You've Got 5 Options

In this episode, Marta and Anna interview a friend of the show, Morten Bonde, following his journey after publishing his book "Dømt blind. Hva' så?" and now the English version "Sentenced to Blindness. Now what?". Morten tells us how he, day by day, keeps on choosing to see the possibilities instead of giving in to hopelessness, despite becoming legally blind. About Morten Morten is an inspiring man, radiating good energy, connecting wisdom and boyish charm in a unique way. It is a true pleasure to speak to him. "In 2002, at age 29, Danish art director Morten Bonde learned he had retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye condition that causes visual cells in the retina to die one by one. Today, Bonde, now 47,  has a visual field (the area of space you can see at one time) of four degrees. A person with a visual field of 20 degrees or less is considered legally blind." Read more here Living with Retinitis Pigmentosa Morten's Book A chapter from the audiobook Buy anywhere in the world: mybook.to/sentencedtoblindness Release video "Is it possible to change who you are? Is it possible to teach oneself to see possibilities rather than limitations? Morten Bonde says yes. Morten Bonde has an eye condition that is slowly making him go blind. In 2016, his vision was so severely reduced that his life couldn’t continue as before. It had been all go with a family and a career at the LEGO Group. Then his whole world collapsed. But when everything was at its bleakest, he experienced a sudden clarity for how to regain zest for life and emerge from the darkness stronger than ever before. He succeeded in returning from hopelessness to regaining a positive and indomitable view of life.SENTENCED TO BLINDNESS – NOW WHAT? by Morten Bonde provides concrete tools and tangible suggestions for how to cope with life crises and challenges. It is a poignant and life-affirming description of how he—in less than a year and with only four degrees of vision—went from depression and stagnation to once again serving as senior art director at the LEGO Group, and how the key to such a transformation lies in our own minds! His story is an inspirational tribute to life and a testament to how we can all activate our inner strength and live the authentic lives we really want". Our inspiring conversation During the interview we touch upon: The title of the book and who is it for About taking responsibility for your life versus feeling sorry for yourself The three very special, mysterious characters appearing in the book How humour helps Morten cope with awkward situations related to losing his vision How dark can it get and how to keep on seeing the light If you're curious here's the link to the interview from March 2019 How to get in contact with Morten Morten's website

In this episode, Marta and Anna are solving Danny's challenge. Danny is going through a really rough rejection, feeling that it's very difficult to get back on the horse. Marta has prepared 5 ways how to deal and 5 ways how not to deal with rejection. And this is the very first episode with our new technician David Villanueva of SuperMoon Studio.  Challenge Description Singing is my passion. My truest, deepest source of fulfilment and way to express myself. It is very difficult to make it in this business and I feel like I have tried it all. I have been going to auditions, I have been singing in cafe’s and bars, I have been organising events myself, I have been working to fund my own single. It has been years of rejection, one after another, with just a few breaths of fresh air. Recently I have become a lead singer in a band and we were doing quite well, I have put all my heart and passion into making this work. I have used my network to get us to play at a concert and when it started to look like we have chance to make it, I was asked to leave the band and someone I considered my very good friend took my place. It feels like a double heartbreak. I feel sad and angry and frustrated and so immensely disappointed. I guess after years of rejections this has been one too many and I feel unable to pick myself up and keep on going. How do I deal with such a profound sense of rejection? 5 WAYS HOW NOT TO DEAL WITH A REJECTION Take it super personally and make it a piece of evidence that there’s something wrong with you Use it to convince yourself that you should never do it again Call every band member and beg them to get you back Plan a nasty revenge Stalk them and follow their journey closely (to feed your misery) HOW TO DEAL WITH A REJECTION in 5 STEPS Acknowledge the emotions Express your emotions Write and burn Write & sing Try another creative form of expression Meet a friend Cry it out Engage in something you’re good at/ enjoy doing To boost your self-confidence To see that you are more than this painful event/ there’s more to life Capture your learnings ensure closure- what does it mean for you? The learnings from a higher perspective Feedback from the band Conversation with someone wise When one door closes/ another door open- be open to seeing the opportunities

