Podcast appearances and mentions of karen lock kolp

We're so excited to have one of our most active members on air with us this week! On her 4th time guesting on the Flipped Lifestyle podcast, we have the author of the ultimate parenting book called, “Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics: Key Tools to Handle Every Temper Tantrum, Keep Your Cool, and Enjoy Life with Your Young Child,” Karen Lock Kolp, M.Ed. Karen is a blogger & podcaster who specializes in helping parents understand their young children. She shares her personal life lessons with her audience, and is driven by the passion to guide us parents through our everyday parenting challenges. Her husband, Ben, helps in processing the audio content for the “We Turned Out Okay” Podcast and is her biggest supporter. They've already gone a long way from when they first started out online, and now need help to grow their parenting community even more. Join us as we share our own experiences on making mistakes, learning from it and how Karen can benefit from embracing these likely mishaps online. If you're feeling discouraged and nothing is going the way you want it in your own business, make sure to tune in and gain the insight that will help take you to the next level! We would love to have you as a member of The Flipped Lifestyle Community! We believe you have God-given talents and experiences you can use to start an online business! All you need is 100 people to pay you $50/m online to make $5,000/m, $60,000/y! Let us help you start a membership of your own. Click here to learn more: https://flippedlifestyle.com

Today's guest, Katherine Leamy, has been a huge inspiration for me while planning my upcoming walk across the north of England! I am thrilled to bring Katherine to you today. Her story may sound familiar, giving of herself as a wife, mom, and nurse… and realizing that she wanted to do something for herself. Realizing that in fact it's better for everybody if she does this, plus she really simply wanted to... So Katherine traveled from her home in New Zealand all the way to Croatia! And she's been on many trips since that first one back in 2017. Our conversation goes deep, way beyond the practical how-to of a solo trip (you can find lots about the practical how-to at Katherine's wonderful website, http://the5kilotraveller.com  : ) I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!  Here are today's links… Today's guest Katherine Leamy's website, http://the5kilotraveller.com  The link to my story if you'd like to read more about my upcoming walk across the north of England... https://www.gofundme.com/f/from-wheelchair-to-walking-across-england  Kay Walks, the YouTube series I have recently started to share the experience of training for this walk... https://youtube.com/channel/UCqkEbmJ3mTpU2wgZIkNao4Q  My website: http://kaylockkolp.com    My writings page where you can find every 2021 issue of the We Turned Out Okay Playbook… http://kaylockkolp.com/writings  Click the following link for my essay, Orchid Nature,if you need some hope and inspiration at the beginning of this school year… https://www.kaylockkolp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Orchid-Nature-by-Karen-Lock-Kolp.pdf  View my art at http://kaylockkolp.com/art … Connect with me, http://kaylockkolp.com/contact … Find me in Instagram, http://instagram.com/weturnedoutokay … And keep your eyes peeled for information about the upcoming virtual retreat I am cohosting on "Feeling hopeful in challenging times" It's the weekend of October 29th and 30th, so spread the word and mark your calendar! Thank you for being here! Much love to you - Kay  

In this episode I talk to leadership and play coach Karen Lock Kolp about some of my favorite topics; relaxation and play and how they're heavily intertwined. We cover...Karen's backgroundExercises to help you find your energyRole-modelling as parentsHow children can not only follow what you model, they can be good teachers tooThe power of intuition - how it lives in the body, not the brainAn exercise on listening to your heartKaren's playbookHow Karen rests and playsAbout The Guest - Karen Lock KolpKaren is an executive, leadership and play coach. Her podcast is called ‘We Turned Out Okay' and her forthcoming book is called ‘The WTOO Playbook of days'. Her mission in life is to restore play to its extremely important place in the pantheon of human ingenuity. She believes in magic and she believes in the power of play to solve any problem, even the really big ones! Her website - https://weturnedoutokay.comHer weekly newsletter - https://weturnedoutokay.com/weekly/Her podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-we-turned-out-okay-podcast/id990826225And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!About The Host - Janine HalloranJanine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids' provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It's the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine's second business ‘Encourage Play' is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills.Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.comEncourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.comInterested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-versionSocial Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbook

Karen believes in the power of play to solve any problem, even the really big ones. She is an Executive, Leadership, and Play coach. Her podcast is called We Turned Out Okay. Her forthcoming book is called the We Turned Out Okay Playbook of Days, and her mission in life is to restore play to its extremely important place in the pantheon of human ingenuity. In our conversation, we discuss loneliness, holding up mirrors and the importance of resting and recovery. The areas covered in the conversation: 1. Karen's Background Bio 2. Karen's strengths in life 3. A discussion on loneliness 4. Mirrors in coaching 5. The importance of resting & recovery 6. Karen's last 3 words & message to the world Connect with Karen Instagram: @weturnedoutokay Facebook: @weturnedoutokay Twitter: @weturnedoutokay Connect with your Host: My Name is Bhavik Patel. I am a British Serial Entrepreneur and lover of life. For the last 20 years, I have started, grown and sold multiple businesses and now I am moving into the mindset space to help people grow and Motivating you to Unlock your Potential and Inspiring you to Live the exceptional Life you Deserve! Instagram: @bhavikp.limitless Facebook: Bhavik Patel LinkedIn: Bhavik Patel

Show Notes In Episode 150, I catch up with Karen Lock Kolp, M.Ed. of the We Turned Out Okay website and podcast. Karen is an early childhood development expert and parent coach. Karen helps worried and hovering parents by bringing reassuring, helpful advice and conversations. She offers simple strategies and guidance in her book, 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know: How to Stop the Chaos, Bring Out Your Child’s Good Behavior, and Truly Enjoy Family Time. Big Ideas • Making little tweaks in our parenting can have positive effects that make our lives easier and calmer. • Kids are very capable and can contribute a lot in the home. • It’s important to lower our expectations of ourselves and focus on some daily connection time with family rather than all of the things we feel like we “must do” right now. • Going through a tough time with at least one person is better than alone—find that person! Quotes Audrey: I think they really need to just relax their expectations of themselves. There's no way you're going to be engaged, connecting, entertaining your children for their entire waking hours. You need to balance it. Try to do something fun every day, maybe for a little bit of time, but also finding those things that can keep your kids busy is really important right now. Karen: As much as you can, make your home life structure so that there is a lot of connection, a lot of laughter, reading aloud to your child. Karen: If you can read aloud to them and make it infectious and fun, you will find them wanting to read aloud to you. And that's what we want. We want it to come from them. We want it to be motivated by them. Karen: It's a rare time for that. I mean, you talk about what is possible, which is an expression that Pat Flynn has used. He is an entrepreneurial podcaster. I really love him. He's got the smart, passive income podcast and he's just relentlessly positive. And he asked the question, “What does this make possible?” And it does make possible a whole bunch of scary things, but we can't live in that space. We have to live like this. Maybe this will make possible some positive things. Maybe our children will discover clay in the brook behind the house and learn how to take that clay and make it into actual, usable, moldable clay. Audrey: Even pretty young kids could help with some cooking, but I mean, if you have even an eight or nine year old, they can cook a meal for you and you can just teach them and then they can just do it on their own. And that would make them feel great and be an incredible life skill to take out of this time. Audrey: My mindset is: everyone's helping, no matter how young you are, we're all going to do something. Audrey: I think sometimes we just have to remember that our kids can do more. So if we're thinking, “Oh my gosh, the house is a mess and I have to do it.” And I think that we can enlist our kids and now more than ever, we can just say, “Hey, we really need you.” Karen: My goal is to change behavior so that you don't have to do as much negative disciplining. You can just be happy because things are much more smooth. Audrey: I think we just all need to take a deep breath and just realize that maybe there's just little tweaks that we can do—simple things that actually make life easier, not harder. Audrey: I also think that it's really important during this time for people to find community. Audrey: We're all okay. It's not looking great really anywhere. And that's okay right now. Audrey: I think it's just finding whatever it is that works for you to get you in the right mindset to be able to be flexible and know that none of us really knows what tomorrow's bringing and we have to just be okay with that because all we can do is try to make the most of today with whatever people we’re with. Audrey: You took something that was really a scary, bad thing and turned it into something amazing. Audrey: I hope that one of the outcomes from this is we all realize that we need each other and we can lean on each other and, we'll get through this better together than alone. Resources/Related Ep. 38: We Turned Out Okay with Karen Lock Kolp Ep. 69: 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know We Turned out Okay (Karen Lock Kolp’s Website) Download Karen’s “Calming the Weeknight Chaos” Helping Your Fearful Kid Try New Things I was also guest on Karen’s We Turned Out Okay Podcast! Our topic was Give Your Child the Magic of Summer Camp! Karen's Interview on Am Writing 32 Ways to Occupy Stuck-At-Home Kids Crucial Conversations Book Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn Karen's Ninja Parenting Community Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics Book Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics Podcast Episode Karen's OkayCon 2020 Author: Mary Balogh One Simple Thing My one simple thing tip this week is to focus on strengths. When we've spent a lot of time with people, we can start to get fixated on their faults and the things they do that annoy us. Take a moment to list out the people you're sheltering with and one strength you appreciate about each of them. Focusing on strengths is a great strategy for improving family relationships! Creating a Strengths-Based Camp, American Camp Association Ep. 28: Focusing on our Kids’ Strengths Celebrating Strengths Focusing on Our Kids’ Strengths My Favorite My favorite this week is one of my favorite mood boosters: listening to music! Music, especially songs that have an uplifting beat or lyrics, are a great way to improve your mood. Here are two of my current favorite "feel good" listens. https://youtu.be/8YuWAZmD0aU   https://youtu.be/3osp2p_gLx4  

If you are feeling lost as a parent, or need some advice on how to get through this tumultuous time, I hope you listen in to my conversation with early childhood development expert  Karen Lock Kolp. Karen’s take on how to handle life as a parent right now is empowering and calming. She uses “compassionate empathy” amongst other tools to help kids and parents thrive, not just survive, during the pandemic.

