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At age 22 Loren Brill found out she had Hodgkins Lymphoma. Cured a year later, Loren decided she REALLY had to start living life as fully as possible. She entered her favorite natural cookie recipe in a contest and won. Now her cookies are in supermarkets across the nation under the Sweet Loren's brand. You'll love hearing Loren's tips for living a vibrant, happy life with 100% dedication (and with zero tolerance for negativity).
Loren is a 32-year-old New York City born and bred foodie and healthy lifestyle entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Sweet Loren's, a cookie dough company founded on the promise of delicious taste and better-for-you ingredients. Sweet Loren's offers both retail refrigerated cookie dough sold in supermarkets across the country, as well as bulk food service for businesses to bake.Loren is also a certified Hatha Yoga instructor and blogger for the Huffington Post. In her free time Loren loves to travel, laugh, have spontaneous adventures, swim in warm water, cook with friends, try new restaurants, do triathlons, paddle board, wakeboard, ski, spin, paint, and drink good wine..
Nuggets of Wisdom from Loren:
"You miss a hundred percent of the shots you do not take."
"Fear is really what holds us back most of the time from following our dreams."
"I realized that in order to build from the ground up, I was going to have to hustle my butt off."
"But when it is something that you love and it is something that starts growing and has a life of its own, it is something that makes you really happy, it is just this magical combination that has its own driving force and you are just kind of there to guide it along and keep up with it and make sure that it stays on course."
"It is really important to surround yourself with positive energy and a positive attitude and be gentle on yourself."
"If you are strong mentally and physically, you can really get through anything. Life becomes really a joy. You feel very empowered."
Some of Loren's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Waking up every day and really being grateful and having a clear head. Whether that is a really good workout for you or meditation, but really starting the day grateful with a clear head. And then being able to prioritize."
Easy meal: "Making plantains. Baking them until soft. And cutting them in the middle and then keep stuffing them with whatever you like. So shredded chicken, shredded vegetables. It's just really easy and delicious and interesting."
Possession: "A cast iron skillet."
Loren's Favorite Books: Steve Jobs' Biography
Best advice received: "You've got to be strong." (Loren's Mom) and "You do not scare me." (Hoda Kotb)
Loren's Happiness Formula:
"Digging in deep and listening to your gut. Combine that with honoring your dreams. Going for it 100% with a great positive attitude. And making sure that your life is full."
A Challenge from Loren:
"I challenge anyone listening to let go of fear. To really dig deep and look at their life and see if there is any area where they would want to change and wake up tomorrow and have zero excuses and go after it. To really just throw fear aside."
Resources
Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group
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Learn how 20 seconds can completely change the other 86,000 seconds in your day...
Carol Egan felt a bit broken when they took her newborn baby away to be placed in foster care many years ago. But as she watched those elevator doors close behind the woman taking her baby away, a level of fierceness, tenacity and unstoppability came over Carol and she did everything in her power to make enough money to get a place so she could get her baby back. She worked as a waitress and visited her son every day for 4 months until she got him back. The rest of her life built upon that decision to be fierce and Carol has earned several degrees with honors, raised an amazing son as a single parent, and now helps hundreds of women as a health coach.
Carol is a Holistic Health Coach from Avon, CT. She specializes in digestive health and detoxification. She works with women who want to look and feel their very best. After years of taking care of their families and all the to do’s that go with that, many women are troubled with excess weight, low energy and foggy thinking. Carol helps them take control of their health so they can focus on what matters most to them. In her spare time Carol loves to cook, read, go to hot yoga, and she’s building a running practice.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Carol:
"To know that we know what we know and to know that we do not know what we do not know is true knowledge." ~Copernicus
"There were moments in my healing journey that I started discovering things that I never knew existed, and they changed my life. "
"That is true knowledge, to know that there's things that could make a difference for you and the quality of your life, but you might not know it even exists. And so, we are open. And all of a sudden, these things start to float to us."
"I really learned that everything and anything is possible."
"Life has never asked me to step up like that, like those moments."
"I could have never done what I did without my mother. She was a huge support."
"Always come back to self."
"The truth of the matter is, you have the fierceness within you. We each have the capability to accomplish everything we want. And the more we give our power away... I guess if we reduce it down to a catch phrase, be one hundred percent responsible for you life. Be the CEO and the director of the course of your life."
"I believe that we are all capable of achieving far greater things than we can even see possible. "
"There's things that you might not see in this moment because a moment is taking you over."
"The pill is going to help you think you are feeling better, but your body is still degrading. It is still degenerating. Whatever has caused you to have autoimmune disease has to be addressed on a holistic level."
"My ultimate goal is to bring people to a lived experience in their body where they literally feel healthy or what healthy feels like."
