“I used to have a neighbor who’d always say, ‘When you rest, you rust’. Well, I don’t ever want to rest and rust to the point where I can’t impact others.” ~ Tony Russell

Tony Russell was only four years old, in preschool, when his mother passed away. She had been having health issues but the suddenness caught everyone off guard. He transitioned through different family members, all doing their best to raise him, but the challenge proved too great and he was given up for adoption. Upon learning this news, Tony’s preschool teacher, Mrs. Russell went home to her military husband and said, “Tony Russell Senior, I know our kids are grown and out of the house and we thought we were done with raising kids, but we are adopting another one.” To which Tony Senior responded, “Yes Ma’am.”

Later in life, Tony followed in his adopted, and beloved, father’s footsteps and pursued a career in the military. While on an air force mission he was injured and died. You did not misread that, Tony Russell was pronounced dead and was deceased for a full 7 minutes before he, just, started breathing again.

Ultimately, staff sergeant Russell spent a month in a coma after the incident when, one day, as he tells it, he just woke up. He’s since experienced many forms of PTSD but his support dogs, Rush and Rip, help him live an active and vibrant life of kindness and appreciation.

A true miracle and a truly exceptional person, I can’t wait for you to hear Tony Russell’s story.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

My next guest and I run in some of the same circles. There’s a particular image of him that I can’t shake. It revolves around a group of us going out for a night of bowling. Everyone was dressed pretty much exactly how you’d expect someone who’s going bowling to dress, except for Kiley Naro. Nope, he showed up wearing a dress shirt, tie, and slacks, trading only his Oxfords for a pair of bowling shoes.

Being dressed up and looking sharp is indicative of Kiley’s drive for excellence. Kiley has been immersed in computer programming since he was a kid and found a way to nurture his passion into a successful career. Within the last decade, Kiley has found himself immersed in something else too, something that surprised him because he’d always held such a profound doubt of it: Religion. Now, faith guides him and this journey has rewritten the programming of his life, going so far as to call him to move to a state he had only ever read about in a book, South Dakota.

Not one to accept loneliness or stew about not knowing anybody in his new home, he joined a Toastmasters group. After a few short years, he was elected to serve not only as President of his club, but also Division Director in the same year. He now serves as Area 64 Director. He also landed a position lending his talents to a non-profit organization that inspires him deeply.

And I’m inspired too! By a friend who constantly steps up and strives for something greater. I trust you will be inspired too.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

I’ve always had great admiration for people who work in healthcare. Since my Dad is a kind and gifted neurologist, you could say I was born into this love for the medical field. This respect has only increased in recent years as I’ve studied more about the challenges that abound in healthcare. The skill and courage with which these challenges are met by teams of healthcare professionals on a daily basis is nothing short of miraculous. My awe and admiration were taken to new heights, pun perfectly intended, when I had a conversation recently with my next guest, Rob Freese.

Rob is a flight nurse, a registered nurse who transports patients to a medical facility on a helicopter or plane. In his 26 year career, he’s logged just over 2,600 flights. That translates to thousands of life saving efforts for patients who are critically injured or severely ill. In our chat, we discussed what he has learned about dealing effectively with crisis situations. In his line of work, he said working well as part of a team is absolutely essential, as is, the importance of debriefing and creating space for healing after a crisis.

I’m excited to interview Nurse Rob and explore these topics further. I’m also so curious to learn why he chose this challenging field and garner some lessons from his experience that we all might apply in our own lives. As with all my guests, I’m honored to celebrate the unique wisdom and perspective Rob Freese brings to the world.

“Most of us go around in life as if we’re not going to die, but we are not guaranteed 80 years. Knowing that I wasn’t going to have forever changed things.” ~ Leah Nixon

During what she calls her first life, Leah Nixon ran a half marathon, two full marathons, helped construct houses for Habitat For Humanity and generally built up a tolerance for doing tough things, and had just started making greeting cards with her sister.

Then an accident on a construction site on August 14, 2018, changed things. A telehandler slipped in the mud and fell over, crushing Leah beneath it. It took firefighters 45 minutes to free her. The accident left Leah’s lower body paralyzed but by some miracle she retained the use of her hands.

While in the hospital, Leah received an unexpected form of medicine: greeting cards. Receiving cards helped Leah “get past the trauma” of what had happened to her and shift her to focus to what might still be possible for her. Wanting to pay this immense healing she experienced from the cards forward, Leah called upon her experience in oil painting and illustration to test her hands and see if she could still draw. The answer was a resounding, Yes!

Now in her second life, Leah uses her talents to create some of the most beautiful and moving greeting cards I’ve ever seen for Tiny and Snail, a greeting card business she runs with her sister, Grace. “We are obsessed with using the magical invention of the Postal Service to infuse love into people’s days. In an age of technology, snail mail isn’t just a novelty—it’s powerful:”

Leah grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota and is proud to be living her second life there with her husband and children, with her parents close by.

Leah’s perspective on life is engaging, optimistic, and empathic. She has put this perspective into action that is now rippling out into the world.

As life progresses, there are undoubtedly going to be changes in store for each and everyone of us. May we embrace these changes with Leah’s determination, joy, and vision.

Visit Tiny and Snail here: https://tinyandsnail.com/

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

After growing up in Chicago and attending Northern Illinois University for art, the promise of surfing and warm Januarys gave Alex Rennie all the inspiration he needed to trade the frigid-howling-wind winters of the Windy City for San Diego, California palm trees and beaches. Once there, he continued his work in graphic design and branding, mastered video production and editing, and nurtured his passion for cartooning. He also engineered Project ABLE: Anti-Bullying Leadership Experience; an interactive empowerment workshop for kids. Alex had found his place. He had found his people. He was settled and happy. That is until a new friend whom Alex met at a premiere networking event invited him to attend a workshop…

And his plans quite suddenly changed.

You see, Alex discovered that he was not only passionate about the content of that workshop but WHO he met there. Love was in the air. He had found his person and soon was hearing wedding bells. There was only one catch to this exceedingly romantic story…this amazing woman didn’t live in San Diego, where Alex felt so at home, nor did she even live in the same state. She lived a bit north, well actually more than a bit… She lived in a whole different country north. In two words, she lived in Calgary, Canada.

And so, as only love would allow it, Alex traded the ocean for the mountains. Instead of surfing, he delights in horseback rides these days, often with his wife, the love of his life, at his side. In Canada, he embraced cartooning full on, partnering with Frank Hildebrandt to create “Abnormalville,”a series of super funny one panel cartoons.

Alex’s story reminds me that just because life changes doesn’t mean we have to pine after the past, we can embrace fresh adventures and learn to let our heart be our guide.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“It is a simple and profound act of faith to venture forth into the unknown; art is an act of faith. It is the search, the process and adventure, the battle well fought on that terrible field of white canvas, the journey that is art, as much or more than the destination, which matters. Art matters.” ~ Mark Zimmerman

Mushrooms suddenly became a big part of Mark Zimmerman’s life this past summer . . .

Painting mushrooms that is.

Now, if you’re wondering how someone with a MFA in painting from Illinois State University and who was the former executive director of The Arts Center in Jamestown, ND lands on mushrooms as his muse, well then, you have to understand the power of place and how it can intersect with the creative process. Mark deeply values and learns a great deal from the land he and his wife, who is also an artist, live on and steward in the Black Hills. It’s the land that fuels his art and his ongoing process of discovery. As he says of his current subject, “I knew I’m going to draw a mushroom and I don’t know how yet.”

In addition to being an artist and a lover of place, Mark is also a poet and passionate art instructor. I’m excited to talk with him about how the power of place intersects with his own creative process and what lessons he’s learned from sharing his craft with others.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“You have to get to the child’s level by making yourself the best toy in the room.”

~ Kristin Wittmayer

Can profound healing, skill development, and positive change happen through play?

In my youth, I sometimes viewed playtime as a reward for something far less exciting, as in “Clean your room, then you can play with your friends,” or “Finish your homework, then you can play outside until supper”. Even as an adult, the logic lingers: play is a well deserved prize for hard work.

But could play also be a vehicle for helping children (and adults) grow, and accomplish things that are important to their development?

These are the questions and ideas I’ve been pondering after my visit with Kristin Wittmayer at MoveU. Kristin is an occupational therapist who works alongside another OT, physical therapist, and speech therapist at MoveU. The team has the same goal in mind: making social connections, problem solving, confidence, skill development and joyfulness available to children through multisensory play. Kristin firmly believes that if you don’t make therapy fun, you run the risk of kids not wanting to participate in it and as such, increased difficulty in facilitating change and lasting impact. She talks about therapy as an artform and MoveU as the canvas where therapists and clients get to create their masterpieces.

I’m excited to talk with Kristin and explore how we each can reach new heights in our own lives through a little more playtime.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“You’ve got to make the most of where you are, make connections and friendships wherever you are. Even in a small town with not a lot of opportunities, you can still make your own opportunities and go on to do what you want to do.” ~ Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson’s upbringing embodies the definition of idyllic small town life in such a way that you’d swear it couldn’t possibly exist outside of a Hallmark movie. He grew up in Canistota, South Dakota just as his parents had and his grandparents before them. Zach knew everybody in town, he felt he could go wherever he wanted in the community. He played most of the sports offered by his high school, including baseball, football, track and golf. There were 25 students in his high school’s graduating class, the majority of whom he’d known since they were in daycare together. His Dad owned the newspaper on Main Street and his grandparents farmed just outside of town. Zach worked his way from life guard to pool manager at the local swimming pool. “I thought I had all the opportunities I needed.” he says, reflecting on his upbringing. But of course, there often comes a time when the boy outgrows the town he grew up in.

And he did, but Zach took every small town skill and experience he had with him as he set out into the world and built a successful career in a much larger city. Today, he is happily married and a father of his own, doing his best to impart same small town values to his son.

But none of us get to live a perfect, challenge-free life. For Zach, the hardest obstacle came when his mom passed away after a battle with cancer last March. Of his mom, he says, “If you refer to life as a test, she had all the answers. She was the cheat code. She was the one I went to for anything that was difficult or hard. I referred to her as a superhero when I wrote for the newspaper in 7th grade and I still feel that way today. She had high expectations and I continue to try to make her proud.”

I look forward to my talk with Zach, we’ll discuss the joys of small town living and also explore the challenges that life sends our way.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com