In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, blogger and author, Vicki Atkinson.

Vicki and Wynne are big believers in the power of story – to connect us, to create intergenerational healing, and to make meaning out of the events of our lives. Whether the story is funny or serious, we see others able to pick up the thread and run with it. Often it starts with, “That reminds me of…”

So in this episode, Vicki tell us about an a-ha moment story she had as a child about her dad, Sonny. He gracefully navigated the ups and downs of having a disabled daughter, Vicki’s sister, Lisa.  

And when they moved back to the town where he’d grown up, Vicki understood why. He’d been a champion of the differently abled for a long time.

Please join us for the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story.

We know you'll love it.

Links for this episode:

Episode 67 show notes

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, blogger and author, Vicki Atkinson.

We are changing our format starting with this episode. Vicki and Wynne are big believers in the power of story – to connect us, to create intergenerational healing, and to make meaning out of the events of our lives. To set the stage, we will be starting with someone telling a story in each episode.

In this case, Wynne tells a story about what happened when she and her kids recently rescued a bunny. We got to see and learn a little bit about the nature of life, death, and our part in the circle of life.

Please forgive me for talking too fast as I tell the story. It’s part of my learning process to transition between interviewer to being in the spotlight. My nerves pushed me to rush so I need to practice slowing down.

In this episode that is about 15 minutes long, after I tell the story, we talk a little bit about the elements of a good story. Drawing from the research of Will Storr and his Ted Talk, we highlight some of the features that come to play in most of our stories, whether they be personal narrative, fiction, or something in between.

Vicki brilliantly likens our new route starting with this episode, Route 66. Please join us for the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story.

Links for this episode:

Episode 66 show notes

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and I are talk with one of our favorite repeat guests, blogger and author, Mark Petruska, about how to be the new guy.

Mark tells us the fascinating story of his new job. We talk about Mark’s great willingness to lean in to change.

We learn from Mark about living life to the fullest. As always, he keeps us laughing as he tells us about the excellent timing that occurred for the most recent solar eclipse to land on his first day on the new job.

This is a great episode about how to be daring when facing change. We know you’ll love it.

Links for this episode:

Episode 65 show notes

Mark's blog (newly redesigned and looking great!): Mark My Words

Some of the posts we reference in this podcast:

From the hosts:

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Vicki Atkinson, and we are talking about the latest book from author David Brooks, How to Know a Person.

We talk about his great encouragement to be vulnerable enough to be seen and his image of each of us as a creative artist who has a unique way of seeing the world.

And we dive into the methods that help us listen well.

We have a great conversation around what it takes to tell our own stories.

Vicki also shares with us the wisdom she learned listening to David Brooks give a commencement speech when she was a faculty member. She explains why his approach was so much more meaningful than many of the others she heard in her 40 years in academia.

This is a great episode about how we can be intentional about getting to know others. We know you’ll love it.

Links for this podcast:

Episode 64 show notes

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with dear friend and co-host, Vicki Atkinson, and we are talking about the keys to success as collaborators.

We talk about how openness and authenticity are necessary to be good partners.

I bring my years of experience as a consultant for collaboration software to the table talking about the right mix of structure and openness to provide room for individual expression.

Vicki gives us a great metaphor about understanding what history is best packed away in a steamer trunk versus carried with us in a backpack.

And I love that because of my favorite backpack meditation.

Here’s the thing. Writing our stories has enabled Vicki and me to be collaborative partners even though we’ve never met in person. We recognize that we are lucky to have been able to build such a connection and that it doesn’t happen every day.

So in this podcast conversation, we break down the path to connection through vulnerability, openness, warmth and responsiveness in order to share what’s worked for us. It’s a great episode about how to collaborate with others. We know you’ll love it.

Links for this episode:

Episode 63 show notes

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon are talking with author, podcaster, publisher, and former radio producer, Rick Kaempfer.

Rick has recently published The Loop Files: An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever. It’s a celebration of a time when radio, rock and roll, and comedy all came together.

We talk about how Rick prepared to meet celebrities as a DJ and producer in the pre-Internet era. He tells us about his regimen to subscribe to all the magazines he could and read 7 newspapers a day.

Rick, who claims he is fueled by eye rolls, tells us great stories from his book, Father Knows Nothing, that pulled from his weekly column when he was a stay-at-home dad.

