The Celebration: Recent Episodes

Tom Earl

T.H.E. Celebration is a place for leadership, inclusion, and expression. For those who are passionate about connecting with their purpose and using their gifts to make the world a better place.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community. Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to Honoring Our Interconnectedness Series!

Featuring the brilliant and legendary Estuardo David Mazariegos!

Estuardo is also a great friend.

This week brings you the final episode in this 2-part series.

You can learn more about Estuardo on his IG @vexillz.

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to Honoring Our Interconnectedness Series!

Featuring the brilliant and legendary Estuardo David Mazariegos!

Estuardo is also a great friend.

This week brings you episode 1 in this 2-part series.

You can learn more about Estuardo on his IG @vexillz

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to our final Celebration Intermission.

Let’s breathe together.

Let’s celebrate together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

Let’s breathe together.

Let’s create together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

I am so excited to introduce to you the next series of episodes.

This one is entitled, “Allyship: Myth or Mystery.”

And our special guest is none other than my great friend Samira Obeid!

Samira is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

This week, we bring you the last episode of this three-part series.

It's packed with reflections, stories, and memorable moments that you won't find in any of my other podcasts.

If you'd like to share some love with Samira, you can find her on IG at @sampottampa, or learn more about her on her website, samiraobeid.com.

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

I am so excited to introduce to you the next series of episodes.

This one is entitled, “Allyship: Myth or Mystery.”

And our special guest is none other than my great friend Samira Obeid!

Samira is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

This week, we bring you the second episode of this three-part series.

It's packed with reflections, stories, and memorable moments that you won't find in any of my other podcasts.

If you'd like to share some love with Samira, you can find her on IG at @sampottampa, or learn more about her on her website, samiraobeid.com.

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

I am so excited to introduce to you the next series of episodes.

This one is entitled, “Myth and Mystery.”

And our special guest is none other than my great friend Samira Obeid!

Samira is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

This week, we bring you the first episode of this three-part series It's packed with reflections, stories, and memorable moments that you won't find in any of my other podcasts.

If you'd like to share some love with Samira, you can find her on IG @sampottampa, or learn more about her on her website, samiraobeid.com.

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

Let’s create together.

Let’s breathe together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

Let’s create together.

Let’s breathe together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Welcome to The Purpose is in the Process Series!

Featuring the creative and legendary Walter “Wally B” Jennings!

Wally is also a great friend and a return guest.

This week brings you episode 4 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Wally and the work he is doing @chosenlifespecialists and https://blackcemeterynetwork.org/

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to The Purpose is in the Process Series!

Featuring the creative and legendary Walter “Wally B” Jennings!

Wally is also a great friend and a return guest.

This week brings you episode 3 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Wally and the work he is doing @chosenlifespecialists and https://blackcemeterynetwork.org/

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to The Purpose is in the Process Series! .

Featuring the creative and legendary Walter “Wally B” Jennings!

Wally is also a great friend and a return guest.

This week brings you episode 2 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Wally and the work he is doing @chosenlifespecialists and https://blackcemeterynetwork.org/

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to The Purpose is in the Process Series!

Featuring the creative and legendary Walter “Wally B” Jennings!

Wally is also a great friend and a return guest.

This week brings you episode 1 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Wally and the work he is doing @chosenlifespecialists and https://blackcemeterynetwork.org/

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to our final Celebration Intermission.

Let’s pause together. Let’s breathe together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Welcome to a Celebration Intermission.

Let’s breathe together. Let’s reflect together.

Here we go.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Welcome to The Kindness Series!

Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you our 2nd of 2 bonus episodes.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to The Kindness Series! Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you our 1st of 2 bonus episodes.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to The Kindness Series! Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you episode 4 in this 4-part series.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community. By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to The Kindness Series! Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you episode 3 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to The Kindness Series!

Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you episode 2 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here.

Welcome to The Kindness Series!

Featuring the brilliant and legendary Miata Edoga!

Miata is also a great friend.

This week brings you episode 1 in this 4 part series.

You can learn more about Miata and Abundance Bound @abundancebound.

P.S.

I invite you to be a part of our D.C.M. Journaling Community.

By embracing the practice of process-oriented journaling, we translate our inner thoughts onto paper, enabling us to engage in reflection, establish connections, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging within a nourishing community.

Learn more here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

You are loved.

You are valued.

You are appreciated.

Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite.

Welcome to a Celebration Intermission.

With a special guest: Adaora Earl

That’s right.

Adaora! Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to the Undefinable Series featuring Remy!

This week brings you episode 2 in this 2-part bonus series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to the Undefinable Series featuring Remy!

This week brings you episode 1 in this 2-part bonus series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to the Undefinable Series featuring Remy!

This week brings you episode 4 in this 4-part series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to the Undefinable Series featuring Remy!

This week brings you episode 3 in this 4 part series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to the Undefinable Series featuring Remy!

This week brings you episode 2 in this 4 part series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

I am so excited to introduce to you the next series!

It features my wonderful friend Remy.

It is entitled: The Undefinable Series Featuring Remy!

Oh yes.

This week brings you episode 1 in this 4 part series.

Remy and I transcended into spaces, places, and conversations I had never explored with a guess before.

You can share gratitude with Remy on IG: @yummy__online/

Hit play and let the adventure begin. P.S. Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

Grab a plate.

Sit with us.

And let’s take a collective breath together.

Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome back to The Celebration Intermission.

Release tension.

Stretch.

And let’s take a collective breath together.

Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to the final bonus episode of my “Taking Time For…” series featuring my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

And on these bonus episodes, we are joined by Sadiya’s husband Matt Garcia!

This week’s bonus episode is: Taking Time For the Deep Talks.

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine

And you can connect with Matt on IG: @garcity

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to the bonus episodes of my “Taking Time For…” series featuring my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

And on these bonus episodes, we are joined by Sadiya’s husband Matt Garcia!

This week’s bonus episode is: Taking Time For the Multi-Verse.

Hint: We talk about Everything Everywhere All at Once!

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine

And you can connect with Matt on IG: @garcity

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to episode 4 of this 4-part “Taking Time For…” series featuring my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

Sadiya is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

So it is packed full of reflections, stories, and wonderful moments that you won’t hear in any of my other podcasts.

This week’s episode is: Taking Time For Randomness.

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to episode 3 of this 4-part “Taking Time For…” series featuring my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

Sadiya is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

So it is packed full of reflections, stories, and wonderful moments that you won’t hear in any of my other podcasts.

This week’s episode is: Taking Time For Introspection.

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to episode 2 of this 4 part “Taking Time For…” series featuring my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

Sadiya is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

So it is packed full of reflections, stories and wonderful moments that you won’t hear in any of my other podcasts.

This week’s episode is: Taking Time For Self-Love.

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

I am so excited to introduce to you the next series of episodes.

This one is entitled, “Taking time for ______.”

And our special guest is none other than my great friend Sadiya Sassine!

Sadiya is a return guest and someone I have been friends with for more than a decade now.

So it is packed full of reflections, stories, and wonderful moments that you won’t hear in any of my other podcasts.

This week’s episode is: Taking Time For Friendship.

You can tell Sadiya how awesome she is on IG: @sadiyasassine

I hope you enjoy!

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories? Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to another Celebration Intermission.

Stretch.

Pause.

And let’s take a collective breath together.

Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Welcome to a Celebration Intermission.

Kick your shoes off.

Relax.

And let’s take a collective breath together.

Here we go.

P.S.

Want to learn how to write your stories & tell your stories?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

These past 6 weeks have been such a blessing.

If you have been along for every episode of this journey….thank you!

If you’re just tuning in…buckle up and get ready.

Here is the final episode in this 6 part series featuring the legendary Lil Tankie.

Tune in and enjoy! You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

We have another first-time-ever situation on this week’s episode.

After reviewing the previous 4 episodes I asked Lil Tankie if he would come back so I could ask him some follow-up questions.

The results…two more bonus episodes for you.

Yes!

Tune in and enjoy.

You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Love and gratitude.

That is what I’m feeling as I share this week’s episode with you.

I am so thankful to Lil Tankie for sharing so much of his knowledge, creativity, and energy with us.

Trust me…this week’s episode is amazing.

Tune in and enjoy.

You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

We are back for episode 3 of 6 featuring Lil Tankie!

Y’all.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a guest feature for 6 back-to-back episodes.

That is how powerful and important these conversations are.

Let’s do this.

Enjoy!

You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

“Being heroic is not repeating the social justice slogans that have already gone viral.”

-Lil Tankie I’ve really been reflecting on this quote from last week’s episode.

And this week brings us episode 2 of 6 featuring Lil Tankie!

Enjoy!

You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

It is my absolute honor to introduce to you the legendary Lil Tankie.

You may know him from past episodes as MoMan or Amoja Sumler.

Towards the end of 2022, Amoja Sumler launched his music into the world under the name Lil Tankie.

Lil Tankie and I sat down together for not just one session…but two.

And from those two sessions, we have created 6 episodes for you!

So I hope you enjoy this 1st of 6 episodes featuring Lil Tankie.

Enjoy!

You can listen to Lil Tankie’s music on all streaming platforms or by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/liltankie

P.S.

Want to connect with your creativity and the feeling you get when you boldly share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

“It’s not what you’re doing it’s how you’re doing it.”

-Janna & Tom

We both shared this idea in our own way throughout this episode.

And it is the perfect way to conclude this wonderful series of conversations.

How you do something matters.

How you treat yourself and others along the way matters even more than what you might create.

Let’s talk about it.

Here is the final episode (4 of 4) from the ‘Janna is brilliant and bold and here all month!’ February 2023 series.

Here is how you can connect with Janna: https://www.instagram.com/jannamjoyner/

P.S.

Want to fall in love with your creativity and the feeling you get when you just vulnerably express yourself and share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

“The things you want in life will change.”

-Janna Joyner (and I working through all the ups and downs and growth we experienced in 2022.)

I don’t know about y’all…

…but I have so many feelings.

So much to process and reflect upon.

If you’re in a similar space then this episode is for you.

Yeah, Tom? Yes, my friend.

Here is episode 3 (of 4) from the ‘Janna is brilliant and bold and here all month!’ February 2023 series.

Here is how you can connect with Janna: https://www.instagram.com/jannamjoyner/

P.S.

Want to fall in love with your creativity and the feeling you get when you just vulnerably express yourself and share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

“Friction creates spiritual growth.”

-Janna Joyner (once again just channeling exactly what I needed to be reminded of).

Janna, I am so grateful. Because…

It sure helps to have a friend to talk to about all of the emmooootiiionnns and angst that arises during the process.

Ok.

Yes.

Get ready.

Here is episode 2 (of 4) from the ‘Janna is brilliant and bold and here all month!’ February 2023 series.

Here is how you can connect with Janna: https://www.instagram.com/jannamjoyner/

P.S.

Want to fall in love with your creativity and the feeling you get when you just vulnerably express yourself and share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

“Where we are today is exactly where we’re supposed to be…

…and we could not be there if it weren’t for those moments

…that at the time felt devastating.”

-JANNA JOYNER (Y’ALL!!!!!!!!)

YES! Janna HAS returned!!!!!

For 4 back to back episodes.

I’m so excited.

Here is episode 1 (of 4) from the ‘Janna is brilliant and bold and here all month!’ February 2023 series.

In the words of my daughter, “Let’s do this!”

Here is how you can connect with Janna: https://www.instagram.com/jannamjoyner/

P.S.

Want to fall in love with your creativity and the feeling you get when you just vulnerably express yourself and share your story?

Then consider joining our brave, messy, awkward, and loving community here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Nas Echeverria is a genius.

I can’t believe I get to hang out with her two weeks in a row.

Trust me.

Nas drops serious gems here.

Those who know…know this is one to listen to.

Part 2.

Here we go.

Learn more about Nas’ Easy Yes Method here: https://easyyesleads.com/system/

P.S.

If you’re looking to join a community of bold storytellers then check out our Direct Connect Experience here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Usually, Nas and I only have off-the-record conversations.

But on this one, we decided to invite you to take a seat with us.

In a land of sand castle entrepreneurs…

…Nas is one of the few real ones.

Those who know…know this is one to listen to.

Part 1.

Here we go.

Learn more about Nas’ Easy Yes Method here: https://easyyesleads.com/system/

P.S.

If you’re looking to join a community of bold storytellers then check out our Direct Connect Experience here: https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

The audacity of quoting Dr. King as a supportive argument for white supremacist pedagogy…

…how 2022 tried to bury me in burnout

…and Lizzo’s Live Concert (on HBO Max).

What’s the connection between these three?

They are what we talk about on this week’s episode.

Hit play to find out more.

Articles referenced in this episode:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/martin-luther-king-critical-race-theory/620367

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/dining/noma-closing-rene-redzepi.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFYmLjgrj1g

P.S. Want to learn more about our Direct Connect Storytelling Experience?

Check it out here: www.tomearl.me/dcminvite

Lupita N’yongo’s Black Panther workout routine.

…and Angela Alvarez winning her first grammy at the age of 95

…and my experiments with finding the present moment.

What do these 3 things have in common?

P.S.

If you’re ready to boldly share your story then I invite you to join the intentional community that I have just launched.

It is the first time ever that I’m sharing my marketing playbook & the propriety storytelling method that I’ve created.

And if you’re short on cash flow but filled to the brim with ambition then I have good news:

We have scholarships available to anyone who needs it. Check out the details here:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Happy New Year!!!

Your Auntie’s well-guarded receipt to your favorite dish…

…your response to terrible customer support

…and the 2022 Los Angeles Mayoral race.

What do these 3 things have in common?

Listen to this week's episode to find out.

P.S.

If you’re ready to boldly share your story then I invite you to join the intentional community that I have just launched.

It is the first time ever that I’m sharing my marketing playbook & the propriety storytelling method that I’ve created.

And if you’re short on cash flow but filled to the brim with ambition then I have good news:

We have scholarships available to anyone who needs it.

Check out the details here:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

What do Spotify’s end-of-the-year playlist, self-awareness, and infinite worthiness have in common?

You’re going to have to listen to this week’s episode to find out.

And to those who celebrate Christmas…Merry Christmas!

To those who don’t….Merry random Sunday!

P.S.

You are brilliant and loved.

P.S.S.

If you’re ready to boldly share your story then I invite you to join the intentional community that I have just launched.

It is the first time ever that I’m sharing my marketing playbook & the propriety storytelling method that I’ve created.

And if you’re short on cash flow but filled to the brim with ambition then I have good news:

We have scholarships available to anyone who needs it.

So if you’re ready to learn how to run your business like a storyteller fueled by empathy & courage then check out the details here:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Janna is a return guest who you may remember is the founder of the Forever Funemployed movement.

She is a Bold & Audacious Entrepreneur.

And someone I am always grateful to sit down to record an episode with!

We ended up having such a great talk that we split it into 2!

Here is part two for you!

You can learn more about Janna here: https://instagram.com/jannamjoyner
P.S.

Want to learn more about our Storytelling & Marketing Immersion Program?

Here are all of the details: tomearl.me/dcminvite

And she is this week’s guest.

Janna is a return guest who you may remember is the founder of the Forever Funemployed movement.

She is a Bold & Audacious Entrepreneur.

And someone I am always grateful to sit down to record an episode with!

We ended up having such a great talk that we split it into 2!

Here is part one for you!

You can learn more about Janna here: https://instagram.com/jannamjoyner

P.S.

Want to learn more about our Storytelling & Marketing Immersion Program?

Here are all of the details: tomearl.me/dcminvite

This week’s episode has me so excited.

Why?

Because Emi is our guest!

Cue the confetti and dance party.

This is an epic conversation on business, marketing, how much we both love our kids, fun stories, shenanigans, and so many other things I can’t even remember. 😂

Do yourself a favor and hit play on this one.

Let’s do this. 😀

You can learn more about Emi here https://www.lepetitremedy.com/

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

P.S.

If you’re ready to unlock the doors to the marketing genius inside of you…

…then you’re a perfect candidate for our Immersion Program.

We believe in giving you the tools & skills you need to discover your own solutions.

So if you’re ready to unleash the storyteller within you then come join us.

Here are the details:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

It’s almost that time of year again.

Yup, you guessed it.

When folks are going to get their cars stuck in the snow. 😂

Now the worst thing you can do when you get stuck is to just floor it…

…and hope that someone how spinning your wheels will free you.

But what happens is you just make yourself more stuck.

Hence the phrase, “spinning my wheels.”

The same applies when we get stuck in business or in our emotions.

When we just push harder or try to go faster…

…we just jam ourselves up more.

So this week I want to share with you 3 stories of times this year when something I was doing just wasn’t working.

And exactly what I did to get unstuck.

Sound fun?

It is.

Hit play and let’s do this.

P.S.

If you’re looking for the ultimate guide to getting unstuck in your business…

…then come

If you’re really feeling adventurous and are ready to get unstuck…

…then I invite you to join our Direct Connect Immersion Program that I have just launched.

It is the first time ever that I’m sharing my marketing playbook & the propriety storytelling & relationship-building ads system that I’ve created.

And if you’re short on cash flow but filled to the brim with ambition then I have good news:

We have “pay-what-you-can” scholarships available to anyone who needs it.

So if you’re up for learning how to run ads like a storyteller fueled by empathy & courage then check out the details here:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

“Accomplishing goals is not success. How much you expand in the process is.”

This quote from Brianna Wiest perfectly explains this week’s episode.

This is the first interview I’ve done with a guest in almost a year.

So I’m super excited to share it with you.

Crystal was generous enough to be the first guest to experiment with the new episode format.

We both shared very personal stories from our lives & businesses.

Honestly, this is one of my favorite episodes.

Crystal is a genius SEO Content Marketer and the founder of Collage & Wood.

She is the co-host of the podcast Simple and Smart SEO Show.

You can learn more about her here -> https://www.crystalwaddell.com/

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

P.S.

If you’re ready to unlock the doors to the marketing genius inside of you…

…then you’re a perfect candidate for our Immersion Program.

We don’t believe in spoon-feeding people answers.

We believe in giving you the tools & skills you need to discover your own solutions.

So if you’re ready to unleash the storyteller within you then come join us.

Here are the details:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

It has been a fascinating time to run any kind of marketing campaign.

Especially paid ads.

Especially FB + IG ads. 😂

This week I want to share with you 3 stories.

And through those stories, you’ll find exactly what you’ve been looking for.

That is how storytelling works.

My goal is to move away from giving people advice.

Or telling them what I think is best for them.

And instead, create experiences where they can find the answers for themselves.

Because the answers you seek are already within you.

Our job is to go within and have the courage and presence to discover them.

You got this.

I believe in you.

If you’re ready for your next adventure.

Then hit play on this week’s episode.

P.S.

If you’re ready to unlock your own doors to the marketing genius inside of you…

…then you’re a perfect candidate for our Immersion Program.

We don’t believe in spoon-feeding people, prescribed answers.

We believe in giving you the tools & skills you need to discover your own solutions.

So if you’re ready to unleash the storyteller within you then come join us.

Here are the details:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Imagine you’re a digital artist and the work of art that wins first place in your category is created through the use of A.I.

Would that change how you feel?

Would it feel like cheating?

What if you’re a business coach and lose a customer, not to another coach…

…but to an A.I. algorithm that can receive questions and give customized advice better than you.

Would that change how you feel?

Right now someone somewhere is working on a piece of tech or an invention that will make your business absolute.

Is that alarming? Fear inducing?

Or is that just business?

This is not theoretical or just a fun intellectual exercise.

This is reality.

We like to think that it will always be someone else’s business…

Or someone else’s industry…

Or someone else’s skill that will be made absolute by an invention or new technology.

When in reality we are all susceptible to the laws of change.

So how do we address this?

First - talk to your therapist about the emotions that come up - they are an opening to healing.

Second - let’s talk about how to use the momentum of change to launch you into even greater heights than your current comfort zone.

All that plus some fun stories and the occasional ramble by yours truly.

That is if you dare to take the wild leap into the adventure that is this week’s episode.

And yes this is a brand new never before-released episode.

I hope you enjoy it at least 3% as much as I did recording it. 😂

Then again…to be honest I don’t think anyone listens to my podcast other than my bestest of friends.

And they listen in just so they can lovingly mock my podcast voice anytime we hang out. 😂

Well, there you have it.

This week’s write-up.

Give it a listen.

I double dare you.

P.S.

This was not written using A.I. Maybe you can tell. 😂

P.S.S.

If you’re really feeling adventurous then I invite you to join the experiment & intentional community that I have just launched.

It is the first time ever that I’m sharing my marketing playbook & the propriety storytelling & relationship-building ads system that I’ve created.

And if you’re short on cash flow but filled to the brim with ambition then I have good news:

We have “pay-what-you-can” scholarships available to anyone who needs it.

So if you’re up for learning how to run ads like a storyteller fueled by empathy & courage then check out the details here:

https://tomearl.me/dcminvite

Peace and Blessings,

Tom Earl

Original Air Date: October 18, 2021

Less is more. Truly.

But as humans we always seem to want more. Is the desire for more causing us to lose what truly matters?

In this episode, I share my thoughts on the practice of pursuing less.

Some refer to this as ‘essentialism’ since the purpose is to maintain a deep focus on only the most important things in life.

This discipline is just like any in that it takes a lot of practice. Mindfulness. An active re-commitment to simplifying things we try to complicate.

According to Greg McKeown, “It’s a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.”

If you feel:
• burnt out
• overworked
• unproductive
• unhappy, but too busy to change it

… then this might be the change you’re looking for.

A way to finally take control of your life and jump off the treadmill that’s leading nowhere, but exhausting you.

I invite you to have a listen, to see if what’s in this episode makes the difference in your outlook that it has on mine.

tomearl.me/dp

Original Air Date: February 22, 2021

The way to differentiate yourself in today’s economy is by investing time and resources in things that don’t scale.

Deep listening + building lasting relationships will always = a fantastic customer experience.

This is at the center of my conversation with this week’s return guest - Tech Founder and Millionaire Business Coach - Crysta Tyus.

As a refresher, Crysta Tyus is an online marketing consultant who helps service-based businesses get clients from social media, master sales without being salesy, and build multiple 6-figure businesses.

Crysta’s episode, which was released 1 year ago, is in our top 3 most listened to episodes from our almost 300 episode catalog.

‘How can I scale this and fast?’ is the question many entrepreneurs are pondering these days.

Sadly, it often leads to a low-quality customer experience.

What many business owners find is that when they start to scale, they water down the magic that brought them their initial success in the first place.

That is because many businesses are willing to trade speed in exchange for real human touchpoints.

Crysta shares with us how she has been able to build a 7 figure business and create a technology company, all without sacrificing building authentic connections with her customers.

Deep listening and having actual conversations with your customers is what Crysta believes will give you an unfair advantage over your competitors.

Over this past year, Crysta has also developed, designed and launched an app that is able to add even greater value to her customers.

Crysta shares with us the lessons she has learned serving as the CEO of a technology company, and the insights we can all take away no matter what industry we work in.

This was a very special episode.

Crysta and I also have real conversations on mindset, limiting beliefs, self-doubt, believing in yourself, and the power of being a visionary.

I promise you will walk away transformed after listening to this episode.

Do yourself the favor.

Hit play.

P.S.

You can follow Crysta on Instagram Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crystatyus or watch her on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7uYYBPyfE-Oe1L-iuwuBQ.

You can check out my past episode with Crysta here -> tomearl.me/crysta.

tomearl.me/ct.

Original Air Date: August 10, 2020

Imagine coming home from work only to find that your partner of 7 years has completely moved out of the home you shared together.

No warning. No note. No discernible reason.

Just the empty space where that person’s furniture, clothes, dishes, and presence once were.

Ok. Now let’s jump back one year.

Let’s say you were to study your ass off for years. You go through the rigorous and grueling process of medical rotations. You walk across the stage to receive your pharmacy doctorate – only to realize less than 1 year later that this profession isn’t for you.

We all have an origin story.

These are just two of the life events that this week’s guest, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲, shared with us in this powerful episode.

This interview is personal.

It is vulnerable.

It is transparent.

It is real.

𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 lives the truth that he shares as a holistic life coach, business mentor, and speaker. The core premise of his work is to empower and teach each person he encounters to take control of their mind, body, and life by investing in themselves.

I promise you: you will not regret jumping into this episode. It’ll be a cool pool on a hot summer’s day.

We got real as we talked about mental health, social justice, neuro-linguistic programming, self-awareness, how to transition from loss, and how to move forward when your world falls out from underneath you.

Bryan and I also went deep on men and mental health. We talked about how toxic masculinity and patriarchy keep men in an unhealthy box, and how we can break free from that box.

Most importantly, Bryan made sure that he didn’t just speak in the theoretical or philosophical. He shared tools, steps, exercises, and processes you can use to address the issues that were raised in this interview.

I’m telling you, we went in on this episode.

Here’s my suggestion: hit play and brace yourself.

You can learn more about 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 through his website www.bryanmcelderry.com/; or you can follow him on IG www.instagram.com/drmcelderry/.

tomearl.me/bm

Original Air Date: July 5, 2021

Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life?

This week’s episode, ‘Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse’, with Khalisa Rae, is all of that and more.

Our guest, Khalisa Rae, is an award winning poet and journalist in Durham, NC that speaks with furious rebellion. She is also the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021).

Her essays are featured in Autostraddle, Catapult, LitHub, as well as articles in B*tch Media, NBC-BLK, and others.

Her poetry appears in Frontier Poetry, Florida Review, Rust & Moth, PANK, Carousel, HOBART, among countless others.

She is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among other prizes.

Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for Glass Poetry and co-founder of Think in Ink and the Women of Color Speak reading series. Her second collection Unlearning Eden is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in 2022.

This day, Khalisa gifted all of us with her honesty, poetry, insights, brilliance, and creativity. I am truly grateful for the courage and vulnerability she brought to our conversation. We explored:

-Healing from trauma
-How to create your own team of superheroes
-The importance of honor your gifts
-The power of words
-Protecting your light

Khalisa shared some really powerful stories that left me feeling more grounded and connected to my inner power.

Not to mention that she shared with us two poems that hit me right in my soul.

I’m telling you - this episode will be a game-changer. For anyone who is serving a mission greater than themselves - this episode is for you.

You can learn more about Khalisa through her website. Khalisarae.com

Or you can follow her on twitter @k_lisarae or https://www.instagram.com/khalisa_rae/

tomearl.me/khalisa

Original Air Date: June 14, 2021

Failure.
A complete sentence.

Is it a teacher
Or a jailer?

Is it a beginning
Or does it end there?

Where do you place your next step
When the ground beneath you begins to erupt?

Maybe if there was something to grasp,
If it wasn’t so abrupt.
Perhaps if no one was watching,
Not even me seeing me.

Then this…
Failure
Would be easier to swallow.

If self-criticism were a competition,
I’d be a tough act to follow.

Perfection.
Maybe it can serve as my protection.
From any and all
Ridicule
And rejection

And failure.

There is fog on the glass of my reflection.
I find the courage to wipe it,

I shine back clearer.

I need to reexamine my definition.

A life without failure
Actually sounds
Kind of boring.

Where would be the discovery?
The intrigue?
The lessons learned from walking through the fire
And getting just a bit burnt.

Realizing the nightmare scenes
Are actually just branches of trees
Scratching at my window.

Scary shadows revealed to be nothing.

But it’s the confronting.
The facing.
The tasting the fear on your tongue
And rather than deciding to run...

Moving forward.
Moving toward that which I find to be frightening.

Failure.

It can be a beautiful teacher.

Not gentle.
But honest.

Failure.

Unexpected gifts found within if I’m willing to persist.

To insist:

I know. I know.
There is danger waiting.
But I’d rather lose it all
Than die knowing
I never even tried.

I had all of these ideas
And just kept them shut inside.

We get to decide when failure is an ending.
A complete sentence.

A teacher or
A jailer.

And when failure
Is actually the greatest of all treasures.

P.S. I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: ‘The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure.’

tomearl.me/giftsof

Original Air Date:

On this week’s episode, I interview one of my favorite poets, the genius SuperB!

We really went deep on this one. We even took a pause and just soaked in the beauty of where the interview went.

SuperB’s talked about his origin story, creativity, connection, how he almost became a Catholic priest, and on pursuing one's dreams.

I highly recommend you take listen! Enjoy!

SuperB will be the featured poet for this month’s Live and Online: Expression Session. Taking place on Sunday, October 15th, the LO:ES is an online writing workshop that culminates a performance by our feature SuperB.

tomearl.me/sb

Original Air Date: September 30, 2019

Today’s guest is Kendra Reed of the "Kenny Hearts Life" brand. She’s an ambassador for happiness, self-care, and teaching others to "Heart" their life: all of which we talk about. We also talk about movement, blogging, and the courage it takes to break out of being ‘stuck’ (Kendra shares some personal experiences that she has with this).

Two and a half years ago, she started her journey of self discovery and happiness and has never looked back. In that time, she left a non-beneficial long term relationship, moved from her small hometown in Mississippi to Dallas, and began traveling for the first time, freelance writing, and learning to heal old mindsets.

Kendra’s goal is to empower others, especially women of color, to pursue inner peace, step away from toxic mindsets, and live a full and happy life.

Join her on Instagram @kennyheartslifeblog, or visit her website.

tomearl.me/kr

Original Air Date: October 12, 2020

Communication is a top-shelf skill that every entrepreneur must master.

If you have an important mission, movement, product, or business, the ability to connect with your audience is vital.

Verbal and nonverbal communication is absolutely essential.

But what is often overlooked is copywriting.

Copywriting, and the ability to move people with your words, is so crucial.

Are you with me?

Because if so, we’re in luck.

This week’s guest, Jo McKee, is both a phenomenal teacher of copy and a master copywriter herself.

Jo Mckee is the founder of McKee Creative, a marketing agency with a mission to connect clients with their customers. Jo has also just released Copywriting for Profit – the hands-on system to train agency team members as in-house copywriters.

Throughout the interview, Jo shares with us templates, tools, and strategies you can use to write with persuasion and authenticity.

Most importantly, Jo shares with us how to write in a way that centers your audience as the heroes of the story rather than yourself.

This episode is about more than just the written word.

We also go all in on the importance of mindset, courage, and emotional intelligence.

I am always eager to learn how accomplished entrepreneurs move through challenges, cope with stress, and continue to perform at the highest level.

Jo offers advice on all of this and more.

I’m telling you, this episode is packed with holistic insights and action steps you can take right now.

tomearl.me/jm

Original Air Date: February 15, 2021

“We need to have an honest conversation on Black Maternal Health and the disparities in healthcare that threaten Black Women’s lives.”

This is the core conversation that takes place on this week’s episode.

This week’s episode is a panel discussion, where I am joined by 3 professional doulas - Iman Seraaj, Nicky Dawkins, and Deej.

Iman Seraaj is a trained full-spectrum doula passionate about VBACs, breastfeeding, birthrights education, orgasmic birthing, postpartum and prenatal care. With over 12 years of doula and birth advocacy experience; she founded FullCircle Doula Services in 2014.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Feminine Health Coach. She is also the founder of Werk it Moms — a mom-driven, soon-to-be charity organization — that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and a safe space for moms in need to connect.

Deej is a mother of three little boys, a wife, a doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding specialist. Deej also owns a brand that focuses on educating women on their birthrights and all things from pregnancy to postpartum called The Nurtured Baby.

During this episode, we have an honest and real conversation on how Black women in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth - irrespective of income or education level.

Iman, Nicky, and Deej provide candid and professional insights into the cause of these health disparities and share solutions we can implement.

They also provide questions, advice, and tactics Black Women can use when they are having to engage with a racist medical system and provider.

We also have an open conversation on infertility, miscarriages, and loss.

I highly encourage that everyone listens to this episode and to the important conversation that Iman, Nicky, and Deej shared with us.

I am grateful to my guests for the energy, brilliance, and generosity that they brought to this week's episode.

This is an issue that all of us must address.

I hope you will listen to this episode and take action.

Here’s how you can connect with this week’s guest:

Iman - https://www.instagram.com/imanseraajfc/

Nicky - https://www.instagram.com/thankyounicky/

Deej - https://www.instagram.com/the.nurturedbaby/

tomearl.me/doula

Original Air Date: May 13, 2019

What fear have you been carrying that you are ready to set down?

What would it look like to move beyond fear and embrace your experiences?

This week’s episode provides a bold and courageous reflection on these questions.

My guest, Nurjahan Boulden, was 21 years old when she was shot with an assault rifle in an attack that killed the man next to her.

That one night changed the trajectory of her life.

Even as she moved on to become a teacher and mother of three, PTSD and complications from the bullet wound continually threatened her future.

13 years later, she is now recognized as America’s leading coach for survivors of gun violence who are ready to Feel Safe Again™.

Fear has been a companion of mine during 2020. I have a feeling I am not alone in this.

Rather than numbing myself or hiding from it, I have made it a goal to confront, get to know, and investigate my fears.

A significant part of that journey is listening to the stories, wisdom, and reflections from others who are on that same path.

This episode with Nurjahan is one that I listen to often when I need a reminder of the inner power that I, and all of us, possess.

For the astute listener keeping track at home, you’ll note that this episode originally aired May 13, 2019.

As I was re-listening to it this week, I knew that the messages and insights Nurjahan shares could really serve a lot of us at this very moment.

Even if you distinctly remember listening to this episode when it first aired, I passionately urge you to give it a re-listen.

The experiences you have gained over the past 1.5 years will allow you to gain new gifts as you re-listen.

Trust me.

Do yourself this favor of hitting play.

Thank you, Nurjahan, for sharing such a vulnerable, authentic, and empowering interview.

tomearl.me/nb

Original Air Date: January 10, 2020

Niki Kelly is the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Bay County and is someone whom I respect and admire so much. Our talk together was a great opportunity to learn from a professional who has been on every side of the nonprofit world - from direct service, fundraising, leadership to the Executive Director role.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the challenges facing nonprofit leaders and nonprofits and we discuss what it takes to run a successful business that is inclusive, value-driven, responsive but also business-oriented.

Niki shares key insights about issues that our community is facing and the evolving world of non-profit work as well as the importance of advocacy and looking at the work differently to improve program delivery.

Niki’s education includes a Bachelor's degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology and a Masters in Management both from the University of South Florida. She spent 12 years working in community mental health and addiction services followed by more than 10 years in refugee and immigrant services.

Niki Kelly relocated to Panama City Beach in the spring of 2014 and joined the leadership team at Girls Inc. shortly thereafter. Since then, she has led Girls Inc. on an aggressive growth plan expanding services to more girls in Bay County and putting the organization on a solid footing that enabled them to persevere following the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael in 2018. For her response to the hurricane, Niki was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Outstanding Community Leadership award by the Girls Inc. national organization.

I bet you are going to love this episode even if you aren't in the nonprofit world because you will hear thoughtful advice on how to run your own business in an ethical and inclusive way.

tomearl.me/nk

Original Air Date: August 22, 2020

Picture this: 35 of the world’s leading digital marketers step into a room together.

Each person in that room had successfully run a million dollar launch and is a legend in the marketing, social media, and media buying arena.

A challenge is presented to this motley crew of marketers:

Over the next 48 hours, each person is tasked with coming up with a new mind-blowing marketing strategy.

At the end of the 48 hours, everyone will vote on the best strategy.

The time starts now. Go.

This is a true story.

Today’s guest, Curt Maly, was one of the 35 people in that room.

And at the end of the weekend, he was the one who walked away with the championship belt.

The marketing system he developed that weekend has since been honed, tested, and perfected, and has become Curt’s legendary BELT Method.

I hope I’ve set the stage for the epicness that is this interview.

Yes, Curt dropped some serious high level gems on all things marketing, sales, social media, and getting your message across in a crowded digital space – but we also went deep on the importance of mindset, how to overcome adversity, and how to pick yourself up when your entire world crumbles.

We didn’t just talk about vague ways to artificially fire yourself up. Nah. Curt got tactical and offered practical ways to elevate yourself to peak performance – and how to actually enjoy the process.

At the heart of our time together, though, was something specific: ethical propaganda.

For all of us out here trying to make a difference in the world, whether it's as an activist, coach, nonprofit, or thought leader: you’ve got to hear Curt go all in on the tenets and tactics of ethical propaganda.

