The Getting Real with Hilary Show

Having experienced tragedy and sadness as a child, Karen Olson always wanted to help others.  Her grandmother taught her that homeless people were bumbs so she stayed away from them. Until Millie.  For some reason, Karen brought Millie a sandwich.  Millie thanked her and looked into her eyes.  Karen crossed the line.  Millie was a human being who needed help. Karen started feeding more homeless pe...

Buffie's life took her in a new direction after her best friend was killed by a drunk driver.  A teacher at heart, she found a holistic school where children were taught yoga twice a day.  In addition to teaching, she became certified as a yoga teach instructor.  She then began leading yoga retreats all over the world.   Then, with 4 young children, Buffie and her partner left the US and moved to...

I felt like I walked El Camino myself. I couldn't put down Suzanne Maggio's book, Estrellas, Moments of Illumination Along El Camino De Santiago. As she walked, I walked. When she got blisters, I got blisters. When she got the message, "you are the light," I got it too. Suzanne experienced many life changing moments along the walk  that took her from France to Santiago, Spain. Our conversation was...

Today's interview blew my mind. People pleasing, dating, needing outside validation, healthy boundaries, being happy today, and enjoying the journey on the way to the desination were all topics we covered. Faust Ruggiero knew he wanted to be a therapist early in his life. He got his degree, got experience in clinics and prisons, and then at 30, started his private practice.   40 years later he has...

Are you tired of feeling tired? Are you sick of feeling sick? If you would like to hear how to live a healthier, more fun life, tune into this interview.  Rico Caveglia is 82 years old and has the fitness of a 35-year-old. Rico has put together the Ageless Living Lifestyle program which can literally change your life. Some of it is obvious. So what? That doesn't mean we are doing the steps.  Some...

A successful photographer, Johann Ilgenfritz was given 4 months to live after his cancer metastasised.  But a voice inside his head told him "You're not going to die."  For seven months he got weaker and sicker.  Then, one sentence changed his life.  He changed his diet, his lifestyle, his mindset and his physicality and over time, he got stronger.   Johann left photography and started devoting hi...

Retired Navy SEAL Marty Strong wrote "Be Different," a book that talks about creativity and innovation. It is a fascinating read. Our brain was designed to solve problems and be creative. So why are we taught to memorize facts and figures in school? Why aren't we encouraged to use all of our brains? Wouldn't life be more fun if we were using our brains to create, inquire and invent? We all have th...

Martha Kartaoui was chosen by “Cultman” at age 8. He was the intercessor to God.  No one questioned his authority. They deserved the mental, spiritual, emotional and physical abuse. It cleansed them of their sins. It's the life she knew. She only escaped so that she could be with her sister in the "outside world" through her pregnancy. She didn't even realize that "Cultman" was an evil narcissisti...

Today's conversation took us all over the world.  From acting, to spiritual retreats, to Montessori methods and Brain Gym, Elizabeth Percival has led a life she truly loves. We integrated our left and right brains during the show through an exercise that Elizabeth leads during her Brain Gym courses.  I was left feeling calm, connected and at peace. It was incredible. Elizabeth was born on Long Isl...

Yalda Shahriari and Ruslan Maidans are a power couple who are creating a groundbreaking product that can be used all over the world.  NOWATA will clean your hands without water in a safe, environmentally friendly way.    After using popular hand sanitizers during COVID, Yalda and Rus decided that these options were not what they wanted their children to use.  In their spare time, they experimented...

"Inward Outward" is Laura Basha's first book. Conscious Choice as a Daily Practice. It is not for the faint of heart. It is for people who are looking for something else. You might not even know you are looking. You just know you are not satisfied with the life you are living. Laura Basha had a difficult, frightened childhood. She had nightmares every night until age 35. Laura found a way to heal...

Ray Crist was a very successful fashion and advertising photographer, living in Greece.  His work appeared on covers of Vogue and billboards across Europe. He was working 80 hours a week, at the top of his game, and living his dream. After 20 years of photography, Ray  was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer and given 3 months to live. "When death knocks, change your address," was what he heard a...

How would you like to stretch your mind before starting each day? What if you just don't want to get up? What if you are having a bad day? What if you just want to quit? Becky Galli has answered all these questions and more in her inspiring, encouraging and thought-provoking new book, Morning Fuel. It's a book of 365 stories to start your day with. Each anecdote will brighten your day just a littl...

What a delightful conversation I just had with fellow Westporter, Diane Parrish, who launched her first book this week.  Her novel, Something Better, is a book you can't put down.  I read it a few months ago and I am still thinking about it.  And that says something, because I usually can't even remember what books I have just read. In our interview, we discuss  how Diane went about conceiving and...

Ildy Lee was a poor Hungarian refugee living in Paris when her parents gave her her first guitar. She learned to play it herself, entered a contest, and became a teen pop star sensation in Paris. Ildy is a singer/songwriter who believes it's never too late. Starring in many shows across Europe in her 20's, she left to get married and raise her 2 children. Once they were grown, she became a TV host...

“Don’t let anyone steal your joy,” Debbie said. Her book can make possible a world of joy, passion, fun, community, exploration, delight, and memorable times with friends and family. Today's interview was a blast. We celebrated my birthday by drinking wine, and talking about Debbie's passion for life, entertaining, and community. I learned a new appreciation for each of the five senses: how to tas...

“Fortune favors the brave,”  Thomas said during our interview.  And he should know.  Thomas and his wife, Barbara Scott, traveled around the world “Looking for Legends.” Even though, at first, they were not comfortable traveling outside of their comfort zones.  But they did, and they figured out how to do it, and they found treasure.  They are generous enough to share what they found in their book...

Imagine if you were understood and valued by the opposite sex. And, that your competencies, gifts and talents were known, appreciated and used to their highest value. That is the work that Bonita Banducci has been doing for many years. She has researched how women contribute to businesses and how different it is from what men contribute. Both are valuable, but not necessarily understood. By sheddi...

I can not stop crying. I am so moved by my conversation with Becky Galli. "Some would say life has not been kind to me," she says in the introduction of her second book, "morning fuel." At age 20, I lost my seventeen year old brother. Two of my four children had special needs. One of my two sons died at age fifteen. And at 38, nine days after my divorce was finalized, I was par...

Nancy Chadwick always wanted to write mini-stories about characters.  She went into advertising, but never was able to achieve her goal.  She got a job in banking which also did not fulfill her dream. After getting married, her husband told her to take the summer off from her unsatisfying job.  She started writing and never went back to work.  She started with essays and after 15 years, published...

Kristin Bruce works with kids.  She helps them be happy. She works with them to get to the other side of their unhappiness, anxiety and depression without drugs.  She wrote a book, "Starting From Scratch:  A Guide to Feeling Good!" which outlines her program.   Kristin grew up in an alcoholic and drug-using home.  She was ashamed and didn't know why she didn't feel happy. After y...

"Moms Eat First" is the title of Kathy Sullivan's book. Do women EVER put themselves first?  Well, maybe after some self-reflection and transformation. If you find yourself eating the leftovers while standing, this book is for you. Kathy uses her own experience, work experience, and research to tell a story which as a woman, you WILL relate to. She has tools and principles to have us...

What does Thought Snob mean? Well, you'll have to watch my interview with Paula Swope.  She wrote the book.  She was raised to think she was nothing. She spent up until age 28, feeling like she was nothing, bitter, wanting revenge and full of hate. She was a high school dropout, a binge drinker, had ballooned up to size 16, and had a bunch of boyfriends who treated her like crap. What happened...

From the entertainment business, two directors, a spokesman and an actor now train, coach and are keynote speakers. Their workshops, weekly tips, and books create effective speakers in up to 2 days. Don't believe it? I didn't either until I heard their stories and experienced their work. I delivered a speech during our interview with only 10 seconds of advance warning. And guess what? It w...

Linda Guglieri Dowling is an inspiration.  She wrote her first book at age 75 and is now publishing her 3rd book at age 78.  Don't tell me you are to old. Just look at Linda. Linda's whole life will amaze you.  She voluteered in orphanages and hospitals as a young girl, started a day care business as a teen, entertained the troops with her all girl band, the Pink Ladies, and started many o...