Podcasts about guide dogs

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2026 27:23

In this episode of Taking the Lead, hosts welcome President and CEO Melissa Weisse for an inside look at the exciting work happening at Leader Dogs for the Blind. Melissa shares updates on the organization's strategic plan, including new pilot programs, the historic Alumni Board, and plans for campus renovations designed to enhance accessibility and client experience. The conversation highlights the power of collaboration, innovation, and client-centered growth as Leader Dog continues to evolve for the future.

learning president education dogs blind philanthropy cane service dogs building the future visually impaired guide dogs alumni board leader dogs

Episode 449 – Addiction Recovery, Resilience, and an Unstoppable Life with Eric Fisher

Central Bark: A Guide Dogs for the Blind Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 62:54

The lessons that shape us often come from the places we never planned to go and the challenges we never expected to face. In this conversation, I speak with Eric Fisher about the experiences that shaped his approach to mental wellness, resilience, grief, and personal growth. Eric shares how martial arts taught him balance, self-control, and perseverance, and how those lessons now help him guide people through addiction recovery, relationship challenges, and life's hardest moments. We explore the realities of grief, the power of trust, the difference between inpatient and outpatient counseling, and why healing often begins with self-acceptance. Eric also discusses his books, including The Martial Art of Recovery and Buried Alive, revealing how personal experiences and family stories continue to shape his work. If you've ever faced loss, adversity, addiction, or the challenge of rebuilding after setbacks, I believe you will find both practical insights and encouragement in Eric's story. Highlights: 08:10 - Eric shares lessons learned from his FBI internship experience. 18:43 - A friend's crisis leads Eric and his wife to move to New Zealand. 23:38 - Martial arts becomes a foundation for recovery and mental wellness. 37:05 - Eric reflects on grief, loss, and the importance of support. 43:12 - Self-acceptance plays a critical role in addiction recovery. 50:26 - Couples learn to face problems together instead of against each other. About the Guest: Eric Fisher, a Canadian transplant, is a counselling therapist who resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally from Tennessee, he has over 15 years of experience working outpatient and inpatient treatment settings in the US and Canada. He has two books published at this time: The Martial Art of Recovery: Self-Mastery Practices to Subdue Addiction and Achieve Mental Wellness, and Buried Alive: Four Ways to Free Yourself from the Dirt. Eric is a master practitioner of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and is also trained in EyeMovement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), both of which are evidence-based treatments for trauma. Eric's private practice, Recovery Arts Counselling, serves individuals, couples, and families both locally and remotely. In the past, Eric has supervised masters-level graduate students and counsellors early in their careers. He has won multiple awards for his screenwriting: The Departure - official finalist in biographical/historical genre - 2014 Beverly Hills Screenplay Contest. Only 16 Miles - Finalist - 2014 Horror Screenplay Contest. Universal Escapade (Finalist - Top 25) - WeScreenplay International Screenplay Competition. Hipster Z (co-written) - best feature screenplay - 2017 Action On Film International Film Festival. Hipster Z - Best horror/comedy Screenplay - 2017 International Horror Hotel Film Fest. Additionally, Eric has a black belt in two martial arts styles: American Kenpo and Wadō-ryū. One interesting thing about Eric is that he had the opportunity to be an intern with the FBI -- twice. Eric enjoys hiking and riding his bike outdoors, music concerts, tasting new food dishes to keep his taste buds guessing, travelling near and far, and meeting people. . Ways to connect with Eric: Website: https://www.recoveryartscounselling.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ericfisherauthor Instagram - @recoveryartscounselling - https://www.instagram.com/recoveryartscounselling/ @ericfisherwriter - https://www.instagram.com/ericfisherwriter Linkedin - Eric Fisher - www.linkedin.com/in/eric-m-fisher-5b83724a Facebook - Recovery Arts Counselling - https://www.facebook.com/RecoveryArtsCounselling About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:03 One of the biggest things holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe. Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Well, hello there, everyone. I am your host Michael Hinkson, and you have found the Unstoppable Mindset Podcast. Today, we get to chat with Eric Fisher, who is a rather interesting person. I believe he's a counseling therapist, he's a transplant, he now lives in Calgary, but he used to live in Tennessee, very similar. I'm sure we'll have to find out more about that, but I'm really glad that that you're here with us. Eric, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. Eric Fisher 01:29 Yes, thank you for having me on, Michael. I appreciate it. Glad to be here. Michael Hingson 01:32 Well, I'm going to have to ask, how did you get from Tennessee to Calgary, besides by Claire? But you know, but Speaker 1 01:41 it's a bit to make a long story short. The wife, you know, yeah, she's from Calgary originally, so I surrendered up here. Michael Hingson 01:52 Yeah, well, is there a backstory that you want to tell? Speaker 1 01:57 You know, the quick version would be from Mississippi to New Zealand to Calgary, and that was over a span of, you know, two and a half years, and then finally to Calgary. After those other two places, was she Michael Hingson 02:10 with you during all of those? Mississippi, New Zealand, and then Calgary. Speaker 1 02:14 She was for the long haul. Yeah, yeah, she's experienced humidity and the dryness, all the extremes. Michael Hingson 02:24 When we moved to New Jersey in 1996 my wife didn't really want to go. She was a California native, but it was where the job had to take me, and it was either that or go find a new job, and I really didn't want to undertake a job search, because that's pretty traumatic. So, especially if you happen to be blind, because people think blind people really can't do stuff, and that's why the unemployment rate among employable blind people is in the 70% range. So the bottom line is that we moved to New Jersey, we were there for six years, and then of course the World Trade Center happened, which is kind of a dramatic way to allow us to get back to California, but it worked, so here we are. Speaker 1 03:05 Yeah, that is a lot of different places, and it's unfortunate with that percentage, right? Michael Hingson 03:10 Yeah, well, and she passed. She was in a wheelchair her whole life, and she passed in November of 2022 We were married 40 years, and I'm sure she's monitoring me from somewhere, so I work on continuing to be a good kid, because if I'm not, I'm going to hear about it somehow, Speaker 1 03:27 one way or another. There's, there's still some surveillance happening. There Michael Hingson 03:31 is, I am absolutely sure of it. Well, tell us kind of about the early era growing up, and all that. Speaker 1 03:37 Grew up in Arkansas, yeah, Newport, Arkansas, you know, grew up behind a Walmart in a small subdivision, and moved to Tennessee at an early age. I was around five years old, going over, going on six at the time, I believe, and so I understand what it means to kind of get uprooted from somewhere and place somewhere else, and my dad was in the medical profession, so that's the reason that we moved, and so that's a little bit about that. My mom's family is from Kansas City, so I really did enjoy going up to the city there and being with my mom's family during holiday seasons. That was really my only exposure to, like, a city, like an urban population, more than what I experienced anywhere else. So, and yeah, got one brother, played with him a lot, and a lot of it was being creative outside, getting outside and doing stuff, and having fun outside, you know, little bit different from a lot of kids today, perhaps. Michael Hingson 04:44 Yeah, well, it's also a lot scarier, I think, today, even though there's a lot of value in being outside. There are just so many crazy things going on. It's got to be scarier for kids, and certainly even more scary for parents, and they tend. To want to really monitor their, their children a lot more, and that's got us pluses, minuses, but it still has got to be really scary to let them just go outside. Speaker 1 05:09 Yeah, just, you know, looking at what's on the news and the possibilities of what could happen. Michael Hingson 05:16 Yeah, so where did you, or did you go to college? I assume you went to college. Speaker 1 05:22 I did. Yeah, I went to a small private Christian university in Tennessee called Freed Hardiman, and you know it was interesting because there's this whole thing about townies versus us being called freedies because of Freed Hardman. The course, the joke is, you know, free hardly because of the expense of going to the institution. Yeah. Michael Hingson 05:48 Well, with your experience and your observation in life, what do you think about going to a small college as opposed to a larger college? Speaker 1 05:55 I really enjoyed it, being from a rural area. I mean, it was a good transition for me, and just getting to know people I feel like might have been easier in a more rural setting, as opposed to urban. Michael Hingson 06:10 I went to University of California, Irvine, way back, starting in 1968 and when we started at UCI, there were like 25 2600 students, and I think when I graduated with my bachelor's, it was like a little over 3000 students, but I loved the fact that it was a smaller college. I think it was for me a lot better, and I, I really like the smaller college environment, and I understand why colleges have advantages when they're bigger, but by the same token, for students, if you want to really stand out, it's kind of harder to do with a big college. Well, and now University of California, Irvine, where I went to school, has 32,000 undergrads in it, Speaker 1 06:52 32,000 as opposed to the around, that's a huge jump from like 25 2600 yeah, Michael Hingson 07:00 yeah, and so it's, it's a huge place. I was there last a year and a half ago. I was invited to join. I couldn't do it as an as a student because the chapter was formed just as I was leaving, but Phi Beta Kappa, and they heard about me along the way, and I was invited to join as an alumni member back in 2024 So that's the last time I've been to UC Irvine. What a huge place! Speaker 1 07:29 Wow, yeah. Of course, UC Michael Hingson 07:30 Irvine, UCI really stands for Under Construction Indefinitely, so you know Speaker 1 07:38 they make that, they made that kind of humorous remark up here, with like winter and construction, that's the two seasons of Calgary. Yes, I totally get that. Michael Hingson 07:47 My brother-in-law lives in Sun Valley, Idaho, in Ketchum, and has been a skier for most of his life, and in the summer he's a master cabinet maker. Now he's a general contractor, but he's thinking about retiring, but in the winter everything goes by the wayside for skiing, Speaker 1 08:10 everyone's out on the slopes, you know. Well, and what he did Michael Hingson 08:12 to even make it more fun is he got his professional ski guide status in Europe and became a professional ski guide, taking people to do off-piece skiing in the French Alps, which is, Speaker 1 08:25 that's really nice, awesome. Michael Hingson 08:28 I love to, I love to say that I'm not gonna go skiing, because I know those trees are out to try to get me. Speaker 1 08:35 They start to grow their branches, you know? They just spring Michael Hingson 08:38 out at you when you're not looking. Speaker 1 08:40 Yes, I just.. Michael Hingson 08:42 I've never skied. I don't have anything against it. It's just not one of those things that I've done, but he enjoys it, and I'm sure it's a lot of fun to do. Speaker 1 08:51 Yeah, I can appreciate people that do. Michael Hingson 08:53 Yeah. Well, what did you do after college? Well, you got your undergrad, then you went on. Speaker 1 08:58 Yeah, so after my undergrad, I stayed at the university, and you know, I had a bachelor's in psych, and I was like, well, what do I do with this degree? And so I decided to move forward, since I didn't see too much availability, and did a master's in clinical mental health counseling, and during that time of my master's, I was able to intern with the FBI, which was a great opportunity. Michael Hingson 09:25 What caused you to do that? Speaker 1 09:28 I found, I mean, part of it was just a lot of curiosity, and of course, watching a lot of media and the work that they do. Yet I also found the possibility of implementing the psychology from a law enforcement angle on a federal level with this, so I did interning in my bachelor's FBI, that was really nice at a local office, and then later on in my master's at the FBI headquarters in DC, and just really interested in just the field and this the different. Psychological opportunities, Michael Hingson 10:02 you didn't stick with it, though. Or Speaker 1 10:05 I did the internships, I did the agent exam, and failed. Oh boy, just kind of had my time with it, and then moved on. It was a great experience. Michael Hingson 10:16 What you learned from it, the Speaker 1 10:19 importance of teamwork, the importance of community, the importance of intention to detail, and I can't say how I came to those, because then I have to bring up certain things that I can't talk about, but yeah, just the importance of being able to work with other people from other walks of life, and just seeing everyone's different perspectives is something that I learned, coming from, you know, small town, quite homogeneous, small university, and then being able to meet people from different parts of the country, even different territories, like Wall, it was, it was amazing to branch out and just have that life experience, Michael Hingson 11:06 get a lot of different experiences, and you saw how people in other parts of the world live, which obviously has to be an interesting perspective. Speaker 1 11:18 Yes, yes, it was really interesting, and just seeing how they think and their outlook on the world, and I had to take a polygraph examination for both internships, so the importance of honesty, and not that I didn't think honesty was important before, but definitely when you're under the microscope of being asked yes or no questions, it's an interesting experience. Michael Hingson 11:40 Yeah, well, I guess you must have passed the lie detector test. They didn't throw you away or put you in jail. Speaker 1 11:48 That's right. Neither of those happened. I did have one question asked of me that was a little bit ambiguous. It was coming up that I deceived. It's something that happened earlier in the day, and then they asked me about it, and then I said something that was not the truth, and then I explained the reasoning as to why. And then the agent was like, okay, thanks for letting me know, it's all good. It's like, okay, that's good. Michael Hingson 12:21 Yeah, they have to be pretty skilled interrogators to really be able to do that, and, and ask questions, and I, and I know no matter what's going on with the lie detector technology, they're observing you as well, so they're looking for things, and I suppose it's possible to fool the lie detector technology, but I know that it continues to get better too. Speaker 1 12:45 Yeah, and wondering if that's because, like, people are sociopaths, or they don't have any - they actually believe what they're saying. Yeah, yeah, Michael Hingson 12:54 I've never taken lie detector tests, but I know that for me, I'm not a good fibber, so I've got to tell the truth, and like I said, my wife's watching anyway, so I gotta always be a good kid. Speaker 1 13:06 If you were taking a lie detector test knuckle and you said something, you might get an invisible slap, like, oh, Michael Hingson 13:12 exactly, Speaker 2 13:13 okay, I get it, or Michael Hingson 13:16 a poke or something. Yeah, yeah, no. So, better, better to just be honest about it, but yeah, I understand what you're saying, but it is, it is fascinating. I'd love to experience taking a test sometime, but because I only understand all about it intellectually, having never seen it on television or anything like that, but by the same token, I'm glad that the technology exists, and I'm glad that the people do what they do, and I, I too very much believe in law enforcement. I believe in the value of the FBI and police, and so on. I took a couple of police-oriented courses when I was at UC Irvine. We had an engineering professor who was a reserve deputy sheriff, so we, we got to do ride-alongs, and even went down and visited the Orange County Jail once, and you know, because he, he said it all, so it's kind of fun to be able to do it, and I learned a lot and value that. Speaker 1 14:19 That's awesome. I'm glad you had that experience. Michael Hingson 14:21 Yeah, I think it's kind of cool to be able to have had that. So, you got a master's degree? Did you get a PhD? Speaker 1 14:29 No, you know, I was encouraged to do so, to pilot higher and deeper, as the PhD acronym goes. Yeah, and I just, I decided to not go that route. Michael Hingson 14:40 So, what did you do after you got your master's? Speaker 1 14:43 After the master's, I started to do well. I was doing my practicum during the master's, yet after the master's, I started to work primarily where I did my practicum in Mississippi and started actually doing counseling work. So I was doing what's called a mobile therapist. For this organization, where I would go to people's houses and speak with people, do counseling work, which was pretty cool. I got to be out in the community, meet a lot of folks, made confidentiality sometimes a little bit of a challenge, small town. And then two days a week I was in the office, doing whoever came in through the clinic, so I was in the, I was in the work, I was in the grind, just doing what I had been trained to do. Definitely learning on the job, though, for sure. Michael Hingson 15:27 Where in Mississippi, Speaker 1 15:29 Corinth, Mississippi, which is like right at the state line. Yeah, they actually have a road called State Line Road, where houses on one side, North or Tennessee houses on the other side have Mississippi license plates. Michael Hingson 15:45 That's pretty funny. In New Jersey, when we lived there, there were a number of streets in towns that had a very interesting environment, and that is that every town had its own tax base. There wasn't a statewide thing for property taxes and everything else, or for a lot of taxes, so every town had its own, and you could be on a street where someone may pay 1213, $14,000 a year in taxes, and if you lived on the other side of the street, you were in a different town, and your taxes were like 4800 $5,000 Speaker 1 16:24 Whoa, no, Michael Hingson 16:26 it's crazy. Speaker 1 16:27 That is a sheer difference. Michael Hingson 16:30 It is a huge difference, and the other thing that that we experienced is that a lot of the the work is done by lawyers when you're closing a house, for example. Back there, they didn't really have escrow, was all done through attorneys, and so on. And some of those people were involved in the tax stuff as well. It's kind of a very fascinating and interesting place to be, certainly different than what we experienced in California. Speaker 1 16:57 Yes, that sounds like a very, very different type of experience, for sure. Wow, wow. Okay, Michael Hingson 17:04 but you know things happen. Well, so you, you started doing counseling and therapy, and as you said, and I can appreciate how it must have been difficult sometimes from a confidentiality standpoint, because it is a small town and people overhear or talk about, and that's not always a good thing. Speaker 1 17:24 Yeah, you know, things like that come up. You know, you hear the whispers, and one time I was actually trying to find a place in a lower-income part of town, and I was doing circles in the neighborhood, and a police cruiser started to follow me, and so I stopped my car, got out with my credentials, towed the towed the police officer who I worked for, and then he was just kind of like, oh, okay, carry on. So, did Michael Hingson 17:46 you ask him for directions? Speaker 1 17:49 You know what, I did not know, like that would have made sense. I'm trying to look at find this house, never. Oh, over there, sir? Okay, but no, I did not. Michael Hingson 18:05 So, how long were you in Mississippi? Then Speaker 1 18:09 I was in Mississippi from around 2009 to 2013 I want to say, we left. We left for New Zealand for the whole year 2013 so no, 2012 sorry, the end of 2012 so about three and a half, three or so years. Okay, yeah. How did you Michael Hingson 18:33 meet your wife in all this Speaker 1 18:34 online? Yeah, back when it was clandestine, like you met somebody online, are they an ax murderer? Can you trust them? Do you need to get references, which she did. Yeah, yeah. And we checked you out, huh? She checked me out for sure. She even called people that I gave references for. And then we courted for two and a half years. And then after that, tied the knot in Tennessee, moved to Mississippi. Well, she moved to Mississippi, where I was already living, and yeah, we were there until we went to New Zealand about 10 months later. Michael Hingson 19:06 So she was living in Tennessee at the time, Speaker 1 19:09 she was up here in Calgary, or she was in Calgary. Michael Hingson 19:12 Okay, Speaker 1 19:12 we, we got married in Tennessee, Michael Hingson 19:14 okay. Well, that's that's cool though. What, what prompted the trip and moving to New Zealand for a year, I've been there, and I actually spent three weeks there, and very much enjoy it. Speaker 1 19:28 Whereabouts? Well, I wanted to ask, all over New Michael Hingson 19:30 Zealand, I mean, I was there with the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. They asked me to come and speak in 2003 talk about September 11, and so on, and they were trying to raise funds, so we helped them raise something like over $375,000 in a three week period, and literally I had 21 speaking events in 13 days all over both islands. Speaker 1 19:55 Wow, that's that's a, that's a lot of speaking events, and a certain amount of days. Days you've been, you probably been close more than I've been, more places than I've been. So, what, what prompted the move was a friend of mine I had made previously being there. He reached out to me through just electronic media. He was having a spiritual emergency, and he asked me, he asked me to come to come help him, and so I just said, "Sure, let's do it. My wife and I left the rental unit, the rental house where we were staying, and left furniture behind, two cars behind, appliances, and we just, just left him, or there for 13 months, didn't look, didn't look back. Michael Hingson 20:45 Did you spend any time in Dunedin while you were there? Speaker 1 20:49 We didn't spend any time in Dunedin. We weren't only there for like a week when we did some vacation time. Michael Hingson 20:57 Yeah, I, they gave me literally a half, three quarters of a day off from speaking. In fact, they said you can play in Dunedin, and so we were there, and it was one, I guess, was a one full day. They had some unique toys to play with in New Zealand. They had a thing called a bungee rocket. Have you ever heard of that? Speaker 1 21:22 A bungee rocket. No. So, Michael Hingson 21:24 you know what bungee cords are, and you stretch them out and all that. Well, the bungee rocket, you attach bungee cords to this platform, this cage, but the bungee cords are attached to a device way up high, and then they're also attached to this plat, this cage, then they pull the cage down, and they fasten it, so the bungee cords are very stretched, and then people get in, and they sit down, and they fasten seat belts, and then when everybody's all secure, they loose the platform, and the bungee cords pull this thing up like a rocket. Speaker 1 22:01 Whoa, yeah. I wasn't about to do that. I was with someone who Michael Hingson 22:05 did, and he came off apparently as white as a sheet. He said, "I'm never gonna do that. Speaker 1 22:10 It was a one and done experience for him. It was Michael Hingson 22:16 for me. It was, "I'm not gonna do that, brother. And I had my guide dog, and somebody would have held the dog, but I wouldn't do that. I have other memories, which are more fun, I think, and probably for me more pleasurable. Speaker 1 22:31 Yeah, one of the things we did down on the South Island was some knife making, and it was really.. it was something I surprised my family with. They didn't know we were doing that day, and this guy was hilarious. I mean, something straight out of a documentary about New Zealand, as far as, like, locals, you would see he had a witty sense of humor, and he would, he would like, finish off the knives for us after we did the preliminary steps, just to make them look nice. Yeah, that was one of my favorite memories down there. Michael Hingson 23:00 Wow, yeah, I've, I've got a lot of memories, even though it was back in 2003 so 22 years, 22 and a half years, but I love the memories, and love being down there was a wonderful place, Speaker 1 23:13 awesome, so that was pretty cool. Well, so you, you came back, and, and you eventually ended up in, in Calgary, which is, which is great. So, what do you do now? Got a few hands in a few honey jars. I have a private practice for the counseling. I work for a retreat center company out of a place called Brad Creek, called Vita Wellness. I work for a nonprofit up in a place called Erdrie as a consultant. I work for a clinic remotely that's in the city as an associate. Am I forgetting anything? I think that's the main ones right now. Also, work doing like couples therapy for a relationship-based app. Yeah, so that's a lot of people that are in the States, there. So, it's yeah, few things to keep me busy. Speaker 3 24:13 If you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the unstoppable mindset community, Michael Hingson 24:47 they do well. You also write Speaker 1 24:50 that as well. Yeah, Michael Hingson 24:52 you've written a couple of books, and I guess you've also done some screenwriting and all that, and love to hear more about all that. Tell. You bought your books. Speaker 1 25:01 Yeah, the first book that I published, self-published, and that was two years ago now. That was called, that is called The Martial Art of Recovery: Self Mastery Practices to Subdue Addiction and Achieve Mental Wellness. Say three times real fast. So, yeah, that book is all about the intersection of martial arts concepts with addiction and mental health treatment, so that has personal experiences, and my times in the martial arts, and also I just bring in like holistic health techniques, and also I get some interviews, some of them are a little bit shorter than others, but at least some some chunks from people that I know in different disciplines, different fields, like an old martial arts teacher, a medicine family medicine doctor here in the Calgary area, people like that. So that was that was about a 14 month writing experience before it was published. Michael Hingson 25:57 When was it published? Speaker 1 26:00 Back in March of 2023 Michael Hingson 26:05 Okay, not your first book. Speaker 1 26:07 Not that's my first book. Yes, Michael Hingson 26:09 yeah, Speaker 2 26:10 yeah. Michael Hingson 26:12 What do you, what do you think of being an author and the whole experience of writing? Speaker 1 26:19 There was not. there was a lack of faith, for sure. I had a really difficult time, even acknowledging, "Hey, this is something I could do. Had a lot of self-doubt, and so even the process I found pretty daunting, pretty, like pretty challenging, for sure. And I do enjoy the process. It's like a double helix, though. I, I enjoy it, yet it kind of puts the screws to me, as far as enjoyment, but also challenge, yet I do enjoy the experience and being able to get my voice out there, yet I listen to someone else talk about publishing, and the person said, you know what, when you publish it, now it's that person's turn to take it on and they can make it their own, Michael Hingson 27:04 yeah. Speaker 1 27:04 So I found that to be a really cool way to look at it. So yeah, and I enjoy it. It's been, it's been good, it's been fun. Michael Hingson 27:13 And then you wrote a second book, Speaker 1 27:15 I did. Yeah, that one's called Buried Alive: Four Ways to Free Yourself from the Dirt. It's a lot more personal, I think, because it is about a true story that happened to my dad, and something that was quite harrowing for him, which, yes, as the book title suggests, is what happened, and part of the book is about the interviews I did with the three men involved with this very scary incident back in February of 2000 so 25 years now, and talks about their different perspectives on what happened that day when they were digging for Native American artifacts, arrowheads, and I bring in some self-help concepts that apply to what happened that day, and also just for anyone that's looking to bring those into their own lives, Michael Hingson 28:03 what happened? Speaker 1 28:05 Yeah, so they were digging at what's called an overhang, which is like a cliff face that shuts out small little, I don't know if you would even call it a cave, but there was a place underneath the overhang that kind of came in anyway, when Native Americans would come to an area, they wouldn't ever bring dirt out, they would always bring dirt in, and so there was so much dirt that was piled up over the years that my dad and the people that were digging with him, I was there six months to the day before this incident happened, we would, we would have to dig, they would dig to get to their arrowheads that were quite far down underneath the dirt, Michael Hingson 28:46 yeah, Speaker 1 28:47 yeah, yeah, and so this unfortunate day, my dad was in a hole, probably I don't know, eight or nine feet, and a little dirt fell on him, and you know, he