Love Your Story Lori Lee

Episode 245: Forbes declares, "One of the Best Storytellers of the Year." Interview Max StosselDear Listener…welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast. Today I have a special treat for you….really. It’s performance time… to welcome in the warmer weather and all good things we are getting a little Max Stossel.
 Max Stossel is an award-winning poet, artist and filmmaker named by Forbes as one of the best storytellers of the year. Spanning across five continents, from Lincoln Center in NY to the Hordern (HORDEN)Pavilion in Sydney, Max’s performances have been described as "a rare opportunity to experience so many different emotions in the blink of an eye — the best bang for your buck of knowledge dropping, therapy, standup comedy, and wisdom-sharing. It’s an hour of purity."  
Tune into the audio program because Max is with me today and he is going to perform two of his poems from his poetry special: Words that Move, and it’s REALLY good stuff.
Max Stossel’s work has been translated into fourteen languages, won multiple film festivals, and has been viewed over 20 million times online. He's been featured on BBC, CNN, TEDX, and a handful more.
His new release "Words That Move" is a first-of-its-kind Stand-Up Poetry Special told on stage at the Brooklyn Kings Theater. 
This is nine original poems where Max guides us to see the world through different eyes, while articulating the deep-seated kernels of truth that we so often struggle to find the words for ourselves. Taking on topics like heartbreak, consciousness, social media, politics, the emotional state of our world, and even how dogs probably (most certainly) talk, Max uses rhyme and rhythm to make these topics digestible and playful. Love me some poetry…
In the audio program Max performs 2 of his poems for us and we talk about creativity and how we all have it.
You don't want to miss this.
Find Max and watch Words that Move:
wordsthatmove.com/special; https://www.instagram.com/maxstossel
Thank you so much for being on the show today and sharing your work. So happy to share space with your lovely poetic soul. You have an important way of seeing the world; poets always do.
I am a lover of poetry, a writer of poetry. If you recall, back in September of 2017 we had the poet laureate of Logan, Utah on the show, which was fun. I’ve had a handfull of poems published in the past, but one thing I know about poets, is that in general its a thankless art. It’s a quiet art published in small chapbooks and read at open mics in coffee shops and University campuses. I’m really impressed with how Max has used technology and performance to share his poetry, his unique insights into the world with the rest of us.
The lesson I’m taking away today is one about thinking outside the box. Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean you can’t breach new boundaries, break down walls, find and use new ways of sharing.
Your challenge this week is to take one thing you’re doing in your life, especially if you feel stuck with it, and do a little brainstorm session that is strictly outside the box thinking, and see what you come up with. We always create our own boundaries. We also have to be the ones to break them down.
Have a great couple weeks and we’ll see you on the next episode of the Love Your Story podcast.

Episode 244: Tips on Connecting with your Man - Interview: Laura DoyleWelcome to the Love Your Story podcast - we are really knocking it out of the park in 2023. This is our 6th year doing the show and I’m so pleased to have collected so many wonderful stories and life tools for all of us to reference and use. SO MANY.
Thanks for being here and continuing to enjoy the show.
Today’s guest is going to blow your mind. Laura Doyle is a New York Times Bestselling Author, she is the star of Empowered Wives on Amazon Prime, and hosts The Empowered Wives Podcast. On her home page it says, “I show women the proven way to fix their relationships without their man’s conscious effort–even if it seems completely hopeless.” That sounds like magic.
Stay tuned for 3 secrets to make your marriage happier and all the relationship magic Ms. Laura can dish out in 30 minutes.
Insert LYS Quip
Are you ready for some incredible power tips? 
New York Times Best Selling author, Laura Doyle was the perfect wife…until she actually got married. When she told her husband how to be tidier, more romantic and more ambitious he avoided her. So she dragged him to marriage counseling and nearly divorced him. In desperation she asked happily married women for their secrets, and that’s when she got her miracle…the man who had wooed her returned.
Laura wrote a book, to share what she had discovered, and it has been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries, and accidentally started a worldwide movement. 
She is the founder of the International relationship coach training school -called Laura Doyle Connect,she is the star of Empowered Wives on amazon Prime, the creator of The Ridiculously Happy Wife program and the host of The Empowered Wife podcast. She has been on The Today Show, Good Morning America and The View. She has worked with over 15,000 women and helped them fix even the most hopeless relationships.
Join us on the audio program to hear answers to questions like:
1. Let’s start with your story. It sounds like it might start at a place where all women in marriages have been - a space of trying to help your husband be his best self - at least that’s how we see it…. go ahead…
2. What are the most common mistakes women make when they’re trying to get their husband’s attention or affection?
3. How can you get your husband to help more with the house or the kids - the to do list?
4. You have 3 secrets to make your marriage happier - what are those?
5. Sometimes it’s hard to get our men to connect in deep converstation - you’ve got 4 suggestions for us, what are those?
6. You mentioned that there is a way to skyrocket the passion in a relationship, even if you’re in a sexless marriage - what does that mean? Enlighten me…
How to find Laura Doyle:
Email:lauramdoyle@gmail.com
Skype: laura.doyle44
Telephone: 7147263340
Website: lauradoyle.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramdoyle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauradoyle.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauramdoyle
Brene Brown defines connection as, “The energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard and valued. When they can give and receive without judgement.”
Personal relationships, especially with our significant other, are key to our health and happiness. It is key to a fulfilling life, and things that are important often take a lot of work. Today we’ve had some great tips from Laura. If there are some weak spots...

Episode: 243 - What Hate Can Do: Interview Peter MutabaziWelcome to the Love Your Story podcast. 
Today is part 2 of a two-part story - the story of Peter Mutabazi. Peter joins me today, to share the incredible story of his life in Uganda, we are picking up where we left off in part 1. For his full story - please listen to part 1, because today we are going to look at the rest of the story and the other side of the coin. Part 1 is titled: What Kindness Can do. Part 2 is titled: What Hatred Can Do. The reason I am going to take an episode to talk in detail about hate, is because as I was reading Peter’s book “Now I Am Known,” one of the greatest turning points in his life came as he became a witness to the genocide in Rwanda. What he witnessed, what these events taught him, and how they affected the progress of his life.
Tune in for my talk with the author of “Now I am Known.”
“When I first saw the bodies floating down the Kagera River out of Rwanda and into Lake Victoria on the local television station, I knew something horrible was happening in our neighboring country. Every day I watched news reports showing hundreds upon hundreds of mutilated corpes floating down the river. Men. Women, Children. Some had been decapitated. Others wer cut open with other body parts missing. The bodies of children…I cannot speak of what was done to the bodies of the children. Over the course of three months, tens of thousands of bodies piled up in Lake Victoria and washed up on its shore. When the winds came out of the south and east you could not escape the smell of death…”
This is how the chapter “What hate can do” starts. 
Peter - Welcome back to the show. We loved hearing the first part of your incredible story a couple weeks ago…
Tune in as we hear the story of bodies floating down the river, the massacre in Rwanda, the ah-ha of how hate was affecting him and where that took him.
“I have seen firsthand the destructive power of hate, but I have also seen the healing power of generosity, acceptance, and love. We all have the opportunity to help others, inspire others, and love others from a sincere heart.”
I think the world is incredibly messy. We are hurt, we hurt others, we love people who have been hurt or are hurting. We want to forgive, we want to know how to help others deal with difficult things like trauma or neglect or hopelessness. It’s all so much. One of the things Peter said in his book was “Hurting people need to be heard. They need to know they are not alone.” And then I was listening to a Ted Talk about addiction and the way we try to punish and ostracize addicts, when research actually shows that people and lab animals don’t turn to drugs or destructive behaviors when they feel connected. The suggestion for healing was not to ostracize the difficult ones, but to let them know you care, even though that may be the most difficult move. At any rate, I believe the more we listen to these real life stories, the more we seek the higher road, the more we understand where hate takes the human heart and the opposite, where caring, forgiveness, empathy and kindness takes the human heart, we can take steps in the direction of light. 
There is no quick solution to the struggle to forgive, or to heal from trauma, but there is the choice everyday to choose kindness and love when we can, and to work on the moments where we can’t. 
Let’s end with a couple quotes:
Will Smith said, “Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.”
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
May you move toward love, empathy and kindness today, with intention. See you in 2 weeks for the next episode of the LYS...

Episode 242: What Kindness Can Do - Interview Peter Mutabazi - Part 1Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast
Today’s story, “What Kindness Can Do,” starts out with the story of Peter Mutabazi.
Here's a clip from his book:
“The vine came down on me so fast I did not have time to duck. It ripped across my right arm and burned like fire. “You worthless piece of….” my father yelled as he swung the vine around like a bullwhip. I spun around to protect my face. “Don’t you turn away from me,” He grabbed my shoulder with his left hand, turned me around, and brought the vine down across my neck and chest. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my aunts, uncles, and cousins running out of their houses. They had come, not to stop my father, but to watch. Nyabikoni was a very small village. This passed for entertainment.”

Peter Mutabazi joins me today, to share his story of his life in Uganda, his brave escape from an abusive father at 10 years old, his subsequent life as a child living on the streets struggling daily to stay alive, and the fortuitous meeting of a man who would change Peter’s life, and in so doing change the lives his siblings, their children, and all the children Peter now helps as a foster parent.

Tune in for my talk with the author of “Now I am Known.”

Peter believes that every child and every person deserves to be known. He has dedicated his life to advocating for children and youth. Peter grew up feeling unheard and unseen. He knows what it feels like to believe you do not matter at all in the world. He also knows what it feels like to slowly come out of that, one small step at a time.
Join us on the audio program to hear his story...
“When I was ten years old, I’d given up on life.”
AND
“When James saw the good in me, I wasn’t very good at doing that myself. Not just with myself but with everyone. I expected the worst in people, and I usually managed to find it. Even today I must intentionally choose to look beyond behaviors and external circumstances and see the humanity within.” 
AND
“When a foster child moves from an abusive situation to a peaceful household, they feel like they’ve landed on an alien planet. When you find yourself in that place, all you want to do is go back to a familiar place, even if that home is hell. Hurting people do not deserve judgement. They need understanding They need patience. They need love. They need grace.”
Tune in to hear about his story, his book, his work and see if it doesn't leave you with a little shock and awe.
Peter’s story speaks for itself - What can kindness do? It can change an entire life and in so doing change many, many more lives.
To Contact Peter or buy your own copy of Now I Am Known:
Peter@NowIAmKnown.com
FB:FosterDadFlipper
LinkedIn: in/PeterMutabazi
https://nowiamknown.com/products/now-i-am-known-book
As we close today’s show let’s think about where we can give a little more kindness. How can we give grace, patience, forgiveness, support. That’s going to look a little different for everyone, but take a moment and identify what that means for you. 
Thanks for being here. Thank you to those who have left a review for the show. I’d like to share this one from: Sam Sam Woo Woo 
Review Title: This podcast rocks
“I love this podcast, it forever changed my life. One of the hottest upcoming podcasts and everyone should listen.”
Amen brother.
If you haven’t left a review, it’s super easy and I’d love to hear from you - I may even read your review on the show. Have a great day and live it with intension.

Episode 241: Standing Up for What YOU Believe in - Interview Samantha HawkinsWelcome to the LYS podcast. On this show we share stories - stories of big adventures, stories of big struggles, stories that allow us to share our experiences and learn from each other.
Today’s guest is a story teller, so get your cup of tea or cocoa, find a warm comfy blanket, and settle in for some stories that teach us a few lessons.
Samantha Hawkins, author of the children’s book “My Mommy Marches,” has been a 911 dispatcher for almost 8 years. She’s a training officer and instructor with Cobb County 911 in Marietta GA. She’s also a public speaker and a story teller.
Samantha was working disbatch during the riots that happened during the Black Lives Matter movement. She, being a black woman and a dispatcher and public servant, gets a unique view from both sides and I’ve invited her to be a guest on the show today to share some of her own stories.
Tune into the audio program to hear what brought Samantha to write the book, My Mommy Marches, and the right we all have to stand up for what we believe in.
I think part of living our lives intentionally is standing up for what we believe in - whatever that is - I think that’s really what your book is about. Everyone has a different set of beliefs, but we live in America where we all have the freedom of speech - at least in theory - and we get to support that for everyone while marching for what we believe in. And maybe marching means not being afraid to share your beliefs in social media. Maybe it means standing up for people who have a difficult time standing up for themselves. What does it mean to you?
In the audio program she shares 2 stories with us about how she learned to preserver. Join us for her stories.
To contact Samantha:
Instagram handle: @forevertellingtales
LinkedIn URL: 
https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/samantha-hawkins-2a045b3b
Pre-order My Mommy Marches:
https://www.amazon.com/My-Mommy-Marches-Samantha-Hawkins/dp/1915244129/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OV5LJ2JS5NAC&keywords=my+mommy+marches&qid=1671720404&sprefix=my+mommy+marches%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-1
Samantha - thank you for sharing your storytelling and your life lessons. And thank YOU, dear listener, for being with us today. If you have some stories you’d like to share, I’ve been thinking of doing an episode or two that are a bit like The Moth - if you’ve ever listened to that it’s where people come and share their own 5-10 minute stories about an event in their life.
On the Love Your Story podcast website - loveyourstorypodcast.com, there is a page titled “guesting.” Go to that link and fill out that form with the subject line of Share My Story and let’s see where this leads us.

Episode 240: A Brave Little Warrior - The Story of a 4-Year-Old's Amputation Journey
Description: Rosalie Mastaler was pushed into the world of disabilities when her son was bitten by his father's K9 police dog. Tune in for the story of courage and how the family creates good and recognizes miracles from this loss.
Shownotes:
Rosalie Mastaler learned about Disability Advocacy when her husband's police dog bit her son, Hunter, on February 8, 2015. Despite the trauma, Rosalie and Hunter chose to accept his disability and continue on with life. Rosalie learned that she couldn't change her son's choice to accept his disability, but she could give him tools and opportunities to help him. Hunter eventually accepted his disability and learned that happiness is a choice and that resilience is a journey. Rosalie was inspired by Hunter's ability to keep getting up and pushing forward, no matter how difficult or challenging the journey was.
Listen in to our discussion about:
1. How did a police dog bite Hunter and what were the rules around those dogs?
2. How did Rosalie and her husband cope with the guilt and the trauma of the situation?
3. How did Hunter's journey of resilience help shape Rosalie's perspective on life?

Visit Rosalie Mastaler’s Socials:
Mastaler Family on Instagram
Rosalie's Website
Rosalie on Facebook


TRANSCRIPT
00:00:19 Lori: Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. On this show, we share stories. We share stories of big adventures, stories of big struggles, stories that allow us to share our experiences and to learn from each other. And today's guest, Rosalie Mastaler, was pushed into the world of disabilities when her oldest son was attacked by a police canine and he lost the lower part of his left leg. She and her family now focus on being advocates for those with disabilities and helping people to keep hope was a big thing.
 
00:00:55 Lori: When Hunter, this is her son, became an amputee at just four years old, his parents had to negotiate a host of feelings, including guilt and grief and worry for how their son was going to adapt. The loss of his lower leg altered their lives and how they cared for him, of course. But Rosalie and Michael, his dad, soon realized that the most powerful tool that they could offer Hunter was resilience. I'm really interested about this resilience topic because it's so big for all of us. So stay tuned for their story and a peek at the Mastaler Party of Five.
 
00:00:43 Lori: Stories are our lives and language. Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. I'm Lori Lee, and I'm excited for our future together of telling stories, evaluating our own stories, and lifting ourselves and others to greater places because of our control over our stories. This podcast is about empowerment and giving you the listener ideas to work with in making your stories work for you. Story power serves you best when you know how to use it.
 
00:02:25 Lori: Mastaler Party of Five is the social media presence of the Mastaler family and their story. In 2015, Michael, that's the dad in this story, his police dog attacked Hunter, their four year old son. And the...