Conversations with Joan

If you have a loved one who is struggling with alcohol or other drugs, you may have feelings of frustration, anger, fear, or sadness. You may also feel powerless and unsure of how to offer help or support. According to Dr. Jeffrey Foote, you don’t have to try a tough love approach or wait for your loved one to hit rock bottom before taking action. He contends that you can be a force for positive c...

Many people hunger for success but struggle to balance what they pursue on the outside with what they need on the inside. According to Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa, we can learn how to have our outer success reflect our inner core. He teaches how our five core energies can create outer impact from a place of inner mastery. Dr. Wadhwa is a professor at Columbia Business School and the founder of the Mentora...

Many people wonder if there really are angels by our side and what their role may be in our lives. Lorna Byrne has been seeing and talking to angels since she was a baby. As a young child, she assumed everyone could see the beings who always accompanied her. Today, sick and troubled people from around the world are drawn to her for comfort and healing, and even theologians of different faiths seek...

When we talk about staying healthy, we usually discuss diet or exercise. The one area that is often overlooked is the command center, the brain. Brain health is a critical piece of overall health. It controls the ability to communicate, make decisions, problem-solve, and live a productive life. Dr. Gary Simonds, a brain surgeon who's spent his life caring for the sickest of the sick in the ICU’s a...

The fear of failing often stops people from moving forward or following a dream. But according to Jim Harshaw, Jr., every success story includes crushing failure, doubt, and uncertainty. Jim discusses how to maximize potential and increase resilience by leveraging failure for success. Jim became an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and later the youngest Division I head coach in the country. T...

After a traumatic past, which includes kidnapping and physical, emotional and sexual abuse, Doug Dane beat the odds stacked against him to find happiness and success in his own life. Doug’s work is inspired by the steps he took to overcome the typical trajectory for someone in his shoes. He discusses ways to help us break into a new life, no matter what we may have experienced. Doug is a mindset m...

On his 68th birthday, New York Times bestselling author, Kevin Kelly, started to write down advice for his children about things he learned in life. That list turned into his new book, Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. Kevin offers guidance for career, relationships, parenting, and more. Kevin has led a remarkable life and has been ahead of the curve on practically ever...

When we experience a difficult time, we may believe that finding joy is too hard, too much to hope for, and only for those who are resilient enough. According to Dr. Tanmeet Sethi, joy is an innate human right accessible to all. Dr. Sethi helps us rediscover joy, not as a destination or solution, but as a practice for healing. Dr. Sethi is a board-certified integrative family medicine physician an...

Many of us have a strong desire to become a better person. We read books and complete programs, and yet we still struggle. What we feel called to do can sometimes seem impossible. Guy Finley, is an internationally renowned spiritual teacher, talks about our potential for transformation and how we can discover the seed of possibility in every moment. Guy is the founder and director of Life of Learn...

Millennials are opting for prenups in record numbers compared to previous generations. They are also more likely to simultaneously plan for divorce while preparing for their wedding, essentially assuming that it won’t last. But what if you could take preemptive action to have one of the marriages that does last? Dr. Frieda Birnbaum says that an emotional prenup, the often-unnoticed emotional inves...

After starting her own business in her fifties, Fitness expert, Liz Hilliard, realized that while she was empowering other women to be strong and more themselves, she wasn’t living what she was preaching. Having been raised in the South and constantly doing what was expected, Liz sought to please others, but not herself. With the belief that people can be powerful at any age and the resolve to liv...

Change is the one constant in life and yet most of us are addicted to certainty. We like life to be neat and tidy but the reality is, it’s anything but. One day, Emma Nadler got a call from her daughter’s doctor that changed her life forever. Faced with the realities of raising a child with a rare genetic condition, she had to confront her preconceptions of motherhood and her perfectionistic belie...

