and he was from South Africa, and he would, just as this year, adite, he would share and bestow upon me so much knowledge, information and expertise. And as we were saying our goodbyes, he I asked him for advice. At the time, I was a professor at a university, I said, What should I tell my students in this communication class? What advice do you have? And he said, Tina, always be curious and always ask good questions for that's never failed me in 50 years plus of practicing medicine. So if we get compassionately curious about the other and know that they have their own experiences in story that's going to influence how our influence with how we communicate. And   Michael Hingson ** 09:48 I absolutely buy that, and I subscribe to it. It just seems to me, and I read about it often today, we have so many people who. Just seem to have lost or never had the art of conversation, and they don't want to converse. How do we deal with that?   Tina Bakehouse ** 10:09 That is a challenge, absolutely. You know, obviously we don't have control over someone else's choices, right, their behavior, and so it's meeting the audience or the other where they are. And so that could be a person who's more of a closed communicator, where they might be more focused on systems and working with things and being with things, not people, or they may have they're blocked because of some negative experience we simply don't know. Yeah, and again, it's meeting them where they are. So for example, I've encountered closed communicators before, and so I really just observe first, instead of just coming into their little bubble, non verbally, and break through that bubble. The theater person in me has learned very quickly the the pandemic gave us that six feet bubble, which I think is actually important before you break through. That is approach with compassion, because some people are not comfortable with that, and just observe and be with that person first, and maybe just ask a question and see where it lands. Tune into their nonverbal cues. Tune into their paralanguage as as their tone of voice. And if they're terse with you, it which can happen, I think it's, it's acknowledging, you know, thank you for even this time, and being you know, full of appreciation for who they are and be okay with maybe it's not the right time, and you're capitalizing on a hard time for that person. Maybe make a request, like, Hey, I'd be interested in having a conversation. Maybe it's the wrong channel, a phone call would be better. Or maybe it's just a direct exchange via email, which they would be more comfortable with in terms of they just have severe social anxiety. So it's first, observe, listen, notice more, and meet them where they are, and get and get into being okay with that they may not want to have a conversation, and you simply can't control because all communication has a sender and receiver, and it's a two way street. And so sometimes you have to, if you're going the wrong way on a one way, you got to turn around and say, you know, thank you, and be of good peace, centered energy, and move move forward.   Michael Hingson ** 12:35 Yeah, it is. It is so difficult. I think a lot of the whole issue with the art of conversation today, especially when you're dealing with the political world and so on, is that so many of us are locked into attitudes and our own positions to the point where there's no room To discuss or to even consider giving an inch, and we really need to get away from that. It doesn't mean that we need to change our opinion, but it's really more about listening than it is about conversing absolutely   Tina Bakehouse ** 13:14 and just from from communication theory, converting someone and their belief system takes multiple multiple multiple communications, and generally that may not even their belief system. So absolutely, I think that's a great point. Michael is meeting them where they are, and being open to engaging in discourse with someone who has a very different perspective and ask those questions and listen and really listen, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 13:46 and I think that's really the issue for me personally, going back to being curious, I love to talk to people who have different viewpoints than mine, and I would hope at least when I'm conversing and talking, my goal isn't to convert. I don't think that should be my job. If, if I say something that causes somebody to think differently, that's fine, but my goal is to listen and learn and understand. And I think that's what we really need to see more in the world. And you know, some people really don't care about the facts, and it's, it's amazing, but that's not my choice.   Tina Bakehouse ** 14:28 Well, right there, there are high elaborators and low elaborators. It's the elaboration likelihood model that was created, I believe, in the 80s. And so you're high elaborators Are those individuals that really extract content and message, and they focus on content more so than the delivery style. Low elaborators Focus on delivery style. So we have more low elaborators in the United States and world, I would say that get impact. Very much tuned into how the person delivers with their tone of voice, with their charisma that draws people in. And with that being said, I think it's really crucial to be aware that, because we have this distinct way in which we choose to listen that everybody. It's so empowering if they, if we, people just want to be seen, they just want to be heard. They want to have a voice and be comprehended in a way that they are authentically who they are, not trying to be anybody else. And that could be different than you, and that's okay, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 15:37 and it, and it should be, I think it's so much fun to have conversations. As I said, I love to learn, and very frankly, that's what I get to do on all of these podcasts. And as I tell people, if I'm not learning at least as much as anybody else, I'm not doing my job very well, because I want to really learn a lot of things you you talked about the you talked about the Muppets before, and I can't help it. I'm gonna have to spring one thing, and that is, I remember the original Muppet Movie. And there was at one point when somebody, and I can't remember which Muppet it was, said something like, I am just beside myself. And this real quick. And it took me several times at watching the movie to hear the response, which was, yeah, and how did the two of you live with each other? It was just something that happened so fast that they're just so they were so and, you know, those who do it still are so creative,   Tina Bakehouse ** 16:30 absolutely and witty and timely and really just good natured, which it's refreshing,   Michael Hingson ** 16:39 and it's just so much fun,   Tina Bakehouse ** 16:41 absolutely, I mean, I was grateful, because that was my era of my childhood, to have updated movies in their in 2011 and I believe even a year or two past that, where they had actors with the Muppets again. And it was just playful and fun and delightful and physical comedy, fun, self deprecating comedy that was not, you know, hateful or mean, which was very, very refreshing.   Michael Hingson ** 17:12 No, Miss piggy's mean.   Tina Bakehouse ** 17:17 No, she's not, she's   Michael Hingson ** 17:19 not mean, she's not. Mean, do you ever watch 60 minutes?   Tina Bakehouse ** 17:24 I don't. I have not. I mean, I did years ago, every once while with my parents, but I haven't for years and years,   Michael Hingson ** 17:32 one my favorite 60 minutes of all time, and I'd love to get a copy of it. Had morally safer interviewing Miss Piggy. Oh, funny. Well, yeah, let's just say the interview really went the other way. She was just on him. It was so funny. She got him speechless. She kept calling him Morty instead of Morley, and just all sorts of it was absolutely the most hilarious Muppet, or well, our Miss Piggy thing I've ever seen, she was great. I was she   Tina Bakehouse ** 18:04 should be on 60 minutes. Yeah? They just play with language, they have fun, and they're just in the moment. They're in that improvised, fully present moment. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 18:14 well, tell me a little bit about your your thoughts about being a speaker and rescuing audiences from boring speakers and so on. What are some of the big mistakes you think that most speakers make, or that a lot of speakers may? I don't want to say most speakers. I won't be a stereotype soul, but what do you what do you think are the mistakes that speakers make that make them so boring to people?   Tina Bakehouse ** 18:41 Well, I think more times than not, we're very egocentric. We think the speech is about ourselves. And I think that that is a false, false mindset. And in the process of writing and publishing my book, discovering our magnetic speaker within I worked with and communicated with a wide range of speakers whom I actually witnessed magnetism. One keynote speaker and an actual Communication Coach mentioned, it's about serving your audience. If you show up, all about them, it's a we thing. And I, even with the title of my book, I did get some critique on Well, why don't you have discovering your magnetic speaker within as the title? Well, it's not a your thing. It's an our thing. If you, if you give a speech and no one's choosing to listen, did it ever really happen? And it depends on an audience. So I would say that that's the number one faux pas in I've been guilty occasionally This too is and I've had to shake myself out of it is okay. It's doing that audience analysis and really focusing in on what does this audience need to. Know, want to know, and what did they know already, and start with what they know and build into the new information and that foundationally assist in your preparation for a given presentation. So I would say some mistakes. The first one is that the speaker makes it about them and not a service or serving the audience. So being audience centered is essential. It's the foundation to be magnetic and to be engaging. A second mistake is that, and I'm going to go back to the self, that we tend to have an inflated view of how good we are as speakers. So that comes from lack of preparation. Some people just show up. And there are gifted speakers that have a heart centered space, and they can maybe do very light to little preparation. But by and large, people have a warped perception of how good they are. It's sort of like, how, if I were to ask you, how fast can you run a mile? It's very measurable. You can say, you know, whether or not you could do it in 10 minutes or less. But if I said, Are you an effective magnetic speaker? Well, that's very abstract. So we we really and I even think audiences, they know it when they feel it, and feelings are so abstract. And think of all the different energies that are within and composed in an audience that, you know, everybody has different experiences, different perceptions, etc. So that's the other piece, another mistake. And finally, I would say, in addition to, you know, the audience centeredness and the the Warped perception, or unclear perception of our abilities, is, again, a big mistake, is not being flexible in the moment and being aware of, well, if, especially when you're facilitating a workshop, I really tune into what does the audience need in this moment? And so I have a foundational, prepared, two hour workshop, but it looks feels differently for each given audience because of what I get from them. It's it's like a tennis match, it's a back and forth dance, and so being flexible and even being able to refer to a previous speaker, if you're a keynote speaker in a given conference and you've heard the other speakers, I think that that can really impact and it's engaging with story and balancing that with data. So that's the biggest one, is think about the audience. Think about the self, and think about the content that you embed, the story,   Michael Hingson ** 22:49 one of the well, when I, when I give a speech and and I've done certainly, bunches of them, and I can tell the same story. People always want to hear about the World Trade Center. But what happens is I believe that I don't talk to an audience ever. I believe I talk with an audience. I think that's extremely important, and when I am giving a speech, I do know that there are certain things that I can say that I've learned to believe should probably get specific kinds of reactions from the audience, and when I say a particular thing, I can tell whether I'm connecting with the audience or Not, and I have absolutely changed on the fly. But again, I can tell the same story, but the intonations and other aspects of it may be totally different for one audience from another or over another, and I think that's extremely important, because my job is to connect with the audience. And you're right. I want to really understand them, know what they want, know what they need. I love whenever I'm going to speak somewhere is to go and hear other speakers who speak before me. I don't mind doing the opening speech, and I've done that before, but I love to speak later, because I get to learn more about the audiences and learn so much from them. But I do believe that it's all about talking with the audience. They have to be part of it.   Tina Bakehouse ** 24:30 Oh, absolutely, I love that you bring that up. In fact, I've, I've said that to so many clients. Do you want to be a presenter or a communicator so you can either present at your audience, which is very performative to your audience, which is more presentation, or with them, which is what much more of a conversation. And honestly, I think when you frame it that way, it does take the load off your shoulders of that anxiety and apprehension that we tend. To put on public speaking, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 25:02 and, and you're absolutely right, when, when I discovered doing it that way did so much more to connect with the audiences. You're right. It absolutely took a lot of the pressure off, and it made the speech more fun for me, and making it more fun for me made it more fun for the audience as well. Oh,   Tina Bakehouse ** 25:27 they love seeing you have fun. In fact, they're they're having fun right right alongside you.   Michael Hingson ** 25:32 Yeah. And sometimes, in the middle of a speech where I'm supposed to be doing a speech, I'll ask questions.   Tina Bakehouse ** 25:38 Oh, yes, rhetorical question. That's a great not   Michael Hingson ** 25:42 even rhetorical. I want them to answer. Wait to get answers, which is a lot of fun, and then I incorporate that into what I'm doing. And it's so much fun to do. But again, it's it's involving them. I don't necessarily do a lot of that, but I do some of that, and it depends on the audience. Sometimes I will try to draw them out more than at other times. I learned when I was doing professional sales that the best salespeople are really teachers, and they're also the best learners, and what they should do is never ask a closed ended like yes or no question, but always ask open ended questions in order to learn more about what the audience or the the customer needs, and that is so important to be able to do, and it is just as true when you're dealing with speaking to an audience,   Tina Bakehouse ** 26:35 absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, that's   Michael Hingson ** 26:39 so much and it's so much fun.   Tina Bakehouse ** 26:41 Yes, it is. When   Michael Hingson ** 26:43 did you publish your book?   Tina Bakehouse ** 26:45 Well, I just published October of 2023, with manuscript publishing. So it's pretty fresh, hot off the press. And I, prior to that, worked with Georgetown University in their book creators group and got accepted into their publishing program with their manuscript publishing, and then this just yesterday, I did my rerecords for my audiobook with my producer and updated the manuscript. So that's on its way to be potentially up and running late spring, early summer. So that's exciting.   Michael Hingson ** 27:17 That will be great. Yes, I will. I will want to read that when it comes out in in a readable form.   Tina Bakehouse ** 27:25 Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, the the hard I have a hardcover, I have an ebook, I have a paperback, and then I'll have audio, so four different styles and trying to meet all those different learners in the way they prefer to download information. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 27:43 So how does your temperament impact your communication with other people?   