“Throughout history, many women’s achievements have gone unnoticed or unsung. I created the WOW – Women of the World – Festival to celebrate the formidable power of women; to make change happen; to remind us of our history; to draw attention to injustice; to enjoy each other’s company and to encourage men to add their support as we set out to achieve a fairer world.”

- Jude Kelly OBE, WOW Founder and Co-Artistic Director, WOW-Baltimore

WOW – Women of the World is a Festival of talks, debates, music, film, comedy and conversations that celebrates the talents of women and girls from all walks of life and all parts of the world.  It is mean to showcase, celebrate and create conversation around topics of all kinds, be they fun or serious, that women and girls face in their everyday life, in their own community, in today’s society and in different countries around the globe.

Ann will be moderating the panel discussion Wrestling with Combat: A Look at the Financial, Social and Psychological Challenges of War on Women Whether on the Field or at Home with a distinguished panel of experts and veterans on Friday, March 2^nd from 11:15-12:15 | MedChi Osler Hall A

Find out more about the entire WOW Baltimore weekend

 Ann and Leonard Raskin

With money being a big concern for so many people, there are still those who choose to ignore managing their finances.  It feels too scary or too overwhelming to tackle.  So, nothing gets done and handling anything financial becomes more of a reaction to something that’s happened rather than a plan.  Not so good.

Then, there are those who are making decisions – investment decisions, thinking about buying a home, purchasing insurance, etc.  All of that can be good -  but maybe not if some of the basic initial steps haven’t been covered.

What’s a person to do?  Well, as Maria von Trapp said, “You start at the very beginning.  It’s a very good place to start.”  And, my guest this past week, Leonard Raskin, the CEO of Raskin Global and the Women Getting Wise on Wealth series, totally agrees with Maria.

Step One – Discovering your true purpose for money

Step Two – Determining where you spend your dollars

Step Three – Coming up with a budgeting (it’s a good thing) plan that will help you plan and look forward to what’s important for you.  You consciously choose where your dollars will be spent.

No one can afford to ignore the important steps anymore.  This is the prime time to take control of your finances and breathe a little easier.

If you missed the show or want to share it with a friend, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  It is jammed pack with crucial information to get you thinking about creating a fearless foundation action plan for your money.

Each of us has our very own set of values and beliefs when it comes to money.  When the financial decisions we make line up with those values, we experience a sense of satisfaction and contentment.  When we experience struggle, worry, buyer’s remorse or suffer in any way over money, most likely those decisions we are making are inconsistent with our values.

So, according to my guest, the WomanTalk Live Wealth Expert, Leonard Raskin, CEO of Raskin Global and Women Getting Wise on Wealth, the first step in creating a fearless foundation action plan is to determine what those values are.  And, when you discover your true purpose for money, every financial decision is easier because you can quickly determine which options serve your purpose.

The next step is to create the second piece of your financial foundation: Your Budget.  And, no, you don’t have to cringe when you hear the word “budget”.

Today, many people are re-evaluating their spending habits. Budgets, once considered the “spending straightjacket,” are actually back in vogue. Pull up any What’s In/What’s Out List for 2012 and chances are you’ll find budgeting right there on the “cool” side of the equation and overspending getting the outs.

At the beginning of the year, many of you made a resolution to take control of your finances. Well, this is the discussion that will help you get started.

Creating a budget with your true purpose for money in mind makes the process much more fulfilling and far less stressful. You not only see where your money is going, but also see hard evidence of your purpose.

Join us this week and take control.  Who knows?  You could become one of those people who really “gets it” when we say “budgeting is fun.”

Saturday, February 18th, from 6:07-7:00 pm ET on Talkradio 680 WCBM Baltimore or “Listen Live” online 

***

Lori Hollander, Ann & Bob Hollander

And, be sure to check out last week’s show when Tori and I talked…no, we were drilled…by our guests, Lori and Bob Hollander of Relationships Work, on the 7 ways every man wants to feel loved.  We think we passed the quiz. You decide and also find out what those seven ways are!

If you missed the show or you want to share it with a friend, listen here

“Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch.”   -  James Baldwin, author

What do you know about you? I mean, really know about you? We think we know so much. And, sometimes we go to great lengths to explain to ourselves and anyone else who will listen, why we are the way we are. After all, we’ve lived with ourselves for a long time…shouldn’t we be the experts on who we are?

We get so very stuck in thinking we know it all. After all, what we know is anchored in our belief system – the one we’ve carried around for years and years. It’s the very belief system that has shaped our attitudes about everything, our ideas, and the choices we have made. It could be the very thing that makes us feel like we have to explain why things don’t work out for us or why life seems like such struggle. After all, it’s makes such a good “story”, doesn’t it? Richard Bach, author of numerous books, says, “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.”

The rigidity of hanging on closes the door to the possibilities that are waiting for us. And, what’s even more amazing is that we make the choice to hang on. Why? Because sometimes divesting ourselves of the crutch seems more frightening than being released into the freedom of knowing who we really are.

