2 Boomer Broads Podcast

This is a special show for the 2 Boomer Broads podcast. I (Rebecca) had the opportunity to interview award-winning singer Patti LaBelle for my blog BabyBoomster.com You can read my blog post on BabyBoomster.com here. Patti is working with Pfizer on a campaign called “All About Your Boom™” to promote awareness of pneumococcal pneumonia for Baby Boomers. It’s an important discussion because Baby Boomers over 65 are 13 times more susceptible to the disease than people under 50. It’s also deadly. My interview with Patti LaBelle is short and to be honest, I did it on my phone so the sound isn’t perfect but I did my best to fix it. Watch Patti’s video “All About Your Boom™” below where she sings her hit song “New Attitude.” Please also read my blog post on BabyBoomster.com here. Patti LaBelle was joined in the interview by Dr. Vincenza Snow who offered her professional insights and knowledge about the disease and how it can affect you and those you love. The 2 Boomer Broads hope that you will seriously consider getting the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine if you are over 65 or have a chronic condition that suppresses your immune system.  We also encourage you to get your flu shot early because the flu can escalate to pneumonia, especially if it isn’t taken care of immediately. Please visit your doctor regularly to prevent diseases that are common for Baby Boomers, eat nutritious food, exercise, and do all you can to stay healthy. I want to thank Pfizer for giving me the opportunity to interview Patti LaBelle and Dr. Snow and to learn more about this important campaign. I urge you to share this information with everyone you know who will benefit. Make sure to visit the “All About Your Boom™” website for more information about pneumococcal pneumonia by clicking here. Have you had your pneumococcal pneumonia or flu shot yet?

In this episode, we talk about Sin City. Our guest is Megan Edwards who is the author of “Getting Off on Frank Sinatra.”  Megan is also a Las Vegas expert who tells us about the ins and outs and dirty secrets of her fabulous city. Coming to you this time from the Liberace Museum The book’s title is not as solicitous as it sounds. One day, Megan got off the I-15 at Frank Sinatra Dr. It was the first time she ever got off on Frank Sinatra but now she does it all the time.  Frank Sinatra Dr. is a great way to drive on the backside of the strip when the freeway is full of traffic. You can’t get off on Dean Martin. He’s on the other side of the freeway and there’s no exit or entrance.  You can zip down Dean Martin, but can’t get off on him. Megan is originally from the LA area (Pasadena) but moved to Las Vegas in 1999 never dreaming she would come to love it. She came to research a book and the city got under her skin.  Plus, the cost of living in Las Vegas is about 1/3 of how much it is to live in LA. What she loves about Las Vegas Megan is impressed with the city’s diversity. For example, there’s a large Hawaiian population in Las Vegas.  They call it the 9th Island. Many Hawaiians came because of the hospitality industry and they brought their fabulous food and entertainment. There is also a large enrollment of Hawaiians at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas. The Golden Years – 1997 – 2007 When Megan arrived in Las Vegas, it was already undergoing its Renaissance.  The Bellagio was relatively new.  It was one of the first “new style” Mega resorts and had better architecture than the older resorts.  The term for the old buildings is “decorated sheds.” The buildings weren’t significant and not necessarily built to last but their neon signs were fabulous.  Many of the old hotels have been imploded. Both Rebecca and Sharone stayed at The Sahara when they were young and that’s one old hotel that was renovated rather than destroyed. It’s now the SLS.  They did an amazing job of renovating it and kept some of the décors from Rat Pack days. The Sin Part of Vegas Las Vegas still makes tons of money on sin and it’s important to maintain their economy. On the other hand, it’s probably the most conservative place Megan has ever lived in.  For one thing, it’s a Mormon town. The Mormons were some of the first founders of that area and you can visit the Old Mormon Fort. It’s where people stopped to water their animals on the way to the gold fields in California. Many of the early casinos were owned by Mormons and still are.  They’ve also been instrumental in the growth of the University. UNLV. Prostitution isn’t legal in Clark, County, and that includes Las Vegas. It’s legal 50 miles away in Nye, County.  To get there, you have to cross a set of mountains so people call it, “Going over the hump to Pahrump.” Most Nevada brothels are in small towns or rural areas. However, prostitution still exists big time in Vegas because of cell phones and online sites. If you see guys snapping cards on the street corner, they have phone numbers of girls you can have sent to your room to “dance.” Off the Strip Many people who live there, avoid the strip. One attraction Megan loves is the Mob Museum. The previous mayor, Oscar Goodman, was a mob lawyer. His wife is the current mayor. He was wonderful for downtown and instrumental in its rebuilding. One of the things he always wanted was a mob museum because he knew so many colorful characters so he had it built. Megan was skeptical at first because she was worried it would glorify murderers but it turned out to be great. It’s connected to the Smithsonian and was rece...