Tina Bakehouse ** 27:50 Temperament is essential. It's part of the journey of awareness. I'm certified in Keirsey Temperament, and what I found in that journey of learning more and more about his work. And Kirsi David kirsiza was a social psychologist that did a lot of work, building off of what we know as Myers Briggs psychological insight of the self, and he did more listening and observing and noted that who we are is about 50 ish percent, just in our DNA makeup, that it just That's who we are, and the other part is the environment. So our personality is built with this equation of temperament, which is your natural born in inclinations, your DNA, to use words, behave, work, communicate and lead in a certain way, and then the environment or character in terms of what you are nurtured, the type of people you were around, the experiences that you've had that definitely impact who you are, temperament, I have found has been a beautiful insight and tool, not just for myself as a communicator, but to draw out of my clients the best, most magnetic communicator that they can be. So it's first acknowledging what is their core value, because they speak to that and when you are aware that you're more of a random communicator than a sequential one, that is helpful in team meetings, because as a random and I'm very much a random creative, I can drive a very logical, sequential meeting facilitator or person, frankly frustrated, and I found that I have to really negotiate and navigate those situations, and being flexible with my style. Sequential takes me extra work, but it makes sense when you speak, you need a sequence, a beginning, a middle and an. End, and I have to work extra hard because I have these random squirrel, squirrel, squirrel thoughts and acknowledge that moments of that are okay, but if I did that all the time, people would struggle being able to follow the message, particularly when people Yeah, yes. So that's an important piece, the other part of your temperament that I believe is very helpful to be aware of, is your propensity to use abstract and have a preference for abstract words or concrete, and we use both as human beings. But if I'm much more, love philosophies, love the abstracts and using metaphor and analogy. But I know if I sat in that space all the time, and I wouldn't reach 90% of the audience, which are much more preference preference to concrete and so it's it's having the sensory details and all of that as well. So that self awareness is huge. It also helps them. Once you're aware of your own core value and how that impacts how you communicate. It's then seeing the other three with clarity, and when you are able to be aware of, oh, that some people really have a various core value, I need to there's some people in the audience that really value just having fun, whereas others want to have more of the knowledge and the credibility, and they value that much more. So you want to balance those out. If you have too much knowledge and data, that's going to be heavy on the scale and and go over the audience's heads, but if you're all about the fun and have no depth, that, again, lacks balance. So temperament, really, I think, supports your influence as a persuasive communicator, because your audience has two choices, to tune you out or choose to listen. Yeah. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 31:57 and as, as I said earlier, one of the things that that I work hard at is knowing how my audience is accepting what I say by different phrases that I might use, that I've learned get a specific kind of reaction, and if I don't get it, then I'm clearly not doing something right, and I have to work on it. But I also agree that it it really varies from audience to audience. What's the audience looking for, and how does the audience feel? And on one day, an audience may go one way and and the same group of people may react differently. Another time,   Tina Bakehouse ** 32:36 Oh, absolutely. I mean, it could be time of day you're presenting. It could be something that's going on the morale of the organization, if you're doing a corporate presentation and they just got some bad news or something, didn't you know land Well, absolutely, that's a great point.   Michael Hingson ** 32:51 Well, I also think that there, there are different kinds of techniques that speakers can use. One of the things that frustrates me is going into a speech, listening to a speech, where really what they're doing is projecting a PowerPoint on a screen and just reading the PowerPoint, yeah, where? Where is the real value in that?   Tina Bakehouse ** 33:18 Right? And death by PowerPoint, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 33:22 and I see it way too often. Oh, absolutely.   Tina Bakehouse ** 33:26 And I think what's really important is using the different learning styles and embedding that throughout your talk, if you're doing a formal keynote workshop, etc, and being aware that you tend to favor your own learning style. I'm very much an audible learner. That includes stories. I love listening to podcasts. I love analogies. I love puns and alliteration, all of that that's beautiful, but if I only do that, I'm really missing out on the visual learners who do appreciate a picture, a quick video clip, maybe a prop, etc. And the kinesthetic learners who love movement like buy a show of hands or what word comes to mind and you have them yell something out or talk to your partner about that's really helpful, of balancing those different styles as well as the written form to reflect on the content of your message. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 34:25 I think one of the advantages potentially I have as a speaker is compared to most people, I'm different. How often do they hear a blind speaker? And the advantage of that is that I do get to study audiences, and I've been to a couple of places where, as it turns out, they were very uncomfortable with a person who was blind speaking, and my job was to work to get a more favorable reaction by the end. And there's one. Time that I didn't, and it turns out it was a very elderly group, and most of them, for whatever reason, weren't even really hearing what I had to say. But I didn't find that out till later. Oh,   Tina Bakehouse ** 35:10 sure, which is no fun. You add, yeah, that would be a challenge. I I would say, I'd be curious, Michael, if you can really tune into energy, because you don't, you don't get to see nonverbal cues. I would love to hear your perspective on the how do you read an audience in your world?   Michael Hingson ** 35:30 So I think that when when dealing with an audience, a cue may not be verbal, but there are a lot of other ways to tell what's going on. How fidgety is the audience, what kinds of background noises Do I hear or don't hear at one point, usually when I'm telling the world trade center story, I talk about the fact that we were on the 30th floor and firefighters were coming up the stairs, and the first one stops right in front of me, and he and he says, you know, are you? What are you? Okay? And I say, Sure. And he says, we're going to send somebody down the stairs with you to make sure you get out. Of course, I have to imitate his New York accent. So it's, we're going to send somebody down the stairs which you to make sure you get out. And I go, which, W, i t y, a witcha and and I say, Look, I don't need any assistance. I'm okay. I came down from the 78th floor. I really can. Can do just fine. And we go over it a little bit. And finally, I say, Look, I got my guide dog here. And he goes, Oh, what a nice dog. And he pets the dog without asking, and I say to the audience, so let me tell you, unlike what the firefighter did, don't ever pet a dog without asking, because the dog is in harness. They're working. So I got to sneak that lesson in. But anyway, then i i finally say, I've got a colleague here who can see and so the guy lets me go without needing to escort me down the stairs. And I explained why I didn't want his assistance, or anyone's assistance, for a lot of reasons. They don't know how to walkside a guy with a blind person, which is a problem. But also, I didn't need them to take someone out of their position, because they're all a big team, and they're going up to fight whatever's going on, and they didn't need to help me go down the stairs. So we finally get beyond that, and this is what I'm leading up to. And the last thing that the firefighter does as he's leaving is he pets Rozelle, my guide dog, and Roselle gives him some kisses, and then I say to the audience, and that may very well have been the last unconditional love that he ever got in his life. And that reaction is what I'm waiting to see, whether it's an intake of breath, whether people just are fidgeting, or whether the audience goes silent. And so there are a lot of ways to get a reaction at various times when I am speaking, or any blind person is speaking, if they learn how to listen for them and learn how to work at it where there is a lot more audio or auditory information available, if you know what to Listen for. So yeah, there are times that it could be a problem, or I'm doing a speech, and I hear every so often, people getting up and leaving and maybe going to the restroom and maybe coming back or not. And again, there are just so many different kinds of aspects that I can use in terms of my delivery and so on to gage how the audience is reacting to what I say and don't say, yeah.   Tina Bakehouse ** 38:46 So I'd be curious. I mean, obviously that's feedback when you're hearing their behavior. So what? When you hear the fidgeting or people leaving? Now, clearly, biological, you know, physiological function, yeah, biology, you know those, there's those moments. But how do you alter what is it that you consider or do in that moment when you're acknowledging, oh, they're fidgeting, this is clearly not landing as I thought, as it did last time in a different group.   Michael Hingson ** 39:18 So one thing I might do is immediately ask a question, like, you know, we're talking about the World Trade Center. Are you okay with me telling this story? Or I might say, you know, tell me a little bit briefly about your own experiences and observations, assuming that they're old enough to remember the World Trade Center. So there are a lot of ways then to re engage them, and I've had to do it occasionally, but when I do, it draws them right back in and again. Yeah, there are bio things that come up and so on. But when I hear a lot of it, then it means that. Different thing than if it's just like one or two people that get up and go out. The other thing that's fun to do, and I love to absorb, observe this, if a room isn't totally crowded, is looking to see if people are sitting in the front of the room, and if there are, I know, empty tables in the front of a room or empty seats. In the course of discussion, I may choose a time to say, you know, I know that the front row seats are really pretty empty. Let's take a break. Why doesn't some Why don't some of you move up to the front of the room? I might see you better, probably not. But the dog will love it. But the dog will love it. You know, again, it's all about engaging the audience, and most of the time, very frankly, I've been fortunate and don't have to do a lot of that.   Tina Bakehouse ** 40:47 Well, I love, I love the tools you you have strategies too, that when that maybe that moment happens, but I appreciate you sharing that.   Michael Hingson ** 40:55 Yeah, and it's, but it's, it's part of what needs to happen as a speaker. There are a lot of ways to get the same information and the assumption that most people have as well non verbal communications, you'll never see it. Don't think so for a minute. There are a lot of ways to get information and see how well the audience is engaged. And again, I've been really blessed that, pretty much for the most part, it works out really well.   Tina Bakehouse ** 41:24 That's wonderful. Now I have   Michael Hingson ** 41:26 given PowerPoint presentations too. When I did sales presentations, I would do PowerPoint shows. But again, what I didn't like to do, although I had a complete Braille script, my Braille script was, was pretty unique, because it had all the words that were on the slides. It also had a description, because we put it in there of what the pictures showed. But for me, it also we, we created the script that also said where on the screen the pictures would show up. So I so I could, for example, point over my shoulder and say, on the left side of your screen you'll see, or on the right side of the screen you'll see, and the value of that is, I never looked away from the audience. I didn't need to turn around to see where things were on the screen. And as I changed slides my laptop, although the lion was loud enough for me to hear, wasn't loud enough for other people to hear. I knew that the slide changed, but I could continue to, if you will, make eye contact with the audience and keep them engaged. And one day, I did one of those, and a guy comes up to me afterward. He said, I'm mad at you. We're all mad at you. And I said, why? He said, Because you gave a very good presentation. It was not boring because I don't read the script. I verbalize what's on the script and add to it. But he said, you your presentation was absolutely not boring. But the big problem was we forgot you were blind because you you never looked away from us. You kept looking at us. And so we didn't dare fall asleep like we do with most presentations. That's wonderful. And of course, my immediate reaction was, well, it was okay if you had fallen asleep because the dogs down here taking notes, and we would have got you anyway, but, but it's, it's all about I think you're absolutely right. It's okay to do PowerPoint presentations, PowerPoint shows, but you don't read what's on the screen. You really need to continue to be a speaker.   Tina Bakehouse ** 43:32 Well, it's called a visual aid for a reason. It's to aid the speaker, support the speaker, be secondary to the speaker. And frankly, I've when I do my TEDx Talk later this year, I have one slide I'm using, and I have a prop, and I'm just sharing information and connecting with my audience, because I feel like you have to really be intentional with how you use those slides, and they need to support your information and not be a crutch like some speakers make them be, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 44:04 usually I'll be talking with whoever's planning the show when they'll ask if they can put a prop up, a picture of the World Trade Center or a picture of my book, Thunder dog or whatever. And I'm fine for them to do that, because they'll show it on screens and all that and that, that works out perfectly well. So, you know, I'm fine with it. And I think there's there again, there's a place for props. And occasionally I will have something else, if I'm doing a talk that is going to involve technology, and a lot of times, people are curious about how I do different things, I will have something up there that I can show so that they can really see how I do the things that they do, although I do them in a different way, and that's fun, too.   Tina Bakehouse ** 44:51 It's that individualized means of being that you are owning your your your style, your authentic speaker style. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 44:59 Yeah, so I understand you lost your voice once. That must have been fun. Fun   Tina Bakehouse ** 45:05 is probably not the adjective it was. It was a unique experience. It was a surprise. I mean, imagine teaching, of all things, public speaking, and I opened my mouth in a sophomore speech class. This was years ago, and nothing comes out, not even squeak. I mean, I've had some hoarseness in the past, but this was I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. And immediately, a student assisted me, got the principal in, and I had to go home because I couldn't teach. I mean, I I finished that class and wrote things on the board, but you can't do that for eight periods in a day. Wow. And what I found during that time, when I came home and it didn't return and it didn't return, I started to panic, yeah, what is happening here? Because this is really, it's like, it's part of my business, it's part of what I do. I'm an educator. If I can't speak, that's that's going to really put a put a wrinkle in what I'm doing with my career. So I decided that I needed support and sought out a speech pathologist, and we went through breathing exercises, and she and she analyzed that I had gone through some anxiety, and it was the anxiety that really tightened up my vocal cords, because I had a very couple tough classes that were challenging And in terms of behavior. And so anxiety was really impacting. The stress was impacting that those vocal cords. So I from her, she then connected me to a larnacologist who specialized in opera singers, and he assessed my vocal cords. And looked at me and went, Uh, you have Vocal cord nodules. And I was like, Oh, no. Julie Andrews, from Sound of Music, had this very thing, and she had the surgery that permanently changed her pitch, made it lower. And he did give me two options. He said you could do the surgery and your voice could change and be lower, or it could remain the same and be more hoarse. Or you can do six weeks of silence and that's no laughing, because that's very hard on your vocal cords, which is hard for me. I'm a gut wrench like the I have a big, hearty laugh. No talking, absolutely no cheating on any of this and whispering is the worst as well. So yeah, it's the worst. So I did the six weeks of silence, and what I found during that time as I had a myriad of one sided conversations, a lot of people popped by, wanted to visit, and I would just listen. People want to be seen, heard, and share their voice, their ideas, their opinions, their stories. And I became very clear that it's all about being fully present, about letting go of what's going on in my head, noticing more of what's being said, not said, and using everything like what's going on in their world, and being impacted potentially by what the other says. Don't not coming in with my own agenda. And that was a powerful experience. And I found, as I was working on this audiobook in January of this past year that my voice was doing the same. I started to squeak a little bit because I was coming, I've been experiencing burnout from nearly a two year stint of running a business and doing this book and having intense deadlines with my publisher, and I found, oh my gosh, I need to meditate. I need to relax. No amount of warm tea, food. It's a myth. Food does not impact your vocal cords, and so it's the warm beverage, the temperature can help soothe but it's being very cognizant of your stress has a bigger impact. And I just learned so much from that experience, and then the weirdness of it happening again years later, it was like a weird parallel experience of okay, lesson learned, take care of thyself, to put forth a voice that you want people to hear for this book.   