The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien

The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Never Say Never

Never Say Never: Jennifer Loehding
Forty-third Episode: Jennifer is a podcast host and a motivational speaker dedicated to empowering women, celebrating achievers from all walks of life, and sharing inspiring stories from trailblazers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who are making their dreams a reality. As the creative force behind the Starter Girlz Podcast, Jennifer helps individuals succeed in their careers, finances, relationships, and well-being. Her passion for personal growth and empowerment shines through in engaging interviews and uplifting content, inspiring listeners to dream big and achieve greatness. She’s made me an Honorary Starter Girl, and she joins me to shine her light. We hope you join us, too.
Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/live/AWCkbvpiIBo?si=jy2v4DQ7BMuMBeDj
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Dennis and Ali Pitocco

The Journey Within: Dennis and Ali Pitocco
Forty-second Episode: Dennis and Ali lead 360 Nation, a media enterprise dedicated to rediscovering and showcasing humanity at its best. 360 Nation includes BizCatalyst 360, an award-winning global media platform supported by the best writers on the planet; 360 Nation Studios, producing compassionate streaming content; 360 Nation Events, hosting humanity-driven virtual and in-person experiences; and GoodWorks 360, offering pro bono consulting for nonprofits worldwide. They embrace presence, belonging, and compassionate service, allocating resources for good, not for profit and highlighting our human potential for creativity, compassion, and collaboration. Dennis and Ali join me to share their recent pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago and to help us understand our own journeys. Please join us.
Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/live/sUz6SrjsahE?si=WGrg3nqcE5lgqvpF
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Bringing Dreams to Life

Bringing Dreams to Life: Dominick Domasky and Cody Sims
Forty-first Episode: Dominick got to publishing and motivational speaking the old-fashioned way: He paid his dues and learned from every experience, from pulling weeds and picking up cigarette butts as a boy working for his father’s landscaping company to being punched, jobless, broke, cut from the team, and out of business. He refused to give up. Through his business, Motivation Champs Media, he now inspires people daily through publishing, screenwriting, a large social media footprint, in person events, and working with nonprofits.
Cody is the founder of RainingCrow Design Studios, offering commission services in illustration, painting, graphic and concept design, and more. He teaches acrylic and watercolor painting and is a co-founder of The Twilight Cottage LLC, selling original art and homemade herbal wares at festivals around the Southeast. He continues to work as an author and illustrator, having worked on more than a dozen books for others over the last decade, while continuing to write and release his own work under the pen name Dani Lebeaux.
Dominick is the publisher and Cody is the illustrator of my recent graphic novel, The Waterloo Diaries: The Bedsore Conspiracy. They join me for a spirited conversation. We hope you do, too.
Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/live/s-SFdYJr_q0?si=-6lmM00N1DsYNMZ8
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Creative Perspectives

Creative Perspectives: Anne O’Brien
Anne is the founder of The ArtFitters, an interior decorating and design firm. She re-imagines ordinary spaces (residential, commercial, historical, or institutional) to create the extraordinary — beautiful, organized, functional, and comfortable — through adaptive re-use and creative utilization. At an early age, she found herself drawing house plans, enjoying visits to furniture stores, and continually re-staging her bedroom. At age eight, she was more interested in picking out wallpaper, re-upholstering furniture, and re-decorating rooms than going out to play. In her professional life, the scopes of her projects grew larger. Her exposure to styles, materials, and furnishing became more broad. With more than 20 years of experience behind her, Anne is a visually inventive conceptual thinker who always sees the big picture. Because it informs her work, Anne made time for art. She had instruction in sculpting, pottery, Norwegian folk art, wood carving, dress, jewelry, and interior design. She studied painting at the Borgo Rinascimento International School of Art in Farnesi, Italy, and with numerous artists. I’m fortunate enough that Anne is also my spouse.
Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/live/7mXmR8H_jxw?si=2Y4WSr_ILBqIEHy8
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Moral Collapse: The Holocaust

Moral Collapse: The Holocaust
Thirty-ninth Episode: On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I engaged in a LinkedIn conversation. The comments I posted in that thread drew responses that made it clear I had to amend my thinking. Specifically, one of the correspondents used the phrase, psychological sidestep, that rang like a gong in my head. Since that made it clear I have much to ponder and learn, I invited three of the people who engaged in that LinkedIn conversation to join me on the program. They are:
Melissa Hughes, Ph.D., a psychologist and neuroscientist
Rabbi Yonason Goldson, a speaker, advisor, award-winning podcast host, and teacher of Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Esther Miller Bais Yaakov High School in St. Louis
Sven Lauch, an accredited emotional logic coach.
Please join us for this conversation. If you’re lucky, you’ll learn as much as I do.
Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/live/gIp-lqKJR2Y?si=TZ4dQP8Mak4FT4DY
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Transcending Trauma