  Welcome after the summer break! We have some big news! From now and on You've got 5 options is turning into a bi-weekly podcast, because... we are starting a new podcast! Small Business Rising! Find out more here.  In today's episode, Marta and Anna are solving Alicia's challenge. Alicia has just come back from her vacation and she's not ready to enter the treadmill, so she's asking: How do I build a life I don't need a vacation from? Challenge description:  So… I just came back from vacation and after a couple of weeks I am supposed to be fully recharged and ready to come back to work and “normal life”. Instead, I feel like I just want to lie down in my bed and hide under the blanket. I simply can’t imagine entering the treadmill again. I am really grateful for being able to keep my job through the crisis but the number of requirements, politics and bureaucracy has increased so much, that I completely forgot what I used to like about my job. All the mess also causes me to work longer hours which I simply don’t have because I need to run to pick up my kids and attend to all the commitments around their lives. Just thinking about my everyday life makes me need a vacation. I want the life I don’t need a vacation from, how do I do that? Option 1: Create a vision of the life you wouldn’t need a vacation from  You could use one or more of the ways to create a vision...   describe your perfect day (in detail from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep) imagine yourself in 5 years: how will you be feeling? who will you be? what will you be doing, what will you have? scripting- write a letter to your future self create a vision board Option 2: Detail review of your current situation & priorities ask yourself a couple of questions... where does it really hurt? where do you need a change right now? Work through your priorities: identify your top priorities, rate each of them on a scale from 1-10 in regards to how do you feel it is going for you?  (where 1 is really bad and 10  is great) what is most important to you right now? being a mum? growing your career? personal growth? your relationship? be honest with yourself Option 3: What do you already know and what do you need to find out?  sometimes it's difficult to figure out where to start, writing down what we already know is a great start. sometimes, on the other hand, we can be too optimistic and it could serve us to make a good list of all we still need to find out Option 4: The Grand Research (Search your soul & down-to-earth-research) Option 5: Slicing the elephant or Your next best step  Artist of the week Song "Still Up" by Sabrina Facebook Instagram Youtube Image credit: Image by Daniel Sampaio Donate if you want (Paypal) from 

Challenge description:  "I've become a mom two weeks ago. My son is lovely and sweet and I can watch him for hours. Unfortunately, not everything is as great as I wish to admit. For the past couple of days, it's been really tough. I thought I will be more or less physically recovered by now, but I'm still in quite some pain. I visited the doctor and he told me that I should take it easy and take the bed rest. This is the first time I feel like I'm resting since we had the baby because there's always sooo much to do. I and my husband are getting into a crisis mode a couple of times a day, every day. The baby is not sleeping in the night. He cries a lot. Doctors are saying it's because of tummy pain. He can be up for three hours in a row throughout the night time. I can see he's in pain and my heart breaks, three minutes in - and I cry with him. We are slowly learning some techniques to help him out; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So the nights are the worst. My husband can somehow come up with more practical approaches and calm our son down but I feel useless. What would you advise us to do, so we can cope better? PS: We are both foreigners in a country we live in and due to travel restrictions we cannot count on family support in the immediate future" Option 1: Let Go of ALL Expectations and “Let It Be” Option 2: Follow the Baby Options 3: Take care of yourself  Options 4: Ask For Help Options 5: Survive it aka the autopilot mode, and remember “This too shall pass” If all fails, check yourself (and your partner) for postnatal depression - Check episode Ep 129: The Kimberleys, Urban Legends And Can Men Suffer From Postpartum Depression (With Judy Wanijku Jørgensen)?

TOP TEN information you've missed when you were busy with news about pandemic Our food chain is collapsing India and China’s Deadliest Clash in More Than 50 Years Historical Court Case is on: Was government covering-up fluoride damaging effects? Johnson and Johnson pulls out talc-based baby powder after decades of its alleged cancerous effect on humans First vaccinations begin in Africa for COVID-19 trial Bayer to pay up to $10.9 billion to settle the bulk of Roundup weedkiller cancer lawsuits Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Dramatically From A Powerful Tug Of War Grand Solar Minimum is here - Are we entering the Mini Ice Age? A mysterious regular signal detected from outer space Menthol and slim cigarettes banned in the European Union Tune in and find out what you've missed! (sources to articles and references available at https://the5options.com in episode shownotes)

