Peace and Possibilities

If you're feeling overwhelmed and wondering how you're going to get through this unprecedented time, consider how much less stress you'll have:

• Less money spent on gas
• Less traffic
• Less time spent driving
• Less time spent commuting
• Less laundry
• Less drama at school
• Less drama at work
• Less worrying about what to wear to work
• Less arguing
• Less checking up on your family when they aren't with you
• Less stress about not having enough time
• Less worrying about where to go for dinner
• Less money spent on eating out

Which means we can concentrate more on something that will help us grow and help us get to the next level, by listening to this week's Peace & Possibilities podcast. 

My guest is Tricia Cook, who is reminding us that being curious and interested in other people is a great way to helping you figure out what you want to do, regardless of what that is. 

And because we all have a little more time, we can think more about other people, learn about what they need, what they do, and what we want to create when we get back to our normal routines.

You can find these resources we mention below:

www.patriciacookassoc.com

Strength Finders

Marcus Buckingham

VIA Strengths Survey

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We can have more JOY in this crazy time. 

We just need to think about it a little differently as we adjust to a new normal. 

Below are a few ideas...

• Sleep more
• Read more
• Love more
• Clean more
• Relax more
• Eat together more
• Talk more
• Laugh more
• FaceTime more
• Get inspired more
• Simplify more
• Create more
• Be grateful more
• Meditate more

Listen to this week's episode of the Peace & Possibilities podcast on how to bring a little more joy into your daily work or home life.

And you can too…

Restaurant Impossible has a bright light, and her name is Taniya Nayak!  She's inspiring for a lot of reasons, but wait until you hear her describe her journey to becoming a famous designer on a popular TV show.  You'll never guess what her first job was!

Happiness exudes from Taniya, and it's because she's moved toward opportunities and situations that were a natural fit, slowly and determinedly.

Her aha moment was when she realized on a trip with her sister, that "I'm too young to be doing a job I hate".  She knew there was still time to figure it out, and she did just that.

We all have the opportunity to design the life we want. We just have to be brave and do it. 

How? Listen to people who have done it. Then learn lots of ways to go after your dreams.  And pick the ways that work for you.  Slowly but surely, you will be living the life you want, because you designed it!

Taniya Nayak has been regularly featured as host and interior designer on HGTV and as well as Food Network's Restaurant Impossible and ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight.  A native of India, this Boston-based designer is known for creating hot new restaurants and high end residential projects all over the US.  Her latest design projects include Yellow Door Taqueria, Lion’s Tail, and several new Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurants across the country.  She has designed for celebrities Ayesha Curry, Robert Irvine, Cam Neely and more. 

You may also recognize Taniya for her appearances on Today, Good Morning America, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Talk, and The Rachael Ray Show, as well as featured in Architectural Digest India, Design New England, People magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.  Taniya supports the Room to Dream Foundation, Smile Train, No Kid Hungry, and Aksaya Patra Organization. Taniya was selected personally by Ellen Degeneres as a brand spokesperson for her home product line, “E.D. On Air,” featured on QVC.  

Taniya successfully owns her design firm Taniya Nayak Design, Inc based in Boston and is co-owner to several restaurants in the Boston area with her husband Brian O’Donnell.

www.taniyanayak.com

www.instagram.com/taniyanayak

www.facebook.com/taniyanayak

This is what Lori Lefcourt recommends if you want to continue to make things happen.  She should know, as the co-founder of Unicreamer, a healthy alternative to coffee creamer, and a truly passionate person who knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur as soon as she began her accidental career on Wall Street.

Lori is my guest this week on the Peace & Possibilities podcast.  She shares some stories about just knowing where she was meant to be, then committing to do whatever she needed to do.  Never giving up is one way you can be sure you'll eventually achieve your dreams.  Just listen in, if you're doubting that.

Lori is generously offering a 25% discount to our listeners with the code JULIE25. Try it!

https://unicreamer.com/  

Have you ever dreamt of going somewhere, or doing something, or seeing something, and then having it surpass all of your expectations?

Well, I can tell you from experience it is an amazing feeling.

Just when you think you’ve seen a lot of beautiful things, you get to see more beautiful things, and then you realize, beautiful things are all you ever really want to see....beautiful things, beautiful people, beautiful scenes.

And you get to make it so.

YOU get to make it so, because you have everything you need to figure out how to make it happen.

As you go along in your life, planning, dreaming, and working hard, everything you get to experience is because you have chosen to experience it a certain way.  Think about that for a minute. 

You are choosing how to feel about what you are experiencing!  For some of you that may be a relief, for some of you that may be a shock.  Either way, as Dr. Seuss would say, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."

So go make that beautiful experience happen!  You won't regret it!

And listen to this week's episode to hear how I figured out how to make something really special, happen pretty quickly.

Wouldn't it be great if we could walk around knowing exactly the right path and all of the steps to get exactly where we want to go, and then get there exactly when we want to get there?

