She's Bold with Beth Whitman

Diane Winston served in the Louisiana State House of Representatives until mid-2008. She understands all too well the reality of living and working in a male-dominated world. And she’s learned skills that have helped her navigate that especially when it comes to politics. Having served in a male-dominated career for a long time, Diane has some really strong opinions about the roles and talents of both men and women. She’s great at giving credit for both sexes but she’s realistic in terms of what holds women back from being more adventurous and risk takers. This is NOT a political discussion :-) Diane talks about retirement and how it’s easy to start second guessing yourself. We talk about how women are always going to be the primary care givers and, as a result, tend to put ourselves last. We talk about the importance of setting goals and ticking things off a task list and why women need to learn how to be better goal setters in order to increase their satisfaction, gratification and prosperity. She believes it all comes down to having a fire in your belly (a passion) and that is the key to being successful and happy. * About Beth Whitman Beth is known as a women's travel expert with nearly 30 years of travel behind her. She's a public speaker, the founder of WanderlustAndLipstick.com and regularly leads tours to off-the-beaten path destinations around the globe through her company, WanderTours.

Dr. Robyn Benson is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and runs a center called Santa Fe Soul where she practices Amplified Regenerative Therapies.

It's clear that Robyn is enthusiastic about her work and sees the possibility for all of us to live a more vibrant, amplified life. She utilizes both traditional and cutting edge technologies including everything from acupuncture to herbs and IV drips to light and sound therapies. All of which have results based on scientific research.

We touch about these technologies as well as what people can do on an every day basis to take control of their health.

Teresa Shook is the founder of the Women's March. I knew this was going to be a special conversation but it went beyond what I imagine. Teresa’s an interesting woman on a lot of levels. As we dug into a bit of her history, the environment in which she grew up and how she never seems to take no for an answer, you begin to understand how the women’s march could have grown so large. We  talked a lot about the women’s march, including what motivated her to start the event and the power of women showing up en-masse. We talked about her theory of how 53% of white women could have voted for the current president. But we talked about other topics, too including how she wouldn’t accept a doctor’s diagnosis that she was going to be blind in six weeks’ time from a rare eye disease. She refused to believe him and overcame it by shear will and, later, through stem cell treatment. This determination has proved her well.

Diane LaVonne is the owner of Diane’s Market Kitchen in Seattle. Diane wears her heart on her sleeve in this conversation. She speaks truth, she’s confident, she’s raw and she’s just simply lovely. She’s an anthropologist/historian by education, she’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry, she’s owned a catering business, she’s raised a family, she served on a school board, taught martial arts and now runs her own business that’s pretty close to the heart of Pike Place Market. Diane really is a bit of a renaissance woman and what I discovered is that she is probably the most tenacious woman I’ve ever met. As you’ll hear in this conversation, she’s overcome odds that were against her but she’s managed to stay focused on what she WANTED to do and, really, what she NEEDED to do to survive.

Chef Amy Cyrex Sins is the owner of Langlois, a culinary adventure in New Orleans. Amy has been an integral part of the WanderTours' New Orleans Culinary Tours for about four years.

While her business has changed since I first met her, she continues to provide wonderful cooking classes and demonstrations that give participants the chance to connect and share stories all while learning about the New Orleans culture. We touched upon a number of topics including how she left her well-paying job to pursue what she wanted to do when she grew up, how Hurricane Katrina played a role in that decision, why a deadline is important to making something happen and how once you make a decision, you can’t go back to your old ways because that way then looks so unfulfilling.

Harriet Baskas is an accomplished travel writer and book author who takes being curious to the nth degree. Her favorite thing to do is spend times wandering around airports, hence her website, Stuck at the Airport. She finds the most interesting things in the common places. In her quiet, unassuming way, she’s held steadfast in her career by following what she loves, she calls it following her bliss.

MiMi Tung-Edelman is the founder of MiMi Globe Goods, a non-profit that helps stay-at-home immigrants by empowering them with skills and equipment to design, create and market hand-crafted jewelry and accessories. MiMi's an immigrant herself, originally from Taiwan, but made her way to the U.S. by way of Saudi Arabia. It was here that she went to university to become a pharmacist. Hear how this background would later influence her to help immigrants today through her company.

While Linda Fane is an Agile Coach and Facilitator, she's also a long-time Buddhist practitioner and teacher. Linda's managed to bring what she's learned from Buddha's teachings to her every day life in the often-times stressful world of technology.

This episode is packed with pearls of wisdom and insight about meditation and the wisdom that hails from a Buddhist practice.

Ella Morton is the co-author of the book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders. She was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and now lives in New York City. Ella and her team have uncovered some truly unusual sights around the world. Things you couldn’t even dream up in your wildest imagination but never-the-less are documented in this book with about 700 entries in all.

"There’s a lot of us women that at this stage of our life that need to step out of the pace of life and take a look, be a little reflective and Molokai holds the space for that. You go to the beach, you’re going to be the only one on the beach." ~ Teri Waros

Teri Waros is the owner of Kalele Bookstore and Divine Expressions, a book and gift store on the island of Molokai. But more than a gift store owner, Teri is a wise woman and a magnet for activity in this small community. There are a lot of gems in this conversation. Take the time to listen and really reflect on some of her thoughts and ideas.