Podcasts about occasionally

Neuroanatomist, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, joins Drew on the podcast to share her latest insights on the brain, from the inside out. Occasionally, we host guests who are not Hoffman Process graduates. Dr. Taylor is not a Process graduate but shares vital science and insights about the human journey of transformation. Her knowledge of the brain can guide us to a deep sense of peace through active, personal choice. With her profound expertise in brain anatomy, Dr. Taylor was able to study her own stroke while it was happening. Over eight years, she slowly worked her way back to full brain functioning. She has come to understand the four parts, or characters (as she calls them) of the brain. Dr. Taylor suggests we get to know each of these characters intimately. She suggests we name them and listen to their needs. When each part is heard, it can lead us to inner peace because every part is understood and valued for what it does and how it feels. This can replace our stress, fear, and anxiety with feelings of joy and peace. Our brain is designed to help us grow and meet challenges. When we know our brain from the inside out, we can find the deep peace we yearn for. And, we can be part of the change toward lasting peace for everyone. We hope you find this fascinating and insightful conversation with Dr. Taylor and her wisdom a useful tool as you navigate your life. More about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist now affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine. In 1996, she experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Her memoir, My Stroke of Insight, documenting her experience with stroke and eight-year recovery spent 63 weeks on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. Her most recent 2021 book is WHOLE BRAIN LIVING: The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters That Drive Our Life. Dr. Taylor loves educating everyone about the beauty and resiliency of our human brain, and how we can live a more peaceful and satisfying life. In 2008, she gave the first TED talk to go viral on the Internet. Her talk now has well over 29 million views. In  2008, Dr. Taylor was chosen as one of TIME Magazine's “100 Most Influential People in the World.” Furthermore, she was the premiere guest on Oprah Winfrey's “Soul Series” webcast that same year. Learn more about Dr. Taylor and listen to her many talks on the brain here on her website. Follow her on Facebook. Watch reels on the four parts of the whole brain living on Instagram. As mentioned in this episode: Schizophrenia Neuroanatomy Craniotomy Left and right Hemispheres - talk by Dr. Taylor 2008 TED talk by Dr. Taylor Your Left Brain is a Bully - talk by Dr. Taylor Unleash Your Right Brain - talk by Dr. Taylor

Contact Ron Efron on LinkedInVisit BluOceanFollow Asia Business Podcast on LinkedIn Full show Transcript below Summary and Timestamps Security in an Evolving Asia Business EnvironmentIn this episode of the Asia Business Podcast, host Art Dicker interviews Ron Efron, the director of BluOcean Security, about the comprehensive security services they offer multinational clients across the Asia Pacific. Ron shares insights into the origins and rapid growth of BluOcean Security, detailing their specialization in physical security systems like electronic security components and access management. He discusses the unique security needs of Fortune 500 companies, the impact of COVID-19 on security definitions and practices, and the increasing shift towards cloud-based security solutions. Ron also addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from geopolitical changes and migration strategies of multinationals out of China. The conversation touches on the complexities of navigating regulations, the adoption of facial recognition technology, and the importance of being agile and prepared for the future in the security industry.Introduction Welcome readers to an in-depth exploration into the realm of BluOcean Security, a premium security firm reshaping the landscape of security services across Asia Pacific. In this blog post, we delve into an exclusive conversation with Ron Efron, the director at BluOcean Security, shedding light on the company's journey, services, and the evolving dynamics of security in today's interconnected world. The Genesis of BluOcean Security Ron Efron, with a rich history in the security industry dating back to the late nineties, leads the charge at BluOcean Security. Founded in the end of 2018, the company swiftly established itself as a trusted partner for multinational clients seeking top-notch security solutions in the Asia Pacific region. Unraveling BluOcean Security's Offerings BluOcean Security stands out as a physical security systems integrator, specializing in safeguarding clients' assets and facilities through a wide array of security solutions. From electronic security components to comprehensive security consulting, the company caters to clients who prioritize security and compliance with international standards. Navigating Security Risks and Client Needs In the quest for fortified security measures, BluOcean Security collaborates closely with clients, especially Fortune 500 companies with operations spread across Asia Pacific. The company aligns its offerings with the unique security risks and compliance requirements of each client, ensuring a tailored approach to security solutions. Adapting to the Shifting Security Landscape As the world witnesses monumental shifts in how businesses operate post-pandemic, BluOcean Security underscores the significance of staying ahead in the security domain. From remote working challenges to the surge in cloud migration, the company emphasizes the crucial role of evolving security practices to meet the demands of a changing world. Embracing Technological Advancements and Privacy Concerns In the era of emerging technologies like facial recognition and AI, BluOcean Security remains vigilant towards the sensitivities surrounding data collection and privacy. The company navigates the fine balance between leveraging advanced security technologies and respecting privacy boundaries, showcasing a nuanced approach to modern security challenges. Navigating Global Security Standards and Regional Dynamics With a firm foothold in multiple Asian markets, BluOcean Security is adept at tackling diverse security challenges across borders. The company's agility and expertise shine through as they assist clients in navigating the complex web of security standards, compliance regulations, and regional nuances prevalent in the dynamic security landscape. Embracing Growth Opportunities in the Security SectorAs the security sector witnesses continued growth and transformation, BluOcean Security stands poised to embrace new opportunities and expand its footprint across emerging markets. By offering cutting-edge security solutions and unparalleled expertise, the company positions itself as a trusted partner for clients seeking to fortify their security measures in an ever-evolving world. Conclusion In conclusion, BluOcean Security, under the leadership of Ron Efron, exemplifies a beacon of innovation and reliability in the realm of security services. With a commitment to excellence, a keen eye on emerging trends, and a penchant for navigating complex security landscapes, the company continues to carve a niche for itself as a leading security solutions provider in the Asia Pacific region. Stay tuned for more insights and updates from BluOcean Security as they continue to redefine the contours of security in a rapidly changing world. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction to the Episode and Guest00:44 Exploring Blue Ocean Security with Ron Efron02:19 The Core Services and Clientele of BluOcean Security06:31 Adapting to Security Needs in the COVID-19 Era09:22 The Shift Towards Cloud-Based Security Solutions13:43 Navigating Data Security and Compliance Challenges18:59 Emerging Technologies and Privacy Concerns25:49 Global Trends and the China Plus One Strategy30:41 Closing Remarks and Contact Information TRANSCRIPTArt Dicker: Welcome, everybody, to another episode of The Asia Business Podcast. I'm your host, Art Dicker. Art Dicker: Today, we have the wonderful pleasure of having Ron Efron join us. Ron is the Director at Blue Ocean Security, a premium security firm offering comprehensive services including security consulting, systems integration, and security management to multinational clients throughout the Asia Pacific. Art Dicker: Ron, welcome. Ron Efron: Thank you, Art. It's good to be here. Art Dicker: Yeah, and you have a podcast of your own, which we'll give you a chance to talk about in a minute and tell us a little bit about. For the audience, what Blue Ocean Security does, what it's about, and you're relatively new, but I know you've grown quickly and had quite a lot of success right off the bat. Art Dicker: So give us a little bit of an intro about the company. Ron Efron: Sure. Blue Ocean Security is what you would call a physical security systems integrator, and we provide services that revolve around that. So what it basically means is that when you walk into a building today, you'll see electronic security components such as cameras, turnstiles, or various access locks to doors. We're essentially protecting the perimeter, the facilities, and access to those facilities in various ways. That's what we're doing for multinational clients in Asia Pacific. To be more specific, we focus on clients that take their security seriously. Not all companies prioritize security, and we specialize in those that do. We serve clients with facilities across the Pacific, and we've been quite successful at that. Blue Ocean is relatively new. We started at the end of 2018. Personally, I've been in this business since the late nineties, started my first business in Beijing, and grew that business across Asia Pacific. I sold that and exited in 2015. Then we started Blue Ocean Security with a group of my ex-employees, and myself. We decided to get back into the business because we saw that there were still opportunities. So, we got the band back together, so to speak. Art Dicker: Yeah, and like I said, you've done very well and you've expanded rapidly to different locations throughout the region. Can you, now that you've given us a nice introduction of what the company does, what are clients looking for when they're coming to you? At a high level, can you walk us through some of those chief security risks? You mentioned physical security and stuff like that, but what's often a trigger point when a client comes to you? What's usually the first thing that they're worried about? Ron Efron: First of all, we focus a lot on multinationals, primarily Fortune 500 companies that have operations around Asia Pacific. For most of these companies, they not only have concerns about security, but they also have certain standards they need to comply with—internal standards or otherwise. They generally know what their needs are and they need to tailor-make those needs to the facilities in different countries. So, they take a standard that may have originated in North America or Europe and adapt it to comply with the standards in New Delhi, Jakarta, or China. Maintaining an international level of expertise and service across Asia Pacific is really our specialty. Additionally, we merge those local risks into the design. When we start working with a client, they'll come to us with a new facility. We'll work with them to do a full design and list of equipment needed, then procure the various components and move on to installation, programming, and commissioning. Every project is different, and risks and needs vary as well. Art Dicker: How do you handle cases like the ones where, let's put it amusingly, cameras need to survive explosions? Do you ever encounter such non-routine requests and wonder where to find such specialized equipment?Art Dicker: Are you tapping into a similar set of suppliers and vendors you usually work with, or do you sometimes need to find very specialized ones, like in that example?Ron Efron: Yeah, we've been in the business for a long time, so we know where to find that. Occasionally, we have to resort to custom-made solutions. But even then, we work with suppliers who can meet the required standards. Take, for instance, explosion-proof housing for cameras. That's a very unique product type that needs to comply with specific standards. There are various levels of explosion protection, similar to bulletproof glass, with standards dictating thickness and capability.Art Dicker: We talked about this before recording, but as with any business, COVID has changed things. One of the most obvious examples is remote and hybrid working, but other aspects have been affected too, including supply chains. How has COVID impacted your industry, particularly regarding the multinational clients you serve? What changes have been most notable?Ron Efron: COVID has significantly broadened the definition of security, encompassing issues such as pandemics and business continuity planning. It's raised questions about the responsibility for employee safety when they're working remotely. Also, concerns emerged about safeguarding data when employees are working from home, ensuring the same level of security as in-office setups. There's also a growing trend around employee well-being intersecting with security. Security departments are now collaborating more closely with HR, legal, and cybersecurity teams, even occupying a seat at the C-suite table to advise on navigating this new landscape.Art Dicker: You mentioned some of the data and security aspects. Obviously, there's been a huge trend, speaking of COVID, changing the way we work and so forth. There's been a huge trend towards migrating everything to the cloud. Is that something that you've been dealing with as well with your customers and some of the security challenges there?Ron Efron: For sure. Yeah, and we can talk for hours just about this subject alone. Yes, and it is the normal evolution of technology. If you think about it on the IT side, there's already been a lot of migration to the cloud. A lot of the tools we use everything from Microsoft Office to Teams or your ERP system, be it Salesforce or NetSuite or anything else, it's already on the cloud. Security being a bit more conservative, it's just taking them longer to adapt to a lot of those cloud technologies. And that's normal. We've seen it also in the past when there is a change between analog video to digital video back in the early 2000s, for example, there's the same kind of transition process. With the cloud, a lot of it really comes down to people's perception that it is perceived to be less secure than having everything hardwired in your facility. And in most cases, that's just a perception and in most cases, that's not true. So you have to deal with that. And there's a lot of education around that as well, but we're seeing a lot of trends of companies moving more and more into the cloud. It's starting with smaller companies and slowly being adopted by those larger multinationals as well. And there's no way around that. You cannot not make that move to the cloud. We also see some real challenges, for example, like in China with the great firewall and how companies deal with that sometimes, and there's ways to deal with that, but that trend is here and it's pretty much here to stay and we embrace it. We are always recommending it or at least components or parts of security to be more cloud-based. And basically what this means is that companies can avoid having a server on their premise. Server is actually in Azure or AWS and Amazon or some other cloud facility. And another part of it is the database is maintained on the cloud. And in many cases, video is being more and more recorded and stored on the cloud as well. That's where you're seeing that.Art Dicker: Which I guess from what I'm hearing, it's all much more secure and actually than anything that server is sitting in the office is actually, it's actually a prime liability or vulnerability.Ron Efron: Exactly. So if you're a medium-sized company there's pretty much no way that your cybersecurity is a higher level than Amazon and AWS or Microsoft Azure. Or the amount of money they spend on security on their data centers. The physical security around data centers and their cybersecurity around data centers and all the tests and penetration tests and everything to do around that. There's really no way most companies can have that same level of security. And then it comes down to people engineering, right? So people try to get through that through other ways like phishing scams otherwise you can't get you. You're right. So you can't the degree of cybersecurity will never be at the same level. Therefore, and then you need to, so it is worth it to move down to the cloud from that point of view, actually more secure in many cases. It's also cheaper. And it's just becoming more and more cheaper but there's other things around cybersecurity that you can be more worried about and concerned about, and that's more around the human elements.Art Dicker: Yeah, you mentioned though that, that, it started that trend of the cloud started with small companies and that really was, AWS, right? That was why should I pay for, you pay what you use as far as software licenses and. And storage and computing power and so forth. Interesting that and I imagine security, right? People probably were educated and recognize that, um, and speaking of security, cybersecurity and data security are obviously very important and as the kind of the value of data increases what it can be used for and so forth. How has the importance of data to a company increased the demands for your business from a security perspective?Ron Efron: It depends on the company in many cases as well. So some companies, they take their data, they're more data-centric, they take that more seriously than other companies, but there are two trends here. One is the general security trend where we're seeing more and more hacking and ransomware attacks and other types of phishing attacks, which are real practical risks that companies of all sizes have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. You also have an increase in regulations and compliance needs that companies also need to be increasingly complying with. And in your world as known on the law side, on the legal side of things, we're seeing that pretty much every country in the world, everything from Europe's GDPR to China's PIPL. And so you have to have certain measures in place that have some basic safeguarding of data. So even if you're not worried about it too much, there's an increasing need to be compliant with those regulations. A third part is that if you're working with other companies that take their data seriously, if you have any contractual relationship with them, you'll likely see more and more increased incidents where there are cyber-related clauses in your contract, things that you need to do and insurance that you need to buy, and it's not cheap to have an extra layer of security there so those are all multiple forces that are pushing people to take this issue more seriously.Art Dicker: I do. And I see that in contracts. You're absolutely right and whether it's a rep and warranty or specifically calling out sys, standards that need to be met or requirements for reliability and both from the server being up and standpoint and so forth. And that's the world we live in. And maybe 10 years ago, people didn't pay nearly as much attention to it, but they do. And I wanted to I wonder in your world, how much you have to stay on top of that, right? Even maybe even thinking a step ahead, right? Regulations coming out that are starting to slowly come out, for example, on artificial intelligence or obviously, for the longest time we saw in China that, we, the legal world goes to China doesn't have a comprehensive data, data privacy law. Now it does. And we saw it coming. So I imagine that's probably a big part of what you're, you don't want to be reacting to a trend right on the regular regulatory side. So how much do you have to stay on top of that, see regulations coming out and say, Oh, that's a compliance challenge that they're gonna have to come to us for. Right.Ron Efron: Look, it's just smart business, to be honest, we want to be. Within our organization, we have people that are constantly looking at the future in terms of trends and technology. So that's one side of things like what's evolving around technology. What are things going to look like in the future? How can we be a better consultant to our customers where we're offering them a system that's. What we try to say future-proof that it won't be obsolete in a couple of years and have to buy a new one. So that's one side. The other side is, of course, the regulation side. It's not just the regulations around data, but it's also other types of regulation that any business would be interested in. But of course, we want to understand that and then be ready for the other side to your question is that it helps us to be more ready when we're being pulled in that direction by our customers as well. So when a customer comes to us and says, Hey, we're worried about this. We don't want to start stumbling over ourselves to try to answer that. We want to be ready with an answer. I said no, this is what we're seeing. This is what some of our other customers are doing that is some of our partners are are telling us, for example, in China, around the PIPL, we do have some existing relationships with some law firms that specialize in this as well, that we can refer clients to if we need to work with them together, to be honest, a lot of our larger customers, they have large legal teams in place and what we do is we help educate the security teams around that so that they are being able to work better with their internal legal departments. And when they need to put something together, that they're better prepared for that. So for example, in the security world, if you have a global database of your employees and you're, that's moving digitally between China and other countries, there are certain legal processes that you need to go through now in China with their new with their new privacy laws. So that's something that we can try to help adapt the system to better suit their needs in their specific situation.Art Dicker: And speaking of it, it certainly touches on China to some extent, but not exclusively to China. Are there sensitivities speaking of sort of personal data, one of those personal data is facial recognition, right? At least indirectly. Are there any sensitivities you've encountered with this or other emerging technologies where you're it may for your clients? And I imagine it's a sensitive issue, not just for you, but for your clients as well, where it might enhance these things from a security perspective. But again, you have to be cognizant of sensitivities around some of the data you're collecting and your system is collecting, right?Ron Efron: Yes, for sure. And again, different companies have different cultures and different backgrounds and different ways of dealing with that. Excuse me. So for example, European countries and companies are going to be more sensitive to such issues, whereas Asian companies might be less sensitive to that just culturally. And the U.S. is somewhere in the middle. We have some international schools as clients that are also very worried about that, and there are various ways of dealing with that. So the facial recognition technology is not necessarily keeping your record of people's faces. It keeps other signatures. So there are other ways to deal with that and be sensitive to people's privacy and all that. But in terms of adoption and in terms of perception, that it really comes down to those their home culture biases. In many ways, but it's, that's not the only type of technology that's out there, but it is becoming more and more widespread. Another thing is that it's not cheap. It's actually quite expensive to have facial recognition. So that's also another inhibitor to its widespread adoption, but it's just one more technology out there. Like here in Asia and Singapore, for example, the airport is full of it. You, every gate that you pass, every inspection point is done with facial recognition today. It's not done with people looking at your passport and your. You're seeing it more and more in office buildings as well. That being said, in China, it is pretty much everywhere. Oh yeah. So every visitor management system, if you go into a building and you're visiting a client or a supplier, you're going to go through a process where they scan your passport, they take a photo of you and everything, and then to get into the actual elevator bank, you have to pass through a turnstile that's probably looking at your face. And it captures that. For Chinese citizens, it's even a step more where it's all linked to their Alipay accounts and sometimes they can do a transaction just by looking into a camera without even using their phone at all, which is pretty scary.Art Dicker: You beat me to it, butRon Efron: what we are seeing though, is that some of these technologies that are in China are evolving within China and not outside of China, even to a point that we, once we approached a Chinese facial recognition product company, and they told us straight out that they're not selling outside of China, that they're just, there's not doing that market.Ron Efron: Yeah.Art Dicker: It's big enough market in China, for that anyway but yeah, maybe I can see why not.Ron Efron: That is true, but I am worried that longer term, there might be dual standards in the world. There's going to be a China standard and a global standard for various things, not just security, you see it also, there might be on communication network protocols. There might be other aspects that the China, Chinese government are going to try to have their own for various reasons.Art Dicker: Does that present a challenge for your clients? Having to be on both sides of the Great Firewall, for example, and having dual standards for things?Ron Efron: It hasn't got to the point where you need to, at the protocol level, that things are different.Ron Efron: No, I haven't seen that yet. But I think at a larger global geopolitical element, China is trying to be more of an influencer on global standards. And, due to their size, they, you can understand that, most of our customers, they're trying to be compliant with like international norms.Ron Efron: So a way you might have seen this in news recently were in the past where some CCTV products were banned in the U.S. government, at least. So that has trickled down to some companies as well. And we're not trying to push that one way or the other. If a client comes to us and says they don't want, they want to exclude certain brands from their design, that's okay. And others, that's not an issue for them. They want to see all the options. So we cater to them and based on their needs.Art Dicker: That begs the question. And to, to what extent. Obviously, because so much so many things are manufactured in China, right? What extent.Art Dicker: I'll use that extreme example, in here, and I'm sure you caught this in the port up in Long Beach. They're talking about tearing down the cranes system that I think it's a real story because of this perceived security risk with the, the operating system, essentially, for the cranes is the part or all the cranes are made in China, including that operating system, and that's seen as a national security risk.Art Dicker: So they're thinking of ripping out the cranes and replacing them with American made cranes. I don't know if America even makes those kinds of cranes for docking and transporting the things on and offshore. But that's an example of where Chinese hardware, right? Or, and I guess software as well is. is seen as less trustworthy.Art Dicker: Has that been an issue with your, with any of your clients so far?Ron Efron: Only for those specific brands that have been added to that formal list of products, that's really to the extent of it. Other than that, if a product is owned by an American company, but made in China like an Apple phone, for example,Art Dicker: we don't really see.Art Dicker: Everything is made in China, right?Ron Efron: That is changing to, to, to a degree but yes that, that's less of a concern than it just comes down to that brand and their reputation and all that. Yeah, what you touched on, who knows if that's, it could be true, is it based on true security risk or not, that might be a different question.Ron Efron: There are certain things that, it's, would be legitimate for governments to be worried about. And there are certain things that it might, there might be other interests involved, paranoiaArt Dicker: there, yeah.Ron Efron: Or other business interests, maybe there's a local crane company that that's, a benefit to getArt Dicker: that business.Art Dicker: That's hard.Ron Efron: It's harder to unpack.Art Dicker: Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. Who has lots of motivations, potentially. Um, speaking of China, and I wanted to, This is a big question, so I wanted to, to. To end on this 1 I imagine you've got a team working with a lot of multinational companies in China, but as we all know, when we talked in this podcast before there's a bit of a migration or a de risking.Art Dicker: From China. It's been there for a while. The whole China plus one strategy. But that seems to be accelerating quite a bit in the last few years, especially coming out of COVID going to Vietnam or elsewhere, especially in, those other countries where you're operating. And I wonder to what extent you're continuing to work with those clients as they move and help them with that planning from a security perspective.Art Dicker: How has that trend impacted you and your business and how you're serving your clients?Ron Efron: So the trend is definitely clear out of all the countries who work within Asia. We're seeing the least amount of growth actually in China and a lot more activity in countries like Vietnam, like the Philippines, like India, for sure.Ron Efron: Even here in Singapore and even in Japan, which kind of surprised me last year. Yeah. It's understandable due to the geopolitical sort of wins that are happening and COVID a lot of boardrooms around the world are saying, wait, we don't want to have all our eggs in one basket. We need to have some contingencies in place.Ron Efron: What if something happens again? What can we do? So due to that, you're seeing strategies where the supply chains are less centralized, in China, and it is a bit more thinking going on. On top of that, you also have their own domestic markets in Asia, also in high growth mode. So India obviously is the big, the bigger one, but Vietnam, the Philippines Indonesia, all of these are potential new markets as well for consumers, not only to manufacture, but also to sell.Ron Efron: And for example, with Apple. Not only are they starting to make phones in India, but they just opened their first Apple store in India. So if that trends continue, there'll be a lot more growth there as well. And that's also due to the government in India have changed some of their regulations around retail laws.Ron Efron: And they're a bit more pro business, or business friendly compared to the past. But the bottom line is for us, that just means more opportunities. Yeah. So companies are growing, building more facilities, building more factories around the region. And that's business that we like to help our customers with in terms of challenges.Ron Efron: It's what we know from the past that we know how to operate in Asia. So it's the normal challenges of building your capacity, hiring good people, making sure they know, how to do their job well and having all the infrastructure in place so that you can grow with your customers. The challenge that actually becomes a challenge.Ron Efron: And it's much harder than you think, like doing a project or simultaneously doing projects in Tokyo, Sydney, Jakarta, and in Bangalore is not that easy. And because you're dealing with very different environments, very different people and different challenges, but that's, No, that's what we know. And that's what we we're pretty good at actually.Art Dicker: I was going to say, that's probably, that's gotta be your advantage, right? That you can seamlessly work across different geographies like that. That's gotta be a selling point for you and a competitive advantage for you guys.Ron Efron: For sure. And then our largest competitor in this space is is my old company.Art Dicker: Yeah. So you've got, But, and I imagine too, you're also quite, you know, you're easy to open up in new markets and it's because you're, you're a private company, right? You're young in your DNA, right? You're experienced in your, in the management team, but as a company, you're young in your DNA.Art Dicker: So you're probably more, more nimble, right? I guess is what I should say.Ron Efron: I would hope so. And the fact that COVID started pretty much after, when we started our company, we were, even when we started, we had, we envisioned that would be more spread out and take advantage of the newer technologies at the time to be able to work across a region in a very efficient way.Ron Efron: And then COVID came, it just really forced that even faster upon everybody, but we were ready for that in some way. And that helped us. To even sharpen our skills further. So that we ended up coming out stronger from that. I think,Art Dicker: yeah, no, I can tell. And and I think the audits can tell just listening to you that, that, that.Art Dicker: That you're that's a challenge that's actually been good for your business and you've met that challenge. Oh, Ron if people listening in the audience want to reach out to you for maybe they have they're at a multinational company and they're looking, they're going to a new country like India, Indonesia, or one of these other markets that you're in, how is the best way for them to reach out to you, LinkedIn or another way or the website or, What's the best way?Ron Efron: Sure. Our company website is blueoceanssecurity.com. Blue is B L U, ocean security. And you can find my LinkedIn as well. And I'm sure you can add a email in your show notes. Yep,Art Dicker: absolutely. FeelRon Efron: free to reach out to me. It's funny, we just when we came up with our name today, when you're starting new companies or new domain names It's getting harder and harder.Ron Efron: Yeah. You have to drop valve. It does getArt Dicker: harder. Yeah. But I like it. It's a little more,Ron Efron: unique.Art Dicker: It's a little, it not edgy, but it's, it's a little more unique. But you have to be unique, as you said, to for these days. Registering company or a, or website. It's aRon Efron: bit.Ron Efron: It's a bit play on the words of that book, The Blue Origin Strategy, where we're trying to not work in a very competitive environment, but come up with products and services that, you we're not competing directly on with competitors. And that's part of the vision there.Art Dicker: Okay. Hey, Ron, it was a real treat to have you on and and I'm sure the audience will love listening to this.Art Dicker: It's a topic that I think is not talked about enough. And so that was definitely a reason why we had to do this episode. I thank you, want to thank you for joining us and I'm sure the audience got a lot out of this. Thanks Ron for coming on.Ron Efron: Thank you https://www.asiabusinesspod.com/

Imagine, if you will, living in a place where you can live the best life.No job.No bills.All of the alcohol, sex and drugs that you can might want.One caveat....Your life is terminated on a trippy amusement ride at the age of thirty.Occasionally, there's a Runner, someone who selfishly doesn't want to release their life energy.That's where the Sandmen come in; they hunt down the runners.But what happens when the Sandman becomes the Runner?Come find out with Brock and Dan, as they take you on a whimsical yet in depth auditory journey through this Special Academy Award winning film!Fish, plankton, sea greens and protein from the sea!Do things on whatever social media or podcast/video vendor in the comments to elicit some manner of response!If you like websites and the like, here ya go: www.droppedculture.com !Email your thing, Boom! droppedculturepodcast@gmail.comCarrier birds may be sent directly to one of the 8 fountains in Manitou Springs; we'll find them!Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 192 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running. Coopah tipsIn this special episode we're joined by Jordan Foster from the Coopah running app. Jordan is the OG of instagram running, who I first new as Project Marathon Girl. Now she's part of the establishment and part of Coopah. She chats to us about her start in running and her recent successes, and then tells us what we need to do during a taper before a half marathon. As well as general marathon strategies ahead of the London Marathon to get your head sorted as much as your legs. She'll be back with us in a couple of weeks to talk about recovery strategies – it's almost as if we planned it, right?Last long run Before and after that proper running bit, Holly talks about her last long runs, which have mostly been going well, aside from a small altercation with a dog and a chicken. It's all going on here. We also have a chat after our convo with Jordan about whether we should now think of ourselves as “naturally sporty” after all.Pick up Women's Running for pennies! Now, if you don't already subscribe to Women's Running magazine, we've got a Pod Squad offer for you lovely people – hop along to womensrunning.co.uk/podsquad and you'll be able to get your mitts on Women's Running for just £3.50 an issue, saving 42% off the cover price. The subscription is totally risk-free and flexible, you don't need to sign up for years and years, so it's the perfect way to get loads more Women's Running fun times for pennies. Lovely extra bits• Check out the Coopah run coaching app, and follow Jordan on InstagramSubscribe to Women's Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £3.50 an issue!Get your hands on How to Run 5K with Esther and Holly, available at shop.womensrunning.co.uk / Extras·      Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/runBuy a Pod Squad t-shirt!Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Occasionally, hardworking individuals are blessed with the ultimate gift: time off. Whether it's just a day, a week, or even more, it's a precious opportunity. If you've been granted a week off and have a hankering for hiking, this episode is tailor-made for you. In our latest Outdoor Quickie, Jen shares her top three sections of the Pacific Crest Trail, while Dyana offers insights into the best shorter sections of the Pacific Northwest Trail. All it takes is some gear, a can-do attitude, and maybe a can of wine. Happy Trails!Where to find and support Bush & Banter: Follow Bush & Banter on Instagram: @bushandbanter Visit Bush & Banter's website: www.bushandbanter.com Join Bush & Banter's Patreon community: patreon.com/bushandbanter E-mail Bush & Banter: bushandbanter@gmail.com Follow Dyana on Instagram: @dyanacarmella Follow Jennifer on Instagram: @thewhimsicalwoman