Who wouldn't want that? 
A better question: Who actually ever gets that?

You may have guessed it…very few people.  Not because we don't work hard, not because we aren't creative, not because we didn't have a dream…but because we get stuck thinking about the end game, instead of being present along the way and noticing when our path is changing.

My guest this week on the Peace & Possibilities podcast, Jenny Heinrich, teaches us that there's a time and a place for everything, if we can just look at what's coming, what trends are shaping up, and start paying close attention to what we're enthusiastic about, then we won't be afraid to change our path (which, by the way, is always changing anyways, whether we like it or not).

Over the past 18 years, Jenny has brought dozens of brands to life through digital and social content, including McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's brands, P&G brands, Comcast, Motorola, General Mills, and more. Her specialty is developing meaningful and sustainable relationships, and strategic, marketing programs that engage, excite and inspire consumers.

Most recently at Edelman, Jenny led Influencer Marketing Practice for the Chicago office working across all practice areas, where she developed influencer marketing strategies, frameworks and program activation, acted as lead for the execution team, and trained internal and client teams on how to best execute their content strategy in the digital space.

She also teaches Influencer Marketing at DePaul University and guest lectures at The University of Chicago and Northwestern University, and has been featured on numerous panels, podcasts and global webinars on the topic.

In all her spare time (!), Jenny enjoys spending time with her three kids, puppy and husband in the suburbs of Chicago.

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

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

If we could only get past this idea of fear wanting to stop us.  It's not that we shouldn't or won't feel fear, it's that we will feel it and should move forward anyway. 

My guest this week on the Peace & Possibilities Podcast, was careful not to let fear stop her from getting what she wanted.  She was in high school when she realized that she could possibly combine two of her passions and then set out to do just that. And she hasn't looked back.

Ali simply wanted to see what was possible for her and did everything in her power to make it happen. And she has had her own business since she graduated college!

You can listen on Apple Podcasts too.  If you like it, rate us 5 stars and subscribe.

Ali Stone is photographer, blogger, content creator, jewelry designer and dog mom! She lives in Chicago with her French Bulldog, Obi Wan! For the last 8 years, Ali has worked to cultivate a community of supportive women with common interests. Through her blog and Instagram channel she shares  everything from fashion, travel, beauty, lifestyle and fitness to her daily life! She has worked with brands from Old Navy & Macys to Fujifilm, Stubhub, Classpass and more! She is a firm believer that we are here to lift each other up and support each other! You can follow along on Ali's journey daily @alialistone on Instagram and weekly on her blog, www.thosewhitewalls.com!

Instagram @alialistone: https://www.instagram.com/alialistone/

Blog: http://www.thosewhitewalls.com/

Yes, you can figure this out! I promise!

What message is your day giving you?  This probably isn't something you ask yourself each day, but maybe you should.  Why? Because it will help guide you to what brings you (and the world because of you), just a little more joy.

Asking questions, staying curious, really wanting to know how you can use your strengths to serve the world, this is what will help us get to a place where we can thrive and be content.

This week on the Peace & Possibilities podcast, you'll learn how Marilyn Feldstein has done just that for over two decades.  She kept asking herself (and her employees, then clients), really simple, but important questions.  And it turned into her life's work. Join us and get some great insight into how you can figure out what lights you up. 

And while you're at it, if you want some help really figuring it out, check out Marie Forleo's new book "Everything is Figureoutable", because after all, it is!

Marilyn Feldstein, the founder and President of Career Choices Unlimited, Inc., is a certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC), a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), and a Certified Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). She has more than 20 years’ experience in all aspects of career management and has held management and leadership positions at AT&T American Transtech, Inc., AccuStaff PeopleSystems, and Merrill Lynch & Company. She is also Adjunct Full Professor of Career Management at Webster University Graduate School. She earned her master’s degree at Penn State University and her bachelor’s degree at The University of South Florida. 

Marilyn is the author of the ATD Infoline: Defining and Leveraging Your Professional Value, contributing author of Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing a Job You’ll Love, has been published in three résumé books and has published many articles in TD Magazine. Marilyn is a frequent speaker at numerous professional associations discussing career-related topics, including making successful transitions, building and maintaining relationships and negotiating salaries and benefits. She inspires clients to find the purpose and passion in their careers and lives.

www.careerchoicesunlimited.com

www.linkedin.com/in/marilynfeldstein

If you really want to feel inspired to be more grateful, listen to this week's podcast. Kevin Schmiegel, CEO of Operation Gratitude, shares stories about his military career, lessons he's learned, and the words that stuck with him throughout his lifelong journey. He gets to see gratitude every day, inside Operation Gratitude.

