Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: deaf

  • The Best Podcasts with Transcripts

    The Best Podcasts with Transcripts

    Want to increase your audience for your podcast?

    Here’s how: provide a transcript.

    With millions of deaf and hard of hearing people out there–you’ll reach an untapped market if you provide access to your audio material. Transcripts also impact SEO–making your website more attractive in searches.

    Here are some popular podcasts which provide transcripts:

    Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn

    Pat was one of the early leaders with transcripts. He covers a variety of topics with well-known leaders in social media.

    The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes

    Lewis has recently added transcripts to his newer podcasts. Lewis interviews a variety of people on the topics of self-improvement, mind mastery, and business. Lewis also provides interpreters for his events.

     

    Eventual Millionaire with Jaime Masters

    Jaime Masters has been providing transcripts for awhile now–she was one of the early leaders. Jaime attended Rochester Institute of Technology, which has over a thousand deaf and hard of hearing students so she knows the impact of providing access. Jaime interviews various millionaires and shows ways you can create your first million.

    The Miracle Morning with Hal Elrod

    I had the opportunity to met Hal at a Passion Summit–he’s the real deal. Friendly and open, he genuinely wants to help you succeed. Hal’s interviews cover a variety of topics, from self-help to personal stories.

    This is Your Life with Michael Hyatt

    I met Michael Hyatt while visiting Dave Ramsey at Financial Peace University. Michael is another early adopter–he was providing transcripts from the beginning of his podcasts. Michael covers topics such as leadership, running a small business, and marriage.

    The Mindvalley Podcast with Vishen Lakhiani  

    I stumbled upon this podcast through a Facebook post and when I went searching for transcripts, I found them in just seventeen of their podcasts. The interviews are worth it. Check them out. Then let them know you want more transcripts!

     

    TED Radio Hour Podcast with Guy Raz

    If you love TED Talks, you’ll love the TED Radio Hour. The topics are deep and the people are profound.

    The Tim Ferriss Show

    Not every show has a transcript, but I’ve included the link to all the ones that do. Tim Ferriss is the master of the Four-Hour Work Week. Every possible topic is found on this show and if you’re an entrepreneur, this is a must read.

    How about you–what are some of your favorite podcasts with transcripts? Leave a comment below and share the ones I’ve missed.

     

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. She is the author of Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want. 

  • An Adoption Story: A Deaf Brother

    An Adoption Story: A Deaf Brother

    “I have something to tell you,” my sister said. “Aunt Gertie had a baby and placed him for adoption.”

    The news was quite a surprise, for I was in my early 20’s and had no idea that my aunt had a baby many years ago.

    “I want to find him,” I said.

    I didn’t have much information to turn to — I just knew that the baby was a boy and I knew the name of the hospital he was born at.

    Several years ago, a group of researchers from the National Institute of Health came to my house and took blood tests of my family members. All of us were born with normal hearing and several of us lost our hearing in various ways. The researchers uncovered a very rare mitochondrial mutation — we were the third family in the world identified with this hereditary condition.

    “The gene passes from females to all children,” the researchers told us.

    As I pondered the gene’s path through our family tree, I realized that Aunt Gertie’s son had the gene. I started asking deaf and hard of hearing friends in the St. Louis area if they were adopted.

    One evening, one of my sisters was talking to a cousin and the cousin casually mentioned that Aunt Gertie’s son had called another cousin. He was looking for his birth mother.

    “What’s his name?” I asked.

    Luckily, my cousin had written his name down and kept it in a drawer.

    “Brian Crites.”

    I quickly Googled his name and on impulse, I added “deaf.”

    Bingo.

    As I stared at his picture, I realized the reason my cousin kept the information a secret from us.

    Brian looked exactly like my dad.

    Which would make him…my half brother.

    I quickly looked up his phone number and debated whether or not to call him. It was 9 p.m. on a Sunday night. I just knew I couldn’t wait another day. I dialed his number.

    Brian and I spent about 30 minutes talking on the phone, both in shock and awe. He had spent years wondering about his birth family and now he was able to get the answers he was seeking.

    Brian and I texted back and forth every day. We discovered we had so much in common — water skiing (he even tried to barefoot as a teen), triathlons (I had just signed up for my first one), a love for the outdoors, photography, leadership, and…food. To top it off, he graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology, the same college that my three kids attended.

    And…Brian is deaf. Like me, he began losing his hearing in elementary school. He learned sign language at RIT. He obtained bilateral cochlear implants several years ago.

    Even though Brian looked just like my father and my brothers, we wondered how we could determine the genetic connection without any doubt. My father had passed away, there was no way to confirm paternity.

    We got lucky. A very kind counselor at the adoption agency went through the records and pulled out Brian’s file. He read through the file word for word. There, in the files, my aunt confirmed my father as Brian’s father.

    This story has an incredible, happy ending. My mother embraced Brian as both her nephew and my father’s son. Just days before we told her the news of finding Brian, she had been thinking about her sister’s son. (We never, however, told her of our conversations with the adoption agency and the news we had confirmed.) I believe the timing was so very right — my mom was in a place where she could love him with all of her heart.

    Brian and my mom share a laugh

    We love Brian as if he had always been with us. We’ve gotten to know his wife, daughter, and his mother. We’ve shared vacations, weekends together, and funerals. Growing up, we were a family of five siblings — and now we are six.

     

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. For a daily dose of passion, follow her on Instagram at The Passion Academy. For even more passion, hop over to her site: Ageless Passions. To unwrap your own passion, grab the book, Unwrapping Your Passion.

  • How Can a Deaf Person Do Podcast Interviews?

    How Can a Deaf Person Do Podcast Interviews?

    I just wrapped up an enjoyable podcast chat with Thom Walters over at Zen Commuter. I actually enjoy doing podcasts. For one thing, I can do them in my pajamas and I’m always talking about my favorite topic: PASSION.

    But wait a minute…

    How does a deaf gal do podcasts if she can’t hear over the phone?

    I use a system called ZVRS–it’s a videophone service that provides a sign language interpreter for every phone call. The interpreter listens in on the podcast interview and signs everything that the podcaster says. (And I mean everything–if a podcaster burps, the interpreter signs that burp!) I speak directly back to the podcaster using a headset. Whenever I do interviews for the books I’m writing, I use this system as well. You can view it here: How a Deaf Gal Uses the Phone.

     

    Here’s what Chris Brogan, Owner Media, has to say about using the system for an interview:

    “I wondered exactly how she’d interview me. You have to know that this was the MOST seamless experience I’ve ever had with translations/interpretation tools.”

    (By the way, Chris has an awesome newsletter that goes out every Sunday chock full of helpful stuff for running a business and life: chrisbrogan.com/nl)

    The first time I did a podcast, I loved it. There’s something so fun about just having a conversation and sharing what you know with others. I still get nervous now and then and my voice cracks occasionally, but I find that the more I do, the better I become at answering questions and sharing stories.

    For many, many years, the phone was my enemy. It was the barrier between me and the rest of the world. My father had to handle all my phone calls during my teen years ( my mom was deaf). As you can imagine, it’s really no fun having your dad relay messages from friends and boyfriends!

    It took me six years and over 200 interviews to write Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want. Many of the interviews were done over the phone. I typed my notes word for word while watching the interpreter sign on screen.

    So, I often give thanks to the amazing technology we have today that breaks down the barriers for communicating with one another.

    Here’s some of the podcasts I’ve participated in:

    You Leading You with Sean Ackerman — Conquering Adversity Barefoot

    Natural Born Coaches with Marc Mcwhinney — A Passion for Life

    Marketing for Public Speakers with Jason Owens — How to Break Free From Being Paralyzed by Perfection

    She Wrote a Book with Lena Anani  — Living With Passion

    Newstalk 1010 with Jeff Sammut — Author of Unwrapping Your Passion (audio only)  transcript pending

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

    Be Inspired with Jen McDonough — Overcoming Adversity

    Reinvention Radio with Steve Olsher

    B-Now Radio: Unwrap Your Passion at Any Age

    Cynthia Mazzafero interviews Karen Putz

  • We Didn’t Know We Were Making Memories

    We Didn’t Know We Were Making Memories

    “No!! Peggy died. Noooo!!”

    The text from my friend Sue jolted me awake. I fought to make sense of the words as I wiped sleep from my eyes.

    Peggy. Gone.

    How could that be? We had chatted through Facebook before I left for South Africa. She had been struggling with her youngest daughter and she wanted some advice. We talked and a few days later, she told me that things were better. I had planned to catch up with her when I arrived home from South Africa.

    And now there would never be another chat again.

    I met Peggy through Sue–the two of them met in college. Through the years we stayed in touch, always waiting for that proverbial “Someday” when the kids were grown and we could have more time together.

    The three of us shared a love for John Denver songs. Despite being deaf, we were able to enjoy his music. One year, I made a CD of my favorite John Denver songs for Peggy and I introduced her to songs she hadn’t heard him sing before.

    Last year, we got together to attend a small-town production of John Denver’s music. It was just two days after my mom died. I needed that time away to handle my sorrow. What better way to spend the day than with music and friends.

    After the last song ended, we took a walk in the woods, soaking up the beauty around us. We paused on a bridge, grabbing a snapshot.

    “We didn’t know we were making memories, we were just having fun.”  ~Unknown

    Peggy took us to the river. We talked about motherhood, life challenges, and our “Someday” plans.  As we gazed at the water, an eagle flew by. John Denver loved eagles and immediately, the song “The Eagle and the Hawk” flowed through my mind. I felt my mother’s spirit at that river. I ached for her.

    And now I ache for Peggy.

    It’s so hard to believe she is gone. 

    Here are the words to her favorite John Denver song, The Wings That Fly Us Home:

     

    “I know that love is seeing all the infinite in one.

    In the brotherhood of creatures, through the Father, through the Son.

    The vision of your goodness will sustain me through the cold.

    Take my hand now to remember when you find yourself alone: you are never alone.

    And the spirit fills the darkness of the heavens.

    It fills the endless yearning of the soul.

    It lives within a star too far to dream of.

    It lives within each part and is the whole.”

    ~The Wings That Fly Us Home, John Denver (Peggy’s favorite song)

    Update:

    As the details surrounding Peggy’s death unfolded, the truth was unbearable: her daughter murdered her. When Peggy arrived home from work, her daughter slipped a towel over her head and shot her with a single bullet to the head. Two days later, her daughter and a friend set the house on fire. Both girls are being tried as adults. 

  • The Best Podcasts With Transcripts

    The Best Podcasts With Transcripts

    There’s nothing more frustrating to a deaf person than seeing what looks like an awesome podcast–and no way to access it. As a deaf person, I obviously can’t listen to podcasts, but because podcasts are one of the best ways to learn new things and meet new people, I truly appreciate those that come with complete transcripts.

    I have found that people with normal hearing also appreciate transcripts, for if they are short on time, they will look through a transcript before committing their time to listen to the full podcast.

    Another big advantage for podcasts that have transcripts: transcripts show up in web searches.

    Over the last several years, I’ve been “listening” to podcasts via transcripts. Here are some of the best:

     

    Jaime Masters, The Eventual Millionaire 

    Jaime Masters interviews millionaires to discover their secrets and how they rose to the top.

     

    Luis Congdon and Kamala Chambers, Thriving Launch

    Luis and Kamala feature interviews from well-known individuals in the self-help field, such as Jack Canfield, Gretchen Rubin, and more.

     

    Michael Hyatt, Lead to Win

    Michael Hyatt provides tips on how you can live your best life as well as leadership strategies for those in the corporate world.

     

    Pat Flynn, Smart Passive Income

    Pat was one of the earliest podcasters to add transcripts. Pat covers a variety of topics related to earning money from the internet to interviews with well-known web personalities.

     

    Tim Ferriss Show

    Tim is known as the “Four Hour Work Week” guy. To get the transcripts, you do have to trade in your email address to access them.

     

    Freakonomics

    Anything and everything is discussed in this daily podcast.

     

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. She specializes in helping others unwrap their passion at ANY age. She is the author of Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want.

     

     

  • The Dance of Communication

    photo (31)

    There’s a famous quote of Helen Keller that gets to me. How it rubs me depends on whether I’m having a challenging day or feeling on top of the world.

    “Blindness cuts you off from things. Deafness cuts you off from people.”

    The quote is believed to have come from a letter to Dr. James Kerr Love (1910), published in Helen Keller in Scotland:

    The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus — the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir and keeps us in the intellectual company of man.

     

    I never know if I’m lipreading someone correctly. This was apparent during a recent conversation in the boat with a friend, when he realized the conversation was way off the topic. I completely misread what he was communicating and he stopped the conversation to clarify my understanding. Turns out, I was indeed way, way off.

    Some days, the communication flow is completely ON and the back and forth banter is easy. Other days, the communication dance is an awkward one, especially in group conversations where words shoot back and forth at the speed of light. Without communication access and adaptations of some kind, whether text, sign, or lipreading, there are times when I feel completely alone in a room full of people.  That’s what Helen Keller was referring to about being cut off from people.

    I feel this every time I come across a video that isn’t captioned or a podcast with no transcript. A piece of the world is cut off.

    The one that hurts the most is the “never mind.”

    Sometimes it is hard for others to comprehend the communication challenges that come with being deaf or hard of hearing.  “You’re not really… deaf, are you?” is a question that pops up now and then.  More than once I’ve shown up at an event or workshop with an interpreter, much to the disbelief of friends who’ve communicated with me just fine one-on-one.  Lipreading a room full of people is impossible.  I attempted this at a workshop given by a well-known motivational speaker. I think I walked away with about 15% of what was said.  Think of it this way–you wouldn’t want to listen to the radio when it’s full of static and fades in and out, would you? An interpreter makes my world come in with surround sound.

    Any time two people dance together, they have to be in sync to make it work. And so it is with the dance of communication. So the next time we’re together, I’d love it if you’d reach out and do this dance thing in sync with me.  I’m always thankful for the people in my life who understand the communication challenges and do what’s needed to make the dance a smooth one.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Mark J. Sorokin, Attorney

    mark deaf attorney
    Mark Sorokin, Esq. is an attorney practicing in Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
    Tell me about your job, career, or calling. How did you get into this line of work?
    I fell into it somewhat.  My father is an attorney, and upon graduating college, I had no idea what I wanted to do.  He helped me get a job as a paralegal at a law firm, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to apply to law schools.  Have not looked back since.
    What are some of the challenges?
    As a solo practitioner, I don’t have the benefit of a supervising attorney, so I have to do tons of research to make sure that the decisions I make are correct.  Also, marketing is a huge challenge – getting my name out there and gaining prospective clients’ confidence.  Sometimes prospective clients or opposing counsel will call me and not understand how the relay system works.  But usually once they understand it, it becomes a non-issue.
     What was it like growing up deaf/hard of hearing?
    It was difficult.  I was mainstreamed through all of public school, and I experienced a lot of difficulties socially as the only deaf student in my school.  My mother always told me that things would get better as I got older and people started understanding  (in a good way) what made me different.  And as I got older, I understood that I controlled what I did far more than what other people did.
    What advice would you give a deaf/HH person who is looking for a job, career or calling like yours?
    Read a lot.  Write a lot.  Understand how the world works around you – both on a macro and on a micro level – and how to communicate with other people effectively.  This concept is vastly different from the ability to argue with other people, which doesn’t always win you favors.

     Sorokin Law Offices

  • Midwest Deaf Academic Bowl Champs

    With nine wins and no losses, the Hinsdale South team claimed the Regional title at the 2013 Midwest Academic Bowl held at the Illinois School for the Deaf in Jacksonville, Illinois.

    20130210-104226.jpg

    Both Lauren and Lauren Holtz were selected for the All-Star Team:20130210-105940.jpg

    Kyle Adams from Hersey High School clowns around with Hinsdale South’s winning trophy:

    20130210-105955.jpg

    It was fun watching Lauren and Steven play together on the same team.  They were like twins–with their own unspoken language between them.

    20130210-110020.jpg

    What a team!

    20130210-110043.jpg

    Lauren and Steven with Gallaudet president, T. Alan Hurwitz:

    20130210-110102.jpg

    Two great coaches who spent hours and hours with the students. Jamie Nick and Kathy Craig:

    20130210-110127.jpg

  • Signing the Holiday Songs

    If you saw me in the audience at Woodfield mall today, you’d spot my beaming smile from a mile away. I watched Steven and Lauren perform with the Traveling Hands Troupe from the International Center on Deafness and the Arts. The kids signed holiday songs in American Sign Language:

    Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Frosty the Snowman, All I Want for Christmas is You, Jingle Bells, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Let it Snow.

    ABC News grabbed a video of the first song:

    ICODA Performance at Woodfield Mall

    All I Want for Christmas is You

    This was Steven’s first time performing with the ICODA group and he really surprised the heck out of me. This was the kid who was so shy as a youngster–the one I could never imagine on stage– and there he was today, signing away with a smile.

    Lauren is in her fourth year with ICODA and she’s quite a joy to watch on stage. I’m in awe every time I watch her in a role or signing a song.

    If you have a deaf or hard of hearing child in the Chicago area who would like to join the next production, contact ICODA at:

    info@icodaarts.org

     

  • Neutral is a Shade of Color, Not an Organization

    Hands & Voices gathering

    Eons and eons ago, Leeanne Seaver, the then Director of Hands & Voices issued me a challenge: start up the Illinois chapter of Hands & Voices.

    I hesitated. I had just completed four years with the team from West Suburban Association of the Deaf, growing it from a tiny deaf club with 44 members into a 501c3 non-profit– one of the few which still exist today.  I had three little kids two years apart in age and I worked part-time at the local community college. Did I really want to take on the challenge of starting another non-profit, this time from scratch?

    I didn’t hesitate for long, and here’s why: because every single day, I believe in the mission and the purpose of Hands & Voices:

    Hands & Voices is dedicated to supporting families with children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing without a bias around communication modes or methodology. We’re a parent-driven, non-profit organization providing families with the resources, networks, and information they need to improve communication access and educational outcomes for their children. Our outreach activities, parent/professional collaboration, and advocacy efforts are focused on enabling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children to reach their highest potential.

    Starting up the non-profit organization sure wasn’t easy, but it sure was worth it– and it happened because a team of parents, professionals and deaf and hard of hearing adults believed in the mission as well. Today, Illinois Hands & Voices has expanded under the leadership of two more presidents and includes a state-wide Guide By Your Side program.

    As the years went on, Hands & Voices grew from four chapters and expanded worldwide. There clearly was a need for support without bias for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children on the parenting journey.  Every now and then, I will cross paths with someone who feels Hands & Voices is:

    • Not neutral
    • Not balanced enough
    • Not without bias
    • More “hands” than voices
    • More “voices” than hands

    Before I go any further, I invite you to read Hands & Voices, Supporting Families Without Bias by Leeanne Seaver. This document goes into great detail about the Hands & Voices approach to supporting families.

    In the early days of running the organization, I was often thrown into one camp or another based on someone’s judgment of my communication experience, my personal choices for my children or the communication methods used. To me, that judgement represented everything that Hands & Voices is not. When I look at the families, professionals and deaf/hard of hearing adults involved with Hands & Voices, I see caring individuals who have a heart for children and their futures and I feel really blessed to have crossed paths with so many of them.  At any given time, Hands & Voices is whoever is a part of the organization.  Families and individuals are not the sum of their communication experience and we don’t identify our Hands & Voices organization merely by those choices. We do our best to include everyone who wants to be a part of the movement of providing support without bias to families. Whenever we stumble along the process, we try harder yet again.

    The bottom line is to support families along the journey of raising deaf and hard of hearing children. We all have the same goal in mind: well-adjusted, successful kids.

    As for being “neutral,” to me, that’s a color, not an organization. What I love seeing instead is an organization that is passionate, vibrant and colorful– an organization which is made up of amazing, diverse families, professionals, and individuals who celebrate the many different ways there are of being Deaf/deaf and hard of hearing.

    Now that’s Hands & Voices. And I invite you to be a part of it.

    Hands & Voices who do you stand for