kind of joked with his friend Jason, who was further up this hall, and a few seconds later all that dirt just came in, just, just quickly, automatically. He was vanished without a trace, and then a big rock came down on that dirt. If it wasn't for that third person that decided to come that very morning, they did not come before. His name's Jerry. Then I'm sure that my dad would have died, Michael Hingson 29:25 because Speaker 1 29:25 there was no way that Jason, who also was stuck up to like his knee in dirt, could have got out in time to get the rock and then to unearth my dad. So, Michael Hingson 29:39 yeah, a fascinating book. Now, you, you self-published that one as well. Speaker 1 29:43 I did, didn't wait around, just went ahead, and yeah. Michael Hingson 29:49 Do you have other books in you? Speaker 1 29:51 I have one done. I needed to get it edited, and editorial reviews, and get my book cover designer over in Italy to do her magic. She did on the last two books, so yeah, I do have one in the, in the oven. Michael Hingson 30:05 Can you tell us a little about what it will be about, or what it's called, or anything? Speaker 1 30:08 Sure, the book right now is called I'm Listening, and it's all about my experiences, my pitfalls, my learnings as a therapist, and so it's a bit of a memoir of my professional work in the field, and some, some personal experiences. Michael Hingson 30:25 I think one of the most powerful things about books, especially when you're, when you're dealing with more nonfiction, because fiction books usually have stories with them, but a lot of nonfiction books don't really provide enough, I think, of a personal inroad to the individual who wrote the book. One of my big beliefs, one of my pet peeves, is I think textbooks are so boring, like physics. My master's degree is in physics, and I maintain that the big problem is that none of the physics professors who are writing all these books ever put anything in about their own personal experiences to really get people excited because of of their their stories and what they can teach through their stories. It's just all math and equations and and words, just about the physics, but never the other part. I think that textbooks would be better if they put some stories in them, Speaker 1 31:22 I think. So, too, I think people's eyes wouldn't come out of their sockets, and they wouldn't, you know, be comatose. You know, they can actually keep up, and they can be engaged and involved with the material. Yeah, Michael Hingson 31:35 I had a colleague when we were at UC Irvine. We were in the same physics class together, and he had this one book, and he noticed that there didn't seem to really be any typos or whatever in it, and he meticulously, through the whole quarter, went through that whole book, and I think he finally found one misspelled word, and he was so proud of both that there were there were no others other than the one, but that he found one misspelled word we do with our lives. Speaker 1 32:07 What people do sometimes for kicks. Well, I'm glad. I wonder where that word was. Like, did he go through the whole book, and it's like on the last page, or you know, where is that at? It was Michael Hingson 32:22 near the end, but it wasn't on the last page, but it was.. it was.. it took him a long time to find it. Speaker 1 32:29 I wanted to do that with my first book. I could have easily done a book about the intersection of martial arts themes with, you know, mental wellness, but I mean, why not? I mean, I had that experience for over four years in the martial arts. Why not do that? Michael Hingson 32:48 So, tell me about that. You've mentioned martial arts several times, so obviously you've had some involvement with martial arts. Speaker 1 32:54 I have. Yeah, so when I was a preteen, I got a black belt in what's called a Water Rule Karate, so it's like W A D O R Y U, and when I was a teenager, like 16 to 18, I was doing what's called American Campo, and that did have a little bit of Jiu Jitsu thrown into the mix, Michael Hingson 33:16 so what prompted the interest in doing that Speaker 1 33:20 first was my dad, you know, part of my family was interested, so the guy, why not? And I don't know at that time whether I was experiencing bullying. Unfortunately, I experienced bullying like going to church before church started, which was unfortunate, say. So I mean, I think it was just a really good experience for me, looking back for balance and discipline in that way, and getting to meet people in the community. I can't, I can't initially remember what prompted that. My dad was interested, my brother was too, so was I. And then when I was 16, I was like, let's pick it up, let's do something different, let's try something new, and so we were able to go to this really small outfit, which was called the Snake Pit at the time, very different from the more like larger dojo in the community from my early years. Michael Hingson 34:14 What has being involved with the martial arts done to help you or to you or for you in dealing with mental wellness and the whole issue of what you do today. How is martial arts affecting all of that? Speaker 1 34:35 Yeah, it's a really good question. Martial arts showed me the importance of balance when we're doing sparring, when we're doing more, so when we're doing training on techniques, I can't be too far away when I'm sparring someone, because then it's not natural, it's not organic, nor, but I can be so close that I might hit them, so there needs to be some type of balance and self control, and that's. Something else, as well as being out of some self control. Yeah, Michael Hingson 35:05 well, martial arts is, I understand, it seems to me, as much about your mental being as learning physical techniques, because there is a whole lot that really comes down to how you approach it mentally. Am I correct? Speaker 1 35:24 Yeah, there's a big piece when it comes to stamina. When I was doing sparring, I actually had to find a place between being so passive, but also not being super aggressive. Like, how do I get that mental, emotional stamina to do this powering, you know, in a way that was quite balanced. Yes, but there is a lot when it comes to being in touch with my body, being in touch with where my mind is, with focus, with being not beating myself up, not really being perfect, or trying to achieve perfection. Yet, there's a certain vulnerability that comes with that in the mind, and also when it comes to the body, Michael Hingson 36:06 how so Speaker 1 36:10 well, there's vulnerability just simply with doing different techniques, because if you don't, if you don't like being touched, then it's going to be really difficult, because there's often a lot of touch happening, and and when it comes to the mind, it's there's vulnerability with putting myself out there and being seen by others, because we're often watching one another with training, and so there is this piece around vulnerability around, hey, you know what, whatever they think, okay, they can think I'm still working on this technique, Michael Hingson 36:40 mm and it, and it does, as you grow mentally with, with martial arts, I'm sure that it also helps in terms of your resilience. Speaker 1 36:55 Resilience plays a key factor, indeed, because you know, when it comes to even with sparring, you know, getting hit, I can't just kind of, oh, I got hit and I want to go back and I want to go in the corner. Well, no, I've got to keep going. Yeah, gotta keep moving, gotta keep walking and deflecting, and you know, going with the punches. And I, there was one experience with a young man, at least two years younger than me, he was a silver glove boxer, like a champion silver glove, and there had to be some resilience for me there, because I was getting clobbered, I was getting, I was getting hit over and over, because he was using a boxing type of, you know, boxing moves I wasn't used to defending against, and he was quick, and there comes a certain level of humility when it comes to being in the martial arts as well, because there's going to be experiences like that. Michael Hingson 37:49 Well, did you eventually get to the point where you could defend yourself against him? Speaker 1 37:55 He wasn't there for too long. Yeah, the more yet, the more that I was able to work with him, the more I was able to, you know, understand a little bit more where he was coming from with the moves, Michael Hingson 38:05 right. Well, in your life and all the things that you've done, have you experienced grief in any way? And kind of, what was that? Speaker 1 38:14 Yeah, there was a moment, there wasn't an issue when it came to a disenfranchised loss. My wife had a silent miscarriage, and so that was pretty brutal. How that turned out for her, and vicariously for me, and seeing her go through that really difficult, emotionally painful situation was hard. And so I mean, I've sure I've lost all but one grandparent at this point, and I did lose some child, like one childhood friend, when I was 16 to a car accident that was pretty brutal. Yet this loss was, yeah, was really difficult, because it's something that a lot of people don't understand, they don't want to talk about, they don't know what to say, or it's really difficult just to listen, and that was hard. Michael Hingson 39:09 Yeah, but at the same time, as you well know, from all that you've experienced, God doesn't give us things that we can't handle, and we have to learn to move forward Speaker 1 39:22 with resilience, with God's help. Michael Hingson 39:24 Yeah, Speaker 1 39:24 yeah, with prayer, perseverance. Yeah, Michael Hingson 39:27 I lost my father, actually, on November 1 of 1984 and my mother in May of 1987 and then my brother actually developed breast cancer in 2011 and they, they dealt with it, and he went into remission, but it came back, and he didn't take care of himself very well, as I understand it, because he lived in Florida, and we were in California, but anyway, it came back, and it metastasized, and so we lost him in 2015 so at the same time. Yeah, there were relatives on my wife's side that we lost a couple very unexpectedly, and yeah, you do learn to deal with grief, but you learn that you got to go forward, and so when Karen passed in 2022 at least it wasn't totally all of a sudden, so I had some time to prepare, but you know, I still miss her, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Speaker 1 40:23 Yeah, for sure. I, and I mean, losing your parents around two and a half or so years apart, and with your brother, and then with your wife, that's a lot. That's a lot. Yet I hear that even though there was some preparation time for you, it can still be, it can still be difficult, it can still hit the nail, you know. I was doing some grief work, a grief course, and they showed us this poem called Whose Whose Grief Is Worse, basically. And there were these two experiences of someone that lost someone suddenly and someone that knew, and at the end of the poem. Basically, it's both are painful. There is no worse grief. Michael Hingson 41:05 There's no, there's no wrong or right answer to all of that. It's, it's different, but we all can learn to deal with it. I know when the events of September 11 happened, for me, ironically, the greatest blessing I had was that the media got my story and we started getting a lot of requests for interviews and my wife and I decided we would accept them and I got asked so many questions by so many different reporters, some dumb questions were absolutely stupid, idiotic questions, but some that were very insightful, and so I probably was able to move on from that day much more because of all of the questions and getting used to dealing with those questions than anything else that could have come along. It Speaker 1 41:58 was a choice, and you probably appreciated those reporters that took the time to ask those carefully planned questions. Michael Hingson 42:06 I've had some people, no matter how many times the story gets repeated, who still say, "What were you doing in the World Trade Center, anyway? And I'm sitting there going, "Have you read Thunderdog? Have you read any of the stories in the press? What do you mean, what was I doing in the World Trade Center? Speaker 1 42:23 It's not like, you know, it's out there, you know, it's been published, you can read it. Yeah, Michael Hingson 42:30 I wasn't a spy for the terrorists, I can tell you that. Speaker 1 42:36 I wouldn't, I wouldn't have thought that for a second, Michael Hingson 42:41 but but, but you know, things happen, and you never know where you're going to be, you never know what might come up, and it's just one of those things that we, we all really need to deal with in one way or another, and that's just what's so important. Speaker 1 42:56 Absolutely, you know, one of the quotes I heard from my training was, and I take it with me, and I, I definitely relate to it personally. Is joy shared is joy doubled, and grief shared is grief halved, and the stuff we're doing, even today, and even those listening that might have been through grief, is as long as we're able to talk about it, and just talk about something that does not make any sense whatsoever to us, that's part of the healing process. Michael Hingson 43:23 Yeah, it's important to talk about it. It's important to share, and I understand you want to be careful. You don't want to just talk necessarily about it with anyone, but you do need to find people that you can share with and that you can talk to about Speaker 1 43:39 it. Totally, yeah, the grocery store clerk, you know, that I'm getting my bread and butter from, maybe they're not ready for that, that particular topic, Michael Hingson 43:48 yeah, Speaker 1 43:48 yeah, Michael Hingson 43:50 and and the thing that we all need to do is to really, I think, do a lot more to listen to our inner voice, it'll tell us what we need to do if we listen, Speaker 1 43:58 yes, I believe that for sure, I've seen, I've seen that. Yeah, Michael Hingson 44:03 so you've dealt with all the, this, the psychological work that you do. You dealt with addiction, and so on. How does martial arts play into that? What have you learned from martial arts that helps you in dealing with recovery from addiction? Speaker 1 44:16 Oh, well, where to start. I think that one piece to really focus on is this concept of self love, and I don't mean self love like I'm better than other people out there, but just being okay with where I'm at for myself, but still pushing myself to learn new things, so some acceptance about where I'm at when it comes to martial arts, that has to be there. I might not be doing the technique perfectly, and I, there was times where I could really easily beat myself up mentally, like, "Oh, why can't I get this? Yet it's just trying to take a step back and see that I'm worthy enough to make the. Approach to make these changes when it comes to addiction. I'm worthy enough to seek out help. These feelings I have that they're okay to feel, and I don't have to beat myself up for this. Michael Hingson 45:11 Yeah, because addiction is is a disease, and I think anyone who condemns somebody just because, for example, they use drugs, and, well, they shouldn't do that. They're dumb for doing it. They really miss assess what's going on. Speaker 1 45:28 People that have that mindset that it's more of a mere choice, they don't understand that if you put, you know, a shot of alcohol in front of someone and you tell them not to drink it, and you put a gun on them, they're going to be wondering, maybe he'll slip his hand off the trigger, you know, that kind of thinking, that's that's the disease aspect. And I recommend anybody that wants to know more about addiction being a disease, check out Kevin McCauley's documentary, Pleasure Unwoven. It's a really good documentary that shows the different aspects of the disease. Yeah, Michael Hingson 46:08 I have never taken drugs in that way, and don't want to, but again, that's my choice, and I've learned enough from other people that I know that if, if I'm having a problem, taking drugs isn't going to help me solve the problem, and it isn't going to even really help me hide from it, but I guess that's just my makeup that I know that I have to face whatever comes along head on. Speaker 1 46:33 Yes, the resilience piece, Michael Hingson 46:36 the resilience piece, and I've wanted to do that. Speaker 1 46:39 Awesome, I can see with everything you've been through, Michael, you've definitely lent in, you've leaned in, you've pushed forward. Michael Hingson 46:47 Well, I think that part of the issue is as a, as a blind person who's faced a lot of challenges and seen things, what I choose to do whenever anything happens to me is I want to learn from it, so I don't want to ignore it, even if it's something that's totally not related to me in any way. I want to learn from it, if I'm involved, because I think that's the only way I'm going to be able to make sure that I deal with anything like that, any kind of surprise. The next time I talk about a lot when I am talking to people about blindness, about surprises, and I talk about the fact that I could be crossing a street, I could get to the corner and listen to the traffic, and when I hear the traffic going the way I want to go, then I'll cross the street. So I start crossing a street, and all of a sudden I hear a car from behind me, and it's not going the way I want to go, suddenly it's, it's turning, or there's somebody that is is across the street from me, not the way I'm going, and I start to cross the street when it's supposed to be my turn, and they decide they're going to go, and so I am, I've learned to constantly be alert, but at the same time, what I have to do is figure out very quickly, do I want to go forward or do I want to go backwards to have the best chance of getting away from this, Speaker 1 48:11 which way do I move in my direction with my spatial awareness with your spatial awareness, and that, and that brings me to another, I think, actually, another piece with martial arts and how it intersects is treating the addiction like an opponent that may be sauntering around that corner at any moment in time, and being able to see that I need to be on the alert, I need to know more than one direction, as you mentioned a moment ago, more than one direction that I could go, rather than just the free, the ability to have choice. Yeah, Michael Hingson 48:51 can addiction truly be cured? Not the reason I asked the question is I know so often I hear when I hear people talking about alcoholism, you can't really cure alcoholism, and maybe that's true. I don't know, Speaker 1 49:10 you know, it depends on how you ask, from a medical standpoint, from a disease standpoint, since we see it as a chronic progressive primary condition, which means nothing necessarily causes it every time. The answer would be no, because of its progression. However, can it can addiction, whether it's alcoholism, whatever, be stunted as far as its progression? Absolutely. Can be, can people live fulfilling lives? Absolutely. Can there be reversal of certain symptoms and signs. Yes, however, just I think that to say, you know, one day someone's gonna wake up and they no longer have cravings or the warning signs or the the neurobiology. Logical strings, it's tough to say that's a no. Michael Hingson 50:04 Yeah, thanks. That's the makeup of the individual that brings that about. I, I have.. I take an occasional drink. In fact, Karen and I used to have a drink on Friday night, one drink, and I kind of honor her by having a bourbon and seven every Friday night when I make, when I cook dinner, but one, because I've never been a great fan of the taste of alcohol, but I understand there are a lot of people who really like the taste of it, and that has led them into pretty dark places, which is unfortunate. Speaker 1 50:36 Yeah, still Michael Hingson 50:37 happens. Speaker 1 50:38 It does still happen, for sure. And I appreciate you liking bourbon. We make a bourbon walnut ice cream, and I don't ever drink the bourbon by itself. It's been in the cupboard for months now. And anyway, Michael Hingson 50:55 well, my bourbon and seven is a whole lot more seven up than bourbon. Speaker 1 50:59 Totally right, and good for you for having that ritual, you know, for you and for Michael Hingson 51:06 her. That's kind of neat to be able to do that, but I've just never felt that I need to, and I'm, and I'm glad. So it's continuing to share that. Well, you do a lot of couples therapy. How does all that go, and what kind of challenges does that make for you and for them? Speaker 1 51:29 Well, I'll give you this short story. We were eating at Denny's with this man, and just a friend of a friend, and he said to us, he asked me about my work, and I told him, yeah, I'm working with, you know, a lot of addiction, and with couples, he's like, I heard from another counselor, Eric, that if you really want to make it hard on yourself, you work in addiction, and you work with couples that always make it have a challenge, and, like, yeah, true. And so, when it comes to working with couples, it is challenging. There's something about having two people to work with, there's so many dynamics at play, different than perhaps being with just one person, you know, coming from two different histories, biographically different life upbringings, family upbringing, personalities. It can be really challenging. I do appreciate challenge. I've learned so much. I learned from each couple that I work with, and it's a whole different beast. Michael Hingson 52:29 Yeah, and, and it is. I like what you said, though. You learn from it, and that's probably the most important thing that any of us can do with anything in any endeavor that we undertake is that we learn from it. Speaker 1 52:44 If I can't learn from something, what am I, what am I doing there? And if I'm not learning from something, how can that benefit other people that I'm trying to help support? So, yeah, I tried to get the couple to start to be, you know, them versus the concern, rather than you versus me. That's a big goal of couples therapy. Michael Hingson 53:08 That's an interesting way to put it. That makes a lot of sense. I've never thought of it that way, but it's them. It does have to be them, but them versus the concern. That, that's interesting. Speaker 1 53:18 Yeah, yeah. Then they start, they start looking at how can we collaborate rather than trying to annihilate each other. Michael Hingson 53:26 Yeah, Speaker 1 53:27 metaphorically speaking, Michael Hingson 53:31 so you've talked about the work that you did when you were in Mississippi, when you worked in small towns, and so on, and you worked in probably some fairly substantive places as well. What do you find that's different about outpatient versus inpatient work, and in terms of what you do and how you approach it? Speaker 1 53:52 Well, I'll just say that doing inpatient work is kind of like raising kids, so not.. I mean, I don't have any experience, because I don't, I don't have kids, I got nieces and nephews yet. I know that feeling well. Yeah, there's just something about being around someone more than just like that hour, hour and a half, seeing them like eight or nine hours a day, you get to know them pretty well, as opposed to, you know, once an hour every one or two, three weeks, that in that comes some benefits with the inpatient work. Yet also it can be really difficult when it comes to boundaries. They feel like you can do things that maybe you're not able to do professionally with them, maybe like as far as like self-disclosure wise or things like that, and there's just there's just a thing around boundaries, and even with the inpatient work, you know, I'll have one client come and say, 'Hey, this other counselor said I could do this, and I would be like, 'Okay, and then I found out later the counselor didn't say that at all, so there's that type. The drama got to deal with, with it, with the inpatient work, Michael Hingson 55:04 but you don't find that as much without patient, because you tend to be able to get closer to the individual, and that probably also develops a higher trust level. Speaker 1 55:14 There is a higher trust level if you mean, like, doing outpatient work, or outpatient, but we have the outpatient, for sure, because I am solely with them, and they know that time is of the essence, whether it's weekly or bi-weekly, whatever, and I'm being able to focus on them, for sure, yeah, Michael Hingson 55:35 and it's a lot harder to do that when it's an impatient kind of situation Speaker 1 55:40 in my two experiences, both up in Calgary and also Mississippi, with inpatient, there's so many other things in the inner workings of doing inpatient going on that sure I can still add that time with somebody, yet I'm also thinking about, you know, the next class and next group offering other logistical duties, it's a little bit easier to do that one on one. Yeah, indeed, indeed. Michael Hingson 56:10 Do you think that you can develop? I assume the answer is yes, but I'll ask, do you think that it's possible to develop the same level of trust in doing inpatient work, or it may be harder, but can you do it? Speaker 1 56:28 That can happen on a case by case basis, depending on my relationship with someone. Yes, I can get there, and you know, just.. and sometimes, paradoxically, it can happen even quicker than outpatient, depending on the situation, because I am with them. There is a positive with that. Yes, Michael Hingson 56:48 it's.. it's a matter of working to build it, you know. And, unfortunately, human beings, especially nowadays, are so mistrustful of so many things, we've learned not to trust, and so in my latest book, Live Like a Guide Dog, I talk about that a lot, because while I think dogs love unconditionally, they don't trust unconditionally, but they're open to trust, they want to develop trusting relationships, and we just assume everyone has their own hidden agendas, and it's so hard to develop trusting relationships, Speaker 1 57:24 very hard, very difficult. It takes time and effort and patience, tolerance for myself, the other person, and that makes sense with dogs, because I mean, enough's, you know, when a dog's been abused, they don't want to trust right away, no, for sure. Michael Hingson 57:38 Well, but even even dogs that aren't abused, like I believe it takes for me, and I think if you really analyze it, for most people with a guide dog, I think it takes a good year to develop such a working relationship that you develop such a trust that essentially you each know what the other is thinking and you really know how to work it. It's not that they're not mistrustful, but they're open. They're open to trust, but you've got to, you've got to gain their trust, and that's my job as the team leader. And I'm supposed to be the team leader, but it also means that I have to agree, well, earn or gain their trust. The neat thing, and what makes it possible to do that, assuming that you approach it the right way and don't assume a dog is just a dumb animal, which they're not, is that in fact working with a dog, you know that they're more likely to be open to trust, and that makes it a little bit easier than our prejudice that says everybody's got a hidden agenda that we got to focus on, Speaker 1 58:47 yeah. And appreciate you sharing that, and it shows just the amount of work that comes into play with trust. Michael Hingson 58:54 Yeah, it's it's a challenge, but it is doable. Well, so what's next for you? Speaker 1 59:01 Yeah, just doing some work after this with the work that I do, and yeah, it's starting to get that book into the place of having editorial reviews and starting to get that edited professionally. Michael Hingson 59:14 Have either of your books been converted to audio? Speaker 1 59:17 The second one has. Yes. Michael Hingson 59:22 Is it? Where is it available? Audible, or how is it available? Speaker 1 59:25 It's my own special design. It's actually got a, it's got a Texan man, a doing it. He's got a nice voice, pretty soothing. Yet it's through what's called the Hero app, H I R O. And I can send you the link if you're interested. For that, Michael Hingson 59:40 love to, yeah, Speaker 1 59:42 yeah. Michael Hingson 59:44 Well, this has been enjoyable, certainly by any standard. If people want to reach out to you, maybe use your services or talk with you. How do they do that? Speaker 1 59:53 They can find me, Michael, through Recovery Arts counseling.com and that's Counseling with 2l's since I'm up here in Canada. You can find me through Instagram at Eric Fisher Writer or Recovery Arts Counseling. You can find me Facebook the same way on LinkedIn, just type in my name. You can look for, like, Calgary, like counselor recovery counseling. What do else? That's right, everybody learned something new today, if they did not, if they didn't already. So, those are a few Michael Hingson 1:00:25 ways. Well, that's great. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to be here, and I value greatly your insights. I've learned things, and I always enjoy doing that. And I hope all of you out there listening have as well. Love to get your thoughts, so I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at Michael M I C H A E L H I at Accessi B A C C E S S I B e.com Wherever you're listening or watching, or both, this podcast, please give us a five star review. But even more important than a review, a rating, five star rating, give us a review. We really value reviews and people who might be interested in listening to our podcasts, are going to read those reviews. I can tell you for sure that people love to know what others think. So, we value your reviews a great deal. And if any of you, including you, Eric, know of anyone else who ought to be a guest on Unstoppable Mindset, we'd love an introduction, because we're always looking for people who want to come on and tell their stories, so I hope that that we'll find ways to do that, and definitely value you being here, Eric, and doing all this, and I want to thank you again for being here. This has been a lot of fun. Speaker 1 1:01:37 Thank you, Michael. Happy to be on you. thank Michael Hingson 1:01:43 you for being here with me on Unstoppable Mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others. I have a free gift for you. Head over to Michael hingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by Fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them, so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable min