Transcending Trauma: Daisy Plaza
Thirty-eighth Episode: Daisy experienced trauma and violence in her home and her community from an early age. Later, she struggled through and got out of an abusive marriage. The mother of four children, she refused to let her circumstances dampen her spirit or dim her light. She used her experiences navigating trauma to write her book, I Did it For Her, in which she shares her stories of pain and healing to help others gain hope and strength. Given her extroverted nature, she draws people to her easily. She loves spending time with her children and her grandchildren, healing, living her best life, the occasional chai latte, and writing. She joins me for a soul-stirring conversation. We hope you will, too.
Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/live/Wzc64ddLbnU?si=D_1gW9tvUi4CsucE
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: What’s the Big Idea

What’s the Big Idea: Craig and Sue James (Part Two)
Thirty-seventh Episode: Craig and Sue, Partners and Co-Founders of CatalystStrategies (a.k.a Cat-Strat Services), return for a second visit. Cat-Strat Services works with organizations and individuals to help them get unstuck, to envision their goals, and to execute their plans with creativity and confidence, offering everything from sales to strategic advisory services, from leadership development to coaching. And it earned a mention in the book, INside INnovation: Looking from the Inside Out. You can find that mention here.
Craig hosted the podcast, Big Audacious Idea, which I encourage him to bring back. And he’s the current co-host of the program, Distinction Dialogues, that appears on LinkedIn Live and Zoom. Sue is the quiet one. Because that’s true, you don’t want to miss a word she says because every one of them is important.
We had a great conversation the first time they joined me. I’m sure we’ll do it again. And we hope you join us.
Video Version: https://youtu.be/MjnQy8BVCl0?si=Re0I3qIwEPMaqSTI
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: No Uniform Required

No Uniform Required: Roberto Alfaro
Thirty-sixth Episode: Roberto is a retired, decorated Hartford, Connecticut, police officer with more than 26 years on the job. He’s also a SAG-AFTRA actor and professional model, a writer of dozens of poems and short stories, a motivational speaker, an inventor, a Salsa dancer and instructor, a former bodybuilding champion and Personal Trainer, a Hartford Mounted Police Rider and Instructor, and an author of two books. His memoir, Fighting Through the Hurdles of My Life, captures his story of survival, heartbreak, redemption, and beating the odds in a way no one expected. He’s now working on his third book, a children’s book about his life as a Hartford Mounted Police Officer with Alex the Wonder Horse. Roberto’s intent for sharing his journey is to make a difference in the lives of others. Through his faith, family, tenacity, and determination to exceed the expectations of others, he never stopped believing in himself. His personal mantra is, "Never stop dreaming because no dream is too big to dream." Please join us for an inspiring and reassuring conversation.
Video Version: https://youtu.be/KyGxtoPVjoE?si=mUDPOsNxDNK_rsls
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: My Charmed Life

My Charmed Life: Anne O’Brien
Thirty-fifth Episode: Anne is the founder of The ArtFitters, an interior decorating and design firm. She re-imagines ordinary spaces (residential, commercial, historical, or institutional) to create the extraordinary — beautiful, organized, functional, and comfortable — through adaptive re-use and creative utilization. At an early age, she found herself drawing house plans, enjoying visits to furniture stores, and continually re-staging her bedroom. At age eight, she was more interested in picking out wallpaper, re-upholstering furniture, and re-decorating rooms than going out to play. In her professional life, the scopes of her projects grew larger. Her exposure to styles, materials, and furnishing became more broad. With more than 20 years of experience behind her, Anne is a visually inventive conceptual thinker who always sees the big picture. Because it informs her work, Anne made time for art. She had instruction in sculpting, pottery, Norwegian folk art, wood carving, dress, jewelry, and interior design. She studied painting at the Borgo Rinascimento International School of Art in Farnesi, Italy, and with numerous artists. I'm fortunate enough that Anne is also my spouse.
https://theartfitters.com/
Video Version: https://youtu.be/0Hk6TkgRN3Y?si=zRg54EKtMkdroyJc
Learn more about Mark here:
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The Anxious Voyage with Mark O’Brien: Undaunted: Shell Sawyer

Undaunted: Shell Sawyer
Thirty-fourth Episode: Shell’s dad was her hero. He paid bills at the kitchen table, telling her everything he was doing. She was fascinated by his organization, his green ledger paper, and his pens. Wanting to do everything he did, she got a master’s degree in accounting. A short, disastrous marriage left her having to get her financial house back in order. She married again, had a daughter, and built a life and a family. Divorce knocked again after 14 years, leaving her devastated … but determined. She’s now a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) and a Certified Divorce Coach (CDC), guiding clients through the process, helping them make informed decisions to transition into the next phase of their lives. And she’s the author of the book, You Are Not Alone: Your Guide for When Divorce is on Your Doorstep. Please join us for what will surely be revealing conversation.
Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/live/6TUhMVWHhVY?si=mzWxpzMkWu47BTe3
Learn more about Mark here:
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