Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from October 22nd
I’ve had a pretty rough time these past couple of weeks. I turned 70 on October 6th and had a wonderful weekend celebrating with my family, including my son’s upcoming 40th birthday. It was all absolutely wonderful. Then, I came down with bronchitis again and spent a week just trying to find a virtual doctor for a prescription, followed by another week of recovery. So, my entry into my seventies has been a bit rocky, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
It’s about overcoming, isn’t it? We all face battles, but it’s how we approach them that matters. How do we step up to face them and manage them, rather than letting them manage us? Each challenge brings that familiar question: “Do I have the energy for this?” But we do, because the only way to resolve anything is to go through it. I had to rest, take my medicine, and push through. I’m still on the journey, but I know it will pass.
We’re at a huge crossroads right now. Here in Canada, voting is underway provincially, and in a couple of weeks, the U.S. will be heading to the polls too. The world feels volatile, with conflicts like Iran and Israel’s tensions, unrest across the globe, and even people in the U.S. walking around with assault rifles as if it’s the Wild West. We need to take a deep breath. This is a challenge that requires cooler heads and common sense. We need to deal with the present, not get caught up in the hysteria of the past or fears of the future.
I recently faced a massive decision, and while it wasn’t easy, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders once I made it and began the process. Often, we think challenges are hard simply because we expect them to be. But once we commit, examine the pros and cons, and decide there’s no better alternative, it becomes less daunting. It’s like navigating through a rosebush—sure, there might be scratches along the way, but when you emerge on the other side, there’s a sense of peace and accomplishment.
Challenges reveal our courage, resilience, and strength. They push us to face what needs to be done and make it through to the other side. If anyone has read Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, MD, you’ll know it’s a metaphorical story about dealing with change. The characters—two mice and two men—react differently to their cheese suddenly disappearing, symbolizing change. Some adjust quickly, while others resist until they’re left behind.
These themes resonate with the global challenges we’re facing now: peace versus war, political changes in Canada and the U.S., and personal crossroads in our lives. It’s crucial to recognize these challenges and find ways to resolve them.
I recently spoke with author Lee Lindauer, who has been on my show before. We discussed his books, which, though fictional, touch on real issues like the horrors of the Bosnian genocide and the theft of water rights—without directly naming companies like Nestlé. His stories underscore the importance of confronting the truth and dealing with the facts head-on. When facing challenges, it’s essential to assess what we can do, should do, and need to do to move forward. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but sometimes, we just need to step back, breathe deeply, and find our way through.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
“For the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest George Whitty & Ellis Hall on air from October 15th
When music legends George Whitty and Ellis Hall decided to turn their long time mutual admiration society into an official partnership, they committed full throttle to recording their explosive contemporary twist on classic R&B and came up with a clever branding idea.
Rather than simply calling themselves Whitty Hall, Hall added “Artistic Team” to create WHAT. Add in a handful of exclamation points and WHAT!!!! was born. As the full CD shaped up, with its probing commentary on the ups and downs of living today, the title In the World suggested itself as the accompaniment to the band’s name.
When long time fans of these two keyboard powerhouses and newcomers to the Whitty-Hall experience check out these eclectic ten tracks, their initial responses will truly be a rousing, “WHAT!!!! In the World?”
Whitty says, “At first glance, there’s a little inside joke in there, but it also speaks to Ellis’ and my observations of the world we live in, pooling and sharing our various life experiences together.” Their pitch-perfect creative mission statement is “WHAT!!!! puts the fun in funk!”
Once the multi-Grammy winning Whitty and long beloved “Ambassador of Soul” and former Tower of Power vocalist Hall had their name and title down, next up was picking the perfect lead single. The goal was an invitation to immerse in the freshness of the grooves, the dynamics of their array of keys (including Whitty’s Moog bass and drum programming and Hall’s Hammond B-3 organ) and the surreal magic of Hall’s multi-octave vocals. The obvious choice was “Die Living,” a simmering soul anthem whose thought-provoking title came spontaneously to Whitty one day and inspired a grooving,gospel-blues fired track spiked by what Whitty calls “a front porch kind of thing.”
In addition to organ, Hall adds various flavors of guitar on the track. Partly inspired by a casual but witty response Willie Nelson once gave to an interviewer who asked if he would ever think of retiring, “Die Living” is a song about wringing every last drop of life we can out of our time here, and seeking wisdom from others on how to do that. It’s a plea encouraging us to literally die while living as fully as possible and feeling as optimistic in old age as we did in our youth.
As Hall sings in the first chorus, “Cause I want to die living/Help me sail into the sun/And I want to die believing/Life has just begun!” The engaging, insightful verses are essentially conversations with a “brother” who has wisdom to impart, an “old man” who can help us “steer clear from the fruit of the poisonous tree” and, as Whitty’s two boys taught him, “how much we loved to laugh and play.”
As Hall sings in his inimitably powerful way in the bridge, the hope is to “play it loud and long/Finish clear and strong/Just the way I did when I was young…!” “The son is basically asking different people for advice on how to live our best lives,” says Whitty. “In the second verse, Ellis added some interesting lyrics to what I had written, which was a shout out to joyful little kids who can also teach older folks a thing or two about living. He is a great lyricist with a good feel for the right words that just sort of tumble out of him to meet the occasion perfectly.”
WHAT!!!! and the In the World album have their roots in another of the album’s instant classics, “Hug Me,” an epic, six-minute power ballad/anthem Whitty and Hall recorded in 2023 as a tribute to the strength and resolve of the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s bloody invasion – a way for artists to help in any way they can. Featuring the ethereal vocals of the great Ukrainian singer Maryana Golovko, the track is a powerful re-imagining of Slava Varkachuk’s Ukranian hit “Obiymy (Embrace).” The compelling video for the song intercuts clips of the two playing their parts (and Hall singing) in different studios with footage of Golovko singing in an outdoor setting and stark color and black and white images of the war’s youngest victims, the children. The recording went live on the fundraising platform United 24 within minutes of submission and currently has thousands of views on YouTube.
Whitty had been a fan of Hall’s since he “kicked my ass so hard” when he headlined as Tower of Power’s lead singer at a mid-80s performance at NYC’s The Bottom Line. Hall’s longtime project manager (and longtime “watcher”) Alec Berfield had been bugging the singer about meeting Whitty for years, and when Whitty, with Berfield’s prompting, sent him his initial tracks for “Hug Me,” he knew it was divine timing. “Listening to what George had put together, I heard an opportunity to add some nice vocal harmonies to the track,” says Hall. Whitty adds, “I wanted it to start out simple and stripped down and build into a powerhouse symphony kind of vibe. Once I had a bass line going, it opened up into a big, epic Peter Gabriel type of sound. Ellis took it from there and wrote great English lyrics to it which deal with the human emotion side of the conflict, not the politics.”
With three of the 10 songs recorded live in January 2024 at Inner Sanctum Studios in Coos Bay, Oregon, In The World – executive produced by Berfield and David Ford – also includes the up-tempo blues/soul/funk barnburner “Own Up,” the emotional, mid-tempo pop/soul ballad “Miami” and “Why Should I Care,” a heartfelt, poignant ballad about human indifference that Hall wrote years ago when he simultaneously heard about the Jonestown, Guyana tragedy and a previous Palestinian-Israel conflict. Prior to this dynamic re-imagining, Hall had sung it at African American summits in South Africa and Zimbabwe and it was one of Nelson Mandela’s favorite songs.
The new collection also features the beautiful, moody introspection “Some Days Were Meant for Rain,” which Hall originally recorded on TOP’s 1987 album Power (the only album the singer recorded with the band during his tenure from 1984-88). WHAT!!!! also recorded a fiery live-in-studio version of the Sam & Dave classic “I Thank You.” The band includes guitarist David Ford, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco (famous for his tours with Paul Simon) and drummer Aaron Haggerty (Al McKay, Kool & The Gang, Gary Clark Jr., UB40).
A little background: For the past three decades, George Whitty has been playing live with everyone from the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock and the late David Sanborn to Chaka Khan, Richard Bona, Sadao Watanabe and many others. As a producer and session keyboardist, his credits include Santana’s blockbuster Supernatural (with Dave Matthews), Celine Dion’s Falling Into You and These Are Special Times, Hancock’s The Imagine Project and hundreds of others. He has won four Grammys for his work on Chaka Khan’s The Woman I Am, Randy Brecker’s 34th and Lex, Michael Brecker’s Tales Fromthe Hudson and the Brecker Bros.’ Out of the Loop.
In addition to his years with Tower of Power, Ellis Hall – who has been sightless since age 18 – fronted the Ellis Hall Group in the 70s, has written over 4000 soul, gospel, blues and pop songs, performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Maurice White and recorded with John Klemmer, George Duke and Kenny G, among countless others. He has also written and performed on many film soundtracks including The Lion King 2, Shrek 2, Invincible and Bruce Almighty. He also sang a Louis Armstrong tune in the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can.
Speaking of his musical chemistry with Whitty, Hall says, “We are true brothers from another mother! I keep telling George to get outta my head sucka!” Whitty adds, “We just clicked right away and made each other laugh. From the get-go, I knew it would be easy to work with him and a lot of fun as well. Every time I get tracks from Ellis, it feels like Christmas Day. I guess I was on the good list. I was on a plane coming home to LA from New York recently and received some tracks from him in flight. They were so great that I was sitting there in my seat at 2 a.m. just smiling and kind of exclaiming; I wonder what the other passengers thought I was doing.” Hall adds, “It’s just a joyous thing and my word for joyous is ‘chakalaka’!” “Die Living” will proudly be released in October in association with Mike Dion and ITI Records, followed in January 2025 by the album In the World.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Sara’s View Of Life with Sara Troy, on air from October 8th
Here I stand on my 70th birthday, reflecting on seven decades of living, loving, and embracing all that life has thrown my way. It’s been a journey—filled with highs, lows, and everything in between—but through it all, I’ve truly lived. Now, as I enter my seventieth year, I find myself wondering what this new decade has in store for me. What new experiences, lessons, and moments await?
Although it’s important to reflect on the past, we must not become trapped by it. We take the lessons we need for the future and recognize the pain from the past but leave it behind. This decade—my seventh—is all about me. Yes, I’m still podcasting, creating pod-books, and being a hands-on grandma, but I’m living life on my own terms, embracing it fully.
As a senior creating a pod-book on “Our Forgotten Seniors,” I’m fully aware of the challenges that come with aging—whether it’s health, housing, or affordability. Yet, in my humble home and with a small pension, I’m still committed to living a life enriched by the love I have for what I do, my family, and the person I’ve become.
Whatever decade you’re in, celebrate it, live it fully, and learn from it in every possible way. Each stage of life has its own gifts and lessons—embrace them all.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Building Your Business with Sara Troy and her guest Engenia Baikova, on air from September 23rd
“Self Awareness, Your personal Journey to Success.”
We often overlook the most powerful tool for success: understanding ourselves. As a mindset coach and Gallup certified professional, I’ve seen how self-awareness can change lives and businesses. When people truly know their strengths, weaknesses, and what drives them, amazing things happen. They grow as individuals and build businesses that reflect their authentic selves. I’m eager to share this message because I believe self-awareness can create positive change for everyone. Whether you’re running a company or just trying to improve your life, the journey starts with looking inward. My goal is to help people uncover their unique talents and use them to find success and happiness in all areas of life. By sharing my experiences and insights, I hope to inspire others to embark on their own journey of self-discovery and witness the incredible impact it can have on their personal and professional lives.
Evgenia Baikova, known as a “Queen of Clarity,” is a life-changing mindset coach who helps women in business break free from limiting beliefs and overthinking, like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. She uses a strengths-based approach to give women the tools and confidence they need to develop an unstoppable mindset and make bold decisions that move them forward quickly. As a certified coach through the ICF and CTI, Evgenia offers effective one-on-one and group coaching, using the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment to help her clients navigate their path like a skilled captain. When not helping women achieve their dreams, Evgenia enjoys hiking and spending quality time with her husband, three children, dog, and cat in Fishers, IN, nurturing her own personal growth and happiness.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Ignite Your Heart and Soul with Sara Troy and her guest Alex Dumas, on air from September 24th
In “Everybody Wins, Including Me: Expanding Global Influence Through Communication,” Alex Dumas shares his transformative journey from childhood isolation to becoming a leader focused on empowering others. The deeply personal narrative, part of A Journey of Riches | The Power of Self-Discovery, traces Alex’s’ struggles with identity and addiction before finding purpose through connection and contribution.
Alex recounts pivotal moments, including meeting his wife Sarah and co-creating “The Ultimate Experience” event, which launched his career as a speaker and coach. He shares key insights on communication and leadership that form the foundation of his work empowering leaders of color.
Transform your leadership and communication skills by learning to inspire others, navigate complex conversations, and cultivate a culture of collaborative creativity. Renowned for his expertise in leadership, communication, and mindset, Alex Dumas has empowered hundreds of corporate executives and business owners to become “win-win communicators” since 2018.
Whether you’re seeking a keynote speaker, executive coach, or expert voice for your podcast or publication, Alex delivers transformational content that resonates with leaders at all levels. Your audience will walk away with actionable strategies to communicate effectively, lead purposefully, and achieve personal and organizational success.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book into production.
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