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Shira Gill shares minimalist strategies for reducing both physical and mental clutter.— YOU'LL LEARN — 1) The hidden costs of clutter2) Why organizing tools won't help you—and what will3) The easiest way to make your space feel less overwhelmingSubscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1073 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT SHIRA — Shira Gill is a world-renowned organizing expert and the bestselling author of three books: Minimalista, Organized Living, and LifeStyled. She's a sought-after expert for media outlets and has been featured by Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, People, Forbes, goop, Architectural Digest, Oprah Daily, Vogue, and The New York Times. Her popular newsletter The Life Edit inspires readers from all 50 states and 150 countries. • Book: LifeStyled: Your Guide to a More Organized & Intentional Life • Book: Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life • Book: Organized Living: Solutions and Inspiration for Your Home [A Home Organization Book] • Instagram: @shiragill • Newsletter: “The Life Edit” • Website: ShiraGill.com — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Book: No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper• Past episode: 327: Unclog Your Brain through Unfocusing with Dr. Srini Pillay• Past episode: 782: How to Overcome Distraction through Minimalism with Joshua Becker— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — • Strawberry.me. Claim your $50 credit and build momentum in your career with Strawberry.me/Awesome• Plaud.ai. Use the code AWESOME and get a discount on your order• Rula. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at Rula.com/AwesomeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We're closing in on 100 interviews here at Broadway Drumming 101, and we're just getting started. We've got a great lineup ahead. Upcoming episodes include conversations with:* Pili Fronda* Michael Manesseh* Matthew Friedman* Joe Bergamini* Tom Jorgensen* Trevor HolderWe're also re-releasing some Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Episodes you may have missed, featuring:* Jesse-Ray Leich* Jake Goldbas* Paul Pizzuti* Dena Tauriello* Larry Lelli* Rich Rosenzweig* Elena Bonomo…and many more.Be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. And subscribe to the Broadway Drumming 101 YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes video content.In this episode, I talk with Augusto Oropeza, the drummer on the national tour of Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations. He shares what it's really like playing this music night after night, life on the road, his transition from an IT career into full-time performance, and the story of how he landed the gig in the first place.We discuss:* How he went from auditing the show to joining the cast on tour* The challenges of split-week travel and three-city weeks* Why he left behind a steady job in cybersecurity to chase his dream* His influences—from Jonathan Moffett and Vinnie Colaiuta to Karen Carpenter and Sheila E* What it takes to stay healthy and injury-free on tour* The importance of networking, versatility, and being a good hang* The reality of drum booths, tight pits, late-night DoorDash, and finding community on the road* How Cirque du Soleil and musical theater sparked his passion for live performanceThis is an honest and inspiring look at what it means to live the touring musician's life.Support the show by visiting our merch store: merchandise.broadwaydrumming101.comAnd if you've ever dreamed of building a theater career of your own, my new book is almost here.Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician's Guide to Building a Theater Career is launching soon.Get your name on the list at BroadwayBoundBook.com to be among the first to grab a copy when it drops.Thanks for listening!Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Lesley and Brad recap Lesley's informative conversation with Matthew Lesko, the iconic question-mark-suit-wearing advocate for free government resources. Learn how to get support for your business or personal goals, shift your mindset around asking for help, and tap into programs that already exist to empower you. This episode breaks down key takeaways, including how Lesko's mission began and the tools you can use to take action today. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How to modify a Reformer with a stationary headrest for safer workouts.How Matthew Lesko redefines success by staying true to his heart.Why injecting fun into your work creates motivation and momentum.The types of government resources most people overlook—and how to find them.Why booking a real appointment beats filling out forms online.Episode References/Links:eLevate Workout and Q&A - https://lesleylogan.co/elevatewaitlistAgency Mini - https://prfit.biz/miniOPC Summer Tour - https://opc.me/tourUK Mullet Tour - https://opc.me/ukCambodia October 2025 Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.comSubmit your questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsYouTube: How to Choose a Reformer - https://beitpod.com/choosingareformerBook: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - https://a.co/d/9qFidcWMatthew Lesko's - https://beitpod.com/leskohelpEp. 400: Gay Hendricks - https://beitpod.com/gayhendricksEp. 196: Beate Chelette - https://beitpod.com/beatecheletteFind Local Help for Basic Needs – https://www.findhelp.orgGovernment Contracting Support (Apex Accelerators) – www.apexaccelerators.usSmall Business Support (SBA Local Assistance) – www.sba.gov/local-assistance If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00  Whatever you are setting yourself up to do, to go through the struggles, to go through the obstacles, to go through the failures, you have to actually want to do it. You're gonna have to care about the problem that you're solving. Lesley Logan 0:12  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 0:51  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the endearingly fun convo I had with Matthew Lesko in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, feel free to pause us now, go back and listen to that one, because you've missed out. Brad Crowell 1:09  So you could also have said the wise, happy old man convo I had, who drops a lot of F bombs. Lesley Logan 1:14  And also, when we say old, I just want to say, like, there's nothing. He is not like slow.Brad Crowell 1:20  No, he does not come across that old. And he said PSM 81. I was like, what? Really?Lesley Logan 1:26  Yeah, yeah, he's feisty and fun, and. Brad Crowell 1:29  Heck yeah. Lesley Logan 1:29  And like, working so hard for everyone. And I was just so excited. And then when we I was like, I had just interviewed him that day, and our friend Michael and Brogan was here at the house, and I was like, oh my God, I just interviewed someone. You should have him on your show. And I just started describing him and our friend Michael was like, Matthew Lesko? And he was like, he's like, the guy with a question mark suit. And I'm like, yeah, that's him. And he's like, stop right now. I want him on my show. So anyways, super, super fun. We'll get into that episode in just a second. But today is July 3rd 2025 and it's National Compliment Your Mirror Day. National Compliment Your Mirror Day is on July 3rd. We live in an image-driven world. Sometimes this can cause us to not notice and compliment a very important person in our lives, ourselves. This day motivates us to look in the mirror and recognize all those things that make us exceptional, inside and out. So go look yourself in the mirror and give yourself a compliment. Brad Crowell 2:25  Go do it. Lesley Logan 2:25  Do it now. You can use your phone as a camera if , as a mirror, if you want. But sometimes I do that. Okay, literally, next week. Is it next week? I guess it's July 3rd, so maybe a little after a week. Brad Crowell 2:38  Well, Happy July 4th for those in the United States. Lesley Logan 2:41  Those who celebrate. Brad Crowell 2:42  The independence that we are on the brink of not having. Lesley Logan 2:47  You guys, I'm just going to be really honest, we're recording this while L.A. is being taken over by people. A lot of misleading information, a lot of bad stuff. Make sure always, always, always, always get news from the people who are on the ground, because people like to spend things. And so anyways, if you're celebrating the Fourth of July, Happy Fourth of July. But, in exciting news, on July 9th, I'm hosting a free workout for those people who are interested in eLevate, my mentorship program. And we'll have a Q&A, we'll have eLevate grads on there who will tell you why they love it so much. And you just want to go to lesleylogan.co/elevatewaitlist to get on, get the invitation, and come to that. We have, like, I don't know, at the time we're recording this, like, eight spots left, I think, which is not a lot of spots at all. Brad Crowell 2:47  It's not a lot of spots, y'all. Lesley Logan 3:27  No, and we're actually, like, gonna be, you know, pretty soon, starting to work out who has what time slot. Brad Crowell 3:40  I mean, there are hundreds of people on the waitlist. Lesley Logan 3:43  Yeah, like, like, several hundreds. Like, for eight people. Brad Crowell 3:47  Eight spots, right? Because we started.Lesley Logan 3:49  But don't let that deter you. That means you should go be one of those eight people. Brad Crowell 3:53  100%Lesley Logan 3:54  Yeah. Brad Crowell 3:54  Yeah. And you're welcome to reach out, you know now, so, but yeah, July 9th, it's gonna be a super good time. We're going to have a free class, answer questions, have some alumni on there, but guess what I'm really excited about, too.Lesley Logan 4:07  Yeah, we're doing Agency Mini, our coaching program that we do, where we. Brad Crowell 4:12  Bringing it back. Lesley Logan 4:12  We help as many people as possible. Brad Crowell 4:12  Bring it back to me. Lesley Logan 4:13  Yeah, and we're doing it in three days, so you don't have to be overwhelmed by a week-long situation with like, the Facebook, none of that stuff. So if you've heard of Mini before, this is a new Mini. Brad Crowell 4:28  If you've done Mini before, you should come back and do that. Lesley Logan 4:31  Yeah, we used to have a rule that you couldn't and now you can. Brad Crowell 4:34  Yeah, we're, this is a special invite. Special invite because it's different. You know. We're, we're taking the concept and we made it better, we made it shorter, we made it easier, we made it faster, all the things. And so, you know, you really can learn a lot in just three days with us. And then, you know, there's also opportunities for coaching calls, which we never offer outside of our coaching group. Or you can book a coaching call with either Lesley or with me. It's a Round Robin. So you'll be surprised at who you get, because it's just based on our availability. But basically.Lesley Logan 4:58  Oh, that's cool. So they're just booking it and, like. Brad Crowell 5:07  They're just booking a call and getting aside. Lesley Logan 5:08  Cool. It's like speed dating.Brad Crowell 5:10  Kind of, but it's gonna be great because, you know, we, we don't have, we don't set aside the time to coach people who are not in our coaching group, because it's already a lot, right? And so what we've done differently this time is we're creating that space that time we actually are leaving, you know, time during six days where you can book a call with us. And you do that when you register for Agency Mini, so when you're going through and it says, like, oh, do you want to join Agency? Say yes. And then during the checkout, you'll say, oh yeah, and yes, I would like to add a coaching call and so, you know, we'll, we'll be able to chat. It's gonna be awesome. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to meeting everybody. I love hearing all the different things that are going on. I just had a coaching call with a new Agency member, and she's opening up a bigger space, like a much bigger space than her current space. Lesley Logan 5:56  Oh, is it, who I think it is? Brad Crowell 6:03  No, not at all. So, you know, and they, they were, they're trying to figure out, like, you know, all the mechanics behind that. And what's so fun is that Lesley and I've been able to be there for this conversation many, many, many, many times over the years, plus we've done it ourselves, right? So anyway, come join us. Go to Agency Mini, prfit.biz/mini P-R-F-I-T dot biz, that's profit without the O dot biz slash mini. Then, we're hitting the road.Lesley Logan 6:33  Yeah, after Mini, we literally pack up the van and we're gonna go on tour, you guys, 15 cities and like, 20-something days. Our tour is powered by Balanced Body, and many of the events are sold out, like a lot of them are sold out and so but also on this one, there is an opportunity to join a virtual so if I've never come to a city near you, you've never had the time to drive a half hour across town, all that stuff, you can actually get tickets to the virtual events we're doing in Calgary. So go to opc.me/tour to see the lineup, the cities. I can name them for you. We're doing Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Eureka, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Kamloops, Calgary, McCall, Idaho, Salt Lake in Las Vegas.Brad Crowell 7:18  That's right, I'm impressed you just rattled that off I think that's 16, right? Something like that. 15?Lesley Logan 7:22  Some people keep saying 15, whenever I counted. It feels like 16, so I don't know. Brad Crowell 7:28  Yeah. Well, anyway, it's a bunch. It's exciting. We've got a lot going on, and we can't wait to meet you in person. So come join us. Go to opc dot me slash T-O-U-R that's opc.me/tour. And then.Lesley Logan 7:41  We had a lot of people in the U.K. jealous of this tour. And I'm like, hold on, we're coming your way in September. So we come home, we acclimate, then we go into the U.K. We have two city locations in the U.K. for our Mullet Tour, which means business in the front Pilates in the back. Don't worry, the business is also like life skills. So.Brad Crowell 7:59  It's not like super deep business in a studio. So you can.Lesley Logan 8:02  No, you can be a non-teacher. Brad Crowell 8:04  One of them is about scheduling, and you can apply that to any element of life, like. Lesley Logan 8:14  One of them is about habits. Brad Crowell 8:14  And the other's about habits. That's right. So. So anyway, it's gonna be awesome. Go to opc.me/uk.Lesley Logan 8:15  We'll do Leeds and we'll do Essex. And right now we have three spots left in Leeds. No, they're not days passes yet available for Leeds. There's only three weekend passes left, so we're not breaking those up. In Essex, we have day passes because it's during the week. Or you can save money by getting two day pass. So go to opc.me/uk you can come to both. There's only, like, two workshops that cross over. So.Brad Crowell 8:37  You could come to Leeds and then to Essex, yeah, you totally could do that, and then you can continue the conversation. Because often, when you do a workshop and you leave, how often do you immediately revisit that content? Imagine being able to revisit it right away and just take it even deeper, hear it again and, like, really dial it in. So that's also an option. Then, in October, guess where we're going? Lesley Logan 9:01  Back to Cambodia. Brad Crowell 9:02  That's what we're doing. We can't wait. Obviously, we love Cambodia. We love going there. We love helping people experience another world altogether. It is just the coolest place.Lesley Logan 9:13  I love just like getting some time away from the life and chaos that's going on that you like, absorb all the time, and you're dealing with all the time to just like, to just fill your cup up and be amazed about what community can look like in a village, and what it can look like to see temples that took hundreds, if not thousands of people over, you know, several years working together. And sometimes when I just feel like there's just no way we're going to solve this problem, that I go there and I'm like, well, they did this, and if they did this, I can solve a problem. So, like, I just it's always very, It's humbling, but also grounding, and then it really allows you to step away from what's going on and get a bigger, get a better understanding and come back into it.Brad Crowell 9:57  I love it. Well, you're not wrong. It is mind-blowing it is one of those trips that will change your perspective of life in general. It's amazing. So you should join us. Go to crowsnestretreats.com crowsnestretreats.com. Come join us. There are still spots for this October, and it's not too late to get the plane tickets. I think Lesley and I just basically bought ours recently. Lesley Logan 10:18  We have haven't bought them yet. No. Brad Crowell 10:19  We've been looking at them. Lesley Logan 10:19  We're looking at them. Brad Crowell 10:19  So we haven't bought them yet, right? So don't worry, there's room, okay, there's time. So come join us. But, before we get into the Matthew Lesko question mark jacket, he didn't wear it in the interview. But he. Lesley Logan 10:33  Yes, he did. Brad Crowell 10:34  He wore his question mark jacket? Lesley Logan 10:36  Oh, yeah, you didn't watch? Brad Crowell 10:37  No, I did watch, but I kept looking at his epic blue glasses.Lesley Logan 10:41  No, there was question marks on that suit that clearly-fitted-to-him suit. Brad Crowell 10:46  He's a badass. Lesley Logan 10:47  Wonderfully fitted to him. Brad Crowell 10:48  Well. Anyway, before we get into that, we have an audience question @MarleneBroek on YouTube says, I wish I could do a Scottish accent, because I think her last name is Scottish, but I'm not going to try. She said hello, I already have a Reformer, but my head rest is stationary. Any recommendation for a separate headrest, such as the kind that forms to one's neck, interesting, or one that is flat to go on top of it. Thank you so much for your time. All right, Marlene, get ready, because I already know what's coming.Lesley Logan 11:22  So unfortunately, you all, many, many people are now making Reformers who've never done Pilates before, and they don't know that these things make a difference. So I'm super, super glad you're curious, because your headrest is not supposed to be stationary. So what I don't know from this is, if your headrest is stationary up or stationary down. My hope is that it's stationary down, because then we can get like a wedge pillow of some kind that will mimic a head rest being up. But then you could take that, that insert away, and then you could actually still do overhead exercises. If it is stationary up, you cannot do any overhead exercises. No, there's nothing we can do. I don't even know that what you can do, because I don't have a picture of your Reformer, don't know if it has hinges, if you could add anything. Unclear. So what I will say is, I'm just going to assume your headrest is stationary down for the rest of this conversation. You don't want a pillow or headrest that forms to your neck, because we're not actually trying to support the neck in that way we're, actually, when we have the headrest up, it's meant to tilt your head in just a way, so your neck can relax, but your upper abs can engage without us even telling you. That's why the headrest is up for footwork, for frogs and circles, for running, for pelvic lift, that your headrest is up so that your you just have this nice little support to help you engage your upper abs without you using your neck. It's really quite cool. He's very fast. So anyways, and it's down when you're not using that. So you can do overhead exercises. You get your box on top, things like that. So I would look into, Marlene, some sort of like foam wedge that you can cut to the size of your headrest. Brad Crowell 13:00  And firm foam. Lesley Logan 13:01  I would definitely say something firm. You don't want to be like a pillow.Brad Crowell 13:05  Right. So, so, like, I'm thinking about your baby chair and that little funny wedge that you have for the baby chair. Kind of would be like that. So, like, and that wedge, you're sitting on it, and it doesn't move, like, it doesn't give, it, literally, is intended to level out the baby chair. So in this case, you would want something that's firm like that as well. Lesley Logan 13:23  Yeah, very firm, like, you can even.Brad Crowell 13:26  Like, you basically just taking it on and off.Lesley Logan 13:27  I mean, I would imagine, like, if you have someone handy in your life with, like, a really cool saw that could, like, take a yoga block and, like, slice it from. Brad Crowell 13:37  That's a good texture, yoga block. I bet you could modify a yoga block to make your own wedge. Lesley Logan 13:42  Yeah. And I think that some yoga blocks even come like that. So, like you, I mean, like, there's a lot of things out there, but that's what I would do. Brad Crowell 13:50  What kind of angle are we talking about here?Lesley Logan 13:52  Let me just get my protractor out. It's, it's not as.Brad Crowell 13:59  If there's a right angle, is it halfway? Lesley Logan 14:01  No. Brad Crowell 14:02  No. It's 1/3 of the way? Lesley Logan 14:03  One-third, maybe. Your eyes are still able to look at the ceiling. You're not looking at your toes. Brad Crowell 14:09  Got it. Lesley Logan 14:10  Yeah. Brad Crowell 14:10  Cool. Lesley Logan 14:11  Yeah. So Marlene, I hope this helps you. This is why I did the Reformer, you know, how to choose a reformer video. And this is why these are things we have to think about when it comes to what, what changes did an engineer make when making your rReformer, you know, like, did they change the springs for bungee cords? Did they change the foot bar that moves to a fixed vertical foot bar? Did they change that there's no head the headrest doesn't go down or doesn't go up? Did they change the shoulder rest so that they're round and not actually something that like allows your shoulders to be wide, or your foot to be against something that like fills their foot out like the Contrology shoulder blocks actually fit the shape of your foot. That's why they're (inaudible). That's why they're made the way they're made. So.Brad Crowell 14:53  I was like, what?Lesley Logan 14:55  So anyways, I don't think you have to go buy a whole other Reformer, Marlene, but I would do this, and then I would have a little savings account for the another, the next Reformer. And trust me, someone will buy this off you for the same thing you paid for it, because everything goes up in price and they're not paying tax on shipping.Brad Crowell 15:10  No doubt. Well, and then when you're ready to go shopping, reach back out to us and we'll connect you with Balanced Body, where we've got a discount code for you there. So yeah, all right. If you have a question.Lesley Logan 15:21  Send it to the beitpod.com/questions. Brad Crowell 15:24  That's right. Send it to beitpod.com/questions beitpod.com/questions. If you have a win, and you want us to cover that win on the FYFs on Friday, you can also submit it right there as well. So thanks for asking that. Stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into the question mark-filled convo with Matthew Lesko. Actually, it's more like mind-blowing convo. He has said wealth of information and exuberance for life. I really enjoyed it. So we'll be right back. Brad Crowell 15:50  Okay, welcome back. Let's talk about Mr. Matthew Lesko. At the age of 81, Matthew is still rocking those question mark suits and has spent four decades helping people find free resources that they did not know existed, which I kind of think is amazing. He has written over 100 books, y'all, he's written 100 books. He has appeared on shows like Oprah, Larry King, The Good Morning America, and built a thriving online community that connects people to grants, businesses and funding and overlooked financial support. PS, I did math while I was listening, his, his community is like 5000 plus people. Yeah, that's crazy. From a string of failed businesses to becoming a recognizable voice for everyday people, Matthew has made it his mission to make support accessible. And it proves it's not about luck. It's about knowing where to look. So we're fired up about that. That was amazing. Tell me one of your favorite things about this convo. Lesley Logan 16:47  Okay. How many things can I talk about? But first I want to just like he emphasized, there's no single formula for success. He talks about how life and starting anything new, this is important, means dealing with failure, struggle and a lot of guesswork. My perfectionist, here it is from someone who's written 100 books and is 81 years old and seen it all. You know, it come like success actually comes from dealing with failure, struggling, a lot of guesswork. And he believes success doesn't come from knowing everything, but from possessing the energy and willingness to keep trying and learn from failures. Hold on. I have to, I have to say this. He strongly advocates that you follow your heart. Stated, he says the way to get anything done is your heart has to be in it. He also said your heart is smarter than your brain, and to trust that more than anything. And I love this, because I think, like a lot of people, like, well, what's specifically when we coach people on their Pilates business, I'm like, oh, you know, who do you want to help? Well, that's, I want to help everyone. Brad Crowell 17:45  Me, too. Lesley Logan 17:45  Right. But like, who do you want to help? Because if your heart's not in it, you're gonna really be annoyed helping the person that you don't want to help. And then you're if your heart's not in it, you're gonna start resenting them and, like, start going, oh, this becomes another job, right? Like, your heart has to be in what you're doing.Brad Crowell 18:01  Yeah, definitely. You know, it's so funny. We were just talking about this recently, where I feel like there's the two extremes, like I'll do anything for money. I'll only do it if I love it. And, you know, I know I kind of flip flopped over this, you know, during my life. And he has a very compelling argument to follow your heart, and I think also too, you know, he's very savvy. He's very business savvy. So he's been able to figure out how, by following his heart, can he also make money. And he's turned it into like a mission, and that mission has attracted other people who are like-minded. And, I mean, that is like the ideal scenario. Lesley Logan 18:45  Well, and also, if you realize, like, you know, first of all, you know, Big Magic is a great book for everyone to read. And some of your things that you love to do, that you're like, are creative, aren't meant for making money on. So that's, we're not. I don't think that Matthew or us are advocating that you like if you love pottery, that you go or you only make pots, and that's how you make money. That whatever you are setting yourself up to do, to go through the struggles, to go through the obstacles, to go through the failures, you'll, you have to actually want to do it. You can have to care about the problem that you're solving. If you don't care, you're not gonna be able to handle those obstacles. You're not gonna be able to go through it. You're gonna, you'll get, you'll get a door slam on your face and just go, okay, well, I'm not into it, right? So I think that's what he means, that your heart has to be in it. Like not everything you love doing will be a thing you make money on, but you gotta care about what you're doing. Gotta have care for it to be successful.Brad Crowell 19:40  Yeah, and I think there was something he said that just went right out of my mind. But he, he, he was talking about the when his, when he first, he actually, first off, I had no idea, he was in the military, but apparently he was in the military after he got out, he started.Lesley Logan 20:02  81 (inaudible). I don't think you get to be 81 and you weren't, unless you're an asshole, draft dodger dickhead. Anyway.Brad Crowell 20:02  That's fair. So he, he said he started a bunch of businesses and they failed. He started another business and they failed, and then he became a consultant, and that somehow, you know, was working, but then he was making millionaires billionaires. And he was like, that sucks. You know, he's like, these people don't care about anybody except for themselves. And he was not and he was not really enjoying it. And you know, he said he had this moment though, where he's showing up for the job, and he's like, uh, someday it's gonna be better and more fun, and then hopefully when I'm retired, I'll be able to go enjoy life. And he said, wait a minute. Why? Why should I keep doing something that I hate just hoping that someday it'll make it'll be better, it'll I will enjoy it more, or it's gonna pay me what I want to pay. He's like, I only have one life to live, and I'm better. I should start enjoying what I'm doing now. How do I do that? How do I do that? You know? So he said he flipped the script and decided to prioritize having fun. And he said having fun is contagious. He said it's a little contagious. In fact, you know, just his approach to the podcast was contagious and fun and joyful, you know. And he said it's also when you're doing something that feels fun, you are naturally motivated to work harder, right? So, you know, instead of like, kicking yourself to go get the thing done, that you have to do, what if you could do something that is fun, you know, you're gonna do it well, because you love doing it?Lesley Logan 21:37  Yeah. Yeah. It made me think a little bit about Gay Hendricks is, like, zone of genius kind of a thing. Like, I feel like. Brad Crowell 21:44  Sure.Lesley Logan 21:44  I feel like they're very similar, except for this one is, like, except for Matthew is teaching us how to get the money we need to go do the thing we love.Brad Crowell 21:54  Yeah, it's, it's very true, and he's encyclopedic with that, as well. He was very impressive. Lesley Logan 21:58  I will say. Like, if you listen to episode 400, Gay Hendricks will help you figure out what your zone of genius is. And then Matthew Lesko will give you all the websites for where you can get paid to do your zone of genius. I think that these are two must listen tos.Brad Crowell 22:12  Who knew that kind of a thing, just, mind-blowing. Lesley Logan 22:12  And I think that each state has that. You have to figure out, like, how does your state, how does your state make money? Right? Because every state's a little different. How they tax, what they tax. So like, obviously Nevada is not excited to help us unless we are a casino. So since we are not one of those things, we're not getting that. But at the same time, there's still going to be things we can reach out to figure like, find ways, because this, they do have local people who need.Brad Crowell 22:40  Yeah, gambling and tourism, that's how Nevada makes money.Lesley Logan 22:43  Yeah. So that's how that makes money. So, like, but we can figure out, like, okay, well, how, what does the city need, right? Because we actually don't live for, the strip is not part of Las Vegas, surprising. It's technically paradise, but, but, but you can figure out what your city needs to get, what your county needs to get, what state needs, and then go, oh, well, what are they? They're paying for that, they're giving out grants for that. Like, yeah, you do the paperwork. But like, not many people are. Brad Crowell 23:06  Not many people are. Lesley Logan 23:07  Remember, I forget her name, B-D B-D. Brad Crowell 23:12  B-E-A-T-Y? Lesley Logan 23:14  Yeah. No, no, B-E-A-T-T-E. She was on our on an episode of The Be It Pod, and she got a, she got an SBA grant because she filled out the fucking paperwork.Brad Crowell 23:26  Yeah, I. Lesley Logan 23:27  B-D Brad Crowell 23:28  Don't have her name there.Lesley Logan 23:30  Well, she's in the two hundreds. Let's see how.Brad Crowell 23:35  Oh, B-E-A-T-E Chalet, Chalet. She was, she,her interview was 196. I'm very proud.Lesley Logan 23:43  Ah, I was so close. And I was thinking, Beate Chelette, but I was like, no, I was confusing her with Aletta Rochat. And I was like, no, but actually, I should have said it out loud, because I was right. Anyway, so close, so close. Yeah, but she, if you guys listen to her episode 196 she actually got an SBA grant for her business idea. You know? Brad Crowell 24:05  I love that. Lesley Logan 24:05  Because she did the thing that Matthew said to do, make the appointment, sit down with the people like, fill out the thing. Anyways.Brad Crowell 24:13  Impressive. All right. Well, anyway, stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into that amazing convo you had with him about the Be It Action Items, which y'all literally, you have to take notes like, it is, it's 100% you have to go back. You slow it down, listen to it twice, write down all the things he said. But we're gonna talk about it so. Lesley Logan 24:31  And it's also in the transcripts. Brad Crowell 24:33  Oh yeah, we'll put the links in the transcripts, but stick around. We'll be right back. Brad Crowell 24:37  Okay. Finally, let's talk about those Be It Action Items. Say it with me Mindi. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with Matthew Lesko. He shared an abundance of untapped government resources, both state and federal. By the way, it's not just the federal.Lesley Logan 25:00  And I guess for the people who live internationally, I imagine these things probably exist in a lot of places you live. Brad Crowell 25:05  I'm 100% sure about Canada. In fact, I have a lot of musician friends who would get grants in Canada where the Canadian government was willing to sponsor. Lesley Logan 25:14  Yes. We have had guests who do that. That is amazing. Brad Crowell 25:16  Yeah. And that that like, I don't even maybe that's available here too. I have no idea, but I'll tell you. You know, that was seemed to me like, like my college friends were like, I want to make an album. And they literally applied to the Canadian federal government, and they got like, 10 grand to make an album. And I was in college going, how the hell, why can't I get 10 grand? Lesley Logan 25:36  I mean, they were Canadian, obviously. Brad Crowell 25:38  Yeah, they were, they were obviously Canadian. So anyway, he shared a bunch of untapped resources. He said that 40% of everything in our economy are organizations that give you free money to solve a problem. I don't really understand that statistic, and I can't actually validate that, but he's been doing this for four decades, y'all, so he knows all these things. He emphasized that these programs are already paid for with our tax dollars. So it's on us to take advantage of them, or the money just sits there, it doesn't get used, right? And also, it might not be the kind of thing that they get to they don't just hoard it and pile it. It might be like, hey, you can give up to $2 million away, but if they don't, they don't get to keep it, right? So basically, it's on us to go take advantage of what is available to us. And it was fascinating to listen to him talk about the different reasons that someone might want to go get a talk to these organizations and go through the process. He emphasized that, well, yeah, there, and this stuff is already funded. It's already paid for. He advised the to seek out free government and nonprofit resources directly, rather than relying on standard search engines like Google, specifically, because they don't actually do SEO, or they're gated searches, you can't actually search them with outside search engines like Google. Right? And so basically, he gave us examples like findhelp.org which is amazing. It's about local finding local help for things like food, housing, health, money.Lesley Logan 27:04  That, right there is so amazing how many people are struggling to afford groceries right now. Like, maybe, maybe you're not someone who is it, but maybe someone you know is. You can send them that information. Brad Crowell 27:15  findhelp.org you know, and there will be links in the show notes. So there's more links in the show notes. Lesley Logan 27:22  So many. Brad Crowell 27:22  Yeah. He talked about the SBA. He talked about Apex Accelerators, which I've never heard of before. He talked about career and job training. Lesley Logan 27:30  Oh, and turn your VPNs off, y'all. Brad Crowell 27:31  Yeah, yeah. They're, you know, if they're a government side, it might have trouble if you have a VPN on. He talked about HUD, which is like another United States government, housing urban development, and he said, there's free financial and debt counseling, right? And they can help you get out of debt.Lesley Logan 27:48  I mean, I had no idea, because, like so many of my friends and everyone had, like, use those companies that can, like, you know, supposedly help, but it could affect your credit at the same time. Like, who? Who knew if you use the government agency, maybe it would have been different.Brad Crowell 28:02  I wish I had known when I when I had a failed business. It would have been really helpful. Wish I had known. So anyway, what about you? I mean, all those things and there's still more. Lesley Logan 28:11  Okay, so we said it already. We're gonna say it again, because it's a Be It Action Item. Once you find a resource, book an appointment, okay? Matthew said, everybody just wants to fill out on application online, and wait for the money. You can't do that, he said, because you don't know. Brad Crowell 28:23  What did everybody wants to say what? Lesley Logan 28:23  Everybody wants to just fill out the applications online. Like, you know, like, oh, let me just do it online. It's just copy paste, copy paste. And he's saying, don't do that, because you don't know how the application should be filled out. And, like, there's always the little nuances, right? Like, we're currently working with lawyers who are filling out legal forms for us to go to Canada. So if we had done it ourselves, we wouldn't know the insight and the nuances to like, oh, actually, put this instead of that, because this will get you across. And that is actually going to be like, we have enough of those. So like, you want to make sure that you're working with someone who's like, fighting for you to fill it out correctly will tell you what certain things mean. I mean, sometimes I don't even know. It's like, you're like, oh, I think that's where I put my business name, and it's not, it's where you put your account number or something like that. So, you know, just work with the people. They're in the office I'm talking, I'm sure it'll brighten their day to hear what you're working on, right, what you need help with. Also, they often know the other people in the area, the community, the other resources to help you, right, like, oh, if I'm not the right resource, this person is, if you're starting a business or a nonprofit or side hustle, the smartest move is to call your local SBA office and speak with a counselor. Again, not something online, not a chatGPT. You gotta go and talk to someone. And then he also said, talk to experts who.Brad Crowell 29:42  SBA stands for Small Business Administration, right? So that's a federal government thing, but they have local offices around the country, so you can actually go in and make an appointment to to their office. In fact, also too, not that I'm like, a huge fan of the big banks, but big banks actually often have training programs for business owners, too.Lesley Logan 30:02  Yes, but we're not fans of big banks because they won't help you get an SBA.Brad Crowell 30:05  Almost never will they help you get a loan. But, you know, there are resources available there too, but the SBA is actually, like, trying to help you get the money. Lesley Logan 30:13  Yeah, I would fuck the big banks.Brad Crowell 30:17  If the big banks, like, honestly, the SBA doesn't let you apply for SBA funding directly through the SBA. You have to apply through a bank. You don't necessarily need to apply through a big bank, though. So that's the difference there.Lesley Logan 30:30  Right. So, and then also make sure you have the experts who can help you, help people like you, guide you to the right programs and the paperwork, and they usually do this for free. And you know, he's someone who loves to help people. So, like, there's, there's things out there. You're not on your own. Your friends and family might not be the best people to ask, but, you know what? Go to these offices and go, oh, they can't help you. Do you know who? Do you know who will, who can? Like, what else should I search? What should I be searching? Because I get the right thing. Like, they'll, they'll even, even at the DMV people help me, if you just ask the right questions and you're really nice. So trust me, people want to help people. Brad Crowell 30:34  Yeah, it's true. It's true. Well, what a wealth of information. Also, he has like, here's like, books that are like, $20 so, like, even if you're, you know, look, if you're looking for more and you, you know, want to check out his resources. He has that community. The community he built is like people trying to help people find the right stuff. So, I mean, it's just curious. It's just fascinating.Lesley Logan 31:29  Sounds super positive. Brad Crowell 31:30  It sounds really positive, yeah. Lesley Logan 31:31  Yeah. Who doesn't need that in their life? Anyways, share this with a friend who needs to hear it. Brad Crowell 31:36  Share it. Send it.Lesley Logan 31:37  This is the episode to share. There's so much in there for people, everybody.Brad Crowell 31:41  Episode 545, y'all, share it. Lesley Logan 31:43  545Brad Crowell 31:44  545Lesley Logan 31:44  I'm Lesley Logan. Brad Crowell 31:45  And I'm Brad Crowell. Thanks so much for being here. Lesley Logan 31:48  Oh, okay, you totally did. Show. We already said to share this. So now, go Be It Till You See It. Brad Crowell 31:55  Bye for now.Lesley Logan 31:57  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 32:39  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 32:44  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co. Brad Crowell 32:49  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 32:55  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 32:59  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This was such a refreshing conversation with Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. We recorded it just after she delivered the homily at the National Cathedral the day after the inauguration. Bishop Budde's candor, winsomeness and wisdom shines through in all circumstances - whether it's before a worldwide audience or upon earnest reflection of the impact of her ministry. And there's something healing in all of this. So it's certainly worth revisiting our discussion going into this national holiday weekend. Enjoy...   In this timely edition of Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other, host Corey Nathan welcomes Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral. Bishop Budde is a well-respected spiritual leader who has appeared on PBS NewsHour, Meet the Press, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. The conversation dives into Bishop Budde's faith journey, her reflections on political and social issues, and her approach to leading with grace and courage in divisive times. The discussion also touches on the controversy surrounding her sermon and how she directly addressed Donald Trump at the National Cathedral following the 2025 presidential inauguration. What We Discuss Bishop Budde's personal faith journey, from her early religious experiences to her leadership in the Episcopal Church. The challenges of navigating faith, politics, and national unity in today's polarized climate. How to extend grace and practice mercy even in the face of criticism. The role of the church in advocating for social justice, particularly regarding immigration and LGBTQ+ rights. Strategies for engaging in difficult conversations while maintaining mutual respect. Episode Highlights [00:00:00] – Introduction to the episode and guest, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. [00:02:00] – Bishop Budde shares her faith journey and the struggles she faced reconciling different religious influences. [00:10:00] – The tension between faith and exclusivity: why some versions of Christianity felt limiting to her. [00:15:00] – The discipline of grace: choosing to respond with compassion rather than anger, even when faced with opposition. [00:26:00] – Bishop Budde's response to the 2025 presidential inauguration sermon controversy and the importance of speaking truth with love. [00:38:00] – Handling criticism and maintaining a sense of personal and spiritual balance. [00:52:00] – Finding hope in uncertain times: How we can cultivate a spirit of resilience and faith amid societal challenges. [00:55:00] – The importance of dialogue: How to foster better conversations across political and religious differences. [01:03:00] – Final thoughts and how to follow Bishop Budde's work. Featured Quotes "If it's not about love, it's not about God." – Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde "The discipline of grace is a practice, not a gift. It's about choosing to respond with love even when it's difficult." – Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde "To be raised from the dead—whatever that means in our own lives—requires our consent to live again, to have our hearts broken again, and to take on all of life again." – Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde "We need to ask ourselves: When was the last time I changed my mind? True dialogue requires being open to seeing the world differently." – Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde Resources Mentioned Bishop Budde's Book: How We Learn to Be Brave Episcopal Diocese of Washington – www.edow.org