We recorded this conversation right after opening day for major league baseball which was a great segue to his book, Every Cub Ever. And we talk about his fiction and his work as a publisher supporting authors and encouraging the full publishing lifecycle including promotion.

This is a great episode with an incredibly prolific author, supportive publisher, and powerful presence. We know you’ll love it!

Links for this episode:

Episode 62 show notes

The Loop Files: An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever | Eckhartz Press

EveryCubEver--6th Edition (2024) | Eckhartz Press

Back in the D.D.R | Eckhartz Press

Father Knows Nothing | Eckhartz Press

From the hosts:

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon are talking with author and blogger, Cheryl Oreglia.

Cheryl has recently returned from attending the San Francisco writers conference. She shares her elevator pitch for her next book project.

In her inimitable style, Cheryl keeps us laughing alongside her as she reveals the mishaps, lessons, and successes of a writers conference.

She also beautifully describes our personal stories and the way, perhaps obligation, to keep writing them.

This is a great episode that will leave you inspired by Cheryl’s courage, ability to show up, and knack for telling a story. We know you’ll love it!

Links for this post:

Episode 61 show notes

Grow Damn It!: The Feeding and Nurturing of Life by Cheryl Oreglia on Amazon

We Are The Authors of Our Lives post

Cheryl's blog: Living in the Gap

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.oreglia 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cheryloreglia 

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/cheryloreglia 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cheryloreglia

Vicki’s book, a special story about resilience and love: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon are back with writer and retired psychologist, Dr. Gerald Stein.

In this fascinating episode, we talk about the factors that keep us from accurately predicting how we’ll react in a situation or knowing what we want life to be.

We talk about the tests in life like money, fame, winning, and more that look promising but probably feel different than we imagine if we achieve them.

Dr. Stein talks about the factors that impact our ability to anticipate how we feel.

In the face of our poor predictive power, Dr. Stein provides us some ways to face the future like evaluating our patterns and preparing for change.  He also reveals the practice of Tikkun olam, a Jewish concept that directs our energies towards repair of the world. Here's a sneak peak video:

This is a great episode that reveals the perils of prediction and suggests how we can live our best life even when we don’t know what’s coming. We know you’ll love it!

Episode 60 show notes

Dr. Gerald Stein's Blog: Dr. Gerald Stein

Don't be too sure of yourself: Why We aren't Good at Predictions by Dr. Gerald Stein

Other podcast episodes with Dr. Stein:

Episode 46: Being Your Own Best Friend With Dr. Gerald Stein - Part I

Episode 47: Being Your Own Best Friend With Dr. Gerald Stein - Part II

Episode 37: The Waiting Game with Dr. Gerald Stein

Episode 29: Accidental Philanthropists with Dr. Gerald Stein

Episode 20: The Art of the Interview with Dr. Gerald Stein

From the Hosts:

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon are talking with writer and musician, Todd Fulginiti. Our discussion centers around finding creative balance, especially in Todd’s post-Covid life as a musician gig worker.

He talks about grabbing opportunities when they pop up. Because you never know how long the invitations will keep coming. And then the overload that happens when you say “yes” to everything.

We talk through working with the tension between doing too much and taking care of oneself. Todd tells us his conclusion of finding his balance.

We also find out Todd’s why for playing music and his creative life.

Todd site where you can listen to his latest album and find out more: Todd Fulginiti Music

HoTM podcast about his album release: Episode 38: Jazz on King with Todd Fulginiti

Todd's Wise and Shine post about the release of his latest album, Jazz on King: My New Album Releases Today!

Todd's Wise & Shine post about finding his playing style: Why Did I Say That?

From the hosts:

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

In this episode, Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon are talking with our colleague, writer and corporate communication leader, Brian Hannon.

Brian shares with us what sparks his creativity and impetus to write.

We talk about paradoxes and George Carlin.

Brian tells us the secret about his productivity to write both personally and professionally.

And because it’s always informative to find out how others do it all, we talk about balance. This is a great episode with a fantastic writer and friend. Brian always brings such warmth and inspiration to our conversations and truly has a creative heart. We know you’ll love it!

Links for this Episode:

Brian's blog: Writing from the Heart with Brian

Brian's post on paradoxes: A life full of paradoxes

From the hosts:

Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders

Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith