Express Yourself!

Work/life balance is the hot topic these days as so many working people burn out after years on a job they hate. What’s the answer? More play time! Hosts Jack and Siri read chapters from two books in the Be the Star You Are! series penned by Cynthia Brian that will pump your energy and get you singing happy times. In Trends without Ends, Jack shows us studies on play that offer six skills that are built when we play. Joven chimes in suggesting that our favorite ways to “play” could be in sync with a potential career option.Surround yourself with playful individuals who tap into their inner clown. Give yourself permission to invite leisure and purposeless pleasure into your routines. No matter how old you are, incorporate play as an integral part of your daily life, both at home and at work, and you’ll find yourself happier, healthier, and a beacon of positivity. Being earnest and being playful are not antonyms. To be successful, we need both traits. Take a break. It’s recess time.

Founding Express Yourself! host, Steven Zhou returns to co-host with Joven Hundal for a discussion on perseverance. Jack Pawlakos presents his segment Trends without Ends, suggesting that persistence can be learned. Perseverance has been rebranded as “grit”/! For the 25th anniversary of his book, The Life You Were Born to Live, Dan Millman joins the conversation sharing his knowledge where work reinvents the meaning of success, and outlines the path to a peaceful heart and warrior spirit — at work, at home, in everyday life. Dan tailored the content and language of this discussion to fit the needs, interests and themes of youth, offering insightful stories and inspiring wisdom for the ages. www.PeacefulWarrior.com. Steven and Joven end the show with a visualization from the book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers to assist us all with helping us achieve goals by mentally picturing them. www.CynthiaBrian.com/books

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill We can view our glass as half empty or half full. We will all have days that we just want to crawl under the covers and hide our heads. Joven Hundal and Jack Pawlakos set the tone by reading Cynthia Brian’s chapter, The Gift of Optimism from the newly published book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers . Author Lehman Riley who writes books for kids to help them overcome difficult situations with his Papa Lemon series joins the conversation. A racially diverse group of caring kids travel back in time to learn about our nations heritage and their own importance in the world. Kenneth Jeon talks about optimism, in relation to one of his favorites movies: The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Accept the rockiness of life. Make the best of your happy moments and they will get you through as they replay in your mind. Smile and look up!

? Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.? Albert Einstein The choices each individual makes every day contribute to the health or the sickness of our earth. One of the most important things we can do for ourselves and for our children is to bring nature into our daily routines. hosts Joven Hundal and Jack Pawlakos read the Gift of Nature by Cynthia Brian from Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating the Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World. They then interview Day Schildkret, founder of Morning Altars to discuss the connection of nature with art. Day has built nature-based art installations at festivals and venues globally. He works weekly with teens and believes they are the most important generation and the most burdened. Kenneth Jeon looks at nature through the lens of a camera with informative tips on how to capture the emotion inside the photo. Nature is the way into the new world.

Hosts Joven Hundal and Jack Pawlakos launch the eye-opening third installment in the Be the Star You Are!® book series, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World. Cynthia Brian answers questions about how the book was created to bridge the gap in the generations. Joven reads the two chapters that he wrote for the book, The Gift of Appreciation and The Gift of Community. Jack reads his chapter, The Gift of Music. Kim Carlson, a contributor to Be the Star You Are!® for TEENS joins the group to read her chapter, The Gift of Re-Discovery. To hear each author read his/her chapter brings the words to life. Contributors to this book herald from many races, religions, regions, and political viewpoints. All believe that challenges lead to growth, Buy books now at http://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store with 100% of the proceeds outreach projects of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 including the radio broadcast, Express Yourself!

Is there a secret to longevity? Hosts Joven Hundal and Jack Pawlakos investigate how to live a long, meaningful life. They interview the award-winning author, Mack Borgen who talks about Volume I in his book series Dead Serious and Lighthearted -The Memorable Words of Modern America,1957 to 1976. The books will help lift the spirit of our country to lessen the discord and rancor of our national conversation.while enticing readers to study history. In the chapter on Longevity from the new book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers we learn that, although there are no guarantees in life, by embracing a healthy lifestyle filled with love, laughter, hobbies, recreation, friends, and family we can decrease the cellular deterioration leading to premature aging caused by stress. In Trends without Ends, Jack looks at the aging population and prospects for the future with advances in gene therapy, technology, medicine, and artificial intelligence.

Increasing and improving literacy is a mission of Be the Star You Are!® Joven Hundal hosts this program launching the show with the chapter, The Gift of Literacy by Kimberly Morgan from the new book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers (buy autographed copies at www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store) 36-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion, bestselling author, and award-winning teacher, Matthew Dicks, provides perspective on the power of storytelling in his book,Storyworthy. Storytelling is a skill that helps us in every aspect of our lives. Matthew encourages finding a story in the simple moments of living. Reporter Kenneth Jeon talks about the importance of pictures and visuals to increase literacy as they are generally more accessible and easy to understand. He asserts that Videos and pictures provide an alternative, probably more appealing medium to which people can relate the words they read and from which people can practice their analytical skills.

