Harvard Medical School psychologist and Huffington Post blogger Dr. Craig Malkin addresses the “narcissism epidemic” by illuminating the spectrum of narcissism, ways to control the trait, and explaining how too little of it may be a bad thing in his new book, Rethinking Narcissism: The Bad – And Surprising Good – About Feeling Special.

We’ll end today’s show with a celebration… Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair has now been on the air for 8 years! We’ll have a fun look back with a few highlights and a couple moments that reflect the unpredictability of live radio. We’ll also recognize our talented audio/studio producer, Eric Reidar. He’s been with us for all 8 years (and three years with Vicki before that) … he’s the voice that greets you during the introduction, and plays a vital role in the audio production of the live show, editing taped shows, and ensuring the live show broadcasts smoothly every week. And for almost 5 years now, our inimitable associate producer, David Vandver, has been a crucial teammate, writing the copy for featured guests and keeping ConversationsLive.net up to date. We would also like to thank our sponsors for believing in us and their role in keeping us on the air, and most importantly of all, our loyal listeners, without whom none of the last 8 years would be possible!

Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

The word “narcissist” immediately calls to mind negative stigma, things such as egomania, arrogance, etc. Casually invoked, we tend to be referring to the shadowy outer edge of the spectrum, which can shade into dangerous psychopathy. Yet there are those who live at narcissism’s lower spectrum. These people are termed “echoists” by Dr. Craig Malkin, author of Rethinking Narcissism: The Bad – And Surprising Good – About Feeling Special, in which he explores the complex nature of narcissism and debunks myths to show the readers not only how to develop a healthy sense of it, but also deal with narcissistic friends and family members. Dr. Malkin is an author, clinical psychologist, and Instructor of Psychology for Harvard Medical School with two decades of experience helping individuals, couples, and families. His articles, advice and insights on relationships have appeared in Psychology Today, Marie Claire, and Women’s and Men’s Health Magazines and at Huffington Post and Match.com’s Happen Magazine, and he has been a featured commentator on NPR and Fox news.

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Who wouldn’t their workplace to have zero tolerance for bullies, vicious gossip, hijacking tactics, political jockeying and favoritism, working instead on inspiration? It can be a reality… find out how in Joan Kingsley’s new book The Fear-Free Organization: Vital Insights from Neuroscience to Transform Your Business Culture.

What if there was a clear set of instructions to help you bring your best ideas to life? Stanford University professor Tina Seelig returns to welcome you into her classroom with her new book Insight Out to take you from imagination to implementation!

Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

With The Fear-Free Organization: Vital Insights from Neuroscience to Transform Your Business Culture, author Joan Kingsley utilizes the latest in neuroscience to solve the age old problems of workplace bullying and intimidation. She covers such subjects as how the 8 basic emotions (fear, anger, disgust, shame, sadness, surprise, excitement and trust) are essential in business situations to stop “ruling” and start “leading”. She also offers practical insights on how to deal with a bullying boss, stop fearing being fired, and gain the trust of upper management. Joan is a psychotherapist with a private practice in London and is Honorary Consultant Psychotherapist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. In addition to her clinical work, she also practices as an executive coach and member of The New York Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine and is registered with the UKCP.

At some point, nearly all of us have at least one “great idea” that we know could make the world a better place, and possibly line our pockets, but just can’t figure out how to execute it. Enter Stanford University professor Tina Seelig. Filled with surprising research, inspiring examples from her classroom, and real world stories from around the globe, her new book Insight Out is an essential road map for anyone who wants to get their ideas out of their head and into the world. Tina’s legacy is one of inspiration, as many of the students she personally mentored are now current leaders in Silicon Valley.

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At the age of 60, bestselling nonfiction author and gender expert, Susannah Marren, reinvents herself as a novelist with flair as her debut, Between The Tides, is cited as one of this summer’s best reads. Told against the backdrop of the Selkie legend – enchanted seals who shed their skins to live on land as women – Marren peels back the layers of ‘a perfect world’ to reveal the shifting tides of marriage, family, career, and friendships.

The Burden of My Red Lips in Tehran by Shaghayegh Farsijani is based on the author’s life, telling the story of a young girl raised in Brooklyn since the age of 3 who is suddenly whisked back to Iran by her father when she’s a teenager. She experiences culture shock in Iran and offers an insightful look at the culture and people.

Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

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It is said that The Buddha, on the morning of his only child’s birth, left his wife and son to “go forth” to seek enlightenment, without saying goodbye. What do we know of his wife Yasodhara and his son Rahula? In The Buddha’s Wife, today’s first guest, Samuel Shem, along with co-author Janet Surrey, explore the story of pain and abandonment she felt, and how she utilized the Path of Right Relation to find healing and happiness.

Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

In The Buddha’s Wife, authors Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey share the uncommon knowledge that Buddha had a wife, one that he abandoned to seek enlightenment. Princess Yasodhara, after being left alone, was only able to move past such horrible grief because of the healing power of relationships within her community. Utilizing what is known as the Path of Right Relation, her story teaches us that we no longer have to go at it alone, but thrive when we lean on one another for help, guidance, and support. Shem has written several novels primarily with medical themes, and also an off-Broadway play. His novel about a medical internship, The House of God, was named by British medical journal The Lancet as one of the two most important medical novels of the 20th century. His wife and sometimes co-author, Janet Surrey, PhD, is an Insight Dialogue Teacher and practicing clinical psychologist.

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A Deadly Wandering by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Matt Richtel explores a mysterious, landmark investigation through a hard-hitting, narrative driven look at how technology influences the human mind, as told through a real-life “texting while driving” car crash that claimed the lives of two rocket scientists.

Fido is staring at you intently, barking up a storm at nothing, or digging in the yard as if his life depended on it. Your cat has been fed, had a drink, some quality playtime, and is still meowing as if she needs more. Tim Link discovered an unusually adept ability to communicate with animals, and shares his simple methods to unlock the doors of communication with your pets in Talking with Cats and Dogs: Joining the Conversation to Improve Behavior and Bond with Your Animals.

Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

National bestseller A Deadly Wandering is a mysterious, landmark investigation into the astonishing science of our attention… or lack thereof… in the digital age. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Matt Richtel uses a bold, narrative driven style as he unravels the details of the true story of a car wreck and how technology was the culprit behind the deadly event. Richtel is a reporter for the New York Times that covers technology and telecommunications and has written on a range of related topics from identity theft to corporate espionage, video games, and the culture and economy of Silicon Valley. In addition to his work as an author, he has credits as a cartoonist and penned two long running columns about the impact of technology on our lives.

Animal lovers often wonder what their pets meow, bark, tweet, or stare means. Tim Link, an expert animal communicator, teaches readers how to find out in Talking with Cats and Dogs: Joining the Conversation to Improve Behavior and Bond with Your Animals. Link was initially surprised to find himself able to communicate with animals of all types, but soon chose to use his gift to help others hone their ability to interpret their pets behaviors more adeptly. His approach respects the individual personalities of the animals, using simple and accessible methods to facilitate opening the lines of communication between you and your beloved pet.

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If food experts are known as foodies, then today’s guest could be called a ‘bookie’. Vicki returns live with a special look at summer reading from expert bookseller and returning guest Pam Cady from University Book Store!

Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

Pam Cady has been in the book business since 1981 when she accepterd her first job as a bookseller for B. Dalton Bookseller in Torrance, CA. She went on to help run a small independent shop in Long Beach, and after moving to Seattle she joined the part-time staff at University Book Store, where she worked her way through several branches and a long stint in the children’s department before ultimately becoming manager of the general books department at the flagship store. Pam is proud to work with a staff of passionate booksellers who go to great lengths to connect readers with the right books for them as individuals.

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Spring is here, and since our weather is acting summery, now is the perfect time to get a head start on your summer reads, and get lost in the pages of a great book. Today Vicki welcomes back two New York Times bestselling authors… Hazel Gaynor to discuss her latest work, the poignant A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London’s Flower Sellers, and M. J. Rose with gothic novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Enjoy this encore broadcast of Conversations Live, Vicki returns next week with an all new show featuring summer reading with University Bookstore. Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor in her own words… “In writing A Memory of Violets, I was constantly struck by the cruel contradiction of the lives of the flower sellers. Here were some of the poorest women and children in society, and yet every day they were surrounded by the beauty of the flower markets. Black-and-white images and shaky newsreel footage taken during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries give a fascinating glimpse into market life in London, but it is difficult for us to imagine what these scenes would have looked like in full color. Oddly beautiful, perhaps.” Having been featured in The Sunday Times and the Irish Times, the English born Gaynor currently resides in Ireland and was the recipient of the 2012 Cecil Day Lewis award for Emerging Writers.

The latest from M. J. Rose, The Witch of Painted Sorrows, is a provocative spellbinder set against the lavish backdrop of Belle Epoque Paris, spinning the yarn of a New York socialite fleeing an abusive husband for her grandmother’s home in Paris, and finding something even more menacing. Richly imagined and full of suspense, it illuminates the fine line between explosive passion and complete ruination. Rose has authored over a dozen novels, and is the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com.

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It began with a question: If you’re this successful doing work you don’t love, what could you do with work you do love? Find out why this Harvard lawyer quit her job to ‘dance’, and how can she help you create work you love. Tama Kieves of Awakening Artistry is followed by Mark Tomback who says life becomes much easier when we accept spiritual responsibility.

Enjoy this encore broadcast of Conversations Live… Vicki returns live in 2 weeks. Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

THIS TIME I DANCE! Creating the Work You Love, we’ll share the inspiring story of how an honors graduate, Harvard lawyer, left her corporate job to follow her dreams. If you’ve ever wanted your own personal mentor, champion of your gifts, advocate for all you desire — your support system has arrived. Tama Kieves takes the life/work coach genre to a new level. Her book was chosen as a Finalist for the National Nautilus Book Award, along with the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness.
Coming later in the show, Mark Tomback says we make life much “harder than it has to be.” Tomback has spent 35 years of focused study on the spirit’s human condition and believes that life is simply a spiritual event. His new book, Spiriting Around: A Modern Guide to Finding Yourself provides practical spiritual solutions to everyday problems.

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Ever have an idea that you just KNOW would work if you had the time and inclination to implement it without it getting lost in the clutter of everyone else’s great ideas? Dorie Clark returns today to discuss Stand OUT: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It. Later, Peabody and Emmy Award winning writer TV writer Jonathan Shapiro joins Vicki to talk about his new book Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling: Using Stories to Advocate, Influence, and Persuade .

Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

Too many people believe that if they keep their heads down and work hard, they’ll be recognized as experts on the merits of their work. But that’s simply not true anymore. To make a name for yourself, you have to capitalize on your unique perspective and knowledge and inspire others to listen and take action. Dorie Clark explains how to identify the ideas that set you apart and promote them successfully in her new book Stand OUT: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It. Dorie is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, TIME, Entrepreneur, and the World Economic Forum blog.

Whether it’s to close the deal on a sale or to close the deal on a date, storytelling is a critical tool in persuasion. How do you build a story to get what you want? What constitutes a lie, and can you use a lie to lead to the truth? And what can we learn from lawyers in courtroom? Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling: Using Stories to Advocate, Influence, and Persuade by Jonathan Shapiro answers these questions and more to help you spin yarns to get you through the daily mundane as well as any big deals that come up. Shapiro is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning TV writer and producer, Harvard educated Rhodes Scholar, former federal prosecutor and law professor.

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The age of technology we live in has our heads down staring at our cell phones, spending time inside checking emails (the EPA estimates Americans spend 90% of our time indoors) and allowing stress to overrun our lives when the solution to reducing this toxicity is right outside our doors. Tracy James has apprenticed with an indigenous shaman over the last 5 years in the Amazon Jungle and has discovered that “rewilding”, reconnecting with nature both mentally and physically, is the key to a healthier and happier life.

Ever have that feeling of complacency… where things are going just fine, but you suddenly ask yourself “How did I get here, and is this where I really want to be?” The status quo can be a comfortable place to be, but too often it’s a crutch to bettering yourself and your situation. Kristin S. Kaufman returns with her second book in her Is This Seat Taken? series with the sub-titled It’s Never Too Late to Find the Right Seat.

Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

Who has time for nature when there is so much to do? Whether at work, home, school, or in a shopping mall, Americans are spending inordinate amounts of time indoors and losing touch with what comes naturally… sitting on a log and listening to nature’s music or taking a hike or a walk in the park. Certified life coach Tracy James has spent 5 years in the Amazonian jungle apprenticing with an indigenous shaman and has discovered how to cull some of the secrets of nature in order to rewild. She discusses how rewilding can reduce stress and how to integrate ancient secrets into the modern world.

The Is This Seat Taken? by Kristin S. Kaufman is the perfect antidote for anyone caught in a rut, finding themselves at a career or personal crossroads and wanting more. Her second book in the series, It’s Never Too Late to Find the Right Seat, continues to offer practical advice supported by real-life stories from people who have found success later in life, encouraging readers to dig deep, find that motivation, and have the confidence to believe in themselves and find that new chapter in life. Kaufman has over 25 years experience as a businesswoman in the corporate world, holding down executive positions at Hewlett-Packard, Vignette Corporation, and United Health Group. In 2007 she founded Alignment Inc. to help businesses and individuals create sustainable success through finding alignment.

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