Angela Hed Vincent 💃 founder of True You Tapping

Angela Hed Vincent 💃 founder of True You Tapping

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 24, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Angela Hed Vincent

Owner of True You Tapping Master EFT Practitioner, artist, and entrepreneur.
Vegan, with a love of all creatures and nature… Compassion and loving kindness come first in all things.

The Truth About Getting My Groove Back

I was a mess.

Severely burnt out, deeply depressed, seething with rage just under the surface, having chest pains, panic attacks, and wanting to die. I had struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts since I was a very young child, but this was different. The leadership position I found myself in took everything I had. In charge of two programs in a non-profit arts organization, bullied by the ED, unsupported and unacknowledged for my work by peers, with no end to the workload in sight. Being prone to mood swings was one thing, but not feeling anything except bursts of anger and a deep well of emptiness, that was truly scary.

Art had always been my love and my dream, the thing that kept me going. Now, suddenly, I had no passion for it at all. My master’s degree in sculpture seemed like a useless waste of time to have achieved. The time I did have after work, I spent researching ways to heal from burnout, complex trauma, and PTSD, pushing myself to keep my hands in art, and escaping into Netflix and food. I had always had my feelings and my inspiration for the next project, now without them I didn’t know who I was anymore.

Out of the blue my position was eliminated, leaving me feeling stunned, useless, dead inside, and too broken to do any job at all. I had done everything right. I had worked hard, played by the rules, taken exceptional care of my staff, tried desperately to find a work-life balance, and still, I found myself without the job I had nearly killed myself to do well.

This path was not working.

I have always been drawn to the healing arts and, as a Reiki Master, fascinated by how our bodies heal themselves if we can just get out of the way. A few months before the demise of my position, I read about EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) in a bookstore and was delighted by it’s capabilities. This is the healing modality I had been looking for. Simple, highly effective, self-administered, and can be used anywhere. There was nothing I wanted more than be well and nothing else I was capable of focusing on with my job gone. The EFT certification process itself brought me back to life. I spent week after week tapping on my issues, one by one, releasing them while gaining an understanding of what moves trauma fastest and most efficiently without retraumatization. Then I began tapping with other people, and found the most rewarding work in doing so. It lights me up to see joy where there was pain, lightness replacing grief, and hope overtaking anxiety. If I can help someone release even a fraction of the pain I’ve felt, we are all better for it.

All of the trauma in my life had kept me from living my best self in the world. Through EFT I have worked through compound trauma from years of being bullied as a child, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, multiple sexual assaults, repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse, issues of self-worth and self-loathing, enmeshment, emotional detachment, suicidal ideation, burnout, and an artist block. My panic attacks and chest pains are gone, I am passionate about making art again, I feel more calm, connected, and happier than I think I have ever felt in my life, and I continue to uncover more about who I truly am everyday.

Working with clients using EFT feels like nothing short of miraculous. It has quickly cleared old grief, profound sadness, feelings of being trapped, phobias, fears, guilt, shame, feelings of unworthiness, limiting beliefs about money, internalized oppression, and internalized homophobia.

A fresh start is such a gift.

What I know now is that I’m not sure how I lost my groove… in truth, I don’t know if I ever really felt like had it in the first place. I can tell you this… tapping is how I found myself, my true self. Uncovering layers of old trauma to reveal more of my light, more of my essence, the true me. My experience of the past 2 and a half years, building my business, healing myself, and helping others do the same brings me life and light and hope. Tapping is how I got my groove… and how I help others do the same.

