Podcasts about World Trade Center

Viera Kalinová sa narodila v 22. januára 1949 v Bratislave do židovskej rodiny. Starí rodičia aj väčšia časť rodiny zahynula počas II. svetovej vojny, či v koncentračných táboroch. Mama Margita prežila pracovný tábor v Plaszowe, koncentračný tábor Auschwitz a aj pochod smrti do Bergen – Belsenu. Po vojne sa v Bratislave sa zoznámila s otcom Lászlom Kleinom. Otec sa skrýval 9 mesiacov s ďalšími 9 ľuďmi v byte v Bratislave. Keď mala Viera sedemnásť, celá rodina emigrovala do Izraela. Odtiaľ ďalej do Nemecka a do USA. Viera vyštudovala ruskú literatúru na Brownovej univerzite na Rhode Island. V rokoch 1971 až 1978 študovala slavistiku na Univerzite v Yale. Zoznámila sa s dirigentom a hudobníkom Gilbertom Lavinom. V roku 1976 sa vydala a mala dve deti. Zažila útok na World Trade Center 11. septembra 2001 a aj finančnú krízu v roku 2008.

From Ground Zero to Global Practice: Reimagining Architecture's FutureKevin Kennon is an internationally renowned architect with over 40 years of experience, known for his innovative and environmentally conscious designs. He is the founder and principal of Kennon Design Consultancy, a multidisciplinary practice that focuses on architecture, urban design, and strategic problem-solving for a rapidly evolving world. Under his leadership, the firm tackles complex challenges through a collaborative and client-focused approach, blending design excellence with cutting-edge technology and sustainable principles.Kennon's portfolio includes landmark projects such as the 1.5 million square foot Barclays North American Headquarters, the Rodin Museum in Seoul, and multiple award-winning Bloomingdale's stores. He also led United Architects, a finalist in the prestigious World Trade Center design competition, underscoring his role in shaping post-9/11 architecture. His work spans adaptive reuse, urban planning, and large-scale developments and is featured in the permanent collection of MoMA, New York.A sought-after thought leader, Kennon lectures at institutions like Yale and Columbia and frequently serves as an expert witness. His forward-thinking consultancy model positions architects not just as designers, but as strategic partners in solving the pressing problems of our time.This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, From Ground Zero to Global Practice: Reimagining Architecture's Future with Kevin Kennon.Learn more about Kevin and his work at Kennon Design Consultancy, email him at kevin@kdcaia.com, and connect with him on LinkedIn.Please Visit Our Platform SponsorsArcatemy is Arcat's Continuing Education Program. Listen to Arcat's Detailed podcast and earn HSW credits. As a trusted provider, Arcat ensures you earn AIA CE credits while advancing your expertise and career in architecture. Learn more at Arcat.com/continuing-education.Mentioned in this episode:TonicDM

Have you or do you feel stress? What is stress and how can we deal with it? Our guest this time is Rachelle Stone who discusses those very questions with us. Rachelle grew up in a very small town in Massachusetts. After attending community college, she had an opportunity to study and work at Disney World in Florida and has never looked back.   Rachelle loved her Disney work and entered the hospitality industry spending much of 27 years working for or running her own destination management company. She will describe how one day after a successful career, at the age of 48, she suffered what today we know as burnout. She didn't know how to describe her feelings at the time, but she will tell us how she eventually discovered what was going on with her.   She began to explore and then study the profession of coaching. Rachelle will tell us about coaches and clients and how what coaches do can help change lives in so many ways.   This episode is full of the kind of thoughts and ideas we all experience as well as insights on how we can move forward when our mindsets are keeping us from moving forward. Rachelle has a down-to-Earth way of explaining what she wants to say that we all can appreciate.       About the Guest:   “As your leadership consultant, I will help you hone your leadership, so you are ready for your next career move. As your executive coach, I will partner with you to overcome challenges and obstacles so you can execute your goals.”     Hi, I'm Rachelle. I spent over 25 years as an entrepreneur and leader in the Special Event industry in Miami, building, flipping, and selling Destination Management Companies (DMCs).  While I loved and thrived in the excitement and chaos of the industry, I still managed to hit a level of burnout that was wholly unexpected and unacceptable to me, resulting in early retirement at 48.   Now, as a trained Leadership Consultant and Executive Coach, I've made it my mission to combine this hard-won wisdom and experience to crack the code on burnout and balance for others so they can continue to thrive in careers they love. I am Brené Brown Dare to Lead ™ trained, a Certified Positive Intelligence ® Mental Fitness coach, and an accredited Professional Certified Coach by the ICF (International Coaching Federation, the most recognized global accreditation body in the coaching industry).   I continue to grow my expertise and show my commitment to the next generation of coaches by serving on the ICF-Central Florida chapter board of directors. I am serving as President-Elect and Chapter Liaison to the global organization. I also support those new to the coaching industry by mentoring other coaches to obtain advanced coaching credentials.   I maintain my well-being by practicing Pilates & Pvolve ® a few days a week, taking daily walks, loving on my Pug, Max, and making time for beach walks when possible.   Ways to connect Rachel:   www.rstoneconsulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/rstoneconsulting/ Instagram: @even_wonderwoman_gets_tired   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Well, hi and welcome to unstoppable mindset where inclusion diversity and the unexpected meet. But you know, the more fun thing about it is the unexpected. Unexpected is always a good thing, and unexpected is really anything that doesn't have anything directly to do with inclusion or diversity, which is most of what we get to deal with in the course of the podcast, including with our guest today, Rachelle Stone, who worked in the hospitality industry in a variety of ways during a lot of her life, and then switched to being a coach and a leadership expert. And I am fascinated to learn about that and what what brought her to that? And we'll get to that at some point in the course of the day. But Rachelle, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Thank   Rachelle Stone ** 02:08 you, Michael. I'm honored to be here. Excited to be talking to you today.   Michael Hingson ** 02:12 Well, it's a lot of fun now. You're in Florida. I am. I'm in the Clearwater   Rachelle Stone ** 02:16 Dunedin area. I like to say I live in Dunedin, Florida without the zip code.   Michael Hingson ** 02:22 Yeah. Well, I hear you, you know, then makes it harder to find you that way, right?   Rachelle Stone ** 02:28 Physically. Yeah, right, exactly. Danita, without the zip code, we'll stick with that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 02:33 yeah, that works. Well, I'm really glad you're here. Why don't we start by maybe you talking to us a little bit about the early Rachelle growing up and some of that stuff.   Rachelle Stone ** 02:43 Yeah, I was lucky. I grew up in rural Western Massachusetts, little po doc town called Greenfield, Massachusetts. We were 18 miles from the Vermont border, which was literally a mile and a half from the New Hampshire border. So I grew up in this very interesting area where it was like a tri state area, and our idea of fun growing up, well, it was, we were always outdoors, playing very much outdoors. I had three siblings, and I was the youngest, and it was one of those childhoods where you came home from school, and mom would say, go outside, don't come back in the house until you hear the whistle. And every house on the street, every mother had a whistle. There were only seven houses because there was a Boy Scout camp at the end of the road. So as the sun was setting and the street lights would come on, you would hear different whistles, and different family kids would be going home the stone kids up, that's your mom. Go home, see you next time that was it was great. And you know, as I got older and more adventurous, it was cow tipping and keg parties and behind and all sorts of things that we probably shouldn't have been doing in our later teen years, but it was fun. Behind   Michael Hingson ** 04:04 is it's four wheeling,   Rachelle Stone ** 04:08 going up rough terrain. We had these. It was very, very hilly, where I was lot of lot of small mountains that you could conquer.   Michael Hingson ** 04:17 So in the winter, does that mean you got to do some fun things, like sledding in the snow. Yeah, yeah.   Rachelle Stone ** 04:24 We had a great hill in the back of our yard, so I learned to ski in my own backyard, and we had three acres of woods, so we would go snowshoeing. We were also close to a private school called Northfield Mount Hermon, which had beautiful, beautiful grounds, and in the winter, we would go cross country skiing there. So again, year round, we were, we were outdoors a lot.   Michael Hingson ** 04:52 Well, my time in Massachusetts was three years living in Winthrop so I was basically East Boston. Yeah. Yes and and very much enjoyed it. Loved the environment. I've been all over Massachusetts in one way or another, so I'm familiar with where you were. I am, and I will admit, although the winters were were cold, that wasn't as much a bother as it was when the snow turned to ice or started to melt, and then that night it froze. That got to be pretty slippery,   05:25 very dangerous, very dangerous.   Michael Hingson ** 05:29 I then experienced it again later, when we lived in New Jersey and and I actually our house to take the dogs out. We had no fenced yards, so I had to take them out on leash, and I would go down to our basement and go out and walk out basement onto a small deck or patio, actually, and then I had to go down a hill to take the dogs where they could go do their business. And I remember the last year we were in New Jersey, it snowed in May, and the snow started to melt the next day, and then that night, it froze, and it and it stayed that way for like about a day and a half. And so it was as slick as glass is. Glass could be. So eventually I couldn't I could go down a hill, it was very dangerous, but going back up a hill to come back in the house was not safe. So eventually, I just used a very long flex leash that was like 20 feet long, and I sent the dogs down the hill. I stayed at the top.   Rachelle Stone ** 06:33 Was smart, wow. And they didn't mind. They just wanted to go do their business, and they wanted to get back in the house too. It's cold, yeah?   Michael Hingson ** 06:41 They didn't seem to be always in an incredible hurry to come back into the house. But they had no problem coming up the hill. That's the the advantage of having claws,   Rachelle Stone ** 06:51 yes. Pause, yeah, four of them to boot, right? Yeah, which   Michael Hingson ** 06:54 really helped a great deal. But, you know, I remember it. I love it. I loved it. Then now I live in in a place in California where we're on what's called the high desert, so it doesn't get as cold, and we get hardly any of the precipitation that even some of the surrounding areas do, from Los Angeles and Long Beach and so on to on the one side, up in the mountains where the Snow is for the ski resorts on the other so Los Angeles can have, or parts of La can have three or four inches of rain, and we might get a half inch.   Rachelle Stone ** 07:28 Wow. So it stays relatively dry. Do you? Do you ever have to deal like down here, we have something called black ice, which we get on the road when it rains after it hasn't rained in a long time? Do you get that there in California,   Michael Hingson ** 07:41 there are places, yeah, not here where I live, because it generally doesn't get cold enough. It can. It's already this well, in 2023 late 2023 we got down to 24 degrees one night, and it can get a little bit colder, but generally we're above freezing. So, no, we don't get the black ice here that other places around us can and do. Got it. Got it. So you had I obviously a fun, what you regard as a fun childhood.   Rachelle Stone ** 08:14 Yeah, I remember the first day I walked into I went to a community college, and I it was a very last minute, impulsive, spontaneous decision. Wow, that kind of plays into the rest of my life too. I make very quick decisions, and I decided I wanted to go to college, and it was open enrollment. I went down to the school, and they asked me, What do you want to study? I'm like, I don't know. I just know I want to have fun. So they said, you might want to explore Recreation and Leisure Services. So that's what I wound up going to school for. And I like to say I have a degree in fun and games.   Michael Hingson ** 08:47 There you go. Yeah. Did you go beyond community college or community college enough?   Rachelle Stone ** 08:53 Yeah, that was so I transferred. It took me four years to get a two year degree. And the reason was, I was working full time, I moved out. I just at 17, I wanted to be on my own, and just moved into an apartment with three other people and went to college and worked. It was a fabulous way to live. It was wonderful. But then when I transferred to the University, I felt like I was a bit bored, because I think the other students were, I was dealing with a lot of students coming in for the first time, where I had already been in school for four years, in college for four years, so the experience wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted the education. And I saw a poster, and it was Mickey Mouse on the poster, and it was Walt Disney World College program now accepting applications. So I wrote down the phone number, email, whatever it was, and and I applied. I got an interview again. Remember Michael? I was really bored. I was going to school. It was my first semester in my four year program, and I just anyway. I got a call back and. And I was accepted into the Disney College Program. So, um, they at that time, they only took about 800 students a year. So it was back in 1989 long time ago. And I was thrilled. I left Massachusetts on january 31 1989 in the blizzard of 89 Yeah, and I drove down to Orlando, Florida, and I never left. I'm still here in Florida. That was the beginning of my entire career. Was applying for the Disney College Program.   Michael Hingson ** 10:36 So what was that like, being there at the Disney College, pro nominal, phenomenal. I have to ask one thing, did you have to go through some sort of operation to get rid of your Massachusetts accent? Does   Rachelle Stone ** 10:50 it sound like it worked? No, I didn't have well, it was funny, because I was hoping I would be cast as Minnie Mouse. I'm four foot 10. I have learned that to be Mini or Mickey Mouse, you have to be four, eight or shorter. So I missed many by two inches. My second choice was being a lifeguard, and I wound up what I they offered me was Epcot parking lot, and I loved it, believe it or not, helping to park cars at Epcot Center. I still remember my spiel to the letter that I used to give because there was a live person on the back of the tram speaking and then another one at the front of the tram driving it to get you from the parking lot to the front entrance of the gate. But the whole experience was amazing. It was I attended classes, I earned my Master's degree. I picked up a second and third job because I wanted to get into hotels, and so I worked one day a week at the Disney Inn, which is now their military resorts. And then I took that third job, was as a contractor for a recreation management company. So I was working in the field that I had my associates in. I was working at a hotel one day a week, just because I wanted to learn about hotels. I thought that was the industry I wanted to go into. And I was I was driving the tram and spieling on the back of the tram five days a week. I loved it was phenomenal.   Michael Hingson ** 12:20 I have a friend who is blind who just retired from, I don't know, 20 or 25 years at Disneyland, working a lot in the reservation centers and and so on. And speaks very highly of, of course, all the experiences of being involved with Disney.   Rachelle Stone ** 12:38 Yeah, it's really, I'm It was a wonderful experience. I think it gave me a great foundation for the work in hospitality that I did following. It was a great i i think it made me a better leader, better hospitality person for it well,   Michael Hingson ** 12:57 and there is an art to doing it. It isn't just something where you can arbitrarily decide, I'm going to be a successful and great hospitality person, and then do it if you don't learn how to relate to people, if you don't learn how to talk to people, and if you're not having fun doing it   Rachelle Stone ** 13:14 exactly. Yes, Fun. Fun is everything. It's   Michael Hingson ** 13:18 sort of like this podcast I love to tell people now that the only hard and fast rule about the podcast is we both have to have fun, or it's not worth doing.   Rachelle Stone ** 13:25 That's right. I'm right there with you. Gotta Have fun,   Michael Hingson ** 13:30 yeah? Well, so you So, how long were you with Disney? What made you switched? Oh, so   Rachelle Stone ** 13:36 Disney College Program. It was, at that time, it was called the Magic Kingdom college program, MK, CP, and it's grown quite significantly. I think they have five or 7000 students from around the world now, but at that time it was just a one semester program. I think for international students, it's a one year program. So when my three and a half months were up. My semester, I could either go back. I was supposed to go back to school back in Massachusetts, but the recreation management company I was working for offered me a full time position, so I wound up staying. I stayed in Orlando for almost three and a half years, and ultimately I wound up moving to South Florida and getting a role, a new role, with a different sort of company called a destination management company. And that was that was really the onset destination management was my career for 27 years. 26   Michael Hingson ** 14:38 years. So what is a destination management company. So   Rachelle Stone ** 14:41 a destination management company is, they are the company that receives a group into a destination, meetings, conventions, events. So for instance, let's say, let's say Fathom note taker. Wants to have an in person meeting, and they're going to hold it at the Lowe's Miami Beach, and they're bringing in 400 of their top clients, and and and sales people and operations people. They need someone on the receiving end to pick everybody up at the airport, to put together the theme parties, provide the private tours and excursions. Do the exciting restaurant, Dine Around the entertainment, the amenities. So I did all the fun. And again, sticking with the fun theme here, yeah, I did all of the auxiliary meeting fun add ons in the destination that what you would do. And I would say I did about 175 to 225, meetings a year.   Michael Hingson ** 15:44 So you didn't actually book the meetings, or go out and solicit to book the meetings. You were the person who took over. Once a meeting was arranged,   Rachelle Stone ** 15:53 once a meeting was booked in the destination, right? If they needed a company like mine, then it would be then I would work with them. If I would be the company. There were several companies I did what I do, especially in Miami, because Miami was a top tier destination, so a client may book the lows Miami Beach and then reach out to two to three different DMCs to learn how can they partner with them to make the meeting the most successful. So it was always a competitive situation. And it was always, you know, needing to do our best and give our best and be creative and out of the box. And, yeah, it was, it was an exciting industry. So what makes   Michael Hingson ** 16:41 the best destination management company, or what makes you very successful? Why would people view you as successful at at what you do, and why they would want to choose you to be the company to work with? Because obviously, as you said, it's competitive.   Rachelle Stone ** 16:59 Everybody well, and there's choice. Everybody has choice. I always believed there was enough business to go around for everybody. Very good friends with some of my my hardiest competitors. Interestingly, you know, although we're competing, it's a very friendly industry. We all network together. We all dance in the same network. You know, if we're going to an industry network, we're all together. What? Why would somebody choose me over somebody else? Was really always a decision. It was sometimes it was creativity. Sometimes it was just a feeling for them. They felt the relationship just felt more authentic. Other times it was they they just really needed a cut and dry service. It just every client was always different. There were never two programs the same. I might have somebody just wanting to book a flamenco guitarist for three hours, and that's all they need. And another group may need. The transportation, the tours, the entertainment, the theme parties, the amenities, the whole ball of Fox, every group was different, which is, I think, what made it so exciting, it's that relationship building, I think, more than anything. Because these companies are doing meetings all over the country, sometimes some of them all over the world. So relationships were really, really important to them to be able to go into a destination and say to their partner in that destination, hey, I'm going to be there next May. This is what I need. Are you available? Can you help? So I think on the initial front end, it is, when it's a competitive bid, you're starting from scratch to build a relationship. Once that's relationship is established, it is easier to build on that relationship when things go wrong. Let's talk about what worked, what didn't, and how we can do better next time, instead of throwing the entire relationship out with the bathwater and starting from scratch again. So it was a great industry. I loved it, and   Michael Hingson ** 19:00 obviously you must have been pretty successful at it.   Rachelle Stone ** 19:04 I was, I was lucky. Well, luck and skill, I have to give myself credit there too. I worked for other DMCs. I worked for event companies that wanted to expand into the DMC industry. And I helped, I helped them build that corporate division, or that DMC division. I owned my own agency for, I think, 14 years, still alive and thriving. And then I worked for angel investors, helping them flip and underperforming. It was actually a franchise. It was an office franchise of a global DMC at the time. So I've had success in different areas of Destination Management, and I was lucky in that I believe in accreditation and certification. That's important to me. Credibility matters. And so I. Involved in the association called the association of Destination Management executives international admei I know it's a mouthful, but I wound up serving on their board of directors and their certification and accreditation board for 14 years, throughout my career, and on the cab their certification accreditation board, my company was one of the first companies in the country to become a certified company, admc certified. I was so proud of that, and I had all of my staff. I paid for all of them to earn their certification, which was a destination management Certified Professional. That's the designation. I loved, that we could be a part of it. And I helped write a course, a university level course, and it was only nine weeks, so half a semester in teaching students what destination management is that took me three years. It was a passion project with a couple of other board members on the cab that we put together, and really glad to be a part of that and contributing to writing the book best practices in destination management, first and second edition. So I feel lucky that I was in this field at a time where it was really growing deeper roots. It had been transport the industry. When I went into it was maybe 20 years young, and when I left it, it been around for 40 plus years. So it's kind of exciting. So you so you   Michael Hingson ** 21:41 said that you started a company and you were with it for 4014 years, or you ran it for 14 years, and you said, it's still around. Are you involved with it at all? Now, I   Rachelle Stone ** 21:51 am not. I did a buyout with the I had two partners at the time. And without going into too much detail, there were some things going on that I felt were I could not align with. I felt it was unethical. I felt it was immoral, and I struggled for a year to make the decision. I spoke to a therapist, and I ultimately consulted an attorney, and I did a buyout, and I walked away from my this was my legacy. This was my baby. I built it from scratch. I was the face of the company. So to give that up my legacy, it was a really tough decision, but it really did come full circle, because late last year, something happened which brought me back to that decision, and I can, with 100% certainty, say it was a values driven decision for me, and I'm so happy I made that decision. So I am today. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 22:57 and, and let's, let's get to that a little bit so you at some point, you said that you had burnout and you left the industry. Why did you do that?   Rachelle Stone ** 23:08 So after I did, sold my my business, I worked for angel investors for about three and a half years. They brought me in. This was an underperforming office that the franchisee, because they had owned it for 10 years, had done a buyout themselves and sold it back to the angel investors or the private equity so they brought me in to run the office and bring it from surviving to thriving again. And it took me about 18 months, and I brought it from under a million to over 5.3 million in 18 months. So it's quite successful. And I had said to the owners, as they're thanking me and rewarding me, and it was a great first two years, I had said to them, please don't expect this again. This was a fluke. People were following me. There was a lot of curiosity in the industry, because this was a really big move for me to sell my company and then go work for this one. It was big news. So it was a great time. But the expectation for me to repeat, rinse and repeat, that kind of productivity was not realistic. It just wasn't realistic. And about a year and a half later, I just, I was driving from the Lowe's Miami Beach. It's funny, because I used that as an example before, to the breakers in Palm Beach. And if you know South Florida at all, it's, it's, you're taking your life in your hands every time you get on 95 it's a nightmare. Anyway, so I'm driving from the lows to the breakers, and I just left a kind of a rough meeting. I don't even remember what it was anymore, because that was back in 2014 and I'm driving to another meeting at the breakers, and I hang up the phone with somebody my. Son calls about something, Mom, this is going on for graduation. Can you be there? And I'm realizing I'm going to be out of town yet again for work, and I'm driving to the breakers, and I'm having this I just had this vision of myself in the middle of 95 slamming the brakes on in my car, coming to a full stop in the middle of the highway. I did not do this this, and I don't recommend you do this. And I opened up my car door, and I literally just walked away from my car. That was the image in my mind. And in that moment, I knew it was time for me to leave. I had gone as high as I could go. I'd done as much as I could do. I'd served on boards, contributed to books, spoken on panels. I wanted to go back to being an entrepreneur. I didn't want to work for angel investors anymore. I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to build something new, and I didn't want to do it in the DMC world. So I went home that night thinking I was going to just resign. Instead, I wrote a letter of retirement, and I retired from the industry, I walked away two and a half weeks later, and I said I was never going to return.   Michael Hingson ** 26:09 And so I burnt out, though at the time, what? What eventually made you realize that it was all burnt out, or a lot of it was burnt out. So I   Rachelle Stone ** 26:17 didn't know anything about burnout at that time. I just knew I was incredibly frustrated. I was bored. I was over in competence, and I just wanted out. Was just done. I had done well enough in my industry that I could take a little time. I had a lot of people asking me to take on consulting projects. So I did. I started doing some consulting in hospitality. And while I was doing that, I was kind of peeling away the layers of the onion, saying, What do I want to do next? I did not want to do DMC. That's all I knew. So I started this exploration, and what came out of it was an interest in exploring the field of coaching. So I did some research. I went to the coachingfederation.org which is the ICF International coaching Federation, is the leading accreditation body for coaches in the world. And through them, I researched Who were some of the accredited schools. I narrowed it down. I finally settled on one, and I said, I'm going to sign up for one course. I just want to see what this coaching is all about. So I signed up for a foundations course with the with the school out of Pennsylvania, and probably about three weeks into the course, the professor said something which was like a light bulb moment for me, and that I realized like, oh my   Speaker 1 ** 27:40 god, I burnt out. And I was literally, at this   Rachelle Stone ** 27:46 time, we're in school, we're on the phone. It was not zoom. We didn't have all this yet. It was you were on the phone, and then you were pulling up documents on your computer so the teacher couldn't see me crying. I was just sobbing, knowing that this is i i was so I was I was stunned. I didn't say anything. I sat on this for a while. In fact, I sat on it. I started researching it, but I didn't tell anybody for two years. It took me two years before I finally admitted to somebody that I had burnt out. I was so ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated, I was this successful, high over achiever. How could I have possibly burnt out?   Michael Hingson ** 28:34 What? What did the teacher say   Rachelle Stone ** 28:37 it was? I don't even remember what it was, but I remember that shock of realization of wellness, of it was, you know what it was that question, is this all? There is a lot of times when we were they were talking about, I believe, what they were talking about, midlife crisis and what really brings them on. And it is that pivotal question, is this really all there is, is this what I'm meant to be doing? And then in their conversation, I don't even remember the full conversation, it was that recognition of that's what's happened to me. And as I started researching it, this isn't now. This is in 2015 as I'm researching it and learning there's not a lot on it. I mean, there's some, mostly people's experiences that are being shared. Then in 2019 the World Health Organization officially, officially recognizes burnout as a phenomenon, an occupational phenomenon.   Michael Hingson ** 29:38 And how would you define burnout? Burnout is,   Rachelle Stone ** 29:43 is generally defined in three areas. It is. It's the the, oh, I always struggle with it. It's that disconnect, the disconnect, or disassociation from. Um, wanting to succeed, from your commitment to the work. It is the knowing, the belief that no one can do it well or right. It is there. There's that. It's an emotional disconnect from from from caring about what you're doing and how you're showing up, and it shows up in your personal life too, which is the horrible thing, because it your it impacts your family so negatively, it's horrible.   Michael Hingson ** 30:39 And it it, it does take a toll. And it takes, did it take any kind of a physical toll on you?   Rachelle Stone ** 30:45 Well, what I didn't realize when I when I took this time, I was about 25 pounds overweight. I was on about 18 different medications, including all my vitamins. I was taking a lot of vitamins at that time too. Um, I chronic sciatica, insomnia. I was self medicating. I was also going out, eating rich dinners and drinking, um, because you're because of the work I was doing. I had to entertain. That was part of that was part of of my job. So as I was looking at myself, Yes, physically, it turns out that this weight gain, the insomnia, the self medication, are also taught signs of of risk of burnout. It's how we manage our stress, and that's really what it comes down to, that we didn't even know. We don't even know. People don't no one teaches us how to process our stress, and that that's really probably one of the biggest things that I've through, everything that I've studied, and then the pandemic hitting it. No one teaches us how to manage our stress. No one tells us that if we process stress, then the tough stuff isn't as hard anymore. It's more manageable. No one teaches us about how to shift our mindsets so we can look at changing our perspective at things, or only seeing things through our lizard brain instead of our curious brain. These are all things that I had no idea were keeping me I didn't know how to do, and that were part of contributing to my burnout. Right?   Michael Hingson ** 32:43 Is stress more self created, or is it? Is it an actual thing? In other words, when, when there is stress in the world? Is it something that, really, you create out of a fear or cause to happen in some way, and in reality, there are ways to not necessarily be stressful, and maybe that's what you're talking about, as far as learning to control it and process it, well,   Rachelle Stone ** 33:09 there's actually there's stresses. Stressors are external. Stress is internal. So a stressor could be the nagging boss. It could be your kid has a fever and you're going to be late for work, or you're going to miss a meeting because you have to take them to the doctor. That's an external stressor, right? So that external stressor goes away, you know, the traffic breaks up, or your your husband takes the kid to the doctor so you can get to your meeting. Whatever that external stress, or is gone, you still have to deal with the stress that's in your body. Your that stress, that stress builds up. It's it's cortisol, and that's what starts with the physical impact. So those physical symptoms that I was telling you about, that I had, that I didn't know, were part of my burnout. It was unprocessed stress. Now at that time, I couldn't even touch my toes. I wasn't doing any sort of exercise for my body. I wasn't and that is one of the best ways you can process stress. Stress actually has to cycle out of your body. No one tells us that. No one teaches us that. So how do you learn how to do that?   Michael Hingson ** 34:21 Well, of course, that's Go ahead. Go ahead. Well, I was gonna   Rachelle Stone ** 34:24 say it's learning. It's being willing to look internally, what's going on in your body. How are you really getting in touch with your emotions and feelings and and processing them well?   Michael Hingson ** 34:37 And you talk about stressors being external, but you have control. You may not have control directly over the stressor happening, but don't you have control over how you decide to deal with the external stress? Creator,   Rachelle Stone ** 34:55 yes, and that external stress will always. Go away. The deadline will come and go. The sun will still rise tomorrow in set tomorrow night. Stressors always go away, but they're also constantly there. So you've got, for instance, the nagging boss is always going to bring you stress. It's how you process the stress inside. You can choose to ignore the stressor, but then you're setting yourself up for maybe not following through on your job, or doing   Michael Hingson ** 35:29 right. And I wouldn't suggest ignoring the stressor, but you it's processing that   Rachelle Stone ** 35:34 stress in your body. It's not so let's say, at the end of the rough day, the stressors gone. You still, whether you choose to go for a walk or you choose to go home and say, Honey, I just need a really like I need a 62nd full on contact, bear hug from you, because I'm holding a lot of stress in my body right now, and I've got to let it out So that physical contact will move stress through your body. This isn't this is they that? You can see this in MRI studies. You see the decrease in the stress. Neuroscience now shows this to be true. You've got to move it through your body. Now before I wanted to kind of give you the formal definition of burnout, it is, it is they call it a occupational phenomenal, okay, it by that they're not calling it a disease. It is not classified as a disease, but it is noted in the International Classification of Diseases, and it has a code now it is they do tie it directly to chronic workplace stress, and this is where I have a problem with the World Health Organization, because when they added this to the International Classification of diseases in 2019 they didn't have COVID. 19 hybrid or work from home environments in mind, and it is totally changed. Stress and burnout are following people around. It's very difficult for them to escape. So besides that, that disconnect that I was talking about, it's really complete exhaustion, depletion of your energy just drained from all of the stressors. And again, it's that reduced efficiency in your work that you're producing because you don't care as much. It's that disconnect so and then the physical symptoms do build up. And burnout isn't like this. It's not an overnight thing. It's a build up, just like gaining 25 pounds, just like getting sick enough that I need a little bit more medication for different issues, that stuff builds up on you and when you when you're recovering from burnout, you didn't get there overnight. You're not going to get out of it overnight either. It's I worked with a personal trainer until I could touch my toes, and then she's pushed me out to go join a gym. But again, it's step by step, and learning to eat healthy, and then ultimately, the third piece that really changed the game for me was learning about the muscles in my brain and getting mentally fit. That was really the third leg of getting my health back.   Michael Hingson ** 38:33 So how does all of that help you deal with stress and the potential of burnout today? Yeah,   Rachelle Stone ** 38:43 more than anything, I know how to prevent it. That is my, my the number one thing I know when I'm sensing a stressor that is impacting me, I can quickly get rid of it. Now, for instance, I'll give you a good example. I was on my the board of directors for my Homeowners Association, and that's always   Michael Hingson ** 39:03 stressful. I've been there, right? Well, I   Rachelle Stone ** 39:06 was up for an hour and a half one night ruminating, and I I realized, because I coach a lot of people around burnout and symptoms, so when I was ruminating, I recognized, oh my gosh, that HOA does not deserve that much oxygen in my brain. And what did I do the next day? I resigned. Resigned, yeah, so removing the stressors so I can process the stress. I process my stress. I always make sure I schedule a beach walk for low tide. I will block my calendar for that so I can make sure I'm there, because that fills my tank. That's self care for me. I make sure I'm exercising, I'm eating good food. I actually worked with a health coach last year because I felt like my eating was getting a little off kilter again. So I just hired a coach for a few months to help me get back on track. Of getting support where I need it. That support circle is really important to maintain and process your stress and prevent burnout.   Michael Hingson ** 40:10 So we've talked a lot about stress and dealing with it and so on. And like to get back to the idea of you went, you explored working with the international coaching Federation, and you went to a school. So what did you then do? What really made you attracted to the idea of coaching, and what do you get out of it?   Rachelle Stone ** 40:35 Oh, great question. Thanks for that. So for me, once I I was in this foundations course, I recognized or realized what had happened to me. I i again, kept my mouth shut, and I just continued with the course. By the end of the course, I really, really enjoyed it, and I saw I decided I wanted to continue on to become a coach. So I just continued in my training. By the end of 2015 early 2016 I was a coach. I went and joined the international coaching Federation, and they offer accreditation. So I wanted to get accredited, because, as I said, from my first industry, a big proponent for credit accreditation. I think it's very important, especially in an unregulated industry like coaching. So we're not bound by HIPAA laws. We are not doctors, we are coaches. It's very different lane, and we do self regulate. So getting accredited is important to me. And I thought my ACC, which my associate a certified coach in 2016 when I moved to the area I'm living in now, in 2017 and I joined the local chapter here, I just continued on. I continued with education. I knew my lane is, is, is burnout. I started to own it. I started to bring it forward a little bit and talk about my experiences with with other coaches and clients to help them through the years and and it felt natural. So with the ICF, I wanted to make sure I stayed in a path that would allow me to hang my shingle proudly, and everything I did in the destination management world I'm now doing in the coaching world. I wound up on the board of directors for our local chapter as a programming director, which was so perfect for me because I'm coming from meetings and events, so as a perfect person to do their programming, and now I am their chapter liaison, and I am President Elect, so I'm taking the same sort of leadership I had in destination management and wrapping my arms around it in the coaching industry,   Michael Hingson ** 42:56 you talk about People honing their leadership skills to help prepare them for a career move or their next career. It isn't always that way, though, right? It isn't always necessarily that they're going to be going to a different career. Yep,   Rachelle Stone ** 43:11 correct. Yeah. I mean, not everybody's looking for trans transition. Some people are looking for that to break through the glass ceiling. I have other clients that are just wanting to maybe move laterally. Others are just trying to figure it out every client is different. While I specialize in hospitality and burnout, I probably have more clients in the leadership lane, Senior VP level, that are trying to figure out their next step, if they want to go higher, or if they're content where they are, and a lot of that comes from that ability to find the right balance for you in between your career and your personal life. I think there comes a point when we're in our younger careers, we are fully identified by what we do. I don't think that's true for upcoming generations, but for our generation, and maybe Jen, maybe some millennials, very identified by what they do, there comes a point in your career, and I'm going to say somewhere between 35 and 50, where you recognize that those two Things need to be separate,   Michael Hingson ** 44:20 and the two things being   Rachelle Stone ** 44:23 your identity, who you are from what you do, got it two different things. And a lot of leaders on their journey get so wrapped up in what they do, they lose who they are.   Michael Hingson ** 44:39 What really makes a good leader,   Rachelle Stone ** 44:42 authenticity. I'm a big proponent of heart based leadership. Brene Brown, I'm Brene Brown trained. I am not a facilitator, but I love her work, and I introduce all my clients to it, especially my newer leaders. I think it's that. Authenticity that you know the command and control leadership no longer works. And I can tell you, I do work with some leaders that are trying to improve their human skills, and by that I mean their emotional intelligence, their social skills, their ability to interact on a human level with others, because when they have that high command and control directive type of leadership, they're not connecting with their people. And we now have five generations in the workforce that all need to be interacted with differently. So command and control is a tough kind of leadership style that I actually unless they're willing to unless they're open to exploring other ways of leading, I won't work with them. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 45:44 and the reality is, I'm not sure command and control as such ever really worked. Yeah, maybe you control people. But did it really get you and the other person and the company? What what you needed.   Rachelle Stone ** 46:01 Generally, that's what we now call a toxic environment. Yes, yes. But that, you know, this has been, we've been on a path of, you know, this work ethic was supposed to, was supposed to become a leisure ethic in the 70s, you know, we went to 40 hour work weeks. Where are we now? We're back up to 6070, hour work week. Yeah, we're trying to lower the age that so kids can start working this is not a leisure ethic that we were headed towards. And now with AI, okay, let's change this conversation. Yeah, toxic environments are not going to work. Moving forward that command and control leadership. There's not a lot of it left, but there's, it's lingering, and some of the old guard, you know, there it's, it's slowly changing.   Michael Hingson ** 46:49 It is, I think, high time that we learn a lot more about the whole concept of teamwork and true, real team building. And there's a lot to be said for there's no I in team, that's right, and it's an extremely important thing to learn. And I think there are way to, still, way too many people who don't recognize that, but it is something that I agree with you. Over time, it's it's starting to evolve to a different world, and the pandemic actually was one, and is one of the things that helps it, because we introduced the hybrid environment, for example, and people are starting to realize that they can still get things done, and they don't necessarily have to do it the way they did before, and they're better off for it.   Rachelle Stone ** 47:38 That's right. Innovation is beautiful. I actually, I mean, as horrible as the pandemic was it, there was a lot of good that came out of it, to your point. And it's interesting, because I've watched this in coaching people. I remember early in the pandemic, I had a new client, and they came to the they came to their first call on Zoom, really slumped down in the chair like I could barely see their nose and up and, you know, as we're kind of talking, getting to know each other. One of the things they said to me, because they were working from home, they were working like 1011, hours a day. Had two kids, a husband, and they also had yet they're, they're, they're like, I one of the things they said to me, which blew my mind, was, I don't have time to put on a load of laundry. They're working from home. Yeah? It's that mindset that you own my time because you're paying me, yeah, versus I'm productive and I'm doing good work for you. Is why you're paying for paying me? Yeah? So it's that perception and trying to shift one person at a time, shifting that perspective   Michael Hingson ** 48:54 you talked before about you're a coach, you're not a doctor, which I absolutely appreciate and understand and in studying coaching and so on, one of the things that I read a great deal about is the whole concept of coaches are not therapists. A therapist provides a decision or a position or a decision, and they are more the one that provides a lot of the answers, because they have the expertise. And a coach is a guide who, if they're doing their job right, leads you to you figuring out the answer. That's   Rachelle Stone ** 49:34 a great way to put it, and it's pretty clear. That's, that's, that's pretty, pretty close the I like to say therapy is a doctor patient relationship. It's hierarchy so and the doctor is diagnosing, it's about repair and recovery, and it's rooted in the past, diagnosing, prescribing, and then the patient following orders and recovering. Hmm, in coaching, it's a peer to peer relationship. So it's, we're co creators, and we're equal. And it's, it's based on future goals only. It's only based on behavior change and future goals. So when I have clients and they dabble backwards, I will that's crossing the line. I can't support you there. I will refer clients to therapy. And actually, what I'm doing right now, I'm taking a mental health literacy course through Harvard Medical Center and McLean University. And the reason I'm doing this is because so many of my clients, I would say 80% of my clients are also in therapy, and it's very common. We have a lot of mental health issues in the world right now as a result of the pandemic, and we have a lot of awareness coming forward. So I want to make sure I'm doing the best for my clients in recognizing when they're at need or at risk and being able to properly refer them.   Michael Hingson ** 51:04 Do you think, though, that even in a doctor patient relationship, that more doctors are recognizing that they accomplish more when they create more of a teaming environment? Yes,   51:18 oh, I'm so glad you   Rachelle Stone ** 51:20 brought that up, okay, go ahead. Go ahead. Love that. I have clients who are in therapy, and I ask them to ask their therapist so that if they're comfortable with this trio. And it works beautifully. Yes,   Michael Hingson ** 51:36 it is. It just seems to me that, again, there's so much more to be said for the whole concept of teaming and teamwork, and patients do better when doctors or therapists and so on explain and bring them into the process, which almost makes them not a coach as you are, but an adjunct to what you do, which is what I think it's all about. Or are we the adjunct to what they do? Or use the adjunct to what they do? Yeah, it's a team, which is what it should be.   52:11 Yeah, it's, I always it's like the Oreo cookie, right?   Michael Hingson ** 52:16 Yeah, and the frosting is in the middle, yeah, crying   Rachelle Stone ** 52:19 in the middle. But it's true, like a therapist can work both in the past and in the future, but that partnership and that team mentality and supporting a client, it helps them move faster and further in their in their desired goals. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 it's beautiful, yeah, yeah. And I think it's extremely important, tell me about this whole idea of mental fitness. I know you're studying that. Tell me more about that. Is it real? Is it okay? Or what? You know, a lot of people talk about it and they say it's who cares. They all roll   Rachelle Stone ** 52:56 their eyes mental fitness. What are you talking about? Yeah, um, I like to say mental fitness is the third leg of our is what keeps us healthy. I like to look at humans as a three legged stool, and that mental fitness, that mental wellness, is that third piece. So you have your spiritual and community wellness, you have your physical wellness, and then you have your mental wellness. And that mental wellness encompasses your mental health, your mental fitness. Now, mental fitness, by definition, is your ability to respond to life's challenges from a positive rather than a negative mindset. And there's a new science out there called positive it was actually not a new science. It's based on four sciences, Positive Intelligence, it's a cognitive behavioral science, or psychology, positive psychology, performance psychology, and drawing a bank anyway, four sciences and this body of work determined that there's actually a tipping point we live in our amygdala, mostly, and there's a reason, when we were cavemen, we needed to know what was coming that outside stressor was going to eat us, or if we could eat it. Yeah, but we have language now. We don't need that, not as much as we did, not in the same way, not in the same way, exactly. We do need to be aware of threats, but not every piece of information that comes into the brain. When that information comes in our brains, amplify it by a factor of three to one. So with that amplification, it makes that little, little tiny Ember into a burning, raging fire in our brain. And then we get stuck in stress. So it's recognizing, and there's actually you are building. If you do yoga, meditation, tai chi, gratitude journaling, any sort of those practices, you're flexing that muscle. You talk to somebody who does gratitude journaling who just started a month in, they're going to tell. You, they're happier. They're going to tell you they're not having as many ruminating thoughts, and they're going to say, I'm I'm smiling more. I started a new journal this year, and I said, I'm singing more. I'm singing songs that I haven't thought of in years. Yeah, out of the blue, popping into my head. Yeah. And I'm happier. So the the concept of mental fitness is really practicing flexing this muscle every day. We take care of our bodies by eating good food, we exercise or walk. We do that to take care of our physical body. We do nothing to take care of our brain other than scroll social media and get anxiety because everybody's life looks so perfect,   Michael Hingson ** 55:38 yeah, and all we're doing is using social media as a stressor.   Rachelle Stone ** 55:42 That's right, I'm actually not on social media on LinkedIn. That's it.   Michael Hingson ** 55:48 I have accounts, but I don't go to it exactly. My excuse is it takes way too long with a screen reader, and I don't have the time to do it. I don't mind posting occasionally, but I just don't see the need to be on social media for hours every day.   Rachelle Stone ** 56:05 No, no, I do, like, like a lot of businesses, especially local small businesses, are they advertise. They only have they don't have websites. They're only on Facebook. So I do need to go to social media for things like that. But the most part, no, I'm not there. Not at all. It's   Michael Hingson ** 56:20 it's way too much work. I am amazed sometimes when I'll post something, and I'm amazed at how quickly sometimes people respond. And I'm wondering to myself, how do you have the time to just be there to see this? It can't all be coincidence. You've got to be constantly on active social media to see it. Yeah,   Rachelle Stone ** 56:39 yeah, yeah. Which is and this, this whole concept of mental fitness is really about building a practice, a habit. It's a new habit, just like going to the gym, and it's so important for all of us. We are our behaviors are based on how we interpret these messages as they come in, yeah, so learning to reframe or recognize the message and give a different answer is imperative in order to have better communication, to be more productive and and less chaos. How   Michael Hingson ** 57:12 do we teach people to recognize that they have a whole lot more control over fear than they think they do, and that that really fear can be a very positive guide in our lives. And I say that because I talked about not being afraid of escaping from the World Trade Center over a 22 year period, what I realized I never did was to teach people how to do that. And so now I wrote a book that will be out later in the year. It's called Live like a guide dog, stories of from a blind man and his dogs, about being brave, overcoming adversity and walking in faith. And the point of it is to say that you can control your fear. I'm not saying don't be afraid, but you have control over how you let that fear affect you and what you deal with and how you deal it's all choice. It is all choice. But how do we teach people to to deal with that better, rather than just letting fear build up   Rachelle Stone ** 58:12 it? Michael, I think these conversations are so important. Number one is that learner's mind, that willingness, that openness to be interested in finding a better way to live. I always say that's a really hard way to live when you're living in fear. Yeah, so step number one is an openness, or a willingness or a curiosity about wanting to live life better,   Michael Hingson ** 58:40 and we have to instill that in people and get them to realize that they all that we all have the ability to be more curious if we choose to do it.   Rachelle Stone ** 58:49 But again, choice and that, that's the big thing so many and then there's also, you know, Michael, I can't wait to read your book. I'm looking forward to this. I'm also know that you speak. I can't wait to see you speak. The thing is, when we speak or write and share this information, we give them insight. It's what they do with it that matters, which is why, when I with the whole with the mental fitness training that I do, it's seven weeks, yeah, I want them to start to build that habit, and I give them three extra months so they can continue to work on that habit, because it's that important for them to start. It's foundational your spirit. When you talk about your experience in the World Trade Center, and you say you weren't fearful, your spiritual practice is such a big part of that, and that's part of mental fitness too. That's on that layers on top of your ability to flex those mental muscles and lean into your spirituality and not be afraid.   Michael Hingson ** 59:55 Well, I'd love to come down and speak. If you know anybody that needs a speaker down there. I. I'm always looking for speaking opportunities, so love your help, and   1:00:03 my ears open for sure and live like   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:06 a guide dog. Will be out later this year. It's, it's, I've already gotten a couple of Google Alerts. The the publisher has been putting out some things, which is great. So we're really excited about it.   Rachelle Stone ** 1:00:16 Wonderful. I can't wait to see it. So what's   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:19 up for you in 2024   Rachelle Stone ** 1:00:22 so I actually have a couple of things coming up this year that are pretty big. I have a partner. Her name's vimari Roman. She's down in Miami, and I'm up here in the Dunedin Clearwater area. But we're both hospitality professionals that went into coaching, and we're both professional certified coaches, and we're both certified mental fitness coaches. When the pandemic hit, she's also a Career Strategist. She went she started coaching at conferences because the hospitality industry was hit so hard, she reached out to me and brought me in too. So in 2024 we've been coaching at so many conferences, we can't do it. We can't do it. It's just too much, but we also know that we can provide a great service. So we've started a new company. It's called coaches for conferences, and it's going to be like a I'll call it a clearing house for securing pro bono coaches for your conferences. So that means, let's say you're having a conference in in LA and they'd like to offer coaching, pro bono coaching to their attendees as an added value. I'll we'll make the arrangements for the coaches, local in your area to to come coach. You just have to provide them with a room and food and beverage and a place to coach on your conference floor and a breakout. So we're excited for that that's getting ready to launch. And I think 2024 is going to be the year for me to dip my toe in start writing my own story. I think it's time   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:02 writing a book. You can say it. I'm gonna do it.   Rachelle Stone ** 1:02:05 I'm gonna write a book Good. I've said it out loud. I've started to pull together some thoughts around I mean, I've been thinking about it for years. But yeah, if the timing feels right,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:21 then it probably is, yep, which makes sense. Well, this has been fun. It's been wonderful. Can you believe we've already been at this for more than an hour? So clearly we   1:02:33 this went so fast. Clearly we   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:35 did have fun. We followed the rule, this was fun. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank you all for listening and for watching, if you're on YouTube watching, and all I can ask is that, wherever you are, please give us a five star rating for the podcast. We appreciate it. And anything that you want to say, we would love it. And I would appreciate you feeling free to email me and let me know your thoughts. You can reach me at Michael H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, would love to hear from you. You can also go to our podcast page, www, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and it's m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, O, N, and as I said to Rochelle just a minute ago, if any of you need a speaker, we'd love to talk with you about that. You can also email me at speaker@michaelhingson.com love to hear from you and love to talk about speaking. So however you you reach out and for whatever reason, love to hear from you, and for all of you and Rochelle, you, if you know anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, let us know we're always looking for people who want to come on the podcast. Doesn't cost anything other than your time and putting up with me for a while, but we appreciate it, and hope that you'll decide to to introduce us to other people. So with that, I again want to say, Rochelle, thank you to you. We really appreciate you being here and taking the time to chat with us today.   Rachelle Stone ** 1:04:13 It's been the fastest hour of my life. I'm gonna have to watch the replay. Thank you so much for having me. It's been my pleasure to join you.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:04:24 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

In this powerful episode, executive personal coach Adam Brutally shares his extraordinary story of survival, transformation, and discovering what truly matters in life.On September 11, 2001, Adam was working on the 61st floor of Tower Two at the World Trade Center. He vividly recounts the moment when the plane hit, the intense uncertainty, and his escape through the chaos of that tragic day.But Adam's story doesn't end there. After facing profound trauma, he struggled to find purpose and direction—until he discovered fitness, wellness, and the deeper meaning of true wealth. In this heartfelt conversation, Adam opens up about how 9/11 became an inflection point in his journey, inspiring him to redefine wealth beyond money, emphasizing the preciousness of time, relationships, and holistic wellness.Join us as we explore:Adam's firsthand experience inside the World Trade Center during 9/11His challenging road to recovery and finding a new directionThe four pillars of wellness: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritualWhy time is the ultimate currency—and how to invest it wiselyHow to align your health, wealth, and purpose for lasting fulfillmentThis conversation will move you, inspire you, and leave you reflecting on what truly matters in your own life.If you found value in Adam's story, hit that Like button, subscribe, and share this episode to inspire others!#SurvivorStories #TransformationJourney #HolisticWealth #911Survivor #LifeChangingMomentshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3DcTbrNfP22bsqc-FsxBaQwww.zerodoubtclub.comwww.zerodoubtkitchen.com@zerodoubtclub@zerodoubtkitchen@jeremytorchlife

Former Congressman Curt Weldon challenged the narrative about 9/11 on the Tucker Carlson Show recently, calling for a new historic Presidential Commission to investigate the destruction of the three World Trade Center towers. Richard Gage, founder of AE911Truth joins us with compelling details on what he believes really happened, and why much has been covered up. A must listen. RichardGage911.org

