FINE is a 4-Letter Word

My guest on today’s show grew up in a hostile, abusive environment. So it’s no surprise Jennifer Ramirez developed anger and self-worth issues. She became a single mom in her early twenties and survived domestic, emotionally, and financial abuse as an adult. Then she was introduced to personal development and counseling, which she credits for helping her transform her life. By the time she was 30, she had paid off $25,000 of credit card debt and graduated from college completely debt-free, while working full time and raising her daughter.

It was through therapy that she found the strength to start talking about her childhood sexual abuse, even though her family and her culture encouraged her to leave the past in the past. She realized she was the one who had to step up, speak out, and stop the cycle of secrets and shame.

In this episode we’re talking about what’s often a taboo topic and how using your voice to speak your truth courageously helps you overcome all types of trauma. I can’t wait for you to hear about the super-hard question Jennifer asked her mom and where the answer led them.

Jennifer Ramirez is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and the founder of &Rise which is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower women to be the ultimate versions of themselves no matter what adversities they've faced. She says the & means your story isn’t over yet; there’s more to tell. And the rise means rising above any adversities you’ve been through. Jennifer loves helping women rediscover their badassery.

She mentions the upcoming Bet On Us Casino Night fundraiser. You can find out how to contribute to that as well as more about her organization at WomenRiseChicago.org. You can also text the word "healing" to 773-770-4377 to subscribe for info on upcoming events, free resources, and more!

Hype Song: Survivor by Destiny’s Child

Website: https://www.womenrisechicago.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-ramirez-340537102/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenrisechicago

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrise_women

Twitter: https://twitter.com/and_rise_

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to find peace of mind amidst the chaos and no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Find the booking link HERE. Or text me at 571.317.1463.

And if you’re not into chatting just yet, you can go to ZenRabbit.com to find free resources, like meditations and articles.

There's a funny story behind the recording of this episode and a lesson in persistence. Tune in to hear what it is.

It’s not everyday you meet someone who’s lived on a glacier in Patagonia. Chris Schembra has done that and a whole lot more on his rollercoaster hero’s journey. He’s been a kayak tour guide, he’s run a theater company, he’s created a pasta sauce. He’s won accolades and awards for his work. He also has non suicidal self-injury, depression, jail and rehab on his resume.

Chris is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "Gratitude Through Hard Times" and "Gratitude and Pasta.” USA Today calls Chris their "Gratitude Guru."

He's a Founding Member of Rolling Stone Magazine's Culture Council, and he sits on the Executive Board at Fast Company Magazine.

Chris is the Founder of the 7:47 Gratitude Experience™ and he's used the principles of gratitude to spark over 500,000 relationships around the dinner table, serving Fortune 50 CEO's, Olympians, Academy and Grammy Award winners, Superbowl Champions as well as thousands of others who are not well-known names.

I’m honored to have a conversation about gratitude with Chris in this episode. The impact it has on you as the giver and the recipient. Where gratitude fits in the discussion of addiction. And it’s importance as a pro-social act.

We’re also talking about ingratitude. Because in all honesty, those of us who talk and teach about gratitude are not immune from falling victim to it. Chris openly shares his shocking cry for help when he was riding on the top of the world, less than 9 months ago.

Website: https://www.747club.org/

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.schembra/

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to find peace of mind amidst the chaos and no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Find the booking link HERE. Or text me at 571.317.1463.

And if you’re not into chatting just yet, you can go to ZenRabbit.com to find free resources, like meditations and articles.

Energized is seemingly Karen Oeser’s natural state, as you will hear. A big part of Karen’s story is about turning trauma into triumph. It’s pretty cool to hear a revelation she gets in real time, as we’re talking, about a past incident. I love when this happens on the show!

Karen’s also sharing her journey through several serious health conditions that she’s managed through alternative modalities. There’s a big focus on a favorite topic of gratitude in this one too. And how to use it – as well as some other techniques – to make yourself instantly feel better and raise your vibration. Plus how to then multiply blessings and send their positive energy out into the world.

A passionate financial literacy advocate, Karen bridges the skills gap between financial advisors and their female clients and prospects. She’s also a dream igniter who uses dance to help people wake up their inner passions so they can overcome their mind blocks and step into financial freedom.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to find peace of mind amidst the chaos and no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Find the booking link HERE. Or text me at 571.317.1463.

Karen’s hype song is Gonna Fly Now - Rocky Orchestra

Website: www.finliteracyforher.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-oeser-dream-igniter/

A special treat for you today with guest Brian Muka. Over the past couple of years, Brian and I have had a number of deep, thought-provoking conversations. We finally decided to record one so you can learn his wisdom and experience too.

We’re discussing fear, self-worth, and self-sabotage. We’re talking about manifesting the exact situations, circumstances and people you need on your journey. And we’re covering forgiveness and self-love. It’s a lot. This one is a little longer than usual and it’s totally worth it.

