Podcasts about Focusing

Hour 3 - Mavs/Stars, Sports Mash, Show Outro full 2644 Sat, 22 Nov 2025 04:12:58 +0000 SIBatCsDHFbi42gy0D1bE9zbjXoR7Ksx sports The Fan After Dark sports Hour 3 - Mavs/Stars, Sports Mash, Show Outro The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link

The Fan After Dark - 11/21/25 full 7862 Sat, 22 Nov 2025 04:14:08 +0000 MpbQedr9KtYByZVhzFYDPZc9fyuVt3pz sports The Fan After Dark sports The Fan After Dark - 11/21/25 The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2F

Hour 1 - Show Open, Cowboys Audio, Rangers FA News full 2728 Sat, 22 Nov 2025 01:07:04 +0000 lzgpQW1Tg1Q7xBbeh1WEExJxdNEj4kL6 sports The Fan After Dark sports Hour 1 - Show Open, Cowboys Audio, Rangers FA News The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?fe

Hour 2 - Mavericks Trade Talks, College and Highschool Preview, Fair or Foul full 2490 Sat, 22 Nov 2025 02:17:34 +0000 0axiMtdLdKplWO7Bazw5B5YV0NKOHztQ sports The Fan After Dark sports Hour 2 - Mavericks Trade Talks, College and Highschool Preview, Fair or Foul The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.a

9:40 - Extra Credit: NHL and Brands Kevin vs Trevor full 643 Fri, 21 Nov 2025 04:15:27 +0000 NoRcMhw2tfSTgJbQdapo95pRtDTc7zSo nhl,faddies,extra credit,sports The Fan After Dark nhl,faddies,extra credit,sports 9:40 - Extra Credit: NHL and Brands Kevin vs Trevor The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?fe

8:20 - NFL Picks Week 12 full 781 Fri, 21 Nov 2025 03:10:47 +0000 RWhtYieQraMGOfzis0EbJ7TfggBLvDWa nfl,105.3 the fan,nfl week 12,faddies,fan after dark,sports The Fan After Dark nfl,105.3 the fan,nfl week 12,faddies,fan after dark,sports 8:20 - NFL Picks Week 12 The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.a

10:20 - Faddies on the Phone full 716 Fri, 21 Nov 2025 05:28:21 +0000 Q3FvsnOUS2eDv77oQGkYMotzgJ7O9UQd fan after dark,faddies on the phone,sports The Fan After Dark fan after dark,faddies on the phone,sports 10:20 - Faddies on the Phone The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Fr

7:20 - Cowboys: Pickens, O-Line, and Eagles preview full 906 Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:13:47 +0000 3nPWfK8IqpUiWucvhuIJzC4KW2ChitGh dallas cowboys,105.3 the fan,faddies,fan after dark,sports The Fan After Dark dallas cowboys,105.3 the fan,faddies,fan after dark,sports 7:20 - Cowboys: Pickens, O-Line, and Eagles preview The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?fe

On episode 146 of PSQH: The Podcast, Michelle Skinner, Chief Clinical Executive at TeleTracking Technologies, talks about how technology-driven discharge planning can improve patient outcomes.

PREVIEW Professor Michael McFaul of Stanford University and the Hoover Institution discusses his book, Autocrats Versus Democrats, focusing on Russia and China. The conversation explores why the US endorsed China's growth, opening its economy and allowing American companies to make billions. This policy was underpinned by the theory that economic modernization would ultimately create permissive conditions for democratization. Guest: Professor Michael McFaul.

Chinese Hybrid Warfare and Lawfare in the Solomon Islands Guest: Cleo Paskal Cleo Paskal detailed China's hybrid warfare in the Solomon Islands, focusing on Daniel Suidani, a former premier of Malaita who resisted Chinese influence by instituting a moratorium on CCP-linked businesses due to concerns over environmental and social harm, but after being politically ousted, he and his colleague were targeted with spurious "lawfare" charges (unlawful assembly) designed to demoralize and bankrupt them, with Suidani tragically dying of kidney failure after being denied use of a China-donated dialysis machine, while India-donated machines sat unused due to government stonewalling on training. 1905 WHITE HOUSE DINNER GUESTS

Your annual labs can reveal far more than most people realize—if you know how to interpret them. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Rich Joseph walks through how to read basic blood work like the CBC, electrolytes, and urinalysis, and how to use those numbers as feedback loops, not pass/fail judgments.He explains which values matter most, what trends reveal over time, and how to connect lab data to sleep, training, nutrition, and stress.What the Complete Blood Count (CBC) actually measuresHow to identify early signs of iron or B-vitamin deficiencyWhat white blood cell patterns reveal about immunity and stressHow electrolytes reflect cellular energy, hydration, and training loadWhy urinalysis is underrated (and how to read it quickly)How to use lab trends—not single snapshots—to guide health decisionsSign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl

What happens when nonprofit leaders stop chasing every idea and start focusing on simplicity, clarity, and what really matters? In this episode, we dig into how to cut through the noise, strengthen your operations, and lead with purpose—without overcomplicating your mission. You'll learn why scaling often means doing less, how to rethink old constraints, and what it really takes to build an organization that thrives for the long haul. Episode Highlights 01:15 Meet Eric Newman: A Story of Resilience and Purpose 03:05 The Power of Storytelling in Nonprofits 06:38 Building Rock Solid Foundation: From Zero to Millions 10:39 Overcoming Nonprofit Constraints and Myths 18:16 The Journey of Building a Team 18:52 Overcoming Financial Challenges 19:56 The Importance of Vision and Scalability 27:41 The Power of Simplicity in Scaling 31:21 Focusing on the Mission My guest for this episode is Eric Newman. Eric's story of turning life's toughest challenges into a passion project has touched the lives of thousands. Eric Newman is a pediatric cancer survivor and founder of Roc Solid Foundation, a nonprofit that brings joy to kids fighting cancer by building playsets and delivering hospital-ready bags to families. Since 2009, Roc Solid has partnered with 160+ hospitals and served over 4,500 families. Eric is the bestselling author of What Hope Looks Like, host of the Success and Significance podcast, and a sought-after speaker on purpose-driven leadership. His story has been featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show and in a short film about his journey.   Connect with Eric: Instagram: @theericnewman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theericnewman/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-newman/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theericnewman Sponsored Resource Join the Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Newsletter for weekly tips and inspiration for leading your nonprofit! Access it here >> Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Remodelers on the Rise Kyle talks with husband and wife team Austin and Callie Cornell of MSC Enterprises They share how they run their remodeling business together balance family life improve their financial clarity and build smoother processes that support steady growth ----- Explore the vast array of tools, training courses, a podcast, and a supportive community of over 2,000 remodelers. Visit Remodelersontherise.com today and take your remodeling business to new heights! ----- Remodel Your Marriage, Life & Business Retreat – Feb 10-12, 2026 A three-day experience in Franklin TN designed for remodeling-business couples who want to strengthen their marriage, clarify their vision, and build a business that supports a thriving life together. Join Kyle and Sarah Hunt for meaningful conversations, practical sessions, and intentional time to reconnect and refocus for 2026. Sign up here! ----- Takeaways The importance of marriage in business partnerships. Transitioning business ownership requires open communication. Financial clarity is crucial for business growth. Hiring the right team members can alleviate stress. Understanding numbers leads to better decision-making. Having a dedicated office space enhances productivity. Saying no to projects that don't fit your business model is essential. Peer support groups can provide valuable insights. Flexibility in work allows for better family time. Continuous learning and adaptation are key to success. ----- Chapters 00:00 Introduction and History of Lee's Summit 04:06 Predictions for the Chiefs' Season 05:22 History and Overview of MSC Enterprises 07:34 Transitioning from Teaching to Working in the Business 11:55 Lessons Learned in Transitioning from One Generation to Another 15:35 Lessons in Understanding Financials and Charging Properly 19:33 The Importance of Knowing Your Numbers and Creating a Budget 25:51 The Impact of Leasing an Office Space 28:08 The Role of a Project Coordinator in Reducing Stress and Improving Accuracy 36:36 The Importance of Saying No and Focusing on What Works for Your Business 37:38 The Best Decision We've Ever Made 38:42 Finding Support and Encouragement 39:48 The Importance of Regular Meetings

HR 2 - Blake Gaslights Fred, Pick Reviews, Devils Advocate full 2705 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 04:50:29 +0000 KqokHXy9pv3YFfb5Bfsb8JTLCNKcJOZB sports The Fan After Dark sports HR 2 - Blake Gaslights Fred, Pick Reviews, Devils Advocate The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting

8:40 - Humpday Haikus full 623 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 03:06:08 +0000 Dvf7QxaBFddNd1pC83LAoXpWwZpHpEAI sports The Fan After Dark sports 8:40 - Humpday Haikus The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.ampe

HR 1 - Breastraunt Experiences, Mavs After Dark, Humpday Haikus full 2639 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 03:06:51 +0000 QcTTrfiC1aZsuZYoEakElUd9yCFrJf8u sports The Fan After Dark sports HR 1 - Breastraunt Experiences, Mavs After Dark, Humpday Haikus The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodca

HR 3 - Show Reset, Tolos on the Textline, WWLT full 2476 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 05:19:07 +0000 teo27FtbqbZLhbtWSHAfF2WwQLnAdurb sports The Fan After Dark sports HR 3 - Show Reset, Tolos on the Textline, WWLT The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-li

10:20 - Tolos on the Textline full 862 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 05:18:20 +0000 G9bgmpZ8a5NnI0EqcRSx2ZkBaXqHdJo9 sports The Fan After Dark sports 10:20 - Tolos on the Textline The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2F

FAD Full Show - November 19th, 2025 full 7822 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 05:20:16 +0000 1e5ouMkBGCK7G7CMhIksPzgtZDnOzBmo sports The Fan After Dark sports FAD Full Show - November 19th, 2025 The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A

9:40 - Devils Advocate full 607 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 04:49:39 +0000 qraLNVGU9pb9s8k8S6JJ514Z8ap1erA9 sports The Fan After Dark sports 9:40 - Devils Advocate The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amp

Are you feeling pulled in a hundred different directions and wondering why nothing seems to move your business forward? It's not about doing more, it's about doing the right ONE thing. In this episode, we are diving into how narrowing your focus can accelerate results, reduce overwhelm, and simplify decision-making. Melissa Kay and Dr. Sabrina Starling will help you identify the one thing that will create the biggest impact in your business, understand why multitasking and busywork stall growth, and share a simple strategy to stay focused and maintain momentum. If you're ready to finally make real progress without the chaos, this episode is your clarity breakthrough!Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights:The power of the ONE thingA breakdown of your project load and productivityYour desire to over-accomplish affects your entire team.Identify your “one domino” that needs to fall.How context-switching affects youMelissa's tips for being strategic about your timeFinding power in giving yourself the space you need to complete a projectOur plan for helping business owners plan a The 4 Week Vacation®️ Tips for identifying your ONE thing that makes everything else easier or unnecessaryHelp is available! We have a tool, the Better Business Better Life Assessment, that provides step-by-step guidance.Resources:Ready to take your life back from your business? Want more time for what matters most and more money in your bank account than ever? Book a call with us today! Master your time and profit! Give us 20 minutes of your time, take the Better Business Better Life Assessment, and receive a free paperback copy of my book, The 4 Week Vacation®️.Join the Tap the Potential Community on Mighty Networks: www.tapthepotential.com/group. Mentioned in this episode:Jumpstart Your Business!Spending too much time working and not paying yourself enough? In 30 days, you could reclaim 10 hours a week and finally enjoy weekends — while your business runs well without you. Click here to join us for the final Better Business Better Life Jumpstart of the year happening Dec. 3 and 4th. https://www.tapthepotential.com/jumpstart

The decision to move from a manual to an automated process has historically been a laborious, lengthy, and capital-intensive endeavor. Calculating the return on investment (ROI) of such a project is critical to the decision-making process. Companies beginning their automation journey tend to look at robots as a 1 to 1 replacement for their workforce leading to expensive over tooled and over automated processes. Focusing solely on labor replacement can lead companies to vastly undervalue some of the less obvious cost savings created by the switch to robotics. In this presentation, we will be discussing some of the best practices and common pitfalls to avoid when calculating the ROI of a robotic implementation, including: Efficient system design for a high-mix manufacturing environment Cost benefits from increased production and decreased waste Indirect cost benefits generated from increased worker satisfaction and safety Long term cost savings from greater traceability, product consistency and redeployability  By considering these concepts, we can move toward considering robots as part of an overall process improvement opportunity versus simply as a direct replacement to workers. Doing so brings into consideration improvements to the production environment, increased product quality, and enhanced company profitability. Ultimately a refocused ROI calculation will help companies pivot from mid-line labor expenses to top-line revenue and bottom-line profitability. Speakers: James Shimano: Product Manager, Epson Robots Sponsored by: EPSON Visit https://advancedmanufacturing.org/webinars for more webinars and an interactive experience with visuals.  

