Episodios

  • 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: Wealth Is More Often Kindness Than Money

    60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: Wealth Is More Often Kindness Than Money
    Dec 3 2025

    Hello to you listening wherever your feet touch the ground.

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (& a bit more) for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    Maybe like me you see us careening to the end of 2025 and wondering WTF how we’ve been living and what, if anything can we change for the better? The following several paragraphs entitled, A Few Final Thoughts, are excerpted from Warren Buffet’s Final Shareholder Letter dated 10th November 2025.

    Click HERE to access the entire letter published as a pdf on the Berkshire Hathaway website.

    “One perhaps self-serving observation. I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first. My advice: Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them.

    Remember Alfred Nobel, later of Nobel Prize fame, who – reportedly – read his own obituary that was mistakenly printed when his brother died and a newspaper got mixed up. He was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior.

    Don’t count on a newsroom mix-up: Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.

    Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior.

    I write this as one who has been thoughtless countless times and made many mistakes but also became very lucky in learning from some wonderful friends how to behave better (still a long way from perfect, however). Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.

    Prompt: What do you make of the notion that greatness is defined not by wealth or power, but by the kindness and help we offer to others in everyday situations? Can you share a personal story that illustrates a moment when you realized a need for change in your behavior, similar to Alfred Nobel's realizations after reading his premature obituary? What helps you live each day in a way that aligns with the values and legacy you'd wish to be remembered for?”

    A Few Final Thoughts is excerpted from Final Shareholder Letter by Warren Buffet dated 11-10-25

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    5 m
  • 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Fishhooks McCarthy Was a Corrupt Politician & Praying Man

    60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Fishhooks McCarthy Was a Corrupt Politician & Praying Man
    Dec 1 2025

    Hello to you listening in McHenry, Illinois!

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    Maybe it’s true and maybe it isn’t but once there was a corrupt politician in the 1920's named John A. McCarthy; but he was known as Fishhooks McCarthy. He lived and worked on the Lower East Side of New York City. Being a devout man every morning he stopped at a little Catholic Church, St. James Church on Olive Street, to pray. Same prayer every day: “O Lord, give me health and strength. We’ll steal the rest.”

    Fishhooks sounds like one of those politicians you shouldn’t trust; but people remembered him as a Robin Hood who used graft and corruption to redistribute money to his unemployed and working class poor constituents.

    Let me be very clear! I am not advocating for theft, bribery, corruption, immorality, stepping outside the law, and all the rest. We have more than enough of that with the Trump/MAGA Regime. What I am saying is that in these historic times we have once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to examine our core values, our moral code, and ask ourselves: what do I stand for and what won’t I stand for?

    Question: While you have health and strength what can you do to be of good use?

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    3 m
  • 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday: Shall We Shop or Call On the Old Stories?

    60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday: Shall We Shop or Call On the Old Stories?
    Nov 28 2025
    Hello to you listening in Brittany, France!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.As a storyteller for some 30 years now I can say this: when life is upside down and backward we call on the old stories. The old stories of who we are and where we came from ground us in the truth of the origins we might forget when distracted by shiny things, especially at this time of year.Shopping [by Faith Shearin]"My husband and I stood together in the new mallwhich was clean and white and full of possibility.We were poor so we liked to walk through the storessince this was like walking through our dreams.In one we admired coffee makers, blue potterybowls, toaster ovens as big as televisions. In another, we eased into a leather couch and imaginedcocktails in a room overlooking the sea. When wesniffed scented candles we saw our future faces,softly lit, over a dinner of pasta and wine. Whenwe touched thick bathrobes we saw midnight swims and bathtubs so vast they might bemistaken for lakes. My husband's glasses hurthis face and his shoes were full of holes.There was a space in our living room wherea couch should have been. We longed for fancy shower curtains, flannel sheets,shiny silverware, expensive winter coats.Sometimes, at night, we sat up and made lists.We pressed our heads together and wroteour wants all over torn notebook pages.Nearly everyone we loved was alive and we were in love but we liked wanting. Nothingwas ever as nice when we brought it home.The objects in stores looked best in stores.The stores were possible futures and, youngand poor, we went shopping. It was nicethen: we didn't know we already had everything.""Shopping" by Faith Shearin, from The Owl Question. © Utah State University Press, 2002.My mother always told us that we were rich we just didn’t have a lot of money. When money was even tighter we weren’t poor; we were just broke. Mom was right. The shiny things have come and gone but the richness of the stories - who I am, where I came from - those remain close to heart.“We Ain’t Buying It!” is a nationwide movement to pause shopping from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday with major corporations that are enabling the administration's lawlessness: Target, Home Depot & Amazon. Click HERE to learn more.Story Prompt: If you had one wish, what story would you most like to hear again; what would it say to you; what remarkable bit of contentment would it provide? Write that story and tell it out loud! You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    4 m
  • 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: What Is Good and Nourishing in Your Life Right Now?

