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Doris Cush says she's not a patient person but she is a waiter - she knows to wait on God to bring something beautiful from ashes, strength from weakness, faith from pain. The moment you meet her, you know you are loved as she invites you to make Jesus your best friend, no matter what you are going through.In her own words:People know me as Doris Cush. but my narrative is encapsulated in a tagline. I’m an “Honest Survivor Embracing a Savior Honestly.” As I tackle the tough and tender issues we often face, God allows me to turn obstacles into opportunities and trials into trust-filled moments by sharing P.E.P. Talks. It's His gift of providing Perspective, Encouragement, and Peace to life.This year, I published my latest book, "Word Twist: God's Word Imagined In New Ways" and rolled out a weekly podcast I've aptly entitled "Spur-1-On." If I'm not encouraging someone on Instagram, I'm working alongside my "right name/wrong guy" church planting, worship songwriting husband, Daniel, of 23-1/2 years.Follow Doris for more encouragement follow at any of the following places:Blog/Web: www.doriscush.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/dmcushiteFacebook: www.facebook.com/DorisMCush YouTube: www.youtube.com/dmcushite This coming Saturday, Doris and two ministry friends will be leading a virtual event entitled: WHAT LIES BEYOND and I can't wait. Register here for FREE.ABOUT WHAT LIES BEYOND VIRTUAL EVENT:During these troubling times, have you asked WHY? Have you wondered WHEN will life get back to "normal"? And are you ready for WHAT lies beyond social distancing and racial unrest?Join us as we take a Biblical approach to...How to process hardships, troubles, and setbacksAdopting a transition plan as we move forwardSupporting one another on the other sideWHAT LIES BEYOND: A VIRTUAL EVENT will feature:Delphine Kirkland, Blogger/Vlogger & Author of the book, "Just Jesus & Me." Instagram @fromthemasterstableCamille McIntyre, Oasis Church NYC Co-Pastor and Vlogger. Instagram @camille_mcintyreDoris M. Cush (Host), Writer / Speaker / Encourager & Author of the book, "Word Twist: God's Word Imagined in New Ways." Instagram @dmcushiteEVENT DETAILS...Saturday, July 11, 2020 (11am - 3 pm EST / 10 am - 2 pm CST)VIRTUAL doors open @ 10:30 am EST / 9:30 am CST to settle in (code: let's get situated with water, snacks and operating your device before the event begins!)Lunch break factored into event (Since I'm in the Pacific Time Zone, I'll be in PJ's and not worried about the lunch break!)Here's a favorite recipe from Doris - Let me know if you try it! My Mama's Modified Sweet Potato PieBruce's canned yams- a large can equals 2-3 piesBrown sugar (your choice)Butter, 1 stick½ Tbsp. Baking powder  1/8 t. salt3 eggs2 cups sugarl cup flour1-2 cans Carnation milkPet Ritz deep-dish pie shells Spices galore: Nutmeg / Allspice / Cinnamon /Ginger/ Clove/ Pure Vanilla / Butter Flavor or Vanilla Butter Nut Flavor/ Molasses/ Syrup {add to your taste!)Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain juice from yams. Place in large quart pot with a little water, butter, and brown sugar to sweeten. Cook yams to tender. Let cool. Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside. Beat eggs and sugar in yams. Mix in milk and add spices. Add dry ingredients and more spices to taste. Keep mixing until you reach a thick, creamy consistency that has a medium-dark coloring. I use a soup ladle to pour mixture into pie shell (roughly 3 scoops per pie). Bake until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle (approximately 1-½ hours @ 350 degrees. (Doris M. Cush -I modified my mama's recipe in 1988. ENJOY!) ::::::::::We all know how it feels to be the new person on the block. How can you feel at home quickly in this time of social isolation? And how can you help a new family feel welcomed on your street or in your town? Subscribe and receive THREE printables: "Introduce Yourself to Your Neighbors" "Welcome a New Neighbor" "Best Welcome Muffin Recipe Ever: Tollhouse Muffins"Subscribe Here:::::::::::How to invest in what matters beyond ourselves. We have one life - let’s make the most of it for God, others, and eternity.Subscribe:Choose one of these popular free listening services, and subscribe there:    For further thoughts on faith, food, and legacy--follow Sue at WelcomeHeart.co 

To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1170/29 Paul is trying to argue, when he responds to this stupid hypothetical question; "Since I'm forgiven because of grace, can I just sin every now and then?" He says, "well I guess you could, but don't you realize that when you do that you are setting yourself up to become a slave of whatever it is that you commit yourself to? And since you've been freed from since and become a slave of righteousness, why don't you present yourself to righteousness. Why don't you offer yourself fully, unconditionally to Jesus Christ? Why don't you go for all the gusto that you have in Jesus? Because the more you surrender to Christ, the more you become like Christ.

An idiot on the Sky Bridge in Gatlinburg did a baseball slide the other night, cracking some glass paneling. Since I'm afraid of heights and would never walk across that, we talked about places that we've been to that left us scared.

This question was sent by Graham. And he writes, "Hi Vidas, First I would just like to say thank you for your informative videos on playing and teaching the organ. Your passion and insights are much appreciated. 1. I'll mention that I am a complete beginner to playing the organ despite my musical background. I am actually a jazz guitar player who is studying music at university but who has long been passionate about Baroque organ music as well as jazz organ and I decided to start learning recently. Although it isn't serious right now (but I practice a lot) I would love to be able to one day play some of North German music such as Bach or Buxtehude and develop a good pedal technique. For now I only have access to an electric organ (I have a spinet with 13 pedals) but will try to get a Hammond with 25 pedals for practice. So in short I would say my dream would be to become fluent in some North German repertoire (and maybe the opportunity to one day actually play it on a real pipe organ haha). 2. - First limitation is my current instrument. Since I can't really practice a proper two foot pedal technique on my 13 note spinet there doesn't seem to be too much that I can play from the German repertoire. (If you have any recommendations on beginner organ music with easy pedal parts that are real baroque music that would be very helpful!) - My current technique on the manuals is limited. Since I don't have an organ teacher it's hard to know if I am using the correct fingering techniques on the manuals. I know I should use fingers substitutions but it's hard to know exactly how when reading it from a book. There's way more about piano technique online than organ it seems so it can be hard to find someone demonstrating the exact techniques. - Last, would be an effective practice plan and a clear place to start. A plan that would help a beginner start to learn how to really play the instrument. Since I'm already a musician who must play and improvise all the time it can be frustrating when switching to a new instrument yet very exciting!! Thanks again for the great lessons, keep it up! Best regards, Graham"

So as I turned 19 on 14th May 2020, I decided to a ramble of all the football news I'd been seeing on the social media from the past few days/weeks. Since I'm locked out in my house due to the pandemic, podcasting was the only enjoyable thing I could've on my special day. So yes this one's a special Podcast for me and would be memorable in my archives for the years to come. Once again thanks to everyone who's been wishing me and hope you all stay safe and do well. Hope you enjoy the Podcast and pls feel free to let me know your thoughts/opinions/ reviews on the social platforms mentioned below. You can send me a tweet on Twitter:- @Tiru_hemanth or send me a DM on Instagram:- @utd_official

And I recorded a review on this course NodeJS - The Complete Guide (incl. MVC, REST APIs, GraphQL) on Udemy, I hope you like it. Coronavirus is still killing Mexico. So I avoid human contact. Since I'm a shut in, that's easy enough for me anyway.

Hi Everyone!  I hope you and your families are well.  You’re listening to the All Social Y’all Podcast Episode 22 and this is Part 1 of a 2 part series recorded in a live radio show called El Sassa, about How Businesses Will Change after Covid 19 Coronavirus.  Radio and podcast host Sassa and I discuss the current impacts of Coronavirus in our business communities, the emotional perspectives – like overwhelm and dealing with every day being ‘just weird’ in some ways, how the food industry is transforming, how the media is informing and influencing consumer’s decision making, the education system and learning disruption and what this will offer in the future….we talk about , remote or virtual experiences like the NFL Draft first time going Live with the draft virtually.  We discuss how Covid19 is driving innovation in a different way, plus more.    Carey Sperry: I'm excited to be here! Sassa: Great. Man, I'm actually excited to do this podcast with you. This is something we've been talking so much for the past maybe few weeks or days, right? Since COVID-19 started and we've talked about, "Hey, let's get together and do this and it feels good to work together in this and just kind of like talk with your listeners, my listeners and kind of share some of this business things that are happening with COVID-19. I know that your podcast, you kind of talked so much to the business people out there, correct? Carey Sperry: That's right. Yes. Small and midsize businesses, some large business owners and executives tune in as well. But we focus on digital, social and how you can best serve your customer through the customer experience through social and digital. Sassa: That's right. So Carey, tell us a little bit more. I mean, you're, you're located in Georgia, you said, right? In what city? Carey Sperry: Yes. We're just right outside Atlanta and we're in the greater Atlanta area out of Alpharetta, Georgia. Sassa: That's good. So, how has Georgia been handling this COVID-19 and I know you guys are going to be opening pretty soon here too, right? Carey Sperry: Great question. Yes. Well, first we've been handling it quite well. I've been pretty proud of our state and we had one city, I think it's Albany that had a really bad breakout that had the most deaths from a funeral that people attended. But that wasn't their fault because it was before they knew that there was COVID-19 and it was as prevalent as it was, here. But since then it's been... Since there's been awareness, there's been a lot of compliance. Nothing's perfect but even the young kids that normally would be outside at basketball courts in parks and things that... You know what I mean. High school kids that can drive and whatnot. Sassa: Yeah. Carey Sperry: They're even, I see them staying home and so we're supposed to open up Friday and Monday I think in a phase effort. The strategy, which seems a bit a little early to me, because we didn't really have time to like get ready so to speak. But we'll see how it goes and I get the logic behind it. Sassa: That's true. And Carey, here in Houston, I'm in Texas. For your listeners that do listen to your podcast, we are a Houston company, Texas [inaudible 00:02:35]. They say they do big everything in Texas, but right now we're feeling like everything's so small with COVID-19. Right? I was actually just telling you before we started this podcast I was driving by Twin Peaks, it's usually packed over lunch in the evenings and it's empty. Some places in Houston you feel like ghost towns. You're like, "Man, I remember when this used to be so crowded, so packed, so jamming. Now it's empty." Are you getting that over there as well in, in Georgia? Carey Sperry: Absolutely. Yes. We're blessed to be able to see, right? Because it's another sense that we have to absorb this experience and our eyes connect to our feelings and when we see things differently, when you're taking a walk outside and you normally see like 1000 cars go by in an hour's time, now you see 10 go by or something. That's just very weird mind body connection. But yeah, about, I don't know how many weeks ago now, it's kind of hard to keep track of time, although I am keeping a daily journal where I'm documenting my own perception of the COVI9-19 experience, hoping that one day my great grandchildren will read it. Sassa: Yeah. Carey Sperry: We're going to forget. Sassa: Let's hope that they don't go through this no more. Right? Let's hope that we can just tell them what it was, right? Carey Sperry: Totally. Oh my gosh. I wouldn't wish this on anyone and yet it's a global issue, which is another kind of thing to absorb. But I don't know how many weeks ago it was, but I remember some stores being open and being able to go in and seeing cars out in the parking lot and people going in and out of the stores. I'm not saying that it was the normal volume, it was definitely a lower volume. But then the day before Easter I went out to pick up a ham from Honey Baked Ham and all those stores were closed. There was no cars. I think one store was open and they were letting in 10 people at a time and you had to wait outside, taped sidewalk with tape to stand apart six feet and things just- Sassa: And they're not listening, right, Carey? I mean, I don't even know if I want to go to the grocery store as much no more because they just go by you. They cross you. I understand people's stress and I understand people are just trying to get in and out, but I think it's not even about them maybe not listening or not doing it. Maybe sometimes you just got so much in your mind, you just want to just go and come and you don't see the other person. I think we need to also take care of ourselves but we also need to take care of other people as well. Correct? Carey Sperry: Oh, totally. I'm wearing a mask when I go out, but like you, I'm wanting to go out. I don't want to go out, but if I have to, I will to get necessities or just food if I can't get a delivery for what we need. But that's been pretty good. But I put the mask on just out of respect for people that have compromised systems or older people. I've noticed that definitely not everyone here is wearing a mask, but probably maybe 60% it seems like are wearing the masks. I mean, I think a couple of things. When people aren't being aware or they're not abiding by the social distancing in public. Is one, they're either kind of checked out, their stressed, their mind isn't concentrating on that as what they're concentrating maybe doing what they're there to do. It's kind of an innocent thing but still they need to try to remember. Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: I think the other thing is unfortunately some people just aren't paying attention as much on a daily basis as would help. I think they just maybe are watching movies and I don't think watching the news all day long is healthy at all. I've limited myself to just staying in tune every day, but not watching hours upon hours of it. Sassa: It stresses you girl. Let me tell you, I did that at the beginning of this whole pandemic. It was stressful. I had to get the phone out of... I mean, the television out of me and the phone for a side because I was just watching news. If I didn't get on the computer, I got on the cell phone, I got on the television. It was just too much and it comes to a point where it also stresses you and you're like, "Oh my God, it's putting too much on me." Did you feel that? Carey Sperry: That's right. Oh, totally. I was doing the same thing at first, because it was just such a big change from normal life. Like you said, being a business owner, thinking about, "How am I going to take care of my family and what is this going to mean and how long is it going to be? What does it mean in my community and just the children having to be home for school." We just have one left at home now who is 17 so he's pretty independent, but he still has some needs that definitely, I worked about two hours with him yesterday on his goals and his grades. They only have like four weeks left of school now. So, it's just a lot. Sassa: Yeah. Texas. We're actually not going to have no more school for the rest of the year, they announced that. The governor said that all Texas schools will be closed. So you can just imagine how... I have one of my children who was graduating from high school this year. I'm also wondering how this is going to work with him and I'm going to work with the school on graduation and things like this. So I could just imagine how many parents are out there also stressing with things like this. But today, we need to just focus on staying safe. Sassa: That's what I told my son, worry about staying safe, healthy, "Don't worry about graduation right now. We'll figure that out." But I'm thinking they'll put something together, maybe in the summer. Hopefully they get something going. Even though... I don't even know how graduations are going to be no more, because Carey here in Texas, I don't know if in Georgia is the same, but I mean, I graduated with 800 to 1000 kids when I graduated. So my son's probably going to graduate with even more, probably 1500 more. How are you going to do it? That's my question, right? Me and my mom- Carey Sperry: I believe... Oh sorry. Sassa: No, no. Sorry. I was going to tell you, my mom, my father, my brothers, myself, his mom, my younger son, I mean we all want to go to the graduation and see my son graduate. Maybe it's hundreds of other families who want to be at the same place. So that's going to change a bit, right? Carey Sperry: Yes. I believe, I'm not 100% but I believe our high school where our son attends is doing a virtual, they call it very special virtual experience for the ceremony for graduation. Sassa: Wow. Carey Sperry: Like I said, I'm not 100% because my son is in senior, but I believe that's what I saw, which reminds me tomorrow night, which is Thursday, is the NFL draft and for the first time in history they're doing it remotely. Sassa: That's right. Carey Sperry: So I'm going to tune in because I'm just interested in how that's going to work. My son and I were talking about it the other day and I was saying, "You know what, I think is going to kind of feel like a news program when you're watching the news and then they bring in a weather caster or guest..."- Sassa: And the sport. Yeah. Carey Sperry: But the players will be at their homes and in front of their computer. Sassa: I mean, Carey, look at what ESPN did. I mean, they don't have sports. So they put the Michael Jordan 10 episodes, which I watched it and it kind of brought me back to my time when I grew up watching Michael. I'm from the '90s and '80s, so I saw that and everything I was watching just made me forget COVI9-19 and started thinking, "Man, I remember when I was listening to the song. I remember when that happened. I remember this." So it brought something good. I think that's what sports probably are going to start going into because I mean, we can't be in crowds and I just can't wait to go see a sports event and see how many people are going to wear masks because it's going to be so many people. Right? Carey Sperry: Yes. I mean, I don't even know if there's going to be contact sports with audiences in the hall. I hope there will be, but they said today that they're the outbreak in the winter, the CDC came out and said today that the outbreak in the winter might be worse than what we're experiencing now. Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: I can't even imagine, but we just have to take it a day at a time. That's part of the acceptance part of this, I think. Because, I mean, I don't know what your perspective is Sassa about Americans, but anyone that lives here, it's such kind of high intensity pace that we have. In Europe, they take a couple hours in the afternoon, businesses shutdown for an hour or two to- Sassa: Yes. My country, they do it too, they close. I'm like, "Mom, why are people close here to 2:00." "Oh, they're in their lunch break." I'm like, "Can they just open?" She goes, "No, they said once it hits 11:59 they're telling you, you need to leave because we're taking our lunch." Two hours, they close. Why do they do this? And they're gone at 3:34 o'clock. They don't work an hour or a minute afterwards. I understand them because I mean, they don't get paid as much as we do here in America, but they're just ready to go home. I think we need to start looking at doing things like that more. I personally as a business owner myself, Carey, I actually am in the process of doing a transition of my company, my office, my studio at home. Sassa: I have a house where I have enough space to build a room and maybe another suite there. So I'm considering doing that. I mean, yes it's going to save me some money, but working at home these last few days has also made me restructure some things of my business and think differently, but also in the way where I'm thinking like, "Man, if I have to start all over, because that's what we want to talk more today. I'm pretty much starting all over as of now." My company went in marketing and advertisement, 70 to 80% of my clients cancel my contracts because they can't afford them right now. They don't need the marketing because they don't have their business open. I feel we all need marketing. I feel we all need to continue doing this. But your average business owner, they got to survive. They got to have family, they got to pay other bills than for me to do marketing and sponsorships. That hit me hard about 80%. Now, you can imagine, and I'm probably not the only one in this, I can tell you that right now. Carey Sperry: No. You're absolutely not. Not alone. Sassa: How am I going to start? I want you to also share with your audience and my audience and I want you to share with me as a friend, how are you planning on restarting if you're doing a business or what have you heard from friends? Because, what I did this last few weeks, it's just continue brainstorming, thinking, "What kind of business can I open now? I mean, what can I do now? Do I need to create another app that does this, does that? Do I need to put a little bit of money here more? Since I'm pretty much going to restart all over." Sassa: I might just do something new. It's kind of a new life, a new change. Because we were talking earlier, remember when I told you girl? Two or three months we've been with no work, it's going to take me another two or three months to kind of get back on my feet. By then winter comes. Guess what girl, boom! It hit me again because like you said, CDC said it might come stronger. So I feel from here to December, I'm pretty much... It's all going to be a loss for me. What do you think about that friend? Carey Sperry: Oh, I totally understand. I have clients that are going through the same thing very strongly and with the compound effect. It's what you're talking about. I admire you and applaud you for thinking ahead like that because if you just get paralyzed in your mind and in your attitude and say, "I'm just so overwhelmed, I don't know what to do, my business is losing. So I'm just gonna wait, I'm just not going to... I don't know what to do and I can't ask for help because I'm embarrassed or I don't know who to ask." Or all these things. I mean for my business personally, it absolutely hurt. The new business prospects that I was working with decided to hold off, because... They happened to be brick and mortar that were touching people, like an eyelash extension company and another was a computer security that had to do with face-to-face, like someone actually looking at the computer. Carey Sperry: So, I of course 150% understand their decision even though I encourage them to brand during COVID so that then when the economy did open back up and they were able to do business again, like Georgia and Texas is opening up now, that then they could convert faster to appointments. If they did the branding online upfront and then people are like, "When it opens up, I'm going there." I understand the decision either way. As far as my business with... I started pivoting back in 2019 where I wanted to become a podcaster. I launched the podcast in November, of 2019. I'm so thankful I did that because now I have had a studio at home this whole time and now, I'm just continuing that and I feel like podcasts are just right on the bottom. If you picture yourself on a roller coaster and you go down the big hill, I don't ride roller coasters myself, but- Sassa: It's been a while since I ride one too, so don't feel bad girl. Since I rode. Carey Sperry: Then you start to go back up that next incline. That's where we are with podcasts as far as saturation. People think that YouTube is completely saturated. It is not, it is not saturated all the experts in that space say so. So I became last year a YouTube channel manager and I'm working on a channel with my daughter. It's called conservation Schick. And she launched the day before Easter on April 11th. My son wants to start his own channel and as I'm actually doing this myself, I'm also helping businesses with that as well with. So that's something that businesses can do, is reach audiences. Now as far as conversion to payment and a product that varies business-to-business- Sassa: Yes. You're right. Carey Sperry: I think one thing that is going to happen with this new way of life is education is absolutely, I believe going to transform to more online, more digital. All these teachers now are learning how to do it and the ones that like it are going to want to continue to somehow offer that in school. They're going to find, "Oh my gosh, people want to learn at home." But with that, so do business people. Business people want to learn from other business people and consumers want to learn from home. Sassa: That's right. Carey Sperry: So courses are a huge thing. I haven't- Sassa: And you're right about that because for example, restaurants that didn't have an app, they didn't think digital was the key. They didn't think internet was... If you weren't in this platforms before let's say January, 2018 you were already way Flintstone era, old already. Because this is where you got hit the most because you weren't on these digital platforms, these online services, all these apps and things like that. Now they are seeing, "Man, I should have had my one app. I should have had this. I should have had that, because maybe my business would have strived during that time and now it got hit harder because I didn't think that was coming anytime." Sassa: It took a COVID-19 for them to see this, in a different way because now they're going to have to integrate whether they wanted or not digital stuff into the platform. I think that's one of the things that COVID-19 will change on some of these restaurants now. Another thing that they said here in Texas, check this out. They're trying to open the economy, right? To the To Go, the retail To Go. One store manager, some of the challenges he's facing. I don't want to face financial ruins yet also, I don't want to get sick because we're still in the early stages. Right, Carey? Carey Sperry: Yeah. Too early. Sassa: How is retail going to work now to go, remember... I mean, you as a woman, you got to go out there, maybe try the dress or tr the shoes. I understand online was getting big and it was popping in is still going to continue, but a friend of mine told me last night, "I still like going to the mall and I still like going into different stores and trying this. I spent more money going in the mall than online shopping." So I think that's going to impact a lot of many places in a lot of businesses. So a lot of these mom and pop shop stores, like you were saying, the eyelashes and things, man, especially hair salons Carey, how do you think hair salons and eyelashes and all these spas are going to work now? Because number one thing, they got to touch the person. Right? Carey Sperry: I know. I was thinking about that yesterday because that's one of the things that is opening up in phase one, is hair salons and nail salons and I'm wondering- Sassa: How? How is that going to happen, girl? Carey Sperry: Yeah, you're actually touching people. But I think they're going to wear gloves. And really, I mean, since consumers aren't required to wear the mask, I feel like they should be, if they want to go get their nails or hair done because all it takes is one cough while maybe the hairdresser's trying to trim your bangs and that's it. Sassa: I didn't tell my hairdresser, "Oh maybe I was sick, just a few days ago." Or, guess what? I don't even know if I'm sick because remember you might have it and not even start showing the symptoms till later on. So how is this going to work? Especially how do you think that's going to evolve in this industry, in the hair salon. I mean, I can give you my ideas, but I don't know if it's going to happen that way. But you tell me, you as a woman, how do you think that's going to change? Because I know those businesses, they have been hit hard. Carey Sperry: Big time and my hair looks horrible. Because I've been trying to do it myself and it is not working very well. Sassa: Don't worry. I used to cut hair when I was in high school. So I did my friends at high school and I used to do my taper and things. So I kind of do it on my own with a mirror but when I do need help, I kind of call my friends, "Hey, can you come over and kind of fix a little bit?" But yeah. We were talking and let me tell you what I think. Basically I told her, "You might have to wear protection." She's like, "Right?" It's going to be difficult. You're right. Maybe use a mask because she has to use a mask. I said, "What about gloves?" She goes, "I can't cut her hair with gloves. It's uncomfortable." So you tell me, Carrie, I mean, you as a woman, would you want to sit there and see that the hairstylist during this COVID-19 phase one, she's not protected and you're like, "Man." Carey Sperry: well, I love being a woman and I love the differences between men and women. I support all people's choices with gender identity and all that. Personally, I love being a woman, but I am different in that way, that I call the mall the dungeon. Sassa: Okay. Carey Sperry: I do not like going to the mall, but I love those outdoor malls. We have one here. Anyone in the greater Atlanta area will know. It's called Avalon. We live like a mile from there. It's just beautiful. I love to stroll around the stores outside there. You can carry a drink, if it's an evening. Sassa: Oh, okay. It's good. Carey Sperry: It's so nice and I enjoy shopping like that, but I feel stressed out when I shop. Because I have so many criteria and so many just... Yeah, I have so much criteria, I have too much criteria. So it takes me a while, but it's almost as hard online. But I am a huge, like I said before, well, first of all I love to learn and I love to teach and share with people knowledge, resources. I think that's a lot of what podcasts and YouTube are all about. And so what I think is going to happen is these beauty YouTubers and hair specialists YouTubers, I think more of those are going to evolve and there's going to be some kind of a blend between more that you can do for yourself at home really well. That's going to explode the product offerings and then I think more studios are going to start opening up in hairdressers homes. I know a couple. One was doing it before and one is starting to open her own now. Carey Sperry: I think there's going to be more of that, which just means more control over the traffic. If you go to a hairdresser or nail salon that's in the home, they can space out, they can clean, plenty ample time to clean. I'm not saying that the brick and mortar traditional ones aren't going to survive anymore. I think those will still be around too. But I think there'll be this new evolution of- Sassa: Evolution. Carey Sperry: Doing more for yourself at home and more and then- Sassa: And they've got to be more cleaner. Right, Carey? They've got to be... I know a lot of times, it's so busy one after another, one after another, but they have to be more cautious and more cleaner. They have to kind of be more of a show the client, "Look, I just cleaned everything so we can get started." So you as a customer will make yourself feel more comfortable because you feel like, "Okay, a little bit more cleaner. It kind of gives me a little bit more of a trust to get my hair done or things like that." Right? Carey Sperry: Yeah. You know the first time you went out with COVID-19 and you saw people actually wearing the masks for the first time and how weird that felt? Now when we go out and we see the mask, it feels a little less weird and it feels a little more normal. So I think as time goes on and we have these protective measures, whatever those may be in the future, that we're going to adapt and we're going to get more used to it. I think that what looks like... Remember when you were a teenager in your 20s and you kind of tried to picture what it would be like 20 years from now and you had a little bit of an image? Sassa: Yes. Carey Sperry: It's pretty different than it was. I mean, they're making cars now that can drive themselves and they're making flying cars and stuff are even happening. And so our kids are going to be ordering groceries almost 100% if not 100% from Alexa and audio devices. They're not writing down a list and actually going there. They're going to be like, "What? You used to do that? Are you crazy." Sassa: "That's old school, right? Yeah. That's old school. I even think a lot of things change. Like you just said, they're going to be ordering more if they weren't ordering already. It's even going to get bigger and bigger and bigger, more and more. Correct? But grocery stores, for example, they're going to have to be competing also with restaurants. So here in Texas, let me tell you what, some of these restaurants have been known to survive. They have what's called the restaurant To Go. You just coming pick up and go or order To Go. But they're also starting to sell like market, groceries. Okay. Fruits, vegetables, meat of the same stuff that they used to cook. Sassa: They're selling it to them like, "Hey, we got groceries if you need some. You need some broccolis, you need some tomatoes, you need some steaks, you need some chicken, you need fish. We have it, so we can sell it to you." They're doing that transition from the restaurant. They're called restaurant grocery stores now. So it's kind of like they can't survive just only on a to go right now. So they have to put in all these little groceries in there. So grocery stores- Carey Sperry: Interesting. Sassa: Yes. So grocery stores are now competing with the restaurants in that area too. Because well, guess what? A lot of grocery stores apps are so loaded that their delivery takes about two or three weeks before it gets delivered to you and you're like, "I don't have no food. I need to eat." So they might be going to this restaurant and maybe they have the groceries that they needed so, "Let me get them, let me go." They're even selling paper toilet in there and paper towels in those little restaurants, can you believe it? Carey Sperry: Yeah. Whatever they can do to help people. Sassa: Exactly. And also generate an income because they lost so much, they lost everything. There's a lot of folks like myself who've lost pretty much everything who are restarting. These brick and mortar restaurant chains or restaurants are paying 25,000, 10,000, 8,000 a month on rent. It's a lot of money for that and put a plus the expenses, the employees, all the other. I mean, one of them sent me... It actually took him about 30 to 40,000 to generate every month to keep this restaurant going in and I'm like, "Wow, that's a hit." You know what I mean? Sassa: They have to sell the things. So, that's one of the areas where evolution of restaurants are going to be. I want to ask you, maybe Uber and taxis, I mean a lot of people might not want to go ahead and go on a cab no more, because... I mean, do you think this is going to probably have the chance where self-driving cars, like you say, maybe come in and maybe something of the future? What do you think? Carey Sperry: Sure. Well, I think that Uber and Lyft have such a strong hold on the convenience, a need that consumers have. Consumers want, they want it to be easy, they want it to meet their needs and they want it to be a little bit fun, easily. And so the Uber and Lyft are great because it's easy. It may not be fun, but you know how sometimes in the app it asks, "Did you enjoy the conversation with your driver?" So I think that's kind of tip tapping into the fun aspect of it, because that's what creates loyalty. So I think it has such a strong hold on our culture that, that's not going to go away. Probably what will happen is that there will be some maybe questions that you have to verify in the app before you booked the call. Just for legal... Not the call but the ride, just for maybe legal reasons. Carey Sperry: Then there'll be probably made plastic barrier between the driver and the back seat and maybe even drivers will be required to have perhaps larger cars if they want to be a driver. I don't know, but that's kind of what I see. But I don't see that going away. I just think it has to... People love it too much and with drunk driving, people can now opt to have fun, go out, have a few drinks and then not have to drive.  

