In this pre-season MINISODE, a bite-sized reflection from my E.P.I.C. Life, I shared how my start to 2020 has been filled with both struggle and success, what it's like to share the full range of our experiences online in today's Instagramable world, and three things that have supported me on the threshold of a reset.
Also, a little about what to expect in my Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year Workshop, a chance for us to begin 2020 again, because February is the new January.
Three Things That Helped Me:
- Integrating my Emotions
- Finding my guides
- Doubling down on self-care
- This “A Tale of Two Narratives” by Lex Vernon put it all in perspective
Join the Spark Your Epic Year Workshop by signing up here.
Season 5 of the Mother's Quest Podcast will begin tomorrow. Join the conversation at www.mothersquest.com/podcast
I’m honored to bring you this Season Four finale episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with two special guests and dear family friends, transgender model, activist and writer Corey Rae and her talented and trailblazing mother, Judy Blank.
Corey is a 26-year-old activist, consultant, model, speaker and writer who shatters stigmas surrounding the transgender community. She was born transgender in the 1990’s and started her physical transition when she was 15 years old with the unwavering support of her mother Judy. Shortly after, Corey became the world’s first openly transgender girl to be crowned Prom Queen, a story in production for a feature film titled QUEEN, which Corey is Executive Producing.
As a stylist, designer and creator of hand-carved jewelry, with over 30 years of experience, Judy’s professional skills have taken her across the industries of television, music, and photography. Her intuitive detail-oriented approach to hairstyling and personal style consulting has supported hundreds of individuals to feel good about themselves and make meaningful lifestyle changes.
In this episode, Corey and Judy share, for the first time together, their mother daughter account of how they blazed a trail in Corey’s transgender journey, telling stories spanning from Judy’s standing up to Corey’s kindergarten teacher, who wanted to stop her from dressing as a girl during dress-up time, to supporting Corey through her gender affirmation surgery at age 19.
Corey also recounts her evolution from living “stealth” for five years after her surgery, when no one knew she was transgender, to coming out publicly in 2016 through her first blog post on her site CoreyRae.com, titled, "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself.”
Since then, Corey has become a strong voice in helping others that struggle with gender identity, the transition process, or coming out and has actively shared her personal stories and advice on her blog, on a monthly column on StyleCaster.com, in publications like Vogue, Cosmopolitan and People magazines, and at events like the MAKERS Women's Conference. She’s currently the new campaign model for the beauty subscription brand, IPSY, and had what I call an epic snapshot moment posing with her mother in front of one of her LA billboards, a photo we used for the podcast art.
This conversation had me in tears many times. I was moved by how Judy transformed her childhood experiences of being bullied into fuel for becoming a rock solid ally for her child, how her experience raising a transgender daughter when few resources and knowledge existed, sparked a deep desire to support other families and their children so they don’t have to feel alone, and how, after years of helping Corey become her authentic self, Judy is now experiencing her own rebirth after a challenging divorce.
Recording this conversation live in a recording studio on the eve of my 48th birthday and the birthday of the Mother’s Quest Podcast, felt like the representation of everything I hoped the podcast would be when I created it three years ago: a space for transformative, inspiring conversations that invite all of us to live more fully. I hope you’ll listen to this episode with an open heart and mind and say “yes” to Judy and Corey’s challenge to “truly listen to our children,” to embrace them, and help them grow into the fullest, most authentic expression of who they are.
Much appreciation,
P.S. This is the last episode of Season Four and I'll be taking a break through the end of January. Come on over to the Mother's Quest Facebook Group, if you're not there yet, to stay connected until the podcast returns! Can't wait to bring you more inspiring conversations in 2020.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Kathie Moehlig of TransFamily Support Services
TransFamily Support Services SAVES lives by shaping a gender-affirming and accepting community. TransFamily Support Services provides navigation for the journey. We serve transgender youth and their families all over the country and there is never a fee for our services.
We help families to understand the gender journey and assist with referrals to medical and mental health providers. We also help navigate the insurance issues as well as work with schools to be sure the youth are safe and affirmed.
Kathie Moehlig, Founder of TransFamily Support Services, is a leading authority on supporting transgender and non-binary youth and their families. A tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community, she was named “Woman of the Year” by California Assemblyperson Gloria. A certified life coach, parenting instructor and motivational speaker, Kathie’s work have been featured in media nationally. She regularly crisscrossing the country to work with families, schools, healthcare, and organizations to promote understanding, inclusion, and equality.
TransFamily Support Services - Navigation for the Journey
If you want to support TransFamily Support Services, you can send your donations here.
👉 DONATE
Connect with Kathie:
You can learn more about Kathie and how she founded TransFamily Services here.
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Corey’s journey of self-identity during a time when there was much less awareness and few resources about being transgender
- Moments that helped Corey to realize she was transgender and that sparked her path to transition
- The impact of Judy’s own childhood experience grappling with learning disabilities and bullying in how that shaped how she parented
- The importance of listening to what your children are saying, not just in their words but also in their behavior
- Why you shouldn’t parent your kids from fear
- Deconstructing what it means to be transgender
- The importance for Corey of naming the ways in which she holds privilege as a white transgender woman
- Educating ourselves and others on how we can de-stigmatize the transgender community
- Corey’s coming of age movie - Queen
- Asking a lot of questions of our children and then waiting for the answer
- The ways in which Judy is experiencing her own rebirth: including several creative projects of her own, a memoir “Back to Blank,” and a signature jewelry piece for people in transition modeled after a butterfly.
Additional Resources for Transgender Families and Allies:
- Amber Leventry – Queer. Nonbinary. Writer. Advocate.
- Jamie Bruesehoff – Award-winning writer, Speaker, Advocate, and an openly Queer woman.
- Raising Luminaries: Books for Littles - LGBT
- Gender Spectrum, located in Oakland
- San Mateo Pride Center on El Camino in San Mateo
- The Gender Creative Child by Diane Ehrensaft, PhD
- Meet Marvel's First Transgender Hero: 12-Year-Old 'Mighty' Rebekah
This Week's Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Judy and Corey challenge us to really listen to our children. Look at what they are really saying and don’t parent from a place of fear.
Ask your kids a lot of questions and wait for the answer. And if they don’t have the answer just let it sit, because you’re helping them think about it. Judy and Corey encourage everyone of us to love our kids for who they really are and allow them to be their authentic selves.
Learn More About Corey Rae:
Corey Rae is a 26-year-old activist, consultant, model, speaker, and writer who shatters social stigmas surrounding the transgender community. Corey was born transgender and started her physical transition when she was 15 years old with the help of her mother Judy. Shortly after, she became the World’s first openly transgender girl to be crowned Prom Queen.
In 2012, Corey had gender affirmation surgery at age 19, but kept her past a secret. After five years of living stealth, she told her story publicly in 2016 through her first blog post on her site CoreyRae.com, titled, "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself”
Corey shares personal stories of her upbringing and experiences on her blog, as well as elevates the stories of other inspiring and unique LGBTQ+ members on her site. She writes a monthly advice column on StyleCaster.com with helpful tips on dating, fashion, beauty, and destigmatizing transgender beauty standards. Corey’s high school prom victory story has been acquired and is in production for a feature film titled QUEEN, which she is Executive Producing.
Corey speaks at public and private events such as LGBTQ+ marches, Universities, and even Lululemon Headquarters. She’s partnered with brands and companies such as IPSY, HBO, Lululemon, OUAI Haircare, Seventh Generation, MAKERS, It Gets Better, Orgain, Squarespace, Tumblr, LAPRIDE, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
When Corey isn’t focused on her activism career, you can find her hiking Runyon Canyon, hanging out with her closest friends, or shopping with her mom Judy.
Resources from Corey:
- Corey Rae & Sarah Kate Ellis | Public speaking at The 2019 MAKERS Conference
- Corey Rae’s Stylecaster Advice Column
- Personal website - Corey Rae
Follow Corey on Social Media:
Learn More About Judy Blank:
Judy Blank wants to live in a world where children grow up with kindness, compassion and the ability to grow into the fullest, most authentic expression of who they are.
Her own experience raising her transgender daughter Corey in the 1990’s, and blazing a path for Corey’s transition, during a time when few resources and knowledge existed, sparked a deep desire to support other families and their children so they don’t have to feel alone.
As a stylist and designer with over 30 years of experience, Judy’s professional skills have taken her across the industries of television, music, and photography. Her intuitive detail-oriented approach to hairstyling and personal style consulting has supported hundreds of individuals to feel good about themselves and make meaningful lifestyle changes.
In 2004, a class Judy took at the Art Center of New Jersey in wax-carving sparked an extension of Judy’s love for design that results in one-of-a-kind pieces that symbolize the change her clients seek. Using precious metals and gemstones, she creates her custom design jewelry using an intricate hand-carving technique known as Lost-wax casting.
Whether working with hair, jewelry, or styling, Judy maintains her focus on the most important element, you, and believes that when it comes to living true to your most authentic self, the details count.
This fall, Judy began a new transition in her life, moving back to her native home, Los Angeles, to grow her design and styling business and to assist Corey with her growing career. She’s also writing her own story in a book “Back to Blank,” about raising a transgender child in a time when people didn’t know what it was and chronicling how she overcame her disabilities and abusive relationships to reclaim her life.
Connect with Judy:
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest Turned Three!
Help us celebrate three years, 70 episodes and 40,000 downloads of the Mother’s Quest Podcast!! In honor of this milestone, I’ll be recording a special solocast with my reflections on the past three years and I’d love to include some messages from you. Head over to mothersquest.com/podcast to use the speakpipe tool, or your own recording app of choice, to send a message with your thoughts about Mother’s Quest, your favorite episode, or a way that our community has impacted you. I’m looking forward to sharing some of your voices, alongside mine, in this celebratory recording coming to you in the new year.
Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
If you identify as a woman podcaster, I hope you’ll join us for the third season of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative. Our group recently committed to the topic of immigration from a social justice perspective, and we invite you to join us by committing to record an episode that can shine a light on this important issue. To take a look at past seasons and get more information visit www.womenpodcastersinsolidarity.com.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from all my conversations, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Kathie Moehlig or TransFamily Support Services
Anne Ferguson of MamaFuel
On the Move and etsuko Kubo
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Four of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
---
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out is the title of the book written by my guest for this episode of the podcast, Dr. Samantha Brody.
Dr. Samantha, as she is frequently called, is a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist, and the founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, OR. For decades in her private practice and virtual consulting business, she has helped thousands of people transform their lives with her innovative, personalized approach.
I love how the right podcast guest presents herself to me every time.
Because the truth is, I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed in my life right now. A new puppy, challenges with our younger son in relationship with the puppy, a traumatic experience with an active shooter scare at a theme park with my son Ryan, and a cold and cough that I couldn’t shake was definitely creating a sense of overwhelm.
But, inspired by this conversation, I decided to take a pause and start to take steps that are already helping me feel better. I said no to some things on my to do list, I pushed out the date of this episode’s release and I started shutting down my computer in the evenings. I reached out to Dr. Samantha for a consultation about my health and my friend, Casey O’Roarty of the Joyful Courage Podcast, for a positive parenting coaching session.
I also posted in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group to share what was happening and was met with an outpouring of support. One mother who responded with compassion and to tell me I was not alone in how I was feeling was Anne Ferguson of MamaFuel, the perfect person to bring us this episode’s dedication about the importance of saying no and caring for ourselves.
Anne’s dedication, this conversation on the podcast, and the challenge and tools that Dr. Samantha invites us to explore have been powerful invitations for me to slow down, to look at what I value most, and to realign with a focus on self-compassion and self-care, to those things.
I invite you to press pause, to release something from your to do list today, so that you have a little more space to listen in to this reflective conversation with Dr. Samantha. Then follow through as I will with the “values” exercise she gives us as our challenge, share what you discover in the Mother’s Quest Facebook group where Samantha will be following up with us, and join me in taking more steps toward overcoming overwhelm.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by: Anne Ferguson of Mamafuel
This episode is dedicated by Anne Ferguson to every mama who has said no to the overwhelm and lovingly took the time to take care of themselves, so they can show up strong and whole in their lives and with the people they love.
Anne is the founder of MamaFuel, a global community of mamas who are learning to put themselves first, so they can enjoy happier relationships with their kids and thrive in every part of their lives. Anne hosts amazing urban retreats for mamas across Switzerland, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and one very demanding dog.
Anne is also the host of MamaFuel: The Podcast in which she shares raw, real and often funny conversations with mamas who are doing great things in ways large and small. Her mission is to change the way mamas treat themselves and each other so we can live in a more connected, harmonious world where mamas are thriving.
Anne’s passion for words and how we talk to ourselves and each other expands beyond MamaFuel. Anne recently founded Your Process Lab, a company that’s revolutionizing the way organizations train and motivate their people by ditching stiff, archaic language and communicating in ways that make today’s workforce take action. Anne consults to the United Nations on language and communication and is expanding her activities to include public speaking across Europe.
Visit the MamaFuel website: https://www.mamafuel.me/
Follow Anne Ferguson on Social Media:
In This Episode We Talk About:
- How Samantha’s medical trauma and experience being bullied may have impacted her healing career path
- Samantha’s commitment to empowering and supporting her patients to express their needs and advocate for themselves.
- Living in integrity with your values and the “tells” our body gives us when we are out of alignment
- Conversations with Samantha’s son about his adoption and about race (he is biracial and Samantha and her husband are white) from the time he was young and how that set up an openness and honesty about all kinds of conversation
- What is overwhelm and Samantha’s four-step process for overcoming it
- How so many things in our lives can come in "seasons" and how in this season for Samantha, slowing down to pause is serving her most
Resources from Dr. Samantha:
- Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out
- Values Exercise from Overcoming Overwhelm
- Sample Chapter from Overcoming Overwhelm
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Ep 27: Courageous Conversations About Race with Nicole Lee
- Ep 10: Choosing Gratitude and Glitter with Nancy Netherland
- Modern Mystics Institute
- Casey O’Roarty’s Joyful Courage - a resource for positive parenting
This Week's Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Dr. Samantha challenges us to do the values exercise from a chapter in her book. This exercise is designed to help you understand what aspects of your inner and outer worlds are most important to you.
You'll discover what values and ideals you want your life--and your choices-- to be lining up with on a daily basis.
This is the first step, Dr. Samantha says, in finally overcoming overwhelm; if you're trying to have less stress and/or if you want to be less overwhelmed, lining your choices up with your values is the key to making that happen.
Learn More About Dr. Samantha:
Dr. SAMANTHA BRODY is a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist, and the founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, OR. For decades in her private practice and virtual consulting business Dr. Samantha has helped thousands of people transform their lives with her innovative, personalized approach. She is the author of Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out (Sounds True Publishing). You can find her online at www.DrSamantha.com and on social @drsamanthand.
Connect with Dr. Samantha:
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest is turning 3!
It's hard to believe but on December 1, Mother's Quest Podcats will be turning 3 years old. In honor of that milestone, I'm going to record a special episode with some of the key takeaways and reflections I've had on my journey over the last 3 years. I would also love to share your voice and your reflections on things that you've been able to take away from these conversations.
Please take a moment to either send me an email at juile@mothersquest.com or leave me a voice message by using the speak pipe tool on the podcast page at www.mothersquest.com. I look forward to hearing all you have to share and celebrating this milestone with you!
Join Speaker Coach Alexia Vernon as Ambassador in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group
Last weekend, I had an amazing experience hosting an Improv for Speakers Master Class with the incredible speaker coach Alexia Vernon. Even though many of you wanted to join us in person but couldn’t, you can still benefit from an opportunity to learn from Alexia. This month in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, Alexia is our “ambassador” and will be sharing tips and resources and answering your questions about public speaking. So, if you’re not yet a member of the group, come on over to www.mothersquest.com/community to request to join us.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from all my conversations, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Anne Fergurson of Mamafuel
On the Move and etsuko Kubo
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
---
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’ll be back in two weeks with a new episode, but I wanted to bring this encore conversation with Mothers Against Police Brutality’s Sara Mokuria in a week where so many of us have been grappling with the issue of police violence and what we can do about it.
This week, our consciousness has been focused on the tragic deaths of two black people, Botham Jean and Atiana Jefferson, who were murdered in their own homes by police officers. Botham was in his own apartment when an off duty police officer shot and killed him, allegedly mistaking him for an intruder in her own apartment. Recently, the woman who killed him was sentenced to only 10 years in prison for his killing. Atiana Jefferson, who was playing video games with her nephew in her own home at the time, was murdered when an officer sent to the house by a neighbor because of an open door, immediately shot and killed Atiana instead of checking on her wellbeing.
I know many of us have been searching for some action we can take about this issue and I want to encourage you to do two things: first listen to this conversation with Sara Mokuria, one of the co-founders of Mothers Against Police Brutality. She will give you insight and advocacy steps from her own experience losing her father. And then, make a donation to Mothers Against Police Brutality, an organization that is seeking change by addressing policy and building police accountability, beginning in Texas but with nationwide impact.
Inspired by my last conversation with trust-based philanthropy thought leader Pia Infante, our family committed to an ongoing monthly donation to support their work over time, and made the donation in honor of two men who lost their lives to police violence over the last year in my own area, Chinedu Okobi and Miles Hall.
As you listen, I hope you’ll consider making a donation as well and I also challenge you to identify just one person who you can share this episode and this call to action with; together we can start to take steps in the direction of police accountability. Now here is my conversation with Sara Mokuria.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
Make a donation by visiting http://mothersagainstpolicebrutality.org/donate/.
ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES
It’s an honor and responsibility to share this Episode #33 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with Sara Mokuria, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality. It’s the third and final in a series I recorded as part of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative and it comes to you with a call to action to get involved with this issue today.
This episode was dedicated by Collette Flanagan, the founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality, who turned her grief from the loss of her son, Clinton Allen, into fuel for change.
In her dedication, Collette reminded us of our common humanity as mothers and that an insult to one mother is an insult to all mothers. It is this knowing that caused me to record this series after I saw the heart-breaking video of Diamond Reynolds and her then four year old daughter after they witnessed the killing of Philando Castile. Philando was like a father to this little girl, was unarmed and was complying with the police officer’s requests when he was shot.
Seeing the trauma and heartbreak endured by this four year old girl, who was the same age as my son when I saw this video, became a catalyst to face the epidemic of police brutality in our country, and to begin taking action, however imperfect.
Much like Diamond Reynold’s daughter, Sara also endured trauma and heartbreak when she watched her father get shot and killed by police at her home in Dallas when she was 10 years old.
Fueled by her own experience, Sara joined Collette along with another co-founder, John Fullinwider, in creating Mother’s Against Police Brutality, as a multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition uniting mothers nationwide to fight for civil rights, police accountability and policy reform.
Sara is a mom herself to a seven year old boy. And, in addition to her work with Mothers Against Police Brutality, she’s a sought after educator, community organizer, project manager, and facilitator, currently working as Associate Director for Leadership Initiatives with The Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. She has two masters degrees, has taught both high school and college at the University of Texas at Dallas and currently serves on the International Mechanism Coordinating Committee for the US Human Rights Network.
She came to the conversation with an open heart she told me, and I felt her generosity and honesty throughout as she shared how police violence changed her life forever, discussed the trauma of being black in America, how the institution of policing and the prison industrial complex contributes to that trauma, and the ways in which an investment in Mothers Against Police Brutality can change policies and systems to reduce violence and create more accountability.
As compelling was Sara’s exploration of the vision she has for our future... of vibrant communities where we invest in our young people, lean into and value our differences, and where each of us taps into our own unique magic to get us there.
We ended our conversation with a co-created prayer, a wish for ourselves as much as for all of you listening, to move into greater responsibility for this work from wherever we are, to have the courage to go to those difficult and painful places so we can create a freer future, and to take this moment right now to support this cause.
I’m doing that today by making a financial contribution to Mothers Against Police Brutality and putting my resources with the mothers, like Sara and Collette, who are closest to the problem and who can see the solution. I hope you’ll join me.
