
Join us for our discussion with Joni Pflumm, who models a lifetime of service. Growing up in a family who owned a funeral home, Joni was taught the importance of serving others at an early age. She internalized her parents' example and is now guiding others to reach out and make the world around us a better place. Joni says to, "Use your life experience to help others get through the lows and enjoy the highs of life. If you really want to receive joy and happiness, serve oth...
Apr 13, 2025
25 min

Join us as we talk with Amy Sampson, who is incredibly accomplished as an Ironman, Boston Marathoner, English teacher, winner of 11 Fullbright Grants, and worldwide traveler. In the midst of living a full life, Amy has been through so very much. On our podcast, Amy transparently shares the depths of her struggles and lots of inspiration to help all of us get through this day-to-day thing we call life. She talks about a balanced approach to depression by not focusing on one t...
Apr 14, 2024
45 min

Join us for a very honest, beautiful discussion on dealing with grief. Karen Houck lost her daughter, Alyssa, in November of 2011. She describes her grief as 'a bag of rocks that you carry with you wherever you go.' After laying on the couch for many months, she realized she couldn't quit, so she started Alyssas Wishes, an organization dedicated to preserving the memory of her daughter by focusing on acts of kindness, fostering community connections, and promoting literacy. ...
Jan 11, 2024
40 min

On this episode, we take a look at perseverance through the eyes of a business owner. We talk with Johnny Chen, who along with his wife, Boggie Otgonbayar, own Mr. D's Donut and Coffee Shop in Kansas City. Originally an inherited business, Johnny and Boggie have built Mr. D's into one of the top 100 donut shops in the country. Not only are they focused on creating the best tasting and most creatively designed donuts you've ever seen, their heart is to collaborate with other ...
Dec 15, 2023
34 min

Cassandra Long has been through many things in life. If you listen to this episode, chances are you'll be able to identify with something she has experienced. Through persevering and "pushing upward," Cassandra reminds us that life is beautiful and we all have a chance to create our own meaningful life if we just don't give up. Perseverance...the word usually has a negative connotation. On Profiles in Perseverance, Jackie Doyel and Dave Gilbert look at Perseverance in a positive light b...
Nov 16, 2023
32 min

Mark Curp held the World Record in the Half Marathon for 21 years and also set the American Record in the 20k. He was elected to multiple Hall of Fame Classes and made it all the way to the Olympic Trials. Later in life, cancer changed his family dynamics. Through it all, Mark reminds us, "Most of us face more difficult or challenging circumstances than winning. It's how you handle the difficult things that make you who you are versus what you win or what you achieve." List...
Oct 23, 2023
37 min

Join us while we talk to Lauren Doyel, a KU Speech and Language Pathology Master's student. Lauren lived a different childhood than most of us. She stuttered and learned how to deal with it on her own by using a lot of creativity. Gradually, with the help of a speech pathologist when she was a teenager, she learned mechanisms to get through her day to day life. This then caused her to want to do the same for other kids and adults she came across, so she decided to make...
May 9, 2023
29 min