Some of Carol's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: 5 to Thrive, which helps people get back to themselves. 1. Sleep gives you an advantage hormonally. 2. You are what you eat -Nutrition 3. Become a zone master; meditation and mindfulness 4. Oxygen - we get it through both exercise and nutrition and the most primary nutrient that we need. 5. Hydration
Easy meal: "I like spicy peppers. If you do not like spicy peppers, get a red pepper. Split it in half, lengthwise. Hollow it out and smash an avocado and load it up. And then in a small bowl, because I have been eating so much of this, I love radicchio. I chop up the radicchio or something like arugula. I chop it up finely like a chopped salad. I chop up olives. I chop up a little onion, a little hotter pepper, a little roasted red pepper, depending on what the base is. And I make this little chopped salad next. Sprouts, always sprouts. And I just put in on top. It is a great portable thing because you do not have to do anything."
Possession: "My juicer"
Carol's Favorite Books: The Alchemist - Paolo Coelho and Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
Best advice received: "Do not be afraid to take a risk."
Carol's Happiness Formula:
"Create calm in the body, plus clear, plus energized equals happiness."
"Calm ourselves with our breathe to create clarity, to create mental clarity. So our choices and our decisions are smart and aligned with what we really want."
"Clearly, we need energy. If we are tired and exhausted and not healthy in our body then we are not going to achieve happiness that lasts, happiness that fulfills us."
A Challenge from Carol:
"For today, add in one healthy thing a day. If you could have one green juice, one green smoothie, or one meal size green salad, that would be a great step to start working on your energy from a cellular level."
Resources
Jen's Eliminate Overwhelm Guide
Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group
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Learn the connection between the 5 senses, focus, cortisol and happiness. This is science, people. And that means when we're mindful, we really will be happier on a neurochemical level.
www.jenriday.com
Learn the 3 things that are required to be a kind person. This eye-opening interview will make all the difference in your relationships.
www.jenriday.com/50
I share the story of my daughter Cora's hurt foot and what the doctor recommended and how this relates to our own emotional health.
Sophie Sabbage shares her story of receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, working through the grief and then making the choice to allow cancer to transform her life. Learn how Sophie copes with the fear of cancer, how she feels healthier than ever, and what she's doing to help others with a cancer diagnosis. Sophie is an inspirational writer, speaker, and facilitator who has worked in the field of human development, emotional intelligence, mindset change, and corporate culture change for more than twenty years. The Cancer Whisperer was a UK bestseller and was release in the U.S. in 2017.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Sophie:
"The last of the human freedoms is to choose your own attitude in any given situation." ~Victor Frankl
"I have cancer. Cancer does not have me."
"I realized in that moment that I valued my lucidity and clarity of mind more than my life. And it was threatening my cognitive abilities, my ability to speak, my ability to see, my ability to understand, so it was terrifying for me, the idea that I going to lose my mind having worked for 30 years on gaining my right mind if that make sense."
"I used to think people prayed on their knees as a sign of reverence and an act of humility but now I know that sometimes we are just bought to our knees by the events of our lives. And I was brought to my knees that day. I literally just dropped to my knees by the log fire at home. And I prayed. I do not often pray. I wept and I prayed. "
"I think the grief and the surrender really empowered me paradoxically. I never thought of surrendering that way."
"I want to just say it is okay to be vulnerable and it is okay to be terrified. And also, to teach people what to do with their terror. "
"If you do not take hold of your fear and push through it, it will make your decisions for you as a cancer patient."
"It puts you on war with your own body when you need to make peace with your body. I had been at war with my body my whole life. That is partly why I got cancer."
"I knew I needed to make peace with my body and listen to it instead of fighting it. And I want to get rid of my disease. But I think I've got a better shot at doing that if I am listening to it than if I am in a state of anger and defiance and rebellion which just causes stress."
"What if cancer is a teacher, not an enemy?"
"I am more grateful to my cancer than I am scared of it. I am grateful for it. It transformed my life. I have let it transform my life. We need to be proactive to do that, but it has gifted me in many ways."
"The most important thing is to get some support because it is a very arduous thing to do on your own. But mostly, it is about noticing what is running through your head and what you are believing. I call it mind talk. The mind would just make things up and terrify you with what is going to happen and you need to get that stuff out of your head and start verifying it and telling the truth about it."
"Cancer is loaded with meanings. It is like a gun that gets shot at you, and you think the worst. Hair loss, control loss, pain, agony, misery. It all just runs through your head, instantly and in lightning speed. And you need to get that stuff out of your head, and you need to look at it in the cold light of day. And you need to get very accurate with what you are dealing with and get as much information from your doctor as you can. A lot of patients do not want to know everything because they are so scared. But the more you know, the more power you have. So, it is about getting hold of reality - the reality of what you are dealing with - even if it is more tumors in your brain than they can count."
Some of Sophie's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Breathing helps. Breathing brings us be present when we breathe consciously. And also, verifying my mind talk. I do it every day."
Easy meal: "Avocado and feta salad."
