KUCI: Get the Funk Out
Life’s a Rollercoaster Ride! Stories of Inspiration and Change
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Episodes
Monday Oct 30, 2017
Monday Oct 30, 2017
Single mothers are about to become the majority. 40 percent of babies are now born to unmarried mothers, which themselves comprise 57 percent of millennial women. Yet, single mothers continue to face a myriad of unique challenges. As most can attest, financial pressures, mom guilt, and the struggle to find a work-life balance greatly intensify when they are forced to raise children on their own.
Johnson experienced these hardships firsthand. After her husband moved out, leaving her broke, pregnant, and home alone with a toddler and another baby on the way, she couldn't find the advice she needed to thrive as a single professional woman and parent. But just two years later, Johnson was a successful entrepreneur providing this much-needed advice to other single moms on her immensely popular blog, WealthySingleMommy. In her new book, Johnson offers this invaluable counsel to the 10 million single American moms seeking personal and professional success, and advises them on how to:
· Say ‘no!’ to alimony, and even child support
· Dismiss the mom guilt many have about returning to work (Research shows that “a mother’s education and financial achievements have a greater impact on her children than sheer hours spent together”)
· Navigate dating and introduce children to new love interests
· Avoid the biggest mistakes single moms make when it comes to saving for college and retirement
· Co-parent with a reluctant or absentee ex
Full of practical advice and inspiration from Emma’s life, as well as other successful single moms, this is a must-have resource for any single mom.
Monday Oct 30, 2017
Monday Oct 30, 2017
As a Success Coach and a Results Expert, Cyn Hannah thrives on empowering her clients to create lives they love.
Having been through her own share of challenges—first in childhood and then as an adult—Cyn believes in the power of reframing obstacles into empowering experiences.
Cyn has always known it was her calling to empower people to live better lives. Her favorite classes in college were her psychology classes, and after college, she continued to study, with a focus on the self-improvement topic. She considered becoming a therapist, but that didn't feel like a good fit. Then she discovered life coaching, and realized that was her calling; the idea that life coaching is about helping people move forward appealed to her.
It is now Cyn's mission to guide people in making their own lives great, whether that means overcoming obstacles, or taking their situation from good to incredible … or many times, both.
Cyn believes that everything she's faced in her own life has provided her with the unique ability to really stand with people, whether they're committed to making a good life GREAT, taking their life to the next level, or navigating through a tough challenge.
Her results-oriented approach drives her to help her clients get out of overwhelm, stop sacrificing their personal lives in the name of "success," and finally enjoy the free time and lifestyle they crave.
Because she realizes our paradigms have a strong gravitational pull, Cyn values education, and invests in her own at a high level each year. Doing so helps her stay at the forefront of leading-edge information and strategies to help her clients live their best lives.
Cyn is trained and certified as a Life Coach, Dream Builder Coach, Life Mastery Consultant, Grief Recovery Specialist, and Grief Intuitive Coach. She has shared the stage with Wellness Expert Mariel Hemingway and world-renowned transformational leader Mary Morrissey. She's been a featured guest speaker on KDPI talk radio and True Life Academy internet radio, and is an award-winning speaker.
Her entrepreneurial spirit has led her to a number of successful ventures, including working as a Hollywood television producer and member of the Directors Guild of America, owning a high-tech recruiting firm focusing on Silicon Valley, and selling real estate in the world-renowned ski resort town, Sun Valley, Idaho.
Her varied experience gives her a wide perspective on the challenges people face personally and professionally.
Cyn’s Core Values
These Core Values speak to how Cyn coaches, how she does business, and how she treats her clients.I Believe in People. I know that each one of us is far more powerful, and contains more potential, than any circumstance, situation, or condition.
I Believe in Love & Care. I bring sincere love and care to every interaction. I delight and surprise my clients by anticipating wants and seeking to exceed expectations.
I Believe in Integrity. I live what I teach. I deliver what I promise.
