June 2, 2025 • 26 mins
S4:EP13 Disability World with Norma Stanley ft Dawn Anderson. Dr. Dawn Anderson is a media monetization strategist, bestselling author, and founder of The One Message Movement. She helps entrepreneurs and changemakers amplify their voices through publishing, publicity, and digital products. Her mission is to empower one million authors and drive legacy-building through collaboration, storytelling, and strategic media exposure. She will have a free gift for you when you join her at MediaMonetizationStrategist.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
My name is Norma Stanley and welcome to Disability World.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Hello, and welcome to another segment of Disability World where
we discuss various issues of interest and impact as it
relates to the disability community as a whole here in Georgia,
around the country, and around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm your host, NORMALUS Stanley, and.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
On Disability World, we look forward to speaking with individuals,
community leaders, parents, advocates, business owners, and resource providers who
care about this vast and vital population of about seventy
million people in the US alone. And today I'm excited
to have a good friend of mine. Her name is
doctor down Anderson, and she is the publisher of Celebrity
(01:18):
Boss Media and Celebrity Boss Books. And she's going to
share a little bit about what she does and some
of the projects actually that we're going to be working
on together, and you know, in her connection and interest
in the disability community. So please welcome doctor down Anderson.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Hello. How are you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm doing amazingly well. How are you doing, Norma?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I'm doing great. Thank you for being a part of
the Disability World today. You know, we've known each other
for a few years now, and you know we do
similar work. You've been a mentor to me when it
comes to the whole tech yeah, tech phenomena. You know
that I am so old fashioned when it comes to that.
(02:14):
So you've been a blessing to help with me getting
me up to speed with all the things that.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Are available now in the marketing space and media space.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
But today we're here to talk about some of the
things we're actually gonna be work going together, and wanted
to kind of give you an opportunity to share a
little bit about yourself and the work that you do
because you do so many you know, you have a
lot of things working at the same time, and then
we can talk about some of the things we've been
working on together that I'm really excited about.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Awesome, awesome. Well, first I want to thank you Normal
because you are my mentor as well in the journalism space,
right you are my first teacher, and you have been
with me holding my hand all along until I created
Celebrity Boss Media, and you showed me really how to
ants the projects that we have at hand. And we
have some good things to talk about today. So yeah,
(03:05):
I'm truly excited and I'm truly grateful for you to
have been in my life.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Well, you know you, I know you have had different
aspects and connections with the disability community.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
First knowing my daughter.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, one of the things that was so funny when
you wed, I had a book signing events and you
were gracious enough to watch my daughter for me while
I was up doing a panel discussion with the other authors,
and my daughter gave you a little trouble, but you
handled it well. And so you know, she was new,
(03:43):
she had not met you yet and that was the
first time meeting you, I guess, but it was new.
And so she does that and when one of the
things that people have to kind of get used to
when it around my daughter, if there's music around. And
I don't know if I was singing, but you were,
I was. She likes to get close to me when
when I'm singing, and so so she was gonna be
(04:07):
she was.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
She was trying to get away from you.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, she was so Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, she's sneaky that way sometimes, especially when she knows
people don't really.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Know how sneaky she can be.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yes, that was a surprise. I mean, Sierra is non verbal,
but she is highly expressive. Yes, it's very clear about
her intention what she wants. Me being, you know, a
person who has empathy, I allowed her to do what
she wanted to do, which was the wrong answer. I mean,
everybody needs, you know, some set of boundaries. So I
got rolled over by her wheelchair. Flus went on to
(04:40):
stage while you were singing. That's what happened.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
She should try if she realized that you don't really
know right, she will try you.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yah.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So that was so funny.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But anyway, but yeah, we've got some exciting things that
we're working on, and you know, I want to first
talk about the anthology book that we're working on together.
A Celebrity Boss Publishing has a book component, and you're
doing a bunch of different types of books that are
you know, collaborative, and mine is about the disability community
(05:16):
and it's called Navigating Hope, Love and Opportunity and you know,
one hundred and one success stories about disability parenting and caregiving.