Michael Hingson ** 49:31 Years and years ago, I attended a training program. It was a one day thing by Ken Blanchard, you know, the One Minute Manager guy and several of us from my company went and he made a comment that good speakers often will drink something warm, like water with lemon and honey before doing a speech, not. Ever milk, because that's the mucus thing. But over, over the years, I developed a taste for tea, and so I have tea in the morning. I'll have a few mugs of tea in the morning, and generally not later in the day. But the warm, the warm liquid, as you say, is very soothing. It does make a difference food, nah, but the tea does help, and it's mainly that it's a warm beverage. I've never been a coffee drinker, but I've grown to like tea, so that works well,   Tina Bakehouse ** 50:33 and especially it's the temperature and the liquid to keep it moist that is helpful, more than anything. But the breathing piece is really, really influential as well, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 50:44 and it's important to do that. Well, you are a communications consultant and coach. How are you different than other people who are communications consultants and coaches? Well,   Tina Bakehouse ** 50:55 I'm a Holistic Communication Consultant coach, where I have that foundation of the more than 20 years of teaching, researching, engaging in the content area from not only the high school level, but the the as a professor at a college or institution. But then also, I come from a spiritual background, and when I work with my clients, I look at them as a soul and and really understanding the mind message mechanics and that it's really tapping into our heart, getting out of those conditioned beliefs and being the loving, wise adults that we're called to be, because that impacts the kind of message you create and then The way you impart it out into the world, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 51:43 and I think that's important. And my impression just in talking with you all this time, is that, although I think there are a lot of people who will do their best to analyze and think about a client, you approach it probably a little bit more unique way from a communication standpoint, so that there's a connection that's probably stronger or more vibrant than a lot of people would have with clients.   Tina Bakehouse ** 52:12 Well, everything is energy, and that people feel your magnetism or lack thereof, and that's why it's coming from the heart, and that will definitely be a stronger, stronger, more influential presentation.   Michael Hingson ** 52:27 So what is your business called? You said you have a business I   Tina Bakehouse ** 52:31 do. It's called Tina B LLC, and I just at the time in 2020 during the pandemic, when I'd been doing this consulting and coaching work on the side for more than a decade. I struggled with the name, and I just thought, well, use my own. And when I say, Hey, Tina, B LLC, yeah, you know me, and people have found it to be very easy to find me and in terms of what I do and how I facilitate the work that I do. It's not only through my magnetic leadership blueprint series, but also my magnetic speaking blueprint series. They're six month programs, and I love doing those individual programs to support people, guide them on their journey, and facilitate virtual and in person workshops and finally, keynotes, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 53:28 which is, which is cool, yeah,   Tina Bakehouse ** 53:30 ranging from yes and leadership within my background in improv to temperament to storytelling and magnetic communication, tell   Michael Hingson ** 53:38 me a little about improv that That must have been fun to learn to do, or how, how did all that come about?   Tina Bakehouse ** 53:45 Well, I have a theater degree, and actually, naturally, it's, it's one of the things that they throw you into to get that experience. And then as I got into my world of the adult hood, I decided my play yard is improv. It's high risk, high reward, and in terms of community theater, I just didn't have the time commitment that that requires. So I still take improv classes. It's my beautiful way of laughing and learning, and it's all about Yes, and which means accept the other in the moment, as it occurs, and add something to it. And I found that this has made such a huge impact, not only on my life, personally, with my relationships, but also in my work life as well.   Michael Hingson ** 54:34 Good to be flexible.   Tina Bakehouse ** 54:35 It is absolutely it's making your partner look good. It's all about that creative piece, the innovation working the brain in such a way that you align with your heart, being in the moment and and tapping into that is just a beautiful experience.   Michael Hingson ** 54:55 Well, you know, one of the things that I'm a little curious about, going back to your business a little bit, is you're. In rural Iowa. How is it doing a business from rural Iowa, Iowa, especially when you have to travel and all that. Where's the nearest airport?   Tina Bakehouse ** 55:07 The nearest airport is Omaha, Nebraska, about 45 minutes away. And really, I'm lucky that we have this thing called technology, because this is how we're connecting zoom, Google meets all of that has been amazing to expand my business nationally and internationally and to feel connected during the pandemic. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 55:25 Well, Omaha is only 45 minutes away, and that's a fairly good sized airport, so that's pretty convenient when you have to travel   Tina Bakehouse ** 55:32 absolutely, absolutely so.   Michael Hingson ** 55:37 And I agree with you. I'm not in a rural area, definitely a suburban area. Victorville is about 8085, miles northeast of Los Angeles, and we're about 40 miles or so from the nearest airport, about 45 to 50 minutes from ontario california airport. But again, figured that out early, and it's a lot easier to go to Ontario airport than going all the way down to Los Angeles to LAX. So   Tina Bakehouse ** 56:06 that works. It absolutely works. Yeah, and,   Michael Hingson ** 56:10 and there's a shuttle service up here so I can travel. But also, zoom works well. Now doing keynotes for me with Zoom isn't as easy, because I don't always get the same kind of ability to distinguish audience reactions, because it's a lot quieter, of course, so that's a little bit more of a challenge.   Tina Bakehouse ** 56:32 Oh, absolutely, you don't get that feedback,   Michael Hingson ** 56:37 no. So it is something to, you know, to deal with.   Tina Bakehouse ** 56:43 Yes, it is. And so I think it's great that you challenge yourself and put yourself out there in that way. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 56:48 yeah. And I have no problem doing zoom and all that as well. Well, you clearly like to storytell, and I know you get a lot of that from doing theater and so on. Tell me a little bit about telling stories.   Tina Bakehouse ** 57:03 Well, telling stories is just been a part of my my day to day. Being as an oldest of three, I supported my sister learning how to read because I loved a good book like Nancy, Drew books and loved to embody characters by creating, and I found that in my experience, that stories really connect our our ways of being within ourselves and making sense of the world, but with others, because they have high stakes, it's a shared experience that really draws people in, whether you're entertaining at a party or you are presenting formally and everything in between, even facilitating a meeting with your team. And so I've I love anything from a fun story of watching TED lasso, which talk about rich, great characters, and then having that shared experience with my family, to talk about it afterwards, to when I sit down with a great book, whether it's a children's book, or a non fiction or fiction text, and really put myself into the story and learn from that main character, the protagonist to embodying that practice in how I market my business naturally, and how I connect with other people. So it's, it's imperative. I feel like it's, it's part of human nature, because our brains are wired for story, and when we hear a great story, it literally that oxytocin, that that hormone that really supports us wanting to help other people, increases when they tell when we tell stories, which to me, that makes it such a powerful, persuasive tool   Michael Hingson ** 58:56 and nothing like a good story To make life a lot more fun.   Tina Bakehouse ** 58:59 Totally, absolutely, well.   Michael Hingson ** 59:03 As we wrap up, I'd love your thoughts on what you might say to somebody who wants to be a speaker, what are some basic kinds of advice that you would give someone who's looking to speak or to to to involve themselves with other people like that,   Tina Bakehouse ** 59:22 I would say three tips. The first is to analyze, with authenticity, step back and be aware of where does speaking play in your business, in your personal and professional and life in general, and where are you? Where do you want to go, and what is your speaker style? Are you at a level that you're happy with, or do you want to expand and grow? So be be in that analysis phase of, where am I? Where do I want to go? And analyze that very honestly. Second, it's craft your content. In a clear, powerful, purposeful way. Every single speech that I've seen that I've been moved, it's clear that the it moved and mattered to the speaker. So your passion leads your communication. Don't talk about something you don't care about, and put yourself out there in a way that is meaningful and true. My spouse is a farmer. He cares about soil health. That's his mantra, his it's his North Star. So he goes on panels and speaks at conferences about his practices to add diversity the soil. Speak the truth and take the time to prepare. The last is you can perfect your performance or get it to a way that you feel you're anchoring in your confidence by practicing frequently, having a speaker ritual, tapping into those vocal and physical mechanics and eliciting the support of a guide, whether it's a style that you need Real help in terms of crafting the message, which I do that kind of work, or it's getting out of your head because you're in your own way, which is more mindset and heart centered means of being I do that work, or it's just, I know that I've got a great speech, I just can't deliver it. My voice is shaking, or my body gets stiff. That's the mechanics. So eliciting that help from someone who knows what they're talking about can really make an impact and get you there faster. So when you put in the reps, just like if you the Super Bowl was not too long ago, coaches make a difference. They readjust at that, at that, you know, halftime spot, and coaches get you there faster, but it's finding the right support if you are wanting to expand and up level your speaker style, right?   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:48 There's never anything wrong with having a coach and someone to advise and help you and look at what you do objectively, and who's going to be honest back with you,   Tina Bakehouse ** 1:01:57 well, right? And I, I've elicited the help of coaches for my business and for and feedback and support with my presentations as well, because I know I don't know all and I never will. I'm always like you, Michael, learning, growing, stretching, it's a lot more fun. It is a lot more fun. Totally agree. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:17 if people want to reach out to you and maybe talk about you being their coach and all that. How do they do that?   Tina Bakehouse ** 1:02:22 They can reach out to me on my website@tinabakehouse.com, that's Tina T, I n, a, bakehouse B, as in boy, a, k, e, house as in casa.com. And you can certainly find my book. Is there? Resources, videos, my blog, I write a couple of months to support you and guide you in the power of magnetic communications, storytelling strategies and more.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:52 Well, Tina, thank you for being here on unstoppable mindset. Clearly, you have one, an unstoppable mindset that is. And I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to spend a bunch of time and talk about speaking. It's one of my favorite subjects, because I learn every time I get to talk about it, which is, of course, for me, the whole point,   Tina Bakehouse ** 1:03:14 and I learned from you as well. It's a beautiful connection in that regard. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:18 we'll have to do more of this absolutely. Well. I want to thank you again, and I want to thank all of you, wherever you are, for listening to us and I guess watching us today, please give us a five star rating wherever you're encountering our podcast. We really appreciate the ratings, especially those five star ones. But if you have any thoughts I'd love to hear from you, feel free to email me. You can reach me at Michael 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. That's always a great place to go. He said, with a very prejudiced idea, you can go to www.michaelhingson.com/podcast Michael Hinkson is, m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n, so Michael hinkson.com/podcast love again to hear your thoughts and for all of you and Tina, if you know of anyone else who ought to come on unstoppable mindset, or you think they ought to, I buy it. I'd love to hear from you with any recommendations and introductions that anybody wants to provide. So again, I want to thank you, Tina, for being here and making this happen. This was a lot of fun, and I really appreciate your time.   Tina Bakehouse ** 1:04:32 I appreciate you as well. Thank you for the invitation. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:40 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. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Hello to you listening in Kirkland, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.My Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is never far from my thoughts. Folks ask me all the time about the courage it took to walk 500 miles across Spain. But the courage was preceded by curiosity: What's out there? Who might I meet? How will I manage? Do I have what it takes? What if I quit?  Following are some good words to help you step into the adventure that's waiting for you:“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” [A.A. Milne]“One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.” [Andre Gide]“Within all of us is a varying amount of space lint and star dust, the residue from our creation. Most are too busy to notice it, and it is stronger in some than others. It is strongest in those of us who fly and is responsible for an unconscious, subtle desire to slip into some wings and try for the elusive boundaries of our origin.” [ K.O. Eckland]Question: What are you curious to know? What courage will it take? What are you waiting for? You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult,✓ Stay current with Diane on as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack and on LinkedInStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening in Slatina, Romania!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.  I was asked the other day if Quarter Moon Story Arts (my consulting practice) and Stories From Women Who Walk (this podcast) are the end of the road for me. When might I begin to wrap things up?In the immortal words of Al Pacino's Academy Award winning character, Lt. Col. Frank Slade: “I'm just getting warmed up!” This much I know: some folks spend the first half of their lives building a life and the second half trying to keep it from falling apart. As for me I'd like to be Under Construction when it's my time to go.Question: What about you? How are you getting warmed up for what's next in your Life?You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ Arrange your no-sales, Complimentary Coaching Consult,✓ Stay current with Diane on as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack and on LinkedInStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Hello to you listening in Port Townsend, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Admiralty Head Lighthouse harkens back to the day of sailing ships powered by wind. When the ships entered the Strait of San Juan de Fuca from the Pacific Ocean the ship captain would know to steer a hard right to starboard when he saw the blazing beacon from the Lighthouse high on a bluff 127 feet above Admiralty Inlet before continuing safely south to Puget Sound and on into Seattle. Each lighthouse - no matter where in the world - has its very own distinctive light pattern, or signature. Lighthouses mark points of navigation, warn about dangerous coastlines, and guide ships into a safe harbor.But not all harbors are created equal for all boats. Some are for deep draft vessels, others for pleasure craft, and so on. Here's the thing about a lighthouse: it doesn't run up and down the coast beckoning all boats to its harbor. It serves a specifically sized boat.Question: Lighthouses don't chase boats; why do you chase clients? What is it only you have to offer? Who needs it  and wants it? How will you attract your particular client with your very own distinctive beacon of light? And, how will they know you are signaling them?Call to Action: If this episode resonates with you and you're looking for someone to help navigate you and your message, contact me on LinkedIn or Quarter Moon Story Arts for a no-sales complimentary consult.  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn. Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

University Business Communication Lecturer and Communication Consultant and Strategist specializing in change management communication from planning to stabilization, Aryca Woodson joins us to discuss her work in strategic communication. She has led and supported transformative change initiatives using strategic storytelling in both nonprofit and global health care sectors. In response to the unrest in 2020, Aryca shifted her focus to leverage strategic storytelling and change management frameworks to address the polarization in our rapidly changing world. Whether in university classrooms or community discussions on divisive political issues, Aryca passionately believes in our shared humanity as a bridge to unity. She advocates for equipping ourselves with the right tools to foster understanding and bridge divides. Tune in for this broadcast on Wednesday, June 5 @ 6pm EST!