Amy Morin has one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time called “The Secret Of Becoming Mentally Strong,” with over 17 million views. The talk was based on her first book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do, which was featured on USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists. She has also been featured on media outlets like Good Morning America, Business Insider, Fox News, Time, CNBC, and Today. If that wasn't enough, Inc. Magazine featured her as a top 100 leadership speaker in 2018. Here is what you're going to learn from listening to this podcast episode! - What is the difference between mental strength & mental health? - What's the difference between being mentally strong and acting tough? - What are some exercises for building mental strength? Related Links Amy's TEDx TalkAmy's Podcast13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't DoWhat Construction Workers Could Teach Other Industries About Mental Health AwarenessThanks for listening! Please be sure to leave a rating or review and follow us on our social accounts! SUBSCRIBE!      Like us on LinkedIn!      Like us on Facebook!    Follow us on Instagram!Eddie's LinkedIn      Tyler's LinkedIn      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a world of free resources and government support waiting to be claimed and Matthew Lesko is on a mission to help you find it. In this episode, Lesley Logan chats with the iconic author and endearing personality to explore how anyone can access funding, assistance, and programs already available to them. Lesko's unfiltered advice, contagious energy, If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How Matthew Lesko followed his heart to create a mission-driven career.Why helping others became more meaningful than making millions.The mindset shifts from chasing success to creating an impact.Where to find real programs offering free financial aid and support.How to access small business and government contracting support.Episode References/Links:Matthew Lesko Help Free Membership - www.beitpod.com/leskohelpFind Local Help for Basic Needs – www.findhelp.orgSmall Business Support (SBA Local Assistance) – www.sba.gov/local-assistanceGovernment Contracting Support (Apex Accelerators) – www.apexaccelerators.usCareer & Job Training Help – www.careeronestop.orgFree Financial & Debt Counseling (HUD) – www.hud.gov/housingcounselingGuest Bio:Matthew Lesko is a nationally recognized author, researcher, and consumer advocate known for helping people access free government money and resources. For over 40 years, he's made it his mission to show everyday Americans how to find funding for education, business, debt relief, housing, and more. With over 100 books published, Lesko has turned complex government programs into easy-to-use guides that empower individuals to take control of their financial future. His work has been featured on major platforms like Oprah, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America, where he's become known for his energetic style and signature question-mark suit.Lesko's passion goes beyond publishing. He leads a community of over 15,000 members who support each other in navigating hidden funding opportunities. Through this platform, he also gives back—distributing monthly grants to help others get started. At the core of his work is a simple belief: you don't need to be wealthy to get support—you just need to know where to look. Lesko's tools, research, and heart-centered approach have helped thousands unlock resources they didn't even know existed If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/ Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Matthew Lesko 0:00  My rule of thumb is your heart is smarter than your brain. You got to trust that more than anything. And sometimes you can't get there until you fail your assLesley Logan 0:13  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:56  Be It babe, this is for you. This episode is for you. I mean, they're all for you, but this one I've been waiting for since the day I met this man. I was like, no way, no freaking way. This is real. And it is real because, and the reason I know is because I, before I met this guy, have been trying to do this with my business and going through some of the hoops that do it. And I think he just made it even easier. So Matthew Lesko is our guest. He is a wonderful, brilliant, hilariously honest man with so much love, and he is all the websites, all the keys, all the kingdom to helping you get the money assistance you need, like free money. But then He even tells you how you can get better money. So I know that that can sound like an infomercial. I know that they can sound like it's too good to be true. I promise you that, like, you do have some hoops to jump through, but I want you to get I want you to have everything you need. And I know some of you have debt that's holding you back, or you need money to make this idea happen, or you need the job training to make this idea happen. And literally, in this episode, he's gonna give you URLs that could help you do that. And if you want accountability community, he has that for you as well. So Matthew Lesko is our guest. You're gonna, you're gonna want to have a pen and paper for when he starts doing these, but we'll have the links in the show notes, so just check the show notes. All right, thank you, Matthew Lesko, you're amazing. Y'all, here he is. Lesley Logan 2:14  All right, Be It, babe. I am super excited. First of all, if you're not watching this on YouTube, you're gonna want to see the man that's in front of me, because he has never let me down the two times I've seen him. He has the best suits on, the best glasses on, the most gorgeous hair. Matthew Lesko, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at?Matthew Lesko 2:36  Matthew Lesko, what I rock at? Boy, I just struggle. That's what rocking is. Man, it takes work to get through this shit, you know, everybody thinks there's some formula. No, there's no formula. You're guessing your ass off every day and hoping something works. The only thing you need is energy to do stuff, because the more stuff you do, because any, any that you get some plan about what to do in life, and that's not going to work, don't worry about it. But you could try maybe a little bit there you could do, but you got to figure your own shit out. And, but help could help you, just at least get you a little bit on the way. But, yeah, that's what it is. We all struggle and the experts want to make a lot of money to try to convince you they know the secret to life. Now they don't know what the fuck to do with their own life, you know. And so maybe you can claim little items to open your mind a little bit more. But really, life is trying something and failing. It's, it's like, if you're going to do something new in life, that's like learning to walk, you know, or learning to ride a bike, you're going to fall on your ass a lot. That's, what I think here is your loved ones are your worst enemy, because they say, don't do that. You're going to fail. Yes, you are. You're going to run into big bumps in the road. You're going to fail at something, and you just keep fucking going because you want to do that. So that's why key in life is not knowing exactly what to do, because nobody really knows, and you have to figure that out. That's a trial and error. And what you have to do is you use your brain as little as possible. Follow your heart as much as you can. I mean, you got to have the brain part, you know, so you don't fall off a cliff and do something really fucking stupid. But the way to get anything done is your heart has to be in it. I mean, whether it's professional life or personal life, man, if your heart and soul is not there, you're not going to make it happen, because it's going to be a pain in the ass, and you're going to leave on the second time it's a pain in the ass, or maybe the third.Lesley Logan 4:45  Yeah or some people the first time because they think it should be easier. Or, like, I've heard people say, oh, this is a sign I'm not supposed to do it. It's like, no.Matthew Lesko 4:55  That's a sign you're human. Lesley Logan 4:56  Yeah. I mean, like, like, everyone has obstacles. I really appreciate this honesty. Thank you so much, because it's true. Like, you know, while we're doing this, my husband's actually talking to some business owners that we're hoping to coach, and we tell them, they're like, okay, well, what's the template like? In six weeks how much money am I going to make? And then we're like, anyone who's telling you that there's a template (inaudible) yeah, like this, because they've had so many good business coaches tell them, oh, follow this plan, you'll have 100k launch. You'll have this da-da-da but like that doesn't that's not how it works, because the amount of time you can put into this brilliant idea that you're passionate about is very different than the person next to you. The amount of money you're coming into this brilliant idea with is very different, and then also the life that's around you, or if you have an audience for this idea already, or you have to build it first, like, you can't, don't, I was, like, the quickest thing to know that someone's lying to you is if they have a plan. Because, like, like, I what's the thing? Like, you have a plan and God laughs, or something like that. Like, like, you know, it's just, but it doesn't mean that there's not options or ideas or good things that are out there. It's just that, I think people think, if I buy the plan, and that's going to be the thing, that's going to get me there, as opposed to starting with what you said, which is, like, do you really want to do it? Are you that passionate about it that you'll do it even if you fail? Matthew Lesko 6:18  Right, because you are going to fail. I mean, there are going to be bumps in the road, reasons to not go forward, and that's when people quit, and then they try something else and they try something else, and that's why, even on a, personally, for your heart, I mean, my rule of thumb is your heart is smarter than your brain. You got to trust that more than anything. And, and sometimes you can't get there until you fail your ass off, then there's nothing left. And, and you know that you're special, but you have to find out what you're special in. That's the problem. We go to classes and experts and, and tell us, they're just giving you a clue they don't know, because we're all so different. I mean, you're a rose and I'm a petunia, you know? And how are you going to make a petunia into a rose? Lesley Logan 7:13  And then everyone tries to treat each other like they're a tulip, and no one wants to be taller than the other, right? But you're really a rose and a petunia in a tulip field. Okay, so you Matthew, I feel like you are like coming into our ears today and like giving us true honesty, but also like you clearly lived a life. You've got this gorgeous white hair, you lived this life and also, I don't think anyone like knows how to say this, the way that you're saying it, with so much honesty and love, unless you've, like, lived through lives like you've lived through. Because, you know, it takes time, it takes time to (inaudible) so tell, can you tell us all about how you got, like, what you did before you became a petunia who's bestowing us in all this honesty?Matthew Lesko 8:00  I, god, I'm 81 years old. Can't remember that far, but I do it, really struggled, I mean, I was never good at anything. You know, that's why I just adore artists, because they know what the fuck they have to do, you know, but if you can't sing, dance or whatever, and you don't know what you're really supposed to do every day, and the rest of us have to figure that out. But the longer I do that, the more I see, yes, we all are artists like that is something we have to get up the morning, and there's something inside of us that possesses us to do something because you feel it's important, because you feel it's helping somebody, like now, at 81, I work harder now than ever before. It's not work. I haven't worked in 50 years, and part of, it's having fun in the process. So what I was doing, I was getting I am failing through college and all that kind of thing. When in Navy, I was a naval officer, ship driver, came back, that was Vietnam, and I got an MBA, started businesses that were failing. I had a software company in the 70s that was failing. I was, like, computer science professor, starting another business that failed, a bunch of failures. And I started looking, wow, I'm failing, not having fun, and I'm doing all this shit that maybe in 30, 40, years from now, I'll have fun, and that's crazy. I'm not having any fun, and I'm not successful at it. And so what I did is sort of finally flipped it around. Have fun today, because when you start having fun, you know that's a little contagious. Then also, if you're doing something that you feel you're having fun at, you'll work harder at. You hate playing basketball, but you love golf. You'll be on the golf course still, they have to drag you off, you know. And that's, so, that's what happened. That's how you really learn, that's how you really grow. You're into something you want to be there no matter what and then when I start doing that, then, and I think the other thing is, I find I had to, you have to look inside, you know, help may or may not be have outside, but you really have to be aware of what's inside you listen to that inside you, because that's really the important stuff that's going to come out, and it's hard to listen to it, because we don't, none of us know what the hell to do in life. We're all guessing you know and there's no empathy for that, because the people, coaches, you have to pretend, you know so you could charge a lot of money for what you're guessing about, you know, because that's what people want to hear. You know, unfortunately. Lesley Logan 10:58  Yeah, I think, well, if people are afraid to take risks, because, I mean, you know, you know, you've lived a whole life. Like, if you take, if you are putting your own money into something as an idea and it fails, the the bills don't care, right? Like, they don't care. So, like, you know, like, something that I had someone say, like, there's like, six needs that we all have as humans, certainty and uncertainty. Matthew Lesko 11:30  I thought you said sex needs. Lesley Logan 11:31  Sex needs yes, yes, yes, yes. Six needs. Certainty, uncertainty, love and connection, I think one of them has to do with like, uh, significance, excuse me, it's like power, that you mean something, then we also need growth and contribution. The growth and contribution are more like choices. The other four you like, are like, really needs. And I think, like, a lot of us don't want to take a risk on the thing that's on our heart that we know we're supposed to do unless we have certainty that it won't fail, because this job over here that we hate is paying the bills.Matthew Lesko 12:12  Well, to me, you have to do both. You have to be responsible to yourself and the bills and everything and then any waking hour extra you have is to concentrate on finding out what that is inside you. Because if you don't do that, you know it's just life is so much harder. And boy, 81, I am so fucking happy now. I can't believe it. And for I never do, like, live so long, and I didn't know maybe this time I'll have this much fun. I mean, I say, god, if I knew being 81 was this much fun, I would have gotten here a lot fucking earlier, man, why did I wait so long? Lesley Logan 12:59  You are amazing. Because my dad is 72 and I'm like, oh, and he's like, now, like, older than any of the men in his family, right, that have ever lived. And so, like, where it was like, let's get him to 70 like, the whole like, let's get a 72 no one's ever made it to 72 like, let's see. And I was like, you're gonna live to 100 you better watch out. He goes, I don't want to live to 100 but, like, I think clearly the difference is attitude, like you were like, you had that idea, like, have fun today, and now, clearly, and being it till you see it of have fun today, you're having so much fun at 81 you're like, I should have gotten here faster. Matthew Lesko 13:33  Well, another thing that's really happened just last few a years too, is that most of men and your dad's 10 years younger than me or whatever. At least my life, most of it was trying to get stronger, faster, smarter. Well, at 80, none of that shit is going to get better. All that's going downhill. But what I figured out just a couple years ago, more so, is that I could love harder. Now there's one thing I get harder at any age. I could just love harder. And in my generation, I don't know if your dad's the same way. I couldn't even say that word unless they married you.Lesley Logan 14:14  Right, right. No, I think, literally, I don't think he says he loves anyone except for his kids right now.Matthew Lesko 14:20  Never heard it from my family even. And you know what changed me a lot were lesbians. I live in an apartment building here, 70, a lot of cool people, younger people, usually. And there was a woman next to us (inaudible) we really got close and that she she's my gateway drug to saying I love you to a woman, it was safe. Lesley Logan 14:44  Yeah, because it didn't mean anything, she didn't care, like she loved being loved, but didn't take it the wrong way. That's so funny. I know it's really true. Like I like one of my girlfriends, I just rung on the phone the other day, and she had, like, her father passed, and, you know, we end every phone call I love you. And like, you know, I think, yeah, yeah, well, we, you know, we can change it. I, okay. So you are full of so much information. So as far as like, I mean, you are giving us so many good gems, and we can all love harder, but you actually are, I think maybe, like, you actually are, like, the person who helps people. You are an expert in helping people get, get money. So how did, how did you get here? And what are we talking about? Because, like, I when I met you and you told me this, I was like, no freaking way. But then I said that about Pilates, and now I'm a Pilates instructor, so I it's my it's like my sign when I go, no fuck no way, no fucking way. That's like some be it. No way. No one can do that. So can you tell us a little about, like, what you do when you're not just loving on people?Matthew Lesko 15:54  It is, by accident, again, my business has failed, and so what you do is become a consultant. So I have a consultant, like a researcher at the time, back in 70s, for Fortune 500 companies that wanted to do stuff, and I was in Washington, so they wanted to get money to start businesses and buy companies and find out the market for stuff. So I was in Washington, and I'd get I'd go around Washington and find help for them, and offices that give you money, offices that give you free reports on the markets for anything like I did one for Procter & Gamble on pasta, and I found a pasta expert in Washington who just spent a million dollars on some study on what's the good and bad about pasta business, and who makes money and where to get money. And so I take that stuff, and I take the government's name off of it, put my name on it, because nothing in the government is copyrighted, and I thank the department or whatever, and sell it to them for thousands of dollars. They loved it, millionaires, and that's why I saw I was making billionaires out of millionaires. I said, why does the average person know about it? Well I said I want to people. And that was my first successful business. So I was, you know, very happy with that. And but then to reach people on the street had to do with books. I couldn't charge $20,000 to do that. And so then to sell books and through publicity and doing talk shows and stuff like that. And I've been doing that for a long time, but what I see, see anybody can use it, the government, see, 40% of everything in our economy is our organizations that give you free money to solve a problem, whether it's you know, you need money to get out of debt. You need money to get rid of your your bills as an expense. You need money to start a business. You need money to get an education or get a better job. You need money to buy a house or fix up your house. You need money for I was anything you want. Is there health care, free, legal help? It's all in the government we I was finding government grant the other day for you want to buy out your boss. You know, $250,000 they'll give you in this is Colorado. To do that. Wisconsin will give you $250,000 just start a business as long as you stay there 15 years.Lesley Logan 18:25  What? I didn't know about Oklahoma. I think there was like a thing where Oklahoma City was trying to get people to move there. So you would get, (inaudible) you got like, $20,000 put down on a place to live in Oaklahoma City and then they would give you $10,000 a year. And I was like, and you had to, and all you had to do was stay for two years, so and then you could rent the house out, or whatever. And I was like, two years, and I could own a property in Oklahoma City, then I could rent it out, like I work for myself. Am I interested? And like, going back to your heart, like my heart wasn't in it. So I was like, that sounds like it's not enough money for me. But like that, I did know about that, so I didn't realize, like, Okay, this is so cool. So, like, all these states have different stuff. You just have to know it exists. The government has this. I think we all just have to, like, can we just, like, take a brief moment we are recording this two months into a shit show. Is there still gonna be money for all of us. Matthew Lesko 19:21  Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, this is more show business that's going on for the average person. It's all still there. The downside, if all that still works, none of his stuff is legal yet. He just does it and wait till somebody stops him and but what's important is that, can you go online now? Let me show you something. Okay, okay, go on to findhelp.org.Lesley Logan 19:52  findhelp.org okay. Matthew Lesko 19:55  Right. Okay findhelp.org. Put in your zip code. I don't know what Vegas is, what's the OE on your hand? Lesley Logan 20:04  Oh, it's part of my hand my other hand tattoo. The other half is my husband and and it, and it, he has the LV, so it's the love tatoo. He's from Philly. There we go. We're in. We're in. You're so smart Matthew. You're like, okay, it didn't like, it doesn't like a VPN. So everyone, when you go to this, turn off your VPN, which is kind of like Hulu, doesn't like your VPN either. Okay, so I put in my zip code. Okay, there are 2738 programs in Las Vegas, Nevada. Matthew Lesko 20:38  So anyways, 2700 programs, those programs are all from nonprofit agencies or government offices. That means they all give you money or free help. None of them will never charge you a nickel for what they have. The government gives an average of $18,000 to every adult through programs like this every year, and that's me. And so you have, what, 1800 of them. And so, like, if you. Lesley Logan 21:02  2700 of them, yes, yes.Matthew Lesko 21:04  2700 yeah, incredible. I mean, and that's for anything. Look at the tabs on top. Lesley Logan 21:13  Yeah, there's tabs for food. There's, uh, which, like, which, when you tab on that, it has, like, community gardens, emergency food, food pantries, meals, housing, there's 22 things in housing, goods, there's a ton of stuff in goods, transit, they'll help you buy bus passes, health, money.Matthew Lesko 21:36  Oh, up in the there's the little search bar on the left hand side, on top, put in financial assistance.Lesley Logan 21:44  Okay, here we go. Matthew Lesko 21:45  How many you have there? Lesley Logan 21:50  This? It's showing me 791 pages, and there's 10 listings on each page. That's 7000.Matthew Lesko 22:02  Those people are there to give you free financial assistance. Most of us, well, we got to go to the bank, or we got to rob a 7/11 yeah and that's the options people don't know. That's why I think Google is ruining our country, because everyone's going to Google, and you can't find these in Google because they don't advertise.Lesley Logan 22:24  Right and they're not doing the SEO game. They're not, they don't have time for that. So yeah. Thank you for explaining that because I was just thinking, like, oh, I just like, you know, a couple years ago, my husband and I were trying to get a business loan for our business to help grow it. And we, of course, went to our bank, and we banked with since the dawn of my business, and I've always made more money every year. And they're like, no, you don't get any money from us because you're so small we don't care about you. So then I Googled, like, small business and like, like, nothing, except for all these banks and credit you like, these people don't want me. I'm not banking with them. We had to, like, we actually went to a wee bank event, and that's how my husband found someone who wanted to, like, invest in our business. But, like, this is really cool. So this, like, okay, but like, really, Matthew, so, like, a lot of this, there's stuff for people, like, for housing, so well, I can, there's one I'm saying, like, for people who have babies in NICU, this is amazing. So like, can I find financial assistance for my idea, for my business idea, or is it like?Matthew Lesko 23:26  No, not there, though, let me show you another website. Okay, okay, sba.gov/local-assistance. Lesley Logan 23:38  I see it. Okay.Matthew Lesko 23:41  Local hyphen assistance. You get there, after (inaudible) and there's a place (inaudible) your zip code.Lesley Logan 23:49  Yes, there is. And you can put a distance. And I'm just going to keep it small. Let's see. (inaudible)Matthew Lesko 23:54  Most of this stuff is remote anyway, so it doesn't matter where they are. Lesley Logan 23:57  Yeah, there's, like, it's telling me about the main off, the Las Vegas this, like, the SBA of Las Vegas is, like, down the street from my house.Matthew Lesko 23:59  Many other places that usually the non-SBA are better.Lesley Logan 24:10  Okay, there's, yeah, there's a just in, in, in 25 miles. Looks like I have about 15 options to go through. So, and that's like, that's just like in the like, that's just like the county, yeah. Matthew Lesko 24:25  Every one of them are people that are there to help you find money and help you need to start or expand anything. So the best way to do it, and the way you do this, to me, my advice is to call and make appointments with as many as you can. Everybody has different ideas about how to do things and whatever, and different sources and all that kind of stuff, but they're all there to help anybody who calls to start their business help you find money. Help you find technical help, legal help. Help you do your taxes, all for free, and it's or strategize for strategy. And one of the things I think is best, too, for someone like you, you're you're providing help to people as a service that see if the the government buys that service, what's better from the government is not a grant, is really a contract that you get a government contract, you know, to sell your services to the government, or from a what they do, they spend a lot of money teaching people how to start a business. So like at your what's called the career one-stop center. You go, that's another thing for getting a job or things like that, or even starting a business. And they, they, they pay people to train people to help start a business, so you could be a contractor for somebody like that. Contracting is better than any kind of grant, because you get that forever (inaudible).Lesley Logan 26:01  Yeah, yeah. I am. We actually, in the last year, been working on certifying our business, because, like, there's some contracts that you're more likely to get if you're certified women-owned business or things like that. But like, I got to, like, look for some of these contracts, like websites for that, and it is insane how many, like, how many government contracts are wanting to use, like, they're like, we need like, like, the military is like, hey, we have a ton of people who want to do the military, and they are not in shape. So the military is looking for Pilates instructors or trainers or nutritionists to just help them with this problem they have. And like the truth is, is that most of us don't know these things exist, and we're the ones who's got the passion.Matthew Lesko 26:47  Let me show you the best place for that. Now you could use what I just gave you, and they would help you. There's a better place. It's called Apex Accelerators A-P-E-X and then I, I will screw it up if I try to spell accelerator.Lesley Logan 27:04  It's okay Apex Accelerators I know, it's one of those words.Matthew Lesko 27:06  Yeah, and then, but dot U-S. Lesley Logan 27:09  Okay. Matthew Lesko 27:10  Now that's, that's a free service that just specializes in helping people get contracts.Lesley Logan 27:16  Wow. Well, that's even more fun because then I don't have to learn how to do it. Matthew Lesko 27:21  Exactly, right. Lesley Logan 27:23  Because it can be a lot, oh my gosh, this is insane. You guys, you could put your zip code in, okay, and it says, find an apex accelerator near you. And guess what? There is, there's, there's one like, it looks like it's right, oh my gosh. It's like down the street from my it's like down the street from my house. (inaudible) Yeah, make an appointment. Okay, so, okay, Matthew, this is amazing. First of all, you gave us more than I expected. Uh, how do you do this? What do you, why? But why, why help all of us? Matthew Lesko 28:03  You just showed me why? Look at your excitement. Boy, if I could do that to somebody that is just the nicest feeling in the world, yeah, I mean, like, wow. I mean, to a human that could react to something I know, and that's like, you know, my pair of socks or something, I don't even think I know it, but when I see you and you see us, that joy and that smile, that that I could do that to human at 81 that's pretty special. Lesley Logan 28:41  Wow. Well, then you're welcome. I promise you. Right now, Matthew, my husband, is listening to me, listening to this for the replay. So when he listens to that part, he's gonna he, that's what he's gonna say. He's gonna go my wife, and he's gonna shake his head, she's so humble. Okay, we're gonna take a brief break, and then we're gonna find out how people can work with you on this, because I have a feeling that, like there's ways like that they could work more with you on this. Lesley Logan 29:09  All right, Matthew, because you just gave us, and this is really great, but I actually do think that, like, do you have a group or a place that people can get ongoing help? Because obviously you're not a recurring guest here, so they can re-listen to this episode for those, like, really amazing mantras you've given us. But like, how else can they get, can they work with you?Matthew Lesko 29:40  A survey that, it took me many years to figure out how I could create income. I like paying for my own way, and after people start buying reference books with the computers and website, it took me a while, but and so I started a newsletter, and then what it turned into is a community. So I have a community now of 15,000 people that help each other get these programs. See, and I only charge $20 I didn't want to charge thousands like I did. I want to get the information to people who really need this. Otherwise, helping millionaires become billionaires was really boring. The millionaires aren't much fun. All they care about is money and not much of the heart is there, but people who really need it is more satisfying. So this is only $20 I charge for everything. Unlimited help for $20 because members help. Like today, we'll have four or five Zoom calls with members asking question as taking questions on how they got the money. So you have actually members how they got it, and they share it with you, and it became so profitable I can't really fathom too much is that we give out our own grants. We give out about 40% of all our money goes back to members and grants. So we give out like, $40,000, $70,000 every month back to members. Yeah, and four different kind of grants and, and that's, I mean, I really feel cool. Lesley Logan 31:17  I mean, you're a badass, you're really cool, but you're like, a bad ass. You're like, you're like, it's like, not even Robin Hood, because you're not taking from bad people. You're like, actually, like, good people are paying in to help good people.Matthew Lesko 31:30  Whatever it is. It seems like I thought you had to be Jeff Bezos or his ex-wife or something like that, to be able to do this, to give up, but it is and that's, I never thought I'd be able to do that. And that's really satisfying.Lesley Logan 31:46  Well, this is, I mean, thank you. We're gonna put the links to your group and everything below, because the thing that I think keeps people from being it till they see it is oftentimes the affordability of it. Like they get stuck in that. As a business owner, I have always reinvested in my business, but like the ability to grow it required some capital, because you can't risk the savings account. And the IRS might not go after Jeff Bezos, but he certainly comes after me, so I have to pay my bill, you know, I can't go, oh, it's coming. I just, I'm doing a thing. I tried something new. So it when I had a bank go, hey, here is this with this really, really, mine's not even free money. But you, you're talking about free money. Like, I actually have been able to grow my business, and we haven't touched the money. Just like having it there meant that we could, like, be a little riskier, and it's paying off, you know, so, like, I just so I just know how impactful it's been for me. And, my goodness, if I knew this 10 years ago, like, I think we'd be in a different place. But I'm so grateful I got to meet you today. You have given us so much, some are great talks. But I love to end every episode with bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us? Matthew Lesko 33:00  Well, I mean is, if you want to do an idea, say, if you want to start a nonprofit, you want to start a business, you want to start a business at your home. You want to be a freelancer. You have an invention to work on, you go to that sba.gov/ and then local if an assistance, and you make an appointment. You make an appointment 1, 2, 3 or whatever, and you have to do that. Everybody wants to fill out an application and wait for the money. You can't do that because you don't know the application to fill out. You got to get experts and talk to experts who help people like you every day. And they're available for free, but they're not in Google. You can't use that. So you go, if it's for professional you go to sba.gov/localassistance. If it's for education or job training, you go to careeronestop.org that's another clearing house, and you put in your zip code to find a counselor to tell you about government money programs to help you train for a better job, so you want to get a skill to make better money, and things like that. They'll help you with that. Okay? And then if you have financial problems, you go to hud, hud.gov/counseling H-U-D for hud.gov/counseling and you put in your zip code there, and you get a free financial counselor sit down and work out your debts, your bills and all that stuff, so you don't carry that burden in the back of your head forever and get that, get that monkey off your back, And they'll do all that for free.Lesley Logan 34:42  Oh, my God. Matthew Lesko, thank you. Thank you. I, like, I love, like, seven different people for each one of those email addresses. Like, it's in my, just in my, like, phone, my contacts, and so, um, you guys, I know you're gonna share this with a friend. I know you are because, like, I think what I do hear people going, it can't be that easy. It's not going to be easy. I'm sure you're going to have to fill out paperwork, you have to make these appointments, you have to get the steps. But it's there, it's there, and because so few people will take the steps and do the thing like you're you're not in a huge competition. So you know what, babe, share this with a friend who needs to hear it. Thank you, Matthew Lesko. Go check out his group. Go check out what he's doing, and then report back. Let us know what you were able to do with it. Let us know what, what, what grant you did or what website you did, or how it helped your friend. Because I think it'll make Matthew Lesko's day.Matthew Lesko 35:37  Let me see a smile. Lesley Logan 35:37  Yeah, y'all, you know what to do. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 35:43  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 36:26  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 36:30  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co. Brad Crowell 36:35  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 36:42  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 36:45  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jennifer Pastiloff joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about getting out of our own way, practicing curiosity, feeling like we have a right to tell our stories and be creative, finding a way into our work, the yes and, tapping into other art forms, not throwing people under the bus, harnessing the mental space to write, accepting change as a necessary part of living, when “fine” is not fine, putting ourselves out there, sharing deeply, refusing to hide in shame, leaving her marriage, and her new book Proof of Life. Also in this episode:  -genre schmenre -getting past the inner a*shole -when change feels like it will equal death Books mentioned in this episode: The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch Reading the Waves by  Lidia Yuknavitch From Under the Truck: A Memoir by Josh Brolin Everyone at This Party Has Two Names by Brad Aaron Modlin Stolen focus by Johann Hari Fired Up by Anna Durand The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin   Jennifer Pastiloff trots the globe as a public speaker and to host her retreats to Italy, as well as her one-of-a-kind workshops, which she has taught to thousands of people all over the world. The author of the popular Substack, also called Proof of Life, she teaches writing and creativity classes called Allow, and workshops called Shame Loss, when she isn't painting and selling her art. She has been featured on Good Morning America, and Katie Couric, and in New York magazine, People, Shape, Health magazine, and other media outlets for her authenticity and unique voice. She is deaf, reads lips, and mishears almost everything, but what she hears is usually funnier (at least she thinks so). The author of the national bestseller On Being Human, Pastiloff lives in Southern California with her son, Charlie Mel. Connect with Jen: Website: JenniferPastiloff.com Substack: https://proofoflifewithjen.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenpastiloff – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

