60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: What’s the Risk You’re Willing to Take?

Hello to you listening in Marseille, France!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me this time of year brings you face-to-face with something going not quite right in your business or maybe you’re life. Maybe you’re using an old play book that used to work but no longer does. Maybe your attitude could use a reboot.Deep down, we all know it - don’t we? We have a hunch what’s gone missing, a risk we need to take, a habit we need to break. It’s like a desire to take up daily walking for all the right reasons. There’s not much to it; only the decision to move our bodies and the wisdom to accept the difference between our will and our won’t.Question: What’s the risk you’ve been avoiding? What’s the risk you’re willing to take? And what might happen next? You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Wilmington, Delaware!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I remember my mother taking me to our local library when I was a very little girl so I could apply for and receive my very own library card. To this day one of my most treasured possessions is my library card. Reading becomes us.    “To read means to borrow; to create out of one’s reading is paying off one’s debts.” [Charles Lillard, poet & historian]Story Prompt: What have you read? What have you borrowed? What have you created? What debts have you paid off? Write that story and tell it out loud!  You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Spokane, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.“I will tell you something about stories, he saidThey aren’t just entertainment.Don’t be fooled.They are all we have, you see,all we have to fight offillness and death.”   ~ Leslie Marmon Silko, Haida Ceremony [The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant, p. 145]Haida NationI may be an old fashioned storyteller clinging to the oral tradition, especially when working with your narratives that function as origin stories, creation myths, messages of all kinds to be seen, heard, understood, repeated and followed, as well as cautions for the young and memories for the elders. Why do I insist on the music of the spoken word? Because that’s where the magic happens: at the intersection of the story, the listener, and the teller’s voice with its cadence, tone, inflection, repetition, pacing, and energy.So much gets lost in translation to the printed page. What we yearn for without even knowing it is human connection. My clients learn how to connect with their stories and with themselves to be in better service to their purpose.Question: What would you like to learn about the power of story? When you’re ready I can help.  Reach out by email => [email protected] OR r arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Perry County, Pennsylvania!Coming to you from Whidbey Island Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday, and your host Diane Wyzga.  Imagine yourself talking with a very good friend and telling them a story about something that happened in your day. Imagine them listening with energy and delight. It helps  you and your story to bloom, right? Your creative energy flows.Now, imagine yourself telling the same story to someone who really can’t be bothered to take the time or be interested in you or what you have to share. When we feel unsafe, judged or misunderstood our creative energy stops.Sometimes we end up standing in our own way by coming up against our fears that we have nothing worthwhile to say, to produce, to express. Our creativity stops.  Practical Tip: When you come up against fearful feelings blocking your creativity imagine yourself back with your delighted friend. Visualize yourself basking in the warm glow of their delight, support, encouragement. Imagine that this feeling is all about protective love and energy for you and what you have to offer the waiting world. Now, let go of what’s holding you back, and create your good work!You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Den Hague, the Netherlands!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Who is Saint Nicholas? Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas who was born during the third century in the village of Patara in Asia Minor on what is now the southern coast of Turkey.  The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death. Click HERE to learn more. But it is believed the life and deeds of St. Nicholas gave rise to the Christmas character we know as Santa Claus.From a very early age I remember how my family celebrated December 6th as the Feast of Saint Nicholas; a reminder that Christmas is on its way and someone is watching us - from a distance - to be sure we stay on the nice side of naughty. On the night of December 5th each child put a pair of shoes outside their bedroom door. On the morning of the 6th there was a small gift in the shoes left by Saint Nicholas himself, reminding us to be of love a little more careful than anything else this season.Story Prompt: What one tradition or ritual do you continue at this time of year?  Who might it remind you of? What special meaning does it hold for you? Write that story and tell it out loud!You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening wherever your feet touch the ground.Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (& a bit more) for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe like me you see us careening to the end of 2025 and wondering WTF how we’ve been living and what, if anything can we change for the better? The following several paragraphs entitled, A Few Final Thoughts, are excerpted from Warren Buffet’s Final Shareholder Letter dated 10th November 2025. Click HERE to access the entire letter published as a pdf on the Berkshire Hathaway website.“One perhaps self-serving observation. I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first. My advice: Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them.Remember Alfred Nobel, later of Nobel Prize fame, who – reportedly – read his own obituary that was mistakenly printed when his brother died and a newspaper got mixed up. He was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior.Don’t count on a newsroom mix-up: Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior.I write this as one who has been thoughtless countless times and made many mistakes but also became very lucky in learning from some wonderful friends how to behave better (still a long way from perfect, however). Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.Prompt: What do you make of the notion that greatness is defined not by wealth or power, but by the kindness and help we offer to others in everyday situations? Can you share a personal story that illustrates a moment when you realized a need for change in your behavior, similar to Alfred Nobel's realizations after reading his premature obituary? What helps you live each day in a way that aligns with the values and legacy you'd wish to be remembered for?”A Few Final Thoughts is excerpted from Final Shareholder Letter by Warren Buffet dated 11-10-25You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in McHenry, Illinois!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Maybe it’s true and maybe it isn’t but once there was a corrupt politician in the 1920's named John A. McCarthy; but he was known as Fishhooks McCarthy. He lived and worked on the Lower East Side of New York City. Being a devout man every morning he stopped at a little Catholic Church, St. James Church on Olive Street,  to pray. Same prayer every day: “O Lord, give me health and strength. We’ll steal the rest.”  Fishhooks sounds like one of those politicians you shouldn’t trust; but people remembered him as a Robin Hood who used graft and corruption to redistribute money to his unemployed and working class poor constituents.Let me be very clear! I am not advocating for theft, bribery, corruption, immorality, stepping outside the law, and all the rest. We have more than enough of that with the Trump/MAGA Regime. What I am saying is that in these historic times we have once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to examine our core values, our moral code, and ask ourselves: what do I stand for and what won’t I stand for?Question: While you have health and strength what can you do to be of good use?   You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Brittany, France!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As a storyteller for some 30 years now I can say this: when life is upside down and backward we call on the old stories. The old stories of who we are and where we came from ground us in the truth of the origins we might forget when distracted by shiny things, especially at this time of year.Shopping [by Faith Shearin]"My husband and I stood together in the new mallwhich was clean and white and full of possibility.We were poor so we liked to walk through the storessince this was like walking through our dreams.In one we admired coffee makers, blue potterybowls, toaster ovens as big as televisions. In another, we eased into a leather couch and imaginedcocktails in a room overlooking the sea. When wesniffed scented candles we saw our future faces,softly lit, over a dinner of pasta and wine. Whenwe touched thick bathrobes we saw midnight swims and bathtubs so vast they might bemistaken for lakes. My husband's glasses hurthis face and his shoes were full of holes.There was a space in our living room wherea couch should have been. We longed for fancy shower curtains, flannel sheets,shiny silverware, expensive winter coats.Sometimes, at night, we sat up and made lists.We pressed our heads together and wroteour wants all over torn notebook pages.Nearly everyone we loved was alive and we were in love but we liked wanting. Nothingwas ever as nice when we brought it home.The objects in stores looked best in stores.The stores were possible futures and, youngand poor, we went shopping. It was nicethen: we didn't know we already had everything.""Shopping" by Faith Shearin, from The Owl Question. © Utah State University Press, 2002.My mother always told us that we were rich we just didn’t have a lot of money. When money was even tighter we weren’t poor; we were just broke. Mom was right. The shiny things have come and gone but the richness of the stories - who I am, where I came from - those remain close to heart.“We Ain’t Buying It!” is a nationwide movement to pause shopping from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday with major corporations that are enabling the administration's lawlessness: Target, Home Depot & Amazon. Click HERE to learn more.Story Prompt: If you had one wish, what story would you most like to hear again; what would it say to you; what remarkable bit of contentment would it provide? Write that story and tell it out loud!     You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Sumner, Washington!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.Over a three-day period, almost 200 volunteers lend their time to prepare upwards of 700 free Thanksgiving Turkey Dinners with all the trimmings. This will be my 8th year as a Mobile Turkey Unit volunteer. Together we slice and box pumpkin pies, peel mountains of potatoes, scoop buckets of cranberry relish, carve hundreds of pounds of  freshly roasted turkeys, stir vats of stuffing, and bag rolls, butter, napkins, utensils, and coffee. On Thanksgiving morning I’ll be a delivery driver bringing some of those free Thanksgiving dinners to folks on the Island who otherwise might not have one.  This nonprofit community event was founded in 1999 by Tom Arhontas, who had a special place in his heart for people in need. Mobile Turkey Unit volunteers have been feeding Whidbey Islanders a free Thanksgiving dinner ever since.Click HERE  to check out the story, photos and videos of what we do and how we do it here on our Island.Question: What is good and nourishing in your life right now?You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Suffolk, Virginia!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (and a bit more for an important story) for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Each one of us - if we’re determined - finds a way to compost the regrets, poor decisions, failures, shames and blames that are part and parcel of living life into something almost beyond description: personal transformation. My long time friend, podcasting colleague, disabled military vet, and avid hiker, Keith McNally, is a man finding his path to transformation.His goal? Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail beginning on March 29, 2026, crossing 14 states on the East Coast and finishing 2,197 miles 5 months later. Some of the challenges include constant rough terrain with difficult footing, a series of steep grades, climbs and descents, as well as river crossings balanced on logs, extreme weather, insects, and rock scrambles using hands for climbing. The elevation profile of the AT over its length is akin to summiting Mount Everest from sea level and back approximately 16 times. So yes, physical fitness is a must to take on the AT; but it is mental fortitude and the ability to adapt to unforseen challenges that is key to finishing the hike.Keith’s journey will be a test of perseverance, a tribute to the beauty of the natural world, and an opportunity for personal growth. Even more importantly, Keith is setting the groundwork for a non-profit foundation to help military veterans find their own Trails to Transformation. This first hike is just the beginning.  But here’s something else. Keith is not walking alone. He has also been steadfastly training an indefatigable Aussie cattle dog he named Ashley after rescuing her from a shelter. Click HERE to watch a short video entitled:  Introduction to Ashley - Trail Partner and Training CompanionAs you can imagine, an expedition like this one does not come cheap. I know money is dear. And, here I am asking you to please reach deep into your pocket to give what you are able to Keith & Ashley’s GoFundMe project. On the GoFundMe site you’ll find all the details as well as a punch list of expenses so you can see where your contributions will go.    Click HERE to access Keith’s GoFundMe, add what you can, and invite others to be part of the mission. I did!  If you are curious about keeping up with Keith’s training, stories, photos and more, click HERE to access his  overwhelmingly popular newsletter published on Tuesdays on LinkedIn [Keith J. McNally | LinkedIn]Thank you for listening and giving a hand up because Each One Lift One is the way we roll hereYou're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved.  If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.