Better Place Project with Steve Norris

Every Mother Counts (EMC) founder Christy Turlington Burns’ work in maternal health began after experiencing a childbirth related complication in 2003—an experience that would later inspire her to direct and produce the documentary feature film, No Woman, No Cry, about the challenges women face throughout pregnancy and childbirth around the world. Under Christy’s leadership, Every Mother Counts has invested nearly $21 million in programs in Africa, Central America and Caribbean, South Asia and the United States focused on making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere. Before founding Every Mother Counts, Christy received international acclaim as a model representing the world’s biggest fashion and beauty brands. She was the Founder of Nuala, a yoga lifestyle brand in partnership with Puma, co-founder of Sundari, a skincare based on the principals of Ayurveda, and author of the bestselling book, Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice.Christy has been featured on thousands of magazine covers, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, and among Glamour Magazine’s 2013 Women of the Year. In March 2016, EMC was recognized as one of Fast Company magazine’s Top 10 Most Innovative Not-For-Profit Companies.In this episode, we chat with Christy about her childhood growing up in Northern California, a middle child raised by an Airline Pilot father and flight attendant mother from El Salvador.  She talks openly about her experience on that fateful day that changed the course of her life forever. We chat about the problems in maternal healthcare worldwide and here in the US, where a woman is twice as likely to die in childbirth now as her mother was decades ago.  We discuss the disturbing disparities in mortality rates in childbirth between women of color and white women, and why that is, as well as the amazing work that Every Mother Counts is doing in order to bring about change around the world.To make a donation to EMC, or to learn more about their work, please visit:EveryMotherCounts.orgTo send a quick email in support of the Build Better Act (discussed in this episode), which includes policies that improve maternal health and equity, please go to https://p2a.co/eydcbjcTo learn more about pregnancy, and postpartum during the time of COVID-19, please visit justbirthspace.org To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

CNN Hero Woody Faircloth is the founder of EmergencyRV.org, initially established in response to the massive and deadly November 2018 Campfire, which decimated the entire town of Paradise, California and left more than 50,000 residents traumatized and displaced.  It was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history and the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018 in terms of insured losses.  For Faircloth and his then six-year-old daughter Luna, watching events unfold on television from Denver was not enough. Determined to help, the father and daughter set out to raise funds to purchase an RV and deliver it by Thanksgiving to a family in need.Word of their kind act spread quickly and within days, press requests, RV donations, offers of legal services, and funds poured in. Before the Faircloth’s knew it, they were delivering another RV and then another. Since then, EmergencyRV has helped hundreds of victims and expanded its mission to help many more victims of wildfire and other natural disasters.For more information, and/or to donate or volunteer, please visit: EmergencyRV.orgTo stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Steve and Erin cover a variety of topics, starting with an update on the Paul Rusesabagina (The real-life hero of the movie “Hotel Rwanda") kidnapping and trial, and Steve does a deep dive on the  David Attenborough documentary “The Year Earth Changed,” which covers the many fascinating ways the pandemic has actually benefitted wildlife around the world. They then discuss challenges that they are encountering as they try to implement some of the things they’ve learned from guests on the show.  They chat about the difficulties in tackling forgiveness, the importance of practicing positive self-talk, of surrounding ourselves with positive people,  and making the difficult decision of cutting someone out of your life, and establishing boundaries. Steve tells a story about an encounter with a person experiencing homelessness, and how he still is learning and adapting, which leads to a discussion about the importance of empathy for our fellow humans. After Erin mentions that unplugging from technology and being present has been a big challenge for her, they talk about how they’ve learned the important lesson that making the world a better place does not necessarily just mean doing kind deeds for others.  It is just as important to focus on improving our own mental health, our own worldview, our own happiness, living a live of gratitude and kindness, living our truth, living an authentic, joyful and fulfilled life.  By doing these things, we are well on our way to helping make the world a better place. To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com 

Robin Parrish is the Co-Founder of Ecstatic Dance LA where he has facilitated hundreds of events for thousands of participants encouraging self-expression, holistic wellness, and personal transformation through embodiment practices and community building experiences. He has built a community around the Ecstatic Dance movement, which is now world wide, and is also a frequent musical artist for the dance floor utilizing his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, percussion and DJ curating music for the Ecstatic Dance and transformational dance floor. He’s an avid educator, event producer, meditation guide, and coach; and bridges healing arts, self-development and music therapy - for community, corporate and performance art settings. Episode Links:https://www.ecstaticdancela.com/https://dharmacreationinstitute.com/To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, we speak with Freddie about the power of music in our lives and his passion for playing musical last wishes;  singing and playing his guitar for those who are dying.FREDDIE FULLER, also known as the “The Singing Cowboy,” is a singer, songwriter, musician and storyteller.  For decades, Freddie has performed before thousands at various functions, from house concerts to larger venues such as the famous Broken Spoke. Freddie entertained the troops in Iraq at the request of the commanding General.  As told by Reader's Digest, Freddie is also a frequent performer for Swan Songs, a non-profit that brings the gift of song to people at the end of life.  Freddie created and has performed his “History of Texas Cowboy 1850-1900” educational programs to hundreds of public schools and colleges.  No stranger to the stage, Freddie has performed musical theater and appeared on local and national television and radio.  He was one of the recently featured performers at The Bastrop Farm Street Opry.   For more information, please visit www.thesingingcowboy.nethttps://www.rd.com/article/cowboy-plays-music-for-dying/To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

Caroline Rose is a forty-three-year-old mom, wife, dog-lover, wine-loving, hope holding, three-time stage 4 cancer thriver. After being told there was no hope and that her cancer would eventually come back to take her life, Caroline did the only thing she knew to do; she took each day as it came and endured the brutal cancer treatments one by one. And then, one day, in the most unexpected of ways, hope came back to Caroline in the form of a young rescue dog named Riley Rose. And once she found her rediscovered hope in life, Caroline knew she was ready to grab on and never, ever let go.Today, Caroline is enjoying her tenth year of living cancer-free. She travels the country speaking to approximately ten to fifteen thousand people each year. Her message of hope resonates universally, especially today. Since July of 2020, Caroline’s website traffic has increased by 884%. She is a highly requested podcast guest, and her blogs have gained up to 102,000 monthly viewers on Pinterest alone. The world is craving hope, and Caroline is happy to be the one to provide it.Today, Caroline is married lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her two human children and her two four-legged fur babies. She spends her non-mom time on various cancer boards and volunteering with the local dog rescue. Caroline remains passionate about spreading hope and giving back to those who are still searching for their hopeful ever after.For more information, please visit: https://dearrileyrose.com/To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProjTo follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial@ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

At the end of every episode, Steve and Erin ask each guest "What advice do you have for us and our listeners on how we can help make the world a better place?" In this inspiring WOW (Words Of Wisdom) episode, they revisit and play back past guests' answers to this question,  Hear perspectives and advice from world-renowned thought-leaders, mental health experts, scientists, psychiatrists, best-selling authors and more!Here from Azim Khamisa, Missy Bellinger, Dr. Chloe Carmichael, Dr. Rich Blundell, Terence Lester, Dr. Christian Heim, Dai Manuel, Christian De La Huerta, Zach Correa, Eric Winters, and Dr. Shad Helmstetter. To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj  To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial @ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast Twitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com

 In this 2nd Special Edition of Better Place Badasses Steve & Erin each select 5 special people from around the world and trade off stories about these inspirational badasses that are making the world a better place.  Included in the episode are Alex Stephany (Founder and CEO of Beam.org), Sikander Bizenjo (founder of Balochistan Youth Against Corona), Selah Thompson (8 year-old founder of empoweredreaders.org), Leng Ouch (Cambodian Environmental Activist), Simone Biles (Olympic Gymnast), Rock star Jon Bon Jovi (JBJ Soul Foundation - https://jbjsf.org/), Denny Ying (Raising awareness for military veteran suicide prevention and mental health), Carmen Carcelén (Ecuadorian fruit vendor who has provided refuge for 10,000 Venezuelans), Erica Cole (Founder of http://no-limbits.com), and David Attenborough (Broadcaster, historian and teacher of the wonders of the world - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394).  To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj  To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:@SteveNorrisOfficial @ErinorrisFacebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcastTwitter: @BetterPlaceProjEmail: BetterPlaceProjectPodcast@gmail.com