First, to address your own flaws before others can attack you is a classic persuasive technique.  This is not to say that you should do this with every Joe you meet, but when writing or giving a persuasive speech, you first introduce your topic and then try to address the opposing view so that you have control over the opposite side.  In other words, you take their argument away.  Excellent strategy, and it usually works.  I use this when I train teachers on Virtues and Branding:  “I know that you already have too much on your plate and this is one more thing, but let me tell you how this will make your life easier.”

The next thought I went to, though, was the whole concept of personal branding.  The idea of personal branding goes far beyond how you market yourself in business.  It is how you are perceived moving through this world.  Typical leadership classes will tell you to set goals and then work to achieve them…however, how often does character fit into this life plan?  We often see people setting a goal like:  I want to be President.  Then they apply to the right schools, run for the right offices, schmooze the right people…but how many sit back and say, “How can I live my life with so much integrity that the American people will trust me?”  A personal brand should not be “politician”; it should be, “I am a person of integrity, excellence and trustworthiness.”   Show me that person, and they have my vote.  So, while I applaud the presidential hopefuls for using excellent persuasive strategy, I urge them to take a look at their character and live with integrity, and maybe they can forgo explain their character flaws, and instead focus on how they will lead our country.   

Hilary Bilbrey is a leadership trainer, author and radio host from Central Wisconsin.  Before founding her own companies: Inspired By Family, LLC. and Trademark U, Inc., Hilary was an educator.  She holds degrees from University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and Cambridge University, UK.  She has taught children in four different countries, at every age level, with over 30 different nationalities, in gifted, special needs and at-risk programs.  Hilary’s passion is helping teens and adults find the strength to live their truths and the courage to create positive change.

The premise of this book is that women, especially, are tricked into believing that life should be a fairytale and when it is not, they are lonely, depressed and confused.  Debra found her power through a relationship with God…but as a parent…something struck me on a whole different level.  Debra talks about how adults and children alike are often distrustful because “your world was so carelessly shaped by the adults who were supposed to be nurturing you.”  This line struck home with me.  I often think about how we, as adults, sometimes make decisions, have arguments, grouch on tough days, and assume our kids are not internalizing this.  We assume kids either “don’t get it” or that they are resilient.  And while kids are resilient, it is true, kids are less resilient if they are not nurtured to be so. 

Personal Branding…the whole essence of what we talk about on What’s Your Story, is really tied back to the idea of not being careless, but rather deliberate with your decisions.  Know why you are doing things and what it is communicating.  After listening to Debra last week, I am challenging myself to be more deliberate with my communication with my own kids.  If they hear an argument, it needs to be respectful and have resolution.  If things are difficult in my adult world, I need them to understand that it has nothing to do with anything that they did wrong.  In the end, their job is not be a witness to my carelessness, but to be loved and nurtured into the wonderful people I know they will be.

codadiva: Liysa Callsen

My brand is codadiva.  I am one woman with three cultures.  I live them daily.  I bounce among the worlds of the hearing, deaf and CODA.  For those not familiar, CODA means child of deaf adults, and specifically refers to hearing children of deaf parents.  For me, CODA has a deeper meaning.  It is part of what defines me…the true ME.

People have told me for years that my story is fascinating.  I went from taking phone calls for appointments at age six to interpreting life insurance and doctors’ appointments by age 12, in order to better support my non-hearing parents.  Now as an adult, I feel equally comfortable choosing to communicate with my voice or my hands.  In fact, I often feel that I have an advantage; when words fail me, my hands never do.

For the last few years, I knew I wanted to live true to me.  I went through three years of feeling stuck and when I finally shifted my mind into my new chapter entitled Positive Positioning, and now a whole new world has opened up yet again. I decided to do something brave.  Sky-diving, nope, even braver.  I took myself up on the dare to do a one-woman show, and now six months later, I’m doing more now than ever. I’ve embraced my three cultures with open arms, and now I have the opportunity to educate people about these worlds. 

