Inspire Us

Many of us still judge others by their looks, the color of their skin, their religion, their origin - or whatever. Why do we do this? What if we could walk a mile in another person's shoes or be able to tap into them to see the life they lived? Would we then be more compassionate?

Kadijatu has her story of having to flee her country for her own safety only to have been attacked both on her way to America and shortly after her arrival. If you could see life through her eyes...

How to connect with Kadijatu:

• Website: Www.dijastouchdesigns.com
• Phone: 4433039893
• Email: Kadijatuk28@gmail.com
• Instagram: Kadijatugrace
• Facebook: Kadijatu Grace Ahene

Some people have enough love in their hearts to share with the masses, even when they're sick. Here's a story of a real hero who made a difference in the lives of young, fatherless girls in the South Bronx. This story is sure to warm your heart and showcase the reality that one person can make a difference.

About Chris: 

Chris Astacio is a coach with a huge heart. A coach in the South Bronx, Chris created an opportunity to help young, troubled girls come together as a family by starting a softball team and he became a surrogate father to many girls without a father in their lives.

His story reached the Ellen Show, and the lives he touched is one worth telling, over and over again. Here are links to his book and videos:

https://amzn.to/2MKcyxO

https://www.today.com/parents/story-chris-astacio-lady-tigers-softball-team-t164111

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSDSvvdPlJc

https://amzn.to/2Lvdy8q

Bobby Umar is a 5 x TEDx speaker, motivational speaker, and a LinkedIn panelist. In this episode, he talks about cyberbullying as it relates to adults, drawing from his personal experience of having been bullied himself. He also shares his personal journey on weight control and body image.    

About Bobby:

Bobby Umar is a 5x TEDx speaker and an influencer, with over half a million followers. He has been named the 2^nd best business coach to follow on Twitter and the 4^th best leadership influencer according to Kred. Bobby is an international author of two books, including a #1 best-seller, and is a Huffington Post contributor. He hosted a weekly tweetchat called “The Power of Connection” that reached over 65 million impressions weekly. To date, his social media influence has garnered over a billion impressions. Bobby was also named a “2015 Speaker to Watch” and one of the Top 7 Networking gurus to follow.

Bobby is also a fiercely proud and committed dad and is passionate about diversity, gender equality, entrepreneurship, and youth. He has worked with thousands of professionals to become thought leaders in 2 ways – help professionals ramp up their careers or businesses with focus, clarity, and mindset and help ‘lost leaders’ transition to find their authentic path of passion and purpose.

He is also President of Raeallan, CEO of DYPB – Discover Your Personal Brand

Ever wonder if you could train your brain to take certain actions or help you deal with anxiety and depression? Yes, you can! Jill Hewlett shares simple and fun techniques to help us develop new neuro pathways in the brain and help us live a happier, healthier life.

About Jill: 

Jill Hewlett is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, wellness TV personality, and author. Her impactful keynotes have engaged professionals ranging from Educators and Clinicians to Sales Leaders and Entrepreneurs. She inspires and educates audiences ranging from 10's to 1,000's at Conferences, Special Events, and Corporate Training.

Licensed in the field of Educational Kinesiology and a Brain Gym® consultant of almost two decades, Jill has the skillful capacity to draw out the natural leadership in individuals and organizations to support them in reducing stress and achieving greater levels of efficiency, resiliency, productivity, and success.

Join Jill on social media to get regular Brain Fitness tips!
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In this episode, Steven Mann, a Toronto, Canada casting director speaks openly about the challenges and successes of living through these tough COVID19 times. He shares his personal struggles and victories and provides valuable direction to all actors who are also finding it hard to navigate their way through this new reality.

Can a murderer be redeemed? Can a murderer find peace and purpose within the walls of a penitentiary while serving 15 years to life for a gang-related homicide? Can that man also go on to help others? The answers are in this podcast and it may just change the way you look at those who have strayed from the path of righteousness. 

About Quan Huynh:

Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He is the bestselling author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence. His book was written for men that are doing long or life term sentences, and in it, he shares how he found his freedom years before he was even paroled. 

He works as the senior post-release program manager for Defy Ventures, a non-profit helping those with a criminal past transform their lives through the journey of entrepreneurship. After spending twenty-two years in and out of correctional institutions, Quan was paroled from a life sentence in 2015 and created his first company six months later. The following year, he received the Peace Fellowship Award for his work with the Alternatives to Violence Project. Quan has been featured in Entrepreneur, PBS Newshour, and numerous other publications and podcasts.

Social media handles:

FB, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn: @quanxhuynh

You can order a copy of his book on Quan’s website or on Amazon. 

What we see on the outside of someone is not always what's going on on the inside of someone. This gripping and sad story is one of a teacher of the year who fought her addiction to alcohol while helping her students and community. It was a hard battle that nearly took her life more than once, but this brave woman is a warrior and survivor!

About Jessica:

Jessica Dueñas is a daughter, sister, friend, and advocate. She’s also known to many as Kentucky’s 2019 State Teacher of the Year. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she is a first-generation American born to a Cuban father and Costa Rican mother. Jessica is the youngest of a combined eight children. Despite the barriers that she faced growing up, Jessica excelled academically and was the first in her family to attend college. While in college, Jessica began to battle addiction. Jessica eventually graduated and joined the workforce as a teacher, a dream she had for herself since childhood.