Hello to you listening in Flat Rock Village, North Carolina!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.A year ago I was sitting in traffic at a stop light in Oak Harbor. I remember that on the sidewalk to my right was a man, homeless by appearance, standing in the rain with his shopping cart of belongings. He held a cardboard sign: Please buy me lunch.I rolled down my window to hand him a few bills when I saw a woman get out of her car and walk toward him with a bag of food and beverage cup from the local takeout. As she approached him she smiled and asked: What is your name? She handed him the food and drink and then reached up to hug him.Two things: Anyone can give money; but when she asked him, What is your name? she recognized his humanity. When she reached up to hug him the word that came to mind was .... divine. As in Divinely ordained.Story Prompt: When has someone's gesture enabled you to be seen? How did it feel? What happened next? Write that story!Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the QMSA website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in River Forest, Illinois!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me this time of year catches you unawares. How did it get here so soon? So much to do and so little time left! How will I ever wrap up the year?My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh would point to the trees and say, “When you look at the tree during the storm you can see that the top of the tree is not solid. You can only see the tiny branches and a number of leaves on the top of the tree swaying back and forth under the effect of the wind. You have the impression that the tree is very vulnerable but if you look down to see the big branches and the trunk of the tree you see that the tree is strongly rooted in the ground. The impression that the tree is vulnerable will vanish. You see that the tree is much more solid than it looks at the top. We are like that too.”Practical Tip: When you feel agitated, vulnerable you can practice to get solid again. The stability of your body will help stabilize your mind. Sit quietly and say to yourself: Breathing in I see myself grounded; breathing out I feel solid. Keep repeating until you feel solid, grounded. Because you will. Guaranteed!  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the QMSA website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Spokane, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.“I will tell you something about stories, he saidThey aren't just entertainment.Don't be fooled.They are all we have, you see,all we have to fight offillness and death.”   ~ Leslie Marmon Silko, Haida Ceremony [The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant, p. 145]Haida NationI may be an old fashioned storyteller clinging to the oral tradition, especially when working with your narratives that function as origin stories, creation myths, messages of all kinds to be seen, heard, understood, repeated and followed, as well as cautions for the young and memories for the elders. Why do I insist on the music of the spoken word? Because that's where the magic happens: at the intersection of the story, the listener, and the teller's voice with its cadence, tone, inflection, repetition, pacing, and energy.So much gets lost in translation to the printed page. What we yearn for without even knowing it is human connection. My clients learn how to connect with their stories and with themselves to be in better service to their purpose.Question: What would you like to learn about the power of story? When you're ready I can help.  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the SOON-TO-BE-IMPROVED website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Walking home from a trip to the library and post office the other day in the damp chill that has settled on Whidbey Island I heard them before I saw them. Looking up I could make out two bald eagles hunting over Holmes Harbor. Like a child I held steady in silent witness and thought of this from Kenneth Grahame:      “All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.” ~ Kenneth GrahameIf you are curious and would like to learn more about the bald eagle, click HERE to watch 11 minutes on the Nature Here TV show featuring bald eagles wintering in Oregon and Washington.Question: What has prompted you to be still, live breathless and wonder?You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the QMSA website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Lohr am Main, Bavaria, Germany! Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Several Christmases ago my brother Paul gave me a copy of his favorite book: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.It has become my daily habit to select a page from the book to help guide me through my day.Here is one of my favorites:“Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I do,” said the boy.“You'll catch up,” said the horseYou feel it, too, don't you? That same sense that we rely on another's sturdy hand until we are ready to see and believe what they see and believe in us. We will catch up. We do catch up. And, then we can offer our sturdy hand to another. Because "Each One Lift One!" is how we roll here! CTA: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.You're invited to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts 

Hello to you listening in Wood Green, London, England!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As the story goes the likelihood of any one of us being conceived is like that of a sea turtle swimming in the ocean and rising to the surface once every one hundred years and putting her head through a loop of seaweed floating there.Whether Life is chance or destiny we come with purpose. This from Clarissa Pinkola Estes:    "We do not become healers.We came as healers. We are.Some of us are still catching up to what we are.We do not become storytellers.We came as carriers of the storieswe and our ancestors actually lived. We are.Some of us are still catching up to what we are.We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are.Some of us are still catching up to what we are.We do not become writers.. dancers.. musicians.. helpers.. peacemakers. We came as such. We are.Some of us are still catching up to what we are.We do not learn to love in this sense.We came as Love.We are Love.Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are."- A Simple Prayer for Remembering the Motherlode by Clarissa Pinkola Estes from The Contemplari manuscript ©200Question: What are you discovering about your true purpose? What you came here for and how you help others?You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

I rarely have met someone who, throughout his life, has been presented with so many challenges but always moves forward with strength, poise, and vision. Robert Schott and I first met 27 years ago when Karen and I moved to New Jersey for a job. Robert immediately took a liking to both of us as we were asked to help our church, also the church Robert and his wife Erica attended, design wheelchair access both for Karen and others. As I got to know Robert I recognized that he was quite a determined individual who worked hard to bring success to whatever endeavors he undertook.   Robert's story both in the work he has done for others as well as his own inventing mindset is well worth hearing. In fact, as you will hear, he has designed a new toy currently looking for a manufacturing home, but that already has been described as the first invention creating a new way of play for children.   If all of us ever encounter through these podcast episodes someone unstoppable it is Robert Schott. I hope his thoughts, life lessons and his enthusiastic mindset rubs off on all of us. His faith and his attitude really do show all of us that we can be more unstoppable than we think we can.     About the Guest:     Robert Schott has more than 40 years of business and employee communications design experience currently concentrated in employee benefits and retirement plans. With Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Mr. Schott specializes in customizing people engagement strategies on financial literacy and to prepare his clients' employees for their future retirement income needs. Pensions & Investments magazine recognized two of his recent projects with First Place Eddy Awards for superior achievement in Retirement Readiness and Financial Wellness communications design. Mr. Schott help similar roles at Merrill Lynch Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan/American Century Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan Investment Management, and Coopers & Lybrand Human Resources Group. Additionally, Mr. Schott founded and owns Bopt Inc., a consumer product development and sales company featuring two notable inventions, WOWindow Posters® and SprawlyWalls™. WOWindow Posters are translucent posters designed for illuminating Halloween and Christmas images in windows simply by turning on the room lights. SprawlyWalls is a build, decorate, and play system for children ages 5 to 11 to create play spaces for their dolls and action figures. The Strong National Museum of Play/Toy Hall of Fame recently included SprawlyWalls in its in-museum Play Lab. Mr. Schott is a member of the Leadership Forum Community (LFC) which convenes to explore leadership challenges, develop conscious leaders, and create solutions that result in meaningful and equitable change in organizations, education, and society. He collaborated on the concept of ‘Conscious Dialogue' presented at the LFC Summit in July 2023. Notably, in 2019 and 2021, Mr. Schott participated in America in One Room, an experiment in Deliberative Democracy designed by social scientists at Stanford University to foster civil discourse on political themes by convening over 500 USA citizens for moderated discussions. In 2021, Mr. Schott's community, Cranford New Jersey, recognized him with the annual Kindness Award for bringing joy to others through his massive annual front yard snow sculptures. In June 2023, he joined an expedition in Newfoundland Canada to search for a missing French biplane that would have beat Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for the $50k prize money had it landed in front of the Statue of Liberty coming from Paris. Mr. Schott holds a bachelor of arts with honors in communication design from Rochester Institute of Technology. He completed a Mini-MBA certification program at Rutgers, Center for Management Development. He had previously held Series 7 and 66 licenses for his financial industry work.     Ways to connect with Tony:   https://www.facebook.com/robert.schott.33/ https://www.facebook.com/SprawlyWalls/ https://www.facebook.com/WOWindows/ https://www.instagram.com/sprawlywalls/ https://www.instagram.com/shotinthedarkguy/ Twitter: @wowindows     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, Hi, and welcome once again to unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Mike Hingson. And today, I get to really have a wonderful pleasure and honor to even introduce you to someone who I've known for a long time, Robert Schott lived fairly close to us when we lived in New Jersey, we lived in Westfield, New Jersey, but we both went to the same church, which is where we met, we met the shots and others became good friends. And Robert was a very good supporter of ours, especially helping Karen because if and when we started at the church, it was not very wheelchair accessible. And there were a lot of issues to try to make it more accessible. And Robert and others were really helpful in advocating and recognizing the value of that. So he's become a great friend. He's had associations with Rochester Institute of Technology and actually helped get me to do a speech there one. So Robert and I have known each other for a long time. Gosh, if we were to really go back and count, Robert, it's since what 1996. So that is what 27 years long. I know. Welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Robert Schott ** 02:34 Well, thank you, Michael. And I appreciate the warm regard as friends that's top of mind and you create helped create a fascinating part of my life. And Erica's life, which we're grateful for. And we were sorry to see you move west. But I know that was all for good things   Michael Hingson ** 02:53 are good things. But we still get to stay in touch. And yeah, and one of these days, I hope to be able to get back to New Jersey and spend some time with all of you, which would be good. So we'll have to figure that out at some point. But for now, let's let's talk about you a little bit. Why don't you tell us a little bit about as I love to do with the deepening of these things, the the early Robert growing up and all that sort of stuff and kind of what got you to where you are at least a little bit and then we can always go back and talk more about that. But yeah, love to hear some of the early Robert stories.   Robert Schott ** 03:30 Yeah, and cut me off when we need to pivot but okay, I'm cutting you off now.   Michael Hingson ** 03:33 Thanks.   Robert Schott ** 03:36 You're funny, man. Yeah, go ahead. Well, in fact, I grew up in a town past Westfield, which was Fanwood nestled by Scotch Plains. I went to Scotch Plains Fanwood high school I was one of five children to two middle class English parents. My mom was the high school nurse where I was went to high school I had a hard time cutting class or calling out sick because she knew   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 my dad told us no anyway.   Robert Schott ** 04:05 Yeah, you know, my dad actually have pretty fascinating place to work. He was a lab technician on the brainiac floor at Bell Laboratories and Murray Hill that could go on and on about that but one little thing was the tech across the hall from him he had made the first transistor which set a whole lot of things in motion. But we we you know mom and dad were around dad would go down in the basement and do oil painting and I mentioned that for a reason I'll tell you what, we were very involved in our school and activities band, I was a big into Boy Scouts. And all along the way I would became very interested in art. And that was I mentioned that was a fine art oil painter became professional grade but he taught me how to oil paint when I was seven years old and always made sure I was supplied with tools and gear. You know from what caravita oil painting in watercolor. So that became a nice side thing for me to focus on, which kind of fizzled out as a creative arts. But by the time I went to college, where I shifted to Applied Arts and what that what I mean is graphic design was my major at Rochester Institute of Technology. It's interesting, I think about that decision. And when I was in junior high school, I made a proclamation to my family, I said, I don't like TV advertising, I'm going to go into advertising and change it, I'm going to change the world of advertising. And so when I was studying schools, Syracuse University was, you know, one of the two that I narrowed down or it was the other. And I got to Syracuse, I would have been in New House School of Communication, which was more advertising and media focused, whereas it was more graphics and artistic focus. But the decision which was relevant for 18 year old was the ice rink at RMIT was on the way from classes. And if I went to Syracuse, it would have been a two mile train. So we make our decisions. It all turns out,   Michael Hingson ** 06:13 you my brother in law, is in Idaho, and for years was a master cabinet maker, he's now more of a general contractor, but his winters were all controlled and covered by skiing. And in fact, in the winter, for many years, he as an Certified International Ski guide, would take people to France and do off piste, skiing and so on. But I understand exactly what you're saying about the ice rink because he was all about skiing, and still likes to ski but he's a lot older and doesn't do the events. And he's also got work in the winter. So responsibilities change, but I know what you're saying.   Robert Schott ** 06:57 Yeah, I was. I learned how to ice skate on my backyard after an ice storm in 11th grade and I began playing ice hockey pickup with some friends and I had two years to get ready before college and I I actually made I got cut from the junior varsity team. But I said to the coach, hey, listen, I really want to learn this game. Can I can I come to all the practices? Can I come to the games and carry everybody sticks in the water? He said sure. And so I didn't miss a practice and mid season. I guess enough guys got hurt or quit. Or I showed progress. He put me on in a game. He gave me the last minute of a game. And the only thing I was able to do was when I jumped over the boards the puck was coming by. And so as the opponent, I just put my hip out and I gave the guy a hip check. He went flying and the game was over. So he said, Yeah, you're qualified. We need you for the next game. Like I had, I had two goals and three assists and eight games. So I actually was a producer.   Michael Hingson ** 07:55 Well, it's always better to be a producer than not needless to say. So what was your actual major then?   Robert Schott ** 08:03 Well, it was called Communication Design. And it was focused on communicating through graphic arts, and largely the two dimensional realm of graphic arts. And I was a high achiever in my classes, mostly A's and what I did some standout work. It led to a summer job at a welding products company in the art department. And I remember getting rejected by Texas wiener hotdogs that summer. And then I went to this agency and as I was walking out the door, they because they said they had nothing for me, oh, here's something Oh, you have to know how to type. So I said, Holy cow. I know how to type. My mom made me take typing in eighth grade. So I ended up in the art department, you know, go figure and I was using an IBM Selectric components, not yet knocking out, you know, graphic text writing with that, that early typesetting machine. And so it was a great and that summer job. One of our one of our vendors would come in and pick up work and he ended up at the end of the summer saying come work for me when you graduated. I help you with your homework for the rest of the year.   Michael Hingson ** 09:16 God does provide doesn't teach Oh, it's pretty funny. Yeah, there you go. So you graduated when did you graduate?   Robert Schott ** 09:25 That was 1981. Okay, then I was really busy student you know, between a little bit of ice hockey and academic word, the artwork was very time consuming. And I also was a pretty high level student leader in on the campus and that led to some pretty fun things too. So I was pretty harried, you know, really had to burn the candle on both ends a lot of the time. But in 1981, I had that job offer, which I took and it was he they put me on the artboard to Do graphic arts and there was a small boutique, there was a dozen people doing business to business communications, which included business slides, industrial videos, other graphics and advertising materials. And it turned out I was, I was actually not very good as an artist on the board on demand, you know, I was a good student, but it didn't translate. And so getting into the thick of it, they went into computer graphics, there was a machine called jet graphics that allowed us to make business presentation slides, instead of using the old graphic art, code Iliff and other kind of build your slide business that way. And they put me in charge of them. And within three years, we had seven of these machines in two locations running around the clock, seven days a week. And it was a grind, if I may think I really, I discovered the limits of the physical limits of sleep deprivation, which is not a healthy thing, but I did it. And that's what was probably the first thing I ever became an expert at in the country may be further making these slides and supervising and training, you know, a team 24/7.   