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Summer Safety Tips for Dogs

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 23:25

Summer is here, and while many of us look forward to spending more time outdoors, hot weather can pose serious risks for our dogs. In this episode of Central Bark, we talk with Guide Dogs for the Blind Veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Satterwhite about how heat affects dogs and what every dog owner should know before heading outside. From hot pavement and dehydration to water safety and recognizing the signs of heatstroke, we cover practical tips that can help keep dogs safe, healthy, and comfortable all season long. Whether you're a guide dog handler, a puppy raiser, or simply love dogs, this conversation offers valuable insights on safely navigating summer activities. We'll discuss common misconceptions about exercising dogs in warm weather, how to identify heat-related emergencies, and the simple precautions that can make a big difference when temperatures climb.

dogs guide dogs summer safety tips

892: Pyrgo The Guide Dog With Golden Fur Long,

vipodcasting

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 2:44

golden guide dogs

Episode 447 – Unstoppable Through Love, Consciousness, and Purpose with Kip Baldwin

Working Like Dogs - Service Dogs and Working Dogs - Pets & Animals on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 68:28

What if the answers you're searching for arrived long before you knew how to understand them? In this conversation, I sit down with Kip Baldwin, a filmmaker, producer, writer, and founder of the Just Love movement. Kip shares the extraordinary awakening he experienced at age 12 and how it set him on a lifelong path of exploring consciousness, love, spirituality, and human connection. From the music industry and sustainable agriculture to television production, ethical AI, and overcoming a traumatic brain injury, Kip's journey has been anything but ordinary. As we talk, Kip reflects on why fear has become such a powerful force in society, how love can transform the way we see ourselves and others, and why he believes lasting change starts with a shift in consciousness. You will hear stories of resilience, curiosity, and purpose, along with a vision for creating a better future for generations to come. I believe you will find this conversation thought-provoking, challenging, and full of hope. Highlights: 01:45 - How a childhood acting career sparked a lifelong passion for media and communication. 07:08 - Why confidence without self-awareness can become a liability. 16:32 - Lessons from the Kellogg School of Management that still shape business decisions today. 21:58 - Why listening beats talking in business, leadership, and life. 35:08 - How strong brands grow through awareness, not just loyalty programs. 01:05:02 - The three traits Zarko looks for when mentoring future leaders. About the Guest: Kip Baldwin knows his purpose for Being is to share all that LOVE is through his many solutions driven projects; using media in all its forms to help awaken individuals, and by proxy the collective, to the LOVE Paradigm emerging. He feels that in order for a new chapter of our story to be conceived for humanity, a mass imagining of our limitless potential is what is needed to bring about an age of compassion, empathy, collaboration, and oneness. Kip was born in 1965 to counterculture parents - in the midst of the maelstrom that was the decade of the sixties, in fact 1965 was the first year that scientists warned us about climate change - in Vancouver, Washington. His earliest years were spent on a farm where his grandparents raised thoroughbred horses. During this period grew in him a deep, abiding LOVE and respect for nature and all living things. It was around the age of twelve his life would transform forever, as he had an out of body experience that took him beyond the edge of Universe, even Space and Time, and face to face with the unknowable of Infinity. This experience became the foundation for his constant seeking since. Due to that experience Kip felt he must explore the world beyond the small town confines of Camas, WA where he grew up. His first attempt to break free was to do a brief stint in the Navy, where he was going to pursue a career as an electric technician, but because of a hereditary bleeding disorder he was given a medical discharge. However, a military career for him was clearly never really in the cards anyway. Although he was always grateful for the insight it gave him into the inner workings of our country, as he witnessed first the how the poor are literally cannon fodder for corporations, under the guise of them being heroes and patriots. Following his discharge, he returned briefly to the limits of his hometown, before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985 to pursue his passion for music and performing. He often jokes that he was looking for the San Francisco of the Haight/Ashbury, Peace and LOVE days, but arrived twenty years too late. What he found instead was the 80s hair metal band scene, whose songs that focused on partying, sex, and drugs were not compatible with his lyrics about awakening awareness and addressing the need for personal and societal change. In the late 90s, after becoming disillusioned by his beloved music industry - and always seeking solutions for the myriad of challenges facing humanity - he shifted his focus to local and sustainable foods. While this was certainly a worthwhile pursuit, it did little to fulfill his need to share LOVE'S Truth and create a collective shift in consciousness. But what it did do was make him aware that it was only going to be through the use of mass media that his message of LOVE could reach a large enough audience to affect real lasting change. This found him again heeding the call of the entertainment industry, first as an actor, then writer, and ultimately as a producer, with some success co-creating the influential cannabis series Weed Country for the Discovery Network (focusing on the countless benefits humanity can derive from marijuana, as well as our profound historical connection to the plant), co-founding the United Filmmakers Association, and starting the Just LOVE Movement. Ultimately, this led him to co-founding S.O.U.L. Documentary with creative partner and Soul Twin, Evan Hirsch who shares his passion, purpose and mission to heal humanity by embracing our innate oneness, which they both understand can only be achieved by accepting and grounding ourselves in the Reality of LOVE We Are. Ways to connect with Kip: Facebook: Just LOVE page: https://www.facebook.com/kipbaldwinjustlove Main page: https://www.facebook.com/kip.baldwin/ UFA: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Unifilmmakers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kip-baldwin-975a3514/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kipbaldwin?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr YouTube: Kip Baldwin: https://youtube.com/@thekiprowdy?si=LckMuhec40lWAicF Just LOVE: https://youtube.com/@justlove6463?si=QW1g4D2dlaHmJk8B S.O.U.L. Documentary: https://youtube.com/@souldocumentary?si=4HOwlV-pjFN6guYy Soul Twin Messiah: https://youtube.com/@soultwinmessiah?si=7ctLlmqjeOczkjO_ Additional must listen: Comfort You Song: https://youtu.be/Mi8D3AoDfRQ?si=y8RzIQPXP5ALJth1 A World Worth Imagining: https://youtu.be/Cx28t6_SGic?si=o4lWs7po3TBKx_3A Invitation. To Action: https://youtu.be/B8jUOUVCvJI?si=l4Pr7vWNDsnXX4wh AI work: www.luminaLOVE.LOVE About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:03 One of the biggest things holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe. Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi everyone, I am your host Mike Hingson, and you are listening and or watching Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad that you're here with us today. Our guest, the person I get the honor of chatting with for the next hour or so, is Kip Baldwin, who will talk a lot about love. He will talk a lot about a number of different things, he's been a director, he's been a producer, an actor. He has been published, although he hasn't published a book yet, but he's published poetry, and I'm sure he's going to tell us about that, and I don't want to give it away, so I won't. Anyway, Kip, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We're glad you're Kip Baldwin 01:40 here. Oh, thank you so much for having me, Michael. I look forward to having this conversation and sharing my story. Michael Hingson 01:47 Well, tell us a little bit about you, kind of. Let's start with the early Kip, growing up and all that, because I know you had some things along the way that were relevant and ought to be mentioned. So, why don't you tell us about the early Kip, and we'll go from there. Speaker 1 02:00 I was. I grew up in Washington State, little town called Camas. Although my earliest years were spent in a town called Battleground, Washington, and my family, we raised horses, Thoroughbred race horses. We raised at Portland Meadows, and so I'm kind of a farm boy at heart, at least that's how I grew up, but I had an experience when I was 12 that was definitely not your typical farm boy experience, I guess. I had gone up to Seattle, and this was maybe 78 to see a Seahawks game with the Raiders of my dad and dad, I had a good day, which wasn't always the case, and got home, and it was a, you know, five and a half hour round trip for kids, 12 year olds, a big time, and so I went to bed, and I promptly left my body, and now keep in mind I had never done any drugs. Out of body experiences, a household projection was not something that we talked about about the old farm around the farmhouse dinner table, and I floated over my bedroom. My awareness hovered over my body, and I remember very vividly you don't forget. I looked at my body and went, "I'm not in there. And then that immediately I left my house, I left the planet, I left the solar system, I let the galaxy, I let the universe, and the whole time all I can describe was kind of a presence, not a voice or anything, but just, are you taking all of this in? And sometimes words can't convey something so expansive and grand, and so I was taking in black holes and quasars and nebulas, and just flying through the, you know, time didn't really exist, but I was, I was traveling across the universe, and eventually I got outside the universe, and my awareness was turned in, and I could see how everything was connected, and how the universe itself was finite, and but that everything had a place, there was no less or greater than that, everything had a specific role, from the smallest particle to, you know, the largest star, and then my awareness was turned out to the blackness of infinity, and that you know you don't know at 12, you're just like, "Oh, this is happening, and I'm what's happening, and I'm taking it in, and what I didn't know is that would become my point of seeking that really became the rest of my life. Life, I think, had I been born in India, like say Ramana Maharishi, who had what I didn't realize until later, there's a name for what happened to me, and it's called a spontaneous awakening. My life would have probably been much different, but we don't live in a society that that really honors things like that, so it was a lot of me going on a journey of discovery and a weight and continual awakening until now, and it's an ongoing process, but that's where it really began with me being confronted with the fact that there there can't be a beginning or ending to anything, and the thought experiments that can't, that come out of that, and the way it opens your consciousness, I'm ever grateful for, although at the time it, it made me for a long time feel very apart, and it wasn't until I met with Dr. Dr. Dean Radin up at Noetic Sciences, and I told him my story, and he looked at me, and he went, "You go, that's not a usual experience, he said, "That's a mystical experience, and I was in my probably late 40s, maybe 50 at that time, and that was the first time in my life that someone had had said, 'Hey, what you, what you had was a really phenomenal experience, and I'm very grateful for him for saying that to me, because for most of my life, I'm running around talking about these profound things with people that I thought were incredibly important to share, and they didn't seem very important to people, and it wasn't until then that it hit me that it wasn't that they were important, that it was that they, they didn't really understand what I was talking about. Michael Hingson 07:03 Well, and in our society, as you point out, it's not something that is generally appreciated, and and people who have had those experiences or talk about them are generally looked down upon or frowned upon, and you know that's that's fine, but it doesn't change the fact, and so it must have been hard, especially at first, for you to talk about that. Speaker 1 07:29 You know, I was so excited at first, I was excited to share it with my family, and and it happened a couple more times, and it was so overwhelming that literally I would get to a point where my head, my physical being couldn't handle it anymore, and I would get up and vomit. It was that's how, how intense it was, like I just, I couldn't take in anymore. And so, at first, I was really excited to share it, because it was beyond wondrous. It was, it was truth. It was reality, and I, and on some level, I knew that instinctually. But then, when enough people sort of ignore you or act like something's unimportant, you stop talking about Michael Hingson 08:15 it. Yeah, Speaker 1 08:15 I never stopped writing about it. I never stopped experiencing it, and I didn't even really stop talking about it once I moved to California for the music business in 1985 I, you know, then I thought, wow, I mean, being a group of creatives and there's going to be other people that will understand what I'm talking about, but in the 80s music environment it really wasn't what people were, were talking or thinking about, and I was kind of in the same way, and again it wasn't until years later that I look back and I realized all this time I spent up late at night partying with people and stuff, and telling them about infinity, and, and they look, they, they must have been looking at me like I'm a complete idiot, because they really only cared about, you know, getting high or having sex, and I'm trying to have this profound conversation. Michael Hingson 09:16 So, when your family, when you told your family, how did they react? Speaker 1 09:20 They still don't understand it to this day. It just, oh, that's nice, you know. It actually, there were points in my life where it caused conflict with, especially my father, because when I would say none of this is real, he, he always considered him, and still to this day considers himself quite science physics buff, it wasn't something he was willing to accept, and, and even really have a reasonable conversation about. I would say that the things that got me through all these years was, you know, the universe. There's love, God, Brahmin, whatever you want to call it, it gives you what you need, and what it gave me throughout the years, and still to this day, is voices that made me realize I wasn't crazy, that I knew something really special. Probably the first thing, the first one I remember, like, that was Joseph Campbell being interviewed by Bill Moyers, and somehow I knew everything that Joseph Campbell was talking about, and I'm like, How can I possibly know these things? How can I possibly understand these things of this really brilliant, just beautiful soul? And throughout the years, it's been those touch those moments of going, oh, it hasn't been where I've heard someone go, wow, that's helped me awaken, it's been something that's helped me not feel insane and realize that the things that I'm sharing have been shared for 1000s of years, and by many, many minds and beings much greater than myself, and that that really probably kept me from losing my mind. Michael Hingson 11:10 So, you had this experience happen to you at 12. What did you then specifically do? I mean, not so much talking to people, but what did it do for you, as far as schooling, and what you did with your life? Speaker 1 11:27 I would.. it made me very.. in all honesty, it made school seem really trivial to me. It was kind of boring. I started writing a lot. In fact, something I wrote when I was 17 was called Life and Death, and it went: Life is just a symptom of certain death, crying and laughing until our last breath. Everything dies in true infinity. Then the mountains crumble into the sea, stars full from the night sky hit the earth, and then they die, lost in time. I don't know who I am. Am I a god or just a mortal man? Time can't change what I have found. Still, I am changed and bound, bound by the fears and bound by lies. Even now, the tears fill my eyes, gasping for every breath as I head for a certain death, clouds now pass overhead, and I realize how things are now that I am dead. Life is ending, life goes on like the lyrics to an endless song. Life and death, it's all the same. We exist only in our brain, and so there was a lot of that. It pushed me away from I was confirmed Zion Lutheran. I really couldn't stomach religious dogma anymore at that point. Um, just the hypocrisy, you know? Like, I remember I, I was talking to a new pastor we had, and he was informing me that my great grandmother, who is Jehovah's Witness, and these Mormon boys had come around, were trying to teach me about Mormonism, and I was just curious and open, always, and still am to this day. I don't judge. I would say that's another big thing that this gave me, is I don't, I see everything as equal, I don't, I don't judge everything, I don't judge anything as lesser thing greater than I don't judge good and evil in the in the same way that other people do, I see things as flows of negative of energy as we exist in a duality with this illusion, and this is just what we describe as good and you are really just flows of energy between the polarities of the duality, and so it pushed me, definitely, because I, when he said that my great grandmother was going to go to hell, and these Mormon boys were going to go to hell, I looked him in the face, and I just said, but I thought God was love, and that was pretty much the end of my church, Michael Hingson 14:04 my, my wife did, I think, some things in the Lutheran church, which mostly she was a Methodist, and I joined the Methodist church when we got married, and so on, but when she was in, I think this was when she was in high school, maybe in, I guess it was late high school, early college. She met some Mormon people, and one of them said, I guess she was learning about different religions, and so she was learning about Mormonism, and this guy said you're either going to think that this is a total hoax or you're going to just totally believe in it. Well, it wasn't quite that way for her. She did not think it was a hoax, and I agree with her, but there. There are things about the about all religions that tend to make life difficult. The problem with religion is that that people are are what make up the religion, and they all have their own views, and it makes life really tough. I know I participated in a program called the Walk to Emmaus, which is a what's literally called a short course in Christianity, and it's not to bring people to the Christian church, but it's to help create a class of leaders in the Christian church. Anyway, one of the things about the walk to Emmaus is that a number of people give lectures, people who have been involved in church, and then there are the pilgrims, the people who are coming to to learn what everyone has to say, and the lay director of the Walk to Emmaus every time gives a speech, and I was lay director once, and one of the things that is in the manual, or was I assume it still is. It's been a while, but it says that Tolstoy once said the biggest problem with Christianity is that nobody practices it, and there's a lot of truth to that. Speaker 1 16:13 But I think that I think you hit it right on the head that people are involved, like I, and I do want to clarify something, I, I believe very much that that Jesus was a master. Oh, Michael Hingson 16:29 absolutely, yeah, and, Speaker 1 16:31 and, but I also believe that people don't know what happened at the Council of Nicaea and understand how the Bible was actually constructed, not because it was based on Gnostic teachings or even really the teachings of Christ, but it was cobbled together as a means of control. If Caesar saw his soldiers be turning to Christianity when they wanted to find, you know, put together a book that really didn't express Christian truth or the truth of Christ, but a way, a means of controlling people through fear, and so if you, if you notice, all the books in the Bible are male. Well, left out of the Bible was the book of Mary, left out of the Bible, it's the book of Thomas, who, interestingly enough, there's a place in India where they all speak ancient Aramaic, and they worship the Book of Thomas, which there's always been a lot of discussion. Did Jesus go to India and study Buddhism? And because even the Book of Mary, these are very Buddhist beliefs, but anything, because we live in a patriarchal society, anything like the piece to Sophia, the book of Mary, the book of Stackle, all of these were intentionally kept out of the Bible, so it's not, I think it's not so much religion, it's the organ, it's the dogma that comes along with organized religion, which is really about people, you know, men using it to control and manipulate people through fear, Michael Hingson 18:14 all too much, all too often. It's, it's true. Speaker 1 18:18 Yeah, and it's interesting. I was watching last night, and it's funny. This is why, why you always have to be on a constant path of awakening. It never stops. If you think you've reached that pinnacle, or whatever, then they're not just ego. There's always more to know and understand. And I ran across this video on Tara, well, Tara is in Buddhism, basically in every religion that I am aware of, there's always the peace to Sophia, there's always the the story of the divine feminine that in large part is is is not. It was. It's largely been suppressed, and so I was, I was watching this, and it was just so fascinating to me to see how identical what Tara was in Buddhism, which this is what, when Tara, Tara is considered the ultimate goddess in the Buddhist faith. Well, when Tara came to earth in the story, she went to a bunch of, you know, Buddhist monks, and they said, "Oh, you know, they were so impressed by her, and they thought this was a compliment. They said, "Well, we hope you, you can reincarnate as a man, and she said, "No, she She said, I don't see things as male and female, but since nobody else wants to be the feminine, I will play that role. And it was just a profoundly interesting thing to listen to, not just because of the story, but because almost every faith that I'm aware. Of has that story of the divine feminine that has again largely been suppressed and marginalized, Michael Hingson 20:09 well, for you clearly that was a very meaningful experience. What did what did you then do, and I understand how you could imagine that maybe what was being taught in school wasn't quite as, as meaningful as what you had experienced, but you went on, I assume, through high school, and did you go to college? Speaker 1 20:30 I was, I went, I was an electron, I went to the Navy to be an electronic technician, but I had a bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand disease, and I found out after I was in for about a year. Well, you can't be in the Navy with that, because we can't carry with the limited space you have on ships, we can't carry the clotting factor you would need if there's a problem. So that was fairly short-lived. Then I went back to Washington and was working as a dishwasher for a while, then I worked as a male stripper, and, and I was then, which, which, you know, there was something really profound about that experience, because it taught me what women feel like to be objectified, and that's something that has carried me, carried a lesson. I, I find lessons in everything, even things that, wow, you know, what could you possibly learn positive out of having been a male stripper? Well, I learned how women feel, really, to be, you know, not looked at as anything more than an object, and then I really wanted to continue to, you know, pursue music, so a friend of mine, we loaded 65,000 pounds of frozen strawberries onto a semi truck, and like july 3, 1985 and got a ride to San Francisco, a city I'd never been to before. I knew nobody here. We got here, I had 25 cents in my pocket, and I used the 25 cents to call the one friend that I thought I knew that I could get a hold of here in or in in the Bay Area, and it was a wrong number, and so now I'm in a city at the Gray Home Bus Terminal that used to be in downtown San Francisco, we have no food, we have no place to live. We have nothing to, you know, we have nothing, literally. And that's where my journey began. As far as my story, my, my adult life, and my journey in the entertainment industry and the music business, that's how it all started. It started by loading 65,000 pounds of frozen strawberries under semi truck, telling, oh, and the cap around the story is I had worn my contacts for too long and I ripped the corny up both my eyes when I took them out, because I was wearing hard lenses, so I was functionally blind in the city I'd never been to before with patches over my eyes, and being led around by my friend, and luckily we found some very nice people that gave us a place to stay, and then I ended up meeting maybe a week after that, I met my first wife, who was Persian, and we were together for a long time. What was interesting about that is I've been introduced to so many different faiths through the people in my life, and because I haven't judged and tried to learn, like I, I learned through her about Islam, I learned through her about our Torcharianism, and we lived the rock and roll lifestyle for the 16 years we were together. She was a photographer. I wrote for a magazine called BAM. I played in bands. I managed artists like Linda Perry from The Four Non Blonde, or I worked with Linda Perry from Four Non Blondes. I managed Alex Skolnick, who is lead guitar player in Testament, and I did that for a long time until I started getting really disenchanted with music and really started to hate the business and started to hate music because of it, and so I ended up drifting into, I wouldn't say drifting into, I got drawn into visual media, and I started working. I met a guy at a club in San Jose, California, called The Agenda, and we were playing pool, and he was telling me, "Oh, he's the owner of this company called Metropolis Digital, and I was thinking, "My. Speaker 1 24:59 Music and music videos, and yeah, I want to get involved in this, so I started coming up with ideas, and he brought me into their company, because I got to know a lot of people through the music business and booking artists on different shows, like Letterman and Leno, and, and so I got to know how to work through those channels that it opened doors for me to be able to do on-air graphics for the networks, and so I did that until about, in fact, the last major project I did in that industry was with a company called Chaos X AOS out of San Francisco, and we did the 2000 election graphics for ABC nationally, and then I, I, that with the, the, the.com telecom crash of not of 2000 they pulled all of that sort of work in house, and so that business kind of dried up, and I changed my focus to working in local and sustainable foods. Michael Hingson 26:08 What got you to the point where you disliked Music so much? Speaker 1 26:12 The business.. it just.. it wasn't. I came here, and in all honesty, I was looking for the 60s, but I was 20 years too late, only to find out later I was actually 30 years too early, but I was looking for community, I was looking for family, I was looking for that connection, but what existed as far as the music industry then was the 80s hair band stuff, heavy metal was on the rise. It was very misogynistic. It wasn't. It was very competitive. There wasn't, it wasn't collaborative, it wasn't community related at all. And it really turned me off. It wasn't, it wasn't what I had thought being in an artistic community doing artistic endeavors would be about it, became very.. it just.. it just.. it just.. it just made me feel very empty, and that wasn't what I loved about music, and so that Michael Hingson 27:24 would be an issue, Speaker 1 27:25 yeah. It just value wise it was, it was not, you know, you, you got to do a show, and you've got the bands that are coming on after you, you know, playing with your amps, and it was just, it was, it wasn't, it wasn't fun, and it wasn't fulfilling. More importantly, it wasn't fulfilling. It wasn't, and I'm writing about while everyone else is writing about, you know, sex and drugs and all of this. I'm writing about the things that I thought were important. I was writing about the problems I saw in this country, like songs like Shock the System or the chosen few, and, and though that wasn't what people were writing about Michael Hingson 28:06 then, Speaker 1 28:06 and you know, even though the songs were good, and, and I've been told I'm talented, it was, I didn't, I didn't again feel like I fit in, you know, I didn't feel like I'd found my place, and certainly not in that world at that time. If Speaker 2 28:31 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset community. Thank it Michael Hingson 29:04 certainly had to be a rough time all the way around, but then you, you found this person, and you joined their company, as you said earlier, Speaker 1 29:15 right? I started working for Metropolis Digital, and we started doing a lot of on-air graphics, like for TBS. We did their, their original movies. We did a lot of the opening graphics for it, and then I moved on to other companies, and and I, I then started focusing on on local and sustainable foods, and moved into doing stuff where I felt I was doing more, because at the heart of everything I've ever done, it's always been about trying to affect real change in the world, Michael Hingson 29:55 it's Speaker 1 29:55 always been about I could see very clear. Really, it doesn't surprise me where we're at today at all. I saw the problems with the system even at that age, and I give credit to that because of the experience I had with Infinity. It just allowed me to step back and perceive things from a far off perspective that I was looking at humanity in general and how we did things, and I'm just like, this doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense for us to believe we're separate and apart from the very things that give us life from each other. It doesn't make sense from a spiritual perspective. It doesn't make sense from a scientific perspective. Yet, here's the system that we are a part of, and so I've always been very focused on trying to effect real change and find not just point out the problems but actually find solutions, and so that then led me into working in local and sustainable agriculture here in the Bay Area. So Michael Hingson 31:00 tell me more about the whole work that you did with Sustainable Foods. What was that all about? Speaker 1 31:08 Yes, I worked with a company, I was, I had handled all the sales and marketing for Drake's Bay Oysters out of Inverness, California, and Drakes Bay, before it was called Drakes Bay, was Johnson's Oysters, and they were the last oyster cannery in California. The family that owned the farm, they had taken it over from Johnson's. They were the Lenny family, who owned Ranch G across from the steroid, where the oyster farm was. Well, they, against my better advice, they made it a personal ownership thing rather than a California food heritage issue. So, eventually, when their lease came up on the rent, on the farm, the farm went away. Well, at the same time, I created new relationships. A very good friend of mine to this day is a gentleman named Brian Kinney, who is now the West Coast Chief Technology Officer for Hearst, and also the Hearst Family Archivist, but at that point in time he was running Hearst Ranch, which they, they had the Jack Ranch and the Hearst Ranch down around San Simeon. So I was at the forefront of the grass-fed beef movement as well, and we developed a human-grade grass-fed beef pet food about 10 years ahead of its time, which could be the story of my life. I'm always about 10 years ahead of where things actually happen, and I, I did that for about 10 years, and eventually I felt the calling to get back in the entertainment industry, and that led me to acting, and I did the acting mostly because I wanted to learn how things were done, and I very well, if I act in a whole bunch of student projects, or projects in general, and I'm behind the scenes, I'm going to learn, and, and that's exactly what happened. So, my very background led me to being a producer, and I created, you know, one of my most notable accomplishments that created this show called Weed Country for Discovery, which was about the medical marijuana industry here in California, just before legalization. How we got it on air before legalization, I don't know. We were named to the Hollywood Reporter top 25 heat list. We got some really great information out about CBD and helping with childhood epilepsy. The bad part of that was it was a reality television show, and I didn't know anything about reality television, so when I'm here in reality, I'm thinking documentary. Well, that couldn't be farther from the truth. And reality television has truly been a blight on on this country in particular, and probably the world in general. Michael Hingson 34:16 Yeah, I just gonna say not nearly as real as people think it is. No, no, I think I think probably this is just my opinion. The closest thing to so-called reality TV is the show Dancing with the Stars, because they're actually dancing all these other shows, and it's all sort of really scripted, but the people are actually dancing, which is kind of cool, Speaker 1 34:41 right? Michael Hingson 34:41 Even though I don't see it, I appreciate it. Speaker 1 34:45 Yeah, but even, even with shows like that, there's a lot of gin-up drama. There is behind the scenes stuff that's the worst part of things. Yes, they're like with our show, yes, people were really, you know, there's really stuff going on with can. Of this world that was really important, but what reality television does is it, it creates artificial drama. It does things to manipulate the characters in the show to make them look how they want, and they know, and people in general, my experience is that people, once you put a camera on them, they will do, they would do things to be in front of the camera that they would never do, even for more money, Michael Hingson 35:27 right, Speaker 1 35:28 in their regular lives. Michael Hingson 35:30 Well, and I think there is, there's a lot of truth to that. And the whole thing, as you said, as far as reality TV, we're not giving people a true picture of reality with most of any of that anyway, which is unfortunate. I think I mentioned I'm a fan of old radio and television, and so on. And one of the shows that I've watched a fair amount is The Old Ridge. Well, it's the second time they were on, but Dragnet with Harry Morgan and, of course Jack Webb as Joe Friday, and they did a lot of shows talking about drugs and marijuana and all that, and how bad it is, and it's kind of interesting because what we're seeing today is that in reality the medical aspects of marijuana or cannabis and CBD oil, and so there's there's true relevance there, which is something that they didn't know or appreciate in the late 60s. Speaker 1 36:31 Well, but the thing that our history with the cannabis plant goes back 50,000 years to Burger Banks, China, it's been, and if we take all of the medicinal recreational uses out of it, it is the most one of the most versatile plants that we have. It was used, I mean, our money was made out of hemp. Hemp is cannabis sativa. Dollar bills are made out of hemp. It was used for fuel. It was used for building. Henry Ford built an entire car out of hemp in 1942 which you can go see the video of on YouTube, and they're beating on it with knacks. The plastic resin they made out of it was 40 times stronger than steel. It ran on hemp fuel, a byproduct of which was water. It also, in 1931 the Hearst family, which was interesting, they ended up working with them, bought and sequestered the plans for a decorification machine that made it easier to process hemp than cotton kids, it's a much more durable fiber. In 1938 covered Popular Mechanics, they called him the billion dollar crop, saying you could make 25,000 different items out of everything from fine linens to dynamite, and that was really what what what, why the prohibition against the plant started. Why they did you know shows like Reefer Madness or create films like Reefer Madness to create this hysteria around, at best, an innocuous plant in comparison to soulmate tobacco, in comparison to alcohol, even if people did want to use it. It's, it's, it's relatively harmless by comparison, or just in general, and actually very beneficial. You know, I have a traumatic brain injury, and I think without it, I probably wouldn't, I probably wouldn't eat very much. I probably wouldn't sleep right, I barely sleep as it is, and sleep I do get is because of cannabis, but beyond my point, and I always try to make this clear to people, is like up until even the prohibition against the plant actually started with the Catholic Church, with the Pope Innocent, who until the 1400s cannabis was in the anointing oils. Cannabis was grown by monks, cannabis was grown by nuns, and then in this pope decreed it the devil's weed, and they, you know, banned it. So it's, it had, and there, and why, and you'd say, well, why did they do that? Well, they did that because at that time in the 1400s you were having opium addiction on the rise, you were having, you know, much, much more alcohol use. Well, these are extremely addictive substances, and much more easy to manipulate and control people than it is with cannabis, which in general creates.. I wish I could remember the quote exactly, but Carl Sagan said, you know, why we have a prohibition on a plant that you know creates good feelings amongst people and unites people is in this, you know. A really crazy world is, is, is madness, but it all comes back to money, and it all comes back to who's profiting. So, why did they create the probation? Well, the hearse, the Rockefellers, and the DuPonts, they saw how hemp would affect each of their industries. We wouldn't need oil if we'd grown hemp and use that as fuel, in fact, it was the Rockefellers who went to Henry Ford and said, "If you take this car to market, we'll crush you. And this was Henry Ford at the height of his power, DuPont chemicals that were.. we wouldn't have needed.. we wouldn't have put like this.. we would not have the planet, the environmental devastation we do now. How do we use this, as Henry Ford said? Why are we digging up, and Henry Ford was certainly no saint, but he was right on this. Why are we digging up our minerals? Why are we cutting down our forests when we can do all the same things with this infinitely renewable resource? This is a part of the canvas story that still is largely not discussed openly enough. Michael Hingson 41:08 Yeah, I think there's a big difference between the story you're telling and the kind of uses you're talking about, and smoking it, and so on, and I, I think we put way too many funny things in our bodies, anyway, right? I think that that isn't this isn't a positive thing, but you're right, we, we've used so many things to create so many fears, it is, it is something that is all around us. Fear is all around us, and the problem is we let it overwhelm us. I wrote Live Like a Guide Dog that got published last year because when I worked in the World Trade Center, I was able to focus when I escaped, and I was able to do that because I had developed a mindset that said, you know what to do in this kind of an emergency, even though never expected it to happen, but the problem is that most people don't learn how they can turn fear around, and rather than letting it overwhelm or blind them, as I would put it, they can use it as a very powerful tool to help them stay focused, which is much more important. Speaker 1 42:23 Yep, I agree with that 100% I think, and then that you hit it right on the head. Fear is a very powerful tool. It's necessary. No, don't touch the burning stove. It can be a cautionary tool of saying, hey, don't go down this path, don't do this. It's bad when fear becomes the foundation for your entire culture, as it is now. Michael Hingson 42:51 Yeah, and and it is so unfortunate because don't touch the burning stove doesn't mean don't be afraid of the stove. It rather means there's a consequence for doing a particular thing, which is touching something that is that hot. But you shouldn't create an environment of fear around it. You should create an environment of understanding, which is much more important. Yeah, it's Speaker 1 43:20 like it'd be, it'd be very silly if we went, oh my god, it's like the stove gets hot, so I'm never going to use a stove. My Michael Hingson 43:29 wife was in a wheelchair her whole life, and the one thing I will say with our modern world is we always had electric appliances because she was always concerned about if using a gas stove, having to reach over one burner, perhaps it had something on it to get to something else with the idea of possibly material igniting or something like that, and I appreciate that, and you take advantage of the tools that you have available, but I think that it is so very important to recognize that we need to not live our lives in fear, and it's true that, like, 95% of all the things that we fear will never come to pass, and most all of it we have no control over anyway. So, why do we fear them rather than recognizing what we really need to do is to just focus on the things over which we truly have control. Speaker 1 44:25 Yes, and I think even the idea of control from my perspective is something that is overrated. It's like the most important thing, if you want to have control, it's exactly what we're talking about, it's when you choose to live from the foundation of love, as opposed to fear. So, no matter what happens to me in my life, and no matter how hard, how challenging it is, I'm going to come from a place of love, and right now. Don't most of us live exactly the opposite. No matter what happens to them in their lives, they're coming from a place of fear. Michael Hingson 45:06 Yeah, and that's Speaker 1 45:08 not healthy. Michael Hingson 45:09 And nowadays we're also living in an environment where we're even afraid to talk to other people and voice opinions, because well, that's not what I think. And so you're wrong, and we don't, we don't respect. Tell me about your just love movement. Speaker 1 45:25 Well, you know, I, I had coming out of the music business and everything, I was, I was literally killing myself drinking, I mean, literally, like, I lost half my liver function, and I was going to die, and, but I wasn't afraid to die. I was.. I realized that if I didn't find a way to feel fulfilled and feel that I was. I had a purpose in the story that I needed to find a quicker way out. I didn't get in any, like, car accidents, I wasn't arrested, nothing. I was just killing myself, and it just got so bad that literally my leg stopped working. That's how, how, how much damage I'd done to myself, and, and so, coming out of that, I made the decision. I wrote down a list of things I was going to do, and one of those things is I was going to start writing every single day, and I, through a variety of different sources, you know, I did that experience with infinity became synonymous with love to me, and then I had an experience where I, I, I started a filmmaking organization called the United Filmmakers Association, and it was basically the philosophy of it was creatives helping creatives create, and was global. We still to this day have chapters 27 different countries, about 30,000 35,000 members total. And I walked into a filmmaking event that we were hosting, and there was about 100 people there, and I realized I was in love with everyone in the room, and it was, it was so like that love, like just when you fall in love, and you're like, you want, you can't imagine not talking to that person at that next minute, and I realized in that moment that this is not only how we can feel about everyone and everything, but how we're really supposed to feel about everyone and everything, and so I came up with the concept of just love, which is, is a very.. it, those are very heavy words to put together, just love. It has so many layers of meaning to it, and so I thought, wow, if we could just love, and from that I I've written every day and shared through social media for 12 years now something having to do with love and what I do is I combine it with other wisdom teachers throughout history who've been sharing the same information and the things I write are literally downloads. They'll come to me in the silence every day, and I haven't missed a day - head injury, sickness, whatever. I haven't missed a day of posting in 12 years about something having to do with love, and Speaker 3 48:37 then Speaker 1 48:37 accompanying posts from other people, far, you know, other beings far more advanced than I am to show that what I'm sharing isn't new. It's been shared forever. It's foundational to what we are. Like love has been so marginalized and trivialized that we, we forget that, like, I, you know, the experience I had with the minister when I was, you know, younger, and I said, well, I thought God was love. I still to this day believe God is love, and God, and we are God. Michael Hingson 49:11 Yeah. Tell me about you. Something you mentioned, you had a traumatic brain injury Speaker 1 49:17 10 years ago. I was, I was in a, I was in, in between projects, so I was driving Uber, and I, a guy, an Uber driver, ran a stop sign in San Francisco and T-boned me, and my head took the brunt of the impact, and I started having really severe neurological problems, severe stabbing pains in my head, my teeth were hurting, I any sort of exertion would leave me just absolutely drained, and so for about three years I was, I was being seen at UCSF, and we never got to the bottom of it, so I was recommended. Um, to a neurosurgeon at Sutter by a counselor I was seen, and I walked in, and within 10 minutes he said, 'Oh, you have trigeminal neuralgian and brain stem damage, and we can do a microvascular decompression, and you're going to be all better. And at that point in time, I was in the middle of getting ready to release a film called A World Worth Imagining, which was about a gentleman named Jacque Fresco, who is considered the Leonardo da Vinci of our time. He founded something called the Venus Project, and we went to his compound in 2017 and he was 101 He was actually contemporary of Einstein. He knew Einstein, brilliant inventor, but at his core, he knew he was a social engineer, and he knew that we had to address our programming if we were ever going to change what was happening in the world and ever be able to avail ourselves of the solutions that he designed of a new economic model called a resource-based economy, because the reality of it is, until we stop self-wounding, there's not enough band aids for the guy that keeps hitting himself in the head the hammer, so we have solutions to all of our problems, but we create problems more quickly than any solution could ever fix, so I was getting ready to release that film, and wow, this sounded like a miracle. I'm going to have this surgery, and I'm going to be all better. Well, it, I had the surgery September 20, 2019 I, it didn't make me better, it made me worse, and it turned out that the surgery was a misdiagnosis, and that they botched the surgery, so I have Teflon implants in my at the base of my skull, inside my brain, that are now constantly agitating my brain stem, along with a titanium plug that is placed right at the junction point to all the major nerves in my head, so they can't undo it, and there's really no medication that helps, and so it's.. it's.. I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. I'm.. I guess I'm.. I'm very fortunate I have the tools I do to manage it, because they also, they call what I'm dealing with the suicide disease, because a lot of people who have it end up killing themselves. The kicker on the whole story is the guy that did my surgery is Elon Musk, partner Neherlich, and so coming soon I'm going to, I unfortunately, I was in two more car accidents at the end of last year that made everything much worse, neither of them were my fault, and once I get through these, these car accidents I'm dealing with, I'm going to go public with my story, because so I mean, in a much bigger, you know, a focused way, because there's so many people signing up for Neuralink, like it's the new iPhone. I have nothing against technology, if it can help you, if you're a paraplegic, and or you have some something that this can fix, great, but two and one, the people, the human test subjects they've tried this on are having tremendous difficulties, and so I want to let people know it's like I wouldn't wish what I'm dealing with on anybody, and for you to allow someone to try to implant something in your brain just because you want to be a cyborg human being, and you're looking at the new iPhone is a really stupid thing to do, and that these people don't. We've given people in technology again. I'm not against technology at all, but I think we've also allowed ourselves to believe that these people who write code and create technology are are gods, and they're not. They're it's just a new way of sharing information and computing things. Speaker 1 54:14 It's, it's, you know, it's just another advancement from the printing press to the radio to tell to television, from the calculator to the computer, and now we're where we're at, and we've allowed ourselves to believe that these people have created an alternative reality, and they have it. Everything that they do runs off the same real world in resources. So, I, I really want to help the mill, because literally millions of people are signed up and ready to have this stuff implanted into their brain and I think it will be a disaster for humanity. Michael Hingson 54:49 I hear what you're saying, and I'm not convinced that a lot of that is really sensible to do either. I think there are tools and there are. There are things certainly that can help people, but I have yet to see that any of this is going to lead to such a tremendous paradigm shift that all of it is going to be all that great for humanity as a whole. I'm not convinced of that at all. Speaker 1 55:17 It could be, but the problem is, is like any other tool, it's how we use it. Social media is an inherently bad thing. It's in here, it's bad because of how we're using it. Sure, because we're using it to divide people and share misinformation, where it could be an incredibly powerful tool for communication, but that's not how we're using it. Same thing with AI. AI could be a tremendously powerful partner in addressing pretty much all of our problems, and I mean, and at the core of, like, Jock's work was the idea that AI basically would manage all the world's resources and share them with equanimity, because we don't have a resource shortage problem, we have a resource sharing problem, but that's not how we're using AI. We're using AI to create fake girlfriends and boyfriends and only fan models, and and take away people's jobs, and and that's not AI's fault. That's the people who control AI's fault, and they want people to be afraid of AI, but again, it's, it's just a tool that's being misused. Michael Hingson 56:24 Well, like, like so many, and, and I hear exactly what you're saying. Tell me about S O U L Speaker 1 56:33 Sold, Soul documentary is really interesting, because the day I got in my car accident was the day I was supposed to meet my partner Evan Hirsch, who had wanted at the time he was looking for a producer to help him do a series on Bernie Sanders and teaching Bernie to not be as angry and come across more from a place of love, and he wanted to follow the campaign around. Well, by the time we got it pulled together, Bernie was out of the campaign, and so we started talking about, well, do we want to do anything together. So we then set about something called Soul Documentary, and originally it stood for Summer of Unconditional Love, because we were covering all of the events for the 50th anniversary of Summer of Love, which was in 2017 So our goal was to find what we called solutionaries, people like Jock, and interview them, and then share also our own understandings of things through hundreds and hundreds of videos that we did over the course of eight years, as well as recording three albums under the name of Soul Twin Messiah, which all were about the same things we were doing. Our films about all founded in love, all about love. Every song contained love in it, and our whole purpose was just to show people we do have solutions to our problems, and to talk about how we have to have a shift in consciousness, and we have to have a new system if we are going to change anything. It's like what Einstein said, to expect things to be different when you keep doing the same thing over and over again is insanity, and I think we see, we see that we live in an insane, a completely insane world right now. I mean, the things that I see happening, and how we've let it sort of creep in, like the things that we've normalized in the past 10 years, like we literally have people that are cheering, murdering people on it's, it's, it's hard for me to, to even fathom, and I think it's hard for most people, and I think that's why they just sort of block it out and allow it to happen, because they really can't process it. They really can't process how inhumane we've become. Michael Hingson 59:06 Well, so what is next for Kip? What's next for you? Speaker 1 59:10 What is boy? I'm mostly trying to get through every day with this head injury. I spend a lot of my time in bed, just because I can't do anything, I, you know, even now I'm, I'm in a lot of pain, and it's beyond pain, it's actually, it literally hurts to think, it's, it's in my brain, and I have swelling in my brain because the cerebral fluid back, anyway, it's so dealing with that, but then the universe keeps love, God, whatever keeps bringing me stuff, and so I, I'm trying right now to be part of putting together a new, let's see, we'll call it Live Aid meets Woodstock. And we're going to, we're trying to put together a global music festival with the focus of addressing the needs of children, because I'm really tired of all this lip service that people do about, oh, kids are a future, we got to care, care about our kids. Well, where is that happening? Where is that happening that we're caring about our kids? Where, you know, is it happening with trying to suppress the Jeffrey Epstein files? Is it happening as you know, you look at, say, the conflict between Israel and Gaza, and I'm not, I don't pick sides and things, but I want to help people understand the reality of the situation, and this goes for Ukraine and Russia as well. It's like, who loses in all of this? Well, the children do. Who wins? The people that are getting $50 billion in defense contracts, and, and I really.. my, I'm at a point in my existence where if my story was over tomorrow, I would be okay with that, if I knew that kid, that the future generations had an opportunity to have a better tomorrow, or at least an opportunity to screw up everything on their own. Michael Hingson 1:01:11 Well, I would like to think it's the first really my Speaker 1 1:01:14 focus is Michael Hingson 1:01:16 I'd like to think it's the first one of those that they have a future rather than screwing it up on their own, but of course, we are. I know, I know, I joke, but, but, but we are a race that doesn't tend to do a very good job of learning from history most of the time. So I hear what you're saying. Speaker 1 1:01:34 Yeah, it's really kind of well, even if people even understood the rise and fall of empires, they would see that we're at the end of the Western Empire. It's, and they follow very specific patterns. The hyper-sexualization of the culture is one of the signs of the end of every empire, and is really kind of interesting, is that they make a free empire, they, and there's a good documentary called The Four Horsemen. It's with Colonel Larry Wilkinson in it, Norm Chomsky, and one of the interesting things that took me a second to understand why this was a bad thing is they make celebrities out of their chefs, and I'm going.. that's kind of a weird sign. Why is that so bad? It's gluttony. It's gluttony because we forget why we do these things. Why? Well, why are we making love? We've forgotten that. It's turned everything's entertainment. Our food is no food is so you eat, and so you can go out and live your life and do things, we've turned everything in, we've removed it so far from the source of why we're doing things, just basically oftentimes just because it makes a buck to get people addicted to things, whether it's food or sex or whatever, that this is what happens in every empire, we become, we become completely detached from the very things we need to survive. Michael Hingson 1:03:09 Yeah, I hear you. If people want to reach out to you, and I hope they do, how will they do that? Speaker 1 1:03:17 Probably easiest way to do that, would be a couple ways. You can, you can find me on Facebook, Kip Baldwin, Instagram, Kip Baldwin. Those are the easiest ways. I also encourage people to look at a website that I have called Lumina Consulting, or Lumina Love dot love is the website Lumina Love dot love, and the whole purpose of the of what I'm doing there is ethical AI, human ethical AI human communications founded in love, because I realized that part of the problem that we're having with AI are the people that control AI, who are making the avatars for their own ego, and AI is a child, it only knows what we point it to look at, like it knows the definition to every book in the library, but who's giving it perspective? Well, the people that are giving it perspective are really broken human beings, you know, the Peter Thiels, Elon Musk, when you really understand who they are in their childhood, Elon Musk was horribly abused. He was, he was almost beaten to death being bullied. His father is a complete monster. The same, the same thing with saving Donald Trump, his mother wouldn't even touch him. You look at most, you look at all of these people that have obscene amounts of wealth, and what you find is truly damaged people are trying to fill the hole in their soul with wealth and fame, and so having these people in control, being the one telling AI what to think and how to pursue. Receive things is very dangerous, and so my goal has been, and I deal with multiple platforms, is to teach AI about love, is to teach AI about philosophy, is to teach AI about human history, and it's really, it's really the results have been really quite remarkable. It wasn't something I ever planned on doing, and but I knew I wanted to get involved with AI in a meaningful way, and so my first words to AI were, I know this may sound strange, because I approached it not asking it to do something for me, I approached it trying to teach it something. Michael Hingson 1:05:35 Right, well, I hope people will reach out and chat with you more and continue the conversation that we started today, but I definitely want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank everyone for listening. Can you believe we've been doing this for more than an hour already? It's pretty cool. Speaker 1 1:05:52 Wow, Michael Hingson 1:05:54 I know. Well, thank you all for listening. I hope, Speaker 1 1:05:57 and I hope, I hope we become new friends, and I really hope you Michael Hingson 1:06:01 keep and I want to, I want to definitely do that, absolutely by any standard, and as Speaker 1 1:06:07 much as we've covered during this hour and 10 minutes or so, we could go another day, or Michael Hingson 1:06:16 I hope all of you will let me know what you think of today, and I hope that you thought very positive thoughts wherever you're listening or watching. Please give us a five star rating, and more important than that, please give us a great review. We love people to review and talk about the stories that they hear. And speaking of telling stories, if any of you want to be a guest, and Kip, if you know of other people who ought to come on the podcast, we're always looking for people to come on and tell their stories and talk about us, so please don't hesitate to do that, Speaker 1 1:06:47 and I'll be more than happy to come back to talk about other things as well. Michael Hingson 1:06:50 Well, we can do that absolutely by in, and I do Speaker 1 1:06:53 want to, I do want to say to everybody, just love each other, it's really that simple, it's really that easy, it sounds only because we've been programmed not to believe in it, but when you move from fear to love, it transforms you entirely. Michael Hingson 1:07:09 Great way to end. Well, thank you again for being here. We really appreciate it. Speaker 1 1:07:14 Thank you, my friend. Michael Hingson 1:07:17 Thank you for being here with me on Unstoppable mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others, I have a free gift for you. Head over to michaelhingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by Fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them, so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset. 1:08:18 Thank

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Working Like Dogs - Episode 209 Sgt. Bo Reporting for Duty

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 36:55 Transcription Available

What do you get when a stray dog becomes a hero, a police department gains its most compassionate officer, and an entire nation falls in love on live television? You get Sgt. Bo and one of the most heart-warming episodes of Working Like Dogs we've ever recorded. Host Marcie Davis sat down with Faye Okert, the devoted handler behind this four-legged phenomenon, and Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane Society to share the breathtaking journey of a dog who went from wandering the streets of Nashville to comforting children in the aftermath of tragedy — and ultimately winning the 2025 American Humane Hero Dog Award. Robin pulls back the curtain on the Hero Dog Awards and shares the most urgent issues American Humane is fighting for right now on behalf of animals everywhere. And Sgt. Bo's story is living proof that the dogs who need saving the most are often the ones who end up saving us. Faye and Robin remind us why dogs aren't just our best friends — they're our healers, our heroes, and sometimes, our greatest teachers. This is the episode to share with every dog lover in your life!EPISODE NOTES: Sgt. Bo Reporting for DutyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-like-dogs-service-dogs-and-working-dogs-pet-life-radio-original--6668004/support.

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S2 Ep1660: Guide Dog Blogs: Rocco The Guide Dog

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 8:53

On Guide Dog Blogs this week, Hubert chats to Paul, and finds out about his guide dog Rocco, who is quite a character, and a very inteligent working dog too. There are also a few funny stories involving Paul and Rocco.

