Better Place Project with Steve Norris

For this week’s story, we go back to the music industry to tell a story about folk legend Pete Seeger, as told by the late Scott Alarik in his folk music novel, Revival.  Seeger was invited to perform in Barcelona, Spain in 1971.  At that time, Spain was still ruled by Francisco Franco's Fascist dictatorship that told Seeger prior to going on stage that he could not sing some of his most popu...

What an amazing conversation I had with Steven Jaggers of Somatic Breathwork! Whether you are just now hearing about Somatic Breathwork, or you’re a seasoned veteran, this episode is for you! Steven Jaggers, the founder of Somatic Breathwork, is an Integrative Manual Therapist and Holistic Heath Coach with many years of experience in a variety of clinical and cultural settings. He is the host of M...

Would you donate one of your kidneys to a complete stranger?  In fact, a stranger that you've never met and may never meet?  Well that's exactly what 21 year-old Ben Norris did. Listen to this short, inspiring 15 minute episode to learn about what made Ben decide to do this and why we all should consider donating, not necessarily a kidney, but blood, platelets, plasma etc, and becoming a...

Are you familiar with Akashic Records?  Wikipedia denies them as “a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of all entities and life forms, not just human.”  In other words, these are records of every thought and action every human has had since the beginning of time, including past lives!  And you have...

In 1992, New York City based rock 'n' roll band The Spin Doctors released their hit song "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" from their 1991 album Pocket Full of Kryptonite, which hit #17 on the pop charts. Virtually everyone at the time assumed the song was written about an ex-girlfriend of frontman and songwriter, Chris Barron. But 27 years later, Barron tweeted the truth;  the...

In this episode, I share my recent experience with having to remove a toxic person from my life.  But more importantly, I chat about how we can have people in our lives that are toxic, and not even realize it.  Hence, we need to be aware of and notice the warning signs when they appear. Sometimes toxic people can have wonderful qualities, and actually be a good friend or spouse to us at times.  Th...

In this episode, Steve tells the story of Himalayan Cataract Project. The vast majority of blindness in the world is unnecessary—caused by cataracts, actually, and curable with a five-minute surgery.  High costs kept the surgery out of reach for many millions until Nepalese ophthalmologist, Dr. Sanduk Ruit, saw differently and invented a way to cure blindness for the poor, everywhere. This is the...

In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with humanitarian and best-selling author  Jennifer Van Wyck about choosing love over fear. Other topics covered were: * What is a highly sensitive empath? (HSE) and how do you know if you are one? * How to connect to your heart * The four types of intuition * The importance of surrendering *  Emotions and why they are so powerful * The k...

For this week’s story, we go to Keene, New Hampshire, a small college town, where in 2019 a Vietnamese restaurant with a very creative, and turns out controversial name, was opening up.  If you are familiar with Vietnamese food, you know all about Pho, which is pronounced “Fuh.”  And as I mentioned, the restaurant is located in Keene, New Hampshire.  Hence, the owners decided to name it Pho Keene...

This week's guest is Relationship Coach, Therapist & Healing Teacher, Quentin Decamp. In this conversation, we chatted about childhood trauma, commitment fears, wounded inner child work, anxious partners, avoidant partners, trauma bonds, toxic relationships, twin flames, healing via somatic breathwork and meditation,  and so much more..  Quentin is an embodied relationship coach, somatic...

This week's Feel Good Friday Episode comes courtesy of LoveWI.com, where I found this inspiring story of Qwantese Winters,  "The Food Doula." Qwantese, who is black, discovered that so many women of color were dying from pregnancy and childbirth.  So she decided to become a doula where she could "provide more emotional support and help the mother feel safe enough so that she ca...

In this week's episode, I sit down again with Australian Best-Selling Author, Barry Nicolaou, and boy did we cover a lot! Topics included: * 3 Areas that stop happiness in its tracks * 3 Strategies to dispel fear for good * Authenticity * What happens when we die? * Barry's upcoming book * Fleetwood Mac stories! * And so much more Barry is a fierce advocate of well-being to be able to ch...