Visit http://mothersagainstpolicebrutality.org/donate/ to make a donation and reference Mother’s Quest or, if contributing on November 28th, Giving Tuesday, visit the Mother's Quest Facebook Fundraising Page to contribute to the Giving Tuesday Campaign.
This episode dedicated by
Mothers Against Police Brutality founder Collette Flanagan, whose son, Clinton Allen, was shot and killed by the Dallas Police in March of 2013.
Topics discussed in this episode
-
Sara’s joyous childhood which changed forever when her father was killed by Dallas police officers when she was just 10 years old
-
How Sara’s mother was her fiercest advocate, even as her mother grappled with the deeply traumatic effects of her husband’s killing and the lack of support as a crime victim.
-
Disturbing facts about our current law enforcement policies, lack of accountability, the militarization of police, and budget allocations that favor the prison industrial complex over investments that would build a vibrant community
-
The New Jim Crowe and the War on Drugs and how it has played out as a war on people of color
-
White privilege and how to move from shame and guilt to responsibility and action
-
How Sara teaches her son to understand injustice, the history we don’t learn in our schools, and how tenderness, love and joy can be an act of resistance
-
What happened when Sara met with the officer who killed her father years later and how that shifted her perspective about what the problem really is
-
How women make up half of the world’s population and how we birthed the other half, therefore we are the world. And, the power of mothers to chart the direction of our families and communities.
-
The importance of finding your own unique magic to make a difference and why Sara keeps her heart open to welcome people to this cause when they come to it
-
Our prayer and invitation to you the listener
Resources mentioned in this episode
-
The Movie 13th, directed by Ava Duvernay
-
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
-
EP31: Brave Spaces and Solidarity with “Rad Women” Author Kate Schatz
-
How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev
-
Dallas Woman Turns Tragedy Into Conversation About Race, an article where Sara talks about the system and not police officers being the problem
-
Stride Toward Justice: 9 Steps to Change Policing in America - policy recommendations from Mothers Against Police Brutality
This Week’s Three-fold Challenge
-
Have courageous conversation about these issues with your families during the holidays.
-
Get involved and informed about these issues locally. Become an advocate in your city.
-
Make a monetary contribution to support the mothers who are closest to the solution at Mothers Against Police Brutality.
Announcements
Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
If you identify as a woman podcaster, I hope you’ll join us for the third season of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative. Our group recently committed to the topic of immigration from a social justice perspective, and we invite you to join us by committing to record an episode that can shine a light on this important issue. To take a look at past seasons and get more information visit www.womenpodcastersinsolidarity.com.
Applications are open for the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Live Virtual Circle
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
- Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
- To consciously live a more E.P.I.C. life
- To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the session
- To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
Click HERE to Learn More
Acknowledgements
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
On the Move and etsuko Kubo
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
“Vince” of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
—
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m so honored to bring you this reflective conversation about investing from a place of trust in our dreams of becoming mothers, in our children, and in the causes we believe in, with someone who has been a dear friend and colleague for over a decade, Pia Infante.
As Trustee and Co-Executive Director of the Whitman Institute, Pia leverages decades of multi-sector experience as an educator, facilitator, organizational development consultant and more. In her work at the Institute and as a speaker, she advocates for radically embodied leadership and trust-based philanthropy in settings that have included Harvard Kennedy School: Center for Public Leadership, Ashoka Future Forum, Net Impact, Council on Foundations, International Human Rights Funders Group, and Skoll World Forum to name a few.
Before Pia joined The Whitman Institute, she and I worked together for years as facilitators of a practice called “adult reflection” and also supported one another in our own lives as participants in a women’s reflection circle. I consider her part of my "root system" and so appreciated the opportunity to reconnect and uncover lessons about Pia’s decade-long fertility journey, her relationship with her mother and her ancestors from the Philippines, her experience navigating post-partum depression and the waters of new motherhood, and her perspective about money as energy we can get circulating by investing in organizations and movements over the long-term, from a place of deep, relational trust.
The thread of trust weaved through the entire conversation. I hope you leave this conversation as I did, renewed and inspired to trust the unfolding of your own epic life journey, of your children’s development in their own time and in their own way, and in your own power to invest in the causes that matter to you.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
etsuko Kubo of On The Move
This episode is dedicated to the diverse group of 30 women who are mothers, like etsuko, that work for On the Move (OTM) on behalf of themselves, their children and communities. OTM’s initiatives offer a powerful and groundbreaking combination of strategies seeking to engage and develop new leaders, collaborate with partners in rigorous systems change, and foster communities that are inclusive and equitable.
Based in Napa, OTM was founded in 2004 with a mission to develop and sustain young people as leaders by building exceptional programs that challenge inequities in their communities. Working for over 14 years to expand throughout the Bay Area, OTM has implemented programs and initiatives that develop the next generations of community leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities in which they live and work.
In partnership with local communities, OTM has explored innovative approaches to closing the achievement gap for children of color, transforming outcomes for former foster youth, promoting health and wellness across communities, and building strong, engaged families.
For over a decade On The Move has created and implemented innovative programming that challenges communities and local leaders to push beyond mediocrity and into excellence. Supported by a track record of results-oriented programming and in partnership with the hundreds of established community partners, OTM works to unite communities and focus on the safety and inclusion of all people.
Learn more about OTM and their work here
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Lessons learned on Pia and her wife Nzinga's decade-long fertility journey to having their daughter Laniakea and the extra challenges a queer couple faces on that quest.
- Being present with our intention without being attached to every facet of the outcome
- Mindful engagement with our children and not trying to force our kids into a prescribed timeline or way of doing things
- Whitman Institute’s decision to “spend down,” the concept of money as "energy" and why Pia wishes more of us would get money circulating
- Thoughtful ways philanthropists and donors can shift the power dynamic with those they fund to be more equitable, building non-transactional relationships, reciprocal relationships, and investing as partners
- Why a funder's job is to put gas in the tank of those they fund, not to tell them to use this GPS or follow this particular map.
- The challenges of post-partum depression and that feeling of love and terror simultaneously Pia experienced as a new mother
- The power of building new circles of community and how connecting with other mothers struggling with the same issues helped Pia crawl onto a life raft from what felt like a swamp.
- Investing in our children, ourselves, and in the causes we care about
Resources Connected to this Episode:
- The Whitman Institute
- Trust-Based Philanthropy Project
- Ep 66: A Love Letter to Friendship with Desiree Lynn Adaway and Pamela Slim
- Ep 27: Courageous Conversations about Race with Nicole Lee
- Ep 61: Reclaiming Ourselves in Motherhood: Revisited with Graeme Seabrook
Additional Resources from Pia:
- The Gift of Disequilibrium
- The Center for Effective Philanthropy
- Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas
- Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou
This Week's Challenge:
In this episode, Pia challenges us to tap into the power of money as energy and to get it circulating by making a monthly long-term commitment to a cause we think will contribute to an epic life. I said yes to this by personally committing to a monthly, long-term donation to the organization featured in the episode’s dedication, On the Move, and also decided to engage my children and husband in making a long-term commitment to a cause that matters to them by year-end.
Learn More About Pia:
Pia Infante is the Co-Executive Director of The Whitman Institute, which seeks to leverage the power of trust-based philanthropy to promote more equitable practices in resourcing social good.
As Trustee and Co-Executive Director of The Whitman Institute, Pia draws on decades of multi-sector experience as an educator, facilitator, organizational development consultant, executive coach, non-profit manager, business owner, writer and speaker to advocate for trust-based practice.
Pia also speaks and teaches on radically embodied leadership and trust-based practice in many settings including Harvard Kennedy School: Center for Public Leadership, Ashoka Future Forum, Opportunity Collaboration, Net Impact, Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, International Human Rights Funders Group, and Skoll World Forum 2017.
She proudly serves as the Board Chair for the Center for Media Justice. She is an I.C.F. certified executive leadership coach, holds a M.A. in Education from the New School for Social Research, and a B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley.
Connect with Pia:
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia Ray
My incredible guest, Ashia Ray, and I have set aside October 3rd from noon to 1 pm for a Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia. To register, join us in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group to find announcements. Click mothersquest.com/comunity to join.
Watch out for a Bonus Episode!
If you want to know what is on Ashia Ray's bookshelf, join the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group where we will be releasing bonus audio to the group next week!
Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
If you identify as a woman podcaster, I hope you’ll join us for the third season of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative. Our group recently committed to the topic of immigration from a social justice perspective, and we invite you to join us by committing to record an episode that can shine a light on this important issue. To take a look at past seasons and get more information visit www.womenpodcastersinsolidarity.com.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from all my conversations, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
On the Move and etsuko Kubo
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
---
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
In the midst of what feels like a whirlwind in my home and family life, it's a pleasure for me to share this encore episode with mindfulness educator, corporate trainer, podcast host and author of “Mindful Parenting in a Messy World,” Michelle Gale.
I have a 7-year-old birthday party coming up for my little guy, Jacob on Saturday, my parents have just arrived from Los Angeles, we're still integrating our brand new puppy into our home, and things are just feeling, like - a lot. This is true for so many of us at this time of year as we're helping our kids settle into their new school schedule and environment, tackling homework, and all the things.
I remembered that I had this conversation with Michael Gale on the podcast this time last year when we were in a similar flurry and knew I could really benefit from listening again. I always like to share the goodness...and thought this encore episode might help light your way too this fall season!
A few other announcements:
**Stay tuned for a brand new episode with my dear friend, new mother, and incredible philanthropist Pia Infante next week.
**And would love for you to join us in the Mother's Quest Facebook group where I'll be making announcements about a Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year workshop in early October to help us reflect on the chapter behind us and set intentions for the new school year. www.mothersquest.com/community to join
Until then, I hope that you enjoy this conversation with Micheal Gale, either for the first time or listening to it again as an encore! And that you find some equanimity and calm in the storm this fall season.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
Ep 51: Equanimity & The Calm In the Storm with Mindful Parent Michelle Gale
This conversation, rooted in how to bring more equanimity to our lives–finding our center of calm in the storm–came to me just when I needed it most, during a start to my fall season marked by big school transitions for my children, travel away from home, and supporting my family after my father’s bypass heart surgery.
In the midst of all of that, it was such a gift to have this time with Michelle, whose journey brought her from working in technology startups like Twitter to a deep dive in mindfulness training. Michelle draws on that training today as an advisor to organizations like Wisdom 2.0, in trainings with corporations like Disney and Google, for summits and workshops for parents that she organizes, and as a parent with her own two boys at home.
An awareness of our impact in the day to day, through being a mindful parent, is something that Michelle embodies in her own parenting, in the appreciation she describes for her own mother, a single parent who adopted Michelle at the age of four months old, and in the ways that she makes mindfulness relatable and accessible to those she teaches.
I learned so much from Michelle in the time we spent together, about answering our own calls for life-long learning, about slowing down, raising our awareness and making the implicit explicit, of the importance of bringing compassion, especially during times of transition, and how to draw on our experience as mothers as a source of learning and transformation.
When we began, I asked Michelle to lead us through a Three Breath Practice which I heard her share about on Deborah Reber’s TILT Parenting Podcast. The practice became the bookends for this episode, the opening that allowed us each to make intentions for our time together, and the challenge that Michelle invites us to integrate into our lives.
As you listen to this episode, I invite you to slow down by taking your own three breaths with us, tap into Michelle’s intention for finding “equanimity,” your center in the midst of chaos, and open yourself to Michelle’s wisdom. If you do, I’m certain you’ll find more of your calm in the storm and connect more fully to your own mindful parenting in a messy world.
In This Episode We Talk About:
- The Three Breath Practice and how I’ve begun using it to help me make better decisions about how to use my time.
-
The concept of “equanimity” and the importance of creating awareness and space for our discomfort so that we can come back to our center.
-
Michelle’s appreciation for “Attachment Theory” through the lens of her own experience being adopted at the age of four months. Also the realization that she doesn’t have a newborn photo and how that drove her inquiry about who was mothering her before she was adopted.
-
Michelle’s journey to mindfulness and how she roots her practice in the day to day experience of mothering, especially in the challenging moments, like when our children can’t fall asleep alone or when they struggle with homework.
- Michelle’s ritual before sitting down to do creative work that she has introduced to her children as well before they do homework.
-
Michelle’s passion for changing the landscape of how corporations think about supporting parents and the E.P.I.C. snapshot moment that happened for Michelle during a training at Macy’s.
-
How her experience in circle and community enabled Michelle to call more of that connection into her life and more about the tools she uses to “call in”.
-
How Michelle is bringing her mindfulness practices to her health, especially as she navigates the transition to menopause and the hormonal swings and changes that come with it.
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Tilt Parenting Podcast: Michelle Gale on the Power of Mindful Parenting in a Messy World
- The Sweet Spot: How to Accomplish More by Doing Less by Christine Carter
- Jonathan Field’s Good Life Project Community where Michelle and I first connected
- Wisdom 2.0
This Week’s Challenge:
Michelle encourages us to find a place in our life where we can consciously use the 3 Breaths Practice that she modeled in the episode. The practice includes:
- Focusing on your breath coming in and out
- Letting your body relax; and,
- Asking yourself, what’s really important and what really matters?
By noticing an area of our lives that needs more consciousness (like reaching for our phone for distraction for instance) and using this practice, we can invite more intentionality, awareness, connection, and equanimity into our lives.
Learn More About Michelle:
Michelle Gale is the podcast host and author of the book “Mindful Parenting in a Messy World”, a mindfulness teacher, executive coach and a corporate trainer. She works in corporations, schools and communities teaching and speaking to fellow parents about mindful parenting.
Michelle’s Mindful Parenting Resource List
Announcements:
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a reset to their year?
Earlier this year, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother’s Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
- Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
- Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
- Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, we will be doing another round of the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year Workshop this October.
Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia Ray
We've set aside October 3rd from noon to 1 pm for a Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia. To register to join us, follow the link here or join us in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group to find announcements. Click mothersquest.com/comunity to join. To participate in the call, we invite you to join Raising Luminaries as a patron at a level that calls to you.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from all my conversations, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m honored to bring you such a powerful and important conversation on the podcast today with a woman who has already impacted my life and my children’s life, Ashia Ray of Raising Luminaries and Books for Littles.
Ashia is a multiracial (Chinese/Irish) autistic neurodiversity rights advocate and the mother of two kyriarchy-smashing young children! As the founder of Raising Luminaries, she helps parents and educators ignite the next generation of kind and brilliant leaders.
Thousands of parents like me, on a quest to tackle hard topics with our children, turn to Ashia, who through her thoughtfully researched and child-tested book lists, at BooksForLittles.com and in her private group, helps us find the best books to foster age-appropriate conversations with our kids about white supremacy, cissexism, ableism and more.
By using picture books to make hard conversations easier, and to introduce complex topics simply, Books for Littles also educates grownups like me, who then go on to have ongoing discussions with our littles and our extended community.
I loved the opportunity to delve deeply into how Ashia experiences the world as an autistic adult and mother, how we can deepen our own awareness, understanding and advocacy for neurodiversity, and how we can fight all the isms, smashing the kyriarchy (the intersection of them all) through the power of books.
This idea that we don’t have to be the same to want the best for each other connects to everything that Ashia embodies. And just as my last episode with Pamela Slim and Desiree Adaway made me feel like I wanted to be a better friend, this conversation, and the micro-challenge that Ashia gave us, made me want to be a kinder more inclusive human being.
In addition to saying yes to providing captions to photos in anything I post, I also committed to providing a transcript for this episode. I hope you will not only listen, but also read through the transcript, as this conversation is so full of insights that I found myself needing to go back over again and again. I hope what Ashia shares will help you, as it did me, to see things from a new perspective and feel inspired to smash the kyriarchy in your own ways in your epic life.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
This episode is dedicated by Kate Amoo-Gottfried to her two sons, Marlowe and Miles, as well as to the group of women in her life teaching her what it means and how to be an activist: Ebele Okobi, Dr. Khadijah Costley White, Regina Islas, Ginny Kraus, and Dania Rajendra.
Kate is a recovering business consultant and a life-long learner of how to make change happen and also a full-time mom of two active boys named Marlowe and Miles. She is passionate about children, mothering, education, and the plight of second-class citizens around the globe. The daughter of bleeding-heart liberals, she has spent a life-time reconciling being both “Minnesota Nice” and a revolutionary at heart.
Kate is an enthusiastic social justice warrior working to bring civilian oversight and reform to San Mateo County and across California as an organizer with Justice for Chinedu.
You can read some of her writing here: Bigger and Bigger and Always Black
And get involved in her civilian oversight and reform organizing here:Justice for Chinedu
In This Episode We Talk About:
-
The definition of “allistic” and how Ashia’s allistic husband helped her translate the Mother’s Quest Podcast questions into more pragmatic language
-
Unraveling stigmas about autism and exploring how autism can be a powerful and positive part of someone’s identity
-
How to think about the spectrum as not linear but muti-dimensional on five different points
-
Identifying the ‘ism’s’ and the intersections of them all known as kyriarchy
-
Ashia's thoughtful explanation about how classifying autistic people as “high functioning” and “low functioning” is harmful and perpetuates supremacy.
-
Her journey to creating Books for Littles and Raising Luminaries and some of the favorite books on her bookshelf (listen to the bonus audio for more on this!)
-
How Ashia is exploring the meaning of “transformative justice” and applying it to situations that come up with her children at home
-
What is exposure anxiety and learning how to ask for and receive help
-
The power of micro-challenges to start to shift our own sense of self as someone who cares about inclusivity
-
The importance of centering people with differences and providing a space for those whose stories are not traditionally seen or understood
Resources Connected to this Episode:
-
The “Misfits List” -Making Friends Is Hard - Books For Kids Who Feel Left Out
-
The Art of Autism: Understanding the spectrum - a comic strip explanation
Additional nuggets from today's episode:
-
#OwnVoices first coined by Corinne Duyvis (Autistic Kidlit author)
-
Kyriarchy was first coined by Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza
-
Mia Mungus and How Transformative Justice intersects with Interdependence and Dismantling Oppression
Resources mentioned in the "bonus" content:
This Week's Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Ashia challenges us to write descriptions or captions whenever we post pictures on social media. This helps people of low vision, or who can’t afford high speed internet connections, to understand what the image is trying to portray. Starting with small micro-challenges like this one helps us to shift our own perception of our identity as someone who cares about people who are different than us who have different needs.
Learn More About Ashia:
Ashia Ray is a multiracial (Chinese/Irish) autistic neurodiversity rights advocate and the mother of two kyriarchy-smashing young children! As the founder of Raising Luminaries, she helps parents and educators ignite the next generation of kind and brilliant leaders
If you're nervous about tackling hard topics with young kids, Ashia helps you find the best children's books to foster age-appropriate conversations with your kids about white supremacy, cissexism, ableism, and more on her website at BooksForLittles.com.
By using picture books to make hard conversations easier, and to introduce complex topics simply, Books for Littles educates grownups, who then go on to have ongoing discussions with their littles and wider community.
Connect with Ashia:
Immigrant Solidarity Family Action Toolkit
Join Aisha's Raising Luminaries - Student Ignition Society group on Facebook here.
If you want to know more about Ashia’s work, experiences and the current project she is working on, click here!
Announcements:
Watch out for a Bonus Episode!
If you want to know what is on Ashia Ray's bookshelf, join the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group and will be releasing the episode to the group next week!
Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia Ray
My incredible guest, Ashia Ray, and I have set aside October 3rd from noon to 1 pm for a Mother’s Quest Q & A with Ashia. To register to join us, follow the link here or join us in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group to find announcements. Click mothersquest.com/comunity to join.
Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
Recently, we marked the two year anniversary of the Charlottesville Rally. I remember waking to the news the next day and deciding I had a responsibility to use my voice and the platform I’m building with the Mother’s Quest Podcast to pursue social justice. Many said “yes” alongside me and The Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative was born.
