Author: Sean

Mary was the second illegitimate child of a single unconventional mother. She did not have the money to attend college, so she took a job as a stripper. Mary took the grim descent into the underworld. Fortunately, she met someone, got married, attended college and finished her university degree. Then, one day, her husband died at the age of 33. Mary and her young son were left with nothing to live on. She knew that she couldn’t afford to give up, she had to keep it together, as she was her son’s only support. Mary feels that education helped her to claw her way out of poverty. She shares these powerful nuggets of life wisdom:
– seek to have honest and equitable relationships
– our ability and desire to learn is primary
– travel activates our mind and senses

Mary C. K. Stein is a #MeToo octogenarian who started life as a Rust Belt farmgirl and learned the hard way the pitfalls that await the poor and unprotected in their quest for upward social mobility. After working for Bell Telephone, and then as a stripper in a mob-operated show lounge, and after that as a substitute teacher in an underserved middle school in Brooklyn, she began teaching AP/IB English abroad. That work took her to six countries on five continents: Greece, Egypt, Venezuela, China, Panama, and Taiwan. She wrote Fatherless, Fearless, Female in the hopes that it will give the current women’s movements their own embodiment

https://www.facebook.com/marysteinmemoir 

tags: Mary, Stein, writer, author, MeToo, social, change, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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When Carlyn discovered she was adopted through an Ancestry DNA test, it felt like a tsunami hit her. Initially, she felt shock, anger, abandonment, sadness and grief. Her identity got pulled out from her. Everything started to unravel. What got her through it all what her profound sense of gratitude. She was able to move through it all and put the pieces back together again. She shares these powerful nuggets of life wisdom:

– start a gratitude practice
– gratitude makes us more resilient
– whatever emotion you’re going through is not permanent
– there’s a greater gift on the other side
– just breathe and let it go
– don’t add layers of judgement
– live in the now

http://animalhumanhealth.com/

tags: Carlyn, Montes, De, Oca, author, speaker, animal, human, health, expert, dog, doctor, cat, nurse, paws, good, stuff, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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Janna experienced grief in her midlife and her internal dialogue felt interrupted. She spent two weeks in a casita (a small house) by herself, where she made room for and listened for what was being said. What Janna heard was profound, empowering, inspiring and affirming. She realized that she was not experiencing a midlife crisis, but rather grief as we say goodbye to things. Today, Janna helps others to redefine who they are in midlife, helps with changes related to their identities and facilitates new ways of feeling and thinking about themselves. She shares these powerful nuggets of life wisdom:
– practice forgiveness, grace and self compassion
– be kind to yourself
– be cognizant of the expectations you put on yourself
– be still and listen to your inner voice
– acknowledge what voice is saying
– make room for your voice without judgement and expectation
– allow yourself to make room to listen, nurture, love and receive

A thing to know is that Janna’s life passion and work consistently revolve around expression through words and images. She calls herself a ‘Wordstress.’ She perceives the world through words and images, and that’s the way she expresses and depicts the human experience. For the first time in her life, she feels tremendous freedom and curiosity, trying new forms of writing and photography, with uncertainty a welcomed part of the adventure.

Janna recently published her first book, “Me My Selfie & Eye – A Midlife Conversation About Lost Identity, Grief & Seeing Who You Are.” She’s proud of what it shares, how it’s helped people feel less alone, and how it truly resonates with both men and women. This was a major accomplishment, especially because she never thought she’d write a book. Which is why Janna understands people’s fears and hesitation about writing. She. Totally. Gets. IT! And she will be beside you every single step of the way.

She hosts a weekly podcast, “Eyedentity Talk” where she talks about identity, love, and the universe with dynamic, diverse people from all walks of life. Her enlivened conversations go DEEP!

https://www.jannalopez.com/ 

tags: Janna, Lopez, author, writer, photographer, blogger, podcast, host, Me, My, Selfie, Eye, Midlife, Conversation, Lost, Identity, Grief, Seeing, Who, You, Are, Eyedentity, Talk, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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