Show notes & links. I've spent the past weeks talking with youth development experts who are sharing their advice and encouragement for parents during this crazy time of social distancing, sheltering at home, or what I like to now call "Iso for the Rona" (the Australian term for "Isolation for the Coronavirus" that I learned from my email friend Vicki).  Over the next several episodes, I'll be sharing excerpts from those interviews, as well as links to the resources and ideas my guests shared. I'm kicking off this series with two chats with teachers - one current high school teacher and one former sixth grade teacher. Both of them have a lot of experience working with and teaching kids, and they have some great ideas for parents who are new to "teaching" and now have your kids at home full time. I hope our chats bring you some encouragement during this challenging time! Please continue to reach out to me with your feedback, questions, and ideas! Thank you for joining me in raising kids who become thriving adults. Gretchen Monke: High school English teacher at Live Oak High School (Morgan Hill, CA) who's now teaching remotely while stay home orders are in place for COVID-19. What do high school kids need from us during this time? That's the question I ask - and Gretchen answers - in our chat. Gretchen offers tips for parents and teachers about the connection kids need during this time. She also offers  her downloadable daily checklist to help kids have the autonomy they want. GRETCHEN'S DAILY ACTIVITIES CHECKLIST Step 1: Open this Google Doc file Step 2: Make a copy: Go into “File” and click on “Make a Copy.” Step 3: Add or delete categories and tasks & start using! Alternatively, you can download a PDF version (not changeable) below! QUOTES Gretchen: "Even the kids who maybe don't love the academic aspects of school knew, even before we went remote, that they were going to suffer this loss from not being able to socialize with their friends. What they value the most is time with their friends and being able to socialize. So taking that away from them is a huge loss." Gretchen: "The kids are just looking forward to checking in with each other at these zoom meetings. They've become more about connection than any kind of formative work." Audrey: "Even if you don't have some kind of setup yet, you can provide any way for your kids just to get together and check in with each other, sharing what's going on." Audrey: "I'm a big proponent of not really having a rigid schedule, but instead having daily checklists, activities that we want to make sure we do every day." Audrey: "It's helping me to stay in a routine because I think the tendency can be if you don't have anything that you need to get to or do, you really could do nothing and doing nothing, as we know, does not promote us feeling good." Audrey: "What I like about having these daily checklists, and maybe having it be a family thing, is that you're doing it together." Audrey: "If there's something that you want to do, you can make the time to do it. If you think about what we're not able to do right now, I think that doing a little bit more activity will make us all feel better." Audrey: "If you're not used to doing some kind of family daily sharing, this is a good time to start something on a very small scale." Gretchen: "I've really loved having family dinners again. There are some things to be thankful for during this time. It is fun to get to be with my family again for a little bit." Audrey: "Make a list if there are things you've been wanting to do, like random craft supplies that you have around the house that you can now actually utilize or bake some bread." Audrey: "I realize how critical it is to stick with my daily activities. I think for our kids, it's important to help encourage them to make sure they're doing all those things, too." Resources & Links Watch the video of our conversation. Before Breakfast podcast Ep. 56: Off the Clock with Laura Vanderkam 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think LEARN MORE   Daily Family Sharing Ideas Alison Moeschberger: Camp director and former 6th grade teacher who's now responsible for teaching her girls (ages 4 & 7) while stay home orders are in place for COVID-19. Camp director (Gold Arrow Camp) & former 6th grade teacher (The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, CO), mother to two daughters ages 7 & 4 During her time at home with her family, Alison's been coming up with a lot of activities to help keep her girls engaged, interested, and interacting with each other while also giving her some time to get her own work done. QUOTES Alison: "I don't aim to be creating a Pinterest-worthy homeschool experience for my kids. I'm trying to come up with activities that will keep them engaged and interested and wanting to do things with each other, interacting and teaching each other things and giving me some space so I can get my work done, too." Audrey: "I think a lot of parents, especially parents who work outside the home and are used to having this very concentrated short time with their kids, have a little too high of expectations for the interaction with kids when you're together all day long." Alison: "For us, family dinner is a non-negotiable time. We want to get together and make sure we're having that time together." Alison: "My husband and I really want to spend some time with the kids so we both map out time to spend with each daughter independently. We want to make sure we have intentional, I'm-going-to-set-everything-aside-and-focus-on-you for this one activity today." Alison: "This is kind of a historic time that our kids are living through. And so I wanted to start a notebook where it's kind of a keepsake. I ask very specific questions about the Coronavirus. I'm asking things that I think would be fun to look back at in a lot of years." Alison: "I think it's all in finding the context and finding the fun. You can do a little science experiment together that takes care of a lot of learning. You've got your measurements, writing, and it's not standards-based. I know how to write lessons that will accomplish the goals for first grade but I'm not even interested in that right now. I just want some brains-on time." Alison: "I want my kids to be thinking. I want them to be talking with me, interacting with me, following directions. So you can accomplish all of these things, just differently." Audrey: "You do learn something better when you teach other people. So if you have something that your child is supposed to learn for school, you could have them teach you how to do whatever their activity is that they are assigned. Because it is more fun when you get to be on stage. A lot of kids like to do the demo, so maybe parents can be the students sometimes, too." Alison: "My kids actually just love the attention that they get to show off the work they've done." Alison: "What's important to me is that my kids don't emerge from this viewing our relationship any differently." Alison: "This is what we do on weekends, maybe not with such educational emphasis, but we still try to have fun. We still have adventures and we still program part of every day, even on the weekends. Now it's just the same thing. We are trying to keep an eye on what she's missing by not being at school and filling the gaps at home." Alison's Photos & Ideas This Week's Podcast Segments One Simple Thing: Kindness! The results indicate that performing kindness activities for seven days increases happiness. In addition, we report a positive correlation between the number of kind acts and increases in happiness. Neither effect differed across the experimental the groups, suggesting that kindness to strong ties, to weak ties, and to self, as well as observing acts of kindness, have equally positive effects on happiness. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29702043 Join me for 30 Days of Kindness! My Favorite: Graphic "Who do I want to be during COVID-19?" I originally saw this graphic on Tara Leigh Cobble's Instagram (but I'm not sure if she created it).   Listener Question: How are you staying positive? I've done a few recent interviews also answering this same question: Parenting & Staying Positive during the COVID-19 Crisis (Happier in Hollywood Podcast) Okay Con 2020 with Karen Lock Kolp

This week the Prism Parenting podcast is collaborating with the We Turned Out Okay to discuss family survival during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, we’re joined by a special guest, Karen Lock Kolp of the podcast We Turned Out Okay. Karen is an author, child development expert, and parent coach who helps parents navigate the challenges of raising young children. She joins us to talk through a question about a teenage picky eater whose food preferences dictate the restaurant choices for a group of 7. Is that fair??You can find Karen at https://weturnedoutokay.com/.Stay in touch by sending us your questions and comments!Phone: (857) MANNERSEmail: hi@evieandsarah.comJoin our Facebook Group, Talking Modern Manners for Moms & Dads, by clicking here.Be sure to sign up for our newsletter for access to a juicy BONUS podcast where we dish on the sticky situations going on in our own lives: http://eepurl.com/gcDBg1Website: http://www.evieandsarah.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zm0kIGoOplsQ70z-X14OA?sub_confirmation=1Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/evieandsarahInstagram: http://instagram.com/evieandsarahTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/evieandsarahMusic: Something Elated by Broke for Free: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Get Hunter's book, Raising Good Humans now! Click here to order and get book bonuses! Fellow podcaster Karen Kolp walks us through children’s developmental stages—even the stage that many of us adults are in! Trigger warning—we also discuss her experience of abuse as a child and how that shaped her path. Takeaways: Understanding developmental stages gives parents much needed perspective The stages are all relational—and our warm relationship is paramount Ways to protect your child from abuse situations Karen Lock Kolp, M.Ed. is a child-development expert, parent coach, author, host of the We Turned Out Okay podcast, and founder of weturnedoutokay.com. Fan of the Mindful Mama Podcast? Support it by leaving a quick review -----> Apple Podcasts or on Stitcher (or wherever you listen!) ABOUT HUNTER CLARKE-FIELDS: Hunter Clarke-Fields is a mindful mama mentor. She coaches smart, thoughtful parents on how to create calm and cooperation in their daily lives. Hunter has over 20 years of experience in mindfulness practices. She has taught thousands worldwide. Be a part of the tribe! Join the Mindful Parenting membership. Download the audio training, Mindfulness For Moms (The Superpower You Need) for free! It's at mindfulmomguide.com. Find more podcasts, blog posts, free resources, and how to work with Hunter at MindfulMamaMentor.com.

In Episode 21, Rob and Wayne talk with author and child development expert, Karen Lock Kolp, host of "THE WE TURNED OUT OK PODCAST".  Together, they draw on Karen's extensive expertise as a parent coach to provide families with practical advice that every parent and family can benefit from.    