It will be a game changer for you, your organization, your business, and/or your movement.

I’m serious. This will change your entire outlook, strategy, and therefore your results as well.

Hit play on this one and then send me your favorite part.

If you’d like to learn more about Curt and his Belt method program, head to thebelt.live/celebration

Original Air Date: August 2, 2020

Living spiritually. Building community. Growing purposefully.

These are the 3 pillars that guide this week’s guests, Sudduf Wyne.

Over the span of my podcast, it’s been an honor to interview almost 300 remarkable entrepreneurs so far.

But this is one of the most courageous, real, honest, vulnerable, and inspiring conversations I’ve ever had.

Why can I say that?

With each question I asked, Sudduf would take us to a deeper level with each of her answers.

I almost don’t want to spoil the journey this episode is by revealing too much of what we talked about. I’m that excited for you to listen to it.

So… If you're looking for a deeper meaning,
If you believe we are here for a reason,
If you have ever felt excluded, overlooked or not seen,
If self-doubt has ever held you back,
Then this episode is for you.
Let’s start this journey.
Hit play.

More About Sudduf:
Sudduf runs the INTENTION membership. She stands confidently in her faith and leads intentionally and passionately.

Sudduf weaves her spiritually fuelled business approach into the lives of entrepreneurs struggling to gain clarity and purpose in their business.

Living spiritually. Building community. Growing purposefully. These are her pillars.
Sudduf’s magic has been affirmed and celebrated by many sources. The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and the Canadian House of Commons to name but a few.

Her circle is grateful for her dedication, drive, passionate presence, and unwavering commitment to up-level the Muslim business community.
http://www.salamsudduf.com/
http://instagram.com/salamsudduf
http://facebook.com/salamsudduf

tomearl.me/sw

Original Air Date: November 9, 2020

Honor your anger. Honor your pain.

CYRO’s words resonated deeply with me – like a bell used to awaken your spirit.

This isn’t just an interview.

It’s an awakening. It’s a residence. It’s a healing.

I am so grateful that CYRO took the time to sit down and share their passionate and powerful wisdom with all of us.

Leah Kirby, also known as CYRO, creates theatre that incites change and incorporates non-western techniques in order to explore social, economic, and political issues through a non-traditional format.

They are an activist, theatre maker, actor, writer, and drag thing named CYRO.

CYRO is a Queer, Non-Binary, DRAG THING!

They bring strength, beauty and awareness to the stage with acts like 'Run Rabbit', exploring the struggles of gang induction and violence within black communities, and 'I

am not your', a piece that delves into black masculinity within a non-binary body and shows the beauty it can exude by stripping back the facade.

They use spoken word, movement, composition, Lip-syncing, and storytelling within their work to incite change through artistic calls to action.

I am telling you: this interview is everything you have been looking for in a THE Celebration episode.

Do yourself a favor.

Hit play.

You can learn more about Cyro through their website http://leahkirby.mystrikingly.com/, or you can follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cyrodragthing/.

tomearl.me/cy

Original Air Date: August 28, 2020

On this day, Jan 20th, we celebrate the life and achievements of Dr. King and today on the podcast, I talk to Wally B., an ordained minister, spoken word artist, and the Founder and Executive Director of the Heard Em Say Youth Arts Collective.

In this episode, Wally shares his reflections on MLK and the influence Dr. King had on his life. We dig deep into Wally's journey of transitioning from being a full-time artist, to founding his nonprofit back in May 2007 to cultivating Heard Em Say. We also talk about what ultimately led to his decision to transition out of the role of Executive Director and creating a succession plan so that he could continue to grow and serve the community.

You'll hear all about his conversations with God and with his leadership team, and how he redefined what it means to be an artist and a leader. You won't want to miss this episode.

Heard ‘Em Say was created in May 2007 to identify, cultivate and empower youth in activism and advocacy through artistic education and expression. The organization serves over 300 young people a year, providing a healthy social outlet for teens to express themselves through spoken word and performance. His team has competed for years at Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival.

Support Heard Em Say at http://heardemsay.org/ and you can follow Wally on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walter.w.jennings.3.

Check out past Wally B interviews at tomearl.com/heardemsay and http://www.tomearl.com/blog/expressionsessionfeatwallyb.

tomearl.me/wb

Original Air Date: October 22, 2020

I love getting to interview people who are grounded in their own genius.

Yes, the tactical knowledge and tools that I learn about are amazing – sometimes they’re life changing.

What I really love about these sorts of people, though, is how they emphasize the ability we all have to truly live our own greatness.

Boldly.

This week’s guest, Monica Louie, is all of that and more.

Monica is a Facebook and Instagram ads strategist who helps ambitious online entrepreneurs increase their impact with high-converting ads.

You may have heard her on the Smart Passive Income Podcast, the Boss Mom Podcast, the Art of Online Business Podcast, or her own podcast, Flourish to 7 Figures.

Along with her premium agency, Team Flourish, Louie manages ads for 6- and 7-figure online business owners, has managed more than $2 million in ad spend, and has taught hundreds to successfully run their own ads through her online training program, Flourish with Facebook Ads.

Whether you are looking for epic strategies for running Facebook ads, or really have no interest in running an ad, you will draw something valuable from this conversation.

Yes, we went all in on FB/IG marketing tactics.

But we also talked about Monica’s journey from being in massive debt to building her dream company.

Monica shared huge insights on leadership, building a team, cultivating a growth mindset, and how to bring your vision to life.

I’m telling you – Monica is a genius, and it shines through in this interview.

Do yourself this favor and dive into this episode.

Yeah?

Yeah.
Alright then.

And if you’re looking for the free resource Monica created just for T.H.E. Celebration family - head to http://monicalouie.com/tom.

Monica’s links:
Flourish to 7 Figures podcast: http://monicalouie.com/podcast
Flourish with Facebook Ads: http://monicalouie.com/flourish

tomearl.me/ml

Original Air Date: April 12, 2021

There are people who are just pure geniuses at marketing.
And then there are people who are genuinely amazing human beings.

I’m going, to be honest - it is rare to see these qualities overlap.

My guest this week, Cody May, is one of those truly special people who is both a genius at marketing and a kind and gracious person.

Having been in this industry for a while, I can tell you, it is refreshing.

On top of that, you’re going to get the chance to learn some seriously valuable marketing, sales, and entrepreneurial insights.

Cody is the co-founder of Create Your Purpose, a motivational and uplifting brand to help people find their purpose and experience fulfillment throughout life.

He is also the COO of the full-service digital marketing agency StudioPTBO.

In this interview, we cover everything from marketing psychology, what’s working in Facebook Ads Land, how to book calls, and the blueprint for a successful sales call.

Like me, Cody believes in relationship centered marketing.

His commitment to living a purposeful life shines through in the advice he offers to all of us on this episode.

Trust me, this is a must listen.

Do yourself this favor.

And hit play.

You rock.

You can learn more about Cody here - https://www.instagram.com/codmay/

tomearl.me/

Original Air Date: August 28, 2020

Sales. Salesperson. Closer.

Most people have visceral reactions to these words and phrases, and almost all of us hold stereotypes or preconceived notions of what they mean.

First off, we usually think of a man.

Probably a white guy.
Headset on, maybe.
Yelling, probably.

Definitely intense, right?

Maybe you envision the Wolf of Wall Street, or buying a car?

Here’s the thing.
If you have a life-changing idea, product, service, business, and/or brand, you are going to need to engage in sales.

Even if you’re a nonprofit, you’re selling something.
Even if you’re an activist, you’re selling something.

For my entrepreneurs, business owners and side hustlers: sales is probably one of the biggest roadblocks holding you back right now.

No matter how much exposure, leads, or prospects you get, if you can’t close them – if you’re afraid of sales – it will all be for naught.

Now, this is usually where the tight feeling in our stomachs comes up. Or the explanation for how “my business is different though” starts to make its way into the conversation.

But before we go there. Let me introduce to you this week’s guest: Nina Concepcion.

Nina is here to turn all of your assumptions upside down.

Nina is a master and teacher of Conscious Sales: a co-creation and a synergistic relationship between two or more people that is beneficial for both parties and the rest of the world.

Now I bet that sounds more in alignment with your values, right?

Sales and selling don’t have to be ugly.

When done right, it provides growth, opportunity, and a step forward.

I invite you to take a few minutes of your week and hear what Nina has to say.

Not only will it change your entire perspective on what it means to be in sales, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet a truly remarkable entrepreneur.

In addition, you’ll get to hear Nina talk about:

-How your values drive your life
-How to get your coaching business off the ground
-The power of social media
-What to do on a sales call
-What’s stopping you from moving forward
-How to overcome self-sabotage and step into your inner power

I’m telling you: this interview is essential!

Hit play and let me know what your number one takeaway was.

Be sure to hit Nina up and show her some love → through her Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ninathenakedcoach

tomearl.me/nc

original Air Date: July 26, 2021

Let’s talk about burnout.

We’ve all sung this song before.

Whether it was out front leading the tune,

Joining in the chorus,

Or subconsciously humming it to ourselves as we pick up the broom.

We can’t sweep away the exhaustion,

The depletion of energy.

The jagged, gnawing feeling,

That we are nearing our candle’s end.

For too long burnout has seemed that necessary friend

You must deal with if you want to achieve.

If you want to be the best at ______.

Fill in that blank with whatever extrinsic achievement we are

Chasing,

Hoping it will finally show everyone we are enough.

But we can out hustle our worthiness.

Or we’ll find ourselves buried in a hole of our own making.

We need to redefine what it means to be winning.

To recognize that perfectionism

And burnout often goes hand in hand.

Where is the balance?

Where is the rest?

What are the flags,

Warning signs,

And hints

That can suggest when we’ve gone too far.

On this week’s episode,

Let’s talk openly about burnout.

Together, let’s explore ways

We can invite more balance into our lives.

Not just when it gets so bad it can’t be ignored.

But as a practice.

A commitment.

A path.

That leads us back home to ourselves.

Original Air Date: August 13, 2020

A few months ago, my nephew and I came up with an epic idea for a T-shirt company.

It began when I asked when he planned to come out and visit Adaora and me again.

He said he needed to get the funds first; so I proposed we sell t-shirts to get the money that he needed. We decided that he’d design them, and I’ll sell them through Facebook and IG ads.

And boom. Just like that, we had an e-commerce company.

Even before COVID-19 disrupted the economy and the way we shop, e-commerce was a trillion dollar industry in the U.S. alone.

E-commerce has revolutionized our ability to sell products directly to consumers without having to go through gatekeepers or big box retail.

Now, while it is relatively easy to get your product loaded onto Etsy or Shopify, marketing that product can be quite a task.

That is where e-commerce consultants like Veena Gandhi step in. Veena is a strategic digital marketer who specializes in providing creative and innovative solutions to advertising agencies, small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs on the cluttered world of the Internet.

She is also the founder of Digital Street, which is a marketing agency that builds successful sales funnels for fashion, beauty, lifestyle and fitness e-commerce brands.

Whether you’re a seasoned brand or are just getting started in e-commerce, this interview will serve you.

Rather than just giving general information you could google for yourself, Veena got down to the nitty-gritty of how to build a successful e-commerce campaign.

Veena shared her knowledge on:

How to build audience personas for your Facebook ads.
The importance of data, and how to analyze it.
How to set up your creative strategy for an ads campaign.
Which metrics to use in determining which ads to turn off and which ones to increase ad spend on.
The importance of testing your ads and campaigns.
How to use Instagram stories as a retargeting strategy.

For agency owners, media buyers, and ad managers, you will walk away from this interview with a plethora of industry secrets

If you’re just getting started in e-commerce and are worried this might go over your head, don’t worry! Jump in and learn from a master of her craft.

Alright. That’s enough from me.

Let’s jump into this week’s episode.

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to Veena, you can do so through her website - http://digitalstreetau.com/.

Original Air Date: January 25, 2021

To become a strong marketer, you must develop a skill set that extends beyond just “marketing.”

This could include a knowledge of human psychology, design aesthetics, analyzing data, how to create & publish content, or an assortment of other skills.

This empowers you to be able to bring your vision to life because you are able to execute it every step of the way.

This week’s guest, Wes Kao, has coined a term to perfectly describe this marketer.

She calls this an ‘End-to-end marketer.’

Wes explains that an end-to-end marketer can “have a vision, can develop a strategy, and can execute to bring their idea to life.”

During our interview together, Wes offers key insight into how being an end-to-end marketer is becoming a necessary skill set in today’s marketplace.

Wes Kao has the hands-on experience to back up her insights.

Wes Kao is a marketer who helps B2C brands launch new products and create new categories.

Previously, she was the co-creator and Executive Director @ Seth Godin's altMBA where she helped thousands of change agents level up. In the past fifteen years, she has launched 150+ products, features, and campaigns @ Flite (acq Snapchat), BareMinerals, L’Oreal, and Gap 👖.

Now she works with CEOs at companies like Poo~Pourri 💩, Outlier.org (from the co-founder of MasterClass) 🎓, Shaftesbury (creators of Slasher on Netflix) 🔪, Professor Scott Galloway 👓, Tandem Diabetes 💉, Morning Brew ☕️, and other incredible clients.

Wes believes that the “best product doesn’t always win. It’s our responsibility to help people care.”

I know that this last line is going to resonate with many of us.

If you are a part of this community, I know you have a product or service that will genuinely empower and transform the lives of your customers.

Our job is to empower you to have the marketing skills that ensure your customer chooses your product over the inferior alternatives.

This week’s episode with Wes Kao is going to offer you tangible steps and tools to make that happen.

Do yourself this favor:

Hit play. :)

P.S.

I highly suggest you check out these two blogs posts from Wes:

https://www.weskao.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-end-to-end-marketer
&
https://www.weskao.com/blog/to-become-a-better-marketer-study-these-non-marketing-topics

Original Air Date: January 25, 2021

The moment I finished this interview, I went into the next room and told Adaora: “that was the best interview ever.”

She looked at me incredulously. “You say that every single time,” she said.

I know and it’s true and for real this was epic

Let me make the case.

Lucas and I had an honest, vulnerable, and powerful conversation.

Right at the beginning, we discovered some similarities and connections between us that gave us both spiritual goosebumps.

That set the stage and tone for a real, honest, heart-to-heart conversation.

Lucas went on to share his powerful and inspiring journey. He was transparent about his ups and even his downs.

Lately, I’ve noticed that many people tend to paint perfect pictures of their lives where everything is always going right.

Lucas, on the other hand, shared his struggles in life and business with me – in the hopes that we could learn from the lessons that he’s had to learn the hard way.

He delivers some really valuable gifts for all of us in this interview.

I really hope you will do yourself a humongous favor and listen to this conversation.

And if you’re not already convinced that this will be one of the best hours you can spend, then let me share a little bit more about Lucas.

Lucas Tindell is an author, public speaker, corporate trainer/coach and host of a live video podcast. Lucas has spent over ten years working in key leadership positions focusing not only on organizational development but primarily on the development of people.

He now serves as a leadership development consultant, working with global leaders to identify strengths and areas of development for sustainable growth and improvement.

Are you ready?

Let’s do this.

You can connect with Lucas via the following links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucastindell/.

https://www.facebook.com/lucas.tindell.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzfO54252wuP4S5hlEJD_NQ.

Original Air Date: March 1, 2021

In marketing, there are certain buzzwords that can be overused.

‘Authenticity’ and ‘personal branding’ are two of those words. Especially when they’re in the same sentence.

So when someone can actually demonstrate how to create an authentic personal brand, that is both refreshing and remarkable to me.

This week’s guest, Dr. Natalia Wiechowski, does just that, while also giving us a blueprint on how to up our personal branding game.

Natalia’s story is truly remarkable. I’ll give you a teaser:

If you had the top floor penthouse suite, the high-end clothes, the high power job – if you had acquired everything you had ever wanted… could you give it all up to answer a new calling?

During my interview with Natalia, she shares her journey on discovering her calling and how she found the courage to answer that call.

For my marketers out there, Natalia is known by Inc. Magazine as the LinkedIn Marketing Unicorn and is a Forbes Coaches council member.

We take a deep dive into how you can grow your business, both by using LinkedIn and following strategies to create consistent leads.

For my personal development enthusiasts, Natalia delivers powerful insights into how we can cultivate a growth mindset.

This interview will leave you with pages of notes on how you can take your business and your mindset to the next level.

Do yourself this favor and listen to this one.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thinknatalia/.

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliawiechowski/.

tomearl.me/apbaf

Original Air Date: October 14, 2020

It is vital to cultivate a healthy relationship with fear and failure.

Yeah.
I know.
Easier said than done.

In order to live this truth, I have to recommit to it every single day.

Because every single day fear makes itself known.

I feel it as a tight knot in my stomach.
Tension in my shoulders.

I recognize it in my defensiveness.
When I’m short with people.

I see it clearly during the times where I would rather be right than happy.
Where I fight for my limiting beliefs.

Fear would have me clutch the painful familiar rather than embrace the liberating unknown.

I have learned it isn’t possible to get rid of fear.
Or to vision board it away.

Instead, I must accept it as part of my present experience.
Without resistance.
Without fighting it.

Just observe it.

And little by little, its grip releases.

A huge factor in this journey is being conscious of the voices I let into my head.

I want to be really intentional that I am ingesting words and energy that contribute to a growth mindset.

That is why I am so intentional of the guests I share with you each week on T.H.E. Celebration.

On that note, this week's guest, Dijana Llugolli, is a rock star when it comes to fear and growth.

Diana Dijana Llugolli is a leading success and business coach in Scandinavia with a client base in 23 different countries. Her story as an online marketer, coach, and speaker started in March 2018, when she burned out, nearly divorced, and, on the verge of giving up, decided to make a pivotal change in her business.

After that rock bottom, she became obsessed with working smarter rather than harder, and she is now the go-to expert for female entrepreneurs who are ready to make more impact, influence, and income.

Her genius lies in her knowledge of automation, systems, and funnels – and now, she is on a mission to support a million women to be, do, and have whatever they desire. To live their version of a Freedom Lifestyle.

I had so many “aha!”s while recording this episode, and I’ve been really excited for its release!

At the root of our goals, our intentions, and our visions is our mindset.

This conversation with Dijana is going to serve you in such a big way.

So take a deep breath.

Exhale.

And then hit play.

Let’s do this.

You can connect with her on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dijanallugolli/.

tomearl.me/gwfg.

Original Air Date: September 13, 2019

Ash Couture is an entrepreneur, business coach, instructor, founder of Rich Girl University, and owner of Pink Halo Hair Boutique. Pink Halo Hair provides premium virgin luxury lace wigs and hair extensions, while Rich Girl University is an online school with a mission to teach women how to make money and create a life they love.

On this week’s episode, Ash and I talk about overcoming adversity, turning your dreams into action, and Ash’s own journey as an entrepreneur, which started in her college dorm room.

Ash specializes in helping entrepreneurs map their dream life, create a six-figure business, market like a boss, build an authentic brand, and master the financial side of their business.

You can follow her work on Instagram @ iamashcouture, @pinkhalohairboutique, and @richgirluniversity.

tomearl.me/tptin

Original Air Date: February 8, 2020

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist, and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.
Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies.

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events.

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voices and materialize their thoughts.

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/timothymays/ and on his

website - https://www.timothymays.net/.

tomearl.me/myly

Original Air Date: August 30, 2018

In this week’s episode, I interview workplace drama researcher, international leadership speaker, and consultant Cy Wakeman.

Cy’s philosophy is grounded in reality, and she’s helped organizations and individuals all over the world learn to ditch the drama and turn excuses into results.

We talked about how you can bypass your own ego and really see your privilege. We also discussed going beyond the Kumbaya part of diversity and inclusion, and really getting to the heart of the things that matter.

I love how Cy brings together deep research and authentic experience to create steps, resources, and tools you can use to remove the drama from your life and be an authentic leader.

Perhaps this is why Cy Wakeman was named one of the Top 30 Global Leadership Gurus in the world, and she is also a New York Times best selling author.

You can follow Cy on her
Website - http://www.realitybasedleadership.com/,
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cywakeman/,
Facebook - https://www.instagram.com/cywakeman/ or Listen to her
Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/no-ego/id1253461828?mt=2.

tomearl.me/dde

We’re joined today by the talented Ameerah Sanders, who spoke with me about her own struggle with depression, self-acceptance, and her journey to becoming a professional comedian.

I appreciate how Ameerah spoke openly and from the heart. While we did share a lot of laughs (especially since Ameerah is a hilarious comedian), we also took the conversation to some very deep and very real places. You’ll appreciate the insights and truths that Ameerah shares.

Ameerah Sanders is a standup comic, writer, and filmmaker based in Kansas City, MO. Her comedy comes from her post-9/11 Black Muslim background and her current post-college life. She hopes to connect with other people of color and serve as an example that the life of a Black woman is not inherently political. She's performed at the Hollywood and Kansas City Improv. She'll be at the Cream City comedy fest in Milwaukee, WI May 9-12th, and Art of Female Comedy Fest June 12th-13th.

tomearl.me/pgcr

Original Air Date: May 25, 2018

Art, Culture, and Dopeness. That’s this week’s episode with visual artist Marium Rana.

Oh, and we talked about Black Panther, AFI, Ramadan and fasting, racism, the impact of art, creativity, and courage, being yourself, and tons and tons of brilliant quotes from Marium.

We laughed A BUNCH and we even talked about the bald eagle American pride tattoo that I have.

Here’s just a snapshot of Marium’s awesome life:

Marium Rana is an American-born Pakistani visual artist, who works primarily in ink and aqueous media. She has curated numerous art exhibitions throughout the United States. She served as the design chair for TEDxFSU.

Be sure to do your patriotic duty and listen to this weeks’ FIRE episode with Marium Rana (say that last part super loud and like an MC bringing someone to the stage).

tomearl.me/acd

Original Air Date: May 18, 2018

Let’s say you were to ask Samar Owais to be your copywriter, and to sprinkle her magic on your email sequences. You’d need to be prepared to cut a check with a lot of zeros.

In other words, Samar is a seriously sought after copywriter who crafts emails that convert lurkers into customers – then into repeat customers, and finally into raving fans.

If you are an entrepreneur – from any industry – you need to be tapping into the full potential of your email list.

On this week’s episode, Samar really breaks down the ins and outs of writing email sequences. Whether we’re talking about a sales sequence, nurture sequence, abandoned cart sequence, whatever: if you’re sending it by email, she drops the gems on this one.

This episode is especially for the folks who are sick of staring at a blank screen when trying to craft an email. Plus, Samar gives you series of insights into the research you need to do before you even start writing your first email.

Samar’s insight is really meant to empower you with the tools you need, so you can ultimately work with clients and customers that excite you and allow you to raise your prices.

Now if you’re thinking, “wow Tom, I’m not sure I can do 60 minutes of geeking out about email copywriting.” Don’t worry. I got you.

Samar and I also discussed:

Entrepreneurial mindset
How to overcome challenges and adversity, especially when trying to pivot from one job to the next
Owning your identity, especially in the face of bias and/or discrimination
Activating your innate power
Communicating with passion, purpose, and clarity

All this to say: do yourself the favor of hitting play on this epic interview. Samar delivers serious value and offers some amazing insights.

Here we go.

You can get in touch with Samar from her website - https://samarowais.com/

Original Air Date: August 1, 2020

This week marks the beginning of Ramadan. For those observing, it is 30 days of fasting, reflection, prayer, and community.

There are many spiritual and health benefits to fasting. But sustaining from food and water aren't the only ways to fast.
On this episode, I invite you to consider joining me in fasting from these five things:

Comparison
Control
Social Media
Self-Doubt
Over-Achieving

For each of these, just picking 1 day a week or a month to fast, can have a positive impact on our lives. Consider it :).

Plus learn about the reasons why, tips for getting started, and enjoy some fun stories I share.
www.tomearl.me/ffym

This week we bring you our 13th episode of this series; a conversation with Crysta Tyus and London Jones.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

Crtsya IG: @crystatyus

London IG: @londonmarice

This week we bring you our 12th episode of this series; a conversation with Intisar Seraaj and Mitch del Monico.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

IG: byseraaj

https://www.mikkidel.com/

This week we bring you our 11th episode of this series; a conversation with Shelby Birch.
Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

IG: @shelbybirch

This week we bring you our 10th episode of this series; a conversation with Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins and Travis Ray.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

https://kikanzanurirobins.com/books

IG: @travisaray

This week we bring you our 9th episode of this series; a conversation with Walter “Wally” B. Jennings and Irmina.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

Wally: https://www.mouthofthemural.com/

Irmina IG: @irminathephoenix

This week we bring you our 8th episode of this series; a conversation with Alex Sullivan and Jessica Estevez.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

Alex IG: @rockandlit
Jessica IG: @luvwithoutfear

This week we bring you our 7th episode of this series; a conversation with Aretha Scruggs and Moses Weir.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

IG: @arethascruggsmusic
mosesweir11@gamil.com

This week we bring you our 6th episode of this series; a conversation with Ace Vedo and Dermot Givens.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

Ace Vedo: https://www.djace-vedo.com/

This week we bring you our 5th episode of this series; a conversation with Ashlee Tezino and Sam(ira) Obeid.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a new edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy.

Guest Information:

Ashlee IG: @beautyambassador

Sam(ira) website or facebook: http://www.samiraobeid.com/ or
https://www.facebook.com/samiraobeid

This week we bring you our 4th episode of this series; a conversation with Jasmine Star and Vivi Devereaux.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

IG: @jasminestar

IG: @vividevereaux

This week we bring you our 3rd episode of this series; a conversation with Cet Mohamed-Moore and Timothy Mays.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

Instagram @cetmohamedmoore

Timothy IG: @servicenoservice

This week we bring you our 2nd episode of this series; a conversation with Sadiya Sassine and Shaan Dasani.

Here is the background on this project:

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

I hope you enjoy it.

Guest Information:

Sadiya’s instagram @sadiyasassine
Shaan’s instagram @shaandasani

In the last few months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I began a podcast project.

I had a few intentions with this project.

I wanted her to have a set of recordings that could serve as a time capsule of what life was like just as she was arriving. And for her to begin life already surrounded by a community who was invested in her.

In the end, I interviewed over 20 people for this project.

I began these recordings in the late summer of 2019.

Little did I know what was awaiting all of us just around the corner.

As I’ve been relistening to these recordings I have found deep meaning in each conversation, and I hope you will appreciate them too.

That is why we are starting the 2022 season of THE Celebration podcast by sharing a newly edited edition of these interviews.

The series is entitled: Gifts For You.

It will span 13 episodes in total.

This week we bring you our first episode of the series; a conversation between myself and my wife Adaora.

It was recorded 1 day before our daughter arrived into this world, and 22 days before the world changed profoundly.

I hope you enjoy it.

Sometimes you just don’t fit in. What should you do then?

Explore this intriguing topic with us as we chat with our very special guest, Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, author of several books including Fish Out of Water.

As someone who never fit into a particular group, she became a force for awareness and change.

For years, she’s been an amazing advocate for justice, equity, and inclusion, for hundreds of organizations across the country and continues to teach companies how to create a healthy corporate culture for all employees.

When asked to describe herself in 6 words, she replied: ”I was not what they expected.”

Come by to hear our discussion where we go deeper on what it’s like to feel like someone who doesn’t belong and how we can play our part to help society become more inclusive.

🎧 Ready to listen?

Head over to: www.tomearl.me/knr.

Check out Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins’ books and how you can work with her here: https://kikanzanurirobins.com/books.

Ah. That dreaded blank page.

The famous villain we all call: “writer's block.”

This week we’re exploring misconceptions and biases and answering these questions:

👉 Is writer's block real?

👉Can we be expected to create “on demand”?

I’ll cut to the chase… my answers to both are YES.

I’ll admit, perhaps we can’t all just create genius-stand-the-test-of-time works of art on command each time.

But to create the extraordinary we need to go through the ordinary every day.

If we only create when we have a “flash of insight” we might be waiting a long time.

Because creativity is rarely glamorous or sexy. It’s hard work, practice, and pushing through the “mental blocks” that come up.

If creativity is required in any way in your craft then this episode is for you.

There’s even practical tips and reflections on how you can tap into your creativity on demand.

Spoiler alert: turns out every single one of us uses creativity every day.

Let’s do this.

🎧 Listen now: www.tomearl.me/icd

When was the last time you danced out all your feelings?

We’re all doing a bit of “surviving” after the last few years… and we could all use a little extra love.

You MUST listen to our special episode that can only be described as POWERFUL as we went really deep with Jayson James and Lydiana Garcia about being strong and vulnerable and what it takes to keep going.

Lydiana is a therapist and healer, using her passion for dancing to support trauma survivors. She describes herself as a mom, healer, dancer, spirit, teacher, and student.

Jayson describes themself as compassionate, warm, bright, survivor, loving, and balanced.

This is one amazing discussion you won’t want to miss.

🎧 Ready to listen?

Go to: www.tomearl.me/jl

After the episode, hang out with our guests on Instagram!

Jayson: https://www.instagram.com/nubiankweenjay/

Lydiana: https://www.instagram.com/dr.lydianagarcia/

"Fall in love with yourself first and then let everyone watch."

There are so many ways to evolve in your artistic endeavors, but our guest, Kelly Wilkerson, suggests starting within yourself.

We talked with her and Amir Abdullah about the difference between art and life.

Guess what they said… there isn’t one.

Life is art and art is an offering to the world.

Amir reflected that creativity is a relationship with giving and receiving, a collaboration with others. He describes himself as aware, thoughtful, uncertain, amiable, an ambivert, and evolving.

Kelly believes everything is creative, to evolve her art as she keeps showing up everyday as her full self. Because each of us, especially you, are worth showing up for. She also describes herself as: emotional, confident, spiritual, kind, empathetic, and empowering.

Ready to experience the full episode?

🎧 Watch or listen to it here -> www.tomearl.me/ak

You can hang out with Kelly Wilkerson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellywilkerson/

Amir asks you to check out his website to get to know him: http://www.amir-abdullah.com/

Do you use paid ads for digital marketing? Should you?

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by a brilliant marketer, Nickey Rautenberg Norrish, as we discuss the ever controversial topic of… paid Instagram and Facebook Ads.

This topic has so many layers, it was fun unpeeling them by reflecting on best practices and the past.

Most people don’t know that with a low budget ad spend, they can be getting 25x the clients vs. organic reach… and with a lot less effort.

But so many are unsure of the unknown, have heard horror stories of ads being rejected, or just don’t know where to begin.

That’s why Nickey and I really get into the science of ads and how to use them, with tips on what you should do next to get started or optimize what you’re already doing.

I get the honor of working with Nickey through my Facebook Ads agency - THE Celebration Media, so I can say she’s truly an expert I trust!

🎧 Ready to listen? Let’s go!

You can watch or listen here: www.tomearl.me/nickey

Wanna know more? Follow Nickey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickeynorrish/

We’re back for another one of my favorite style episodes where we dive DEEP into gratitude with two seriously amazing guests.

This week was full of beautiful feelings that could only be described by one of our guests, Omar El, as therapeutic.

Andrea Hodos is the artist, the creator of Moving Torah, and an Associate Director at NewGround: a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, who describes herself as a connector. She goes deep to talk about connecting to yourself as well as others and shares how she helps others to do just that.

She spends much of her time connecting people with their roots.

Omar describes himself as complex, an idealistic dreamer who is hardy and multidimensional. Also quite particular. He shares his vision for the world and what he’s currently creating for the world at HighAtlas.Shop.

You won’t want to miss what these two lovely people share with us on this episode of Complex Connection and Unrestrained Release…

Get in touch with Andrea on her website: http://www.movingtorah.com/
Hang out with Omar on Instagram: @canzermoon

Ready to dive in?

🎧 Listen now: www.tomearl.me/ao

“Burnout is not a badge of honor. It is true that hard work can equal better results. But this is true only to a point…

All too often, we sacrifice our time, our energy, and even our sanity, almost believing that sacrifice is essential in and of itself...

...what if, instead, we took the opposite approach? If instead of pushing ourselves to, and in some cases well past, our limit, we sought out an easier path?”

—Greg McKeown

A few week’s ago we explored McKeown’s book Essentialism and this week we jump straight into his follow up book, “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most.”

Personally, I love grit.

And hard work.

And sweat.

That feeling when I’m in the zone, where everything just flows and all time and surroundings disappear.

Then there’s the feeling where there are a million to-dos on a very long list and I’m waking up in the middle of the night, exhausted, but still feeling the push to get up and start crossing things off that list.

Then I read these words from Effortless: “Relaxing is a responsibility.”

Wow.

How does that sit with you? Kind of uncomfortable right?

I invite you to take this journey together into how we can reach that effortless state while dedicating more of our time to what truly matters to each of us. Because I’m working on it and I think we’re both going to get so much out of it.

Let’s do this.

🎧 Listen now: www.tomearl.me/es

P.S. You can learn more about Greg McKeown’s book here: https://gregmckeown.com/books/effortless/

Creativity can get kinda weird.

And that’s a good thing.

We talked about that and more with this week’s guests.

We got two super creative humans on this special episode where the amazing Cet Mohamed-Moore and Adaora Nwandu Earl.

We explored whether art comes from instinct and how over time you evolve into new versions of yourself.

And how to oldly show up as your full self in life and in what you create.

Catch the fun as we dive into the process of creating on a regular basis.

Since we are all creatives, one way or another, no one should miss the inspiration that came out of this session.

When asked to describe themselves in 6 words or less…

Adaora said: kind. enthusiastic. determined. ambitious. focused. Fun.
Cet said: loving, creative, loyal, weird, protective, and curious.

📲 Wanna hang out with our guests on social media? Go to Instagram for Cet https://www.instagram.com/cetmohamedmoore/ and Adaora https://www.instagram.com/AdaoraMuka.

🎧 Ready to listen to the creative?

Hit Play.

Go to www.tomearl.me/ac

Mindset Matters.

Simply stated, it’s because your perception is your reality. To combat negativity, you MUST change your thoughts to change your life.

On this week’s episode, we move beyond all the mindset cliches and what you think you know about it while we take a deep dive into the importance and methods of cultivating thoughts needed for a better and more successful life.

I’m joined by two brilliant guests: LaShana aka Ms.West Creative Coach and Charlese - Girl at The Yellow Desk.

LaShana and Charlese share their personal stories and journeys, along with how they’ve learned to pivot, grow, and succeed despite life’s twists and turns.

We also talked about how to build meaningful relationships, especially with your customers and the importance of active listening and research so that your audience feels seen and heard.

Most importantly, we explored the way motivation follows movement and we covered what to do if you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, lost or frustrated so you can turn it around.

Charlese Latham is known as the Girl at the Yellow Desk. She was an entrepreneur in the beauty industry for over 20 years, but her inspiring story of resilience tells us how a devastating accident led to early retirement of the only career she knew and starting over again with a new business and life, with more success than ever.

Her strengths are Copywriting and Content Creation, especially for course launches and she absolutely loves to support other female entrepreneurs by taking away their overwhelm during busy launch seasons with her 3 steps to a 5-figure course launch system.

She’s been published in Entrepreneur.com, featured in Self Magazine, interviewed on dozens of podcasts, spoken on several summits, worked with multiple 6 and 7 figure client launches, is about to release her book, and has recently launched her very own course: Plan Your Best Launch, Ever!

You can connect with Charlese on Instagram @GirlattheYellowDesk and use the link in her profile to grab her FREE Social Media Templates for a 5 Figure Launch: https://www.instagram.com/girlattheyellowdesk/

LaShana West aka Ms. West Creative Coach has been serving in the mental health field for over 20 years. This is where she learned the importance of having true compassion and engaging in servant leadership. All of these learning opportunities have positioned her to serve and step into a new direction by helping others in the creative and entrepreneurial field.

With the mental health background coupled with the business acumen LaShana is able to help the "whole person". LaShana believes that past unresolved trauma and imposter syndrome is a common barrier for most people no matter if you're a 9-5er or entrepreneur. But with support and accountability you can do ANYTHING that your heart desires!

You can connect with LaShana on her website: www.mswestcreativecoach.com or text the word ‘Mindset’ to 678-336-7756 and she’ll send you her best tips!

👉 I promise you, THIS is an epic episode, you won’t be the same after.

🎧 Listen HERE: www.tomearl.me/lc

Less is more. Truly.

But as humans we always seem to want more. Is the desire for more causing us to lose what truly matters?

In this episode, I share my thoughts on the practice of pursuing less.

Some refer to this as ‘essentialism’ since the purpose is to maintain a deep focus on only the most important things in life.

This discipline is just like any in that it takes a lot of practice. Mindfulness. An active re-commitment to simplifying things we try to complicate.

According to Greg McKeown, “It’s a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.”

If you feel:
• burnt out
• overworked
• unproductive
• unhappy, but too busy to change it

… then this might be the change you’re looking for.

A way to finally take control of your life and jump off the treadmill that’s leading nowhere, but exhausting you.

I invite you to have a listen, to see if what’s in this episode makes the difference in your outlook that it has on mine.

🎧 Listen here: www.tomearl.me/dp

As the US heads into the Thanksgiving season, it’s a great reminder for all of us to stop for a minute and reflect on what we’re grateful for.

Because there’s always something, especially the more you dive in.

On this VERY special Deeper Gratitude episode, we’re talking with our amazing guests Rayesa Gheewala and London Jones about what we’re each thankful for now, in this moment, and what we can do with that.

Because gratitude is best followed up with intentional actions. Thoughtful ambition. And confident compassion.

We asked questions like:

Where are you going deeper in your life?
What do you want people to go deeper on?
What are you grateful for right now?
What is your invitation to those who are listening to this episode?

Rayesa Gheewala is a coach for women, helping them to find life after divorce. She created The Divorced Muslimah Network - a sanctuary for sisters who are divorced, or in the process, providing safety and support and helping to restore self esteem and confidence while rebuilding lives.

Rayesa describes herself as authentic, clear, patient, compassionate, confident, and resilient. She described our conversation as epic.

Connect with Rayesa by starting at: Rayesagheewala.com

London Jones is a leader in the Black Equity Collective, working to normalize a culture of trust, collaboration, mutual respect, and shared accountability, committed to building a future where Black organizations, families and communities thrive.

She describes herself as thoughtful, ambitious, sensitive, complex, curious, and playful. She told us this conversation took her on a journey.

Hangout with London on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/londonmarice

You’ll find yourself inspired to share in the appreciative spirit and energy created here.

Ready to jump on in?

🎧 LISTEN now: www.tomearl.me/lr

How often have you reflected upon your biases, assumptions and misunderstanding of disabled people?

This week we are joined by DEI consultant and stigma smasher Catarina Rivera.

Caterina is the founder of Blindish Latina, a platform smashing disability stigmas through storytelling, advocacy, and training.

She is also a member of Respect Ability's National Disability Speakers Bureau.

Catarina illuminates this important conversation and provides knowledge and actions we can all take and shares with us about the many twists and turns she has taken on her own journey.

As we celebrate Disability Employment Awareness Month and Latin Heritage Month, it’s appropriate to listen as Caterina shares with us ways we can work to be more inclusive 365 days of the year.

Honestly, I learned so much during this interview.

🎧 Ready to listen? Let’s go!

You can watch or listen here: www.tomearl.me/cr

Follow Catarina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blindishlatina

Learn more on her website: https://www.catarinarivera.com/

On our monthly deep dive conversation, we’re going into resiliency and growth with our special guests Sumiyah Mshaka and Moses Weir.

So many things stop us from pushing past the hard stuff, but just on the other side of hard is greatness.

👉 What are the difficult conversations you must have with yourself and others to get you there?
👉 How can you get there when it doesn’t seem like it’s even possible?
👉 And what makes the difference between simply going through a hard time vs. growing through it?

Build the mindset that will get you to resiliency, starting by listening to these deep thinkers discussing their experiences.

This may be the best thing you’ve done all week, just for yourself.

Sumiyah describes herself in 6 words or less: “Social worker. Business owner. Black Muslim.”
Moses gave us these words as a description: “Kind. caring. Fun. playful. Empathetic. Father.”

🎧 Ready to listen? Let’s go!

Watch or listen here: tomearl.me/rgt

Learn more about Sumiyah here: https://www.instagram.com/turbosumiyah/
You can contact Moses by email here: mosesweir11@gmail.com

You may have heard that Facebook Ads are the best thing to get a high volume of fresh leads on repeat for your business. Or you may have heard just the opposite.

I’ve heard people say they aren’t predictable, they are too expensive, or it’s not a path worth going down at all.

I don’t mean to disagree with you or someone you know, but I LOVE Facebook and Instagram Ads. And I can tell you exactly why.

This is a confusing subject for so many, but I’m ready to help clear some things up for you.

Two questions submitted on this subject led to the creation of this very episode and I answer them just for you.

👉 When you started your Facebook ad agency and then later your Facebook Ads course, how did you overcome your fear of starting a new venture?

👉 Why are you passionate about doing ads?

I have to tell you, my friend. It’s easy to talk about something I love so much.

Ready to hear why? Let’s go!

Listen or watch here: www.tomearl.me/WHYI

What’s more empowering than creativity?

This episode explores how when we tap into our creative side, we become invigorated.

We become fierce.

And all of us have the ability to tap into our unique creativity.

Our guests, Dania Ayah Alkhouli and Abstract C.I.M. really dive into these topics, sharing what drives them to create meaningful art.

I am especially inspired by how Dania and Abstract are able to use their art to create change, build a movement, and raise awareness.

In 6 words or less, Dania describes herself as: “Syrian. Perfectionist. Fierce. Dedicated. Thoughtful. Loyal.”

In 6 words or less, Abstract describes herself as: “Passionate. Creative. Empathetic. Love. balancer. Becoming.”

Ready to listen? Let’s go!

Learn more about Dania here: https://www.instagram.com/lady_narrator/
Learn more about Abstract here: https://www.instagram.com/abstractcim/

There is a widely shared photo from the era of the Nazi 3rd Reich. In it you see everyone ‘heiling’ and saluting to the Führer except for one lone figure.

Often there is a red circle drawn around this person. Pointing out the only person standing against the tide of genocide and authoritarianism.

In Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson opens her book by asking:

“We might feel certain that, were we Aryan citizens under the Third Reich, we surely would have seen through it, would have risen above it like him, been that person resisting authoritarianism and brutality in the face of mass hysteria...But unless people are willing to transcend their fears, endure discomfort and derision, suffer the scorn of loved ones and neighbors and co-workers and friends, fall into disfavor of perhaps everyone they know, face exclusion and even banishment, it would be numerically impossible, humanly impossible, for everyone to be that man. What would it take to be him in any era? What would it take to be him now?”

As Isabel Wilkerson points out, while we all may assert we would be that person, the reality is that “it would be numerically impossible, humanly impossible, for everyone to be that man.”

Isabel Wilkerson’s Book ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’ provides an opportunity to strive to “be that man.”

If there is one book you plan to read this year, it is my wish that this be amongst your top considerations.

On this week’s episode, I am joined by past guest’s Stacey Cosden and Lloyd Wilkey to discuss and reflect upon Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste.

Together we share with you some of the passages, insights, ahas, and emotions that deeply impacted us.

There is no way we can do the book justice in just 1 hour.

Which is why, once again, I highly encourage you to please buy and read Isabel Wilkerson’s Book “Caste.”

You can do so here: https://www.isabelwilkerson.com/.

More About Our Guests:

Stacey Cosden is a Marketing Coach with Tom at T.H.E. Celebration. While she is currently in marketing, she’s spent over 20 years working with the public school system. Through her various roles in the system, Stacey has been an advocate for her community, students and their families, and an activist for reform. Stacey’s true passion is building healthy community that supports marginalized voices.

You can follow Stacey on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/staceyreneec/

Lloyd Wilkey is the founder of the Mindful Policing Project, He is a recognized expert on community/police relations. He facilitates law enforcement training, community dialogues, and engages in activism to advance his concept of Mindful Policing. He advocates for policies and procedures which will result in transparency, accountability, and restorative justice.

You can follow Lloyd here: http://Mindfulpolicing.org

Today I’m sharing 3 very personal stories where I failed, big time.

I mean, these weren’t those “Oops, I used salt instead of sugar” kind of failures.

They were “Down on the ground, will I get up from this?” total failures.

Talking to you about these life stories and processing them again… allowed me to uncover the meaning and the hidden gems I couldn’t see while I was going through it.

Thank you for letting me share the experience with you.

If you’re experiencing failure, setbacks, roadblocks… I hope you’ll gain something from these stories I’m sharing in this week’s episode.

[This is where I’m supposed to insert a cliche quote about how “it gets better” or “it is all worth it.” but I can’t because in the end, failure is always a punch to the gut.]

Unfortunately:

The more risks you take…

The bolder you live…

The more you put yourself out there…

The more often you’ll get that failure gut punch.

I don’t know if it necessarily gets better or easier, but I’m working on learning more and more how to react in the seconds after the failure hits me.

Maybe it’ll help you get stronger reaction muscles too.

Let’s do this.

Hit play. ▶️

Where there is laughter, creativity also exists.

Creativity is more than just the art on your wall. It’s also what we tap into as we maneuver difficult conversations.

So then what is Passion? → Creativity’s best friend.

...And that’s just the tip of the iceberg according to this week’s guests: Intisar Seraaj and Mitch Del Monico! These phenomenal return guests get super deep each time they’re with us.

In this episode, Intisar and Mitch continue helping us by exploring the question: “What does it mean to be a Creative?”

Get ready to explore your unique creativity.

In 6 words or less, Intisar describes herself as: “Confident. Creative. Passionate. Loving. Loyal. Trustworthy.”
You can learn more about Intisar here: https://www.instagram.com/byseraaj/

In 6 words or less, Mitch describes himself as: “Laughter gets me through it.”
You can learn more about Mitch here: https://www.mikkidel.com/

You know that feeling at the end of a Netflix episode where you MUST find out what happens next? It makes you skip the end credits to get straight to the next episode and if there isn’t one…

….you immediately google release dates of the next season because you just. can’t. wait.

Why does that happen?

The answer might surprise you…

There’s actually a neurobiological reaction that takes place within us called the ‘cliffhanger effect.”

So what does this mean for our work?

There’s an art to telling a great story. And at the same time, there is a science to what happens within our nervous system when we experience a great story.

So every great storyteller must master both the art and science of storytelling.

Whether you’re planning a presentation at work, raising money for your nonprofit, creating a movement for an important cause, or trying to connect with your customers…

...it all comes down to good storytelling.

In this week’s episode, I share with you 3 ways you can improve your storytelling skills.

And how the 3 neurobiological reactions these storytelling tactics will create within your audience members.

Tune in to learn the biggest secrets of good storytelling you don’t know yet...

Let’s do it.

Where are you going deeper in your life?

What’s a journey you are willing to take through all of life’s ups and downs?

This episode kicks off a new series that sets out to explore these very questions.

Each month I’ll be sharing with you two people who will give us a peek into what depth looks in their lives .

And most importantly...what fuels that drive for them.

This week I introduce you to Tasneem Noor and Fiona Harvey.

Both Tasneem and Fiona are moved by the meaningful and personal missions they are sharing with the world, and now you.

In 6 words or less, Tasneem describes herself as: “Sincere. Curious. Compassionate. Spiritual. Adaptive. Authentic.”

In 6 words or less, Fiona describes herself as: “Compassionate. Empathetic. Driven. Joyful. Humorous. Intentional.”

On this week’s episode, they each explore how compassion and curiosity are important values to take with you on any journey of depth.

Are you ready for this deep dive?

Let’s do it.

Learn more about Tasneem here: https://thefaithconnector.com/

Learn more about Fiona here: https://www.instagram.com/fionaharvey_/

Living spiritually. Building community. Growing purposefully.

These are the 3 pillars that guide this week’s guests, Sudduf Wyne.
Over the span of my podcast, it’s been an honor to interview almost 300 remarkable entrepreneurs so far.

But this is one of the most courageous, real, honest, vulnerable, and inspiring conversations I’ve ever had.

Why can I say that?

With each question I asked, Sudduf would take us to a deeper level with each of her answers.

I almost don’t want to spoil the journey this episode is by revealing too much of what we talked about. I’m that excited for you to listen to it.

So… If you're looking for a deeper meaning,

If you believe we are here for a reason,

If you have ever felt excluded, overlooked or not seen,

If self-doubt has ever held you back,

Then this episode is for you.

Let’s start this journey.

Hit play.

More About Sudduf:
Sudduf runs the INTENTION membership. She stands confidently in her faith and leads intentionally and passionately.

Sudduf weaves her spiritually fuelled business approach into the lives of entrepreneurs struggling to gain clarity and purpose in their business.

Living spiritually. Building community. Growing purposefully. These are her pillars.

Sudduf’s magic has been affirmed and celebrated by many sources. The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and the Canadian House of Commons to name but a few.

Her circle is grateful for her dedication, drive, passionate presence, and unwavering commitment to up-level the Muslim business community.

http://www.salamsudduf.com/
http://instagram.com/salamsudduf
http://facebook.com/salamsudduf

Let’s talk about burnout.

We’ve all sung this song before.

Whether it was out front leading the tune,

Joining in the chorus,

Or subconsciously humming it to ourselves as we pick up the broom.

We can’t sweep away the exhaustion,

The depletion of energy.

The jagged, gnawing feeling,

That we are nearing our candle’s end.

For too long burnout has seemed that necessary friend

You must deal with if you want to achieve.

If you want to be the best at ______.

Fill in that blank with whatever extrinsic achievement we are

Chasing,

Hoping it will finally show everyone we are enough.

But we can out hustle our worthiness.

Or we’ll find ourselves buried in a hole of our own making.

We need to redefine what it means to be winning.

To recognize that perfectionism

And burnout often goes hand in hand.

Where is the balance?

Where is the rest?

What are the flags,

Warning signs,

And hints

That can suggest when we’ve gone too far.

On this week’s episode,

Let’s talk openly about burnout.

Together, let’s explore ways

We can invite more balance into our lives.

Not just when it gets so bad it can’t be ignored.

But as a practice.

A commitment.

A path.

That leads us back home to ourselves.

We are all creatives.

Each day we are engaging in creative work.

In our thinking, unique way of approaching our life, and in what we are building.

But what does it mean to be a creative?

This episode kicks off a series that will be exploring this very question.

Each month I’ll share with you two people who dive into what creativity means to them.

Our guests this week are Liz Prisley and Lloyd Wilkey.

Both are brilliant creatives and I am blessed to count them as good friends.

In 6 words or less, Liz describes herself as: “Passionate. Intersectional. Feminist. Poet. Leader. Educational.”

In 6 words or less, Lloyd describes himself as: “It’s Complicated.”

On this week’s episode, Liz and Lloyd explore how creativity can be complicated, history-telling, and poetic.

And of course so much more.

Get ready to dive into your unique creativity.

You can learn more about Liz here: https://www.instagram.com/lizprisley/

You can learn more about Lloyd here: https://www.mindfulpolicing.org/

You need a huge budget to make an impact using ads.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions I come across.

The truth is - with as little as $1 a day - you can get into the paid ads game.

My mission is to get more people like you - impact-driven businesses - to start working on their FB & IG ads funnel.

In this week’s episode, I pull back the curtain and share the ad strategy that we’ve been perfecting over these past 18 months.

The title says it all:

“How to Succeed With Ads Without Breaking The Bank”

By the end of this episode, you’ll have taken a giant leap forward towards creating an ad campaign that consistently generates high quality leads.

Specifically, I show you how to tap into the power of relationships, and apply it to marketing.

Storytelling + Dialed In Messaging = A Winning Ad Campaign.

Let’s get started on creating yours!

Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life?

This week’s episode, ‘Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse’, with Khalisa Rae, is all of that and more.

Our guest, Khalisa Rae, is an award winning poet and journalist that speaks with furious rebellion. She is also the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021).

This day, Khalisa gifted all of us with her honesty, poetry, insights, brilliance, and creativity. I am truly grateful for the courage and vulnerability she brought to our conversation. We explored:

-Healing from trauma
-How to create your own team of superheroes
-The importance of honor your gifts
-The power of words
-Protecting your light

Khalisa shared some really powerful stories that left me feeling more grounded and connected to my inner power.

Not to mention that she shared with us two poems that hit me right in my soul.

I’m telling you - this episode will be a game-changer. For anyone who is serving a mission greater than themselves - this episode is for you.

You can learn more about Khalisa through her website. Khalisarae.com

Or you can follow her on twitter @k_lisarae

--

Here is Khalisa Rae’s Full Bio:

Khalisa Rae is a poet and journalist in Durham, NC that speaks with furious rebellion. She is the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021).

Her essays are featured in Autostraddle, Catapult, LitHub, as well as articles in B*tch Media, NBC-BLK, and others.

Her poetry appears in Frontier Poetry, Florida Review, Rust & Moth, PANK, Carousel, HOBART, among countless others.

She is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among other prizes.

Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for Glass Poetry and co-founder of Think in Ink and the Women of Color Speak reading series. Her second collection Unlearning Eden is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in 2022. Follow here at @k_lisarae on Twitter. Find more information here: khalisarae.com.

https://www.instagram.com/khalisa_rae/

Can marketing be ethical?

What are the biggest mistakes I can make in my marketing?

These are just two of the big questions I cover on this week’s Q&A episode.

Q&A really allows us to leave the world of generality and get specific. Chances are if it’s a question you have, others are asking it too.

We go to some deep and uncharted waters on this one.

If you are a thought leader, are in the nonprofit world, are an entrepreneur, side hustler, a leader or you want to learn how to communicate your ideas more effectively - this one is for you.

Each of the questions we cover will build a strong foundation for you to move the dial on your passion, your business, what matters most to you, and your thought leadership.

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play. :)

“Your business will be as successful as your mindset will allow you to.”

This was one of the themes that this week's episode is centered around.

My guests - VibeQueen and Suki Eleuterio - believe business and spirituality go hand in hand.

This episode is a timely reminder that you are perfect as you are.

Your business isn’t a vehicle by which we can prove our worthiness.

You’re already worthy - just as you are.

Suki and VibeQueen explored how to process and move through our money stories, our self image, and our limiting beliefs.

Suki Eleuterio is a spiritual and business coach focusing on helping people harness their creative energy to create the life and business their SOUL desires. She is also an award winning blogger, podcaster, wife, and mommy.

You can follow her on IG here - https://instagram.com/sookton

VibeQueen is an artist who has been in the music industry for 15+ years. Her mission is to entertain while uplifting her audience through guided meditation, self-awareness, and sharing her journey through her music, blog, and podcast Vibe Talk Awaken.

You can follow her on IG here - https://instagram.com/vibequeenmusic

This conversation was so empowering.

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

Failure.
A complete sentence.

Is it a teacher
Or a jailer?

Is it a beginning
Or does it end there?

Where do you place your next step
When the ground beneath you begins to erupt?

Maybe if there was something to grasp,
If it wasn’t so abrupt.
Perhaps if no one was watching,
Not even me seeing me.

Then this…
Failure
Would be easier to swallow.

If self-criticism were a competition,
I’d be a tough act to follow.

Perfection.
Maybe it can serve as my protection.
From any and all
Ridicule
And rejection

And failure.

There is fog on the glass of my reflection.
I find the courage to wipe it,
I shine back clearer.

I need to reexamine my definition.

A life without failure
Actually sounds
Kind of boring.

Where would be the discovery?
The intrigue?
The lessons learned from walking through the fire
And getting just a bit burnt.

Realizing the nightmare scenes
Are actually just branches of trees
Scratching at my window.

Scary shadows revealed to be nothing.

But it’s the confronting.
The facing.
The tasting the fear on your tongue
And rather than deciding to run...

Moving forward.
Moving toward that which I find to be frightening.

Failure.

It can be a beautiful teacher.

Not gentle.
But honest.

Failure.

Unexpected gifts found within if I’m willing to persist.

To insist:

I know. I know.
There is danger waiting.
But I’d rather lose it all
Than die knowing
I never even tried.

I had all of these ideas
And just kept them shut inside.

We get to decide when failure is an ending.
A complete sentence.

A teacher or
A jailer.

And when failure
Is actually the greatest of all treasures.

P.S. I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: ‘The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure.’

“Imposter syndrome.”
“Being in a space where no one looks like me.”
“Learning to be my authentic self.”

These are just three of the honest conversations we had on this week’s episodes.

My guest - Adrian, Alex and Alisha - are each a powerhouse in their entrepreneurial field.

They generously shared brilliant advice on marketing, social media, content creation, and the power of storytelling.

Even more importantly - we had vulnerable conversations on the mindset, struggles, and journeys of entrepreneurship.

Alex Emm is a Social Media Manager and Copywriter helping small businesses be present and tell their stories in the fast-paced world of social media.

You can follow her on IG here - https://instagram.com/publishedbyalex

Adrian McGee is the CEO of The Grind Season, a platform that provides tips on success, pursuing purpose, and wealth building.

You can follow him on IG here - https://www.instagram.com/thegrindseason/

Alisha Kumar is passionate about helping businesses take advantage of the latest and greatest digital marketing trends to create a unique footprint with their marketing.

You can follow him on IG here - https://instagram.com/alishakumar

This episode will give you both the tactics and the real conversations that are at the heart of living with and pursuing your passion.

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

Feel all of the feelings.

Even the ones that feel messy.
Or don’t fit neatly into a polished box of positivity.

Create your own paintings.
Express your unique style.

They’ll tell you:

To put on a smile,
Take the stage,
Work the gimmick,
Wear the mask of plastic happiness.

It’s what they want to see...

The spectators.
The followers.
The audience.

Do it for the show.

The hallowed accolades
Followed by the inevitable silence.
Artificial lights that glowed begin abruptly fade.

When will we come home to the movement inside us?

The honesty behind the performance.

The fuel.
The sadness.
The fire.
The heaviness.
The energy.
The struggle.
The ignition.
The pain.

Feelings are feelings when we let ourselves feel them.

Trapped inside a lie of good vibes
It’s the farce that starts to tear us apart.

An elephant’s painting,
Words created by AI.

Without the:
Worry or
anxiety...

Sans the risk,
Of ridicule
And rejection…

Creation without risk is imitation.
It’s the vulnerability that makes it creativity.

Feeling all the feelings.
It’s not easy.

But it sure beats the drudgery
Of pretending.

Feeling all the feelings
Is human.

Feeling all the feelings
Is you and me
Being.

P.S.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: Feel All The Feelings (Without Toxic Positivity)

I LOVED this conversation on marketing, running ads, the creative process, and so many other topics.

Natasha Bazilevych invited me to be a guest on her podcast and it ended up being one of my favorite interviews.

On this episode, you get to see me switch hats and become the interviewee.

Natasha really brought out some honest answers from me and we explored things I’ve never shared before.

She even got me to perform one of my spoken word poems.

I had a blast!

We also covered a lot of ground that any creative, entrepreneur, or leader will get a ton of value from.

Thank you Natasha for such an awesome experience.

You can listen to Natasha’s podcast here and learn more about her work here - https://natashabazilevych.com/

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

The need to belong.

To not just guess the words,
But to join in the song.

All along,
It’s what we’re searching for.

Whether we pour our feelings in openness,
Or keep them locked inside our secret box of silliness.

Trombones and violens.
Percussion of every persuasion.

Couldn’t save a parade of boring.

Pouring into a thirsty cup,
will fill you up
Richer than hoarding gold
Ever could.

Dragons should soar the sky,
Not die for shiny metal.

Settle?
Never.

Searching outside for the missing piece is an unrequited endeavor.
It will leave you…
And then you’ll be wanting more.
And more.

Your paper cup has a hole in it
But what’s a flat tire
When you’re consuming fire.

Scorched earth
Isn’t the result of burning passion.
It’s the consequence of individualistic sadness.

Majestic,
Prophetic,
Angelic,
Sound so bold,
But quickly become dogmatic
When all I see is me.

We need to belong to something.

Have you taken the time to write down your greatest and most important values?
Have you traced them like a line and uncovered who buried them within you?

Uncover a great meaning,
And you’ll have found the key.

Belonging,
It is one of the deepest,
And most important,
Of all the human needs.

P.S.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode. :)

Relationships are at the heart of creating inclusive and transformative classrooms.

That was one of the themes they rang throughout this week’s episode.

Our guests, Dr. Shaun Woodley & Stacey Cosden, shared their expertise on where education is at and what it can be.

Dr. Shaun Woodly has dedicated his professional career to education. He is a decorated K-12 teacher, university professor, and author whose deep passion and research have allowed him great success as an educator and entrepreneur. He is the architect behind the educator movement “Teach Hustle Inspire” and has written the best-selling book “MC Means Move the Class: How to Spark Engagement and Motivation in Urban and Culturally Diverse Classrooms”.

Stacey is a Marketing Coach with Tom Earl at T.H.E. Celebration and Marketing Director at Blue Level Training. While she is currently in marketing, she’s spent over 20 years working with the public school system. Through her various roles in the system, Stacey has been an advocate for her community, students, and their families, and an activist for reform. Stacey’s true passion is building a healthy community that supports marginalized voices.

Shaun and Stacey also covered the important role self-awareness & emotional intelligence plays in creating a transformative classroom.

This interview is for anyone who is passionate about education & the power of relationships.

I promise you will walk away with a whole new mindset.

Do yourself the favor.

Hit play. :)

You can follow Shaun on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/teachhustleinspire/ @teachhustleinspire

You can follow Stacey on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/staceyreneec/
@staceyreneec

For all of us striving to stay on the path - this one is for you.

This week’s episode is truly special.

I felt so honored and grateful just for getting the chance to be in the same room as these two warrior poets.

My guests this week, Jamie Dawson and Sam(ira) Obeid, are two of the most creative and brilliant people I have had the privilege of knowing.

We wove through many important and timely conversations all while striving to remain open, honest, and vulnerable.

Accountability and introspection were two themes that tied together the thoughts expressed.

Jamie and Sam both shared their deep insights on heavy conversations such as:

-How do we process the grief, the trauma, and the roller coaster that these past 12+ months have been?
-What does true allyship look like?
-What role do creativity, art, and poetry play in processing?
-What lies at the intersection of art and activism?

Jamie and Sam both provided true gifts on this one.

Please do yourself the favor of listening in.

For all of us striving to stay on the path - this one is for you.

You rock.

Jamie Dawson is a professional writer, performer, and black arts scholar whose talents range from spoken word, theatre, and commissioned works on the topics such as black life, multiculturalism, women’s rights, healing, and connection to each other through Earth.

You can follow Jamie on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/dawsontheartist/

Sam Sam(ira) Obeid is an Indian. Scholar. Warrior. Poet. Queer. Sam has been placed 5th at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2015. Sam has been featured on Button Poetry and an international anthology, The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia by Harper Collins India.

You can follow Sam on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/samobeid/

It is my birthday week!
Each year, I dedicate a podcast episode to speak reflections out loud.

To give sound to the inside,
So that vibrations can become lessons learned.

Wisdom is earned,
Creativity burns bright through consistency.

To be here for another year is a blessing.

Take the risk and go for it,
Or spend your 365th-day second-guessing.

Accountability over blame.

I’m grateful for the losses
and the gains.

For the downwind ease
And the uphill pain.

There is a release of worry,
When you can learn to taste the rain.

Each misstep a new campfire story.

The hurricane
And the boring.

Even amidst the turbulence
Finding pockets of stillness.

I give thanks
For the new smiles shining with brilliance.

I see now I’m supposed to feel all of this.
No hiding.

Sadness.
Mourning.

And then in the morning.
There you are everywhere.
In the air,
Alive in our memories.

Truly,
It is a blessing.
To be here for another year.

InshAllah.

Will you join me?
In celebrating my birthday?

I’d like to request a gift.

Will you share with me:

A memory.
A story.

Of how we met,
Of a time our lines crossed.
A moment we connected.

It would mean the world to me.

Thank you for being a part of my journey.

This one is for everyone who has something important to share, but are doubting themselves.

For those hiding their gifts…
Their vision…
Their passion…

Whether out of fear,
Worry,
Trauma,
Or that lying feeling of unworthiness.

This one is for you.

You are brilliant.
You are enough.
You matter.

What you have to say is exactly what someone, somewhere, in this very moment, needs to hear.

That video you’re thinking about recording…
That course you’re thinking about launching…
That podcast you’re considering starting…
Those words you're itching to start writing…

They are the key someone is looking for to unlock a new essence of greatness.

In case you needed that extra push.

This one is for you.

My guests this week - Jeanne DeClue & Imari Graves - are here for you.

And they want to share this reminder:

Give The People What They Want
Hint: It’s You

If that doesn’t do it for you. Let’s drop the bios.

Jeanne (genie) DeClue is a content strategist who thrives in driving campaigns and products for retail and CPG businesses, software companies, and online publishers. For over 10 years, she’s helped both small business and enterprise platforms solve creative problems and improve user experiences.

Imari Graves is a blogger, social media, and digital marketing specialist. She’s been featured in
media outlets like voyage ATL magazine and WALB news 10 in Albany, GA. Her mission is to help small business owners create time and money-saving strategies to take their businesses to the next level.

This is one of my favorite episodes of 2021.

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play on this one.

Dive in.

And remember:

You Rock.

There are people who are just pure geniuses at marketing.
And then there are people who are genuinely amazing human beings.

I’m going, to be honest - it is rare to see these qualities overlap.

My guest this week, Cody May, is one of those truly special people who is both a genius at marketing, and a kind and gracious person.

Having been in this industry for a while, I can tell you, it is refreshing.

On top of that, you’re going to get the chance to learn some seriously valuable marketing, sales, and entrepreneurial insights.

Cody is the co-founder of Create Your Purpose, a motivational and uplifting brand to help people find their purpose and experience fulfillment throughout life.

He is also the COO of the full-service digital marketing agency StudioPTBO.

In this interview, we cover everything from marketing psychology, what’s working in Facebook Ads Land, how to book calls, and the blueprint for a successful sales call.

Like me, Cody believes in relationship centered marketing.

His commitment to living a purposeful life shines through in the advice he offers to all of us on this episode.

Trust me, this is a must listen.

Do yourself this favor.

And hit play.

You rock.

You can learn more about Cody here -> https://www.instagram.com/codmay/

I am a huge fan of people who have important work connecting with their community.

With all of its controversies and confusion aside, I believe that FB / IG ads are the most effective way to do that.

Contrary to popular belief, you can find success with even a modest budget of $1 a day.

In this week’s episode, I share with you the strategy and systems that are getting entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and activists results.

This is a replay from when I was a guest on my friend Dijana Llugolli’s podcast.

You may remember Dijana was a previous guest on this podcast.

You can check out that replay at tomearl.com/dijana.

Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the marketing waters, or are ready to do a cannonball - you’ll discover some gems in this episode.

Do yourself the favor of giving this a listen.

You rock.

And be sure to support Dijana and her awesome work here - https://www.instagram.com/dijanallugolli/.

“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman

Not only is this one of my favorite quotes but it is also the prompt for this week’s writing workshop episode.

Here’s the backstory:

I was an art major for my first 2 years in college. It was amazing, and I met a lot of remarkable people.

One of those people - Jordan Bierma - DMed me and asked if I “would be interested in participating in a storytelling project with my high school students.”

He shared that, “I work at a very small rural public school that follows an expeditionary learning model...With covid this year we have not been able to leave school and interact with anyone outside our small community of about 600 people.”

I thought this would be amazing.

Rather than focusing the entire time on myself, I suggested that instead I could host a writing workshop.

This week’s episode is the recording of the creativity and honesty that transpired.

I want to thank Jordan and the brilliant students at Silverton High School for being open to sharing their writing with all of us.

Look - this is a crazy time for all of us.

Getting centered on this question, “what makes you come alive,” is of paramount importance.

I’d love for you to give yourself the gift of going through this workshop.

You will come out the otherside with some newly discovered personal insights.

Be sure to email or DM me your writing!

I’d love to read it!

There are so many misconceptions around Facebook and Instagram Ads. Add to the mix the tech giants Apple and Facebook going after each other - and you can have a recipe for confusion.

On this week’s episode, we address some of the most frequently asked Facebook Ads questions that we receive.

I am joined by two brilliant marketers - Stacey Cosden and Nickey Rautenberg Norrish. I also get the honor of working with Nickey and Stacey through my Facebook Ads agency - THE Celebration Media.

Questions we covered include:

-How long should your video ads be?
-The difference between running ads to a cold audience vs a warm audience.
-How to set an ads budget and identify revenue goals.
-What do when people aren’t watching your videos.
-What is an income level where ads make sense?
-Should all ads be video ads?
-How to run ads for products vs services?
-Is there a difference between a Facebook and an Instagram ad?
-The difference between an organic strategy and a paid strategy?

Like I said - we cover a lot of questions that I know you’ll get a ton of value from.

Whether you’re just getting started with ads, or are an expert, I know you’ll gain some powerful insights from this conversation.

And of course - let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

You can follow Nickey @ https://www.instagram.com/nickeynorrish/
You can follow Stacey @https://www.instagram.com/staceyreneec/

“When you come to the edge of all the light you have and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for you to stand on - or you will be taught how to fly.”

This quote by Patrick Overton is at the heart of my conversation this week with The Rev. Dr. Kate Cress.

The times we live in provide ample opportunities for stress, worry, and anxiety.

Amidst it all - how do we find presence?

How do we cease the regrets of the past and the worries of the future, and just be here in this moment?

These are questions that those on the spiritual path have reflected upon for ages.

For Rev. Kate, Christianity offers her insights and practice through which she can discover her highest self.

For me, that pathway is through Islam.

Together in this conversation we explore the ways our religious and spiritual practice fuel each other and provide us with a blueprint for awakening.

This has to be one of my favorite interfaith conversations I’ve ever had.

Rev. Kate asked some really great questions that allowed me to reflect upon my spirituality in a new way.

The answers and insights we uncovered together really had me saying, “YES!”

This is a really cup-filling episode.

Wherever you are entering this conversation from, I know you will be enriched by it.

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play. :)

You can learn more about Rev. Kate here https://stjla.org/

Be Vulnerable & Make A Powerful Decision.

This was the resounding theme that arose from my roundtable conversation with T’keya Marquez and Shadé Adu.

Oftentimes, when we think of ‘branding’ we associate it with the colors, and fonts and aesthetics consistencies of a company.

In reality, ‘branding’ is more complex.

It is what people say about you when you’re not around.

It is a movement.

It is a feeling.

And to move people emotionally, you have to make the decision to stand for something.

My guests this week - T’keya Marquez & Shadé Adu - both share their unique insights and perspective on all things branding, copywriting, and connecting with your people.

T’keya Marquez has made a career out of human connection + storytelling. She is driven by creating heart-centered copy for passionate mental health and holistic wellness professionals. As a copywriter, her goal is to uncover what makes you and your brand unique.

Shadé Adu is a digital brand strategist, international speaker and best selling author. Driven by the desire to support women entrepreneurs and facilitate the creation of generational wealth, Shadé is truly committed to offering a comprehensive range of services which is oriented towards achieving the 3 I’s; Income, Influence, and Impact.

Shadé and T’keya both shared their inspiring and powerful origin stories and entrepreneurial journey.

I took so many notes as I was listening to this week’s episode.

You will walk away with tangible steps you can take towards honing in on your messaging, strengthening your brand, and standing for what truly matters to you.
Most importantly, you will walk away with a resolution to make that important decision to step into the next chapter you are being called to begin.

You can follow Shadé on IG https://www.instagram.com/futuredrshade/

You can follow T’keya on IG https://www.instagram.com/tkeya.marquez/

In marketing, there are certain buzzwords that can be overused.

‘Authenticity’ and ‘personal branding’ are two of those words. Especially when they’re in the same sentence.

So when someone can actually demonstrate how to create an authentic personal brand, that is both refreshing and remarkable to me.

This week’s guest, Dr. Natalia Wiechowski, does just that, while also giving us a blueprint on how to up our personal branding game.

