Why Do We Feel The Need To Create New Things?
Why do you feel the need to create?
Why does getting something new make us feel so good?
Why is what we have not enough?
Tune in, as Oleg and BJ Miller, explore the need for creation, ways to appreciate life, and other related topics.
Find Your Inner Talent
It all started when she was eight years old.
She said, “... When I was eight, I got to start vocal lessons with a very big, performance vocal coach who taught by a guy named Seth Riggs … who made Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder … I did my vocal coaching for 10 years … At eighteen, I moved to Nashville, ready and confident to prove what I have learned …”
When did you first recognize your special talents or gifts? What are you doing with them today?
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
On Purpose: Combine your passion with a purpose
On Music: “It saved my life and it became my life”
On Growth: Don’t be afraid to ask for help
On Personal Development: Be yourself
Find Your Inner Strength
Where do you look for strength during times of adversity?
She said, “I’ve been in therapy since the age of 13 and I’m still in therapy … It’s not shaming to go into therapy … It’s your strength … It’s connecting with that part of you that is strong … We don’t get over things, we move through things and you need someone to be there with you through your processing because what’s shareable is bearable within yourself …”
Who are the people that you can count on when times get tough?
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
On Stress Management: Break it down into parts to help you process
On Voice: Listen to your inner voice
On Negative Thinking: Recognize it, and then suggest THREE positive thoughts
On Shame: Learn how to adopt yourself
Keep Moving Forward
Transitions.
She was in 63 different foster homes between four and 21 years of age.
63 different placements, a number that is simply unimaginable to most, if not all, of us.
She said, “The experience going through 63 foster homes was a tough one to swallow because I knew what I was entitled to … and I also had to face the fact that there are going to be times that the people who are responsible for providing services to you, providing care to you, don’t love you …”
But, despite all of the challenges and the constant transitions, it was through the foster care system that Felicia Wilson ended up meeting a foster parent who changed her life for the better.
A foster mom that helped Felicia embrace her own identity, and feel comfortable in her own skin.
A foster mom that helped Felicia realize the importance of accepting the cards she has been dealt with in this lifetime and figure out a way to play them to her advantage.
A foster mom that helped Felicia develop confidence in her own abilities, which led her on an unexpected journey of starting, “Fear Everything & Rise,” a platform to better prepare young people affected by foster care with the tools necessary to grow and live prosperous lives beyond the child welfare system.
I asked, “If you were given one word to describe your foster mom, what would that word be?”
She said, “Loving … As a kid growing up not having that stable mother figure in your life … being a kid that went through 63 foster homes … I’ve always wanted that simple hug … I always wanted to know that someone accepted my flaws … I wanted to know that no matter what decisions I made, right or wrong, at the end of the day I wouldn’t be judged … I wanted to know that if I fell short of anything I tried in life … somebody would still accept me and love me the same…”
If YOU were given one WORD to describe either of your parents, what would that word be?
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
On Independence: With freedom comes great responsibility
On Growth: Push yourself outside of your comfort zone
On Letting Go: Let your wall down and let others in to help you
On Acceptance: Accept the cards you’ve been dealt in this life, and learn how to play them
Want to Connect with Felicia?
Website
Embrace Who You Are
He had three different names before he was three months old.
He said, “The first name I ever had was Jeremy Jones… In the foster homes … I was Toby … Now my given name, Aaron Parchem…”
For Aaron Parchem, silver medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, adapting to new environments was not an option, but rather a necessity.
It is a skill that not only helped Aaron Parchem during his early childhood years, but also during his time as a figure skater.
He said, “In skating… when I tell people that I was a figure skater for the first time, you get kind of a blank look like, ‘Is this guy messing with me?’ … I’ve come to expect it and that is what it is … I don’t look like a figure skater … I didn't even when I did it … I am a straight, black male in skating… When you’re unique, you’re going to elicit unique responses…”
Embracing his identity and surrounding himself with giving people were the only ways to break through some of the remarks Aaron had received along the way as a figure skater, a profession that has taught him life lessons that cannot be replaced.
Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I happy with who I have become?”
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
On Challenges: “People rise to the occasion when they’re challenged”
On Empowerment: Live in the service of others
On Support Groups: Find people who’ll support you no matter what
On Self: Develop a good understanding of who you are on the inside (feelings, values, and tools that you can use to accomplish your goals)