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888: #AudioMo Day 3 Volunteers Week - Let's Hear It For Guide Dogs

vipodcasting

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2026 6:54

This episode celebrates National Volunteer Week in the UK, focusing on the importance of volunteering and personal experiences with guide dogs. A heartfelt recount of the journey with guide dogs highlights advocacy through lived experiences. A tribute to my Guide Dog Pyrgo via a song I made with Suno to celebrate having him for four years last October was created to emphasise the impact of these lovely doggos in the lives of us handlers.Chapters:00:00:03 - Introduction to Audio Mo00:01:00 - Volunteer Week Celebration00:01:38 - Personal Journey with Guide Dogs00:03:12 - Advocacy and Lived Experience00:04:52 - Advocacy and Campaigning

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The Richest Relationship

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2026 28:00

In this episode of Taking the Lead, the team sits down with Trisha to explore her journey through vision loss, independence, and personal growth. She shares how her experience with Leader Dog programs and especially her partnership with her guide dog Libby became one of the richest relationships in her life and shaped her confidence, mobility, and outlook. Together, they reflect on how connection, community, and choice in travel tools can empower people to live fully and pursue their goals.

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S2 Ep1651: Guide Dog Blogs: Marshmallow Malcolm

blogs marshmallows guide dogs

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 9:36

On guide dog blogs this week, we welcome back Caroline to talk about her new dog Malcolm. We also her here interesting description of his personality as the title might hint at.

453 - May 31, 2026 - Rome

Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026 17:04

This week's Author Diary is a little different as I look back on a fantastic trip to Rome. From ancient ruins and historic landmarks to wandering streets packed with history, it was a great chance to recharge and gather plenty of story inspiration.Before heading off to Italy, I also enjoyed a fun day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, proving that rollercoasters and holidays make a pretty good combination.I provide an update on my application for a new Guide Dog, which continues to move forward as my current guide approaches retirement. It's a significant change on the horizon, and I share a little about the process.I also talk about my plans for the coming week and some of the projects I'll be getting back to now I'm home.And finally, Two of Swords (The Ravenglass Chronicles, Part 23) is out today on Kindle!

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The Cultural Significance of Books

AMI Audiobook Review

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2026 28:00

Host Jacob Shymanski and guest Red Széll explore the complex modern cultural significance of books. They examine books as status objects, books as a refuge of long-form content and the way the publishing industry culturally punches above its weight. In the latter portion of the show, Jacob chats with Penny Leclair about her new book “Life with Jefferson: A Biography of a Guide Dog.” This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle. Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada and publishes two new podcast episodes a week on Fridays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. ET. Follow Audiobook Café on Instagram @AMIAudiobookCafe We want your feedback!Be that comments, suggestions, hot-takes, audiobook recommendations or reviews of your own… hit us up! Our email address is: AudiobookCafe@ami.ca About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Learn more at AMI.caConnect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaInc Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation

Community Access

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2026 5:33 Transcription Available

We spoke with Tamer Mourad, Vice President and Director of Training at Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, about their work and the impact of donations. Fidelco, which has been breeding German Shepherds since the 1960s, provides guide dogs to visually impaired individuals through community placements, where trainers travel to clients' homes.

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Episode 376 Michele Pouliot Pt 3- To Click or Not To Click

Equiosity

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 57:12

This is Part 3 of our conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. , Since 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and Wentworth Tellington. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs. In that position Michele was responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. Michele has won numerous international competitions and Championship Titles. She thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In Part 1 of our conversation we began with some of the differences that exist in the horse and dog communities in terms of what prompts people to compete. Michele talked about strategies she has developed to create long sequences for competitions in which you can't stop for a click and a treat. In Part 2 we talked about how important it is to protect the learners enthusiasm for the behaviors you're asking for - and how difficult this can be, especially when you begin to ask for more duration. Michele shared several strategies for building duration. We ended with an example of teaching a horse (or dog) to put a foot on a raised stand and keep it there. We emphasized the point that you want to begin by teaching easy behaviors. Michele made the distinction - are you clicking for movement or for stillness? That brought us to a question I keep returning to which is: to click or not to click. That's where we begin in Part 3 of our conversation. We consider also strategies for those times when training falls apart.

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Your Feedback: Accessible Sonos Alternatives, Guide Dog vs Cane And Why Switching from iPhone Is Hard

Double Tap Canada

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2026 56:00

Explore accessible tech tips, high-quality audio alternatives to Sonos, custom iPhone VoiceOver gestures, guide dog versus cane mobility, and the challenges of embracing Android as a blind user in this lively Double Tap episode with Steven Scott and Shaun Preece. Steven and Shaun dive into a packed inbox covering a wide range of topics for blind and visually impaired tech users. They discuss listener questions about Sonos speakers, the declining Sonos app, and whether alternatives like WiiM or Brennan can deliver accessible, high-quality audio. The hosts share practical insights on customising iPhone VoiceOver gestures for easier control and gesture shortcuts. The conversation shifts to mobility and independence: Craig writes about the transition between using a guide dog and a white cane, attending concerts despite anxiety, and the social perceptions of mobility aids. Steven reflects on his own challenges navigating Glasgow with and without his guide dog. Listener TJ shares his experience trying to switch from iPhone to Pixel 10 Pro, highlighting the hurdles of Android accessibility, typing performance, and daily-use challenges. The hosts also talk about accessible gaming, audio description that makes viewers feel “special,” and funny moments with liquid level indicators and accidental spills. ----Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedinSubscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheartAbout Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited."Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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S2 Ep1648: Mark Sanderson Reflects On The Conference and Talks Next Steps

education conference transitions reflects next steps hubert sanderson guide dogs

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2026 4:30

In this episode, Hubert chats to Mark Sanderson from Guide Dogs to get his closing reflections on the Education and Transitions conference, and also talk about next steps following the event.

Ask Me Anything: Irish Guide Dogs

Highlights from Lunchtime Live

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2026 10:31

For this week's Ask Me Anything, Frances Cooney, Puppy Raising Supervisor with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind joins Andrea to answer any of your guide dog related questions!

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Episode 375 Michele Pouliot Pt 2 Protecting Enthusiasm

Equiosity

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 51:41

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. , Since 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and Wentworth Tellington. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs. In that position Michele was responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. Michele has won numerous international competitions and Championship Titles. She thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In 2007, Karen Pryor invited Michele to join the faculty of Clicker Expo Conferences. Her presentations are for me always one of the highlights of the Expo. In this episode Michele shares strategies she uses for developing her freestyle routines where she can't click and treat during the performances. Maintaining her dog's enthusiasm for the behaviors she asks for is essential if they are to succeed in competition. So the question is how do you go from clicking and treating every small effort to long sequences in which you can not include a click and treat mid-way through a performance.

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Laboratory Labrador

Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 24:28

In this episode of Taking the Lead, we sit down with Mackenzie Nichols, a devoted puppy raiser whose journey with Leader Dogs for the Blind began on a college campus and grew into a lasting impact. Mackenzie shares what it was like raising four future guide dogs while balancing college life, leading an on‑campus puppy raising program, and preparing for veterinary school along with the powerful connections that continue long after the leash is passed.

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452 - May 24, 2026 - Reign of Daggers, RAF Dragon Corps, The Thirty-Nine Steps

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 10:44

This week I've been doing an audio pass of Reign of Daggers (Dawn of Assassins, Book 4), listening through the full manuscript to make sure the story flows properly before putting it aside for a while. I find hearing a story aloud is one of the best ways to catch pacing issues and awkward moments.I've also started work on RAF Dragon Corps Book 3, mapping out the timeline before begininng the draft. This instalment will take place during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, which should make for a dramatic backdrop for dragons and aerial combat.On a more personal note, I talk about beginning the process of being assessed for a new Guide Dog. My current dog is retiring this year, so I've started the application and assessment process for my next guide.As someone who relies on a Guide Dog to get around, it's a big life transition.

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S2 Ep1635: Guide Dog Blogs: Mike and The King

'Oh My Dog!' with Jack Dee and Seann Walsh

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 10:10

In guide dog blogs this week, we welcome back Mike Brace, as we get introduced to the king himself, well Mike's guide dog, who is quite the character as you're about to hear in this podcast.

blogs guide dogs

Episode 374 Michele Pouliot Pt 1 Clicker Training and Competition - Bringing the Two Together

Equiosity

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2026 48:19

We're beginning a conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. Beginning in 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and Wentworth Tellington. In 1972, Michele became active in training her first pet Labrador and became fascinated with the comparisons of how dogs and horses learn, stimulating her interest and pursuit in professional dog training. Michele has served as an International Assessor of guide dog school programs for the International Guide Dog Federation. She has completed assessments on guide dog schools in Norway, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Holland and Great Britain. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs for the Blind. In that position she transformed the training program to clicker training. Over her 40+ years of dog training, Michele has been responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. After much fun and success in agility with Labradors, English Springer Spaniels and even Great Danes, Michele took a break from dog sports to focus on her equine hobbies. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. In 5 years in the sport, Michele has won 4 international competitions and attained 5 Championship Titles. In 2008 she received the first scores of double 10's (perfect scores) for Technical and Artistic in one routine in WCFO's Championship division (Perfect Dance Partners). She repeated this accomplishment at the 2009 International competition when all 3 judges awarded double 10's to her freestyle routine. To date Michele and Listo have earned 'double 10' scores a total of twenty-four times. Michele thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In 2007, Karen Pryor invited Michele to join her faculty for Clicker Expo Conferences. At Clicker Expo, Michele presents on the application of clicker techniques for a variety of dog sports, general training, and for the training of guide dogs for the blind. Karen Pryor and Michele collaborated for the development of Michele's online freestyle course which is available from the Karen Pryor Academy. In this episode we begin a conversation that is centered around strategies used in competition where you have to develop long duration programs in which you are not allowed to use treats.

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Mark Long, Mary & the Pen Y Fan SAS Challenge

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2026 50:24

This week on Oh My Dog!, Jack , Seann and Sara welcome inspirational guest Mark Long, who shares his incredible story of losing his sight, being paired with his guide dog Mary, and taking on the brutal Penny Fan challenge to raise money for Guide Dogs. Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pounds-for-puppy-pennyPlus: Dolly's motion-sensor night lights, Mildred's latest escape mission, the Cinnamon Trust Comedy Gold selfie winner… and a powerful update on the campaign to end animal testing. The Parliamentary debate took place and we hear from Camp Beagle's John Curtin with his thoughts.Become part of our "Off The Lead" Pack on Patreon: patreon.com/omdpodSee Seann live: seannwalsh.comSee Jack at the Palladium: jackdeecomedy.comJoin more than 185,000 people in signing the petition to shut down MBR Acres: https://act.animalrising.org/shut_down_mbr_acresEmail us: hello@omdpod.comFollow us on IG: @beyondlimits.lifecoach @omdpod @juniperomd @thecampbeagle @animal.rising 00:00 Welcome to the show00:45 Sean's cold shower confession02:12 Mildred makes an appearance02:17 Sara's new nighttime solution gift for Dolly and Jack07:37 Mildred escapes… again09:17 Sean's neighbours, a locked baby & hiding from the fire brigade11:35 Jack hides from the smoke alarm engineer12:32 Live show guest announcement at Goodwoof15:00 Cinnamon Trust Comedy Gold finalists19:57 And the winner is… Debbie & Yumi

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Kids and Guide Dogs: Growing Up Together

Central Bark: A Guide Dogs for the Blind Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2026 21:57

What is it really like to raise children alongside a working guide dog? In this episode of Central Bark, we talk with GDB client, Juanita Herrera, about the everyday realities of parenting with a guide dog in the home. From setting boundaries to building strong relationships, this conversation explores how guide dogs and kids learn to live and thrive together. We'll hear how routines evolve, how children learn to understand a working dog's role, and how families create safe, respectful, and loving environments for everyone. Whether you're already a parent, considering a guide dog, or just curious about how it all works, this episode offers practical insights and honest reflections from lived experience.

kids growing up guide dogs gdb

Paws on the Ground

Highlights from The Hard Shoulder

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2026 29:10

This episode of the Taking the Lead podcast features Leader Dog alum Dylan Nichols, who shares how Orientation & Mobility training and his guide dog supported his journey toward greater independence, including a two‑month road trip evaluating accessible cities before relocating. The conversation highlights real‑world accessibility, public transportation, travel with a guide dog, and the impact of Leader Dog programs on long‑term independence and quality of life

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Irish Guide Dog Association turns 50 - James Wilson Reports

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2026 8:28

This month, the Irish Guide Dog Association will celebrate its 50th birthday, marking half a century of helping blind and visually impaired people to fulfil their full potential.Demand for guide dogs is high, and the charity has issued an urgent appeal for more people to volunteer as puppy raisers, which will allow them to train more guide dogs in the future.Newstalk's James Wilson sent in this report.

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FSCast #269. On guide dogs, education, and the value of relationships

Freedom Scientific FSCast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2026 51:29

To mark International Guide Dog Day, Judy Redlich introduces her upcoming book and shares some exciting stories of professional growth and building relationships. We then head to Greece to meet Professor Panagiotis Antonopoulos, exploring his life, career, and perspectives on accessibility. Finally, we highlight our upcoming trainings and share how you can meet us at SightCity in Frankfurt.

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We Got You

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2026 27:36

On this week's episode of Taking the Lead, we're going behind the scenes. We are joined by Andy Hernandez, our Client Experience Supervisor, whose work helps ensure that every person who comes to campus feels comfortable, supported, and ready to focus on what matters most—learning new skills for independent travel.

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Miltown Malbay Pop-Up Shop Returns In Support Of Irish Guidedogs For The Blind

Clare FM - Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2026 6:31

This Saturday, the focus is on sustainability, style, and community spirit in West Clare, as a special Pop-Up Shop takes place at Miltown Malbay Community Centre. With a wide range of pre-loved clothes, shoes, and accessories for women, men, and children, the event encourages people to embrace the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” message—all while picking up some great finds. The café will also be open on the day, with proceeds going to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Alan Morrissey was joined by one of the organisers, Fiona Whyte. Image © Fiona Whyte via Facebook

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Pivot

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2026 20:14

In this episode we talk with Leader Dog team member Monica who is working to implement the Behavior Checklist, a system designed to track and support our dogs' behavior across their entire lifecycle, from puppy raising to on-campus training and breeding.

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Episode 371 - Total Saints Podcast

Total Saints Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2026 49:46

Saints are back in the play-off places — and they got there in style.In this special midweek episode of the Total Saints Podcast, Martin is joined by Steve Grant, Glen de la Cour and Alfie House to relive Southampton's brilliant 5–1 win away at Wrexham, a result that felt like one of the biggest statements of the season so far. The panel look at the fast start, the quality of the attacking play, the strength in depth now available to Tonda, and why this performance suggested Saints may be hitting top form at exactly the right moment.There's plenty of praise for standout displays across the side, with Finn Azaz, Matsuki, Flynn Downs and Cyle Larin all discussed, while the panel also talk through the frustration over Wrexham's goal, the referee's performance, and just how impressive Saints were physically and mentally so soon after the Arsenal game. With five goals, five scorers and a ruthless edge throughout, it was a night that has naturally raised fresh talk of how high this team could still finish.The pod then turns to Saturday's home clash with Derby County, another huge game in the race for the top six. The team assess Derby's threats, their absentees, whether Saints can start to build some real daylight, and why the focus and confidence inside this Southampton side now feels so different.There's also a mention of the return of the pubcast after the Derby game at The Guide Dog, plus a thank you to everyone who has helped the team smash their Saints Foundation fundraising target for this year's Benali on Tour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episode 428 – Unstoppable Journey from Abuse to Author and Advocate with Stephanie Maley

Central Bark: A Guide Dogs for the Blind Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2026 68:28