Key Takeaways:Supporters engage for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, each bringing unique value. Instead of expecting long-term loyalty from everyone, recognize the natural ebb and flow. Gratitude for every contribution keeps the relationship healthy and grounded.Tourists, seasonal residents, and townies each play a meaningful role in the ecosystem. One-time donors bring energy, visibility, and new connections when they matter most. Long-term supporters reveal themselves through aligned values and deeper engagement.Lasting relationships grow through purpose, connection, and involvement beyond giving. Inviting donors into stories, conversations, or behind-the-scenes roles builds ownership. When people feel seen and included, loyalty naturally strengthens and expands.Not every donor will stay forever, and that is part of a healthy pipeline. Letting go with appreciation frees energy to invest in aligned relationships. Focusing on shared values ensures every interaction remains meaningful and mutual. “Our job is to give them meaningful experience while they're with us and release them with gratitude when they're ready to go.” “Every donor plays a role in your ecosystem. You know, tourists bring energy and visibility, townies bring depth and sustainability, and there's space in between them, where just the relationships involved.” “Relationship first, money will follow that. Build belonging, not just giving.” - Maryanne Dersch   Let's Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit LeadersWant to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + TrainingI work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you're growing fast or feeling stuck, we'll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + TrainingsYour board has big potential. I'll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results.Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.comConnect with Maryanne about her coaching programs:https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference:https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Powerleegirl hosts, the mother daughter team of Miko Lee, Jalena & Ayame Keane-Lee speak with artists about their craft and the works that you can catch in the Bay Area. Featured are filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang and photographer Joyce Xi.   More info about their work here: Diamond Diplomacy Yuriko Gamo Romer Jessica Huang's Mother of Exiles at Berkeley Rep Joyce Xi's Our Language Our Story at Galeria de la Raza     Show Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.    Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:46] Thank you for joining us on Apex Express Tonight. Join the PowerLeeGirls as we talk with some powerful Asian American women artists. My mom and sister speak with filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang, and photographer Joyce Xi. Each of these artists have works that you can enjoy right now in the Bay Area. First up, let's listen in to my mom Miko Lee chat with Yuriko Gamo Romer about her film Diamond Diplomacy.    Miko Lee: [00:01:19] Welcome, Yuriko Gamo Romer to Apex Express, amazing filmmaker, award-winning director and producer. Welcome to Apex Express.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:29] Thank you for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:01:31] It's so great to see your work after this many years. We were just chatting that we knew each other maybe 30 years ago and have not reconnected. So it's lovely to see your work. I'm gonna start with asking you a question. I ask all of my Apex guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:49] Oh, who are my people? That's a hard one. I guess I'm Japanese American. I'm Asian American, but I'm also Japanese. I still have a lot of people in Japan. That's not everything. Creative people, artists, filmmakers, all the people that I work with, which I love. And I don't know, I can't pare it down to one narrow sentence or phrase. And I don't know what my legacy is. My legacy is that I was born in Japan, but I have grown up in the United States and so I carry with me all that is, technically I'm an immigrant, so I have little bits and pieces of that and, but I'm also very much grew up in the United States and from that perspective, I'm an American. So too many words.    Miko Lee: [00:02:44] Thank you so much for sharing. Your latest film was called Diamond Diplomacy. Can you tell us what inspired this film?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:02:52] I have a friend named Dave Dempsey and his father, Con Dempsey, was a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals. And the Seals were the minor league team that was in the West Coast was called the Pacific Coast League They were here before the Major League teams came to the West Coast. So the seals were San Francisco's team, and Con Dempsey was their pitcher. And it so happened that he was part of the 1949 tour when General MacArthur sent the San Francisco Seals to Allied occupied Japan after World War II. And. It was a story that I had never heard. There was a museum exhibit south of Market in San Francisco, and I was completely wowed and awed because here's this lovely story about baseball playing a role in diplomacy and in reuniting a friendship between two countries. And I had never heard of it before and I'm pretty sure most people don't know the story. Con Dempsey had a movie camera with him when he went to Japan I saw the home movies playing on a little TV set in the corner at the museum, and I thought, oh, this has to be a film. I was in the middle of finishing Mrs. Judo, so I, it was something I had to tuck into the back of my mind Several years later, I dug it up again and I made Dave go into his mother's garage and dig out the actual films. And that was the beginning. But then I started opening history books and doing research, and suddenly it was a much bigger, much deeper, much longer story.   Miko Lee: [00:04:32] So you fell in, it was like synchronicity that you have this friend that had this footage, and then you just fell into the research. What stood out to you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:41] It was completely amazing to me that baseball had been in Japan since 1872. I had no idea. And most people,   Miko Lee: [00:04:49] Yeah, I learned that too, from your film. That was so fascinating.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:53] So that was the first kind of. Wow. And then I started to pick up little bits and pieces like in 1934, there was an American All Star team that went to Japan. And Babe Ruth was the headliner on that team. And he was a big star. People just loved him in Japan. And then I started to read the history and understanding that. Not that a baseball team or even Babe Ruth can go to Japan and prevent the war from happening. But there was a warming moment when the people of Japan were so enamored of this baseball team coming and so excited about it that maybe there was a moment where it felt like. Things had thawed out a little bit. So there were other points in history where I started to see this trend where baseball had a moment or had an influence in something, and I just thought, wow, this is really a fascinating history that goes back a long way and is surprising. And then of course today we have all these Japanese faces in Major League baseball.   Miko Lee: [00:06:01] So have you always been a baseball fan?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:06:04] I think I really became a fan of Major League Baseball when I was living in New York. Before that, I knew what it was. I played softball, I had a small connection to it, but I really became a fan when I was living in New York and then my son started to play baseball and he would come home from the games and he would start to give us the play by play and I started to learn more about it. And it is a fascinating game 'cause it's much more complex than I think some people don't like it 'cause it's complex.    Miko Lee: [00:06:33] I must confess, I have not been a big baseball fan. I'm also thinking, oh, a film about baseball. But I actually found it so fascinating with especially in the world that we live in right now, where there's so much strife that there was this way to speak a different language. And many times we do that through art or music and I thought it was so great how your film really showcased how baseball was used as a tool for political repair and change. I'm wondering how you think this film applies to the time that we live in now where there's such an incredible division, and not necessarily with Japan, but just with everything in the world.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:07:13] I think when it comes down to it, if we actually get to know people. We learn that we're all human beings and that we probably have more in common than we give ourselves credit for. And if we can find a space that is common ground, whether it's a baseball field or the kitchen, or an art studio, or a music studio, I think it gives us a different place where we can exist and acknowledge That we're human beings and that we maybe have more in common than we're willing to give ourselves credit for. So I like to see things where people can have a moment where you step outside of yourself and go, oh wait, I do have something in common with that person over there. And maybe it doesn't solve the problem. But once you have that awakening, I think there's something. that happens, it opens you up. And I think sports is one of those things that has a little bit of that magical power. And every time I watch the Olympics, I'm just completely in awe.    Miko Lee: [00:08:18] Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. And speaking of that kind of repair and that aspect that sports can have, you ended up making a short film called Baseball Behind Barbed Wire, about the incarcerated Japanese Americans and baseball. And I wondered where in the filmmaking process did you decide, oh, I gotta pull this out of the bigger film and make it its own thing?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:08:41] I had been working with Carrie Yonakegawa. From Fresno and he's really the keeper of the history of Japanese American baseball and especially of the story of the World War II Japanese American incarceration through the baseball stories. And he was one of my scholars and consultants on the longer film. And I have been working on diamond diplomacy for 11 years. So I got to know a lot of my experts quite well. I knew. All along that there was more to that part of the story that sort of deserved its own story, and I was very fortunate to get a grant from the National Parks Foundation, and I got that grant right when the pandemic started. It was a good thing. I had a chunk of money and I was able to do historical research, which can be done on a computer. Nobody was doing any production at that beginning of the COVID time. And then it's a short film, so it was a little more contained and I was able to release that one in 2023.   Miko Lee: [00:09:45] Oh, so you actually made the short before Diamond Diplomacy.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:09:49] Yeah. The funny thing is that I finished it before diamond diplomacy, it's always been intrinsically part of the longer film and you'll see the longer film and you'll understand that part of baseball behind Barbed Wire becomes a part of telling that part of the story in Diamond Diplomacy.   Miko Lee: [00:10:08] Yeah, I appreciate it. So you almost use it like research, background research for the longer film, is that right?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:10:15] I had been doing the research about the World War II, Japanese American incarceration because it was part of the story of the 150 years between Japan and the United States and Japanese people in the United States and American people that went to Japan. So it was always a part of that longer story, and I think it just evolved that there was a much bigger story that needed to be told separately and especially 'cause I had access to the interview footage of the two guys that had been there, and I knew Carrie so well. So that was part of it, was that I learned so much about that history from him.   Miko Lee: [00:10:58] Thanks. I appreciated actually watching both films to be able to see more in depth about what happened during the incarceration, so that was really powerful. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the style of actually both films, which combine vintage Japanese postcards, animation and archival footage, and how you decided to blend the films in this way.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:11:19] Anytime you're making a film about history, there's that challenge of. How am I going to show this story? How am I gonna get the audience to understand and feel what was happening then? And of course you can't suddenly go out and go, okay, I'm gonna go film Babe Ruth over there. 'cause he's not around anymore. So you know, you start digging up photographs. If we're in the era of you have photographs, you have home movies, you have 16 millimeter, you have all kinds of film, then great. You can find that stuff if you can find it and use it. But if you go back further, when before people had cameras and before motion picture, then you have to do something else. I've always been very much enamored of Japanese woodblock prints. I think they're beautiful and they're very documentary in that they tell stories about the people and the times and what was going on, and so I was able to find some that sort of helped evoke the stories of that period of time. And then in doing that, I became interested in the style and maybe can I co-opt that style? Can we take some of the images that we have that are photographs? And I had a couple of young artists work on this stuff and it started to work and I was very excited. So then we were doing things like, okay, now we can create a transition between the print style illustration and the actual footage that we're moving into, or the photograph that we're dissolving into. And the same thing with baseball behind barbed wire. It became a challenge to show what was actually happening in the camps. In the beginning, people were not allowed to have cameras at all, and even later on it wasn't like it was common thing for people to have cameras, especially movie cameras. Latter part of the war, there was a little bit more in terms of photos and movies, but in terms of getting the more personal stories. I found an exhibit of illustrations and it really was drawings and paintings that were visual diaries. People kept these visual diaries, they drew and they painted, and I think part of it was. Something to do, but I think the other part of it was a way to show and express what was going on. So one of the most dramatic moments in there is a drawing of a little boy sitting on a toilet with his hands covering his face, and no one would ever have a photograph. Of a little boy sitting on a toilet being embarrassed because there are no partitions around the toilet. But this was a very dramatic and telling moment that was drawn. And there were some other things like that. There was one illustration in baseball behind barbed wire that shows a family huddled up and there's this incredible wind blowing, and it's not. Home movie footage, but you feel the wind and what they had to live through. I appreciate art in general, so it was very fun for me to be able to use various different kinds of art and find ways to make it work and make it edit together with the other, with the photographs and the footage.    Miko Lee: [00:14:56] It's really beautiful and it tells the story really well. I'm wondering about a response to the film from folks that were in it because you got many elders to share their stories about what it was like being either folks that were incarcerated or folks that were playing in such an unusual time. Have you screened the film for folks that were in it? And if so what has their response been?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:15:20] Both the men that were in baseball behind barbed wire are not living anymore, so they have not seen it. With diamond diplomacy, some of the historians have been asked to review cuts of the film along the way. But the two baseball players that play the biggest role in the film, I've given them links to look at stuff, but I don't think they've seen it. So Moi's gonna see it for the first time, I'm pretty sure, on Friday night, and it'll be interesting to see what his reaction to it is. And of course. His main language is not English. So I think some of it's gonna be a little tough for him to understand. But I am very curious 'cause I've known him for a long time and I know his stories and I feel like when we were putting the film together, it was really important for me to be able to tell the stories in the way that I felt like. He lived them and he tells them, I feel like I've heard these stories over and over again. I've gotten to know him and I understand some of his feelings of joy and of regret and all these other things that happen, so I will be very interested to see what his reaction is to it.   Miko Lee: [00:16:40] Can you share for our audience who you're talking about.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:16:43] Well, Sanhi is a nickname, his name is Masa Nouri. Murakami. He picked up that nickname because none of the ball players could pronounce his name.   Miko Lee: [00:16:53] I did think that was horrifically funny when they said they started calling him macaroni 'cause they could not pronounce his name. So many of us have had those experiences.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:17:02] Yeah, especially if your name is Masanori Murakami. That's a long, complicated one. So he, Masanori Murakami is the first Japanese player that came and played for the major leagues. And it was an inadvertent playing because he was a kid, he was 19 years old. He was playing on a professional team in Japan and they had some, they had a time period where it made sense to send a couple of these kids over to the United States. They had a relationship with Kapi Harada, who was a Japanese American who had been in the Army and he was in Japan during. The occupation and somehow he had, he'd also been a big baseball person, so I think he developed all these relationships and he arranged for these three kids to come to the United States and to, as Mahi says, to study baseball. And they were sent to the lowest level minor league, the single A camps, and they played baseball. They learned the American ways to play baseball, and they got to play with low level professional baseball players. Marcy was a very talented left handed pitcher. And so when September 1st comes around and the postseason starts, they expand the roster and they add more players to the team. And the scouts had been watching him and the Giants needed a left-handed pitcher, so they decided to take a chance on him, and they brought him up and he was suddenly going to Shea Stadium when. The Giants were playing the Mets and he was suddenly pitching in a giant stadium of 40,000 people.    Miko Lee: [00:18:58] Can you share a little bit about his experience when he first came to America? I just think it shows such a difference in time to now.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:19:07] Yeah, no kidding. Because today they're the players that come from Japan are coddled and they have interpreters wherever they go and they travel and chartered planes and special limousines and whatever else they get. So Marcie. He's, I think he was 20 by the time he was brought up so young. Mahi at 20 years old, the manager comes in and says, Hey, you're going to New York tomorrow and hands him plane tickets and he has to negotiate his way. Get on this plane, get on that plane, figure out how to. Get from the airport to the hotel, and he's barely speaking English at this point. He jokes that he used to carry around an English Japanese dictionary in one pocket and a Japanese English dictionary in the other pocket. So that's how he ended up getting to Shea Stadium was in this like very precarious, like they didn't even send an escort.   Miko Lee: [00:20:12] He had to ask the pilot how to get to the hotel. Yeah, I think that's wild. So I love this like history and what's happened and then I'm thinking now as I said at the beginning, I'm not a big baseball sports fan, but I love love watching Shohei Ohtani. I just think he's amazing. And I'm just wondering, when you look at that trajectory of where Mahi was back then and now, Shohei Ohtani now, how do you reflect on that historically? And I'm wondering if you've connected with any of the kind of modern Japanese players, if they've seen this film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:20:48] I have never met Shohei Ohtani. I have tried to get some interviews, but I haven't gotten any. I have met Ichi. I did meet Nori Aoki when he was playing for the Giants, and I met Kenta Maya when he was first pitching for the Dodgers. They're all, I think they're all really, they seem to be really excited to be here and play. I don't know what it's like to be Ohtani. I saw something the other day in social media that was comparing him to Taylor Swift because the two of them are this like other level of famous and it must just be crazy. Probably can't walk down the street anymore. But it is funny 'cause I've been editing all this footage of mahi when he was 19, 20 years old and they have a very similar face. And it just makes me laugh that, once upon a time this young Japanese kid was here and. He was worried about how to make ends meet at the end of the month, and then you got the other one who's like a multi multimillionaire.    Miko Lee: [00:21:56] But you're right, I thought that too. They look similar, like the tall, the face, they're like the vibe that they put out there. Have they met each other?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:05] They have actually met, I don't think they know each other well, but they've definitely met.   Miko Lee: [00:22:09] Mm, It was really a delight. I am wondering what you would like audiences to walk away with after seeing your film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:17] Hopefully they will have a little bit of appreciation for baseball and international baseball, but more than anything else. I wonder if they can pick up on that sense of when you find common ground, it's a very special space and it's an ability to have this people to people diplomacy. You get to experience people, you get to know them a little bit. Even if you've never met Ohtani, you now know a little bit about him and his life and. Probably what he eats and all that kind of stuff. So it gives you a chance to see into another culture. And I think that makes for a different kind of understanding. And certainly for the players. They sit on the bench together and they practice together and they sweat together and they, everything that they do together, these guys know each other. They learn about each other's languages and each other's food and each other's culture. And I think Mahi went back to Japan with almost as much Spanish as they did English. So I think there's some magical thing about people to people diplomacy, and I hope that people can get a sense of that.    Miko Lee: [00:23:42] Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell our audience how they could find out more about your film Diamond diplomacy and also about you as an artist?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:23:50] the website is diamonddiplomacy.com. We're on Instagram @diamonddiplomacy. We're also on Facebook Diamond Diplomacy. So those are all the places that you can find stuff, those places will give you a sense of who I am as a filmmaker and an artist too.    Miko Lee: [00:24:14] Thank you so much for joining us today, Yuriko. Gamo. Romo. So great to speak with you and I hope the film does really well.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:24:22] Thank you, Miko. This was a lovely opportunity to chat with you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:24:26] Next up, my sister Jalena Keane-Lee speaks with playwright Jessica Huang, whose new play Mother of Exiles just had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep is open until December 21st.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:39] All right. Jessica Huang, thank you so much for being here with us on Apex Express and you are the writer of the new play Mother of Exiles, which is playing at Berkeley Rep from November 14th to December 21st. Thank you so much for being here.   Jessica Huang: [00:24:55] Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:59] I'm so curious about this project. The synopsis was so interesting. I was wondering if you could just tell us a little bit about it and how you came to this work.   Jessica Huang: [00:25:08] When people ask me what mother of Exiles is, I always say it's an American family story that spans 160 plus years, and is told in three acts. In 90 minutes. So just to get the sort of sense of the propulsion of the show and the form, the formal experiment of it. The first part takes place in 1898, when the sort of matriarch of the family is being deported from Angel Island. The second part takes place in 1999, so a hundred years later where her great grandson is. Now working for the Miami, marine interdiction unit. So he's a border cop. The third movement takes place in 2063 out on the ocean after Miami has sunk beneath the water. And their descendants are figuring out what they're gonna do to survive. It was a strange sort of conception for the show because I had been wanting to write a play. I'd been wanting to write a triptych about America and the way that interracial love has shaped. This country and it shaped my family in particular. I also wanted to tell a story that had to do with this, the land itself in some way. I had been sort of carrying an idea for the play around for a while, knowing that it had to do with cross-cultural border crossing immigration themes. This sort of epic love story that each, in each chapter there's a different love story. It wasn't until I went on a trip to Singapore and to China and got to meet some family members that I hadn't met before that the rest of it sort of fell into place. The rest of it being that there's a, the presence of, ancestors and the way that the living sort of interacts with those who have come before throughout the play.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:27:13] I noticed that ancestors, and ghosts and spirits are a theme throughout your work. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your own ancestry and how that informs your writing and creative practice.   