Grief can turn an ordinary life into survival mode, where every small task feels like a mountain. This conversation stays with the reality of loss while showing how faith, service, and everyday kindness can slowly rebuild a sense of meaning. It is about learning to keep going when a loved one is gone, and discovering that purpose can grow out of the deepest pain.

Manager of PR From The Heart LLC | Award-Winning Children’s Author | Certified Animal Communicator, John Masiulionis, shares how the loss of his grandmother, a testicular cancer diagnosis, financial collapse, and a lifetime of self-doubt became the soil for his award-winning children’s book Walking Each Other Home— Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children, his spiritual work, and his path as a certified animal communicator.  

Press play to be part of a honest, hope-filled conversation about grief, purpose, and love that does not end with death, including:

• How John’s relationship with his grandmother shaped his spirituality and life work
• The turning point when testicular cancer, debt, and near-eviction redefined success
• The story behind Walking Each Other Home: Zachary’s Mission, A Hospice for Children
• Why children’s hospice, chronic illness, and early mortality need gentler stories
• How small “Earth Angels” moments can change the direction of a life
• The role of faith, forgiveness, and self-love in moving through grief
• How animal communication and our pets can support emotional healing

02:17 Meet John Babcia’s Love and Spiritual Awakening

09:20 Career Change and Calling

12:44 Hitting Rock Bottom: Financial Crisis, Cancer Diagnosis, Learning Radical Trust

23:25 Self-Forgiveness, Self-Love, and Becoming a Better Man

27:43 Zachary’s Mission 

42:44 Keeping Loved Ones Alive by Name

46:45 Becoming an Animal Communicator

52:42 Follow Your Heart

Books

📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette

📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette (COMING SOON)

📖Walking Each Other Home— Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children by John Masiulionis

🎨Walking Each Other Home—Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children-themed coloring sheet (to add link once John’s website is updated)

 

Thank you for listening.

To keep my podcast alive,

Wanna buy my dog Dakota a bone?

• https://buymeacoffee.com/livelovesurvivethrive

03:29 “I do a lot, but everything I do is everything that brings me joy in my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” —Heather Nelson 

09:06 “Loss is still universal. You could have lost somebody, and they’re still alive.” —Dr. Kimberly Hubenette

14:44 “We’re always future thinking. Just be in our moment and live day to day, and focus on what you can do each day.” —Heather Nelson 

15:04 “You should live the life you love. We only get one chance at this life, and we should live it the way we want.” Heather Nelson

22:25 “The more we’re open about our situation, and how we communicate with people, the more supportive people are.” —Heather Nelson

30:55 “Find the things that bring you joy. Find the things you want to do, and lean into it and try it, and if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.” —Heather Nelson 

32:03 “You want to do things that make you happy, and you could do it for yourself. Life doesn’t end when your significant other or somebody passes away. You have a purpose in life, because why would you still be on earth if you didn’t have a purpose in life?” —Dr. Kimberly Hubenette

40:26 “Somebody could be going through something hard, and you just checking in and being a friend could go a long way.” —Heather Nelson

44:44 “Every collaboration is not meant for everybody. So find the right people to do business with and partner with.” —Heather Nelson

John Masiulionis is the founder of PR From The Heart LLC—a leading KidLit public relations firm—the host of The Children’s Books Spotlight Series, one of the longest-running podcasts in children’s literature—and a certified animal communicator. Driven by a passion for storytelling and a commitment to helping children and families navigate life’s toughest challenges, he wrote his award-winning children’s book, Walking Each Other Home— Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children, and is on a mission to bring a children’s hospice to San Diego—a sacred space that will carry forward a legacy of strength, love, and lasting inspiration. 

John’s work is shaped by the memory of his late grandmother and by connecting hospitalized children with professional wrestlers while hosting the award-winning radio show Monday Night Mayhem. He lives in San Diego with his beloved Shih Tzu/Maltese, Little Forrest.

Connect with John Masiulionis:

• Website
• Facebook 
• X

Welcome to the  Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! Podcast that helps you embrace life’s challenges, grow through adversity, and discover your true potential. I’m your host, Dr. Kimberly Hubenette, anti-aging dentist, widow, Author and inspirational Coach. I live by the “Can I” philosophy of constant and never ending improvement, and I’m here to help you do the same. Each week, we’ll dive into real conversations, powerful stories and practical tools to help you heal, grow and thrive. Whether you’re rebuilding after loss or ready to step into a more purposeful life, this space is for you. Let’s grow, evolve and thrive together. 