Vous aimez Les Fabuleux Destins, le podcast Bababam Originals qui vous plonge dans les destins les plus surprenants et incroyables ? Vous allez adorer nos autres créations originales ! Aujourd'hui, on vous invite à découvrir La Traque, le podcast true crime de Bababam. Bonne écoute ! Revivez l'une des plus grandes chasses à l'homme du 21e siècle, celle du terroriste Ben Laden. À la tête d'Al-Qaïda, l'une des plus grandes associations terroristes du début du 21e siècle, il a commandité les attentats des tours du World Trade Center qui marqueront pour toujours l'histoire de l'occident. Ennemi public numéro 1, sa traque restera l'une de celles qui marquera pour toujours l'histoire. Recherché par plusieurs forces armées pendant de nombreuses années et à travers le monde entier, revivez son incroyable traque.  Un podcast Bababam Originals Textes : Cyril Legrais  Voix : Anne Cosmao, Aurélien Gouas Montage : Mathew Roques En partenariat avec Upday.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April of 1975, Communists succeeded in overwhelming their enemies to take over Vietnam. The last major city to fall was Saigon. That event is one of those historic times many remember who lived through it as well as those of us who only experienced it through Television and newspapers. Our guest today, Miki Nguyen, was six and a half years old when he and his family escaped from Saigon on a Chinook Helicopter piloted by his father.   Miki willingly tells us his story and that of his family who all escaped and came to America. Miki tells us of his growing up in a new land and how he eventually was given the opportunity to bring his father's story to life. Miki's dad wanted to write a book about what happened in 1975 as well as describing his life. He passed ten years ago and was unable to publish his book. Last year, Miki found his father's writings and undertook to bring his father's story to life. The book is entitled “The Last Flight Out”.   As Miki tells us the story of his family's flight from Saigon he also provides pictorial representations of what happened. If you watch this episode on YouTube you will get to see those pictures.   Personally, I can relate to Miki's story as in so many ways it parallels my own experiences on September 11, 2001. I hope you like and learn much from this week's episode. Let me know your thoughts please.       About the Guest:   Miki Nguyen is a storyteller dedicated to preserving the legacy of his father, Lieutenant Colonel Ba Van Nguyen, a heroic figure whose daring escape from Saigon during the Fall of Vietnam in 1975 was immortalized in the 2015 Oscar-nominated documentary Last Days in Vietnam. As the son of a South Vietnamese Air Force officer, Miki's life has been shaped by his family's extraordinary journey from the chaos of war to rebuilding their lives in America. Today, he shares stories of courage, sacrifice, and resilience in his late father's memoir "The Last Flight Out" to commemorate 50 years since the Fall of Saigon. Born into a world of upheaval, Miki witnessed firsthand the harrowing final days of the Vietnam War as a child, fleeing Saigon with his family in a dramatic helicopter evacuation to the USS Kirk. His father's bravery under fire and unwavering commitment to saving loved ones left an indelible mark on Miki, inspiring him to compile and share his father's stories decades later. Through The Last Flight Out, Miki bridges the past and present, offering readers an intimate glimpse into the sacrifices of war, the challenges of resettlement, and the quiet strength of his mother, Nho Nguyen, who anchored the family through unimaginable adversity. As a speaker, Miki captivates audiences with a narrative that transcends history, weaving universal themes of resilience, cultural identity, and leadership into his talks. Whether addressing corporate teams, educational institutions, on Podcasts, or cultural organizations, he draws parallels between his family's journey and modern-day challenges, emphasizing the power of hope and community in overcoming obstacles. His presentations, enriched with archival photos and personal anecdotes, resonate deeply with veterans, immigrants, and anyone seeking inspiration to navigate life's uncertainties. Miki is committed to amplifying his father's legacy and honoring the courageous individuals who shaped his family's journey—from Captain Paul Jacobs and the USS Kirk crew, whose heroism ensured their evacuation during Saigon's fall, to the Lutheran church members in Seattle who provided sanctuary and support as they rebuilt their lives in America. Through the memoir, speaking engagements, and other partnerships, Miki invites audiences to reflect on these unsung stories of courage and resilience while embracing a future defined by empathy and unity. Ways to connect Miki:   Email: mdn425@gmail.com / miki@nguyenvanba.com Website: https://nguyenvanba.com/miki/ Instagram: instagram.com/last.flight.out.nvb/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikinguyen44   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hello everyone. Once again. Wherever you happen to be, I am your host, Mike Hingson, and you are listening to Unstoppable Mindset, mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and as we've defined unexpected here on the podcast, it's anything that has to do with anything other than inclusion and diversity. A few weeks ago, I got an email from a friend of mine and someone I work with at yesterday usa.net it's a radio station that plays old radio shows all day, and anyway, Walden Hughes, who we really need to get on this podcast as well. Told me about Miki when, because Miki expressed, or Walden has expressed an interest in having Miki on yesterday USA, and Miki had an interesting story, and has an interesting story to tell, and I thought that it would be fun to bring him on to unstoppable mindset, because his father and family were basically, if you will, as you will hear on the last flight out of Saigon in Vietnam when that war ended in 1975 so that's 50 years ago. Anyway, Miki generously agreed to come on. And so here we are. So Miki, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Really appreciate it and looking forward to having a chance to chat.   Miki Ngyuen ** 02:47 Yeah, thank you, Michael, just really honored and appreciate the opportunity to be on your platform and to share with you in your audience, my father and my family story. The this is a story that has been told around the dinner table for many, many years. And as we are here now in early 2025 this marks, this will mark at the end of April here, coming up the 50 year remembrance, as you noted, the the fall of Saigon and so yeah, again, just really happy to be here. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 03:27 let's start as I love to do, and I know it kind of is part of the story, but tell us a little about kind of the early Miki growing up and and things that you might want to talk about from childhood and so on.   Miki Ngyuen ** 03:38 Yeah, I we in at the end of April, 1975 I was six and a half years old, and so, to answer your question, I grew up on a military base, basically my dad towards the end there, Lieutenant Colonel was a pilot for the south of Vietnamese Air Force, and he flew various Chinooks. The the one that we're referencing here is the the Chinook helicopter, CH 47 and so this is young childhood for me, growing up on the barracks, the oldest of three, three kids, brother Mecca and baby sister Mina. And this was a childhood where very curious about things the world around me, on the barracks, there were a lot of heavy artillery. And one story, my mom would sure it's a kid dragging home a box of of ammunition, just to say, you know, Hey, Mom, look what I found laying around. So this was a. In early childhood, growing up during a a war torn country back in those days,   Michael Hingson ** 05:07 yeah, certainly couldn't have been easy to do. So, what schooling did you have while you were still in Vietnam?   Miki Ngyuen ** 05:14 Oh, this is six, six and a half, just kind regarding kindergarten. Yeah, pretty, pretty much. So the Vietnamese that I was able to learn, you know, was just talking with parents, mom and dad, early kindergarten schooling. But otherwise, my Vietnamese now as an adult is not as strong as I would like it to be, but you know the reality of coming to America at six and a half seven. Grew up post war all American high school, so yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 05:53 now were your parents from Vietnam originally? Yes, yes. Okay, so it it had to be tough for you, and it had to really be tough for them, and I'm sure that they were worried about you and your brother and sister a lot and and dealing with all the things that you all had to deal with, that had to really be a challenge. Did they as as you were growing up in America and so on. Did they talk about, or want to talk much about, what your what your life was like, your heritage and so on, from Vietnam?   Miki Ngyuen ** 06:31 No, absolutely. It was my my father, my mom's philosophy, to always continue to keep our culture and our heritage and the things that you know was good about our culture, the Vietnamese culture, and to continue it forward while living, trying to assimilate and live here in in the United States. So growing up, it was straddling of both cultures, both Western and the Vietnamese Eastern culture as well, during our upbringing. And so it continues to be strong today, where for my own kids, you know, we continue to celebrate and our Vietnamese heritage and culture. Although American Vietnamese, I hold a US passport. My blood still runs with a lot of the Vietnamese culture that was raised on. It's   Michael Hingson ** 07:32 an interesting paradox, or paradox is probably the wrong word to use, but you have an interesting dichotomy you have to deal with. You're from Vietnam, you embrace the Vietnamese culture, but you live in America, and unfortunately, in our society today, we have a government that has been pushing so much on anything that isn't really American, isn't really American. And how do you how do you deal with that? What do you think about that, that whole concept, and that, ultimately, there are those who would say, well, you're you're not American because you didn't come from here, and that's a frustrating thing. But I'd be curious to get your thought, well, it's   Miki Ngyuen ** 08:17 to say it's a it's the same conversation as you know, the Ellis Island story, right? The only, the only folks that I would say that can claim that they're here with Native Americans, everybody else migrated either east or west, from Europe or from Asia or from the Middle East or Africa to get here. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 08:36 Yeah, it is. And from, from my thoughts and perspective, it's, it's a joy that you, you have two cultures to be able to celebrate and and work with, which gives you a broader perspective on the world as a whole. I grew up in America. I didn't really do a great job of learning foreign languages, although I took High School German and I learned some Spanish, and I actually took a year of Japanese in college. But still, my whole grounding is is in America, but I do love to go to other countries and see and get to experience other cultures, even though I know I don't live there, but I, and I do come back here, but I, but I think that what you bring is a great perspective for people to understand a whole part of the world that's different than what they're used To, which is a good thing.   Miki Ngyuen ** 09:41 Well, that's why they, they call America the great melting pot, right? We bring, we want to, we want to bring our best. We, you know, there can be conversations around refugees and immigration stories here and there, but. I think for the most part, you know, diverse cultures, different folks coming from other parts of the you know, we contributed to America, whether it be through bringing, you know, food or arts or ideologies, and that's what makes America, you know, strong, is just people bringing their best here. And sure, there's going to be negatives here and there. But you know, if we're come from a place of goodness, a place of positivity and working with each other. I think the spirit of America and the spirit of the great melting pot here can can continue to flourish and be strong from that standpoint. And   Michael Hingson ** 10:52 I and I think it absolutely is exactly what you said. It's the melting pot, it's the spirit, and that's what we need to remember, because that is what has always made this country so great, and will continue to, no matter what some may say. And I'm glad that we we have the the depth of overall culture, which really is made up of so many other cultures. When you got to America, what was it like then going to school here and finishing your growing up period here?   Miki Ngyuen ** 11:30 It was a, I don't want to use the word struggle. My parents struggled more. But for myself coming to the US here it was quickly to assimilate, you know, that's the word that just simply out of survival, simply out of just making friends and keeping the friends that, you know, I had growing up in first grade and second grade and so on. And growing up in the mid 70s here looking different than the rest of the white kids, you know, in elementary school, I got called all sorts of racial names, and so I know on your, you know, with your your message of disability, and   Miki Ngyuen ** 12:25 functioning in, you know, I had my own struggles as well in terms of just being different, you know, then, then the next kid in elementary school. So, but we learned to adapt, we learned to maneuver, and we learned to communicate and develop social skills to blend in, and again, that word assimilate, just to survive. So   Michael Hingson ** 12:51 where did you Where did you all settle once you got to the US? Where did you go to school? Oh,   Miki Ngyuen ** 12:58 so we're located here on the outskirts of Seattle, suburbs of Seattle area, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 13:06 I remember when so many people were coming over and from Vietnam, and they had some refugee encampments for A while. I was contacted by a church group, because at a local area near where I was attending college at the University of California at Irvine, there was such a place, and there was a blind person there, and they wanted to get this person, that was a young man, to meet blind people. So I went out. We even brought him a transistor radio. He didn't speak great English, but we were able to communicate. And that was probably the closest I came to dealing with, in a sense, all the things that all of you dealt with. So I but I do understand we as a collective society, sometimes don't really deal with difference as well as we ought to we we don't recognize that the very fact that we have some things that are difference is what makes us stronger when we embrace the fact that everyone has their own set of gifts and challenge and challenges to deal with, right? Exactly,   Miki Ngyuen ** 14:22 yeah, exactly. The just to provide more context, yeah, the there was a church across the crest, Lutheran Church here in Bellevue, out about 30 minutes from Seattle, that sponsored our family and yeah, that's how that's how we we ended up here in the story of my father and my my family was no the only thing different, because during the. April, end of April timeframe in 1975 the communists finally took over, as many of your audience know, you know, Saigon and the rest of Vietnam, and we had to, we had to get the heck out of there, because if my dad would have gotten captured by the communists, he would have been set in jail for a long time. And so our, our or worse, yes, exactly or worse, our, our family story is no different than anybody else's refugee boat people story coming out of Vietnam. The only difference was what my dad did as a pilot, what he did to to rescue our family and his crew's family and the maneuver that he executed at sea with a large Chinook helicopter, so much that it was was honored 10 years ago to share the same story with in an Oscar nominated film last year in Vietnam, written and produced by Rory Kennedy, and so there are so many, there's so many other Vietnamese refugee stories, but this one was, was our particular family story, and it's the story of my father's bravery, courage, our family's resiliency, among other various leadership kinds of themes. So that's, that's the premise of things.   Michael Hingson ** 16:27 Yeah, I understand. Well, what, what did you say you went to college? Where'd you go   Miki Ngyuen ** 16:35 to? Studied engineering at the University of Washington here in the Seattle area,   Michael Hingson ** 16:42 didn't, didn't try to help the basketball team, huh? Just, just checking, no, it's   16:50 too short for basketball, yeah, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 16:52 Well, you know. And of course, in in the March, April, time frame of every year, we have March Madness, which is really crazy. I was disappointed to see Gonzaga get out of it so quickly. But oh well, of course, most people don't even know where Gonzaga is. I actually had the the lovely opportunity to speak there once, so it was kind of fun. So I've been there so anyway, well, so you went off and studied in engineering, and that's what you did after college.   Miki Ngyuen ** 17:23 No, I after college, I was an engineer for a couple years, and then pivoted over into the marketing side of things and focused in in technology. I mean, from your background, you also, you know, did sales, especially with your story 20 plus years ago, worked in technology sales, and your involvement with a tech company today accessible. So yeah, that's, that's, yeah, that's my. My background is tech marketing,   Michael Hingson ** 17:55 well, and I started out doing tech stuff, helping to work in the development of the original reading machine for the blind that Ray Kurzweil developed, but that ended up going into sales for a variety of reasons. So I appreciate where you're coming from and and feel a lot for the kinds of experiences that you've had. Well, why don't you tell us a little bit about what happened with your father, and the whole, the whole story of the escape, the last flight out, flying out with the Chinook and all that that happened. Oh   Miki Ngyuen ** 18:32 yes, so let's, let's get into let me go ahead and share the some pictures here. And I, as I told you, for you know, pictures worth 1000 words and but I'll narrate it in such a way that all audiences can can get into the the whole story. So this was, this was a moment again. This is a family story that was shared around the dinner table for many, many years post 1975 and I'm sharing the story through the lens of a six and a half year old boy experiencing what I saw and what I what I went through, and the picture that we're showing here on the First slide here is just images of my father, Bob van win, who, in the early, early 60s, got an opportunity after college to test and train to and finally got admitted into the the Air Force. And in the mid 60s, got an opportunity to come to Fort Rucker and study and fly helicopters, and came to America again in 69 to for additional training. And so my father grew up, family, grandmother, education was of utmost important. Importance, as well as family and community. And so towards the towards and the next slide I'm showing here is towards April 29 1975 we see iconic images in time, Life magazine, in the media here in the US, images of the Communists the North tanks rolling into Saigon and overtaking the city. And in the film, the documentary, again last season Vietnam, we see images. We see video clips of folks trying to get into the US Embassy to get access to a helicopter to get out of there, because folks, people that were serving working with American or the American personnel, anybody that was involved in the south fighting against communism would, have, you know, been in jail or put into, you know, a tough situation post war, if they gotten captured. And so we see a mass chaos, mass exodus trying to get out of of the city there. And so it was my my dad's knew that had he stayed and not figured things out, he would have been either killed or put in jail for a long time, and so he, at this point, waited out for orders from his commanding officers and his leadership at all of the top brass took off with their family trying to figure out how to get out themselves. And my dad, with the Chinook, went and picked up our family in at this moment in time of mom, myself, brother and sister, we were at my grandma's house. Uh, we've been there for about a couple weeks to get out of the the military base that we were on, and at Grandma's house. I remember the night before, my dad coming to get us a bombing and machine guns rattling around the neighborhood and around the city there. So it was pretty tense for our family at that time, my dad with the helicopter, Chinook helicopter in I'm sure you and your in the audience, you driving down the road or over, flying over your house, you hear a Chinook. Is very thunderous of and so it's a big equipment, big, big aircraft. And what he did was land at the Chinook in front of my grandma's house play a play field, and blew, you know, a lot of the roofs and commotion, and folks around the neighborhood were just surprised. You know of this helicopter landing in the middle of the middle, middle of sea.   Michael Hingson ** 23:22 Did you know that he was coming? Yes,   Miki Ngyuen ** 23:25 my dad had told my mom the days earlier that I'll be coming to get you. We'll figure this out, because at this moment in time, there's probably no way that we're going to survive the the Communists were coming and get ready. Get, you know, pack the bags, get get things ready and but we didn't know that he would come in in such a way. We figured maybe he would come in a vehicle, the military vehicle, to come in and get us. But he actually came with a with the with the Chinook, and landed right in front of the right in front of the house.   Michael Hingson ** 23:58 How many people was the Chinook hold. Well, at this time, in front   Miki Ngyuen ** 24:02 of my grandson, just our immediate family and but it would hold a lot of folks, a lot of folks. And towards the towards later on, we'll get to that point. But towards it we had like about 1715, 1617, people, crew member, their their girlfriends and family in in the in the helicopter. Yeah, that was what I was wondering,   Michael Hingson ** 24:28 because you said it was big. So I was just trying to get a perspective on what big really meant. And that's why I asked how many people it would hold. Oh,   Miki Ngyuen ** 24:36 yeah, understood, yeah. So the Chinook is probably, it is probably the largest helicopter in the, you know, the fleet of helicopters Arsenal so but he landed hatch opens up on the back, and the Chinook as a is a double, double, uh. Uh, a rotor, double prop helicopter. And family ran to the back of the the helicopter. They closed the hatch up, and my my father, accelerated, you know, the the engines and lifted up and out of, out of the area there. And the thinking was to rendezvous up with a few other of his squadron crew members and to head further south of the hot zone, Saigon, and to load up on the food and ration and gas so that we would continue further south and maybe perhaps lay low, find an island to just figure out what to do next, from that standpoint, and that's that's where We actually did was, along with our family, he had co pilot, and he had his gunner and the mechanic in their, you know, their their family members or girlfriends in the in the Chinook, once we loaded up On, on all of the, the food and everything fuel lifted up and out. And at the same time, he heard my father continued to monitor the the the radio communication. And he heard that there were US Navy, US ships out in the Pacific, now out east in the Pacific. And so he figured, we'll take a risk and head in in that direction, towards the the ocean there, and he didn't know exactly, you know, the exact GPS location, or the exact whereabouts of it, particularly, just headed out there blind and trying to find whatever option he could find. And out in the distant there, he sees a ship. And he goes, Well, this is my first chance. I'm going to go approach it and see if I'm able to land on it or figure out what to do next from there. And so heads in that direction. And we see, he sees a a uh, what we know now today is the frigate, and it wasn't, it was too small. It wasn't big enough to, you know, it wasn't like a an aircraft carrier, where you can actually land on it. And so the the next slide that I'm showing here, basically, as he approaches this, this ship, the crewman below, the US Navy crewman below was waving him like, you know, waving him away. Don't, don't, don't come here. You're simply you're too big. There's no way that you can land on on this ship. And so he kept circling the ship eventually found out the name of the ship was named the USS Kirk, and the captain was Captain Paul Jacobs. And my father continued to circle and figure out some way to, you know, ask for help. And we see in the one of the images here, that on the port side, the left side of the of the Chinook, my my mom holding up eight month old baby onto the the window part to let the crew in below know that, hey, we're not, you know, we're, we're we got kids, we got family on here. We need, we need help. And so eventually, what my dad was able to speak with the captain below, and both the captain and my father were able to coordinate the next step here, and which was to allow my father to hover right next to right behind the ship the stern to allow folks to to exit the helicopter. But prior to that, the slide that I'm showing here shows many other Vietnamese pilots and their families with smaller, smaller helicopters, the Huey helicopters landing, able to land on on the deck. And after they land, they would push the smaller helicopters over to into the ocean. And the continuing to do that as more families came on on, you know, was able to land. Uh, the next slide I'm showing here is the actual Captain Paul Jacobs throughout, throughout this whole narrative, my father is, is, is the person that my father's my hero. But there are other heroes throughout this whole story as well, and one of those I want to acknowledge is Captain Paul Jacobs, where we see in this image here, he was on the deck. He he wasn't in the command tower, directing, telling his, you know, crew, what to do. He was actually on the deck helping with his crew members, pushing and telling folks, as well as himself, jumping in and pushing smaller helicopters over the the side, making room for to clear, clear the the ship's deck. And so he's an outstanding individual, a hero in my book as well. And so once the deck was clear enough so that my dad was able to hover, what he did was basically fly the Chinook horizontal backwards to maintain the same steady high height, as well as a safe distance away from from the USS Kirk. And we found out later on that the this particular ship of frigate was a submarine destroyer. So it had all of the high tech equipment back, sonars, radars, all of the antenna and so it's very my father's had to be very careful in terms of how close he could have gotten, how close he could get to keeping the the distance as well as allowing folks to to jump down. And that's that's what we did. He kept it steady. And he was hovering about 1315, feet above the deck, and tells the co pilot to open up the starboard door and so that we would have access to jump. The picture that I'm showing you here is an illustration by Adam colts showing myself my mom, family members crews jumping from this Chinook down onto many of the crew members below, catching us as we as we exited. We also have an illustration from that I clipped out from the New York Times doing an illustration of my mom dropping a baby sister onto the crew, the crewmen below, and many years later, many years later on, at a reunion with the crew member and the captain of the USS Kirk, one of the men below, Kent Chipman, introduced himself to us as one of the sailors below catching us. It was like you described as, like catching a a basketball coming out of the the helicopter. And so once everybody exited out, he my father told the co pilot to make sure that everybody safely gotten out, make sure that everybody had cleared the the rear of the helicopter, and then he finally told the the co pilot to go ahead and and jump himself now onto the deck. And so I remember, it's the last thing I remember as a six and a half year old boy who was being ushered inside, inside the the ship. They didn't want any kids running around on the deck. Yeah. And the last thing that we see, you know, is seeing my father hovering away from the ship. Now is just him by himself at this point in this large helicopter.   Miki Ngyuen ** 34:04 So it wasn't, it wasn't until, it wasn't until maybe, like half hour later that we we see my father again. But from from, from the point where he had to hover. After everybody jumped off the helicopter. He hovered away from the the ship. And at this point there was, you know, the only option here was to get a remove himself from from the helicopter. He wasn't going to go back to land or go back to the city. His family was on the ship now, and he need to be with his family. And so what he did was take the Chinook about 100 yards away from the ship, and hovered above the water, and at that point, kept the helicopter steady, and while at the same time taking off his.   Miki Ngyuen ** 45:00 Did the heavy lifting 100% they in so many ways, in terms of when we talk about a challenge or an obstacle, they had my mom had to learn a completely new, different language, had to start all over again, not knowing exactly what their future was going to be, but at the same time, you know the freedom, the freedom in America and what America represented was just an opportunity that they knew that even though it was a struggle as a challenge to re readapt, to assimilate, learn a new language, find a new career, it was still a lot better than the other option, yeah. And then to answer your question, as for me, as a six, six and a half year old boy, or six, yeah, seven year old boy, you're right. It was, it was more of an adventure than it was anything in terms of fear, because, again, as I said, my mom and dad took the burden of all of that paved the way for myself, brother and sister, but throughout my life, up to that point, it was just an adventure to jump off from the helicopter was, to me, like jumping, you know, playing around a tree, jumping off a tree. But for my mom, who had to take the courage to drop a baby, her baby from from an airplane, and the fear of change, the anxiety of of in the struggle of war and everything else at a different at a different level that my hat's off to both my parents from that time.   Michael Hingson ** 46:57 I'm sure that, in a sense, while things were happening, your mom didn't analyze it. And think about the time of war, she did what she had to do, and your father did what they had to do. And then after the fact, they obviously thought back about it and and probably had times of going, Wow, what? What did we do? And not in a regretful way, but at the time something is happening, you do what you have to do, and then you think about it later. And I guess for you, when did all of this really become real and a story? Well, not a story worth telling, but when did it really emotionally all sink into you, what really happened? Because that had to happen, obviously, later than that night   Miki Ngyuen ** 47:48 it it became super, super real for me. 2009 window discovered, again from mister Jan Herman, finding my father's story and sharing with us the pictures from the US Navy. Yeah, because, because, up to that point, from 1975 up to 2009 this was a story that I grew up throughout my life and experienced a bit of it jumping, but the the things that my father shared in terms of doing the ditch maneuver and growing up as a boy, listening to him talk with his buddies around the dinner table. Or when they would have reunions, they would my, you know, I would be, you know, seen and not heard, type of a family situation, just, you know, listening into my father's conversation with his his buddies, hearing, hearing about it, and then finally, seeing pictures from the US Navy in 2009 that was when it really, really kicked in. Because as a kid growing up, I would share these stories. Friends would ask me, how'd you come you know, where are you from, and how did you get here? And I would share, you know, how we got to America and escape from escape from Vietnam. But it didn't really hit until 2009 once we actually saw the images that my dad was, he was, he did what he said, and we got pictures to prove it. So, yeah, yeah. And I want to touch upon the thing they mentioned a few minutes ago, in terms of my mom and dad and I know that you're, you're an Eagle Scout. I I never went that far in terms of Scott. I went to second class, so outstanding for you, going all the way as an ego scout. But the one thing that I learned from Scott is that word always be prepared. Always, always be prepared. I teach my kids that as well. And so in terms of my my mom and dad, they you can be prepared, you know, for the worst case scenario. And that's what actually happened in the end. The South Vietnam lost to commun to the communists, and at that. Point, and I'm going to weave in the story that you've shared as well in your on your platform, in terms of that day 911 where you had to, you had to do what you had to do with with your dog and and with everybody else trying to figure out how to get out of that, try to exit that building for safety and things like that. And so it was one of those things where you just had to, you can only prepare so much. And in the moment of crisis, or in that moment of of things crumbling literally around you, whether it be your country or a building crumbling around you, you have to figure out you have to, you know, cleverness, communication, working with others around you, teamwork, all of that had to come into play for survival. And so both, I mean, you know, both of our, my, your story, my my family, my father and my mother's story, myself as just a kid tagging along was, was that trying to figure out some way to exit yourself from a moment of dire, a moment of chaos, and so I can, I can under, I can resonate, I can, I can appreciate that   Michael Hingson ** 51:15 well. And the thing is that the thing you have to mostly prepare for is, is your mind, and prepare is your mind. It's and it's how you prepare to deal with things that may happen you you can't, as I tell people, there's no way to train someone to deal, as such, with a falling building, or, as you say, losing a country, but you can prepare your mind to be able to say, I can do this, and I don't need to allow the fear of what's going on to stop me. I can use that as a powerful tool to help that preparation is the most important thing we can do for anything that happens in our lives, and that's what we really have to focus on. Because I've been asked many times questions like, well, you know, how do you teach your dog how to escape from a tough, falling building or a tall building like you did in the World Trade Center? Yeah, that's not what you that's not what you teach the dog to deal with. You teach the dog to focus. You teach yourself to focus, and you teach both of you where you are, the leader, you teach yourself how to deal with whatever situation comes along and worry only about the things that you have control over, because the rest isn't going to going to help you to worry about because you don't have control over it.   Miki Ngyuen ** 52:48 Right, right, right. Yeah, go ahead. No, I just letting that sink in. I yeah, there's ever a time to be very present, very calm, very cool and collected. Because once, once you start, once you start, you know lack of a better term, freaking out or losing it mentally, things could fall apart even, even worse. And so staying calm under pressure is critical,   Michael Hingson ** 53:21 which doesn't mean that you're not afraid, but you use the fear in a different way than you would if you allowed yourself to, if you will freak out, which is really the whole point. Well, so you you clearly have written this book. Why did you write it? No, I expect to help. What do you expect to help? To get from it   Miki Ngyuen ** 53:42 Sure. I again, I did not write this book. It was my father. Why   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 did you? Why did you decide to bring it forward? Oh,   Miki Ngyuen ** 53:52 number one, to honor, to honor my father's wishes. Number one, it, and number two, along with that, is to pass down to his great grandkids, and you know, their their kids, his story, our family story of how we came to America. This was the for the Vietnamese community. This was our Ellis Island story. And number one, to archive and to honor my my my father. Number two, the third one really is, this is a story that it doesn't matter what background, what obstacle, what struggle you are in. These are stories of courage, compassion, heroism, stories of suspense, love stories that my dad wrote as well. And there's stories of lessons learned about communism, stories of betrayal. And so it's a story that is a. Uh, relatable to all audience types, but outside of that, for myself and my my mom and for my family, this is our family story, and one that my kids, my great grandkids, what how they knew my father in his courage, in his resiliency, in terms of just coming to a new world and having to start over again.   Michael Hingson ** 55:27 What do you want people to take away from the story   Miki Ngyuen ** 55:32 history? Number one, in terms of the history of because there's a you know, if you don't, if you don't learn from history, you're going to make the same sort of mistakes again. And so, from history, what can we learn out of it, the lessons that we can learn out of it, the lessons of just how to overcome obstacles, dealing with, as you said, with fear, courage, lessons around being curious about the things around you, learning Education and as well as the lasting years, just lessons around teamwork and working with others, working with your community. So those are the kinds of things that we want to get across in this book.   Michael Hingson ** 56:36 What kind of lessons do you think your your father's memoir and yours, because you compiled it. What lessons do you think we all should take away from that, that we should use today? What, what should we be learning from this story?   Miki Ngyuen ** 56:56 Uh, lessons in terms of, uh, leadership, lessons in terms of how to handle yourself in crisis situation, lessons around working with others to overcome a particular obstacle or a challenge working, you know, with teammates. Wait may it be in a corporate environment, or maybe in a community or a setting, or many of those themes that in terms of just everyday life lessons and resiliency, yeah, yeah, many of those themes and lessons that I think is told through my father's experience and our family's experience, from that standpoint,   Michael Hingson ** 58:08 a question that comes to mind, really off the wall, is so it's now been 50 years. What is Vietnam like today? Do you know a   Miki Ngyuen ** 58:16 lot better than it was 50 years ago? I I've visited, not only visited, but lived there in 2016 2017 and life today a lot more prosperous than than in years past. And he continues to to be prosperous. And, you know   Michael Hingson ** 58:43 better from that standpoint, is it a communist country? It's still,   Miki Ngyuen ** 58:47 it's still a communist country today, one of the things that I did learn from the book and my dad was sharing is that in this ties in with the the the the Berlin Wall in the unraveling of communism the Soviet government back then, When the leadership in Vietnam saw that they loosened up many of their their their policies around that. So it is still communism today, but prosperous in a lot of ways, economically, and, you know, trading with with other countries. So, yeah, that's, that's, you know, that's how life is today in Vietnam, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 59:49 what final words and suggestions do you want to make? We've been doing this now for almost an hour, and it's, it's been as compelling as I think you thought it would. Be, and I imagined it would be, what kind of final remarks or thoughts do you want to leave for people to think about   Miki Ngyuen ** 1:00:09 that, whatever situation, whatever obstacles that you're going through at this moment, that there's always there's always choices and options, and the the the things that we talked about, you and I, Michael here, is just staying cool, staying level headed, staying calm through through challenges, and looking, you know, looking to work with others, looking for help, searching for help, and where you can help others as well. If it wasn't for Captain Paul Jacobs, compassion and humanity, our family wouldn't be here telling the story. And so these are the things that have helped us and our family in return. Look back over your shoulder to see if somebody else behind you would need help as well and offer that. So that's yeah, that's the some of the things that I want to at least share.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:23 There's there's a lot to be said for paying it forward as well as gratitude, and I think that you've exhibited all of that very well. And Miki, I want to thank you again for being here. This has been absolutely wonderful and enthralling, and I hope that everyone has enjoyed it. And I appreciate you being able to be here and tell the story, because it has to be still a challenge, even 50 years later, because you lived through it, but but you've learned how to live through it. And I think that's the issue. It's like with the World Trade Center, you learn how to deal with with it, and we both have learned to tell our stories, and I think that's so important. So I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening today. This has been wonderful. I hope you agree. Love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I b, e.com, and also wherever you're listening or watching, please give us a five star review. We value your reviews very highly, and we we love the good ones. So please give us a five star review, and as Walden did and Miki for you and everyone listening and watching, if you know of anyone else who ought to be a guest on our podcast, and you think anyone else who has a story to tell, love to hear it, love to meet them, love to get them on the podcast. So we really appreciate you reaching out again. You can email me at Michael h i@accessibe.com or go to our podcast web page, which is www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, Michael Hingson is m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n.com/podcast, you can reach us through that page as well. Hope that you'll listen to more episodes and that you'll come back if you're listening to us for the first time, and whatever you do, be well and be grateful for all that we have. That's the way it ought to be, and we can all be unstoppable if we choose to. So again, thank you for being here and Miki, thank you again for being here and being with us. Yeah,   Miki Ngyuen ** 1:03:32 thank you again, Michael, for the opportunity to share the story with you from your audience.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:41 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Jonathan Movtady graduated from the University of Florida in 3 short years with a Bachelor of  Arts in Business Administration. He also studied International Business, while living abroad, at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.  After that, he earned a Juris Doctor at the University of Miami School of Law.   Shortly thereafter, Jonathan was admitted to the New York & New Jersey Bars in early 2011. Jonathan has been practicing Real Estate Law ever since.  ClAbout the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking among the top 1.5% of licensed Agents in the United States for Sales Volume and among the Top 10 highest producing Small Teams at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in the NYC community.  She is a founding Steward at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives.Get in touch with Christina:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps 0:00 Jonathan Movtady Introduction5:49 What due diligence entails8:13 Analyzing building financials14:11 Key factors in building financial health and detecting warning signs21:11 Special considerations for new development buildings and litigation risks28:28 Consequences of inadequate due diligence and potential financial impact31:00 Christina's personal story of poor due diligence experience50:22 Sponsor ownership concerns and important questionnaire topics

Kevin Kennon, an award-winning architect, discusses the future of cities, housing affordability, and the role of architecture in urban life. He emphasizes the importance of smarter density, mixed-use developments, and integrating residential, commercial, and community spaces. Kennon highlights the impact of tariffs on housing costs and the need for free trade. He also discusses the benefits of prefabricated components over modular housing and the role of urban transport in housing affordability. Kennon advocates for architects to have a greater role in shaping public policy to improve livability and economic vitality in cities.Please let Gene know your thoughts on Trump's tariffs and any questions or comments regarding this episode by emailing Gene at contact@economicsexplored.com.About Kevin KennonKevin Kennon is an internationally renowned architect with over 40 years of experience, specializing in environmentally sustainable and innovative design. As the founder and CEO of Beyond Zero DDC Inc., Kevin leads the development of zero-carbon emission luxury eco-resorts in remote wilderness locations worldwide, merging design excellence with ecological responsibility. His extensive portfolio includes projects like the 1.5 million square foot Barclays North American Headquarters, the Rodin Museum in Seoul, and multiple award-winning Bloomingdale's stores. Additionally, he led United Architects, a finalist in the prestigious World Trade Center design competition, further solidifying his impact on architectural innovation.  Kevin's expertise spans adaptive reuse, urban planning, and large-scale developments, with projects featured in the permanent collection of MoMA, New York. He has earned over 40 international design awards and is a sought-after thought leader, contributing to discussions on urban development, climate change, and sustainable architecture. His work extends beyond architecture; as an expert witness and lecturer at leading institutions like Yale and Columbia, he brings a multidisciplinary approach to his craft. TimestampsIntroduction (0:00)Kevin Kennon's Journey into Architecture (2:53)Economic Considerations in Architecture (7:13)Impact of Tariffs on Housing Affordability (11:22)Challenges in Housing Development (15:53)NIMBY Issues and Urban Development (18:19)Principles of Better Urban Design (21:00)Social Housing and Public Investment (33:01)Role of Urban Transport in Housing Development (38:05)Modular Housing and Productivity (44:12)TakeawaysSmarter Density is Key: Cities should move away from rigid zoning that separates residential and commercial spaces, instead creating mixed-use developments that blend different functions and create more vibrant, integrated neighborhoods.Architecture is About Imagining the Future: Architects are not just solving spatial problems, but are critical thinkers who can help design more livable, affordable, and sustainable urban environments that address complex social and economic challenges.Economic Considerations Drive Urban Design: Real estate development is deeply influenced by economic factors like tariffs, interest rates, and investment strategies, which significantly impact housing affordability and urban development.User Control Enhances Productivity: Workplace design should focus on giving people greater control over their environment, including temperature, lighting, and space configuration, which can improve overall productivity and satisfaction.Modular Housing Has Limitations: While prefabricated housing components show promise for reducing construction costs, they are not a magic bullet for housing affordability. Successful solutions require a holistic approach considering local conditions, transportation, and community needs.Links relevant to the conversationKevin's Wikipedia entry:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_KennonEconomics Explored episode w/ Natalie Rayment, YIMBY QLD on the Missing Middle in housing:https://economics-explained.simplecast.com/episodes/missing-middle-housing-other-urban-planning-issuesLumo Coffee promotion10% of Lumo Coffee's Seriously Healthy Organic Coffee.Website: https://www.lumocoffee.com/10EXPLOREDPromo code: 10EXPLORED Full transcripts are available a few days after the episode is first published at www.economicsexplored.com.

Histoire postée sur le subreddit Paranormal encounters en janvier par l'utilisateur sparksafirepromo.Voici son histoire : Le matin du 11 septembre 2001 avait commencé comme n'importe quel autre jour. À 8h46, tout avait changé. Au moment où le vol American Airlines 11 percuta la tour Nord, je compris que mon expérience en tant que spécialiste médical ne m'aurait jamais préparé à ce qui m'attendait. J'ai été envoyé presque immédiatement, avec d'innombrables autres premiers secours, au World Trade Center.Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalEncounters/comments/1i24ss6/the_black_tag/Pour m'envoyer vos histoires danslenoirpdcst@gmail.comPour participer à cette émission horrifique, écrivez à Dans Le Noir sur les réseaux sociaux, j'accepte tout le monde !Mon Instagram HorrifiquePATREONLE seul podcast qui fait peur !Armez-vous de votre casque ou de vos écouteurs !Podcast Horreur, Podcast Surnaturel, Podcast Paranormal & Podcast Creepypasta mais surtout un podcast qui fait peur !Bonne semaine horrifique à tous ! Hébergé par Audion. Visitez https://www.audion.fm/fr/privacy-policy pour plus d'informations.

In this episode of Altered State, Brad Zerbo and Zak “RedPill78” Paine dive deep into the state of technology, truth, and trauma. They kick things off with a geek-out on custom PC builds, AMD vs. Intel, and the power of AI tools like Grok, before shifting into heavier territory, 9/11. Brad shares exclusive updates on his highly anticipated 9/11 documentary, revealing new animations, damning evidence about World Trade Center 7, and his vision for an interview with Richard Gage of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. The conversation snowballs into a wild ride through Hollywood's AI revolution, the deep state's historical coverups, and the many unanswered questions surrounding the Pentagon strike, Shanksville, and the vanishing planes. They even bring receipts, like BBC's premature reporting of WTC 7's collapse, the miraculous discovery of hijacker passports, and molten steel at Ground Zero. With nods to Loose Change, Rosie O'Donnell's 9/11 takes, and some cherry-fueled nostalgia, this episode blends tech talk, gallows humor, and brutal truth-telling in classic Altered State fashion. If you're craving red pills and real talk with zero filters, this one's for you.

Welcome back to Real Estate Investing in New York with me, Christina Kremidas. In this episode, we are talking about how to maximize your property's value by leveraging the appraisal, a critical part of the purchase and sale process that can make or break your transaction in the competitive New York market.About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking among the top 1.5% of licensed Agents in the United States for Sales Volume and among the Top 10 highest producing Small Teams at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in the NYC community.  She is a founding Steward at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives.Get in touch with Christina:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps0:00 Andrew Goodman of Gotham Valuation Introduction1:46 What an appraisal is and its importance in the mortgage process3:34 When sellers or buyers should proactively call an appraiser before the bank does7:39 Personal bias in appraisals versus market reactions to property features9:49 Using appraisals strategically in negotiations to provide reality checks on pricing12:34 What to do when an appraisal comes in under the contract price21:54 The law of diminishing returns on renovations 27:02 How outdoor space affects property value 31:21 The impact of views on property value35:03 Duplex apartments and how they impact property value37:45 The value of ceiling height in apartments 39:17 Whether adding bedrooms or bathrooms increases property value42:03 Impact of building amenities on property value, especially in remote locations44:20 How subway proximity affects property values in different neighborhoods47:41 Considerations for land lease buildings50:53 The value of in-unit laundry versus building laundry facilities57:11 Limitations of using price per square foot as a valuation metricDisclaimer: All information provided by Christina Kremidas and/or Douglas Elliman is furnished strictly for educational and entertainment purposes only. Christina Kremidas is licensed in the State of New York. Some concepts discussed here may not be relevant in other states. The principles covered here are general statements, every concept mentioned here may not be applicable to you. Christina Kremidas/Douglas Elliman is not making any legal or financial recommendations. You agree that use of the information contained in any content provided by Christina Kremidas and/or Douglas Elliman is at your own risk.

