Tag Archives: author

“Follow your bliss” – Interview with Jill Weisenberger

Today’s feature interview is with Jill Weisenberger, dietitian, nutrition and diabetes expert, author, consultant, speaker, and spokesperson. I asked to interview Jill because I liked what she said in another interview: when asked about how she got into self-employed work, she replied, “Dreamed it and went for it.” Below, Jill shares her strategy for writing three books (and tackling other large projects), her four favorite foods, and the best advice she’s ever received.

Photo provided by and used with permission from Jill Weisenberger

Name and website:
Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDE, FAND, CHWC

Fun fact about you:
My four favorite foods are strong black coffee, dark chocolate, peanut butter and dry red wine. I like to say that if I didn’t have good portion control strategies, I’d be a hyperactive fat drunk.

Funner fact:
Most nights after dinner, I chase my dog and pretend to be one. It doesn’t matter how late it is or how tired I am, he rarely lets me escape this duty.

Funnest fact:
Other than eating a delicious, nutritious, home-prepared dinner, my favorite family activity is mountain biking.

What do you think has been essential to your success as an entrepreneur?
I am forward thinking and very organized. I am able to look at a project, divide it into multiple tasks, anticipate obstacles, brainstorm possible solutions and execute a well-designed but flexible plan. That’s how I had the stomach to write more books after my first, Diabetes Weight Loss-Week by Week.

What was something that surprised you about entrepreneurship?
It still amazes me just how many opportunities are out there for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. I feel as if I have multiple professions: nutrition counselor, coach, recipe developer, author, freelance writer, media spokesperson and on and on.

If you had to describe your blog/website in 6 words or less, what would you say?
Science-based, practical nutrition and health advice.

Who or what inspires you?
My Registered Dietitian Nutritionist colleagues have inspired me so much over the years because of their great accomplishments and career paths that have seemed to be out of the box. It is my husband, however, who has encouraged me and led me to believe that I can do nearly anything I want to do.

What is your all-time favorite bucket list item (of yours or someone else’s)?
Most items on my bucket list have to do with traveling, including some type of an African Safari. One big one is to participate in a culinary course in Italy, France or other European country.

If you aren’t doing anything related to your businesses, what are you doing in your free time?
Jogging, playing with my dogs, spending time with my daughters and husband.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your bliss.

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Readers: Join me in thanking Jill for sharing her time, stories, and advice with us! If you want to learn more about her, check out her website (which also has a blog with recipes, practical tips, and links to the usual social media sites).

Want more interviews like this? Leave a comment and let me know who you would like to see featured, and be sure to sign up to stay updated on all the latest posts!

“My writing is an expression of what I do with my life” – Interview with Ashish Joy

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Today’s interview is with Ashish Joy, an author, father, and youth pastor in Portland, Oregon. He shares his thoughts on writing (and the key to achieving a big goal), why people in general inspire him, and the best advice he’s ever received.

Photo provided by Ashish Joy – used with permission

Name and website: Ashish Joy

Fun fact about you:
I can tell you the make and model of 90% of cars on the road by memory (random I know, but something I picked up when I was a kid)

Funner fact:
I studied Computer Science for two years in college, before I made the switch to theology and pastoral ministry

Funnest fact:
I am a youth pastor who never thought I’d become a youth pastor. In Bible college, I was the last person you would expect to become a youth pastor.

What do you think has been essential to your success as an author?
My writing is an expression of what I do with my life. Whatever I write has to pass through me first. I write as a flawed human, changed by grace, and on the journey of continual growth. It has to be in me first, before I can preach, teach or write. My last book and even the one I’m currently working on, were birthed out of personal growth moments for me. I’m not really sure if that’s a recipe for success, but I know it lets me write with integrity and humility.

What was something that surprised you about writing?
How incredibly hard and deceptively easy it is… let me explain. When you look at a project it can seem overwhelming and gargantuan. If you stay there, you’ll probably never start anything. But then, when you look at the little pieces, and that it’s simply just you taking disciplined, focused time as often as possible, then the project doesn’t seem as hard. So writing is scary in that it can seem massive and impossible, but if you can switch your perspective, it’s also small baby steps that are very possible.

If you had to describe your latest project in 6 words or less, what would you say?
What does following Jesus look like? (a book I’m working on called Unfamiliar Territory)

Who or what inspires you?
People inspire me. I look at the obstacles and struggles that people all around me go through. The fact that people keep at it, overcome the worst life has to offer, and somehow find meaning and fulfillment. I am inspired by authentic people, who are at home in their vulnerability, but fearless in their tenacity to be more.

What is your all-time favorite bucket list item (of yours or someone else’s)?
Haha… I’d love to go sky diving, but I’m deathly afraid of heights, so not sure when this would ever happen.

If you aren’t doing anything related to writing, what are you doing in your free time?
Hanging with my family… my son Brennan is 2 years old, he’s so much fun. Play time with him is a highlight for me. We also just had baby girl. Her name is Adeline and she is so much fun.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t be so serious about life. Laugh at yourself, have fun, and be okay with pausing and enjoying life for what it is.

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Readers: Join me in thanking Ashish for sharing his time, stories, and advice with us! If you want to learn more about him, check out his website, which also has his links to the usual social media sites.

Want more interviews like this? Leave a comment and let me know who you would like to see featured, and be sure to sign up to stay updated on all the latest posts!

Interview with Lara Krupicka, family bucket list expert

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Photo provided by Lara Krupicka (larakrupicka.com) - Used with permission

Photo provided by Lara Krupicka – Used with permission

Lara Krupicka is a bucket list blogger specializing in family bucket lists. She is also an author and speaker who enjoys helping people “create lives full of meaningful family adventures.”

Her latest book, Bucket List Living for Moms: Become a More Adventurous Parent, “guides moms through the process of designing, implementing, and celebrating a list of how they want to spend their lives” and “offers reassurance and help as moms face the challenge of redefining themselves as people and mothers” (quotes taken from her website). Below, she shares interesting stories, her inspiration, and the best advice she’s ever received.

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Name and blog:
Lara Krupicka at larakrupicka.com – living the bucket list life

Fun fact about you:
I’m addicted to strategy games. A good weekend for me is when I can get my whole family to sit down for a game of Settlers of Catan or Ticket to Ride.

Funner fact:
I managed to get a back stage tour of the Lyric Opera in Chicago by striking up a conversation on a commuter train with the guy who ran the subtitles. It’s a pretty amazing place.

Funnest fact:
I once had a Russian friend take me through parts of Moscow where Americans aren’t welcome, with the warning that if I was asked, I was to say I was Estonian (I think because my command of the language wasn’t terrific).

What do you think has been essential to your success as a bucket list blogger?
Keeping it real. I’m just a suburban mom of three kids. No corporate sponsors. No special status to give me a leg up on bucket list living. And I try to convey that on my blog. When you’re a parent juggling all the responsibilities of that role, bucket list goals can seem illusive. But I’ve found that moms appreciate hearing about our adventures as an ordinary family, with the thought that maybe they can make their bucket lists happen too. [Editor note: To prevent the Typo Hunters from overrunning the comments: “illusive” is a real word, and is different from “elusive”]

What was something that surprised you about blogging?
I’ve been surprised at how much readers relate to the tough parts of life. It taught me that we all long to know we’re not alone in the challenges we face and the mistakes we make. So I have learned to share about both the good and the bad (although I try not to throw my family under the bus, which makes for a good editorial filter).

If you had to describe your blog in 6 words or less, what would you say?
Regular mom, bucket list life

Who or what inspires you?
People who have found a simple focus for their lives (that benefits others), and who don’t let themselves be taken off course from that focus. Author and speaker Bob Goff comes to mind. He’s so driven by one cause: love in action. And he brings himself fully to it, without apology or conceit. I want to be like that and I want to help others be that way too.

What is your all-time favorite bucket list item (of yours or someone else’s)?
My husband’s bucket list experience playing in the U.S. Disc Golf Championship (the equivalent of playing in the U.S. Open in golf). I loved the week I got to spend with him at the tournament. He’s an avid disc golfer, so it was over-the-top excitement: watching the top players in the world up close and behind the scenes, receiving the five-star treatment afforded to competitors, and watching my husband play in the tournament. Just knowing that this was a dream he had never imagined possible, now come true, made it an unforgettable experience.

If you weren’t doing anything related to your bucket list, what would you be doing in your free time?
I’m a crafter at heart, so I like to spend time in my craft space creating vinyl wall sayings for my kids’ rooms, making cards, and scrapbooking. I also like to read a lot.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow.”

I tend to project into the future and try to plan for every possibility – which is really a form of worrying and trying to control things. But I’m learning (still) that I am much happier when I let go of that control and just focus on what’s in front of me. That doesn’t mean I don’t dream for the future, I just trust that God will work things out according to His plan.

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Thanks, Lara, for sharing your time and thoughts with us!

Want to keep reading? You can read more about Lara, her lists, bucket list experiences, and her books on her website. On the site, she also offers links to her profiles on all the usual social media sites, book excerpts, and free resources and worksheets to help you live your bucket list life.

Who else do you want to see interviewed? If you have an inspiring person in mind, please let me know using the contact form or comments below.

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