Michael Hingson ** 11:21 So how long did you stay there? So this was after college? Right?   Robert Schott ** 11:24 Yeah, so I was there for seven years. Wow. Okay. And I mentioned one thing about a large part of my career was in reflection, I'm trying to coach my own young adult children don't fall into the same trap. Maybe I didn't really have the aspirational goal in my mind, like when I did when I was in junior high school. But what I did do was accept the next job that somebody offered me. One because I was ready to leave and two was a good job offer. But it didn't. After doing that three or four times it didn't ever really align with where maybe the root of my skills or passions lay. So a lot of years went by just, you know, three, seven year stints to say, Yeah, I'll take that job and, you know, going to have children, I need a professional job, and I needed benefits. And, you know, I took my I took my eye off the market, what I was really maybe meant to be   Michael Hingson ** 12:28 right. So you say you went off and you took other jobs. And so where did you end up?   Robert Schott ** 12:36 So the sequence was I left? We were doing business slides for the Coopers and Lybrand can see accounting and consulting firm and I was making the earliest of its kind slide presentations for 401k plans in the middle early 80s. And from that, I got to work with Coopers and Lybrand. You know, my first job was working with Coopers and Lybrand. And they said, why don't you come over here, because they liked what I was doing producing the record on case stuff. So I learned how to be an A Communication Consultant, the full gamut it was writing and directing and strategy at Coopers for their human resource advisory group clients. And sure enough, in the 401k plan at Cooper's they had JP Morgan investment funds. And that when they brought those funds in, I got to know the funds. And we communicated to 20,000 people about those funds. And eventually, JP Morgan said, why don't you come work over here? There you go. So I went over there. And you know, each time I was still have a relationship, or I left, which was, you know, kind of unique.   Michael Hingson ** 13:44 But good. She kept a positive relationship,   Robert Schott ** 13:47 no burn bridges. It was natural for me to move on. And the Morgan thing was in your marketing grew up helping to communicate the value of these types of 401k plan funds that other companies would put into their 401 K plans. So it was kind of there that I moved into another role where they formed a partnership with a company called American century. And we formed a partnership in retirement plan servicing and I moved over to that side of the business. But things didn't really go very well, after a while and I was getting frustrated with the work environment and the work I was doing. That's what led to the spark of doing something different.   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 So you, you decided you really needed to do something different than working in those kinds of environments. And did you have an idea of what you wanted to do and where you were going to go?   Robert Schott ** 14:46 Well, it it's interesting, because, you know, there was no there was no real physical track to making Something happened that would put me in a new place. But there was a seed to have an invention idea I had to pursue. And that was really the mission. Can I take this idea? Get it further, far enough along? And then then from there, it was the idea, could I license it to a big manufacturing company? And so the inspiration was in a day of wallowing in my corporate anxiety, I went upstairs. And you remember my daughter, Carly, she was seven years old and 2000 2001, I think it was. And she was playing a certain way with her Barbie dolls. She was making rooms to play with her dolls across the floor with cardboard bricks. And I just went up to watch her play. That was my relief release. And I said, Hey, Carly, I wonder if a toy exists, where you can build walls. And you don't have to, you know, I can get something official that it was a Sunday afternoon. And I said, What, hey, let's go downstairs and draw what this toy could do. So seven year old, Carla and I went downstairs and we started drawing this idea of connecting walls to make dollhouse rooms. And I said to her right there, okay. This is all I need to know that this is something I have to pursue. And I'm going to work really hard to make this get this product made for you. And that's what kicked off the inventions probably was back then.   Michael Hingson ** 16:30 So basically, though, were you working for someone else at the time? Or Did Jesus decide to do this full time? Or how did all that work?   Robert Schott ** 16:37 Yeah. So initially, I was still working at JP Morgan investment. And at one point, I got laid off. Another fell out that they were rejiggering things. And of course that happens. But they gave me a generous severance package. And I said, Oh, holy cow, here's my moment. I'm going to go full blast on this toy idea. So I've been working on it for a year. Now I had this open time, with some, you know, compensation to cover my expenses, and then went hard at it. Now in the meantime, I was anxious. So I ended up pursuing five other part time things. I got a benefits consulting job, and I was dabbling with these other things that were really distracting and, frankly, the ability debilitating because I couldn't get anything to stick to make additional money. And and to have the free time to work on a toy.   Michael Hingson ** 17:34 That totally Sarika doing.   Robert Schott ** 17:37 She can. She's been working ever since you've known her in occupational therapy,   Michael Hingson ** 17:42 since she continued to work. Yeah. So   Robert Schott ** 17:46 yeah, I mean, I had the severance. So that was key. But I also didn't know if I was going to have another job at the end of it. So I had to continue thinking about how to make money if the toy thing doesn't, you know, come to Canada really fast. But in that period, I really refined the concept I filed for design and utility patents on the mechanical element of the walls, the way they would connect together. I created a logo and branding and I created a packaging design. I made prototypes, dope models for the kids to play with Ram focus groups with groups, a little kids, and all the proofs of this really cool thing we're coming through. And through. You know, a friend of mines likes to say it's, it's not serendipity or accident or luck, it's intentionality. And when you have really crisp intentions, some things kind of can just happen and out of the most unexpected places. And that that happened, I ended up getting a meeting with Hasbro, a college friend of mine, and it was like the Tom Hanks at Hasbro. He had a lab where he'd make stuff for the inventors. So I said he introduced me the creative guy. And they said, Yeah, if we really liked your idea, but it's not really for us, at least not at this time. And we back up a second when I was in the outplacement Center at Morgan, a former client then friend said hey, talk to this guy, John, John Harvey, and he'll coach you on your transition because he started a free coaching Transition Network out of Maplewood, New Jersey. So I called John and he said, what do you what do you really want to do? And I said, Oh, I really want to make this toy. He said to me, Hey, listen to this. Three months ago. I was at a think tank session. I might get the details fuzzy here, but it was the heads of innovation from Nike, somewhere else and Mattel and when you're ready, I'll introduce you to the head of innovation at Mattel. And so after my Hasbro meeting I called on Joe It said yeah. And he made the introduction and through another couple things. I got to make a meeting with the Creative Director for Barbie at Mattel, the biggest toy brand on Earth, and I got an hour. That's what I left the building that the young lady said, I know you got it in here because people like you don't. To Joe told you stuff about Barbie probably shouldn't have because, you know, it's proprietary, but he really liked what she came up with. And I'll share that walking out of that building was the singular highest moment, work moment of my life. And nothing is taught that yet. Even though the deals didn't turn out, just the sense that I made an impression to this big company, as a novice said, Man, I really ready to I'm really able to do something different.   Michael Hingson ** 20:57 So you have When did you have the meeting with Mattel?   Robert Schott ** 21:01 That was the late spring of 2003.   Michael Hingson ** 21:05 Okay, so that was always ago that was 20 years ago? Yeah. 20 years. And but did you have a basic conceptual design? Or did you actually have a model at that point?   Robert Schott ** 21:17 Oh, yeah, I had the prototypes, I had play models, you know, everything was, you know, in a condition that was acceptable from a toy inventor for a big company to take it on. And I didn't make any errors about what I anything beyond what I knew what I did. I didn't say I knew how to price it or manufacture it, or anything like that, which other toy inventors would have known more about. But, you know, no deals came through and I solicited all companies, you know, Lego and connects, and I went to FAO, Schwarz and Toys R Us and all in fact, the last meeting I had was with the head of brands at Toys R Us that was through an acquaintance, a friend of mine who I worked with in my first job out of out of school, he introduced me the head of brands, and I met there and Susan said, Oh, Robert, I really really liked your idea. I can't work with you. Because it's not real yet. You know, I need to be able to product to put on the shelves. But go back to Mattel tell them they're not they got their heads in the wrong place. Because this is what we need on the shelves. And I'll spare you the EXPLAIN of that. What was that? So, you know, here's another validation from the biggest toy distributor on earth without my concept. And crazily I just kind of got burnt out and I need to get a new job and I let it go. I just had to let it go for a while.   Michael Hingson ** 22:41 So what did you do?   Robert Schott ** 22:45 Well, two things happened. One, the realization that I knew I could do something different, I thought about what else I had made around my home. And in fact, it was in the year 2000. For Halloween I had made out of hardboard and red cellophane giant cutouts of cat eyes that I hung in the Windows upstairs. And with a room lights on they lit up like a giant cat was looking at. I thought, holy cow. There's an idea. Maybe i i figured i can get that done myself. I don't need to sell the idea. I'll just get after it. And so I worked on it for three quarters of a year. And then I talked to a friend. I remember you remember Brian Jenkins and Cindy Jenkins from the church. Brian was a printer by trade and I said Hey, Brian, what do you think of this idea. And in the same call, he said, Hey, I was just drawing a pumpkin that would light up to put in the window. And we agreed to go into business together. And it took us two more years to figure out how to make them. We ended up with a outfit in Green Bay, Wisconsin that agreed to work with us. And a little thing that I learned along that way was never, never, never admit your deficiencies on something always present yourself as confident and professional. And they this big company that served enterprises like Procter and Gamble allowed us to come into their space and dabble with manufacturing this printed window posts around big wide plastic sheets on 150 foot long printing press. And we pulled it off, you know we made a poster that that worked. So now I said there was two things. That's one track and I'll tell you more. But at the same time I needed to get back to day job with income and the fellow that I got laid off with from Morgan said, Hey Robert, I saw a posting for that's made for you and it was with Merrill Lynch and I put my resume into the black hole. And the next day I had a call that never happens. And three days later, I had an interview. And remember the second part of that interview that the hiring manager took me back to the first interviewee, or, as she said to the first, the second one, Hey, give this guy an offer yet. So it was a slam dunk, I got back to work, right at the end of my 15 month severance. So that all kind of worked out nice.   Michael Hingson ** 25:29 But you did keep on dreaming, which is part of the whole story at first, which is great, but you did go back to work. And that works for a little while, at least while Merrill was around.   Robert Schott ** 25:40 Yeah, well, kind of they never really went away. They took up, you know, partnered up. But I worked there for, I think, six years. And this is how you can do things sometimes in life that are, it's creative thinking. And I said to the boss, hey, look, I had a bunch of bad things happen with the poster business after we had a tremendous start, you know, we, we ended up in three years with a million and a half dollars of sales. And we were getting attention by the biggest enterprises in consumer, brick and mortar stores. But then, sadly, Brian passed away in 2009. And I had to take on the whole thing myself. And I approached my, my boss, I said, Look, I gotta leave, you know, I gotta work on this. And she said, Well, why don't go so fast. We need you here. How about if we give you a reduced hours, but still keep you on benefits? I said, that works. So I went from 70 hours a week to 40 kept my bike benefits. And then I worked another 40 a week on the   Michael Hingson ** 26:44 poster business, back to sleep deprivation.   Robert Schott ** 26:47 Yeah, well, that was easy street from earlier years. So I did that for another year. And finally, I said, No, this isn't going to work. And I cut out and I worked on the poster business full time for five years, which was had diminishing returns, the world was changing. And there's a lot of obstacles that I had overcome. Amazon was starting to come into play in the big box store, the big Oh, my wholesale accounts were drifting away, and it was just a mess. So I ended up going back again, through fellow I worked with at Merrill said, Hey, come work for us. And I won't get into that, because it's my current work. But that's, that's where I've been for seven, eight years. Now. It's the next corporate gig.   Michael Hingson ** 27:41 Things that I react to. And the most significant to me is no matter what with all of the job changes. I don't know that I would say all of it's not like there were such a huge amount, compared to some people who can't hold a job, you moved from place to place. But one of the things that I find most striking is that you kept really wonderful relationships, wherever you went. And whenever you left, you continue to have relationships. And that's been very supportive for you, which I think is really cool. A lot of people don't do that and burn too many bridges, which is unfortunate.   Robert Schott ** 28:21 Yeah, thanks for recognizing that I, I hold friendships or business acquaintances from all the roles I had. And I'm, you know, happy about reconnecting with people and reminiscing. But they've also come into play. Over time, what at different points, I'd reach out and say, hey, you know, I know you're doing this now. But that was, you know, there's a 40 year relationship from that first a few of them that I've been able to go back to currently and say, Hey, let's talk about this thing I'm working on.   Michael Hingson ** 28:55 And there must be ways that you're obviously benefiting and helping them as well.   Robert Schott ** 28:59 Oh, sure. Yeah, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 29:03 Well, you know, clearly, by definition of what this podcast is all about, you are absolutely unstoppable. in mind, and so on. Give me a couple of examples in your own mind, or from your own perspective of how you've been on top of that, maybe a small one and a big one.   Robert Schott ** 29:20 Yes, that's a good question. It was a couple of small ones that are more recent. I'll just stick to the more recent because it's shows I still have the ability to persevere, and it has a lot to do with a lesson my mom taught me was you always have to finish what you start. And I learned that you know, when I was five, six years old, you know, she wouldn't let us quit something at school because we were unhappy or didn't like it. We had to finish it. And so I got into for fun making big snow sculptures out in my front yard. And I've been doing in our town of Cranford for over 30 years and I did a MIT college and back in high school. Well, in 2020, it was 2021 There was a big blizzard. And I'd been waiting to do this particular snow sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, half scale. So half scale is for 15 feet tall. And I had gotten skilled enough to know how to prepare my drawings. And I built a wooden form to fill as the base. And we we had a convergence of things and I need one was a big snowstorm to it has to get warm afterwards because I mold and build. And I had to have the time. So this thing started on a Sunday afternoon. And as I got to do this, this, this is it. This is the moment of truth. And so from Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then some nights after my work job. And then all day Saturday, I worked on Abraham Lincoln. And I realized that it was probably over six tons of snow that we moved. I spent 435 hours sculpting carving, and I had a bunch of helpers. And it was magnificent. And it attracted national media attention. And the beautiful part was it landed right on Lincoln's birthday when I finished it. You have pictures? Yeah, I do. I have some good pictures of it.   Michael Hingson ** 31:23 Once we have a picture or an article, loved it featured in the podcast notes.   Robert Schott ** 31:27 Yeah, I absolutely send that. But here's the kicker. And I didn't tell a lot of people that week, that Sunday when I started, I had body aches and a fever. And I said, I have to do this. This is the moment of truth. Well, I didn't find out till Thursday that I had COVID. I was climbing ladders and lifting snow six hours a day changing clothes three times because I was sweating so much. And I just it was so hard to get up in the morning and get at this thing, but I did it. So there's, there's I guess that's a good example of a small thing. Getting it done.   