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It’s called “continuous Growth” for a reason.When you cut down a tree, or a tree snaps and falls, the rings you’ll see reveal more than the age of the tree based on how many rings there are. E…

It’s called “con…

It’s called “continuous growth” for a reason.When you cut down a tree, or a tree snaps and falls, the rings you’ll see reveal more than the age of the tree based on how many rings there are. Each ring will be a different width, a different color or shade.Each of these rings tells a story about how changes in the environment impacted its growth and development as it grew from a sapling into a fully-fledged organism sprouting branches, growing leaves, bearing fruit, expanding its roots, or whatever other functions it performed during its life cycle.Jennifer Frye’s story of surviving do…

Living through the pandemic changed all of our lives, in one way or another.For some, it was coming to a realization that you didn’t feel like your business or your career was your true calling, in …

Living through the p…

Living through the pandemic changed all of our lives, in one way or another.For some, it was coming to a realization that you didn’t feel like your business or your career was your true calling, in which case it’s possible you may have encountered someone like today’s guest during your journey toward finding something more aligned with your life’s purpose.For others, it’s finding out that although you had a bunch of superficial or virtual interactions every day, you essentially felt alone. And maybe the friend or mentor you needed was someone you had never met, like in the form of a …

Do you think you’ve got it made?Today’s situation is remarkable for the sheer amount of disruption, rapid change, and even chaos that seems to spin faster and faster with each passing moment.Just …

Do you think you’v…

Do you think you’ve got it made?Today’s situation is remarkable for the sheer amount of disruption, rapid change, and even chaos that seems to spin faster and faster with each passing moment.Just in the past few years, the world has been turned upside down, stood back up, spun around, and sent into the rapids by a pandemic that has become endemic, political and social upheaval that might leave you feeling like nothing would really surprise you at this point, predictions becoming fact in weeks rather than years, and much more that few of us saw coming just five years ago.What if you could t…

Self-reliance. Determination and grit. Treating others the way you want to be treated.These are some of the most noble traits our society says we can possibly have, attributing people who exude them a…

Self-reliance. Deter…

Self-reliance. Determination and grit. Treating others the way you want to be treated.These are some of the most noble traits our society says we can possibly have, attributing people who exude them as being the product of a good upbringing and the kind of person we should aspire to be.These are also the traits than can bite you in the ass and f*ck everything up when they come back at you like a boomerang and whack you upside the head just when you think you’ve done it all right and everything’s fine.This is Michelle Charpentier’s story.She was raised with the “Golden Rule” by hardwo…

Imagine going about your day, following your routine, when out of the blue something comes along and knocks you to the ground, ending the life you’ve known up until that moment.In the movies, things…

Imagine going about …

Imagine going about your day, following your routine, when out of the blue something comes along and knocks you to the ground, ending the life you’ve known up until that moment.In the movies, things can go into slow motion, or you hear the “needle scratch” that ends the background music as everything comes to a shuttering halt and you fall to the ground.This was the moment Dori Staehle (pronounced STAY-LEE) got beat like a drum in a bicycle accident – and as she was soon to discover, drumming was going to be the next step.Dori told her professors she was raised by wolves. Her father be…

What do Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Courtney Love, Daryl Hannah, Jerry Seinfeld, Albert Einstein, Heather Kuzmich, Elon Musk, Lionel Messi, Eminem, and Satoshi Tajiri have in common?Celebrity? Creat…

What do Anthony Hopk…

What do Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Courtney Love, Daryl Hannah, Jerry Seinfeld, Albert Einstein, Heather Kuzmich, Elon Musk, Lionel Messi, Eminem, and Satoshi Tajiri have in common?Celebrity? Creativity? Fame? Fortune? Yes, all of them have these things to varying degrees. Each and every one of them also has (or in Einstein’s case, had) autism.So does author, actor, autism advocate, and animal rights activist Daniel Keith Austin, creator of the children’s book series, Chelsea’s New Journey. I was especially interested in hosting Daniel on the show because there are a lot of misconcept…

