The Kettle with Meagan Francis

If, like me, you've ever had a bit of a cynical attitude about gratitude journals and other thankfulness projects, this episode is for you! The year she turned 50, writer and podcaster Nancy Davis Kho embarked on an ambitious project: to write thank-you letters to 50 people who had impacted her in both positive and negative ways, ultimately helping to shape her life. That undertaking eventually became a book: The Thank you Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude At A Time. In today's episode of The Mother of Reinvention Show, Nancy and I discuss "milestone" birthdays, how to rewire your brain toward positivity, how gratitude helps strengthen resilience and more.

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About Nancy:

Nancy Davis Kho is a speaker, author, and podcaster whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and Salon.co. Nancy is the author of the book THE THANK-YOU PROJECT: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time, and her blog and podcast cover “the years between being hip and breaking one”. The Midlife Mixtape Podcast won a 2020 Iris Award as Podcast of the Year and Nancy has been both champion and judge in the acclaimed international comedy-lit improv show, Literary Death Match. Find out more about Nancy at www.DavisKho.com.

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Buy Nancy's book: The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time Find Nancy's podcast and blog at midlifemixtape.comIf you'd like to find out more about some of Meagan's favorite products, head over to the MOR Faves page at MORfaves.comHave you left a rating/review for Mother of Reinvention on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen) yet? It is so helpful!

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Could you pick up your family and leave life as you know it for a year - or more? Heather Greenwood Davis is a long-time travel writer, and in 2011 - when her sons were 8 and 10 - she embarked on a multi-continent, year-long trip with her entire family. Nearly ten years later, Heather shares the way that this trip was life-changing for her family, how it's made them more courageous and resilient separately and as a unit, and how she's taken this sense of adventure forward into her career, life, and relationships. Whether you've been a lifelong traveler or are just getting around to it in this phase of your life, Heather's story of grit and gusto is sure to inspire you to start filling out that passport application and planning your next adventure.

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About Heather:

Heather Greenwood Davis is a Contributing Writer and on-air storyteller for National Geographic and a Feature Writer with The Globe and Mail. Her work appears regularly in a host of national and international publications. Heather also appears on television stations across North America and has been featured in O Magazine and NPR. She is the resident travel expert on The Social - a national daily lifestyle show -  and co-host of Get, Set, Go!.

Heather believes in travel as a change agent, and has shared insights as a speaker in university classrooms, at conferences and at trade gatherings. Heather is also the voice behind GlobetrottingMama.com – an international, family travel blog that features the adventures she takes with (and without) her husband Ish and their two sons, Ethan and Cameron.

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Read about Heather's year-long around-the-world trip with her husband and kids - which awarded them the title "National Geographic Travelers Of The Year". Check out Heather's website to learn about her many media outlets and what she's up to now.Globetrotting Mama is a great place to get inspired about what's possible around traveling with kids. Please get in touch! Send an email to [email protected] to say hello.And if you’d like to find out more about some of Meagan’s favorite products, head over to the MOR Faves page at MORfaves.com.

Just for fun - a pic of Heather and I looking glam at the 2018 Iris Awards.

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What does it mean to live in alignment? It could be literal: standing up straight, with your body's skeletal and muscular systems properly lined up. Or it could be figurative: doing and saying the things that "line up" with your values and goals. This discussion with Zeena Dhalla, founder of VerticAlign Posture Coaching, is a lesson in both. Zeena has a fascinating story of many pivots, from working in the entertainment industry to going from "barely active" to running a marathon, to becoming a fitness instructor and eventually, a gym owner; to writing a book and now focusing her career on posture and ergonomics. Along the way, Zeena and her husband adopted a toddler from India, which required her to pivot again as she worked to align her career with her family responsibilities. The through-line in Zeena's story: when you focus on aligning your actions with your values, you'll run into less resistance and opportunities will open up - when they're supposed to.