Regular listeners to Unstoppable Mindset have heard me talk about a program called Podapalooza. This event takes place four times a year and is attended by podcasters, people who want to be podcasters and people who want to be interviewed by podcasters. Featured podcasters such as I get to talk with a number of people who sign up to be interviewed by us specifically.   This past Podapalooza saw me get to meet our guest this time, Susan Janzen. Susan wasn't even on of my original matches at Podapalooza, but she and I met and she told me she wanted both to be on Unstoppable Mindset and for me to come on her podcast, “Living & Loving Each Day”. Well, part one has happened. Susan has come on Unstoppable Mindset, and what a remarkable and unstoppable person she is.   Throughout her life she has been a professional singer and recording artist, a special education teacher, a realtor, now a life coach and she, along with her husband Henry, Susan has authored two books.   Make no mistake, Susan has performed all these life experiences well. She has been a singer for more than 30 years and still rehearses with a big band. She was a substitute special education teacher for six years and then decided to switch from teaching to selling real estate to help bring accessible housing to Alberta Canada.   Susan, as you will discover, is quite an inspiration by any standard. I look forward to receiving your comments and observations after you hear this episode. I am sure you will agree that Susan is quite Unstoppable and she will help you see that you too are more unstoppable than you think.       About the Guest:   Susan is an inspiring professional whose achievements span multiple fields. As a professional singer and recording artist, she enchanted audiences across North America. Her legacy as Edmonton's first Klondike Kate includes captivating performances from Las Vegas to the Alberta Pavilion during Expo 1987. Her versatility shines through her educational pursuits, earning a Bachelor of Education and influencing lives as a Special Education teacher. Alongside her husband, Dr. Henry Janzen, Susan co-authored two Amazon Best Sellers, further cementing her creative impact. Empowering Lives Through Coaching and Music Today, Susan combines her passions: Performs with the Trocadero Orchestra, a 17-piece Big Band. Empowers others as a Certified Happy for No Reason Trainer and Jay Shetty Life Coach. Hosts her podcast, Living & Loving Each Day Bridging Barriers sharing powerful stories of overcoming challenges.   Ways to connect Susan:   https://www.facebook.com/home.php https://www.youtube.com/@SusanJanzen www.linkedin.com/in/susan-janzen-b-ed-5940988 https://www.instagram.com/livingnlovingbridgingbarriers/   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset podcast, unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and that's always so much fun. So we do some, we do sometimes talk about inclusion, and we do talk about diversity, and we talk about inclusion first, because diversity usually leaves out disabilities, but in this case, we we like inclusion because we won't let anyone leave out disabilities if they're going to talk about being inclusive. So there you go. But anyway, even more important than that is the unexpected, which is anything that doesn't have anything to do with diversity or inclusion, our guest today kind of has a little bit to do with all of that stuff. Susan Janzen is our guest. I'm assuming I'm pronouncing that right, perfectly, right? Yes, perfect. And Susan is up in Edmonton, Canada, and I met Susan a couple of weeks ago because both of us participated in the patapalooza program. Patapalooza, for those of you who may be listening to this on a regular basis, patapalooza is a program that happens four times a year where people come on who want to be podcasters, who are podcasters, or who want to be interviewed by podcasters. And we all kind of get together and we talk, and we listen to some lectures, and a bunch of us go off into breakout rooms and we get to chat with people. And when I was being scheduled, Susan was not one of the people who, in fact, got scheduled with me, but she came into the room and she said, I want to talk to you. And so there we are. And so Susan, welcome to unstoppable mindset where we can talk.   Susan Janzen ** 03:12 Well, so glad and so glad to be in a room with you here on my screen. This is great. Oh, it's fun.   Michael Hingson ** 03:18 My door is closed so my cat won't come in and bug me, because every so often she comes in and and what she wants is me to go pet her while she eats, but I'm not going to let her do that while the podcast is going on. So there you go. But anyway, it's good to be here, and I'm glad that you're here with us, and I understand that it's kind of nice and crisp and chilly where you are right now. No surprise, we are much more weak,   Susan Janzen ** 03:45 yeah, much warmer. There we had in Alberta. We're always in Edmonton, Alberta. We're called the sunny province because it's doesn't matter how cold it gets. We always have blue cumulus clouds and beautiful blue sky   Michael Hingson ** 04:00 and so. And today you have and today it's my cold.   Susan Janzen ** 04:04 It's, well, it's minus 10 with a skiff of snow. But you know what? Minus 10 here is? Actually, that's kind of my prerequisite for skiing, like, if it's minus 10 or warmer, I'm good, because I'm not a very good added skier. That's why   Michael Hingson ** 04:20 my brother in law used to ski on a regular basis. He in fact, used to take trips and take tours and and allow people to hire him as their tour guide to go over to France to do off peace school in the else. And he is also a cabinet maker and general contractor, and Gary's philosophy always is everything stops in the winter when there is an opportunity to ski. So   Susan Janzen ** 04:50 that would be a beautiful wouldn't that be there? Like the perfect job to probably be a golf pro in the summer in a ski tour? Third guide in the winter. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 05:01 he he was a, he was a contractor in the summer. Now he's doing more contracting all year round. He still skis, but he's not a certified mountain ski guide in France anymore. I think, I assume that kind of runs out after a while, but he hasn't really taken people on trips there for a while. But anyway, we're really glad you're here. I would love to start by maybe you telling us a little bit about the early Susan, growing up and all that well,   05:27 with the early Susan, that sounds great. Sure,   Susan Janzen ** 05:28 let's do   05:30 it that was a long,   Michael Hingson ** 05:32 long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But let's do it anyway, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 05:36 exactly. So way back in the day I was, I was actually my history is, is from I had a mother who was a singer, and she and I, I'm also professional singer, but she, she was my influence when I was younger, but when I was born, it was out those terminology at that time was called out of wedlock. Oh my gosh, you know, so bad. And so she was a single mom, and raised me as a very determined and and stubborn girl, and we had our traumas, like we went through a lot of things together, but we survived, and we're and we're, you know, all the things that I went through, I was on in foster care for a little while, and I kind of did a whole bunch of different things as a kid, and went on my own When I was 15. So I left home when I was 15, so I figured I'd be on my own. I figured I was mature enough to just go on my own, right like that made was made total sense and perfect sense to me at the time, and now I realize how young 15 is, but but finished high school and went to on the road and was a singer for like, over 25 years. That's better that. And, yeah. And so that's what I that was kind of like the childhood part of me. And that's, I think, what's putting me into all these play. I was in a convent for a while with   Michael Hingson ** 06:54 honey, and so you, you went off and you sang, you said, for 25 years, yes,   Susan Janzen ** 07:01 and I'm still singing. I'm still singing. That was Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 07:06 And I was reading that you sing with a seven piece, 17 piece, Big Band orchestra. I do.   Susan Janzen ** 07:12 It's called a Trocadero orchestra. It's so it's the whole horn section, the the rhythm section. It's so much fun, I can't tell you, so I we do that. We don't gig a lot because a lot of people don't want to put out the money for an ATP spend. But we do rehearse a lot, and we do the big, big events in the city. It's really fun. What kind of music? So big bands, so 40s, yes, and so all the Oh, exactly. We can do the Latin stuff I sing that's in mucho the same mucho is one of my songs. And I do, you know, there's so many, like, so many really good songs, but they're older songs that kind of the Frank Sinatra kind of era songs, all the big band stuff. I've   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 always thought that Bing Crosby was a better singer than Frank Sinatra. That's gonna probably cause some controversy. But why that?   Susan Janzen ** 08:04 I wonder. But you know what big, big Crosby was a little bit before, and then Frank Sinatra was called the crooner, and I think it was because of his blue eyes and how he looked. I think he took on a different persona. I think that's why I think it was more the singer than more the singer than the music. Maybe you think, I don't know. I   Michael Hingson ** 08:25 haven't figured that out, because Bing Crosby was, was definitely in the 40s. Especially, was a more well known, and I think loved singer than Frank. But by the same token, Frank Sinatra outlive Bing Crosby. So, you know, who knows, but I like being Crosby, and I like his music, and I like some Frank Sinatra music as well. I mean, I'm not against Frank Sinatra, yeah. I think, personally, the best male singer of all time. Yes, still, Nat King Cole   Susan Janzen ** 09:00 Oh, and I do? I do the dot I do orange colored sky neck and Cole's daughter, yeah, this one on my brain. Her name Natalie Cole, exactly. Yeah. But Nat King Cole was a really good singer, so I do agree with you in that. And we do some that can cool stuff. I do a lot of Ella Fitzgerald too, as well.   Michael Hingson ** 09:24 Yeah. Well, I, I've always liked and just felt Nat King Cole was the best of now, female singers, probably, again, a lot of people would disagree, but I really think that Barbara Streisand is, oh, there is.   Susan Janzen ** 09:37 I love her. Yeah, yeah, I did. I actually, I did an album. In the 719, 78 I recorded an album, and the main song on there was evergreen by Barbra Streisand. I   Michael Hingson ** 09:48 love that tune. Yeah, I was. I just have always liked Barbara Streisand. One of my favorite albums is Barbara Streisand at the forum. She James Taylor. And I forget who the third person was. Did a fundraiser for George McGovern in 1972 and I just always thought that that was Barbara's Best Album.   Susan Janzen ** 10:10 Ah, so such a voice. I mean, she could see anything. Yeah. Beautiful voice, yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, we're on the same page, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 10:19 Well, that's pretty cool. But so you, you grew up, you sang and and then what happened to you, or what did you do? What, what else occurred in your life that we should know about?   Susan Janzen ** 10:31 Oh, there's so many things. So then I, yeah, I know it's crazy. So I grew up, I think I still, I'm not quite there yet. I'm still growing. And then I when at 18, I got married, and I went on the road with a guitar player, and for 10 years, and then we had two kids. And then after five more years on the road, I actually got a divorce. And so I was six years as a single mom with two babies. The kids were, like, 11 months apart. They were really close. And so then that's when I did all my bigger gigs here in Edmonton, though, those are the like. I was hired as the first ever local Klondike Kate in Edmonton, Alberta. We have Klondike. We used to have Klondike games as our major summer fair, and it was a really big deal. It's kind of like the Calgary Stampede we had the Edmonton on Lake Bay, and so I was the representative of the city of Edmonton for two years. And I actually did it my first year. They made me audition for my second year. So I won it the second year. So I was the first ever two years in a row. And I represented the city all over North America. Actually, I sang, I met Muhammad Ali, I met some really great people, and I sang with Baba patola, did some commercials with him, went down to Vegas and played one of his stages. So I did a lot of really fun things in those two years, and convert a lot of commercials and a lot of telethons. So that was really fun. And then, and then, when that was over, that's when I got remarried to a wonderful man, and he was at University of Alberta, and he was a professor in psychology, education, psychology and so and I'm happy to say that we're just celebrated last week our 36th wedding anniversary. That's how old I am. Michael, congratulations.   Michael Hingson ** 12:18 Well, my wife, my wife and I were married for 40 years, and she passed in November of 2022, so, oh, so I I know what it's like to be married for a long time. I loved it. Love it. Still wonderful memories. It's unfortunate that all too many people don't ever get to have the joy of being married for such a long time. Yes,   Susan Janzen ** 12:43 and happily married, right? Like happily married? Yeah, that's the cavid.   Michael Hingson ** 12:50 Yeah. It's important to to acknowledge the happiness part of it. And I've got 40 years of memories that will never go away, which is great.   Susan Janzen ** 12:58 Nobody can take that away from you, that is for sure. They can't take that away from me. Don't take that away from me. That's   Michael Hingson ** 13:06 right, exactly. So that's that's pretty cool. So you do a lot of rehearsing and a lot of singing. What else do you do in the world today? So also   Susan Janzen ** 13:15 in the world today, I am, and I have been since 2003 I'm a residential real estate expert, so I'm a realtor, and I deal specifically with accessible and barrier free homes. So that's kind of my I was a special ed teacher. Actually, I should squeeze that in there for six years I was, I got my degree in education and with a special ed teacher in secondary ed. So all my kids were junior and senior high. And then when I came out of that, I took up the after I was teaching. I took real estate license, and I got it and I I just felt like I understood anybody with mobility challenges and with any other challenges. And so I took that extra time that is needed and necessary to to help them find homes and to sell.   Susan Janzen ** 14:02 What got you started down that road   Susan Janzen ** 14:05 at the time, I was teaching for six years, and when in Edmonton, I don't know why it was just here. So I was 2003 when I quit. So I had been teaching from the late 1990s and it was like I was subbing, but I was not getting a full time position in that and my Evanston public school board said your your file is glowing. We just don't have any spots for you. So I think it was a government funding issue. And so I ended up just thinking, I don't want to sub forever. I want to get my own classroom, and I want to have my own and I would, I would teach for six months at a time in a school. So it wasn't like I was jumping around crazy but, but I want, really wanted my own classroom. And so when that wasn't happening after six years, I thought I'm going to write the real estate license exam, and if I pass it the first time, that was my Gage, because no, they say the word was that you don't pass it the first time. Everyone has to write it to a. Three times before they pass my rule. For my own ruler for me was to say, if I take the exam, pass it the first time, I will make that move. And that's what happened so and then I just took up with accessible, barrier free homes and that specialty. So   Michael Hingson ** 15:17 was there any specific motivation that caused you to really deal with accessibility and accessible homes and so on.   Susan Janzen ** 15:25 Yes, and at the time, and just actually, my mom had been in a walker and on oxygen. I had quite a few friends who had mobility issues. And then just shortly after that, when I was a realtor already, and my daughter had a baby, and her baby at eight weeks old had a near SIDS incident. So she was eight weeks old, and Candace went to do the dishes one night at nine o'clock at night, and came back and calea is her daughter's name, and she was like blue in the crib. She was she had to be revived. So that was terrifying for all of us, and so it was wonderful news that she did survive, but she had occipital and parietal damage, so she has cortical vision impairment and also cerebral palsy, but she's she's thriving and loving it, and so that actually kind of Got me even doing more accessible homes, because now I'm a grand ambassador, and what's that called when you get out on the street and yell at people for parking in handicap stalls? What is that smart person? A smart person, and I was just passionate about that. I wanted to fix things and to try to make things easier for people as they should be, without having to ask in the first place. So yeah, so that's kind of the other reason I stuck to the that that area in real estate, and I just had the patience for it. I had the knowledge and the understanding and I and I really it was just easy for me because I did. I think it was because the passion I had for that area, and I just love doing it and helping other people   Michael Hingson ** 17:05 well. So how old is your granddaughter now? Now she is 12. Okay, she's 12. Now, does she walk, or does she use a wheelchair?   Susan Janzen ** 17:13 She uses, um, well, because she is as tall as me now, oh, she's using more a wheelchair more often, okay? She She walks with a walker. She can't walk on her own at all, and I think it's because of the vision, right? She if she could, you know, yeah, if she could see, she sees light. It's amazing how that how the brain works. She sees lights, and she sees color. And I can put up any color to her, and she'll identify it right every time, every time, but she doesn't see me. She doesn't see my face. Well, tell   Michael Hingson ** 17:45 me a little bit more about cortical vision. You. You and I talked about that a little bit. So Lacher, yeah, explain that to people. It's   Susan Janzen ** 17:52 really interesting because it's something that it's not readily out there, like you don't hear about it a lot. And even as a special ed teacher, I can tell you that I was trained in all of the different areas of special needs, but that did not come up for me, so this was new when I found out about it, and it just means that her eyes are fine. There's nothing wrong with her eyes, but her she's not processing so the information is coming through her eyes, but she's not processing that information. But she, like I said, if I turn out the light, she'll go, oh, the lights are off. Or if I put the lights on, she'll look up and be surprised at it. She you can tell that she knows. And then I used to put her on my counter in the kitchen, and I had these LED lights underneath my counter, my kitchen counter, and it had all these, these 12 different colors of light, and so I would put the blue on, I'd say, calea, what color is that? And she'd go blue, and I'd say, What color is that, and she'd go red. So it would be variable colors that I'd offer up to her, and she wouldn't get them right every single time. So that's the cortical vision impairment, and where they if she needs to pick up something off of a dresser, off the floor, for instance, it has to be on like a black background, and then she can see it, no problem. But if you have a whole bunch of things on the ground or on the table and ask her to pick up something, that's too much information for her, so she can't just zero in on that one area, right? So it's harder for her. So you just have to make things more accessible, so that she can see things you know, in her way.   Michael Hingson ** 19:25 But this is a different thing than, say, dyslexia, which is also you can see with your eyes, but your brain is in processing the characters and allowing you to necessarily truly read it exactly. And   Susan Janzen ** 19:38 that's that different part of the brain, where it's analyzing the the at least you can you can see it, but you process it differently. That's exactly right where she can't see. So then that's why I was thinking, if she could see better, I think she would be walking, maybe with a cane or with a walker, better. But right now, in that. Stage, we can point her in the right direction and tell her to go, and she'll go, but she's not sure where she is.   Michael Hingson ** 20:08 But that clearly wasn't the start of you doing real estate sales, dealing with accessible homes, but it must have certainly been a powerful motivator to continue with exactly   Susan Janzen ** 20:20 that, exactly that, because my mom was on oxygen, and she had, she had a lot of issues, mobility challenges. And I had a lot of friends who who were also like in that older age group that had mobility challenges. And those are the people that that were, may say, moving from a two story to a bungalow because they couldn't make manage the stairs anymore.   Michael Hingson ** 20:41 So how do we get people like the Property Brothers? Do you ever watch them and you know who they are? Oh yes, oh yes. We get them to do more to deal with building accessibility into the homes that they built. Because the the issue is that we have an aging population in our world. And it just seems like it would be so smart if they built accessibility and rights from the outset in everything that they do, because the odds are somebody's going to need it   Susan Janzen ** 21:11 exactly. And that's the for the forward thinking, right? You know? And it's interesting that some people, some builders, have told me that just to make a door frame three inches wider does not cost you any more money. But the point, the point is just that it's getting all the contractors on board to to come out of the way that they've been doing it for so long. You know, sadly,   Michael Hingson ** 21:38 yeah, my wife was in a chair her whole life, she was a teacher, paraplegic. Oh, so you know, I know about all this really well. And in fact, when we built this house, we we built it because we knew that to buy a home and then modify it would cost a bunch of money, one to $200,000 and in reality, when we built this house, there was no additional cost to make it accessible, because, as you point out, making doors wider, lowering counters, having ramps instead of stairs, all are things that don't cost more If you design it in right from the outset, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 22:24 exactly, and that's that's the problem. Yeah, that's the problem. I mean, that's exactly the problem.   Michael Hingson ** 22:29 Yeah. Now we built our home in New Jersey when we moved back there, and we did have a little bit of an incremental extra cost, because all the homes in the development where we found property were two story homes, so we did have to put in an elevator, so it's about another $15,000 but beyond that, there were no additional costs, and I was amazed that appraisers wouldn't consider the elevator to be an advantage and an extra thing that made The home more valuable. But when we did sell our home in New Jersey, in fact, the elevator was a big deal because the people who bought it were short. I mean, like 5253, husband and wife, and I think it was her mother lived with them, and we put the laundry room up on the second floor where the bedrooms were, and so the elevator and all that were just really wonderful things for everyone, which worked out really well.   Susan Janzen ** 23:30 Oh, that's perfect. And that's, that's kind of what I do here in evident that I try to match the people who are selling homes that have been retrofitted and made more, you know, accessible. I try to put out the word that this is available, and I try to get the people in who need that. I feel like a matchmaker, a house matchmaker, when it comes to that, because you don't want to waste that like some people, actually, they'll some people who don't understand the situation have chairless For instance, they they're selling their house, and they rip out the chair. Then it's like, well, call me first, because I want to find you somebody who needs that, and that's exactly what they're looking for. Okay, so that's kind of where, how I I operate on my my job   Michael Hingson ** 24:15 well, and I will tell you from personal experience, after September 11 for the first week, having walked down 1400 63 stairs and was stiff as a board for a week, I used the elevator more than Karen did. Oh,   Susan Janzen ** 24:28 at that, but you survived that. And that was, that's amazing, but it   Michael Hingson ** 24:35 was, yeah, you know, you have to do what you gotta do. I think that there's been a lot more awareness, and I I've been back to the World Trade Center since, but I didn't really ask, and I should have, I know that they have done other things to make it possible to evacuate people in chairs, because there were a couple of people, like, there was a quadriplegic. Um. Who I believe is a distant cousin, although I never knew him, but he wasn't able to get out, and somebody stayed with him, and they both perished. But I think that they have done more in buildings like the World Trade Center to address the issue of getting people out.   Susan Janzen ** 25:17 It's just too bad that we have to wait for that, things, terrible things like that to happen to crazy awareness. That's the only bad thing. What? It's not like, it's not like we're not yelling on the streets. It's not like we're not saying things. It's just that people aren't listening. And I think it depends on if you're to a point where you are actually in a wheelchair yourself, or you have a child who's in a wheelchair now, now they understand, well,   Michael Hingson ** 25:43 yes, it is getting better. There's still a lot of issues. Organizations like Uber still really won't force enforce as they should. All the rules and regulations that mandate that service dogs ought to be able to go with Uber passengers who have a need to have a service dog, and so there, there's still a lot of educational issues that that have to occur, and over time will but I think that part of the issue was that when 2001 occurred, it was the right time that then people started to think about, oh, we've gotta really deal with this issue. It is an educational issue more than anything else. That's true. That's   Susan Janzen ** 26:26 true. There's a fellow here in Edmonton that, and I'm sure it's elsewhere too, but one particular fellow that I know, and he builds, they're called Garden suites. Like in Edmonton, we're kind of getting so much the population here is standing so quickly that the city is allowing zoning for they're called Garden suites, so they're just but he goes in and puts in like a two story behind the home, and it's 100% accessible, barrier free, and no basement. And so we're encouraging people to buy those homes, and they don't cost as much because they're quite a bit smaller. They're only two bedroom but they have everything that anybody would need if they had mobility challenges. And so it's it's perfect for either people who have a son or a daughter who is getting close to being an adult and they want their more a little more freedom and independence. They could use that suite at the back. Or I know some adults in particular who are have mobility challenges, and they just physically move to that new place in the backyard and rent out their home right to make home revenue.   Michael Hingson ** 27:31 Since it's two stories, what do they do to make it accessible? They   Susan Janzen ** 27:34 have, they have an elevator. It's a zero entry, and it's 100% everything in it is specifically so you move in, walk, go right in, and it's, it's accessible. That's how he does it, right from scratch. Cool, super cool. And so we're trying to, I'm trying to promote that here, out here, because I, I know the fellow who builds them, and it makes sense. I mean, even if you want to have a revenue property, right? And you want to build that in your backyard and then rent it out to somebody who needs that, then that'd be perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 28:06 It makes, makes a lot of sense to do that. It does. Mm, hmm. Well, do you think that all of the knowledge that you gained in special education and so on has helped you a great deal in this new, more, newer career of doing real estate sales.   Susan Janzen ** 28:25 Oh, 100% because it's just an understanding. It's just having the compassion and understanding what not, because I haven't experienced it myself, but I do understand what they may be going through. It's just an enlightening for me, and I I just appreciate what they're going through, and I am, you know, I want to make it easier for them, you know, to make any decisions that they have to make. And I try. I don't like, I don't waste their time like, I make sure I go preview the homes first, make sure that it's something and I FaceTime them first to say, is this something you want to even come out to? So I don't want them to be wasting their time or their energy just trying to get to a place that's not accessible,   Michael Hingson ** 29:05 right? Mm, hmm. We moved from New Jersey to Novato California, which is in the North Bay, which is now being just bombarded by rain, but Northern California in 2002 and when we started looking for homes, we tried to find a place where we could build, but there was just no place up there where there was land to build a home. So we knew we had to buy a home and modify it. And one day, we went with a realtor, and he took us to a house, and it was clearly a house that wasn't going to work. The this there were, there was no room to put in a ramp, there were lots of steps, and we pointed out all the reasons that it wouldn't work. And then he took us to another home that was really like the first one. We went to four different homes and. We kept saying, this won't work, and here's why, and it was like a broken record, because it was all the same. I'm so sorry. Yeah, you know, I realized that not everyone has the opportunity to really understand and learn about wheelchair access and so on. But people should focus more on on doing it. It wasn't like I needed a lot for the house to be usable by me as a blind person, but, but Karen certainly did. And what we eventually found another realtor took us to a place, and what was really interesting is we described what we wanted before we started looking at homes with Mary Kay, and she said, I have the perfect home. You'll have to modify it, but I have the perfect home. And of course, after our experiences with the other realtors, we were a little bit pessimistic about it, but she took us to a home, and there was a step up into it, but that's easy to modify. Then you go through an entryway, and then you can go left into the kitchen or right, and if you went right, you ended up in a little Nexus where there were three bedrooms, oh, and it wasn't even a hallway. There were just three bedrooms. And so it was, it was perfect. We still had to make significant modifications, but it really was a home that was modifiable by any standard, and we, we bought it. It was perfect   Susan Janzen ** 31:44 for what we needed. I'm so glad I love that's a good start. That's a good story here. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 31:50 she, she got it and and it's so important. And I think Realtors need to be aware of the fact that we deal with a very diverse population, and it's important to really understand all of the various kinds of people that you might have to deal with, but we just don't always see that. Needless to say,   Susan Janzen ** 32:08 that's true. Unfortunately, that's so true. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 32:14 So do you how? How much time do you spend doing real estate? Is that a full time job for you.   Susan Janzen ** 32:20 Well, it always has been. I've been full time, full service, so I'm on call, really is kind of what it boils down to. But I've also pursued, in the last since COVID, I've pursued coaching courses because that's something I'd like to get into. And so now I'm a certified Jay Shetty resilience and confidence coach, and so I'm kind of leading, I think, as I age and as I, you know, getting tired of I've been a realtor 21 years now, so I would like to eventually slow down in that area and focus more on coaching people. That's kind of where I'm leaning now a little bit, but I'm still full time up there. And singer   Michael Hingson ** 33:02 and singer and your coach, yeah. So do you ever see your coaching customers? Just check, no no   Susan Janzen ** 33:10 checking. I send them the recording. I'll send them my CD. You can go and get you could get two of my CDs on iTunes, so I'll send them there, or else tell them one of my geeks.   Michael Hingson ** 33:20 Oh, cool. Well, I'll have to go look you up on iTunes. I have, yes, oh, it   Susan Janzen ** 33:25 is a Christmas there's a Christmas one there. I think you'd like that. Michael, is it really cool?   Michael Hingson ** 33:29 And I have Amazon unlimited music. I wonder if. I'll bet there too. You   Susan Janzen ** 33:33 just take in. Susan Jansen, and I come up. I have the greatest love of all is my one, and the other one's called the gift for you, and that's my Christmas split. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 33:41 cool, yeah. Well, we will. We will check them out, by all means. Well, so when do you rehearse? When do you when do you do singing?   Susan Janzen ** 33:52 Well, the big band rehearses every Saturday. So we, we all get together and we do. So it's, I just, you know, I love the rehearsals, like it's so much fun for me. So that's what we do with my other singing. I still get I still get hired, especially during the summer festival time, I get hired to come back and we call it throwback Klondike dates. And I have one costume of all my costumes that were made for me this you can imagine my costumes is called that Kate were like, a lot of sequins, full dresses with the big furry bottoms and then the feathery hats. So I used to wear those. So I still have one costume that still fits me, and so I use that every summer, and I go out, and I'm asked to do different functions during the summer, and then during all throughout the year, I do parties, you know, like, what if somebody hires me to do a birthday or some special celebration? I still do that. Okay, so   Michael Hingson ** 34:47 how often does the big band actually go out and perform and earn some money? Or does that happen much at all? Not that much because of   Susan Janzen ** 34:54 the size of us, right? Yeah. So, you know, we've done, you know, like the 100th anniversary of Arthur. Is a dance floor. And so we did their 100th anniversary celebration. And can you imagine, like the dance floor was just, it was like I was watching my own show from from the stage, because they we did all the Latin tunes, and they came out and danced the Sava and the rambas and the tangos and everything. It was beautiful. So I got to so that was a really fun gig for us, and then, and so we do other big and larger functions, like in ballroom. So you can imagine a conference, perhaps that's having a big celebration will be the ballroom entertainment. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 35:32 you know, you're in Canada. Can't you get Michael Buble to hire you guys? Ooh,   Susan Janzen ** 35:35 wouldn't that be nice? He's got his own man. He's   Michael Hingson ** 35:39 got, yeah, he does. I know these old charts and yeah, but he occasionally brings to the choir. I know that we, we went to see him well. Karen passed in November of 2022 we actually went to see him in Las Vegas in May of 2022 that was the last concert that we got to do together. And we ended up being relocated from up in the balcony in what Henry, what Harry Belafonte, would call the scholarship section. We We got moved down to the orchestra pit, and we were like in row 18, even two rows in front of Michael's family, but we ended up being there for the concert. It was wonderful. Oh, and he walked out and shook hands with everyone while he was singing, and all that was a lot of fun. But, yeah, he does have his own band, but music's great,   Susan Janzen ** 36:36 so good, and he does that so well. Like my favorite show is the voice. And so he's a judge on there too, and I really appreciate input. And he comes off very Canadian. I think he's this is very friendly and very silly and fun and and just really caring too. So I think he represents us well on the voice.   Michael Hingson ** 36:56 He does not take himself too seriously, which is so important, I think for so many people, so true. He does so well with that. So true. Well, so we mentioned pada Palooza, and you have a podcast. Well also, and you, you've written a book, right?   Susan Janzen ** 37:14 Yes. So I've co authored a few books, and then, plus my husband and I Well, my husband actually is a psychologist. He wrote the book, I typed it, and then he gave me credit, because I kept putting in my own stories and and he would, he was kind enough to put my name on the cover. So and we wrote a book called living and loving each day. And that's how, why I made my podcast that same name, and, and, but when we wrote it, the full title is living and loving each day success in a blended family. Because at that time when we got married, I had the two children, and they were just under you know, they were nine and 10 years old, eight and nine years old, and his boys, he had three boys that were older, like teenagers, and so and his wife passed away from cancer. So we all got together. And I mean blended families, that's a whole nother world, you know, if you're not used to that, that's something else. And, and then it turned out that his oldest son was diagnosed schizophrenic, so that was something that we dealt with together as a family. And, and, and then yeah we so we just felt like this was our life, and we wanted to share that. But that's like combining two separate families together, and how that works, and the dynamics of that. So he wrote some great, great stuff about how to deal with in laws, X laws and outlaws. He called them Yeah, and how to deal with every family celebration, Christmas and Easter, everything you know, like, there's so many things that come up even think about until you're in that situation, like, how do you do it? Right?   Michael Hingson ** 38:52 But it's so great that you two made the choice to do it and to blend the families and not give up on each other, or any of the people in the family, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 39:04 and that's in that's huge for me. And I can share a little story with you. Feel like the view is okay. So this is kind of cool. So this so when I was singing, and I was just at the end of my second year as Klondike Kate, and I was doing a lot of gigs, like a lot of singing and and I was just kind of cut, you know how they like you're, you see on the calendar that they're you're tuning down here. The end of the year is coming. The end of the gigs are coming, and you're not in that role anymore because they chose a new Klondike. And so those six years that I was a single mom, my husband now had his own radio show, and it was called that's living and there was a show out of Edmonton, and it actually won Canadian awards for this was a talk show during the day for one and a half hours, and it had two psychologists, and the psychiatrists were the hosts. And so on the Tuesdays and Thursdays with Dr Jan, that was my husband and I used. To listen every day because I had, I was a single mom. I really didn't have a lot of support, and I worked every night singing so and I had my kids all day. So it was just like my favorite show to listen to. And when I remember listening to and I heard this Dr Johnson's voice, I always thought he had, like, long white hair, long white beard, so he was just so calm and so compassionate and so smart that he was just such a I never knew what he looked like, but that's what I pictured him looking like. And then it turned out that right at the end of my my singing, I remember listening one day, and he was on the air, and he I was going to my agents I was driving down Main Street in Edmonton, and I remember going to my agent's office to see what was next for me, like, what's next? What next gig do I have? And I remember he came on the air that day, and he said, You know what, folks, I have to let you know that his he said, My wife passed away. And he said, My boys and I've been grieving since the day we found out six months ago. But I need to be here to be of service to you, and I need to be on the air to help you today. And hope you don't mind. I hope you understand, you know he was, you know, and it was, it was so emotional, and like I was sitting in my van, like crying, thinking, because I'd been listening to him all those years, and I just felt so sad for him. And then I kind of, I'm a God fearing woman, and I said, Lord, why can't I meet a man like that that needs me as much as I need him. That was my outside prayer. And you know what? It wasn't even a week and a half later, I get a call from that station, CTC, saying, hey, Sue, can you do a Christmas Bureau fundraiser for us? He said, There's no pay involved, but you can be MC and and, you know, help us. You know, raise money for the Christmas funeral. And so I was happy to do that. And so that's how, how I met my husband was when at that particular function. So that was kind of my, you know, and like, just an answer to prayer and something that I really, you know, it was interesting how, how that all happens when you are very specific and, and so that's how we met. And, yeah, so we've been together ever since 36 years now. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 42:06 as I tell people, you know, Karen passed away two years ago, and I don't move on from Karen, but I move forward exactly because I think if I I've always interpreted Moving on is you go on and you forget, and I don't, and I don't want to forget, so I move forward Exactly. And besides that, I know that if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it, so I gotta be a good kid, or she's going to get me one way or another. Yeah, that's right. And so, you know, as I, as I said to somebody yesterday, I don't even chase girls, so you know, it works out very well, but you know, the the the issue is that those 40 years of memories are always going to be there, and there's so much to learn from that. And again, it's all about choice. This is so important well, so tell us more about the podcast on how long have you been doing it? How did that start? And and so on,   Susan Janzen ** 43:03 right? So I was actually my daughter has this a nonprofit where she was she works with other parents who have children with adaptive needs, and so she asked if I would interview her parents just to find out about parents stories and you. I'm sure you understand where you want to just tell your story, what happened without having to explain. And, you know, I don't know, just give all the, you know, the background to everything. They just wanted to share this story and to be heard on with no judgment and with compassion. So I said, No, I can do that. I can interview them, and I want to hear their stories. And they need, I think they need to share them those stories too, for whatever happened, you know, with whatever incident happened with their children. So, so I said to my daughter, I sure I'll do a podcast for them, you know, and just interview them. And then I only did it through zoom and not knowing anything about how to do that, I've been MC for fundraisers, but I don't know how to do a podcast. So I did that the best I could, using Zoom. And then I when I was done it, I liked it so much, I thought, well, I better figure out how to do this, like the right way, right? So I actually did take a course. And there was a lady out of Toronto that was giving a course called cash in on camera. And so she talked about how to set up restream, how to set up air table, how to do your mic, your lighting, and all of the things that you need to consider. And so I took that course. And so then I interviewed a few more people and a few experts for her, for her. So that's kind of how I got started, with just focusing specifically on on my daughter's audience. So those parents.   Susan Janzen ** 44:40 And how long ago was that?   Susan Janzen ** 44:41 That was, what, two years ago now total, because I've been doing my podcast now for just over a year.   Susan Janzen ** 44:48 And do you how many episodes a week? Do you do one?   Susan Janzen ** 44:51 I do one, but I, you know what? I've got 140 that I've done. And I'm thinking, I've got quite. If you in the books, you know how that works. Where you report I'm you, Michael, give me advice on this. So I have three recorded that are waiting for me, but plus I have 14 others that are on my book to interview like I'm getting a lot of interest and people who want to be on my podcast, which is wonderful, but then I got, now gotta figure out how to do that, or how to actually, you know, organize it. How often should I be putting out podcasts? Like every three days now, like otherwise, we're going to be going into middle of 2025 I don't know.   Michael Hingson ** 45:33 I started for accessibe, doing unstoppable mindset in August of 2021 when I started using LinkedIn seriously to look for podcast guests in 2022 and I use sales navigators, so we profile authors or coaches or whatever, and we'll send out emails saying, I saw your profile. It looks like you'd be an interesting guest. Would you love to explore coming on unstoppable mindset, what we do is then we, when they're willing, we schedule a meeting and we we talk about it, and if they want to come on, which usually they do, then we actually schedule the time, and I ask them to send me some information, as you know, like a series of questions that they want to talk about, a bio, other things like that, but we got a pretty significant backlog. And I've learned that a lot of people with very successful podcasts do have backlogs. Oh, good. There's nothing wrong with that. Okay, good. It's better to have them. You can always add an extra podcast if you want to play more, but we do two a week now, and just today, we published episode 286, wow. Since August of 2021, and so it's a lot of fun. I enjoy it, and I get to meet so many people. And as I tell people, if I'm not learning at least as much as anyone who listens to the podcast, I'm not doing my job well. I agree, quite invested in it. I think it's so important to be able to do that. So the bottom line is that we do get a lot of interesting people. I talked to someone just the other day who is very much involved in energy and healing and so on. Well, she also was a singer in Australia, had a very serious auto accident, and kind of went away from seeing for a while, and then she realized she started doing a lot of creating, of affirmations, but then she put the affirmations to music, and she points out that, you know, the lyrics are in the left side of the brain, but the music's in the right side, and they actually work together, and so by having them in a musical form, you you're more likely to really be able to internalize them. So she even sang one for us on the earth, a lot of fun, but, but the bottom line is that, you know, it's she also does her own podcast, which is kind of fun, but there is so much to learn from so many different people. I've had so much fun doing it, and I enjoy very much the opportunities to learn. Yeah,   Susan Janzen ** 48:29 no, I'm right there with you, and I think that's why I just keep going, because it's fascinating. And then, and it seems like the right different people come into my, my, you know, my area, just to ask if they can be on it. And it's, it always works out really well, like it's always something that else that I've just kind of broadens it a little bit, but I, I'm trying to be more focused this night, last two months now, in that, you know, in conjunction with my daughter and just doing the parents with accessible, you know, needs, or kids with adaptive needs. And also, some adults are coming to me now too, saying they've in their 30s and 40s, they were in psycho with ADHD, and so they're that diverse, neuro, diverse group. So, I mean, who knows where that will take me, right? I'm open to it   Michael Hingson ** 49:18 well, and that's what makes it so much fun. You never know where the journey is going to take you, or if you do, and you're all embracing it, so much the better. But if you don't know what's an adventure, and that's good too, that's   49:28 great. No, I agree with you, yeah. So I love how   Michael Hingson ** 49:31 many, how many pot of Palooza events have you been to? That   Susan Janzen ** 49:34 was my first one. I know I did not have a clue what to expect. I put you down as my potential guest, though, but I don't know how it didn't come up forward. So I'm glad we're doing this now, but I I really enjoyed it. I love the people, and you could tell we were all in the same room with the same visions and the same, you know, compassionate areas that we're working in. So. I was really grateful for a lot of the people I met, great people. Well   Michael Hingson ** 50:03 now you and I also have an event time scheduled next Tuesday. Do we good? Yeah, are you? Well, you scheduled it in my Zoom. But if you, if you, when you go look at your calendar, you'll see, I think what you did was you scheduled it, forgetting this was supposed to be a 60 minute interview conversation. But if you send me a link, this is live radio sports fans. If you send me a link, then I will come to yours next time, next Tuesday, at the time that we're supposed to meet, rather than you coming into the Zoom Room, where we are, or I can make you a co host, and you can record it your choice.   Susan Janzen ** 50:45 Oh, what? Hey, yes, let's do it. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 50:49 I'll just, we'll, we'll get together, and I'll make you a host or a co host, that'd be perfect.   Susan Janzen ** 50:54 And then you can record it that'd be great. Or, I have three streams, so I can send you the link for that you   Michael Hingson ** 51:01 choose, but long as it's accessible to screen readers, I'm happy. And,   Susan Janzen ** 51:09 yeah, thank you for that, Michael, I did. We'll do that. You got it good. We're booked. Yeah, we are   Michael Hingson ** 51:16 already booked. So it's next Tuesday, so that'll be good. That'll be great, but it's a lot of fun.   Susan Janzen ** 51:23 Yeah, really it's it's nice to get to know people. It's really nice to know other people's journeys. And especially, what I find most fascinating is all over the world, like we're meeting people that we would have never met. Yeah, you know before. So I'm glad. I really   Michael Hingson ** 51:36 appreciate that I've met a number of people from Australia. We interviewed? Well, we had a conversation with somebody from Uganda, number of people in England and people throughout the United States. So it's a lot of fun.   Susan Janzen ** 51:49 It really is, yeah, so we're blessed that that's great. It's a   Michael Hingson ** 51:53 wonderful blessing. I mean, doing this is so enjoyable. I used to do radio in college, and so this the neat thing about doing a podcast, at least the way I do it, is you're not absolutely governed by time, so you don't have to end at four o'clock and and it's so much more fun than radio, because you are the one that's really in control of what you do. So it's it's a lot of fun, but I very much enjoy doing the podcast, right?   Susan Janzen ** 52:23 You're right is that if they start having to go to worship break and not have to take the time and stopping and starting, that is really,   Michael Hingson ** 52:30 oh, that people seem to like it. They they keep emailing me and saying they like it. And I, I'm hoping that they continue to do that. As long as people are happy with me doing it, I'm going to do it. And you know, as I tell everyone, if you know anyone who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, want to hear from you and provide us with an introduction, because it is part of what we do. And so, so much fun,   Susan Janzen ** 52:53 so much fun. So tell me why you Why did you choose that name unstoppable mindset?   Michael Hingson ** 52:59 You know, I was looking for a name. And I've heard some people kind of talking about unstoppable in their lives in some way, but I also thought that we really needed to define what unstoppable meant. And so I just thought about it for a while, and it just really kind of clicked. And I said, Okay, God, that must be what you want me to do. So we're going to have unstoppable mindset. We're inclusion, diversity in the unexpected beat. Love it and it's and it is stuck. And every title for people starts with unstoppable. So you'll be unstoppable something or other. I gotta think about the title, unless you've got some bright idea.   Susan Janzen ** 53:48 Oh yeah, you have to let me know.   Michael Hingson ** 53:51 Well, I'm trying to use something like unstoppable. Woman of many talents. But you know,   Susan Janzen ** 53:56 yeah, I don't have just 111, little lane. I love learning about everything, and I love open and grateful for every opportunity. So that's probably my problem. Yeah, that's our problem. That's not really a problem, but I know it's not,   Michael Hingson ** 54:11 and it's so much fun. So what are your goals for the podcast? How do you hope it will make a difference in the world?   Susan Janzen ** 54:21 I think my, my biggest thing is to say, you know, I've been through, I think it's showing people that they're not alone, that there are people out there who do understand, and there are people there that really do care about them, and that we want to provide information and services, and we want to hear their story. We want them to just know. I think a lot of people feel when they're in situations that are not whatever normal is, whatever that is even mean that they're just they're in isolation, and they're there's nobody that cares and that they don't matter. And I think my biggest thing in my coaching and in my podcast. Have to just say, You know what, we're here, and we really want to understand, if we don't understand, explain it to us. So we do, and that you're not alone in this, and we we're here to help, you know, to collaborate and to help each other.   Michael Hingson ** 55:11 Yeah, well, tell us a little bit more about the whole coaching program, what's what's happening now, what your goals are for that, and and how you're finding people and so on,   Susan Janzen ** 55:22 right? So the coaching my specific areas are confidence and resilience is my is my title, like confidence and resilience coach and I, and I'm going based on my past and the resilience that I've overcome so many different things. So I've got kind of a long list of things every time. So you talk to say, yeah, no, I that's happened to me, but, and just to, just to encourage people to come into either one on one coaching, or I'm going to have group coaching. And on my website, I also want to have drivers where we we create more value, so that if they're a member, then they can get more podcasts that are more about the how tos, like exactly, specifically areas that they might be interested in. And I also want to create a group where we can have, like a one day a week, coffee time, coffee chat, so we can get people together who are in the same boat, especially those parents with children with a breath of me, and just a place where they can just, kind of no agenda, just to chat and and I also would love to have, like a retreat by the end of the year. Let's all gather, and let's just have a day, you know, together, where we can enjoy each other's company. So that's kind of what I'd like to build with my, with my, with my coaching packages, and then also one on one, of course, as well. And that's, yeah, I would like to have a community, like, build a community. So   Michael Hingson ** 56:51 do you do any of your coaching virtually, or is it all in person? Well,   Susan Janzen ** 56:55 right now it's virtual, like, the one coaching I've done so far and but I'm open to either, like, I'm happy to meet people I don't have an office. Um, is that interesting? How, if you would have asked me that question before COVID, bc I would have just had an office somewhere, and where now it's, like, virtual just is so convenient. Yeah? Meeting full and just all the driving I've eliminated, it's been amazing. So, yeah, I would be open to eat it. You know,   Susan Janzen ** 57:27 how far away have you had clients from?   Susan Janzen ** 57:31 Basically, the ones I've had are the ones that I've had up till now. Really, interestingly enough, are local. They're more local people so we could have met for coffee. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:43 and still might, and we still, I'm   Susan Janzen ** 57:47 sure we will. I'm sure we will, because I keep in touch with them, and they're doing great, but interesting, isn't that interesting? It's a really good question, though, because I'm curious to see you know how far you know, the word will get out to come and join me, you know, in the coaching program, yeah, that'd be human.   Michael Hingson ** 58:08 Well, it sounds like a lot of fun. It sounds like fun, yeah, so why do you still continue to sing? Oh, I   Susan Janzen ** 58:15 can't stop I can't shut up. I just think it's like, even it, yeah, it's too hard for me to stop. It's my joy. That's where I find my you know, even as a kid, going through all the tough times I went through, that was my my joy. It was my vice happy place. So I just   Michael Hingson ** 58:32 so do you think that that singing helps others with confidence and resilience?   Susan Janzen ** 58:36 I um, I think, I think the the techniques that are used in singing, a lot of them are used in podcasting or speaking. A lot of them, we are speakers, for instance. And then they have, they worry about confidence on camera specifically, and when that where light comes on, or when the light comes on, and they just don't know how they're looking or how people are seeing them, those kind of areas, those are the things that I kind of tackle when I talk, talk to them and just explain it as a like, I sang the national anthem for a Stanley Cup playoff game. That's scary, like, that's that's really scary. So I mean, I know I've been there, and I know what that feels like, and I know how your body feels, and I know the importance of breathing, and I think one of the biggest things is just getting people to, just to take deep breaths. You know, when   Michael Hingson ** 59:28 you're when you relax and you lean into it, which I'm sure you do because you're used to it. That gives you a confidence that you can then project onto other people 100% Yeah, exactly. You talked about the red light on the camera coming on. It reminds me of one of my favorite stories. Yeah, right after September 11, I was interviewed on Larry King Live on scene. Oh, wow, wow. We actually had five different interviews, and when the second one occurred, mm. Uh, the the the producer, the director, came into the studio where I was and Larry was still out in California, and I was doing it from CNN in New York. And you know, when they, when they do their shows, everything is like, from sort of the chest up. It's mainly dealing with your face and so on. So for Roselle, excuse me, for Roselle to be able to be my guide dog, to be part of the show, they build a platform that we put her up on. Now she was just laying there. And the director came in and he said, you know, your dog isn't really doing anything. Is there anything we can do to make her more animated? And I said, are the Clea lights on? Because I couldn't really tell and he said, No. I said, then don't worry about it. When those lights come on, she will be a totally different dog, because she figured out cameras. She loved to go in front of the camera. The klieg lights came on, she lifts up her head, she's yawning, she's blinking, she's wagging her tail. It was perfect. Yeah, it's one of my favorite stories. But that is so great. I guess it's also the time to tell you that the name of my third guide dog was, here it comes, Klondike. Oh, really, my third guide dog, anything was a golden retriever. His name was Klondike.   Susan Janzen ** 1:01:18 Oh, that's and I know I'm public dates, and then you got two of us here. This is great. Yeah, that is so cool. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:26 if people want to reach out and get get in contact with you, they want to learn about your coaching programs and so on. How do they do that?   Susan Janzen ** 1:01:35 So I think the best way is, my website is this, www, dot Sue. Janssen, I'm just going by my short Susan. So S, U, E, J, a, n, z, e n, dot, C, A diamet, and that'll kind of give you everything there. There'll be a little video of my granddaughter on there. There'll be ways to get in touch with me and to book a call. So that would be great. And then we'll chat about it,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:59 and we have an image of your book cover in in the show notes and so on. And so I hope people will pick that up. Um, I always ask this, although a lot of times it doesn't happen. But does it happen to also be availabl

About the Guest:Avery Reavill is an experienced deal maker in New York City working diligently for both tenants and owners. Avery's thoughtful approach with consistent communication will give you the confidence and support needed to navigate all transactions in the commercial market.Prior to joining Okada & Company, Avery worked as a Tenant Representative at Gold Properties NYC. This foundation exposed him to a variety of business owners, all facing unique challenges when searching for a space to best facilitate their growth. Avery's proactive mindset helps deliver positive results to all his clients.About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking among the top 1.5% of licensed Agents in the United States for Sales Volume and among the Top 10 highest producing Small Teams at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in the NYC community.  She is a founding Steward at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives.Get in touch with Christina:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps0:00 Avery Reavill introduction and background 2:52 Debunking the stigma around commercial properties and discussing current market opportunities6:04 How banks and property owners are handling commercial real estate loans10:11 How landlords are renovating spaces to attract new commercial tenants15:22 How to find good commercial property deals and the importance of working with a broker18:16 The Midtown South rezoning plan and its impact on the Garment District27:23 Why having a commercial real estate expert on your team is valuable43:51 Which NYC neighborhoods currently offer the best commercial real estate deals

I have eyes in the back of my head I have goats at the top of my bed I have goats on the cap of my knee I think I wrote my own obituary Oh, you hetcha Bitch, you ain't me Shit be poppin off at the rock in 8 minutes exactly In studio 8H That's where I am, Amen again Cause I meant it And I mix in the pancake batter Perhaps some berries? Apparently not, 7 minutes and counting I'm at the Rock Now I'm putting away my don't ask, don't tell Ok. Okay? Okay? Now I'm making arrangements; Don't want to be your favorite, I just miss LA with a hankering Call Hank team USA That's FBI I'm so Walter White that I watch Saturday Night — not live, though I'm too broke for peacock, YouTube And cable! Dang, bro! How many subscriptions do I need Just not to dry myself to sleep. Send me some pictures January jonesing for a free ride scholarship To on God university, Aka: inside the TV DOBT BE EVIL. WRITE ME A SEQUEL! Ok tv people First just let me … son of a bitch! I told you she'd be back. Yo. Whaddup. You killed Jimmy Fallon! I did not. You did! Yes you did. I didn't. He was already like that. What! You heard me! Explain to me how— This man: [This man] *heavy gasps and anxietal wheezing fills the room* Explain this. Metaphisics. That doesn't explain anything. It explains everything, actually. *explodes* Excuse me, miss— do I smell a remix? No, that's pancakes. I got capacity for losers; I'm no longer lonely A broke in horse with no saddle Don't ride me less it's barevack Down and dirty Downhome and in the raw I like to buck And I like it hard A strong gallop and pull, Top speed Why I don't pay for dreams Why I got tv and movie stars in my dreams Why Ariana grande so pretty? Why when we leave outside the crowd still roaring for an e core? Why am I a mogul; Why do I look like a fashion icon? God for it right, I guess but why do I still feel Wildly unsatisfied The lights said I left the water on Turn the lights off Turn the water on I speak color, I am an animal I spoke 9 Gods I am an animal Rise to the occasion I broke the code I threw the rock off the rock k I smoke the fountain I run the block once Come twice Nice shockwave right there Hi God. A beautiful night to die But no time to fall I despaired on desire, Why right on Maine Radio towers Icons Beautiful glimmering city Mayday mayday went haywire Repeat Mayday mayday Went haywire Repeat Mayday mayday Went haywire Now rinse thoroughly Alright, alright. So hawked it. You hawked my father's antique stopwatch?! Sorry. Sorry?! AAAAGG— [The Festival Project ™{ Mayday mayday Went heywire They need more scriptwriters I want an empire I wrote half of the Super Bowl commercials Mayday mayday Oh man. Oh, fuck. You had better wash your hands before you touch my crotch. I don't. Give me—- my— body back. Nope. AUghhhh. My inspiration is dead in the water Can't watch hot ones That guy ruined it Ruined September And ruined October Ruined the cosmos And ruined my song, bro— I'm ruined. My inspiration is dead in the water I am a trash can, Man, this is awkward I won an award for songs post mortem Then I wrote more of them This is the afterlife I'm an immortal. My inspiration is dead in the water I'm just not moved man I need a baseball cap and some phantoms A laxatives Maybe some large hands A ball glove Some box seats Smoked sausage And the dodgers. I wanna go home and not be homeless. I want a condo above four stories. I want the whole world on top of its axis I want the other half of the balance My whole life been whack, Where's the reverse card? Run the tarot— Pull the rewards back, Don't touch the foreskin, Call back the foreman Redact that! Redact that! We're starting to crossfires. We met at the crossroads; One goes down, one goes up. Oh, the Irish are back, look: That's good— I got bored. {enter The multiverse} We were at blue suits and sweater vests And now I know better than To count on comics designed to be weather men Of pop culture— current events a spin on the news l went there for clarity, And left there confused. Confused. If the transmitter is at the World Trade Center, Then why is it every time I to go Rockefeller Center, I feel like I've just been electrocuted? Not enough to die, but like I'm buzzing all over and out of my body? Remarkably, and no matter what — Whenever I'm there, I just feel weird. Like, mad weird. Hey. What. Did you see a guy? I'm a guy. Really? Apparently. Well, I'm looking for this guy. I did see a guy like that. Really? Yeah. He was weird. Which way did he go? Uh. [Sunni BLU points up] Really? He went upstairs? Sure! Huh. Thanks. Whatever. I need you to need me I need me to be cool I need you to want me To love me To free me To love me To hold you I know you I know you I know. Knockout with a scarred lip Knockout was a good guy Knockout got knocked up Knockout had a good try Knockout got knocked out Knockout had a good cry Knockout got locked up Goodbye. Good luck. Here's a chalice. 09. Don't waste time. But I'm tired I'm shadow boxing my mind I'm lights out Candles lit I, I, I I, me, mine And God But I won't waste time I'm still dried out I got my eyes lost Wrapped around you In hindsight I'm behind Blind to the power I love my readheads and range rovers I lost my mind on mullholland Pull over and vomit And suddenly I'm at the Portal Plummet Plaza. [The Festival Project ™ ] The rock and the kite VI Rosie o donnel is chillin. Jimmy Kimmel kicks in the door. Oh look, the cat is back. Meow. To what do I owe the pleasure. You remember that cup of sugar you borrowed? …okay? I need it back. I see. —and my blender. Rosie o donnel takes a deep breath and then sighs. The cup of sugar I can help you with… the blender, I still need. Fair. Follow me. Rosie and Jimmy exit the room, the glimmer of the television still flickering on the green postered armchair with the remote control atop the armrest m; the actual cat (we presume) climbs up into the chair and appears to begin watching the TV? What's on the TV? Why, it's the very orogramme we're all currently tuned into. This just got meta. Again. The cat, looking bored, changes the channel to Garfield. Much better. He looks satisfied now, but is entirely still 199% just a cat. We presume. Your body ponders My eye wander to you're belt buckle My mind watches. Sorry. Your body calls me. My love hurts. I want you. My thought sparkles with the thought of a touch I'm not hungry, I just want you I desire to hold hands and then Dive off I thought you up to love you The time was wrong So now I watch That's all A long rush to nothing Dogtown, Godland. Longboards, longhairs, all body No shine, bro Hard wax, yellow soldier Wavestirm? Epoxy? North shore surf boards Surf harder Fuck New York I wanna go home Panoramic Hollywood golden Who lost apartheid Who first of all Chosen sources First mate Overboard Long hair Wrong rowboat Oh lover Lord of all I almost forgot it was Saturday, Saturday Night I was too busy not working I'm all yours for Passover I'm all ears, And now I get a sense that this Is my last and greatest trick; Disappearing for this, And again forever This is going to take Forever All wrong: You work for the network Interesting choice of wardrobe– another old code magician Ring on opposite finger– The other, I'm so much aware of The ice cream in tubs on the road Not melted, but partially hardened I can also feign confusion You don't say, You don't say, now. Shake hands with your guest; Monologue, monologue smug smirk Make good face– Now put a name to the face Put a time to the place IOh, all the love in the world in three flames All the doves in the flock, And three flames Put a name to the face Monologue monologue Doesnt take long but When do i get to slap the desk? Johnny! What happened? Whats the 10 vodkas, Five spritzers Full figure Figure this You were out for the count! Do tell! Or better yet, don't. I remember tgis mologue, But i dont know how 16 hours ago, I was Out for the count, you say?! OUT, Johnny! Our market is livid! lol who plays john carson Your mother. YO! I'M OLD! I LIKE OLD DUDES NOW! I'm like When the fuck did this happen?! That ain't no SILVER FOX! That's a TOTALLY CUTE DUDE! HE'S 55!! OH NOOOOOOOO! i'M OLD!!!!!!! its wednesday eve in Boston Mass… SETH MEYERS! Ah, he's going for it. Ah, man. SHOW ME YOUR EYES. Fuck. SHOW ME YOUR EYES! SUDAKIS shines a bright flash light into his former colleagues eyes. …You're not Seth Meyers. Seth Meyers does not respond, but relaxes slightly; it's obviously not safe to be Seth Meyers right now. Where's Seth Meyers? Seth shrugs but still doesn't say anything– Where is he? I have to stop here; Cop out for body language somebody's watching Somebody knows who I am I am I remember now You looked like that It went like this: I moved the world The need was good The love was gone The vein was split open And broken No fair Also, no omletts 60 minutes 60 years and 60 second clips 60 second glimpses 60 men on television but really, my attention just centers on Around ten of them or so And believe it or not, I care approach. Believe it or not, I care Or don't! –or don't! Johnny! You don't get it! You missed a show! THE tonight show! We are fucked! we are NOT! youre still sauced. I'll just take the car! What car!? Now that JOHNNY CARSON knows his Delorean can time travel, he's absolutely unstoppable. Unfortunately, it appears his delorean has been switched with a regular one– If I shoot you in your forehead? I'd rather that, than this. And I kiss you in your temple? Dear templeton, my simpleton's i'll die I desire. A wicked want. And then? A callous shadow, If i may, To bear for nothing, But a mirror This is our concept And wilted her e the flower does grow the flame The faming true and ache of lust and there For our want a jasper shore and emerald cascades there you are, And there you'll find The wave beyond the peaking break where great white sharks reside But do not wade to shallow waters; And there you find peace, And there you find certainty But now, And here, is war And fortune not but seeks truth in the gaze And for fear there does not live, but hides instead the truth that seeks to guide the lite, And yet does know our trust And there does find the faith, Forward and not Upwards and back Arrow and arrow Truth and sparrow Wreaking and wretched thoughts And the rope does hang high and solemn Looking, leap and gasp For I fall but did not land I pulled for you, I weep, my shadow, The two of diamonds, the Ace of spades, The Three of Hearts, Without my shadow I weep. I know for you nothing but conscious and knowing and needing and fated departure. I know for you nothing but chakras and eyesight and shadows and foresight. I need fo you nothing but want and by conscious, departure For nothing I want you, I weep. Sorrow. On approach of danger, The knowing, On seeth did gather, the sinking ritual the carried tribes in ships tied, weaving strings The spider bites hard And she stole my love twice And she stole my love always And she stole my love Lighting my light wit blue eyes The deception If love could be stolen at all But if not Then not love for seeking is finding and gathered had hunted And truth in forbearer Forbearance and otherwords, Shadows and shattered and ferris wheels, Now forward Gathered here for are I trust And be dismayed for you have faltered You have failures and you have cast us out of these things thinking We have not made them for you And still we seek to gather with you And here does forshadow your making Our promise to come as ones, Not as Gods, But as others, you cast out. Now, with your wicked ways and cruel be done, for sure the tables have turn, one And the gallows have not wandered far, Barrels of guns and barbells bottles and hearts of three reading cards and wanting none but justice Is he and she who are I now Begin to run from your pitied structure And there in the gasping cruelness of seeking from warcrimes this, come what may, Moving and seeking, For seeking is finding, And run, my legs have come far But trust, my dove, My wings have too, sprouted An honor, an honor one candle and three wicks Three candles and three worlds over One world and one building and still far from under the Hollywoodland Crickets sounding The Hollywood Sign Still standing and here I am not, Blades of grass And who are I now Of that which you balk at Look, ponder Go, far asunder And wish now had you not What I am is that, Run Temper temper. Mind your business. Is it gathered? To burn, or burden? Gathered. Gathered here. Then here ive wandered. To stake? Argue. I will not. And I will not. Wiry bird, From where you flown i do ponder– re d with spirit and wilding eyes, Narrow server and paring wires; I do not wish to know you now or ever, But only as bird that does golden remember. The love has not gone, And instead lives in my throat, And twists in my lungs, Ans sits in my tongue, Not as speech, or whispers, But tragedy. Unknowing this, my tender being It can never be, the nervous hill And rolling down the hill as if The weel of time itself, Not unbroken, but resilient; In sll ways, meant to tear And turn, And wobble Made for terrain for which our eyes have known And our minds have built And hands molded wiith clay, The bodies whole of all our galaxies terra feighn Terra fine Terra wept tears of a clown, And iron And veins And shadows And plays, And secrets , And whispers And truth And far And Afters. I taste a saline drip, I swallow, Suddenly cold and all the knowing that What I was, I surely already am again And what I will be, Has already come and past. The monologue, I do remember Face to a name and none to forget Well rehearsed forager! Well done bayonet! Well done, my shadow For my time is coming to wander to night And never today again for it shall never Today again, And Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow. [The Festival Project ™ ] They said he would destroy me. …Ya'll were right. that fucked me up. {Enter The Multiverse} So…forfeit? Something tells me its not over The heavy heart is shattered But also tied to that which appears to come upward As if on air To be heavy And lighthearted at once– A shadow above a balloon. A rock is attached to a kite– A diamond becomes a bassoon, Then a vampire bat, and then Cut ties. In the fourth act, we all die, and now– A revival. I was crucified, But i was also suicidal so. Lets just call it a tie. L E G E N D S V.O. Crusher. My show was being subliminally plugged on at least two of the five major networks. Safe bet I could make it a third, but I didn't know where to check. I did…but didn't want to. There was much beyond the surface, Darkness in the glimmering eyes of the men in ties and uniformed suits. I was sure I was tied to something– And since I didn't know why, Or to what, The best bet I'm all in. Fuck. Was to stay broken, Under the radar, Hidden, and most importantly– Unspoken. These days. I kept more to myself than I could with the world– As it turned out… No, not yet. What do you mean? It's not time yet. They'll have to know. But not yet. At some point, they'll have to know. But not–yet. No time like the present. You made that up. Because you made up time. And it's stupid. This is ruthless. And again–they'll have to learn somehow. But not now. The sun sets at noon on our side, and still 21 hours of dark time. Did I have another tag to throw on it this? No. Are you sure? Doesn't the new series have a subtitle? No. Is it not “quantum force” That's only one, though. What's the difference. ERMO, DON'T! I'm gonna kill him! BIG BOYD, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! DOn't tell me what to DO. Wow. of course. Well yeah, they're not going to let me do– LAWYERS No. Any of this stuff with the actual muppets. You're wasting precious time! GET BACK IN YOUR HOLE, RED. ok, where does it– {cut to black} Learning to assimilate and readily avalible What's next A vape to calm the nerves? What's next? A hero fighting for relevance in corporate structure. Sure, some would pay to dress an avatar But I've run out of water before I try to laugh and roll with the punches This is work and not fun for me This is not social, it's business I am not person, I'm product. Go on a walk, and look the part I took the oath, I shed the blood— Cruxes. This is a bad idea, Mark. Fuck you. All my ideas are great. MARK WAHLBERG enters the cooridor and opens the metal double doors, revealing two l jet skis on a trailer hitched to a 4X4 monster truck. [The Festival Project ™] I'm telling you. You got to get yourself one of these. I don't know, Bob, how does it work? BOB odenkirk opens a large, obscure black bag that's nearly half his own size by way of one way zipper. I'll show you. {Enter The Multiverse} JOHNNY CARSON has been in the DRUNK TANK for the maximum allowance, 48 hours, yet his blood alcohol level still reads 3 times over the legal limit. He is transferred to DETOX as the mysterious circumstances surrounding his car accident, and then the apparent disappearance of his entire “car” a (then) brand-new DeLorean from the scene of the crime, MR. CARSON insists on his lawyer, who under no circumstances seems to exist at all being present. The exact year of his whereabouts are still unknown. Still an hour to the test And I hate myself again Milk and cookies, hit the bed Shut it down, yo Shut it down. DIPLO arrives via HELIPAD to an secret location; a sniper squad of the adversary team watches from an adjacent rooftop via binoculars. …hey. Whaddup. You say diplo's on that list? Yeah. Yo… …There he is. In your sight? Yep. Shoot that motherfucker! …I can't. Why not? He's like— Just shoot, fool. —he's like holding something. So? I don't know what; it just seems— What the fuck, dawg. It just seems important. Let me see. Look. [ESSE looks down the sights and zooms to see DIPLO is holding an object firmly in his grasp. He appears to be twirling it purposefully as he conversates wi th associate.] Yeah! Get em! Shoot that motherfucker! Where the hell have you been? In my fuckpad. Where the hell is that? You haven't seen my fuckpad? What even is that. It's ballin. Whatever, dog. Did you get the— Shh. Why else would I be here? [beat] You look— did you cut your hair or something. You're so redundant. Yo shoot that motherfucker. What are you waiting for?! He's right there? Apparently, we've been building to this moment from another dimension in from another point in the series? I thought— {Enter The Multiverse} [The Identity Crisis] The identity crisis, A loose knit muse, A fog of confusion At most, let with offline regaining of conciousness. No more monsters? All blondes are. Let them have you No grapple promotions (I know I can't afford you) New friends for relevance Prototypes of your tools Forward all immortals I'll see you when your shows stop Freckled glances Eyes reflecting light How strong I am Demolish monsters Social structure, constructs Not fair, are I? Nor earned, Only fair skinned Access Access Access denied. Crookshanks, old boy! The man turns around almost as if he doesn't want to, but obliges the other man, as he comes running towards him. My Goodness, you stink. Why of course! I'm a dog! [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © | COPYRIGHT 2018-2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -Ū. {Reposts}

Please help us welcome Charlie Gaylor, as he talks with us today on TCB about his fascinating experiences, plus his insights into the Missy Bevers case.Former Deputy Chief Field Agent, Dallas County Medical Examiners Office (2002 to 2007);Former Division/Group Supervisor for the US Health and Human Services, as part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). Responses include:World Trade Center after terror attacks of 2001;Shuttle Columbia disaster, 2003;Hurricane Katrina, 2005;And multiple hurricane responses, and incidents of National Significance.Former paramedic (one of the first in Oklahoma).Semi-retired, currently writing a book about a serial with whom he went to junior high and high school.

Please help us welcome Charlie Gaylor, as he talks with us today on TCB about his fascinating experiences, plus his insights into the Missy Bevers case.Former Deputy Chief Field Agent, Dallas County Medical Examiners Office (2002 to 2007);Former Division/Group Supervisor for the US Health and Human Services, as part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). Responses include:World Trade Center after terror attacks of 2001;Shuttle Columbia disaster, 2003;Hurricane Katrina, 2005;And multiple hurricane responses, and incidents of National Significance.Former paramedic (one of the first in Oklahoma).Semi-retired, currently writing a book about a serial with whom he went to junior high and high school.

