The Next Chapter

“Customer service is now a spectator sport and most businesses are not prepared for it.” Jay Baer is the Founder of Convince & Convert, a strategy consulting firm that helps companies gain and keep more customers through technology, social media, and customer service.  He is also a New York Times best selling author whose most…

"We are not looking to change church policy. What we want is to create an atmosphere in the church where gay people no longer feel that they would be better off dead."

Bryce Cook, by his own admission, used to be homophobic. He was brought up in a conservative LDS family in Mesa, Arizona, and fully embraced traditional church policy.

And then he and his wife Sara received an email that changed their life.

Their son, at the time in school at BYU, wrote to tell them that he was a gay Mormon. "That was a huge surprise, we had no idea that could happen," Cook says. Later, another admission. A second son came out of the closet.

The Cooks were shocked that two of their six children were gay, but they say, "all came under the microscope of greater understanding."

It has been a ten year journey for this family. Not only have they worked to seek understanding, but also advocate for grassroots change in The Church of Latter-day Saints.

"I am here today to be an advocate and a voice for those who don't have a voice in our church," Cook says.

Sara and Bryce Cook started an organization called ALL, which stands for Arizona LDS LGBT http://allarizona.org/ It is a fast growing support and social group for LDS members who are LGBT, as well as family members and allies who want to support them. They meet monthly and interact on a Facebook forum.

In recent months, the group has gained some high profile support as well. At the upcoming All Are Alike Unto God conference in April of 2016, the keynote speaker and special guest will be former NFL Quarterback Steve Young, a well known member of the LDS Church. Cook says Young and his wife have embraced ALL's efforts to open dialogue and increase tolerance.

The Cooks say the greater goal is not to change church policy. Rather to spread the message that there shouldn't have to be a choice between your faith in God and love for the church, and your love for your child.

See Bryce and Sara Cook's story here:

The post 'Gay Mormon Suicide Crisis': How An Arizona Family Is Trying To Change The Church appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“We are not looking to change church policy. What we want is to create an atmosphere in the church where gay people no longer feel that they would be better off dead.” Bryce Cook, by his own admission, used to be homophobic.  He was brought up in a conservative LDS family in Mesa, Arizona, and…

"If you don't push yourself, you aren't aware what you are capable of."

Tiffany Lee Gaston is an internationally recognized fitness model, elite athlete, author and philanthropist. She pushed herself outside of her comfort zone to document the painful experiences in her life that led to where she is today.

In her upcoming book, "From Broken To Badass" Gaston opens up about the anorexia she suffered in her early teens.

"Initially where that came from was a very poor self body image and it was hard for me to overcome. And I'm very vocal about that now because I think women need to hear that."

Gaston talks about eating only iceburg lettuce and drinking water for days on end, all while hiding her personal health crisis from her parents.

Now that she has a public platform, Tiffany Lee Gaston feels a responsibility to share the story. "I don't want to pretend like everything is great when, in fact, someone might be suffering from something similar. When I discovered this about myself, it opened doors for me."

Big doors.

While her career began to flourish in the modeling and fitness world, Gaston found herself in an abusive relationship with a man who was much older.

"I couldn't have seen that coming from miles away," she says tearfully. "I was groomed into feeling like I was this man's trophy. I thought he was the greatest thing ever at the time. As the course of the relationship evolved, he began to put me down. If he mentally beat me down, eventually I would feel like no one else would want me."

Fights then escalated as the abuse turned from verbal to physical. "The day came when the gun was held to my head and I said you owe it to yourself for your safety, and the safety of those around you, to get far, far away from this person," she remembers.

After Gaston walked out on the man who had intimidated and abused her for several years, she found the man she would later marry and have three children with. She calls him The Silver Fox.

It was a tough decision to stop and think back to the hardships she had overcome so long ago, and she wondered if she should reveal so much. In the end, she knew writing a book was the right thing to do. Her experiences, she says, made her the woman of strength she is today. Allowing herself to be vulnerable in telling this story has been empowering.