Possession: "My husband. And my kettle."
Sophie's Favorite Books: "Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver" A Box Full of Darkness: "Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too was a gift."
Best advice received: "The warrior's way: Seven times down. Eight times up. Then repeat." ~ Dr. Brad Brown
"Do not become a patient, Mrs. Sabbage. Live your life."
Sophie's Happiness Formula:
"I am happiest when I am loving, when I am forgiving, when I am self-accepting and when I am thankful."
A Challenge from Sophie:
"I want to challenge listeners to write down three regrets that they have been harboring and then make a choice about each of those regrets. So, you can either let them go, and I mean really deeply let them go. Write on a piece of paper. Throw it in a fire, burn it, whatever it takes. Or choose an action to change the regret. "
Resources
Sophie Sabbage, The Cancer Whisperer
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Ever felt like time is moving too fast? Do this ONE thing to make time slow down.
www.jenriday.com
Kimberly Johnson shares her story of suffering a significant birth trauma that took years to heal and how she discovered that it's critical that we engage in excellent self care while trusting and listening to our bodies. Fast forward to the present, Kim helps mothers heal from their own birth traumas and reawaken healthy and fulfilling sexual intimacy in their relationships.
Kimberly is a Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution practitioner, Certified Sexological Bodyworker, doula, postpartum care advocate and single mom. She works at the intersection of birth, sex, and trauma, specializing in birth injuries, birth trauma, and sexual healing. She created a process called the Birth Rehearsal to help women somatically prepare for birth. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Fourth Trimester: A New Mother’s Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Kimberly:
"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk for miles on your knees repenting. You just have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." - Mary Oliver poem
"I have experienced a natural intelligence of our body that's 100% trustworthy - much more trustworthy than our minds or our memory. And if we can return to that wisdom through the present moment, we do not have to go excavating for why we are the way we are and why do we make that choice and why does the cycle repeat.. that it really presents itself in the present moment through deep listening and I facilitate that process."
"I actually deserve the care. It is not a luxury. It is a necessity that I care for myself. "
"We have forgotten that women are the center of the spiritual foundation of life and that we are the creators and when that is overlooked and belittled. Then there is a sense that we do not deserve it... and we inherited it from our mothers and our grandmothers and our whole puritanical culture is "sacrifice, the harder you work, the better person you are, that the more you give up, the more holy you are, the more spiritual you are."
"There is a lot of healing one can do on one's own. But the most powerful part of my healing process was really having expert witnessing from people that I trusted because so much of my fabric of support had been torn at that point in my life that I really needed to restore that fabric in order to feel safe and be able to move to the next level of healing."
Some of Kimberly's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Not thinking, 'Oh! That is not challenging enough!' To be able to allow myself to go towards what feels good."
Easy meal: Roast Chicken
Possession: Old-fashioned orange juice squeezer.
Kimberly's Favorite Books: Women's Anatomy of Arousal by Sheri Winston and The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
Best advice received: "Have faith in doing what I love."
Kimberly's Happiness Formula:
"Deep connection. Collaboration. Hysterical laughter."
A Challenge from Kimberly:
"I want to challenge everyone listening to have one moment of expressing to their partner just how they are feeling in their body at that moment."
Resources
Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women:
We all want more of it and none of us has quite enough of it... We're talking about patience. In this HappyBit Jen shares 3 tips to increase your non-reactivity throughout the day.
Anna Seewald was forced to grow up quickly when a devastating earthquake killed her mother and destroyed her home town in Armenia when she was only 13 years old. Today Anna strives to live a mindful, slow-paced life that allows her to concentrate on enjoying every moment and being the best mom she can be. Listen to get some great tips on saying “no” to the unnecessaries, taking time to do nothing at all, and how critical it is that we as moms know ourselves deeply and choose the life that makes us happiest.
Anna Seewald is the founder of Authentic Parenting®. She is a speaker, author and a parent educator. She is a mom to a vibrant 8 year old who doesn’t approve of her fashion choices. With a strong passion for helping children, Anna has dedicated her life to working with abused, neglected, orphaned and institutionalized children and juvenile delinquents. After nearly 20 years she realized that it is through helping parents she can help children. Today she is supporting parents around the world by moving from traditional ways of parenting into more peaceful, conscious ways by helping them make sense of their past life experiences, heal from trauma, build effective communication, practice non-punitive discipline and learn to set limits with love and kindness.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Anna:
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by the spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." -Albert Schweitzer
"'The past is never dead. It’s not even past. The past defines who we are.' (William Faulkner). We cannot forget where we come from, who we are. We bring in all our unresolved issues, our traumas, all that attachment history comes into play. If we forget and move forward, we never look back. The past will crawl out, and it will haunt you in your present day. So we need to make sense of our life stories, resolve our unresolved issues, and heal from our traumas in order to live vibrant, happy and fulfilled lives.”
