DIG LIFE DEEP!

Frank King, Suicide Prevention speaker and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years.

Depression and suicide run in his family. He’s thought about killing himself more times than he can count. He’s fought a lifetime battle with Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality, turning that long dark journey of the soul into five TEDx Talks and sharing his lifesaving insights on Mental Health Awareness with associations, corporations, and colleges.

A Motivational Public Speaker who uses his life lessons to start the conversation giving people permission to give voice to their feelings and experiences surrounding depression and suicide.

And doing it by coming out, as it were, and standing in his truth, and doing it with humor.

He believes that where there is humor there is hope, where there is laughter there is life, nobody dies laughing. The right person, at the right time, with the right information, can save a life.

Frank has taken a professional hit as a victim of the "cancel culture" after the media reported widely on his brush with COVID 19 on a cruise ship gig. He says the mainstream media didn't present a fair picture of the drama. Also known as the mental health comedian, Frank has emerged stronger and survived the international media attack with grace and good humor.  

Saying people need to "stop rationalizing and excusing criminal activity," members of the Project 21 black leadership network condemned the politically motivated riots that have erupted across America in the wage of George Floyd’s brutal death, and applaud the possibility of Antifa being designated a domestic terrorist organization.

Project 21 was founded 28 years ago in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots to highlight black Americans willing to speak out for law and order and to show the political diversity of the black community.

On the five-year anniversary of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, Project 21 members met with the mayor and city council members of that city to discuss ways they could implement policy recommendations found in Project 21's "Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America." The Blueprint, published in 2018, contains 57 policy ideas "to remove barriers blocking blacks from reaching their full potential." Project 21 similarly sought to work with the mayor and city council of Baltimore, Maryland in the wake of President Donald Trump's comments and tweets that called for more governmental accountability related to crime and quality of life there.

A parade of guests  make a timely return. This episode reviews and analyses events of our times with a roadmap to optimism and positive turns as the world grapples with business reopenings and crushing debt — amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This episode also tackles topics generating much conversation and heat in the world at large, including prospects for the Irish vote in American politics. Listen to and hear about US businessmen with diverse backgrounds, from tireless innovators Joseph Brooks and Chris Craddock to hospitality titans Ed Doherty and Hugh O'Lunney. We remember George Floyd, and this terrible tragedy. 

It started as a college prank; a friend offered Ruth Poniarski a brownie that, unbeknownst to her, was laced with angel dust. What resulted was a debilitating accident, and the first of many mental breakdowns that spiraled into diagnoses of psychosis, schizophrenia, severe anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Long Island native Ruth Poniarski has released her first book, Journey of the Self: Memoir of an Artist, published by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Warren Publishing. Poniarski’s unflinchingly honest memoir shares her coming-of-age story through the lenses of mental illness, disability, and steadfast determination.

For years, Poniarski struggled to cope with her new reality as she undertook a rigorous architectural program, sought out new friends (and the perfect mate), and battled through the depths of mental illness. Her journey led her in all directions as she sought comfort, solace, stability and love.

Now an accomplished artist, Poniarski considers her memoir to be a portrait of sorts. “This book, like many of my paintings, is about introspection,” she says. “So many of us, particularly when we’re young, seek definition through labels or through what others think of us. It’s so easy to say, ‘I have bipolar disorder, therefore, X’ or ‘So and so doesn’t love me the way I love him, therefore, Y.’ But none of that is who we truly are.”

The release of Poniarski’s memoir is particularly timely in light of the Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing orders. “A lot of people are stuck at home right now. This kind of isolation forces a person to examine themselves; what makes them unique beyond who they are to society,” says Poniarski. “That kind of self-reflection allows us to become more available to others. You have to know yourself first.”

“So, who am I?” Poniarski laughs. “Well … you’ll just have to read the book!”

For more information about Ruth Poniarski or her book, please visit: ruthponiarski.com.

Journey of the Self: Memoir of an Artist

222 pages/Paperback/$15.95

Joseph Brooks’ message has already impacted and inspired the lives of so many people ― and the number continues to grow with each new speaking engagement. Born into poverty on San Antonio’s violent east side, he endured bullying and abuse in school and lost both parents by the age of 18. His incredible story of growing from "Welfare to Wellbeing" and becoming a highly successful fitness expert to the stars is awe-inspiring. 

