WoW'd - Women of Wonder Dedicated..... Have you been WOWD today??

Have you ever met someone and just had the feeling you know them from somewhere?  That’s what it was like for me when I met Julie Fox.  I first met her when I was still hot and heavy in the mortgage industry almost 20 years ago.  I was out scouting for new mortgage brokers and met Julie in one of the new offices I was visiting.  We both had this feeling we knew each other but none of our scenarios we ran past each other found an answer to us figuring out where we knew each other from.  I now know when this happens it's because this isn’t the first life I have done with someone and when I get that feeling so strong, I know this person has been a HUGE impact in my other lives and is probably about to play a HUGE part in this life…. And that was just the case with Julie..... this is the vulnerable story of how this woman saved my life!

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2021/05/03/the-women-in-my-life-15-julie-cartwright/

My sister Audra does this thing where she just manifests what she wants.  From as far back as I can remember she’s been winning concert tickets and money off radio shows like it was picking apples off a tree.  I would ask, “How did you get that?” Her reply was always some crazy story about how someone gave it to her or she won it or happened upon it or it just showed up…. And it was JUST what she had been dreaming that she wanted.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2021/04/29/the-women-in-my-life-14-audra-mortenson/

I met my yogi sisters on a Friday night up at the University of Utah in a gymnasium with only our yoga mats.  I had just spent the previous night in the trauma ward of the hospital for a mysterious blockage in my throat which still baffles the doctors and myself, to this day.  I had just experienced 48 hours of trauma but I was not going to miss out on the Yoga Teacher Training Certification Program.  I had been anxiously awaiting for the course to begin for several months now, so mind over broken body I made my way to the University of Utah.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2021/04/20/the-women-in-my-life-13-my-yogi-sisters/

When I left for Africa and started journaling my adventure, I never expected that my first blog and podcast about it would start at the end.  I’ve been back in the United States for about a month and a half. My heart longs to write about my grand adventure….our research, my colleagues, the food, the sweat, the tears, the dancing, the singing and ….. the poop (yes, there’s poop in my story, I was with pre-med students after all) ….. but it seems my heart also has not been ready to dive into the heart ache it will surely find by putting words on paper because once I start to tell the story, this story will end and somehow if I don’t write it, it doesn’t have to end just yet.  This trip forever changed my life and this day forever altered the course of my life.  Enjoy.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2018/09/15/meanwhile-in-africa-part-1-diving-in/

Now that you've heard about the day that had the biggest impact on me during my Learning Abroad experience in Africa its time to rewind to the beginning.  This is the part in the movie where the words on the screen say “Six Weeks Earlier”.....

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2018/09/22/meanwhile-in-africa-part-2-where-to-begin/

I'm so grateful for the adventures I have said YES to that have scared me to death.  Here's just one of them.....

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2019/04/16/i-said-yes/

This woman's journey for justice began long ago.  Her very life had been threatened if she testified. She worried about the safety of her children.  She questioned whether or not it was worth the risk to press forward but yesterday that book ended and today she gets to begin writing an entirely new book.  As she stood in her honor and integrity and said, “This will not happen to another woman, not on my watch!”, there wasn’t an absence of fear but there was courage to overcome that fear.  Today I watched a woman fight for FREEDOM.  Freedom for herself, her daughter and all the women afraid to fight for themselves.  

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2019/08/23/fight-for-freedom/

Trent has asked me several times what I think the producers of Naked & Afraid see in him and why they invite him back for more challenges.  I told him he is the classic “hero’s journey”.  Tune in to hear why Trent Nielsen is my hero.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2019/08/26/courage-doesnt-always-roar/

If you haven’t heard my story of how I ended up in Africa…. That's another podcast.  It’s a fabulous story that begins with Trent’s courage to overcome malaria and carry on!  Trent overcoming malaria is what led me to going to Africa myself, that’s the part you know about. What I have NEVER told anyone is that as soon as I announced I was going to Africa on a Global Health Learning Abroad trip to satisfy my final credit for my degree I was paralyzed with fear.   My mind went wild with all the reasons I couldn’t or shouldn’t do this

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2019/08/27/all-you-need-is-a-plan-a-road-map-and-courage/

A couple years ago my sister, Anika, helped me cross off a bucket list item. I wanted to go rock climbing and she was a fantastic guide/instructor. She assisted me in getting all harnessed in, gave me great instructions and then became my support system....physically, emotionally and what would become an incredible spiritual life lesson for me!

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://redefiningjoy.me/2019/09/03/be-the-heroine-of-your-own-life/