Since I'm on quarantine, I'm not doing homilies, but I thought this essay would be a great chance to reflect a little during these days of shelter-in-place. Dr. Cuddeback presents a perspective that has a lot of insight for how to make the most of these times. You can read the essay in full here: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/11/reclaiming-the-household Would you like more of Dr. Cuddeback's thoughts on how to flourish as a family? Listen to his address to the 2018 Prairie Troubador Symposium in Fort Scott, Kansas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEnuLluoFEA

I don’t generally spend a good portion of my time on vacation looking into how I'm experiencing myself, in my new destination. Since I'm stuck in the house, I took a page out of my travel book and looked into how things were going and how I was experiencing myself during this time. Have a look inside my head and my home! Be social! Host: http://www.instagram.com/_dCarrie Show: http://www.instagram.com/travelnshit_ Network: http://www.instagram.com/Beatsonfilm Be sure to check out travelnshitpodcast.com for all relevant links and more info! New to Airbnb? Support Travel N Sh!t and use my referral code for $55 towards your first trip! https://www.airbnb.com/c/danaa3028?currency=USD

PHP Internals News: Episode 46: str_contains() London, UK Thursday, March 26th 2020, 09:09 GMT In this episode of "PHP Internals News" I chat with Philipp Tanlak (GitHub, Xing) about his str_contains() RFC. The RSS feed for this podcast is https://derickrethans.nl/feed-phpinternalsnews.xml, you can download this episode's MP3 file, and it's available on Spotify and iTunes. There is a dedicated website: https://phpinternals.news Transcript Derick Rethans 0:16 Hi, I'm Derick. And this is PHP internals news, a weekly podcast dedicated to demystifying the development of the PHP language. This is Episode 46. Today I'm talking with Phillipp Tanlak, about an RFC that he's made titled str_contains. Phillipp, would you please introduce yourself. Philipp Tanlak 0:35 Hey, Derick. My name is Philipp. I'm 25 years old and I live in Germany. I work for an IT service company, which does mainly development and maintenance of IT projects. We specialise in the maintenance of e-commerce website and create enterprise applications. Derick Rethans 0:52 How long have you been using PHP for? Philipp Tanlak 0:54 I've been using PHP for quite a long time now that might be six years I guess. Derick Rethans 0:58 What brought to you creating an RFC? Philipp Tanlak 1:02 The main reason I've created this RFC was out of necessity and interest, mainly to scratch my own itch. Derick Rethans 1:08 That is how most things make it into PHP in the end isn't it? Philipp Tanlak 1:11 Yeah, I guess. Derick Rethans 1:12 The RFC is titled str_contains, that tells me something that is about strings and containing things. How do we currently find a string in a string? Philipp Tanlak 1:22 The current approach to find the string in a string is to use the strpos() function or the strstr() function. But on Reddit, I found someone also use preg_match which I find kind of interesting. Derick Rethans 1:35 There are multiple amount of different methods in use, what are the general problems with these approaches that people have made? Philipp Tanlak 1:41 So the current approach which I find is not very intuitive, and mainly because of the return values of these functions. For example, the strpos() returns either the position where the string is found, or a false value if the string is not found, but there has to be a check with a !== operation, and the strstr() function just returns a string. So you have to convert that to a boolean to check if the string is found or not. Derick Rethans 2:11 Because with strpos(), if you wouldn't use the === or !== operator. Of course, if it would find it at the first position of the string, it'd be zero position, and it would return false, even though it's sfound it. Philipp Tanlak 2:26 Yeah. Derick Rethans 2:27 So there's a few different problems with these things. Also, I don't think it's particularly vary intuitive to do because you sort of need to come up with like a whole construct to see whether it's part of a string. Philipp Tanlak 2:37 Correct. I don't think it's intuitive for a beginner. So if someone is learning PHP for the first time, then he has to search through the documentation, what are the exact return values for these functions, and has to remember that so I thought, string or str_contains() might be a better fit for that to just return a true or false value. Derick Rethans 2:58 We've mentioned str_contains() a few times now, I guess the RFC is producing to add this function. How would this function differ from what PHP already has? Philipp Tanlak 3:07 So this function does not differ in a lot of ways. It's basically the same implementation of the strpos() function. But instead of returning the position of the found string, it just simply returns it as a boolean value. So either true or false. Derick Rethans 3:23 I can imagine some people will say, well, you can just do this in your own wrapper function, right? Because pretty much what it deos is converting the results from strpos() to a boolean. But you must have a good reason of why to want to add an extra function here. Philipp Tanlak 3:38 The reason for this function, and maybe someone might disagree is, mainly a user experience for the developer. So this is just out of necessity which I found, and I've been using this function quite a lot. So I thought this might be a valid add to the PHP language. So I tried to implement it and it got some great reviews. So I thought that wasn't a very bad idea I had. Derick Rethans 4:04 Is the RFC suggesting just out a single function: str_contains(). Philipp Tanlak 4:09 Yes, the RFC is currently adding just a single function, which is the str_contains(). When I first submitted the discussion about this RFC, there were quite a few people asking why is there no case insensitivity or multibyte versions for these, and I did not think of those at first. But in the discussion, it became clear that the multibyte version did not seem to be very necessary because the comparison is going to be byte by byte. Unlike strpos(), the position of the found string is not relevant. So it doesn't matter if there is any difference in encoding. Derick Rethans 4:47 I remember in last year, there was another RFC related to strings functions they were the string_starts_with() and a string_ends_with(). Those are two functions and there were also variants for both case insensitivity, ss well as multibyte. Which made eight different functions to be added to pretty much do a single thing. That RFC failed, potentially because there are so many things being added. Philipp Tanlak 5:11 Yeah, that was also the main reason, I think the case insensitivity of this function, or the variant of it was not so relevant. So I did not include it into the RFC just because of this case you mentioned. So instead of polluting the global space with more functions, someone suggested to just advance PHP incrementally and add in case sensitivity for this function just if it is necessary. Derick Rethans 5:37 This is a common recurring subject. Most of the people I spoke with in the last few episodes are all adding things to PHP bit by bit instead of coming up with big RFCs which I think is a good way of going forwards. When reading the RFC, I had a quick look at which argument the function would accept. PHP of course this weakly typed strings in most of time. Is this str_contains() function handling distinct different from what strpos() does for function arguments. Philipp Tanlak 6:10 So the str_contains() function uses the same internal function, which is php_memnstr(), if I recall correctly. It tries to interpret it as a string. And if it's not a string, it either throws a warning or notice, but I've just run some checks and it seems like in the next PHP version, non string values which are passed into the string functions will be interpreted as a string, and if that is not the case, it will throw an error or usually return false. Derick Rethans 6:43 So it doesn't do any special magic, and just relies on the PHP tends to do for parsing arguments and weak and strict typing. Philipp Tanlak 6:51 Yes, that's correct. Derick Rethans 6:53 Most RFCs they come with a patch, as does yours. How did you find it getting started with writing things for PHP instead of using PHP. Philipp Tanlak 7:02 So basically, I've looked at the PHP source code in the past, just to see how things are implemented. And I had some basic background in C. So I thought that this was not very hard for me. Most of the functions or things I had to do to include this patch, were already there. So basically, I just copied the strpos() function and remove the, when the string is found, use the position to calculate a new string and just remove that code and return the boolean value from the found position. Derick Rethans 7:35 Because it is not a very different function from strpos(), it's just pretty much a different return type. It's a lot easier to do. Philipp Tanlak 7:44 Yeah. Derick Rethans 7:45 When looking at feedback, what were the main criticisms of this? Philipp Tanlak 7:48 The main criticism of this was basically just the variants of these functions. So mainly the multibyte variant or the in case sensitivity. Other than that, the response was very, very nice and, and also very rewarding for me. So I thought I did a good job on this. And many people wanted to have this function in PHP, but either did not have the time to implement it or it was too easy. I'm not sure how that went. But I think the response from the devs and the overall PHP community was very nice. Derick Rethans 8:23 The RFC is already in voting, so I'm I'm a bit late to talk about them. Usually I'm and things are still in discussion. And at the moment, it looks like it is passing because the votes are 43 to 6 with another weeks ago, then. Philipp Tanlak 8:37 Yeah. Derick Rethans 8:37 Do you think this will be your last RFC? Or do you have something else in mind? Philipp Tanlak 8:41 At the time of this recording I don't have anything else in mind, but maybe if I find something. Since I'm working with PHP on a daily basis, which I think is worth adding to PHP I might create a new RFC. Derick Rethans 8:54 That's how I started and see what happens now. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today Phillipp, I hope you enjoyed this. Philipp Tanlak 9:01 Yeah, thanks for having me Derick. Derick Rethans 9:05 Thanks for listening to this instalment of PHP internals news, the weekly podcast dedicated to demystifying the development of the PHP language. I maintain a Patreon account for supporters of this podcast, as well as the Xdebug debugging tool. You can sign up for Patreon at https://drck.me/patreon. If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to email them to derick@phpinternals.news. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you next week. Show Notes RFC: str_contains() Credits Music: Chipper Doodle v2 — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Since I'm your favorite cousin/auntie, it's only right we get to know each other...well IG: @cousinkitkat Twitter: @CousinKitKat

Since I'm just chillin/sheltering in place, here is some lost shit I found on my computer. Burn some time with this ridiculous nonsense. Anyway...

Hello everyone, Since I'm out getting married and Bat is undoubtedly there both cheering and jeering me on we wanted to make sure we still gave you all a fun little episode. With the new consoles on the horizon we thought it would be good to reflect on this current generation and wax poetic about what we liked, what we didn't, what surprised us and what we're hoping from this next one. Funniest of all is that this actually will be posted on time, because I scheduled it a full on week ahead of time lol. So sit back and enjoy, we will be back next week with your regularly scheduled geekyness. We will be having a very special episode next week before we get back to normal!

Since this is my 25th solo podcast episode, I thought it would be a good idea to take stock of past performances. While I've been making slow, yet steady progress, I've still got quite a ways to go before I reached a level of competence that I can be proud of. The key ingredient to achieving the success I want is to read anything and everything I can get my hands on. Since I'm a former bookworm, that shouldn't be too tough a task. Or, will it? Only time will tell!If you enjoy these podcast episodes, I invite you to check out my weekly "From Grievance to Gratitude" blog posts. Just go our my website at: https://grievance2gratitude.weebly.com/

Since I'm not that involved in the wedding where my son is getting married, I thought I would release some of the tension by sharing some of the stories I have come across in my stupid world this week! A Guy Started a $750,000 GoFundMe for His High School Reunion . . . With a 20% Cut Going to Him for "Coordinating" 61% of Americans Want the Government to Release Its X-Files on Aliens A Woman Says a Guy Behind Her on a Plane Who Kept Punching Her Seat "Assaulted" Her A Woman Who Pooped in a Cop Car to Hide Her Drugs and Valentine's Day Card Gets Prison Time MMA (Mom Martial Arts) At The Dance Recital? The "Broomstick Challenge" Is Going Viral . . . and Doesn't Require a Special Gravitational Field to Work An 82-Year-Old Man Gets Jail Time for Constantly Blasting His Classical Music A Guy Falls Into an Icy River Because Google Maps Told Him To Avoid Malware on Your Computer By Getting One With LINUX FLORIDA MAN GETS ARRESTED FOR 66TH TIME VEGAN GOES ON FURIOUS RANT AT MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT, INSISTS COWS HAVE SOULS --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eriklane/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eriklane/support

Well, it isn't a rugby league weekend but it sure as hell is Super Bowl weekend! Since I'm in Idaho, the Potato State, I'm calling it the Potato Bowl. Go Chiefs!

Since I'm 7 episodes in now, I thought it would be fun to do a Getting to Know Me episode! And I was inspired by @hughesp1 Instagram filter! Play along and help me get to know YOU! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/real-talk-redhead/support

Why do I go through difficulties in life? Since I'm a follower of Jesus, shouldn't He just remove all pain from my story? Actually, God's Word shows us again and again that God uses the difficulties in our lives to bring about maturity so we can stand strong. This is how God develops our faith so we can become like Him.

Build a website in just 5 days (even if you're not techie) at www.free5daywebsitechallenge.com Already have a website? Take the Free "Jumpstart Your Website Traffic" marketing mini-course at www.jumpstartyourwebsitetraffic.com Leave a Review! My guest today teaches creative introverts how to become virtual assistants and earn an income from home. Billie Gardner is the founder of Desire to Done and the Introvert VA Club, a membership site for introverted virtual assistants. Billie’s been a member of my community for awhile, and then one day I got this email from her where she writes: “Hey Shannon, So I'm doing a live challenge in my membership the Introvert VA Club called "Do One Thing That Scares You Every Day". It's for 30 days and we're on day #11. One of the things I'm scared about is visibility. Since I'm an introvert I tend to shy away from attention but I'm trying to work on it! I know that putting myself out there more is going to help more people achieve their dreams. Which brings me to your podcast. I've been a big fan of yours since we met and was wondering if you're looking for interviewees. Off the top of my head I can talk about the challenge, how I help creative introverts, mindset stuff (love it), and how I "burned da bitch down". (I got rid of my ebooks and a big client to focus on my membership site. Totally scary at first, completely freeing afterward.) Let me know if you're interested and if there's a way I can help support you!” And of course it’s a yes, and not just because she’s a member of my community but because her pitch was all about how she can provide value to my listeners and not all about how awesome she is. I mean, you’ll find out for yourself how awesome she is when you listen, but the key takeaway for you if you want to land guest opportunities of any kind, or even if you want to get people to buy from you for that matter, is that it’s never about you. It’s always about them. Today we’re talking about: How Billie got her first virtual assistant client. Tips for getting VA clients when you are just starting out. Advice for how to let go of clients when you no longer are taking 1:1 work. How to make discovery calls with potential clients less scary. How Billie structures her day. A strategy for getting yourself to do something that scares you. Billie’s advice for an introvert who is thinking about starting their own business. The belief Billie had to change about herself to get where she is today. My favorite quotes from Billie: “Follow your heart and follow your gut, wherever it takes you.” “If you’re going to grow you have to get uncomfortable and with practice it becomes easier. Give it a shot and keep trying.” “Just take it one step at a time, everyone is scared.” “Keep going keep showing up consistently.” “Building a business takes time and takes energy. Just keep doing it” Resources mentioned in this episode: Billie’s Freebie: https://desiretodone.com/va-services Membership: https://introvertvaclub.com/ Bio: Billie teaches creative introverts how to become virtual assistants and earn an income from home. She's the founder of Desire to Done and the Introvert VA Club, a membership site for introverted virtual assistants. Connect with Billie: Website: https://desiretodone.com/ Freebie: https://desiretodone.com/va-services Membership: https://introvertvaclub.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desiretodone/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/desiretodone/ Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/desiretodone/boards/

Authentication Vulnerabilities in OpenBSD, NetBSD 9.0 RC1 is available, Running FreeNAS on a DigitalOcean droplet, NomadBSD 1.3 is here, at e2k19 nobody can hear you scream, and more. Headlines Authentication vulnerabilities in OpenBSD (https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/12/04/5) We discovered an authentication-bypass vulnerability in OpenBSD's authentication system: this vulnerability is remotely exploitable in smtpd, ldapd, and radiusd, but its real-world impact should be studied on a case-by-case basis. For example, sshd is not exploitable thanks to its defense-in-depth mechanisms. From the manual page of login.conf: OpenBSD uses BSD Authentication, which is made up of a variety of authentication styles. The authentication styles currently provided are: passwd Request a password and check it against the password in the master.passwd file. See loginpasswd(8). skey Send a challenge and request a response, checking it with S/Key (tm) authentication. See loginskey(8). yubikey Authenticate using a Yubico YubiKey token. See loginyubikey(8). For any given style, the program /usr/libexec/auth/loginstyle is used to perform the authentication. The synopsis of this program is: /usr/libexec/auth/login_style [-v name=value] [-s service] username class This is the first piece of the puzzle: if an attacker specifies a username of the form "-option", they can influence the behavior of the authentication program in unexpected ways. login_passwd [-s service] [-v wheel=yes|no] [-v lastchance=yes|no] user [class] The service argument specifies which protocol to use with the invoking program. The allowed protocols are login, challenge, and response. (The challenge protocol is silently ignored but will report success as passwd-style authentication is not challenge-response based). This is the second piece of the puzzle: if an attacker specifies the username "-schallenge" (or "-schallenge:passwd" to force a passwd-style authentication), then the authentication is automatically successful and therefore bypassed. Case study: smtpd Case study: ldapd Case study: radiusd Case study: sshd Acknowledgments: We thank Theo de Raadt and the OpenBSD developers for their incredibly quick response: they published patches for these vulnerabilities less than 40 hours after our initial contact. We also thank MITRE's CVE Assignment Team. First release candidate for NetBSD 9.0 available! (https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/first_release_candidate_for_netbsd) Since the start of the release process four months ago a lot of improvements went into the branch - more than 500 pullups were processed! This includes usbnet (a common framework for usb ethernet drivers), aarch64 stability enhancements and lots of new hardware support, installer/sysinst fixes and changes to the NVMM (hardware virtualization) interface. We hope this will lead to the best NetBSD release ever (only to be topped by NetBSD 10 next year). Here are a few highlights of the new release: Support for Arm AArch64 (64-bit Armv8-A) machines, including "Arm ServerReady" compliant machines (SBBR+SBSA) Enhanced hardware support for Armv7-A Updated GPU drivers (e.g. support for Intel Kabylake) Enhanced virtualization support Support for hardware-accelerated virtualization (NVMM) Support for Performance Monitoring Counters Support for Kernel ASLR Support several kernel sanitizers (KLEAK, KASAN, KUBSAN) Support for userland sanitizers Audit of the network stack Many improvements in NPF Updated ZFS Reworked error handling and NCQ support in the SATA subsystem Support a common framework for USB Ethernet drivers (usbnet) More information on the RC can be found on the NetBSD 9 release page (https://www.netbsd.org/releases/formal-9/NetBSD-9.0.html) News Roundup Running FreeNAS on a Digitalocean droplet (https://www.shlomimarco.com/post/running-freenas-on-a-digitalocean-droplet) ZFS is awesome. FreeBSD even more so. FreeNAS is the battle-tested, enterprise-ready-yet-home-user-friendly software defined storage solution which is cooler then deep space, based on FreeBSD and makes heavy use of ZFS. This is what I (and soooooo many others) use for just about any storage-related task. I can go on and on and on about what makes it great, but if you're here, reading this, you probably know all that already and we can skip ahead. I've needed an offsite FreeNAS setup to replicate things to, to run some things, to do some stuff, basically, my privately-owned, tightly-controlled NAS appliance in the cloud, one I control from top to bottom and with support for whatever crazy thing I'm trying to do. Since I'm using DigitalOcean as my main VPS provider, it seemed logical to run FreeNAS there, however, you can't. While DO supports many many distos and pre-setup applications (e.g OpenVPN), FreeNAS isn't a supported feature, at least not in the traditional way :) Before we begin, here's the gist of what we're going to do: Base of a FreeBSD droplet, we'll re-image our boot block device with FreeNAS iso. We'll then install FreeNAS on the second block device. Once done we're going to do the ol' switcheroo: we're going to re-image our original boot block device using the now FreeNAS-installed second block device. Part 1: re-image our boot block device to boot FreeNAS install media. Part 2: Install FreeNAS on the second block-device Part 3: Re-image the boot block device using the FreeNAS-installed block device NomadBSD 1.3 is now available (https://nomadbsd.org/) From the release notes: The base system has been changed to FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE-p1 Due to a deadlock problem, FreeBSD's unionfs has been replaced by unionfs-fuse The GPT layout has been changed to MBR. This prevents problems with Lenovo systems that refuse to boot from GPT if "lenovofix" is not set, and systems that hang on boot if "lenovofix" is set. Support for ZFS installations has been added to the NomadBSD installer. The rc-script for setting up the network interfaces has been fixed and improved. Support for setting the country code for the wlan device has been added. Auto configuration for running in VirtualBox has been added. A check for the default display has been added to the graphics configuration scripts. This fixes problems where users with Optimus have their NVIDIA card disabled, and use the integrated graphics chip instead. NVIDIA driver version 440 has been added. nomadbsd-dmconfig, a Qt tool for selecting the display manager theme, setting the default user and autologin has been added. nomadbsd-adduser, a Qt tool for added preconfigured user accounts to the system has been added. Martin Orszulik added Czech translations to the setup and installation wizard. The NomadBSD logo, designed by Ian Grindley, has been changed. Support for localized error messages has been added. Support for localizing the password prompts has been added. Some templates for starting other DEs have been added to ~/.xinitrc. The interfaces of nomadbsd-setup-gui and nomadbsd-install-gui have been improved. A script that helps users to configure a multihead systems has been added. The Xorg driver for newer Intel GPUs has been changed from "intel" to "modesetting". /proc has been added to /etc/fstab A D-Bus session issue has been fixed which prevented thunar from accessing samba shares. DSBBg which allows users to change and manage wallpapers has been added. The latest version of update_obmenu now supports auto-updating the Openbox menu. Manually updating the Openbox menu after packet (de)installation is therefore no longer needed. Support for multiple keyboard layouts has been added. www/palemoon has been removed. mail/thunderbird has been removed. audio/audacity has been added. deskutils/orage has been added. the password manager fpm2 has been replaced by KeePassXC mail/sylpheed has been replaced by mail/claws-mail multimedia/simplescreenrecorder has been added. DSBMC has been changed to DSBMC-Qt Many small improvements and bug fixes. At e2k19 nobody can hear you scream (https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20191204170908) After 2 years it was once again time to pack skis and snowshoes, put a satellite dish onto a sledge and hike through the snowy rockies to the Elk Lakes hut. I did not really have much of a plan what I wanted to work on but there were a few things I wanted to look into. One of them was rpki-client and the fact that it was so incredibly slow. Since Bob beck@ was around I started to ask him innocent X509 questions ... as if there are innocent X509 questions! Mainly about the abuse of the X509STORE in rpki-client. Pretty soon it was clear that rpki-client did it all wrong and most of the X509 verification had to be rewritten. Instead of only storing the root certificates in the store and passing the intermediate certs as a chain to the verification function rpki-client threw everything into it. The X509STORE is just not built for such an abuse and so it was no wonder that this was slow. Lucky me I pulled benno@ with me into this dark hole of libcrypto code. He managed to build up an initial diff to pass the chains as a STACKOF(X509) and together we managed to get it working. A big thanks goes to ingo@ who documented most of the functions we had to use. Have a look at STACKOF(3) and skpopfree(3) to understand why benno@ and I slowly turned crazy. Our next challenge was to only load the necessary certificate revocation list into the X509STORECTX. While doing those changes it became obvious that some of the data structures needed better lookup functions. Looking up certificates was done using a linear lookup and so we replaced the internal certificate and CRL tables with RB trees for fast lookups. deraadt@ also joined the rpki-client commit fest and changed the output code to use rename(2) so that files are replaced in an atomic operation. Thanks to this rpki-client can now be safely run from cron (there is an example in the default crontab). I did not plan to spend most of my week hacking on rpki-client but in the end I'm happy that I did and the result is fairly impressive. Working with libcrypto code and especially X509 was less than pleasant. Our screams of agony died away in the snowy rocky mountains and made Bob deep dive into UVM with a smile since he knew that benno@ and I had it worse. In case you wonder thanks to all changes at e2k19 rpki-client improved from over 20min run time to validate all VRPS to roughly 1min to do the same job. A factor 20 improvement! Thanks to Theo, Bob and Howie to make this possible. To all the cooks for the great food and to Xplornet for providing us with Internet at the hut. Beastie Bits FOSDEM 2020 BSD Devroom schedule (https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/track/bsd/) Easy Minecraft Server on FreeBSD Howto (https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/freebsd/how-to-guides/easy-minecraft-server-on-freebsd/) stats(3) framework in the TCP stack (https://svnweb.freebsd.org/base?view=revision&revision=355304) 4017 days of uptime (https://twitter.com/EdwinKremer/status/1203071684535889921) sysget - A front-end for every package manager (https://github.com/emilengler/sysget) PlayOnBSD’s Cross-BSD Shopping Guide (https://www.playonbsd.com/shopping_guide/) Feedback/Questions Pat asks about the proper disk drive type for ZFS (http://dpaste.com/2FDN26X#wrap) Brad asks about a ZFS rosetta stone (http://dpaste.com/2X8PBMC#wrap) Send questions, comments, show ideas/topics, or stories you want mentioned on the show to feedback@bsdnow.tv (mailto:feedback@bsdnow.tv) Your browser does not support the HTML5 video tag. Special Guest: Mariusz Zaborski.

As Todd gets ready to embark upon his new podcast adventure (the Dungeon Community College podcast), he chats with his brother/webmaster about how Eric Hersey gets it done! Since I'm putting links in the show notes (for once), I'll go ahead and link to the other website we reference, abbyhersey.com, illustrator for the TodCast cover art and all of the art and design elements of all of my web presences. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/todd8/message

In today's chat I speak with World Record Holder and paddle board badass Victoria Burgess. Since I'm a mostly dryland kind of guy, aside from my occasional triathlon, I ask her all about what Stand Up Paddle board is about in the competitive scene instead of just instagram worthy yoga pictures. We get into the meat and potatoes of her claim to fame, crossing the Florida strait on a paddle board. A trip from Cuba to Florida, spanned by only 2 people, Victoria as the first woman and just as importantly, the fastest time to date. Victoria and I continue discussing her world record crossing of the Florida strait. Specifically diving into her meal prep as well as the kind of mental training needed to take on this 27+ hour challenge. Surprisingly, though in some ways not, I ask her about life as a firefighter while paddling and getting her PhD at the same time. She tells me a bit about her new venture in trying to fuel high performance careers with great nutrition instead of foods of convenience. In the last part of my talk with Victoria we finish up with her thoughts on how to fuel high performing professionals like firefighter, police and military. She tells me about how much there's left to uncover in the world of eating for performance as well as some of her personal food induldgences. Not one to miss out on an opportunity, I ask Victoria about her choice in recovery food since it's her specialty to help people with that. Stay tuned to the end for her answer. Shop the Solpri store at https://solpri.com

I use the word depression in this episode, but a more accurate label (in my case) is psychological trauma. The signs and symptoms of trauma line up more closely for me than depression does. Every day is a different experience, and it takes an extrordinary amount of energy to stay focused; because of this, I consider myself to be "high functioning". Since I'm able to function relatively well, I feel it is my duty to help those that that may need someone to commiserate with. I got you!

Since I'm back home, I'll discuss some of what happened at the work event last week, and then we'll catch up with our Wombat Co-Host (Ursula Vernon) on how productive she has been, as well as where we are with the new tenant on Dogskull Patch. After that, we will read your letters! Links for this Episode: The Harp Twins WindyCon Shepherd's Patreon K.B. Spanger Silvopasture Nameless Sheep Comics (Twitter Thread) Gantt Charts

We all have guidelines when researching history. Since I'm eyeball deep in historical data for my WIP, I decided to share with you my top 8 conducting effective research.  If you like this episode please be sure to "like" this episode and subscribe! If you'd like to share I won't be upset!  Want to know more about me? saywordbeller.com Want to see what I get up to on social media? You can find me on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @saybeller. This podcast also has a Twitter account that you can follow HERE! Thank you so much for your support!