A navy veteran and former bomb tech, Brian describes himself as an intersection of Jocko Willink meets Bob Proctor. As he was running his executive coaching business called Fear Sherpa, and guiding clients to harness their fear, he realized what his Fear Clients wanted was to stop worrying about money. So he became a simple money educator and fell in love with being a wealth mentor and a tax strategist.

Now business owners hire him to re-balance their underperforming assets, pay only their patriotic duty in taxes without increasing their capital outlay, and 2x-4X increase income - tax free.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to move away from living in a state of constant anxiousness and instead find peace of mind no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Find the booking link HERE.

Brian's hype song: Beautiful Day by U2

Website: linktr.ee/brianmuka

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brian.muka

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianjmuka/

Today you get to hear from Ashley Harmon about the time in her life - after a series of miscarriages - when she was doing ok enough to fool everyone around her, but really, barely keeping her head above water. And then how she pulled herself out of that dark place. And when I say pulled herself out, it wasn’t something she did alone.

Plus we’re talking about lying to yourself, re-finding your motivation and the importance of having a support system in place.

Ashley Harmon is a Regional Sales Director at Twilio with a People First Mentality. As you’ll hear, she has a passion for helping others succeed and reach their full potential. Ashley is a Dog Mom, a Human Mom and a Karaoke enthusiast. She is passionate about her family and her work, and she strives to make the world around her a better place.

Ashley's hype song is A Million Dreams

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/ashley-harmon-mba-a13291a

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to move away from living in a state of constant anxiousness and instead find peace of mind no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Click HERE for the booking link. Or text me at 571.317.1463.

Today’s awesome guest is Sedruola Maruska. She brings such an amazing energy to this conversation – and to her life overall. We’re talking about questioning the rules of your upbringing and growing into your own person. Being intentional with your time and what happens when you say NO to people who just want to be nice to you.

Sedruola Maruska is a social justice, equity, inclusion and diversity consultant and coach. She hosts the award-winning podcast Diversity Dish, and she’s a speaker and aspiring author.

Her passion is helping business leaders cultivate cultures of equity and inclusion, so they can attract the diverse partnerships they desire and mitigate their risk of seeming out of touch. Sedruola is a second generation Haitian-American, a wife and a mother who prides herself on having an amazing extended family network and being a citizen of the world born in Queens, New York.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to move away from living in a state of constant anxiousness and instead find peace of mind no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Click here for the booking link.

Sedruola’s hype songs are:

Waka-Waka by Shakira and I Feel Better When I’m Dancing by Meghan Trainer

Get in touch with Sedruola at:

https://diversitydish.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sedruola/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sedruolamaruska/

https://www.facebook.com/sedruolamaruska/

http://twitter.com/sedruola

Find her awesome program called Personal Development 101 at

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CreXSnqkkiUTeO_GOj4bgPjOLrB2iwd3?usp=sharing

My guest on this episode is Mike Sackmary. And as you’ll hear, he has a great sense of humor. He calls himself a recovering rocket engineer. So it makes sense we’re talking about building rockets. Turns out you can incorporate what he learned when doing that, into your everyday life. Want to motivate people better? He’s got some ideas for you. And hear how he smartly and intentionally created the corporate culture at his company.

At an early age, Mike learned his brain loves to inhabit regions which are unseen by normal people. As a youngster, some of his rockets went up, some went sideways. His friends became nimble at getting out of the way.

Fast forward to post-college, he worked on the space shuttle, and many types of rockets and satellites. In the rest of life, he kinda sorta learned how to talk to female humans and claims he’s still working on this skill. He married a fellow nerd and she's awesome.

He started an investment fund with $10K, got to $2M and then decided to start looking for clients. The rest is history, except for the parts that haven't happened yet, which are actually future history.

Mike says the question he is most frequently asked is "What is WRONG with you?" and this is sometimes followed by "Barb married YOU?"

It seems that being good at investing and being good at rockets doesn't necessarily translate to being able to think like everyone else.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to move away from living in a state of constant anxiousness and instead find peace of mind no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Click HERE for the booking link.

Going solo for today’s episode to talk about tolerations. One definition of toleration is the allowing, permitting, or accepting of an action, idea, object, or person you dislike or disagree with.

I’m talking about the things that irritate you, but you put up with them anyway. Maybe because you don’t see a way around them. Or maybe because they’re irritating, but not enough to do something.

First I’m going to share some places in your life where you might be tolerating. Then I’ll talk a bit about why you’re allowing yourself to live with them. And then of course, what you can do to improve your situation.

