Stories of Inspiring Joy

Belinda Farrell

Belinda Farrell, author of the book Find Your Friggin’ Joy, graduated with a BA in Spanish and English from the University of California at Berkeley and is trained in hypnotherapy, past life regression, NLP, Hawaiian chanting, and ancient Hawaiian healing (Huna). Belinda trained with Anthony Robbins (author of Unlimited Power) and has effectively used these skills in her own life. She has completed 18 firewalks. When Belinda was forty-eight, she collapsed with herniated discs and spinal nerve damage. Threatened with paralysis by her medical doctors if she didn’t have surgery, Belinda instead chose to apply the ancient Hawaiian healing practices she had been learning the previous three years, which are covered in this book. Her back completely healed, including childhood scoliosis. For fifteen years she has been sharing these healing practices with others, offering Reconnective Healing and Huna classes and taking clients to Hawaii to teach Huna and swim with wild spinner dolphins. 

In today’s new episode, Belinda shares her journey and where it all began. She’s overcome major life challenges—the suicide of her son, complete financial loss, and healing a degenerated spine without surgery. But all was not lost. By using ancient Hawaiian techniques and accepting responsibility for every aspect of her life, she was able to rise from the ashes, find her friggin’ joy, and now she’s sharing this invaluable information with others in her book, Find Your Friggin’ Joy.

To connect with Belinda you can follow her on her website www.HunaHealing.com 

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

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Grace Being

Grace Being is a certified mindset coach providing people with tools and intuitive guidance to help them free themselves from their minds and find their inner strength. Her philosophy is "Unlearn what you have learned and set yourself free". After 10 years of abusive relationships and unfulfilling jobs, she decided to work on the relationship with herself to improve the quality of her life. Thanks to a great deal of inner work and spiritual growth, she was able to do a 180 in her life as she realized that her thoughts, emotions, and actions were creating her reality. Once she let go of her limiting beliefs and shifted her mindset, her life shifted. She is now paying it forward by helping others break free from their limiting beliefs and create meaningful lives.

In today’s episode Grace shares her mission to help people free themselves from their minds and manifest their dreams. How can you manifest your dreams? For Grace, it starts with the process of unlearning. Grace shares her experience with unlearning, doing the inner work that allowed her to get in touch with her internal voice, and ultimately form a sense of identity, worth, and self-love that honors her and her path. For the first time in her life, Grace finally started to pay attention to her emotions and her feelings. It finally felt okay to start listening to her voice and to honor her preferences and the path she wanted to take.

To connect with Grace and learn more check out her website https://grace-being.com/ and via email contact@grace-being.com on Instagram @grace.being Facebook @gracebeing.coaching on LinkedIn here and Pinterest 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, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Victoria Bleeden

Victoria Bleeden is the Founder of The Empowered Herd - a specialized equine guided program created by women, as a means to support women in reclaiming their authenticity. Victoria was the quintessential horse crazy child. Her passion for horses began at the age of three when her mother, a lifelong, devoted horsewoman, took her to the pony rides. The shaggy, dwarfed creatures with the all knowing eyes and powerful spirits found their way into her heart. Obsession was sprung, and it knew no bounds.

In this week’s new episode Victoria shares the story of how her horse, Tater, saved her life and ultimately inspired her to start The Empowered Herd. Victoria spent nearly thirty years as a competitive equestrian. She had spent the majority of her life riding and competing. She had owned nearly a dozen horses, and competed from CA to NY. Riding was her persona. She was confident, able, and at home on the back of a horse. To be robbed of that, all that she knew, all that she relied upon for comfort, was agonizing. In the blink of an eye, she was no longer felt accomplished or talented.

Today, Victoria’s mission is to inspire other women to find healing through working with horses. Her work as an equine assisted coach utilizes activities involving horses to create metaphors that reflect real life. The approach is non-directive, allowing for opportunities to problem-solve and be creative. All sessions are conducted in a closed arena.

To connect with Victoria and  learn more visit her website www.theempoweredherd.com and on Instagram @theempoweredherd and on Facebook @theempoweredherd

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

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Ashley Perkins

Ashley Perkins is a Master Life & Success Coach for millennial women who are ready to activate their higher-self and consciously create their life and business. Through a powerful blend of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and intuitive strategy, Ashely helps others banish the limiting beliefs keeping them stuck in their life and business, lean into their highest-self with confidence, and show up like the CEO that you are!

Ashley spent years playing small, and she came to coaching through her own experiences. Creating a life of fulfillment often comes with a lot of discomfort, but you have the power to create a reality that you love, that’s fulfilling. The turning point in Ashley’s journey was when she fainted at brunch with her boyfriend. She was burned out, suffering from adrenal fatigue, and it wasn’t until she was sitting in the hospital completely depleted, ashamed, and stressed that she realized something needed to shift - ASAP. She was craving freedom and creativity, and this is when she found Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She immediately became obsessed because of the power that it holds and all of the techniques under its umbrella to impact permanent long-lasting and instant change on an identity level. Ashley’s story and words will remind you to take a chance on yourself, and challenge yourself to change the way you approach your life and your business.

To connect with Ashley and learn more about her work visit her website www.ashleyperkins.co and on Instagram @ashleyperkins.co and Ashley is currently offering a limited number of 2-hour breakthrough sessions to help you create instant subconscious shifts and empower you to quantum leap towards the life and business of your dreams. To learn more and reserve your session, visit: https://ashleyperkins.as.me/breakthrough 

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

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Dr. Noelle Nelson

Dr. Noelle Nelson is a California-based psychologist, consultant and speaker. She is passionate about personal growth and happiness. She’s authored over a dozen books about finding our better selves.

In 2018, her home was destroyed in the Woolsey fire that tore through many parts of Southern California. Dr. Nelson was able to turn tragedy into hope. As part of her own healing process and to help others who have lived through natural disasters, she wrote Phoenix Rising - Surviving Catastrophic Loss: Fires, Floods, Hurricanes and Tornadoes, Amazon, where she explores the trauma of losing everything--the photos and memorabilia of a lifetime--how to survive the immediate aftermath and how to find the strength to start a new chapter in life. 

In her more than 30 years of experience studying and researching human behavior, Dr. Nelson knows that we all could use inspiration in our lives. She shares her thoughts on empowerment, learning and growth on her twice-monthly podcast, "Up! Uplifting, Inspiring, Practical." In 2016, Dr. Nelson noticed that a segment of society is often disparaged and dismissed--those in their later years. Putting on her research hat once again, she found that far from the stereotypical views of older adults, a vast number are leading productive, happy and healthy lives. She decided to highlight them (over 600 and counting) on her Facebook page Meet The Amazings (@MeetTheAmazings) and wrote about many in her book The Longevity Secret, How to Live Happy, Healthy & Vibrant Into Your 70s, 80s, 90s and Beyond (Amazon Kindle). 

Dr. Nelson believes that we can all enjoy happy, fulfilling lives while accomplishing great things in love, at home and at work, as we appreciate ourselves, our world and others.

In today’s episode Dr. Nelson shares how we can start anew after a disaster. In 2018 her home was destroyed by fire in approximately 45 minutes during the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. Nothing was left of her home or her possessions, even the cement driveway turned to powder. As impossible as it was to conceive that her home was gone, she never stopped carrying on. Dr. Nelson reflects on how she survived during the immediate aftermath of losing all per possessions and how she was able to start a new chapter in her life. As she shares, it was out of continuing the normal activities of her life, her anchors, that miracles came. Dr. Nelson’s story will remind you just how wonderful people are, that kindness is all around us, and that despite profound loss, we can start anew.

To learn more about Dr. Noelle Nelson visit her website www.noellenelson.com on Facebook @drnoellenelson and listen to her podcast Up! Uplifting, Inspiring, Practical on Spotify

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.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Ali Singer

Ali Singer is a writer, mother, former lawyer and overachiever and the light behind the blog Beacon & Joy. Ali always thought that having a well-thought out plan would prevent surprise and carry her beyond any difficulty she’d experience. She started planning out her life, and planning early, and for a long time she thought perfectionism was the route to happiness and fulfillment. She always felt that she needed to stand out and prove her worth. Enter law school and her plan to become the first female president of the United States. Shortly after law school the cracks in her plan started to reveal themselves, and after graduation she practiced law for 5 years before beginning a PhD in Women’s Studies.

After her daughter was born with special needs, Ali’s life path shifted from the pursuit of perfection to a quest to find joy in the everyday, love herself as she is, and radiate kindness. Her daughter helped her reframe her focus away from achievement of the impossible goals she set for herself and self-judgment, and choose compassion, joy, and self-acceptance instead. Ali is truly inspirational, and her journey recognizing that our value far exceeds what we do or what we produce is relatable and honest. Her choice to choose gratitude, self-love, and inner acceptance will leave you seeking out these small moments in your life too.

Ali’s reflections on the weight of perfectionism and its affect on her health, happiness, and sense of belonging in the world will remind you that you’re not alone. Her understanding that we are so much more than what we achieve, that our value is inherent, and that we have nothing to prove will inspire you to reframe the inner dialogue you’re having with yourself. It’ll also inspire you to let go of the rigid plans and path that you’ve set forward for your life, and instead choose the beautiful plan and path that is waiting for you.

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

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Erika Hess

Erika Hess is an artist, advocate for the arts, and the creator of I Like Your Work Podcast. As Erika so beautifully says in this week’s episode, we have different stories from different seasons of our lives. Each story is unique and full of lessons, reflections, and aha! moments.

Erika walks us through her story that began at 27 years-old. Erika’s words on what it meant to be vulnerable with herself, and then others, will remind you of just how important it is to let yourself be seen and heard. Her reflections on moving through instability and coming out on the other side feeling secure and grounded, will remind you that we are never alone. As Erika says in this week’s episode, we all have a guiding sense to help us - and it’s up to us to get quiet enough to hear it. Today, she has an amazing partner and two kids, she continues to work on her art, and through her vulnerability she continues to connect with others.

To learn more about Erika and her podcast I Like Your Work visit her website erikabhess.com. You can submit work to be featured on her blog, I Like Your Work Studio Visit, by visiting: https://www.erikabhess.com/ilikeyourworkstudiovisit and check out her newsletter! You can find Erika on Instagram @ilikeyourworkpodcast and email her at ilikeyourworkpodcast@gmail.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, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Tamra Ryan

Tamra Ryan is the CEO of Women’s Bean Project, a Colorado 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise. They believe that all women have the power to transform their lives through employment. So they hire women who are chronically unemployed and they teach them to work by making nourishing products. They learn to stand tall, find their purpose and break the cycle of poverty. Because they believe when you change a woman’s life, you change her family’s life.

Throughout the episode Tamra shares the stories of some of the women she’s met in her tenure - and every story and experience will inspire you and touch you. Her reflections on the power of the resiliency of the human spirit, the women she’s met at the Bean Project who have faced and overcame insurmountable odds, and how it’s changed her - from being a “hard hearted business focused woman” to a woman who wants and needs to know each woman’s story, will remind you that what we have in common as people, is far stronger than anything that might divide us. Today, Tamra leads the Bean Project’s strategic direction and is instrumental in putting the organization on the national and international map, as a high-performing and impactful social enterprise. She is a former board member of Social Venture Partners-Denver, currently chairs the Board of Directors for the Social Enterprise Alliance and is on the advisory board for the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at the University of Denver.

To connect with Tamra and Women’s Bean Project you can visit their website www.womensbeanProject.com and you can find Tamra on Twitter @tamraryan and via email Tamra.ryan@womensbeanproject.com and you can find Women’s Bean Project on Instagram @womensbeanproject on Twitter @womensbean and Facebook @womensbeanproject

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

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Linda Olson

Linda Olson is the go-to story expert who helps authors, speakers and entrepreneurs impact millions with their stories. She is a TEDx Speaker, multiple bestselling author and founder of Wealth Through Stories. Her mission is to impact a million people a year with multiple authors in her series, Story Matters! Linda and her husband, Rick, reside in sunny California. They enjoy their two married daughters, sons-in-law and five adorable grandchildren who are the best part of their story.

In today’s episode Linda shares the day her life changed, and her journey of healing. As Linda shares, when we face an emotional storm we have a choice, we can either go with the storm and prolong our fear, discouragement, guilt and shame, or we can face the storm and get through it much more quickly. Linda shares the pattern she’s discovered when facing her emotional storms, the importance of not allowing yourself to stay stuck, and the gift of perseverance.

To connect with Linda and learn more check out her website https://wealththroughstories.com and on YouTube here Facebook @wealththroughstories Instagram @linda.wealththroughstories

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.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

Rosanna Berardi

Rosanna Berardi is the Managing Partner of Berardi Immigration Law and the CEO of High Wire Woman, where she helps working women create a blueprint to live their lives in a simpler way and take back their most precious commodity: their time. Starting as a one-woman operation in Rosanna's apartment fifteen years ago, Berardi Immigration Law is now a multi-million dollar firm that helps companies navigate the employment-based immigration system and foreign professionals achieve the American dream.

In today’s episode Rosanna shares her journey becoming an immigration lawyer and the CEO of High Wire Woman. Inspired by her dad’s story as an immigrant from Italy, Rosanna became an immigration lawyer and every day she works with clients around the world who want to come to America. For Rosanna, it’s such a joyful area of law. Today her work with High Wire Woman is all about about helping women create a life that works for them and empowering them to make those changes. Her goal is to help provide them with small, tangible steps that make a big impact and help women take back their most precious commodity: their time.

To connect with Rosanna and learn more check out her website https://www.highwirewoman.com and on Instagram @highwirewoman Twitter @highwirewoman and you can find her podcast, High Wire Woman 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, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.