And so we're in the process of you know, you know,
securing our authors, our co authors. But it has been
(05:38):
a very exciting process and I'm looking forward to you know,
we have about you know, about ten fifteen signed on
right now and we're going to be you know, we
have schedules for a bunch to you know, to to
talk to. So it's I know it's going to take
off because as people hear about it, they get excited
about it.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yes, and you know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I have to do better with my social media. I
got to say, it's not my strength. I got you
helping me with that. Yes, but that's one of the
things that I want to be able to do. And
really and I'm looking forward to to really you know,
saturating my social media and sharing that information because there's
so many great stories out there. Yes, and we want
(06:22):
to make sure the parents have an opportunity to not
only have a literary legacy about how they went through
and were able to successfully advocate and help to maximize
the potential of their child, but also how they what
lessons they learned, and how they were able to come
on the other.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Side of through as they say, because it's.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
A challenging journey, but we want to you know, we
want the people new to the journey to kind of
get inspired.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And understand that they can do this too.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
You know, I've been doing it thirty six years and
I'll probably be doing for another third six years minimum.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
By the grace of God. Will see how God does.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But that's my plan.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I'm going to be here, and my daughter's going to
be here, and we're gonna we're in this together until
till the end.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
So but I'm excited about putting together putting my story
in that same book and really sharing how we have
navigated this whole journey together and the things that I've
learned as a result of being her mother. And so
we want to give parents the opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Talk about this.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
We want to give spouses an opportunity to talk about this,
because there are a lot of spouses who are, you know,
taking care of their spouses as well as parents.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yes, so.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Since you're a part of this process, you know, what
did you think of the idea when I brought it
to you in terms of this this anthology book, Because
I'm sure it's not something that you would ordinarily think.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Of, right, right, So I'm truly excited. I mean, the
celebrity Boss featuring the Navigating, Hope, Love, and Opportunity book,
which is one hundred and one success Stories is basically
a global movement for parents and caregivers of children with
disabilities and Basically, what they're doing is one hundred and
(08:14):
one people are sharing their personal success stories in their journey.
As myself. I entered the disability community later on in life.
I was past fifty. Unfortunately, a tragedy happened where I
entered the disability community, and I would have never thought
about the importance of having peers and support and being
(08:38):
able to tell your story about your journey, about the changes,
especially when you had been abled all your life. A
tragedy happens and then you're disabled.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Where do you turn? That's not only for myself, but
for my child, same thing. He was born able and capable,
and unfortunately a separate tragedy happened where he became disabled.
So where do you turn? Where do you share your story?
Who do you talk to? How do you even begin
this journey? I mean the hospital when they took us
in after our tragedies, our independent tragedies. We were there
(09:13):
for a few days and then you know, they checked
us out. You know, I wrote us some descriptions and
we were on our way, and I was just left
in disarrayed, disbelief, discombobulated, having to not only accept my
new disabilities, but to accept the disabilities of my child,
and who do who do I turn to? How do
(09:33):
I get this off of my chest? How do I
take a very tragic moment that I'm having dreams about
that is interfering in my life that I now have
to make new ways of doing things that I didn't
have to do before and and normalize that so that
I can continue and I can move on. So this
(09:57):
book sharing stories because we all came into this community differently.
Some were born with it, some like myself, are new
to this disability community acquired and I need I need mentorship,
I need peers, I need solace, I need hope, And
this is one of those projects that I believe would
help people with that.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, Yeah, and I'm real excited about it. I mean,
some of the stories we're already getting, you know, powerful stories,
and and everybody has a different approach to how they
handled it, you know, one of the challenges. And you know,
this is, like I said, one of the projects we're
working on together. You know, you're also assisting me with
(10:41):
my course that will be going up and hopefully being
launched within the next couple of months. But that's geared
to us specifically the people with the young children. But but, but,
but it's not also it's not totally Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Sorry, I kicked the table.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
It's not totally focused on just young it's from birth
to adulthood. And because there's again, like you said, there's
different phases, there's different situations.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
That that families like us deal with.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean, embracing the diagnosis is one of those things
from the beginning. You know, some people are in denial
about their challenges or their child's challenges. But my goal
is has always been to enhance the quality of life
both families and individuals, you know, with the disabilities. And
(11:33):
that's part of the and there's a whole there's so much.