In conversations with friends and through my own experiences, I know our animals who’ve crossed the rainbow bridge can still communicate with us. My kitty girls show up in my dreams from time to tim…

In conversations wit…

In conversations with friends and through my own experiences, I know our animals who’ve crossed the rainbow bridge can still communicate with us. My kitty girls show up in my dreams from time to time. My guest today is Maribeth Decker. And when she started receiving messages from her dogs after they passed away, it led her to her current vocation.Like many of my guests, Maribeth was raised to conform to social expectations. Be good, be quiet, be smiley. Don’t ask questions. Do as you’re told. Whatever you’re told is the absolute truth. At age 13, she was out in the woods when she asked…

As a Gen-Xer, I remember when the prevalent view about being gay was that it was something you’d be afraid for people to find out about. It’s also been our generation that started to change that. …

As a Gen-Xer, I reme…

As a Gen-Xer, I remember when the prevalent view about being gay was that it was something you’d be afraid for people to find out about. It’s also been our generation that started to change that. We’ve come a long way in the past couple decades, but it can still be a frightening prospect if your family and community are predominantly heteronormative.With the stigma surrounding homosexuality that prevailed in the last century, can you blame someone for being afraid to come out, even if everyone they privately confided in has been completely understanding and supportive?This is Kevin O’C…

While it's difficult to track how many people with Cancer do not seek treatment, the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) conducted a study a few years ago that indicated about 9.2% of patients receive no…

While it's difficult…

While it's difficult to track how many people with cancer do not seek treatment, the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) conducted a study a few years ago that indicated about 9.2% of patients receive no first course of treatment.This could be for many reasons, including fear or disbelief in traditional or corporate medicine, alternative treatments that stay off the statistics, or they just say “fuck it” and decide to enjoy the time they have left the best they can.But what if you’re diagnosed with cancer and seeing an oncologist just doesn’t fit into your plan?This was Deb Krier.Deb was …

First of all, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate all the work that’s gone into getting to this milestone of 150 episodes of Fine is a 4-Letter Word.In past solos, I’ve talked…

First of all, I’d …

First of all, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate all the work that’s gone into getting to this milestone of 150 episodes of Fine is a 4-Letter Word.In past solos, I’ve talked about courage, doing what others won’t do, energy, and making decisions.If you’re not familiar with what I do outside of this show, I work with business leaders and corporate teams, giving them tools and techniques so they can be more focused, resilient, and collaborative so they can manage the distractions in their heads that keep them from being as productive as they’d like and move proje…

This meditation is designed to clear Stress and Anxiety so you can feel grounded and safe in this moment. Sometimes anxiety can spin you into a frenzy. Worrisome thoughts get stuck playing on an endle…

This meditation is d…

This meditation is designed to clear stress and anxiety so you can feel grounded and safe in this moment. Sometimes anxiety can spin you into a frenzy. Worrisome thoughts get stuck playing on an endless loop through your mind. It doesn’t feel good and it doesn’t serve you in any useful way. Use this one to bring yourself back to tranquility, serenity, and calm.Music credits: ©2017 Rebecca Reads Recordings Root Chakra Singing Bowls Note C

In almost all of my episodes on Fine is a 4-Letter Word, I deal in varying degrees with the circles of life.In two of the themes I explore with my guests – the values and beliefs they were raised wi…

In almost all of my …

In almost all of my episodes on Fine is a 4-Letter Word, I deal in varying degrees with the circles of life.In two of the themes I explore with my guests – the values and beliefs they were raised with, and the moment in their life when they realized or found out that everything wasn’t “fine” – we see how these themes come together. And see where some of the conscious as well as the subconscious imprints either trigger the latter and/or blaze the trail for self-discovery, self-improvement, and self-actualization.For the first time, I have a returning guest, Christina Robinson Race, wh…