This is Sara, and I remember the time 20 years ago when I got schooled by a psychoanalyst.  It must have been the fall, because I was supremely agitated that I was having to write, design, and send holiday cards out to a huge list of people all by myself, without the help of my fiancé.  If you know me, you know that cards were a staple of my winter growing up, with cards from my parents' friends stapled onto long felt ribbons hanging down each doorway, surrounding us with love and smiling faces for weeks on end.  The therapist asked if I could just not do them, if it was annoying me so much, and my instant fury was revealed: Are you kidding? I have to send these cards out, it's the nice thing to do!!  Cut to the point, and it's this - nice according to who?  Nice for whom?  Certainly not nice for me if I were going to be resentful and pissy about it.  I came to terms with the fact that I actually just really enjoyed writing and sending cards out to people who warmed my heart that year, and that my partner wasn't a nice person for not agreeing to send these cards out with me.   But it leads us to ask this.  What do we mean by niceness - and what, more importantly, is its not-as-related-as-it-seems and so much more important character trait of kindness?  How can understanding this difference and leaning into kindness help us be better people?   What to listen for: How a medically trained doctor got into a “touchy-feely” thing like kindness The shockingly tremendous impact that kindness has on our individual health and our societal wellbeing What's the difference between niceness vs kindness?  Ways to begin practicing more kindness About our guest:   Kelli Harding, MD, MPH, is dedicated to creating a kinder and healthier world for all. An expert in mental health, medicine, and public health, she teaches at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) in New York City and is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, also boarded in the sub-specialty of consultation-liaison psychiatry or psychosomatic (mind-body) medicine. Known for making complex scientific research understandable to general audiences, she's the author of the critically acclaimed book The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. Dr. Harding has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Prevention, LA Times, Oprah Magazine, Parents, Medscape, Sesame Street Workshop, and The World Economic Forum. Additionally, she has spoken at global events at the United Nations and World Happiness Summits and served on the Boards of Organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and social media platform Nextdoor. Dr. Harding lives in New York City with her husband and three sons—an eleventh-grader, a ninth-grader, and a sixth-grader, and beloved rescue pup, Athena. Her next book, Different, co-authored with Sara Blanchard, will be out in Fall 2026. Website kellihardingmd.com LinkedIn Kelli Harding MD MPH Instagram @kellihardingmd

Interview date: October 9, 2022Episode Summary:Menina Fortunato speaks with longtime friend and professional dancer Shirlene Quigley, who was touring with Lizzo at the time of taping The Business of Dance Podcast. Shirlene shares her inspiring journey from a late starter in dance to booking major gigs with artists like Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, and Rihanna. She talks about the challenges she faced, including body image issues and industry expectations, and how her faith, supportive family, and relentless hard work have been key to her success.Shirlene also opens up about the struggles dancers face in maintaining confidence, particularly when confronted with rejection or criticism, and offers invaluable advice for aspiring dancers. She emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself, continuing to train, and trusting in one's abilities, even when faced with doubts.Shirlene also reflects on her journey with Lizzo, discussing the body positivity movement and how her own experiences have shaped her perspective. This episode is filled with motivational insights on overcoming obstacles, staying grounded in faith, and the power of resilience in the competitive dance industry.Show Notes:(03:00) Shirlene's late start in dance and how she overcame early challenges(06:00) Pushing forward after not making the dance team(09:00) The role of Millennium Dance Complex in Shirlene's growth(12:00) Her first big break with Beyoncé and embracing body positivity(16:00) From no agent to booking major jobs: Shirlene's journey of persistence(20:00) Maintaining confidence in a competitive industry(24:00) Shirlene's advice on building a standout resume(28:00) The role of faith and family support in Shirlene's career(32:00) Navigating body image and societal standards in the dance world(35:00) Working with artists like Missy Elliott, Lizzo, and Rihanna(39:00) Shirlene's perspective on body positivity and inclusivity in dance(42:00) Maintaining longevity and relevance in a fast-paced industry(45:00) How Lizzo's tour is reshaping industry norms(48:00) Balancing personal life with life on tour(52:00) Shirlene's vision for the future and ministry work(55:00) A message of confidence, faith, and resilience for aspiring dancers(58:00) Final thoughts on pursuing passion and trusting the processBiography:Shirlene Quigley is an accomplished professional dancer, internationally recognized heels instructor, and a powerhouse performer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Shirlene's dance career took off at the age of 18 when she was cast as one of the original "Uh-Oh Girls" in Beyoncé's iconic "Crazy in Love" music video. This pivotal moment catapulted Shirlene into the spotlight, and the very next day, she was touring the world with Beyoncé to promote her debut album, performing on television and in arenas worldwide.Throughout her career, Shirlene has toured the globe with some of the most influential artists of our time, making her mark on stage, in commercials, films, and music videos. Her impressive resume includes performances with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lizzo, Missy Elliott, Jamie Foxx, Chris Brown, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige, Ashanti, Fantasia, and many more.Shirlene's work spans a range of high-profile events, having performed on major award shows like the Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, Billboard Awards, and Fashion Rocks. She has also appeared on popular television and talk shows including Ellen, Good Morning America, X Factor, Saturday Night Live, America's Got Talent, Oprah, The View, So You Think You Can Dance, and David Letterman, among others.In addition to her incredible performance career, Shirlene is an internationally respected heels instructor, known for her unique style and infectious energy. Connect on Social Media:https://www.instagram.com/shirlenequigleyhttps://www.facebook.com/shirlene.quigleyWebsitehttps://www.shirlenequigley.com/

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Originally released: October 2021In this classic episode, I talk with Dennis Arcano—an all-around force in the musical theater world: Educator / Audio Engineer / Synth & Drum Programmer / Composer. He's subbed on shows like Death Becomes Her, tick, tick...BOOM!, Altar Boyz, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jagged Little Pill, and more.Dennis and I go way back, and in this episode, we talk about how he broke into the scene, from his first professional gig at Candlewood Playhouse to subbing on Broadway. He shares how a single connection led to his first Broadway subbing gig on Follies, and how that eventually led to touring tick, tick...BOOM! with his wife alongside him.He gets into:* How to properly prepare for a subbing gig (and what not to do)* His path as a multi-instrumentalist and why that matters* Why it's important to play like the drummer you're subbing for* His philosophy on groove, gear, teaching, and building trust in the pit* What it was like to come back to Broadway years later for Jagged Little PillThis episode is a masterclass in professionalism, humility, and the power of staying ready. Whether you're a drummer looking to break into the Broadway scene or someone who wants to understand what it really takes to make it, this is one worth going back to.Listen now and subscribe to the podcast for more inspiring and honest conversations with the drummers behind the shows.And grab your copy of my book: BroadwayBoundBook.comClayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Tracey Tee has been actively involved in the mom-o-sphere for over 13 years, first co-creating and staringin the nationally touring cult-hit comedy show for moms: The Pump and Dump Show while simultaneously co-producing Band of Mothers Podcast and serving as co-founder and CEO of The Pump and Dump Show's umbrella brand: Band of MothersMedia. During the pandemic, and during her own journey with psilocybin Tracey began to feel called to support moms in a deeper and more meaningful way. In 2022 she launched an online community and digital micro-dosing courses created exclusively for moms calledM.O.M. which stands for “Moms On Mushrooms.” Tracey's goal is to bring moms together through the sacred use of plant medicine for a shared journey ofpersonal growth and healing. Tracey weaves in a sacred facilitator approach into the M.O.M. ethos, calling on the support of the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Mother Earth to connect women back to themselves through prayer, herbology, grounding, nature and of course plant medicine. Her unique journey of reproductive health issues, infertility, a hysterectomy, and early menopause provides a unique and very deep level of compassion for mothers. This compassion and understanding coupled with a lifetime of learning about women's health and wellness allows her to hold space for moms with health, birth and womb trauma while also offering practical tips for overwhelmed and busy moms to simply feel better in their bodies and embrace a more sustainable and natural approach to physical and spiritual healing.Since it's launch in March 2022 M.O.M. has been featured on NPR (twice) Good Morning America, Today Show, Piers Morgan, Rolling Stone Magazine, Fox News, CBS Saturday Morning, NBC News, Romper Magazine, Café Mom, London Times and The Guardian. And yes: Tracey did appear on Dr. Phil to defendthe right to heal through micro-dosing. Tracey has spoken on panels for Rocky Mountain PBS, at Wonderland Conference, PsyCon Conference, with Micro-dosing Collective and was an invited speaker at the historic MAPS Psychedelic Science 2023 conference in Denver.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In this episode, Clayton chats with drummer Patrick Phelan IV, the current touring drummer for the Shucked First National Tour. Patrick shares how a random hangout in NYC led to his first Broadway subbing opportunity and how he's since built a career full of friendship, groove, and grit.We dive into his musical upbringing in Wisconsin, where he studied classical percussion at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and how his early decision to leave veterinary studies for a life behind the drum kit changed everything. Patrick talks about balancing eight shows a week, playing pickleball and golf to stay sane on the road, and bleeding all over his snare in Dallas — literally.Patrick also opens up about:* His deep love for Yacht Rock and why he dreams of touring with Michael McDonald or Christopher Cross* Learning to play entire shows from Vimeo videos (with no charts!) — like his recent tour with Clay Aiken & Ruben Studdard* Why subbing on Shucked led to a national tour* Playing music for music's sake—not just for the showWhether you're a drummer, a theater musician, or someone trying to figure out how to break into the Broadway world, this episode is packed with real advice, honest stories, and some good laughs.Featured Topics:* Getting into musical theater through friendship and trust, not just auditions* Classical chops meeting country-pop grooves on Shucked* Why networking isn't just schmoozing—it's about real human connection* Staying musically inspired while playing the same show night after night* The role of joy, artistic outlets, and “pretending you're at your own rock concert” when playing in isolationAbout Patrick Phelan:Outside of Broadway, Patrick has toured internationally with Americana band Them Coulee Boys, recording the album Die Happy, which charted on the American Radio Album charts. He played for the Grammy-nominated Jazz Ensemble 1 at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and performed at PASIC with the UWEC percussion quartet. Patrick also teaches private lessons in drum set, concert percussion, and piano.Connect with Patrick:Instagram: @patrickphelan4Email: patrickphelan4@gmail.comCheck out the Broadway Bound and Beyond book and merch!Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Any mid-life woman knows that once you hit your 40s, 50s, or 60s, things will not go well if you eat the same way you did when you were 20. But it's confusing to know what to eat, and how much to eat, without downloading multiple APPs and carrying around a calculator  My guest, Alexandra Filingeri, holds a doctorate in Clinical Nutrition with a focus on evidence-based nutrition interventions, particularly in mid-life and menopause.  In this episode, we cover practical nutrition tips- what to eat and how much to eat to maximize health aging. Dr. Filingeri also answered questions that came in from my Substack readers.  By the way, my favorite frozen vegetables that I couldn't remember the name of?  Puravida Fire Roasted Vegetable Melange What changes post menopause Obesity, hot flashes and weight loss The impact of insomnia on weight Individual energy requirements Macronutrients vs micronutrients Protein supplements- yay or nay Glycemic index Sugar and belly fat Grocery store strategies Dr. Alexandra Filingeri is a Registered Dietitian with a Doctorate degree in Clinical Nutrition. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Filingeri focused on metabolic disorders, nutritional biochemistry, and clinical research methodologies, equipping herself to deliver evidence-based nutrition interventions. Her clinical expertise focuses on midlife nutrition and hormone-related health.  Website: Nutrition by Dr. Alexandra – Beauty From The Inside Out Instagram: Dr. Alexandra Filingeri DCN RDN (@nutritionby_dralexandra) • Instagram photos and videos  Linkedln: Alexandra Filingeri, DCN RDN - Registered Dietitian in Private Practice - Nutrition By Dr Alexandra | LinkedIn Dr. Streicher is on SUBSTACK      DrStreicher.Substack.com Articles Monthly newsletter All COME AGAIN podcast episodes Monthly News Flash Reports on recent research  Monthly Zoom Ask Me Anything Webinar    Information on Dr. Streicher's COME AGAIN Podcast- Sexuality and Orgasm   Lauren Streicher MD, is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, and a Senior Research Fellow of The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. She is a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society. She is the Medical Director of Community Education and Outreach for Midi Health.   Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago's top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine.    LINKS Subscribe To Dr. Streicher's Substack Information About the COME AGAIN Podcast Dr. Streicher's CV and additional bio information To Find a Menopause Clinician and Other Resources  Glossary Of Medical Terminology Books by Lauren Streicher, MD  Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist's guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy                                      Dr. Streicher's Inside Information podcast is for education and information and is not intended to replace medical advice from your personal healthcare clinician. Dr. Streicher disclaims liability for any medical outcomes that may occur because of applying methods suggested or discussed in this podcast.             