Jessica Huang: [00:27:25] Yeah, I mean, I'm in a fourth generation interracial marriage. So, I come from a long line of people who have loved people who were different from them, who spoke different languages, who came from different countries. That's my story. My brother his partner is German. He lives in Berlin. We have a history in our family of traveling and of loving people who are different from us. To me that's like the story of this country and is also the stuff I like to write about. The thing that I feel like I have to share with the world are, is just stories from that experience.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:28:03] That's really awesome. I guess I haven't really thought about it that way, but I'm third generation of like interracial as well. 'cause I'm Chinese, Japanese, and Irish. And then at a certain point when you're mixed, it's like, okay, well. The odds of me being with someone that's my exact same ethnic breakdown feel pretty low. So it's probably gonna be an interracial relationship in one way or the other.   Jessica Huang: [00:28:26] Totally. Yeah. And, and, and I don't, you know, it sounds, and it sounds like in your family and in mine too, like we just. Kept sort of adding culture to our family. So my grandfather's from Shanghai, my grandmother, you know, is, it was a very, like upper crust white family on the east coast. Then they had my dad. My dad married my mom whose people are from the Ukraine. And then my husband's Puerto Rican. We just keep like broadening the definition of family and the definition of community and I think that's again, like I said, like the story of this country.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:29:00] That's so beautiful. I'm curious about the role of place in this project in particular, mother of exiles, angel Island, obviously being in the Bay Area, and then the rest of it taking place, in Miami or in the future. The last act is also like Miami or Miami adjacent. What was the inspiration behind the place and how did place and location and setting inform the writing.   Jessica Huang: [00:29:22] It's a good question. Angel Island is a place that has loomed large in my work. Just being sort of known as the Ellis Island of the West, but actually being a place with a much more difficult history. I've always been really inspired by the stories that come out of Angel Island, the poetry that's come out of Angel Island and, just the history of Asian immigration. It felt like it made sense to set the first part of the play here, in the Bay. Especially because Eddie, our protagonist, spent some time working on a farm. So there's also like this great history of agriculture and migrant workers here too. It just felt like a natural place to set it. And then why did we move to Miami? There are so many moments in American history where immigration has been a real, center point of the sort of conversation, the national conversation. And moving forward to the nineties, the wet foot, dry foot Cuban immigration story felt like really potent and a great place to tell the next piece of this tale. Then looking toward the future Miami is definitely, or you know, according to the science that I have read one of the cities that is really in danger of flooding as sea levels rise.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:30:50] Okay. The Cuban immigration. That totally makes sense. That leads perfectly into my next question, which was gonna be about how did you choose the time the moments in time? I think that one you said was in the nineties and curious about the choice to have it be in the nineties and not present day. And then how did you choose how far in the future you wanted to have the last part?   Jessica Huang: [00:31:09] Some of it was really just based on the needs of the characters. So the how far into the future I wanted us to be following a character that we met as a baby in the previous act. So it just, you know, made sense. I couldn't push it too far into the future. It made sense to set it in the 2060s. In terms of the nineties and, why not present day? Immigration in the nineties , was so different in it was still, like I said, it was still, it's always been a important national conversation, but it wasn't. There was a, it felt like a little bit more, I don't know if gentle is the word, but there just was more nuance to the conversation. And still there was a broad effort to prevent Cuban and refugees from coming ashore. I think I was fascinated by how complicated, I mean, what foot, dry foot, the idea of it is that , if a refugee is caught on water, they're sent back to Cuba. But if they're caught on land, then they can stay in the us And just the idea of that is so. The way that, people's lives are affected by just where they are caught , in their crossing. I just found that to be a bit ridiculous and in terms of a national policy. It made sense then to set the second part, which moves into a bit of a farce at a time when immigration also kind of felt like a farce.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:32:46] That totally makes sense. It feels very dire right now, obviously. But it's interesting to be able to kind of go back in time and see when things were handled so differently and also how I think throughout history and also touching many different racial groups. We've talked a lot on this show about the Chinese Exclusion Act and different immigration policies towards Chinese and other Asian Americans. But they've always been pretty arbitrary and kind of farcical as you put it. Yeah.   Jessica Huang: [00:33:17] Yeah. And that's not to make light of like the ways that people's lives were really impacted by all of this policy . But I think the arbitrariness of it, like you said, is just really something that bears examining. I also think it's really helpful to look at where we are now through the lens of the past or the future. Mm-hmm. Just gives just a little bit of distance and a little bit of perspective. Maybe just a little bit of context to how we got to where we got to.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:33:50] That totally makes sense. What has your experience been like of seeing the play be put up? It's my understanding, this is the first this is like the premier of the play at Berkeley Rep.   Jessica Huang: [00:34:00] Yes. Yeah. It's the world premier. It's it incredible. Jackie Bradley is our director and she's phenomenal. It's just sort of mesmerizing what is happening with this play? It's so beautiful and like I've alluded to, it shifts tone between the first movement being sort of a historical drama on Angel Island to, it moves into a bit of a farce in part two, and then it, by the third movement, we're living in sort of a dystopic, almost sci-fi future. The way that Jackie's just deftly moved an audience through each of those experiences while holding onto the important threads of this family and, the themes that we're unpacking and this like incredible design team, all of these beautiful visuals sounds, it's just really so magical to see it come to life in this way. And our cast is incredible. I believe there are 18 named roles in the play, and there are a few surprises and all of them are played by six actors. who are just. Unbelievable. Like all of them have the ability to play against type. They just transform and transform again and can navigate like, the deepest tragedies and the like, highest moments of comedy and just hold on to this beautiful humanity. Each and every one of them is just really spectacular. So I'm just, you know. I don't know. I just feel so lucky to be honest with you. This production is going to be so incredible. It's gonna be, it feels like what I imagine in my mind, but, you know, plus,    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:35:45] well, I really can't wait to see it. What are you hoping that audiences walk away with after seeing the show?   Jessica Huang: [00:35:54] That's a great question. I want audiences to feel connected to their ancestors and feel part of this community of this country and, and grateful and acknowledge the sacrifices that somebody along the line made so that they could be here with, with each other watching the show. I hope, people feel like they enjoyed themselves and got to experience something that they haven't experienced before. I think that there are definitely, nuances to the political conversation that we're having right now, about who has the right to immigrate into this country and who has the right to be a refugee, who has the right to claim asylum. I hope to add something to that conversation with this play, however small.   Jalena Keane-Lee:[00:36:43]  Do you know where the play is going next?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:45] No. No. I dunno where it's going next. Um, exciting. Yeah, but we'll, time will   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:36:51] and previews start just in a few days, right?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:54] Yeah. Yeah. We have our first preview, we have our first audience on Friday. So yeah, very looking forward to seeing how all of this work that we've been doing lands on folks.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:03] Wow, that's so exciting. Do you have any other projects that you're working on? Or any upcoming projects that you'd like to share about?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:10] Yeah, yeah, I do. I'm part of the writing team for the 10 Things I Hate About You Musical, which is in development with an Eye Toward Broadway. I'm working with Lena Dunham and Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Ska to make that musical. I also have a fun project in Chicago that will soon be announced.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:31] And what is keeping you inspired and keeping your, you know, creative energies flowing in these times?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:37] Well first of all, I think, you know, my collaborators on this show are incredibly inspiring. The nice thing about theater is that you just get to go and be inspired by people all the time. 'cause it's this big collaboration, you don't have to do it all by yourself. So that would be the first thing I would say. I haven't seen a lot of theater since I've been out here in the bay, but right before I left New York, I saw MEUs . Which is by Brian Keda, Nigel Robinson. And it's this sort of two-hander musical, but they do live looping and they sort of create the music live. Wow. And it's another, it's another show about an untold history and about solidarity and about folks coming together from different backgrounds and about ancestors, so there's a lot of themes that really resonate. And also the show is just so great. It's just really incredible. So , that was the last thing I saw that I loved. I'm always so inspired by theater that I get to see.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:36] That sounds wonderful. Is there anything else that you'd like to share?   Jessica Huang: [00:38:40] No, I don't think so. I just thanks so much for having me and come check out the show. I think you'll enjoy it. There's something for everyone.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:48] Yeah. I'm so excited to see the show. Is there like a Chinese Cuban love story with the Miami portion? Oh, that's so awesome. This is an aside, but I'm a filmmaker and I've been working on a documentary about, Chinese people in Cuba and there's like this whole history of Chinese Cubans in Cuba too.   Jessica Huang: [00:39:07] Oh, that's wonderful. In this story, it's a person who's a descendant of, a love story between a Chinese person and a Mexican man, a Chinese woman and a Mexican man, and oh, their descendant. Then also, there's a love story between him and a Cuban woman.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:39:25] That's awesome. Wow. I'm very excited to see it in all the different intergenerational layers and tonal shifts. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:39:34] Next up we are back with Miko Lee, who is now speaking with photographer Joyce Xi about her latest exhibition entitled Our Language, our Story Running Through January in San Francisco at Galleria de Raza.    Miko Lee: [00:39:48] Welcome, Joyce Xi to Apex Express.    Joyce Xi: [00:39:52] Thanks for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:39:53] Yes. I'm, I wanna start by asking you a question I ask most of my guests, and this is based on the great poet Shaka Hodges. It's an adaptation of her question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:09] My people are artists, free spirits, people who wanna see a more free and just, and beautiful world. I'm Chinese American. A lot of my work has been in the Asian American community with all kinds of different people who dreaming of something better and trying to make the world a better place and doing so with creativity and with positive and good energy.   Miko Lee: [00:40:39] I love it. And what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:43] I am a fighter. I feel like just people who have been fighting for a better world. Photography wise, like definitely thinking about Corky Lee who is an Asian American photographer and activist. There's been people who have done it before me. There will be people who do it after me, but I wanna do my version of it here.   Miko Lee: [00:41:03] Thank you so much and for lifting up the great Corky Lee who has been such a big influence on all of us. I'm wondering in that vein, can you talk a little bit about how you use photography as a tool for social change?   Joyce Xi: [00:41:17] Yeah. Photography I feel is a very powerful tool for social change. Photography is one of those mediums where it's emotional, it's raw, it's real. It's a way to see and show and feel like important moments, important stories, important emotions. I try to use it as a way to share. Truths and stories about issues that are important, things that people experience, whether it's, advocating for environmental justice or language justice or just like some of them, just to highlight some of the struggles and challenges people experience as well as the joys and the celebrations and just the nuance of people's lives. I feel like photography is a really powerful medium to show that. And I love photography in particular because it's really like a frozen moment. I think what's so great about photography is that. It's that moment, it's that one feeling, that one expression, and it's kind of like frozen in time. So you can really, sit there and ponder about what's in this person's eyes or what's this person trying to say? Or. What does this person's struggle like? You can just see it through their expressions and their emotions and also it's a great way to document. There's so many things that we all do as advocates, as activists, whether it's protesting or whether it's just supporting people who are dealing with something. You have that moment recorded. Can really help us remember those fights and those moments. You can show people what happened. Photography is endlessly powerful. I really believe in it as a tool and a medium for influencing the world in positive ways.   Miko Lee: [00:43:08] I'd love us to shift and talk about your latest work, Our language, Our story.” Can you tell us a little bit about where this came from?   Joyce Xi: [00:43:15] Sure. I was in conversation with Nikita Kumar, who was at the Asian Law Caucus at the time. We were just chatting about art and activism and how photography could be a powerful medium to use to advocate or tell stories about different things. Nikita was talking to me about how a lot of language access work that's being done by organizations that work in immigrant communities can often be a topic that is very jargon filled or very kind of like niche or wonky policy, legal and maybe at times isn't the thing that people really get in the streets about or get really emotionally energized around. It's one of those issues that's so important to everything. Especially since in many immigrant communities, people do not speak English and every single day, every single issue. All these issues that these organizations advocate around. Like housing rights, workers' rights, voting rights, immigration, et cetera, without language, those rights and resources are very hard to understand and even hard to access at all. So, Nik and I were talking about language is so important, it's one of those issues too remind people about the core importance of it. What does it feel like when you don't have access to your language? What does it feel like and look like when you do, when you can celebrate with your community and communicate freely and live your life just as who you are versus when you can't even figure out how to say what you wanna say because there's a language barrier.    Miko Lee: [00:44:55] Joyce can you just for our audience, break down what language access means? What does it mean to you and why is it important for everybody?   Joyce Xi: [00:45:05] Language access is about being able to navigate the world in your language, in the way that you understand and communicate in your life. In advocacy spaces, what it can look like is, we need to have resources and we need to have interpretation in different languages so that people can understand what's being talked about or understand what resources are available or understand what's on the ballot. So they can really experience their life to the fullest. Each of us has our languages that we're comfortable with and it's really our way of expressing everything that's important to us and understanding everything that's important to us. When that language is not available, it's very hard to navigate the world. On the policy front, there's so many ways just having resources in different languages, having interpretation in different spaces, making sure that everybody who is involved in this society can do what they need to do and can understand the decisions that are being made. That affects them and also that they can affect the decisions that affect them.   Miko Lee: [00:46:19] I think a lot of immigrant kids just grow up being like the de facto translator for their parents. Which can be things like medical terminology and legal terms, which they might not be familiar with. And so language asks about providing opportunities for everybody to have equal understanding of what's going on. And so can you talk a little bit about your gallery show? So you and Nikita dreamed up this vision for making language access more accessible and more story based, and then what happened?   Joyce Xi: [00:46:50] We decided to express this through a series of photo stories. Focusing on individual stories from a variety of different language backgrounds and immigration backgrounds and just different communities all across the Bay Area. And really just have people share from the heart, what does language mean to them? What does it affect in their lives? Both when one has access to the language, like for example, in their own community, when they can speak freely and understand and just share everything that's on their heart. And what does it look like when that's not available? When maybe you're out in the streets and you're trying to like talk to the bus driver and you can't even communicate with each other. How does that feel? What does that look like? So we collected all these stories from many different community members across different languages and asked them a series of questions and took photos of them in their day-to-day lives, in family gatherings, at community meetings, at rallies, at home, in the streets, all over the place, wherever people were like Halloween or Ramadan or graduations, or just day-to-day life. Through the quotes that we got from the interviews, as well as the photos that I took to illustrate their stories, we put them together as photo stories for each person. Those are now on display at Galleria Deza in San Francisco. We have over 20 different stories in over 10 different languages. The people in the project spoke like over 15 different languages. Some people used multiple languages and some spoke English, many did not. We had folks who had immigrated recently, folks who had immigrated a while ago. We had children of immigrants talking about their experiences being that bridge as you talked about, navigating translating for their parents and being in this tough spot of growing up really quickly, we just have this kind of tapestry of different stories and, definitely encourage folks to check out the photos but also to read through each person's stories. Everybody has a story that's very special and that is from the heart   Miko Lee: [00:49:00] sounds fun. I can't wait to see it in person. Can you share a little bit about how you selected the participants?    Joyce Xi: [00:49:07] Yeah, selecting the participants was an organic process. I'm a photographer who's trying to honor relationships and not like parachute in. We wanted to build relationships and work with people who felt comfortable sharing their stories, who really wanted to be a part of it, and who are connected in some kind of a way where it didn't feel like completely out of context. So what that meant was that myself and also the Asian Law Caucus we have connections in the community to different organizations who work in different immigrant communities. So we reached out to people that we knew who were doing good work and just say Hey, do you have any community members who would be interested in participating in this project who could share their stories. Then through following these threads we were able to connect with many different organizations who brought either members or community folks who they're connected with to the project. Some of them came through like friends. Another one was like, oh, I've worked with these people before, maybe you can talk to them. One of them I met through a World Refugee Day event. It came through a lot of different relationships and reaching out. We really wanted folks who wanted to share a piece of their life. A lot of folks who really felt like language access and language barriers were a big challenge in their life, and they wanted to talk about it. We were able to gather a really great group together.    Miko Lee: [00:50:33] Can you share how opening night went? How did you navigate showcasing and highlighting the diversity of the languages in one space?    Joyce Xi: [00:50:43] The opening of the exhibit was a really special event. We invited everybody who was part of the project as well as their communities, and we also invited like friends, community and different organizations to come. We really wanted to create a space where we could feel and see what language access and some of the challenges of language access can be all in one space. We had about 10 different languages at least going on at the same time. Some of them we had interpretation through headsets. Some of them we just, it was like fewer people. So people huddled together and just interpreted for the community members. A lot of these organizations that we partnered with, they brought their folks out. So their members, their community members, their friends and then. It was really special because a lot of the people whose photos are on the walls were there, so they invited their friends and family. It was really fun for them to see their photos on the wall. And also I think for all of our different communities, like we can end up really siloed or just like with who we're comfortable with most of the time, especially if we can't communicate very well with each other with language barriers. For everybody to be in the same space and to hear so many languages being used in the same space and for people to be around people maybe that they're not used to being around every day. And yet through everybody's stories, they share a lot of common experiences. Like so many of the stories were related to each other. People talked about being parents, people talked about going to the doctor or taking the bus, like having challenges at the workplace or just what it's like to celebrate your own culture and heritage and language and what the importance of preserving languages. There are so many common threads and. Maybe a lot of people are not used to seeing each other or communicating with each other on a daily basis. So just to have everyone in one space was so special. We had performances, we had food, we had elders, children. There was a huge different range of people and it was just like, it was just cool to see everyone in the same space. It was special.    Miko Lee: [00:52:51] And finally, for folks that get to go to Galleria de la Raza in San Francisco and see the exhibit, what do you want them to walk away with?   Joyce Xi: [00:53:00] I would love for people to walk away just like in a reflective state. You know how to really think about how. Language is so important to everything that we do and through all these stories to really see how so many different immigrant and refugee community members are making it work. And also deal with different barriers and how it affects them, how it affects just really simple human things in life that maybe some of us take for granted, on a daily basis. And just to have more compassion, more understanding. Ultimately, we wanna see our city, our bay area, our country really respecting people and their language and their dignity through language access and through just supporting and uplifting our immigrant communities in general. It's a such a tough time right now. There's so many attacks on our immigrant communities and people are scared and there's a lot of dehumanizing actions and narratives out there. This is, hopefully something completely different than that. Something that uplifts celebrates, honors and really sees our immigrant communities and hopefully people can just feel that feeling of like, oh, okay, we can do better. Everybody has a story. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and all the people in these stories are really amazing human beings. It was just an honor for me to even be a part of their story. I hope people can feel some piece of that.    Miko Lee: [00:54:50] Thank you so much, Joyce, for sharing your vision with us, and I hope everybody gets a chance to go out and see your work.    Joyce Xi: [00:54:57] Thank you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:55:00] Thanks so much for tuning in to Apex Express. Please check out our website at kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the guests tonight and find out how you can take direct action.   Apex Express is a proud member of Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. Find out more at aacre.org. That's AACRE.org.   We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important.    Apex Express is produced by  Miko Lee, Jalena Keene-Lee, Ayame Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaida, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Nina Phillips & Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a good night.       The post APEX Express – 11.20.25 – Artist to Artist appeared first on KPFA.

