Silver Linings

Marcella Piersol grew up in California's San Fernando Valley, "living on the edge". She surfed, skateboarded, and basically was "super active". Her parents divorced when she was young, and her father was granted custody which was unusual for the early 70's. He had a huge impact on her life. Marcella is a first generation American as her father emigrated with his parents from Germany in 1938 at the age of 5 to avoid WWII. He only spoke German. Putting himself through school, he became an engineer then later an attorney. Ultimately, her father worked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Marcella graduated from college with a degree in business marketing. Because she has been physically active over the years, she didn't think a "regular job" would be right for her. Before she graduated, she heard that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were hiring. She applied and three months later entered the LA Police Academy. In 1984 when she joined LAPD, there

Maryke Cudd has been married to the SAME GUY for 42 years! She and her husband have two grown sons and six grandchildren. Maryke was employed by the postal service for 28-½ years and worked her way up to Postmaster. She was offered early retirement and decided it was the right time. After she left her job, Maryke took her mother back to her mom’s native country of The Netherlands. Maryke enjoyed leisure time for a while, but all of her friends still worked, and she was got bored. Since Maryke and her husband like the travel, she thought she might enjoy being a travel consultant. Maryke loves her job; it’s a passion for her. She loves working with her clients to create their travel experiences. After their second son left home for college, she and her husband had more time to travel with their friends. Sometimes they travel as a couple but more often in a group as “it’s more fun with a group!” It can be a small group or a large group like the trip she has planned to Alaska in July with 40 people! Maryke loves

Karen welcomes her second international guest but FIRST guest from across the Atlantic Ocean! Andi Nagel lives in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain but are actually off the coast of Morocco. Andi coaches women who are going through major life changes to "discover their full power and strength". Her company is Marvellous Woman. Andi's life is a story of tenacity and resilience. She was born in Salzburg, Austria. For part of her childhood, Andi lived in children's homes. Her parents died when she was 19, so she had to "take life into my hands, alone." She said, "I didn't have a penny in my pocket." She's achieved many things in her life and sees it as "a big adventure." Andi knew she had to make a living so she started modeling. She then studied graphic design and was always interested in healing professions. At the age of 25, Andi's daughter was born. Later, she got married. She and her husband owned and operated a four-star hotel in Costa Rica, which she designed incorporating feng-shui. Her marriag

My guest was unable to be with me today due to technical difficulties, but will hopefully reschedule for a later date. At first, I thought I'd move my June guests up a week, but then the idea popped into my head to interview MYSELF! If you've read my brief bio on my Inspired News Radio personality page, you may know a little bit about me, but I wanted to fill in more of the details about my background and current passions. This is episode 15, so I thought it was about time to tell you more of my story. I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, TX. Growing up in our generation (50+ peeps!) was quite different than growing up in today's world. We had no cell phones, no computers, no microwaves. We spent more time on developing friendships because we had to TALK to people either face-to-face or on the phone. After graduating from Ray High School in Corpus, I attended Sam Houston State University and majored in English with a minor in Drama. After graduating from college, I taught in Corpus Christi for five years

Join Karen as she welcomes her FIRST international guest to Silver Linings! In this episode, she talks with Gailene Green from Ottawa, Ontario in Canada. Gailene is an incredibly talented designer and seamstress whose business is Designs by Gailene. She describes herself as a life-long seamstress but became a full-time one 7 years ago.   Back in the day when she was in 7th and 8th grade, Gailene took a Home Economics class along with her fellow girl students (boys took mechanics in those days). Many of her classmates were not very good at sewing but were required to sew different garments. Since Gailene was known to have this talent, many of the girls would meet her after school, give her their fabrics, and pay her to make their clothing projects for the class! Actually, Gailene started making her own clothing at age 8 and began sewing for others when she was 13. Creations she sewed made up about 95% of her wardrobe; however, she doesn't sew much for herself now that it's her full-time job. As they say, "The

Wendy Wortham and Cindy Daniel are twin sisters who left home at a very young age. The first necessity was being able to eat so they got jobs as waitresses and then continued working in service-related industries over the years. Realizing sales "was where we were going to make our money," they sharpened those skills and spent 30 years selling for various companies. When Wendy's son got married, she realized there weren't affordable options for many people who wanted to plan an event. As Wendy prepared to have a thyroidectomy after a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, she told Cindy, "If I'm alive after this, we're going to start a people over profit-based business and help people like us who don't have family or friends or money and help everyone enjoy a dream event regardless of what their income might be." Cindy described how they encountered people who wanted them to plan an event but had no money, so Wendy rebranded and expanded to start the Pawning Planners. They took trades for event services. Having had many

Scott Sullivan lives in Northern California but was born and raised in the Midwest. His interest in radio began when he was in college. Scott presently hosts two shows on Inspired News Radio: Mind Your Own Business and Sales with Sully. He never dreamed internet radio could be this much fun! Scott has a 30-year history working in sales. After the age of 50, he "hung out his shingle" and is now assisting "small to medium-size companies improve their bottom line and their top line by organically helping them grow their sales through tactical marketing and sales training and coaching." His mantra: "We'll do it for you; we'll do it with you; we'll teach you to do it; OR we'll watch you do it and train you as you go." Basically, Scott's company offers several different levels of sales and marketing services at different price points. As the conversation continued, Scott touched on sales as being a combination of art and science. The art or skill is interacting with prospects without overselling. The science is tra

Glo Ochoa and her parents moved a lot when she was young as her father was in the military. Because of the brief time living in different locations, Glo found it a challenge to build lasting friendships so she read a great deal and started her life-long quest of learning about a variety of topics. In high school, Glo was interested in becoming an artist and writer, but a teacher discouraged her from following that path. So after high school, Glo worked in accounts payable and accounts receivable and thought she wanted to become an accountant. On her 35th birthday, Glo had an epiphany and decided she would go to college since she couldn’t move further up the corporate ladder without a degree. As she put it, “I was training everyone else to move up the ladder!” Glo earned two degrees: Business Management and Information Technology which opened a lot of doors for her. She quickly progressed from tech support to software configuration to IT management. In addition, she was a tech writer and trainer. Paradoxically

When Karen Anne Jacks was four years old, her mother was pregnant with her fifth child. Karen Anne's father had left. And so, to get back on her feet, her mother made the very tough decision to place Karen Anne and her siblings in an orphanage for a few years. Karen Anne remembers the experience as "very intense and regimented".  As she grew up, Karen Anne lived with different families and attended numerous schools. What she learned is that "I can step into anything. I can make anything work." After high school, it was suggested that Karen Anne attend beauty school, which she did, and "I loved it! I was like a duck to water!" Karen Anne realized she was in charge of her career and could be as successful as she wanted. She became a Board Certified Hair Colorist and Hairdresser, and at the age of 27, Karen Anne opened a salon and learned as she grew her business. Karen Anne closed her salon after 15 years but continued with her own "personal, private clientele" at her home. Over the years her clients would ask

For years, Julie Parker worked in the corporate world as an analyst in the oil and gas industry. A few years ago she began searching for a new career direction when she stumbled upon the concept of face reading. Julie had thought about becoming a nutritional coach based on a long-time interest in food and health. She was taking classes toward that goal when one of her fellow classmates led her to the website of a face reader. Julie's interest was piqued and she scheduled a reading with the woman. She submitted the required information and said, "Holy Cow! What came back was crazy!" The face reader "enlightened me about so many questions I had for decades!" Julie attended the woman's four-day workshop and soon after, a six-day intensive training. When she returned from training, Julie was laid off the contract job she had at the time. She saw it as "a kick in the pants" to start her own face reading business. Listen to Julie talk about her experience running her own business as she adjusted to the changes from

Deborah Douglas was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Growing up with three older brothers she could "run, catch, throw, and climb" with the best of them. At age 12, Deborah started dance lessons at a neighborhood studio with "Ms. Billie". She took ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics with the dream to be a ballerina and dance teacher. After high school, Deborah stopped dancing but was introduced to karate. This particular style of karate, ShorinRyu, reminded her of the choreographed movements of dance, so she really enjoyed it. Deborah started teaching karate at her dojo in the '70s and continued until she retired in 2007. For about 5 years, Deborah didn't teach at all. She wasn't happy and started gaining weight. She eventually decided to take action and hired a trainer to get back in shape. Through her trainer, she connected with a yoga instructor. After a year of practicing yoga, which she had been introduced to back when she taught karate, Deborah realized she wanted to teach yoga. At that time she took a

Nancy Leeds Gribble grew up in Florida where she loved the sunshine, water, and the outdoors. Nancy moved to The Woodlands, TX (close to Houston) 3 ½ years ago, “sight unseen!” to be closer to her sister. Her sisters in Boston wanted her to move there, but cold weather wasn’t in Nancy’s plans! Nancy worked in real estate for many years. She started in property management which segued eventually into becoming a successful realtor. In 2008 she “rode the wave” during the stock market and real estate crash, but basically, lost her career due to the economy. The ultimate life shift happened that year when her husband was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away in 2009. When her husband became ill, Nancy realized, “There’s nothing more important than your health!” She said, “I took a deep dive into learning everything I could about the healing power of food; why we need whole foods; and of course, I learned about the damage (caused) by processed foods.” At that point, she had lost everything: her husband and her

Karen's guest this week on Silver Linings is Cindy Hide, Family Law Attorney, Founder: Love, Money and the Law.  More about Cindy and her Silver Lining path:  Attorney Cindy Hide says going to law school was something "I always wanted to do. It was either become a professional ballet dancer or go to law school!" In high school, Cindy needed to make a decision about her path of study. Her mother said "If you want to be a ballet dancer then you go right ahead. Just know you're pretty much done when you're about 25. If you'd like to go to law school we'll be very supportive of that endeavor." A few years after she graduated from law school and started her own practice, Cindy met her husband-to-be, had two children and moved to Ohio, and had the "greatest life ever for 10 years." She later divorced which took 7 years for the entire procedure. When her daughter almost finished college, Cindy decided to start over at the age of 49. She put her house up for sale, packed "the bare essentials" in a U-Haul and moved b

Karen's guest this week is Rev. Nell Green.  Many years ago, Nell and her husband experienced a call to ministry as partners. They looked for opportunities to work together but couldn't find much in the U.S. So they researched overseas organizations that would be a good fit for them. They located two places: Japan and West Africa. When Nell was 28 she, her husband, and their four-month-old baby moved to Dakar, Senegal. Nell learned an important lesson in Senegal: women are women no matter where they are in the world. They have style and a sense of presenting themselves. They know how to express themselves through their beauty and their clothes. That lesson started a lifelong journey for Nell of studying women and fashion around the world. In explaining the story of how Threads by Nomad came about, Nell told me that her daughter, Christen, grew up in Africa with a love of fabrics and textiles and in a shared interest with her mother, a love of the beauty of women and how they express themselves through fashion

Wendy Lee said, "I kind of equate my life to a Jerry Springer episode. In a nutshell, there was a lot of trauma and dysfunction in my family". Wendy seemed to go from one tragic situation to another and didn't have a chance to process or heal. She compensated for not having a good sense of self by being an overachiever in the corporate world. In her personal life, however, Wendy found herself in one dysfunctional relationship after another. She finally decided she didn't want to live that way and started on a path of self-development. Wendy began connecting with life coaches and attended her first transformational retreat. Wendy's personal transformation continued to develop until it became a part of her daily life. Soon she "just completely 1,000% knew that (her own business) was going to be the next step". She created LeadHERship Revolution, a program where she teaches women professionals a new way of leading by "getting out of their heads and into their hearts". If you’ve heard something during this episo

Traci Silverman had a long, very successful career in medical sales. There came a time when she started getting burned out by her corporate job. By chance, Traci attended a Pilates training not having any idea how it would change her life. She loved Pilates and started teaching classes. "That was really sort of the catalyst because once I did that, the vault reopened!" Ten months after that initial Pilates training is when Traci made the decision to devote herself full-time to her business, Feeling Great Today. It's become her passion! Listen to find out more about how health and fitness have played lifelong roles in Traci's life and the services she now offers others. She even has a particular focus for the 50+ crowd!     This May (2019) in Taos, NM, Traci is hosting her first retreat with ROAM Yoga Retreats! It's close to being sold out but she has more in the works, so stay tuned! Traci Silverman, Life & Virtual Health Coach, Feeling Great Today Find out more about Traci and her wor

Listen to find out how Kate has restarted her career and lifelong dream!  Tune in for "Maybe Steven Spielberg Will Call Me Today!" In high school, Kate McIntyre was a band “geek.” Her high school in Ojai, CA, was one of the first in the U.S. to put on the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Kate was in the orchestra. She remembers “sitting in the orchestra pit peering over the edge of the stage, having so much fun and thinking to myself, ‘I’d like to do that!’” Kate took an acting class in college and was hopelessly hooked! Kate performed in community theater for years before finally beginning to work professionally as an actor. Although life threw her some major curves, Kate never lost the desire to be a successful actor. Kate McIntyre, Actor, Writer, Acting and Audition Coach Follow your dreams. We have one life - so just ...do it. Connect with Kate on her website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Read her official bio on IMDb.

Join Karen for the premiere of Silver Linings as she welcomes her first guest, Lynn Swanson, Founder of The Worship Keyboardist, and and how the path of her life led Lynn to start her company, The Worship Keyboardist. Music has been part of Lynn Swanson’s life from the time of her youth. She took piano lessons for six years growing up but never liked it much, and her mom “let her off the hook.” In high school Lynn sang with different school groups and even had some high profile gigs in the Minneapolis area. At age 19 she attended a new church in north Minneapolis. “They basically tossed me up on the piano and said, ‘You’re our music director!’”  From this scary but thrilling experience, Lynn learned how to play by chord. Listen to hear the rest of the story, and how the path of her life led Lynn to start her company, The Worship Keyboardist. Lynn Swanson, Founder. Find out more about Lynn by visiting her website, or connecting with her on Facebo