013 | Being Better: Eric and Maleka Beal

In 2018, on the old Eddie Francis Podcast Show, Halima and I thought it would be great to interview Eric and Maleka Beal, a husband and wife team that lost a combined 300 lbs. Their feat was so impressive that the couple had been featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Dr. Oz," in Essence, and People. Their success also led them to start the health and wellness company Better Choices.

In this great interview, Eric and Maleka talk about how their relationship blossomed and served as a foundation for their health and wellness success with Better Choices.

007 | All the Smoke: Fyre Fest and Narcissistic Leadership

Social media was abuzz in early 2019 when two documentaries about the infamous Fyre Festival dropped on Netflix and Hulu. People could not believe how the event got so out of hand and how the festival's creator, Billy McFarland, seemed oblivious to the harm he caused several parties in the process. I believe the reason is McFarland's narcissism.

Using my professional experience and information I am gathering for my master's degree research, I lay out the signs of narcissistic leadership using the events surrounding Fyre Fest as portrayed in the documentaries. This isn't about McFarland so much as it is about helping people understand how working under narcissistic leaders can adversely affect one's identity and value. Trust me, I know. Not only do we look at warning signs in this episode but also ways people can protect themselves under narcissistic leadership. 

Click the image above for Dr. Ramani's web site. For her great TED talk on narcissism, click here.

SOURCES

Leader Narcissism and Outcomes in Organizations: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis and Implications for Future Research by Susanne Braun

The Narcissism Spectrum Model: A Synthetic View of Narcissistic Personality by Zlatan Krizan and Anne Herlache

How to Handle Narcissistic Abuse by Darlene Lancer

Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons by Michael Maccoby

8 Types of Narcissists -- Including One to Stay Away From at All Costs by Kristen Milstead

Narcissistic Leaders and Their Victims: Followers Low on Self-Esteem and Low on Core Self-Evaluations Suffer Most by Barbara Nevicka, Annebel De Hoogh, Deanne Den Hartog & Frank Belschak

The Narcissism Epidemic and What We Can Do About It by Joe Pierre

EDITORIAL NOTE

I made a reference to the Op Ed Project during my "to be sure." Please take time to find out more about this great organization.

006 | Doctor Who? Identity and Value on Halima’s Doctoral Journey, Part 2

Halima and I continue to unpack her Ph.D. experience in part two of a conversation about how her identity and value were affected during her doctoral journey. Here, it gets even more interesting as we discuss the value of doctorates to greater society. Halima gives thoughts about how people who engage in doctoral studies shape important social issues. By the way, there are interesting segments where Halima gives her thoughts about how doctoral work had been adversely affected in Black America in the 1990's and cultural representation in scholarship.

Finally, Halima offers words of advice to anyone considering or just embarking on the doctoral journey. Pay close attention to her thoughts on maintaining a sense of mental wellness and wholeness on the quest for knowledge.

One more thing. You'll hear some odd noises at 12:55. Ignore it; we have no idea what was going on. *smiles*

Closing music by Swagg Beats.

005 | Doctor Who? Identity and Value on Halima’s Doctoral Journey, Part 1

The year 2018 was a great one for Halima. After defending her doctoral dissertation in November 2017, she received her Ph.D. in 2018 from New York University's Steihardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. Having had so many conversations about the process, we thought it would be a good idea to pick her brain about how the process affected her identity and value.

In part one, Halima discusses why she chose to pursue a Ph.D. and why she chose her research. We find out how her passion for understanding fundraising capacity-building at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and being an alumna of Hampton University served as key motivators. This part goes deep as we find out how the inequities between HBCUs' and majority institutions' are more intricate than many realize.

That being said, we learn that the doctoral journey can be a very personal process. Halima also discusses who she was prior to her doctoral journey and her identity and value now.

Closing music by Swagg Beats

004 | Mental Health Benefits of Giving

WRITE TO BEAR ALMS

In this first installment of Halima's Write to Bear Alms segment, we take a look a the mental health benefits of giving. To do that, we're taking it back to her old "Write to Bear Alms" radio show which aired on the Dallas-based Radio Azad.

Halima's guest was Leslie Brown, a mental health professional who is pursuing her Ph.D. in Counseling. Leslie's mental health work includes stress reduction workshops for various groups and counseling military veterans. She explains the neuroscience behind the feelings of satisfaction that come from giving and how an attitude of gratitude relieves stress. Halima and Leslie also discuss the importance of leveraging giving to help youth develop their mental health.

Not only is Leslie a great friend but she also serves on the board of the Purposeful Philanthropy Foundation.