Quick warning – once you see what you’re tolerating, you can’t unsee.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. If you’d like to move away from living in a state of constant anxiousness and instead find peace of mind no matter what’s going on around you, get on a complimentary call with me. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll get insight on any issue you’d like to bring to the table. And you’ll leave the conversation with clarity and renewed energy. Here's the booking link https://calendly.com/zenrabbit/call-to-connect-45

Or text me at 571.317.1463.

If you get value out of this episode, remember to share it with a friend or two and leave a review, ok? Thanks.

It’s my honor to chat with Jenn Wallace today about the ups and downs of running your own business without any real business experience and what it means to have great confidence and faith in what God, the Universe, Spirit has called you to do. Jenn’s sharing the tools that worked for her as she managed through the unexpected end of a big dream. And she may have dropped a hint about what’s coming next.

Jenn Wallace has always felt her calling is to help people, and she loves doing that through massage therapy. As a licensed massage therapist with more than 16 years’ experience, she owned and operated a day spa in Westford, MA before the pandemic. Jenn is currently a stay-at-home mom to her three amazing children and very happily married to her husband Steve. Sidenote, Steve is actually the one who introduced me to Jenn and recommended her for the show. 

She loves vacationing with her family and serving as a worship leader at her church. 

By now you may have heard about the amazing 8-week, F*ck Being Fine program.

Maybe you've been feeling like life is a bit out of control for a while now and you’ve been wishing for it to change. You're ready to trade in chaos for more peace of mind.

You can take all the spa days you want, but I’m guessing you’re finding them only a temporary fix. The stress continues as soon as you get back in your car. 

News flash, life is not going to change unless YOU take the steps to change it. You’re old enough to realize the phrase “Life is short” is more than an overused cliche. If you’re going to have the life you desire, it’s time to do the work now. 

This opportunity is presenting itself for a reason. The next small group, 8-week, F*ck Being Fine program starts in just a few weeks. Get in and radically increase your focus, energy & happiness while learning to stay calm & grounded no matter what.

As Brian in Boston told me, "I was a miserable human..."  Ever since he implemented this one thing I teach in these sessions, his life has transformed. Now he knows how to reset his mind and his energy is off the charts.

If this opportunity speaks to your heart, join me for the next cohort. Find out more at ZenRabbit.com or text me at 571.317.1463.

Gina’s hype song is Shut Up and Dance with Me by Walk the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCLY0Rlx6Q. 

Website: http://peoplepossibility.com/ 

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PeoplePossibility   

Find the Positive Intelligence assessment at https://assessment.positiveintelligence.com/pq/overview

Find the Saboteur Assessment at https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/

SPECIAL OFFER: Mention this podcast for a discount on our services for coaching and culture transformation work! 

On today’s show, I get to talk with human kindness leader and possibility coach Gina Lemon. 

Gina’s parents divorced when she was 6 and she and her mom moved around throughout her childhood. Like many Gen-Xers, she was given a lot of independence, which translated into a constant striving for excellence, which translated into the belief that accomplishments get you appreciation. She was 17 when her dad died of AIDS, which, as you’ll hear, has informed her purpose today. 

We chat all about ABCs of life, supporting other people even when they have a different perspective from you, and what can happen when you speak your truth. And of course we get into what happened when Gina realized fine wasn’t fine at all. 

After leaving her corporate VP of Human Resources position in 2021, Gina started a consulting company to partner with clients who believe they can change the status quo and make a positive impact on the world. She loves helping people find their passions and live their best futures today instead of allowing the past to dictate what happens next. 

You might remember a few weeks ago, my guest was Raoul Benavides. The guy who founded Heart Soul Heat – with the ghost honey. Fathers Day is coming up and this could be the perfect gift for the guy who has everything. Use code FINE at checkout and get 20% off your first order at HeartSoulHeat.com.

Oh, one more thing… 

Think about your work week. Think about your home life. Do they bring a smile of joy to your face? Or are you constantly waiting for things to change? Here’s some harsh news. They’re not going to change unless YOU change them. And taking a spa day isn’t going to fix the stress in your life. Life is short. It’s time to do the work now. 

Or you can keep waiting. 

The next small group, 8-week, F*ck Being Fine program starts in just a few weeks. Get in and radically increase your focus, energy & happiness while learning to stay calm & grounded no matter what.

Here’s what one of the participants says about his experience: Every conversation is different now. I’m always looking for the positive. This is definitely rewiring my brain. 

If this opportunity speaks to your heart, join me for the next cohort. Find out more at ZenRabbit.com or text me at 571.317.1463.

Gina’s hype song is Shut Up and Dance with Me by Walk the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCLY0Rlx6Q. 

Website: http://peoplepossibility.com/ 

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PeoplePossibility   

Find the Positive Intelligence assessment at https://assessment.positiveintelligence.com/pq/overview

Find the Saboteur Assessment at https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/

SPECIAL OFFER: Mention this podcast for a discount on our services for coaching and culture transformation work!