Living Your Passion

Amber Naslund, aka Amber Cadabra, and I have been friends for a long time - long in Internet years, of course.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled when she agreed to be the 5th guest on Living Your Passion.

If you follow Amber on Facebook, it would be hard to miss her PASSION: Dogs, specifically rescued dogs and "changing perception people have about pit bulls and bully-type breeds."

We had so much fun during this episode. Lots of laughing. That's what it's all about, right?

In case you missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch them here:

• Episode #0: show intro with me blabbing for a few minutes
• Episode #1: Jeff Sheldon on Designing Physical Products
• Episode #2: Nate Bagley on Love
• Episode #3: Tim McDonald on Connecting People with Purpose
• Episode #4: Cara Heuser on Pole Dancing

Alright. Amber time! During this episode ...

• We learn how and where Amber and I first me (it may have been at an Awareness event on April 12, 2010, where we were comparing our wrist tatoos - see picture above taken by Ken Yeung).
• Amber talks about how she just quit her job at SideraWorks and hints at her "what's next"
• Amber shares how she's always had a love for animals. She's worked for a vet, volunteered at shelters, rides horses, and more!
• Amber talks about her first dog she adopted from a shelter in 2003 - who just passed away last year.
• Amber talks about her dogs, of course - and how much time she thinks and is around dogs!
• I tell a fun story about my dog, Morocco.
• We discussed "Do What You Love | Love What You Do" - really love her take on this one.
• We talked about PASSION - go figure!
• Our dogs talked to each other ... kinda.

Modern marketing and communications exec. Author. Musician. Pittie rescue mama. Equestrian. Word Nerd. I solemnly swear I am up to no good. - See Amber's Twitter bio.

1. My Fond Farewell to SideraWorks - her blog post announcing her departure.
2. Find more about Amber on LinkedIn (how cool is her profile picture?), Twitter, Facebook, and her nearly redesigned blog, Brass Tack Thinking (isn't it purty?)
3. Facebook was down! Facebook was down!
4. Badrap - learn more about pit bull type dogs and the issues that affect them

Enjoyed this episode? Please consider subscribing (if you haven't already). Also, what would be really awesome? If you could rate and review the show ... and use those fancy social sharing icons below to tell the world!

Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed or subscribe via email (scroll to the bottom).

Finally, if you know someone who bleeds passion (or maybe it’s you), please email me at djwaldow at gmail dot com. Oh, and if you have a connection to LeBron James, please let me know. I think he’d be a great person to talk to about his passion for basketball. #DeadSerious

A Maternal Fetal Medicine physician whose passion is POLE DANCING?

Huh? Yup. You read that correctly.

In this show, episode #4, I chat it up with Cara Heuser, a high-risk Obstetrician in Salt Lake City, Utah whose passion is pole dancing - more specifically, using pole fitness and pole dance to exercise but also to express herself and find some deeper meaning in that expression.

In case you missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch them here: Episode #0: show intro with me blabbing for a few minutes

Episode #1: Jeff Sheldon on Designing Physical Products

Episode #2: Nate Bagley on Love

Episode #3: Tim McDonald on Connecting People with Purpose

Okay. Do I have your attention now? Ha! You will not want to miss this episode. Trust me. Oh, and that picture on the right? That's Cara!

During this episode ...

• Cara and I talk about strip clubs (briefly)
• Cara explains the difference between pole dancing and pole fitness.
• We discuss sexuality/sensuality and fitness.
• How being an Ob/GYN with a passion for pole dancing actually makes sense.
• Why Cara has chose to not make pole dancing her career.
• Cara's take on Do What You Love | Love What You Do
• How Cara suggests uncovering your passion.

Cara stumbled across pole dance in 2010 while searching for a new form of fitness and was immediately hooked. In her non-pole life, she is a high-risk OB doctor and mother. Her favorite thing about pole is the shoes and sequins. She also finds the friendship and fitness benefits to be numerous.

1. Saturday Chores - a Tumblr blog set up by a pro-choice husband/wife team from Raleigh, N.C.
2. Why It’s OKAY To Say (& Write) The Word Vagina - my blog post about ... vaginas.
3. United Pole Artists
4. SALT Dance and Pole on Facebook - Cara's dance troop.
5. Cara's personal Facebook page.

Enjoyed this episode? Please consider subscribing (if you haven't already). Also, what would be really awesome? If you could rate and review the show ... and use those fancy social sharing icons below to tell the world!

Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed or subscribe via email (scroll to the bottom).

Finally, if you know someone who bleeds passion (or maybe it’s you), please email me at djwaldow at gmail dot com. Oh, and if you have a connection to LeBron James, please let me know. I think he’d be a great person to talk to about his passion for basketball. #DeadSerious

And just like that. Episode 3!

I was super-fortunate to get Mr. Tim McDonald on the show this week. Tim is the former Director of Community at The Huffington Post and current Purveyor of Purpose at BTC Revolutions. As it turns out, I was introduced to Tim through past Work Talk Show guest - and awesome woman! - Dorie Clark. And, of course, that makes sense. Why? Well Tim's passion is connecting people with purpose.

