What do you do when someone you love dies?  Especially when it isn’t the natural order of things?Well, you can do what I did.  You let yourself feel, all of it.  You don’t want to but you need to.  You don’t run, hide or look for a shortcut although I would definitely have gone for that.  I’m your Grief and Gratitude guest this week and I recount the time when our child died.  Not just the sadness of it all but the hope that can be found during, and especially after.  In fact I turned the whole experience into a project (book) Standing Tall: A Collection of Hope.

I know I’m sharing something I stand to profit from.  That’s not my point at all and in fact I care little about that.  My intention is to support you in a time of need and for you to realize you are hardly alone.  Beyond that, that you would seize the hope. It’s there.  It’s ripe and it’s ready for you.

And the gratitude?  Yes, it’s there in abundance.  My advice there?  You have to practice gratitude to get good at.  Just like anything.  Check out the blog to see what I mean.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

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YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

Half of all marriages end in divorce the statistic says, and so, many of us came from a broken home.  There is no way you get through that experience unscathed.  This week’s Grief and Gratitude guest, Carisa Santana knows the sorrow of the family breaking up.   Holes are left and as a kid you don’t understand.  Carisa responded by being angry. Her anger eventually grew into depression which became debilitating.  She learned you have to feel. You can’t deny it, run away or try to hurry it.  If you shortchange the process of healing you are going to find yourself there again.  Instead let yourself feel it, take care of your body, your mind and your soul.  And then you can be grateful for where you are - like Carisa.

You can find her on Instagram at Carisa Santana Music.

Carisa has been on the show before in Music has Always Been in My Life.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

How do you get from regret to purpose?  Well you take the grief you have experienced and you lean into it by learning from it, and moving forward with intention.  Mary Ann Mariani is this week’s Grief and Gratitude guest.  Due to some choices in her 20’s she felt unlovable and racked with shame.  She was mad at herself.  Ultimately she made the choice to return to her faith, and the veil of guilt and shame lifted.  Gratitude came, and it was good.

She has been on the show before in A Passionate Artist of Story.

You can find Mary Ann on her website at Kingdom Presenters.

Her book is on Amazon here Your Story for God’s Glory.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

Maybe you were like so many of us in our 20’s and you made a bunch of decisions that were not the greatest.  Then you experienced natural consequences.  This week’s Grief and Gratitude guest is Mary Ann Mariani.  She got a little wild in her earlier years and ended up with a very unwanted STD.  This was her grief.  (The courage and vulnerability it took to share this is nothing less than remarkable.)  Mary Ann felt unlovable and racked with shame.  She was mad at herself.  Ultimately she made the choice to return to her faith and the veil of guilt and shame lifted.  Gratitude came, and it was good.

She has been on the show before in A Passionate Artist of Story.

You can find Mary Ann on her website at Kingdom Presenters.

Her book is on Amazon here Your Story for God’s Glory.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

At age 15 he had a choice to make.  Was he going to continue down the road he was on and get expelled from school or was he going to change?  This week’s Grief and Gratitude guest, Brian Santana* wasn’t entirely sure.  School had been his happy place where he could get into trouble with his friends.   But now he had something to prove and not a lot of options.  He started acting like a ‘good kid’ in his new school situation, met new friends, and ended up drastically changing the way he did things.  Brian realized the more you do a thing the more you become it.  And he is so grateful.

*Brian has been on the podcast before in Be Your Authentic Self. You can find him on his website at Brian Santana.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

Does everything happen for a reason?  Ann Jonas says yes.  And while she has experienced more than most of us ever will, she has landed on love as the response.  No matter what she sees this life as a choice with all of us teachers, and all of us students.  Don’t compare tragedies for grief will come and you need to allow it.  The tragedies, the hard things, they are here for you.  For when we feel, and we listen, we realize everything is there.  Ann is our Grief & Gratitude guest this week.

You can find Ann on her website The Lotus Path.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

Here’s a word we are hearing more and more.  Neurodivergent.  Coined in the 1990’s neurodivergent simply means someone whose brain processes information in a way that is not typical of most individuals.  Think autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia and Down’s syndrome to name a few.  Enter Barbara Grant, this week’s Grief & Gratitude guest.  Through the grief of divorce she learned that neurodivergence does not have to be the end.  Especially when in relationship it can be a new beginning but both people have to want it.  While that was not her story Barbara is grateful.  She helps neurodivergent couples thrive.  She decided to grow anyway.

We don’t have to mask who we are.  With the help of people like Barbara differences can be just that - differences.  Really who wants to be identical to everyone else?  I am grateful for the work Barbara is doing and I liked learning more about it.

You can find Barbara here Barbara Grant.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

I remember the first time I spoke with Dawn Ward, she shared how she had some really tough times with the addiction of two of her children.  She was hesitant to become an “expert” on the subject, yet God had other plans.  He has taken her experience of making it through the worst of it to encourage other moms to make the best of it.  Never easy, Dawn can understand what happens when your children succumb to the lure of the high, the need for the fix.  To pay the hope forward she wrote From Guilt to Grace because she gets it. She wouldn’t wish addiction on anyone.  Dawn is the first guest in our Grief & Gratitude Series.

Dawn has been on the show before in We Weren’t Going to Have These Problems episode 208.

You can find Dawn at The Faith to Flourish website.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

So who would you be if you weren’t afraid?  The first time I heard that question I stopped in my tracks.  The truth of it really spoke to me.  That was several years ago and I still think of it often.  I’ve come to think of fear and confidence as being on the same continuum.  When your fear is high your confidence is low.  When you have more confidence, or belief in yourself, your fear is minimized, manageable.

Looking at drying up fear Is like the sun shining its light in our growing/blooming analogy.

In this episode we’ll look at five of what I think of as the most common fears that stunt our growth:

•    The What-if Game

•    Not-good-enough

•    People-Pleasing

•    The Comparison Trap

•    Imposter Syndrome

There are different strategies to counteract each.  Check out the blog that goes with this episode for more.  Remember that anxiety and worry are giving power to the problem.  You need to shine a light on it, know what it is and then decide to work towards not letting fear stop you.

Lastly we will take an overview of confidence and ways we can increase it.  There are five Ps to cover and they come courtesy of the wisdom of the guests we had during our recent Confidence Series.  Confidence is the fertilizer of the growing, blooming analogy.  It is as important as knowing yourself and minimizing fear.  It takes all three to fully blossom.  And let’s not forget this is our part while we surrender to God or your higher power to do theirs.  Transformation.  That’s part of why we’re here.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐

Let’s be clear.  I am not into self as a form of ego, pride or toxicity.  I am into loving yourself as a creation of God because remember when he made man he said it was very good.  And we are.  Already good enough, I know we struggle with the reality of it.  Fear creeps in, self-doubt lingers and we become less than, we settle.  This is the part I am speaking to, the part I want to remind myself about every day.

Self-realization is defined as the act of fully developing one's abilities and talents, or achieving the possibilities of one's personality or character; it is fulfilling one’s potential.  So in other words, it’s healthy.  This is what I want for me, it’s what I want for you.  Are you there?  Because I know I’m not.  Yet I get to keep pressing forward and onward.  I believe this is what God wants for me, for you.

Today we’ve got part 2 of the Becoming in 3 series.  We are looking at knowing yourself.  Why does it matter?  It matters because you do.  And you want to live the very advice you give your kids or anyone that you love.  You want it for them.  Why not want it for you?

The content is from a workshop I gave for Social Club Live with Isha Casagrande.  I wanted to share this with you too.

My mom told me the Becoming, or the Bloom Scale from last week’s episode went pretty fast so I am going to have it be this week’s blog.  You can find it there.  You’ll be able to see the questions and findings on the second half of the page on the UY website.

Thanks for being part of the UY conversation.

The Unabashed You website has a page for each guest of photos, quotes and a blog with embedded audio at unabashedyou.com. You can find the show on other podcast platforms.  Want to lend your support and encouragement? We invite you to follow, rate, review and share.

Social media (direct links):

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

If you have questions or comments email us at: [email protected].

We build upon on website visits, social media and word of mouth to share these episodes.  We appreciate growth knowing these conversations help you think, celebrate who you are, and move you in some way.

So be encouraged and continue to listen, read and be inspired. 🍐