Sam Galenorn

No one likes a boss constantly hounding them, all the while making just enough money to make ends meet with little left over. Today, Vicki’s guests share advice to free you from these burdens! Financial advisor Gary Sirak and America’s #1 small business expert Melinda Emerson… only on Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair!

The economic crash of 2008 exposed Americans tendency to overspend and live above our means. Since then, we have cut back and beefed up our savings, but as financial advisor Gary Sirak points out, “We have no memory at all. We will be freaked out and more conservative with our money, but as soon as any signs of an economic upturn show up, we will be right back to our old spending habits”. So how do we change our money habits for good? In his book If Your Money Talked… What Secrets Would It Tell? author Sirak approaches crucial factors in spending, including why do we tend to go back into overspending when it feels safe, what is the most common money mistake people make, and why is it so important to “keep up with the Joneses”? Gary Sirak is the president of Sirak Financial Services Inc., and has over 30 years experience in financial planning, insurance, investments, and employee benefits.

The only thing better than having a good job is having a good job and not having to answer to anyone! In the bestselling Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, author Melinda Emerson provides a tool for people who are unhappy with their jobs and have always dreamed of owning their own business. Rather than just giving advice, she provides a realistic, month-by-month planning guide to starting a sustainable and profitable small business. Emerson began her career as a television producer, and within five years left tv to pursue her entreprenurial dreams. She is currently CEO of Quintessence Multi-media, developing audio, video, and written content to provide a link between her Fortune 500 clients and their small business partners. Staying busy, she also writes a weekly column for the New York TImes, hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #SmallBizChat, and publishes a resource blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

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Take your life, your work, your team from ordinary to extraordinary with one of the most dynamic adventure racers in the country! Don’t miss Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM!

If Robyn Benincasa sets out to do somthing, you better believe it’s going to get done! She is a 2-time Adventure Racing Champion, 2-time Guiness World Record distance kayaker, and a full time San Diego firefighter. It is that very drive and determination, coupled with a marketing degree from Arizona State University, that has also led Robyn to be one of the nation’s foremost speakers and analysts of leadership styles in business environments. Her new book, How Winning Works, 8 Essential Leadership Lessons from the Toughest Teams on Earth, is the focus of a new Fast Company article. Robyn’s leadership and teamwork presentations have been inspirations to industry leaders such as Starbucks, Aflac, Microsoft, Nestle, and many more!

Communication is a huge factor in developing strong, synergistic relationships.  Sylvia Henderson’s coaching programs, events and online resources help individuals and organizations communicate to build and strengthen relationships.  With a Bachelor’s in Education and a Master’s in Business Administration, plus over 30 years of corporate, non-profit, and entrenprenurial experience, she is well equipped to help you clarify, strategize, and implement your ideas.  She has authored several books, including Hey, That’s MY Idea!  How to Speak Up and Get Recognized for What You Know and Think.  Get your complimentary chapters of Sylvia’s book and stay connected with her at IdeaSuccessNetwork.com.

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How would you feel if you found out the government has taken away your right to full disclosure on what you eat and where it comes from? That is reality in Iowa, and several other states may be soon to follow. Vicki returns live and welcomes one of the country’s foremost experts on the meat packing and processing industry for an inside look at how large corporations have achieved such power, and what can be done about it!  Plus, a special look at returning to the way a doctor-patient relationship should be.  Don’t miss a single episode of Conversations Live, every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM! 

Recently in Iowa, the state government passed an extraordinary legislation to protect factory farms in their state from undercover investigation, making it a crime for job applicants to not disclose if they are affiliated with a news organization, animal rights group, or a union. This controversial bill was pushed through by large corporations who had repeatedly been exposed for engaging in animal cruelty and not maintaining sanitary facilities. Mere weeks later, millions of Americans were shocked to learn they were eating “pink slime”, the industry term for lean finely textured beef. In light of these alarming developments, industry expert Professor Donald Stull, co-author of Slaughterhouse Blues, feels it is more important than ever for the public to learn the truth about the U.S. meat and poultry industry. Professor Stull examines how the corporations came to such power, as well as sustainable solutions that respect everyone involved from the animals, to the workers, to the small farmers having an increasingly difficult time competing in the marketplace. Professor Stull has studied the meat and poultry industry for 25 years in North America, focusing on it’s effects on farmers, ranchers, workers, and the rural communities where processing plants are located.