I Believe in Fun. I create joy, laughter, and fun in all aspects of our work.
I Believe in Growth. I grow by achieving my goals and exceeding my best, and so do my clients.
www.cynhannah.com
Empowering you to live a life you love!
Monday Oct 30, 2017
Monday Oct 30, 2017
FORGED IN CRISIS
The Power of Courageous Leadership
In Turbulent Times
by Harvard Business School historian
Nancy Koehn
For leaders in the 21st century, there is one pressing question: What set of skills is required to lead in crisis, and can history give us answers? Harvard Business School historian and professor Nancy Koehn has surveyed some of history’s greatest leaders and made an incredible discovery: courageous leaders are not born but made, and the power to lead resides in each of us. Forged in Crisis is the dramatic, insightful epic that can teach anyone how to develop remarkable leadership skills.
We live in a time when faith and confidence in leaders—whether in government, business, or religion—is nil. People sense with growing unease that everything is at stake—long-formed international alliances, the economy, a unified Europe, even the fate of the planet—and yet the highest offices across the globe are occupied by the inexperienced and untested, those who lack the decency, decorum, and courage required of the positions they hold.
We’re led by people we cannot fully trust and the pressing questions are great: what set of skills is required to lead, both in times of stability and of crisis? What traits must we seek in those to whom we hand our fate? How do we become the types of leaders the world needs right now? In her masterly new book FORGED IN CRISIS: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times, celebrated Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn delivers in-depth portraits of five of history’s most brilliant leaders, spotlighting the diverse skills they relied on to lead, especially in moments of crisis.
Based on personal letters, diaries, archival material, and official records, Forged in Crisis presents the remarkable life journeys of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton; President Abraham Lincoln; legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Nazi-resisting clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and environmental crusader Rachel Carson—united here in their struggle to transform from ordinary people into great leaders. Koehn begins each of the book’s five sections by showing its protagonist on the precipice of a great crisis: Shackleton marooned on an Antarctic ice floe; Lincoln on the verge of seeing the Union collapse; escaped slave Douglass facing possible capture; Bonhoeffer agonizing over how to counter absolute evil with faith; Carson racing against the cancer ravaging her in a bid to save the planet. The narrative then reaches back to each person’s childhood and shows the individual growing—step by step—into the person he or she will ultimately become.
Readers observe the qualities that these icons draw on to not just meet but triumph over great challenges, in the process becoming real leaders. By examining how these qualities emerge, Forged in Crisis offers a remarkable template by which to judge the leaders of our own time. Koehn also delivers an inspiring and important reminder that great leaders are made, not born, and that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.
In the vein of works by David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Forged in Crisis is a compelling historical narrative and a repository of great insight. More than that, it is a book that matters, perhaps now more than ever. Ten years in the writing, Forged in Crisis stands as a towering achievement.
Monday Oct 30, 2017
Monday Oct 30, 2017
THE ABCs OF PARENTHOOD
by Deborah Copaken
A wise, warm, and witty ebook for new (and gently used) parents seeking to raise positive, thoughtful children, this alphabet book brims with the advice only those who’ve been there can give. From “D is for Dog” (get one) to “P is for Praise” (do it often but appropriately) to “R is for Romance” (keep it alive after the kids come), each mini essay is coupled with a smart, letter-appropriate full-color photograph in these delightfully grown-up ABCs.
PRAISE & REVIEWS
You will come back to The ABCs of Parenthood again and again, whenever you need to remember the big picture or the fact that children are as breathtaking as the images on these pages.”
–Diane Debrovner, Parents Magazine
The ABCs of Parenthood is a warm, witty, wise and visually delightful book. Absolutely essential reading for anyone who’s had a parent, been a parent, wants to be a parent or knows a parent. An utter gem!
–Julie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof
This book will teach you to stop hovering and worrying and start letting go and enjoying the ride. I plan on giving it to every new parent I meet.
–Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Treasure
Boasting a rich palette of colored pages and exquisite photos, not just of babies but of saxophones, ice cream, birds, and more, this would be a lovely baby shower gift. Verdict: Guaranteed to make any expectant mother weep.
—Library Journal
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
The former White House pastry chef for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama presents a healthy, delicious collection of dessert recipes: Bill Yosses was always a phenomenal pastry chef who felt that sugar should be a grace note to a good dessert, not the foundation for one.
After being hired as President George W. Bush’s White House pastry chef, he found himself making elaborate desserts foreign dignities with traditional sugar sculptures and fancy confections. But after being tasked by First Lady Michelle Obama to create healthier treats for her family, he discovered that when he dialed back the sugar in his recipes, his desserts were not only healthier on paper, but they actually tasted better too.
In THE SWEET SPOT: Dialing Back Sugar and Amping Up Flavor, Bill upends the notion of “healthy” desserts and shares an inspiring collection of delectable sweets that reveal the magic that happens when you bake with less sugar.
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Controversial hockey star offers a revealing look at high living and bad behavior in the NHL—coupled with behind-the-scenes glitter of celebrity and media nightlife
As one of the NHL’s most polarizing players, Sean Avery turned the rules of professional hockey on its head. For thirteen seasons, Avery played for some of the toughest, most storied franchises in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers, making his mark in each city as a player that was sometimes loved, often despised, but always controversial. In Ice Capades, Avery takes his trademark candidness about the world of pro hockey and does for it what Jim Bouton's game-changing Ball Four did for baseball.
Sean Avery discusses:
· Every aspect of an athlete’s life, from what they do with their money and nights off to how they stay sharp and competitive in the league.
· How while playing the talented villain in the NHL, Avery broke far away from his on-ice character in the off-season.
· Some of the unexpected and unprecedented roles that Avery inhabited, including Vogue intern, fashion model, advertising executive, restauranteur, and gay rights advocate.
Love him or hate him, Sean Avery changed the way professional hockey is played today. Ice Capades offers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the world of 21st century hockey through the eyes of one of its most original and memorable players.
About the Author
Sean Avery is a Canadian former professional hockey player. During his time with the NHL, Avery played left wing for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers. In addition to hockey, Avery has also worked as a Vogue intern, a model, an advertising executive, and a restaurateur. He is married to model Hilary Rhoda and lives in New York. Twitter: @imseanavery / Instagram: @imseanavery / Snapchat @seanavery
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Right around Broadway performer Tim Federle's third career transition, he realized how many of his hard-won showbiz lessons he could apply to not just being a successful performer, but to being a successful all-around person too.
Life is Like a Musical is for people who find themselves desiring something-- stronger relationships, or a better job or a clearer way of seeing their own lives.
So silence your cell phones, and get ready to break a leg (so to speak) and schedule an interview with the lively and very musical, author/writer, Tim Federle, whose advice will let the performance speak for itself.
LIFE IS LIKE A MUSICAL
How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star
by Tim Federle
Step into the leading role of your own life!
On Tuesday, October 3rd, the self-help book with a showbiz twist, LIFE IS LIKE A MUSICAL, will be available wherever books are sold.
Life is Like a Musical (Running Press) is the latest non-fiction title from Tim Federle, whose bestselling cocktail recipe books Tequila Mockingbird and Gone With the Gin turned book clubs upside-down. This time, Tim gets personal, with 50 essays drawn from his life as a theater kid-turned-chorus boy-turned Broadway playwright. It’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, with jazz hands—and it’s already been hailed as “hilarious, wise, and one-of-a-kind.”
Life is Like a Musical isn't necessarily for people who spontaneously break into dance routines in the middle of the street. It’s for anyone who wants to find their own song, whatever that means to them. From “Cast Yourself in the Role You Want,” to “Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal,” Tim guides readers on how they, too, can benefit from wisdom learned backstage, onstage, and in between gigs.
No theater experience required. Just a desire to take on the role of a lifetime—one’s own.