My lifetime goal of being a performer is unfolding.  As codadiva, I get to inspire, encourage and help others see their own true passions. By the way, I love using smaller case “codadiva” for my brand name because my personality is pretty bold, so my name doesn’t have to be. 

“codadiva” show is for all audiences hearing and deaf equally. It’s performed in American Sign Language and voice interpreted.  I like to explain that it as subtitles for your ears. 

An upcoming show date in Chicago will soon be announced.  Check out www.codadiva.com for updates and join the mailing list.

Liysa Callsen is an intriguing, dynamic and energetic speaker delivering an inspirational message.  As a hearing child of Deaf parents, she identifies with being a Coda (children of deaf adults). The only speaker of her kind, takes you into her journey of living in a Deaf household and dealing with the hearing culture. She is bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Her story will educate and encourage you. She believes we all have a story, she’ll engage you, empowering you to embrace your own identity, culture and diversity. Her new chapter entitled, Positive Positioning has led her to lead and be willing to express herself without worry. A lifetime of lessons. 

Yet while it was not anticipated as to how it would happen, Egyptians were waiting for change.  What began on Tuesday as non-violent protests by Egyptian citizens calling for President Hosni Mubarak to “Leave!” has quickly escalated into violence.  Although not always obvious to my American friends, Hosni Mubarak has ruled Egypt with an iron hand for 30 years and public frustration has been mounting.  Tuesday’s initial protest movement was called “Yom AlGhadab,” – translated roughly as the “Day of Anger.” It is now being called “The Rage”, perhaps a better translation. The Facebook icon that is being used by many supporters states “Irhal!” – “Go!”  In response, the Egyptian government has sent in the well armed Central Security Forces, a national police force, to quell the demonstrations.  Initially showing some restraint, the Security Forces in recent days have brutally cracked down on the demonstrators who, aside from rocks, are unarmed. Egypt’s 30 year martial law limits all personal freedoms and Egyptians have never had the right to bear arms.  The support for the protests from expatriate Egyptians and other Arabs is enormous and there is a fervor on the “Net” as Egyptians call it.  Recognizing the power of the “Twitter” revolution, the government has blocked the country’s Internet and mobile communications.  

As an Egyptian-born American who has lived through the surging and receding waves of anti-Muslim misunderstanding, I have always felt compelled to explain my Egyptian, Arab, and Muslim culture to my American neighbors, friends, and family.  For many years, I have led groups of Americans to Egypt and other Arab countries to help improve U.S.-Muslim relations by providing experiences for Americans to meet like-minded counterparts committed to addressing poverty, developing their local communities, and promoting interfaith dialogue. Wherever we went both Americans and their Muslim counterparts told us that these encounters were transformative, helping them to shed the stereotypes swirling about the U.S. and the Muslim and the Arab world.

The first time I understood the long arm of Egypt’s martial law was during one such journey.  We arrived in Egypt initially believing ourselves to be innocuous. However, by the second day our group quickly attracted the unwelcome attention of Egypt’s undercover arm of the Central Security Forces. The much hated “Amn ElMerkazi” are the same forces today’s Egyptian protestors are facing. The undercover police had watched our eclectic group – two African Americans, a Sudanese, several Egyptians, another Arab, and three Caucasians – load into a minivan, and they had suspected that there were American Jews among us. One, an Orthodox Rabbi, had graciously replaced his yarmuke with a French beret. We were not totally naïve and had warned our delegates beforehand to be careful and reveal their full identities only when we deemed it safe.

From that point on, the security forces followed us everywhere, even placing one of their officers in our minivan.  As he climbed into the van with us, I told the “goon” angrily that while he may be in our van, he wasn’t going to join us in our meetings.  I glared at him and started to raise my voice until the Egyptians around me told me to settle down.

However, as Americans we were not the ones in danger.  It was our Egyptian counterparts that I was concerned about.  We scrambled to change the itinerary, cancelling appointments with those we thought most vulnerable. Yet we were determined to not let the purpose of our tour be thwarted by Egypt’s restrictions on personal freedoms, especially those of assembly and association.  It is illegal for more than four unrelated persons to gather anywhere in Egypt, including private homes.

On another occasion we attempted to bring our American delegation to one of the governorates in the Egyptian Delta. We hoped to hear from a dynamic group of young Egyptian community activists.  As we attempted to reach them our plans were rearranged many times. Finally our contacts, increasingly adamant to hold the meeting, bravely decided that, dangerous as it was, they would come to us in Alexandria.  We were expecting about 10 men and women who were between the ages of 19 to 26. Now we had to find a meeting place while not appearing to defy the prohibition against assembly. 

The Library of Alexandria has stood as a beacon of learning for thousands of years. The original, lost in antiquity, was rebuilt as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2002 through an international effort led by the Mubaraks. The President’s wife, Suzanne, claims credit for its grandeur and “manages” its events with a censorship agenda.

Navigating to get a space at the Library for a meeting of only 20 revealed to us the suffocating restrictions on freedom of speech.  After managing to get to the Library’s events director through a relative, I spent one hour with her swearing by Allah that we would not discuss religion or politics before she agreed to sign a contract.

The next day, as the Americans entered the Library, I “played dumb” to the Security Officer who attempted to stop us, waving my permission slip, smiling and speaking phrases in “Anglo-Arab.” Safely inside the conference room we waited, wondering if the youth group would make it in or be stopped by the Central Forces.  The Library is across the street from Alexandria University’s School of Business, yet when throngs of students pour out after classes daily, the security forces make sure they stay on the University’s side of street.  They do not want the images of middle class and lower middle class Egyptians, especially conservatively dressed women in face veils, against the background of a Western style posh institution, the Alexandria Library, one of the Mubaraks’ vanity projects. 

Our Youth Group from the Governorate represented the latter of the two social strata; mostly lower middle class, and some, most likely, wore face veils.  They had decided not to travel as a group and were taking the three hour trek to Alexandria by public transportation as private cars were not an option.  I was impressed when somehow they negotiated their entry into the Library. What ensued was a meeting between American and Egyptians talking about how they want to build bridges of understanding and how these Egyptian youth are passionate about improving the rural community they come from.  It was inspiring and life-changing for me and many others present.

But what price did the Egyptians pay? Later we heard that all of them were interrogated by the security forces on the way home.  These interrogations in Egypt are menacing threats. They may be an order, without warrant or arrest, to come to the police offices to ‘talk’. Or the undercover security forces may make surprise visits the person’s house or, more likely, call on a close relative inquiring on the ‘activities.’ 

So, it is understandable why Egyptian citizens are on the streets today, braving tear gas and rubber bullets, defying curfews and enduring electronic blackouts.  Quite simply, they have seen thirty years of suppression and intimidation, and they have had enough.  

I worry as I see the Egyptians in the streets courageously fighting, defying the martial law that many of them were born under.  They, including many of my own relatives, do not know an Egypt without this oppression. But they want something different.  Today many of them are on the streets now demanding the government to “Go.”  My hope is that they get what they want.

Sahar Taman was awarded the 2010 National Award for Citizen Diplomacy from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. Formerly Project Director for the Religion and Society Dialogue Program at the National Peace Foundation, she recently co-founded Journeys to Understanding, a citizen diplomacy organization.

My introduction to The Thailand Project, http://www.thethailandproject.org/ came several months ago after I launched my radio show, What’s Your Story? in 2009.  My father-in-law, Michael, shared the name with me and said he thought I should research the organization further, as their story was “right up my alley.”  When I first reached out on Facebook to Joseph Quinnell, cofounder of The Thailand Project, he was on the ground in Thailand.  After reading about his mission there….I was hooked.

The Thailand Project is one of the only organizations in the world solely focused on combating statelessness.  But this story begins before there was an organization with such a focused mission.  This story began with the journey of one young man, Joseph Quinnell.  Quinnell came to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as a photography student.  His mission was very clear…to create pictures that not only captured a moment, but moved people to action.  Because of his own experience with being a survivor of violence, he felt an immediate connection to those suffering abuse.  In his second year of school (2005), he decided to travel to Thailand to explore and capture the many faces of human trafficking, the use of humans as commerce, whether for sex slavery or other forms of modern day slavery…a decision that would change his life and the lives of people around the world.

I know, right?  How can one man change the life of people around the world?  Joseph would be the first to tell you he does not do it alone.  Susan Perri, co-founder of the Thailand Project, is also a tireless partner and advocate in their mission.  The discovery of this mission began in Thailand as Joseph discovered the truth behind human trafficking.  While there can be a variety of factors behind human trafficking, the single biggest risk factor is statelessness.  Statelessness does not exist here in the USA; it is a term used to describe a group of people without citizenship anywhere, no homeland, no rights, no documentation.  In essence, they are not considered human.  Many of these people are born in small villages in Burma, and in an effort to escape the country’s violent dictatorship, flee to Thailand.  In Burma, they are considered non-people, whose only purpose is to serve as rape dolls or military slaves.  Thailand does accept these refugees, but does not grant asylum or citizenship; so, they are allowed to live in Thailand, but without any rights, education or documentation.  With the lack of documentation, it is easy for them to “disappear” into the world of human trafficking, because technically, they do not exist.  This heart-breaking reality so moved Quinnell, that he did not just capture this travesty on film…he acted.

Joseph’s first experience with statelessness was at Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/, a non-profit school working to educate the stateless.  When Quinnell talked to the young children there, he was deeply disturbed by the students’ belief that they had no futures and no right to dream of what they could be.  In the US, when a child is asked what they want to be when they grow up, they might say that want to be a rock star, firefighter or teacher.  When Joseph asked these young stateless students, they had no answer; in their minds, they did not have the right to even dream.  Joseph’s fighting spirit, sense of justice and compassion set in.  He remembers thinking, “Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something.”

With a new found sense of determination and purpose, Quinnell went back to the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and immediately started a program where students from the Fine Arts Department could travel to DEPDC and teach these unique students about a variety of the arts.  One of the students Quinnell actively recruited was graphic design student, Susan Perri.  Although she did not go on the initial trips to Thailand, she became instrumental in planning and implementing a The Thailand Project: Higher Education as Humanitarian Aid.

The Thailand Project launched with a Photojournalism Display, meticulously planned by Susan and Joseph.  Pictures from Joseph’s trip were strategically placed around campus to start the conversations, draw out strong reactions, and hopefully, inspire action.  The cofounders executed a perfectly timed interview on Wisconsin Public Radio shortly after the display, and made a plea on air for Wisconsin to open its doors to those denied education due to statelessness.  

Knowing they were attempting the impossible, Susan and Joseph, with the blessing of UWSP, set out to try and get two students from DEPDC to come here for two years of ESL and then a four year college degree.  Ultimately, this is not designed to be a scholarship program, but a demonstration and statement of the lunacy of needing to send someone half way around the world for an education because they are denied rights in their own country.  The first hurdle was to raise the finances to support the two students for six years.  With the help of Frame Presbyterian Church, who sponsored one student for a year and a Red Campaign on campus, asking each student to donate $5 within 5 days, Joseph and Susan leaped over the first hurdle with strength!  Of course, their academics, friendships and health were sacrificed in the process, but it was worth it to these two passionate heroes. 

The second hurdle was to get the Thai government and US government to agree to allow two students with no citizenship, birth certificates or any other identifying documents leave a country where they are normally not allowed to travel to the next town.  Incredibly, there was no secret networking magic; Quinnell just got on the phone and started working his way through the red tape.   In the summer of 2008, two days before classes were due to start, the news came.  Two young women, Fongtip and Aor, were allowed to travel to UWSP and gain an education.  Fongtip was granted Thai Citizenship…a milestone sure to change the destiny of her family, and Aw was given the only Student Visa of its kind, to a stateless person.  Aor is currently one signature away from receiving a birth certificate, which will all but assure her of her Thai citizenship.   Now these two women, who have just very successfully completed their first semester of college, are an inspiration to a country, to a community, to two college students with a dream and to small children at the DEPDC who are starting to catch a glimpse of what it is to have hope for a future.