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About Zeena:Zeena Dhalla is founder of VerticAlign Posture Coaching and a proud posture geek. Zeena graduated from Northwestern University. She has been featured as a writer and fitness model by by OC Squeeze, OC Metro, OC Register, as well as, on the television show Daybreak OC. She was also featured in Pilates Style Magazine as the Author and Model for ‘Pilates for Baby Boomers’. Zeena has served on the Board of Director for the National Association for Women Business Owners. Since becoming a mom to her daughter that she and her husband adopted from Kolkata in 2008, Zeena has focused on maintaining a balance between work and motherhood.

Episode Links:

If you’re like most people who spend hours sitting at a desk or looking down at your phone, you may be seeing changes in your posture like slumped or rounded shoulders, resulting in feeling back or neck pain that you can’t seem to fix on your own. Visit VerticAlign to see if Zeena and her team can help make you comfortable again!You can find Zeena's book, Sculpt and Shape: The Pilates Way here.Lastly, for all things, Zeena, you can also visit her personal website, www.zeenadhalla.com where you can find additional resources and to see what she is up to lately. And be sure to look for her on Instagram @zeenadhalla.Meagan would love to hear from you! Send an email to [email protected] to say hello.And if you'd like to find out more about some of Meagan's favorite products, head over to the MOR Faves page at MORfaves.com!

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"I literally screamed like my limbs were being pulled off of me." That's how Jessica Ashley - now a divorce coach and creator of Single Mom Nation, a resource and podcast for single moms of all kinds, reacted when she first began her divorce journey. In the ensuing 13 years, Jessica has learned now only how to create a bigger, happier, healthier life for herself and her kids, but she's also taken what she's learned and applied it to helping other women in transition. In the very first episode of The Mother of Reinvention Show, I talk with Jessica, a longtime friend, about reinventing your life through changing relationships, and how to use any disruptive situation as an opportunity for growth by tapping into your own strength and leaning on the right people. It's a great conversation for any woman facing life reinvention, whether they've personally dealt with divorce or not.

Featured Sponsor:

Prep Dish is a subscription-based meal planning service catering to Keto, Gluten-Free, and Paleo lifestyles. Now featuring SUPER FAST menus with included grocery lists: shop once, do an hour of prep whenever you have time, and you'll enjoy healthy, delicious meals all week long.

Sign up at PrepDish.com/MOR to get your first 2 weeks FREE.

About Jessica:

Jessica Ashley is a thriving single mom of two and founder, author and host of Single Mom Nation, where she shares her advice on self-care, co-parenting, dating and relationships, focusing on girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice as well as expert tips for single mothers and divorcing women. Jessica has been featured on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Huffington Post, Martha Stewart Radio and has won many awards for her writing.

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The mission of Single Mom Nation: "where single mothers of all experiences, women seeking divorce, ending a relationship, deploying with the military or supporting a deployed parent, who feel alone in a marriage or partnership, who are considering parenting and relationship options or some other circumstance that lifts them up as the primary person raising a child - it is where we can all meet to get girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice, generously support each other, where we can laugh, sob, be sassy, feel safe and get real." Visit Single Mom Nation to learn more!If you are currently going through a divorce, or maybe know someone else who is, check out Divorce Girlfriends where Jessica hosts monthly 90-minute Zoom coaching conversations. Each month, the conversations cover a topic that is critical to being calm, confident, and clear through divorce so you can thrive on the other side. Join the conversation at Divorce Girlfriends.Meagan would love to hear from you! Send an email to [email protected] to say hello. And if you'd like to find out more about some of Meagan's favorite products, head over to the MOR Faves page at MORfaves.com!

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Your kids are getting older. Now what? Whether you’re facing a mid-career pivot, health and wellness journey, divorce or blending a family, or just looking to add a sense of adventure, curiosity and courage to your everyday life again now that the little-kid stage is past, you’re definitely going to want to check out my new podcast, Mother of Reinvention. Click through to check out the trailer, and stay tuned - the first full episode will drop March 25!

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