Jump Start Your Joy®

This week is a solocast about a mashup of things: first, Paula shares about her experience at the Women's March this last weekend in San Francisco, and then dives into the importance of taking time each year to take inventory of your life, see what's working, and do what she likes to call, some "pruning."

Here are the five ways of crafting your most awesome year yet, from this episode:

1. Do you have room on your plate? 2. What is it that you want to do with this one, precious life? 3. What do you want the focus of this year to be? 4. What have you created in the past that now needs new room, in the present? 5. What is your word for the year?

See all the notes at www.jumpstartyourjoy.com/episode70

Guest Deb Cooperman joins host Paula Jenkins to share about journaling as a great way to get in touch with the true you. She explains how to start journaling each day, how to get past blocks, and how it's a great tool for people in the new year.

Jo Casey joins host Paula Jenkins to talk about mindfulness. Jo also shares about her journey starting a coaching business, and how new coaches navigate the territory of becoming an entrepreneur. Full notes: bit.ly/joyep68

In the midst of the shifting world events, I've felt weighed down recently. In this episode, I'll talk about how it takes real courage to follow a muse like Joy in hard times, and following joy, and love, and our own hearts is more important now, than ever before. I've spent a lot of time mulling over why joy has felt so awkward recently, and why it still beckons me on. And, I've found a lot of uplifting quotes and thoughts from others to share with you, too.

1. Define what's true for you - regardless of what else may feel uncertain, what do you know is true for you, right now? 2. Take comfort that it's perfectly OK (and natural) to grieve or feel sadness at the same time as you feel excitement or joy. 3. Take action: joy is an act of defiance and self care 4. Take action: caring for others spreads joy 5. Baby steps: Joy builds more joy. Little Bits of joy brought to life make room for more joy in your life 6. Look at joy in a new way: explore what joy looks like at the crossroads of whatever else you're feeling

I'm so thrilled to have Danny Williams and Steven Hundal join me for this episode to share all about the play they will be starring in at the Children's Creativity Theater in San Francisco entitled "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some)." Danny and Steven are both multi-passionate, renaissance souls. These guys juggle work and families, and are putting on this play to support charities for the holidays. They truly have made a commitment to joyfully uplifting others during the holidays.

Rosie Williams joins host Paula Jenkins to talk about her newly published book Repurposed Faith: Breathing New Life into Your Quiet Time.

Amber and Brady Black are a married couple currently living in Beirut, Lebanon, and they are a true inspiration. Having grown up and met in the United States, they decided to move to the Middle East to teach. The first five years abroad were not easy, and Amber found herself fighting depression, which she courageously shares about in our interview. After some discussion, they decided that they needed to leave the gulf region. In a series of synchronous events, a friend of a friend mentioned that there was an opening at "Home Of Hope" in Beirut, which is a home for abandoned and abused children in Lebanon. Amber and Brady went for a visit, and knew in their hearts that they had to teach there. Join me as I talk about hope, love, and Serious Creatures with Amber and Brady Black.

Serious Creatures closed for business in late 2023. This episode is being shared in the spirit of keeping the creative essence of this amazing business available to all.

In this interview we talk about: - How Amber and Brady met at college, and have "been married ever since" - What it was like to move to Oman from Texas - How Amber faced depression when she moved to Oman, and how she felt culturally isolated - How art, imagination, and hope changed their lives, and started a company - How Serious Creatures got it's name (hint: there's some Harry Potter magic involved!) - The way they were introduced to Home of Hope - What it's like to teach children of various ages and various levels of educational background - How they strike a balance of taking care of themselves while working with children from difficult backgrounds - Their kickstarter with Serious Creatures (Serious Starters) - What it was like for Brady to see children reacting to his art for the first time - What's next for them and Serious Creatures

Resources Serious Creatures Website Serious Creatures Instagram Serious Creatures Kickstarter Home of Hope Lebanon Facebook page

I'm thrilled to have Mark Jaffe, author of "Suitcase of Happyness," as my guest. Mark is a former Walt Disney executive, and he has spent a good deal of his life looking at how to cultivate happiness. At a young age he realized that his happiest life was not something out of reach. He studied, observed, cultivated, and ultimately enjoyed an enduring happiness through a singular focus on identifying what worked and what didn't. In this episode, Mark and I talk about how to find and pack your suitcase of happiness.

Christy Tending joins host Paula Jenkins to talk about how courage and vulnerability can add depth and beauty to your life, and lead you to a place that is lovingly and completely human.

In this solocast episode, I'm diving head first into how you can find your inner calm in the midst of this chaotic Presidential Election. To set the stage, this episode is focusing on what's going on behind the emotions and intensity of this election, and what each of us can do recenter ourselves. Whether you support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, it's likely that you are feeling fearful about the outcome of the election. So let's take a look at what you can do, even when it feels like there aren't a lo of options.