Natalia’s story is truly remarkable. I’ll give you a teaser:

If you had the top floor penthouse suite, the high-end clothes, the high power job – if you had acquired everything you had ever wanted… could you give it all up to answer a new calling?

During my interview with Natalia, she shares her journey on discovering her calling and how she found the courage to answer that call.

For my marketers out there, Natalia is known by Inc. Magazine as the LinkedIn Marketing Unicorn, and is a Forbes Coaches council member.

We take a deep dive into how you can grow your business, both by using LinkedIn and following strategies to create consistent leads.

For my personal development enthusiasts, Natalia delivers powerful insights into how we can cultivate a growth mindset.

This interview will leave you with pages of notes on how you can take your business and your mindset to the next level.

Do yourself this favor and listen to this one.

https://www.instagram.com/thinknatalia/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliawiechowski/

The way to differentiate yourself in today’s economy is by investing time and resources in things that don’t scale.

Deep listening + building lasting relationships will always = a fantastic customer experience.

This is at the center of my conversation with this week’s return guest - Tech Founder and Millionaire Business Coach - Crysta Tyus.

As a refresher, Crysta Tyus is an online marketing consultant who helps service-based businesses get clients from social media, master sales without being salesy, and build multiple 6-figure businesses.

Crysta’s episode, which was released 1 year ago, is in our top 3 most listened to episodes from our almost 300 episode catalog.

‘How can I scale this and fast?’ is the question many entrepreneurs are pondering these days.

Sadly, it often leads to a low-quality customer experience.

What many business owners find is that when they start to scale, they water down the magic that brought them their initial success in the first place.

That is because many businesses are willing to trade speed in exchange for real human touchpoints.

Crysta shares with us how she has been able to build a 7 figure business and create a technology company, all without sacrificing building authentic connections with her customers.

Deep listening and having actual conversations with your customers is what Crysta believes will give you an unfair advantage over your competitors.

Over this past year, Crysta has also developed, designed and launched an app that is able to add even greater value to her customers.

Crysta shares with us the lessons she has learned serving as the CEO of a technology company, and the insights we can all take away no matter what industry we work in.

This was a very special episode.

Crysta and I also have real conversations on mindset, limiting beliefs, self-doubt, believing in yourself, and the power of being a visionary.

I promise you will walk away transformed after listening to this episode.

Do yourself the favor.

Hit play.

P.S.

You can follow Crysta on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/crystatyus or watch her on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7uYYBPyfE-Oe1L-iuwuBQ.

You can check out my past episode with Crysta here, tomearl.com/crysta.

“We need to have an honest conversation on Black Maternal Health and the disparities in healthcare that threaten Black Women’s lives.”

This is the core conversation that takes place on this week’s episode.

This week’s episode is a panel discussion, where I am joined by 3 professional doulas - Iman Seraaj, Nicky Dawkins, and Deej.

Iman Seraaj is a trained full-spectrum doula passionate about VBACs, breastfeeding, birthrights education, orgasmic birthing, postpartum and prenatal care. With over 12 years of doula and birth advocacy experience; she founded FullCircle Doula Services in 2014.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Feminine Health Coach. She is also the founder of Werk it Moms — a mom-driven, soon-to-be charity organization — that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and a safe space for moms in need to connect.

Deej is a mother of three little boys, a wife, doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding specialist. Deej also owns a brand that focuses on educating women on their birthrights and all things from pregnancy to postpartum called The Nurtured Baby.

During this episode, we have an honest and real conversation on how Black women in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth - irrespective of income or education level.

Iman, Nicky, and Deej provide candid and professional insights into the cause of these health disparities and share solutions we can implement.

They also provide questions, advice, and tactics Black Women can use when they are having to engage with a racist medical system and provider.

We also have an open conversation on infertility, miscarriages, and loss.

I highly encourage that everyone listens to this episode and to the important conversation that Iman, Nicky, and Deej shared with us.

I am grateful to my guests for the energy, brilliance, and generosity that they brought to this week's episode.

This is an issue that all of us must address.

I hope you will listen to this episode and take action.

Here’s how you can connect with this week’s guest:

Iman - https://www.instagram.com/imanseraajfc/

Nicky - https://www.instagram.com/thankyounicky/

Deej - https://www.instagram.com/the.nurturedbaby/

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how would you give voice to those words?

This is the mission of Mouth of the Mural.

Mouth of the Mural is an ekphrastic (i.e. visual art into words) event that unites visual, literary and performance artists with business owners in an effort to celebrate community, connection, and conversation.

The initiative is founded by power couple Walter “Wally B.” Jennings and Charmaine "C-Maine" Jennings.

During our interview, we explored how to cultivate a loving, supportive, and long-lasting relationship.

There were so many special moments where Wally and C-Maine shared honest and vulnerable moments from their 20+ year marriage.

Walter “Wally B.” Jennings is an ordained minister, published poet, spoken word artist, MC/Host, instructor and strawberry Fruit Roll-Up enthusiast! A native of Tampa, FL, his poetical talents have allowed him to conduct over 1000 performances, workshops and mentorship sessions in the national spoken word community during his 20 year career.

Charmaine "C-Maine" Jennings is a 20+year leader in education. She is a writer, artist and champion for equity, culture, diversity and inclusion. She has designed and facilitated professional development and workshops for private organizations and K-12 public schools across county and state lines.

At the core of this episode, we discuss the importance of finding the spiritual power source that will sustain you.

I hope you will do yourself this favor, and dive into this week’s episode.

Enjoy.

You can learn more about Mouth of the Mural at mouthofthemural.com
tomearl.com/mural

The whole reason I started my podcast was that I recognized I was hiding my gifts.

The main reason:

I was afraid of rejection and ridicule.

Instead of putting myself out there and potentially getting ridiculous - I just hide my voice.

On New Years Day 2016, I envisioned where my life would end up if I were to continue down this path.

I realized that if I continued hiding - I would end up with a life of regret.

Worse - it would be a wasted life.

I wasn’t about to let that happen.

And so I made 2016 my ‘Year of Expression.’

I vowed to record and put out a 3-minute video, every Thursday, no matter how terrible I thought it was.

The result was a year of epic growth, adventure, and the foundation for everything I’ve done since.

I am guessing many people can relate to this.

That feeling of wanting to hide so you can avoid rejection.

And yet...knowing you can’t live your life that way.

If you resonate with this then this week’s episode is for you.

It is a replay of my conversation with the legendary Rene Wiley.

Rene is one of my favorite people because he has this unique ability to get you to connect with your body, your spirit, and your passion.

This interview offers a powerful insight into that magic. Rene shares with us his origin story on how he went from a DJ to a high-performance fitness trainer.

Rene also speaks on the importance of listening to your heart and the courage it takes to do that.

Plus - we take up the science of creating the best workout playlist!

You’re going to really love this one!

I’m telling you, this interview is fire!

Check it out.

To become a strong marketer, you must develop a skillset that extends beyond just “marketing.”

This could include a knowledge of human psychology, design aesthetics, analyzing data, how to create & publish content, or an assortment of other skills.

This empowers you to be able to bring your vision to life because you are able to execute it every step of the way.

This week’s guest, Wes Kao, has coined a term to perfectly describe this marketer.

She calls this an ‘End-to-end marketer.’

Wes explains that an end-to-end marketer can “have a vision, can develop a strategy, and can execute to bring their idea to life.”

During our interview together, Wes offers key insight into how being an end-to-end marketer is becoming a necessary skillset in today’s marketplace.

Wes Kao has the hands-on experience to back up her insights.

Wes Kao is a marketer who helps B2C brands launch new products and create new categories.
Previously, she was the co-creator and Executive Director @ Seth Godin's altMBA where she helped thousands of change agents level up. In the past fifteen years, she has launched 150+ products, features, and campaigns @ Flite (acq Snapchat), BareMinerals, L’Oreal, and Gap 👖.

Now she works with CEOs at companies like Poo~Pourri 💩, Outlier.org (from the co-founder of MasterClass) 🎓, Shaftesbury (creators of Slasher on Netflix) 🔪, Professor Scott Galloway 👓, Tandem Diabetes 💉, Morning Brew ☕️, and other incredible clients.

Wes believes that the “best product doesn’t always win. It’s our responsibility to help people care.”

I know that this last line is going to resonate with many of us.

If you are a part of this community, I know you have a product or service that will genuinely empower and transform the lives of your customers.

Our job is to empower you to have the marketing skills that ensure your customer chooses your product over the inferior alternatives.

This week’s episode with Wes Kao is going to offer you tangible steps and tools to make that happen.

Do yourself this favor:

Hit play. :)

P.S.

I highly suggest you check out these two blogs posts from Wes:

https://www.weskao.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-end-to-end-marketer

&

https://www.weskao.com/blog/to-become-a-better-marketer-study-these-non-marketing-topics

What conversation should we be having on domestic violence?

That is the question that begins this week’s episode.

This week’s episode brings you a panel discussion on domestic violence, stories of Healing & Survival.

My panelists are Sumiyah Mshaka, Dania Alkhouli, and Neda.

Each guest brings their unique insights, story, and experience to this important conversation.

Together, we discussed the misconceptions, myths and misinformation that surround domestic violence.

We also explored ways to support and be there for someone who is currently experiencing domestic violence or is a survivor.

I am grateful to Sumiyah, Dania, and Neda for sharing their stories and journeys with us on this week’s episode.

A theme that arose during the panel discussion was that, even though it may be difficult, is important we have this conversation.

About My Guests:

Sumiyah Mshaka is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and group fitness instructor who comes from a family with a legacy of social justice work. After graduating from the UCLA MSW program in 2004, Sumiyah began her extensive career in social work specializing in mental health treatment and advocacy for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sumiyah taught kickboxing and strength training classes at 24 Hour Fitness for 7 years. She recently started her own online fitness business featuring live virtual fitness classes, 722 Sweat Mvmt. You can follow Sumiyah on IG - https://www.instagram.com/turbosumiyah

Neda is a nurse practitioner in Los Angeles. She does primarily reproductive and prenatal care, and is covid testing all day every day. When she isn’t in the clinic, she’s on the pole doing strong woman things. You can follow Neda on IG - https://www.instagram.com/hijabiluscious/

Dania Ayah Alkhouli is a Syrian writer, blogger, poet, editor, and author. Dania’s work centers on feminism, mental health, sexuality, identity, culture, religion, her war-torn homeland, Syria, and on grief, loss, and death. She has been featured on Buzzfeed and Jubilee Media, and has performed across national venues such as Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles, House Slam in Boston, and Busboys & Poets in D.C. You can follow her on IG at @lady_narrator and @acountrycalledsyria.

If you are looking for resources or support on Domestic Violence you can visit https://www.thehotline.org/.

The disclaimer on the website shares:

“Internet usage can be monitored and is impossible to erase completely. If you’re concerned your internet usage might be monitored, call us at 800.799.SAFE (7233). Learn more about digital security and remember to clear your browser history after visiting https://www.thehotline.org/plan-for-safety/internet-safety/.”

Whenever I play the “what superpower would you pick” game - my answer is always: to speak every language in existence.

If I could choose a superpower it would be to speak every language in existence.

Imagine being able to effectively communicate with every single person on the planet.

This usually sets me up nicely for the joke, “well Tom, you can barely effectively communicate in English, why don’t you start there.”

Cue the laughter.

Whether you are a marketer, activist, creative, educator or you’re just living your daily life - the ability to communicate with influence has a huge impact on our lives.

Negation is a particular form of communication that carries a lot of stress, and sometimes even baggage.

Usually you’re negotiating in stressful situations, and for many people it may even feel that you are in an unbalanced relationship within the negotiation.

While the ability to negotiate is such a crucial skill, most of us are never given any formal training in negotiation.

At the heart of negotiation is empathy, active listening and relationship building.

This is certainly contrary to the stereotype of what we think of when we think of negotiations.

Another misconception is that the tools of negotiation aren’t particularly complex or tricky.

Like all things they do require practice to hone your skill but the concepts can be grasped fairly quickly.

On this week's episode, we are going to explore 7 core negotiation strategies.

This episode originally aired a few years ago.

And so, I can share that I’ve received many emails from folks on how this episode really had a huge impact on their lives.

We’re going to explore ways to use negation beyond business as well as within your personal life and relationships.

I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is!

Enjoy!

Do our behaviors influence our identity? Or does our identity influence our behavior?

And how do thoughts and feelings play into the mix?

Here’s what we can say for sure - self-awareness is powerful.

As we begin this new year, I invite you to start with this question: who are you?

What are the ideals you are going to live by this year?

When you’re stressed, your moral compass is challenged, and your energy is low, what ethos is going to sustain you?

On this week’s episode, we walk through specifically designed exercises that are intended to help you create a vision for who you want to be.

We’ll start by constructing the mottos and ideals that make up your best self.

For example, here are three of my ethos I live by:

Courage Over Fear.

Creativity Over Regurgitation.

Consistency Over Perfection.

Don’t let this be one of those things you bookmark and never return to.

Allow yourself the gift of intention today.

It will provide the foundation for you to cultivate your best self.

Let’s do this.

Hit play.

How often do you intentionally reflect upon your day?

Life has a way of rushing by without allowing us time to reflect.

And yet, it is in that reflection that we are able to gain perspective: to notice patterns, behaviors, and feelings that shape our lives.

That very perspective is what allows us to become self-aware and intentional in how we live our lives.

The start of a New Year provides a great collective opportunity to ask ourselves big questions.

So this week’s episode provides 5 reflection questions you can ask yourself to close this year and start the New Year from a place of empowerment.

When we stop and pause, we often discover new treasures:

Experiences, people, things, moments that we are grateful for – and, at the same time, ways we can embrace our badass selves a little more boldly and deeply.

As you go through this week’s episode, I’d love to hear about your discoveries.

If you’re feeling generous, please share with me some of your notes or the answers you find.

Do yourself this favor.

Gift yourself this time.

Let’s do it.

Hit play.

Have you ever headed out the door only to realize you can’t find your keys?

Now, be honest. Did you ever search high and low for your keys, glasses, phone, etc. – only to discover they were in your pocket, purse, or backpack?

That you were looking everywhere for something that you actually had all along?

Just the other day I was looking for my glasses only to realize, “oh wait – I’m wearing them.”

You may have heard myself or my guests say that the answers you seek are already within you.

The power within us goes unnoticed and therefore, underutilized until we recognize it is within us.

Let’s take self-love for example.

You – I – we – are already worthy of love.

We are already whole, complete, and powerful. We are miracles.

And yet, how often do we find ourselves “hustling for our worthiness,” as Brene Brown puts it.

How often do we find ourselves in that place of guilt, shame, anxiety, or feeling that sense of loss - all stemming from our belief that we must do more in order to be worthy.

The indisputable fact that we are already worthy is lost on us – which is why we need to recognize its intrinsic nature.

That’s why this week’s episode is dedicated to providing practical steps towards embracing self-love.

This episode originally aired at the end of 2017, and revisiting it is a perfect way to end 2020.

If you listened to it when it first aired, I invite you to walk this path once again.

If it is your first time, get ready for the ride.

Gift yourself this time of reflection.

Here we go.

“You’re Muslim? Really?” This is a question I’ve been asked many times by both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Usually, shock and raised eyebrows accompany the question.

Sometimes, it’s also accompanied by a clenched fist of anger and a feeling of betrayal, with an undertone of, “I thought you were one of us” permeating the question.

It’s fair to say that in the American mindset, there is a dominant image that we picture when we are prompted to envision a Muslim.

For the most part, that picture isn’t of a white guy named Tom hailing from a small rural town in Wisconsin.

In fact, if we were to continue down Stereotype Road, the white guy named Tom socialized in a small rural American town would be the one voting for politicians who want to ban Islam.

Accordingly, given my background, there has been some curiosity as to how I embraced Islam.

Over the years, I have been asked to be a part of a few “viral” videos that explore the Muslim American identity.

Each time these videos were released, I was gifted an opportunity to receive massive feedback on the deeper implications of “Meet a Muslim” type videos.

One takeaway, for me, has been this:

While my story has elements of it that are rich and unique, I also have many social advantages that my fellow Muslims may not. Therefore, there is a real danger that my story is continually elevated over that of other Muslims.

We all have something beautiful and powerful to contribute in the telling of our own stories.

Each time we listen to one another’s stories, it allows us an opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

I believe this is one of the first seeds of empathy.

This isn’t to discount or minimize my own story: but I do believe that when my story becomes a focal point, we lose sight of the richness of Muslim American experience.

Whenever I am asked to share my experience as a Muslim American – these thoughts occupy my mind as I consider my participation.

Which is why, when my good friend, Chris, asked me if he could interview me about being Muslim, I paused to consider first.

After thinking, I said, “yes, and”:

Let’s do a roundtable where you ask other Muslims about their experiences too.
I’ll record the conversation and share it with my podcast listeners.

He gave an enthusiastic green light to both ideas.

This was decided at 10AM. The interview was scheduled for 2PM that very same day.

Over the next 4 hours, I sent out texts and DMs to my friends asking if they were free at 2PM and if they’d like to be a part of the roundtable.

I am grateful to the guests who agreed to chat with Chris and me on such short notice, and with minimal detail and direction.

Please accept my sincere apologies in advance if you feel your voice is absent from this conversation. Islam has an incredibly diverse following, and I could never do that diversity justice in a one-hour episode.

Now, this may go on the record books as the longest podcast writeup in the history of Tom Earl podcast writeups, so I’ll end it here, but:

My friends – do yourself this favor.

Hit play on this one.

2020, right? Wow. I could probably start every episode writeup this way and get away with it.

Here’s the thing - I bet if we took the time - there is a lot we can get out of reflecting on 2020.

The intention of this week’s episode is to provide you with the time, space, and process to do so.

This episode also acts as a time capsule.

1 year ago I sat down with a group of my friends and we went through a writing workshop to get clear on our intentions for 2020.

Little did we know…

And yet - no matter what surprises and worldwide pandemics the future will hold - getting intentional first offers us a foundation to stand on.

That is why I’m bringing this episode back to life as a replay for you this week.

First and foremost it gives me the opportunity to go through this writing workshop myself and create closure for 2020, while also giving life to 2021.

Secondly, I hope it allows you to do the same.

Even if you don’t have time to sit down and write as you listen - you’ll still get a lot out of going through the writing prompts mentally.

If you don’t take the time now - 2020 is going to be done and dusted before we even know it.

Please - give yourself the gift of reflection by going through this episode.

Do yourself that favor.

Hit play.

What fear have you been carrying that you are ready to set down?

What would it look like to move beyond fear and embrace your experiences?

This week’s episode provides a bold and courageous reflection on these questions.

My guest, Nurjahan Boulden, was 21 years old when she was shot with an assault rifle in an attack that killed the man next to her.

That one night changed the trajectory of her life.

Even as she moved on to become a teacher and mother of three, PTSD and complications from the bullet wound continually threatened her future.

13 years later, she is now recognized as America’s leading coach for survivors of gun violence who are ready to Feel Safe Again™.

Fear has been a companion of mine during 2020. I have a feeling I am not alone in this.

Rather than numbing myself or hiding from it, I have made it a goal to confront, get to know, and investigate my fears.

A significant part of that journey is listening to the stories, wisdom and reflections from others who are on that same path.

This episode with Nurjahan is one that I listen to often when I need a reminder of the inner-power that I, and all of us, possess.

For the astute listener keeping track at home, you’ll note that this episode originally aired May 13, 2019.

As I was re-listening to it this week, I knew that the messages and insights Nurjahan shares could really serve a lot of us at this very moment.

Even if you distinctly remember listening to this episode when it first aired, I passionately urge you to give it a re-listen.

The experiences you have gained over the past 1.5 years will allow you to gain new gifts as you re-listen.

Trust me.

Do yourself this favor of hitting play.

Thank you, Nurjahan, for sharing such a vulnerable, authentic, and empowering interview.

Have you heard that coloring can reduce stress and anxiety?

When I listen in on conference calls, I often find myself coloring.

This helps me stay focused, and allows me to really concentrate.

So when my awesome friend, Antoinette Chanel, shared with me that she’d like to color together while having a conversation, I was all in.

In early 2020, before the pandemic, before my daughter arrived, and before the many, many other things that happened this year…

...we did just that.

We sat down for a conversation while coloring.

It was amazing – and listening back to our chat was like looking into a fun time capsule. I got a glimpse into where my mind was at during this time in my life.

Antoinette and I talked about relationships, business, politics, life, and a ton of other topics. If any of these draw you in, you’re going to like this episode.

Antoinette Chanel is a powerful storyteller, educator, and podcaster. With a unique background that includes over a decade of work in higher education, marketing, and public relations, Antoinette can translate, map out, and put in motion tangible plans to help you and your organization reach its goals.

She is the founder of the podcast the Midday Reset (@themiddayreset), which she created to offer something uplifting and relatable to people with mental illness, specifically anxiety. She is also an educator and public speaker and is currently developing a workshop series to empower dark-skinned women and girls to redefine beauty for themselves.

This is a really great episode where you get to see me switch hats and be interviewed by someone I really admire and appreciate.

Pull out something to color with.

And then hit play!

You can get in touch with Antoinette on IG @msantoinettechanel or themdrpodcast@gmail.com, and purchase her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Black-Girls-Antoinette-Oesterlein/dp/0368210553

None

Loneliness is at an epidemic level in this country right now.

This isn’t hyperbole. Multiple studies have confirmed that Americans feel more isolated than ever.

And this was BEFORE our lives and the way we interact with each other was uprooted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even before the masks, sheltering in place, and virtual birthday celebrations became the norm…

...we as a society were struggling to connect with each other.

Given this reality, it makes sense that my most popular episodes in 2019 & 2020 were those that were centered on mental health.

This week’s episode centers on feelings.

Honoring our feelings.
Expressing our feelings.
Regulating our feelings.
Processing our feelings.

Our guest, Dinah, has worked for over 13 years in the fields of health, social work, counseling, and education, and is the founder of a nonprofit organization targeting the issue of sex trafficking.

She has extensive training and experience in the field of restorative practices, and has worked to help schools adopt a trauma-informed approach at the student, staff, and organizational level.

She currently works for a university in Los Angeles, where she creates trauma-informed curriculum and trains service providers in Los Angeles County to provide trauma-informed care to the clients/students they serve.

I’ve played back so many moments from this week’s interview in my head, over and over again.

I also had to note down a lot of the wisdom that Dinah shared with me.

For example, she emphasized that our behavior is communication.

This blew my mind.

The follow-up questions and conversations that came out of that took my understanding of mental health to a whole new level.

I’m telling you, this episode is so important.

Do yourself the favor.

Hit play.

To learn more about Dinah, head to her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dinahmsw/
or website https://www.thecrss.org/

Honor your anger. Honor your pain.

CYRO’s words resonated deeply with me – like a bell used to awaken your spirit.

This isn’t just an interview.

It’s an awakening. It’s a residence. It’s a healing.

I am so grateful that CYRO took the time to sit down and share their passionate and powerful wisdom with all of us.

Leah Kirby, also known as CYRO, creates theatre that incites change and incorporates non-western techniques in order to explore social, economic, and political issues through a non-traditional format.

They are an activist, theatre maker, actor, writer and drag thing named CYRO.

CYRO is a Queer, Non-Binary, DRAG THING!

They bring strength, beauty and awareness to the stage with acts like 'Run Rabbit', exploring the struggles of gang induction and violence within black communities, and 'I am not your', a piece that delves into black masculinity within a non-binary body and shows the beauty it can exude by stripping back the facade.

They use spoken word, movement, composition, Lip syncing, and storytelling within their work to incite change through artistic calls to action.

I am telling you: this interview is everything you have been looking for in a THE Celebration episode.

Do yourself a favor.

Hit play.

You can learn more about Cyro through their website http://leahkirby.mystrikingly.com/; or you can follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cyrodragthing/.

The moment I finished this interview, I went into the next room and told Adaora: “that was the best interview ever.”

She looked at me incredulously. “You say that every single time,” she said.

I know and it’s true and for real this was epic

Let me make the case.

Lucas and I had an honest, vulnerable, and powerful conversation.

Right at the beginning, we discovered some similarities and connections between us that gave us both spiritual goosebumps.

That set the stage and tone for a real, honest, heart-to-heart conversation.

Lucas went on to share his powerful and inspiring journey. He was transparent about his ups and even his downs.

Lately, I’ve noticed that many people tend to paint perfect pictures of their lives where everything is always going right.

Lucas, on the other hand, shared his struggles in life and business with me – in the hopes that we could learn from the lessons that he’s had to learn the hard way.

He delivers some really valuable gifts for all of us in this interview.

I really hope you will do yourself a humongous favor and listen to this conversation.

And if you’re not already convinced that this will be one of the best hours you can spend, then let me share a little bit more about Lucas.

Lucas Tindell is an author, public speaker, corporate trainer/coach and host of a live video podcast. Lucas has spent over ten years working in key leadership positions focusing not only on organizational development but primarily on the development of people.

He now serves as a leadership development consultant, working with global leaders to identify strengths and areas of development for sustainable growth and improvement.

Are you ready?

Let’s do this.

You can connect with Lucas via the following links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucastindell/

https://www.facebook.com/lucas.tindell

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzfO54252wuP4S5hlEJD_NQ

I love getting to interview people who are grounded in their own genius.

Yes, the tactical knowledge and tools that I learn about are amazing – sometimes they’re life changing.

What I really love about these sorts of people, though, is how they emphasize the ability we all have to truly live our own greatness.

Boldly.

This week’s guest, Monica Louie, is all of that and more.

Monica is a Facebook and Instagram ads strategist who helps ambitious online entrepreneurs increase their impact with high-converting ads.

You may have heard her on the Smart Passive Income Podcast, the Boss Mom Podcast, the Art of Online Business Podcast, or her own podcast, Flourish to 7 Figures.

Along with her premium agency, Team Flourish, Louie manages ads for 6- and 7-figure online business owners, has managed more than $2 million in ad spend, and has taught hundreds to successfully run their own ads through her online training program, Flourish with Facebook Ads.

Whether you are looking for epic strategies for running Facebook ads, or really have no interest in running an ad, you will draw something valuable from this conversation.

Yes, we went all in on FB/IG marketing tactics.

But we also talked about Monica’s journey from being in massive debt to building her dream company.

Monica shared huge insights on leadership, building a team, cultivating a growth mindset, and how to bring your vision to life.

I’m telling you – Monica is a genius, and it shines through in this interview.

Do yourself this favor and dive into this episode.

Yeah?

Yeah.
Alright then.

And if you’re looking for the free resource Monica created just for T.H.E. Celebration family - head to http://monicalouie.com/tom.

Monica’s links:

Flourish to 7 Figures podcast: http://monicalouie.com/podcast
Flourish with Facebook Ads: http://monicalouie.com/flourish

It is vital to cultivate a healthy relationship with fear and failure.

Yeah.
I know.
Easier said than done.

In order to live this truth, I have to recommit to it every single day.

Because every single day fear makes itself known.

I feel it as a tight knot in my stomach.
Tension in my shoulders.

I recognize it in my defensiveness.
When I’m short with people.

I see it clearly during the times where I would rather be right than happy.
Where I fight for my limiting beliefs.

Fear would have me clutch the painful familiar rather than embrace the liberating unknown.

I have learned it isn’t possible to get rid of fear.
Or to vision board it away.

Instead, I must accept it as part of my present experience.
Without resistance.
Without fighting it.

Just observe it.

And little by little, its grip releases.

A huge factor in this journey is being conscious of the voices I let into my head.

I want to be really intentional that I am ingesting words and energy that contribute to a growth mindset.

That is why I am so intentional of the guests I share with you each week on T.H.E. Celebration.

On that note, this week's guest, Dijana Llugolli, is a rock star when it comes to fear and growth.

Diana Dijana Llugolli is a leading success and business coach in Scandinavia with a client base in 23 different countries. Her story as an online marketer, coach, and speaker started in March 2018, when she burned out, nearly divorced, and, on the verge of giving up, decided to make a pivotal change in her business.

After that rock bottom, she became obsessed with working smarter rather than harder, and she is now the go-to expert for female entrepreneurs who are ready to make more impact, influence, and income.

Her genius lies in her knowledge of automation, systems, and funnels – and now, she is on a mission to support a million women to be, do, and have whatever they desire. To live their version of a Freedom Lifestyle.

I had so many “aha!”s while recording this episode, and I’ve been really excited for its release!

At the root of our goals, our intentions, and our visions is our mindset.

This conversation with Dijana is going to serve you in such a big way.

So take a deep breath.

Exhale.

And then hit play.

Let’s do this.

You can connect with Dijana on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dijanallugolli/

Communication is one of the top skills every entrepreneur must master.

If you have an important mission, movement, product or business—the ability to connect with your audience is vital.

Verbal and nonverbal communication are absolutely essential.

But what is often overlooked is copywriting.

Copywriting, the ability to move people with your written words, is so crucial.
Are you with me?

Because we’re in luck.

This week’s guest, Jo McKee, is both a master copywriter herself and a phenomenal teacher of copy.

Jo Mckee is the founder of McKee Creative, a marketing agency with a mission to connect clients with their customers. Jo has also just released Copywriting for Profit—the hands-on system to train agency team members as in-house copywriters.

Throughout the interview, Jo shares with us templates, tools, and strategies you can use to write with persuasion and authenticity.

Most importantly, Jo shares with us how to write in a way that centers your audience as the heroes of the story rather than on ourselves.

This episode is about more than just the written word.

We also go all-in on the importance of mindset, courage, and emotional intelligence.

I am always eager to learn from accomplished entrepreneurs how they move through challenges, cope with stress, and continue to perform at the highest level.

Jo offers advice on all of this, and more.

I’m telling you, this episode is packed with holistic insights and actions, steps you can take right now.

You can connect with Jo on:

McKee Creative https://mckeecreative.store

Copywriting for Profit: https://copywritingforprofit.com

Your Ads on Demand: https://copy.youradsondemand.com

In 1982, in a speech to Harvard University, Audrey Lorde famously said, “. . .If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Quotes are inspiring.

And, seeing them put into action is empowering.

That is why this week’s guests, Alex and Ash Sullivan, are two of my favorite people.

Despite the pressure of a white supramcist capitalist patriarchy,
They define themselves for themselves every single day.

As they will share in the episode - that doesn’t mean it is easy.
I mean - how does one go about living their bold self without being eaten alive?

Let this interview be a roadmap that can guide you to your own internal answer to that question.

Oh - and did I mention that this episode is being released on their birthday?

Cue the confetti

For real though - Ash and Alex are the best.

Alex Sullivan is the Co-Founder of Artists Call to Action. They are also a dope poet, facilitator, activist, educator and freelance diversity consultant in academia.

As a mixed agender human being, Alex’s work is often reflective of how the self is presented in the digital world and how current socio-political events can distort that presentation.

Their creative and academic work is focused on the black queer experience and every aspect of it, frequently tying in themes of womanism, examination of power structures in the United States, and the experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora as the communities have spread out all over the world.

Ashley Sullivan is a counselor-in-training and poet who is currently being considered for licensure, actively publishing, and putting energy into other creative endeavors such as starting their own business.

Ash is balancing pursuing a career in poetry while also pursuing work in mental health and public health. Currently, they have been published in five or more running publications as well as fulfilling activism work centered around gender, creativity, and community.

They are a current candidate for their Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University.

On this week’s episode we go all in on:

creativity,
activism,
learning to trust yourself,
finding your own voice,
the unique relationship Ash and Alex have with each other,
getting comfortable with your own silence,
getting to know yourself better, and,

Well...you’re gonna need to push play to find that out!

We could all invite a little more grace, community, and courage into our lives.

And Ash and Alex deliver all of that and more in abundance on this week’s episode.

Let’s do this.

Hit play.

And join us.

Check out their past interviews here http://www.tomearl.com/blog/alex

And here http://www.tomearl.com/blog/ash

Check out Ash’s LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-sullivan-631573135/
Check out Ash’s Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/three.of.four/

Find out more about the Artist’s Call to Action here https://actartist.com/
Check out ACTA on Facebook and Instagram at https://www.facebook.com/artistscalltoaction/ and https://www.instagram.com/artists.call.to.action/

“Finding your purpose will make you unstoppable.”

When Jaye Washington invoked this mantra I knew it had to be the title of this week’s episode.

Having a north star amidst the storms of life can make all the difference.

With all the clutter of social media, the year 2020 has been, and the ups and downs of just living, discovering what our inner-compass is can be easier said than done.

That is why I am so grateful Jaye has joined us as this week’s guest.
Jaye is an expert at creating a transparent and uncut safe space for all things adulting.

Whether it is through her podcast (The School of Life), her online academy (The School of Life Academy), or as the CEO and Chief Communications Consultant at The Savvy
Solution - Jaye expertly delivers the kind of advice you write on sticky notes and stick to your mirror.

At the heart of this episode is Jaye’s insights on we can translate pain into purpose.

Jaye also speaks on the importance of giving yourself grace, embracing who you are as an individual, and role models we can look to for inspiration.

Touching upon her experience as a CEO, Jaye also shared some valuable advice on running a business, managing a team, marketing your key message, and connecting with your audience.

She shared with us her 4 Step Strategy Formula for Creating Your Business Strategy.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m telling you - this episode with Jaye is fire.

Do yourself a favor.

Get ready.

Then hit play.

Here we go.

You can know m“Finding your purpose will make you unstoppable.”

When Jaye Washington invoked this mantra I knew it had to be the title of this week’s episode.

Having a north star amidst the storms of life can make all the difference.

With all the clutter of social media, the year 2020 has been, and the ups and downs of just living, discovering what our inner-compass is can be easier said than done.

That is why I am so grateful Jaye has joined us as this week’s guest.
Jaye is an expert at creating transparent and uncut safe space for all things adulting.

Whether it is through her podcast (The School of Life), her online academy (The School of Life Academy), or as the CEO and Chief Communications Consultant at The Savvy
Solution - Jaye expertly delivers the kind of advice you write on sticky notes and stick to your mirror.

At the heart of this episode is Jaye’s insights on we can translate pain into purpose.

Jaye also speaks on the importance of giving yourself grace, embracing who you are as an individual and role models we can look to for inspiration.

Touching upon her experience as a CEO, Jaye also shared some valuable advice on running a business, managing a team, marketing your key message, and connecting with your audience.

She shared with us her 4 Step Strategy Formula for Creating Your Business Strategy.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m telling you - this episode with Jaye is fire.

Do yourself a favor.

Get ready.

Then hit play.

Here we go.

You can know more about Jaye at Thesavvysolutionllc.com and on instagram at @missjaye
ore about Jaye at Thesavvysoluti“Finding your purpose will make you unstoppable.”

When Jaye Washington invoked this mantra I knew it had to be the title of this week’s episode.

Having a north star amidst the storms of life can make all the difference.

With all the clutter of social media, the year 2020 has been, and the ups and downs of just living, discovering what our inner-compass is can be easier said than done.

That is why I am so grateful Jaye has joined us as this week’s guest.
Jaye is an expert at creating transparent and uncut safe space for all things adulting.

Whether it is through her podcast (The School of Life), her online academy (The School of Life Academy), or as the CEO and Chief Communications Consultant at The Savvy
Solution - Jaye expertly delivers the kind of advice you write on sticky notes and stick to your mirror.

At the heart of this episode is Jaye’s insights on we can translate pain into purpose.

Jaye also speaks on the importance of giving yourself grace, embracing who you are as an individual and role models we can look to for inspiration.

Touching upon her experience as a CEO, Jaye also shared some valuable advice on running a business, managing a team, marketing your key message, and connecting with your audience.

She shared with us her 4 Step Strategy Formula for Creating Your Business Strategy.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m telling you - this episode with Jaye is fire.

Do yourself a favor.

Get ready.

Then hit play.

Here we go.

You can know more about Jaye at Thesavvysolutionllc.com and on instagram at @missjaye

Imagine you have a million-dollar business.

Imagine you have a multi-million dollar business that took you years to build.

Everyday you get to empower amazing people.

You’re living the dream.

And loving it.

Until one day - you’re not.

Inside you start to feel a calling to serve a new mission.

That inner-voice grows until it becomes a choir singing it is time to change direction.

