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What do you get when you combine two moxie-fueled individuals? Moxie synergy that’s off the charts! Mimi Madden and Susan Wheeler are the driving forces behind Good News Girls, a social collective for women over 50 in northwest Connecticut. 

The Good News Girls started as a musing in an English pub after a long ramble in the countryside. It has evolved into a dynamic and active organization, providing enrichment and social opportunities during a phase of a woman’s life that is marked by significant change. Menopause, changes in relationship status, retirement, grown children, and aging parents can add to isolation, loneliness, and a need for connection. Enter the Good News Girls with hikes, book groups, retreats, and learning-centered dinners, creating opportunities for friendship and positivity. They prove that it’s never too late to make changes in your life!

Separately, Susan and Mimi have a wealth of experience and have weathered setbacks in their own lives. Susan overcame a devastating back injury to become a marathoner, author of The Lemonade Diet, mindset speaker and coach, and successful entrepreneur. Mimi has served arts non-profit organizations for decades. She is currently a program consultant for the American Mural Project (AMP) in Winsted, CT. She is a Kinder Life Planner and a Keirsey Temperament Consultant, helping clients align their lives with their natural gifts, motivations, and dreams. 

Listen to their stories and draw inspiration from their wisdom. Mimi and Susan understand that in life, things happen, and obstacles and difficulties are an inevitable part of being human. However, they firmly believe that these events are easier to bear in the good company of others who can lift you up and help you get back on track.

Resources

The Good News Girls

Susan V. Wheeler

When Life Hands You Lemons…The Lemonade Diet

Madden Consulting

American Mural Project

Social Media

Good News Girls Instagram @_thegoodnewsgirls

Facebook The Good News Girls 

Women 50+ Get Active Meetup Group

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Happiness is a moxie job! 

To kick off the 4th Moxie season, Mary O’Neill, co-creator and co-host of Main Street Moxie, explores the connection between happiness and moxie. 

Happiness is a topic on which Mary is well-versed. She has immersed herself in the topic through the lens of multiple disciplines, and it underpins her work as an educator and life design and career coach. 

For Mary, rainbows and unicorns do not signify a happy life. Instead, she draws on the Ancient Greek philosophy’s emphasis on living a life of virtue and values. A happy life is one lived in alignment with qualities such as courage, moderation, honesty, humility, integrity, and, most crucially, practical wisdom, which involves knowing how and when to apply various virtues in the situations we encounter.

This kind of life might not always be Insta-worthy, but it will lead to one of authenticity and coherence, which will buoy us in times of struggle and adversity.

Viewing happiness in this way makes it less dependent on feelings and more rooted in action, doing, and MOXIE!

In addition to being the co-founder and co-host of Main Street Moxie, Mary is a seasoned and award-winning educator, lecturer, and trainer. She has taught classes in philosophy, including an interdisciplinary course she created on happiness. She has also taught classes in sustainability and nature, global business, life design, career success, and college first-year studies at Western Connecticut State University. 

Currently, she serves as the Director of Life Design at Boston Global Communications and Performance, Inc., and as the Career Services Coordinator at CT State: Northwestern. Mary is also a life design and career coach in private practice. 

Resources

Greater Good Science Center

Harvard Happiness and Leadership Laboratory

Happiness Research Institute

Happiness Studies Academy

You Doing You Life Design and Career Coaching

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Got holidays? Then you need moxie to get through them. The expectations, the standards, and the idealized version of the season can wear us down. Not anymore!

This episode of Main Street Moxie with Sara Cousins is here to help you celebrate the holidays in line with your values and priorities, leaving you saner and less depleted as you enter 2025.

Sara shares strategies and techniques to help us hold space for ourselves while finding connection with others during this holiday season and throughout the year.

Sara is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience in private practice in Lakeville, Connecticut. For a decade, she’s been the go-to mental health professional for Main Street Magazine.

Sara’s diverse career journey has taken her from working with Inuit youth in Alaska to serving communities through the Susan B. Anthony Project in Torrington, Harlem Hospital in Manhattan, and Victim Services of NYC. Across all her roles, she has been inspired by the resilience and vulnerability of the people she has served.

Specializing in relational and couples therapy, Sara has been trained by renowned experts, including Esther Perel, Tara Brach, Orna Guralnik, Terry Real, John Gottman, and Harville Hendrix. She is also deeply committed to mindfulness and meditation, drawing on over 20 years of training with Mingyur Rinpoche. She has attended workshops and trainings with Pema Chödrön, Jack Kornfield, and Tim Olmsted.

Outside her professional life, Sara embraces new challenges and adventures. She recently joined the Norfolk Curling Club to try curling, a sport much more challenging and painful than it looks on TV!

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Main Street Magazine.

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Olivia finds and expresses her moxie through stand-up comedy. In this episode, Olivia explores how she grew her comedy moxie, describes her comedic process, and reflects on the challenges of leaving a highly structured, results-oriented career to dive into the unpredictable world of stand-up comedy.

Olivia started her comic explorations by testing the waters at countless open mics in New York City before moving to Charlotte, NC, for her corporate job and continuing her comedy journey there. While in Charlotte, she founded Olivia’s Fun and Flirty Comedy Show, a monthly stand-up show at a trendy brewery, which she grew in popularity over the course of two years.

A standout performer, Olivia was also selected for 2023’s North Carolina Comedy Festival, showcasing her growing talent and dedication to the craft.

While planning shows and booking comics for that show, she also worked her day job assessing bank risk. Then, she took a risk of her own. In March of 2024, she took a considerable leap of faith. Quitting her bank role, she set out for Chicago to launch herself full-time in comedy–and has not looked back.

Olivia is now a Chicago-based comedian, building her comic material and show appearances. Known for her sharp wit and relatable humor, Olivia has graced stages at notable venues, including the Laugh Factory Comedy Club, Lincoln Lodge Comedy Club, and Red Room Comedy Club. She regularly attends open mics and has begun taking improv classes at Second City, expanding her repertoire and range.

She was recently selected from over 100 comedians who auditioned to perform at the Vouch Comedy Show at the Laugh Factory. In The Windy City, she continues to captivate audiences with her unique perspective and comedic flair.

This episode of Main Street Moxie was proudly sponsored by Main Street Magazine.

Social Media

Instagram @oliviahmay_ 

TikTok @oliviahmay_

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Elaine’s moxie is exuberant and engaging. Her humor and encouragement make you feel like you got this–you got moxie! Elaine has put in the time and miles to discern who she is and how she wants to show up in the world in each season of her life. That unshakeable belief in herself is the foundation of her energy and zest for a successful life, as she defines it.

Elaine is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, educator, and speaker. She is best known for her role as the Founder and Executive Director of Latinas in Motion, a non-profit organization with chapters nationwide, created to encourage women of color to get active. Elaine began her fitness journey after the birth of her first child, taking small steps that have led her to run 5K’s and marathons and organize races and group running sessions for others. Elaine inspires and empowers women worldwide to exercise and adopt healthy habits.

This self-proclaimed "Mogul Mami" is an inspiration—as much for her contagious energy as for her willingness to break stereotypes. She enjoys sharing her story to inspire others to live the best version of themselves and move through the world on their own terms.

Elaine is passionate about sharing her story with others—her down-to- earth personality and frequent pop-culture references have established her as a sought-after speaker. In 2018, Elaine was selected to share her mission statement at the Michelle Obama "Becoming" event.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Main Street Magazine.

Resources:
Latinas in Motion website
Mogul Mami website

Social Media:
Elaine’s Instagram @elaine_g_johnson 
Latinas in Motion Instagram @latinasinmotion
Latinas in Motion Facebook group @LatinasInMotion

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We all want peace, but the road toward it can be elusive. Our perceived differences loom large and seem insurmountable. Yet, some individuals like Lisa Worth Huber labor tirelessly to educate people about the self-work required to build peace and understand how the creative arts are a vehicle to express our stories, heal, and begin to bridge with others.

This work takes moxie! It’s granular and slow yet rich and rewarding, leaving Lisa with hope for building a family, community, and world where all are seen and valued. Peace provides a platform for all of us to flex our moxie, free from fear and able to devote our energies to being part of building something larger, not exhausting ourselves in pits of division.

Lisa serves as President of the National Peace Academy. She is on the board of directors and faculty of the Global Peace Education Network (G-PEN), which currently works in partnership with UNESCO. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Connecticut Center for Nonviolence, where she is a mentor to teaching artists pursuing their certification in Kingian Nonviolence.