First season episodes, with a focus on anti-racism and police brutality, are up at www.womenpodcastersinsolidarity.com, and episodes I recorded for our second season, on the intersectional impact of gun violence, are assembled on the latest Mother’s Quest Blog.
We've also begun identifying the topic for our next season's series. If you're a women podcaster who wants to join our effort, come on over to the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Facebook Group to help us select our topic.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from all my conversations, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Kate Amoo-Gottfried
Nicole Lee
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
---
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
What a joy and honor it was to hold space for reflective conversation with two change-making women who have an epic friendship that has spanned more than three decades, Pamela Slim and Desiree Lynn Adaway.
The two met on a hill in Northern California on the first day of college at the age of 18 and have been best friends ever since. From completely different lived experiences, Desiree is a black woman from the south side of Chicago, and Pamela a white woman from Marin in the San Francisco Bay Area, they unite around common interests and connections that transcend while never forgetting their differences. They love each other’s families fiercely and fight in their own unique ways and in their own communities for inclusion, equity and justice.
Mother to two grown daughters, Desiree is also a consultant, trainer, coach and speaker working to build resilient, equitable, and inclusive organizations. Holding a vision for people’s lives, workplaces and communities until they can hold it for themselves, she has committed over 20 years to creating, leading and managing international, multicultural teams through major organizational changes in over 40 countries. She also teaches and advocates powerfully in the online space and in a course I took from her and her partners called Diversity is an Asset.
Pamela is an award-winning author, community builder, consultant, speaker, and small business strategist. Alongside being a step mother to an adult son and raising her two teenagers, she’s also the founder of The Main Street Learning Lab in downtown Mesa, where she works to increase the effectiveness, equity, and visibility of small business owners from marginalized communities including women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, and to connect these business owners with the rapidly growing opportunities in Mesa, the Phoenix metro area, and beyond.
Being deeply seen and deeply understood is a theme that runs through this conversation, as we explore the ways that Desiree and Pamela experience the epic guideposts in their lives and in their friendship.
I felt like the entire conversation was a love letter to friendship and a call to action to risk being known, knowing others, expanding our perspectives and championing diversity. I hope you’ll listen with an open heart and leave this conversation as I did, committed to the specific challenges that Pamela and Desiree offered us and inspired to show up every day as a better ally and a better friend.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by: Nicole Lee
Nicole Lee is the founder of Inclusive Life™ and mom to Madison and Zindzi. She is also the co-founder of the Lee Bayard Group LLC and Black Movement-Law Project (BMLP).
Nicole Lee is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, leadership coach, nationally recognized speaker and strategist who regularly consults with nonprofits, schools, businesses, and political and social movements to improve their climate for themselves and all those that they serve.
Nicole is a prolific speaker and commentator who has regularly appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions in the private and public sectors through numerous awards, including Congressional Black Caucus, Running Starts “Women to Watch”, Black Women’s Roundtable TrailBlazer and Global Leadership and the National Newspapers Publishers Association’s Press Champion Award.
Nicole is also an attorney and nonprofit leader, having formerly served as the first female President of TransAfrica, the nation’s premier African American foreign affairs organization. She, along with civil and labor rights icon Bill Lucy, was the coordinator of the Life, Legacy and Values of Nelson Mandela, a six-month national celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela and his US Memorial Service at the National Cathedral. She is a founder of the BMLP, a legal organization affiliated with the Movement for Black Lives.
Visit Nicole Lee’s Website:
Follow Nicole Lee on Social Media:
In This Episode We Talk About:
- The beautiful birthday letter Pamela wrote to Desiree and posted on Facebook that inspired me to record this episode
- Pam and Desiree’s life before they became best friends, how they found each other and how they’ve shaped each other's lives since
- What the bracelet Desiree wears every day says and how it connects to her motherhood, her work, and her life journey
- How I learned from Desiree that allyship is a daily commitment and how that connects to how Desiree and Pamela approach their friendship
- What it looks like to be in right relationship
- What Desiree means when she says “Pam never remembers that I’m black and she never forgets that I’m black.”
- The “Sister Resister” card Desiree pulled from her deck that connected perfectly to this conversation
- The epic snapshot moment of Pam’s with her own daughter that Desiree says exemplified Pam’s self-awareness and lack of ego
- Dismantling and examining cultural norms and creating our own definition of culture
- Pamela’s and Desiree’s challenges for us to expand our own awareness and perspective of diversity by reading books only of authors of color for 3 or 6 months (you choose!) and to notice in our spaces and places who is and isn’t being represented
Mentioned from this Episode:
-
Good Life Project: Are You Building a Body of Work? Pam Slim Shows You How
-
Nicole Lee and my episode with Nicole on the Mother’s Quest Podcast
- Rep. Ayanna Pressley at Netroots Nation Conference
This Week’s Challenge:
For this episode, Pam and Desiree challenge us to take 3 to 6 months of reading books that are from people of color, if you’re a dominant identity or if you’re white. While you’re at it, you’ll notice how your perspective and view of the world around you will change.
Another challenge... when you are in any situation, school, work, office, ask yourself “who is here?”, “who’s not here?”, and “why aren’t they here?”. Answering these questions will raise your level of awareness, and help you bridge the gap that exists in the areas where we are not seeing diverse representation.
Learn More About Desiree:
Desiree is a seasoned nonprofit consultant and facilitator. All of her presentations have a mix of thought-provoking content presented with humor and wit. When she teaches, she makes a point to connect with every person and create a safe space for their growth. She is known by staff, senior leadership, peers, and partners as being great at open, honest, and productive conversations. She is not afraid of addressing anything that gets in the way of great work. Her style is positive, approachable, engaging, service-oriented and audience-centered.
Email her @: desiree@desireeadaway.com
Connect with Desiree:
Learn More About Pamela:
Pamela Slim is an award-winning author, community builder, consultant, speaker, and small business strategist. She is the founder of The Main Street Learning Lab in downtown Mesa, where she works with business owners to remove obstacles to small business success and test and try new business ideas.
She is best known for her book Escape from Cubicle Nation (named Best Small Business and Entrepreneur book of 2009 from 800 CEO Read) along with her follow up book Body of Work. Both were published by Penguin/Portfolio.
Pam is frequently quoted as an expert in publications such as BusinessWeek, The New York Times, Money Magazine and Psychology Today. Pam lives in Mesa, Arizona.
Connect with Pamela:
Announcements:
Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
As this episode is released, we are just days away from the two year anniversary of the Charlottesville Rally. I remember waking to the news the next day and deciding I had a responsibility to use my voice and the platform I’m building with the Mother’s Quest Podcast to pursue social justice. Many said “yes” alongside me and The Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative was born.
First season episodes, with a focus on anti-racism and police brutality, are up at www.womenpodcastersinsolidarity.com, and episodes I recorded for our second season, on the intersectional impact of gun violence, are assembled on the latest Mother’s Quest Blog.
Last weekend’s events, two mass shootings within 24 hours, blasted our consciousness with the work still ahead and urgency to fight gun violence and also the racism tied to these events. I hope you’ll follow the links in the show notes to the episodes recorded and that they might shine some light on a path forward. Because, as my guest on this episode's podcast Desiree says, we only get free together.
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from this conversation with Amy Simpkins, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Did you catch the Father's Day Special?
Listen to these two amazing fathers who were on the show here:
- Ep 63: A Maker’s Journey to a Good Life with Jonathan Fields
- Ep 64: Fatherhood, Forgiveness and Redemption with Poet Will Little
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m excited to share this episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with someone I deeply admire and whose recent book “Spiral: A Catalyst for Innovation and Expansion” was a revelation to me... speaker, author, thought leader, homeschooling mother, and CEO of the renewable energy start-up muGrid Analytics, Amy Simpkins.
Before a self-described identity crisis brought her to the work she’s doing today, Amy was quite literally on the path to becoming an astronaut. After pursuing a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and a masters in Astronautical Engineering from USC, she began a 10-year tenure as an aspiring Spacecraft Systems Architect designing, integrating, and operating spacecraft at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. How she determined she no longer wanted to become an astronaut and the power of being truly seen by someone else, which led to her becoming a coach, are just a few of the topics we explore during our conversation.
I first came to know Amy when I was facilitating a virtual “Power Circle” for the organization Emerging Women and Amy was a participant. Right away, I knew she was someone special, as she brought the insight of an engineer’s brain, a poet’s heart, and an alchemist’s life journey to every session.
Using her unique gifts, Amy lights the way for so many of us with how she explains and embodies the iterative spiral path to life, motherhood, and entrepreneurship. And in this conversation, as we explored her wisdom and lessons learned along all the E.P.I.C. guideposts, it felt like we revealed together the creative genius, a quality she most admired in her mother, that is also inside of her.
I left feeling more at ease than when I arrived, noticing the places and ways that I can bring more integration and awareness about the spiral processes in my life, and committed to making space, as Amy challenged me to do, to put down my phone, and sit in the pause and exploration of a question in my life, rather than rushing to a solution.
I invite you to do the same right now...to push pause, really listen to this conversation, and create space for integration, curiosity, iteration, and creativity in your E.P.I.C. life.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by: Olivia Parr-Rud
Olivia pioneered the research in Predictive Analytics and Business Intelligence that led to the writing of her first book, Data Mining Cookbook, Modeling for Acquisition, Risk and Customer Relationship Management (Wiley 2001). Her passion for finding successful solutions for her clients inspired her research on leadership and corporate culture and the unveiling of the link between advances in technology and the increasing need for human and organizational development. Her findings are detailed in her second book, Business Intelligence Success Factors, Aligning for Success in a Global Economy (Wiley/SAS, 2009).
In addition to public speaking, Olivia offers training and consulting in both predictive analytics and innovative leadership. Her clients include Cisco, Citizen’s Bank, Clorox, HP, IBM, Xerox, Providian Insurance, Wells Fargo, Fleet Bank, Advanta, Nationwide, and SAS.
Olivia has a BA in Mathematics and an MS in Decision and Information Systems, with a concentration in Statistics. She is a certified Holacracy™ Practitioner. Holacracy™ is a set of structures and practices designed to build organizational adaptability and resilience.
- My Big ‘Why’ https://tinyurl.com/LOVENEWCOMPETITIVEEDGE
-
LOVE@WORK: The Essential Guide to a Life of Inspired Purpose - A Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner
-
LOVE@WORK Method: Practices and Tools for Stepping In Your Life of Inspired Purpose
Radio Show: Quantum Business Insights – Emerging Perspectives on People, Process, & Profits
Follow Olivia on Social Media:
In This Episode We Talk About:
-
The creative genius Amy admired in her mother
-
Amy’s career quest to become an astronaut
-
The spark moments that led Amy to move through an identity crisis and discover a new path
-
The power of truly being seen
-
Amy’s approach to homeschooling, exemplified by what happened when they ran over a snake in their driveway
-
Empowering your children to be decision-makers for themselves
-
Doughnut Economics and Noblesse Oblige
-
Amy and her husband’s work in renewable energy and how they are changing the world
-
The importance of projects and making things real
-
What is a sensory deprivation or “float tank” and why Amy loves it
-
Iterative, Spiral Development and its phases, which map to natural cycles
-
Putting your phone down to be more present and the power of staying in inquiry
- A favorite passage of mine in Amy’s book which illustrates how “integration” creates a unique ecosystem in our lives
Mentioned from this Episode:
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Amy challenges us to invite more space and exploration for something that we are trying to find the solution for. She encourages us to put down our phones, invite in some meditation and mystery, and allow ourselves to be in a state of pause before rushing to resolution. Amy also shared about a float therapy tank experience she has done to quiet her mind and I decided to say “yes” to trying this as well. I’ve identified one to test out not far from my house and think this may be a great way to welcome in some pause.
Learn More About Amy:
Amy Simpkins is the speaker, author, facilitator, and thought leader in innovation for technology, entrepreneurs, and everybody. She believes that innovation is for everyone and holds the key to both personal fulfillment and lasting global change.
As an MIT-trained engineer, she spent 15 years as a spacecraft systems architect, someone who is responsible for holding the big picture vision for complex space exploration missions, ensuring that all components of the vision were well-integrated into a cohesive whole, and implementing that vision with flexibility and adaptability. She then takes those proven design methodologies and big-picture mindset, infuse them with a heaping side of intuition and soul, and put it all to work to help individuals and organizations bring innovative ideas into reality so they can change the world with their unique magic.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California. She has designed, integrated, and flown spacecraft with Lockheed Martin, and she's also the CEO of the hot renewable energy startup, muGrid Analytics.
She lives with her amazing entrepreneurial husband and three rambunctious children in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains outside Denver, Colorado. She's a messy chef, a world traveler, a taekwondo green belt, a vocal music minor, a homeschool mom, and a tough cookie in the Colorado backcountry.
Check out Amy's amazing book here.
Connect with Amy:
Announcements:
Want More Reflection in Your Life?
Book A Discovery Call
Some key themes that emerge from this conversation with Amy Simpkins, is the power of reflection and the power of being seen. These are elements that I bring, not only to every podcast interview, but to my one-one-one coaching and Mother’s Quest Circle facilitation. If you’re seeking more space for pause and reflection in your life, I encourage you to reach out to me for a discovery call to learn how we might work together. Visit mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession to schedule a time to talk.
Click here to book a discovery call
One Minute Mom Manifesto
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to create your Mother's Quest Manifesto? The official challenge and giveaway may be over, but the invitation and content is always there for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto
Here are some easy steps you can follow...
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Did you catch the Father's Day Special?
Listen to these two amazing fathers who were on the show here:
- Ep 63: A Maker’s Journey to a Good Life with Jonathan Fields
- Ep 64: Fatherhood, Forgiveness and Redemption with Poet Will Little
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Olivia Parr-Rud
"Vince" of the While Black Podcast
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
What you think is what you say. What you say is what you do. What you do becomes a habit. What becomes your habit becomes your character. And your character is what determines your future.
(taken from Will Latif’s TEDx Talk: How to Become the Best Version of Yourself)
As June comes to a close, a month with a focus on Father’s Day and Gun Violence Awareness, I’m honored to bring you an important conversation that touches on both themes with poet, speaker, advocate and father Will Latif Little.
As you’ll learn in this episode, Will has a profound story to tell, one that began with an upbringing in a single family parent home with his four sisters in Philadelphia, PA. Without his father or a father figure, and impacted by his environment, Will began to venture away from the ideals he was shaped by in church, dropping out of high school in the 10th grade, and becoming involved in the Philadelphia drug trade and a shooting that resulted in the death of a young man. This ultimately landed Will in prison for a 10-20 year sentence on a murder conviction at the age of 19.
Fatherhood was a seminal experience for Will. It was the knowledge of becoming a father, during the time of his incarceration, that became a catalyst for Will to turn his life around, motivating him to get his GED and educate himself through reading books that enlightened him. Through that process, Will says that what he thought was passing the time actually helped him become a man.
After ten long years, rehabilitated and reformed, Will was released from prison to start a new life, as a free man but challenged by the difficulty of gaining steady employment due to his criminal record. Not wanting to go back to a life of drug dealing and gun carrying, Will decided to invest in a career as a barber. In his spare time, Will developed a program calledPoetree N Motion that would show young and older people how to overcome obstacles in life. And he began to share his story far and wide, taking the stage at a TEDx event, at public meetings where he advocates for education and emotional intelligence trainings, mentoring in the Philadelphia Prison System, and revealing his experience in a new award-winning documentary called Behind the Bullet.
It was important to me that this not be an interview solely about Will’stransgressions but about his whole life, his full humanity and his wisdom across all the E.P.I.C. guideposts. I learned so much from my time with Will...about the power of resilience, a strength passed from his own mother, the enduring possibility of forgiveness and redemption, the power of mindset, and about pushing through our discomfort, something Will challenged me to explore through the metaphor of running.
Ultimately, this episode is about hope and transformation...And I hope you’ll be forever changed, as I have been, by your connection to Will and his story.
Much appreciation,
Additional Reflections:
With this special episode today, I close a series of conversations I set out to record on the intersectional impact of gun violence for the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative.
This one differs from the others in that it is a deeply personal redemption story. A story of a man who took the life of another human being through gun violence and has come out the other side committed to educating others so they don’t make the same mistakes that he did.
It’s important to note that Will’s perspective and journey is uniquely his own, that he takes a tremendous amount of personal responsibility, and focuses his change efforts on building emotional intelligence. Will also shares that there is systemic racism, a justice system that is not always just, and environmental conditions that contribute to the issue of gun violence.
After listening to this conversation and exploring the links to Will’s work, I hope you’ll also spend some time with some of the other episodes I’ve recorded and with links I’ve included in the show notes to understand the big picture context beneath this deeply personal story. And to find your own path and commitment to dismantling systemic racism and gun violence. There is so much work to do.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Vince from the While Black Podcast
Vince has always displayed an entrepreneurial and activist spirit. Since his youth, he has dedicated his time to those around him in hopes of bettering them while he better himself. It began by volunteering as a camp counselor from middle school through high school, and grew via mentorship and tutoring in college all the way to his membership role in the 100 Black Men and as an advocate for African Americans through his work on the While Black Podcast. Vince believes wholeheartedly the James Baldwin quote “To be Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be a rage almost all the time”. However, he chooses to channel that rage into a place that allows him to change the narrative on black folks while he helps to empower those same black folks.
Earning his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Southern University A&M in Baton Rouge LA (1999) and his MBA from Queens University in Charlotte NC (2005), Vince has gained valuable experience in multiple industries.
He has excelled in multiple industries and enjoyed a career spanning 20+ years with opportunities in Engineering, Consumer packaged goods, Corporate retail giants, and now the Social/tech industry.
In addition, he is a successful entrepreneur and founder of Aveo Big and Tall Golf Apparel which rose to become the #1 big and tall golf apparel offering in Golfsmith stores and was distributed nationally and internationally via various outlets including but not limited to Dicks Sporting Good, GolfSmith, and Golf Galaxy. He has since sold the rights to the Aveo name and divested from the company
However, he has altered his focus by aligning his passions with his promise and ensuring his time is invested accordingly as he focuses on improving the black world and the global community through and with black people. His latest endeavor is laser-focused on impacting and improving the people around him. Specifically, he is the creator and co-host of the While Black Podcast a podcast focused on empowering, educating, and inspiring African Americans to go and grow. While Black tells stories by, from, and for African Americans and pairs those stories with expert and credible guests who can communicate wisdom and success strategies helping us to achieve, accomplish, and overcome.
Check out the While Black Podcast here
In This Episode We Talk About:
-
How Will’s mother influenced him to be a hard worker and to build esilience
-
Will’s thoughts on the concept of a Hero’s Journey...why he thinks life is really more about being a responsible human being than a hero
-
How fatherhood became the catalyst for changing his life from within and other pivotal moments that he shares in his TEDx Talk
-
The story of forgiveness that unfolded after the brother of the man that Will killed entered into his barber shop
-
The illusion of power and the emotional intelligence and mental control Will believes you need if you are to carry a gun
-
Will’s reflections on the problem of police brutality, the need for emotional intelligence training for officers, and the belief that in order to have justice you need to be just
-
Biggest lessons Will learned in building a community through the barber shop and how he sees people of diverse backgrounds coming together in new ways
-
Poetry as a vehicle for self reflection and the recitation of one of Will’s favorite poems “Look Into His Eyes”
-
Pushing past your limiting beliefs through a physical challenge like running
Mentioned from this Episode:
- Will's TEDx talk
- Will’s Book: ICY: Inner City Youth
- Behind the Bullet: Documentary
- The Power of Forgiveness - A South Philly Story
- Story of Off Duty Officer Who Shot a Man with A Mental Disability
- Ep 55: From Grief to Advocacy and a Circle of Mothers with Trayvon Martin’s Mother Sybrina Fulton
Resources to Go Deeper On Intersectional Impact of Gun Violence and our Criminal Justice System:
- Ep 33: Beyond the Trauma: Legacy, Compassion and Change with Mothers Against Police Brutality Co-founder Sara Mokuria
- 13th and When They See Us from Ava DuVernay - must see movies to understand our criminal justice system and racial profiling
- Community Justice Action Fund Website - changing the conversation on gun violence by leading with the people closest to the pain of everyday gun violence.