It's time to talk about your money now, personal finance whizz Mary Holm joins Jesse and today she's going to address some of your feedback. Focusing on home ownership versus renting and investment strategies.

SummaryIn this conversation, Robert Bolden discusses the importance of choosing joy regardless of life's circumstances. He emphasizes that joy overflowing is a choice and encourages listeners to focus on the positive aspects of life rather than dwelling on negativity.TakeawaysChoosing joy is a conscious decision.Life is short, so we should embrace happiness.There are always reasons to be joyful.Negativity can be overwhelming, but positivity is a choice.Focusing on joy can transform our experiences.We have the power to change our mindset.Joy can coexist with life's challenges.It's important to seek out positive moments.Life's circumstances don't dictate our happiness.Choosing joy can lead to a more fulfilling life.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Coffee in Christ00:37 Living as a Believer in Every SituationRegister for the Challenge:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/A08o-y74QIOyHDd6vsq8NgReady to become part of the community? https://lifetransformed.podia.com/message us and we will give you free access.Merchhttps://www.bonfire.com/store/lifetransformed/Schedule a serve call ⁠https://www.picktime.com/LifeTransformed⁠Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbolden18?igsh=cnlvdjQ5eGJwZTM%3D&utm_source=qr⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbolden18?igsh=cnlvdjQ5eGJwZTM%3D&utm_source=qrYouTube⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6sszulCUrjodEyThd-rBw⁠Podcasts Join me live from Odd's Cafe here in Asheville…  message me for the exact time.  ⁠https://www.oddscafe.com/⁠Email: robertbolden@thisworldfreedom.comLinkTree https://linktr.ee/rbolden

Fan After Dark Full Show- November 18th, 2025 full 7756 Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:34:20 +0000 zp1pqk3tEpyOLT31ellSqGQ7Cd2a6naa sports The Fan After Dark sports Fan After Dark Full Show- November 18th, 2025 The Fan After Dark includes a rotation of hosts offering a truth-telling sports entertainment experience that gets listeners right on the biggest sports topics in and around DFW, across the country, and around the world. Focusing on the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, etc., The Fan After Dark airs M-F from 7-11 PM and is the only live and local sports radio show in the MetroplexCome 'Get Right' with Reg on The Fan, and be prepared for sports talk on a whole new level. You can follow Reg on Twitter @regadetula © 2024 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-lin

What if you could take a single product idea and build a real business from it, even with zero e-commerce experience?In this episode of High Voltage Business Builders, Neil Twa sits down with community member and entrepreneur Ashley Klaus, who scaled a simple scar-care product into a fast-growing brand doing over half a million dollars in revenue.Ashley opens up about the real work behind launching on Amazon. The early mistakes. The plateau that almost made her quit. The inventory chaos that comes with rapid growth. And how mentorship helped her navigate every stage of the journey.If you've ever wondered whether an everyday idea can turn into a real business, this episode gives you a blueprint built on experience, patience, and smart execution.In This Episode, We Cover:✅ How Ashley validated a product idea after her first attempt failed✅ Why structure, support, and mentorship accelerated her success✅ Managing growth from 40 units a day to 120+ units a day✅ How cash flow planning changes when your product takes off✅ Why focus beats chasing every new idea✅ Building a brand vs competing in a price war✅ Using Subscribe & Save to increase recurring revenue✅ The mindset shift every new seller needs to reach seven figures✅ How Ashley balances business, family, and creativity✅ Why e-commerce offers unmatched flexibility for busy parents  

Brandon Shea is a defined contribution strategist for the Global Retirement Strategy team. The team leads an enterprise retirement strategy, advises on the development of new products and services, and helps amplify the firm's voice in retirement security-related public policy initiatives. Brandon is a vice president at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.In this episode, Eric and Brandon Shea discuss:Adapting retirement strategiesExploring investment opportunitiesPersonalizing participant experienceLeveraging innovation responsiblyKey Takeaways:In this episode, Eric and Brandon discuss the highlights of T. Rowe Price's annual Consultant Survey. For more detailed information, please visit - https://www.troweprice.com/financial-intermediary/us/en/insights/defined-contribution-consultant-study.html The retirement plan industry is rapidly evolving with technology, personalization, and blended investment approaches. Staying informed helps sponsors and participants navigate these changes effectively. Learning about possible new strategies can help plan committees keep their offering relevant and aligned with long-term goals.Private assets like credit and equity are gaining attention for diversification and return potential. Balancing growth with liquidity and risk management is essential. Thoughtful investment selection can possibly strengthen retirement plan outcomes.Managed accounts, dynamic QDIA programs, and financial wellness initiatives allow plans to meet individual needs. Personalized strategies boost engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Tailored support prepares participants for a confident retirement.AI, technology, and legislation like Secure 2.0 are transforming plan management and advice. When applied thoughtfully, innovation enhances efficiency while complementing human expertise. Focusing on the mission ensures participants retire with dignity and confidence.“Private credit compared to private equity is seen as having a more liquid investment, and it's had a really good return, historical return on investment relative to other asset classes. So when we look at it, I think people are very excited about potentially bringing in private credit in the next couple of years to DC marketplaces.” - Brandon SheaConnect with Brandon Shea:Website: https://www.troweprice.com/institutional/us/en/bios/biodetails.bio-brandon-shea.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brshea/ Connect with Eric Dyson: Website: https://90northllc.com/Phone: 940-248-4800Email: contact@90northllc.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/401kguy/ The information and content of this podcast are general in nature and are provided solely for educational and informational purposes. It is believed to be accurate and reliable as of the posting date, but may be subject to change.It is not intended to provide a specific recommendation for any type of product or service discussed in this presentation or to provide any warranties, investment advice, financial advice, tax, plan design, or legal advice (unless otherwise specifically indicated). Please consult your own independent advisor as to any investment, tax, or legal statements made.The specific facts and circumstances of all qualified plans can vary, and the information contained in this podcast may or may not apply to your individual circumstances or to your plan or client plan-specific circumstances.

In this episode of the Intentional Athlete Podcast, host Ross Leppala is joined by powerlifting legend Sioux-z Hartwig-Gary. Sioux-z shares her journey from her early days of training to becoming a decorated champion with multiple world records. The episode dives into the importance of training with intentionality, embracing life's ups and downs, and the spiritual aspect of strength training. Susie's anecdotes and pearls of wisdom offer invaluable insights on how to channel the pursuit of strength into something transformative and fulfilling. Tune in for an enriching conversation that explores the mental, emotional, and spiritual facets of an athlete's journey.00:00 Introduction to the Intentional Athlete Podcast00:51 Special Guest: Susie Hartwood's Influence02:25 Sioux-z's Journey in Powerlifting05:54 Overcoming Challenges and Injuries09:56 The Importance of Longevity in Powerlifting15:12 Adjusting Expectations and Finding Joy19:37 The Value of Strength Training Beyond the Gym24:33 The Mental and Emotional Benefits of Lifting37:04 Competing at the Highest Level38:21 Balancing Coaching and Competing38:49 Handling Post-Competition Emotions39:58 Setting Realistic Goals40:55 Accepting Limitations and Focusing on Personal Bests42:16 Managing Expectations and Mental Health43:14 The Importance of Realistic Coaching44:13 Finding Pride in Personal Achievements45:26 Overcoming Disappointments in Competitions56:23 The Role of Faith in Powerlifting01:08:02 Future Goals and Personal Growth01:11:38 Final Words of Wisdom

CONTINUED Syria's Complex Geopolitics: Air Bases, Sanctions, Accountability, and Great Power Mediation Guest: Ahmad Sharawi Ahmad Sharawi discussed the non-transparent situation in Syria, focusing on reports of potential US air bases (Mezzeh and Dumayr), with denials from the Syrian government... 1505

Syria's Complex Geopolitics: Air Bases, Sanctions, Accountability, and Great Power Mediation Guest: Ahmad Sharawi Ahmad Sharawi discussed the non-transparent situation in Syria, focusing on reports of potential US air bases (Mezzeh and Dumayr), with denials from the Syrian government suggesting they won't possess the bases but might allow US use for counter-ISIS missions or potentially a security agreement requested by Israel for deconfliction, noting a recent US C-130 spotted landing at the Mezzeh air base near Damascus, while during a reported White House visit, Syrian requests included the removal of Caesar sanctions (partially waived by President Trump) and an Israeli withdrawal from the southern border buffer zone, with domestic movement towards accountability for the Suwayda province massacre and government security forces being arrested, as a Russian military delegation visited Damascus and southern Syria, potentially acting as a deconfliction mechanism between Syria and Israeli forces, with Russia's goal appearing to be balancing regional interests while maintaining its bases in western Syria. 1307

“Within an in demand topic, how are you going to differentiate? There are only X number of categories of movies out there, right? And so it's not like you're suddenly going to invent a new category of movie, but you do want, within that well trenched category, to be distinct.”Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! In today's episode, host Grant Baldwin is joined once again by youth speaker and entrepreneur, Josh Shipp, for a masterclass on how to build a seven-figure speaking business. If you've ever wondered what it really takes to reach and sustain that elusive seven-figure mark in the speaking industry, this conversation is for you!Drawing inspiration from his own career and his work as the founder of a successful speakers bureau for the youth and education space, Josh pulls back the curtain on the practical, often overlooked strategies that lead to lasting success. He and Grant dive deep into the six core offerings every speaker should consider—starting with the foundational work of perfecting your speech, and then thoughtfully layering on merchandise, building an engaged online platform, writing a book, developing a course, and scaling through licensing.You'll hear candid reflections on why speaking alone can be both lucrative and limiting, the importance of focusing on quality before quantity, and how to know when it's time to pursue additional streams of revenue. Josh offers clear benchmarks, practical income thresholds, and valuable insights into everything from setting realistic goals, leveraging audience feedback, and understanding the true costs and opportunities of each new offering.Whether you're trying to book more gigs, looking to expand with digital products, or simply want to avoid burnout while building a business you love, this episode outlines the unfiltered roadmap to becoming a seven-figure speaker!You'll learn:Focusing on substance over charismaThe misconception that income must come from speaking aloneAvoiding “shiny object syndrome”Building offers sequentially versus all at onceExamples of different revenue pie chartsVariables that influence your income modelWhy merch should come second in your sequenceUtilizing other platforms like newsletters, podcasts, etc.The role of authoring a book as a speakerWhen to maximize a current offering or make a new oneAnd much, much more!“What I would advocate for, looking back on it with a bit of pattern recognition, is building these [avenues] deliberately step by step. That's what's going to help you get to a [seven-figure speaking business].”Episode ResourcesJosh's WebsiteGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When auditing a medical record, a common mistake is viewing it solely from a coding perspective rather than an auditing perspective. True auditing requires examining not just the encounter itself, but also what occurred before, after, and around it. Focusing only on coding can result in missed compliance elements and insufficient support for what was—or […] The post Auditing a record isn't the same as coding it appeared first on Terry Fletcher Consulting, Inc..

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Building a strong company starts with strategic foundations for business growth. In Part 1 of our interview with Charly Leetham, we explore how clarity, customer understanding, and simple systems help businesses grow with confidence. Her insights show how the right strategic groundwork leads to long-term success. About Charly Leetham Charly Leetham brings more than 40 years of hands-on experience in building practical, reliable systems for small businesses. She earned her amateur radio license at 13, became an electronic engineer by 21, and completed her MBA while working full-time and raising two young children. Her career has spanned technical support, sales, project management, and client services, giving her a deep understanding of both technology and people. After running multiple franchises and overcoming a major business setback, she founded Ask Charly Leetham—now a long-standing digital services company supporting clients across Australia, the U.S., and beyond. Known for her clear, no-nonsense approach, Charly specializes in turning complex tech into simple, workable solutions. She also hosts Rise and Shine – Your Business Tech Boost, offering practical guidance to business owners who want answers they can trust. Facebook, Twitter / X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website Strategic Business Foundations Start With the Right Questions Charly opened the conversation with a key insight: you cannot build a strong business without asking strong questions. These questions shape your strategic business foundations and guide the decisions that follow. "Before you build, you must know what you're building and why." – Charly Leetham Too many business owners rush into action without defining their audience or validating the problem they're trying to solve. Charly recommends asking: Who is the ideal customer? What problem are we solving? Why does this solution matter? How will we measure success? These questions are simple, yet they prevent misalignment and wasted effort. Understanding Your Customer Is Key to Strategic Business Foundations Charly highlighted that meaningful customer insight is essential. Many entrepreneurs claim to understand their customers, but they rely on assumptions rather than evidence. This weakens their strategic business foundations and often leads to products that miss the mark. She encourages leaders to: Listen actively Observe behavior, not just opinions Identify real pain points Understand motivation and constraints "Your customers will tell you what they need—if you give them space to speak." This approach ensures your solution fits the customer's world—not just your idea of it. Simplicity Strengthens Strategic Business Foundations One of Charly's most powerful insights is the importance of simplicity. Many founders believe complexity signals value, but Charly argues that clarity creates far stronger strategic business foundations. She recommends: Stripping out non-essential features Using simple, direct language Focusing on the core value Removing any friction that confuses customers "If your customer can't understand what you do, they won't buy from you." Simplicity improves messaging, operations, and customer experience. Systems and Processes Anchor Your Strategic Business Foundations According to Charly, strong systems are not optional—they're essential. Businesses often wait too long to document processes or create workflows. This delay weakens their strategic business foundations and makes growth harder. Systems help businesses: Deliver consistently Delegate confidently Provide predictable customer experiences Avoid repeated mistakes Scale with stability Templates, automations, and repeatable processes transform chaos into structure. Final Thoughts: Building Strategic Business Foundations That Last Part 1 of our interview with Charly Leetham offers a powerful reminder: success begins with strategic business foundations. When you ask the right questions, understand your customers, simplify your offerings, and build systems early, you create a business that can grow with confidence and purpose. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we explore how automation, alignment, and intentional tools help businesses expand on these foundations and operate more efficiently. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur Community We invite you to join our community and share your coding journey with us. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, there's always room to learn and grow together. Contact us at info@develpreneur.com with your questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes. Together, let's continue exploring the exciting world of software development. Additional Resources Strategic Planning and Long Weekends Scaling with Contractors and Employees: A Strategic Guide to Business Growth The Benefits Of Planning Building Better Foundations Podcast Videos – With Bonus Content