Our bodies are built to respond to stress, but it’s easy to forget about your innate power when you are facing challenges. According to Dr. Christy Gibson, it is possible remodel your brain to achieve post-traumatic growth. She explains how to embrace your power and transform your life. Dr. Gibson is a physician, change agent, and trauma clinician. She is the author of the book, The Modern Trauma...

At age 11,  Brooke Ellison was hit by a car, an accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator. Ten years later, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in cognitive neuroscience. At 23, she penned Miracles Happen, a memoir that was adapted into a movie, The Brooke Ellison Story, directed by Christopher Reeve. Brooke went on to earn he...

Ruchira Gupta is working to create a world where no child is bought or sold. As a journalist, Ruchira stumbled upon rows of villages with missing girls, which led her to became a life-long activist against sex-trafficking. She is a writer, feminist campaigner, professor at New York University, and founder of the anti-sex-trafficking organization, Apne Aap Women Worldwide. Ruchira won the Clinton G...

How does someone who appears to have it all experience a horrific fall from grace? Nadia Davis has been a public figure in California for two decades. She grew up the daughter of a famous immigrant rights attorney, and later became the wife of the then State Attorney General. Her rise crashed in a drama-filled public fall that included drug abuse, a sex tape, blackmail, incarceration, and many yea...

This time of year people begin to think about warmer temperatures and getting into shape. They rev up their exercise routines or start new ones. And with that comes the risk of injury. When you’re testing your limits, even a minor injury can alter your performance. Craig Alexander talks about the importance of physical fitness and having a plan to protect yourself from injuries. Craig is a former...

When things break down or don’t go as planned, we can find ourselves struggling to survive. Finding the resilience to keep moving forward can be a daily challenge. Mark Nepo discusses how we can meet adversity by using the timeless teachings of the heart. Mark is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over 40 years. He’s a  #1  New York Times bestselling...

Have you ever wondered why you make yourself invisible, procrastinate, or please others to get their approval? According to Dr. Friedemann Schaub, our subconscious employs these types of survival patterns to protect us. But, living in a survival mode has significant downsides. Dr. Schaub discusses how to break free from the six most common survival patterns - the victim, the invisible, the procras...

Living with a narcissist can be challenging. But when that person is your parent, it can damage emotional growth and the ability to trust. Dr. Karyl McBride, a pioneer on the devastating effects of narcissistic abuse. discusses how we can understand and heal from narcissistic family abuse. Dr. McBride is a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than 40 years of experience in public and p...

There’s a rise in hate speech online. Bullying is a growing problem. We have divided governments. Sometimes it may feel like we’re surrounded by hate. Matthew Williams, founder and director of HateLab and a professor of criminology, talks about how we can stop the proliferation of hate. Matthew is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts in hate crime and hate speech. He advises and has con...

With all the friends we have on social media, are we really creating valuable, sustainable relationships? There is a growing loneliness epidemic and while we appear to be more connected than ever, many are lonelier than ever before. Why are we struggling to find the human connection we seek? Christie Tate, believes that it’s important for females to consciously recognize and elevate their friendsh...

Anyone who is navigating grief often feels like there is no end to the pain. Life as they know it is over and there doesn’t feel like there is a way out. Karen Johnson’s professional career as a federal judge came to an abrupt halt when she lost her 27-year-old son to a heroin overdose. Rather than grieve in a way that made people around her comfortable, she did the unexpected. She quit her lifeti...

Imagine building a seven figure business that requires fewer than five hours of work per week. Graham Cochrane did just that. Graham founded The Recording Revolution, a once no-name blog about music and he turned it into a seven-figure business while working only a few hours per week.  He discusses how to better prioritize tasks, capitalize on the knowledge you already possess, and earn more in th...

Can we live our lives more fully knowing some day we will die? Barbara Becker, an ordained interfaith chaplain and human rights activist, tested the ancient wisdom of living with the end in mind by allowing death to become her teacher. Barbara discusses how we can explore our curiosity and learn to live life to the fullest. Barbara is the author of the book, Heartwood: The Art of Living with the E...