Stranger Connections

"You're not alone in your origin story." ~ Andrea Owen

This fantastic human inspires the masses with her podcast, "Make Some Noise" which has been going strong for a decade!


I begin our chat by asking: "What is a kick-ass life?" And the wrap-up story she shares when I ask if she has a dare or prank story to share is one to hear!!

Andrea Owen is an international speaker, professional certified life coach, and author whose passions are to help high-achieving women maximize unshakable confidence and master resilience. She's taught hundreds of thousands of women the tools and strategies to empower themselves to live their best lives.

As a mom to two teens, it was easy to dabble in the overview of motherhood as well as being adult children ourselves. Listen in to learn about her 11 years of sobriety, her time spent coaching 10 - 13-year-old girls, her many books, and her awareness of self-compassion.

www.andreaowen.com Check out her fantastic blog and set up a one-on-one session

Podcast: Make Some Noise

Books:

• How To Stop Feeling Like Shit; 14 habits that are holding you back from happiness
• Make Some Noise; speak your mind and own your strength
• 52 Ways to Live a Kick-Ass Life; BS Free Wisdom

Instagram.com/heyandreaowen
facebook.com/heyandreaowen

"A goal isn't a goal until you pick a date and get it down on paper". ~ Award Winning Senior Athlete, John Hurd.

Episode 150 is exceptional! Meet my oldest guest to date, Mr. John Hurd.

He has medals, trophies, and bragging rights galore. His career started in math, numbers, and computers - back when the machines took up entire buildings. Hurd still has a passion for Excel spreadsheets, and dabbles in CDO (he reorganized the letters in OCD to make it alphabetical).

In this episode, learn from John, who shares he is "91 and about 5 months" (at the time we chatted). His wife Sally is his biggest fan, and it's easy to see why. The southern charm will 'get you' too. His health scare didn't stop his dreams, and he is still going strong on the track - inspiring the masses.

John shares:

• Why he wrote two books (so far) on sprinting
• Why we need to "set yourself some goals"
• Why you may not need a coach
• That we can't help getting older, but we don't have to get old
• The perfect squelch story

John Hurd offers an Excel spreadsheet to purchase on his website so that we can become organized with our goals and the process along the way.


Books: Johnny Run Lately; The Life and Adventures of a Latter-Day Sprinter
A Sprint to the Gold; How I Won the National Senior Olympics

"I'm not afraid to say I don't know how to do something. Instead, I ask how CAN I do this."
~ Cliff Beach, author of Side Hustle & Flow and funky musician man. (My own title for him).

My favorite song on repeat is from his album, "Who The Funk Is Cliff Beach" and it's called "Let Me Down".

During this interview, I learned Cliff Beach finished High School at age 16. He is a master of time management and motivation. He sprinkled brilliant quotes throughout our chat together. He is also the king of the side hustle, explaining the benefits of fulfillment outside of the regular career. Besides the addition of diversified income streams, it sparks the creative parts of your brain.

Check out Cliff Beach's music and videos.... he's been nominated for three LA Music Awards, Record of the Year, and a Hollywood Music in Media Award.
His group has been a house band on the Discovery Channel.
He's been featured in a live review in Music Connection Magazine and performed at TEDx Napa Valley.
Beach won a John Lennon Songwriting Contest, two world songwriting awards, four global music awards, a CA music video/film award, and was nominated for several LA music awards.

Cliff Beach's podcast is called Deeper Grooves
Check out his fantastic music all over the place. Google Cliff Beach funk.
He's on Facebook and Instagram too.
[email protected]

"You don't need marketing, just go out and sell." ~ Joe Pallo, author, speaker, consultant

Joe Pallo is a heckuva storyteller and top-notch listener. With this golden combination, it's no wonder he lives and breathes sales and connections. Pallo is a former door-to-door salesperson turned consultant, author, and speaker.

Pallo's upcoming book is "How to Sell Nothing; the salesperson's guide to what really happens in a sale". It's the uncommon and proven way to exceed sales goals in less time.

In this episode (number 148!) Joe shares:

• The essence of selling nothing
• You cannot be someone's leader unless they tell you how and why
• You are already selling every day - Joe can prove this
• Emotional versus Logical sales
• A story about his first huge sale . . . ala Chicken Sh*t
• The Prank that helped out a stranger

Connect with Joe, who finally jumped on Facebook - or on LinkedIn.
sellnothing.co (not .com)
convertsalesfaster.com

"Everybody in business is looking for some kind of edge. Social media is perceived to give us that edge. I constantly refresh the way I bring ideas to the fore." ~ JD Gershbein

JD Gershbein pioneers the next frontier of LinkedIn for Leaders, Business Owners, Physicians, Advisors, and Content Creators in Brand Transformation - and Organizations Driving Culture Change.

He has charm, a super-wonderful wife, and is funny (as all get out).

Learn from one of the First Ever LinkedIn Consultants:

• What did we learn through the pandemic about our business and branding
• What is it like to start an entrepreneurial business during a worldwide pandemic
• Why it's time to call attention to the 'individual' in business and online
• How do we deal with the bad advice given through social media
• What one word irks both JD and Lisa
• How should we deal with predatory sales behaviors online

Gershbein studied improvisation with the Second City improv group, has a TEDx Talk, has taken acting classes, and is always up for trying new things. How can this help your online presence, business, and life overall? Tune in for pure inspiration.