ABOUT
Tim Federle is a former Broadway dancer turned award-winning writer whose works include the bestselling cocktail recipe books Tequila Mockingbird and Gone with the Gin, the novels Better Nate Than Ever and The Great American Whatever (each named New York Times Notable Books of the Year), and the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Tuck Everlasting. A native of San Francisco who grew up in Pittsburgh, Tim now divides his time between New York and the internet. Connect with him online @TimFederle on Twitter and Instagram
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Peter Zheutlin (pronounced ZOYT-Lynn)
"Rescued is a wide-ranging and intensely moving meditation on sharing one's life with adopted dogs.
Peter Zheutlin is one of the few journalists who have taken on the complex world of animal rescue and actually gotten it right."
—Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon
September is Puppy Mill Awareness Month
October is Adopt-A-Dog Month
November is Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month
“The canine overpopulation problem is vast -- there are over a million strays living on the streets of Houston alone,” writes New York Times-bestselling author Peter Zheutlin in chapter 1 from his new book RESCUED: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach us About Living with Purpose, Loving with Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things (on sale October 3, 2017; TarcherPerigee paperback). Zheutlin has considerable on the ground experience with Houston’s stray dog problem and has worked closely with the local shelters and rescue organizations there, including the SPCA of Brazoria County (which was evacuated today due to the failing levee) and Houston’s Shaggy Dog Rescue. Peter will also talk about pet loss, abandonment, and rescue efforts in Texas.
About the book:
In this follow up to Rescue Road (which spent five consecutive months on the New York Times bestseller list), Zheutlin interweaves heartwarming and humorous stories, lessons, and advice from countless families who have welcomed second-chance dogs into their homes and the transformative effect of these adoptions. Inspiring anecdotes from the book include:
· the left-for-dead dogs Noah and Noelle who were abandoned in Houston’s notorious Melrose Park and found second-life chances in Brooklyn, NY and Massachusetts, respectively;
· how a rescue dog in a Florida prison program helped one ex-convict get his life back on track,
· a Connecticut community that found therapeutic comfort in the local dogs following 9/11 and Sandy Hook,
· when dogs help empty nesters, sixty-somethings, and seniors find greater energy, keep mentally fit, and live with renewed vigor,
· and an NFL player who purposefully sought out a “hard-to-adopt” dog from his local shelter who had been overlooked, among many others.
This book perfectly captures the lifelong friendship, humorous non-Hallmark moments, and endearing quirks and characteristics of these once-lost souls that will resonate with any pet owner.
PETER ZHEUTLIN is a freelance journalist and bestselling author based in Dover, MA, whose work appears regularly in national publications, including The Boston Globe and The Christian Science Monitor. Zheutlin has also written for The LA Times, Parade Magazine, AARP Magazine and numerous other national newspapers and magazines. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway, as well as one other book. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, author Judith Gelman, and two rescued Labradors. Learn more at www.PeterZheutlin.com.
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Monday Oct 23, 2017
LOS ANGELES, October 4, 2017 -- “Distortion,” a taut detective thriller starring Emmy Award-winning actor CORBIN BERNSEN (L.A. Law, Psych), will be featured at the 13th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival (LAIFF) to be held October 19-23 at the Regal Cinemas at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
“Distortion” is about Nicole (Tonya T. Cannon), a young woman who wakes up from a 3-month coma after being attacked with no memory as to what happened. Now, she is haunted by brief distorted, bloody images of her fiancé as the only clues as to what might have happened. She must work with Det. Baker (Ryan Merriman – Pretty Little Liars, Final Destination 3), an embittered police detective dealing with his own personal demons after the death of his wife and son, in order to regain her memories before she becomes the next victim.