https://teachhoops.com/ The most effective way to communicate with basketball officials begins long before you have a complaint. Start by building a professional rapport; greet the crew by name before the game, be respectful, and ask if they have any points of emphasis. During the game, your goal is not to get a call overturned—it's to seek clarification or plant a seed for the future. You must pick your spots strategically: wait for a dead ball, a timeout, or a free throw. Never address an official during live play, and be sure to get their attention calmly (e.g., "Tim, can I get a quick word on the next dead ball?") rather than yelling across the court. Your language and tone are more critical than the complaint itself. Never start a question with the word "you," which makes the interaction personal and defensive (e.g., "You missed that call!"). Instead, ask open-ended questions like, "What did you see on that drive?" or "From my angle, it looked like there was body contact; what made it a block?" Focusing on rule-specific language ("displacement," "verticality") rather than emotional complaints ("over the back!") also demonstrates that you know the rules and are seeking a professional interpretation, not just venting. Finally, you must avoid the "magic phrases" that officials are conditioned to ignore or penalize. Yelling "Call it both ways!" or "They've been doing it all game!" will get you tuned out immediately. The fastest way to lose all credibility and earn a technical foul is to question an official's integrity, fairness, or eyesight. Respect is a two-way street; by controlling your emotions and choosing your words wisely, you show officials that you are a coach they can have a reasonable dialogue with, which will pay dividends when you have a legitimate concern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast, host Duane Osterlind welcomes Brenda Zane, the founder of Hope Stream Community. Brenda is a former high-level advertising executive who completely shifted her career after her son struggled with severe substance use disorder, including multiple fentanyl overdoses. Her experience led her to realize the lack of effective, compassionate, and actionable resources for parents dealing with a child's addiction—so she built them.Brenda shares her powerful, deeply personal journey, discussing the profound shift in perspective that occurred after her son's near-fatal experiences. She realized her demanding corporate life was "meaningless" compared to the urgency of her family's struggle. This episode is a must-listen for any parent, caregiver, or family member grappling with a loved one's addiction, offering a powerful message of hope, empowerment, and practical advice.Key Topics The Power of Perspective Shift: Brenda discusses how a crisis can force a re-evaluation of what is truly meaningful in life, leading her to leave her high-powered career to focus on supporting other families.Challenging the "Rock Bottom" Myth: The conversation directly addresses the harmful, disempowering message that parents are helpless and must simply "let them hit rock bottom." Brenda emphasizes that parents can take action to change their family system and build connection.The Importance of Parental "Internal Work": Brenda highlights that showing up effectively for a child struggling with substance use requires the parent to do their own deep internal work. This includes letting go of the ego, dismantling the need to rescue, and distinguishing between blame and responsibility in the family dynamic.The Backpack Analogy: A key concept discussed is allowing your child to struggle and face natural consequences (filling their "backpack" with life lessons), rather than constantly rescuing them (leaving them with an "empty backpack").Setting Boundaries with Compassion: Learn how to create a plan with your therapist to set boundaries that protect your sanity while still maintaining a loving relationship with your child. Brenda stresses the importance of understanding that your child's substance use is a symptom, not an action against you.The Value of Non-Judgmental Connection: Brenda shares practical examples, like meeting her son for breakfast with the rule of no talk about substance use, just to connect on a human, person-to-person level.Focusing on Support: Support anything that moves your loved one toward healthy relationships and healthy behavior, whether that's treatment, a mentor, or simple connection. Don't fall for "imaginary haircuts" (e.g., giving money for things you know will be used for substances).Healing in Community: The segment on Hope Stream emphasizes the need for a non-judgmental community where caregivers can find support, share experiences, and receive education on communication tools and the complexities of addiction, trauma, and ambiguous grief.The Mandatory Self-Care Message: Brenda's final advice to a struggling mom is concise and crucial: Take care of yourself. It is mandatory, not selfish.ResourcesWebsite: hopestreamcommunity.orgPodcast: hopestreamcommunity.org/playlistsE-books: hopestreamcommunity.org/resourcesNovusMindfulLife.comhttps://www.theaddictedmind.com/community If you live in California and are looking for counseling or therapy please check out Novus Mindful Life Counseling and Recovery CenterNovusMindfulLife.comWe want to hear from you. Leave us a message or ask us a question: https://www.speakpipe.com/addictedmindDisclaimerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Originally from Wisconsin, Nathan Vazquez studied computer science at Yale University. He       worked for 15 years as an options trader at Citibank until he was eventually tempted by the idea of being his own boss with work that allowed him the flexiblity to spend more time with his family. In 2015, he left his job in finance to join his wife's sticker subscription company, Pipsticks. Within a year, Pipsticks had thousands of subscribers in over 50 countries. As CEO of Pipsticks, Nathan now manages the company's growing business in the subscription, E-Commerce, wholesale, and licensing markets. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and four kids.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:00] Intro[01:23] Balancing creativity with business logic[05:43] Learning by doing and adapting fast[08:21] Growing an organic customer base[09:57] Stay updated with new episodes[10:06] Finding spending balance for growth[12:38] Seizing opportunities during market shifts[14:29] Sponsors: Electric Eye, Freight Right, Taboola, Next Insurance[20:00] Scaling your brand through audience feedback[24:10] Focusing on one thing at a time[26:32] Expanding a product to wholesale [28:25] Learning from early B2B mistakes[30:07] Measuring break-even for smart spending[33:04] Aligning resources with marketing strategy[34:29] Targeting break-even timelines strategicallyResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/HonestEcommerce?sub_confirmation=1Cute stickers for kids, crafters, anyone www.pipsticks.com/Stickers + stationery that say what you wish you could www.theswearjar.com/Follow Nathaniel Vazquez www.linkedin.com/in/nathaniel-vazquez-5b663222/Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connectTurn your domestic business into an international business www.freightright.com/honestReach your best audience at the lowest cost! discover.taboola.com/honest/Easy, affordable coverage that grows with your business nextinsurance.com/honest/If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Get the stories from today's show in THE STACK: https://justinbarclay.comJoin Justin in the MAHA revolution - http://HealthWithJustin.comProTech Heating and Cooling - http://ProTechGR.com New gear is here! Check out the latest in the Justin Store: https://justinbarclay.com/storeKirk Elliott PHD - FREE consultation on wealth conservation - http://GoldWithJustin.comTry Cue Streaming for just $2 / day and help support the good guys https://justinbarclay.com/cueUp to 80% OFF! Use promo code JUSTIN http://MyPillow.com/JustinPatriots are making the Switch! What if we could start voting with our dollars too? http://SwitchWithJustin.com

In this episode, Steve Fretzin, Tim Semelroth, Casey Grabenstein, and Neil Dishman discuss:Treating business development as essentialUsing systems and empowering teamsBuilding a culture of growthLearning through resilience and honesty Key Takeaways:Integrating business development into daily routines and tracking it like billable work ensures steady growth. Making it non-negotiable builds consistency and prevents unpredictable cycles.Leveraging CRM tools, spreadsheets, and point systems keeps outreach organized and accountable. Involving junior lawyers in relationships and strategy builds future rainmakers.Firms that reward, support, and normalize business development create sustainable success. Encouragement at every level strengthens engagement and results.Focusing on process over outcome turns setbacks into lessons and maintains momentum. Honest communication and reflection foster better relationships and continuous improvement. "For me, making myself feel satisfied that I've put in enough in that week to get good results, and then not worrying about whether the results come in… Try to stop worrying about the results and focus on the process is the best that I can do." —  Casey Grabenstein Check out my new show, Be That Lawyer Coaches Corner, and get the strategies I use with my clients to win more business and love your career again. Ready to go from good to GOAT in your legal marketing game? Don't miss PIMCON—where the brightest minds in professional services gather to share what really works. Lock in your spot now: https://www.pimcon.org/ Thank you to our Sponsor!Rankings.io: https://rankings.io/Legalverse Media: https://legalversemedia.com/ Ready to grow your law practice without selling or chasing? Book your free 30-minute strategy session now—let's make this your breakout year: https://fretzin.com/ About Tim Semelroth: Tim Semelroth is Iowa's only board-certified truck accident attorney and a partner at RSH Legal. With over 25 years of experience, he provides trusted expertise in trucking litigation and collaborates with attorneys statewide and beyond. Known for his strategic approach and commitment to fairness, Tim offers consultation to help chart the best course for complex truck accident cases. Connect with Tim Semelroth: Website: https://www.timsemelroth.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsemelroth/ About Casey Grabenstein: Casey Grabenstein is a litigation partner at Saul Ewing LLP, handling complex commercial disputes and class actions involving securities, consumer fraud, and ERISA. He also advises clients in the cannabis and litigation funding industries, serving as both due diligence and primary counsel. A frequent writer and speaker, Casey brings deep insight into emerging issues in litigation finance and commercial law. Connect with Casey Grabenstein: Website: https://www.saul.com/professionals/casey-grabensteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-grabenstein-a375094/ About Neil H. Dishman: Neil H. Dishman is a principal at Jackson Lewis P.C. in Chicago, where he helps employers prevent and resolve workplace disputes. His practice spans discrimination, retaliation, and wage-hour compliance, with extensive experience across multiple industries. A sought-after speaker and published author, Neil is known for his practical guidance on employment law and risk management. Connect with Neil H. Dishman: Website: https://www.jacksonlewis.com/people/neil-h-dishmanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsemelroth/Email: Neil.Dishman@jacksonlewis.com  Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinInstagram: @fretzinsteveFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Ashley Poulton is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the author of 'The Way To Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself: By Drawing Upon The Power of Jesus Christ.'I wanted to speak to Ash about the rise of self-improvement and self-development, partly due to the rise of podcasting, and how Jesus Christ can help in all of those righteous pursuits that aren't directly linked to Gospel discipleship.Some highlights from this episode include how to balance ambition with humility, how Jesus Christ's Atonement can bless you daily, and how to set goals so that you can reach your divine potential.--You can find more of Ash's work at the following link:- https://ashpoulton.com/Follow For All The Saints on social media for updates and inspiring content:www.instagram.com/forallthesaintspodhttps://www.facebook.com/forallthesaintspod/For All The Saints episodes are released every Monday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVDUQg_qZIU&list=UULFFf7vzrJ2LNWmp1Kl-c6K9Qhttps://open.spotify.com/show/3j64txm9qbGVVZOM48P4HS?si=bb31d048e05141f2https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/for-all-the-saints/id1703815271If you have feedback or any suggestions for topics or guests, connect with Ben & Sean via hello@forallthesaints.org or DM on InstagramConversations to Refresh Your Faith.For All The Saints podcast was established in 2023 by Ben Hancock to express his passion and desire for more dialogue around faith, religious belief, and believers' perspectives on the topics of our day. Tune into For All The Saints every Monday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.Follow For All The Saints on social media for daily inspiration.

