Stories of Inspiring Joy

Justine Kim

Justine Kim is the host of “Becoming” a podcast about womxn, work, and how they’re finding their why’s. She is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) where she studied Business Administration, French, and Design. Justine became a Venture for America fellow in May 2019 and has been working as a Content Marketing Manager at Sift, a Detroit based SaaS startup working to keep organizations connected.

As a fellow, she helps lead VFAsians, VFA’s Pan-Asian affinity group, and VFA WMN, VFA’s affinity group for womxn. In her free time, she loves reading, watching anime, and going on hikes with her cat.

 

In today’s episode, Justine shares how she got out of a toxic relationship with achievement and productivity. There’s this dynamic in college and university that promotes achievement, productivity and ambition, and rewards overwork, burnout and being unhealthy. The more Justine bought into the lie that doing more would leave her feeling more fulfilled, the worse she felt. She forgot the lesson her grandmother taught her to go at her own pace, to focus on and treasure herself and her own path. It was hard for her to admit that she was struggling, and it was effecting how she was treating herself, treating others, and allowing herself to be present in the moment. She found comfort in food, and Justine realized she wasn’t trying to fill a sense of hunger with food, she was trying to fill something else. Then came her breaking point, and she realized she had to make a change. She had to evaluate her routine, create boundaries, and change the way she was viewing achievement and productivity. Justine’s story will remind you to celebrate how far you’ve come and all that you’ve experienced.

 

To learn more and connect with Justine and Becoming visit her website justinegkim.com and anchor.fm/justine-kim and on Instagram @becoming_thepodcast and @justine.g.k on LinkedIn here and you can find Becoming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Amy Rushworth

Amy Rushworth is a certified wellness coach, life coach & the UK’s leading confidence expert. Her mission is to help women ditch the self-doubt and self-sabotage to start living the unforgettable life they’re dreaming about - where they’re confident, free from comparison, and wildly happy.

 

It was only four years ago that Amy was struggling with her mental health, relationships, finances, and unhealthy habits. She felt emotionally and physically stuck and overwhelmed. After a tough year, coupled with a bad breakup, she found herself at a crossroads questioning where she was heading in her life. She was struggling with her mental health, and it was the wake up call that she needed to seek help. Amy’s words on what it meant to feel like a passenger in her own life, to come to terms with her unhealthy habits, and consciously choose to turn her life around will remind you that there is so much strength and power in seeking help when you need it. Her reflections on the heart-to-heart she had with herself, and this sense of knowing that she needed to align her actions with her values and the woman that she really wanted to become will remind you to take that time for reflection, observation, and action too. Ultimately Amy decided to invest in her first life coach, and this one decision radically altered the course of her life forever. While it felt like a huge leap into the unknown, it was the leap of faith that put her on the path to a life that was beyond any of her wildest dreams.

 

Amy began to create a vision for her life, and it was from that decision that her health turned around completely. Her reflections on her decision to leave perfectionism behind, and the impact her decision to allow herself to be vulnerable has had on her life will remind you that there is so much power in allowing ourselves to be seen and heard. Through authentically sharing who she is, and where she’s going, Amy has connected herself to the people, places, and things that she always wanted. Today, Amy’s story, business, and life is completely based on her desire to serve the highest good of all. She’s launched a wellness business, met and married her soulmate, and is now living the happy and healthy life she always wanted.

 

To learn more about Amy visit her website https://amyrushworth.com and you can connect with her on Instagram @thisisamyrushworth

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.

Iona Holloway

Iona Holloway is an author, coach, and speaker -- but most importantly, she’s a recovering “perfection addict” who put her mind, body, and spirit through the wringer to maintain a superhuman level of success. Her mission is to help high achieving struggling women stop shrinking their bodies, worth, and power. How? Vulnerability, creativity, and breathwork. Why? Because everyone loses when brilliant women play small. This world needs your gifts.

 

Iona’s new book, Ghost  is a brutal, haunting, vulnerable piece of work that explores the intersection of high-performing perfectionism, food and body, and imposter syndrome. She teaches women how to break the cycle and begin the hard work of letting go of “perfect.”

 

In today’s episode, Iona shares her journey from the two decade long war with food and her body, to stepping into her vulnerability and mission. Her experience of shrinking was complicated, and the expectation to be perfect and competent caused a huge amount of pain her life. Iona believes so strongly that everyone loses when brilliant women play small, and that this world, now more than ever, needs its women to be not only strong, but also embodied and empowered so that all women can share their gifts with the world. As Iona shares, when we bravely and boldly show up as ourselves in this world, we give other women permission to also be that brave. Iona’s learned through writing Ghost that through her own vulnerability, she’s allowing, helping, and supporting other women to be seen too, both by themselves and by the people who love them.

 

To learn more and connect with Iona visit her website https://www.ionaholloway.com/ via email info@ionaholloway.com and on Instagram @Ionaholloway and you can find her book Ghost - Why Perfect Women Shrink here

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Emily Threatt

Emily is a Grief Transformation Expert and holds a Master’s Degree in English with a Concentration in Writing. She has been teaching writing and composition on the college and university level over 30 years. During that time, she published three writing textbooks. with Prentice Hall and Pearson Education.

 

She participated with the Bereaved Person’s Association in Bakersfield, California, which her husband co-founded. She also assisted her husband Jacques Thiroux, a bio-ethicist, with multiple revisions of his popular text Ethics Theory and Practice published by Prentice Hall and Pearson Education. She presents Writing Through Grief workshops.

In today’s episode, Emily shares her journey learning through loss. We don’t usually make any preparations for the reality of loss, many of us ignore it, or we assume loss won’t happen to us. When loss occurs, we tend to be totally unprepared. From her own personal experiences, Emily knows what loss feels like, and these experiences have led her to becoming a guide for others who need support on their journey as they start to live again and become open to loving again. As Emily shares, her calling and purpose in life appeared early in her youth, when she was fourteen years old she started going on Ambulance calls. Later, she became a licensed vocational nurse, where she also often dealt with crisis, dying patients, and their family. Emily shares her personal journey with loss, and her reflections, wisdom, and vulnerability will remind you that we can love and live through our grief and loss, and open our hearts to joy.

 

To learn more and connect with Emily visit her website https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/ sign up for her weekly blog here https://lovingandlivingyourwaythroughgrief.com/blog/ find her classes on finding joy and writing about loss at https://emily-thiroux-threatt.mykajabi.com/store and on Instagram @emily_thiroux_threatt Facebook @emily.thiroux you can find her Facebook Group Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief here and Reclaiming Your Joy After Loss here and on Twitter @ThreattEmily and for speaking information click here

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Dr. Karol Darsa

Dr. Karol Darsa is a licensed psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma. She is the founder and executive director of Reconnect Integrative Trauma Treatment Centers, which she established in Los Angeles in 2014. Dr. Darsa co-created The Invisible War Recovery Program, an intensive trauma treatment program for veterans suffering from military sexual trauma. The program was inspired by the Academy Award-nominated documentary The Invisible War. Katie Couric featured Dr. Darsa on her nationally syndicated show, and Dr. Darsa was also featured on an episode of The Doctors where she helped a woman who’d lost her legs in a traumatic car accident by providing treatment at her trauma treatment center in Los Angeles.

 

In today’s episode, Dr. Darsa shares her journey into this field, and what inspired her book, The Trauma Map. She started her career 22 years ago working with foster children as a social worker. The work impacted her deeply, and over the years she learned how to be empathic but not to get that involved so that she could remain impartial not get burned out. She noticed there wasn’t a center or clinic that offered only trauma work, and eight years ago she decided to open her own center. Dr. Darsa’s vision was to create a place where people could come in every day and work on their trauma, where they could begin to understood the importance of how trauma affected them. She’s created a holistic approach to healing, and through her approach people begin to really see themselves as whole. As Dr. Darsa shares, when you treat someone as a whole person, they’re able to understand the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of trauma, and how it all works together. She aims to reduce any sense of self-blame, and remind her patients that they’re doing their best, through education and care. Her goal is to create an environment that allows you to feel cared for and loved, to help people become more connected to themselves, and if she can help more people to be less self-blaming and more self-loving, she would fulfill her sense of purpose and passion in life.

 

To learn more about Dr. Darsa, her work, and her book visit her website ReconnectCenter.com. and on Facebook Karol Darsa Reconnect or Reconnect Center and on Instagram: thetraumamap or reconnectcenter and you can find The Trauma Map: Five Steps to Reconnect with Yourself is available via Amazon

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Elyssa Dorf

Elyssa Dorf is the Founder and Creative Director of Cheery Designs, a design centric lifestyle brand and creative studio. Elyssa grew up in Westchester New York and now resides with her husband on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Adding color and eccentric design to everything from wall art, apparel, to face masks, Elyssa has made it her mission to spread cheer and add color to people’s lives. Elyssa runs Cheery Designs in her free time, and she’s a huge advocate of art and color in particular, and champions its role in being boosters to mental health and wellbeing. Cheery is intended to provide high style art that is accessible to all. From pop art for the home to trend focused product design, Cheery is meant to spread as much joy to the owner, as Elyssa feels when creating her art and designs.

 

In today’s episode, Elyssa shares her journey to Cheery Designs. Growing up, competitive freestyle skiing was everything to her, and she thought it would never end, until she suffered a crash landing and a bad concussion. After recovering, it was decided she would never ski jump again. It was a devastating conclusion, and after many months in the dark recovering, she was well enough to come back to the light. It wasn’t easy though. She hadn’t spoken to her friends in a year, she lost her teammates, and she was no longer able to fulfill her dream of becoming an Olympic skier. Elyssa decided to revise her love for art, and it quickly became her everything. As Elyssa shares, she lost her identity as a skier, but she solidified her identity as an artist and designer. Today, Cheery is an expression of hope, love, color and cheer. It’s a safe haven where only positivity is shared, and the art Elyssa creates is meant to spread happiness, allow you to pause, and just feel good. Her products are meant to inspire, and bringing joy to others brings Elyssa joy. That’s what Cheery is here for.

 

To learn more about Elyssa Dorf and Cheery Designs visit her website: www.cheerydesigns.com, Facebook @withacheeryontop or Instagram @withacheeryontop For 25% off Elyssa’s Cheery Art, use code INSPIRINGJOY at checkout.

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Rebecca Binnendyk

Rebecca Binnendyk is a CFO (Chief FUN Officer), voiceover artist, musician, and life coach for individuals and organizations looking to create a work environment that brings fulfillment, loyalty, and makes a difference in the world. Rebecca’s driving mission is to reinvigorate and revitalize adults and businesses alike by adding joy back into their work and lives.

 

In today’s episode, Rebecca shares her journey redefining the word “fun” and becoming the new breed of CFO, Chief FUN Officer. For years, she’s heard stories about people who are quitting their jobs, quitting corporate, and looking for something more, but she’s felt that’s not sustainable. Her passion is to get to the root of the problem with businesses, individuals and the corporate world, so that we can have and find more fun in our lives. As Rebecca shares,  we can’t all quit our jobs and become entrepreneurs. Instead, it comes down to creating a healthy culture. Infusing fun back into our lives is serious business! But throughout this journey, Rebecca has struggled with really knowing and understanding who she is. As she’s dug into who she really is, and who she wants to be in the world, she’s discovered that we can be all of the parts at the same time. We all have different things that we love to do, and we all have a bit of a dark side, and that’s ok! As Rebecca shares, it’s part of who we are, and it’s about acceptance. Today, Rebecca loves working with people who are ready to make big change, lead them back to their joy and happiness, and remember that fun is part of the journey.

 

To learn more about Rebecca and her work, visit her website https://rebeccabinnendyk.com and on Facebook here Instagram @Rebecca_binnendyk and on YouTube here

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com 

Opa Hysea Wise

Opa Hysea Wise is an American author, born to mixed race parents, and her latest book “No Place to Hide” was released in 2020. Like so many people of color, she came to experience a sense of “otherness,” which fueled her desire to discuss diversity as the woven fabric within the American tapestry. She worked as a Training and Development specialist and manager in Government and Corporate organizations. Often tasked to develop and deliver diversity courses, Opa brought a sense of understanding, compassion and a call to action to her audience, with the firm knowledge that returning to the connection we all have would be but one step to returning to love. As both a Jack Canfield Success Coach and an author, Opa Hysea Wise looks to set a fire within the hearts of both her students and her readers.

 

Opa's journey begins with her imagination, and the wisdom she shares about choosing your imagination, letting go of attachments, and not giving up, is timely and powerful. What do you believe in? Is your mindset one of growth and expansion, or limited? A powerful question, Opa begins today's episode with this question and the perspectives she grew up with. Today, she's moved to a perspective where she's allowed her imagination to see beyond what's in front of her, a universe with limitless potential, a place of expansion. As she shares, to reach this space of expansion only requires a willingness to open up to a greater version of oneself, a shift that will create a more meaningful life. We just have to imagine it. For Opa, the key was to let go of any attachment she had to her dream. She had to let go of attachments to how her dream would show up, she couldn’t insist that her dream would occur only under a certain set of specific circumstances, but instead she had to trust. She had to trust that step by step, her path would open up before her. That there really is a universe full of abundance and endless possibilities, and Opa offers her story to encourage you to not give up on your dreams, especially if you're in the throws of trying something new. 

 

To learn more about Opa, her work, and her new book visit her website www.Opahyseawise.com and "No Place to Hide" is available wherever books are sold including Amaon, Indiebound, Bookshop and more

 

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

Karen Rae

Karen Rae is the founder of Balanced Life and creator of The Signature Balanced Life Planner®. Karen created this planner to guide others in finding balance in their day-to-day activities. Karen is a single mother of two young daughters, a homemaker, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and business owner. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Karen realized she was busy, but she was missing the bigger picture.

This inspired her to develop the Balanced Life Planner® in an effort to help others to renew their focus on what matters the most - Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, and Friendships. This is what Karen refers to as the 5 F's. The Signature Balanced Life Planner® is a culmination of lessons and experiences I have gained over my lifetime and enriched with inspirational quotes and ideas from others. Karen wants the Balanced Life Planner® to motivate others to live life to the fullest.

In today’s episode, Karen shares her story creating the Balanced Life Planner. When life slowed down due to the pandemic, it was a blessing in disguise for her family. Karen decided when life returned to normal, she didn’t want normal to look anything like it looked before. She wanted to regain control of her life, and live her life more intentionally. This led her to create the Balanced Life Planner, and start Balanced Life by Karen Rae. The crazy thing is, she never sought out to create a new business! But through what she believes was divine inspiration, she’s now living out her life’s purpose. Karen’s story is a beautiful reminder to listen to that still small voice within, because it will lead you into your destiny.

To learn more about Karen and The Balanced Life Planner visit her website BalancedLifePlanner.com and on Instagram @BalancedLifeKR Facebook @BalancedLifeKR Twitter @BalancedLifeKR and via email YourFriends@BalancedLifePlanner.com

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

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Misty Sansom

Misty Sansom is a writer and life purpose coach who helps people to figure out exactly what they’re meant to do in life and how to make it happen. Her philosophy is that we all have a purpose; something we are *meant* to do - but often, we struggle with how to find it, how to articulate it, and how to bring it to life. She guides people through this process through 1:1 coaching, her monthly membership and her ‘Find Your Purpose’ eBook. Misty’s approach to purpose, spirituality and personal growth is practical, down to earth and simple to follow. Her work has been featured on the Huffington Post, the Daily Guru, MindBodyGreen and more.

In today’s episode, Misty shares her story stepping into her purpose, connecting with her intuition, and allowing herself to be drawn to things. After her sister unexpectedly passed away, she realized that we have an ongoing and profound impact on the world, even after we’re gone. She shares her shifts in perspective and spirituality, and how she began to recognize that we are spiritual by default, there’s nothing more we have to than be ourselves. Misty dove into self-reflection and doing her own inner work, and she realized that her purpose is to help others discover their’s. As Misty so beautifully shares, the path to purpose is one of deep personal growth and personal development, and it’s a journey worth taking.

To learn more about Misty and her work visit her website www.mistysansom.com and on Instagram @mistysansom Facebook @mistysansomfyp and Twitter @mistysansom

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, visit www.storiesofinspiringjoy.com

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sydney-weiss/message