Our guest in this episode is Rifka Kreiter, who is the author of the book, “Home Free: Adventures of a Child of the Sixties.” Coming to you this time from the Hotel California in Big Sur. Her book started out as the result of a prompt she was given in a writing group during the 90’s. After about a year, what she had written started telling her, “We wanna be a book!  We wanna be a book!”  It was a way to come to terms with a difficult past and childhood. She also wanted to share her adventures, of which she’s had many and how her spiritual journey healed old psychic wounds. JFK At the age of 14, she had an encounter with JFK at the Waldorf Astoria. She sat up in the balcony and could see him and Jackie below. She couldn’t believe the charisma he had.  When he was assassinated, she and a few of her friends drove down to Washington to view his body.  One of the chapters in her book describes this amazing experience. To Rifka, that’s when the 60’s really began. High School of Performing Arts and First Job As a teen, she attended the High School of Performing Arts (known for “FAME”) where she had a great experience. Not long after graduation, she worked as a hatcheck/cigarette girl in New York nightclubs and had some interesting adventures there. Difficult Childhood, Therapy, and College Her mother was unstable and she lived in 14 places by the time she was 16 including a foster home in 2nd and 3rd grade. Fortunately, she came from a good family and had great aunts and uncles.  She moved out on her own at 16 but had a lot of self-doubt and self-hatred. At the age of 18, she bottomed out. After a suicide attempt, she went into therapy, which she believes saved her life. She went to college at the time when many social movements were happening in the 60’s and became involved with fighting for social justice and women’s liberation. Meditation In 1970, while she was living in San Diego her aunt turned her onto transcendental meditation. TM. She later spent 10 years living in an Ashram in upstate New York and has been meditating ever since. (Now she teaches it) During the years she was at the Ashram she worked various jobs that included admissions at a college and a dental health program. LSD Rifka took LSD twice. Her second trip was in 1975 when she was in her 3rd year of her Ph.D. program in psychology. By that time, she had done years of therapy and had been meditating for quite some time. She took it in her room in Manhattan and talked into a tape recorder. She also wrote down notes in notebooks. She said it was life-changing and amazing because she saw her life in perfect order laid out before her. She didn’t want to keep taking drugs but wanted to continue on her spiritual journey so she got involved with EST training, which she loved. What she learned was “You should clear space in your life to make room for new things.” Counter Culture Cross Country During college, she was going to go to Woodstock but had the opportunity to take a cross country trip with the friend of a friend who wanted company on the road.  They took off in a VW bus and drove up to  Canada ending the trip in San Diego.  That particular trip opened up the counterculture to her. There were hitchhikers on the road and crash pads to stay at in each city they drove through. Rifka Kreiter’s Cathartic Experiences One of her most interesting experiences was working on a radical underground feminist newspaper called, “Goodbye to All That” in San Diego.  It was a collective and they did it for about a year. Working together as women, for women, was exciting!  Because of the content, they couldn’t get it printed in San Diego and had to drive it up to Riverside. After her LSD trip, she took a bus cross-country by herself and sought out every spiritual experience her intuition...

Our guest on this episode is Carol Cassara. She is a blogger and CEO of www.ahealingspirit.org.  Carol is a trained hypnotherapist does past life regression. She has spent over a dozen years as a support volunteer for the AIDS and HIV community. She recently founded A Healing Spirit to help others cope with disease, grief, anxiety, and chronic pain. Coming to you this time from the vortices of Vineland. Carol studied journalism and worked in corporate America where she had a long and fulfilling career as a corporate executive. She left her job 10 years ago and was looking for something to do in retirement that was more personal.  After experiencing the deaths of her parents and several friends, she felt she could help people overcome grief and anxiety. One of her friends suffered a terminal illness and she was able to be with her for a long period of time before she died. In her hospital room, Carol noticed her friend was depressed and wanted to help her focus on positive thoughts and healing. She made hand-made affirmation cards for her. After a few days, her friend told her she should market them. They had discussions on how her friend was using the cards and about what other sick people might want. She now sells 2 sets of affirmation cards on her website.  One set of 50 cards focuses on healing and the other grief. Both sets can be used as daily meditations. They are business card size and easily fit in a purse, or on a hospital tray table. Companion products to her affirmation cards are guided journals. Each page has a writing prompt to inspire you to write down your feelings and be creative. You can also draw or paste pictures in the journal, make a collage, or use it for whatever you like. There are activities, meditations, questions, ideas for memorials (in the grief journal) and more. She also offers 4 downloadable audio files for people undergoing medical treatments such as chemo to help your mind and immune system stay strong. Her husband recently underwent a surgery for a mass on his thymus and was told it would be painful. A week before the surgery he listened to her anxiety audio recording because he was nervous about the surgery. It helped him go into the surgery room with a good attitude. Three hours later, in recovery, he was given a pump for the pain. He asked the nurse for his phone so he could listen to the custom audio Carol made for him and even though his doctor warned him he would be in pain, he barely felt any. The following morning the doctor came in and was surprised at how well he was doing and told him he could go home.  He listened to the audio as his chest tube was being removed and again didn’t feel any pain.  The doctor gave him Oxy to take home but he never had to take it. A man in the bed across from him, who was 30 years younger, had the same surgery and was in excruciating pain. Carol’s husband became a believer. (She says, “He didn’t even know what “new age” meant before that.) Past Life Regression Past Life Regression is also a healing modality. Carol took a year-long course at Atlantic University to learn to become a past life regressionist. It helps people find the roots of things that are plaguing them in their lives like fears, scars, pains that never go away, chronic illness, and allows them to let them go. To do this she puts her clients into a moderate trance and talks them through guided imagery that will take them into a death scene to a past life or into the afterlife.  Some end up between lives with spirit guides in the afterlife. Others have found themselves out in the Universe.  Then she guides them to come back. Nothing harmful will ever happen to you if you go through the process. It doesn’t even matter if you believe in past lives ...

Our guest in this episode is Maggy Simon. She started a career late in life as a cabaret singer and has been doing it for the last 5 years. Since then, she’s held 7 live shows at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. It’s a beautiful place that seats 240 people with great food and has plenty of space for a singer and full band. Coming to you from the London Bridge, in Arizona. Maggy Simon – Yesterday Once More Before Maggy Simon started her midlife singing career, she had her own business management practice.  Her former career gave her the advantage of having both an artistic side and good business sense. She says they both fight with each other from time to time. “The artist wants everything now and the business person says, just a moment, stick to the plan.” Once the Pandora’s box had been opened she had to contain herself because she’s always ready for new ideas.  It all came about because of the way her life panned out.  After college, she had a choice to go the artistic route or get a real job and area where she could earn real money.  She ended up in the entertainment business as a story analyzer, which satisfied her artistic impulses. She later spent time raising kids. Then, her life changed.  