WOW, are you in for a treat with this week’s podcast guest.

You are about to meet the LUMINOUS Elizabeth Jameson. Who is this luminous being, you ask? Well, lemme tell ya …

Elizabeth Jameson is an artist and writer who explores what it means to live in an imperfect body as part of the universal human experience.  

Before her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she served as a public interest lawyer representing incarcerated children; she later represented children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities in their attempts to receive medically necessary care.

As her disease progressed, she began using her MRI’s to create art as a way of reclaiming agency of her own medical data. She transformed the unsettling, clinical images into work that invites people to open up conversations about what it means to have an illness or disability. Her work is part of permanent collections both nationally and internationally, including the National Institutes of Health, major universities, and medical schools.

Elizabeth’s essays have been published in The New York Times, British Medical Journal, WIRED magazine, and MIT’s Leonardo Journal. Her essay, “Losing Touch, Finding Intimacy,” was included in the New York Times book,  About Us, released in September 2019 by Norton Publishing. Her latest project is called “MS Confidential,” a webcast series of candid conversations on navigating the chaos of MS.  

Many of her lectures at medical schools and symposiums have been recorded and shared, including her TedXStanford talk, “Learning to Celebrate and Embrace Our Imperfect Bodies.”

In fact, Elizabeth and I met during preparation for that TEDxStanford talk, and we have stayed in touch ever since. I love that  YOU now get to meet her, because nothing gives me more joy than introducing luminous humans to you, my friend.

So sit back, grab your beverage of choice, or put a leash on that hound of yours, and join me in this conversation with Elizabeth Jamison.

For more on Elizabeth, find her online here:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejamesonfineart/

Have you ever been in a conversation, or in a meeting, and someone says something that feels like a slap?

You start asking yourself questions like:

“Wait, did she/he just say something mean, or am I imagining this?”

I call these moments psychic attacks not because I mean “psychic” in the woo-woo, crystal ball sense, but because these are attacks on our psyches. 

Psychologists call them “passive aggressive” or “covert aggressive” comments. But call them what you want … they turn our inner world upside down temporarily.

In this week’s episode we are shining the light of attention and awareness on psychic attacks. Why?

Because they ROB us of our confidence, and my friend, we shall not stand for it. 

We are going to illuminate these moments and become more familiar with the terrain, so in the future, you will be able to respond with integrity and a clear mind, instead of allowing the attacker to gaslight you into being silent, or bait you into a counter-productive counter attack.

Tune in, and get ready for practical strategies and techniques for showing up strong, even when you’re under attack.

Well, my friends. In this week’s podcast episode, I had a rather surreal experience.

I got to interview someone very special, and “special” not just because of who she is and how much she has accomplished in her life, but “special” because she and I are both named … BRONWYN.

People, I am beside myself with joy to be able to introduce to you the marvelous Bronwyn Morgan.

Bronwyn is the founder and CEO of the tech startup Xeo Air, which is an AI based, drones-on-demand platform for mission management, connecting b2b clients in insurance, telecom, and catastrophic response and beyond, with a crew of Part 107 drone pilots.

She is also founder of Airversity Drone Academy + Consulting, a training school for both Part 107 prep and drone flight along with private and public safety consulting. 

Bronwyn is the Founder of Black Women In STEAM, an organization dedicated to galvanizing the efforts of Black women in STEAM fields.

She has over 20 years of senior level management experience in sales, strategic planning, national product and customer marketing, innovation, large team management, emerging tech ventures, corporate innovation, IP commercialization, and business development with global companies with projects in Asia, Europe, and South America. Bronwyn has worked for companies such as P&G and Coca-Cola, with major labels and studios in the entertainment industry, and Silicon Valley based tech companies. 

Bronwyn is a force of nature, and I wanted to talk with her about her backstory. I am so glad I did. Never in a million years could I have anticipated where our conversation took us … because as you will see, we end up in a very … spiritual place. Apparently, being into spirituality and meditation is very on brand for us Bronwyns.

So, whether you curl up & get comfy, or leash up that dog and hit the trail,  do come listen in on my conversation with Bronwyn Morgan.

Find Bronwyn Morgan on …

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwynmorgan/

Shine on, my friend.

B

As you may know, Season 4 of this podcast is all about responding to YOUR questions. Your interests.

And lately, I have been asked a LOT about my parenting philosophy. Which honestly, I think is RICH because I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing. 

BUT, I do have 15 years+ of experience of being a parent, and I have worked EXTREMELY hard at being the best version of myself as a mother, without being weird about it. 

So this episode is my attempt to offer parents of all stripes (this isn’t just a mothering conversation) three things: 

1. The core beliefs that have been essential to me as a parent

Give it a listen, and below are the books/resources I mention during the show:

• Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Raising Resilient Children by Wendy Mogel

As always, I thank you for your ears and hearts. Can’t wait to hear what you think about this one. It’s a deeply personal episode for me.

In the “before times” (AKA pre-Covid), the month of January always brought with it a kind of open-hearted optimism, which acted as fuel propelling us into a new year.