In 2014, this pilot program will be complete and The Thailand Project will go on to its next stage where it will use the lives of these two young women to inspire those who have previously been denied education, show that old ways of thinking can be broken and to emphasize that these hopeful youth, in the limbo of statelessness, would be more valuable to Thailand as citizens.

I am so inspired by this story.  I feel hopeful and empowered and moved beyond the borders of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  I am proud of these two individuals, Joseph Quinnell and Susan Perri, who rallied a community to do the right thing for people half way across the world.  In the end, human trafficking and the issues of statelessness do not define Thailand, but with over 15 million people stateless around the world, Thailand could be defined as the country that brings this human rights violation to an end. 

If you have been moved by this story, as I have…act.  Go to www.thethailandproject.org and donate toward the $60,000 that is still needed to fund Fongtip and Aor through the end of the pilot program.  Friend The Thailand Project on Facebook and send notes of encouragement to the founders and their two fledgling students.  If you are in the Stevens Point area, contact the project through their website and volunteer to provide a meal or tutoring for Fongtip and Aor.   Most importantly, tell others about statelessness, so that it can no longer be a secret.  There should be no throw away people.

Joan was on the show on December 6^th.  My very first show on my new home News Talk 1010 WSPT.  The whole interview can be heard at http://trademarku.wordpress.com/radio-show/.  What I want to write about here is the interview that was off-air!

My connection to Joan’s story really came when she discussed all the reasons she should be happy…but just couldn’t find her sparkle.  Couldn’t recognize her own value.  Often as children we let our light shine so thoroughly…and yet many around us seek to blow out that light.  We are too loud, have too many emotions, are too boastful.   Why?  Why do we shame ourselves and our kids into believing that we have to hide our light?  What would happen if we each gave each other the opportunity to burn brightly and purposefully?

If someone shows pride in their accomplishments, we often judge them to be arrogant and narcissistic, but what if it was instead, an opportunity to share in their joy?  What if you shared your own successes, no matter how big or small?  What if you gave yourself permission to shine?  So many questions, I know, but I would like to think that our purpose on Earth is to be of purpose, and as we share our gifts, we fulfill our greater overall calling.  So today, right now, I challenge you to let your light shine unabashedly, and invite others to do the same!

The word disability really bothers me.  Look at the word again.  I am not an English major, but I know that the prefix “dis” means the absence of.  So the word disability means the absence of ability.  If that’s the case, then yes, I have a disability.  I cannot do fractions.  In fact, when it comes to anything having to do with math, I struggle mightily.  When it comes to home improvements or car repairs, I don’t know which end of the screwdriver to hold.     Another disability. 

    But there are many areas of my life in which I am very capable.  Some big, others small.  Everyone has some ability to offer this world.  You just have to find it.  It might be hidden deep down inside you, just yearning to come out.  For my disabled friends, don’t let your handicap hold you back.  Don’t listen to the people that tell you it cannot be done.  My parents told me that I could do anything that I put my mind to and I believe that to be true for anyone, regardless of obstacles faced.  If you don’t push yourself to find your ability, who will?  Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered with polio and became President of the United States.  Albert Einstein didn’t talk until the age of three and was severely dyslexic.  The English author/poet Milton lost his sight at the age of 43 and then wrote the classic tale Paradise Lost.  How about Bonnie St. John who won silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympic Games as a ski racer; graduated with honors from Harvard University won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Did I fail to mention that Bonnie has one leg?  What would the world be like if these people had given up?  Can you imagine FDR saying, “I can’t do it, it’s too hard.”  

   Have you always wanted to paint but thought it was a waste of time?  Perhaps you’ve felt a strong desire to get up on stage in your community theater but were ridiculed when you shared your dream out loud?  I have been laughed at.  Most people thought it was nuts for a guy with cerebral palsy to even dream of joining the Navy.  Mocking turned to cheers 20 years later when I retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. When I decided I wanted to write my memoir, some scoffed.  “You’ve never written anything before.  “What makes you think you can write a book?”  Well, Someone Like Me, An Unlikely Story of Challenge and Triumph over Cerebral Palsy was published this past April.  It appears that I have the ability to put my thoughts down on paper is such a way that others enjoy reading them. 

    You might not become President of the United States, discover new math theories, or write an epic novel.  But then again, you might.  So I ask you.  What’s your ability?

John W. Quinn was born in Detroit, Michigan on 18 April 1962. One of eight children, he joined the Navy in January 1982 specializing in administration. Throughout his distinguished twenty-year career, he has sailed around the world on carriers, battleships and destroyers, and is a plank owner of SEAL Team THREE. His numerous military decorations include four Navy Commendation Medals, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and four Navy Achievement Medals. He is authorized to wear the Enlisted Surface Warfare breast insignia. John is single and makes his home in Tucson, Arizona.

Tigerlily Foundation’s (Tigerlily) mission is to educate, empower, advocate for and provide hands-on support to young women, 15-40 – before, during and after breast cancer.  Although women over 40 have higher incidences of breast cancer, younger women tend to have more aggressive breast cancers and higher mortality rates, therefore, are at a higher risk. They are a largely under-recognized demographic – lacking in targeted education and services.  Often, younger women and their practitioners are unaware that they get breast cancer, so Tigerlily focuses on providing the community at large with targeted education, prevention and support. 

Tigerlily Foundation was founded by Maimah Karmo, after being diagnosed at 32 years old. She was initially told that she was too young to have breast cancer- and to wait six months before going back to the doctor.  The lump doubled in size in six months.  After pushing for a biopsy, she learned she had aggressive breast cancer. While undergoing chemotherapy, she founded the organization – as a single mother, with a 3-year old little girl.  The foundation has grown to offer services and education to young women and families nation-wide.   Tigerlily Foundation now has volunteers nationwide providing a variety of support and is providing programming to young women.   

Tigerlily is 100% dedicated to providing full-lifecycle support to young women in the community.  We address a need within a demographic that has more aggressive breast cancers, needs help coping with the challenges of treatment and needs help with finances, day-to-day support, and lifestyle adjustment after breast cancer, adjusting to issues with fertility, long-term health, family, dating, living with metastatic breast disease, potential end-of-life issues and re-defining life after breast cancer. 

 One of the major benefits of educating and empowering young women early is that they are an active participant in their own health.  They are aware of ways they can live a lifestyle that contributes to their breast and overall wellness, and if when a young woman grows older and does get diagnosed with breast cancer, she has immediate access to resources to help her during and after breast cancer.  To meet these needs, the  organization offers its Peer Education Through Awareness and Leadership (PETALs) Program – Tigerlily’s PETALS program provides younger women with breast cancer education.   We also offer a Chemobuddy Program, Buddy Bag, Funds for Families, At Home, Fearless Females and Stage 4 Programs.

To learn more about Tigerlily Foundation or to donate, visit www.tigerlilyfoundation.org.

We have so many resources on our site to help bring something new to your audience  (school, library, fire department, Safe Kids, etc.), and also to really drive the safety messages home to kids AND PARENTS!

For the months of September and October, use Coupon code “2010safety” to enjoy 30% off your total purchase on our site.

Our books are Bedtime Stories with a Purpose. By using a simple rhyming story we are able to engage younger kids and teach them the simple, but crucial safety tips. Books include a safety tip in the back for parents to quickly check their environment with the checklist. Is everything safe for kids?

We encourage you to see why we developed these stories. Video: http://www.youtube.com/v/Er0nPVNoX6c?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&border=1