Courtney Carver launched Project 333, the minimalist fashion challenge, in 2010, and it quickly gained global popularity with thousands committing to wear only 33 items from their wardrobe for three months. Courtney was featured in the Netflix documentary Minimalism, on Good Morning America, and in The Oprah Magazine. Her new book, Gentle, is the “don't do it all” self-help guide that shows you how to live with less stress, less overwhelm, and more joy by discovering the Gentle You. Courtney is highly intentional about her time, focus, and well-being. It hasn't been an easy journey, as you will hear. There's strength in your softness and fierceness in flexibility.   LINKS   Courtney's website https://bemorewithless.com   Books on Amazon Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want Soulful Simplicity: How Living with Less Can Lead to So Much More Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More   The Mojo Sessions website www.themojosessions.com   The Mojo Sessions on Patreon www.patreon.com/TheMojoSessions Full transcripts of the show (plus time codes) are available on Patreon.   The Mojo Sessions on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheMojoSessions   Gary on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/gary-bertwistle   Gary on Twitter www.twitter.com/GaryBertwistle   The Mojo Sessions on Instagram www.instagram.com/themojosessions   If you like what you hear, we'd be grateful for a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Happy listening!   © 2025 Gary Bertwistle.  All Rights Reserved.  

What if the key to healing your past, embracing the present, and shaping a future you love was already inside of you?In this episode of A Psychic's Story, Nichole is joined by someone who has helped thousands of people – from individuals to major organizations – do just that. Laura Day has spent the last 40 years guiding people to access their own intuitive power in practical, life-changing ways.You may recognize her from Oprah, Good Morning America, or features in Forbes and Cosmopolitan. But at her core, Laura is a teacher, healer, and no-nonsense guide for anyone ready to stop living on autopilot and start creating their future with intention.Tune in to hear Laura and Nichole talk about:What it really means to heal the past – and why it's more than just “letting go.”How your energy, attention, and mindset create your present reality.Simple, grounded ways to start aligning with your future – even when you feel stuck.Why your intuition is the most powerful tool for transformation.If you're ready to understand your own intuitive gifts and unlock the next chapter of your life, this episode offers wisdom and hope from someone who's been walking this path for decades.To find out more about Laura, visit lauraday.com and follow her on Instagram @lauradayintuit. Read her book The Prism: Seven Steps to Heal Your Past and Transform Your Future.To connect with Nichole or join The Psychic Club, visit apsychicsstory.com.Thanks to you, A Psychic's Story is a #1 spiritual and #2 psychic podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with someone who would benefit from hearing it or leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts. Your support like this helps A Psychic's Story continue to create meaningful content.A Psychic's Story wouldn't be possible without your support so THANK YOU for listening. If you'd like to further support the podcast, please subscribe to the podcast and/or:FOLLOW @apsychicsstory on Instagram. BOOK a session with Nichole.SIGN-UP to receive emails, news, alerts and more from A Psychic's Story.JOIN Patreon to access additional content. BECOME A MEMBER of The Psychic Club.This podcast is intended to inspire you on your personal journey to inner peace. The podcast host, co-hosts or guests are not psychologists or medical doctors and do not offer any professional health or medical advice. If you are suffering from any psychological or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified health professional.Support the show

What's a skill that can instantly improve your relationships, communication, and even your influence? In this episode, Yael talks with Caroline Fleck, a licensed psychologist and author of Validation, to unpack exactly that. Caroline explains what validation really is, how it's different from empathy or sympathy, and why it can be so powerful in both personal and professional relationships.  They walk you through how validation first gained traction in therapy, especially in dialectical behavior therapy, and Caroline shares simple techniques like attending, copying, and proposing that anyone can use. You'll get Caroline's take on the challenge of validating someone when you strongly disagree, the role of self-disclosure in connection, and how our understanding of emotions has shifted from classic microexpressions to a more nuanced view of emotional experience. If you're looking for practical ways to build better relationships and truly connect, this episode is full of insight. Listen and Learn:  What is validation? Why feeling truly seen and accepted is the key to deeper trust, love, and real connection in your life How invalidation can be toxic to your relationships and how empathy and validation actually heal them Can validation help you connect with someone even if you don't agree or relate to their situation? How accepting someone else's view first can actually boost your influence and get you heard more often The simple act of repeating exact words in conflict helps fights cool down and allows real conversations to happen Why messing up shows you're trying to truly understand, and how that keeps the connection real Why you don't have to agree with someone's whole view to validate it; just find the part that makes sense How to be open, but balanced, to create space for real connection and trust to grow Resources:  Validation: How the Skill Set That Revolutionized Psychology Will Transform Your Relationships, Increase Your Influence, and Change Your Life https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9780593541210 Visit Caroline's website: https://drcarolinefleck.com/ Connect with Caroline on social media:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinefleck/ https://www.instagram.com/carolinefleckphd/ https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.CarolineFleck https://www.tiktok.com/@drcarolinefleck  Boogie Board Tablet on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/B551B3AA-1FD5-4BBA-AB25-58D0F67052FE?ingress=0&visitId=8be7808f-e257-437b-b72f-b8e79fd8fca9  Study on empathic effort versus accuracy How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin About Caroline Fleck:  Dr. Caroline Fleck is a licensed psychologist, writer, and corporate consultant who has served as a supervisor and consultant for some of the most rigorous training programs in the country, including Dr. Marsha Linehan's program at the University of Washington, the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford Medical Center, and the VA Palo Alto. She is a respected voice in psychology and has been featured in national media outlets, including The New York Times, Good Morning America, and The Huffington Post. Her new book, which we're here to discuss, is the first of its kind to make the specialized validation skills therapists master to get through to anyone available to everyone. Related Episodes: Episode 120: Use DBT Skills to Regulate Emotions and Be More Effective in Relationships with Matthew McKay Episode 241. Emotion Coaching Skills for Families with Mindy Solomon Episode 282. Toxic Positivity with Whitney Goodman Episode 397. The Mindful Path to Intimacy with James Cordova Episode 408. Connecting like a Hostage Negotiator with Gary Noesner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us a textYou know the invisible scripts that shape how ambitious women are supposed to show up in business? This week I'm joined by Bri Seeley, success strategist and certified hypnotherapist to talk about how we over-identify with productivity, sacrifice joy for output, and sabotage ourselves without outdated beliefs.From entrepreneurial midlife crisis to redefining ambition without burnout, we cover it all. Bri shares what she's had to sacrifice, how identity work changed her success trajectory, and why "doing less" isn't laziness -- it's strategy.If you've ever felt like you have to earn your rest or prove your worth by checking off another box, this episode will shift something deep. And maybe even piss you off in the best way.Guest Bio:TEDx Speaker, Success Coach and award winning business woman Bri Seeley works with ambitious, high achievers to defy reality by bringing their most unrealistic goals to life without overworking, under living or sacrificing themselves for their audacious visions. Bri uses her signature DEFY process to help you design and create long-term and sustainable success – unapologetically.You may have seen her winning awards for Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Coach of the Year, Business Woman of the Year and Los Angeles Mayor's Small Business of the Year or on any number of press outlets such as Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Women's Health and more. Connect with Bri:www.briseeley.com https://www.instagram.com/briseeley/https://www.linkedin.com/in/entrepreneur-coach-bri-seeley/https://www.facebook.com/BriSeeleyOfficialhttps://www.youtube.com/@briseeleytvTedX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA83nI3ve2M Support the showLove what you heard? Let's stay connected! Subscribe to my newsletter for bold insights on leadership, strategy, and building your legacy — straight to your inbox every week. Follow me on LinkedIn for more no-nonsense advice on leading with power and purpose. And if you're ready to dive even deeper, grab a copy of my book Bite-Sized Blasphemy and ignite your inner fire to do life and business your way. The Business Blasphemy Podcast is sponsored by Corporate Rehab® Strategic Consulting.