What about opening the door and making another choice? What about giving yourself permission to get to know you? What about making a deliberate choice to let the old stuff go – the stuff that just isn’t true? Adios. Hasta la vista, baby. And, by making that one choice, by following that inner prompting from deep down inside, your life will change. You’ll start seeing new options. You’ll let go of the need to struggle. You’ll be aware of all of the marvelous synchronicities that are opening doors for you and inviting you in.

Making that one choice to take care of you, to let go of old, tired “stuff”.  Whew…how amazing.

Feels good, doesn’t it?

Ever feel like you’ve totally lost control of your domain?  Well, that’s exactly what happened this past week when Bob Hollander marched into the studio with his lovely wife and business partner, Lori, for our 6^th annual Valentine’s Day show to talk about love.

Here, I think I’m going to be doing the interviewing with the dynamos from Relationships Work, who just happen to be the WomanTalk Live Relationship Experts , but Bob and Lori informed me that they had developed a multiple-choice quiz on our topic – The 7 Ways Every Man Wants to Feel Loved – and that Tori (my fabulous producer) and I would be tested on our relationship skills.   Rut-Roh.  That’s when I got worried because I knew my own Bob was listening.  What if I got an answer wrong and was reprimanded???  I’d never hear the end of it.

We actually had a blast and learned a lot.  In fact, Tori and I are a lot smarter about these things than we even knew.  Why were we worried?

If you missed the show and want to find out what are the seven ways every man wants to feel loved, or if you want to share it with a friend,  the show will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  Listen and make every day extra special for your guy.

Women don’t mind talking about it.  In fact, ask a woman how she wants to be loved or what she needs to feel loved and you may end up spending the day with her.  And, if you can’t find a woman to talk to, just pick up any women’s magazine or stroll through a bookstore.  There’s plenty of women talking.

But, what about men?  What makes them feel loved?  And, why aren’t they talking???

Well, don’t worry.  We have the scoop.  Joining me for the sixth Valentine’s Day show in a row are the WomanTalk Live Relationship Experts, Lori and Bob Hollander of Relationships Work.

Not only will we be talking about how men want to be loved, we’ll be talking about the differences between how men and women want their loving.  It’s very different.

And, just in time for spicing up your Valentine fun, Lori and Bob will be sharing the 7 best ways a woman can make a man feel loved – a real gift of love any man would love to receive.

Join us this week and make a love connection.

Saturday, February 11th, from 6:07-7:00 pm ET on Talkradio 680 WCBM Baltimore or “Listen Live” online 

 ***

Bonita Linkins, Ann, Caprice Smith and
Jo Ellen Soesbee 

And be sure to check out last week’s show when I talked with Caprice Smith, Bonita Linkins and Jo Ellen Soesbee about escaping domestic violence.

If you missed the Conscious Conversations Café with these three incredible women or you want to share it with a friend, listen here

When I was in the first grade, I must have been very mature and wise.  How come I say that, you ask?  Well, about half-way through that first year of school, my teacher, Mrs. Jenkins (who just happened to have taught my father in first grade), pulled Lynwood R. and me out of class.  There was a mission she wanted to send us on and she knew we were the ones to get the job done.

Mission: Tommy L., who lived right next door to the school, was under the bed in the guest room at his home and wouldn’t come out.  He had declared that he would rather stay under the bed for the rest of the school year than come out, and his mother was in a panic.  Nothing she could do would get him to come out and, of course, she didn’t want to use force.  So, she sent out an S.O.S. and Mrs. Jenkins responded with her chosen recruits.

Lynwood and I went next door and up to the guest bedroom.  And, sure enough, there was Tommy under the bed next to the wall.  He let us know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to school.

Lynwood and I lay sprawled out in the floor half under the bed talking with Tommy for what seemed like an eternity.  “You gotta come out,” we said.  We assured him that he would be ok, that nobody would laugh at him and that he wasn’t in any trouble.  I remember holding my hand out to him and asking him to please come out and walk back to school with us.  Lynwood did his best persuading ever.  And, Tommy finally came out and went to school with us and that was that.  Mission accomplished.

Under the bed must feel like a very safe place. That’s where my Minkey and Weasel go if the vacuum cleaner comes out or the carrying cage that signals that a vet trip is imminent is pulled out of the closet.  It’s as if no one can get to you if you get under the bed.  You’re protected.

There have been plenty of days when I wished I could get under the bed and just stay there.  Bet you have those days, too.  And, bet you have found out like I have, that when you decide to crawl out and face whatever it is that chased you there to begin with…often, it was way bigger in your mind than it turned out to be in reality.  Oh, the angst we can put ourselves through.

So, I encourage you…come on out if you’ve been under the bed too long.  Take a good look at whatever “it” is that drove you there.  Perhaps it won’t be as bad as you imagined.  Perhaps it won’t amount to anything at all.  Perhaps it’ll be a fabulous character building opportunity for you that you will end up being grateful for down the road.