Join us this week for a brand new episode where we are solving a challenge - especially if you are a victim of TATT ("Tired All The Time") syndrome ;) Challenge description:  I am tired of feeling tired all the time. Now that my kids sleep most of the nights through and I don’t have this external factor influencing my tiredness, I am fully ready to change this. I know that everything is energy, so I must be spending my energy in an inefficient way. I have once before gone through this phase of fully cleansing my life and benefits were amazing: my body felt better (I could quit taking painkillers), my relationships improved, I decreased anxiety and insomnia, and I obtained a high level of clarity of what to do with my life. You've Got 5 Options! OPTION 1: De-clutter Your Body eating cleansing food intermittent fasting drinking loads of water sweating out cleansing baths/ sauna OPTION 2: De-clutter Your Mind mind dump writing unresolved cycles of action judgements limiting beliefs OPTION 3: De-clutter Your Home reducing stuff cleanliness and space creating flow OPTION 4: De-clutter Your Emotions/ Energy resisting emotions avoiding emotions emotional blockages feeling emotions OPTION 5: De-clutter Your Relationships Boundaries review of relationships mirroring

  In today’s episode we’re discussing small business and local community building in times of uncertainty. Amongst others, we talk about: How to run your business in the “new normal”? How can everyone support small business owners? What are the benefits of a strong local community? And what exactly is a local currency system? Last but not least, we also answer questions from our listener, Andreea: How do you start anew in a foreign country? Please check: Ep 68: 5 Tips That Will Help You To Survive When Starting Your Life From A Scratch (PART 1) - With Basia Janislawska And Marta Rodriguez-Karpowicz From YvG5O Ep 69: 5 tips that will help you to survive when starting your life from a scratch (PART 2) - with Basia Janislawska and Marta Rodriguez-Karpowicz from YvG5O Ep 85: Expat Entrepreneurship 101: 5 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Your Own Business - With Jan Rezek And YvG5O (Part 1) Ep 86: Expat Entrepreneurship 101: 5 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Your Own Business - With Jan Rezek And YvG5O (Part 2) Did you encounter cultural/social differences from your home country Please check: Ep 140: Kalaha!, Universal Basic Income And Why Are Expats The Unhappiest In The Happiest Country In The World? How should we approach people best in this culture and city (without seeming desperate, superficial or out of place)? Ep 140: Kalaha!, Universal Basic Income And Why Are Expats The Unhappiest In The Happiest Country In The World? Do we have any relevant resources for starting a business or building a closer relationship to our community: local associations, NGOs, opportunities for international as well, legal resources or things that not many people know here but they would need (as a "to do/check" list)?

Today we discuss the COVID-19 vaccine race and its possible dangerous implications. Before you press play, be aware - this program focuses on Coronavirus vaccine only. If you watch the news, you've probably noticed by now that there is an unprecedented push from the Bill Gates Foundation and many government officials to develop the vaccine for Coronavirus as soon as possible. According to their message, we won’t go back to normal until the entire world is not vaccinated against COVID-19 virus. Simultaneously, in the past couple of weeks, several countries, including Denmark, have passed emergency laws to combat the pandemic. Among others, those laws are granting governments the rights to give forced vaccinations to their citizens. Even some of the strongest vaccines proponents are becoming more and more sceptical about the vaccine, due to three main reasons: 1. The fact that the 18-months timeline propagated by the Gates Foundation and many other health and government officials is “unprecedented” and resembles a race; people are worried that this vaccine simply won’t be safe to take 2. The idea that vaccine “is the only solution” and we need to vaccinate “7,8 billion people” - otherwise we will never go back to normal - What about other solutions? 3. The fact that the most promising (so far) contenders in the race for the COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna and Inovio) are trying to develop RNA and DNA vaccine respectively - something that was so far never successfully created. What is your opinion? Let us know here: https://www.the5options.com/contact-yvg5o     Resources used: James Corbett report "Bill Gates Plan to vaccine the world" avaliable here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7A_cMpKm6w&t=788s New York Times: How long will a vaccine really take? https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/30/opinion/coronavirus-covid-vaccine.html The local: Denmark passes far-reaching emergency coronavirus law https://www.thelocal.dk/20200313/denmark-passes-far-reaching-emergency-coronavirus-law  

Can we predict the future? Well, we certainly believe its worth a try, as for the most of today's program Anna, Marta and Dennis are trying to guess how the NEW NORMAL will be like. Join us for this groovy discussion and if you have your own predictions/suggestions let us know here: https://www.the5options.com/contact-yvg5o (This program is a Part 2 of Q&A with listeners. To listen to part one, please go here: https://www.the5options.com/podcast/ep-157-single-while-in-lockdown)  

