Back to Blogging!

It’s been a long absence, but I’m back to blogging here! My site was attacked by a nasty malware and it took quite some time to clean it up and get it functioning again.  Meanwhile, I did my blogging over at ChicagoNow, where one of my posts went viral: Harry Styles Signs to Deaf Fans at a One Direction Concert.  Yes, a simple post about a One Direction concert hit the number two spot on ChicagoNow at one point.  My daughter ended up in M magazine as a result of her own guest post on ChicagoNow: Signing with Harry Styles at a One Direction Concert. 

Back in January, I started a speaking business and I have been traveling all over the U.S. speaking to schools, businesses, and organizations.  I absolutely love it!  This year alone, I have spoken in Florida, Maine, New York, California, Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, South Dakota, Indiana, and Colorado.  I can’t wait to see what next year brings!  If your school, business, or organization would like me to speak, email me at karen (at) karenputz.com. For more information about my speaking topics or how I can serve your speaking needs:  Karen Putz Speaking.  I speak frequently on the topics of overcoming adversity, parenting, and of course, PASSION!  I’m a Passion Coach who helps others unwrap their top five passions.

Of course, I’ve been spending a lot of time enjoying my passion of barefoot water skiing this summer.  The sport has brought me many new friends and allowed me to barefoot in so many new places.  I unwrapped my passion for the sport just four years ago when the hubby sent me a link to this TODAY Show which changed my life:  66-Year-Old Judy Myers Barefooting.  In March of 2010, I went down to the World Barefoot Center for the first time and life has never been the same since!  I’m proud to be a part of the World Barefoot Center staff and a contributing writer to WaterSki and Water Skier magazines.  Joseph Campbell was right– he said, “If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.”

Over the summer, I also released a new book, The Passionate Lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People.  The book features 22 deaf and hard of hearing people in all kinds of professions, hobbies, and sports.  I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to cross paths with many amazing deaf and hard of hearing people all over the world and I wanted to share this with parents of deaf and hard of hearing kids as well as deaf and hard of hearing teens and adults.  This book is the first in a series–stay tuned for more!

And… if you’re at the store, grab a copy of the October issue of O Magazine and you’ll find a little blurb from me on page 22.  This is the third time I’ve been in O Magazine and I’d love to see a full-fledged article in there next!

Here’s a few more interviews and blurbs from over the summer:

Putting Your Feet Back on the Water — The Shut Up Show

Helping Others Help Themselves — Healthy Hearing

The Parenting Journey — Book Review