Would you have the courage to walk away from this super successful company that has brought you notoriety, wealth, and an enormous audience?

This was the crossroads this week’s guest, Kimra Luna, found herself about a year ago.

If you Google ‘Kimra Luna’ you’ll find a number of articles, including Forbes and Business Insider, detailing Kimra’s journey from “Welfare To $1M [Business Owner].”

As someone who has been in the entrepreneur community for a decade, Kimra’s name was one of the first you’d come across when looking for tips to start your business.

A few months ago, I was on Facebook and saw Kimra post a Google drive folder that gave everyone complete access to her entire course curriculum, modules, and resources.

Previously you would have paid thousands of dollars to access this kind of content from Kimra.

And now - it was all there - with the message from Kimra that she is leaving the business coaching world and embarking on her new mission a cosmic sensuality coach and pleasure activist.

I immediately messaged Kimra asking if she’d be open to sitting down for an interview to share her story and her journey.

As you meant imagine - this turned out to be one of my favorite interviews of all time.

Yes - Kimra shares details on what led to her decision.

But the majority of this episode goes all in on the vital, important, and necessary mission and business that Kimra has launched.

We talked about healing from trauma, sex, love, relationships, music, sensuality, self-love and activism. Topics she covers every week on her podcast and Youtube channel.

Kimra took a deep dive into the core component of her new signature program - 30 Days of Slowing The Eff Down - and you discover your deepest desires, connect with your personal pleasure, and shed the shame so you can channel your inner creatrix and live the life you deserve.

I’m telling you - this episode is a must-listen!

Please do yourself the favor of absorbing the knowledge, compassion, and tools Kimra openly shares during this episode.

Alright. This was the longest writeup ever - I know.

Time to stop reading and start listening.

Hit play.

Here we go.

You can find her works at kimraluna.com or on Instagram at @kimraluna

Websites are often the most neglected tool in our entrepreneur toolbox.

We know they have the ability to convert leads into customers, build brand awareness, and communicate our authority.

And yet, creating or updating our website remains on the “I’ll get to this soon” to-do list.

This week’s episode is your moment to move past hesitation'

Our guest, Michanae Edwards, is the owner and designer behind Michanae’s Designs.

She specifically works with female service providers who are interested in a more minimalist and holistic approach to design. Someone who’s looking for a website and brand to be designed strategically to achieve a certain goal.

She is a creative genius when it comes to designing minimalist and strategic websites.

In the middle of this episode, you will get to hear the HUGE aha moment that Michanae brought up for me on what I was doing wrong. It was such a big aha that I immediately hired Michanae right after the interview to solve the brand design problem she uncovered.

Whether you have a business, a nonprofit, a mission, or a movement - you need to communicate your message to your community.

This interview with Michanae will put you on the right path to getting that done.

Stopping putting it off.

Hit play.

And let’s do this.

You can follow

https://www.instagram.com/michanaedesigns/

www.michanaedesigns.com/homepagefreebie

“I don’t see color.”

“We all bleed red.”

“We’re all just human.”

Oh God. No.

FacePalm

If you’ve ever engaged in a dialogue on race or attempted to invite someone in on their racism, I would bet my favorite pen that you’ve heard some variation of these.

Hey. I’ll up the bet.

I’d wager my favorite pair of headphones that more likely than not it was one of us white folks who uttered said phrases too.

All jokes and bets aside, phrases like “I don’t see color”—while good intentioned—derail efforts towards anti-racism.

Rather than being egalitarian, they are actually racist.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “What the hell, Tom? How is this racist?”

Here’s my suggestion: listen to this week’s episode.

My guests this week are Dr. Angela Courage! and Dr. LaTonya Jackson, authors of “5 Blinders to Seeing Color.”

We took a deep dive into this topic and provided insights on how “I don’t see color” is problematic at best.

If you’re striving to unpack your whiteness and privilege, or you’re looking for resources to send to a friend who keeps saying “I don’t see color,” we have you covered.

In addition, during this episode we talked about:
race
power
privilege
color
colonialism.
control
social privilege
economic privilege
layers of privilege
international question: “we don’t have white privilege in my country” → colorism.
corporate issues ←- relating to race.
individual issues ←- relating to race.

We really went in on this one and I know it will bring you tremendous value.

Hit play and let me know what was your biggest aha.

You can learn more about Dr. Angela Courage! and Dr. LaTonya Jackson’s work at - seecolorr.com.

Sales. Salesperson. Closer.

Most people have visceral reactions to these words and phrases, and almost all of us hold stereotypes or preconceived notions of what they mean.

First off, we usually think of a man.

Probably a white guy.
Headset on, maybe.
Yelling, probably.

Definitely intense, right?

Maybe you envision the Wolf of Wall Street, or buying a car?

Here’s the thing.
If you have a life-changing idea, product, service, business, and/or brand, you are going to need to engage in sales.

Even if you’re a nonprofit, you’re selling something.
Even if you’re an activist, you’re selling something.

For my entepresunrus, business owners and side hustlers: sales is probably one of the biggest roadblocks holding you back right now.

No matter how much exposure, leads, or prospects you get, if you can’t close them – if you’re afraid of sales – it will all be for naught.

Now, this is usually where the tight feeling in our stomachs comes up. Or the explanation for how “my business is different though” starts to make its way into the conversation.

But before we go there. Let me introduce to you this week’s guest: Nina Concepcion.

Nina is here to turn all of your assumptions upside down.

Nina is a master and teacher of Conscious Sales: a co-creation and a synergistic relationship between two or more people that is beneficial for both parties and the rest of the world.

Now I bet that sounds more in alignment with your values, right?

Sales and selling doesn’t have to be ugly.

When done right, it provides growth, opportunity, and a step forward.

I invite you to take a few minutes of your week and hear what Nina has to say.

Now only will it change your entire perspective on what it means to be in sales, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet a truly remarkable entrepreneur.

In addition, you’ll get to hear Nina talk about:

-How your values drive your life
-How to get your coaching business off the ground
-The power of social media
-What to do on a sales call
-What’s stopping you from moving forward
-How to overcome self-sabotage and step into your inner power

I’m telling you: this interview is essential!

Hit play and let me know what your number one takeaway was.

Be sure to hit Nina up and show her some love → through her facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ninathenakedcoach

Picture this: 35 of the world’s leading digital marketers step into a room together.

Each person in that room had successfully run a million dollar launch, and is a legend in the marketing, social media, and media buying arena.

A challenge is presented to this motley crew of marketers:

Over the next 48 hours, each person is tasked with coming up with a new mind-blowing marketing strategy.

At the end of the 48 hours, everyone will vote on the best strategy.

The time starts now. Go.

This is a true story.

Today’s guest, Curt Maly, was one of the 35 people in that room.

And at the end of the weekend, he was the one who walked away with the championship belt.

The marketing system he developed that weekend has since been honed, tested and perfected, and has become Curt’s legendary BELT Method.

I hope I’ve set the stage for the epicness that is this interview.

Yes, Curt dropped some serious high level gems on all things marketing, sales, social media, and getting your message across in a crowded digital space – but we also went deep on the importance of mindset, how to overcome adversity, and how to pick yourself up when your entire world crumbles.

We didn’t just talk about vague ways to artificially fire yourself up. Nah. Curt got tactical and offered practical ways to elevate yourself to peak performance – and how to actually enjoy the process.

At the heart of our time together, though, was something specific: ethical propaganda.

For all of us out here trying to make a difference in the world, whether it's as an activist, coach, nonprofit, or thought leader: you’ve got to hear Curt go all in on the tenets and tactics of ethical propaganda.

It will be a game changer for you, your organization, your business, and/or your movement.

I’m serious. This will change your entire outlook, strategy, and therefore your results as well.

Hit play on this one and then send me your favorite part.

If you’d like to learn more about Curt and his Belt method program, head to thebelt.live/celebration.

A few months ago, my nephew and I came up with an epic idea for a T-shirt company.

It began when I asked when he planned to come out and visit Adaora and I again.

He said he needed to get the funds first; so I proposed we sell t-shirts to get the money that he needed. We decided that he’d design them, and I’ll sell them through Facebook and IG ads.

And boom. Just like that we had an e-commerce company.

Even before COVID-19 disrupted the economy and the way we shop, e-commerce was a trillion dollar industry in the U.S. alone.

E-commerce has revolutionized our ability to sell products directly to consumers without having to go through gatekeepers or big box retail.

Now, while it is relatively easy to get your product loaded onto Etsy or Shopify, marketing that product can be quite a task.

That is where e-commerce consultants like Veena Gandhi step in. Veena is a strategic digital marketer who specializes in providing creative and innovative solutions to advertising agencies, small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs on the cluttered world of the Internet.

She is also the founder of Digital Street, which is a marketing agency that builds successful sales funnels for fashion, beauty, lifestyle and fitness e-commerce brands.

Whether you’re a seasoned brand or are just getting started in e-commerce, this interview will serve you.

Rather than just giving general information you could google for yourself, Veena got down to the nitty gritty of how to build a successful e-commerce campaign.

Veena shared her knowledge on:

How to build audience personas for your Facebook ads.
The importance of data, and how to analyze it.
How to set up your creative strategy for an ads campaign.
Which metrics to use in determining which ads to turn off and which ones to increase ad spend on.
The importance of testing your ads and campaigns.
How to use Instagram stories as a retargeting strategy.

For agency owners, media buyers, and ad managers, you will walk away from this interview with a plethora of industry secrets

If you’re just getting started in e-commerce and are worried this might go over your head, don’t worry! Jump in and learn from a master of her craft.

Alright. That’s enough from me.

Let’s jump into this week’s episode.

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to Veena, you can do so through her website - http://digitalstreetau.com/.

Imagine coming home from work only to find that your partner of 7 years has completely moved out of the home you shared together.

No warning. No note. No discernible reason.

Just the empty space where that person’s furniture, clothes, dishes, and presence once were.

Ok. Now let’s jump back one year.

Let’s say you were to study your ass off for years. You go through the rigorous and grueling process of medical rotations. You walk across the stage to receive your pharmacy doctorate – only to realize less than 1 year later that this profession isn’t for you.

We all have an origin story.

These are just two of the life events that this week’s guest, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲, shared with us in this powerful episode.

This interview is personal.
It is vulnerable.
It is transparent.
It is real.

𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 lives the truth that he shares as a holistic life coach, business mentor, and speaker. The core premise of his work is to empower and teach each person he encounters to take control of their mind, body, and life by investing in themselves.

I promise you: you will not regret jumping into this episode. It’ll be a cool pool on a hot summer’s day.

We got real as we talked about mental health, social justice, neuro-linguistic programming, self-awareness, how to transition from loss, and how to move forward when your world falls out from underneath you.

Bryan and I also went deep on men and mental health. We talked about how toxic masculinity and patriarchy keep men in an unhealthy box, and how we can break free from that box.

Most importantly, Bryan made sure that he didn’t just speak in the theoretical or philosophical. He shared tools, steps, exercises, and processes you can use to address the issues that were raised in this interview.

I’m telling you, we went in on this episode.

Here’s my suggestion: hit play and brace yourself.

You can learn more about 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 through his website www.bryanmcelderry.com/; or you can follow him on IG www.instagram.com/drmcelderry/.

Let’s say you were to ask Samar Owais to be your copywriter, and to sprinkle her magic on your email sequences. You’d need to be prepared to cut a check with a lot of zeros.

In other words, Samar is a seriously sought after copywriter who crafts emails that convert lurkers into customers – then into repeat customers, and finally into raving fans.

If you are an entrepreneur – from any industry – you need to be tapping into the full potential of your email list.

On this week’s episode, Samar really breaks down the ins and outs of writing email sequences. Whether we’re talking about a sales sequence, nurture sequence, abandoned cart sequence, whatever: if you’re sending it by email, she drops the gems on this one.

This episode is especially for the folks who are sick of staring at a blank screen when trying to craft an email. Plus, Samar gives you series insights into the research you need to do before you even start writing your first email.

Samar’s insight is really meant to empower you with the tools you need, so you can ultimately work with clients and customers that excite you and allow you to raise your prices.

Now if you’re thinking, “wow Tom, I’m not sure I can do 60 minutes of geeking out about email copywriting.” Don’t worry. I got you.

Samar and I also discussed:

Entrepreneurial mindset
How to overcome challenges and adversity, especially when trying to pivot from one job to the next
Owning your identity especially in the face of bias and/or discrimination
Activating your innate power
Communicating with passion, purpose and clarity

All this to say: do yourself the favor of hitting play on this epic interview. Samar delivers serious value and offers some amazing insights.

Here we go.

https://samarowais.com/

Featuring: Shelby Birch, Moses Weir, Walter Wally B. Jennings, and Jessica Estevez

Wow! Can you believe it?! This is the final episode of the ‘Gifts for My Child’ series. For those of you just tuning in – I highly recommend you start with episode 1 of this series.

I am so grateful to all of my friends who shared their time, their love, and their wisdom with Jayanma by participating in this project.

There are so many intentions and aspirations that went into this project. One of the main ones being that I want Jayanma to know that there is a community of people ready to listen and be there for her.

As a new dad, these interviews have been such a resource!

I am so excited for Jayanma to listen to this as she gets older. I envision her checking them out 32 years later, and reflecting on her dad creating them while he was 32 and preparing for her arrival.

Wow. What a fun thought.

Speaking of – I’d love to hear your thoughts on this project. And, as always, if you have any advice or reflections on any questions I asked my guests, please send them in!

Thank you so much for listening to this series!

Featuring Alex Sullivan, Dermot Givens, Irmina and Ace Vedo

Episode 6 of ‘Gifts for My Child’ has arrived. This will be the second to last episode. If you haven’t yet, be sure to start with episodes 1 & 2 so you can learn the context behind this series.

There have been moments where I am holding Jayanma and listening to these interviews and I just get tears in my eyes. The advice, words of wisdom, and love that people shared just brings me such joy.

As you’re listening to this week’s episodes, be sure to let me know if you have any additional reflections you’d like to share!

Enjoy.

Featuring: Sadiya Sassine, Cet Mohamed-Moore, Shaan Dasani, and Travis Ray

Here it is! Episode 5 of the ‘Gifts for My Child’ series. In case you’re just jumping in, be sure to listen to episodes 1 & 2 of this series to get the backstory. And, of course, you can always check out episodes 3-4 too.

Honestly, these interviews really gave me an opportunity to connect with people I care about and have some real conversations with them.

Of course, if there is a question I asked a guest that you have an insightful reflection on, please be sure to share it with me!

Enjoy this week’s episode!

Featuring: Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Sam(ira) Obeid, Timothy Mays, Aretha Scruggs

This week’s episode brings you ‘Gifts for My Child’, episode 4. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the first three episodes so you can get the back story on this series.

I have been listening to these episodes myself as I play with Jayanma. It warms my heart to have a community of such amazing people here for her.

As an adult, I have found that a lot of the advice that has been offered has been helpful even for me.

As you’re listening, I’d love to know what resonates with you the most! Be sure to let me know.

Featuring: Jasmine Star, Mitch del Monico, Intisar Seraaj, Vivi Devereaux

I am grateful that I get to share with you the third installment of my Gifts for My Child series. As I’ve mentioned, if you haven’t listened to episode 1 already, I highly recommend you start there.

It was really a beautiful process meeting with those I care about and asking them to offer advice to my yet to be born child. I learned new things about each person I interviewed, and really had important conversations with them.

As I was editing these episodes, what really stood out to me was the power of offering advice to someone we have yet to meet.

Whether you’re looking for some inspiration, a spark of hope, or a thought-provoking listen, then be sure to join us on this week’s episode.

Featuring Ramy El-Etreby, Ashlee Tezino, Dr. Jeannine Gailey, and London Jones

This week we continue with the Gifts for My Child series. If you haven't listened to the first episode of this series, I highly recommend you jump back to do so before diving into this episode.

I’m really excited to share this episode with you. In it, you get to meet the first 4 of the 20 people that I interviewed. I also share with you how the people I interviewed were selected.

As I have already shared, even if you don’t have children, I know you will still get a lot out of these conversations.

Enjoy!

This project has been a long time in the making. As our daughter’s due date was approaching, I decided that I wanted to host a series of interviews where I asked people to share their advice with my yet to be born child.

That quest led me to interview almost 20 people. The conversations I had were absolutely beautiful and have brought tears to my eyes many times.

Over the next several weeks, I will be sharing with you those interviews. Even if you don’t have a child, I know you will be moved by the conversations I had and you may even find some great advice you can apply to your life.

I am launching this series, entitled “Gifts for My Child”, with a conversation I had with Adaora less than 24 hours before our child was due to arrive.

This week’s episode brings you a powerful conversation with Amoja MoMan Sumler. If you’ve been a part of THE Celebration since for a while, you’ll recognize MoMan from past episodes.

For the new folks: MoMan is a nationally celebrated poet, essayist, and one of the preeminent emerging voices of leftist intersectional social advocacy.

This interview takes a dive deep into how we can have action back up our proclamation that Black Lives Matter.

Plus we talk about:

Virtue Signaling vs. Actually Taking Action
Aspiring Allyship vs. Performative Allyship
How to align our actions with our values for change
The case for defunding the police
How the NFL, Amazon, and other corporations can actually prove that they support Black Lives Matter

I’m telling you – that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This interview with MoMan goes in hard.

MoMan is also one of the most brilliant poets I know, and he made sure to share three powerful poems with us.

On top of all that: my daughter Jayanma makes a cameo appearance!

Let’s do it.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Matt Sedillo about how to launch and/or grow your business online. Especially with everything in the world happening right now, more and more people are looking for ways to generate income through their art, side hustle, or business.

In addition to sharing some really actionable advice, Matt also asked me some great questions on my origin story and how I came to launch my Facebook ads agency.

Whether you’re looking for tools to level up your marketing skills or are curious to learn more about my story, I know you’ll get a lot out of this episode!

I have been reflecting upon fatherhood ever since… you know… becoming a father. So I knew this would have to be one of the replays I dusted off and brought back to life.

In May of 2017, I had the opportunity to sit down with my dad for an interview. It’s an episode I treasure and hold dear.

As a result, it is my honor to share it with you this week.

Here’s the original writeup:

I'm so excited that my dad, Tom Earl Sr., joined me for an interview this week! My dad and I have a special relationship that I am so grateful for. Not only is he my dad, but he is also my friend, my mentor, an inspiration, and one of my heroes.

My dad is super humble, so let me brag for a second: he's a self-taught artist and landscape architect, a Vietnam veteran, he raised my oldest sister as a single dad, he started his own business back before it was cool to be an entrepreneur, and he's my dad :).

It took me over a year to convince my dad to do this interview. And it was well worth the wait.

On this week's episode: My dad shares some cool stories about my childhood and what it's like to be my dad. We also talked about his own personal life journey. Dad imparted some great knowledge about life, entrepreneurship, being unafraid of failure, following passions, and never giving up.

Check out this very personal conversation between my dad and I!

This week's episode holds a special place in my heart. When I first launched my year of expression in 2016, I didn’t have a clear vision of the path I was going down. For many, many weeks, I would put out a new episode and not really know if anyone had listened to it.

Then I put out this episode, and a whole bunch of strangers emailed me and shared how much it mattered to them. While I don’t create my episodes just for the affirmations, it was very heartwarming to know that what I was doing was having an impact.

As I continue to enjoy my paternity leave, here is this week’s replay from 2017. And so that we can really get into the mood, here was the original writeup:

This year (2017) I am asking, "Where can I find balance? Where can I invite balance?" I’m bringing balance to the time I spend in creating BIG, BOLD, BEYOND THE STARS DREAMS.

I’ve noticed a lot of my dreams only go a little bit outside of my comfort zone. Or I dream, but I let my limiting beliefs bonsai my goals and visions.

This year, I am ready to have rocket ship dreams! Dreams that take me to my highest potential and more! I’m spending quality, intentional time in creating big, bold, beyond the star dreams.

Not only are beyond the stars dreams amazing but they also impact our lives in tangible and measurable ways.

Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Part 2 of the Courage Talks. If you haven’t yet listened to part 1, be sure to do so!

I hope you are safe and healthy!

I have tried to explore the definition of courage beyond just heroic and dangerous acts of valor. While this is certainly courage, I also wanted to highlight what courage looks like in our everyday lives.

In this second part of the Courage talks, you’ll hear people from different backgrounds, professions, and perspectives dive deep into who their courage role models are, what courage looks like, and how you can become more courageous.

Even 2 years later, I still found so many gems listening back to these interviews.

I hope you enjoy this conclusion to the Courage Talks!

I’ve been reflecting upon courage lately. The latin origin of the word – cor – means heart. Rather than being verbose and ego driven, to me, courage begins and ends with the heart.

2018 was my year of courage. It allowed me 12 months to reflect upon my own definition of courage and to listen to other people’s definitions as well. It was a wonderful journey of seeing the beautiful differences and synchronicity parallels in people’s stories, experiences, and definitions of courage.

As you may know, I am on paternity leave spending precious time with Jayanma. In the interim, I’ve prepared for you some of my favorite episode replays from the over past 205 episodes I’ve shared (wow – 200 just snuck in on me).

This week’s episode is a replay from my courage talks series from 2018. During a dinner party, or while people were over at my house, I’d invite them to step into my studio, where I would walk them through the same set of questions around courage.

During this two part episode, you get to hear their responses. Ranging from diverse backgrounds, professions, and perspectives, the participants of this episode dive deep into who their courage role models are, what courage looks like, and how you can become more courageous.

I hope you enjoy part 1 of Courage Talks!

My birthday is in 3 days, and each year I like to celebrate with a special birthday episode. This year I wanted to share the episode I shared on my 30th birthday.

I know a lot of us right now are going through a few challenges and obstacles and adversity, and my 30th birthday episode was one of the most vulnerable episodes I put out because it really shares the journey I’ve been on. And that is why I’d like to share it with you as a replay this week.

One of my birthday rituals is to celebrate one thing I love about myself, for every year of my life. Which means, this year I'm sharing 30 self-love affirmations :).

Each of my previous birthdays reflects where I was during that point in my life. On my 18th birthday, one group of my friends (high on coke and huffing fumes) pulled knives on another group of my friends and tried to stab them. On my 20th birthday, I was drinking a liter of whiskey almost everyday. Or the birthday I had to tell my dad I've been arrested and am in serious trouble.

My intention is to give closure to my 20's and step forward boldly into my 30's by sharing this part of my story. Recording this has been one of the most vulnerable and freeing experiences of my life. I am honored to have you be a part of it.

When I reviewed the episode I thought I would just delete it because it was such a vulnerable share. But I decided that I would lead with courage and put it out there. So I hope that in some way that if you’re going through something right now that it can be an example that your worst days can be your best days.

Enjoy this week's episode, as I share with you my birthday stories and celebrate 30 self-love affirmations!

I want to thank you all so much for going all the way through our “Manifesting Your Adventure” series. If you are just catching this episode now, I want to encourage you to go all the way back and listen to this all the way through. We began the series on March 9th and I hope you’ll get a lot of value from journeying with us through each of the first 6 parts of the journey before today’s focus on empowering practices.

On this last day of our series, we want to make sure that this isn’t a “set it and forget it” type thing for you...like one of those situations where you create a vision board and then you never listen to it again. Nothing like that here!

We want to make sure that this is a continual process of checking in and empowering yourself as you are heading towards your next adventure in life. And most importantly, that you are nurturing your mindset and your relationships and the processes that will continue to move you forward towards whatever your next adventure is.

This episode will finalize and complete the 7-episode series. Thank you so much for being a part of it.

Fam, make sure to go back to the last 6 episodes before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our classes and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

Thank you for joining me for another week of our “Manifesting Your Adventure” series. I hope that you and your family are staying safe, healthy and sane in this unprecedented time of introspection and uncertainty.

I’d love you to get the most value out of this episode, and before you tune into this episode, if you haven’t already heard the previous 5 weeks’ episodes, it will give you a better context. We began the series on March 9th and I hope you’ll get a lot of peace from journeying with us through each of the first 5 parts of the journey before today’s focus on abundance.

On this episode, we are focusing on your mindset. To this point in our series, you have worked on many important things. In the training, we have talked about setting goals; we have identified what your ideal day feels like, we talked about forming a more positive relationship with failure and we took a closer look at what your success looks like.

We want your mindset and your belief systems to work towards your benefit, both consciously and subconsciously. The activities in the workshop we are going through today are going to set that foundation for you.

Fam, make sure to go back to the last 5 episodes before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7-day program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our classes and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

Peace to you all. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy in heart, mind and body. Here we are again for another week of our “Manifesting Your Adventure” series.

Before you go on, for you to get the most value out of this episode, check out the previous 4 weeks’ episodes. We began the series on March 9th and I hope you’ll get a lot of peace from journeying with us through each of the first 4 parts of the journey.

This week in your adventure, we talk about your perfect day. There has been much research, data and so many success stories of the growth that happens when you get clear about what you want to create. When you can envision this perfect day, you start to bring it to life.

You bring your adventure to life through your reticular activating system, your RAS, or through the joy that you get from envisioning that becomes the fuel that allows you to move towards that perfect day.

We want to make sure that what you are creating in your adventure aren’t goals or desires based upon what may have been instilled in you by others or things you envisioned a long time ago and may not be reflective of what you want to create now. We are going to get specific in creating your adventure by starting with creating one perfect day.

This is a very fun workshop; one of my favorites and I go through this exercise with all of my 1-on-1 clients. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

Fam, make sure to go back to the last 4 episodes before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7-day program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our classes and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

Peace to you all. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy in heart, mind and body. Thank you for joining me for another week of our “Manifesting Your Adventure” series. Did you get to check out the previous 3 weeks’ episodes? If not, please go back to the first installment in this series, which came out on March 9th and listen to the first 3 before joining us on this week’s adventure.

This week’s episode is called “Celebrating Failure.” Why should we spend time talking about failure when what we really want is to succeed?

All successful people have a great relationship with failure. Whether you’re an inventor, a founder or a musician, there are going to be many steps along the way where you are going to experience setbacks.

On this week’s episode, we explore ways we can celebrate failure. When we are taking risks, envisioning, creating change, and putting ourselves out there, creating a healthy relationship with failure is really important. When we try something new or strive to live our best life, we are inevitably setting ourselves up to experience moments where we stumble or fall short, and the mindset we have in those moments will influence how we move forward.

This week’s episode is a workshop that walks us through how we can create a growth mindset and a healthy relationship with failure so that when we reach these inevitable failures in our journey, that they don’t set us back or make us doubt ourselves and our dreams.

Together, we break down what we have been taught failure means, and then create our own fresh definition through working through some intentional exercises.

Make sure to go back to the last 3 episodes before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7-day program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our class and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

Have you been following along on our “Manifesting Your Adventure” series? Most of you know that 2020 is my “Year of Adventure” and in honor of my upcoming adventure, I’d like to give you some tools to allow you to have this year be your most wonderful year yet. I invite you to cast aside any preconceptions you might have about what an adventure is or has to look like.

I’ve brought together 3 amazing people from different industries and took them through a 7-day workshop with experiential hands-on activities and exercises and from those hours I put together an online course to share with you called “Manifesting Your Adventure.”

Welcome to Naming Your Adventure! This is our third installment of our “Manifesting Your Adventure” workshop and if you haven’t tuned into our first 2 episodes in the series, you want to go back and listen to days 1 and 2 (March 9 and 16).

On day 3, we talk about your definition of success. We want to make sure we are not heading towards a goal that sounds good in theory but once you get there doesn’t bring you any joy.

How has your definition consciously or subconsciously been influencing your decisions? For many of us, success has been defined for us by our parents, our society, and our culture. Without realizing it, we have been consciously or subconsciously striving to achieve a bar of success we may not even believe in anymore.

This week’s experiential episode will engage you in creating a holistic perspective of success. After listening to this workshop, you will be empowered to attain a realistic, accurate and updated vision of how you want to measure the life you’re living.

Make sure to go back to the last 2 episodes before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7-day program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our class and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

Most of you know that 2020 is my “Year of Adventure” and in honor of my upcoming adventure, I’d like to give you some tools to allow you to have this year be your most wonderful year yet. I invite you to cast aside any preconceptions you might have about what an adventure is or has to look like.

I’ve brought together 3 amazing people from different industries and took them through a 7-day workshop with experiential hands-on activities and exercises and from those hours I put together an online course to share with you called “Manifesting Your Adventure.”

Welcome to Naming Your Adventure! This is our second day of our “Manifesting Your Adventure” workshop and if you haven’t listened to day 1, you want to go back and listen to day 1.

On day 2, now that we have laid the foundation by moving past our limiting beliefs and any fears holding us back, we have allowed the adventure to come to the surface. Now we want to get specific; what does it look like? What does it feel like? The reason we name the adventure is so that your subconscious can breathe life into it so your conscious mind can then start to recognize all of the opportunities you are presented with so that your adventure can come to life. Be sure to check it out!

Make sure to go back to the last episode before you go through this one. If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7-day program, I’m giving you the gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our class and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest2 to start your 30 free days.

Most of you know that 2020 is my “Year of Adventure” and in honor of my upcoming adventure, I’d like to give you some tools to allow you to have this year be your most wonderful year yet. I invite you to cast aside any preconceptions you might have about what an adventure is or has to look like.

I’ve brought together 3 amazing people from different industries and took them through a 7-day workshop with experiential hands-on activities and exercises and from those hours I put together an online course to share with you called “Manifesting Your Adventure.”

The next 7 episodes will walk you through a step-by-step process to envision, plan, bring the light and sustain the adventure you are ready for.

In the first episode, we set the foundation for how to envision your next adventure, whether it’s an adventure in your personal life, your professional life or in your financial life. We start with letting go of any limiting beliefs or fears that might be holding us back, and allowing us to suspend our disbelief so that we can really jump in and allow that beauty within us to speak and our subconscious to come through and communicate what that next adventure is that we are ready for.

Did you know fatphobia bias is the top implicit bias of Americans? This week, I have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Jeannine Gailey, who specializes in gender and deviance.

Her research and teaching interests include sociology of the body, fat or critical weight studies, sexualities, gender, and organizational deviance. We talked about the history of fat bias and being fat and the effect that body-size privilege has on all of us.

If you always suspected there was an unspoken prejudice against those who didn't fit the mold that our culture deems appropriate, you’ll definitely want to listen to Dr. Gailey as she shares her knowledge about diet culture and discrimination and the Fat Acceptance Community.

Dr. Gailey recently guest-edited two special issues for the journal Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society. Her monograph, The Hyper(in)visible Fat Woman, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014.

In addition, her work has appeared in journals such as Fat Studies, Social Psychology Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, Qualitative Research, and the Journal of Gender Studies. In 2015, Gailey received the WGST Claudia Camp Research and Creative Activity Award for her work on the stigma and marginalization women of size experience in society.

If you’re a long time listener you’ll know that I rarely share replay episodes but this was one episode I had to share as a replay.

In 2017, I sat down with social justice activist and lawyer, Dermot Givens. We dug deep on current topics, his life journey, and shared a phenomenal dialogue about issues that are prevalent in society today.

Dermot has been an activist his whole life and is also a member of the Black Lives Matter Justice League. He is the first and only lawyer in CA to win a criminal case defending a Black Lives Matter activist.

Here are some of my favorite questions Dermot answered during his in-depth interview:

Is it possible to have a fair trial?
What is the Black Lives Matter Justice League?
What is a person's reaction, when they are serving a life sentence, and they first hear they have been given parole? (Dermot helps people with life sentences receive parole).
What legal advice do you have for activists?
Do you have any legal advice for entrepreneurs who are getting started?
What is a plea bargain and what is its relationship to the prison industrial complex?

Tune in to this very special interview below.

In this week's episode, there were multiple goosebump moments of pure awesomeness. I talked with Crysta Tyus who is an online marketing consultant who helps service-based businesses get clients from social media, master sales without being salesy and build multiple 6-figure businesses.

Crysta shared her incredible story of experiencing homelessness and living out of her office building with her 2 kids, and then doing a complete 180-degree turn and closing on the million-dollar home that she's moving into in 2 days. Then, after our minds were blown from that amazing journey, she then gave us the goods for free and told us exactly how she did it!

For Crysta it all started with envisioning the type of person she wanted to become, being intentional about self-care and surrounding herself with successful people who sounded like her and vibed with her. She developed a strategy for business growth and outlined tactical ways to niche down and become an online celebrity. In our talk, we discuss what Black History Month and representation mean to her, and Crysta shares what adventure looks like in her life in 2020.

If you are interested in making this year your most abundantly successful year ever, you won't want to miss hearing how Crysta is manifesting her first 7-figure year ever.

You can follow crysta on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/crystatyus or watch her on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7uYYBPyfE-Oe1L-iuwuBQ

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.

Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies.

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events.

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voice and materialize their thoughts.

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on https://www.instagram.com/timothymays/ and on his website at https://www.timothymays.net/.

On this week's episode, I talk to Melissa Denizard, a native of Haiti, who is a 20-year-old activist, documentarian, and senior at Babson College. She shares the challenges of being an activist and an organizer and we talk about vulnerability and feeling comfort in discomfort as well as the loneliness epidemic that is facing so many young people.

As an activist, Melissa uses her many talents, including public speaking, film, and the written word, to bring attention to the intersections of race, gender, and social class in the United States’ political framework.

Melissa runs a blog that focuses on the intersection of race, gender, and social class in pop culture and politics. In 2018, her YouTube video, Unbraid with Me: Is Hair Political? was featured on Brut Media and Refinery29. Later that year, her blog post, "Don't Tell Me to Smile: A Commentary on Harassment in the Service Industry" was adapted into a TEDx talk for TEDxTarrytown.

As an alumna of the Young People For Fellowship, Melissa had the opportunity to expand upon her technological social venture Voice, which is an online platform for contemporary activists
that aims to make digital organizing more accessible and efficient.. Partnered with Babson College, Melissa is also currently creating an initiative that will aim to help Flint, MI's entrepreneurs cultivate entrepreneurial skills to build wealth that will accumulate to help the city eventually emerge out of both the Flint Water Crisis and decades of poverty.

You won't want to miss her honest self-reflection on growth and self-care and her insights on the ways we can use pop culture to analyze race, gender and cultural clashes.

In this week's episode, I have the honor of talking with Professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia. We talk about how immigration policy has changed in the time of Trump and we also talk about why people on both sides of the aisle should care about immigration.

Dr. Shoba is the Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and Clinic Professor of Law at Penn State Law in University Park. Her research focuses on the role of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and the intersections of race, national security and immigration.

She has published more than thirty law review articles, book chapters and essays on immigration law. In this episode Dr. Shoba shares the insights she received from the people she interviewed for her book on immigration enforcement as well as the role that being a lawyer had in writing and publishing her works.

Wadhia’s first book, Beyond Deportation: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Cases, was published by New York University Press in 2015, and was given an honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Her second book, Banned: Immigration Enforcement in the Time of Trump, was released on September 10, 2019 by New York University Press. Her immigration textbook, Immigration and Nationality Law: Problems and Solutions, with co-authors Steve Yale-Loehr and Lenni Benson, was published by Carolina Academic Press in early 2020.

In 2018, Wadhia was named the inaugural Editor-In-Chief of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Law Journal, a partnership between AILA and Fastcase. In 2019, she served as the Enlund Scholar In Residence at the DePaul University School of Law. At Penn State Law, Professor Wadhia teaches doctrinal courses in immigration and asylum and refugee law. She is also the founder/director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic (CIRC).

Dr. Shoba does a brilliant job of demystifying the machinery of Trump's immigration policy and she illustrates her perspective through stories, terms and concepts we can all relate to and take action upon. I know you are going to love this week's episode and Dr. Shoba's insight may just shine some light on some issues you have seen for yourself.

You can read more about Dr. shoba’s publications by visiting her website at http://www.beyonddeportation.com/

You can purchase her books at https://nyupress.org/9781479870059/beyond-deportation.

On this day, Jan 20th, we celebrate the life and achievements of Dr. King and today on the podcast, I talk to Wally B., an ordained minister, spoken word artist, and the Founder and Executive Director of the Heard Em Say Youth Arts Collective.

In this episode, Wally shares his reflections on MLK and the influence Dr. King had on his life. We dig deep into Wally's journey of transitioning from being a full-time artist, to founding his nonprofit back in May 2007 to cultivating Heard Em Say. We also talk about what ultimately led to his decision to transition out of the role of Executive Director and creating a succession plan so that he could continue to grow and serve the community.

You'll hear all about his conversations with God and with his leadership team, and how he redefined what it means to be an artist and a leader. You won't want to miss this episode.

Heard ‘Em Say was created in May 2007 to identify, cultivate and empower youth in activism and advocacy through artistic education and expression. The organization serves over 300 young people a year, providing a healthy social outlet for teens to express themselves through spoken word and performance. His team has competed for years at Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival.

Check out the show notes www.tomearl.com/wally.

Support Heard Em Say at http://heardemsay.org/ and you can follow Wally on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walter.w.jennings.3.

Check out past Wally B interviews at tomearl.com/heardemsay and http://www.tomearl.com/blog/expressionsessionfeatwallyb.

Niki Kelly is the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Bay County and is someone whom I respect and admire so much. Our talk together was a great opportunity to learn from a professional who has been on every side of the nonprofit world - from direct service, fundraising, leadership to the Executive Director role.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the challenges facing nonprofit leaders and nonprofits and we discuss what it takes to run a successful business that is inclusive, value-driven, responsive but also business-oriented.

Niki shares key insights about issues that our community is facing and the evolving world of non-profit work as well as the importance of advocacy and looking at the work differently to improve program delivery.

Niki’s education includes a Bachelor's degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology and a Masters in Management both from the University of South Florida. She spent 12 years working in community mental health and addiction services followed by more than 10 years in refugee and immigrant services.

Niki Kelly relocated to Panama City Beach in the spring of 2014 and joined the leadership team at Girls Inc. shortly thereafter. Since then, she has led Girls Inc. on an aggressive growth plan expanding services to more girls in Bay County and putting the organization on a solid footing that enabled them to persevere following the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael in 2018. For her response to the hurricane, Niki was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Outstanding Community Leadership award by the Girls Inc. national organization.

I bet you are going to love this episode even if you aren't in the nonprofit world because you will hear thoughtful advice on how to run your own business in an ethical and inclusive way.

You can learn more about girls Inc. of Bay County by visiting their website - https://girlsincofbaycounty.org/

Each year I set an intention for what my “year of” will be. In past years, I’ve manifested My Year of Expression, My Year of Balance, My Year of Courage and most recently, My Year of Grace.

This episode introduces what this year will be - My Year of Adventure!

To introduce the theme, I take a group of my friends through a writing workshop exploring what adventures this next year will bring.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to set your new year’s intentions and goals - let’s do this.

On this week's episode, I reflect upon my year of grace. This is the last episode of 2019, therefore the last episode of the year of grace. Throughout this year, I've had the opportunity to ask some phenomenal people what grace means to them. Not only that, but I also got to hear responses from you sharing what you thought of when you heard my guests reflect upon what grace is.

All throughout it, I've been journaling and reflecting upon what grace means to me. Here are the 5 things; here are my answers and my reflections upon what grace is. I also share some fun stories from my life and some inspiring stories I've gathered from throughout this past year.

I hope you check it out! What lessons about grace have you learned this year? I love hearing from you via social media or email at tom@tomearl.com.

This episode is one of the most powerful stories of the year and listening to this incredible story is a great way for you to wrap up 2019. This week I talked with Orlando Deral Wilson, who shared his extraordinary story of experiencing homelessness and living in his car and his journey of how he created stability in his life as well as in his mind and in his heart.

He opens up about how he discovered that his experience of rejection had been influencing his decisions and how he was able to transform his reality through becoming vulnerable. We talked about the impact that being vulnerable can have on those around us, and how we can draw positive changes into our lives through opening our hearts.

Fueled by a passion to help others, Orlando began his fitness journey as a form of self-help after he found himself homeless. He had started going to the gym daily – originally only to shower – but slowly used exercise to overcome feelings of helplessness and convert them to feelings of empowerment. As he became stronger physically, he became stronger mentally and shared videos of his journey on social media and built a following of many who were inspired by his story.

Orlando discovered his love for cycling which made an enormous impact on him from both a mind and body perspective. Always focused on growth and knowledge, he quickly moved beyond student to pursuing his own certifications as a fitness trainer and cycling coach. This new career path clearly was Orlando’s calling and he become Certified Fitness Trainer and earned cycling certifications from Schwinn, Spinning / MadDogg and Stages.

Throughout Los Angeles, Orlando has emerged as one of the most sought-after Cycling coaches, Personal Trainers and Wellness experts. He has built a loyal following based on his ability to connect with students and help them achieve and exceed their potential both physically and mentally.

I recommend this episode to anyone who has experienced serious challenges who would like to learn how to grow through the challenge by looking within and harnessing the power of transformation. Please share this episode with any men who you think can benefit from being part of the conversation that I have with Orlando about vulnerability and opening up our hearts to create a positive change in our lives.

You can follow Orlando on Instagram @theorlandoderal.

In today's episode, I talk to Laura Ferretti, a seasoned fundraising professional and family advisor, with particular expertise in social change organizations. We talked about the business side of nonprofits and the tactical ways that non-profit owners can secure resources for their organizations. Laura provides a rare glimpse into the economics of fundraising, philanthropy and explains the role of the board and staff in fundraising. You won't want to miss this fascinating and deep dive into how to keep funds flowing through your non-profit organization. Bring your notepad because there are some key takeaways about different avenues of fundraising and possibly some information you didn't know.

Laura has worked with 60+ organizations locally, nationally and internationally; from start-ups to $30M annual operating budgets; and with missions ranging from poetry-based peacemaking to creating a strong, inclusive, shared society in Israel, healing the Santa Monica Bay and reforming criminal justice laws in California.

Laura's credentials include graduating from Smith College and she earned an MBA from UCLA; she’s also a Brittingham Fellow with USC’s Social Enterprise Lab and volunteer Co-Founder and Board Co-Chair of Los Angeles Advisors in Philanthropy with a commitment to seeing more money come into philanthropy through the intergenerational wealth transfer in support of social change leaders in LA.

In this week's episode, we begin the process of closing out this decade with grace. We do that by talking about how you can release blame, how you can regain control of your life through taking personal responsibility, and how you can release some of the disempowering superstitions that are holding you back - the superstitious thoughts may not be what you think!

Join me in this solo episode where I share some awesome stories that have led to my biggest breakthroughs this year.

On this week's episode, I talk to Jodi-Kay Edwards, the founder of Alignment Is The New Hustle, a business strategy and personal development brand helping entrepreneurs build wildly profitable businesses in a flow state. She is a firm believer that when your inner work meets your outer work you’re on your way to creating magic.

Jodi takes us on a deep dive into how she sees alignment and the key differences between alignment and hustling. We talked about some phrases that you may be using subconsciously that could actually be triggering shame around money. Jodi shares some tactical things you can do today to live a happier and more lucrative life, to live a journey that's transformative and take your business to the next level.

In this week’s episode, I host a special Q&A session with some of my awesome friends for an intimate and engaging opportunity. I allow my friends to ask any questions they like - including questions around politics, privilege in the coaching space, how to grow an audience as a musician, advice for creatives about how to get over the feeling of vulnerability when you’re putting out new work, how to decide which social media platforms to leverage if you have limited time and more.

What I love about Q&A sessions is that you are sure to find some clarity related to questions that you’ve also been wondering.

Q&A is my favorite form of content because instead of general advice, I can provide specific and nuanced feedback according to the asker’s concerns. I enjoy hearing the range of topics my friends are working on.

If any questions come up for you be sure to reach out on social media or email me at tom@tomearl.com.

Today I talk to Dr. Jenn Earl Foss, a passionate public school educator with a strong background in advocating for ALL students. Working in the field of education since 1995, Dr. Earl’s career spans across multiple states and school districts, but she has always served Title I communities.

Dr. Jenn Earl Foss is also my sister!

After completing her doctorate at Arizona State University, Jennifer began her adventure in California where she became the proud Principal of Herbert Hoover High School (HHS) in Glendale, California.

Under Dr. Earl’s leadership, HHS has received many accolades and special recognitions. Hoover High School was named a 2015 California Gold Ribbon School, including recognition for exemplary Arts program and Title I Academic Achieving High School. HHS has Silver recognitions from both U.S. News and World Reports and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Dr. Earl was named Secondary Principal of the Year in 2018 by Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and Mayor’s Commendation via the Character and Ethics Committee for her work with the Special Olympics in Glendale Unified School District (GUSD).

In her roles as coach, teacher, Student Council advisor, student advocate and administrator, Jenn has continuously maintained a growth mindset for herself and those she serves. She has been trained by Gender Spectrum to create gender-sensitive and inclusive school environments. Her strong belief in ALL students is evidenced in the many clubs and programs that have been developed under her leadership, such as UNICEF and “Sneaker Culture Club”. Dr. Earl’s students are taught to leave their legacy by creating programs and clubs that they feel fit their needs.

A lifetime learner and health fitness enthusiast, Jenn is currently working towards becoming a Pilates Instructor. She shares her passion with athletes at her school and has hopes of sharing with the community on a larger scale.

Jenn’s motto is to Choose Joy & Share Joy whenever possible.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode.

You can follow Dr. Jenn on Instagram @docjae.

Today I talk to Tania, who is a creative content maker, crafts tutor, and maker from the UK. She has been crafting almost all of her life and she produces creative content for magazines and craft manufacturers and teaches at independent stores, craft shows and for local charities.

This episode is for anyone who has been told that you can’t make money from your passion, especially for you artists and creatives who have bought into this idea or have been hiding your art.

Tania provides really great action steps, inspiration and mindset activities you can do to continue towards working your goal. She shares how she has fought against the resistance of things that keep her from her creativity, and she will inspire you with her story of how she’s been able to use a growth mindset, being grateful and being faithful to do what she loves for a living.

She is very passionate about sharing her love for craft and most days you will find her at home often covered in glitter glue or paint!

On this week’s episode, we talk about the importance of logistics and time management. As artists and entrepreneurs, we need to strengthen this skill set so that we can get our gifts out into the world smoothly and seamlessly.

We’ll be discussing how you can set yourself up for success with tips on developing a growth mindset and how having a handle on the logistics required for business and daily life will help to reduce stress and anxiety.

When we’re better organized we can work from a position of strength rather than from a reactive place.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

Known as “that funny therapist”, our guest this week, Mikah Miller is an experienced licensed professional counselor that has developed a creative approach to therapy. She has provided treatment to those struggling with depression, anxiety, behavior modification transition, and PTSD. Mikah has been able to inject humor into her sessions to help strengthen communication and her client’s commitment to change.

Mikah shares her journey with us, discussing entrepreneurship and how to adjust your mindset about failure. She talks about her experience within the school system, the improvements that could be made including the access to therapy. She also highlighted the importance of self-care and it’s role in aiding in the treatment of anxiety.

Catherine B. Roy is the CEO and Founder of LHM Academia and LHM Media. She is an internationally recognized Personal Growth and Business Coach, Bestselling Author, as well as a Human Potential Thought Leader.

Today she shares her inspiring journey with us. Catherine has faced a number of struggles with her health and lived through a civil war in the former Yugoslavia. She used the challenges that she overcame to inspire her bestselling book, “Live from Your Heart and Mind”, which made its debut on the bestseller list.

In addition to providing us with so much inspiration, she reveals her tips and tricks to growing your business and finding clients on LinkedIn.

Kyle Dendy, at 21 years old, is a speaker, entrepreneur, and author of The Purpose Playbook. He is wise beyond his years and has reached millions with his message of finding and following God’s purpose for your life. His educational platform The Academy of Purpose has helped countless people become all God created them to be.

Kyle discusses in this episode how he began speaking and the growth he’s experienced along the way. Kyle has spoken over 100 times and even recently spoke at a Sunday Service with Kanye. He talks with us about redefining failure, finding peace through God’s word and the role faith plays in the process of success. He gives tangible advice to those who are striving to find their purpose.

Today’s guest is Dr. Lydiana Garcia, who is a licensed psychologist in Los Angeles. She is also the Founder, and Owner of The Beyond Resilience Life. She is an expert in dealing with trauma in teens and young adults. As the host of her own Bilingual (English/ Spanish) podcast, The Beyond Resilience Life, she brings cutting edge information integrating, psychology, epigenetics, quantum physics, and biology in order to provide simple and effective skills to help heal, recover and transform your life after experiencing trauma.

Lydiana shared what brought her into this field. She tackled incredibly important topics such as trauma and how to heal. Trauma can have a profound impact on our lives and mindset. Often under-discussed is intergenerational trauma (such as the Holocaust) and how it impacts us, our families and communities still to this day. Lydiana provided guidance on how we can recognize this trauma, address it, and begin the process of healing.

Today’s guest is Kendra Reed of the "Kenny Hearts Life" brand. She’s an ambassador for happiness, self-care, and teaching others to "Heart" their life: all of which we talk about. We also talk about movement, blogging, and the courage it takes to break out of being ‘stuck’ (Kendra shares some personal experiences that she has with this).

Two and a half years ago, she started her journey of self discovery and happiness and has never looked back. In that time, she left a non-beneficial long term relationship, moved from her small hometown in Mississippi to Dallas, and began traveling for the first time, freelance writing, and learning to heal old mindsets.

Kendra’s goal is to empower others, especially women of color, to pursue inner peace, step away from toxic mindsets, and live a full and happy life.

Today, I talk to minister Rachel-Yvonne McIntosh, who encourages us to see all parts of our lives as opportunities. She shares with us her journey from singing six-year-old to the minister she is today. Along the way, we discuss faith, social media, and the relationship between money and religion.

Rachel-Yvonne is a minister, preacher, singer/songwriter, and coach for Women in Ministry.
She specializes in helping women in ministry build influence, community, and make more money while walking in their Divine Purpose. Her mission is to inform people that they are “brave, powerful and free.” She travels across the world sharing how to live a naturally supernatural life “on earth as it is in heaven,” and leads congregations of all sizes.

Ash Couture is an entrepreneur, business coach, instructor, founder of Rich Girl University, and owner of Pink Halo Hair Boutique. Pink Halo Hair provides premium virgin luxury lace wigs and hair extensions, while Rich Girl University is an online school with a mission to teach women how to make money and create a life they love.

On this week’s episode, Ash and I talk about overcoming adversity, turning your dreams into action, and Ash’s own journey as an entrepreneur, which started in her college dorm room.

Ash specializes in helping entrepreneurs map their dream life, create a six-figure business, market like a boss, build an authentic brand, and master the financial side of their business.

Sadiya Sassine takes over as host for this week’s episode to answer some of your questions from the past few months. We discuss what to do with your business ideas, what it means to be a good boss (and what to do if you don’t have one), as well as general questions surrounding relationships, discipline, and structure.

Jimanekia Eborn is a Queer Media Consultant, Comprehensive Sex Educator, and Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert. She is the host of Trauma Queen - a podcast mini-series for survivors of assault and our allies. The podcast focuses on uplifting voices in all communities and exploring our collective journey to healing.

Jimanekia has worked in mental health for the last 10 years, which is where she saw the need for sexual education and sexual trauma support. This has led to her passion for assisting and supporting those that are sexual assault survivors and those without access to comprehensive sex education. Her compassion and passion for these populations has pushed her to continue building safe spaces for clientele, sharing education, and supporting their mental spaces.

This week’s episode is a replay of a working session with creatives, entrepreneurs, side hustlers and folks from the non-profit community discussing strategies to maximize their success. We talked about using social media and Facebook ads to build a targeted audience, connecting with their supporters online, and sustaining an income while following their passion.

From starting a podcast to building a following on Instagram to publicizing your art using social media, this episode covers it all. I am so grateful to these participants for stepping into their vulnerability and passions in our conversation, and allowing me to share it with you.

This week I’m joined by Janna Hall, a Richmond, VA native and CEO of Leap Innovative Group, a digital marketing and brand development agency. Janna began her career in digital marketing when she relocated to New York City in 2011, working at agencies and large non-profits. In February 2016, Janna decided to bring her experience to her hometown by starting her own company to provide strategy development, execution, and copywriting services to local and national brands.

Janna’s passion for entrepreneurship inspired her to launch Funemployed, a brand, community and movement that provides resources to educate & connect dreamers who are monetizing their passion and working to do what they love full-time. With her platform, Janna mentors local youth while teaching them employable skills and plants seeds of entrepreneurship.

On this episode, we discuss her journey from what appeared to be “living her best life” in New York to actually having the courage to put her real dreams into action with her own company. We also talk about what it takes to get to the ultimate state of self-awareness to determine the kind of life you want to live, and how to take steps to achieve exactly that. Above all, Janna believes that success should be measured not by societal standards and pressure, but by our willingness to take the leap and cultivate the life of our wildest dreams.

On this week’s episode, we talk about creativity! Each and every single one of us are creatives, and we are continually expressing ourselves in unique and wonderful ways. We discuss the relationship between creativity and vulnerability, and how getting lost in the process of creating is often more important than the product. There are so many different ways to express your creativity aside from traditional “art”, from showing people how you love to setting up your spreadsheets.

The second half of this episode is a replay from a Live and Online: Expression Session. You will hear the poetry people created during the freewrite session using the prompt “We Are All Creatives”.

The world needs your gifts! How are you showing up creatively in your life?

This week, I am joined by Antoinette Chanel, a powerful storyteller, educator, and podcaster. With a unique background that includes over a decade of work in higher education, marketing, and public relations, Antoinette is can translate, map out, and put in motion tangible plans to help you and your organization reach its goals.

She is the founder of the podcast, the Midday Reset (@themiddayreset), which she created to offer something uplifting and relatable to people with mental illness, specifically anxiety. She is also an educator and public speaker and is currently developing a workshop series to empower dark-skinned women and girls to redefine beauty for themselves.

On this episode, Antoinette shares where she found confidence in herself, and how they has led her to empowering other dark-skinned women and girls through her latest children’s book, A Book for Black Girls and her upcoming workshop series. We also discuss some tangible advice both inside and outside of the doctor’s office for people facing anxiety and depression.

This week, I’m joined by Sarah “with an h” Ogdie, a social worker and lettering artist based out of downtown LA. She prides herself on being authentic, bold, interdependent, and deeply invested in modeling intersectional, queer, millennial, feminine leadership.

In January, Sarah left her job as Program Director (and former Interim Executive Director) of Community Tampa Bay after 8 years. Last year, she launched The Authentic Type as a way to get closer to one of her dreams of running a revolutionary woman-owned business, creating word-based art using typography and modern calligraphy to speak her values to the world.

Over the course of 14 years, Sarah served as a counselor, advisor and co-director during more than 30 residential sessions of the ANYTOWN® program. Over 5,000 youth have participated in dozens of interactive, school-based youth leadership conferences Sarah has led. She has previously been a certified 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens facilitator, a national Life Entrepreneurship trainer, and a Courageous Conversations about Race Affiliate Practitioner. She is also an avid meal prepper, a very slow runner, a book enthusiast, and an amateur video game player.

On this episode, Sarah talks about the relationship between affirmation, accountability, apologies, and allyship. We share stories of our own friendship, filled with lots of laughter and including the many (sometimes embarrassing) previous versions of ourselves we’ve experienced. Lastly, Sarah shares her story of going from a reluctant manager to someone who is passionate about removing barriers and helping others be their best, and how failure has led her to embrace being scared and doing things anyway.

On this week’s episode, I celebrate the 3 Year Anniversary of the Live and Online: Expression Session. To mark this milestone, I’m taking us back to the first ever Expression Session episode, featuring Wally B.

If you’re a regular listener, I’m guessing you’ve heard Wally and his nonprofit Heard Em Say mentioned many times. This is the interview I did with him back in July 2016.

Wally B. is an ordained minister, spoken word artist, and the Founder and Executive Director of the Heard Em Say Youth Arts Collective. “Heard ‘Em Say” was created in May 2007 to identify,
cultivate and empower youth in activism and advocacy through artistic education and
expression. His team has competed for years at Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival..

Hosting the Live and Online: Expression Session over these past 3 years has been such an amazing and wonderful journey. I am grateful to the many different artists, creatives, features, and people who have participated and created with me during each month’s Expression Session.

I hope you’ll be able to join us this Sunday and celebrate our 3 Year Anniversary. The Live and Online: Expression is this Sunday, July 28th from 12 PM - 2 PM PT.

This week, I’m joined by Matthew ‘Cuban’ Hernandez, a poet, speaker, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry.

Matthew is the author of 3032, and is currently fundraising to provide 3,032 copies of his book to incarcerated youth in the Greater Los Angeles area and beyond. A teaching artist for nearly ten years, Matthew has spent the last four years working in youth detention centers across LA County. He believes allowing young people to see themselves reflected in art will empower them with the knowledge that they also have a story to tell.

A powerful performer as well, he has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang and has performed for platforms like BuzzFeed and NPR. Matthew is also a three time Southern Fried poetry slam champion and an award-winning poetry coach. Cuban’s favorite activity is making people feel great, including through poetry.

On this episode, Matthew shares how he started writing poetry and what inspires his work, as well as what it’s like teaching poetry with young people and campaigning to get their art funded. We talk about the relationship between creativity and vulnerability, how to practice self-love from secondary trauma, and what it’s like to live as an empath. Enjoy our hugging, laughing, and “singing”, in addition to three of Matthew’s incredible poems.

This week, I’m joined by Farzana, a friend and colleague of mine who, at the time of the interview, was conducting a research project about driving in Los Angeles. This is a unique episode, because Farzana mainly interviews me about the topic at hand. We talk about liminality (or the in-between places), the stresses of and issues with transportation and infrastructure in L.A., and my own journey from not only Wisconsin to Los Angeles, but from relying on my car to giving it up entirely.

Farzana is a community-based researcher who is interested in social harmony and rupture, reactions to heterogeneity, discourses of mass panic, and conflict resolution. Her most recent project is an ethnography of Los Angeles drivers, and through this she is learning about the quirks that characterize the lives of Los Angeles residents, the ways in which their relationships with driving define how they interact with the world, and their responses to anomalies that they encounter on and off the road.

On this week’s episode, we explore ways through which we can celebrate failure. When we are taking risks, envisioning, creating change, and putting ourselves out there, creating a healthy relationship with failure is really important. When we try something new or strive to live our best life, we are inevitably setting ourselves up to experience moments where we stumble or fall short, and the mindset we have in those moments will influence how we move forward.

This week’s episode is a workshop that walks us through how we can create a healthy relationship with failure. Together, we break down what we have been taught failure means, and then create our own fresh definition.

Celebrate Failure is Day 5 of a 7-day workshop series that I have created.

If you’d like to participate in workshops like this one and receive the full 7-day series, you can become an Inner-Power Member.

To learn more, head to tomearl.me/innerpower.

Next week marks the 3-year anniversary of the Live and Online: Expression Session. Each month, we have been honored to have internationally recognized poets and spoken word artists join us as features.

To celebrate, this week’s episode is a compilation of poetry shared by some of our pasts features. I really enjoyed putting this episode together for you and reminiscing on the powerful poetry that our past contributors have shared.

If you are looking for your poetry and spoken word fix, this episode is for you.

The Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop that brings together writers, creatives, and poets from around the world. The experience culminates with a performance by a featured artist.

If you’re interested in connecting with a diverse community of writers, creatives, and poets, join us for our next session this Sunday, June 30th. Dates and details can be found at tomearl.com/events.

I am so excited to share this week’s episode with you! I had the honor of interviewing my good friend and phenomenal applied theater artist, educator storyteller, and writer, Ramy El-Etreby.

Ramy and I had a deep conversation on creativity, the power of storytelling, and the way narratives shape our perspectives. We also talked about Ramy’s solo play, THE RIDE, which is currently running at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

THE RIDE, which is written and performed by Ramy, is a tale about struggling to reconcile seemingly conflicting identities: Gay, Arab, and Muslim. After being outed publicly in the LA Times, Ramy’s world is turned upside down. THE RIDE takes Ramy down a dark hole where he loses touch with the most precious parts of himself.

Ramy’s writings have appeared online on PopSugar, Medium, The Huffington Post, Queerty, KCET, Love Inshallah, as well as in print in the anthology Salaam, Love: American Muslim Men on Love, Sex, and Intimacy and the forthcoming journal POC United: Graffiti to be published Fall 2019 by Aunt Lute Books.

To purchase tickets to Ramy’s THE RIDE, please visit https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5760

Today, our guest is Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, who works in film and entertainment as both a creative and a gamechanger in the world of representational diversity. We talk about whiteness and white supremacy, race and racism, forgiving ourselves and others, call-out culture, and the importance of emotional stamina.

This was a deep and vulnerable conversation where Fanshen and I dialogued and worked through important conversations. I really appreciate where we went with this interview

Fanshen is an award-winning playwright, actor, producer and educator, as well as Head of Strategic Outreach at Pearl Street Films. In this role, she advises Pearl Street’s owners, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, on taking specific steps towards inclusive representation in the entertainment industry. One of her first initiatives on the job was to co-author the Inclusion Rider, and she was recently named one of 12 ‘Hollywood Disruptors’ by The Wrap. She frequently performs her one-woman show, One Drop of Love, across the country.

She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cape Verde, West Africa, and has designed curricula for and taught English as a Second Language to students from all over the world.

This week, I talk to a guest from past times: writer Mitch del Monico! We talk about communicating, especially with people we disagree with. This is especially important in divisive times, in which disagreements can lead to relationship rupture. Mitch recently wrote a book addressing this phenomenon, called Politically Divided, which we also talk about.

You may recognize Mitch from a previous episode, when I interviewed him and co-creator Shaan Dasani about Agent of Change. He’s a writer who has also worked as a film and music video director and digital media assistant on a ship that sailed the Atlantic Ocean. His feature film, Alto, stars Annabella Sciorra, Natalie Knepp, and Diana DeGarmo.

Mitch has also written for HuffPo and has researched TV shows for the History Channel, Discovery, and the American Heroes Channel, among others, including nearly a hundred episodes of Modern Marvels. Mitch has spoken on panels at Comic-Con, Wonder-Con, the LA Film Festival, and CreatorUp! and has served as a juror for the Don Thompson LGBT Film Festival for the past three years in a row.

My guest this week is coach and facilitator Tasneem Noor. We talk about understanding and following your intuition, the difference between faith and religion, and Tasneem’s own experience publishing her book, The Faith Connector.

We also tackle the question of what authenticity actually is, and finally examine how a combination of authenticity and intuition can help you achieve your goals. Warning for earphone users: there’s a lot of laughing in this one.

Tasneem Farah Noor is the founder of Noor Enterprises: SOULful Transformations, which is committed to providing transformational experiences, personal development, and opportunities for meaningful dialogue.

Tasneem’s mission is to establish thriving, peaceful communities where conversations of faith build bridges of compassion and collaboration. Through coaching, trainings, and facilitation she helps people learn how to deepen their faith (and trust) in themselves, authentically express themselves, and take courageous action.

This week’s episode is a replay of a ‘Social Media for Entrepreneurs, Side Hustlers and Creatives’ Q&A session that I hosted a while back. It’s a great one for anybody interested in making an impact and income while doing what you love. Especially if you’re looking to use social media to build a brand, business and community.

A lot of awesome questions were asked that I bet you have too. They ranged from how to start a podcast, how to grow your audience on IG, how to run Facebook Ads, what to do if you don’t have a focus or know what you want your business to be, and lots of other awesome ones.

Q&A is my favorite form of content because rather than the given feedback being general advice, it is specific and nuanced according to the asker’s concerns. This session was no exception.

If any questions come up for you be sure to reach out on social media or email me tom@tomearl.com.

Would you like access to the Social Media Toolkit that I mention in this episode? Head to tomearl.me/toolkit.

This week’s episode, with special guest Nurjahan Boulden, is so important and powerful. Nurjahan was 21 years old when she was shot with an assault rifle in an attack that killed the man next to her. That one night changed the trajectory of her life. Even as she moved on to become a teacher and mother of three, PTSD and complications from the bullet wound continually threatened her future. 13 years later, she is now recognized as America’s leading coach for survivors of gun violence who are ready to Feel Safe Again™.

Nurjahan and I talked about perseverance (especially through fear), facing reality, navigating trauma, and reclaiming your voice. I was moved by Nurjahan’s honesty and openness as she shared her truth in this interview. Plus, we also talked about her love of dancing.

Nurjahan’s story has been featured in a number of publications, including Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. In addition to paving the way to recovery for survivors around the world, she hosts online support groups and community resilience workshops, and is partnering with mental health professionals to bring gun violence prevention and recovery programs to schools and organizations across America.

We’re joined today by the talented Ameerah Sanders, who spoke with me about her own struggle with depression, self-acceptance, and her journey to becoming a professional comedian.

I appreciate how Ameerah spoke openly and from the heart. While we did share a lot of laughs (especially since Ameerah is a hilarious comedian), we also took the conversation to some very deep and very real places. You’ll appreciate the insights and truths that Ameerah shares.

Ameerah Sanders is a standup comic, writer, and filmmaker based in Kansas City, MO. Her comedy comes from her post-9/11 Black Muslim background and her current post-college life. She hopes to connect with other people of color and serve as an example that the life of a Black woman is not inherently political. She's performed at the Hollywood and Kansas City Improv. She'll be at the Cream City comedy fest in Milwaukee, WI May 9-12th and Art of Female Comedy Fest June 12th-13th.

What?! It’s my Birthday! Each year, as a way to intentionally reflect, I share a special birthday edition of T.H.E. Celebration. This year has seen so many blessings come my way, and I am so grateful for them. Even those challenging days, when I lay awake at night worrying what my next move should be, brought opportunities for growth. Ultimately, 31 has been a great ride.

To jump into a 32nd year that is grounded in gratitude, I’ll be going through my birthday ritual with you, which is to share one self-love affirmation for each year that I’ve been alive. That means that today, there are 32 of them!

As I reflected upon this past year I realized that books and reading have been such a source of inspiration and grounding for me. One of the best ways to honor that aspect of my life is to connect it to my birthday celebration.

Which is why I’ll also be sharing 7 quotes from 7 different books that have shaped, guided, and impacted me this past year.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of the love, support, and affirmation you share with me. I am so grateful to be in community with you.

You’re the best. I hope you enjoy today’s birthday edition episode.

This week, my guest is the awesome facilitator Andrea Hodos. In Andrea’s own words, we talk about “Jewish things” – what Judaism means to her and how it came to inform her life. We talked about her specialty, which is creating meaning and building empathy by putting things (and people!) in relation to one another, and also about Passover (specifically, what it means to her and her family)!

Andrea Hodos is the director of Moving Torah, a method for using movement, writing, and theater to explore Jewish text and Jewish story. Through her work in Moving Torah, Andrea developed a Jewish/Muslim women's performance project called "Sinai & Sunna: Women Covering, Uncovering and Recovering." She is also the Program Co-Director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. Andrea and her husband, Aryeh Cohen, are among founding members of the Shtibl minyan, a DIY Jewish spiritual community in Los Angeles.

This week’s episode is a special compilation of poetry from the past Live and Online: Expression Sessions. It brings together the free writes that participants created and shared during our time together.

If you are looking for your poetry and spoken word fix, this episode is for you.

The Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop that brings together writers, creatives, and poets from around the world. The experience culminates with a performance by a featured artist.

If you’re interested in connecting with a diverse community of writers, creatives, and poets, join us for our next session. Dates and details can be found at tomearl.com/events.

On today’s show, I interview NBC’s talented Nadjah Nicole. We talk about inspiration and purpose (a usually interconnected duo) as well as the practice of staying true to yourself and your community.

Nadjah Nicole, a previous contender for NBC’s Emmy Award winning TV show The Voice, is a Delaware native. She was introduced to 10 million viewers during her 10 week run on the show, and is a talented singer and songwriter who has amassed an impressive resume.

Nadjah’s performance, which she believes is the standard serving of soul music, complements her soothing, soulful, and melodic vocal style.

Nadjah's focus is on making an impact in the music scene. Along with her band, she performs original music as well as classic favorites.

Today, I talk to educator Amreen Karmali about the power of education and founding The Real Talk Project. Amreen and I mostly discuss gender justice, allyship, intersectionality, and approaching difficulty with creativity and love. We also ponder ideas of shame and guilt and how they play into both approaching patriarchy and patriarchy itself.

Amreen Karmali has been an educator and organizer for over 15 years. She spent 10 years as a middle school science teacher and holds a Masters in Science Education from CSULA. She has also facilitated a Young Empowered Women's class and a Student Organizing class, which melded her passions for all things justice-oriented with her love for teaching.

This past year, Amreen left the traditional classroom to start The Real Talk Project, where she combines her understanding of contemporary schooling with critical lens to provide educators and community members with spaces where they can tackle ways in which patriarchy, white supremacy, and other forms of injustice manifest themselves in schools and relationships while working towards creating new ways of teaching and being together. She is also a founding member of The People’s Education Movement - Los Angeles, and is passionate about spreading health, healing, and joy to both her students and the community around her.

Today, my guest is Muslim-American sketch comedian Summer Adhal. Summer is interested in authentic stories and using comedy to relay them. We unpacked a whole load of topics during this episode, including the Muslim-American experience, being a woman on the comedy scene, hijab, and perhaps even Summer’s cat.

Since this coming Wednesday, March 27, is Muslim Women’s Day, this is particularly timely episode. Summer is a good friend of mine, and it was a pleasure to chat with her about these important and bottomless topics.

This week, I’m joined by poet-entrepreneur Lady K. We talk about one of Lady K’s passions, ART, and its ability to act as self-care, activism, and expression.

Lady K is a fourth year student at the University of Florida double majoring in African American Studies and Political Science, with a specialized tract in International Relations and a minor in Arabic. Upon graduation, she will attend law school. On campus, she is active with her school’s competitive policy debate team.

Lady K is a published author, national award winning writer, public speaker, and civil rights activist. By combining her passion for words and policy, Lady K continues to seek solutions to bring about a sustainable peace domestically and abroad.

This week’s episode is a live Q&A session from my Inner-Power Group Coaching session. I really believe there is a ton of value in this one, and a lot of questions you may have are likely to be answered.

We cover:
The best way to start a podcast
How to grow your audience as a musician
How to create products that sell
Efficient ways to create content
Ways to connect with new clients

If you are passionate about learning how to grow your side hustle, business, or creative project, I highly recommend this week’s episode.

My guest this week is double-duty social worker and fitness guru Sumiyah S. Mshaka. Sumiyah and I talk about a bunch of complex social phenomenon including trauma, experiential change, and social work.

Sumiyah is a LCSW and group fitness instructor who comes from a family with a legacy of social justice. After graduating from the UCLA MSW program in June 2004, Sumiyah began her extensive career in social justice advocacy, youth development and mental health treatment of adolescents in foster care and juvenile justice. This has included serving most recently in a mezzo social work position in the new DMH Division, Continuum of Care Reform, Interagency Placement Committee (IPC) program.

Sumiyah is active in her community, serving on the Governance Board of CAIR-LA and volunteering with L.A. AIDSWalk, Islah L.A. and Islamic Relief’s Disaster Response Team. For the past five and a half years, Sumiyah has taught Group Fitness classes at 24 Hour Fitness.

On this week’s episode of THE Celebration, I interview Minister Kat the founder of KittyRose Lyfestyle.

Minister Kat and I discussed the power of prayer in our day to day activities, its manifestation and how taking a leap of faith can help us break new ground and boundaries. She believes that the practice of self love and trust will ultimately propel us to follow our dreams.

She left the corporate world in 2003 and went on to create the weekly show “Natural Sessions”, viewed in over 4.7 million homes. Her first boutique was opened in 2010 in Harlem and another in West Village, New York. Other projects include producing The Mary J. Blige Center for Women.

Kat is from Brooklyn and her mission is to teach and heal from all experience, and to embrace acceptance. She teaches Self Esteem and Social Media Workshops to pre-teen girls and adults.

This week, we are joined by Los Angeles community leader Umar A. Hakim. We draw on Umar’s expertise and experience to discuss self-awareness, leadership, and transforming a charitable cause into advocacy and action – especially in non-profit and activist circles.