What happens when you're brand new to NYC, hanging out between shows, and you meet someone who might change your life? That's exactly what happened to drummer Patrick Phalen.In this candid clip, Patrick shares how a simple hangout with Shannon Ford and Joshua Samuels, who were both playing Beetlejuice, introduced him to Emma Ford, who later offered him the chance to sub on Shucked. Fast forward, and he's now on the First National Tour.The episode drops on Saturday, June 21st!Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify⭐️ Please subscribe, rate, and review—it helps more people discover the show and supports what we're building with Broadway Drumming 101.Hit that follow button, tell a friend, and join us as we explore the real stories behind Broadway's pit musicians.Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In this episode, Clayton chats with drummer Patrick Phelan IV, the current touring drummer for the Shucked First National Tour. Patrick shares how a random hangout in NYC led to his first Broadway subbing opportunity and how he's since built a career full of friendship, groove, and grit.We dive into his musical upbringing in Wisconsin, studying classical percussion at UW–Eau Claire, and how his early decision to leave veterinary studies for a life behind the drum kit changed everything. Patrick talks about balancing eight shows a week, playing pickleball and golf to stay sane on the road, and bleeding all over his snare in Dallas — literally.Patrick also opens up about:* His deep love for Yacht Rock and why he dreams of touring with Michael McDonald or Christopher Cross* Learning to play entire shows from Vimeo videos (with no charts!) — like his recent tour with Clay Aiken & Ruben Studdard* Why subbing on Shucked led to a national tour* Playing music for music's sake—not just for the showWhether you're a drummer, a theater musician, or someone trying to figure out how to break into the Broadway world, this episode is packed with real advice, honest stories, and some good laughs.Featured Topics:* Getting into musical theater through friendship and trust, not just auditions* Classical chops meeting country-pop grooves on Shucked* Why networking isn't just schmoozing—it's about real human connection* Staying musically inspired while playing the same show night after night* The role of joy, artistic outlets, and “pretending you're at your own rock concert” when playing in isolationAbout Patrick Phelan:Outside of Broadway, Patrick has toured internationally with Americana band Them Coulee Boys, recording the album Die Happy, which charted on the American Radio Album charts. He played for the Grammy-nominated Jazz Ensemble 1 at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and performed at PASIC with the UWEC percussion quartet. Patrick also teaches private lessons in drum set, concert percussion, and piano.Connect with Patrick:Instagram: @patrickphelan4Email: patrickphelan4@gmail.comCheck out the Broadway Bound and Beyond book and merch!Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 14 Andy reconnects with his past, and Emily explores. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. And, after two weeks of trying to subtly discern it from her, Andy eventually just asked Taylor what she did for a living, and Taylor informed Andy that she'd been a phlebotomist before moving into the Rook household, and once she was done with her time in the penalty box, she would go back to it. It was the first step she had taken towards eventually becoming an anesthetist, which was her long term goal. She'd met Lauren when the Aussie had needed someone to come in and blood test a few of the 49ers she was training. Taylor insisted that if Andy ever wanted her to stay in his bed for a night, she would without reservation, but that otherwise, she would be sleeping in the same bed with Lauren, who had set up her own bedroom now, so as to not wake Andy when she left early in the morning for practice.               Piper and Sheridan had also set up their own bedrooms, for similar reasons. Piper insisted her workout routine begin at the butt crack of dawn, and she also had a tendency to go to bed almost immediately after dinner, and Sheridan had started joining her in those hours, although the two women had very different work out routines in the morning. Andy had never been awake for any of them, but both of the women had filmed themselves working out, so he could see what they were up to in the wretched early hours. Aisling, Niko, Emily and Sarah had flatly refused to sleep away from Andy, although the order they laid against one another in the bed at night varied quite regularly. At various points over the last few days, he'd woken up in the night to find Emily quietly making out with each of the other three. He was a little surprised that Emily and Sarah didn't want another bedroom for times when the two of them wanted to fool around with just each other. He'd asked them about it, but Sarah had just teased him and insisted that when they did, he should be nearby in case he wanted to watch or join in. The craziest part of the day, however, was when Emily came to track him down in his office just before dinner with a rather baffling request. He'd spent most of the day writing, knowing that tomorrow there would be new women joining the household, and that he'd likely get very little work done on that day. He felt like he was very close to considering the draft for what he was now calling "The Doppleganger's Identity," the next book in the Druid Gunslinger series, ready for his first pass readers to take a look at, and hoped to wrap it up today. It would certainly stop Sarah from asking him yet again when she could read it, since she had insisted she get a spot on that esteemed small council. He kept the door to his office open most of the time, but Emily insisted on knocking before entering the room anyway. "Andrew, love, I know you're writing right now, but might I bother you for just a skosh?" she said, smiling at him in that disarmingly charming English way of hers. "It's never a bother, Em," he said, closing up his laptop. "You know, you're the only one of my partners I'm okay with calling me 'Andrew?' Anyone else does it, and I know I'm in trouble, but you somehow make me not hate the sound of my full name. C'mon in. Sit down, talk to me." The blonde Englishwoman sashayed into the room before lifting one of his legs so she could sit down on the footstool in front of his writing chair. She was wearing a billowy floral print dress that hung down past her knees, loose fitting but still draped enticingly well. Andy wondered if maybe it was tailor made for her, but before he could think to ask, she launched into the reason she'd come to see him. "My agent received a rather odd request today, and I wanted to come and talk to you about it before I answered it. If you're not comfortable with it, I would completely understand that, but I personally think that it would be an excellent thing for us to do, so I hoped we might talk a bit about it before you came to any decision, and perhaps I could bring you around to my way of thinking." Andy set his laptop on the coffee table to the side of his writing chair and shifted to sit up a little bit. "Who's the request from, and what is it that you think I might be uncomfortable with?" "It came from the office of the president, if you can believe it. My agent said President Pelosi didn't call personally, but a member of her staff did." Emily took his large hands in her small ones, holding onto them softly as she kept his gaze focused on her sapphire blue eyes. Clearly whatever they were going to discuss was of great importance. "When the announcement hits next week, they're expecting much of the nation to be in rather dire shock. Such massive casualties means the American way of life going forward is going to have to be something extremely different than what it once was, something radical and new." She licked her lips, a touch of nervousness Andy wasn't sure he'd seen from the usually confident young woman before. "Something like us. To sort of help assert the new norms in the minds of the general public, they want a handful of celebrities to do talk show appearances, with the hosts who are still alive anyway, and most of them seem to have made it out okay, and talk about their new family units, how polyamory is going to be the lay of the land, and how the laws are immediately being changed so that a single man can have multiple wives, to help repopulate the country after the severe losses." Andy laughed a little bit. "If you want to go on television, Em, you certainly don't need my permission. What makes you think I'd be against that?" She smiled at him kindly, and he realized immediately he'd missed what she'd been specifically asking him. "I don't just want to go on television by myself, Andrew. I want to go on television with you and with Sarah and maybe with a couple of the other girls, Niko in particular. I think it's important that we get out there as a new family unit, on The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night With Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, anyone who wants to talk to us, so that we can help put the country a little more at ease that we are going to get through this. Normally, I would be most in favor of shielding all of you from the horror that is the paparazzi, just to keep my personal life simply that,  personal. But this is a very strange new world we find ourselves in, Andrew, and we need to help our fellow humans become comfortable with their new reality." "You sound pretty committed to the whole idea," he said, trying to keep his voice as non committal as possible, but Emily had gotten very good at reading him in the short time they'd been together, so he knew she could tell he wasn't entirely opposed to it, simply gauging how it would all work. The particulars of opening his private life to the entire world seemed a little daunting at first blush, but certainly not insurmountable. "We wouldn't be the only ones, I think it's important to stress that, love," she said, squeezing his hands a little bit. "And Sarah and I would also be coming out about our relationship with each other, so you wouldn't have to field a lot of questions if you didn't want to. We could take on the brunt of the questions if that makes it any easier. But I just know many people in this adopted homeland of mine are going to be frightened, and I think the idea to show them the way through would be a step in the right direction." She leaned her head down and kiss the tops of his hands before looking up at him. "Oh! And you could also use it to promote your books, if that might sweeten the pot a smidge. It might help, having twenty minutes of prime mental real estate for your face and your writing?" He chuckled, nodding his head. "You know as well as I do that my agent would string me up by my toes if I had a chance to get this much free publicity for my next novel and didn't take it, so how can I say no? I'm not going to hide from journalists. I'll do my fair share. Tell me how all this is going to work." She smiled, leaned in and kissed him, soft and tender, but for what felt like a delicious eternity. "We will set up the camera and microphones in Sarah and I's little studio, and then we'll just take an hour or so a day for a few weeks to record segments with whoever asks. The president's office wants us to do a 60 Minutes interview even before the announcement is made, as our sort of grand unveiling. For that, they're actually going to send Katie Couric here with a camera woman to do the interview in a few days. They're likely to want to do that in a larger room, or maybe out on the back deck, by the pool. They're going to do an entire show all about the deaths, the vaccine and the new post pandemic world we're starting to grow into. The ten to twenty minute interview with us will just be part of the larger package. They were hoping to have us for a day on the 14th. They're going to be filming at the base on the 13th and doing interviews with President Pelosi on the 15th. The president's representative seemed to think Niko might be a good link between the two segments, if she was one of the people helping to give the tour of the base, and the vaccination process. I asked Niko about it, and she said she wouldn't mind if you didn't, but that I had to ask you first. The whole episode of the show is going to air immediately after the President's speech on the 20th." "Good lord, sounds like they've got all this planned out. I'm surprised I didn't hear from the Office of the President personally." Emily offered him another smile, and considered her next words carefully. It wasn't that she worried about bruising his ego, because Andy had never come across that way, but she also didn't want to seem too full of herself. "Love, I've been a very well known movie star for a decade now, so I think they figured out where I was first and went from there. That's no slight against you! I'm just saying that you aren't a household name that millions of people recognize, and, for better or worse, I am. The Dagger Academy movies were everywhere, as were the books. Simon, my costar in the movies, he's still living in England, so he's in an entirely different world than we are here in the States." Andy grinned. "Oh, I know, I know. All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt for the President to have called me herself, y'know. But that's fine. It's fine." "Well, when the paparazzi are struggling to get topless photos of you in Ibiza, then we'll have a conversation about how you aren't being taken seriously as an artist, alright darling?" She giggled a little. "It was fun, teasing them, knowing they so desperately wanted to get images of my tits to sell, and that a bidding war would erupt for the image." "They are excellent tits, Em." "Bless you, love. But you're never going to convince me they're as nice as, say, Sarah's or Hannah's. And all those tits, theirs and mine, are exclusively the purview of this family now and forever more, so the paparazzo can fuck right off. So, the interview? You'll do it? You'll dance for the media circus with us, for the good of the nation?" "I'll do almost all of it, sure." She tilted her head slightly in confused amusement, that coy smile on her pink lips, as her tender fingers squeezed his thigh. "Almost all of it? Which part of it am I going to have to have to convince you for?" He rolled his eyes a little, a playful smirk on his lips. "I'll do all the evening shows, magazines, newspapers and website interviews you want me to, but doing Good Morning America might be a hill too far, simply because of how goddamn early I'd have to get up for it." "Or we could simply stay up very late and do it before bed," she said, moving to slide off the footstool so she could climb into his lap. "I'm sure we could find some way to keep you awake and alert that far into the night. Four thirty in the morning our time could give us the opportunity to go on live television with sex hair," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him lasciviously. "Oh, and I'm not gonna do Fox News." "Christ, love, haven't you heard? They're barely running a skeleton crew over there. Most of their on air talent died over the last few months, and now that the women are in charge over there, they're losing some of that ridiculous bullshit they used to be spouting." Andy chuckled, shaking his head a little bit. "All it took was most of the men dying." "It's pretty hard to pretend the plague isn't a real thing when it keeps killing people off left and right, dear," she said. "The rescheduled Presidential election next month is going to be between Senators Kamala Harris and Susan Collins, two women. That's never happened before in the history of this country. The vast majority of people voting in the election are going to be women. This is all completely unprecedented, so all those women who have felt powerless for so many years, this is their chance to shine. But the old tribal lines are still going to be there, even if the genders of the people leading those parties has changed. Republicans will still be Republicans and Democrats will still be Democrats. But there's too many dead people for everyone to go on pretending like the plague isn't real, or that it's not better to not get a grip on the new reality. One side was already telling their people that the plague wasn't real, so more of their men died than the on the other side. They can't afford to do that any more. So the new Fox News agenda is to go back to simple fiscal conservatism, pro military and pro old school Christianity stances. They're just going to drop all the anti woman bullshit that they've been poisoning their own wells with for so long." "And all it took was most of their men dying." Andy rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll leave it up to you on whether or not you want to do any of the Fox News shit." "Oh heavens no," Emily laughed, shaking her head. "No, you couldn't pay me enough to appear in front of those horrid people. They've been trying to tell me they have the right to regulate my body for decades but that I should keep my mouth shut when it comes to how they spend the money I pay in taxes. At least a few of their remaining hosts have called me horrible things for daring to disagree with them. 'Entertainers should be sit down and be quiet when it comes to politics,' they've said about me for far too long. Fuck that, darling. I'm having none of it." "Well, on that we can agree." "Now, I do believe I have some convincing to be doing," she said, licking her lips playfully, as she slid off his lap and down onto her knees before him, pushing his legs apart. "That's really not necessary, Em," he said, reaching forward to put a hand on her shoulder, but her delicate fingers moved to grab his wrists, lifting them so that one of his hands was along the back of her neck, and the other was sliding up into that radiant cascade of blonde hair. "It might not be necessary, Andrew, but that isn't to say I wouldn't enjoy it anyway," she said, her hands moving to unbutton his jeans, slowly drawing the zipper down. "Because sometimes a girl just needs to get her fix, you know?" She leaned down and kissed part of his exposed stomach. "You wouldn't deny me that, would you, love? Not innocent little me?" "I don't know that I could deny you anything, Emily," he chuckled. She licked her lips, those inescapable blue eyes of hers looking up at him. "That's what I like to hear. Because it's time for me to do something before Sarah does." She fished out his cock, tucking his balls over his boxers to protect them from accidentally getting caught in the zipper of the jeans, because she wasn't willing to wait long enough to pull his jeans off. "I let her have first go at you, but I'm entitled to have some firsts with you before she gets a chance. That's fair, isn't it?" She leaned down and pressed her pink lips against the head of his cock, covering it in tiny kisses. "I think we can both agree that's only fair." "I seem to recall you and Sarah taking turns blowing me at the same time," he said, tilting his head a little. "I wouldn't say she got there first." "She got to fuck you first though, Andrew," she sighed, stroking his cock tenderly. "And I understand why. She's madly in love with you because of your writing, although she's very much fallen in love with the man behind that writing as well." Her tongue slipped out and dragged a long trail across the bottom of his cock, from the base up to the tip, teasing the slit with the tip of her tongue for only a split second. "Me, on the other hand, I fell in love with the man first, when I heard all the lengths you'd gone to in protecting the women who'd chosen to hitch their wagons to your train. Niko painted such a wonderful portrait of you, and you haven't failed to live up to that yet." "I'm always going to put my family's needs above my own, Em," he said, shivering as he felt her pursing her lips around the mushroom tip of his circumcised cock for a long moment. "So what is you want to do before Sarah, hmm?" "Oh, bless, Andrew, I would've thought it would've been obvious," she giggled, blowing air along his cock, teasing his balls with her finely manicured fingernails. "I want you up the serviceman's entrance. I want you in my ass, before Sarah thinks to ask you to do it to her. We've had fingers and small toys up both hers and my asshole before, naturally, but never the real thing, and I'm afraid I simply cannot risk the chance that she get the opportunity to convince you to do it to her before you do it to me. I want to have at least one first of my very own with you before she does, and while I'm a little nervous, I must confess I am also rather excited. First times are always so exhilarating." Andy licked his own lips, swallowing a breath of air. "First times can also be quite intense, Em. Even overwhelming." "Yes yes yes Andrew, that's why I'm going to ask you if you can remember a color code when you're worked up. I know those kinds of sensations can be, distracting to self control, but you've always struck me as level headed." Her tongue took a long swirling path around the underside of the head of his cock, and his fingers tightened in her sandy hair a moment, clenching a fistful of it, which evoked a clear quiver of delight from the girl. "What do you mean a color code?" "You see, when Sarah and I are adventuring into, shall we say, uncharted sexual waters between the two of us, we use a color code. If one of us says 'green,' then things are wonderful, enjoyable and the other should carry on full steam ahead. If one of us says 'yellow,' then perhaps a bit of caution or easing back is needed. If one of us says 'red,' then a moment's rest is needed, or second thoughts are being had, and it's best to stop, until the other is ready to go again. Like a stoplight. We strike the use of those colors for any other uses when we're on the code." She looked up at him with those tender azure orbs again, soft and warm, as her fingertips stroked his shaft and juggled his balls. "Would that be alright, Andrew?" He leaned forward and kissed her again, and this time he found her not only pliant but a touch more eagerly wanton than she'd been moments ago. "Of course, love," he said to her. "But just be careful and remember you can't use those words for anything else while we're in color code mode." She titled her head to the side, a curious expression of amusement on her face. "Oh? Do you anticipate me slipping? I'm quite bright, you know," she teased, winking at him. "I have a degree in feminist studies from Cambridge and everything." He smirked a little bit. "I simply thought you might ask me to paddle your ass red, and then I'd have been more than a little conflicted from the mixed signals." She began to giggle fiercely, having even to take one of her hands from his cock up to cover her mouth, as she nodded furiously, her blonde curls falling in front of her face before her hand lifted from lips and pushed it from her eyes. "You're right! You're right you're right you are absolutely right, I most certainly would have done that, said that without even thinking about it, and what a right git I would've looked, while you would've been standing there frozen in fear that you'd gone too far." "You think you can keep that in mind, then?" She nodded once more, this time more slow and deliberate, before she pressed her hands on the tops of her thighs, moving to stand herself up. "I had Nicolette conceal a couple of bottles of lube in nearly every room of the house, in case this particular stripe of lust struck one of us. She seemed to think it was an excellent idea." Andy couldn't help but snicker a little bit. "I'm sure she did. She seemed to enjoy the hell out of it when she got her turn at it a couple of days ago." Emily giggled again as she reached behind the couch in the corner of his writing studio, her fingers reemerging with a small bottle of lube in them. "I did notice her walking a little funny yesterday, but she wouldn't tell me when I asked her about it. She simply blushed a wonderful shade of crimson and walked away from me. So I take it you gave her the ol' heave ho?" He tried to keep that ain't I a stinker smile from spreading on his face, but in the end, he just couldn't help it. "She told me she likes to be a bit bratty and put into her place, so I stuffed her panties in her mouth while I had a go at her ass. She seemed to like that quite a bit." While Emily approached him, he stood up and tugged off his jeans and boxers, not wanting to get any of the lube on them, setting them on his writing chair. For the hell of it, he pulled off his shirt as well. The idea of resembling Donald Duck appalled him. Emily's eyes widened in amusement and delight, shaking her head frantically. "You didn't! You absolutely didn't! Tell me that you didn't, Andrew!" "I surely and truly did, and she loved it. She even made a point to tell me that it was exactly how I should have a go at her moving forward." "Well, not this time, but I might like to try something like that at some point in the future," she said, as she walked over to him, lifting her dress up and over her head, tossing it aside, revealing she was completely naked beneath it. "Mostly because it wouldn't let me speak the color code if need be, but also because I'm simply not wearing any panties today." She flashed him another saucy wink, as she moved to set up her cell phone to point at the couch. Andy suspected she might be filming it to show to Sarah later, or perhaps just for her own personal edification. "Now let me pour some of this lube on your cock, and you can tell me what position I should be in for my first time at this." He shivered a little as she drizzled clear fluid onto his prick, her slender fingers stroking his shaft again, making sure to get every inch of his thick cock slicked up as much as possible. "If you want total control, you could climb on for a ride, but some women think the sensations are just too intense, and tend to seize up, so they prefer to have the man controlling things. If that's more your speed, then you probably want to get on your knees on the couch, laying your arms down on the top of it, your head resting on your arms, or with your arms behind you, so you can grab at your legs, or rub on your clit. Lauren rubbed her cunt her entire first time, saying it helped the nerve endings get all tangled up in one another." She licked her lips, that tiny hint of reticence fading away the moment he saw it, as she nodded. "I do think it will all be simply too much for me to keep my head clear, so I think I will try the position on the couch, and you can be in the driver's seat." She handed him the small bottle of lube. "Make sure you get me slicked up before you go rampaging in, however." "You sure you  " His sentence was interrupted by her grabbing the back of his head, smearing lube on his skull while she pulled him into a feral, almost delirious kiss, her tongue rampaging into his mouth with a carnal frenzy that he didn't normally associate with his more restrained and reserved partner. When she pulled back, she didn't let her face move more than an inch away from his, her blue eyes peering directly into his greens. "I have been a posh prig my entire life, Andrew," she cooed at him in a sing song fashion. "Now it's time for you to take that stick out of my prim ass and jam this wicked cock up it instead. If you don't, I may well go mad, and that wouldn't be ideal for either of us, I somehow think. Now let's get to it." "As the lady requests," he said, watching her sashay away from him. She slid one knee up on the couch demurely, followed by the other, bending forward at the waist, leaning down until she was resting on her hands and knees on the plush sofa. God, she was gorgeous, he thought to himself. Almost criminally so. She held pose there as he walked over towards her, but as he got closer, she lowered her shoulders down towards the top of the couch, sliding her hands back behind her, to cup her perky porcelain white ass. "This is all yours, Andrew," she moaned. "Virginal. Unspoiled. Unsullied. Uncharted territory." She shivered and he could see goosebumps run across her skin as the lube started to drizzle down the cleft of her ass, smearing over that rosy pucker. "God, I feel so wanton and exposed like this, ready to be debauched and debased, your eager whore, giddy for you to introduce her to these new delights, to expand her horizons and blow her mind." Andy set the bottle on the table next to the couch, then moved to use two of his fingers to smear the clear liquid along her anus, seeing her body twitch and wriggle just a little bit, as he smeared the substance around, pushing his index finger inside of her, hearing her gasp sharply following by a tiny, high pitched yelp, as she clamped down on that digit. "How are we doing, Em?" She drew in a long breath that sounded like it took some effort before she exhaled, a slow controlled push of air over her lips, as that sphincter muscle relaxed around his fingertip. "Green! We're green, Andrew. I just, I simply needed a moment to compose myself once more. Your fingers are quick thicker than Sarah's," she said with a nervous laugh. "You're going to be getting something much bigger than that in a moment," he said. "If you still want it, that is. Not too late to change your mind." "I have come too far to back out now, Andrew." "You haven't cum at all, I don't think," he teased. "Shows what you know," she giggled once more, looking over her shoulder at him to stick her tongue out in his direction. "I definitely came when you pushed your finger in. The pre fuck jitters, one might think. Like a bloody schoolgirl, I am, right now." "Alright then," he said, as he slipped his fingertip out, her asshole closing up immediately. "Remember, you merely have to say what you want, and I'm going to listen." She nodded again, one hand reaching between her legs to rub her fingertips against her cunt, stroking her finely manicured digits against her cunt, as her other hand reached up and over behind her, grabbing one of her asscheeks, pulling it aside, as if to make sure she was open and exposed for him. "Let me feel it, Andrew, but go slow. Just a bit at first." Andy nodded, as he moved his hips, settling the tip of his cock against her asshole, which he felt spasm just a little when the mushroom head of his cock made contact with it. He gave her half a second to relax once more, then began to push forward. He leaned his body against hers, feeling some initial resistance, but after a few moments, the head of his cock popped through that ring of muscle, and a guttural, almost primitive moan erupted from her throat, loud and carnal. "Fuck that's big that's so fucking big yellow yellow Andy, yellow,” she rambled, and immediately Andy held perfectly still. "Too much?" he said, feeling her ass clinging onto the head of his cock with an intense amount of pressure. "Stop? Pull out? Just wait?" "Don't pull out! Are you fucking crazy?" she said, a borderline delirious laugh cackling from her lips. "I just, I just, just give me a moment, please, you're fucking big, you know that? You and your fat fucking cock feel like you've shoved a telephone pole up my tight young virgin ass, so I'm going to need a god damned moment, thank you very much, but don't you dare fucking slip out, or I will beat you bloody senseless with a cricket bat!" Andy blushed a little bit, a wry smile on his lips, as he held perfectly still. "In your own time, Em." The tiny blonde Brit drew in a long breath, then slowly exhaled it, like she was doing some form of yoga and trying to center her chi. She did it again, and Andrew started to get worried that maybe she simply wasn't ready for this, but just about the time that thought started to roll around in his head, he felt her starting to lean back against him just a little bit. "Green, Andrew, but,” she said, shifting her body just enough so that she could look back at him, "please, for heaven's sake, take it slowly." He nodded to her, and began to lean forward, feeling her body almost being pried apart as his cock worked his way inside of her virginal asshole. Her fingertips were rubbing down firmly on her clit, and while he tried to keep the forward momentum as slow as possible, when he was nearly half way into her ass, she suddenly pushed back into him, engulfing the rest of his cock in her back door, as a wash of goosebumps rolled across her flesh, starting at the small of her back and blossoming outwards in an instant flare, followed by a hard tremble intermingled with a high pitched whine that started racing upwards in octaves and volumes until it crested, breaking and dissolving into a frantic, almost demented giggle, as his balls rested against her fingers which hadn't stopped stroking at her cunt. "You alright, Em?" he asked. "Alright? Alright? Are you asking if I'm alright now, Andrew?" she hissed, although the tone was giddy and excited. "I am green, super green, all the greens! I am awesome, fucking brilliant. That felt,” she drew in a long breath, "So fucking good, and I came So fucking hard." Her head whipped to look directly at her cellphone camera. "Sares, it's like it builds and builds and builds, and you're getting more and more and more tense and then,” she said, pulling her hips forward, sliding his cock mostly back out of her ass before, "Wham!" she said as she slammed her ass back onto his cock hilt deep once more, and let out another unearthly moan. "Holy fuck, that feels so good. Your cock just jammed up right my ass, your balls resting right on my cunt." Her head snapped again to look back at him, and her soft and kind blue eyes had gone more than a little crazy. "Go on then, in for a penny, in for a pound. Pound your little penny. Go on, you dirty wanker. Do it to me! Fuck my ass!" At this point, he was pretty sure that if he had said 'red,' she would've ignored him and just played on through. The kind of wild lust in her eyes would've been completely unfamiliar to him if he hadn't seen it before, briefly, with both Piper and Sheridan, though those had been chemically induced. Later in the evening, he'd consider whether maybe she'd tapped into that same mental state that being deprived of his semen developed in women, but in that particular moment, the only thing he could do was to fuck Emily Stevens, film sweetheart of a generation, within an inch of her sanity. His hips drew back and then thrust forward, a solid grind on his first real pump, which was met by a hard squeeze of her ass around his cock and a burbling, uncorked moan oozing from her lips. He drew back again, but this time his forward thrust was met by the snap of her hips pushing her ass back into him, making her toned asscheeks ripple just a tiny amount. "Oh fuck, Andrew," she babbled, "I want more, but I know I'm going to cum soon, and once I start again, it's not going to stop, so I need it, I need you, I love you, I need you to fucking cum inside of my ass, fill it up with that hot spunk for the first time. Mark your territory with your seed! Please Andrew, I'm fucking begging you, let me have it, show my ass you love it, teach me this final thing. Fucking cum in my ass!" The entire time, she was doing more of the thrusting than he was, although he was trying to keep pace with her. And just towards the end, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stave off the impending orgasm for long, so at her insistence, he let loose a hot jet of jizz right into her ass. The minute he felt the first spurt escape him, it felt as though she clamped down on him in a fist like grasp, and then he felt a heavy rush of liquid against his balls, her cunt gushing all over them and down the inside of his thighs. The very sensation of it made him splattered a handful more blasts of cum into her ass before he stopped, one of his hands holding onto the back of the couch for dear life, as he felt her fingertips fall away from her cunt as her arm slumped downwards. He'd gone soft almost right away, but her ass was still trying to milk any last remaining droplets of cum from his cock with gentle squeezes, even as he finally slid out of her. Her body was mostly propped up by her knees, although her face was buried into the couch cushions. He waited a minute or so before he finally said, "You alright, Em?" She began giggling, slowly moving to roll onto her side, so he could see her face had turned bright red, the color of Sarah or Aisling's hair, and she was clutching one hand to her mouth, trying to contain the infectious laugh that would not be suppressed. "Holy fucking Christ, Andrew, I am so so so embarrassed by that," she whimpered. "I've, fuck, I've never done that before. I didn't know I could fucking do that, Christ, I'm made such a mess, how awful of me. I'm horrible." Andy knelt down alongside the couch, and leaned in to press his lips against hers. She struggled for half a moment, still caught up in her own awkwardness of the moment, before she gave in and simply returned the kiss, which he held for an endlessly long time. "Did you enjoy it?" he said, when he finally gave her a moment to breathe again. "Fuckin' 'ell, Andrew," she stumbled, "I think that would've been bloody obvious." "Then who the fuck cares about the mess?" He kissed her again, one hand stroking her sweaty hair from her face, the energy cooling down a little, as they both came down from the orgasmic plateaus they'd just been dancing in. "Besides, I'd have thought you'd enjoy the idea of telling Nicolette to come and clean my office without giving her any explanation into why." Emily face almost hurt from smiling so much as she nodded. "Thank you for this, Andrew, and for making me feel at home in my own body as it learns new things about itself." She looked down then looked up at him, almost a touch of fear in her eyes. "I know I've said it before, but it's important to me that you know this, Andrew. I well and truly love you, like no other man I've known before." "I love you too, Emily," he said, making sure he was looking directly into her eyes when he said it, so she would understand there were no reservations. "And I'm very glad you agreed to marry me. You've been not only good for me, you've been good for the whole house." "Oh shush, now my heart's all aflutter," she said, moving to stand up, pausing to wince for a second. "Well, I'll jolly well feel that for the next few days. It's sore and it's still tingling in pleasure. Both, together, at the same time. What an odd delight." He laughed, grabbing her dress for her, holding it out. "Go on, get dressed and bring Nicolette in here to see the mess that you've made for her to clean up. I'll bet she's not at all embarrassed, and more than a little jealous." "You know, I suspect you might well be correct, Andrew. Brilliant." A cast list intermission for Quaranteam The House of Rook Andy Rook,  A 38 year old content writer for Netflix, who also lives a double life as semi successful urban fantasy writer Blake Conrad, known for his Druid Gunslinger books. Shaved head, neatly trimmed brown beard, 5'11", hazel eyes, tattooed on the chest with a griffon, could stand to lose a few pounds. Originally from Ohio, has lived in the Bay Area for over a decade. Our protagonist, such as he is. Still reaping the benefits from one random act of kindness to a stranger named Dave. Aisling (Ash) Blake,  A 27 year old graphic design contractor for Google. Originally from Dublin, she's lived in the States for 4 years. Red hair, freckles, short (5'4"), fit. Outgoing and charming, but also protective of Andy. Aisling showed up first (at the same time as Lily) and has helped keep Andy level headed and sane throughout the entire ordeal. Pregnant with Andy's child. Engaged to Andy. Lauren White,  A 35 year old personal trainer for the San Francisco 49ers. Originally from Australia, she's lived in the States for 2 years. Very tall (6'6"), very tan, blonde, athletic, emotionally involved with Taylor as much as (if not more so) Andy. Lauren is big and boisterous, but has a tendency to not think things fully through. 2nd Lieutenant Niko RedWolf,  A 22 year old Air Force Security Forces officer (military police). Originally from South Dakota. Half Lakota, one quarter Mexican and one quarter Japanese. Long black hair, toned and slender. 5'4". Sarcastic, wry and witty, Niko has basically become Andy's right hand woman, along with Ash, whom she considers her best friend. She's helped provide endless insight to the vaccine program being managed at the local Air Force base, where she works. Also pregnant with Andy's child and engaged to him. Nicolette (Yvette) Seydeaux (staff),  The 22 year old maid of Rook Manor. Blonde, with long curly hair. Extremely buxom. 5'9" or 6'1" (in heels). Second generation French American. Enjoys wearing classic maids outfits and being a bratty submissive. Pretended to be named Yvette at first, at the suggestion of Phil. Katie Rodriguez (staff),  The 32 year old gardener of Rook Manor. Hispanic, butch, 5'8", with short black hair cut in a bob, almost always seen in overalls and a button up shirt. Lesbian and wife of Jenny Peters. Had reservations about the program, but wanted to ensure safety for her and her wife, so they took the deal and came to join the House of Rook. Jenny Peters (staff),  The 31 year old cook of Rook Manor. Midwestern and plump, 5'8", with brown bushy hair. Wears large circular glasses. Tends to be overly motherly. Bisexual and wife of Katie Rodriguez. Taylor Morrison,  The 25 year old ex ex girlfriend of Lauren White. Platinum blonde, stacked, short (5'2"). Currently still in the doghouse for cheating on Lauren almost a year ago, but close to working her way out of her trouble. As part of her current punishment (dictated by Lauren), she is not allowed to wear clothes. Piper Brown,  A 26 year old Olympic Volleyball player. Brunette, tall (6'2"), muscular but lean, blue eyed. Went viral for a video of her pre game warm up dance. Still slightly recovering from abusive treatment at Andrew Covington's home. Asha Varma,  An 18 year old college student and daughter of Dr. Charlotte Varma. Half Indian, half French, raised in London until last year. Brown skin, black hair, pierced navel, wild child attitude. 5'6". Party girl and socialite, Asha tends to enjoy causing trouble, as it gets her attention. Has some growing up to do. Sarah (Sares) Washington,  A 31 year old actress. 6'2", redheaded, quirky, clumsy and a bit dorky. Originally from New Jersey. Swears like breathing. Very girl next door. Huge fan of the Druid Gunslinger books, and had a crush on Andy before she even met him. Big lover of Broadway theater and musicals, both attending and performing in. Partner of Emily Stevens. Engaged to Andy. Emily (Em) Stevens,  A 30 year old actress, 5'1", blonde, blue eyed, pale, slender, very posh, British. Left London for L A just a few years ago. Incredibly charming and witty, with an almost supernatural social sense. Grew up as a child actress in a wildly popular series of movies called "The Dagger Academy" series, but has since struggled to establish a successful acting career outside that role. Partner of Sarah Washington. Engaged to Andy. Sheridan Smith,  A 32 year old acrobat and performer for Cirque Du Soleil. 5'7" Blonde, frizzy hair, slender and extremely flexible. Very laid back and go with the flow. Has been teaching the girls of the house yoga in her spare time. Hannah Nakamura,  And 18 year old college student and former cheerleader. Half Hawaiian, half Japanese. Short (5'1"), Asian, with long black hair with blonde stripes in it. Curvy, very well endowed (44G) and a firecracker of energy. Originally supposed to be joining the House of Watkins, she is much happier being part of the House of Rook. The House of Yang Eric Yang,  A 39 year old engineer, and Andy's former roommate. Second generation Japanese American. Short (5'5") but athletic, if a bit shy and bookish. Piggybacked on Andy's one good deed into a complete life change he wasn't expecting. Andy and Eric are friends, but not overly close ones, despite having shared a condo for most of a decade. Lily Wu,  a 25 year old coder for Door Dash. Second generation Japanese American. Dyed purple hair, short (5'2"), punkish. Eric's first partner, who expected to be his only partner only for life to get majorly in the way. Lily is the iron fist that runs the House of Yang, sometimes making decisions for Eric so he doesn't spend too long dwelling on them. Jenny Carnero,  a 28 year old meteorologist for the local Fox News channel. Statuesque brunette (5'10") who always remains overly tanned. Lily's ex roommate who had to be rescued after fleeing from the person she was supposed to be paired up with, before getting paired up with Eric. Threatened to tell her story to the reporters at the station she worked at, but Lily convinced her that doing so would be bad for all involved. Phil cleaned the mess up. Sarah Wilson,  a 26 year old HR specialist with Adobe Systems. Short (5'3"), blonde, Nordic and curvy. Originally from Kansas. The House of Marcos Phil Marcos,  a 34 year old Filipino project manager for Boeing, working in conjunction with the Air Force to manage the vaccine development/distribution program trying counter the epidemic. Probably involved in a sizable amount of heavily classified shit. Tall (5'11"), slender and usually exhausted. Has a deep love of fighting games and mischief. Phil always knows more than he can talk about. Audrey Percy,  a 29 year old Hispanic psychologist. Short (5'1"), very curvy. Also a big fighting games fan. Has been doing her best to keep Phil sane throughout the apocalypse. One of the first successful recipients of the current vaccine. Pregnant with Phil's child and engaged to him. Captain Linda Hayes,  a 35 year old Caucasian captain in the Air Force. Blonde, fit, lethal. Also doubling at Phil's bodyguard most days. Tamika Jefferson,  an 18 year old African American college student. Short (5'2"), curvy, disaffected and disinterested in most things. Yuko Takahashi,  a 22 year old first generation Japanese immigrant and video game engineer. Very short (4'10"), very slender but extremely agile. The most sarcastic of Phil's partners. Dr. Charlotte Varma,  a 44 year old French infectious disease researcher working with the Air Force and Boeing. Lead developer on the current vaccine. Average height (5'7"), blonde, matronly but also a bit bougie. Originally from Paris, she moved to London and married Dev Varma, before they emigrated to the US earlier this year with their teenage daughter, Asha (now part of the House of Rook). Was rescued by Andy but chose to go with Phil. The House of Covington Arthur Robert Covington IV,  a 63 year old investment banker. Considers himself the most important person in New Eden. Certainly is the richest. A horrible prick with a rumored proclivity for making his partners do awful things. Runs a regular poker game where people are used as stakes. The person Andy hates the most. Lisa Davis,  a 25 year old graphic design contractor for Google. Ex colleague of Aisling. Partner for Covington, who does not allow her to speak in public. Ash has been trying to find ways to talk to her on the side. Rachel DeMarco,  a 28 year old infectious disease researcher working with the Air Force and Boeing. Has only been spoken of, not actually see in the story thusfar. Veronica DeLaCruz (deceased),  a 27 year old Hispanic card dealer for the House of Covington privately, as well as professionally over at a local casino. Cheated on her partner (Arthur) with a man named Brian Morrison, and the sexual encounter resulted in her death. The first fatality in New Eden, her death is being used to remind women the dangers involved in being unfaithful in the new world. The House of Vikovic Gregor Vikovic,  a 52 year old business owner. Russian, huge (6'2", 275lbs), mucular, with a big braided silver beard and a fondness for expensive things, particular food and drink. One of the more elite members of New Eden. The House of Watkins Nathaniel Watkins,  a 41 year old investor and insanely rich self made gadfly. Tall (6'1"), lean and Waspy, Nathaniel tends to look more like an out of work yoga instructor than the forty first richest man in the world. His brown beard is always somewhat disheveled, and seems to relish always walking around in socks and Birkenstocks. Has a friendly relationship with Andy, whom he gave a shitload of money to, seemingly to punish his son. Benny Watkins,  an 18 year old high school student. Benny is Nathaniel's biggest failure, spoiled and thoughtless, entitled and arrogant. His claiming of Deborah Barnes resulted in his punishment by his father, and the reassignment of Hannah to Andy. Deborah Barnes,  a 34 year old veterinarian from Los Gatos, originally from Kansas. She was originally assigned to Nathaniel, who used her as a stake in one of Covington's poker games. She was won by Andy, but Benny claimed her before she could be relocated. As part of Benny's punishment, Deborah's been assigned control of Benny. Erin Donegal,  a 36 year old pharmaceutical representative. Dated and lived with Andy about a decade ago until she gave him an ultimatum “ "either your friends go, or I do." Andy gave her the boot, and she stalked him on and off since then. Second generation Irish American. Blonde (but dyes her hair brown), curvy. Andy refused to bring her into his house, and she was reassigned to the House of Watkins. The House Of Haunton Mayor James Haunton,  the 54 year old mayor of New Eden. Portly and short tempered. Has a mustache that whole bowls of soup could get lost in. Major Monica Peters,  the 36 year old wife of the mayor, who doubles as the greeter and tour guide of New Eden for the most recent arrivals. The House of Jacobson Jake Jacobson,  the 49 year old owner of the AllStore chain of department stores. Jet black hair with a pencil thin mustache. More reptilian than human, with beady eyes and a perpetual sneer on his face. Hot tempered, petty and vindictive.. The House of Baker Xander Baker,  a 38 year old auto mechanic and car restorer from Ohio. Andy's oldest and best friend. Being relocated to New Eden to get paired up with Captain Betsy Ross. Covered in tattoos, ridiculously muscular, Xander is a gentle giant. Not to be allowed near karaoke machines under peril of death. Captain Betsy Ross,  a 34 year old Air Force officer, working on the reconstruction program, rebuilding America's heavily damaged infrastructure. Soon to be Xander's first partner. Brooke Maloney,  a 24 year old Olympic swimmer, and friend of Piper. Second generation Swedish American. Blonde, short (5'4") and extremely athletic. Originally, Piper was trying to convince Andy to bring Brooke into the House of Rook, but Andy immediately recognized her personality would be a better fit for Xander, and asked Phil to help redirect her. The House of, Dave? Dave, something or other?,  a thirty(ish) something(?) quarantine management engineer for the CDC, who came to test Andy and Eric, and found out that Andy was secretly Dave's favorite author. In exchange for an advance copy of the newest unpublished Druid Gunslinger book, he put Andy and Eric into the system as Top Level V I P, which has changed their life forever. Nice dude, but Dave's just this guy, you know? Chapter 29 The next day, Andy and Ash met up with Eric and Lily for lunch in a restaurant, something they still weren't accustomed to, even though they'd done it a couple of times since moving into New Eden. They'd been in quarantine so long that the basic things like eating out felt alien. They'd found a nice little BBQ joint that someone had opened within the walls of New Eden, and Andy was ecstatic. Andy's hope was that they were going to keep getting more varieties of food in their new home town. The little 1950s dinner was nice, but the village needed things like a Mexican joint, a Chinese restaurant, a ramen house, a place where he could get a banh mi, Andy realized he really just needed the place to be less exclusively white. The guy who owned and ran the BBQ was a big black guy named Bryant Walters who'd apparently played football for the 49ers a couple of decades ago. He'd settled in the Bay after his football career ended, and he had brought his love of southern BBQ to opening his own restaurant, called "Smoke On The Water." He had a dozen of his own BBQ sauces, brisket that he smoked for at least twelve hours and some of the best damn ribs Andy had ever tasted. It didn't hurt that Bryant was also massively friendly, making sure to come out and talk to patrons of the place. The wait staff was comprised of his partners, five women in all, at least one a former 49ers cheerleader. Over lunch, Andy made sure to tell Bryant that he should have delivery service for the community, and the big burly man told him that was an excellent idea, and that he'd start working on a website for online orders. The meal was the first chance that Andy and Eric had really been able to sit down and catch up one on one since they'd gotten to New Eden. Sure, they'd seen each other at parties and big gatherings, but with just Ash and Lily there, it felt like a throwback to the first days of the whole adventure when they'd been a pair of new couples sharing a tiny little condo. "So yeah, what with all the casualties on my team, I've been promoted up the food chain to be director of the division," Eric said, poking at his brisket with his fork. "I like the responsibility and the increase in pay, but it's also incredibly depressing to think about all the former coworkers that died, none of whose funerals I can attend, because nobody's allowing funerals." "Yeah," Andy sighed, "Phil told me they're moving to mass cremations now, since so many people died. They'll probably build some sort of memorial after we're through all of this, like the Vietnam Wall or Ground Zero for 9/11." "It's so strange, seeing all the names on Slack that aren't lighting up any more," Eric sighed. "At some point, the death toll crossed from a number I can understand to a number I can't." "Kill one person and it's murder; kill a hundred thousand and it's a statistic. Good ol' Stalin," Lily joked, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Don't try and think about it, dear. You're only going to get angry or depressed again, and we're having a nice lunch here, with everyone getting a chance to see one another. I mean, I love Niko to death, but if Andy shows up with his entire tribe, it takes over the whole room. How many are there now, fifty?" Ash giggled, rolling her eyes. "It really isn't tha' bad, Lily. How many're over there?" "Seven, including Lily," Eric said. "I refuse to let them send any more," Lily growled. "Each of the girls gets one day a week to spend with him, and he gets Sundays off." "Then when do ya get time with him?" "Any time I fucking want to," Lily laughed, waggling her beer in Eric's direction. "We're trying to have a kid now, and I'm refusing to let any of those other bitches get a go at getting knocked up until I'm well and truly swollen. Once I'm half way through my second trimester, then I'll let'em get off their birth control, and not a minute fucking sooner." "Still got Eric under your thumb, huh, Lil?" Andy teased. "Thumb, palm, e

Are you training for a marathon? Practicing for a 10K? Or running for fun and looking to avoid injury? Peloton instructors and professional athletes Becs Gentry and Jess Sims talk about how to train for a healthy and safe running experience. They share tips and tricks to maximize your potential through both proper training and rest. Becs Gentry is a Peloton instructor, RRCA-certified running coach, and competitive marathon runner. In 2024, she completed the World Marathon Challenge, running 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days. She also finished the 2019 New York City Marathon as the first non-elite female. Jess Sims is a Peloton instructor, a reporter for ESPN's College Gameday, and a Sideline Reporter for ESPN's Saturday Prime. She's also an ongoing contributor on Good Morning America. Originally published in July 2019. Watch this episode at youtube.com/TalksAtGoogle.  

