The Next Chapter

“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…

"I loved my career in TV news. I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was very rewarding and I loved it. But life is a book with many chapters."

For former TV News Anchor Lin Sue Cooney, the time had come, after 34 years in the business, to turn the page.

Cooney says she never wanted her legacy to be "oh she was the gal that read the news for so long". She wanted an "encore" career and went in search of something that would give her a deeper sense of purpose.

Cooney shares this desire with a growing number of people who are seeking deeper meaning in their lives.

A recent article in Inc. titled How to Know If You're Working (and Living) With Purpose http://www.inc.com/shelley-prevost/how-to-know-if-youre-working-with-purpose.html outlines four questions to ask in order to discover "your path to more meaningful work":

Is the work I'm doing exciting and/or satisfying?

What keeps showing up in my life?

Am I using my gifts in service to others?

Is the work I'm doing elevating others in some way?

Cooney identifies most with the question that asks if you are using your gifts as a service to others. She is.

After leaving the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, Cooney went to work with Hospice of the Valley www.HOV.org Her job is to connect Hospice with the community in a variety of meaningful ways.

"I had a yearning to make the world a better place," she says. "Every night when I put my head on the pillow I can tell you that we have made a positive difference in families' lives."

Cooney describes this next chapter in her life as transformational. She left celebrity behind for a job that, at this point in her life, brings deeper meaning.

Hospice of the Valley, she says, is like working with angels. "They really believe that the end of life deserves the same amount of dignity and reverence as the beginning of life — and it does."

"We are afraid of dying and we don't like to talk about it. We live well why shouldn't we die well? We are going to help you live the best way you can and make the most of the time you have left. To have the best quality as you leave this world."

Cooney made a tough decision walking away from the career she loved for so long.

"I was scared to leave but sometimes you have to listen to the voice."

Cooney was — and still is — one of the most recognized faces in Arizona, and she's focused on using her public persona for the greater good.

The post How Working With Purpose Can Change Your Life featuring former NBC News Anchor Lin Sue Cooney appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“I loved my career in TV news.  I wouldn’t have changed a thing.  It was very rewarding and I loved it.  But life is a book with many chapters.” For former TV News Anchor Lin Sue Cooney, the time had come, after 34 years in the business, to turn the page. Cooney says she never…

Housing and consumer finance expert Dean Wegner from Academy Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona expects to see a push of people buying homes in the coming months. Since rates hit rock-bottom in 2009, it's been a bit of a guessing game as to when the Fed would raise rates. With unemployment holding steady at 5%, analysts say the door opened wide for Fed Chair Janet Yellen to make a long anticipated move.

Who will this hurt the most? According to Wegner, homeowners who have second mortgages are sure to feel the pinch. He says it will also be felt in terms of auto loans and credit card rates.

Still he believes the housing market will remain strong. "Right now the home ownership rate in America is 63% and that is the lowest since 1967. So that means there is a lot of room for growth."

In 2015, the average home value went up 6 ½ % Wegner says. As home values hold, he believes people will continue to try to get in.

"Boomerang buyers are coming out in full force," Wegner says referring to buyers who had a catastrophic credit event in their past and are now looking to get back in the housing game. "These are people who got the recession behind them, they've dusted themselves off and they want to re enter the housing market. They know it's a good deal and rates are still good."

There are also a lot of incentive programs available to would-be buyers.

"Programs expand the buyer pool. You want to increase housing, you allow more people to buy homes," Wegner says.

On December 12th Fannie May released a new program called the Home Ready. It focuses on "creditworthy, low-to-moderate-income borrowers" with expanded eligibility and focus on financing homes in "designated low-income, minority, and disaster-impacted communities."

Is owning a home still the American Dream? Wegner says he isn't so sure. But for those who have a steady job and paycheck, he says, buying a house is the best financial move you can make.

"Take control of your life and make solid decisions," Wegner says. "I can tell you 10 bad stories but I can also tell you 100 great stories."

The post Is Owning A Home Still The American Dream? appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

Housing and consumer finance expert Dean Wegner from Academy Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona expects to see a push of people buying homes in the coming months. Since rates hit rock-bottom in 2009, it’s been a bit of a guessing game as to when the Fed would raise rates.  With unemployment holding steady at 5%, analysts…

"There is something special about you, you just have to figure it out."

Lisa Glowacka is on a journey to evolve, both as a mother, and as a businesswoman.

The mom of three who graduated from ASU has a background as a financial planner. But several years ago, she began paying attention to the booming world of "mom blogs".

She ended up finding a like-minded partner in former real-estate agent Michelle Alexander who moved from San Diego to Chandler for her husband's career.

The two teamed up to create East Valley Moms Blog, an extension of the popular City Moms Blog franchise.

The biggest misconception, says Alexander, is "that we are mommy bloggers and not entrepreneurs who own a website."

After what the women say was a slow start, this year the website started to really to take off.

Alexander and Glowacka knew one thing to be true and that is "all moms can relate to each other" in some way. That's the premise for everything they do on the site from product reviews, to health and fitness tips, recipes to personal stories shared by moms. Everyone is just trying to find a way to find balance and live their best life.

"You can have your stability and also have your dreams," Glowacka says.

The post Two Arizona Moms Find Big Blog Success appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“There is something special about you, you just have to figure it out.”   Lisa Glowacka is on a journey to evolve, both as a mother, and as a businesswoman. The mom of three who graduated from ASU has a background as a financial planner.  But several years ago, she began paying attention to the…

"At least 20 million women in the United States are walking around with undiagnosed TBI."

Dr. Maria Garay-Serratos says brain trauma in domestic violence victims is pervasive. In fact, her own mother passed away from head trauma, she says, after suffering abuse over the course of 40 years.

Garay-Serratos has only recently started talking openly about her family's painful story. In her case, they were able to break the cycle of abuse. "My siblings and I live wonderful lives free from domestic violence," she says, "We are on a mission forever."

Garay-Serratos' mission brought her from Los Angeles to Phoenix . She now serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Sojourner Center where they provide services and shelter for thousands of women and children fleeing from domestic violence.

"I call the folks who are walking away with silent stories of domestic violence our silent champions. We are only touching the tip of the iceberg with domestic violence. We only hear about the sensational cases and we need to go deeper."

One way the Sojourner Center is trying to go deeper is with a treatment program called "Sojourner BRAIN Program". Sojourner teamed up with the CACTIS Foundation to focus on undiagnosed Traumatic Brain Injuries. They are working to develop tools to diagnose TBI in women and children and develop treatment programs.

And they have a growing number of high profile partners in this effort. Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital and The University of Arizona College of Medicine have teamed with Sojourner.

"If you think of a woman or a child in a domestic violence situation, most of them don't speak about the issue or ask for help," Garay-Serratos says. "Thousands of kids are not able to read and perform in school."

She draws comparisons to what members of the military and football players are going through.

"Everything you see on a football field, everything you see in warfare… shaking, choking, throwing things at the head… there is a deep correlation."

It is a subject that will continue to dominate the headlines as more football players go public with their personal stories. A new movie, "Concussion" starring Will Smith also takes on the hot-button issue of brain injuries in the NFL.

For her part, Garay-Serratos says she applauds the NFL because they have brought attention to the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury and what she calls a public health epidemic.

"I believe that a lot of great work has been done, but if we look at how deep this goes, we can do better."

The post A Silent Epidemic: Traumatic Brain Injury and Domestic Violence appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.

“At least 20 million women in the United States are walking around with undiagnosed TBI.” Dr. Maria Garay-Serratos says brain trauma in domestic violence victims is pervasive.  In fact, her own mother passed away from head trauma, she says, after suffering abuse over the course of 40 years. Garay-Serratos has only recently started talking openly…

"When you face adversity you need to be mentally tough. What's holding you back? It's all mental."

Former baseball player Matt Phillips remembers hearing about mental toughness as he was developing his athletic career.

"I often found myself asking what does that mean? What do I need to do to mentally push through that?"

Looking back, Phillips said he realized there was a gap. He didn't know how to harness the mental side and improve his self confidence. He started a Colorado based company called Pro Athlete Advantage which is focused, at the core, on helping high school, collegiate, and professional athletes understand what mental toughness tools are — and how to take that power and apply it to your sport.

Phillips has since expanded beyond working just with athletes. He now teaches mental toughness to business leaders as well.

To Phillips, mental toughness consists of four things: confidence, focus, control and perseverance.

Confidence is being able to look into the mirror and be proud of who is staring back at you.

Focus is not allowing distractions to take us away from what is most important.

Control is all about keeping emotions in check. Phillips is a believer that in sports, and in business, emotions should be kept in. "Emotions are fuel, they are fire, they are passion. But it is all about how you channel them," Phillips says. "You could be angry or frustrated and that could hold you back. You could also be extremely happy and that can hold you back." He likes to ask people how they will channel all of those emotions into those things that will move them forward toward achieving specific goals.

Perseverance, quite simply, is the ability to get back up when you get knocked down.

Phillips cites Derek Jeter as a great example of mental toughness. "His mental approach, the way he would prepare for games, control himself emotionally, you can look at him and see his confidence and focus. He doesn't let the little things bother him."

"When you think about achieving success," Phillips says, "you have to continue to take action to move forward."

The post Developing Mental Toughness in Your Work and Life appeared first on Inspired Media 360 TV - Inform | Inspire | Engage.