Writing through chronic illness and other challenges, with Karen Lock KolpThis writing thing often feels hard. A common text among the three of us (Jess, Sarina and KJ) goes like this: OW OW OW OWOWOWOW. Our brains hurt. But for this week’s guest, Karen Lock Kolp, it’s more than that. Because of a rare tendon condition, Karen does all her writing and online work—and we do mean all—using her voice. That means that when it comes to both dictation and writing through big challenges, she’s a pro, and her advice in this episode was solid gold on both counts.Episode links and a transcript follow—but first, a preview of the #WritersTopFive that will be dropping into #AmWriting supporter inboxes on Monday, September 2, 2019: Top 5 Things to Remember When Writing is REALLY Hard. Not joined that club yet? You’ll want to get on that. Support the podcast you love AND get weekly #WriterTopFives with actionable advice you can use for just $7 a month. As always, this episode (and every episode) will appear for all subscribers in your usual podcast listening places, totally free as the #AmWriting Podcast has always been. This shownotes email is free, too, so please—forward it to a friend, and if you haven’t already, join our email list and be on top of it with the shownotes and a transcript every time there’s a new episode. To support the podcast and help it stay free, subscribe to our weekly #WritersTopFive email.LINKS FROM THE PODCASTThe Solopreneur Hour with Michael O'Neal Joanna Penn's The Creative PennKaren's Dictation Software Choices: Dragon Dictation, Chrome Browser, Dragon's Transcription Button.MouseGrid video on YouTube: How to Use the Dragon MouseGrid (as it turns out, it’s focused on navigating in Facebook with Dragon, but still a great video)It's a Long Way to the Top, AC/DC#AmReading (Watching, Listening)Karen: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado PerezThe Purloined Paperweight, P.G. Wodehouse Grown-Up Anger: The Connected Mysteries of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and the Calumet Massacre of 1913, Daniel WolffKJ: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Abbi WaxmanJess: God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America, Lyz Lenz (Hear Lyz on the podcast here.) #FaveIndieBookstoreJeff Kinney's An UnLikely Story in Plainville, MAKaren Lock Kolp is the author of Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics: Key Tools to Handle Every Temper Tantrum, Keep Your Cool, and Enjoy Life with Your Young Child and 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know: How to Stop the Chaos, Bring Out Your Child’s Good Behavior, and Truly Enjoy Family Time (Your Child Explained). Find out more at Karen's website: We Turned Out Okay. Listen to her podcast here. Her popular episode Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics is here. This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwritingfor details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s Inside-Outline template.Find more about Jess here, and about KJ here.If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship.Transcript (We use an AI service for transcription, and while we do clean it up a bit, some errors are the price of admission here. We hope it’s still helpful.)KJ:                                00:01                Howdy writers and listeners. August is basically over. September is here and this is the very last time I can invite you to join us in Bar Harbor, Maine for the Find Your Book, Find Your Mojo retreat from September 12th through 15th of 2019. It's a fantastic chance to get some one on one time for your project with me or Author Accelerator founder Jenny Nash, and then dig in with all your might in a gorgeous setting surrounded by your fellow #AmWriting word nerds, including Serena Bowen, who's going to talk about indie versus traditional publishing. There will be bonding, there will be writing, and knitting and artistic renderings of words of the year and all kinds of festivities and I for one can't wait. Find all the details@authoraccelerator.com/am writing.KJ:                                00:55                Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone and try to remember what I was supposed to be doing.Jess:                             00:59                All right, let's start over.KJ:                                01:01                Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers.Jess:                             01:04                Okay.KJ:                                01:04                Now one, two, three. Hey, I'm KJ Dell'Antonia.Jess:                             01:13                And I'm Jess Lahey.KJ:                                01:15                And this is #AmWriting with Jess and KJ. #AmWriting is our weekly podcast about all things writing, be they fiction, nonfiction, some bizarre intertwined creation, short stories, proposals, essays, long pieces, short pieces. And most of all, the one thing we always are is the podcast about getting the work done.Jess:                             01:46                And I'm Jess Lahey. I'm the author of the Gift of Failure and a forthcoming book about preventing substance abuse in kids. And you can find my work at the New York Times and the Washington Post and recently at Air Mail, which is a new venture by Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair. And that was kind of fun to write for someone new.KJ:                                02:06                I am KJ Dell'Antonia. I'm the author of How To Be a Happier Parent and the former lead editor and writer of the Motherlode blog at the New York Times where I am still a contributor. I'm having a freelancing break while I work on what will be my second novel and my first novel, The Chicken Sisters will be out next year.Jess:                             02:24                So exciting.KJ:                                02:26                That's who we are. That's why you should listen to us. Today, we have a guest that I think you are also going to want to listen to. I want to welcome Karen Lock Kolp. She is a child development expert and a parenting coach with a podcast, a thriving online community, and she is the independently published author of 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know. But we are not going to talk about anything parenty because what we are gonna talk about is getting all that work done because Karen is also a woman who lives with chronic illness. She has a tendon disorder that she'll describe to you later, but it has made her an expert in the use of her voice, both as a podcaster and in dictating her writing, which I know you're all going to want to hear about. And it's also made her an expert at keeping her butt in the chair sometimes whether she wants to or not, and getting her work done anyway, even when it's really, really hard. And that's why you're here. So thank you so much for joining us.Karen:                          03:28                Oh, thank you. It's really wonderful to be here. This is very exciting for me. Your podcast is one of my favorites. It is one of the few that survived my recent digital reset. Yours was one of the few that I brought back in because it's incredibly valuable.Jess:                             03:51                Oh, that's so nice. We survived a purge. That's so exciting.KJ:                                03:56                I purged lately too, although I partly purged just because I get so frustrated with the iTunes podcast app and switched and then once I switched I realized I hadn't brought everything with me and some of it I didn't miss.Jess:                             04:08                I had that moment where iTunes said, you seem to have not downloaded this in awhile. Do you still want to listen? And I thought about it and I said, well, no, actually I'm done.Karen:                          04:20                That's really cool. I did that.KJ:                                04:22                So Karen, so what I really want to talk about today is the specifics of writing with chronic illness, but also more on a general note, just the challenges of writing when it's hard. I think that we all have times when we feel like this is impossible and you have written through moments that I think most of us would define as actually impossible. So, start by telling us where you stand and how this started for you.Karen:                          04:56                Wow. It's, it's quite a story. So, actually first of all, I think I just want to say that I was well into writing my second book before I would dare to call myself a writer. So there's that as well. I was like, I'm a podcaster, I'm not a writer. You know what I mean?KJ:                                05:14                Yeah, no, we all have that. Yeah. I mean it's always, well, I wrote for the New York Times, but only online, you know Nobody, none of us thinks we're a real writer yet. Yeah, except maybe Salmon Rushdie, he thinks he's a real writer.Karen:                          05:34                Thinks he's a writer. Yeah, exactly. A real writer. I was midway through the second book and I was like, I said to somebody, Oh, I'm a writer. And I was like, wait a minute, I actually am a writer. I'm like, that's pretty cool. For me, it all started eight years ago, more than eight years ago now, I contracted a tendon disorder. And the way that I did it was I got a gastric disease called diverticulitis, which I would not wish on my worst enemy. And I took some (this is the nearest that my doctors and I can figure out) I took a really strong course of antibiotics to get rid of it. And they had a thing in them called fluoroquinolones. And since that started, since I went down this rabbit hole, it's been discovered that fluoroquinolones cause tendon problems largely in kids, but caused these problems anyway. And the rheumatologist told me, probably four or five years in that like I'm one of the lucky few who it stuck around for it. There's like a third of people who get this that they get it and get better right away. And then there's a third who sort of get it and it sticks around for a couple of years. And then I'm one of the ones who's, you know, it's gone on for a really long time.KJ:                                06:42                That's just annoying.Karen:                          06:45                I mean, isn't it?KJ:                                06:48                The truth is that in a single hand card game, odds don't matter and it’s either going to stay or it's not and if it stays those odds just make you mad.Karen:                          06:57                Yeah. And I, I, it took me a long time to get here, but I, I would say that what I've done is I've kind of gone through a real metamorphosis, you know, before I was a caterpillar and then this was my chrysalis and now I'm a butterfly. Like I truly understand the meaning of differently abled in a way I never, ever did before. For the first couple of years, the focus was really on my legs. I lost almost complete use of one leg in particular (my right leg) because of some of the tendons in it. And then there was a sort of very long rehab. But while I was going through that, I needed a wheelchair. Whenever I left the house it was a mess. And when that got better, then my thumb tendon started to go. And I'm still basically really still recovering from that. The legs are much better than the upper body. So all my writing is done online, and I do it with a speech recognition software. But, I want to even go further back than that, if it's okay.KJ:                                08:04                Yeah.Karen:                          08:05                Because I, the whole reason that I started to do anything is because I wanted, it sounds, it may sound silly, but I wanted to give a TED talk. I was, I remember watching TED talks and loving them and laughing at them. Like I couldn't move, I was stranded in a chair. And I remember thinking, you know what I could do, I could do a TED talk in a wheelchair. I want to do a TED talk. And so what, I, I haven't done one yet, I'm still hoping to, but this whole thing started because I was like, well, I want to do that. So my husband especially helped me try to figure out like, how could you do that, because at the same time as I wanted that I was also feeling incredibly useless and a total burden at home. We had two young kids and I couldn't be the house wife, and I couldn't be the cook. And I couldn't be the laundry and I couldn't be the chauffeur. So I really was feeling very down, like not quite suicidal, but if you got hit by a bus it wouldn't be a problem kind of thing. I had to learn first that there is value in me even if I can't use my hands or my legs. Once I learned that, my family was like, we need you, we need you to be the brains, which is how we define it around here. Then I could sort of look outwards from that. And that was when I really decided, I think I want to do a TED talk. And that has led to so much cool stuff. And even if it's not ever a TED talk, I'm so happy.KJ:                                09:33                Well, I mean, you know, it's kind of cool that it started from that, right? And, and it remains as a goal, but now you have, you know, you have so many other goals that you have achieved in the meantime.Karen:                          09:54                That's a very good thing to know. I mean, I, it's nice to have that validation, you know.KJ:                                10:01                Yeah.Karen:                          10:02                Thank you.KJ:                                10:02                I almost don't even know where to go from that, but so you've picked a topic and you took it from there. It's sort of hard to list all the things that you have, but you have this thriving online community, you have a coaching business, you have a lot going on now. What came first?Karen:                          10:28                So first came the podcast and that came about in a really interesting way too, because my husband wanted me to have an iPhone. So part of my problem, part of the hands per happened because I was doing too much texting on a phone that had those nine buttons, you know what I mean, where you'd have to like cycle through the number one to get to a and all those sorts of things. And that really blew up with the thumb tendons and my husband's like, okay, we're gonna get you an iPhone because it's playschool. You won't ever have to worry about like anything. You know, there's no, you don't have to choose between apps. Like it's just, it's there for you, there's no worries with an iPhone, which my family has since they've gotten Androids and there are times where they want to throw them out the window, you know what I mean? But I still have an iPhone because I need it. And that was when I really first discovered podcasts and one of my favorite podcasts was done by an entrepreneur who teaches other people how to start an online business. And I really wanted to start an online business.KJ:                                11:34                You need to name the podcast, by the way.Karen:                          11:37                Oh, that podcast is called The Solopreneur Hour podcast with Michael O'Neal. So I got into his podcast and I started trying to do something. I made a horrible, horrible website with my husband's help that I'm so glad it's gone, basically. Because I just needed to start and I knew I wanted to do something for parents of young children. I have a master's degree in early childhood education, I've got a bachelor's in human development and family relations, I've got nine years as a preschool teacher in an industry standard, state of the art, absolutely wonderful town-run preschool program. The town I grew up in actually. And I wanted to help parents cause I couldn't be in the classroom anymore, so maybe I could, you know, I could at least help them that way. So, I'm developing this pretty awful website and I'm doing it listening to Michael O'Neal's show. And I wrote to him at one point to basically say thank you because what he was doing was making me feel like I could do this, like this was attainable by me. And I explained my tendon condition and he read my letter on the air and he gifted me three months in his coaching program. I just want to take a moment to send up a silent thank you to him because I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't had him. But I mean, what, he's just a wonderful guy.KJ:                                13:08                Say a thank you to you because if you didn't reach out, do you know exactly when he would've come and knocked on your door if you hadn't written that letter? Never.Karen:                          13:17                Exactly.KJ:                                13:19                Yeah. You know, we often are like, yeah, I was really lucky because, but you made your luck.Karen:                          13:24                Yeah, that's very true. And I remember the feeling of like, this is really happening. Like, Oh my gosh. And his real jam, the thing he's really good at helping people figure out is what's your brand. And so we went through, as I said, he took one look at my goofy website that I had been working on and he was like, Oh, you know, this isn't going to fly. Yes, not this. Exactly. And then we spent, I would say probably a good part of those first three months coming up with the concept and the brand. And I, I will never forget the day after trying three or four, you know, names, when I said to him, you know, what I've been really thinking about and pushing around is the idea of a podcast called we turned out okay. And he was like, that's it. He goes, that's it. And then he goes, you know what your tagline is? It's the modern parent's guide to old school parenting. I was like, yes. And it was just so much fun. So the whole process was fun and like he made it fun and he made me feel like I could do this, you know? Whereas at home I was sort of getting a little bit of like, are you sure? Do you really want to take this on? This is a lot for somebody with, you know, with the conditions and the problems that you've got. And it was so motivating and such fun to be in that program, so I'm grateful to him. Very grateful.KJ:                                14:43                Well, and it's cool that it came about that he offered that to you, but this is also sort of a moment to recognize that getting some coaching can be super helpful. I think a lot of us are really reluctant to spend money on our dreams and, and also we have this feeling that if we were really capable, if we could really do it, we could do it on our own.Karen:                          15:08                Exactly.KJ:                                15:10                If I were a real writer, I wouldn't need an editor's help. If I were a real entrepreneur, I wouldn't need a coach to guide me through finding my brand. And that is, that's just, that's just not true. We all need to learn where we're going and getting in with an expert can can cut your time in half, it can inspire you, it can help you see exactly what you saw, which was that it might not look to people on the outside like you were ready to do this, but you wanted to prioritize it. I think that's cool, too.Karen:                          15:45                Yeah. So that's how I got started. That's a really long story for how I got started.KJ:                                15:51                Okay. We accept long stories. So at this point, you're podcasting and then you must at some point have sort of decided, well, I need some blog, I need some writing to go with this podcast. Let us know how you figured out how to do that, especially given that you were gonna need to dictate.Karen:                          16:15                So I think one of the, one of the things that a lot of people overlook I guess or don't want to hear maybe, is that you've got to start it before you know what it is. You have to start it before it's fully formed. And I started the podcast in 2014 or 2015, it's just over four years old. So 290 episodes in, in four years and counting. I got to maybe like 56 or 57 and I did an episode called Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics and people went nuts for it. Like I started to get emails from people and that got downloaded more than any other episode I'd ever done. People really responded to the idea that, wait a minute, there are these little Ninja tactics I can do to make my home life better? It's super easy, but things that I know as an early childhood professional that maybe, a parent who's not, wouldn't know, you know what I mean? So things like, how to make no sound like yes was one of those first Ninja Tactics. What I did from that was I decided to write a book called Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics. And I wanted to be able to talk about it in written form as well. You know, there's this idea you should have an email list. I've been taking a lot of time to try and figure out what my email list is going to be and I've gotten to 2019 and I figured it out and I love it. And people again are really responding to it. It's a weekly newsletter now, where I always get to vary it. But, I started it as, Hey, if you want to get notified when Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics is available, then I'll put you on this email list and you can find out and that really grew from there. For me it's been a lot of experimentation and exploring my burnout rate. So I used to do a six episodes in a month. And I realized that after the second year that that was not working for me. It was too much. I couldn't concentrate on