Justin Bieber BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.Justin Bieber has had an intense and revealing past week, making headlines with both deeply personal revelations and ongoing speculation about his music and business activities. According to Good Morning America, Bieber posted an emotional and candid Instagram message on June 16th, addressing his ongoing struggles with anger issues and describing himself as feeling "broken." He wrote, "People keep telling me to heal. Don't you think if I could have fixed myself I would have already?" Bieber went on to explain how his anger is a response to past trauma, stating, "My anger is a response to the pain I have been thru. Asking a traumatized person not to be traumatized is simply mean." In a separate post, he shared direct messages with an unidentified contact, ending the friendship after being accused of lashing out, and insisting that expressing anger is part of authentic relationships, not something to suppress. These posts have sparked a wave of support and concern among fans.On the lighter side, Justin has simultaneously shared glimpses of his family life, posting several photos with his son Jack Blues, whom he shares with wife Hailey Bieber. Celebrating milestones like Hailey's first Mother's Day, Bieber's social media has mixed vulnerability with moments of joy and pride in his new role as a father. Access Hollywood reports that despite his recent emotional confessions, Bieber has also been active in defending himself publicly. Just last week, he was caught on camera in a viral 11-minute confrontation with a paparazzo, where he passionately demanded respect, emphasizing that his anger is a reaction to being disrespected, not a sign of malice.There is ongoing speculation about a major comeback. Hypebeast and Puck News have both reported that Bieber is planning a return to music in 2025, possibly motivated by both creative desire and financial necessity after debts from a cancelled tour. Although his representatives have not confirmed a new album or tour, Rebel Music suggests preparations are underway for a global tour aligned with an upcoming album, which would be his first full project since 2021's Justice. On the business front, Bieber has parted ways with his long-time manager Scooter Braun, indicating a significant transformation in his professional circle, a move confirmed by multiple sources.On social media, Bieber's posts have trended for their candidness, including confessions about conflicts with Hailey—specifically noting past arguments about her career—and his critiques of transactional relationships. His candid admissions, ongoing family updates, and hints at a musical return continue to fuel speculation about his next chapter, underscoring a period of genuine transformation, vulnerability, and perhaps, reinvention for the pop star.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

In a new “Good Morning America” interview, former “Grey's Anatomy” star Eric Dane is opening up about his real-life medical drama. The “Euphoria” actor made headlines back in April when he announced that he was diagnosed with ALS. And now he's talking to Diane Sawyer about what life - and the future - looks like in light of this very serious diagnosis. After that, we'll catch you up on all the latest Bieber drama after he cussed out an ex-friend on Instagram! And wrapping up, we have the details from the $260 million lawsuit filed against Tyler Perry… Buckle up, Richies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Esther Goldstein LCSW is a psychotherapist and trauma specialist with a private practice in Cedarhurst, in Long Island NY. Esther specializes in treating anxiety, trauma, complex ptsd, and dissociative disorders. Esther provides trauma informed consultation to therapists committed to improving their trauma-informed practice and attachment focused EMDR consultation to therapists attaining hours towards EMDRIA certification.               Elisa is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience working with Anderson Cooper 360 and Good Morning America. Throughout her career, she has helped hundreds of survivors share their stories with renowned journalists including Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, and Anderson Cooper. Deeply committed to trauma healing, Elisa now offers media consulting with a focus on advancing trauma-informed journalism and guiding survivors as they navigate media exposure. In This EpisodeEsther's site:  https://integrativepsych.co/Elisa's: https://www.elisatoha.com You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSaThe Trauma Therapist Podcast:  I interview thought-leaders in the fields of trauma, mindfulness, addiction and yoga such as Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, Bessel van der Kolk and Bruce Perry. https://bit.ly/3VRNy8zBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

3x Emmy Award Winner ~ How can we become a more positively peaceful being in a 24/7 Pop Culture-Social Media World? My Guest this week has some solutions.Dr. Carole Lieberman's multi-dimensional career as an internationally renowned "Media Psychiatrist" is always leading edge! Dr.Carole is "the doctor who helps you stay sane in an insane world!" On TV, Radio, the Internet, in Film, Print, as a Speaker and as the first Shrink on Board airline in-flight entertainment, Dr. Carole's insights help people seize the moment to live happier, more fulfilling lives. Today, called upon more than ever to help people cope with terrorism and other 21st century challenges… the doctor is in!Maintaining a star-studded practice in Beverly Hills, Dr. Lieberman is also well known as a psychiatric expert witness who testifies in high profile trials, and analyzes trials in the media Dr. Lieberman has testified before Congress on several occasions, as well, notably regarding the harmful impact of media violence.A three-time Honoree by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences & The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Daytime Emmy Awards, Dr. Carole Lieberman analyzes the psychological impact of world events, as a guest and/or host on all major media outlets. Her passionate commentary is far more than entertaining and exciting -- it dauntlessly cuts to the heart of the issue! Perhaps that explains why everyone from Oprah to Larry King, Katie Couric and countless others, think of Dr. Carole when they need a 'house call'. Viewers will recognize her from frequent appearances on  CNN, BBC, "The Today Show", "Good Morning America", Court TV, "Entertainment Tonight" and many more.All Rights Reserved © 2025 Building Abundant Success!!Join Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAmazon Music ~ https://tinyurl.com/AmzBASAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud 

"Have you ever wondered if that family relationship you've given up on could still be healed?"Dr. Joshua Coleman shares his devastating personal journey through years of separation from his daughter. His initial defensiveness and need to be right nearly destroyed their relationship permanently. "I'd like to talk about a particularly challenging case today. It's me," he told his consultant. The breakthrough came when he learned to stop explaining and start empathizing. This painful transition became his life's mission: helping families bridge seemingly impossible divides through curiosity, vulnerability, and authentic connection.Coleman reveals the critical difference between modern psychological parenting and previous generations. Today's parents face higher expectations but often lack the emotional tools their children need. "Life is much more fragile than I imagined," he reflects, describing how estrangement changes your entire worldview. His practical guidance centers on "letters of amends"—finding truth in children's complaints rather than defending against them. For adult children, he emphasizes starting with connection goals, not blame. Can broken family bonds be repaired? Coleman's work proves healing is possible when both sides choose curiosity over being right.Dr. Joshua Coleman is a psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families. A frequent Today Show and NPR guest, he's appeared on Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Sesame Street, and 20/20, with features in The New Yorker and TIME Magazine. He's authored four books including "Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict." Coleman writes for major publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Wall Street Journal. Interestingly, he also composes music for television shows including Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Chicago Fire.About The Show: The Life in Transition, hosted by Art Blanchford focuses on making the most of the changes we're given every week. Art has been through hundreds of transitions in his life. Many have been difficult, but all have led to a depth and richness he could never have imagined. On the podcast Art explores how to create more love and joy in life, no matter what transitions we go through. Art is married to his lifelong partner, a proud father of three and a long-time adventurer and global business executive. He is the founder and leader of the Midlife Transition Mastery Community. Learn more about the MLTM Community here: www.lifeintransition.online.In This Episode: (00:00) Navigating Life's Fragility and Family Estrangement(03:03) Art's Personal Journey: From Estrangement to Authentic Relationship(07:21) Learning About Defensiveness and Self-Awareness(12:06) What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?(14:50) Midlife Transition Mastery Ad(16:41) Developing Compassion Through Curiosity(24:26) Life's Meaning Through Painful Transitions(27:11) Tools for Estranged Parents: The Letter of Amends(32:35) Transition Mastery Coaching Ad(34:09) Guidance for Adult Children Seeking Reconciliation(40:03) Connecting with Dr. Coleman's WorkLike, subscribe, and send us your comments and feedback.Resources:Dr. Joshua Coleman LinkedInRules of Estrangement: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622584/rules-of-estrangement-by-joshua-coleman-phd/Email Art BlanchfordLife in Transition WebsiteLife in Transition on IGLife in Transition on FBJoin Our Community: https://www.lifeintransition.online/My new book PURPOSEFUL LIVING is out now. Order it now: https://www.amazon.com/PURPOSEFUL-LIVING-Wisdom-Coming-Complex/dp/1963913922Explore our website https://lifeintransitionpodcast.com/ for more in-depth information and resources, and to download the 8-step guide to mastering mid-life transitions.The views and opinions expressed on the Life In Transition podcast are solely those of the author and guests and should not be attributed to any other individual or entity. This podcast is an independent production of Life In Transition Podcast, and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2025.

In this Hospitality Hustlers episode, sponsored by Toast, we're serving up a story of grit, growth, and cheesesteaks that changed a life. Meet Derrick Hayes, CEO and founder of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks, who went from the street grind to the executive grind — using flavor and focus as his fuel.Derrick shares how hospitality gave him purpose, how a sandwich sparked a movement, and what it means to hustle with heart. From building an iconic Philly-inspired brand in Atlanta to landing features in Forbes and Good Morning America, this is the kind of real talk and bold inspiration the industry needs.This episode is part of our Hospitality Hustlers series — highlighting the leaders who started on the frontlines and rose to the top, one shift at a time.Tune in for hospitality insights, guest experience gold, and a few funny food stories you won't forget. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

#160  - From Chronically Ill to Thriving: The Wellness Comeback Story You Need to Hear with Amy Kurtz, Author of Kicking Sick What happens when your body becomes the thing holding you back from living your life? In this episode of The Pretty Well Podcast, I'm joined by Amy Kurtz—author, speaker, and wellness warrior who's turned her own experience with chronic illness into a powerful mission to help others heal. We're talking about what it really takes to live well with invisible illness, how to become your own best advocate, and why your symptoms aren't “just in your head” (even if you've been told that one too many times). Amy shares the mindset shifts, do-able practices, and functional wellness tools that helped her go from barely surviving to thriving. If you've ever felt gaslit, overwhelmed, or just plain exhausted by the medical system, this conversation will feel like a deep breath and a power-up all at once. Because healing isn't linear—but it is possible. You don't have to settle for “you'll just have to live with it.”   More About Amy Kurtz: Facing debilitating pain and health issues since her teenage years, patient advocate and author Amy Kurtz well knows the frustration, fear and isolation that comes with chronic illness.  She wrote the bestselling book Kicking Sick as a reader guide to managing debilitating conditions and living fully. A distinct voice in the health space, Amy's work has been heralded by Mark Hyman,  Deepak Chopra, Kris Carr and more. Lena Dunham named Kicking Sick one of her “top 10 desert island books of all time” in NY MAG.  She has appeared in Oprah, as well as on Good Morning America several times, and Fox. Amy's second book, “But You Look Fine, Trapped in the Hell between Sick and Well and how to Break Free” is due out from Hachette in Spring 2026.  LInks & Resources: Website: https://amykurtz.com/ Social: https://www.instagram.com/_amykurtz https://www.facebook.com/amykurtzauthor   Amy's Book: *Kicking Sick: Your Go-To Guide for Thriving with Chronic Health Conditions https://amzn.to/4ixOQOd  *As An Amazon Associate I Earn A Small Commission From Qualifying Purchases At No Extra Cost To You*   Join the conversation: Share your thoughts with us on social media or in the comments! Subscribe, Share & Review: 

What does it really mean to be a “good woman”? For the controversial podcaster and writer Elise Loehnen, female goodness is a misery trap. And so reclaim their happiness, to make themselves whole, Loehnen says, women need to stop being good. The former goop executive and co-author of the upcoming Choosing Wholeness Over Goodness explains how the seven deadly sins reveal women's hidden conditioning, how the wellness industry became toxic, and why the Enneagram can help women embrace their full selves—including the darker, "unacceptable" parts they've been taught to suppress. five key takeaways 1. The "Good Woman" Performance is Exhausting Women are conditioned to suppress basic human instincts—never being tired, needing no praise, having compliant bodies, avoiding anger—which requires enormous energy and is driven by fear of social rejection.2. The Seven Deadly Sins Reveal Female Conditioning What society labels as "sins" (pride, envy, sloth, etc.) are actually normal human traits that women are taught to repress, creating a "punch card" for performing goodness to the world.3. Women Police Each Other Through Envy Instead of recognizing envy as a signal pointing toward what we want, women often use it destructively to tear down other women who have what they desire—like the backlash against Goop.4. The Drama Triangle Keeps Us Stuck Most people operate in victim-villain-hero dynamics, blaming others instead of taking responsibility. Breaking free requires recognizing these patterns and creating different conditions in your life.5. Wholeness Beats Goodness True liberation comes from integrating all parts of yourself—including the "darker" aspects you've been taught to hide—rather than performing an impossible standard of perfection.Elise Loehnen is a writer, editor, and podcast host who lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Rob, and their two sons, Max and Sam. She is the host of Pulling the Thread, a podcast focused on pulling apart the stories we tell about who we are—and then putting those threads back together. Current Work & Recent Publications: Elise is the author of the New York Times bestseller On Our Best Behavior. She has co-written thirteen books, five of which were New York Times bestsellers, including True and False Magic with psychiatrist Phil Stutz. Her upcoming co-authored Choosing Wholeness Over Goodness will be published in August. Podcast & Media: She hosts Pulling the Thread where she interviews cultural luminaries on the big questions of the day, including Dr. Gabor Maté, Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Harriet Lerner, Loretta Ross, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, Dr. Richard Schwartz, Joy Harjo, Dr. B.J. Miller, Nedra Tawwab, Dr. Suzanne Simard, Susan Cain, Heather McGhee, Dr. Riane Eisler, and Terry Real. Professional Background: Previously, she was the chief content officer of goop, where she co-hosted The goop Podcast and The goop Lab on Netflix, and led the brand's content strategy and programming, including the launch of a magazine with Condé Nast and a book imprint. Prior to goop, she was the editorial projects director of Conde Nast Traveler. Before Traveler, she was the editor at large and ultimately deputy editor of Lucky Magazine, where she also served as the on-air spokesperson, appearing regularly on shows like Today, E!, Good Morning America, and The Early Show. She has a B.A. from Yale where she majored in English and Fine Arts.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Paxton Quigley is the author of the best-selling women's gun self-defense book series ARMED & FEMALE (hard cover, E.P Dutton; paperbacks, St. Martin's Press), NOT AN EASY TARGET (Fireside), STAYING ALIVE: ARMED & FEMALE IN AN UNSAFE WORLD (Merril Press) and ARMED & FEMALE: TAKING CONTROL (Merril Press). She has taught personal protection strategies to more than 7,000 women in the U.S. and abroad.Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News called her “guru” to millions of women. Morley Safer on 60 Minutes referred to her as “the great persuader.” Oprah Winfrey described her as “an expert on women, on home intrusions, and rape.”No stranger to the media, Paxton Quigley has appeared on more than 300 TV and radio shows, including Oprah (twice), Sixty Minutes, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Larry King Show, Oprah (twice), Chris Matthews, Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect, NBC Nightly News (twice), CBS Evening News,” “Fox & Friends, “NPR: All Things Considered, Entertainment Tonight, Extra (six times), Access Hollywood, Court TV, The Sean Hannity Show, The Howard Stern Show, and Chris Matthews.

Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author Deborah Goodrich Royce moderates a conversation with our featured author, New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis. About the Author: Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of eight historical fiction novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Stolen Queen, The Magnolia Palace, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and Oprah magazine.  She first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages, and she's based in New York City. About The Stolen Queen: Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same. New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who's in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Though Annie soon realizes she'll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana's capricious demands and exacting standards. Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met's celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She's consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant. That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection's most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare's legendary curse might be reawakening. As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she'd never return: Egypt. But if they're to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger. For more information about Fiona Davis, visit fionadavisbooks.com. For details on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit deborahgoodrichroyce.com  

McSteamy talks about his ALS diagnosis on Good Morning America. Is Katy Perry waiting until the end of her tour to split from Orlando Bloom? Dolly Parton is opening a hotel - it's the only thing she hasn't put her name on yet, so it makes sense. The Valkyries are playing tonight against the Dallas Wings! GenZ is throwing office norms out the window. Plus, these cheap habits might transform your life.

'Law and Order: SVU' icon Mariska Hargitay grabs her co-star's bootie on the red carpet, but we think it's innocent! Pedro Pascal is the latest celebrity to earn a lookalike contest. Next up: Vinnie! McSteamy talks about his ALS diagnosis on Good Morning America. Is Katy Perry waiting until the end of her tour to split from Orlando Bloom? These cheap habits might transform your life. R. Kelly has OD'd in prison. Bet you didn't know these celebrities had such weird pets. Is rock music making a comeback? And why do men think these things are sexy?

Dan Buettner, National Geographic Explorer, writer, and founder of Blue Zones: areas where people live long, healthy, happy lives. Blue Zones are areas across the globe where people tend to live the longest and have remarkably low rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Dan explores what elements make up these blue zones, including food, community, joy, purpose, and more. Listen to Dan and Heather talk about the 5 food groups that are best for a long life, and the perfect combination of a grain and beans to make a complete protein. He has appeared on CNN, Late Show with David Letterman, Good Morning America, Primetime Live, and the Today show to discuss his Blue Zones research, and he has delivered more than 500 keynote speeches over the last 10 years. SPONSOR: Zbiotics Go to www.zbiotics.com/Heather and use code HEATHER at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of Zbiotics probiotics. Zbiotics has a 100% money-back guarantee, so if you are unsatisfied in any way they will refund your money, no questions asked. Thank you Zbiotics for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara Connell is a 5-time bestselling author and the founder of Thought Leader Academy, helping coaches, experts and entrepreneurs scale impact and create 6-7 figure income by becoming bestselling authors and in-demand/TEDx speakers. Seventeen years ago, writing a book about her recovery from sexual assault and addiction saved Sara's life, inspiring her to pay that gift forward by writing her own books and helping leaders on a mission reach the people they are here to serve. Sara has been featured on/in Oprah, The New York Times, Good Morning America, TODAY, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and TEDx. Her books have been nominated for a National Book Award and Elle Magazine Book of the Year. Sara Connell is a 5x Bestselling author and the founder of Thought Leader Academy where she helps coaches, experts and entrepreneurs scale impact + create 6-7 figures by becoming bestselling authors and in demand/TEDx speakers. She has been featured on/in Oprah, The New York Times, Good Morning America, TODAY, Forbes, Entrepreneur and TEDx. Her books have been nominated for a National Book Award and Elle Magazine book of the year.

