What if you could reinvent yourself?  What if you did it again and again?  If you haven’t already done it yourself, can you even imagine where such a journey would take you and who you would become?  

Our guest this week is Melanie Banayat, owner of Wing Space Co-working here in Prescott.  Her career has included graphic design, resort management, holistic health coaching, and fine art. Through each career, Melanie was a typical entrepreneur, grabbing opportunities, working hard, and creating success so she has a ton of experience to share. 

After having to reinvent herself a number of times, Melanie now helps others do the same.  Not just a place to rent a desk and make copies, Wing Space fosters budding entrepreneurs in all the areas they need to succeed.  In response to the Covid Crisis that is forcing so many of us to retool our business or turn our side-gig into an enterprise, Melanie and the folks at Wingspace have created Launch, an incredibly valuable class for folks going through the business start up process. It is a six-week, self-paced virtual class with dozens of video tutorials PLUS peer-to-peer coaching in an accountability group (Called a Mastermind group.) A class like this would normally cost thousands of dollars. Your jaw will drop when you hear how inexpensive Melanie had made it. 

We recorded 3 episodes this week and the thread that ran through all of them was what happens when your life burns down.  All of our guests found the grit and tenacity to keep going when it looked like all was lost, and in that darkness, found gifts that helped them build new lives that turned out to be more authentic, more meaningful, and more powerful than those they left in the ashes.  

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Do a Science This Week
Find something to do that has a high likelihood of failure and do it anyway. Make sure to pick something where failure has low consequences. Some examples: 

• Make a challenging recipe from scratch like a souffle or something involving puff pastry
• Try to learn a new musical instrument or brand new sport
• Pitch your wildest idea to someone you don’t know well

​Notice how you feel before, during, and after. Keep track of what you learned. Let us know in the comments for the episode what you tried and how it worked out.

If your relationship isn’t all bliss all the time, you’re doing it wrong.  Right?  That, of course, is nonsense. 
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We get taught a whole slew of behaviors and attitudes (packaged as strength or righteousness) that actually inhibit joyful, lasting relationships. It’s hard to unlearn those lies, but we here at Rocketfeather are working hard to help you have easier, more successful partnerships with the people who matter to you.  Stick around to find out how going for the win-win will revolutionize your experience of being in relationship.

SHOW NOTES
References:

• Untamed - Glennon Doyle
• Hormones and Leadership - Simon Sinek
• The Gottman Institute
• How to Be an Adult  - David Richo
• Power of Unconditional Love - Ken Keyes
• Episode 4 - Tony Himes
• Episode 20 - Relationship Quickie
• Leave a voice message for us

Music Credits: 

• River Flow from Mixkit.co

What if we decided to honor all the parts of ourselves and each other….the masculine, the feminine, the earthy and the gold? What would it look like if you could express the full spectrum of yourself?  What would the world look like if we all decided to break down and recycle the boxes we’ve been expected to live in?

Come with us as we explore not only the mundane but the sacred feminine and masculine and find out how diving into them can change the world for the better.
We had an enriching double date this week with our friends Doug Eagan and Dawn Delvecchio.  
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Dawn is a scholar, entrepreneur, martial artist, and priestess who is encouraging women to reclaim their feminine power  Just this year she interviewed 39 priestesses from around the world and multiple spiritual traditions. In this interview, she shares some of what she learned in that process. Dawn is offering a reduced-cost intensive online coaching program to help women cultivate inner strength and engage the mission of their souls.  Doug Eagen is a men's work leader, and mentor for boys who has been active in Boys to Men and the Mankind Project helping to craft a healthy masculinity.
​

References:

• Return of the Priestess 
• Dawn’s Priestess Alchemy Course

 Resources:

• Dawn Delvecchio’s website
• ManKind Project 
• Boys to Men Mentoring
• Zokni of the Week

 Music Credits: 

• Alejandro Magaña at https://mixkit.co/

How can we develop more ease and authenticity inside ourselves? How can we build more capacity and resilience to face current and future difficulties?
And what if, the same methods for adding to our lives created better relationships and more effective leadership?
How much would you pay for this? But wait, don’t answer…
This episode is full of just the sort of conversation and questions you’d hear if you were hanging out with us in the kitchen. Kelly and I regularly rassle with these ideas around healthy personal growth, uplifting relationships and inclusive, sustainable community. We get pretty agitated about the topic and the possibilities and sometimes Bill the Cat has to come in from the living room to yell at us to quiet down.
Or maybe he’s just agreeing loudly. It’s hard to tell
We offer up this conversation with both great passion and great humility. Our passion comes from all the years we’ve been working through these ideas personally and professionally. Our humility comes from the fact that we are very human and are working through all of this ourselves. We are doing our best not to preach or lecture [though it might sound like it sometimes - we do get excited], but we think there’s something good and powerful in facing these uncomfortable truths and we want to talk it through with you, together.

Show Notes
References:

• Carl Jung
• Anima/Animus
• The Shadow
• Nonviolent Communication Book
• Set This House in Order
• Nominate Satchel at The Rocket Feather Podcast Page 

 Resources:

• Episode 34 with Matt Ruff
• Episode 19 with Rowdy Duncan
• Art Therapy Resources

Music Credits: Mixkit.co

What if parenting, teaching, or just hanging out with teens could be easier and less stressful. What if we adults could adopt a few simple techniques to help kids make good decisions, free up their own authentic wisdom, AND build closer relationships. 

This week, we’re talking with Adam Young. Adam spent 10 years as a classroom teacher and nearly as long as a mentor and program director for Boys to Men Mentoring. (The nonprofit org I used to head)
At Boys to Men, Adam was key to the expansion of our school circles - we talk about “circles” a lot in this episode. They are simply hour-long support groups consisting of 8-10 boys and 3-4 adults. At our peak, BTM was conducting 16 weekly circles in half a dozen schools. This model is in use in schools all around the country and the world.

These days, Adam is one of the principals of a new consulting and training program called Circle Dynamics Group. The Circle Dynamics Group works with schools to train teachers and education leaders to quickly build interpersonal connections that encourage trust and deeper conversation with students. They have an open set of workshops coming up July 21st - 30th.
You might want to strap in a little more tightly than normal this week. Some of the ways that Adam works with teens - the radical trust, the abandonment of adult privilege and power - might rock your world and your assumptions a bit.

SHOW NOTESReferences:

• Circle Dynamics Group
  
• Boys to Men Mentoring
  
• Niobe Way - Deep Secrets: Boys' Friendships and the Crisis of Connection
  
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 
  

 Resources:

• Validate in Place TEDx Talk
  
• Episode 28, How to Vote for Your Best Self with Stasia Rivera
  
• Episode 15 Better Together: Teens, Community, and Activism
  
• Redefining Strength Facebook Group
  
• RocketFeather Community Lab Facebook Group
  

 Music Credits: Music provided by Audio Library Plus

What’s it like for you when your beloved gets angry?  What about when it’s over something you did?  Do you panic?  Get defensive?  Throw blame?  Crumble?  Flee?
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How can we handle these inevitable moments in our close relationships in a way that actually deepens our connection and reduces the stress and trauma of a fight?

Kelly and Charles have been working in and on their marriage together for nearly six years. Before earning that street cred, Kelly earned a Masters in Art Therapy, and grabbed all the wisdom available from Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, etc. Charles studied nonviolent relationships and teaching and has mentored over 1000 youth and adults in communication, self-awareness, and accountability skills. 
​
On this week’s podcast, we share results from the lab that is our marriage, in hopes that you will find it useful in your own relationships.

SHOW NOTES
​References: 

• RocketFeather Blog
• Brene Brown Podcast
• Blushing Cactus Photography
• Prescott Woman Podcast
• RocketFeather Community Lab

Music Credits: Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music

What would it be like if we thought about the current situation as if it were a fable, told to us by an elder?  What would we learn?  How would it end? What if we could tell a story that could help us create the safe, sustainable, equitable future that we want for ourselves and our children?

Our friend and fellow traveler on the path, Rowdy Duncan returns to help us unpack the pandemic, the protests, and the times we’re currently navigating.  He shares an indigenous and earth-based perspective he’s been exploring to make sense of what he’s witnessing and experiencing, and that he’s using as a tool to blaze his trail through this complex environment. 
Rowdy is on the communications faculty at Phoenix College.  He teaches Intercultural Communication, Diversity & Inclusion studies, he’s active in youth leadership development, AND he’s a huge advocate for community and restorative modes of justice.  
Rowdy is also the Writer, Producer, and Host of The Inclusive Activism Podcast, which you will definitely want to check out. 
All this makes Rowdy the perfect person for us to have on the show to dive into the deep end with us and see what we find there.

References: 

• Colby Martin TEDx Talk
  
• Katie Hess Website
  
• Inclusive Activism Podcast
  

 Resources:

• Rowdy Duncan Consulting
  
• Harvard Implicit Bias Tests​
  

Music Credits: Peder B. Helland

How does a kind young man get involved with a hate group and how does he get out and build a life of compassion and empathy?

Our guest this week is Hayden Gebler.  A “normal kid” growing up in Northern AZ, Hayden had a huge need for connection and belonging. His journey toward that belonging took a dark turn that resulted in Hayden spending several years in a white supremicist gang.  Now at 26, his life is radically different and his heart is filled with love and understanding instead of hate and bigotry.
In this episode, Hayden talks very frankly and openly about what caused him to veer off and what brought him back.
​
Trigger warning: In this episode we talk about drug use, self-harm, suicide attempts, and violence. We don’t dwell on any of it, nor glorify it, but you might want to choose the right time to listen to this podcast.

References:

• The Harvard Implicit Bias Study 
  

Resources:

• White Supremacist Prison Gangs in the United States
  
• Suicide Prevention Resources
  
• Find a local AA Meeting

Music Credits: Royalty Free Music and Creative Commons Music from Kevin MacLeod.

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What happens when an old college friend has his novel adapted by Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams for an HBO series? 

You invite him on your podcast, that’s what. Our guest this week is the writer Matt Ruff, author of seven, very different books. We talk about the craft of writing great characters, the luck involved in getting published, and how to become an overnight success in only 35 years. We dive deep into the creation of characters who are experiencing very different lives and challenges than we are. And we talk about how critical it is now to live with those kinds of characters and learn from them. 

Matt's books span the gamut, from speculative fiction, literary fantasy, alternative history and gothic horror. His third book, Set this House in Order, won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for it's incredibly unique exploration of gender. Matt's sixth book, Lovecraft Country, raises the pitch of the horror of racism with a nasty dose of Lovecraftian supernatural horror. That's the book that caught the eye of Jordan Peele. 
​
​Set This House in Order changed Charles's notion of the self and, not to put to fine a point on it, this episode completely changed our understanding of racism. We're really curious what you think about it. 

References:

• Matt’s Ruff’s Website
• Risley Hall at Cornell
• Matt’s Ruff’s Books @ IndieBound
• Matt Ruff’s Books @Amazon​

 Resources:

• 8cantwait - a campaign to bring immediate change to police departments
• Anti-racism resources for white people

What makes Prescott (and the rest of the Quad Cities) strong? What makes us unique and successful when things get tough? Our first episode attempts to answer those questions. 
This week we are really, stupendously pleased to share with you the first episode of a whole new podcast series. A couple months ago, after interviewing Breeanya Hinkel on this podcast and then partnering with her and her posse of engaged business leaders on the Women in Science episode, we hatched this new project, a new, separate podcast that will feature some of the same stories and interviews from the Prescott Woman print magazine. 
For the June/July issue, the writers and staff at Prescott Woman Magazine started collecting stories of resilience and creativity in the face of Covid 19. They called the resulting cover story “Prescott Strong.”
This first episode of the Prescott Woman Podcast is an expanded audio version of that story. We trust that you will find it inspiring and meaningful because the voices are those of your neighbors and friends.

Show Notes: 
The following women and men contributed quotes: 

• Deputy Police Chief Amy Bonney
• Claire Louge - executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
• Deputy Fire Chief Cory Moser
• Kerry Johnson - Special Education Teacher
• Tina Rose - Parent  
• Jim Cabral - Owner of Gabby’s Grill
• Rachel Whisenand, Emergency Department Nurse, Yavapai Regional Medical Center
• Ariana Bennett - Parent 

The following people shared their trials and triumphs with us in extended interviews.   

• Kaia Kordossky-Herrera, Physicians Assistant and owner of Prescott Complete Care
• Sasha Naasz, owner of The Movement Studio
• Carissa Johnson - English and Language Arts Teacher at Bradshaw Mountain Middle School 

The following local musicians provided the music you heard throughout the episode. Follow these links to more of their music:

• Drew Hall & Anton Teschner on Facebook
• Candace Devine on Spotify
• Rachel Plays Guitar on Spotify
• Sugar and the Mint on the web.
• Kaileena Martin on Spotify

Subscribe to the monthly Prescott Women Podcast. 

Get ready for next week’s episode: 

• Check out Matt Ruff here. 
• Watch the trailer for the HBO Series.