It happens occasionally. Someone in the business decides they need to just take the analysis into their own hands. That leaves the analyst conflicted — love the interest and enthusiasm, but cringe at the risk of misuse or misinterpretation. Occasionally (rarely!), though, such a person goes so deep that they come out the other side having internalized everything from Deming's obsession with variability all the way through the Amazon Weekly Business Review (WBR) process. And they've written extensively about it. Cedric Chin was such a person, and we had a blast digging into his exploration of statistical process control — including XmR charts — and mulling over the broader ramifications and lessons therein. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

This episode of Flow Radio is a masterclass on leadership best practices, featuring three very special guests: Retired Navy SEAL commander and bestselling author Rich Diviney, Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Coby Karl, and veteran performance psychologist Dr. Sarah Sarkis. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn how to lead teams that consistently outperform and out-innovate the competition. how to lead teams that consistently outperform and out-innovate the competition. In This Episode: 0:00 Introduction 04:35 Defining leadership 11:05 Leadership as Behavior 26:13 Dynamic Subordination in High-Performing Teams 30:55 Lessons from Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman 39:11 Defining Leadership Expertise 49:00 The Role of Flow in Leadership 57:44 Attunement and Shared Experience in Leadership 1:16:53 Balancing Training and Education in the Business World About the Guests:   By day, Dr. Sarah Sarkis is a licensed psychologist, a certified executive coach, and the senior Director of Performance Psychology at Exos. Occasionally, you'll also find her moonlighting as a writer and keynote speaker.  Dr. Sarkis has spent 20-plus years in the trenches, exploring every corner of the human psyche. Her passion and focus these days is working with CEOs, athletes, professional coaches, and other executives striving to achieve moonshot dreams. In a nutshell, she considers herself a human performance hybrid: part shrink, part coach, part Jedi of the unconscious.  Dr. Sarkis has been a featured guest on many popular podcasts, including The Gabby Reece Podcast and LinkedIn Live. She is also a regularly featured SME in publications such as CNBC, Women's Health, The Huffington Post, and the New York Times. Rich Diviney, a bestselling author, leadership expert, and retired Navy SEAL commander, brings over two decades of exceptional experience to the stage. Over the course of a 20-year career, he completed more than thirteen overseas deployments and served in multiple leadership positions, to include being the officer in charge of an extremely specialized SEAL selection process, curating the most elite performers through a specialized selection process. Coby Karl is an Assistant Coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. Starting as a Seattle Sonics ballboy to becoming an NBA player, he's spent a lifetime learning the game and how to lead a team. His experiences helped him coach the Delaware Blue Coats to win their first NBA G League title in 2023. Coby learned to lead with compassion and thoughtfulness from his mentors, icons like Phil Jackson and his dad, George Karl. Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective Are you an entrepreneur, a leader, or a knowledge worker, who wants to harness the power of flow so you can get more done in less time with greater ease and accomplish your boldest professional goals faster? If the answer is yes, then our peak-performance training Zero To Dangerous may be a good fit for you. Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research and training company. If you're interested in learning the science-backed techniques we used to train top executives at Facebook, Audi and even the Navy SEALs, click the link here: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/zero-to-dangerous/overview⁠ Follow Flow Research Collective: YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/flowresearchcollective⁠ X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flowresearchcollective⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠ Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world's leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

2024 is going to be an interesting year. Already we are seeing cyberattacks ramp up in severity and frequency, so what should we expect?Hey everybody, this is Chris Brandt, here with another FUTR podcast.Today we have with us Anthony Spiteri, Regional CTO for data protection heavy weight, Veeam and host of the Great Things With Great Tech Podcast. So we are going to ask him about what he sees for 2024, how AI changes the cyber security landscape, and ask him about how we protect AI assets from attacks or failures.Welcome AnthonyVeeam: https://veeam.comGreat Things With Great Tech: https://www.gtwgt.com/Click Here to SubscribeFUTR.tv focuses on startups, innovation, culture and the business of emerging tech with weekly podcasts featuring Chris Brandt and Sandesh Patel talking with Industry leaders and deep thinkers.Occasionally we share links to products we use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.

Skyler and Evan record on Monday morning after a busy weekend to discuss the state of the Colorado Rockies. The rotation is starting to round into better form but there is still much to be desired from the staff. Ryan Feltner stands out as the best of the bunch with the highest potential for the season. Meanwhile, slumping Rockies like Nolan Jones and Brendan Rodgers are starting to find their stride while guys like Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar are showing improvement from 2023 at the plate. We round things out with a trip to the minors, where outside of Albuquerque the Rockies' affiliates are off to a great start with the Spokane Indians rotation really impressing the fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was preparing for this week's show, I couldn't help being reminded of a couple of tired old jokes. Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this. Doctor: Then don't do that. And, Patient: Doctor, it hurts and I don't know what's wrong.Doctor: Take two aspirin and call me in the morning. When we're thinking about our harp lessons, we may sometimes think of it like a doctor-patient relationship. Something is wrong with our playing and we want to get it fixed. Give me the prescription and let me go home. Or we may think of our lessons in a less transactional, more relationship based-way. Our teacher isn't just our expert harp guide but our friend as well. We look forward to our lessons as a time to reconnect with our harp and with our teacher too. While both of those scenarios may be accurate to some extent, neither one truly describes what a music lesson is or should be. If our lessons are transactional - just give me the scrip, doc - we're missing out on the deeper experience and knowledge our teacher can offer us. If our lessons are mainly relational, we may find ourselves meandering through a succession of pieces and wondering if we're really making progress. Fortunately, most teacher-student interactions have a little of the best of each of those scenarios, plus a whole lot more beneficial instruction and guidance.  But all that can sour quickly if you have a bad lesson. That's what we're going to discuss today. First, let me say that I don't like the term “bad lesson.” Oh, yes, I had plenty of them in my student days, the kind of lesson that would leave me in tears, frustrated, angry and wanting to quit the harp. From the perspective I have now, though, with decades of teaching experience, I can see that most of those bad lessons were the best learning opportunities. They were the times when my teacher's expertise and guidance made the most difference for me. They were the lessons that taught me the most about harp playing and being a harpist. I simply didn't have the perspective at the time to understand it. I believe adult students bring a more sophisticated and mature viewpoint to their lessons and usually, so-called “bad lessons” aren't an issue. But they still happen. Occasionally you have a lesson that leaves you feeling demoralized or frustrated, and that's what I want to talk about. I want to help you sort out the facts from the feelings, help you set clear expectations for your lesson outcomes, and give you my not-so-secret tips for preparing for a lesson so you know every lesson will be a good one. And I won't ignore those bad lessons; I'll share my best pep talk with you too.  Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Certified Coaching registration is open. Find out more and register here. Related resource Never Have a Bad Lesson Again blog post Harpmastery.com Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com  LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-152

Welcome to episode 191 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.Avoiding parkrun Holly's been on a hen do and has managed to avoid going to parkrun, or in fact run at all for a whole five days. And does she feel guilty? No she does not. She explains why here, but it also leads us neatly on to how we're going to be fitting in our last long runs ahead of the New York half.Average paces We talk about my worries about my fitness dropping, and where we both are if we look at average paces, which is supposed to cheer us up but sort of doesn't. TaperingWe also, in light of the above, have a chat about tapering and what we should be doing before our half marathon in New York with Sports Tours International. Join us!Now, if you don't already subscribe to Women's Running magazine, we've got a Pod Squad offer for you lovely people – hop along to womensrunning.co.uk/podsquad and you'll be able to get your mitts on Women's Running for just £3.50 an issue, saving 42% off the cover price. The subscription is totally risk-free and flexible, you don't need to sign up for years and years, so it's the perfect way to get loads more Women's Running fun times for pennies. Lovely extra bitsThis episode is sponsored by Revive Active. You can get 20% off the whole Revive Active range at ReviveActive.com using the code Run20, which you can use right up until 30th April.Subscribe to Women's Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £3.50 an issue!Get your hands on How to Run 5K with Esther and Holly, available at shop.womensrunning.co.uk / Extras·      Download a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/runBuy a Pod Squad t-shirt!Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningPlease continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford. Search Anthem on JustgivingEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when God's people completely violate their covenant with Him? Well, today's study is another history-rich explanation of Judah's demise and the historical and religious events that led up to it. Join us in this important lesson on a key event in the history of the Bible. DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    According to verse 2, how long had been Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem? In verse 3, what impact did it have? If you had endured such a thing for two years, how would you have turned to the Lord?  2.    What do the Babylonians do to Zedekiah? How was this a fulfillment of God's warnings for all this time? 3.    What did they do to the Temple in verse 9? How was this a fulfillment of God's warnings from 2 Kings 20:16-18? 4.    What did they do to the wall in verse 10? 5.    What did they do to the people in verse 11? 6.    Who was Gedaliah and what did he say to the people in verse 24? What would you have done if you were in that situation?  7.    Sometimes life brings difficult circumstances. Occasionally, people worry that they are some kind of judgment from God. How does the Gospel help us know that God will never inflict this kind of judgment on His people?  8.    Although God's judgment has finally come upon Judah, what promises do we have about her restoration? What does this tell us about the ultimate mercy of God?  Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Good friends talking about everything in general and nothing in particular. Occasionally thoughtful, often silly, mostly inconsequential.Charbroiled Chats won't change your life but it might make your day.GRACE is a foodie who hates to cook, a Japanophile who has never been to Japan, a movie and music fan who denigrates Hollywood rom-coms and jazz, and a lover of celebrity gossip who doesn't give a rat's ass about celebrities.BAYLIE grew up in the Big Apple but now enjoys a quiet life in the Finger Lakes. Still searching for what she wants to be when she grows up, she fills her time with reading, tackling crossword puzzles, making fuzzy baby blankets and walking with her dog. Not an overly talkative or extroverted person, she often wonders how she ended up on a podcast.WALLY is a fan of F1, dogs and corn fritters. He enjoys talking pictures and taking pictures. He invented podcasting in 1965.Instagram: charbroiledchatsTwitter: @CharbroiledCFacebook: charbroiledchatscharbroiledchats.buzzsprout.comcharbroiledchats@gmail.comEmail Grace, Baylie and/or Wally at charbroiledchats@gmail.com. Unlike most celebrity podcasters, we read and respond to every email.

GET THE BOOK: Daniel: A Strong Man Is Faithful here https://amzn.to/3ToZqOk Do you testify to others about your fiery trial of faith? Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. — Daniel 3:24-30 We live in times ruled by the spirit of Babylon. Satan roams the earth, and men like Nebuchadnezzar still exist. They will till the end of this time. This means we're going to have trouble in this life. We might even have long seasons of fiery trials. We will experience trials on a macro-level in the world, in our countries, with governments, politicians, and leaders. We'll also experience trials on a micro-level in our marriage, family, workplaces, and personal lives. Somedays, the furnace of these trials is going to rage on both levels.  Occasionally, the heat is going to get turned way up. But know this — a man of faith always has God standing by their side. God will stand by you through the fire, even when a vengeful spirit walks you to the edge of the furnace and pushes you in. God will not let you be burned. Not a hair on your body. Not a singe of your skin. Not even a smell of flame. But you'll have to have faith that the Spirit of God is greater than the spirit of this world. In fact, I bet you have a story like this—a tale of a test where God intervened for you. This story is a testimony of God's greatness and faithfulness through you. It's worth recalling and retelling because it tells the tale of a faithful God who is ready to save.  So do that today. Testify about God by telling the tale of your trial and his salvation. Give some hope to others who are walking through the same test or trial that you did. Because the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is not the only great story of God's salvation. It's one of many God has done through men just like you. God, use our stories to testify about the great works you do. As we share them, may they testify to your faithfulness and greatness and help others know there is hope in their tests and trials. May our stories of you be salvation to others. In Jesus's name, amen. If you liked this devotional series, check out the 30-day Devotional Book that partners with this study—Daniel: A Strong Man Is Faithful, which you can find on Amazon at the link below.  https://amzn.to/3ToZqOk

Any leader will tell you that the people are the most important part of a successful organization. But how do you find those people and how do you keep them happy and motivated. Today we are talking with someone who can help us answer that question, so stay tunedHey everybody, this is Chris Brandt, here with another FUTR podcast.Today we have with us Andrew Bartlow, CEO of People Leader Accelerator. Andrew has more than 25 years in the business and co-authored the book, "Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations" So let's hear from him about the state of employment in 2024.Welcome AndrewThe People Accelerator: https://www.peopleleaderaccelerator.com/Scaling for Success: https://amzn.to/3xeU7brClick Here to Subscribe:FUTR.tv focuses on startups, innovation, culture and the business of emerging tech with weekly podcasts featuring Chris Brandt and Sandesh Patel talking with Industry leaders and deep thinkers.Occasionally we share links to products we use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

A Note from James:I am thrilled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my podcast. Occasionally, I'll feature some timeless episodes as if they're brand new, sharing those that have greatly impacted me. One such figure is Nassim Taleb, whom I consider one of the smartest people on the planet.I've learned so much from Nassim, and I'm not sure he realizes or cares just how influential he's been on me. I was extremely grateful when he agreed to appear on my podcast. There's an interesting backstory to his appearance: he joined my show a few years ago, and we are airing that episode now, though he might not be aware of the whole story.Back in 2002, I was desperate—I was broke, struggling, losing my house, and my family was falling apart. I wrote to 20 influential individuals, including well-known investors and writers like Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn, expressing my desire to meet them. Only three responded.Jim Cramer was one of them. I had sent him ten ideas for articles he could write for TheStreet.com. To my surprise, he responded positively and encouraged me to write the articles myself, which kickstarted my career as a writer. From financial columns, I expanded into other topics.Victor Niederhoffer also replied because I sent him software programs tailored to his trading style, offering them for his and his traders' use and my assistance if needed, with no pressure to respond.Nassim Taleb was another who responded. I had reached out to him because I admired his book "Fooled by Randomness" and wished to meet him. Although he was willing to meet, I never followed up. However, many years later, he came on my podcast, bringing everything full circle, for which I am immensely grateful.Now, I am honored to reintroduce one of the smartest men in the universe, Nassim Taleb. Episode Description:In this episode, we explore Nassim Taleb's influential ideas, specifically his thoughts on antifragility, the unpredictability of life, and the beneficial role of trial and error in diverse areas such as technology, health, and business. As we mark ten years of learning, the host shares transformative conversations with Taleb, revealing how chaos and uncertainty can fortify systems, people, and industries. We examine Taleb's key principles: reducing interference, valuing variability, and the necessity of personal investment in outcomes. We also look at concrete examples. Further, we discuss how embracing errors and innovation can lead to breakthroughs in sectors like drug development and business ventures, and address the negative impacts of excessive rescue measures and regulatory constraints. Through a blend of personal anecdotes and theoretical exploration, this episode encapsulates the essence of antifragility as a pathway to resilience and fulfillment. Episode Summary:00:00 Celebrating a Decade of Podcasting: A Special Revisit00:35 The Power of Cold Emails: Life-Changing Connections02:04 Nassim Taleb: A Mind That Shaped My Worldview02:51 Exploring the Impact of Technology Through the Lens of Anti-Fragility04:18 The Evolution of Communication: From TV to Social Media04:47 The Paradox of Technological Progress: A Historical Perspective05:43 Disruptive Innovations and the Cycle of Technology08:41 Personal Anecdotes and the Philosophy of Email Communication09:24 The Intricacies of Responding to Emails and Setting Boundaries10:56 Journalism, Social Media, and the Quest for Authenticity15:27 Understanding Fragility vs. Anti-Fragility: A Deep Dive26:07 The Role of Variability and Stressors in Evolution and Health31:49 Applying Anti-Fragility to Diet, Exercise, and Lifestyle49:43 The Importance of Political Variability and the Unpredictability of Life51:40 Exploring the Anti-Fragile Lifestyle52:00 The Power of Walking and Creative Thinking54:22 Embracing Natural Elements for Health55:06 Rethinking Medicine and Personal Health Strategies57:30 Navigating Social Relationships and Disruption01:00:31 The Essence of Anti-Fragility in Life and Work01:09:34 Understanding the Financial System and Its Fragilities01:12:33 The Role of Entrepreneurship and Risk in Society01:29:51 Reflecting on Writing, Publishing, and Intellectual Pursuits01:41:37 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

The Laguna Niguel Speaker Meeting gathers at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday. We meet at Mission Lutheran Church. 24360 Yosemite Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 https://goo.gl/maps/RqUeuu5kzSkdX3as6 Generally, 2 shares (a 10 minute and 40 minute) are published every Wednesday, which were recorded the previous Sunday. Occasionally we also distribute shares from our archives. Please contact us at lagunaniguelspeakermeeting@gmail.com for more information about the meeting, podcasts or any comments you may have. Thanks for listening.

Occasionally we are fortunate enough to schedule guests who we could talk to for a long time. This week was one of those. Our guests include Henry Diana, who caddied for Stephan Jaeger last week when they teamed up to win the Houston Open. Also on the podcast is Jeff Babineau, a journalist who has covered 30 Masters from back when Ben Crenshaw won the green jacket. Always timely yet hardly on time, it's In The Fairway!

Welcome to episode 189 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running. Trigger warning: sexual attacks and attempted rapePlease go to Rape Crisis for support and advice. Running and women's safetyWe've got some very big topics to discuss on the podcast today. We talk about the recent news of Alison Walker, who was attacked while on a run in Portugal. We spoke to Alison last week, more of which here, but since then it's been at the front of our minds. How can we make running more safe for women without imposing curfews or asking us to change our behaviour? I would love to know what you think.Jasmin Paris We then move on to the latest news about Jasmin Paris and the Barkley Marathons, because we couldn't not, before moving on to your letters. We've got way too much to talk about in this episode, that's for sure. Join usNow, if you don't already subscribe to Women's Running magazine, we've got a Pod Squad offer for you lovely people – hop along to womensrunning.co.uk/podsquad and you'll be able to get your mitts on Women's Running for just £3.50 an issue, saving 42% off the cover price. The subscription is totally risk-free and flexible, you don't need to sign up for years and years, so it's the perfect way to get loads more Women's Running fun times for pennies. Lovely extra bitsThis episode is sponsored by Revive Active. You can get 20% off the whole Revive Active range at ReviveActive.com using the code Run20, which you can use right up until 30th April.Subscribe to Women's Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £3.50 an issue!Get your hands on How to Run 5K with Esther and Holly, available at shop.womensrunning.co.uk / ExtrasDownload a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/runBuy a Pod Squad t-shirt!Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningPlease continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford. Search Anthem on JustgivingEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs' shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians' lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs' shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians' lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs' shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians' lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In this episode, I'll share ten ways to increase your swim speed and become a better swimmer. So, let's dive in and explore these effective strategies. 00:29 Train Another Stroke 01:50 Change The Way That You're Training 03:04 Being Diligent With Your Skills 05:06 To Become Supple 05:53 Joining a Squad Or a Group of Swimmers 09:08 Occasionally, Don't Track Anything 10:40 Keeping Calm Under Pressure 12:58 Commit To A Swim Block 14:03 Pick One Thing And Stick To It For Three Months 15:50 Get Professional Help

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs' shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians' lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs' shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians' lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

table td.shrink { white-space:nowrap } hr.thin { border: 0; height: 0; border-top: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3); } New hosts Welcome to our new host: Henrik Hemrin. Last Month's Shows Id Day Date Title Host 4065 Fri 2024-03-01 Framework 13 (13th gen Intel) review Noodlez 4066 Mon 2024-03-04 HPR Community News for February 2024 HPR Volunteers 4067 Tue 2024-03-05 Hacking AI Models to Protect your Livelihood hobs 4068 Wed 2024-03-06 Replacing a lightbulb in a microwave Oven MrX 4069 Thu 2024-03-07 Passwords and Bitwarden news. Some Guy On The Internet 4070 Fri 2024-03-08 Civilization III Ahuka 4071 Mon 2024-03-11 Migration to digiKam as Digital Asset Management (DAM) Henrik Hemrin 4072 Tue 2024-03-12 Piper text to speech engine Archer72 4073 Wed 2024-03-13 Is the 1990 documentary "Cyberpunk" worth watching today? Trixter 4074 Thu 2024-03-14 Jade Empire Daniel Persson 4075 Fri 2024-03-15 Making a Pomodoro Timer norrist 4076 Mon 2024-03-18 WLED House Lights! operat0r 4077 Tue 2024-03-19 FFMPEG Series: Joining and Splitting files Mr. Young 4078 Wed 2024-03-20 Learning to read music, part two: pitch enistello 4079 Thu 2024-03-21 The Corresponding Source Ken Fallon 4080 Fri 2024-03-22 Georgia to South Carolina Ahuka 4081 Mon 2024-03-25 The Oh No! News. Some Guy On The Internet 4082 Tue 2024-03-26 No swans at Swanston Dave Morriss 4083 Wed 2024-03-27 Drivecast: Man-talk. Some Guy On The Internet 4084 Thu 2024-03-28 Cloud learning Daniel Persson 4085 Fri 2024-03-29 Android User Land Google Assistant GPT operat0r Comments this month These are comments which have been made during the past month, either to shows released during the month or to past shows. There are 21 comments in total. Past shows There are 5 comments on 3 previous shows: hpr3060 (2020-04-24) "Running a local imap server" by Ken Fallon. Comment 1: Somebdy on 2024-03-19: "Nothing in particular" Comment 2: Ken Fallon on 2024-03-20: "Very suspicious comment." hpr4062 (2024-02-27) "HPR Music Series? - How will it go for the girl and me?" by Fred Black. Comment 3: brian-in-ohio on 2024-03-01: "Good show" Comment 4: norrist on 2024-03-02: "I loved the Music" hpr4063 (2024-02-28) "Re: ChatGPT Output is not compatible with CC-BY-SA " by dnt. Comment 1: brian-in-ohio on 2024-03-01: "Amen" This month's shows There are 16 comments on 9 of this month's shows: hpr4067 (2024-03-05) "Hacking AI Models to Protect your Livelihood" by hobs. Comment 1: Trey on 2024-03-05: "Dejavu... Is this the same as HPR4055?" hpr4068 (2024-03-06) "Replacing a lightbulb in a microwave Oven" by MrX. Comment 1: Trey on 2024-03-06: "Nicely done."Comment 2: Ken Fallon on 2024-03-08: "Be very careful" hpr4069 (2024-03-07) "Passwords and Bitwarden news." by Some Guy On The Internet. Comment 1: Deltaray on 2024-03-10: "Thanks for the shout out" hpr4071 (2024-03-11) "Migration to digiKam as Digital Asset Management (DAM)" by Henrik Hemrin. Comment 1: Kevin O'Brien on 2024-03-15: "Good show!" hpr4073 (2024-03-13) "Is the 1990 documentary "Cyberpunk" worth watching today?" by Trixter. Comment 1: HPR Listener on 2024-03-16: "Restoration on archive.org"Comment 2: Trixter on 2024-03-18: "A slightly better version" hpr4075 (2024-03-15) "Making a Pomodoro Timer" by norrist. Comment 1: Trey on 2024-03-15: "Great project" hpr4077 (2024-03-19) "FFMPEG Series: Joining and Splitting files" by Mr. Young. Comment 1: Henrik Hemrin on 2024-03-20: "Useful to learn how ffmpeg can be used" hpr4078 (2024-03-20) "Learning to read music, part two: pitch" by enistello. Comment 1: Trey on 2024-03-20: "Desperate plea for a drummer to respond?" hpr4081 (2024-03-25) "The Oh No! News." by Some Guy On The Internet. Comment 1: Trey on 2024-03-25: "Pearl clutching"Comment 2: hpr listener on 2024-03-25: "Unnecessary insult"Comment 3: Ken Fallon on 2024-03-26: "@hpr listener"Comment 4: Some Guy on the Internet on 2024-03-26: "Desperately, with white knuckles, clutching pearls."Comment 5: Henrik Hemrin on 2024-03-27: "/e/OS - an open source Android alternative"Comment 6: Kevin O'Brien on 2024-03-28: "Good Show" Mailing List discussions Policy decisions surrounding HPR are taken by the community as a whole. This discussion takes place on the Mail List which is open to all HPR listeners and contributors. The discussions are open and available on the HPR server under Mailman. The threaded discussions this month can be found here: https://lists.hackerpublicradio.com/pipermail/hpr/2024-March/thread.html Events Calendar With the kind permission of LWN.net we are linking to The LWN.net Community Calendar. Quoting the site: This is the LWN.net community event calendar, where we track events of interest to people using and developing Linux and free software. Clicking on individual events will take you to the appropriate web page. Any other business Many Podcatchers don't show the episode author It seems that the author fields in RSS and Atom feeds are not shown by a number of Podcatchers. This field is intended to show the author details, and with HPR shows it contains an obfuscated email address and a name: ken.nospam@nospam.fallon.ie (Ken Fallon) The lack of this information makes knowing who created a given HPR show difficult to determine before listening to it. A question has been raised as to whether we could include the author details at the start of the show notes. Comments are requested from the Community as to whether this would be a useful addition. The Corresponding Source - renamed podcast The Corresponding Source (formerly Free as in Freedom) is a bi-weekly oggcast, hosted and presented by Bradley M. Kuhn and Karen Sandler. The discussion includes legal, policy, and many other issues in the Free, Libre, and Open Source Software (FLOSS) world. Occasionally, guests join Bradley and Karen to discuss various topics regarding FLOSS. See HPR show 4079 HPR changes The correspondent pages which show details of a particular correspondent (host), and lists their shows, have been enhanced to include the profile which has been uploaded by the host. This was present on the old site but was omitted on the static site. This was issue number 181 on the Gitea site, which has been closed. Example: Host 30, Ken Fallon Return of OggCamp There are plans to hold OggCamp 2024 in Manchester, UK this year, after an absence of 5 years. It will be on October 12th and 13th at the The Manchester Conference Centre in the Pendulum Hotel near Picadilly Station, where the last OggCamp was held. Details may be found on the OggCamp website, and announcements will be made on social media sites.

Nintendo. Pals. podcast. enjoy this week's rich discussion. Oh, and Happy April 1st to all our wonderful community!

