Wake Up and Be Awesome

 In this episode, Dolly Duran speaks with Shirley Toliver whose mission is to convince women everywhere that unless we are living within our passion "she hasn't yet shown up for her real life's work." Shirley breaks it down and explains the only way to live is powerfully and that we were created with everything we need to leave a powerful legacy. We learn to recognize and deal with the distractions that prevent us from living powerful lives and Shirley provides practical advice for increasing our territory and living our lives to the fullest.  

In this episode, Dolly Duran interviews Janet Delcastillo who owns and operates a horse farm in Winter Haven, Florida and author of the book, Backyard Racehorse. Janet shares her perspective on overcoming adversity and how she credits her strong work ethic and always doing the right thing for leading her through a series of serendipitous events that changed the course of her life as well as her family's. We talk about Brad Pitt, a Mountain Dew commercial, and how a small horse named First Prediction donated by the Marriott family, lived up to it's name. Listening to Janet's life story is an absolute thrill and we learn important life lessons about love, hard work and how it's possible to turn any circumstance into a positive. Let's go make some lemonade! 

Dolly Duran spoke with educator Petas Bonaparte on her experience teaching courses such as poetry, English literature, hip hop culture and the importance of making learning relevant. She mentions the importance of acknowledging and understanding when a higher power is working on your behalf and provided deep, personal insight how several unexplained circumventions gave her a sense of meaning and purpose. We also talked about the importance of self-acceptance; especially for women of color who frequently fall into the trap of societal pressure by straitening and undergoing chemical treatments on their hair. She also shared how she was inspired by a song by Edith Piaf to live life with no regrets. 

Dolly Duran spoke with beauty expert & makeup artist, Judy Irizarry who provided insight on what it means to be beautiful in an era of superficiality and how true beauty comes from accepting yourself just as you are. Judy provides examples using her own life experiences and how overcoming two great traumas helped find her purpose and direction. 

Dolly Duran speaks with hypnotherapist and professor Dr. Lisa Smith on why she's made it her life mission to bring awareness to the topic of childhood trauma and how it manifests in adulthood.  Dr. Lisa uses hypnotherapy to help people overcome trauma and we discuss how a simple approach to raising awareness in childhood can help prevent the cycle of trauma in children and adults.  Dr. Lisa also shared how she helped awaken her mom from a self-induced coma and she guided me through a simple breathing technique designed to eliminate stress and anxiety.  Dr. Lisa was my first interviewee and I wish I'd have asked so many more questions. There will definitely be a part two with Dr. Lisa to follow up on her incredibly noble mission to end childhood trauma through a compassionate approach and simple awareness so everyone can live their absolute best lives. 

Meet your host! This is so exciting. I finally recorded my first episode and although it wasn't as glamorous as I'd always pictured it would be, I am proud to have content out there that will serve as my initial platform. My commitment is to get better, not only in how I carry this out but also in content, bringing exciting and inspirational guests with relevant messages of value. The purpose of episode 1 was first and foremost to pull the trigger and have something out there. But I also wanted to pay homage to my amazing tribe because without them I can't do anything. I didn't mention everyone in my tribe but you know who you are and I appreciate you very much. 

Forever in your gratitude,

Dolly Duran