The power of connections. During this episode ...

• Tim and I talk about IRL, Face-to-Face, and in person.
• Tim explains that it's not just passion, but instead passion with a purpose.
• My favorite Venn Diagram of all time (and Tim's too!)
• Tim shares how he used organize fund raisers as a ... wait for it ... 6th grader!
• Tim tells the secret to making money through connections (sort of).
• Tim told us that it's important to find what you can do, then find what you love in what you do.
• Tim tells us why we need to join No Kid Hungry.

Builder of communities, not networks, through building relationships that ignite movements. Purveyor of Purpose at Be The Change Revolutions. Co-Founder at CreatingIs. Past Director of Community at The Huffington Post. (Learn even MORE on LinkedIN)

1. No Kid Hungry
2. Connect with Tim on social media - Twitter and LinkedIn.
3. BTC Revolutions - Be The Change Revolution!
4. Dine Out for No Kid Hungry

Episode 2. Boom.

It only took 2 episodes to get a 30-year old, single Mormon living in Salt Lake City, Utah to talk about his passion: Love (of course). I met Nate Bagley in 2010 when we were living in the 801 (Salt Lake City). We were connected via social media and even sat on a panel together at a University of Utah Business School event ... talking about social media. We've stayed in touch over the years via social media* (since my family and I moved to California 2 years ago).

*See? Social media can be a great connector!

I was thrilled to learn about Nate's Loveumentary project and - as the title of the post and the image on the right indicate - his passion: LOVE.

During this episode ...

• Nate talks about what he learned on his cross-country journey to find the "true meaning of love."
• Nate tells us about the "voice in his head."
• I (again) share that this podcast is helping me uncover what my passion is - Ha!
• Nate shares some details about how he was able to quit his job and live for months on not a lot of money! (days when he hit $0 in his bank account)
• Nate talks about the "key to happiness" in LIFE!
• Nate discloses that he is not REALLY an expert on love ... instead, an anti-expert.

According to Nate "BigBags" Bagley's Twitter bio, he's a ... Mover. Shaker. Decision maker. Fighter. Writer. Making your day brighter. Creator of @Loveumentary, CEO of @unboxlove, and giver of hugs.

1. The Loveumentary
2. Nate's (successful) Kickstarter campaign: America, In Love.
3. Connect with Nate on social media - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
4. Unbox Love

Episode #1! Episode #1! Episode #1! I could not think of a better first guest on Living Your Passion. Jeff Sheldon is the Founder & Designer of Ugmonk, a company whose mission is to "create high-quality, well-designed goods that we wanted ourselves."

Jeff bleeds passion.

On this episode ...

• Jeff discusses how he uncovered his passion for design, specifically designing physical products
• Jeff's shares his take on what is means to "Do what you love, love what you do."
• (I talk too much)
• Jeff explains how much of day encompasses doing what he loves (his passion) vs. "other" things.
• Jeff gives some advice about how to find your passion.
• Jeff reveals the TRUE MEANING of Ugmonk.
• We have a bit of fun on the #NotSoSecretSecret portion of the show.

Jeff Sheldon makes his home in Downingtown, PA with his wife and their Boston Terrier Pixel. He graduated with a B.S. in graphic design in 2008 and has a passion for all things design. When he’s not designing or scheming up the next Ugmonk release, he’s probably raving about Chipotle, trying to dominate Settlers of Catan, planning his next snowboarding trip, or sleeping. (read more)

1. Ugmonk's About Page
2. Connect with Jeff on social media - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
3. Buy stuff (including the official shirt of the Living Your Passion podcast.
4. Jeff plugs his upcoming 6th Anniversary Set (Limited Edition). At the time of this podcast, it was not live yet. Check out the 5th Anniversary Set.on for basketball. #DeadSerious

Hello and welcome to Episode 0 of Living Your Passion the podcast where I, DJ Waldow, chat with people who have found their passion and, well, are LIVING it.

Wait. Episode 0? Huh?

Yup. This 7 minute, 5 second monologue is not a “real” episode. Instead, it’s my one-take recording of what inspired this podcast, what it’s all about, and more.

Living Your Passion was born shortly after I quit my job in June of 2014. I left a well-paying job that was in many ways the perfect fit for what I was good at and what I loved. The problem? It’s what I used to love.

You see, I was no longer passionate about what I spent 40+ hours of my week doing. And I’m the kind of person who needs to do what they love and love what they do.

It was time to rediscover my passion.

And while I’m at it, why not chat with folks who have found their passion? To be clear, not everyone is getting paid to do what they love, but they are doing it nonetheless.

I’m so excited to share this podcast with you. I pre-recorded several episodes and could not be more excited about the direction the podcast is already going.

If you know someone who bleeds passion (or maybe it’s you), please email me at [email protected]. Oh, and if you have a connection to LeBron James, please let me know. I think he’d be a great person to talk to about his passion for basketball. #DeadSerious