Your life is a collage of all the experiences you have, people you meet, and what you learn along the way.Like many collages, even if they begin with a concept or a plan, as you bring them together th…

Your life is a colla…

Your life is a collage of all the experiences you have, people you meet, and what you learn along the way.Like many collages, even if they begin with a concept or a plan, as you bring them together they may take directions you hadn’t anticipated and show you things even more interesting than what you originally expected.This was the case for Noemi Beres, whose professional work owning and managing a podcast booking agency involves helping people tell their stories and connecting them to hosts who provide the canvas for their verbal collage.Growing up as an only child in a small town in Hunga…

Having compassion for people is generally considered a good thing and a sign that you’re a decent and kind person who makes an effort to make the world a better place by being part of it.Raised in a…

Having compassion fo…

Having compassion for people is generally considered a good thing and a sign that you’re a decent and kind person who makes an effort to make the world a better place by being part of it.Raised in a religious household, Tara LaFon Gooch learned the value of love and kindness towards others. However, she struggled to extend that same love and compassion to herself.She came from a home with an abusive, toxic father who disappeared from the picture just when she was beginning to discover the meaning of life from an adult perspective, and she hasn’t seen him since she was 14. You see already t…

Picture yourself living what seems like a regular life as a parent and entrepreneur, where everything seems uneventful and you have every reason to expect the rest of your life to follow a pretty stra…

Picture yourself liv…

Picture yourself living what seems like a regular life as a parent and entrepreneur, where everything seems uneventful and you have every reason to expect the rest of your life to follow a pretty straightforward path. You know, everything’s FINE.Then, one day you go to pick up your kids from school and all of a sudden you’re seeing double.Next thing you know, your life has been turned completely upside-down, your legs are numb and you’re sitting in a wheelchair.In what version of reality could you picture yourself becoming an Olympic weightlifter just five years later?This is Kim Rahir�…

Here’s a challenge for you: ask your social media followers if they believe Money can buy happiness or bring it up at your next social gathering and watch people fight it out.Some say you can; some …

Here’s a challenge…

Here’s a challenge for you: ask your social media followers if they believe money can buy happiness or bring it up at your next social gathering and watch people fight it out.Some say you can; some say you can’t; others say that money cannot buy happiness like getting a box of happiness at the store, but it solves problems and greases the wheels that make happiness possible and attainable.But what if you’ve been looking at it in the completely wrong way?Growing up the daughter of a German immigrant father and a mother whose parents came from Norway, Susan Glusica was raised with what she…

When you hear the word “perfectionist”, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of yourself?Typically, it’s someone who holds themselves to impossibly and unachievably high standards, driven by fear…

When you hear the wo…

When you hear the word “perfectionist”, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of yourself?Typically, it’s someone who holds themselves to impossibly and unachievably high standards, driven by fear of real or imagined consequences if they don’t get it (whatever “it” is) exactly right. Because perfect is rarely possible, they never “measure up,” and they get discouraged and burn out. They’ve given away all their f**ks and feel like they never got any results or recognition for all their work, so they stop caring altogether.To say the least, that makes them unproductive – which …

Building your family and your life is like planting, nurturing, and harvesting crops on a farm. You put a lot of effort, a lot of heart, and a lot of energy into it, hoping your knowledge, Wisdom, and…

Building your family…

Building your family and your life is like planting, nurturing, and harvesting crops on a farm. You put a lot of effort, a lot of heart, and a lot of energy into it, hoping your knowledge, wisdom, and patience deliver a bumper crop that fills your pantry and allows you a life of comfort, Security, and happiness.You may have heard the expression “Man plans, God laughs.” My version of that, of course, is Fine is a 4-Letter Word.That’s how things went for Luvyna Mantle, who saw the crops she had patiently planted and nurtured ripped out by the roots just when she thought the harvest was abo…