As Jessica dove into her career and her zeal for the profession and her students flourished, Jessica’s drinking began to have a stronger hold on her, leading her to suffer in silence for years. In recent times, Jessica has faced traumatic life events, including witnessing death. Those events, along with the pressures of being a nationally recognized award-winning teacher fueled Jessica’s disease until she reached a breaking point; it was time to change her life or face a tragic end to it. She chose herself and her sobriety above all else, leaving the teaching profession and everything behind to move forward and live a life of recovery.

Find Jessica on Twitter: @jduenas24, follow her work at www.jessicaduenas.net or email her at jessica@jessicaduenas.net. Jessica is available for speaking engagements and is eager to spread her message of hope to others in these difficult times.

How's your relationship with food these days? For you, is food a friend, foe, or a go-to for comfort in these pandemic days? Discover why it is so vitally important to eat well, not only in these pandemic days, but always. Julie Daniluk shares her incredible story and expertise on healthy eating. 

About Julie:

Nutritionist and TV personality, Julie Daniluk is the award-winning, bestselling author of Meals That Heal Inflammation & Slimming Meals That Heal. Her third book, Hot Detox, was on the Canadian Bestseller’s list for 11 weeks in 2017 and is already in its second printing. Julie is currently writing her 4^th book due for release in 2021.

Julie hosts Healthy Gourmet, a reality cooking show that looks at the ongoing battle between taste and nutrition. Over the past 10 years the show has aired in 78 countries and in 11 different languages.

Julie has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, including The Dr. Oz Show. She is in her 9^th season as a resident expert for The Marilyn Denis Show.

Check out more information at juliedaniluk.com and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram @juliedaniluk

https://juliedaniluk.com

https://www.facebook.com/juliedaniluknutrition/

https://www.instagram.com/juliedaniluk/

Sometimes you find yourself on a path you set out to be on, only to discover it was never meant to be. That's when 'choice' comes in. In this episode, Canadian actor Eric Hicks electrifies the waves with his powerful story of life discovery, peace, meditation, and joy. Yes - prepare to be inspired!

About Eric:

The middle child of Crawford, one of Canada's last remaining orthopedic shoemakers and mother Anita, a police officer and tattoo artist. His parents of English, Irish, Scottish and German ancestry raised him in the beautiful valley town of Lumsden, Saskatchewan.

Eric first caught interest in acting at the age of 8 while watching the film "The Garden" being shot in his family home. A year later he found himself with a small part on the Jamie Foxx movie "Held Up" (Trimark). Getting the chance to watch Jamie Foxx act and perform his own stunts changed Eric forever. His parents soon bought him a camcorder and he started making his own home videos. What started out as insane stunts to impress friends and family soon turned into a life long passion.

After graduating high school, Eric moved to Vancouver to study Prosthetics and Orthotics while pursuing acting, singing and dancing in his spare time. Two years later he entered the Canadian Model and Talent Convention and walked away with "Best TV Commercial" and "Overall Best Talent" awards as well as his first agent. Eric made the decision to put Prosthetics and Orthotics aside and move to Toronto to pursue acting full-time. Since then Eric has garnered world-wide attention having appeared in Quantico alongside Jake McLaughlin and Priyanka Chopra (ABC), "The Strain" (FX), "Reign" (CW), and in 2017 Eric was chosen to portray the recurring role of Constable D. Fox for 3 seasons of Daniel Grou's multi-award winning detective series "Cardinal" (CTV/eOne). Eric has recently portrayed real-life astronaut Dale Gardiner in the short film "Guion" and the main villain in the feature "A Christmas Catch" (HQ).

In 2016 Eric signed with Primary Wave Artists and now divides his time between Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles. His recent work playing Kim Coates mole as Detective Ken Tucker throughout all of Season two's epic multi-award winning gang drama "BadBlood" (CityTv) as well as film appearances in "White Night" alongside CFC alumni Kimberly Laferriere (21 Thunder) and "The Christmas Wedding Planner" (HQ) with Kelly Rutherford and Jocelyn Hudon have proven Eric to be a viable new actor on the rise.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Eric Hicks

How to reach Eric: Follow Eric on Instagram: @ericsamhicks

Life hits hard sometimes and tests our resilience. We're experiencing that in this pandemic. Here's a story of a war veteran who returned from Iraq and experienced PTSD. Not only that, he lost everything, became homeless and got addicted to drugs. He could have easily become yet another sad statistic... but that's not what this man chose. Today he inspires so many others and helps people reach their dreams.

"I’ve walked the depths of human despair. I was that homeless, alcoholic, and drug-addicted veteran who often fell asleep to the sounds of enemy mortar fire. I lost everything including my wife and kids driving away with nothing, but the clothes on my back." - Warren McKee.

Today, Warren is a successful coach and teaches coaching as well. Be prepared to be inspired!

Here's how to reach Warren:

https://warrenmckeecoaching.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WarrenMcKee