Angela

Angela’s Get Your Groove On Song is
The Bleachers’ I JUST WANNA GET BETTER

Check it out in our Play List

More about Angela Hed Vincent:

Angela Hed Vincent is a certified Master Level EFT Practitioner and owner of True You Tapping. She helps burned out and trauma-filled professionals, therapists, and clergy, release their traumas and find balance, so that they can come from a place of wellness in all they do. Angela founded True You Tapping after she successfully used EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) to release her own severe burnout, depression, and compound trauma. True You Tapping was created to help others who are feeling lost, alone, and hidden beneath their traumas, to dissolve blocks, collapse issues, and unearth their true potential. Accreditations: •    EFT Master Practitioner Certification •    Energy Medicine Certification •    Advanced Energy Medicine: Healing Trauma •    Reiki Master Certification

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Andrea Gerrard Dow 💃 Healing Arts Director at Creators Space

Andrea Gerrard Dow 💃 Healing Arts Director at Creators Space

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 23, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Andrea Gerrard Dow 💃 Healing Arts Director at Creators Space

Meet Andrea Gerard Dow

Teacher, healer. creative. Making my mark on this crazy world with a wink and a smile.

 

Getting My Groove Back

I have been reclaiming my essential self and getting my groove back over the past two and a half decades.

I lost my groove slowly, gradually, and over so many years that I nearly forgot that I even HAD a groove! Taking many small steps over time has led me closer to my true nature so that I can live in better alignment with my life’s path and purpose. It took a tremendous amount of grit and resilience (and extreme stubbornness) to get here!

I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in my late teens and with thyroid cancer in my mid-twenties. In the midst of surgeries and chemo and radiation treatments, I lost my brother and best friend, Rollo, to suicide when I was twenty-tree and six years later lost my other brother, Scott, again to suicide. Within a span of one decade, I went from a relatively carefree life in rural North Dakota to a life of what seemed to be a never-ending series of tragedy, chaos, and dis-ease.

Disappearing Groove

Needless-to-say, my essential self (my groove) began to disappear.

To say that period of time was all bad would be untrue.

That decade of darkness in my late teens and early twenties, while difficult and tragic, also held some of my best moments of my life! My son Brett was born – my miracle baby insisted on being in this world after I was told my chemo treatments would leave me without the ability to have children. I found the love of my life inside the sterile walls of the Roger Maris Cancer Center, and we will be celebrating seventeen years of marriage this summer. I was set on a unique course in life that opened my heart and left me with immense compassion, empathy, and wisdom.

I learned at a young age that our time here is limited and uncertain but also that there can be beautiful moments found in the midst of suffering. The challenges that I faced gave me more reason than ever to give my best self to those around me. Being a young mom was one of the biggest blessings because I always had SO much to live for and to strive to be healthy for. I took my responsibility as a mom very seriously and wanted Brett to live the best life possible. I believe that my role as a woman and mom gave me superpower strength during times when I needed it the most!

However, over time the stress began to get the best of me. I was working in a stressful job and was not recovering from thyroid cancer as I should have been despite many surgeries and radiation treatments. There came a point when I could feel my strong and positive nature shifting toward fear and doubt. This was such an unfamiliar feeling, and I did not like it one bit! It became clear that major changes were needed to shift my life’s path – and it was up to me to make these changes. I knew that I needed to do my part to tap into my own healing potential.

Questioning the Status Quo

I began to question the medical approach I was taking. I asked myself questions about healing:

  • Shouldn’t healing look and feel differently than this?
  • Why am I continuing to pour radiation into a sick body?
  • Why am I so afraid when I talk to my doctor?
  • Isn’t there more to me than just these isolated systems and body parts?
  • Why isn’t anyone asking me bigger questions about myself as a human – what my history is, about my loss, about my life, about my energy and spiritual life.

The more I asked questions, the more obvious it became that I had to take my health into my own hands and to become my own advocate.

Leaving no stone unturned, I combed through books, research, and talks about functional medicine and nutrition, energy medicine, guided visualizations, movement, bodywork, yoga, Ayurveda, and herbalism. Before I knew it, I was juicing my greens, sipping on apple cider vinegar, and making my own kombucha. I was implementing basic changes and began to use supplements. I was beginning to get my groove back by empowering myself to do my part in healing my life.

Positive Results

As I began to see positive results from implementing basic changes into my life, and then shifted toward asking more existential questions like  “why am I here?”, “who do I want to BE in this life?”, and “how can I use the time that I have to do the most good?”.

As I was making changes in my personal health and well-being, I had a knowing that I would want to help others make changes in their lives too. I envisioned opening up a wellness center where people could actually heal. I did not know what it would look like, but I knew that it was needed. I trained to be a yoga teacher – yoga saved my life years prior when Rollo died, which led to a massage therapy program. The healing power of touch always made sense to me. This program led to the study of Ayurveda and Thai Bodywork. Over the years, I made peace with the loss of my brothers and while life would never be the same without them in it, I learned how to use my memories and experiences with them to shape my life. We are so much more than our physical bodies, and I feel their presence in my day-to-day life. Dare I say that I even have a relationship with them in a way that is impossible in the physical, material world!

One Last Piece of the Puzzle

There was one last piece of the puzzle that I needed to solve. It was time to finally take a leap of faith and let go of the job that provided financial security but at the expense of me living my true nature. The timing could not have been more perfect – my dear friend had been going through a major awakening of her own and conceptualized Creators Space. She needed help, and the vision called to me so much so that I quit my job nearly on the spot and began to find ways to be involved.


Taking that leap of faith was a critical step in getting my groove back. Surrounding myself with on-purpose creatives gave me the permission to create something of my own. I recently took the time to create a new program called In the Making – a wellness collective for practitioners and teachers who are focused on holistic wellness. The program is in its beginning phases but honors and celebrates the journey that comes with the transition into wellness. We are all on a trajectory of being in the making of our lives. Amazing practitioners and teachers have begun to show up to help others align with nature – and their true nature.

Claim Our Power

It took me many years to get my groove back, and it feels goooooood. It is essential that women not only get their groove back but that they deeply claim their power and embody their “essential coolness”.

We embody this coolness by being our truest versions of ourselves. And the truth is … we need one another, we need our shared stories to unite us, and we need the healing that happens when we lift one another up to SHINE.  — Andrea

🎧 Song: Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over (2010 Version)

Andrea Gerard Dow

Creators Space

Andrea is a healer, a teacher, and a creative that loves bringing people together to connect and collaborate. She partnered with her dear friend to conceptualize and build Creators Space Рa creative community center and coffee house. Through that experience, Andrea remembered her vision to create something that honors and celebrates the journey of making a life. She recently created In the Making and dedicated it to wellness practitioners and teachers who are stepping into their power to help others live their best lives. Andrea is a spiritual gal who is using her special gifts through her teaching and wellness practices and is continually creating new classes, workshops, and experiences – a podcast is on the horizon! Watch for In the Making, the Podcast soon!

In the Village: https://members.athenavillage.com/members/1245453

https://www.inthemakingof.org/

https://www.instagram.com/inthemakingoflife/

https://www.facebook.com/creatorsspacemn

https://www.facebook.com/andrea.g.dow

https://www.instagram.com/argdow/

https://www.creatorsspace.com/

https://www.instagram.com/creatorsspacemn/

Meet me in the village!
Jody Lichtor 💃 prop/food stylist, dental hygenist, jewelry designer

Jody Lichtor 💃 prop/food stylist, dental hygenist, jewelry designer

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 12, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Jody Lichtor

Creator. Life Designer. Gracefully Rebellious.
Playful Intellectual Banterer. Dancer.
Loyal and Devoted friend.

It never occurred to me to want to “be” anything when I grew up. Raised to be the perfect wife, mother, and hostess, I was expected to follow the rules, not rock the boat, smile, and be flawless. This became my method of survival – my go-to solution.

I grew up on the cusp of change when few women veered from getting a degree in nursing, education, or library science. At my mother’s insistence, I graduated high school in December and started college in January at The University of Kansas. I was not given an option. I grew up in a medical family. My father was an orthopedic surgeon. Medicine wasn’t a consideration; nursing followed suit.

Across the hall from my father’s practice was a dentist who suggested dental hygiene. The hours and the pay were better than nursing and all prerequisites were the same.

Something to Fall Back On

I applied and was one of 50 students out of 250 applicants accepted to the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Dentistry. At KU I was an A & B student – as long as I only took the minimum science requirements. But nothing could prepare me for Morphology and Occlusion, Microbiology, Pathology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology.  At the end of my junior year, the dean called me into her office to tell me I was failing two classes. She offered to help me get through the program.

At age 19, I didn’t have the courage or wherewithal to listen to my instincts. My parents believed the arts to be extracurricular.  Dental hygiene was something I could “fall back on” should I need to support myself.

In 1974, I graduated with my BS degree in Dental Hygiene, passed my boards, and was licensed to practice in four states. Unlike most of my classmates, before that time, I’d never set foot in a dental practice other than as a patient. It was no surprise that I felt out of place and disliked being a dental hygienist.

Approaching Life Creatively

I needed something more. So, to feed my creative beast, I took professional ballet classes and danced with Kansas City Ballet Company.

Three years later, in 1977,  I moved to Minneapolis and started my own business: becoming the first independent, temporary dental hygienist. I thought it would make my job more flexible, leaving time to travel and dance. After a few years, having grown tired of last-minute calls, I took a contract position in a large dental practice.

Then I met the man of my dreams, dating him during the years he wrote and released “Funkytown.” Nearly four years later, the magic carpet ride ended when he left me for a woman with whom he’d had an affair. With our worlds and friends intertwined, I sought out a more creative career option. I had a few dates with a guy whose ex-girlfriend was a graphic designer. That sounded fun, so I researched the qualities of a graphic designer and it seemed a perfect match.

Geographical Cure

Believing the solution was to move, I spent the summer studying design in Chicago and then moved to NYC where and finished my completed my AA in Graphic Design.

Between classes, I took daily professional ballet classes and explored the city until the spring of 1987 when I moved back to the Twin Cities.  I once again “fell back on” dental hygiene to fill in the gap.

Still Searching

That first year back, I took a class from a group of seasoned graphic designers called Rent a Mentor. Students ranged from little experience to those rekindling careers. One teacher kept insisting that I needed more classes in typography. My response, “I need a job to gain experience!” The class concluded with an evaluation and feedback. One of the mentors posed an unforgettably profound question:

“Did I study graphic design because I wanted to be a graphic designer or because I wanted to get out of dental hygiene?”

It struck me like a ton of bricks and I took notice. Though I did a little work for a graphic designer friend, I knew it wasn’t the answer.

Two years later, I took the opportunity to buy a diet and exercise business from a friend. He ran the diet program and I taught cooking classes and managed the resistance-based studio. But, we couldn’t compete with the corporate competition and 3.5 years later, when my lease ended, I closed the business.

My mother was right – at least I had dental hygiene “to fall back on.” With dance and designing jewelry as my creative outlets, I steadfastly held onto the dream of marrying a man who would take care of me while I passionately pursued my art.

A New Creative Outlet

About a year later, I dated a man in the film business which ended too soon when he left to manage Lyle Lovett’s national tour. While together I shared my desire to do something more creative, he suggested I consider getting into location scouting or wardrobe styling for commercials and features. I followed through contacting his referrals and thus began my career in production. I loved it!

For several years, I worked exclusively on features, commercials, and high-end corporate videos.  9/11 changed it all – reduced budgets and technology resulted in less projects and opportunities. In 2001, I again began doing temporary dental hygienist.

Following the recession in 2008, I added to my income stream by working for a friend’s non-profit. The contrast and diversity was ideal. And through it all, I had learned to embrace and appreciate dental hygiene. I had created the perfect balance.

Continuing to freelance opened up my life to more creative ventures.

I joined the board of directors of MN Women in Film & TV in 2006. I’ve served two terms as Vice-President, and I’m currently in my 3rdyear as President.

On July 2nd, I’ll be 67 years old. I plan to work for at least another three years, continue designing jewelry, finishing my book, producing a reality series, writing a bill for legislation…

In my wildest dreams could I imagine a pandemic that would turn the world upside down.

I’ve had abundance and blessings in my lifetime, as well as suffered a great deal of loss. I grew up with privilege, expecting my life would follow suit. It was not until my twenties that I realized my parents had not championed my talents and gifts, that I’d not been encouraged to take risks and trust my instincts. My survival go-to was to “be compliant,” “be the good one,” and “be forgiving.” I learned my lessons well. At the same time, I grew up with intelligent, strong-willed, and innovative parents from whom I learned relentless fortitude.

Though I’ve chosen an unusual path, I reflect on my life with gratitude, I’ve managed all my endeavors as a creative that I alone created.

To be continued….

Jody

This is the song that gets Jody moving.  Everybody Dance Now!

More About Jody

Jody Ann Lichtor is President of MN Minnesota Women in Film & Television and has served on the board since 2008. She previously held two, two-year terms as Vice President and for seven years was Communications Chair, overseeing the monthly e-newsletter and e-blasts.

Jody started in the performing arts as a ballet dancer at the age of four. An accumulation of varied experiences in graphic design, computer graphics, non-profit work and a desire to contribute to world beautification led her to film production.

Jody has worked for over twenty years as a Food and Prop stylist on various media including commercial, print, cable programming and web broadcast. Partial client list: Pepsi, Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Purina, Schwanns, Johnsonville Brats, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jennie-O Turkey, Hormel and Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern and Food Network’s Food 911 with Tyler Florence.

She’s also a production coordinator/manager for commercials and high-end corporate communication, television series and mixed media.

Jody’s a member of WWRC – Women Who Really Cook, an organization for women in the food industry;  AICP – Association of Commercial Producers; PLACE – Projects Linking Art Community and Environment, and Aging But Dangerous.

Jody lives in 1903 carriage house with 4 legged son Oscar Meyer.

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Teresa Thomas 💃 speaker, facilitator, author, Win/Win Networking + 50 Fun Things

Teresa Thomas 💃 speaker, facilitator, author, Win/Win Networking + 50 Fun Things

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 22, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Teresa Thomas, founder 50 Fun Things™

Award-winning speaker, facilitator.
Author of Win/Win Networking and 50 Fun Things

“When you have your groove, you just feel so right in yourself, you feel right in who you are, how you’re showing up in the world, how you’re interacting. You have that inner sense of alignment that you’re just being who you need to be. And sometimes we lose a sense of that…
I took an action a little over two years ago… I was approaching my 50th birthday. I made this decision that I was going to find my voice and I was going to speak it.”
[Video 05:06]

My go-to favorites areLouis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World  and
John Lennon’s Imagine

 

What Ideas and questions did Teresa’s story and her songs sparked for you? You’re invited to share your own experiences with us in Athena Village – a free private online community.  Click here to join the conversation.

More About Teresa

In her 25 years as a professional connector, Teresa has facilitated hundreds of networking events, presented for countless groups, and helped thousands to connect and grow.

She is the recipient of the 2019 Women in Business Champion through the Small Business Association (SBA) of Minnesota. Teresa is also named as one of 2019 50 Over 50 leaders by AARP and Pollen.

Networking expert, author, facilitator and professional speaker Teresa Thomas energizes and empowers!

In her highly interactive style, she packs her presentations with “how-tos,” humor and inspiration, leaving people excited about creating meaningful connections and accomplishing their personal and professional goals.

People leave Teresa’s Win/Win Networking and 50 Fun Things™ workshops and seminars with new insights and practical strategies that are ready to put into action. Equip your team, staff, members or students to gain critical skills needed to master networking and to proactively build their network before they hit a crisis point.

Teresa provides networking presentations, workshops and facilitated networking mixers in an engaging format. Most recently, Teresa created the popular 50 Fun Things™ workshop and tools for participants to intentionally invite more joy, fulfillment and meaningful connection into their personal and professional lives.