There is no more trying time in a person’s life then when a serious medical condition presents itself to you or a loved one.  The doctor entrusted with diagnosing and treating the condition must build trust quickly… or lose it for good.  In The Cancer Experience: The Doctor, The Patient, The Journey, retired Dr. Roy B. Sessions examines the critical topics of medical ethics, doctor-patient relationships, and the methods of decision making during treatment.  Dr. Sessions promotes a return to more traditional medical values in which the relationship between the doctor and patient becomes a partnership.  Dr. Sessions is currently professor of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at The Medical University of South Carolina.  Over his nearly 40 year career, he has been responsible for over 140 scientific publications, and has lectured extensively across the globe.

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Conversations Live encore presentation! How did one mother survive the anguish of, not one, but two runaway teenage daughters, then reclaim their love? Also, when an Oscar-nominated wildlife filmmaker was found dead in Africa, was it a deliberate attempt to thwart her conservation efforts? Vicki will be back live on June 4th with an all new edition of Conversations Live!

Debra Gwartney is a former reporter for the Oregonian, was a Newsweek correspondent for 10 years, and the proud mother of two beautiful daughters. Following their parents’ divorce and their mother’s move to Eugene, Oregon, the girls grew increasingly angry, until they ran away at the ages of 13 and 15. They lived on the streets in Eugene, then ran to San Francisco – then disappeared altogether. Debra Gwartney joins us to share her heart-wrenching journey to find her girls, and how things stand today. Her new book is Live Through This: A Mother’s Memoir of Runaway Daughters and Reclaimed Love.

In January 2006, Joan Root, a 69-year-old naturalist, Oscar-nominated wildlife filmmaker, and staunch conservationist, was murdered by two masked men armed with an AK-47 shortly after midnight in her bedroom on the shore of Kenya’s beautiful Lake Naivasha. The police stated it was a robbery gone bad … but was it? Root had made enemies in her efforts to save Kenya’s wildlife. Veteran journalist Mark Seal, and contributing editor at Vanity Fair, set out to investigate this real-life mystery in Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa.

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As if reaching the summits of the seven highest mountains on each continent was not accomplishment enough, Kay LeClaire did it after her 50th birthday! Plus Chris Hanks shares his groups guaranteed plan for start-up success! Join Vicki today for this encore broadcast of Conversations Live! Vicki will return with all new live shows in June, so tune in every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM!

Kay LeClaire was a competitve ballroom dancer and nurse, who at 51 had her first mountain climbing experience when she summited Mt. Rainier with her son Andrew. A friend encouraged her to join the Spokane Mountaineers school, and she learned the technical aspects of climbing and overcame her fears, leading to her becoming, at 61, the oldest female to conquer the seven summits! Her fascinating story, wrought with tough challenges and incredible triumph, is an inspiration to anyone who has a dream and wants to live it!

Chris Hanks co-authored School For Startups to offer a safer path for entreprenuers who don’t want to go the traditional route of risking it all and going for broke, with broke being the end result. Hanks has owned multiple businesses in a wide variety of industries, and is currently a lecturer and teacher of entreprenuership at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

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Take one part sustained confidence, mix in the 4 Disciplines of Execution, and top it off with outside-the-box creativity, and you have a recipe for success in pursuits in work and in life. Vicki’s guests today are all experts in motivations associated with each of those ingredients. Put them all together and you can’t lose! Join Vicki St. Clair for Conversations Live every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM! 