You know, as a mother, you know, I didn't know
anything about this space until I had my daughter. I
mean I didn't personally don't know anything about it. I
saw families I grew up with somebody who well I
didn't know them personally, but I used to observe them
when I was growing up.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
A family with a child with disabilities, and the mom
and she seemed to be a single mom. She seemed
like she had such a hard time.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And I gotta say, I used to pray with our
little girls said, please, don't ever let that happen to me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And God had a different plan, you know, And so
but don't you don't know what you.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Can do until you do it, until that challenge is there.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
And I've been blessed.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And you know, Seria has been nothing but a blessing
to me and for me because it brought out strengths
and talents and determination and all kinds of things I
didn't encourage.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I didn't know I had any of this stuff, you.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Know, But because I wanted to make sure my daughter
had what she needed to have and had the best
life possible. It came from nowhere. Obviously I had it,
but didn't know I had it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So I'm determined to use every gift and.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Talent God gave me to maximize her life and both
of our lives, not just her life. And that's one
of the things I'm hoping to do through all these
various projects when it comes to disability community. And you know,
I'm a journalist by trade, and you know, I'm a
public relations professional by trade, and sharing information and helping
people tell their stories is what I do and have
(13:13):
done for about forty years now, and so I'm hoping to.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Be able to do that through this book.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I'm hoping to be able to do it through the anthology,
the mythology.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And the course. And we have also another project that
we're going to be working.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
On that I'm excited about, which is going to be
a conference.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
On the water.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, so that's coming up in twenty twenty six. We've
got a little bit of time, but you know, I'm
excited about that, and it's geared to the same thing.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
You're you're one of the I'm having an event next
well around Mother's Day, and you are one of the
co hosts of that event.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And Mother's Day. As people who have viewed this show,
I talk about it a lot. Has always been a
challenge for me over the years.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Not so much now, but you know, when I'm older now,
but as when I was a young mother, and you know,
Sierra was a toddler and you know, a teenager and
different and she couldn't tell me what she felt or
how she felt. I know, my child loves me, but
at the same time, she couldn't express it. And then
(14:31):
you know, when my husband passed away, her dad, you
know who when he was here, he would do special
things on her behalf for me around Mother's Day, but
not everybody knows how to do that.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And he's been gone now sixteen years.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And so that's where this whole event that we're doing
that you're going to be co hosting the Exceptional Parents Celebration.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
It's for parents. It's start off of just for moms.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
But it's for dads too, because there's a lot of
day as out here who do a lot for their children.
They are totally they totally love their children and they're
there for their children in every capacity, and they don't
get the pendant they deserve. So I changed the name
from Exceptional Moms to Exceptional Parents, and so we celebrate
(15:18):
them and we you know, we invite people to come
and speak and uplifted and courage and you know, make
them feel appreciated.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And so that's what that's coming up next week.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
But you know, I'm excited about turning that intellectual conference, yes,
and that's what we're hoping to do in twenty twenty
six where we can bring in resource providers and people
to speak on the various issues that face our families
and how they can help them and you know, how
how we can do this as a community and maximize
(15:51):
the lives and potential and you know, help us all
to live the kind of lives we were meant to live,
which was in my opinion in what God is the
abundant life, you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Know, and you know we all want that.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You know, I want.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I don't like my daughter to miss out on anything,
and so I love traveling to begin with, and cruising
is one of our.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Favorite things to do. So we're hoping to encourage.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And and and looking forward to inviting you know, as
many families as want to join us next year to
be a part of this, uh, this this cruise conference.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So you'll be hearing more about that as we go forward.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But you know, what else are you doing in some
of the other books and things that you're working on
as part of your media company, your media and your
publishing company.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Well, I'm really excited about the projects that we're doing,
which is the anthology, right so Celebrity Bossbooks dot Com,
Forward Slash, Disability, Hyphen Parents hyphen and Caregiving. Uh. That's
that's one of the main projects right now. That your
course and the cruise between Mothers and Father's Day of
twenty twenty six and twenty twenty seven. So the first
(17:03):
year is going to be here on land, and that's
going to be in a Lands of Georgia, which will
be next week, and then after that we'll be at
sea with speakers, with advocates, with celebrities speaking about you know,
very important topics with the ADA community. So with that
being said, just what you were saying about Sierra not
(17:25):
being able to express her love for you on Mother's Day,
especially with a highly commercialized holiday, she does express it.
She does express her love with you before you day
to day, especially today she ran over my toes. Yep,
that was a huge expression of love, right and me
(17:46):
trying to catch her what a site that was. But
with that and she's quick, and so with that being said, yeah,
we're really excited to be able to share those types
of stories, not only in the book but on the cruise.
And so I'm not excited about that. As far as
the other projects are concerned, we do have a global DEI,
which is the I, which is a diversity, equity and
(18:11):
right that's under attack right now, you know, citizens that's
under attack, that's being taken out of public places and
that includes our schools and so really to even speak
up you know about the dee I community. That's that's
that's been, you know, just you're just a bad you know,
(18:34):
place to be, especially you know when you have visible
if you will differences to whether whether it be physical
as a disability, or it be that you have a
different culture or different belief system, that we should all
want hope, peace and prosperity from another. It's it's the
differences between us. Is only the spice, right, It's only
(18:57):
the icing and the cake is all of us help together.
So I like the DEI Global Project one fun one
especially for Americans because we love our pets. Right for babies,
and this is for babies that not only do we
have with us in our company now, but for babies
that we've had, you know, in the past. And what
(19:19):
joy do they bring to us? How do we say goodbye?
Our dogs, you know, are again nonverbal of sorts, right,
they do barking, They.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Definitely expect themselves, right. I love dogs.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I do to my mind howls and yips and chirps
because she's a husky and so she has an entire language.
