LaughBox

Her enormous brain is only matched by her quick wit and her dance moves when the Bee Gee’s start playing.  Dr. Melissa Mork shares it all with us in this episode of Laughbox.  Enjoy!

More on Melissa...

Dr. Melissa Baartman Mork is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement at the University of Northwestern. 

She is a Certified Humor Professional and the former director of the Humor Academy, the three-year college-level Humor Studies program for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. She is the mother of two beautiful children and the widow of one hot Norwegian.

At Northwestern, Dr. Mork teaches courses in General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Psychology of Counseling, Psychological Ethics, and How to Diagnose Your Family and Friends without Their Knowing. 

Although her kids don’t think she’s very funny, Dr. Mork makes herself laugh. A lot. She even has “FUNNY” on her license plate. Her one claim to fame is when Jimmy Fallon read her tweet on “#hashtags”.

You CAN handle the truth! And, the truth is that this week’s guest, Debra Norwood (The Laughter Lawyer), is not only an awesome human being, she’s also doing incredible work that is changing the lives of people all around the globe! Take a moment to listen to this week’s interview as she shares her work, her passion and a few laughs.

More on Debra...

As an attorney, a mother and caregiver to an ailing parent, Debra Norwood knows what stress looks and feels like. She also knows where to look for answers to learn resilience and find joy and meaning in many of life’s challenges. As a Certified Laughter Leader and Expert Level Practitioner with the World Laughter Tour, Debra guides her patrons by keynote speeches and workshops that highlight mindfulness exercises and a healthy dose of therapeutic humor and laughter. Her presentations to health professionals, attorneys and students are energizing and enlightening! As a result of the emotional clearing achieved through therapeutic laughter sessions, Debra is able to candidly address the more serious workplace and lifestyle issues that cause absenteeism, compassion fatigue and discouragement.

As a personal executive coach for attorneys and professionals, Debra is clearly passionate about sharing the latest advances in Psychoneuroimmunology. As a Certified Brain Health Coach with Amen Clinics, she loves to share the good news: there is now evidence that people can change their brains to effectively change their mood, perspective and ultimately, change their lives!

Debra’s individual coaching helps professionals optimize their memory and cognitive abilities through brain exercises, meditation, mindfulness and nutritional supplements when needed. For serious issues of PTSD, ADD, addictions, depression and anxiety, Debra evaluates and recommends individuals for Amen Clinics brain SPECT scans to review if there is trauma or other causes to explain resistant mental health conditions. Through careful evaluation of her client’s wishes and needs, Debra also creates individualized teams for crisis intervention. This supportive and comprehensive environment of empathy and trust helps her clients regain their humor, optimism, self-confidence and resilience.

Debra is a member of the Positive Psychology Association, The Association of Applied and Therapeutic Laughter (AATH) and has been endorsed by The Laughter Arts Foundation. As a goodwill ambassador for the Anasazi Foundation, Debra also helps with at-risk youth. She is considered a “Trailblazer” by the World Laughter Tour and is a transformative law advocate and contributor to the American Bar Association endorsed book by J.Kim Wight; Lawyers as Change-makers, coming out in 2017.

You can get more on Debra at www.debranorwood.com.

More on Paul….

Have you ever gotten so far down in the dumps that you didn't know what to do?  What about getting hit with a barrage of issues where it was really messing up your plan?  I, personally, have had all of that and more! (And I know you have too).  We, as leaders, need to know how to bounce back and be resilient despite what we may be facing.   Not only for ourselves but also for our teams!

This week's guest, Courtney Clark, is a resiliency expert and she's got the intel on how to make a positive impact for yourself and the others around you when life is punching you in the face.  Aside from being smart and articulate, she is also hilarious.  I had so much fun interviewing her and I know you'll have fun listening.  Enjoy!

More on Courtney…

Courtney Clark is the luckiest unlucky person in the world.  After a series of major struggles beginning in her mid-20s, she has built two successful businesses and is the author of two books, including her most recent book The Successful Struggle: Powerful Techniques to Achieve Accelerated Resilience.  She works with people who want to adapt faster and achieve more, and has spoken worldwide to organizations like Procter & Gamble, Dell, S&P, Humana, Cisco, and Cardinal Health.

Check her out on her website at: http://www.courtneyclark.com/

Have you ever eaten a Guinea Pig?  No?  Me either (although I would try it).  How about...have you ever wondered how to create a better working environment?  Yes?  Me too!  You're in luck!  This week's guest, Paul Osincup, has got the intel on how to do it and he shares it (free of charge) with us!  This is a REALLY FUN and content packed episode of Laughbox so make sure you've something to write with.  ENJOY!

More on Paul...

Paul Osincup is an International Speaker and Positive Workplace Strategist who helps companies create engaging work climates. From his experience in Higher Education Leadership & Administration, Paul’s previous roles had him addressing high-risk behaviors and threats to college campuses. A conflict resolution specialist, he was a consultant at the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Alcohol, Drug, and Violence Prevention and still consults for several non-profit agencies. Despite the serious nature of his work, It’s Paul’s background in comedy that fuels his interest in humor as a competitive advantage in business. His TED Talk on Humor in Leadership has been viewed over 140,000 times, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, and occasionally he even makes his wife laugh. Paul’s worked with hundreds of organizations from school districts and police departments to companies like NASDAQ and Kaiser Permanente. His work has been highlighted in SUCCESS Magazine, Training Magazine, and on his mom's fridge. 

Check out Paul on his website: 

www.paulosincup.com 

What’s YOUR story? Do you want to make it better? I know you do! Stories are the building blocks of civilization. They help us transmit norms, culture and get things done. They also can grab someone’s attention and make your more memorable. This week’s guest, Kelly Swanson, is an award-winning storytelling expert! We do a hands-on session where she works with me on one of my own stories. It was incredible! Grab a pencil and paper…you’re going to want to get this all down!

More on Kelly…

Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Gutsy Girls Pocket Guide to Public Speaking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast.

Kelly’s wacky wit and powerful stories have charmed hearts and tickled funny bones for over 15 years. In addition to her role as a funny motivational speaker, Kelly teaches people how she does it by sharing what she has learned about connecting and engaging to have more influence in business, through the use of one tool – strategic storytelling. Sharing her own powerful journey through story and the formula she discovered, you come to that magical place where the art of story meets the business of persuasion.

For more about Kelly go to www.MotivationalSpeakerKellySwanson.com

Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "humor is a part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people and getting things done.” This week, on the podcast, we get to delve into the leader’s brain with Sue Stevenson and how she coaches leaders using humor and humanity so they can build teams that are better prepared for the challenges of today’s competitive Environment. I got to meet “Scottish” Sue a few years ago and, immediately, was drawn to her wit and down to earth approach on making an impact. I think you’ll like the interview and come away with some strategies you can implement immediately. Enjoy!

More On Scottish Sue...

• Over 20 years in Global multinational companies in Global OD, Cultural Change, and HR - latterly at an executive level e.g. brought to USA from Switzerland as SVP, HR for Novartis Consumer Health, North America.
  13 years ago founded her own Global Executive Coaching and Consulting practice, Lifted Fog LLC.
• Current Lifted Fog work includes facilitating Conversational Intelligence (C-iq) with a Medical Device company; Coaching Coaches; as a Consultant for a project developing an internal coaching culture at a High Tech company, and running Coach Mentoring programs for Coaches seeking International Coach Federation Coaching credentials.
• Current Partners include:
• Lead Facilitator, Executive Coach, Assessor and Mentor, The NeuroLeadership Institute - delivering Brain Based Coaching Certification programs, Corporate Coaching Assessments and Mentoring.
• Director, Human Insight, Learning and Growth, Potentia - which helps companies and people optimize their potential.
• Master Facilitator and Coach, Talentsmart - delivering Emotional Intelligence workshops and 360 EQ Assessment coaching.
• Judge for the Chief Learning Officer’s Learning Elite Awards.
• Starting Humor Academy in 2018.

Currently living on a boat in San Diego, Southern California, Sue is best known by all who meet her to be “an engaging conversationalist, fun-loving and spirited story teller with a wee bit of Scottish humor that make her a delight to know.”

Check out Sue on her website: http://www.liftedfog.com/