In this episode, Lesley Logan talks with Stephanie O'Dea—New York Times bestselling author, viral blogger, and now a slow living coach—about what it really means to live intentionally. From building a wildly successful crockpot recipe blog to burning out on hustle culture, Stephanie shares how tuning in, slowing down, and redefining success helped her create a life she actually wants to live. This is a must-listen for anyone who's tired of chasing someone else's version of success and ready to start trusting themselves again.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How Stephanie's slow cooker challenge became a bestselling brand.Why she walked away from hustle culture to embrace slow living.How redefining success helped her build a life she actually enjoys.Why slow living isn't about doing less, but about doing what matters.How to release guilt and build intentional routines aligned with your values. Episode References/Links:Stephanie O'Dea's Website - https://stephanieodea.comFree Daily Journaling Worksheet - stephanieodea.com/dailyStephanie O'Dea's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stephanieodeaStephanie O' Dea Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/StephanieODea.authorSlow Living Book by Stephanie O'Dea - https://a.co/d/dK5en1ySlow Living Podcast - https://stephanieodea.com/podcastGretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin - https://a.co/d/gQ5ToVpGuest Bio:Stephanie O'Dea is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and coach specializing in Slow Living. With a background in social work, early childhood education, and trauma-informed yoga, she offers a holistic approach to wellness. Through her books, coaching, and Slow Living podcast, Stephanie helps people slow down, reconnect with their purpose, and create sustainable balance. Her latest book, Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven World, reflects her mission. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three daughters, and a basset hound named Sheldon. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/ Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Stephanie O'Dea 0:00  Slow is simply look only within and it's the idea that you actually have the answers, and you don't need to be saved. You don't need bro culture or internet marketers to tell you what you should be doing. If you're slow and calm, the answers kind of bubble up.Lesley Logan 0:19  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 1:01  Hey, Be It babe, how are you? Okay, I promise you you've never heard about a living like this before, and our guest today is like the queen of what she does. I'm gonna let her tell you what she does, but I'm gonna tell you right now, I wanna live next to this woman. I want her to be my neighbor. I want her to be a friend that I can just call. I am going to save this episode just so I can hear the end of it over and over and over again, especially on the days that I need to hear it. You guys, Stephanie O'Dea is our guest today, and if you think that name sounds familiar, it's because it will. You'll hear about that in a second. And I am just so obsessed. This interview is kind of one of the reasons why I'm like, oh my god. I love that I get to do this podcast. I am feel like the luckiest girl in the world, because I get to learn from these amazing guests, and then I get to share that with you. And so y'all, buckle up, take a deep breath, slow down. This episode is gonna rock your world in the best way. Lesley Logan 1:58  All right, Be It babe. This is gonna be really exciting. I think we've never had this topic before. I'm always interested when there's something new, a new way for us to be it till we see it. And today's guest is Stephanie O'Dea. Can you tell us, everyone, who you are and what you rock at?Stephanie O'Dea 2:11  Absolutely, I'm Stephanie O'Dea, and I write, coach, teach and speak about all things slow living. Lesley Logan 2:18  Okay, right. Stephanie O'Dea 2:20  I know. I promise I'm not just sitting on the couch, twiddling my thumbs, eating Bonbons, doing nothing. I promise there's a method to the madness. Lesley Logan 2:28  Yeah, obviously we're all intrigued, like, what is slow living? But maybe we need to know what that is before we can figure out how you got to doing slow living. So we're also on the same page, yeah.Stephanie O'Dea 2:38  Yeah. So I look at slow living as meeting your goals, all of them, your personal and your professional goals, in a slow, steady and sustainable way. And if we can circle and highlight and underline and put some pointers at sustainable, that's what it's at. Because I think we all know the feeling of being gung-ho. And I'm going to do this now, and I'm gonna eat this way, and I'm gonna work out this way, and I'm gonna get up at at 3 a.m. and I'm gonna have rock star abs at the end of the week. Lesley Logan 3:09  Oh yeah. Stephanie O'Dea 3:09  Yeah. And spoiler alert, if you're listening, chances are you're a human and not a robot. And well, who knows, the robots may be taking over, but in real life, people have ups and downs and all arounds and variables they can't control. So slow living, first off, has an acronym attached to it. I'm a super nerd when it comes to acronyms, and that's because my grandpa, when I was about seven, told me that the word SNAFU had the F word hiding in it, so it's situation normal, all effed up, like he told me, he told me, when I was seven, he actually said that, the bad word out loud. And I'm like, grown ups hide bad words in regular words. And so, like, since then, I've nerded out with acronyms. So slow living, slow is simply look only within and it's the idea that you actually have the answers, and you don't need to be saved. You don't need bro culture or internet marketers to tell you what you should be doing. If you're slow and calm, the answers kind of bubble up. So it's a big part of listening to your inner voice, to your inner gut, to your intuition, and then taking action on it. So the three-step success formula is mindset plus action plus consistency equals success. And so the new, yeah, the new book is broken up that way. And the idea is, when you're in a good mood, just ask yourself, like, what's the next best step for me to take? And then go quiet and listen, because you know the answer is inside. The answer is not going to be on a doom stroll of TikTok. It's legit inside of you, and you know what you're supposed to do. And then just do the thing over and over and over again, and even when you don't want to. Lesley Logan 5:03  I love this so much because I love that you put consistency in there. The only way to be consistent is if you actually are at a pace that you can consistently do. We were in Singapore the other day. I picked a bike taxi and the car, I was trying to figure out what's going on because the guy was driving the car, it would go, whoo. You know where your whole body moves like someone's taking off too fast at a red light, and then it would slow down, and then it would go like that again. And was like, literally for 16 minutes, the body was going like this, and like this, and like this. We were on the freeway, but I felt like urgency to leave the intersection, and then a hard -ish break but not a full break. And I got a headache. I got sick. Brad felt nauseous. I was like, I hope we don't get that cab going to dinner. Like, I cannot be in that car again. That's the idea of you can't be consistent at a pace like that, because you can't, your body doesn't do well, your brain doesn't do well. And so being consistent is so key to having the things that we want. But I also love you add, like, listening to yourself, because it's really hard to do that when you're kind of going too fast, like, you don't have time when everything is chaotic. How did you get into doing this? Like, were you born working slow? Stephanie O'Dea 6:07  No, no, I'll tell you my back story, but I got to tell you, my mom drives that way, and now my kids don't want to get in the car with her. They're like, I always feel sick when I drive with grandma so. Lesley Logan 6:17  Okay, so there's, I literally was looking at his leg. I'm like, is he doing this, or does he is it like the car is like, oh, there's a car that's too close. Like, I don't, could not figure out what's going on. Stephanie O'Dea 6:26  I think my mom is full acceleration, and then foot off, and then full acceleration, and then foot off. And there's a happy medium there. So what's interesting about my backstory is I got started writing online crock pot recipes, crock pot slow cooker recipes. Lesley Logan 6:42  Okay, I definitely was wondering if slow living meant, like, like, slow cooker. Stephanie O'Dea 6:46  Yeah, so, so, yeah. So, I'm very Google-able, but I got my start in 2008 because I made a New Year's resolution to follow through on using my crock pot slow cooker every day for a year and writing about it online. And it, it took off. It went viral. Lesley Logan 7:02  I've heard of you. You are Google-able.Stephanie O'Dea 7:07  Yeah. So, when (inaudible) funny, because 2008 depending on how old you are when you're listening, that could sound like a long time ago or not that long time ago, but at the time it legit, was the first crock pot recipe site written by like a normal person, and it went crazy. I made yogurt. I invented, like, quote-unquote, invented lots of things, and because of that, I ended up on national television multiple times. Good Morning America, Rachel Ray Show did all the magazines and got a book deal. It worked great. At its peak, it was making $1,000 a day just in banner ads, and it was amazing. So the good news is is I understand mathing and I understand the Internet, so I knew what goes up must eventually come down. And so that absolutely did in about 2016 with the Instant Pot. And so my book publishers and agent, they're like, you should translate all your recipes. So I bought one, and I hated the thing. I get it. The tech part is fun. Yay for the scientists for discovering that they can cook a frozen chicken in 45 minutes. But for me, what I liked about the crock pot is I could put it on the morning, I'm highly caffeinated and coherent, I push a button and then I never think about dinner again. So it eliminated a whole bunch of decision fatigue, and it just was lovely, because cooking is great, but I'm not going to get a Zen moment chopping an onion. I'm just not. Some people are, great, no, but for me, it's a chore. Lesley Logan 8:41  I see you. You are seen.Stephanie O'Dea 8:44  Yeah. So anyway, I got fired. I got fired, and I had this like, sort of voice of God, of like, hey Steph, just because you can do something fast, it doesn't mean you should. And so I spent some time away from the internet, I sort of unplugged everything for a while. And one really lovely, amazing thing about passive income is even when you're not working, it works for you. So I was in a very privileged state that I could kind of pontificate what the next best step for me to take was, and I realized that following through on my resolution, following through on all of the goals that I've always had for myself has been my secret sauce. Writing crock pot recipes was really just a way to feed the internet. And so that's how the slow living podcast got started, and how I started working with women from all over the world to help them meet their goals in a slow, steady and sustainable way.Lesley Logan 9:40  I'm obsessed with this because I think it's because here's what I love about this. I was like, Oh, I wonder if slow living means, like, slow cooker. And then I was, I don't even use my Instapot. Do you see how, like, I put the two together, even though they're not. Thank you for educating me. I clearly.Stephanie O'Dea 9:52  Gold stars, Lesley, gold stars. Lesley Logan 9:53  I am not the person who cooks in this household. I think that's pretty evident. I was just like, oh. And then I but I was reading all the stuff and I was like, oh, but, like, we're talking about goals, and I'm like, totally in on this, how this works. So, but I love that the intuitiveness was there, so that's really great. But the other reason I love this is that you are the perfect example of how you get started and what you have done in the past. That's not that it has to ever end, but also that you can evolve from it. And it doesn't have to be like the next pie over, which is the Instant Pot. It could be like all the way on the other side of the pie and be like something that's different, but they're not. They're the same. Stephanie O'Dea 10:27  No, absolutely I and it's funny. So I have three kids, and I'm constantly telling them like you are your own person, in your own entity. Sure, Dad and I might have ideas for you, but you get to decide. And every year, people get so excited about New Year's resolutions and different things and the idea that they can reinvent themselves, and then they have the first few dismissive thoughts of, well, I can't do that, or, Oh, this is too hard. And so then they give up. And the fact is, if we're lucky, life is long. Sure, you could get hit by a bus tomorrow, but don't live your life thinking that instead, where are you going to be in your 50s, your 60s and your 70s? I mean, I work with women of all ages and stages. If you want to crawl around on the floor in your 70s with your grandchildren and do yoga and have, I don't know, prize-winning tulips. Start now. Start setting the stage now, and plant those metaphoric seeds to get you from where you are to where you want to goLesley Logan 11:29  You are correct. As a Pilates instructor, one of the things that people like when should I get started? I'm like, well, yesterday was a better day, but that's fine, we'll start now. Because I've had people come to me at 70 going, I'm in aches and pains. I've got this thing, and now I've got a hump on my back, and I'm like, so the time to prevent the hump was like, 20 years ago. So there's not much I can do now that you're in that position, but here's what I can do to keep you upright so you can play with your grandchildren. And people don't realize, and they wait until they realize they weren't hit by a bus earlier, and then they're like, now it changes. And that's not that it's ever too late, but there's just some things that if we got started sooner and when we went more consistently, we went more slowly, we took our time handling the obstacles and the setbacks and reevaluating that we would actually get to where we wanted to go, I guess, faster.Stephanie O'Dea 12:15  So it's true. I mean, it's legit. The metaphor of the tortoise and the hare just slow, steady and stay on track. And so that's why I like that mindset, action, consistency formula is when you're in a good mood, don't make up rules for yourself when you're in a bad mood, because you're just punishing yourself. But when you're in a good mood, decide what the next steps are, and a lot of it is putting blinders on and not worrying about what other people are doing. So if you're listening to this right now and you're thinking, well, Lesley got to be in Singapore last week, and I'm wasn't in Singapore last week, and my life sucks. So okay, you are playing your own game. So again, because I am such an acronym junkie, I rewrote FOMO to figure only myself out you play your game, and if Singapore is not in your cards right now, okay, great, but maybe put it on a vision board and maybe start saving and start pivoting to have that come to fruition. But it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong if you never had the thought like six or eight months ago or a year ago when Lesley decided to go to Singapore, you weren't there yet. So if you're there now, okay, great, start pivoting and make that way. And same with the hump on your back. If you're like, oh, okay, I do want to be that person in my 70s. But actually really like my nightly wine, and I like doom scrolling, and I caught up on all of the seasons of younger and now I don't know what to do with myself. Okay, then, then go do some stretches and start working on it in a very slow, steady and sustainable way. Lesley Logan 13:55  You're absolutely correct. And I have a funny story about the Singapore thing. You guys, normally, when we fly to Cambodia for our retreat, we always choose the shortest. Doesn't everybody, when you want to go, you want to get to where you want to go when you're traveling. So it's like the shortest. Well, ever since the pandemic and the way the flight paths have changed, it has been twice as much to fly to Cambodia as it usually is, and it irritates me, because I know it's not that expensive. Double is not the right price. So my assistant presented like three options, and the two shortest options were $1,500 per person, round trip, 23 hours of travel, still a lot, still full day, exhausting. But then there was a flight that was 31 hours of travel. It was $500 cheaper per person, and it had a 13 hour layover in Singapore. And in Singapore, you can leave the airport. You can apply for the day visa. It's so easy to do. You do it online. And we were landing in time to go to dinner, and I was like, wouldn't it be cool to go to Singapore for dinner? And here's the thing you guys, it wasn't about saving $500 it was about enjoying the trip to Cambodia. Because I'm like, this is I don't I'm so tired of being tired when I get there. And so I thought, let's just see what it's like. Instead of having six hours, which is not enough time to leave an airport and just walk, do laps in the airport, what if we had 13 and we went to dinner and we slept in a hotel and then we got up and we flew the next place? You guys. I loved it. I loved it. I had two on the way into Cambodia. I did dinner in Singapore on the way out. We did dinner in Singapore. Fabulous. I felt like it was so luxurious. It felt so it felt so it felt like I was like a first class traveler. So anyways, that's my share on evaluating doing things a little differently. Your FOMO, like, figure my own self out. I'm tired when I get there. What? What can I do? So that's my little tip there. But I want to highlight that you said, make the decisions when you're in a good mood, because you're correct. People are punishing themselves when they're like, you don't feel good, you feel exhausted, you hate your job, and then you're like, I'm gonna do this. And it's like, it is a punishment. I never thought about it like that. Stephanie O'Dea 15:49  Yeah, no, it's true. I mean, and especially since you're in the fitness realm, the idea of, I'm gonna force myself to do this workout every day, no matter what, with the idea that if I skip a day because I'm sick or I don't feel well, or the toilet overflowed, or the kid had a bloody nose in the middle of the night, I failed. No, no. So I tell people all the time, if you're embarking on a 30-day challenge and it takes you 45 days to do the 30 days, you're not graded, you're not to be in trouble, you're the grown up in the room. You only fail when you completely and totally decide to give up. But but keep going and think of yourself at, again, as that 70 year old, you would be way more proud of yourself for keeping going, even if you have to take a day off here and there. And that's a big part of the sustainability, part of slow living. Lesley Logan 16:48  During the pandemic. I got really interested in, like, some people create habits, and how do they not I don't know if you've read Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies, like having meet expectations. So I thought, well, I'm an upholder. That's easy for me. But what about the rest of the people? As a fitness person who wants people to move, and I always tell people do what's possible. Finishing is optional. Why aren't they listening? Why can't they listen and what's going on? And I got to sit at BJ Fogg, and he talked about these tiny habits. And it's crazy to see how people legitimately cannot do the tiny habit. They actually are like, it's not enough to just put my shoes on. It's like, but you don't go to the gym now. So you're asking yourself to put out the gym clothes early. Pack a gym bag, get everything on, drive to the gym, find a parking space, enter the gym, put the bag in a locker, do the work of oh, you forgot your towel, so now you're gonna be late for work. Otherwise, now you have to leave early, and it's just all we're asking ourselves to do such huge leaps and bounds before we've actually created the ability to do that consistently, and then we fail ourselves. And it's like even when you went to school, you didn't get the F until the end of this the whole semester to get a better grade.Stephanie O'Dea 17:57  Yeah, no, it's true. I mean, when people come to me with those kind of obstacles. First off, I definitely have squirrel brain. I have lots and lots and lots of markers of ADHD. And every time I talk to anyone, because I can talk myself well, I write and I speak so I know how to talk to people. And they're like, you don't have ADHD. I'm like, that's fine. Just, just help me, but, but the only reason I found out is I've got one in grad school, and so she's applying for law school, and so needing to sit for the LSATs and that kind of stuff. All of these things came up. I'm like, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just like me. And I'm like, oh, wait.Lesley Logan 18:33  Right, right. Stephanie O'Dea 18:34  But anyway, as far as that, when I'm working with people who can't break things down in a bite-sized chunk, and they get overwhelmed. Or halfway through the assignment, they're already moved on to something else. We gamify the system. And so earlier, when I gave you gold stars, I legit hand out gold stars if you did something, give yourself a sticker, like, like those old school chore charts on the wall where you're giving yourself a happy face absolutely pay off and then reward yourself. Maybe not if you're trying to do a fitness routine, maybe not with like a hot fudge sundae, but maybe with a pedicure, or maybe with an afternoon off work for no reason except for you want to take a really cozy Bougie nap, and you you have your your weighted throw, and then you're just so happy. That is a reward, and that's something that you can look forward to, but definitely game the system. Lesley Logan 19:33  Yeah, I love gamify. I love a reward, or like something tactical that you can do, like some sort of celebration. But I also want to highlight hi, I also was someone who didn't think that ADHD, and I was like, oh, my husband, my husband has ADHD, right? Because that's where all the symptoms. And he, like, is legit, like, model of a male with ADHD. And we were applying for a business license, type of a thing, like some sort of certificate, and the woman who files the paperwork, I met her, and so we're talking, and she like, okay, you have your women in business certification I'm like, yeah, we've got that. She's like, okay, where's your disability certificate? And I'm like, I'm so sorry I don't have a disability. And she goes, Well, you have ADHD. And I was like, oh, my husband does, but I own the business for the women in business owners, so I don't have she's like, no. She's like, you just haven't been tested girl. You have ADHD. I can see all of it. And I started looking up women signs of ADHD. I absolutely have it, so I'm with you, and we forget how we figured out how we can make our lives work. And so I just want to highlight to anyone listening, if you have ADHD, and that's a reason why it's a problem for you to, like, finish the thing you've started. There is a superpower that you can tap into once you acknowledge it and like you look into how can you work best for yourself? And it's, it is not through punishment ever. Stephanie O'Dea 20:47  Yeah, no, it's, it's celebrating your process. So because I'm a writer, this is the 11th book I've written, I know my process, so I no longer beat myself up. I know for a fact I don't miss deadlines, so that's great news for me, but I also know that I'm not linear. I am up and down and all around and if I have a brainstorm at 3am it's better for me to get up and write any of those how to be a successful published author checklists that they show on the internet for clickbait. That's not me, and that's not really any of us. That's marketing hype that's trying to get you to click. If you've been online long enough I'm certain you have clicked on something only because you were feeling a little anxious, maybe a little vulnerable, and you're like, oh, the answers to my prayer. But the fact is, the answers are inside and with you. And it's not going to come from doom scrolling TikTok. It's going to come when you're calm and you're in a good mood and you're like, okay, I am not feeling the best right now. Not going to gaslight myself. I legit do not feel good in my brain and my body right now. What is the next best step for me to take and then going quiet and then doing what it is, chances are your brain is going to say you need more water, you need to cut back on wine. You need to stay away from Jane down the street, because she makes you feel really shitty. Can I say shitty? Sorry.Lesley Logan 22:19  No, I love it. We love it. And, yeah, stay away from Jane. Stephanie O'Dea 22:23  Yeah, no, just like you, you know, you know. And I get it because, I mean, I met Lesley online. We're all trying to carve our own little niche out. But the thing is, is you're more vulnerable and you're more susceptible to following advice made up by, by stupid businessy. I'm gonna say men, just for lack of a better term, bro marketers, when you're feeling down on yourself. Lesley Logan 22:50  Yeah, it's really interesting, because I, just before I came on this I had a YouTube comment, and it was on a video that was like the best Reformers to buy for home, and I, look, I hate the title because it's that clickbaity title, but I promised myself, okay, I have to do the titles that they want, because these are the things that people will click on. But I can be honest, right? And so I was completely honest about how I don't love the Reformers that are $300 because I know that a quality Reformer costs $4,800 why do they cost $4,800 because they're not made of plastic, because they're made of metal, they're made of wood. It takes, it takes a long time to make them. And they last decades, right? They last decades. And these cheaper ones, while they look very similar to the ones you're seeing in studios, I don't know what the weight requirements are. I don't know if you can stand on them and they have, I don't know that they have the same safety mechanism. So then you're going to take my classes or someone else's classes, and, like, I don't know. So I was very clear of like, here's what I would say. So it ended with, there is not an affordable one. Like, it just isn't. But here are all the things you can do. So this person wrote, okay, so great, so just don't give me a cheaper option so that I could modify the exercises to do the thing. And she was on and on, and she was so angry with me that I wouldn't give her a cheap one to buy. So I actually wrote back right away, because I was like, so you need a car. You need a car that can get you to work, and the car that would be the best gas mileage for you, that would not require any maintenance, it actually has the best safety standards. It's outside of your budget right now. So instead, you would like me to sell you a car that gets the worst gas mileage, that needs maintenance every week, that breaks down on you on your way to work. And so instead of actually getting to work on time, you're now taking the bus anyways, when you could have just waited and taken the bus in the first place until you could afford the car that has the best gas all these things. I'm so sorry I refuse to sell you crap, and I know that's frustrating, but no, I don't want you modifying exercises to make the equipment, because then you're not gonna get the benefits. It just makes me think of this stuff like people. Have gotten to this place that now have gotten so they've now been trained so much by the clickbait they want to be sold the quick, fast thing, but that's not gonna get what you want. So I'm not gonna sell it to you. And it's really, really hard because I you and I are people like we want to be honest with people on the internet. I want a relationship with you whenever I tell you that this is the right thing, that you can trust that it's the right thing. And it's really hard in a world everyone's go so fast they want the thing today, and they'll rather buy the cheap thing than the thing that will get them there. How do you get people out of wanting it quickly? I guess we can help people who don't want to be helped. Stephanie O'Dea 25:35  Yeah. So, so we're recording right now, and I know you are captivating the the video. So this is a standard bedroom that happens to have cabinetry filled filled with crock pots, by the way. But on the other side of the room, I have a framed print, and it says, discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most. And that's the thing. Slow your roll, peeps, slow your roll and have a little bit of discipline. We teach children that patience is a virtue. Practice that be that there's a reason why Buddhist monks and people who meditate a lot and do lots of yoga and meditation are calmer is because they have quieted their squirrel brain, and they have delayed gratification enough to know that while sitting in a meditative stance for 10, 20, 30 minutes isn't as quick as a fix as I don't know, taking some drug or down and a half bottle of Wine, but the end goal, if you do it over and over and over again, is so much better. So I'm going to repeat it. Discipline is choosing between what you want now versus what you want most, and keep that most in your mind when you are scrolling, so then you can have that thought of great for them, not for me, right? Great for them, good everyone's everyone is allowed to make money. Everyone's allowed to make money. Great for them. Good for them. They're, they're gaming the algorithm. Good for them, good for them, good for them, not for me. And then now, now I'm going to coach you for a second, Lesley, because I think you're adorbs. I too, get the click bait thing. I know how to play the game. I know when I was writing recipes that it would be way better for me to say this is the world's easiest and best pot roast recipe you'll ever have, better than your grandma blah blah blah. And the fact is pot roast is pot roast, is pot roast, is pot roast. And if you put in paprika versus liquid smoke or blah blah blah, it doesn't really truly matter in the great, big, huge scheme of things. But the hope is you get someone to click, and then that someone gets to know you and see your video and read your writing and connect with you and say, Okay, I get what Lesley is doing here. It's fine. I'm going to cut her some slack. And that's another great, big thing that I would love for us to do online is to remember that there are real humans there, and give people the gift of grace. And sometimes we mess up. I messed up, and the hope is that when I do, I apologize and I acknowledge it, and then I try and better myself. If I don't try and better myself, that's where the problem is, and that's where the disconnect is, and that's not you. You are amazing. Lesley Logan 28:26  Yeah. Well, thank you, and thank you for seeing me, and it is so interesting world out there that we live in. I like to think that everyone's doing it the best way that they can when they know how, you know, I would give that grace, and I think that the more of us who could do that would be the world be a better place. But I think that, you know, we have to just keep doing it. And I agree, like, when we all make mistakes and it's like you get to apologize, and if people can't accept that, it's almost better that they we find out now so they can go away.Stephanie O'Dea 28:53  Totally. It's funny. I'm intolerant now to people who can't own mistakes and apologize and so so again, back to my crazy ego. My crazy acronyms. The acronym for ego is Edging God Out. And regardless of your religious belief, the idea that you are the Almighty and know everything and aren't humble and don't have enough humility to acknowledge a mistake is a big problem. So so check your ego. Just check it, because everybody's shit stinks. They really do.Lesley Logan 29:26  I'm obsessed with you already. You mentioned stopping the scroll a few times, and I think that that is definitely a hard problem for a lot of people, like even people who don't even have to post on the internet for a job. My mom does not have to post on the internet at all, and she but she has a scrolling problem, right? And I even, because I have to open up and talk to the people and respond to comments and all that stuff, I found myself yesterday picking up my phone after the end of the workday to go check and I was like, hold on, I'm not working right now. And I had to, like, literally, put my phone across the room and pick up a book instead. And I was like, what would make reading this book more pleasurable? I liked it all the things, you know, heard different guests say, oh, I'll make it more pleasurable if I was sitting in front my red light. Okay, I'll sit from my red light. I'm gonna do this thing. And I read a book for like, 45 minutes. It was so lovely. It felt so good. I went to bed. I slept so good last night because I did not scroll. But I think it's an addiction that people have to just pick up when they're bored. So how do you stop your scroll? Stephanie O'Dea 30:22  Yeah, so, so first off, you are definitely not alone, and I've been working online for probably a lot longer than you are, because I'm probably a lot older than you are. So one thing I needed to do for myself, and this is only for people who work online, probably is it's not on my phone. My phone is for phone stuff, and work stays work stays on the computer. So and for me, social media is work. It's not pleasurable. It's not fun. In real life, I want to talk to my friends on the phone, text with my friends in real life. So there's that. And then as far as normal, regular, everyday people who have the old school FOMO, and think that they will miss out on staff, schedule it in, time block it. So I'm a huge proponent of time blocking, and the way I teach it is to decide, on purpose that your day is kind of set up like a school day. So think back in high school you are not going to finish your history book in first period. You're just not but the good news is, you'll have first period every day, so schedule in what it is you want to do every day, so you don't have that feeling of having to catch up, because spoiler alert, you will never catch up on social media, they have designed it to be never, ever, ever ending. But if your allotted amount of time, and my suggestion, would be in 10-minute chunks. 10 minutes, set a timer. Love bossing Siri around. She will just set timers for me all day long, and then scroll, do what it is you need to do, and then step away with the idea that it's going to be okay, because you're going to revisit this time block again tomorrow, and it's fine. Lesley Logan 32:01  Oh my gosh. Stephanie O'Dea, I just, I love you, and I love that. I love that permission. Like, it's not like, don't do it. Or it's not like, only you get five minutes a day. It's like, oh, just schedule a few 10-minute blocks. And it's true. You guys walk around this house at any moment. Brad is like, Siri, set a timer for seven minutes, Siri, remind me to do this tomorrow like. Stephanie O'Dea 32:24  I love Siri. I So, so first off, I love the idea of a live-in personal helper. So the fact is that she's in my back pocket all the time is amazing and and I'm very nice to her in case the robots do take over the world. I thank her. Yeah, tell her she's pretty Yeah, just in case you never know. Lesley Logan 32:41  You are better than I. Brad was talking to my Siri the other day, and he was connected to my phone, and he was like, hey Siri, and he's like, she started answering like I told her to fuck off the other day, and she's not come back. So I think that's my fault. You know, when, like, she wasn't understanding me, she kept talking when I wasn't winder and I was just like, fuck off, and she never came back. So I, I don't know. I don't know. Stephanie O'Dea 33:06  Okay, so does that mean you have to, like, go back in the settings and actually turn her back on?Lesley Logan 33:09  I think so. I think that's where we're at. There's an update that's gonna happen tonight. I'm hoping she goes back. At any rate.Stephanie O'Dea 33:18  If she's listening to me right now. I love you, Siri. I'm like, thank you. You're fine.Lesley Logan 33:23  They are and you are correct. I need to be nicer, because the robots are going to take over, and hopefully they just give us permission to keep doing what we love. All right. I could talk to you for hours, but we're gonna take a brief break and then find out how people can find you, follow you and work with you. Lesley Logan 33:38  All right, Stephanie O'Dea, where do you hang out? Where can people just become a more obsessed with you?Stephanie O'Dea 33:44  So I'm a real person. You can email me at any time, and I will write back to you, steph@stephanieodea.com, that's the main site is stephanieodea.com. I do have a slow living podcast, and the new book is called Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven World, and that's wherever books are sold. Lesley Logan 34:02  Oh my God, I'm gonna read it. I'm so excited. I feel like, so blessed that we all got to talk like, even think about this and your acronyms are amazing. They're, I mean, you know that already, but they are amazing. And I know several listeners who, because I, I'm lucky enough to get to meet our listeners all the time, and they mention different episode numbers and like, I know this is one that they're going to use, because there's such tangible things that they can do to just take time to listen their body and do what's next? What's the best next thing? You've given us a lot, but you know, we love the the Be It Action Items, the bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted, steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us? Stephanie O'Dea 34:40  So it's interesting. Before we hit record you were talking about, don't tell people to journal unless you like, tell them how to journal. So I have a guided daily journaling worksheet, and you can download it. It's super, super free, stephanieodea.com/daily D- A-I-L-Y and and people write to me and they're like. I don't do anything else except for this worksheet, and what it does is it helps, again, get you in the right mindset, because it's putting you in a good mood because you're journaling, and then it's helping you move forward on all of your personal and professional goals. So the action steps and then doing it every day, using that muscle creates the consistency that you need for success. Lesley Logan 35:19  So the reason I say I tell guests like, please don't tell them to not journal, because some people say just journal every day. And then I get what do I journal? The reason I know that this is true is because my therapist had told me back in 2020 when I started therapy, I was like, think this is going to be a really long time that we're doing this, so I think I'm going to need to do some therapy. And she said, okay, I want you to journal every day. So the next week I got on, I was like, so what was I supposed to put in the journal? How do I start? Is it a letter? Because I'm an overthinker and a recovering perfectionist, and so I love that you are like, here is a simple worksheet that you can do to journal, because it gives people an idea of how to make the journal work for them. Because I do believe that journaling works. You just, if you don't know what you're doing, it can feel overwhelming.Stephanie O'Dea 36:00  Absolutely and what I like about this worksheet, and it's, it's a printable, guys, so people have tried to put it in a Google form, and that kind of stuff, your brain is different when you're using a pen and paper. And so that's why there's definitely a method to the madness. And I want you to slow down like, hello, spoiler alert, I legit, I want you to slow down. And then also you're collecting data, so you then you can look back and on the worksheet, I ask you what day or cycle you're in, because that's a big deal. So if you're like, how come I walked it last Wednesday? Well maybe it's because you were on day 15, and now you're on day 28 and you hate the world that is important, and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, because you are not a spreadsheet, and anyone who says anything, and usually they're bro marketers that you have to like improve yourself by 1% every day, or you're doing it wrong. No, no, because humans have ups and downs and all around and if I can give you any parting words of wisdom, it would be that I just want to hug you and tell you that you're doing a great job and there's nothing wrong with you, and you absolutely can get to where you want to go, but you have to trust in yourself that that you can do the things and then just you'll get there when you get there. Lesley Logan 37:20  I mean, I already thought this is going to be an episode that people would hit save on but, and like, replay just to re listen. But I really think they'll just do that, just for that last part right there, like you're doing a great job. Like we all need Stephanie O'Dea to tell us you're doing a great job. I love that your journal has people put the day of the cycle. Because, yes, we've been talking about that a lot, because that affects how you work out all the different things. And it is true, you are going to have days where you can take over the world, and days where you're like, I just if someone talks to me at all, I'm going to lose my mind.Stephanie O'Dea 37:49  Yeah, yeah. No, it's true. So I've been married 25 years, and sometimes, thankfully, I can just tell Adam. So today's not a day for you to actually engage with me. He's like, oh, okay. Thanks, thanks for the warning. You're breathing wrong today. Sorry. You fix that and circle back around.Lesley Logan 38:11  Yeah, I said to Brad, I said, I don't feel awesome today. He goes, it's the day before your period. You're not going to feel awesome. And I was like, thank you. That's right. That's why I married you. He didn't go, of course, you're awesome. He just was like, You're not just not gonna feel it. And it's like, yeah, thank you. Ah, okay, well, clearly I want to keep talking to you, but we'll do that another day. Stephanie O'Dea, thank you so much for being here, you guys. How are you using these tips in your life? Please, tag Stephanie. Tag the Be It Pod. Tell us how you're slow living. Share this with a friend who needs it. Imagine if all of your friends were like acting in the FOMO in the best way, and they were actually listening to themselves and taking some time. Imagine how much easier that would make your life. So share this with the friends in your life who need them. And until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 39:02  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 39:44  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 39:49  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co. Brad Crowell 39:54  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 40:01  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 40:04  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chic with Nile Rodgers, People, CNN, ABC, BET, FOXRobin Roberts & Whoopi Goldberg LOVE Them!!Music & Munchies is My Show Theme This Week: Soul Snacks Cookie Company!Music for this Segment: CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers - Let's Dance(Live At The House Sídney 2013)Everyone wants to be a leader in a world where people don't often possess the experience or expertise to be in the lead. That is gained from mastering the skills and learning to follow. Ralph Rolle is a prime example of learning to follow becoming born to lead.Ralph followed his older brother in learning the drums, but that he led him to becoming a premier musician, who has created music with everyone from super producer Nile Rodgers and his iconic disco/R&B group Chic, pop legends Sting and Bono, the 1st woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Aretha Franklin, hip-hop giants Biggie Smalls and Queen Latifah, jazz superstar Chris Botti, the queen of Neo-Soul Erykah Badu, Vanessa Williams, soul crooner D'Angelo, songstylist India Arie, Lady Gaga, Dolly Pardon, Bono, Roger Daltry, John Legend, Joss Stone, Elvis Costello and playing in the resident band for N.B.C. ‘It's Showtime at The Apollo' for over 15 seasons. Ralph has also served as the musical director for syndicated “The Caroline Rhea Show” and he served in the same role for Japanese R&B/soul superstar Toshi Kubota.Ralph took the time, any time he had the time, to stop and cook and enjoy life. It helped him to come down from the tension and time on the road that was always in motion. Cooking, another gift he received from his mother, gave him the peace of mind he needed to slow down and breathe. And in learning his way around the kitchen, he started to bake. hat stayed with him and when he was hanging out with his musician friends, he would have his signature cookies. At first they laughed, but quickly the request became “please bring those cookies with you!”Over time, his cookies found their way into the hands of clients such as Westside Market, Franks Market, and many more. Good Morning America host chose Soul Snacks for her holiday gifting in 2011. In 2015, Bette Midler and Ralph met when Nile Rodgers and Chic were the guest artists and Ms. Midler's annual Hulaween Charity event. Ralph had his “cookie calling card” with him. Ms. Midler loved Soul Snacks so much that she placed orders for her family and friends. Soon, he was selling his cookies at Melba's, a legendary soul food restaurant in Harlem. The orders poured in and soon, he was featured in CNN, BET, ABC and FOX networks, in New York Times newspaper and in The Source and Vibe magazines. From there, Ralph gave birth to “SOUL SNACKS.”SOUL SNACKS offers a variety of delicious cookies such as Georgia Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Peanut Butter, Down Home Double Chocolate Chip, Ebony and Ivory Almond Cookie, Grampy's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie, French Cocoa Chocolate Chip, Miami Raisin Walnut, Chunked Up Chocolate Walnut, Cranberry Oatmeal Raisin, Joyful Gingerbread and the most recently added, but now #1 seller, Sweet Potato Cookies. “Inside of every cookie is years of heart, soul and lots of pride that has been the main ingredient of SOUL SNACKS Cookies for over a decade.”All Rights Reserved © 2025 Building Abundant Success!!Join Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAmazon Music ~ https://tinyurl.com/AmzBASAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud 