my coaching clients if I was spending that much time on the podcast. Instead, I started doing these biweekly live members only calls for the people in my community. And, and if I did that twice a month instead of this extra podcast, I suddenly, I wasn't burned out anymore. I was focusing my energies in the right place because the people in the community could then say to me, here's my question about this. And I could go, Oh my God, people who listen to the podcast need to hear about that too. So I'm serving my clients first and then being able to bring these cool things to the listeners.KJ:                                19:08                Right.Karen:                          19:09                So, then I started listening to Joanna Penn, the Creative Penn podcast. And I started to sort of reframe myself as not just as a podcaster, but as an author as well. And what she does is so cool because she's all about like write books that are really professional and well written and fantastic at giving good advice and keep writing them. And I was like, you know what, that's something I could do. And so I've been working on that.KJ:                                19:43                So wait, wait. You're saying that's something I could do, but you don't type.Karen:                          19:50                No, I don't type, exactly.KJ:                                19:53                First of all, we want to know how you actually do it, but how did you get over that mental block of, you know, I'm going to write, but not with a pen, not with a keyboard, and not with a pencil.Jess:                             20:07                I'm especially waiting to hear about that because I have tried.KJ:                                20:11                We want the mental block first, then we want the tools.Jess:                             20:15                I just can't. I've tried so hard, so I'm dying to hear how you do all the dictation.Karen:                          20:20                Can I just say that it was not without many temper tantrums? I mean, I think this is necessity as the mother of invention. There was no way for me to do this without the speech recognition software. So I had to form a truce with the speech recognition software. So for me over these years now I've spent, I don't know if I've gotten my 10,000 hours in or not yet, but I would say probably. But the way that I got there was by doing it. So, I work much better if I can read something that is printed. So, my husband printed out the entire user manual for speech recognition software. So I was learning the commands - because there are these interesting commands that you can use. So you can tell it to click here, you can tell it to click save, you can bring up a mouse grid. I think if you guys are looking for the tool that has been a lifesaver for me. It's this idea of a mouse grid. So I want you to envision your computer screen and you say the words mouse grid. And what happens is a grid of nine blocks comes up on your screen. Say I want to click something in the lower left corner, that that happens to be the number seven. So I would say seven. And then the mouse grid would reappear, but the whole mouse grid is now where the number seven used to be. And so it's a little more focused now in that corner.KJ:                                21:57                And where do you get something like that?Karen:                          22:00                Where do you get the mouse grid?KJ:                                22:02                Yeah.Karen:                          22:02                Well, I use Dragon Speech Recognition software, so it's a component of that. But I'll tell you, I learned how to use that properly by watching the most beautiful and just heartbreaking video on YouTube. I mean you think you've got problems, right? And then you Google how to use the Dragon mouse grid and the person describing it to you is a person who not only has lost the use of his arms and legs, but also has speech difficulties and they are describing to you how to use this mouse grid and then they are using the mouse grid. By the time he gets to the small enough place in the grid in this video, I am crying. I mean my thought was if somebody like that can not only do that, but teach me how to do it, there is nothing that will stop me. Like what a good, incredibly good example of someone who's making it work no matter what, you know?KJ:                                22:56                Wow. All right, we're going to find that. We're going to link it.Karen:                          22:58                So, the mouse grid is a huge tool. I've discovered that Dragon plays very well with Chrome and not very well with Firefox, for example. So there have been times where I have felt like I was drowning and that I just couldn't get a breath. I wish I had a better description. Like, I will sit down and I'll be like, alright, I'm going to write a blog post and I use the speech recognition software to open Google Chrome and then I use it to navigate. to the inside of my website, not the outside pages everybody sees, but the sort of private admin pages and I get to the correct post.KJ:                                23:56                And you're doing all that using the Dragon Dictate?Karen:                          23:59                I am, yeah.KJ:                                24:00                So we think of Dragon Dictate as something that lets you dictate a story, but you can sort of basically set it up to run your whole...Karen:                          24:09                You can, yeah. You can use their voice commands for all of this. But what I've learned to be more patient with what used to kill me so bad was I would get three quarters of the way through that process and then I would open the dictation box, but sometimes Dragon can't see and doesn't know what you're trying to do. I don't know how else to describe it - it won't write anything. You'll say something and it will say, we can't recognize that speech or something and you're just like ugh. So I would get all the way to that point and then the app would crash or something like that. Talk about temper tantrums! But I just kept playing the song It's a Long Way to the Top by AC DC. I kept thinking to myself, there's no other way. Like it's either this or you go throw yourself in front of a train, like what's it gonna be here honey? And, I knew I wasn't going to do that, so I was gonna have to keep doing this basically. Does that make sense?KJ:                                25:15                Oh yeah, no, it totally, it totally makes sense. So now you're writing a book via Dragon Dictation and all of the challenges that that entails and then you're editing it the same way.Karen:                          25:33                I am. And, and I have learned - this was such a breakthrough for me. So, say if I'm going to write the title of a chapter and have Dragon sort of recognize it, I can now make a recording for my podcast, get my microphone out and my headphones and stuff like that. And I can say the following. So, here's the title of my book that dragon will recognize. OK. are you ready?KJ:                                26:04                Yeah.Karen:                          26:05                Cap educating cap. Happy cap kids, colon numeral nine cap ways to cap help cap your cap, child cap, learn cap to cap and joy cap learning, something like that. I can't remember it exactly, but I'm, that's the book I'm working on right now.KJ:                                26:19                So, you're fluent in, you're fluent in punctuation.Jess:                             26:24                There really is a whole other language.Karen:                          26:26                It's a whole other language. But what's neat is you can get into the flow of it in a recording sense. So like I can record 15 minutes of language that sounds like that. And, and I can, there's a transcribe button in Dragon and it will take that and put it on paper but legibly so that it can be read. It just says educating happy kids. Nine ways to help your child learn what they need to know. And it's like such a mirror every time this, every time I see this appearing, I'm just like, yay!KJ:                                26:59                I need to quickly hop in and apologize for only naming your most recent book cause I knew that you had more. But in the intro I, for whatever reason just threw out the first one. We will be listing them all.Karen:                          27:10                Oh, thank you. No worries. I mean, I appreciated that you listed any of them. I mean this is the one that I'm currently working on, so this is the one that my brain is like really thinking about. So I just today, today I sent it off to my editor for final revisions, so yay.Jess:                             27:31                It was funny when you said the thing about how if you want to do this thing badly enough, you can figure it out. But when we were interviewing Shane recently about the fact that he uses his two thumbs to type entire books on his iPhone and Oh my gosh, you know, KJ and I used to have a segment in the show called Ow It Hurts, but it was always like it hurts. Like, Oh, I don't really want to write this, but not like I have to write an entire book with my two thumbs. If Shane Burcaw can write three books with his thumbs, I think I can figure out the intricacies of how to use dictation software.Karen:                          28:17                If you want to, if it's a real goal of yours. I think a lot of times that I would not be a podcaster or an author without the tendon disorder. Like I was, I was too invested in my own life. I guess. I remember sort of having this yearning, like I remember being 38 about a decade ago and just saying to my husband, like, you know what, isn't there anything else? I mean, I love you and I love the kids, but isn't there anything else? I think had I not gotten the tendon disorder and, and had all of that other stuff kind of stripped away from me, I'm not sure that I would've had the guts even to try something different. Even now I will walk into a Christmas tree shops and I get tired, so I often need to find a seat so you'll find me sitting on the bird seed. This happened just recently. I was in line of Joann Fabrics and the line was so long that I literally sat down on the floor and crossed my legs and apologized to everybody around me and said, this is just what I have to do. I mean, once you've been through things like that, those are really socially embarrassing situations and it's like, well, I can do anything if I can do this.Jess:                             29:36                I just am fascinated. I've never, I'm fascinated. My brain is stuck on the line that I wouldn't be a writer without my tendon disorder. I think, you know, the thing, the very thing that makes that more difficult for you is the thing that made it happen. And I find that really wonderful and fascinating and complicated.Karen:                          29:54                Yeah. Thank you for recognizing it. When I think metamorphosis, that's really what I think of. And I came to our conversation today with a couple of points that I wanted to make sure to cover. If anyone is trying to work in difficult circumstances that, that I thought they might want to know, this is what's worked for me and the first one is to just own it, to say to yourself, this is what I want to do. Like it can be so easy for us to get caught up in I've got to get dinner on the table and I've got all these duties that we have in our day and there can be some guilt around backing away from work or family and saying, I'm taking this time to do this thing that I really want to do. And for me that had to come first.KJ:                                30:44                Yeah. I mean, if, if you are in a situation where you have limited resources, be there physical or mental to put them into this thing that at that moment is only for you is really hard. You know, it's very easy to say to yourself, well, you know, if I'm going to have like an hour of, of like sort of on time today because I'm suffering from exhaustion or because I get physically tired, I should put that into my kids' school meeting or dinner or you know, something. So I think that's really important.Karen:                          31:21                Yeah. That's what's worked for me. I remember lying in bed one morning just before I wrote to Michael O'Neal, just before I started to like come up with this website. And I remember lying in bed one day and every day I had been thinking, you got to get busy living or get busy dying, which is from a movie, it might be from the Shawshank Redemption. I literally would lie in bed going, are you going to get up now cause you got to get busy living or get busy dying. And on this particular day I sat up in bed and I said out loud, I am doing this and I'm not even sure that I knew what this was yet. But like it was this idea of I am breaking free of the sort of constraints. Whether they are because I feel guilty that I can't do very much or because like my time really ought to be spent on this other thing. And I was basically like, I got no hands. So like I'm going to do this, whatever it is.KJ:                                32:21                I was just going to say, okay fine. If you can get your mental head around it. And it also sounded like you had had partner support, which is great, but sometimes we have to go on without it.Karen:                          32:34                Yup. Yup. Yup. It was huge. So Ben used to say to me, he's actually the producer of my show. And what's funny is he has a day job, he goes off to work every day and that doesn't have anything to do with audio. But he went to school for sound engineering and his friends from college are people who work on the Today Show or who have won Grammy's and stuff like that. And he basically decided that his life was going to take a different path, but we used to joke, we'd pass a radio station in the car and I'd be like, Hey, let's move here and I'll be the talent and you can be the producer. And like that's kind of what's happened, which is so interesting. So he gets to feed his audio soul a little bit. He gets to geek out over, you know, making the show sound great and like all the cool, you know, little audio things that he couldn't do before. So support is really important. But I will say this, too. Ben is the one who, he was like, he used to say like, we need to get you with your friends because you're so much happier when you're like with people. He would say, I've seen you come alive today. We went to a party or something and cause it's just so hard to be sitting alone and you know, only feeling like you can't do stuff. So, when I said to him, I think I'd like to try starting a a business, he was like, yes, please. I'm glad because you need something to do with your mind. So he was always very, very supportive from the beginning. I didn't think to put that on the list, but I think that's probably pretty important.KJ:                                34:05                Well, it's, it's hard to be the partner because you can think to yourself, you know, if I were in that position, I would do such and such. Well, and first of all, you don't know what you would do, but secondly, you can't actually do it. So, you know, you can look at your partner and see, well I, she really needs to get out there and, and do stuff with her friends. But it's not like he can pack you into the car.Karen:                          34:25                Yeah, exactly.KJ:                                34:28                To be them too. All right, well what comes next?Karen:                          34:29                Alright. So next for me was the idea of just starting small, like small habits have won the day for me. When I first started, and even sometimes now, I have a version of your open the document, you know what I mean? And I always felt like, so if you've got 5% use of your hands, what can you dedicate that 5% to? And sometimes it was twirling spaghetti and that was all I had, you know. But if I've got 15 minutes, if I can take the next 15 minutes and dedicated to writing something like, and then I don't do anything else for the rest of the day, that's fine. I put one foot in front of the other today. I took one step. So really small habits that you do repeatedly. The next thing I think, cause you can say to yourself like, it's too big. I can't, I just can't. But, but if you try to break it down to like the smallest step, the step, the step that you feel like, okay, I can do that, I will do that. And then you're done for the day and you come back to it the next day. So small habits are fun and good. The next one that comes up for me is celebrate the wins. Even the tiny ones like - so actually, I've been writing a fictional book one minute at a time, which I know sounds crazy, but it worked for Neil Gaiman so I feel like it's gonna work for me.KJ:                                35:57                It's really the only way to do it. It's just a question of whether they're consecutive minutes or not.Karen:                          36:02                Yes, exactly. I just don't have the time to commit to even 15 minutes a day of fiction writing, but I can open a notebook and it's actually, it's hand strengthening practice too is how I look at it. I can open a notebook and I can write a sentence. And what I've been taken to is I'll write a full sentence and then I'll make the next sentence be like the beginning of the next sentence. So the next day when I come back, I've got a writing prompt basically. And I have found that it's enough to keep this story alive for me. Like, so I had the idea for the novel and I did a lot of work around who's who, what's the main character dealing with? I have a dear friend who lives in Maine and the property next to her dream property has been taken over by a jerky landlord who insists on bringing like people from away who shoot off guns and bring bands in and they're raising a family. And so I'm writing this to give her some hope, basically. I've been having a ball with it, one minute at a time. So that's one of my one minute, like that's one of my tiny habits. I can't do more than that. So that's what I do. And when I do it, I celebrate that win, like I did this today. Yes.KJ:                                37:20                Yes. All right. Keep going. Do you have time to?Karen:                          37:25                I got two more, two more. I think my most important resource is energy. When my energy level is gone, it is gone and I have to go to sleep for eight hours to get it back. So, I tend to work in projects and the way I think of it is like I'll do so quarterly, I'll look at this each quarter anew and my project for the first month of the quarter is recording the podcast episodes and getting those show notes done so that for the whole quarter. So now I've got two other months that I can keep writing or I can do other cool stuff. This August we're gonna have a staycation. So I get to do that because I planned in July for August. So I'll get that project completed and then work on the next project. So, for this quarter it's been educating happy kids has been really my next project. That and rest.KJ:                                38:24                That's your next book, right?Karen:                          38:25                Yup. That's my next book. I have found that is a really great way to manage my energy level because I can see progress as I'm working through a bigger project. For me that really, really works. It may not work for everyone. Some people might like to sort of get a little bit of something done every day repeatedly, but I like to be able to say, okay, that project is finished and now I can move on to the next one. So I've been doing that. And then the last one, and this is probably the most important one, is the idea of trying again tomorrow. So like if today is a blowout, if you cannot do it, if, if everything has gone wrong today, you still have the choice to get up and try again tomorrow.KJ:                                39:11                Cool. Yeah, no, that's, that's great. I love it.Jess:                             39:14                We've also observed in the past, this happens to me with writing and it happens to me with teaching that some of my very worst teaching and writing days have been followed by some of my best. So that's a good reminder for me that no matter how crappy things go on one day it can turn around completely the next.Karen:                          39:33                Yup. Yup. And as I think as a part of all of this, there's this idea of support.Speaker 3:                    39:39                Like we talked about that a little bit with my husband, right? But you guys are such a support for me. The #AmWriting Facebook group is one of the only places I go on Facebook. I go there and I go into the group of We Turned Out Okay listeners that I have developed over there,KJ:                                39:55                It is the only place I go.Jess:                             39:57                It's literally true. KJ and I, what we did was we made it so that the group is our bookmark for Facebook. So if you're going to go on Facebook, you have to go there.Karen:                          40:07                No way.Jess:                             40:08                Yeah.KJ:                                40:09                You can, that you could have two bookmarks, one for our group and one for your group and then you never have to risk being caught up in something