Teresa created the Win/Win Connects Pillars to:

  1. Create win-win meaningful connections.
  2. Discover and apply new networking and professional development tools.
  3. Energize and motivate through uplifting community.

At the core of each of these pillars is a commitment to joy and fulfillment for all involved.

Follow Teresa:

 

Susan Vagnoni Murphy 💃 The Humane Marketer, Speaker

Susan Vagnoni Murphy 💃 The Humane Marketer, Speaker

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 20, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Susan Vagnoni Murphy 💃 The Humane Marketer, Speaker

Meet Susan Vagnoni Murphy,
The Humane Marketer

Wisconsin-born, actress and arts advocate.

Mom to two sons who are positive lights in this world. A marketer who wants to succeed as she helps others achieve.

My Story

Last Equals Lost

An empathetic soul is life’s gift and challenge. When others are in need you drop it all in the pursuit of helping out. Noble yes, healthy no.

When I began my quest to get my mojo back (I called it survival) I had suffered a devastating job loss. Add to that, being a single mom with two sons I supported and a weight problem that had become…sizable.

During this scary transition I started to lose multiple family members to cancer and Alzheimer’s. It seemed with each step forward there was another reality check. All of this affected my own health as I tried my best to be there for others. It brought me back to the time I was going through a tough divorce, losing my home, and nearly losing one of my sons to an unforeseen health crisis. I recalled how my own health suffered and I had somehow lost the person I could count on to get me through (myself).

What to do?

I decided to not totally disappear this time but looked for like-minded women who I felt had it “together.” I networked, I wrote, I joined communities and I started my own business, The Humane Marketer, after taking courses and completing a mini-MBA. (That was a frightening leap of faith). I discovered that like-minded women were also dealing with challenges of their own. The difference was that some of us were putting our needs last and some had a healthier view that being attentive to your mind and body was a much better way to move forward.


One of the groups I joined was called So Do It! and the women I met there were looking for some support, impetus, inspiration and conversation to start, or restart, things that were important to them. I had multiple seasons with So Do It! where I got my novel moving again, started a weight loss journey that is successful to this day, returned to my performing roots to feed my soul and simply, put my own needs forward without any guilt attached.

Another group I have been a part of for many years is Women in Networking. It has another amazing cadre of women who are interested in the greater good for each other. One of the offshoots has been 50 Fun Things which encourages us to keep joy in our lives by making time for fun, adventure and exploration – no matter how large or small.

You have probably heard of the saying ‘give yourself tough love.” But it is the love part of that intention which often gets left out. We willingly talk brutally to ourselves! Something we would never do to a friend.

When you are most fragile the “shake it off and be a big girl” attitude only goes so far. It sets you up to fail because you are in isolation trying to make things happen in a community-centric world.

For anyone on the mojo journey, my suggestion is to look for the ONE THING that is in your power to change.

To dive into the pool you need a sturdy platform. It can be as simple as getting more sleep or decluttering your home. No act is too small to start a revolution. There are times when you feel so lost because very little seems to be in our own hands. Look for the one thing that is in your power to change and make that your priority.

Make you your priority.

My Song:

Badlands by Bruce Springsteen

Susan Vagnoni Murphy

Susan Vagnoni Murphy

Humane Marketer

I am Susan Vagnoni Murphy, principal of The Humane Marketer, serving solopreneurs and small businesses by helping them have a strong presence on the internet. Some of my favorite clients are authors because we share a passion for the written word.

Warning, I tend to gravitate to the artistic and the unconventional! I am an actress, writer, and speaker. You may find me in front of audiences performing a murder mystery or sharing a story from my novel-in-progress. The true loves of my life are my two sons Alexander and Nicholas. Family is first and I am grateful for the lives who raised me and the lives I have the privilege to raise.