Michael Hingson ** 32:04 Not sure it's so small, but I hear you. And then once you said 14 feet tall,   Robert Schott ** 32:08 14 feet tall. Yeah. of Abraham Lincoln, nestled in his chair looking out from the Lincoln Memorial. Right. So that's, that's an unstoppable, I'd say, you know, pursuing the window posters is an exciting things that I feel really proud of achievement, that I can look back on fondly and say I really got something good done there. And I think that, you know, the window posters I've been doing for, yeah, I've been working on it for 20 years 17 In business. And it's, it's been, it was wildly successful when we got going. And it's had a lot of setbacks, and been losing money for 10 years. So it's something that's kind of weird, because I can't even get out of it. You know, I couldn't sell the business, I couldn't sell the inventory. But I'm straddled with some debt from it. And from, you know, having things I just don't want to throw away. Every year, it's all online, and I sell them online, and I make make some money, just about is covering expenses now. So, back to unstoppable during the pandemic, I'll say I had the good fortune of being able to cut out three or four hours a day of commuting to New York City. And I said, Alright, I gotta get this toy made. And I picked up this volleyballs again, and I I got serious about pursuing it to the finish. And to the act of that, you know, fast forward. Last November, I got product in hand. You know, I took it from further engineering, prototyping, manufacture, testing, then you fracturing, packaging, patent filings marketing. I've been working on its sale since last November. So 20 years later, you know, or more. It's coming to fruition. Now, once   Michael Hingson ** 34:06 Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 34:08 let me add a point here. Because when I said I was gonna make the window posters, I said, Alright, I'm not giving up on the toy, but I'm going to make so much money from the window for posters, I can afford to make the toy pins some day. I just told you I was I've been losing money on the toy on the posters. But what I didn't, what finally occurred to me a year ago was holy cow. I got a I got the value and benefit of experience from learning how to make a product bring to market to make the toy. So the the, the outcome was, I didn't make a lot of money to make it but I earned a lifetime of experience to know how to make it. I think that's pretty cool.   Michael Hingson ** 34:51 That's worth a lot.   Robert Schott ** 34:53 Yeah. Yeah, let's How do you make a barcode? I don't know. Well, you have to figure it out. So every part of bringing your part like to mark it from scratch, has these learning hurdles,   Michael Hingson ** 35:03 you know, you go to the bar and you make it home.   Robert Schott ** 35:07 You go to the bar you drink, you talk to the guy next, know how to make barcodes. Or   Michael Hingson ** 35:15 it seems easy to me. Well,   Robert Schott ** 35:18 Michael, I was experimenting with making glow in the dark window posters. So I went to Green Bay to do a glow in the dark test. And just in my travels, I met three more people on the airplane in the airport and at lunch that day, who were in the glow in the dark business. So intentionality, you know, I talked about what I was doing. Oh, I do go to dark paint that will happen in one day.   Michael Hingson ** 35:47 As you said a lifetime of experience, which is something that is priceless.   Robert Schott ** 35:53 Yeah. I'll put a cap on that one. I'll say that, you know, maybe not financially. I haven't blown it out financially. But I'm really rich for the experience.   Michael Hingson ** 36:03 Yeah, exactly what I'm saying. Yeah. Well, so what exactly is happening with sprawling walls then today?   Robert Schott ** 36:11 Well, I had envisioned, pursuing direct consumer through E commerce only and using virtual communities to help create viral interest in the modern way of exposing a product. And that's not going like I envisioned this past nine months. It was disheartening to see one, even in a few years, how that realm has changed, and how much harder it is to get out, reach out and trade attention. And on a shoestring budget, you know, haven't been able to engage at a higher level where people, you know, for 50 grand, they could help make that happen. But in the meantime, I was working with a person who was critical of me spending time on the idea of networking. And I said I'm because he was helped me think through some of the marketing stuff. And so I've gone up to ra T, I was invited to go to the hockey game, I'll be in the President's booth at the arena at the campus. I'm going I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm gonna make the trip us up my time. And he said, Why are you gonna waste your time showing something that's not really ready for I'm going anyway, fella. So I went, and guess who was in the President's booth. But I mentioned I was a student leader and are at, and the Director of Student Affairs who I became very close to in a lifetime friend, and eventually become number two, at RMIT, as the Secretary to the institute. And he was in that booth with his wife. And it's like, holy cow. Well, of course, I brought my prototype. So I'm showing everybody in the President's booth, my toy idea. And then Fred pulls me aside and says, hey, hey, Robert, and if you know this, but I'm on the board of directors at the strong National Museum of Play, and Toy Hall of Fame. If you want, I can get your meeting there. Like it was the perfect storm for networking, and meeting. So here, I had an hour with the chief curator of the National Museum of Play, and he's been in this business for 35 years, who looked at what I was doing and said, Man, this is such a great story. And I think the trouble with you getting exposure with your product is because people don't know what to make of it yet. In fact, Robert, you've invented a new category of play. As well, that isn't that because he couldn't think of a comparable to what I've created. And furthermore, they said, we'd like to bring this product into our life play lab, we're in the side, the museum kids can come in and play with, you know, free play type of building toy systems and learn a lot from that. Yeah, so I think they're putting it in there in a few weeks, in reality, and they're also bringing my toy out in public outreach to children who have troubled circumstances, and may not have a environment where they live to be able to play. So they bring these children to places where they expose them to just pure play, just for the sake of playing in the creative collaboration that goes with that. So I'm grateful to be turning my product into something bigger than just me making a toy to sell but actually influencing young children.   Michael Hingson ** 39:49 But hopefully it will turn into a real product that sells which is always a good thing. But you know, one of the things that I react to keep thinking back on is house Bro, then had no interest in it with things like GI Joe and so on, I would have thought they would have been very interested in sprawie forte, but I guess   Robert Schott ** 40:08 it's you, you're spot on, you know, when I went to Hasbro, I didn't come with just the Girl doll system. Right.   Michael Hingson ** 40:16 I understand.   Robert Schott ** 40:17 I came with the Army system. So I brought my GI Joes and I had camouflage wall panels that connected together to make, you know, Fort scenes. But yeah, they didn't see it that what they said was Well, that's all good. And well, but, you know, boys like to build and destroy. So   Michael Hingson ** 40:40 that was a funny line. Yeah, especially well, yeah. All the way around. Well, you know, clearly though, everything that you're doing, you continue to move forward. And you get sidelined along the way, sometimes from circumstances over which you have no control. But, but you still do, which I think is great. What puts you in keeps you in a mind frame of being unstoppable and just continuing to move forward? Because no matter what's happened, you've had a lot of things that have been setbacks, and a lot of people would just be held back by that. But you've continued to move forward. And you've done it very intentionally and in very positive way. How does that work?   Robert Schott ** 41:27 Yeah, thanks, Michael. I'm gonna go back to the root of a painting I did when I was seven years old side by side with my dad. And it was an apple with a sugar jar on burlap. And he painted his version of paint in mind. And I remember getting it done and maybe didn't reflect on it back then. But I reflect on it now that I created a piece of art that I can look at and enjoy. And we got that done together. And through the pursuit of art, the creative arts, oil painting, sculpture, watercolor painting, and other things. I find the greatest joy for myself looking at, if I can look at something that I did, or that someone else did, and see joy in it, and continuous enjoyment and keep coming back to it like a good movie, like the Wizard of Oz, I can watch that every time. To me that describes what art is that it has this appeal that you can continue to enjoy. And you don't get there by not working at it. Right. So I think when I see something I want to do and get done, a need to see it finished, because I want to sit back and look at what I did it, you know, despite many obstacles, like with the window posters, you know, there was a storm that there was a hurricane that wiped out Halloween when winter and snow blizzard the next Halloween and then my warehouse got hit by lightning and all my product deliveries were late, my partner passed away and you know, all these things that just just bang on? Yeah, but you just got to keep going. So I think presently, like with what I'm pursuing, the side gig, if you will, I have this vision of what it would be. And there's something bigger than I realized last year. But it's so big that it overrides any doubt that I have or fear or even the skepticism of others. And even the regard for risking money on it, I come to realize that, you know, money saved isn't helping me create and invest in in my own pursuit. So I've let loose let go and I don't let it get me down. Like I would have, you know, 30 years ago.   Michael Hingson ** 43:47 So how do you view money today? Or how is your attitude about the whole issue of money changed? Both from the standpoint of you personally, but you've obviously been in companies that specialize in that stuff. So you must have a lot of ways to to answer that.   Robert Schott ** 44:02 Yeah. So it's kind of a little funny contradiction. I teach a lot about saving for retirement yet I'm spending a lot of my retirement savings. I'm investing in my future is what I'm doing. You know, I discovered I had a to really make it happen. I had to use what I have with the belief that it will work out and I'll be better off for it financially one day. Certainly, the cut three high end college educations at a time when I thought money was going to really be flowing from the window posters and my work. That was a drain as it is on anybody today, the way college expenses go. And then just trying to keep my head above water with the poster business. It's been technically losing money. You know, just I'm resolved that this is my way to pursue something bigger in my life. And I'll figure it out. I'll just keep Working I have, I'm so resourceful and I have so many ways that I could earn money for the next 20 years, if I have to that, I just, I don't like it that I'm in a spot. But I love that I feel hopeful and confident in my abilities.   Michael Hingson ** 45:15 But you've made the commitment to do it. And if it means that you'd have to put some things on hold for a while and do more mundane or more things that are not directly in line with what you want to do. Right, you're going to get to do what you want to do. And you'll, you'll let some of the other stuff be a part of what you do to make that happen.   Robert Schott ** 45:36 That's right. And I'll just finish off on the Toy Story, if you will, I have two big events coming up. In the next month. I was accepted to a when he call it up a media showcase. I'll be on Pier 60 in New York City on September 12. So by the time people see this, I might have been well past but the showcases of is for the best toys of 2023. And while I didn't make the cut as a best toy, they accepted me to be present, which is I think a nice credit to that I'm recognizing what I have to be in the presence of major media as well as social influencers. And then I was also accepted on the last day of this year's Toy Fair at the Javits Center in early October for Toy inventors day. So that didn't come easy, either. I had to qualify. And I'll be in front of major manufacturers to potentially come back to the idea of licensing the product. So I've got four tracks, I can sell direct to consumer, I can make the product and sell wholesale. I can pursue other avenues like homeschool and teaching networks and Montessori schools where play free play is the thing, or I could make a licensing deal. So all these are on the table right now and making some of those big opportunities happen.   Michael Hingson ** 47:06 Have you thought of doing anything like trying to go on to Shark Tank and showing this to the world through that?   Robert Schott ** 47:14 Oh, I've thought about it a lot. But I've also tried out for shark tank with the poster idea. And there's a lot of reasons I don't want to do that. A lot of reasons why I won't do that is I won't get into that. But I think I can pursue avenues through my own. Maybe I could put it this way. I've discovered how I can make tracks doing things. And I think maybe other people don't think that's their only avenue. Yeah. Success. And I don't believe that for me. So that's a there's a good answer. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 47:51 and clearly in partisan businesses zine and you want to make it the way you want to make it. So it's just a question out of curiosity, but it makes sense. You know, to, to at least ask the question, and you thought about it. Not that answers it, which is great. Yeah. The you continue to be resilient, about pressing through and finishing whatever you start. I think you've hit on it some but why is it that you are so firm at being able to press through and continue to work? What, what, what keeps you going? And always moving forward like you do?   Robert Schott ** 48:33 Well, you know, I think when you first introduced the idea of me being a guest, I had this theme in my head, which was real, that some bit of my career, I didn't feel very interesting anymore.   Michael Hingson ** 48:49 What and I said you were interesting. Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 48:52 I know. But I'd go on vacation with four other families and these other guys were all entrepreneur, for Nouriel, I had nothing to talk about in my work life that would be of any interest at the dinner table. So it's going to be interesting again, but anyway, I think it's there was lessons growing up about endurance and achieving things, you know, I was a boy scout, and we we camped every month of the year, whatever the weather was, wherever we went so, you know, five below zero in a tent with no floor and a summer sleeping bag. You have to somehow get through that night and learn where your limits are in pain points. I made Eagle Scout at college I was in academics and sports and and student leadership and you know, I actually the one and only time I sought professional help was at school, the counselor to say I'm falling apart, you know helped me put my pieces back together again and the coaching I got there it was really valuable. You know, encourage anybody who's feeling a bad spot to take it Then under the resources out there, and then that first job I had was 12 people. And it was all for one one for all, we were all the hats, you know, when when we move to a new building, they said, We're gonna come in Saturday and work on the wiring together and this new building. So the boss was running out around teaching us how to do wiring, it wasn't really legal, but that's what we did. So you learn how to solve little and big problems. And nothing is an obstacle when you have that frame of mind. And so when I get stuck on a business problem with my side gigs, I hunt down the answer. And I find people who know the answer, and I get coaching and make alliances. And so there's an answer to at all, it's just matter how you pursue that. And the other part of that is, you can set up a business plan and say, These are the steps we're gonna get done. But you can take yourself off of that anxiety by saying, I'm working on this thing to get done. And then the next thing or maybe three things at once, but I'm not going to worry about where it is two years from now, because I can't do that I have to work on what I can figure out today. And I've gotten really good at that. And, you know, setting the expectation, like I thought I would be blowing up my product by June. And yet, most of it's still sitting on the shelf. Alright, dial down my expectation, slow down, what I'm trying to get done, work on some bigger game things. And here's the bigger bigger game, Michael, I want to make sure I get in a year ago, I realized that invented this toy. But then I discovered this world called free play. And I've been studying the meaning of what free play is it's the definition is children given us a place to play and things to play with, that are non electronic. And without parental supervision. And sing alone or with a group or a friend's day will discover how to keep keep an afternoon going through trying and failing and trying and failing and trying and succeeding and solving each other's problems. And what I further learned is that there's incredible power in the development of a child through this kind of activity. And there's some important studies that Mattel and has done with Cardiff University and Melissa and Doug with Gallup, that are proving how children will mature with greater empathy and social skills, when time is devoted to free play versus playing by themselves or electronic play. And I realized I have a new direction that the bigger game is getting my toy out there. But helping children in their free play development   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 is part of what the museum really referred to when they said you develop the whole new way to play.   Robert Schott ** 52:44 Yeah, yeah, fits right in there with all of that. And so I'm becoming a student of that realm. I'm a novice. But I can see a third act for myself in pressing forward in becoming the leader or spokesperson in that model of play.   Michael Hingson ** 53:02 Some Yeah. So writing about it and getting some other things to help enhance your credibility would mean sense writing about it, speaking about it, as you said, and then going to places and talking about it would make sense. And that takes away a little bit from the toy, but maybe not. Maybe certainly something to explore.   Robert Schott ** 53:20 Yeah, I think it actually feeds the toy.   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 It does feed the toy, I think. Yeah. Which makes sense to do. Well, so for you. You, you continue to, you know, to move forward for you. What do you think about your journey now, as opposed to 20? Or even 30 years ago? Do you think your journey has really changed as your mindset changed? Have you changed?   Robert Schott ** 53:51 Well, you know, I've certainly learned a vast amount in pursuing nice things. And like you said, I've given up a lot of things to, you know, it's hard to stay inside on a gorgeous sunny weekend, you know, doing bookkeeping, and accounting and inventory management for for things. But I think my motivation has never been hired to see something come to fruition. And my understanding of how important it is to our society is feeding that and to also know that I'm getting the attention of important players. And what I'm pursuing is gives me great hope. So I'm going to continue with my corporate life. In fact, I'm actually trying to shift that a little bit more to around the realm of Community Oriented financial literacy. And I may have opportunities where I work now, to make that my work. To take all I've learned over 40 years in financial education, and actually be out in the communities leading programming that's a picture on anything for myself that could come around in a couple years where I am, but pursue the toy, pursue the Childhood Development theme. But personally, I'd like to free myself of the amount of work I'm doing, if I can make it financially viable. And get back to my basic artwork, I haven't finished an oil painting last year, that got recognized with a second place in the Union County art show here in New Jersey. And I started that 140 years ago, I finished it last year, I want to create new things now. So I need to find the time to get back to my arts, work on some of my athletic ambitions and other crazy adventures, I have room in my system for off the wall things. So that's, that's where I'm at mentally and emotionally, so   Michael Hingson ** 55:52 well, and you continue to, to move forward, as I said before, which is, which is great, and you continue to clearly be as unstoppable as one can imagine. So what's ahead for you?   