Who knows?  But, you won’t if you stay under the bed.

Jo Ellen Soesbee

It’s an equal opportunity offense knowing no race, gender or socio- economic  status.  It can happen to anyone – women or men, although the overwhelming majority of victims are women.

According to statistics shared by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.  Three of those women were in the studio with me this past week.

Caprice Smith, Bonita Linkins and Jo Ellen Soesbee joined me to talk about their experience with domestic violence – and their subsequent escape.

All of these women are incredibly smart, have successful careers and businesses, and are probably the last people in the world you would expect to be victims of domestic violence.  But, there were.  And, amazingly enough, they all told similar stories.

If you missed the show or want to share it with someone, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  It could help save a life.

No one deserves to be abused.  Help is available.  Relationship violence is a crime and you deserve immediate protection if you are being abused.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.


For advice and support, contact:

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) 24 hours a day and they will direct you to local resources. Their TTY number for hearing-impaired persons is 1-800-787-3224.

Domestic violence is not something that is out there happening to people who live on the other side of town.  It happens to that lovely woman who lives down the block from you, to the cashier at the grocery store, or to the woman who works in the accounting area at your job.  In fact, it may even happen to you.  Domestic violence or intimate violence – whether physical, mental, verbal, or emotional – is an equal opportunity offense and it is the leading cause of injury to women.

According to statistics shared by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

Joining me in the studio this week for a Conscious Conversations Café show will be:

• Caprice Smith, a seasoned Detective in the Baltimore City Police Department and the Executive Director of SharperMinds Consultants;
• Bonita Linkins, a survivor of domestic violence and an advocate who continues to educate the public on the “silent crime” of domestic, dating, and intimate partner violence.  Bonita is currently writing, Why Did I Stay? Domestic Violence: A Survivor’s Story; and,
• Jo Ellen Soesbee, who many of you know as the ToolBox TomGirl and the WomanTalk Live DIY Expert.  Jo Ellen grew up with domestic violence and abuse, and later married an abuser.

All three of these women have up close and personal stories and much wisdom to share.

Join us this week if you or a loved one needs help or some support.

Saturday, February 4th, from 6:07-7:00 pm ET on Talkradio 680 WCBM Baltimore or “Listen Live” online 

No one deserves to be abused.  Help is available.  Relationship violence is a crime and you deserve immediate protection if you are being abused.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.


For advice and support, contact:

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) 24 hours a day and they will direct you to local resources. Their TTY number for hearing-impaired persons is 1-800-787-3224.

***

And, be sure to check out last week’s show when I talked with Chloe Jon Paul about what to do when your loved one is in a nursing home.

If you missed my conversation with Chloe or you want to share it with a friend, listen here.

See those fireworks?  I had to set them off because I’m celebrating.

First of all, I’m celebrating TODAY – February 2nd. No, not because it’s Groundhog’s Day, although it’s nothing wrong with celebrating that if you’re so inclined.  Groundhogs are kinda cute and I loved that silly movie with Bill Murray.

The first thing I’m celebrating is my anniversary!  Seventeen years ago today, Bob and I took the plunge and got married.  We were both long-time singles and pretty set in our ways.  No…incredibly set in our ways.

We had a tiny, tiny wedding (just the two of us with a Unitarian minister.)  We had a lovely dinner at Raphael’s in Little Italy, and took off the next morning for two glorious weeks in St. Lucia.  The day we left, a huge storm hit the east coast closing down airports from D.C. north.  But, we made it out before the storm blew through Baltimore and only heard about it from someone at the front desk of the fabulous Anse Chastanet, the paradise we played at while everybody at home was sliding on ice and shoveling sidewalks.

Wow…seventeen years ago, and we’re still here!  Lots of challenges along the way, lots of growing up, and lots of love, too.  I believe that’s what pulled us through it all.

I’m also celebrating another anniversary of something I love…and, that’s WomanTalk Live.  This week marks the end of the fifth year of the program.  260 radio shows – talking to wonderful, interesting people about a variety of topics.  People I would have never met or been enlightened by – and, being able to share those guests, stories and their wisdom with you.

WomanTalk Live has also been incredibly fortunate to pull together a team of experts who provide on-target, valuable advice every week in the newsletter and when they join me on the show – advice that can make a real difference in your life or the life of someone you care about.  And, along with those experts, there’s a great collection of sponsors and advertisers who are the very best at what they do.  I sing their praises!

WomanTalk Live has evolved from “woman stuff” in the very beginning back in 2007 to “conscious conversations about topics that matter most to women, and the men who care about them.” And, I look forward to continued growing and evolving. Stay tuned for the Conscious Conversations Cafe lecture series we will roll out later this year.

And, last but not least, I am so very grateful to you for making the past five years uber-fabulous.  The best.  The most fun.  I am grateful for your support, encouragement and kind words along the way.  You really do rock.

In fact, I look forward to this coming year – this year of the Dragon -  as it brings more good blessings for all of us.  Yes. 

Happy Groundhog’s Day!