The Next Chapter

“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…

Find your wings and you will fly.

That's a version of what kids are told at Phoenix based New Pathways for Youth. More specifically, they are told to figure out which wing is the strong one and which wing is the weak one. That way, they stay airborne.

It's a concept that helped 16 year old Catalina turn her life around.

The teen was hesitant about joining the intensive, "all-in" mentoring program — at first. She was suspicious and closed hearted. Mainly because her life, to this point, had been very choatic.

Catalina paints a picture of a badly broken home with a father who put alcohol above everything else. "It's only him and alcohol. That's all he worked for — alcohol."

Her mother struggled to pay the bills as Catalina fell deeper and deeper into a black hole of failing grades and drug use.

Until she met Christine Leavitt.

Leavitt, a mother of five and practicing attorney, was approached to become a mentor. Despite the fact that she was incrediblybusy, she was (remarkably) up for the challenge.

"I always believe that you have time for what you really want. You make the time," Leavitt says. "So, I decided I would go try."

It turned out to be transformative in her own personal growth.

First, Leavitt had to figure out how to identify with Catalina — whose family background was very different from her own.

"I come from a Mormon background, extremely conservative," Leavitt says. "I wondered how I would relate? What do I know about their world and how can I insert myself in their lives."

It wasn't easy. You've heard the term "helicopter mom"? Well, Leavitt was a little bit like a helicopter mentor. She constantly tried to push Catalina, and her other mentee, to do better, especially in school. "The more I pushed, the more they pushed away," she says. That's when the breakthrough happened and Leavitt learned to approach the girls "on their terms". She established a deeper trust and stopped trying to force them to figure everything out at once.

A year into their relationship, Catalina is a changed teenager. "I started seeing who I really was," she explains. "I started seeing this is not who I want to be. I started noticing how Christine is a great person. She's my role model and I want to be just like her."

For Leavitt, a decision to make time for a troubled teen, turned into a life changing experience. She is now watching Catalina move closer to college and a life she never thought possible.

Leavitt says the crucial role mentors play is showing kids — many who come from backgrounds that are truly hard to imagine — that they can choose to break the cycle.

"This can be your reality," Leavitt tells her mentees. "It's hard and it will take work, but it is the hope that we have."

The post Why Mentoring Matters: How A Phoenix Teen Went From Smoking Pot and Flunking School To Find Success appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

Find your wings and you will fly.   That’s a version of what kids are told at Phoenix based New Pathways for Youth.  More specifically, they are told to figure out which wing is the strong one and which wing is the weak one.  That way, they stay airborne. It’s a concept that helped 16…

"I have really put a priority on my health. Having cancer changes your priority on everything."

Kirk Nurmi has walked through an incredible journey over the past few years. After being assigned to represent notorious boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias, Nurmi's life, at times, seemed like a reality TV show. One that he never wanted to be the star of.

Nurmi was thrust into the center of a media circus as he tried to save the life of one of the most hated women in America. And that is just the beginning of the story. Along the way, Nurmi very publicly lost 75 pounds — and found out he had cancer.

It was August of 2015 when Nurmi became concerned about a growth under his arm. A month later, he received the news no one wants to hear. Cancer. The diagnosis was Stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"I came forward about it is because so many interviews I've heard inspired me in terms of the people who had gone through it and survived it," Nurmi says. The diagnosis came just months after he was finally freed of his responsibility as Arias' attorney.

"A lot of people thought I wanted to be there, sought her out as a client, wanted to be in front of the cameras."

This is how Nurmi came to title his book "Trapped With Ms. Arias".

In his book, he writes that he was forced to represent a manipulative and intimidating client who was sexually inappropriate and "very disturbed."

What is Jodi Arias really like as a person? "That is probably the million dollar question," Nurmi says. He likens it to "dealing with a really intelligent 5 year old."

"You know that children are impulsive, narcissistic, and short sighted in their thinking. Imagine dealing with that every day," he says of Arias who is now serving a life sentence for killing Travis Alexander.

Nurmi writes:

"To fully get a visual of what Ms. Arias did to my brain you would have to find some fecal matter, throw it into the pan, add a chopped up dead rat and scramble the whole mess up. Once completely cooked this concoction would then approximate the effect that Ms. Arias would have on my brain."

When asked about the most shocking moment during the high-profile trial — which was live streamed to the media every day — Nurmi says he was shocked to hear someone had sold their ticket to sit in the gallery (for two hundred dollars).

It was officially a three ring circus.

The trial and intense media coverage took an emotional toll on Nurmi and his wife. In between trials, he lost 75 pounds. Not because of stress, he says. Rather, he made a commitment to some major lifestyle changes. Perhaps one way to gain a little bit of control in a world that was wildly spinning.

Nurmi says he lost the weight "the old fashioned way" with a calorie reduction plan. He reduced his daily intake to 1200-1600 calories and increased his activity. He believes no fancy diet plan is needed. Nurmi wrote a book about his weight loss journey in which he encourages people to "create their own idea of what might work" and "be invested in that program."

For Kirk Nurmi, weight loss was just part of an ongoing battle for better health. At the time of our interview, he was about to undergo his final chemotherapy treatment, and was looking forward to the next chapter in his life. One he says will focus on education, enlightenment, and moving forward.

"I wanted to define myself because there were so many misconceptions about myself as Jodi Arias' former lawyer. I am more than that."

The post Life After Jodi Arias: Kirk Nurmi Talks about Surviving the Trial, Losing 75 pounds, and His Current Battle — with Cancer appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I have really put a priority on my health.  Having cancer changes your priority on everything.” Kirk Nurmi has walked through an incredible journey over the past few years.  After being assigned to represent notorious boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias, Nurmi’s life, at times, seemed like a reality TV show.  One that he never wanted to be…

Tracey Martin is not big on resolutions. In fact, she is 100% anti-resolution. Martin, a life strategist based in Scottsdale, Arizona, believes life is a journey and we should never stop. Not even when a goal is met or a resolution is checked off our list.

When it comes to that life journey, Martin encourages people to stop thinking so much about the exterior, and start taking better care of what's on the inside. It is personal development "beyond the gym".

"Change the weight to wait," she says. As in, "WHAT are you waiting for?"

It is a spiritual and holistic approach to happiness. One she says has worked well for her as a busy mom, wife (married for 21 years), and successful businesswoman.

With her clients, Martin works to develop passion, potential and purpose. "If those things line up," she says, "you will find yourself in a really wonderful place."

For 2016, one area of focus for Martin is helping people to hear their own "self-talk soundtrack". You know the one that plays over and over. "It would be so interesting if we could put a speaker inside our head as to what we say about others, and what we say about ourselves."

In trying to get people to focus, and change, that self-talk soundtrack, Martin likes to ask people self-reflective questions:

What has happened in your life if you can't carve out an hour to meet with a friend in need?

What has happened in your life If you can't pick up your child up from school with a warm smile and a hug?

What has happened in your life if you are short tempered with your spouse and they just walked in the door?

Set yourself up for success not failure, she says. "Are you with the right group of people to take you where you need to go in 2016?"

It's good advice as we navigate this new year that brings with it new opportunities to learn and grow. Most of all, this moment — right now — provides the perfect opportunity to better ourselves from the inside out.

Don't wait.

To find more about Tracey Martin, you can check out www.threadsofevolution.com

The post Passion Potential and Purpose: Taking It To The Next Level with Life Strategist Tracey Martin appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

Tracey Martin is not big on resolutions.  In fact, she is 100% anti-resolution.  Martin, a life strategist based in Scottsdale, Arizona, believes life is a journey and we should never stop.  Not even when a goal is met or a resolution is checked off our list.   When it comes to that life journey, Martin…

"I was bullied as a kid and I had low self-esteem because of it. I was made fun of because of my weight and it just sort of escalated." Carrie Severson spent eight long years of her childhood being harassed, bullied and severely depressed. "I had to leave my hometown, discover who I was and figure out a way out of the darkness on my own."

Part of the journey in escaping that darkness was empowering herself to continue moving forward in life and making some bold choices. 5 years ago she left her stable 9 to 5 job to launch the non-profit Severson sisters www.seversonsisters.org and SuperGirl Club.

Severson says she went from talking about the person she wanted to be to actually being that person.

"It is surreal to look at what we've created and the number of lives we've impacted. I was able to take something really negative and turn it into light. It is my purpose in life to help others ignite their light."

Severson has teamed up with psychologists and social workers to create specific programs that deal with the complex problems teen girls face today with bullying and social media. It's so bad that many refer to it as social combat.

Due to budget cuts and overwhelmed teachers, Severson says schools are not doing a good job cracking down on bullying. So she and her team are taking their efforts straight into the neighborhoods. "It can't stop at school, it has to be a community outreach."

In 2016 they will continue to give girls the opportunity to create clubs to fight bullying and increase self-esteem and self-worth. The cost is $50 to $75 dollars a year with varying degrees of support for the clubs from Severson and her highly trained team of experts. The program started in Arizona but has since branched out. The greater mission is wide-spread national growth.

Severson says parents would be shocked to know the extent of the sexual and vicious online behavior teenagers take part in — much of it in plain sight. On Snapchat, she says, she's seen girls doing naked cartwheels and smoking pot before school. "All the things they can't get away with they put on Snapchat."

When Severson first launched the SuperGirl program she says she was flooded with emails about suicide attempts, "I'd wake up in the morning and I would have 30 or 40 emails on suicide."

Having walked this dark path and come out the other side, it is a mission she takes very seriously. "Bullying is a repetitive pattern that turns into a power shift."

The post How To Stop Bullying: A Personal Story appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I was bullied as a kid and I had low self-esteem because of it.  I was made fun of because of my weight and it just sort of escalated.”  Carrie Severson spent eight long years of her childhood being harassed, bullied and severely depressed.  “I had to leave my hometown, discover who I was and…

"Sometimes when you lose weight, you are not necessarily going to be happy at the end of the day. Don't just change your body, change your life."

Felicia Romero, Celebrity Fitness Trainer, Entrepreneur and Motivational Speaker, has worked hard to change her life. She fought food addictions as a binge eater and compulsive dieter for years. She spent a long time working to better herself — from the inside out.

Romero says she realized that she was consumed by food and how she looked. At that point she began to focus on internal well being. She wrote down goals based on who she was as a person. "After I focused on that internal well being, my body started changing," Romero says, "I started losing weight, my skin was better, my hair was better, my anxiety and depression started going away. Living in a constant state of shame and guilt is not good."

Romero tells clients who visit her at her studio Felicia Romero's Fit Method in Gilbert, Arizona that there is a difference between being motivated and being inspired. If you are inspired, she says, you have long term goals and a reason to keep going.

She advises people to plan each day, write it down and follow through. Then take it week by week. "It gets easier and finally you start to feel better," she says. "Each week you set the goals, and accomplish the goals, you are increasing your well being."

Romero doesn't have a diet plan to speak of. She stays away from dairy and gluten and tries to watch her sugar intake. As a general rule, she likes the Paleo lifestyle which is based on eating meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, and excludes dairy or grain products and processed food.

This fitness expert and motivational speaker is now taking her brand beyond the gym. As an entrepreneur, she is putting increased focus on trying to help other women in business. Romero has teamed up with the owner of French Treasure in Tempe, Arizona, to put together a series of Women with Women in Business events. The goal is to "create a network of women to share support, positivity and love." Romero also hopes to bring in speakers who share their knowledge about business success.

Romero's words of inspiration for 2016, "Be good to yourself," she says. "There are so many people who dwell on the negativity. If you can wake up every morning and say one positive thing, I promise you your world will start changing."

The post Don't Just Change Your Body, Change Your Life appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.