Story 512

Today's story takes us to the other side of the planet from Austin and back again as we sit down with Aparna Balasundaram. A childhood prodigy who's life took an unexpected turn at the hands of an abusive relationship... Aparna's story is one of survival, resilience, and inspiration. Rather than a story ruined by bitterness, her's is one of hope and healing as she has dedicated her life to supporting others through counseling, authoring books, and public speaking (including her own TED Talk).

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Segments:
0:00 - On This Episode
1:15 - Childhood Prodigy
11:00 - Career Change
16:45 - Is Your Life in Danger?
33:30 - Rescue
41:00 - Overcoming
50:00 - What Inspires You Today?

#Story512 #Story #Austin #Texas #Connection #Interview #ForAustin #Mentalhealth #Author #Speaker #Resilience

Bill Bayless, entrepreneur and retired Co-Founder and CEO of American Campus Communities, shares his incredible story of hard work, family, culture, believing in a dream and creating an industry.

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Segments:
0:00 - On This Episode
1:55 - Hometown & Family
4:06 - Life Lessons from Sports
8:06 - Tough Love
9:06 - The One
12:58 - What Lead to Career
17:41 - The Disney Way
29:55 - Only in America
35:10 - Culture is Everything
39:09 - Inspiration Today

#Story512 #Story #Austin #Texas #Connection #Interview #ForAustin #Entrepreneur #Innovator #Studenthousing #BillBayless

Michelle Washington is the first television style expert in Austin. From janitor to international designer, she has been featured on every major media news outlet. Her goal is to share stories through fashion.

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Segments:
0:00 - On This Episode
1:30 - Austin and Barbies
10:25 - Lessons From a Janitor
19:30 - Summa Cum Laude
21:10 - September 11 in NYC
27:30 - Traveling the World
30:40 - Favorite Projects
40:05 - Fashion Versus Style
44:15 - Inspiration Today

#Story512 #Story #Austin #Texas #Connection #Interview #ForAustin #Fashion #Style #Television #MichelleWashington #Design

By age 15, Mike Thompson had battled four separate bouts of cancer, enduring over 70 surgeries. From there, his battle with addiction and recovery was only just beginning.

The polar opposite of the bitter person you might expect, Mike is a walking inspiration for the rest of us... full of hope, joy and gratitude that is infectious for everyone around him.

Despite the fact that he should not be alive, he is living life to the FULL and showing others how to do the same. Be sure to check out his new book "Finding Good" when it releases soon!

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Segments:
0:00 - On This Episode
1:24 - Childhood in Austin
3:50 - First Diagnosis
9:20 - Source of Hope
13:22 - Cancer Returns
20:10 - Round Four
26:15 - Enduring Dark Times
33:25 - Addiction and Recovery
44:30 - Living Life Fully
47:45 - What if I'm in Pain?
49:30 - Advice When Life is Ok
51:30 - Inspiration Today

#Story512 #Story #Austin #Texas #Connection #Interview #ForAustin #CancerSurvivor #Cancer #Addiction #Recovery #Author #Speaker

Ricky Williams is among the greatest athletes to ever walk the earth, and one of the most misunderstood. He was committed to being himself before it was encouraged to do so. Today's conversation will not only introduce us to the incredible human off the field, but will challenge us to reflect on ourselves as well.

We cover Ricky's formative years and journey to football, why he chose Texas and his journey through the NFL... but we also get real about Ricky's vast amount of personal learnings and observations about the human experience. DON'T MISS Ricky's mystery year away starting at 34:35!

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Segments:
0:00 - On This Episode
2:50 - Formative Years
14:05 - Why Texas?
17:25 - Mack Brown
20:00 - Heisman Year
26:10 - Internal Struggles
34:35 - Mystery Year Away
57:20 - Death, Rebirth (Back to NFL)
1:06:20 - Nick Saban
1:08:50 - Baltimore Ravens
1:12:40 - Bigger Than Football

#Story512 #Story #Austin #Texas #Connection #Interview #ForAustin #RickyWilliams #Heisman #Longhorns #Football #NFL