    60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: What Is Good and Nourishing in Your Life Right Now?
    Nov 26 2025

    Hello to you listening in Sumner, Washington!

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    Over a three-day period, almost 200 volunteers lend their time to prepare upwards of 700 free Thanksgiving Turkey Dinners with all the trimmings. This will be my 8th year as a Mobile Turkey Unit volunteer. Together we slice and box pumpkin pies, peel mountains of potatoes, scoop buckets of cranberry relish, carve hundreds of pounds of freshly roasted turkeys, stir vats of stuffing, and bag rolls, butter, napkins, utensils, and coffee. On Thanksgiving morning I’ll be a delivery driver bringing some of those free Thanksgiving dinners to folks on the Island who otherwise might not have one.

    This nonprofit community event was founded in 1999 by Tom Arhontas, who had a special place in his heart for people in need. Mobile Turkey Unit volunteers have been feeding Whidbey Islanders a free Thanksgiving dinner ever since.

    Click HERE to check out the story, photos and videos of what we do and how we do it here on our Island.

    Question: What is good and nourishing in your life right now?

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    3 m
  • 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail With Keith McNally & Ashley the Trail Dog

    60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail With Keith McNally & Ashley the Trail Dog
    Nov 24 2025
    Hello to you listening in Suffolk, Virginia!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (and a bit more for an important story) for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Each one of us - if we’re determined - finds a way to compost the regrets, poor decisions, failures, shames and blames that are part and parcel of living life into something almost beyond description: personal transformation. My long time friend, podcasting colleague, disabled military vet, and avid hiker, Keith McNally, is a man finding his path to transformation.His goal? Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail beginning on March 29, 2026, crossing 14 states on the East Coast and finishing 2,197 miles 5 months later. Some of the challenges include constant rough terrain with difficult footing, a series of steep grades, climbs and descents, as well as river crossings balanced on logs, extreme weather, insects, and rock scrambles using hands for climbing. The elevation profile of the AT over its length is akin to summiting Mount Everest from sea level and back approximately 16 times. So yes, physical fitness is a must to take on the AT; but it is mental fortitude and the ability to adapt to unforseen challenges that is key to finishing the hike.Keith’s journey will be a test of perseverance, a tribute to the beauty of the natural world, and an opportunity for personal growth. Even more importantly, Keith is setting the groundwork for a non-profit foundation to help military veterans find their own Trails to Transformation. This first hike is just the beginning. But here’s something else. Keith is not walking alone. He has also been steadfastly training an indefatigable Aussie cattle dog he named Ashley after rescuing her from a shelter. Click HERE to watch a short video entitled: Introduction to Ashley - Trail Partner and Training CompanionAs you can imagine, an expedition like this one does not come cheap. I know money is dear. And, here I am asking you to please reach deep into your pocket to give what you are able to Keith & Ashley’s GoFundMe project. On the GoFundMe site you’ll find all the details as well as a punch list of expenses so you can see where your contributions will go. Click HERE to access Keith’s GoFundMe, add what you can, and invite others to be part of the mission. I did! If you are curious about keeping up with Keith’s training, stories, photos and more, click HERE to access his overwhelmingly popular newsletter published on Tuesdays on LinkedIn [Keith J. McNally | LinkedIn]Thank you for listening and giving a hand up because Each One Lift One is the way we roll hereYou're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    5 m
  • 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday: The Beauty of Us

    60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday: The Beauty of Us
    Nov 21 2025

    Hello to you listening in Shallotte, North Carolina!

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    The Witch of Whidbey has been walking in the autumn-drenched fields and forests, some leaves not yet ready to let go of their branches, scattered clouds, hints of rain on the horizon, wood fires holding at bay the Pacific Northwest chill, and, (as if we could ever forget) the fast-approaching Holidazed nipping at our heels.

    Gazing at the landscape brought to mind two lines from the poem, Three in Transition, by David Ignatow. [American poet, author, editor] wrote:

    “I wish I understood the beauty in leaves falling.

    To whom are we beautiful as we go?”

    As we open the door to this ThankfulGiving Season, let’s step in, pause, look deeply at friends, loved ones, and colleagues gathered together, and in that moment reflect on their beauty as they come and go in our lives.

    Story Prompt: What do you see in them? What might they see in you? Write that story. Tell it out loud!

    Click HERE to read an analysis of Three in Transition by David Ignatow

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    3 m
  • 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: What’s Better Than Food & Music? Community Benefit Concert Sat 22nd November 2 pm

    60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: What’s Better Than Food & Music? Community Benefit Concert Sat 22nd November 2 pm
    Nov 19 2025

    Hello to you listening all over Whidbey Island and wherever your feet touch the ground.

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    What’s better than Food & Music is the Whidbey Rising Benefit Concert! Join us as a brilliant array of musicians and performers from across Whidbey Island come together for a benefit concert to feed our island community.

    Money raised will go to the Whidbey Food Resilience Fund, administered by the Whidbey Community Foundation. Funds will be shared across the island through rapid, equitable grants to food banks, meal programs, and other community-based organizations, ensuring that Whidbey residents have reliable access to nutritious food during the holiday season and beyond.

    DETAILS below AND on our Indivisible Whidbey website:

    When: Saturday November 22, 2025

    Time: 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 1:30

    Where: Coupeville High School's Performing Arts Center

    NOTE: Please arrive early to ensure a seat. RSVP on Mobilize is for crowd size planning; seating will be First Come First Served.

    Click HERE to check out the amazing list of performers and make an early immediate donation! You are welcome to pay what you are able. Every dollar counts!

    Click HERE to RSVP on Mobilize; but be sure to arrive early to get a First Come First Served seat for what is sure to be a sold out event!

    See you there and see you then!

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    3 m
  • 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Don’t Toss Out Your Moldy Bread Just Yet!

    60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Don’t Toss Out Your Moldy Bread Just Yet!
    Nov 17 2025

    Hello to you listening in Sayville, New York!

    Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

    The other day I was talking with my longtime friends, colleagues and brainstormers, Tania and Leanne, about times when we set out to achieve X but an unintended, better-than-expected Y happened. You know what I mean: the mystery of unintended consequences that turns out to be amazing!

    Here’s one: The Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming was working on a project on Staphylococcus bacteria at St. Mary's Hospital in London. He took off on vacation leaving behind an uncovered petri dish of bacteria. When he returned he saw a blue-green mold (like what you might find growing on bread exposed to moisture) growing on the dish and that the Staph bacteria were being killed in the area of the mold. Fleming - knowing a good thing when he saw one - identified the mold as the fungus penicillin notatum, and Shazaam! developed penicillin as an antibiotic. Fleming’s unintended discovery of penicillin revolutionized the treatment of infections.

    Click HERE to learn more about the Discovery and Development of Penicillin 1928-1945

    Now, as to the moldy bread in your kitchen. Yes, penicillin is an antibiotic produced by a fungus called Penicillium notatum. Yes, this fungus is commonly found on moldy bread. Yes, when the fungus grows on bread, it releases penicillin into the surrounding environment.

    Let me caution you! Not all moldy bread contains penicillin. Moreover, eating moldy bread is a very big “No! No!” as it can contain harmful substances. Having said that think twice before you toss out what might be an unintended answer to a problem.

    Question: When did you set out to achieve X but an unintended Y turned out to be what you were looking for? What happened next?

    You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

    Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

    Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

    Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

    ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.
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    3 m