Joven Hundal hosts a lively hour focused on leadership. He reads and dissects chapters on leadership from new book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomer as well as the first book in the series, Be the Star You Are! 99 Gifts for Living, Loving, Laughing, and Learning to Make a Difference. Father/daughter co-authors of two books, Dave and Jessie Gerber, offer insights on leadership strategies for all ages. Their goal is to help kids, parents, and families stay safe while having the ability to talk about a difficult subject with more ease…and see actually how to get it done! Leadership means being responsible for yourself and your charges. Successful leadership skills don't just happen; they come as a result of a determination to earn them. A leader's job is to inspire, to motivate, to make it easy to do the right thing. A good leader knows how to gather the most intelligent and knowledgeable people for the task at hand, then get out of their way and let them create magic.

Siri Phaneendra hosts this broadcast focusing on language. Language is how we communicate. Reporter of 20/20 Vision, Kenneth Jeon, reminds us that languages aren’t just limited to spoken or written words. He brings us examples of film language. Guest authors Wayne Kealohi Powell in Hawaii and Patti Miller in British Columbia, Canada cultivate the spirit of Aloha with their book Hawaiian Shamanistic Healing. Aloha refers to the divine spirit of love that flows through all things. Caitlin Sim offers that language is how we communicate with one another, and how we express our desires and wants. She dissects the 1960s, Flowers for Algernon, showing the struggle between intellect and emotion, between being considered “smart” and having meaningful relationships with others. “Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savour their songs” - Nelson Mandela

Host Katie Choo introduces our newest host, Siri Phaneendra who begins the show by talking about how kindness knows no boundaries. She gives examples how teens can offer acts of kindness in small ways to express gratitude and caring. The organization she began to help terminally ill children is called You and I Give. Guest author, Ann Todhunter Brode explains how to discover how to listen to, understand, respect, and work with our body’s innate wisdom in everyday living with A Guide to Body Wisdom. Learn how to deepen your intuition and spirituality, enhance your creativity and personal power, become more emotionally savvy, and heal old wounds. Joven Hundal rounds out the hour with a fascinating segment of World Watch focused on diplomacy Joven believes that diplomacy is analogous to kindness in that it is a way to promote peace, cooperation, respect, acknowledgment, and kindness. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Mother Teresa

While maintaining a healthy diet and exercising is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, studies have proven that being joyful is just perhaps even more crucial. Not only does it reduce stress, but having a positive attitude actually makes you far more productive. Hosts Jack Pawlakos and Katie Choo discuss the difference between happiness and joyfulness, offering personal thoughts on how they find joy in their life. It can be playing with your dog, watching the stars, listening to crashing waves, baking a cake. The hosts read two chapters, the Gift of Joyfulness and the Gift of Integrity from the anthology, Be the Star You Are!® Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World by Cynthia Brian. Siri Phaneendra shares how nature and meditation brings joy to our lives. We need to get away from social media and electronics to balance our daily life through allowing nature to be our teacher. Step outside and feel the joy!

Integrity is being honest and showcasing strong moral principles, even when no one is looking. Hosts Katie Choo and Jack Pawlakos interview reporter Siri Phaneendra and author Alice Boyes to delve into reality of having integrity. Siri believes that we must reflect on our behavior and speech every single day and be truthful. Dr. Alices Boyes offers simple strategies to get out of your own way and enjoy your life more with her newest book, The Healthy Mind Toolkit. She helps us overcome self-sabotaging habits in domains including thinking and self-talk. self-care, organization, money, work, and relationships. Jack ends the hour discussing the recent decline in people’s integrity attributed to increased usage of social media and electronics making it easier to get away with actions that are not moral. A positive example of integrity was with the recent rescue of the boys and coach trapped in a flooding cave in Thailand. Everyone worked together for the common benefit of all.

Is there a balance between foresight and hindsight. Are we stuck in the past? Can we learn from our mistakes, move on, and improve our futur? Hosts Katie Choo and Joven Hundal interview Jan Mundo who shares her powerful, personalized, comprehensive program to relieve migraines in The Headache Healer’s Handbook. In step-by-step instructions, she helps readers discover and prevent the triggers and patterns that perpetuate their headaches and migraines stop their pain and transform their lives. In her caring and compassionate voice, she makes her techniques accessible to both occasional headache sufferers and those who have long felt misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Reporter Siri Phaneendra provides insight into hindsight as an opportunity to get to know yourself, to be patient with yourself, and to ultimately love yourself. Debuting as a reporter, Kenneth Jeon brings a new segment called 20-20 vision by talking about the special way films provide an avenue for reflection.

Host Joven Hundal deals with the topics of Independence as well as Summer to celebrate both the beginning of summer as well as the Fourth of July. Joven reads the chapter by Express Yourself! producer Cynthia Brian and explores her journey to find the true meaning of freedom and as she goes behind the Iron Curtain in the USSR, Latvia, and Poland. Next, Joven interviews authors Helga Hedgewalker and Estelle Daniels, who have come out with the book Color a Magic Spell: 26 Picture Spells to Color and Manifest. They talk about what exactly magic and spells are, how similar they are to positive thinking and reinforcement, and how to best tailor your experience with their coloring book to improve your well-being. Finally, reporter Caitlin Sim brings back her segment Ode to Literature where she talks about the classic novel Their Eyes were Watching God. She discusses the themes behind the novel, the novel's relevance today, and the context in which it was first published.

Health is a diverse topic with many nuances to explore. Hosts Joven Hundal and Jack Pawlakos do just that in a Gift of Health edition of Express Yourself! The teens start the program with an edition of Jack's segment Trends without Ends, where they discuss both positive and negative health trends regarding teenagers and the general populace. They go on to interview HIIT pilates instructor and wellness coach Melanie Kotcher as she discusses her line of work and how she first got into it. They learn how pilates can affect all aspects of one's life, and how to improve their own well-being through different coaching processes that Kotcher champions. They also discuss how to best motivate people, especially teens, to exercise and yearn to improve themselves. Finally, Joven and Jack interview new reporter Siri Phaneendra about the art of meditation and how to best tailor one's own meditation experience to meet their desired needs.

“Grace is what picks me up and lifts my wings high above and I fly! ― C. JoyBell C. What is grace? Is it as the dictionary defines the noun as a smooth movement or goodwill? Is it politeness or a divine allotment of talent or blessing? Host Joven Hundal tackles this ethereal subject with grace! Brand new reporter, Siri Phaneendra describes her life with dancing the Bharatnatyam. She says that “with my hand gestures, I can depict anything from a lion to the feeling of superiority to a lotus or even an elephant.” Siri shares information about her nonprofit, You and I that provides services for terminally ill children and her A.I. app. Joven reads two chapters about grace, both written by Cynthia’s. Cynthia Cheong wrote a chapter for the forthcoming book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers, and Cynthia Brian wrote the chapter for the original book in the series, Everyday brings opportunities for grace — open your heart and let grace shine in.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” ― Francis of Assisi Sometimes our wishes and fate connect while the universe does the rest of the work. Hosts Brigitte Jia and Joven Hundal start the program by reading former host and multi-talented teen journalist’s chapter, The Gift of Giving from the forthcoming book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World, They share their experiences with being generous, giving, and helping the less fortunate. We then travel to Greece to hear of the synchronistic experiences of American novelist Alysia Helming as she unveils the first book in the Protogenesis Book Series. In Protogenesis: Before The Beginning, cultural fiction and ancient mythology converge in modern-day Greece. Before Alysia traveled to Greece for research she found a photo online of a man for whom who protagonist is modeled. Coincidently she meets the man, Kostas Martakis, an award-winning Platinum Greek Recording Artist.

When is being gentle a strength and when, if ever, is it a weakness. Hosts Brigitte Jia and Katie Choo tackle this big question with reporters Joven and Henna Hundal. We hear the chapter, The Gift of Gentleness, by Dallas Woodburn from the forthcoming book, Be the Star You Are!® Millennials to Boomers read by Brigitte and Katie who recall coaches who were critical and hurtful. Many times the tiny voice in our heads is cruel to ourselves. In World Watch, Joven focuses on the negativity we encounter daily from news sources and encourages us to subscribe to positive, truthful journalism. Henna recounts her volunteer work at a Children’s Hospital where it is critical to treat infants with tender care. We all need to embrace gentleness, compassion, and understanding while offering words of encouragement and support to others. And of course, give yourself the same courtesy and love.

If you ate today, you have a farmer to thank. As of the last census, only one percent of Americans are farmers. With the global population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, farmers will have to grow sixty percent more food to feed the masses. Who and where will these additional farmers come from? From a farming family, Henna Hundal returns from Harvard University to co-host with Brigitte Jia about this crucial topic. The program begins with a reading from the forthcoming book, Be The Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers: Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices written by Cynthia Brian and continues with the thoughts of our hosts on the importance of re-introducing our technological society to the graces of an agrarian life. Farmers are disappearing. Henna was raised on an almond farm in central California and the pride that her family takes in feeding the world. Brigitte offers an insightful look at farming through Art Attack. If you want to eat, grow your own food!

Brigitte Jia hosts a fascinating episode focusing on the benefits of communication. Courtney Cheng’s chapter, The Gift of Communication from the forthcoming book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers by Cynthia Brian sheds light on the challenges communicating via text, email, and other tech sources can be, especially when navigating relationships. Author of numerous books, Dr. Tina Tessina, plus the 4th edition of How to Be a Couple and Still Be Free, joins Brigitte for a fun discussion on how to create open and honest communications with others by first knowing exactly what you want out of every experience. Dr. Tessina encourages couples to work together to create a loving, sustainable, healthy, and equal partnership to be treasured. Brigitte ends the hour by offering tips on staying in touch with friends from school during breaks or after graduating through establishing connection networks, both social media and closed platforms. Cherish the face to face time and be real!