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A Varied Life

Variety is the spice of life! Our podcasts tell the real life stories of people who added variety to their routine for a happier and more interesting life. Listen, be inspired, and contribute!
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A Varied Life
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Now displaying: 2017
Apr 11, 2017

Catherine Wong loved baking ever since high school.  In college she was the go-to-girl for all things sweet and yummy but when it came to choosing a career baking had to take a step back.  Catherine staid with the food theme, though, and became a food scientist.  For years she created sauces: developed new ideas for pizza sauces, pasta sauces, meat sauces, tried, changed, improved and came up with intriguing flavors.

But baking remained her true passion.  After work she would rush home and start exploring with sweet ingredients, developing new flavors, trying to recreate what she experienced during her travels, e.g. French macarons.

2015 Catherine decided that she wanted to make her passion her profession.  She now runs a small bakery, creates new intriguing flavors and learns first hand that marketing is hard.

Listen to my interview with her!

Mar 16, 2017

JW's story is an inspiring one.  The young, terminally ill boy together his doctor raised funds to create a place for people who care for family members or ,over ones at the nearby hospitals.  A inviting place to have a meal, take a shower, enjoy some peace and quite, talk to people who are in a similar situation or find a sympathetic ear among the staff and volunteers. 

Jim is one of those volunteers.  he spends his Sunday evenings at JW House doing house hold chores like washing dishes and making sure the house is inviting and friendly but more importantly, he supports their visitors, helps those who help others buy listening, encouraging and simply being there for them.

Listen to my interview with jim and be inspired what the vision of a few and the dedication of many can achieve.

Feb 14, 2017

Patti always had a talent for and interest in design and spent most of her professional life as a graphic designer for a number of companies and organizations.  From an early age on, she was also a avid sewist and two years ago she took the plunge and combined her passions and talents and started designing and sewing her own line of linen home products and home decor items and selling these handmade items online.

Listen to the interview to learn how Patti designs, manufactures, markets, sells and ships her products and be inspired to start following your passion as well - and maybe even make money doing it.

Feb 1, 2017

When Vivian was asked by a friend to help out with the Reading Partners program when a number of tutors suddenly departed she and her husband said yes. Little did they know that they would still be Reading Partners five years later, driving to an elementary school once a week to work with kids who have fallen behind on their reading.

Listen to Vivian speak to learn how much fun it is and how little time it takes to help a child master that important skill.

Jan 23, 2017

After Susan Lutter stopped working for money she was looking to "work from the heart".  She volunteered to work with Koko, the chimpanzee who was talked sign language and thought that work fund her true passion: a sanctuary for orphaned gorillas and chimpanzees in Cameroon. 

She visits the sanctuary twice a year and spend a lot of the rest of her time raising funds for the sanctuary and the surrounding communities and organize the logistics to get critical projects done. 

If you ever doubted that one person with a vision, passion and energy can make a difference - they will be dispelled when you listen to Susan speak about her work.

 

Jan 18, 2017

Sometimes a small change just isn't enough and so - occasionally - I will bring you the story of somebody who did something radical.

All her life Jutta  wanted to teach and part of her professional career was spent on doing just that. Her other passion is traveling. During a trip to Laos she spoke with many of the local people and found out how eager they are to learn English. After returning home she found out that she had been laid off from her job and everything fell into place for her.  She sublet her apartment, packed a suitcase and booked flights to Luang Prabang, where she had spent some time during her travels.

What was meant to be a few months working and living in Laos turned into four and a half years during which Jutta taught at the local temples and started a girls only English class in her home.

Listen ton the podcast to learn more about her adventures. 

Jan 2, 2017

Andy Frazer is an accomplished and experienced diver.  During a trip to the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences he realized that he can combine two of his passions: diving and volunteering by becoming a volunteer diver at the aquarium and helping with the monumental tasks of keeping the algae at bay and the anemones well-feed while entertaining the visitors by waving and high-fiving them and raising awareness of critical conservation issues.

Listen to this interview to learn more about the rewards of being a volunteer diver.

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