I asked my friends, peers, and and network at large to send me the burning questions they had about overcoming mental blocks and enhancing their own creative process. Many of them asked me how to start. Since I'm starting this podcast, I figured I'd talk about starting. How do you get started when you feel stuck? In this episode, I talk unrehearsed and unedited about how I got started, left my corporate job, and created work and a life for myself that is more aligned with my values and what I want in my life. The thing is, it's not a one-step process. We are constantly starting, learning, growing, adjusting or pivoting, and starting again. Listen to this episode for thoughts on how to change your frame, understand the 'process' vs. 'outcome' mindset, and get going towards making your ideas a reality in the world. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/creativepermission/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/creativepermission/support

I need your help! When I say "what's up, ____" can you cheer? I'm making a video for my YouTube Channel. We're kicking off a new series today. The Good Life: Technology. I figured starting this sermon with a GoPro selfie sounded just about right. I'm going to say something so obvious it's almost obnoxious: We live in a digital world. And I would know, because I am an "elder millennial." Mid 30's, I'm at the upper limit of my generation. People my age have a pretty unique perspective on technology. Case in point: I remember walking across the room to change the channel on the TV. I have used a rotary phone in my life. And I have heard a record played in a non-nostalgic way. But as a millennial, technology today looks almost nothing like it did when I was a kid. o Today, high school freshmen have no memories of a world without iPhones. o Half of all children in the United States have a smartphone by age 11. o The average American now spends nearly half of their waking hours staring into a screen. o Humanity is watching 100,000 years worth of YouTube every day. Things have changed. Almost every one of us is now a cyborg. You know, cyborgs? Part human, part machine? On or in our bodies we've got medical devices and FitBits and AirPods, you name it. But beyond that, we store our memory in the cloud (our calendar, photos, notes, reminders... How many phone numbers do you remember?). Our sense of direction lives an app (if you had to drive to a specific address in Dallas, Texas right now without a phone, how many of you think you could manage it?) And craziest of all, the dopamine neurotransmitters in our brains activate every time our phone buzzes. We're neurologically linked with our devices. Part human, part machine. We're cyborgs, whether we like it or not. We live in a digital world. And for the next five weeks, we're going to talk about how to burn it all to the ground. Just kidding. In fact, just the opposite. I believe that as Christ-followers in 2019, we have a responsibility to engage our technological world. To enter into it, to transform it, to bring healing and light and life in the name of Jesus. But we will never be able to do that if our use of technology looks no different than the culture around us. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be different and we have to be healthy. So in this series, we are going to introduce 5 biblical principles for how to live a healthy life in the digital world. JOHN 17 Now, at this point you may be thinking, "Wait. Biblical principles? Wasn't the height of technology when this book was written the plow?" No. We're not looking in Scripture for information about specific technology. Instead, we're exploring principles about how to engage our world as believers - these principles were relevant back then, they're relevant now, and they'll be relevant when we all have self-driving hovercrafts. What we're about to read is a part of Jesus' prayer for his disciples right before he goes to the cross. He's talking to his Father here in prayer. John 17:13-21 "Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. What I want to focus in on here is verse 16. "They do not belong to the world." Now, in the gospel of John, the word "world" shows up a lot. 78 times, in fact. In Greek it's the word kosmos - world/universe/humanity In John, it generally seems to mean all people. The world is walking in darkness, the world is full of sin and selfishness and chaos. And so, when Jesus says that his followers "do not belong to the world," he means we are meant to stand apart from the darkness around us. We're meant to be distinct. The literal Greek here says that we are not "of the world." Maybe you've heard the phrase "in the world, not of the world." This is where that comes from. When I was growing up, I heard that phrase a lot. In the world, not of the world. And it always meant the same thing: We should avoid hanging out with non-Christians, we shouldn't watch R rated movies, and we should really only listen to contemporary Christian music. (This is why DC Talk and Audio Adrenaline were the soundtrack of my middle school years) Gotta hang tight, don't get corrupted, try not to sin too much, then you get to die and go to heaven. In the world, not of it. What I didn't realize is that that's not what this passage is saying at all. Yes, Christ-followers are meant to be distinct. In verse 17 Jesus prays that his disciples would be made holy by the truth. Holiness means being set apart. But this doesn't mean withdrawing from the world around us. Just the opposite. Look at verse 18. "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." We had the phrase wrong this whole time. It's not "in the world, not of it." It's "into the world, not of it." There's intentionality here. Mission. We're not just living "in" this dark world, we're being sent into it. Just as Jesus was. But how was Jesus sent into the world? Well, the answer is earlier in the book, in one of the Bible's most famous verses, John 3:16, and in one of the Bible's most neglected verses, John 3:17. John 3:16-17 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Out of incredible love, God sent Jesus into this dark world not to condemn it, but to save it. To transform it. This is what it means to be holy - set apart - while being sent into the darkness of our world. Not feeding into the sinful chaos but standing against it. Fighting against the world's brokenness, and in the process, bringing salvation and life. Or, as John often describes it, bringing light. Jesus said it this way: John 8:12 I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. So in the gospel of John, yes, the kosmos - the world - is dark. There's corruption and chaos and sin and death. But Jesus has been sent into it as the light. And so have we. "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." Because we have the Holy Spirit within us, we can bring healing in the name of Jesus, we can create loving community in the midst of hatred, we can end isolation and injustice and decay. That's what we do. We are light-bringers. We don't just avoid the darkness. We transform it. Put simply, we have been sent. We are on a mission. TECHNOLOGY Ok, so how does this relate to technology? Well, as I said before, we are cyborgs. Technology is just a part of our lives now. (I'm on this stage and there are people sitting right in front of me who are watching me on the screen. Hey guys!). We don't even think about it. Technology is how we communicate. It's how we shop. It's how we remember things. The problem is that there is a very dark side to all this technology, isn't there? The world may be full of shiny, digital wonders, but it's still a place of deep darkness. Online bullying, hate-filled social media rants, addictions, the glorification of violence, pornography, exploitation, out of control consumerism... I could show you 10 apps on my phone right now that have been carefully designed to manipulate me to do things I wouldn't do on my own. It's really dark if you think about it. Jesus said his followers "do not belong to the world." So if technology can be so dark, maybe we should just abandon it. "We're just going to hang out over here by ourselves, the world. You guys can keep your Facebooks and your Googles and your Geocities.com." But remember the second half of what Jesus is praying in John 17. We are not of this world, but we are sent into it. Technology can be dark, but we are light bringers. And even if we walked away, the rest of our world sure wouldn't. God loves this dark world and wants to transform it - to save it. And we are his instruments to do that. Which is why I don't think we need to abandon technology at all. As Christ followers, we need to move into it. To bring light. To heal. God did not abandon our world to darkness, and neither should we. So, here is the first (and probably most important) biblical principle for living a healthy life in the digital world - to remember this: Principle 1: You are on a mission. You're not of this world, but you are sent into it. PRACTICAL Alright, so what does this mean, practically? Well, first of all, if we are light bringers, then we'd better be positive we are set apart from the darkness. If we're not withdrawing from technology, then we'd better be healthy when we use it. This is what we're going to talk about over the next few weeks. Next week, we'll talk about our need to think long and hard about who is defining our identity. The week after that, we'll talk about breaking free from the chains of addictive behavior the Internet has designed to wrap around us. The week after that we'll talk about being very intentional about who we're letting influence us and what we're filling our minds with. And then in the last week of the series we'll talk about re-learning how to have face to face relationships. It's going to be a great series. And we've got some awesome stuff available for you. If you go to gracechurch.us/thegoodlife we've got resources, videos, app suggestions, etc. We're also having a Parents Technology Forum at our Fishers campus on December 3. And we're going to do something together as a church on Saturday, November 23. We're going to have a No Screen Saturday Challenge. All of us - kids to adults - are going to try spending the whole day without using any screens. More info on that soon. ON A MISSION So we're going to talk about living healthy lives in a digital world. All of that is great. But today, we have to talk about the most fundamental truth of them all: that we are on a mission in this digital world. And so here's what I want to do to make all of this really practical for you. I want to introduce an exercise you can do to think clearly about anything technological in your life. A question you ask yourself to evaluate where your heart is. You ready? Here's the question: Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I _____? And then you fill that blank in with whatever you're thinking about. o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I use Twitter? o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I watch this show on Netflix? o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I have my email notifications turned on all the time? What this does is force you to think intentionally about how and why you're using technology. Not just whether you've set healthy limits, but why you're even using it in the first place. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I ____? Another question you can ask is "How am I bringing the light of Jesus into this?" Here's why I like these types of questions. Sometimes the answers will be neutral. "I use Google Maps because it helps me get around." There's nothing spiritual about it. Sometimes you'll have a hard time answering the question. "Since I'm a follower of Jesus, why am I watching this movie?... Uh, well, I don't know that a follower of Jesus would watch this movie... Uh oh." Or "I'm watching this movie so I can relate to my co-workers and share my faith with them... Uh... but I don't ever talk to them." You see what I mean? It exposes our motivations. But where this question gets really cool is when we start to see possibilities. New ideas for ways to spread light and life into the world. For example. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I use Instagram? As an person living in 2019 America, you might just say, if you're being honest, "I use Instagram because I want people to like me, or I need validation..." Ah, but as a Christ-follower, your validation is in your identity as a child of God. In theory, that should free you up to use Instagram for a different reason. Imagine if you were to answer the question this way: Since I am a Christ-follower, I use Instagram to help my friends understand they are loved. If that was your purpose, you mission, with Instagram, how much would that change how you use it? You could post about other people on your feed and talk about how awesome they are, just to encourage them. You could go beyond just commenting nice things ("omg gorgeous") and actually direct message them to tell them how much you appreciate them. "Hey, I wanted you to know, I think you're awesome, and you're really brave for taking that new job." You could scroll through your feed and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who needs prayer, and then pray for them. And then let them know you're praying for them. Would that be weird? Would that be different? Yes! But John 17: we are not of this world. Since I am a Christ follower, why do I use Instagram? These are just ideas, but you get what I'm saying, right? I'm not saying we need to talk more about being followers of Jesus. I'm not saying we need to post more pictures of our morning devotions. I'm saying we need to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the way we use technology. Remember: You are on a mission. A mission to bring the light of Christ into this world. When we start thinking this way about technology and social media, it is the first step in changing our focus from ourselves to the needs of a broken world. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I _____? This week, I encourage you to ask yourself this question a lot. Ask it about the apps on your phone, ask it about the things you watch, ask it about Facebook and Uber and your car and TikTok and your phone and Amazon... You are on a mission. Jesus prayed, "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." He was praying about you and me. Because remember, we're not of this world. Which makes us the perfect people to transform it.

Ep 8: In this episode, I’m answering listener questions! I truly enjoy hearing from those who listen to the podcast and to answer your questions is so much fun for me. I get to hear more about what you think and it gives me a chance to dive in and think about these topics in this moment. Since I'm always processing in life and in trance, it's good to take time to see where I'm at in this process too. Here’s what I’m covering in this episode:How we choose our parents and what this can mean for us in this lifeHow many sessions people usually needHow past life regression can help with people-pleasing tendenciesThe reasoning behind 2 individuals experiencing the same past life (i.e. 2 people who say they were Cleopatra in a past life)How past life regression can help when we’re feeling constantly judged by others (or when we’re constantly judging others)Why I don’t do smoking cessation or weight loss hypnosis with clients+ more!Also, I’m running a special that you may be interested in. Subscribe at https://www.pastlivesandthedivine.com/subscribe to find out more!

In 20+ years working with people who run growing companies, I’ve documented how leaders’ roles need to change to meet the demands of a larger organization. This involves Leadership skills, Management techniques and Organizational structure. CEO Boot Camp is a process to analyze about 35 different systems inside a company taking into account the maturity level of each system, it’s score against best practices, and ranking them based on whether they help or hinder the goals of the owners or investors. For Companies and Divisions: I bring the CEO Boot Camp on-site with a program adapted to your goals, stage of growth, and specific situation. I get input from employees then develop a customized approach based on your company objectives. For Industry Groups and Conferences: I bring a modified version of the CEO Boot Camp to your event as a keynote, break-out, half or all day session. The audience leaves with a greater understanding of the CEO function and a specific, personalized action plan to apply as soon as they leave the session. For Economic Development Agencies, Co-Working, Accelerators & Incubators: I bring a group workshop that meets every two weeks for four hours. In 5 sessions over 8 weeks, we cover most of the key systems growing companies need help with. We use case studies and examples from the group to move the companies forward. These workshops are best when the group is at a similar stage of growth: -Bootstrapped -Start-up -Scale up –Exit/Succession Connect with me directly john@CEOBootCamp.com Since I'm on email more consistently. Free ebook at www.ceobootcamp.com/list001

Greg and I just got back from beautiful Branson, MO. Part of the trip included mountain biking. Since I'm an expert and Greg's a rookie we had quite an adventure. In this episode we share some of our funny stories and some spiritual truths from our trip.

I am in the final weekend before my annual biometrics screening to determine how much I'll have to pay over and above my insurance premiums for my health plan at work. So I am busy eating nothing and trying to burn as many calories as possible. I'm recording while walking on my treadmill. Since I'm not eating, I did not want to go out on the trail and find myself undernourished a couple of miles from my car. So that's why I'm here on the treadmill. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/192 Weight 7-day Avg. (change since Jan 2018): 221 (-54) Workout time: 10 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 0 Miles (464.04) Steps: 6,120 Muscle Mass 7-day Avg. (change since Aug 2018): 152.65 (+9) Body Fat 7-day Avg.: 31% Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 7 hours 2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat

When a for-profit company aligns with a not-for-profit, or non-profit organization what happens? A WIN for both and it's called Cause Marketing. I talk about it in my book, UN-Market Your Business: 10 Ways for Savvy Entrepreneurs to Stand Out, Stop Struggling, and Start Profiting. When you attach your business to an organization you believe in, it makes for a great opportunity to promote the cause and for the light to shine on your business as caring about more than just the bottom line. Cause marketing is big news. Today, I'll share with you how to set your company up for success using cause marketing. -------------------------------- October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Since I'm an 8-year survivor of a Stage II diagnosis, I feel it's my duty to support any way I can, so for the entire month of October, when you purchase the Social Media Success Strategy program, 20% will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. ------------------------------ Register to attend my FREE 5-Day Marketing Mastery Bootcamp that kicks off October 21, 2019. By entering you be registered to win the UN-Marketing Entrepreneur Bundle that's valued at over $2000 in tools, info, and strategies to help you finish 2019 strong. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unmarketyourbusiness/support

This episode of the podcast is an ode to your enoughness. It is a call to own your power and stand fully in your worthiness and live your life from a space of understanding that you are so fucking enough and that nothing and no one can take that away from you. Since I'm a personal development junkie I obviously include ways in which you can tap even further into this sense of enoughness and I finish with a sort of affirmation riff about you and your beautiful and intrinsic worthiness!

Let’s Fix Work Episode 78 One of my biggest professional regrets in the world of HR was not having a mentor. I'm not alone. Many of you don't have mentors either and I know it because you email me and ask me questions about how to find a mentor. Or you ask what to do once you have a mentor, how not to lose that person or mess that relationship up. Since I'm not qualified to answer questions about mentorship, I thought I would invite an expert onto the show who can. This week's guest is Mike Sipple, Jr. who is a mentor to mentors, seriously. Mike is the President of Centennial, Inc., the Founder and CEO of the Talent Magnet Institute and he's the host of the Talent Magnet Institute podcast. That's a lot of jobs. I don't know how this man finds time to mentor, but he does. He mentors many people within human resources and recruiting. He teaches mentorship, he instructs, he leads, and he guides. And he is working to elevate the way mentorship is delivered in organizations all across the world. So if you want to raise your game as a worker, as a leader, as a human being or maybe, as a mentor, sit tight and listen to this episode of Let’s Fix Work.  In this episode, you’ll hear: Why mentorship and mentoring is so important to Mike Holistic leadership and the importance of being focused on our whole selves What makes someone qualified to be a good mentor and Mike answers the question, “Can you be a good mentor if you are not a leader?” Where to find a mentor and how to ask someone to be your mentor The importance of taking an active role in learning and how to best prepare for a meeting with your mentor The appropriate amount of meetings that you should have with a formal mentor  The difference between a mentor and a coach Knowing when it’s time to pivot or move on from your current mentor How to know when a mentor/mentee relationship is going well versus some signs when it’s not “Life is not a solo sport. If you feel like you're the only one, like you're by yourself, that it is a solo sport and no one understands, now is a wonderful time to seek out a mentor.” Mike Sipple, Jr. Resources from this episode: Connect with Mike, join his community, and become a talent magnet at: www.mikesipplejr.com Laurie on Instagram Read more from Laurie Work with Laurie Episode 76: Enterprise Podcast Strategies with Danny Ozment Jennifer McClure Michael Hyatt Jean Lauterbach *** EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com 

The last episode I did was standing here as well… I had two big thoughts on my mind so I wanted to do another one here. About two or three weeks ago I hosted an event called OfferMind. I sold 650 tickets We sold about $1.9 million on stage … Which is awesome! It was a screaming success and it was a lot of fun. We'll continue to sell that program which is exciting. It was interesting because the ONE skillset you guys can go learn that will massively improve your wallet is MARKETING. The better marketer you are, the less amazing at sales you have to be. When I do my events, I like to teach A LOT. We went from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and we only took a lunch and a dinner break. One of the principles that I like to talk about the most, is this whole concept of sales psychology. One of the things that made the events so unique is: I don't really want to teach people the newest thing on Facebook. What I do care about is, what is true marketing? HINT HINT: We'll probably gonna have an MLM event soon called Hack MLM Live. WHY DID PEOPLE LIKE OFFERMIND? One of the reasons why people like OfferMind events so much is that I have an obsession with marketing history. I actually wanted to be a 10th-grade history teacher for a long time. I love studying American history and world history. I'm 31 now and what it's turned into is an obsession with marketing history. At the event, I said to everybody, “The purpose of this event is for me to remove the Internet. I wanna remove today's modern distribution channels”. Let's take those away…. What's that to do with MLM? Just hold on tight and I'll show you. https://youtu.be/6Xn5vTcQxD0 Let's go back to 200 years ago… To the time when the printing press was starting to come around in 1750. The printing press came around and suddenly we could have duplicatable messages that they were sending out... That's a BIG deal. Before that, you had to one-on-one to tell everybody. I told everybody at the event, “Let's remove everything to do with the Internet, learn what marketers in that time used to go do, study their patterns and then add the Internet.” That is powerful. Otherwise, the Internet can be a distraction. We think that posting on social media is marketing… IT’S NOT… It's posting on social media! The purpose of the event was to teach what marketing actually is in the context of old school times and then add in powerful Internet principles. It was very, very successful. THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND THE REFUND One of the things that people like the most, is studying this whole bio-psychology. I know I've talked about this a little bit in the past, but there's a certain key point to this. QUESTION: Have you had anybody refund on you? You do the whole phone or hotel meeting or you three-way him, or you spend time with that individual, and you can tell they're not all about it. Vice versa. There are other people where you show them the product and they're like, "This is the best thing since sliced bread, I love the product." Imagine you're talking to somebody and they're not loving it. You walk away, and you got the sale but it's kind of shaky. And you're walking away and let's say you got them on auto shipper. You walk away from him, and that dreaded text comes to you (cause they're not confident enough to actually call you) and they say, "Stephen, we were talking about this and I know I'm within my three day refund period and we just really want the money back." And you're like, "Ugh! Oh my gosh." We have ALL had that experience. Don't act like you haven't. If you haven't, you need to sell harder. Refunds are normal. There are very famous marketers that believe if they DON’T have a 10% refund rate, they’re not marketing hard enough Refunds are normal. DOPAMINE Let's say you have that experience… Why does that happen? There's a principle that I wanna walk you guys through on why that happens. There are four hormones in the brain that causes us to feel good. They're naturally produced by the brain. The first chemical is Dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical of DISTRACTION. We love to get distracted. It is statistically proven that you check your phone 72 times a day. WHY? Dopamine. Mark Zuckerberg said on film to Congress, "Yes, we brought in addiction specialists to make Facebook as addicting as possible." I'm not here to argue whether or not that's right or wrong. That's the statement. They engineered addiction into it. Dopamine is the easiest chemical for our brains to produce out of the four hormones. OXYTOCIN The next chemical is Oxytocin. Oxytocin is the chemical of connection. Of the four, it's the one that we want the most. I need a connection. I need to connect with people. Seth Godin teaches that right now, there's never been a time in history where we have de-tribed so much. We are de-tribing as a society. But funny enough, it's the chemical we seek the MOST. We're not relying on each other like we used to, but we desperately need to feel a connection, which is caused by the chemical oxytocin. We will give up our: Religion Relationships Beliefs Morals … In order to get a connection, even if it's fake connection. We need connection as a species. SEROTONIN The next chemical is Serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical of status. I don't mean like, "I'm better than you." That's not what it is. Status meaning validation. Meaning, I'm okay in my eyes, and I'm okay in those people's eyes over there too. It's one of the driving forces we have as entrepreneurs. I love this stuff man, I really go into this. ENDORPHINS The next chemical is Endorphins. Endorphins are the chemical of work reward. Let's say I'm gonna go jog around a track. The first three or four laps are gonna suck… They always do. But what happens once you get past that first mile is you get the runner's high. That's a work reward. That's endorphins. It's not dopamine, it's not oxytocin, it's not serotonin, it's endorphins. Endorphins come as a response to work reward. It comes in as the response of pain… The pain of growth. I might feel some growing pains as I'm sprinting around the track, but I'll start to feel some endorphins feel goods and it makes me keep going. WHY DO PEOPLE REFUND There are different ways to cause these chemicals inside of the buying process. And there's something I've discovered and learned how to do quite well. You consuming this right here… I'm giving you dopamine 'cause I've distracted you from something else today. Status in terms of it's very much US versus THEM, new MLM versus old MLM. I try to be as vulnerable as possible with this show, which actually gives a semblance of oxytocin. Endorphins are gonna be very hard for me to give you while you read this right now because you're not doing much. If I was to have you go do two or three things and check a box, it would start to give the chemical of endorphins and the feel-goods. I wanna tell you guys why the refund happens. Let's say you're pitching somebody and they're buying from you… They're getting dopamine because they're getting distracted. They're getting oxytocin, one of the easiest ways to get oxytocin is through purchases. You get that buyers high. Let's say there's a brand involved. They know it's an amazing brand. There's a sense of status that comes with it, serotonin. There's a little bit of work reward. The work they did is they pulled their credit card out and they're buying, they're feeling endorphins, man they're on a high. You're getting home all four hormones during the purchasing process. LOGICAL REASONS FOR A REFUND So why do they refund? What's happening in the brain? What happens in the brain is the purchase is not over. Buying is emotional. As I start to purchase, the right side of the brain is really where a lot of those emotions happen, and it overrides the left or logical side of my head. So I stop thinking logically. And when I start saying, "Hey, buy now. It's buy one, get one free right now." Guess what happens? What happens in the brain is they start to justify the purchase. “You know what, it makes sense for me to buy this right now because it's buy one, get one free”. They think it's logical… It's actually emotional though. As they walk away and those hormones start to burn off, the left brain starts to pop back in and go, "Oh crap. Oh my gosh. Why did I just buy this?" They start to freak out a little bit, like, "Oh my gosh. I wasn't planning on buying this thing today." And the left brain has to start justifying the action. I know I'm spitting a lot of stuff here, but understand that *THIS* is where the key is. If you wanna drop your refunds, this is how you do it. REASONS WHY PEOPLE REFUND The other reason why somebody refunds is because you have not armed the logical side of the brain during the sale. You heard what I just said? That's a BIG statement right there. You might wanna go back up and read that sentence again. One of the BIGGEST reasons why you get refunds is because you did not arm the left side of the brain during the sale. MEANING: You didn't give logical closes. Let's say that you go into a grocery store and you're like, "All I'm gonna get is eggs." How many times you actually walk out with just eggs? ANSWER: Never. Why? Beause you like to buy. Everyone likes to buy. "You know what, I should get some bread while I'm here", "You know what, I'm gonna go ahead and get the orange juice while I'm here." "Since I'm here... " What are you doing? Logically justifying. What happens when the first loved one walks up to you and says, "I thought you were just getting eggs?" You panic and think, “What do I say? What do I say?” What I say is the CLOSES. (I'm going way more tactical, far less story than I should on this podcast episode, but I'm hoping that you guys catch this.) LOGICAL REASONS AND CLOSES What happens is as the customer walks away and confronts their first loved one, they cite logical closes. A logical close is nothing more than a reason to ACT NOW. What are they gonna cite? It was buy one, get one free It was half off If I did it now, I got in my buddy for half off Do you know what I'm saying? They start citing logical reasons to act now. Not the stories that you told them. Go watch the last podcast and what I’m saying will make more sense. People DON’T cite the stories, they cite the logical reasons to act now to save face in front of loved ones who asked why they bought something. [PAUSE FOR EFFECT] People cite logical reasons to act now to save face in front of their loved ones. WHY PEOPLE REFUND RECAP Let me recap this real fast here and tie it in a nice little bow. I know that was a lot of stuff. Maybe watch this a few times too 'cause I know that's thick. This is a pretty deep topic. But just think about this… WHAT THIS MEANS IS: When you're selling somebody, you wanna give them as many logical reasons that they should be doing this as possible. You wanna be telling them things like: "It makes sense." "You're smart to get this done now because it's half off." "It makes sense what you take action this now. I totally would too because it is buy one, get one free before midnight." "I wish that I had this opportunity like you have now 'cause I didn't have this when I started." QUESTION: What did I just do? ANSWER: I just armed them with something that they can quote to loved ones when they try to save face later on. Once those buying hormones die-off on the right side of the brain, the left side is left to fend for itself and unless you arm it, they start getting buyer's remorse. That was one of the pieces people really liked at OfferMind. MY REFUND RATE I really don't have that many refunds on Secret MLM Hacks. In fact, with ALL the products I sell, I have an extremely low refund rate. And it's because I understand that part of my role when selling them is NOT to sell them ONLY on the decision to buy. I'm actually arming them post-sale on how to save face in front of their loved ones. That's my role, not theirs. The sale is NOT OVER until they can justify the purchase to loved ones. Otherwise, what happens is people step back and they say, "Well crap. I think I got swindled." because they can't cite any of the logical reasons to act now. Because of that, they start getting buyers remorse. They freak out! The whole point of this episode is that ONE sentence right there: The purchase is not over until you have armed them to save face and status in front of the loved ones once they challenge the purchase. THAT’S IT. And the way you do that is by arming them with lots of logical reasons to act now. When people are like, "I don't know that I like closing." You're killing your refund rate. NEWSFLASH: You're not closing hard, you're helping them save face. You're giving quotables that they're gonna go say to their loved ones. NO ONE ASKS FOR A REFUND ON OFFERMIND One of the reasons I did $1.9 million in sales at OfferMind is because I stacked closes. I've NEVER had a table rush. That was the FIRST table rush I've ever had my entire life. I hadn't even sent the freaking price and people were standing up and slamming the credit card down. BUT I DIDN’T STOP. I kept speaking. There were 650 people and half the room was on their feet! Do you know how loud the room was? I kept going like NO ONE was standing. I talked for another 15 minutes with everybody up, just doing my closers. Dave Woodward, one of the executives of ClickFunnels, is a funnel freak. He paid for this program before he even knew what was in it. He was the first one in the program and he was super excited about it. He’s a funnel freak… Are you? He's in the program and I want you to be as well. You need to tell people WHAT to cite after they go back home and the emotions have died. Logically, they need to know that they should be in the program. They're NOT the salesman, and now they have to sell their loved ones on the decision they made. If you haven't armed them with those logical reasons, they’re gonna feel like you took them. You didn't… But it just feels that way to them. MASSIVE RANT OVER.  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SALE Hopefully you enjoyed this episode of Secret MLM Hacks Radio. I love doing this show. If you could please leave me a review, that'd be AWESOME! This stuff works. I love MLM, I love what I do, I love sales, I love marketing, I love funnels. The opportunity we have right now is RIDICULOUS. There's never been a time where distribution has been so easy. Where products are made so quickly. Where society discipline is dropping so much… Which means if you just do ANYTHING. I know it's tough to find people to pitch after your warm market dries up, right? That moment when you finally run out of family and friends to pitch. I don't see many up lines teaching legitimate lead strategies today. After years of being a lead funnel builder online I got sick of the garbage strategies most MLMs have been teaching their recruits for decades. Whether you simply want more leads to pitch or an automated MLM funnel, head over to secretmlmhacks.com and join the next FREE training. There you're gonna learn the hidden revenue model that only the top MLMers have been using to get paid regardless if you join them. Learn the 3-step system I use to auto recruit my downline of big producers WITHOUT friends or family even knowing that I'm in MLM. If you want to do the same for yourself, head over to secretmlmhacks.com. Again that’s secretmlmhacks.com.

Now that Retronauts has transitioned to deep dives of single titles over the past few years, it's about time to focus on a genre we rarely touch: adventure games. That said, this marks the beginning of a limited series where I (Bob) will be covering the entire LucasArts adventure library—one game per episode—hopefully with new and/or rare guests. Since I'm not covering these games in any particular order, there's no better place to start than The Secret of Monkey Island, the release that would define LucasArts' house style for its remaining decade of adventure game output. And there's no better guest than Monkey Island superfan Nina Matsumoto (of FanGamer and Sparks fame), someone who's loved the series since 1990 and even created the cover art for Ron Gilbert's latest adventure game, Thimbleweed Park! So join us as we enter the world of corrosive grog, rubber chickens with pulleys in the middle, and insult sword fighting and jump back in time nearly 30 years to explore a game that launched a much-beloved series.

Happy Labor Day! I hope most of you are out enjoying your three-day weekend. Since I'm also taking advantage of the extra day off with my family, this week's episode is another From the Cutting Room Floor special. When I spoke with Campbell Soup Company's Matt Pritchard for his episode which launched a few months ago, I didn't have time to fit this snippet in about where he sees the future of mobile heading. It's a perspective I think we could all do well to listen to, so I hope you enjoy! 

Erik Tenkar and Gothridge Manor have already talked about this stuff. Since I'm preparing to run The Blight by Frog God Games, I figured it's time I share my initial thoughts. Don't fear the city. Be ready to improvise. And too many details will just bog you down. Plus the usual features. D&D Boot Camp and Reading from the Ancient Tomes. Roll dice, kill monsters, take their stuff, and have fun. If you like this episode please visit The Patreon. "Take the Lead" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/playing-it-wrong/support

I've always been a big fan of songs with ambiguous vocals and cool electronic beats. Since I'm trying one new thing every week for a year, I decided to get hands-on with a song! I wrote some lyrics, found a voice actress online, and recruited a friend to make some magic happen in Garage Band. This is the result :)

On today's Podcast, I'm talking about how my process for packing for a trip works. Everything from the types of gear I put in which crates, to the capacity of the Xterra, to the strategy that I use to most effectively pack the truck. If you're looking for some ideas of how to categorize gear, how to make your life easier when getting ready for a trip, or specifically how to pack up an Xterra, then this episode will have something for you! If you like the episode, feel free to rate the podcast 5 stars! Since I'm packing for a trip I touched on a little bit of everything I use. Here are some quick reference links: http://allthingsoverlanding.com/gear/ Also, for more great content and info, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allthingsoverlanding Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsoverlanding YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmwuH_54mVg_kbcNsVpZo-w? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/allthingsoverlanding/support

A brand new chapter is coming! Although it's as yet unfinished, it's close enough for jazz. I heard from a friend about how it's OK to alter your positions over time between agnosticism and atheism and pure faith etc. I appreciated that feedback, and was inspired to explore this topic of doubt by looking into the phrase Benefit of the Doubt, defined as: “a concession that a person or statement must be regarded as correct or justified, if the contrary has not been proven.” And that leads to having to prove a negative, that there is no God. Well well, there's so much here to be considered. I welcome all comments. Try clicking on Leave a Voice Message, and also please consider becoming a sponsor of this podcast. Since I'm not quite using my real name, I can't share amongst my friends, and depend on people like you who appreciate and consider this topic as valuable. Enjoy. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/richard-blaine/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/richard-blaine/support

Here's another favorite of Alden's that he's been playing a lot of... Deathrun. Since I'm terrible at the game, I spend more time describing the waiting area than I do the actual gameplay. All the same, he shows no mercy when he's the trap master, and almost survives a solo performance towards the end. Hope you enjoy it. :) ----- If you'd like to check out our new YouTube channel, you can go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHzlNzZHvs_dYw5tbPPHm4g/ Feel free to leave your thoughts and game suggestions for us. (We do read them, and might feature them on a future recording.)

Since I'm a vegan, I hold my dietary choices as almost a personality trait. Just kidding.... But I don't normally find myself in a a drive-thru awaiting a beautifully hot box of fries. Jack Zimmerman, on the other hand, does. In this episode of Thoughts I Should Keep To Myself, Jack and I break down the goods and bads of fast food, getting fit, remaining healthy, and the overall effects of social media trends and influences on personal consumption behaviors. Disclaimer, we're not doctors. So take it with a grain of salt. Or maybe not salt, because that can lead to high cholesterol, but you get the idea. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This week I reflected on a previous blog post https://www.thetraveloutlier.com/2018/03/take-your-time-back-challenge/ Since I'm always asked how is it I manage the multiple roles I juggle (wife, mom of 3, and entrepreneur) I went back to a previous challenge. The Spend Your Time Wisely Challenge. Check out how to play!! 

So.... I was thinking that this is some kind of a pre - podcast or something, like an intro before an episode. Since I'm a newbie, I hope u guys will understand what im saying and I'm sorry if my vocab and grammar is a bit messy or proly too messy, its bc english is not my first language, so yeah, hope u guys feels great, xoxo

It has been a full week since we got home from the latest iteration of PAX East and I still don't feel like I have fully recovered yet. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting old and these shows are taking a greater toll on my mind/body than they used to...or if it's just because we managed to make this one of the most eventful PAX-es in recent memory. Since I'm in the mood to deny I'm getting any older and I'm still as young and spry as I ever was, I'm going to go with the latter. All joking aside, we did have one hell of a PAX this year. It was a record setting event in terms of both panels and games and we still managed to squeeze it all into a span of two days. Joe is back in the studio with us this time for our annual recap and I'm just going to warn you now: it's a doozy. We managed to jam an insane amount of content into a massive, 2 hour marathon of an episode and we're pumped for you to check it out! Pictures can be found . (Shoutouts to our man Bob from Dead Henchmen Productions for the camera hookup) Enjoy! -Jr.

Let's welcome Spring with this wonderful second set from March 26th, 1973 at the Baltimore Civic Center. Since I'm a bit under the weather this week I'll just point out a few (obvious) highlights - the jam following Truckin' including the Weather Report Suite Prelude, the wonderful Eyes , and of course Morning Dew.    I hope you enjoy this one, and feel free to join the Deadpod group on Facebook and offer your suggestions for shows you'd like to hear on the Deadpod!        Grateful Dead Baltimore Civic Center Baltimore, MD 3/26/73 - Monday   Two Ramble On Rose [6:10] ; Big River [4:09] ; Here Comes Sunshine [7:50] ; Greatest Story Ever Told [4:42#] ; Candyman [6:30] ; Me And My Uncle [2:41] ; He's Gone [10:#49] > Truckin' [14:45] > Weather Report Suite Prelude [2:02] > Jam [5:36] Wharf Rat [10:17] > Me And Bobby McGee [5:35] > Eyes Of The World [14:29] > Morning Dew [12:42] ; One More Saturday Night [4:25]   You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod032219.mp3   Thank you for your support!!!   

http://RunningAFEVER.com It is my birthday, and I head out on the trail despite some of the nastiest weather in recent days, with rain, wind, and cold. But it's still a beautiful day on Lake Fayetteville and a great day to still be alive after 53 years. I am in the best shape of my life, when I consider all areas, mental, physical, and spiritual. This morning I was in the gym, like I am five times a week. I had six exercises to do, and increased resistance on 5 of them. So I am still getting stronger and not slowing down at all. What do I mean "53 going on 29"? I am referring to the information I have found in the book Real Age, which is the best 20-year-old book on the subject of health you can read. In the book they say a person can reduce their "real age" by twenty-six years by taking the advice in the book. Since I'm not a smoker, and I am starting with some good things going already, I probably will not be able to add the full twenty-six years, but I'm going on that assumption today. As an another attempt to add some cardio to my health strategy, I bought a pair of inline skates, so stay tuned for an unboxing episode, as well as the first (and last?) rollercast. One Real Age calculator https://you.sharecare.com/ Social Security Administration Life Expectancy Calculator: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/population/longevity.html Weight (change since Jan 2018): 205 (-69) Workout time: 187 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 8.63 Miles (419.21) Steps: 19,032 Muscle Mass (change since Aug 2018): 153.64 (+10) Body Fat: 25.20% Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 8 hours 2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat

This episode of Nobilis Erotica is sponsored by Literotica, the world's most popular online community of self published erotica authors and readers for over 20 years. "Paper Doll" was written by D. Mark Alderton, and is narrated here by Nobilis Reed. D. Mark Alderton has been published by Circlet Press, and was co-editor of the recursive collection, "Like a Circlet Editor." In another life he writes for mainstream publications and is the author of several books of fiction and non-fiction. Most of his family and friends would be quite surprised. "I was in mid-fuck and I was bored. Not surprising. People think testing and refining 'mates is a dream job. Right? All it is, in most people's minds, is spending every day having sex with partners designed to be perfect, from their vat-grown bodies to the actual people running the simulacra. Not everyone can do this, of course. You have to be able to “read” both the 'mate and the puppetmaster. The physical signs are obvious: Cardio. Heightened respiration. Flushed skin. Copious lubrication. And, naturally, physical responsiveness. Our clients don't simply want to go through the motions. They could do that without our help. They want to feel it as an authentic experience. I suppose I'm fortunate in that I have the appropriate “talent” for the job. I can not only check off the physical signs. I can read the mental ones. Is the 'mate making an effort to connect? Since I'm in her mind, I can tell. Is the puppetmaster seeing that she is in the moment, so to speak? The good ones – and I've worked with the best – make you forget this is work for hire. For the half hour or hour that you're together, she not only has eyes only for you, but is becoming increasingly aroused by what you do, and makes sure to let you know it. This is sex taken to the level of perfection. “Better than the real thing” the ads say. It's being with a 'mate whose goal is not only your pleasure but making sure you know that your ministrations are beyond compare. It's brilliant, really. By making both sides of the physical act flow back to the customer, satisfaction is guaranteed. We run the alphabet soup of every possible sexual orientation and proclivity, although my specialty is within the range of male/female combinations. I don't know if the men and women who test the male 'mates experience it in quite the same way but then, as you might imagine, this isn't the sort of job where we hang out in the coffee room and compare notes. So, we'd been going at it for a bit. This 'mate was brunette, a tad plump in the current fashion which is to say in all the right places. She was on her back, her legs wrapped around mine, pulling me into her core. Her nails gently scraped my back and the nape of my neck. Her hot breath was at my right ear as she hissed, “Don't stop! Don't stop.” I could feel her puppetmaster, Ilene, graze my thoughts, looking for clues as to what would really turn me on. We had not been paired before, so this was truly a test run for both of them."

Since I'm currently on a family vacation in Vermont, I decided to repost one of my favorite episodes from 2018 in case any new listeners haven't heard this one. “Instead of dropping out, you’re actually dropping into something” I interviewed Leann Abad and Sarah Grosz for the podcast and they explained that dropping out of college was not about disconnecting from education. Rather it was a way for them to further their education in their respective fields. For Leann, that meant dropping out to work on his startup Ashe media. For Sarah, that meant moving across the country to work full-time as a growth hacker BAMF media. The stigma behind college drop outs being lazy or unmotivated could not be further from the truth. In some ways I envy those who have dropped out of college. Because going against the grain of what society has deemed “the right choice” to pursue the unknown takes courage. But, more importantly it takes #selfawareness and as young people that’s what we should be chasing down more than anything.

Hey, rebel risers, welcome to the final episode of 2018! I almost didn't record this episode. I always think, oh, why would anyone care about what's going on with me and my business? But I realized something I realized I loved hearing behind the scenes stories of businesses. I love hearing people reflect. I love how Maggie Patterson does a monthly debrief on the Small Business Boss podcast or how Tara Newman did a CEO debrief on her Bold Leadership revolution podcast. I learned so much from listening to these women reflect and it's so important for us to reflect on the year. That was before we start creating what's next. Here are three questions that I asked myself when I start thinking about the past year and what's next for Communication Rebel in 2019. The first question I asked myself is, what were my big successes? The second question, what were my big lessons and the third question, what do I want to create next year. Since I'm a big fan of the number three, the 3 Word Rebellion, of course. I'll share with you my top three answers for each of these questions and I know that there are some learnings in here for you as well.

Been experimenting this week—seeing if our little prototype can help provide the right thing, right time according to situation, not solely based on what we're feeling in the moment. Because, fundraising. Fundraising is my latest endeavor and something that I haven't done before—not in this way. Since I'm a human person, this new thing seems big and scary at times. When I can remember, I can talk myself through the fear and get back to the truth. Which is: The funds are being raised. It's not a matter of if, but when. This is turning out. We're already on our way. The thing is, it's real easy to forget that. I have a Clever Brain who loves to tell scary stories and distract me from that truth. Thus, the experiment. I created a series of reminders and truths for myself that bring me back to what matters when I catch myself freaking out about fundraising. This episode is me sharing about exactly what that means and how it's turned out so far. Now, I realize you're not likely fundraising as well. You've probably got some other important or scary thing going on in your life. So many your Clever Brain has stories about your work or relationships or future or past. Thus, you'd be served by a different series of reminders. Which is why we're building Recollect and why I'm offering Founding Members the opportunity to build a custom recollection of reminders that are specific to their life and their truth. Founding Members can do this by requesting an invite to try our prototype (aka the "skateboard" version, which will make more sense once you sign up and receive the intro email). Then, I'll reach out with a link that makes it easy-peasy to set up. If you're not a Founding Member? How about becoming one? All it takes is a $50 deposit toward your future membership. Sign up here: recollectbetter.com/join

Since I'm busy with Nanowrimo, and the recording I tried to do this weekend failed, I just describe whats on my desk for ten minutes. Enjoy?

Aubrey Mast is an Intuitive, Health Coach, Herbalist, and Wellness Chef dedicated to helping people root into their bodies and into their sovereign self. She has helped thousands come back into their bodies with nutrition, self-care, and intuitive practices. Aubrey Mast and Susan Grace co-host the rapidly growing, internationally followed Be the Evidence podcast available now at http://betheevidencepodcast.com/ and all platforms where podcasts are streaming. We’re talking about bringing astrology into your daily life, bringing it back down to earth, and, as is Aubrey’s expertise, bringing it into the body. GUEST LINKS - AUBREY MAST betheevidencepodcast.com podcast betheevidence.live platform | community aubreycara.co Root Rising podcast HOST LINKS - SLADE ROBERSON Slade's Books & Courses Get an intuitive reading with Slade Automatic Intuition FACEBOOK GROUP Shift Your Spirits Community BECOME A PATRON https://www.patreon.com/shiftyourspirits Edit your pledge on Patreon TRANSCRIPT Slade: People will have heard you and I speak before on your podcast, Root Rising. But you have a new podcast with Susan Grace. Tell us about that podcast. Aubrey: Yeah, so we have a brand new podcast that's called Be the Evidence. We just pushed out our 20th episode this morning and it is a blend of my strengths with working with clairvoyance and clairsentience, clairaudience. I'm able to hear and see images come to me and they typically are in relationship to the body and a lot of times colours. And then I meet that with Susan Grace, who's an amazing astrologer. The way that we look at it is, this is a beautiful way we blend the conversation about the mind and coming into the body. So it's very stars to root feeling. The podcast is all centred around this theme of being that evidence. I think for us, that means walking the talk. Like, if we are all in this movement towards collective consciousness, and doing our work, and showing up more embodied and more as infinite as liberated individuals, not only for ourselves but for society. There's some level of evidence that we have to walk on our day to day being. And so, this is a podcast where we explore those conversations in a very real talk way, like you just stumbled into our living room and Susan and I are having this really raw conversation of like, Oh, yeah, things have been really hard and this is how I'm moving through them. So you'll get pieces of astrology that's real time, and you'll definitely get pieces of wellness information within it. Slade: Tell me a little bit about your background. You're working on a Ph.D. I kind of want everyone to know where you're coming from and how seriously you take this mind-body connection. Aubrey: Yeah, so my Ph.D is in mind-body medicine. So far, it looks as if I'm going to be focused on the gut microbiome and how it relates to psycho-neuroimmunology, which is really a beautiful way of saying how the bacteria that is found all over our bodies, and in our environment, impacts the energies that we're exposed to. And that plays a role in our consciousness but also in our thoughts that we have and our overall wellbeing. But beyond that, my master's was in Public Health. I focused on nutrition. My undergrad was in health and wellness promotion. I'm an herbalist. I am also a chef. I'm a holistic health coach. The last 15 years of my career has really been focused on healing the body. And it seems like within the last 2 or 3 years, especially since I was doing my work with you, that it's become more of this intuitive-based practice, where it's not just about physically healing the body. It's also about consciously healing the thoughts that we think, because they dictate how our cells react and respond in our bodies. They dictate how our genes respond. So I'm really viewing it from a holistic level of healing from cells-forward, if that makes sense. Slade: How did you hook up with Susan? Aubrey: In the age of social media, this is like, the complete thing. You and I have had this conversation before too, I think. Of like, all of a sudden, somebody recommends somebody, or somebody shares somebody's post. So, 3 years ago, somebody shared one of her posts and I had viewed it and I was like, Ohmygosh. This is really pertinent. Because she posts with a finger on the collective consciousness for the day. She does daily astrology readings that are specific to the collective consciousness. So I had followed her through Facebook, because every time I checked in to her posts, day by day, they were right on the mark with what was going on in my world. And then I ended up scheduling a reading with her and sat with her for an intensive. And every time I saw with her, I would have this conversation of like, I think you and I are supposed to work together. I'm not quite sure how it pieces out but we're gonna work together. And there was that little awkward laugh of like, Haha... yeah, we'll see......... And then this is how it panned out. Slade: I just want to say, like a quick shoutout to Susan by the way, because her ears are totally burning right now. We're talking about her, and, Susan, I've had recommendations to interview you, so now I feel like I need to immediately, as soon as this conversation is over, get in touch with Susan and have her come on and talk about astrology. Because astrology is definitely showing up as a theme this season for my interview guests. So tell me how you guys blend this astrology information with the wellness and lifestyle choices and healing information that you're working with. Aubrey: Yeah, I think that's really such an important question, honestly, in a sense that, for anybody that's new to astrology, it is its own language. I know you've experienced this in how you teach in Automatic Intuition. There's that section where you speak about astrology and how to make it more simplified. But it's its own language. And I remember coming out of my first reading with Susan and just being completely blown out of the water. Not only was she poignant in what she was talking about, but I was automatically exposed to this language I had no idea what the hell any of it meant. Grand trines and retrogrades and things like that... I had heard these terms thrown around but I did not understand how that applied to my day to day world. I knew that it was part of a subset of language that I was trying to grasp at. So Susan and I had had this conversation of, the information and where astrology is just so pertinent, because it's a visual element. It's a visual map of what is going on, moment by moment. The beautiful thing I think I found about it was that she was like, I don't know how to make it land. Sorry Slade, I'm being interrupted by my son. Slade: That's ok! Aubrey: Thank goodness you can edit this out. Slade: Oh sure! We could also just talk to him. He can be part of the interview if necessary. Aubrey: Honey, you want to say hello? You can say, Hi Mr. Slade! Son: Hi Mr. Slade! Slade: Hey! Aubrey: Sorry about that. Slade: No problem! I often say, I didn't do a lot of the pre-show stuff because I've talked to you before. But one of the things I was gonna say is, if anything happens, we can always cut the show or if we get disconnected, or whatever, and it's fine! I've had instances where my cat's beat the door down and I had to get up and be like, Excuse me for just one moment while I let the cat in. At this point, I'm almost thinking that we should just leave that stuff in. I may not or I may. If something ever really funny and interesting happens, I will absolutely just leave it in. Aubrey: I love it. Slade: Yeah. Because, I mean, the point of this show is really to kind of eavesdrop on the cool conversations that I have with people, and I was listening to Be the Evidence podcast that you do with Susan and it felt like that. It felt like I was sitting at a table at the cafe, next to an astrologist and her girlfriend who is super knowledgeable about wellness stuff, and you guys were breaking it down. Sort of what you were observing in your, what was happening in your life and she was talking about it thematically using astrology as a language. And I just want to say, this came up also in my recent interview with Dena DeCastro. We were really stressing that this is an archetypal vocabulary and it's very useful from that perspective. Even if you take out all the predictive stuff, and the forces in the sky and all that, I was even thinking about the fact that we can use the language of astrology just as any magazine does. You know? Magazines always have this sort of seasonal lifestyle kind of focus, right? Like we shift gears during certain times of year because of the seasons and we tend to focus on different types of activities or different things in our body, depending on what's going on in the environment around us. And so I'm completely okay with saying, You know what? You can debunk everything there is about astrology, which, then I'd want you to go get a reading and then realize it's kind of hard to do that. We could just take it out and say, This is an excuse or an intention for us to focus on this particular theme at this moment. And it would still be incredibly valuable just from that perspective. So give me an example, like I was listening to your show a couple of weeks ago about Virgo energy and how that impacts your daily life, like you said. So give me some examples of how you guys use the themes of what's going on astrologically and then apply that to the 3rd dimensional world. Aubrey: Yeah... I think that's a whole piece of, How do we make it land? I think from being in this field where it's intuitive, right? And I like to be in my Ph.D where it's mind body medicine and a lot of the stuff is not tangible. We can't see it in a lot of ways. How do you make it land and make it become tangible, is always the question of, how can you create a storyline so that people can see it resonating within their lives? So that I can see it resonating in my own life. We just recorded last night and it was a... we're in a lot of Scorpio energy right now, which, thankfully, or not thankfully, I don't know what way you want to look at it, Susan and I are both very, very much in our Scorpio energy, so we can come off as very intense. But for people that are not comfortable in that, it can come off as so intense that it's overwhelming. There's that deer in headlights look, like, I don't know what to do with this, this is a lot. It can look kind of chaotic. Right now the hurricane's hitting and it's sort of that feeling, right? The way that we explore this is to talk about, well, these are the ways that it's coming up in our world. And how do you make it land? So if we're dealing with lots of intensity and lots of chaos. And there's lots of transformation and liberation, that can feel like anxiety a lot of times, and stress a lot of times. So the way that I like to always take it back to the body is, how do we bring these bigger themes into our day to day lives? If we're experiencing lots of anxiety and lots of stress because we're also experiencing lots of intensity in our day to day lives, then it's important to recalibrate our bodies. It's important to calm our systems down. The other day I did a float tank and I got this download about how important it is to drink adaptogens right now, which help us manage stress. They help our body adapt to stressors. That's one of the ways that we explore... like, okay, if you're dealing with intensity and anxiety, this is one of the ways that we can calm our systems. We can also go out into the woods. We can sit and drink a cup of tea. We can have a beautiful conversation like you and I are having. That's very intentional. And to focus on those tactics while we're aware of these bigger themes as a way to land the information into our systems, but without coming from a place of reactivity. I think that's the bigger point for me with astrology. Astrology is almost shining a flashlight on what's happening, and then we get to choose, how do we respond to it? Slade: Mmm... yes. I love that. I have tons of Scorpio in my chart, by the way. Aubrey: That makes sense, why we get along. Slade: Yeah. I'm a Leo with a moon in Scorpio and a rising sun in Scorpio. So I do attract Scorpio energy and I always say, Scary people don't scare me as much as they do other people. I can handle the darkness. Bring your darkness! And you know what? It's crazy though, because I notice when things are really intense and kind of negative, I am much more likely to have good conversations with my Scorpio friends. They seem to have an ability to absorb that negativity, or to filter it in such a way that they don't hear it as like, Oh you're bitchin' and complainin'. You're bringing me down. You know what I mean? Like they almost settle in and resonate with it. I find myself feeling more liberated in venting to someone with that kind of energy. So I don't know if... it's like, it's an instinctive thing and one of the things that I think is kind of interesting about astrology is I often find myself reacting to some kind of vibe that's going on, trying to adjust, like you said, and make these changes that are intentional and healthy and all that kind of stuff. And then I'll find out, while it's going on, or even after the fact sometimes, that there was this astrological phenomenon that I go, Oh, okay! Well that makes sense. That's what that was about. One of the things I think is really fascinating is how little you have to pay attention to it to still kind of be in it, a little bit. Aubrey: I agree. The other day I had that and a little bit of a tiff, was feeling really worked up and stunned. My words being very reactive. And then I had reacted, completely. I was a human and I was just reactive, right? And then later on, was like, What?? What WAS that? Why was I so reactive and sharp with my words? And then I had gotten on Facebook and I had seen that Susan had posted a Happening Now, and it was, Don't fly off the handle. You're going to get real agitated right now. And had listed the placements in the astrological chart for that moment. And I was like, Oh! This is what was happening at that time! But it was playing out in my real world and I was not aware that it was like actually, it had correlations with the planets. Slade: Oh, I hate it when that happens. When you literally read the astrological post 12 hours after you should have seen it, and you're like, Oh no! I just did the very thing that they told me not to do. Aubrey: Exactly. Slade: I do that a lot. I also, though, I think one of the things that's interesting about the predictive stuff is, sometimes I'm more interested in what is happening now in astrology. Like if you say, You know what, we're in a new moon right now. Or we're in a certain kind of moon phase, or Mars just shifted, something like that. Rather than projecting too far down the road, because I think sometimes knowing that, Oh you're going to have challenges in your social life and your relationships in December, it's kind of like, Ugh, I don't want to manifest that or contribute to that in some way and make it true. Therefore I have this tendency to kind of blind myself from some of the predictive stuff sometimes, and I know that sounds weird, but it's like, I don't even want to know. Because I don't want to curse myself in any kind of way. Because I know that, it's not like by knowing that there's gonna be a certain phase happening astrologically, that you can somehow magically avoid that. It still happens and you still kind of have to deal with it in the moment. So I kind of keep my focus a little bit more narrow. But I am interested and aware and I do sometimes, like you guys saw me in the group, when we were launching the Shift Your Spirits community, and everything was in retrograde. And I was like, Okay, well this is not the time to launch. When does it all start to open up again? And I went and sort of looked at when everything kind of had a forward motion to it and picked a date accordingly. Now, for me, I often try to pick dates around moon phases, like start something with a new moon, so that I can be in those rhythms. But I also feel like, philosophically, it gives me a structure to something that might ordinarily be a little bit chaos. If you're running around, kind of wondering, when do I do this? When do I start this? I'm managing multiple platforms online and it can all feel a little bit like plate spinning. And you're just sort of running around like putting out fires. So, for me, sometimes I use the astrological calendar and events as a way of just kind of putting some bookends around things. It makes me feel like it's more organized. Like I have a sense of when something starts and when it comes to fruition. The cool thing, for me, about moon phases is, they constantly restart. It's like, every month is a new opportunity to kind of, Okay, try again. New thing. New project. Aubrey: Yeah. I think that's so important. Since I'm in the bodywork, right? That's also how our cells work too. Our skin cells slough off and then we have new skin cells replaced. We're constantly going through this ebbing and flowing, whether it be from the moon or whether it be from our bodies regenerating ourselves. So we constantly have this ability to come back and give ourselves a framework on which to move around within. And I think we all just choose varying tools to use. I agree astrology helps to give some framework, but I also tend to veer away from any of the predictive qualities. But I also think that's because of my background of where I'm like, Well if we're gonna all walk through it, I would rather walk through it completely unbiased, and see whatever exposes itself, whether it be good or bad. And try to show up with as much grace as I possibly can. It's really interesting for me, working with Susan in a sense that, I've been with her now, in some capacity, for years and it's almost like my brain doesn't quite want to wrap around the language of astrology. I can get the thematics of it but I have a hard time keeping up with the actual vocabulary. I feel like if I was ever given a vocabulary test on astrology, I would probably get a D. Like, I can't. Even though I sit with an astrologer every week, multiple times a week. Slade: Oh, I might get a C+ at best. Aubrey: It's just really intense. But then it's so fascinating to me that I can be intuitively aware of the energies that are going on. I just might not be able to vocalize, Oh, this is because this just clipped in to this degree. Or this is because there is a trine there. Like, I don't have those words, but I can sensationally and visually see and feel what is happening. And I find that really fascinating. Slade: Well that's what I got from listening to you guys. It's kind of like eavesdropping on a conversation where you are sort of observing and she is translating and offering suggestions. And then you are kind of taking that and then... I feel like you're kind of the one who's grounding it in the body a little bit, and she's the one who's giving us the kind of overview, the magical perspective. It's a really cool concept because if you listen to all that astrology vocabulary coming at you, and especially if you don't know what the heck they're saying and what they're talking about, it's like, What do I do with this? Aubrey: Yeah! Slade: I like the idea of having some place that we can go and listen to the astrological information. But you're there as the kind of the person who's representing, for those of us that are like, Okay, what the heck do I do with that? What kind of choices do I make? So you guys are kind of, you're not necessarily speaking specifically about your own personal astrology. It is a little bit more general, right? For the whole audience that's listening. Things that are affecting ALL of us. Aubrey: Yeah. Susan pulls up the chart for the collective. We don't ever pull up a chart for us personally. It's for the collective and that's how she always reads, until she's in private readings. And I think, I just think that piece is so important. Especially when I... I've had several people reach out to me that are like, I don't know how to begin on my intuitive journey. And I know this is part of the reason YOU do the work that you do. Because you've got these requests as well. Figuring out how people... The language that we respond to, for me, in my world is, the language of our body. Oh I feel tight. I feel inflamed. My stomach's upset. I'm craving pizza all day long. Or I'm so tired I can't get out of bed. That's the language that I respond to. And then behind that, I have lots of visuals that tell me things about what's going on. And so, to me, that's how I'm able to communicate to people. Like, this is how you cultivate intuition and to your point about, if you just listen to somebody do a whole astrology, you can easily get blown out of the water and not know how to make it pertinent. But I also think that's so much inundated in the spiritual community, as we get further out into the conversations about 5D realities, or 11D realities. People can get very easily lost. And if we're coming at it with a goal of, Let's just elevate consciousness collectively, let's just all figure out how to be living our optimal lives and elevate one another, then I think we have to figure out how to speak that language at a very intuitive, but basic, understanding. Slade: Almost every single person who does come into my practice asking questions about connecting better, feeling disconnected from their intuition, and how to hear their inner wisdom, all that kind of stuff. Also the people who are in a phase of their life right now where they're absorbing everything that we're putting out. They're in a real intake kind of moment. They're just gorging themselves on all this stuff and it's all coming in. And they're trying to make sense of it and figure out where to put it. It's interesting that you said, for you it always comes back to listening to your body because the advice that I find myself giving so much is about grounding. Every time someone comes to me with an upper level chakra freakout, and what I mean about that is, if you are in your intellect, if you are spiritually questing, if you're constantly practicing psychic techniques or trying to increase your intuition, all that kind of stuff, it's all happening heart chakra and above. So there's this real top-heavy energy that's going on. People come in and they look frazzled. Their energy, to me, looks like a tornado. It's literally very narrow at the bottom and wide up top. It's like spinning around. And that's what they feel like! They feel like they're literally inside a tornado. The thing that fixes that is always to ground. To go all the way to the bottom and then come back up again. It stumps a lot of people how, Okay, if I'm trying to turn on my third eye, I'm trying to turn on my clairaudience, I'm trying to hear my Higher Self, how does walking barefoot actually do that better than meditating or listening to a guided session or something like that. I just find that for me, the stuff that feeds and electrifies and powers the magical stuff is always these really, really simple, physical, real world things. And I am not going to be happy if I'm running around, having visions and hearing voices and all that all day long. Just like with the breath and the waves and the ocean, you have to have these moments of exhalation, you know what I mean? And there has to be pause in between. And so, for me, the one thing that I see everyone doing, as they're trying, trying, trying to be better, is, they are over-complicating it. It's okay to swing into that complexity and into that intellectual rabbit hole, like go there and listen to some crazy stuff, and wow man, get philosophical about it. But then come back to the body. There's gotta be rest. There's got to be a centre. You can't do all that work dehydrated with no sleep and lots of stress in your life. You just can't. Aubrey: No. You'll burn out and then you'll feel very untethered to the reality, which I think that that's probably for me, one of the biggest requests that we have when we're embodied in this life particularly, is how do we become intuitive, realize our intuition, realize our consciousness, evolve and elevate ourselves while equally grounding into this physical vessel that we are also carrying. Slade: What do you hope to contribute to the conversation about wellness and intuition and astrology? You obviously represent someone who is bridging a lot of magical concepts with physical concepts. What do you hope to teach everyone? Aubrey: I think sort of similar to what you just mentioned about people making intuition harder than it needs to be. That I truly hope to teach people that living optimally, whether that be mentally or physically or emotionally or spiritually or socially or financially, and you have these tenets of wellness, does not have to be unattainable. It is all within our reach. Does it require some pivoting and lifestyle changes? Absolutely. Does it require us to dig underneath our stuff and see where we have limitations and barriers? For sure. We have to look at a lot of places where we've held ourselves back, but that doesn't mean that we all don't have the ability or the right to feel optimally well in all areas of our lives, whether it just be from the food that we're eating, or the company that we're keeping, or the way that we're creating, or the work that we're doing in the world. My hope is to be the voice of, We all have this opportunity to be completely liberated in all aspects, and we don't have to succumb to not feeling well in our finances and our physical body, mentally, emotionally. There can be upsets, but we all have the capabilities of writing that in a different story line. Slade: Aubrey, this is so cool to talk to you about all this stuff. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Tell everybody where they can go to find you online and to find this podcast that you're doing. Aubrey: Yeah, thank you, Slade. I love being with you. It always... It fills my cup up. It really, really fills my cup up. Always. Susan and I's podcast is on Be the Evidence, and we are on iTunes and we are on Spotify and Stitcher. So you can find us anywhere, but we also have BetheEvidencepodcast.com That has all of the podcast available on it, and we are in the process of launching a brand new platform for all of the things that I've spoken to you about today. That, hopefully, will be live in the next month. So that would be the best place to find us. And we're also on social media, so on Facebook and Instagram and all of those platforms for the time being. Slade: Awesome. Well tell Susan that I want her to come on and talk to us about astrology, since this astrology theme is going strong. Once again, thanks for being on the show. Aubrey: Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Slade.

