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!

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Melissa Pahl 💃 founder Melissa on Money

Melissa Pahl 💃 founder Melissa on Money

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 18, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Melissa Pahl

Hike, bike, paddle, yoga, dogs, art, teaching how to win the day with money.

 

My Song:

Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine

“I had this perfect storm that brought me financially to my knees …  I got off the phone [with a credit card company] and I burst into tears…”This is sucking the energy out of my whole life.”

So I did a hard pivot… Over the next few years, I assembled a plan for myself that completely rescued me from my own financial distress.
And then the universe just brings us together. I had a conversation with a friend, and she expressed that she had never been taught how to manage her money. So I showed her. Then I showed a small group of friends, and then it grew from there.”

More About Melissa

Melissa Pahl teaches women a way to manage their money without budgeting through workshops, online training and private coaching. Melissa Pahl has a degree in Finance and has managed multi-million dollar business transactions, but that’s not where she developed the principles she teaches. Life offered her the opportunity to navigate the murky waters of credit card debt, entrepreneurship, market crashes, career changes, investment losses and divorce. Out of need, she developed a simple way to overcome these challenges and now teaches others through workshops and private coaching.

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Eli Trier 💃 owner/founder at Eli Trier Communities + quiet revolutionary

Eli Trier 💃 owner/founder at Eli Trier Communities + quiet revolutionary

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 16, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Eli Trier

Helping quiet revolutionaries rally the troops. Introvert, cat-lover, bookworm.

My Song:

Ian Dury’s Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

My Story

How Gratitude & Creativity Helped Me Get My Groove Back

As my eyes flickered over the email, I could feel my heart sink. The full implications of what it said broke over me like a wave, and I felt myself go numb. I stood up from my desk, walked from my home office into my bedroom, crawled into bed, and pulled the duvet up over my head. I stayed there for over a month…

At the end of 2012 I had a business deal go south. It was a merger, of sorts, with a few other companies, and I had made huge life-changing decisions based on the outcome. Everything was looking rosy, until all of a sudden, it wasn’t. I won’t go into to all the details of what happened, but it turned out that one of the four companies involved in the merger (in fact, the mastermind behind the whole thing) turned out to be a front for a con-artist. He had deceived all of us.

It was a total sucker punch. I felt like such a fool – my business felt tainted and my confidence was in tatters. How could I have been sucked in by such a monster? I was burned out, exhausted, humiliated, and just, well… spent. I had definitely lost my mojo.

After a month of mostly sleeping, and crying, and watching crappy TV, I made a decision.

If I was going to be miserable, I may as well be miserable doing something I loved. So I dusted off my art materials and started drawing.

I set up a personal blog, and decided to concentrate on the good things in my life. The people who had made a difference to me, or brightened my day, or shown me a fresh perspective. Once a week, I drew a picture and wrote a thank you letter to one of these people – some living, some dead, some famous, some family, musicians, artists, scientists, business leaders, all sorts.

Every week, I set myself the challenge of making a brand new painting for the project, and gradually, I began to paint more and more pictures (unrelated to gratitude) just for the joy of it.

I kept producing work, and I kept publishing it. Some of it was awesome, some of it sucked.

And then, a funny thing happened – people started getting interested. The blog was picked up by a couple of news outlets, and I had a surge in traffic. I even ended up publishing it as a book!

All of a sudden, people were telling me that they loved my work and asking where they could buy it. I started being asked if I did commissions, what my illustration rates were, etc etc.

Lo and behold, a completely new career was born, and I loved it. For five glorious years I drew pictures for money (alongside teaching and creativity coaching, because illustration doesn’t actually pay very much!).

All of this was born from a desperate attempt to claw myself back from a pit of despair. All of this came from the tiny seed of a thought – that the only way out was to say thank you.

I have a very different job now, the seeds of which were sown during those years. And these days I keep my art as a special sacred thing just for myself. To nourish and inspire me in both dark times and light.

My creativity is my greatest source of joy and connection.

Being grateful forced me to be authentic, and when I approached my life from a place of authenticity and gratitude, everything changed for me. I saved myself, and I got my groove back in a big way.

These days I create when I feel like it – painting is the best antidote to anxiety I know, and it never fails to reconnect me with the true essence of who I am. Making art is my expression of my truest self, and it’s a precious jewel just for me.

