Feedback From Guests Further Validates Conversations LIVE!'s Purpose

Feedback From Radio Show Guests Further Validates Conversations LIVE!'s Purpose

For Mississippi native Cyrus Webb, host and creator of Conversations LIVE, the popular radio show has never been about him. He knew from the very first show in July 2003 that the platform was that of the people, and his purpose is to honor that with each and every guest. Whether it is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, television celebrity or someone who is on the rise in their profession, the 36 year old treats them all with the same dignity that he feels as though they deserve.

Over the years Webb has been praised because of the people he brings on the show, but for him it is the feedback from the guests themselves that really lets him know that he has achived his goal and given the audience the best of himself and those with whom he converses.

Recently after interviewing author Steven Janke (The Kykuit Bunker) Webb received this note:


"Thank you so much for having me on your show tonight. I had a great time talking to you about my book, and am thankful that you invited me to share my work and ideas with your listeners. To be honest, I was nervous at first, but your interview style and kind, welcoming demeanor provided a very warm environment that allowed me to feel comfortable during the interview. I can tell that you are a great listener by your follow-up questions to my responses, but I can also tell that you have a very friendly personality.

"I was thinking about a question you asked me regarding what I felt like when I first started getting positive feedback about my book. After giving that some more thought, I wanted to let you know that aside from having relatives and friends provide positive feedback, and people that I met online whom I don't know personally give me similar feedback, that it wasn't until your show contacted my publicist, Kevin, about coming on and talking about my book did I truly feel that I had accomplished something of tangible value. It's receiving feedback from someone like yourself, a person who I imagine reads countless books in a year, with only a finite number of interview spaces to consider when doing a show, when I have actually felt an incredible sense of pride for having written this book. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for anyone who reads, or has read, my book, because I am appreciative of the time they spent to read it, but it wasn't until I had a chance to get on your program and share my story not only with you personally, but also with your listener base, that I finally felt that I had made it past just being another local author up here in Minnesota. You have made me feel very welcomed in the community of authors, reviewers, hosts, and entertainment in general, and that welcoming feeling is something that I wish I would have thought of when we were talking, to share my appreciation for you, to your listeners.

"As a result of that feeling, I am glad that you were the person who conducted what is actually my very first book interview. I hope that I continue to get to meet people along the way and share my story with more and more people, but I can't imagine meeting and interacting with a kinder person than yourself. Thanks again for everything, and I would welcome any opportunity to have another chance to speak with you on your program. Take care. --Steven Janke"

The sentiment shared by Janke online were mirrored by Cathy Jo, author of Transitions in this email:


"How beautifully put! Steven's sentiments echo my own. I had actually
listened to several of your interviews beforehand, just to familiarize
myself with your interview style. Listening to your voice took some of the
edginess away. And what Steven said about his moment of clarity is true for
me as well. I couldn't believe that someone with merit wanted to read my
book, let alone interview me about it! And then to give me a glowing
review--I was literally in shock. Usually, I'm shock-proof. As Steven said,
you are truly a great listener! That's a lost art today. Many people,
especially in your line of work, don't listen when others talk, they're
simply waiting for their turn to speak. You truly do possess a gift and it
has served you well!

"Again, Cyrus, thank you for the opportunity to be on your show and to talk
about my book. Your interview will definitely be one of the greatest
highlights in my literary career."

For Webb this is further validation that as Conversations LIVE continues to progress and grow that as long as it sticks with the formula of making the guest and the audience the priority it will continue to thrive. Listen to the interviews with the authors mentioned above at this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversationslive/2011/08/18/authors-steven-janke-and-cathy-jo-on-conversations-live


To stay connected with what's next for Conversations LIVE, visit www.conversationsliveradio.com. Want to be considered as a guest or advertise with the show? Contact Cyrus Webb at cawebb4@juno.com or 601.896.5616.

PROFILE: Nancy Alvarez

"I am a glass half full type of woman, but a few years ago I contracted a urinary tract infection that lasted over five months, which utterly altered the self I had always known.  For the first time in my life it became difficult to rise in the morning.  One day I was walking upstairs from couch to bed, since sitting was impossible, and noticed a childhood picture of myself on the wall.  Thinking, 'I wish I could get her back,' I continued on my way and then stopped.  Without pause, I walked into my office and sat down at my desk to write a letter to that joyous, curious, creative little girl. The pain had become irrelevant. That letter to 'little Nancy' was the beginning of a journey that not only examined my life, from my earliest memories to the move to the tiny earthy/crunchy town I moved to on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, but brought her back into my life full force.  During the writing I not only found that lost part of myself, but discovered all the ways I had tried to bury her over the years and why.  I made a commitment to keep her alive because she is the best of me, my heart, my soul, my creativity, and my joy. "At the suggestion of three female colleagues, who didn't have editing suggestions for me because they were so consumed by the memories that surfaced for them because of reading the manuscript.  We shared those memories with one another for hours on the day we were supposed to meet to talk about the book, and whether I should try to offer it in book form to other women.  Before they left, one of the them suggested I add a chapter-by-chapter workbook to the memoir and begin to offer workshops with the book/workbook as a guide locally.  The depth of the conversations that ensued has been unbelievably life-affirming for both me and the women who have had the courage to share their stories with me and one another. From those workshops a new website was born, as well as an e-book, weekly blogging, workshops in more far-reaching places, and an offer to blog for the Huffington Post.  Needless to say, I no longer dread getting out of bed.  Because I was open to where life was leading me, I have discovered a new relish for life and what it is offering me: connection with self, and with women I never would have met otherwise.  It has been a marvelous adventure thus far, the ride far from over. I welcome what is still to come with wonder at my good fortune." Nancy Alvarez http://www.nancyalvarezwrites.com info@nancyalvarezwrites.com

(SPECIAL) "How I Feed My Love Of LIfe"

by Faina Sechzer of www.gettingwelllivingbig.com

I feed my love of live by making sure I get a daily "yes" answer to the four most important questions and pillars in my life:

 

1.  Did I love fully?

2.  Did I do what I love?

3.  Did I live healthy?

4.  Did I build legacy?

 

I devised these questions after my breast cancer diagnosis on 2009. Facing my own mortality and questioning my life and impact on the world, I felt the urgency for loving and making the most of my life going forward.

 

These are some of the specific ways I re-designed my life path to feed my love of life.

 

Loving fully

 

This is the most important of the four pillars. I make a priority to love myself.  Despite the prevailing view that selfishness is a negative trait I view loving myself as positive and necessary part of loving life.

 

Having achieved great professional and financial success, I gave up the pursuit of perfection and numerical results as definitions of success. l love myself for my essence, which is not defined by my job, money or other outside measures.

 

The unloved self could not give much to others. I love others by not judging and accepting each person as they are -understanding that we all are products of our childhood, genes and life experiences.  When I gave up perfectionism from myself, I stop being extra demanding of others.

 

I make sure I spend time with people who are important to me.

 

I express gratitude daily to those I give love and those who give me love, but I don't expect reciprocity. I love because it feels good to me.

 

Doing what I love

 

I loved a lot about what I did before, but the priority was to achieve professional and financial success. For example, my demanding job left little energy and time to travel, which is one of my passions.

 

I received my MSEE at the age of 22, only to find out that I absolutely hate engineering, having pursued this degree because that's what people said I should do, given my math abilities. Thankfully, I was smart then to course correct, and find careers I enjoyed better.

 

Not until my post cancer decision to feed my love of life, did I completely switched professions. I am now a Health & Life Recovery Coach helping feed the love of their lives for woman cancer survivors and those facing major life challenges.

 

The skeptic in me didn't relate to those saying they "found their calling". Yet, this is exactly what I feel now for the first time in my life.

 

I travel -and recently, with some trepidation and uncertainty about my physical strength, I took a trip around the world.

 

Reading and learning for me are as food and water are for others. I probably learned more in the last two years, then in the 16 years of my formal education.

 

I dance just for the pure pleasure of moving my body.

 

I find time to meditate twice a day, something I thought only the 60's hippies do.

 

 

 

Living Healthy

 

I now firmly believe in the mind body connection and take care of both with utmost care.

 

I always belonged to an organized religion. But only after discovering my internal spirituality, I understand it's impact on my health. I allocate time to practice my spirituality with the same importance as healthy eating and exercise.

 

Most of my life was the life of stress. You can't feed your love of life when you are stressed. Finding peace of mind is one way I feed my love of life.

 

Being in a place that is nurturing helps reduce our energy drains - I make my home and office places I feel good to be in. I love water and am planning for being on the water more, giving the constraints of my husband's career.

 

 

Building Legacy

 

Feeding my love of life would be leaving dessert out of the menu without building impacting other lives that need what you can give.

 

I offer free workshops, talks, newsletter and participate in the community of women cancer survivors. When I help even women, I feed my love of life a great meal and am thrilled to know the world is a better place for them.

 

My dream is to help women to live healthy and happy lives and being masters of their destiny. I have a plan for making this dream a reality for those who want it.

 

 

PROFILE: Nancy D. Butler

"After building a business from scratch as a single parent with no other source of income, to approx. $200 million in assets under management, 25 years later I sold my business.  The original intent was to retire.  Shortly before the business sold, I decided that I did not want to die with the over 25 years of knowledge I had gained on how to raise a family as a single parent and how to build and run a successful business.  So, within a few months of the sale of the business I set up a new business.  I am now a national speaker and consultant to help business owners do a better job for their clients and improve their bottom line.  And speak on topics to help individuals live a successful life and realize their dreams. As a Trainer, Educator, Motivational Speaker and Entertainer, I help improve performance, build success and leave audiences energized, educated and excited about their future.

"On the personal side I love caring for my grand children twice a week for the last 14 years and also have been looking after my 87 year old mother's care for the last ten years.  After being divorced for 12 years I remarried. My husband and I travel often to different parts of the world.

"Life is what you make of it.  In the last few years I have been up in a hot air balloon, parasailing, rode in a sail plane (no engine) and swam with dolphins, a beluga whale and sting rays.  Realizing I only have this one life to live, I want to really live it now."  

Nancy D. Butler, 61
Waterford, Connecticut
www.aboveallelse.org

PROFILE: Sandra LaMorgese

"I followed my heart, and then I began to nourish my soul for my love of life.
 
"Ten years ago I decided to step into the wellness industry to educate and inspire others on "personal wellness empowerment." I had no idea now I was going to do this, and in addition, I had no formal education in the health field. But, that little voice inside me told me I could and I should do it! At the time I was a salon and day spa owner. My business was doing pretty good, so I was taking a major risk. In addition, I was single with no family in the area to help me it I needed something to fall back on. So basically, I knew I had to put 110% of my drive and passion into my dream! Sometimes ignorance is bliss...
 
"Wow! If I had known before hand that my "dream journey" was going to be so difficult, I'm not sure if I would have had the nerve. However, along the way I found out a few things about me I didn't know. For example; that material things have no value, and I was richer by learning this, that my ego was not aligned with my true self, and that the only person or thing that can keep me from reaching my dream...is me, and that I am never alone, God's love is always with me.
 
"Everyday I'm grateful for living my purpose and that my dream just gets bigger every minute! If I have inspired one person into feeding into the life they love, it would fill my heart. However, I think I'll keep going...." Sandra LaMorgese, 55
Little Falls, New Jersey 07424
www.wiwellnessinnovations.com

PROFILE: Tricia Trimble

"I'm running a company that has heart and soul for me. It's a non-toxic, mineral sun care line that I made in honor of my Mom who passed away from melanoma skin cancer. I hope to save lives by providing a sun care system that helps prevent skin cancer and it is my intention that people will take a moment to honor someone they love everyday when they apply their sunscreen."  Tricia Trimble, 42

City/state: Marina del Rey, CA

Website: SuntegritySkincare.com

Facebook: facebook.com/suntegrity

Twitter: twitter.com/suntegrity

PROFILE: Nancy Schimmel

"I always feel more love of life when I come out of the Y after a
swim. It's not just the exercise; I feel like going through the water
is washing away my stress, and I also like the community of chit-chat
in the locker room.

"Then I'm ready to tackle the ins and outs of being in business for
myself--I'm a songwriter and I love the writing but getting the songs
out there takes work. Some of my songs are for children; some of
these just for fun but some are upbeat songs about the issues they
face: bullying, deteriorating environment, TV ads for toys that break
immediately. You can hear my song about bullying, written with and
sung by Judy Fjell, at http://www.sisterschoice.com/I_THINK_OF_A_DRAGON2010.mp3

"I also try to make the world a better place by taking part in
demonstrations--I plan on going to one this afternoon to support a
bill that will prevent drastic downsizing of the postal service, with
loss of jobs especially in smaller communities. It makes me feel good
to be with people who are hopeful enough to take action. I belong to
a group, the Freedom Song Network, that provides music for
demonstrations, rallies, union picket lines and meetings.

"Contact with nature also feeds my love of life, even just working in
my garden. And I guess it's obvious but singing does too, either on a
walk, or with a chorus, or in performance."

Nancy Schimmel
Berkeley, California
http://www.sisterschoice.com

PROFILE: Lauren Wuscher

"I believe I take a much different approach to life than everyone else. My job isn't my life. My interests and my love of learning something new every day is what I live for. I think I'm one of the few people who say, 'Life is short,' yet actually act on it.

"While so many people spend time wishing they could do more, but hesitate because of lack of time, money, or commitment, I just do it. When I wanted to get my motorcycle license, I didn't think about what motorcycle I would ride, how I would fit it into my schedule, or if it was practical, I just did it. I did the same thing when I took kite boarding lessons this year, when I signed up for Spanish classes and cake decorating classes, and when I called the Photography school near me to sign up for a workshop so I could learn to use my brand new digital SLR camera (which I also bought on a whim because I want to have pictures to remember all the fun I have).

"When I make a decision, I don't dwell on it or over think it, I just do it.

"I have a lot of friends who ask me, 'How do you find time for all this?' And in reality, I work full time and I just launched my own business and in reality, I don't have an ounce of time to waste. But when I think about what most people may spend time on, it's the things I used to spend my time on when I got home from work... vegging out in front of the TV with a glass of wine and my feet up, complaining about how horribly long and boring my day was or how stressful work can be.

"It's that exact moment that I now take and turn it into something I can look back on 10 years from now and say to myself, "Wow, I'm glad I learned how to blow glass," because it's just another thing that makes me more well rounded.  When I want to do something or learn something new, I make the time and I find the money, it's always there and everything always falls into place.

"Recently, I've been able to turn my motivation and love of life around into something positive for people around me. About a year and a half ago I found out I had some pretty bad food allergies. I didn't get upset about the allergies, what I got upset about was that I could no longer enjoy going to a restaurant without worrying whether or not I'd be sick. I hated attending parties where I couldn't nosh on all the goodies with my friends and I was appalled at the disgusting excuse for allergen free food.

"So I've created my own allergen free party and events planning business where I'll be launching new products for in the next few months. I hope that my advice and products and positive outlook on the allergen free world can help even just a few people realize that life is short and just because you have allergies, it shouldn't keep you away from anything you dream.. including cake decorating classes."

Lauren Wuscher,26
Philadelphia, PA
www.laurendavidstyle.com

PROFILE: Bob Miess

"They thought I was gonna die! The doctors and nurses worked valiantly to save my life, but they later confided that for the first couple of days they weren't sure I would make it. Now, as a heart attack survivor, living daily with heart failure, I know from personal experience that it is possible to survive and thrive, even after a massive heart attack and while living with the after-effects of a weakened heart. I also know that I could have prevented my heart attack, if only I had known what to do, and had actually done what I knew I should be doing. So I am feeding my love of life by providing coaching that helps people to achieve and maintain the heart-healthy lifestyles they want. I get to re-affirm my new lifestyle while sharing my passion for life with others who want to live life to the fullest!"  Bob Miess, 64  www.Heart-HealthyLifestyles.com

PROFILE: Author Sonia Fuentes

"I feed my love of life by going out and having experiences, leaving my comfort zone when I have to.  No one has ever come knocking at my door with opportunities.  I have to create them.

"For example, this past July, I registered for the Chautauqua Institution to attend a week's programs on women (I'm one of the founders of the second wave of the women's movement and have been a feminist activist since 1963.)  After I signed up, I was asked to be a speaker during that week, and I was. 

"Earlier this month I took a one-week trip to Germany, where I was born, as a guest of the German Foreign Office on a tour called Jewish Life in Germany with seven other Jews from the US and Canada; after that week, I went to Belgium for three days as the guest of the City of Antwerp.  Both those trips were the result of initiatives I took.

"As far as working to make the world a better place, I continue to work every day on women's rights issues." Sonia Fuentes,age 83 Speaker,
Author:  Eat First--You Don't Know What They'll Give You, The Adventures of an Immigrant Family and Their Feminist Daughter http://www.erraticimpact.com/fuentes