Welcome back, everyone! It's been a long time since I've done a TOEIC video. Excuse behind it? None. It takes a lot of time and preparation. However, I've got a special treat.Since I'm checking out what the market likes, my reading comprehension video on YouTube has gotten an insane amount of views. This time I'm coming back with how to deal with charts, tables, forms, double passages in this segment (could be broken up into two). So without further ado, let's get this show started!Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPm1cPgOChsBlog: https://thearseniobuckshow.com/2018/10/18/arsenios-esl-podcast-special-toeic-reading-comprehension-graphs-podcast-youtube/Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hdzplWx6xB8mhwDJYiP6f?si=5vUca3p2QGuWPZbhzCRwBwPodcast on FM: https://player.fm/series/2288534Podcast on TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Language-Learning-Podcasts/Arsenios-ESL-p1117391/Podcast on ListenNote: https://www.listennotes.com/c/778cf3cfd2564ba5b01f693bfebc96de/arsenio-s-esl-podcast/Podcast on CastBox: https://castbox.fm/channel/Arsenio's-ESL-Podcast-id1251433?country=usFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Arseniobuck/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzp4EdbJVMhhSnq_0u4ntAWebsite: https://thearseniobuckshow.com/Q & A: ArsenioBuck@icloud.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsenio-buck-9692a6119/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/arseniosesllearning)

A few months ago I posted on Instagramasking for ideas on keeping extended families close. Since I'm entering a new phase of motherhood, I wanted to know how I can keep my family close as children start leaving home. So many people responded. I gathered amazing ideas. One of the people who responded was my friend, Alisse Coil. She had great family traditions to share that resonated. I invited her on the podcast to talk about how she established her family traditions. Show Recap Lean Into Strengths Alisse is the mother of 5 and had her first four children in a five-year period. Her four oldest children are now grown and she also has 3 grandchildren. Alisse started her motherhood journey thinking she would be "supermom" but quickly learned that doing everything perfectly wasn't going to work. Over time, Alisse learned to lean into her own strengths as a mother and not focus on what she wasn't good at. She said, "I am the whole package, just as me." Let Children Have Agency We had a great discussion about how Alisse learned to let go of control. She learned to let her children use their own agency. She and her husband established "silver bullets" like honesty, open communication, modesty and being kind that they weren't going to budge on. They left pretty much everything else up to their children to decide for themselves with guidance. Alisse has seen that giving children the opportunity to use their agency helps build a lasting parent-child relationship. She also believes it's a big way a mother can show her child love. Build Lasting Family Traditions Many of the traditions her family now values started when her kids were very young. They didn't have much money but they always found ways to serve together. They started a Christmas tradition 20 years ago of hanging a stocking for Jesus at the beginning of December. Family members were invited to place slips of paper in the stocking with kindnesses they had seen during the season written down.  On Christmas Eve they read what everyone has written. This simple tradition has endured for over 20 years and is now being passed on to Alisse's 3 grandchildren. You'll want to listen to the end to hear what Alisse feels we can learn as mothers from Noah's wife. She said, "For God to truly be my partner, I have to trust in His process." Show Notes Follow Alisse: Instagram: www.instagram.com/alissecoil_essentialliving/ Go hereto see the Instagram post where Alisse and many others shared their ideas about keeping extended families close. Alisse shared this quote during the podcast: "God places a Goliath in our life so we can find our own David." To read more about the story of Noah and his wife go to the Bible to Genesischapters 6, 7,8 and 9. Follow Spiritually Minded Mom: Instagram: Instagram.com/spirituallymindedmom Facebook: facebook.com/spirituallymindedmom Podcast: Spiritually Minded Mom on iTunes

Sorry about the delay. Last week was super busy and I wasn't able to edit the podcast till my flight this morning. We touch on the Maple Leafs (obviously), Karlssn trade, and much more.Since I'm away this week, Michael and I recorded a Fantasy Hockey preview for this week.CheersFind out more on the Leafs Plus Podcast website.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Dena DeCastro is a professional astrologer, writer, and teacher. She offers individual astrology readings and mentors those who wish to take their astrological knowledge to the next level. Dena teaches us what our north and south nodes can tell us about our karmic lessons and our life purpose. MENTIONED ON THE SHOW Linda Goodman's Sun Signs Jeane Dixon NORWAC The Mountain Astrologer GUEST LINKS - DENA DECASTRO denadecastro.com DeCastro Astrology on Facebook HOST LINKS - SLADE ROBERSON Slade's Books & Courses Get an intuitive reading with Slade Automatic Intuition FACEBOOK GROUP Shift Your Spirits Community BECOME A PATRON https://www.patreon.com/shiftyourspirits Edit your pledge on Patreon TRANSCRIPT Dena: So, when I was young in the '70s, my parents were both kind of hippie, you know, Bohemian, interested in all of that stuff. My dad actually read tarot cards, not for a living, but just as a hobby. My mom had a close friend who was an astrologer and they would sit at the dining room table and look at charts and dish on men and I was just fascinated, always. I would browse the books in the bookshelf. I was kind of an early reader, so I would just kind of nerd out on all the astrology books that my parents had. And so I just immediately, you know, I came from somewhere. I have a feeling I came from a past-life, probably. But this innate interest in astrology and the planets and even space and stars, was something that was just there when I was very little. I would say, starting at about 5. So I went on, throughout my teenage years, read a lot of the usual books. You know, Linda Goodman's 'Sun Signs' was one of them. That was like my bible when I was in junior high and I grew to be able to read charts, more about late high school age, college age, and I would practice on my friends and family. It just grew and it was always with me. Interesting side note, during that time when I was about 8 or 9, my mom became a born-again Christian, so she eschewed all of that. You know, tarot, astrology, all of that was out. And it was looked at as, you know, she said it's the dark arts. I don't think she used that word. That's more of a Harry Potter term actually. The Dark Arts. It was forbidden in our house and so I had to do it surreptitiously for awhile. But then she eventually switched back and became more open to, I would say, early New Age ideas or occult ideas. So there was a few years in there where it was like, on the sly, I had to do my astrology stuff. And then when I got into my late 20s, I had a friend of mine that suggested, 'You COULD do this for a living!' Could I? Could I really? So I put out my shingle and started charging for readings when I was right at my Saturn return, which is 28, 29 years old. And have been doing that ever since! Slade: Wow. So I have to ask you, you started way before we had computer software to do this stuff. Dena: Yeah. Slade: So at what point in your career did the technology come in and play a part? Or does it, at all? Dena: It did. Like, in the '90s, there were ways that you could order charts on, via the internet or mail order. That was kind of the way you did it. It's kind of funny. I learned to cast charts by hand in the late '90s finally. I had always had charts given to me so that was how I did it in the early days, like in my teenage years. Like, somebody already had a chart and I'd look at it. Slade: Oh, okay! Alright. So you're much more about the interpretation than the castings, even at that early age. Dena: Yes, right. Slade: Okay! I can relate to that. That would be true for me as well. I NEVER learned to cast a chart by hand, just for the record. Dena: It takes so long. It really is an onerous process. I know how to do it. If you had me do it today, gosh it's been maybe 18 years since I've actually cast a chart by hand. So it would be a tricky but it's good I think for astrologers to at least learn how to do. At least once. To get a sense of viscerally what's going on. Because the thing with technology now is that it detaches us from what the actual mechanics are of the solar system and the planets in relation to the earth. And for some reason, when you learn to cast a chart, you get more of a sense of, okay, the ascendant, for example, the rising sign, is the rising sign. Because that's what's actually rising on the Eastern horizon. So there's an example of that. That it's rooted to the physical world. With software, we can forget that sometimes and it just becomes a piece of paper in front of us. It's like, that's the glyph of Venus, but oh, there's a Venus in the sky as well. So that's a difference. But I think for time and for efficiency, you can't beat technology, for sure. Slade: No, definitely not. And I'm mostly just interested in, like if somebody can give me a list of what their planets are in and what houses everything's in, that's enough for me to work on. Dena: Yeah! Slade: I will say though, that I love the natal chart graphic - the cool geometric thing, and I think everybody's a little bit in love with that, right? There's a mystique about it. Dena: Yeah, certainly! The glyphs, the symbols, they're very beautiful. They're just aesthetically pleasing and it looks like something from the Renaissance, or it just has that kind of ancient feel and evokes that. So I do think there's the appeal of it. And I can, like you, if I just know somebody's birthday and they don't even have a time, I can look in ephemeris and say, 'Here's where all your planets were.' Maybe excepting the moon because it moves very fast but everything else I can pretty much know, that's where it was. Even with that I can get so much information. But having the visual of the chart works better for me. Just being able to see it laid out. Slade: That is so cool. I was very fascinated by that as a child. I had an aunt in the '70s who was friends with Jean Dickson. Dena: Oh wow! Slade: Do you remember her? Dena: Yeah, I do! Slade: She had - It's so funny when you were talking about your childhood experience of kind of going through the books in your parents' library. I used to go through HER books when I would visit. She lived in Florida. And when we would go down to visit, she had this library of '70s new age, feminist everything. And some of her books were astrology books that were autographed by Jean Dickson. And I always thought that was the most glamourous thing in the whole world, right? Dena: Very glamourous, for sure. She's probably one of THE most famous astrologers, at least from that era. She's a name that everybody knows. Slade: Right. And Linda Goodman's books. I remember those as well. So one of the things I'm really excited to talk to you about is kind of your niche of astrology, which is the connection between astrology and past lives. And also how the nodes play into that, and karmic patterns in the chart. I just would love to open up the floor and hear you talk about these relationships. Dena: You know, I'll start by saying, when I started practicing astrology, which was the late 1998, 1999, I really was doing the typical descriptive astrology. For example, your sun is in Aries. You are fiery, spontaneous, brash and bold. You know, something like that. That started to feel a little limiting to me. So I was searching... A few years into doing it, around 2002, 2001, 2002, I started to search for what more can I learn? I just felt this impulse that I needed to find a different approach, or another layer to my system. And so I went to an astrology conference here in the Northwest called NORWAC. It's the Northwest Astrology Conference. Steven Forrest was speaking there and he and Jeffrey Wolf Green are two astrologers that really founded this school of thought within astrology called Evolutionary Astrology. It's called 'evolutionary' because it is based on the premise that our souls do reincarnate and they move from lifetime to lifetime, learning lessons and evolving. The intention is evolution. And with that, the nodes, the south node represents the past life or karmic patterns, and north node represents what we are here to learn to become or to embrace. And the whole point of it is evolution. The whole point of it is growth and change. And it made so much more sense to me than the idea that we're just static. That we're born with this chart and that's just who we are for the rest of our lives. And the other main component, or the foundational belief in this type of astrology is the idea of free will. And that we make choices in our lifetimes that impact where we're going, the lessons we have to learn, and how we respond to those lessons with our free will really determines how we move along our path. How we move toward our Soul Purpose. So this all resonated with me. I had always believed in reincarnation. It's one of those beliefs that you can't really explain. It was a knowing. I just felt a knowing about it. I will say that, it's not that there isn't proof for reincarnation. There's a lot of good case studies out there and proof for reincarnation. But it is one of those things that people take on faith, and some people have a strong reaction one way or the other to that idea. But reincarnation is very much inherent in this niche of astrology that I practice. It's a foundational piece of it. That all being said, I went to study with Steven Forrest at his apprenticeship program. I did that for a few years and embraced this path within astrology, because it really resonated with what I already had felt and believed for most of my life. What it is that I think this kind of astrology offers that's a little different to some branches is the south node karmic patterns can point out: Here are the things in a past life that you experienced, and also that vexed you, or that upset you, or that's left unresolved at the time you left that life. And then when you came into this life as a soul, you carry some of that baggage with you. We call that 'karma', and that's a memory. An emotional memory of what went on. But we don't consciously remember that. So in this life, our work is to learn to release those old patterns and not to get stuck in repeating those karmic situations. But we're inclined to want to do so because we tend, as humans, to want to repeat what we've done before and what's comfortable. Even if it's painful. It can feel comfortable because it's familiar. So the north node points to, well what's the medicine for that? What can we do? That's where free will comes in. What can we do in THIS life to pull ourselves out of those old stuck patterns of the past? And the north node offers the medicine, the way, for us to move away from staying stuck and stagnant. So remember that the key point is growth. The key point is evolution. All of us, if we're born, we have karma. If we're born, we're also a living thing that needs to grow and evolve. If we stop doing that, if we stagnate on a soul level, we feel unfulfilled and bored and unhappy. So when clients come to me, what they're often looking for is, I'm kind of stuck. Or I'm in a place in my life where I'm trying to make a transition and I feel like I'm scared and I can't. What's blocking me? Or they're just, they have that general malaise. I just don't have the joy for life. I'm feeling like I'm not on my path but I can't really figure out what to do to get on it, or to get back to it. And so the nodes are very powerful to look at that and say, Okay, well here's what's in your way. Here's the karmic patterns of the past. Here is where you can get stuck very easily, repeating these patterns. And then here, the north node is what you're here to learn and to embrace. And the more you move TO that, even if it's scary, even if it feels challenging, which it will, the more you move toward that, the more you make choices in that direction, the more fulfillment and peace and joy for life you can gain back. So that's the overview with how I see it. Slade: So if I tell you what my north node is, can you tell me... Since I'm the one that's here talking to you, we'll use my chart as an example. Dena: Absolutely! Slade: I have a north node in Pisces. What can you tell me about that? Dena: Yes! Well I can speak to that because so do I! Slade: Oh, interesting! Dena: So let me just say about that too. The nodes go to a new sign about every year and a half. So you can know that if you're born within a close time frame to someone, that you very likely have the same nodes. They're are like these mini generations. 1.5 years of the same. And that pattern repeats every 18, 19 years. They will come back around to the same nodes. So yeah. So we have the same ones. I think we're both born in '69, right? Slade: Yes! July 23rd. Dena: Oh, gosh! Same month! Ohmygoodness. Slade: Wow. Dena: I'm July 8th. Slade: Okay. Dena: So I can speak to this pretty well. But just because we have the same nodes doesn't mean like I know everything about this, because I'm working with the same struggles, right? Slade: Okay. Dena: So if you have the north node in Pisces, that means you have the south node in Virgo. The nodes are always opposite signs to each other, always at 180 degrees. So once you know one, you can figure out the other. Let's start with the past-life karmic pattern for you. South node in Virgo is really attached in past lives to doing things perfectly because you may have had a job or a position which required you to have a certain level of perfection in what you did. For example, being a doctor. If you make a mistake being a doctor, something really disastrous could happen, right? Or even being an artist or a crafts person where you have to get all the details just right or else it's just a big mess. People aren't going to like it, right? There's this high level perfectionism that was instilled in you in a past life. The tendency with south node in Virgo is to beat yourself up for every mistake. That's the karmic baggage that comes in to this life with you is self-flagellation, tending to beat yourself up for every mistake, having higher standards for yourself than anyone else in your life. Resonating much? Slade: Yes. Dena: And Mercury is the planetary ruler here. So Mercury rules Virgo and Mercury is a planet of mind. So your intellectual abilities in this past life were over the top. Like you probably had great powers of analysis and the ability to understand what's wrong in every situation and know how to fix it, right? And so you bring that into this life. In a way there are some gifts there too. It's not that the south node is entirely negative. We bring in past life gifts. Like, okay, you come in with those intellectual skills. You come in with that ability to do things almost perfectly. You come in with that ability to analyze and fix situations. But if you stay there, if you stay there in this life, if you keep doing that and really go into that south node territory, you will feel anxiety and you will feel unfulfilled and you will feel like I'm never getting into where I want to be, because I can't be perfect, right? Slade: Mmm... Dena: None of us can be. So the fear with south node in Virgo and north node in Pisces is letting go of control. This is where we're starting to move toward Pisces because Pisces, north node in Pisces says, Well the medicine is to move toward the Pisces territory. So letting go of control. Allowing yourself to make mistakes and have compassion for those mistakes. And trusting in something beyond yourself. Having faith that there are powers greater than we that are taking care of things. And that we don't have to take care of it all. We don't have to micromanage every aspect of our lives. So speaking as a co-person with this set-up, I can say, this has guided me immensely in my life knowing this. Because, and for you, you can speak to this as well. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it. But just knowing that I'm here to develop compassion for myself and that I'm here learning to let more things go. I've been listening to your podcast, right? I've heard you speak about allowing yourself to make B+s, instead of... Slade: Yes! Dena: Like, Perfect! You're right on track! That's what I'm talking about. Slade: Yeaaaaah. Dena: It's a need for self-acceptance in a radical way. Like, not just 'Oh, I accept myself.' We can all say that from a head place. But the PRACTICE, the spiritual practice of self-compassion, self-acceptance and actually being able to spot when you are holding yourself up to that too-high standard, and then saying, Ok, I've gotta let that go. I've just gotta let that go. Slade: I have to give you some feedback around this because of course, my mentoring clients know how much I stress how important it is to get feedback from outside your own head about your readings. And so I just want everyone also listening to know how incredibly accurate that is for me, just from that one little thing I told you - my north node in Pisces. You were able to really nail a lot of the issues that I have. Perfectionism in particular with writing is a constant... like you said, it's both a gift and a curse. I have much higher standards for myself than I do for other people. The thing that was so liberating about blogging 13 years ago or whenever it was when I first started doing it was, it relaxed the expectation for writing. Dena: Yes. Slade: So much. It made it so accessible and it made the feedback immediate. And it allowed me to really grow as a writer, because instead of going off and, like you said, beating myself up and questioning myself and being alone in my own head bubble, you know, tearing myself to pieces and having this wizardly war with my own ego. And, you know, it's a hard creative process to live inside that. And so, one of the things that's so interesting about why I feel like Shift Your Spirits is so successful, out of all the other kinds of projects that I've written, is because it had such a low expectation going in. And that's not to say that I don't put myself into it. I just have a real relaxed attitude about it, that I don't about some other kinds of writing. I was like, 'Oh, it's a blog.' Dena: Yeah. Slade: And it's so funny because that blogging allowed me to build an audience, to write for people, to have a lot of iterations. So, eh, this week's kinda sucked. Next week's might be amazing. And you start to notice these patterns as a perfectionist. The things that people respond to the most are not necessarily the things that you put the most effort into or the ones that are your favourites. Sometimes, for example, the Money Shift is the best-selling piece of writing that I've ever put out into the world and I did it in three days. And it was just merely a 'oh, I just need to put this message out'. I'm repeating myself here in my readings. Let's just put it in a little tutorial. Dena: Right. Slade: And there's something about that lack of having high expectations that is extremely freeing and, you know, I stress this for other writers as well: Put out a lot of work. Blogs and social media allow us to really develop our voice and to test what people are responding to. At some point, when you have an audience, the biggest liberation of all is having you guys to talk to. And to write for. Dena: Right.. Slade: I'm just feeding you guys your toast and scrambled eggs every day. Dena: Yeah! Slade: There's something that feels liberating also as a perfectionist to be able to step back and to serve people. Dena: Yes. Slade: Which I think maybe getting to some of that Pisces energy that you're talking about. Not only turning it over to a higher power, but also realizing I am participating not just from my ego but I'm participating on behalf of these thousands of people who want me to do it. And so, it's a sense of duty and a sense of something bigger than me that I am both pulling from and also displaying to. Dena: Yeah. Slade: It's really cool. Interestingly, my mom has the same north node and I do run across people here and there that share that and, interesting synchronicity there, it would be you of all people! Dena: I know! Slade: That is an example of the kind of thing that people would get if they contact you for a session, right? Dena: That's true. And yes, you can get such an amazing amount of information just from knowing the nodes. Just like you said at the beginning, we were talking about knowing sun moon rising sign, we were talking earlier about that. That is a foundational piece - sun moon and rising sign. You can get so much information just from those three pieces. And then same with the nodes. If I know just THAT, I tell that to people and they're like, 'Ohmygod, you just spelled out my whole life.' Slade: Yes! Dena: So it's such a powerful tool. It's not a substitute for getting a full reading. And I want to say that because, looking at the chart wholistically will always give you the most depth of analysis and the most understanding. But having this piece as guidance is huge. So something I ... yeah, go ahead. Slade: I was just gonna say, I know that probably a lot of people listening DO know a lot about their chart. They have had their chart done and stuff. So one of the reasons why I really like what you you just did for me for example is, you went in and focused on and embellished a very specific area. So it actually refreshes my excitement in my chart and knowing that, 'Ohhh! There's all these little things that I can still deep dive into, that maybe I feel a little blasé about my chart. Now I'm like, 'Ooo wow!' It does kind of rekindle an interest to have something that is connected to Purpose. Because, like yourself, that is a question that a lot of my clients come with as well. Dena: Yes! And I think you feel excited because it's empowering. This kind of information is empowering. That's one thing I aim to do with the kind of readings that I do is to empower people with the tools to make good decisions for themselves and to take the reigns of their own life and to make their free will choices. That's what this information provides you with. It's like, 'Okay, I know I can move toward Pisces. I know sometimes it's going to be hard. Sometimes I'm going to resist it and want to stay stuck in the Virgo territory. The shadow Virgo. But I can choose differently. Slade: How does that manifest for you personally? Like, where does this Pisces/Virgo duality kind of play out in your world, and how do you combat that, or, you know, heal that? Dena: Well the first thing that comes to mind is writing, for sure. I'm a writer. I've done a blog for a lot of years. Astrology, I wrote some astrology articles for the Mountain Astrologer. I also began writing fiction. I've taken a few stabs at it and "failed" attempts of novels over the last dozen, 15 years. Recently, I finally finished a first draft of a novel. And what I had to do during the process of that, and to get through it and to actually get it done and put it into, actually get it to the place where I could pitch it at a writers' conference recently, which I did, was to constantly be talking to that Virgo part of myself by embodying the Pisces. And say, 'I hear you, inner critic. I hear that this isn't perfect. I hear that it sucks. All those voices.' I had to label that south node Virgo voice. Similar to how people use the inner critic, right? That 'Okay, you're the inner critic. I hear you. Go sit in the corner because I'm going to keep writing this book.' Every day. It was... I have to tell you, it was a bit of a fight. A lot of parts of it were very intense and very challenging. But I brought in the Pisces consciously and said, 'Okay, it's all good. You're doing great. No matter what you do, at least you're doing it. And what matters is that you like it.' And what matters is that YOU have fun with it. And that's a very Piscean kind of like, 'Hey, no big deal. Go with the flow.' It's THAT attitude. Slade: Mmm... I call this... It's so funny because I call that angel and devil the Flow Drafting Voice and the Editor. Dena: Yeah! Slade: And the Flow Drafting Voice is the same channel that my intuition rides alongside and so, when you are in a first-draft mode, you don't need to be, you don't need the Editor. It's like, You come back later. On a re-write. You come back when we start to take it apart and do re-writes and edits and polishing and all that. You've got plenty of work to do so sit down and shut up. Right now we're just flowing. We're just being a hippie chick here. Dena: Exactly. Slade: That's kind of how I see that Pisces flow voice as being this kind of bare-foot, flowers in her hair, creative type of energy, you know? Dena: Yeah! Slade: Gosh, we have a lot in common! Wow. Dena: Yeah. Well it's probably because we're born in the same month. Slade: That is so interesting! You know what? I don't meet a lot of people born... like, I rarely meet July Leos at all. Because there's just not a lot of us. There's just that one little week. And then I don't meet a lot of people born the same year. I've heard that we are one of the smallest populations that's alive right now. Yeah. The Gen-X population is REALLY small compared to the Boomers and then the ones that came after. We are greatly outnumbered. Dena: Yes. Yes. I would agree. I feel that. And I know something about that little mini-tribe of 1969 people that... There was quite a lot going on with the planets that summer. They were all lining up. You know where that little traffic jam of planets is in your chart, I'm sure. And it's right on the south node. So I'll speak to that real briefly here and say that in your chart, in an individual's chart, I'm just speaking generally, those nodes can be interacting with any combination of planets. It could be that the south node is conjunct, meaning it's right on other planets in your chart, Jupiter, Pluto, what have you. And so that will also add layers to the interpretation that I would do in an individual reading, to look at what is aspecting the nodes, what planets are conjunct, or square, mostly in hard aspects to the nodes is what I tend to look at. So that gives information to the story here. And I do draw a past life story. You know, I tell a story. Now it's not a literal past life reading and that's something that I want to make clear. I don't actually see if you were Benjamin Franklin in a past life. Slade: Right. Dena: That's not what this is. It is more about general themes. But I do weave it into a story because story telling is what I like to do. And it's a mode that works for people to try to understand something. So I'll say, I'll give that caveat to somebody and, okay, I'm going to tell you a story and it's not a literal story but it encapsulates an emotional truth or an emotional dynamic of what happened to you in a past life. That's how I approach reading that and then bringing in the other planets, that is to say, to inform the south node. Slade: Okay. So for someone maybe like myself, who does work with astrology a little bit, you have a mentorship program where you work with people taking astrology to the next level. Is that something that you do with more professional-type mindset? Tell me about the mentorship program. Dena: Yes! My mentorship program is to work one-on-one with those who want to learn more about astrolgoy. It could be even a beginner that really just wants to use it for their own edification, for their own purposes. Most of the clients that I work with are either astrologers or somebody about, on the verge to become a professional astrologer, and they're just a little hesitant about taking that leap, you know? They don't feel quite like they have all the... There are some missing pieces in what they know, or there's some insecurity there. And then there are also counsellors, therapists, psychologists. People who want to use this as part of their profession. And I've had a couple of those clients. And that's been really rewarding for me to work with those people. So I teach the basics but that's not what I really teach in the mentorship program. I'm more focused on, 'Let's go in to what do you feel are your missing pieces?' 'Where do you feel there are gaps in your knowledge?' And let's go into those. And then I also speak to things like, how to become a professional astrologer. What's the business end of it? What do I know from my experience about how to do this in a way that's going to be successful and in a way that is ethical. So we talk about the things that will help them to make it a business, if that's what they wish to do with it. Slade: I'm really excited about this because in my professional intuitive mentoring, I touch on astrology just in a very brief way. And like I said, I do tend to work with what I call, sort of, elemental astrology, which is the sacred elements, earth, air, fire, water, and I kind of speak symbolically to those dynamics. The people are often asking me about going deeper into the astrology component itself, and I always say to them, 'You know what? It needs it's own course.' I can't just kind of shoehorn that into a chapter or something. It's not gonna happen. Dena: Right. Slade: So I'm really excited to hear about what you do in that mentorship program, because it sounds like a lot of people listening right now are gonna be excited about it. I know you make ME want to be an astrologer now. I'm like, I could do this! Dena: You could do it! You probably have a lot more experience than you give yourself credit for. If you've been doing it since you were a kid, I'm sure it's probably really in your bones. Slade: Well I have a hard not using it. I have a hard time not speaking... I mean, in my family, if you're dating someone, you just say things like, 'Well he has a moon in cancer.' And you go, 'Ahh!' It's like, five pages of information just went running through their head. Dena: Totally, yeah. Slade: So we do have a tendency to use it, almost like a Jungian kind of psychoanalytical vocabulary, if you wanna be kind of high brow about it, which I do think that one of the attractions to me with astrology is it allows me to use that archetypal language that you also find in the tarot and that kind of thing. Dena: Yes. Slade: So I do play with that language a lot. I was considering no longer asking for birth data when I do my intuitive readings, because sometimes so many people don't know it, and they get stressed that somehow it's going to impact their reading. And I kind of backed away from that. But this kind of makes me want to leave it in a little bit. Dena: Oh yeah! Slade: Yeah. Because it's... you're making me really aware of how much I do love astrology and have always been interested in the nodes, because I have to tell you just really quickly, my mom... Sometimes I get a chart done for my birthday. And I think when I was about 15 years old, my mom had discovered this woman named Barbara Alexander, if she's still out there. And she was really excited to take me to Barbara, because Barbara was also a clinical psychotherapist. She had degrees and had a practice as a psychotherapist. When you would go to her office, it was very academic and official. It looked like what you would imagine a psychologist office would look like. She recorded the session, which was something I hadn't had happen before. She talked to me about the north node in Pisces and was the first person to put that in mind, that the north node was about, kind of, Purpose. And she also told me that my writing career would take off in my mid-to-late 30s, which was absolutely true. Dena: That's on! Yeah. Slade: I don't know if that's the same for you as well, if it worked out to be that same time period. Anyway, I'm curious to know, what do you hope to contribute to the greater conversation about astrology? What would you kind of like your legacy to be around this subject? Dena: I guess one of the big things I like to bust out there about misconceptions of astrology is that it's not fortune-telling. It's not future prediction, and some people do use it that way. What I want to contribute is the idea that astrology is a powerful tool for self-development, for self-understanding, and then also to give you the ability to choose what you do in your life, because you become more conscious of yourself and your patterns through this kind of awareness of the charts. Through evolutionary astrology. I'm not saying that evolutionary is the only path. There are so many different kinds of astrology and so many different branches. You'll know if you just go on the internet. What I really want to impart is a more empowered free will focused way of using astrology and that's what I hope to contribute. Slade: You have a free e-book people can download called Your Karmic Past and Your Life Purpose. Tell us about that. Dena: Yes. So if you go to my website, up in the upper right hand corner you'll see a little box that says exactly that. If you subscribe, you get a free gift: Your Karmic Past and Your Life Purpose. Within that, there is a table where you can look up your birth date and you'll be able to find your nodes sign. Just by looking up your birthday. So it really breaks it down very easily. I give some introductory information about the nodes, what they mean, what is karma... I go more deeply into that topic. And then for each sign of the north node south node combination, I lay out what is the karmic pattern, what are the big fears that block you, what is your growing edge, meaning what are you here to learn. And then I also give some affirmations. So for example, for Pisces north node, the affirmations are, I accept myself exactly as I am. That one sounds a little Stuart Smalley. But that's okay. And I trust that I am taken care of within the greater order of things. Another one is, I go with the flow of life. So that's an example of affirmations that can help that particular node combination. North node Pisces, south node Virgo. And then I, at the end of that document, you'll find frequently asked questions about the nodes. What about past lives? Does it mean... Can you see if I'm Benjamin Franklin in a past life? That kind of information. And then finally, in that document, there are resources for further reading, if you want to read about really good books about reincarnation and evolutionary astrology listed there. So yeah! You can find that at my website. Slade: Oh gosh. That's a great resources. Tell us where we can go to find you online. Dena: So I'm at www.denadecastro.com/ and I'm also on Facebook now. I just started back there after nine years away. And actually, Slade, you are part of the reason that I came back to Facebook. Slade: Yay! Dena: I really wanted to be part of your group. There are a couple of other groups too that I've just really wanted to participate in and I want to start a couple of groups there. So my Facebook is Dena DeCastro Astrology and you can find me that way too. Slade: Excellent. We'll put all those links in the show notes for everyone. And for those who joined the Shift Your Spirits community, they will be able to go online and ask you questions, and we'll have a post featuring this interview so you can interact and everyone can tag you and talk to you more about this subject. Dena, I am so excited to meet you. This was such a great conversation. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Dena: Thank you, Slade, for having me. It was great.