- Black on Black Crime is a Myth
- While Black Podcast episode on Prison
- Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Will challenges us to run! It’s a physical and mental challenge to engage yourself in self-awareness he says. Challenge yourself and see how far you can go. This activity will help you shape your mindset to understand that you can reach your full potential. Do this when you’re thinking of starting a new project or a big event. This physical challenge will help you gain more clarity to reach your goals.
Learn More About Will:
Will Little grew up in a single family parent home with his four sisters in Philadelphia, PA. Without his father or a father figure, Will began to venture out. Traveling through the City streets, Will picked up bad habits and negative ideas, soon becoming a product of his environment. Dropping out of high school in the 10th grade, Will became involved in the Philadelphia drug trade and other illegal activities. This ultimately landed Will in prison for 10-20 years on a murder conviction at the age of 19.
During the time of his incarceration, Will decided to turn his life around, by first getting his diploma by way of a GED. While incarcerated, Will started educating himself to pass the time. He became a prodigious reader. In ten years, Will read a diverse spectrum of books that educated and enlightened him. What he thought was passing the time actually helped him become a man.
After ten long years, rehabilitated and reformed, Will Little was released from prison to start a new life, as a free man. He worked several odd jobs, but could not maintain steady employment due to his criminal record. Will was now unemployed with two children, an apartment, and a car note. Not wanted to go back to a life of drug dealing and gun carrying, Will decided to invest in a career as a barber. Will used one of his unemployment checks to purchase his supplies for barbering and learned how to be a barber while on the job.
In his spare time, Will developed a program in 2003 that would show young and older people how to overcome obstacles in life through understanding life's trial and taking positive action. This program is called Poetree N Motion.
Since his release, Will has performed in famous places such as Love Park, Harrisburg, PA, for the Philadelphia Prison System, for the Philadelphia School District, and at Girard College. Will has performed at community events with the former Mayor Street, former Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, District Attorney Seth Williams, and for actors such as Charles Dutton, and Judge Mathis.
Will Little and Poetree N Motion have appeared on NBC News and well as on Fox 29. They also teach mentoring workshops with other organizations in the Philadelphia area.
Will has had numerous articles in the local newspapers Philadelphia Tribune twice, south Philu review four times, Philadelphia Enquire two front-page article in the Philadelphia Daily News which inspired him to write his autobiography, I.C.Y. The Life and Times of Will Little. Will also had a television talk show on Comcast channel 80 which aired for two and a half years. You can see a great forgiveness story that won a 2014 Emmy award on YouTube under The power of Forgiveness two south Philly men"
Will has received awards and citations from the Philadelphia Mayor's Office, the Lieutenant Governor's Office of Pennsylvania, former Prison Commissioner Leon King, Partners in Peace Award from State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson and the 2010 Lucien E. Blackwell Guiding Light Award, United Way Philly Roots award, is a 2014 BME award winner and many more.
Connect with Will:
Announcements:
Announcement for the First Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Group Program
This summer, I’m excited to invite you to join us for the first group program version of the signature Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life series that I typically do in one-on-one coaching or in the Mother’s Quest Circle. The Group Program will bring you the same powerful sequence, in community, at a more affordable rate and at an accelerated pace, meeting weekly on Thursdays, beginning the second week of July.
If you want to be added to wait list to receive the link to all the details and the registration application as soon as it goes live, sign up here. Hope you may join us, and that together, we can help you clarify your future vision, assess your present along the E.P.I.C. Guideposts, and then move into action to more fully live your E.P.I.C. life.
Mother’s Quest Manifesto Give-Away
⚡️Have you been feeling a nudge to say "yes" to this Mother's Quest Manifesto Challenge?
Here are some easy steps you can follow...in the last few days of this year's invitation before our Give-Away.
FIVE STEPS:
👉 Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group www.mothersquest.com/community to find the "unit" for the Manifesto Challenge's reflective prompts and live videos. It's all waiting for you!
👉 Follow along with the "unit" at your own pace. Share your reflections along the way in the comments. Let us cheer you on!
👉 Give yourself some quiet time to create your own #oneminutemommanifesto in whatever way feels good...writing, art, photos, song. It can be simple and quick. Don't overthink it. What matters most, as a guiding light, for how you want to live your life at this stage of raising your children?
👉 Share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media with the hashtag. Tag me if you can to make sure I've seen it. Consider nominating a friend who would benefit.
👉 Tune back in on July 1st to see if you win one of the amazing prizes from Mother's Quest members...everything from free courses, to a chance to have your manifesto turned into a visual creation from our resident artist Jen Jenkins Dohner
--Join us, share or tag a friend, or comment on how the #oneminutemommanifesto has helped you if you've already created yours.--
Would LOVE for more of you to join us in claiming, or reclaiming, HOW you want to live your life ✨🙌
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m so thrilled to bring you this full circle, Father’s Day special with someone whose podcast, community, programs, and even summer camp, have impacted me deeply, Jonathan Fields of the Good Life Project.
Each Father’s Day, I interview one or two men for a change for the Mother’s Quest Podcast. So, I recently asked on Facebook which father, in their wildest dreams, my community members would most like to hear from.
Jonathan’s name came up again and again… alongside Dax Shepard and Obama!
Jonathan is dad, husband, award-winning author, and the executive-producer/host of the top-ranked Good Life Project® podcast, hailed by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top self-development podcasts and featured recently by Apple on-stage during its legendary annual event. The podcast is beloved by listeners world-wide, including myself, who appreciate the intimacy and depth of his interviews, with inspiring guests that in recent weeks alone have included Elizabeth Gilbert, Stedman Graham and Abby Wambach.
An innovator in the field of human potential, Jonathan is also the chief architect behind the world’s first “purpose archetypes”–what he calls the Sparketypes™–tapped by tens-of-thousands of individuals, companies and institutions, along with some Mother’s Quest members, seeking to amplify purpose, expression, performance, and flow.
In this conversation, Jonathan and I went to all the deep, reflective places across each E.P.I.C. guidepost, talking about everything from our Sparktypes to the influence of his mother, a “maker” like himself, how he really feels about the hero’s journey and living a good life, lessons we’ve learned about letting go of expectations with our children, and how to be creators but not to be defined by the things we create.
I’m so excited to bring you this conversation and Jonathan’s beautiful, powerful challenge for all of us, which he shares at the end. The whole interview, for me, felt like one amazing “epic snapshot moment” with a generous guide on a similar quest for meaning and connection. I hope you receive as much as I did.
Much appreciation,
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Sara is a Mind + Body Connector, a Soulful Adventurer, a Constant Learner, an Athlete, Mom, Partner, and Friend. She is the Chief Stillness + Strength Officer at Stoking Radiance and Director of Integrated Strength at Smash Gyms.
She ignites men and women to build strength and stillness to minimize anxiety and navigate loss on their road to radiance. She provides tools to strengthen the body and mind: full body strength training tied together with meditation and celebration.
www.saramooser.com
www.smashmountainview.com
Connect with her on Linkedin
In This Episode We Talk About:
-
Jonathan’s upbringing in the town of the Great Gatsby, influenced by the maker energy of his mother and the elements of water
-
Critical thoughts about the hero’s journey, the reasons Jonathan doesn’t think it’s for everyone, and his current metric for a life well lived
-
How Jonathan is approaching the last summer home with his daughter before college and why we can’t try to short-cut our children’s journey to happiness by installing it
-
The Sparketypes Assessment and the way that learning about my own Sparketype solved a piece of the puzzle for me
-
Why Jonathan set aside Revolution U and the importance sometimes of letting go of the things that we create
-
How Jonathan invests in himself through his daily practice
-
The lessons learned from taking a weekly journey to an Amishcommunity where he made a guitar with his own hands
-
What Jonathan said when I asked him to share a conversation on his podcast that deeply transformed him
-
Jonathan’s perspective about building community and his own evolution to bringing guests on his podcast with not only shared values but also with diverse backgrounds and life experiences
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
-
The Good Life Project Episode with Milton Glaser: Certainty Is A Closing Of The Mind
-
Ep 00: Planting Seeds for Mother’s Quest – An Introduction
-
A Mother’s Quest Podcast Encore: Living Out Loud with Jenjii Hysten
This Week’s Challenge:
For seven days, before getting out of bed, put one hand on your heart, put one hand your belly, close your eyes and just ask yourself, what do I most need today?
Give yourself a minute, 30 seconds, or whatever time you need without looking at a device. Just breath into that and make a commitment that at some point before you rest your head on the pillow at night, you will do at least one thing that helps you give yourself that need.
Learn More About Jonathan:
Jonathan Fields is a national bestselling author and the founder of Good Life Project®, one of the top-ranked podcasts in the world with a giant global, mission-driven community. The Wall Street Journal hailed Good Life Project as one of the top self-development podcasts, and Apple recently featured it on-stage during its legendary annual event.
An innovator in the field of human potential, Fields is also the chief architect behind the world’s first “purpose archetypes”–the Sparketypes™–tapped by tens-of-thousands of individuals, companies and institutions in the quest to amplify purpose, expression, performance and flow.
Jonathan’s latest book, How to Live a Good Life, became an instant national bestseller and #1 audiobook on Audible and his prior book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel For Brilliance, was named #1 Personal Development Book by 800-CEO-READ. He is currently at work on a forthcoming book on the Sparketypes. Jonathan and his work have been featured widely in the media, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, FastCompany, Entrepreneur, Forbes and Inc.
When Jonathan takes the stage as a keynote-presenter or program facilitator, he brings a rare ability to not just captivate with ideas and stories drawn from his own experience and years interviewing global visionaries, but also to tap into an expansive, international data-set derived from the Sparketype Assessment that reveals powerful insights about purpose, meaning, performance, expression and what it takes to truly to come alive and step into your fullest potential in work and life.
Connect with Jonathan & The Good Life Project on
Subscribe to The Good Life Project Podcast
Announcements:
Announcement for the First Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Group Program
This summer, I’m excited to invite you to join us for the first group program version of the signature Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life series that I typically do in one-on-one coaching or in the Mother’s Quest Circle. The Group Program will bring you the same powerful sequence, in community, at a more affordable rate and at an accelerated pace, meeting weekly on Thursdays, beginning the second week of July.
If you want to be added to wait list to receive the link to all the details and the registration application as soon as it goes live, sign up here. Hope you may join us, and that together, we can help you clarify your future vision, assess your present along the E.P.I.C. Guideposts, and then move into action to more fully live your E.P.I.C. life.
Mother’s Quest Manifesto Give-Away
My guest today, Jonathan Fields of the Good Life Project was instrumental in the creation of the E.P.I.C. Life framework, the foundation for all things Mother’s Quest. Living my version of an E.P.I.C. Life has really become my manifesto. And having this as a guiding light has been so helpful to me that I wanted to support you to create your own. Continuing through the month of June, join us in the free Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, where you’ll find a series of reflective prompts and live videos from other members to help spark your own.
Create and share on social media with the hashtag #oneminutemommanifesto before the end of the month, and you’ll be entered into a Give-Away to win fabulous prizes from Mother’s Quest members. If you are discovering this episode another time, don’t worry, the prompts will all still be waiting for you in the group. I hope you’ll join us. Now, onto the show.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother’s Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life or 90 Minute Clarity Coaching Session
If you’re feeling a desire to press “pause” on the busyness and reflect on your vision for this year, what’s working and what needs to shift, and what key guidepost would help you move forward more intentionally, I’d love to support you with a one-on-one 90-minute clarity coaching session.
If you are interested in the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Series or another way of working with me, please send an email to julie@mothersquest.com for a complimentary 30 minute discovery session.
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Sara Brannin-Mooser
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m honored to bring you a final episode in a weekly series I’ve released this May in honor of Mother’s Day and the Mother’s Quest Manifesto Challenge I facilitated in the private group.
The other morning, as I searched my intuition for what episode to end the month with, in a flash I thought about this conversation with my friend Jenjii Hysten. At the 40 minute mark, the discussion, real and vulnerable, in which we talk about not only our differences as women of different races and religions, but also our common humanity as mothers of sons, still stands out as one of the most powerful moments in now over 60 conversations I’ve recorded.
So much has changed since we released that episode. Trump, recently elected at the time of recording, of course has now been President for several years and his administration has only deepened the divides and injustices that were already with us. My son Ryan did decide to visit Jenjii and Franklin’s ministry, an experience that profoundly touched him and impacted the speech he shared at his bar mitzvah, a beautiful event that Jenjii and Franklin attended with their two sons. All our boys are now years older, and all deepened their own social awareness in ways both painful and empowering. And Jenjii and I have each stepped into our own activism in different ways, each committing to powerful conversations to build bridges of awareness, understanding and transformation. Ones that I’ve recorded with Mothers Against Police Brutality co-founder Sara Mokuria and with Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton are linked here.
Jenjii says that she is still committed to Living out Loud, the guiding theme you’ll hear her talk about. But now she has a much clearer sense of what that really means. She is currently writing a book, and though she and her husband decided to close their ministry, their consulting business is thriving, they’ve joined another church where they preach, and she says she has learned that her life is her ministry. When we spoke today to catch up, I told Jenjii that sounded to me like one powerful Manifesto and possibly the title of her book.
Whether you heard it once before, or its new to you, I hope you enjoy this episode. And that these reflections and the conversation that follows may spark you to claim your own manifesto, to reach out to build your own bridges of awareness and connection, and to live your own Life Out Loud.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
Living Out Loud with Jenjii Hysten
I am honored to bring you this intimate, inspired conversation with Jenjii Hysten, a mother, coach, and community leader who I deeply admire.
I have known Jenjii for almost a decade now, through my connection with her husband Franklin. But in recent months, Jenjii’s raw and vulnerable sharing about what it is like to be the mother of two black boys and fear for their safety, caused me to move past my worry of saying or doing the wrong thing and reach out to her in a whole different way.
Our honest conversation about the ways in which we’ve stepped out of our comfort zones to live out loud and forge connections with one another based on our common humanity, as mothers of sons, was one of the most powerful moments I have had yet on the Mother’s Quest Podcast.
Jenjii is an advocate, teacher, student, facilitator and a voice for the voiceless. She was born in Los Angeles but says that Oakland raised her. She studied Interdisciplinary-Studies with an emphasis on Urban/Economic Development at UC Berkeley, holds a CompassPoint Executive Director certificate and is an ordained minister.
In her early 20s, she worked with the Children’s Defense Fund for a program called Freedom School and says it saved her life. This is where she learned the beauty of Servant Leadership, which is one of her core values. As the Founder of SOS, Saving Our Sisters Saving our Selves, over the course of 10 years, she served hundreds of girls throughout the Bay Area. In her 20+ years working, Jenjii has served as a Program Director, Executive Director, Dean of Students, Curriculum Designer, started New Life Ministries with her husband Franklin, and is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Hysten Consulting, LLC.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. I was struck by the concept of rhythm, and how it can manifest in our lives, our children, our bodies, our communities, and perhaps most importantly, our collective humanity. I hope you will leave the conversation, as I did, inspired to think about the ways in which you can find your rhythm and live out loud in your own E.P.I.C. life.
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Being on a quest to “live out loud” and what that means for your life
- How our kids show us who they are through their words, actions, dreams, and challenges
- The importance of passion and purpose
- Being a servant leader and in turn, raising them as well
- How Jenjii’s own battle with diabetes saved her and taught her about following her body’s rhythm and the importance of sleep, exercise, food and stress reduction
- My visit to Jenjii and Franklin’s church and how humanity connects us regardless of class, race or religion
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- The Mother’s Quest Founder’s Circle at mothersquest.com/about
- The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- The Safe, Natural, Whole-Body Approach to Managing Your Glucose Levels and Losing Weight by Dr. Don Colbert
- Hysten Consulting and Jenjii Hysten on Facebook
- New Life Ministries
Announcements:
Join the Manifesto Challenge
In honor of Mother’s Day, I kicked off a five day Mother’s Quest Manifesto Challenge in the private Facebook group. More about the inspiration behind the challenge in my episode with Graeme Seabrook.
Each day, I shared a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and hosted a different mother, who shared their stories and their #oneminutemommanifesto for inspiration.
All of these resources are still in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, so it's never too late to come on over and participate.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life or 90 Minute Clarity Coaching Session
If you're feeling a desire to press "pause" on the busyness and reflect on your vision for this year, what's working and what needs to shift, and what key guidepost would help you move forward more intentionally, I'd love to support you with a one-on-one 90-minute clarity coaching session.
If you are interested in the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Series or another way of working with me, please send an email to julie@mothersquest.com for a complimentary 30 minute discovery session.
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
In honor of this month of Mother's Day, and the Mother's Quest Manifesto Challenge I launched in the Facebook Group, I'm excited to continue sharing episodes each Thursday that can inspire you to claim your motherhood and life journey on your terms.
This "encore episode" with The Truth Bomb Mom Kristina Kuzmic, where she talks about the importance of embracing our flaws and creating a family mission statement, has become a favorite.
Along with the reflective prompts and live guest videos in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group, I hope this episode will also provide some inspiration and permission for you to create your #oneminutemommanifesto, a declaration of how you want to journey through motherhood and life.
If you haven't yet followed along with the Manifesto Challenge, it's not too late. All the video replays and instructions are waiting for you as a "unit" in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group. We'd love to have you come over and join us!
And...if you create and share your #oneminutemommanifesto on social media before the end of May, we'll enter you into a drawing for some incredible classes and resources from amazing members of the Mother's Quest community.
Whether it's new to you, or you'll be listening for a second time, I hope you enjoy this encore episode with Kristina Kuzmic. And that you'll take us up on the challenge to create and share your #oneminutemommanifesto!
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
I am excited to share this vulnerable conversation with the Truth Bomb Mom, Kristina Kuzmic. Energetic, funny, and honest, Kristina has an in-your-face perspective on issues of parenting and life in general. She has become a Youtube sensation with her “mom-centric” videos about raising children and juggling all of life’s challenges, with over 200 million views across media outlets and websites worldwide.
Kristina and her husband currently live in Southern California, where her most important, rewarding, and exhausting careers include being a sanitation engineer, chef, chauffeur, and conflict resolution guru for her three (mostly satisfied) clients – her children.
In this episode, we talk about Kristina’s experience growing up in America, shaped by an escape from war-torn Croatia. She shares how on a whim, she went from being a divorced mother on food stamps to winning a cooking show on Oprah’s OWN Network in 2011. How her satirical YouTube video, “4 Reasons Women Should NEVER Breastfeed in Public,” went viral and why Kristina believes it is her community that is responsible for her reaching a half a million followers.
We get honest and emotional about our flaws and insecurities but also our impact and the power of sharing these with our children. Finally, we reflect on our shared experience of losing a baby in utero and how for both of us, focusing on just one positive thing on that day shifted our perspective and changed everything.
I hope you leave this conversation, as I did, inspired to keep turning the pages in the chapter of your E.P.I.C.life, staying true to your mission, owning your flaws, and paying attention to one positive thing every day. I was so grateful for this time with Kristina and I know you will be too.
In This Episode We Talk About:
- How growing up in war-torn Croatia and her subsequent immigration to the U.S. impacted her life
- How her mother influenced her parenting by striking a healthy balance between enforcing rules and fostering joy
- Why she named her company “Flawed” and how she has let go of perfection
- Her journey from Oprah to YouTube
- The importance of community and of women who champion each other
- How to turn down the volume on our inner critics
- What my son said to me that Kristina says she will never forget
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Kristina’s viral video: 4 Reasons Women Should Never Breastfeed in Public (a sarcastic take on the arguments against breastfeeding)
- Visit Kristina on YouTube: www.youtube.com/stickycook
- Visit Kristina on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KristinaKuzmic
- Mother’s Quest Theory of Change
- Previous Mother’s Quest Episodes Mentioned: Ep 09: The Soul-Fueled Truth with Amber Lilyestrom and Ep 00: Planting Seeds for Mother’s Quest – An Introduction
- Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
- Kristina’s Positivity Challenge – and sign up here to download the free “E.P.I.C. Life Planning and Reflection Sheet” and start capturing your gratitude daily.
