Zen Pop

Do you ever feel like you don’t have time to live your passion?  You are not alone. That’s why we invited Chicago musician Gerry O’Keefe to talk with us about living his passion while taking care of work and family business. We discuss how to keep your passion despite the responsibilities we have as a parent, employee, spouse, etc., his new album titled “Whatever Suits You”, Van Halen, David Cassi...

Failure is important right? We learn a lot from failure, right? Then why do we try to protect our children from ever failing? We have a discussion between the relationship between failure, confidence, narcissism, self worth, etc. The people who have made the largest impact on our world had significant failures, too. We also discuss families who send their kids to an “athletic boarding school” Is t...

In the Jewish tradition there are two different words that describe fear.  The first is called Pachad – “projected or imagined fear,” or the “fear whose objects are imagined.”  The second is called Yirah – the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to.  We discuss the video below  from Tara Sophia Mo hr describi...

Well, you’ve come to the right place. In our very first bi-monthly “Conversations with People we Love”, we talk with Heather Criswell, author of “How to Raise a Happy Child” . Crawl inside the mind of Heather, a noted “kid whisperer”, and see how she discovered (through 25 years and 30,000 children) what works with every child, in every situation, every time. Heather also shares some of her own st...

Science now tells us that if we react to our children’s “failures” with compassion instead of criticism, our kids will have a greater likelihood of succeeding. We discuss these ideas and the book  Self Compassion by Kristin Neff. We also discuss the different ways men and women measure acts of love.  The good news for the guys is that we use a  point system, the bad news is we ha...

A listener emailed and said her husband becomes agitated when she discusses personal growth or suggests listening to our podcast. We discuss the importance of honoring where your partner is in this moment (maybe he doesn’t want to listen to the podcast), and still speaking up about your own needs (but he can appreciate that you enjoy it). Change can be scary, but it’s a necessary and n...

Do you have a spouse who travels? Are both the exit and reentry a challenge? Do you feel appreciated for what you do while your spouse is away, and does your spouse feel appreciated for the hard work involved in work travel?  We discuss the importance of validation and communication when your partner travels, and why it’s important to say what you need. We also discuss the importance of prio...

We discuss the 5 different love languages based on a book by Gary Chapman.  The discussion will help you decide your dominant love language and help you figure out the love language of your children (and spouse!).  This can be the first step toward a deeper and more understanding relationship with your family. Todd also discusses a feel good story about a homeless man named Glen James and what he...

We discuss “ Rachel’s Challenge ”, a presentation for schools that focuses on kindness and self-awareness. This program that has reached over 19,000,000 people.  Each day 160,000 students do not go to school because they are bullied, teased and harassed. By turning the story of a tragic death at Columbine High School into a mission for change, Rachel’s Challenge is helping create safer learn...

We discuss a blog  titled The Conversation You Must Have With Your Sons by Carina Kolodny.  One out of five college girls are sexually assaulted.  As parents we do everything we can to help our daughters make smart decisions and stay out of difficult situations. Are we having conversations with our sons about making responsible decisions?  Or does this kind of conversation feel unnecessary or unco...

What does it mean to “succeed”?  To us it means self awareness, connection to the whole, and sharing your gifts and talents.  On this show we share a few ways to help your child find greater success. 1)      (6:10) Send them to overnight camp. Benefits- Give your child a sense of independence that is hard to duplicate in their normal day to day lives. It’s a safe setting They can “shed...

We discuss an article in Psychology Today   titled What Happy People Do Differently  The Real Rewards of Risk- When anxiety is an optional state A Blind Eye to Life’s Vicissitudes- The benefit of seeing the forest but not the trees The Unjealous Friend- We’re buoyed by others’ good fortune A Time For Everything- The upside of negative emotions The Well-Being Balancing Act- Pleasu...

8 things to help deal with back to school anxiety Why Ashton Kutcher’s stock skyrocketed for Todd One man’s message to his daughter- “I hope you have great sex” 4:27 Anxiety is normal.  Sometimes parents tell their kids not to feel anxious. Listen Ask questions Be engaged Own your role in the situation Know you’re not alone It gets easier Advocate for your child in dealing with “inschool” sadness...