Meet me in the village!
Cj Staples 💃 Co-author of Cakewalk – The Science of Happy

Cj Staples 💃 Co-author of Cakewalk – The Science of Happy

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 19, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Cj Staples

Fun-loving, creative, friend, mentor, wife, mother, grandmother/yaya and co-author, with granddaughter Lily of Cakewalk – The Science of Happy.

My Song:

Michael Bublé’s When You’re Smiling

My Story

In about 2015, working as an LOA – Law of Attraction – coach, I had opportunities to hang out with my oldest granddaughters quite a lot. Lily, the oldest, was 15 at the time and had a lot of questions about LOA. We engaged in many conversations about how it applied to her life, she was very intrigued, and it made sense to her.

One day as we talked, we both had a feeling that this was information all teens/tweens could use and learn from. Lily was finding that it gave her a great sense of peace and ease and she wanted to give that gift to others like her.

We didn’t know then what that would look like, we only knew that taking notes and continuing to have the conversations was fun, and we both learned more about how to live with more ease and joy life in the process as we dug into it more and more and worked it into specific life situations.

So, we met once a week after school to discuss and take notes. After several months we realized that we had something that could be made into a booklet or book. Then started playing with the idea and wondering what it would look like. We sat down one day and started doing a mandala coloring book while we talked and wrote down words that defined ease.  We had all kinds of them, but one stood out – Cakewalk.

Lily knew in a moment that’s what she would like the book to be called… if we ever indeed created one. That was exciting for us! We needed more. And when we met again, we started adding a sub-title phrase to describe our version of Cakewalk. And a full title was born – Cakewalk – The Science of Happy. Lily came up with that. From then on we worked on images, quotes, and stories, we liked for the book.

It wasn’t until months later that I found out about a group my friend Kelly Pratt had formed called The So, do it! Salons. I hadn’t seen Kelly in a long time when I ran into her at an event. I loved the idea of it – doing that thing that has been sitting on my back burner. It felt right, and I signed up. The So, do it! Salon was meant to be for me! Not only could I have the support of a group of fabulous, like-minded, women to encourage and cheer on this project, I could also do so for them. And in that group I found our “book doula” Kelly Pratt! She was just that, she helped us give birth to our wonderful book!!  We could not have done it without her…. Well, we might have gotten it done, but it would have been a much harder and longer road.
There are no coincidences!! It was meant to be. So on May 20th 2017, we launched Cakewalk – The Science of Happy! What a joyful accomplishment! Lily and I have enjoyed, and are still enjoying, getting out book out into the world. We did many book signings, and got ourselves on Kare-11 with Pat Evans. It has all been fun!
I think the biggest lesson I have learned in this adventure, is that we really can do anything we put our minds to. I would never have dreamed I would publish a book of any kind. And to publish one that helps others, especially teens, really is a dream. And to do so with one of my grandchildren is the best gift of all.

When we just go ahead, listen to our gut, and So, do it! doors open and fear gets pushed aside.

Seriously…Life is FUN!!
Cj Staples

More About Cj

Cj is a certified life coach with a passion for empowering others to live their best lives. She has always been interested in how and why we do the things we do and discovering how to change the patterns that do not assist us or allow us to live amazing lives.

Cj has studied and practiced Abraham-Hicks Law of Attraction teachings since 2001 as well as the teachings of many other brilliant individuals. These teachings have given her so much peace and ease in her own life.

She has two daughters, four granddaughters, and one grandson, and enjoys every moment she gets to spend with them doing the things they love; boating, swimming, camping, x-country skiing, and enjoying music.

She, and her oldest granddaughter Lily – 19, are proud co-authors of Cakewalk – The Science of Happy, which is a book based on the law of attraction for teens & tweens. They are passionate about helping young people understand their own power of positive thought and how, once understood, it gives the reader a true sense of empowerment, peace, and joy.

She lives in Minnesota with her husband Jeremiah, who is a chiropractor and also a lover of learning, so overall mental and physical health and wellness is how they play in their daily lives. – Oh, and so is having Fun!

Follow Cj