Where Work Meets Life™ with Dr. Laura

Dr. Laura welcomes Dr. Stefan Zavalin, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and author of the book “Sit Less: Evolve Your Work and Life Without Compromising Your Health”, to the show. Dr. Zavalin’s passion for movement and health inspired him to investigate what he could do to counter our culture of sitting, which led to his writing a book on the subject.

Dr. Laura explores the facts about how much we generally sit in a day and learns the physical and mental health impacts of all that sedentary behavior from Stefan Zavalin. They discuss how the idea of simply sitting less naturally inspires healthy movement, how to practically structure movement breaks and periods of standing into your work day, and the four levels of beneficial exercise. The enthusiasm Dr. Zavalin exudes is both energizing and motivational, and his advice is directly applicable to all our lives.

“I feel that we're constantly hit over the head with this idea of you need to move more, you need to exercise more, do more of this, do more of this and more of this. And that felt like it would lead to a lot of burnout. … But we need to reduce the amount that we're sitting. And I thought that perhaps we need to shift that mindset. And the mindset that I approach it with is, okay, what if we reduce the bad thing, in this case, the sitting? So instead of thinking about moving more, we think about how we can sit less, and thus naturally we end up moving.” Dr. Stefan Zavalin

About Stefan Zavalin:

Stefan Zavalin is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a passion for movement and health. After a few years working in the physical therapy world, Dr. Zavalin started a consulting business, Love to Move, to help office workers reduce sitting time. The vision: change the American work culture to help bring more movement to the everyday life of office workers to maintain their health, wellness, and ultimately, the longevity of their lives. In his free time, he likes to write songs on piano and guitar, critique a good cup of coffee, and play board games with his wife and friends. 

Resources:

Love to Move

“Sit Less: Evolve Your Work and Life Without Compromising Your Health” by Dr. Stefan Zavalin

Stefan Zavalin on LinkedIn

23 and ½ Hours: What is the Single Best Thing We Can Do For Our Health? on YouTube

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: 

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Content Warning: discussion of human trafficking, child trafficking, and sexual exploitation

Dr. Laura continues her conversation with Alan Smyth, Executive Director for Saving Innocence and co-author of the book ‘Men! Fight for Me: The Role of Authentic Masculinity in Ending Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking’ in this episode. Alan details how the pandemic didn’t bring a reprieve in trafficking cases like he had hoped it would, but instead increased the crime and instances of child trafficking.

Laura finds out how Alan deals with such a traumatic day-to-day career, how he keeps his own balance and wellness in mind. They discuss “vicarious trauma”, the reality of how it can affect Alan and his coworkers, and what is done to address it. Alan shares vital information with Laura and all listeners on tending to one’s own self care while still responding to his call to action to learn more about human trafficking and taking whatever action is available to work against it. 

“I want to challenge everybody to take another step forward in understanding and learning and getting involved in anti-human trafficking efforts. This requires all of us.” Alan Smyth

About Alan Smyth:

Currently Alan serves as the Executive Director for Saving Innocence, an anti-human trafficking, community-based organization focused on child victims of sex trafficking.  Based in Los Angeles, Alan has responsibility over Direct Services and Business Operations. His main focus includes budgeting and resource development, strategic partnerships, staff development and client services. You can learn more about Saving Innocence at www.savinginnocence.org.

“Fight For Me” are words he heard directly from a survivor of sex trafficking. Alan’s unique view into this tragedy has given him a backstage pass to this horrific exploitation of children. Co-authored by Jessica Midkiff, herself a survivor of child trafficking, this book speaks directly to the hearts of men and our responsibility to step up and take leadership in the remedy.

Resources:

Trafficked movie

Saving Innocence

Saving Innocence on Instagram

Fight For Me

Fight For Me on Instagram

“Men! Fight for Me” by Alan Smyth and Jessica Midkiff 

“In Pursuit of Love” by Rebecca Bender

“Scars & Stilettos” by Harmony Grillo  

Ending Human Trafficking podcast by Dr. Sandie Morgan

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: 

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Content Warning: discussion of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, abuse and child abuse

In this episode, Laura speaks with Alan Smyth, Executive Director for Saving Innocence and co-author of the book ‘Men! Fight for Me: The Role of Authentic Masculinity in Ending Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking’. Alan has been on the front lines of caring for child victims of trafficking for six years through his role with Saving Innocence in LA. He calls his perspective a “backstage pass” to the horrors of trafficking and from that position realized that men need a specific call to action for their part in fighting trafficking. That realization led to his book, co-authored with Jessica Midkiff, herself a trafficking survivor.

Laura and Alan explore the hard realities of how trafficking happens and how it happens right here in our own neighborhoods. They discuss necessary steps to take in addressing the issue and Alan shares how his book seeks specifically to move men to action. The term ‘authentic masculinity’ defines a more positive and less toxic version of masculinity than one popularly upheld and how reaching men on that level is part of the work he is called to. 