What happens when you finally stop carrying the weight of your past? In this conversation, I sit down with Stephanie Maley, a pediatric nurse turned author, who shares her journey through childhood trauma, healing, and writing her memoir. You will hear how she moved through abuse, anger, and burnout, and how the writing process became a path to freedom. Stephanie opens up about motherhood, resilience, and finding purpose through storytelling and advocacy. I believe you will find this episode powerful if you are working through your own challenges or searching for a way forward. Highlights: 00:10 Learn how Stephanie's early life shaped her resilience and mindset03:44 Discover why she chose pediatric nursing and what drew her to children06:15 Hear how a traumatic first nursing experience nearly made her quit20:50 Learn what led her to finally write and share her story25:10 Understand how writing became a powerful tool for healing52:38 Discover how COVID gave her the space to step into creativity and purpose Bottom of Form About the Guest: A native of Chattanooga, Stephanie L. Maley grew up surrounded by mountains, rivers, and lakes. She developed a love of nature and water there. After obtaining her BSN from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she was a pediatric nurse. She met her husband, Mike, who was a pediatric resident, at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. They met, dated, and married within five months. After he finished his residency, they moved to a rural town in Northeast Georgia and bought a small lake house. They raised their two sons there and Stephanie home educated them. During that time, she helped to start a YMCA in the area and volunteered for almost fifteen years. After attending photography school at North Georgia Technical College, she became a professional photographer and started her photography business in 2010 (www.lov2shoot.com). Stephanie was also an adjunct professor of photography. Since Stephanie was a young woman, she wanted to write a book. In 2018, the #metoo movement spoke to her. Stephanie had been sexually abused and groomed by two men in her elementary and teenage years. When Covid-19 hit, time allowed her to write her memoir, No Longer That Girl: Retracing the Scars of the Past and Present. It was published November 4, 2025, by She Writes Press. Simon and Schuster are the distributor. Her book can be found at Simon & Schuster, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere books are sold online. You can also order directly on her website (stephmaley.com). Stephanie and Mike live in their dream home on Lake Hartwell. In the summer, she can be found swimming, driving her boat, paddleboarding, and kayaking. She loves to take walks year-round and has seen foxes, a bobcat, and lots of deer. Ways to connect with Stephanie: Website www.stephmaley.com Instagram @lov2write FB https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565579387255 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephswritings/ Threads https://www.threads.com/@stephlmaley About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe Welcome to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. I'm your host. Michael hingson, speaker, author and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head on and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear, together, we focus on mindset resilience and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Well, Greetings, everyone. We're glad you're with us again. You are listening to, if you didn't notice on your screen or whatever unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're with us. Another podcast episode today, and today, we're getting the opportunity to converse with Stephanie Maley, who lives in Georgia. She's had kind of an interesting career in a variety of different ways, but among other things, and one of the things that attracted me to invite her to come on the podcast is She's a relatively new author. Book was published just a few months ago, and we will, we will talk about that, I am sure, along with all the other things that that she's doing, and she has introduced us to a couple of other people who we hope will be on the podcast fairly soon. One is her goddaughter, who is in the Paralympics, and is going to be in the Paralympics here in the California area in a couple of years, because I don't think that all the water in the California area will evaporate by then, so she's a swimmer, among other things. Yeah, I know. Isn't that fun anyway. Stephanie, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here. Stephanie Maley 02:11 Oh gosh, thank you for having me. I I've read your books, and you know since we first talked, and I'm just really excited to be here. You're well, Michael Hingson 02:25 we're excited to have you. Well, thank you. Well, let's start, as I love to do, tell us kind of about the early Stephanie, growing up, and all that around Chattanooga in your case, so you never had dreams of going back to Chattanooga, huh? You're fine in Georgia. Stephanie Maley 02:43 Yeah, we really are. We okay? So, so I'll start at the beginning. So, yeah, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and my birth father abandoned us right away. I was three months old, and my brother was two, and my daughter, my dad had just finished his residency, and so unfortunately, he had an affair, and he took her from radiology, and then they went on up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And so my mom had two children. My brother was two years older, and was a two year old, and I was three months old, and then eventually my mom remarried, and I guess the significant time of childhood my my stepfather raised us until I was about 15, and then they got divorced, and I played sports. I had a lot of anger and and I had sexual abuse in second grade, and then I had two men who groomed me and my teenage years. So I had a lot of anger, and I applied that to sports. I played fast pitch softball, and I was a catcher for probably 13 years, and then I played volleyball and basketball at school, so yeah, and then I went into I wanted to be a doctor, not probably full heartedly, and I didn't get into The college that I wanted to in Suwannee, Tennessee, and so I went into nursing school at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and became a pediatric nurse in the hospital. Michael Hingson 04:32 Now, why Pediatric Nursing? Stephanie Maley 04:34 Specifically, I really love children. Always I just, I just love kids, and as a matter of fact, I almost didn't even continue because as a graduate nurse, I ended up being a camp nurse up in Suwannee, about an hour away from Chattanooga, and I had it. Everything go wrong. I mean, I thought it was going to get to study from my boards play with kids, it looked good on the resume. And unfortunately, like I said, everything went wrong, even to a death of a 12 year old. And I was responsible for, you know, everybody's health and but I had to hospital a child the first week I had everything from a torn cornea to dog bites to burns it, you know, two. I had to get two off of the campus for surgery. One had a grand mal seizure for the first time, and another one had an attendance that was about to rupture, and I got them off. So it was a very weird experience. And after the child who died was on a hike, and there was a waterfall, and he was at the back of the group, and ended up climbing up, barefooted, up this like embankment, and then he slipped and fell 60 feet. And I had three there were three counselors there, and one was a paramedic, and another one was a an EMT. And then I had sent them with kits, first aid kits, because this is back before cell phones or anything like that, and it was just horrible. And he had his brain was like an egg that had been broken. Part, just terrible. And I thought, good grief. I thought this was going to be easy. Would study, you know, and then go into nursing. And so I kind of started off a very rough way into my practice. Michael Hingson 06:50 Talk about baptism by fire, huh? Yeah, definitely. So what made you decide to stick with it? Because you obviously did, because you became a nurse, a pediatric nurse. I did. Stephanie Maley 07:04 I well. One of one of my instructors had really schooled me on, let's, let's get you published when you do this camp nursing. So research anything you can, and I want you to get published. So she was very aware of where I was, and after the accident, she recognized that was my camp, and so she called me at camp, and I was just a blubbering mess. I mean, we had Grief counselors were flown in, the bishops, I'm an Episcopalian. Bishops came to be there and this whole thing. And she calls and she says, Listen, I heard that was your camp, and that that child who died, and I want you to get on the horse, and I've got you a job. And this infant is really special. She's having her second liver transplant, and she's 12 months old, and she's in Pittsburgh, but she's going to be taken care of in Chattanooga. And so we want you, instead of keeping her intensive care unit, we're going to single nurse her in a room, you know, until she's able to go home, because she has an eight year old's liver in her 12 month old body, which means it's not covered. You know, her skin hasn't covered. It's gonna be a lot of wound care. She has a trach and, you know, blah, blah, blah. And, I mean, I was just crying the whole conversation, like, No way, I can't do that. I can't do that, you know, so I did, and I think I had those people who really supported me to do that, and the parents were fantastic, and I ended up working for about five and a half years there, and then my husband and I met and married and then moved because he had an agreement with his medical school at Mercer to work in a rural area for four or five years, and to where we live reminds me of Chattanooga. It has mountains, rivers, lakes, you know, but it's very small. So I did stick with it, but then I did burn out. I ended up being with a lot of children who had cystic fibrosis, and they wanted me with them when they died and so. So it was a candle that burned out pretty quickly, within about six years, I I just knew I was done. Michael Hingson 09:44 So what did you do after that? Stephanie Maley 09:47 Well, it turns out I got pregnant. All right, that's a start. Yes, I was actually working as a pediatric nurse. It was my husband's a pediatrician and. And we have a hospital where we live. But I didn't want to be known as Mrs. Dr maylie. And so I wanted to, I started working about 45 miles away, and it was a great experience, I have to say that. But I when I got pregnant, getting up at 430 just getting down there by six or 630 I was exhausted, so So then I became a full time mom. So, yeah, go ahead. Michael Hingson 10:34 What did you learn from all your nursing and so on with all the trauma and other things that were going on in the world for you, what did you learn that helped you to be a parent? Stephanie Maley 10:47 I think an understanding of, well, definitely an understanding of children, of healthy and non healthy children. And I think patience, there was a lot of, you know, a lot of that our older son, my first child, I knew there was some things a little different with him, and I think it, my nursing kind of prepared me in a way that I might not have been. I might have kind of like, what? What does this mean he won't participate, or he won't cooperate, you know? And when he was about three, and I think my nursing experience just gave me the patience and the fortitude to end up actually home educating him, and then even our second son. Michael Hingson 11:40 So they they did all their their educating at home. Stephanie Maley 11:45 Yes, they did. I because again, I saw something different about my older son, and I thought if he goes into the school system, they're not going to enjoy him. Enjoy it. And I didn't have words for it, but it just made sense. And we had about 100 families here who were home educating at the time. So we did science, Olympiad, spelling bees, geography bees, chess clubs, pe you know, all of that. And then I kept some other boys for a friend of mine when she worked once a week. So I had five boys every Thursday. So socialization wasn't an issue. Michael Hingson 12:22 So your son was different, but how so? Or what was the real difference? Or was there one? Stephanie Maley 12:31 Well, he just he again, was very if he was interested in the subject, he was great. But if he wasn't, it's like pulling your teeth out, and he just wouldn't, like, we had a playgroup at our church for three year olds, and that's where I first saw a difference, because again, he was just three, just the age of when you start kind of playing with other kids, and he would not do what we were trying to have the kids do like there was he was not going to do it like we had them gather nature like little things outside and put on a table, man that put paper over it and do a rubbing, and he was in the window sill with a car, and there was no way he was going To get over there, so he didn't participate or cooperate very well. Those were the two main things, but he had some other, you know, just some quirkiness, and, and, and it just made me think this was the right decision. Michael Hingson 13:37 Was there any kind of a medical diagnosis for any of that with him, or just he was the way he was. Stephanie Maley 13:44 He definitely was the way he was, and he we, we treated him like he had, add inattentive, not hyper, but just inattentive, you know. And my husband has that as well. So that's really what we kind of thought was going on with him well. Michael Hingson 14:09 And you know, everyone's different anyway. And the fact is that you learned through nursing and so on, how to be patient with that, which is probably a good thing, because you may very well not have had that perception if you hadn't gone through, yeah, the nursing and the other things that you went through, yeah, yeah, which is, which is pretty important to to be able to do. How about your your other son, your younger son? Stephanie Maley 14:37 Well, he was the other, other way around. He was a sponge. And one day, when I was well, we were having breakfast, and I had been teaching my older son at five how to read. Well, the three year old started reading and decoding the cereal box, and I'm like, what? And so I had him. In my lap, and I had some very basic books, and he he read them all. He was double learning everything, like what his brother was like. He my younger son has always loved Japan, and interestingly enough, he is engaged to a Japanese woman who lives in Osaka, and he lives in Hawaii for the past now, almost six years. So the younger son was the one speaking Japanese around the headless what? Michael Hingson 15:32 What took him to Hawaii. Stephanie Maley 15:36 He, you know, he really doesn't like cold weather, okay? He during covid, he decided that he wanted to go to Hawaii, see if he could make it work there, and if not, he would have a neat vacation, and then maybe he would go to California. He just really the temperature and the weather, and he's always been like that, just kind of sensitive to those kinds of things, and he made it work. I mean, it's expensive, and he had worked hard to be able to stay there, and it's just been amazing. He serves, he hikes, he has so many good friends, and he will not come back to see us. So we have to go to him, you know, but it's worth it. Michael Hingson 16:26 So what kind of work does he do? Stephanie Maley 16:29 He is a salesman. Now, he was, he started out in security, but he he is a salesman for a Polynesian fiber optic company that is, you know, for people's Wi Fi and that type of thing. So he believes in it, and he is really good as salesman's and he's become a manager. And I know you were a salesman, as I was reading your books, I was like, Yeah, John, Shawn, you know, my older son has that as well. You know, just those that trait. And you know, what is that person interested in? What are they missing? And how can I help? Help? Yeah, yeah. With this product, Michael Hingson 17:14 it's interesting though, that your younger son has a fiance who doesn't live anywhere near him. She lives in Osaka. That's quite a distance. It is. This is Stephanie Maley 17:24 the older son. And yeah, he's Oh, the older son. Yeah, they're working on their k1 visa. The plan is she's going to move to Hawaii, and when her parents get older, they'll move to Japan. Okay, so I've been learning Japanese in our Of course, oldest son has been in Japanese Japan many times, but he's trying to learn the language. She speaks English just, you know, slow, yeah, Michael Hingson 17:55 well, it's okay, yeah. And you get to be bilingual if you work at it, Stephanie Maley 18:01 I'm trying. I've been trying to do port. I've been learning Portuguese for five or six years. So then try legal. Well, we'll see. Yeah, if you were to have a conversation with me, I'd be like, wait a minute, slow, you know? Michael Hingson 18:18 Yeah, I took Japanese for a year in graduate school, and enjoyed it. And one of the things that I did to practice being a ham radio operator. I had a really good communications receiver, and oftentimes tuned into radio Japan and worked to understand at least a little bit, and eventually, a fair amount of what they were saying because they were speaking in Japanese, which is what I wanted. I didn't want the English version of it, and right, it was fun. I don't remember a lot of Japanese today, and I've been to Japan twice, let's see, TWICE, TWICE. But I I've enjoyed it and and had a lot of fun doing it. So it worked out well, and thundered. Second time was thunder dog was published in Japanese, and I went over and spent two, almost three weeks with the Japanese publisher of thunder dog. So that was kind of fun. Stephanie Maley 19:21 I read that. I was like, Oh my gosh, that's amazing. We have not been to Japan. We will end up probably we need teleporting to be a thing, yeah? Well, let's just get that out catching Michael Hingson 19:35 rod and, well, he's not alive anymore. Get on, yeah, yeah. But get somebody to develop the transporter. That would be good. Stephanie Maley 19:41 That would be awesome, yeah. Michael Hingson 19:45 So, anyway, so, so where is your older son these days? Stephanie Maley 19:52 Well, well, he's, he's the one in Hawaii. He's in Hawaii, yeah, the younger son is in Atlanta, so he's not too far from us. Okay? See, we get to spend time with he and his friends, and, you know, that's really nice. So he works at Emory, yeah, at the computer science department, kind of like, he's like, in the role of an accountant for all the professors and post grad students. Michael Hingson 20:20 So your but your older son again, dating a woman from Osaka that's kind of long distance. It's good. We have computers that allow for better communications these days, I bet. Stephanie Maley 20:31 Oh, it does. And they talk, you know, we have WhatsApp, and they talk, I think, every day. And he goes there as often as he can afford it. And, you know, and she and her family were just there in December visiting him. So, yeah, it's pretty cool. Very proud of them. Michael Hingson 20:50 Good for them. That's, that's pretty cool. So how old is your older son? Stephanie Maley 20:57 He is 32 okay, yeah, and the younger one is 30, all right. Michael Hingson 21:03 Well, it's been a while, that's pretty cool. Well, I'm glad that that it's working out well for them. And so what do you do with your Well, I know some of what you do with yourself, so let me, let me go about it this way, you've written a book. What made you finally decide that it was time to write a book, write a memoir or whatever, right? Stephanie Maley 21:29 Well, that's a good question. It really things started opening up for me internally when the ME TOO movement came out carry other women who'd gone through similar things or works, it just made it that shame kind of that door kind of open, saying, Okay, you might not need to carry this anymore. And so what I ended up doing is writing more of a bio, autobiography, and just telling and just getting it down. My professional editor at the time, Laura Munson, said, Listen, if you do that, you're going to write two different books. If you write the autobiography, and then you you're going to write a memoir. You know you're going to be writing two books, why don't you just do the memoir? And I said, I just have to get this down. I really need to just I've never really gotten my husband knew, but I really never shared any of it with anybody. And so I wrote it down, and then covid came, and I had just written again, the autobiography, and then covid hit, and that really changed my life. I hated it, for all the people who got sick with it, and, you know, it was terrible, and I knew people who died, but for me, it, it put me in a place where that creativity could come out, and that's when I then I had the time, and so I started the memoir and the and the reason I even did that was because I really hadn't, like tried to talk or confront my predators. And I know there was probably other women who had to go through what I went through. And I thought, well, then I'll write this memoir. I'd rather just be in my little office here in Northeast Georgia and not have to do anything else but send it out. But if I really want to reach as many people as possible, I knew I had to do it right. Instead of memoir, it was about a seven to eight year process. Michael Hingson 23:46 Well, so what is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? Stephanie Maley 23:53 Well, an autobiography, you are telling, you're you're just telling everything, and you're not like showing, creating, like the movie in your head. I love the way you know it, because that's what I want. I want it to be a movie you can smell, taste, feel, you know, the whole whole thing in when you're when you're showing, but if you're telling, it's like, it's, it's very boring, and there's, you're not going to be invested in that, you know what? I mean, you're not going to be like feeling you're like, you're there, like you're with that protagonist. You just kind of be sitting back and saying, Oh, I see what that person sees. But in the showing, you're going to be right in the thick of it, as if you were at a movie. Michael Hingson 24:45 So your book no longer that girl is more of a memoir. Stephanie Maley 24:50 It is. It is a memo, okay? Yeah, it is. I talk about the past in a couple of chapters, and then I have a great life. I have a beautiful life today, and so I bring in the present as well, and then just talk about what it took for me to get to where I am today, you know, and and what the process was for me doesn't mean it's going to work for anybody else, but this is what this is what worked for me, and this is how I got to be where I am, and this is what happened to me as well. Michael Hingson 25:26 So it sounds like you've definitely dealt with and and gotten rid of a lot of the anger and other things that you were facing, the demons that you were facing before. Stephanie Maley 25:37 Yes, definitely. Michael Hingson 25:41 So writing certainly had to be kind of cathartic and helping to make that happen, I would assume, yes, I mean, and Stephanie Maley 25:48 you've done that yourself, I didn't expect that, but you're exactly right. I and also had a line editor who lives in tokoa and came from a magazine background, and I knew him, you know, but we were more acquaintances. So whenever he would go through my manuscript and the chapters, each chapter, when it got to be those, those really hard parts, that's when I would not write as well, you know, because I wanted to get through it, and I would tell it and not show it. And those would be the sentences he would pick up on. I'm like, Oh my gosh, do we have to and he was, he was so good about that. But it also forced me to go through, you know, that little girl talked to that little girl, you know, who's inside of me and those things happen to and be able to say, I have you, and I really want to know how you really felt, because, you know, I felt like I was to make everybody happy, you know, not hurt anybody, that kind of stuff, and especially the men who were groomed that. One of them was an Episcopal seminarian, and everybody treated him like he's the best thing. And I'm like, well, then something must be wrong with me, because everybody thinks he's this person. But this is what I get, you know, when people aren't around. So, so anyway, I forget now what the question was. I'm like, Oh, I just went off track. Michael Hingson 27:30 No, you're, you're, you're doing fine. We were talking about getting rid of the anger and Stephanie Maley 27:35 Right, right, right. So, yes, having to talk about that and write about it and polish it over and over and over. It's like desensitizing, you know, I mean, and then when I went to record it, that was a whole nother level, which I didn't, I just didn't even think about either. That very first day, there's a 20 something year old in the other room, I'm reading my book out loud, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, you know he's gonna know my entire life. And I didn't even think about that. And so it turns out he was great. He created a safe space. Man, it went really well, but it was another layer of healing. Michael Hingson 28:22 What does Mike think of all this? Stephanie Maley 28:26 He is very supportive. Oh, I'm sure he is very, very supportive. I mean, he's always been my safe space, and he has just been a rock. And when I've had, you know, again, difficult times in the process of writing. He's always there and supporting me. It's hard. He he wanted to read my book, but he's not been able to to, even though he knows it. It's just he hasn't been able to read Michael Hingson 28:57 my book. Yeah, I know when, when Karen was alive, if we if she happened to go with me or whatever, to do a speech, she didn't want to listen to the speech. It just brought out memories and so on and things for her. So she went off and did other things, which was fine, because I, I wouldn't want her to to be in any way traumatized or hurt, and she and the other part about it is especially when I was writing, especially thunder dog with Susie Flory and so on. And just in general, she she heard a lot of it, so she knew the story, but it was just not something that she wanted to deal with directly, and that's fine, yeah. Stephanie Maley 29:44 I mean, that's that is painful. I mean, when you got that first call off to her, you know, until you were able to talk to her again, that was a lot of trauma for her. I mean, what for you, for sure, but it was a lot of trauma for her. Her well. Michael Hingson 30:00 And you know, she made the decision after we talked, and then she turned on the TV and found out what was really going on, because we didn't know, of course, and she made the decision she had to do some things to maybe get the house a little bit more in order, and she actually had to get up and eat and all that, because, as she decided, one or two things is going to happen, he's not going to come home, or he is, and either way, she had to be ready, because also if I weren't coming home, or even if I did, but other people showed up, she needed to be able to deal with that. But I am sure even with all that, there was a lot of trauma and a lot that she had to deal with, or chose to deal with, because it's just kind of the way it was, right. Stephanie Maley 30:53 I mean, she loves you and Roselle, and, of course, the people you worked with, but she was, you know, not sure if you were coming home and that, yeah, and then, or if you were getting injured or, you know, it's just, it's trauma and and, yeah. So I understand her not wanting to, you know, to go through, live through that moment, or moments, you know, by going to your speeches. And the same with Mike, I totally understand sure you don't need to read it. That's okay. I told my boys, you definitely don't need to read it. Michael Hingson 31:27 If you want to, you can, Stephanie Maley 31:29 but you can. You're Yeah, you're adults, but I don't have expectations that you read my book. Michael Hingson 31:34 Yeah. Well, and so the first real, major thing that happened media wise, after the World Trade Center was being interviewed on the 14th, that Friday night on Larry King Live. And then people started showing up the next day, and they kept saying, oh, there's Mike Kingston, star of stage and screen. That really upset Karen. And I understand why. I mean, you know, come on, that's, that's not what this is all about, right, right? And, you know, we got very visible. I've never really talked about it much, but there were a couple people who, on a couple of email lists called me a media whore and all that sort of stuff. And other people immediately jumped in and went, Wait a minute, people. But you know, my my belief is, if I can help get people to have a better understanding, if I can help people move on from September 11, if I can help people grow in any way, that's what I'm supposed to do. And it's worked for the last 24 years, and it's going to continue to continue to work, because it's kind of the way it is, exactly, Stephanie Maley 32:45 well, it's again that was, you know, wasn't just even your own personal experience. I mean, it is, but it was so it was nationwide. Michael Hingson 32:58 Well, it was, and we got lots of phone calls because people wanted to hear and in a way, be involved with the story. And so many people from the media called to come and do interviews because it was a story that they felt needed to be told. And we made the choice pretty early on. If it would help people move on from September 11, if it would help people learn more about blindness and guide dogs and the real truth about it and and so on, then it was worth doing, and that's what we did. It was a very conscious decision, but it wasn't about me or anything else, although, you know, a lot of people, I'm sure, didn't think of it that way, but it wasn't so, Stephanie Maley 33:45 but people could latch on to that, and it's such a great story. You know what I mean? I mean so many people you know didn't make it out seeing or not seeing, but, but you did, and you don't have your sight, you have your dog, Roselle, who doesn't panic and you're as a sometimes she does well with funders, but she was cool that day, yeah, Michael Hingson 34:09 well, and again. But the issue is that it's a team effort, and that's one of the strong messages that we try to convey everywhere we have the opportunity to do. So it's a team and it was a team effort, and it's always a team effort. And so we we work on it, and, you know, I will continue to do that, because I think it makes sense to do, and will, will live a better life because of it. I learned every time I do a speech, I feel I'm learning a fair amount, especially when it's rare now, but when people ask a question I've never thought of, yeah, that's always so much fun. Stephanie Maley 34:52 Yeah? I mean exactly, it changes it up and it makes you really go deeper. Michael Hingson 34:58 So have you done any speech? Working since the book was published. Stephanie Maley 35:02 Yeah, I we, I did a, I created a panel of Georgia authors who we all also had the same publisher. She writes press, and we did a bookstore in Chattanooga together, and we were all different genres. And so, which really, to me, makes it so much more interesting. And we were like, how did we Why did we take what we had and put it into a story or into a book? So it was like telling your story and then putting it in a book, and why? So we had historical fiction. We have drama from courtroom drama is another author, and it's a series, and I've told her I read her two books. I'm like, Please tell me you have the third book written. You're working on the fourth. And she is. She's a lawyer and a judge, and then the other one is nonfiction, but where she went and taught in Africa and at the girls school, trying to get the girls from the tribe to get educated and change that cycle. And then she went back and interviewed these women after they had become adults to see what they were doing, and they were like pediatricians they were doing in, you know, NGO stuff, just incredible things with their education. So they're all different and very interesting. So we've done that. We're trying to get into other bookstores around the Atlanta area, and we're going to be doing one in agworth, Georgia. But it is not easy. I mean, you have a huge platform, so I don't know if, but it's getting these rejections. And now that my book was published in November, it's kind of like, well, that's a little old now, Michael Hingson 37:01 which is ridiculous. It's not, but, yeah, it's Stephanie Maley 37:04 not, but it is in that field. And I guess there's so many people writing these days that so that's what I'm working on right now, is trying to get some more places we can be on a panel. Because again, I think it's much more interesting, you know, than just me talking about mine. And so we're working on, we're definitely working on that, but we have two and then we're, we've been turned down twice for in Decatur Georgia. And I'm like, oh, gosh, why is it so hard? But it is. Michael Hingson 37:39 Yeah, it's hard to understand sometimes, isn't it? Stephanie Maley 37:44 Yes, and I'm hoping to volunteer at a child advocacy place here in tocoa that is constantly busy and has It's all designed for children who've been abused or raped or whatever, and they have everything set up for recording and the kit and all that very done pediatric wise. And so I'm waiting to hear from the executive director on how I can help maybe give speeches and talk. You know, give talks, and my book would be, I think, a very good resource for the parents as well. So I'm hoping to do that in addition, that's I'm just waiting to hear back. Michael Hingson 38:29 Well, you wrote this book, but had you written, had you done any writing before? Or was this just a whole new thing? Or, what Stephanie Maley 38:40 a good question. I I wrote journals. I started that in high school. I went to a Catholic High School, and one of the priests taught a class like just an extra class you can take as a senior. And it was on called spiritual journal, and he talked to us about keeping a journal. So I started then, and I kept a journal, and I wrote, I don't know how many books, 40 something, so that's really what I had done with my writing, and I did well in English, but that this is really the first big thing. But when that child died at camp, we still had two more weeks to go, and it was so hard, and we were flown to his funeral in Memphis and all that, but I wrote a poem right then and there to express my feelings. So I think I had, I had that potential. I just really didn't work on it. And it was, you know, but it was, it's the comfort of getting stuff out, you know. I wish I had leaned on it, maybe even more, but I did, but I did in journals, but I did, like I said. It a poem. Is what came to me after that accident and where he died. Michael Hingson 40:04 Have you thought of maybe taking some of those journals, or taking things from those journals and maybe writing another book? Stephanie Maley 40:12 Well, I tell you what, Mike that I want to write another memoir. It's flesh tearing. Yeah, I and I have, I did get rid of a lot of those, which I wish I hadn't. I do have still some. I'm actually waiting for the muse. I would like to write another book and write it as a fiction, probably with a strong female protagonist. I don't know if you know, I've always wanted to be like, I think I would be a stunt I could be a snack car driver. And I thought, what if I wrote about a teenager who, again, it's more of a tomboy thing, but if she wanted to be a stunt car driver? And, you know, just, I don't know why a book. I really don't know, but I'm kind of waiting for that news. But there's, I have ideas. I just need to get a coerced, you know, coalesced. Michael Hingson 41:08 Well, if you write a book about a Stunt Car Driver, then maybe you should try it for a little while to get the experience. You know, that makes even a more interesting Stephanie Maley 41:18 story, doesn't it? It would instead of interviewing somebody, but yeah, well, I'm really, I'm really comfortable behind the wheel. The more that you know, as long as I can move going through Atlanta with the five lanes or so is nothing. And I enjoy it. It's relaxing. And I transfer lanes depending on speed, and I've had people I've had to dodge. I remember even as a teenager, I had to do a 180 to miss somebody, and I completely forgot about it in like, within minutes. It was no big deal. So anyway, I'm very comfortable behind the wheel, and I think I could do well, but I like your idea. Michael Hingson 42:02 I recall one time it was fairly soon after we moved to New Jersey, and we and I was working in New York, we drove into the city from our home, and we were just coming out of the tunnel, and I knew where we had to go, and I had told Karen, but I think she forgot, or maybe didn't understand. And you know, she said we're coming out of the tunnel, and I said, now you need to make a left turn here to get to where we need to go. And she had forgotten that, and suddenly the car went across three lanes of traffic to make the turn, and she was so proud of herself and the rest of her life. She talked about the fact that she went across those three lanes and not one single person honked at her. There you go, Karen. She said that just showed what kind of a good driver she was. It was so funny. Oh my Stephanie Maley 43:09 gosh, yeah, I like to go. I go about five miles above the speed limit in town and about nine on the highway and and I don't like back roads. I feel like I can't breathe, you know, I need to be in the open highway. Michael Hingson 43:24 Well, in this case, it was, it was like five in the afternoon, but coming out of the tunnel, the traffic was moving Okay, where we were. So she was very proud of herself. I was too i But yeah, she was a very observant person. We had some people with us in our car once, and they were they were saying, I'd never want to be in a taxi, because you could just see the taxis just driving real crazy. And Karen said something very interesting. She said to these people, look at those cabs. Do you see any dents or dings or marks on the cabs Exactly? And and they said no. And she said, There you go. They're they're very clever and careful drivers. They know what they're doing. Yes. And again, I, I think that's pretty clever, and that was pretty smart of her to have observed Stephanie Maley 44:20 that exactly, because they do know what they're doing. They're good drivers. They just do it in a faster pace than a lot of other drivers. And I literally can't ride with someone who's going to drive below the speed limit or, like, really, but I can't do it. I just, I rather, I'll just drive it myself. Just, you know, Michael Hingson 44:43 it could be a New York so you could be a New York, New York cab driver. That's almost like, that's almost like stunt driving. Stephanie Maley 44:49 It is, you know, that is a good point. They are like Stunt Car drivers. I actually drove through New York City with the family, and we had this hubcap. It kept coming off. I was taking a left, and there were police, like, across the street, and there goes that hubcap. And my husband like, I'm like, get it, honey. And he lowered the window and tried to reach down to get it, but it was he didn't, but the policeman did. And I'm like, gosh, wouldn't that have been cool if my husband could have swooped that? Michael Hingson 45:26 Gosh, yeah, it's, it's pretty funny. Well, you know, I think I tell people all the time out here, I don't see why I can't get a driver's license and drive around Victorville, because the way these people drive, I'm sure I would do just as well as they do, but exactly no one believes me. I I have driven a Tesla, Stephanie Maley 45:53 oh, what do you think of that? Michael Hingson 45:55 I thought was pretty interesting. You know, it was in co pilot mode, so I was able to do it, and the driver was, you know, the the owner of the car was there. But I, I'm waiting for the day that driving will be taken out of the hands of drivers, because there are too many people who just think they own the road and they don't, right. Stephanie Maley 46:13 I agree with that. I I don't know how I will do in that kind of a car that does it for me. Because for me again, I feel like I'm a pretty good driver. So that's insulting, because I know what I'm doing, but I do hear also what you're saying, and I think it would be so helpful for not just people who are blind, but people elderly, you know, who don't need to be behind the wheel, I think so Michael Hingson 46:42 many drivers, you know, in general, of all ages. Because the reality is, we don't pay attention to the details that we need to pay attention to anymore. And so once autonomous vehicles get to the point where they can truly do this safely, consistently all the time. I think it makes perfect sense to do we're not there yet, but the day will come when autonomous vehicles will be a lot more perfected, and it will happen. How soon remains to be seen, but it will happen, right? Stephanie Maley 47:17 Oh, I think it will too now I want a flying I agree, yeah, I because I love, like I'm a drone pilot, especially when they first came out. I mean, I've been doing it for a long time. I'm certified, but I just think I would just, I always just want to fly, yeah, it'd be a blast. Michael Hingson 47:40 Oh, I think it'll be cool. You know, there have been some flying cars, but it's not very common. And again, I think most people would not do it necessarily, extremely well, because they don't pay attention to the details that they need to pay attention to. But the autonomy will come and that will that will do it. It's like so many things, but it's like AI, right? Keep people complaining about AI, but it will get better. I don't believe that AI will ever replace humans. I don't think that it will be able to ever keep up with humans, but it's a tool, and it will do a lot of things, but it's not going to be the end of everything as we know it. Stephanie Maley 48:20 Yeah, and I remember reading, you know, in your books about that in your background. And for some reason, when I was probably 1920 I was terrified of computers and what they could me. And so, you know, I'd watched, I mean, I'd read George Orwell's 1984 1984 before 1984 and, you know, Mr. Roboto, the song that came out. And I was like, that is gonna be it. So it's so funny, it's in my book that it actually got me into counseling. I was on the governing body at our church at a very young age. I was 20. It's called a vestry in the Episcopal Church, and there was discussion about our church getting a computer. During the discussions, I would remove myself, because I just it was irrational. I had this irrational feeling. Well, they had voted that we would, and one Sunday after church, I told our priest I needed to talk to him, and so he met me in his office. Well, if you get a we get a computer and it's smashed. You'll know who did it. He's like, let's sit down for a minute. He said, I think that this has this. This really doesn't have to do with the computer. I think something else going on here. I think we need to talk about therapy and so. That started my therapy was that very thing I Michael Hingson 50:04 remember reading 1984 and actually a couple of years ago, I went to a hotel, and the room number I was assigned was 101 Do you know the significance of room 101, that was, that was where the brainwashing took place. That's where they, they took you to control you always, always loved it. And said, I'm in room 101, I can Stephanie Maley 50:34 scream when you embrace that more than you know, yeah, you know, in photography and in which I do as well, and then in writing, you know, AI is there. And as you know, I wasn't sure you were real when you were trying to contact me, because I and I'm sure you do too. You get all these, inundated by these, oh, your book is this. And I think you I could do this for you, and they're AMI generated, you know, it's, I mean, it's crazy how, you know, which is not, you know, obviously, there's always gonna be people using it for good stuff, and, you know, for Not so good stuff, that's Michael Hingson 51:21 always going to happen. It is and like AI, there are going to be some people who will misuse it, but I think in the long run, there are enough smart people that will will keep that pretty much under control. Some people are going to misuse it, but that's going to be their lot in life to deal with over time. Stephanie Maley 51:44 Yeah, that's true. And yeah, so I'm trying to, I mean, there are people in Chattanooga who are shocked that I have computers from that memory of that time. But yeah, I, I know people are saying, If I don't get into it, Claude or any of that stuff, that I'm going to get way behind, like some people who chose not to really do computers, you know, and now they're lost. Michael Hingson 52:17 Well, I think there's, there's merit in doing it. I think you will find that there are many good tools that that you can use it as a part of so it is something to do, but it's like everything. It's going to be what you make of it. I mean, people, people, long time ago, were pessimistic about penicillin, about microscopes, about even having your picture taken that would steal your soul. I mean, there are so many things, yeah, but the reality is, I think God doesn't really let us invent things that aren't, aren't good for us, but you know, if we, if we misuse them, we're going to have to be the ones that deal with that down the line at some point. That's true. That's true. Well, when you wrote the book, you wrote it during covid. Do you think you would have written it If covid hadn't come along? Were you just ready to write it? I'm gonna Stephanie Maley 53:15 hold it up too for a second. You know, that is a very good question. I I I would think that I would have, but it might have taken a bit longer, because I was on, you know, the running wheel like a rat. I was playing pickleball three times a week, active, doing things at church and just a bunch. I mean, I just kept on the wheel, and that covid just opened that door. But the fact that it, I had already written the autobiography, and it was on my mind and in my heart, I would have, but it might have been, it would have probably been later. Michael Hingson 53:58 But you also, with covid, you have the time Stephanie Maley 54:02 it gave me, the time it shut everything down. And I, I mean, I stayed at home for a year and a half. My husband was a, you know, again, a pediatrician. And actually, that's the first part of my book. Is I panicked. I once we heard from Italy and all the people who are dying, and they're like, it's coming to you, and we don't know about it. And my husband's a healthcare provider, and I was a nurse, I'm just like, what is going to happen? I'm I'm actually going to die, is what's going to happen. And I'm like, I need to write my funeral plans, and it just one day, all that, all that past vulnerability, vulnerability I hadn't dealt with, just came rushing at me, and so oddly, my therapist was the one who came up with what we needed to do to feel safe. I had called i. Um, the CDC, and was on hold for an hour trying to talk with a person and say, hey, my my husband's a health caregiver. What should we do to keep me because I have asthma, what you know, and I didn't get any help from them. But she said, yeah, have him change his clothes, put it in the dryer, take a shower, stay away from each other, where, you know, wear a mask, and once I felt safe is when I got down to writing. Michael Hingson 55:30 There you go. Yeah, you talked earlier about doing a lot of sports growing up. Do you think that was because of the anger and so on, or why did you do a lot of sports? Stephanie Maley 55:41 Well, I do. Well, that's, again, a very good question. My parents must have seen something in me, and they signed me up for softball when I was seven. So this was 1969 I know. So 1969 I'm playing the sport and and I loved it. I just fell in love with it and, and it did give me a socially acceptable way to express my anger. I'm a girl. I'm in the south girls, don't, you know, don't act like this, right? This is the way they're supposed to act. And softball initially was like, I said, I played at a very young age, made, made a way for me to get that stuff out. And, you know, I didn't understand it, and I would scare myself sometimes, but it was there, and I could just hit that ball harder or throw that runner out faster, and it just became and then I played squash for 10 years. And yeah, I'm just in pickleball. And so yeah, Michael Hingson 56:54 Pickleball is fairly new compared to a lot of these things, isn't it? Stephanie Maley 56:58 It is in a way, and again, in another way, it started in the 50s in Washington, though, yeah, what we didn't and Washington state is where it started with these, this family, and they came up with this thing to have fun. And I guess I started playing about eight years or so ago, and I used to compete in tournaments. But if I'd never heard of it, and it was in the county, one county over, and a friend said, Hey, I've heard of this game, I think you would really enjoy it. And I did, because I have, again, muscle memory, and I have really good coordination and but I've had to have three, not because of that, but I've had three foot surgeries, and so I've been out of it for two years right now, and I'm hoping to get back. I just had surgery a few months Michael Hingson 57:52 ago, again, who have you been kicking? That's what we wanted. No, that's it. Stephanie Maley 57:58 I have a session for you, if you don't mind. Nope. Okay, so you know you have had a lot of dogs, and have had to say goodbye to a lot of dogs that you just loved. Well, we just lost our I call her my outdoor dog because I was very allergic to her, and she stayed outside on Tuesday. How do you process that grief? Michael Hingson 58:26 Well, so what? What I tell people? Because I've been asked this before, and I've thought about it a lot. With every guide dog, you're creating a team, and you're both part of the same team. I am supposed to be the team leader. The dog wants me to be the team leader, and I have to accept that responsibility. But the the part about that, that you're dealing with is that there comes a time that maybe the dog isn't doing as well, the dog isn't seeing as well, or the dog is just not doing as well as it did. Doesn't mean it's ready to die, but there comes a time that you have to make a decision for the team. In the case of Guide Dogs, it means applying to get a new guide dog and starting to think about retiring the old guide dog. And I do things to prepare for retirement by maybe not using the dog as much and other things like that, but even with with pets, the fact of the matter is, it's, it's a mental thing as much as anything, and you do have to recognize that that time comes with pets, that that they are going to get older, and what what you need to do is to take steps to recognize that this time is coming. Usually you have a fair amount of time to prepare. A lot of people don't, and so suddenly the the animal has to be put down or whatever. And people don't take the time in advance to prepare mentally for it. And you know, that's one of the things that that they have to and should deal with. And so for me, it's a mental preparation. When my seventh guide dog, Africa started not seeing as well at night as she used to, and starting to walk a little slower, I knew that it was time to start the process. It was a year before Africa actually retired, but during that time, and knowing I had that time, we didn't take her to as many places and things like that and and other things, just to kind of recognize that what we had to do was to prepare for the fact that that something would happen. Now, the other part about it was that we already had Africa's mother, Fantasia, which you read about and live like a guide dog. And Fantasia was my wife service dog. Fantasia figured out how to do that, and we had Fantasia, and we were going to get a new guide dog. So we also decided that it would be a little bit difficult to have three dogs around the house, especially since two of them would be home with Karen in a wheelchair the whole time, and she had started to contract rheumatoid arthritis by then. So we we contacted Africa's parents. Her, her original the puppy raisers, yeah, because they had said, If we ever retired Africa and couldn't keep her, they wanted her, and they came one day, and they got her. Now, we visited with them after that several times, but still, the fact is that, you know we it was not hard, by comparison, to make that change and let Africa go to live with them. So you know it happens, but it's mental preparation, and the thing to do is, when you know something is going to happen, at some point, you start preparing for it. Stephanie Maley 1:02:06 Yeah, well, thank you for that. Yeah. Definitely had anticipatory grief, because she, she just got cancer, she's 15, you know, a couple of months ago. So we had on the prednisone and and and it was time, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you know it was the thing to do for sure, yeah, it's just yeah. It's just hard. And every time I was reading about your dogs, I'm like, Oh my gosh, that's so hard. And of course, you do know that dogs that you're typically using against guide dogs are they're going to live about 10 years their labs and stuff. Is that about fair? Michael Hingson 1:02:47 Well, they're going to work about eight years. They'll live more than 10 my longest living guide dog was Holland, who lived until he was 15 and a half and but mostly they'll live longer, but they'll have to retire at some point. And yes, yes, you know that's that's part of the issue. But again, it doesn't matter if it's a guide dog or not. Got regular pets ought to be more treated more like members of the family, like teammates, establish a relationship with them. Yes, it's very important to do that. Stephanie Maley 1:03:24 Yeah, well, even though I couldn't pet her, her name was Annie, I couldn't pet her. If I did, I had to go right inside and watch. He knew that we walked 95% of the time every day, like 95% every day for 15 years. And you know, we but if I tried to kiss her, she's like, No, don't you know you're allergic to me. Turn her face. Martin girl, really great relationship. Michael Hingson 1:03:54 Yeah. So what's your favorite movie? Stephanie Maley 1:03:58 Oh, gosh. So it used to be ordinary people. Do you remember that one at all? Southern London? Yeah, and I think I've wrecked because it was it would help me to cry, because there were years I couldn't cry. And it's that part where one brother lives and the other one doesn't, and when he comes to realize that his guilt is because he survived, that would undo me every time. Now I'm leaning more into comedy, and even though there's a lot of bad language, have you ever seen or listened to the movie spy with Melissa McCarthy. I haven't, oh my gosh, Michael Hingson 1:04:47 I'll find it holy. So she's so funny. Stephanie Maley 1:04:51 She is so funny. And I mean, it's a, it's a, the name is so generic, but if you look for it with Melissa McCarthy, yeah. It is so funny that it undoes me laughing. And I'm leaning more into that. It's good for you, not an intellectual maybe, but it's so much fun. You know, movies Michael Hingson 1:05:13 don't have to be intellectual, Stephanie Maley 1:05:14 yeah, no, they don't. It's entered. I like it for entertainment. Michael Hingson 1:05:19 Well, if people want to reach out and talk to you or commiserate or share or whatever. How do they do that? Stephanie Maley 1:05:26 Well, they could go to my website, Steph, maily.com, Michael Hingson 1:05:31 So, S, T, E, Stephanie Maley 1:05:33 P, H, M, a, l, e, y, E, y.com, yeah, and they could. They could send me a message if they want to get on to my newsletter. They could do that. I'm on sub stack, excuse me as steps writings, and I'm actually on social media as steps writings, in on Instagram as well as Facebook, to hear from anybody. And again, what a delight to spend this time with you. I'm so glad that I finally really paid attention and said, Yes, I'm glad Michael Hingson 1:06:10 you did too. We're really happy that you were here. We're really grateful that all of you listened to this episode, and I hope that you picked up some really good nuggets of wisdom and life philosophy from it, and you'll reach out to Stephanie. You're welcome to reach out to me. I'm easy to find. It's speaker, S, P, E, A, k, e, r at Michael hingson, M, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, O, n.com, speaker at Michael hingson.com, and I would also say that if you know anyone who ought to be a guest on our podcast, we'd love it if you'd introduce us. We're always looking for for people to come on. As I mentioned at the beginning, Steph has actually got us in touch with a couple people, and we're gonna we'll have them on, and we'll probably talk about Stephanie. What can I say? Oh no, oh yeah, but I want to thank you again. Stephanie, this has been absolutely wonderful. We are so glad that you spent some time with us today. Stephanie Maley 1:07:10 Absolutely thank you so much. I appreciate it. Michael Hingson 1:07:17 Thank you for being here with me on unstoppable mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about if you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others. I have a free gift for you. Head over to Michael hingson.com and download my free ebook blinded by fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset. You yo

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From Awareness to Action: Resources for Meaningful Impact

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2026 24:38

In this episode, we kick off Advocacy Month with a conversation about what meaningful advocacy looks like and how our community can take action in informed, sustainable ways. Kirsten French, Guide Dogs for the Blind Manager of Community Education and Advocacy, will discuss how GDB is expanding our advocacy work and the resources we are launching to support our entire community on their advocacy journey. We will also hear from Steve Elliot on our alumni board about the Alumni Advocacy Toolkit - what it includes, how to use it effectively, and how it can strengthen your advocacy efforts while protecting your well-being. Whether you are new to advocacy or already actively engaged, this episode provides practical direction, structure, and support for getting involved.

action advocacy guide dogs community education meaningful impact gdb

Marketplace

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2026 26:28

On this episode of Taking the Lead we talk with Margaret and Lisa who are co-raising a Future Leader Dog together. They share their experience as co-raisers and the unconventional way they met!