Announcements:
Join the Manifesto Challenge
In honor of Mother’s Day, I kicked off a five day Mother’s Quest Manifesto Challenge in the private Facebook group. More about the inspiration behind the challenge in my episode with Graeme Seabrook.
Each day, I shared a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and hosted a different mother, who shared their stories and their #oneminutemommanifesto for inspiration.
All of these resources are still in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, so it's never too late to come on over and participate.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life or 90 Minute Clarity Coaching Session
If you're feeling a desire to press "pause" on the busyness and reflect on your vision for this year, what's working and what needs to shift, and what key guidepost would help you move forward more intentionally, I'd love to support you with a one-on-one 90-minute clarity coaching session.
If you are interested in the Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life Series or another way of working with me, please send an email to julie@mothersquest.com for a complimentary 30 minute discovery session.
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m releasing episodes each week in the month of May that I will think will help us pause from the busyness and prioritize and invest in ourselves. I found a powerful guide for this purpose in Elena Lipson, someone I met through another mentor and coach of mine, Lindsay Pera, who beautifully dedicated this episode.
As a retreat leader, speaker, writer, coach and podcaster, Elena inspires women to redefine the hustle in exchange for creating a life they love with what she calls the Feminine Metrics of success: Pleasure, Play, Ease, Grace and Trusting Your Own Pace.
In this conversation, we explore Elena’s journey from a life that began in Russia to one based today in the fresh air of the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over 19 years and their teenage son Miles.
The best adjective I could think of to describe this conversation is “juicy” filled with so much goodness, insights, and examples for how to connect to our bodies, speak our desires, and lean into presence and inquiry instead of assumption... with ourselves, our children and our partners.
In fact, toward the end of the conversation, we begin to explore how we can keep the “pilot light” burning in our romantic relationships, so if you’re listening with children around, you may want to put in some earbuds.
I left this conversation recommitted to building presence in my life, with greater awareness of the importance of body, heart, gut, and brain alignment, and excited to explore Elena’s challenge to us to get in touch with what we really want and then to ask for it.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and that it sparks a shift in you, as it did me, to claim our self-care and speak our desires.
Much appreciation,
P.S. As you'll hear in the episode, Elena agreed to share more on the topic of "Movement and Pleasure" through a presentation in the Mother's Quest Facebook Group. Check out the resources below to get access to that recorded session with Elena!
P.S.S.Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Lindsay Pera
Lindsay's corporate career encompasses management consulting, financial services, and technology. She began her career as an analyst in Accenture’s technology strategy practice and then transitioned to a $2 billion insurance company to help drive pivotal IT transformation. In 2004 she left Silicon Valley and moved with her family to a beautiful multi-generational homestead on the Central Coast of California.
Lindsay wants to live in a world where appreciation flows freely, kids play outdoors and lemons are in season year round. As a Mystic mama, tech entrepreneur and intuitive strategist she's a sought after contributor and motivator on all topics health, wealth and transformation.
When she is not extolling the virtues of “Sacred Commerce” or “Resonance” based business, you can find her knocking almonds and generally getting her gratitude on.
Lindsay's new paradigm business community, The Mystic’s Society, is a safe haven for entrepreneurs weaving magic into their *work* in the world. It is her passion to direct resources into the hands of entrepreneurs, creatives, and world changers.
Find out more about Lindsay's private consulting at Lindsaypera.com, access resources at www.fullcirclewellnesstools.com or join in the magic at the MysticSociety.com.
Learn more about the Simply Sacred Co. and The Sacred CEO Retreat, a collaborative venture between Lindsay, Elena, and their partner Celia Ward-Wallace at the links below:
The Simply Sacred Co. Facebook
The Sacred CEO Retreat on November 9-13, 2019
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Claiming your voice and speaking your truth and desires
-
The “Rubberband moments” that move us out of the present moment into the past or future and cut off the golden opportunities that arrive when we’re present
-
Key lessons that Elena learned engaging with her son while she was homeschooling him
-
Elena’s “Magic Morning Practice,” for which she has an upcoming challenge, to align your head, heart, and gut with what you want to do in all areas of your life
-
Our bodies as our navigational compass and how it affects the decisions we make
-
How movement and particularly Zumba helps Elena feel connected and energized
-
Realizing that we’re not here to change anyone else but we’re here to evolve ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
-
My story of using movement, presence, inquiry and releasing expectation to help my son during a challenging moment
-
How we can all start to listen to our own inner landscape
-
The power of presence and pleasure to keep our “pilot light” burning in our romantic relationships
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
-
Elena Lipson's website
-
Episode 67: Pleasure is your birthright and the G-spot is a myth
-
Elizabeth Gilbert article on leaning into curiosity instead of passion
-
Episode where I shared about my Elizabeth Gilbert experience
- Episode with my podcast guest Julie Lythcott-Haims where I promised to explore the impact of peri-menopause and menopause on intimacy with our partners.
This Week’s Challenge:
Elena invites us to find the “hidden secret” right in front of us, by getting present with what we really want and asking for it. I added a commitment to making a list of what those things are.
Learn More About Elena:
As a retreat leader, speaker, writer, coach and podcaster, Elena loves to work with busy women and inspire them to redefine the hustle in exchange for creating a life they love with the Feminine Metrics of success: Pleasure, Play, Ease, Grace and Trusting Your Own Pace.
Through her speaking, writing, retreats, and online programs, Elena wants to help busy women drop the hurry mindest and become the #1 asset in life, business, and the bedroom.
Elena Lipson has lived in Russia, NYC, California and today happily enjoys the green trees and fresh air of the Pacific Northwest with her husband over 19 years and their son Miles.
Signature Offerings include:
and most recently,
The Meditations & Musings Podcast
Sign up for Elena's 5 Day Magic Morning Makeover - starts May 18th.
You can find Elena’s writing in Tiny Buddha, Huffington Post, Business Rocks Magazine, Business Heroine Magazine, and Coco Eco Magazine.
Announcements:
Join the Manifesto Challenge
In honor of Mother’s Day, I kicked off a five day Mother’s Quest Manifesto Challenge in the private Facebook group.
More about the inspiration behind the challenge in my episode with Graeme Seabrook.
Each day, I’ll share a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and I’ll host a different mother, including Graeme, who will share their stories and their #oneminutemommanifesto for inspiration.
Join us live in the Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, from May 13th to the 17th. But, the prompts and replays will remain forever so it's never too late to come on over and participate.
Watch the Replay of Movement, Motherhood, and the Power of Pleasure
Click here to access the replay
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Join me on my #100dayproject Journey
I’m doing Lindsay Jean Thomson’s #100dayproject and decided to record 100 stories about the making of Mother’s Quest on my Mother’s Quest Bite-sized Reflections on Living an E.P.I.C. Life Podcast (an unedited sister podcast to my interview show.) Releasing perfectionism, I realized a few days in, these 100 episodes won't be consecutive, but I'll get to 100 still! There are almost a dozen recorded now and I'd love for you to tune in!
Follow Mother’s Quest on Anchor and join the #100dayproject!
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Lindsay Pera
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
In honor of Mother’s Day 2019, I wanted to share this episode on the feed again with my sister Caren Lettiere, founder of Democracy Clothing, along with an updated discount code, 20Romy, to purchase Democracy jeans at 20% off (on Amazon.com) through May 24th. I also wanted to share an amazing update about the events that unfolded after we released this episode.
As you’ll hear in this conversation as it unfolds, Caren and I realized more and more how much our missions are aligned, but manifested in different ways. Caren helps empower women, many of them mothers, by helping them look and feel good on the outside and I empower mothers by helping them get clear and connected to their voice, their vision and their values on the inside.
We decided we wanted to work together and Caren brought me on to help Democracy with their brand messaging and to find ways to deepen their social impact. Because I was invited while recording an episode with Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, to be an ambassador at her Circle of Mothers healing retreat, I had this idea that Caren could come too and gift the mothers, who were all grieving the loss of a child to gun violence, with her Democracy jeans.
The weekend for the mothers was nothing short of transformative. That we anticipated. But, what surprised us was was that something like jeans, which might have been experienced as trivial, was in the words of many of these mothers "life-changing."
After witnessing this, we wanted to support more of you with the 20% coupon to purchase the jeans, so you can look good, feel good and have the confidence to do good in Democracy jeans. As we did in the original episode, we’d also love to hear from you. Share your photos with the Mother’s Quest and Democracy Clothing hashtags and let us know about your “Democracy in Action” stories are unfolding.
Sending love to all the mothers, and those who mother, especially those who may be healing from the loss of a loved one.
Thinking of you on Mother’s Day!
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
Ep 56: Embrace Your Shape and Evolve Your Life with Democracy Clothing’s President Caren Lettiere
Caren, ten years older than me and like a second mother in many ways, has been a guide, mentor and inspiration to me my whole life.
She’s an ambitious, talented leader in the fashion industry and has managed to grow a $70 million dollar brand, Democracy Clothing, alongside a 27 year marriage and raising two of the loveliest young adults I know, my niece and nephew Nicole and Josh.
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in political science, she took a different course and embarked on a career path in fashion, beginning in sales for a company called Rampage, and ultimately landing at Kellwood. There, she first filled a gap she noticed her daughter had for jeans and developed a brand to meet it called Jolt/Rewind.
Soon after, she recognized an even greater underserved customer in the market, a dynamic, modern, multitasking mother like herself who loves fashion but got busy with life. Devoted to this ageless woman and aware that she doesn’t want to put an expiration date on her vitality, but could benefit from a little “engineering” when it comes to jeans, Caren launched Democracy Clothing.
I loved this conversation with my sister and learned so much myself about how she grew the brand from her side hustle into the tremendously successful venture it is today.
Family, magic, a positive mindset and a willingness to grow and evolve in community are just a few of the themes we explore in this episode. We cover everything from the important role that Caren’s husband David played in supporting her career to how they both championed their son Josh last year, when he received a cancer diagnosis and moved forward with his own positivity through three rounds of chemo and a clean bill of health.
Caren also shares openly about her own health challenges and all the ways she has built community, at home and at work, to help her thrive.
Finally, Caren gives us a special challenge. She asks us to follow and apply the 4 Pillars of Democracy Clothing: to embrace who you are, enhance what you’ve got, elevate your taste level and evolve your personal style, in order to live a more whole and confident life.
If this calls to you, we encourage you to purchase a pair, wear them with confidence doing something that really matters to you, and then take a photo and share your story with us on Instagram using the hashtags #democracyclothing and #mothersquest.
We look forward to seeing and hearing your stories (then sharing them on Democracy’s Instastories) and learning about all the ways you are “rocking your walk,” as Caren likes to say… in your E.P.I.C. life.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
The team at Democracy, represented by Director of Sales Judy Owens.
Democracy is a denim-based casual lifestyle brand devoted to the woman who grew up with fashion, but then got busy with life.
Founded in 2010, on the principle of “Curve Equality,” which acknowledges that all shapes are not created equal, Democracy’s designers set out to create a jean that that would maximize a woman’s shape by fusing together, style, comfort and technology.
Sales inquiries: democracy.sales@kellwood.com
www.democracyclothing.com
www.facebook.com/democracyjeans
www.twitter.com/democracyjeans
www.instagram.com/democracyclothing
In This Episode We Talk About:
- The BuzzFeed Article that sparked this episode and revealed Mother’s Quest community member Nancy Netherland’s story of wearing Democracy jeans from Capital Hill to her daughter’s hospital bedside
- 3 Things Caren learned from our mother, growing up as a 60’s child
- Caren’s path to living an E.P.I.C. life through pursuing her love of fashion
- Moments that make me and Caren cry as she reflects on the impact of our mother and father and her husband on her life
- How Democracy Clothing started out as Caren’s side hustle, the unique woman who inspired the brand, and how her work family helped it succeed
- The one thing Caren always knew she was on a quest for
- Keys to honoring your kids as they become more independent
- Caren’s son Josh’s experience battling testicular cancer last year and how she and her husband David honored his choices
- What Caren’s Dr. told her she could NOT do if she wanted to avoid diabetes, how she reclaimed her health, and the special way she starts her mornings alongside her daughter Nicole
- The Four Pillars of Democracy Clothing and a special challenge and discount for the Mother’s Quest Community
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Democracy Clothing (Wit & Wisdom) Featured on BuzzFeed
- Kellwood
- Ep 10: Choosing Gratitude and Glitter with Nancy Netherland, who inspired this episode with her own powerful story of wearing Democracy jeans.
- What is Your Jean Story? – Video with Caren Explaining Her Jeans
- Democracy Clothing
- Ep 55: From Grief to Advocacy and a Circle of Mothers with Trayvon Martin’s Mother Sybrina Fulton
Other Episodes with My Family Members:
- Ep 43: Love of Family and Pursuing our Fate ~A Father’s Day Special~ with David Lieberman
- EP34: Season Two Finale: The Power of Friendship and a 50 Year-Old Book Club with Fran Lieberman and Sandy Klasky
- Ep 18: YOLO (You Only Live Once) and other Milestone Reflectionswith Ryan Neale
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Caren encourages us to take a moment and recognize that you are an extraordinary and dynamic woman. Learn to give yourself space to appreciate who you are and how you got to where you are now.
Caren also asks us to follow and apply the 4 Pillars of Democracy to: embrace who you are, enhance what you’ve got, elevate your taste level and evolve your personal style, in order to feel good about yourself and live a more whole and confident life.
There’s also a special offer…if you want to explore those pillars in a pair of Democracy jeans yourself, here is the updated discount code, 20Romy, to purchase Democracy jeans at 20% off on Amazon.com through May 24th. We encourage you to purchase a pair, wear them with confidence doing something that really matters, and then take a photo and share your story with us using the hashtags #democracyclothing and #mothersquest.
We look forward to seeing and hearing your stories and learning about all the ways you are “rocking your walk,” as Caren says…in your E.P.I.C. life.
*Don’t forget to put #DemocracyClothing #MothersQuest as you share your Jeans story on Instagram and have an opportunity to have yours shared on Democracy’s Instastories.
The code can be redeemed on multiple units of Democracy but only on one order per person. Code is valid through May 24th, 2019 or until supplies last.
Learn More About Caren Lettierre:
Caren is the founder and President of Democracy Clothing, the brand that she passionately created and launched in 2010 for Kellwood.
After graduating from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Caren embarked on her non-traditional career path into fashion. She began in sales, launching the Rampage Clothing brand and their modern missy sub-brand CDC. After this, she embarked on her quest to fill the void in fashion for the dynamic, modern, multitasking woman.
Through her empathetic lens, she embraces women of all shapes and sizes and is committed to providing them with the foundation and confidence as they pursue their E.P.I.C. life.
Caren’s proudest accomplishment is the fulfilling family life that she built along the way with David, her husband of 27 years and their amazing kids Nicole and Josh.
Announcements:
Join the Manifesto Challenge
Graeme and I have a vision one day for the creation and sharing of one million of these manifestos on social media using the hashtag #oneminutemommanifesto.
Join us in the private Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, from May 13th to the 17th.
Each day, I’ll share a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and I’ll host a different mother, including Graeme, who will share their stories and their #oneminutemommanifestos for inspiration.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Join me on my #100dayproject Journey
I’m doing Lindsay Jean Thomson’s #100dayproject and decided to record 100 stories about the making of Mother’s Quest on my Mother’s Quest Bite-sized Reflections on Living an E.P.I.C. Life Podcast (an unedited sister podcast to my interview show.) Releasing perfectionism, I realized a few days in, these 100 episodes won't be consecutive, but I'll get to 100 still! There are almost a dozen recorded now and I'd love for you to tune in!
Follow Mother’s Quest on Anchor and join the #100dayproject!
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
“We need these manifestos. We need each other. And we need each other’s stories.” — Graeme Seabrook
In honor of Mother’s Day 2019, I wanted to re-release this episode I recorded a year ago with Graeme Seabrooke of The Mom Center, Self-Care Squad and recently launched podcast, Your Mom Friend.
I so appreciated this conversation and the invitation Graeme and I co-created for you called the #oneminutemommanifesto. Graeme and I are all about helping mothers claim their lives and realized we each had crafted our own manifestos that were instrumental in reclaiming ours. For her it was her Mother’s Bill of Rights which you’ll hear us talk more about, and for me, it’s The E.P.I.C. Life framework that’s become the foundation of all things Mother’s Quest. We also realize that a manifesto doesn’t have to be long or time-consuming to create, but can be something you can declare in as little as one minute.
Graeme and I have a vision one day for the creation and sharing of one million of these on social media using the hashtag #oneminutemommanifesto. This year, to support you in creating your own, I’m facilitating a Manifesto Challenge in the private Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, from May 13th to the 17th. You can join the group by visiting www.mothersquest.com/community.
Each day, I’ll share a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and I’ll host a different mother, including Graeme, who will share their stories and their #oneminutemommanifestos for inspiration.
I hope you’ll say “yes” to this challenge and creating your own #oneminutemommanifesto as a Mother’s Day gift to yourself. You must be a priority in your own life. And, this is an opportunity to claim it and declare it. Because as you’ll hear Graeme say in our conversation, “We need these manifestos. We need each other. And we need each other’s stories.”
Have an amazing Mother’s Day!
Much appreciation,
P.S. Check out the announcement below to join us for the #oneminutemommanifesto Challenge in the Facebook Group in honor of Mother's Day.
P.S.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Desiree Adaway of the Adaway Group. Sign up for four weeks of reflection, discussion, and sisterhood through Desiree’s upcoming Sister Summer – a 4-week writing intensive. And learn to become a force for freedom –for your liberation and the liberation of others through the Freedom School.
In This Episode You'll Hear About:
- The experiences that shaped Graeme’s childhood and conception of motherhood, including her observations of her own mother’s experience parenting, the many times her family moved, and how her home and heart landed in Charleston.
- Graeme’s honest retelling of the challenging early months of motherhood where she remembers holding her precious baby and feeling like there was a wall between them.
- The E.P.I.C. spark moment that came when she shared her story online, received an outpouring of messages from other mothers going through the same experiences of emotional pain, depression, and anxiety and realized she needed to do something about it.
- -Graeme’s “true truths” and the concept from her current favorite author, Octavia Butler, about God. It’s so powerful and a metaphor for the reciprocal relationship between parents and their children.
- Graeme’s description of the Ten Articles in the Mother’s Bill of Rights, how she champions and helps mothers reclaim themselves through this framework and the support she offers in her Mom Center.
- Graeme’s E.P.I.C. Snapshot moment which revealed reflections on the legacy of our matriarchs, the mothers we claim for ourselves, and how we can become the ancestor we aspire to now.
- A description of our co-created #OneMinuteMomManifesto challenge.
Resources Mentioned:
- Postpartum Support Charleston and their annual MomsRun
- Graeme’s favorite books by Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower andParable of the Talents
- You can visit Graeme’s website, The Problem with Motherhood.
- You can also follow Graeme on Twitter, or view her profile on Linked In.
- Graeme’s Mother’s Bill of Rights
- The piece Graeme wrote about her ancestors
- Lauren Rosenfeld, the mentor/teacher Graeme mentions in her E.P.I.C. snapshot moment
- Episode 7: Living Out Loud with Jenjii Hysten
- Episode 27: Courageous Conversations about Race with Nicole Lee
This Week’s Challenge "Revisited":
Graeme and I have a vision one day for the creation and sharing of one million of these manifestos on social media using the hashtag #oneminutemommanifesto.
Join us in the private Mother’s Quest Facebook Group, from May 13th to the 17th.
Each day, I’ll share a reflective prompt to help you claim the next chapter in your life and I’ll host a different mother, including Graeme, who will share their stories and their #oneminutemommanifestos for inspiration.
