Ep. 29 Cancer support shortcuts
The C word can make people flee. We all know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer. How did you best help? Too often, we don’t know what to do so we do nothing.
There’s a better way: Ask what’s needed. Offer what you do best. Listen. No matter what, don’t flee. Cancer isn’t contagious, but fear is. Don’t scare the cancer patient with horror stories about people who didn’t make it. The person you love is very much alive, and just happens to have cancer. Be present with them and stay present for the long haul, no matter how long it lasts.
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Ep. 28: Rob Snow on raising a son with Down syndrome
Rob Snow sums up the heart of his life in two sentences: “I have a son with Down syndrome and a love of comedy. The rest of my life has been a merger of those two things.”
He and his wife had a son, then had another child in 2009. Henry has Down syndrome.
When people say things like, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, Rob wants to say, "Did you just call my son a lemon?" Instead he wrote a book, “What I Should Have Said,” founded the charity Stand Up for Downs and created The Improvaneers, the one and only improv group solely for people with Down syndrome.
He talks about how to minimize the mountains in front of you and managing the hills that they become.
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Ep. 27: Shortcuts to JOY
My friend Beth Ray made joy her default button. Beth was relentlessly joyful. No matter what life gave her, she smiled back at it, even laughed at it. She didn’t tiptoe through life, she danced.
Beth never let her body push her around, even though diabetes ultimately killed her kidneys, and, in time, the donor kidney, too. Every health crisis turbo-charged her life. Beth was a Tigger in a world too full of Eeyores.
She’s no longer here, but I share her with you so she can inject her joy into your heart and into the hearts of everyone you love. Her life reminds me that joy is always an option.
Choose joy, no matter what life has chosen for you.
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Ep. 26 Matthew Brett on diving into life
Why tiptoe through life when you can dive in?
That’s what Matthew Brett does best. Forget playing it safe. Travel alone. Seek new adventures. Create detours on purpose. Live a life of purpose by living your life on purpose.
Matthew founded his Chicago-based branding company Substance in 2005 while sipping coffee in Barcelona on the steps of the Miro museum. He took up diving to go to the uncharted places on the map that cartographers marked “HC SVNT DRACONES,” Latin for, “Here be dragons.”
Matthew became a Professional Association of Diving Instructors certified rescue scuba diver with over 200 dives. He talks about the beauty of coming face to face with a giant oceanic manta ray.
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Ep. 25 Intuition and Creativity shortcuts
You already have all the answers you need deep inside. Just listen to that inner nudge, that gut feeling, that small, still voice within. Some people call it the Holy Spirit, Energy, Chi or Intuition. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said, “Intuition is more powerful than intellect.”
Regina and her friend of 38 years, Vicki Prussak, share tips on how to tap into your own intuitive voice and let it guide and shape what you create. They also talk about the obstacles to creativity: Comparison, perfectionism and procrastination.
Vicki is an artist who creates jewelry that carries inspirational messages so you can “carry your message” wherever you go.
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Ep. 24: Jen Farley on living in harmony with life
Jen Farley was born to sing. Now she uses her voice to help others find their voice, including her son, who was diagnosed at age 3 with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Jen moved to Nashville for the music scene, but found the pressure to succeed took the joy out of the music. She focused on raising her son, who taught her to let go of expectations and live in the present. In doing so, she found the joy of music again and joined the trio Gin, Chocolate and Bottle Rockets. Yes, she’s the bottle rockets.
As a life coach, Jen helps people discover and re-discover the rock star within so they can amplify their voice in the world. Jen also uses her voice to champion for her son so others will celebrate who he is in the world.
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Jon Sedor on living a life without limits
When John Sedor lost his dominant hand in an accident a week before high school graduation, he learned to write and draw with his other hand. And make art. And surf and rock climb — the Grand Teton. Nothing stopped the graphic designer from scaling life.
Not even brain cancer. A year ago, at age 31, Jon was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma. He went through surgery, chemo and radiation. He balances ongoing treatment with living his life deeper, louder and bolder than ever.
The best thing he does every day is to create. Right now, he paints giant murals that inspire and challenge people to feel stronger, to do more and to be more, and to remember that together, we are stronger than ever.
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Mansfield Frazier on giving yourself and others a second chance
Mansfield Frazier worked at the power company for 10 years until racism drove him to quit in anger and work outside of the system. He went from stealing credit cards to counterfeiting them until he landed in prison, which he calls an “occupational hazard.”
In prison he tutored fellow inmates and wrote the book, "From Behind the Wall.” There he had an awakening that changed his entire life and set him on the course to do the one thing that scared him most: be a writer.
After giving himself a second chance, he became a writer, winery owner and a community activist who gives others second chances. He uses his voice to transform the lives of others, to lift people out of financial poverty and that poverty of spirit that keeps people in bondage long after they’re released from prison.
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Fr. Tom Fanta on keeping the faith during tough times
Even a priest can lose faith. When the Rev. Tom Fanta’s father died of a heart attack at 67, Tom’s faith fell off a cliff. It was hard to even pray. He tells people, it’s okay if you can’t pray. Fake it till you can.
Three years ago, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He went from chaplain of the chemo club to a member. He shares how to receive support, not just give it.
Father Tom talks about seeing race as a faith issue and calls us to reach out to love each other more deeply in ways big and small.
Every day, he reflects on the moments where God peeked into his life. He goes to bed with a grateful heart so he'll wake up with one.
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Episode 20: DeLores Pressley on elevating yourself and others
DeLores Pressley empowers people to determine their own self worth. When she was 6, she was told she was “too big” to take ballet. She learned to believe in “the power of you” and started a plus-size modeling company. She believes dreams don’t come with age limits, so she took ballet lessons at 60.