MORE ABOUT ELI

Eli Trier lives in the wonderful city of Copenhagen, Denmark and is a community builder for Quiet Revolutionaries. She helps introverts with big dreams to get connected and build thriving, engaged communities around their businesses, so that they can make a massive impact, find their dream clients, and make their corner of the world a better place. A long-time business owner, Eli knows first-hand the power of human connection to build a business, and her unique approach got her featured in The FT Guide to Business Networking. She specialises in creating powerful, strategic online community projects and loves every minute of her work (even the boring bits). When she’s not working you can find her curled up with a book, painting, or hanging out with her husband Lars.

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Heather Friedli 💃 Oil Painter

Heather Friedli 💃 Oil Painter

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 15, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Heather

Heather Friedli is best known for her contemporary impressionist oil paintings, depicting her family heritage and the land in which she lives.

 

  My Song: Juice by Lizzo

My Story

My art career has been a lifelong process. I had a difficult first half of my childhood, living with my mom and grandma in the barrio of Los Angeles where drawing became a survival lifeline for my mental health. I would draw on paper, my school work, my arms, on tables, the walls. Everywhere I went I saw beauty – the sky, smoggy mountains, grass growing through the cracks in the sidewalk, planting a pinto bean and watching it grow. I craved the natural world.

When I was nine, after a difficult divorce, I was exhibiting signs of depression. My mom and aunt decided it would be best for me to have a change of pace and a positive male role model. So I moved in with my aunt and uncle into a tiny apartment in Luxembourg! Because they knew my inquisitive love of art, they took me to see all the classical works of art in Europe! It inspires me to this day.

I spent the second half of my childhood in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. My passion for art and nature continued to grow. Many of my formative years were at camp in the woods, and spending days up north with our family’s tribe gathering the stories of our elder relatives, going to pow-wows, and being with family. My Gran came from my moms to live with us as her needs increased. She brought with her the stories of her childhood, and that continued love and connection and protection she was always known for.

After high school I went off to the Maryland Institute College of Art. I majored in Fibers and Textiles mainly because the badass feminist teachers were the best in the whole school – leading their students in learning the ropes of “shameless self-promotion” and how to survive in a difficult art market.

But after college I felt unmoored. “Lost at sea.” I call this period “the lost years.”

I questioned whether I wanted to be an artist. Whether I wanted to follow the call of the wild and become a naturalist. Or whether I wanted to live off grid as a survivalist.

I went back to my safe and sacred place at YMCA Store Camps in Michigan where I re-engaged in their goal setting program and started to envision where I was going with my life. In 2009 (during the Great Recession) I set a goal that, on April 1st 2010, I would set out to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.

And on April 2nd, 2010, I did.

I started down the Trail at Springer Mountain, Georgia with a girl I had met online. She was hiking the trail for her high school senior thesis project. Her aunt and uncle, who live in Georgia, met me off the plane in Atlanta, I met my new hiking partner that night. After a restless night of sleep, my new partner and I were dropped off at the trail head the next day and started our big journey north.

“Snickers and Crafty” ended up hiking together for almost 400 miles. I received my trail name‚ “Crafty” because I created most of my own gear; from my tent, stove, backpack, first pairs of moccasins, and a few articles of clothing. Snickers got off trail due to homesickness, but I continued my journey, hiking with various other folks I met along the way.

The number one piece of advice I received kept me going on my journey, and still keeps me going today. I received it on my second day on trail in Georgia. It is advice I hold dear to my heart and share with anybody who will listen.

During an incredibly difficult uphill trek up one of my first mountains by former thru-hiker I met southbound. This man, seeing my face all red, and out of breath with my huge backpack, pulled me aside with a big smile on his face and asked  “You heading to Maine?” to which I replied “Yes I am”

This gristly man, with his slightly rotund figure and face full of hair got a huge smile on his face and said
“I’ve got some advice for you! I thru-hiked this trail before, and the one thing that kept me going was this. Remember – it’s one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. That’s it! It doesn’t matter how slow you are, it’s not a race. Just get that one foot in front of the other and keep going!”

It became my mantra every day. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other until I get there. And after six and a half months, from Georgia to Maine, 2,178 miles later, On October 11th, 2010 just four days before the park service was set to close that last mountain to hikers for the year, I summited Mt. Kathadin!