Hope to see you there!
Announcements:
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Join me on my #100dayproject Journey
I’m doing Lindsay Jean Thomson’s #100dayproject and decided to record 100 stories about the making of Mother’s Quest on my Mother’s Quest Bite-sized Reflections on Living an E.P.I.C. Life Podcast (an unedited sister podcast to my interview show.) Releasing perfectionism, I realized a few days in, these 100 episodes won't be consecutive, but I'll get to 100 still! There are almost a dozen recorded now and I'd love for you to tune in!
Follow Mother’s Quest on Anchor and join the #100dayproject!
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m so excited to bring you this conversation with someone who has quite literally welcomed me into her home to learn, refresh, and connect with other women... accomplished entrepreneur, social justice advocate, sought after speaker, and a community builder at heart, Anne Devereux-Mills.
Capping a 25-year career as one of the most influential women in the advertising industry, in 2012 Anne founded Parlay House, a now international salon-style gathering of over 4,000 women who meet to pull each other forward through a combination of shared experiences, meaningful content, and peer-to-peer connections.
In addition, alongside raising her two daughters as a single mother, becoming a sponsor to a young woman from Cambodia and then a stepmother to two stepsons, Anne has achieved some remarkable things.
She’s been a mentor for SHE-CAN, an organization supporting and grooming the next generation of female world leaders coming from post-genocide countries, and served as the director of Stanford University's Healthy Body Image Programs. She was the Executive Director of The Return, an Emmy-nominated documentary about the experience of people returning to society post-incarceration. And she and her husband were the lead sponsors of California’s Proposition 36, which restored fairness in sentencing to the State’s excessive Three Strikes Law.
At the heart of it all has been a deep abiding belief in authentic, non-transactional relationships, social justice, and the power of women to women connections. I felt Anne’s generosity, perspective, and wisdom throughout our conversation and found so many of the lessons Anne has learned resonating for me, from discerning where our presence is most needed with our children, to learning to release perfectionism.
Synchronistically, so many things I'm grappling with in my life, Anne shined light on in this conversation. I was reminded that small acts can have meaningful cascades of impact, that we can hold a vision for an epic life rooted in connection and what really matters, not in having it all exactly right or at exactly the same time. And I gained a heightened awareness and appreciation for “Inflection points,” those times in our lives when we’re called to change our course or as Anne says “the moment after what was but before what will be.”
I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation as much as I did and leave feeling more empowered to build authentic connections, stay patient during your “inflection points” and take your own first small acts toward meaningful impact.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Check out the announcement below to join us for the #oneminutemommanifesto Challenge in the Facebook Group in honor of Mother's Day.
P.S.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Click forward now to pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by
Julie Castro Abrams:
Julie is the CEO and Chair of How Women Lead, a network of over 10,000 top executive women working together to disrupt the antiquated and unequal systems impacting women. In 2018 they successfully drove legislation requiring that California Public Companies to have up to 3 women on their boards. Through grants to women and girls organizations and a forthcoming disruptive angel fund, How Women Lead brings women together to have an impact and have fun.
How Women Lead leverages its network to propel Women Leaders for the World: political and social justice leaders, as well as entrepreneurs who are courageously tackling our most important global issues through a year-long fellowship.
Julie is an experienced CEO and director, and as a consultant, she works with non-profit leaders to create high-performance boards, brands that inspire action, and productive, multicultural teams.
She's also a small business expert, active angel investor, and advisor to startups. She currently sits on the board of many non-profit organizations, including Women’s Funding Network.
Learn more about her and her work:
How Women Lead
How Women Give
Upcoming Events
In This Episode We Talk About:
- How Anne’s parents planted seeds of freedom and experimentation in her life in unusual ways
-
Living an E.P.I.C. life does not mean living a perfect life
-
The “spark moment,” after Anne received a cancer diagnosis, that caused her to change her life forever
-
How things have changed for Anne over the last decade, since her "inflection point" at the age of 50
-
The need for connection and intimately authentic conversations that led to the creation of Parlay House and how it has grown now to over 4,000 members in four different cities, including London.
-
Paying attention to where your presence is most needed with your children and safeguarding that time
-
Anne’s unique impact: from helping to advocate for reform of California’s Three Strikes Law to building schools for children in Uganda
-
The power of bringing together women who represent a diverse set of life experiences
-
How Anne invests in herself by letting go of “shoulds” and indulging in what’s soothing and comforting to her, like a daily bath.
-
The power of small actions that can create a cascade
-
Building a community that isn’t based on obligation, judgment or transactional obligations but on authentic connection and giving of self.
-
Anne’s description of “Inflection points,” those moments when you’re ready for a shift. It’s the time “after what was and before what will be.”
Resources For This Episode:
-
Forbes Article about Anne and Parlay House
-
Episode on the podcast with Sybrina Fulton
-
Article from Martha Beck about what happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly
Anne’s Social Media: Instagram Twitter Facebook
Parlay House Social Media: Instagram Twitter Facebook
This Week’s Challenge:
Anne challenges us to be thoughtful about the small actions that come naturally for us and to extend that to another person in a way that doesn't have a high financial cost to us or take a lot of our time.
When we find that thing that’s part of our essence, that comes with ease, doing it in small actions will not only make us feel good, we’ll also help the person we’re supporting feel empowered. And that’s one of the most important things we could do for ourselves and others.
You can also follow along on regular email prompts by joining Anne’s One Small Thing email list and share what you discover and do to help others with using the hashtag #onesmallthing.
Learn More About Anne Devereux-Mills:
Anne Devereux-Mills is sought-after speaker, author, and advocate for women, particularly on the subject of how to create a powerful cycle of personal growth, empowerment, and advancement. Anne’s mission is to share what she has learned through her own experience: recognize one's own strengths and skills – and use them to help other women, creating an outward moving circle of positive change, and, in the process, empowering yourself.
Capping a 25-year career as one of the most influential women in the advertising industry, in 2012 Anne founded of Parlay House, a now international salon-style gathering of over 4,000 women who meet to pull each other forward through a combination of shared experiences, meaningful content, and peer-to-peer connections. She has been a mentor for SHE-CAN, an organization supporting and grooming the next generation of female world leaders coming from post-genocide countries, and served as the director of Stanford University's Healthy Body Image Programs. She was the Executive Director of The Return, an Emmy-nominated documentary about the experience of people returning to society post-incarceration. She and her husband were the lead sponsors of California’s Proposition 36, which restored fairness in sentencing to the State’s excessive Three Strikes Law.
Announcements:
#oneminutemommanifesto
In honor of Mother’s Day, I’ll be releasing either a newly recorded or classic episode each Thursday.
The week of May 13th, I’m leading a Mother’s Quest #oneminutemommanifesto Challenge in the private Facebook Group to help you claim how you want to journey through motherhood and life.
I’ll share reflective prompts each morning that will help you get clear and connected to your E.P.I.C. life, and we’ll be joined by inspiring members of the Mother’s Quest Community who’ll share their #oneminutemommanifestos live in the group to get your creative juices flowing.
I have a vision one day for the creation of a million #oneminutemommanifestos and am excited to start working toward that big vision with small actions this month.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else feel like they need a spring reset to their year?
A few months ago, we declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Join me on my #100dayproject Journey
I’m doing Lindsay Jean Thomson’s #100dayproject and decided to record 100 stories about the making of Mother’s Quest on my Mother’s Quest Bite-sized Reflections on Living an E.P.I.C. Life Podcast (an unedited sister podcast to my interview show.) Releasing perfectionism, I realized a few days in, these 100 episodes won't be consecutive, but I'll get to 100 still! There are almost a dozen recorded now and I'd love for you to tune in!
Follow Mother’s Quest on Anchor and join the #100dayproject!
Acknowledgments:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Julie Castro Abrams
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
“Each of us has that innate ability to attain and maintain our own optimal health” - the real healer lies within.
— Avanti Kumar Singh
I’m honored to bring this second episode of the fourth season of The Mother’s Quest Podcast with Avanti Kumar Singh, a physician, teacher and guide with a unique ability to open our minds and help us find the healer within through Ayurvedic medicine.
The inspiration for this episode with Avanti came during a car ride last August from Camp GLP (Good Life Project) to the Newark airport with two friends I attended the weekend experience with, Lizzy Russinko and Judy Blank Zinnato.
We were exchanging notes about our favorite workshops from the weekend and all the lessons we learned, when Lizzy shared the life-changing wisdom she gained from hearing Avanti present. Judy and I were both so sorry we had missed it, and I vowed in that moment to do my best to connect with Avanti and to share her wisdom with you.
The conversation, eight months in the making, did not disappoint! I loved the journey we explored together, from the impact of Avanti’s own mother and the Indian traditions that shaped her healthy childhood to her health crisis while studying to be an emergency physician and how that created a spark moment that brought her back to her roots and Ayurveda.
Touching on each E.P.I.C guidepost, Avanti shares how Ayurveda can become a powerful lens for living a healthy, reflective life, one where we open our minds, and tap into our own ability to provide counter-balance to the things that are troubling us and support our own healing. Within that frame, we touched on so many topics, from Ayurveda and parenting to menopause, intermittent fasting and how to support our children as they transition to college and beyond.
Avanti gives us a challenge to explore our daily routines, identify any trouble spots and then apply the teachings of Ayurveda to craft our own remedies. And after we finished recording, Avanti offered to share an even deeper exploration of Ayurvedic principles, give us a chance to ask her questions, and share what we’ve uncovered about our daily routines through a Master Class that we’ll be offering on April 30th. Sign up for email updates at mothersquest.com and join the facebook group and you’ll be notified on the date and time so you can join us.
This conversation is just the beginning for how we can tap into the power of Ayurveda in our own healing. I’m feeling so grateful to start along this path with Avanti as our guide.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Check out the announcements below and pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by
Alexia Vernon:
Alexia Vernon Empowerment, LLC is a family-led business, founded by Alexia Vernon in 2007, and co-run with her partner in business and in life, Stephen Oliveira.
Branded a “Moxie Maven” by President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement for her unique and effective approach to empowering women’s professional success, Alexia is the author of Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice Visibility, and Influence in the World. A sought-after speaker, coach, consultant and media contributor, Alexia is the creator and leader of multiple speaker training programs and has delivered transformational keynotes and corporate trainings for Fortune 500 companies and professional associations, spoken at the United Nations, delivered a TEDx talk on the future of feminism, and been featured by media including CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., and Women’s Health.
A former biologist and environmental justice organizer with vast experience leading environmental consulting projects and teams, Stephen oversees client care, speaker bookings, corporate engagements, live training events and retreats.
Grab Alexia's 9 Mistakes Coaches, Consultants, and Experts Make as Speakers (and How to Avoid Them) here
Know more about her: Alexia Vernon
Spotlight Speakers Salon w/ Alexia Vernon (Facebook Group) TwitterInstagram
Connect with her through Social Media: YouTube LinkedIn
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Avanti’s return as an adult to the Indian roots she grew up with and that positively shaped her health
-
Principles and the “golden rule” of Ayurveda, a form of traditional medicine that originated from Indian culture, ayur meaning “life” andveda meaning “knowledge”.
-
Avanti’s health crisis during medical school and how that set her on an unexpected path
-
The “qualities” that exist in all of nature and how Ayurveda uses them to promote wellness
-
The power of looking for answers within and how Avanti cultivates this in her children through her parenting and in her students through her teaching
-
An “epic snapshot moment” of Avanti’s as she witnessed medical students’ minds open to the possibility of traditional medicineapproaches
-
Avanti's daily routine and how we can integrate it into our lives, the power of a menu of options for a morning routine, and the importance of an evening routine to set yourself up well for your morning
-
The Counterbalance Solution Avanti has created and the 3 Areas of Remedy: daily routine, diet and tools of Yoga
-
Ayurvedic perspective about peri-menopause and menopause and some counterbalance approaches for it
-
What Avanti has to say about intermittent fasting
-
An invitation for us to examine our own daily routines and identify remedies to counterbalance challenging aspects of our day and the challenge Avanti said “yes” to related to her daughter transitioning to college next year
Resources Mentioned:
- Avanti’s Course: The Counterbalance Solution: Self-Heal through Ayurveda
- Avanti Kumar Singh Website
- Self-Healing Starter Kit
Learn More About Avanti Kumar Singh:
Avanti Kumar-Singh is a physician who, after medical training in emergency medicine, began a journey to find her joy again- and to help people truly heal. Realizing that you can “quit your job but you can’t quit your calling”, Avanti set out to discover what really makes people healthy and what predisposes them to illness.
She is now on a mission to evolve the conversation and to create a movement in which medical professionals reclaim the “art” of medicine and become heart-centered, healing catalysts that practice true medicine and support self-healing in their patients.
Over the 20 years of her training, study and research, Avanti has shared her expertise with Fortune 500 companies, elite undergraduate and graduate institutions and at prestigious industry and medical conferences. She has also been featured in the Huffington Post and was a member ofupwave.com’s review board—Turner media’s former health and wellness entertainment brand. Avanti is currently the co-lead facilitator of the Faculty Scholars Program in Integrative Healthcare at the OSHER Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
Avanti holds a BA in Art History from the University of Chicago and an MD from Rush University College of Medicine. She is also a certified plant-based professional and a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT). Avanti lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. Her first book, Ayurveda for Everyone, will be published in late 2019.
Reach Avanti through her social media accounts: Instagram LinkedInFacebook or you can email her here.
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest Circle
One Spot Left!!
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, on the threshold of a new chapter, but feeling uncertain or challenged by the path ahead, and want to be in community on your journey, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
✨Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
✨To consciously live their version (not someone else's) of an E.P.I.C. life
✨To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
✨To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another
If you're looking to create big shifts in your life or impact in 2019, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else not have your year start the way you hoped?
A month ago, I declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother's Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
✨Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
✨Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
✨Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
🌟Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.🌟
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Join me on my #100dayproject Journey
I’m doing Lindsay Jean Thomson’s #100dayproject and decided to record 100 stories about the making of Mother’s Quest on my Mother’s Quest Bite-sized Reflections on Living an E.P.I.C. Life Podcast (an unedited sister podcast to my interview show.)
Follow Mother's Quest on Anchor and join the #100dayproject!
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Alexia Vernon
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
It’s Season Four of the Mother’s Quest Podcast! At time of recording we’re on the threshold of spring, a season of new growth and fresh opportunities.
Around this time, three years ago, I was visited by two birds trapped in my house, and letting them out became a sign for me to slay my self-doubt and choose into living what I now call my E.P.I.C. life.
I could never have imagined that day, that three years later, I’d be releasing my 58th podcast episode, building community with over 600 members from across the world in our Facebook group, and welcoming the fourth cohort of incredible women into my Mother’s Quest Circle experience.
In this first episode of Season Four, I’m honored to host returning guest Katherine Wintsch, releasing this conversation during the week she’s launching her first book, “Slay Like a Mother: How to Destroy What’s Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Want.”
One of my very first interviews when I launched the podcast, Katherine’s episode has become a favorite for so many mothers who resonated with her journey from self-loathing to self-love and the premise of her TEDx talk, encouraging us to take off our masks as mothers and release the myth of perfection.
Katherine’s truth-telling and insightful research on modern motherhood has been featured by The Today Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company, and she regularly writes about the topic of modern motherhood for Working Mother magazine and now on the Slay Like a Mother platform.
As CEO of the company she founded, The Mom Complex, she dedicates her life to making the lives of mothers easier, working with companies like Johnson and Johnson and Unilever to help develop better products and services for mothers. With the debut of her book, Slay Like a Mother, she’s on a mission to help mothers around the world destroy what’s holding them back, the dragon of self-doubt, so they can live the life they want.
I think you’ll find a lot to light your way, as Katherine and I delve deep into how she conquered her self-doubt and practiced the dance between hard work and letting go in order to get her book published, persevering through 23 rejections in the six year process. She shares highlights of some of her favorite practices and perspective shifts from the book along all the E.P.I.C. guideposts. And then Katherine gives us an important challenge to raise our own awareness and challenge our negative thought patterns. A simple, though not easy shift, that can make a tremendous difference.
For me, the idea that I would forever defeat my dragon didn’t feel likely. But, inspired by Katherine’s metaphor, and something one of my clients shared recently, I’m holding a visual picture of my dragon as a baby one, strapped into the car seat in the back of the car, far from the wheel and the ability to derail my course as I travel the road of my E.P.I.C. life this season. What picture do you want to hold of your dragon? I hope you’ll join us in the Mother’s Quest community and share your thoughts.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Check out the announcements below and pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
This Episode is Dedicated by Brooke Markevicius:
Brooke Markevicius is the Founder and CEO of MOMentum Marketplace and host of the podcast, MOMentum Radio. MOMentum is a marketplace of goods and services powered by moms and is on a mission to get moms paid so they can lead a flexible life. You can learn more and join our beta by going to the link
below.
www.MOMentumMarket.io
www.MOMentumMarketplace.io/podcast
www.Twitter.com/momentumpod
www.instagram.com/momentummarket
In This Episode We Talk About:
- The epic journey to publishing her book, Slay Like A Mother. What inspired her to write it and the story behind its publishing.
- The Dragon of self-doubt, your worries gone wild, and how it can become a beast that eats you up if you don’t break free.
- The Cherokee “Two Wolves” metaphor/analogy and how you starve and weaken your Dragon through feeding yourself with self-love.
- How to think of a recurring negative voice as nothing but an echo and the power of speaking back to it.
- The perspective that development happens in spirals and not in a straight line.
- Katherine’s mindful bedtime routine with her children and what her son has said about her upcoming appearance on the Today Show
- Acknowledging structural and systemic barriers to happiness and the distinction between struggle and suffering
- How being overly busy is an amnesia for an empty life
- Putting yourself first on the calendar and how Katherine sets color-coded recurring meetings for yourself
- Finding the guides and the importance of asking for help.
- Katherine’s specific challenge for us, that I hope you’ll say yes to also, to catch ourselves in the act of speaking negatively to ourselves. Practice saying “That’s not true!” to that voice
- The negative voice as a shadow behind us. All it needs is our awareness to shine a light and make that shadow dissipate.
- Lessons Katherine and I both learned since our last conversation 2 years ago.
Resources Mentioned:
- Katherine’s Book – Slay Like a Mother: How to Destroy What’s Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Want
- Mother’s Quest Podcast Episode 2 with Katherine
- Umasking Motherhood (Katherine’s TEDxRVA talk)
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Mom Complex
- Katherine’s blog post that tells the story of the Cherokee story of the Two Wolves
- Ep 55: From Grief to Advocacy and a Circle of Mothers with Trayvon Martin’s Mother Sybrina Fulton
Learn More About Katherine Wintsch:
Katherine dedicates her life to making the lives of mothers easier. In her role as founder and CEO of The Mom Complex, she works alongside companies such as Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Chobani and Unilever to help develop better products and services for mothers. And as author of the personal empowerment book, Slay Like a Mother, she’s helping mothers around the world destroy what’s holding them back so they can live the life they want.
Katherine’s sought-after research on modern motherhood has been featured by The Today Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company, and she regularly writes about the topic of modern motherhood for Working Mother magazine and on the Slay Like a Mother platform.
In 2016, Katherine was named Advertising Women of New York’s “Working Mother of the Year,” an award given to women who have achieved outstanding business results while also serving as strong role models at work, at home, and within their communities.
www.momcomplex.com
www.slaylikeamother.com
www.katherinewintsch.com
www.facebook.com/SlayLikeaMother
www.instagram.com/slaylikeamother
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest Circle
Applications Close Tomorrow, March 22!!
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, on the threshold of a new chapter, but feeling uncertain or challenged by the path ahead, and want to be in community on your journey, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another
If you’re looking to create big shifts in your life or impact in 2019, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here.
Special 45 Minute Clarity Coaching Sessions…in honor of Ryan’s birthday and my 15 years of motherhood!!