Tonya T. Cannon also wrote the script and is executive producer on the film along with her father Jack Cannon. The film will be shown at LAFIFF on Friday, October 20 at 4PM at LA Live Regal Cinemas, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.lafemme.org/tickets/
ABOUT TONYA T. CANNON
Tonya T. Cannon has a wealth of corporate, entertainment, and educational experiences. Dr. Cannon (she holds a PhD in Organization & Management) began her love of acting in her pre-school days in Upstate New York. After high school, she trained for a year at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts majoring in Drama but was soon called to the corporate world where she worked for more than 15 years as a human resource professional. During this time, she completed her undergraduate degree program (Theatre Arts/Psychology) and went on to complete her Masters in Human Resource Management.
Soon, the stage called to her again and she was recognized twice for her acting achievements by the Theatre Association of New York State for her comedic and dramatic performances in Check, Please! and Dandelion Wishes, respectively. She then decided to make the move to the west coast in April of 2014 in order to pursue a film acting career and she definitely hit the ground running. Her drive and determination allowed her to obtain on set experiences, both in front of and behind the camera, in such projects as the hit feature Straight Outta Compton, as well as lesser known projects such as Unusual Suspects and The Badlands of Kain. In 2015, she and her father, Jack Cannon, decided to channel the knowledge gained and create StageCraft Productions, LLC in order to produce, write, and star in her feature debut, Distortion.
The following year, Dr. Cannon wrote 2 short films (crime/drama) which offered additional experiences and insights into filmmaking, and went on to produce an additional two shorts as well as the feature horror, Wiles: The Origin of Greater Magic in conjunction with up and coming Latin star, Vinicius Machado (True Detective, Power). In 2017, Dr. Cannon seeks to expand further into the entertainment arena with the creation of several television/streaming projects as well as additional teleplays and feature films. Her latest project, Sorry, Wrong Text, is a dramatic short film which will further demonstrate her writing, acting, and producing capabilities. Dr. Cannon’s corporate business experience as well as her educational and professional experiences all culminate in her being a well-rounded producing partner that is both creative, yet budget conscious. Based on her experiences, she is able to create interesting and compelling characters in stories with an eye towards what is cinematically engaging yet budget friendly. The slate of projects that are currently in some form of development are sure to keep StageCraft Productions busy and profitable for years to come.
The feature, Distortion, has been submitted to more than a dozen festivals across the world and Wiles is currently in post-production.
Dr. Cannon holds a Bachelors in Theatre Arts – minor: Psychology, a Masters in Human Resource Management, and a PhD in Organization & Management with a specialization in Management Education.
For more information, contact Deborah Gilels at LA Media Consultants at 818-758-6509 or Lisa Lyons at 818-726-8199.
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Monday Oct 23, 2017
Grant Faulkner is an American writer, the executive director of National Novel Writing Month, and the co-founder of the online literary journal 100 Word Story. Grant Faulkner was born and raised in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He earned a B.A. in English from Grinnell College and an M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, the writer Heather Mackey, and their two children.
The following is from: http://www.grantfaulkner.com
Picasso famously said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” How can we be creative every day? That’s the question Pep Talks for Writers sets out to answer. And it’s an important one, right? I know you feel story ideas beckoning you to give them voice. You’ve felt the wondrous, magical rushes of creativity. You know how being creative can change the way you wake up, how you approach your work, how you connect with other people. Approaching the world with a creative mindset is wildly transforming—because suddenly you’re not accepting the world as it’s delivered to you, but living through your vision of life.
That’s the gift I see each November during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I witness thousands of people break down the barricades that prevent them from writing the novel of their dreams and take on the Herculean task of writing a novel of 50,000 words in just 30 days. Writing suddenly leaps up from the cluttered basement of their daily tasks to stand tall on the pedestal of life for an entire month. An audacious goal and deadline serve as creative midwives (and an occasional bullwhip), and writers are propelled by the scintillating rushes of their imagination and the galvanizing force of the huzzahs coming from what can seem like the entire world writing with them.
It seems like such a rollicking novel-writing party is never going to end, but then on December 1, the roars of rapacious novelists start to quiet. Suddenly, people are doing things like shopping for Christmas presents, studying for finals, or cleaning the mayhem their house has become. (Creativity gives the world many things, but it rarely provides a tidy house.)
