exceptional people magazine-july-august 2011 part two

July-August 2011

CONTENTS

www.exceptionalmag.com

Cover photo by Grey Hutton Photography

Extraordinary Profiles

56

Cover Story—

Nicko Williamson–London’s Green Entrepreneur Achieves Success with

Climatecars

63 Susan Ellis—From Challenge Comes

Knowledge and Triumph Inspiration

68 Doors of Opportunity Usually Swing Open on the Hinges of Adversity

70 Stacy Hawkins Adams in Profile

72 Turning Challenges into Opportunities

73 Summer Self-Care

The Lighter Side

75 Water, Water, Everywhere

79 Profile Resources

80 Writers and Contributors

Focus intently upon your life's passion. Focus intently upon your life's passion. Focus intently upon your life's passion. Focus intently upon your life's passion. Don't lose sight of your goal.Don't lose sight of your goal.Don't lose sight of your goal.Don't lose sight of your goal.

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Thank you...Founder, Monica DavisThank you...Founder, Monica DavisThank you...Founder, Monica DavisThank you...Founder, Monica Davis

Photo by http://everaftervisuals.com

How manyHow manyHow many of us can say that

at age 22 we

wanted to become

an entrepreneur?

Londoner Nicko

Williamson did

just that. While

attending Marlbor-

ough College he

envisioned himself

becoming his own

boss, but more impor-

tantly, he wanted to

make a significant con-

tribution to his coun-

try’s environment.

Nicko is beginning

to see the fruits of

his labor after three

years of hard work

that he spent to begin

his company Climate-

cars.

Not only is he fulfilling

his dream as an entrepre-

neur and contributing to

changing London’s environ-

ment, but Nicko’s entrepre-

neurial endeavor has become

an asset to London’s economy.

He employs 60 plus employees.

In today’s world that’s a major

feat, especially for the 27 year-

old entrepreneur extraordinaire.

Nicko’s dream behind Climatecars

was to introduce a vehicle that

would have lower levels of

emissions, thereby helping to

create a greener environment.

He is succeeding, and his goal is

to become the first company to

provide a 100% emission-free

taxi service within a few years.

Nicko Nicko Nicko

WilliamsonWilliamsonWilliamson

London’London’London’s s s GreenGreenGreen Entrepreneur Entrepreneur Entrepreneur MMMakes a akes a akes a Success Success Success withwithwith ClimatecarsClimatecarsClimatecars

Extraordinary ProfilesExtraordinary ProfilesExtraordinary ProfilesExtraordinary Profiles

Monica: What was your vision behind starting Climate-

cars?

Nicko: My vision was an eco-friendly taxi company. I

could see that everybody was using taxis. Taxis are in-

credibly popular in London. I thought why not make this

green? I couldn’t see a reason why it couldn’t be green. I

started looking at gas conversion as my first idea. I was

going to convert them to run on LPG, liquefied petroleum

gas, which has a lower emission than petrol or diesel. I

then decided that really wasn’t the way because I couldn’t

get it to work or make the emissions savings stack up.

About that time the new generation of Toyota Prius came

out and it was the obvious thing to use.

We didn’t have to convert the Toyota Prius. If you com-

pare a Prius to a standard black taxi, which are what most

people use to get around town, the emissions on the new

model Prius is around 89 grams per kilometer. The black

cab is around 230 and at the high end 260 or 270 grams per

kilometer. So the savings are vast and there’s no difficulty

in doing it. We didn’t have to charge more for our service.

Although there is no lower level of service, I wanted to cre-

ate something that was better than our competitors.

We have leather seats in all of our cars and we give away a

special environmentally friendly branded bottle of water in

all of our cars. We’ve got magazines and smart drivers

who deliver great service.

I want to be the car company that people or companies will

use while feeling good about themselves while sharing and

caring about the environment. But we’re also giving them

great service.

Monica: I would imag-

ine that you had to

acquire

fund-

Climatecars has changed the tone of London’s taxicab

industry. Nicko saw a need and quickly began to find a

way to fill it. As the top green cab company, Nicko

wanted to ensure that his customers would not sacrifice

comfort and convenience. As a matter of fact, Climate-

cars offers enhanced customer service, from the time that

the customers are picked up until they arrive at their des-

tinations.

Let’s take an interesting trip into Nicko’s entrepreneurial

dream as he shares his experience with Exceptional Peo-

ple Magazine.

Monica: Tell me about yourself in terms of growing up

– your high school years.

Nicko: I went to school called Marlborough College in

Wiltshire, which is a boarding school. From there I grew

up in the countryside and I had a rather nice upbringing.

At about age 18 or 19 I went to Bristol University and

studied Modern History which of course is a bit unrelated

to what I’m doing now.

But that was my main degree and when I was there I was

always thinking about what I was going to be doing while

my friends were applying to become investment bankers

and entering other professions. I wanted to start my own

business, so it was while at Bristol that I actually had the

idea for Climatecars.

It started during my last year at the university while I was

writing my dissertation. I was scribbling down ideas

about Climatecars and it progressed to the point where I

began writing a business plan.

Upon leaving Bristol University I began to focus on Cli-

matecars in 2006. It took me a year after leaving

Bristol to start the company.

July-August 2011 | Exceptional People Magazine | 57


ing. How were you able to get the funding and what

challenges if any, did you encounter in trying to fund

your idea?

Nicko: Lots of challenges. When I left the university, I

was 22 years old. I had never run a business, never

worked for anybody though I had participated in some

internships. I didn’t have a lot of credible experience

behind me. I knew a lot of entrepreneurs and I sought a

lot of advice. One of them told me to go work for a taxi

company in London, pick apart the business, to under-

stand and build myself a bible, as it were, on how to op-

erate this type of business. So at age 22, I went off and did

that. I really came to understand the process. I went back

to the entrepreneur and he was quite surprised that I did it.

He began advising and mentoring me. By this time I was in

a good position because I had a business plan and I had also

attended London Business School which is the business

equivalent of Harvard or Yale in the United States.

I approached them with the idea and asked for help. They

put two MBA students on it, and we actually entered a

business planning competition. It was called a Global So-

cial Venture Competition which is a competition for busi-

58 | Exceptional People Magazine | July-August 2011


nesses with an environmental or social impact. These

two individuals were able to help me with the numbers

and I was able to build a solid, robust business plan. I

then approached a network of people who I knew had

funds they may want to invest. I explained what I wanted

to do -- I was trying to raise £200,000 to start the busi-

ness.

A number of them said yes. I submitted the plan and it’s

amazing. The first person that I sent my business plan to

contacted me and said he would give me £50,000. An-

other person came along and gave me £25,000 and an-

other gave

£20,000. I was

over half way

and suddenly

the rest of it

kind of fell into

place. I man-

aged to get a

few relatives to

contribute as

well.

It was all equity

funding and I

sold 30 percent

of the company

back in 2007.

That allowed

me to be ade-

quately capital-

ized. I also

leased vehicles

and that gave

me capital that

I needed to

start.

Monica: When you were

learning how to

run a business

by working for

a rival taxi

company, how

long did that

process take?

Nicko: About

three months. I

was young and impatient, so I literally crawled all over the

business, spoke to everybody, trying to identify their weak-

nesses. I could have spent more time and I probably should

have spent more time, to be honest. I probably would have

avoided some mistakes. It wasn’t a very well-run business,

so I didn’t want to shape my business based on that busi-

ness. I just wanted to learn from their mistakes and under-

stand the market.

I had a timeframe in my head that I wanted to get this done

within a year from leaving the university. It was just before

Christmas that I left the company and allowed myself a

couple of months to raise cash, get an office and hire peo-

ple. It was a bit hurried but I feel when you have momen-

tum you need to push on with it.

Monica: What makes your eco-friendly car different from

other eco-friendly cars?

Nicko: There are other companies doing a similar thing in

London. We were one of the first, but now other compa-

nies have realized it’s a sensible move to use the Toyota

Prius technology.

The differentiating factor with us is that we offer a really

great service with lots of extras and added value beyond

what other companies offer. We offer more of a corporate

car service than a normal taxi service at a very competitive

price. So it’s not just the eco-friendly side. It’s the little

things such as when you get picked up from the airport,

there’s a cold bottle of water waiting for you and a driver

meeting you in a suit that looks smart and will help you

with your bags. It comes down to great service. It’s the

core of our business.

Monica: Your goal is to combine ecology, economy and

innovation to provide the most comfortable service.

Nicko: That was one of our initial goals. We’re now

working on new innovations. I’ve hired a new operations

director this year who has mostly taken on the day-to-day

operations which has freed up a lot of my time to allow me

to focus on strategy. So what I’m doing now is looking at

the next stage of the business, which is going to be running

a fleet of totally electric cars and also combing that with

range extending hybrids. We’re going to be using the U.K.

version of the Chevy Volt and Renault bringing out a range

of electric vehicles as early as next year. By this time next

year we’ll have a much better range of vehicles and a wider

range of services, again with lower emissions while striving

to be the greenest car or taxi company around.



Monica: Who are your customers or clients?

Nicko: Corporate clients mainly. Ninety percent of our

revenue comes from business customers and they range

from one very large U.S. Investment bank, to Unilever,

radio stations, ad agencies and others. We have a very

diverse client base. My goal has been to spread our cli-

ents as widely as possible and not have too many clients

taking up too much of our turnover. Our largest clients

are no more than 15 to 20% turnover. That gives us sta-

bility so that if we were to lose a client, we won't go bust.

Monica: Your service is becoming a luxury taxi service?

Nicko: I wouldn’t use the word luxury because I don’t

want people to be put off by price. We are very cost-

sensitive and we offer services at a good value price. It’s

no more expensive than any of our competitors. It’s actu-

ally often cheaper than the black cab over about two

miles. We offer high quality

and good value car service.

We have a lot of cash and

credit card customers, so if

you’re ever in London and

you want to book one of our

cars, you can ring us up 24

hours a day or book online.

Anybody can book our cars.

Monica: The average per-

son can use your service?

Nicko: Yes, they can call

anytime, 24 hours a day, 265

days a year.

Monica: Your vision is to

provide first class service. Your customer service has

several components. I'll outline a few of them for you to

expand on:

The first one is reliability – how do you provide reliabil-

ity to your customers?

Nicko: We use a lot of technology. We’ve invested very

heavily in very good software and hardware so that we

have vehicle tracking. All of our vehicles are dispatched

through our computer system which means that the jobs

the drivers get are sent through PDA, and we can see ex-

actly where the driver is. If the customer is running late,

we can quickly change things around. We are able to

monitor every part of the process, which means we are able

to provide reliable service.

Monica: What value do you bring to your customers?

Nicko: We give great service at the right price and at the

lowest possible emissions you can get for this type of ser-

vice. We’re not providing limo service but a very comfort-

able service that’s going to show up on time to get you to

your destination on time.

Monica: What about comfort?

Nicko: Again, we offer things like leather seats, mineral

water, nice clean cars, drivers who will turn the air condi-

tioning to whatever temperature you want, generally good

quality service. It’s all about comfort and service. People

who decide to use us will use us often because of our green

credentials.

Monica: How have Climatecars impacted the economy in

London? Have you been able to measure the success that

the car is having on London’s economy?

Nicko: Not particularly in relation to the economy as a

whole. We’ve grown tremendously. I would say it’s the

whole product or service that we’re providing. We’ve been

going for four years and last year for example, we did £2.2

million of turnover. It’s been growing really nicely and

we’re planning on doing over £3 million next year. Assum-

ing things continue to go well, I think it’s having a very

positive affect on the economy in London.



Nicko: A lot of hard work and pretty good marketing. It’s

a solid idea and decent product. We’ve gone into an exist-

ing market and tweaked the product so that it works better

and is different and interesting. I think that’s where the

success comes from. We’re not trying to invent something

new and revolutionary; we’re tweaking an existing product

and it allows us to enter a market and receive decent market

share fairly quickly because people need this service.

We’re very proud of our brand.

Monica: From a business standpoint what are some impor-

tant lessons you’ve learned since starting the company?

Nicko: Oh, lots of things, just being willing to try things.

The first is cash flow. It’s obviously a very cash-intensive

business. We’ve been profitable for quite a while now but

to begin with, it was very tough to run the business when

you’re not making money and lots of companies are delay-

ing payment terms, and things like that. One of the key

things I’ve learn is managing cash. I think you have to

keep innovating. I think you have to make sure you have a

good story that’s well marketed, and a good sales team. I

started off doing all the sales myself but we now have two

people who also do sales and marketing for us. That’s very

important.

Also, along the cash flow line, make sure you have a very

good numbers person. We’re lucky to have a finance direc-

tor who is very helpful and it means we’re very much on

top of the key metrics of the business. It’s extremely im-

portant that if you’re going to run anything operational that

Monica: Absolutely. You’re putting people to work.

Nicko: Yes. We have over 60 drivers as well as an of-

fice staff. It’s becoming a big business but we’re scaling

it up. We’re not going to continue to do the same thing.

We’re going to keep innovating ,and there will be other

services that are complimentary to this one.

Monica: Your aim is to be the first zero emissions car

service. How far are you from reaching that goal?

Nicko: We’re getting quite close. We’ve got the electric

vehicles coming early next year and these cars will gener-

ally be zero emissions. There’s always the part of where

we get the electricity from. There’s a lack of renewable

electricity in the U.K., which is a bit of a problem. But

we will be providing cars that do not emit any CO2 at all

when they’re driving around town. They’ll be purely

electric.

We’re within a year for part of our fleet to get to that

point, but we’re quite a ways off for the whole fleet be-

cause we need to do some longer distance trips as well.

The issue you have with electric vehicles is range. The

ones we’re using are going to have about a 100 mile

range to them, so we’re only going to be able to have a

portion of our fleet solely electric. The remainder will be

range-extending hybrids and other new technology.

Monica: What do you attribute to the success of your

company?



difficult to say how we would have done it, looking back.

The right people are generally attracted to some form of

success, but when you’re starting a business from scratch,

you have no success or track record, and it's quite difficult

to get the right people involved in the business. I think that

would be the key thing. We’ve made many mistakes and

have learned from all of them. It’s part of the learning

process. It’s managing while learning. If you’ve got the

determination to make it succeed, it’s possible.

Monica: I want to congratulate you on your success. You

have achieved a lot in such a very short period of time.

Nicko: Thank you.

Monica: When you first started with your idea, what did

your parents think?

Nicko: They thought I was nuts, quite honestly. I remem-

ber going out to dinner with my dad and he asked, “You’re

really serious about this business?" He listed all the rea-

sons why I shouldn’t do it, and I paid no attention to him.

I said I was going to do it and we changed the subject.

After a while he saw how determined I was to get it done,

then I got a tremendous amount of support. So he began to

introduce me to a lot of people that he thought could be

potential investors. Both of my parents became incredibly

supportive. I‘m lucky enough to come from a family that's

pretty liberal. They weren’t focused on my becoming a

lawyer, a doctor or some other profession. They encour-

aged me to do what makes me happy. They saw that I had

the grit and determination to do it. I’ve always been a de-

termined person.

I’ve taken a different route and I have complete control

over my life, whereas a lot of my friends who are working

in the corporate world are working very long hours for oth-

ers and not necessarily enjoying it.

For me, I’ve had to work tremendously hard, but I’ve actu-

ally gotten somewhere, some place where I have control.

I think it's an incredible place to be.

Monica: What do you think about the economy today and

the impact that entrepreneurs will have?

Nicko: I really think entrepreneurs are going to rebuild the

world economy, and I believe with a little determination,

hard work and building good teams, anything is possible. ♦

you absolutely need to know every little number that’s

going on within the business and driving different areas

of the business.

Monica: Obviously one of the main keys to operating a

successful business is a solid marketing plan and team.

Nicko: Absolutely. We are not of a size where we use

advertising but we use public relations to generate press.

Our cars are branded quite subtlety, we do e-campaigns

and cold calling as well. We’re not re-inventing the

wheel. We’re doing a lot of search engine optimization

and other related things.

Monica: Within a short period of time your company

has grown tremendously.

Nicko: Yes, thankfully. We've got to keep it going now.

Monica: What advice can you give other young entre-

preneurs about starting a business?

Nicko: I would say one of the key things is assembling a

good team. Whether it’s a team of people to work with

or a team of people to advise and support you. I was very

lucky with my London Business School associates and a

few other people I involved in the business. Although I

was running it myself, I was able to pick up the phone

and get advice and help from them. Without it the busi-

ness wouldn’t be where it is today.

I would say don’t get put off but make sure that any new

business you think of going into is well-researched. I

think people dive into things without really understanding

the market and the players and competitors. I did a lot of

competitive analysis before I started, so I knew exactly

what I was up against, what other companies were charg-

ing. I researched everything about the car and taxi mar-

ket in London. I think those are the key things to do.

Make sure the planning process is well done. If you miss

something, the business can be completely and funda-

mentally flawed.

Monica: Looking back on everything that you’ve done

so far, is there anything that you would do differently?

Nicko: It’s very easy to say in hindsight. I think proba-

bly staffing. We had a lot of difficulties with early mem-

bers of the staff. I think I would probably have spent

more money on recruitment rather than advertising. It

took a while to assemble the right team, but it’s really


As a parent, you want your child to

grow up happy and

healthy. Susan Ellis was

no different, but what was

different about her son

Ryan was that before he

turned three years of age,

she noticed that he was

developmentally delayed.

By three and a half years

of age, Ryan was officially

diagnosed with autism.

Ellis knew she had an up-

hill battle, but she was

willing to endure. She

made a commitment to

herself and to Ryan that

she would help him live

the best life possible.

From challenges often

come victories, and from

her life’s challenges, Ellis

has developed a series of

products that are improv-

ing her son’s life, as well

as the lives of many other

children.

She and Ryan’s therapist,

Marnie Danielson, devel-

oped a series of programs

called "The TV Teacher"

aimed at helping kids with

special needs learn to

write. The programs have

become so effective that

From Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and TriumphFrom Challenge Comes Knowledge and Triumph

Susan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan EllisSusan Ellis

made tremendous breakthroughs with

him. He began talking within weeks.

With a child who really had no clue

about the world around him, after we

began removing milk and gluten and

wheat from his diet, you could just

see the haze beginning to lift.

It was interesting. So we've been

very fortunate that a lot of the inter-

ventions that we've done with Ryan

have been very successful. That's

been a saving grace for us. And

through that we started to learn. We

did ADA therapy, which is very in-

tense one-on-one therapy.

That helped me to understand how to

teach him. He's very visual, and so

through the next couple years, I

worked very intensely with Ryan,

bringing him up to grade level. So

this is basically how the TV Teacher

was born -- through all of these

breakthroughs that Ryan was having.

He got through all those therapies up

to grade level. He was about to enter

kindergarten, but he still could not

write. He couldn't write his name.

He wouldn't write a shape or a letter.

But the interesting thing was that he

could actually read and spell. So he

understood letters and he knew how

to use them, but he just couldn't mo-

tor-plan them.

He had been in therapy for almost

two years, inside and outside the

school system, working on this one

skill. I had purchased every program

I possibly could imagine that I

thought would help him, motivate

him, and nothing was working. And I

watched him one morning watching

TV. He was imitating a dance step

that he saw on TV, and the light bulb

went on in my head. I said, "Wow.

If he could imitate that, why couldn't

he imitate writing? If I put writing on

TV, would that be enough to motivate

him?"

I called his therapist, Marnie and I

said, "I think I know what he needs.

Would you just give me a few min-

utes of your time," and graciously she

did. We went to my basement with

my camcorder camera, and we started

on the letter C. She would say rhyth-

mic chants that she had always said in

the clinic, but he had been so dis-

tracted that he never really caught on.

His therapist looked at me, and she

said, "Sue, I don't get this. I do this

all the time. What are you trying to

accomplish here?" I said, "I just

know how his brain works. I know

how he thinks. I really think he needs

the visual aspect of it." "This is bor-

ing though. Let's make it jazzy. Let

me throw in some props, make it

more exciting." And we did, C is for

cat; C is for candle and so forth. I

said, "Just be as goofy as you can."

And I videotaped her, and then we

moved it to the chalkboard. We put it

down on paper, and it ended up being

about a three-minute video. Later that

afternoon I showed it to him and he

sat there completely glued and

watched it and said, "Do it again." I

played it for him again. I put a

marker in his hand, and I said, "Are

you ready, little buddy?" And instead

of taking that marker and throwing it

across the room, as he had been doing

for two years, he actually held it. We

started saying the chant, "Up and

around, letter C, up and around, letter

C." And he just got it. We made this

multi-sensory approach. That was

the miracle that finally made that con-

nection that he needed. Now I'm

hearing that from children, therapists

and teachers all over the country.

I called her up immediately and said,

"Okay. We've got one letter down.

We've got 25 more to go. When are

you coming back?" So we worked

really diligently all summer long. She


one of them is being considered for

use with normal kindergarten children

as well.

Ellis, a dedicated and determined

mother has turned her challenge and

her son’s challenge into an amazing

success story.

Monica: Talk a little bit about your

experience with Ryan and how that

inspired you to start the TV Teacher

program. How has it helped parents

with kids who are suffering from

autism?

Susan: We saw differences, and he

was always delayed, I guess I should

say. And he was never really quite

reaching some of the milestones even

at, 12 months and 16 months. But at

about 18 months he was definitely

delayed and had very bad temper tan-

trums and he wasn't responding to his

name or becoming engaged or listen-

ing. And we started going through

speech therapy and occupational ther-

apy. This was probably about the

time -- a few years before Autism

Speaks and Jenny McCarthy and oth-

ers brought a little more media atten-

tion to autism. It wasn't that prevalent

in discussions with people what au-

tism was about. A number of teachers

who knew and therapists who knew

wouldn't tell me. I really had no idea

why my child was behaving this way,

but I knew something was wrong.

We finally had the official diagnosis

when Ryan was about three and a half

years old. At that point we were able

to research different things that we

could do to help him such as a gluten-

free, casein-free diet, which made a

huge impact on him. He ended up

being allergic to a lot of the foods we

were giving him, typical foods that

children eat. Trying some other bio-

medical interventions like B-12 and

different supplements and vitamins


was gracious enough to do-

nate free therapy time, trying

to create this tool for him.

And you don't find that many

individuals who can give up

their time on the weekends to

do this.

And as we started going

through a couple letters, she

started giving it to some of

her other clients, and they had

tremendous success as well.

Ryan’s therapist said, "I think

we've got something here.

These people are finding suc-

cess. Ryan is finding suc-

cess." And I even tried this

with some of my friend's chil-

dren. They were having incredi-

ble breakthroughs too. Within

minutes they were correcting

their letters. So I said, "We're

going to go professional." So we

made a professional DVD, The

Uppercase Alphabet Beats. And

we didn't even know at the time

whether we would sell 50 of

them. But we had such an amaz-

ing response, and teachers and

parents and therapists just loved

it and asked us to do more. So

we came out with the lower case

a year later. And I mean these

productions are really two-hour

long productions, so they're quite

intense and they take quite some

time to produce.

And then we came up with a pre-

writing program called Strokes,

Shapes and Scenes that works on

just making a simplified line

down or a mid-line cross to mak-

ing shapes and making pictures

from shapes. And this is really

working on creativity that so

many children with autism and



Down syndrome and ADD -- many of

them lack that ability to think ab-

stractly.

Just video-modeling that on the TV

and allowing them to say that this is

okay and this is what we mean by

changing some designs has really

made great breakthroughs, as well in

allowing them to be a little bit more

palatable in their thinking. We re-

cently came up with Number Beats,

which teaches children to count,

skip-counting and writing numbers.

Monica: What are some of the usual

signs that a child may have autism?

Susan: Most likely you're going to

get a lack of language processing in

speaking. A lot of times you'll see

that when you call their name, they

won't respond. They may be in a

room or even in a preschool environ-

ment in a class, but they're playing

alone. They're not necessarily engag-

ing and wanting to engage with other

children.

Many children with autism have sen-

sory integration. Sight-wise, hearing,

touching, feeling are many times ei-

ther very high or very low for them.

A lot of children with autism may

have problems with loud sounds.

What you and I may not consider to

be loud, like flushing the toilet -- that

sound would drive my son to the

ground.

So those are certainly key things to

consider, that there might be a bunch

of little things on this spectrum.

Those are some key points that may

be a "red flag," to watch for.

Monica: When you began TV

Teacher, how did you bring people

together, the teachers and the special-

ists to help you create this amazing

program?

Susan: Great question. It has been

primarily, Ryan’s therapist, Marnie

and me. We have a great collabora-

tion because she has over 15 years

experience with occupational therapy

inside the school system and in her

private clinic, working with children

with various diagnoses. I, of course,

had been living 24/7 with autism with

language delay. I have another son

with Auditory Processing Disorder.

So it's been really us putting this to-

gether and working from the magic

that we first created in that basement

video. It's the same type of design,

only now more professional.

We created workbooks. We sat down

with a group of kindergarten teachers

who had already been using our pro-

gram and asked, "What do you want

in a workbook," and just gaining

ideas from them. We certainly like to

ask questions and we always try to

incorporate the feedback that we get

from various therapists and teachers

and parents.

Monica: Where do you see the TV

Teacher program in the future?

Susan: I think our next program will

be focused on cursive writing.

Marnie is such a capable and quali-

fied occupational Therapist (OT) and

has a presence that kids just love.

And I think we're going to come up

with stories, for example, going to the

dentist, how to play with friends or

not to bully, and just different things

from a social aspect.

Monica: That would certainly open

up many more doors for you.

Susan: Around the country school

systems are beginning to learn about

our program. They will purchase our

programs and put it in special needs

pre-K and kindergarten classrooms,

as well as regular kindergarten pro-

grams. We are in various retail stores

so that people who home school can

go into a school-based retail store and

purchase our product. We are avail-

able online. We've made the program

cost very reasonable. We didn't want

it to be out of reach for any person or

to ruin the budget of a school system

by any means. It’s very affordable for

teachers and parents of children with

special needs. There are so many

things that we spend money on that

insurance doesn't cover. We wanted

it to be very easy and a no-brainer

price for parents to use.

Monica: You have found your pur-

pose in life, and it's wonderful that

you're not only helping your child, but

you are helping thousands of other

children as well. So what do you find

most rewarding about your life’s pas-

sion?

Susan: Exactly that, I'm helping chil-

dren that I've never met. When I get

an email from a parent in Montana or

a city where I've never been, just the

fact that what we have developed has

touched a family so much and has

reduced frustration for a child -- I

mean that just makes our day. It

never gets old, and we share with our

team whenever we receive emails.

We say, "We helped another one." To

have a child go from being so frus-

trated while performing a simple task

to understanding how to motor-plan

and providing a feeling of accom-

plishment, it's amazing.

I have learned to have patience more

than I ever thought I would. I look at

a lot of things differently now. I have

become much more accepting of dif-

ferences, a lot more relaxed about

differences than I ever have been, es-

pecially when I was in the corporate

world. ♦



InspirationInspirationInspirationInspirationInspirationInspirationInspirationInspiration

Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.Appreciate all successes, no matter how small.

InspirationInspirationInspirationInspiration

Spring had come to the

northeast, and with

the weather mild

and sunny, my hus-

band and I decided to take our children to visit the zoo.

We, along with scores of other people with smiles on

their faces, went through the entrance gate and canvassed

exhibit after exhibit, peering in awe at the amazing crea-

tures.

Enjoying nature’s splendor, we walked up a tree-lined short

path, and stopped to marvel at the natural beauty of the

towering 17-foot giraffes and their offspring basking in the

zoo’s open woodland. One little giraffe, was sitting on the

Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Doors of Opportunity Usually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing OpenUsually Swing Open

on the on the on the on the on the on the on the on the Hinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of AdversityHinges of Adversity

By Catherine Galasso-Vigorito



ground next to the mother, but in an instant, the baby got

up and was on her feet. Then, the calf seemed to wobble

and fall down. Yet effortlessly, the calf stood back up

again.

My oldest daughter’s hair fluttered about her face in the

breeze and her blue-green eyes were wide open with curi-

osity, as she said to me, “Mom, with their long legs, I am

surprised how quickly the calves are able to stand up.”

I agreed. And at that moment, I recalled a book that I had

read years ago about calves that taught me a valuable life

lesson. “Well, honey,” I answered my daughter, as we

stood still, arm in arm, “The calves have to get up quickly

if they tumble, because if they’re in the wild, they can fall

prey to other animals.”

Continuing, I told my daughter that when a mother gi-

raffe gives birth, she does so standing, and the calf then

drops to the ground from about six feet up, and typically

head first. Quickly, I assured, “The fall does not hurt the

calf. However, almost immediately after birth, the mother

teaches the calf, by actually knocking the baby down, to

stand up on its own legs. She knocks the calf down re-

peatedly, for the mother giraffe wants to strengthen her

little one in an effort to try to keep the calf safe for the

challenges ahead.”

“Mom, the calf learns to ‘get up’ by being ‘knocked

down?’” My daughter asked.

“Precisely,” I uttered. And as if reading my mind, I knew

she sensed what I was saying.

When we arrived home, I went into the office to skim my

shelf for the book, ‘A View from the Zoo,’ by Gary

Richman. I found the copy and sat down on my wingback

chair and began to read once more how the author de-

scribed the birth of a baby giraffe:

“The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take

a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over her

calf. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the

most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous

leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawl-

ing head over heels.

“When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated

over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous.

As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to

stimulate its efforts. Finally, the calf stands for the first

time on its wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe does some-

thing remarkable. She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She

wants it to remember how it got up…

“I’ve thought about the birth of the giraffe many times. I

can see its parallel in my own life. There have been many

times when it seemed that I had just stood up after a trial,

only to be knocked down by the next. It was God helping me

to remember how it was that I got up, urging me always to

walk with Him, in His shadow, under His care.”

Perhaps, you have been knocked down time and again.

Maybe, you experienced an emotional ‘kick.’ Or have suf-

fered through various trials.

But let’s keep in mind that the events in our lives, even the

most difficult, have meaning and value. All of our experi-

ences, good or bad, haven’t been wasted. It is those experi-

ences, molded together, that allow you to help others, to

understand their pain, and shape you into the person you

are destined to be. And similar to the baby calves, our chal-

lenges, obstacles and ‘kicks’ are a call to strengthen us, not

to defeat us.

God created you with a vast inner determination and resil-

ience. You have special gifts and abilities. Therefore, de-

spite how many setbacks you have had, press on, daring to

reach forth for your heart’s desires. Stop looking at where

you’ve been and begin to focus on where you can be today

and tomorrow! Expand your range of possibilities. Go fur-

ther. Don’t wait. And if you stumble along the way or if

someone trips you, get back up and start to move forward

again. God is with you, so rest in His care, timing and sov-

ereign purpose. It is just a matter of time before you accom-

plish your dreams. So boldly look with hope and confi-

dence to the future. Victories are forthcoming, with more

joys, more blessings and more rewards, in store for you.

I still wonder sometimes why the knocks and kicks in my

own life are so many. But then I receive a letter from a

reader who says, “I feel like you are writing these words for

me,” “I want you to know how you have changed my life,”

and “Thank you for being there...”

And instantly, with startling clarity…I know. �


Stacy Hawkins Adams in ProfileStacy Hawkins Adams in ProfileStacy Hawkins Adams in Profile

By Bonnie Atwood

No bling required.

When

Stacy

Hawkins

Adams looks at you, she radiates all by herself. There’s

no other word. She actually radiates. Her attention is so

focused on the listener, it appears that rays of light are

coming from her eyes, her smile, and even her dimples.

Dressed in her characteristic basic black suit, pink shirt,

black boots and understated jewelry, Adams greeted at-

tendees at the Women Who Mean Business Summit spon-

sored by the Metropolitan Business League in Richmond,

Virginia., in January 2011.

As part of the trade show, Adams had a booth set up to

feature her six nationally published novels of inspiration.

She was also one of a panel of authors who presented their

personal stories and fielded questions from an enthusiastic

audience of entrepreneurs.

Adams seems born for this role, and, indeed, she told the

audience that her interest in writing dates back to early

childhood in Pine Bluff, Ark. She loved to read poems. At

the tender age of 10, she wrote a letter to the police depart-

ment. She wrote some pieces which her sister, Barbara, sta-

pled together for her.

“Now you have a book!” said her sister. That did it. Adams

knew what she would do in life.

Adams covered the real world of social issues before she

developed her craft as a fiction writer. She was a full-time

newspaper reporter and columnist for 14 years, primarily at


the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where she also wrote an

inspirational column. She still writes a weekly parenting

column called “Life Notes.” Her most recent column is

typical of the important messages that she imparts. It re-

views an important documentary film for parents: “Race

to Nowhere.” She keeps up with all things of interest to

parents and families. On these matters, she has a front-

row seat. She’s the parent of a child in elementary school

and one in middle school.

Adams’ work is filled with food for thought. She tells

stories of faith, social issues, and personal growth. The

characters in her novels are creations (“I’m not Serena,”

she says), but they are representative of you and me—

real people with real and modern problems, hopes, and

dreams. Adams encourages readers to “tune in to hear

God’s whispers.” She reveals her deepest thoughts, and

even doubts, about a God that “I couldn’t see or touch.”

She comes through her journeys with a clearer, deeper

understanding of God’s role in her life. This is the mes-

sage that she so successfully shares with her devoted

readers.

Adams’ fourth novel really skyrocketed her career. That

book was The Someday List, which maintained a steady

presence on the Essence bestseller’s list, and then went

on to the Kindle bestseller list. Adams says that her char-

acters are all made up, but they are based on the concerns

that real people send to her. After every book publication,

readers pour their hearts out to her in emails. Some of the

topics are those that are important, but tough to talk

about, like domestic violence and infertility. She handles

these topics carefully, but, she says, “not in a soap-opera-

ish way.”

The latest of Adams’ acclaimed novels is Dreams That

Won’t Let Go, published a year ago. In May she had a

book of nonfiction released: Who Speaks to Your Heart?

Busy women from all walks of life can relate to these

books of devotion.

Adams empowers women. Her goal is to “ignite hope and

faith to fuel your dreams.” She calls her first three novels

the Jubilant Soul Series, in which “faith, family and

drama co-exist.” Her books are the kind that people read

when they need a lift, and write notes in the margin.

They’re the kind of reading that makes you want to talk

to your friends and re-commit to something greater than

yourself. They’re the kind of books that make you want

to, well, contact the author herself and tell her how you

feel.

This reporter first met Adams at a Richmond Toastmaster

meeting—the best place where nervous, amateur speakers

can come to learn to be polished orators. Adams was a

natural. She has developed her speaking career right along

with her writing. She is a member of the Advanced Writers

and Speakers Association, and can keep an audience en-

tranced and uplifted.

Adams has now added personal coaching to her resume.

She launched her own coaching service called “Author in

You.” If you have book trapped inside you, yearning to get

out, she’s your coach. She helps fiction writers and non-

fiction writers to complete those manuscripts in progress.

Many writers were quick to give her credit for her coach-

ing, and she’s taking it up a notch with a new teleseminar

coaching service.

Adams uses her considerable talents to give back to the

community, too. She does child advocacy as an active

board member and as a marketing consultant for such is-

sues as children’s advocacy, prevention of child abuse, and

promotion of literacy.

Adams’ eighth and latest book is due out in early 2012. Her

publisher is Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The Metropolitan Business League (MBL), which spon-

sored this summit that featured Adams among it speakers,

is composed of small business owners in the Richmond,

Virginia, region. The MBL has been serving entrepreneurs

of all kinds for 40 years. This summit brought together

some of the best and most successful businesswomen in the

nation, including the keynote speaker, personal financial

advice guru Suze Orman. �



One of my favorite Workshops that

I conduct is "The Joy Workshop" One of the ideas that I talk about in

the Workshop is how challenging

people or events around us can be

opportunities to practice staying in

our own emotional state. So many of

us let situations and others around us

determine how we feel moment by

moment.

Instead we all need to determine

how we want to feel throughout the

day and stick with it--NO MAT-TER WHAT. To put it simply - do

you want to be a Thermometer

(mirroring the temperature of those

around you) - or a Thermostat

(putting your setting where you want

it to be)?

Now more than ever this is some-thing you can be practicing. Decide

what perspective you would like to

take based on what is happening in

the economy - a fear perspective or a

faith perspective.

One of the opportunities of this

current transformation is that we

can start to understand more

deeply that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Money

and material items do not create

safety and security for us.

What do you do in the face of chal-

lenge and uncertainty? Do you get

stuck in fear or are you able to see

it as an opportunity for growth?

What do you do in the face of chal-

lenge and uncertainty? Do you get

immobilized by fear and sink into

negativity? Or do you look at chal-

lenges as a springboard to opportunity

and growth?

Our mindset in the face of challenge

will dictate our experience of the challenge. It always amazes me that

in just a brief moment we can shift

our perspective of a situation and

completely transform the experi-

ence. How amazing is that! Such

power we have moment by moment to

shape our experiences in life. No one

has this control to create this shift but

you.

If we look at your reaction to the

economic changes--what perspec-

tive are you choosing? Is it fear

based - "The world is falling apart and

it is just going to get worse - I am un-

safe" or "We are going through a

huge transformation and I know won-

derful things are going to come from

it - I am excited to see what good will

come from this."

Our security is in the truth that we

are eternal spiritual beings who are

always safe each and every mo-ment. Harm can come to us on the

physical level - but we cannot be

harmed or destroyed on the spiritual

level - this part of us lives on.

So, what if what we are going

through is a transformation - a

spiritual awakening - an opportu-

nity to connect more deeply with who we truly are? Those that open

up to this will have an amazing ex-

perience and those that resist the op-

portunity will continue to strug-

gle. We are all called right now to

step out of our stuck patterns of trying

to create safety with the patterns of

our wounded self - and asked to move

more into the light and love of who

we are.

I remember attending a Workshop

were the presenter gave this quote "Most people think they are drowning

in an ocean of water - when in reality

they are just in a wading pool."

So don't buy into the current belief

that right now we are all drowning in an ocean of crisis - instead remind

yourself and others that we are in a

wading pool - and we are capable of

navigating this calmly and success-

fully! ♦


Turning Challenges into Opportunities

By Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC


Ice water and sugary sweet lemonade

alone no longer cool me, it takes mas-

sive lowering of the air conditioner,

ceiling fans on high and sitting qui-

etly until the sweat stops.

So knowing all of this, I’ve decided

to take time for pampering me this

summer. I invite you to join me in

treating yourself well; to consciously

engage in self-care. Does taking care

of yourself first sound selfish to you?

It did to me too, then I learned that

the better I take care of myself, the

better I can take care of love ones.

When was the last time you pampered

yourself? You could treat yourself to

a long, lazy, luxurious bath. Use your

most expensive bubble bath; listen to

your favorite sensuous, soothing mu-

sic.

Just as the sun begins to set, take a

short walk in the park. Deeply inhale

the smells of summer as you notice

the colors of the deep green shade of

the leaves and azure sky. Allow your

body to relax as you are walk swing-

ing your arms to a rhythm only you

hear.

“The perfect man of old “The perfect man of old “The perfect man of old “The perfect man of old looked after himself first looked after himself first looked after himself first looked after himself first before looking to help before looking to help before looking to help before looking to help others.’ ~Chuang Tzuothers.’ ~Chuang Tzuothers.’ ~Chuang Tzuothers.’ ~Chuang Tzu

Can you believe that it is the middle

of the year! Summer is upon us and it

is hot, hot, hot! I remember the sum-

mers of my youth in North Carolina,

with no air conditioning, with fans in

the ceiling and window. Staying in-

side wasn’t an option so I spent many

days outside on the porch or running

up and down the street.

Looking back on it, summer didn’t

seem as hot then. We’d have ice water

and sometimes lemonade to keep us

cool. The living was easy!

Is it because I’m a woman of a certain

age that it seems hotter? Could it be

that my frequent personal summers

contribute to the overall feeling of

being hot? You know what I’m talk-

ing about, suddenly, out of nowhere

my body heats up from the inside out.

Sweat rolls from places that I can’t

mention in mixed company!

Light your favorite scented candle

and sit quietly in your bedroom read-

ing a delicious book. Enjoy the aroma

from scented candles floating as a

backdrop around you. Of course, you

can think of many other ways to pam-

per yourself.

Caring is a natural feeling. Today

with the emphasis on ‘going green’,

how are you caring about the planet?

Realizing that we are all connected is

the first step to caring for our world.

However, the first step in taking care

of the planet is to take care of you.

Take it one day at a time. Just for to-

day, pay special attention to the little

things you do that pampers you. Then

think about the one little thing you

can do to care for the planet. Make a

conscious choice to participate in car-

ing for you first! Stay cool!

Yes, we are experiencing record

breaking heat! This is the perfect

time to slow down, indulge in safe

care and enjoy the long days of sum-

mer. ♦

Summer SelfSummer SelfSummer SelfSummer Self----CareCareCareCare

By Inez Bracy



The The The The The The The The

LighterLighterLighterLighterLighterLighterLighterLighter

SideSideSideSideSideSideSideSide

That’s it!! I can’t

take it anymore. I’ve

waited long enough.

I’ve got to have it.

Are you kiddin’?

He can’t take it?

My nerves are

shot.

Water, Water, Everywhere….but it’s Gonna Cost You

by Angie Brennan

Lighter SideLighter SideLighter SideLighter Side

“I need a bottle!” If you find yourself saying this often,

you are most likely: a) an infant, b) a drunk, or c) one of

the thousands of Americans reaching for their bottle of

mountain spring distilled water.

Remember the good old days when hydration was

simple? Pick up a glass, fill ‘er up with tap water, and

you’re good to go. Pretty much the only decision you

had to make was whether to add ice. These days,

choosing your water has become almost as compli-

cated as choosing a car---and in some cases, nearly as

expensive. Just visit the bottled water aisle at the gro-

cery store and take a look: do you want distilled wa-

ter? Carbonated water with a subtle fruit flavor? Min-

eral water? Or pure mountain spring water, carefully

collected by alpine hikers? (Or not)

Then, of course, there’s the question of size. You

could buy a crate or batch of those cute 8 oz. bottles

that fit so nicely into a purse or pocket. There’s also

the hefty 40 oz. mega-bottles, handy to have along in

your car if you happen to become trapped inside and

are forced to live for days solely on Tic-Tacs, cold

fries harvested from under the drivers’ seat, and a gi-

gantic bottle of water.

Many assume that a pricey bottled beverage must be

healthier for you than the tap water you use to rinse

the dishes or water the houseplants. Perhaps. All I

know is that my begonias have never gotten the flu or

needed a root canal, so maybe there’s something to be

said for plain ol’ tap water.

But what about taste? Surely something called “Glacier

Spring Icy Dew from Heaven” would be a pleasure to

drink, right? A popular news show once ran an informal

taste test between variously-priced bottled waters and

ordinary tap. Tap water made a pretty good showing;

surprisingly, the worst taste was awarded to the most

expensive bottled water. “It tasted like toilet water,”

claimed one participant, who didn’t offer an explanation

as to how, exactly, he knew that.

Speaking of toilet water…your canine friends need no

longer resort to lapping up water from such an undigni-

fied source. One online business offers bottled water for

especially for dogs. A word of warning if you’re

tempted to sneak a sip while taking Fido out on a walk:

the water comes in four flavors: beef, chicken, lamb, or

liver. Still, if you enjoy a good liver-flavored water, go

for it.

So if bottled water is more expensive, isn’t necessarily

better for you, and doesn’t always taste better, why buy

it? Well, lots of reasons! For example:

∗ You need to put something in the bottle holder on

your new backpack

∗ You enjoy making loud, plastic-popping sounds

∗ You often become trapped in your vehicle

So go ahead and stock up on those water bottles. And

you might want to pick up a few extra packs of Tic Tacs

while you’re at it. Just in case. �

The Lighter Side: Actual headlines seen in newspapers:

1. Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

2. Safety experts say school bus passengers should be belted

3. Drunk gets nine months in violin case

4. British left waffles on Falkland Islands

5. Squad helps dog bite victim

6. Miners refuse to work after death

7. Juvenile court to try shooting defendant

8. Children make delicious snacks



Pessimist's axioms

∗ On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key. ∗ Life isn't like a box of chocolates; it's more like a jar of jalapenos. ∗ Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it. ∗ Ring bell for maid service. If no answer, do it yourself. ∗ I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem. ∗ My reality check bounced. ∗ You can go anywhere if you don't look serious and carry a clipboard.


A husband and wife came for coun-

seling after 25 years of marriage. When asked what the problem was, the wife spoke of neglect, loneliness,

and feeling unloved.

As she spoke, the therapist stood up, embraced her, and kissed her pas-sionately. Then he turned to the hus-

band and said, "This is what your wife needs seven times a week. Can

you do this?" The husband thought for a moment

and replied, "Well, Doc, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednes-

days, but on the other days I play golf."



Shrimp TrioShrimp TrioShrimp TrioShrimp Trio

Cocktail sauce (cold) 5 tablespoons horseradish 3 tablespoons ketchup 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Combine and chill.

Remoulade sauce (cold) 1 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons Creole mustard 1 tablespoon ketchup 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion stems 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon sweet paprika 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce Two dashes each of salt and pepper Place in a bowl, stir thoroughly and chill.

Shrimp scampi (hot) Place six shrimp in each of two small baking dishes and add: 1 tablespoon white wine 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic 1 dash of salt. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees or prepare under the broiler until liquid turns a crusty brown around the out-side edge. Place the remainder of the ice-chilled shrimp on the table with the two chilled sauces. The Scampi can be served along with or after consumption of the chilled shrimp. Add a plate of fresh vegetables with dipping sauce and your favorite rice dish to complete this healthy meal.

These recipes require one bag of large, frozen, pre-cooked shrimp with tails on, along with three sauces … two to serve cold with sauces and one to be served piping hot. The recipes serve two. Thaw the shrimp at room tem-perature, then place on a bed of ice to maintain their solid texture. For convenience, prepare the two cold dipping sauces ahead.



Profile Resources

Part One Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Pg. 4, http://www.bennett.edu/ http://www.lastwordprod.com/ Winston E. Scott, Pg. 10, Excellence -- Above and Beyond http://coa.fit.edu/ Michelle Hollaender, Pg. 18, Helping Hands for Central American Communities http://www.helpsintl.org/ Dana Humphrey, Pg. 26, World Traveler and Public Relations Expert http://whitegatepr.com/ Derrick Miles, Pg. 32, Using His Spiritual Gift to Change Lives http://milestonemotivation.com/ David Riklan , Pg. 38, Self-Improvement Guru Shares Resources with Millions http://www.selfgrowth.com Photo Credits Dana Humphrey—Pg. 26, MYKO Photography, Inc., http://www.mykophoto.com/ Pg. 27, Tony Gale Photography http://www.tonygale.com/,

Part Two Nicko Williamson, Pg. 56, London’s Green Entrepreneur Achieves Success with Climatecars http://www.climatecars.com Susan Ellis, Pg. 63, From Challenge Comes Knowledge and Triumph http://www.tvteachervideos.com/ Stacy Hawkins Adams, Pg. 70, Stacy Hawkins In Profile www.AuthorInYou.com, www.StacyHawkinsAdams.com, www.TheMBL.org, Author: Freelance Writer Bonnie Atwood: http://www.tallpoppiesfreelance.com/ Cover Photo Credits

Nicko Williamson, Pg. 56 (all photos)—Grey Hutton, [email protected], http://www.greyhutton.com Monica Davis, Pg. 2 and back cover, Ever After Visuals—http://everaftervisuals.com Additional Credits Graphics: Jeff Hayes, http://www.plasmafiregraphics.com


Catherine Galasso-Vigorito

Catherine Galasso-Vigorito’s nationally syndicated

weekly column, “A New

You,” has endeared her to

readers worldwide for over 15

years.

Known for her ability to uplift

and encourage, Catherine has

become America’s most be-

loved inspirational voice.

Catherine is the founder and

CEO of her own company, A New You Worldwide, de-

veloping and designing inspirational products. Her mis-

sion is to instill hope in the hearts of people everywhere,

inspiring them to live a better life. She makes her home

on the East Coast with her husband and three daughters.

Visit her website at www.anewyouworldwide.com

Searching for inspirational gifts - visit

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.nav/

params.class.K990/walk.yah.0101-K990.

Annemarie Cross

Annemarie Cross is a Career Management & Personal

Branding Strategist, Speaker, Con-

sultant, Radio Broadcaster, and Au-

thor of ’10 Key Steps to Ace that

Interview!’ She is also the founder/

principal of Advanced Employment

Concepts – Career Management and

Corporate Career Development Spe-

cialists offering powerful programs

for people striving for career success

and fulfillment, as well as savvy

companies committed to building and retaining their most

important asset – their staff.

Widely considered a personal change agent and success

catalyst, Annemarie has distinguished herself as being

people-focused, caring, inspirational and life-changing in

her approach. Annemarie can be contacted at

www.a-e-c.com.au email: [email protected].

William R. Patterson

Ranked as the #1 Business Motivational Speaker by

Ranking.com, William R. Patter-

son is a three-time award-winning

lecturer and international best-

selling author who uses his trade-

mark approach, THE BARON SO-

LUTION™, to coach, train, and

motivate business leaders, sales

professionals, entrepreneurs, and

investors. His breakthrough book,

The Baron Son, has been translated

around the world and featured in the Forbes Book Club

and Black Enterprise. William is an internationally rec-

ognized wealth and business coach who has been a fea-

tured guest on over 500 television and radio programs.

William's website, BaronSeries.com, is winner of four

2009 Web Awards including: Best Speaker; Best Male

Author; Best Business Advice Site; and Best Wealth-

Building Site. For more information, visit

http://www.baronseries.com

Writers and Contributors

James Adonis

James Adonis is a people-management thinker and the

author of three books including his

latest, ‘Corporate Punishment:

Smashing the Management

Clichés for Leaders in a New World’. Thought-provoking and

entertaining, James's keynote pres-

entations and workshops show com-

panies how to solve staff turnover,

engage all generations, and win the

war for talent. He has presented to

audiences across Australia, Europe,

Asia, and the Middle East, with an impressive list of cli-

ents including McDonald's, American Express, Coca-

Cola, Qantas, and Gucci. www.jamesadonis.com.


Greg Williams

Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator, is an internation-

ally sought after speaker/trainer. He

provides negotiation expertise to cor-

porate and individual clients that

seek to maximize their negotiation

efforts, at the negotiation table. You

can sign up for Greg’s free negotia-

tion tips at

www.TheMasterNegotiator.com –

You can also view his Negotiation

Tip videos at http://

www.youtube.com/user/

TheMasterNegotiator - Greg’s motto is, “Remember,

you’re always negotiating”.

Dean G. Campbell

Mr. Campbell advises clients throughout the country and

is licensed in securities and in-

surances in many states.

Dean G. Campbell is President

of Campbell Retirement Plan-

ning Centers, Inc. He gradu-

ated Magna Cum Laude from

Oakland University in Roches-

ter, Michigan with degrees in

Finance and Economics. While

attending college, he also taught business applica-

tions. Simultaneously he began attaining licenses to trans-

act business in Securities and Insurances.

Upon graduation, he worked for an independent brokerage

firm then moved on to IDS Financial Services, now

Ameriprise. After becoming a top producer at Ameriprise,

Dean worked as a Financial Planner for Empire of Amer-

ica Bank in Buffalo, New York. He later became a Finan-

cial Planner for First of America Bank where he also for a

period worked as the financial consultant for the bank’s

customers at fourteen branches.

Thirteen years ago Dean started Campbell Retirement

Planning Centers, Inc. To date he has personally helped

over 2,500 people with planning there financial fu-

tures. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Eastern

Michigan Better Business Bureau and was recently ap-

pointed for his fourth term.

Through the business and personally, Dean donates to sev-

eral charities, helping those who are less fortunate.

Visit his website at

http://www.campbellretirement.com.

Securities offered through Sigma Financial Corp.

Member FINRA/SIPC

Dorothy Rosby

Dorothy Rosby is an entertaining speaker and syndicated

humor columnist whose work ap-

pears regularly in 30-plus newspa-

pers in eleven Western and Mid-

western states. She is also Commu-

nity Relations Director for an or-

ganization which supports people

with disabilities. She lives in Rapid

City, South Dakota with her hus-

band, son, mother, and hamster.

Contact her at

[email protected] or see her website at

www.dorothyrosby.com.

Angie Brennan

Angie Brennan is a humor writer and illustrator from

Maryland. Visit her website at

www.angiebrennan.com for cartoons,

spoof advice, and more.




Rosalind Sedacca

Recognized as The Voice of Child-Centered Divorce,

Rosalind Sedacca is a Certified

Corporate Trainer and founder of

the Child-Centered Divorce Net-

work for parents facing, moving

through or transitioning beyond

divorce. She is the author of How

Do I Tell the Kids about the Di-

vorce? A Create-a-Storybook™

Guide to Preparing Your Chil-

dren – with Love! which offers a

unique approach to breaking di-

vorce news to your children

based on her own personal experience. She is also the

2008 National First Place Winner of the Victorious

Woman Award.

As a Certified Corporate Trainer and Business Communi-

cation Strategist she provides consulting, speaking, train-

ing and Executive Coaching services to organizations na-

tion-wide on marketing, public relations and business

communication issues. She specializes in gender-related

dynamics, marketing to women and employee-

management collaboration in the workplace.

To learn more about her book, free ezine, programs and

other valuable resources on creating a positive Child-

Centered Divorce, visit www.childcentereddivorce.com

and www.howdoitellthekids.com.

For more information about her customized programs,

audio and videotapes, and other services, contact Rosalind

at 561-742-3537 or [email protected].

Margaret Paul

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a noted public speaker, best-

selling author, workshop leader,

relationship expert, and Inner

Bonding® facilitator. She has

counseled individuals and couples,

and led groups, classes, and work-

shops since 1968. She is the au-

thor and co-author of eight books,

including the internationally best-

selling Do I Have To Give Up Me

To Be Loved By You?, Healing

Your Aloneness, Inner Bonding, and Do I Have To Give

Up Me To Be Loved By God?

She is the co-creator, along with Dr. Erika Chopich, of the

Inner Bonding® healing process, recommended by actress

Lindsay Wagner and singer Alanis Morissette, and fea-

tured on Oprah, and of the unique and popular website

www.innerbonding.com. Their transformational self-

healing/conflict resolution software program, SelfQuest®,

at www.selfquest.com, is being donated to prisons and

schools and sold to the general public.

Sue Urda

Sue Urda is an Author, Speaker, Inspirer and Co-Founder

of Powerful You! Women’s Net-

work, She was named twice on Inc.

Magazines list of the 500 Fastest-

Growing Private Companies. Sue’s

vision is to contribute to a global

consciousness of women helping

women succeed in business and in

life and to open them to truth of

who they are.

www.sueurda.com.


Dawn McCoy

Dawn McCoy is author of "Leadership Building Blocks:

An Insider's Guide to Success"

http://flourishleadership.com/store/

index.html She is also is president

and CEO of Flourish Leadership,

LLC which provides coaching ex-

ecutives, public servants, and youth

leaders. For author and speaker de-

tails, visit http://

www.flourishleadership.com.

Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush

Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush is CEO of News Ar-

chives International. This multi-

award-winning journalist writes

and publishes news articles about

productive individuals committed

to making positive changes in their

lives and in the world around

them. She also writes and directs

live performances for young, ex-

ceptional artists throughout the

Los Angeles region. Sharon shares

her life with her husband, veteran

actor Grand L. Bush.

To learn more about Sharon, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Sharon_Dahlonega_Raiford_Bush

and http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonraifordbush. She

can be contacted at https://www.facebook.com/TVwxGirl.

Shelley Ruitta

Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC is a Holistic Psychotherapist

and Inner Bonding Facilita-

tor in private practice specializ-

ing in Transformational indi-

vidual counseling, presenta-

tions, groups and Work-

shops. To get her free work-

book "What Do You REALLY

Want: Finding Purpose and

Passion in Your Life" or for

information about the free tele-

classes she does every month visit her web-site

www.RadiantLifeCounseling.com or call her at

877-346-1167.


Inez Bracy

Inez Bracy is the host of her own radio talk show; Living

Smart and Well and is a columnist for

Senior Stuff a local ezine, the Orlando

Examiner, a former columnist for the

Island Voice magazine and the author

of Rejuvenate Your Life in 21 Days.

Bracy’s radio show, Living Smart and

Well shares tips on creating your best

life and is heard globally on

www.livingsmartandwell.com. Bracy

is an author, a masterful coach, power-

ful trainer, and a dynamic speaker. With more than 20

years of experience working for educational institutions

and non-profits, Bracy uses her knowledge to help people

create extraordinary lives.

http://overfiftyfineandfancy.com Dawn Abraham

Dawn Abraham is a Certified Life/Business Coach, and is

an “Official Guide for Small

Business Marketing at Self-

growth.com. She also partners

with professionals and entrepre-

neurs to help them create bal-

anced lives while earning more

money. Law of Attraction, Self

Esteem, Abundance, Meditation,

Motivation, Reiki, Private & Group Coaching, Free Life

Changing Mp3's and Teleclasses are offered.

http://www.qualified-lifecoach.com


exceptional people magazine-july-august 2011 part two

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