Today’s episode contains adult themes and sensitive topics.  Listener discretion is advised.  Some early childhood experiences shape adult life, but which ones and how? Our earliest experiences may stick with us for years and continue to influence us well into adulthood, our mental and emotional well-being, relationships and even physical health.  Karen Lock Kolp shares how being sexually assaulted as a 7-year-old has affected her whole life.  Other episodes you may like: How Trauma Gets Stuck in Your Nervous System with Irene Lyon Breaking Free From Old Stories with Marilupe De La Calle Sign of Childhood Trauma In Adults with Laura Reagan In The Search of The True Self  How To Make Peace with Your Past and Heal Your Life with Mark Nepo Becoming Your Authentic Self with Andrea Mathews    ***Want to get most out of your listening experience? Download the Easy Start Guide PDF with clickable links to past podcast episodes (over 160) grouped by category. East Start Guide>>>http://eepurl.com/ggtWk1   FOR FULL SHOW NOTES VISIT:  www.authenticparenting.com/podcast    YOUR FEEDBACK IS VALUABLE! Do you have a comment, question, or a takeaway about this episode or the podcast in general?   USA listeners call 732-763-2576 right now and leave a voicemail. International listeners use the FREE Speak Pipe tool on my website. Add your voice. It matters! Email: info@authenticparenting.com   ABOUT ME I help overwhelmed, frustrated parents who want to parent differently than their parents, make sense of their early childhood experiences, connect to their authentic self and their children on a deeper level, reduce stress, bring more ease, calm and joy into their lives by yelling less, and practicing non-punitive discipline.   WORK WITH ME I would be thrilled to support you in your parenting journey! Click here to get started with my Introductory (3 Sessions) Package or REAL Change Package - 6 Private Coaching Sessions-worldwide! :) Court-Ordered Parenting Classes (in person NJ, NY,and PA residents only)   RATE & WRITE REVIEW FOR THE SHOW Watch this quick video tutorial on YouTube to how rate and write a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts.   SUBMIT YOUR PARENTING QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN THE SHOW: Voicemail: 732-763-2576 Speak Pipe for sending audio messages Email: info@authenticparenting.com   CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA Authentic Parenting on Facebook Instagram   NEED PARENTING SUPPORT? Join the Authentic Parenting FREE online community Thanks for listening!   With gratitude, Anna Seewald, ME.d, MPsy Parent Educator, Keynote Speaker, Author www.authenticparenting.com