In this episode of Alliance Insights, Jack Elliott, Regional VP of Operations with Alera Group and Risk & Insurance Research Academy Board Chair, shares how a high school internship changed the course of his life. The Academy's Sharla Floyd talks with Jack about his path from the classroom to the C-suite and why he is so passionate about creating opportunities for today's students through initiatives like the CISR High School Program. Jack's story is a powerful reminder of how early exposure and industry engagement can truly change lives, and why giving back to the next generation matters now more than ever. Watch now and be inspired to help build the future of our industry. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Paul Gregory discusses his book, The Oswalds, focusing on his father, Pete Gregory, a Russian-speaking oil engineer. On November 22, 1963, Pete was near the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth when President Kennedy departed. Later that afternoon, Paul, a student in Oklahoma, learned the president had been shot and watched the news. When the bruised suspect was brought in on television, Paul immediately recognized him, declaring he knew that guy. Paul was picked up the next morning for interrogation by the Secret Service and local police due to his association with Lee Harvey Oswald. Guest: Paul Gregory. 1963

Today's guest is Kelsey Hensley, President at NovEx Supply Chain, whose company was ranked No. 1,662 on the 2025 Inc. 5000 list. In this Grow Think Tank interview, Kelsey shares insights on company culture and leadership development, highlighting the six core values, kindness, openness, intentionality, trustworthiness, initiative, and accountability, that guide decision-making and foster personal growth at NovEx. She discusses the balance between technology and human relationships in logistics, explaining how clearly defined values have transformed the company's hiring practices and strengthened team alignment. Reflecting on her leadership journey, Kelsey emphasizes the importance of empowering teams and focusing on strategic growth, illustrating how intentional leadership fosters a thriving organizational culture. Episode Highlights & Time Stamps 1:26 Introduction to Novex Supply Chain 2:40 Embracing AI in Logistics 6:34 The Human Element in Business 8:17 Leadership and Culture Connection 10:31 Highlighting Company Values 13:18 Living the Values 16:48 Independent Teams and Leadership 17:28 Overcoming Control Issues 21:23 Focusing on Valuable Work 24:28 The Worth of Cultural Efforts Building a Values-Driven Culture From the Ground Up In this Grow Think Tank interview, Kelsey Hensley, founder of Novex Supply Chain, shares how rapid growth as a bi-coastal 3PL provider pushed her to shape company culture intentionally. She walks through the six core values that guide Novex. Kindness, openness, intentionality, trustworthiness, initiative, and accountability, and how they influence decisions, hiring, coaching, and team interactions. Kelsey describes the pride she feels watching employees embody these values not only at work but in their personal lives, reinforcing the power of a values-first culture. Leadership Principles and Tech, AI, and the Human Touch in Logistics Empowerment Kelsey and Gene shift the conversation to today's evolving workplace and the rise of AI in logistics. While acknowledging industry layoffs and the anxiety surrounding automation, Kelsey stresses that technology should enhance human performance, not replace it. She believes logistics still thrives on relationships and personalized service, which machines cannot replicate. For Novex, AI is a tool, not the driver, and the company remains committed to keeping people at the heart of the business. Why Culture Shapes Leadership: Not the Other Way Around Diving deeper, Kelsey emphasizes that culture determines the type of leaders who emerge. She shares the breakthroughs she had once she formally defined Novex's core values, giving the organization a clear framework for hiring, training, and accountability. Her hiring philosophy centers on behavior over skill. Skills can be taught, but misaligned behaviors disrupt teams. By prioritizing value-aligned behavior, Kelsey has cultivated a dependable, supportive environment where people can thrive. Learning to Let Go: A Founder's Leadership Evolution Reflecting on her journey, Kelsey discusses her early tendency to control every detail of the business and how a long overseas family trip forced her to step back. Trusting her team, allowing them to make mistakes, learn, and lead became a turning point for Novex. Empowering her people has freed her to focus on strategy, brand development, and deeper client relationships. Her story highlights how founders evolve and how letting go can unlock growth, independence, and a stronger culture. Key Takeaways Values Drive Everything: Novex Supply Chain's six core values kindness, openness, intentionality, trustworthiness, initiative, and accountability serve as the foundation for decision-making, hiring, and team development. Culture Shapes Leadership: Kelsey emphasizes that strong culture produces strong leaders. Clearly defining company values created alignment and accountability across the organization. Hire for Behavior, Train for Skill: Skills can be taught, but behavior and attitude determine long-term success. Value-aligned behavior is the top hiring priority at Novex. Tech Supports People, Not Replaces Them: Despite AI advancements and logistics industry layoffs, Kelsey believes the human element relationships, communication, and personalized service remains irreplaceable. Letting Go Unlocks Growth: Kelsey's shift from controlling every detail to empowering her team was a turning point. Allowing others to lead freed her to focus on strategy, brand growth, and client relationships. Personal Growth Matters: The company's values don't just impact work they influence how employees show up in all areas of their lives, fostering well-rounded personal and professional development. Intentional Leadership Builds Thriving Teams: By trusting her team, creating clarity, and reinforcing shared values, Kelsey demonstrates how intentional leadership fuels sustainable growth and a strong organizational culture. Resources & Next Steps Ready to take your leadership energy to the next level? Explore free training and resources at training.coreelevation.com to help you identify energy leaks, strengthen your leadership presence, and elevate your team's performance.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."  That's a quote from one of my favourite people, and a friend of this podcast, Jim Rohn.  Listening to one of his lectures—for that is what they were—in 2017 changed my life, and I hope this episode will change yours. Let's get started.  Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin Join the Time And Life Mastery Programme here. Use the coupon code: codisgreat to get 50% off. Get Your Copy Of Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived The Time Sector System 5th Year Anniversary The Working With… Weekly Newsletter Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl's YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes Subscribe to my Substack  The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Script | 393 Hello, and welcome to episode 393 of the Your Time, Your Way Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development, and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show.  Discipline is unsustainable. You probably have discovered that. Yet there are many people we look at and see someone living what many would describe as a disciplined life. So how do they do it?  Well, I can promise you it's not discipline. Discipline is like a rocket used when launching a spacecraft—it's required initially to get the spacecraft off the ground, but once in orbit, the rocket can be discarded. Then the balance between forward velocity and the Earth's gravitational pull maintains the spacecraft in orbit.  And that's how these outwardly “disciplined” people do it. They decide what it is they want to accomplish—healthy eating, regular exercise, journal writing, daily and weekly planning, etc. And then they “launch”.  A lot of effort and focus is required initially, but after a few weeks, their forward velocity—or the habit—takes over and it becomes something they just do.  And you can do the same. And this week's question is about how to go from an idea to turning that idea into something you will “just do”.  So, with that said, let me hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week's question.  This week's question comes from Anna. Anna asks, Hi Carl, for the last three or four years, I have done your Annual Planning exercise. And each year, I fail to accomplish the things I set out to do. I feel I don't have the discipline to keep my commitments. There's always something else that gets in the way. How do you help people start to live a more disciplined life?  Hi Anna, thank you for your question.  As I alluded to a moment ago, it's not really about discipline. That's a fuel that will run out eventually. Sure, it can get you started, but if you don't develop the habit or routine over a few weeks, the consistency you want will slip away, and you're back at square one.  The problem with discipline—and, for that matter, motivation—is that they rely on the human condition. For discipline, you need willpower. Willpower diminishes throughout the day.  You start with strong willpower, and as the day goes on, that power slowly wears down. But it is also dependent on how much sleep you got, whether you are in a good or bad mood, whether you are stressed or anxious, and the people around you.  You may have heard the advice to ditch your “toxic friends”. They are the ones who keep pulling you down to their level. If someone were attempting to give up smoking, the advice given is to stay away from their smoking friends.  If you surround yourself with people who hate exercise and you decide, for example, you want to take up the “from couch to 5K” programme, you're not going to find a lot of support from the people you surround yourself with. They have become what is known as “toxic friends”.  Instead of thinking you need discipline to achieve the things you want to achieve, look at what you can do to make achieving your goals easier. Imagine you decided you wanted to read more books. Many people will set the goal to read a certain number of pages or chapters each day. This method requires immense discipline to maintain consistency.  You see, people often set these goals when they are rested, unstressed, and motivated. What you need to think about is what a realistic target would be if you were tired, unmotivated, and just wanted to curl up and scroll through your phone.  A better approach would be to set a time target. For example, one of my clients wanted to finish reading the pile of books in his home office this year. He had around thirty-five books he'd bought, and they were real books, not ebooks.  I suggested to him that he set a target of reading for 20 minutes every evening before going to bed. This, he felt, was realistic on days he was tired out.  Speaking to him last week, he said he had discovered that on most days he read for well over 45 minutes, and on some days he read for over an hour.  Over the course of 2025, he's only missed two days—and those days were when he was at home, but was away on a business trip.  He finished reading the books by the end of August. He's now buying books again and is confident he'll stay on top of them.  What happened here was that my client set a realistic goal based on the worst-case scenario rather than the best-case scenario. On most days, he exceeded his set minimum, which meant he finished his goal well before the deadline.  Another factor in his success here was the set time in the evening before going to bed. That gave him an anchor point.  This is why I recommend that people who wish to write a journal do it in the morning rather than in the evening. You have more control over the morning than you do the evening. And it's a great way to begin your day with a nice cup of tea or coffee, and a place to write down your thoughts and feelings before the day gets going.  You can add to your journal in the evening if you wish, but if you want to be consistent in writing, you will find that starting your day with your journal will help you write every day.  I remember back in July when we went to Ireland to see my parents. There were my wife and my parents-in-law, and we stayed at my wife's aunt's house the night before, since she lived close to the airport and our flight was early the next morning. Waking up at 4 am with everyone running around, making sure they had everything, didn't feel appropriate for me to write my journal at that point. So I skipped it. However, by the time we got to the airport, went through security, and settled in to wait for our flight, I felt this urge to write. So, I found a small coffee shop, got a coffee and sat down to write.  The sense of relief I felt after writing my journal left me relaxed and ready for the long travels ahead.  There was no need for discipline or motivation. It had become something I do every morning, and when I don't, something feels wrong.  And that's what you are trying to do. Turning whatever it is you want to do consistently into your way of life.  This is why brushing your teeth when you wake up and before you go to bed is automatic. You learn to do it when you are young, and after a lot of nagging from your parents, it soon becomes automatic. The thought of going out in the morning without brushing your teeth probably leaves you horrified.  But if you stop and think about it, brushing your teeth in the morning is inconvenient. There's a lot to do: get the kids ready for school, prepare their breakfast and get yourself ready. Three or four minutes in the bathroom, moving your arm from left to right… Argh! But you do it.  You don't need motivation or discipline. You just do it. It's a part of your life.  I was talking with a running friend of mine recently who wakes up at 6:00 am every morning, rain or shine, and goes out for his morning run at 6:30. I asked him if he ever considered staying in bed when the wind was howling outside and the rain was pouring down. He shuddered. The very thought of not going out for his morning run shocked him.  He doesn't need discipline or motivation to get up and go for a run. His problem would be if the doctor told him to stay in bed for a few days. Then he's really struggling because staying in bed is not his lifestyle.  All those people you look at and think, “Gosh, they are disciplined” —they never think they are. To them, whatever they do is just a part of their life.  I'm lucky because I have a dog. Dogs need exercise. They love walking. And Louis is no exception. It's one of the highlights of his day. This means I need to find an hour each day to go for a walk with him. Yet, I don't need any discipline to take him for his walk. It's just something I do each day.  Similarly, at 4:30 pm, I do my exercise. 4:30 pm triggers the start of my evening routine. I exercise for an hour, take a shower, then go downstairs and cook dinner. I do this six days a week, with Saturday being the exception.  It never occurs to me not to go upstairs and exercise. If I'm not feeling great, I'll do a lighter session; sometimes I may only do some stretching. But at 4:30, I know it's time to stop work and exercise. It's just what I do. It's a part of my everyday routine.  Now, one more thing, Anna. A mistake many people make is trying to do too many things at once. When you do this, you are diluting yourself too much.  Remember, to accomplish anything, you will need some discipline and focus to begin with. You're trying to do something that is not a part of your regular life, and it will feel uncomfortable at first.  I mentioned focus there because this is when you may need your calendar or task manager to nudge you for a few weeks—reminding you that you have something to do.  It's easier to focus on one thing at a time. A trick I started using—and found very effective—was to divide the year into quarters and start one new thing each quarter. This gave me three months to develop the necessary habits to turn whatever it was I wanted to change into a solid habit.  There's no rush to accomplish these things. As Bill Gates said, “most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in twelve months” Focusing on one thing at a time means you need less focus and less time.  And finally, if you were trying to do a new activity every day, you're likely to miss some days. Take the reading habit, if your goal is to read for twenty minutes every day, allow yourself some wriggle room.  Rather than thinking you failed because you missed a day, look at achieving an 80%+ success rate. It's hard to start a new activity and be consistent with it at first. It's likely you will forget or just not do the activity one day. That's okay. It doesn't mean you failed.  What matters is that you acknowledge the skip and get back to it the next day. That way, you're not looking at it as a matter of success or failure; you see it as a work in progress, and a day or two missed is not final. It just means you need to refocus the next day.  I always think of those early weeks as experimental weeks. If I find that the time of day I try to do something doesn't work, I can try other times until I find the right one when I can be consistent.  I hope that has helped Anna. Do let me know how you get on, and thank you for your question, and to you too for listening. It just remains for me now to wish you all a very, very productive week.   