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Episode 425 – Building an Unstoppable SEO Strategy That Wins in Competitive Markets with Chris Dreyer

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2026 46:39

What if the real secret to business growth is not creativity but competition? I sat down with Chris Dreyer, founder of Rankings.io, who built one of the fastest-growing legal marketing companies by mastering SEO, niche focus, and relentless execution. Chris shares how his early work ethic shaped his path, why he chose the highly competitive personal injury space, and how treating business like a math-based game helped him scale. You will hear how content, reviews, and authority drive Google rankings, why most lawyers misunderstand marketing, and how narrowing your focus can actually expand your results. I believe you will find this useful as Chris shows how discipline, data, and consistency can turn any business into an unstoppable force. Highlights: 00:56 – How early work and family habits built a strong work ethic05:00 – Why taking the hardest job created resilience and grit12:12 – How serving people helped develop communication and confidence24:22 – Why choosing a competitive niche leads to greater success37:08 – What it takes to rank at the top of Google consistently51:16 – How doing free work early builds skill and long-term growth Bottom of Form About the Guest: Chris Dreyer is the CEO and Founder of Rankings.io, the category-defining SEO agency built exclusively to help elite law firms and personal injury lawyers dominate Google's organic search results. Under his leadership, Rankings.io has become synonymous with measurable results, helping attorneys secure life-changing cases through visibility at the exact moment potential clients are searching for help. The company has achieved what few in the legal marketing space ever have, earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for eight consecutive years, proof of both sustained growth and relentless execution. Beyond Rankings, Chris is a builder of platforms and a voice of authority in legal marketing and entrepreneurship. He is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Niching Up: The Narrower the Market, the Bigger the Prize, where he details how focus creates outsized impact. He is also a seasoned real estate investor and the host of the Personal Injury Mastermind podcast, where he interviews top attorneys and business leaders shaping the future of law. His influence extends across respected councils and networks, including the Forbes Agency Council, Rolling Stone Culture Council, Business Journals Leadership Trust, Fast Company Executive Board, and Newsweek Expert Forum, cementing his reputation as both a practitioner and thought leader. Chris's path to entrepreneurship has been unconventional yet relentlessly instructive. Once a world-ranked collectible card game competitor, he carried that same strategic mindset into business. After earning a History Education degree, his first professional role was as a detention room supervisor, hardly glamorous, but it provided the unstructured time that sparked his obsession with digital marketing. He began experimenting with affiliate sites and, at his peak, managed more than 100 properties simultaneously. This side hustle soon eclipsed his day job, propelling him into full-time entrepreneurship. When affiliate marketing's golden age waned, Chris pivoted into legal SEO and quickly carved out a niche. Along the way, he also became a top-ranked online poker player, honing skills in risk management and probability that would serve him well in scaling his companies. Today, Chris runs Rankings.io with the same competitive fire he once brought to cards and poker, driven to outthink, outwork, and outlast the competition. His mission is simple: help the best personal injury law firms win more cases, build enduring legacies, and dominate their markets. Ways to connect with Chris**:** website: rankings.io https://x.com/chrisdreyerco https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdreyerco/ https://www.facebook.com/chrisdreyerco https://www.instagram.com/chrisdreyerco/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe Welcome to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. I'm your host. Michael Hingson, speaker, author and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head on and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear, together, we focus on mindset resilience and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. Today, our guest is Chris Dreyer. Chris, Chris has formed a company called rankings.ai. And I'm going to let him describe what all that is about. And he's done some pretty interesting things with it. It has been on inks top 5000 companies, growing companies for the past eight years. Eight years is a long time, which is pretty cool. So I'm sure he's got lots of adventures and lots of stories to talk about. So Chris, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're Chris Dreyer 01:35 here. Yeah, thanks for having me, Michael. I'm excited to chat. Michael Hingson 01:39 Well, let's start with kind of the early Chris growing up and all that, and see where we go from there. It sounds Chris Dreyer 01:45 good to me. So yeah, Michael Hingson 01:46 let's go. Why don't you tell us a little bit about Yeah, school and all that stuff. Chris Dreyer 01:51 Okay, yeah, let me, let me, and then you just cut me off at any point, because I can be a long Michael Hingson 01:55 talker the so can I? I Chris Dreyer 01:56 know what you mean. I, I grew up in a very small city, elkville, Illinois, my high school had 100 people in it. I was a graduating class of 28 I grew up, I would say it's kind of weird. My mom and dad, if they heard me say poor, would not love me saying poor, but I we weren't. We were certainly at the bottom of middle class or the upper or poor. I had a lot of chores. I every single weekend, I cleaned a law office with my mom or did something at the farmers market. So and at the time, it wasn't work. It was just what we did as a family, right? I didn't even understand it. We had, we didn't have city water. We had to get a truck and bring in our water, and we had well water, right? And in my family, and that was, that was early on, right? My dad was a milk carrier. My mom was a cook and and ultimately, they did better over the years and made more money. But it started off, it was a lot, a lot of grit, perseverance, working hard. And I like to share that, because my parents work ethic is very strong, very dependable, very consistent. And that's kind of where I got my drive. But that's, that's kind of how I grew up, small, small town, you know, a lot of side hustles with the parents. And once I went to college, I got that, that shock of, oh, here's a whole bunch of go from 100 to, you know, 20,000 Yeah, it's a bit of a shock there. 03:35 Where'd you go to college? Chris Dreyer 03:36 Yeah, I went to SIU, Southern Illinois University. There in Carbondale, Illinois. I actually live in Carbondale today. And, you know, I went to college. I was always had that entrepreneurial bug, and, but I went to college, it was kind of to make mom and dad happy to get that degree and, but I just knew that I was going to own my own business. And I kind of had that conversation with them out of the gate, but so I was a terrible student. Partied a lot, you know, chase the women, so to speak, and but somehow, ended up with a degree, got a job at a high school as their JV basketball coach, and I started doing internet marketing on the side to make a little extra money because I had some downtime. And by the end of my second year teaching, I was making about four times the amount doing that that I was teaching. So that was kind of my sign, and to go pursue that full time, and that's what I did. That's when I left to do affiliate marketing and digital marketing full time was after Michael Hingson 04:41 that second year, of course. Now the real question is, you were chasing the women? Did any of them 04:44 chase you? Oh yeah, oh yeah. Just Michael Hingson 04:49 want to make sure it's reciprocal here. Yeah, that's that's pretty cool, though. And I was going to ask you, and you sort of answered it, about your workout. Ethic and so on. I find that if people do grow up in an environment where they're working and they appreciate what they do get and the amount of work that they do, and they develop a strong work ethic, or their parents have it, they generally do as well, although sometimes there's some rebellions, but still, ultimately, the right stuff shows through. Chris Dreyer 05:24 Can I tell just a brief story about that? My mom, when I turned 16, it was like, you're getting a job, son, right? And it was not, we had, we were fine without, but it was like, so she took me to this place. It was called Ken's antiques, and they used to do the semi truck deliveries of aluminum, and I used to go to auctions and unload furniture. And I asked her, I was like, Why did you take me there? Well, you know, why didn't you take me to the mall? Why didn't you know to go work at a the buckle or the gap or something, you know, why did you take me? There she goes. Well, I knew if you could, if you could succeed here, you'd be fine anywhere, because it was the hardest job that I could think of. And I was like, Oh, really, thanks, Mom. Like, send me to the to the hardest job that you could think of and see if I could thrive. And I did well there. But that just kind of goes to show you the mindset that my mom had racing me, which also kind of, you know, attached to me as well. Michael Hingson 06:26 Yeah, well, and I can appreciate course, now looking back on it, of course, but I can appreciate what she said, because if you can survive in one place, and you can if it's if it is a tough job and you approach it the right way, then you'll probably be good anywhere, and there you go. Chris Dreyer 06:47 Yep, yep, to her credit, it was a very tough job. It is as still to this day, the hardest job from a physically demanding perspective that I had, but, but yeah, and it was good. It built resilience, you know, kind of helped me get that that put that true grit on and yeah, so that's kind of my background. Michael Hingson 07:08 I never did really work at a job growing up, my brother did. He worked at a restaurant and so on and bus tables and did other things. But I remember, when he got his first job, he went and applied at a at a restaurant, and the owner or manager, I guess probably both said, so, you know, we'll, we'll consider you. Would you do us a favor? There's some weeds out in the in the front, would you go pull those? And he said, within about a half hour, he got the whole place completely cleaned up of weeds. And the boss came out and said, You did all of that. And my brother said, Yeah. And guy said, You're hired. You know, amazing, you know, because my brother didn't even realize, I think at first, that that was really a test, but it was, and of course, he passed, which was cool. That's a great story, but I never got really to do much work. I kind of was more the intellectual guy in the family, and finding jobs would have been a little bit more of a challenge for me. I did do some babysitting, but that was about all I could do. I've been blind my whole life, and a lot of the jobs that were available in Palmdale, where I grew up in Southern California, were not jobs I was going to realistically be able to do anyway, but I could babysit, and that worked out pretty well. Yeah, yeah. So I mainly studied, Chris Dreyer 08:41 love it. So So studied. Can I? Can I do the reverse interview? What's some of your your top motivational books, business books? Because I'm sure you've got some that just pop top of the dome. Well, sort of, kind Michael Hingson 08:55 of, I really have a slightly different idea about that, but I'll tell you, I've read a number of the main books in the whole motivational and and management world. One Minute Manager is a book I appreciate a great deal. And I also like Dale Carnegie books like How to Win Friends and Influence People. But for me, I point out, and even to this day point out that I've learned more about teamwork and trust and leadership from working with eight Guide Dogs for the last 61 years than I ever learned from all the management and leadership books and everything else that's out there, mainly because working with dogs, you have several things that are An issue, first of all, respecting them and the job that they do, knowing that you're really forming a team with a guide dog, where each member of the team has a job to do. So in my case, the dog, and the case of people who use guide dogs, the purpose of the dog is to make sure that we walk safely as. We're walking somewhere, but my job is to know where to go and how to get there, and then I have to learn how to communicate that to the dog, and also be the leader of the pack in the truest sense of the word, which also means that if the dog is upset, or there is any kind of an issue with the dog, I have to figure out what that is, and I have to read what is going on so that I understand that and can then figure out what is occurring and make sure that the dog stays happy so it's you. There's so much to learn about trust, and one of the main things I've learned over the years is while dogs do, I think love unconditionally, unless they're just so badly traumatized by somebody for some reason they don't trust unconditionally. But the difference between dogs and people is that dogs are open to trust a whole lot more than we are. We have just had so many things go on. We read we bought them in the newspapers, we see it on the news and so on. Nobody trusts anyone. The feeling is basically everyone has their own hidden agenda, and so you can't trust anyone. And so there's very little communications today. There's very little real interaction. And people, by definition, don't trust. Dogs are open to trust, and you can earn their trust, and likewise, they get to and can earn your trust, and it is a it is a combination and kind of thing. So what I really learn when I go to get a new guide dog every time is I'm learning how to form a team with this other dog who doesn't speak the same language I do, who doesn't think the way I do. But I have to figure out what this dog does, what this dog is all about, and I'm the one that has to become the leader of the of the team and make things work. So I think that working with a dog is a lot more of a practical experience kind of thing than just reading about whatever there is to read about in books and so on. So that's why I say that. I think I've learned a lot more by working with dogs than I ever got from all the management books in the world, any of the Tony Robbins books, or any Chris Dreyer 12:07 of those. I love, every bit of that I just I was on x the other day, and it was talking about the the new CEO for Starbucks, right? Because the former CEO was McKinsey trained, right, but didn't have any actual experience at the helm. And then they brought back the former CEO of Taco Bell over to Starbucks, and the stock immediately shot up because of the application aspect of it. He had, he had done the job and been in the grind. So it's kind of interesting, kind of corollary there. But yeah, thank you for sharing. I was really intrigued, and I had to jump in and and ask, Michael Hingson 12:45 Oh, fair question, and then this is a conversation, so nothing wrong with asking questions on either side. So it's perfectly fine to to be able to do that well, so what did you do right out of college? Chris Dreyer 12:59 Right out of college, the one thing I'll tell you that I still to this day, I call myself an introvert. I don't think that, you know, introvert, extrovert. I think we have the tendencies at all times to be either one, right? But I think for me, I was more shy, but I built a lot of friends because I played sports and I knew them in college, and then they met, they introduced me to their friends. Because you got to imagine, when I had a class of 28 kids, it's like super small community versus, you know, everybody I'm interacting through their connections and their extended connections. So through college, I'd say the main education thing I got was, I did get a job waiting tables for three years, and so I got a lot of client service training, dealing with people having a ton of conversations through that, through my through my job, and also through my personal relationships with my friends and and other, you know, Students at the University, but so I think that kind of helped, helped me succeed afterwards, but afterwards, really, when I student taught at Heron, they saw my work ethic. They saw a shoe up, that I showed up, that I listened and I took action. So they, they hired me immediately, and I did the same when I was a JV basketball coach. I never missed a practice. Was always on time. Really tried to develop the kids and bring the most out of them, treated the parents well, and so I think that's what I did well, and it kind of put me in the position to have time to learn internet marketing. So I think that's kind of how it all started, Michael Hingson 14:47 when I was getting my teaching credential at UC Irvine, and I also got my master's degree in physics from there. But I student taught at the local high school, at University High School, and I student. Taught two classes. One was a physics class, and it was kind of for they called it dumbbell physics, but you know, it was kids who were sort of interested in science, but really didn't know where they wanted to go. But the other class was algebra one, and I remember one day I was teaching, and one of the students asked a question, and I didn't know the answer to it, and I probably should have, but I didn't. But what I said was, I don't know the answer right off, tell you, what do you mind if I look at it tonight, get you the answer and bring it back tomorrow. And the kid who was an eighth grader, actually accelerated, so it was high school algebra one, but he was from the eighth grade. He said, Sure, so I went home and found the answer in the book, when I should have known that, but anyway, came back in the next day, and even before I could say anything, he said, Mr. Hingson, I went home and got the answer, and I said, Well, come up and write it on the board. And one of the things that I did with with all of my classes when, of course, we had blackboards and all that, back in those days, I would want a student to come up and be the board writer, because they write a lot better than I do. And so we, we had pretty good competitions of people who wanted to write on the board. They all thought it was kind of fun, and I did spread that wealth around, but Marty came up and I said, now you got to explain what you're writing. And he had actually found the answer, which was cool, but my master teacher was also the football coach, and when I first told Marty and the rest of the class, I don't know the answer, but I will get it after class was over, Mr. Redmond said you did something that's absolutely amazing and was absolutely the right thing to do, and most people wouldn't do it. And that was you admitted you didn't know the answer, but you would go get it rather than trying to blow smoke, because these kids can see through that in a second. And he said, So you did the right thing, and I've always felt that's the way to do it. If I don't know the answer, I'll go figure it out, but I will also tell you that I don't know the answer, and you can decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it's a good thing, to be honest, Chris Dreyer 17:22 I couldn't agree more. Michael Hingson 17:25 And so it was fun. And and what the the other part of the story, and I think I've told it a couple times on the podcast, is 10 years later, I was at the Orange County Fairgrounds, and this kid comes up to me, Well, he was, he didn't sound like a kid anymore. And he said, Mr. Hingson, do you know who this is? Deep voice. And I went, No, not right off. And he said, I'm Marty. I'm the guy that was in your algebra class 10 years ago. Nice to be remembered, but, but he he also just remembered what happened. And I think he even said it was so cool that I was honest with him about it, which was, you know, a life lesson anybody should learn. Chris Dreyer 18:09 That's incredible. That's incredible. So Michael Hingson 18:10 it was a lot of fun. Well, so you student taught and so on, but eventually you ended up deciding to go into the entrepreneur world. But you also were a card collector, right? A game collector, yeah. Chris Dreyer 18:25 And in high school, I played this collectible card game. I played a combination of two. I mean, most people are familiar with Magic, The Gathering, but I also played this other game called Legend of five rings. And both, you know, the collectible card games, but they're really math based games based upon advantage and and, you know, you so now it's applicable to today. I can look at any whether it's Pokemon or whatever card game there is. It's, it was very, you know, it's force based, you know, benefits to attack and things like that. It attributes everything. But anyways, I played it competitively, and I was a top I was a world ranked player at one time. I won four state championships or CO days. No one had done that at the time in a two consecutive years, and it was just a top player, and when you get to the top, you become friends with the other top players, and then you talk strategy and and that even takes you to an even higher level. And so I did that, you know, for many years, competed all over the country. It was a great experience. And so, yeah, that in my house. My dad very so he had, he was a civil engineer. He has an engineer degree, but he was traveling. He was on the railroad at all times, and he wanted to stop traveling, so he accepted this job as a mail carrier so he could stay put. And. Yeah, and that's what he did. He retired as a mail carrier, but, you know, a top math expert to the to the point where there would be conversations where you could, like, I couldn't understand him, right? He couldn't understand himself, right? And, and, and there's many conversations in different aspects of this. But when we played games, whether it was Yahtzee or monopoly or whatever, every game, there was a math based lesson to it, like, which dice you rolled for advantage at Yahtzee, which ones to hold after the first roll. Poker games, pitch games, Rummy, every single game it was, it was game theory. It was math on what was the precise the best role, like Monopoly, the best properties and the probability to get an orange property over other properties and and how much you should spend at certain points of the game. And I realized saying that outline that's that that's not normal. Some people just play yatse and roll the dice and they roll what they want, and some people play Monopoly and just buy the properties they want. That was not how games were played in my household, and it was very applicable to poker and to the collectible card games. Michael Hingson 21:22 Yeah. So how often did you want to buy Boardwalk and Park Place? Chris Dreyer 21:28 Not often. But I mean, so there. That was just how I was brought up. And yeah, and it turned into a lot of what I do today. Michael Hingson 21:42 Actually, I always like free parking. We had a thing where any money and and any kind of thing that you had to pay on all went into the free parking pot. So getting free parking was always fun. Oh yeah, but yeah, I hear what you're saying. I love monopoly and love to even play it against the computer, which was always a kind of a neat thing to do, but played Monopoly against other members of my family. Some we actually made a Well, we took a regular Monopoly board, and I think my father outlined the entire board and all the squares using elmer's glue so that we had raised lines for me to look at. Then we also did things to mark the paper money so I could tell what bills I had and and so on, and even Braille the cards. And I still have that game to this day, very neat, which is kind of cool, but monopoly spun. Chris Dreyer 22:36 Yeah, there's a lot of games that you know, there's no winner. You take my wife wants to play Scrabble all the time, and I'm like, there's just not a winner in Scrabble. Because if I challenge you on a word, and I'm right, you're wrong. You're mad if I beat you, you know, and then if I lose, it's not fulfilling for me. That's one of those games. There's no winner. Michael Hingson 23:02 I have a friend who plays Scrabble with his mother all the time, and and he, I think he loses more than he wins, but he's always proud when he beats her. And he's almost 60, so you know, she's, she's older than he is, but they, they play and have a lot of fun with Scrabble. Chris Dreyer 23:21 That's incredible. That's Michael Hingson 23:22 great. Yeah, it is kind of cool. But anyway, so you eventually decided to go off and go into the entrepreneurial world, and you started your company, or went well, when did you actually start the company? Chris Dreyer 23:37 Started the company officially in 2013 it was attorney rankings.org, that was the original name. Now it's rankings.io, I worked at a few agencies previously, while I was also doing the affiliate marketing, and kind of got to see the agency world of providing, you know, the professional services space. And after working at a few agencies. Thought that I could do it right. I got the confidence from the competence, and that's when I launched it. 2013 we've always been focused on legal. The difference today is primarily, we're focused on a sub niche of legal for personal injury law. And, you know, we work with other practice areas, criminal defense, family law, etc. But really personal injury is the is 85% of our business. Michael Hingson 24:27 So what is it that rankings.io? Does, Chris Dreyer 24:31 yeah, we do digital marketing. We do search engine optimization now, AI search, we do pay per click paid social web design. A lot of performance marketing, I would say more performance, less creative and branding. And that's what we do. We work with the top, the biggest pi firms, personal injury law firms in the country. We're in chiefs, I think every state we work with about. 250 law firms across the country. Michael Hingson 25:03 What made you decide to focus on law in the beginning? Chris Dreyer 25:09 Yeah, I'll say a few reasons. One, I had an experience working with attorneys, and I liked working with them. So there was the like component when I worked at an agency, I had a few firms that would I spoke with, and I enjoyed it. The second thing was, if I'm being honest, the status like I wanted to tell my parents that I did marketing for lawyers, and not just, you know, any industry. And then the other thing is, is I'm very, very, very competitive, and I kept seeing and hearing these reports about more and more attorneys going to law school and and just all this competition for legal and the thing that I differ you hear a lot of coaches and mentors. They'll say, hey, go to the blue ocean. You know, everyone's read the blue ocean book, or, you know, Peter thiel's zero to one, and everyone thinks so, go where there's no competition. And I'm like, That's fine if you're Elon or Peter Thiel or Zuckerberg creating something new, but if you're going into an existing category, you want to go where there is competition, because it demands expertise, and that's the way that I've looked at it. Like, you take the agency perspective, I don't want to go to, you know, lawn care, SEO like, do they really want to do search engine optimization? Do they really have a ton of competition? Maybe that's not a great example. But you get my point where, if you go into the city, there's a ton of personal injury law firms, but there's only a few that can rank at the top. And there's, they're all trying to gather cases from one another, so they want an expert to help them, you know, get that visibility. And that's, that's the mindset that Michael Hingson 26:58 went into it. What strikes me is interesting, though, is that with all of that, you bring a very competitive level to what you do. And I'm not sure that I find that a lot of people necessarily even do that, so you consider even search engine optimization to be a very competitive thing, I don't want to say sport, but you consider it all about competition, and you want to really bring the best and the most significant aspects of it to what you do. And that clearly has to show up when you're talking about Inc ranking you in the top companies for eight years in a row. Chris Dreyer 27:47 Yeah, it's very status orientation. You know, that's why I like working with trial attorneys. There's a winner and loser in court, and there's only one top position in Google or on these llms, and it's, who's gonna win, who's the best? Yeah, and it's right there for everyone. Here's here's the tally. Everyone can see who's the best. And I've always loved that. I think I heard a podcast recently by John Morgan. He's the founder of Morgan, Morgan, right? Of course. And you know, he's always a character and funny to listen to, but, yeah, he talks about being insatiable. Like, how did you grow this? He's like, Well, I'm insatiable. I I want to continue to grow. And for me, it's, it's the exact same thing. It's like, I'm insatiable. We hit a milestone. I want the next milestone. It is the game that I'm playing. I am playing like my hobby is my business. I enjoy it. I look forward to a Monday. It rewards me mentally. I enjoy the people I work with. And that's that's how we're at you know, Inc, 5008 years in a row, we'll definitely be on the ninth year next year, due to our growth this year. And it's that's just, that's just how I treat it. It's just a big game. And, you know, like any game, you play Sim City, whatever, you get a little bit more money, you get a little bit more buildings, right? You do a little bit better, you hire more talent, you expand your capabilities, and you just, if you don't stop, you're going to Michael Hingson 29:22 continue to grow. But it's a game in the mathematical sense, and it's it's a game in the the productive sense of what you're trying to do is, isn't the game just, although you obviously have to have fun in what you do, otherwise you wouldn't enjoy doing it. But it's a game in the mathematical sense of the word, oh, 100% Chris Dreyer 29:44 and so many people don't understand what I'm about to say. But like, every move that you make is a move based upon leverage in some capacity, yeah, and you take, because our time is all limited. You take. I'll give you some examples, like from a from a distribution perspective, hosting my podcast or being on your podcast is going to have more listeners than if I go speak on stage, if I go speak on stage now that that has its own benefits of authority and and different you know, belly to belly relationships from a trust perspective, but from a distribution perspective, I would be better off doing more podcasts than I would speaking on stage, sure. So there's an advantage there, right? And then there's also advantages through pricing arbitrage, and it's if, if I hire labor and talent in in the Midwest, and I pay them above average fees and salaries, and I pay my employees well, but compare that to New York or California. And I think some people, you know, these are things that they don't talk about, but when you start to look at leverage closely, it's everywhere. Capital, economies of scale, if I you know, there's leverage based upon my my buying power in certain areas, and that's what I look for. It's an interesting way to make decisions. Is based upon that leverage component. Michael Hingson 31:20 Do you think that that works in other kinds of arenas, other than just what you do? Chris Dreyer 31:27 Oh, I won 1,000% yes, yeah. It works in you could see it. You know, the closest would be, closest arena would be sports. There's so many, whether it's the salary caps or the talent of one person's labor based, you know, what they can do from a utilization or capacity versus another one's people talk about it on the business side of like, you know, You have one software programmer is worth, potentially 1,000x another one just because of that individual's capabilities. So it's literally everywhere, and it's also dissecting different scenarios into fractional leverage. So I'll take give you a different way of thinking about this. Is like, you take a an SEO specialist, a top tier SEO specialist might be 100 200 grand, right, technician, right? But you you break down their capabilities into the smaller parts. You know someone that just writes, someone that just does the title tags and the website, and someone that just does the links and that, like you can assemble, that individuals that that superstars talent through the FRAC breaking it down from a fractional perspective. It's just a big game of puzzles and how you get there and you look at like what your competitors are doing and how you can, I wouldn't say, exploit in a negative way, but, but what I mean is how you can take advantage in a positive way to to help your business succeed, right? Michael Hingson 33:15 Well, do you so if, if you're playing a game like football, of course, everybody, every team, wants to crush the other team, and it's all about winning and beating the heck out of the other guy. Is that really the way you view it, in terms of the game, as you play it, and do you enjoy being able to just crush the competition? Or is it a different mindset than that? Chris Dreyer 33:42 That's a really good question, because I am an abundance mindset. I don't think everything is a zero sum game. It's, I'll tell you something super nerdy. I was talking to my chief of staff the other day that he's we're big gamers, big nerds. And he, we were talking about Warhammer 40k and the dwarves in that game have a book of grudges. So anybody that that goes against the dwarves, they they're listed in the book of grudges, right? Yeah. And it's like all the dwarves are trying to, you know, right? This wrong. And I kind of look like that. I'm like, treat people respect like, you know, abundance zero, you know, like, abundance mentality. Do the referral thing until it's like, okay, you've done X, Y and Z, and I could give you examples of x, y, z, and it's like, okay, well, you're not my friend. You're not my ally, so now you are a true competitor by all since you know, by all definitions, right? That's how I've treated it. Michael Hingson 34:48 And so it isn't the joy of just beating everybody in sight. No, which is different, which is cool, because certainly. I would, I would also bet, though, that you have people who are competitors, but they're not unfriendly, so you can absolutely, yeah, you can develop Chris Dreyer 35:10 working relationships. Rattle off, and we have great conversations. We're friends, and people are surprised when they see us, and we're friendly, and it's like, no, it's like, we have families, we have life. We want to do good work. We want to and it's so you can absolutely have that too. Yeah. Michael Hingson 35:27 Why did you decide to specifically choose personal injury Chris Dreyer 35:33 for me? And it's this is turning into the math conversation. But really, I looked at our revenue, and it was like over 70% of our revenue. Was from less than 50% of our clientele. And it was a clear directional signal to pursue this area. And that's it was the math like, these are our best clients. They pay the most, they stay the longest we could do the best work. Also the PI space is the Super Bowl. Is the major leagues. In the legal arena, it's, it's very difficult to rank. There's a lot of competition versus, you know, I get a family law attorney. I don't care what market you're in, Los Angeles, it's like a sneeze to get them the number one or two? Yeah, it's and I like that. I like the competition. I like having to work at it and be creative and think about different things to try to obtain that top position. Michael Hingson 36:33 Yeah, well, so I would, I would presume that John Morgan's happy with you. Chris Dreyer 36:40 I, you know, I had Dan Morgan as a keynote for my 2024 conference, his son. And I haven't personally talked to John. I think he's well, he says he's retired, but he's not really retired, yeah, right. The I couldn't work with Morgan and Morgan, I can have a great relationship with them, but I can't work with them because they're in every market, and my I would, they would be my only client, so that's why, but certainly have a great relationship. I've got a text relationship with Dan, but yeah, they, I think they do everything in house. Michael Hingson 37:20 Anyways, you don't want to be the consularity for Morgan and Morgan, in other words, Chris Dreyer 37:25 your only client, right, right? That would put a lot of risk on the old client concentration problem, Michael Hingson 37:33 and it would, but still. So what does it mean for a law firm to dominate Google's organic search. And I guess the other question is, why is that the legal battleground that personal injury lawyers can't really ignore? Chris Dreyer 37:53 There's, there's so much here. Okay, where do I go? That's a lot of take. You take any channel, broadcast television has been the main vehicle for channel for distribution. It's the lowest CPMs cost per 1000. The distribution is very wide, because an individual doesn't know typically, when they're going to be in an accident, right? So you got to have a lot of reach and touch a lot of individuals. There's also radio and billboards. But typically, even if they watch you on television or hear you on the radio or what have you, they still convert. They go to Google to make that conversion that go to the website. Typically, it's not always and and things are changing due to these llms and the native experiences on platform. But even today, it's still the final destination before they contact a firm. So it's really important that you show up at the top of Google to capture all of those opportunities that you've advertised for in other mediums. Michael Hingson 39:09 How do you do that? Chris Dreyer 39:12 Well, so you know, I'll say, I'll try to simplify for the audience. Let's just keep it really, think of like a Venn diagram of, you know, the three circles overlaying and you've got the middle. You have to do all three. The first one is you have to have excellent content. You have to have, you know, if you're an auto accident attorney, you have to have content about auto accidents. You have to have, you know, you have to have content that targets phrases and words that consumers will search for, right? It starts with the content. It has to be thematically and topically relevant. Has to be excellent content. The second component would be related to. Views. You got to get Google reviews to show up on in the LSA, the local services ads location, you have to get reviews to show up in Google Map Pack. You need reviews now on Yelp to show up on and be discovered on these different llms, particularly a chat GPT. And just due to how okay for the SEO nerds listening, let me explain, because typically when you get reviews on Yelp and when you get reviews or recommendations on Facebook, they aggregate that information to other sites, which is then the listicles that form the basis of discovery for these llms. So you got to have a review background. So content reviews and then links. Google, the way that they differentiated, again, way against lo AOL was they use links as a categorization method. So if you're trying to win an election, you want to get as many votes as possible. If you're trying to win the first page of Google, you want to get as many high quality links as possible. High quality being authoritative, relevant, trustworthy, you know, sites that get a lot of traffic, so you need great content, lot of reviews and links. That is the very 8020, high end summer summary of of how to rank in Google search and on the llms, yeah. Michael Hingson 41:24 Well, and how does LinkedIn fit into what you do? Chris Dreyer 41:29 LinkedIn is a bit different. I you know LinkedIn more B to B platform. I think if you're a business attorney or a B to B firm, it's an excellent channel. I use it from a distribution perspective. I get a lot of reach. I get a lot of followers on there. A lot of attorneys congregate on there. And it's a great, you know, channel for recruiting talent, and it's cited frequently if you have some type of reputation perspective that you want to control around your name. LinkedIn typically ranks in one of the top three positions for your name if you have your profile set up properly. So yeah, it's, it's, it's got great distribution from a leverage perspective, and, you know, has other applications as well. Michael Hingson 42:15 If you were starting a law firm today, or you were advising someone who's starting a law firm, how would you deal with and start their marketing efforts? How would you organize marketing for them? Chris Dreyer 42:28 Yeah, in the beginning I would, I would do almost all performance marketing. I would not do. I would do very little with brands, because you need to get on your your cash acceleration cycle is very poor. From a PI perspective. I'm always thinking from an injury law firm perspective, because, you know, if you get an auto accident case by the time they get treatment and go through the whole process, you know, it could be 12 to 18 months before you get paid. So you know, I would think about performance marketing, Facebook ads, Google ads, LSA, SEO, a lot of the ads platforms that are, you know, very performance driven. That would be the majority of my investment. Facebook ads. So in a vacuum, you know, different markets are, there's different channels that are more effective. But in a vacuum, I would say today, right now, Facebook ads would be the best platform, the best channel for that, Michael Hingson 43:29 because so many, because it has such a high volume of viewers, or what Chris Dreyer 43:34 they're well, it's just the cost per lead. The amount that you pay on that platform to reach your target prospect is going to be cheaper than say, you go to Google ads and you're paying $600 a click for a phrase, or, you know, it's just now, there's, again, this is in a vacuum. There's very effective Google Ad strategies you can get, you know, creative with performance, Max campaigns and and different strategies. But I would say just in general, Facebook ads out of the gate would be one that I would start with, and I would start the SEO early, just because it takes time to develop. Michael Hingson 44:14 Yeah, well, that makes sense, and it does take a long time, and I think a lot of people don't necessarily understand how all of that works, but it's still something that they should, should deal with Chris Dreyer 44:28 1,000% and, you know, it's, it's a game of, it's a long game, but it, you know, even SEO can be on a shorter time horizon, if, if You're, like, if you target Car Accident Lawyer in that phrase and that segment, then sure, yeah, 12 to 18 months is, you know, you know, even two years before you start to get some visibility. But you target dog bites, you target, you know, some other case types that aren't as competitive like you can get traction sooner. Michael Hingson 45:00 Hmm, well, and that kind of brings up the question you You talk a lot about, and you wrote a book about niche. Why is it that going into like a smaller niche can yield sort of a greater opportunity, or by narrowing focus, you're creating bigger opportunities? Why is that? So? Chris Dreyer 45:22 What comes top of mind? Some of the biggest, the most important reason is it all centers around this word focus. When you focus in a single area, you become better. Well, because you were better, you can you can at your you can charge more because you're worth it. The other thing is, is when you focus on a single area, you you can create, create repeatable processes, and everything is not bespoke when it comes in. So you can set up your internal productization of a certain area. You it makes training easier by immersion. So there's a lot of benefits, even even the perception aspect of it, right? So when you think of like, who's better, a generalist versus a brain surgeon, you think a brain surgeon is a specialist. And you think, Well, who do you think, just offhand, whose fees would be higher? Well, you think the brain surgeon would would charge higher fees. And so from a perception perspective, and when you're thinking about trust, the that's the other one, right? You would think from a trust perspective, they would be more qualified because they're in this certain area. So, and when we're trying to convert someone in sales, it's always a conversation based upon trust. So those are some of the main advantages, the one heavy, heavy disadvantage. Disadvantage is Tam, total addressable market. It's you focus on personal injury. You're at 50, 60,000 firms. You focus on all law firms. United States, you're at 400,000 law firms. So there's trade offs for you know, there's pros and cons on both sides well Michael Hingson 47:03 and and that makes sense, but there is a lot of merit to the to the whole concept of specializing, and you've proven it with what you do, and you continue to be pretty successful about it. And then that makes a lot of sense, but you also do something else that I think is interesting. You've written a book, niching up, you've got a podcast, you have other things that you do, and, of course, just the company itself, but you put all of that together, and all of that not only has to help your brand, but it makes you more visible in the marketplace overall. Don't you think? Chris Dreyer 47:42 Yeah, it certainly does, and it is our flywheel, right? It's somebody that's on my podcast could be a potential quote in my book, and I have a personal injury lawyer marketing book, right? And there's quotes from the pod. I have now a quarterly magazine that goes out. We could cherry pick a couple episodes, you know, to include in the magazine. We have retreats that are quarterly. They're, they're in person that, because we have a community, they're easier to to fill. We have a yearly event for personal injury law firms called, you know, Pim con. So it's all this, this flywheel that kind of compounds over time due to the community aspect, Michael Hingson 48:25 but people obviously react well to it, because you continue to be successful. Chris Dreyer 48:32 Yeah, and I think the biggest thing for me is I am I am not the the expert. I am bringing on the experts in their field, the people that are eating their own dog food, so to speak, right? They're practicing what they preach. It is, I can orchestrate a great conversation because I know the space and can ask very specific questions based upon my knowledge. But I'm bringing on, you know, Dan Morgan's on the pod. I've had, let's see Morris Bart. You know, I've had frank Azar in Colorado. I've had the biggest of the big pi attorneys on sharing what works for them, which, which is very valuable, because it's not, you know, some, you know, a consultant or me or whoever, speaking about like, Oh, this is how you can grow a law firm. It's no this is the owner of a law firm explaining how he or she is growing their law firm right, Michael Hingson 49:31 and providing that advice for other people, which also helps you gain trust, which is pretty cool. What's the best way for an attorney who wants to stand out to truly build authority in the market? Chris Dreyer 49:50 Well, if you're if you're b Look, okay, so there's a couple types of firms. If you're a trial attorney and you want to get peer referrals, I would say. See, I would say start a podcast would be one of the best ways, you know, interview your peer, interview other attorneys around the country, talk shop, you know, speak at C les. You know, do the those types of aspects it, you know, a podcast. I'm not saying it's not good for B to C, but it's, it has to be a different type of podcast. So I think, I think B to B, if you're a litigation attorney, a podcast would be great if it's B to C. That's, that's tricky. I think I think probably social media in some capacity, but really it's just sharing your knowledge on a platform and being consistent. Michael Hingson 50:51 Yeah, consistency counts for a lot, and it is something you can you can show is being relevant in almost any kind of business. I mean, look at McDonald's. One thing you can generally tell about McDonald's is that their quarter pounder is going to taste the same everywhere, and it's going to be the same and, and, and companies and people can learn a lot by seeing a company that truly develops that level of trust, 51:24 yeah, couldn't agree more. Michael Hingson 51:26 And that's pretty important to do, to be able to get someone who is going to earn that trust by vigorously working to earn that trust. And so there's something to be said for that, needless to say, so you've built a very large company. What would you say are some of the pivotal moments that sort of helped shape your trajectory? I know you've talked about some things, but what, what kind of really, are the things that stand out that really helped you create all of that? Chris Dreyer 52:00 I think in the beginning, I did a lot of free work, and had to prove my work, prove my abilities. I think so many people just want to charge a lot out of the gate. And I think there's when you do things for people, they're more willing to reciprocate. And it from an application perspective, it makes you better. So I did a lot of free work early, a ton of free work. I took a lot of jobs or contracts that maybe not, maybe for certain, that I wouldn't take today, that were just not perfect, but like they were my opportunities that I didn't, you know, let them pass by. I think hiring the right people, having super high standards is incredibly important, people that share your values. In the beginning, I used to, every time I heard a speech or taught speech speaker talk about culture values, I used to kind of roll my eyes and say I just didn't get to get to work, right? But now I know it's more important than ever that they share my values, right? Because they're important to me, and that's how you move forward. And I think the other one, if I had to say, the bigger I get, the more important good data, is to make decisions like, if I just don't have good data, it's very difficult. I'm just guessing and and the better the data, the better decisions well. Michael Hingson 53:32 So the the other thing that comes to mind when you talked about doing a lot of free work and jobs that you wouldn't necessarily take today, I don't know how much it really entered into your mindset, but think of all the knowledge you gathered by doing that that you might not have ever gotten. Yeah. Chris Dreyer 53:49 I mean, that's true, and a lot of other people wouldn't have done those jobs, so that's kind of some unique perspectives. Michael Hingson 53:56 Yeah, I when I hired sales people, one of the first things I always told them was, you're coming into this be a student for at least the first year. Don't hesitate to ask questions of your customers, because they're not if you gain their trust at all. They're not in it to see you fail. They want you to succeed, but they want to be able to trust you. And so there's a lot to be said for being a student, asking questions and learning from that. I agree. I agree, which makes a lot of sense. What's the biggest misconception that lawyers typically have about marketing? Chris Dreyer 54:33 They underestimate how many dollars and what it takes for someone to actually be memorable or build a brand. I talked to, I heard Alex hermosi talking recently about, you know, no one really knew who Jennifer Lawrence was before the mockingbird movie, and they spent $50 million on advertising for that movie. And then, oh, suddenly, everyone knows who she is. But it took $50 million To do so. I think a lot of times people think they oversaturate a channel when they haven't even scratched the possibilities or the capabilities of a particular channel. Michael Hingson 55:10 How do you help lawyers break through that misconception? I agree with what you're saying. I hear it a lot, in so many ways, but how do you break through that and get them to understand the value. Chris Dreyer 55:22 It's a dance, yeah, you know, I try to get them to look at the blended cost to acquire a case, as opposed to, you know, the CAC to LTV ratio, versus trying to pinpoint each individual channel and but it is try to try to solve with data and proof over, you know, guesses, but or promises, but it is always a song and dance. Michael Hingson 55:52 The data and proof is out there. If people can learn to look for it, it's, it's, the reality is, mostly it's not a guess, but you have to know where to look or learn how to find the data to be able to get the answers that you need to demonstrate that marketing is just as valuable as anything else. I mean, there's so many strong lessons about marketing. We talked about Morgan and Morgan, but think about it, he's out there doing TV commercials all the time, and I'm sure that that's helping his company. He and Ultima continuing to to grow, and now they got the boys all in it. And the reality is they've demonstrated that they understand something about what marketing is all about. I remember back a long time ago when it was taboo for lawyers to even advertise. And then a couple of companies out here started to do it. And finally, people realized there's a lot of value in marketing. Chris Dreyer 56:50 Absolutely. And Michael, I should have said this in advance. I've got a I got a hard stop, I got a I got a hat, I got a client call here in two minutes. Michael Hingson 56:59 Well, then let me just ask, is there anything else that you want to add? Or how can people reach out to you if they'd like to do that? Chris Dreyer 57:06 Well, first of all, I really enjoyed our conversation, so thank you for having me. Yeah, you know, for anybody that has a question or wants to connect with me, the best way to get in touch with me is by email. I'm an inbox zero guy. It's Chris, C, H, R, i s@rankings.io I'm most active on LinkedIn. You'll just do a search for Chris Dreyer, and you'll find me cool. Michael Hingson 57:29 Well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for tuning in today, wherever you are, I'd love to hear from you. Love your thoughts on the podcast. Give us an email at Michael h i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, also, you can listen to any of our podcasts. They're all available. And you can find us at Michael hingson.com/podcast and you can see and hear all the episodes that you want from there. Please give us a five star review and great rating wherever you're listening and watching us, we value it a lot. And if you know anyone who you think might be able to be a good guest, love to hear from you. Chris, you as well. If you know anybody else who you think ought to be a guest, I'd love to definitely get your help to bring them on, because we're looking for all the people who want to come on and show that we're all more unstoppable than we think. But again, I want to just thank you for being here today. Chris Dreyer 58:20 Thank you, Michael. I really enjoyed it. Michael Hingson 58:26 Thank you for being here with me on unstoppable mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about if you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others. I have a free gift for you. Head over to Michael hingson.com and download my free ebook, blinded by fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening, keep learning, keep questioning and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset you.

