The Dream Catcher Podcast

According to recent studies, the loneliest generation in the US today is not the oldest Americans but the youngest, specifically young adults between 18 and 22 years old. The reality of the world we now live in has contributed to a crippling sense of anxiety and alienation in students across the country, but the question is what can we do to put a stop to it for the generations to come?

To speak more about this issue, I invited Florence Ann Romano on the show.

Florence, also known as the The Windy City Nanny™ is a dedicated philanthropist and former nanny who has always had a special place in her heart for children. Romano worked for over 15 years as a nanny. She shares her experiences in Nanny and Me, her debut book for children. Florence served as President and Founder of a nonprofit board dedicated to autism awareness and now serves on the Executive Board of the Children's Research Fund at Lurie's Children's Hospital.

During our conversation, Florence and I speak about how today's youth can find a sense of community in their social life, as well as find purpose and meaning in a competitive job market. She also shares some tip for parents who want to raise more conscious and connected children.

It’s hard to be an idealist in this world. There’s always something tragic happening. Just turn on the news, and you’ll see a flood of headlines about tragedies happening all over the world.

Each headline adds a layer of doubt and cynicism, smothering our hopeful hearts. Gradually, we cease to believe things can ever get better because we’re afraid of being disappointed.

However, idealism is the fuel that propelled some of the greatest leaders in history to create a better society. It moved artists to create some of the most beautiful masterpieces. When mixed with a healthy dose of pragmatism, an idealistic perspective can move mountains.

During this episode, we’ll look into why idealism is essential when it comes to improvement and progress through several examples and stories of some of notable visionaries of our time.

The word ‘planning’ makes a lot of people cringe. It reminds them of school timetables, work deadlines, and mundane routines. Planning, in other words, saps the fun out of life.

The la dolce vita way of living is so much better. It’s spontaneous, carefree, and liberating. We can toss out our mobile devices with planning apps, throw away our diaries and just ‘wing it’.

While we all need bursts of adventure once in a while, we can’t maintain that attitude when we have serious business to attend to, because our time, energy, and money are limited.

In this episode, I describe the importance of planning and the consequences of not having good planning skills. You’ll also learn about how you can find a planning style that works best for you.

All of us would like to find and create that perfect relationship. But so many of us find it hard to achieve this for various reasons. With more and more people choosing to stay single as well as an escalating divorce rate, we seem to be missing the essential knowledge that we need for relationship success. To help us find out what we’re missing in our relationships I invited Rebecca and Alonzo Cahoon.

Rebecca Cahoon is an author, and international personal development coach who specializes in helping women find true happiness in their lives. Alonzo Cahoon is leading authority in the area of personal development. He is a relationship expert and a master trainer, private consultant/trainer who works with individuals, business owners and executives. Together they help couples create that magic in their relationships through the secrets that they have learned from their profession and personal life.

During my interview with Alonzo and Rebecca, we discuss various exciting topics centered on relationship such as the key ingredients for creating a healthy relationship and deal with common relationship blocks and how we can continue to maintain the passion in our partnerships. They also some great advice for singles who are looking for the perfect partner.

Most people find it hard to believe that people are their mirrors. The mere suggestion that the qualities of people who irritate them are lurking in their own psyche can be revolting. No one wants to hold themselves accountable for their judgement.

However, we should use these incidences as opportunities to look deeper into ourselves. Every person who enters our lives can be a great teacher, especially if they make us uncomfortable. The reflection that we see in them is a call to heal.

In this episode, you'll learn about the importance of recognizing yourself in others, especially those who trigger you and learn how to accept those traits in yourself. This inner process will help you grow and evolve into the best version of yourself.

We have a competitive streak ingrained in us – a desire to race to the top. The quest to be prettier, smarter, braver, and more successful never ends in our modern society.

If we are not careful, our hard-driving ways can erode our self-esteem and drain us. Having this awareness and focusing on what we're doing well, right now, is the first step towards making a healthy shift.

In this episode, you'll learn about the five classic signs of being are too hard on yourself and what you can do to overcome them.

The great French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, once said that "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience". Many of us do believe that we are on a spiritual journey that involves growth and learning but we face challenges in understanding the purpose of our journey and how we're meant to use our time and energy in a meaningful way.

My guest today, Ainslie Macleod, is an expert at helping people reach this level of understanding. Ainslie is an internationally acclaimed past-life psychic, spiritual teacher, and award-winning author of books such as The Instruction, The Transformation, and most recently, The Old Soul’s Guidebook. He specializes in exploring past lives to reveal your life’s purpose, and has been a featured guest on Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations Series.

As a fan of Ainslie's work, I was delighted to hear his thoughts on various topics about the soul. During our conversation we speak about the role of free will and fate when it comes to our destiny and how past life memories affect our current circumstances. Ainslie also shares his views on popular topics such as soulmates and how young and old souls can work together to create a better world. You definitely don't want to miss this exciting episode!

When determining whether or not we like a book, it’s easy to be deliberate and thoughtful in our approach. But when it comes to judging people, it’s a totally different story.

We tend to instantly evaluate those we encounter based on what we see on the surface. which is the equivalent of judging the book by its cover, without browse its contents.

The truth is that you end up doing yourself a disservice when you prejudge people before getting to know them better. You miss out on potentially enriching friendships and partnerships, and you could even put yourself in harm’s way if you’re too quick to trust.

In this episode, I outline five key reasons why you should not judge people based solely on their appearance, and what you should do instead to see them for who they truly are.

When most people think of the word ‘leader’, they see images of kings, presidents, CEOs, and other authoritative figures in the social system.

They assume that if they don’t have one of these leadership roles, they are followers by default.
But what if I told you that you are a leader, regardless of which roles you play in your career, family and social life? A leader in your own life.

In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on how you can activate your inner leader by taking charge of your life and making empowering choices.

All of us have experienced what it’s like to be caught up in a storm of negativity. Whether it was an offhand comment made by someone close to you, or a specific event that instigated it, you were left feeling depleted.

Dark clouds of doom and gloom envelope up our senses and we quickly lose sight of what’s real and what’s not. And as a society we've become habituated to mask these symptoms with quick-fixes like pills and escapism.

But the only way to clear out the fog of doubt is to shine a light on our thought patterns and gradually shift them. In this episode, I share some guidelines that will help get started on the process of developing a healthy and stable mindset.