Today we are solving a challenge from an anonymous listener who feels overwhelmed and confused while trying to find themselves in "the new normal". Listener's Challenge: The whole pandemic situation has been going on for a while now and I am really struggling to find myself in this situation. The information from mainstream media and politics just doesn’t add up and it’s often so contradictory that it just makes no logical sense. I see videos of anyone questioning mainstream strategies disappearing even when the video comes from doctors proposing for the medical community to come together to become better in treating the COVID-19 patients. And it just scares me, how can freedom of speech be violated such a big time and how come no one is doing anything about that? I see friends sharing their concerns about their kids being frightened to go to school because other kids come too close to them when the risk for a child dying from COVID-19 is way lower than from riding a bike or even regular seasonal flu. I feel very confused about what is really going on, I feel overwhelmed, emotionally affected, often depressed and the worst of all is that I don’t feel free to say what I think. How the hell do I find myself in all that mess and thrive? If you're dealing with similar feelings, tune in and listen to an hour of a mindful, sometimes philosophical and yet very practical discussion with Marta (life coach & conscious healer) and Anna (writer and researcher).

Last Friday we've spent a full hour answering questions from our listeners live on air. Surprisingly (not ;)) They were all related to life in times of pandemic.

Denmark is one of the very first countries that have decided to loosen up the restrictions of lockdown and send the little ones back to nurseries, kindergartens and schools (0-5 grades). How do parents feel about it? How do we feel about it? What are the risks and benefits of this decision? Tune in and find out! Artist of the week: Sabrina with a song "Stuck". For more please visit https://the5options.com

The more you listen to our “Corona Special” (Part 2 and 3) the more you can notice that the Lockdown has affected us in many “interesting ways”. So buckle up for the longest You’ve Got 5 Options Episode to date, where you can witness our (in)sanity and occasional flashes of wisdom - all at once ;)   Questions we are attempting to answer are: What’s up with the numbers? Why the majority of countries decided to put their populations on a lockdown? What is the most frightening thing about the virus? Why the media show virus as so deadly? How to stay sane, open and conscious in these difficult times?  Visit https://the5options.com for show notes, sources and details

Welcome to our very first REMAKE! This time we're looking again into our most listened to. and most voted for a remake challenge from the very beginning of YVG50: 5 Insights That Will Completely Change You And Lead You To A Fulfilled Life. And we have a real treat for you! We got a follow-up e-mail from Julienne! Letter from Julienne Dear Marta and Anna,  I went through the 5 options again, and your and Anna's analysis are OMG, so spot on! And believe me, this is not to "throw flowers on you" (that's a french saying "fakely-to-be-kind compliment you") but truly is! now I cannot remember exactly when I posted my challenge (I can see it was in September 2017), but I can tell you that I have mainly used option 2 and 3 (Drama Creation: Make sure Your need for excitement comes from a good place and  Forgive and Accept yourself) Option 4 (Finding Balance: Get In Sync With Yourself And Realize Your True Potential): I fully agree with this option, but it is so hard to ignore what others think about you (for example, I had to go on month travelling with work, away from my kids, but I got beaten up so hardly by my mum, that I can’t help feeling guilty about it, also because there is a wisdom in being the mother that society expects you to be right? so my mum is probably true in blaming me, for leaving my kids for a month, even though I tried to come home every two weeks, I managed to celebrate my child’s bday, and invite all the class, during the two days I was back in DK but still, that didn’t help live up to the standard of a good mother...) You mention yourself, that there is some wisdom in stereotypes.. and that's why i still feel bad, about messing up a bit the mom stereotype.  I did not, however, stop being myself, and I did more mess since 2017, that I am proud of! because that is who I am, and I loved the option of accepting and embracing who I am. Also, the one that says, that impulsiveness is not the problem, the problem is the outcome, and that we could have reached a bad outcome after a thoroughly thought-through decision. I have bought a house, last year, impulsively!! I asked my husband what he thought, he wasn’t really interested, I asked him to come and look at it, he did not want to waste his time, and I asked him to really consider it as I see it as a good option. he did not want to.. I went there, without talking to any bank (I know.. I know.. not very smart) to look at it.. and I loved it... very very old almost falling apart house.. but I fell in love with it.. and it felt right.. so I bought it on the spot.. signed paper same day and did not say anything to my husband until the deadline for paying off the house almost hit and the banks did not accept to grant me the loan (he asked for divorce, and told me to plead insanity to get away with it, my kids were literally disgusted by the state of the house, when I took them to see it but I was  blindly in love with what house, I didn’t allow them to criticize it )   well, it ended up well... (after a lot of drama, and stress) and an expensive loan, we are renovating it :) and I was happy throughout the whole journey! because i listened to myself and acted based on who I truly am.  That is who I am, and bein