This Easter sermon uses a spring analogy to demonstrate that Christ’s resurrection is a pattern for all Christians that we will certainly follow - SERMON TRANSCRIPT- I. The Seasons Preach; The Word Preaches Better I believe that spring is the perfect time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God uses the unfolding seasons to proclaim truth to every inhabit of the earth. We know this because Romans 1 tells us that God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen being understood from what has been made. God communicates His invisible attributes, His nature, and I believe even His purposes in creation. Consider the unfolding seasons. Take summer for example, we see God's lavish nature, His generosity as He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of billions of living creatures all over the earth. The beasts of the field feed on the sweet green grass growing plentifully beneath their feet. In the summer we see lush meadows. We see beautiful wild flowers growing everywhere. We hear the noise of bubbling streams. We hear the songs of innumerable and different species of birds. We feed on the sweetest of summer fruits, strawberries, peaches, melons. That's summer. But then autumn comes. The season changes, the weather gets cooler, the skies get vividly, bright blue and then they get darker. Harvest time draws near, the last chance to collect food before there's nothing available to collect. The birds overhead are migrating, knowing they can't stay here. Winter is coming. The spectacular colors of fall foliage on leaves that will soon flutter to the earth and die reminds us that all glory, all physical glory here is fleeting and temporary, soon to sink back into the earth from which it came. And then comes winter. God speaks a word of cold judgment, of sterile death, long dark nights, winter blasts, nothing growing, no color on the earth, just frozen water, snow, ice, silence. Picture walking through a snowy forest in the winter, you stop and listen and you hear thick, eerie silence, muffled stillness, really a picture of death. But then comes spring. And what does God speak here in my mind as a Christian, but resurrection from the dead. Flower buds on trees ready to burst forth. You got subterranean tulip bulbs ready to emerge from recently hardened snow-covered ground to display radiant and colored life. The warm breezes, delightful fragrances of spring in the air. I especially love budding trees and their different colors. The birds have returned and they chatter and they begin to resume their energetic lives. All of these whisper to the world of a yearning for resurrection from the dead. However, the bodily resurrection from the dead of human beings from the grave must be a specifically revealed truth, revealed in the pages of Scripture not gleaned from nature. For it seems nature speaks ardently against it. The seasons preach, but the Word preaches better. "The bodily resurrection from the dead of human beings from the grave must be a specifically revealed truth, revealed in the pages of Scripture not gleaned from nature. For it seems nature speaks ardently against it. The seasons preach, but the Word preaches better." Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15. We’re going to walk through some portions of this great chapter. Resurrection from the dead is proclaimed truth, it's revealed in the pages of scripture. The doctrine of the resurrection from the dead is a Christian doctrine. Other religions of the world do not teach it. The Greek philosophies that Paul was battling there in ancient Corinth and earlier in ancient Athens respected the idea generally of the immortality of the soul, but they openly mocked Paul on Mars Hill when he spoke of the resurrection from the dead. That's why Paul wrote this great resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15. He is refuting people who are steeped in Greek philosophy, who are saying first that resurrection from the dead is impossible and secondly, that it's undesirable. He begins with the central fact concerning the bodily resurrection from the dead, that Christ is risen. Christ's resurrection is central to the Christian gospel. Look at verses 1 and 2 in this chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, "Now brothers I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preach to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." Christ's death and resurrection are both in fulfillment of prophetic scripture. Look at verse 3 and 4, "For what I received, I passed on to you as a first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures." Paul then goes on to talk about eyewitness proof of the resurrection. Christ appeared first to Peter and then He appeared to the twelve, and then He appeared to more than five hundred eyewitnesses. Paul says most of whom were still alive at the time when he was writing that chapter. They could be summoned to testify to what they saw, eyewitness testimony to the resurrection. Then Christ appeared to James, his biological brother and then again to all the apostles. Then last of all, after a delay of time, to Paul himself. Now these eyewitnesses are effectively summoned here in this chapter by Paul's writings to prove that Christ has risen from the dead. Resurrection from the dead is not only possible, it has happened. Then he addresses the main problem in verse 12, the reason he's writing the chapter, "But if it is preached to Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection from the dead?" That's the key clue on why he's writing this chapter, there were people saying that to them it seemed impossible, actually absurd. That's what I meant when I said nature is against resurrection. Yes, the spring testifies to life from seemingly dead things, and Paul is going to use this analogy in the verses in this chapter I'm going to focus on for this sermon, verses 35-38, of seeds that fall down into the ground and die and then produce life. But specific human beings die and you never see them again. There are absolutely no exceptions, everyone dies. The rich and poor alike, old and young alike, powerful and weak alike, famous and obscure alike. Death seems absolutely unbeatable. All the pharmaceutical research and medical technologies and genetic insights and tailor-made therapies, miracles of modern science, cannot defeat death. They just stave it off temporarily. It's irreversible, once that specific loved one is gone, that person never returns ever. Paul was asked to address this basic concern, death the final enemy, and he faces their false doctrine head on. If resurrection from the dead actually were impossible, then Christ himself has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. We are all still in our sins. We have no way to be forgiven by a holy God. Paul and all Christian apostles and evangelists and missionaries and pastors and teachers and roommates and friends and neighbors that tell you these things are liars. Everyone that has died, they're gone. You will never see them again. Death still reigns, the merciless vicious tyrant it has always been, and Christ is actually no savior at all. Now like Paul, I can't go on long in that vein, that tone, because in verse 20, "But Christ has been raised from the dead." Hallelujah. He's already stated this at the beginning of the chapter, but it's like he can't say it enough. He said it when he first came to Corinth, when he was there in weakness and fear and much trembling, preaching Christ and him crucified. But he didn't just preach Christ and him crucified, he also preached Christ and him resurrected. He preached that simple and clear message. Almighty God sent His son, His only-begotten son; through the Virgin Mary took on a human body. He lived a physical life tempted in all ways just as we are yet was without sin. He did stunning miracles, amazing miracles. He taught amazing teachings, but especially He died in our place on the cross as an atonement for our sins. And on the third day, God raised Him from the dead. Through faith in Jesus Christ, that simple message I've just proclaimed, all of our sins are forgiven and that we ourselves will receive the benefit of Christ's resurrection from the dead. That's why we're singing and so excited and celebrating. It's not just some historical fact, we believe we're singing about our own future this morning. As Jesus said in John 11, "I am the resurrection in the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Paul in this great resurrection chapter says Christ's resurrection is a pattern for all Christians that we will certainly follow. Look again at verse 20, “but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The first fruits is speaking of a vast harvest yet to come. We are in that harvest if we believe in Jesus. All of this makes up the basic good news which Christians all over the world are celebrating today. It is not my purpose to walk verse by verse through this entire chapter, though nothing would please me more. But I'm telling you the sermons already quite long. I tried to shorten it, friends, but get ready, we're going to be here a while. This morning's text is verse 35 through 38, "But someone may ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?' How foolish. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be but just a seed, perhaps a weed or something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined and to each kind of seed, he gives its own body." Paul is addressing objections to the doctrine of resurrection based on the immense practical difficulties of resurrection from the dead. Specifically, how could it happen? What kind of body would we have if we're going to be raised from the dead? It's interesting in verse 36, he answers with a rebuke, "How foolish." It's one of the stranger moments in the chapter, especially because he goes on to answer the question that he rebukes. Why does he say this? Why does he say, "How foolish"? I think it's for this reason. He's addressing the foolishness of a person who thinks that the God who created the universe by the word of His power and sustains it every moment of its existence by the word of His power is not capable of doing this, especially if you can't specifically understand how. That's foolish, Paul's saying. If I can't understand it and if I can't work out the details, then it can't happen. That's a foolish way of thinking. What's foolish is to overturn the clear evidence he's already given that Christ has been raised from the dead, and that it was clearly predicted in the Scriptures and all of that because you can't reason out the practical issues. II. Continuity The fundamental insight in these verses concerning the resurrection body is that of continuity and transformation. I want to focus on those two aspects that Paul's giving us, continuity and transformation. The body that is raised is intimately mystically directly connected to the body that is sown in the ground, but what is raised is infinitely superior to it. Continuity and transformation, what is sown is raised.He uses that powerful image of a seed planted in the earth that gives birth to a beautiful mature plant. The seed that is cast into the earth dies. Verse 36, "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies." You've got this grain of wheat that's cast down into the soil, and the moist soil surrounds the husk of the seed. It goes to work on the seed's husk, it dissolves it. The seed, as you would know it, is gone. You never see it again. But in the mysterious wisdom of God, in the soft kernel, the center of the seed takes over and does its amazing work. There emerges a green shoot from the genetic material, it grows, it pushes out into the surrounding soil. It sucks nutrients and moisture from the soil and it grows surging with energy in life. Then the course of time, a green shoot emerges above the ground poking through the top layer of soil, and on it goes until it's ultimately a mature plant. Now the seed and the plant look different. Verse 37, "When you sow you do not plant the body that will be but just a seed, perhaps a weed or something else." There's no apparent connection between the appearance of the seed and the plant that springs up from it. But there is indisputable continuity between the two. The particular seed planted in the soil results in a specific and corresponding plant. So it is with our mortal bodies. They do not look like what they will be when they're resurrected. The corpse is ugly, it shrivels, stripped of honor. Paul later says it's sown in dishonor. I've been pastor here for twenty-five years. I've seen a lot of dear friends age, get sick and die. From time to time when I would visit some of them in their last days, I could scarcely recognize them as the friend I've known for many years. Their body looks different, physically repulsive in some respects. Their corpses were eventually planted in the ground and we don't know anything after that except that we know that corruption takes over and they look nothing when they're sown in the ground in that dishonored state like the radiant glory that will characterize their resurrection bodies when they emerge from the grave. So we have this concept of continuity. We do not believe that we will be created in our resurrection bodies, “ex nihilo,” out of nothing, as though God speaks and you then exist. That would not be resurrection, that would be an entirely new work, and that's not what this chapter's teaching. There is a determination in the mind and heart of God to raise you up from the grave. There's an unbreakable cord between your present body and what will be raised in the mind and heart of God and the purpose of God and death cannot sever that cord, that tie. That's the doctrine of resurrection. The outward appearance of the seed is misleading. You have to take it by faith. There is no glory in the appearance of a seed unless you're an expert, a horticultural expert. Most of us are not that interested in the appearance of the seed. Have you ever seen a seed packet that shows the seed on the cover, the little picture on the cover? They never show the seed. They never do that. They show you what it's going to be, a geranium, a morning glory, a tulip or maybe some kind of vegetable, a squash or a tomato. It shows a fully formed fruit or vegetable, a flower. If I had a table out here of various seeds and asked you to identify them, you couldn't. Neither could I. Paul addresses these foolish objectors, "How foolish." I've told you the reason why. There is a difference between asking questions and questioning. Asking questions is normal and expected and welcomed in Christianity. We want people to ask questions. That's fine. The Bible's full of answers to those questions. But questioning, now that's a different matter. Questioning means I've already decided this can't happen, I'm going to use the rhetorical technique of asking a series of questions that I don't think there's any good answer to, to prove that it can't happen. That's what's foolish here, questioning. I understand why, because the pragmatic aspects, the practical aspects seem insurmountable. I was reading a sermon that Charles Sturgeon wrote on this text, and it enriched me so much, so many benefits that I got from it, but he was talking about something I didn't know about that I found rather horrifying. In 19th century churches there was frequently a cemetery connected with the church, we have it here in this area from time to time, some of the older Baptist churches. Occasionally it would happen that a plowman would go through a field where there were dead bodies, and the dead bodies had gotten mixed up with manure and fertilizer and got planted and sown on a field. That's creepy. I'm not even going to get into the corn or whatever that grew from that. What ends up happening with all that? That's a problem. We have similar questions. Fiery plane crash, no survivors left, can't even see, identify a body or someone that dies in the ocean and their body's completely disintegrated, that kind of thing, and the molecules break apart. I don't know, atoms, I don't know, gets down to this thing. How could it ever be reassembled? Are not our corpses like the essence of dust in the wind. Once scattered never to be reassembled. But Paul would say, how foolish to think that almighty God can't do it. The omniscient one. The omnipresent one. Have we forgotten that the Bible teaches that God sustains every atom in the universe directly by His power through His son Jesus Christ, that in Him all things hold together [Colossians 1]. God keeps track of innumerable things in the cosmos. Take for example Isaiah 40:26, speaking of the stars, the prophet says, "Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name.” That's an achievement. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Being the geek that I am I googled how many stars are there in the cosmos, and the internet has the answer. Scientists estimate that there may be as many as 10 to the 24th power, stars in the universe. So then I googled, how many atoms are there in a mature human body? It depends how much you weigh, I guess, but the estimate is 1,000 times more atoms in an average human body than there are stars in the cosmos. You're like, that's the breaking point for God. He can keep track of the stars and call them each by name, but he'll lose track of our atoms. Not at all. Numbers are nothing to God. God can do this. Furthermore, we're thinking too simplistically about all this. Is it the exact same molecules that make me up right now? Is that what we're talking about? Seeds don't do that. Seeds draw together things that are not originally in the seed to assemble the final mature body. Take an acorn for example, how much does an acorn weigh and how much does a fully mature oak tree weigh? The answer is 24,000 to 36,000 pounds on average. Where'd all that come from? The seed drew it, and put it together. Then not only that, but what about your own body? Are you the same person you were 10 years ago? You are not, and yet you are. Because medical science tells us that your body's rejuvenating and replacing cells all the time. Your skin cells are replaced every few weeks. In fact, you lose half a billion skin cells every day, which is a little bit gross, but there it is. Then they get replenished with new skin cells, and then there's other cells that take much longer. But I think on average, definitely every 10 years you're different. But if you left this country, said goodbye to your loved ones, your family or friends and went and lived in another country for ten years and came back, they would not see you as an entirely different person, they would recognize you as the same person. You are you even though your cells have been replaced. So that's the concept. The genetic code within your cells is the key to uniqueness as a person. The shape of your nose, your jawline, your eyes, the way the muscles in your face move when you're happy or you're nervous, that is you. The cells that replicate are doing so according to a hidden secret recipe that makes you you. All I can say is it's just an analogy of what I can see with the resurrection from the dead. God knows what you are when He raises you from the dead, and He makes you out of what you were into some radically beautiful new thing that you will be. That's the continuity. God has that recipe for you in His own mind, and He will finish it by raising you from the dead. Spurgeon in that sermon said, the very body in which you sinned and suffered and served Christ will mysteriously be raised, refined and readied for eternal praise to God. That the same body that walked the streets of this dust covered earth will walk the streets of gold in the new Jerusalem. Not only that, not only physical continuity, but I believe a continuity of history and personality and your story, your life story, gets raised with you as well. What you sow, you get. Verses 37-39, "When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be but just a seed perhaps of weed or something else. But God gives it a body as he's determined and to each kind of seed he gives his own body. All flesh is not the same. Men have one kind of flesh, animals another birds, another flesh, another, and star differs from star and glory." If you plant a wheat seed, you're not getting barley. If you plant peas, you don't get avocado. Every plant has its own attributes, and so it is with us. Dear brothers and sisters, we're not identical. We're very, very similar, but we're not identical. We have marks as faces and features, but we also have a life that we lived and there's just a combination. I think it's perfected in the wounds of Jesus that was still in His resurrection body afterwards, very uniquely so because I don't believe we'll bear any wounds from things we suffered here on earth, but Jesus did just to show He is the one, the very one that was crucified, He was the one that was raised. As He said to doubting Thomas, "Touch me and see. Put your fingers in, your nail marks, hands in the sides." There's continuity there of what He did. Christian martyrs will retain their lineage. I don't believe their wounds, but their lineage. Those that serve Christ in certain ways, it will be remembered and honored in Heaven and we will celebrate it. We all have a unique history, a story. Peter isn't raised Paul, and Isaiah is not raised as Daniel. There are backstories that come with those resurrected bodies. Forever we're going to be celebrating each other's honors as though they were our own as 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, "If one part is honored, the whole body, every part rejoices with it." That's a beautiful concept, isn't it? You're going to be celebrating your brothers and sisters honors as though they were your own and that's a beautiful thing. III. Transformation What about transformation? The corpse that is sown into the earth is sown in dishonor and weakness. Paul says this in verse 43, "Death strips the human body of all its honor. It doesn't appear fearfully and wonderfully made anymore, aging is bad enough as beauty and strength and skill erode gradually over the years. How much more the dishonor done to the corpse after the soul has fled?" Microbes and parasites devour it and degradation, Mary said of her dead brother Lazarus, "There's a bad odor for he's been there for four days like a rotting piece of meat." Despite the fact that human beings were originally created in the image of God, sin and death more than merely deface that image, but not so the resurrected body. It is raised in radiant glory and limitless power. It is raised in corruptible, imperishable, immortal. Those are all opposite words. Can't corrupt, can't perish, can't die, impossible. The glory the resurrection body has at the first moment will never fade. One thousand ages, won't dim the resurrected eye or weaken the resurrected arm, everlasting youth and vigor, beauty and vitality. You are dust, into dust you shall return, then you'll be bodily spirit and spiritual body. Work that one out, but a perfect union between your body and your spirit forever. The beauty of the body and of the soul and of the mind and the heart. Perfect forever, perfect form, perfect color, perfect shape, details radiantly beautiful. Your heart, as I mentioned, will be transformed as well. "The glory the resurrection body has at the first moment will never fade. … a perfect union between your body and your spirit forever." This has already happened to the saints that have departed and left their bodies behind. They're called absent from the body, present with the Lord. But they are the spirits of righteous men made perfect. Their hearts are already perfect and what that means is they'll never have an evil thought again, a sinful thought. They're already perfectly worshiping God and so it'll be with us, our hearts will burn with a zeal for the glory of God and burn with love for each other in that perfected world. I picture the cherubim in Ezekiel's vision, Ezekiel 1, likened to creatures on fire. Isaiah 6 calls them seraphim, meaning “burning ones”. They're moving rapidly back and forth amongst themselves, our passionate service and worship to God. Ezekiel 1:13-14, "The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures. It was bright and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.” So will our minds and hearts be on fire for Christ and for God. Boredom and mental fogginess and dullness and forgetfulness will be banished forever. We will have sharp minds and ardent hearts, we will be conformed to Christ, that's it, in absolute perfection. Look at verse 49, "And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." And Romans 8:29 says, "Those whom God for knew he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Conformed to the image of his son. And what is that? Revelation 1:16, "His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance," conformed to that. IV. Rich illustrations of Our Resurrection As I was reading the Spurgeon sermon, I thought I might need some illustrations, and he gave me many. That's why the sermon was like an hour long when I practiced it some time ago. The illustrations are helpful and I love that. I don't think any preacher that I've ever read in history has been so good at illustrating as Charles Spurgeon. He said illustrations are like in the architecture of a sermon like windows that lead in light and color. He gave us these beautiful illustrations. Let me start with a ramshackle home. Picture a ramshackle cottage broken down with its beams and rafters rotten and its roof partially caved in. It allows rain to flow into the kitchen. The windows are small and dark and soot covered, they barely allow any light into the tiny sullen cottage. The walls are covered with moss, mold, mildew, there's a smell of rottenness about the premises. The inhabitant of the house, picture him as an invalid man who rents this dilapidated house, but he can't leave the residence. People who pass by often hear this poor man sigh and groan, “Wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this dead cottage.” did But one day the landlord of the property comes and invites the man to leave. In fact, he orders some strong man men to carry this man to his mansion. There he lives and eats and drinks and gets very strong. In the meantime, by the order of the master, the wretched cottage is pulled down, it's razed to the very ground, and from that material and others, a new dwelling is in its place. It now has slabs of marble. It's decorated with gemstone. It has vast windows on all sides and allows a spectacular view of light and color to flood in. It has a roof of jasper that glistens in the sunlight. It's almost blinding to look at. Then the master invites the man to come to his new dwelling, but not as a renter. He's going to live in it forever now. He owns it. What incredible joy comes on this man when he sees the new dwelling in which he will live, and to find that he's no longer a temporary renter, but now a permanent owner of that magnificent house, and that makes his joy perfect and complete. So it is with your body. It's like a clay house tumbling down, broken down, temporary. Your soul's groaning within, yearning to be set free and come into its true, eternal dwelling place, a body in which you'll live forever, holy, incorruptible, radiantly beautiful, staggeringly powerful, illustration number one. How about number two? A beggar invited into a feast. Picture a beggar walking down the street past the mansion of the mayor of London. He's wearing tattered clothes that flap in the winter's gale. He shivers. He seeks to pull what's left of his wretched garments around his shivering frame, but it barely covers him. His shoes are barely staying on his frozen feet. They have holes in them. His hat is ugly and offers neither good style nor protection from the elements. He pulls it down over his ears, but it does little. Meanwhile, he hears inside the great house of the mayor of London, a vast throng of people feasting, laughing, talking, drinking, sitting, singing fellowshipping, but he knows he would never be fit to go in there. Suddenly though, a servant comes out from the mansion and invites him to follow. You watch as this happens. He brings him into a small dark house just outside the mansion. You stand outside watching, waiting, trying to see what's going to happen. After a while, the servant comes out with it seems another man. No, you squint, you look and sure enough, you're stunned in amazement, it is the original beggar but now he's washed, he's cleansed. His hair is perfectly clean and orderly. His face is shining. But also he's clothed in the official attire of the mayor of London. He's wearing a purple robe with the mayor's own crest on it. He has a crown of honor on his head and a golden belt around his waist. He's happy and ready to enter the banqueting hall, confident that he's welcome there. You're amazed and you wonder what was that and from that grave comes bodies fitted in glory for eternal feasting in the banquet hall of the king of kings and the lord of the universe. The guests of the banquet go into that small sepulcher as filthy beggars and they come out robed in splendor ready to feast with God forever. The third third illustration is an old battered cup, a metal cup, battered, filthy. It has a sordid history, this cup, of pouring drink down the throats of pirates and villains. The cup is corroded, it's misshapen, it's got jagged edges. It’s even got some holes from which liquid leaks out continually. No one can tell what kind of metal it was made from, it's that ugly. It's thrown into a pile on the dump and there corrodes further in the elements forgotten in the darkness. But after a while, a skilled hand rummages around, picks it up, looks at it, carries it with honor into the workshop. The metal is crushed entirely, pounded with overwhelming force until not a single particle is left connected with the rest. Then the pieces are gathered together, put into the refiner's fire. It's perfectly melted. A liquid metal glows and is poured into a mold. A magnificent chalice takes shape glowing of the most precious metal. It's shaped with perfect balance to meet its final purpose. It's adorned with precious gems and polished to a high shine and put into the hand of the king. It's a vessel of honor. Could it be the same cup? Well, yes and no. It is the same cup, but it's infinitely and perfectly transformed and it's carried with great ceremony and put into the hands of king Jesus. There He fills it and drinks from it and uses it as He sees fit for all eternity. We will be active and used in the new heaven, new earth. So it will be with the resurrection of the body. We who are useless to the king through sin and death become vessels of radiant mercy, fit for the hand of the king for all eternity. V. Applications What applications can we take from this meditation? First, by faith based on the Scripture, not the seasons, but the Scripture, believe in this joyful good news. Believe that Christ has been raised from the dead. Christ's resurrection is our glory. It is our hope. It is our eternal joy. Therefore, do not fear death. If you're a Christian, the best things, all your best things are yet to come. It doesn't matter how good and delightful your life in this mortal body has been up to this point. All of your best things are yet to come. You should be filled with hope. You should be overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, [Romans 15:13]. Enjoy the lessons of nature, look at the budding trees, see how they scream resurrection, but just say resurrection is clearly taught in the Bible. And believe it. Believe it. Christ lives and so shall we. Christ's resurrection body is the first fruits of a vast harvest. You, my dear friend, will be included if you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and no other way. Have you repented of your sins? Have you trusted in Christ? Have you believed in this story, this gospel message? Do you know that your sins are forgiven? Spurgeon in his sermon ended with a very heavy and serious warning. He knew that on Easter Sunday people come, guests come who don't usually come to church. I know that too. I'm so glad, if you're in that category, if you're in the category of “I don't usually go to church, I was invited here,” I'm glad that you're here to listen to this message. The joyful message that we celebrate as Christians, resurrection, is only a benefit to those who are Christians, those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ. It’s not for everybody. The Bible does teach a general resurrection, but is radically different for the wicked, for unbelievers. In John 5:28-29, Jesus said, "Do not be amazed at this. For a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to live. And those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." Condemned. The same bodies that unrepented sinners used to sin will be the bodies in which they will be eternally judged by the wrath of God. Those bodies will exist only to complete God's righteous judgment against all those who use their bodies to rebel against his commands and serve themselves and their own lusts and pleasures and never repented of that and trusted in Christ. This is a dreadful teaching, but it is true. God is absent from hell in the sense of blessing, but He is present there in His power to sustain it. Jesus said, "The worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." So be warned. John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." So flee to Christ. Flee to Christ while there's time. Spurgeon finished his sermon with these words, "Oh my dear hearers, I cannot bear to stay on this somber subject for long. But let me finish with this word of hope. Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus shall be saved. This means you, poor man, though perhaps you were drunk last night and scarcely got up time enough to come here this morning. If you believe you will be saved. This means you, poor woman, sinner though you may be. If you cast yourself on Christ, you will be saved. This means you, respectable man, moral man, though you have been trusting in your own morality and your own works up till now, if you trust entirely in Christ, you will be saved. But not if you trust in yourself. Oh, I plead with you, be wise and look to the lamb who died on the cross. See him as he rises from the dead, as ascends to Heaven, believing in him, receive the hope of eternal life and the assurance of a blissful resurrection in him to eternal life." Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the time that we've had to study this joyful topic today. We thank you for the incredible good news that Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our eternal joy. Help us to trust in him, it's only by faith in Jesus that we become partakers of this beautiful resurrection body. So I pray that you would work that gospel message now in the hearts of every person who hears me now. In Jesus' name, Amen.

That optimistic springtime vibe always happens in April. And Aries is mostly responsible for it. Until the 19th, we are still in the Aries season. Aries is known as the first spark of life. And that spark becomes even more intense this week.  From tomorrow through the 25th, Mercury will be retrograde in Aries. On Thursday, Venus enters Aries for the month. Then, the most intense event of the year—the Total Solar Eclipse in Aries—occurs next week on Thursday, the eighth. To say this week will be intense would be an understatement. You're not alone if you feel anxious, unsettled, agitated, or can't sleep. The weight of the world feels heavier right now. With Mercury Retrograde in Aries, it's important to think before speaking and not jump to conclusions. Aries is well known for its fiery, explosive, and passionate energy. It is the “god of war,” after all. Occasionally, this intensity can result in severe tantrums. With Mercury involved, this will show up as a miscommunication. Double-check your text messages and emails and think before speaking to avoid saying something that you may regret later. The energy is building this week leading up to the Solar Eclipse. Allow extra time and build wiggle room in your schedule. Rest, reflection, and emergency naps are recommended. Make time to process everything that's coming up. We are in the thick of a powerful, transformative eclipse season. When Mercury retrogrades, it helps us rethink whether this is the direction we want our lives to go. Changes are rarely made when things are peaceful, simple, and going well. We often get our biggest epiphanies about things stirred up and we're knocked off course. Allow yourself to marvel at the magic of life this week, And laugh. The best way through is with a sense of humor and plenty of laughter.   Shop my 5th Anniversary Sale at https://www.abundology.com/schedule  