Some of Anna's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Just having alone time, solitude, in the morning. Every morning, I wake up, I make myself a cup of coffee, I sit in my favorite chair in my living room. And then I just sit there and do nothing for a specific amount of time. It could be 15 minutes, 10, 20. Even if I do not have that time in the morning, I still get up early, just to have at least a few moments with myself because looking inwards for me has been the most powerful and empowering, important life lesson. Because no one can make me happy. I cannot expect my husband to make med happy. I am happy. I have to be happy on my own before I have fulfilling relationships with others."
Easy meal: "Omelette. Any kind of omelette. I throw in some vegetables: spinach, feta cheese, mushrooms, or one with scallions and parsley."
Possession: Cuisinart Food Processor
Anna's Favorite Books: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Best advice received: "Do not sweat the small stuff, and it is all small stuff." -Anna's husband
Anna's Happiness Formula:
"Meaningful relationships, connections, attachments, friendships, family (one category). Doing the things that make me fulfilled. Expressing myself through art or doing something that I love. And perhaps, taking care of myself. We need to take care of our body first and foremost. To be healthy, to have good relationships and to do the things that you love most. "
A Challenge from Anna:
"I want parents to take a piece of paper and write down five things, big or small, or it could be really big. Something in your eyes, in your own opinion that makes you a great parent. Be honest with yourself. Give yourself credit. "
Resources
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
15 Powerful things to Say To Your Kids
Parenting Conversations Authentic Moments with Anna Seewald
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Learn how to feel proactive instead of reactive and to start your day feeling AH-mazing instead of overwhelmed...
Emily Cummins is passionate about partnering with churches and people to reach their full potential and effectively share their story through digital communication strategies. She also founded and leads a community and resource for women, BecomingMe.TV, encouraging, empowering and equipping women as they’re living to their highest God-given potential. Emily lives in Ocala, Florida and for fun she loves spending time on the beach and driving with the top down blaring the latest Taylor Swift song. She also enjoys reading and writing.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Emily:
"Choose to become who God made you to be and daily choose to be her. Choose to become who God made you to be and daily choose to be her."
"My pursuit for this endless perfection that really was never granted, it was breaking me apart, and it was limiting from becoming who God made me to be."
"'Emily, you are not made to be perfect, and you do not have to be.' There is freedom in that. But you can wake up and choose to become who God made you to be no matter what you are experiencing."
"Sometimes our weaknesses can become our very strengths."
"Life is hard. We go through lots of low points and lots of valleys. But we do not ever have to live there."
"It reminds me that other people are on this journey too. And when we share who we are and what we are doing, we become stronger together."
"Strip off all the labels and the lies that you have told yourself or that you have listened to from other people. We have to dig through the junk that is in our hearts and in our minds first. And many times that is just stuff we tell ourselves. Second, you have to choose to love you. If you do not love yourself, there is really no way that you can really genuinely love those around you well or even love what you are doing. We have to love who we are in order to become whoever you want to be. Last, you just have to choose to be her."
"The decision to be free really lies with me."
"I think we are all strong to an extent, but I do believe in that power, and for me that is God. "
Some of Emily's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Writing is my favorite habit because it keeps me centered. It keeps me balanced. It helps me think through things objectively. It
clears my brain."
Easy meal: "Breakfast for every meal."
Possession: "Spatula."
Ruth's Favorite Books: Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
Best advice received: "You know who you wanna be. Just choose to be her."
Emily's Happiness Formula:
"Lacing up my warrior boots. Pursuing & becoming who God made me to be. And daily choosing to be her."
A Challenge from Emily:
"No matter what you are facing today, you can rise above it. The power and the key is already inside you. Just choose to be who you are."
Resources
Vibrant Happy Women Facebook Group
Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
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When you figure out your top 4 priorities and let go of the rest, everything gets so much more productive (and happy!)
After going through years of severe depression Ruth Soukup made her way back to a place of light and hope. She said, “I made a choice to be happy and not spend the rest of my life feeling broken.” Fast forward to today: Ruth is a blogger, author, and entrepreneur, as well as the New York Times bestselling author of Living Well Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life and the founder of the Living Well Planner™. Through her popular blog, LivingWellSpendingLess.com, she encourages more than a million monthly readers to follow their dreams and reach their goals, sharing easy-to-implement tips and strategies for saving time and money while focusing on the things that matter most. She lives in Washington State with her husband Chuck and two daughters, Maggie and Annie.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Ruth:
"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is only the courage to continue that matters." -Winston Churchill
"Life is just a journey that we're on. We have ups and downs. We have highs and lows. And it is just a reminder to me that when things go right, it does not mean that that is the end, and I can be done. And when things go wrong, it is not the end of the world... you've got to keep moving, and you've got to keep going forward."
"I slowly began to figure out how to live again, and it took awhile. But it was that conscious moment of saying, 'I am not going to dwell in the past anymore.'"
"There is hope. I think that was the thing that for me, especially when I was in that really dark place. I love my story just in the sense that I am one person that you can look at and say, 'She was there. She was in that dark place and things got better for her.' There is hope, and believe that there is hope and there is light at the end of the tunnel and hold on to that hope even if you cannot see the last light and you cannot feel the hope for yourself."
"That is really where my heart is: encouraging women to set goals for themselves and to figure out practical ways to handle those other things that keep us so busy, so that there is a little more margin for those things that really get us excited."
"As humans, we do not need somebody to preach at us and tell us all the things we are doing wrong and the other people are doing it better, but to realize that there are other people out there who have struggled just like we do and maybe have a rough time and have some solutions along the way: 'Here's what helped me, this might help you too...'"
"Give yourself permission to dream for 20 minutes or half an hour about all of the possibilities and write those things down, and start thinking, 'Yeah, you know what, I could maybe do this.' I like to encourage people to dream, or to set goals that are so big that they scare you a little bit. Because I think that when you feel that little tingle of excitement inside yourself, like, 'Oh my gosh, I cannot believe I just said that. I cannot believe that I just admitted that to myself, that I really want to do that...' -that is where you start to like feel that passion, to feel that fire inside. And then from there, once you have given yourself permission to think big and dream big, I really like to encourage people to dream big and plan small. Instead of starting with a day to day thing, starting with your grand vision. And breaking it down to your goals for the years, and then break that down into your goals for the month. And then break that down for your goals for the week. And then for your goals for the day. Doing that makes you realize what is really important. Because the reality for us is that there is only 24 hours a day. We can only do so much and none of us can do everything. You start with your big things, and you make those the first things on your list rather than the last things on your lists. You will accomplish more..."
"That failure has actually taught me so much about myself. Because I realized failing was not the end of the world. I thought dropping out of law school would have been the end of the world but instead it allowed me eventually to... find what my passion is, which is what I am doing now. But I would have never been doing what I am doing now if I finished law school. "
"Sometimes the process of trial and error, and the process of just putting yourself out there and trying new things allows you to find what you truly love and what you are truly passionate about."
"Keep doing the best that you can and you will be fine."
Some of Ruth's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Getting up early."
Easy meal: "I love breakfast for dinner. And freezer meals."
Possession: "Cheese slicer! Gouda."
Ruth's Favorite Books: " The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg, and Good to Great by Jim Collins"
Best advice received: "Everybody feels that way and we are all just making it up as we go along. And the best thing that you can do is just keep plugging away and keep making it up as you go along."
Ruth's Happiness Formula:
"My kids and my husband. Being able to do the work that I do. Being able to get up early in the morning and work at something that I love. Helping people along the way and making a difference in people's lives. "
A Challenge from Ruth:
"Take the Crushing It mini course."
Resources
Living Well Spending Less (Ruth's Website)
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Learn how to get out of the trees so you can see the forest by taking regular Mountain Moments throughout the day.
Have you ever ended the day by realizing everything you ate that day was all junkfood?! Cassie Piasecki had that experience and decided to change her life, get healthy and then start sharing her journey of health and wellness with others. Cassie created the Wheel of Wellness (WOW) nutrition program and has helped thousands of women to be their healthiest self. Cassie also has over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, as a certified holistic health practitioner and teaching Pilates, indoor cycling, dance. She has taught fitness to over 10,000 people! She lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband Jack and 2 dogs and 22 old daughter who rarely comes home from the east coast.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Cassie:
"Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness." - Joseph Pilates
"If I can get up in the morning, even it has to be really early, and get my body moving, I am always happier during the day."
"If I take care of myself, my health is good, my body is moving and relatively pain free at the age of 48, I can handle everything else pretty much with a smile on my face. "
"You can do anything for 3 weeks! You're a woman!"
"I quit the sugar, and I quit the gluten for 3 weeks. And within 7 days my moods leveled out. Within 2 weeks, my skin cleared up. And within 3 weeks, all of the things, like stomachaches that I thought were just because maybe I was stressed out or whatever, all went away. So, it was the combination of the sugar and the gluten.... So, after those 3 weeks, there was no way I was going to go back. I mean, I just felt and looked so much better that there was no way I was going to go back."
"The fact that I was not moody anymore, and I did not have to worry that I was going to spout off or, you know, get upset, my patience, just all of that, got so much better. That was a big enough reason for me to stay the course."
"I wanted other women my age to feel and look and act as wonderful as I found that I could eating a very whole foods, low sugar, low-processed food-type diet. I do not like to say diet, it is just a lifestyle."
"The first step is acknowledging that they just do not feel good. And stepping either on a scale or taking a look in their closet at all the clothes that used to fit and do not fit anymore. And just acknowledging, 'Hey, this is not working for me anymore, and I need to do something about it, and I need to do something that might take a little bit longer, but it is going to last a lifetime.'"