Ever worked with a life coach? It’s a bit like this video with Cookie Monster above
Not really, but if you’d like to get a “taste” of what it’s like to have a coach holding space for you and championing you on your quest, I’ve set up special rates if you book in the month of March, to celebrate the month my first son was born and I became a mother.
For $90, bring any question or intention you want to explore to a 45 minute coaching session. We’ll get you to clarity about what you want, why it matters, and one key action step together. We can also explore future possibilities for working together if that’s something you seek.
Reply to this email if you’re interested and I’ll reach out to get you a spot on the calendar.
Holding five spots at this rate, so don’t delay if this is calling to you.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else not have your year start the way you hoped?
A month ago, I declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother’s Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a virtual journey to:
Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you. Just sign up here.
Punta de Gloria Resort
Seven years ago, I found my first individual coaching client in Lisa Valerio, mindful mother to an autistic son. Learn more about how our work together sparked Lisa’s epic creation of a resort in the Philippines and why she’s signed up for the next cohort of the Mother’s Quest Circle. Read here.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Brooke Markevicius
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Mother’s Quest Podcast, an interview I had on my friend Anne Ferguson’s podcast – MamaFuel.
In this conversation, Anne turns the tables on me, as she asks how the epic guideposts showed up in my life. I’m delighted to share this episode with you and use this as an opportunity to share some announcements and invitations for getting involved with Mother’s Quest in the new year.
I hope you enjoy this conversation I had on Anne’s Podcast. I’m excited to be back in a few short weeks with the start of a new incredible season of conversations! Until then, seize the day, love your people, and honor your gifts.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Be sure to check out the announcements below, including the news that TODAY is the last day to contribute to the GoFundMe campaign to support Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton’s Circle of Mothers. Hope you’ll join us!
Show Notes from MamaFuel the Podcast
From Anne Ferguson:
OOOOhhh am I excited to share THIS ONE! My guest this week is Julie Neale, founder of the amazing Mother’s Quest podcast, coach and mama of two exceptional and amazing boys. She’s a sparkling soul whose podcast gave me the courage to start hosting these MamaFuel conversations.
Julie and I cover a lot of ground, from raising differently-wired kids to discovering your strengths and the support you have in community. I turn the tables on Julie and ask her to walk us through the guideposts that she follows in her own life and asks all of her guests to talk about – I really valued the insight into how Julie is living her E.P.I.C. life, sparked to the max with joy and delight at leading other mothers in discovering their version of epic living.
Julie spoke movingly about her interview with Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon died as a result of racial profiling and gun violence. Julie and her community are supporting Sybrina’s incredibly important initiative “Circle of Mothers” which allows mothers who have lost their children to gun violence to gather and heal in community.
If you’d like to help send some of these grieving mothers to Sybrina’s retreat, click this link: www.mothersquest.com/circleofmothers. Every contribution helps. Julie’s hoping that her community will be able to raise $15,000 and they’re two-thirds of the way there. I’d love our community to help her get to her goal.
Please click on the following link to hear Julie’s conversation with Sybrina Fulton and to find out more about their fundraising activities: http://mothersquest.com/ep55-sybrinafulton/
This is where you can listen to Julie’s episode with her son Ryan: http://mothersquest.com/ep-18-yolo-you-only-live-once-and-other-milestone-reflections-with-ryan-neale/
Julie’s conversation with Kristina Kuzmić is here: http://mothersquest.com/ep-11-flawed-with-truth-bomb-mom-kristina-kuzmic/
Listen to her conversation with Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin is here: http://mothersquest.com/ep-24-elizabeth-cronise-mclaughlin/
And to her chat with Debbie Reber of TILT Parenting here: http://mothersquest.com/ep26-debbie-reber/
In this episode we also mentioned Jonathan Fields and his Good Life Project quite a few times. Jonathan was our common link and his Camp Good Life Project is where Julie and I met in real life.
Jonathan is the creator of so much goodness that I can’t encourage you enough to go to his page and drink it all in. Go: you’ll be so glad you did.
Here’s where you can learn about Jonathan’s work and discover his incredible (and my all-time favourite) podcast: https://www.goodlifeproject.com and here’s where you can take your own Sparketype test: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketest/ and start thinking and having conversations about what really sparks you.
Announcements:
Celebrate Int’l Women’s Day with a Contribution for Sybrina Fulton & her Circle of Mothers GoFundMe Closes TODAY!!!
Today, on International Women’s Day, join us in contributing to the GoFundMe campaign to support an amazing woman, Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina MsCandy Fulton, and her Circle of Mothers healing retreat.
Already, it’s been amazing to see so many of you listen to the episode with Sybrina, contribute to the campaign, and invite others to do so too.
With your support, we have raised over $10,000 of our $15,000 goal.
I want to close the campaign out so that we can get the funds dispersed to the Trayvon Martin Foundation in time to help 10 mothers attend the healing retreat, for mothers who have lost a child to gun violence, this May.
I hope you’ll listen if you haven’t and then take a look at the campaign and contribute in an amount meaningful to you. You can also help us spread the word. It would mean so much to mothers who are grieving if we can hit the goal and help them get to the event.
Your donation is tax-deductible. Contribute here 
https://www.gofundme.com/mq-circleofmoms
Listen to the episode here
This intimate conversation with Sybrina Fulton, over a year in the making, was a unique opportunity to delve into her own journey, how the E.P.I.C. guideposts show up in her life and in her activism, and to hear her powerful call to action to invest in mothers, by reaching out to mothers grieving in our own communities and by contributing to her “Circle of Mothers,” a labor of love that came to her in her dreams. Listen here – http://mothersquest.com/ep55-sybrinafulton/
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Year
Anyone else not have your year start the way you hoped?
A few weeks ago, I declared February the new January and facilitated a Mother’s Quest Workshop/Virtual Milestone Hike experience to help us all start again.
Using photos from my favorite local hike, I took a small group on a journey to:
Reflect on our last chapter (as we ascend)
Decide what we want to release (using an image of a big bad bonfire!) and what we want to carry forward
Then, set intentions along the E.P.I.C. guideposts for our new chapter.
There’s a special planning sheet we created to guide you and help you document the whole process.
Truthfully, we can start fresh any time we choose.
If you decide you want to reset and begin again, today, this afternoon or this weekend, using this experience and worksheet to support you, reply to this email and I”ll get it to you.
Mother’s Quest Circle
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR MARCH 2019!!
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, on the threshold of a new chapter, but you’ve been feeling challenged by the path ahead, and want to be in community on your journey, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another
If you’re looking to create big shifts in your life or impact in 2019, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here.
Watch out for Season Four
Season Four is right around the corner! Until then, I invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already to catch up on any episodes you’ve missed. And would love to see you in the private Mothers’ Quest Facebook Group where we will continue to build community and connection. Visitwww.mothersquest.com/community to join.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m thrilled to share this special finale episode of the Mother’s Quest podcast with my very own sister, Caren Lettiere. Caren, ten years older than me and like a second mother in many ways, has been a guide, mentor and inspiration to me my whole life.
She’s an ambitious, talented leader in the fashion industry and has managed to grow a $70 million dollar brand, Democracy Clothing, alongside a 27 year marriage and raising two of the loveliest young adults I know, my niece and nephew Nicole and Josh.
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in political science, she took a different course and embarked on a career path in fashion, beginning in sales for a company called Rampage, and ultimately landing at Kellwood. There, she first filled a gap she noticed her daughter had for jeans and developed a brand to meet it called Jolt/Rewind.
Soon after, she recognized an even greater underserved customer in the market, a dynamic, modern, multitasking mother like herself who loves fashion but got busy with life. Devoted to this ageless woman and aware that she doesn’t want to put an expiration date on her vitality, but could benefit from a little “engineering” when it comes to jeans, Caren launched Democracy Clothing.
I loved this conversation with my sister and learned so much myself about how she grew the brand from her side hustle into the tremendously successful venture it is today.
Family, magic, a positive mindset and a willingness to grow and evolve in community are just a few of the themes we explore in this episode. We cover everything from the important role that Caren’s husband David played in supporting her career to how they both championed their son Josh last year, when he received a cancer diagnosis and moved forward with his own positivity through three rounds of chemo and a clean bill of health.
Caren also shares openly about her own health challenges and all the ways she has built community, at home and at work, to help her thrive.
Finally, Caren gives us a special challenge. She asks us to follow and apply the 4 Pillars of Democracy Clothing: to embrace who you are, enhance what you’ve got, elevate your taste level and evolve your personal style, in order to live a more whole and confident life.
There’s also a special offer just for us…if you want to explore those pillars in a pair of Democracy jeans yourself, she’s offering a special 10% discount code, 10DEMOCRACY, that you can use on Amazon.com through January 13th.
If this calls to you, we encourage you to purchase a pair, wear them with confidence doing something that really matters to you, and then take a photo and share your story with us on Instagram using the hashtags #democracyclothing and #mothersquest.
We look forward to seeing and hearing your stories (then sharing them on Democracy’s Instastories) and learning about all the ways you are “rocking your walk,” as Caren likes to say… in your E.P.I.C. life.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who you think would appreciate this special episode? Click forward and share this conversation!
This Episode is Dedicated by:
The team at Democracy, represented by Director of Sales Judy Owens.
Democracy is a denim-based casual lifestyle brand devoted to the woman who grew up with fashion, but then got busy with life.
Founded in 2010, on the principle of “Curve Equality,” which acknowledges that all shapes are not created equal, Democracy’s designers set out to create a jean that that would maximize a woman’s shape by fusing together, style, comfort and technology.
Sales inquiries: democracy.sales@kellwood.com
www.democracyclothing.com
www.facebook.com/democracyjeans
www.twitter.com/democracyjeans
www.instagram.com/democracyclothing
In This Episode We Talk About:
- The BuzzFeed Article that sparked this episode and revealed Mother’s Quest community member Nancy Netherland’s story of wearing Democracy jeans from Capital Hill to her daughter’s hospital bedside
- 3 Things Caren learned from our mother, growing up as a 60’s child
- Caren’s path to living an E.P.I.C. life through pursuing her love of fashion
- Moments that make me and Caren cry as she reflects on the impact of our mother and father and her husband on her life
- How Democracy Clothing started out as Caren’s side hustle, the unique woman who inspired the brand, and how her work family helped it succeed
- The one thing Caren always knew she was on a quest for
- Keys to honoring your kids as they become more independent
- Caren’s son Josh’s experience battling testicular cancer last year and how she and her husband David honored his choices
- What Caren’s Dr. told her she could NOT do if she wanted to avoid diabetes, how she reclaimed her health, and the special way she starts her mornings alongside her daughter Nicole
- The Four Pillars of Democracy Clothing and a special challenge and discount for the Mother’s Quest Community
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Democracy Clothing (Wit & Wisdom) Featured on BuzzFeed
- Kellwood
- Ep 10: Choosing Gratitude and Glitter with Nancy Netherland, who inspired this episode with her own powerful story of wearing Democracy jeans.
- What is Your Jean Story? – Video with Caren Explaining Her Jeans
- Democracy Clothing
Other Episodes with My Family Members:
- Ep 43: Love of Family and Pursuing our Fate ~A Father’s Day Special~ with David Lieberman
- EP34: Season Two Finale: The Power of Friendship and a 50 Year-Old Book Club with Fran Lieberman and Sandy Klasky
- Ep 18: YOLO (You Only Live Once) and other Milestone Reflectionswith Ryan Neale
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Caren encourages us to take a moment and recognize that you are an extraordinary and dynamic woman. Learn to give yourself space to appreciate who you are and how you got to where you are now.
Caren also asks us to follow and apply the 4 Pillars of Democracy to: embrace who you are, enhance what you’ve got, elevate your taste level and evolve your personal style, in order to feel good about yourself and live a more whole and confident life.
There’s also a special offer…if you want to explore those pillars in a pair of Democracy jeans yourself, she’s offering a special 10% discount code, 10DEMOCRACY, that you can use on Amazon.com through January 13th. We encourage you to purchase a pair, wear them with confidence doing something that really matters, and then take a photo and share your story with us using the hashtags #democracyclothing and #mothersquest.
We look forward to seeing and hearing your stories and learning about all the ways you are “rocking your walk,” as Caren says…in your E.P.I.C. life.
*Don’t forget to put #DemocracyClothing #MothersQuest as you share your Jeans story on Instagram and have an opportunity to have yours shared on Democracy’s Instastories.
The code can be redeemed on multiple units of Democracy but only on one order per person. Code is valid through 1/13/19 or until supplies last.
Learn More About Caren Lettierre:
Caren is the founder and President of Democracy Clothing, the brand that she passionately created and launched in 2010 for Kellwood.
After graduating from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Caren embarked on her non-traditional career path into fashion. She began in sales, launching the Rampage Clothing brand and their modern missy sub-brand CDC. After this, she embarked on her quest to fill the void in fashion for the dynamic, modern, multitasking woman.
Through her empathetic lens, she embraces women of all shapes and sizes and is committed to providing them with the foundation and confidence as they pursue their E.P.I.C. life.
Caren’s proudest accomplishment is the fulfilling family life that she built along the way with David, her husband of 27 years and their amazing kids Nicole and Josh.
Announcements:
Support the Circle of Mothers GoFundMe Campaign
As of December of 2018, 644 children and 2,729 teens have been killed by gun violence in the US this year. If you feel pain at the loss of so many young lives full of promise, imagine the devastating grief experienced by the mothers they’ve left behind.
On May 16, 2014, Sybrina embarked on a powerful call to action to support and invest in mothers, by reaching out to mothers grieving in our communities. The Circle of Mothers, an annual retreat for women who have lost a child to senseless gun violence, was born.
It costs $1,500 to sponsor a mother who would otherwise not be able to participate in Circle of Mothers. Activist Michael Skolnik and I have pledged the first $3,000 of this $15,000 campaign, 2 toward our goal of 10 women we hope to send.
I pray that one day we won’t need The Circle of Mothers, because we’ve brought an end to gun violence in the US and no more mothers will have to grieve the theft of their children’s lives.
Until then, I hope you’ll open your hearts and minds to Sybrina’s story, lift up grieving mothers who seek healing, and invest in them to lead the way forward.
Women Podcasters in Solidarity
Tragically, I have now lost count of the number of mass shootings have taken place just in the time since the Women Podcasters in Solidarity selected “gun safety” as the issue we want to shine a light on this season.
Grateful to partner with Cristin Marie and Elsie Escobar on bringing this season of the Initiative to life. It is my deepest hope that through the power of podcasting, the episodes we will record, the conversations we will share with our listeners, and the dollars we will collectively raise toward gun safety causes, will save lives.
Please take a look at Cristin’s post here and say “yes” to the Initiative yourself or help spread the word to reach other podcasters who would want to join.
Mother’s Quest Circle
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR FEBRUARY 2019!!
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
- Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
- To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
- To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
- To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
If you’re looking to start the year strong, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here to add your name to the wait list.
Watch out for Season Four
This is the last episode of Season Three of the Mother’s Quest Podcast. I’ll be taking some time off from podcasting during the holidays and start of the new year but will be back in February with an incredible Season Four. Until then, I invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already to catch up on any episodes you’ve missed. And would love to see you in the private Mothers’ Quest Facebook Group where we will continue to build community and connection. Visit www.mothersquest.com/community to join.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Democracy Clothing
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m honored to bring this special episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast to you with mother, activist, writer, co-founder of the Trayvon Martin Foundation and an inspiration to so many, Sybrina Fulton.
The episode is the last in a series I’ve recorded for the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative on the subject of gun safety and the intersectional impact of gun violence on our communities.
Unfortunately, Sybrina deeply knows the grief that comes in the wake of gun violence. But, after the deadly 2012 shooting of her beloved son, Trayvon Benjamin Martin, she felt compelled to rise up, literally pushing herself to get out of her bed, becoming the voice for her son and embarking on a journey to bring awareness to senseless gun violence and racial profiling.
In 2016, Sybrina rallied to the forefront at the Democratic National Convention with a group of African American trailblazing women, connected by tragedy, who became known as “Mothers of the Movement” for the “Black Lives Matter” Movement the death of their children sparked.
She didn’t stop there. In 2017, Sybrina co-authored her first book, Rest in Power, The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, a memoir recounting the death of her son, which became the subject of a docu-series that debuted this year, Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, produced by hip-hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
This intimate conversation, over a year in the making, was a unique opportunity to delve into Sybrina’s own journey, how the E.P.I.C. guideposts show up in her life and in her activism, and to hear her powerful call to action to invest in mothers, by reaching out to mothers grieving in our own communities and by contributing to her “Circle of Mothers,” a labor of love that came to her in her dreams.
I’m grateful to activist Michael Skolnik, who dedicated this episode, for connecting me to Sybrina and for inviting us to spread this conversation far and wide and direct resources to help mothers turn their grief into healing and advocacy, following Sybrina’s powerful example.
Michael and I have each pledged the first $3,000 to the campaign, each of us $1500 to sponsor a different mother to attend Circle of Mothers. I hope you’ll open your hearts and minds to Sybrina’s story, visit mothersquest.com/circleofmothers and join us in contributing to her mission.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who you think would appreciate this special episode? Push forward and share this conversation!
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Michael Skolnik
Michael Skolnik was recently profiled in the NY Times and identified as “the man you go to if you want to leverage the power of celebrity and the reach of digital media to soften the ground for social change.” But, besides all of that, he is most proud to be the father of Mateo Ali, a rambunctious five year old.
He is the co-founder and partner of The Soze Agency, a social impact agency that partners with companies, non-profits, foundations and movements to create campaigns that uplift compassion, authenticity and equity.
He is a respected leader in the new social justice movement, and has helped ignite conversations around America’s relationship with race, the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner, and the Obama and Trump presidencies.
He is a prolific voice on social media with more than 350,000 followers, and a regular commentator on outlets such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Michael serves on the Board of Directors for Rock The Vote, The Trayvon Martin Foundation, Policy Link, The Gathering For Justice and The Young Partners Board of The Public Theater.
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter
The Soze Agency
Learn more about Michael Skolnik: https://about.me/michaelskolnik
In This Episode We Talk About:
- What Sybrina wishes everyone would know about approaching a conversation with a mother who has lost a child.
- My 14 year old son’s question to Sybrina about what it feels like when your calling and the powerful work you’re doing is sparked by a tremendous loss.
- Why we need systemic and cultural change, and more awareness-raising conversations, to keep young people of color safe from racial profiling.
- The tragic death of Chinedu Okobi, an unarmed young black man who was tasered to death by San Mateo County deputies, just 20 minutes from my own home.
- The importance for grieving mothers to remember the things that they used to love and what Sybrina’s joyful outlet is
- The Circle of Mothers and how the idea to create it came to Sybrina in a dream.
- Sybrina’s challenge for all of us to open our hearts and to reach out to mothers, across differences, who have lost their child to let them know we care.
- Why investing in mothers is the most powerful lever to impact gun control.
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Trayvon Martin Foundation
- Circle of Mothers
- Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story
- Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin
- Remembrance Weekend: Peace Walk on February 9th followed by the Remembrance Gala on February 10th
- Article from CNN about Chinedu Okobi - Facebook executive says unreleased video calls into question police account of brother’s death
- GoFundMe for Circle of Mothers
- Women Podcasters in Solidarity website
Other Mother’s Quest Episodes in This Series on Gun Safety:
- Ep 37: Generations Rising for Gun Safety with Gloria Pan
- Ep 54: Superheroes, Fighting Patriarchy, and Courageously Defeating Gun Violence with Ladd Everitt
And in Last Year’s Series on Anti-Racism and Police Accountability:
- Ep 27: Courageous Conversations about Race with Nicole Lee
- EP31: Brave Spaces and Solidarity with “Rad Women” Author Kate Schatz
- EP33: Beyond the Trauma: Legacy, Compassion and Change with Mothers Against Police Brutality Co-Founder Sara Mokuria
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Sybrina asks us to reach out to a mother who has lost a child and be a support to them. Take them out, let them know you are here, organize something for a group. Let them know that they are not alone.