Valentines Day Letdowns By regularguy13 – listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Aunt regrets stealing his virginity. She makes it right Thursday night, Feb 13th Harvey Fielding, the aged patriarch of the family stood and looked out with pride at the group sitting around the dinner table. Three generations were present. With him, were his daughter, daughter-In-law, and their remaining families. Harvey's wife was not with them. Unfortunately, she had passed away. So had his son, Harvey junior. They were at his daughter-in-law's house in Richmond, Virginia. Meadow was a widowed woman with a single child. Her daughter, Wendy, was twenty and a sophomore at Randolph-Macon College. Meadow was an only child of two deceased parents. She was raising Wendy, the patriarch's beloved granddaughter.Sitting across from them was his daughter, Breeze, and her family: her husband, Bill and their son, Arlo. The group had enjoyed a good meal. Harvey Fielding said, "I stand here a proud and happy man. These get-togethers are too short and too infrequent." His family murmured their agreement. He continued, "Congratulations Meadow, on being recognized by the National Association of Women Lawyers for the mentoring program you run for high school girls." My departed wife and son, God rest their souls; would be so proud, as would your own departed parents.  You are truly a daughter to me. Everyone raised their glass and congratulated her. Then Harvey said, "Congratulations to Arlo for his scholarship to my favorite school, Randolph-Macon College. If I say so myself, it is an excellent institution of higher learning. I am pleased that you're planning to major in my favorite field; Philosophy and Ethics." Breeze laughed and said good-naturedly, "Father, it looks like you won. Arlo has your temperament. I tried to develop his artistic side, but he has not found his creative art talents yet."  With a mentor like you, he will go far in his studies. "Wendy caught that bug," Meadow said with a laugh. "Maybe you and I were supposed to trade kids." Breeze was a talented artist. She inherited that skill from her mother & father. Like her mother, Breeze could draw, paint and sculpt. She and Bill earned their living selling the art they produced. Harvey dramatically lowered his voice and said, "Arlo, happy as I am that you'll be joining your cousin Wendy at R-MC, unfortunately, I have to report that the quality of the teaching staff there has diminished significantly recently." He was kidding and everyone knew it. They all laughed. He had retired from the college last year after thirty years of teaching philosophy and ethics. Meadow met Harvey junior as college students. Meadow had been a great student in Professor Fielding's classes. She still credit's her philosophy & ethics training for making her a more forceful and persuasive courtroom litigator. He waited for the laughter to die and then said, "And lastly, let us say bon voyage to our travelers. Breeze and Bill are off tomorrow for a well-deserved, ten-day vacation to St. Bart's. While they are having fun in the sun, the rest of us will be suffering through a cold and dreary Virginia February." Breeze said, "I'll send you all photos from the warm and sunny Caribbean." "No thanks," Harvey chirped. "I don't need to see pictures of you two, naked." The family laughed. Bill and Breeze were artists, but they weren't free spirits. Everyone knew them to be serious, shy, quiet souls. They would never frolic naked on a beach or anywhere else for that matter. Harvey waited until he had everyone's attention and then he said, "I will close the night with a quote from a brilliant philosopher." He raised his glass and said, "To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to all the world's problems. At least so says Homer Simpson." Cheers and laughter broke out. Everyone raised their glass and drank. After the meal, Bill and Breeze said their goodbyes. They had to catch an early flight out of Baltimore-Washington Airport and they were spending the night at a hotel near the airport. Breeze hugged her boy and said, "Enjoy the tour of the campus and sitting in on some classes. Promise me you will talk to the other students." She looked concerned. "Ah Mom," Arlo whined. Arlo took after his parents. He too was a shy person. He was naturally quiet, but it was more than that, he was awkward around people and uncomfortable to engage with them. He was not a "people person" and had never had a lot of friends. His behavior was partly due to his timid nature. His upbringing also contributed to his demeanor. When he was young, he only had limited opportunities to interact with other children. He hadn't attended regular school. He was home schooled. His parents taught him what they thought was necessary, and let classic books supplement their efforts. He became a big reader and gravitated to ethics because it was a field of study that suited his nature. He could read and think and pursue it alone. Arlo's opportunity to connect with other kids was hurt by his family's nomadic lifestyle. The family was forced to move to follow artistic projects. He was always the new kid in town and he often moved before anyone got to know him or he got to know them. His parents prayed he would outgrow his shyness. They hoped that college would be that time. Wendy was the next person to say her goodbyes. She was returning to school. "Bye Mom," Wendy said. "My sorority is having an event." Meadow knew that was code for ‘I have a party to go to'. She was fine with that. Wendy was a good girl and she kept her grades up. However, she felt they should give her nephew an opportunity to attend the party. She said, "Wendy, why don't you take Arlo with you?" Wendy was planning to hook up with her boyfriend. She didn't want to be stuck with her nerdy cousin. However, she knew she couldn't object outright. She decided to roll the dice and invite him. She was betting his shy nature would cause him to decline. "Arlo," Wendy asked brightly. "Would you like to go? There's a party tonight. Lots of people will be there." Arlo started to sweat. Crowds and parties scared him. He stammered as he responded, "Ah. Ah. No, thank you. Gramps and I were planning to discuss ethics." Wendy smiled. She was happy her plan had worked and she when off to the party unencumbered. Meadow cleaned up and headed off to bed. It had been a long day for her. Harvey and Arlo had an enjoyable time discussing philosophy and ethics. Harvey played the role of Socratic professor. During their conversation, he asked, "Arlo, what does it mean to be good." Arlo spoke clearly. “First one must settle his convictions of what ‘good' is.” He was comfortable talking to his grandfather and very comfort talking about ethics. He gave the textbook answer. "To be honest, courageous, respectful and concerned about others. To be a good citizen. Obey just laws, protect what is under your care, be informed and be involved with society." "Why should we strive to live by these standards?" the old professor asked. "Our world would be unpleasant and chaotic if we didn't. We'd be miserable if everyone lied and cheated and was mean to each another. If people acted on their baser instincts of greed and self-interest, we couldn't build a functioning society. It is noble to sacrifice for the greater good of others" "Do you believe the goals of humans are joy, happiness, and contentment and the best way to achieve these goals is ethical behavior?" Arlo nodded. "I agree also," Harvey said. "Now, how do we get there?" They discussed different versions of ethical theory. Arlo was a proponent of one theory. His Grandfather favored another. Harvey summed up his argument this way. He said, "As you know, in consequential ethics, the outcome determines the morality of the act." Arlo interjected, "For you, the end justifies the mean. Do you really believe there are no standards of behavior that should be upheld?" "Yes and no," Harvey conceded. "The thing that makes an action right or wrong is the consequences of the action. Being truthful is a noble goal, but I believe it is okay to lie sometimes." "But a lie is a lie," Arlo stated. For him, everything was black or white; idealistic. "Yes, a lie is a lie," Harvey agreed. "But a lie can be a good thing. Consider this scenario, an overweight wife asks her husband if her butt is too big. Which is the better choice? If he's truthful and says "Yes, dear. You're fat." He hurt her feelings. If he lies and says, "No. You look fine." She is happy and believe me, it increases the husband's happiness too." "That's an innocent lie," Arlo pointed out. "You need to be truthful about significant things." "Like life or death issues?" "Certainly." Harvey said, "What would you do in this circumstance? A criminal breaks into your home. He demands to know if anyone else in the house?. You know your mother is upstairs. Do you tell him? Or do you attempt to protect her and say 'I'm the only one here.'" "I lie to protect my mother," Arlo answered. "Exactly," Harvey said. "It is acceptable, I would argue necessary at times, to break the moral code to be moral. The essence of morality is determined by the outcome of the act. One cannot blindly follow a set of precepts and expect to achieve good results." Arlo said, "You make a good argument for your system, but I still have problems with it. Many people believe in God and follow the Ten Commandments. That is a good thing for them and society. They would say you are replacing God's law with man's judgment. Religious people won't like that. And considering the nature of man, won't a man always find a way to justify his behavior? "And isn't it a better, simpler and faster method of moral behavior to have standards and to live by them? I can see the world grinding to a halt as we all say 'Time out. I need to do a moral calculation of all my possible actions to see which is best for the greatest number of people.'" Harvey laughed and said, "This is exactly why I find ethics so fascinating. Lying is bad. You should strive to always tell the truth unless the situation dictates that a lie is the better choice. You should follow God's laws except when you know better. The end justifies the mean except when it causes you to break some moral code." Harvey smiled good-naturedly and said, "Another reason I find Ethics so fascinating is because it is the perfect excuse to argue and drink; two of my favorite things." Harvey stood and finished his drink. He was impressed with his grandson's grasp of the subject and his intellect. He leaned in close so Meadow couldn't hear from the other room. "Arlo, I'll leave you with one more question that may push you to my side. If the tip of your dick is resting on the labia of a beautiful and willing female, would you lie to her so both of you could enjoy out of this world sex? "Let's say she pauses and asks if you love her. What are you going to say? "In my scenario, you like her, but you aren't in love with her. If you are completely honest, you and she miss out on a wonderful experience. You deny each other the joy of great sex.” Arlo said with confidence. "Ethics is about good and evil, right and wrong. If the goal of your actions is the greatest good for the greatest number, then you must lie and fuck her. To needlessly uphold a rigid, abstract standard in this situation serves no purpose, correct?" Harvey walked away. He grabbed his coat and returned to his house. Arlo went to bed. He laid on the floral sheets and pondered the last question his grandfather put to him. His dick was hard and thought the answer was obvious. Friday, February 14th Aunt Meadow and Arlo had breakfast together. She said, "Today's the big day. So, you're going to sit in on some classes?" He nodded to avoid speaking. They left at the same time. He went to the college to tour the campus and she went to prosecute a child molester. Arlo returned to this Aunt's house late-afternoon. No one was there. He watched television. "Indiana Jones, you rock," Arlo said. He had just watched the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark". It was his favorite movie. In his dreams, he was the handsome, swashbuckling hero. He won the girl and saved the day. In real life, he was a shy eighteen-year-old who was awkward around people and especially timid and nervous around females. Needless to say, he didn't date and he was a virgin. He walked into the bathroom and said, "I love indoor plumbing." He peed in the toilet, flushed and said, "Why do my parents put up with a smelly, camper toilet when if we lived like normal people we could all use this wonderful, hygienic device?" Since his parents moved frequently to work on commissioned art project, they lived in a camper that they pulled by an SUV. "How about a shower?" he asked rhetorically. He answered himself continuing to talk out loud. "That sounds good. A nice, long, hot shower. Another marvelous experience denied to trailer people." Arlo undressed. He dropped his clothes in a pile on the floor. He said, "Oh. They have a hamper." He left his clothes on the floor and went to the wicker container. He flipped open the top. He saw a sexy black, lacy bra and a pair of panties. "Whoa!" He picked up the bra. He had never seen something so beautiful, so sexy, and certainly never on a live girl. He was not the kind of guy who could seduce a woman. None of his mother's bras were like this one. She was a petite woman with small breasts. She usually didn't bother with one because she didn't need to. If she wore one, they were soft, stretchy bandeau tube style bras. Functional. Not sexy. "36C," he snickered as he read the label. "She certainly is the big aunt." He examined the cups and fingered the lace. His dick got hard thinking about the soft flesh that filled them. Next, he picked up the underwear. It also had lace and was alluring. He studied it and did the unthinkable. He brought the crotch to his nose and sniffed. "Oh! Um." He was overwhelmed with the acrid, musky odor of a woman. His dick twitched and grew hard. He said, "Aunt Meadow wore these! This is her scent." He held the panties to his nose with his left hand and stroked his dick with his right. "Umm," he groaned breathing deeply. He looked around for something to use as a lubricant. He spied hand lotion on the counter by the sink. He pumped a large amount on his hand and masturbated. He sniffed the panties, stroked his cock and kept thinking about how this article of clothing had been pressed up against a woman's cunt. "Oh! Oh! God!" he called out as he came in the sink. He dropped the panties and gripped the counter for support as he jacked off into the basin. "Oh! Fuck," he cried as the last of his spunk landed in the sink. His heart was pounding and his breathing was ragged. He rested a bit and then turned on the tap and cleaned up. He sent his cum down the drain. He returned the sexy underwear to the dirty clothes hamper and hopped in the shower. He shampooed his hair and scrubbed his body hard. He was trying to wash away the sin of masturbation made worse by sniffing his Aunt's soiled underwear. Hours later, Meadow shouted, "Hello, Arlo" as she entered her home. Arlo had been reading a book. He stood and silently greeted his Aunt. She came into the family room and asked, "Did you have a good day? Did you find a way to amuse yourself?" she asked with a warm smile. Arlo blushed. Immediately, he thought, "Oh God! It's like she knows I beat off while sniffing her panties". He was embarrassed and stuttered as he answered her, "Ah. Ah. Yes." He held up his book and said, "Um. I find a good book is always good company." "Yes. We all would be better off if we read more." She looked at her watch and said, "Oh. I have to hurry. I have a date tonight. It's Valentine's Day, but of course, you know that. Will you be okay on your own?" "Yes. I'll order a pizza." Meadow dashed off to shower and changed. Meadow stood in front of the mirror and debated whether she should put on a bra. She wasn't wearing one under her favorite red slinky dress. Her hard nipples pressed obscenely against the clingy fabric. The contours of her areolas and her tight peaks were visible. She decided to be risqué tonight and let the girls be free. "Good thing I have my cashmere wrap," she chuckled. She didn't mean her bare shoulders would need to be covered. She knew that without a bra and wearing this slinky dress, her nipples would be visible to everyone all night. She brought the warp in case she lost her nerve. She slipped on her highest heels, threw the wrap over her arm and walked out of her bedroom. She encountered Arlo. His eyes grew wide as he viewed her. The dress was hot. Her braless breasts were lewd. The way her nipples were visible through the dress was scandalous. His eyes were riveted to her chest. "Wow! That's some dress," he said. "Too much?" she asked. Seeing his expression caused her to re-think her decision to forego the bra. "No. Gorgeous. Beautiful. I was just thinking if you are going to wear that dress you should come with a warning label." "Ahem," he cleared his throat and then did his best Bette Davis imitation, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." Meadow laughed and said, "Good. It's Valentine's Day. A time to be flirty and sexy. I loved your impression of Bette Davis! I'm surprised you'd know a line from a movie made before you were born." "Um," he shyly admitted, "I don't have many friends. I spend a lot of time with classic movies and books." "Oh." She felt sorry for him. The clock on the mantel chimed. She said, "I need to go." She draped the wrap over her shoulders. Arlo helped her put on her coat and she left to meet her boyfriend for dinner. She drove to the fancy restaurant where she and Ted had agreed to meet. She had a drink and then another while she waited. She called him numerous times and got no answered. She became worried. Ted was a responsible person, a wealthy, well-respected attorney. It was out of character for him to stand her up. "Maybe some thing's happened," she told herself after waiting an hour. She decided to go to his home. She pulled up to his house and walked to the front door. "That's odd. The door is open," she said. She let herself in. She heard noises coming from the den and headed that way. She entered the room and was shocked by what she saw. Her boyfriend was naked and stretched out on the sofa. There were two naked women in the room with him. Their appearance screamed crack whore. The women were gaunt, bags of bones. Their sorry, empty tits sagged down their chest. Meadow looked at their unkempt hair and the dark circles under their eyes and wondered when was the last time they had combed their hair or slept. One woman was snorting cocaine off the glass coffee table and the other was sucking on her boyfriend's dick. "Ted!" Meadow shouted. "What's going on?" "We, we're having a party," he slurred. "Help yourself to some blow." "What?" Meadow screamed. She'd never seen her boyfriend do drugs and certainly not behave like this. Ted laughed. "I got fired today. They discovered I was embezzling money from the firm. I bought some cocaine and decided to get high. I met these two ladies and we've been fucking and snorting for hours. Join us." Meadow was shocked and disgusted. She turned around without saying another word and drove home. The Refuge "Keep the change," Arlo mumbled to the pizza delivery guy. He watched television as he ate his dinner. “9:00, let's see if we can find a good movie, other than sappy chick-flicks” Meadow burst through the door. Arlo went to investigate because he wasn't expecting anyone to come home at this hour. "Oh. It's you, Aunt Meadow," he said. He saw that she'd been crying. A normal person would have asked, "Is everything okay?". Arlo wasn't normal. He didn't ask. She ripped her coat off. The shawl came off with it. She said angrily, "Worse Valentine's Day ever." She kicked off her shoes and bent over at the hips to pick them up. She leaned over so far that Arlo saw her big brown nipples. She showed no hint of caring that she'd flashed her tits to her nephew. She had too many other things on her mind. She marched off quickly to her bedroom. "Whoa. Nipples," Arlo said to himself. That was a first for him. He'd seen pictures of women's breasts but never had he seen an actual one. It gave him a chubby. When she returned. Meadow had a royal blue robe on over her flannel sleeping gown. Her feet were covered by slipper socks. The terry cloth material kept her feet warm and it had a rubber sole. Her faced was scrubbed clean of makeup and her hair tied back into a ponytail. She ignored Arlo and headed straight to the kitchen. She mumbled, "I need a drink." She fixed herself a stiff drink. She downed half of it and refilled her glass. She sat at the kitchen table and brooded about the evening. Arlo could see she was upset. He stayed away giving her a wide berth. Occasionally, he'd turn his head and check on her. When he glanced her way, he saw her sitting at the kitchen table talking to herself and drinking. "Cocaine?" Meadow said. She was appalled by her boyfriend's drug use. Ex-boyfriend. She took a drink. "I've never seen him take drugs," she mused and tossed down the glass and then re-filled it. "Whores? Two prostitutes!" Meadow said. She was disgusted. She guzzled more alcohol. "I gave him my body. I sucked his cock and he cheats on me with two crack whores," she lamented. "He never called to cancel our date. Bastard." Meadow finished her drink and got another. "The bum kept me sitting in the restaurant." She gulped a large amount. "Everyone there knew I had been stood up." She sipped heartily on the whiskey. "I felt like a fool." She drained the glass and got another. "I cared for him!" she wailed. She swallowed her drink. The alcohol burned her throat as it went down. Tears fell from her eyes. Arlo heard his Aunt crying. He ignored her for a long time, but even he was moved by her sobbing. Finally, he went to her and asked, "Wha, what's the matter?" "You mean besides wasting six months of my life dating an embezzler and drug user?" She reached for the bottle to top off her drink and knocked it over. "Fuck!" she cried out and reached for the bottle. Arlo picked up the bottle. She wrenched it out of his hand. When she did, the bottle flew up and hit Arlo in the face. "Ouch," he cried out. He wrestled the bottle away from her. He set the bottle on the counter out of his Aunt's reach. His eye hurt. He rubbed it gently. He said, "Aunt Meadow, don't you think you've had enough?" "I'll be the judge of that," she slurred. She stood and tried to go through Arlo to get to the liquor. She pummeled and scratched him. Arlo was only an average size guy, but he easily stopped her. She was drunk, unsteady and uncoordinated. "Let me by!" she demanded. Arlo stood his ground. Meadow tried to pass him on one side than the other. Then, she stopped. Arlo had been sliding left and right to block her. He hoped her lack of movement meant she'd given up. Meadow looked up at him. She didn't look well. She wasn't well. She hurled. Vomit poured out of her. It splattered on Arlo's face and chest. Some went down his shirt and on his pants. "Oh God!" Arlo cried as he was hit with puke. The sight and putrid smell made him throw up. He raised his hands to block it. His vomit hit his hands and ricocheted onto his arms and shirt. It then dripped down on his pants and the floor. He was a smelly mess. He wanted to leave. He wanted to scream at his aunt, but just  then his own words, “It's noble to sacrifice for the good of others” came back to him, along with the mental image of his grandfather's approving, proud smile. Miraculously, Aunt Meadow was unsoiled. However, she was still drunk and still unsteady. She lost her balance and fell into Arlo. She hugged him to keep from falling over. It didn't work. They both ended up on the floor, rolling around and getting covered in the smelly, slimy puke. Meadow freaked out. She shouted, "Take me to the bathroom! I have to get this off me!" Arlo led the filthy, unsteady woman to the bathroom. "Oh God! The smell!" Meadow complained. She ripped off her robe. She stood there in her nightgown and slurred, "Ya. Y'alls a mess, too. We need tah get them dirty clothes offa ya." She began undressing her nephew. Arlo agreed. The smell was sickening. She helped him remove his shirt and pants. They both tossed their stinky clothing into a the open hamper. He stripped until he was down to his underwear. "Eya stinks. Eyes needs a shaw were," Meadow said. She went to the shower and turned the water on. While she waited for the warm water, she pulled her gown over her head. She was too drunk to do this safely. The gown got stuck when it was half way off. She wasn't wearing anything underneath. Arlo stared at her bare ass. She swayed as she struggled to escape the nightgown. Arlo moved in closed and held her hips. As he feared, she toppled over. He caught her and took a hard elbow to the body. "Pull it off," Meadow demanded. Arlo steadied her with one hand around her waist and used his other hand to pull the nightgown off. He tossed it aside. Meadow cared not a whit that she was naked. Her focus was on getting clean. She stepped into the shower, turning the water on and adjusted the water's temperature. Arlo was right behind her keeping her from falling. Arlo said to himself, ‘Wow. She's naked. Her skin is so soft. I didn't expect a woman in her forties to be this attractive. Meadow lost her balance again and Arlo had to catch her. He wrapped both arms around her to keep her upright. One arm met her breasts. She didn't notice or care. She said nothing about it. Arlo was nervous and scared. He expected to be berated at any moment for touching her boobs. His face blushed bright red. His mind screamed, ‘You're so dead for touching her boobs. She's going to scream at you and tell Mom'. She stood in the stream of warm water. When she didn't say anything, Arlo allowed himself to think about her breasts. He thought, ‘Her boobs are awesome. So big. So soft. Her nipples are sticking out obscenely.'. Her bare rump was pressed against his groin and his dick grew hard. She fidgeted and he had to adjust his grip on her nude body. A hand cupped her right breast. Her head turned to him and he expected the worst. "I'm dirty. I ma need a shower," she said with the simplicity of a six-year-old. Her words stunned him. It took a moment for him to respond. "Aunt Meadow, I'm worried you'll fall if I let go of you." She looked down at the arms around her as if just noticing them; then looked back at him. He had vomit on him. She wrinkled her nose and said, "You smell bad." She turned around and luxuriated in the spray and let the water beat down on her foggy skull. Arlo used this time to study and marvel at her body. This was the first nude woman he'd ever seen. His dick tented his wet shorts. She rinsed all traces of the vomit off her body. Arlo stood behind her. He kept his hands on her to make sure she didn't fall. What he saw astounded him. "She beautiful," he thought as he gazed at her. He loved everything about her. Her long, slender neck leading to her bare back fascinated him. He studied the soft curve of her shoulders and the indentation in the center of her back where her spinal column was. He loved how her broad shoulders swept down to a narrow waist and delightfully flared out at the hips. She had a plump womanly ass. Her back was tanned. Surprisingly, her bottom was too. ‘She suntans in the nude. Cool,' Arlo thought. He stepped back to get a complete view. She had firm thighs, slender calves, and small feet. Her dainty toenails were painted fire engine red. Beautiful. Meadow grabbed the shampoo, squeezed some into her hand and turned about as she worked it into her hair. "Oh!" Arlo gasped. She kept her eyes closed while she worked the shampoo through her hair and thoroughly scrubbed. She didn't seem to care that he was seeing her naked. Arlo studied her front quickly in case this was his only chance. He checked her face to be sure her eyes were still closed. He noticed she had a round face, a thin nose, and full lips. Quickly his eyes stared at her breasts. They sagged. The nipples faced East and West, but he didn't care. They looked wonderful to him. ‘Fuck! This is unbelievable.' Arlo thought. ‘Look at her big tits bounce and shake. She has huge, hard nipples'. His internal conversation continued, ‘God! Look at her cunt. That hair is jet black. The hair on her head is brown. I can see her vulva!' Streams of water ran down her fully tanned, fit body. The water cascaded over her breasts, across her stomach and flattened and separated her pubic hair as it ran down her body. Arlo could see her thick vaginal lips through the soaked, parted hair. Arlo kept his hands on her hips as his eyes devoured her body. It was the first naked woman he'd seen in the flesh and it was as hot and exciting as he'd imagine. Meadow washed and rinsed her hair and then casually washed her body. Arlo hard cock lurched when she soaped her breasts. He almost came when she touched her ass and cunt thoroughly swabbed her most intimate parts. Meadow was in her own world as she scrubbed her body. After she rinsed off, she opened her eyes. They brightened in recognition that Arlo was in the shower too. She wasn't self-conscious about her nudity. In a matter of fact way, she said, "Let's gets y'all cleaned too." She reached out and began washing his upper body. She smirked when she noticed he was in the shower with his underwear on. "This won't do," she said. She pulled his shorts off and giggled when his erection popped into view. She grabbed it and began washing it. "Someone's grown up," she purred. "Ah. Ah," Arlo stammered. "You don't have to do that," he said embarrassed. She grasped his dick, stroked him and asked, "Are you sure you want me to stop?" Arlo was too scared and nervous to speak, but he prayed she'd ignore his protestations. She looked into his eyes and saw a pleading look. "I thought not," she said with a knowing smile. "Oh. Oh," Arlo moaned as she jacked him off. He almost cried when she stopped. She handed him the soap and said, "Clean up." He hurriedly washed the vomit off his body. She stood and smiled watching his erection bounce around. When he was done, she held her hand out and said, "Give me the soap. Your back needs to get washed." He did, then turned his back to her. Then, she soaped up his shoulders, back and under his arms. She set the soap on the dish and wrapped her sudsy hands around both sides of him, then back down to his stiff cock and said, "This needs a little more attention." She soaped up his cock, dropped the soap and resumed beating him off. She pressed her tits into his back and breathed lustily into his ear as she stroked him. His eyes rolled back into his head and she held him steady as he moaned loudly, "Oh!" He came. She held his cock like a hose and directed the blasts of cum against the tile walls of the shower. Meadow laughed and milked his cock until he'd finished. “I gawda fire hose! Where's the fire! Gawd I love my fire hose.” She giggled . “ Hey, who turned my hose off?” She stroked his some more, but then gave up a few seconds later. Then she got quiet and looked around. She turned them both around and rinsed Arlo off as if nothing unusual had happened. Arlo stared at her plump rump and enjoyed the wonderful sensation of his very first handjob as he gasped for air. Meadow, now clean, pushed open the shower door and stepped out. She immediately slipped and fell hard on her ass. "Oh, my God! Are you okay?" Arlo called out. He was worried that she'd hurt herself. He quickly exited and went to her side. She was still inebriated. She said simply, "My bum hurts." To be continued. By regularguy13 for Literotica