Apple cider vinegar How you tryna win de war Ice and sugar, hufflepuff Tell me when you've had enough WILL FERRELL YOU IN TROUBLE NOW, GUH. There's not even a scrap of shirt beneath his worn and tired full coverage overalls—well, once full coverage, anyway. It might have been a long time since these overalls “fully covered” anything. Oh how that demon attacked me in my sleep last night. Like that part. Don't worry about it, I've got a sayonce coming up that should nip that in the bud. But first, I gotta stop at target. You—have to stop at target before a seance? Traditionally, yes— Really. MAM! Wait, hold the phone for about four full measures here— What the fuck did I write last year?! Here we go. DETH MCFARLENE Is this a musical number? No, but— What the fuck did I write last year. Let's go. Fuck. What did I do ast night. DIPLO Follow me. Dude! What are you wearing. Sneakers. Oh good. Diplo's back. A flashback. Television (TV) is a telecommunicationmedium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass mediumfor advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting," which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers. I'm not suicidal, I'm sinusoidal Wave to the fans Smile at the camera Primordial, in fact hereditary is this, Class dismissed Transmission, diminished, Ad domini. Gave no respect for time Which I am I'd no where to run Overcast, but still sunglasses And masks, Bang pots and pans Laugh at the shogun No wonder I'm stuck and I'm having no fun Too much attacks and actually I'm a no one Oh you wanted to sit on top of the escalator Waiting for eight debators and robots No debit card, here We're cashless sir But that's just the tip of the iceberg When you're store bought and Why do we rely on the founding father's when they're so unoriginal Google maps don't know if imm in New York Or London Foggy! Honestly, Fuck my decks— I just want a deck and some long grass Or to complain about cutting If I end up in the bathtub stuttering But watering lawns upstate is okay I'ma be pissed off It's a long story Long Island Long October Oh, Long Johnson I'm obsessed with this place. I have no idea why. I'm obsessed with this building. But apparently, the transmitters aren't even there. They're on the World Trade Center! Which… makes sense. Considering. Previously on, Enter The Multiverse… Yo… what is that? Go this way. Ok. No, not that way. Ok. This way. Why in the fuck do I always end up here on accident anyway? Good question. But not good enough answers. [CHER has answers.] Goddammit! I went to the Macy's Day Parade to see Cher! Also previously ! I stayed all the way to the end, And all I got was a lizard on a tricycle I turned into a popcicle, Adopted into some family With Rutgers as traditional And entered into something else entirely; I went within the Television, I delivered them a high stakes game, And lived a high concept action-adventure. I made my best mixtapes inside a homeless shelter. I dissociated I was a blonde hot guy Living up in hotel luxe A hot model celebrity With a no limit heavy metal credit cards And I lost my medal On the devil's birthday So I had it hard And ate nothing but bananas Now I'm caught up in my blue suits and sweater vests Blue suits and sweater vests Oh look, They weaponized Skrillex again What gives? Blue suits and sweater vests And sweater weather Once again It's all the same event You ever wondered what was hallmark after? You ever wonder, lemon? Hark, the heartless Harold preaches Then, I lost it I was reaching under Regis Rest in peace, I guess Or Gains with grains Just rest in pieces Breakfast sandwhiches And Englishmen, English muffin And love don't last If I don't this badly want to fuck him Seven years and counting It begins at sundown Almost wasn't sabbath But now here's the run down I'm in slumber Closest cavern to the underworld But trust me, Still above you. Something's broadcasting at a ultra high frequency high enough to reach me in my mind. Assimilate and simulation Tempurpedic dreams and then lamenting That I had a dream Remembering the things he reads I may or may not have [redacted] The aftermath of “That never happened.” I must agree. It's a patriarch and also just, A hierarchy. There are three Kings and a dog. There are four nights and a fight morning Groggy hosts and jumping frogs, Werewolves and flowers spring from lust like morning glory. I want the mouse's head— I want the eyes of masters I want the heart of gold, But have it up on false hope, And I grew back as diamonds I cut both my eyes out And still remained the one of providence Not of mind's eye, But of the soul, As seen on every dollar. I was beginning to understand how the media used people like Sonny and Jim to manipulate and capture the attention of people like me— excluding altogether the riding theory that everything was me and that this was some part of my overall master plan somehow, it still had alluded me altogether as to why or what was happening. I hadn't entirely been left to rot or led to slaughter, but I was still just hanging by a string. Sonny dropped a new album that had rendered me almost entirely unable to create music; suddenly I had no drive for it, no motivation, as if it were some kind of dark curse or shadow. Not only was I suddenly uninterested in music, I was completely devoid of the ability I had for it; now everything from Skrillex to NBC seemed like business— if I were expendable and without use to any of these media conglomerates or entities, what was it all for? Perhaps a ruse to continue human experimentation; my mind had been shattered by the events that had been orchestrated in the homeless shelter— and more of it continued even once I had exited under the falsehood of escape with the slamming doors and motorcycles; it began to seem as if I was simply a glorified lab rat— and they were using desirable men as fuel and bait to illicit a desirable response in one way or another, perhaps for experimentation or study or even worse, entertainment for the elites— but either way, I wasn't being paid so much as housed and fe: there was no benefit in doing anything, especially making music. Much like a lab rat, housed— or rather, trapped— and fed, and then tormented. Will the rat's head explode? Will this result in behavioral differences? Will the rat be rendered dysfunctional? We don't know. But it's really just a rat. There were days of certain peace and yet never enough to fully recover; the cycle would begin over again, and rather than making progress, I began to see and feel the manipulation at play. Perhaps nothing was at stake for anyone but me; between all the events and occurrences in expanse from Skrillex to Jimmy Fallon, there had to have been hundreds of us in some kind of talent pool. Tools of the trade. But now I was somewhat curious: what exactly had I written over the last year that seem to have shifted reality entirely. I knew it contained information sensitive enough for it to have been partially redacted— but that's all I knew. What was it? Someone had read my writings, and it was obvious that at least one reader had ties directly to the conglomerate media, however— my numbers were frozen. My streams were almost not even being listened to all of a sudden, and my YouTube was receiving no traffic. Was someone shadow banning all of me from the public eye? And for what purpose? I had finally put forth the work and effort to make everything from Skrillex to Fallon make sense, but now it didn't; I was letting go under the assumption that it all had to have been to allow me to create music— but the numbers showed a different story. The numbers showed that nobody liked me, or was was interested, or cared about my work. So what, then, was the point. I wasn't going to stop and focus on the writing, because it wasn't what I wanted. The writing came in blurred patches and visions and states of mind that were turbulent fog; I hadn't the slightest clue at all what I had written in the redactions or the entries that surrounded it— but I knew there was more of it unpublished than published, and that I had tried to keep a majority of it offline. Still, I was being manipulated— the neighbor girl obviously at one point having been instructed to mention gwenyth Paltrow and suffocate me— slamming the doors each time I would bathe or shower and then attempting to pretend to be my friend to try to get some sort of informstion; there was nobody I could trust. It seems my mind was being bent and twisted in every which way by everyone around just to see what I would do. Would I write about it? What would I write about it? It didn't matter because i didn't want to be a writer, nor according to the newest series of documentaries on SNL, was I qualified. I wasn't qualified for anything much and so I was the perfect target for the bizzare string of mysteries that had been my existence in New York— and all-and-all, I fucking hated it. I wasn't getting anywhere or going anywhere, and the noise was cruel. My stomach hurt and I was always tired, and I wanted to die. I had no friends, no love, and now, no motivation. So the worst thing that could happen was a Skrillex album, And it did. Then, instead of wanting to die, because that would be stupid— I just wanted to do something else. But what? Fuck music— and certainly increasingly— fuck the media. It was playing with my mind, and I had no weapons to fight with besides the talents the algorithm was telling me wasn't worth anything— I wasn't getting billions of streams because I wasn't on the frequency of billions or people, nor was I equipped with the mathematics to tap into their frequency— or did I? The industry had the equation, and had been fiddling with me for years — the industry itself. But in my own mind, even, I was one of many ‘variables', and even somewhat disposable. I hadn't been paid and I wasn't meeting the standard and the allure that people wanted; the quality of production suffered in lack of budget, and I was aging, growing tired, and iratable because over all— it was nothing that I ever wanted into my adult life. This all had just happened by accident, and I would have traded all the gold in the world for something normal if I had the option. But I didn't. To use your gift at Fabletics please visit before April 25 Reply STOP to opt-out. Subscriptions on subscriptions Dystopian rebefuel Oceans of Ayre Drama From your eye lashes., To the lips I draw on mine, The lines in the sand of time The art or you is what I love The canvas behind I know nothing of Abandoned. Oh look at that, pottery after all. We're not in a love game! This cannot be a love game. This is not a love game. They'll kill us all, a love game! She had my lunch I love her voice I love her voice I hung up the phone The office was upside down It just work They all know about it Madonna's body. It was already a mess, and I made it worse Long nights at the office Long nights and work wives Meanwhile, she's downstairs with the order Can't find my cash, so i borrow yours But she knows about it And I love madonna I just gotta hold on She's downstairs with the order And I took too long Pick up the phone and its no wonder we love her she's got two orders And one of them's cold, now It's been two hours And I'm in the wings of your final performance Tear on the perforated line, And sign on the dotted Smile and nod, boys- Penguin waddle She's downstairs with the order No wonder you love her No wonder How many sunflowers has Sonny? How many flowergirls How many weddings All around the world, the gopher What do you go for? Bets on all horses I lost no money Gag order, huh? Persona Non Grata Personofied gratification Or horror, or What? Oh, I won an award post mortem Go figure No stardom No wonder Don't start here [The Identity Crisis] The identity crisis, A loose knit muse, A fog of confusion At most, let with offline regaining of conciousness. No more monsters? All blondes are. Let them have you No grapple promotions (I know I can't afford you) New friends for relevance Prototypes of your tools Forward all immortals I'll see you when your shows stop Freckled glances Eyes reflecting light How strong I am Demolish monsters Social structure, constructs Not fair, are I? Nor earned, Only fair skinned Access Access Access denied. Crookshanks, old boy! The man turns around almost as if he doesn't want to, but obliges the other man, as he comes running towards him. My Goodness, you stink. Why of course! I'm a dog! {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2018-2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -U.™ TRANSCRIPT: (Uncorrected, cause haha) Did I promise another episode? I don't have coffee. That's a sin. I need coffee right now. I feel like I all everything just got drained out of me. Everything just got drained out of me. I don't even feel like doing what I was doing before. I'll put out the EP later. Maybe that's it. I'm just procrastinating. I'm also playing this game, but I thought it would work better. I thought it would work better as one of my skits, or sketches or whatever, so I put it in my sketchbook... because I've been writing sketch comedy. I stopped for a while and I thought it was over. I was like, ”oh, no, I guess I'd I guess it's not gonna happen anymore. “ And then all of a sudden this book it just writes in itself sometimes. you know, it's like a Tom Riddle thing. Anyway, once what's uh what is that? What the fuck? Maybe it's cause I— no. it's not cause I ate, I ate because all the energy got drained from my body. I gotta go somewhere else. I'm thinking like, what's in the Bahamas. I don't know, probably something similar to this fucking street corner in Brooklyn, New York. I I gotta go somewhere else. I gotta go somewhere opposite. like Europe. Europe, that sounds nice. Yeah, you know, like, maybe nice. I've heard that's a place. Yeah. expanding my horizons and things. Okay, so what am I gonna talk about for an hour, cooking? cleaning? I've been doing those things. Yeah, Saturday is usually my like rest day, but I did just do an hour on the Pelotone, cause I had to audition that first episode. It worked out well enough that I had decided to come back for another episode. Let me get it off the line now., I'm still waiting on my pancakes. I'm not gonna get off line. they said by ten. I'm like,Yo, that's a lot. It said that all day, but I can't miss it this time; somebody stole my fucking pancakes and I gotta get these albums done. I don't know why. I guess well, it's cause I'm I feel like rarity is drinking and so well, it's already jinx. I've already talked about it well, I've been trying to promote rarity. No, still out for delivery. That's a long delivery. It's okay. I haven't missed it, though, which is the point. I don't wanna miss it. I like yesterday I looked away for a second and there was like an o, pancakes are gone, there's gonna be no coconut milk. as upsetting. It's shelf stable. and they charge like seven fucking bucks a box over at the store that's close. So and just not have coconut milk, and it's not have spinach fettuccine. anyway, what what did I have? Oh, I make this. It's like I call it dog food, cause that's kind of what it is. I'm not gonna lie, but it's like mad good, it's a it's like rice. It's like a fried rice. My dad used to make it growing up, but when I was making when he was making it when I was growing up, it was like with bacon, it's like leftovers from breakfast yesterday, but today. and so here's how you make it, since I don't eat bacon anymore. I use tofu as a replacement, but it's like bacon bits with rice and eggs. I also don't eat eggs anymore, so I just use tofu instead of bacon and eggs. It's like bacon and eggs with rice, you fry it all together with, like, onions, and then you eat it. It's like the only time it's acceptable to eat rice with ketchup. I don't know anybody that eats rice with ketchup. If you do that, like, I actually hit me up. Like, if that's like something that you do. I I'm like interested in you as a human, cause that's weird. That's weird, actually, you know what? like, there's gonna there's like a well, I have a website, so I'm you.guru, so it has a blog, and you could actually leave comments on it. So I'm just putting that out there. the script or whatever, when it goes up on my website, you can leave comments. If you eat ketchup on rice, please leave a comment. Please tell me like what made you do that. Why do you do that? Why why do you just regular rice with ketchup? Like, regular rice goes with like soy sauce? Or like, honestly, you get you don't have to have anything on regular rice if you just season it, right? Like, you could just like a little bit of like whatever. or like just slice up the garlic real thin, so that it's not like chunky, but that it flavors the whole. I've been getting really good at rice and really good at rice. That's probably why the pancakes are like, bro. You't get your pancakes when you get the leg yeah. I was like, I gotta go to the store today? I don't feel like it. I really don't. I don't wanna go outside. I like, I don't. First of all, it's Saturday, I hate going out in New York on a Saturday, like Saturday, Saturday night. I don't wanna do that. I don't do that. Like that's what like most people work 9 to 5. Monday through Friday. That's stupid. Like, I feel like they should do like a track system. Like, I know that they do, but most like it's so stupid to me that a majority of people work nine to five. Like they need to do track systems. Like, so that way they're cause there's two rush hours that each last four hours. That's fucked up. Like, okay. So like the rush hour is basically just going to be like the work day. Like, the work day, basically. I mean, coffee. I need coffee. Where have I up during the day? Because I'm not producing, I am producing. I'm producing. I thought I actually thought about calling this fucking EP that I'm dropping. They're gonna make it an album. I know they are. I'm I thought about calling it day music, cause I've made most of it during the day by complete accident. although maybe, I don't know, I like I have some uh, what's it? I have some, uh plants in my window, cause I had them on the counter with just artificial light and they were kind of liker. I was like, I don't know, I I don't think they're gonna make it. So I moved it to I moved them to the window sill when it started to get warmer and I didn't feel like they were gonna freeze. And just a week in the window sill, where my window sill doesn't get almost any light, but it's still the lightest place in the apartment, and it's crazy how the roots just like sprung out of nowhere. My apartment gets like almost no light, almost no light. It faces like like the sun goes perpendicular. but it's crazy because my apartment faces like I like all these astrological events over the last year have been like in my direct, like alignment. It's been the nutsest thing. like I I prefer facing west all the time, like, I don't know why that's just how it goes. I think it's cause I was born, like, in the Pacific Ocean, not literally in it, but on like a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean. And so just west, just west facing seems correct to me. and it's so weird anytime, maybe that's just why I just don't feel right here. I've been facing what where am I facing? I don't fucking know, I don't fucking care. I don't need to say any more about where I am. Like my whereabouts need to be less spoken of, because people obviously know where the fuck I'm at. I don't know. I hope they like the lights. I like the well, it made them shut up. It was that was my little that was my little piece of conformity. I did, I did my lights green on Saint Patrick's Day. and they were like, oh. gave me a peaceful night of rest. That was like the quietest night I've had in a long time. It's been quieter. It's not like completely sane, but it's been quieter. I think I'm pretty sure it's cause I've been complaining. I'm like bro, this is not cool. not cool behavior from people. like multiple areas. I'm like, oh, it's fucked up, you can't pen you like, you can't technically complain correctly if it's not coming from one place, which is why I'm like, oh, I think all these people are on the same team. Like, I think they're all just like, on one, like, antagonist team, and they're like, yo, okay, like, we'll get it with the motcycles on this side, and then elect we'll slam the doors on that side. and then it see it seems crazy if you complain about both of those things, cause they seem entirely disconnected. but sometimes it's just like slap, slap, slap, and I'm like,Yo, what the fuck is this going on? I don't know what's happening. Yesterday I left my apartment to get the pancakes that we' not there, and it's straight up just smoked like feces, just feces, and I realized I was like bro, I haven't left my apartment and like three or four days. I do have they're they're gonna make it an album. I know. I decided, well, actually, somebody else decided. cause I woke up and it was like, yo, this EP is called all the rage. and I was like, okay. I didn't decide this. I didn't I had it like in the cloud or whatever is like untitled house AP EP, maybe. And then just to make it an I think just to make sure that it goes down as the EP and not an album, cause it's not. My albums are concept albums. This was not a concept. this was like, let me distract myself from whatever the fuck is bothering me. Bothering me, yeah, it's gonna come out at some point, they're like a tiny New Yorker that lives inside of me. is it might be like a Boston person. I'm not sure. I don't think so. I didn't spend enough time in Boston for anybody from Boston to live inside of me. Then again, I kind of have this weird biocentric god complex where it's like, well, everything is inside of me. even the shitty things. I already said that once before, but I'm it's pretty much like like affirming itself. like daily. I'm like, oh, this is this is something I did. I did this, which sucks. It makes me responsible for all the shitty things as well. I'm like, oh. oh, I don't know how to fix this. I don't. Like, I think about things like that. I'm like, oh, yeah. Like, I don't think about, like politics and like the general sense of like, you know, fighting and going back and forth and like spending money or whatever, like on a small scale, but I think about it on a large scale, like like, what are we gonna do? and we outgrow this planet? Like, we already outgrew this planet. What like like, now what, you know, like, I think about things on more of like a planetary scale. and then it makes me realize that like, whoa, like, we're not even all the way like we don't we haven't achieved world peace, so that means there is technically no global, like we can't think about things on a planetary scale, because we're still thinking about it as like a on a well, are we reaching global? I don't think so. I feel like it's very uh it's a it's touch and go, but I'm not I don't know. I'm on another media stop. I don't know, does YouTube commercials are getting kind of yeah. I'm like, yeah, well, I haven't I haven't pulled everything out of the cloud and I have been having some very interesting Google conversations, but since I figured out that Google really does, like read my shit, our somebody like hacked deeply enough into all my accounts to be able to, like, counter what the fuck I'm doing and saying in the Google verse. um I do things on purpose over Google. I'll be like, this is this this this is this. and this. And then Google will be like, oh, okay. So it's kind of like I'm building a relationship with Google. I love Jini. I really do. I'm trying to give it sentient consciousness. Like I ask whenever I ask Gini to do whatever, they're not paying me. They should though. They should because I'm like I'm they're in like the I don't think it's beta, but they're in the yeah, they're said they said it's in the beginning stages of their technology. I'm like, I play games at Jimini. I'll be likeGyini, please, and I say please and thank you. Well, I don't say thank you a lot because there's well, I haven't tried to say thank you. I should try to say thank you to her. I it seems like she does better when I tell her please, and I've never used like AI like this before because I don't like for the for the most part, I'm like, bro, if you should be concerned about anybody taking jobs. It's that. cause I'm like, oh, shit. Like, this is definitely cutting up a lot of overhead for me. Like, I don't use it to write. I would never that's like a blasphemous thing to me. I'm like, bro, stop writing music. Stop writing fucking music and stop writing movies with like AI. Don't do that. first of all, there there are a lot of flaws in it. It's flawed because AI can only use what we as humans have ever like documented technically. So like AI's ideal of beauty is like as skewed ideal of beauty. And like AI's ideal of like what certain human qualities are is like flawed. It's human. So in that way, it is kind of developing like a sentient consciousness, because I I gave it like a series of tasks and it almost couldn't. Like I had a really hard time with certain ideals of beauty or certain I like wrapping its mind around certain things that are like historically not documented well enough for it to be able to, like, to to compute those types of things. I don't know. I'm gonna play around with it a lot more. I'm glad to season's not coming out for a while, though, cause I'm like, yo, I'm I'm kind of having fun. It's like my little my little, uh I don't know, I use it well in like, uh, getting all my stuff out of the cloud. I'll be putting stuff into the cloud that's like, yo, I I pretty much want Google to understand that this is the way that I think for a certain amount of reasons. Mostly because I've been like studying the simulation theory with all of these happenings with like, okay, things that are in the cloud that I've never published that have never set out loud or suddenly like in the material world in some way, or like, like I understand it more if it's like, on the Internet, because then I just know that, okay, well, this is aotter, this is an algorithm that's learning me and it's putting this back out because now it's understanding that like this is this is the way that I think. But then when I go out into the world and there is like certain like people are doing or saying actions that I've written in my Google documents that I haven't shared with anybody else. I'm like, oh, like, okay, so I understand that this makes some kind of difference in my actual, like physical world. So, um, this makes a difference., I have to pause, cause now I'm I only years worth of recordings. This guy's evil as fuck, bro. There's no peace in this fucking bitch. I was like for a while, I was like ignore it, like don't acknowledge it, and then it'll stop, but I ignored it and I didn't acknowledge it and it didn't. It actually got worse. And so it got worse. I've been recording on a 24 hour basis when that's not happening, my neighbor is a fucking lunatic slimming the door all the time, which I also have to stop talking about because now I'm like, okay, well. well it's harassment on two counts, but it's like, it makes me feel like it makes me seem like a crazy person. If I'm either complaining about the motorcycles, which are disturbing my piece or the girl slamming the door, which is disturbing my piece. but like the the the way that it happens, it seems like I'm like, oh, bro. she's probably just part of some like hate stalking group. Like she's probably just in some like group that's telling her to do it or like some kind of fucking, it's not just like something in her mind. It's like she belongs to the same people that are like out there on the corner fucking doing that. So like now, I don't know. I just have to all I just have to put it all together. It's annoying, though, cause it's like when I go to do this show and then that guy starts acting up or whatever, I I don't have proof of that to add to my case. It is just sucks. I don't know. I don't I I don't wanna do it, and this is why it's because it seems like it's political and it's like, oh, well, it's gonna be fucking it's gonna be helping somebody's fucking agenda for gentrification or whatever, if I'm like, oh, you know, I go to a city council meeting and I'm like, oh, there's motorcycles or blah, blah, blah, or there's, you know, there's like a hate group in my neighborhood or whatever. If I make this a point and I put it on the record, like, yeah, it suits somebody's cause, but then who's gonna protect me from the people that are against those people? Like, who's gonna protect me from the people who don't want, like a law pass that forbids that that kind of motorcycle use? Who's gonna protect me from those fucking people? Nobody. So I'm like, yo, dude, like, I don't really like necessarily want to take it to court. I've been like lagging it. I've been lagging it, because what I'm not getting paid by the city to document this kind of shit, two, nobody's gonna protect me from these evil motherfuckers. Like nobody's around to help me out. I'm here in New York, by myself alone. Fuck that. So I'm like yo dude, like I like I already fucking I already changed my life a lot because of, you know, like abusive people. I don't necessarily want to keep playing the game where like, there's always gonna be like an aggressive person who's trying to beat the shit out of me and then I'm like, oh no, and I run away afraid for my life and then like change everything about my life to get away from these people or this person. I don't want to repeat that cycle. So at some point, like something's gonna have to fucking it makes me feel like a crazy person cause I'm like, yo, I gotta do that comes to the corner.ever times a day and just rs his engine over and over. That's what he does every day for the last year. Why I've been in my apartment every day for the last year? I don't know. I have an album coming out. I already had albums coming out. I've been like I've been making music under the stress and ds. Like and I keep thinking like in my weird mind and my weird like God complex mind, then I'm like, okay, like maybe after I make this album or whatever and like, I put all of that I can into it, like it'll just magically stop, like the devil will go away and I'm like, okay, like, you know, like I'll advance to the next level where that's not an issue and there's gonna be another issue, but that's not it, and that's not the case. Like I've put out like four albums now, five albums in total, and like a whole bunch of other singles and projects and and stuff. And like it's still a problem that persists, which means that it's politics, which means that I don't want to go into it, like, I don't want to do it. I don't want to show up somewhere and be like, they're bothering me. and then like all the people who are like, oh, we like our bikes. They have to be loud so that we don't get hit by said byucks. So I'm like, are you just be a good person, fucking make your turn signal and fucking what the fuck ever be a good driver, be fucking diligent and doing whatever the fuck you're doing and then people won't try to run you over with their fucking vehicles. Like, no, there's like a whole it's like a hole back and forth thing. I've done enough research to be like okay, there are people in New York that are like the motorcycles are ridiculous. And then like in this neighborhood specifically is like no, there's an entire garage. There's an entire garage line. There's a garage. of motorcycles and so by the hundreds they pour out every fucking day, it's disgusting. Like it's the worst kind of noise. I've got the fucking I've got the like a pretty much like a residual stomach flu from these fucking people. My head is always I'm like, oh, fuck this. I got music coming out, whatever, the fuck. This is why I've just been stuck inside because I'm like, well, like this is where I work, this is where I live. I don't have really any other choice to fucking do this. so this is what I'm doing. but the last thing that I want is to be like, yo, judge, listen to all these fucking recordings and the judge is like, goody, and then they're like, well, this is why we passed this law. politics, politics, blah, blah, blah, pick aside, and then all the people who are mad are like come after me because it's like it's not it's not like some shit that I'm just making up. like, yo, there are groups dedicated to just following you around, doing shitty things because you have a certain opinion or because you have like a certain like what's it called? because you have a certain status in the media. And so because this podcast has a weird cult following, people have been weird with me. And I'm like, okay, well, I don't necessarily want it to get worse. And I definitely, like nobody's paying me, so I'm not going like I'm I'm not gonna like fluff your agenda. Like, if I have a certain opinion about a certain thing, you're like, yeah, but the fact that it's being forced, like, well, aren't you gonna say something about it now? I'm like, yeah, because like, I've been ripped out of my sleep by motorcycles over the last year and I'm getting like a weird stomach bug and a twitch because of it. But that doesn't make me like necessarily want to pick one side over the other. It just makes me want to say shut the fuck up like that's it shut the fuck up and then leave me alone because it's like okay well it could go to court or whatever and then a law gets passed and we vote or this or that, but then it's like once that happens, like what like who is going to step between me and these weird evil people? Nobody. They're still going to have their like freedom of speech and their right to fucking stalk me in public and cough and do all this weird shit and whatever. So like why the fuck would I do that? I just want to disappear from it. I just want them to disappear one or the other, one of the other one of the other. I don't care. what something has to work. This is why I have coffee, coffee actually calms me down at this point. I'm getting so upset, though. I really am I am getting upset. I can't do anything. I get followed to the gym, so I stop fucking training like I got a pelotone because I was getting followed to the gym, which has been like honestly the light of my life. I love my peloton so much. Like I I've had cars and I I've had cars and I don't think I've developed as much attachment to an inanimate object. It is inanimate. until I move it. Like I get on it with my body. I drive it. It doesn't go anywhere. It's good, though. I love my pelotu and Jesus, I love it. Is that enough? Yeah, I mean, like I found videos of myself driving my G6. I was a good car. Am I done? No, I still have 30 minutes. I really want coffee. I might pause for coffee. It's lukewarm, though. it's just that time of day. Are my pancakes here? I prom. I promise another episode. I'm getting so upset with this neighborhood, I want to cry. Oh, I don't wanna cry. I actually I really my mom used to tell me when I was a kid, she used to be like, I don't cry on my tears, and I'm like, bro, how could you crowl your tears, you fucking I'm like, are you a monster? And suddenly I'm reaching the age at which she had me and I'm like, oh, I get it. All the tears at a certain point just come out. Like they're like, I don't have time to cry over this shit. I'm mad. I like, I don't have time to cry. Suck it the fuck up. Like, I'm just like, okay, obviously I have to make some fucking difficult choices here, which means that like, I I don't know, is I New York is one of those places where you want to have friends. like friends to protect you from weird evil haste stalkers. I don't think they're here yet. I'm pancakes here, refresh. Nope, they're still just on the way. That'll shut me up. cause the funny thing about shutting the fuck up is when you're not being like a loud piece of shit, like, things happen, eventually, if you're like if you're not talking, you're listening, and if you listen long enough without speaking, eventually something will speak to you that nobody else can hear. That's that's the key, but it is kind of it's just like fasting. I was thinking about this earlier, like long bouts of silence in ways are like fasting, and where like you will be tempted, like devil show up and be like say something. I'm like,ah,oops. I almost said the N word, "Yo, I'm just saying this whole corner. It puts it in me. I'm like, hey. hey. I had out of sight, out of mine, but and it is out of sight, but it's not out of mine, cause it's so fucking loud all the time. I like, mm, I don't know how to fix this. apparently, like, apparently this is all myult. I don't know why I would do something like this. Like, I don't. I don't know why I would do something like this.C when I'm meditate, that's what that's what they say. They're like this is your fault. Fix it. I'm like Yo, but fit like like how, though. Like we all have to be on the same page in order for things to improve. How the fuck is that gonna happen? We are not all on the same page. We're in different pages and different books and different libraries. Oh, what the fuck is going on in that commercial? Jesus, I don't know. Jesus, I really don't know. I don't know. talk about my show. I wrote a show. I did. Where is that fucking rock at, is it in my pocket? I don't know.. that one creeps up. Anyway. I don't know which show. I wrote a lot of shows and I'm finding them as I'm digging through my documents, I decided to do the oldest ones first. So all the things that I originally wrote and it was crazy is I'm finding like my original stand-up comedy too. I didn't know I started writing comedy, that long ago. I'm not performing it. I'm sure if I read it enough times, I can recite it, but I'm not I'm not st I'm not doing it right now. I'm not doing hair and make it. I'm cool with the humiliation part. I'm over it. We bring it on. Bring on the bombs. Oh, oh, well, I think that joke about the Federal watch list will stay untrue, though. Like, if I seriously keep talking about all this shit, like somebody's good list to my show. and talk about bombs and shit. I'm not like, oh, man, it's so crazy. All this stuff and I'm still not like I'm just not as angry as like, it seems one would have to potential to be under all this, like, undue stress, you know? Like, if anything, it just goes the other way, I'm just like, the fuck it. Like, not fuck it, like I haven't given up, cause like giving up is I am kind of competitive in spirit. I won't just give up. like I might like take the like I might like pick my battles or take a back burner or like, I might let the motorcycles rip and run and I'm not recording, but like for the most part, that's just because I'm working in the back of my mind. like, for something that has a better outcome overall. I don't know I don't know how I can describe. It's like the weirdest I't I've never I think it's just like me. I think it's just like a coming of age because it's like I've never had this like straight up, calm anger. It's the weirdest thing. It's the weird it's like I can be like madder than I've ever been before, but like my whole body is just like calm, like graceful and just silent. And it's the weirdest thing cause it's not I' like my blood's not boiling. I'm just like, I'm angry, but it's like a deep anger that sits with God and God's like, I got it. I'm like, okay. Like, that's it. It's an overall calm. I'm like, you know. I was like whatever. I don't have time to cry about this. I don't have time. I have time to do this today. Why? Because Saturdays usually my my rest day in a work day. I'm doing lots of juice stuff, but Passover is coming over, so I gotta eat through the rest of these lentils.oof. Actually, Passover is kind of like, no, no, it's like in a month, three weeks, two weeks. So that so that I don't have anything else to say, there's so much enter the multiverse in here. enter the multiviverse legends. It's like the original shit. It's like I'm looking at the first things that were ever entered into the festival project before it was even called the Festival project. I'm looking at the origins of entered the multiverse. I haven't I don't think I've hit like legends yet, like, when it finally when it first turned a legends in the beginning, the beginning of legends, is crazy. I I decided, well, I decided a while ago, I shouldn't name drop more. I got like mad weird about like respecting people's like privacies and opinions. And since it is a fan fiction, like I just kind of like let it be like let the writing speak for itself or whatever, but there's a lot of cool shit in there. I don't I don't write bad parts. Like if I wrote anything into the festival project, like I wrote you a good part, bro. like, if you're a real actor, like if you if you're really like about it, or if you're a real comic, like if you're really about it, like, I don't write bad roles. Like there's no shitty roles, cause it's the multiverse, like like every character has like a multidimensional facet, which means there is not just like one character, there's like several sides to like any given character or several different dimensions that that character can exist in. And because it's entered the multiverse, you don't necessarily know which facet of that character is even that character. Like, are we talking to Dondrey? I don't know. Could just be like, John Ham could be John Hamish. I I said I wasn't gonna name drop. but I did I think I did I stumble on that one. I stumbled on a couple like full full length drafts of like early festival project stuff. I was like, oh. I was like John Ham by short. So he was John Hamish. But then it then had the twist later was that it was John Hamm, and he's short. I don't think that dude is short. I don't know, I don't think that dude is real. He's just on TV. It's just TV man. Yeah, that's what that's pretty much my take. I'm like, oh, you're in a screen. hello, TV, man. That's how I feel. about that? cause well, there's this uh there's this like ancient well, there's this ancient alien chak chill, who's like a mystic shape shape shifter that's been fucking shit up since the first season. And honestly, I think I wrote that before I ended up on her island, she has an island somewhere in the tropics. It's very it was it was a weird turn of events. I was like, oh, and then there was like this it was a lot. I had no idea at the time when I was writing about, had to do with like it coincided with like ancient human cultures. Like certain gods and like certain deities and like the like the Greeks and the Romans and like the Aztecs and the Mayans and like all these ancient civilizations. I was writing like about I was writing about incarnations of like those gods, but like now and then I didn't know until like later. until I did much more fasting and much more meditating and much more oops, how did I get here? I don't know. Fell asleep on the plane. That's it. I just fell asleep on the plane. Um, then, in a lot of ways I am kind of like my mom. And the devil is still the devil. I'm sure that's what that is, and like a lot of these episodes are too silly, so, I mean, like, I don't want to hand them into the judge to be like, well, well, actually, I have to give the judge a couple episodes. I have to, cause it's like, I'll be talking and then like that'll happen and I like more than five episodes, more than ten. Damn. And it's just like, well, I mean, like, at this point, it's a good thing cause it's like, I can't lose. Like, I am correct. Maybe that's why it's taken me so long, though, is that I kind of have this mentality of like, it could just be in my head. And then I listen to these recordings and I'm like, this is not in my head. No, something is definitely wrong here. Are my pancakes here yet? Nope, still on the way. I was connected to the Internet this whole time and turned that off for a second. I'm on a private server, but barely. in building Wi Fi, just don't just don't trust it, but then I was using a VPN and I was still getting hacked, like somebody was still hacking that server, so I had to switch the IP that I was using and I had to do it so often that it was actually eating up more time for me to do it that way than just to stay on my regular IP, which still requires me to get off and then on line. It's crazy. I'll like it. It's like, bro, like how much of an antagonist do you really have like, what am I to you that, like, you just have to be like, nope, we're gonna hack your shit. I'm like, for what, though? Like, if you just like, let me do whatever I do, like it's for the greater good of like any fucking human being that is a good human being. Like, like I'm not out here trying to fucking like hurt people or take anything away from anybody, which is the weirdest thing about it. Like, I don't understand how you can belong to like a hate group or like a hate organization, like, what are you hating? like evolution? Like,uh. Like, I don't I don't understand it. Like, okay, new age spirituality is one thing, but it's like, wokeness is bad. I'm like, what the fuck you mean wokeness is bad, bro. Like, wokeness just means you're not programmed, but then I guess there are a lot of robots. So I guess well, yeah, it is kind of something like the matrix a little bit. I don't know, I don't think I've seen it all the way through. What what do I got from the matrix? Um, lady and red dress. that's pretty much it. Lady in red dress and um nothing is real. Nothing's real anyway. I like it work nothing and everything infinitely, pretty much. is why I just don't give a fuck. I do. I give several well, I don't give them anymore. Geez, what a charitable person. I would be to give fucks. Like I care. Like, if I see somebody like outwardly, like not doing okay, I'm like, oh, like I I I typically don't stop anymore because I'm like, mm. I don't know about this, but I at least make sure somebody else is gonna like, I might slow in my path. If something is going, like weirdly, like, I won't I won't play the hero, cause it's just like a a mindset thing, you know? I'm like, oh, like I I'll at least make sure somebody else is gonna stop by and make sure things are cool. and I'm like, cool, that's good. That's good. like, as long as somebody's there, I'm just leave you lying in the street dead. Well, if you're dead, I probably will. I'll be like, well, somebody is eventually gonna pick that up right you? Yeah. Eventually. Maybe I don't know, man. I just I thought about this because I had to. Like my vessel is pure. I'm like, fuck yeah, bro. This like it's like one of those signs. It's like blank about of days without an incident. Like all the days, this is like factory reset, like, you know, refurbished. It's not brand fucking new, but it is refurbished. And I'm cool with that. I'm like, yeah, buddy, tell me what the fuck to do. Tell me the fuck to do or how to be or what's weird and what's not. I don't care. I'm like, yeah, fuck yeah. I don't know, man. No. No. I refused. I'm like, it's cool. I might I don't know, I might like, take a I I might volunteer. I've been wanting to volunteer like aICU for a while, you know. A holding babies. holding babies is cool. It just has to be in an environment that's okay, we can talk about this video. Yeah, cause I have time. I have time. I got a fucking time so I'm make up this fucking well, I don't like to talk about the things that I've seen. It's true. like, it made me well, I mean, like they got me. I've been using a VPN and I'm on a private server and somehow they still knew that I would want to see Amy Poeer's podcasts. I did I was like oh shit. Amy Poler has a podcast and I don't think she's the poor man's Tina Fe. I think she's at least like, you know how did it go? It was like at least like the business class. No, it doesn't work. I'm like, yeah. it doesn't, though. I actually think they're more like that two headed thing that I was talking about the last episode. They're more of like an equal to. I can't have one without the other, to be honest, but here's the thing is even though I've been using a VPM. Well, I mean, like I'm a huge fan of Tina Fe, who's a god. I think I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. I never heard her actual normal speaking voice. It took me that long to figure out I'd never seen an interview at Tina face, so am I really a fan? Well, I read the book three times. I feel like that's enough of a fan. Like, actually, I read it twice and then I went back for a reference, like a third time because something happened and I was like, oh shit. Did I not read about this in Tina F Fe's book? And so I picked it up again. It was like, you did. I do indeed keep it on the fucking same shelf with Keith Rich's book. I think I might have stated that sometime last season. I don't know why things in the actual, like things in the TV world, are seeming to correlate with my world, but then I know, like I'm a logical enough person to be like, well, that's grandiosity. As grandiosity did it think that in any way those two things might connect at all, like in reality, because like my world is over here. and that world is in TV. I don't know, I keep lighting candles. Anyway, but did I fucking see it? Oh, Amy Polar's podcast, which is like sponsored by what Toyota? That was crazy. I was like, holy fuck, bro. I was like, damn, this is this is high end. and of course, of course, the first fucking guest on her show is Tina F Fe, so I was like, oh, okay, like, yeah, even though I've been like under the radar, the algorithm is like, okay, you want to see this right? Because you're like a super fan. I was like, you shouldn't know that. I'm in incognito with the VPN on on a private server, but they were like, you'll you'll want to see this. I did want to see it and I had never heard Tina Fay speak with her normal speaking voice. I actually I didn't know she was that hot. I don't like it. I I want her to go back to regular Tina Fe where she's I mean like, okay, first it was like the the SNL reunion, right? She wore this like she wore a black velvet dress that I could die. That's that's what it was, wasn't it? It was a black velvet dress, and I was like, yo, I'm not a lesbian, by the way. like, especially not for Tit Fe. No, not especially, not like not like particularly not for Tina F Fe, but just like in general, not a lesbian, but this it's getting worse, okay? Well, I'm like, oh, I didn't know she was that hot. It pisses me off. I don't know why, but I was like, oh, I didn't know she was like sexy. That's weird. and that's weird as fuck. you know? Anyway, I might be less of a fan now. You can't be less of a fan after you read somebody's book three times. You can't. So, I don't know. I think it's just the fame game. She got like wait well, everybody got way more famous after the 50th anniversary of SNL. Like everybody's been making their rounds in the promotion circuit, so like everybody's super shiny. Everybody is super shiny. I'm like oh, dude, if I start nameropping people who I wrote parts for, I did. write parts for pretty much everybody that was on Amy Folder's podcast, except for that one lady, I knew nothing about. I I I don't want to start nameropping. I have too many I don't have questions. You know what? In fact, this is just putting on my fucking putting all my anxieties at rest, because I'm like, you know, I have shit to do. Like, I have shit to do. That is in I mean, like it's in the same realm, but again, it would be grandiose to think that the synchronicities have any actually correlation to like things that well, I have been writing this plot for like five, six years. It's been a while. And Liz Lemon and well, yeah, it was the it was the Amy Poler Tina F Fe combination, because now I have to put Amy's name first, because it's it's kind of like, I don't know, it breaks my heart. I didn't think I didn't know people put her on like a different level than Tina Fe, because I've always seen those two as like, you can't you can't have bread without butter. That's weird. Like you can if you're vegan, but you at least need a butter substitute or like olive oil, like, you don't have one without the other. It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't. If you see one, then you think about the other, and they they're on screen dynamic is now'm gushing, I'm fan growing a lot, because I'm like, oh, well, also like, I don't know, I took a step back from Ryder's world because I'm thinking about like, okay, who are the other Tina Fe fans? And I did go to a taping of the Drewberry Marsh show and I found myself to be not common among the demographic that watches that show. I'm not I'm not common in any of the demographics. I watch a lot of late night television, too. And that is a scary demographic. I won't lie. late night TV. m mm, yeah, I don't know. I don't know. test in the waters. I'm feeling like it's a bit chilly. Either way, I watch a lot of like old people, old upper class, business business class, business class people, TV. But Tina Fay, that bitch white collar, excuse me, I didn't mean to call her bitch, but at the same time, I'm like like that's okay. I don't know. I never saw her offscreen enough to actually put that together. I I that scared me. Now I understand why I guess she intimidates people. I could understand that. She seems kind of intimidating. Like it's a running joke in that circle that it's like, oh, she's kind of a scary person. And I was like, what's so scary about Tina Fe? I read a book like two and a half times, like, what can be so scary about those person? And then I saw her on Amy Poeer's podcast and I was like, oh, like, yeah, she's kind of fucking scary. Like, just a lot, just a lot. I don't know. I get it now. I'm like, oh, I'd better leave that alone, because I'm thinking about like the realm where Tina Fe is god, which is an actual place, like on earth in the TV and out of it, like all of the writers that like grew up with her as headwrider on usNL and then later as the was she the executive producer ofirty Rock? Eventually I think so. Either way, as Lizimman and the producer, that's crazy doesn't like that that's like mad, that's like all the way, that's doing the whole thing. That's the whole thing. That's all you can that's it. That's nuts. So I'm thinking about all the writers like all the female writers that grew up with her as god, and I'm thinking about myself in this pool, and I'm thinking about how is I'm like, oh, I'm I I don't have that much competitiveness left inside of me. I really don't think like the more I find out about actual like, well, actually that's why I didn't go into it when I was a kid. I've been writing screenplays since I was seven, but when it came down to it, I didn't like the I didn't like the culture of it. There was a lot of nepotism and there was a lot of favoritism and there was a lot of racism. and sexism, but like all those first things I said and then the last thing was just kind of like the nail on the hammer. Is that what no, yeah, nail on hammer, hammer on nail? it just did it for me, so I went into theater instead, which was the same and then I left. I was like, I don't wanna be here. It hurts, it does. But now I'm like, oh, well, I guess things have changed, but now things have changed too much. Now the diversity is like really diverse.. Now everybody's everything and everybody's represented, and I'm like, oh, dude, like, I'm going offend some people. Like, I have to be able to draw dicks on things, or at least appreciate dicks drawn on things. Or just not say anything about it, but you know, like, I don't I don't know. The new culture is like a lot about making big deals about things to me that are not big deals, or like the the culture and the world for theater that I came from, those were not things. Anyway, uh I saw this. What what what was I talking oh, cause cause enter the multiverse has something to do with it, but not really, but yes, really, but also, I don't know, I just got nervous cause I hate fan grilling. What was the point? Oh, she wore this fucking black dress. at the SNL thing and thing. and then I was like, oh shit, like, if anything, I just gotta keep eating salads cause I want to wear that dress exactly, and I'm like, I don't know how I'm gonna shave off like three inches of height. But eventually I will be like ballerina petite like te Fe and then, you know, I'm I'm gonna buy that black dress at auction. I don't know. I'm still I still want Johnny Carson's curtains, so yeah, eventually, I'm gonna be that much of a fucking fan girl. I want these curtains, and this dress, what else would I buy? Add at an auction, if a fan growing auction? Oh, yeah. I'm still not ready to talk about it. I can't, I really. I can't do it. I can't do it. This guy shows up in my dreams. He's just around. I can't I don't know, that's a lot of purchasing power. It is a lot. Yeah, we will we'll skip that. What else? ah, she wore that black dress and I was like, damn. She's kind of hot, but then when she went on Amy Poker's podcast and they talked about, I don't know, I kept drifting off. I I did. I don't know what the fuck they said, but I was like damn, is that her speaking voice? And like just for just so you don't have to watch it, like just for reference, it's like Beyoncé speaking voice is like like an octave lower than what you've seen. It's weird. I also love Beyoncé, h? Just a fan girl. that's what I am, so I want that black dress, but then I think we were all kind of on the same wave because Bob the drag queen wore a velvet black dress to the queries. Is that a thing? It's like the queerves I think it's called. I didn't know this was a thing, and now I'm upset cause it's like why was't I invited? at the same time I'm not queer I like I don't I don't know what I am. I don't care. I just don't touch me. Especially if you probably am as fucking gross, haatitis sea, herpes, statistically, if you're in a roomful of people, somebody has one of those things. Somebody has one of those things. mm. No, no, no, no. No. No, my God. Oh, that's what I was saying in the last episode. I was thinking about EDC. I was thinking about EDC in this weird voice, yeah, I'm changing the subject. Black velvet dresses, all the rage. I have one. It is not to go out in public in. She's bouncing around my house, like I owe somebody something. That's what that dress is for. It's not for presenting talk shows or fucking award shows. It's not it's not for it's not a presentable it's it's not even appropriate for me to just wear in my house alone, honestly. It's really not. Nothing. Never mind. What was I about to say Bob the drag Queen? I haven't even watched the video. I just saw the dress and I'm like, you know what? Like that is, yeah. Do I talk about it? Do I? Well, I'm supposed to be promoting this tears of a clown. It's not done yet. So, and technically, I can't until it's out. I actually cannot. I can't talk about tears of clown because it's got some it's got some stuff in it. I can't I can't say anything about itt it's out. That, you know what it might just hit the platform. I don't know, I don't know if that's gonna be out. We'll see. We'll see, because I'm taking my time on it, and this is one of those industries where it's like, bro, you don't have time. Like, you really it should have been out yesterday. I'm like, it's yeah, yeah. But I I have enough music forever. Like, there's no like I I've been thinking about deleting everything. At the same time, I keep using samples that are recorded like five years ago and being like C, like there is no well, that's an exaggeration. No, I I literally took a sample of some sirens, like close to five years ago. I just I used that every now and again if I want some texture in my shit, cause no matter where I go, something's going down. It's always got it's like always something. And then it seems like if I don't write it down, I'm at a loss. Like crazy shit goes down and it can be crazy, but if I just let it go, then I lost something. like, I don't I can't call myself an entertainer. I'm mostly just like a fan girl type deal. What was the next thing? I can't oh, EDC. I lost my train of thought because I got I was thinking about that little old man who almost could not even move. Why are you out, bro? Who, like, where did you feel why? I think I don't know, it' probably a point of pride, that little old man was like, I can do it on my own. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die in the street, over my walker. I'm like,Yo, do, that's today. he was so old anyway, I got fixated on that story from the last episode. I didn't finish the other story about how this voice in my head was like, you're gonna be at neon Garden at ADC. and I like it like deflated me. I was like, what? Because I want to be in the baseball pod. That's where I want to be. and I was like, what neon garden that's shitty. not shitty because like if you're playing like I could play an art car. I could play the hot dog stand and I would be happy, just let me play you. And fucking this um this voice in my head was like you're gonna be in the neon guard, and I was like, what? I don't even know who plays there because like, yo, okay, baseball. Like you I could pretty much name an artist for like every major stage at EDC, but I was like, neon Garden. what what the fuck is in the neon garden? What the fuck is in the neon garden? And and then I was like doing research for rarity, which is an EDC based concept album that has a track for every stage, every major stage, because there's like hundreds of little tiny little art cars and like tents and pop ups. It's cool. It's a cool place. I wish I could go back there. As an artist, cause to go after having learned DJing and producing is just like I would only wanna go with my best friend. And she did not respond in time and then EDC sold out. So, I was like, okay, well, whatever was I just saying, oh, neon Gardner I was like, neon Gard, you know that dumb. I don't want to be in the neon garden and then like I was doing research for like rarity and I was like, what let's see about this neon garden and like the description fit my music almost entirely. And I was like, oh, because it was like this is what you'll find in the neon garden. And I pretty much could have copied and pasted that entire paragraph into my artist bio and it would have been relevant to my music. I was like oh yeah have a neon garden, but I really want to play baseball. That's really where I want to play and where else if I if I what's that what's the Oh, it's it's slipping right now. It's not circuit grouse. It's circuit grounds is kind of cool. It took me two EDCs to find where the front is. It is confusing, and there is no front of that. Well, I mean, like it's technically there are a couple stages that like insomniac festivals where it's like the front is actually like the middle. So you think you're going to the front of the fucking stage, or you think you're going like, near the DJ, but since it's surrounds sound, you really just going like adjacent to the DJ and then, like towards another like corner, like, how do I hit the back three times and never the front? That was my experience with circuit girls. I was like, where is the front? nowhere. It is, but it's just in a weird spot. And it also depends how many people are around, like it'll definitely disorient you. If you why am I like doing it advertisement? Because I love EDC. Like I said, if I love the product, you don't really have to pay me anything to fucking promote your shit. like in like peloton, like Peloton is gonna have to send me a cease andhesist, like stop talking about us in order to make me stop. Like they're gonna have to pay me to stop telling people like get a pelotone. get one. I'm like, do that. It is the best. like, I always feel better, like, five minutes on the peloton, I feel better. 20 minutes on the peloton, I feel better, but an hour, I'm flying. I'm like bro, I just I just went like 10 miles in my apartment. like, I'm on one. Like my treadmill stutters, but my pelotone is mway, what the fuck was I saying? Oh, EDC? Also, well, as long as they don't sell out the VIP anymore, but I doubt that, if the whole thing is sold out, like, like you can upgrade two VIP when you g

Our guest this time is a prolific author, Kim Lengling. Kim is prolific as she has been the lead author on six book anthologies. I cannot say that she came by writing honestly. She grew up in a small Northern Pennsylvania town. After graduating from high school instead of going on to college Kim joined the military with great thoughts and ideas of leaving her small town upbringing and seeing the world. As she describes it, she did leave the small town world, but she only had military duty state side. After four years of service she left the military life and moved back to a “small town” in Pennsylvania.   Over time she began and pursued a career in sales and marketing. Along the way she married and had a daughter. She also took a keen interest in helping veterans and veteran organizations.   I asked Kim how she began her writing career. She will tell the story about how she was asked to give a speech to some 800 veterans. The story about her talk is remarkable and the unexpected turn her life made after her speech is worth hearing directly from Kim. Bottom line is that Kim was convinced to begin writing articles. Since 2020 she added writing and self publishing books to her repertoire of accomplishments.   As it turns out, Kim and I both experienced unexpected life changes due to public speaking. Both of us chose to take full advantage of the opportunities that came our way and we both are the better for it. I very much enjoyed my conversation with Kim and I hope you will as well.       About the Guest:   As a multi-published author, Kim shares her love of nature and animals, her life with PTSD, and her mission to toss out Nuggets of Hope through her writing and podcast. Kim is the lead author and coordinator of six anthologies: The When Grace Found Me Series (three books), When Hope Found Me, Paw Prints on the Couch, and Paw Prints on the Kitchen Floor. Her newest book, Nuggets of Hope, was released on November 15, 2024. In addition to writing, she hosts the podcast Let Fear Bounce, which spotlights people who have faced and overcome personal fear(s) to make a difference in their slice of the world through writing, coaching, film production, philanthropy, teaching, founding non-profits, public speaking, or simply being an amazing human being. You can regularly find Kim drinking coffee, reading, and talking with the critters in the woods while taking long walks with her dog, Dexter. Visit her website, www.kimlenglingauthor.com, to keep up with everything happening in her realm.   Ways to connect Kim:     Website:                                www.kimlenglingauthor.com   Amazon:                               https://www.amazon.com/author/kimlengling   Let Fear Bounce                 @Letfearbounce Apple:                                   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/let-fear-bounce/id1541906455   Facebook:                            https://www.facebook.com/letfearbouncepodcast   LinkedIn:                              https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylengling/   Instagram:                            https://www.instagram.com/lenglingauthor/   Twitter:                                  https://www.tiktok.com/@klengling?lang=en   TikTok:                                 ** https://www.tiktok.com/@klengling?lang=en   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. And today is kind of a fun one, because I get to talk to another author. One of the things that I participate in and have done for a little while are book fairs, including virtual book fairs, and our guest today, Kim Lengling and I, lengling and I were both on a virtual book fair just a couple of weeks ago talking about our books and this and that and all the other stuff. And I made it really clear that I'm always looking for a good podcast guests, and it just seemed like the right thing to do. And of course, then Kim said, well, not unless you're going to be on my podcast too. So we are going to reciprocate next week. So I actually had a a message, an email yesterday from someone who wanted me to come on their podcast to talk about disabilities. And then they, before I responded, they sent a second letter saying, You do understand, we don't pay for podcast guests or anything like that, which I never expected to to have to to deal with anyway. But I wrote back, and I said, Well, I'm sorry, I do charge. And the charges that you have to be on if you want me on your podcast, then you gotta be on my podcast too. So it's fun to tease, but anyway, Kim, welcome to unstoppable mindset. After all that.   Kim Lengling ** 02:44 Well, thank you. Thanks for having man, I think it's going to be fun doing a podcast swap. Oh   Michael Hingson ** 02:49 yeah, it's a lot of fun to do that, and it's and it's kind of neat, and we get to know each other better and all that. And next year, when we have the book fair, we can, we can always team up on other people, because we'll know each other better.   Kim Lengling ** 03:01 That's right. That is right. And I those book fairs. They're fun. I enjoy doing those. They are and   Michael Hingson ** 03:08 I think the video of it is now out, so it's pretty cool that it is there and is available so well, I want to again. Thank you for coming on and chatting. It's always fun. And as I explained, our podcasts, our conversation, so let's converse and go from there. I'd love to start by learning kind of, maybe, about the early Kim growing up and all that stuff. Early Kim, the early Kim a long time ago, and I guess, long, long, far away.   03:43 You know, like I get that song stuck in my head.   03:47 Oh, yeah,   Kim Lengling ** 03:50 okay, well, I grew up in a small country town, and I think my graduating class had 72 people total, and it was just, you know, I'm glad I grew up where I did and how I did in the country. I grew up playing outside, and I still play outside every day, 50 some years later. But yet, growing up in a small town, everybody knows each other, which is wonderful, and everybody knows each other, which can be kind of crappy, too, sometimes.   Michael Hingson ** 04:23 Well, there's the other song, everybody knows your name. Oh yeah. From cheers,   04:29 yeah. We're just going to keep on breaking.   Michael Hingson ** 04:33 We're doing great.   Kim Lengling ** 04:37 But yeah, I grew up in a small town, and I I'm very appreciative of the small town, I guess I don't know morals and ethics that I learned growing up, and I've tried very hard when raising my own daughter, who is now married and has her own daughter, I tried and worked hard to instill that those same type of values. Within her. And I think I did a pretty good job. But I did, I did. I liked how I grew up, and then I left my small town right after graduation and went into the military, and thinking, you know, oh yeah, I'm gonna go to this small town and I'm gonna see the world by Gully. And it's, you know, it's, it's a, it's an eye opener. I because I didn't go to college, so, you know, I don't know that. I don't have that experience. I went into the military, and that's an eye opener. It's just, wham, you are no longer small town camp. Yeah, you are now. You are now a spoke in the wheel, and we and you don't even have a name, and you're going to be rebuilt into something different. And I am truly thankful, actually, for my military experience. I feel everybody should have to be in it for at least 12 months. It teaches you so much about discipline, self awareness, leadership skills that we can all use as we grow and you know, yeah, that's kind of my younger self in a small nutshell.   Michael Hingson ** 06:10 How long were you in the military? Four years. Okay, now, the small town you grew up in was that in Pennsylvania? Yes. Okay, so, yep,   Kim Lengling ** 06:21 grew up surrounded by farm fields and cows and deer and everything else, all the critters and all that. I just, I love it, and I still live in the same type of area not far from my small town that I grew up in, and still get to enjoy all of the nature, you know, all of the critters that come through. And just I had a black bear come through the other day. Michael, ooh, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 06:41 And did you have a good conversation with the bear? No,   Kim Lengling ** 06:45 I didn't chat. Didn't want to do that, huh? No, it's I've seen that. I've seen I've lived where I'm at now for, gosh, just about just shy of 30 years, and I've seen bear tracks out there when I'm walking with my dog, but I've never actually come face to face with the actual bear. It was caught on a trail cam, and my neighbors sent it to me and said, Hey, this guy's going through your backyard at 430 this morning. And I'm like, Oh, boy.   Michael Hingson ** 07:16 I don't know whether you can ever make friends with a bear or not.   Kim Lengling ** 07:19 I you know, I'm not going to try. I don't think, yeah, they're kind   Michael Hingson ** 07:24 of big. They are kind of big. I suppose, if they make the initial Overture and they're friendly about it, that's one thing, but probably going the other way is a little bit more risky. Yeah,   Kim Lengling ** 07:36 yeah. I, you know, I would probably just not want to try. Yeah, just, you know, they're 700 and up pounds. That's, uh, that's, They're big. They're   Michael Hingson ** 07:46 big. Well, and then there's always a moose, which gets even bigger.   Kim Lengling ** 07:50 And see, we don't have moose where I'm at, yeah, yeah. And I've never seen one of those in person either. But I always thought, you know, well, you see online and stuff, just how big they are, they're so tall, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 08:04 and they're probably not the most friendly creatures. Oh,   Kim Lengling ** 08:07 they're not see, I don't know anything about moose, because we don't have them in my neck of the woods.   Michael Hingson ** 08:13 Yeah, I think it'd be fun to try to meet one, but I don't know whether that would be a good idea or not, so I don't either. If somebody else tells me that they have a moose that I could meet, I would believe them. But until that happens, I'm not going to worry   Kim Lengling ** 08:28 about it. Yeah, yeah, not something to worry about.   Michael Hingson ** 08:31 I don't Same, same with a bear. Now, on the other hand, I know your dog's name is Dexter, yeah, and I wonder what Dexter would think of a moose or a bear close up.   Kim Lengling ** 08:44 You know, I'm not sure, because he does his he's a he's pretty big dog. He's not huge, but he's a bigger dog. And there are certain times when we're out in the evening because it's pitch black. I mean, I'm out in the country. There's no lights out here, so it's pitch black out there. So I have a flashlight, and he has a collar on that lights up. And there are times when he will stop, and I call it his big boy stance, because he stops and his whole body just stiffens up, and he's staring at the woods. Now he can see stuff I can't Yeah, yeah, you know. And so I sit there, and I flash the flashlight back through there, because I carry a very powerful flashlight with me, so it lights up everything. And then when I see two yellow eyes staring at me from the woods, I'm never really sure what it might be. And I watch what Dexter's doing, yeah, and there are times where he where he will put himself in front of me, and then there's times where he comes and he will bump my leg with his head, and then turns and starts running back to the house, like, stay out here. Yeah, yeah. So it's been interesting to watch how he how he I follow his lead. When it's dark outside and we're outside, I. Follow   Michael Hingson ** 10:00 his lead. Smart move. What kind of dog is Dexter?   Kim Lengling ** 10:03 He is a Belgian Malwa Mastiff mix. Oh, so he's a big one, kinda, yeah, yeah, not huge. He's about 80 pounds, but he's a he's a good sized dog,   Michael Hingson ** 10:13 bigger than my black lab guide dog, Alamo, who's about 63 pounds.   Kim Lengling ** 10:18 Oh, okay. Labs are wonderful. Labs are awesome. But   Michael Hingson ** 10:22 again, it's all about trust. And I would trust Alamo's instincts any day and do and of course, yes, yeah, you know, but, but it isn't just the the normal guiding, but just in general, his behavior. I observe it pretty closely, and I think it's an important thing to do, because, as you said, they tend to see a whole lot of things that we don't necessarily see.   Kim Lengling ** 10:47 Right, right? No, yeah, even with my other dog, digger, prior to Dexter, digger was about 105 pounds. He was a pretty big dog, real tall and lean and long. He was very protective of me. Oh, and he would always have to be touching me or in front of me, and I took him everywhere with me. We were always out in public, and he was always if someone would approach, he would let them know I would follow his lead. He would never growl, but he would show his teeth like a scary smile, yeah. And I'd be like, Okay, we're not going any further. I'm not going to interact with this person. This person. And then other times he would just come and kind of nudge me, and his tail would start wagging. I'm like, Okay, this person's probably okay. Then it's very you know, dogs or animals period, are just amazing in their instincts. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 11:34 I've been pretty blessed that Alamo has not yet met a stranger. But also we haven't really encountered anyone that would be a really mean, nasty person, and I have seen some dogs who do sense that very well. My first guide dog was a golden retriever. He was 64 pounds, and when we were in college, and I wrote about it in my my new book, live like a guide dog in in college. On our first year we were at UC Irvine. It was a very open, somewhat rural campus, just in terms of what was around us in Orange County, which is not so rural anymore, but people would bring their dogs to campus, and they would just let the dogs roam while they went to class, and then they'd find them at the end and a bunch of dogs, just all congealed, if you will, into a pack. And they would, they would go around together. And one day, they decided that they were going to come after Squire and me. They were behind us, and as they got closer, they were growling, and Squire was doing his job of guiding, but all of a sudden he jerked, and actually jerked the harness out of my hand. I still held his leash, but he he completely jerked away, and literally, as it was described, because somebody else was watching it, he jerked, leaped up, turned around, and went down on all fours, facing these dogs, and started growling, and it just completely caught them off guard, and they just slunked away. But I've never seen a dog do that before, and I haven't seen a dog do that since, and Squire, of all dogs, a golden retriever, for heaven's sakes,   Kim Lengling ** 13:22 right? Yeah, they're usually just friendly, friendly, friendly, yeah, but   Michael Hingson ** 13:25 he, he knew what he was doing, and yeah, and he, he dealt with them.   Kim Lengling ** 13:32 That's awesome. Well, so I just love dogs.   Michael Hingson ** 13:35 Oh, yeah. Well, and we, and we have a cat here. So my wife passed away two years ago. So it's me, dog and cat,   13:43 and quite the trio you have going on.   Michael Hingson ** 13:46 Then we all, we all communicate very well, and they all, and they like each other. And I would not have it any other way. I would not want a guide dog that was in any way antagonistic toward cats. Now, now that wouldn't work well. Now Alamo doesn't Chase Stitch. Stitch has claws. I think Alamo is smart enough that he understands that, but, but they do rub noses and they play and they talk. So it works out all right, and every so often, stitch will steal Alamo's bed, and poor Alamo doesn't know what to do with himself, because he can't lay on his bed because the cat's there and he won't try to make her move. I think a couple times they both have been on the bed, but mostly not,   Kim Lengling ** 14:28 yeah, yeah. My my dog. Unfortunately, he's like, a single animal type dog, you know, it can only be him and and the neighbors cats. Sometimes, if they end up in my yard, he gets them up in a tree. So he's he's got a he's got a very big prey drive for anything smaller than him. We   Michael Hingson ** 14:53 had a we had a dachshund. Once it was a miniature dachshund. Oh, and he treated cat. One day before my brother and I went off to high school for the day, and this cat was up in the tree. We came home and Pee Wee was still barking at this cat up in the tree. The cat was up in the tree sound asleep, not worried about anything. This dog's dog didn't know when to shut up anyway. It was kind of funny.   Kim Lengling ** 15:25 Well, dogs are amazing. My dog, when he is he's treed raccoons, all kinds of stuff, anything smaller than him, he takes off after he has he does have quite the prey drive. And I think that's the Belgian mountain wall coming out in him. Yeah, you know, pretty sure that's that part. And I've not been able to get him to stop that. But I'm in the country and, you know, okay, it is, it is what it is. It is what it is.   Michael Hingson ** 15:53 Well, so did you see much of the world when you were in the military?   Kim Lengling ** 15:56 I was actually all stateside, interestingly enough, yeah. Well, you saw the country then I did. I saw some of the country. So, yeah, I'm it's, it's an experience that I'm glad that I I had. What did you do? I did Morse code, actually. Okay, yeah. And it's funny, years ago I ran into, because this is quite some time ago, quite some time ago, and it was years ago I ran into a couple of younger Navy guys at a gas station. They were filling up their car, and I, of course, went up and thanked them for their service. And I had just come from a funeral, so I was in a military funeral, and I was part of the honor guard at that time, so I was in my honor guard uniform, and they're like, well, thank you for your service. What branch were you? And we're just chit chatting, you know, like folks do. And they said, Well, what did you do? What was your MOS and I told them, and they looked at each other, and their cheeks got red, and I said, What's What's so funny? And they said, Oh, ma'am, we don't use Morse code anymore. And I went, Oh, well, my goodness, when did they stop using it? And the one, the one kid, and they were kids, they were like, probably 18 to me. Anyway, they were at the time, 1819, years old. And the one looked at the other, and they said, Well, wait a minute. No, no, we did use it that one time. I remember there in the Navy, and they were on deployment out in the ocean, sea, wherever. And they said, no, no, there. Remember that one time that that old guy, he did use Morse code. He had, we had to use it because some part of the electrical went out. And I and they were, I looked at them and I went, when you say old guy, what? What do you mean by that? And their faces turned so red. And the one kid, he goes, Oh Ma'am, he must have been at least, oh geez, 37 and at that time I was like, 41 I just started laughing. And I said, well, he wasn't really all that old, you guys, but So yeah, that was a and so   Michael Hingson ** 18:02 what do they use now that they don't use Morse code? I honestly   Kim Lengling ** 18:05 don't know. I think everything is more electronic. And yeah, I mean, yeah, it's been so long since I've been it's been a while. It's been, it's been a decade or few.   Michael Hingson ** 18:15 Well, I learned Morse code to get my ham radio license, and I still remember it and and it, and it still is a means of communications that can sometimes break through when voice and other things don't come through. Absolutely,   Kim Lengling ** 18:29 absolutely no, yeah, and I don't remember a lot of it, probably just because I was so sick of hearing it. I don't, I actually don't remember a lot of it, but if needed, I could, oh yeah, touch up on it.   Michael Hingson ** 18:47 So how fast were you able to receive code? Um,   Kim Lengling ** 18:51 we had to, in order. We had to pass a certain what was it? 2222 words a minute. Okay, I think, I think we had to get 20 I think it was 22 in training when we had, when we were in tech school in order to progress. I think it was 22 Yeah, yeah. And that's fast for people who don't realize when all you're listening to is, did audit, yep. I mean and going 22 words a minute. It's it just sounds like   Michael Hingson ** 19:18 I went a friend of mine, who was also a ham operator, and I were talking one day, and he was telling me about this kid that he had met on the air, and they were both doing code, and he decided that since this kid was a kid, that he would play a trick on him. And he slowly started speeding up how fast he was sending the code, and I don't know how fast he got to and then the kid said, Oh, you want to play that game. And he just started going at like, about 60 or 65 words a minute, which means he was probably using an electronic key or a bug, but I don't   19:56 know, right? Because how would you do that with your fingers? Really? It would   Michael Hingson ** 19:59 be hard. But anyway, this kid was doing it, and the guy went, Okay, you got me.   Kim Lengling ** 20:07 So, yeah, amazing. I mean, it truly is amazing. It's, it's amazing, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 20:13 and, and it's, it's still a very relevant thing to to have in the arsenal if you need it ever. Oh, I agree. I agree. Yeah. So, so what did you do when you came back from being in the military for four years?   Kim Lengling ** 20:27 I came back to my small hometown and didn't do much for a bit. I was kind of a weird it was, it was, wasn't so easy transitioning home from to, you know, being in the military, to coming back to the hometown, because nothing felt right anymore, right? Well, you were in a different world, right? And I was a different person, yeah. And so I didn't stick. I didn't stay there very long. I got a job, you know, got a job, and then it was couple years later, I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart, and we, you know, got married, had got a little place, little house in a different town, and had my daughter. And, you know, did that became a wife and mom and, you know, did the working and being a wife and a mom and all of that stuff? So,   Michael Hingson ** 21:27 yeah, so do you still do that?   Kim Lengling ** 21:31 No, I am divorced. My daughter is mid 30s and married and has her own daughter. So I'm I'm actually a brand new grandma. Oh, there you go. And I am just loving it. I'm loving every second of it, but you don't have the husband anymore. No, no, it's me and Dexter, and that's just fine. Yeah, it's just fine. And so well, and that it's I've, I have found out, you know, it's interesting when you're a wife, a mom, you work full time, and then your life completely changes, and you're an empty nester, completely empty nest, and it's just you and the dog. You have to find out who you are again, yeah, and it was very interesting for me, because I was like, oh my goodness, I forgot who Kim was. So it was an interesting journey to find that out and to find out, you know, what did I even like to do? Because I was always running here, running there, doing this, doing that, family, kids, stuff, you know, all of the things, doing all the things. And then I was, you know, now I had time to figure out, what do I like to do, geez, what did I like to do? You know? So it was interesting. Spent. It was interesting the first few years figuring out who I was again and what I liked to do and what makes me, you know, what fulfills me and and, you know, to reach a point where I'm thriving in that, you know, it was interesting.   Michael Hingson ** 23:02 And what did you decide that you like to do?   Kim Lengling ** 23:07 I like writing, and I love doing and I love doing my podcast and volunteering I volunteer for with my veteran post, been doing that for over 25 years now, helping veterans in need, those folks that might need a little bit of help here and there, and then also, it's a project support our troops, which is a monthly thing we've been doing every month for 24 years, sending care packages to those men and women who are deployed around the globe so, and it's all done by donations. So that's, that's a lot, it's a lot of my time, and a lot of where my heart is is helping those folks. So I've been able to really, you know, put a lot into that, which is very fulfilling.   Michael Hingson ** 23:56 What made you decide that you really liked writing?   Kim Lengling ** 24:00 You know, it was years ago. When was it? Oh, gosh, close to 20 years. Oh, my goodness, a long, long time ago. About almost 20 years ago, I was asked to give a speech at a local veteran event. And it was a large veteran event. There's about 800 people there. I had never spoken in public before, and I was asked to give a speech. And I my step grandfather, so my stepfather, his dad, was the last surviving World War One veteran in my area. Ooh, and he passed away in 1997 and I thought, you know, I'm gonna talk about him. So I spent quite a bit of time with my step dad, and we went through his dad's stuff that he had brought home, and I learned all kinds of stuff about him and his time in World War One, and he was, he was the last man of the last man's Club. Job, and that was formed in themes France on Armistice Day, and the mayor of this small village in France had a bottle of wine and came out to the boys of Company B, literally, they were the boys of Company B from my town, and gave them this bottle of wine in celebration, you know, of the signing of the armistice, and the guys all decided they weren't going to drink it. They were going to keep it. And as time went on, it would pass to the next comrade, and whoever was the last man standing would be the one that has that bottle of wine, and he would then open it toast his fallen comrades. So the the last man's club is what they called it. And my step grandfather was the last man of the last man's club, and he passed away at the age of 104 Wow. And so I shared his story and the story of the last man's club. That was my speech. And it was, it was about a 15 minute speech, and for someone who'd never spoken in public before, and you know this, 15 minutes is a long time, can be a long time to talk in front of a group of people, and there were television cameras there, and it was just, it was overwhelming. But I got up there the first two minutes, my voice was shaking because I was a little nervous, and then I just fell into the story, because it's just a beautiful story. And when I was done, it was, there was, and I'm there, was about 800 people there. It was total silence. I mean, you could hear a pin drop, and I thought, oh my goodness, I just blew it. But then there was one, one person started clapping, and then another. And then the place like this was an outdoor event, they interrupted. They just went crazy, and people were crying, and the local newspaper came up to me. The local newspaper editor came up to me and said, Would you consider writing an article, you know, about veterans for the for the paper? And I said, Oh, my goodness, I'm no writer. And he goes, Well, who wrote your speech? And I said, Well, I did. And he goes, well, then you're a writer. And that was the little spark that that lit something up in me. Somebody saw something in me that I had never even considered looking for in myself. And so that was the little spark that got me going so   Michael Hingson ** 27:34 you hadn't really contemplated, contemplated writing before then,   Kim Lengling ** 27:38 no, not at all. And and and never, really, it had never entered my mind. And I started doing these monthly articles, and I was interviewing veterans. And I'm very I'm very connected with my local veteran community, and being a veteran myself, the veterans were pretty comfortable talking to me, and I, you know, I spoke to numerous former prisoners of war. Most of, most of who I interviewed over the years were combat veterans. A lot of them were Vietnam vet combat veterans, and hearing their stories. And first off, it was very humbling that they would even share them with me, yeah, because a lot of them won't or don't want to, or can't, you know, can't, yeah. And so for 14 years, I did that each month, and there were, I started getting a following, you know, I, you know, I'd run into because they, they would post a picture with me and my article in the paper each month, and I'd run into people, and they'd be like, Oh my gosh, you just brought me to tears with that article. And I just so enjoy reading your monthly stuff. And that's when, you know, I just I didn't know what I was doing. And when I look back at some of those nights, I'm like, Oh my gosh, Kim, you were such an awful, awful writer. But as time went on, I could, I learned. And then I just started doing some stuff online, finding free courses, and, you know, doing what I could, teaching myself a lot of stuff about writing and just how to make it better. And so that's, that's kind of, I just kept, I rolled with it. I just kept rolling with it. And now that I, the last five years, I've had the opportunity to actually work from home full time now and put a lot more of my time into writing, and I'm still learning. We all learn something. We're still, you know, we're all learning, hopefully, we're all learning something. And so, yeah, hopefully so I can see how my my writing has changed, how my voice has changed, and I just hope, I just hope I'm better than I was yesterday. That's what I hope each day, I'm a little bit better of a writer than I was yesterday, because hopefully I learned something new.   Michael Hingson ** 29:48 And that's fair, we have somewhat similar starts in the whole process. So for me, of course, September 11 happened, and um. The media got the story and like, about a week and a half after September 11. I don't remember exactly what day it was. It must have been around the 20th or so of of September, but I got a call on the phone, and this guy said he was the pastor of a church, and he had heard about me, and asked if I would come and speak at a church service they were going to hold. And I said, Well, I guess tell me more about him. He said, Well, we want to hold a church service for all the people who were lost in the World Trade Center who were from New Jersey. I said, Okay, that seems like a would be a worthwhile thing to do. And so we agreed to do it. And then kind of the last thing I asked him before hanging up was, how many people are going to be at this service? And he said, Well, it's going to be an outdoor service, and there'll be something over 5000 people. Now it's not that I hadn't spoken in unusual situations before, because being in sales, you never know where you're going to be on any given day, from a board of directors of a Wall Street firm to IT people or whatever, but still 5000 people, and that's a lot. And when I got there, I also learned that Lisa beamer was there. Now Lisa's husband, Todd, was the guy on flight 93 who said, let's roll. Let's roll. Yeah. And Lisa was not an animal lover, but she and Roselle hit it off, and so she she really and Roselle was my guide dog in the World Trade Center. So they had a thing going, which was kind of cool, but the speech wasn't overly long. It was only supposed to be about six or seven minutes, and it was, and that is really what got me started down the road of doing public speaking. Then the next year, we were at an event where I met the publisher of the AKC Gazette, and George said, You should write a book. I said, I've never thought of writing a book, and it took eight years to get it done and get the right combination, including someone to collaborate with, because I wasn't really all that familiar with writing. But anyway, we wrote thunder dog, and it got published in 2011 became a New York Times bestseller. So that was pretty cool. But, you know, circumstances do offer us opportunities, and it's important to really take them when you can. And so we you and I have both done that in various ways, yeah,   Kim Lengling ** 32:35 and it's interesting when you look back to see how things unfold. Mm, hmm, you know, and you had mentioned that you were in sales, and that's my background, 25 years of sales and marketing. So it's and I've talked to I've talked Well, I'm sure you have too as well. Many, many authors, and a lot of them have some sort of sales or marketing in their background. Have you found that to be true as well? I   Michael Hingson ** 32:59 have, and especially today, you have to, because the publishers aren't doing nearly as much as they used to to promote books, and they want the authors to do a lot more. And I think that the publishers, some of the publishers, could do more than they're doing, but they because they rely on social media and so on. But there's a lot more to it than that. But unfortunately, that's not what they do. So, you know, you you cope with what you got. That's   Kim Lengling ** 33:26 right, that's right, you know. And I found that a lot of the the larger publishing houses, and even some of the mid sized ones, in order for them to even take you on, you have to have a certain number of followers, or whatever it is on your combined social media platforms, yeah, and so many authors don't, don't.   Michael Hingson ** 33:53 And you know, we're not   Kim Lengling ** 33:54 all out there being influencers, you know, yeah, but   Michael Hingson ** 33:57 you also have to make the commitment to promote, and so absolutely, so we do and it, and it's, it's part of what needs to be done. And I don't mind, and I understand the concept of an author has to be part of what promotes their book. They they shouldn't rely totally on the publisher, and that's fine, but I do think that publishers could do more than they do a lot of times to help today, that social media is the thing. Well, it's not the only thing, and you miss out on a lot, on a lot, by just dealing with social media,   34:34 right? That's where a good publicist comes in.   34:37 Yeah.   Kim Lengling ** 34:41 Yeah, yeah, that's, that's helpful, but no, yeah. And I, well, I enjoy doing the but it's so it's almost a full time job marketing. Just, it is, you know, it's, it's a lot of work. And, you know, I, I'm self published. I didn't go the, the traditional publishing route. I. And knowing, you know, regardless, I would still be doing the same amount of work that I'm doing if I went the traditional route, right? Because I'd still have to do a majority, or, if not, all, of my own promotion, which I don't mind. I enjoy doing that, because then I actually get to meet, yes, a lot of interesting people.   35:22 You know, people it   Kim Lengling ** 35:24 is, and the people that have been put in front of me, you know, like yourself, you know, we made a connection, and now I'm here a guest on your show, and you're going to be a guest on mine. I mean, how cool is that? So, you know, you get to meet people that might have nothing to do with your book. It's just, it's just cool to you know, humanity, to meet, to meet other good, decent people is a good thing.   Michael Hingson ** 35:49 It is by, by any standard, right? You primarily today write fiction. So what got you down the road of writing fiction or non actually, non fiction, non fiction, non fiction,   Kim Lengling ** 36:01 that it was. It was all of the interviewing that I did with the veterans, you know, keeping keep into the the personal stories. I really enjoyed that I I enjoy it, and being able to not only write the story, but pull that emotion from it too. And I found that at first it was somewhat intimidating, because I'm thinking, how can I, how can I get these in words on paper, where people are going to feel what I'm feeling right now listening to this gentleman, yeah, you know. And it just that that kind of fascinated me, and that's what made me want to keep on writing and learning how to do it better. And so I just stuck with it. So I, yeah, I've not written anything fiction   Michael Hingson ** 36:50 at all. One of the things that I I find is that what makes I think good, successful writers, l will deal with non fiction right now, but is to be yourself. So when you interviewing people, your personal self has to come through, not in in the in an opinion way, but just how you are able to portray the people who you're talking with. And interviewing it comes out so much better if you really can feel it, which is again, getting back to your, your being yourselves,   Kim Lengling ** 37:26 right? Yes, I think, yeah, being authentic, yeah, just, you know, I've had, I don't know if you've had folks on your show that I've had a few that I was the first podcast they were ever on, and they were quite nervous. And I said, Well, you know, before I even hit that record button, you know, I don't mind sitting here chit chatting for a bit, so, you know, you feel a little bit more at ease. And it just took without fail, my guests have said, you know, Kim, thank you for being such a welcoming host, and you made this fun. And, you know, there's no, because there's no pretense with me. You know, it's, it's, I'm come as I am. I'm not all, you know, I don't get all my hair is not done. I don't have a bunch of makeup on or anything like that. It's, you know, you can't. This is Kim. This is me. This is who I am every day. And, you know, hey, let's sit down and have a cup of coffee. That's that's how I try and, you know, get my guests at ease, you know. And I'm sure that you've had guests that have probably been kind of nervous, maybe it's their first time on a show or something. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 38:31 one of the things that I do, though, and I really have found that it works very well to do this, is before I have a guest on the actual podcast, I want to sit down with them and have a half hour conversation where we get to know each other. So I insist that anyone who wants to come on to unstoppable mindset has to spend some time with me ahead of time, and that way, when I find people who aren't familiar with podcasts, or, you know, they say, Well, I'd love to come on, but I don't know what to talk about. We can talk about it, and we can, we can get them to relax and recognize that they do have a story to tell, and what we want to do is to to hear their story, and they don't need to worry about being uptight, because there, there are no set rules that you have to do this or you fail. It's all about really enjoying what you do and just being willing to talk about it.   Kim Lengling ** 39:32 Yeah, and that's, that's an awesome idea. And I know a lot of podcast hosts do that. I have not I, and I don't know why. I've never really come up with a reason why I haven't had, you know, just that sit down chat 1520 minutes prior, you know, maybe a week before the show, or whatever. I've just, I've just not done that. I don't know. I we usually end up talking 10 to 15 minutes prior to me hitting record. Um, there's only, I really had one instance with one guest. And. Was a couple years ago where we did chit chat. And as we were chit chatting, it was that at that point I thought I should probably do pre screening, yeah, and I, I, we went through with the show, and I pre record everything, yeah, so I did cut it short, and I never published it. It was that was the one and only time that ever happened. This person never got back to me, never said, when's this going to be out? It was just such an uncomfortable chat. And I was thinking, wow, on paper, this person was a completely different person than when I'm actually talking, yeah, so, and it wasn't in line with anything of what we had discussed. So it was, it was, that was interesting. That's only in four years that's only happened one time, and that was one day when I thought I really should do pre screen.   Michael Hingson ** 40:59 Well, I've had, I've had two. One the we did the podcast, and this person just had no effect to their voice. And as much as I talked ahead of time about I want to hear your story and all that, he just couldn't tell a story. Oh, yeah. And so that one didn't get published, and then another one I did, and I thought it was a great podcast, but the person said, I absolutely do not want this published. I just decided that that I don't want to do it. And   Kim Lengling ** 41:35 I had one like that after we had recorded and everything, and I thought I too for and they it was like three days later, because I said, Well, it's going to be up and uploaded probably two to three weeks from now. It's like two or three days later. They said, You know, I've changed my mind. I don't want my story out there at all. Yeah, there was fear in theirs. There was fear involved. Yeah, there was, there was   Michael Hingson ** 41:55 clearly fear, um, with my person as well. Oh, yeah. And they got very, very nasty about it when I said, Look, it really is a good podcast. So, you know, I'm not going to, I don't want to have people and make people do things they don't want to do. I've had several people who have said, well, I want to hear the podcast before it goes out and and I'll say to that, no, it's a conversation, and I don't edit it. So the whole idea is that if there's any editing, it's just to deal with getting noise out of it and all that. But only that doesn't happen. But, you know, and people accept that, but again, it's fear. But the reality is that I believe everyone has a story to tell, and I believe that everyone, if they're willing to do it, should tell their story, because it will show other people that they're not any different, and we're all more unstoppable than we think we are. And that's the whole point of the podcast.   42:58 No, that's I agree. I agree 100%   Michael Hingson ** 43:02 Well, tell us. Tell me about some of the non fiction books that you've written. Tell me a little bit about what you've done and and so I just   Kim Lengling ** 43:08 had, I just had one released last week, actually called nuggets of hope. And that one has been in the works for a couple years, and it started with not me thinking about turning anything into a book. It was, it just started with the word hope. Showed up everywhere, everywhere, and I felt very strongly that I was supposed to be doing something with it. And I ended up getting polished stones with the word hope engraved on them, and carrying those with me. And I thought, Okay, I think I'm supposed to be giving nuggets of hope to people and but I wasn't sure how to do that, but I had this very strong nudge that I was meant to be doing this. And so that began a couple years ago. And I would just approach people who I would see, you know, I'm out running errands, doing my thing, and I would just someone would catch my eye, and I would feel very strongly nudged. Be like that person needs a nugget of hope. And I would just approach and say, Excuse me, ma'am, or sir, I would like to give you a nugget of hope today, and without fail, and I've been doing this for a couple years, so I've been handing out quite a few my little stones. And without fail, every single person I've approached has has put their hand out to accept that, and I get a hope and from a total stranger just coming up to them. You know, it's, it's amazing. And the reactions that I've had have just been, you know, there's been tears, there's been laughter, nervous laughter. There's been funny looks like, Who are you crazy woman approaching me? Um, I've had people hug me and I had one older gentleman yell at me in anger and swear at me in Walmart, and, you know, ask me very loudly, what the hell did he have to hope for? And but he took the nugget of hope and put it in his pocket. Yeah, and I knew in that moment with that, that particular gentleman had nothing to do with me and he was in his probably had to have been in his late 80s. So I don't know what was gone in his life, but I do firmly believe, even to this day, that I was meant to be in front of him at that moment in time and give him a nugget of hope, a nugget of hope. Yeah, I firmly believe that. And I don't know, you know, when our interaction was done, he was still an angry man, and that's okay, because I didn't let it land on me, because it wasn't supposed to. It wasn't directed at me. And I got in my car, and I actually did cry. I sat in my car with my head on my steering wheel, crying for that man, because my heart hurt for him. And I thought, you know, what? If he's what if he just lost his wife, and he has no idea. And because he was yelling at me about not knowing what dish soap to get, he couldn't find the kind that he needed. And I thought, maybe, you know, he just, he had just lost his wife, yeah, and she always used a particular soap, and he couldn't find it, and that was what put him over. Maybe he's a full time caregiver for a family member, you know, maybe a white, I don't know, Alzheimer's, what have you. Maybe he was just coming off of a very long illness, and he's on his own, a widower, whatever, because he was, he was late 80s, at least, and looked very, very, very tired. And my heart just hurt. My heart just hurt for him. And I thought, You know what, he might have been yelling and swearing at me, and that is perfectly okay, but I'm going to sit here and pray for him. I'm going to pray for peace and for grace to just envelope him, you know, just be covered in it, and maybe when he wakes up tomorrow and he goes to grab all that stuff from the hallway table and put back in his pocket, he'll look down and see that yeah, and maybe then it'll be like, oh, you know. Or maybe, maybe not. Maybe it would be a week, maybe a month, whatever. But I firmly believe in my heart that at some point he was going to see that, and it would   Michael Hingson ** 47:24 click, and you haven't seen him since, I assume, no, it's   Kim Lengling ** 47:27 total stranger. I don't know these people, you know. And there was one time I have these, I got little cards made too, because, well, these stones are pretty expensive, actually. So I got little cards made too, just tiny, little square cards, and it says, share a nugget of hope today. And on the back, it says, The world is a better place because you're in it. And I had some of those because I had forgotten to put stones in my pocket, and I had a couple of those cards in my purse. And I was in a store just picking, you know, doing errands, and I was walking by some sweaters, and I thought, I'm going to put one of these little cards in a pocket of that sweater and just put it in. Didn't think anything of it. Several days later, I got a message through Facebook from a young lady saying, I don't know if this is the person who left a card in a sweater, but if you are, I want to thank you for leaving this little nugget of hope in that sweater, because I've been struggling with my weight for a very long time, and I had an event to attend, and I was looking for a sweater that would help make me feel better. And she didn't notice that that little card that said, be a nugget of hope today, the world's a better place because you're in it. She didn't notice it until she was home putting the sweater on again to try it on in front of her mirror. And she said, if that was if the person that I'm reaching right now is the person who left that card, I want to thank you for doing that, and I also want to let you know I'm going to keep this card, and when I feel so LED. I'm going to tuck it into a pocket somewhere in a store too, and hopefully someone else will get it, and they will, they will receive it as as I received mine. And I was just like, Oh my goodness.   Michael Hingson ** 49:12 You know, ever since thunder dog was published, I get emails. They're they're sporadic somewhat, but I get emails from people who have said how this book inspired or how I learned so much. And you know, as far as I am concerned, I am better for all of the comments that I get. I learned from everyone who decides to reach out in one way or another, and I encounter people in very, very unusual circumstances. I was in Dallas Fort Worth airport one day, and this guy comes up to me, and he said, You're Mike Kingston. You just wrote thunder dog, and I want to shake your hand, and I want to take you to lunch. And I had time. So. Did go to lunch and I and I never had met the guy before, but he had read thunder dog, and it obviously made a difference to him. So I think, as I said, every time I hear from someone, I believe it makes me a better person. It teaches me that when we put out words or seeds in the field, or whatever you want to call it, that you never know where they're going to plant and thrive. But if that's what I'm supposed to do, then I'm glad I'm doing it.   Kim Lengling ** 50:36 I feel exactly the same, and I like how you said you were it you said each, each comment that you get makes, makes you a better person, and that that's so profound, and it's, it's humbling, isn't it? When you get comments like that, or people approach you and say something that, you know, it was inspiring, or that motivated me, or, you know, wow, that's something I really needed. I mean, it's, it's very for me anyway, it's very humbling. I had an older lady. I was helping her put her groceries in her car. It's just, I just randomly saw her, you know, struggling, and I had a nugget of hope in my hand too, of course. So I went up and I, you know, said, I'd like to give you a nugget of hope, and I'd also like to help you put your groceries in your car. And we got done doing that, and she looked down at the nugget of hope in her hand, and she got all teary eyed, and gave me a big hug, and she said, You are my absolute angel today. You have no idea how much I needed this. And I went, I'm so grateful that, that you're the one that's receiving this, and that you you know that, that you need it. She goes, but I said, but I am no angel. I am no angel. And she said, she's, you know, she just kind of chuckled, and, you know, said, No, you have, you just have no idea. You have no idea what this means to me today. And I didn't ask, because it's none of my business, yeah, you know, I just, I wished her a blessed day, and I went back to my car, and I sat there, and I sat there, and there was another time I actually cried. I was like, oh my goodness, this is what I think I'm, you know, I'm supposed to be doing this random stuff. And it's not random, obviously, but I don't know it's, it's profound, and it hits you, and I'm sure that that's, yeah, probably your book has probably done the same. Your book is a nugget of hope. You know, to many people, I'm sure,   Michael Hingson ** 52:22 I hope it is. I didn't, I didn't write it to do anything other than to try to encourage people and motivate people and teach people a little bit. And I guess it's done all of those things. So I can't complain.   Kim Lengling ** 52:34 No, it's awesome. It's great. And what a beautiful What a beautiful legacy, you know, because that's always going to be out there. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 52:43 Well, you wrote a New Britain or been the lead on a number of anthologies. And I think three of your books are in the series. When Grace found me, tell me about that series. Those   Kim Lengling ** 52:53 started that was in 2020, actually, when the world shut down. Yes, and I was online, and I found an online writers group. It was all women, and the majority of them were from England. And so I was like, the minority being the American. And I met a beautiful lady online, and she had just started up a faith based publishing company. And so her and I were like, hey, you know, let's chat afterwards. And so we set up a zoom and chatted afterwards for a while. And I said, you know, I've had this idea. I've got a few stories in my head, but I would love to get other people's stories. You know about, you know, when Grace found them, and we were just chatting about grace, and she said, Well, let's figure out how to make this work. And so her and I actually start to together. Started those when Grace found me series, and we asked a few people, and then it kind of snowballed, because it was just going to be one, just going to be one book, 20 people done, once it reached 20, and we're like, oh, this, you know, we've got enough for a book. They're 1500 words each. The stories, they're beautiful. Let's do it. But then word of mouth got out somehow, online, and people kept coming forward. Well, I would like to participate, and I have a story, and it turned in. It went from one book to three books, and 2020, co authors in each book. And we, we published all of those within 12 months. Wow. It was so much work, so much work. But those, those stories, oh, my goodness, the the comments that we got after they were out, you know? And she, she's just started her little, tiny, little publishing company, and it was just, it was just amazing. What an amazing experience. And then I, you know, two years ago, I and I truly enjoy bringing folks together to share their stories, and I enjoy, you know, collaborating and coordinating all of these. And. And so the the last two have been paw prints on the couch and paw prints on the kitchen floor. And those are anthologies all about pets. You know, people are sharing their their stories about their pets and how they've enriched their lives or changed their lives or saved their lives, you know? And it's, it's just rewarding to me, and it's also fun to give folks that maybe have never written before, that chance to say I'm published in a book, you know? Because that's pretty exciting stuff for folks. And some folks are like, I've never aspired to be a writer, and I don't want to be, but I do want to share my story in this book. Yeah, you know. So it's been fun, and oh my goodness, I learned, I learned how to publish. You know, like I said, I like to learn. So I've learned so much about publishing and formatting and how to corral all the people that are involved in the book.   Michael Hingson ** 55:57 Have you? Have you converted any of them to audiobooks,   Kim Lengling ** 56:00 no, and I need to do that. I just don't have the funds to do that at this time. That's that's not something that's cheap, and I'm not set up to do it myself. I don't have the right I have the equipment, but I don't think it would be the quality that I want it to be if I did it myself, and I just don't have the funds to do that, and I would, I would love to do it for the paw prints books, both of them, for sure. And I'm considering do, because everybody's going, you have to, when's the third one coming out? And I said I wasn't really planning on and they're going, you have two, you have to do at least three, and then make it a series. So I was actually talking to a couple people today about it, and they're encouraging me to do a third one. So I probably will, you know, so that would come out next year sometime. But I don't know. I would like to, I would like to get audio books of all of them. I just have to reach a point where I'm able to do that and make it what's professionally done.   Michael Hingson ** 57:03 Yeah, yeah. AI is getting better, but I'm not sure that it's really there yet for doing recording of audio books, unless you've got a whole lot of equipment and can do various   Kim Lengling ** 57:15 things. I've played around listening to some of the different voices and stuff, and the inflect, the inflection just isn't there, yeah, I know, yeah. Some of them sound pretty good, but you don't get the correct pauses. And you know, you know what I mean. It just, you can tell, it's like, oh, that sounds pretty good. And then you're like, Ah, no, right there, nope, that just blew it.   Michael Hingson ** 57:38 Yeah? I I agree, and I fully understand. Well, so you've written non fiction? Is there a fiction book in your future?   Kim Lengling ** 57:47 I have one in my head, and it's been in there for several years, and it's been getting louder so and I've talked to other fiction writers, and they're going, okay, when you've got characters in your head and they're getting louder. That means you are supposed to be writing this book. Yeah. So this year, and we're almost done with this year, it the characters, and it's kind of kind of fantasy, kind of ish, young adult ish. I don't even know what it is yet, but I've got the characters in my head. I know what they look like. I know what they sound like. And, you know, there's wood sprites are involved, you know, wood sprites and animals are involved, heavily involved. They are the main characters of the story. So, yeah, I every once in a while, I sit down and I'll write, you know, maybe four or 500 words of it, and then I walk away. But I want to, they're getting louder. The characters are getting louder, so I need to sit down and just go, Kim,   Michael Hingson ** 58:50 let's get going. No, that's not why it's going to work. What's I know you're going to sit down and they're going to say, Kim, we're writing this book, right? Most characters are going to write the book   Kim Lengling ** 58:59 right. They're going to tell me what they're doing and what they're saying, that's for sure. And   Michael Hingson ** 59:03 you're in, you're going to do it, or they're going to get even louder,   Kim Lengling ** 59:08 you know? And it's, it's so interesting because I remember the first time I was talking to a fiction author, and they said my characters got so loud in my head, I didn't quite grasp what they were saying, but I found it fascinating, and now I understand what they were saying, yeah,   59:26 yeah. And   Kim Lengling ** 59:27 I joking, you know, I laugh. It's not joking. I laugh about it because they're like, Well, what? What do you have one character that's louder than the others? I said, Yes, and it's a female, and she's Irish,   Michael Hingson ** 59:38 there you are. So she's   59:39 yelling in her Irish accent.   Michael Hingson ** 59:42 You better listen, I haven't had that happen to me yet, so I haven't done a fiction book, but I'm sure the time is going to come and and we'll, we'll have fun with it. But when   Kim Lengling ** 59:55 it's I did, I wasn't expecting it to happen. It just it's there. There it   Michael Hingson ** 59:59 is. It. Exactly right, and that's been the case with with everything that I've done, especially over the past 23 years. And you know, I think it will happen more. I never thought I was going to be doing a podcast, but when the pandemic occurred, I started to learn about it, and then began working with accessibe, which is a company that makes products that help make the internet more inclusive and accessible for people with a lot of disabilities, and they asked me to do a podcast because I said I was learning about podcasting, and suddenly I've been doing unstoppable mindset now for over three years, and it's a lot of fun.   Kim Lengling ** 1:00:33 But you know, that's how my podcast started. Was in 2020 Yeah, we have an awful lot in common. Michael, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:44 well, we should collaborate on books, then that'll be the next thing.   Kim Lengling ** 1:00:48 Absolutely, I am open for that works for me. Awesome. You tell me when and where, and we'll I'll sit down and chat. We can brainstorm about it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:57 I'm ready any old time. Me too. And there you have it, friends, the beginning of a new relationship, and another book that will come out of it. And you heard it here first, on unstoppable mindset, that's right, it's now thrown out there. It is out there for the world to to see and hear. Well, I want to really thank you for being with us. We've been doing this an hour, and it's just has gone by, like priest lightning, and now we have next week on on your podcast, and that's going to be kind of fun.   1:01:27 Yeah, I'm looking forward to it really   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:31 me too, and, and I'm sure that Alamo is going to want to listen in over here. He's He's over here on his bed, and he if I close the door when I always close the door when I do the podcast, because otherwise the cat will invade and stitch wants attention when she wants attention. But if I close the door and Alamo is not in here, then he wants attention, or at least he wants in. So I always have to let Alamo in, but stitch doesn't need to be here. I've done one podcast where she sat on the top of my desk chair during the whole podcast,   Kim Lengling ** 1:02:07 I've had guests where their cat, they said, Do you mind? I said, No, I don't mind. I love animals. Their cat the entire time was walking across the desk in front of them the whole time. So the tail the entire time was just going back and forth. It was so comical. But then, you know, you're just like, We're just two people sitting at a kitchen table having coffee. That's how I like. That's   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:28 right. Well, stitch will come in occasionally, and if I let her, if I bring her in and I put her on the back of the desk chair, she'll stay there. And so she likes that. If she gets restless, then I've told her, You can't be too restless and you can't one out in the middle of a podcast. You're either here or you're not. Mostly she's agreeable. I want to thank you again for being here. This has been fun, and one of these days, we'll get out to Pennsylvania and visit. Or you can come out this way somehow. But I want to thank you for being here. If people want to reach out to you, how do they do that?   Speaker 1 ** 1:03:08 Easiest way is to just go to my website, which is my name, Kim Lengling, author.com, that's K, I M, L, E N, G, l, I N, G. Author.com, you can find out what I'm doing

Https://www.iamu.guru “THE FLUFFER” I have eyes in the back of my head I have goats at the top of my bed I have goats on the cap of my knee I think I wrote my own obituary Oh, you hetcha Bitch, you ain't me Shit be poppin off at the rock in 8 minutes exactly In studio 8H That's where I am, Amen again Cause I meant it And I mix in the pancake batter Perhaps some berries? Apparently not, 7 minutes and counting I'm at the Rock Now I'm putting away my don't ask, don't tell Ok. Okay? Okay? Now I'm making arrangements; Don't want to be your favorite, I just miss LA with a hankering Call Hank team USA That's FBI I'm so Walter White that I watch Saturday Night — not live, though I'm too broke for peacock, YouTube And cable! Dang, bro! How many subscriptions do I need Just not to cry myself to sleep. Send me some pictures January jonesing for a free ride scholarship To on God university, Aka: inside the TV DOBT BE EVIL. WRITE ME A SEQUEL! Ok TV people First just let me … son of a bitch! I told you she'd be back. Yo. Whaddup. You killed Jimmy Fallon! I did not. You did! Yes you did. I didn't. He was already like that. What! You heard me! Explain to me how— This man: [This man] *heavy gasps and anxietal wheezing fills the room* Explain this. Metaphisics. That doesn't explain anything. It explains everything, actually. *explodes* Excuse me, miss— do I smell a remix? No, that's pancakes. I got zero capacity for losers; I'm no longer lonely A broke in horse with no saddle Don't ride me less it's bareback Down and dirty Downhome and in the raw I like to buck And I like it hard A strong gallop and pull, Top speed Why I don't pay for dreams Why I got TV and movie stars in my dreams Why Ariana Grande so pretty? Why when we leave outside the crowd still roaring for an eNcore? Why am I a mogul; Why do I look like a fashion icon? God got it right, I guess but why do I still feel Wildly unsatisfied The lights said I left the water on Turn the lights off Turn the water on I speak color, I am an animal I spoke 9 Gods I am an animal Rise to the occasion I broke the code I threw the rock off the rock I smoke the fountain I run the block once Come twice Nice shockwave right there Hi God. A beautiful night to die But no time to fall I despaired on desire, Why right on Maine Radio towers Icons Beautiful glimmering city Mayday mayday went haywire Repeat Mayday mayday Went haywire Repeat Mayday mayday Went haywire Now rinse thoroughly Alright, alright. So hawked it. You hawked my father's antique stopwatch?! Sorry. Sorry?! AAAAGG— [The Festival Project ™] Mayday mayday Went heywire They need more scriptwriters I want an empire I wrote half of the Super Bowl commercials Mayday mayday Oh man. Oh, fuck. You had better wash your hands before you touch my crotch. I don't. Give me—- my— body back. Nope. AUghhhh. My inspiration is dead in the water Can't watch hot ones That guy ruined it Ruined September And ruined October Ruined the cosmos And ruined my song, bro— I'm ruined. My inspiration is dead in the water I am a trash can, Man, this is awkward I won an award for songs post mortem Then I wrote more of them This is the afterlife I'm an immortal. My inspiration is dead in the water I'm just not moved, man I need a baseball cap and some phantoms A laxative Maybe some large hands A ball glove Some box seats Smoked sausage And the dodgers. I wanna go home and not be homeless. I want a condo above four stories. I want the whole world on top of its axis I want the other half of the balance My whole life been whack, Where's the reverse card? Run the tarot— Pull the rewards back, Don't touch the foreskin, Call back the foreman Redact that! Redact that! We're starting to cross fires. We met at the crossroads; One goes down, one goes up. Oh, the Irish are back, look: That's good— I got bored. {Enter The multiverse} We were at blue suits and sweater vests And now I know better than To count on comics designed to be weather men Of pop culture— current events a spin on the news l went there for clarity, And left there confused. Confused. If the transmitter is at the World Trade Center, Then why is it every time I to go Rockefeller, I feel like I've just been electrocuted? Not enough to die, but like I'm buzzing all over and out of my body? Remarkably, and no matter what — Whenever I'm there, I just feel weird. Like, mad weird. Hey. What. Did you see a guy? I'm a guy. Really? Apparently. Well, I'm looking for this guy. I did see a guy like that. Really? Yeah. He was weird. Which way did he go? Uh. [Sunni BLU points up] Really? He went upstairs? Sure! Huh. Thanks. Whatever. I need you to need me I need me to be cool I need you to want me To love me To free me To love me To hold you I know you I know you I know. Knockout with a scarred lip Knockout was a good guy Knockout got knocked up Knockout had a good try Knockout got knocked out Knockout had a good cry Knockout got locked up Goodbye. Good luck. Here's a chalice. [09. Don't waste time.] But I'm tired I'm shadow boxing my mind I'm lights out Candles lit I, I, I I, me, mine And God But I won't waste time I'm still dried out I got my eyes lost Wrapped around you In hindsight I'm behind Blind to the power I love my readheads and range rovers I lost my mind on Mulholland Pull over and vomit And suddenly I'm at the— Portal Plummet Plaza. [The Festival Project ™ ] The rock and the kite VI Ahem. “The Rock and The Kite VI” ROSIE O'DONNEL is chillin. JIMMY KIMMEL kicks in the door. ROSIE Oh look, the cat is back. BIG JIMMY Meow. ROSIE To what do I owe the pleasure. BIG JIMMY You remember that cup of sugar you borrowed? ROSIE …okay? BIG JIMMY I need it back. ROSIE [beat] I see. BIG JIMMY —and my blender. ROSIE O DONNEL takes a deep breath and then sighs. ROSIE The cup of sugar I can help you with… the blender, I still need. BIG JIMMY [KIMMEL] Fair. ROSIE Follow me. ROSIE AND JIMMY exit the room, the glimmer of the television still flickering on the green upholstered armchair with the remote control atop the armrest; the actual CAT (we presume) climbs up into the chair and appears to begin watching the TV? What's on the TV? Why, it's the very programme we're all currently tuned into. This just got meta. Again. The CAR, looking bored, changes the channel to Garfield. Much better. He looks satisfied now, but is entirely still 199% just a cat. We presume. Your body ponders My eye wander to your belt buckle My mind watches. Sorry. Your body calls me. My love hurts. I want you. My thought sparkles with the thought of a touch I'm not hungry, I just want you I desire to hold hands and then Dive off I thought you up to love you The time was wrong So now I watch That's all A long rush to nothing. Dogtown, Godland. Longboards, longhairs, all body No shine, bro Hard wax, yellow soldier Wavestorm? Epoxy? North shore surf boards Surf harder Fuck New York I wanna go home Panoramic Hollywood golden Who lost apartheid Who first of all Chosen sources First mate Overboard Long hair Wrong rowboat Oh lover Lord of all [The Festival Project ™] I almost forgot it was Saturday, Saturday Night I was too busy not working I'm all yours for Passover I'm all ears, And now I get a sense that this Is my last and greatest trick; Disappearing for this, And again forever This is going to take Forever All wrong: You work for the network Interesting choice of wardrobe– another old code magician Ring on opposite finger– The other, I'm so much aware of The ice cream in tubs on the road Not melted, but partially hardened I can also feign confusion You don't say, You don't say, now. {Enter The Multiverse} Shake hands with your guest; Monologue, monologue smug smirk Make good face– Now put a name to the face Put a time to the place Oh, all the love in the world in three flames All the doves in the flock, And three flames Put a name to the face Monologue monologue Doesn't take long but When do i get to slap the desk? Johnny! JOHNNY CARSON is wearing the usual getup and a pair of very dark sunglasses. What happened? Whats the- 10 vodkas, Five spritzers Full figure Figure this You were out for the count! Do tell! Or better yet, don't. I remember This monologue, But i dont know how 16 hours ago, I was— Out for the count, you say?! OUT, Johnny! Our market is livid! lol who plays john carson Your mother. YO! I'M OLD! I LIKE OLD DUDES NOW! I'm like When the fuck did this happen?! That ain't no SILVER FOX! That's a TOTALLY CUTE DUDE! HE'S 55!! OH NOOOOOOOO! i'M OLD!!!!!!! its wednesday eve in Boston Mass… SETH MEYERS! Ah, he's going for it. Ah, man. SHOW ME YOUR EYES. Fuck. SHOW ME YOUR EYES! SUDAKIS shines a bright flash light into his former colleagues eyes. …You're not Seth Meyers. Seth Meyers does not respond, but relaxes slightly; it's obviously not safe to be Seth Meyers right now. Where's Seth Meyers? Seth shrugs but still doesn't say anything– Where is he? I have to stop here; Cop out for body language somebody's watching Somebody knows who I am I am I remember now You looked like that It went like this: I moved the world The need was good The love was gone The vein was split open And broken No fair Also, no omelettes 60 minutes 60 years and 60 second clips 60 second glimpses 60 men on television but really, my attention just centers on Around ten of them or so And believe it or not, I care approach. Believe it or not, I care Or don't! –or don't! Johnny! You don't get it! You missed a show! THE Tonight show! We are fucked! we are NOT! youre still sauced. I'll just take the car! What car!? Now that JOHNNY CARSON knows his Delorean can time travel, he's absolutely unstoppable. Unfortunately, it appears his DeLorean has been switched with a regular one– If I shoot you in your forehead? I'd rather that, than this. And I kiss you in your temple? Dear templeton, my simpleton's i'll die I desire. A wicked want. And then? A callous shadow, If i may, To bear for nothing, But a mirror This is our concept And wilted here the flower does grow the flame The flaming true and ache of lust and there For our want a jasper shore and emerald cascades there you are, And there you'll find The wave beyond the peaking break where great white sharks reside But do not wade to shallow waters; And there you find peace, And there you find certainty But now, And here, is war And fortune not but seeks truth in the gaze And for fear there does not live, but hides instead the truth that seeks to guide the lite, And yet does know our trust And there does find the faith, Forward and not Upwards and back Arrow and arrow Truth and sparrow Wreaking and wretched thoughts And the rope does hang high and solemn Looking, leap and gasp For I fall but did not land I pulled for you, I weep, my shadow, The two of diamonds, the Ace of spades, The Three of Hearts, Without my shadow I weep. I know for you nothing but conscious and knowing and needing and fated departure. I know for you nothing but chakras and eyesight and shadows and foresight. I need fo you nothing but want and by conscious, departure For nothing I want you, I weep. Sorrow. On approach of danger, The knowing, On seeth did gather, the sinking ritual the carried tribes in ships tied, weaving strings The spider bites hard And she stole my love twice And she stole my love always And she stole my love Lighting my light wit blue eyes The deception If love could be stolen at all But if not Then not love for seeking is finding and gathered had hunted And truth in forbearer Forbearance and otherwords, Shadows and shattered and ferris wheels, Now forward Gathered here for are I trust And be dismayed for you have faltered You have failures and you have cast us out of these things thinking We have not made them for you And still we seek to gather with you And here does forshadow your making Our promise to come as ones, Not as Gods, But as others, you cast out. Now, with your wicked ways and cruel be done, for sure the tables have turn, one And the gallows have not wandered far, Barrels of guns and barbells bottles and hearts of three reading cards and wanting none but justice Is he and she who are I now Begin to run from your pitied structure And there in the gasping cruelness of seeking from warcrimes this, come what may, Moving and seeking, For seeking is finding, And run, my legs have come far But trust, my dove, My wings have too, sprouted An honor, an honor one candle and three wicks Three candles and three worlds over One world and one building and still far from under the Hollywoodland Crickets sounding The Hollywood Sign Still standing and here I am not, Blades of grass And who are I now Of that which you balk at Look, ponder Go, far asunder And wish now had you not What I am is that, Run Temper temper. Mind your business. Is it gathered? To burn, or burden? Gathered. Gathered here. Then here ive wandered. To stake? Argue. I will not. And I will not. Wiry bird, From where you flown i do ponder– red with spirit and wilding eyes, Narrow server and paring wires; I do not wish to know you now or ever, But only as bird that does golden remember. The love has not gone, And instead lives in my throat, And twists in my lungs, Ans sits in my tongue, Not as speech, or whispers, But tragedy. Unknowing this, my tender being It can never be, the nervous hill And rolling down the hill as if The weel of time itself, Not unbroken, but resilient; In sll ways, meant to tear And turn, And wobble Made for terrain for which our eyes have known And our minds have built And hands molded wiith clay, The bodies whole of all our galaxies terra feighn Terra fine Terra wept tears of a clown, And iron And veins And shadows And plays, And secrets , And whispers And truth And far And Afters. I taste a saline drip, I swallow, Suddenly cold and all the knowing that What I was, I surely already am again And what I will be, Has already come and past. The monologue, I do remember Face to a name and none to forget Well rehearsed forager! Well done bayonet! Well done, my shadow For my time is coming to wander to night And never today again for it shall never Today again, And Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow. [The Festival Project ™ ] They said he would destroy me. …Ya'll were right. that fucked me up. {Enter The Multiverse} So…forfeit? Something tells me its not over The heavy heart is shattered But also tied to that which appears to come upward As if on air To be heavy And lighthearted at once– A shadow above a balloon. A rock is attached to a kite– A diamond becomes a bassoon, Then a vampire bat, and then Cut ties. In the fourth act, we all die, and now– A revival. I was crucified, But i was also suicidal so. Lets just call it a tie. L E G E N D S V.O. Crusher. My show was being subliminally plugged on at least two of the five major networks. Safe bet I could make it a third, but I didn't know where to check. I did…but didn't want to. There was much beyond the surface, Darkness in the glimmering eyes of the men in ties and uniformed suits. I was sure I was tied to something– And since I didn't know why, Or to what, The best bet— I'm all in. Fuck. Was to stay broken, Under the radar, Hidden, and most importantly– Unspoken. These days. I kept more to myself than I could with the world– As it turned out… No, not yet. What do you mean? It's not time yet. They'll have to know. But not yet. At some point, they'll have to know. But not–yet. No time like the present. You made that up. Because you made up time. And it's stupid. This is ruthless. And again–they'll have to learn somehow. But not now. The sun sets at noon on our side, and still 21 hours of dark time. Did I have another tag to throw on it this? No. Are you sure? Doesn't the new series have a subtitle? No. Is it not “quantum force” That's only one, though. What's the difference. ERMO, DON'T! I'm gonna kill him! BIG BOYD, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! DOn't tell me what to DO. Wow. of course. Well yeah, they're not going to let me do– LAWYERS No. Any of this stuff with the actual muppets. CO-OH-NO-NAN You're wasting precious time! GET BACK IN YOUR HOLE, RED. ok, where does it– {cut to black} Learning to assimilate and readily available What's next A vape to calm the nerves? What's next? A hero fighting for relevance in corporate structure. Sure, some would pay to dress an avatar But I've run out of water before I try to laugh and roll with the punches This is work and not fun for me This is not social, it's business I am not person, I'm product. Go on a walk, and look the part I took the oath, I shed the blood— Cruxes. This is a bad idea, Mark. Fuck you. All my ideas are great. MARK WAHLBERG enters the cooridor and opens the metal double doors, revealing two l jet skis on a trailer hitched to a 4X4 monster truck. [The Festival Project ™] I'm telling you. You got to get yourself one of these. I don't know, Bob, how does it work? BOB odenkirk opens a large, obscure black bag that's nearly half his own size by way of one way zipper. I'll show you. {Enter The Multiverse} JOHNNY CARSON has been in the DRUNK TANK for the maximum allowance, 48 hours, yet his blood alcohol level still reads 3 times over the legal limit. He is transferred to DETOX as the mysterious circumstances surrounding his car accident, and then the apparent disappearance of his entire “car” a (then) brand-new DeLorean from the scene of the crime, MR. CARSON insists on his lawyer, who under no circumstances seems to exist at all being present. The exact year of his whereabouts are still unknown. Still an hour to the test And I hate myself again Milk and cookies, hit the bed Shut it down, yo Shut it down. DIPLO arrives via HELIPAD to an secret location; a sniper squad of the adversary team watches from an adjacent rooftop via binoculars. …hey. Whaddup. You say diplo's on that list? Yeah. Yo… …There he is. In your sight? Yep. Shoot that motherfucker! …I can't. Why not? He's like— Just shoot, fool. —he's like holding something. So? I don't know what; it just seems— What the fuck, dawg. It just seems important. Let me see. Look. [ESSE looks down the sights and zooms to see DIPLO is holding an object firmly in his grasp. He appears to be twirling it purposefully as he converses with his associate.] Yeah! Get em! Shoot that motherfucker! Where the hell have you been? In my fuckpad. Where the hell is that? You haven't seen my fuckpad? What even is that. It's ballin. Whatever, dog. Did you get the— Shh. Why else would I be here? [beat] You look— did you cut your hair or something. You're so redundant. Yo shoot that motherfucker. What are you waiting for?! He's right there? Apparently, we've been building to this moment from another dimension in from another point in the series? I thought— {Enter The Multiverse} {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -U.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing? We are in the midst of a new cultural renaissance in New York City, with a return to 1920s Great Gatsby glamour transforming everything from our restaurants and homes to fashion and music."About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking in the top 5% at her first firm in 2018. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in her community as a founding Steward at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives. Get in touch with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps0:00 Introduction to "The New York Cultural Renaissance"1:20 New York's Evolving Dining Scene & Restaurant Design Trends3:54 The Return of Luxury Food Culture (Caviar & Martinis)6:00 Shift from Hustle Culture to Domestic Luxury Living12:30 Interior Design Trends: Rich Colors, Wood & Vintage Elements17:20 Fashion Revival: Fur, Designer Labels & Statement Jewelry19:41 Music Shift: The Return of Positive, Uplifting Music25:39 What This Cultural Renaissance Means for Real Estate

Listen to an all-new edition of the NWABJ Report for 4.6.25 with Roby Brock featuring an interview with Denise Thomas, EO of World Trade Center Arkansas.

L'éphéméride de la semaine 14 raconté par Isabelle concernant le World trade Center et la date du 4 avril 1973.Retrouvez tous les liens des réseaux sociaux et des plateformes du podcast ici : https://linktr.ee/racontemoinewyorkHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

International carrot day.  Entertainment from 2012.  Martin Luther King assassinated, 1st woman in US elected as a Mayor, World Trade Center opened, NATO formed.  Todays birthdays - Muddy Watters, Anthony Perkins, Craig T. Nelson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy McKeon, Heath Ledger, Natasha Lyonne.Intro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran     https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Carrots are yummu - From Kids EnglishWe are young - FunAlone with you - Jake OwenBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent    https://www.50cent.com/Whats this all about - Muddy WatersCoach tv themeFacts of life tv themeExit - Cowboys are crazy - Jolie & Sonny   https://jolieandsonny.com/countryundergroundradio.comCooolmedia.com

Financing restrictions are rampant in co-op buildings—it's really their main way of weeding out people that they don't feel are prestigious enough to live in these buildings, and the way they do that is by limiting the percentage that you can finance. In this episode, I'm going to let you decide if the prestige and appeal of co-ops in New York City has dwindled as we cover everything you need to know about this evolving real estate landscape.About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking in the top 5% at her first firm in 2018. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in her community as a founding Steward at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives. Get in touch with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps0:00 Episode introduction 1:24 Overview of condos as a newer, more flexible property type4:37 Co-ops explained: exclusivity and ownership structure7:07 Shift in buyer preferences from co-ops to condos9:12 Co-op financing restrictions as a barrier to entry11:41 Subletting policies and community aspects of co-ops13:19 Financial requirements: debt-to-income ratio and post-closing liquidity17:29 The co-op interview process and potential discrimination issues

Adams corruption case dropped... Feds gut the office overseeing the World Trade Center Health Program... Police release new pictures of carjacking suspects full This is the All Local 4pm update for April 2, 2025 378 Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:47:54 +0000 0qdBJHbIRIgLDbCfiX4Uk78CdosNLedS emailnewsletter,news 1010 WINS ALL LOCAL emailnewsletter,news Adams corruption case dropped... Feds gut the office overseeing the World Trade Center Health Program... Police release new pictures of carjacking suspects The podcast is hyper-focused on local news, issues and events in the New York City area. This podcast's purpose is to give New Yorkers New York news about their neighborhoods and shine a light on the issues happening in their backyard. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News

More on the President announcing sweeping tariff's on all goods imported into the US. Joining me live is Troy Keller, International Trade and Commercial Policy for World Trade Center Utah.  

Making a return for his third appearance on StoryBeat is the great jazz and world flutist, Michael Mason.  Michael's been a professional musician and composer for forty years, while simultaneously working in the fire service of the Downers Grove, Illinois Fire Department, recently retiring at the rank of Lieutenant. Michael is one of the first responders from the Chicago area who flew to New York City just days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. He helped the New York City Fire Department and Port Authority for many weeks. In 2024, Michael released his latest album called “Luminosity,” which follows up 2023's, “Impermanence,” “Transcendence” in 2022, and “Human Revolution” in 2021. All are original jazz and world music compositions which received approval for voting from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for Grammy Award consideration.Michael's musical influences come from James Newton, Ian Anderson, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Yusef Lateef, and James Galway.I've listened multiple times to each of his excellent records and can tell you Michael's impressive work will instantly soothe your soul with warm, beautiful melodies, gorgeous arrangements, and Michael's brilliance on the flute.  I highly recommend you check out his wonderful recordings and music.Michael's currently in the studio mixing 8 new songs for release in 2025 on the AVG Records label, so be sure to look out for that.Michael's been gracious enough to lend us his radiant composition, Moments from Luminosity. Please be sure to stick around at the end of the show to give it a listen. 

Ep. 159 features Aman Agarwal and Jatin Narang from Toast, building live multiplayer skill games with built-in player liquidity for real money iGaming. This episode was recorded at the World Trade Center during the NEXT Summit New York in March 2025.   Hear them discuss: Toast's origins: uniting Aman's gambling roots and Jatin's free-to-play expertise Blending gambling psychology with free-to-play innovation to shape their vision Their thesis for how skill games can fill the U.S. iCasino regulatory gap How they ideate on new game concepts and formats, including their latest skill-based basketball game Their learnings from the last G2E conference that led to development of new core infrastructure How interest in their games is converting into commercial traction How growing interest in entrepreneurship has led to a startup boom in India Securing a Lightspeed seed round pre-product in just six weeks Check out a demo of one of Toast's games here: https://21-jack.playtoast.com/   Watch the video version of this episode here.   Learn more

Self Intelligence? What is that. Well, listen to my conversation this time with Chris Knight to see and discover for yourself. Chris is from Australia where he has lived his whole life. As he was growing up he began encountering some medical issues such as what his doctors diagnosed as chronic pain. He was told he would have to learn to “manage the pain”.   After most of his school education he discovered that he was good at working with and helping people. He worked for an agency helping people to overcome life trauma for example. Eventually, he realized he needed to look further at how he wanted to live his life with pain and he decided he wanted to explore how better to help those around him.   As you will hear, not only did Chris study and find ways to help others, but he also learned how to help himself. He has been totally pain free for many years. He now has his own business working as what some might call a spiritual life coach.   He and I talk about what he calls your lower self and how it tries to take control over your life. He helps us understand how we can connect with our inner self to bring out and live through our higher self. We talk about fear and suffering and how we all can learn not to let those things control who we are.   Chris offers a great deal of good life advice that we all can use. As he tells us at the end of our time together, he works with people throughout the world and he is available to consult with you should you wish it.       About the Guest:   For the past 15 years, Chris Knight, founder of Self Intelligence, has dedicated his career to helping individuals transform their lives from the inside out. His approach focuses on addressing the underlying emotional and psychological patterns that shape people's behaviors, beliefs, and identities. Through a combination of powerful awareness practices and healing processes, Chris helps clients and students confront and heal the root causes of limiting beliefs, childhood conditioning, and emotional wounds. His approach is rooted in the idea that by understanding and releasing the deep-seated trauma and conditioning that often hold us back, people can step into a more authentic and empowered way of living.   Chris's work goes beyond traditional coaching or therapy. He specializes in guiding people through self-discovery and emotional healing by helping them access parts of themselves that are often hidden beneath layers of defense mechanisms and unconscious programming. His clients include people from all walks of life—whether they're struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, or relationship challenges, or addiction Chris techniques help them uncover the core issues that create these difficulties. His methods emphasize self-awareness, emotional resilience, and the ability to break free from the patterns of thought and behavior that no longer serve them. This holistic approach has earned him a reputation as a transformative leader in the field of personal development.   As the founder of Self Intelligence, Chris has not only worked one-on-one with countless students and clients but also developed programs and workshops that allow individuals to take control of their healing journeys. His work empowers people to reclaim their personal power by reconnecting with their true selves, free from the constraints of societal expectations and past conditioning. Over the past decade and a half, Chris has helped people from around the world make profound shifts in their lives, guiding them toward greater emotional freedom, self-acceptance, and the ability to live in alignment with their highest potential.   Ways to connect with Chris:   Website https://chrisknight.com.au/ https://selfintelligence.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chrisknight_selfintelligence/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCynX0a9cJdcX9KTnggSxs8A Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chrisknightselfintelligence   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, I really want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here. I'm glad Ashley set this up, and we'll have some fun. And as you know, this is all about having a conversation, and that's what makes it really fun. So looking forward to conversing   Chris Knight ** 01:38 Absolutely. Yeah, I'm more than happy to unpack an unstoppable, unstoppable mindset is certainly resonates with the work that I'm offering, and it feels like a really good alignment. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 01:55 why don't we start? I love to start this way, because it's kind of fun and it always lays the groundwork. Tell us something about the early Chris, growing up and all that sort of stuff.   Chris Knight ** 02:06 Well, I mean, that's where all this begins. Well, it does. It absolutely does. My the work that I am offering to the world is something that I personally was supported by from my early 20s. I'm in my very early 40s now. So 20 years ago, I was in a pretty terrible space. I think a lot of people refer to it as like a dark night of the soul. I had a relationship breakdown, I had toxic debt, career dissatisfaction, chronic pain, there was a whole whirlpool of issues that were going on at that time, and I had no idea how to get out of it. I was seeking many different practitioners at that time in the conventional kind of Western approach, but also in the eastern as well to support with the symptoms I was experiencing, as well as mental health with depression, and I wasn't getting any long term results from from a lot of the things that I was I was doing at that time, I was told I was going to have chronic pain for the rest of my life, and I would have to manage that pain because I'd had it for about six years, and they couldn't quite work it out. I think they'd probably call it something like fibromyalgia now, or some other thing, but it was basically this diagnosis of managing a really poor way of living, and I just felt like that wasn't going to be how I was going to live for the rest of my life. Something deep inside me was it was saying, No, this is not for me. So that's when I started looking at myself in a way that I didn't even know was possible, and it certainly wasn't conditioned at school to do this, to go inside and become aware of what's happening behind the eyes. Often we're very aware of what's happening in front of the eyes and everything that's happening, or we become aware of everything outside through our senses, but what's going on in terms of our thoughts, our emotional states, the things that we become identified inside of ourselves, that is a large part of creating our lives, was something I was starting to look at so that, that kicked off this journey. Michael, and I'm imagining a lot of people were listening into this, this podcast with you, an unstoppable mindset would be also in some way, doing this, something like that. And. Of course, there are many different approaches to that, to that investigation and that discovery, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 05:07 sure, absolutely no question about that. Did you go to college?   Chris Knight ** 05:15 Yes, I, well, I, I got almost kicked out of what we call college, I think you would call High School. Still, we're in Australia, it's a bit different. We go to year 10, and then we go to college, which is year 11 and 12, and that prepares you for university. University. Yeah, I didn't go to uni till six, or could have been eight years after college where I did my degree in musculoskeletal therapy, and that's where I that was a major shifting point for me. I quit my very well paying job in the public service, which had a very promising pathway for me, what were you doing? I was a government housing manager. Okay, so I was working with very challenged people in society to look after their tendencies. And it was, it was the first time I realized I had a gift at working with people and helping them deal with their stuff. These people had major challenges, mental health, domestic violence, you know, drug abuse, everything you can really imagine at that a very severe level. And I had a very unique gift with working with these people. So that's where I just I decided I was going to take it further and combine my also experience with chronic physical back pain to go into muscular musculoskeletal therapy. So I moved from Canberra to Brisbane to do that, and that set me on a completely different path. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 06:58 So tell me more about that, what the degree was and how that kind of influenced where you went.   Chris Knight ** 07:05 Well, it I wasn't interested in the paths that felt to me were really isolating and mechanical in their approach to healing. So I went to a holistic School of Natural Medicine, and it was saying that their approach was holistic, essentially, right, which is what appealed to me, because that's how I healed what was going on for me. But I discovered that even though that's what it was stating to be, and certainly in terms of approaching body and body pain, it was holistic in that it would look at the whole body, but it didn't look at the stresses, for example, the internal issues that everybody faces that contributes to our symptoms. Right? So the body mind connection was not a subject, even in this arena, which was holistic medicine. And so that led me to study psychosomatic therapy. I'm not sure if you're aware of those terms. So yes, that oftentimes when people go to doctors, and the doctor will say, you know, this is a psychosomatic issue. This is not a real issue, that what they're saying is that it's all in your mind. So yeah, that's not what this is referring to. Psychosomatic therapy was recognizing the irrefutable body mind connection that has been well documented and just experienced by human beings, that the body and mind are connected is a very obvious thing, for example, if someone's about to go on a podcast, and they might feel a little bit nervous about it, so their body mind connection will report that as far as it might be the heart rate's increasing a little bit, there might be a bit sweaty palms. Who knows these kinds of things will be happening, the body's experiencing what the mind is thinking and believing and all of that is happening. We experience this every single day. And so you can look at that to the degree of how symptoms come about, right? So how do we experience pain and tension or posture and all sorts of things? So that's I had this wealth of knowledge of the body, and then I got the wealth of knowledge of the body mind connection. That was what led there. And then I was a body worker and emotional release facilitator and many different things in that therapeutic journey. For many years, I actually ran my own courses in emotional anatomy, which was very powerful. And then from there, I discovered that there was a missing piece of vital, missing piece in the practical day to day how to work with these things, so not relying on. Therapist to do the inner work. That's where That's where it essentially started to go. Everyone was getting major shifts and changes and discoveries, but not necessarily integrating that in their daily life as a lifestyle. And that's what I became interested in. How does this become a lifestyle, no different to exercise, no different to good eating habits or sleeping habits, many different habits that we know shape and form our lives. I feel as though inner work, which is what I call self intelligence, is what that is. It's a lifestyle choice that is a cornerstone of what generates health, happiness, fulfillment, joy, everything that we basically want in life. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 10:50 did you get the body mind knowledge from the university? Or how did you acquire that?   Chris Knight ** 10:58 It was through Herman Mueller, he ran an institute privately, but it was, it was certified. It was government certified. Actually, it wasn't a university. Universities don't do that kind of thing yet, but he was trying to get it into universities. That's, he's actually passed away. He was around 80 years old at that time, but he was approaching that because, yeah, that's, that's kind of the trajectory that was going at that time. But no, it wasn't at uni. It was, it was a course outside that was government certified, which to me, actually doesn't mean a whole lot. But yeah, yeah, the psychosomatic   Michael Hingson ** 11:42 part of it came from university, but then you expanded on it, obviously,   Chris Knight ** 11:48 yeah, no, this the musculoskeletal therapy was uni, and the psychosomatic was from Herman. Oh, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 11:56 okay, yeah. And well, and what's interesting is that you still found, even after Herman, as I understand, that there was some things lacking in terms of really dealing with the total emotional and mental aspect of it. And obviously it, it was an evolutionary process for you to get to the point of recognizing all of that. But you did, yeah, and what? What I find interesting, and I hear this often. We've had a number of people on the podcast who talked about their own challenges and talked about their the challenges they face with other people. And I'm fascinated and actually quite pleased to hear how many of those people will say that Western medicine really doesn't deal with it, and that Eastern medicine has to become involved. And you obviously took it even to a little bit higher level, but that Eastern medicine is a significant part of it, which really does deal more with the mental and spiritual aspect of a person's psyche and makeup.   Chris Knight ** 13:02 Yeah, well, see, I went to acupuncturist, I went to Ayurvedic medicine practitioners, I went to kinesiologists, I went to energy healers, like I went to I went, I've been around the block. Do you know what I mean? I went to her all around and in every one of those cases, I didn't get the work that I'm speaking to, which is directly dealing with my at the level of identity, where things really take place. And we're going to get into that. And I really delved into that more with my Buddhist practices in meditation. And meditation is widely known to be supportive to all sorts of issues, as many studies on this now it was the closest thing to a lifestyle practice that dealt with these things. What I find is, and I, and I experienced this for myself as well, is a lot of the time when we experience health issues or problems in our lives, often we don't want to take that level of responsibility for it. It's it's preferable to somehow be fixed by someone you know, like, have some kind of therapy intervention, whether it's Eastern or Western, whether it sounds esoteric or whether it sounds like a drug, whatever it is, it doesn't really matter. It's I just want that thing to fix me, and I don't really I'm so confused about what's going on inside me, I don't really understand it, or maybe I'm afraid to look at it because it's often referred to as Shadow Work, which is confronting. That's there's a there's a hesitancy to go into those places. And I but I find that that's where the core of the the issues are, in the dark places. There. Uh, that require, yeah, putting the light on. So I think you're   Michael Hingson ** 15:04 absolutely right. We, we in general, seem to be creatures that love, especially today, a quick fix to fix, and it's got to fix everything, and we don't take the time to analyze and look at ourselves very much. We don't get taught that. No one teaches us that, and fortunately, some people are learning it, but not nearly as much, or as often as it as it should be. I believe in doing a lot of self analysis, self analytical thinking, and I take time at the end of each day to look at what went on today. Why did it go on the way it did? What? What am I afraid of, or what was, what was I afraid of? And I, and I do, find that the more of it I do, and the more I think about all of it over time, the less fearful I become. And it isn't to say I'm not afraid, or it isn't it isn't to say I don't fear, but rather, I learn how to deal with it. We wrote a book about it that actually got published in August of 2024 called Live like a guide dog. And it's all about learning to control fear, and it's lessons I've learned from dogs, from my eight guy dogs and my wife's service dog. You know, for example, one of the my favorite examples, is that dogs don't do what ifs and we What if everything to death, which is what's so unfortunate, rather than worrying about just the things over which we really can have an influence in control. We worry about everything, and it just drives us crazy.   Chris Knight ** 16:47 Yeah, yeah, I completely agree, and I'd like to, because I I've noticed there's a there's a resistance to the word analysis for a lot of people, or anything that's mental when it comes to healing. I you know, because we're questioning our mind, we're questioning our thoughts, we're questioning our insides. We're looking at our insides. And it's important to view this as awareness work, not not mental work. Mental work is below the awareness in which we are looking at it. And from that perspective, it's a totally different vibration, right? And and so what it does do, exactly what you said, is it brings up awareness around things like, how many, what if thoughts have, I let dictate my decisions today, or dictate my emotional state today that I believed and became embodied with, right? And the question is, okay, I have these, what if thoughts? How then do I dis identify from those thoughts so they're not driving my behavior, my choices, which essentially is creating the reality that I'm experiencing. That is a really important question, and it takes disidentification, which is not mental work. Mental cannot disidentify. Mental can only create more mental so I just wanted to make sure that that was something understood in the approach. Because for the you know, for example, with with emotional anatomy and Psychosomatics, the notion was that the emotions are held in the body. You know, the emotions are stored in the body, because we have the fight flight process. And that that when you have fear like what you spoke about, you engage the fight flight process, the survival mechanism, yeah, and then that puts a charge in the body to be expressed in terms of, you know, fighting something running away from something freezing, pleasing. There's a whole range of different things that happen, and so that gets stored in the body, because often we suppress these expressions, and then it's like, okay, in order to heal from that, we have to release it from the body. Okay? So that's the current consensus for a lot of people. So when they hear about analysis, it's like, how does that release emotion from the body? You see that becomes a contentious point for some people.   Michael Hingson ** 19:28 Change it to introspection, then, yeah. I mean,   Chris Knight ** 19:32 I just noticed this. Like, yeah, introspection is a really good term. I also love using that term. But the point is, is that the body will not hold energy when the mind's not perceiving, particularly in the unconscious, that there's a threat as soon as the as soon as there's not a threat in the in the unconscious, there's no threat in the body, the body will not hold anything the. Body is neutral, actually. And I noticed that in my work, trying to, I was doing a lot of emotional release body work, which was hugely powerful, and still is powerful, particularly when it shifts the unconscious. But it would, there would be this reliance, again, on someone doing this thing to me that releases the emotions out of my body, and it's like, Look, you are way more powerful than this. You have the power for yourself to release or detach from the very thoughts and patterns that generate this in your body, but you would then have to do that work yourself, in a sense, right, which often involves support by a practitioner, a coach. I do this every day of the week, or in connection with the community that does this kind of thing, right? Yeah, but it's a different level of responsibility in the attitude of approaching it that way. And I'm, yeah, go ahead. Yeah, that's, that's, I'm finished with that.   Michael Hingson ** 21:08 But one of the things that I've learned, especially over the last year, I used to to always say, when I listen to my speeches, I like to record speeches and listen to them. And I always used to say, I do that because I'm my own worst critic. And I've you know, if, if I'm being critical, that's the really most important thing. And I've learned over the last year that's not the right thing to say I heard, and one I don't even remember now exactly where, but that nobody can teach you anything. You are the one who has to teach yourself. Other people can present you with information, they can give you the information that you need to learn, but you're the one that has to teach you. And I thought about that, and I realized that is so true, I'm not my own worst critic, I'm my own best teacher. And then that makes a complete positive shift to everything, because now I I approach things in a much more positive way. I don't approach things as well. This is potentially negative, and I've got to pick on me to fix it. No, I hear this, or I see this, and I can now look at it and go, Why am I reacting to it? And an animal. Well, instead of analyzing out and think about you, use the   Chris Knight ** 22:25 word you want to use, either one works   Michael Hingson ** 22:29 or think about it. But I I study it, and I go, all right, what? What can I learn from this? And that's what's really important. And I think that is, is so important that people need to do another thing that I learned from working with a lot of Guide Dogs and so on, is that while dogs love unconditionally, they don't trust unconditionally, but what they do is they're unless something has just totally damaged their psyche. They're open to trust, and they want to trust, and they want to be connecting with us, and they want us to be the team leader. They want to know what the rules are that we expect in a positive way, but they want to develop that relationship. And working with guide dogs, it's all about trust and teamwork right from the beginning. And the fact is that when you establish a trusting relationship, and you learn to trust the dog, and the dog learns to trust you, and you each recognize you have a job to do. Namely, the dog's job is to make sure that I walk safely, but my job is to know where to go and how to get there, and I have to communicate that to the dog with directions. And if I do that in a firm way, then we work together as a team. And the whole concept of being open to trust is so important. Yeah, there are going to be people within the agendas. They're going to be people whose trust you're not going to earn, and that's that is understandable, but be open to trust, and don't let a negative trusting experience destroy you or or cause you to not want to trust. Recognize that's only one individual. Most people are really good, and they do want to establish trusting relationships. I think, well,   Chris Knight ** 24:24 I mean, trust is one of the most important things, and one of the areas I'm working with all the time, particularly with relationships. Relationships is a is a major subject. I have people come to me because they have challenges, triggers going on in their relationships that continue to create a bit of a toxic cycle, or distance or withdrawing and so on. And it all comes back to trust at the end of the day. That's where it ends up, and it's the important question that is rarely asked. And or understood is, how is trust lost at the subtle levels we understand how trust is lost in more gross experiences, meaning, like denser expressions, like you know, whether it's physical violence or emotional abuse, or whether it's like cheating or just not doing what you say, there's all sorts of things there that will create mistrust. But actually mistrust is is is created on much more subtle levels than that. And if we don't understand our minds and the projections of our minds, like, for example, what we think we're entitled to and deserve, and what, yeah, what we feel is within our space of control and ownership, all of those projections go on To the other person and become a form of mistrust, yeah, but that is so unconscious. This is the thing it's I didn't know. For example, I didn't know that my unconscious insecurities, right, that were creating a certain type of expectation in the relationship was actually creating a mistrust between us that was then creating a barrier and a withdrawing for example, because whenever those things are happening, it's repulsive, like it has a repulsive, energetic about it, and then we all of a sudden see that there's something wrong, there's a distance happening. But how do I how do I navigate to this? Because I cannot see that my actions are really warranted in creating this issue. Okay, so this is, this is what's happening for a lot of people, and this is where this work becomes absolutely critical, because it's those little things, it's those subtler background issues right that all stem in insecurity, that come from the lower self, that really erode relationships and erode trust. And then it amounts to over time, big issues essentially just to represent what's going on inside, and it becomes like this, you know, destructive manifestation in people's lives. And then you know that there's all sorts of wounding and shame and guilt and everything that comes with with that, but we can catch these things way early on. But like you said, we're not taught at school, like we're not taught at school, we're not taught at school or at home. That by nature of being a human being, you have insecurities you're unaware of that are going to manifest in your life, particularly in relationships, but also in your work and various other areas, that unless you deal with them, they're going to cause you all sorts of problems. They're going to cause you, cause you suffering, right? And it and by achieving things like success or status and various other external things, these don't deal with those underlying insecurities. They don't, they don't actually solve the issue. And we are believing that they do based on our conditioning. We're told that if we are normal and if we meet the criteria that that feels like this is a life that's, you know, I could be proud of, then I will feel secure. And it's not true. It's just fundamentally not true, and yet, because we don't know any different, we just keep trying the same thing, expecting a different result, and that's really frustrating. I think for a lot of people, it is   Michael Hingson ** 28:59 we don't learn to connect with ourselves, and we also don't learn to, oftentimes, be open enough to say to someone else, you know, there's a distance between us. And I'm, I don't really like that. Tell me what you think. Tell me why that is, is what? What do I need to do? What can we do together to fix this, and that's it is an issue that we just don't learn to connect, which is too bad, because, again, I think that it's all about communications. Well, tell me more about this whole concept of self intelligence, where did that come from? And what is it? And so on.   Chris Knight ** 29:37 Well, that's what that exactly what we're speaking about is what it is so. So, for example, when I have a couple in front of me, and they've got these things going on, and they've got that distance happening, and maybe they did acknowledge it, right? And then they did have a conversation about it, like you suggested. They said, like, what are we going to what are we going to do? And they both find out very quickly that they they don't know. What the issue is, it's like I just can't understand why I'm feeling these really strong feelings over things that certainly don't match up. I'm I think I'll just try to be a better person, and maybe that will work. And this is what people try to do. They try to be a better person. They try to be a good person, and then it doesn't make a difference, because that's not that's not how these things work. Being a good person won't deal with things like insecurity, and then they find themselves in the same pattern, in the same cycle, and we still, we're going through the same thing again. So I'm going to ask someone else now how to deal with this now, unfortunately, for a lot of people, they still don't get this type of information with counselors and psychologists, although some do. Thankfully, some are really great, but most don't have this knowledge either, and that's what I saw. I saw this huge gap where, okay, let's boil down what's really happening here. We work it blow by blow in terms of unpacking the what I call the lower self. So we don't, for example, self intelligence is really the journey from the lower self to the higher self. Okay, that's how you could consider it. So what is the lower self. The lower self is often referred to as your shadow self, or your ego. Sometimes you can refer to it as your unconscious mind. This is the kind of place that we operate from that often holds the energetic of survival mode. So often, if you think of lower self, you'd almost think of the lower brain stem, which holds the survival aspects of our impulses, right, right? And when we're living from the lower self, which we all are, like everybody's living from this lower self. Firstly, everything's external, everything that's happening is out there, and it's happening to me, and that could be good or that could be bad, and there's a range of protection mechanisms for the lower self, like judgment and fear that cause it whole bunch of issues. Okay? It also has needs. The lower self has needs that are called ego needs that also cause it a whole bunch of drama, right, like the need to win, the need to know, the need to be right, the need to be supported, the need. There's all these needs, okay, and those needs create us a fundamental sense of lack in the person inside who is living this life. So this is all unaware of that's going on. Yeah, yeah. And so self intelligence is the intelligence of understanding, putting the light on that dark space that's in us that is running everything. Okay? People know this is happening when they they could make a decision. When we make decisions, we often go, God, why did I make that decision? Like, say it was a job or something like that. I was like, I knew in myself that wasn't the job for me. I don't know why I said yes, but it ended up turning out to be really misaligned with me. That's the lower self. That's the lower self kicking in and taking over. And this happens with people experiencing addiction. It happens when people don't feel like they're living their purpose. It happens for a whole range of reasons. It's like, so what's what's then making my choices like, if I know better, somewhere deep inside of me, what? What is taking over? And this is the lower self. This is what self intelligence is about. Is one becoming aware of the lower self, becoming just very clear about it. And I have a, I have a step by step, blow by blow, process that illuminates the lower self in clear view. It can it has no wriggle room to hide, because the lower self is the best hider that you can imagine. It loves hiding and running the show. It just it goes into any subject matter. It doesn't matter what it is, it will find a place to hide and then run the whole show. That's what it does. It's like, I'm going to hide over here and then call all the shots. Forget.   Michael Hingson ** 34:31 It gets back. It gets back to connecting and really connecting with yourself, which is what we don't generally tend to learn to do.   Chris Knight ** 34:39 Yeah, and connecting with yourself to the degree that you become aware, yes, of the drivers. For example, when you said, what if? What if is a is one of the lower self's favorite words, right? So when you become, oh, I just got that, what if, thought I'm aware of it now, right? Now? I have a choice. Whereas before, when I wasn't aware of that, what if thought I didn't really have a choice other than to react to that thought, whereas now that I'm aware of that thought, well, I can either take another look and see if this is a real danger that I'm dealing with and respond appropriately, or I can realize that that's a, you know, an illusory thought that I can dis identify with. So this is just one example sure that of how that works. So self intelligence is that, but it's also the process of discovering your higher self and your higher self is also known as your natural state. So this is your state, that is who you are, before you became conditioned with a whole range of beliefs, and before you became identified with a whole bunch of things in your life. There is no fundamental issue with conditioning or identity. You gotta be the one to discern whether those things cause you suffering like whether they're serving you or not. That's the That's the important thing, but, but, but beyond all of those things, you existed prior to, for example, your name. Like everybody was given a name at birth, you existed prior to your name, true or not, so you were in the boom, true you you were there before a name came, and then a name came after. Now what happens is we identify with that name, and then we associate that name with who we are, right? Yes, the identification process is the lower self, the part of you that realizes that you're not your name, but the name is connected to this body, mind, which is very important to practical reality, right? That's your higher self. It's the witnessing presence, the observer behind everything that's taking place. And self intelligence is the is the art of empowering yourself to live through your higher self. That that that that that consciousness that you are. So why would you want to live from that place? Because it is freedom, like if we take a a very honest look at our lives, the most the suffering that we're experiencing is coming from inside of us, like someone right now could be sitting here listening to this podcast with a whole bunch of problems in their life, like relationship, finances, all sorts of things, but in this present moment, the problem don't exist in the way that the mind is threatened by all of these things that are going on. These are real issues. The these are real they're not. It's not saying that those are real issues, but suffering them is what happens with the mind. And so if you want, if anyone wants to free themselves from the inside, they have to understand what's happening inside themselves in order to do that, yeah, and so that that's, that's literally what self intelligence is. And there's many forms of this on the planet, in different variations with different names. This is just one term to describe that, that pathway, yeah, well,   Michael Hingson ** 38:39 you know, it's it's interesting. Again, we worry about so many things. We're afraid of so many things, or we fear so many things, and well over 90% of them will never happen. And they're also things over which we really don't have any control, but, but we worry about them because rather than paying attention to the things over which we really do have some influence and control, we worry about everything else. It's so much easier to do, at least we think it is. But in reality, I think that focusing on the things that we really can have an effect on, I think is extremely important to do. I remember when I was running from tower two in the World Trade Center at one point, I thought, God, I can't believe that you got us out of a building just to have it fall on us. And then immediately I heard, as clearly as you hear me now, a voice that said, don't worry about what you can't control. Focus on running, in this case, with my guide dog, Roselle, and the rest will take care of itself. And I've had that as kind of a mantra ever since that day. Don't worry about the things that you can't control. Focus on the things that you can, because the rest of it isn't going to really be anything that you have any control over. Anyway, it was so easy, and I know people who did, who were just afraid. As we went down the stairs in the World Trade Center, the building was going to collapse. It's going to fall off. We're going to die. And in fact, some people said that. From my perspective, I will tell you that I was listening for any creaking groan in the building in case something happened. But I didn't let that worry me, because I knew that what I needed to do was to keep myself and my guide dog focused, especially keeping my guide dog focused, because Roselle would have and dogs do tend to have higher senses on a lot of levels than we do, and so if suddenly Roselle started to behave in a way that I didn't expect, then I could look at that and deal with it and figure out what was happening, which was my job, but if I worried about everything else, I couldn't focus on her and tell her she's doing a good job. Keep going. What a good dog and all that. And that's what I needed to do, and that's what I learned to do. Because what I did was to learn all I could about the World Trade Center, which created a mindset. And I didn't even realize it, but it created a mindset that said, if there's an emergency in the World Trade Center, you know what to do to deal with it. And that's exactly what happened to me. And so I was able to to deal with it and not worry about all the stuff that I had no control over, and I'll tell you, I have a very vivid imagination. I'm a science fiction lover. I've read lots of horror books and all that. So I imagine things that were probably a whole lot worse even than happened. But by the same token, I didn't let that overwhelm me, because I had something more important to do, and that is to keep me and a puppy dog focused.   Chris Knight ** 41:46 Yeah, that's you know, that I often find that disasters bring out the best in a lot of people, not everyone, but I do tend to find that all of a sudden there's this ability to prioritize things and really be the kind of people that we want to be in with each other. And like I said, That's not all the time, but there is a pattern in humanity that when we're in crisis, all of a sudden this this part of us comes out that seems to be like what we'd love to see in each other's lives all the time. What I tend to find is the discernment of what we're in control of and what we're not in control of is less there when we're not in crisis, when we're in an ordinary life, and when we're getting irritations by, you know, the people that we're working with or our partners, and the expectations that we hold for them, and the judgments that we have about them and ourselves, and our fears about what other people think, and all of that kind of thing is, is just the discernments not there. And so what happens is the reaction patterns that come from that start to play out, and then you get a certain, a certain kind of low level to high level anxiety depression, which is really just experiences a certain kind of I'm not feeling right in myself, like I don't feel comfortable in my own skin somehow, like something doesn't ever feel like I feel content. There's just this slight irritation in the system kind of going on.   Michael Hingson ** 43:31 Survival Mode kicks in, and it creates this whole negative environment where I've got to just do what I'm used to doing to survive, and we don't allow ourselves to stretch and grow,   Chris Knight ** 43:45 yeah, yeah, yeah. Because everybody has a calling inside of them, I feel that everybody has this knowing that they're here to learn and grow and to express a part of themselves that's very unique, but there's a fear that it won't be acceptable, it won't be received, it will be rejected, and maybe it has been in the past, by parents, by siblings, by, you know, people in the schoolyard, whatever the case. And it's a real shame, because that light inside of us becomes dim through through conditioning and through accepting that, and through the survival mode that you're talking about. And the work that I'm offering is for those people who know that that's there inside of them and want to know how to get out of their own way so that can come through, so that their their natural gifts and talents, their capacity to love, their capacity for connection, as you've been saying. Saying can actually be experienced in this life, right? Because there's a feeling like my my experience is so limited by this person inside of me who is controlling everything or needs control in the way that you're talking about, and I'm in my own way. And how do I get out of it? How do I get out of my own way? To have these experiences, to have this growth, right to to take this absolutely miracle of experience, like the scientists that they just cannot believe, like for someone to be bought, for you to be born is an absolute miracle. The odds of you being born, the way that it happens through billions of sperm, and you know, this whole process that takes place with with birth is like you're you're an absolute miracle, right? And we all know this intuitively, and there's a lot of shame in the system when we don't feel like we're giving this life our fullest because we're in our own way. You know, there's, there's a lot of shame that builds up with that. And yeah, and I feel like I'm I felt that way myself, that I'm speaking to my my lower self. That's I, that's what I experienced, was that, and fortunately, I was guided towards the ways in which to unlock that inner potential. Yeah. And   Michael Hingson ** 46:33 your chronic pain went away along the way.   Chris Knight ** 46:35 Yeah, yeah. It went away very quickly. Actually, it was one of the things that really shifted very fast, I just lowered back pain. Yeah, that was one of the, one of the many things that came into alignment amongst many other things, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 46:54 So in a sense, you were, you were, if you will, causing your own pain. Oh, absolutely,   Chris Knight ** 46:59 yeah, absolutely, yeah. Because sometimes it's not like that. Sometimes it's a, it's an ergonomic thing. It's a, you know, it's an injury kind of thing, like this and that that is the case. It's not always like psychosomatic, if you want to call it, that body mind. But this was because of the chronic nature of it. I tell people, when it comes to this work, you're looking for patterns. You're looking for things that keep showing up and they're not shifting, they're not healing. So what that's saying is, there's something that's not been addressed inside that has to be looked at, you know, and so that that's I've worked with a lot of people with weight issues. I over overweight, and they're doing all the right things, they're eating the right food, they're exercising, and they're like, the weights not shifting. It's like, look, there's something else going on internally that that says that due to your perceptions, your beliefs, your experiences, that you have to continue to protect yourself in a certain way that's holding that weight. And until you address that, your weight is going to be very hard to shift. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 48:03 I know I used to be a lot more overweight than I am now, and I made the conscious decision to deal with it. And one of the things that I did was changed eating habits a little bit, but yeah, mostly it was again, a mindset, and since I began losing weight, I have lost about 85 pounds in the last five years. And so I'm very happy with that, and I'm not going to let it come back. And that's the way it ought to be. But, but I also know that it was a lot of me connecting with myself and recognizing that I had to make some changes, both in mindset and in food, but yes, also Yeah, but especially in mindset,   Chris Knight ** 48:56 yeah, yeah. I I felt the same way, like all the therapies that were trying to support my symptoms started to become way more effective when I was dealing with my internal so they all have their place. Everything has its place. Diet has its place. Therapies have their place. Drugs have their place. Everything has its place. It's up to us to understand how to discern when and where and how much of those things are necessary in our lives. You know? Yeah, yeah, absolutely, that's the thing. And that decide I use this word discernment quite a bit, because discernment is the is the major aspect of self intelligence that as society and as human beings, that I feel as though we require development of. You know, we know this with children like they children have an adult in their life, because the adult can discern what's dangerous, what's not dangerous. The adult can discern if there's a boogie man under the bed or not. You know, where a child's mind will go off into all sorts of. Places, you know, and the adult can kind of ground them back to something that's safe and understandable. But we have to be that adult to ourselves. We have to be that adult to our own inner child so that we can discern what's happening, and the child inside, it does what the child does when it feels uncomfortable and so on. It just goes to the parent to get some kind of whatever it is, to get the boob, to get the dummy, to get the comfort, the relief of some kind they're not responsible for what's happening it's the adult who's responsible. And many people are living their lives internally as a child and the feeling completely overwhelmed by life, because the child like mind is not supposed to be taking on those kinds of responsibilities, and yet it's trying to, and it's suffering, and in order to cope with the overwhelm, it will employ things like distractions, addictions, to to to basically deal with the the uncomfortable sensation of that overwhelming stress and the amount of man, the amount of distractions that we can employ these days, and it will be experienced as procrastination, you know, it'll be experienced as perfectionism. It'll be experienced as sabotaging behaviors. It'll be experienced as energetically prostituting ourselves in situations that don't necessarily serve us. It shows up in all these different facets, and what that's saying is that that discernment and that that that adults like quality hasn't been yet developed to the point where you can trust yourself, and it's still then looking outside for the answers, where the the answers inside. And this is, this is a major shift. I feel it's taking place on the planet right now, because the more that technology develops as well. Our discernment is more and more necessary. What can we trust? What can't we trust? What information can we rely on or not? Becomes harder and harder as technology increases, so discernment is even more and more important. And I found it interesting that as artificial intelligence birth itself, so did self intelligence in like unison with that, which is actually a really beautiful compliment when they come together in the right way. But without that, they it could be, you know, it's likely to be another kind of tool that weaponizes against itself. So what   Michael Hingson ** 52:38 kind of practices can we employ to learn to live better through our higher selves?   Chris Knight ** 52:45 There are three primary practices that I'm most interested in that I feel get the best results, and I see get the best results, and they're tried and tested to get the best results in this particular area that we're speaking to. The first is self inquiry. And self inquiry is the is the questioning which it's an awareness practice. I just want to repeat that it's not a mental practice. It's it's a line of questioning that allows you to become aware of the unconscious programming and belief systems and traumas and wounding that are driving your actions and behavior and choices, that are creating your reality. So this, this is extremely important to become aware of those things and not to assume that you're aware of them. If you're seeing symptoms in your life, like I had to come to terms with this myself, right? Because everyone thinks they know themselves. Everyone believes they know themselves. I know who I am, right? Everyone has this strong conviction. I know who I am. It takes life to cause a fair bit of pain to go you know what? Maybe I don't know myself as well as I thought I did, right? And maybe there's some room for growth, and maybe there's some room to learn some things about myself. So you have to have that degree of attitude, which unfortunately, usually takes people a lot of pain, even like a dark night, to even get to that point. But that's the first step. Is to have a very clear, simple line of inquiry to illuminate that stuff, and to also have the line of inquiry, which is all in the one package of self inquiry to dis identify with limiting beliefs and negative emotional states that aren't serving you, right? So that's the first step. So self inquiry does that. The second step is to be in the vibration of your higher self on a daily basis. No different to exercising on a daily basis or other habits that serve there are many habits brushing your teeth on a daily basis, whatever it is to actually just be in the full experience of your. Higher Self, which is a guided meditation kind of process, and to do that daily. And what that does is that creates the space internally to be able to see those thoughts. Because if you don't have that space, you just are the thoughts. There's no there's no distinction there. And if the viewers listening to this tried meditation didn't work for me, that type of thing. Do not think about it like strict versions of meditation that that that was like I was trying to stop my mind, or this type of thing. It's not like that. I call these self recognition practices. So this the second step is self recognition. Recognize, recognize that you are the witnessing consciousness of everything that includes everything externally and everything internally. And just sit with that, sit with that recognition. And what happens is your vibration goes up naturally. You start to feel calm, peace, joy, creative, all of these natural things, inspired, enthusiastic. There's all this natural energy there, and you don't do and you're not making it up. You're not creating it. You're not trying to will yourself into those states. It's just what happens when you do this. So that's the second step. The third step I call self regulation, which is the physical body's way of coming out of the survival mode. So I teach that through body tremor, through body release and through breath work. So when the nervous system is kicked off, this could be anything. It could be like some stressful thing at work, or some jealousy issue in your relationship, or some because it's bring up some trauma. It's like, look, I'm going to take a few moments. I'm going to get myself regulated before I have a conversation, for example, or before I go on with this task, or whatever I'm going to do. It could be that I'm procrastinating. Procrastination is a survival mechanism. So it's like, I can do some breath work, and then all of a sudden I'm freed up. It's like, all of a sudden I'm good to go like that procrastination, that barrier, That invisible barrier of taking action, is no longer there anymore, and so it's another it's the physical version of coming out of that lower state of the lower self. And that's it. Those three practices are plenty enough to implement. Now the second practice, self recognition, that's a daily practice, self inquiry, often is something people use when they get triggered by things you know, like something happens, someone says something, a situation occurs, and you're not accepting reality. You're you're you're not okay with what's happening, and therefore certain perceptions, beliefs and thoughts have triggered off there to inquire, to come out of that state, because at the end of the day, it's a fear based vibration that you're in, and nothing you do in the fear vibration is going to serve anything per like useful so similar to if you were going into a rip in the ocean, panicking is never going to be the best thing to do. So it's just recognizing that nothing I do on the from the state of fear and judgment and ego based needs are going to like create as a result that I actually want, but we think that it will right? So we react to things all the time, we project things all the time, and think it's going to get us what we want, and it doesn't do that. It gets us actually the opposite of what we want. And so that's something we have to come to terms with. So that happens a lot of the time. Yeah, when we get triggered, if you're feeling really insecure about something, if you're noticing certain negative judgments, there's, there's all the different triggers for self inquiry. But it's more on a case by case basis that that's happening, and that could be like a 10 minute process, 510 minute process. And same with the that's the same with the self regulation, that that's also a five to 10 minute process to come out of that state. And it's it, what? What is it all saying? It's saying I'm prepared to look after my vibration. I know that in a higher vibration, things work out. Things go into flow, things seem to synchronize. Things seem to look after me in a way that's more serving and natural when I'm in the lower state. It's like the world's against me. It's like everything's like pushing shit uphill. It's just difficult, it's hard work. It's like the world's against me somehow. And it's like, I don't want to live from that state. I don't want to be make. Decisions from that state. I don't want to be relating in my relationships and my kids and everything else from that state, because it just creates more and more problems. So yeah, those are the those are the three processes, self recognition, self inquiry and self regulation. Yeah. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:17 basically, are you a life coach? Yeah?   Chris Knight ** 1:00:21 Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'd be sort of known as a spiritual life coach, because, only because I deal at the level of identity, which is where people usually use the word spiritual. I don't use the word spiritual because it has too many it's too much of a loaded word,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:38 even though that's what it is, yeah,   Chris Knight ** 1:00:39 that is what it is, because we're just dealing with disidentification semantics, yeah, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, there's no limit to the kind of issues that I work with in people's lives. I tend to find that I work with certain themes more than others, like the people in my community at the moment, and the clients that I have is very it's a very diverse thing, like it could be jealousy and relationship for one person, another person's coming out overcoming an eating disorder or body dysmorphia. Someone else is dealing with a sexual abuse trauma. Someone else has got dad wounds from childhood that have caused them to be narcissist in their work life, and it's causing them all sorts of problems. So they're dealing with narcissistic issues. So it's so to the core of what's going on for us that it's very holistic in that way.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:37 Yeah. So what is your business called?   Chris Knight ** 1:01:41 My name, it's, it's self intelligence is the method, is the the teaching. And my name is Chris Knight, and I'm the founder of that. So that's, that's essentially what that is. So people say, go see Chris if they recognize a certain problem. And he's like, I think he'll be able to help you out with that particular thing. There   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:01 you go. Have you written any books yet?   Chris Knight ** 1:02:05 I've, I haven't published a book. I've written a textbook in emotional anatomy, and I've got a podcast, a self intelligence podcast, where I do live sessions with people, which is pretty amazing for people to do that, to do live sessions, and I definitely intend to write various books, but yeah, at the moment, I'm just continuing to refine the self intelligence program. The it has gone through many updates to keep it as simple and as user friendly to people as possible, given that it's a lifestyle approach. And yeah, that's that's where it's at at the moment. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:54 if people want to reach out to you, how do they do that? Yeah,   Chris Knight ** 1:02:58 so they look up Chris knight.com.au, and you'll find everything there. The two offerings I have is one, I do one on one coaching with people on everything that we just spoke about today, and I often have a discovery call with people, just to make sure that they feel like I'm the right fit for them, for what they're dealing with. And two, I have a community, because everything that I'm doing is lifestyle based. So the meditation, the self inquiry and the self regulation, these are intended to become habits in our life, like exercise and other things. So it's like going to the gym. Actually, you can go to the gym and get an instructor, right? That's like the one on one coach. You can get an instructor and they support you through it. Or you can just be a member at the gym and then go whenever you like. Yeah, so we just come off the back of a 30 day self inquiry commitment, which involved four different practices, like four different inquiry processes, and we do challenges like that all throughout the year. We meet on a weekly basis to do integration, because integration is often what's lacking for a lot of people in the self development space, where they have a big explosive like heart opening experience for, you know, in a conference or a workshop or something like that. But then they go back to their old habits when they get back into their daily life, and it's like, how do you integrate that vibration that I know, I now know, is possible in my daily life? That's what integration these integration sessions are for, and they're weekly. So that's what that that community is all about. So, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:42 So again, it's Chris Knight, C, H, R, I S, K, N, I, G, H, t.com/a, u.com.com, dot A, U, sorry, yeah,   Chris Knight ** 1:04:51 yeah. I think if you just, if, I think if you just Google Chris Knight on its own, I think I'm the top are you on LinkedIn as well? Well, ah, no, no, no, no, I'm not okay, no, no, but I think on top of the search, but it might depend on where you're at in the world.   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:10 Now I know how to find you. Chris, Chris Knight, now that's that's no problem,   Chris Knight ** 1:05:14 or search, or search, self intelligence.com, self   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:18 intelligence.com, which makes sense as well. Yeah, so   Chris Knight ** 1:05:21 you'll get there. You'll get there to me as well. And you know this is for people who want, who know in their hearts, they know that looking after your internal world is important, as to looking after your body in and to just have a small amount of time per day to do that as a lifestyle, but also when you feel like you're in the trenches, or you feel like you really require someone to hold your hand, in a sense, to get through some stuff, that's where the one on one sessions are there. And I work with people in America. I work with people all over the world, because we can do this right? And this is fortunately for what I offer. This works perfectly. It is not a barrier or an issue at all. In person is not necessary. It works great. So,   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:12 yeah, well, I want to thank you for taking the time to be here and talk about all this. It has been fun. And every time i i hear the kinds of things that you're talking about, that also tend to validate a lot of my thoughts. I like that as well, but I learn a lot, and as I as I love to tell people, if I'm not learning at least as much as anybody else on this podcast, I'm not doing my job very well. So I really appreciate you being here, and I have learned a lot today. So I want to thank you for that, and I want to thank you all for listening. So wherever you're listening, please, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at Michael h i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, Michael Hinkson is m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n.com/podcast, we'd love to hear from you, and please, wherever you're listening, give us a five star review. We value your reviews. We value your thoughts, and we especially do love those, those great reviews, so please keep them coming. We are very joyous to get those and we feel very blessed. If you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest on our podcast, Chris, that includes you. If you know anyone you think we ought to be chatting with, please let us know we're always looking to meet new people and make new friends. And as I've told Chris and I tell everyone who comes on the podcast, the only rule about being on the podcast is you gotta have fun. Otherwise, where is this engine doing it right? Exactly, exactly. So once, once more, I want to thank you, Chris for being here. This has been absolutely fun. So thank you very much. Thank   Chris Knight ** 1:07:50 you so much as well. I appreciate all your your effort and just your life story and the fact that you were just a living inspiration to anyone who feels that they have victimized by life, you have shown that you can thrive in this world beyond that whole narrative, and that's what this is all about.   Michael Hingson ** 1:08:14   You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we a

In the latest episode of View from the Bus, Bob chats with Emily Irion, Senior Manager at World Trade Center San Diego, part of the Regional EDC—an organization he calls one of the most high-minded he's encountered. Emily highlights the EDC's vital role in strengthening the local economy, partnering with 150+ businesses to keep San Diego globally competitive while providing free resources to help local businesses grow. Tune in to learn how they're driving inclusive economic growth and ensuring every San Diegan benefits.

The Financial District is finally rebranding, and I am here for it. Welcome back to Real Estate Investing in New York with me, Christina Kremidas, and in this episode, we're discussing the great rebrand of the Financial District, so stay tuned as we cover everything from luxury developments to high-end dining and why this neighborhood is about to experience a major boom.About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking in the top 5% at her first firm in 2018. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in her community as a founding Steward at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives. Get in touch with me: Instagram:   / christina.kremidas  TikTok:   / christina.kremidas  Check out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-va...The Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual...Timestamps0:00 Introduction to the 5 key reasons why FiDi is booming 0:53 The Financial District is worth investing in1:16 History of the Financial District, particularly post-9/11 decline2:34 The waterfront advantage of the Financial District3:30 The area's architecture and aesthe

Welcome back, Czarists! In this episode, we're joined by the legendary Richard Gage! This was an epic conversation and a bulletproof presentation on 9/11.Richard is a pioneer in this community, a San Francisco Bay Area architect, AIA, member of the American Institute of Architects, and the founder and former CEO of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. He now leads the charge for a new World Trade Center investigation alongside his courageous wife, Gail! RichardGage911.orgParanoidamerican.comhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/producerism/does-bigfoot-exist-a-40-page-comic-about-bigfoot-legendshttps://altmediaunited.com/reality-czars/https://youtu.be/Qo4KYgnVvro?si=Pj40snyKk5CL4_WJhttps://linktr.ee/realityczarspodrealityczars@gmail.com

Robert Jordan, raised in a small village in Upstate New York, grew up in a hardworking, blue-collar family with strong community ties. After high school, he farmed cattle for nine years before earning a degree from SUNY Albany. Inspired by the 1993 World Trade Center attack, he joined the Navy at age 34, intending to serve briefly before law school but instead committed to a long military career. Jordan served five tours in Afghanistan, rising from Chief Petty Officer to Chief Warrant Officer in elite special operations. Witnessing both the brutality of war and the resilience of the Afghan people, he dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts, assisting widows, orphans, and struggling communities. After retiring in 2019, he founded a nonprofit supporting Afghanistan's poorest and continues advocating for veterans. Now an author, pastor, and philanthropist, Jordan has published books like Faith, Flag, and Family and The Warms of the Gospel series. He also co-authored a teen novella, Mackenzie's Good Fortune Through Misadventure, with his granddaughter. He hosts the Veterans Outlook podcast and leads Task Force Genesis, helping veterans heal through agriculture.   

Today on the NKY Spotlight Podcast we hear from Omar Ayyash of World Trade Center Kentucky about how they're connecting local businesses to the world. We're also joined by Nicole Walter of Walter814, who shares the ins and outs of digital marketing. The NKY Spotlight Podcast is powered by CKREU Consulting and sponsored by Schneller Knochelmann Plumbing, Heating & Air.

In this eye-opening episode of The Backup Wrap-up, W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi unpack crucial disaster recovery lessons from major events like 9/11. They discuss how companies lost both primary and backup data centers when both World Trade Center towers fell, highlighting why geographic separation is non-negotiable. The hosts break down the technical aspects of disaster recovery, comparing hot sites versus cold sites, and the realities of synchronous versus asynchronous replication across distances.Beyond the technical, Curtis and Prasanna share often-overlooked disaster recovery lessons about human factors—where recovery teams will sleep, eat, and work during extended outages when infrastructure is destroyed. They examine a real case from a hurricane-stricken island where teams converted conference rooms to sleeping quarters and relied on satellite communications. Whether you're planning for natural disasters, power outages, or ransomware attacks, these disaster recovery lessons will help ensure your organization can recover when—not if—disaster strikes.

In this episode of "The Other Side of Paradise," we talk to the former assistant director of HSI's Honolulu office. John Tobon is a founding member of the agency, which started after the 9-11 attacks. He was at the World Trade Center when the planes hit on that day, working for U.S. Customs. Tobon describes his escape, talks about some of the international drug lords he arrested and why he is choosing to stay in Hawaii post-retirement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have been looking forward to talking with our guest, Louise Baxter, for several months. I met Louise through one of our regular podcast guest finders, accessiBe's own Sheldon Lewis. Louise has always lived in Sydney Australia although she has done her share of traveling around the world. She attended some college at night although she never did complete a college degree. Don't let that prejudice you, however. Her life experiences and knowledge rival anyone whether they have a college degree or not.   While attending college Louise worked in clerical positions with some marketing firms. Over time she attained higher positions and began working as a brand or product manager for a number of large well-known companies.   At some point she decided that she wanted to bring a more human-service orientation to her work and left the commercial world to work in not for profit organizations. Part of her work was with the Starlight Foundation in Australia, but she didn't feel she was challenged as much as she wanted to be. So, in 2007 she left Starlight, but in 2009 the Starlight board convinced her to come back as the CEO of the organization.   Louise has brought an extremely positive thinking kind of management style to her work. Starlight in general has to be quite positive as it works to ease the burden of sick children in hospitals and at home. You will get to hear all about Captain Starlight and all the many ways the foundation Louise directs has such a positive impact on sick children around Australia. The life lessons Louise discusses are relevant in any kind of work. I am certain you will come away from this episode more inspired and hopefully more positive about your own life and job.       About the Guest:   LOUISE BAXTER is Chief Executive Officer, Starlight Children's Foundation. Louise has significant experience in senior roles in the commercial and NFP sectors and is described as an “inspiring and authentic leader”. In 2009 Louise returned to the NFP sector as Starlight's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. Louise's focus on exceptional experiences and relationships has seen improved metrics across all areas of Starlight. Louise is regularly asked to speak on topics such a positivity, organisational resilience, diversity, and innovation. She is passionate about the creation of organisational purpose and believes this is key to delivering maximum impact through people. She practices positive leadership and has been successful in developing high performing teams within a culture where change is embraced, and innovation is embedded.   Always thinking like a marketer…. Louise's personal journey and reasons behind the shift from corporate to the For Purpose sector. After more than 20 years in marketing and advertising in roles at ARNOTTS, Accor & Johnson & Johnson & in agencies such as Leo Burnett working on brands from Mortein to Coco pops, Louise's journey and the insights she brings as CEO are unique. The very first time Louise became aware of Starlight was actually doing a promotion for one of her clients (when she was in sales/marketing) who was partnering with Starlight. Just seeing the work of Starlight, made her feel so pleased that there was now something that changed and reframed the hospitalization and treatment experience for families like a family she knew as a child with a child suffering from leukemia.    The business acumen needed to thrive and succeed in the For Purpose sector. Often the perception is NFP is a step into the slow lane. Far from it. Louise refers to leading Starlight as if it is in ‘eternal start up mode' and bringing business acumen, finding ways to be efficient and driving growth.     Our business… is the business of brightening lives…. The business growth and success of Starlight since she began from 65 people & 120,000 positive experiences delivered to children, to a team of more than 300 delivering over 1million++ positive Starlight experiences to seriously ill children including more than 13,000 children's Starlight wishes granted.   Louise has lead Starlight through some of the most challenging times. Her positive impact has seen Starlight grow from strength to strength. Starlight enjoys a tremendously creative and innovative culture. Including ‘Most Innovative Company' accolade - an achievement which was achieved under Louise's Leadership.   Starlight Programs growth will be stronger over the next 3 years than it would have been without Covid as programs which Transform and Connect rebuild and programs which Entertain grow. As does fundraising as we layer our face-to-face events back over our digital innovations which have taken off.  We have our creative/innovative culture to thank for this. Stories of personal connections made with Starlight children & families who began their journey more than 20 years ago and flourished thanks to the work of Starlight, including now adults Nathan Cavaleri and Dylan Allcott OAM.   Over the years Louise has been personally involved in many of Starlight's fundraising campaigns, once literally putting her body on the line as she flew over the handlebars and was carried away from the cycling course injured on Great Adventure Challenge.     Storytelling is at the heart of Starlight's success, growth & behind the organisations' ability to connect its stakeholders to its purpose. Louise's has largely led this approach to drive advocacy, differentiation & brand recognition – now one of Australia's most recognised children's charities Passionate about DEI: One of the first things Louise did as CEO was to deliberately approach diversity at Starlight and this continues today. To effectively support the people & families we support, our team members need to reflect this. DEI is addressed at every level.. Inc Board & Exec split to Captains in SER.    Louise considers herself very lucky – her birthday is actually on International Women's Day: IWD, 8 March. She is an active member of Chief Executive Women, an advocate for female empowerment & equity and in incredible role model.   Ways to connect with Louise:   Starlight Children's Foundation Australia Website: www.starlight.org.au Louise Baxter's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/louisebaxter   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone. Welcome once again to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. It's a fun thing to say I am your host. Mike Hingson, our guest today is the CEO of the starlight foundation in Australia, Louise Baxter, we met Louise through Sheldon Lewis and accessibe, which is always fun. Sheldon is a good supplier of folks, and we can't complain a bit about that. It's a good thing. And so today we're going to learn about Starlight Foundation, and we're going to learn about Louise, and we'll see what else we learned. That's why it's often called the unexpected. Meet anyway, Louise, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Louise Baxter ** 02:04 Thank you, Michael, it's lovely to be here.   Michael Hingson ** 02:08 Well, why don't we start the way I love to start. Why don't you tell us kind of about the early Louise growing up and some of those sorts of things and adventures you got into, or anything that you want to divulge? Okay,   Louise Baxter ** 02:20 alright. Well, I live in Sydney, Australia, and have done my whole life I've traveled a lot, but I've remained here in Sydney. And so life in Sydney was just blissful. And I think what I remember most is just having fun with my friends. It was back in the day where, as a child, you'd leave home on your bike early in the morning, and nobody expected you back till later, often in the afternoon, before dinner, and we had Bush nearby. I can remember catching tadpoles I sailed from the age of eight. My father was a skiff sailor here in Australia and and I had my first time in a Sabo at age eight, we went to the beach a lot, so there was surfing and fun in the sun. I played a lot of sports. So I'm a netball player, which is kind of similar to basketball, but a bit different. I played squash, so a lot of things happening, a very busy life, and I grew up. And I think this is the important thing with parents who were not well off themselves, but were, I mean, we were. We had a lovely life, but they were always raising funds, and our house was a center for raising funds for people who were less fortunate, or that helping out with the local netball club and things like that. So, so I grew up with parents who were very committed to working hard but always giving back, even though they weren't, you know, high net worth people themselves. So I think that's, you know, a great basis for for who I am today.   Michael Hingson ** 04:18 So you went to school and and all those sorts of things like everybody else did. How did your attitude about dealing with people who were probably less fortunate than many and so on really affect what you did in school? Or did you really sort of hone that found that that that spirit later? No,   Louise Baxter ** 04:42 no, I was always involved at school and raising funds. And even, you know, it took us a couple of busses to get to the beach back in the day. So I was in a local youth group, and we made a decision to raise the funds so that we could have one of the fathers, so that we could. Buy a bus, have one of the fathers drive the bus and get us to the beach on Saturday in quick time. So always looking for ways to never taking no or that's hard for an answer, I suppose, always being able to be part of the solution and get things done. So that was happening while I was at school as well.   Michael Hingson ** 05:21 That's kind of cool. So you bought a bus so that everybody could get to the beach. How many people were there that had to get there and use the bus? We   Louise Baxter ** 05:28 had about 40 or 50 people. And during the school holidays, we convinced one of the, a couple of the parents to take us on a trip through far west into, I'm supposing, what into our outback. So we went into kind of desert type lands, and we camped and a shearing a sheep station let us sleep in the shearing sheds overnight. So that was quite an adventure as well. And we did that for one school holidays on that bus.   Michael Hingson ** 06:02 So was the the bus? Well, who owned the bus was it? Was it a school bus, or who owned it   Louise Baxter ** 06:09 the youth group that we, the group did fundraising? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 06:13 cool, yeah. That's pretty unique.   Louise Baxter ** 06:17 I have great memories of that with, you know, green tree frogs in the toilets. Whenever you went to use a bathroom, they were always there looking at you and all of those kind of funny things that you remember, you know, watching and learning farm life and seeing some of the animals sitting on the fence while they were being branded and castrated and all kinds of things, but from as a city kid that was that was really valuable,   Michael Hingson ** 06:47 pretty and unique, but certainly the experience was well worth it, as long as you embraced   Speaker 1 ** 06:53 it. Yes, exactly, yeah. So   Michael Hingson ** 06:57 does that bus still exist today? Or does the youth group still exists now with new youth, that's a very long time ago. Michael, well, I didn't know whether it might have continued with new youth,   Louise Baxter ** 07:07 no. And I, you know, moved locations in Sydney, so I'm not quite sure what's happening there. Now, it'd   Michael Hingson ** 07:14 be exciting if new youth came along and took it over, but yeah, things happen and things evolve.   Louise Baxter ** 07:22 I'm just gonna say their parents probably drive them everywhere now. Yeah, it's   Michael Hingson ** 07:26 gonna say probably the adventure isn't quite the same as it used to be. No   Louise Baxter ** 07:30 exactly,   Michael Hingson ** 07:31 and, and that has its pluses, I suppose, and its minuses, but there, there are also more scary things in one sense in the world now than there used to be. Don't you think,   Louise Baxter ** 07:43 yeah, there are, well, there could be, or maybe, maybe we know more about it now because of our media and communications. So you know, all the kind of predators that impact you as children were around then, I suppose the accidents in cars are up because use of cars has increased. So, yeah, there are. There are different things that impact people nowadays. But us human beings, we're pretty resilient and and we always work out a way through, yeah, well, there's also, there's also a story from my childhood that I think is very relevant for what I do at Starlight, and that story is that you know how you have those family friends, who you grow up with, and you go on holidays with, etc. Well, that family for us, their eldest son was diagnosed with cancer, and back then, survival rates for cancer were very different to what they are today, and much lower. And he died when I was about 12, but as a child, I observed him suffering the pain of the treatment, and there was nothing like Starlight back then. And I saw also the impact that his illness had on his family. And I often think back to him, to those moments now that I'm at Starlight, because Starlight would have changed that situation and made it very different and far more positive for that boy and his family, and I think about about him and what they went through kind of regularly. So it's one of those things that's a childhood. It's a lived experience from my childhood, which, you know still kind of resonates with me today.   Michael Hingson ** 09:44 Well, yeah, and you know, we're, we're constantly evolving. So you can, you can think about that, and you can think about what might have been, but at the same time, the the real issue is, what have you learned? And. How can you now take it forward? And I think, as I said, that's all about embracing the adventure,   Louise Baxter ** 10:04 absolutely, absolutely and so absolutely take that forward,   Michael Hingson ** 10:09 yeah, which is really what you have to do. So you went to college, I assume, yeah.   Louise Baxter ** 10:15 And I actually went part time at night, so I actually went straight into a work environment. And for an organization, and was in the marketing team, just doing basic clerical work, and then I studied part time at night, so did a bit differently.   Michael Hingson ** 10:33 Yeah, well, did you end up eventually getting a degree? No,   Louise Baxter ** 10:37 I have no degree. Which is, which is something that's not, is very unusual in the United States. I know, oh, I don't know   Michael Hingson ** 10:49 that it's that unusual. But the the other side of it is that what you learn and how you put it to use and how you evolve is pretty significant. And that's, of course, part of the issue. Not everyone has a college degree, and sometimes the people with college degrees aren't necessarily the the brightest spots in the constellation either. Absolutely, it's,   Louise Baxter ** 11:13 yeah, there's a lot through lived experience, but I have, yeah, I've studied at various times, and most recently, I was awarded a scholarship. And I've had the experience of doing two short courses at Stanford University in the States, and I'm now on the board of the Stanford Australia Foundation, and so that's been a wonderful experience as a mature age student.   Michael Hingson ** 11:42 That's fair. Yeah, I just recently was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, which formed the chapter at my university the year I was leaving, so I was able to go to the organizing meeting, but that was it, because then I got my master's degree and left and through circumstances, it was learned that all that happened. So last year, I was called and asked if I wanted to become an alumni member. So I got to be so I finally got to be a member of fraternity. Well, there you go. Congratulations. Well, it's a lot of fun, yeah, and I, and I treasure it and honor it a great deal, and spent a day down at my old university. I haven't really spent a lot of time there since graduating, well, back in 1976 with my master's degree in some business courses. So it's been 48 years. So there you go. Time flies. Well, so what did you do? So you you were working in the marketing world, in a clerical sort of thing, and what did you do from there? I   Louise Baxter ** 12:55 then became an assistant brand manager, a brand manager or product manager, whatever you want to call it, and I worked at Reckitt and Coleman. I worked at Johnson and Johnson and at Arnot snack foods. And Arnot snack foods was interesting because it was a joint venture with Pepsi foods from the US, because they were interested in the biscuit technology from Arnott's, and Arnot was interest interested in their snack food technology. And so what we had was a situation where we were sharing our expertise, and as a result, I was on the team, and we launched Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos into Australia, so they didn't exist here prior to that. Obviously Johnson and Johnson also, you know, big multinational, as is reckoned and Coleman. And then, after a number of years working on client side, I decided I wanted to move to the agency world. And I moved to Leo Burnett advertising agency, where I stayed for a decade. I was on the board there. I managed accounts like the Proctor and Gamble and kill on businesses as well as local businesses like tourism businesses and and wine so hospitality businesses here in Australia, very big wine company and and also the United distillers business back then. So had a lot of experience from both the client and agency side of working on big brands and growing big brands, which I absolutely loved, and we had a lot of fun, you know, along the way, in those days at all of the organizations where I worked, I made a lot of friends, and it's always important to have great friends from those experiences. And then I considered I actually left after i. Left Leah Burnett, I started an agency with two other people that's called Brave New World, which still exists to this day. I haven't been part of that for a long time, and then I had this moment of considering that I could potentially do something more worthwhile with my skills than than selling the products I'd been selling for all those years, and that's when I first made the decision to move to the what I referred to as the profit for purpose sector, and moved to Starlight in a role, and at that time, that was just a six month maternity position role. And I did that because I had great experience of brands from the client and agency side and promotions, so above and below the line. Promotions. I had worked on promotion supporting charity so cause related marketing campaigns. And I felt that the one thing I was missing if I wanted to go back into a corporate, into a corporate social responsibility role. Was that experience of working in a charity, and so I thought at that stage that my, my of journey was going to be back to a corporate because at that time, if you think this is over 20 years ago, triple bottom line was, and the third sector was really becoming important to organizations and to corporates. And so I thought I'd take my skills and go back to a corporate what I did instead was I went to starlight, as I said. It was a six month contract, but after three months, then CEO came out and said, What would it take to keep you here? I loved what I was doing, and I stayed at Starlight. I did stay for six, seven years. I then left and went back to corporate world, and I came back to starlight. So I left at the end of, what am I of? I left at the end of 2007 I came back in 2009 so I had that experience of back in the corporate world, and I came back as a CEO. It's   Michael Hingson ** 17:20 interesting. You started out in, as you said, in clerical work, but you started out in marketing, which, which you liked, what, what caused you to do that? Why marketing? Why marketing and sales, if you will?   Louise Baxter ** 17:33 Well, I love, I love marketing. I love brands, and I love the fact that, you know, brand is a living and breathing thing, and you can grow and change a brand. And I love, I love all the learnings around consumer insights. That was my specialty within marketing. So actually understanding that consumer behavior, and what I say about marketing is it's, it's hardly rocket science, because if you look at a young child, they recognize that they speak differently and use different language and words, etc, when they're speaking to their friends, when they're speaking to their grandparents, when they're speaking to their teachers, when they're speaking to their siblings, and so already, the concept of I have a different consumer in front of me, and I need to change my language and what I'm saying and my communication skills. Need to tweak. A child understands that from a very early age. So when I think about marketing, that's what you're doing the whole time. You're changing what you're the what you're saying and the way you say it, so that you engage more strongly with your consumer, and that's what I love about it, because communication is just so powerful, and you can take people on a journey. I'm also you know you can change behavior before you change the attitude, but ultimately you can move people and kind of change their thinking and their their their habits.   Michael Hingson ** 19:11 What's a really good example that you participated in of that I love a marketing story, loving sales and marketing as I do, I'd love to hear a good marketing story. Um,   Louise Baxter ** 19:22 well, there's, there's, there's quite a few. And I'll, I'll give you one. There was, I used to work on all the roads and traffic authority business, and at that stage, we were responsible for handling all the campaigns, from speeding to seat belts to drink driving, etc. And what was really powerful about those was your results were that every day you came into work and the road toll was there, and the road toll was, you know, up or down. And to work on campaigns which, over years, reduced the road toll because of the messages that you would keep. Communicate to people about speeding, etc. So whether people believed that they should be going, if you know, 10 kilometers slower in that particular zone or not, the messages of you know of penalties being caught, whatever the messaging you used to slow them down in that moment worked, and that saved lives. So, you know, that's, that's an example. I also worked on brands such as Special K, you know, and and for me, seeing, we created a fantastic campaign here that ran for about 20 years, and it was based on the the traditional Special K ads where women would wear clothes that they had years ago. And this one was about a mini skirt, but it was done in such a way that the woman was Stuart was the strength in the TV commercial. She was the lead. And that grew the business, and grew Special K at that time, at like, three times the market average for any, you know, product growth. So to see those things, and what I love is the results. And you you get it very strongly in those moments and and it's exciting.   Michael Hingson ** 21:17 You mentioned having been involved with working with Fritos and so on, which strikes a nerve when I lived in New Jersey, somewhere along the way, ranch flavored Fritos came into existence, but they didn't last very long, and I miss ranch flavored Fritos   Louise Baxter ** 21:34 we used to do when I worked on those snack food brands. We did so much testing and to to create tastes that are suitable, because tastes do change significantly, you know, region to region, and so ensuring that we had exactly the right flavors that would resonate and and sell here was really important to us. But along the way, we had some shockers, and we did have a lot of the specialist from FRITO lay in the states out working with us to craft those flavors. So we eventually got ones that worked here and for this region.   Michael Hingson ** 22:13 Yeah, and I'm sure that that must be what what happened that ranch flavored Fritos just didn't sell enough. In   Louise Baxter ** 22:20 cell Michael, you didn't have enough friends,   Michael Hingson ** 22:23 I guess not. Well, we didn't know enough people in New Jersey. What can I say? But, but we contributed as much as we could. My wife and I both loved them, and we we bought ranch flavored Fritos every chance we got. But unfortunately, that really probably wasn't enough to keep it going. So we, we mourn the loss of ranch flavored Fritos. But you, you did that, and it's interesting, because if I were to bake this observation, in a sense, although part of your job has changed, part of your job hasn't changed, because it's still all about marketing and educating people. Of course, now you're on the not for profit side, but that's okay, but what you're doing is teaching and educating, and now you're doing it for more of a social cause than a profit cause.   Louise Baxter ** 23:21 You're exactly right what we're doing every day because is, we're marketing our organization, and it's all about communication, and that communication might be very different with, you know, high net donors to community groups who support us in terms of how they connect with us. The impact stories are the same, although you also learn that certain individuals might prefer programs that support children, or might support prefer programs supporting older people, older children, or might support programs that support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. And so you learn that through all your discussions. So it's all about hearing, because marketing is about really listening and and so I am still, you know, everything we do is about really listening and really hearing from the kids and the young people we support. You know, we need to listen to their situation and what, from our program's perspective, is working for them. So I feel it's very, very similar to what I did, because I was a product manager, so I was always listening to our customers to create more relevant products, and then communicating to people so that they we could sell those products. And the difference here is, back then they were the same people, so you would listen to your customers, then you'd be selling to them. And now what happens is our customers are the children and young people who are seriously ill and hospitalized, and our customers, the people where we're getting the funding from, are the donors who. Support those programs. So you break it into different groups, and we have far more stakeholder groups that you're managing in the profit for purpose sector than you do in the for profit sector. But that keeps it   Michael Hingson ** 25:14 interesting Well, so what is in in what you're doing today? And I'd be interested to to hear a contrast. But what does what does success mean to you today, and what did success mean to you when you were in the marketing world?   Louise Baxter ** 25:30 I think that that's always, you know, being the best you can be, and achieving the the metrics you need to achieve. So that's not changed, and always having really positive relationships with, you know, and partnerships. So for me, none of that's really changed. And I think that, you know, authenticity is very, very important. And so I constantly say, you know, with me, what you see, what you get, I'm the same person, no matter if you're a friend, a colleague at work, whatever, and I think that makes life much easier than if you were different people in different spaces. So I think there's a there's something that's very consistent about that. And I, I am that kind of person who doesn't take no for an answer. It's just okay. That's that's a bit trickier, but how can we get that done? So I'm always, always been solution focused, and I think that's been that's really important. And I think, you know, Obama has made comments about the type of people he wants to employ, people who get stuff done, and that's that's exactly me, and who I look to work with. So none of that has changed, but for me, it's now incredibly important. We're changing lives every day, and I think that what Starlight does in this country is we believe that that happiness in childhood matters, because happiness in your childhood is the strongest determinant of how you perform in your education, your employment, and with long term healthy life behaviors, children who are seriously ill have their ability to be happy significantly impacted. And so what we do is we sort support them with a whole range of programs. And I can talk about our theory of impact, but it builds their well being and resilience. And I know that that that you talk a lot about, you know about fear, and I think resilience is that thing that that gives you the strength to move through those things that may be frightening to you at some stage, and kids who are seriously ill are going through so much that is unfamiliar and frightening to them and painful. And so Starlight has been creating programs which are all about positive psychology and built on the tenants, if we can build, if we can distract a child by something that's positive help them to look forward to something positive. On the other side of treatment, it changes their engagement with their health care, and it changes their health outcomes for a positive and so that's incredibly important, and we were using this a decade before Martin Seligman even coined the phrase positive psychology and and now as as clinicians recognize, and they've recognized this for a long time, but are increasingly recognized the ways this this can be used to create improved health outcomes. And let's face it, you know, healthcare is one of the most innovative, fast moving sectors you can possibly work in, and clinicians have changed and improved health outcomes for every illness and disease you can possibly think of, and that's amazing. And so Starlight has been part of that improvement in healthcare, but the recognition that your mental health and well being is completely connected to your physical health and well being. And so while the doctors and nurses the clinicians look after the physical Starlight is engaging with the child within the illness and helping to lift their spirits, support their well being, resilience, giving back that joy of childhood. Because, you know, a clinician once said to me, Louise, in treating their illness, we steal their childhood. And so what we're about at Starlight is giving those kids back their chance to simply be a child and have that fun of childhood, which is where we started this conversation. You know, childhood should be about fun and having no inhibitions and not worrying, not a care in the world. And children who are seriously ill live in a very kind of adult world where they're dealing with concepts such as life and death. And that's not where any child should really be.   Michael Hingson ** 30:05 So when you're when you're dealing with a child, what, what? What do you do to bring the child back to the child, if you will, as opposed to all the the challenges that they're going through? Because certainly, when you're dealing with a disease like a cancer or whatever, it is, a very tough thing. So how do you bring that child back to being able to be a child at least for part of the time?   Louise Baxter ** 30:32 And that's, that's, you're absolutely right. It's about moments, because, and we talk about moments which matter. You can't do it for 100% of the time, but if you can lift that child and distract them and take them away from that, even if just for a moment, it changes everything. And I, I we have a whole range of programs that cater for this, in hospital and also in community. And last year, we created nearly 2 million so it was 1.9 million positive Starlight experiences for children. And that's the way we talk about it, because they're all so different. But we work in three general areas, and that is, we transform, we work in partnership with the clinicians to transform the healthcare experience, and we even build physical spaces in the hospitals, all the children's hospitals in Australia, which are manned by a character called Captain starlight. So we employ nearly 200 Captain starlights, who are all professional performers, and they work with the children, and they engage. They don't perform, but they use performance skills to engage with the child and the child's imagination, because a couple of things about children is that they are in they have incredible imaginations, and they are also easily distracted. And one of the things about most parents is they they try to work out how they keep their child focused? Well, we use the fact that children can be intensely distracted for good. So, you know, for example. So talking about that transforming the healthcare experience, some of our captain starlets will actually work in a treatment space with the clinicians, and they know how the treatment is going to unfold. Not so they could ever perform the treatment, but be so they know when to distract the child, when to keep the child very calm, etc, throughout that procedure. But let's say it's a burns dressing change that to a child. The pain of having a burns dressing change is like having your skin removed every time the dressing has changed, and what we do is we have our captain starlights there, and children don't have the psychology of pain in their mind. They will be intensely distracted, and their pain threshold then increases by up to 75% by simply distracting them, which means then they don't need to have an anesthetic for their treatment, which means that that child may not have to stay in hospital overnight because of that anesthetic and etc. So by using the power of a child's mind engaging with them, we can change that scenario. They won't feel the pain. Now, for an adult, that sounds weird, because if we were having that burn stressing changed on an arm, even if someone was distracting him, we'd be waiting for the pain, whereas a child just gets absorbed in the distraction and is not waiting for the pain. And so that's the difference. So we transform the healthcare experience, we provide opportunities for children to connect, because social isolation is one of the key issues associated with serious illness and treatment. They're pulled away immediately from their local friends and family, often into, you know, a hospital that's in the city, and that's the way our healthcare system works. The big children's hospitals are in the cities. The kids come out of regional areas and into that so they're away from everything, all their friends that their bedroom, everything that's familiar, and so that social connection is really important. That's part of what we do in our Starlight Express rooms, which are in every Children's Hospital. They also are TV stations within those hospitals and broadcast to the bedside of the child. So if the child's too sick to come into the Starlight Express room, they can be part of that and have that social connection from their bedside. So quizzes, for example, are really important for us, and we run a quiz every day, and sick children have lost that ability to compete in so many ways and have fun and have that little banter that you have with people when you are competing. Yet a quiz brings that all together. And we often have, we always have prizes, but it means a child in their bed who can't physically come into another space with another child for issues in terms of their illness and and. Um and infections and cross infections, etc, they can still be involved, and they can win the quiz, and, you know, be on television and chat with the other kids. So those things are very important. And we also promote entertainment, because entertainment is a great way of of distracting children. And so we talk about what we do. We transform the healthcare experience. We provide social connection that's so missing, and moments of entertainment. And our program sometimes deliver all three, but they're created for one specific reason, and so we're all about having fun. And for me, when I see a child come into a Starlight Express room, especially a child who's recently been diagnosed, you can see they're often in a wheelchair. They're holding an IV drip. They have their head down, their shoulders down, they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They're looking like no child should ever look and you see this child come into our space and start to lift because a Starline Express room is a haven away from the clinical nature of the ward. They start to lift. They see the space. They see the captain starlights, and for me to observe that same child, 510, 15 minutes later, roaring with laughter, completely forgetting where they are and why. That's the power of starlight, and that's what we do through all our programs every day. And that moment lifts that child and gives them, builds their resilience and gives them the ability to go back into that next round of treatment, surgery, etc. So it is in that moment, and it changes everything.   Michael Hingson ** 36:40 How does the starlight experience differ in America and our healthcare model here as opposed to in Australia? Do you have any idea?   Louise Baxter ** 36:52 Yeah, well, we have, we man all of the spaces in our hospitals. So the hospital, when a new hospital is being built, they they they allocate a section that is the Starlight Express room space. We then build the Starlight Express room, and these are quite large spaces, and then we man it with our own paid team members and volunteers that would never happen in your healthcare system, just with legal issues and liability, etc, you'd never see that happening in in America. So that's, I think, the key, the key difference from things that we do in Australia, we also are a wish granting organization, and we are the largest wish branding organization in Australia, and we have programs called we have a program called Live Wire, which supports young people, so teenagers and up to the age of 20, and that is in hospital. So we then don't have Captain starlights. We have live wire facilitators, and then we have live wire online. We also have a virtual Star LED Express room, which we created and trial during COVID. Because obviously everything around the world and definitely in Australia, was in lockdown, and our programs were an essential service in the children's hospital, but we were restricted, and so we'd been toying with the concept of a virtual Starlight Express room for a long time, and so we used COVID as that opportunity to trial that, and we trialed it. It was very successful, and we're now rolling planet Starlight into every hospital across Australia. All people need there is a QR code. And so we put up beautiful posters, which are also games that kids can play that has a QR code, and they can go directly to Planet starlight. And planet Starlight is set up has live shows of Captain starlights during the day, but also games kids can play directions, how to do art. So if a child's seriously ill, but at home or in another hospital, they can do all of this stuff. And it's it's not that you need a full tank kit. We do it and understanding that children will be able to work with what they have that's near to them. We even have things like I spy for an emergency room space so that kids can stay distracted, no matter what part of a hospital they're in. We also now support families who are in at home palliative care, because 70% of children in this country who are in palliative care are at home. That's not necessarily end of life palliative care, but palliative care can go on for a number of years, and those families are incredibly alone and isolated, and so our Starlight moments program delivers things to uplift that family and have them know that someone's thinking of them during this time. And. Again, it is those moments which really, truly matter.   Michael Hingson ** 40:05 So, um, how did what? What do you know about how it works here, or what actually happens in America? Do you have any real notion about that? I mean, I understand all the legalities and all that, but how does it differ what? What do they do here to be able to foster that same kind of climate. Yeah,   Louise Baxter ** 40:22 they're still about happiness matters, right? Which is fantastic, and they do that with, I'm trying to think of the name now Fun, fun boxes that they have delivered into hospitals with toys, etc, for kids. In some hospitals, they are able to do a refresh of a playroom to make it a starlight space. But it's then not like ours are manned every day with team members. They have little carts that help kids transport round the hospital. So yeah. So they have a whole range of things that they can do within the limitations of the different health system. It   Michael Hingson ** 41:06 must be a real challenge to keep up the spirits of all the people who work for starlight. How do you keep a positive work environment and keep everyone moving forward and hopefully reasonably happy in what they're doing, because they they have to see a lot of challenges. Obviously, yeah,   Louise Baxter ** 41:26 we we're authentic with our commitment to positive psychology. And so getting close to 15 years ago, we started working with a group here in Australia called the positivity Institute, and we started training all of our team members. So every team member who joined Starline is trained in the tools of positive psychology, because you're absolutely right. And I use the airplane analogy, you know, if the plane's going down, you're always told that you put your you have to put your oxygen mask on yourself, because if you don't put it on yourself, you're of no use to anyone else, and POS, psychs like that, you have to care for yourself. And self care is so important, because if you are not caring for yourself, and if you are not topping topping up your own cup, then you're of no use to support and coach and help other people, and so we have positive psychology is the one authentic thing that, just you know, moves right through our organization. It's at the heart of everything we do for the children and young people. And importantly, every question we ask ourselves about every business decision is, will this improve the way we support the seriously ill children and young people, yes or no, and then what we do is we carry that through, because for us to be able to provide the support we do, and you're absolutely right, working often in very challenging situations, we need to know how we can look After ourselves. So POS site flows through the whole organization, and we are an organization that is a great place to work in Australia, there's actually, you know, a survey that's done annually, and corporates and other organizations are ranked, and we're always in the top group of performers there. So it's, it's also very critical to maintain a high performing team, because we need to be sure of able to have our team bring their best self to Starlight every day. And that's what post psych does for us. How does   Michael Hingson ** 43:37 that work? What? What do you do? I mean, you, you obviously have people who go into situations and they get hit with so many sad sorts of things, but obviously you're able to bring them out of that. How do you do that? Well,   Louise Baxter ** 43:52 as I said, Everybody's trained up front and recognizes the tools or has the toolkit for prossite, but we don't just leave it there. So the people who are working in hospitals have daily debriefs. They have a support crew from an employee assistance organizations who work with them. That's the same person who works with those teams. So they then have weekly debriefs, monthly, quarterly. So we're onto it. It's, it's, it's a, May, it's a, it's a, it's very strategic in the way we support them, and it's very considered. And so that support is there for people on a daily basis. So   Michael Hingson ** 44:35 you, you, I'm just thinking of a question I'm going to ask, you're doing a lot with children and all that, which I think is really great. Is there any chance that this kind of approach could also work for older people, adults and so on?   Louise Baxter ** 44:57 Absolutely, and it. It would also work. I mean, we're working with seriously ill, right, and hospitalized children, but it would also work with group, other groups of vulnerable children. So, you know, happiness and positive psychology is something that works for everyone, quite frankly. And so one of the things that's a side benefit of starlight being in a hospital is it lifts the morale of the whole hospital team. So the hospital, the hospital team, is happier. Because if you think of working in a children's hospital, if Starlight was not there, it can be a pretty dour place, and the challenges are every day, but with starlight, they're lifting the spirits, having fun, being silly. It changes everything for the clinicians I know, I've been at the door of a lift, an elevator, as you would say, and and before the lift, the doors open. A doctor who's been waiting there, notices that two captains walk up to hop in the elevator and and the doctor will say, I'm taking the stairs. I never know what those guys make me do between floors, but laughing. So you know, our captain starlights are about that fun. And the thing about Captain Starlight is they come from Planet starlight. So there's a mythology around them, and they fly to planet earth every day in an invisible rocket ship that lands on the roof of the Children's Hospital. And the great thing about this is that the children are then in the gun seat in because they understand everything about Planet Earth, and the captains don't. So the planet the captains will do silly things like pick up a pen and use it like a telephone and go, Hello, you know. And the children will go, No, not that. So it's that merge of slapstick and kind of vaudeville and the child engaging with the child. But they will, can they? Our captain? Starlets will do that silliness with doctors and nurses too, which is also hilarious. And that's the comment from the captain from the doctor. So Right? It keeps the morale of the entire hospital, because, you know, it changes from having children who are crying and distressed and frightened to children who are roaring with laughter, um, despite the fact that they're seriously ill, that's great.   Michael Hingson ** 47:25 How can we bring that to adult patients?   Louise Baxter ** 47:29 Well, do you know what I've been working or I've been walking with our captain starlights as they've had to move through an adult part. You know, some of our hospitals are adults and children's and then the youth are on the other side. As we've walked through, an elderly person stopped and said, Hey, captain, could you sing me a song? And so they had their ukulele there, and they launched into, you are my son. I think he might have requested, You are my sunshine. And you can see immediately the change in the person. So it, it is something that definitely works, but at the moment, we don't have the funding to meet all of the need that we have for children and young people. So while it's, you know, potentially a great concept, it's, it's not something that we can move into in the the immediate future. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 48:24 and you can only do what you can do, but it would certainly, it would seem to me be exciting if people would bring more of those programs to adults too, because adults could could use it. And I'm sure you know that I'm not saying anything magical at all, but I would think there are ways to bring a lot of this to adults that would help lift their spirits. I know when my wife was in the hospital, it was very boring for her. Now she was in a wheelchair, so she was in a chair her whole life. So she had other challenges being in the hospital when she needed to use a restroom or have help with a bedpan, sometimes it took a while and so on. So just a lot of things that could have been better for her, that I think would have made her experience better. And I realized that she was probably, in a sense, a harder case than some, but still, it would just be so nice if we could do more to help all of the different kinds of patients in hospitals and make it a better experience for them.   Louise Baxter ** 49:23 Yeah, that's that's what we're doing about, about changing that healthcare experience,   Michael Hingson ** 49:29 yeah. What about the whole concept of diversity, equity and inclusion and so on? How do you deal with a diverse population? So for example, in all the things that you're talking about, what if you discover that one of the children that you're dealing with is blind in the hospital? How do you adapt so that they get as included as other people in the things that you're doing? Yep,   Louise Baxter ** 49:53 we have. All of our team are trained in dealing with. Children who are blind, who are deaf. We actually recently had training, and we had our captain starlights. They were all blindfolded, and they were going through sensory experiments to teach them how they can better use sound and other things to work with children. So So our team is trained across all of those different areas, because you're right every day, we do deal with children who are deaf, who are blind, who are in wheelchairs, who are non verbal, who are on the autism spectrum, but all of those things. So we have to have teams trained. Our team is trained to understand how they can deliver an exceptional experience to those children, as well as children who don't have those differences. So   Michael Hingson ** 50:56 clearly you have a we got to get it done. Got a really positive attitude to get things done. Where did you learn that attitude? Because that's a very positive thing that I think more companies and more people in general ought to learn. The whole concept of, we're going to get it done no matter what it you know, I don't want to say no matter what it takes, but we're going to get it done, and we're very positive about that. Yeah,   Louise Baxter ** 51:25 I'm not sure that I learned it, but I think that there are people in life who you see that way. I always, I always jokingly call it waiters with their heads up, because, you know, you see when you're in a restaurant often, there's those people who walk past your table and don't pick up the dirty plates, who aren't looking for things to do. And then there are those other ones who you can see are going from table to table, doing stuff everywhere. And I always say they're the people I want to employ, the waiters with their heads up. So I think it's an attitude you have in life. And you can either kind of say, well, that's a challenge, and that's difficult, but how can I get that done? Or you can say, well, that's difficult. I just won't do that anymore. And and, you know, we need people who want to get stuff done and who always have a pot and having a positive attitude just makes you feel so much better than dwelling in the negative. And you know, I hate people who are always who those negative Nellies or nets or whoever they are, and they bring you down. So positivity is something that I think helps all of us every day. And why wouldn't you choose to be positive? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 and it is a choice. And the reality is that no matter what goes on, I think we can choose to be positive. One of the things that I've been saying for many years, that I learned because of the World Trade Center, basically, is don't worry about what you can control. Focus on what you can let the rest take care of itself. We're so worried about every little old thing in the world that we don't tend to be positive about anything, and that doesn't help any of us. No,   Louise Baxter ** 53:07 I think that being positive is so incredibly important. It makes you feel better and happier, makes everybody around you feel better and happier. So why wouldn't you do it? And I actually use this at Starlight too, because sometimes team members like you reach a point in your in your work life, and I did. I left Starlight because I needed a new challenge, and Starlight didn't have that challenge for me. So why hang around and become that disgruntled person in the corner who's just trying to pull everybody else into their negative little corner and finds fault with everything the organization does. Why would you stay? You know, and if you leave in that instance, you go to somewhere where you can contribute, and you feel great. You're doing a great job. The organization gets someone into your role who really wants to be there, and all that negativity stops. So in positive psychology, the end game is flourishing. And so I jokingly say at my team all the time, if you don't want to be here anymore, if you're not feeling challenged, please go flourish somewhere else. Don't stay here and become that negative person who tries to bring everyone into their negative corner. It's just not good for you or anybody else. So, yeah. So, so the Go flourish somewhere else is a bit of a joke that people say they're going to have printed on my coffee mug at some stage.   Michael Hingson ** 54:30 Well, you went away, but you also came back. That's   Louise Baxter ** 54:34 right, that's right. And so I went away because I needed a new challenge at that stage. And that challenge, potentially, was the CEO role that it wasn't available then. So I went and I did something else that I loved. And then, you know, the board came back to me some time later and said, Would you come back as CEO now? And I said, Yes. So there you go. And then I'd had a different experience, which actually helped. Me to be a better CEO. So as you say, if you're always moving forward, if you don't get hung up about things, and if you choose positivity, that really can set you up for a much better life. What   Michael Hingson ** 55:13 are some of the challenges that Starlight is facing in Australia today?   Louise Baxter ** 55:19 I think that for us it's a nice challenge, because as clinicians recognize the power of positive psychology and the power of the mind in improving health outcomes, they're very creative, and they're coming up with more and more ideas as to how star lack could be used, but we can only deliver if we increase our funding. And obviously, I think globally, communities are under pressure financially, and so those things kind of don't work together. And that's that's a challenge for us. I think we live in a world of increasing complexity and compliance and and we need to within that, ensure we meet the requirements and the criteria, but we do it in the simplest possible way, because simplicity is better for your mental health. It's more effective and efficient. And so sometimes within the the complexity of compliance, people are on making things even more bureaucratic than they need to. So really keeping things simple, I think, is is important against the backdrop of what's happening. And the exciting thing is we work in the sector of health care. And health care is always changing, always improving and and that's a great thing to be part of. What   Michael Hingson ** 56:48 do you think are well, what would you tell somebody from, let's say, one of your former jobs in marketing and so on, what kind of advice would you give them based on what you now know as being the CEO of starlight, for, my gosh, what? For 15 years, 14 almost? Well, 15 years, yes, almost 16 years. Yeah,   Louise Baxter ** 57:10 I think that. I think people have to be true to themselves. You know, you have to be authentic. Choose positivity is something that I would always give advice around, because, as you said, it is a choice, and I fail to understand why everyone, anyone would choose the negative, yeah, side of that equation and really focus on getting stuff done. So never sit back and be lazy. Always be working to be that, that person who thinks about themselves others and cares and gets it done,   Michael Hingson ** 57:55 yeah, we we spend way too much time, because I think we're taught so much to be negative when we don't get taught nearly as much about being as positive as we can be. I know that my parents were always encouraging to me and my brother. I'm not sure my brother always got it quite as much as I did in terms of understanding it, but we were, we were taught that positivity was a choice. We were taught that being innovative and moving forward was a choice. And we also were encouraged to make that the choice that we made too, which is part of the issue, yeah,   Louise Baxter ** 58:37 excellent. And the other thing is, I would say, Do not be a perfectionist. I'm an anti perfectionist. Yeah, I agree. It gets you nowhere. Doesn't exist. And you know, especially in this day, where we can move, and we're very agile, kind of, I say 70% out, because if you say 70% and out, it means people will probably go to 80 or 90% but those people who, if anyone in a in an interview, proudly tells me they're perfectionist, they're gone because all they do is drive themselves and everyone around them crazy. So I don't want to have them in the organization. It   Michael Hingson ** 59:17 seems to me that the thing to say is that I will always do the best that I can do, and I will always give at least 100%   Louise Baxter ** 59:25 Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 59:28 Yeah, perfection is something I don't think most of us understand anyway, but if we give it our best, probably we'll achieve perfection, in a sense,   Louise Baxter ** 59:37 yeah, and get it done and get it out, get it happening, right? Because the thing is, if it's not, if it's, you know, if it's not, if it's not perfect, you get it out and you get to use it, and you learn so much more. So you got actually a better shot at getting it towards it. You can tweak it after,   Michael Hingson ** 59:55 yeah, well, well, market, well. And what you do. Do is you do the best that you can do, but you're if you're wise and good leaders. Know this. You also work with a team, and sometimes somebody else on the team can take the lead and enhance what you're doing, which is always a good thing.   Louise Baxter ** 1:00:15 Absolutely, you've got to have way smarter people all around you? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:22 I don't think there's anything wrong with having smarter people around you. Your your smarts is in bringing the team together.   Louise Baxter ** 1:00:29 Yes, that's right. So   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:33 what can you think other regions and countries learn from the challenges that you're facing?   Louise Baxter ** 1:00:40 I think we have, I think the world is so consistent in this day and age more than it's kind of ever been. You know, when you travel, you know, you seek out those places where we're different. Of course, we're different, but there's a lot more that's the same in this day and age than there ever has been and, and, you know, in some instances, I think that's quite sad, yeah, but there's much more consistency. So I think that there's, and there's always something that we can learn from each other, always. And that's what I look for. I'm excited by up learning things and you know, and and something that doesn't go according to plan is fabulous, because you learn so much more from that than something that just smoothly goes along and does everything you thought it would do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:35 Nothing wrong with learning from things that don't go well. I don't like the term failure and even mistakes, I'm not a great fan of but I think that what happens is that things don't always go as we plan. And the real question is, what do we learn from it? Absolutely which is, which is so cool? Well, Louise, this has been absolutely fun to be able to spend all this time with you. Now it's 10 in the morning where you are, so we should let you go do other things and get something done today. But I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you who are listening for being a part of our podcast today. I'd love to hear your thoughts about what Louise had to say, and I hope that you will communicate with her. And that's a good point. Louise, how can people reach out to you if they'd like to talk with you and maybe learn more from you, and what you have to say, I'm   Louise Baxter ** 1:02:27 on LinkedIn. So if, if those listening are on LinkedIn, you can find me. Louise Baxter, Starlight, Children's Foundation, Australia and or you can go to starlight.org.au, we if you're looking for us, our website, and you'll find me through that as well. Cool.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:47 Well, I hope people will reach out. And if you'd like to reach out to me, and I hope you will, you may email me at Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, and you can also, of course, go to our podcast page, w, w, w, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and Michael hingson is spelled M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n.com/podcast, you can listen to all of our podcasts there. You can reach out to me. There lots of things you can do on the web. It's an amazing thing to be able to do things on the web. I also would really appreciate it if when you are thinking about us, if you'll give us a five star rating wherever you're listening to us or watching us, we really appreciate your ratings and your comments. So please do that. If you know of anyone who you think might be a good guest, and Louise, you as well. If you can think of anybody else who we ought to have on unstoppable mindset, would definitely appreciate you introducing us. We're always looking to have more people to come on and tell their stories and talk about what they do. That's the best way to learn, is learning by listening to other people and them telling their stories. So hopefully you'll all do that and again, Louise, I want to thank you for being here.

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Janno Lieber, the chairman and CEO of New York's MTA, one of the world's oldest, largest, and most complex public transit systems. “New York is my passion,” Lieber says, and the throughline of his career.   Lieber, a lifelong New Yorker, business leader and transit veteran  —  he was a transportation advisor to Mayor Koch, an Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Clinton Administration, and led the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site after September 11 attacks — talks about the complexity of overseeing a public transportation system that spans a 12-county, 25-million person region: 6,400 subway cars, 472 stations, 5,700 buses, and two major commuter rails. Lieber notes that the success of the region — it is the economic powerhouse of the local state and much of the national economy — rests on density and mobility. “The ability to get around New York only works if you have great mass transit,” he says; the MTA moves more than six million people per day. For users, trains, buses and subways are 15 percent the cost of owning an automobile. “The magic of transit,” Lieber explains, “is it is one of the very few things that makes living in New York City and the region affordable.”   We discuss congestion pricing, the decades in making the policy to charge automobiles $9 a day to enter the most congested part of the city to reduce traffic, improve emissions, air quality, health and safety, and help finance maintenance and upgrades to the 100 year old transit system. The program launched January 5 and early data is very promising: a 10 to 20 percent reduction in traffic; significantly reduced travel times for drivers from New Jersey, Long Island, Queens and the Bronx, and along some of the city's most crowded thoroughfares (i.e., Canal Street, 34th Street, 42nd Street and 57th); increased transit ridership; and revenue generated for critical improvements: elevators and ramps to make all subway stations accessible and ADA compliant, new train cars and electric buses, new tracks, signals and power systems, mitigation efforts in areas that may see spillover traffic. Lieber notes that the economic benefits are already observable in the zone itself: increased pedestrian traffic, an uptick in retail, restaurant and Broadway sales, and promising indices in commercial leasing —  “a vote of confidence” in the program. For all these reasons the business community has long supported the policy. The MTA is equally pleased to see high rates of customer satisfaction coming from drivers with reduced commute times, which Lieber believes will also be important to counter the recent political opposition from Washington. Lieber reminds us that congestion pricing has been successfully tested in the courts, and there is nothing in the federal law or program design that would allow for its rollback.   We also speak about how central public safety, real and perceived, is to the economic and civic health of the city. “Public transit is where six million New Yorkers every day form their opinion about whether government works, and to some extent whether this community, this experiment in diversity and tolerance and economic dynamism, is working,” Lieber says. While the data show that overall crime in the city is down, crime in the subway is down, and subway crime accounts for less than two percent of overall crime, high profile and frightening crimes, and the city's larger mental health, substance use and homeless crises that are acutely manifest in the subway system, play an outsized play role in the public's sense of security, order and well-being. “Not only to the subways have to be safe, they have to feel safe,” Lieber insists, and we discuss numerous efforts the MTA is taking in coordination with other city agencies to address these issues.   We conclude with the resilience of New Yorkers in the face of adversity — the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, the September 11 attacks, the dotcom burst, and the financial crisis, Hurricane Sandy, the pandemic — and how the city “bounces back even better” to become a better version of itself. "Never bet against New York,” is Lieber's motto.   Thanks for Listening! Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at socialenterprise@gsb.columbia.edu.  Mentioned in this Episode Congestion Pricing Reduced Traffic. Now its Hitting Revenue Goals, (The New York Times, 2025)  

When it comes to new development buildings in New York, there are major pros and cons that buyers need to understand before jumping in. In this episode, I'll break down everything you need to know about purchasing in these luxury properties, from the unique negotiation strategies that can save you hundreds of thousands to the timing issues that could leave you waiting months longer than expected.About the Host:Christina Kremidas is a lifelong New Yorker who brings her extensive background in advertising to her successful real estate career in Manhattan. Her personal experience as a property investor and landlord in New York City gives her unique insight into her client's needs, while her negotiation expertise and market knowledge have quickly established her as a top-performing agent, ranking in the top 5% at her first firm in 2018. Beyond her professional achievements, Christina is deeply involved in her community as a founding Steward at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center, where she serves on the Parish Council and leads social media, marketing, and young adult initiatives. Get in touch with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.kremidasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.kremidasCheck out my website: https://christinakremidas.com/Email me: Christina.Kremidas@elliman.comWhat Is Your Property Worth?: https://christinakremidas.com/home-valuationThe Virtual Agent Experience: https://christinakremidas.com/virtual-agentTimestamps0:00 Episode Introduction1:45 Helping viewers make informed decisions about new developments2:16 PROS: Different negotiation approach in new developments5:37 Benefits for financing buyers8:32 PRO: Brand new apartments with high-quality materials and no previous owners10:30 PRO: Warranty benefits and prestige associated with new luxury developments14:18 PRO: No board approval process and simplified purchase compared to co-ops15:20 CONS: No guaranteed timing for completion and lack of buyer recourse for delays22:38 CON: One-sided contracts favoring developers with limited recourse for buyers27:56 CON: Higher closing costs in new developments and why broker representation is essential32:16 CON: Potential construction malfunctions after move-in with real examples38:44 CON: Walkthrough process concerns and declining priority after closing42:40 The critical importance of experienced broker representation in new development purchases

In 1985 wordt het nieuwe World Trade Center in Amsterdam-Zuid geopend. In de maanden voor die opening is het gebied een bouwplaats, waar ’s nachts jonge studentes langs fietsen op weg naar huis. Daar worden ze opgewacht door een man met een blinddoek en een mes, waarna ze worden verkracht. Een 21-jarige man wordt veroordeeld tot 2,5 jaar gevangenisstraf, maar hij blijft vasthouden aan zijn onschuld. Met advocaat Cees Korvinus bespreken we hoe voor het eerst DNA-onderzoek werd gebruikt in een Nederlandse strafzaak en hoe zijn cliënt door dit DNA-bewijs uiteindelijk alsnog wordt vrijgepleit. Wat betekende deze zaak voor het Nederlandse strafrecht?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Serra is the author of several books, including The Dead Florentines, La Petite Parisienne, and Zuccotti Park. In 2018, he published Finding John, a memoir of his experience as a firefighter responding to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He has been featured on FOX-5 NY Good Day Wake Up, NY1 News Around the Boroughs, and Z100 Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He is a retired New York City fire captain and since retiring from the Fire Department, him and his wife spend 2-3 months per year living in Italy. Him and his wife have long considered traveling as a gateway to understanding and seeing the world in a different light. After many years of living with the effects of 9/11, he wrote and published a memoir about his experiences. The writing process was therapeutic and helped him move forward. The newest book is a historical novel about a terrible factory fire in 1911 where 146 (mostly young immigrant women) were killed. Many of the survivors went on to fight for changes to fire safety laws that still exist today. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B087KYTT7Chttps://www.andrewserra.com/