Some of Cassie's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: Exercise. "When I wake up first thing in the morning, I meditate. And get up and then I throw on some lycra, and I go and I work out."
Easy meal: "Spaghetti Squash. I cut it in half. And then I bake it and roast it in the oven. And then I put them in the refrigerator. And then, everyday for lunch, take the half of the spaghetti squash and fill it with whatever leftover vegetables I have. I just fill the center of the spaghetti squash with whatever I want. And it is so yummy!"
Possession: "A set of odd measuring spoons."
Cassie's Favorite Books: "The Dip by Seth Godin"
Best advice received: "If something is not working, it is okay to quit. There are some diets that you should quit."
Cassie's Happiness Formula:
"When I am done working out, and I eat a really good breakfast, and then I get to do one of three things. I either get to put on my bathing suit and go down to the beach, or I get to walk around Paris, France, or I get a message from my daughter that everything is going right in her world that day."
A Challenge from Cassie:
"The challenge is not to get them to eat less sugar today. The challenge is for them to add up how much sugar they eat over the course of 5 days. So, everyday, write down all the sugar that you eat. Even sugar from an apple. And see how much you are really consuming. And just sometimes that way of doing it is kind of a wake up call that you are consuming too much."
Resources
Free Guided Meditation from Jen
It's Me Cassie (Cassie's website)
The Wow Life (Wheel of Wellness) Program
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Why the low points & hard times are a good thing...
In this episode Katie shares her story of overcoming the death of her mother, as well as living in one of the most isolated areas of the United States. This high-energy mom will inspire you with her stories of raising 4 boys and staying connected with other women.
Katie Dilse is feisty and spontaneous and loves to laugh. She is a business owner, wife of nearly 20 years, mother of four boys, farmer, and Big Rig driver. Katie inspires audiences around the nation with her heart-to-heart presentations focused on making the most of balancing the demands of work, the tugs on personal life, and community obligations. Katie was listed as one of the Top 40 under 40 business leaders in the Midwest. Katie lives in North Dakota with her husband Stewart and 4 boys.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Katie:
"I am good enough because I am the daughter of a King."
"I learned to learn on my brothers and sisters and that we are each other, we are there for each other and that God will not abandon us. We felt abandoned that God took mom but that is not all that it was - God actually replaced her love through a deeper love for us to be united to Him. And realize that mom was a blessing to us on earth but there is so much that she can do from heaven for all of us."
"I very much struggle with loneliness because my fuel tank requires people. A new stimulation and interaction. And when you live where I do, you have to learn to seek that. So, once I became self aware enough to recognize that my heart needs to be filled with people and filled with interaction and I need new stimulation, I found ways to fuel that without feeling like I am a bad person because I required that. I struggled for that for a long time where now, it is like, 'No way, that is what juices me!'"
"I do things that just randomly stay connected with people often... And that is fueling me but I get to fuel their hearts too."
"That is how the ball rolls, that is really how I have learned to grow and improve by having enough self awareness inside."
"Whether you are in a small town like me or a big city, make sure your middle circle ties into what is the most important to you in your life. Whether that is the relationship with your family or maybe it is that relationship with you and your God and how much you love Him and if that can be in the circle in the middle, and all the other circles are coming together, that is what makes a happy, vibrant, beautiful woman. "
Some of Katie's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "I need to exercise every morning. It is super important for my mental game to get up and get moving. My other favorite personal habit is my nightly prayer. I need rest, I need my ritual of quiet time."
Easy meal: "I love noodles and marinara sauce."
Possession: Pampered Chef chopper.
Katie's Favorite Books: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Best advice received: "Those 20 minutes before the kids get home on the bus, I want you to make sure that you take time to sit down and really adjust your mind into becoming a mom. So that when they come home, I can just completely embrace them instead of being halfway into supper or into something I am doing... into the computer or switching laundry. I try to be there. I try to be right at the front entrance, greeting them with a hug and really sitting down to visit with them, to hear what has happened with their day."
Katie's Happiness Formula:
"I am happiest when I allow others into my heart, and I surround myself with good people, and I listen to God."
A Challenge from Katie:
"I would love if all of you took a little bit of time to make eye contact with a stranger, and make that stranger's day with your smile or with just one little compliment that you can give them. Because it will really, really make them feel loved. And if we feel more loved, when we live love and when we live with the conviction that we are a daughter of a King, we will live so happy, so vibrant and so full of zest."
Resources
Facebook: @KatieDilseSpeaks
Pinterest: @SpeakingofFun
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Learn why choosing happiness is a better idea than setting yet another New Year's resolution. And how to make 2017 your best year ever!
www.jenriday.com
Kate Bee grew up in a home that relied on alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress and a means to celebrate everything. Eventually Kate realized she was drinking too much and finding it nearly impossible to stop, but she pressed on and is happily living an alcohol-free lifestyle today and sharing what she has learned with others. Kate shares several great tips that are helpful for overcoming any addiction, including food, such as pushing through fear and the importance of human connection.