Through wind, rain, snow, sleet, hurricane, thunderstorms, sunshine, bloody hot weather, I did it! One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And while on trail I dreamed to become a painter. As I hiked, I dreamed paintings, I smelled paint, I could feel the brush strokes of the landscape in my hands as I hiked. The land around me was calling! So that’s what I did. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

Fast forward – I became a wife, then mom of two. I am still painting. Every day I take steps in order to continue my artistic journey and fulfill my dreams. Ever since summiting that last mountain, I KNOW that I can do it! Just one step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

MORE ABOUT HEATHER

Bold brushstrokes and brilliant colors light up scenes of cloudscapes, water, and native flora. Many pieces are created in the context of her wilderness adventures; she often brings her paints outdoors to create work that shares with the viewer her experience of immersion in the landscape. Within these colorful works, Heather explores the spiritual world through the lens of culture and lived experience of place. Heather’s work is creative, soulful, bold, and powerful. Heather’s work is an effort to synthesize her love and experience in the natural world, and wilderness adventure travel. Those experiences, being out in the world seeing the beauty and power of nature are represented in large scale paintings. She paints with a passion for the land, looking around and internalizing the colors and expressing them onto canvas. Working in a large scale is not only an expression of what she sees, but also becomes a physical dance with her painting. The movement and rhythms in these works are her own unique dance with the land around her.

Heather Friedli was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1982. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2005. In 2010 Heather Thru-Hiked the Appalachian Trail which upon completion inspired her to continue her work as an artist concentrating on painting the natural world. She currently is enjoying life in Saint Paul with her husband and two sons.

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Marisha Chamberlain 💃 novelist, playwright and founder, Circle in the Field

Marisha Chamberlain 💃 novelist, playwright and founder, Circle in the Field

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 7, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories

Meet Marisha Chamberlain

Intrepid traveler, newly in love, widely produced playwright, novelist, late in life mother of a splendid son, cat servant. Irreverent Buddhist.

How About Love?

I’ve always had my groove. It’s partly a matter of temperament.

My set-point is naturally optimistic, and although I cope with physical symptoms daily, my constitution is strong and my curiosity, unwavering. I have tricks and tips, rituals and charts I’ve used for years—they’re fun for me, and keep me on track. And though I’ve known misfortune—a raggedy-poor upbringing, a family riddled with mental illness and addiction, an excruciating marriage that lasted for 20 years—I’ve also been steadily cheerful, and convinced I was happy, despite long, less happy periods.

In my experience, things fall apart and then come together in cycles, partly influenced by luck. In addition to misfortune, I’ve great luck. My plays and libretti have been performed around the world, including multiple times at Carnegie Hall. My son was born to me when I was forty-five years old, a healthy boy, bristling with intelligence, who is about to graduate from university in the midst of all of this worldwide uproar.

Also, just lately, I’ve fallen in love for the first time in thirty-some years. We’re sheltering together in quarantine, my new love and I, and it is wonderful. We go crazy with laughter every blessed day—and crazy with, uh, other things that involve tearing off clothes. I find myself writing in top form. I’m able to address the covid-19 pandemic directly via the small nonprofit I lead, and I’m already hearing how much the extended public service film I’m producing, via the nonprofit, is making a difference in the world. I’m also handling daily misunderstandings, off-the-rails thinking and

wild behavior among people very close to me. It is not easy, but I’m lucky and happy, as always, and I plan to go down with the ship singing this song of lucky and happy and love, love, love.

Just before we went into quarantine in Minnesota, I had a terrific lunch with another writer, who mentioned a friend of hers, a scientific consultant of such renown that he’s been on the road constantly, from Los Angeles to Paris to Tokyo, etcetera. As it happens, this scientist is, genetically, at very high risk for early-onset Alzheimer’s. He recently asked his medical team of world experts whether there was anything else he could do to prevent dementia. He got a surprising answer. They suggested that he fall in love. The research is coming on this, they said.

He protested that he’s already in love with his wife and adores his kids—he certainly isn’t going to seek an extramarital affair. Then the experts clarified:

fall in love with your wife again, or with something else—with a book, or a piece of music, or a tree. The rush of hormones when we fall in love apparently does more than we perceive to protect our health and sustain our energies, to say nothing of the thrills it brings. Love! Why the hell not?