All it takes is a few rejections and the confidence and energy you began your job hunt with can plummet. Once that self doubt sets in, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain ambitious about seeking gainful employment. Psychotherapist Heather M. Hunter believes the counter-measure to that slide is to recognize the pattern and stay a step ahead. “If you know how the grind of a job hunt can affect you, you can prepare yourself mentally, which in the end, can get you hired,” she notes. Hunter holds a degree in psychology and specializes in wellbeing as a lifestyle strategist, where she counsels clients on all aspects of life, including career.

Whether you are a project coordinator, lead a small sales team, run a fortune 500 company, or simply want to create better results in your personal life, you can benefit from the 4 Disciplines of Execution. Co-author Chris McChesney believes that these disciplines represent a major breakthrough in how to move teams, organizations, and individuals forward and profoundly change the way you approach your goals. McChesney is a leadership consultant, executive advisor, and speaker for FranklinCovey Speaker’s Bureau, who he has been with for 20 years.

Many assume creativity is an asset one is born with and it cannot be learned. In her new book inGenius, executive director of Stanford Technology Ventures Program and international bestseller Tina Seelig sets out to prove that theory wrong. WIth this book the award-winning professor offers readers a practical guide to improve creativity, foster innovation, and bring an entrepreneurial mindset to all aspects of life. She demonstrates how companies such as Twitter, Apple, Facebook, and even Amazon used creative thinking to go from being modest startups to global icons. Seelig holds a Ph.D in neuroscience, and in 2009 was awarded the highly prestigious Gordon Prize for her innovative work in technology, engineering and education.

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China, Iran, and the US are embroiled in a bitter conflict, the root of which is oil. Will this be the catalyst to war? National bestselling thriller writer Allan Topol’s latest work The China Gambit may be fiction, but it also may be closer to reality than any of us want to admit! Also today, how to beat anxiety and panic attacks, and how to take perfect photo’s of food! Don’t miss Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM! 

National bestselling author Allan Topol’s latest, The China Gambit, revolves around the Unipec long-term oil supply contract between Iran and China, and the struggle this is causing with the US. Although the book is a work of fiction, Topol has real-life experience in dealing with this conflict: he authored an Op-ed piece closely relating to the topic. Publisher’s Weekly calls The China Gambit “as entertaining as it is complex”, and the Washington Post compares Topol’s ability to write plot with thriller masters Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum.

Priscilla Warner has had a great life with a supportive husband in a flourishing marriage that produced two loving sons. Despite all her good fortune, she still suffered from anxiety and panic attacks so debilitating they left her unable to breathe. After finding out that self-medicating wouldn’t help in high school, and faring little better with prescription meds as an adult, Priscilla discovered meditation. In her latest book, Learning To Breathe, she sets out to find her inner Tibetan monk through daily meditation, taking the reader on a winding path from panic to peace. If you are one of the approximately 6 million American adults that suffer from panic disorder or you know someone who is, this segment is a must-listen!

In Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, photographer Nicole Young dishes up the basics on the photgraphic technique so that when your food arrives and it looks so good you want to take a picture of it, you can take the best one possible! They say a picture is worth a thousand words. After hearing this interview, you will see a picture can be worth a thousand flavors!

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60 Heroes. 60 Stories. 60 reminders that anything is possible. Best-selling author and Decoded host Brad Meltzer joins Vicki today to discuss a book 6 years in the making. Later, we chat with an expert who breaks down sibling rivalry and how to keep it at bay! Tune in to Conversations Live every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM!

Brad Meltzer returns to Conversations Live with a book that was six years in the making. Heroes For My Daughter was written during an emotionally turbulent time in Meltzer’s life as he experienced tremendous losses over the course of choosing the women (and a few men) who would serve as ideal role models for his daughter. From Rosa Parks to Christopher Reeve… from Marie Curie to Lucille Ball… every hero in this book is a fighter. The culmination of six years of searching for heroes worthy of his daughter has resulted in a book that will at once serve as an inspiration while at the same time bringing a tear to your eye. Meltzer is a world reknowned suspense writer who has spent many weeks on the New York Times Bestselling list. He has lived every boy’s dream of being a comic writer, working on Superman, Batman, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and many other fantasy and super hero books. Currently, he hosts Brad Meltzer’s Decoded on the History Channel while continuing his exhausting schedule of writing and making appearances!

Written with humor, compassion, and understanding by two parents of 3, Siblings Without Rivalry is the sanity-saving help that parents everywhere have been searching for! Using action-oriented, easy to understand anecdotes, it challenges the notion that constant, unpleasant conflict among siblings is natural and unavoidable. Co-author Adele Faber joins Vicki today to discuss what contributes to sibling rivalry, why it carries into adulthood, and what parents can do to prevent it. She will also discuss why siblings often revert back to childhood at family gatherings, and what can be done about that as adults. Faber received her Masters in Education from New York University and taught in the New York City high school system for eight years. She and co-writer Elaine Mazlish have been honored with their inclusion in Who’s Who In America.

Also joining Vicki today is Marley Gibson to discuss her 12th novel which is based in part on her real-life experience overcoming cancer as a teenage cheerleader. Radiate is a highly emotional story with an overwhelming message – with a positive attitude, you can overcome any obstacle in your life!

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“Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words will never hurt you.” Wrong! Verbal abuse negatively impacts millions of people. It’s often debilitating, agonizing and crazy-making. It usually occurs in secret — crushing dreams, self esteem and spirit — leaving emotional scars that can plague us forever. Join us Monday at Noon PT for Victory Over Verbal Abuse with guest expert Patricia Evans. Listen to Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair live online. See abuse, violence and rape Help & Resource links by clicking Read More.

Not sure what verbal abuse really is? Are you a victim of abuse? Check out these useful links on verbal, physical, domestic abuse; violence and rape … you don’t have to deal with this alone!

• What is Verbal Abuse – FAQ?
• Video links on Verbal Abuse
• Books on Abuse by other authors
• Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Rape Help and Resources
• National Domestic Hotline
• Help Guide – Domestic Violence and Abuse

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April is Autism Awareness Month, and Vicki’s first guest today is pioneering developmental neurobiologist, Paul Patterson, whose research shows how brain-immune communications are involved in autism, schizophrenia, and depression. Later, Vicki speaks with the producer of Robert H. Lieberman’s award-winning documentary film, presenting a candid and unprecedented journey into Myanmar and its people.

In Infectious Behavior, developmental neurobiologist Paul Patterson examines and explains how the immune system influences behavior, and how it is regulated by the brain, and how this effects different states of mental illness including autism, stress, and depression. While genetic approaches to these diseases garner the lion’s share of publicity and funding, scientists are uncovering evidence of the importance between the brain and the immune system. Patterson is a professor of biological sciences at the California Institute of Technology and a research professor of neurological surgery at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

“You will be unable to stop caring about Burma after this movie.” -Ambassador Ken Brill. That statement sums up the impact that They Call It Myanmar: Lifting The Curtain has had on audiences worldwide. At one point in time Burma was one of the most prosperous and advanced countries in Southeast Asia, but the iron grip of the current military regime has reduced it to one of the world’s poorest. Filmmaker Robert H. Lieberman risked his life to clandestinely shoot over 200 hours of raw footage, and in conjunction with Vicki’s guest today, producer Deborah C. Hoard, edited that footage down to a stunning 88 minute film that takes an exclusive inside look at the squalid conditions of daily life in Burma. But this film is not all doom and gloom. Possibly the most important conclusion from this film is that despite horrific poverty, filth, broken down cities, and a lack of any serious medical care, the Burmese are a proud, quietly brave and extraordinarily peaceful people.

If you would like to learn more about this film and the astonishing story of the Burmese people, Vicki’s guest today, producer Deborah C. Hoard, will be apeparing in person at Seattle’s Metro Cinemas for the Friday, Saturday and Monday (April 6th, 7th and 9th) 7:05 showings, and at the 3:40 showing on Sunday, April 9th. In addition, director Robert H. Lieberman will be appearing at the Wednesday and Thursday (April 11th and 12th) 7:05 showings.

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