Motivation 101

Laura Giles

I help stuck people find their path so they can create authentic, meaningful lives.

Laura Giles, LCSW, has spent over twenty years helping trauma survivors live unfettered, authentic lives. With experience in a maximum-security prison, psychiatric hospital, courts, and private practice, she has guided even the most "hard-to-help" individuals toward healing—quickly and naturally.

Her work today isn’t therapy—it’s a highly focused, quick-release process designed to clear blocked energy at its root. Using metaphorical, somatic, energy, and linguistic techniques, Laura helps clients bypass the conscious mind to resolve unconscious wounds with ease.

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Alain Salas

Dr. Salas is The Creator of The Goal & Success Clearing: Discover the 3-Step System Helping Ambitious Entrepreneurs Break The Cycle of Limiting Beliefs. So, They Can Predictably Make More Sales, Achieve Their Goals Flawlessly And Grow Their Business Optimally. Without Self-help Courses, Endless Therapy or Overhyped Events

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Jen O'Ryan

A trusted guide in a changing landscape. Specializing in Human and Organizational Behavior.

Dr. Jen O'Ryan is a consultant and strategist specializing in Human and Organizational Behavior. She combines a PhD in Human Behavior with 15 years of experience instigating change at Fortune 100 companies and a few small-but-mighty startups. Jen's background in the technology sector includes designing new experiences for customers, transforming enterprise-wide workflows, and making order out of chaos.

Blending humor, storytelling, and evidence-based approaches, Jen meets people where they are and shows them a way forward. As the author of two books, she frequently speaks at conferences, events, and podcasts related the future of organizational health, navigating resistance, and influencing change.

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Kathrine Parnell

Therapist, Author & Retreat Guide for Authentic Living

Today’s guest is Kathrine Parnell — a licensed therapist, author, and retreat creator with over two decades of experience in the mental health field.

Kathrine is the founder of A New View Counseling & Psychological Services and the author of Keeping It Real, a book centered on authenticity and honest growth. Her work now extends beyond the therapy room into transformational retreats, including immersive retreats in Scotland designed for people who are created for people who appear capable and accomplished, yet feel tired, disconnected, or out of alignment with themselves.

Through her work, Kathrine helps people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and move forward with greater clarity, intention, and authenticity.

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I Dream of Things That Never Were, The Ken Kunken Story

“I Dream of Things That Never Were” describes Ken Kunken’s journey from the lowest point in his life after a serious football injury to the pinnacle of happiness and success.

When Ken breaks his neck playing football in October 1970, he becomes a quadriplegic with no movement below his shoulders. He is only twenty years old. All his hopes and dreams of leading a useful, productive, rewarding, and happy life are shattered. His very survival is in question.

Ken’s book describes his accident and details the intensive and rigorous rehabilitation that followed. It also chronicles the challenges of dealing with medical personnel who can only envision Ken selling magazine subscriptions over the telephone someday.

Eleven days after being discharged from the hospital, Ken resumes his studies in industrial engineering on the Cornell campus in upstate Ithaca, New York. Ken is entirely dependent on others to do for him all the things he can no longer do for himself: dress, bathe, feed himself, get into and out of his wheelchair, take care of his bodily functions, and so much more. Wheelchair-bound, on Ken’s first day of classes, he has to be either pulled up or bounced down close to 100 steps, just to attend two lectures. Despite the architectural barriers and everyone’s limited expectations, Ken completes his undergraduate studies and then earns two Masters degrees. Ken’s book shows how family and friends made it possible for him to persevere.

Having earned three Ivy League degrees, Ken sends out more than 200 résumés but gets no job offers. After a year, he secures employment as a vocational and rehabilitation counselor at a company on Long Island providing placement counseling to other severely disabled individuals. Believing he can accomplish even more, Ken leaves his job to attend Hofstra University’s School of Law. Following graduation, Ken goes to work as an assistant district attorney in Nassau County, Long Island.

On Ken’s first day in court, he faces an unexpected problem: his wheelchair won’t fit through the swinging doors in the courtroom to get to the prosecutor’s table. Ken has to deal with more than just physical barriers. One of Ken’s supervisors’ questions why Ken was even hired, because, as he put it: “He can’t even write.” Despite the early misgivings, Ken has a long and successful career with the District Attorney’s Office where he eventually becomes a Deputy Bureau Chief in the Nassau County Court Trial Bureau.

While every young man faces challenges trying to find that “special someone” to spend his life with, it’s especially daunting for a person almost totally paralyzed. Ken shares the excitement and fears of his first date – and subsequent romances. Because he is a quadriplegic, though, he completely dismisses the possibility of marriage and fatherhood. Then Ken meets Anna and his feelings about marriage changes. As far as Ken is concerned, Anna is the perfect woman: smart, beautiful – a wonderful companion, and yet, different from Ken in so many ways: Anna is nineteen years younger than Ken; she is Catholic, he is Jewish; Anna was born and raised in Poland, while Ken has spent his entire life in New York; she is a vegetarian and he loves to eat meat; Anna is strong and physically active, Ken is confined to a wheelchair.

Anna convinces Ken that they should try to have their own biological child. This seems impossible to Ken because he has been paralyzed for more than thirty years and is already in his fifties.

Through the miracle of science, however, Anna becomes pregnant with triplets. Ken writes joyfully about his incredible family changed his outlook on life.

“I Dream of Things That Never Were” is the compelling story of how a devastating event turned into an incredible and happy life -- a journey that is both eye-opening and heartwarming.

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Venchele Saint Dic

Transforming Paths Through the Power of Words: Discover the Story Behind Pathway Coach Writing

I am a Public Health writer, editor, and native French speaker with a cognate education in Public Health with over ten years of experience. My passion is to improve accessibility to health services while supporting education, economic empowerment, and counseling as critical building blocks which empower families to survive and thrive through life-changing events. I hope to one day support families with the knowledge, skills, and services required to survive in changing social and economic environments. I am in a doctorate in Public Health Leadership (DrPh) which will allow me to achieve this objective.

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Cathy Introligator

Brain-friendly language coaching

Language learning expert

About Cathy

Since 2017, she works with people who have been let down by traditional classroom teaching and want success by beating their own path.

Podcast listeners feel seen and find resources that help them get over imposter syndrome. From exams to expat life to mastering nuance, Cathy guides learners at every stage. She’s flipping the script of language learning, promoting autonomy instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that only suits a few people. She’s guiding learners to trust themselves and explains how to use the full potential of their brain.

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Jason D. Morris is an independent horror director known for micro-budget films blending tension, comedy, and unique visuals, with notable works including the existential horror Collapse (2015) and the comedic creature feature The Space Rodent(2024). He emphasizes collaborative, hands-on filmmaking, often writing, editing, and producing his projects, and is building a distinctive voice in low-budget genre

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Motivation 101, in its first season, features Small Wins, Big Life—How Micro-Progress Creates Massive Change, an episode that reframes success as the result of steady, intentional movement rather than dramatic breakthroughs. This episode explores how small, consistent actions—often overlooked or undervalued—build momentum, strengthen confidence, and gradually reshape identity over time. By focusing on micro-progress, it highlights how habits compound, resistance diminishes, and clarity increases when individuals commit to manageable steps instead of overwhelming goals. Listeners are encouraged to recognize that meaningful transformation rarely happens all at once, but through daily choices that align effort with purpose. Ultimately, this episode reinforces the idea that lasting change is created not by intensity alone, but by patience, consistency, and the willingness to honor progress, no matter how small it may seem.

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Motivation 101, in its first season, features From Fear to Forward—Using Fear as Fuel Instead of a Barrier, a focused and empowering episode that reframes fear not as an obstacle to be eliminated, but as a signal to be understood and harnessed. This conversation explores how fear often appears at the threshold of growth, signaling importance rather than incapacity, and how disciplined action—not emotional certainty—is the true driver of progress. The episode examines practical ways to convert anxiety into clarity, hesitation into preparation, and uncertainty into forward momentum, emphasizing that courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to move despite it. By addressing the psychology of avoidance, identity-based habits, and incremental action, Motivation 101 equips listeners with frameworks to act decisively under pressure. The result is a grounded, actionable message: when fear is properly interpreted and directed, it becomes fuel for resilience, focus, and meaningful achievement rather than a barrier to personal and professional growth.

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