This week I recap Fan Expo Canada 2018-its downs and its ups. Recalling my brief conversation with Charles Soule at the Con also got me thinking about canon continuity and storytelling, which I share here too. Since I'm moving there won't be an episode this coming week, and next week I'll cap things of with my 40th (!) episode. Then I'll be putting the podcast on a bit of a hiatus to settle into a new ministry situation and refocus for the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY! Follow me on twitter and request a follow on instagram

What you'll hear on this episode: When I first reached out to Kate Fletcher, it was because she'd run 100 miles. Since signing up for the Georgia Jewel I'd become more fascinated by longer running distances. I'd begun imagining just how far I really could run. But after interviewing Kate (listen here) I was much more captivated by her heart than by her running. My friend Eddie Brown was captivated by both. He reached out to me shortly after my interview with Kate and said he'd taken up running. It had been years since he hit the road, but he was back at it. He also told me about his non-profit, Giving Words. Giving words supports single moms in central Virginia. He went on to tell me that Kate is a single mom and he'd discovered she could use some help. I've since learned more about Eddie and Giving Words and Kate's needs. It's struck me how in my interview with Kate all you heard was a heart for giving others. Nowhere in her did you hear a need for others to give to her. But Eddie said he wanted Giving Words to not only help Kate, but to honor her heart for giving to others. Eddie said he wanted to give back. Why does that sound familiar? Give back? Isn't that what Jenny Baker, Georgia Jewel race director, said the Georgia Jewel is all about - giving back? She did. So that's what I intend to do with this race. I want to help Eddie give back to Kate. I also want to honor Jenny's vision for the Georgia Jewel. When I cross the finish line, when I run my longest distance ever, when I check "ultra marathon" off my bucket list, I don't want that to be the end of this Georgia Jewel running story. I want that story to live one. What better way to make that happen than helping Eddie and Giving Words help Kate, and help breathe life into the lives of some single moms just looking for a break. Looking for their own finish line in life. I encourage you to listen to my conversation with Eddie. Since I'm running the 35 mile Georgia Jewel, I'm looking for as many people as possible to help me give back with a $35 contribution to Giving Words. A contribution that will go directly to helping them help Kate.  Contribute to Giving Words here: Donation   Introduction and closing song: One Flame to Burn (Prospect 7)    A special thank you to Robyn Larkin for sponsoring today's episode through Patreon.   If you would like to comment on this podcast you can contact me and leave a comment at:   My google voice number which will go to a voicemail: 804-496-1112 Email me at: r.keithcartwright@gmail.com You can financially support this mission at my Patreon Page - TwoTim47

Jonny Drop's new long player, The Only Sound, is out this week on Albert's Favourites records. The follow up to 2016's Sub Plot, the album launches Jonny into full songwriting mode in collaborations with Sarah Williams White, The Expansions' Dave Koor and James O'Keefe, Shea Soul, Grace Walker, Lucid Paradise (Eric Boss and Ishtar) and Tamar Colluctutor. Loose yourself in his multi-layered sounds: it's out now at http://albertsfavourites.com/ Since I'm a big fan of JD's work, I was well chuffed when he agreed to contribute to the Groovement podcast series. Here's his mix, Anything Goes.  Aretha Franklin - Mr. D.J Eddie C - Ponderings Chairman Maf - Sunset Letherette - After 8 Bad Bad Not Good - Hyssop Of Love Pep Nieto Y Su Orquesta - El Cordobés Joao Donato - Nana Das Aguas Outra Discos - Yoruba Baiano Ezy & Isaac - Let Your Body Move (Oba Balu Balu) Les Corraloros De Mamonal - Murio El Pescader Nemours Jean Baptiste - Haiti Cumbia Marcel Vogel - Dance the Blues away (Julien Dyne Dub) Mildlife - Zwango Zop Modified Man - Kingswood Drive Jonny Drop - Think It Over Chop Master Flopp - Dirty Funk Kentici - Funky Buttercup 7-a-side - Lowdown Love Club - Hot Summer Nights (Medlar Dub Edit) A Band Called Flash - Sliph

Since I'm not in Hong Kong, I decided to do a podcast that relates to the podcast I put on my FB page recently in terms of hotel vocabulary.  If you want the visual, be sure to click the link as seen above.  Here are some of the terms I've pointed out, but before that, I want to go over what happened at check-in. Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hdzplWx6xB8mhwDJYiP6f?si=5vUca3p2QGuWPZbhzCRwBw Podcast on FM: https://player.fm/series/2288534 Podcast on TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Language-Learning-Podcasts/Arsenios-ESL-p1117391/ Podcast on ListenNote: https://www.listennotes.com/c/778cf3cfd2564ba5b01f693bfebc96de/arsenio-s-esl-podcast/ Podcast on CastBox: https://castbox.fm/channel/Arsenio's-ESL-Podcast-id1251433?country=us Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Arseniobuck/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzp4EdbJVMhhSnq_0u4ntA Website: https://thearseniobuckshow.com/ Q & A: ArsenioBuck@icloud.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsenio-buck-9692a6119/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/arseniosesllearning)

Since I'm taking the rest of the summer to explore the world I thought I'd do a wrap up of Season 1. and thank you for all the support over the last 11mths. Next 2 months will be crazy so I won't be around to much but I'll be back in Sept. Take care and thank you. Music by The Fly Downs

I think Snapchat is about to make a massive comeback, so I'm going all in on the platform again and throwing out some fire content. Since I'm getting back on it, I wanted to throw together this mashup so you know why you need to be on it, along with some tips to win the platform. Hope u enjoy ;)

Today we have a special crossover event between The Indie Film Hustle Podcast and The Bulletproof Screenplay podcast. Since I'm the host of both podcasts I thought it would be fun and educational to do these kinds of episodes every once in a while. Today's guest is best selling author K.M. Weiland, the author of Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development.K.M. Weiland lives in make-believe worlds, talks to imaginary friends, and survives primarily on chocolate truffles and espresso. She is the IPPY, NIEA, and Lyra Award-winning and internationally published author of the acclaimed writing guides Outlining Your Novel, Structuring Your Novel, and Creating Character Arcs, as well as Jane Eyre: The Writer’s Digest Annotated Classic, the historical/dieselpunk adventure Storming, the portal fantasy Dreamlander, the medieval epic Behold the Dawn, and the western A Man Called Outlaw. When she’s not making things up, she’s busy mentoring other authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.We dig in deep on plot, story structure and of course character arcs. Enjoy my conversation with K.M. Weiland.

Since I'm just getting this off the ground, I wanted to find out what you guys are doing.

In this episode, Liz and I shoot the shit on why masterminds are the best way to make money online and how you can easily run your own. Since I'm thinking about starting one, I ask all my questions! Tune in and see if running a mastermind is for you, or if you would rather be part of one and dominate your market that way. Want to join my mastermind? Shoot me an email at beck@beckpower.me :) Stay emPowered, Beck

In this episode, Liz and I shoot the shit on why masterminds are the best way to make money online and how you can easily run your own. Since I'm thinking about starting one, I ask all my questions! Tune in and see if running a mastermind is for you, or if you would rather be part of one and dominate your market that way. Want to join my mastermind? Shoot me an email at beck@beckpower.me :) Stay emPowered, Beck

Hey, I'm excited for you guys to be here. Thank you so much for listening and tuning into this Podcast, first off. I know there's a lot of other options that are out there. I'm trying to bring you guys the absolute best content that I can. Hopefully, you guys feel that and are using these things inside of your business. Again, I recently just went onto iTunes reviews and saw a whole bunch more, which is very, very exciting. I appreciate that. I love seeing that. I love seeing, first of all, how you're actually using this stuff, so. This doesn't mean a thing if you're not doing anything with it, right. One of the Podcasters says that [inaudible 00:01:10]. It's true though, okay. So go out and start applying the things I'm talking about. Anyway, hey. What I wanted to do is, I wanted to walk through another principle with you guys here real quick, that frankly has really, really helped me in my business life. I kind of started eluding to it in the previous episode. It was something that I was hoping, and was wishing, and was kind of praying that was not as true or needed as I found out that it actually is. Okay. I'm super excited to be able to share this with you guys. If you guys have never thought about this before, would never experience this before, it's gonna help like crazy. I'm gonna use the example of applying for college again. I've only been graduated for not even two years. A lot of people ask after that, I'm 29. I spent some time in the Army, I did a mission for my church, and did a whole bunch of other stuff, so. I was not just lazy in college. I actually was a go getter in college. It wasn't that at all, I did a whole bunch of other stuff. Anyway, as I started applying to these ... Let's think of, if you guys ever applied for, even a job, let's say. A job, or college, or any kind of application that you put out there. There's usually with applications, okay ... So I'm going, I'm filling this thing out. In high school, I hadn't really learned how to study yet. I hadn't learned how to learn, really, that much yet. So, I really didn't do that well in high school. I barely graduated to be honest. I went and I was like, "I'm not looking forward to college. College is gonna suck, college is gonna be terrible." Luckily, I learned how to learn and after the first semester of me pretty much failing out entirely, I reapplied and I learned how to learn. Got almost straight A's the rest of the way through, which was a bunch of fun, which was awesome. So anyway, I encourage you to learn how to self teach. Don't put that in the hands of someone else, solely. You know what I mean? Anyway, so while I was applying to these different schools, there was this interesting thing, to be honest, I wasn't even thinking of. I was in high school, I was what you call street smart not book smart. I was filling out applications to go to colleges. I was putting all these applications out there and there was a little bit of a fee to apply. There was a deadline. There was a deadline that I had to get the application in by in order for me to be considered at all to even actually attend school at the places I was going to. Let's think about that application for a second, though. The actual application of turning in the application. Would people just turn in those applications to college or the applications to get a job if there was no deadline? Probably not, right? Probably not. Or they would, but again, we'd only be speaking to, like I was talking about in the last episode, we'd only be speaking to those who are ambitious. Most people need a deadline. Most people need a reason to act. Most people need a reason to take action, and do things, and progress in their life. They need a reason, they don't come up with one on their own. That's fine, we're all different, but most people are not that way. If you're listening to this Podcast, you most likely are an ambitious individual and you are completely all in on whatever your future is. You're trying to just make it happen no matter what. I respect that and I can not wait to shake your hand, okay. I love hanging out with people like you. So, what I realized is ... Guys, what I'm trying to help you guys understand is that at as MLMer, right? As an MLMer, or whatever other name you come up with it. As an MLMer, you've got to learn how to market. It's in the very name of the industry. MLM, Multi-level Marketing. I'm sorry, Network Marketing. But most of the time, people don't know how to market. That's fine, just learn how though. It'll give you the most ridiculous edge. If you don't learn how, then you're just selling. Then, you have to sell hard, and you have to sell awkwardly, and you have to sell with hight pressure and awkwardness. That's where the feeling of a lot of the MLM [inaudible 00:05:06] comes from, because they sell and they don't market. If you learn how to market, it negates a lot of the need for you to hard sell. So as far as marketing goes, the two ... Let's think back to this college example or applying for a job, whatever it is. Without a reason to act, people typically will not. Much like you don't drink water until you get thirsty. You gotta make people thirsty. You could either sit around and wait or you could salt the oats. You can put salt around all the things around them. Just start putting salt all over the place, that will make them thirsty. So, they start taking action at that point. So, that's what I'm trying to help you guys understand, that's what I'm trying to help you guys do and know. There is a deadline that you must act by to get certain things done in your life. It sifts people out. It sifts out those who are really not into it and they were just kind of poking around. It sifts people ... It's the same reason why I don't just constantly let people be able to enroll in and get my course, Secret MLM Hacks. It's the same reason. I only let people in in like two or three day little swings, that's it. I only want the action takers. I only want the people who actually ... Web class finishes, it's time to start, it's time to get it now. Why? Because if it's always open, then people think it's always there. It's not going to be. I'm trying to just pull a thousand people into this, into this course. I'm trying to go through and I'm trying to educate. I'm trying to create this little mini micro force of just these rock stars. Of these people who are armed with this information to go dominate in a way that the MLM industry has never seen before. I'm not trying to sell it to the entire world. Literally, I'm not trying to sell this ... I'm not trying to get Secret MLM Hacks in the hand of every MLMer. I've had seven MLM owners, I just had another previous one, ask me for this product. For the MLM, I think it's seven, I can't remember the numbers but it's something like that. It's happened over the last couple of months. The answer has been no because I'm trying to find the hungry people. I don't care what MLM you're in, I care that you're hungry. I want to go filter out those people who are action oriented people who are also hungry. Someone came to me once and was like, "Steven. Steve, hey man. You should make this so that you target it to all MLMers." I was like, "By definition, that means I'm literally targeting nobody. That's a terrible idea, there's no way I'll do that." That's what I'm trying to help you also realize with your MLM product and your down line itself. That one of the issue why people struggle so much is because they literally target every single person who's out there. They target everybody. By definition, that means they're targeting nobody. That is the most expensive, long, time intensive way to go about this business, don't do that. What I'm trying to help you understand is that the two tools. The two major tools and weapons that a real Marketer has to get people into action, is scarcity and urgency. That's it. There's the secret right there. Scarcity, meaning there's a limited resource of this. You need to act because they'll literally run out. Or urgency, meaning you need to because time is running out. So I lace scarcity and urgency into all the things that I do. It's one of the very principles upon which I make people apply for my down line. There's scarcity. I literally turn people away. That makes you want it more, doesn't it? You want more of stuff when there's less of it. Even if you didn't need it before, or even if you didn't need it at the time you got it, just because it's going out, you grab more of it. That's the power of scarcity. If you want proof of that, come hang out with my four year old and my two year old when there's only one cookie left. It's so true. Scarcity and urgency, those are the two things. The scarcity of it, that's it. Don't make your stuff available to everybody at all times. There's no scarcity. When it looks like there's that much of it ... What happens in the brain is people start asking themselves, well do they have that much of it because no one's buying it? They start asking questions, and they place their own seeds of doubt in their own heads, and back off the possibility of buying from you. It can not be available at all times. It's the reason, if you know this, how many seasonal promotions does your MLM company do? Probably quite a few. Why? They do a little bit of a price drop, they'll put a coupon out there, some kind of deal, some kind of promotion, it's scarcity and urgency in play. That's what it is. They're doing it to the people in their ... distributors, for their events. They're having you do it to your customers for products for joining the down line, it's all around you. That's what a coupon is. It's a scarcity and urgency principle based tactic. Coupon only valid until the end of the month. Do you really think that something big is gonna happen when they actually take that down? No. Why do they do it? Why does the coupon expire? It's to get you into action. We were at the car wash the other day. At the car wash a couple days ago, it was one of those drive in ones. I had my four year old and my two year old in the back. We just found out we're having our third, which we're very excited about. Due in June, we just found out like two weeks ago, it's gonna be another girl. We're very excited. It's gonna be a houseful of girls and then myself. So, I'm doing extra manly things over here. More pull ups, I'm grunting more. I think I rubbed my face in dirt yesterday for no reason. Just kidding. But anyway, we're very, very excited. But we were going through the carwash ... it's one of those nice ones. We usually don't go to that often where there's a concierge there and they're punching all the stuff in for you. It felt like ... I don't know, it was kind of interesting. It was fun though. We went through it and my girls were going crazy, they were going nuts. They were excited. This stuff was spraying all around, they were sitting in the car. They were yelling, and they were loving it, and excited. What was interesting is when they handed me the receipt, he goes, "Hey. It's half off your next one if you come back before this date." The next date was in like a week. Meaning they wanted you to act. There was a time limit on that coupon, in order to get us to actually do stuff. In order to actually get us to move forward. You guys, do not offer at all times, all your services to anyone at any time. Don't do it. Scarcity and urgency is one of the biggest tools that you have as a Marketer. Since I'm trying to help you learn how to do that stuff, understand that it is the biggest two weapons in your back pocket. You can screw up on all your scripts. You can screw up on writing the actual ... You can screw up on the videos. Maybe you're not that good of a storyteller yet, which I hope you are practicing that. Maybe your not good at this, maybe your not good at all these different things. But if you have scarcity and urgency, you can suck at a lot of stuff and still make sales. If you're a storyteller and you've got scarcity and urgency, you can suck at tons of stuff and make lots of sales for your stuff. So go through and don't make yourself so available. Whether it's your down line, whether it's your product, whatever it is. Meaning keep pitching like crazy. Keep trying to sell people like crazy. But don't make it available to them all the time. Hey, you can do this ... it's just literally today and tomorrow they've got this thing going on. If you want to take advantage of that, you've gotta act before the end of tomorrow. So anyway, let me know. Give me a call back and ... okay, sounds good. Bye. You know what I mean? What do people do when ... Okay, there was this huge promotion going on for the MLM that I'm in. Big promotion, it was awesome, it was a bunch of fun, and people were just going crazy getting a whole bunch of stuff done. That I think they would have a hard time creating otherwise. Meaning, they ... People were making phone calls like crazy, they were running around, they were getting this stuff done. Because why? There was a deadline. It was brilliant. Anyway, I think I'm making the point. Just start thinking through ways you can do that. Don't make yourself so available. Don't make your product so available. Interlace inside of there. I'm not saying don't make yourself available, I'm saying your down line, your products. Interlace inside of there. Interlace through scarcity and urgency. Take aways. Take away sales work like crazy. That's why they work, it's scarcity at play. Anyways, guys. Hey, thanks so much. Appreciate it. I hope you guys are enjoying this and I'll talk to you later. Hey, thanks for listening to me. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback for me. Do you have a question you want answered live on the show? Go to secretmlmhacksradio.com to submit your question and download your free MLM Masters Pack.