In his new book, The Value of a Single Woman, and in his motivational presentations, Brooks recounts his past and his extraordinary turnaround. “As an only child, I went through a period of deep depression after my mother died,” he says. “And I credit God for saving me from a 9 mm bullet that should have ended my life. Instead, it changed me forever and allowed me to see the positives instead of the negatives in life.” 

Brooks, who learned to be articulate and persistent from his mother, took his first job at 17 as a floor trainer at a local gym and created an after-school program called Impact to help at-risk youth. Both places played outsize roles for him. From such bleak beginnings, he managed to change his life's trajectory, becoming one of the most successful personal trainers in Texas, a television fitness guru, an actor, an author and a motivational speaker. He has also been a featured guest on national and local podcasts, covering issues that range from business to relationships. "I have an incredible story I call 'From Welfare to Well-being' and it's a message I need to get out,” he says. “It has impacted so many lives already.” 

Author, actor, fitness expert and speaker Joseph Brooks has been helping individuals transform their lives physically, spiritually and mentally for over 30 years. A regular fitness expert on KSAT-12’s top variety show SA Live, Brooks has helped thousands by coming into their homes via TV. He is also listed on IMDb at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10956746/. He has been a featured guest on national and local podcast such as Erica Vargas’s “In Search of good Men,” Janie Terrazas’s “Rise above TV,” Heather Whitestones “Whitestone Marketing” and Our Lady of the Lake Universities “Book Nook.” He is also cast to play the role of “Doc” Brown, a major character in Director/Choreographer Joemer Dulatres Grandmaster movie due for release in 2020. 

To learn more about Brooks' story and his motivational speaking, please visit the following: www.gotothenextlevel.net; www.youtube.com/; or www.facebook.com. 

The Value of a Single Woman Publisher: HPNbooks.com Released: October 2019. Available from www.gotothenextlevel.com ISBN # 781944 891459

Jen Lilley, the famed actress who has become the face of the Hallmark Channel, is also a musician, a mother, and the nation's leading celebrity foster care advocate who is herself a parent of two sons via foster care. Jen has starred in several television films from the Hallmark Channel, and played the character of Theresa Donovan on NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives. On May 1, 2020, she  launched National Foster Care Month with a special campaign.  Jen partners with the foundation Project Orphans to establish a neighborhood in the US. where orphans and children can find foster care in safe and loving homes. The focus is on permanency and adoption. And to raise awareness and money for Project Orphans, Jen announced #VoicesThatGive contest. This will provide creators from virtually every walks of life including singers and actors, a chance to win the  grand prize of $10,000, a walk-on roll for one of Jen's upcoming Hallmark Channel Movies, a set tour and taping of Home & Family.  

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tkCQQv3VJow

Jen has also launched her new weekly podcast Fostering Hope. Link here: https://bramblejampodcast.com/foster. The podcast aims to help normalize and support adoptive families of all types, foster ethical practices, and champion for safe, loving families for the children who need them. In each episode, Jen has open, honest, informative, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking conversations with the most influential people in the world for foster care and adoption. Jen aspires to encourage people who are currently fostering children AND inspire more people to begin the deeply rewarding fostering journey.  But Jen's creative prowess does not end when the director yells cut. She is also a singer and songwriter, with her debut album LILLEY. 

Advocating for foster care and adoption is something that speaks to Jen's heart. Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia, Jen's parents were considered the "unofficial foster parents" due to their line of work - her father was a judge, while her mother was a director of a women and children's charity - making their home a "safe house" of sorts.  Jen was awarded the National Educators Award for her tireless work in Guatemala and is known for advocating children's rights where she actively supports foundations that focus on protecting children against physical and sexual abuse, human trafficking and the world water crisis. Jen is a celebrity ambassador for the child abuse and treatment organizations Childhelp, Project Orphans, ECPAT, and The Dave Thomas Foundation.

The coronavirus pandemic has cut a wide swathe of despair and destruction across the globe. The shocking loss of human life and the soaring caseloads of COVID-19, are heartbreaking for families, friends and communities. This is a tragedy unprecedented in recent history. The toll on health services and governments everywhere is staggering. As nations scramble to "flatten the curve," the business community is also grappling with a hard new reality: survival. 