Kate Bee is the founder of The Sober School, where she coaches women through early sobriety and helps them navigate alcohol-free living without feeling deprived or miserable. Kate's mission is to remove the stigma, misinformation and fear that surrounds addiction. Kate lives near Manchester in the UK and in her spare time she likes running, reading and drinking too much tea.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Kate:
"Everything you want is on the other side of fear."
"Feeling fear is good, and anything that is worth doing will bring out fear... Fear is a kind of indicator of what we need to do."
"Give it a hundred percent. Do not let that fear put you off or hold you back. "
"I felt so awful that I had wasted all this money going to this expensive boot camp, and to make things worst, for once, none of my friends were drinking because they were actually going dry in January. And so I had to pretend that I was doing it with them, and I think that was the first time I thought, 'Oh my God, something is really wrong here that I am lying to my closest friends!' So, I think that was a moment that I thought something really has to change."
"So, it was from writing the blog (read Kate's blog here) and building up some recovery and realizing that I was not the only one, that I started to think. There is really a lack of support in this area, and we need something to change."
"So, it took me a really long time to realize that actually there were other coping mechanisms out there. And for a little while, I think I transitioned from alcohol to food which you know, is not ideal, is not perfect. I ate way to much ice cream during my first year of sobriety. And now I think I have got it nailed down a bit bitter. I know that I have to exercise like at least every other day. Nothing beats running for being a stress buster and helping you cope with your emotions."
"You can talk to people and that really helps you deal with what is going on with your life. I used to never talk to people. I used to really keep everything inside. I was not very good at talking about how I was really feeling, so that was like a big learning curve for me."
"Realizing that something may not be right is really a big step forward. We live in this culture where drinking is so normalized that actually realizing that all is not okay, that is such a great step."
"If you think you have a problem with alcohol and you think it is holding you back in some way, it is great to take a break from it. Ideally a month, maybe 2 or even 3 months because someone who is a truly a take-it-or-leave-it drinker - who truly has a healthy relationship with alcohol - should be able to leave it for a period of time. And so I definitely recommend experimenting with having a break. It does not have to be forever. And I hate talking about the F word, because it freaks everybody out. Just a short term target is great."
"The key to sobriety is changing the way you feel about alcohol."
Some of Kate's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: Sleeping better.
Easy meal: "Moroccan dish. Chicken and some spices. And throw in some vegetables, courgettes, peppers, what ever you've got around. Put it into a slow cook and it comes out really nice."
Possession: "Caffetiere and dishwasher"
Kate's Favorite Books: I Thought It Was Just Me byBrené Brown.
Best advice received: "Success happens when you keep taking action."
Kate's Happiness Formula:
"Living an alcohol-free lifestyle. Moving my body. Staying fit and well. Connecting with others. Having good friendships and relationships."
A Challenge from Kate:
"For anyone who feels they are drinking too much or that the alcohol is holding them back in some way, a great challenge would be to start keeping a drink diary. It is really good to get things down on paper or just make a few notes on your phone so you can see what is happening in black and white. You take things out of your head and put it somewhere where you can look at it more objectively. Keep a record of what you are drinking and write down why, what it is you are looking for and how are you feeling at that time."
Resources
Sober Journalist (Kate's Blog)
The Sober School (Kate's Program that will help you become alcohol free. The next program begins on January 2, 2017).
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Learn an easy tip to help you make 2017 WAY more successful. And you can do it any time you want... while driving, while walking... and more!
Shawna Percy shares 2 stories of pain and grief that initially led her to be silent and holding the pain inside of her. But listen to hear how talking about the pain of an abusive situation, as well as sharing the grief of her husband's suicide, helped her to reclaim her voice and her power.
Shawna Percy is a published author, speaker, and advocate. When Shawna was 32 her first husband died by suicide. Overnight Shawna became an only-parent, and was left to find her way through a traumatic grief journey. Today Shawna is known as the Good Grief Guru. She has remarried, now has two children, became a certified suicide intervention trainer, and is thrilled to take the TEDxUW stage on November 26th. Her motto: Talking today changes tomorrow."
Nuggets of Wisdom from Shawna:
"We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. - Maya Angelou"
"As I am open with my story and I talk to other people, what gets reciprocated is that other people can relate and they open up and start sharing their stories."
"Unfortunately, some life lessons take some time to surface. But one of things that helped me was someone once told me a Cherokee parable, which is the story of two wolves: There this story of two wolves, and one is full of everything bad...greed, hate, anger, resentment, all of these terrible things. And then there is this other wolf, who is full of love, hope, kindness, everything good... And these two wolves, go to battle. And the question this person asked me as they were telling me this story was 'which one do you think wins?' And part of me was tempted to say, 'Well, I kinda feel like the bad wolf is gonna win because there's things sometimes feel like they're stronger.' And she said, 'The answer is whichever one you feed.'"
