Positive Alternatives

In this episode I take some time to share how past mistakes have impacted me at this later stage of life. Take it from me. Mistakes can come back to bite you in the back side. Pretty sure it will leave a bruise.

In this episode of Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts, I relate how my fondness for gardening helps me to stop and think through my relationships with those young folks I seek to help.

Our Interview with Dr. Charles "Chuck" Nozicka, Division Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Advocate Children's Hospital. We go deep diving into the upcoming challenges teens will face with the state by state legalization of marijuana. The good doctor also shares his learned understanding of how alcohol and drugs negatively impact the still developing teen brain. 

In this Positive Alternative 5 Minute Thoughts I share some thoughts about the very successful Jonathan Petit Collaborative Community Sticker Shock Campaign and wrap things up with some of the good and the not so good relationship with the local media.

Our Interview with Amy Voss, a Buffalo Grove Illinois mom who knows what it is to get knocked down but not out. After her son, Jared, lost a long battle to addiction Amy decided no more. It is a hard battle for this Graceful Warrior but she is a determined Mom and I can think of no stronger weapon than a parent who fights for their, and our, children.

Eight Drug Free Coalitions, 5 Chicago Area Counties, and One Cause. Working together to remind Parents during the always problematic Graduation Party Season that Adult Supervised Underage Drinking is Not Safe Underage Drinking. 

Year number two of a growing and important endeavor, a statewide Sticker Shock Campaign. Has it been done before? Yes. But it did not sustain. It's always the sustain of the process that is the big roadblock to continued success. This Dad is on the prowl.

Too often we repeat the name of the offender, I choose not to with "this guy". After violating terms of his probation his bond was increased and he is back in jail trying to figure out his next steps.

I love it when the kids get outside and play. Technology has changed behavior in ways both good and bad but the sounds of playing are sounds that make me smile.

As you get older and wiser (hopefully), use that knowledge to teach your children what you have learned. It's your greatest of all gifts you can pass on.

Sometimes the Positive Alternative is not only simply to be grateful, but to have the higher focus. The higher focus is not just looking on your own problems, but on how you can positively impact the lives of others. Don't only preach it, get up, get out and practice it! Lend the helping hand.

The devastation of normalizing alcohol use worldwide is a mistake we need to walk back. Sometimes when you hear a number, a piece of data, you turn your head and your eyes widen. One death every 10 seconds on this planet linked to alcohol? How did we get this far?

Our interview with Matt Matkovich and Phil Januszewski who work together energizing their audiences with a message of being cool in your own skin and living the life you deserve to love. They are educators by day and motivational speakers by night. And they gave me a pretty sweet shirt so they are also generous to a fault! M&P Presentations

Anti-Marijuana groups are lining up to battle commercialized cannabis in Illinois. Is the focus on Marijuana taking away from a bigger problem?

Reality, a focused group of teens from DuPage County, share some background on how they worked together to impact legislators, both local and at the state level, in order to improve the health of all of the people in Illinois. The hard grind of the grass roots works they did over the past 2 - 3 years in the Tobacco 21 legislation effort will lead to a bigger and better tomorrow. Sit back, turn it up a bit, and give this episode a listen.

Thinking out loud in this episode about speaking at High Schools to teens during this challenging Prom Season, and also about the interview coming out Friday where a young person delivers a message from her Mom that darn near brought me to tears.

It's not easy to stay on point and make the change for the better. You have to be mentally strong to not fall back into dubious habits.

May is Prom Season and that means we will be speaking to a lot of great teens at a lot of great Chicago area High Schools. Toss in some pretty terrific podcast interviews and it looks like we will pretty darn busy.