For this week’s story, I look  to none other than the legendary Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. About 6 months ago, I was visiting wine country in the Central Coast of California and popped into a really cool little store and ended up buying one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books entitled Being Peace. It’s just a wonderful little book that I’ve kept on my nightstand ever since.  And while watching the...

In this episode, Steve sits down with former LA Times Music Veteran Randall Roberts to chat about the power of music in our lives, why we should be carving out time to listen to music, and they even swap some behind the music scene stories as Randall shares what it's like to sit down with the likes of Mick Jagger, PJ Harvey, Danny Elfman and others. Randall Roberts is an award-winning writer,...

In this weeks, episode, Steve tells the story of Dr. Margaret McCollum, who would go to the Tube Station in London, sit on a bench, and wait for the subway doors to open, so that she could hear the sound of her late husband on the recording warning the passengers to "Mind the Gap." But one day, as the train approached and the doors opened, she was devastated to learn that they had replac...

In this week's episode, Steve reflects on the first 100 episodes and does a deep dive into what events in his life lead to the launch of Better Place Project. Topics Covered: * Podcast launch with Steve's daughter Erin * History of the show * Steve's childhood * Falling in love * Early Music Career * Success in Business * Divorce * Betrayal by a business partner * Behind the scenes...

In this short, 6-minute episode, Steve tells the story of a young boy named Jack Bennett who befriended the man next store, Mr. Belser.  Years later, after Jack had grown up and moved away, he receives a phone call from his mom letting him know that Mr. Belser had passed away. Jack flies home for the funeral and discovers that a gold box that had been locked on the top of Mr. Belser's desk, w...

Did you know that a gratitude practice can actually rewire your brain, helping you to live a happier, more purposeful life?  Do you know the difference between gratitude and fearless gratitude, and why the latter is so much more powerful? Check out my conversation with Omar Brownson to find out.  After listening, I’m quite confident that you will never look at gratitude the same way again! Entrepr...

In this episode, I showcase an article written by my friend Brad Aronson called Positivity — 3 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Happier. Brad writes: “Until recently, I had no idea that you could fairly easily teach your brain to be happier . As most of us could have guessed, researchers have found that positivity (having a positive outlook) makes us happier. I didn’t know that positivity is also...

This is an encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes of 2021.  I wanted to bring this episode back because the teachings of Dr. Helmstetter,  one of, if not THE leading experts around the world in Nueroplasticity and self-talk, can literally change people's lives.  I know this, because it changed mine! Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D., is the author of more than twenty books in the fiel...

This week’s story is about Harland David Sanders, or as most of us know him as, Colonel Sanders, the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or now known as KFC.  What most people don't know though is what an interesting life, and what a difficult, traffic life filled with obstacles, that Harland Sanders lived. Losing his father at the age of 6, was simply the first tragedy and setback that Sanders h...

In this episode,  I sit down with Grammy award winning producer, filmmaker and activist, Fritzi Horstman in a compelling conversation discussing her very powerful documentary "Step Inside the Circle." We discuss trauma, particularly childhood trauma, what it does to the brain, body and spirit, its horrific effect on incarcerated men and women as well as society as a whole. We chatted abo...

Don’t let anyone ever tell you the younger generation in America is anything but impressive. In a week where we had a heroic barely 26 year old young woman, in Cassidy Hutchinson bravely testify in front of congress to protect our democracy here in the US, in today’s story, I introduce to you yet another young hero, Anthony Perry, a 20 year-old man from Chicago who saved a young man who was electr...

For over 25 years Sharon Lebell’s internationally bestselling book, The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, has inspired philosophy lovers and the modern Stoicism movement. A contemporary interpretation of the ancient sage Epictetus’ teachings, it is a perennial classic that is a cherished spiritual companion and daily guide for readers from every walk of lif...

In this week's Feel Good Friday episode, Steve shares the inspirational story from 1909 of an Irish-American hero named Patrick Cadagin, who gave his life to save a young woman. Cadagin, who was living in Springfield Illinois, was a watchman at a railroad crossing when a woman named Pearl Bunes was approaching in her horse and buggy.  The horse panicked at the roar of an approaching locomotiv...