But unfortunately I lost one of my huskies, one of
her sister mates, and they used to talk to each
other all the time, and then now she doesn't have anyone.
So how do how do I get over the grief?
What are the things that we are doing together as
the remaining husky so that we can get over the
(19:54):
grief together. And it's great to write these stories down.
Rite how how our pets you know, really change our lives.
How they they give us, you know, emotional support. How
this four legged firm baby actually gets me from behind
my desk and out walking to make sure that I
have you know, physical exercise. And so this is really
important again, you know, looking at a community of pup
(20:17):
moms and pup dads and being able to tell the
stories because these are these are these are you know,
very important. They generally have short lives, maybe an average
of fifteen years. Yeah, and we want to make sure
that we again write their legacy and memorialize their stories.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
And I love the fact that these books could be
really you know, they'll be printed at some point and
then you know, make lovely coffee table books. And like
I call, I like to call it a literary legacy
because not everybody loves to write, not everybody have even
thought about putting their story in a book that can
(20:54):
focus on a specific area of their lives in a
collaborative way, you know, because I think this book is
going to catch a lot of attention in a very
positive way because of the diversity of stories that will
be a part of it. And like I said, it's
not just for the ones of us, those of us who.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Are parents, but spouses.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I know a lot of couples who have dealed dealing
with taking care of a spouse who's disabled in some way. Yes, yes, parents,
So that's it's it's it's a lot of different stories.
That That's why I called it disability Parenting and caregiving,
(21:36):
because the caregiving part is where the parents of you know,
if you're taking care of senior parents or if you're
taking care of a spouse, it's still part of the
whole part. It's still part of the whole story. So
we want to make sure we incorporate those stories too.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yes, I mean, it's it's it's it's really important. I'm
so proud of you. You know that you're leading the
way as far as this ability community is concerned. In
the United States. We have a lot of opportunities to
make sure that we can have accessibility for the disability community.
But I've gone to airports around the world. I travel
a lot, and I see no ramps. I see nothing there. Stairs,
(22:16):
I see people carrying, literally carrying their parents and their arms,
making up several flights to stairs, you know, to get
to another floor. So we're actually leading the way. I
have a lot of international and global collections, so what
starts here will be spread around the world. So my
job as a marketer and a publisher is to amplify
(22:39):
these stories. And what better way to teach than to storytell. Now,
on a separate note from what I understand, eighty one
percent of people have a book in them. You don't
have to write an entire book to be an accomplished,
published author that makes changes in the world through literary legacy. Right,
(22:59):
you can be part of a book. You can have
a story crafter like myself or Norma who will help
you craft your story and tell your story to the world.
You sign off on it, of course, and when you
sign off on it, it becomes yours. It is your story, right,
it is your experience, not ours, but your experience. But
we will help you tell your story, help you craft
your story. Help go strite your story and then distribute
(23:21):
your story to not only the national community, but the
international global community. So I have a lot of connections
with even libraries abroad, and there are a number of
events that are not only in the United States but
in other countries. So you will be an international an
international author, you know. Should you want to join with
us right.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
As a compiler, as an own anthology and collaborative book right,
And I think it's a great opportunity.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So where can people reach you?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
As we come it goes very quickly, unfortunately, from the
end of our time together. Where can people reach you
and learn more about what it is that you're doing
and some of.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
The projects you're working on that we're working on together.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Right? Well, the digital magazine is Celebrity Boss dot com,
So celebrity as in you know someone who's famous and
boss as in you know a boss, b O s
S dot com. But if you want to talk to
me personally, I have a landing page called Media Monetization
(24:24):
Strategist dot com. So that's emy d I a Media
Monetization m O N E t I z A t
I O N Strategist s t R A g E.