Lisa designed, implemented, and served as Academic Director for Connecticut's first accredited MA program in Peace and Conflict Transformation, and was a member of the international Launch Team for the Global Sustainability Fellows program, a trainer for the UnGUN Institute: Collective Trauma Healing Through the Arts, and an adjunct professor of Sociology at Western Connecticut State University.

Additionally, Lisa has been a teaching artist for several decades, working in universities, K-12 classrooms, homeless shelters, and safe houses, and is the first recipient of the Frank McCourt Prize for Excellence in Teaching. 

Along with designing and implementing nonviolent and peacebuilding programs, Lisa incorporates the arts to elevate voices, address injustice, heal trauma and PTSD, nurture compassion, and imagine new futures. Lisa blends story in its myriad forms with peace, humanitarian, social justice, and environmental concerns, and nurtures the development of creative activism and ecological stewardship.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Main Street Magazine.

Resources
Lisa Worth Huber 

National Peace Academy

UnGUN Institute

Global Peace Education Network

Global Sustainability Fellows program

Bridging Differences | Greater Good Science Center

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Traveling both takes moxie and builds moxie. Just ask the Housatonic Valley Regional High School International Travel Club. Reinvigorated by Club faculty advisor Social Studies teacher John Lizzi, the club has taken students, faculty, staff, and parents to destinations such as the Galapagos, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, and the Mediterranean coast.

In this Moxie episode, John and students Ellie Wolgemuth and Madison Melino describe their adventures, growth and moxie that have resulted from their journeys. In fact, Madison joined the podcast from the Reykjavik Airport after a glacier flood impacted her travels.

For those in need of financial assistance, the Club’s new model allows families to participate in fundraising to subsidize the cost of the trip, making travel affordable for anyone who wants to go. The club’s fundraising arm, NWC: Students Without Borders, facilitates student fundraising activities and donations.

John, Ellie, and Madison have all seen the impact of these trips crossover into their academic pursuits at HVRHS and in their personal lives. They are more confident, resilient, curious, and open to new experiences–the hallmarks of moxie!

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Main Street Magazine.

To support the HVRHS International Travel Club, consider donating an auction item, sponsoring the event, and/or attending their annual fundraiser at The White Hart Inn in Salisbury, CT, on September 13, 2024. The event is planned and staffed by students.

For any questions, please email the club at [email protected] or view their website NWC: Students Without Borders.

Resources
Housatonic Valley Regional High School
EF Educational Tours

Social Media
HVRHS International Travel Club Instagram

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Fifty years ago, a human vs. beast thriller set in a summer beach town was published and devoured by readers. That book was Jaws, a best-selling novel that spawned a blockbuster movie the following year. Between the book and the film, we were all afraid to go back in the water.

Peter Benchley, an established journalist and speechwriter, was instantly catapulted to fame as an author. Getting to that point took moxie! In this Moxie by Proxy episode, we talk with Nat Benchley, Peter’s brother. Through Nat, we learn more about Peter’s writing and how he often took a true story or incident and asked the question, “What if…?” An article that Peter carried in his wallet about a shark caught off Montauk became the launching point for Jaws.

Having lived on Nantucket in his youth, Peter understood the tensions between the summer population and the year-rounders and the dependence of a small beach town on the income they make during the summer months. These social and economic dynamics form the backdrop to the drama unfolding on the water.

The impact of Jaws, both book and movie, was a tidal wave of aggression against, and misunderstandings about, sharks. In the wake of that unfortunate outbreak, Peter and his wife Wendy began a lifelong crusade to educate about sharks and advocate for policies that protect them. Wendy Benchley continues that work today. Once educated about the fascinating world of sharks, Peter declared he could never again write a tale that villainized those magnificent creatures. He spent the rest of his life advocating for the protection and preservation of the species.

To understand Peter’s creative moxie, Nat delves into the Benchley family. Nat recounts stories of their grandfather, Robert Benchley, humorist, writer, actor, and member of the famed Algonquin Round Table; his father, Nathaniel Benchley, author of numerous books and articles, including The Off-Islanders, which became the movie “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming!;” Peter as a journalist, author, and ocean advocate; and himself as a writer, actor, and performer.

The intergenerational creative moxie running through the Benchley family is solid and enduring.

This Main Street Moxie episode is proudly sponsored by Scenic Hudson and Thorunn Designs.

Resources

Peter Benchley website

Wendy Benchley website

Oblong Books: Jaws

Algonquin Hotel: Algonquin Roundtable

Robert_Benchley Wikipedia

Nathaniel Benchley Wikipedia

Nat Benchley Wikipedia

Nat Benchley website

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In this episode of Main Street Moxie, Keith Moon shares stories about his longstanding involvement with Special Olympics, an organization with moxie built into its DNA.

Keith’s secret moxie sauce is recognizing a need and then finding a way to use his talents and skills to make a difference. He enjoys bringing people and organizations together to accomplish a larger goal.

Keith's involvement in Special Olympics began when he read an appeal in the Hartford Courant to raise needed funds for the organization. His response: “I can do that.” Using his position as the boys’ swim coach at the Hotchkiss School, he organized a swimathon that raised $4,000. That was 30 years ago, and he’s organized one every year since; to date, the Swimathon has raised over $250,000 for Special Olympics. Working with colleagues, students, and the local community, he has expanded the reach of the Swimathon and branched out into athletic competitions in other sports.

Keith has remained an enthusiastic supporter of the Special Olympics mission of creating athletic competitions that promote the development of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their inclusion in society. Keith’s nine-year tenure on the board of Special Olympics Connecticut has also given him insight into the moxie of the athletes and their families. The athletes' determination, competitive joy, and focus on what they can do–not their limitations–fuel his dedication to the Special Olympians.

In 2022, after Russia attacked Ukraine, he helped form a partnership between Special Olympics Connecticut and Special Olympics Slovakia, to create a Dream Day Center for Ukrainian refugee children born with intellectual disabilities and their families. At this year’s 30th annual Hotchkiss Swimathon, four Slovakian coaches and four Special Olympics Slovakia athletes will make the swim across Lake Wononscopomuc and back on September 7, 2024.

Keith has been an instructor of Russian history and literature at the Hotchkiss School since 1989 and a volunteer instructor in those subjects for Noble Horizons Retirement Community since 2012. In 2019, he was awarded the school’s Lufkin Prize, which honors faculty for their excellence, commitment, moral leadership, and service to the community.

If you’d like to learn more about Swimathon and how you can get involved and contribute, email [email protected].

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate.

Resources
Special Olympics Connecticut
Special Olympics
NobleHorizons Blog: Keith Moon: Raising People Up
Lufkin Prize Speech

Social Media
Special Olympics Connecticut Facebook
Special Olympics Connecticut Instagram
Special Olympics Connecticut YouTube
Special Olympics Connecticut LinkedIn
Hotchkiss School Instagram

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Bill Johnson believes moxie is essential for pursuing purpose, which he defines as becoming one's best self in service of at least one thing larger than oneself. This self-knowledge and action directed outward are why we’re here—and why he’s here, too.

Known as the “Dream Dean,” Bill continues to refine his Life Design Catalyst program, immersing himself in it to gain deeper insight into his own “why.” This place of deeper understanding and a growth mindset on steroids fuels Bill’s work. His own journey inspires him to be one percent better each day. He believes in surrounding himself with people–his tribe–who challenge and support him.

After 34 years in higher education, he retired in June 2023 to pursue his true love—empowering people to initiate the self-discovery process to explore, express, and embrace purpose and possibilities to transform their lives and the lives of others. In short, he helps people find purpose and meaning in their lives to help others do the same.

Bill has held workshops that have trained thousands of people and worked with hundreds of institutions within and outside higher education to use the Life Design Catalyst curriculum to create workshops, programs, and courses that change the lives of those they employ and serve.

In his academic career, Bill worked extensively with students, faculty, and staff in various capacities at Davidson-Davie Community College, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, the College of William and Mary, the College of New Jersey, and the University of Delaware. Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation and Parks Administration and a Master of Science Degree in Physical Education, both from the University of Delaware. He is also a certified Dream Coach, Spiritual Group Coach, and Wellness Coach with extensive Purpose and Life Coaching training.

This episode of Main Street Moxie is proudly sponsored by Meadowscapes and Elyse Harney Real Estate.

Resources

Dream Dean Website
Life Design Catalyst Program

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