Valentines Day Letdowns By regularguy13 – listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Aunt regrets stealing his virginity. She makes it right Thursday night, Feb 13th Harvey Fielding, the aged patriarch of the family stood and looked out with pride at the group sitting around the dinner table. Three generations were present. With him, were his daughter, daughter-In-law, and their remaining families. Harvey's wife was not with them. Unfortunately, she had passed away. So had his son, Harvey junior. They were at his daughter-in-law's house in Richmond, Virginia. Meadow was a widowed woman with a single child. Her daughter, Wendy, was twenty and a sophomore at Randolph-Macon College. Meadow was an only child of two deceased parents. She was raising Wendy, the patriarch's beloved granddaughter.Sitting across from them was his daughter, Breeze, and her family: her husband, Bill and their son, Arlo. The group had enjoyed a good meal. Harvey Fielding said, "I stand here a proud and happy man. These get-togethers are too short and too infrequent." His family murmured their agreement. He continued, "Congratulations Meadow, on being recognized by the National Association of Women Lawyers for the mentoring program you run for high school girls." My departed wife and son, God rest their souls; would be so proud, as would your own departed parents.  You are truly a daughter to me. Everyone raised their glass and congratulated her. Then Harvey said, "Congratulations to Arlo for his scholarship to my favorite school, Randolph-Macon College. If I say so myself, it is an excellent institution of higher learning. I am pleased that you're planning to major in my favorite field; Philosophy and Ethics." Breeze laughed and said good-naturedly, "Father, it looks like you won. Arlo has your temperament. I tried to develop his artistic side, but he has not found his creative art talents yet."  With a mentor like you, he will go far in his studies. "Wendy caught that bug," Meadow said with a laugh. "Maybe you and I were supposed to trade kids." Breeze was a talented artist. She inherited that skill from her mother & father. Like her mother, Breeze could draw, paint and sculpt. She and Bill earned their living selling the art they produced. Harvey dramatically lowered his voice and said, "Arlo, happy as I am that you'll be joining your cousin Wendy at R-MC, unfortunately, I have to report that the quality of the teaching staff there has diminished significantly recently." He was kidding and everyone knew it. They all laughed. He had retired from the college last year after thirty years of teaching philosophy and ethics. Meadow met Harvey junior as college students. Meadow had been a great student in Professor Fielding's classes. She still credit's her philosophy & ethics training for making her a more forceful and persuasive courtroom litigator. He waited for the laughter to die and then said, "And lastly, let us say bon voyage to our travelers. Breeze and Bill are off tomorrow for a well-deserved, ten-day vacation to St. Bart's. While they are having fun in the sun, the rest of us will be suffering through a cold and dreary Virginia February." Breeze said, "I'll send you all photos from the warm and sunny Caribbean." "No thanks," Harvey chirped. "I don't need to see pictures of you two, naked." The family laughed. Bill and Breeze were artists, but they weren't free spirits. Everyone knew them to be serious, shy, quiet souls. They would never frolic naked on a beach or anywhere else for that matter. Harvey waited until he had everyone's attention and then he said, "I will close the night with a quote from a brilliant philosopher." He raised his glass and said, "To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to all the world's problems. At least so says Homer Simpson." Cheers and laughter broke out. Everyone raised their glass and drank. After the meal, Bill and Breeze said their goodbyes. They had to catch an early flight out of Baltimore-Washington Airport and they were spending the night at a hotel near the airport. Breeze hugged her boy and said, "Enjoy the tour of the campus and sitting in on some classes. Promise me you will talk to the other students." She looked concerned. "Ah Mom," Arlo whined. Arlo took after his parents. He too was a shy person. He was naturally quiet, but it was more than that, he was awkward around people and uncomfortable to engage with them. He was not a "people person" and had never had a lot of friends. His behavior was partly due to his timid nature. His upbringing also contributed to his demeanor. When he was young, he only had limited opportunities to interact with other children. He hadn't attended regular school. He was home schooled. His parents taught him what they thought was necessary, and let classic books supplement their efforts. He became a big reader and gravitated to ethics because it was a field of study that suited his nature. He could read and think and pursue it alone. Arlo's opportunity to connect with other kids was hurt by his family's nomadic lifestyle. The family was forced to move to follow artistic projects. He was always the new kid in town and he often moved before anyone got to know him or he got to know them. His parents prayed he would outgrow his shyness. They hoped that college would be that time. Wendy was the next person to say her goodbyes. She was returning to school. "Bye Mom," Wendy said. "My sorority is having an event." Meadow knew that was code for ‘I have a party to go to'. She was fine with that. Wendy was a good girl and she kept her grades up. However, she felt they should give her nephew an opportunity to attend the party. She said, "Wendy, why don't you take Arlo with you?" Wendy was planning to hook up with her boyfriend. She didn't want to be stuck with her nerdy cousin. However, she knew she couldn't object outright. She decided to roll the dice and invite him. She was betting his shy nature would cause him to decline. "Arlo," Wendy asked brightly. "Would you like to go? There's a party tonight. Lots of people will be there." Arlo started to sweat. Crowds and parties scared him. He stammered as he responded, "Ah. Ah. No, thank you. Gramps and I were planning to discuss ethics." Wendy smiled. She was happy her plan had worked and she when off to the party unencumbered. Meadow cleaned up and headed off to bed. It had been a long day for her. Harvey and Arlo had an enjoyable time discussing philosophy and ethics. Harvey played the role of Socratic professor. During their conversation, he asked, "Arlo, what does it mean to be good." Arlo spoke clearly. “First one must settle his convictions of what ‘good' is.” He was comfortable talking to his grandfather and very comfort talking about ethics. He gave the textbook answer. "To be honest, courageous, respectful and concerned about others. To be a good citizen. Obey just laws, protect what is under your care, be informed and be involved with society." "Why should we strive to live by these standards?" the old professor asked. "Our world would be unpleasant and chaotic if we didn't. We'd be miserable if everyone lied and cheated and was mean to each another. If people acted on their baser instincts of greed and self-interest, we couldn't build a functioning society. It is noble to sacrifice for the greater good of others" "Do you believe the goals of humans are joy, happiness, and contentment and the best way to achieve these goals is ethical behavior?" Arlo nodded. "I agree also," Harvey said. "Now, how do we get there?" They discussed different versions of ethical theory. Arlo was a proponent of one theory. His Grandfather favored another. Harvey summed up his argument this way. He said, "As you know, in consequential ethics, the outcome determines the morality of the act." Arlo interjected, "For you, the end justifies the mean. Do you really believe there are no standards of behavior that should be upheld?" "Yes and no," Harvey conceded. "The thing that makes an action right or wrong is the consequences of the action. Being truthful is a noble goal, but I believe it is okay to lie sometimes." "But a lie is a lie," Arlo stated. For him, everything was black or white; idealistic. "Yes, a lie is a lie," Harvey agreed. "But a lie can be a good thing. Consider this scenario, an overweight wife asks her husband if her butt is too big. Which is the better choice? If he's truthful and says "Yes, dear. You're fat." He hurt her feelings. If he lies and says, "No. You look fine." She is happy and believe me, it increases the husband's happiness too." "That's an innocent lie," Arlo pointed out. "You need to be truthful about significant things." "Like life or death issues?" "Certainly." Harvey said, "What would you do in this circumstance? A criminal breaks into your home. He demands to know if anyone else in the house?. You know your mother is upstairs. Do you tell him? Or do you attempt to protect her and say 'I'm the only one here.'" "I lie to protect my mother," Arlo answered. "Exactly," Harvey said. "It is acceptable, I would argue necessary at times, to break the moral code to be moral. The essence of morality is determined by the outcome of the act. One cannot blindly follow a set of precepts and expect to achieve good results." Arlo said, "You make a good argument for your system, but I still have problems with it. Many people believe in God and follow the Ten Commandments. That is a good thing for them and society. They would say you are replacing God's law with man's judgment. Religious people won't like that. And considering the nature of man, won't a man always find a way to justify his behavior? "And isn't it a better, simpler and faster method of moral behavior to have standards and to live by them? I can see the world grinding to a halt as we all say 'Time out. I need to do a moral calculation of all my possible actions to see which is best for the greatest number of people.'" Harvey laughed and said, "This is exactly why I find ethics so fascinating. Lying is bad. You should strive to always tell the truth unless the situation dictates that a lie is the better choice. You should follow God's laws except when you know better. The end justifies the mean except when it causes you to break some moral code." Harvey smiled good-naturedly and said, "Another reason I find Ethics so fascinating is because it is the perfect excuse to argue and drink; two of my favorite things." Harvey stood and finished his drink. He was impressed with his grandson's grasp of the subject and his intellect. He leaned in close so Meadow couldn't hear from the other room. "Arlo, I'll leave you with one more question that may push you to my side. If the tip of your dick is resting on the labia of a beautiful and willing female, would you lie to her so both of you could enjoy out of this world sex? "Let's say she pauses and asks if you love her. What are you going to say? "In my scenario, you like her, but you aren't in love with her. If you are completely honest, you and she miss out on a wonderful experience. You deny each other the joy of great sex.” Arlo said with confidence. "Ethics is about good and evil, right and wrong. If the goal of your actions is the greatest good for the greatest number, then you must lie and fuck her. To needlessly uphold a rigid, abstract standard in this situation serves no purpose, correct?" Harvey walked away. He grabbed his coat and returned to his house. Arlo went to bed. He laid on the floral sheets and pondered the last question his grandfather put to him. His dick was hard and thought the answer was obvious. Friday, February 14th Aunt Meadow and Arlo had breakfast together. She said, "Today's the big day. So, you're going to sit in on some classes?" He nodded to avoid speaking. They left at the same time. He went to the college to tour the campus and she went to prosecute a child molester. Arlo returned to this Aunt's house late-afternoon. No one was there. He watched television. "Indiana Jones, you rock," Arlo said. He had just watched the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark". It was his favorite movie. In his dreams, he was the handsome, swashbuckling hero. He won the girl and saved the day. In real life, he was a shy eighteen-year-old who was awkward around people and especially timid and nervous around females. Needless to say, he didn't date and he was a virgin. He walked into the bathroom and said, "I love indoor plumbing." He peed in the toilet, flushed and said, "Why do my parents put up with a smelly, camper toilet when if we lived like normal people we could all use this wonderful, hygienic device?" Since his parents moved frequently to work on commissioned art project, they lived in a camper that they pulled by an SUV. "How about a shower?" he asked rhetorically. He answered himself continuing to talk out loud. "That sounds good. A nice, long, hot shower. Another marvelous experience denied to trailer people." Arlo undressed. He dropped his clothes in a pile on the floor. He said, "Oh. They have a hamper." He left his clothes on the floor and went to the wicker container. He flipped open the top. He saw a sexy black, lacy bra and a pair of panties. "Whoa!" He picked up the bra. He had never seen something so beautiful, so sexy, and certainly never on a live girl. He was not the kind of guy who could seduce a woman. None of his mother's bras were like this one. She was a petite woman with small breasts. She usually didn't bother with one because she didn't need to. If she wore one, they were soft, stretchy bandeau tube style bras. Functional. Not sexy. "36C," he snickered as he read the label. "She certainly is the big aunt." He examined the cups and fingered the lace. His dick got hard thinking about the soft flesh that filled them. Next, he picked up the underwear. It also had lace and was alluring. He studied it and did the unthinkable. He brought the crotch to his nose and sniffed. "Oh! Um." He was overwhelmed with the acrid, musky odor of a woman. His dick twitched and grew hard. He said, "Aunt Meadow wore these! This is her scent." He held the panties to his nose with his left hand and stroked his dick with his right. "Umm," he groaned breathing deeply. He looked around for something to use as a lubricant. He spied hand lotion on the counter by the sink. He pumped a large amount on his hand and masturbated. He sniffed the panties, stroked his cock and kept thinking about how this article of clothing had been pressed up against a woman's cunt. "Oh! Oh! God!" he called out as he came in the sink. He dropped the panties and gripped the counter for support as he jacked off into the basin. "Oh! Fuck," he cried as the last of his spunk landed in the sink. His heart was pounding and his breathing was ragged. He rested a bit and then turned on the tap and cleaned up. He sent his cum down the drain. He returned the sexy underwear to the dirty clothes hamper and hopped in the shower. He shampooed his hair and scrubbed his body hard. He was trying to wash away the sin of masturbation made worse by sniffing his Aunt's soiled underwear. Hours later, Meadow shouted, "Hello, Arlo" as she entered her home. Arlo had been reading a book. He stood and silently greeted his Aunt. She came into the family room and asked, "Did you have a good day? Did you find a way to amuse yourself?" she asked with a warm smile. Arlo blushed. Immediately, he thought, "Oh God! It's like she knows I beat off while sniffing her panties". He was embarrassed and stuttered as he answered her, "Ah. Ah. Yes." He held up his book and said, "Um. I find a good book is always good company." "Yes. We all would be better off if we read more." She looked at her watch and said, "Oh. I have to hurry. I have a date tonight. It's Valentine's Day, but of course, you know that. Will you be okay on your own?" "Yes. I'll order a pizza." Meadow dashed off to shower and changed. Meadow stood in front of the mirror and debated whether she should put on a bra. She wasn't wearing one under her favorite red slinky dress. Her hard nipples pressed obscenely against the clingy fabric. The contours of her areolas and her tight peaks were visible. She decided to be risqué tonight and let the girls be free. "Good thing I have my cashmere wrap," she chuckled. She didn't mean her bare shoulders would need to be covered. She knew that without a bra and wearing this slinky dress, her nipples would be visible to everyone all night. She brought the warp in case she lost her nerve. She slipped on her highest heels, threw the wrap over her arm and walked out of her bedroom. She encountered Arlo. His eyes grew wide as he viewed her. The dress was hot. Her braless breasts were lewd. The way her nipples were visible through the dress was scandalous. His eyes were riveted to her chest. "Wow! That's some dress," he said. "Too much?" she asked. Seeing his expression caused her to re-think her decision to forego the bra. "No. Gorgeous. Beautiful. I was just thinking if you are going to wear that dress you should come with a warning label." "Ahem," he cleared his throat and then did his best Bette Davis imitation, "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." Meadow laughed and said, "Good. It's Valentine's Day. A time to be flirty and sexy. I loved your impression of Bette Davis! I'm surprised you'd know a line from a movie made before you were born." "Um," he shyly admitted, "I don't have many friends. I spend a lot of time with classic movies and books." "Oh." She felt sorry for him. The clock on the mantel chimed. She said, "I need to go." She draped the wrap over her shoulders. Arlo helped her put on her coat and she left to meet her boyfriend for dinner. She drove to the fancy restaurant where she and Ted had agreed to meet. She had a drink and then another while she waited. She called him numerous times and got no answered. She became worried. Ted was a responsible person, a wealthy, well-respected attorney. It was out of character for him to stand her up. "Maybe some thing's happened," she told herself after waiting an hour. She decided to go to his home. She pulled up to his house and walked to the front door. "That's odd. The door is open," she said. She let herself in. She heard noises coming from the den and headed that way. She entered the room and was shocked by what she saw. Her boyfriend was naked and stretched out on the sofa. There were two naked women in the room with him. Their appearance screamed crack whore. The women were gaunt, bags of bones. Their sorry, empty tits sagged down their chest. Meadow looked at their unkempt hair and the dark circles under their eyes and wondered when was the last time they had combed their hair or slept. One woman was snorting cocaine off the glass coffee table and the other was sucking on her boyfriend's dick. "Ted!" Meadow shouted. "What's going on?" "We, we're having a party," he slurred. "Help yourself to some blow." "What?" Meadow screamed. She'd never seen her boyfriend do drugs and certainly not behave like this. Ted laughed. "I got fired today. They discovered I was embezzling money from the firm. I bought some cocaine and decided to get high. I met these two ladies and we've been fucking and snorting for hours. Join us." Meadow was shocked and disgusted. She turned around without saying another word and drove home. The Refuge "Keep the change," Arlo mumbled to the pizza delivery guy. He watched television as he ate his dinner. “9:00, let's see if we can find a good movie, other than sappy chick-flicks” Meadow burst through the door. Arlo went to investigate because he wasn't expecting anyone to come home at this hour. "Oh. It's you, Aunt Meadow," he said. He saw that she'd been crying. A normal person would have asked, "Is everything okay?". Arlo wasn't normal. He didn't ask. She ripped her coat off. The shawl came off with it. She said angrily, "Worse Valentine's Day ever." She kicked off her shoes and bent over at the hips to pick them up. She leaned over so far that Arlo saw her big brown nipples. She showed no hint of caring that she'd flashed her tits to her nephew. She had too many other things on her mind. She marched off quickly to her bedroom. "Whoa. Nipples," Arlo said to himself. That was a first for him. He'd seen pictures of women's breasts but never had he seen an actual one. It gave him a chubby. When she returned. Meadow had a royal blue robe on over her flannel sleeping gown. Her feet were covered by slipper socks. The terry cloth material kept her feet warm and it had a rubber sole. Her faced was scrubbed clean of makeup and her hair tied back into a ponytail. She ignored Arlo and headed straight to the kitchen. She mumbled, "I need a drink." She fixed herself a stiff drink. She downed half of it and refilled her glass. She sat at the kitchen table and brooded about the evening. Arlo could see she was upset. He stayed away giving her a wide berth. Occasionally, he'd turn his head and check on her. When he glanced her way, he saw her sitting at the kitchen table talking to herself and drinking. "Cocaine?" Meadow said. She was appalled by her boyfriend's drug use. Ex-boyfriend. She took a drink. "I've never seen him take drugs," she mused and tossed down the glass and then re-filled it. "Whores? Two prostitutes!" Meadow said. She was disgusted. She guzzled more alcohol. "I gave him my body. I sucked his cock and he cheats on me with two crack whores," she lamented. "He never called to cancel our date. Bastard." Meadow finished her drink and got another. "The bum kept me sitting in the restaurant." She gulped a large amount. "Everyone there knew I had been stood up." She sipped heartily on the whiskey. "I felt like a fool." She drained the glass and got another. "I cared for him!" she wailed. She swallowed her drink. The alcohol burned her throat as it went down. Tears fell from her eyes. Arlo heard his Aunt crying. He ignored her for a long time, but even he was moved by her sobbing. Finally, he went to her and asked, "Wha, what's the matter?" "You mean besides wasting six months of my life dating an embezzler and drug user?" She reached for the bottle to top off her drink and knocked it over. "Fuck!" she cried out and reached for the bottle. Arlo picked up the bottle. She wrenched it out of his hand. When she did, the bottle flew up and hit Arlo in the face. "Ouch," he cried out. He wrestled the bottle away from her. He set the bottle on the counter out of his Aunt's reach. His eye hurt. He rubbed it gently. He said, "Aunt Meadow, don't you think you've had enough?" "I'll be the judge of that," she slurred. She stood and tried to go through Arlo to get to the liquor. She pummeled and scratched him. Arlo was only an average size guy, but he easily stopped her. She was drunk, unsteady and uncoordinated. "Let me by!" she demanded. Arlo stood his ground. Meadow tried to pass him on one side than the other. Then, she stopped. Arlo had been sliding left and right to block her. He hoped her lack of movement meant she'd given up. Meadow looked up at him. She didn't look well. She wasn't well. She hurled. Vomit poured out of her. It splattered on Arlo's face and chest. Some went down his shirt and on his pants. "Oh God!" Arlo cried as he was hit with puke. The sight and putrid smell made him throw up. He raised his hands to block it. His vomit hit his hands and ricocheted onto his arms and shirt. It then dripped down on his pants and the floor. He was a smelly mess. He wanted to leave. He wanted to scream at his aunt, but just  then his own words, “It's noble to sacrifice for the good of others” came back to him, along with the mental image of his grandfather's approving, proud smile. Miraculously, Aunt Meadow was unsoiled. However, she was still drunk and still unsteady. She lost her balance and fell into Arlo. She hugged him to keep from falling over. It didn't work. They both ended up on the floor, rolling around and getting covered in the smelly, slimy puke. Meadow freaked out. She shouted, "Take me to the bathroom! I have to get this off me!" Arlo led the filthy, unsteady woman to the bathroom. "Oh God! The smell!" Meadow complained. She ripped off her robe. She stood there in her nightgown and slurred, "Ya. Y'alls a mess, too. We need tah get them dirty clothes offa ya." She began undressing her nephew. Arlo agreed. The smell was sickening. She helped him remove his shirt and pants. They both tossed their stinky clothing into a the open hamper. He stripped until he was down to his underwear. "Eya stinks. Eyes needs a shaw were," Meadow said. She went to the shower and turned the water on. While she waited for the warm water, she pulled her gown over her head. She was too drunk to do this safely. The gown got stuck when it was half way off. She wasn't wearing anything underneath. Arlo stared at her bare ass. She swayed as she struggled to escape the nightgown. Arlo moved in closed and held her hips. As he feared, she toppled over. He caught her and took a hard elbow to the body. "Pull it off," Meadow demanded. Arlo steadied her with one hand around her waist and used his other hand to pull the nightgown off. He tossed it aside. Meadow cared not a whit that she was naked. Her focus was on getting clean. She stepped into the shower, turning the water on and adjusted the water's temperature. Arlo was right behind her keeping her from falling. Arlo said to himself, ‘Wow. She's naked. Her skin is so soft. I didn't expect a woman in her forties to be this attractive. Meadow lost her balance again and Arlo had to catch her. He wrapped both arms around her to keep her upright. One arm met her breasts. She didn't notice or care. She said nothing about it. Arlo was nervous and scared. He expected to be berated at any moment for touching her boobs. His face blushed bright red. His mind screamed, ‘You're so dead for touching her boobs. She's going to scream at you and tell Mom'. She stood in the stream of warm water. When she didn't say anything, Arlo allowed himself to think about her breasts. He thought, ‘Her boobs are awesome. So big. So soft. Her nipples are sticking out obscenely.'. Her bare rump was pressed against his groin and his dick grew hard. She fidgeted and he had to adjust his grip on her nude body. A hand cupped her right breast. Her head turned to him and he expected the worst. "I'm dirty. I ma need a shower," she said with the simplicity of a six-year-old. Her words stunned him. It took a moment for him to respond. "Aunt Meadow, I'm worried you'll fall if I let go of you." She looked down at the arms around her as if just noticing them; then looked back at him. He had vomit on him. She wrinkled her nose and said, "You smell bad." She turned around and luxuriated in the spray and let the water beat down on her foggy skull. Arlo used this time to study and marvel at her body. This was the first nude woman he'd ever seen. His dick tented his wet shorts. She rinsed all traces of the vomit off her body. Arlo stood behind her. He kept his hands on her to make sure she didn't fall. What he saw astounded him. "She beautiful," he thought as he gazed at her. He loved everything about her. Her long, slender neck leading to her bare back fascinated him. He studied the soft curve of her shoulders and the indentation in the center of her back where her spinal column was. He loved how her broad shoulders swept down to a narrow waist and delightfully flared out at the hips. She had a plump womanly ass. Her back was tanned. Surprisingly, her bottom was too. ‘She suntans in the nude. Cool,' Arlo thought. He stepped back to get a complete view. She had firm thighs, slender calves, and small feet. Her dainty toenails were painted fire engine red. Beautiful. Meadow grabbed the shampoo, squeezed some into her hand and turned about as she worked it into her hair. "Oh!" Arlo gasped. She kept her eyes closed while she worked the shampoo through her hair and thoroughly scrubbed. She didn't seem to care that he was seeing her naked. Arlo studied her front quickly in case this was his only chance. He checked her face to be sure her eyes were still closed. He noticed she had a round face, a thin nose, and full lips. Quickly his eyes stared at her breasts. They sagged. The nipples faced East and West, but he didn't care. They looked wonderful to him. ‘Fuck! This is unbelievable.' Arlo thought. ‘Look at her big tits bounce and shake. She has huge, hard nipples'. His internal conversation continued, ‘God! Look at her cunt. That hair is jet black. The hair on her head is brown. I can see her vulva!' Streams of water ran down her fully tanned, fit body. The water cascaded over her breasts, across her stomach and flattened and separated her pubic hair as it ran down her body. Arlo could see her thick vaginal lips through the soaked, parted hair. Arlo kept his hands on her hips as his eyes devoured her body. It was the first naked woman he'd seen in the flesh and it was as hot and exciting as he'd imagine. Meadow washed and rinsed her hair and then casually washed her body. Arlo hard cock lurched when she soaped her breasts. He almost came when she touched her ass and cunt thoroughly swabbed her most intimate parts. Meadow was in her own world as she scrubbed her body. After she rinsed off, she opened her eyes. They brightened in recognition that Arlo was in the shower too. She wasn't self-conscious about her nudity. In a matter of fact way, she said, "Let's gets y'all cleaned too." She reached out and began washing his upper body. She smirked when she noticed he was in the shower with his underwear on. "This won't do," she said. She pulled his shorts off and giggled when his erection popped into view. She grabbed it and began washing it. "Someone's grown up," she purred. "Ah. Ah," Arlo stammered. "You don't have to do that," he said embarrassed. She grasped his dick, stroked him and asked, "Are you sure you want me to stop?" Arlo was too scared and nervous to speak, but he prayed she'd ignore his protestations. She looked into his eyes and saw a pleading look. "I thought not," she said with a knowing smile. "Oh. Oh," Arlo moaned as she jacked him off. He almost cried when she stopped. She handed him the soap and said, "Clean up." He hurriedly washed the vomit off his body. She stood and smiled watching his erection bounce around. When he was done, she held her hand out and said, "Give me the soap. Your back needs to get washed." He did, then turned his back to her. Then, she soaped up his shoulders, back and under his arms. She set the soap on the dish and wrapped her sudsy hands around both sides of him, then back down to his stiff cock and said, "This needs a little more attention." She soaped up his cock, dropped the soap and resumed beating him off. She pressed her tits into his back and breathed lustily into his ear as she stroked him. His eyes rolled back into his head and she held him steady as he moaned loudly, "Oh!" He came. She held his cock like a hose and directed the blasts of cum against the tile walls of the shower. Meadow laughed and milked his cock until he'd finished. “I gawda fire hose! Where's the fire! Gawd I love my fire hose.” She giggled . “ Hey, who turned my hose off?” She stroked his some more, but then gave up a few seconds later. Then she got quiet and looked around. She turned them both around and rinsed Arlo off as if nothing unusual had happened. Arlo stared at her plump rump and enjoyed the wonderful sensation of his very first handjob as he gasped for air. Meadow, now clean, pushed open the shower door and stepped out. She immediately slipped and fell hard on her ass. "Oh, my God! Are you okay?" Arlo called out. He was worried that she'd hurt herself. He quickly exited and went to her side. She was still inebriated. She said simply, "My bum hurts." To be continued. By regularguy13 for Literotica

Welcome to episode 189 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running. Half training and physiosWe start by talking about running. I know. What have we become? I've been to the physio, so we have lots of dry needling things to discuss, and Holly's training has been going annoyingly well. We have a slight handbrake turn in the middle so we can discuss the stag-do that Doug's going on, and the very real concerns for feminist, vegetarian men in 2024.Music in racesWe then get to chat about music during races – and I'm beginning to think I have a campaign here! And then we're back into running, awful race photographs and letters from you guys and all sorts. It's a manic episode Join us!Now, if you don't already subscribe to Women's Running magazine, we've got a Pod Squad offer for you lovely people – hop along to womensrunning.co.uk/podsquad and you'll be able to get your mitts on Women's Running for just £3.50 an issue, saving 42% off the cover price. The subscription is totally risk-free and flexible, you don't need to sign up for years and years, so it's the perfect way to get loads more Women's Running fun times for pennies. Lovely extra bitsThis episode is sponsored by Didriksons! Check out their gorgeous jackets and coats, and get 20% off with the code RUN24 before 7 April.Subscribe to Women's Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £3.50 an issue!Get your hands on How to Run 5K with Esther and Holly, available at shop.womensrunning.co.uk / ExtrasDownload a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/runBuy a Pod Squad t-shirt!Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningPlease continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford. Search Anthem on JustgivingEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Honest Bunch is an audio-visual podcast that focuses on discussing real millennial and Gen Z issues with no holds barred. There are 4 main personalities on the show - Nedu, Husband Material, Deity Cole, and Ezinne. The cast members bring their unique individual personalities and wit to the show. Occasionally, a guest is brought on to share opinions on topics tailored to their experiences, interests, or personalities.At Honest Bunch, we are telling original Nigerian realities from the lens of the youth. The show is stupendously funny, inconceivably revealing, somewhat shocking, and yet unequivocally informative.Follow us @TheHonestbunchpodcast