Her husband, at the time, died unexpectedly causing her life to take another turn when she met her present husband. He heard her sing at a few parties (because she always loved to sing) and encouraged her to turn it into a new career. The next thing she knew, he started producing her shows at the Catalina Jazz Club and helped her record an album.  As an optimist, she believes you attract who you are to yourself. If you’re optimistic, and look at the bright side of things, no matter how dark your life becomes, good things will come to you. She’s always loved the American songbook, standards, Broadway, and modern songs and her album is filled with them.  The title of her album is “Yesterday Once More.” It’s a compilation of old songs with fabulous new arrangements.  Her lead song is “Nice and Easy” which speaks to her new romance with her husband Jack, and how it all rolled out so easily and naturally. Her album was only out a couple of months and had 5-star reviews on Amazon.  She recorded it in two back-to-back 8-hour days at Capitol Records Studio A, where Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin and all the greats recorded their albums.  Her husband made all the arrangements to make that happen.  The band was made up of top-notch studio musicians.  It was magical and was like a live performance.  (no post production cutting and pasting) Her performances at The Catalina Jazz Club have all been filmed with 3 cameras, and you can find them on her YouTube channel.  There are 65 video clips, showreels, interviews and more. She has a huge Facebook and Twitter following as well.  Many of her fans got to know her through social media.  Altogether, she has 74.000+ engaged followers.  Her album was designed scientifically by ranking her fan’s likes with her songs. It’s currently being streamed all over the world on Spotify, Itunes, Google Play, Target, YouTube and other.  Maggy says her fan base is made up of all ages from all around the world. If you visit her website, www.maggysimonsings.com, you’ll find her sizzle reel as well as all the places you can get her album and what’s on it. Listen in to the podcast to hear Maggy’s recording of “Le Jazz Hot.” Many of her costumes were designed by Giovanni. We love them because they’re beautiful and sparkly. Her plans for the future

You are going to love this show because our guest, Juliette Watt, reinvention specialist,  has done incredible things in her life and is a hoot to listen to. Her website is www.actthreeproductions.com. Coming to you this time from the Winnemucca Y Juliette is originally from London, England. She’s been a Playboy Bunny, cabaret singer, Emmy-nominated script writer and Writer’s Guild Award winner for soap operas, airplane pilot, and animal rescuer.  Her soap operas included “One Life to Live” and “Loving.” In the late 60’s, she worked as a Playboy Bunny/dealer in London at of the club’s casinos. Later, she toured as a cabaret singer for Playboy in America. “It was wild!” Of course, we wanted to know more. Playboy Bunny Her roommate was Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend at the time and they both hung out at the Playboy mansion almost every day. “It was fascinating to watch very famous people just doing nothing.” They weren’t trying to impress anyone and were able to be themselves. Some were even boring. Hefner was and still is smart and created a wonderful atmosphere for everyone who visited. It gave Juliette the opportunity to meet and learn from extraordinary people. They included Robin Williams, Gregory Peck, Peter Lawford with whom she had incredible conversations.  (Listen in to hear her stories about Robin) Reinvention as a Screenwriter In the 90’s she moved from LA to NYC. Her husband at the time was a Broadway actor. Cabaret was becoming a dying art form so she decided she wanted to be a writer.  She originally planned to write serious plays but her marriage suddenly ended and she had to find a way to support herself fast.  She took some of the plays she had written to ABC TV because they were recruiting writers for soaps. It took a year for her work to get approved. She finally got hired to write on “One Life to Live.” Her boss, who was a woman,  had just come from producing “Dirty Dancing” and turned “One Life to Live” into an award-winning show. They were first to do a story about AIDS and the AIDS quilt, which won an Emmy. They were also first to do a gay storyline and to switch a black and white couple.  Shows, up to that point, were allowed to show a black woman with a white man, but you never saw a black man with a white woman. As a scriptwriter, Juliette would write 92 pages, edited, and delivered to the actors in four days- every single week – 52 weeks a year. Over 4 years, she wrote over 750 scripts.  (Listen in to hear more of Juliette’s hilarious soap opera stories) Then, she became an airplane pilot She became licensed as a fixed wing pilot in 1995 and is now licensed to fly 19 types of airplanes, with the exception of jets. She also worked as a flight instructor. She left NYC right after 911 and moved to Utah to work for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and spent a dozen or so years doing animal rescue. During that time, she flew approximately 300 dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots, and birds, to new homes and rescue facilities.  After Hurricane Katrina, she flew all over the disaster area rescuing animals from the flooding. On Becoming a Reinvention Specialist Her reinventions have been extreme, but Juliette says, “If you apply yourself to something tremendously difficult, it keeps you young. When your brain is in the high gear of learning, you can’t do anything better for yourself.” “We are blessed to live in a country that lets us reinvent ourselves after the age of 40 because in other countries (like Europe) it’s much harder.”  There isn’t the type of class structure in the U.S. that prevents it.  (Listen in as she explains why this is and how she grew up) Her goal is to start a speaking career and also a reinvention mentorship program,

In this podcast, we talk about making better money decisions with our guest Kate Stalter.  We informed her before the recording session that we are both clueless when it comes to investing. “We’re artists and scientists, we’re not financial wizards.” ~ Sharone Coming to you this time from the Tarzana Tourist Center. Her website is www.bettermoneydecisions.com Fact: Money stresses people out. Kate says that shouldn’t happen. Money has to do with what you want to do in your life. What can the money do for you?  What are your hopes, dreams, and goals? Retirement means an entirely different thing to Baby Boomers as it did to our parents. Boomers have reinvented retirement as something that is much more active and vibrant. Many like to travel, others throw themselves into volunteer work and become activists, some spend more time with their family, etc. Making better money decisions – What do we do? If you’re still working, just continue saving.  There is a movement that Kate is concerned about that discourages saving in 401K’s. Advisers rationalize this strategy by saying that fees are too high or fund choices are poor. Although that may be true, doesn’t it make more sense to be in some kind of forced savings plan, regardless? If there is an employer match, you should take advantage of it because those are going away fast. Baby Boomers who receive an inheritance from parents, spouses, have to be careful with what they do with it.  Some spend the money and then find themselves struggling as they get older. Female clients often say talk about money confuses them. Male clients usually do not.  But guess what?  Men don’t know any more about money and investing than the women do.  The truth is, if your financial planner educates you, you’ll be fine. There are ways to increase your income without spending money, especially online.  Some of the old excuses for not having income do not apply anymore. Squirreling away your money and never having any fun is not good either. You want to spend time with the people who are important to you.  It comes down to your own definition of success.  It’s going to be different for every single person. At the same time, your money has to sustain long life expectancy because more people are living longer It’s important to strike a balance That’s what making better money decisions is all about. It may sound dry but it’s worth it. Unlike the old days, a financial plan may include sitting down with you to make better money decisions and to find out what’s important to you. Do you want to take that cruise? How long do you want to work? Do you want to be able to help your children with housing or with school?  Do you have elderly parents that you need to care for?  That’s the first level of the questions. Then, concurrent to that or right afterward, you need to take a look at your resources. How much have you saved?  What are your assets?  Kate says they don’t include your house in assets because you have to live somewhere and as long as you are living there it isn’t an asset. The conversation is a mix of logic and emotion.  Sometimes she has to tell people that they can’t take a cruise that year, but if they stay on track and keep saving they will be able to do so at a later date. You have to factor in caregiving Taking care of elderly parents is something most Baby Boomers deal with at some point and because life expectancy has been increasing, it makes it even more difficult.  Many live to be 90 and beyond.  You have to consider your parent’s long-term care as well as your own long-term care.  The expenses of caregiving can devastate families and cause family rifts. What should you invest in? Kate recommends investing in global stocks and bonds.