In Episode 69, I'm chatting with Karen Lock Kolp of the We Turned Out Okay website and podcast. We talked for the first time back in Episode 38: We Turned Out Okay with Karen Lock Kolp. Karen is an early childhood development expert and parent coach. On her website and podcast, Karen helps worried and hovering parents by bringing reassuring, helpful advice and conversations. Her new book, 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know: How to Stop the Chaos, Bring Out Your Child's Good Behavior, and Truly Enjoy Family Time. The Amazon description of 10 Secrets says: "Often parents feel so lost. We want to say and do the right things in the moment to connect with our young children, but sometimes we can't even get them to just listen, and respect us. 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know helps with that, and more.  This book shares what author Karen Lock Kolp has learned over many years working with parents and kids. She wrote it to give hope, encouragement, and useful tools to parents of young children. If you are the mom or dad of a young child, the ideas in this book will change your life and your relationship with your little one. Read all about these 10 Secrets today!" Big Ideas Drawing on her vast knowledge of child development, her many interactions with coaching clients and participants in her Ninja Parenting online community, and her own experience raising two boys, Karen developed her book, 10 Secrets Happy Parents Know. The book is comprised of two parts: Finding the good behavior within your child. Truly enjoying Family Time. Karen highlights some of the "Secrets" found in her book: Secret #1: Communication cuts through chaos! For some families, she suggests spending 10 minutes a day together, screen-free. This relaxed family time together can be the key to connection. Secret #3: Words Matter. Karen shares Magic Words in her book and online in a weekly post to her Facebook parenting group. They are productive, helpful phrases or single words to use in the moment so that you maintain connection with your child. Using Magic Words can help parents to avoid saying something in frustration that they may regret later. A Magic Words example: When you want your child to know that you love them you can say, “What can I do for you right now?” You’ll be surprised by the responses you might get. You may be asked to watch their video game or even just to give them a hug. Secret #8: You’re only preliterate once. Children’s academic and developmental progress shouldn’t be rushed. Help them when they ask for it. Appreciate and respect each child’s individual journey. Secret #9: Celebrate every day. The holidays can be so stressful for families. Karen suggests celebrating every day as a way to mitigate the pressures of celebrating special occasions. Kids can find something joyful in every day and that is something parents can learn from their kids. Quotes Audrey: “It’s a huge gift when someone just listens and isn’t distracted while they’re talking to us. Giving kids your full attention – even if it’s just a few minutes a day – can be so valuable. Many times, kids act out because they are just trying to get our attention, to share something with us.” Karen: "A lot of times what parents have trouble with is knowing the right thing to say in the moment. How do you not lose it? Or say something that you'll regret? The 'magic words for parents' is all about that." Karen: “Magic words work. They really work. This is what I keep hearing from people. They have to be specific, but there is a sort of formula to it. The first thing you should do is validate their concern by saying something like, ‘Wow, that sounds really hard for you’ and it isn’t telling your children what to do.” Karen: “Wherever your child is in their development, whether it is true pre-literacy, like if they are actually pre-verbal, or if they are teenagers and they just don’t have the life lessons yet that you want them to have, I think this idea really carries through because it’s more about them being able to look around and be curious about things, and celebrate the every day. Understand that where they are is a really good place to be.” Karen: “No matter what age, letting them be “pre-literate” – whatever that means to them – and letting those questions bubble up for them. Then when they ask, ‘What do I do? How do I start?’ That’s when you can help them along. You are there to help them look for resources.” Audrey: “When kids are young, it’s easy to become fixated on milestones or various stages of development, like potty-training or learning to read. It is helpful to have friends in your community whose kids are different ages and a few years older. Listening to their perspectives can help calm nerves of first-time parents. With a wider view of their growth, you are more relaxed, accepting their path, whatever it is, and more likely to enjoy the journey.” Audrey: “What kids remember from their childhood is more often the day to day, simple things that families can do together. Small, simple traditions often make the biggest impact. It doesn’t have to be big and fancy to be memorable.” Resources/Related Ep. 38: We Turned Out Okay with Karen Lock Kolp Ep. 22: Jedi Mom Tricks with Maria Horner (Part 1) Ep. 33: Jedi Mom Tricks (Part 2) Ep. 42: Jedi Mom Tricks (Part 3) If you liked this episode, you might want to read my post, Giving Kids Our Full Attention. Listen to Karen’s We Turned Out Okay podcast interview with me, Give Your Child The Magic of Summer, episode 224. Links Follow Karen Lock Kolp: Website: https://weturnedoutokay.com FB and twitter: @weturnedoutokay Learn more about the (NPC) Ninja Parenting Community. Join the We Turned Out Okay Facebook group, where each Monday morning Karen shares Magic words for parents. She is also available to work privately with families in the Boston, Massachusetts area.