This is Strategist s T Strategist s T R A
(24:49):
G E T I s T dot com. So that's
how you contact me, Norma. Thank you so much for
this opportunity. Thank you for your mentorship. Thank you for
a light and glow upon the not only the disability community,
but all of the gifts that you share as a
public relations person and journalist. I'm grateful and that you
(25:12):
that you've selected me as your mentee and having me
on your show today. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well, I appreciate you, and I thank you for taking
some time out to be a part of our show
today and look forward to.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
You know, putting these projects together, getting them done and
going out there and making positive impact.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
So that's what we're all about. And so thank you
again for being a part of disability world today.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Okay, well, thank you doctor don Anderson. She's a good friend,
and you know, we're excited.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
About the work we're doing together.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
And I'm looking forward to really really making some positive
impact around the country and around the world with the
various things that we're doing.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And it's exciting, it's exciting.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
And another female owned busines this and you know, we
believe in keeping out keeping us uplifted and encouraged to
do what we have to do.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
So that's what we're about. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Again for being a part of Disability World this week,
and we look forward to bringing you some more amazing
people and more amazing stories in the segments coming in
the next few weeks, in the next few months, and
until then you'd be blessed.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Bye bye
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
My name is Norma Stanley and welcome to Disability World.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Hello, and welcome to another segment of Disability World where
we discuss various issues of interest and impact as it
relates to the disability community as a whole here in Georgia,
around the country, and around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm your host, NORMALUS Stanley, and.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
On Disability World, we look forward to speaking with individuals,
community leaders, parents, advocates, business owners, and resource providers who
care about this vast and vital population of about seventy
million people in the US alone. And today I'm excited
to have a good friend of mine. Her name is
doctor down Anderson, and she is the publisher of Celebrity
(01:18):
Boss Media and Celebrity Boss Books. And she's going to
share a little bit about what she does and some
of the projects actually that we're going to be working
on together, and you know, in her connection and interest
in the disability community. So please welcome doctor down Anderson.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Hello. How are you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm doing amazingly well. How are you doing, Norma?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I'm doing great. Thank you for being a part of
the Disability World today. You know, we've known each other
for a few years now, and you know we do
similar work. You've been a mentor to me when it
comes to the whole tech yeah, tech phenomena. You know
that I am so old fashioned when it comes to that.
(02:14):
So you've been a blessing to help with me getting
me up to speed with all the things that.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Are available now in the marketing space and media space.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
But today we're here to talk about some of the
things we're actually gonna be work going together, and wanted
to kind of give you an opportunity to share a
little bit about yourself and the work that you do
because you do so many you know, you have a
lot of things working at the same time, and then
we can talk about some of the things we've been
working on together that I'm really excited about.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Awesome, awesome. Well, first I want to thank you Normal
because you are my mentor as well in the journalism space,
right you are my first teacher, and you have been
with me holding my hand all along until I created
Celebrity Boss Media, and you showed me really how to
ants the projects that we have at hand. And we
have some good things to talk about today. So yeah,
(03:05):
I'm truly excited and I'm truly grateful for you to
have been in my life.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Well, you know you, I know you have had different
aspects and connections with the disability community.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
First knowing my daughter.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, one of the things that was so funny when
you wed, I had a book signing events and you
were gracious enough to watch my daughter for me while
I was up doing a panel discussion with the other authors,
and my daughter gave you a little trouble, but you
handled it well. And so you know, she was new,
(03:43):
she had not met you yet and that was the
first time meeting you, I guess, but it was new.
And so she does that and when one of the
things that people have to kind of get used to
when it around my daughter, if there's music around. And
I don't know if I was singing, but you were,
I was. She likes to get close to me when
when I'm singing, and so so she was gonna be
(04:07):
she was.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
She was trying to get away from you.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, she was so Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, she's sneaky that way sometimes, especially when she knows
people don't really.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Know how sneaky she can be.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yes, that was a surprise. I mean, Sierra is non verbal,
but she is highly expressive. Yes, it's very clear about
her intention what she wants. Me being, you know, a
person who has empathy, I allowed her to do what
she wanted to do, which was the wrong answer. I mean,
everybody needs, you know, some set of boundaries. So I
got rolled over by her wheelchair. Flus went on to
(04:40):
stage while you were singing. That's what happened.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
She should try if she realized that you don't really
know right, she will try you.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yah.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So that was so funny.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But anyway, but yeah, we've got some exciting things that
we're working on, and you know, I want to first
talk about the anthology book that we're working on together.
A Celebrity Boss Publishing has a book component, and you're
doing a bunch of different types of books that are
you know, collaborative, and mine is about the disability community
(05:16):
and it's called Navigating Hope, Love and Opportunity and you know,
one hundred and one success stories about disability parenting and caregiving.
And so we're in the process of you know, you know,
securing our authors, our co authors. But it has been
(05:38):
a very exciting process and I'm looking forward to you know,
we have about you know, about ten fifteen signed on
right now and we're going to be you know, we
have schedules for a bunch to you know, to to
talk to. So it's I know it's going to take
off because as people hear about it, they get excited
about it.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yes, and you know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I have to do better with my social media. I
got to say, it's not my strength. I got you
helping me with that. Yes, but that's one of the
things that I want to be able to do. And
really and I'm looking forward to to really you know,
saturating my social media and sharing that information because there's
so many great stories out there. Yes, and we want
(06:22):
to make sure the parents have an opportunity to not
only have a literary legacy about how they went through
and were able to successfully advocate and help to maximize
the potential of their child, but also how they what
lessons they learned, and how they were able to come
on the other.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Side of through as they say, because it's.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
A challenging journey, but we want to you know, we
want the people new to the journey to kind of
get inspired.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And understand that they can do this too.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
You know, I've been doing it thirty six years and
I'll probably be doing for another third six years minimum.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
By the grace of God. Will see how God does.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But that's my plan.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I'm going to be here, and my daughter's going to
be here, and we're gonna we're in this together until
till the end.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
So but I'm excited about putting together putting my story
in that same book and really sharing how we have
navigated this whole journey together and the things that I've
learned as a result of being her mother. And so
we want to give parents the opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Talk about this.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
We want to give spouses an opportunity to talk about this,
because there are a lot of spouses who are, you know,
taking care of their spouses as well as parents.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yes, so.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Since you're a part of this process, you know, what
did you think of the idea when I brought it
to you in terms of this this anthology book, Because
I'm sure it's not something that you would ordinarily think.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Of, right, right, So I'm truly excited. I mean, the
celebrity Boss featuring the Navigating, Hope, Love, and Opportunity book,
which is one hundred and one success Stories is basically
a global movement for parents and caregivers of children with
disabilities and Basically, what they're doing is one hundred and
(08:14):
one people are sharing their personal success stories in their journey.
As myself. I entered the disability community later on in life.
I was past fifty. Unfortunately, a tragedy happened where I
entered the disability community, and I would have never thought
about the importance of having peers and support and being
(08:38):
able to tell your story about your journey, about the changes,
especially when you had been abled all your life. A
tragedy happens and then you're disabled.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Where do you turn? That's not only for myself, but
for my child, same thing. He was born able and capable,
and unfortunately a separate tragedy happened where he became disabled.
So where do you turn? Where do you share your story?
Who do you talk to? How do you even begin
this journey? I mean the hospital when they took us
in after our tragedies, our independent tragedies. We were there
(09:13):
for a few days and then you know, they checked
us out. You know, I wrote us some descriptions and
we were on our way, and I was just left
in disarrayed, disbelief, discombobulated, having to not only accept my
new disabilities, but to accept the disabilities of my child,
and who do who do I turn to? How do
(09:33):
I get this off of my chest? How do I
take a very tragic moment that I'm having dreams about
that is interfering in my life that I now have
to make new ways of doing things that I didn't
have to do before and and normalize that so that
I can continue and I can move on. So this
(09:57):
book sharing stories because we all came into this community differently.
Some were born with it, some like myself, are new
to this disability community acquired and I need I need mentorship,
I need peers, I need solace, I need hope, And
this is one of those projects that I believe would
help people with that.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, Yeah, and I'm real excited about it. I mean,
some of the stories we're already getting, you know, powerful stories,
and and everybody has a different approach to how they
handled it, you know, one of the challenges. And you know,
this is, like I said, one of the projects we're
working on together. You know, you're also assisting me with
(10:41):
my course that will be going up and hopefully being
launched within the next couple of months. But that's geared
to us specifically the people with the young children. But but, but,
but it's not also it's not totally Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Sorry, I kicked the table.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
It's not totally focused on just young it's from birth
to adulthood. And because there's again, like you said, there's
different phases, there's different situations.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
That that families like us deal with.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean, embracing the diagnosis is one of those things
from the beginning. You know, some people are in denial
about their challenges or their child's challenges. But my goal
is has always been to enhance the quality of life
both families and individuals, you know, with the disabilities. And
(11:33):
that's part of the and there's a whole there's so much.
You know, as a mother, you know, I didn't know
anything about this space until I had my daughter. I
mean I didn't personally don't know anything about it. I
saw families I grew up with somebody who well I
didn't know them personally, but I used to observe them
when I was growing up.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
A family with a child with disabilities, and the mom
and she seemed to be a single mom. She seemed
like she had such a hard time.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And I gotta say, I used to pray with our
little girls said, please, don't ever let that happen to me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And God had a different plan, you know, And so
but don't you don't know what you.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Can do until you do it, until that challenge is there.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
And I've been blessed.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And you know, Seria has been nothing but a blessing
to me and for me because it brought out strengths
and talents and determination and all kinds of things I
didn't encourage.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I didn't know I had any of this stuff, you.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Know, But because I wanted to make sure my daughter
had what she needed to have and had the best
life possible. It came from nowhere. Obviously I had it,
but didn't know I had it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So I'm determined to use every gift and.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Talent God gave me to maximize her life and both
of our lives, not just her life. And that's one
of the things I'm hoping to do through all these
various projects when it comes to disability community. And you know,
I'm a journalist by trade, and you know, I'm a
public relations professional by trade, and sharing information and helping
people tell their stories is what I do and have
(13:13):
done for about forty years now, and so I'm hoping to.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Be able to do that through this book.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I'm hoping to be able to do it through the anthology,
the mythology.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And the course. And we have also another project that
we're going to be working.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
On that I'm excited about, which is going to be
a conference.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
On the water.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, so that's coming up in twenty twenty six. We've
got a little bit of time, but you know, I'm
excited about that, and it's geared to the same thing.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
You're you're one of the I'm having an event next
well around Mother's Day, and you are one of the
co hosts of that event.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And Mother's Day. As people who have viewed this show,
I talk about it a lot. Has always been a
challenge for me over the years.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Not so much now, but you know, when I'm older now,
but as when I was a young mother, and you know,
Sierra was a toddler and you know, a teenager and
different and she couldn't tell me what she felt or
how she felt. I know, my child loves me, but
at the same time, she couldn't express it. And then
(14:31):
you know, when my husband passed away, her dad, you
know who when he was here, he would do special
things on her behalf for me around Mother's Day, but
not everybody knows how to do that.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And he's been gone now sixteen years.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And so that's where this whole event that we're doing
that you're going to be co hosting the Exceptional Parents Celebration.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
It's for parents. It's start off of just for moms.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
But it's for dads too, because there's a lot of
day as out here who do a lot for their children.
They are totally they totally love their children and they're
there for their children in every capacity, and they don't
get the pendant they deserve. So I changed the name
from Exceptional Moms to Exceptional Parents, and so we celebrate
(15:18):
them and we you know, we invite people to come
and speak and uplifted and courage and you know, make
them feel appreciated.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And so that's what that's coming up next week.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
But you know, I'm excited about turning that intellectual conference, yes,
and that's what we're hoping to do in twenty twenty
six where we can bring in resource providers and people
to speak on the various issues that face our families
and how they can help them and you know, how
how we can do this as a community and maximize
(15:51):
the lives and potential and you know, help us all
to live the kind of lives we were meant to live,
which was in my opinion in what God is the
abundant life, you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Know, and you know we all want that.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You know, I want.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I don't like my daughter to miss out on anything,
and so I love traveling to begin with, and cruising
is one of our.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Favorite things to do. So we're hoping to encourage.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
And and and looking forward to inviting you know, as
many families as want to join us next year to
be a part of this, uh, this this cruise conference.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So you'll be hearing more about that as we go forward.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But you know, what else are you doing in some
of the other books and things that you're working on
as part of your media company, your media and your
publishing company.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Well, I'm really excited about the projects that we're doing,
which is the anthology, right so Celebrity Bossbooks dot Com,
Forward Slash, Disability, Hyphen Parents hyphen and Caregiving. Uh. That's
that's one of the main projects right now. That your
course and the cruise between Mothers and Father's Day of
twenty twenty six and twenty twenty seven. So the first
(17:03):
year is going to be here on land, and that's
going to be in a Lands of Georgia, which will
be next week, and then after that we'll be at
sea with speakers, with advocates, with celebrities speaking about you know,
very important topics with the ADA community. So with that
being said, just what you were saying about Sierra not
(17:25):
being able to express her love for you on Mother's Day,
especially with a highly commercialized holiday, she does express it.
She does express her love with you before you day
to day, especially today she ran over my toes. Yep,
that was a huge expression of love, right and me
(17:46):
trying to catch her what a site that was. But
with that and she's quick, and so with that being said, yeah,
we're really excited to be able to share those types
of stories, not only in the book but on the cruise.
And so I'm not excited about that. As far as
the other projects are concerned, we do have a global DEI,
which is the I, which is a diversity, equity and
(18:11):
right that's under attack right now, you know, citizens that's
under attack, that's being taken out of public places and
that includes our schools and so really to even speak
up you know about the dee I community. That's that's
that's been, you know, just you're just a bad you know,
(18:34):
place to be, especially you know when you have visible
if you will differences to whether whether it be physical
as a disability, or it be that you have a
different culture or different belief system, that we should all
want hope, peace and prosperity from another. It's it's the
differences between us. Is only the spice, right, It's only
(18:57):
the icing and the cake is all of us help together.
So I like the DEI Global Project one fun one
especially for Americans because we love our pets. Right for babies,
and this is for babies that not only do we
have with us in our company now, but for babies
that we've had, you know, in the past. And what
(19:19):
joy do they bring to us? How do we say goodbye?
Our dogs, you know, are again nonverbal of sorts, right,
they do barking, They.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Definitely expect themselves, right. I love dogs.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I do to my mind howls and yips and chirps
because she's a husky and so she has an entire language.
But unfortunately I lost one of my huskies, one of
her sister mates, and they used to talk to each
other all the time, and then now she doesn't have anyone.
So how do how do I get over the grief?
What are the things that we are doing together as
the remaining husky so that we can get over the
(19:54):
grief together. And it's great to write these stories down.
Rite how how our pets you know, really change our lives.
How they they give us, you know, emotional support. How
this four legged firm baby actually gets me from behind
my desk and out walking to make sure that I
have you know, physical exercise. And so this is really
important again, you know, looking at a community of pup
(20:17):
moms and pup dads and being able to tell the
stories because these are these are these are you know,
very important. They generally have short lives, maybe an average
of fifteen years. Yeah, and we want to make sure
that we again write their legacy and memorialize their stories.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
And I love the fact that these books could be
really you know, they'll be printed at some point and
then you know, make lovely coffee table books. And like
I call, I like to call it a literary legacy
because not everybody loves to write, not everybody have even
thought about putting their story in a book that can
(20:54):
focus on a specific area of their lives in a
collaborative way, you know, because I think this book is
going to catch a lot of attention in a very
positive way because of the diversity of stories that will
be a part of it. And like I said, it's
not just for the ones of us, those of us who.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Are parents, but spouses.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I know a lot of couples who have dealed dealing
with taking care of a spouse who's disabled in some way. Yes, yes, parents,
So that's it's it's it's a lot of different stories.
That That's why I called it disability Parenting and caregiving,
(21:36):
because the caregiving part is where the parents of you know,
if you're taking care of senior parents or if you're
taking care of a spouse, it's still part of the
whole part. It's still part of the whole story. So
we want to make sure we incorporate those stories too.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yes, I mean, it's it's it's it's really important. I'm
so proud of you. You know that you're leading the
way as far as this ability community is concerned. In
the United States. We have a lot of opportunities to
make sure that we can have accessibility for the disability community.
But I've gone to airports around the world. I travel
a lot, and I see no ramps. I see nothing there. Stairs,
(22:16):
I see people carrying, literally carrying their parents and their arms,
making up several flights to stairs, you know, to get
to another floor. So we're actually leading the way. I
have a lot of international and global collections, so what
starts here will be spread around the world. So my
job as a marketer and a publisher is to amplify
(22:39):
these stories. And what better way to teach than to storytell. Now,
on a separate note from what I understand, eighty one
percent of people have a book in them. You don't
have to write an entire book to be an accomplished,
published author that makes changes in the world through literary legacy. Right,
(22:59):
you can be part of a book. You can have
a story crafter like myself or Norma who will help
you craft your story and tell your story to the world.
You sign off on it, of course, and when you
sign off on it, it becomes yours. It is your story, right,
it is your experience, not ours, but your experience. But
we will help you tell your story, help you craft
your story. Help go strite your story and then distribute
(23:21):
your story to not only the national community, but the
international global community. So I have a lot of connections
with even libraries abroad, and there are a number of
events that are not only in the United States but
in other countries. So you will be an international an
international author, you know. Should you want to join with
us right.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
As a compiler, as an own anthology and collaborative book right,
And I think it's a great opportunity.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So where can people reach you?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
As we come it goes very quickly, unfortunately, from the
end of our time together. Where can people reach you
and learn more about what it is that you're doing
and some of.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
The projects you're working on that we're working on together.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Right? Well, the digital magazine is Celebrity Boss dot com,
So celebrity as in you know someone who's famous and
boss as in you know a boss, b O s
S dot com. But if you want to talk to
me personally, I have a landing page called Media Monetization
(24:24):
Strategist dot com. So that's emy d I a Media
Monetization m O N E t I z A t
I O N Strategist s t R A g E.
This is Strategist s T Strategist s T R A
(24:49):
G E T I s T dot com. So that's
how you contact me, Norma. Thank you so much for
this opportunity. Thank you for your mentorship. Thank you for
a light and glow upon the not only the disability community,
but all of the gifts that you share as a
public relations person and journalist. I'm grateful and that you
(25:12):
that you've selected me as your mentee and having me
on your show today. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well, I appreciate you, and I thank you for taking
some time out to be a part of our show
today and look forward to.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
You know, putting these projects together, getting them done and
going out there and making positive impact.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
So that's what we're all about. And so thank you
again for being a part of disability world today.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Okay, well, thank you doctor don Anderson. She's a good friend,
and you know, we're excited.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
About the work we're doing together.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
And I'm looking forward to really really making some positive
impact around the country and around the world with the
various things that we're doing.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And it's exciting, it's exciting.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
And another female owned busines this and you know, we
believe in keeping out keeping us uplifted and encouraged to
do what we have to do.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
So that's what we're about. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Again for being a part of Disability World this week,
and we look forward to bringing you some more amazing
people and more amazing stories in the segments coming in
the next few weeks, in the next few months, and
until then you'd be blessed.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Bye bye
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.