In this episode, we interview Dr. Tara Allmen, MD. who is the author of Menopause Confidential – a doctor reveals the secrets to thriving through midlife. Coming to you from this time from the Bakersfield Botanical Gardens. What is midlife? Because women live into their mid-80’s (average life expectancy) midlife begins at the age of 40. If you’re 40 and beyond, it’s time to get information on what changes you can expect as you journey through peri-menopause, (starting in your 40’s) and head toward menopause, (average age 51) which never actually ends. Menopause begins with our last menstrual period until death do us part. After menopause, we will spend over thirty-plus years as women without estrogen. That’s what “the change” is all about. Our ovaries have retired and are no longer making estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. A hot flash on hot flashes The average number of years women experience hot flashes is seven. However, many women will experience them for over twenty years. In some cases, their symptoms can be debilitating. Peri-menopause – Still having periods but the body is changing and going rogue. Hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, mood swings, weight gain, low libido, poor sleep, fatigue, etc. Menopause – When the menstrual cycle has ceased for good. The bigger picture Even if you don’t experience menopausal symptoms, you still need to consider what life will be like without estrogen. It’s important to be aware of your heart health, cognitive health, and bone health as well as your health from head to toe. Women going through menopause will experience skin, hair, nails, and vision and fatigue level changes.  If you haven’t already, now is the time to make lifestyle changes to stay healthy and to maintain or lose weight. The process will also be much harder. Dr. Allmen suggests that if you are a woman over 40, visit the website www.menopause.org for detailed information. It’s time to get a new doctor As a woman over 40, you need to graduate from your beloved obstetrician, because they will no longer be able to take you through your next journey. He or she won’t know the nuances of choices available for symptom relief, health protection, & disease prevention. On menopause.org, you can find credentialed experts like Dr. Allmen in your area. She practices in NYC. Dr. Allmen is a gynecologist who specializes in women’s health over 40. She recommends that you find a gynecologist who focuses on women midlife and beyond.  Ask your insurance company for a list of GYN onlys.  Call each practice to see if women over 40 is the focus of their practice because GYN’s specialize in different aspects of women’s health (pregnancy, fertility, surgery, etc.) Dr. Allmen’s book, “Menopause Confidential” will provide you with everything you need to know about menopause from head to toe.  She is just over 50 herself and going through menopause. Her book will give you all the resources you need at the tip of your fingertips. She has studied the facts extensively and has made sure everything suggestion in the book is scientifically accurate. Hormones and cardiovascular health The number one killer of women is heart disease. Women must be especially careful about their health because up until menopause they’ve been taking care of everyone else.  (children, spouses, parents, pets, homes, etc.) Making lifestyle changes now will give you a better chance of being healthy and well when you are in your 80’s and beyond. Priorities in midlife for heart, brain, & bone health * Eat healthfully * Maintain a healthy weight * Exercise Women over 40 must do a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (as easy as brisk walking) at least 5 days a week....

Our guest in this podcast is Dr. Roger Landry, author of the award-winning “Live Long, Die Short – A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging.” Throughout his career, he has been at the forefront of practicing preventative medicine. His background is so impressive we didn’t even know where to start so we started with Chuck Yeager. Coming to you this time from the life-long lending library in Laguna The practice of preventative medicine in the Air Force Dr. Landry had a 23-year career in the Air Force as a flight surgeon. He took care of the flyers and some of them were test pilots.  At one point, he was assigned to Edward’s Air Force Base in California. Chuck Yeager was retired from the Air Force but was flying for defense contractors at the time. (You’ll remember Chuck Yeager from the film “The Right Stuff.” He was the first to break the sound barrier) One day, Chuck walked into Dr. Landry’s office for a physical. He gave Dr. Landry his first lesson in “ageism” – which is bias against older adults. It was the 1980’s and Yeager was then in his 50’s. At the physical, he filled Dr. Landry in on his recent exploits. He also announced that on the 50th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier, he was going to do it again. Landry was alarmed and said, “But Chuck, you’ll be 73 on the anniversary! “Yeager turned to him and retorted brusquely, “What is your point?” He went on to break the sound barrier again on the 50th, 55th, 60th and 65th anniversaries. Yeager is now 94 and just came back from a Safari in Africa so he’s a prime example of healthy aging. John Glenn went up in the Space Shuttle at 73 years old. He passed away on 12/8/2016 at the age of 95. Transition from the service to helping older adults Landry’s patients in the Air Force were all very healthy people. This allowed him to be able to practice preventative medicine to keep them that way, so they didn’t crash, because they were in a risky environment. He not only examined them before flights but also flew and deployed with them and took care of their families. It was a fantastic experience and that’s why he stayed in the service for 23 years. He retired as a highly decorated full colonel and chief flight surgeon at the Air Force Surgeon General’s office in Washington DC. After serving on five continents and being medically involved in a number of significant world events including Vietnam, the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, the Beirut bombing of the Marine Barracks, the first seven Shuttle launches and the first manned balloon crossing of the Pacific Aero Space medicine, which was his specialty, is a type of preventative medicine. When asked how he transitioned to taking care of older adults after retirement he replied,“Both flyers and older adults have a better appreciation for gravity.” “Also, it’s especially important that both groups are able to function at their very best.” Landry is concerned that health care costs will begin to crush us as a nation as Baby Boomers get older if we don’t focus more on preventative medicine now. Aging successfully The secret formula to healthy aging is to be willing to try new things, keep moving, keep learning, keep growing, have a purpose, and be connected to others. Lifestyle is the major determinate in how we age. (about 70% by the choices we make.) We need to continually move our bodies, (not just exercise) keep learning to re-charge our brain, be socially connected with others, (not isolated, which happens a lot in our society) and have a sense of purpose in life, (which is challenging as we tend to put our older adults out to pasture)...

We interview Kim O’Hara who is a former screenwriter – producer turned book coach and founder of www.astoryinside.com. Her clients are folks who often have a book burning inside of them. She then helps them make the leap to published author. Some are experts in their field and feel they are at a turning point in their career. Others have incredible histories and stories and want to share them with the world. She loves working with visionaries and leaders who are willing to go to the mat and do it. Coming to you this time from the Rancho Reseda Reading Room. Kim’s background She worked in the film industry as a screenwriter and movie producer for 20 years. After quickly rising up the ladder, she started raising the money for films and was instrumental in getting them made. She produced her first million-dollar movie at the young age of 25. Most of the films she worked on were independents so she worked in a variety of positions. What she liked best was working with stories. In 2008, the housing market crashed and so did a 10 million dollar movie she was making. At that point, she decided she was done with the movie business. It put her in a dark place trying to decide what to do next. For a while, she worked at a grocery store and then as a story editor for a food magazine but was constantly looking to do something she could be passionate about. She became a book coach Kim now works with business owners who use the books they write to enhance their businesses and help them move forward. Sometimes they are fearful and she helps them break through their fear.  They are on the brink of making major moves in their life and need a push to get the process going. As their book coach, Kim holds them accountable and coaches them throughout the process. When she was a film producer, she had to hustle to get work. Now, she approaches her clients by offering to be of service. Some of her clients write non-fiction but many are working on their memoirs.  They are telling the story of obstacles they overcame but also how successful they’ve become because of those challenges. Others use their books to mentor those who are younger and coming up in their fields. Kim’s tips for aspiring writers * She says the foundation of getting your book started is simply sitting down with a piece of paper and jotting down what you think you’d like to write about.  Put all your ideas on paper without any attachment.  However, the power of brainstorming works best in a collaborative environment. If you’re alone by yourself, you’ll probably keep writing down the same bad ideas. If someone is there to help and give feedback, they can take you over the edge and help you come up with better ideas. * We don’t always give ourselves permission to come up with better stories. It helps to have someone give you permission. * Write consistently by doing it for a couple hours every day. You’ll always hear voices in your head telling you that your book will never have a purpose or do anyone a service. If you write every day, you can write through those voices. Before you know it your book will be finished.  Any type of writing works. Blogging, journaling, etc. * You must be willing to take the first step into the fear and the doubt.  If you believe you’re a writer you probably are and it’s your responsibility to make it happen. * Kim tells her clients that she is there for them and will be with them on their entire journey, but she can’t make them write. * Some people only write one theme and they think it’s a bad thing. It isn’t at all, but you have to realize you can explore numerous aspects of a theme. Think about what theme you like to write about and then see how deep you can go. To contact Kim Kim offers her services as a book coach by doing 12-week workshops (complete your book in 90 days) and 1-day in...