Robert Schott ** 56:05 Well, immediately, it's just keep doing great work and my day job, is that what you mean? And then just keep chipping away at the toy, you know, manage my expectation on the toy, keep finding avenues, because I can't work on it full time. Just find out what I can get done. And but aim bigger, you know, I need to think for think for a while on what's the best bigger hits that I can get to make it come really to life. And in fact, this morning, I prove the banner I'm going to bring to the media and the toy vendor showcase that illustrates the future of the toy. And what I mean by as I've got five phases of development, that take it from a single size eight by 12 inch panel that connects with others, to 16 different sizes, and four different palettes of colors. And eventually, mechanical elements like pulleys and levers and drawing and graphic applications to the panels and maybe even LED lighting. So I'm paying you to picture the future so others can see it with me, you know, I, what I've got today isn't really describing what it could become. And I want to make sure people understand that.   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 Yeah, and I think as I said a minute ago, doing some writing about it really composing some things and putting it out in places might very well be helpful and actually lend a lot to credibility, I think people need to be drawn into your vision and why you can only do so much of that with an actual model of the toy, writing, talking about it, speaking about it, having slides that show it in action, whatever, I think those are things that will help pull people in to realize what visionary ideas you have. And it'll be interesting to see what happens when it goes into the, to the free play area and the museum and how all that works. Yeah, and I because that's gonna lend a lot of support to what you're doing.   Robert Schott ** 58:10 I completely agree on the visibility through my own initiatives, whether you know, certainly joining you, but other situations like this I'm going to pursue, we're going into a little higher gear on our social media, visibility of the product with examples and videos, and I've got social media influencers creating content. So I'm in a big content build phase, but I like the idea of the writing side. It's right now it could be you know, reflections of what I've learned about childhood development and, and free play. And even though I'm a novice, I have something to say and point people to where they can learn more. In fact, when I, when I go to the Showcase, I'm putting up something into the showcase gift bag for all the media is going to include a rolled up window poster, and then two sheets that describe both products. And there'll be QR codes that lead those who see my sheet, to the studies by Mattel, Melissa and Doug and a survey I've started on for parents to take to tell me about what their children's play patterns are today. It's an open survey and I'm encouraging all parents with children, four to 11 to complete it that helps inform me about what current children are doing and what they need next.   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 When can you get some photos of kids actually playing with the toys?   Robert Schott ** 59:38 I've got? I've got a bunch of photos new one came in today, but I probably have you know 50 or 60 photos and videos saying some videos putting some of that I would think past to be helped them Yeah, most importantly I want those that content from strangers. You know, I don't want you know Exactly right. And there's some beautiful things coming in Michael I, I did some street fairs in the spring. And I'm going to do one more in Cranford in October. And I set up a play space for the kids, I invite them to play. And the spirit of what I created shows up, you know, one kid joins in, and then three more come by, and then they're all playing together, and they're creating things. But there's surprises like, I think they can build walls. But all of a sudden, this kid takes all the sticks that hold the walls together and makes a sword out of it. And another kid takes the walls and built a ramp down off the table with a structure that he engineered to run his cars down it. There's all this innovation is what this is about. And the kids are showcasing it at the street fair. So I've got all those photos too.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:45 That's great well, and put them out. I mean, that's those are all cool things. I want to thank you for being here. And I'm excited for you. And I'm excited by what's going to happen. And I look forward to hearing more about it. So definitely keep us in your and on your email list. But one of these days, we'll get back there to visit. But I really hope that it all goes well for you and that this will catch on soon, and people will start to get really excited about what you're doing. And I agree, I think it's really interesting that although you intended it as walls on the house, kids are doing a lot more with it and so much the better that they do. Yeah, future engineers.   Robert Schott ** 1:01:25 And you know, the, the key selling point about it, and a couple of them is that it integrates and connects to Lego. It connects with connects, you can put Avery removable papers that you run through your printer to make wallpapers and you can draw on it with Expo markers. And the best part is you can collapse it back down into the box in like no time flat. Parents love that you can put it away into a little box.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:52 That's not messy when you do that. No, just   Robert Schott ** 1:01:55 don't think that the pick pick up the little clips because they hurt your feet just like little Lego. That's fair. Yeah, Michael, thanks.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:05 This has really been fun. Well, you're absolutely welcome. And this has been great. I really appreciate that we finally got a chance to do this. And you need to come back in a little while and let us know how it's going and tell us about the adventure because it clearly is an adventure. And I hope that you listening have enjoyed this. If people want to reach out to learn more about you what you're doing and so on. Robert, how do they do that?   Robert Schott ** 1:02:28 Well, I just set up a new email address yesterday morning to Robert dot Schott S C H O T T  at bopt Inc. It's B O P T inc.com. And little funny there Mike, I'll close with this. I named my company bopt because I was told it's how I spelled my name when I was four years old. There you go. From Robert to Bob to Bobt But two weeks ago, I was going through a folder my mom left for me my drawings from when I was five. Just two weeks ago I saw these for the first time and I discovered I actually spelled my name B O P P T and my sister said, well don't worry about it. Robert, you can just say Bobt is the nickname for the longer version B O P P T   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:19 so it's Robert dot Schott or just Robert Schott. Robert dot Schott at S C H O T T  at B O P T.com. Yeah, well, great. Well, please reach out to Robert. We've got some social media links and other things that are in the cover notes. Please send me a picture of Abraham Lincoln that will be fun to add in anything else that you want us to put in there. We definitely want to do and be supportive of you. And thank you for listening. I'd love to hear what you all think. Please feel free to email me Michaelhi at accessibe A C C E S S I B E. I can spell.com or go to our podcast page www dot Michael Hingson h i n g s o n.com/podcast. We'd love to hear from you. And Robert, for you and for you listening if you know anyone else who want to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. You've heard a lot of the stories that people tell you heard Robert today. We'd love to hear from you about people, you know, who ought to come on unstoppable mindset as well. So please let us know. Please give us introductions. We appreciate it. And so once more. Robert, I want to thank you for being here. And we really appreciate your time late in the evening in New Jersey. You get in the spring   **Michael Hingson ** 1:04:43 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. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.

Hello to you listening in Davos, Switzerland!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I was preparing a storytelling workshop series for professional women who wanted to craft their origin story when I came across a scrap of paper with these lines:    “No life, however charmed, is un-visited by searing disappointment, numbing grief, chilling betrayal, dull routine, crushing defeat, or exasperating detail. And there is a great restorative dignity and holy self-empowerment in playing to the best of one's ability the hand one is dealt, however unwinning it may seem.”[William Sebrans]It's the perfect workshop opening. Why? Because these words call on us story makers, shapers, keepers, and tellers to face the rough stuff, heels dragging in the dirt, kicking and fighting along the way for no other reason than to restore our holy selves by playing the hand we've been dealt. It's the way of the world.Story Prompt: As your stories grow you, slowly revealing their secrets, how are you playing the wretched and noble hand you've been dealt? Write that story!Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Port Townsend, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Admiralty Head Lighthouse harkens back to the day of sailing ships powered by wind. When the ships entered the Strait of San Juan de Fuca from the Pacific Ocean the ship captain would know to steer a hard right to starboard when he saw the blazing beacon from the Lighthouse high on a bluff 127 feet above Admiralty Inlet before continuing safely south to Puget Sound and on into Seattle. Each lighthouse - no matter where in the world - has its very own distinctive light pattern, or signature. Lighthouses mark points of navigation, warn about dangerous coastlines, and guide ships into a safe harbor.But not all harbors are created equal for all boats. Some are for deep draft vessels, others for pleasure craft, and so on. Here's the thing about a lighthouse: it doesn't run up and down the coast beckoning all boats to its harbor. It serves a specifically sized boat.Question: Lighthouses don't chase boats; why do you chase clients? What is it only you have to offer? Who needs it  and wants it? How will you attract your particular client with your very own distinctive beacon of light? And, how will they know you are signaling them?Call to Action: If this episode resonates with you and you're looking for someone to help navigate you and your message, contact me on LinkedIn or Quarter Moon Story Arts for a consult.  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn. Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.One morning on the Camino I called ahead to inquire about an available bed in an albergue I hoped to reach by the end of my day. The hospitelero who answered the phone asked, “How many pilgrims?” I realized he meant me; I was no tourist, I was a pilgrim. And like pilgrims who have gone before me I was learning to rely on the kindness of strangers and Camino magic when I most needed it.What do I mean?  It was still quite dark when I set out on Sunday morning leaving town on the dirt path that led me to the Laguna - a place where witchcraft had been practiced since the 16th Century. I kept walking as the dense mist over the water obscured the path until I looked up to see that I was lost - in an industrial area - shuttered for the weekend - a few chained dogs who lunged and barked. I was quite lost. Now what?And truly - out of nowhere appeared a man in dirty coveralls. I asked him “Donde esta la camino?” He vaguely waved toward a dirt path uttering some words in Spanish, one I recognized: fabricante (factory). After taking a few hesitant steps I turned back to thank him; but he was gone. Just gone. I kept walking another 30 minutes in the direction he had signaled until I found the factory, crawled under a chain link fence, tumbled down into a ditch, scrambled up the other side, crossed a 2-lane road and there it was: the small familiar blue and yellow sign with the scallop shell; I was back on the Camino.Here's the thing: when you feel like you are quite lost, hold it with both hands and trust. Trust that the kindness of strangers will show you the way. You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Navarette, Spain!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I have been retracing my boot steps across Spain as I remember the anniversary of my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. 5 weeks - 500 miles - border to border.My journal reminds me how hot, tired, fatigued and doubtful I often felt. Early on in the first week I wrote this line, “I don't make a very good pilgrim.”What was I thinking? At that point I was still walking in my old shoes, my old habits, my old thoughts. I had not yet put my head and heart and body into sync. Until you learn this lesson you will likely feel that you don't make a good pilgrim - whatever that means for you. It is both the curse and the blessing of the Camino; but the only way that you will learn.I can't say today whether I make a good pilgrim or not. I can say I have walked a path I will never walk again and yet here I am retracing my boot steps across Spain. As you walk into your week I greet you: Buen Camino, peregrino!You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts 

Francois Martin, Marketing and Communication Consultant for Print, Labels, and Packaging at Francois Martin Consulting joins Deborah Corn to discuss the importance of innovation, sustainability, and clear communication in a rapidly evolving marketplace, why drupa is a must-attend event for everyone in printing, and how drupa Essentials can help guide the opportunities and equipment to investigate across the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany May 28-June 7, 2024. Mentioned in This Episode: Francois Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francois-martin-677915146/ Francois Martin Consulting: https://francoismartinconsulting.weebly.com/ drupa: https://www.drupa.com/ drupa Essentials: https://www.drupa.com/en/Media_News/Press/Expert_Articles/Overview drupa DNA: https://www.drupa.com/en/Program Deborah Corn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahcorn/  Print Media Centr: https://printmediacentr.com Project Peacock: https://ProjectPeacock.TV Girls Who Print: https://girlswhoprint.net Print Across America: https://printacrossamerica.com/

Hello to you listening in Madaba, Jordan!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I've known my friend Gene since we served together on pediatric wards at the US Naval Hospital Portsmouth. We went our separate ways after being honorably discharged; but, because the world is small and the Internet is large Gene found me and we've become fast friends.He reminded me the other day: "Before you can fly, you have to be willing to jump from a high place."Which, in turn, reminded me of a much loved song: The Cape by Guy Clark. [YouTube link and lyrics are  also below in the Episode Notes.]And the song, in turn, took me to memories of friendship, stories, dreams, taking a leap of faith, the passage of time, and the joy of it all.Story Prompt: Take a listen to Guy Clarks's song, remember a time when you were willing to trust your dreams and jumped. Write that story!  Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.The Cape - Guy ClarkEight years old with flour sack capeTied all around his neckHe climbed up on the garageHe's figurin' what the heckHe screwed his courage up so tightThe whole thing come unwoundHe got a runnin' start and bless his heartHe headed for the groundChorusWell, he's one of those who knows that lifeIs just a leap of faithSpread your arms and hold your breathAnd, always trust your cape Now he's all grown up with a flour sack capeTied all around his dreamsHe's full of piss and vinegarHe's bustin' at the seamsSo, he licked his finger and then he checked the windHe said, It's gonna be do or dieHe wasn't scared of nothin', boysHe's pretty sure he can flyChorusNow he's old and grey with a flour sack capeTied all around his headHe's still jumpin' off the garageAnd will be till he's deadAll these years the people saidHe's actin' like a kidHe did not know he could not flySo he did.Chorus"  [Guy Clark - "The Cape"]  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Ooltewah, Tennessee!Ooltewah Pronunciation Guide Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me you look at the analytics, downloads, and likes; they're not measuring up to what you would like. You ask yourself: What am I doing wrong? What am I missing? Why am I even bothering? What is the point of all this effort? Who really cares?    I can tell you this about that. The other day at a very low moment I received a message from a woman I didn't know who had listened to a 60 Seconds episode and wrote to thank me being a divine messenger who somehow knew what she needed to hear in that moment. She received a much-needed spiritual reflection. And I received a reason to persevere.My stories may not hold all the answers; nor are they intended to. This much I can say: we all struggle. Our struggles are strikingly similar even though we might think we are so very different. I've been down with struggles before and I'll be there again. But I know the way out. Meanwhile, I'm here to offer what I can so that one way or another we will continue to find our way out.Practical Tip: Keep on! because someone is waiting for you and your good words. You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Stalybridge, UK!And check out this fun video about the most famous service on Britain's railways: the Stockbridge to Stalybridge Parliamentary Train.  Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Sometimes when we are in the thick of it we are hard pressed to make sense of the darkness, the loss, the confusion, the uncertainty. When you are ready the poet Rashani has words you can lean on to help you begin anew:The Unbroken"There is a brokennessout of which comes the unbroken,a shatterednessout of which blooms the unshatterable.There is a sorrowbeyond all grief which leads to joyand a fragilityout of whose depths emerges strength. There is a hollow spacetoo vast for wordsthrough which we pass with each loss,out of whose darknesswe are sanctioned into being. There is a cry deeper than all soundwhose serrated edges cut the heartas we break open to the place insidewhich is unbreakable and whole,while learning to sing."   [Rashani Rea] You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In. Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening on the Camino de Santiago in Castrojeriz, Spain!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Camino means “the way.” Maybe you have been waiting for the invitation to set out on your way. Here it is. Pack what you need. Lace up your boots. Bid farewell to those you leave behind, the ones you hope will be waiting - or, maybe not. Take your best measure of the path ahead. Whether it's for a day or a year of days, the time is now. Set out. Be glad for it come what may. This time - this way - beckons; if you never go you will never know.        Question: Where are you headed, how come it beckons you, and what do you hope to discover along your way?You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In. Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts 