DeLores is founder and Executive Director of She Elevates, a nonprofit that helps girls ages 8 to 14 become confident leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs.
She’s a world-class keynote speaker, author and life coach with more than three decades of experience. DeLores uses her voice to empower people to take inspired action, be confident and live, what she calls, “their most marvelous life.”
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Episode 19: Tracey Lind on dancing with dementia
The Very Reverend Tracey Lind was one of the most vibrant preachers in Cleveland, Ohio, until a diagnosis of dementia interrupted her life, or perhaps, just changed the music to her dance with God.
God spoke to Tracey Lind in 1984 at a McDonald’s on 42nd Street in New York City and called her to ministry. That’s where she began her dance with God, a God she calls her dancing partner.
For 17 years, Tracey served as Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, a thriving and diverse urban congregation devoted to Cleveland and its future.
Now Tracey’s future is a mystery, one her faith is strong enough to carry her through.
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Episode 18: Deborah Plummer on turning us and them into we
Deborah Plummer left an all-white Catholic convent after 13 years of being a nun to become a human translator for Blacks, people of color and white people. Her mission is to help turn “us and them” into “we.”
She talks about how the murder of George Floyd finally gave a face to systemic racism, how each of us can educate ourselves and stay connected to dreamers and creators like Sen. John Lewis to build the kind of world we all want to live in.
Racism might not define a person, but it does shape how we each experience and express ourselves and how we respond to the world around us.
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Episode 17: Terry Gordon on choosing whatever life gives you
Cardiologist Terry Gordon got the call every parent dreads. His son, Tyler, 20 was in a near fatal car accident in Colorado and might be paralyzed for life. Terry hopped the earliest flight out west and on the plane had his first conversation with God. What he heard changed his life forever.
Terry, who had seen thousands of people die, no longer believes in death. “We come here with a purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, we move on to the next purpose,” he believes.
He has retired from cardiology but now heals hearts in a new way.
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Episode 16: Yvonne Pointer on transforming pain into purpose
Yvonne Pointer’s daughter, Gloria, was abducted, raped and beaten to death on her way to school. Gloria was just 14. Despite the horror, Yvonne never gave up hope. Gloria’s death gave her a calling she didn’t ask for. Yvonne spent the next 29 years being the voice victims of violent crimes needed to hear.
When the pain was unbearable, she prayed for God to take her. “I no longer have a reason to live,” she said. God told her, “I will be your reason” and led her to the song, “You are my reason for living.”
After 29 years, police finally found the man who killed her daughter. When she visited him in prison, he wept and begged to die. Yvonne sang him the song that gave her hope, “You are my reason for living.”
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Episode 15: Karen Sandstrom on creating every day
You can make art. Every. Single. Day. Artist Karen Sandstrom shares how she keeps the anxiety of creating away by drawing and sharing her work with the world every day. By day, Karen is director of communications for the Cleveland Institute of Art. By moonlight, she’s an illustrator.
She is currently working on a book “Hope Notices” and shares her #tinymorningsketch every day on social media where you can meet an elephant picking sparkleberries, a banjo playing bear and a dog named Henry who is the BFF to a little girl named Hope.
Karen calls the excitement of creating a “high wire act” she doesn’t want to miss.
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Episode 14: Mary Watson on turning personal pain into power for others
Mary Watson grew up in terrifying chaos. Her mom suffered from a severe mental illness, her dad, from alcoholism. Because of their neglect, Mary and her 10 siblings were scattered into foster care when she was 15.
Mary faced poverty, racism and child neglect with a fierceness and clarity of spirit that allowed her to turn personal pain into power, hurt into help for others. She wrote 28 lessons for African-American families, one for each day of Black History Month. She also wrote, “Wisdom Warriors” featuring a child named Skye and her wise grandparents.
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Episode 13: Danielle Wiggins on never giving up
Depression nearly derailed the dreams of Danielle Wiggins. She was a straight-A student at the University of Missouri when depression hit so hard, fear and fatigue kept her hiding in her dorm room. When her parents swept in and took her home, her new life began.
With professional help to treat her clinical depression, Danielle was able to graduate and pursue her dream job to be in the TV spotlight inspiring others. As morning traffic reporter for 3News at WKYC Studio, she’s the reason people in Cleveland arrive to work on time and in one piece.
Danielle grew up watching Channel 3 and now she’s a star on the station with her signature smile that lights up the morning.
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Episode 12: Connie Schultz on growing a big life from small town roots
Every small town has the power to keep you stuck or set you free. No matter where our roots began, we all have a big, bold adventure before us. What are we waiting for? Connie Schultz will inspire you to go after yours.
In “The Daughters of Erietown,” Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Connie Schultz explores the hardships and hurdles a working class family faces in a small town like the one she grew up in. One teacher told her she couldn’t write. Connie believed bigger. She was the first in her family to go to college and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary, write two memoirs and a New York Times bestselling novel.
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Episode 11: Finding your voice with Thrity Umrigar
Best-selling author and English professor Thrity Umrigar offers tips on how to create the time, find your voice and release all those characters in your imagination onto the pages of a book.
If you have a book idea burning inside you or want to write the Great American Novel, start small. Every day write half of what you think you can easily do. Make time every day to write, even for five minutes. Don’t make writing a chore. Thrity says, “Do it with love and pleasure and joy.”
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Episode 10: Developing emotional resilience with Holly Timberlake
Holly Timberlake is an Energy Psychologist who helps people overcome fear and develop emotional and physical resilience through tapping, self care techniques and mindfulness.
She believes that the coronavirus pandemic has opened up a portal to re-center and reset our lives. Now is the time to dive in and take better care of the self and the Self through mindfulness, creative outlets and listening to the nurturing voice within.
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