I adore my new partner past all telling. I love Italy—la bella Roma, in particular, to say nothing of Florence, cradle of the Renaissance.

In this photo, I’m walking down a street in Florence, Oltrarno, toward what else but love!

Andrea Bocelli – Return To Love featuring Ellie Goulding

More about Marisha

I write poems, novel-length fiction, plays, and texts for music such as song cycle lyrics and opera libretti. Why would anyone do all that? To me, it’s great fun, and deliciously risky to try a new form, and then find out I can do it well. Good ol’ trial and error—including plenty of error.

My nonprofit is Circle in the Field creates virtual support groups via video for people going through crises. I’m a documentary producer, and have served as executive producer, camerawoman, writer and editor for such clients as the Hazelden Foundation, the Minnesota State Bar Association, VocalEssence, and the Minnesota Department of Education. I’ve held fellowships from the Bush, Rockefeller, McKnight and Jerome Foundations and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

I live in a loft in the old Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul, where, from my window, I can see actors rehearse, musicians play, dancers dance, and writers like myself bent over their laptops.

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Sheri Bennefeld 💃 Way Beyond Ordinary

Sheri Bennefeld 💃 Way Beyond Ordinary

30Women30Stories, Athena Village, Member Stories

by  | Apr 4, 2020 | 2020, 30 Women 30 Stories, Sheri Bennefeld

Meet Sheri Bennefeld

Entrepreneur, vegetarian, traveler, connector and visionary life-long learning. I’m always looking for creative ways to make things better.

Uncovering the Authentic Me.

I feel like I’ve been living very authentically for most of my adult life. In fact, just the other day a college roommate and sorority sister said to me about a time in college, “I can picture you now, standing in the dining room with your hands on your hips saying, ‘I’m just going to say it.’” Apparently, I have always been prone to speak my mind and be me. With one really obvious exception – my hair.At 25 years old I began turning gray. And subsequently began my long standing relationship with a colorist. Over the course of 27 years I have had 300 color appointments, occupying 562 hours of my time and more than $50,000. And yet, those were not among the reasons I made the decision in April of 2018 to stop the coloring and return to my natural color – now gray. Or silver as many prefer me to say.My decision had more to do with recognizing that every 4 weeks I was putting chemicals into my scalp to change the way I was naturally supposed to look. And if I was truly being authentically me – I have gray hair.As women there is so much societal and internal pressure to look young, or fashionable, or vibrant. And society has decided that women with gray hair are none of those things.So, with the defiance that I often muster when I make a solid life-changing decision I announced to my colorist – “This is it. We are breaking up, and we are not going to be seeing each other again. I’m sorry your daughter will not be able to go to college now.” 😊 Seriously, that was the conversation we had, along with an emotional moment after 11 years of spending 2 hours together gabbing every month. And she supported my decision.Unlike many women who make this decision, I have a very supportive significant other, he has never made a negative comment about my hair, nor have my friends – with maybe one exception. I’m grateful for that. I hear horror stories of women being judged and bullied by so-called loved ones for their choice to be natural. This breaks my heart.We all have the right to make our own decision on the matter and I am not here to tell you that my decision is the right one for you or to judge those who continue to color into their 80s and 90s. That is up to you and what makes you feel good.What I do want to tell you though is this: The color of your hair, like the size of your ass does NOT determine who you are. Your heart and soul and how you bring yourself to the world does that.So, be you! Wear blue hair if you want, just own it and do it with grace and confidence. I’ll be cheering you on either way!

Today is Your Day, Shania Twain

Sheri Bennefeld, Way Beyond Ordinary

I’m an entrepreneur who is always transitioning. After a full and varied career I started my own coaching and consulting business in 2012. I studied, I practiced and I learned what it takes to survive and thrive as an online business. Like most entrepreneurs, I learned it all and did it all. From content writing to SEO to sales funnels and webinars. Lead generation and graphic design, list building and strategic planning. It’s all part of the package when you’re growing a business on your own. Today I join that knowledge with the skills and experience of a long career working with home service business owners to help them accomplish more, keep overhead low and maximize efficiencies.
Meet me in the village!