“If we're not willing to step into it, and we’re not willing to look at it closely and deal with it, it's going to continue to be the fastest growing crime in the world… and that’s just unacceptable.” Alan Smyth

About Alan Smyth:

Currently Alan serves as the Executive Director for Saving Innocence, an anti-human trafficking, community-based organization focused on child victims of sex trafficking.  Based in Los Angeles, Alan has responsibility over Direct Services and Business Operations. His main focus includes budgeting and resource development, strategic partnerships, staff development and client services. You can learn more about Saving Innocence at www.savinginnocence.org.

“Fight For Me” are words he heard directly from a survivor of sex trafficking. Alan’s unique view into this tragedy has given him a backstage pass to this horrific exploitation of children. Co-authored by Jessica Midkiff, herself a survivor of child trafficking, this book speaks directly to the hearts of men and our responsibility to step up and take leadership in the remedy.

Resources:

Producer Conroy Kanter: Trafficked

Saving Innocence

Saving Innocence on Instagram

Fight For Me

Fight For Me on Instagram

“Men! Fight for Me: The Role of Authentic Masculinity in Ending Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking” by Alan Smyth and Jessica Midkiff on Amazon

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: 

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In part two of my interview with Lise Stransky, we expand on the importance of career health. Lise explains that everyone essentially has two jobs: the work we are paid to do and managing “Me Inc.” and it’s the alignment between the two that is vital to keep in check. A key way to do this is to seek out meaningful work rather than just the idealized “dream job”.

When I asked Lise how she has been assisting clients with “career health checks” through the pandemic, she points out that acknowledging the new skills they’ve gained is an important step. Not simply the pivot to remote work - though that is assuredly a new skill many of us have been learning - but what has been learned from job loss as well. Ask yourself where you’ve helped someone else. Where have opportunities grown through the pandemic? These are all notable questions.

In striving to maintain work and life wellness, Lise works to remain engaged in the activity she’s in. We discuss that important wellness consideration and share hopes for healthy career futures in this thoughtful second episode.

Resources Mentioned:

What Next? by Barbara Moses

‘The Future Of’ - podcast by Todd Hirsch of ATB Financial

‘The Next Normal’ - podcast by Lisa Taylor, Challenge Factory President

12 Days of Christmas Career Health Tips on Calgary Career Counselling Instagram

About Lise Stransky:

As a Certified Career Development Professional, Lise Stransky believes work should be meaningful. She also believes being proactive and managing your career health is as important as going to the dentist! This is the philosophy that has guided her work for the past 17 years. 

Before she became self-employed and a ‘portfolio careerist’, Lise worked for the Canadian Automobile Association, University of Calgary Career Services, the Certified General Accountants (now CPA Alberta), Calgary Board of Education and the University of Guelph. A graduate of the Career Development Practitioner Post Graduate Certificate program from Conestoga College, Lise also holds a BA in English from the University of Guelph and certificates in Personality Dimensions facilitation and Mental Health First Aid.

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: 

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Lise Stransky and I discuss the value of career health and making choices that will best suit us and our goals in life. Lise Stransky works at Calgary Career Counseling and as a Certified Career Development Professional, she has keen insights into how to navigate change, both chosen and that which is foisted upon us, with resilience. 

Lise shares advice on how to not only build a network but maintain your existing network. We talk about how people often have blindspots when it comes to the intrinsic value in who you know and who you continue to meet. Lise details the key skills everyone should have heading into the future, whether employed or looking for new work opportunities, and how learning is something we should never stop doing. 

What is the health of your career heading into 2022? Now is a good time to assess where you are and where you want to be, and this episode will give you very thoughtful advice on how to go about that assessment.

About Lise Stransky:

As a Certified Career Development Professional, Lise Stransky believes work should be meaningful. She also believes being proactive and managing your career health is as important as going to the dentist! This is the philosophy that has guided her work for the past 17 years. 

Before she became self-employed and a ‘portfolio careerist’, Lise worked for the Canadian Automobile Association, University of Calgary Career Services, the Certified General Accountants (now CPA Alberta), Calgary Board of Education and the University of Guelph. A graduate of the Career Development Practitioner Post Graduate Certificate program from Conestoga College, Lise also holds a BA in English from the University of Guelph and certificates in Personality Dimensions facilitation and Mental Health First Aid.

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: 

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we’re continuing a conversation we started earlier about the vital steps in creating your own life canvas. Following passions is key to your life canvas but so many times life and work get between us and our passion and hobby-related goals. The dreams we had of creating symphonies, opening art shows, and writing novels get sidelined by daily life demands. How do we make time for the passions that drive us? 

