Startup Whisperer, Let Them Play, Bibliotherapy, Raising a Reader, Activating Your Imagination, Mini Book Club, Family Literacy

Startup Whisperer (0:00:00) It’s a dream that’s been in the back of your mind for years, but your stable job and feeding your family seem to get in the way of starting your own business. But what if you were able to make your dream a reality?  Dr. Okasana Malysheva and Joe Merrill are the co-founders of Sputnik ATX and their mission is to fund and mentor other entrepreneurs who might never have access to the capital they need to get their companies off the ground otherwise. Let Them Play (0:16:25) Parent’s all want the same things for their kids—don’t they? We want them to be successful, happy, well adjusted—all that jazz. But what can we do to make sure that our kids get there? It might not be the first thing you think of when you’re worrying about your child’s development, but playtime is really so important for young minds. Here to tell us a little more about why that is and how we can make sure we’re encouraging good, productive playtime for our kids is Dr. Magdalena Battles, author of Let Them Play! The Importance of Play and 100 Child Development Activities. Bibliotherapy (0:30:51) I think everyone needs therapy at some point in their lives, and therapeutic experiences can come to us in many different shapes and forms. Today, we’re talking about a type of therapy that’s a little out of the box. Instead of laying on a couch and spilling your feelings to a doctor, can you gain therapy and healing from laying on a couch with your favorite book? Here to tell us more about the practice of bibliotherapy is Nancy Knapp professor and co-author of The Psychology of Reading: Theory and Applications.  Raising a Reader (0:49:22) There’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book. There’s nothing quite like just being able to be totally immersed in a story, is there? As parents, of course we want our kids to enjoy this experience as well. But what can we do if our kids just don’t seem that interested in reading? Here to help us learn how we can raise readers is Janssen Bradshaw, former children’s librarian, founder of Everyday Reading and a free course on Raising a Reader. Activating Your Imagination (1:03:10) Imagination is something that is encouraged in children, but often forgotten in adulthood. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” So maybe it’s time to tune into our childhood selves and figure out how to activate our imaginations. Scott Jeffrey helps successful people access their higher potential. He wrote an article about accessing the imagination that caught our attention, so we invited him on the show to discuss how we, as adults, can access our imaginations. Mini Book Club (1:19:03) Rachel Wadham, host of Worlds Awaiting, shares the best books to give as gifts. Family Literacy (1:27:44) What if you weren’t able to complete a job application, understand important food labels, or even read to your child? About half of the United States adult population possesses literacy skills that are described as “challenged” and find these everyday tasks difficult to complete. We live in such a literacy-based world that we thought this issue was important to bring up. In 2002, Michelle and David Baldacci started the Wish You Well Foundation – a non-profit organization with the mission of supporting family literacy in the United States. We’re joined by David to talk about it.