"...believe that most people generally have good intentions. And if I pour love out into the world and stay open and vulnerable with people, I have known some of the greatest supports of my life to come out of that. And so really, when tragedy hit my life later on, and my first husband died, I am not sure that I would have had of incredible support that I did have, if I had not really fostered the side that are in the good wolf. If I had not fostered love and kindness and vulnerability and staying open to other people."
"One of the reasons why I talk so openly about suicide and my grief journey and all of that today is that it was by breaking that silence that I became more united with this person and we were able to then go through this journey together instead of on our own."
"I learned in that moment that someone else's reaction about something that I have shared is not really a reflection on me, it is a reflection on where they are at at that time."
"I have seen that lives have been saved by me talking openly and directly about suicide."
"Our loss in our life can be transformed into learning, and there can be gain from our pain."
Some of Shawna's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "I would say being persistent and telling anyone and everyone about these tools and openly talking about suicide."
Easy meal: "Stir Fry. Lots of veggies, fried up in soy sauce over jasmine rice. "
Possession: Vitamix
Shawna's Favorite Books: Traveling Mercies, Plan B, and Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
Best advice received: "'Have the courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.' After my first husband died, it would have been so tempting to close up and not let anyone in, but this advice really encouraged me to remain open and to remain vulnerable and I have found that so much love and support has come to me through that."
Shawna's Happiness Formula:
"The Breath of Life. The Height of Life. And the Length of life: The inward reach, the outward reach and the upward reach."
A Challenge from Shawna:
Go to the livingworks.net website. And look for a training in your area. Go sign up for a safe talk or an assist.
Resources
STIGMA IN A LARGE YELLOW ENVELOPE
Traveling Mercies, Plan B, and Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
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Sometimes we just need to forgive and let go...
Laura Thompson Brady was happy to be a stay-at-home mom for her 2 kids, but after a time she realized she felt a deep level of sadness and a dimming of her inner light. Laura began to ask, “What am I meant to be doing?” Laura spent lots of time simply LISTENING to her intuition and thoughts and realized she had been neglecting an important part of herself: a desire to nurture other women and to improve the world, which began the Mamas on a Mission movement.
Laura Thompson Brady, Ph.D. & founder of The Nourished Home, leads the Mama on a Mission Movement, where she helps visionary women step “outside of the box” and lead the way to greater harmony, freedom, healing, and joy for their themselves, their families, the communities they serve, and the larger world we call home. Laura lives with her husband and two girls in Maine. You can learn more about Laura’s work at www.thenourishedhome.com.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Laura:
"Resolve to be always beginning." - Rainer Maria Rilke
"No matter how much we think we know, that there is always something more to learn, there is something more to grow into."
"If I want that for you (Flannery), and if I want you to find the way to that, the best way I can do that is by living that and figuring that out and modeling that for you, and so that hit me really hard."
"I was neglecting these parts of myself and that I really needed to lovingly tend to them and listen to them and open myself up to the possibility to what it would look like to be in the space of really loving the opportunities that I have through motherhood and being with my family as well as having the opportunity and the openness to really look at what are the other ways I am called as a human being to make impact and to show up in this world while I am here. That was the turning point that I wanted to share."
"The listening and contemplation and a little bit of research, I decided that I wanted to merge my academic background with really supporting people in a very empowering and positive way."
"Another piece that was so radically important that in terms of the inner work that was required for me, it was around really acknowledging with love all of the fears that I had about stepping into my work."
"I’ve always felt called in some capacity to do healing work with people."
"I allowed myself to really have the space to deeply listen."
Some of Laura's Favorite Things:
Personal habit: "Walking meditations that I do out in the woods. Simply being in the natural environment reminds us to calm the nervous system, to ground into ourselves and to get quiet."
Easy meal: Crockpot Chicken Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food
Possession: Chef's Knife
Laura's Favorite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Best advice received: "In any moment when you are not sure of what to do, or you are afraid or you do not know how to move forward with somebody, just ask yourself what would love do?"
Laura's Happiness Formula:
"I am happiest when I get outside everyday, when I have quiet space to listen to my intuition and to make space to do something playful or joyful or relaxing with people that I love, something that has no purpose other than to just be playful, just be joyful or just relax and be, and connect, or just be creative for the sake of creativity."
A Challenge from Laura:
"Let go of holiday overwhelm, to let go of all of the things that you think you should be doing to create a perfect holiday for your family or your loved ones and to all the kinds of things that we are talking about in this podcast. To really listen, how do I most want to feel during this holiday season? What do I most want to experience and share with people that I love? What is that I most value? that I do not want miss out on during this time of sacred celebration?"
Resources
HectictoHarmonious.com (get a copy of Laura's ebook!)
Crockpot Chicken Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
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