Retired  Marine  Lieutenant  Colonel  Kevin  Schmiegel  is  the  CEO  of   Operation  Gratitude,  whose  mission  is  to  forge  strong  bonds   between  Americans  and  their  Military  and  First  Responder  Heroes   through  volunteer  service  projects,  acts  of  gratitude,  and   meaningful  engagements  in  communities  nationwide.  Since  2003,   Operation  Gratitude  has  mobilized  millions  of  volunteers   nationwide  and  delivered  more  than  2.4  million  Care  Packages  to   deployed  Service  Members,  to  their  children  left  behind,  and  to   First  Responders,  New  Recruit  Graduates,  Veterans,  Wounded   Heroes,  and  their  Caregivers.  Schmiegel’s  role  is  to  oversee   strategic  planning  and  build  national  partnerships  to  further   Operation  Gratitude’s  reach  as  a  preeminent  military  support   organization  while  expanding  hands-­on  volunteerism  to  help  bridge   the  civilian-­service  divide  in  communities  across  America.       Prior  to  Operation  Gratitude,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Schmiegel  founded  Hiring  Our  Heroes  –  a   nationwide  grassroots  campaign  run  through  the  US  Chamber  of  Commerce  Foundation  to  help   veterans  and  military  spouses  find  meaningful  employment  in  hundreds  of  cities  across   America.  Since  its  inception,  Hiring  Our  Heroes  has  held  more  than  1,000  job  fairs  in  all  50   states,  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  on  military  installations  overseas.  To  date,  more  than   500,000  of  our  nation’s  heroes  have  been  hired  as  a  result  of  the  program.  He  went  on  to  serve   as  the  first-­ever  President  of  Thanks  USA,  expanding  the  scope  of  its  mission  from  providing   post-­secondary,  need-­based  scholarships  to  military  spouses  and  children  to  include  Pathways   for  Patriots,  an  innovative  program  to  provide  meaningful  employment  for  the  scholars  upon   graduation.       LtCol  Schmiegel  is  a  Class  of  1989  graduate  of  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  Worcester,   Massachusetts.  He  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Marine  Corps   and  retired  at  the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel  after  20  years  on  active  duty.  In  addition  to  an  early   combat  tour  to  Kuwait  for  Operation  Desert  Shield/Desert  Storm,  Schmiegel  served  as  the   principal  adviser  to  the  NATO  commander  from  2003-­2006,  deploying  to  over  50  countries  in   Europe,  Africa,  and  the  Middle  East.  Schmiegel  also  wrote  the  strategic  plans  for  NATO’s   training  mission  in  Iraq,  its  increased  presence  in  Afghanistan,  and  disaster  relief  operations  for   Hurricane  Katrina  and  the  earthquake  in  Pakistan.  In  2008,  Schmiegel  served  as  the  military   assistant  to  the  special  envoy  for  Middle  East  Regional  Security  and  deployed  to  Tel  Aviv  and   Jerusalem,  where  he  worked  with  Israeli  and  Palestinian  authorities  on  the  peace  process.        

Kevin  lives  in  Arlington  Virginia  with  his  wife  Laura.  When  he  is  not  working,  he  focuses  all  of  his   time  and  energy  on  their  five  children  and  two  dogs.

www.operationgratitude.com

https://www.facebook.com/OperationGratitude

https://twitter.com/OpGratitude

https://www.instagram.com/opgratitude/#

Everyday, we walk around this world, bumping into people, smiling at strangers (hopefully) and never really thinking about what one person may have to say, that you need hear or feel or know.

One day a few years ago, I walked into a Starbucks in San Diego, and was drawn to this beautiful woman, writing at the counter.  I sat next to her and we began talking.  I love connecting with people, but I just felt like I HAD TO connect with her.  So I did.  And as it turns out, we both had aha moments that day.

You have certain talents and gifts to offer the world. Unique gifts, not that only one person has, but that only one human being, YOU, possesses in the exact way that you do.  And you have everything you need to take those talents and strengths, and make the world a better place!

On this episode I chat with Suzka, a successful writer and artist about how attitude is everything, you have to take chances, and you're always exactly where you're supposed to be.

Suzka's creative boundaries appear to be endless. She is a picaresque artist, a painter, writer and author. Every stroke, every word she creates is irreverent, imaginative, funny, delightfully manic and brimming with color. Suzka studied at the Chicago Academy of Art and received a degree from Northern Illinois University. In Chicago, she was active in theater, directing and producing, a performer of Mime and a student of ‘improv’ from Chicago's Second City Company. But while working in California, she fell in love with paint and never returned to Chicago. Suzka has exhibited paintings in numerous one-woman shows and installations throughout California as well as Chicago‘s Navy Pier. She is best known in the jazz world as the designer/creator of Monterey Jazz Festival’s stages for over 25 years. In 2013, fate changed Suzka's course. After caring for her mother who had dementia, Suzka began to write and authored, 'Wonders in Dementialand', the other side of dementia no one is talking about. Suzka is presently the writer/producer for the Dementialand Podcast and part of the scriptwriting team for the movie to be filmed in Berlin/Hanover and the US. Suzka’s works brilliantly uncovers the other side of everything that one dares to imagine.