Subscribe to Stranger Connections, and leave a lovely review while you're there - to help the show to be seen. You're swell, and we are glad you're here.

Find JD - on LinkedIn of course! Check out his "LinkedIn Style Guide" and stay tuned for his fresh podcast to be released soon!

"Humor is a skill, which means that it can be learned. So the question isn't, 'Are you funny?', the question is, 'What kind of funny are you?' " ~ Drew Tarvin, author, speaker, pun master

Jump on the humor bus, and prepare to laugh, ponder, and learn!
Drew Tarvin is the leader of finding humor at work. Appropriate kinds of things that won't get you fired, but will, most-certainly, create a new bond with the team, lighten the stress load and create the kind of place where you may not dread Mondays as much.

Listen in to learn about:
- Humor month fun challenges that anyone can do
- Can you learn to be funny?
- Seven primary ways a person expresses humor
- How to incorporate levity into each day
- Developing a humor habit
- Discover your very own Humor Persona
- The prank that Drew didn't really mind at all


Drew Tarvin is an engineering specialist who discovered the many benefits of humor and created a path to assist leaders and work teams in relieving stress, increasing productivity, and just being happier in general at work.

His fantastic book is "Humor That Works; the missing skill for success and happiness at work.

Join the online community (for free!!) - Humor That Works Community

Grab all the fab free resources on his website: HumorThatWorks.com

Invite Drew to speak to your corporation, he is on all the socials: @drewtarvin

Subscribe to Stranger Connections and leave a lovely review, to help the show to be seen, please.
And as always, send me your weirdos! LDO

"You just have to say Yes to some things in life. If nothing else, it becomes a story." ~ Cesar Cervantes

He's been featured on Comedy Central, and a handful of Hollywood films, too.
Now he leads others toward their performing and speaking goals. He's one of my mentors and I'm superbly thrilled to kick off humor month (April) with this great guy!

Cesar loves the stage, whether delivering one of his (multiple) TEDx talks, or coaching others to that red dot under the spotlight.
Some need their keynote to be better. Others need their work presentation to shine. A few want to find how to infuse humor into the ever-frightening keynote or powerpoint presentation. Cervantes is sought after for all of this and more . . . if you want Dad Jokes, Cesar delivers.

Listen in to learn:
Did Cesar really perform in a naked show?
What is Persona vs Character?
How can humor balance tension?
What makes stand-up 'good'?
Does one HAVE to have humor?
Is it good to use self-deprecating humor?
What was Cesar's prank, which affected his whole family?

Check out Cesar's valuable website, and subscribe to his superb newsletter today!

www.CesarCervantes.tv
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, too!

"Regrets are unfinished business, unfinished relationships." ~ Diane Hullet, end-of-life coach who is passionate about facilitating conversations about mortality, to lead people to know what matters most to them.

It all began with a funeral for an insect. Then she was hooked on what it means to die, and to respect the way we leave this realm. Hullet says it's so natural to be part of the birthing process, but death is hushed and private.

Not anymore. Planning the exit from this life is something Diane brings to the forefront.
She is a member of the National End of LIfe Doula Alliance.
Her mission is to make death 'kinder' to those you love. Bringing awareness to death and making the conversations easier helps the process, not only for the one who is preparing to die, but also for those left after the death.

Learn why the conversations matter, how to overcome challenges around getting your loved ones to open up and how to be more open and honest around death and dying so the grief process can improve the mental well-being in society.

Get the free mini-book on how to support someone who is grieving. It's a simple tool you can put into place right away.

www.BestLifeBestDeath.com

Entrepreneur Ausi Kimmons speaks multi-languages, is a Code Conversion Coach (what's that?) and happens to have three families under one roof. Five of those people are their five children!

Her online marketing work is alongside her husband, where they hold quick 5-day challenges to teach others how to turn Cold Calls into Clients. (grow.ausikimmons.com).

We delve into what it's like to live with nearly twenty humans in one home and work with your spouse. Ausi shares humorous stories about being multi-lingual and living in different countries.

What is it like to have family members as employees?

How many languages are you and your husband fluent in?

How many bathrooms do they have? *yes, of course I asked that

Who does the cooking? Do you give up on trying to pair socks?

Can one truly 'move past murder' when the victim is your own mother?

Collier Landry was an 11-year-old when he found the strength to figure out what happened to his mother, who was suddenly gone.

Collin openly shares his childhood trauma, recalling:

• The sounds he heard in the night
• His mother's eerie premonition
• The bravery that uncovered a murder
• Testifying in court against the murderer, his father

Collier Landry's story is one of tenacity, resilience, and steadfast bravery. The 11year old who grew to share this story in Investigation Discovery's "A Murder in Mansfield", as well as the successful podcast, "Moving Past Murder" where Landry shares his unique perspective on surviving true crim and trauma.

How does one move on past the murder of their mother - especially when you are the person who led the investigators to the guilty party . . . . your own father.

Moving Past Murder Podcast
Documentary: A Murder In Mansfield

#CollierLandry
#LisaDavidOlson