This is Part 2 of the conversation with Erica Campitelli and Chelsea McDonald, two emerging artists who shared a lot of their journey with us in Part 1. They juggle other jobs and demands while still maintaining space for their artistic passions. I dive deeper into their individual struggles with the work and life balancing act in this episode, delving into Erica’s tendency to work too much and discovering Chelsea’s newfound ability to lean into her painting and create more space for it. We discuss how the pandemic impacted each of them differently and what goals emerged from it in relation to their art. During this conversation Erica and Chelsea learn ways in which they can cross-mentor each other and share their thoughts on finding inspiration and continuing to pursue their artistic passions without the dismissive label of “starving artist” blocking their paths.

Resources:

Chelsea mentioned Ash Platt Photography.

Erica mentioned The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo.

See Erica's art on her website, Art By Air Studios or on Instagram @artbyairstudio

See Chelsea's art on Instagram @ccmartworks.

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, Dr. Laura recommends: 

Calgary Career Counselling

Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we’re talking about the importance of creating your own life canvas by following your passions. As we get busy in our life and work, passions we may have had when we were younger tend to fall by the wayside. We may dream about making time for the music, art, writing, or other hobbies we once loved, but we can’t envision how. This is Part 1 of my conversation with two emerging artists, Erica Campitelli and Chelsea McDonald. 

Erica and Chelsea are learning how to make time for their artistic passions, while juggling other jobs -- a journey that many of us can learn from. In this episode, I tap into my Career Counselling background and explore how Erica and Chelsea make room for their art, how they’ve overcome challenges in doing so, and the decision around making art a career, versus a side job or hobby. Throughout our conversation, Erica and Chelsea learn about each other and themselves by articulating what it's like to be in the liminal space of an emerging artist.

See Erica's art on her website, Art By Air Studios. See Chelsea's art on Instagram @ccmartworks.

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, below are Dr. Laura's organizations. 
Work EvOHlution
Synthesis Psychology
Calgary Career Counselling
Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michelle Cederberg and I continue our conversation about energy maintenance, wellness, and "seizing the freakin' day"! Michelle shares many tips, tricks, and tools for building our energy and regaining our focus in our busy lives. 

Learn from Michelle's COVID experience as a professional speaker, the challenges she overcame, and what it taught her about gratitude and maintaining wellness. We cover WFH flexibility, blurred boundaries, the meaning of personal success, living in the present, and the great power of spreading kindness. For Michelle, work-life wellness means that there's always time to enjoy life. Otherwise, what are we working so hard for?  

Michelle recommends the book, The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor, to remind you that you're not going to get happy by being successful. Rather, you're going to be successful by tapping into what fills you with joy. As well as the "punchy" work of Steven Pressfield - especially his book, Do The Work.

Michelle also recommends Mike Vardy's podcast, The Productivityist for learning to build productivity systems, and Megan Sumrell's Work+Life Harmony podcast.

With a Masters in Kinesiology and a BA in Psychology, Michelle is a health and productivity expert, an in-demand speaker, coach, consultant, and an author of three books. Her new book, packed full of valuable tips, The Success-Energy Equation, debuted as a bestseller in October 2020.

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, below are Dr. Laura's organizations. 
Work EvOHlution
Synthesis Psychology
Calgary Career Counselling
Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Michelle Cederberg and I discuss how to find the energy to pursue what you really want in life, and "seize the freakin' day"! Michelle brings a wealth of experience, energy and passion to a topic we all need more of: regaining focus and re-charging our energy. 

Do you think time, energy, and motivation are limited or renewable resources? Has the pandemic been an energy-drain, or a chance to revisit your passions? Our conversation covers a wide range of practical strategies for harnessing the physical, mental and emotional capacity we each have within us. Michelle believes harnessing this energy is key to our personal and professional success. Inspiring!

With a Masters in Kinesiology and a BA in Psychology, Michelle is a health and productivity expert, an in-demand speaker, coach, consultant, and an author of three books. Her new book, packed full of valuable tips, The Success-Energy Equation, debuted as a bestseller in October 2020. 

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, below are Dr. Laura's organizations. 
Work EvOHlution
Synthesis Psychology
Calgary Career Counselling
Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Cy Wakeman. Cy has dedicated her work to understanding how to combat drama, toxicity, and ego in work and in life. In Part 2 of our conversation, we focus on Cy's philosophies and teachings for finding greater work-life wellness. 

Cy is the President and Founder of Reality-Based Leadership, a NY Times Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, and Drama-Researcher. We discuss the pandemic's influence on work-life wellness, the importance of human-centric workplaces, how to manage our energy by living in the present moment, personal agency, and more.

For more information on combatting ego in the workplace, order a copy of Cy's book, No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results. Cy's newest book will be releasing March 29, 2022: Life's Messy, Live Happy: Things Don't Have to Be Perfect for You to Be Content.

If you're looking for some great reads, Cy recommends Anne Lamotte's work, as well as Byron Katie, and poetry from David Whyte.

Check out Cy's podcast, No Ego, to learn more about Cy's teachings!

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, below are Dr. Laura's organizations. 
Work EvOHlution
Synthesis Psychology
Calgary Career Counselling
Canada Career Counselling

Dr. Laura is a partner of Humance | Culture and Performance.

Order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.