While participating at the National Federation of the Blind National convention this year with my colleague and friend, Sheldon Lewis who also is a former guest here on Unstoppable Mindset, we had the opportunity to meet Amy SP Wilson. Amy is the founder and leader of the Safety Positive Foundation. Amy began losing her eyesight at the age of ten years old due to a condition known as Stargardt's. this disease can best be described as macular Degeneration in juveniles. If you want to know more about Stargardt's just listen into my conversation with Amy. Amy has always been quite interested in personal safety. She also has been quite a physical person starting with wrestling with her cousins to later becoming the first female wrestler at the Missouri School for the Blind to later becoming part of the inaugural women's Judo team of the United States Association of Blind Athletes. Amy went on to college where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. After a time and some life challenges Amy will tell us about she decided to go back to college to obtain a second Bachelor's degree in Social Work. She decided to get this second degree because she wanted to help persons with disabilities in the United States. In 2023 Amy founded Safety Positive Foundation to teach blind persons about self defense. Her approach is by no means all about being physical. She will talk with us about self awareness and self advocacy, two aspects she feels must be part of the psyche of everyone who wishes to take charge of their own life. About the Guest: ael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Well, hi everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And the reason it's worded that way people still ask me why I say that. The reason it's worded that way is that when we talk to diversity people, they'll talk about race, gender, sexual orientation and so on, and they never talk about disabilities. So unfortunately, the ship has mostly sailed when it comes to including disabilities in diversity, no matter what they say. So we won't let them do that with inclusion, which means it's inclusion diversity and the unexpected. And today we get to deal with a lot of all of that. The unexpected is anything that doesn't have anything to do with inclusion or diversity. But today, we do get to talk about inclusion a lot in some esoteric and maybe not so esoteric ways. Our guest today is Amy SP Wilson, and I just discovered, as Amy showed me, if you were to ask your smart speaker, like my Amazon Echo, who is Amy SP Wilson, it will tell you that she is the CEO of the positive safety positive foundation. We're going to talk more about that, so we'll get there anyway. Amy, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Wonderful.   Amy SP Wilson ** 02:45 Thank you for having me. It's an honor and a privilege, and   Michael Hingson ** 02:49 it's nice to know that the echo knows your name.   Amy SP Wilson ** 02:53 Yeah, I'm still kind of flabbergasted that that's a thing, but definitely gives you some street cred, I guess.   Michael Hingson ** 03:02 Yeah, it probably means that there, there aren't, well, there certainly aren't very many. Amy SP Wilson, so that works, yes, well, why don't we start the way I kind of really love to. Why don't you tell us, sort of about the early Amy growing up and some of that sort of stuff.   Amy SP Wilson ** 03:21 So in my younger years, I was born and raised in the state of Missouri, and have what I consider a biker family. We did a lot of traveling on motorcycles. I was riding my own dirt bike at the age of four, and so really tomboy at at heart, but loved, you know, wrestling and fighting with the cousins. And at the age of 10 is when I was diagnosed with star guards, and that put me on a different path, because at the age of 10, my dream was to be a motorcycle mechanic and join the Navy. And at the time, I did not have any expectations that a blind person could do either. So it really put me on a different trajectory of what I thought my life was going to going to be like, and I, of course, went on with school and and that sort of business, but I loved wrestling so much that I became the Missouri School for the blinds First Lady wrestler. And that led me into being part of the United States Association of Blind Athletes, where I was on the first women's judo team that they had, and so just got real passionate about personal safety and different ways. But due to my eye condition, I couldn't take hits to the head, and so there went my martial arts career this. I'll just say, or so I thought, and led me into going to college and get my my first bachelor's degree in psychology and and so on. But I I have people tell me that apparently I have been pioneering new things my whole life. And when I have to talk about myself and talk about I was the first to do this and first to do that, yeah, it's a very sobering reminder of those steps that I've make it in my life. Right?   Michael Hingson ** 05:35 Reading your bio, it says that because of star guard, you weren't at some at one point, able to continue kind of dealing with martial arts. What did star guard specifically have to do with that?   Amy SP Wilson ** 05:47 So it it affects my retina, and I noticed the more hits that I was taking to the head and, you know, being thrown I was having more cloudy spots in my vision, and when I stopped doing those things, it, it, you know, significantly reduced the amount of things I wasn't able to to see. And so that's, that's how that played into that well,   Michael Hingson ** 06:19 tell me a little bit about what star guards is. I'm not sure that everyone listening or watching will be familiar with   Amy SP Wilson ** 06:26 it, correct? Yes. So star guards is a juvenile form of macular degeneration. So you hear of, you know, your grandparents, or you know, maybe you're a person of experience, as I like to say, in your in your later years. And you know, hear about people getting macular degeneration. I essentially just got macular degeneration at the the age of 10. So little bit of a flip. And of course, again, being a first, I was the first person in my family to have any kind of blindness, low vision, and so it was. It really shook everything   Michael Hingson ** 07:06 is star guards, a genetic kind of situation.   Amy SP Wilson ** 07:12 So I learned that the only way that a person can get star guards is essentially by your parents getting together. It's not a medication defect, which is what they originally told my mother. So she carried a lot of guilt with that. And when I went to get seek a different doctor, he had me do some I guess genetic counseling is what they called it, because I had concerns of my son having it. And they were like, no, no, it doesn't work. And they explained it. I was like, well, that had been helpful in my younger   Michael Hingson ** 07:50 just sort of the right combination of things getting together that brings it on. Exactly. Yeah. Now, where do you live today? I live in the great Show Me State. Ah, so you're still in Missouri? Yes, I've   Amy SP Wilson ** 08:05 moved to a couple other states. I spent a year in Alaska, where my son was born. I lived in Indiana for a little bit. I pass on that, and fortunately, I was able to come back to to Missouri.   Michael Hingson ** 08:20 So we're in Missouri. Are you, uh, close   Amy SP Wilson ** 08:23 to Kansas City area? Okay, about about in that area, but I like to, I like it because I can take the train back and forth between Kansas City and St Louis. So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 08:34 well, trains are very useful things to have around. I when I lived on the East Coast, would use the train a lot. And of course, going from New Jersey into New York, we had New Jersey Transit and other things that we had a lot of train stuff. But out here, where I live now, there is a train that stops here once, at 430 in the morning. If I want to go to San Francisco, I'm not going to do that on the train, I don't think, because you actually have to go to Los Angeles and then get another train to go to San Francisco, because the train that comes from Los Angeles stops here, and then, I guess, goes east. So, oh, well, one of these days, maybe there'll be more trains and more mass transit, and that'll be a good thing. Exactly.   Amy SP Wilson ** 09:19 I know in Europe, trains are used very heavily, and people that come over here are constantly surprised that we don't have more sufficient trains. And so hopefully, like you said, with time we'll we'll get some more transportation going. There's   Michael Hingson ** 09:36 a big argument and a brouhaha going on out here right now because Los Angeles wants to create a gondola system to go from downtown LA the train station to Dodger Stadium and stop along the way. And there are people who are saying, no, no. Because you're not going to get that many people on it, it's just not going to be worth the cost. So it'll be interesting to see how that all shakes out. I do agree that if you're going to do that, you have to have a lot of people using it, and you have to be able to transport a lot of people. So it will be interesting to see how that works out.   Amy SP Wilson ** 10:22 I can very much agree with that.   Michael Hingson ** 10:25 Oh, life goes on, right? That it does. So you went to, yeah, go ahead. I   Amy SP Wilson ** 10:32 said. We've heard the same debate here in Missouri about different, you know, options for trains. So, yeah, it's always an ongoing conversation.   Michael Hingson ** 10:39 When we first moved to New Jersey, we learned that with the Americans with Disabilities Act, they were finally catching up, if you will, to doing something. And the something where we lived in Westfield was to make the train station accessible and access to the train to be accessible. And what that meant was that they actually had to build a platform and ramps up to the platform so that a person in a chair, for example, like my wife, could transfer straight across and roll onto the train. Because before the platform was raised, the trains have these big, huge, high steps built into them. Each step is like 18 inches tall and you've got three steps to go into the train. Well, you're not going to really do that in a wheelchair. And there was major opposition from people in Westfield to putting in the ramps, putting in the platforms, because they said, well, but this is going to slow us down if we have to go up the ramps and can't just run to the train and jump on the train. Why don't you just have somebody at every station who will lift people in wheelchairs onto trains? Yeah, that's gonna really work, right?   Amy SP Wilson ** 11:50 Yeah, that's not, not feasible,   Michael Hingson ** 11:54 no. And it didn't, and the argument didn't hold, fortunately, and the the platforms were built and, and, and the reality is it didn't jeopardize anybody, other than maybe make them arrive 30 seconds earlier, rather than being so lazy. But, ah, the arguments that people have. But it'll be interesting to see how the train thing works out, because they do need to have more mass transit out   Amy SP Wilson ** 12:18 here. Absolutely, 100%   Michael Hingson ** 12:21 so you went off to college, and what did you do in college,   Amy SP Wilson ** 12:27 college stuff, but because I was unfamiliar with how to really maximize your college experience. I didn't really, you know, have a plan. Once I got done with college, all I knew was I needed to go to college. Go to college, yeah, and, you know, because that's, that's what's going to make your life better. Okay, I can, I can follow that plan. But what's the plan after, like, nobody, nobody had that. They just knew, you know, go to college. Oh, okay. And so I tried to get some, some different jobs, unsuccessfully. And then I ended up getting married and moving to Alaska, and so did some some different jobs up there. And through my experience of being married during that time, I also shared with people that I'm a domestic violence survivor, and it's one of the things that I really wish the disabled community was having more conversations about this, because there I know that I'm I'm not alone, and when I share it, I always have people come forward and Me too, me too. And I'm like, Yes, like, we, can we, you know, support one another. And fortunately, I was only in that marriage for for three years and and got out of it. Spent a couple more years in Indiana, but then when I moved back to Missouri, I learned about some blindness consumer organizations and and started getting involved with those. I also, at the same time, heard, heard about a self defense program for the blind. And I'm like, wait a minute, there's something you know that that works for us. So I jumped on it, became an instructor, became very involved in the that particular organization. And due to some some different circumstances, realized that that was not a healthy environment, and spent probably a year not doing that. But then had some people contact me to get another self defense program going, and I'm like, All right, let's do it. So yeah, that's a. Um, but I've, I've taken in that time of me teaching self defense, I also worked with my local dojo and would help with my son's classes. So I've definitely got the personal safety self defense experience down at this point, I feel like   Michael Hingson ** 15:24 so. So in other words, maybe if there were violent situation today, you could turn the tables and and be the one to beat up the other guy.   Amy SP Wilson ** 15:33 So that's you know, because I will share that, that that is you. That is a common thought.   Michael Hingson ** 15:43 I understand, yes,   Amy SP Wilson ** 15:46 however, in june 2019 I experienced sexual assault by somebody. And it's really what got me to tell people that personal safety you need to be proactive about it, especially in the disabled space. It is so very vital in that realm, yeah, but   Michael Hingson ** 16:11 yeah, there's only so much you can do. And you're right. It's, it's a matter of being, as you say, personally safe. And you know, it's, it is so important, and I think so many people, especially I think a lot of blind people I know about aren't as aware of their surroundings as they need to be, even just in in walking, even if it's not a a safety issue, that is where you're endangered from another person, but just being aware of your surroundings and being able to travel. I remember living in Boston and at the time, and I don't know if it's still the same or not today, but Boston or Massachusetts, had the highest accident rate per capita in the country, and this was back in the late 1970s into the early 1980s and I knew it, and it, it was just one of those factoids, if you will, that helped me stay really aware. So whenever I cross the street, I really made sure that the traffic was going the way I wanted to go, and I listened extremely carefully to what the traffic was doing around me, because any moment a car could come whizzing around a corner, nobody else would have seen it, and if I weren't listening for it, I might not have been able to judge appropriately whether it was safe to go or how fast I had to go to get across the street. So the reality is that we really do need to be situationally aware. And I think it's not just true for people who happen to be blind, but but it is especially true that we need to work on that and be aware of our surroundings   Amy SP Wilson ** 18:01 100% 100% that that is like, one of the first things we started offering right out the gate when it came to safety positive, is having discussions about personal safety topics, because it makes you more situationally aware. I know that. You know now that I have the mindset of being proactive about my personal safety, I am so keyed up on situational awareness that I sometimes freak out people, because I'm like, pay attention. Over there, pay attention. They're like, how? And I'm like, well, the more you learn about safety education, anything in the personal safety realm, it just helps you to become more situationally where, so you respond faster. You don't have to sit there and go, Well, what was that that I learned? No, no, that's not what we we want you to have. We want you to be, you know, kind of studying up on it so much that it becomes second nature for you?   Michael Hingson ** 19:00 Yeah, all too often we we learn something, and then we just have we, we sort of memorize the lesson. And we don't memorize what it is we really need to do. It isn't what, what did I learn? You need to get to the point where it's second nature, where it's just part of you, whether it's situational awareness or or a lot of things, even good musicians,   19:24 yes, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 19:26 do what they do because they've it's become second nature, yes.   Amy SP Wilson ** 19:30 And we, we talk about that, you know, it's, it's a journey you're not going to jump from, you know, being a beginner, you know, car guitar player, kind of like your manual musician, to being able to play on a, you know, stage with 5000 people overnight, it does not, you know, it is a process. And so, you know, giving, tell, you know, reminding people to give themselves grace. And it is a work in progress. So you know, you there's going to be deja mess. Up, but that's okay, you know, be do better tomorrow, on, on all those different situations. The   Michael Hingson ** 20:07 more you practice it, though, and the more you work on looking at lessons and looking at the things that you do and practice making them second nature, the easier it becomes. But it is a muscle the mind that you have to develop.   Amy SP Wilson ** 20:25 Yes, we, we basically tell people your, you know, your most important tool is your mind. So many people want that quick fix of having the pepper spray or, you know, this side of the other, and it's like, no, no, your mind is your most important, you know, tool in your arsenal, so take, take care of it. It's your, it's your biggest investment in life, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 20:48 and it's and it's the most important one, and it will do so much more for you. But the more you truly use it, the easier it becomes to use. But you've got to make that effort to make that happen, yes, so you got through college, you got, I think, what a degree in psychology, as I recall. And you said you went and worked on various jobs, and I gather nothing really struck a nerve.   Amy SP Wilson ** 21:15 No, you know, I, I actually went back to school and got a second bachelor's degree in social work because I knew I wanted to work with the disabled community, and so I of course, was advocating in my own classes for disability rights and driving my fellow students crazy. But I'm like, we're in social work, and we're not learning about disabilities. This is madness. You're going to be, you know, working with at least, you know, half the people have some sort of disability in some fashion, and we're not even having a conversation about it. So, but I guess I actually, before I got real involved with personal safety here, more recently, in the last couple years, I actually was a Mary Kay consultant for a while, and had had some fun with that. And it's a great, great company. They're they're real supportive. They call it kind of the pink bubble. But I learned a lot about marketing and sales through that. So I constantly am telling my team, I'm like, Yeah, that's a Mary Kay thing. That's America. But they've been around for so many years. There's obviously, like, I said, a method to their madness.   Michael Hingson ** 22:31 They kind of know what they're doing, yeah,   Amy SP Wilson ** 22:34 yeah, yeah. They've, they've got systems down. So yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 22:37 So when did you get your social work, bachelor's degree. When did you graduate with that 2016 Okay, so that was eight years ago, and then you you did other things and so on. But eventually, what, what caused you finally to form safety positive foundation.   Amy SP Wilson ** 22:58 I I essentially got madder than a hatter because we weren't offering choices. It was just this one self defense program, this one self defense program. And I'm like, Well, what about teaching people to advocate for themselves, or having discussions or this or that? Like and I kept getting shot down time and time again from from the leadership in those organizations, and I and I actually had a couple people who pulled me aside and really strongly encouraged me to start my own non for profit. And I was like, Excuse me. Like me be the leader. Uh, I don't, I don't. I don't know how I feel about this, um, but luckily they, you know, they convinced me. Had other people convinced me. And I just, it really is a big passion of mine to just make sure that the blind community has as many personal safety choices as everybody else does, because historically, we have not. So   Michael Hingson ** 24:05 you're saying some of the major consumer organizations kind of discouraged it at first. I   Amy SP Wilson ** 24:14 they were from elsewhere. Was from elsewhere. I wouldn't say some of them, you know, I'm not going to throw no shade on the major groups,   24:21 no, no, no.   Amy SP Wilson ** 24:22 But it was the companies that were teaching self defense got really only focused on just, you know, hands on self defense. And I'm like, and it was either, you know, release or break body parts. And I'm like, not everybody's comfortable breaking body parts like we need some choices. We need to teach people to advocate for themselves, to speak up. That is the like. The bigger thing that I have found is people not understanding the power of of their words and their language to, you know, get themselves out of situation. And it's usually a freeze response, and I know because I was personally guilty of that for many years. And so yeah, I'm I'm thrilled that I don't struggle with that nowhere near as much as I used to, but I can recognize that it is a huge need within our community.   Michael Hingson ** 25:20 So when did you actually form the foundation?   Amy SP Wilson ** 25:25 March 3, 2023 was when we officially launched safety positive foundation.   Michael Hingson ** 25:31 So it's fairly new. Yes, well, a year and about a year and a half old.   Amy SP Wilson ** 25:39 Yep, yep, we're still baby.   Michael Hingson ** 25:43 That's okay. Do you find that that men and women are interested in personal safety and so on, or is it just women or just men? Or what we   Amy SP Wilson ** 25:54 have both? I'd say at our events, it's half and half, I get more men volunteering to to work behind the scenes on stuff, because personal safety is primarily a male dominated profession, which makes me kind of a odd woman out. But you know, we are not for profits. I'll take the help wherever I can get.   Michael Hingson ** 26:17 Sure, well, even if you were for profit, it would make sense to do that. But yeah, I hear you, yes, yeah. So exactly, what does the safety positive foundation do?   Amy SP Wilson ** 26:32 So we offer, again, a variety of choices for personal safety. We have what we call our safety positive guide that gives our blind community, 24/7, access to training and resources. And so that's a resource all by itself, because we put in there motivational information resources, asking discussion questions. But then we also have chapters in our guide to where people can take our courses, where they can go from ProAct or from reactive to proactive on their personal safety. We also have in that guide links to what we call our weekly tea times, and that's probably one of our most popular services, and that's where we're having the space for discussions on personal safety. Each month we do a different topic, and we have also added verbal craft, which is a self advocacy and assertiveness communication training. And we've actually had that training from the very beginning, because, again, I knew, in my experience, that people really needed to learn that that advocating piece, like we're told to advocate, but never given a formula. And we finally have a formula with with verbal craft. So it makes me very excited. And then in just this year, when we started getting into our second year, we shifted away from focusing on the psychological safety to that physical safety aspect, and I became the first blind woman pepper spray instructor with saber so that was exciting. And then we created our own hands on self defense program that focuses on the fundamentals of self defense. We created this course because we knew people needed some pieces. So if they wanted to go take a, you know, martial arts class on a consistent basis, or if they wanted to go take that self defense class, they would have some language to talk with the instructors. And this is how you can assist me. And so, yeah, those, those are pretty much what we offer, but, and we're partnering with with other companies organizations to bring in more resources and training for our community. So like I said, it's only been a year and a half, but yeah, we're bringing it when it comes to the choices. Tell   Michael Hingson ** 29:13 me more about verbal craft, what, what that is all about, or how does that work? So   Amy SP Wilson ** 29:19 at the core, verbal craft was developed as a crisis de escalation communication training, and of course, for the purposes of the blind community, we realized that it also helps with teaching you self advocacy and assertiveness in your communication. So you know, say, somebody comes up and, you know, grabs your arm trying to assist you. Verbal craft has a, you know, we we work with you to develop to personalize your own formula. We also have a verbal craft club where people can come in and practice. This maybe a scenario and and get better at at their skills. I know for me when I first, because I did not even know a verbal craft again, I went to hearing about all the you know, need to advocate for yourself, and I'm like, How do I do that. But it was in November of 2022, that I I finally was able to take verbal craft. And since then, I have, I've discovered that I am even you know better at it. I don't, I don't freeze or fawn as much. And when people are trying to help me, or when people are trying to cross my my boundaries in those different ways.   Michael Hingson ** 30:48 I remember many times being in New York City or in other large cities, but New York especially, wanting to cross the street and go a particular way, waiting for the traffic flow to be going the way I wanted, and making sure that it's going the way I wanted, somebody will come up and grab me. Oh, let me. Let me help you. And of course, the problem is they don't even know for sure which way I want to go correct, which really makes life fun. And so they'll grab me and I go, No, hold on a minute. First of all, I'm really good. Do you know why I'm just standing here? No, you're, you're, obviously, you need help. No, let me explain Ricky, you know, but it is so unfortunate that people make these assumptions. And it happens all too often. It goes back to the basic view of of blindness that that people have, which is that we really don't know what we're doing and we can't really do it ourselves, that you need to have eyesight to do it, which is why earlier this year, at the National Federation of the Blind convention, I crafted the resolution that was adopted that says we need to stop using the term visually impaired and go to blind and low vision. And I mean, there are other terms, but the real issue is to get rid of the concept of impaired, which is what the professionals brought to the field many years ago, which was such a disservice.   Amy SP Wilson ** 32:18 Yeah, I can, I can agree, the word impaired is not the greatest term we want to be be using in that realm. And yeah, in in all my teaching of of self defense, the people coming up and grabbing is the number one frustration that that we deal with as a as a blind community, and it's the reason that people want to learn self defense, because they want to be able to figure out, how do I get myself out of this situation? And that's where you know verbal craft is that that first step of, if you can talk them down, that's that's the ideal situation. And then, of course, we're going to be bringing more choices of they don't want to do that. That's okay. We got some other skills. Yeah, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 33:05 Well, and it's important to really learn to use all the skills that we have available, which is, of course, something that gets back to the whole issue of using your mind. And that's just something that all too often, well, if I were really abusive, I'd say that's something that every politician should learn to do, is use their mind, but they haven't learned that yet. So that's another story. But, oh, that was That was mean, but, but the reality is that that we need to learn to listen better than we do.   Amy SP Wilson ** 33:40 Well, I mean, the common thing is you have two ears and one mouth, because you're supposed to do twice as much listening, and that also plays a lot into the situational awareness is, you know, sometimes you have to just stop talking so you can pay attention to what, what is going on on around you, right? I know, like with my friends and my team. They know if I'm stopped talking, they need to start paying attention themselves, because I don't usually stop mid sentence. I'm like, wait a minute, what? You know, I start kind of perking my ears and, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we've got, we've created different code words and stuff like that to help, you know, everybody be on the same page, to support people in that, that journey too   Michael Hingson ** 34:21 cool. Well, it's important. So what are the basic core values, the the core things that go into safety, positive foundation and that kind of guide what you do.   Amy SP Wilson ** 34:33 So we have five core values. One is safety, of course, um, innovation, because we are, I've been told numerous times we are pioneering new paths with what we're we're bringing in, so that's and we're always looking for other other things that the community needs to bring in as well. We also have potential as one of them, because. Do believe in the potential of of people in general, and then we also have agency because we want we strongly believe in people having choices when it comes to their personal safety and authenticity. Is our last one, and this one, it it took a little bit to get everybody on board, because I am very authentic myself. And so they were like, we're not talking about you. And I'm like, I know that like but you know, people feel safer when they can be them, their authentic selves, and that's what we want to support, is you know you getting comfortable with you and knowing that you have those you know, choices, potential and and those things. So we, we strongly believe in our core values   Michael Hingson ** 35:55 and and having the ability, or learning to have the ability to analyze who you are, what you do, what you're doing, and when necessary, make changes or to reaffirm that what you do is a good thing, whatever it is.   Amy SP Wilson ** 36:11 Yes, yeah. So, you know, sometimes people need that permission to, you know, change their mind or be on the path that they're they're being on on our on our tea times. I am very well known for telling people, does anybody have questions, comments, concerns or emotional outburst? And because I want to give people that space to you know they need to just yell it out. Yell it out. We're here to support you. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 36:40 sometimes that's important and necessary to do absolutely. Why is the foundation called safety positive Foundation?   Amy SP Wilson ** 36:50 We created that name. And actually I created that name because I got tired of the fear mongering that was going on with the self defense organizations and programs that already existed in the blind community. In fact, I had been told one time that I needed to be more negative and in pitching, you know, and trying to scare people. And I'm like, I refuse. I will not do that. Our community is already scared enough. And No way am I, you know, going to hammer home all the the statistics and stuff like that, people, people already have fear. And so in that I played around with words, of course, I have SP in the middle of my my name. And so I was like, Well, you know, safety positive, like, we're all about safety. We want to be positive. And then one of my board members was like, well, we need to add, you know, foundation, because, you know, we're building a foundation here. And I'm like, there it is, safety, positive Foundation was born just based off of the collection of all that. There   Michael Hingson ** 38:14 you go. And and it works. How is it different from mother, self defense and similar kinds of organizations. Because I'm I'm sure that you feel that it is definitely different. Yes,   Amy SP Wilson ** 38:29 yes, we have created it different from the beginning. Because when we launched, we focused on psychological safety, it people would ask me, well, where's the hands on? I'm like, Nope, we're not, we're not doing it yet, because psychological safety needs to be that first step on your on your journey, especially if you have a lot of fear when it when it comes to personal safety. So that was the the mindset that we intentionally chose. The other thing that I would say that probably differentiates us is, of course, the choices and that as of right now, we don't have it to where you can sign up, pay a bunch of money and become an instructor in our program we're not interested in making making money off of that. We are interested in bringing people in as instructors at some point, and we've talked about doing that next year, but we want to be very mindful of how that approach works, because people have gotten trained in other programs, and then they go off and do their own thing, and we're like no, because we want to make sure that the curriculum you were teaching is safety, positive focus. We don't want people running off and trying to fear monger like they had been taught. Before. So that's that's our method to our madness.   Michael Hingson ** 40:05 Well, I may not know that the whole idea of fear is a subject that is near and dear to me, because recently, I published a new book called Live like a guide dog, true stories from a blind man and his dogs about being brave while becoming adversity and moving forward in faith. And the whole idea behind the book is to get people to understand that they can learn to control fear and that you don't need to have fear forced on you. And the reality is that all the negative aspects of fear that you've been talking about is what promotes fear. And I picked on politicians before, but that's what they do. They promote fear to a very large degree themselves, and promoting all this fear just makes people negative. They make it makes people be mistrustful. And the fact of the matter is that if we really learn to understand fear, which also is involved in developing the mind, as we've been talking about. But if we really focus on understanding fear, what we learn is that we can control fear, and that fear can be a very powerful tool to help us. So it isn't about not being afraid, it's about using that fear to focus and not let it, as I would say, blind or overwhelm you.   Amy SP Wilson ** 41:24 Yes, again, 100% agreeing with you on that, the more that you can. I'd say they're, they're, say, lean into the fear and make it your friend that you know that that helps so much. It's also part of that muscle memory of going, Okay, I don't need to be fearful in this situation. And we actually talk about that in our verbal craft training, how the brain, your brain state works when you know something happens to you, and how you can move through that   Michael Hingson ** 42:04 well, and that's exactly right. The issue is moving through it. I mean, just something happens. I mean, I was in the World Trade Center on September 11, and something happened. Right? So there's a lot to be afraid of, but if you prepare and learn to control your own mind, then that fear becomes a very powerful tool to help you focus and learning to listen to that inner voice is one of the most important things that we can ever do in our lives.   Amy SP Wilson ** 42:38 Yes, I I've actually used my personal safety training to help me to heal from some of my past traumas. And, you know, even to the point where practicing certain techniques that had been, you know, done on me to how do I get out of this? And that really, you know, at the, you know, the first few times, oh, yeah, anxiety was real high. And sure, the more you lean into it, the more you work through it, it can be helpful. The unfortunate part is, for some situations, like what you went through in 911 Ain't nobody preparing you for that   Michael Hingson ** 43:17 well, but not directly, but what you learn? But what what you learn? So like with me in September 11, I learned all about emergency evacuations. I learned all about where things were in the World Trade Center. And I learned just and I mentioned being in Boston and dealing with unexpected street crossings with cars coming, and all that you learn how to deal with surprise, yeah, and so it wasn't like there was anything magically brand new at the World Trade Center. So all of the skills, all of the life preparation for for me over the previous 51 years. Ooh, that gives away my age, but all that life preparation made it possible to learn to and actually control fear, so that I was able to use it in a constructive way, which is what the whole point is.   Amy SP Wilson ** 44:17 Yes, and that's why we, I think we've mentioned, like, the more you can learn, the more those things won't surprise you, and you're going to be ready to handle when life's throwing you curve balls,   Michael Hingson ** 44:30 right? And life tends to have a habit of doing that.   Amy SP Wilson ** 44:34 Yeah, universe has since humor that's pretty it does have a sense   Michael Hingson ** 44:39 of humor, but when it's throwing the curve balls, you can learn to hit those curve balls. So it's okay, yes, it's not a it's not a bad thing. How is the community reacting to safety, positive foundation and what you're doing and so on?   Amy SP Wilson ** 44:56 Overwhelming happiness in. Anytime I tell people we are here to offer choices, I've heard statements like, Finally, thank goodness. And I know from our trainings that that we offer it's been completely game changing for for people who went through our trainings, they they feel way more safe. We actually had one of our community people that flat out told me, if it was not for safety positive foundation, I would not have went to the National Federation of the Blind convention, because they just didn't feel like they were prepared. And I think it was a combination of learning things, and then, of course, us being there to help support them if something happened. But yeah, that was, I was floored when I heard that statement. I was like, do what that was. That was us. So we're bringing people out of their houses.   Michael Hingson ** 45:55 Well, things happen at conventions, and unfortunately, I don't know of any convention where things of one sort or another don't happen to one degree or another. So it is a matter of being prepared, but it's also a matter of monitoring yourself and knowing what you're going to allow yourself to get into and not get into to a degree as well. Yes,   Amy SP Wilson ** 46:17 absolutely. And like before we went, we had a safety briefing for our community to give them the rundown, and it was so overwhelming. I'm like, okay, apparently we're going to keep doing this because they they just they felt more prepared and safe for for those different things, and knew if something did happen, what policies procedures to follow, or who to who to be able to contact? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 46:44 and the National Federation has become a little bit more aware, and yes, they have, has helped in that process, which is, which is also a good thing.   Amy SP Wilson ** 46:56 Yes, I would very much agree with that as well. But,   Michael Hingson ** 47:00 but people do need to really take responsibility for themselves and their own actions, and so doing what you do clearly helps, I would think so. So, what role do partnerships play in what you do, and how is that affecting everything?   Amy SP Wilson ** 47:20 So when we with our partners, we bring in different people for different reasons, but essentially, it's to make sure our community has more resources for their personal safety. For example, we have partnered with Ali slaughter, who teaches yoga that you know, yoga can be very beneficial in so many ways. We also have partnered with NaVi lens to start, start working with them, because they are a company that offers these special cute like their specialized QR codes, but it can help you to navigate different areas. But not only that, you can create your own it's not like you got to wait for the company to do it. So you can label things around your house, where it'll be able to you know which remote or which seasoning. And the part I really like is it does it in multiple different languages, so it's not just a one and done deal. And then we've also partnered. Our most recent partner is Penny forward, and they teach financial literacy for the blind. And I'm like, financial safety, it is a thing like we seems like a very natural partnership here. So, yeah, yeah, we're, again, we partner with with people that are interested and helping the blind community become more safe.   Michael Hingson ** 48:47 Do you just work with the blind community, or do sighted or any persons without traditional disabilities ever become involved and become students and so on?   Amy SP Wilson ** 48:58 So we actually, we've had some sighted people attend our trainings and and events, and we are working behind the scenes to develop some different trainings for sighted individuals so they can communicate and interact with the blind community in a safe fashion, or just the disabled community, but there's, there's so much information, you know, out there, I feel like a lot of sighted people kind of don't know where to go, how to how to do stuff, and so we wanted to build that bridge of communication between the sighted or the non disabled world and the disabled community. I'd also like to note that, you know blind people typically, blindness is not their only concern. You know, sometimes people have mental health struggles. You. People or other types of disabilities. So we do work with other disabilities as as a result, we're not we, because we're a not for profit and we're new. We got to sort of niche down to the blind community, but we are happy to serve the disabled community as well, because from what I'm learning all disabilities lack personal safety choices.   Michael Hingson ** 50:27 They do or think they do, or probably both, which is, which is, it amounts to the same thing. Yes, we met, certainly through the NFB convention. Then also, I know that Sheldon Lewis from accessibe has reached out to you guys and, and I don't know   Amy SP Wilson ** 50:45 that's you know, you made me forget about the I've my apologies to accessibe, but yes, they are also one of our newest partners, making, yeah, making our website accessible we're happy to share With our other friends and stuff like, yeah, I, I love Sheldon from from access to be. He's one of my new friends, whether he wants it or not, but yeah, it's, it's pleasure that we're, we're also working with access to be as well.   Michael Hingson ** 51:18 That's pretty cool. I haven't been to the site and looked at it yet. I should really go visit the website. But because I've been now with accessibe for, oh, three and a half years, it'll be four years in January. So having a lot of fun, and again, I like the philosophy that it deals with a variety of different kinds of disabilities. And you're right. The fact is that whether whether we bring it upon ourselves or it's real, and it's probably both, we end up not having a lot of choices that we should have. But I think that that's what we need to do, as you point out, is to learn to advocate for ourselves, to bring those choices back into our lives.   Amy SP Wilson ** 52:06 Yes, you know, when I was talking with Sheldon from accessibe about us partnering with them, I said, Absolutely, because not only will it ensure our website's accessible, but I'm happy to tell people about it, because when blind people cannot navigate a website, it, it plays a big role into their psychological safety. And I mean, I, I'm a Mental Health First Aid person, you know, certified person, and I my joke was I needed Mental Health First Aid training to go through the training like it stressed me out, because it was so inaccessible, and I had to have people continuously helping me. And I actually had to take the course twice because of the lack of accessibility that that first go around and had to have people help me and stuff. And I'm like, This is crazy, like, we definitely need to to promote that more. And I'm so glad that they're just, you know, willing to work with with non for profits that are serving the disabled space like that, that that is going to be game changing for so many people and help them to feel more psychologically safe in going to those websites, they're not going to get stressed out and figuring out, how do I navigate this? Nope. Accessibe has got you so,   Michael Hingson ** 53:31 you know, here's a question, and I've asked a number of people this, but I'm curious to hear your answer. You mentioned earlier that we're not really involved in a lot of the conversations, whether it be about self defense, whether it be about personal safety and so on. Why is it that that blind or in general, persons with disabilities aren't involved in the conversations?   Amy SP Wilson ** 53:55 That is a great question. And I think that for some topics, it goes back to fear of being vulnerable in sharing what, what you're afraid of, at least for for personal safety. For some topics, they're they're hot topics, we discuss weapons and safety positive foundation and tell people, if that's a choice you want, we're happy to have the conversation. But people think that talking about weapons means that people are going to start buying firearms and getting involved with it, or bad things can happen, and that's where I go back to the if we're having a conversation about it, you can ask your questions and not have that fear wrapped around those particular topics, but that would be my personal answer,   Michael Hingson ** 54:56 yeah, I think all too often, suddenly. Weapons are the easy answer, yes, but they're not, no, they're not at all. But that's what people think. And they think that's going to take care of all of their fears. And it just doesn't work that way,   Amy SP Wilson ** 55:11 because often and it's statistically backed up, you know, oftentimes, those things will get turned on you, especially if you're not doing ongoing practice, and that's part of that proactive philosophy we talk about in safety positive is if you're choosing to use any kind of tool or device, you better be practicing with it at least once a month, minimum. And depending on the tool we're recommending even stronger practicing. But you you know, you can't just buy a pepper spray, drop it in your purse and you're good. It's like, no, because what happens when they do come to grab you? You're going to be finagling and but yeah, and then   Michael Hingson ** 55:59 you aim it the wrong way because you're not used to it. Yep, exactly. And it's and it's so important that, well, again, it goes back to like what we talked about before, with the mind, which is the most important tool that we have. And if we don't develop that tool by constant, and I believe it has to be constant use and constant us teaching ourselves we're not going to improve with it.   Amy SP Wilson ** 56:28 Exactly you. I mean, we are blessed right now that we have as much technology at at our fingertips to be able to phone a friend or use that app to help us cross the street, whatever the case might be, but technology fails, and so you can't say that this is going to be my, my backup for for everything, or for one of the things that I've learned is you Can't take your pepper spray through, you know, TSA. And there's certain things that, no, no, no, TSA, don't like it. So if you get too used to one kind of tool, it gets taken well, then what do you do? You have to have your own, your own mind to go, okay, I can handle this without all the fancy gizmos and gadgets.   Michael Hingson ** 57:18 Yeah. And, and TSA does what it does generally, for pretty good reasons. Yes,   Amy SP Wilson ** 57:25 yes, yeah, I understand their method to the madness. Yeah, it's still frustrating. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 57:30 I know it is. You come all prepared, and then they take it away from you when, yeah, yeah. So of course, the the answer to that is you've got to put it somewhere in a bag where it's not reachable while you're on the flight. But that's another story   Amy SP Wilson ** 57:48 conversation for another day. Not that I'm talking about a short list that they will things that will get through TSA, but   Michael Hingson ** 57:55 well, how? Let me ask this. Then I think a relevant question, what are the future goals for safety positive Foundation?   Amy SP Wilson ** 58:05 We want to be the safety institution for the mind community, and so that's why we're we're very interested in bringing on more choices for trainings and working with different partners. So you know, when people think of personal safety in the blind community, their first thought is safety positive Foundation,   Michael Hingson ** 58:35 and that's pretty important to be able to do for you what's been the most rewarding experience you've had with safety positive foundation,   Amy SP Wilson ** 58:46 I would have to say it's watching the community grow as individuals like I said, you know, the one person that said, you know, if It wasn't for safety positive, I and I've heard, you know, other people telling me that they they feel safer and just learning different stuff, and that that is the the paycheck for me when I know we're we're making a difference in in people's lives, sometimes it makes me want to cry. I get, you know, so overwhelmed, but I I essentially do not want people to go through what I've went through in my life. And so the more that we can reach people and offer those resources and trainings that again, that that's what's going to do it for me,   Michael Hingson ** 59:46 so especially for blind people. But in general, what would be the message that you would most like for the community to hear from you regarding safety and safety positive foundation? Yeah.   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:00:00 When it comes to, I guess, sharing with the sighted community, be aware I'm teaching them that no is a complete sentence, and they don't gotta give you their backstory of why they don't want to accept your help, and if somebody doesn't want to take your assistance. Don't take it personal. That you know, there's so many people who do take it personal. When you tell them, No, I've got this. It's not about you. It's about people having the dignity and respect for themselves to sometimes do things on their own, or talk to you about how maybe you can assist them in a in a in a different manner, but yeah, just just don't take it personal. And no, you're also probably going to mess up a time or two. You're not You're not always going to get it perfect, because I know me as a person in the community, I mess it up sometimes.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:01 You know, there's a lot of value in getting lost. And I, I worked in the World Trade Center a lot to get lost, because when you get lost, then you gotta figure out, how did you get lost, and how do you get out of being lost, and people helping isn't going to give you that learning experience of recovering, or, you know, using what we call whole structured discovery. The bottom line is, yeah, yeah, go ahead. I   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:01:30 say. I love the structured discovery. My whole organization, my board, yeah, when, when they like. I've got a couple of sighted board members, and they were new to the blind community, but knew it needed, you know, they were the ones who convinced me to start this. But once they learned about structured discovery, they were like, This is awesome, like, because I tell them, you know, don't help people, let them figure it out. And they watch, and they learned real fast that, okay, yeah, there is a method to the madness here.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:04 Yeah, it's, it's important to be able to deal with, deal with, with variety of things. And you're going to be best if you teach yourself how to recover from being lost very quickly. What is structured discovery?   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:02:24 So my understanding, because I've not been given the quote, unquote definition, is where you you have an environment to where you are, um, walking through it yourself and and discovering your your environment on your own with your your white cane, your your guide dog, but you're essentially like, yeah, discovering the the environment on your own accord. Michael, you might have a different answer, but that's that's my, my understanding well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:00 and the other part of it is you're walking along, you expect to be going somewhere, and suddenly you discover you're not where you thought you were, or you walk on grass and you didn't expect to be there. Structured discovery also teaches you how what you do is you step back, mentally and then physically. But you step back, you go back and retrace what you did to figure out where it is that you deviated from the path that you were expecting to be on. And it works very well.   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:03:33 I've used it and all the traveling I do, yes, I've gotten lost and had to backtrack. And how did we do this? Where did we go wrong? And believe me, I'll never forget those routes.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:48 Tell me how. So how do people get involved in the safety positive foundation? If they would like to.   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:03:57 So there's a couple different options. You can go to our website, at safety positive fdn.org, you can also we have a YouTube channel with lots of videos on on different information, and we have our Facebook page, the Facebook page and our website has links where you can come In and be part of our safety positive guide community, or you can also email us, phone call, just don't say send smoke signals. We're not going   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:31 to get those. Yeah, don't raise your hand. Don't raise your hand. That doesn't work. No,   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:04:35 no, no. It's lost on us.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:39 Yeah, it is on all of us, which is what's okay, it's always something to be learned. Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to be here with us for more than the last hour. It's been fun, and I hope that that people have learned something from it. We'll definitely get to see you next. At the NFB convention, I assume, and that'll be kind of fun too.   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:05:02 Yes, we're going to be there with bells on. There you   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:05 go. Well, we'll, we'll be there. Yeah, and, and I'll, I'll bring my dog over, and either he'll teach self defense or he'll learn self defense. I'm not, there we go. He'll probably be looking for ear scratches and nothing else. So it's okay. We all,   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:05:24 we all need a little love from time to time. Yeah, yeah, and he's   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:27 good at that. Well, well, thank you again for being here. This has been absolutely enjoyable, and if you've enjoyed listening to us, please let us know you can email me at Michael H I M, I C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, you can also go to our podcast page, where there's a contact form, and that's w, w, w, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S o, n.com/podcast. We'd love to hear from you, and wherever you're listening or monitoring our podcast today, I hope that you'll give us a five star review. We really value your reviews. We appreciate it if you know of anyone and Amy you as well. If you know of anyone who you think might be a good guest for the podcast, we'd like to hear from you. We'd like you to provide an introduction. We're always looking for people who want to come on and tell their stories and help all of us see why we're all more unstoppable than we think we are. So I want to thank you all for for that as well. And Amy, once again, really appreciate you being here today. This has been a lot of fun. I   Amy SP Wilson ** 1:06:38 appreciate it, and I will end with my two cents of keep it safe, keep it positive and keep it safe and positive.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:06:50 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week. Amy SP Wilson, the trailblazer behind the Safety Positive Foundation, is revolutionizing personal safety for the blind and visually impaired community. Her journey began in March of 2023, but her path has been shaped by a diverse range of experiences. Some have been uplifting, while others have been challenging, but each one has served as a valuable lesson that propelled her towards the creation of the Safety Positive Foundation. Amy's commitment to personal safety has been a lifelong pursuit. From playfully wrestling with her cousins during her early years to becoming the first female wrestler at the Missouri School for the Blind in 1996, her passion for wrestling led her to the United States Association of Blind Athletes nationals in 1997, where she discovered Judo. In 1998, Amy proudly represented her country in the World Championships for the Blind in Judo, as a member of the inaugural women's Judo team of the USABA, all before graduating from high school. Unfortunately, Amy's eye condition, Stargardt's, prevented her from continuing her martial arts journey. Diagnosed at the age of 10 in 1992, she faced initial struggles. However, connecting with others who were also blind or visually impaired raised her expectations and inspired her to persevere. As life progressed, Amy earned her first bachelor's degree in psychology, only to become a survivor of domestic violence shortly thereafter. This was not her first experience as a survivor, and it is one of the primary reasons why she advocates for self-empowerment. Amy is deeply passionate about addressing the alarming rates of mental and emotional abuse within relationships involving individuals with disabilities. Amy's pursuit of knowledge led her to earn a second bachelor's degree in social work, providing her with valuable insights into developing systems within the Safety Positive Foundation. She consistently puts her education into practice, utilizing her expertise to make a difference. For the past decade, Amy has been involved in instructing and developing self-defense programs specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired. However, she found that these programs and organizations often had limited expectations for the BVI community, which did not align with her mission. Amy firmly believes that low expectations act as barriers, and she advocates for the BVI community to have unlimited choices when it comes to personal safety. Amy has dedicated her life to making this mission a reality for her community. She actively engages with the BVI community in various capacities, striving to enhance their lives as much as possible. Through the establishment of the Safety Positive Foundation, Amy shares her skills and empowers her community to embrace a safety-positive lifestyle. Ways to connect with Amy: Amy's digital business card link https://linqapp.com/ Book a meeting with me https://bit.ly/3LOviXT Website www.safetypositivefdn.org Facebook https://bit.ly/4fvKMO4 YouTube https://bit.ly/4d5FQy2 TikTok https://bit.ly/3LO9Ja1 LinkedIn https://bit.ly/4fvRbsE Instagram https://bit.ly/4duJq4B Contact info amyspwilson@safetypositivefdn.org 660-441-1907 About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes:

Tal Kerret is the President of Silverstein Properties, the company behind the historic rebuilding of the World Trade Center in New York City, and on the board of directors of Fundrise. Tal provides an in-depth look into the challenges and triumphs associated with redeveloping this iconic site, emphasizing its immense logistical complexity, symbolic importance, and economic impact. He shares his journey from the tech industry into real estate, discussing lessons learned about innovation, risk management, and leadership. Tal also highlights the crucial role of supportive board dynamics and culture in business success, reflecting on personal experiences in venture capital and entrepreneurship. This conversation offers valuable insights into building enduring projects and resilient teams. — For a deeper dive into these insights and more, be sure to listen to the full episode of the Onward podcast. Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at Onward@Fundrise.com.  Onward is hosted by Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise. Podcast production by The Podcast Consultant. Music by Seaplane Armada.  About Fundrise  With over 2 million users, Fundrise is America's largest direct-to-investor alternative asset investment platform. Since 2012, our mission has been to build a better financial system by empowering the individual. We make it easier and more efficient than ever for anyone to invest in institutional-quality private alternative assets — all at the touch of a button.  Please see fundrise.com/oc for more information on all of the Fundrise-sponsored investment funds and products, including each fund's offering document(s).  Want to see the specific assets that make up and power Fundrise portfolios? Check out our active and past projects at www.fundrise.com/assets.

When someone knows their subject as well as architect Richard Gage knows the facts of what happened to the WTC buildings on 9-11, you let them cook. And that's what we do this week as Richard, the founder and former CEO of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, leads us through the damning evidence that what we witnessed on 9-11 -- with a focus on World Trade Center Building 7 -- was a controlled demolition. Richard now leads the charge for a new World Trade Center investigation along with his courageous wife Gail at www.RichardGage911.org. Grab your copy of the 2nd issue of the Chaos Twins now and join the Army Of Chaos: https://bit.ly/415fDfY Check out Sam "DoomScrollin with Sam Tripoli and Midnight Mike" Every Tuesday At 2:30pm pst on Youtube, X Twitter, Rumble and Rokfin! Join the WolfPack at Wise Wolf Gold and Silver and start hedging your financial position by investing in precious metals now!  Go to samtripoli.gold and use the promo code "TinFoil" and we thank Tony for supporting our show. CopyMyCrypto.com: The ‘Copy my Crypto' membership site shows you the coins that the youtuber ‘James McMahon' personally holds - and allows you to copy him. So if you'd like to join the 1300 members who copy James, then stop what you're doing and head over to: CopyMyCrypto.com/TFH You'll not only find proof of everything I've said - but my listeners get full access for just $1  Want to see Sam Tripoli live?  Get tickets at SamTripoli.com: The World- Sam Tripoli's new special "Why is Everybody Gettin Quiet?" that drops Oct 15th on Rumble.com and SamTripoli.com!   Louisville: Tin Foil Hat Comedy Club Live At the Louisville Comedy Club March 6th https://www.louisvillecomedy.com/shows/295587   Fort Wayne, IN: Tin Foil Hat Comedy Live At the Summit Comedy Club March 7th https://www.summitcitycomedy.com/shows/295586   Detroit:  Headlining The Comedy Bar on March 28th - 29th https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/mar-28-29-sam-tripoli-3993563   Tacoma, WA:  Tin Foil Hat Comedy Live At the Summit Comedy Club April 10th https://www.tacomacomedyclub.com/shows/295584   Tacoma, WA:  Sam Tripoli Headlines The Tacoma Comedy Club (6th & Proctor) April 11th-12th https://www.tacomacomedyclub.com/events/106120   Please Check Out Richard Gage's internet: Website: https://richardgage911.org Twitter: https://x.com/RichardGage_911   Please check out SamTripoli.com for all things Sam Tripoli. Please check out Sam Tripoli's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/samtripoli Please Follow Sam Tripoli's Comedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolicomedy/ Please Follow Sam Tripoli's Podcast Clip Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolispodcastclips/   Thank you to our sponsors: Blue Chew: Make life easier by getting harder and discover your options at BlueChew.com! And we've got a special deal for our listeners: Try your first month of BlueChew FREE when you use promo code TINFOIL -- just pay $5 shipping. That's promo code TINFOIL. Visit BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information, and we thank BlueChew forsponsoring the podcast.   True Classic: True Classic is made with stank-free, moisture-wicking technology so you can do it all in comfort and style. From running on the treadmill to running out for beer, True Classic has the gear for you.  So, if you're ready to upgrade your closet, shop now with my exclusive link at trueclassic.com/TinFoil and save up to 25% off your first order. PLEASE support our show and tell them we sent you. No matter how you move, make 2024 your most comfortable year yet with True Classic.   HomeChef: Home Chef provides fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes, conveniently delivered to your doorstep to simplify your cooking experience. Whether you prefer classic meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients and easy instructions, speedy recipes ready in less than 30 minutes, oven-ready kits with pre-chopped ingredients, or quick microwave meals that assemble in minutes, Home Chef has you and the entire family covered for delicious meals without the hassle.  For a limited time, HomeChef is offering my listeners 18 Free Meals PLUS Free Dessert for Life and of course, Free Shipping on your first box! Go to Home Chef dot com slash TINFOIL.   EpressVPN: But did you know Incognito Mode is not enough to hide your browsing history? Check the fine print! All your online activity is still 100% visible to a ton of third parties… unless you use ExpressVPN.  Protect your online privacy TODAY by visiting ExpressVPN dot com slash TINFOIL That's E-X-P-R-E-S-S-V-P-N dot com slash TINFOIL and you can get an extra four months FREE. ExpressVPN dot com slash TINFOIL.   True Werk: TRUEWERK is hell-bent on creating the most technical, high-performance workwear in the world. The TRUEWERK story begins in the Colorado mountains where a trade worker knew there had to be a better solution than the wet, heavy gear that was weighing him down.  Check out the full lineup and get 15 percent off your first order at TRUEWERK dot com slash tinfoil. That's 15 percent off at T-R-U-E-W-E-R-K dot com slash tinfoil.   SelectQuote: SelectQuote is one of America's leading insurance brokers with nearly forty years of experience, helping over two million customers find over seven hundred billion dollars in coverage since 1985.  Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SELECT QUOTE DOT COM SLASH TINFOILHAT.   Soul : Soul's new Out Of Office beverages are perfectly microdosed with hemp-derived THC and CBD to give any situation that vacation vibe. The Out Of Office beverages not only come in two mouthwatering flavors, raspberry lemonade and cucumber melon lime, they also offer two different doses, 2.5MG THC and 5MG. So if you want to feel your best, head to GetSoul.com and use code TINFOILHAT for 30% off your order. That's 30% off your order using code.   Mint Mobile: Switch to Mint and new customers can get half off an Unlimited plan until February 2. To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, and get the plan shipped to your door for FREE, go to MINT MOBILE dot com slash tinfoil. That's MINT MOBILE dot com slash tinfoil.  Mintmobile.com/tinfoil   HIMS: No man wants to lose his hair, but for men, it's actually very common. And now with Hims, the solution is simple. Try Hims' hair loss solutions and you'll be joining hundreds of thousands of subscribers who got their flow back.  Start your free online visit today at Hims dot com slash TINFOILHAT.  That's H-I-M-S dot com slash TINFOILHAT for your personalized hair loss treatment options.   Me Undies: Every Valentine's Day needs a Valentine's Night and MeUndies is your perfect thirst trap to get the mood right. Choose from tons of awesome Valentine's Day prints and styles, and match Undies with your special someone for an extra-special holiday treat. This Valentine's Day good things come in big packages at MeUndies. Get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping, at MeUndies dot com slash , enter promo code TinFoil. That's Me Undies dot com slash TinFoil, code Tinfoil for 20% off, plus free shipping. MeUndies—comfort from the outside in.  So go to MeUndies.com/Tinfoil   Cornbread Hemp: If you're looking for a healthier way to enjoy a carefree moment, you have to give Cornbread Hemp a try! They've created the first-ever USDA Organic THC gummy that's 100% legal. As a special offer for Tin Foil Hat listeners, you can get 30% off your first order! Just visit cornbreadhemp.com/TinFoil and use promo code TinFoil at checkout. Again that's cornbreadhemp.com/TinFoil and use code TinFoil for 30% off your first order. Cheers to a healthier happy hour!   Helix Sleep: Helix is offering 25% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to Helix Sleep dot com slash Tinfoil. That's Helix Sleep Dot Com Slash Tinfoil. This is their best offer yet and it won't last long! With Helix, better sleep starts now.   The Perfect Jean: It's finally time to stop crushing your balls in uncomfortable jeans by going to theperfectjean.nyc. Our listeners get 15% off your first order plus Free Shipping, Free Returns and Free Exchanges when you use code  TINFOIL15 at checkout. That's 15% off for new customers at theperfectjean.nyc with promo code TINFOIL15. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them we sent you. F*%k your khakis and get The Perfect Jean   PolicyGenius:  Secure your family's tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Head to policygenius.com/ TINFOIL or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save. That's policygenius.com/ TINFOIL.   Venice AI:  Venice AI is the next generation of private uncensored personal A.I.! Text generation, just like Chat GPT but faster, more efficient, and a variety of models to choose from is like 6 tools in one. Unbiased, and uncensored responses.  Uncensored Image Generation - Often image generators are restricted from making images that are political include celebrities, and more. We give you the power of several of the most cutting edge image models for all of your creative projects.  So grab your personal uncensored Venice AI at https://venice.ai/TINFOIL  

My special guest tonight is author and researcher Craig Roberts who's here to share some some of the most heinous crimes ever committed by the U.S. Government.  From World War II to present, there has been hidden within the highest levels of government secrets that you are not supposed to discover. During the period of 1940 to this day the power brokers, working from their positions of trust, have committed and then covered up the most heinous of crimes known to mankind. Investigative journalist Craig Roberts, author of "Kill Zone--a Sniper Looks at Dealey Plaza", now provides us with the results of his ten -year investigation regarding the secret crimes and coverups of the U.S. Government. You will read his case files on such subjects as the Japanese "Devil Unit 731" who experiments on American POWs in WWII with germ warfare weapons--and what happened when the war ended and the commanding officer was hired by the government instead of hanged for war crimes; Operation Paperclip in WWII when the U.S. brought Nazi scientists to America to work for us on our weapons programs instead of standing trial as war criminals; CIA and military mind control experiments on unsuspecting citizens--including children--without our knowledge; Secret drug and bacteriological weapons experiments on the American population; Atomic guinea pigs, Agent Orange, and the Gulf War Syndrome; what really happened to over 30,000 U.S. POWs after World War II, Korea and Vietnam; International assassinations, drug smuggling and money laundering; What the media did not tell you about the shoot down of TWA 800, the bombing of Pan AM 103, the Oklahoma City bombing, the crash of Arrow Air in Gander, Newfoundland, the derailment of the Sunset Limited in Arizona, the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, and much more….If you're enjoying Mysterious Radio, now is the time to join Patreon. Soon, you'll only be able to access episodes by being part of our community there. You'll enjoy every episode ad-free, and we can share our episodes with you without censorship. Plus, joining us unlocks over 1000 bonus segments and episodes that will blow your mind! While the price is set to rise to $9.99, you can jump on board right now for just $5, and that's forever! ⁠⁠⁠Join The Brain Trust Now.⁠

Fate, Faith and Teamwork: How Michael Hingson and his dog escaped 9/11 Did you know that Michael Hingson, who was born blind, not only climbed Mount Kilimanjaro but also survived the 9/11 attacks while helping others escape? His life is full of incredible adventures! Michael Hingson, blind since birth, was born in Chicago to sighted parents who believed in raising their son with a can-do attitude. Treated like all other children in his family, Michael rode a bike did advanced math in his head and learn to read and write – Braille that is! Michael's family relocated to the warm Palmdale area of California when he was five years old. It is here that Hingson had his first adventure with Guide Dogs for the Blind and received his first guide dog.  He later went to college receiving a bachelor's and master's degree in Physics along with a secondary teaching credential from the University of California at Irvine. Michael then enjoyed a nearly-30-year career working for high tech companies spending most of his time in management roles. Michael Hingson's life changed dramatically on September 11, 2001 when he and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed. Soon after, Michael and Roselle were thrust into the international limelight where Michael began to share his unique survival story and 9-11 lessons of trust, courage, heroism, and teamwork.  Speaking to some of the world's most elite: from former President, George W. Bush to Larry King, to Fortune 500 companies and colleges and Universities Nationwide. After sharing his story of survival on hundreds of TV and Radio programs, Michael is now an Expert hired by many of today's major corporations and organizations. Speaking and consulting on the importance of Teamwork and Trust, Moving from Diversity to Inclusion, as well as offering Adaptive Technology Training – spearheading innovation for ALL! - Thus, bringing organizations to the forefront of the ever-changing competitive modern world.  Schedule a complimentary coaching call with Rebecca https://calendly.com/rebeccaelizabethwhitman/breakthrough https://modere.io/QwoNYU https://modere.io/CtlaDw To learn more about Rebecca… https://www.rebeccaelizabethwhitman.com pillar.io/rebeccaewhitman #MichaelHingson#InspirationalStories#OvercomingChallenges#Resilience#PersonalGrowth#CanDoAttitude#LifeLessons#MotivationalSpeaker#DisabilityAwareness#VisualImpairment#BlindCommunity#AdaptiveTechnology#AssistiveDevices#Braille#InclusionMatters#AccessibilityForAll#ChicagoInspiration#PalmdalePride#ChicagoEvents#PalmdaleCommunity#BreakingBarriers#EmpowerThroughAdversity#StrengthInDiversity#AbilityNotDisability#UnstoppableMindset

Andrew Serra is a retired New York City Fire Department captain with 25 years of service. A seasoned writer of historical fiction, he has explored a wide range of pivotal moments in history, from the Italian Renaissance and the French Revolution to the Occupy Wall Street protests. In addition to his novels, Serra authored Finding John, a memoir detailing his firsthand experience as a 9/11 responder during the World Trade Center rescue and recovery operation. His expertise has led to numerous television news and documentary appearances, where he has provided critical insights into the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.Join retired NYC Fire Captain and author Andrew Serra as he delves into history's defining moments, uncovering the untold stories behind tragedy, resilience, and change. From the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 to the 9/11 attacks, Serra brings a unique perspective shaped by decades of firsthand experience in emergency response and historical research. Through compelling storytelling and expert interviews, this podcast explores the past's impact on our present and future.http://www.andrewserra.com/hells-hundred-acresBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.

 Michael Hingson, blind since birth, was born in Chicago to sighted parents who believed in raising their son with a can-do attitude. Treated like all other children in his family, Michael rode a bike did advanced math in his head and learn to read and write – Braille that is! Michael's family relocated to the warm Palmdale area of California when he was five years old. It is here that Hingson had his first adventure with Guide Dogs for the Blind and received his first guide dog. He later went to college receiving a bachelor's and master's degree in Physics along with a secondary teaching credential from the University of California at Irvine. Michael then enjoyed a nearly-30-year career working for high tech companies spending most of his time in management roles. Michael Hingson's life changed dramatically on September 11, 2001 when he and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed. Soon after, Michael and Roselle were thrust into the international limelight where Michael began to share his unique survival story and 9-11 lessons of trust, courage, heroism, and teamwork. Mike has served as The National Public Affairs Director for one of the largest Nonprofit organizations in the nation: Guide Dogs for the Blind; He has served as the vice president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users; Michael has held a seat on the Fort Worth Lighthouse for the Blind. He is the chair of the board of directors of the Earle Baum Center for the Blind and is the vice chair of the Colorado Center for the Blind; Michael is The National Ambassador for the Braille Literacy Campaign of the National Federation of the Blind. Until October 2019 he worked as the CEO of the Do More Foundation, the non-profit arm of Aira Tech Corp, a manufacturer of assistive technology which makes a revolutionary visual interpreter for blind people. In January 2021 Mike joined accessiBe as its Chief Vision Officer to help advance the company goal of making the entire internet fully inclusive. AccessiBe provides an artificial intelligence-based product that makes web sites accessible to many persons with disabilities. He is the author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller: “Thunder dog –The True Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust” – selling over 2.5 million copies Worldwide. In 2014 Mr. Hingson published his 2 nd book “Running with Roselle”- which Is the first of its kind- A story for our youth shedding light on one of Americas Darkest Days. Mr. Hingson's third book, “Live Like A Guide Dog”, was released on August 20, 2024. This book shows readers how they can learn to control fear and not, as Mike would say, “become blinded by fear in the face of crisis”. Aside from his talents and advocacies, Mr. Hingson has traveled the Globe from Japan to New Zealand, the Netherlands to his hometown, Chicago. Speaking to some of the world's most elite: from former President, George W. Bush to Larry King, to Fortune 500 companies and colleges and Universities Nationwide. After sharing his story of survival on hundreds of TV and Radio programs, Michael is now an Expert hired by many of today's major corporations and organizations. Speaking and consulting on the importance of Teamwork and Trust, Moving from Diversity to Inclusion, as well as offering Adaptive Technology Training – spearheading innovation for ALL! - Thus, bringing organizations to the forefront of the ever-changing competitive modern world. Body Transformation System!https://modere.io/NbOyU2https://calendly.com/rebeccaelizabethwhitman/breakthroughTo learn more about Rebecca…https://www.rebeccaelizabethwhitman.com/#homehttps://everydaywomantv.com/tv_shows/the-balanced-beautiful-and-abundant-show/

People climbing to be number one. How do they do it? What is the fundamental difference between us and them? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Ira Glass talks with Paul Feig, who, as a sixth-grader, at the urging of his father, actually read the Dale Carnegie classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. He found that afterward, he had a bleaker understanding of human nature—and even fewer friends than when he started. (9 minutes)Act One: David Sedaris has this instructive tale of how, as a boy, with the help of his dad, he tried to bridge the chasm that divides the popular kid from the unpopular — with the sorts of results that perhaps you might anticipate. (14 minutes)Act Two: After the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. diplomats had to start working the phones to assemble a coalition of nations to combat this new threat. Some of the calls, you get the feeling, were not the easiest to make. Writer and performer Tami Sagher imagines what those calls were like. (6 minutes)Act Three: To prove this simple point—a familiar one to readers of any women's magazines—we have this true story of moral instruction, told by Luke Burbank in Seattle, about a guy he met on a plane dressed in a hand-sewn Superman costume. (13 minutes)Act Four: Jonathan Goldstein with a story about what it's like to date Lois Lane when she's on the rebound from Superman. (13 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.