Since I'm taking a break from podcasting over the holidays (and it's still holidays here in Spain!) I'm releasing the audio of a minicourse I did last year to celebrate women's history month - I featured five Tudor women - some of whom are famous, and some not. Day One was Lady Margaret Beaufort. Hope you enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Let’s get practical for a moment. You’ve heard about the importance of courage and vulnerability in taking your relationship to the next level. How do you do that in a way that actually makes you stronger? How do you truly overcome feeling like a victim - in your life and relationship? How can you literally become a “yes” to everything - the painful moments as well as the joyful moments - to create new levels of spark and connection in your relationship? In today’s episode, you’re going to learn a way of showing up that helps you face your fears and heal the patterns that no longer serve you, no matter what's going on in your relationship. Our guest is Jett Psaris, co-author of the book Undefended Love, and her work clearly illuminates the path to wholeness, healing, and deep authenticity - especially in relationship. I’ve been excited to speak with Jett Psaris ever since the beginning days of the Relationship Alive podcast - and it was well worth the wait. Plus as an added bonus, you’ll get to hear us sing the “Namaste” chant together at the end of our conversation! As always, I’m looking forward to your thoughts on this episode and what revelations and questions it creates for you. Join us in the Relationship Alive Community on Facebook to chat about it! Sponsors: Talkspace.com - Online therapy that matches you with your perfect therapist. You can communicate with your therapist daily - so they can be there for you during the moments you most need support. Visit talkspace.com/ALIVE and use the coupon code “ALIVE” for $30 off your first month of online therapy. Resources: Check out Jett Psaris's website Read Jett’s book Undefended Love and check out her new book Hidden Blessings: Midlife Crisis As a Spiritual Awakening www.neilsattin.com/undefended Visit to download the transcript, or text “PASSION” to 33444 and follow the instructions to download the transcript to this episode with Jett Psaris Amazing intro/outro music (not including the Namaste chant) graciously provided courtesy of: The Railsplitters - Check them Out Transcript: Neil Sattin: Hello and welcome to another episode of Relationship Alive. This is your host, Neil Sattin. How do you take your relationship to a totally new level where you actually transform, where you get past the things that hold you back, that keep you from shining your brightest? And that keep you from supporting your partner in doing the same? We've talked a lot on this show about how to evolve into a relationship that creates deep safety, and trust and respect, so that you can be fully in the moment with your partner. And yet, even then, some of us feel like, well, maybe there's something more or maybe there's like, "I'm disconnected from this place within me and I'm not quite sure how to get there. I've heard about relationship as a vehicle for transformation, and I could really use some help doing the transforming and knowing what that process is like." Neil Sattin: Well, on today's show, we are going to dive deep into the black hole of transformation with Jett Psaris, who is one of the co-authors along with Marlena Lyons of the book, "Undefended Love". This book will truly open your eyes as to what is possible. Not only in partnership but also in how you reveal to yourself the ways that you are holding yourself back from being centered in your essence and operating from there. And also, how to bring that kind of clarity into your partnership and to see ways that you can stop defending yourself and instead be undefended, vulnerable, courageous and alive. So with that, we will dive right in. I do want to let you know that we will have a detailed transcript and an action guide for this episode, which you can get by visiting neilsattin.com/undefended. And you can always text the word "Passion" to the number 33444 and follow the instructions to also get a link to this show guide and all the other show guides from Relationship Alive. Neil Sattin: Jett Psaris, so happy to have you here with me today on Relationship Alive. Jett Psaris: And thank you so much for the invitation, I appreciate it. Looking forward to it. Neil Sattin: Great. And it's my pleasure. And just so you know, listening, this is a conversation that actually started a couple of years ago because I knew very early on in the inception of this podcast that I was really hoping to have either Jett or Marlena here on the show to talk about "Undefended Love". So with a little patience and waiting for the timing to feel right, here we are. [chuckle] Neil Sattin: I'm excited. And Jett, I'm wondering if we can start right out by talking about this concept of... We're talking about undefended love, but what is defended love? What is being defended and what are we defending ourselves from? Maybe that's a good place to dive in. Jett Psaris: Yeah, in fact, yes it is. The reason we titled the book "Undefended Love", is really because most people, while they're aware of defensive behaviors and actions like reactions, getting angry, withdrawing, most people are aware that those are defensive but unaware that our entire perspective is born out of a defense. For example, if our orientation or role or sense of self that we adopted as a child was to be super competent, that itself is a defense against feeling not good enough. And so, while we can catch ourselves in defensive behaviors or being triggered or reactive, we seldom know that we're going through each moment of every day oriented around protecting ourselves from an experience we had as children that we could not endure. And so, I often point out that these roles that we play and ways of perspectives that we have taken on, they actually got us to this place in our lives. They helped us survive. But now, if we don't relinquish those roles, self-concepts, worldviews, and emotional coping mechanisms, we don't relinquish them - then it's a little bit like an acorn husk, if it doesn't give way, the seed possibility for who we can be, ourselves and in relationship, will never be realized. So undefended, undefended love, is the work of recognizing and dismantling those defense structures which will then dismantle, and the defensive reactions and behaviors will no longer be necessary. And I love the way you did this introduction, it was very subtle, but I want to point it out to listeners. The introduction that you gave, Neil, is you very subtly wove in that the starting place is with ourselves. The starting place is not getting the other to be different. The starting place is that relationship and love call us to a profound inner transformation. After which, we can relate to others in an undefended, or in a non-provisional way. So that's our starting point. Neil Sattin: So many places that we can go from there. I'm curious... Well actually, maybe a good place to go from here is... A lot of people were asking me, "What can you tell me about 'Undefended Love'?" They were like, "What are you reading now for your upcoming interview?" And I was like, "Alright, well basically, when you're growing up, things happen that lead you to form erroneous conclusions about yourself which you call the cracked identity." And it's this sense, and it can be distilled often down to simple statements like, I'm not lovable, or, I'm not worthy, or I'm not valuable, or I'm always wrong. I think those identities, they're not things that are there all the time for us, but from that come our personalities. And one thing that I loved about what you wrote about was how you showed that the personality - things like being a really generous person - are actually there to help us avoid feeling the pain of this underlying cracked identity. Jett Psaris: Exactly, right. Yeah, what you're speaking about here is there are two main layers to our identities, self-concepts or what we created in order to manage our childhood. And the one, the deepest one, the one that is the most gnarly are these self-concepts that are deficient. And it's very interesting to me that the way these are born. I'll give you an example, is, let's say that your dad comes home from work. He's had a rough day at work. You're five years old, you're just excited to see him. And so, you run up to him and he pushes you away, tells you to give him space, not now. And so, here you're wide open, your arms are out literally, you're reaching for the person you love the most in the world, and you experience a physical punch; it feels somatic when he says, "No, go away." Jett Psaris: And so, then the child is left with a dilemma. How do I make my world make sense? And so, what they do is they actually do a kind of translation and say, "I must have been too much in that moment." And so, that's the birth of a self-concept as deficient. "I am too much." And then what they do is they create a compensation to manage themselves. "Since I'm too much, I need to control, contain, suppress, repress my natural emotions, exuberance, actions." And so now, we're beginning to build this self-concept of being restrained, that's the compensation. But that's built on top of, "I'm too much." And so, we do that basically... This is the most important part for me. We create that in order to maintain our relationship like this child in the example with his father. He wants to stay in a relationship with his father, so in order to not make the father wrong for his impatience and anger, the child makes himself wrong and says, "I'm too much." Jett Psaris: And so, you see the impulse is to maintain the relationship. But the way we maintain that, psychologically, produces a self-concept that we just build on over, and over, and over again. And maybe later in the show, we'll talk about how we do that in partnership, how we maintain that entire mistake. Neil Sattin: Yeah. And with that, I thought another great example that you offer in the book is just because you might be listening and thinking, "Well I'm not shut down. I'm a really generous, giving person, full of exuberance. So this probably doesn't apply to me." So what would you say to that person? Jett Psaris: Well, I think there is a case study in this book, I'm not sure if it's this one, or the next one, where a minister saw himself as... His self concept, he was generous, and probably everybody he knew would consider him to be generous except his wife actually. And so, I said, "Well, tell me what happens with your wife if your generosity isn't appreciated." And he said, "Well, actually, I get angry with her and I withdraw." And I said, "Uh. Well, essential generosity has no strings attached. So because you are committed and attached to being seen as a generous person, that's where we have the clue that that is something you developed, and that you are reinforcing because if it doesn't get reinforced from your wife, you actually separate; you sever the relationship, you punish her or you withdraw in some feelings of reactive hurt." Jett Psaris: And so, that's where we begin to see that. We're not actually working purely with essential generosity here. But I want to hasten to mention that we cannot develop a concept of generosity unless we have that essential quality. So the truth is, he does have that essential quality and it's apparent if you sit with him for a number of minutes, you can see that he has that essential quality, but especially with his wife, it also has become a compensatory identity. That has become an obstacle in their relationship because he is more focused on being seen as generous than making authentic contact in a given moment. I just want to mention one more thing about this just coming to me, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Neil Sattin: Sure. No, go ahead. Jett Psaris: Is that the other thing about this is that when he is giving to his wife and she receives that, it's actually not enough. So there's a little backside here, it's a nuance, but he is more attached to a constant stream of validation, and if that stream is broken, then we begin to see the cracked identity underneath that compensation. Neil Sattin: Yeah. Can you chat a little about how that compensatory identity, so you'd think, "Okay, I'm great. I suffered under my parents. I became... I learned how to hold myself back a little bit", or "I learned how to be really generous." But at the same time, these compensatory strategies, they actually perpetuate that underlying belief as well. Jett Psaris: That's exactly right. It's very rarely understood that if our emotional survival strategy is to seek approval, every time we seek approval, we reinforce our deficient identity as not good enough, or not smart enough, or not generous enough. So it's like we're putting coats and coats of paint on that deficient identity and we keep... It's a little bit like an addiction. We keep having to fill that hole, H-O-L-E of deficit. "I'm not good enough so I need to constantly hear from you and everyone around you that in fact I am." So it actually does the opposite. The approval just gets us by for that moment, but it never is going to fill that hole. Neil Sattin: Yeah, and so let's make the leap, at least in this moment that the way that we typically find ourselves in relationship is driven by some aspect of this personality, the compensatory strategy. Jett Psaris: That's right. That's right. A good question and if we take this into a little bit more concrete example is, if you ask yourself, what experience am I trying to get in this moment with my partner, or what experience am I trying to avoid in this moment with my partner? Then you will begin to see the workings of the compensatory and the cracked identity, because authentic and essential interactions are never trying to get something and they're never trying to avoid something. Neil Sattin: So yeah, so now I'm wondering, and you're probably wondering if you're listening, where we're headed with all of this 'cause alright, great, you've got this, I have these cracks in my identity and then my personality came up and there are things about it that are great and maybe there are things about it that are not so great. If I'm gonna be delaminating all of these coats of paint that Jett was just talking about, where do I get with that? What possibilities actually open up for me if I'm willing to go through this process? Jett Psaris: Well, the one piece is that we through this process, we develop ourselves into a much larger, we become much larger. And I often use this example of, if you picture a glass of water next to a large pristine blue mountain lake, and where we start this journey really as that glass of water. So if you picture putting maybe a teaspoon of salt into that glass of water and drinking it up, you'll be repulsed. But that same teaspoon of water into that blue mountain lake, that water is just going to be as refreshing as it always was. Jett Psaris: So life delivers us and also of course relationship on a daily basis, things that don't taste good. If we're that glass of water, we're gonna constantly be saying "no" to everything that comes toward us that we believe is going to produce discomfort and displeasure. But as we become that large, blue pristine mountain lake of our beings, all the things that come to us, they become absorbed and refreshed. And we actually become a source of nourishment and refreshment to everyone around us. Jett Psaris: You can see this a little bit with people who have gone through cancer a number of times. The first time they get the diagnosis, they panic, usually reach for whatever treatment is offered, and go into kind of a trance state and just try to survive. The second time, well, they have their medical team together, they know what worked and didn't work. They move a lot more slowly, generally speaking. And they have the ability to recognize that life is continuing, and this recurrence has also come into their lives. But they have much more stamina and capacity to show up for what's happening. Jett Psaris: And the third time, they'll come into my office, and then say, "Well, there's been a third recurrence, and I feel capable of taking the necessary steps, and I also want to talk about what's happening currently in my marriage." And so, the capacity to be with what life offers becomes larger and larger. We're less likely to feel resentment, we're less likely to feel collapse, we're less likely to feel emotionally defensive or reactive. We develop a general "yes" to everything, because we are so large and have already experienced our capacity to show up for life, that we're no longer afraid of life, as we are when we begin this journey. Neil Sattin: So, as you peel back these layers, you get to reveal essential qualities about yourself that are larger, and deeper, and more constant, more resilient. Jett Psaris: Yes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And the capacity, also... Neil Sattin: Go ahead. Jett Psaris: Everyone knows what it feels like to have these essential qualities bubbling up in them. And I often use the example of the first time you fell in love. And if you can remember that, the first time you fell in love, a lot of us will focus on what the other person was like. But if you focus for a moment on what you felt like, that experience of yourself, when you first fell in love, that openness, that joy, that capacity, that willingness, that love and all of that, that's actually the destination of this journey. When we fall in love we glimpse that possibility for who we can be with another, and within ourselves we glimpse that possibility. And then, the hard work of realizing that possibility begins. And so, in short form, the answer to your question is, who you were when you first fell in love, the experience you had of yourself, that's actually the destination of this journey. Neil Sattin: That would make sense. And it's making sense to me on this deep level of, right, of course, I've been summoned by this vision of potential. And then, I think often couples find themselves heeding the call, being summoned and then a year or two or 10 later, totally forgetting what called them into that relationship to begin with. Jett Psaris: Right. Neil Sattin: So what happens when we get stuck? And as I did mention in the intro, which you heard, Jett. A lot of what we've talked about on the show has been about creating safety in relationships, so that people really feel freedom to be vulnerable, to be courageous. And yet, I couldn't help but notice that further along in your book you talk about "REACT", and basically identifying all of these qualities of a safe container. And talking about, how maybe those are great to get you to one place, but then you have to find ways to shed those qualities. Jett Psaris: Yeah, and you need a ratio of what I call closeness and intimacy. The closeness is the safe container you're talking about, that holding environment, where you feel like you can rest in the relationship. And the intimacy really is that transformative edge. So the hallmarks of a close relationship are things like reciprocity and the capacity to make and keep agreements. And those very same things that are capacities in a healthy, close relationship can also prevent intimacy. So for example, yes, while it is wonderful to have a relationship where both of you are doing the work. If you maintain, "I will if you will... " Neil Sattin: I'm working with a couple right now who are very mired in "I will if you will", and that is not gonna move forward. We actually have to have a fidelity to our own unfolding. And assuming there is nothing violent or damaging going on in the relationship, we have to be willing to continue to unfold, and reveal, and tell the truth about what we are experiencing, and explore. We have to be willing to do that even if our partner is not willing to do that, otherwise there is a... What creeps in is an unhealthy dependency where we are requiring the other person to be a certain way in order for us to feel safe. When technically speaking, we don't really need another person to be a certain way in order for us to feel safe. Safety is found in that large lake of our being, or the ocean of our being, it is not found in a temporary ability to manipulate or coerce our partner to show up in a particular way. So we need a balance, we do need someone who is not chronically going to be attacking us but we also need the ability when we experience someone like our partner being critical, we have to have the ability to say, "Okay, what is true about the criticism that you are telling me about?" Instead of, "No, I'm not that way." "What's true about that?" Jett Psaris: And also, "In the presence of your criticism, what essential quality or aspect of being do I lose access to?" And clearly, that would be curiosity. So in order to have a fidelity to our own unfolding, we have to say, "Okay, in this moment in the face of your criticism, I have lost access to my essential curiosity. And so now, what I want to do is I want to try to access that curiosity and apply it to your criticism," and then you'll notice that the whole relationship moment, the tension will soften because you're willing to listen to what your partner has said even if your partner has said it in a way that is not simple. Neil Sattin: How do you avoid then, this becoming totally one sided in a relationship where one person is willing to do the work and where the other will happily dish out criticisms and ways of trying to control their partner to make life easy for themselves? Jett Psaris: Well, the truth is you don't avoid that, you don't avoid anything in this approach. And what you do is you establish this fidelity to your own unfolding, and that's primary. And then, what actually happens is one of two things, you outgrow your partner and that becomes very evident and then the question is of whether I should leave or not really becomes moot, becomes obvious, or your partner sees who you're becoming and jumps on board. And I can tell you that happens more than... The latter happens more than the former. The experience they have of your openness, your clarity, your kindness, your skillful means, they begin to say, "I want to be more like that. I want to find that in myself. I want to join with you in this enterprise that you have initiated." And I can tell you when that happens, often the turn is quite dramatic, and then you have established a new chapter on your ground between you based in the shared value of being allies, intimate allies in this journey. Jett Psaris: But it is true that there are those who resist and defend and say, "You know, I don't want to do this work." And then the person who is doing the work, they become stronger, clearer and then they have a choice. Do I want to stay with you and accept you 100% as you are? And then of course, they also have developed the abilities to set boundaries and the rest of that, or is this really no longer... Has this taken us where we could go together, and do I want to actually step outside of this relationship now and move forward on my own? And that's a scary place for people. But it's a lot scarier not to take the journey because if you don't take the journey that seed acorn of you will wither and die. Neil Sattin: So journey or death? The choice is up to you. [laughter] Neil Sattin: And guess what, we all die anyway. Jett Psaris: We all die anyway. It's a series of deaths. Of course, this is a totally transformational process, we get very good at dying psychologically and emotionally speaking, over and over again, that's we become part of the cycle of life, and that's why I think we all long for intimacy so much because it's so fresh, it's so new, it's so exciting, there's no longer, been there, done that, everything becomes sacred. And that's when I think life really becomes everything that we've read about. Neil Sattin: So what does the process look like? And I think this would be good to complete our overview of what someone's gonna go through and then maybe we can offer some actual beginning steps for you, listening, so that you can get a sense of how to take this journey. Jett Psaris: Yeah. Can I blend those two together? Neil Sattin: Please. Jett Psaris: Yeah. The first step, it's just non-negotiable. The first step is that your starting point is "Whatever is happening is about me, not about my partner." And I have to tell you that that can be an easy step for some, and a very, a very large leap for others. For a period of time, at least as an exploration, take on the task that this is about you and not about them. And later on, when you have done that thoroughly, you can examine what part is also about them, but initially you cannot do that. I ask my couples to go on a detox diet of not critiquing, complaining, evaluating, noticing, psychoanalyzing their partner. When you stop, even doing this verbally or in your mind, when you stop focusing your attention on your partner, you're left with having to explore, which is difficult, what is actually going on for you. So the first task is "This is about me, not about you." Jett Psaris: The second one is to stop critiquing. Stop that outward flow and that is very important. The next task is to recognize that there's more to you in that moment than you think. So whatever you think is going on, there's a lot more going on than that. And so, your work is to inquire into the experience you're trying to get in that moment and the experience you're trying to avoid in that moment. Once you do that, it will bring you naturally down into whatever the contraction is that is keeping the self-concept in place. So I'll use an an example. So if you come in... Oh actually can I use you as an example? Neil Sattin: Sure. Let's go for it. Jett Psaris: Okay. [chuckle] Good. Can you give me an example of a reaction that is familiar to you, you have it with your wife, and it happens periodically? Or everyday? [laughter] Jett Psaris: Because a lot of these reactions they happen everyday. Neil Sattin: Right. Well, this almost never happens but... Jett Psaris: Okay. [laughter] Jett Psaris: Good. Neil Sattin: Yeah, sure. Let's go with, I'm working and I'm working a lot and, I get a complaint from her that that I'm working too much and I haven't prioritized our connection enough. Jett Psaris: Okay. Neil Sattin: Let's say in that day even. Jett Psaris: Yes. And let's say in that moment, you're not in your most conscious and spacious self who would probably say, "Oh, you know, I hear that you are wanting more time with me," right? So in our most conscious self that's what we would say. But let say that you're actually working really hard and you're trying to get somewhere, accomplish something, and so this interruption actually threatens what you're trying to accomplish. What's the first thing you experience was the reactive experience when she interrupts you with her complaint? Neil Sattin: That she doesn't value what I'm doing. Jett Psaris: Right. And how is that familiar for you? Neil Sattin: Well, it's a pattern that certainly came up in other relationships that I had before. And I think it connects me... In this moment, I'm seeing my parents very clearly and thinking about how I had to justify my choices to them. Yeah, things that were interesting to me that I wanted to pursue that they didn't necessarily approve of. So, in those moments I would feel like they didn't value what I was doing. I had to do something different to get their approval. Jett Psaris: Right. So in that moment when she has that complaint, it brings you back to an old area of sensitivity that who you are and the choices you make are not valuable. So, in that moment, you lose access to your intrinsic value which is your essential trait and you experience the part of you that wants to make his own choices, but also his choices in some way threaten the stream of goodwill and approval from the other, whoever that is, parents or your wife. And so in that moment, if you don't become reactive and push against her complaint, you don't value me with your own complaint, that's how we separate from each other. If you were to use her complaint as an invitation to drop back in your history to the young boy who had passions and desires that were disapproved of, what vulnerable experience would you have there? What was the vulnerable experience of that young boy? Neil Sattin: He felt alone and self doubt comes up for me. Yeah, like maybe I... Yeah, a lot of uncertainty and confusion almost, like if I can't... I guess, I can't trust myself. Jett Psaris: Yeah. So the self doubt comes up in order for you to maintain the relationship with your parents or your wife. But the vulnerable feeling that you're talking about is you feel lonely. You feel like they severed the relationship with you in that moment. You lost access to the common ground you once shared. And you also lost access to the feeling of passion that you were engaged with when you were in your own little world alone. And so, that's a moment of trauma. And if we can use your wife's complaint to bring you back to to that moment of trauma, and to just simply feel it, what you will find is there'll be a little unwinding, the contraction will soften, and there'll be more space to actually experience the real message that your wife is conveying which is, "I miss you." Jett Psaris: It would be great if she could say that, but it's equally important that she can't because you need to develop the ability to stay in contact with yourself without defending against what she says, and to stay in contact with yourself and also it will bring you to deeper contact with her because she said, "You know, I hear what you're really saying is you miss me. And that is actually what I wanted in the beginning." And so, then the two of you can be allies, "You know, I hear that you miss me and actually now that you're saying that, you've kinda jogged me out of this addiction to my work. And let me just finish this up and let's spend some time together." Or you'll say, "I miss you too, but this is a priority for our family. And so can we kinda support me around completing this project, and then let's plan some extended time together so that we make sure that we're also nourishing the well of our relationship." So then you become resourced. Neil Sattin: How helpful is it to, when going through that inquiry, to let my partner know that that's... Like to let them know what I'm going through or what I'm experiencing, what I'm seeing? Jett Psaris: Well, if you have the emotional strength to reveal your process and there is a welcoming environment to do that, I would say do that. If it feels too risky, then I suggest that clients say to their partner, "Listen, something's just come up for me. I just feel triggered in this moment. It's not about you. I'm gonna spend the next hour to diving in into that and can we meet up at 3:00, so that I can reveal that to you and we can talk about it." It is very important to let your partner know that you're in process. And if you don't have the strength to reveal that process or that process needs some incubation time to protect its space. But you maintain the relationship with a promise to do your work and come back into discussion about what just transpired. That is very important. Neil Sattin: And just to be clear, the process of diving in, there wasn't some magical mantra around the experience that I was having. It's more about simply being with that experience to get to the other side. Jett Psaris: Yes. It's well said, first of all, I just want to also appreciate, I mean how many... Just to, this is a note to the listeners, how many podcasters you know who willing to enter the process personally, so a big thank you for that. It is about freshly meeting each experience with the knowledge of the patterns but the willingness to let this step outside those patterns. And so, there is a mix. You have a knowledge of familiar patterns which you are able to quickly identify. And that's very important, because patterns are always a result of the compensatory and cracked identity. But there's also the willingness to have a completely fresh insight and a completely new experience of that moment where you lay down the pattern, and maybe for the first time, come into contact with the original heart of the moment when you were disproved of, or not appreciated, or rejected. Neil Sattin: So what are some ways that that could manifest? So that if you're going through this at home, you're probably wondering like, "All right, what could that look like for me if I'm willing to just be there? It sounds scary." I have to say, as I was reading your book, I was feeling mixes of elation like, "Wow, this is amazing." And I felt very viscerally the fear coming up of my parts responding to, "Ooh, that's gonna be scary when you do that [chuckle], or that could be frightening when you just rest in that with Chloe. Chloe's my wife. So yeah, it brings up a lot. And you call it the black hole, and I'm sure there's some good reason behind that. Jett Psaris: [chuckle] Yeah. Well, the black hole is where we really drop into that core sensitivity, and it feels very uncomfortable. And it feels uncomfortable to the compensatory identity which has just failed at its mission to keep you out of that discomfort. That's the whole idea of the compensation is for you to actually maintain control, feel safe, and feel comfortable. And so, when you drop into these core sensitivities, most of us scramble quickly to get out of them. You know, that's okay too. What happens is, in my experience, we don't drop into the black hole in a way that is annihilating. It's a little bit more like a snake shedding its skin. When we're ready to drop into the black hole and reveal that piece that's needing our attention and healing, there really already is a substantial experience of ourselves ready to pick that... Pick something up to, in essence, rises up to carry the day. And so we're not gonna drop into the hole and go into a self-destruct. It will absolutely feel uncomfortable, and it feels uncomfortable every single time. Jett Psaris: But what happens is, we develop the capacity of making that transition, and the rewards on the other side are... They're so positively reinforcing, because we get to have that experience of ourselves like when we first fell in love. And so, it is something that happens over time. It's very helpful if you have a therapist, or a spiritual guide, or close friend to do this work with, because it is helpful to have a kind and gentle holding environment. But over time, you just begin to look for the opportunities to fall into that place and recover the sense of self as infinitely loving, open, generous, kind. And so this work really builds on itself. Neil Sattin: Yeah. You talk about the, I think you call it the flip where your fear of not doing the work outweighs the fear of facing into those experiences that you were initially trying to avoid. Jett Psaris: Yeah. I call it the flip. Other traditions call it the spiritual warrior. You develop the commitment to your own unfolding, and you place that over these passing discomforts. At that moment, you have shifted your center of gravity away from a protective, controlling, predictable sense of self and life into a more fluid, more surprising, definitely more spontaneous, and exciting way to be. It's a little bit like moving from the land which is predictable. We walk on land, it's predictable, and jumping into water, where there are all kinds of new, and interesting, and exciting, but also scary movements that occur, you're not in control anymore. Neil Sattin: Yeah. Chloe often... I've heard her recount this story of snorkeling in Bali. I think it was Bali. And being right at the edge of this drop-off from... It went from, I think, the coral reef down into who knows how many thousands of feet and just seeing the shadows lurking just below the light and how terrifying that was. Jett Psaris: That's a wonderful experience. And I often use snorkeling, because most of us when where based in our self concepts, we're like looking at the surface of the water, and this work you're putting on some gear and you're dropping below the surface and there's an entirely new magical, beautiful world. And so, at some point, we long for our depths and for that magic, and mystery, and largeness, and relationship definitely is the sacred path to that experience. Neil Sattin: I have to say, it was kind of funny to me thinking just now about how so much of our time can be spent trying to avoid conflict, and in that situation that I described with Chloe, we would probably make some agreements that would be around like, "Okay, on Mondays I only work until 6:00 PM," That sort of thing to avoid... Coming across that circumstance and what I hear you saying is, well that could be great and you get this magnificent opportunity by being in the discomfort of failing or where you're compensatory strategy is. The things that initially brought you together with that person because you complimented each other so well, where they start to fall apart. Jett Psaris: Yeah, beautifully said. Basically, my way of saying that is, if you can make an agreement and keep the agreement, by all means go ahead and do that. When you make an agreement and you can't keep them, then you know that you have created false ground between you and that there's something deeper that's actually needing to be seen and addressed. And so, when the agreements fall apart which they will, if it's a repetitive deep issue, then you want to ask yourself, what does the agreement protect you from experiencing? And usually that will be as you said earlier discord, it protects you from experiencing that you're having a different experience than the other, and we want to protect ourselves from that. Neil Sattin: Are there core agreements that you think are important in relationship? Jett Psaris: I think, I encourage all couples to address that question, more kind of maybe in terms of core values which might cover the same area. So, some relationships have a core value of telling the truth as we know it, creating a receptive environment for the truth, becoming conscious of underlying motivations and behaviors, so it depends. It should be born of the specific couple not kind of universal, I think, core agreements, but doing the work of forging those core values in agreements is probably as or more important than when you come up with on your list. It's saying, this is how I want to be in life with you, and can we agree to that? And if that seems to change, can we speak about what's changing? Neil Sattin: And it makes me curious to know, like those situations where an agreement is broken, and that could be something like, "I said I was gonna stop working at 5:00 and it turns out I planned an interview for 6:00." [chuckle] Or it could be something more that feels bigger like a betrayal, an emotional infidelity, an affair, something, I gambled all our money away, like those kinds of things. How do you apply... 'cause what I heard you saying earlier is to help someone realize, "Well, this isn't about the other person, this is about me." And how do you merge that in a situation where there's maybe some shock or trauma going on from an agreement having been violated? Jett Psaris: Well, I'll been meeting with a couple tomorrow, where it's a man and a woman. And the man has apparently gambled away their life savings, and she feels deeply betrayed by that. But I have to say that her starting point in asking for the session is that she said, "I recognize that I contributed to the outcome I'm experiencing. I did not take an active role in finances because I was afraid. I knew all along that he had tendencies around gambling, and I didn't want to look at them. We have two children, I didn't want that as another issue to have to deal with." And so, right out of the gate, she's recognizing that this has to do with her. It doesn't mean she doesn't feel betrayed, because she has a pattern, as you talked about earlier, her father also gambled. And so, the narrative is very personal for her, but her starting point is one of taking personal responsibility for what occurred, and wanting to explore what occurred, instead of just making him into a rotten, horrible human being. Jett Psaris: And so, that's the rigor of this and that can be very hard when we talk about gambling away one's life savings. It can be very hard when you talk about having an affair. These are the areas that hit us the most deeply in our psyches, and touch into the deepest of our sensitivities and traumas. And they're the ones that really provide generally the most transformation because they are touching so deeply. So again, the content of what's occurring is not as important as the commitment and the fidelity to unpacking... I love your phrase "delaminating," I'll have to use that. Delaminating these places that we have become hardened and separate from life. Neil Sattin: So now, I'm listening to us and I'm driving in my car, and I'm thinking about this conversation that's touching down into the core of my essence, and I know it's there. What can I do in this moment to take a step in that direction of getting clear on where my work lies, and also maybe how to... Well, I understand you're saying, Jett, that it's not required, but how might I invite my partner into that with me? Jett Psaris: Well, I think the best invitation is by example. And so, the strongest invitation is this is the way I want to approach what has just transpired between us. I want to look at how I became a part of this narrative with you and how it's familiar in my own life so that I can be more awake, and conscious, and resourced when things like this occur, and so that we together can create a digestive system that can digest what life brings to us. And so, I think that's kinda the answer to your second question. The first question is not quite so clear. If you just experienced a betrayal and you just found out about that, the first thing you're gonna experience is shock. And so, when we experience shock, that is something has come into our field that feels larger than what we can handle. Jett Psaris: And so, the first thing we need to do is not scramble and to actually do the opposite which is very hard to do, which is stop and rest and wait until our warm animal body calms down. And we can walk, we can meditate, we can bathe in warm water, whatever helps us calm our animal body, which always is the one that bears the burden of these shocks. And when we begin to feel like we're coming out of the shock, then we begin by slowly wondering, what does this situation have to do with me? How is it familiar? And we begin to apply that essential curiosity and interest to what has transpired and recognize that the content of our lives is there to grow the context of our lives, our being, our openness, our resourcefulness, our genius, our capacity to love and care for ourselves and each other. The more we recognize that the content is there to rub us in a way, create a friction to enlarge that context, the more likely we are to use what happens between us, what arises within us, to actually do the work that I'm describing in undefended love. Neil Sattin: And one quick addendum question to that. How do I stop from victimizing myself? I want to inquire, I don't want to blame myself. Jett Psaris: You don't want to blame anyone. Neil Sattin: Yeah. Jett Psaris: Because this isn't actually a problem. This is the way transformation occurs. The only way we can see what we can't see is by bumping into it and suffering the discomfort of it. [chuckle] Jett Psaris: So, we don't want to become a victim, we don't want to identify as a victim, we don't want to victimize others, we want to join together. And it's all hands on deck, and do what's necessary to wake up and to use the weather of our lives, that's what I'm calling the content, the weather of our lives, to see that which the weather is happening in. So, if I have a feeling, I don't have to become anger, I'm just feeling angry; it's something that is occurring within me. I don't have to... If I have a thought, "This isn't right," that's just a thought. That thought is occurring within me, and there're gonna be thoughts, 60,000 according to Stanford, additional thoughts before the end of the day is up. And so, we become larger than these passing inconveniences or moments of disruption and confusion. Neil Sattin: And then, you get to experience yourself as bigger than all of those things. Jett Psaris: Yes. And more resilient and more skillful. Neil Sattin: And more able to show up for love with your partner. Jett Psaris: Exactly. Well, all those things is love really. We become love instead of being a consumer of love. Neil Sattin: Yeah. Then you embody it in what you do. We're not gonna have a chance to talk about it today, but I loved your discussion of needs versus desire versus wants versus desires, and how we progress through that to get to a place where we're actually good with how life is, which doesn't mean we don't desire things. Jett Psaris: Right. Neil Sattin: But we welcome it. Jett Psaris: Exactly. Neil Sattin: The big yes that you mentioned earlier in our conversation. Jett Psaris: That's right. Neil Sattin: Well, Jett Psaris, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure. I could talk to you for another hour I'm sure, but your tree crew showed up. [laughter] Neil Sattin: And I'm just so delighted to have you here. Jett is, as we mentioned the co-author of "Undefended Love" along with her partner Marlena Lyons. And you can get links to her websites through the show guide for this episode. Again, you can visit neilsattin.com/undefended, or text the word "Passion" to the number 33444 and follow the instructions. Neil Sattin: Jett, is there anything else currently going on in your life or your world that you'd like to tell people about? Or if they want to find out more about you, where should they go? Jett Psaris: Oh yeah, my website is www.jettpsaris.com. And I just published a new book this year which I'm very excited about, "Hidden Blessings: Midlife Crisis As a Spiritual Awakening", that has won a couple of awards already. And for those in midlife, over the age of 40, that might me something if you like this approach, basically. It's an undefended approach to the midlife passage which I believe is arguably the most transformative passage of one's lifetime. So, do take a look at that, if this approach is of interest you. Neil Sattin: Well, I definitely will, and I encourage you listening to do the same. And thank you so much for your time and wisdom today. And I look forward to speaking again at some point. Jett Psaris: Thank you so much. I appreciate you and the work you're doing. Neil Sattin: Thank you! Sponsors: Talkspace.com - Online therapy that matches you with your perfect therapist. You can communicate with your therapist daily - so they can be there for you during the moments you most need support. Visit talkspace.com/ALIVE and use the coupon code “ALIVE” for $30 off your first month of online therapy. Resources: Check out Jett Psaris's website Read Jett’s book Undefended Love and check out her new book Hidden Blessings: Midlife Crisis As a Spiritual Awakening www.neilsattin.com/undefended Visit to download the transcript, or text “PASSION” to 33444 and follow the instructions to download the transcript to this episode with Jett Psaris Amazing intro/outro music (not including the Namaste chant) graciously provided courtesy of: The Railsplitters - Check them Out

Since I'm not yet at the 2017 US Open, I thought I would throw things back to my last trip to our Home Slam and my conversation with Tennis Parents Extraordinaire: Wayne Bryan (father of Bob & Mike, the Bryan Brothers), Steve Johnson (father of Stevie who passed away earlier this year), and Melanie Rubin (mom of Noah). These three have so much knowledge and great advice to share to those of us coming up behind them. I hope you enjoy hearing from them. I plan on releasing another podcast episode later this week from the 2017 US Open, so please keep an eye out for it. The US Open Juniors tournament is now underway, and the Collegiate Invitational starts Thursday, both of which will provide lots of great content for another podcast! And, for those interested, we are now accepting sponsors for the ParentingAces Podcast. If you'd like to learn more, please visit parentingaces.com/sponsorshippackages-aug-2017/

Since I'm at a low ebb in confidence and energy, I'm bringing back a project I started back in 2012 and didn't finish till 2014, "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill.  I think it's on point for current events.  And I think some things bear repeating right now.  And this time I'll just put it all up right away.   In the meantime, perhaps I'll manage to record something new for you?  Still haven't gotten the recording I needed to finish Swinging Doors.  And there's three or four other possible Next Projects.   Show Theme "Hot Swing" and other music from Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com.  Comments via the https://www.speakpipe.com/grizzlysgrowls  Comment Line: 218-234-CALL   218-234-2255  Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls  

Since I'm at a low ebb in confidence and energy, I'm bringing back a project I started back in 2012 and didn't finish till 2014, "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill.  I think it's on point for current events.  And I think some things bear repeating right now.  And this time I'll just put it all up right away.   In the meantime, perhaps I'll manage to record something new for you?  Still haven't gotten the recording I needed to finish Swinging Doors.  And there's three or four other possible Next Projects.   Show Theme "Hot Swing" and other music from Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com.  Comments via the https://www.speakpipe.com/grizzlysgrowls  Comment Line: 218-234-CALL   218-234-2255  Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls  

For this special solo episode, I share what's been happening on the new homeowner-front since my first episode of the season where I announced that my husband and I bought our first place. Long description: In my first episode (and first solo episode) for season 3 of the Mo' Money Podcast, I shared with you the big news that my husband and I bought our very first place. After one failed house hunt two years ago, we restarted our search in July and ended up buying a townhouse in Toronto. Not only that, we were able to put 25% for our down-payment so we could keep our monthly payments as low as possible. Well, since I recorded that episode at the beginning of September, a lot has happened. We've owned our home for 1 1/2 months, and we've already experienced quite a few ups and downs as new homeowners. Some of the Not So Fun Things About New Homeownership Overall, we are still super happy with our decision, but it has hands down been the most stressful period in our lives (save for maybe planning our wedding 3 years ago). You know when people warn you that things are gonna go wrong and break when you buy a place so be prepared? Well, they did, and we are seriously so glad we were prepared! At the end of the episode I offer some tips I believe everyone thinking of buying a place should consider. One of those tips was to have a special emergency fund for housing repairs and replacements that you'll need to do right away. For us, we had to replace our washer/dryer and stove within the first week of moving in. How much did that cost is? About $3,000! But we need clean our clothes and cook our food so we had to replace them both ASAP. Luckily, we had the cash stashed away so we could afford it. If we didn't, we may have had to dip into our other emergency funds (for real emergencies or job losses), or had to put them on credit. Since I'm am 100% anti-debt (though now I guess I'm not totally debt-free with my mortgage), that just wasn't an option for me. How You Can Easily Get Swept Up into a Never-ending Spending Cycle Besides having to drop some major cash after getting the keys, our place has pretty much been total chaos since we moved all of our stuff in. We've been here almost 2 months and we still have boxes everywhere. Why? Because it takes a lot of time to unpack a house, and my husband and I work pretty much around the clock. I'm hoping that this weekend, which is Canada's Thanksgiving long weekend, I'll be able to get a few major things down around the house, but the list keeps getting longer and longer. For instance, our place is considered a 2-bedroom with den. However, the den is really just this awkward alcove waste of space. Ideally, we'd like to convert it into something more useful by expanding the second bedroom and adding in a linen closet. But again, in order to even find out if this is a possibility with our housing corporation, we have to hire a contractor to draft up the plans for us. We also have to replace the backsplash in our kitchen. The previous owners had this ugly wallpaper as a backsplash, and one night I just couldn't stand looking at it anymore so I ripped it all off. So now the wallpaper is gone, but I still need to put up a new backsplash. Then again, the countertops are also pretty ugly. And I don't really like the cupboards either. Maybe we should look into redoing the whole kitchen? You see how being a new homeowner can be chaotic, stressful, overwhelming and expensive all at the same time? Just So You Know, New Homeownership Isn't All Smiles & High-fives But I'm not sharing all this with you to scare you! I'm just letting you know that buying your first place does not look like any of these stock photos. Sure, there are some smiles and high-fives. But there's also a lot of hair pulling, teeth grinding, bickering and sleepless nights.  But Overall, I'm Still So Happy to Be a Homeowner Even with all that said, I'm still super happy and proud to be a homeowner. It's something I've always dreamed of, and I hope in the future we'll be able to buy more properties to rent out too. And I know it won't always be this chaotic. Things are slowly starting to settle down. For instance, as I type this right now I'm in my very own office, which I haven't had for over 3 years. Even since we moved to Toronto, the living room has been my husband and I's shared office. Now, we finally have some space and privacy. I'll most likely do another update podcast episode at either the 6 month or 1 year mark. Until then, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel as I'll be posting some new videos soon all about life as a new homeowner! For more podcast episodes, check out the Podcast page. Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/63

I received plenty of puzzled comments and inquiries from podcast listeners when, several episodes ago, I mentioned that one could gain a large number of surprising health, longevity and disease preventing benefits by drinking up to 4-6 cups of coffee a day. What I said in that episode was based on a book I recently read - a book by a Harvard medical researcher named Dr. . The book, entitled ", delves into five simple things you can do to live a longer, healthier life and I actually learned quite a bit about everything from coffee to Vitamin D to nuts and beyond in it. Each of the recommendations outlined in this book has been proven by an overwhelming number of tests, trials, and studies to increase health and lifespan. Dr. Chopra promises that if you adapt the five simple, virtually-free suggestions in his book, you will live a longer and healthier life, guaranteed - without needing the latest expensive supplements, fad diets, jazzy exercise programs, and state-of-the-art gym equipment. Since I'm all about natural living, anti-aging and longevity, I decided I had to get this guy on the show. , is Professor of Medicine and served as Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical School for 12 years. He is the James Tullis Firm Chief, Department of Medicine, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Chopra has more than 150 publications and seven books to his credit. Dr. Chopra is Editor-in-Chief of the Hepatology Section of UpToDate, the most widely used electronic textbook in the world subscribed to by more than 850,000 physicians in 149 countries. He is a sought after motivational speaker across the United States and abroad, addressing diverse audiences on topics related to medicine, leadership, happiness, and living with purpose. Awards bestowed upon Dr. Chopra include.... • The George W. Thorn Award - 1985 • Received the highest accolade from the graduating class of Harvard Medical School, the Excellence in Teaching Award - 1991 • The Robert S. Stone Award - 1995 • American Gastroenterological Association’s Distinguished Educator Award - 2003 • Elected as a Master of the American College of Physicians, a singular honor bestowed to only a select few individuals for being ͞citizen physicians, educational innovators, scientific thinkers and humanists who inspire those around him or her and sets the standards for quality in medicine - 2009 • Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor for “Exemplifying outstanding qualities in both one’s personal and professional lives while continuing to preserve the richness of one’s particular heritage.”–2012 On May 10, 2016, Dr. Chopra released his 8th book titled, , and during our discussion about the book, you'll discover: -The shocking answer to the question Dr. Chopra asks when he's giving a lecture on liver disorders... -The famous philosopher who drank 60-70 cups of coffee per day... -Whether it matters if the coffee is caffeinated or decaffeinated... -The one organ in your body that highly benefits from caffeinated versions of coffee... -The surprising myth about coffee, blood pressure and heart rate... -How many cups of coffee you can actually drink per day if you are a pregnant woman... -How men and women respond differently to coffee, and why... -Fast caffeine oxidizers vs. slow caffeine oxidizers, and which does not respond to caffeine's effects on exercise... -Dr. Chopra's thoughts on coffee enemas... -The effect of coffee on muscle motor units... -The "world's most expensive coffee" from elephant dung and weasel poop... -The trick to know if you are getting enough Vitamin D from natural sunlight... -Why mold in peanuts and coffee may not be as big an issue as you think... -How meditation affects your telomeres, your cells and your gut... -And much more... Resources from this episode: - (Wild Kopi Luwak, the World's Most Exclusive Coffee, Sustainably Sourced From Sumatra, Indonesia) - - - - - - -The book "" Do you have questions, comments or feedback for Dr. Chopra or me? Leave your thoughts at  and one of us will reply! And be sure to check out Dr. Chopra's book: .

In this episode I interview Ned Batchelder. I know that coverage.py is very important to a lot of people to understand how much of their code is being covered by their test suites. Since I'm far from an expert on coverage, I asked Ned to discuss it on the show. I'm also quite a fan of Ned's 2014 PyCon talk "Getting Started Testing", so I definitely asked him about that. We also discuss edX, Python user groups, PyCon talks, and more. Some of what's covered (pun intended) in this episode: coverage.py types of coverage Line coverage branch coverage Behavior coverage Data coverage How Ned became the owner of coverage.py Running tests from coverage.py vs running coverage from test runner. edX what is it what Ned's role is Ned's blog Ned's PyCon 2014 talk "Getting Started Testing" Teaching testing and the difficulty of the classes being part of unittest fixtures package some of the difficulties of teaching unittest because of it's class based system. the history of classes in unittest coming from java's jUnit implementation Boston's Python Group PyCon in Portland Ned to do a talk here "Machete mode debugging". Practicing PyCon talks at local group meetings. At the very least, practice it in front of a live audience. Links: Ned Batchelder (http://nedbatchelder.com/) Coverage (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/coverage) Coverage documentation (https://coverage.readthedocs.org) django-nose (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/django-nose) pytest-django (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pytest-django) edX (https://www.edx.org/) open edX (https://open.edx.org/) Boston Python User Group (http://www.meetup.com/bostonpython/) Portland Python User Group (http://www.meetup.com/pdxpython/) - I need to go to these PyCon 2016 (https://us.pycon.org/2016/) - Planning on attending, it's in Portland. Yay! Getting Started Testing (http://nedbatchelder.com/text/test0.html) - Ned's 2014 Pycon talk

Our Aprilia Mana 850 GT gets the full adventure / touring treatment This is what happens when an unlimited budget happens to a Honda VT750 Shadow. Can I have a discount? Ram Mount or Scam Mount? Which would you choose? The Ram Mount with the bracket that will mount it to the top of your master cylinder AND the clamps for your handlebars (so it goes BOTH ways!) $50 or so. GreatShield Bicycle Mount for your Phone / GPS around $20 or so. Since I'm not willing to replace ANOTHER iphone, I'm going with the Ram Mount. Scala Rider? Not here, I've been using this JBL/LG bluetooth wireless headset for a few months now and I really like it, Even Siri approves and seems to work well. No learning curve and it works with every helmet I own. Above is the $400 Bell Bullitt This is the Biltwell Gringo S $200 - Guess which one is a LOT quieter. Yep, those 4 little button shaped vents on the Bullitt make a ton of noise.