But the past two Januaries have been less open-hearted for many of us. Less optimistic. 

Maybe like me, you spent the holidays with Omicron. 

Either way, my friend, this episode is calling out to you from a place of possibility. Of hope. This episode is like a phone call straight to your soul.… 

So listen in, because you’re about to meet the marvelous Scott Shute. Scott is the former Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs and VP of Global Customer Operations at Linkedin. Scott has since left that position to focus FULL TIME on his consulting practice, helping companies of all shapes and sizes to become more conscious and compassionate through his speaking engagements, workshops, and executive coaching. Scott helps people build their own self-awareness through meditations and retreats, and his recent book—The Full Body Yes: Change Your Work and the World from the Inside Out.

After getting through 2 years of what feels like a constant state of NO, the idea of a full body YES is just delicious to me, and I can’t wait for you to meet Scott and hear more about this concept … this practice. 

You can find Scott on scottshute.com and linkedin.com/in/scottshute.

Can’t wait to hear what you think of our conversation!

It’s the final countdown … and this week’s podcast episode (the last of 2021!) is dedicated to ONE category of listener:

Those who struggle with tricky family dynamics during the Holidays.

For many people, the holidays conjure feelings of closeness and long standing traditions that bring joy.

But for a whole lot of people, the holidays carry the energy signatures of dread. Anxiety. Avoidance. 

Not every family can be the Huxtables. (I mean jeeze, not even the Huxtables were the Huxtables as it turns out.)

This episodeLINK is 100% focused on strategies for navigating difficult people, conversations, emotions … you name it. 

It’s like a box of chocolates, but you DO know what you’re gonna get: a bevy of tested and true techniques for staying sane, loving, and grounded. Even when old Uncle Whatsisname has too much to drink and says something crazy. Even when someone has the gall to ask you why you haven’t had more kids (or why you had so many). Even when politics comes up. 

It’s all in here, and it’s all good. Give it a listen here.

Shine on, my friend.

I think it’s safe to say that the politics of the past several years has made us cynical.

That’s definitely been my experience. But recently, I attended a fundraiser for an organization called the Service First Women’s Victory Fund. They are on “campaign to elevate the collective voice of elected women leaders who have dedicated their lives to serving our country and who know what it means to put service and country over partisan politics. Together, we are building a new normal where service leaders and women lead the way in Congress.”

​​https://www.servicefirstwomensvictoryfund.com/

Friends, they renewed my faith. And today, I have two incredible congresswomen who represent the fund to talk to us. You are about to meet Representative Chrissy Houlahan, who serves Pennsylvania’s 6th district and Representative Abigail Spanberger, who serves Virginia’s 7th district.

Get ready for a dose of inspiration, and a VERY renewed sense of urgency to get involved in our very fragile democracy.

One of my FAVORITE songs of the last few years is a little ditty called My Type by a band called Saint Motel. My daughter Stella turned me onto it, and it has been on heavy, heavy rotation in my house (and car) ever since.

So imagine my delight when lead singer A/J Jackson’s team reached out to see if I’d be open to having him on my show to talk about his new project.

You will be able to hear my barely concealed fan-girling in this episode, but I did manage to ask him several questions I had to know the answer to.

A/J and his band Saint Motel have performed on some pretty big stages. Think Coachella, Bottle Rocket, Madison Square Garden (opening for Panic! at the Disco), and about a badrillion other venues. 

I wanted to ask him what it’s like to perform at that level.

As a singer myself (wink wink), I wanted to know about his vocal warm-up routine (it’s hilarious) and any weird pre-game rituals (rhythmic slapping anyone?).

And I REALLY wanted to understand the thinking behind his recent move beyond music to create something altogether new … by founding an eye wear company!  AVIEW is A/J’s new project,  an eye wear brand that taps into the psychology of color therapy. 

I’m fascinated by people who resisted the temptation to just sit around and binge-watch all that streaming had to offer during the pandemic-2020, they actually made something. 

AVIEW: https://www.aview.com/

My Type: https://spoti.fi/3cg80bJ

In Russian, the word for procrastination is: “provolochka“

In Arabic, they say, “taswif an”

In Spanish, it’s aplazar. 

In other words, procrastination transcends culture, race, gender, and even transcends time. Seneca was talking about procrastination during the ROMAN Imperial Period, and famously said: 

“The fool, with all his other faults, has this also, he is always getting ready to live.”

The tendency to procrastinate seems to be baked into our behavioral DNA as homo sapiens. Which seems like some kind of cosmic joke, given how SHORT our lives truly are. 

This episode is dedicated to sharing the ONE technique that has changed the procrastination game for me. I’ve never shared it publicly before because it is so laughably simple, but what the heck, I might as well come clean! 

This episode is packed with practical strategies for getting around your very human case of procrastination, and I mention a few resources, which I’ve listed here for your viewing/reading/listening pleasure:

• https://mailchi.mp/bronwyncommunications/procrastination 

• My Focus + Shine Worksheet