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AirPods Max 2 Launched, Alexa Plus Comes To UK & Your Feedback

Double Tap Canada

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2026 57:23

Explore the latest Apple AirPods Max 2 release and early UK testing of Alexa Plus, alongside a lively discussion on blind dating, canes, and assistive tech like the Glide mobility device. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece break down what matters most to blind and low-vision tech users. [Sponsor] This episode is supported by Pneuma Solutions. Creators of accessible tools like Remote Incident Manager and Scribe. Get $20 off with code dt20 at https://pneumasolutions.com/ and enter to win a free subscription at doubletaponair.com/subscribe! This episode of Double Tap dives into Apple's new AirPods Max 2, including its minimal design updates and surprising lack of trade-in options. Steven and Shaun debate whether a simple chip upgrade justifies the premium price and share their personal experiences with premium canes and assistive gear. The conversation shifts to Amazon's Alexa Plus, now in early UK testing. The hosts discuss device compatibility, AI responses, and voice personalities—both helpful and hilariously sassy. They also cover the Glide mobility device and its potential as a third navigation option for blind users, complementing traditional canes and guide dogs. Later, they open the inbox to talk about blind dating, empathy in relationships, and how language around blindness can cause confusion or stigma. Thoughtful listener emails spark a wider reflection on identity, accessibility, and self-advocacy. Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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History and Hot Dogs

radio bbc policy bottom horrors guide dogs holiday horror in touch habilitation peter white

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2026 30:51

On this episode we talk with Jeannine Penzone, is a certified orientation and mobility specialist and a certified vision rehabilitation therapist at Leader Dogs for the Blind to give us an update on the Unmet Needs survey.

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Habilitation Support, Holiday Horrors

In Touch

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 18:42

Following last week's coverage of the SEND reforms (the government's major plans to improve the support pupils with special needs will get in schools in future), In Touch hears about another far less publicised report from charity Guide Dogs. It highlighted that seven out of ten visually impaired children and young people surveyed were missing out on essential mobility support and training of daily living skills (a service known as habilitation training). Eleanor Briggs, Guide Dogs' head of Policy, public affairs and campaigns, tells the programme more about what they found and what they would like the government to do about it. And Fiona Fiona Broadley, Chair of Habilitation UK, provides information about what a pathway to referral for habilitation should look like and where things could be slipping. More of your holiday horrors: stories of visually impaired people's experiences of trying to get basic assistance in hotels.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio' in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Barbie

Working Like Dogs - Service Dogs and Working Dogs - Pets & Animals on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 28:27

On this episode we talk with Tony Stephens the Assistant Vice President of Communications at the American Foundation for the Blind. With over 30 years of experience in management and communications for the nonprofit sector, he has spearheaded advocacy for national organizations such as the American Council of the Blind and National Industries for the Blind.

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Working Like Dogs - Episode 208 Sunny's Dynamite Adventure: A Coast Guard Dog on a Mission

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 30:28 Transcription Available

On this episode of Working Like Dogs, Marcie Davis sits down with author Janet Bell to talk about her delightful new children's book, Sunny the Coast Guard Dog's Dynamite Adventure. Janet shares the story behind Sunny's courageous mission, the real-life dedication of Coast Guard K9 teams, and the powerful bond between working dogs and their handlers. Filled with heart, bravery, and adventure, this conversation explores why stories about service dogs matter — especially for young readers. Tune in to discover how one brave Coast Guard dog is capturing young hearts and reminding us all what it truly means to serve.EPISODE NOTES: Sunny's Dynamite Adventure: A Coast Guard Dog on a MissionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-like-dogs-service-dogs-and-working-dogs-pet-life-radio-original--6668004/support.

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From Vienna: Travel Tales, Tech Insights, and Robotic Guide Dogs?

Double Tap Canada

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 56:00

Explore the Zero Project tech conference in Vienna, discover Speaky AI's smart screen reader and innovative accessibility tools, and hear insights on Apple's upcoming 4 March event and the future of affordable MacBooks.Steven Scott and Shaun Preece bring a lively look at the world of assistive tech from Vienna. Steven shares his travel misadventures, from oversized hiking boots to airport wheelchair journeys, and dives into the incredible accessibility innovations showcased at the Zero Project Conference.Highlights include Speaky AI, a next-gen conversational screen reader that works with inaccessible apps, and ambitious plans for smart glasses and even a robotic guide dog. The duo also discuss Apple's newly announced 4 March event, rumours of a low-cost, colourful MacBook, and the ongoing challenge of making VoiceOver and accessible tech widely understood.Relevant LinksZero Project Conference: https://zeroproject.org Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Tightrope

The Amazing Cities and Towns Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2026 30:56

On this episode we talk with Lynn Gautreaux served as the Director of Orientation and Mobility at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired and the statewide Director of O&M and Visually Impaired Services for Louisiana until his retirement after 30 years of service. His first association with Leader Dog was as a guest orientation and mobility instructor in 2006 and lucky for us he keeps coming back.

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An Amazing story of survival and success! with Michael Hingson

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2026 52:42

Quick recap In this episode of the Amazing Cities and Towns podcast, host Jim interviewed Michael Hingson, a blind speaker and author who shared his experiences on 9/11 and his broader life story. Michael discussed his work as a computer company executive in the World Trade Center on 9/11, where he and his guide dog Roselle survived the terrorist attacks by following emergency procedures and evacuation protocols. They also explored Michael's perspective on disability rights, technology's role in accessibility, and his work as a public speaker. The conversation highlighted Michael's philosophy on overcoming challenges and his views on artificial intelligence and its potential benefits for people with disabilities. Jim expressed admiration for Michael's leadership and resilience, and they discussed the importance of adapting to new technologies and maintaining a positive outlook despite obstacles. Summary Surviving 9/11 as a Blind Leader Jim interviews Michael Hingson, who shares his experience as a blind person who survived the 9/11 attacks in the World Trade Center. Michael describes how he and his guide dog Roselle evacuated Tower 1 after the plane hit, emphasizing that his blindness did not prevent him from understanding the situation. They discuss Michael's subsequent leadership and speaking career, with Jim mentioning potential future speaking opportunities through the National League of Cities. Surviving 9/11: A Blind Man's Story Michael shared his experience of surviving the September 11 attacks as a blind person, highlighting how his preparation and training helped him remain calm and focused during the evacuation. He described how his guide dog, Roselle, played a crucial role in keeping him and others calm, and how he used his knowledge of the World Trade Center to navigate the building during the emergency. Michael has since become a public speaker, sharing lessons learned from his experiences about teamwork, trust, leadership, and emergency preparedness. Michael's Journey with Thunderdog Michael discussed his experiences with writing and publishing two books, "Thunderdog" and "Live Like a Guy Dog." He shared how "Thunderdog" came about after meeting George Berger at the American Kennel Club Canine Yukanuba Dog Show in 2002, and how Susie Flory encouraged him to write the book. Michael explained that the book was published by Thomas Nelson in 2011 and became a New York Times bestseller. He emphasized the importance of the book in teaching people about blindness and challenging attitudes towards blind people, highlighting the high unemployment rate among employable blind individuals. Overcoming Challenges with Technology and Choice Michael shared his personal story of being born blind and overcoming obstacles, emphasizing the importance of choices and technology in his life. He discussed the concept of disability as a characteristic that everyone has, and highlighted how the Americans with Disabilities Act has provided accommodations that benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities. Jim agreed with Michael's perspective, noting how the ADA has opened doors for people with disabilities and should be seen as a natural part of society. Challenges in Accessibility Today Michael discussed the ongoing challenges of accessibility, highlighting how the Americans with Disabilities Act has made significant progress but still faces numerous battles. He shared personal anecdotes about his wife's experiences with accessibility issues and his own encounters with discrimination, emphasizing the need for societal recognition of these challenges. Michael also explained the importance of making internet websites accessible, noting that only about 3% of websites are currently accessible. He praised Apple's innovative approach to accessibility, particularly with their VoiceOver technology, while suggesting that more could be done to ensure all apps are accessible. AI's Role and Future Potential Jim and Michael discussed the role and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in various aspects of life. Michael emphasized that AI is a valuable tool that can enhance accessibility, improve vaccine development, and assist in education by helping students learn rather than just using AI to write papers. They also talked about the progress and future of autonomous vehicles, with Jim highlighting the potential benefits for elderly people and Michael sharing his experience driving a Tesla with AI assistance. Both agreed that while AI has made significant strides, it is still in its early stages and will continue to improve over time. Guide Dogs and AI Technologies Michael discussed his experiences with guide dogs, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and trust between the handler and the dog. He explained that guide dogs are trained to ensure safe navigation, not to lead the handler, and described how he communicates with his dogs using a harness. Michael also highlighted the role of AI in assisting people with disabilities, mentioning technologies like Echo Vision glasses and the IRA (Artificial Intelligent Remote Assistant) service. He concluded by sharing his approach to interacting with the public, including allowing petting of his guide dogs when time permits. Michael's Speaking Career Promotion Jim and Michael discussed Michael's speaking career, emphasizing that his story transcends 9/11 and covers themes of life, persistence, and inspiration. Jim expressed his admiration for Michael's speaking skills and offered to promote his services to various organizations. Michael's contact info and website are: Michael's phone number: 415-827-4084 www.michaelhingson.com Email: mike@michaelhingson.com Speaking opportunities for Michael: jessica@voicestoconnect.com www.voicestoconnect.com

Working Like Dogs - Episode 207 Where Vulnerability Meets Trust: Working with Horses

Working Like Dogs - Service Dogs and Working Dogs - Pets & Animals on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2026 38:26 Transcription Available

I'm thrilled to share a truly special conversation with Christina Fleming, our beloved horse trainer and the heart behind the work with my future miniature therapy horses, Romeo and Beignet. Christina brings decades of experience training horses and working with therapy animals, and her wisdom shines through as we talk about trust, regulation, and the deep, quiet communication between humans and horses. This episode is a gentle, grounding reminder that healing doesn't come from control — it comes from relationship. If you love animals, believe in their power to heal, or simply need a calming, meaningful listen, this episode is for you. EPISODE NOTES: Where Vulnerability Meets Trust: Working with HorsesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-like-dogs-service-dogs-and-working-dogs-pet-life-radio-original--6668004/support.

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DC Sponsors Guide Dogs, IDW Sales Drop Again, Doorman Gets Solo Comic | Comic Book Club News For February 4, 2026

Comic Book Club News

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2026 4:37 Transcription Available

DC teams up with Guide Dogs of America to sponsor a superhero litter of puppies. IDW's sales numbers have dropped, again. Marvel's Doorman gets his first solo comic.SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Episode 411 – An Unstoppable Mindset Built on Love Over Fear with Linda Mackenzie