Joey was diagnosed with DYRK1A syndrome at the age of 13, through the 100,000 Genomes Project. DYRK1A syndrome is a rare chromosomal disorder, caused by changes in the DYRK1A gene which causes a degree of developmental delay or learning difficulty. In today's episode, Naimah Callachand, Head of Product Engagement and Growth at Genomics England, speaks to Joey's parents, Shaun Pye and Sarah Crawford, and Sarah Wynn, CEO of Unique, as they discuss Joey's story and how her diagnosis enabled them to connect with other parents of children with similar conditions through the charity Unique. Shaun and Sarah also discuss their role in writing the BBC television comedy drama series 'There She Goes' and how this has helped to shine a light on the rare condition community. Unique provides support, information and networking to families affected by rare chromosome and gene disorders. For more information and support please visit the website. You can read more about Joey's story on our website.   "Although we're a group supporting families and patients, actually a big part of what we're doing is around translating those complicated genetics terms, and trying to explain them to families, so they can understand the testing they've been offered, the results of testing, and really what the benefits and limitations of testing are...just knowing why it's happened, being able to connect with others, being able to meet others, but actually often it doesn't necessarily change treatment."   You can read the transcript below or download it here: https://files.genomicsengland.co.uk/documents/Podcast-transcripts/Shining-a-light-on-rare-conditions.docx   Naimah: Welcome to the G Word. [Music] Sarah Crawford: But I would also say it's okay to grieve the child that you didn't have that you thought you were going to have. I just think that's so important. And I think for me, the most difficult thing in the early couple of years was feeling like I couldn't do that because nobody appreciated that I'd actually lost anything. [Music] Naimah: My name is Naimah Callachand and I'm head of product engagement and growth at Genomics England. On today's episode, I'm joined by Shaun Pye and Sarah Crawford, who are parents of Joey, who was diagnosed with DYRK1A syndrome at the age of 13, and Sarah Wynn, CEO of Unique, a charity which provides support, information and networking to families affected by rare chromosome and gene disorders. Today, Shaun and Sarah are going to share Joey's story, and discuss how their role in writing the BBC comedy drama There She Goes has helped to raise awareness of people with rare conditions in mainstream culture. If you enjoy today's episode, we'd love your support. Please like, share and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts. So first of all, Shaun and Sarah, I wonder if you could tell us a bit about Joey and what she's like. Shaun Pye: Yes. So, the medical stuff is that she's got DYRK1A syndrome, which was diagnosed a few years ago, which means that she's extremely learning disabled, nonverbal. Sarah Crawford: Yeah, autistic traits. Shaun Pye: Eating disorder, very challenging behaviour. She can be quite violent. She can be quite unpredictable. Doubly incontinent, let's throw that in. She's 17 but she obviously has a sort of childlike persona, I would say, you know. She sort of likes things that toddlers like, like toys and that sort of thing. But that's the medical thing. What's she like, she's a vast mixture of different things. She can be infuriating, she can be obsessive, but she can be adorable. Occasionally, she can be very loving, especially to her mum. Sarah Crawford: She's very strong willed, you know. Once she knows she wants something, it's impossible to shift her, isn't it? So, she's got a lot of self-determination [laughter]. Shaun Pye: So, her obsession at the minute, or it's fading slightly, which is quite funny, is that she's become obsessed by – there's a toy called a Whoozit that she loves, but she became obsessed by the idea of – she was typing buggy baby Whoozit into her iPad, so that's how she communicates. She's got quite good literacy skills. Sarah Crawford: Yeah. Shaun Pye: And we figured out eventually that what she wanted was she wanted her mum to take her to the park to find a buggy with a baby in it that also had a Whoozit in it that she could steal, and when Sarah explained to her at some length that it was not yours, she would say, “It's not yours,” that drove her insane with excitement, at the idea that she could steal another child's toy. So, it's a good example of her because it's funny, and, you know, it is funny, and she's so cheeky about it and she flaps her hands, she's very hand flappy, and she sort of giggles and she gets really excited, but, you know, the 2,000 time she asked to do that, and we have to walk to Mortlake Green near our house, and to the point where – again, it's funny when it happens, but you get to the green and she doesn't even look for the buggies anymore. So, that's an example. But she's a lot of different things, you know, and I suppose the thing that is dawning on us at the minute is that she's 17, she's going to be 18 very soon, and, you know, the list of presents that she gets on her birthday is always the same, ‘cos she's autistic. So, at Christmas, she always gets the same presents. But the idea that, for her 18th birthday, we're going to have to buy her children's toys and – you know – Sarah Crawford: Toddlers' toys. Shaun Pye: Toddlers' toys and everything, it's sort of hitting home, but that's something – a bridge we're going to cross on July 27th [laughter]. Naimah: Yeah, I can imagine that's quite a difficult bridge to cross, but it sounds like, you know, Joey's got lots of personality and you have lots of, you know, lovely times with her as well. I wanted to go back a bit before the diagnosis. So, you mentioned Joey's been diagnosed with DYRK1A syndrome, but can you tell me what it was like before you both – and a bit about your journey, and when you suspected maybe something might be wrong and what you did first of all. Sarah Crawford: I mean, there were hints that things might be wrong before she was born. The measurements were such that they thought there might be intrauterine growth restriction, because basically my belly wasn't as big as it should be for dates, and that was obviously the working hypothesis. And they actually did a scan, an ultrasound quite late on in the pregnancy, which I picked up when I looked at the report was showing a small head measurement. And I remember querying it with the consultant, who said it was probably measurement artefact and nothing to worry about. But after she was born, she wouldn't latch on, you know. We had to switch to bottle feeding straight away. She was small, and the head measurement actually was small. You know, you could see on the very early one, they must have taken it kind of three times to try and get it bigger, probably angling the tape measure, and it had been crossed out and rewritten. That was the pattern. So, her head simply did not grow in those early days in the way that you would expect. So, I was wildly anxious about this right from the get-go, and very adamant very early on that I thought that, you know, she was learning disabled. And to be fair, you know, the GP took that seriously. You know, at the six-week check-up, things weren't quite how they should be. We got in the system very early on, saw a paediatrician really quite early. So, I was, you know, fairly convinced very early. I mean, I'm a clinical psychologist, I've got training in learning disability, a bit more clued into these sorts of things I guess than the general public on the whole, and I think the bigger challenge for us wasn't so much the attitude of, you know, the healthcare system. It was more trying to debate this with family, who were very much of the, “There's nothing wrong with her,” kind of mantra. Shaun Pye: She wasn't our first child, so we had experience – and all children are different, but because we had that comparison – all children are different. Obviously, there's not a set thing. But we had a benchmark in our own minds and hearts sort of, to know that she was missing things that he'd hit, and something wasn't right. And the parental thing – basically, we're talking about grandparents – it was sort of – there were two approaches that they took, one of which was to tell us nothing was wrong, because they couldn't bear the idea that me and Sarah were in pain or unhappy. It was just out of pure love. It's just a natural human reaction to say, “I'm sure everything's going to be alright.” They were just trying to be supportive because that's, you know, what they thought they should say. And then the other approach from other members of the family was again from just a supportive, loving aspect, but it was a sort of, “They just need a bit of tough love, pull your socks up. Lots of children are different and you just need to learn ways of dealing with it.” And the way I describe it nowadays is that they'd mistaken Joey for someone on the far end of a spectrum of abilities or behaviours, whereas she wasn't really on that spectrum at all. She was on a different spectrum [laughter]. She wasn't a difficult child. She wasn't a naughty child, was she? Sarah Crawford: No, no, she was a child whose brain hadn't developed. Shaun Pye: She was a very, very different child. So, all of that has gone on over the years. And genetics wise, we had early genetics testing. Kingston Hospital took quite a lot of interest early on, and then they sort of didn't take any interest [laughter]. Sarah Crawford: No, it's more that they ran out of technology, so they couldn't pinpoint the diagnosis with the technology they had. I mean, the geneticist was excellent, wasn't he? We really loved him. Shaun Pye: Yeah, Sarah's going to like this, ‘cos I'm about to say I love geneticists ‘cos they're – on the spectrum of doctors, I love them, ‘cos one of the guys we saw just looked at it like a puzzle and he was sort of excited to solve it, and he really wanted to work out – and in a way, you could have walked away from that thinking, “We wanted the bedside manner and we wanted the, “Oh, that's terrible,”” whereas he really was just a sort of – he was terribly excited about the whole thing, and he wanted to solve a Sudoku, basically, yeah. But me and Sarah walked away from that just thrilled, ‘cos we're the same [laughter]. There's not a Sudoku or a crossword that we don't love finishing. So, we walked away thinking, “These are exactly the people we want involved.” And so when I say they gave up, that's not fair. They just ran out of – you know, they can't spend increasing amounts of NHS money. So, they tried – you know, different genes were mentioned. Sarah Crawford: Yeah, they tested for a whole load. I mean, his attitude was right from the get-go, you know, based on the history, everything else that had been ruled out, dysmorphic features, those kinds of things – I don't know if that's the terminology they would use now – but that this was going to be a chromosomal disorder, and that they would do the tests that were available, but that it was possible that those wouldn't pinpoint in, but that the technology was changing all the time, and that if they didn't find it now, they would in the future. And that was how it played out. Shaun Pye: There was one meeting that I did get a little bit – having said that, I got slightly – but you didn't – about one of the geneticists, who sat there and said, “We'll do this test and this test, and if they come back with any interesting things then we can get really excited.” And he used the word excited, and I was sort of a bit, “I'm not that excited by all of this.” But actually I calmed down quite quickly, and in hindsight I really wanted someone to get excited by the idea of working out – but then a long time went past. I wouldn't say that we lost interest in finding out what her genetic condition was, we didn't. It's just it's something that became less and less – it wasn't like a holy grail for us. But then the opportunity came along with 100,000 Genomes, and we signed up immediately, and then they did that and it was a few years before that went through the system. And then out of the blue really, we were asked to go and see a geneticist, and we had no idea that this is what it was. I honestly thought it was just a routine sort of, “We've got a few more theories,” or something, and she just said, “We've found out what it is.” And that moment is – well, we tried to describe it in the TV programme, but it's quite hard to describe what goes through your mind when, after 13 and a half years, somebody suddenly says, “Oh, by the way, that thing that happened with your daughter, we've worked out what it is.” [Music] Naimah: I wonder if you could talk a bit about what the diagnosis meant for you both. Shaun Pye: It was sort of different for both of us, wasn't it? I was a bit more excited, Sarah was a bit more… Sarah Crawford: My attitude early on was that, while the label would be nice to have, it wouldn't make any material difference to anything to do – I mean, it was never going to be precise enough that it would give a map out of what we'd expect for her as an individual, and it wasn't going to change the fact that there was a severe learning disability. It wasn't going to change the challenges that we would have over things like schooling, therapies, you know, what the future holds for her. It is useful to have it, but it doesn't really change the day to day. Shaun Pye: But what it did change, and this is where Unique is so brilliant and important, is that it puts you in touch with people who have children with a similar condition. That's the main takeaway from getting the diagnosis. ‘Cos Unique is great, and obviously in a broad sense it's great, but to actually meet people and be in touch with people whose children have DRYK1A – so, I've met quite a lot of them now and I've met quite a few of the children. There was a meetup last year, and you just walk in and you just go, “Oh my god, oh my god” [laughter]. Literally girls running around, just the same as Joey, just the same, and the different ages as well. So, there were some in their twenties and there were some just starting out on their – who'd only, you know, very young, been diagnosed. But just to see your life just in front of you [laughter] is very useful. So, that's the basic takeaway, I would say, from the diagnosis. Naimah: Yeah. It must have been really nice to be connected with those other parents and to kind of share experiences as well. Shaun Pye: It was, it was. And this applies to most – well, every family from Unique that I've ever encountered actually. Nearly all of the DYRK1A – ‘cos it's spread around the world as well, so, you know, there's slight cultural differences, but just to see that they are all of a very similar mindset is comforting, ‘cos it sort of makes you think, “Actually, we haven't been doing this wrong.” It's a sense of humour thing. It's an attitude to the world. It's the way they see their children. It's the way they see the outside world. I'm not saying we're all uniform, of course we're not, but you can see it. When you talk to them, you can just see that they have the same sensibilities as you about the whole thing, and it's sort of quite reassuring really that, you know, we're not outliers. Naimah: I just wanted to go back to, you know, when you were talking about the bit before the diagnosis, and I wanted to come to you, Sarah, to ask, you know, Shaun and Sarah both described their journey with a lot of uncertainty, but I wondered, could you tell me a bit more about the role Unique plays in this part of the journey for parents? Sarah Wynn: Yes. Well, actually I think Shaun's done such a good job of summing up why Unique exists already, thank you, Shaun. But I think really what we're aiming to do is to try to alleviate that sense of helplessness and being overwhelmed, and isolation that often families feel when they have a child that's got additional needs. I think our experience with our Unique community is very similar to that that Shaun and Sarah have described. So, many parents know that there is something – that their child isn't developing as they would expect. And we hear lots and lots of stories of families going to healthcare professionals and actually not being taken seriously, or like Shaun and Sarah were saying, you know, everybody saying, “No, they're just a bit delayed, it will all be fine.” And so I think that's a common experience of many families, that the parents inherently understand and know their child better than everyone else, and it's very common that families have to wait quite a long time to get to that point where they get to a diagnosis. And often I think the uncertainty continues after you get that diagnosis, because as Shaun and Sarah said, you get a diagnosis of a rare condition and actually there just isn't that much information available. So at Unique, we try to help in various ways. One is by connecting families with other families, and that might be other families who've got the same condition, but it might also be families who are just going through the same experiences as you are, so you've got someone to share your journey with. And the other thing we try to do is to help families understand the kinds of genetic testing they've been offered, and a bit about the results of genetic testing. Because of course genetics is something that lots of people haven't thought about since school, and actually quite often hoped they never had to think about again. Although we're a group supporting families and patients, actually a big part of what we're doing is around translating those complicated genetics terms, and trying to explain them to families, so they can understand the testing they've been offered, the results of testing, and really what the benefits and limitations of testing are. Sarah said, often you get a result and a diagnosis from genetic testing, but that doesn't give you a magic treatment that's going to cure your child. It's really important, for all the reasons Shaun and Sarah have already said, just knowing why it's happened, being able to connect with others, being able to meet others, but actually often it doesn't necessarily change treatment. Shaun Pye: I guess one thing I would say, just ‘cos it was important to us, and it's de novo in our case, but that's comforting to know. We always suspected it was and we were always told it was, but to have that confirmed means – I mean, we're not going to have anymore children, but it's more to do with our son and whether there's something inherent that could be passed on. Sarah Wynn: Yeah, it gives you information that you can use for either your own family planning or other family members. Naimah: You mentioned that Joey received her diagnosis via the 100,000 Genomes Project. How did that come about? Sarah Crawford: I think it was offered, as in the 100,000 Genomes Project was the only way that that was potentially available at the time, that this was effectively a project that was going on to try to answer those unanswerable questions with the technology they had at the time. I mean, it was years between us enrolling in it and getting the answer. Shaun Pye: It's so important to me in hindsight the diagnosis, just for all the reasons that we've been discussing, but without doing down the role of genetics, there was a period of Joey's life when we thought we'd run out of road with the testing, and it wasn't something that really I was obsessed with or occupied my mind massively. It wasn't like me and Sarah were saying, “We must get back to Kingston Hospital. We must get back to the geneticists. We must write to the NHS. We must insist that they do this.” We'd sort of resigned ourselves to the fact that they'd done all that they could and they hadn't found it, and that's what it was going to be. Having said that, when 100,000 came along, we obviously jumped at the chance. We had no misgivings about it whatsoever, ‘cos I think we'd resigned ourselves to the fact that we might never know. Sarah Crawford: I think I thought that at some point we would, because the technology, the methodology that they're using obviously was changing all the time, but it didn't preoccupy me because I didn't think it would make a massive amount of difference. It probably made a bit more difference than I thought it would, for the reasons that Shaun and Sarah have said, about, you know, particularly the sort of connecting with others, you know, just realising how useful it is to be able to hear about the similarities and differences that other families experience. Shaun Pye: I think a key point for us, and I'm sure this is true for the vast majority of Unique families, that we never thought that there was a cure. We never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever thought there was. And nobody in our family did. It's not like anyone was saying, “Oh, with this treatment or that treatment…” Once you know that it's DYRK1A, there's obviously things that you can tailor towards her in terms of therapy, you know, there are things that you can do, but we were never under the illusion that if we found out what it was, she could go on and some sort of drug would suddenly make it better. Sarah Crawford: Yeah, we're not queuing up for experimental stem cell treatment [laughter] in weird and wonderful parts of the world, you know. What's happened has happened. Her brain didn't develop properly in utero and beyond. There is no changing that. Naimah: But I guess with diagnosis, and like you said, if you can get some relief from some of those other symptoms that are caused by it, then, you know, that's some sort of relief for Joey and a bit of help. Shaun Pye: Yeah, there are absolutely concrete things that you can learn that will – Joey will never be better, but talking to the other families – eating disorder, that's one of them. Constipation, that's another thing. But hearing their experiences, hearing the roads they've gone down, finding out that there's, you know, a unit somewhere in the country that specialises in this, that or the other, these are concrete things. It's not just about emotional support. It's absolutely about practical support. But there's no magic wand, but there are things that, you know, we've learnt that can help. Naimah: And then Sarah, to come to you then, do you find that families find it difficult to seek out help from Unique once they've received a diagnosis, or are they likely to come quite quickly to you? What's your experience? Sarah Wynn: It's a really good question, and of course we don't know the ones that never find their way to us. But what we try to do at Unique is to be sort of warm and friendly and welcoming, so that it's not too daunting. ‘Cos I think all of these things are an extra thing for parents who are already busy and dealing with lots of medical appointments and therapies, so we try to make it as easy as possible to join us. Many, many families do join us at that point of diagnosis, because that's when they're looking for more information. Actually, you can get in touch with Unique and if you decided you didn't want to join us, that's also fine. So, we have a helpline that you can call. And for some people, joining a support group just isn't their cup of tea, and that's really fine. Other people find us a little bit later on, you know, perhaps when their child starts school or, you know, there's sorts of crunch points where people are looking for extra information or support that they tend to find their way to us. But one of the things we try really hard to do is to get the word out that organisations like ours exist, so that we can be contacted if people want to. And lots of our families come, like Shaun and Sarah, after the geneticist has told them that we're there. So, that's a really important thing for us is that everybody knows we're there. You can join us and involve yourself as much or as little as you want. So, as we've already talked about, one of the things we do is put families in touch with each other, but not all families want that. So, you know, you can join and remain no contact, and stay quietly under the radar if you'd like to. But those people often want their child to be sort of counted in the system, you know. When you say how x number of people have DYRK1A, they want their child to be in that number even if they don't want to go to the meetups, or they're not quite ready to do that. And of course people change. So, some people join us and think, “We're just going to quietly sit here for a bit,” and then change their mind a bit further down the line. I think, although There She Goes, and what Sarah and Shaun have said about their journey is really similar to many people's journeys, of course everyone is a bit different, and so people want different things at different times. And what we try to do at Unique is to be those things for whenever families need us. Naimah: Yeah, that must be really reassuring for families, knowing that they can come to you whenever they feel ready to more than anything. Shaun Pye: Just to jump in quickly as a sort of user of Unique, from the sort of different perspective from Sarah, that is literally how the service presents. That's not an ideal that they aspire to. That's what it's like. So, I can confirm that – I mean, people think different things, and within our DYRK1A group, for example, you know, there's a broad range of people who think various things, but the one thing about it and Unique is it's very well self-policed, so people know how to behave. You won't be subjected to ill informed sort of medical nonsense. It's very well self-policed, but it's also very, very occasionally – I'm speaking for the DYRK1A group – the example they gave me was around covid and vaccinations, and, you know, people have very strong views about it, and these forums aren't the places to be having that sort of discussion. Sarah Wynn: I think that's exactly it. One of the ways families can connect with each other is via an online forum, and generally we take quite a light touch in moderating it, because the forum is for the families, and we want them to feel ownership and that it's their safe space. But yeah, ever so occasionally, it needs just a tiny little bit of input. But yeah, I think Shaun's right, everybody's there for the same reason, and that's to kind of share experiences, sometimes vent about the world, ask questions, and actually celebrate things that other people might not see as such a celebration. You know, lots of our families, their children might be late to walk, and it's a place where you can celebrate all of those sorts of things as well. [Music] Naimah: So, next I want to move on to talk about 'There She Goes'. So, you mentioned it briefly there, Sarah. So, this is the BBC Two comedy drama, for which Shaun and Sarah were both writers on, and it really draws upon your real-life experiences of caring for Joey. And although the series is posed as a gentle comedy, it also displays really frank and honest emotions experienced by Emily and Simon, who are the parents of Rosie in the programme. Let's listen to the poignant clip from the series by Jessica Hynes, who plays the mother, Emily. Emily: You know, when you're younger and daydream about what family you might have – so, I was the girl who thought Claire always got away with murder. Or when we found out Ben was going to be a boy, if it would be like you and Soph, you know, dorky older brother, biffy outdoor sister who everyone liked, you know. But in none of my dreams was there a girl who… Yeah, who was like Rosie. Yeah… No one ever dreams of a child like Rosie… You know, and I… I love Rosie, but why do I have to be defined by her? You know, for a long time, I felt cheated by her, because she wasn't the girl that I dreamt about, you know. She'd taken her place. And then as she got older and I accepted her more, you know, what if it wasn't that she'd taken her place, what if she just pushed in the queue and then if we started again, then if I had, you know, a normal girl, and then I wouldn't have to… I wouldn't have to resent Rosie anymore because I'd have the family that I'd always wanted, and I'd have – I'd have Rosie as well, yeah. [Sobbing] Just after all these years, haven't I earnt that? [Music] Naimah: Off the back of that, I wondered if you could both tell me a bit more about what it meant for you being able to write for the programme and, you know, what it's meant in the aftermath as well. Shaun Pye: So, it came about - I basically am a TV writer and Sarah's a psychologist, but it came about primarily because I was trying to think of something to write about and we realised that Joey's just an incredible character. Those sort of children aren't featured on mainstream television really at all, I would say. And so we thought it would be an interesting thing to do. But from that sort of slightly selfish motive, I wrote an episode, and Sarah read it and said, “You're not doing that, it's not honest enough” [laughter]. So, Sarah came on board as a writer with me and we cowrote it. The whole thing's cowritten. And it's the most important piece of work I've ever done, I ever will do, and it became far more than just a TV programme. The first series went out and we had a screening, and Unique came to the screening, along with some of the other charities, and we were so terrified of what the response would be. And the fact that the response was what it was, which was overwhelmingly, “It's like looking at our own lives on television,” it was recognition. It was nothing to do with whether the stupid jokes were funny or anything [laughter]. It was purely whether – if anyone had turned round and said, “This has got nothing to do with what it's like bringing up our child,” or our brother or sister or whatever, that would have been quite bad for us, but it wasn't, and that's been the overwhelming response since. It's, “Thank you for putting our life on television, ‘cos it's not normally on television.” So, it became that, and so the second series was even more about that, and then the special that we did was almost totally aimed at, we need to tell these stories because there are so many people in this country who this story isn't being told for them. And it so happened that Joey hit puberty and had some very, very, very problematic behaviours, sort of self-harming behaviours, it happened quite close to her being diagnosed, so we thought this story is just written for us. Joey's written it for us. So, we just sort of wrote down what happened. That was sort of what it was. And then obviously the response to that was very good. So yeah, and we wanted to feature Unique ‘cos that was such an important part of what we'd been through. So yeah, it went from me wanting to further my career to that having nothing to do with it, and me wanting to [laughter] tell the story of children with rare chromosomal disorders and learning disability, and that's what it became. Naimah: I'm sure it must have been almost quite cathartic, I imagine, in a way, to share your story that way, and also, you know, give you a real sense of accomplishment to be able to kind of share your story on that platform. Like you said, like it's never been done before in such a way, and to get that kind of response from other families, it must have really just helped you both in your journey as well, I can imagine. Shaun Pye: For me, because it's what I do for a living, it still retained a certain sense of my job. And, you know, emotionally, obviously, entirely committed to it. All the bits that make you sort of cry, or all the bits that are like, oh my god, Sarah wrote – I wrote all the stupid bits that David Tennant says [laughter]. So, I think it was more cathartic for you. You really had to dig deep into some quite unpleasant memories [laughter]. Sarah Crawford: Yeah, it wasn't always the most comfortable process, you know. We'd sort of agree – I mean, particularly in the earlier process, we'd sort of have a little think about what we wanted to talk about, and then I'd go off and like kind of delve deep into memory, and just type a stream of consciousness, and I'd be sitting there sobbing [laughter], you know, with tears rolling down my face, you know, just reliving these really awful experiences. But yeah, I think the end process ended up being cathartic, and a lot of that was stuff that I would never have imagined sharing with anybody [laughter], let alone, you know, this huge audience of people, which – yeah, strange how things evolve. Shaun Pye: Yeah, I think possibly if we hadn't done this then we might have just tried to not think about these things and not bring them back, and I think we probably wouldn't have spoken to each other – we may have, I don't know. I don't know what would have happened. But I don't think these things would have come out into the open. And very interestingly, another side aspect of it in the catharsis way is the effect the programme had on the wider family. There were certain members of the family who were really shaken by that programme, really shaken, because they had a set view. Even as Joey got older, they had a set view of the history and what had happened, and they were really shaken by the idea that their – out of love again, there's nothing bad here, but they were really shaken by the idea that their actions had a detrimental effect on us when Joey was born. You know, there were people saying, “Well, I didn't say that there was nothing wrong with her,” and, “I didn't say this or that,” but actually when you see it presented in the programme then there was a lot of re-evaluation that went on, in a good way, in a positive way and it's all good. Sarah Crawford: I think there's something about seeing it, you know, and especially given, you know, we were so fortunate with the cast because they're so good at portraying it. And I think there's a power in seeing things played out rather than just hearing about them in the abstract. Naimah: Yeah, definitely. I definitely had moments of crying and laughing, and a range of emotions while I was watching it, so yeah, definitely very powerful. And I guess it's really great for other families going through similar circumstances, for their families to see what's happening and, you know, there's a lot that can be learned from the programme as well. So, you know, it's, yeah, really a powerful piece that you put together. Sarah Wynn: I would really like to echo that. I think Shaun and Sarah have said before that they didn't do it to represent everybody's experience, but actually that is exactly what it has provided. I would say that huge numbers of people are really grateful that that portrayal is there, so that they can be seen and heard and understood so brilliantly. But it has provided other families with the opportunity to show it to their friends and family, so that they understand their life as well. And so I think it's had a hugely positive reaction from our Unique community. And I think it's not always an easy watch, I think lots of families would say it's challenging to see it up close in front of you, but I think it's really cathartic and has been just incredibly powerful at showing these sorts of stories, which, as you said, just don't get shown very often. And I think particularly when we think that rare conditions, although they're individually rare, if you put all of the rare chromosome conditions together, they're not actually that rare, so these are stories that are going on up and down the country and all over the world. Shaun Pye: Just to follow up on something Sarah said earlier on about, you can take as much or little as you like from Unique, it's the same with the show. I've had lots of people get in touch with me or talk to me in person and say, “I'm really sorry, I tried to watch ‘There She Goes' and I can't watch it,” and I have to say, “Don't apologise, you have nothing to apologise for. You take what you need from it. If you can't watch it then don't watch it. If you can watch it then do. There is literally no right or wrong way of doing this. There really isn't.” But having said that, the nicest comment – well, one of the nicest comments I've seen was on the DYRK1A forum. It was someone who casually referred to it as “our show,” as in the DYRK1A community, it belongs to them, and that – yeah, a little tear, a little tear went down my face [laughter]. Naimah: Yeah, that must have been a lovely thing for you to read. That's really nice. Sarah Wynn: Also from the Unique and general people who have rare conditions community, it's been so fantastic for raising awareness about genetic testing and rare conditions in general, and, you know, there just isn't – because these stories don't get talked about or shown about very often, it's been really great from that point of view as well. Naimah: And hopefully this will be the catalyst for similar programmes and, you know, more things in the mainstream media as well. And you did touch on it briefly there, Sarah, about, you know, what the programme's meant for Unique, you know, and the Unique community being very supportive, but have more people reached out to Unique since the programme? Sarah Wynn: I think the main takeaway is that being heard, “Our family's being heard and represented,” which I think is really important. But yes, we've got lots and lots of new families that have come to us through watching There She Goes. And it was really fortuitous that when the special aired last spring/summer, it was the evening before our awareness day, which I think was a complete coincidence but actually turned out to be really great timing. So, we got lots and lots of new families get in touch with us, many of whom then went on to join us. But actually what it also did was get lots of members who'd been members for a long time but perhaps had been a bit quiet, or hadn't been in touch, so it sort of also reinvigorated that engagement from other members who we might not have heard about for ages, and who might have got older children and had been in touch at the point when they were diagnosed, and then hadn't been. So, it has just been such a brilliant, brilliant experience to have Unique as part of it. And I think that's really important. At Unique, we have members from 120 different countries, and the reason is that when you have these rare conditions, you're really unlikely to find someone in the same town as you, possibly not even the same country with some rare conditions, and so the idea that you can connect with people all over the world I think is really important, particularly in rare conditions. Naimah: Yeah, that's great, and hopefully, you know, it just continues to increase support with Unique and, you know, families know they can still come to you as a resource and as that continues. So, I just wanted to kind of wrap up here and come to the final question. So, you know, your story highlights a lot of challenges, a lot of difficulties, a lot of ups and downs, but I just wondered, Shaun and Sarah, if you had any advice for other parents going through similar circumstances. Shaun Pye: Yeah, I think one of the things is what I just said, which is I would tell people there's no right or wrong way of doing this. I would say, from my experience, don't be hard on yourself, and you're going to think that you wish it never happened to you and that's fine. That is absolutely fine. That's normal. We've all thought that. It doesn't make you a bad parent. It makes you a normal human being. I would say to get in touch with Unique. I shied away a little bit from help and charities, ‘cos I think it was a sort of pride. I think I had a preconception that it would be glass half full, put on a happy smile, best foot forward, blitz spirit sort of. We have encountered it a little bit over the years, not very much, but we've encountered a little bit of, you know, “As long as you love them, that's the most important thing,” and, you know, which is fine and that is an okay perspective to have, but there are times when it's just not what you want to hear. I want to be allowed to feel the feelings that I'm having without feeling guilty. So, I would encourage people to seek support from Unique or from wherever. But, you know, generally, the thing I've learnt about people is that the vast, vast majority of people are nice and kind and understanding about this. Not everyone, but most people are good people and, you know, people should remember that, I think. Sarah Crawford: Yeah. I mean, the first thing I was going to say in terms of advice to other people was something Shaun said already, which is the don't be harsh on yourself, because, you know, you're allowed to find it difficult. But I would also say it's okay to grieve the child that you didn't have that you thought you were going to have. I just think that's so important. And I think for me, the most difficult thing in the early couple of years was feeling like I couldn't do that because nobody appreciated that I'd actually lost anything. The world seems to use the word difference a lot at the minute, you know, “These children are different, they're differently abled,” but actually it is disability [laughter], and it is more difficult, you know. There are rewards, there are positives, but, you know, she's 17 and a half now, our daughter. When our son was 17 and a half, you know, the challenges were different, but they were also nowhere near as big [laughter], and I don't think that should get lost. Because I think parents need to feel it's okay to get the help they need and to push for the help they need, and not feel like they've just got to kind of put on a brave face and, you know, as Shaun was saying, the attitude sometimes of, “Well, you've just got to get on with it.” Because while you do, actually, you know, you do need help to do that. It is difficult. Shaun Pye: The only other thing I'd say is, just ‘cos Sarah just mentioned it and it gets forgotten, is the siblings thing. The families with Unique will have all manner of different configurations. I can only speak from our own experience, but Joey has an elder brother, Frank, who is, well, in my opinion, the best human being in the world [laughter], and I'm sure in his mother's opinion as well, but my experience, never forget about the toll it takes on siblings. ‘Cos Frank is a very, very loving brother. Only last night, Joey was typing, “Frank book.” ‘Cos he's gone to university, she likes looking at pictures of him in the photo albums. She likes looking at pictures of old toys mainly. Sarah Crawford: Yeah, yeah, she likes looking at her as a baby and the toys they had. Shaun Pye: Yeah, but it's not really advice, it's just, you know, there's a danger that Joey could have taken over our entire family life, and especially Sarah made sure that didn't happen and that, you know, we were a unit and he was – but, you know, it is possible that it can swallow up your entire life. [Music] Naimah: Okay, so we'll wrap the interview up there. Thank you so much to our guests, Shaun Pye, Sarah Crawford and Sarah Wynn for joining us today as we discussed Shaun and Sarah's journey to Joey's diagnosis, and how charities like Unique can support families of those living with rare conditions. If you'd like to hear more like this, please subscribe to the G Word on your favourite podcast app. Thank you for listening. I've been your host and producer, Naimah Callachand, and this podcast was edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital.

