Libsyn Directory

Episode 062: Rhian Wilkinson -- Three-time Olympic Soccer Player

Release Date: 11/01/2017

Episode 071: Dr. Russ Kennedy -- The Anxiety MD

What we cover: In this moment, we are safe. Today's guest is Dr Russ Kennedy – someone I have known since 2004, when I launched my brief stint into the stand up comedy world. Russ was a fellow comic, and I got to know him then, and I always really liked him. I eventually set that aside as I evolved as a writer and instead focused more on my foray into the world of one-woman shows – but Russ remained in my orbit because my brother Julien Dionne and his girlfriend Jennifer Grant are comics and so I continued to see Russ perform over the years. The thing I dug about Russ is that he wasn’t...

Episode 070: Stacey Shand -- Ultra-distance athlete and adventurer

What we cover: "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." -- Robert Frost Today’s guest is Stacey Shand. If there is a woman more easy to have a Girl Crush on that Stacey Shand, I have yet to meet her. Stacey is an ultra-extreme endurance athlete and adventurer. She is affectionately known as ‘Racey Stacey’, and she has been keeping a promise she made to herself from her hospital bed following a near tragic auto accident a number of years ago. When she was faced with the realities of what could have been, she vowed never to take her physical abilities --...

Episode 069: Kevin Reynolds -- Olympic Figure Skater

What we cover: "Take the past for what it is. And then, focus on moving forward." -- Kevin Reynolds Today's guest is Kevin Reynolds. He is, of course, the Canadian figure skating super star who won silver at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, as part of the mixed team event. According to the official Olympics athlete site, he is the first skater in the world to ever land a quad-triple-triple combination, and in 2010 he became the first man ever to land two quadruple jumps in the short program – and we talk about all that goodness. But this is by no means just a talk about skating. You...

Episode 068: Sherry Strong -- Chef, Nutritionist, Food Philosopher

What we cover: “Addiction is the body’s way of telling you that you’re not listening to your soul.” – Sherry Strong Today's guest is Sherry Strong – and strong she is. She is a woman who, after 35-years of playing the “victim”, which so many of us are guilty of from time to time – and who also struggled with an addiction to sugar to numb the sadness, took a good look in the mirror and said enough is enough. She was, as she puts it: “sick, obese, tired, and wanted to die.” Today, she is a professional chef, a nutritionist, and a food philosopher – and she can fit...

Episode 067: Mary-Jo Dionne -- writer/speaker/performer/podcaster

What we cover: In the interest of full disclosure, I have been ridiculously spread thin – as we all can get from time to time – and completely run down, wrapping up deadlines before I shut the office down until the new year. I have been up late into the night with a sick 2-year-old. And I have been going through this incredibly heavy sadness on account of learning that someone I cared for very much in my high school life, died – but the thing of it all is that he died many years ago. Nearly 25, in fact. And I only just found out. Grieving after-the-fact is a strange and lonely...

Episode 066: Anna Rice -- Two-time Olympic badminton player

What we cover: “The most important things I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned on the badminton court.” – Anna Rice Today’s Guest Titan is two-time Olympian, Anna Rice – a woman who admits that, as far as life goes, everything she’s learned so far, she’s learned on the badminton court. This is a woman who is ripe with insights, and who possesses a calm wisdom that I found quite intoxicating, really. I know you’re going to love her. This isn’t really a conversation about badminton, so much as it is a conversation about our own thought processes, the stories we...

Episode 065: Mary-Jo Dionne -- host, Tea with a Titan

What we cover: "You have to lose sight of the shore, to discover new lands." -- Andre Gide, paraphrased For those of you who listen to the show on a regular basis, it’s not news that I am a huge proponent of perspective shifting. And of gear shifting. Of being adaptable and of having the ability to readjust as needed. As we were planning our recent trip to California, I had a couple leads with amazing LA-based Guest Titans, both of which didn’t end up panning out at the last minute. Because we couldn’t get schedules to align. At first I was a bit disappointed, but that...

Episode 064: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Part Two ("After") Triathlete / Weight loss success story

What we cover: "For temporary results, commit to temporary changes. For permanent results, commit to permanent ones." -- Karin Fortin Jackson, 3-time Ironman finisher, who lost 120 pounds In 18 months of conversations with people I admire, this might rank as my most favourite chat yet. And I say that with the full admission that I have loved every one of my Guest Titan encounters. Karin Fortin Jackson is so honest, so unassuming, so humble, so candid. She allows us a private peek inside her very personal journey – a journey that has a clear “before” and a clear...

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

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What we cover: “If you want something badly enough, you don’t make sacrifices. You make choices.” – Rhian Wilkinson

Today’s Guest Titan chat is a wee bit of a deviation from the norm – and I am so glad about it. Today, I have a guest co-host in the form of 12-year-old Alex Vietch, herself a serious athlete – she’s a track star and a soccer freak, in a good way. She asked me once if I ever were to interview one of the women from Team Canada, if she could maybe come and say hi, but we did one better. When I found out that Rhian Wilkinson, 3-time Olympian and today’s Guest Titan was up for it, I asked Alex if she wouldn’t mind being my co-host. And, because Alex is one of those kids who personifies carpe diem, of course she was in!

The impact of women athletes on the positive self-image of young girls and boys – because they too get to see another definition of what it means to be a powerful, strong woman – cannot be understated. To that end, I want to give a shout-out to two of my young friends on the east coast of Canada as well – a big hello to Elle and Lauren Davidson, sisters who themselves are so into the game of soccer in the province of New Brunswick. It was a bit of a coincidence really, on the day I interviewed Rhian – who is the aunt of one of my daughter’s friends – she was on her way back east to run a camp with teammates and today business colleagues within the scope of their incredible enterprise called iS4 -- Christine Sinclair, Karina LeBlanc, Diana Matheson. Well, turns out, one of my oldest and best friends, Alison, had put her two rock star daughters in the camp – and Alison told me that as a mother, she was moved to tears. That our girls are so privileged to have exposure to these resilient, accomplished women – women who teach girls that they are not to be relegated to the sidelines, that to be strong and powerful is the only option, that to work one another – our sisters on the field and off – is a surefire way to build a network and a life of support and love and memories and empowerment. I was so thrilled to have Alex join us for this important conversation. If you are a parent, this is one for the kids too. If you’re going on a road trip, or running errands, have this one on in the car.

MJDionne.com

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