You can also show your support, and invest in the healing of mothers who can lead the way forward, by contributing directly to the GoFundMe campaign and sponsor mothers to attend this year’s Circle of Mothers event. We have a goal to raise $15,000 and send 10 mothers, at $1,500 per person, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend.
Learn More About Sybrina Fulton:
After the death of her beloved son, Trayvon Benjamin Martin, in February 2012, Sybrina Fulton was charged with a new mission. A desire to transform family tragedy into social change allowed her to establish the Trayvon Martin Foundation in March 2012.
As Fulton traverses the globe, she passionately embarks on a journey designed to bring awareness to senseless gun violence and serves as an advocate to families, the catalyst for her dream project, the “Circle of Mothers.” Winning the national support of president-elect Hillary Clinton, Fulton rallied to the forefront in 2016 at the Democratic National Convention with a cadre of African American trailblazing women known as “Mothers of the Movement.” The women, connected by tragedy, are the inspiration behind the “Black Lives Matter.”
In 2017, Fulton co-authored her first book, Rest in Power, The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, a memoir recounting the death of her son, and the subject of a six-part docuseries, Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, produced by hip-hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter for Paramount Network and BET (July 2018).
Bestowed with many distinguished awards, Sybrina Fulton has represented the United States at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss racial discrimination; the National Urban League, Black Lives Matter, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, The Triumph Awards (2016), Essence Festival & Conference (2017, 2018), and was selected as the White House’s guest of honor for the unveiling of former President Barak Obama’s initiative, “My Brother’s Keeper.” Fulton is also one of the 2018 recipients of VH1’s Trailblazer Honor Award.
A Miami native and graduate of Florida Memorial University, Sybrina Fulton, along with her son, Jahvaris, are on a mission to build better, safer communities. She is a proud member of the Miami Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Metropolitan Dade County Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
She created the Circle of Mothers as a way to empower women. The purpose of the Circle of Mothers is to bring together mothers who have lost children or family members to senseless gun violence for the purpose of healing, empowerment, and fellowship towards the larger aim of community building.
Connect with Sybrina at: Facebook Twitter Instagram
www.circleofmothers.org
www.trayvonmartinfoundation.org
Announcements:
Support the Circle of Mothers GoFundMe Campaign
As of December of 2018, 644 children and 2,729 teens have been killed by gun violence in the US this year. If you feel pain at the loss of so many young lives full of promise, imagine the devastating grief experienced by the mothers they’ve left behind.
On May 16, 2014, Sybrina embarked on a powerful call to action to support and invest in mothers, by reaching out to mothers grieving in our communities. The Circle of Mothers, an annual retreat for women who have lost a child to senseless gun violence, was born.
It costs $1,500 to sponsor a mother who would otherwise not be able to participate in Circle of Mothers. Activist Michael Skolnik and I have pledged the first $3,000 of this $15,000 campaign, 2 toward our goal of 10 women we hope to send.
I pray that one day we won’t need The Circle of Mothers, because we’ve brought an end to gun violence in the US and no more mothers will have to grieve the theft of their children’s lives.
Until then, I hope you’ll open your hearts and minds to Sybrina’s story, lift up grieving mothers who seek healing, and invest in them to lead the way forward.
Women Podcasters in Solidarity
Tragically, I have now lost count of the number of mass shootings have taken place just in the time since the Women Podcasters in Solidarity selected “gun safety” as the issue we want to shine a light on this season.
Grateful to partner with Cristin Marie and Elsie Escobar on bringing this season of the Initiative to life. It is my deepest hope that through the power of podcasting, the episodes we will record, the conversations we will share with our listeners, and the dollars we will collectively raise toward gun safety causes, will save lives.
Please take a look at Cristin’s post here and say “yes” to the Initiative yourself or help spread the word to reach other podcasters who would want to join.
Mother’s Quest Circle
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
- Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
- To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
- To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
- To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
If you’re looking to start the year strong, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here to add your name to the wait list.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Michael Skolnik
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
—
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m honored to share this episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast, the second in a series I’m recording for the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative on the subject of gun safety and the intersectional impact of gun violence on our communities.
As the mother of two boys, I was interested in having a conversation with an expert on this subject who’s also a man and a father and I’m so grateful to have found one willing to go deep and be vulnerable in gun prevention advocate Ladd Everitt.
Ladd has been involved in this movement since 1993, when his life changed forever after a man boarded a rush hour train on the Long Island Railroad and opened fire with a handgun, killing six and wounding 19. This train was the one Ladd took regularly and he realized that it easily could have been him killed that day.
That moment sparked Ladd to attend the Million Mom March in 2000 in Washington DC, where despite the fact that he was a single man with no children, he found himself stepping into leadership for a local chapter and working alongside mothers for gun safety.
More than two decades later, he has become a father himself, and is still deeply committed to this work. After 10 years as a strategic communications and social media specialist with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Ladd took the position he holds today as Director of One Pulse for America, a gun violence prevention group established after the Florida Pulse Nightclub shooting by acclaimed actor/LGBTQ rights activist George Takei.
Ladd brought honesty and clarity to the conversation as we traced his E.P.I.C. life journey, from growing up as a young boy influenced by Marvel comics, to stepping into his own powers as a caring father and a decades long gun control advocate.
I appreciated Ladd’s humility as he expressed how the trauma of doing this work has impacted him, his own growing pains as he’s learning about and confronting racism and patriarchy, and the importance of giving the microphone and following the lead of young people, who he says are the emotional and cultural leaders of the movement today.
Ladd leaves us with hopefulness about the possibility for real change after the mid-term elections along with a challenge to hold our elected officials accountable, beginning with a specific request of Nancy Pelosi to focus on new and bold, not watered down, gun policy changes.
I was inspired by the example in Ladd of a white male leader, connected to his emotions, doing meaningful work, and looking for ways to share his privilege and influence with voices that should have more representation in the movement. Ladd and I both left the conversation feeling enriched by the opportunity to talk through complex issues. I’m excited to invite you in to listen with us and then move into action for gun safety alongside us.
Much appreciation,
Julie Neale
P.S. Know someone who you think would appreciate this episode? Push forward and share this conversation!
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Helgi Maki
Helgi dedicated this episode to all mothers affected by cycles of gun violence, who witness and deal with its aftermath for generations, especially the mothers affected by the terrorist attack in Pittsburgh, in the anti-Semitic hate crime shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday, October 27, 2018. They deserve our heartfelt, meaningful support in the wake of life altering gun violence.
Helgi is a lawyer and the founder of traumainformedlaw.org - an initiative to help justice professionals and communities reduce the impact of trauma and violence on public health. You can learn more about her work at the links below.
The Trauma-Informed Law Project
Trauma-Informed Law On Twitter
Tree of Life Congregation
In This Episode We Talk About:
- How Marvel creator Stan Lee influenced Ladd’s own development and the ways that Stan’s depiction of women and people of color changed over time
-
The tragic event that became a wake-up call and sparked Ladd’s passion for working toward gun safety.
-
Ladd’s first experience working toward gun control after the Million Mom March
-
How young people are the emotional and cultural leaders of the gun control movement now and Ladd’s fear that they may start listening to adults
-
The vicarious trauma and harassment that those on the frontlines of gun advocacy work experience
-
The exploration of toxic masculinity in the movie “The Mask You Live In” and why Ladd believes it’s crucial to teach boys that crying is a healthy way to express their emotions
-
The importance of fighting back against stigmatization of the mentally ill
-
Ladd’s experience being arrested, along with Michael Skolnik and other male activists, while protesting on behalf of women during the Kavanaugh hearings
-
The Universal Background Check and why is it important.
-
The book on Ladd’s desk when we conducted our interview that he’s reading to help him learn how to confront racism and white fragility
-
His Challenge for all of us to hold our newly elected officials accountable for bold gun policy
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
-
Writer Jena Schwartz’s daughter’s post about her experience with a school lockdown.
-
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
-
EP31: Brave Spaces and Solidarity with “Rad Women” Author Kate Schatz
This Week’s Challenge:
For this week’s challenge, Ladd challenges us to focus on what he believes is the most important issue related to gun safety: to get serious about disarming violent people in our country.
Ladd asks us to follow through on his One Pulse America Action Alert: To Tell Presumptive Speaker Pelosi to Make Assault Weapons Ban a Priority
Follow the links below for more information:
https://www.onepulseforamerica.com/action-alert/tell-presumptive-speaker-pelosi-to-make-assault-weapons-ban-a-priority/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1779750855570640/
And read Ladd’s recent OpEd in the LA Times on this subject
Learn More About Ladd Everitt:
Other websites:
https://medium.com/@LaddEveritt
Announcements:
Women Podcasters in Solidarity
I want to let you know about a special end of the year campaign as part of the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative to raise money for the mothers, caretakers and activists on the frontlines of gun violence prevention. To make sure you get notified about the campaign, sign up for email updates at www.mothersquest.com and follow the Mother’s Quest page on Facebook. You can also reach out to me at julie@mothersquest.com if you’d like to be one of the first to “seed” the fund with your contribution.
Tragically, I have now lost count of the number of mass shootings have taken place just in the time since the Women Podcasters in Solidarity selected "gun safety" as the issue we want to shine a light on this season.
Grateful to partner with Cristin Marie and Elsie Escobar on bringing this season of the Initiative to life. It is my deepest hope that through the power of podcasting, the episodes we will record, the conversations we will share with our listeners, and the dollars we will collectively raise toward gun safety causes, will save lives.
Please take a look at Cristin's post here and say "yes" to the Initiative yourself or help spread the word to reach other podcasters who would want to join.
Mother’s Quest Circle
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Virtual Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 8 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
✨Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
✨To consciously live their version (not someone else's) of an E.P.I.C. life
✨To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
✨To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
If you're looking to start the year strong, the Circle is a great way to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here to add your name to the wait list.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Helgi Maki
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
--
Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
The last few weeks where I live, in California, have been a challenging time. Wildfires raged in Southern and Northern California, taking lives and destroying so much (including my beloved childhood summer camp, Hess Kramer) and causing us to stay indoors or wear masks due to the unhealthy air quality.
Through it all, I found myself coming back to the lessons on choosing gratitude in this “Revisited” episode with Nancy Netherland and the dedication from my friend Lizzy Russinko. Just over a year ago, challenged by another wildfire in Sonoma County, Lizzy found reprieve in the connection and hospitality of a neighbor and made a commitment of her own to reach out.
If you, like me, are getting ready to gather with family or friends, I encourage you to find some time to listen to this episode with Nancy, to think about where you can find magic and meaning during even the most difficult times, and to join Lizzy in her commitment to pay forward kindness in some way to those who are suffering right now.
In Northern California, much needed rains have come and the air has been clearing. I’m grateful for many things…. to breath a little easier, for my family, for women like Nancy Netherland and Lizzy Russinko who inspire me with their own E.P.I.C. life stories, and for the opportunity to reflect on the meaning in my own life, with members of the Mother’s Quest community like you.
Feeling thankful for so much and sending wishes for you to “choose gratitude” today too.
XOXO,
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- Lizzy’s story of connection and commitment amid the wildfires last year
- Resiliency and mindfulness during traumatic events
- The importance of creating magic in our lives
- “Gratituding” as a verb and how to “choose gratitude”
- Nancy’s favorite book “Man’s Search for Meaning”
- Advocating for your children’s health
- The importance of community, especially as a caretaker
- Building deep relationships with people of differing viewpoints
Resources Mentioned:
- Gratitool
- Choosing Gratitude
- Hepatitis C information
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- Commonweal – where Nancy learned her framework for self-care
- Clinical Trials a site that is open to the public to find life saving clinical trials
- UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
- These Inspirational Notecards that Lizzy and her family will be passing around to her community
This Episode’s Challenge “Revisited”
Building on Nancy Netherland’s story, this challenge came last year from Lizzy Russinko who committed to leave note cards of encouragement and hope around town for her neighbors to find and give, as their community in Sonoma County coped with the wildfires last year. This was their little way of injecting magic and meaning into a time of significant adversity and change. Lizzy invites us to do something special to bring comfort in our neck of the woods.
Announcements:
Mother’s Quest Circle
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 6 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
Add your name to the wait list to be the first to find out when our Virtual Circle begins in 2019.
Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life
Join me for “Spark Your E.P.I.C. Life,” a four session series of one-on-one coaching sessions based on the signature process I’ve been using in the Mother’s Quest Circle experience.
I have space for three clients to experience an intensive, one-one-one, four-session coaching process. Could this be you?
*Do you feel like you’re on the threshold of a powerful shift in your life?
*Are you ready to spark new perspectives, new ways of being, and some E.P.I.C. action of your own?
*Have you wanted to participate in the Mother’s Quest Circle but the timing wasn’t right or you prefer to work one-on-one?
Interested? I’d love to schedule a time to check-in about what’s happening in your life and how this could support you.
Sign up for a discovery session at this link or message me some times that could work for you if you don’t see something that fits your schedule.
https://mothersquest.as.me/discoverysession
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
—
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/
I’m thrilled to share this episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast with mother, coach, entrepreneur and mind-body wellness expert Erin Stutland. Through her signature Shrink Session workouts and Soul Strolls, which combine principles from dance, yoga, meditation and more, Erin helps over 70,000 people in 155 countries to transform negative thinking into possibility and tap into their own inner strength.
I bring this episode to you as I participate in Erin’s free five day movement and mantra challenge. I first discovered this challenge three years ago, and ever since, her inspiring videos have become a key part of my morning practice. So, it was surreal in the best way, when I had the opportunity to talk live with Erin about movement, motherhood and her own E.P.I.C. life.
The ability to embody leadership, to create movement in our bodies and our lives, is the gift that Erin brings to all those she reaches through her products, programs, and soon-to-be-published book Mantras in Motion.
In this conversation, I loved learning about how Erin developed these gifts from an early age, growing up in Chicago where her own mother allowed her the freedom and permission to move, play and pursue her passion for dance. Recently a mother herself, Erin brings this awareness and the gift of movement to her own baby daughter.
There was a lightness and grounding quality in talking with Erin that I so appreciated, as we explored everything from the lesson she learned about leadership while shepherding goats in Israel to how she brought her whole self and integrity to hosting a reality television show.
I was grateful to be immersed in Erin’s perspective and challenge this week, which coincided with our mid-term elections in the United States. On election day in particular, I noticed my anxiety rising, and was able to consciously transform Erin’s movement mantra of the morning “This is my time,” to “This is our time,” envisioning the progressive leaders I supported successfully winning their elections.
That invitation to change my “inner landscape” as Erin calls it, through mantra and movement, made a huge difference in my outlook. A day later as I record this, I’m sitting with mixed feelings about the outcome of the election, but also a determination to move into action.
I hope after listening today, that you, like me, are inspired by the lessons Erin has shared with us and the gift of her Soul Stroll, to get moving and stay moving toward the change in our lives and in our country that we seek.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who you think would appreciate this episode? Push forward and share this conversation!
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Favorite mantras that Erin and I brought to this episode as our intentions for the conversation.
- The importance of guiding from behind and moving our own egos out of the way when we parent (and what this has to do with goats!)
- The power of MOVEMENT in our lives and the impact of shifting our inner landscapes.
- How using movement can help us be more present for our children.
- Why a body at rest stays at rest, and moving is often the last thing we want to do. But, our lack of desire to get moving is not a reflection of how we’ll feel once we get going.
- Bringing consciousness to how we invest and care for ourselves and why it’s natural to make different kinds of investments at different times in our lives.
- Erin’s soon to be published book – “Mantras in Motion”
- What to do when you’re feeling stuck, anxious, or depressed
- Erin’s challenge and gift to us to make time for a “Soul Stroll”
- The story I shared with Erin about Jacob and Taekwondo that she says she’ll remember
Resources and Topics Mentioned:
- Ep 52: Third Chapters, Raising Adults, and Loving Ourselves with Julie Lythcott-Haims
- Ep 38: Making Space and Finding Rhythm with “Kindie Rock” Star Laurie Berkner
- Ep 51: Equanimity & The Calm In the Storm with Mindful Parent Michelle Gale
- Say It. Sweat It. Get It. Free Five Day Challenge
- The Jacob and Taekwondo Video
This Episode is Dedicated by:
Kari Azuma supports mothers to powerfully design their lives. Check out Kari’s new program – THRESHOLD, an immersive retreat into the depths of womanhood and motherhood to reclaim your power and unleash your highest self.
This Week’s Challenge:
For this weeks’ challenge, Erin encourages us to take a Soul Stroll and discover what a 20-minute walk can do to reduce your stress and renew your perspective. You can use this free link to access your special Soul Stroll, led by Erin, with inspiring music and mantras to accompany you.
When you feel like you don’t want to move, just put on your shoes, flip-flops or slippers and take a walk outside your house with no intended destination in mind, only the thought “I’m just gonna go out for a walk”.
Learn More About Erin Stutland:
Erin is a mind-body wellness and fitness expert. She is the host and life-style coach of Z Living’s cable series, Altar’d. Nominated for a Real Screen award alongside Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, the show returns for its second season this fall.
In January 2019, she is publishing her first book, Mantras in Motion: Manifesting What You Want through Mindful Movement, which explores her proprietary approach to creating meaningful change by harnessing the body’s mental, physical, and spiritual energy through stories, journaling exercises, meditations and movement.
Erin is the creator of several mind-body fitness programs including her signature Shrink Session workout and Soul Strolls and has appeared on The Rachael Ray Show, People.com, Fox News, Glamour Magazine and more.
She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Lance and daughter, Kwynn.
Learn more about Erin by visiting these links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube
Pre-order her new book here
Announcements:
Women Podcasters in Solidarity
Tragically, I have now lost count of the number of mass shootings have taken place just in the time since the Women Podcasters in Solidarity selected “gun safety” as the issue we want to shine a light on this season.
Grateful to partner with Cristin Marie and Elsie Escobar on bringing this season of the Initiative to life. It is my deepest hope that through the power of podcasting: the episodes we will record, the conversations we will share with our listeners, and the dollars we will collectively raise toward gun safety causes, will save lives.
Please take a look at Cristin’s post here and say “yes” to the Initiative yourself or help spread the word to reach other podcasters who would want to join.
Mother’s Quest Circle
If you’re on a quest to live an E.P.I.C. life, but you’ve been feeling challenged, isolated, or unsure of the path ahead, the Mother’s Quest Circle may be the source of connection you’re looking for.
The Mother’s Quest Circle provides inspiration, coaching and community for an intimate group of no more than 10 women who are ready to say “yes” to:
Reflect together, in a community of like-minded mothers, on what matters most
To consciously live their version (not someone else’s) of an E.P.I.C. life
To take bold action toward one of the E.P.I.C. life guideposts before the end of the sessions
To hold space for sharing, coaching, and championing one another so we are “in community” on our journey
If you’re looking to end the year strong, now is a great time to make an investment in yourself and what matters most to you. Apply here. Application closes tomorrow!
Say It. Sweat It. Get It. Challenge
Sign up today to come along with me on Erin’s week-long challenge where she will give you super short, easy to follow workouts, that combine movement and mantras, to inspire you, physically, mentally and spiritually. During the challenge, I’ll release an episode on the podcast with Erin to give you insight into her journey and why movement plays such a powerful role in her life.
Acknowledgements:
A big THANK YOU to our “patrons” for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:
Kari Azuma
Tamara Sobomehin
Katie Krimitsos
Carrie Caulfield Arick
Rachel Rosen
Chandra Brooks
Jen Simon
Monisha Vasa
Celia Ward-Wallace
Vanessa Couto
Desiree Adaway
Rachel Steinman
Katie Hanus
Denise Barreto
Sage B. Hobbs
Samantha Nolan-Smith
Jody Smith
Emily Cretella
Collette Flanagan
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Carly Magnus Hurt
Lizzy Russinko
Suzanne Brown
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach
Katharine Earhart
Jessica Kupferman
Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs
Erin Kendall
Niko Osoteo
Erik Newton
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
The Sustainable Living Podcast
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/