Our guest today is Karen Lock Kolp, a child development expert, and parent coach. Her podcast, We Turned Out Okay, has been downloaded more than 300,000 times by parents who just want to know that, really, everything is going to be alright. Jonathan and Karen talk about her upbringing and the role her father played in her life. They also talk about modern parenting and how we adopt some of the traits of our parents while simultaneously learning to trust our own instincts. Karen opens up about a difficult childhood memory, her own chronic illness, and how almost losing her father helped bring even more perspective to her life. Links: Karen's podcast, We Turned Out Okay Karen's YouTube Channel Karen's Twitter, @weturnedoutokay Karen's Instagram, @weturnoutokay We Turned Okay on Facebook  

A lot of what I teach is helping parents understand their children as people. The best way to be happy in your parenting is to recognize that your child is a person and to respect them and expect that respect in return. -Karen Lock Kolp   In Episode 38, I have a fun chat with Karen Lock Kolp, M.Ed. of the We Turned Out Okay website and podcast. Karen is an early childhood development expert and parent coach. On her website and podcast, Karen helps worried and hovering parents by bring reassuring, helpful advice and conversations. In this episode, we talked about many things, including: • The similarities between parenting toddlers and teens (and how much we both like teenagers). • How some kids need "a longer runway." • Calming down your family's evening routine Links We Turned out Okay (Karen Lock Kolp's Website) Download Karen's "Calming the Weeknight Chaos" Helping Your Fearful Kid Try New Things I was also guest on Karen's We Turned Out Okay Podcast! Our topic was Give Your Child the Magic of Summer Camp! We had so much fun chatting in both of our podcasts and plan to record more episodes in the future!

We're so excited to have one of our most active members on air with us this week! On her 4th time guesting on the Flipped Lifestyle podcast, we have the author of the ultimate parenting book called, “Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics: Key Tools to Handle Every Temper Tantrum, Keep Your Cool, and Enjoy Life with Your Young Child,” Karen Lock Kolp, M.Ed. Karen is a blogger & podcaster who specializes in helping parents understand their young children. She shares her personal life lessons with her audience, and is driven by the passion to guide us parents through our everyday parenting challenges. Her husband, Ben, helps in processing the audio content for the “We Turned Out Okay” Podcast and is her biggest supporter. They've already gone a long way from when they first started out online, and now need help to grow their parenting community even more. Join us as we share our own experiences on making mistakes, learning from it and how Karen can benefit from embracing these likely mishaps online. If you're feeling discouraged and nothing is going the way you want it in your own business, make sure to tune in and gain the insight that will help take you to the next level! [Tweet "“You can show someone your support by reaching out to them, your encouragement helps them to go forward.” - Jocelyn"] [Tweet "“If there is no reciprocity, people lose energy, people lose drive.” - Shane"]   You will learn: What to do when things don't go according to plan Stepping away from Spotlight Syndrome Keeping your audience in the loop The beauty of a smaller email list Plus so much more! [Tweet "“For the 1% that disagree, the 99% will be like, ‘Oh, she's a real person too, and this makes me feel better about her!'” - Jocelyn"] [Tweet "“Spin your disadvantages back to advantages.” - Shane"] Links and resources mentioned in today's show: Karen's website Karen's 1st FL episode Karen's 2nd FL episode Karen's 3rd FL episode Useloom  FL YouTube - Disney Cruise  Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Click here to leave us an iTunes review and subscribe to the show! We may read yours on the air! Can't Miss Moment: This week's Can't Miss Moment is a really, really good one.  We got to take our kids on a Disney cruise.  We went on a cruise down to the Bahamas with our kids.  We got to go to Disney's private island which is Castaway Key.  We got to go to Atlantis, which is that big resort that you see on TV all the time.  I've always wanted to go there just to see it in person.  And we got to go on a Disney cruise, and it was just the best experience I think I've ever had on any trip. We just decided to go, and we went.  We had the best time.  Isaac, when he was coming back, was like, "Dad, that was the best trip ever.  I can't believe I got to actually do something like that.”  He said it was like all the things he had ever seen on YouTube.   Everyone in our family had a really good time, and the best part about it is it's not a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  We're already planning on possibly going on another in the near future.  That is truly amazing.  I couldn't have even dreamt of this when we were still teachers.  Now, our online business allows us to have these types of opportunities, which is amazing.  You can connect with S&J on social media too!   Thank you for listening! Thanks again for listening to the show! If you liked it, make sure you share it with your friends and family! Our goal is to help as many families as possible change their lives through online business. Help us by sharing the show! If you have comments or questions, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post. See y'all next week! Can't listen right now? Read the transcript below! Jocelyn: Hey, y'all! On today's podcast, we help Karen take her online business to the next lev...

This is Episode #46 of the STANDOUT podcast, where I invite you to listen in on a strategy session with one of the members of my PR Pro Membership Community. Karen Lock Kolp is an early childhood expert, a mom, and the creator of the podcast, We Turned Out Okay. She is also one of the founding members of my PR Pro online community - and I’m so thrilled to see how much she has done in our time together. Since she’s been in the community, she’s been featured in major publications, on other podcasts and on TV. Her podcast attracts an audience of highly-engaged parents. Karen faces the same problem we all do. We see the buffet of options all around us. We can do Facebook Live, we can blog, podcast and speak on stage. We can starting pinning on Pinterest or begin to grow a following on Twitter. But which one is the most effective way to attract an audience and grow a business? You may be surprised by what I tell her. Karen has done a great job in growing an audience. It's frustrating, though, when sales aren't a direct result. Listen as I share with Karen strategies she can use to focus her time and her energy on the piece she loves - the podcast - and then, create something that resonates with her audience - something they can’t wait to get their hands on. If you’re looking for specific solutions to your messaging and media outreach, you can learn more about the program that Karen is a part of, the PR Pro membership community here. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: *How Karen turned to podcasting to create an audience and a community *How to avoid content creation overwhelm *How to listen to your clients *How to validate an offer Here are links mentioned in the episode: *Karen Lock Kolp's podcast, We Turned Out Okay *Karen Lock Kolp on Twitter *Karen Lock Kolp and We Turned Out Okay on Facebook *Cheryl Tan's Video Visibility Bootcamp Did you enjoy the show? Please subscribe to the STANDOUT with Cheryl Tan podcast on iTunes here.

This is Episode #46 of the STANDOUT podcast, where I invite you to listen in on a strategy session with one of the members of my PR Pro Membership Community. Karen Lock Kolp is an early childhood expert, a mom, and the creator of the podcast, We Turned Out Okay. She is also one of the founding members of my PR Pro online community - and I'm so thrilled to see how much she has done in our time together. Since she's been in the community, she's been featured in major publications, on other podcasts and on TV. Her podcast attracts an audience of highly-engaged parents. Karen faces the same problem we all do. We see the buffet of options all around us. We can do Facebook Live, we can blog, podcast and speak on stage. We can starting pinning on Pinterest or begin to grow a following on Twitter. But which one is the most effective way to attract an audience and grow a business? You may be surprised by what I tell her. Karen has done a great job in growing an audience. It's frustrating, though, when sales aren't a direct result. Listen as I share with Karen strategies she can use to focus her time and her energy on the piece she loves - the podcast - and then, create something that resonates with her audience - something they can't wait to get their hands on. If you're looking for specific solutions to your messaging and media outreach, you can learn more about the program that Karen is a part of, the PR Pro membership community here. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: *How Karen turned to podcasting to create an audience and a community *How to avoid content creation overwhelm *How to listen to your clients *How to validate an offer Here are links mentioned in the episode: *Karen Lock Kolp's podcast, We Turned Out Okay *Karen Lock Kolp on Twitter *Karen Lock Kolp and We Turned Out Okay on Facebook *Cheryl Tan's Video Visibility Bootcamp Did you enjoy the show? Please subscribe to the STANDOUT with Cheryl Tan podcast on iTunes here.