What can Taylor Swift teach our daughters?  3 more things every parent should know  Hunger Games Camp- Good idea or bad idea? Time Stamp 1:39 Taylor Swift Concert Review 5:14 Men/Boy perspective on music 10:05 Habit #9 The secret to parenting is knowing when to let go 14:30 Habit #10 Trust yourself, you’re the expert on your child 16:20 When people dump their fear upon you 17:35 Stories Todd hears...

We discuss how feeling “bad”, whether it’s emotional or physical, is actually not so bad. Should grief be a diagnosable disorder or is it normal human emotion? Movie quotes from Airplane, Talladega Nights, and Billy Madison Talking about patience as a virtue and Todd Todd sings “Patience” (G n Roses a cappella) Time Stamp .30 Looking at your kids illness differently 1...

Brene Brown’s definition of Critical Awareness and dealing with our constant need to be productive. Time Stamp 2:20 Critical awareness 4:08 Body Image 10:03 Todd’s no shower story 15:15 Categorize and differentiating children’s fears 19:10 Addicted to productivity 28:38 Debate on different definitions of meditation 33:03 #4 & #5- from Things I wish every parent knew 39:30 Kid...

Topics: We discuss the problems with society’s version of  masculinity vs. the hopes we have  for our sons. We also discuss a few of the 11 things one doctor wished every parent knew. The Mask You Live In  Trailer 11 Things I wish Every Parent Knew Time Stamp: 1:05 Redefining Masculinity 2:38 Be U- Helping Children Become Emotionally Intelligent Leaders 5:15 Clip #1 from The Mask You Live In...

Topics: The Science of happiness, fathers who expect more from their sons, and using medical marijuana for sick kids We discuss two videos regarding the science of happiness: 4:24 The Science of Happiness 7:41 Showing gratitude is one of the keys to happiness ( Soul Pancake Video ) 8:45 Different ways to show gratitude without the guilt 9:30 Bon Jovi Concert Review 11:27 Tom Shadyac – Figure...

Turning your children’s failures into positive experience, When children blur the lines between fact and opinion and how we can help them.  If you want to make your life less chaotic, then you need to make a shift in your perceptions.  We discuss what imaginal cells are in a butterfly and how we can learn from them. Both how it affects our own life as well as how we’re connected to one...

The word you need to incorporate into your parenting- “WAIT”.  On todays show we discuss the following blog which can be found here . An excerpt from this blog… Parents need to slow down, stop comparing, and wait. This word, “wait,” is used too rarely in today’s frenetic lifestyle. Magda Gerber, a renowned child therapist and infant specialist, considered waiting to b...

We discuss the story about a mom “spy” who told her 12 year old daughter she could spend time with her her friends, but also said she had to stay within a designated area. If she left the area, she was supposed to call her mom and let her know. The mom dropped off her daughter and then pulled the car around the block and parked out of sight so she “spy” or still see her dau...

Cathy and I talk about sibling bullying.  Is it accepted more because it’s part of living with brothers and sisters?  Or maybe because bullying was part of our household growing up?  We discuss a USA Today Article entitled “ Bullying By Siblings Just As Damaging ” Keep in mind it’s not just physical, it’s psychological as well.  We give our two cents as well as some t...

This week Cathy and Todd focus on two things: Emotional Intelligence and Summertime Blues. What is the importance of raising emotionally intelligent boys? They are offering a class for 5th grades (10 boys/10 girls) and the girls filled up almost immediately.  The boys have been more of a challenge to recruit.  They discuss why, and they specifically cite Cathy’s latest blog  about why we nee...

Cathy and Todd introduce you to their new program titled  Be U: Helping 5th graders become emotionally intelligent   leaders.   Kids are always being told to focus on their IQ, but what about their Emotional Intelligence?  Do they know their value and importance? Do they know how to work with others? Do they know how to manage their emotions?  This 6 session program (offered in Elmhurst, IL) targe...

My guess is that your answer is, “I hope so”  or “Of course I am”.  Sometimes what we wish for our kids is different than how we treat our kids.  An example of this trust issue happened to me at Great America when I waited in line with my daughter to get on a roller coaster only to find out when it was our turn to board that she was too afraid to get on.  There are two extr...