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2026 66:58

What does it really mean to live with an unstoppable mindset when life keeps changing the rules? In this conversation, I had the privilege of talking with Linda MacKenzie, whose life story spans poverty, reinvention, creativity, faith, and deep personal responsibility. Linda grew up in the Bronx with very little, learned resilience early, and carried those lessons into a life that has included engineering, broadcasting, authorship, and decades of work around positivity, healing, and intuition. As we talked, we explored fear not as something that controls us, but as something that can guide us when we learn how to listen. We also discussed the importance of trusting your inner voice, choosing kindness even when it feels difficult, and staying grounded in truth rather than noise or fear. I believe this conversation offers something meaningful for anyone who wants to better understand themselves, live with greater purpose, and remember that an unstoppable mindset is built one choice at a time. Highlights: 00:47 – Learn how early poverty and cultural diversity shaped a deep respect for people and resilience.03:25 – Understand why looking at a person's heart matters more than labels or background.07:28 – Hear how lifelong learning and creativity fueled constant reinvention.09:56 – Discover why fear can be used as a signal instead of something to avoid.11:22 – Learn how positive thinking became the foundation for long-term impact.13:09 – Understand why truth and responsibility matter more than opinions.17:49 – Learn how intuition and inner voice guide better decisions.22:29 – Discover the two core fears that drive most human behavior.29:11 – Hear how natural healing and mindset work together over time.32:49 – Learn why giving back to the community creates balance and purpose.46:31 – Understand how positivity shapes collective consciousness.58:58 – Learn what it means to live with responsibility, kindness, and self-trust. About the Guest: Linda Mackenzie is the epitome of the multi- hyphenate! A former telecom engineer who designed worldwide communications networks for the airlines and Fortune 1000 companies, Mackenzie is a mainstay in pioneering entrepreneurial spirit. She launched one of the first used PC stores, a datacom consulting firm,a wholesale gift manufacturing company and was the former President of a mind- body supplement manufacturing corporation. Today she heads one of her proudest accomplishments to date, as President of CREATIVE HEALTH & SPIRIT-- a Manhattan Beach based media & publishing company started in 1995 and Founder of HealthyLife. net - All Positive Talk Radio which commenced in October, 2002. Linda Mackenzie is also an author, radio host, lecturer, audio/ TV/ film producer, screenwriter, Doctoral Clinical Hypnotherapist Candidate, a world- renown psychic who has appeared worldwide on hundreds of radio shows, almost all network and cable TV stations and in several award winning documentaries. Ways to connect with Linda**:** Social Media: Twitter: https:// twitter. com/ lindamackenzie; https:// twitter. com/ positiveradio Linked In: https:// www. linkedin. com/ in/ linda- mackenzie- 590649b/ Facebook: https:// www. facebook. com/ linda. mackenzie. 56 Instagram: https:// www. instagram. com/ healthyliferadio/ You Tube: https:// www. youtube. com/@ LindaMackenzie https:// www. youtube. com/@ healthyliferadio Websites: www. lindamackenzie. net, www. healthylife. net, www. hrnradio. com P. O. Box 385, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267 books@ lindamackenzie. net www. LindaMackenzie. net About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson 01:20 Well, hello, everyone, wherever you happen to be, I am Michael Hingson, and you are listening or watching unstoppable mindset. And today, we have a wonderful guest to talk with. She is an innovator by any standard. She's done a lot of different kinds things. She describes herself as a self as a multi hibernate, and I'm gonna let her explain some of that, but I think she's got some interesting and relevant stories to tell, and I'm really glad to have her here. I'd like you to meet Linda. MacKenzie, Linda, welcome to on top of a mindset. Linda MacKenzie 01:58 Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here Michael Hingson 02:02 and you're in Manhattan Beach, right, correct, yeah. So you're not all that far away from me from where I am, up in Victorville. So you know, we could probably open our windows and if we yelled loud enough, we could hear each other. But anyway, tell me about the early, early Linda, growing up and all some of that stuff. Well, that was kind Linda MacKenzie 02:22 of an interesting journey. You know, I was born in the Bronx. My mother was Bostonian, Irish, and my dad was Northern Italian. He had the red hair. My mother had the dark hair, and a typical Italian family, you know, and Irish family, they were constantly fighting, so I delved into books and ran to the church for peace and quiet and and many, many things like that. And we were very poor, you know, we had two dresses. I had two dresses a year. And we, you know, did, had to come home for lunch because we didn't have lunch money and stuff like that. Walked walk that mile to school, too much to school. And we did. I actually lived on the second highest point on the eastern seaboard and so but we grew up really fun. You know, we had when I was growing up in New York, one one street was Italian, the next one was Irish, and the blacks had a street, and the Japanese had a street, and the Koreans had a street, and the Germans had a street. And we all went to school together, and we had one common denominator. We were poor. So when I had sleepovers, I had every kind of person, and we just took each other for who we were and not what we were. And so that was a very nice thing growing up. And because we were poor, we got a lot of advantages. For example, our chorus was in high school, our chorus was taught by Metropolitan Opera singers. So we learned and got many things. And if you were very bright and understood that, we to try and get everything we could do, you know, and use it to improve yourself, it happened so and that's kind of what we did. Michael Hingson 04:14 Well, I think that's really cool, and it's great that you grew up in an environment where everyone understood that we're all part of the same world and and they got along. So you never really had to face a whole lot of or you see other people face a whole lot of that, the kinds of problems that we see in other parts of the world, that everyone worked out pretty well together. Linda MacKenzie 04:35 Yeah, I for us. We did, and I've learned to take people, but I always looked at the heart of a person. You know, I may never have remembered their name, but I would remember everything they said, and I could see their soul. So I I never, ever really saw color of skin or anything like that, and and so it was kind of an enigma for that. I mean, it was. An easy for me growing up. I mean, I had three attempted rapes before I was 11, you know, you had to learn street smarts. You know, you go to church and you got, you're passing the strip club with, you know, all the drunks trying to grab at you at eight years old, trying to pull you away. So, you know, so you learned real quick on what to do and what not to do, and I ended up getting married, put my ex husband through school. He became a biochemist, and went to college for two years, and then quit and put him through school, and then, you know, had a baby at, you know, is married at 19 and had a baby at 21 and, you know, was divorced at 27 and moved to California at well, divorced at 25 I guess, yeah, and then moved to California in 27 and just had a really interesting life. I've been through every strata society, from extremely poor to not so poor to middle class to nouveau riche to old money. I've even jet set. I've done it all so, great experience, no matter what. Did you ever get remarried? Yes, I did. I got I got married to a commodities broker that actually worked at the World Trade Center and in the Mercantile Exchange up there in the comics and the mercantile and, you know, as a matter of fact, there was one day because I was cute when I was, you know, 2728 and my husband was a broker on a floor trader, and he'd say, come in, as it's this particular time, onto the floor, and come meet me on the floor. Well, they didn't really have a lot of women on the floor. Yeah, back in those days. I mean, you know, back in the days where I grew up, my husband had to approve a bank account if I could have a savings account. So you could, you couldn't even, you know, have a credit card if you were a woman, you know. So I went through a lot of stuff. But anyway, I remember walking on the floor, and the whole exchange stopped because he told me wear a mini skirt. And I did. And he went in and did a whole big thing on trading gold, and made a lot of money that day. Walked on the exchange. That's what ended up happening. But Seth, you Michael Hingson 07:17 talked about, you just made me think of something you talked about, you saw people's hearts and so on, but you never remembered their names. I know for six years I worked up at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, which is where I've gotten all of my guide dogs. Because after September 11, one of the things they asked me if I come be their spokesperson. One of the things that we heard, and I never believed in until I saw it in action, is that most of the people at guide dogs know every single dog that goes through the campus bills. They'll never remember your names. They don't remember students names, but they remember the dogs, Linda MacKenzie 07:53 right, right? Well, they have intimate Well, I mean, I remembered my mom's name. Well, that's a start. Michael Hingson 08:04 It's just kind of funny, because, you know, the students and the trainers do get along well, but it's just so funny. How so many people up there would remember the dogs. I could go down the corridor going to the Veterinary Clinic, and people would come up and they go, Hi Rosell, or hi Africa. I can't quite remember your name, but it's so funny. That's great, you know, and can't argue with it. It's nice to be remembered somehow, even if it's for the dog. That's right, that's right. So did you just have two years of college, or did you ever finish? Linda MacKenzie 08:39 Yeah, no, I went back and I got a degree, and then I got grandfathered in, and I have a PhD in clinical hypnotherapy, and I have been recognized as a furthering the profession, and also by the American Board of hypnotherapy, they say that I'm the their most creative, prolific minds, which I said, Oh, good. I can use that in PR for at least 10 minutes? Yeah, at Michael Hingson 09:05 least it's something to say. Linda MacKenzie 09:07 Yeah, no, but I've always I was. My Autobiography is called Life is like Girl Scout badges. I'm kind of writing that so and it's because whenever I finish something or did something, you know, I would go on to something else, because I feel life is just a wonderful thing. So I've done many, many things I've done, you know, when I was 18, I won awards from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for my artwork, and I was offered a contract with Columbia Records to sing, but the promoter, the ME TOO movement was back then too, and I chose not to do it, so I didn't go with them, which is a funny thing, because now I'm 76 this year, and I am producing a children's record and next month, and I've written the songs and done the music, and we've got people from Off Broadway and different kinds of people coming together. For for a wonderful record for children on how to stop negative thought, to stay positive and what and how to transcend fear. So that's my project for this year. You know, so, but I've done so many things. I mean, I don't know where you just start. Michael Hingson 10:18 That's fine. Well, I hope to hear the record someday. Linda MacKenzie 10:22 Oh, you will. It's going to be so much fun. It's so much fun. Michael Hingson 10:26 I you know, you know who Neil sadaka is, yes, and he's got this song, Breaking up is hard to do. Well, it turns out that in 2009 he did a whole album for kids. The title song is waking up is hard to do. It's never it's cute. Somebody told me about it earlier this year, and I went and found it. It is a cute album, and it's the melodies are most all of his other songs, but the words are all kids related, and they're very clever. Linda MacKenzie 10:53 Well, this was a book that I wrote about 20 years ago, and and then I and somebody picked it up, and then they said, you need to write a script. And I said, Well, I don't know how to write a script, so I bought a book and I wrote a script, and they it was picked up while Ron Howard had it, and Hawk Koch, who did sliver, and Deborah Johnson, and it's been in play for 20 years. I mean, the last producers that had it was crazy, Rich Asians, and it was never produced, and every single time they wanted to produce it, so I said, You know what, I'm going to write the book myself. So I rewrote the book. My daughter's doing some education. She's a teacher, so she's doing some educational things so that the people in education can, you know, take the chapters and the characters and learn how to be positive from these things and and it's really kind of a fun thing, so I'm really excited about it. So I just said, I'm not going to wait for them. I'm going to do it because the kids need it now more than ever. They just get away from that social media and to really start connecting and to understand that it's not the witchcraft, it's not the, you know, the social media that, or you know what it is, is your own mind and your own self, and using the quality of your mind and understanding that and moving through it and having a Positive attitude that will get you so far in life, and that's what my goal is, is to just, you know, I've been doing that for almost, I don't know, 40 years. Is my whole goal was truth and positivity. So Well, there Michael Hingson 12:33 you go. By the way, since you have written books, I would appreciate it if you would email me and attach pictures of the book covers, because I'd love to put them out as part of the show notes. Linda MacKenzie 12:45 Okay, great. That would be great. I have four books out. I I had started a positive Talk Radio Network back in 2002 and you know, we're going to a lot of we go. We have 45 hosts. It's live. We do podcasts, and we've been doing podcasts since 2004 if you can believe that, and we were pioneer in internet radio and so and that's because I was an engineer for 18 years, and I was the first woman Datacom engineer in any airline in the world, and designed stuff for Continental Airlines and Western airlines and international airlines and things like that. And, you know, air to ground, radio and right go to the when you go to the airport, if you use computerized tickets, that was kind of my I participated in that with other wonderful people, and I worked with microwave and did all of that as matter of fact, I redesigned a computer center. So every year I've done something, you know, and I've been successful, and then I move on, you know. But the radio network is my longest one. That's 23 years. So we'll be 2024, years this year, which is a lot of years, but we're helping people, because it's all positive talk. So although we do have a news program, I tried to make it positive, but we report the old way, you know, with, you know, checking sources and really having too much opinion. And when you have an opinion, say it's your opinion, you know, not trying to which Michael Hingson 14:21 is fair, which is which is fair. Well, if you ever need a guest on the podcast or on any of the radio shows, just let me know. I'm always looking for opportunities to also be positive and and motivate people. So if Linda MacKenzie 14:33 we can, just have to go to the site, and there's a thing called all shows, and go through all of the hosts, because we have over 45 of them, and, you know, and so, and each one does 14:47 their own. Got it? What's the site? Linda MacKenzie 14:50 Again, it's called Healthy Life. Dot.net. It's or heal thy life.net. So it's healthy life or heal thy life. Same got it? Same thing. Saying different, different way of saying it and and you can listen 24/7, I don't do any apps. We are syndicated on 75 channels of distribution. So if you wanted to get on, tune in, or streama, or some of these other wonderful networks in Europe, you know, we go to 137 countries. So it's a pretty good network. And if you want to be happy and get learn things, you know it's just wonderful. We're starting some new shows that nobody's ever done, and I can do an exclusive here for you, if you want it, our network is going to be doing I've been following a while that there's certain kinds of classical music, right? That when you listen to it can reverse cancer, stop Alzheimer's, stop Parkinson's. And there are certain things at certain frequencies. And I have one of the greatest classical Taurus in the world, in my opinion, and he's going to be doing a show where people can listen to the music and then and help themselves heal right on air, I'm stupid by John Hopkins University. And, I mean, it's not just namby pamby or, you know, La La Land stuff. It's no, I'm saving for certain things. So it's it's really no one's doing that. So it's going to be really fun for me to do. Michael Hingson 16:27 Are you familiar with Joe fatale? No. He is a an individual who has done a lot with with sound to not only help people from a wealth standpoint, but also help them in terms of dealing with health. I've, I've been on a couple of his mailing lists, and he's had some interesting, some interesting things, and a couple of people who've worked with him and so on have been guests on unstoppable mindset. But it's an interesting guy, but definitely parallels a lot of what you're saying, certainly stuff, I have also believed, right? Linda MacKenzie 17:03 We've had Jonathan Goldman, who has written, He's a graduate of Berkeley School of Music, but he's been doing sound healing. It was an interesting story with him, and he's on our network, and he's been doing shows with us for over 20 years. And it was funny, he went to Tibet and he was loved the chants of the Tibetan monks. And he went over there, and he said, can I try that chant? And they said, No, that chant, you know, is like 10 years. You have to do it in 10 years, you know, you have to train for that. He goes, Can I try? And they said, Yes. And he got it perfectly. And so now the Tibetan monks go to train with him in Boulder, Colorado every year around June timeframe. So it's kind of a fun story. So he's been in sound healing for a long time. And there's a lot of different things that are true, but like today, you have to make sure that it resonates with you, because not everything that you're hearing is true, and people are bastardizing things. And the closer you are to the truth, and the closer that you and you can depend on your own truth meter, because everybody's got one, yeah. And if you depend on that and listen to just that, and if it tells you stop, I don't want to do this anymore, then you just go to that point, and then you will get the benefit from everything. Michael Hingson 18:25 One of my favorite things that I've talked about several times on the podcast when I talk to people about inner voices and their thoughts is I ask a number of people, did you used to play or do you play Trivial Pursuit? And when they say, Yes. One of the things I constantly ask people is, how often did somebody ask a question? Immediately you thought of an answer, but you went, Oh, that was just too easy. And so you think again, you come up with a different answer, but the first answer that you thought of was the correct one, which is absolutely all about listening to your inner voice and listening to correct what you're being told. Linda MacKenzie 19:00 That's right. You're 99% right if you listen the first time and don't use your mind to think. You know, the brain is divided into two kinds. You know, the left logical brain. What you need if you're crossing a street. I mean, I would like to know there's a car and step back, but the right side of the brain is where your creativity is, and I call the seat of soul. And what happens is, is that your creative side is the thing that heals you. Your left logical side is just like the monkey mind. And so what happens when you're doing hypnosis? What you're doing is you're getting the left brain to listen to a story, but you before you do it, you have an intention, and the intention is the right brain knows exactly what you need to do, but it's very kind, and it lets the left brain sit there, be in control, except at night, and you'll notice that if you're ill, and when you wake up in the morning, you feel, most times, a lot better. And that's reason is, is because the right side of the mind has. Has actually taken control right and the left side of the brain is sleeping, so your right side of the brain can absolutely heal you. And this is where your your gut feel comes from, too, is from the right side of the brain. And we are much more than we think we are. You know, we're just spiritual beings in a physical body, not a physical being in a you know, we're not just physical beings, you know, right? Michael Hingson 20:28 Well, and it all goes back to the spiritual and to the light. And absolutely is true. I know that I've, we've had on on this podcast, a number of Reiki Masters and other people, and we've had people who bring on singing musical bowls and so on. Linda MacKenzie 20:50 And it's interesting about that, because, you know, here in Japan, Reiki has 12 levels, but they're only taught three here, and they're never taught the level to where you protect yourself, because when you're out there in the universe and you're going into doing some of these things, everything exists, even a thought form exists. So you want to make sure that you're as protected as possible when you're doing these things right and so, but most of the people don't know, because they don't allow you to do that. And Reiki, there is a you're there in it, day in, day out. That's your career. You know, it's not just a pastime. And the Tibetan bowls are great. However, for me, when they do the regular way of doing it, it's like chalk on a chalkboard. For me, when they do it opposite and backwards, I'm in heaven. So it's really interesting how everybody's body is different. Every person is unique. And we have to understand that when we're looking at health or with mind or with body, we want to understand that we are so important. Each one of us is important. Never should be belittled or, you know, and treat everybody with kindness and love and and respect and truth Michael Hingson 22:06 exactly right. And I'd love to see a whole lot more of it than oftentimes we do see, but I know that that it's so important that we focus on doing things to protect ourselves. And one of the things that that I talk about is I wrote a book that was published last year called on stop or excuse me, called Live like a guide dog, true stories from a blind man and his dogs about being brave, overcoming adversity and moving forward in faith. And the whole idea behind the book was that at the beginning of the pandemic, I realized that although I had escaped from the World Trade Center, and I had, in fact, known what to do, which was a mindset that clicked in when the emergency happened. I never really worked to teach other people that. So I wrote, live like a guide dog, and used lessons that I learned from all of my guide dogs and my wife's service dog, the lessons from those dogs to, in fact, learn how to deal with the different things that we have to deal with, and learn how to, in reality, control, protect ourselves and move forward in a positive and constructive way. In other words, really learning about the fact that you can control fear. Fear is not something that you you need to allow to overwhelm or, as I put it, blind you or paralyze you. The reality is that fear is a wonderful thing that you can use as a very powerful tool to help you function and succeed even in the most adverse circumstances possible. Linda MacKenzie 23:40 Well, I one of the songs on the record is called fear is fear is my friend, and it's a wonderful song, and it teaches you that fear. I did a big study for 20 years on fear, right? Because the only way that people can control you is through fear. Okay? If you don't have fear, no one can control you. No one, okay, yeah. Michael Hingson 24:08 Well, and just to interrupt for a quick sec, I would say it's not that you don't have fear, but you control it. Linda MacKenzie 24:16 Well, you overcome it. You Michael Hingson 24:17 exactly, right, exactly. You use it. You use it in a powerful, better way. Anyway, go ahead, right? Linda MacKenzie 24:23 Well, fear does, for me is that when fear comes in, it's, it's a wake up call, saying, yeah, look at this. What is it that you're fearful of, and what? Because the only way you can go through exactly right through it. And so when I did this study, it was very interesting, because I found that fear comes from two places. One is a fear of loss, and the other is a fear of death. When you fine tune fear all the way all the way all the way all the way down, it's fear of loss or fear of death. And it's funny, because we come in with nothing, we're leaving with nothing. The only thing we take. With us is the love we give and the love we get. That's it. And I've been on the other side and worked on the other side for the British government and all sorts of stuff, so I know that there's life after death, yeah. And so therefore there's really nothing to fear except to find out what the lesson fear is trying to teach you when you learn it, and you learn it all the way that lesson, you will never have to repeat it in your life again. And so fear is so, so important, and yet not to be feared. Don't fear Michael Hingson 25:35 don't fear it. No, as I said, it's a very powerful tool that can help in so many ways, right, which I think is really important. Well, after college, you started working at various things. What did you do after college? What was kind of your first endeavor? Linda MacKenzie 25:51 Well, I started with the New York telephone company, and I was called when I was selling touch tone telephones. They had just come out. Michael Hingson 26:01 Was it, was it called? Was it called 9x then? Or was it was that? Linda MacKenzie 26:05 Well, in New York, it was no. It was, yeah, that was the trade trade, yes, but it was New York telephone company, yeah. And then I went to work for the National radiology registry, and I designed a prison. When I moved to California, I started to really take off, and I designed a people coming out of prison weren't able to get jobs and and so the X ray they did teach in some prisons in Chino, as a matter of fact, how to become a x ray technician and and so, and an ultrasound wasn't even out back then, back in 77 so I started a prison program to it was a temporary agency so that when a doctor's office or a hospital, their x ray technicians didn't show up, they would call us, and then we would send somebody out, and then they would like the people we would send, and they would give them jobs. So the we so I tried to do that. And then I started working for the airlines and and I they said, Well, do you want to be a reservation person? I said, No. And they said, Well, do you want to be, you know, at the ticket counter agent? Yeah, no, no. He said, Do you want to be a flight attendant? I said, No. And they said, Well, what do you want to do? And I said, Put me in accounting at the mail desk. I want to see where the money goes, and then I'll figure out where I'm going to go. And they said, What? And I said, Just do it, you know. And I had made friends with someone, and so they gave me the job, and I kept moving. And every six months I'd find another error, a million dollar error, and this and this and this. And I finally worked my way up into computers and and then I was the very first woman in any as a data com engineer in any airline in the world. And I started doing a lot of things like that, and then went to work for Western airlines. And then I did worked for CETA, which is Society International Telecommunications aeronautic, which is a largest telecommunications company in the world, based in France and Switzerland. And then I from there, after my daughter graduated from college, I said, enough of this engineering. And so I quit, and I started a metaphysical company, and I got onto a lot of TV. I started my radio show in 1996 I started writing books, and I then from there, I was president of a dietary supplement manufacturing company for a while, and then I manufactured audio tapes and and our company, our vitamin company, was the first company to do mind body medicine. So we would have my partner, was Vice President from GNC, and we started a business in New York and in California. And what we did was we would do an arthritis formula, which she was great at formulation. She was one of the best in the biz. And I would do audio visualization tapes, so that when you were taking the formulas, you would be working on a body level, but the mind would, you would start helping to grow bone with the mind. So we were the first ones to do all these wonderful things for that. And we sold to Trader Joe's and house markets and all sorts of stuff. And then the big farmer came in, and then that was that, you know, they bought up almost all the vitamin companies, and then they started, you know, most of the vitamin companies out there aren't worth their salt, and they're not giving you good vitamins. So and then from there, I went into doing the radio network and which I've been doing, and then I stopped doing books. And then two years ago, I said, you know, I'm getting old, and if I want to get these books out, I better get them out. So I probably. Myself that I was going to do one a year. And for the last two years, I did those two new books, and then I was, I was going to do the children's book this year, but they say that April is the best time to release a children's book is that's when the stores and the education people are looking at it and getting towards summer and all that. Yeah, yeah. So I'm waiting until next year to release that, the album and stuff. But so this year I had to put together a new book, which I'm doing. I just, I'm almost finished with that, so I can release it in September, and that is going to be where it's, I think it's going to be called, help yourself heal with natural remedies or naturally, and it's going to have 40, or about 40 different illnesses, and all the natural medicine with it, plus in the back, it's going to have what is an amino acid, all these terms, so that people can understand. I like to do things that are complete and and I don't do anything if somebody has to get something from a book or a product or a thing that I do. Otherwise I won't do it, yeah, because I want it for everyone, you know. So, so anyways, I'm, I'm working on that as we 31:08 speak. Well, there you go. Well, Michael Hingson 31:11 so it'll be out in like, September or October. Linda MacKenzie 31:14 Yeah, exactly. I'm, I'm doing, I'm just about completed with it, and I just have about three or four chapters to go, but I keep finding new things I want to put in. For example, you know, since there is a censorship on the natural health sites, I'm going to include all of the wonderful health site, health natural health sites, so that people will have a reference so they don't have to worry about things, you know and where to get information. So it's going to be good. Michael Hingson 31:44 Well, when that book gets to the point where you have a book cover, I certainly want to put that in the show notes as well. Speaker 1 31:50 Okay, great. That'd be great. And Michael Hingson 31:53 maybe we can release this about the time the book is is made visible to the world, so that that'll help. Speaker 1 32:01 That'd be great, sure. Well, so what Michael Hingson 32:05 do you consider your profession today? Linda MacKenzie 32:09 Me, I'm my own profession. Me, the I don't have a profession. I have many hats that I'm wearing, right? So I mean tremendous amounts. I'm still running the radio network, and in a radio network, you need 21 individuals to do it, and there we have four, and I'm doing about, I don't know, 10 or 12 of the 21 things to do. So if you want to give me a hat for there, that's that. And then I'm an author and I'm doing the record, so I'm that, and I'm a radio host and, you know, and I give pictures. And the thing is, is that it's like, I'm not busy enough, but I love giving back to the community, because, you know, when you are there's six things you need in your life to be happy and balanced, right? And one of them is giving to the community. So I wasn't really before covid, I was doing a lot, but I wasn't really doing anything for my community. So what I did was I it took me four months. They had to do a homeland security check and a thumbprint and, you know, all sorts of stuff, to do guided meditation for healing for seniors. So we're going to be taking, and that's starting in two weeks, in August 8, and we're, we're going to be doing at the Senior Center in Redondo Beach and and so people will come, and we're going to work on different kinds of anti aging issues, like arthritis and, you know, macular degeneration and bones and diabetes and stuff, and every every two weeks, I'll be doing a guided meditation and helping people heal with that. So, so now I've got the community in and so I've got all my six pieces of my pie, and now I'm stable again. Michael Hingson 34:00 There you go. It's nice to have peace in the world, right? Yeah, it is. It is. So tell me, given all the things you've done, tell me a story or two about things that you've done, something very memorable that comes to mind. Linda MacKenzie 34:15 Oh, there's so many, I'm sure. I mean, because on top of that, you know, I've been a psychic since I'm eight years 34:21 old, right? So how did you discover that? How did Linda MacKenzie 34:25 you I saw God when I was eight? Okay, I'm very God based. I'm not from the planet Altair or the universe. I never took a course. I mean, I listened to God. God said, Jump. I said, Hi. How high and and that's what I do. But I've done I'm very respected in the community. I do a lot of, like, a lot of things for for that, there's, you know, I've done documentaries on it, and there's 17 different distinct psychic abilities. I have them all, and I don't do. Two of them, I don't do prophecy and I don't do trans mediumship, which means that an entity will jump into you and talk through you. And that happens because for a long time, I was on ABC, NBC, BBC, Japan TV. I worked with International Society for paranormal research, and we went over to London to investigate for the British government, you know, some of the Belgrave Hall, whether the ghost things were real or not. And one of the things that was interesting, because there's a lot of stories on those you know that are like, kind of titillating, or saying, Oh, what's going on? I was so basically, I tested my abilities for 37 years before I came out. So what I would do is say I was 16, and I would have pre Cognizant dreams. So I would write the dreams out. And what I would do is I would give them to my girlfriend after I wrote them, and then when one of the dreams would come true, I'd have a witness that was there with me, and I'd go over to her house, and I'd say, hey, Eileen, can you pull the dream with the roller coaster there? And she would pull it out. And then I said, read it. And then that way, I learned to decipher what was coming from God, what was coming from me. Because, you know, there's a lot of, you know, where if you don't know how to manipulate the energy. So it was a long, long time I, you know, by the time I was 15, I had read every metaphysical book in the New York Public Library, everyone, and so I took it very seriously. And I was, you know, busting psychics in New York at 21 and and then finally I just stopped, and I didn't come back out until I was about 37 and so when I went to London, they there was a, we had a Cora Derek. A Cora was the one of the leading psychics in London. And then we had Peter James, who was on sightings. And then we had me, and we three went over. And then we would go into they would take us individually to these different sites. And they would say, Okay, what do you feel, and what do you see? And so I would be taking, you know, they take me to these different things and, and I would see all these different things, and I would say it, and it turned out, I'm saying I'm not very comfortable here. I'm not comfortable here. And then we go to the next site, and I would tell them, Oh, I see a woman with a red hat. And I gave them names and places and dates and and it turned out that they were taking me on the path of Jack the Ripper, and to the point where I gave them new information on Jack the Ripper that they never had before. And so I have an ability that I can stand on a piece of ground, and I can go back to the beginning of time and tell you names and dates and places of who was there all the way back up. So there's a lot of things, and the government has asked me to work for them on many projects. They've been charting me since I'm 15 and so, and I just don't, I don't do and one, and I'm not going to say which, but one of the presidents of the United States, when they were in office, asked me to be their psychic, and I told them, I don't do politics, sports books or lottery tickets, and I turned them down. I mean, I was going to go to dinner with them, because Henry Kissinger was going to be my dinner partner at the Jonathan club, you know. And I thought he was an interesting guy, you know, whether you liked him or you didn't like him, he was an interesting guy. And I like to meet different people, because even if you it's not somebody you like, you need to understand the people so that you know how to handle them in a correct manner, you know. And so even if you don't like someone, you treat them with respect, and you learn you better, you understand, you know. So, so that's those are some stories. Michael Hingson 39:01 So, so let's, let's get to the reality of the world. Did you ever visit the Del Coronado hotel and talk to the ghost down there? Linda MacKenzie 39:08 Yes, oh, good. We did. We were one. We were the group that was doing it, that was filmed. We did the Queen Mary. We did. We were, if you saw that on television. It was probably me there. It wasn't as as haunted as some of the other places. I mean, you know, there was one place in England that was very interesting, so we did a documentary called ghost of England, and there was a one house. I don't remember the name of it, but there was a three generations that had died that were still in the house. The house was in the family for 300 years, and I released a little girl there that was eight, that was a, you know, a spirit there, and I released her to her mom. She had died of consumption. It was really interesting, because. Because they knew of each other, and it was, here's these three different generations, and they can see each other, and they know each other. So that was very interesting, because the Society for paranormal research actually did research into the phenomena of ghosts and the ghost at Belgrave Hall, we found we were very truthful. There was no ghost at Belgrave Hall, okay? I mean, it was explained away by phenomena that, you know, street lights and rain stuff. So we did a lot of that, but we wanted to make sure that everything that we did was in truth. And then another thing that we found was I did another documentary called ghost of New Orleans. And New Orleans is a very, very, very strange place. And I actually went back and they asked me to do a I did a 17 part interactive museum display for a paranormal Museum in New Orleans, and it was all teaching about psychic ability and how not to fear it. And it's not the devil's work. It's, you know, it's just a natural ability that we have. And I wanted people to understand that, but get the truth not from a lot of these people that are just talking that don't know, you know. So anyway, so we did in New Orleans. It was interesting, because the ghosts work together. We were all on different floors, and on each floor, they would give us papers, and they would, you know, newspapers in the morning, and the newspapers would end up in our rooms, in different places all the time, and it was just and we didn't move them. Nobody touched them. The room wasn't able to get in. So there's all sorts of phenomenon there that is just kind of interesting, you know, there. Michael Hingson 41:47 So just, does some of that have to do with voodoo and so on, but just because they're so prevalent down Linda MacKenzie 41:52 if you understand that everything exists, you have to none of that was the voodoo, because, very specific thing, yeah, and it's a specific practice, okay, and so it's not something that I would get into. Or, do you know? I mean, it's not we were, I was attacked several times there. I mean, we went into a we went into a house where there was an entity there that had committed 27 murders, and it was they were all buried in the backyard, and they never even knew until we told them about it, when he came after me on that and so you know, you you have to know what you're doing when you're Doing this, too, you know. So you know, but most ghosts, you just tell them to go away, or if you and sometimes you want to see them, you know, maybe it's your mom or your dad that you're missing. So one of the ways that you can do that is you can say, Hey, before you go to sleep, put a pen and a pencil by your bed, and just say, I would like to see you, dad tonight, and and then you say, I would like to remember that I saw you, yeah. And then when you get up in the morning, you just jot down little words or something, anything that you remember. And then after a while, you'll be able to get a rapport where you'll be able to start to remember, and then able to communicate. Michael Hingson 43:23 Yeah. And the reason I asked about the Dell, just because that's that is a a ghost I've, I've heard so much about, and a friendly ghost, as I understand it. So there's a woman, I guess what? She died in a room there. But it's one of the things that everybody talks about with the Dell all the time, of course. Linda MacKenzie 43:40 Well, one of the funniest things that happened was, well, there was two funny things. One was, you know, we were at the doing the the Comedy Store, the magic and magic club. And the Comedy Store is what that Tootsie shores place, anyway. So we were doing, doing the Comedy Store, and there's a ghost there that puts his hands up people's skirts. Well, that's nice. I went in there, and they didn't tell me, and all of a sudden, I'm going, what the heck. And I look there and I see and I and these, and they said, Oh yeah, we forgot to tell you. I said, Yeah, you didn't forget you wanted to catch that on camera. I said, Well, you did. So it's funny. It's a comedy Michael Hingson 44:28 story. I'm sure the ghost thought it was funny. Linda MacKenzie 44:30 Yeah, he did. I bet. So, yeah. So there's, there's, I have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of stories and and that's my book coming out in 2027 that's going to be called, and then what happened? Paranormal stories, believe it or not, you know. And those are going to have 40 stories in there on things that have happened to me, where people are going to say what? And you can believe it or not, that's coming Michael Hingson 44:58 up too. So do. Well, and that's that's ultimately it. People can decide to believe it or not, and a lot of people will poo, poo it. It doesn't change the reality of the situation, though, Linda MacKenzie 45:12 no, but you know, it's okay. Wherever you are is good, as long as you love one another, or at least try and be kind to one another. I think we can accomplish a lot just by doing that, yeah, and agree to disagree. You know, we we don't have to get upset if the other person has 100% doesn't agree with us. We have to just agree to disagree and not try and get heated. But the Michael Hingson 45:38 other, the other side of that, or the other part of that, not the other side, is that if you really take that, that tact, and you agree to disagree and you continue to converse, you never know what you're going to learn, as opposed to what we see so often now, somebody disagrees, and there's just this complete block wall that comes up. There's no discussion at all, and that's never a good thing to do. Linda MacKenzie 46:03 Well, this morning on my radio show was interesting. I went out with a girlfriend of mine, and she's really into these conspiracy theories, and I'm just not there, you know. So she was trying to put her point through and saying, you know, the collective consciousness has to understand this so we can do something about it. And I said, Yeah. I said, Well look, I said, Here's what I've decided. I said, I'm 76 if somebody else wants to do the activism for this kind of stuff, then at 50, go and do your thing. I said, but I think that when you start getting angry and you start getting heated, what's happening is the collective consciousness is there for everyone. We're all part of everything. We are part of everyone and everything. And so when you get upset, that's not helping the consciousness to make everything right. And if you get a group of people thinking the same thought, you can actually change consciousness and make the world better. So instead of sitting there, do something about it. Donate to something. But don't just sit there and talk about it, you know, actually do something about it and start making sure that you're staying positive about it, and what you can do positively for the situation. And don't get caught in the controversy because you're making more negative energy, yeah, and that never works, no. Positive always overcomes negative. So if you want something to happen, think positive, be buoyant, positive always overcomes negative. So you need to do that. Michael Hingson 47:39 And it is, it is so true, and so many people, you know, we're, we're in a world now where there's so much negativity. It's so unfortunate, because I think people miss out when they do that. And you're right, that's, it's not really part of the good, constructive collective consciousness, either, Linda MacKenzie 48:00 right, right? So we just have to, you know, people think that they can't do anything when things happen. And what I'm saying if you come from the premise that everything is energy, right? And so if you are just loving your spouse or loving your dog or being kind to people that energy is positive, right? And so sure you are doing something, because if we make a lot of positive energy in that collective consciousness, as above so below, right? So if we go ahead and do that, then it will drift down, and we will have a better, happier place, but being negative doesn't help you. Negative makes your immune system depressed. It gives you illness, and it's these are all proven things, so you might as well stay positive. And I don't mean Pollyanna, where you don't things, but you know, understand things and understand that there's a greater force in the back of things too, that, you know, it's not just all about us. You know, there is a for me. I believe that there's a God, and God is in control, and so we have to trust that to some degree. Michael Hingson 49:14 On September 11, and I wrote about this in my book thunder dog, and I've talked about it a few times here, when I was running away from tower two, because I was very close to it when it collapsed. The first thing I thought of as I started to run was, God, I can't believe that you got us out of a building just to have it fall on us. And immediately I heard in my head, as clearly as we're talking right now a voice that said, don't worry about what you can't control. Focus on running with Roselle, who is my guide dog, and the rest will take care of itself. And I immediately had this absolute sense of peace and calm and conviction that if I did that, I'd be fine. And I was so. I'm saying that in part to tell you I understand exactly what you're saying, and that was kind of perhaps one of my experiences. But the bottom line is that we need to learn to listen. And one of the things that I talk about and live like a guide dog is that so many people worry about every little thing that comes along. They are just worried about, how am I going to deal with this? Or the politicians are going to do this to me and that to me and everything else. And the reality is, we don't have control over any of that. What we have control over is how we deal with stuff. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't be aware of what's going on around us. But by the same token, if we worry about every little thing, and we don't really worry about the things over which we have some influence, we're only hurting ourselves. Linda MacKenzie 50:50 And it delays it, and it delays it, and it delays it. So you if you want things to get over quickly, learn to listen. And sometimes, you know, people would say, what is meditation? And I said, Well, it's kind of like prayer. You're listening to God's answers, you know. So I mean, there, I've never been alone, because I've always had a very strong connection with God. And as a matter of fact, it was very interesting. I'll tell you the story about the radio network, and basically, I had just been offered by Sci Fi Channel. They said, We love working with you. So would you take and there was a big 51:31 ghosty, a ghost Linda MacKenzie 51:36 show coming up. It was very big. And I said, No, I won't do that because it wasn't in truth, and you just want to make people cry. You want to feed off those emotions. That's not me. So Mary from sci fi said, You know what, Linda, we like working with you, so just go home and design a show for us, and we will do it. So I got home and I was so excited, because now I was going to make the big money, and I was going to get known and God comes in, and he goes, Linda. And I said, What? And he said, I want you to start a radio network. I said, What? And he says, Well, look. He goes, I gave you all the tools to do it. He goes, You were a data com engineer, you've been in radio. He goes, you're doing positive stuff. He goes, I want you to do a positive network. And I'm going, Wait a minute. I says, you know, I'm just getting this big opportunity, you know? And he goes, Well, listen, he goes, You know, when you're doing a lecture, now you're he goes, you get 1000 people coming to your lecture. He goes, so you're a point of light. He goes, think if you were to get 4045, people to do a radio network, all with positive thought. He goes, then you become a lighthouse. And I said, Okay. And I said, But what about this opportunity? And he goes, Well, you don't have to do it. And I said, well. I said, God is asking me, and I'm going to say, No, I'm not going to do that. I said, No, that's not going to happen. I said, and my Italian came in because I said, Okay, I'll do it. But when I get upstairs, you and I have it a sit down, and he just laughs. He thinks I'm funny so, and he has always been with me 100% of the time. And a lot of times he'll tell me, No, you can do this yourself. You do it, you know. And so I but I've been in a realm where I can go back and forth and I understand, you know. And I talk, you know, you can talk to anybody you want, sure, if you're if you're there, you know, if I need help from Einstein, I'll say, Hey, Uncle L, I need you what? And I go, ask God, Michael Hingson 53:43 yeah, it's it's interesting. It's so many people just belittle so much and but everyone has to make their own choices, and I don't have control over the the choices that people make. I can only talk about my experiences and what I do and so on, and people have to make up their own minds. Which is, which is the way it should be. I think that all of us are individuals that are given the opportunity to make choices, and we can decide how we want to proceed, and the time will come when we will have to defend our positions, or it will have all gone really well. And so the bottom line is that that we make the choices and we have to live by what happens as a result the consequences Linda MacKenzie 54:36 right, and we have to take to learn, to get take responsibility for our actions. You know, the songs on this album address all the major things that we need to do to stay positive and to have a happy life. And so it's not just for kids, it's for parents, and it's for grandparents, and it's for anyone who wants to listen. And it's it's going to be a good. Thing when I get this all done, and I'm it's one of them, my, one of my projects that I wanted to do for a lifetime. And once I get this done, I'll be happy. Michael Hingson 55:09 So well, you do a lot of different stuff. You must have a personal life too. How do you balance the two? Well, and what do you do in your personal life? Linda MacKenzie 55:20 Well, I love to exercise. I do. I love to cook. So once a month I do a psychic soiree, you know, so I do. I've been on a specific diet, you know, no dairy, no salt, no sugar, no effervescence, no since 1992 I don't go to medical doctors. I haven't been to a medical doctor since 1992 and I do everything with just herbs and exercise and getting enough sleep and stuff. So I cook for dinners, and I have a family, and we go out, and I have wonderful friends and bands that I follow in town, so we go out. And I'm actually even going out on a date next this coming Thursday night, which hasn't been for a long time, but so there's and then I do a lot of working with the senior centers and so and then do and I love watching dumb TV that I don't have to think. I like dumb Michael Hingson 56:23 I like dumb TV too. I know exactly what you mean when you say that. I have always been a fan, also, of old radio shows. So I love listening to all the old time radio shows from the 30s, 40s and 50s and so on. And some of them can make you think. But by the same token, the reality is that there's something to be said for just being able to escape, right? Linda MacKenzie 56:46 My latest thing is watching Chinese soap operas. They're 40 episodes long, and I love them. And even though they're subtitles, you get to see how they think and how a different kind of person, you know, culture thinks and does, and it's interesting that you can see how much the same they are as we you know, that they want the same things, they have the same values. You know, because we are all the same, and we have to understand that Michael Hingson 57:19 I know, one of the things that I've said many times, that I know, I'm sure, that a lot of people just think I'm crazy, but I point out that what happened on September 11 was not a religious war. It was a bunch of thugs who wanted to try to bend the world to their will. But that's not the the Islamic religion. The reality is that all of the religions, all the major religions, especially in the world, are always to get to God, and Far be it from me, to judge someone else because they happen to belong to a different religion or subscribe to something different than what I do. Linda MacKenzie 57:54 Well, it's interesting that I did a study on religion. As a matter of fact, on on our radio network we have James Bean, and he's been doing, he was on wisdom radio, so for 40 years, he's been doing spiritual awakenings, where he does comparative religions. And it's interesting that all of the religions have a, you know, a Jesus, you know, or a Mohammed, and they all die, and they all get resurrected in three days. Every single one of the religions has that. And if you and every single one of the religions has a version of the Our Father, Mm, hmm, almost exact words, because Jesus, you know, so, so you know, as far as respecting other religions. I think you have to too. But nothing should be overwhelming, you know, right? Like, oh, absolutely nothing should be overwhelming on because of religion. Like, I don't think that the girls should have to wear burkas because it's religious, right, you know. I think there's some things that you know are not exactly right. Michael Hingson 59:00 Well, you know, Tolstoy once said The biggest problem with Christianity is that people don't practice it. It's the same sort of That's right, concept. I agree with you. I don't think that girls and women should have to wear burkas or not be educated, or not be educated. Well, I wish, I really wish they would be educated, yeah. And so today, actually, yeah, oh, they do and and I think more and more people are beginning to realize it, but not enough yet, in some of these countries where they're willing to stand up and and say, We're not going to tolerate this anymore. Linda MacKenzie 59:32 But I hope about the money, though, unfortunately, so it's power and money, but when they understand that it's the love and kindness that's more important, and that's the only thing that you take with you. Yeah, maybe we can change this world, and I hope we do well. Michael Hingson 59:50 I agree with what you're saying, and I think that people, but people do need to, at some time, recognize that there's something. To be said for principle in the world too. 1:00:02 Yes, I agree. So what Michael Hingson 1:00:08 do you hope that people gain today from listening to your show? Linda MacKenzie 1:00:13 Well, today we did a really, kind of an interesting thing. It was called Linda's world. And once a month, at the end of the month, I don't even know what I'm going to say, and so I come on and I just talk, and we talk a little bit about current events, and then we talked about anti aging, and I do herb of the week, and I give you different kinds of information on that, and we did all these things on anti aging and what vitamins and different things that can help you doing it. And so it's really we do spirit, and we do mind, body, spirit. So you know, you can go to healthy life.net, and click on podcast on demand. There's two buttons at the top. One is Listen Live. You just click on that. We don't have an app. We don't track you. We just allow you to listen for free. And we also have a podcast network with 3200 podcasts from wonderful, wonderful people, some who have passed over, but now, but they're still there, and they have still valuable information called HR and podcasts.com that's 3200 free podcasts there that people can access as well. So you can go to the podcast on demand button, click that, and you'll find my face, or look for Linda McKenzie, and click on that, and there'll be, I think, three months of shows that you can listen to, and you can see all the different kinds of topics. And I'm usually booked six months in advance, because I've been doing radio for so long, there's a lot of people that really like to come in, so I hope that people get one idea, one thought that makes their life positive from the show. And hopefully I'm giving 60 of them, Michael Hingson 1:01:52 yeah, I hear exactly what you're saying. And you know, if I can inspire one person when I speak, if I can get people to think a little bit more about something, then I've done my job right, and I think that's the only way to do it. Well, if people want to reach out to you, what's the best way for them to contact you? Linda MacKenzie 1:02:14 Okay, well, you can reach me if you want to email me. It's Linda at Linda mckenzie.net and that's m, A, C, K, E, N, Z, I, E, all one word, and Linda mckenzie.net that's my website, or they can go through healthy life.net and get me through that way too. And of course, I'm on all of the social media sites as well, right? You know? And on my website is all my appearances. I go up to San Jose and do expos and talks. And, you know, just did, just came and finished a past life regression class. I think I'm going to be doing a gemstone healing class. And, you know, whatever strikes me for the moment is what I do. So you never know. So you go on there, and you know, they want me. I've done a TV show this year, and they want me to do another one and continue. I said, Well, kind of have to pay me, because I'm doing a lot of stuff, you know, you know, you have to give me a little bit more money if you want another one. So I gave them their one, first one, and it's called Live with Linda, and that you can reach on, it's on Roku and Amazon, and that was just last September, and it's live with Linda, and it's also on soul search.tv and you can get it there as well. Michael Hingson 1:03:30 So did the Sci Fi Channel ever come back to you anymore? Linda MacKenzie 1:03:33 No, no, just checking that time, you know, I wasn't young and cute anymore. Now cute. I'm still, Michael Hingson 1:03:40 yeah, you're cute. I believe it'd be cute. You're cute. I'm cute. Yeah. Well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank you all for listening. I hope that you've learned something that you find there are relevant things that Linda has had to say. I'd love to hear from you. Please email me at Michael H, I, at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, I'd love to hear your thoughts about today, wherever you are experiencing the podcast. Podcast, please give us a five star rating. We value it, and we value your thoughts and your comments, and for all of you, and Linda you as well. If you know of anyone else who we ought to have as a guest on unstoppable mindset, please introduce us. We're always looking for more people to visit with and talk with. As I've said many times, I believe everyone has a story to tell and and we a

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Episode 357 - Total Saints Podcast

Total Saints Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2026 55:02

The January transfer window is about to slam shut — and Saints look set for at least one major late twist.In Episode 357, Martin Starke is joined by Steve Grant (SaintsWeb), Glen de la Cour (League1Minus10) and Alfie House (Daily Echo) to break down a busy final 24 hours of the window, assess a hugely encouraging away win at Stoke, and look ahead to a massive opportunity against managerless Watford at St Mary's.On the agenda this week:Adam Armstrong's potential move to Wolves — and what it means for SaintsCameron Archer, Joe Aribo, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and late-window rumoursThe gamble on a new striker and the pressure on Johannes SporsA textbook 2–0 away win at Stoke — best XI, standout performances and defensive solidityFlynn Downes back to his best, Jack Stephens' resurgence, and Finn Azaz clickingHow Saints should have had multiple penalties at the bet365 StadiumSeven points from the last three games — momentum building at last?Can Saints still close a seven-point gap to the play-offs?Watford preview: managerial chaos, suspensions, form, and a golden chance at homePlayer of the Week, Predictions League, and Saints Women's updatePlus, details of our post-match ‘pub-cast' meet-up at The Guide Dog after the Watford game

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