Karen Lock Kolp lost the ability to move her arms and hands for a time. Not able to cook or do laundry, she found something she could do. Talk. And that's how the "We Turned Out Okay" podcast came into being. Listen in on this episode of Women Inspired TV, to Karen's ninja techniques for Positive Parenting from her podcast, parenting community forum and her new book. Full show notes

Blame The System In this last part (four, for those keeping score) of the Karen Lock Kolp interview, we discuss ways to make the system and rules the bad guy.  This frees us up as parents to simply shower our children with love, lend a sympathetic ear, and teach them that consequences are inevitable.  We continue our look at accepting blame for our miss-queues and teaching our children about forgiveness.  We wrap it all up with some experiences in dual-enrollment programs and how those can help kids get a good start on the next phase of their life. You can check out Karen's site at https://weturnedoutokay.com/.  Also, you can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/StoneAgeTechie or Instagram: @weturnedoutokay.  Her facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/weturnedoutok/.  Finally, check out her site for links to her book and other great parenting articles.  Do not forget to leave her a review as thanks for spending some time on this podcast. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this and other episodes at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blessing-not-stressing-happy/id1186128287.  You can find other podcast episodes at https://blessingnotstressing.com/blog/podcast.  There are also deeper discussions with blog articles available there as well.  For regular updates follow me on twitter (@thebroadhead) and check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/blessingnotstressing.

Even Parents can Ask For Forgiveness In part three of the interview with Karen Lock Kolp, I ask her a few deep questions.  We look at experience vs. education when it comes to child raising.  Then she discusses her biggest mistakes and successes as a parent.  The two extremes tie together in a way that can make us all look a little closer at our missteps.  This also should provide a little more hope as you navigate the parenting world.  Years of education are no match for experience.  Particularly when you consider how unique your children are. You can check out Karen's site at https://weturnedoutokay.com/.  Also, you can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/StoneAgeTechie or Instagram: @weturnedoutokay.  Her facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/weturnedoutok/.  Finally, check out her site for links to her book and other great parenting articles. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this and other episodes at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blessing-not-stressing-happy/id1186128287.  You can find other podcast episodes at https://blessingnotstressing.com/blog/podcast.  There are also deeper discussions with blog articles available there as well.  For regular updates follow me on twitter (@thebroadhead) and check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/blessingnotstressing.  

Learn From Bumps and Bruises As we return to the Karen Lock Kolp interview we look at the toddler school of hard knocks.  The little ones often suffer little bumps and bruises.  It is just a part of their daily life.  However, these little problems may seem far greater to doting and cautious parents.  We discuss allowing children to work through problems and move into a little more about her podcast and the ninja parenting community she has created. You can check out Karen's site at https://weturnedoutokay.com/.  Also, you can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/StoneAgeTechie or Instagram: @weturnedoutokay.  Her facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/weturnedoutok/.  Finally, check out her site for links to her book and other great parenting articles. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this and other episodes at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blessing-not-stressing-happy/id1186128287.  You can find other podcast episodes at https://blessingnotstressing.com/blog/podcast.  There are also deeper discussions with blog articles available there as well.  For regular updates follow me on twitter (@thebroadhead) and check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/blessingnotstressing.  

Need ideas on efficient content batching strategies? Listen in as we help today's guest grow her parenting membership site through batching content. We have a returning guest member on call with us this week, one of our most active members in the Flip Your Life community, Karen Lock Kolp. Karen is our resident expert in child development. She has a master's degree in Early Childhood Education and years worth of experience in understanding how kids work. Her expertise makes her an invaluable resource for those who have found themselves embarking this wonderful adventure we call, “parenthood.” She helps teach struggling parents how to handle their child's milestones and challenges in ways that are both insightful and fulfilling - basically, the life hack of how to be a ninja parent. Loaded with tons of content and blessed with thousands of listeners, she recently launched her membership community and has reached her first 3 members. Her community is still in its fledgling phase, so we're going to dive right in and discuss the best “next step” strategies to push her online business towards the right direction. You don't want to miss this! [Tweet "“Do what you can, when you can.” - Shane"] [Tweet "“Roll your weakness into a strength.” - Jocelyn"] You Will Learn: How attending live events can help grow your leads Content batching hacks The advantages of doing AMAs, also known as the “Ask Me Anything” segment Our Strategy: Changing The Rules Why you should give away free content Plus so much more! [Tweet "“Take action, always do what's necessary to achieve success.” - Shane"] [Tweet "“Don't let obstacles stop you, let it encourage you to do better.” - Jocelyn"] Links and resources mentioned on today's show: Karen's Website FL 108, Karen's First FYL Member Call S&J's Guesting over at weturnedoutokay.com Flip Your Life Community & The Flipped Lifestyle Blueprint Flipped Lifestyle Patreon Page Flipped Lifestyle Kids Youtube Channel Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Click here to leave us an iTunes review and subscribe to the show! We may read yours on the air! Can't Miss Moment: Today's can't miss moment is going out on a road trip to Jacksonville, FL to watch the Kentucky Wildcats play football. we have been flying around so much lately and we thought it would be fun to take the scenic route to Florida with the kids. we absolutely loved the time in the sun and are just so thankful that we can do spur of the moment stuff like this, something we never could have done if we were stuck working at our nine-to-fives. Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Click here to leave us an iTunes review and subscribe to the show! We may read yours on the air! You can connect with S&J on social media too!   Thank you for listening! Thanks again for listening to the show! If you liked it, make sure you share it with your friends and family! Our goal is to help as many families as possible change their lives through online business. Help us by sharing the show! If you have comments or questions, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post.   Can't listen right now? Read the transcript below! Jocelyn: Hey y'all!  On today's podcast we welcome Karen back and help her take her online business to the next level. Shane: Welcome to Flipped Lifestyle podcast where life always comes before work.  We're your hosts, Shane and Jocelyn Sams.   We're a real family who figured out how to make our entire living online.  And now, we help other families do the same.  Are you ready to flip your life?  Alright.  Let's get started. What's going on everybody?  Welcome back to the Flipped Lifestyle podcast.  It is great to be back with you again this week.  For those of you who may be new to the Flipped Lifesty...

Karen Lock Kolp Interview Part 1 In this interview episode, I talk with Karen Lock Kolp.  She is the brain and voice behind the We Turned Out Ok podcast.  The podcast is a great addition to your library of parenting resources.  In this part of the interview, we do introductions and hear a short version of her story.  She is a homeschool parent so we touch on that briefly and look at how a chronic illness can lead to incredible blessings. You can check out her site at https://weturnedoutokay.com/ and you can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/StoneAgeTechie or Instagram: @weturnedoutokay. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this and other episodes at  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blessing-not-stressing-happy/id1186128287.  You can find other podcast episodes at https://blessingnotstressing.com/blog/podcast.  There are also deeper discussions with blog articles available there as well.  For regular updates follow me on twitter (@thebroadhead) and check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/blessingnotstressing.

Want to learn more on how to use Live Events and Webinars to grow your online business? Listening in on today's episode might give you ideas as we help our guest improve her conversion through these strategies. We have Flip Your Life community member and Ninja Parenting Educator, Karen Lock Kolp on this week's Flipped Lifestyle podcast episode. Karen is a charismatic mother,  well-equipped with the knowledge and experience from her educational and professional background dealing with young children, but surprisingly was still in for a roller coaster ride when she and her husband started raising their own two delightful boys - Max and Jay. Diagnosed with Tendinosis about 5 years ago, she was unable to do a lot of things requiring the use of her hands and had to spend a winter in a wheelchair. Through this life-changing event, she learned to value patience, practice and hard work, gratitude, teamwork, and most importantly love. Despite of her struggles with her illness, she remains optimistic and had created weturnedoutokay.com, a place where parents can turn to for advice so they can become the ninja parent they are set out to be. In this episode, we talk about what live events can do for your membership and why it converts the highest, so better tune in and get some notes down. [Tweet "Deal with crises in your life with necessary support, you do not need to go through them alone. - Shane Sams"] [Tweet "When people are struggling, you can be just the help they need. - Shane Sams"] You Will Learn: How to lead people into a membership by hosting a free webinar. How to use these live events to show the value of your membership. What an Evergreen sequence is and how to use it. Why live events convert the best. [Tweet ""What CAN I do?" holds so much potential to change the world. - Shane Sams"] [Tweet "You have the power to change lives, a ripple effect, like throwing rocks in a pond. - Shane Sams"] Links and resources mentioned in today's show: We Turned Out Okay Karen's 100th episode Retargeting Pixel How to get more customers for your membership site with Facebook Ads Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Click here to leave us an iTunes review and subscribe to the show! We may read yours on the air! Can't Miss Moments "Today's Can't Miss Moment is going back to school. So, we took the kids to school the other day for the first time and it's really kind of bittersweet this year because Anna has just started Kindergarten, Isaac is in second grade and you know, it's just our kids are kind of grown up now. I'm just so glad that we got to be there on both of their first days of school, got to be together, walk them in and it's an awesome experience." You can connect with S&J on social media too!   Thanks again for listening to the show! If you liked it, make sure you share it with your friends and family! Our goal is to help as many families as possible change their lives through online business. Help us by sharing the show! If you have comments or questions, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post. See y'all next week! Can't listen right now? Read the transcript below! Jocelyn: Hey y'all!  On today's podcast we help Karen learn more about using Live Events and webinars to grow her online business. Shane:  Welcome to the Flipped Lifestyle podcast, where life always comes before work.  We're your hosts, Shane and Jocelyn Sams. We're a real family that figured out how to make our entire living online.  And now, we help other families do the same.  Are you ready to flip your life?  Alright, let's get started. What's going on everybody?  Welcome back to the Flipped Lifestyle podcast.  It is great to be back with you again this week. Super excited today to welcome another Flip Your Life member on to the show.