In this episode of Quah (Q & A), Sal, Adam & Justin coach four Pump Heads via Zoom. Mind Pump Fit Tip: How to get jacked and ripped if you are a teenager. (1:56) Focusing on performance rather than what you look like in the mirror. (24:35) Pregnancy's impact on the body lasts far longer than we realized. (28:46) The value of going to a rehab facility for an addiction. (33:44) Beware of misleading headlines in studies. (36:27) The value of family mealtime. (39:50) The evolution of Vuori. (48:51) Black Friday sale is on! (54:37) #ListenerCoaching call #1 – Could I be stronger by doing less? Do you think I might be overtrained? (55:35) #ListenerCoaching call #2 – What can I do to move the needle on my body fat percentage without starving myself? (1:09:19) #ListenerCoaching call #3 – Seeking advice on training and nutrition strategies for a former athlete now pursuing a high-fashion modeling career. (1:24:11) #ListenerCoaching call #4 – Is it possible to noticeably change my look by adding other major lifts like the overhead press, deadlift, and row? Can I drop all other isolated work and just focus on these major lifts to get an overall muscular look? (1:33:48) Related Links/Products Mentioned Ask a question to Mind Pump, live! Visit https://www.mplivecaller.com Visit Rock Recovery Center for the exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! ** By filling out the form and scheduling your call, you'll also be entered for a chance to win a free 60-day scholarship at Rock Recovery Center, their premier treatment center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Don't wait—take the first step today. ** Visit Vuori Clothing for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! ** No code to receive 20% off your first order. ** BLACK FRIDAY SALE: 60% off ALL Programs, Guides, and MODs **Code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout** Mind Pump Store Mind Pump #1860: Fourteen of the Best Foods for an Amazing Physique Brain cooked by TikTok? Try filming a video of yourself being bored Bethany Shadburne's Transformation: From Bodybuilding to CrossFit Games Athlete Assessment of recovery after childbirth; a cross-sectional study Long-term use of melatonin supplements linked to higher risk of heart failure and death Improving Health and Well-Being Through Shared Family Meals Visit Butcher Box for this month's exclusive Mind Pump offer!  ** New users receive their choice of a whole turkey in their first box, a ham in their first box, or ground beef in every box for the lifetime of their subscription. ** Mind Pump #1142: Nine Signs You Are Overtraining Mind Pump Jobs Mind Pump #2567: Women Who Lift: Breaking Myths and Building Muscle Mind Pump #2684: Do ONLY These 8 Lifts to Achieve an Amazing Body Mind Pump Podcast – YouTube Mind Pump Free Resources People Mentioned Bethany Flores (@bethanycf) Instagram Kyle P (@mindpumpkyle) Instagram

  Thank you for tuning in to Episode 309 of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast. Full show notes with photos can be found on my website. This week's segments included:   Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins Brainstorming From the Armchair Crafty Adventures Knitting in Passing In my Travels KAL News On a Happy Note Quote of the Week   Thank you to this episode's sponsors: Fibernymph Dye Works & Imagined Landscapes   Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins   Gary's LeHigh Hat Pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood. $5 knitting pattern available on Ravelry & Brooklyn Tweed Site Yarn: Cesium Yarn Strong DK ( 75% SW Merino/25% Nylon) in the One More Sleep Colorway Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) & US 7 (4.5 mm) Ravelry Project Page Project Notes & Mods: did not increase after ribbing as called for. Knit 7 inches before working decreases. I used 52g of yarn and have 56g remaining so I can make another hat with this yarn.   Gary's Delaware Hat Pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood. $5 knitting pattern available on Ravelry & Brooklyn Tweed Site Yarn: Robin's Promise Yarn Co, Two Birds in the Hand (DK 4ply 100% SW Merino) in the White-Tailed Robin Feather Colorway Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) & US 7 (4.5 mm) Ravelry Project Page About the Yarn- purchased Rhinebeck Weekend at CAKEpalooza. Its a mostly solid royal blue.  This project is living in my new Stitched by Jessalu Rhinebeck 2025 bag. I think this will be my fall/winter hat project and I'll just keep the needles in here and keep replacing the yarn.   Yarn Cozy Lite Yarn: Cascade Heritage Yarn (75% SW Merino 25% Nylon) in the Highlighter Guava colorway Pattern: Yarn Cozy Lite by Knitty Natty- $6 pattern available on Ravelry Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) Ravelry Project Page Natalie's video support for the stretchy i-cord bind off is great.   Vivienne's Christmas Stocking Pattern: Christmas Stockings to Knit and Crochet from Family Circle Magazine. Available in this web archive link. I've also saved it to my podcast Gmail Google Drive in case it disappears! Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red, Hunter Green and White Hook: G (4.0 mm)   On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins   Pucker Brush Farm BFL Sweater Spin Fiber: 16 oz of multi colored BFL roving from Pucker Brush Farm (purchased at Rhinebeck 2025), 4 oz Merino in a mustard color Ravelry Project Page I am planning to knit a Traveler sweater inspired by Emily Curtis' handmade version- click here for her Ravelry Project Page. I was thrilled to see a recent post on Emily's Instagram that she made a YouTube video about this spin/knit. I found 4oz of Ironwood Hill Farm Roving- Finnsheep combed top that I purchased in April 2021. Unfortunately I can't find more of this on Cece's Wool site or Ironwood's etsy shop, but I think it will give me the idea for a tan/brown color plied with the colorful yarn, so I'll spin just enough to make a sample yarn-- but this Finn is spinning like a dream. Where could I get more? Send suggestions my way   Spectrum Socks Yarn: Woolens & Nosh Targhee Sock in the Spectrum Colorway Pattern: OMG Heel Socks by Megan Williams ($5 knitting pattern available on Ravelry) Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) Ravelry Project Page About the colorway- skinny stripes of color with 1 round of black between. Colors include Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, 3 shades of Blue, Pink + Purple. Progress: I've passed the heel on the first sock   Game Day Party Socks Yarn: Mandi's Makings SW Merino Fingering Weight Yarn in the Pigskin '25 Exclusive Game Day Party Colorway. Green mini skein for heel from Goosey Fibers (Wizard of Oz Advent Calendar yarn) Pattern: OMG Heel Socks by Megan Williams ($5 knitting pattern available on Ravelry) Ravelry Project Page Yarn: Pigskin '25 Exclusive- 60 points Progress: First sock done. Onto the leg of the second sock. Hattie knit on them at her uncle's birthday party.   Traveler Sweater Pattern: The Traveler by Andrea Mowry ($9 pattern available on Ravelry & the designer's website) Yarn: Hazel Knits Small Batch Sport (90/10 SW/Nylon) Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) & US 4 (3.5 mm) Ravelry Project Page Sleeve progress- knit a few more sets of decreases on the first sleeve. Still have a second sleeve to go and the whole hood. Focusing a bit more on Christmas gifts coming up so this one will be taking a backseat.   Brainstorming Queen Elsa Amigurumi by Chiara Cremon. Free crochet pattern available on Ravelry. You can find lots of cute character patterns on her Instagram account. Zach- maybe something spiderman   From the Armchair Heart the Lover by Lily King. Amazon Affiliate Link. Check out the October Book Club Episode of the Bad on Paper Podcast where they talk about this book. Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Amazon Affiliate Link. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. Amazon Affiliate Link.   Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases.   Crafty Adventures During Gabriella & Zachary's sleepover we pained and made plastic ornaments with spiraled pipe cleaners inside. So cute and easy!   Knitting in Passing A cute preteen girl came over when I was crocheting on the train to ask what kind of hook I was using and then asked if I was making a stocking for Christmas. I asked if she crocheted. She said yes but didn't offer more. When she went back to the grown up she was with, they gave her a big high five. So cute. Then the gentleman across from me who saw me counting rows then asked what happened if I lose count. Told him I could read the stitches. He congratulated me onto who new addition to our family.   In My Travels I shared highlights from a recent trip to New York City. I spent a wonderful morning at the MET Aida Silvestri- artist from Eritrea who had a triptych of pieces on display. Her work is motivated by social concern, but it also explores the camera's ability to connect people to a place. In these portraits of immigrant women, the artist strategically blurs her subjects' faces. This gesture, born of a need for protective anonymity, seems to evoke a greater enigma of the self. Mapping the course of migration to London are lines of thread stitched into the surfaces of the print- permanent, identity-altering interventions. Silvestri regards her series as a documentary project dedicated to those travelers who never reached their destination. Two embroidery samplers from Bostonian women from the late 1700s that were just beautiful. We visited the Chelsea Flea- I got a cool pair of earrings We got cookies from Levain Bakery We made a quick trip to Knitty City and Laura picked out yarn for a hat Musical- Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York We also saw Blue Moon at the movies. Tells the story of Lorenz Hart's struggles with alcoholism and mental health as he tries to save face during the opening of "Oklahoma!".   KAL News   Pigskin Party '25 Event Dates: KAL Dates- Thursday September 4, 2025- Monday February 9, 2026 Find everything you need in the Start Here Thread in the Ravelry Group Official Rules Registration Form  (you must be Registered to be eligible for prizes) Enter your projects using the Point Tally Form Find the full list of Sponsors in this Google Doc. Coupon Codes are listed in this Ravelry Thread Exclusive Items from our Pro Shop Sponsors are listed in this Ravelry Thread Questions-  ask them in this Ravelry Thread or email Jen at downcellarstudio @ gmail.com Check out this Ravelry Thread with helpful tips for the event, crowd sourced from our incredible players.   Updates In This Episode Our Official Sponsor for Quarter 1 (October): Love in Stitches with Knitty Natty- Winner Announced julicorn.makes made a Maxine Hot Water Bottle Cozy by Laura Penrose (fair isle snowflakes)- Ravelry Project Page MrsZoom made Knitty Natty's Yarn Cozy Lite with the new football exclusive pattern in Colts colors- Ravelry Project Page Random number generator chose yesthatshelby as our winner! Pink Challenge is over- details in this Ravelry Thread. Winner Announced! CinderGA made Defying Gravity Socks by Lisa Ross- Paper Daisy Creations- Ravelry page Wizabef knit the Elinor Mittens by Irene Nielson- Ravelry Project Page Random number generator picked Alice Ortega who knit the Barn Swallow Socks by Cheryl Toy- Ravelry Project Page Count On It Challenge hosted by Twice Sheared Sheep, Official Sponsor for Quarter 2 (November). Details in this Ravelry thread. Official Sponsor for Quarter 3 (December)- Suburban Stitcher  Details announced. See details in this Ravelry Thread. Stay tuned for more about our Official Sponsor for Quarter 4 (January)- Yarnaceous Fibers Charity Challenge (runs through Thanksgiving)- details in this Ravelry Thread (36 of you have already asked for the address to mail in items! THANK YOU). Please email me to request the address.   Commentator Update (links in this section go to Ravelry)   Quarter 2 is in full swing and, when I looked today, 9 players had already submitted for points for the Q2 challenge!  Are you still thinking of what you can make that is at least 60 rows, using a row counter?  Here are some ideas! Hats! Many of our early Q2 finishers completed hats.  Neferetri, Hollyelyse and Janknitdun completed beautiful cabled hats...I bet the row counter came in handy for those projects! Kimbuktu7 completed a lovely colorwork hat Adrie9 completed a lovely two colored musselburgh hat  Neckwear is also a popular choice among our early Q2 finishers Mikkaelab completed a lovely crocheted cowl and a knit bandana! Sandyrlevin also completed a cowl in steelers colors (note--she used a pattern by PSP Knitty Natty too)--Way to rack up those points! There's still plenty of time for you to get your projects in for Q2. These finishers have definitely demonstrated that there are plenty of patterns with at least 60 rows that work up in a flash!   PepperRN added in Pigskin Party Tips Thread on Ravelry If you are budgeting but still want to support sponsors buy something re usable. Stitch markers can be used in 1 project and then when finished in the next. I like knitting hats for charity so I bought a hat pattern from a sponsor. I put that pattern with a sponsor bag and sponsor stitch markers and can knit it over and over during the PSP.   On a Happy Note New York City! I took the train this time which was a great option. Laura and I had dinner with two of her pilates clients. We all enjoyed Gabriella and Zachary's first sleepover. We watched the KPOP Demon Hunters movie and after going to bed early and reading the Hot Air Balloon book, wehad fun hunting for the orange eyed monster! Dan made the kids pancakes and we'll put their photos on the collage wall in the guest room. Gabriella asked for a unicorn and a ghost Spiderman. Zach wanted Spiderman. I received a really nice message from my cousin Gayle who was visiting her friend in NH and let me know that Mom's shawl that she chose was keeping her warm. Love you Gayle! My childhood friend Maribeth has shared a few photos of things her family has found when cleaning out her parents' attic- costumes and things my mom made. It was sweet of her to send me those photos so we could reminisce. I finally got to join Beth's Karaoke Night Zoom (part of the Love in Stitches Membership). Dad is recovering from a back injury but doing better. We successfully moved my grandmother into the Memory Care side of the independent living home she's lived at for 5 years. Hope this will be a good fit for her. I got a massage this week!   Quote of the Week   "In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets."   ― Cynthia Rylant, In November  ------   Thank you for tuning in!   Contact Information: Check out the Down Cellar Studio Patreon! Ravelry: BostonJen & Down Cellar Studio Podcast Ravelry Group Instagram: BostonJen1 YouTube: Down Cellar Studio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downcellarstudio Sign up for my email newsletter to get the latest on everything happening in the Down Cellar Studio Check out my Down Cellar Studio YouTube Channel Knit Picks Affiliate Link Bookshop Affiliate Link Yarnable Subscription Box Affiliate Link FearLESS Living Fund to benefit the Blind Center of Nevada Music -"Soft Orange Glow" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/ Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases.