"The Call" came from David Medansky's doctor.  "You have a 95% chance of having a heart attack. You must lose 50 pounds or you will die.  You have two choices now.  Either lose the weight or get another doctor." OMG.  What's a guy to do? Fortunately David did what he "should do" and he lost the 50 pounds.  My late husband didn't heed the call and he passed away from a massive heart attack at age 55.   Have you lost 50 pounds only to have "found" them again the next year?  What does...

What do Women's Prosperity Network (WPN) and Itty Bitty™ Publishing have in common?  15 Expert women entrepreneurs Standing Up & Speaking Up and telling the stories of their businesses!  Many for the first time are telling the world about their health and wellness, business development, or publishing companies and today they launch on Amazon, The Amazing Itty Bitty™ WPN Experts Compilation Book.  We welcome Nancy Matthews, Founding Sister of WPN, and Suzy Prudden, CEO Itty Bitty...

15 Women Entrepreneurs, all "sisters" in Women's Prosperity Network have come together with Suzy Prudden Publishing to share the 'highlights" of their business stories.   Your Amazing Itty Bitty™ WPN Experts Compilation Book  showcases 15 BIG messages in an little package and today's show brings PeggyLee Hanson, Courageous Women Publications, and Anna M. Brooks, Seek Wise Counsel, share with Debby Montgomery Johnson, www.BenfoComplete.com, about WHY they wrote their Itty Bitty™ chapter and...

Are you a VICTIM? SURVIVOR? or THRIVER?   How do you move on with your life after the sudden loss of your husband, and then being scammed/taken in an online relationship scam?  Life could end and it has, literally for many victims, with the suicide rate skyrocketing over the last few years.  You could crawl under a rock and hide.  You could isolate and watch Hallmark movies and eat M&Ms or you can STAND UP & SPEAK UP!  Debby Montgomery Johnson did a little of the first two options...

Stand Up & Speak Up with host Debby Montgomery Johnson and special guest, Flavia Powell, from Norwich, UK. Flavia grew up in Romania with outhouses and sunflower toilet "paper" - smooth as a babies' behind! She flittered about "carefree" while living in a home filled with stress and abuse. She was taken away from communism to a promised life in the UK where university and living expenses were to be taken care of by her "guardian angel." That "angel" groomed her to take care of HIS "needs"...

Veterans - We THANK YOU - and in this Stand Up & Speak Up show, Debby talks to Jane Babcock, Veterans Service Officer (VSO) about the benefits available to those of US who have served in the military. What's a VSO and how can they assist veterans? VA Benefits include education, housing/property tax, medical, retirement, disability and more.  Register your DD 214 with the county?  Burial honors available at National Cemeteries and local cemeteries. Benefits may be available to...

Laugh, learn and leave with practical ways to refuel your LIFE is what Stand Up & Speak Up special guest, Kim McIntyre, shared with Debby Montgomery Johnson today.  Joke of the Day:  "My wife got stung by a  bee on the cheek last night.  She's still in the ER today.  Her face is all swollen and bruised, she almost died. Luck for her I was close enough to hit the bee with my shovel!"  OMG, I can hear my dad cracking up up as he tells that joke, especially with mom sitting nearby with her...

Ever feel like "Creepy Guy" is watching you?  Have you ever been "Phished" online and lost control of your social media accounts?  What a hassle those can be.  It's time to BEWARE and Be Aware about your Situation Awareness, personal security and online presence.  My guest, Mike Dandridge, Founder of CD Risk Consulting, is our own personal protection guru and with 20-plus years of security training and experience, he's got the tips and strategies to keep you "off the X" and safe in your home...

What do Bees and Ballet, The Yankees vs the Mets, and Ballet and Pickleball have to do with finding the dreams of your heart? This week's Stand Up & Speak Up with special guest Debby Kruszewski and host Debby Montgomery Johnson is all about surviving the Dream Crushers and living your best life.  Feel like your corporate "success" job is holding you down - in spite of the $$$?  Are you unhappy, numb, exhausted, and feeling "dead" but still breathing?   It's time for a change. It's time...

Stand Up & Speak Up special guest, Denise Garrett, doesn't like LABELS.  Labels make you smaller and you live "up" to them, so if you're worried that people are talking about you, STOP!  They are, and there's nothing you can do about them, but you CAN take your power and play to your strengths.  Dissatisfied with her corporate position, Denise wanted change and put it out to the UNIVERSE!  A friend suggested the Fire Department and Denise said "You can die from that!"  Well, yes, you can,...

Jennifer Lee was held up at gun point in a busy shopping mall.  "Give me your money" he said - "Give me your money." The story began there and continues today as she Stands Up & Speaks Up as a survivor/advocate and host of "I Need Blue" podcast.   Rescued by law enforcement, Jen was immediately grateful for the 911 assistance and the officers who responded to the robbery.  However, like many victims of crime she put up the mask and became a Woman Behind the Smile - until years later when...

Stand Up & Speak Up with Debby Montgomery Johnson and Chad Osinga. Sniper duty prepared for the unexpected yet his life took turns even he couldn't have planned for.  Growing up in a drug house with a mother addicted to cocaine, Chad looked to the only mentors around and they provided nothing positive.  Thinking that life was a success if you were to the TOP DRUG SALESMAN, Chad broke free.  He joined the Army, with his wife and first child at this side.  Basic Training and advanced...

Legacy! 93 years of experience - the good, the bad and the "You've got to be kidding!"  This's week's Stand Up & Speak Up is a Happy Birthday tribute to Dr. Jack Butz , affectionately knows as "Dr. Jack" to BenfoComplete.com clients and "Dad" to me and the rest of the family.  As a follow-on conversation to "An Hour With Dad," which aired on Father's Day 2022, Dr. Jack talks about finances, investing, family and living a LONG, prosperous life.  What's the KEY?  Humor, Respect, and Good...

"If Confidence were a Currency, would you be satisfied with your balance?"  In this week's episode of Stand Up & Speak Up, our guest Jamie Dandar McKinney, professional coach, keynote speaker and author, says "Consider your CONFIDENCE like a bank account.  Don't let any unauthorized withdrawals drain your account - and be sure to make daily deposits." A woman in the male dominated worlds of automotive and gas/oil for much of her career, Jamie wanted to ensure her VOICE was heard. not...

Renee Reisch literally lost her voice in 2013 to a virus which not only robbed her of speaking but took away most of her spirit.  Isolated by doctors, family and friends for 4 months she dreaded waking up to the pain.  "Unzip this body and set me free" she thought. Doctors didn’t know if it was permanent damage. and she didn't know if she would ever speak again - a scary thought.  The "gift" of time and healing slowly brought her back and therapists helped her regain her life, but with more...

What do you do when you are a 6 foot tall teenage girl?  You hang out with your 7 siblings and play basketball!  Gaati Werema chose to study, play hard, and do the right things in order to be recruited by 40 colleges/universities and she went on to play in Romania, China and other international venues with professional Women's Basketball teams.  However, her fame and "celebrity" never took her far away from her Christian background and desire to serve and give back.  Gaati founded Ladies of...

Clutter - stuff in your closet, garage and even between your ears!  The Clutter Expert, Mel Mason, joins Debby today for Part 2, It's All About The Clutter and the Outside is a mirror to the inside.  Take 5 minutes in the morning to Allow The Now (ATN) and give yourself the gift of your PRESENCE.  You can't change the past but your can rewrite your childhood story and make it HAPPY!  Like the Marie Kondo method, or the OHIO (Only Hold It Once), then you'll LOVE Mel's 7 easy steps to...

Stand Up & Speak Up with Debby Montgomery Johnson and Dr. Leslie Austin We’ve all met "impossible people" in our business and personal lives -- inconsiderate, abusive, or controlling people who just have to be “right and "win" all the time. Confronting or ignoring them doesn’t work, so what do you do? Staying stuck in this no-win pattern can leave you feeling frustrated and resentful – and getting nowhere! These challenging people seem to be everywhere these days! It’s NEVER about...

Bankruptcy is that “B” word that we hide from…"DON’T DO IT because you’ll be considered a financial failure."  Wrong – Bankruptcy is a tool in your financial toolbox and it could help you from paying for your past for the rest of your life.  Bankruptcy isn’t a get out of jail free card for frequent flyers so don’t be a part of it by trying to game the system – financial fraud is FRAUD. Bankruptcy is a tool and Kathryn A. Hathaway shows us how to R.I.S.E Like a Phoenix out of the ashes of...

Mary Ellen Ciganovich speaks R.E.A.L. Truth and it matters!  Diagnosed with epilepsy as a 6 year old, Mary Ellen was told to hide it and pretend nothing was wrong with her.  Laws on the books "back then" held that she couldn't get married or have children.  Ministers preached that the devil was in folks, like her and that made her ANGRY.  However, not wanting to get into the victim mode, which might have been easier for her, she stayed determined to love herself and other more.  She realized...

Life happens - expect CHANGE and expect to EVOLVE!  Don't think that a shy, quiet child could turn into a Vibrant Speaker Coach?  Think again and join us in a lively conversation about taking your pain and finding its purpose and then turning it into your passion.  My special guest, Kathryn Yarborough, shows how being alone is important to some and is not the same as being lonely.  Understanding how to communicate is more effective than how much you speak and to whom you are speaking. We all...

We can dream about Mr. Right/Ms. Right, can't we?  Why just dream?  We absolutely deserve a forever mate and it's "easier" to find that special person with a dating buddy, or better yet, a Matchmaker!  I found true love after falling victim to relationship FRAUD and I could have stopped looking after the "scam reveal" but I wanted someone real and I got that through matchmaker friends.  They did the background checks.  They did the compatibility interviews.  They found someone "geographically...

What do your parents do when you're diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis?  Bethany Bryan's parents took a deep breath and then prepared for the worse but always told their daughter that she wasn't CF and she could do whatever she wanted to do.  Good advice for the 15-plus years the CF didn't present a problem and then...Bethany was truly a woman behind the smile and never told her friends that she was struggling to breathe.  Her parents battled their own mental health issues and her "problems" were...

It's a Happy Birthday day on Stand Up & Speak Up with Debby Montgomery Johnson and special guest Angela Schutz provides the entertainment!  Actually, dating over the age of 50 is full of adventures and full of Beware and be Aware experiences.  After her husband of 43 years passed away, Angela found herself alone with her thriving career but not so exciting love life.  She decided to venture into the world of online dating - it would be "safe" and a great way to meet and date someone...