Big time message this week from Inky Johnson "Champions do daily what others do Occasionally!" STANDARDS NOT EXPECTATIONS- It has to be in you not on your! Burn your standards into your soul! Discipline- its never based on how your feel- EVER! PUT IN THE WORK! Help us grow our GET YOUR EDGE community! Share this podcast on X- THE GRAM- FACEBOOK- Help others get better! #chop-it GET YOUR EDGE PODCAST Instagram and Twitter- @getyouredgepod Dean Contact www.foxvalleythrowsclub.com Instagram and Twitter- @foxvalleythrows Brian Contact www.sportsadvantedge.com www.thecoachesedge.com Instagram and Twitter- @foxvalleythrows Brian Contact www.sportsadvantedge.com  Instagram- @sportsadvantedge / @brianbott23 X- @botter23 / @sportadvantedgeappleton Email- Brian@sportsadvantedge.com Graphics and Logo- Bailey Marash Instagram and X- @bmarasch13 #foxvalleythrows #getyouredge #sportsadvantedge #hardwork #athlete #makernation #foxvalley #fireit

Good friends talking about everything in general and nothing in particular. Occasionally thoughtful, often silly, mostly inconsequential.Charbroiled Chats won't change your life but it might make your day.GRACE is a foodie who hates to cook, a Japanophile who has never been to Japan, a movie and music fan who denigrates Hollywood rom-coms and jazz, and a lover of celebrity gossip who doesn't give a rat's ass about celebrities.BAYLIE grew up in the Big Apple but now enjoys a quiet life in the Finger Lakes. Still searching for what she wants to be when she grows up, she fills her time with reading, tackling crossword puzzles, making fuzzy baby blankets and walking with her dog. Not an overly talkative or extroverted person, she often wonders how she ended up on a podcast.WALLY is a fan of F1, dogs and corn fritters. He enjoys talking pictures and taking pictures. He invented podcasting in 1965.--This episode's music: Last Days by Pumpupthemind from Pixabay--Instagram: charbroiledchatsTwitter: @CharbroiledCFacebook: charbroiledchatscharbroiledchats.buzzsprout.comcharbroiledchats@gmail.comEmail Grace, Baylie and/or Wally at charbroiledchats@gmail.com. Unlike most celebrity podcasters, we read and respond to every email.

Occasionally, when we encounter multiple challenges, we tend to lump them together and conclude that life is heading in the wrong direction. However, we often fail to recognize that one problem is usually unrelated to another, and many aspects of life remain intact. Listen to this podcast to learn how to separate your problems and hold an elevated perspective, use your resources to your advantage, and appreciate moments of joy whenever possible. Maybe your life is better than you realize! If you found this podcast enjoyable, kindly consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review. Additionally, I'd appreciate it if you could share it with your friends to spread the love!  You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you are interested in my work, please check out my books, "The Gift of Maybe: Finding Hope and Possibility in Uncertain Times" (including a new audiobook) and "A Year Without Men: A 12 Point Guide To Inspire and Empower Women." Above all, my sincere wish is that this podcast has contributed to less suffering and more joy in your life!    

Today we are going to do something a little different. We are talking to a tech company, but this one is at a very early stage. So I want to  find out what is like for a woman of color to build a tech startup from the ground up. Stay tunedHey everybody, this is Chris Brandt, here with another FUTR podcast.Today we have with us Fisayo Oluwadiya, founder of Resactly a tool that helps groups of people find the best restaurants based on everyones individual food preferences and dietary restrictions. It finds the sweet spot of restaurants so nobody is left out. Fisayo is just at the beginning of her journey with this company. She has her MVP up and running, but now she needs to grow it into a profitable business. So we are going to talk to her about what that journey looks like.Welcome FisayoResactly: https://www.resactly.com/Fisayo's Food Blog: https://www.nycfoodieadventures.com/blog/Click Here to SubscribeFUTR.tv focuses on startups, innovation, culture and the business of emerging tech with weekly podcasts featuring Chris Brandt and Sandesh Patel talking with Industry leaders and deep thinkers.Occasionally we share links to products we use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.

85% of the time. That's consistency. It's not some loosey-goosey "try your best, buddy."In this episode of the Bedrock playbook, I explain the power of this mindset shift in making long-term progress. Bedrock Cohort 009 OPENS for enrolment on March 25th. Join the waitlist here to get EXCLUSIVE offers when we open to new members: https://menofbedrock.com/

Welcome to episode 188 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running. Bath HalfIt's the day after the Bath Half, and I want to talk you through it. First we talk about vlogging or not during a race – I'm not very good at doing this, and decided against it during this one (sorry). So I ran it and have many thoughts, and Hol wasn't running it, but was instead singing with her choir on the route to raise the runners' spirits – and in this, she's hooked. Who loves volunteering as much as running the thing? Exclusive competitionWe've also got a brilliant compo for you! It's a Pod Squad exclusive to win two entries, for you and a friend, to run the Threshold Endure 24 in Reading on the 8th-9th June. Super cool! Endure 24 is the UK's biggest 24-hour trail race, and feels more like a festival than a race. You run it by taking part in 8K loops – and you can do as many or as few of them as you like! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/endure24 for your chance to win a place – good luck!Subscribe Now, if you don't already subscribe to Women's Running magazine, we've got a Pod Squad offer – hop along to womensrunning.co.uk/podsquad and you'll be able to get your mitts on Women's Running for just £3.50 an issue, saving 42% off the cover price. The subscription is risk-free and flexible, so it's the perfect way to get loads more Women's Running fun times for pennies. Lovely extra bitsThis episode is sponsored by Didriksons! Check out their gorgeous jackets and coats, and get 20% off with the code RUN24 before 7 April.Subscribe to Women's Running – join us today to save loads, it's only £3.50 an issue!Get your hands on How to Run 5K with Esther and Holly, available at shop.womensrunning.co.uk / ExtrasDownload a FREE mini mag to help you run 5K! Go to womensrunning.co.uk/runBuy a Pod Squad t-shirt!Do join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningPlease continue to donate whatever you can to our fundraiser for the Trussell Trust – Holly and I ran 5K and donated £5, but you can give whatever you can afford. Search Anthem on JustgivingEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unlock the full potential of your Amazon advertising efforts with the expertise of PPC maestro Destaney Wishon of BTR Media, who brings a wealth of knowledge to our illuminating discussion on Amazon PPC strategies. Listen as we dissect the limitations of relying solely on ACoS metrics, advocate for sales volume and profitability harmony, and delve into her firsthand experiences with Helium 10's powerhouse Amazon PPC tool, Adtomic. The conversation takes a turn into the synergy of PPC and organic ranking approaches, providing you with actionable insights to enhance your ad campaigns and achieve success in the Amazon marketplace. Get ready to navigate the tricky waters of Amazon PPC campaigns for non-repeat purchase products, where we tackle the tactical acceptance of losses to build organic rank and the criticality of budget allocation for long-term gains. The episode is packed with rich strategies, including leveraging Amazon's Search Query Performance reports and optimizing bids with precision. Discover the art of juggling multiple product variants in PPC and the effectiveness of single keyword campaigns, all while managing to maintain a robust presence in a competitive niche market, like supplements.   Our TACoS Tuesday program culminates in a robust discussion on keyword match types, revealing how exact and phrase matches can coexist without cannibalizing each other's potential. Destaney shares her valuable insights on sponsored brand video ads, the finesse of managing bids outside of Amazon's console, and the tactics for handling unprofitable long-tail search terms. From the strategic considerations for small-budget brands to the nuances of keyword research and Amazon PPC tips for new sellers, this podcast episode is a great resource for anyone looking to elevate their Amazon advertising game and carve out their brand's success. In episode 545 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Destaney discuss: 00:00 - Amazon PPC Strategy Q&A With Destaney 02:44 - Understanding PPC Strategy and Metrics 06:06 - Custom Bidding Rules in Adtomic 10:00 - Amazon's Impact on Organic Ranking 13:08 - Establishing Product With Profitable Keywords 16:11 - Maximizing Amazon Product Visibility  19:24 - Controlling Bids for Amazon Search Results 21:05 - Amazon Advertising Strategy and Optimization 23:39 - Day Parting Strategies on Amazon 25:22 - Amazon PPC Strategy and Keyword Research 26:47 - Amazon Seller Strategy and Consumer Behavior 30:25 - Improving Product Visibility on Amazon 35:56 - More Amazon PPC Strategy and Tips 42:18 - Understanding Amazon Suggested Bids ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On Youtube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Transcript Bradley Sutton: Today we've got one of the top minds in all the Amazon PPC world, Destaney, back on the show and she answered all of your live questions on Amazon advertising that, actually, this was no doubt the best set of questions we've ever had on the show. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Bradley Sutton: If you're like me, maybe you were intimidated about learning how to do Amazon PPC or maybe you think you just don't have the hours and hours that it takes to download and sort through all of those sponsored ads reports that Amazon produces for you. Adtomic for me allowed me to learn PPC for the first time, and now I'm managing over 150 PPC campaigns across all of my accounts in only two hours a week. Find out how Adtomic can help you level up your PPC game. Visit h10.me/adtomic for more information. That's h10.me/adtomic. Bradley Sutton: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I am your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show that is our live monthly TACoS Tuesday program, where you go over anything and everything Amazon PPC related, and we throw in a little bit of Walmart here and there, as well. And so, for those who this is your first time to the show. What we do is we bring on an outside expert once a month to answer live on all of our platforms, your top PPC questions. There's no question that's too basic or no question, hopefully, that's too advanced. We'll answer them all. So let's go ahead and invite our very special guest. For the first time since last year from BTR media, we've got Destaney in the house. Destaney, how's it going? Destaney: Whoa. Well, now you have me a little nervous. You said you know, hopefully we don't have any questions too advanced. We'll see what happens. Bradley Sutton: Well, for you, like, I might not say that for all of our guests, but you know, since Destaney's on here, it's like, nah, like you can ask anything. Destaney: We'll see what happens. Bradley Sutton: Give us a quick bio of yourself for those who might not have heard your previous episodes and previous years here and this is the first time I'm listening to you. Destaney: Yeah, of course. So I've been in this space for seven years, worked everything from some of the largest brands on the platform to also the small sellers. I feel like we've worked with a lot of people that have gotten up and gotten ready and launched, and I've done nothing but Amazon advertising for seven years straight. So I think personally, I've managed over $500 million worth of spend, every category, every scenario I think I've dealt with this point. Used to be founder of better AMS, we've now rebranded to BTR media. Bradley Sutton: Now that we've established, you know, what you're talking about, we're just going to hop right into it. Before I get to the user's questions, I had some things I wanted to ask. I'm going to ask some questions about Adtomic. I have got some general questions, but actually, first let me get to the general question. So I know there's been a, I don't want to call it a movement lately, but maybe there's more awareness of in the industry about, hey, it's not always just about ACoS when you are trying to, you know, determine or strategize with your PPC. But my question first of all is there a certain level that that statement applies to? Like, if I'm a brand new seller and you know I don't have, you know, this big budget to and I'm not trying to build this humongous brand and try to get awareness out there, should I still be maybe using that as my primary metric? Or if so, is there a certain level where all of a sudden, I need to be shifting my metrics I'm looking at? Destaney: I think, in simplest answers, you should always be shifting your metrics. In the beginning, cash flow is king. That's what matters the most, right, especially as a individual seller. You are financing every next round of inventory and if you can't afford that inventory, you're not going to have a brand. And how do you make sure you can afford that inventory while making sure that, marginally, you're in a good spot, which is where ACoS comes into play, right, you can't just hemorrhage money. Destaney: That being said, when you're launching, you also need to make sure you're driving volume and improving your organic rank and getting more review. So I think, in the very beginning, ACoS may be less important as you're driving that velocity. It's more about margin. So, all that to say, I think there's a million different variables. We have brands that come to us and like hey, our only goal is a $3 row. As this is a marketing budget, it doesn't influence anything else. We have brands that come to us that are solely focused on profit margin at scale. So we need to make considerations for what that looks like. Bradley Sutton: Love it. Love it. All right, excellent. Now let's go hop in Adtomic because, you know, for the first time you and your agency are getting into, you know, using Adtomic and using it for some of your clients. You've only been doing it for a couple of months now. What are some of your initial kind of reactions, like how, what are the strengths that you guys have been noticing about it? Destaney: Well, I think there's a few things I want to hit on here is one, our agency has always used Helium 10 from like a keyword research, organic rank, BSR tracking perspective, which is why I was like, hey, let's see if there's better integrations we can do. Destaney: Everyone who's been following me knows I preach the relationship between PPC and your organic rank. So that was what was really insightful for us is like okay, let's see what it looks like. Managing it all within one tool and being able to track that overall relationship. At its simplest, I think Adtomic drives a lot of value. And giving you one view of all of that, I mean, you can go immediately into your search terms tabs and pull up search volume, and that you know. As anyone who's managed a brand, I get millions of questions of why are my sales down week over week, and being able to overlay things like search volume is super important, I mean beyond that. Day parting hourly parting is always a hot topic within the industry and being able to stay in tune with all of those new rollouts or generative AI. Those are things that most of the industry is behind on right and you've always relied on native ad console to make those adjustments. But now having in a tool that allows the simplicity of scale has been a major value add. Bradley Sutton: Awesome. Awesome. Now, one of the things that Adtomic has released in the last few months or so is the ability to make your own custom rules. You know, we always allowed you to make a certain level of custom rules but now even for your bid management. And so you know, as we just mentioned, you know, obviously you know some people might still be doing ACoS, people might be doing RoAS impressions. There's so many different things and we pretty much allow anybody to choose like, hey, whatever you do, this is what you should. Bradley Sutton: This is, you know, you can go ahead and implement it in Adtomic. Now, you know, having, you know, spent some time in there, what would be your suggestion First of all for, like you know, maybe a newer seller or, you know, medium sized seller, if I'm looking to, like, create my own rules for bidding. There's literally a million possibilities so I might be overwhelmed. I know there's no one size fit all answer here, but maybe can you give a couple ideas about what you would suggest somebody to do to put in Atomic so that it manages their bids effectively. Destaney: Yeah. I'm going to start philosophically here, in that I always say that anytime a software opens up the Black Box and allows for rule creation, they're putting themselves in a risky position because, in my opinion, most sellers don't actually understand bid management appropriately, right. It's only like the advanced sellers that can really hop in and truly understand bid management. So the fact that you all have opened it up for everything and taken that risk is huge in my opinion because that is the biggest flaw of some of the softwares in the space is they don't give you that customization. All of that to say everyone who's like hey, I have all of the power to, you know, give myself a 5% ACoS. Be careful, because a tool is only as good as your ability to use it. Like, truly. I've audited and vetted almost every single platform. Destaney: I feel like we've gone through building our own rules customizations. Most people don't actually know bid management well enough to build their own rules, but if you do, I think the biggest things that we look at is we create rules for the different outcomes we want. If we're launching a brand new product, then we're creating rules that are based off sales. So we're going to be taking a deep dive into hey, what is the conversion rate and what is the sales? And we're going to build rules for maximizing that increased bid when I have a certain conversion rate. Destaney: On the flip side, if our goal is profitability, we're going to work backwards from our ACoS or our RoAS goal. We're going to say, hey, let's build rules that are based on lowering bids when our ACoS is too high and maybe layering in our conversion rates also low, let's go even lower, right. So those are the two simplest ones that we look at, but it really needs to be strategic. You can create rules that are based off the phase your product's in, whether it's launch, consistency, profitability, organic rank. You can create rules based off your overall business outcomes, which is always an important one is what is that key RoAS that you're going to optimize for all of your campaigns, but just making sure not to over complicate it in the beginning. And once you start to understand the correlation between CPC and RoAS, then you can start building in a little bit more customization around lifecycle and things like that. Bradley Sutton: One more of my questions. I get to be selfish and stop in the host here and decide when to bring in the user's questions. But just going back to that topic of ACoS versus other metrics, I think there's so many people who have for years, just that's all they've thought about and they're like well, doesn't it make sense? Like hey, if I'm losing profitability because I'm spending more for my advertising and this is how much it's costing me per sale, like should I always just automatically lower my bids because I need to be profitable? But can you explain why? No, that's not always the case. That might actually be hurting you in the long run. Destaney: So the reason it's become so much more important to not always focus on a low ACoS is because Amazon's search results have become more saturated with ads. I think everyone amen right from the pews here. The reason being is obviously Amazon's making a lot of revenue off their advertising but also they've done a great job of their relevancy and still having a clean customer experience. The problem with that is if you start slipping an organic rank and you fall to page two or page three. There's a joke of, you know, the best place to bury a dead body is page two of Google. Well, Amazon's very similar right. A lot of people don't go to page two and page three. So if your organic rank starts slipping, you're going to be in a tough spot. Now, why does your organic rank slip? Well, you either have a decrease in conversion rate or you're not driving the amount of sales or units as your competitors, right? Destaney: Anyone who's watched Bradley's honeymoon period philosophy knows that a lot of these factors influence your organic rank. So there's a level of Amazon advertising that just drives sales, and we know sales improve your organic rank. So your PPC directly correlates with your total sales, right. The more sales you drive, the better your organic rank is the more reviews that are going to be left, which is going to improve your conversion rate, which is going to drive more sales, which is going to thus spin the flywheel. So that is why it's really important to understand the PPC relationship between your total sales. You know some people we've had quite a few clients say I'm going to stop PPC completely, which is fine for 30 days. Your profit's amazing. And then 60 days or 90 days or 45 days later, their rank starts dropping and now their total sales are decreasing even more. And, as we know, with profit there's economies of scale. You may want to drive a lot more units at a lower profit margin, but still end up with a higher overall profit if you improve your organic rank. Bradley Sutton: Let's go ahead and hop into the live questions we've got from YouTube. RH says we're optimizing a mature campaign. How frequent should I do it and what is the look back window you prefer? Destaney: I'm going to start with look back window. That one's easier to answer. We typically look at last 30 days. The reason being is you don't want to really look longer than that because there's a lot of variables that are going to affect your look back window. If you start going to 60 and 90 days, you're going to be getting into seasonality. You could have major conversion rate changes over that time frame. So we like to look at last 30. Last seven's almost too small because of your attribution window. That being said, if you lower your price or you have something crazy going on that changes your conversion rate, you probably need to look at a smaller look back window. Destaney: When it comes to how frequently do you optimize, there's a lot of different opinions in this space and I don't think it matters too much. If we're being honest, we optimize when we have enough data to optimize. So once I get a certain threshold of clicks, I typically start making bid optimization decisions based off that click threshold, which is something that you can build out again within Adtomic. So if you have $100 price point product, you're going to need more clicks to have enough data right, because customers like to think and click and take a longer time to purchase, so really depends. Bradley Sutton: Next question here. This is from Steven from YouTube. How long do you think you should run PPC at a loss to establish a product? It's not a repeatable purchase product. Destaney: That second part of that question is super valuable. If it's not a repeat purchase product, we typically run on a loss during the organic rank period, right. When we're trying to get up to closer to the top of the page. So that way, as we go higher up on the page, that means we don't have to rely on PPC as much to drive all of our views. So that is what we use as our lever of success. If we get into the top 40 for some of our top keywords, then maybe we're going to start focusing more on profitability. Again, it also depends on what your general margins are. If you have $50,000 set aside where you can focus on organic rank, then maybe it makes sense to start from the beginning at a loss. But if you don't have that money set aside cash flow is important then maybe you need to focus on layering in more profitability-focused keywords and bid optimization. Bradley Sutton: And Amazon Girl says do you have a strategy to increase brand share in Amazon using PPC and what do you recommend? Destaney: 100%. So Pacvue actually released a study, I think, two years ago, that 70% of click share goes to the top placements on the page, which, as we know, are typically sponsored ads. So we've ran this for a lot of our original CPG brands. We'll create campaigns specifically focused on top of search for two to three of our top keywords that we want to increase brand share for. So we're creating campaigns that are solely focused on brand share. That's what the name is in the campaign title. We only focus on the exact match. Destaney: So we have really good control and we just bid really high. We bid high enough that we're winning as much impression share as possible. Now we may not be able to afford to win that impression share 100% of the time. It can be really expensive at top of search. But we have those campaigns set aside so we can increase and decrease our budget as needed. Then you can go into your search query performance report and say, hey, for this keyword that I'm focusing on brand share. What is my search query performance and am I actually increasing brand share in that scenario? Bradley Sutton: Yeah, I think search query performance is amazing, that Amazon has released that data first of all, and so powerful, I think, for sellers. But I think one popular strategy let me just get your viewpoint on this is like hey, let me see where my conversion rate for a keyword is better than the average since Amazon shows that. And then hey, if I'm not doubling down on or if I'm not showing up at the top of search, I need to go ahead and double down on that, increase my bid, whereas on the flip side, would your strategy be like? Maybe my overall conversion rate is not as good as my competitors, maybe I should even consider pulling back a spend. I know that's a kind of over-generalization, but is that kind of like your general strategy there? Destaney: 100%, especially on the advertising side, like that's where a lot of people waste spend. They're saying you know, I'm selling a purple pin, this is a maroon pin, right, and maybe they bid on purple pin and their conversion rate is terrible and they're like let me keep spending on that turn, let me drive more people to there, because maybe they're going to start converting. They're not right, unless you adjust your listing to say, hey, this is purple and not maroon, and it'll hurt your organic rank if you drive a ton of traffic to terms that are converting really poorly because Amazon's saying, hey, customers are landing on this page but they're not buying. They don't need to be at the top of the page. I want to put products at the top of the page that are going to drive sales. Bradley Sutton: A YouTube question from Silver Arrow says how, on sponsored products, can we promote all variants to take up real estate to dominate the niche? Amazon only allows one variant to display. This might be promoting all colors on PPC, so yeah, in most categories. Destaney: Most, I was going to call that out. Bradley Sutton: You know, like you can only show up organically for one. You know, I've seen like energy drinks. Destaney: Yep. Bradley Sutton: You know like I've seen other categories too, or every single variant, but on PPC it's usually the same. For sponsored product, yep, but would I mean, I'm not saying I suggest this strategy, but theoretically, if somebody's really just concerned about real estate on page one and they are in a category where only one sponsored product or one organic can show up, would it be all right? Here's my organic rank and then maybe my sponsored product for that keyword is another variation, maybe my three. I put three sponsored brand headline, you know, ads for three different products, maybe a sponsored video for another one or something like that. I mean like other than that. Is there a way that you can force Amazon to get multiple things when it's not natural? Destaney: There's no way to really force it. Like you said, there's also a lot of inconsistency in Amazon testing how they're breaking out variations, so we've never found a great way to do it. Sponsored brand headline search ads the best way to show all of your variants. We do have a few brands that have actually split up, especially if it's like flavor variations chocolate protein versus vanilla protein. They've seen a lot of success splitting those up. That's not for everyone because now you're having to put PPC costs behind two different variations, right. It gets a lot more costly even though you are making up more market share. The only other small thing I would say is like from a cannibalization perspective, like you said, make sure you're running different ads at the top than what you're organically ranked for and make sure you're running brand defense ads on your product detail page. Bradley Sutton: Jalil says when using a single keyword campaign, do you use a top of search modifier, and what percentage do you find the best results with? I usually do 10% to 20% when using a top of search. Destaney: This one's a difficult, right, if you're coming from some of the other software companies in the space whose placement modifiers to optimize all of their bids. We don't recommend that strategy at BTR media because it gets really complex. If my only goal is to win top of search, I just bid really high and then also put a modifier on. Bradley Sutton: Thank you. Thank you. If somebody else says I like that, I always felt like it's not so popular to say that and I'm like man. Am I in the minority here? Like, why am I the only one still old school? Destaney: I will go a tiny bit deeper. The problem with modifiers and a lot of people haven't probably dove into the documentation on this is there's a little asterisk that says Amazon will only apply the modifier based off the likelihood of a sell. So a lot of people are assuming that every single time the click happens that modifier was applied, and that's not true. So it just, in my opinion, causes a lot of inconsistency. You want to win top of search? Go bid $50. Within five minutes you'll see you're at it, top of search, and then you'll see the CPC. It took you to get there. Bradley Sutton: What I tell people is, you know, maybe without Helium 10, I might do that. But the reason why I always stayed old school and just was controlling my bid was I don't need a top of search modifier. I'm not going to give Amazon the wheel in cases where I don't have to. You know like and just trust that Amazon's going to do exactly the right thing. I'm going to fully control the bid because I just put that keyword in Keyword Tracker, or actually in Adtomic, you can actually see the keyword ranks too, and within three hours I'm going to see three consecutive ranks where I can see oh, I obviously need to increase my bid, or, man, I'm already at the very top of search, you know, naturally, on sponsors, so maybe I can pull back and just see where it is. So it's like you don't have to guess where you're showing up because you just put in Keyword Tracker, put boost on, you'll know right away. It's refreshing to hear somebody else say the same thing here. Bradley Sutton: Another question from YouTube, Rebecca says is it still recommended to put the same keyword in all three match types? And also, does it hurt your organic rank to pause keywords that aren't relevant to your product but are not performing? Destaney: This is a great question. We run in all three match types for our brands because there's different purposes. Our exact match we know exactly where they're showing up on the page. We have a lot of control. Our phrase match opens up a little bit more opportunity for keyword research. So if I'm bidding on Chapstick, I'm going to start finding oh, people are typing in I don't know peppermint Chapstick or vanilla Chapstick, so it helps me expand that. Broad match does the same. It's a good keyword research methodology for us and if you have good bid management, it's going to allow you to harvest a lot of new keywords. Destaney: If I'm a really small brand and I don't have a big budget, I would probably only focus on exact match and phrase match internally. They do not compete. That's a misconception and I pulled our agency data yesterday on this. Exact match has driven $9 million in sales for us at a 15% conversion rate. Phrase match is also driven $8.9 million in sales at a 13.5% conversion rate and broad match was a little bit under that because we lower our bids on broad match conversion rate I think was the lowest at maybe 12%, but because we had good bid management. Our RoAS and ACoS was the same on almost all of them so they act in a different manner. Destaney: Right, it's still expanding. And then the other quick question is does it hurt your organic rank? Not necessarily, but you got to think it's slowing your sales volume down so it could in the long term hurt your organic rank. The better answer is just lower your bids. Right, if it's a great keyword with a great conversion rate you can't afford, maybe top of search, lower your bid to make that term profitable, even if sales slow down. Bradley Sutton: A lot of great questions say this is pretty cool. Destaney: Good questions. Bradley Sutton: Gregori says my ad sales are driven by 60 to 70% by a sponsor brand video. Because of that, I'm not well ranked on my main keywords our sponsor brand ads. I'm assuming he's talking about both sponsor brand and sponsor brand video. Are these helping with ranking at all? So I think what he's talking about is like maybe he's got a video and it's showing up on the Coffin Shelf page or a Coffin Shelf search results. Somebody typed in Coffin Shelf now if it was just regular sponsored product ad, that's definitely going to help the algorithm. But if somebody clicks the sponsored brand video ad from that same search. Me personally, when I tested this maybe one year, two years ago, it didn't have as much impact, if anything at all. What are you seeing lately? Destaney: Pretty much the same. So sponsor brands video has almost no impact from what we've seen, other than the fact that again, you're still driving sales. So there's a small factor there. But let's talk about why, really fast, sponsored products make up 70% of your sales, when ran appropriately, because they have more real estate on the page than anything else. Sponsored brands video have two placements on the search results and one on the product detail page so their real estate is so much less that they don't really drive enough overall volume to make a difference. And then when they do drive sales, it's being distributed across multiple ASINs typically. So if you just look at like the math, they drive a lot less sales to specific keywords and that's why and then sponsor brands video again is considering all of your brand halo, not necessarily correlating a keyword to a product from an organic rank perspective. Bradley Sutton: All right. Rebecca said hey, do you think there will be a chance to create bid rules where we can lower the bids on certain days and times? You can do that in Adtomic, so make sure to do that. We call that schedules. A lot of people just call that day parting. But Amazon, I mean, do you think Amazon will allow or will have that in seller central? Destaney: I do. I think it's on the roadmap. Actually, one thing I'll throw out there is I don't recommend using Advertising Console for this. So put this in the shortest way possible. Amazon has an API called Amazon Marketing Stream that actually shows you hourly insights on spend and sales. Adtomic uses that all the software providers use it. From an API perspective, Advertising Console does not give you that access into the insights. So within ad console, you cannot see when someone clicked on an ad at 3pm on Tuesday but purchased on Wednesday at 9am. Adtomic's giving you that so you can actually day part appropriately. Advertising Consoles not. That being said, what you can do in this scenario lower your bids to the level that you need 100% of the time and then increase your bid when you're performing best right. So just inverse what a typical day parting is. Lower the hours that you think you're performing poorly, increase when you do incredibly well and just run the inverse of day parting. Bradley Sutton: My buddy DotadaSilva says he's got a two part question here. So what's your suggestion on a bunch of my unprofitable long tail search term reports? If he combines it all he sees $9,000 in spend with zero sales, but they have less than 15 clicks. So maybe he's got some rule that says, hey, if I find a search term that has 25 clicks, let's go ahead and negative, but this doesn't qualify as that. He says all are very relevant keywords impression is good. So what should I do? Should I lower the bid or should I negate them, or should I put them in a separate campaign? Destaney: If your brand is only focused on profitability, I would just pause them. I would not negate. I don't think so. And this is again. This is a difficult situation to pin on the brand. My personal opinion is 10 to 15 clicks is not enough clicks to actually make a decision. What I would do is I would lower your bid on all of those data collection long tail keywords so that way, even if you have 200 of them each getting 10 clicks each, you're not spending enough money to really make a big enough difference. You're slowly collecting data until you figure out whether or not that keyword converts at a $1 bid. It's going to be really costly to collect that data across 200 keywords and 15 clicks, right? I don't really know if it'd be valuable putting them in a separate campaign. I would just lower bid. Bradley Sutton: Do you skip the last two days of the look back window? Destaney: Yeah. That's traditionally recommended 100%. If something crazy happens then no, it's not necessary. You could still look. But fun fact, I believe the window Amazon last presented between the time that someone searches for a product and makes a purchase is over five days, right, which is crazy. So if you run an ad and you see your spending driving law spend on Monday, there's a good chance that person's not checking out until Friday, which is my whole day parting soapbox. But we don't need to get into that. Bradley Sutton: Yeah. It's kind of, you know, like it's funny, because this is why, as Amazon sellers and this is a completely generalized statement, but we as Amazon sellers should not be looking at our strategy based on what we do as consumers, because me personally, if I click on something, I'm buying it. And then what opened up a whole world to me was when search crew performance ran. I was like, why are these numbers so low? And then, yeah, I talked to Amazon about they're like no, this is only looking at those who take action in a 24-hour window after a click. I'm like and like who doesn't buy something when they add it to the cart? And then I, all of a sudden, I started asking people and I was the weird one. You know, people are like. Destaney: Yeah, yeah, like. Bradley Sutton: I had a whole bunch of stuff to my cart and I think about it for a couple days and then I'm like what? So? So like again. This is not necessarily just PPC, but if you guys are running your businesses based on your own consumer behavior, guys, that's not the majority out there. You got it. You got to have strategy that applies to more people. Destaney: Yep. Bradley Sutton: Get the next question we got or do our first one from LinkedIn, from Tobias. What is your approach about auto campaigns? Do you just use them for keyword harvesting, or is there something more about it? Destaney: Auto campaigns do win unique inventory, like in stop, so they actually influence the frequently bought together section. Occasionally, you'll see a sponsored ad there. Sometimes you'll see a sponsored ads and like the lightning deal section. So that's a good reason to continue to run auto campaign. So we do continue to run them for almost all of our products. We also aggressively keyword harvest. Like all of our systems are built out for quick keyword harvesting, so we run them in segmented close match, loose match, compliments, substitutes in order to go ahead and make sure we're consistently getting great keyword research. We don't really recommend running your auto campaigns with more than 10% of your spend historically because you don't have a lot of control. But we do continue to run them because of the unique inventory. Bradley Sutton: Any circumstances for which you would recreate a new exact match campaign, or why a key phrase would do well under broad match but not exact. So I'm not sure this is what she's asking. But, like you know, sometimes I've heard people say, hey, I've got a good keyword. It's in my, my exact manual campaign. It just gets like very low Impressions. But then I put it in a new one and all of a sudden it gets impressions which doesn't, you know, make sense. But is that just what we should do? If we don't see it have good impressions, just try it again in a new one. Destaney: Yeah. It's definitely worth testing. I think you know let's talk about Chevalier's. Second point here is sometimes when you harvest a keyword from your auto campaigns or broad match and you put it into exact match, it doesn't perform as well, or the reverse. The reason being is your campaigns and your keywords attract or collect relevancy, right, Amazon's an algorithm, so they like to make database decisions. So maybe you have the keyword Chapstick in an auto campaign. Destaney: That's always done amazingly well for you, and the reason it did well is because it was a 17-cent bid on page 5. And then you go ahead and you pull it out and you decide to try to put it in a manual campaign at a $2 bid and all of a sudden it does terrible, and that's because it's showing up a different placement on the page. You put it into a new campaign and now you're showing up at the top of page one and all of your competitors have 50,000 reviews. So your conversion rate looks worse, right? So all of that to say test like we definitely move our keywords around and harvest a hundred percent. We also will create exact match campaigns for different purposes. We have ranking campaigns then we have profitability campaigns. They're both bidding on exact match. One of them is just focused on ranked ones, on profitability, so we do recommend that. Bradley Sutton: Okay then just one other tip out there for people who maybe it's on a brand new product and, no matter what you do, you can't get many impressions when you know that there's search volume for this. It could be a relevancy issue where Amazon just doesn't think that your product is what it is and the way you can kind of have visibility and not using Helium 10. Guys, put the product in Cerebro and then look at the column that I would say 99% of Cerebro users don't look at, but in my opinion it might be one of the top three things in the entirety of Helium 10 is look at the Amazon recommended rank for it. This is a live pool directly from this one thing that, for whatever reason, Helium 10 is the only one that's been showing this for like years, but it's what Amazon thinks the product is. Bradley Sutton: So if you see Amazon recommended rank one through 20 and it's a bunch of keywords that aren't really what your product is, it means Amazon is confused. And if that keyword is like at number 300 or maybe not even on the list, then yeah, you're not gonna get impressions for it because that's literally how Amazon decides what it's going to show you for. So that's just another way you can get some visibility at least into that. Steven says how do you, oh, it's a good one, how do you approach keywords that used to convert very well but they've fallen off for a month or more? Destaney: I want. I'd be very curious if conversion rate is the metric Steven's actually calling out here, or if he's looking at it for, or if he's saying ACoS used to be better and now it's not. If your conversion rate has changed, the biggest thing I'll take a look at is did your listing change? Did you have a drop in review count to review quality? Did you make a change to your images? Why? Like? Destaney: The real question you're asking, Steven, is why did customers stop buying my product after landing on my page, which isn't necessarily a PPC issue, right, that's a listing issue. Now there is a small portion of this which could be a PPC issue, and that's maybe. You used to show up at the top of the page and now you're showing up at the bottom of the page and your conversion has changed slightly because share of shelf is different. You're now being compared to different products depending on where your ads are, but more than likely, if it's a conversion issue, that is a listing issue. It's rarely a PPC issue. When you talk about conversion, if it was an ACoS or a RoAS issue, then more than likely your bid management changed or your conversion rate changed. Bradley Sutton: Jillil says, when dealing with supplements that are in a, that are a complex and not just a singular ingredient, how would you do your keyword research and PPC strategy? For example, a joint support supplement with five ingredients versus something like vitamin C, which is a singular ingredient? Destaney, what is up with these good questions? Destaney: I know it's a great. . . Bradley Sutton: I don't know like you just attract, I gotta have you on all the time you can track some of the best stuff. Destaney: This is a great question. I'm very familiar with this category and the core answer is Stop getting caught up in just the keyword research, right? This is one of those things where, to Bradley's point earlier, stop thinking as a seller and start thinking as a customer. No one is typically tight. Well, that's a lie. Most people are typing in joint supplements. Most people are typing in vitamin C supplement, right? So target those. Destaney: The problem is knowing that category. Your CPCs for both of those are typically around $20. I've worked in them very familiar. You can't afford those usually. So you do start layering in more ingredients because if a customer types in vitamin C, they don't know what they want. Right, they want some type of vitamin C. But if they type in vitamin C deficiency for so and so and so it's going to be a lot lower search volume, but they're going to convert much higher because they've done their research and they know your product is what they're looking for. So just create campaigns for both. Create campaigns for your top singular keywords that you probably can't afford but you're going to give a low budget to anyways, and then create campaigns based off the ingredients. Maybe it's one ingredient, maybe it's probiotics with fiber, I don't know I'm totally making that up and then create another campaign for probiotics with vitamins or collagen and then figure out what's performing best and scale what's best and pull back on what's not. Bradley Sutton: Toseef says I'm getting good sales of the good ACoS on a keyword. Should I always keep on increasing the bit of that keyword or not? Destaney: It depends, really. You know you're looking at this on a micro level. If your overall account is within your ACoS, then maybe just keep it. If you have a little bit room to grow, then raise your bid and drive more sales. Bradley Sutton: But looking at the keyword rank also is good too. If you're already at the top of the page, you know there's no sense to necessarily, you know, increase your rank because then maybe somebody else is just going to do the same thing and now you're everybody's just driving the cost up needlessly. Brent says I've got multiple products that I'm targeting the same search terms. If I have multiple campaigns for multiple products bidding on the same search terms, am I artificially driving up the bids? Destaney: No, the only time you have to worry about this is if you're running out of separate seller central accounts and then competing. Bradley Sutton: Were you surprised when the keyword report added for ASIN targeting? What's your approach about ASIN targeting and how much sales do you need for extra campaigns for specific ASINs to push them separately? Destaney: Not surprised. This has actually been a thing for quite some time and pretty much it's saying, hey, I'm targeting this product, but this product also indexes for these top five keywords, so let me show up there. In general, you got to consider, Amazon is moving into a more AI model. It's going to be a lot less paper click and a lot more shopper intent. That's included. I, theoretically, have seen sponsored products also run retargeting. So when things are out of my control, I try not to worry about it and what I do instead is be more concise with my campaign structure so that way I can break out my reporting. Bradley Sutton: Matt says I've got a variation listing. I got a 10 pack and a 20 pack. Should I drive people traffic to the cheaper option which tends to sell better? Destaney: Yeah, I would. So you got to think about it from a PPC goal. The only thing you want is to bring people into your listing. The lower price point is going to bring them into your listing. That doesn't mean they're not going to buy the 20 pack. We almost always recommend running on the lower price point even though your margins are going to look a little bit worse or your performance is going to look a little bit worse RoAS wise. You're going to bring them into the listing and then they're still going to buy the more expensive if they want it. Bradley Sutton: Tracy says how many keywords per campaign or ad group and what's a good way to structure. Destaney: So one thing I'm going to run through really quickly is we personally run one campaign, one ad group. We run multiple ad groups because your budget is on the campaign level. Amazon makes you set a hundred dollar budget, whatever that number is, and then, if you have multiple ad groups, you can't control if this ad group is getting $50 or $20 or $30. So I run one campaign, one ad group and then we typically put 10 to 15 keywords. There's no perfect answer. There's a lot of myths in the space. The end of the day, it's however much budget you have. I have brands that have millions of dollars of budget so I can set 200 keywords in a campaign because I know I have enough budget to collect data on all those keywords. For most people, we recommend anywhere from one keyword for your top driving to 20 keywords and not going over that. Bradley Sutton: Just a quick one before I forget. This is one of my questions. Obviously, one of the rules that we can do for keyword harvesting in Adtomic is like say hey, this is, if I find a keyword in an auto or broad or phrase campaign at this threshold, I want you, as an Adtomic to move this to my exact manual campaign. What is? Obviously there's different strokes for different folks, but is it two purchases? Is it three purchases? Is it two purchases or three purchases, or four purchases plus a certain ACoS? What is a decent rule of thumb? Destaney: When I originally started, so I'm going to throw that out there from simplicity's sake. I think I did two sales under like a 100% ACoS. The reason I kept my ACoS high is because I knew when I harvested that keyword I could just lower my bid at the end of the day. What really matters is that it's driving sales. Conversion rates another important one to layer in is like your average conversion rate. As long as it's higher than that, you're fine. Bradley Sutton: Sandy says we're thinking of lowering retail to. I'm assuming he means maybe the retail price to improve conversion rate. Have you seen a better conversion rate when using a lower everyday low price or a coupon? Destaney: It depends on your competitors. Of course, a lower price is probably going to improve your conversion rate. At the end of the day, would you be better off optimizing your listing better and maintaining a high price? Would you be better off adding more value to your product? Those are things you can consider, because the problem with lowering your price is you get into a race of chasing the bottom. All of your competitors can also lower their price. The real value add is improving your product. Bradley Sutton: What's been working for BTR media and your clients as far as custom images in sponsored brand campaigns and types of sponsored brand video campaigns because I feel like this changes year over year what performs best. Destaney: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is obviously CPCs have gotten a lot more competitive with video and creative, as people are doing it more and more. Destaney: So, yeah, I think that's it, thank you. I have gotten into arguments about the generative AI sponsor brands and a lot of people are like, yeah, and you know it's not working, it's terrible, but we've seen amazing performance. We've actually split test against commercial grade creatives that, like, professional brands have used, and generative AI is in line with it. Of course, it's up to your prompt, but don't over complicate it. When customers are on Amazon, they're not looking to click on commercials, they're looking to click on something that looks native to the platform, which is where I think AI does a decent job of simplicity. So, you know, for Christmas last year, we took a brand that has like 2000 ASINs and we used AI to make every single ASIN like Christmas. We just added a little Christmas tree and it did incredibly, incredibly well because people knew it was a seasonal item. Bradley Sutton: All right. Last question of the day, it's from a brand new person to the Amazon. I'm sure there's a lot of brand new people out there. Maybe they were too shy to ask a question, but real simple. Hey, Ashlyn says I'm a first time seller. Just give me some tips about what I should be thinking about when starting with PPC. Destaney: I think the first and foremost is obviously going through all of the resources available for Helium 10. I don't know if people actually deep dive on everything that's available, even if it's as simple as going through like the Adtomic training. I know Travis. I watched a few videos where he was like training on concepts, not just the software itself. Amazon advertising also has an amazing accreditation program I have to shout out. We send, we've hired interns out of high school, sent them through the accreditation program and they've been managing accounts after like three months. Obviously, we also do a lot of training on top of that but Amazon's invested a ton in their accreditation program. So when you log into Amazon advertising, you can see their learning console. Highly recommended. Every brand owner, every team needs to get certified in Amazon advertising accreditation. Bradley Sutton: Last thing of the day is just a hey, what's your 30 or 60 second tip, PPC related that you can share with the audience. Could be about anything you want. Destaney: Everybody needs to better understand the correlation between your bid and CPC and your CPC and ACoS and RoAS. That is like one of the most important things as a brand owner to understand if my increase, my bid, what happens? Right, our bid is the number one we can control. To Bradley's point, you have accessibility with the Adtomic. Dive into those resources and start understanding bid management. If you don't learn anything else, learn bid management within your tools and your brand. Bradley Sutton: Well, Destaney, thank you so much for joining us again. We're definitely going to be seeing a lot of videos that have training that we've been filming, that you're going to help users out there, you know, expand their knowledge in PPC. And if I saw some questions in chat asking about Adtomic, so if again the website to get a free demo, h10.me/adtomic, and then how can people find you on the interwebs out there If they'd like to reach out directly to you? Destaney: Can I answer a bonus question, just because it came up. Okay, so I'm going to talk about suggested bids because I see it nonstop in the Helium 10 groups and it just came up here. When Amazon's giving you a suggested bid, they're taking the average of what every single competitor's bidding and the placements on the page top of search could be $30, bottom of search could be $2. So their suggested bids are an average of all of those placements. So, yes, you can bid a lot lower and still win impressions, because you're probably showing up on page two or page three or the PDP, and you may not. You may bid the suggested bid and still not show up on page one. You may have to bid 20 times higher because you have one person increasing the auction, which doesn't influence the average. So keep that in mind. If you want to learn more, find more, I post a ton of content in the groups, on Facebook, on LinkedIn. I think is where we post the majority of our content and you know, check us out btrmedia.com. Bradley Sutton: All right. Thank you so much, Destaney, for joining us, and we'll see you in a little bit.

Today's poem is a story from the eighties by Debra Marquart. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Occasionally, I pretend to resist feelings of nostalgia. Somehow, I got it in my mind that remembrances of things past prevented me from standing fully in the here and now — that musings about foregone events would eclipse any potential value I placed in the present."Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

‍‍Do you want show employee appreciation, but your budget feels tight when it comes time for bonuses? Join us in this fascinating episode, as we sit down with Shawn Peers, an expert in dental team dynamics, to discover the powerful impacts of spoiling your dental team with direction. In an industry often focused on patient care and latest dental technology, the importance of strong team dynamics, onboarding procedures, and continuous professional development is often overlooked. Shawn shares his insights on how aligning these aspects transforms your practice, resulting in increased morale, productivity, and ultimately profit.Swim against the current with Shawn as he dismantles common misconceptions that hold dental practices back from investing time in improving systems. Shawn stresses on slowing down to build solid foundations for your team, using tools like comprehensive onboarding processes that focus on training and building confidence in new staff members. The importance of fostering a culture of growth and continuous improvement within your practice is highlighted, with the instigation of dedicated team meetings to openly discuss issues and develop solutions.What You'll Learn in This Episode:The significant impact of directing and empowering your dental teamThe power of comprehensive and confidence-building onboarding processesBreaking down barriers to developing effective systems within your practiceThe importance of continuous improvement and fostering a culture of growthThe value of implementing dedicated team meetings for issue resolution and solution developmentHandling team dynamics and maintaining a harmonious work environmentTune into our conversation, as we delve into the heart of successful dental practice management. You wouldn't want to miss out on these game-changing strategies to inspire and empower your team!‍Learn More About the Ground Marketing Course Here:Website: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/the-ground-marketing-course-open-enrollment/‍You can reach out to Shawn Peers here:Website: https://dentalpeers.ca/Email: shawn@dentalpeers.caPhone: 613-867-8502‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: Hey, Shawn, so talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning? Shawn: Hey, Michael, thanks for having me. But a one piece of advice and I'm going to give you one that sometimes gets me a little trouble when I say it right off the bat, because dentists give me kind of a screwed up face.Look, when I say it, I tell them. Don't be afraid to spoil your teams. And these days, you know, I kind of think you want to strike terror into the heart of the dentist, like post COVID, tell them that the key is they need to spoil their teams. Cause they're going to look at you and say, man, you didn't pay attention to what happened after COVID now, did you?You've seen how salaries have gone crazy. pay them enough. We can't keep them long enough. They just bounce around. They don't want to work as hard. They want easier work hours. They don't want to work any evenings at all. And you're sitting there telling me that the key to my success is going to be spoiling my team.You're nuts. You're just nuts. And I say, let me tell you a story and tell you a story about this one doctor who was going through all the same things that you're going through post COVID. And I talked to him about the importance of making sure you spoil your team, but you spoil them with direction. The key to it is, is you don't just spoil them and, and you know, like we've, we've heard all the talk about, Hey, if you want to keep team members on these, they've got to feel engaged.They've got to be feeling empowered. And I believe that a hundred percent, but you still need them to feel engaged and empowered To do what you want them to do. You can't tell them what they want to do. Cause you tell them they're just going to go. No one wants to be told what to do.So you, what you got to do is you've got to figure out how to allow them to do what you want them to do. So you've got to spoil them in the way that will encourage them that way. And a big part of that, what this dentist figured out, what he was really struggling with, same thing that everyone was. Team members were leaving.Someone else down the street was offering another 5, 10 an hour more. Gone. So he understood, look, I got to be competitive, right? I can't, you know, underpay people. The market has changed and I have to respond to that. But that's not keeping people loyal. So he embarked on this whole new onboarding system.And he spoiled them with the training. That gave them the confidence that they could come in and do their jobs in a relatively stress free environment because too often when we bring on new team members into the dental world, we just say Here's your desk. Here's your operatory. Have fun. you have any questions, just ask.There's your onboarding process. So this dentist has embarked on something where he doesn't even have anybody doing any solid work for two weeks. If they're a hygienist, they don't see a patient for two weeks. If they're an admin team member, they don't answer a phone for two weeks. The first week he has them just going over policy and procedures manuals.He has them doing Phone training, both for their video tutorials and, and one to one with a service that he's contracted out with. he does the same thing with his practice management system. Brings in all the video tutorials for them and also one to one training. That's the first week. The second week they come into the office, they're starting to do things, but mostly on an observation level.Occasionally showing a little bit about what they do. It's only after that second week that he starts to kind of unleash them. And he's got the happiest team he's ever had, while his colleagues around him are still complaining that people are leaving left, right, and center, and it's a, you know, it's just this musical chairs with one day they've got a team member, the next they don't.He's like, I got a full compliment. And they're happy. They're trained. They know what it is they're doing. They're not stressed trying to figure it out. So, he's spoiled them, but he's spoiled them in a way that he's given them the direction he wants them to go in, and he can now feel comfortable that he is allowing them to do what he wants them to do.That's how you spoil Michael: them. Gotcha. Okay. So then, that's spoiling with direction. I know you mentioned allow them to do what they want you to do. What you want them to do. Yeah. What you want them to do. Would that be? I guess so slowness plays part of that. It looks like it's a slow process, right? Because I feel like if you're like bringing somebody on, you're like, I need someone hygienist, right?Come on. Like, I need you to start working at least within the second week. How can we combat that feeling of I need you to hurry up? And, and I need you to come on for what I hired you for to, all right, take your time. And you know, Shawn: I mean, that's a psychological barrier know, we're just sort of geared in the world of dentistry that, you know, we don't take time out to really try to improve systems because anytime we do that, that means we're not producing.And the dentists that I've talked to that feel they've gotten to where they've, they've You know, not necessarily where they need to be, but they're in a better spot than where they would be. Otherwise, they've said they had to recognize that it meant taking a step back for a little while, and you do have to be prepared to look at it and say, okay, it means I got to shut down for certain meetings.Then we'll shut down. It's better to do that than try to cram a meeting into a lunch hour where people might be paying attention for 30 minutes, and that's not enough time to actually solve any issues that we might be wanting to discuss. So no resolutions are ever arrived at. We talk and we talk and nothing gets solved.So then the next people next thing you know, people are like, why bother with the meeting and they're tuned out for the whole thing anyway. So yeah, you take a little bit of less production that day, but the idea is to build it up so that it becomes more sustainable down the road. And that's what these dentists that are doing that figured out.You do have to be prepared to slow down. You do have to be prepared to train people. I can put somebody in to answer the phones today. I could put a hygienist in and not really introduce that person to the practice and where they're going to find everything and how we operate and how to put, notes into, into the computer system in the proper format, where we want them, all that kind of stuff.But I'm always going to be having to compensate for what I haven't shown that person, how I want things done. So yes, in the short term, It might seem like it's better than not having somebody in there at all because you're training them. But then when they get going, when they hit the ground running, they're able to go faster.They're able to learn new things quicker because the foundation's been set for them. And they are able to actually maintain that higher level of production for you going forward. Michael: I like that now. So when it comes to the retaining part, so let's just say we did that. We did the two weeks we onboarded them and it was fantastic.They love it. Now, where do you see, we need to start taking it slow again, or do we even need to start taking it slow again with our team? Shawn: to the extent that look we we still are always looking to improve our processes And that means we are going to have team meetings. Maybe we'll have a monthly team meeting.I'm a firm believer set the time aside and book at least two hours You know, never mind trying to squeeze it in for an hour at lunch. I've seen too many offices try to do that. Just doesn't work. You can't get the time in. So block off a good two hours, allow people, you know, a few minutes to get there because people are going to be late depending on when they excuse their last patient, they want to have a minute to wash up.If they need to clean up their operatory a little bit, deal with the instruments, get there, get a little bit of their lunch into them, say hi. And then you can start the meeting, you know, say 20 minutes or so into, into that time slot and then hold your meeting for an hour and 15 minutes or so, and then recognize it.Okay. Out of that, about that point in time, it's getting to say, let's say 20 to two. Now we're coming up on our two hour mark and people are starting to think about their two o'clock patients. So. Give them time again. So it's not so much that you're going slow, but you are going to be prepared to say, if we are serious about being in a state of continuous improvement, we do have to take a step back even for that moment, even for that one day a month.But if it helps us deal with open time, let's say, let's say that's a problem and you can come up with a solution that works better. You've identified what the issue is, and now you can bring everybody on board because you're talking about it and you're developing the policy that will help. Correct that issue.You'll fill in more open time. You'll make up for it. You'll more than make up for it. So it's not that you stay slow indefinitely. You'll have a period where, okay, we're going to take a pause today, but it's a productive pause because we're working on the business as a team. But we're not, you know, we don't, it's not that we want to just sort of be cushy and say, hey, don't work hard.We still, we still have expectations. We're still going to hold people accountable. But you spoil them in the right way and give them the tools and give them the expectations. A lot of times holding people accountable is easier than you think. People kind of get it in their heads. They think, oh, that's a hard conversation.Somebody didn't do the job well. And it's a hard conversation if you never set out the expectations. So the person's going, what? But if they knew what was expected and you gave them the training, they're kind of expecting and they kind of know if they fell short and you have to hold them accountable. So that's an easier conversation when you set the table properly.Michael: Gotcha. Now, have you ever seen this, uh, Sean, where people are spoiling their team, they feel like they're doing everything they can, but they're just not happy still. Shawn: Are you talking about the team now or Michael: yeah, the team, the team, like the team is like maybe they're. You spoil them. You feel like you're doing everything right as a practice owner, but then the team is not.They're still calling the shots that you almost feel like, ah, they're the ones who are the boss and I have to come to work for them and I have to bend over backwards for them. Shawn: you're doing it the right way, as a general rule, no, there are going to be occasional team members where they're just, Hey, you can't stop spoiling me.And, and those are ones that, you know, People have to recognize that and They're not just going to be impacting you. They're not just going to be impacting your production They're going to be impacting the other team members and occasionally that does mean We have to extend an invitation for that person to find their dental home in another location And that's okay.If as a team there still seems to be an issue Then sometimes what that takes is figuring out. Okay, we've got a disconnect here because I think i've Really pulled all the right strings here. what's going on? So, you know, you have to be open to having a frank dialogue and saying team I've been trying to do this what's happening people don't seem to be responding sometimes that becomes a conversation that I get involved with working with clients and teams because the dentists They're uncomfortable having it.They don't see it. The team is uncomfortable saying it to the dentist, but if they can build trust in a third party, you become that intermediary that can sort of bridge that gap for them a little bit. So I've certainly seen that happen. And it's just usually it's that issue that, what I thought I've communicated, you didn't hear.And that old idea that if you're not hearing what I'm saying, it makes it pretty tough to lead. Michael: Yeah. Shawn: So we just have to solve that communication problem. If there's an honest effort being made. By both sides, then it's always solvable, in my opinion. Michael: Awesome. So Shawn, where can people find you if they have any questions or concerns or anything like that?Shawn: You can reach out to me at Sean, S H A W N at dental peers dot C A D E N T A L P E E R S dot C A. That's one way you can just drop me an email, me a call, 613 867 8502, call or text. check me out at dentalpeers. com. www. dentalpeers. ca. Learn a little bit more about some of the crazy things I like to do to help the world of dentistry.Michael: Awesome, Sean. I appreciate you and everything you're doing at Dental Peers as well. We really appreciate you. And thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode. Shawn: Appreciate it. The time. Thanks so much. great to be here, Michael.‍

Is the question of "is drinking occasionally ok" lingering in your mind? You're not alone. This episode of the This Naked Mind podcast tackles this common concern head-on. Annie Grace sheds light on the blurry line between social drinking and problematic patterns, exploring how our tolerance can shift and how knowledge empowers informed decisions. Tune in to discover the path to a healthier relationship with alcohol, free from fear and filled with self-awareness. Have an alcohol-related question we haven't answered yet? Let us know so we can feature it in a future episode! Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you're ready to see how This Naked Mind can help you on your personal health and wellness journey and wanna learn more. Go to ThisNakedMindpodcast.com to learn more. Again, that's ThisNakedMindpodcast.com. We have all of our free resources, programs,  social links, and more available for you there. Plus, if you have your own Naked Life Story, you can submit it there as well. Until next week, stay curious.  

In this episode, Shanti discusses a week of emotional distancing and self-soothing while Antoinette shares the importance of receiving and giving constructive criticism. For this episode we catch up on voicemails from listeners who delve into topics of queerness and polyamory and share personal experiences in making decisions about discarding frozen embryos. To end the episode together we watch and share our reaction to Mea Culpa's sex scene. Join us...Contact us:Hotline: (215) 948-2780Discord: https://discord.gg/8X7dDt5jEmail: aroundthewaycurls@gmail.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/aroundthewaycurls for exclusive videos & bonus contentSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.