Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Lee Habeeb, on air from June 22nd
A POWERFUL FILM FOR FATHER’S
The Streets Were My Father: A Story of Hopelessness and Redemption
Lee Habeeb is the Executive Producer of The Streets Were My Father: A Story of Hopelessness and Redemption. An Our American Stories Film/Production. He is the CEO and Host of Our American Stories, a nationally syndicated non-profit storytelling show heard on 330 stations across the country. He is also a weekly Newsweekessayist.
The film features the stories of three inner-city Chicago men – one African-American and two Hispanic – and their journey from fatherlessness to gangs, and from prison to encounters with prison ministry programs that set each of them on the road to redemption. And a life as productive members of society.
FAITH AS ONE SOLUTION: Christians have been at the forefront of prison reform in America, and soul reform, too. Of healing men and women, guiding their lives when they exit. In a world lacking in love, believers and non-believers alike will be moved by the stories of these three men. These do not just love stories, but stories about redemption, transformation, and transcendence.
THE PRISON/FATHERLESSNESS CONNECTION: Nearly 2.3 million people in America are serving time in prison. And 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20X the average household with a father present.
FACTS ABOUT GROWING UP WITHOUT A FATHER: 90% of homeless and runaway: 32X the average. 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes: 9X the average. 85% of children with behavioral disorders. 20X the average. 70% of Americans believe fatherless homes is our biggest social problem.
Raising Our Gifted Children with Sara Troy and her guest Marc Berkman and Ed Peisner
Organization for Social Media Safety was born out of tragedy. Today, we fight every day to protect families from the dangers linked to social media.
In 2016, then 14-year-old Jordan Peisner was standing with friends outside a local fast food restaurant when he was suddenly and viciously assaulted by another teen he did not know. During the attack and while Jordan lay helpless on the ground, witnesses and friends of the perpetrator stood and filmed the assault on their phones and then quickly uploaded their videos to social media. Now, this horrifying footage lives forever on social media already having been viewed by hundreds of thousands.
While Jordan slowly recovered from his severe, ultimately lifelong, injuries, his father Ed Peisner resolved to make sure that no other child or family had to endure such an ordeal. So, Ed began meeting with local legislators to explore solutions and eventually partnered with Marc Berkman, a senior staffer with the California State Assembly.
JORDAN’S LAW
Together, they learned that what we now call social media-motivated violence, attacks committed for the purpose of being filmed and distributed on social media to gain internet notoriety were doubling every year since the birth of major social media in 2006. To stop this sickening trend, Marc ultimately drafted Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first state law to deter social media-motivated violence. And, with Ed’s fierce advocacy, Jordan’s Law was signed into law in California within only a year of its introduction.
ORGANIZATION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY IS BORN
Ed and Marc saw a very urgent need for an organization that had the vision, capacity, and capability to fight back against these dangers, an organization that recognized that while social media may be here to stay, it could actually become safe with the right interventions. That is why they founded the Organization for Social Media Safety.
Marc Berkman serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety (OFSMS) where he has grown OFSMS into a prominent national consumer protection organization that has taught social media safety skills to thousands of students, parents, and educators across the country and developed essential social media safety legislation like Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first law to deter social media-motivated violence. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of Congress and the California State Assembly. During his time as a legislative aide, he developed and helped pass into law numerous legislative initiatives to protect vulnerable children and families. Marc received his JD from Columbia Law School and his BA from UC Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.
After a long career in business, Ed Peisner founded the Organization for Social Media Safety in 2016 after his teenage son Jordan was viciously assaulted in West Hills, CA. The attack was filmed and uploaded to social media by an associate of the attacker. The video went viral, viewed by millions, and Jordan was left with serious and life-long injuries from the assault. Ed decided to dedicate himself to the goal of ensuring that no other family had to endure such a terrible ordeal. Now, Ed travels the country as the National Education Director for the Organization for Social Media Safety teaching thousands of students, parents, and educators how to stay safe on social media.
The Organization for Social Media Safety is the first nonprofit (501c3) consumer protection organization focused exclusively on social media. Through advocacy, education, and technology development, OFSMS protects against all social media-related dangers including cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and human trafficking.
Building your business with Sara Troy and her guest Bobby Albert, on air from June 21st
My name is Bobby Albert and I’ve spent the last 40+ years of my life, in business, around business, surviving business, and thriving in business.
A number of years ago, I had one of those light bulb, “aha” moments when I realized what I was truly all about.
I was sitting in a meeting with business leaders and entrepreneurs and we were talking about the tension between always being driven by bottom-line financial results and the desire to create a work culture where people enjoyed working and were able to grow to their fullest potential.
It was then I realized that “I want to be a Values-Driven company that achieves results; not a Results-Driven company that has values”.
You see, it had taken me years to figure out what my own values were and then figure out how to create a work place where everyone’s values were aligned with themselves, each other, and the overall values of the business.
As we implemented changes in our company and focused more on people and less on profits, an amazing thing happened: our profits increased.
Unexpectedly, we had business growth and success during some really rough times when others similar to us were struggling. As we looked at why we were doing well when others weren’t as fortunate, we realized that even though we had a great product, the difference came because we had invested in people.
We came up with principles, strategies, and implementation tools to intentionally create a culture that focused on our people and their skills and gifts. We invested in people, and they responded with work satisfaction, personal self-worth, and a willingness to “go the extra mile” for our company when it needed them most.
The experience, and the results were pretty extraordinary. But could this transformation be replicated in other organizations?
The good news is the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, the principles are universal. It’s how we applied them that created a culture where values made the difference.
And although I have a business degree, a lot of what I learned came directly from the “school of hard knocks” (an effective but costly teacher!).
Choose Positive Living with Sara Troy and her guests LaChelle Adkins and Jacquelyn McDaniel Vasquez, on air from June 22nd
Our mindset will dictate our thoughts, and if we are willing to change them to a kinder and more loving mindset, we can change into the Joy of Living. On this show, I have brought together two dynamo women who live in the exuberance of life, because they choose to. They have both had many ups and downs and know what it is like to struggle, but have chosen to seek out the JOY instead.
LaChelle Adkins a mother of 15 known as America’s Super Mum, says,
1. Awareness of where you are so you can determine the path that you choose to follow.
2. Do the daily work to maintain the joy you desire because it requires action – not just talk.
3. Be mindful of the people and environment that you surround yourself with.
You have the power, my dear, you always have, it was right within you. Many of us think that life is happening to us, but the truth of the matter is life is happening for us. When you start to look at life like something that is for you, that failure is to help you grow, and that success is the byproduct of your very actions, you begin to look at life differently. Joy is a state of mind and can be seen easily and effortlessly through gratitude. Joy is a whole mood and can be seen when you stop taking life as this serious situation and start to take life as the fun roller coaster ride you don’t want to get off. Basically, Joy is within your mindset.
Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy onair from June 15th
FEAR, WE ARE SO CONDITIONED TO BE FEARFUL, THAT HALF THE TIME WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE ARE FEARFUL ABOUT.
Fear is necessary in times of danger, it serves us very well in telling us there is something to be fearful about. BUT, fear in our every day lives is crippling us and we only end up chasing shadows. Have you asked your fear why it is there? why it wished you to stop moving forward? why it holds you back? Maybe you can look at fear eye to eye and ask it to explain its self and justify its reason for holding on to you so hard.
I have known fear, real fear, and the fear of not being enough, not fitting in, of letting people down of never living up to everyone’s expectations, I know that fear, both fears very well. I had to have that conversation with fear, I had to face it and tell it that it could not control me anymore and that I needed to move on in wonderment, possibilities, and exploration.
Fear does have its place as a protector, but not as a dictator, and if we give it too much power it will take over and rule you in every way, then your life will be a string of excuses of why you can’t do anything instead of believing you can. We are so much more than we allow ourselves to be, so much more than we are told we are, and the only way to self-discovery is in the willingness to face that fear, discover our strengths, our incredible abilities, and see the possibilities that lay before us.
So even though your stomach is turning, you are shaking, even feeling sick, stand up, tune in to your divine senses and take that step forward, for when you do, again and again, you are telling fear where to go, and that you and the source energy is in charge and you are in the discovery of your true self and all the abilities you are here to share.
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