Hello to you listening in Mandaluyong City, Philippines!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (and a bit more ) for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.The other day something pretty rotten happened to me. I felt taken advantage of. How dare she? Who does she think she is? After all I've done! My anger and resentment continued long past their shelf life. What happened next? I remembered something.Perhaps you're familiar with the story of two Buddhist monks, one older and one younger, walking a dirt road back to their temple. Arriving at a wide river they see a woman standing on the bank unsure of how to cross. She asks for help. Without a word the older monk lifts her in his arms, carries her across the river, sets her gently on the other side and nods farewell.The younger monk is shocked! An hour of walking, then two, then three, and finally the younger monk explodes in rage: “We took a vow as monks not to touch women! You carried her! You broke the sacred vow!”As the story goes the older monk says, “Yes, I picked her up, I put her down, and you are still carrying her.”Story Prompt: What are you carrying around that's ready to be put down? How would it feel to let it go? Write that story!  Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Camrose, Alberta, Canada!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.He's making himself known calling from across the house, standing and staring in my office doorway until I notice.My kitty is a senior fellow. Been with me some 17 years or so since I brought him home from the shelter. Someone had dumped the litter in a bin outside a convenience store. He's weathered many changes: losing his sister, moving from household to household, now age and kidney disease.    The thing about him is that he asks for what he wants when he wants it. He doesn't waste a sunny afternoon wondering what I think. He snoozes in a warm space. He's figured out how to claim his spot on the bed and the pillow so I adjust to him. No matter my mood or attitude he's there ready to hand out his personal brand of affection.Question: What if we could live as well? Would we take the chance? Would we risk it all to be so free?  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Wembley Downs, Australia!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.My local Sno-Isle library in Freeland has supplied me with books of every size, author and topic for the past 5 years. Inside a book I roam around the world, through destinations near and far, ideas, challenges, cultures, mysteries, thrillers, other lives. I gain perspective, points of view, attitudes, stories, winners, losers, heroines, and dastardly deeds. That is just the beginning. There is something more.From Alan Bennett's play, The History Boys: "The best moments in reading are when you come across something—a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things—which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours."Question: When has a book reached out and taken your hand? How did it feel? What happened next?You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Manassas, Virginia!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me you've been so busy with stuff that you defer your happiness - until tomorrow. Maybe you think that the faster you go the quicker you'll get ahead but actually the behinder you get.What if we choose to begin anew by slowing our busy lives. What if there was a way to remember to slow down. I have something that might help from the good monastics at Deer Park Monastery where no one hurries but everything gets done:  “Happiness is here and nowI have dropped my worriesNowhere to goNothing to doNo longer in a hurry. Happiness is here and nowI have dropped my worriesSomewhere to goSomething to doAnd I don't need to hurry.”Practical Tip: Give it go. See how it helps you!  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday with your host, Diane Wyzga.Call it what you will: abundance; prosperity; good fortune. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you can choose to decide to invite abundance as a constant in your life, a welcome guest at your table.A very good way to encourage a mindset of abundance is to imagine it as a warm and friendly energy, maybe a favorite color or cherished fragrance. Imagine that this warm and friendly energy can find its way into your home, your workplace. How? By invitation. It will swirl in through the doors and windows, down the chimney, up from the basement, through the mail slot, enveloping you with hope and imagination.  Pause here a moment to reflect on this warm and friendly energy before offering gratitude for the abundance that graces your life right now. Little by little more abundance will arrive from where it is. Guaranteed!You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on Linked In.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts 

Terri Gilbert Scientific Communication Consultant | Creative Problem Solver  Go to www.thejasoncavnessexperience.com for the full episode and other episodes of The Jason Cavness Experience on your favorite platforms. Sponsor CavnessHR delivers HR companies with 49 or fewer people with our HR platform and by providing you access to your own HRBP. www.CavnessHR.com CavnessHR Crowdfunding Campaign We are doing an equity crowdfunding campaign for CavnessHR starting June 1. You can become an owner in CavnessHR by taking part in our campaign. Learn more here. https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr Terri's Bio Terri's educational background includes undergraduate work in Physics and Environmental Sciences, and graduate studies in the Biomedical Sciences resulting in a PhD focusing on receptor biology in the brain. Her studies and subsequent academic work fueled her passion for communicating science, specifically neuroscience, to a wide range of audiences, from non-scientific to highly technical. She has over 20 years of experience delivering presentations and training sessions to a variety of audiences and has held positions in both academia and industry.  Terri worked at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, where she was the liaison between the users of the Allen Brain Atlas resources and the scientific and technical teams that created them. Her role had her manage all aspects of outreach, live and online trainings, online teaching resources such as webinars and video tutorials, documentation associated with the resources and technical and scientific support via the web portal. After the Allen Institute, Terri broadened her outreach work to include working with big data and helping people wrap their brains around data science, she recently worked on a SaaS graph database platform working with clients on mapping and visualizing their complex ecosystems. Most recently she has been consulting with people committed to finding unique and often hidden solutions to their complex ecosystems using ML and AI algorithms.  In addition to her consulting business, she has been diving into the world of psychedelics and is interested in humanistic approaches to creating a world where love wins, transforming our conversations about death and dying, and is on her own unique spiritual journey. We talked about the following and other items The Brain G Protein Coupled Receptors Psychedelics  Scientific Communication Socialism Terri's Social Media  Terri's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tgilhou/ Terri's Website: https://www.terrigilbertphd.com/  Terri's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tgilhou  Terri's Email: tgilhou@gmail.com or terri@terrigilbertphd.com Terri's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgilhou/ Terri's Advice Anything that you tell your brain to do? It will do it? Right? Anything. So if you want to learn something new just try it as an experiment. Give yourself a year to learn something. Then if you just keep practicing at it just once a week, you will be way far beyond what you thought and I mean that about anything, practice anything.

Effective communication requires practice. Join us and speech pathologist turned leadership coach, Devon Climer as we share strategies​.THIS WEEK'S TOPIC:Whether you consider yourself a natural communicator or find yourself feeling timid when speaking up, developing effective communication requires practice. We're going to dig into strategies to help listeners build confidence and feel capable of speaking up and connecting well with others.Takeaways:How effective, confident communication is a learned skillDeveloping communication takes practice, time, and effortEveryone is capable of achieving confident communicationTHIS WEEK'S GUESTDevon Climer is a leadership communication consultant and certified speech pathologist. She is the founder of My Communicoach, a professional development platform providing effective communication skills training to emerging leaders and organizations.Devon holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and has extensive knowledge and academic training in speech science. She is passionate about blending the artistic and scientific processes of communication in her training. She fully believes in the power of elevating our daily interactions through our words and actions.Follow Devon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-climer/Learn more about My Communicoach at https://mycommunicoach.com/Additional Resourceshttps://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/think-fast-talk-smart-podcasthttps://gretchenrubin.com/books/life-in-five-senses/https://susancain.net/book/bittersweet/https://pitchvantage.com/https://heroicpublicspeaking.com/https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/closing-the-gap-between-intent-vs-impact-sbii/Sponsored by: COhatchCOhatch is a new kind of shared work, social, and family space built on community. Members get access to workspace, amenities like rock walls and sports simulators, and more to live a fully integrated life that balances work, family, well-being, community, and giving back. COhatch has 31 locations open or under construction nationwide throughout Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Visit www.cohatch.com for more information.Support the show

Hello to you listening in Slatina, Romania!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.  I was asked the other day if Quarter Moon Story Arts (my consulting practice) and Stories From Women Who Walk (this podcast) are the end of the road for me. When might I begin to wrap things up?In the immortal words of Al Pacino's Academy Award winning character, Lt. Col. Frank Slade: “I'm just getting warmed up!” This much I know: some folks spend the first half of their lives building a life and the second half trying to keep it from falling apart. As for me I'd like to be Under Construction when it's my time to go.Question: What about you? How are you getting warmed up for what's next in your Life?You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Alexandria, Egypt!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.  Time out of mind my used-to-be-husband left me for Wife Number 4. By and by - inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh - I learned to let go of my suffering. We suffer when we grasp and keep tight hold, instead of coming to a place to let it go. All is impermanent. That awareness doesn't come easily; but it does come. Then we have to live our lives.I remember attending a workshop for us poor divorced souls to learn how to piece together the remnants of our shattered lives. The speaker was a middle-aged divorced woman who repaired broken porcelain collectibles with one of two methods. The first was called a glue-up. Get the bits and glue them back together. It's serviceable enough.The other more time-consuming and expensive method involved painstakingly detailed and careful work: sanding the rough edges of all the bits, carefully piecing each bit together, affixing the bits with a special glue so the joinder line didn't show, and painting the piece to restore it to whole.Her advice to us was while we could get away with our lives being a glue-up, in her experience it was much better to do the painstaking work to live whole again.Story Prompt: When you've taken the time to put in the effort to restore something to wholeness in your life what was the result for you? Write that story!  Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Costa Mesa, California!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me you know molasses but not it's British cousin treacle. Think thick, dark, viscous, sticky syrup. Good for treating snakebites and industrial food use.Maybe there have been days when you've felt like you're slogging through treacle to get to the other side; but can't quite make it. Maybe progress on your project seems impossible. Or, you can't work out the next step, figure out a course of action no mater how hard you try. Now what?  It could be as simple as recognizing that you're at an impasse. This feeling is a red flag saying your state of mind has shifted, you will not do your best work by muscling through. It's a good time to walk away, take a break, focus on something else, or invite help.  How long will it take to restore your sense of clarity? It depends. What matters is that you've noticed something's hindering your forward progress. That's your wisdom speaking!  Practical Tip: Maybe a reframe of the situation will restore your state of mind. Consider your options based on prior experiences. When has something like this happened to you before? How did you overcome it? What lesson learned then can apply to now? Take your time sorting it out. After all, treacle is just sticky syrup. You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Ashland, Oregon!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Once upon a time I invested in a podcasting workshop without forethought or preparation. Out of the gate I was asked what's the title, who's it for, what do you intend?Gulp! I know stories. I'm a woman. I walk. That's it. Stories From Women Who Walk. As simple as that.The cover art is a selfie walking out of a morning in Orisson, France toward the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain in the early days of my Camino pilgrimage.Whether I'm interviewing a guest, shining a spotlight on the achievements of women foremost, or offering a daily menu of 60 Seconds episodes, my podcast is uniquely forward-looking and story-based for anyone charmed by and curious about the power of story to profoundly and positively shift our awareness, our behavior, even our culture as well as those who wish to learn more about the power of walking to reveal the world around us and within us. Like magic, the sorcery of stories is this: it helps each of us to be seen and heard, to understand and be understood.Why just audio? Because the human voice is the most powerful instrument we have to heal, inspire, comfort, entertain, and more. It's the reason that Big Humans and Little Humans long to hear the same stories retold, bedtime stories, family stories, campfire stories. The human voice transports, keeps us company, and reminds us we are never alone.CTA: Keep listening! And subscribe! I'm here because you're there.  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Kiruna, Swedish Lapland!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Everyone everywhere seems intent on doing their  unique bit to shift, dent, change, impact, disrupt, disturb or create a ruckus so that the world is a little better off when the sun goes down at the end of the day.That's all well and good. The world needs a hand up. But while you're making your way in the world with all this serious work you have to do remember to take yourself lightly, not so gosh darn preposterously serious. It's a lesson I've learned later in life. Take delight in your work! Have a good time with it. Relish the moments you are being of use. Savor the pleasure of being alive.    Aldous Huxley took his own advice to heart. “There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That's why you must walk so lightly. Lightly, my darling. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you're feeling deeply.” [Aldous Huxley ~ renowned 20th-century intellectual who wrote Brave New World]You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Madaba, Jordan!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I've known my friend Gene since we served together on pediatric wards at the US Naval Hospital Portsmouth. We went our separate ways after being honorably discharged; but, because the world is small and the Internet is large Gene found me and we've become fast friends.He reminded me the other day: "Before you can fly, you have to be willing to jump from a high place."Which, in turn, reminded me of a much loved song: The Cape by Guy Clark. [YouTube link and lyrics are  also below in the Episode Notes.]And the song, in turn, took me to memories of friendship, stories, dreams, taking a leap of faith, the passage of time, and the joy of it all.Story Prompt: Take a listen to Guy Clarks's song, remember a time when you were willing to trust your dreams and jumped. Write that story!  Practical Tip: The magic of stories is also in the sharing. If you wish share your story with someone or something.   All that matters is you have a story.The Cape - Guy ClarkEight years old with flour sack capeTied all around his neckHe climbed up on the garageHe's figurin' what the heckHe screwed his courage up so tightThe whole thing come unwoundHe got a runnin' start and bless his heartHe headed for the groundChorusWell, he's one of those who knows that lifeIs just a leap of faithSpread your arms and hold your breathAnd, always trust your cape Now he's all grown up with a flour sack capeTied all around his dreamsHe's full of piss and vinegarHe's bustin' at the seamsSo, he licked his finger and then he checked the windHe said, It's gonna be do or dieHe wasn't scared of nothin', boysHe's pretty sure he can flyChorusNow he's old and grey with a flour sack capeTied all around his headHe's still jumpin' off the garageAnd will be till he's deadAll these years the people saidHe's actin' like a kidHe did not know he could not flySo he did.Chorus"  [Guy Clark - "The Cape"]  You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

Hello to you listening in Kildare, Ireland!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga. I began another circle around the sun on February 4th. In my family we are agreed: why celebrate your Happy Continuation Day for only 24 hours? Why not claim a whole month of Happy Birthday!As I move through the 30 days and 30 nights of birthday gratitude I can't help but be glad for my many years of life. Good times, rough times and all the in-between times. Some of those times are foggy with age, some feel like they happened only yesterday.Would you join me in a toast until it's your time to celebrate your Happy Continuation Day:"Here's to the days and nightswe might never rememberwith family and friends we'll never forget!"You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, follow, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! Remember to stop by the website, check out the Services, arrange a Discovery Call, and Opt In to stay current with Diane and Quarter Moon Story Arts and on LinkedIn.  Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts