CLARA FRANCESCA is a multi-lingual, international touring “philosopher of the heart making art”, as a playwright, actor, director, musician, producer, speech consultant and teaching artist. She holds a double Bachelors Degree in Laws & Biomedical Sciences as a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. An inaugural alumni member of New York City’s SITI Company’s Conservatory she has worked with Anne Bogart, Roger Hendricks Simon, Tony Greco, Mary Overlie, Bill T. Jones, Laura Sheedy, Tom Nelis, Barney O’Hanlon, Darron West, Robert Woodruff, Tina Landau, Chuck Mee, Belinda Mello, Moises Kaufman, and the Martha Graham Studio, specializing in Suzuki, Viewpoints, and Alexander Technique. Teaching Artist credits include NY TownHall, East Village Phoenix Ensemble fr. Jean Cocteau Rep, Acting Antics, Australian Shakespeare Company. Clara has been a two-time guest adjudicator for the Mildura Eisteddfod Speech & Drama Festival, and Victorian Debating Association. Awards include Best Actress Fairfax Melbourne Arts Centre for self-devised solo play, Best Performance SaraSolo International Festival, Best Actress two-time nominee Independent New York Theater Awards, Dante Alighieri Society three-time winner, Alliance Francaise Poetry two-time winner, recipient of the Dame Joan Sutherland Australian American Association Scholarship for Artistic Excellence and co-lead in multiple films, including Cannes Film Festival Distribution Market recipient. She is a former Victorian Actors’ Benevolent Trust Committee Member. Clara has parlayed these experiences into a successful speech coaching business with an impressive client portfolio over fourteen years from C-suite executives to UN interns, from five year olds to seventy. Clara specializes in speech-anxiety reduction and fostering people with the confidence to walk into any room and share their authentic voice. Clara continues to act in all mediums, notable IMDBcredits and is a featured voiceover artist with household names Salvatore Ferragamo, Audible Books, Pokémon and Shiseido www.clarafrancesca.com
I am grateful to each of my guests who joined us this first year of the Podcast. Together, with my Producer, Dennis Tardan, we published over 70 podcast episodes. Our guests joined us from: U.S., Kenya, Australia, Canada, Rwanda, Tasmania, Malawi, U.K., and Sardinia....
Rick Kraniak is internationally recognized as an investor with great instincts for commercially innovative and viable businesses, and for a long track record of growing successful companies. His entrepreneurial background includes launching a number of businesses in the media and entertainment, health, software, Internet, and technology verticals. In particular, his entertainment industry experience has informed a unique approach to strategy and creating value with diverse enterprises ranging from startup ventures and mature public companies to supporting social cause related organizations and charitable non-profits.
He began his professional career in 1970 while he was studying sociology at Eastern Michigan University, when he founded Diversified Management Agency. For the next several years, he booked personal appearances for legendary music artists such as Bob Seger, Chuck Berry, Ike and Tina Turner, Iggy Stooge, MC5, Alice Cooper, and Ted Nugent. Following his success there, he founded Brass Ring Productions and produced over six thousand performances including concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and many other artists. Starting in 1987, Brass Ring exclusively programmed the historic Fox Theatre in Detroit and produced tours with over 3,000 performances featuring Billy Joel, Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, The Police, John Mellencamp, and Broadway Shows such as “South Pacific”, “Fiddler On The Roof”, “David Copperfield”, and “Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber”. Kraniak was voted one of America’s top 10 promoters by Pollstar magazine.
Currently, he is an owner and CSO of Buz.FM, a leader in digital technology which is leveraging its unique enterprise software solutions for social search optimization and marketing to retail, consumer, and media brands. Kraniak’s personal fund maintains positions in 17 private and public companies representing his special interests in disruptive technologies healthcare, software, and entertainment ventures.
In addition, he is dedicated to corporate social responsibility and has devoted time, energy, and funding to charitable organizations on five continents including Opportunities International, a microfinance institution. Mr. Kraniak is also a seasoned world adventure traveller whose trips have spanned 90 countries on all seven continents.
Recently, a friend was telling me about his experience leading a team of woofers, an acronym taken from the term, Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms(WWOOF). These are people who are somewhat nomadic and travel across the state, country and the world working temporarily on organic farms. The pay consists basically of food, shelter and an environmentally friendly culture within which to work.
Because of the nature of the work and the adventurous nature of the woofers, turnover was naturally somewhat high. This, not because the work was hard, environment was bad or the leadership poor. In fact, it was quite the opposite, even though some of the tasks were harder than the others and required working outside and getting sweaty. This was more than offset by the beautiful setting, the organic meals and how the somewhat transient team was led by my friend.
Work had come to a pause for the season and the last of the woofers had just moved on. My friend expressed how relieved he was not to be leading the woofers for a few months. He loved each one who had come to work, but he recognized he had earned his time for retreat and renewal, and taking off the mantle of leadership for awhile felt good.
Having kept up with him over the past couple of years, I shared how impressed I was with his situational leadership abilities. To this, he gave me a quizzical look. Even though situational leadership was innate to him and he used it daily, he had not given the technique conscious thought in many years. This sparked me to go back to my notes from the 1980’s to review Paul Hersey’s and Ken Blanchard’s theory on Situational Leadership.
In short, Situational Leadership is based on the theory that the best leaders vary their leadership style to fit the competence and commitment of the person or team being led, and there are sound principles and techniques that are well worth considering. This video is an excellent introduction:
Charles Barker MD, MPH is founder and president of Compassionate Dallas/Fort Worth, a non-profit organization that promotes the Charter for Compassion, the value of compassion and compassionate action in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, using the Golden Rule as operating principle.
He is currently president of Compassionate DFW and moderator of the Board of Directors, a board representing all twelve sectors of the international Charter and encourages and coordinates the Community Campaigns, as well as partnerships in the DFW area. His background and experience is in the field of medicine, with emphasis in preventive medicine and biomedical ethics, frequently facilitating medical school ethics sessions at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is currently authoring a book centered on being and becoming excellent, a series of reflections.
Contact me at: [email protected]
Free 20 minute get acquainted conversation
I am glad you decided to explore the possibility of working together. My approach is anything but formulaic.
Yes, I am a Life Coach, but unlike the multitudes of life coaches in the world, I take a counterintuitive approach to compassionately explore with you where you are and where you would like to be, whether that is physically, mentally, spiritually and/or emotionally. We journey together to discover your path. My compassionate and counterintuitive approach, along with my unique tools and processes, will enable you to quickly learn how to help yourself along your life journey.
My Personal Story: As a child, I could not learn the way others learned. Other children would make fun of me and I withdrew socially. It was during this time that I was preyed upon and left with a burden of unresolved shame. I stopped trusting others and passed on many offers of support by classmates, teachers, family and potential mentors. Counseling was not an option back then and I told myself that I could find my way on my own if I just worked harder. Sound familiar? This was a mistake that would cost me down the road.
As a result, I lost confidence and grew frustrated and less than which led to cycles of depression I carried into adulthood. In spite of this, I eventually became successful in business, but something was always gnawing at me. I was not on purpose. In my early fifties things came to a head when I developed severe life threatening health issues that led to a mystical experience. I later, when the market crashed in 2008, I lost my job and almost lost my marriag
Like me, many people have suffered by not asking for help soon enough or when they needed it most. I eventually go help and support, and found my purpose and meaning in life. I found my “why” and pledged to extend myself to others by sharing what I have learned along my journey, my unique tools and my counterintuitive approach that enables them to help themselves. I have found my purpose and am doing what is in my heart to do.
If you would like to meet, I offer a complementary 20-minute get acquainted ZOOM call, and working sessions beyond that; all aimed at exploring various tools to enable you to find your path and guide you along your journey.
Contact me at: [email protected]
– Free 20 minute get acquainted conversation
– Mentoring/Coaching/Life-mapping Sessions: $150/hr (Sliding scale during pandemic)
– All sessions are presently conducted via ZOOM and recorded for your future reference
– Payments made at time of scheduling via PayPal Link: paypal.me/clayboykin
Testimonials:
Clays big heart and warm humor were present right from the beginning, which made it easy for me to trust him. Like the eagle he is a master of expansion (seeing the bigger picture) as well as of precision (seeing those “details“, which play a key role in the process). He listens deeply and captures the content as well as the information between the lines. In the right moments he shows his persistence – a persistence, which is rooted in compassion. And last but not least: His ability to life-map in real time is legendary – and the completed life-maps are a great support in the time after the consultation! Thank you for your help, compassionate man named Clay. – Andreas Pellegrini – Switzerland
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My work with Clay and his process of life-mapping/mandala was a beautiful vision board. I have deep appreciation of his intuitive guidance that created this session. This process allowed me to really see where I can take action. I am deeply grateful to Clay and his work. – Jan Blevins – Austin, Texas
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We called Clay Boykin for help in organizing our new foundation. It is based on a complex subject not easily understood by people who are not spiritually oriented. Clay came to us and led us into a seemingly simple discussion about our subject matter, Kundalini, and what we wanted to accomplish with our new foundation. Finally Clay stood up before a white board and starting adding words and lines and then as we talked he made the lines come together and explained the meaning of each issue. We were stunned. Right before our eyes, Clay not only understood what we were about, but how to communicate it in simple and powerful terms. He also helped us organize a simple and usable business plan to get from where we were to where we want to be. Here’s the deal. Clay is a Marketing Genius capable of taking a group of almost novices to a high level of marketing understanding in a brief amount of time and in a way that feels and seems totally empowering. – Chuck Robison – Director – Kundalini Research Foundation
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Over the past eight years Clay has helped me tremendously, both personally and professionally, with his reframing and life-mapping expertise. His intuitive and creative approach has helped me gain a fresh and unique perspective with which to navigate through difficult and challenging life AND BUSINESS situations. The time he has spent mentoring along side me has been invaluable. I wholeheartedly recommend Clay for both individual and organizational coaching and consulting. – Kirby Hiscox – VP Corporate Development – Austin, Texas
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Clay is energetic, creative and results-focused. He’s a great colleague to have, because he views your issues as his issues, and will focus his energy and creativity towards helping you. A fine team player, he’d be an asset to any organization. – Brian Bedford – Corporate Human Resources Executive
Clay is full of wisdom and authenticity in guiding and supporting the MFN, Men’s Fellowship Network. His dedication and passion in being conscious of what men (and women) seek to know under the broad umbrella of Male Spirituality is uncanny. Clay is compassionate and has his finger on the pulse of what is making a difference in this world. I am honored to know Clay and can honestly say he has changed my life in the most fantastic ways. – Martin Dowmen
Clay is a great conceptual thinker and planner that effectively incorporates fine detail in his plan. He is a superb motivator withan altruistic soul. I recommend him highly for all kinds of programs. – Rich Pendergraph
I was priviledged to work with Clay at Motorola on several business group and corporate initiatives. Clay is one of those unique individuals that combines incredible interpersonal skills, business acumen and a special gift of creativity to bring a variety of solutions to any problem or situation. He is truly an amazing individual and would bring value to any challenging environment. I highly recommend Clay. – Pete Pichette
Clay provides leadership that is transparent, inspiring, and totally open to fellow members of our men’s group. His spiritual grounding and continued self-exploration in exactly what a group of mature men welcome and embrace. Clay constantly searches for items of inspiration, self-exploration, and service to humanity. I respect his leadership and camaraderie. – Art Carter
Clay has taken certain of his “life lessons learned” and helpedcreate a powerful and profound men’s spirituality movement. I can give no higher recommendation as a spiritual leader, pilgrim, friend and brother. – Jim Jameson
Clay combines sensitivity to people and sensibility for situationsremarkably. Clay applies his creative, intuitive perceptions tomake complex problems simple and solvable. He folds into this a powerful consideration for people and for ever-strengthening their relationships. – Tim Wright
I have known Clay for over 15 years. I have worked with Clay on Community Projects as well as work projects. Clay is an extremely creative, organized, amiable and excellent communicator. Clay is an awesome addition to any organization he is a part of. Excellent leadership skills and always follows through. A wonderful person to work with. – Sylvia Stern
Clay is one of those rare individuals who can be focused, pragmatic, and innovative at the same time. I know of only a handful of people capable of doing such a good job at both the business end and the human side of work. He is a natural leader who infuses his environment and those around him with integrity, drive, and tenacity. – Cisalee Morris
Clay is terrific to work with. He understands the true meaning of leadership as it relates to mobilizing and energizing an organization. His creative and sometimes “off the wall” solutions to business challenges brings out the best in everyone and adds some fun to the work environment. Clay is an excellent communicator and was able to gain mind-share, build trust and engage our global sales force. This helped enable us add hundreds of millions of dollars in profitable sales to the company. – Mike Chaddock
Mend-ing
BY: Dr Nancy Gahles, DC, CCH, RSHom(NA), OIM
…my heart broke wide open as I felt the pain and the woundedness in men that I hadn’t given much thought to…
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” This is the custom that I was brought up to practice when one had transgressed upon another. It is an act of contrition in the Catholic religion. One confesses that they are ‘heartily sorry’ for the offense. Breast beating the words of contrition “ through my fault, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault”. Only the priest has the authority to forgive you and to mete out a punishment to you. You must perform an act of penance after your confession.
The patriarchal authority always bothered me. It brought up feelings of inadequacy in me, a sense of weakness, and dependency. It bred a sense of learned helplessness in me that went deeply against my grain.
I was a good girl. A smart girl. A kind girl. A fun-loving girl. Yet I was being trained to doubt that and to be watchful for any misstep lest, when I die, I will be judged by the All Powerful Man, who could, at his Will, send me to the Eternal flames of hell to suffer mercilessly forever.
Fortunately, my father, (earth father not the one who Art in heaven) was a progressive man, a Women’s Libber, as we called them back in the day. I was one of 5 girls and he taught us that we could be anything we wanted to be and encouraged higher education as a foundation for intelligence, right thinking and decision making based on your own inner authority.
My father, son of a blue collar worker, went to college and law school on the GI bill. He studied with the Jesuits. The key Jesuit values permeated the way in which he lived his life. The Jesuits are an apostolic religious community called the Society of Jesus. They are grounded in love for Christ and animated by the spiritual vision of their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola; to help others in all things. Cura Personalis is a Latin phrase meaning having concern and care for the personal development of the whole person. Another key value is Men and Women for and With Others. This value embodies a spirit of giving and providing service to those in need and standing with the poor and marginalized. One is encouraged to pursue justice on behalf of all persons.
I grew up in a small neighborhood where the Church was the center of our schooling and our social lives. I attended an all girls Catholic High School where academic excellence prevailed. I recall these facets of my upbringing because they were exactly that . Facets of my upbringing that shone crystal clear after I attended a webinar on Gender Reconciliation where Clay Boykin, author of Circles of Men, a leader in the field of male spiritual development, spoke. My heart broke wide open as I felt the pain and the woundedness in men that I hadn’t given much thought to. There were some men, I knew, who had expressed their vulnerability and the ability to be emotional. There were many others who were emotionally unavailable, emotionally abusive and downright domineering .
Truth be told, my life as a woman from puberty on was at the behest of men. They had the power to ask you on a date, to take you where they wanted to go, to hire and fire you, to promote or demote you. The society I grew up in was controlled by men. A woman in my day learned quickly how to be wily, to subjugate her needs in order to be a good girl, desired and wanted by a man.
Women in my day objected to this status and were encouraged to rise above this culture. We were the rebellious bra burners . We didn’t need men. We were self sufficient. We went to college, became professionals and beat the pants off those men. In the pursuit of equality, we emasculated any who got in our way. It was war. I was a warrior. Kill or be killed. Either you eat the bear or the bear eats you.
When I heard Clay speak, my heart broke open with sorrow for those whom I left in the wake of my destruction. Bless me Father, for I have sinned . Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.
I awakened from a deep metaphorical sleep. The scales fell from my eyes. They are just like us! They were not given the chance in our culture to be liberated either. Men, too, suffer. We share a common humanity. Suffering from the suppression of emotions is a painful process. Fruitlessly searching for opportunities for expression of feelings, for a “soft place to fall” is daunting.
I now look at men as the “men” part of wo-men. I perceive a whole entity of an energy that radiates both feminine and masculine essences. I see how mercurial the elements are. Changing like quicksilver, the yin and yang constantly in flow, seeking its level, like water, in any given moment, responding to the environment, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually.
Burying the past grievous offenses on both sides of the aisle, I actualize the Jesuit values that I was taught, Cura Personalis, Men and Women for and With Others. It makes good sense now and it feels good. I soften my gaze, open my heart, and become a soft place to fall and a safe place to laugh and play. I have Men-ded.
Editor’s Note: My search for the new compassionate male has brought me into contact with interesting people from all over the world. As my search began in the fall of 2018 I was invited to develop an initiative for Men & Boys for the Charter for Compassion; an effort that continues today. Early on I was introduced to the Women & Girls Sector of the Charter and invited to be on their leadership team. The thinking was that I could learn how they are engaging women worldwide which might present new ideas while on my search. Said another way, the women were helping give birth to the men and boys initiative. One of the women I have come to know is Dr. Nancy Gahles. Nancy has written this article about her experiences growing up and how the patriarchal system shaped her views on men, and how those views have changed and become more compassionate in recent months. – Clay Boykin
About: Dr. Nancy Gahles, DC, CCH, RSHom(NA), OIM
Dr. Nancy Gahles is CEO and Founder of Health & Harmony Wellness Education and Center for Integrative and Holistic Healthcare, TeleHealth & Harmony and Spirit of Love~The Rockaway Sangha, a member of the Charter for Compassion. She is a Chiropractor (Ret.), Certified Classical Homeopath, Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practitioner, Cert. facilitator in Compassionate Integrity and Secular Ethics and Ordained Interfaith Minister in family practice since 1980 specializing in the stress that underlies disease and pain management.
Dr. Gahles’ unique method, the Triumvirate Technique, integrates the best of the mind/body/spirit disciplines including homeopathy, diet and lifestyle, meditation, yoga/QiGong, breath/bodywork, cognitive behavioral techniques, spirituality in health and medicine, palliative care and end of life issues and positive potential practice.
Dr. Gahles is a member of the Board of Directors of the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC) and a Partner for Health for the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CHC) ; a member of the Advisory Board, Integrative Healthcare Symposium . Dr. Gahles is Pres. Emerita of the National Center for Homeopathy.
She is a free-lance healthcare journalist, newspaper columnist, member of the Association of Healthcare Journalists & author of The Power of $elf Care:A Common Sense Guide to YOUR Wellness Solution (http://amzn.to/16G1hAB). Dr. Gahles is a public speaker and TEDXTalk presenter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6bZBwl636s)
Ever been “Pizzled”??? This video lecture is fascinating and informing.
“Psychologist Daniel Goleman shot to fame with his groundbreaking bestseller Emotional Intelligence. The premise of the book, now widely accepted, is that raw intelligence alone is not a sure predictor of success in life. A greater role is played by ‘softer’ skills such as self-control, self-motivation, empathy and good interpersonal relationships.
Now Goleman comes to Intelligence Squared for an exclusive talk on the themes of his latest book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. Attention, he will argue, is an underrated asset for high achievers in any field. Incorporating findings from neuroscience, Goleman will show why we need three kinds of focus: inner, for self-awareness; other, for the empathy that builds effective relationships; and outer, for understanding the larger systems in which organisations operate. Those who excel rely on Smart Practices such as mindfulness meditation, focused preparation and positive emotions that help improve habits, add new skills, and sustain excellence.”
If you're looking for clarity or just need a fresh perspective, I'm here to help. Click here for a complimentary 20-minute 1:1 chat. No pressure, just a conversation to see how I can support you on your journey.
CLARA FRANCESCA is a multi-lingual, international touring “philosopher of the heart making art”, as a playwright, actor, director, musician, producer, speech consultant and teaching artist. She holds a double Bachelors Degree in Laws & Biomedical Sciences as a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. An inaugural alumni member of New York City’s SITI Company’s Conservatory she has worked with Anne Bogart, Roger Hendricks Simon, Tony Greco, Mary Overlie, Bill T. Jones, Laura Sheedy, Tom Nelis, Barney O’Hanlon, Darron West, Robert Woodruff, Tina Landau, Chuck Mee, Belinda Mello, Moises Kaufman, and the Martha Graham Studio, specializing in Suzuki, Viewpoints, and Alexander Technique. Teaching Artist credits include NY TownHall, East Village Phoenix Ensemble fr. Jean Cocteau Rep, Acting Antics, Australian Shakespeare Company. Clara has been a two-time guest adjudicator for the Mildura Eisteddfod Speech & Drama Festival, and Victorian Debating Association. Awards include Best Actress Fairfax Melbourne Arts Centre for self-devised solo play, Best Performance SaraSolo International Festival, Best Actress two-time nominee Independent New York Theater Awards, Dante Alighieri Society three-time winner, Alliance Francaise Poetry two-time winner, recipient of the Dame Joan Sutherland Australian American Association Scholarship for Artistic Excellence and co-lead in multiple films, including Cannes Film Festival Distribution Market recipient. She is a former Victorian Actors’ Benevolent Trust Committee Member. Clara has parlayed these experiences into a successful speech coaching business with an impressive client portfolio over fourteen years from C-suite executives to UN interns, from five year olds to seventy. Clara specializes in speech-anxiety reduction and fostering people with the confidence to walk into any room and share their authentic voice. Clara continues to act in all mediums, notable IMDB credits and is a featured voiceover artist with household names Salvatore Ferragamo, Audible Books, Pokémon and Shiseido www.clarafrancesca.com
Alice Cooper, and Ted Nugent. Following his success there, he founded Brass Ring Productions and produced over six thousand performances including concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and many other artists. Starting in 1987, Brass Ring exclusively programmed the historic Fox Theatre in Detroit and produced tours with over 3,000 performances featuring Billy Joel, Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, The Police, John Mellencamp, and Broadway Shows such as “South Pacific”, “Fiddler On The Roof”, “David Copperfield”, and “Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber”. Kraniak was voted one of America’s top 10 promoters by Pollstar magazine.
Contact me at: 
Ever been “Pizzled”??? This video lecture is fascinating and informing.