Our Aprilia Mana 850 GT gets the full adventure / touring treatment This is what happens when an unlimited budget happens to a Honda VT750 Shadow. Can I have a discount? Ram Mount or Scam Mount? Which would you choose? The Ram Mount with the bracket that will mount it to the top of your master cylinder AND the clamps for your handlebars (so it goes BOTH ways!) $50 or so. GreatShield Bicycle Mount for your Phone / GPS around $20 or so. Since I'm not willing to replace ANOTHER iphone, I'm going with the Ram Mount. Scala Rider? Not here, I've been using this JBL/LG bluetooth wireless headset for a few months now and I really like it, Even Siri approves and seems to work well. No learning curve and it works with every helmet I own. Above is the $400 Bell Bullitt This is the Biltwell Gringo S $200 - Guess which one is a LOT quieter. Yep, those 4 little button shaped vents on the Bullitt make a ton of noise.

This is our one-year anniversary of DIY MFA Radio and for this episode, Elisabeth and I decided to change things up. Since I'm usually the one doing the interviewing, this time around Elisabeth interviewed me about DIY MFA, writing, and other fun things. We also celebrated this milestone by doing a live Periscope broadcast of the unedited recording session and it was SO MUCH FUN. While you can't catch the Periscope recording anymore (they're only available for the first 24hours after the broadcast) we WILL be doing these live recording sessions again in the future. Stay tuned because it's going to be epic! For show notes and more info: DIYMFA.com/055

I've finished my first week of sales and am ready (and excited!) to report the results of that first week.  Toward the end of that first 7 days (on day 6) was a special promotion Amazon ran called Prime Day where a ton of extra traffic poured over Amazon's website.  Even though I wasn't one of the deals being promoted by Amazon, I aimed to harness some of the extra traffic with my PPC campaigns. For the full transcript head to http://brandingblitz.com/10/ or see below. --- Hello again! I'm JR, and you're listening to episode 10 of the Branding Blitz!   That's right, we're in episode 10 of this podcast! This is still new – we're still at the very beginning of this story – but it feels like a pretty significant milestone to get to double digits. It might not seem like much, but sometimes you have to stop and appreciate those little steps that you take along the way to get to the big goals.   Man, has it been an exciting week here! There has been a ton of stuff going on both on a personally and with the business.   I hope this week has been exciting for your business as it has for mine... and perhaps less exciting for your personal life or at least hope you're dealing with a less stressful kind of excitement.   Trying to prepare for a cross country move when you feel this weak is not an fun kind of exciting. I have to say though, my wife has been a superhero with all of this doing the majority of the packing all while taking care of our daughter... and taking care of me too. Unfortunately, she's having to bear the brunt of it; because, in any given day, I generally spend an hour or so at most outside of my room, which we've got closed up to try to keep it as climate controlled as possible. I never thought I would actually miss doing household chores...   Anyway, in the midst of all this, it's been great to have some positive and encouraging things going on with this new business.   When I closed out episode 9, I had sold 2 units of my main product – that was day 1. Since I'm expecting this to be a gradual build-up of sales as I move up rankings, I was excited to start off with a baseline of 2 sales the first day.   That was a Friday. In my past experience, weekends have tended to do poorly for online sales. I don't know if that is true across the board or if it is niche specific. What I experience this first weekend could indicate this assumption is going to hold true, but I really don't have enough data to say for sure yet.   On Saturday I held steady with 2 sales and then Sunday I dropped to 1 sale – again, no big deal. Fluctuations like that are expected especially in this early stage and I didn't expect the weekend to be a big sales time to begin with.   Then Monday came and I sold 6 units. Not bad at all considering I'd sold 5 total the previous 3 days, and it made for a nice start for the week. I had a couple of people ordering multiple units – which was encouraging to see.   Tuesday, again I stayed fairly stable and sold 5 units which brought my total for the first 5 days up to 16 units. Having never launched a product before and knowing this wasn't a super high volume product I was super excited to be able to say I had had at least 1 sale each day so far – let alone to get up to 5-6 per day so fast.   This is when the anticipation really began to build for Wednesday. I've been seeing Amazon promoting Prime Day. I'd seen people mention it in a couple of Facebook groups. I don't have a TV in my room, but I've heard they were hammering it pretty hard with television commercials.But I'd really just been focused on getting my product launched. I hadn't put much thought into how it would effect me. To be honest, I think I really had tried not to get my hopes up and was expecting to maybe be selling 1-2 units per day and not really benefit from the traffic.   But when I saw that I was getting 5-6 sales a day, and realized that the PPC was converting well and would allow me to grab some of the extra traffic, I started to get excited... but I still wasn't really sure what to expect.   When I woke up on Wednesday, I think I had 4 sales already. By noon I had matched my best day so far with 6 sales.   I've noticed that I don't seem to normally get sales between about noon and 6pm. I'm guessing that's just a slow traffic time because it's between lunch time and the end of the work day.Sales did slow down during the afternoon on Wednesday, but they didn't stop completely, they kept on periodically ticking in.   They picked up again in the mid-evening, before slowing down again. They had slowed to what seemed like a complete stop at 15, but I had one late order come in at the end of the day and that's where I ended my first Prime Day with 16 units sold.   That felt like a pretty cool place to land because it was about 3 times what it looked like my average weekday starting out was going to be. AND even cooler was that it exactly doubled the total number of units I had sold up to that point. How cool is that to be able to say I doubled my total lifetime sales for that product in a single day! Honestly, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect this to become more of a normal day for this product over time, but it was pretty exhilarating to be able to sell that many units just 6 days in! I'll need to build up more organic search rankings before I regularly get that many sales in a day.   I had started selling in the middle of the day on Friday so it's possible I missed some morning sales, but if you count that as a full day that means I had one more day until I closed out my first week of selling this product. I was curious to see how extra bump received on Wednesday carried forward.   It's about 2 AM here in Oklahoma right now and I'm doing this because I can't sleep – but that also means it's just ticked over to Friday morning according to Amazon. I finished Thursday selling 5 more units of my main product.   I'm not sure if that means the sales yesterday didn't give me much more momentum, or if Thursdays are going to be a slower day, or if I just haven't seen the affect of the sales yesterday yet since they're still shipping out and my BSR is jumping around. My organic rankings probably haven't caught up yet either.   Anyway, it wasn't a bad day either way. It stayed on par with Monday and Tuesday. But something even more interesting happened today. I sold one of my secondary products. I launched the two other products along with this one. They went live at the same time, but I have done no PPC. In fact I haven't promoted them AT ALL. I wanted to really just focus on my main product at first before starting to promote those. I can't imagine they're ranking very well for anything in the search results, but apparently someone somewhere in North Carolina took the time to dig down to some bottom page of the search results and buy one of them. I know it's just one sale, but that has me pretty excited about the potential these secondary products may hold. Could they be more valuable products than I originally expected? I guess we'll find out in time...   So I closed out my first 7 days by selling 37 units of my main product and 1 unit of what I guess I'll call product 2A. I'll count that as a success for my first week for sure.   I've noticed a couple of interesting things in this first week.   I know the PPC sales reporting lags, but I was under the impression that it normally updated the sales from PPC when an order ships. But, if that is true I am getting some organic sales already. Amazon has shipped 30 units so far and my PPC report only accounts for 13 of them. So that's less than half of my orders accounted for. So either the PPC reports are even more delayed than I realized or I'm showing up in organic results more than I realized. I've peaked at some of the searches that I thought could be delivering some traffic, but I haven't honestly found anything major that I rank highly for. So maybe I just need to wait to see if my PPC report updates.   I've also been curious to see if people would order multiples of my main product, and it's great to see they already are. In fact, it seems fairly common. I am a little surprised how common it is because I already have over twice the quantity of my main competitor. But I already have several orders where people have purchased 2 or even 3 units. This shows that there may be some potential to add a variation with greater quantity that is a higher price but still cheaper than buying two of these. And I'd make more money off of one unit of those than two of these so everyone wins. I'd been considering doing that eventually anyway, but it's pretty cool to already have confirmation that this may be a good idea.. but the first priority is establishing the rankings for this product.   The other interesting and kind of frustrating thing is that over half of my inventory still isn't available for sale. It was delivered to Amazon's warehouse on July 6th. But it still hasn't been checked in. Both UPS and Amazon show it was delivered, so the box has been scanned in at their warehouse they just haven't processed it for some reason...   That box happens to have been the largest of the 3 shipments by quite a bit and accounts for 222 of the 400 units I sent in. Not to mention also over half of the secondary products as well. Obviously this hasn't been an issue yet, but it's a bit concerning so I chatted with Seller Support today and they said they'd put in a ticket to have it investigated.   Either way, I'm already thinking about my first inventory re-order. I don't want to feel like I have to log on and place an order ASAP when I get to Idaho. I'd like to have a bit of cushion and not have to worry too much about it. So I may try to place an order before I leave so it will get there a week or so after I do and I've got some flexibility in how quickly I get it to Amazon. Or of course if sales really pick up then I'll have it there and ready to get out right away!   Anyway, that's my first week. If you're selling on Amazon already, I'd love to hear about how your first week went. Even if you haven't gotten that far yet, what are your expectations? Fear? Excitement? Wherever you're at, leave me a comment under this post at brandingblitz.com/10 or shoot an email to jr@brandingblitz.com!   And if you have a question you'd like to ask, head over to brandingblitz.com/ask and drop me a line there!   If you've listened to previous episodes of this show, you probably already know I'm going to ask – have you subscribe yet? If not, why not head over to iTunes and subscribe to Branding Blitz right now? And while you're there, could you leave me a review? Just like a review on Amazon, iTunes uses the reviews to help guide people to quality content – and I'd love your feedback.     That's it for this show, I'll catch you next time on episode 11 of the Branding Blitz!

Alright, it's time to get down to business.   Before I can take you along for the ride in this brand launch, I have to lay the baseline for explaining where we're starting from.  There are two main aspects to this: the business side and the personal side.   This episode starts down the road of discussing the business side.   http://brandingblitz.com/2/Transcript:   Hello again and welcome back everyone! This is JR and you're listening to the Branding Blitz podcast where I'll take you behind the scenes as I go through the process of trying to strategically use speed and brute force to launch and scale a new brand. I want to spend the next couple of episodes discussing where I'm at in the process of launching the brand as well as where I am at personally – both of which I think you'll find make this a fascinating story to follow. For now, let's focus on the business side. The past few weeks have been pretty intense for a number of reasons, not all positive. But from the aspect of launching this brand, things have been going great and very active. About a week and a half ago, I ordered samples for our first product. Normally, if you don't already have a relationship with a manufacturer - which, let's face it, most of us don't - I would recommend ordering samples from several different manufacturers. Due to financial constraints I put more effort into weeding out manufacturers based on ease of communication, responsiveness, how knowledgeable they seem, and details pictures of the products... as well as price, minimum order quantities, lead time, etcetera. I only ended up ordering samples from one manufacturer when it was all said and done. If you've got a little extra cash, I definitely recommend ordering more samples. It was more unnecessary stress waiting for the package to arrive wondering, “What if it gets here and it's not as high quality as they made it out to be?” The fact that the most important aspects of this particular product can't be judged based on a picture didn't really help. Often you'll have to pay $50 or so for a sample, which sounds like a lot initially – way more than the cost of the product itself. But when you consider it gets to your door in a few days from a factory in China, that's honestly not very much. And definitely worth getting a few of them coming so you can have a better basis for picking which manufacturer you work with. That said, it actually worked out for me. I paid $60 for samples from one manufacturer, and I'm very happy with the quality of what we're going to be getting. While I was waiting for those samples to come, I registered the business and got a Federal Tax ID number. If you're serious about doing this, I definitely recommend setting everything up separately under a business name and tax id rather than doing your own SSN. I'm not a tax expert by any means, but I think that will really save some headaches down the road when this things begins to scale. I also registered a domain and began setting the website up. Whether or not you need a website right away really depends on what you're trying to sell – in a lot of cases I would say it's not a big deal. But for my particular market I really feel like having at least a basic informational site will be very helpful. I don't plan to have a store there yet. Eventually we'll set that up, but for now I want to have a laser focus on Amazon as our only sales channel. So I just logged into my HostGator account and set WordPress blog on the brand domain. I've begun adding some information to it, and will be adding more in the coming days. It will eventually need a better theme, but for now I've just got a pretty basic free one on there. A basic website is so easy to set up that it really is hard to justify not setting SOMETHING up when you're getting started even if it isn't absolutely necessary for your niche, but you also can't let it be too much of a distraction as you're trying to get that initial momentum. I've already got experience working with websites so it wasn't a big deal for me to set it up. If that kind of thing is overwhelming for you or you feel it's going to slow you down – don't worry about it right off the bat. There will be plenty of time later once your business has started to gain traction.   One of the things that I believe is going to help me differentiate myself in the market I've chosen is that I am looking to build a brand. This has to do with the fact that I'm planning to expand to a full line of products rather than just a single product – but it also has to do with the fact that I have been thinking about the brand image from the beginning.   Even before I chose my product, I was thinking about branding. Each time I found a new product or set of products to start tracking in a different niche, I asked myself some basic branding questions. “How hard will it be to build a brand and a full line of products around this product?” “Who will my customer be?” “What kind of brand image and messaging will connect with them?” “What are the other brands out there like and how well branded are they?” “Will I want to enter the market as a low cost alternative or a premium option?” “Can I use the brand imaging itself as a way of differentiating my product EVEN before my brand is established?”   I believe the answer to that last question is yes. This is another thing that will depend to some extent on your market. I think it can be done in just about any market, but with my particular market, trying to use every aspect of my branding to show that I'm trying to put out a quality product is one of the ways I intend to differentiate my product in this market.   I'm coming in to a market where I believe the packaging of the product can make a HUGE difference in both conversions, as well as the customer's perception of quality and satisfaction after the purchase – which hopefully also means repeat it may lead to repeat sales. Yet, I honestly don't think ANY of my main competitors have very good packaging. The top two sellers are decent, but really I'm not impressed. Some of the others look especially unprofessional. I feel like stepping in with packaging that presents more of a premium impression could go a long way.   Again, this is something that I think could help at least marginally in pretty much any market and I think it will especially help in my market. But if designing packaging isn't something you feel up to the task for or you just feel like it's a hurdle that's going to slow you down DO NOT let that stop you from taking action. You can always move forward with a very basic packaging – even just a polybag with a sticker on it or a card insert is acceptable for a LOT of products. Then onces you've started to get traction and you're ready to try to upgrade the packaging and see if it increases your conversions you can either design it or hire a designer. I've heard a lot of good things about 99 Designs – I have NOT used them, but most of what I've heard has been pretty positive. If I was looking to pay for a design, that is probably the first place I'd look.   That said, I'm a self-taught computer geek and my wife has a degree in “Print Communications.” Which means, with our combined powers, we form something of a marginally qualified design team. We spent some time as we waited for samples working on potential packaging ideas. Having the product in hand really helped with that, and we've finalized most of the design with a few tweaks to be made here and there.   What we've come up with isn't perfect, and I'm sure a true professional designer could easily pick out some things to clean it up a bit more – but I'm pretty confident that we look more professional than the competition, while presenting the brand image we're going for. And it didn't cut into our budget at all or really slow us down much. That's the key – not letting these little hurdles slow you down. If it's too big and going to really slow you down to work on a website or design a package – don't do it. Not yet. Keep moving forward taking the actions that you can to start getting traction. Once you've got enough traction you can circle around to build out your website and have new packaging made up without losing your forward momentum. We very well may do that in the future ourselves. I'm quite happy with the packaging we've come up with, but if my theory is right and the packaging is going to be a good source of differentiation, it may still be worth having it redone professionally in the future. For now though, we're going forward with what we were able to put together without losing the momentum we have.   The packaging actually did ALMOST become a hurdle for us – but not because of the custom design. Partway through the design, I realized that there were some specific federal regulations regarding the labeling of my product. I'd been basing the information on my labels in large part based on what I saw included on other similar labels – but it looks like some of my competition, as well as the samples from my manufacturer, don't meet up with the full federal regulation... at least as I understand it. So it took me a bit of deciphering to figure out what we needed to include on our product labels, but I believe we've got it sorted out. I'm actually a bit curious what happens if one of the competitors gets reported to the regulatory agency. It feels a bit dirty to report them just because they're my competition – but now that it is also a legal issue. And to be honest, now that I'm aware of law I feel a bit better knowing the info that is supposed to be on these packages. There's good reason for it, and honestly as a consumer I would like it on my package. So I wouldn't feel too bad about reporting them... BUT again that doesn't seem like the most efficient and productive thing to focus on so I haven't looked into it any farther other than just wondering what would happen if they were reported.   There's one last detail I need before we can finalize the packaging, and I think we'll be ready to place our first order.   I purchased UPC codes last week as well. I got 10 barcodes for $20 from a company called Cheap UPC Barcodes. This is a very good deal compared to some of the other websites which mark up the price of their barcodes pretty significantly. On a lot of sites you'd pay way more than $20 for a single barcode and I got 10. If you need some barcodes, this seems like a good place to get the – if you go to brandingblitz.com/barcodes it will send you to their site and I'll get a small commission if you buy your barcodes there.   But instead of putting the UPC code on the packaging, I'm planning to put the FNSKU code on there. Since I'm not looking to get into any other retailers right now, I don't really need the UPC barcode on the package and it saves me from having to put a sticker on there with the FNSKU or to pay Amazon to label it. I had previously started to set up an Amazon seller account, but realized there had already been an Amazon Seller account operated at this address in the past. I have heard Amazon doesn't like people having multiple seller's accounts – I'm not sure how much of what I've heard is true, and this is a different name, different business, etc... but I still wanted to check before I charged ahead. So I've contacted them, they asked for some more info which I gave them and am now waiting for a reply. So that right now is the main thing holding me back from placing an order with the manufacturer– and I'm hoping they'll get that to me today.   In the meantime, waiting for that has given us a little extra time to make some additional tweaks to our package designs and add some of the initial content to our website.   I'm also looking into setting up a Facebook page and targeting people in my niche which would then set me up to do a giveaway for some initial reviews. There is already one set up, and I think Facebook ads would let me target people that are fans of that page, so that would actually take away some of the legwork on getting that set up. I'm not completely decided, but I may try to use some Facebook ads to get some people following my new page. Post for a giveaway and send people to LeadPages to get them on an email list or something. At this point, the main goal would be to gather emails of people interested getting review copies of the product – but that could also be a useful list to have down the road as well as long as I make it clear that I'll be sending them other stuff too not just freebies.   That's one of the ways I'm looking into to build that initial sales and review momentum. But I haven't actually started that process yet. If I decide to go that route, I'll probably try to do that while I'm waiting for the product to be manufactured. I'll also need to continue to build out   There's plenty more I could keep talking about, but I think that gives a pretty good overview of where things are for this brand launch. We've chosen a market, chosen a product, figured out some key differentiators, chosen a manufacturer, gotten samples, designed the packaging, and are ALMOST ready to order. Plus the legal structure of the business is established an we have a very basic website that is up and running with some minimal content.   For a transcript of this show, as well as links to any of the tools mentioned, and to leave any comments or feedback, head over to brandingblitz.com/2   A full list of the tools I'm using can be found on brandingblitz.com/tools   If you have any questions you'd like to ask and maybe get it answered on the podcast, drop me a line at brandingblitz.com/ask   I look forward to connecting with you!   That's all for this episode, I'll catch you next time on episode 3 of the Branding Blitz podcast.     In the meantime if you're enjoying the show, it'd be great if you subscribed on iTunes and left a review. That'll help iTunes know I'm not just talking to myself here, and I'd really appreciate it!

My friend David Fodel is an amazing cat. He is a busy artist, constantly creating new artwork. He is also a teacher at UCD (University of Colorady - Denver), currently working with a group of sculpture students. But perhaps most interestingly, he is the creator/coordinator/developer of events and festivals, most significantly the MediaLive festival in Boulder, CO. I've often been curious about what it takes to create festivals, then have both the strength and faith required to swing the doors open for the public. Since I'm in the process of working at one of Dave's events (Mediatized, April 16, Emmanuel Gallery on the grounds of UCD, Denver CO), I thought I'd connect with Dave for a discussion about his background, his ideas about community, and his vision for his personal art. Enjoy!

Help support this podcast! >> Welcome to the fourth episode of "Write Now", the podcast that helps aspiring writers to find the time, energy, and courage you need to pursue your passion and write every day. I'm so glad you're here. Go on -- surprise yourself. My own ability to surprise myself is my all-time favorite thing about writing. I've never been able to fully articulate how it works, or where the magic comes from. But I take a stab at it in today's podcast episode. I also talk about what it means to be "in the zone" when you're writing. Get very excited. AND SO! Today you'll get the answers to questions such as: 1. What is the value of surprise for both the writer and the reader? 2. How do I get to that place where I'm surprising myself in my own writing? 3. How do I get into the "writing zone"? 4. Is writing an inherently selfish or narcissistic act? 5. Am I insane? Since I'm not a particularly humble person, I'd like to tell you that I think this is my favorite episode I've recorded yet. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Book of the week! This week's book gave me the inspiration for today's podcast. I heartily recommend Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury if you haven't read it before. Keep up-to-date with all of my reading exploits on Goodreads! Submit a question. I'll do my best to answer it. Just visit my Contact page and type out what you're thinking. You can also just email me at hello [at] sarahwerner [dot] com. Today's question is: "What can I do with an English major?" Listen to the full podcast. You can listen to the full podcast using the controls at the beginning of this post. OR! Download it from iTunes! And maybe also subscribe on iTunes! :D Tell me your thoughts. How do you get into the "writing zone"? Or is it something you haven't yet experienced? Let me know in the comments below! My words. Your inbox. Sign up to get email updates from me. >> Like what you've heard? I'm on Patreon! It's a great platform that helps folks who appreciate the arts to support content creators like myself. I'm trying to do this without sounding like a sales-y jerk. So if you find value or inspiration in the information I share, please consider becoming a contributor on Patreon. :) Your generosity will go a long way in helping me continue to produce fun, interesting, and useful content on a regular basis. Thank you! Help support this podcast! >> The post Go On – Surprise Yourself – WN 004 appeared first on The Write Now Podcast with Sarah Werner.

This is a short episode of around 20 minutes. In this episode I answer your top 5 most popular questions. As I'm hearing from so many of you in our community, I'm finding a lot of commonalities in the questions that I'm being asked. Since I'm on this journey with you as an entrepreneur working towards building a successful business, I thought it would be fun to share with you what I'm learning and how I can further help you tackle these common problems and mix things up from our regular schedule.   Please let me know if you would like me to do more of these kind of episodes by emailing me at nathan@foundrmag.com   I Need Your Help!     If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below. It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people!   Leave a review for the Foundr Podcast!

Since I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, the enemy knows he does not, and cannot have my soul! He will, however, do any and every thing to tear me down! In this message Pastor Garry Clark shows us how to be... A SIX SHOOTER!

AIR DATE: September 5, 2013 at 7PM ETFEATURED EXPERT: FEATURED TOPIC: "Low-Carb Diets & Spinal Pain" Have you ever suffered from back pain in your life? If you're like most people, the answer is an emphatic YES! Spinal pain is the #1 cause of disability worldwide and lower back pain is the #2 cause of missed days at work (behind sunny days!). What's at the root cause of all of this chronic pain that people are dealing with? And what can a low-carb and/or Paleo nutrition and lifestyle plan do to help alleviate the aches associated with our backs? That's what a Milwaukee, WI-based chiropractor named  will be exploring with us in this week's show. Dr. Ralston presented a lecture entitled  at the recent 2013 Ancestral Health Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia last month and he is a big fan of CrossFit, Paleo and low-carb diets. In other words, he knows just a thing or two on this subject we've got for you in Episode 43 of "Ask The Low-Carb Experts" addressing the issue "Low-Carb Diets & Spinal Pain." LOWER YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS NATURALLY:Use "THANKYOU" coupon code to get 10% off!NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: LOW-CARB PASTABILITIES FROM QUEST NUTRITIONNOTICE OF DISCLOSURE:  Here are some of the questions we address in this episode: MARGIEANNE FROM NEW ZEALAND ASKS:I’m a 75-year old woman and have had Bells Palsy since February 2012. I am working hard to stay in a state of nutritional ketosis. Recently I twisted my back while re-learning to ride a bike again. My chiropractor is doing wonders so I have great hope of feeling better than I did before the accident. I think I'm doing okay with my diet except I seem to be stuck about 44 pounds heavier than I’d like. I have about 30g of coconut oil daily and 10-15 mL of cod liver fish oil. Since I'm not losing weight, I've been tweaking things until I find what works again, including setting for myself a goal of getting in 10,000 steps/day several times a week. Is there anything else I can do to optimize my health based on what you’ve heard from my story? KIM ASKS:I suffer from a lot of back pain mostly due to spinal fusion, scoliosis, degenerative discs, and fibromyalgia. The pain has gotten a lot better since I started eating low-carb. Why does low-carb help with back pain? I know I would have less back pain if I could lose some belly fat, but low-carb alone is not getting rid of it. I currently take oxycodone for the pain and wondered if taking pain medications interferes with weight loss. Do you have any natural remedies that can help me with my persistent back pain? J.D. ASKS:I used to get severe pain in my lower back whenever I ran. Over the years, it began showing up when I walked, too. Among my many pre-low-carb attempts to fix my health, I tried a calisthenics routine for a few months that involved back extensions and that improved things considerably extending the distance I could walk. When I started eating low-carb, it had progressed to the point that I couldn't walk more than half-a-mile without pain. In fact, two weeks after starting low-carb, it was gone, entirely, and has never come back again! I spent the day at the State Fair, last weekend, walking for more than ten hours, carrying a backpack, and I had soreness in my joints, and in my shoulders and back, and was generally worn out--but I never experienced that back pain. And here's the thing: it disappeared over the space of two weeks, during which I did no exercise and lost about five pounds. So what changed? I have to think that the problem involved fuel partitioning. My hypothesis is that because I was severely insulin resistant, and thus hyperinsulinemic, when I walked the muscles in my back were mostly burning carbs, and that the pain I felt was just ordinary lactic acid build-up. After I went low-carb and got my insulin levels under control, I regained the ability to burn fat. Of course, I may be entirely off-base, but whatever happened, it couldn't have been a response to weight loss or exercise, because it happened before any significant amount of either had occurred. Does Dr. Ralston have any thoughts about my situation?

Today's topic springs from something I mentioned in passing on the last podcast, called Honor Among Truckers. I've got some kind of weird fascination with understanding the obsession drivers have with their driver's seat. Since I'm so confused about this, I actually ask more questions than I provide answers. So have a listen and let me know why YOU spend so much time in the driver's seat. Also, since this subject is very broad, it's rather short. No worries though. I filled in the time with an extra long intro explaining why the podcast is out late. Because I know you were biting your nails about it and all. *smirk* As for the feedback section, I jump over to JobShadow.com and answer a few questions from people who read my interview over there. And by the way, my commenters over there seem pretty happy with how helpful my interview was, so if you're interested in becoming a truck driver, click on the link above, have a read, and ask me any questions you might have, just as Paul, Frank, and Shelley did. Paul asks how an accident will affect his job prospects, Frank asks for company recommendations, and Shelley writes in with concerns about her ability to learn to drive a truck. Other links mentioned in today's podcast are TD91 Bungling the 34-Hour Rule, Netflix, Playstation 3, and @darkstaff's Twitter page (for leaving a nice review of the show on iTunes). Got a second to Rate and/or Review the podcast? Download the intro/outro songs for free! courtesy of Walking On Einstein Mystery Feedback Song - Only a cheater would click this before listening to the podcast! You aren't a cheater, are you?

On this episode of the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast, we talk about a topic that I have a love/hate relationship with, and that's video marketing. I love video, because it has been one of the most important ways I've built my brand, but I hate it at times because it doesn't come naturally to me. Since I'm not a video marketing expert, and because I believe that video is essential for anyone building a brand online, I asked a good friend of mine, James Wedmore, who is a YouTube and Video Marketing Expert to come on the show and share his tips and proven video marketing strategies that you can implement today, even if your budget and experience with video up to this point is limited. In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover: How James created a wildly successful video around a list-building strategy -- a strategy that you can model for your own business. Why videos James created in college to promote an entirely different business are still paying dividends today.  How James plans his video marketing efforts to make the whole video making process much easier. How to create great videos without being on camera. What you have to do first before you can raise the bar on the quality of your videos. How to get around using a teleprompter without memorizing an entire video script. The list-building with video strategy that James personally uses.  The simple 6-step process that James uses for all of his videos, that you can easily copy, regardless of your level of experience with videos.

Writer, actor, comedian and children's entertainer, Miracle Mike Hennessey moved to Los Angeles in 1993 from Boston after he was told in August of 1990 that he had potentially 7 to 9 years to live when he was diagnosed with HIV. He thought, “Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well do it on stage.” And he put together a goofy comedy routine and his healing process began. Once in Los Angeles, he quickly became famous as a children's performer for thousands of families all over Southern California and is known as Mystery Mike. In 1997 after the death of his mother, Ellen Sue, Mike developed full blown AIDS for the first time and his health continued to decline over the years with 13 close calls with the Angel of Death. In 2006 Mike, with only 4 “T-cells” launched the healing website “Mikes T Party” www.MikesTparty.com after being asked by others how they could help. People send in “Ts” from all over the world that represent 'T-cells' (commonly known as CD4) for the immune system. He has collected over 3,000 “Ts” from all walks of life.He has since shared his story of hope many places to encourage others that they too have it within themselves to heal, including on FOX News which can be seen on his channel www.youtube.com/IamMiracleMike.  

**Headphones A Must** Repost due to small gap in first posting. Finding Nemo - The Musical began sneak previews this week at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Earl, from Trapped on Vacation, The Bleepin' Wife, and I got a sneak peak of Finding Nemo The Musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom this past week. The show was quite impressive considering it is in "BETA" at the moment. The original music written for the show,the actors, and use of puppetry all worked together very well. I would have to say it is the best live show in the parks I've seen at Disney World and it will only get better as they iron out the wrinkles. Earl will be posting a binaural version of the show so you can also check his out...there will, most likely, be a variation in the sound but you'll have to decide for yourself. I may be wrong but I believe we are the first to podcast this show. Since I'm out on vacation it's hard to keep up with what's going on around the net. Enjoy this sneak peek posted from Walt Disney World. Thanks to everyone that has made donations to The Meandering Mouse and The Disney Podcast Network thru the show website! Website at: www.meanderingmouse.com Email: podcast@meanderingmouse.com - Voice Mail: 713-893-3866 - Discuss at The Disney Podcast Network: www.disneypodcastnet.com