Are You Happy in Your Heart?

Life for me is never dull. I make sure of it. And this episode takes you on a unpredictable ride through several vignettes that have made up my story over the past few years. All of which have taught me, shaped me, broken me down and flat out surprised me! It has been a time of remembering and also paying tribute the beauty and brutality that is our walk on this planet. Kidney's. Cats. COVID. This has it all. Buckle up, amigos. Let's ride.

"Everyone has something to say. Everyone has a voice!"

This episode explores creativity and living your life with wonder and awe. If we slow down, stay curious and allow ourselves to be dazzled, we will notice the creative beauty that is around us.

The incomparable Mary Favro (who just so happens to be my sister), shares with us:

How she gained a love for art and creativity. 

How we can harness our own creative intelligence. 

Who her artistic, lesser-known artist mentors are and how they have dazzled the world with their creativity. 

How we can use our own voice and how creativity is linked with our happiness.

Pull up a chair. Grab a beverage. Have a listen.

The term "Burnout" may strike you as one of those trendy buzz words that you hear around the water cooler or something you talk about with your Therapist. But it is a real thing that can threaten not only our happiness, but our health. 

In this conversation with Scott Anderson, who is a brilliant entrepreneur, mental health therapist and executive coach, we un-pack the feelings of burnout and how it can be the "dark night of the soul." He shares some simple techniques we can do today to drop anchor and get our lives back on track.

Grief. That unavoidable residue that is left on our hearts. This tricky emotion is one that re-shapes our world and we cannot escape from it. No matter how hard we may try. Grief hurts. It comes in waves. It is isolating. It is a catalyst to tremendous growth. It is the proof that we loved deeply and bravely. This episode explores the many stages of grief and delicately teaches us how we can show compassion towards others, and ourselves. 

I am joined by four insightful souls who have loved completely and have faced life-changing grief and have something to say about it. 

Thank you to my dear Denise Cordero, Viviana Flores, Chad Mortenson and Bryce Goodwin for sharing your story and your love.

Pull up a chair. Grab a beverage. Have a listen.

She's the best friend you didn't know you had and the brutally honest b*tch you didn't know you needed. Photographer and author of "Comfortably Uncomfortable- The Road to Happiness Isn't Always Paved", Jacquelyn Phillips is out living her truth and sharing her story to help others who are tired of living in a constant cycle of self destruction. Breaking barriers of childhood trauma, self loathing and manipulative behaviors, she has found the tools and the talent to unlearn actions that kept her away from the drain of hopelessness and despair- even if she kept a smile on her face. An active voice in the mental heath community, she is an avid fitness fan, coffee addict, mother to teenage son, wife to an amazingly patient husband and friend to many. When she's not on the job, she is out creating art, travelling and experimenting in the kitchen. 

"Comfortably Uncomfortable" is available for purchase on Amazon and available free with Kindle Unlimited.

Her companion website with helpful providers, worksheets and other tools is www.grownupgrowingpains.com

On Facebook.com/grownupgrowingpains you can find inspirations and motivational insights

Instagram.com/grownupgrowingpains is where you can find humorous memes and thirst trap photos

Jason Knoll is passionate about personal growth, transformation and the exploration of consciousness. He digs deep within himself and has the courage to follow his inner guidance. This episode had no planned topic or set questions. Just two friends who showed up powerfully to the present moment. We discussed how life sustains life. How fear can be a great teacher and how we must step into our true self to be truly happy.

Rebekah Bernier is a straight-up survivor. She has walked the fiery path of having breast cancer, having loved ones pass away and going through a messy divorce. Yet, she has an amazing perspective on how she looks at life now, through her own two eyes. She firmly believes that life is messy and wonderful. She has learned that when you are flat out on your back, it won't always be that way and that happiness comes from respecting and loving yourself...first! 

You can find her podcast "Through These Hazel Eyes" HERE

Suzette Smith is a woman with an endless reserve of courage, tenacity and good old grit. She as walked a very unique path in life and has faced some unbelievable challenges with her battle with ovarian cancer and her time spent in federal prison. Yet through it all, she has risen from the ashes and is spreading her wings to new heights much like a fearless Phoenix!

The year 2020 has been quite a doozy! We have faced hardships on a global scale that trickled down to our personal lives and effected them in every single way. This episode is merely a snapshot of the events that transpired and what it was like to live during a global pandemic in 2020. It explores and pays tribute to the moments that yielded unbelievable grief and the countless acts of kindness, bravery and love that caused only feelings of sincere gratitude.

R. Scott Livengood is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship with the W. P. Carey’s Management and Entrepreneurship Department at Arizona State University. He recently self-published a book called "The Startup of Seinfeld: A Multimedia Approach to Learning Entrepreneurship" that introduces entrepreneurial principles and then links readers to edited Seinfeld clips as examples. We sit down and discuss happiness, success and this conversation is far from being an episode about nothing. 

You can find his book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K4SVBJ2/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk