Dads Rock!

Sure, it's the day after Father's Day, but it's never too late to celebrate dads. Tonight's show is dedicated to great dads. While we always hear about the absentee and dead bet dads, there are a lot of men who are doing a great job raising their kids and quietly take care of business. Saladin Davis is the oauthor of Life 101 and became a dad at the tender age of 13. Glenn Chester is one of the founders of BMRGA, Black Men Raising Girls Alone. Hogan Hilling is one of the co-authors of Dads Behaving Dadly.
Join us tonight, it will be a great show. In the meantime, here is a big of a tearjerker from Dove about dads.

Life Just Got Awesome!

A week ago today, my job ended and I set out on the journey of entrepreneurship. My workplace had become toxic and hostile and was only getting worse. As my work environment worsened, a  small voice continually whispered to me, “If you step out on faith and leave this job, you will not fall.”

As bad as things were, I had a reliable paycheck and benefits. Things were comfortable. Yet that same voice said, “Sometimes you have to give up good in order to move to great.” I had been preparing for this transition and when it came, I was neither surprised nor saddened. In fact, I was ready. I had planned for it.

I woke up Thursday morning to a whole new world. Gone was the stress and frustration. I worked out for the first time in a long time. The desire to ‘stress eat’, which I’d been doing daily at work, was gone. Just like that, I left it all behind. Immediately, I started working my plan.

If I feel any pressure, I feel the pressure to produce. I don’t have the safety net of a guaranteed paycheck. But, that’s okay. I move forward everyday with the confident assurance that things will work out.

I have the incredible opportunity to create my life my way and on my terms. I can do what I love and create a career that reflects my skills, my desires and my personality. Corporate America was not for me and if I have my way, I won’t go back to it. Every day, I heard, “Karyn you talk too much,” “Karyn sit down at your desk, you don’t want to be seen walking around too much,” “Karyn, don’t say that or tell that joke,” “Karyn don’t sing,” “Karyn, for goodness sake, stop dancing!”

Now, working for myself, I’ll talk as much as I want. I’ll walk around if I feel like it. I will tell as many corny jokes as I want to and my work day will have singing and dancing breaks built-in, thank you very much!

I am looking forward to growing my show, selling my books and becoming an in-demand professional speaker.

Last Wednesday, my life got awesome and it is only going to get better!

In Praise of Sister-Friends

Good friends are one of the things that make life worth living. I’m not talking about acquaintances but truly good friends, the ones who stand by you through thick and thin. They celebrate your successes with you and are right there with you with a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on or a gentle spirit when you go through your low points and setbacks.

I’ve been blessed with several good friends. While I don’t have a husband or a child of my own, I have a family of good sister-friends (and one brother-friend). What I love about friendship is that unlike family, you pick your friends and they both reflect and magnify what you are. You pick people who get you. You pick people who understand you. You pick people who support you and who you support as well.

Good friends truly are a blessing and if you have one or some, don’t hesitate to tell them how much they mean to you and add to your life.

Forgive ... and Forget????

I found this video by Dr. Paul that talks about forgiving and forgetting. He takes a realistic approach that states there may be some things that aren't forgiveable or that you don't want to forget. His focus is on relationships but what he says can be applied to a lot of different situations.

Want to be Happy (or Happier)? Tonight on Get It Together Girl Radio!

Personally, I don't think it is possible to be truly happy without gratitude and passion. When I talk about gratitude, I mean being thankful for what you have right now. It might not be what you want and you might not be where you want to be but you should be grateful for where you are right now. On the continuum of life, things could be better but they could also be a lot worse. Hillis Pugh, author of the book and blog, Thank You Thursdays, have a great conversation about what it means to be truly grateful and what to do when you are going through a difficult time and not feeling particularly thankful.

Next, I have a talk with transformational life coach Lana Green. Her take on finding your passion is slightly different from what you might think. Here's a hint, it's not really about what you do or don't do. I found Lana to be a very provocative interview and her take on passion and purpose are both refreshing and realistic.

Jake

My partner-in-crime Marty passed in September. A toy poodle, we were together for over a decade. He was the closest thing I had to a child. He was my baby. The grief was hard. Yet part of me missed canine companionship.

I sort of felt though that a new dog would be cheating on Marty. I decided to go to an adoption event. I didn’t find a dog there. But I started looking, I saw Toby, an adorable poodle mix with a cute underbite online and he was perfect. I instantly knew that this was the dog Marty wanted me to have.

My dad had a dog and he and Marty became best friends. They ate out of the same bowl, slept together on the same part of the sofa; they were inseparable. He was a poodle mix with a cute under bite and his name was Toby.

He’d been picked up from a shelter and was staying with a foster family. When I went to meet him, it was a done deal. He jumped into my lap and fell asleep. His foster parents were amazed at how quickly we bonded. In fact, they felt that he chose me as much as I chose him.

I am definitely a pet parent. Having Jake (I changed his name) has added that missing component to my life. Jake isn’t Marty. They are two very different dogs. The space in my heart for Marty will always be there and it will always be just for him. But Jake is occupying another space in my heart. There is room for both.

Tonight's Show: Secrets to Relationship Success

Men and women are different, we all know that. However, author of Relationship Rules and relationship expert, Janice Hoffman, uses those differences to get down to the things that both genders share – a desire to love and be loved. Her mentor, Dr. John Gray is the author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. She will be sharing tips from her toolbox on what we can do to help our relationships thrive.

Next up, Toni Henderson-Mayers  discusses her book, Wise Courtship. She has a three-step process for discovering the true character of your love interest. We’ll also discuss red flags and how much you really know about your partner. Toni challenges singles to make wise choices when choosing a partner. Are you up for the challenge?