"It's been the most gratifying thing I've ever done. It's very important that once I achieved a platform and had the ability to share my voice with people, I do it." One of her passions is giving back to kids in the foster care system as a board member on the Johnjay and Rich Care For Kids Foundation johnjayandrich.com

Gaston also continues to share fitness and healthy eating advice on her website www.tiffanyleegaston.com

Today Gaston trains with the same intensity as when she was competing. She is committed to being her strongest self during each evolving phase of her life. She eats a mainly paleo-based, anti-inflammatory diet free of grains, dairy, and sugar.

"I am happy with myself and with my body now. A mom can be anything she wants to be."

Gaston has experienced a new level of happiness as a mom. Each of her three kids has their own unique talents, but her 12 year old daughter, Alexis has fast flourished into a singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Gaston credits Alexis' dedication to guitar — an instrument she took up at age 6– for helping her become a rising star around the Phoenix area. She also credits the guidance of Nicki Park, owner of Northwest Valley Music www.musiclessons4you.com

You could say Tiffany Lee Gaston is a badass suburban soccer mom. A life she couldn't imagine as a young woman trying to escape an eating disorder and an abusive relationship.

Of her life struggles she says, "I have healed on a higher level because I've owned them."

She hopes her story will inspire others to do the same.

The post Anorexia and Abuse: How A Fitness Model Turned Her Life Around appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“If you don’t push yourself, you aren’t aware what you are capable of.” Tiffany Lee Gaston is an internationally recognized fitness model, elite athlete, author and philanthropist.  She pushed herself outside of her comfort zone to document the painful experiences in her life that led to where she is today. In her upcoming book, “From…

"One of the biggest elements of my success came from just taking responsibility for my life."

Kendra Wright is a woman on the rise. She found early success in the world of digital marketing, working with big names and brands to help grow their platforms. Now she is focusing on building her own brand — and inspiring people along the way.

"I was born to a 15 year old mother and given a 5% chance to live," Wright says. While others were outside playing, Wright, who was born with cerebral palsy, was learning to walk. It was a difficult childhood and she says her expectations were not high. "I would have thought that I was most likely to be average."

It turns out, average wasn't good enough. Wright kept pushing herself, and in 2013 had what she calls her breakthrough year.

She spent the entire year doing one thing or another outside of her comfort zone, documenting and writing about it so she could later use it on her new site www.heykendra.com

"I came to this interesting realization and that was that all of my big dreams, goals and aspirations, every time they were derailed, it came down to one root cause and that was fear."

Her goal was to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

She created a project called "The Year Of Fear", each day doing something outside of her comfort zone. She even brought someone in to be an accountability coach so that she was sure to follow through.

Wright went on police ride alongs, volunteered at soup kitchens, forced herself to meet people she would otherwise be intimidated by. Wright, who at the time wasn't making her blogs public, also made a list of all of the people she feared from a writing perspective. "I have friends who are really well known, who just knock it out of the park." She sent those very people all of her work.

Slowly, this personal branding took shape and she began to tell her own life story in a way that was inspirational and freeing. The fear began to fade away.

"I can't control everything around me, but I can control my response to it," Wright says.

She realized that she was making money for others doing digital marketing, why not build up her own brand and amplify her own voice.

"There are so many different ways to take your brand and amplify it online," Wright says. "With my clients, I find small levers that open big doors. What are the things that we can do consistently and maximize results?"

Rather than throw darts at the strategy board, Wright focuses on a couple of core components that translate to measurable results. "When you can clear away clutter and focus on the marketing channels that are working," she says, "I find people have much more success."

After she identifies solid digital marketing strategies that work, Wright likes to add a wildcard, something innovative and fun.

For her, it was creating a site where people can learn "How To Turn Your Bucket List Into Your To-Do List". One post on the site is titled, "If Your Life Sucks, It's Your Fault".

The woman who, at one point, thought she was destined to be average, is now finding greatness and, as she likes to say, being completely kick ass.

The post Digital Marketing Guru Shares Her Secrets To Success appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“One of the biggest elements of my success came from just taking responsibility for my life.” Kendra Wright is a woman on the rise.  She found early success in the world of digital marketing, working with big names and brands to help grow their platforms.  Now she is focusing on building her own brand —…

"Do not be afraid to seek out transformation of your mind."

AJ Richards came back from Iraq feeling that his life had no purpose. He was working for a pest control company, doing door-to-door sales at the time. Richards realized that he had to make changes or he might not survive.

"I was a soldier and I wore that very proudly. I was totally prepared to die while I was over there. When I got home, there was nowhere to go to. I got a job with a pest control company and I found myself depressed because just getting a job and a paycheck wasn't enough."

What was missing from his life, Richards says, was physicality and purpose. He had gone from being a warrior to living a very stagnant life. He was not doing enough physically to get the hormones released, Richards says. He believes that was at the core of his growing depression. "My theory is what is needed is physical activity."

Richards opened CrossFit Mesa and soon after had an idea for a competition.

He founded Rush Club, a head-to-head weight class competition. Kind of like Fight Club meets CrossFit.

From there, the idea exploded. Rush Club has grown over the past two years into a highly watched event. It also has seen a spike in interest from Veterans looking to compete.

Richards opened up the competition to adaptive athletes, some have become national celebrities.

Two well known Veteran Athletes, Derek Weida and Mike Gallardo, both amputees, will be among the competitors at a Rush Club this weekend taking place at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona.

Richards points to this as an example of Rush Club's mission, "You are a warrior. You can be responsible for your own recovery. Get up and move."

For AJ Richards, it has been a long, tough journey to now. But he made a decision to be mindful of where he wanted to go next with his life. He wanted not only to find success and happiness for himself, he wanted to inspire others along the way.

His goals now are lofty. Within the 12 months they hope to stream competitions to half-million people, and in 5 years be as big as the UFC. Expressing those goals is a little bit intimidating, but it is all part of Richards' journey.

"If you are committed to something and you say it, and it doesn't scare you, it's not big enough."

The post Fight Club Meets Crossfit: Helping Veterans Find New Purpose appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“Do not be afraid to seek out transformation of your mind.”   AJ Richards came back from Iraq feeling that his life had no purpose.  He was working for a pest control company, doing door-to-door sales at the time.  Richards realized that he had to make changes or he might not survive. “I was a…

"When something looks interesting on the horizon, I want to check it out."

Evo Terra, a well known digital strategist, speaker and podcaster wanted to see what life was like as a world traveler. He and his wife, Sheila Dee, made the decision in late 2014 to sell just about everything — including their house — and hit the road.

They describe the journey as both amazing and complicated.

"Our entire lives, for all of 2015, were in two suitcases that we brought with us. You are literally packing up your life."

The two started documenting their journey on the site, The Opportunistic Travelers.

Terra, with a long background in digital strategy and content marketing, says he is easily bored. He realized this early on in his career when he found himself restless and unhappy with his job. At the time, Terra says, he worried about walking away because he was working for a great company. When he asked for advice, one of his mentors told him not to worry because "there are lots of great companies out there." Those words stuck with Terra who realized that being adventurous and innovative was paramount.

He is lucky enough to share a partner in life that has "itchy feet".

At first, the couple considered this adventure a sabbatical, not necessarily a way to make money. But when you are an entrepreneur, you find ways to create opportunity. Evo Terra and Dee are now telling their story — blogging and podcasting — on behalf of others in the tourism and travel industry who are looking for exposure.

"When you need to reach people with a message, whether you are a large brand, a blogger, or a presidential candidate, people want to be entertained, but also want a good quality story," Terra says. "Do you have a story worth telling?"

Terra and Dee sure do. It's a story that continues to unfold as they make Bangkok, Thailand their home for 2016.

Dee, a professor and photographer, shares her husband's sense of adventure and willingness to let life unfold without a roadmap.

While the couple enjoyed living in Phoenix, Arizona for 18 years, they say they don't miss their house, or any of their "stuff". Terra and Dee realized there was so much of the world they hadn't seen. After their son graduated from college, opportunity to explore the unknown presented itself.

"We are not very risk averse people. We just want to experience more things."

The post The Opportunistic Travelers: Phoenix Couple Turns Travel Into a Full-Time Gig appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.