The thing I hear most often after National Novel Writing Month is “I loved writing during NaNoWriMo, but I have trouble writing the rest of the year.”
It’s challenging to muster such energy each day. The galloping pace of NaNoWriMo is over, and it can be difficult to get up on the proverbial writing horse again. Urgent items on your to-do lists clamor for attention, and tackling those items is important, necessary work—buying groceries, washing dishes, fixing that squeaky door that has bugged you the last three years—so, really, how could you keep doing something so trivial as write? Suddenly, you start to feel creativity falling down on your to-do list. You know the joy it gives you, the life meaning, yet those slithering, pernicious beasts called “the demands of life” loudly yell what you should be doing (and I won’t even mention the siren calls of social media).
No one assigns us to be creative. And, what’s more, society usually doesn’t reward creativity, at least not unless your work makes it to the shelves of a bookstore, the walls of a gallery, or the stage of a theater. You might not think you’re a creative type, but to be human is to be a creative type, so one of the shoulds in your life should be to make sure creativity is not only at the top of your to-do list, but that you put your creativity into action every day. If you put off your dreams today, you create the momentum to put them off all the way to your deathbed.
We yearn to touch life’s mysteries, to step out into the world looking for new solutions to old problems, if not new worlds altogether. We need to tap into our vulnerabilities, seek to understand our fears, look at life through others’ eyes, ask questions, and open up our awareness of the wonders of the universe.
Each story is a gift, a door that opens a new way to see and relate with others in this crazy, crazy world. Stories are the oxygen our souls breathe, a way to bring the unsayable, the unseeable, the unspeakable to life. Our creative lives shouldn’t be a hall pass from the stiff and forbidding demands of our lives. Writing our stories takes us beyond the grueling grind that life can unfortunately become, beyond the constraints of the roles we find ourselves in each day, to make the world a bigger place.
Stories remind us that we’re alive, and what being alive means. “Only art penetrates . . . the seeming realities of this world,” said Saul Bellow in his Nobel Prize speech. Leslie Marmon Silko says that stories are “all we have to fight off illness and death.” Jacqueline Woodson says writers are “the ones who are bearing witness to what’s going on in the world.”
For a writer, life hasn’t really been lived until one’s stories find their way onto the page. We exist in the flickers of a rift with the world, searching for words that will sew the fissure, heal it. A rupture, a wound, finds the salve of a story. If you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. If you don’t create, you hurt yourself. The signature of your self is formed by the work you put into your story. Making art tells you who you are. Making art in turn makes you.
So it’s your duty as a writer, as a person, to build a world through your words and believe in your story as a beautiful work of incarnation, to see it as a gift to yourself and others, as something that elevates life with new meaning—your meaning. Writing a story is many things: a quest, a prayer, a hunger, a tantrum, a flight of the imagination, a revolt, a daring escape that ironically leads you back to yourself. As long as we’re creating, we’re cultivating meaning. Our stories are the candles that light up the darkness that life can become, so we must live in the warm hues of our imaginative life.
It’s not easy, though. The efforts of creativity carry angst and psychological obstacles that must be overcome. In this book, we’ll explore 52 different approaches to being creative every day. Each pep talk will include ways for you to explore your creative notions and angles, because life and writing are really ongoing creative experiments. Some pep talks may sing out to where you are now, while others might become relevant later in your writing process. The important thing is to keep your creative life at the forefront of your thoughts and actions.
We become the things we do, and I can promise you, if you excavate your life to make room for your imagination, if you open up time to keep writing, you won’t just finish your novel, pen the poem in your head, or submit a short story you’ve worked so hard on, you’ll change, because once you realize yourself as a creator, you create worlds on and off the page.
If you hear the whispers of a novel coming from the other room, or ideas for other stories caterwauling for their day in the sun, dive in. “The days are long, but the years are short,” some wise person once said. Your story can’t wait. It needs you.
Buy Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo.
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