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In this classic episode of Broadway Drumming 101, I chat with the multi-talented percussionist Joshua Mark Samuels, whose Broadway journey spans from singing and dancing as a child in California to holding down chairs in some of the biggest shows on Broadway and Radio City.We initially chatted in October of 2021, but I wanted to share this episode again. It's funny, thought-provoking, and incredibly informative. Episode Highlights:* Early Musical Roots: Josh shares stories of growing up in L.A., starting drum lessons at the age of two and a half, and learning music theory from his legendary uncle, Dave Samuels.* Dual Passions: How Josh navigated his love for both performing on stage and playing in orchestras, eventually fusing both into a career in musical theater.* Cruise Ship Hustle: Becoming a music director at age 21 and realizing pit drumming was his true calling.* Move to NYC: Josh recounts his unexpected relocation to New York and how one subway ride introduced him to Broadway drummer Gary Seligson, kick-starting his networking journey.* Landing Marvelous Wonderettes & Godspell: Hear how obsessive preparation, transcriptions, and laser-focused practice helped Josh build a strong reputation as a sub.* Radio City Christmas Spectacular: What it's really like to play 200+ shows in two months with the Rockettes—and why this gig is one of the most demanding in the business.* Subbing Philosophy: Learn why being effective matters more than being right, how to take notes without ego, and why watching the conductor is non-negotiable.* Building a Career: Josh offers insight into the importance of relationships, people skills, and being someone others want to be around, on and off the bandstand.Key Takeaways:* “Subbing is a people game. It's not just about chops—it's about trust.”* “Obsessive preparation isn't about showing off—it's about honoring the gig.”* “You don't succeed on Broadway because you're the best player. You succeed because you're the best fit.”About Joshua Mark Samuels:Josh currently holds the drums/percussion chair at Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway. His resume includes work on notable productions such as Beetlejuice, Aladdin, Miss Saigon, Jersey Boys, Chaplin, Godspell, A Bronx Tale, and Sunset Boulevard, among others. He's performed all three percussion books (drums, timpani, mallets) at Radio City's Christmas Spectacular, and he's a respected clinician and educator with presentations at NYU, Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers, and Temple University.He proudly endorses Vic Firth, Sabian Cymbals, MalletKat, and TreeHouse Drums.Website: joshuamarksamuels.comSubscribe to Broadway Drumming 101 on your favorite podcast platform, and visit BroadwayDrumming101.com for more content, resources, and merch.Don't forget to rate, review, and share this episode with fellow musicians and theater fans!Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he has contributed his talents to notable productions such as Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, and Hadestown (tour), among many others. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

He's written over 40 books. He's been on Oprah, Good Morning America, and even the cover of Time Magazine. Dr. Bill Sears is the man who made breastfeeding and attachment parenting mainstream—when no one else dared to say it mattered. But today, he's here with a warning.Our kids are facing a health crisis unlike anything we've seen before—chronic illnesses once reserved for the elderly are now striking children. And Dr. Bill says it's no accident. In this episode, he reveals the five foolproof, science-backed habits every parent needs to know—practical steps that could mean the difference between thriving and just surviving. Don't miss this conversation—your child's future health may depend on what you hear today.Dr Bill's website: https://www.askdrsears.com/NEW: Join our exclusive Rose Report community! https://lilaroseshow.supercast.com - We'll have BTS footage, ad-free episodes, monthly AMA, and early access to our upcoming guests.A big thanks to our partner, EWTN, the world's leading Catholic network! Discover news, entertainment and more at https://www.ewtn.com/ Check out our Sponsors:-Seven Weeks Coffee: https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com Buy your pro-life coffee with code LILA and get up to 25% off!-Cozy Earth: Better Sleep, Brighter Days - Get the highest quality sleep essentials for 40% OFF at https://cozyearth.com/lila!-We Heart Nutrition: https://www.weheartnutrition.com/ Get high quality vitamin supplements for 20% off using the code LILA. 00:00 - Start01:43 - Who is Dr Bill Sears?06:44 - Children's Health epidemic in America09:39 - Seven Weeks Coffee10:20 - ADHD and Autism12:51 - Toxicity in the world14:22 - Top Toxic ingredients?16:35 - #1 food on planet20:08 - Cozy Earth21:04 - Epigenetics and Shaping How Genes Operate23:16 - Organic foods?24:33 - We have a pharmacy inside ourselves27:22 - We Heart Nutrition28:24 - This won the Nobel Prize:37:42 - Sleep42:49 - Brain Problems47:28 - Give me a tool I can use fast:48:19 - Religious People Are Happier53:24 - Friendship and Sharing Well56:55 - 7 Tools of Attachment Parenting

Laurel Braitman is a bestselling author, speaker, educator, and a leader in the field of medical storytelling. She serves as the Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine, where she helps healthcare professionals harness the power of narrative to support healing and mental wellness. Laurel is the author of What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey from Loss to Love and the acclaimed book Animal Madness. She holds a PhD in Science, Technology, and Society from MIT and is the founder of Writing Medicine, a global community for healthcare writers. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Radiolab, and on platforms such as the BBC, NPR, and Good Morning America. In today's episode, host Shay Beider talks with Laurel about how writing and storytelling help us to make sense of loss. As “meaning-making animals,” Laurel says we naturally seek connection through narrative, and writing allows us to become characters in our own lives—fostering both empathy and understanding. The duo discuss how suppressing grief can also mute our capacity for joy, and how nature, nonverbal relationships, and honest feedback from others are all essential to the healing process. Through story, reflection, and relationships, Laurel invites us to explore grief as a gateway to deeper connection and meaning. Transcripts for this episode are available at: https://www.integrativetouch.org/conversations-on-healing    Show Notes: Learn more about Laurel here Check out her book, What Looks Like Bravery Read Animal Madness here   This podcast was created by Integrative Touch (InTouch), which is changing healthcare through human connectivity. A leader in the field of integrative medicine, InTouch exists to alleviate pain and isolation for anyone affected by illness, disability or trauma. This includes kids and adults with cancers, genetic conditions, autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic stress, and other serious health issues. The founder, Shay Beider, pioneered a new therapy called Integrative Touch™Therapy that supports healing from trauma and serious illness. The organization provides proven integrative medicine therapies, education and support that fill critical healthcare gaps. Their success is driven by deep compassion, community and integrity.  Each year, InTouch reaches thousands of people at the Integrative Touch Healing Center, both in person and through Telehealth. Thanks to the incredible support of volunteers and contributors, InTouch created a unique scholarship model called Heal it Forward that brings services to people in need at little or no cost to them. To learn more or donate to Heal it Forward, please visit IntegrativeTouch.org  

May and Tim express their excitement about having Brant Hansen on the podcast to discuss his book "Unoffendable." They mention how the book has changed the host's life and how they think about offense on a daily basis. The host recounts a personal experience of feeling offended while stuck in traffic, which eventually led them to question the idea of righteous anger.Looking for something specific? Here you go:00:09:28 Forgiveness is freeing and transformative.00:11:33 Forgiveness is the ultimate weapon against evil.00:15:46 Practice compassion and forgiveness daily.00:23:37 Let go of anger for freedom.00:28:20 Anger clouds judgment and hinders action.00:32:38 Less Christianity, more self-righteousness.00:42:49 Using platforms for good.00:45:00 Importance of community-based healthcare.00:53:37 Masculinity is about protection and cultivation.00:59:43 Protect and empower those around you.01:00:44 Importance of vision for men.01:06:07 Inspiring stories bring people together.Bio: Brant Hansen is a bestselling author, nationally syndicated radio host, and passionate advocate for healing children through CURE International Children's Hospitals. (cure.org)His books include Blessed are the Misfits, The Truth About Us, and his latest, The Men We Need.His first book, Unoffendable, has sparked a wide discussion on the subject of anger and forgiveness, and was recently featured on ABC's Good Morning America.Brant lives in South Florida with Carolyn, his wife of 33 years. He's proud to say he plays the accordion, in spite of popular demand.Reach out to Brant on his website Branthansen.com Our Advice!Everything in this podcast is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute the practice of medicine and we are not providing medical advice. No Physician-patient relationship is formed and anything discussed in this podcast does not represent the views of our employers. The Fine Print!All opinions expressed by the hosts or  guests in this episode are solely their opinion and are not to be used as specific medical advice.  The hosts,  May and Tim Hindmarsh MD, BS Free MD LLC, or any affiliates thereof are not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided in this episode. The guest's statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.Thanks for joining us! You are the reason we are here.  If you have questions, reach out to us at doc@bsfreemd.com or find Tim and I on Facebook and IG.Please check out our every growing website as well at bsfreemd.com (no www) GET SOCIAL WITH US!Website: bsfreemd.comRumble: https://rumble.com/search/video?q=bsfreemdInstagram:: https://www.instagram.com/bsfreemd/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bsfree

Women are generally told that if they have a breast cancer diagnosis, they should steer clear of estrogen. In this episode, I have a conversation with Dr. Swati Kulkarni, the lead investigator of a new study in which women with a newly diagnosed breast ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS, were given a month's worth of hormone therapy before standard treatment to see the impact it would have on developing cancer cells.  What DCIS is and how it is typically diagnosed. If DCIS is considered to be a pre-cancer or a cancer If DCIS is untreated, how often it will progress to invasive cancer  If treated, how often women with DCIS go on to develop invasive cancer?  Why this particular form of hormone therapy, conjugated estrogens and bazodoxifene (Duovee™) was used in the study The details of the study The results of the study  The Promise Study: A presurgical randomized clinical trial of CE/BZA vs placebo in postmenopausal women with ductal carcinoma in situ. Link to Abstract My summary of the study on Substack https://drstreicher.substack.com/p/can-hormone-therapy-shrink-breast Link to Kagan episode on Duovee with Dr. Kagan Episode 124 All Hormones Are Not Created Equal with Dr. James Simon Dr. Streicher is on SUBSTACK      DrStreicher.Substack.com Articles Monthly newsletter All COME AGAIN podcast episodes Monthly News Flash Reports on recent research  Monthly Zoom Ask Me Anything Webinar  Information on Dr. Streicher's COME AGAIN Podcast- Sexuality and Orgasm https://drstreicher.substack.com/p/all-about-come-again Lauren Streicher MD, is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, and a Senior Research Fellow of The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. She is a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society. She is the Medical Director of Community Education and Outreach for Midi Health.   Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago's top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine.    LINKS Subscribe To Dr. Streicher's Substack Information About the COME AGAIN Podcast Dr. Streicher's CV and additional bio information To Find a Menopause Clinician and Other Resources  Glossary Of Medical Terminology BOOKS by Lauren Streicher, MD  Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist's guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy                                       Dr. Streicher's Inside Information podcast is for education and information and is not intended to replace medical advice from your personal healthcare clinician. Dr. Streicher disclaims liability for any medical outcomes that may occur because of applying methods suggested or discussed in this podcast.                                     

Welcome to Real Food Recovery, a podcast created by two lifelong processed food addicts with over 100 years of addiction (and recovery) between them. Paige Alexander and Jamie Morgan Reno use their Real Food Recovery podcast and social media channels to share their struggles, lessons learned, tools, tips, and resources that freed them from decades of food addiction, obsession, and loss.   Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Clinical Associate at McLean Hospital. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he specializes in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), as well as issues that face students with learning disabilities.  He is a nationally recognized expert in eating disorders and body image problems in boys and men.  He is co-author of The Adonis Complex, the first book of its kind detailing male body image issues.  He has appeared in publications such as TIME, GQ, and Rolling Stone, and has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, and VH1. You can find more about Dr. Olivardia here: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/profile/roberto-olivardia In every Real Food Recovery episode, Paige and Jamie take time to answer viewer questions about processed food addiction, obsession, and recovery, be sure to submit yours on their YouTube Channel or Facebook Page. You can also follow Real Food Recovery on Instagram (@realfoodrecovery4u), TikTok (@realfoodrecovery) or at www.realfoodrecovery4u.com.  

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar discusses the neuroscience behind stress—and offers actionable tips for building your resilience.— YOU'LL LEARN — 1) The major myth that leads to burnout 2) The rule of two for building healthier habits 3) How to feel less stressed in one minuteSubscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1065 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT ADITI — Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a Harvard stress expert, internationally recognized speaker, and national television correspondent with an expertise in stress, burnout, resilience and mental health. Her book The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience is a “must read” by Adam Grant and Malcolm Gladwell's Next Big Idea Club and “best new book” by the New York Post. Named “100 Women to Know in America,” her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Morning America, The Today Show and NPR. She is also a frequent keynote speaker with talks at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit and other events.• Book: The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience • Test: Your Stress Score • Website: DrAditi.com— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Tool: Holmes and Rahe stress scale • Study: “Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality” by Emmanuel Stamatakis, et al. • Study: “Effects of Exercise on Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” by Jiale Peng, Yuling Yuan, Yuanhui Zhao, and Hong Ren • Past episode: 996: Tackling Work Stressors and Transitions with Dr. Tessa West — THANK YOU SPONSORS! — • Strawberry.me. Claim your $50 credit and build momentum in your career with Strawberry.me/Awesome• Quince. Get free shipping and 365-day returns on your order with Quince.com/AwesomeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We all want tools to navigate (and minimize!) family drama.  Today, Nedra Glover Tawwab teaches us how we can create drama free families:    How to speak up for yourself when it feels like going against the group;  Why confrontation is often the kindest thing;  When, exactly, we should bring up conflict & when to let it go; The most loving way a parent can respond to a child in pain.  For more with Nedra Glover Tawwab, check out: ⁠Episode 124 How to Say No: Boundaries with Nedra Glover Tawwab⁠. About Nedra:  Nedra Glover Tawwab is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Drama Free and Set Boundaries, Find Peace. A licensed therapist and sought-after relationship expert, she has practiced relationship therapy for more than fifteen years. Tawwab has appeared as an expert on Red Table Talk, The Breakfast Club, Good Morning America, and CBS Morning Show to name a few. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Vice. Tawwab runs a popular Instagram account where she shares practices, tools, and reflections for mental health and relationships. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family. TW: ⁠@NedraTawwab⁠ IG: ⁠@nedratawwab To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Duggars have such a busy day. Good Morning America is there to watch the, and I quote, "barely controlled chaos." Josie has to go visit the doc, and we meet the author of "Before You Meet Prince Charming". It's a good thing these kids don't have...real school to work around. In our dig we explore, Sarah Mally, the author of the aforementioned book. It sold like hotcakes in Christian circles. We look at the book, the author, and a barely-veiled fable with an alligator that seems like the only fun one in the story. Enjoy what you hear? Feel like you have a Servant's Heart? Would you like to help support a snarking couple in Arizona? Get on the Gus Bus and head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/diggingupthedug⁠⁠⁠ . ⁠⁠⁠If you would like to grab a jar and become one of the Pickle People, you get ad-free episodes, and even get them early. We post bonus episodes with Duggar content, personal topics, Mildred Mondays (gotta give the people what they want), recipes and other goodies. Join us on insta ⁠⁠⁠@digginguptheduggarspod⁠⁠⁠We also have a P.O. Box 5973, Glendale AZ, 85312

Ashley Bernardi is an award-winning podcaster and author, media relations expert and trainer, and founder and CEO of Nardi Media LLC, a full service media relations firm that specializes in media placements and training for authors, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, non-profits, and more. Ashley served as a network television news producer for nearly a decade, with credits including CBS News, energyNOW!, a nationally syndicated energy and environmental show on Bloomberg TV, and Washington Post Live. She has a passion for helping authors grow from zero exposure to household names, and has helped multiple authors to launch their books and become on the New York Times Best Sellers, including Mel Robbins, Dr. Susan Pierce Thompson, and Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Her clients have been placed in top-tier publications and media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, TODAY, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, NPR, Fortune, Business Insider, USA TODAY, PEOPLE, TIME, CNBC, Bloomberg, Real Simple, and hundreds more. She is a regularly featured expert in the media, including Forbes, The Washington Times, Good Morning Washington, Great Day Washington, and Good Day DC. She is also the author of the award-winning book, Authentic Power: Give Yourself Permission to Feel.More Info: Ashley BernardiSponsors: Master Your Podcast Course: MasterYourSwagFree Coaching Session: Master Leadership 360 CoachingSupport Our Show: Click HereLily's Story: My Trust ManifestoSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/masterleadership. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan is a four-time Emmy-winning ventriloquist, singer, and producer—and the first Black woman puppeteer on Sesame Street. She began teaching herself ventriloquism at just 10 years old, driven by a dream that would shape her life. Despite earning degrees in economics and finance and building a successful career in real estate, Megan never let go of her passion for performance. After years of performing on stages big and small—including America’s Got Talent, Kelly Clarkson, TODAY, Good Morning America—Megan joined Sesame Street voicing the beloved character Gabrielle. A mother of two, Megan often speaks about the importance of play, visualization, and staying true to the dreams placed in your heart. She credits her use of vision boards and manifesting as key tools in creating the life she imagined—proof that dreams, when nurtured, really can come true. Her album Cinderella Sweep, is out this July, showcasing and empowering young women. Her story is one of talent, grit, and unwavering belief—an inspiring reminder that play has power, and that our childhood dreams are never too far out of reach.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest Bio: Jena Holliday is the author of Sacred Creativity and a full-time artist, author, entrepreneur, and storyteller. She is the creator and owner of Spoonful of Faith, an illustration and design studio. With just a bit of faith, she walked away from her mainstream marketing job to embrace her passion for art. What started as a hobby eventually evolved into a full-time commitment to spread kindness and hope through her artwork and words. That commitment blossomed into a blog and shop, aptly named Spoonful of Faith, and has thus become not only a successful business but a cultural beacon. Jena has been featured on Good Morning America, Ebony, Essence, People, Nylon, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Artful Living, and many more prominent outlets.     Show Summary: What gifts do you think God has blessed you with? Do you see creativity in your gifts? Oftentimes we neglect to notice the diverse ways that God has blessed each of us with creativity. It does not always have to be writing, drawing, painting, or doing a craft. Jena Holliday has found that being creative can grant us a different type of connection with the Lord. Join hosts Elisa Morgan and Eryn Eddy Adkins as they learn about sacred creativity with Jena during this God Hears Her conversation.    Notes and Quotes:   “Why are you asking everyone else where to go, who to be, and what do except the One who created you?” —Jena Holliday  “God didn't make a mistake when He made us who we are. It wasn't by chance; it wasn't a coincidence. It was on purpose. That really helped me to step into the fullness of the voice that the Lord had given me.” —Jena Holliday  “What I have learned is that there is a hunger to see the different ways that the image of God is reflected on the earth. It's cool to be in this position as an artist and illustrator because I have the unique role of creating something in a visual way that doesn't require words. It was always important to me that I showcase different women and different images and illustrations of people because I wanted them to feel seen. I wanted people to know that they were loved, heard, and that their stories matter.” —Jena Holliday  “You should use [your gift] as a way to honor the Gift Giver, the One who has given it to you. We all have a corner of this earth where we get to use our gifts. Whatever God does to multiply it, that's Him—that's not on us. That's not our responsibility.” —Jena Holliday  “If you have something that God has given you and it's still neatly wrapped in a box, I think that's an invitation to open it up, spend a little time with it, and see what He does with it.” —Jena Holliday  “Everyone should take the risk to use the gifts that God has given them.” —Jena Holliday  “The way that Jesus loves us is so deep is that He will come after you. He will come find you again and guide you back to where He would like you to be and you get to keep walking forward together.” —Jena Holliday      Related Episodes:  Ep 141: Rethinking Creativity with Rachel Marie Kang: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/rethinking-creativity/  Ep 163: Mindful Creativity with Anh Lin: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/mindful-creativity/    Links:   Jena's book Sacred Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Creativity-Inspiration-Reclaim-God-Given/dp/0593581474  Jena Holliday's Website: https://www.spoonfuloffaith.com/  Jena's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspoonfuloffaith/  God Hears Her website: https://go.odb.org/ghh191   Watch the episode on the God Hears Her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GodHearsHerODBM  God Hears Her email sign-up: https://go.odb.org/ghh-sign-upsfmc191   Subscribe on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-hears-her-podcast/id1511046507?utm_source=applemusic&utm_medium=godhearsher&utm_campaign=podcast  Shop God Hears Her books and resources: https://go.odb.org/ghh-shop191   Elisa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisamorganauthor/  Eryn's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eryneddy/  Vivian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivmabuni/  Our Daily Bread Ministries website: https://go.odb.org/odbm191

#1 New York Times Best Selling Author Julie Murphy stops by to talk with JVN about the recent attacks on local libraries, investing in independent bookstores, why exposure to Queer voices is paramount for young readers - plus! The two go all in on their new YA book Let Them Stare. Julie Murphy is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for all ages including Dumplin' (now a film on Netflix and one of TIME Magazine's 100 Best YA Books of All Time), Dear Sweet Pea, and If the Shoe Fits. She is also the co-author of the Christmas Notch series with Sierra Simone. Julie has been featured by Good Morning America, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and more. When she's not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure. Julie is also the founder of Bittersweet Books, a story production and intellectual property company. To learn more about Bittersweet, visit bittersweet-books.com. Full Video Episodes now available on YouTube. Julie Murphy is on Instagram @andimjulie Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn Senior Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Take the online quiz and introduce Ollie to your pet. Visit https://ollie.com/BETTER today for 60% off your first box of meals! #ToKnowThemIsToLoveThem Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices