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Episode #110 — Travel and Learn with Alyson Kilday

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Do you love the idea of educational travel, but resist plonking down the money to actually book one of those awesome sounding trips your college sponsors for alumni or that you see advertised for groups? I do too. I love the idea of traveling somewhere cool, drinking fine wines and learning about something that interests me, but I always feel like if it is just for recreation, I should spend that money on a trip that includes my kids, and if it is for my own edification, then I should invest in a conference or something that will move me forward in my career or help me add income to my finances. Which is exactly why I am so excited to introduce you to Alyson Kilday and her company Damesly. Alyson combines the best of these two worlds by offering career focused learning opportunities for women in fantastic locations around the country and around the world.

Alyson says of herself and her partner Kelly, “We believe that investing in yourself returns exponential dividends and that for women especially, connecting with peers and mentors is more important than ever. We’re not your typical “tour” company, we bring together workshops and learning opportunities from amazing women in the field with people who share a similar passion or interest. We just happen to do it in epic locations, because what better way to form lasting friendships and connections than by sharing an adventure together?”

You can connect with Alyson Kilday via her website at damesly.com or on social media.

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Alyson is excited to have just launched “Damesly Minis” which are weekend workshops and retreats to amazing locations around the country. From learning how to become your own PR agent while cruising on a boat in Lake Powell, learning how to unleash and harness your creativity from successful makers and artists in New Orleans to upping your Photography skills while hiking in the Grand Canyon with a NatGeo pro she’ll be rolling out more Minis over the next year.

110 - Travel and Learn with Alyson Kilday

Alyson Kilday is the CEO of Hop & Jaunt, a creative agency based in New Orleans as well as the co-founder of Damesly. She launched her first company while backpacking and sailing across the Caribbean to Colombia and now calls New Orleans homebase. Having grown up in over a dozen countries she speaks Japanese and Spanish fluently and is currently on passport number 5. She’s excited to be able to bring together her love of travel and connecting people from around the world.

Episode #105 – Write Unleashed with Jeanette LeBlanc

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Do you find yourself making excuses for not writing? Today on Financial Fluency, I’m thrilled to have Jeanette LeBlanc with me. Jeanette is a writer and photographer who founded peace.love.free, a transformational writing workshop that helps writers find freedom in their words.  On the show, we talk about Jeanette’s struggles, truth-telling, and making a mark with your words.

In November 2015, Jeanette was working in a corporate position specializing in content marketing. The marketing department made cuts during the holiday season and let Jeanette go. The layoff turned her life upside down and pushed her to pursue her creative passion—writing. She remembered there was a great sense of panic after getting laid off because she was a single mom raising two children.

About three weeks later, Jeanette realized she didn’t want another job, she wanted to go all in with her writing and created Wild Heart Workshop: 30 Questions To Bring You Closer To Your Wild Heart, which was a precursor to Unleashed. Jeanette tells me the idea was inspired by her own feelings of being lost.  She was without a job, and coping with her failed relationship. So Jeanette decided to write a few prompts to help rediscover herself. She kept writing and 40,000 words later, Jeanette realized she had course content, and wanted to share it with others.

Jeanette believes writing can heal, make sense of our world, and understand what’s happened to us. All it takes is one person who understands or knows what you’ve experienced to help you feel like you are not alone.

When Jeanette wrote about coming out and leaving her then-husband, she had a friend who lost her son at 40 weeks. Her friend was able to talk to her without diminishing Jeanette’s grief, which brought them together. This interaction was the most profound lesson Jeanette learned, to use the power of language.

Jeanette Shares Her Message

“There’s a way to tell stories that invite other people into the narrative who haven’t  experienced life the way you have. When someone sits down to explain their story in a way that allows me to access their experience, my compassion grows, and my understanding of the world grows. It’s a tremendous gift for the writer and anyone who comes across it.”

Unleashed is a 12-week journey with different themes each week; the final week explores universality in writing. Jeanette says this helps writers think past their own experience to connect and help someone else.

For more information about Jeanette visit her website peacelovefree.com or follow her on social media.

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Sign up for the next Unleashed Workshop here. The workshop starts gathering on July 5th and officially begins on July 10th.

#105 - Write Unleashed with Jeanette LeBlanc

Jeanette LeBlanc helps writers, would be writers and ‘but-I’m-not-a-writers’ unleash their voice, tell their stories, and create compelling content that resonates. Jeanette is the creator of peace.love.free, a transformational writing workshop that aims to help writers unleash their courage to stand in their power. In addition to being a writing coach, Jeanette is a photographer, poet, and feminist. She currently lives in Phoenix, AZ with her two daughters.

Episode #77 The Accidental Author with Danielle Watson

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Today I am pleased to have, for the second time, Danielle Watson, the creator of The Purse Process and the Pocket Muse, and author of the new book, Dear Self, I Love You! Keep Going!: 365 Inspiring Notes from My Bittersweet Year of Heartbreak and Healing.

Danielle Watson has had a lifelong dream to be an author.  In 2016 she did just that, however, the circumstances upon which she wrote her first book were nothing that she could have imagined. It was in fact, almost accidental…

Flash back to 2015, a mere 48 hours prior to her departure to give a Ted Talk, Danielle received divorce papers taped to her front door.  She decided to put her big girl panties on and kept going.  She found a way to get the support she needed to get through that very important event in her life.

A few weeks later, reality had set in, and she wondered how she was going to get through this difficult time.  She did what she could to stay positive, and take care of herself.  One day, on her soon-to-be ex-husband’s 40th birthday, she saw her reflection in the mirror, and realized she was still living her life, and still had a sparkle in her eyes.  Her pride in herself led her to post about her feeling in Facebook, like a sticky note to self, and people started to respond to it in a big way, calling her an inspiration.  

As a form of self-care, she decided to write a post every day for a year.  In January 2016, while revisiting one of her post from a year prior, she finally realized that her series of posts could become something more.   And so was the birth of her first book, Dear Self, I Love You! Keep Going!: 365 Inspiring Notes from My Bittersweet Year of Heartbreak and Healing.

Danielle shared that she has plans to create a tear away calendar, fridge magnets from the most special notes and eventually a hardcover version of her book in the near future.  In addition, she plans to write a memoir of the stories behind the notes that led to the writing of this book.

Danielle has closed down the Purse Process and the Pocket Muse, and now has a daily Facebook Live Show called The Danielle Daily, which airs every weekday at 3 p.m. EST.  With the goal of helping people to think of themselves in a more positive way, attendees will find something positive, inspiring and powerful.    

Danielle Shares Her Message Here  

Speak more kindly to yourself, love yourself, embrace life, and no matter what, keep going!  In moments when life feels the hardest, there’s an easy decision to make: continue to criticize ourselves for our failings, or open ourselves to the possibility that, yeah, we’ve made (and will continue to make) mistakes, but we just might be lovable anyway.

Quotes 

  • “I think it is a pretty amazing feat to almost accidentally write a whole book”  – Jen Turrell
  • “We’re the only person who is going to be with us throughout our life” – Danielle Watson
  • “Sometimes we just have to be able to soothe ourselves”  – Jen Turrell
  • “There is a lot we can do by taking actions to affect positive outcome”  – Jen Turrell

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Danielle WatsonDanielle Watson is a TEDx Speaker, Author, and host of the LIVE Danielle Daily Show where she provides her positive, inspiring, and powerful Notes to Self to people seeking freedom from self-critical thoughts. Her book, Dear Self, I Love You! Keep Going!: 365 Inspiring Notes from My Bittersweet Year of Heartbreak and Healing serves as a reminder to her global fan base that even when life feels painful or hard, you are stronger, braver, and more powerful than you think, and no matter what you have done or will do you are worthy of your own love.