Two leading business owners in the New York metro region tell their story.  Ed Doherty, Chairman & CEO of Doherty Enterprises, is the 15th largest franchisee in the United States, operating in 146 locations. Many are based in the New York metro region. Hugh O'Lunney, a native of CO. Cavan, Ireland, operates the iconic O'Lunney's Times Square Pub in the heart of New York's theater district.  Then there is Mike Miranti, home alone and out of work, since his job as head server at an upscale Italian restaurant in Manhattan ended because of the coronavirus shutdowns.  He shares his deepest thoughts and story.

Mexican-born actor Alberto Zeni has made his way to the US small screen in the highly-anticipated second season of Netflix's crime drama Narcos: Mexico, which returned in February 2020. He stars alongside Diego Luna(Gallardo), Scoot McNairy (the narrator) and Teresa Ruiz (Bautista). In this interview, he talks about his character, his storied career, growing up in Mexico, his family life and working for the homeless in Los Angeles. Alberto says life is “beautiful.”

It has been over a year since the Season 1 release of "Narcos: Mexico", which effectively shifted the long-running drug cartel drama into new territory. The first season of "Narcos: Mexico", was the fourth season of "Narcos" overall and it reset the Netflix series when it traveled back to 1980s Mexico to show the birth of the Guadalajara cartel and trace the origins of the Mexican drug war, beginning at the time when Mexican traffickers were a loose and disorganized confederation of small-time independent cannabis growers and dealers.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Alberto first caught the acting bug when he was 14 years old while working for Parque Plaza Sesamo in his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico; a family-friendly destination with a Sesame Street theme featuring rides, games and a water park. Singing, dancing and playing characters at the park wasn't his only direction as he had goals of becoming an inventor and even received a degree in Engineering.

After completing his studies, Alberto continued working in the entertainment industry starring in telenovelas such as "Hoy Soy Nadie," "Trillizas de Colores," "Bajo el Alma," "XY. La Revista" and the web series "Vidas Cruzadas" starring Kate del Castillo.

It wasn't until his mid - twenties, where he decided to make a drastic change, pack up his bags and move to Los Angeles, CA to continue his acting journey. While in LA, Alberto immersed himself in the craft - training in the Meisner Technique and teaching himself English. Alberto is now fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and can speak some French, Hebrew, Arabic and Mandarin.

The average revenue of Latino-owned restaurants, retail stores, construction companies and other small businesses in the US has surged by a  huge 46.5 percent in the past year. That exceeds the earnings growth of non-Latino businesses in the US by as much as 12 percent, according to a recent study by online lender Biz2Credit. Graciela Tiscareno-Sato. President and Founder at Gracefully Global Group LLC in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a perfect example of this business growth. A US Latino military veteran, her educational publishing company is celebrating 10 years of operation in 2020.  Her company has shipped physical products and digital courses to 40 of 50 States, and to seven countries; and she's delivered keynotes US coast to coast in two languages.

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution which guarantees women the right to vote. The movement to pass the 19th Amendment was led by women suffragists, considered the early pioneers of the feminist movement, who understood that abortion ends a life and harms women. These leaders include such women as Susan B. Anthony, and Alice Paul, who said abortion is the “ultimate exploitation of women.” Today, the pro-life movement is following in the footsteps of the suffragists as they advocate for equality for the unborn, believing that equal rights for women begin in the womb. Like the original feminists, the pro-life movement believes that women and society deserve better than abortion and that life is truly the empowering choice for women, babies, and society.

“Courageous suffragists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who fought for women’s right to vote, also opposed abortion. Pro-lifers should be inspired by the early suffragists who understood the true dignity of women, and that every person, born and unborn, deserves equal rights and protections under the law,” said Jeanne Mancini. “The success of the suffragists in achieving a guaranteed right to vote for women gives us hope that one day all persons, born and unborn, will be guaranteed the right to life,” continued Mancini.

The 47th annual March for Life, the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration, will be held on January 24, 2020. Leading up to the March for Life and throughout 2020, the March for Life will share more about the theme and the incredible history of the women who pioneered the women’s rights movement and their pro-life beliefs. 

Source: March for Life Education and Defense Fund