A native of the city of Compton, Umar is the Executive Director of the ILM (Intellect, Love, Mercy) Foundation and holds degrees in both business management and ethical leadership. Umar draws on the key principle of Facilitative Leadership to coordinate ILM’s programming, which includes Humanitarian Day, Go Beyond the G.A.M.E, and Community Accountability Labs. With a focus on using design thinking for developing new social systems and encouraging next steps for leaders in need of clarity in an age of being relevant, Umar founded INKERIJ in 2012.

Umar is an active alum with American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, contributes to civic-social organizations including NewGround: Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change and California/LA Voice PICO network, and is an active community organizer in the City of Los Angeles.

On this week’s episode, I interview spoken word artist Abstract C.I.M.

Abstract and I tackle self-love and self-respect as the key to fulfillment and happiness. We also talk about the importance of knowing yourself and being self-reflective, and how Abstract incorporates it into her poetry.

Abstract C.I.M is a spoken word artist and speaker. She has won and placed in several poetry slams and competitions across the country, and has toured and performed with artists such as Def Jam Poet Red Storm and Tyrese Gibson. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a Creative Writing Concentration and a minor in Theatre at Georgia State University.

A native of Augusta, GA, Abstract is thriving and advancing towards her goal of running an all-inclusive creative and corporate writing business in her newfound home of Atlanta while touring the world to spread her messages of love and self-worth.

I hope you enjoy this deep and inspiring episode!

On this week’s episode I interview activist, facilitator, and my good friend, Lloyd Wilkey. I have had the honour of working with Lloyd over the past 6 years. Lloyd has had a huge influence on the way I view dialogue, facilitation, youth development, and conflict mediation.

During our interview, Lloyd shared his experience of being both a Black Lives Matter activist and at the same time training and working with police officers. Lloyd is an advocate of what he has coined “Mindful Policing”. His work is centred on social justice, dialogue, equity and inclusion.

In celebration of Black History Month, Lloyd also graciously and beautifully shares his singing talents with us. Lloyd is the co-founder of Diverse City Consulting and LA Riot Boxing.

On this week’s episode, I interview Los Angeles based Arielle Miller Cohen - registered Yoga Teacher, Lifestyle Coach, blogger and writer.

Arielle and I talk about the importance of personal accountability, internal motivation, and cultivating a growth mindset. We also discussed how to break free from limiting beliefs and live your truth. As a health and wellness enthusiast, she believes strongly that people’s lives can be changed positively through intentional movement.

Popularly known as “The Girl with the Purple Hair’’, her no holds barred approach to living life and accepting challenges has inspired many to intentional conscious living Through her yoga classes and writing, Arielle seeks to bring people and community together, and help them experience holistic fitness from the inside out.

Arielle also works as a public school teacher and has a Master’s Degree in Leadership.

Tira Yasmine is a poet, author, life coach, jewelry designer and entrepreneur. In this week’s interview she shares how her grateful attitude has helped create what she calls her “recipe for magic”.

Part of Tira’s magic recipe is being a firm believer in God, which has resulted in inner power and peace. This power and peace has propelled her into being an ardent change agent. She uses her art and writing to create holistic change, a reflection of her belief that gentleness can also create effective change.

Check out this engaging episode on Tira’s recipe for living your best life.

On this week’s episode I interview author, poet and activist Shelby Birch from her Peace Corp assignment in South Africa.

Shelby shares some of the highlights and surprises of her service. She also reflects on her activism, and how overcoming challenges, has helped shape her worldview and aided her in becoming her best self.

Shelby brazenly tells her story through her writing, and her strong belief in wisdom, artistic freedom, and expressionism shines through. Her most recent published book, ‘Lit’ is a powerful illustration of how she uses poetry as a mirror to examine issues on womanhood, blackness, awkwardness, and heartbreak.

I wanted to start 2019 with a unique episode, and that’s exactly what we’ve got for you here. You were all given a chance to submit questions at the end of 2018. I didn’t get a chance to read these questions before Adaora Nwandu posed them to me in our interview.

We had a great time doing this episode, as no one holds me more accountable than Adaora, and she’s hilarious as she does it. You get to hear about our own plans for the future, as well as some of the ways we’ve responded to the highs and lows of 2018, and how I don’t let likes on social media run my days either.

There will definitely be more chances to submit questions in the future, but in the meantime enjoy our stories from our life experiences these past months and years.

During the interview, I mentioned an inspiring post by @Advil and promised to link his profile for you. Here it is!

https://twitter.com/Advil/status/1075088494048014337

This is the last day of my year of courage. Over the last 12 awesome months, I’ve shared thoughts on courage from my various interviewees, culminating the last two weeks with discussions that were purely about courage.

With the wonderful insights we received, we move into 2019 brimming with courage - to fulfill our own hopes and dreams. To be courageous leaders for ourselves and our communities.

When it comes to making our way, there is a bridge that connects the extremes within us. Walking that bridge and finding the balance is leadership.

Here are 4 bridges that I have focused on in this year of Courage.

Reflection and Decisions
Short Game and Long Game
Discipline and Go With the Flow
Reps and Rest

As we cross from 2018 and 2019, I wish you a year bridging those parts within you as you move forward in Courageous leadership.

Welcome to Part 2 of the Courage Talks. If you experienced last week’s episode and many of my previous work this year, you’ll know that this is my Year of Courage.

I have tried to explore the definition of courage beyond just heroic and dangerous acts of valor. While this is certainly courage, I also wanted to highlight what courage looks like in our everyday lives.

This year I have been asking guests about their own personal experiences of courage. Many of these interviews happened after a fun and leisurely visit or dinner at my house, so the sample of guests is pretty wide-ranging.

In this second part of the Courage talks, you’ll hear the thoughts of people from different backgrounds, professions, and perspectives dive deep into who their courage role models are, what courage looks like, and how you can become more courageous.

Even after talking about courage, every week, for the past year, I still found so many gems listening back to these interviews.

I hope you enjoy this concluding part of the Courage Talks!

Featuring:

Sadiya Sassine
FB: Sadiya Sassine

Rasha Goel
IG: @rashagoel

Adam: Adam Blake
IG: @adamblakeactor

Na'ilah Mu'ied
IG: @poeticnubia

Tress Glenn:
IG: @TressGlenn

Anna Sambrooks
IG: @anna_sambrooks

Rayesa Gheewala
IG: @rayesagheewala

Ione Butler
IG: @ionebutler

If you regularly tune into my work, you’ll have heard me say many times that this is my Year of Courage.

We often associate courage with heroic and dangerous acts of valor alone, such as saving someone from a burning building or putting yourself in harm's way. While this is certainly courage, I also wanted to highlight what courage looks like in our everyday lives.

Throughout this year I have asked my guests what courage looks like in their life. At the same time, during 2018, I have been asking friends these same questions. During a dinner party, or while people were over at my house, I’d invite them to step into my studio, where I would walk them through the same set of questions around courage.

During this two part episode, you get to hear their responses. Ranging from diverse backgrounds, professions, and perspectives, the participants of this episode dive deep into who their courage role models are, what courage looks like, and how you can become more courageous.

I am so excited to share this year long process and journey with all of you in this double episode. I hope you enjoy part 1 of Courage Talks!

Featuring:

Sadiya Sassine
FB: Sadiya Sassine

Rasha Goel
IG: @rashagoel

Adam: Adam Blake
IG: @adamblakeactor

Na'ilah Mu'ied
IG: @poeticnubia

Tress Glenn:
IG: @TressGlenn

Anna Sambrooks
IG: @anna_sambrooks

Rayesa Gheewala
IG: @rayesagheewala

Ione Butler
IG: @ionebutler

Slam's life quote is "Sometimes a Nightmare Can Lead to a Dream".  In this week’s interview Slam shares how the quote, as well as writing and poetry, have motivated and helped Slam in life. It has also led her to her dream; working with kids in the foster care system and helping people all over.

Florida native Slam Anderson was born the fourth of five children raised by a single mother. Slam spent the important adolescent years in Foster Care, and knew from an early age she’d have to forge her own path. So regardless of these early challenges, she still gained admission to the University of South Florida, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Creative Writing and is now working on her Master in Social Work.

Slam is a strong advocate of ‘Youth’ social welfare, and works in the community to promote literacy, self-empowerment, awareness, domestic violence, social justice and most importantly LOVE for ourselves and for others.

Check out this powerful and moving episode.

What is your definition of success? How has your definition consciously or subconsciously been influencing your decisions? For many of us, success has been defined for us by our parents, our society, and our culture. Without realizing it, we have been consciously or subconsciously striving to achieve a bar of success we may not even believe in anymore.

Let’s end 2018 intentionally by determining for ourselves, fully aware, what success means. While achievement is heavily stressed in our culture, often reflecting upon what creates fulfillment and true happiness is left behind.

This week’s experiential episode will engage you in creating a holistic perspective of success. After listening to this workshop, you will be empowered to attain a realistic, accurate and updated vision of how you want to measure the life you’re living.

Empathy, communication, and providing value are the cornerstones of a successful business. In this week’s episode, I share with you an empowering tool you can use to create content, and copy language to connect with your audience.

Rather than trying to guess what your customers, audience, or community wants to hear, why not use their own words? That’s what is at the heart of the 3 Star Review marketing tool. It provides you with a template you can use to both articulate what stands out about your product, service or project, while at the same time, addressing any objections or concerns people may have.

If you ever find yourself struggling to write compelling sales copy, grants, marketing materials, or how to market yourself, this is the episode for you!

Having a vision for your life is a powerful motivator. Have you intentionally taken the time to reflect upon the standards you hold yourself to? This week’s episode is an interactive workshop that walks you through the process of creating ideals and mottos you want to live by.

For example, a few of the Ideals to Live By that I created for myself are:

Courage Over Fear.
Creativity Over Regurgitation
Consistency Over Perfection

Throughout 2018, these have been the mottos that have guided my life. As we get ready to close out this year, I wanted us to take a chance to reflect upon these past 12 months. That way we are ready to jump into 2019 with purpose and clarity.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

On this week’s episode of THE Celebration, I interview Mary Vin Rose from the Cable TV series ‘Healthy Living in the Bronx.’

Mary advocates for self-love and mental health, and she uses her platform to highlight people and organisations assisting people in the Bronx to live their healthiest lives.

During our time Mary shared on how to be courageous and follow your dreams despite fear. It is so clear how much she loves her community, and ecstatically describes how the Bronx is a friendly place that is aspiring to become healthier. Mary passionately believes people should invest in the Bronx and its residents.

Listen joyfully to her stories in this inspiring and empowering session.

In this week’s episode we interview entrepreneur and author Isaiah Swift.

His book “Unlock Your Greatness” 8 Ways to be Successful in High School and Beyond teaches students how they better prepare for the real world after they graduate, and provides them with valuable insight as to how they can find volunteer, internship and scholarship opportunities in their community.

A Virginia native, Isaiah was awarded a full academic scholarship to attend Norfolk State University and study Business Finance. He is also brand ambassador for clothing design company Fresh Prints.

During our uplifting session, Isaiah shared the inspiration behind his book, his journey to being courageous, the people he looked up to along the way and always making sure our work ethic matches our vision.

Check it out!

This week on THE Celebration, we interview Goddess Adina, whose mission is ‘to hold a space so sacred that all that enter it find themselves busting self wide open to see a whole new array of possibilities’.

Goddess Adina is an Author, Performance Artist, Yoga Therapist and Healer. She was generous enough to share her thoughts on the difference between faith and religion, change being your only constant, and owning your power. Goddess Adina strongly believes this is the year and season of owning your voice, truth, fears and insecurities; time to take all of that in, and stamp on it.

Check out this vulnerable, open, self-reflective, baring-it-all kind of episode.

On this week’s episode we welcome Asiya and Jameela, aka the epic hosts of the Sugarcoat Free Podcast. These black Muslim millenial women navigate topics like mental health, pop culture, love and religion while spreading inspiration and really bad jokes.

During the interview we explored self-care, being Muslim, loving ourselves, as well as being courageous, open and true. They dropped wisdom you can write down and immediately apply to your life to improve it and bring more perspective.

We bring this week’s episode from India - where we have the pleasure of interviewing Indian born, Florida based queer activist/poet/scholar Sam(ira) Obeid. Sam’s work has sent her to the heights of the national slam poetry competitions at Women of the World Poetry Slam and Southern Fried, as well as other national venues.

In this week’s episode she tells us about her journey back to India, and we breakdown concepts like intersectionality, the binary, what the spectrum looks like, activism, women who raise us, the power of women as leaders and teachers, as well as the end of Sam’s story of courage. She also shares 2 awe-inspiring poems with us.

Check it out!

Social Enterprise maverick Christy Innouvong co-founded Thailand based non-profit Courageous Kitchen - which empowers refugees with food education. In this week’s episode we talked about Christy’s journey to Bangkok, discovering her roots, learning more about her family history and the way Courageous Kitchen has transformed lives.

Christy’s work and recipes have been featured by Bangkok 101 Magazine, Travel + Leisure Asia, Worldfoods, and Buzzfeed, as well as ongoing collaborations with nationally recognized Chefs and Social Media Influencers. Christy considers herself a global citizen, and she is passionate about seeing and saving the world.

Follow Courageous Kitchen on their website and facebook

Poet and editor Alex Sullivan is studying the ways religion and and culture interact, with a focus on postcolonial and diaspora studies. So it was no surprise when our conversation this week went into the areas of interfaith work, and big vocabulary words like intersectionality.

This is also Alex’s birthday week so we couldn’t resist talking about cool magic spells, and some really terrifying things like reading poetry OUT LOUD.

Alex has her BA in both Religious Studies and Social Science, and is currently doing her Masters at NYU’s Center for Experimental Humanities. She edits for GSAS literary journal Caustic Frolic and believes there’s beauty in everything and she is always looking for it.

Check out this week’s beauty-full episode.

This week’s guest on T.H.E Celebration is Isoke Luqman, founder and CEO of Gardens For Life. Her company is an Atlanta based organic, pesticide-free vegetable garden service that aims to create equitable and sustainable food networks in the city.

Isoke is a Racial Equity Fellow of Partnership for Southern Equity, a non-profit that advances racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the American South. The depth of the work she’s done allowed us to dive into discussions on environmental justice and the nuances involved with gentrification and environmental racism. We also talked about religion, race and the ways Gardens for Life has powerfully been using equity to create a more just society.

Isoke is a Geoscience graduate from Georgia State University, and her passion about the unique relationships people have with their environments really shines through.

You can follow Isoke on Instagram.

Check it out!

This week’s guest is our Expression Session feature - poet, actor and womanist Jessica Raquel.

Jessica is a proud 2018 Florida A & M (FAMU) graduate. She is passionate about genuinely telling the narratives of Black Women through acting and poetry and has performed in venues across the world - most recently at Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

During our time together Jessica shared about womanism, her wonderful experiences at her HBCU, the groundbreaking work they did in Edinburgh, and having courage and purpose with the work we create.

Jessica also performed 3 inspiring poems during our interview - they will especially appeal to our lyricist followers.

And we’re excited to hear even more from her when she features at Sunday’s Expression Session.

Her new album “Sample” is available on soundcloud

You can also follow Jessica on Instagram.

Our guest this week is trailblazer and representation activist Michón Neal. In Michón’s own words ze is “ an autistic BlaQueer impossible alien Othergender Dragon what tattoos trees with the queerest most sinister ink and hurts all over, all the time.”

Michón shared on a wide range of personal topics with me; we talked about hir projects in the Metanoiac portal, Cuil Press and the importance of media representation, as well as the imagination and how it ties into trauma.

Michón is a Public Speaker and Accountability Counselor at Postmodern Woman, Sensitivity Editor and Founder at Cuil Press, and Trauma-informed Domme, Builder of Communities of Care and Educator at The Metanoiac Portal.

You can follow Michón via hir website or listen to hir podcast.

In this week’s episode, I interview workplace drama researcher, international leadership speaker and consultant Cy Wakeman. Cy’s philosophy is grounded in reality, and she’s helped organizations and individuals all over the world learn to ditch the drama and turn excuses into results.

We talked about how you can bypass your own ego and really see your privilege. We also discussed going beyond the Kumbaya part of diversity and inclusion, and really getting the heart of the things that matter. I love how Cy brings together deep research and authentic experience to create steps, resources and tools you can use to remove the drama from your life and be an authentic leader.

Perhaps this is why Cy Wakeman was named one of the Top 30 Global Leadership Gurus in the world, and she is also a New York Times best selling author.

On this week’s episode I interview actress, comedienne and my good friend Travina Springer. Travina is hilarious, so we spent most of the interview cracking up. But that didn’t keep us from really exploring our inner lives - in between my learning how to say the word comedienne, we talked about loving yourself, our creator, and Travina's 'love' of being single.

I am a huge fan of the way Travina authentically uses social media to story tell. She shared her insights and reflections on how she is able to show glimpses of her life on social without letting it become overwhelming.

She also shared her origin story of becoming an actress and comedienne.

Travina’s stand up is featured on the reboot of BET's Comic View, while her recent acting roles include Life in Pieces, Unfair & Ugly, and Booty Candy.

If you like your interviews to have both heart and humor, you'll enjoy this episode a lot - check it out.

Dennis Amadeus is a writer, educator, performance artist and community organizer. With his passion to teach and inspire young people, Dennis has travelled across the nation performing and conducting art-based workshops.

Led by his activism, Dennis has also organised community fundraisers and book drives to support many causes, including sending 1000 Books to Swaziland, Africa to build a community library.

In this episode we talked about about feminism, activism and growth, and Dennis told the story of how he connected with his purpose and Faith. Dennis also performed two new poems and the title track from his new poetry album ‘Waiting on the Bus’ - which is out now.

Listen with faith and purpose to Dennis’ latest feature performance in THE Celebration.

You can also follow Dennis on Instagram and Facebook.

Cielo Oscuro aka Kiki from Kiki and the Mxfits is a non binary trans femme based in South Central Los Angeles.

Cielo’s focus on style means that she’s been able to shine a spotlight on QTPOC from different social and economic backgrounds, and created a more inclusive space in mainstream fashion.

Cielo’s short film about being Trans in High School - Kiki and the MXfits - went viral, and re-ignited some much needed conversations about making High School safe for Trans youth.

In this week’s episode, we talk about her own experiences as a Latinx Trans youth, fashion, creativity, representation and the importance of QTPOC being visible in society.

You can follow Cielo on Instagram and also help with their transition here too.

Check it out!

Koi Core is a Woman of Color and a dedicated Yogini, who absolutely believes that representation in Yoga matters

In this week’s episode we have a deep and spiritual conversation about yoga, connectivity, community, misconceptions and being your better self.

Settle into a comfortable position of strength as you enjoy this week’s episode of THE Celebration.

In this week’s episode I interview Brittany Chung, the CEO and Founder of the nonprofit Elevation Society. Elevation Society works to unite humans to solve issues like bullying, depression and suicide, through showing every individual their life is worth living.

During my interview with Brittany I learned that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people between the ages 15-24. I always knew that talking about bullying and suicide was important, but this really emphasized for me the urgency of this conversation. Elevation Society has also helped girls who were saved from sex trafficking, elderly, homeless, children in hospitals, domestic violence victims, orphans, children and adults with special needs, and so many more.

Dive into this important and inspiring conversation with Brittany Chung, for another formidable episode.

In this week’s episode I interview Syrian American author and poet Dania Alkhouli. Dania is also the feature for this Sunday’s Live and Online Expression Session.

Dania’s second book “Oceans and Flames” was published last year and paints moving images of being a survivor of Domestic Abuse. Dania tapped into her resilience and overcame the violence, and now she speaks out on the significance of empowering women and men to break the cycle.

In this episode, Dania shares 3 powerful poems from her book and talks about the Non Profit and traveling exhibition she founded with her mother - ‘A Country Called Syria’. The non profit showcases the history and rich culture of her country, and helps local communities connect with its rich heritage and resilient people.

In this week’s episode I interview Nikka Karli - Soul Medicine Woman, Oracle of Truth and Freedom Catalyst.

Nikka has over 20 years of experience in yoga, fitness, creativity and leadership. She helps women on the precipice of greatness become exquisitely untamed, awaken their sensuality, and manifest their soul’s desires. That’s why she is the go-to mentor for those who are ready to set the world on fire through the unapologetic expression of their soul

Nikka brought that same fire to our session - we talked about sex, God, Soul Medicine, dropping into your body and tapping into your art and expression.

Refresh your spirit with this transformational interview.

On this week’s episode I interview Elle Barnett - Speaker, Creative Media Expert and founder of Elle Train Media.

Elle is known for successful campaigning and producing awesome projects for developing businesses. As a social media expert, Elle shared lots of great free tips on media management and optimizing social needs such as things to watch for on Instagram, how to grow your audience, and become an All Star member on LinkedIn.

We also had the chance to dig even deeper, and discussed how to make real connections and build relationships in the in person social space too.

Indulge yourself in an open, honest and vulnerable interview.

On this week’s episode, I Interview Emelda De Coteau, founder and CEO of Pray With Our Feet (Formerly Live In Color). Emelda’s focus is on empowering women in three core areas: faith, activism and inspiration.

I've had the honor of getting to know Emelda over these past months and I have to say, she is one of the most authentic and inspiring people I’ve met in 2018. I am very excited to share this deep conversation we had together.

Emelda spoke on the intersections of faith and activism, the importance of creating affirming spaces for Women of Color, and she offered insights into being a CEO.

And that is just the start of what we covered. I know you will love this episode my friends! Enjoy!

On this week’s episode, I celebrate the 2 Year Anniversary of the Live and Online: Expression Session. What better way to mark this milestone than to bring back my first poetry guest, Walter “Wally B.” Jennings.

To make this even more epic, Wally brought the 2018 Heard Em Say Poetry Slam Team to join us. The interview I share with Wally and the Heard Em Say Team is powerful, relevant, and necessary.

We spoke on how poetry transforms, the power of youth voice, and the team shared with us 3 poems - including one team piece!

You are going to really appreciate this one my friends! Enjoy!

Show notes: tomearl.com/heardemsay.

EID Mubarak my friends! Today marks the end of the sacred month of Ramadan. As millions of people around the world celebrate this special day, I’d like to invite you to consider:

“What are you courageously celebrating in your life?"

This week’s episode is a relaxed and intimate conversation between Adaora and I on that very subject. Through our poetry, thoughts, and reflections we explore what courageous celebration looks like in our lives.

This is part writing workshop and part heart to heart discussion. I know you will love this unique and inspiring episode.

Enjoy!

On this week’s episode, I sit down with fashionista, Muslim Journalist, and my good friend Intisar Seraaj.

I LOVE spending time with Intisar! We always have such rich conversations filled with both deep topics and hilarious side notes.

This week’s episode is exactly that! Two friends coming together to talk about about Ramadan, courage, self-love, being kind to yourself, our love for Lupita Nyong'o, friendships & relationships, and speaking up for yourself.

This is Intisar’s Year of Kindness and it is my Year of Courage. We discussed how we decided upon our intention and the lessons have learned so far.

Pull up a seat to this laid back, engaging and real conversation between two good friends!

Show Notes: tomearl.com/intisar

On this week’s episode, Sahar Pirzada and I have a courageous conversation on sex, rape culture, and feminism.

Sahar is currently the Programs & Outreach Manager for HEART.

HEART is a a Muslim-led organization that promotes sexual health and sexual violence awareness in Muslim communities through health education, advocacy, research and training.

Both Sahar and I talked about our journey and how we came to learn about intersectional feminism and sex education. This is truly an important, inspiring, and empowering conversation. Both of us shared some vulnerable and honest truths.

Plus, you get a bonus, behind the scenes listen into what we talked about after the ‘official interview.’

Show notes and links: tomearl.com/sahar.

Art, Culture, and Dopeness. That’s this week’s episode with visual artist Marium Rana.

Oh, and we talked about Black Panther, AFI, Ramadan and fasting, racism, the impact of art, creativity and courage, being yourself, and tons and tons of brilliant quotes from Marium.

We laughed A BUNCH and we even talked about the bald eagle American pride tattoo that I have.

Here’s just a snapshot of Marium’s awesome life:

Marium Rana is an American-born Pakistani visual artist, who works primarily in ink and aqueous media. She has curated numerous art exhibitions throughout the United States. She served as the design chair for TEDxFSU.

Be sure to do your patriotic duty and listen to this weeks’ FIRE episode with Marium Rana (say that last part super loud and like a MC bringing someone to the stage).

Show notes: tomearl.com/marium.

This week marks the beginning of Ramadan. For those observing, it is 30 days of fasting, reflection, prayer, and community.

There are many spiritual and health benefits to fasting. But sustaining from food and water aren't the only ways to fast.
On this episode, I invite you to consider joining me in fasting from these five things:
1. Comparison
2. Control
3. Social Media
4. Self-Doubt
5. Over-Achieving

For each of these, just picking 1 day a week or a month to fast, can have a positive impact on our lives. Consider it :).

Plus learn about the reasons why, tips for getting started, and enjoy some fun stories I share.

I honestly had such a FUN time on this week’s episode. If there was a laughter barometer, we would have broke it!

I sat down with the filmmakers Shaan Dasani and Mikki del Monico to talk about their new project Agent of Change.

Agent of Change is about a secret agent who is on a mission to save the future of food, and as a transgender man, save humanity: one gender stereotype at a time!

Plus we took a deep dive into:

Masculinity
Transgender representation in the media
Courage
Living your truth

Shaan and Mikki have a crowd funding campaign going to support their film. It would mean the world to me, and them, if you took a moment to check it out.

Enjoy this weeks episode!

Show notes: tomearl.com/agentofchange

I am so excited to share this interview with Dj Ace Vedo. Prepare yourself to be inspired and to enjoy yourself!

Dj Ace Vedo is a Pro Dj Hailing from the boogie down Bronx, NY. Nominated as one of “Tampa Bay’s best Club Dj’s” in 2015 & 2016, Dj Ace Vedo has cultivated an eclectic sound that gets any crowd moving.

It was a pleasure getting to learn the origin story of how Ace Vedo become Dj Ace Vedo. I really got to know a whole new side of someone I’ve been a long time fan of.

Plus we had an in depth conversation on:

Confidence and courage
Self-awareness
Discovering your passion
Hilarious stories of Djing
Tips, tools, and insights into Djing

I know I saw this often, but trust me, this was by far one of the most inspiring interviews I’ve ever done. I’ve already listened to this twice!

Tracy Durrant is a Creative Entrepreneur, Business & Lifestyle Coach based in London. She is passionate about supporting women growing profitable businesses that are aligned with their gifts.

On this interview, she shares her Journey from selling homemade badges at the age of 5 - to launching a lingerie brand in London and Paris - to building a successful coaching business.

We also talked about:

How she built her coaching business.
Many inspiring stories about women entrepreneurship.
Spirituality and sustaining your vision.
The role of creativity in business and life.
The power of Courage.

I did not want this interview to end! I was soaking up the captivating stories, resources, and knowledge that Tracy shared. The gifts and gems that she offers in this episode are ones you will not want to miss!

I am really excited to share this one with you. This week’s episode is unique and explores a new format. I sit down with intersectional inclusion expert, artist and digital nomad Claudia Alick.

Rather than an interview, Claudia and I had a back and forth conversation. Both of us asked each other questions and explored the answers together.

During our dialogue, we covered topics such as:

Claudia's Listening Tour
Leadership
Inclusion and Accessibility
Intersectionality
How we both got into the work we are in.

It was really fun exploring this format. Both Claudia and I had some real ‘aha moments’ during this one.

You will love this unique and exciting episode.

Show notes: tomearl.com/claudia

This week’s episode is pure magic and power.

I interview spoken word artist and community advocate Destinny Fletcher. Destinny’s mission is to engage the community through womanhood, self-awareness, and body positivity.

Destinny spits 3 dope poems during this interview and shares the origin story behind her mantra, "To Be Black Queens By Any Means.”

Plus we talked about:

What inspires you to be you.
What self-care and self-love looks like.
How to gain self-awareness.
How to have badass confidence.

Destinny is one of my favorite poets and SHE IS FROM MY HOMETOWN OF MILWAUKEE, WI. What more could you ask for from an episode?

Show notes: Tomearl.com

This week’s episode is an inspiring interview with LadynPink’s CEO and Founder, Milan Crump.

LadynPink (IG: @ladynpink_) is a lifestyle brand dedicated to empowering the modern “lady.” This brand was created to uplift women and compel them to feel like LADIES: classy, confident and powerful.

Milan shared with us the origin story of what lead to her founding of LadynPink. She talked about what it takes to run a successful lifestyle brand.

We also covered topics such as:

Women’s Empowerment
What it means to be a LadynPink
Why it’s important to love yourself
Self-discipline
Self-care
Time Management

I truly had a great time interviewing Milan! I know you will find this episode enriching and empowering.

This week’s episode is an epic interview with Jewels Rhode. Jewels is a Public Health Professional, World Adventurer, and the founder of TravelJewels.

Since 2010, Jewels has traveled to 28 countries, all while being a student or working full-time.

Her company, TravelJewels, showcases the amazing things and people you can see and meet the world over through travel.

In addition to the amazing stories Jewels shares, we also talk about:

How to make travel work for you and your budget.
What it is like to travel as a Black Women.
Travel disasters and the lessons Jewels learned from them.
Being intentional and being true to ourselves.

Full show notes and links can be found at tomearl.com/jewels.

Do you have a side hustle, a vision, a message, or passion that you want to share with the world while cultivating a sustainable income?

This week’s episode covers the foundations and best practices of starting and growing your business.

This episode is filled with passion and great content. We talk about:

Tools for social media
All you need is a tribe of ______ to have a successful business.
Beyonce and Her Empire
Depth over Width
New technology
The power of relationships
Brand over Short Term Sales
The myth of “going viral."

Whether you’re in the early stages or already have a successful business, these Foundations of Business Development will add resources to your toolbox.

Show notes: tomearl.com/business

On this week’s episode I interview budding poet and psychologist in training Ash S.

We talked about:

Gender
Being Non-Binary
Langston Hughes
Is the Universe Kind?

Plus Ash shares 4 brilliant and inspiring poems.

Ash was authentic, open and vulnerable in this interview. I really learned a lot and was grateful for the opportunity.

On this week’s episode I interview Sakeenah Aleem, founder of My Brown Sparklez. My Brown Sparklez is a lifestyle website designed to inspire people to create, live, and love in a sustainable way.

Sakeenah and I had an enriching conversation on:

Sustainable fashion.
Uncovering your purpose.
Facing your fears.
Learning to love
Being authentic
Learning what it is you want to do and how to make it happen!

This interview filled me with such joy! I hope you bring some of that into your life by listening to or watching this interview.

Show notes: tomearl.com/mybrownsparklez

I’ve been excited about this interview for months and it has finally happened. On this week’s episode, I sit down with the legendary Rene Wiley for an epic interview.

Rene is a professional fitness instructor and all around brilliant human being. I connected with Rene as I was taking my first spin class at Equinox. I instantly recognized that he was a dynamic and inspiring person.

During our conversation, Rene speaks on:

The importance of listening to your heart and following your dreams.
What is courage?
Going after the things that matter to you.
Diversity in health and fitness.
The science of a workout playlist.

And that just touches the surface! I’m telling you, this interview is fire!

This week’s episode focuses on the power of perseverance. That is the theme of February’s replay of the Live and Online:Expression Session workshop.

If you are looking to express and cultivate perseverance in your life, this episode is for you.

Show notes: tomearl.com/febreplay
Enjoy!

Charlene E. Green (aka Hustle Diva) is a writer, a poet, editor, a literary consultant, and a life coach. She is also the feature for this Sunday’s Live and Online: Expression Session.

This week’s episode is a spiritual experience. We truly went on journey during this interview with Charlene.

Through her poetry, life experiences, and insights, Charlene illuminates the importance of connecting with one’s gifts and purpose. She also shares ways a person do that in their.

Charlene also shares three brilliant and powerful poems with us!

Have you looked all over for something you lost? Maybe it was your glasses, your keys, some lipstick, or something you just couldn’t find. Only to discover you had it all along in your purse, or backpack or maybe you were even wearing it already.

The lessons for us here is that having is not empowering unless we we have the REALIZATION of what we possess.

You are worthy, you are loved, your miraculous, you are complete, whole and beautiful. Like our lost keys example, having it is not the same thing as that moment where you fully REALIZE that you are all of this and more.

This week’s episode focus on courageous self-love. This is the foundation of it all. It is where we shall begin in the Year of Courage.

Let us walk forward together on this path of courageous self-love. Enjoy this week’s video and/or podcast.

Each year I create a theme and intention that I will focus on. 2015 was my Year of Expression and 2016 was my Year of Balance. I have decided that 2018 is my Year of Courage. 😃

This week’s episode dives into the essence of Courage. What is courage? Is it different for each person? Can it be replicated? Is it learned or are we born with it? These are the question I start to reflect upon.

As a way to explore this year’s theme, I share a free write poem I created too.

I look forward to walking this pathway of courage together this year!

This week’s episode focuses on Defining Your Own Status Quo. That is the theme of January’s replay the Live and Online:Expression Session workshop.

Begin this year in a way that is unique to you and on your own terms.

Enjoy!

Please note: all silences and pauses that were given for writing have been cut out for ease of listening. If you would like to write along with the workshop, please pause it and start it again when you are ready.

Irmina - phoenix the artist L.A. on IG

artist, activist, trouble maker

This week’s episode is a powerful interview with artist, activist, and self-described trouble maker, Irmina “Phoenix the Artist L.A.".

Irmina shares with us deep insights into the process of creating art and of writing. We had a great discussion on the importance of creatives, especially women, calling themselves artists.

Plus, Irmina shares with us three brilliant and amazing poems.

Irmina will be our feature for this month’s Live and Online: Expression Session on January 21st at 12 PM PST.

Register at tomearl.com/events.

My friends, this weeks episode is pure magic.

I interview Tsehai Essiebea Farrell, author of “Woven into the Fabric.” It was an absolute honor to sit down with such a brilliant author.

If you have a dream, a mission, a purpose, that you inside of you, this interview will provide you with inspiration and strength.

Tsehai shares with us the captivating story that is her new book. She talks about the 21 year journey she went on to write it.

As she says in the interview, she heard from spirit, “Writing this book is the bridge to the rest of your life.”

This episode is filled with stories and moments of alignment and manifestation.

I can't emphasize enough how much spiritual nourishment this interview gave me. I hope you do yourself the favor of enjoying it as well.

Happy New Year! I have a special first episode of the year for you.

I have just added a new class to T.H.E. Celebration Academy called, “Manifest Your Adventure.” It is a 7 day program for tapping into your intuition, inner voice, and creativity to envision your next epic adventure.

This week’s episode shares with you the first day of this program. It is a great way to start your New Year!

If you’d like to go through the rest of the 7 day program, here’s a gift of 30 days free of T.H.E. Celebration Academy membership. As a member, you receive access to all of our class and are able to participate in the monthly live workshop that is exclusively for members.

Visit tomearl.com/manifest to start your 30 free days.

On this week’s episode I share with you 6 quotes that made my 2017. I go into depth on how they guided, shaped, and inspired this to be such a wonderful year.

In addition, I offer questions to reflect upon and ways to use these lessons for a powerful 2018.

You will love this episode! Enjoy.

Show notes: Tomearl.com/quotes17

This week’s episode focuses on Bringing Closure to 2017. It is a replay of last Sunday’s Expression Session workshop.

This is a great way to reflection upon your year and move into 2017 feeling empowered.

Enjoy!

We are a half a month away from closing out 2017!

The transition to a new calendar year is a great time to intentionally reflect upon our lives. In this weeks episode I share with you 5 Reflection Questions you can use to bring closure to your year.

Here they are:

What is something you are proud of?
What is something you are grateful for?
What are some values you lead with?
What are 1-3 accomplishments you can celebrate?
What are some relationships you nurtured this year?

You can use this questions to reflect upon both your personal and professional life.

Be sure to listen to the podcast or watch the video to hear my answers to each of these questions. Plus I go deeper into each of these questions!

show notes: tomearl.com/reflections

On this week’s episode I interview Change strategist and master mind facilitator Kristine Oller.

We talk about creating change from within, advice for artists and entrepreneurs, and the arc of people’s journey.

We had a lot of fun! I love how Kristine brings really tactical and detailed strategies and advice.

You will leave this interview with big picture inspiration and tools you can implement into your life today.

This week we have a very powerful and important episode for you! I interview educator, activist and founder of The Real Talk Project Amreen Karmali.

Our purpose for this interview, was to have an intentional conversation on how men can work to end sexism and rape culture, and create a world of equity and inclusion.

As part of The Real Talk Project, Amreen facilitates a course specifically designed to empower male allies. Through her expertise, Amreen shares with us many tools and resources.

In addition, we dialogued about:

MeToo

Intersectionality
Microagressions
Gender Justice
Sex Positivity and Consent
Self-Reflection
Healthy and Loving Relationships

This episode is a truly a resource for anyone who is passionate about creating a world free from discrimination. It is especially an important episode for men who are striving to be accountable and active allies in ending sexism.

For links mentioned and full show notes: tomearl.com/amreen

This week's episode is the replay of last week's Live and Online: Expression Session.

For those who haven't been able to attend, now is your chance!

This week's Expression Session Replay Includes:

1. An interactive writing workshop.
2. Experience the process this week's group went through.
3. Listen to the free write everyone created.

All replays of the Live and Online: Expression Session are available to Art Makes Impact Members.

Not a member yet? Learn more at tomearl.com/replay2.

On this week’s episode we have the amazing Kezia as our guest! Kezia Gilyard is a nonbinary trans masculine person. They work with transgender youth in South Florida.

Kezia is also a poet and artist. Check out this line from one of the poems they performed:

“I love you as a promise,
So I keep it a secret.
I wrote it down and hid it in my tear duct.”

YES! In addition to sharing powerful poetry, Kezia also talked about being the LGBTQ Coordinator for a school district in South Flordia. And offered important resources for anyone working with students who are LGBTQIA+.

You can listen to this episode in the video below or as a podcast.

For full show notes: tomearl.com/kezia

This week’s episode is part 2 of this special series on Beliefs. I have been passionately working on this one over the past few months.

As a refresher:

The vision: To explore how our beliefs shape who we are by asking people, “What do you believe in?”

The process: I interviewed 8 different people in a one-on-one interview. I asked the same series of questions to each person in the same order. They did not know the questions or the theme of the interview before hand. Therefore, the answers they shared were completely impromptu and from the heart.

The result is beautiful, magical, insightful, and absolutely inspiring.

I know I say this every week, but honestly, you will love this episode.

If you haven’t watched/listened to part 1, you can do so at tomearl.com/beliefs1

This week’s episode of T.H.E. Celebration is truly special. I have been passionately working on this one over the past few months.

The vision: To explore how our beliefs shape who we are by asking people, “What do you believe in?”

The process: I interviewed 8 different people in a one-on-one interview. I asked the same series of questions to each person in the same order. They did not know the questions or the theme of the interview before hand. Therefore, the answers they shared were completely impromptu and from the heart.

The result is beautiful, magical, insightful, and absolutely inspiring.

I know I say this every week, but honestly, you will love this episode.

Show Notes: tomearl.com/beliefs1

In this last week of October, we see how nature and the energy around us starts to slow down. Let us too, take a cue from the natural world and pause to go within.

On this week’s episode, I reflect on 6 areas of my life that I have invited more balance into.

They are:

Personal and Professional (Work Life Balance)
Big Picture and The To Do List
Relaxation and Action
Uplifting Content and Current
My Speed
Self-Love

Through finding balance in these six areas, my joy barometer has gone through the roof. 😃 I also share with you ways you can bring balance to your life. Enjoy!

Show notes: tomearl.com/yob

On this week’s episode: we talk about the power of routines to create joy, stability inspiration and growth in your life.

I invite you to create empowering routines in these six areas of your life:

Sleep
Your Morning
Movement
Expression
Gratitude
Self-Love

Plus, I give examples of what my routines look like for each of these six areas.

show notes: tomearl.com/routines

On this week’s episode, I interview one of my favorite poets, the genius SuperB!

We really went deep on this one. We even took a pause and just soaked in the beauty of where the interview went.

SuperB’s talked about his origin story, creativity, connection, how he almost became a Catholic priest, and on pursuing one's dreams.

I highly recommend you take listen! Enjoy!

SuperB will be the featured poet for this month’s Live and Online: Expression Session. Taking place on Sunday, October 15th, the LO:ES is an online writing workshop that culminates a performance by our feature SuperB.

Register at tomearl.com/events

What if you could hear outer-space? That is exactly what this week's guests, Kovács/O’Doherty, made happen!

I am so excited that I got to interview Tom O’Doherty and Kata Kovács, the creators of the Art Installation Signal Tide.

Signal Tide is a sound and extraterrestrial radio installation artwork by Kovács/O’Doherty. It combines real-time signals from an abandoned satellite currently orbiting the earth (the LES-1, launched in 1965) with specially-commissioned music and sound.

This episode is a must for any creative who has big dreams for their art!

Show notes: tomearl.com/signaltide

To learn more about Kovács/O’Doherty and Signal Tide: signaltide.com

This episode is an ode and love poem to our bodies. We explore how we can strengthen and go deeper into our love for our bodies. And ways we can strengthen our self-trust.

I share with you three ways your body is genius:

Your Body Knows. Call it intuition or a gut feeling. Your body often knows before your intellect.
Your Body Speaks. Through our joys, aches, pains, energy level and other subtle communications, your body is communicating with you constantly.
Your Body Empowers. We have all heard that the mind can influence what we think. It is just as true the other way, your body can influence your mindset as well.

Plus, during this episode we write our bodies a love poem! In the meantime, take a moment today to say, “I love my body!”

Show notes: tomearl.com/loveyourbody.

This week is a bonus episode! As a celebration of this extra Friday in June, I'm sharing a replay of last week's Live and Online: Expression Session.

For those who haven't been able to attend, now is your chance!

This week's Expression Session Replay Includes:

An interactive writing workshop.
Experience the group poem that was created.
Listen to the free write everyone created.

Learn more: tomearl.com/replay1

On this episode of T.H.E. Celebration, I sat down for an interview with the amazing Sci-Fi poet and illustrator, Paradise Khanmalek.

This episode is filled with a whole lot of awesomeness. We touched on so many wonderful topics such as magic, colors, sexuality, race, delicious food, and delicious language. We also discussed breaking the third wall of digital visual art, as well as creativity and poetry.

My inspiration level definitely went up after this episode, and I hope yours does too!

Show notes: tomearl.com/paradise

On this week's episode, we talk about how conflict is good for you and your relationships. It might sound familiar because, it is the title of the TEDx Talk that I am doing on September 9.

On this episode, I give you a look into what I will be talking about and share with you an extended version of the research and content behind the inspiration that led to it.

It is great for all of us to strengthen our relationships with those around us and with ourselves. Check it out below!

On this week's episode, I get the amazing opportunity to interview educator, writer, poet, and public scholar, Irene Sanchez, Ph.D.

During our discussion, we talked about academia, challenging ideas of meritocracy, and calling things as they are in order to confront them in society: including white supremacy, privilege, and power.

We touched on some true issues in this episode, AND we had a great time doing it! Check out this knowledge-filled episode.

You can learn more about Irene at her website: https://www.irenesanchezphd.com/.

The power of negotiation. Did you know that it can be used in many areas of life? On this episode, I share with you 7 tools, tips, and techniques you can use for effective negotiating. We'll discuss how to negotiate in a way that gets your needs met, and successfully builds a positive relationship with the person you are negotiating.

And I'm not just talking about negotiating for money, a contract, or a job. But how do you negotiate when, let's say, you're on a road trip or going out to eat, or even when deciding on where to go on the family trip? All of this and much more will be uncovered on this episode.

tomearl.com/negotiate

On this week's episode, we feature an amazing poet, activist, scholar Matt Sedillo.

I have been looking forward to this interview for a while! Matt is a genius and I promise this interview will blow you away.

Matt and I talked about a number of things, including the tragedies in Charlottesville. We also talked about poetry, as well as his experiences as a writer. Matt summoned up this interview wonderfully when he said in the intro, "Fuck Trump. And here's why."

Matt also blessed us with 3 awesome poems, all of are brilliant and inspiring! Be sure to check it out this week's episode!

Have you ever experienced an emotional script in your head? Emotional scripts are like mental movies that appear subconsciously, and they can control and influence our emotions and the actions we take. Instead of having it control us, how do we hop in the director's seat to change those thoughts around?

This week, I share with you one of the most empowering tools I've used in my life to deal with and tackle emotional scripts head on. I discuss 5 Steps you can use to rewrite the script in a way that is empowering for us.

Here's a sneak peak of the 5 Steps:

Notice and Voice. Notice the behavior, the emotions, and/or the mental conversation and vocalize it.
Name the Links. Go within and reflect upon the question, "What have I linked to this action, behavior, person, or situation, on an emotional level?"
Get a Bigger Why! Get some emotional power by finding a WHY that is bigger than the obstacle in front of you.
Create New Links. Intentionally write the emotional script yourself by answering, "What meaning and associations do you want this to have?"
Reinforce and Repeat. Reinforce your intentional emotional script, and the empowering links you've created, by repeating this process until your new emotional script becomes your habitual response.

These tools have helped me a long the way and I hope that they can help you! Check out this week's episode!

This week's episode of T.H.E. Celebration is nothing short of amazing as I interview my friend, veteran farmer and entrepreneur, the brilliant Nate Looney.

We explore topics such as urban farming and aquaponics, and what these have meant for his lfie journey and career. We also explore questions like, where do you get your food from? and What does it mean to have a food dessert when you have urban farming?

Additionally, Nate discussed his military life and the entrepreneurial roles that led him to founding his business. We also talk about how we met and so much more!

Our conversation was very informative and we had a lot of fun! Be sure and check it out!

Did you start the year off with some awesome goals? How are they coming along?

On this week's episode, we acknowledge month 7 of 2017 by checking in on how are we doing. We reflect on how we are manifesting our goals, our dreams, and the visions that we created for ourselves at the beginning of the year.

If you still haven't created your goals and visions for this year, let's take some intentional time to do so. If you're feeling overwhelmed or that there just isn't enough time for it, have no fear because we can do it together on this episode!

Tune in and let's start manifesting!

On this episode of T.H.E. Celebration, we are having a conversation about a very real topic, bullying. We've all seen it. It can appear present-day on our social media timelines or in everyday spaces such as school or even at work.

Let's dive deeper.

Our conversation will touch on how to be allies or people who use our leadership skills to interrupt or challenge bullying. And ultimately transform it from bullying to being an environment free from discrimination. We explore different roles of bullying such as the: victim, perpetrator, bystander, ally or upstander -- which are all a part of "The Bully Box".

I also identify great resources and give tools for us all to strengthen our personal responsibility as well as have the conversation with students, our peers, or our co-workers.

On this week's episode of T.H.E. Celebration, I had the privilege of exchanging beautiful expression with the amazing poet, activist, and educator, Asha.

We really got into the art of how to be yourself. Things such as how to speak your truth and how to have self-love are just a few talking points. I really appreciate the vulnerability and authenticity that lies within this episode. Asha also really blessed us with some of her poetic art.

For so much more, check out this week's episode below:

This week I sat down with with social justice activist and lawyer, Dermot Givens. We dug deep on current topics, his life journey, and shared a phenomenal dialogue about issues that are prevalent in society today.

Dermot has been an activist his whole life and is also a member of the Black Lives Matter Justice League. He is the first and only lawyer in CA to win a criminal case defending a Black Lives Matter activist.

Here are some of my favorite questions Dermot answered during his in-depth interview:

Is it possible to have a fair trail?
What is the Black Lives Matter Justice League?
What is a person's reaction, when they are serving a life sentence, and they first hear they have been given parole? (Dermot helps people with life sentences receive parole).
What legal advice do you have for activists?
Do you have any legal advice for entrepreneurs who are getting started?
What is a plea bargain and what is its relationship to the prison industrial complex?

It's celebration time! On one of our previous episodes this month, we talked about 5 ways to fast in honor of Ramadan. If you missed that episode, check it out here.

To commemorate our completion of fasting, let's celebrate! Here are 5 things I suggest you celebrate:

Your Accomplishments. You'd be surprised how many of our accomplishments we have forgotten, downplayed, or breezed by. Take the time to celebrate your personal #Wins and they will become fuel for your journey.
Your Affirmations. I keep a journal of affirmations people have shared with me. When I need a reminder of who I am and why I'm here, I read through my affirmation journal. Let us resist minimizing the moments we are affirmed and instead, celebrate them!
Your Gratitudes. Gratitudes are a game changer! Celebrate that which you are grateful for and you will take control of your mindset, perspective, and emotions. Plus, its fun!
Your Failures. What?! Yup, that's right! In every moment we are deciding, "what does this mean?" By celebrating your failures, you define it, rather than it defining you. Instead of, "it's over and I suck." Failure can mean: "I am innovative, I am pushing past all limitations, and I am bold!" Celebrate it!
What Brings You Joy. Celebrate what brings you joy! Is it re-reading the Harry Potter series? Snuggling on the couch and watching your favorite show? Sleeping in? Cooking? Creating art? Cleaning the house? Meeting up with friends? Calling your mom? Whatever it is, find time this month to CELEBRATE IT! Indulge in what brings you joy without guilt. This is what balance looks like!

I had a blast recording this episode! Start the celebration and check it out above:

This week is a bonus episode! As a celebration of this extra Friday in June, I'm sharing a replay of last week's Live and Online: Expression Session.

For those who haven't been able to attend, now is your chance!

This week's Expression Session Replay Includes:

An interactive writing workshop.
Experience the group poem that was created.
Listen to the free write everyone created.

Enjoy my friend!

tomearl.com/replay

Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop which culminates in a featured performance by an internationally recognized artist. For this month, we're happy to present the Writer - Producer - Director: Nia Malika Dixon!

Nia and I had a great time recording her interview for T.H.E. Celebration. We got deep during this one, covering conversations on love, vulnerability, fear, getting out of the box, and the impact of storytelling.

Here's some of my favorite questions that Nia brilliantly responded to:

What is your definition of love?
What is a story that has impacted your life?
What is resiliency and what is healing?
Can you expand upon what you mean by, "I'm a 21st century century griot trying to get the narrative of the Black Muslim Women out there."
What have been some landmarks and crossroads on your journey to?

Plus, Nia reads poetry from her soon to be released book, A Notebook for Heartbreak. Yes!

Experience some love and expression, join us this Sunday and check out Nia's interview.

www.tomearl.com/nia

During this month of Ramadan I am fasting for 30 days. There are many spiritual and health benefits to fasting. But sustaining from food and water aren't the only ways to fast.

On this episode, I invite you to consider fasting from five things:

Comparison
Control
Social Media
Self-Doubt
Over-Achieving

For each of these, just picking 1 day a week or 1 day a month to fast, can have a positive impact on our lives. Consider it :).

Check out the reasons why, tips for getting started, and enjoy some fun stories I share. All this and more, in this week's episode of T.H.E. Celebration.

This week I had the chance to interview the renowned Muslim leader Imam Daayiee Abdullah. This was an amazing opportunity that I am happy to share with you!

In our interview, Imam Daayiee shared his unique and extraordinary experience and pathway to Islam, as well as his culminating work on Islam, sexual orientation, gender, diversity, inclusion, and the founding of Mecca Institute. We also talk about: 'What is Ramadan and where does it come from?'

This is something that you don't want to miss!

Check out Imam Daayiee's website here: daayiee.net

An area I am inviting balance is in my thoughts. Have you seen the bumper sticker, "Don't believe everything you think"? Like the movement of ocean currents, we have thought currents that we can be swept along by. Leaving us over our head before we recognize what happened.

This episode is really helpful for those seeking to have positive self-talk and to move past anxiety and self-doubt.

tomearl.com/think

Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop which culminates in a featured performance by an internationally recognized artist. For this month, we're happy to present spoken word poet and artist, Forressa Harrison!

As my friend and one of the coolest poets around, Forressa sat down with me for an interview before the main event. Forressa is a woman of many hats including being a poet, musician, singer, artist, and entrepreneur. She performs her work all around Texas and is a Poetry Slam champion.

We discussed the passion of poetry and what it can mean to the poet and to the audience. Forressa also shared some of her beautiful work with me as well. Join in this month for much inspiration and deep expression!

One way I am finding balance is by asking: What do I really want? In the past, I have confused the small tasks on the to-do list as the mission. Even those rare times I would complete my million to-dos I would still be left with that feeling of standing still. More often though, I wouldn't be able to finish everything on my list and would feel like I was constantly chasing a run-a-way train.

Shifting my focus from to-dos to outcomes has been an impactful and liberating shift in focus. With a to-do, there is only one path to completion - checking it off the list. With an outcome - there are unlimited paths to success.

Check out the podcast as you start to think about "What do I really want?"

I'm so excited that my dad, Tom Earl Sr., joined me for an interview this week! My dad and I have a special relationship that I am so grateful for. Not only is he my dad, but he is also my friend, my mentor, an inspiration, and one of my heroes.

My dad is super humble, so let me brag for a second: he's a self-taught artist and landscape architect, a Vietnam veteran, he raised my oldest sister as a single dad, he started his own business back before it was cool to be an entrepreneur, and he's my dad :).

It took me over a year to convince my dad to do this interview. And it was well worth the wait.

On this week's episode: My dad shares some cool stories about my childhood and what it's like to be my dad. We also talked about his own personal life journey. Dad imparted some great knowledge about life, entrepreneurship, being unafraid of failure, following passions, and never giving up.

Check out this very personal conversation between my dad and I!

I'm so excited to celebrate my 30th birthday! Wahoo! One of my birthday rituals is to celebrate one one thing I love about myself, for every year of my life. Which means, this year I'm sharing 30 self-love affirmations :).

My intention is to give closure to my 20's and step forward boldly into my 30's by sharing this part of my story. Recording this has been one of the most vulnerable and freeing experiences of my life. I am honored to have you be a part of it.

Enjoy this week's episode, as I share with you my birthday stories and celebrate 30 self-love affirmations!

Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop which culminates in a featured performance by an internationally recognized artist. This month, we’re excited to
present Sam(ira) Obeid as our feature!

Before the event, Sam joined me for an interview. We talked all about her non-profit work and political activism along with her personal journey. She gave us some dope poetry as well!

We went into depth about embracing identity and being a part of the LGBT community. Her powerful work regarding gender encompasses spoken word and activism. Tune in and get inspired!

Register at: tomearl.com/events

This year I am asking, "Where can I find balance? Where can I invite balance?" I’m bringing balance to the time I spend in creating BIG, BOLD BEYOND THE STARS DREAMS.

I’ve noticed a lot of my dreams only go a little bit outside of my comfort zone. Or I dream, but I let my limiting beliefs bonsai my goals and visions.

This year, I am ready to have rocket ship dreams! Dreams that take me to my highest potential and more! I’m spending quality, intentional time in creating big, bold beyond the star dreams.

Not only are beyond the stars dreams amazing but they also impact our lives in tangible and measurable ways. For the Type A people out there, for my high achievers who want to know, "Okay, well how will this get me towards my goals?"

Here are Five Outstanding Benefits BIG Dreams Bring:

1) They Bring Clarity

2) They Make Your Dreams a Reality

3) The Clarity and Reality Generates Excitement

4) They Pave the Way for Transformation

5) They Remind Us that We Are Magic

Check out this week’s episode and Dream Big!

This week’s guest is a leader and coach who’s had a major impact in my life. At the beginning of my entrepreneur career, I received an invitation to be a part of Francesca’s BETA GROUP. This group coaching program connected me with inspiring leaders and shaped my vision. It was truly transformative.

I loved getting to ask Francesca how we can all create transformation in our lives. I am excited for Francesca to share her gems of wisdom and magic with you!

Check out the video or podcast below.

Have you ever said yes to too many things and started to feel like you've over committed yourself? Have you ever said yes to a meeting that you knew you weren't going to be on time for? Have you ever said yes because you didn't want to hurt somebody's feelings or you wanted to please somebody?

Learning how to say no has been one of most liberating experiences of my life. By unpacking the baggage I had around saying, “no,” I have found endless happiness :).

This week’s T.H.E. Celebration episode continues my Year of Balances by diving it:

My journey of learning to say no.
The ways we undermine our yeses by not saying no.
Accessible, polite and well tested ways to say no.

Please note: This episode and blog post is talking about “no” and “yes” in the context of time and life management. I am not talking about “yes” and “no” in the context of abuse, assault, sexual violence, and consent.

In that context, it is a no unless there is ENTHUSIASTIC CONSENT. Here are two great article/resources:

I Didn’t Say No But It Was Still Rape - https://goo.gl/UcRsQK

5 Reasons Not Saying No During NonConsensual Sex Doesn’t Make You Weak - https://goo.gl/p2T9s8

This is my Year of Balance. Learn why!

This week on T.H.E.Celebration, I had a blast interviewing the ever inspiring and brilliant poet author(Delta Sigma Theta soror, INFJ, self taught on YouTube knitter... among many other nouns!), Shelby Birch. We talked all about her journey as a poet, her new book(Lit), of course, she performed some of her poetry!

We went into depth about her ideas on love, womanhood, Blackness, awkwardness, and heartbreak. I can’t even describe how much fun this was. Tune in and get inspired… Who knows, maybe Shelby will awaken the poet in you!

As you know, 2016 was my YEAR OF EXPRESSION! Today, I am Celebrating the amazing journey it has been :). The Year of Expression took me to over 2 continents, 5 countries, and 12 cities. I had many transformational moments and grew in beautiful and profound ways.

In this Celebration episode:

I share the story of what gave birth to my Year of Expression.
I recap the journey and celebrate my proudest accomplishments.
I offer my 6 Biggest Aha Moments from my Year of Expression.

I got choked up while recording this one. It is truly a beautiful journey.

Please join me in Celebrating My Year of Expression!

This week, I had the pleasure to host a phenomenal and in depth interview with the amazing Terna, of (among many things) Coming Out Muslim. We had a deep dialogue with all about her insights and relationships with education, Islam, sexuality, health, healing, and self-care!
Terna is a Nigerian/ Liberian/American artist, facilitator and healer. She holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and Global Mental Health, and graduate degrees in International Conflict Analysis and Teaching. She has worked as a public school teacher in New York, at the United Nations, and currently works to help survivors of homicide and victims of community violence.
Terna is also the co-writer of Coming Out Muslim: Radical Acts of Love, which captures stories and experiences of being at the intersections of Islam and queerness and its relationship to family, lovers, one’s sense of self and relationship with our faith.
Get ready to be absolutely enthralled!

The answers that we seek are already within us. All of the resources, the resourcefulness, the energy, and the time that you need to accomplish everything within your purpose is right there, already within you.

This understanding allows us to recognize the true potential we have within. Along with this mindset, there are applicable and practical tools that you allow us to tap into the answers within.

One of the greatest assets and important skills to develop is listening to our inner voice. A key to unlock that, is developing the questions we are asking.

The Live and Online: Expression Session is a monthly writing workshop which culminates in a featured performance by an international recognized artist. This month we are blessed to have Ebony Payne-English as our feature!

In this interview, Ebony shares her writing journey, what motivates her, and performs 3 poems.

This Live and Online: Expression Session is on Sunday, February 19th at 12 PM PST - 2 PM PST. Register at: www.tomearl.com/events.

How often do you take time to just dream? When do you sit in stillness and envision? When have you written down, “If I had the chance to live my life exactly as I wanted to starting today, what would it look like?”

We often get into the day to day routine, without stopping to reflect and ask ourselves these big picture questions. Our life is ours to control and is a result of our decisions . One of the most important ones we can make is deciding to set aside intentional time to reflect.

It may feel like work at first or that you don’t have the time. But my reward is worth the work :).

I want to invite you to once a week, create an opportunity for reflection. It could be going for a walk, journaling, coloring, meditating, whatever you’d like. You’ll find that you start making bold moves by infusing your week vision and reflection.

If you would like to work on this together, enroll in T.H.E. Celebration Academy. You can start with our free mini-course T.H.E. Achievement Roadmap. Visit tomearl.com/thecelebrationacademy to begin.

Want your free giveaway? Head to tomearl.com/justdream

Br. Hassan Shibly is a civil rights attorney and Executive Director of CAIR Florida. On this episode Hassan answers questions and offers his expertise on the #TravelBan, #MuslimBan, Debunks Islamophobia Myths, and covers Know Your Rights 101 especially when protesting and while traveling.

To claim your free giveaway of Hassan Shibly's Quotes He Lives By visit: www.tomearl.com/hassan

This week we have special guest, Leah Williams, joining us at T.H.E. Celebration. Leah is a Spelman College Graduate with a B.A. in Economics, a passionate advocate for social justice, and is a powerful role model of inclusive leadership.

I first met Leah while I was serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Community Tampa Bay. She was the president of the youth leadership program that I was facilitating. The last time Leah and I spoke she was just graduating High School! Not only was did I enjoy catching up, but I also learned a lot from Leah’s insights and the stories she shares during this interview.

You will walk away feeling inspired and empowered from this interview!

Bonus: Your FREE give-away during this episode is a list of Leah’s Top 5 Most Recommended Books. Visit tomearl.com/blog or copy and paste https://goo.gl/wo0vry to claim your FREE give-away.

Inside all of us is a Spark. Inside all of us is Greatness. Inside all of us is a Giant. Inside all of us is a Choice - do we tap into our inner power or let it remain dormant?

How do we do that? Activate our strengths? Translate potential into action? Manifest our visions into reality? These are the questions that I LOVE exploring.

One of my biggest “ahas” on that learning journey is: BIG Transformations come through small, everyday actions and decisions. It’s like stepping into the fog, and then coming back inside and realizing, “Oh my gosh! I’m wet.” We often don’t see the incremental changes taking place until, all of a sudden, we look around and realize we are living the life we envisioned!

This weeks podcast takes a deeper dive! Plus, I share the 4 things I do every night before bed. It has had a HUGE impact on my life.

For the video that accompanies this episode, visit: www.tomearl.com/blog/spark

Want to take massive action and boost your productivity? Sign up for T.H.E. Achievement Roadmap. I designed this FREE 3 Part Course to empower you with the tools, mindsets, and latest research for: achievement, stress-management, and confidence.

Sign up at: www.tomearl.com/thecelebrationacademy

Live and Online: Expression Session is back! Our next session is on Sunday, January 22nd at 12 PM PST - 2 PM PST (That’s 3 PM - 5 PM if you’re on the east coast).

Our feature is the amazing, the brilliant, the coolest: Xavier CoolKid. In anticipation of his feature, Xavier joined me for an interview. In addition to performing 3 powerful poems, he shared many insights into his creative journey and process.

To register: tomearl.com/events.

Adaora and I created our 2017 Vision Boards this week! We brought out the chips, salsa, guacamole and inspirational magazines and had a great time.

Creating a vision board is a great way to begin with intention and purpose. The process takes the ideas that are in our mind and subconscious, and visually displays them for us to see. If you have not created one this year, I highly recommend it!

After you have created the vision board, what comes next? What are the practices, mindsets and tools that will allow you to bring your dreams to fruition?

I’ve created a FREE - 3 part video course - designed to answer those very questions. It will walk you through the everyday actions and practices that cultivate achievement, confidence, and fulfillment.

I am really excited to share this with you. I hope you join me on this learning journey :).

It is a pleasure to know you my friend. As always, I am wishing you peace and blessings.

SIGN UP HERE: https://tomearl.mykajabi.com/p/sign-up-t-h-e-achievement-roadmap

I am a HUGE fan of Gratitudes! You probably already know that, especially if you follow me on FB or Snapchat. While we are wrapping up presents and 2016, it's especially important to be grateful.

There are numerous benefits of having a daily gratitude practice. Here are three of my favorite:

It genuinely makes me smile :).
It provides positive perspective.
It cultivates resiliency and the ability to see positive in any situation.

Our gratitudes don’t have to be huge. They can be everyday things like, I’m grateful for the smell of fresh bread. I am grateful that I can blink. I am grateful that I can speak. I am grateful for Rihanna.

Do you have a gratitude practice? Here are mine:

Share with someone. Every day, Adaora and I share with each other three things we are grateful for. Plus we share one thing we are grateful for about each other.
Share on social. I post my gratitudes on social media and invite others to join me.
Write it down. Every morning, I write down at least 3 things I am grateful for. Yesterday, I wrote down 20 :).

Do any of these practices resonate with you? Pick one and start there!

If you need a gratitude partner, post your’s on my gratitude videos, email me, or send me a snap!

What are 3 things you are grateful for in 2016? Shared below are some of my favorite gratitudes of the day from this year. Enjoy!

For more info: www.tomearl.com

I love running in parks! Not only am I inspired by nature but also by the people around me. For instance, the other day I heard a soccer coach tell his team:

“Momentum is Power.”

He was teaching them about soccer but I immediately began to apply it to leadership. Before I could finish my thought, I heard him clarify:

“Accuracy is greater than power.”

By this point, I was thinking, “Wow! Middle school soccer coaches are the best!” Throughout the rest of my run, I kept turning these two points over in my mind. By the end, I had developed three takeaways.

This week's 'Year of Expression' breaks down how Momentum, Accuracy, and Power apply to our Leadership!

For more info: www.tomearl.com/blog

You are worthy of love without requisite! We don’t have to prove ourselves or win people over to be loved. We are worthy just as we are.

My journey to this truth started with Brene Brown and all her awesomeness. I began to understand that I believed I had to prove myself before I deserved love. Or that I had to accomplish _________ or succeed at _________ or get a car first or a high paying job or whatever other fill in the blank it was that week. I notice that when I’m feeling anxious or insecure, this belief is right there under the surface of it all.

The truth is, we are all worthy of love just as we are! Do you ever find yourself running through this same line of questioning? Have you ever felt you had to prove yourself first?

Here are 3 practices that have really helped me:

Self-talk in-front of the mirror!
I am statements.
Daily Gratitudes.

For more information, please visit tomearl.com.

I've been telling myself a story and it goes like this: "Everything has to be hard. Growth must come through bumps and bruises. If it wasn’t difficult, I didn't try hard enough.” By making this my belief, I was demanding it be my destiny. Like most limiting beliefs, I had no idea it was even within me.

In this episode, I share my personal journey of working through this limiting belief.

This week's episode is a recording of the interview I did for Black Hollywood Live. My great friend Kalima Music Art Wisdom was an amazing host. In this interview I talk about my new release, my journey as an artist, and I perform 2 poems!

I am excited to bring you this episode of the Expression Session. This is a once a month special episode of my show/podcast - T.H.E. Celebration. My guest is my teammate, my brother - Dennis Amadeus. Dennis shares with us his writing journey, why youth development matters to him, and performs 3 AMAZING POEMS!

Dennis Amadeus will be the feature for the Live and Online Expression Session on November 20th - 12 PM PST - 2 PM PST.

This event is Live and Online, which means you can attend from anywhere in the world via internet or phone. It is a writing workshop for both beginners and experiences writers. It is engaging and interactive. Plus, it culminates with featured performance by an international acclaimed artist. This month our feature is Dennis Amadeus.

To register and for more info visit: tomearl.com/events

What is something that makes you feel inspired? When was the last time you felt connected? What is something that made you feel humbled and in awe?

This week I'll share with you my answers to those questions. It is a place I've been coming to since I was 5 years old.

This is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. It is a sky hill near my cabin in up north Wisconsin. Every time I am there I am able to relax and refresh. My energy becomes rebalanced and I remember what it feels like to be completely at peace.

It makes me wonder, how do I maintain this even when I'm in a busy city like Los Angeles? In this week's Year of Expression, I share with you some strategies and techniques on how to do that.

Kyla joined me for an episode of T.H.E. Celebration. During this interview she shares what it's like being a full time artist, being in facebook jail, and she performs two powerful poems.

Kyla will be the feature at the Live and Online on October 23rd at 12 PM PST - 2 PM PST. This is a monthly expression session I host where you can attend from anywhere in the world via internet or phone. It is a writing workshop, open mic, and featured performance.

For more information visit www.tomearl.com/events.

I'm in up north Wisconsin once again! This time I'm on the trail to a beautiful waterfall. I'm reflecting on, what are the cycles in life that we move through? How can we have patience and perseverance? And what else can we learn from nature and apply to our lives.

In a previous Year of Expression we talked about "choosing peace over control. A lot of people asked me, what are some strategies to do that. In this video I share with you two ways you can take control of your Self and choose peace.

Where should you place your focus, on the finish line or starting line? Do you find yourself being slow to begin or finish? Let's reflect this week on ways to answer these questions and how to address it!

This one was recorded live at the Eiffel Tower! I share a story on moving to LA 3 years ago. And let's talk about happiness :).

I recorded this video while I was visiting Sweden. I had to reflect on the beauty of this inspiring view. And I realized that there is a lot we can learn from the Baltic Sea. In this episode, I share with you the epiphany I had!

I am excited to bring you this month's Expression Session. My guest is the infamous Mo-Man. I truly loved recording this conversation and am excited to share it! Plus, Mo-Man performs 3 of his poems!

Mo-Man will be the feature for the Live and Online open mic on September 18th. This is a monthly expression session I host where you can attend from anywhere in the world via internet or phone. It is a writing workshop, open mic, and featured performance.

For more information and to attend please visit tomearl.com/events.

To listen to all of my podcasts please visit tomearl.com/podcast.

Our world creates our world! It is so simple and complex. Let's reflect upon how the words who choose create the world around us.

Our dreams need love and nurturing too! Let's talk this week about how we can sustain our dreams in the long run.

I am excited to bring you this month's Expression Session. My guest is the brilliant Jamie Dawson. Jamie shares with us her writing process, the activism she is involved in, and performs 3 poems!

Jamie will be the feature for the Live and Online open mic on August 21st. This is a monthly expression session I host where you can attend from anywhere in the world via internet or phone. It is a writing workshop, open mic, and featured performance.

For more information and to attend please visit tomearl.com/events.

Living our purpose in all we do. It is infused in the everyday actions and intentions we live. This is where our happiness shines!

It is important to define what success means to you. To ask yourself, how will I know what success looks like? This episode goes through some tools and exercises that can guide you in that process.

This episode is about happiness. Your happiness! Here's how we can infuse happiness into our life.

When looking to see if something make sense, look to nature! Let's talk this week about what nature can teach us about perseverance.

The most valuable asset we have is our stories. What would you like to share about your life?

Special guest Wally B joins us for an Expression Session edition. In this episode Wally shares insights and wisdom on his journey as an artist. He also blesses us by performing 3 amazing poems.

To join us for the live and online expression session, please visit tomearl.com/events.

To donate to the Heard Em' Say BNV Fundraiser - please visit https://www.gofundme.com/2016hesslamteam.

How often are we taking time to sit in quietness and reflection? Let's talk about the importance of spending time in silence.

Please allow me to pay my respects to the People's Champ - Muhammad Ali.

While I was home with my family I was feeling very refreshed and inspired. Here is 1 of the 4 videos I recorded. This one is on moving past fear of the unknown.

Let's talk about coming to peace with the fact that we can't do everything. Plus a Shonda Rhimes story that inspired my epiphany.

The relationship we have with ourselves is of vital importance. However, it is often the one we neglect the most. Let's talk this week about making it a priority to invest time to care for our Self.

Having a Gratitude State of Mind isn't just a great saying. There are real tangible benefits to embracing this mindset. Let's talk about 3 of these benefits that arise from having a Gratitude State of Mind!

To celebrate my birthday, I am embracing self-love. Here is one thing I appreciate about myself for every year I have been a live.

Let's talk about what happens when you give your passions everything you got! This is an exciting one.

Today I stand outside of two doors. How do I choose? Let me share with you two things I do to feel confident in my decisions.

Our relationships grow and we gain understanding when we work through disagreement in a loving way. Ignoring something causes it to grow and eventually hurts our relationships. Let's commit to having those "tough" conversations.