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Well, hello everybody, this is Dr. Kimberly Hubenette, and this is Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!, a podcast about what it takes to move forward after losing a loved one. What I have right now today is a special guest that, actually, I’m so blessed that he even said yes to come to the podcast here. But this is a person that you may or may not have heard about in the place of children’s books. He’s really well known as an author and as a philanthropist. His name is John Masiulionis, and speaking with him, we had a lot in common. I’m going to actually introduce him and have him introduce himself. John, you want to say hello?

John Masiulionis: Well, hello, Dr. Kimberly, and thank you for having me. I really appreciate the special invitation and getting to know, you may hear a little Fred Rogers ism because a lot of the work that I do is inspired by Mr. Rogers, so I use the term friends and neighbors. So it’s great to spend time with your listeners and viewers at your podcast. Again, my name is John Masiulionis. I’m the manager of PR From The Heart, which is one of the largest PR publicity firms for children’s inspirational and spiritual authors across the country and around the world. The author of the new award winning children’s book, Walking Each Other Home-Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children, published by Trolley Stop Publishing. And also, just most recently, I became a Certified Animal Communicator, which is inspired by the love of my life, thus for my three year old little Shih Tzu Maltese little Forest. So I’ve been helping pet parents connect with their furry friends, my little guys right on cue. Needless to say, I help pet parents to be able to connect with their furry friends in a very special and meaningful way as well, too. And I’m really looking forward to seeing where our conversation takes us today.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Yeah. Let’s jump right into it. My listeners, obviously, the communication is that we’ve lost a loved one, whether it be a mom, a dad, a brother, sister, best friend, sibling, and what it takes to thrive after that. Because we all know that grief is a journey. And sometimes, little baby steps are a big mountain for us. And the reason why we come together is that maybe somebody can hear something inspirational from our listeners. Maybe the person has something too interesting to say, and we’re just here to make each other smile a little bit. It’s not to be depressed or anything because we’re here to make a difference in the world. And the reason why we’re still living is because there’s something that God has chosen for us to do still. I don’t know if anybody’s really religious or not religious, or believe in spirituality here, or believe in God. But basically, our person is surrounding us. And so let’s go ahead and start saying, when life was bad for you. Or tell me a little bit about what’s your inspiration for your new book. Tell us about your new book.

John Masiulionis: I appreciate that. And the inspiration, not only for my book, but in everything that I do goes back to my grandmother being part Polish. We refer to our grandmothers as Babcia Baptist Polish for grandmother, and Dziadek is Polish for grandfather. And I had a very strong connection with my grandmother growing up in many respects and times throughout my journey. When I didn’t believe in myself, she believed in me. And when I was moving through difficult seasons of my life, she really extended unconditional love every single time that I would spend time with her. If you’re a child of a certain age, growing up in the 80s and 90s, you used to love going to your grandparents house because they would take you to the mall, or they would have the best foods and things of that nature. And I just remember loving spending time with my grandmother. And in fact, to put a smile and to bring some levity into our conversation, I remember my grandmother taking me to go see Wayne’s World 2. So the follow up to the smash hit comedy with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey is about a grandmother taking their little one to go see Wayne’s World 2. Well, my grandmother, Babcia, we had a close relationship for many years. 

Unfortunately, there came a point in time where my extended family began to fragment a little bit, and there were a good number of years where I did not have the chance to spend time with my grandmother. But I did have the time to reconnect with her shortly before she passed. She passed away in the summer of 2013. And in many respects, shortly before that time, that’s really where my spiritual awakening began in many respects before my grandmother’s passing. But I remember that things really began to shift and change after that. For over 10 years, I was the host and the founder of one of the longest running, most successful wrestling radio shows in the country called Monday Night Mayhem. At that point in time in my life, I’d also worked in the collections industry. I was the guy that would call up a person if they were behind on their credit cards with full transparency. I would be the guy that would be very compassionate and understanding, and take the series of post data checks and not try to rip someone’s head off, so to speak. During that point in time, I really learned about compassion, empathy and understanding. 

But I share all of this because, interestingly enough, the name of my wrestling radio show was called Monday Night Mayhem. And my life, in many respects, was mayhem. And so after my grandmother had passed away, I really began to see life through a new lens. I let go of the wrestling radio show. So I let go of Monday Night Mayhem on my end of things, and I really began to see life from a whole different perspective. I knew that there was more to life than just professional wrestling, sports entertainment and just stress. I knew that there was more to life, and I learned. It took me some time, Dr. Kimberly, to realize that in life, it’s about the WE. It’s about the collective WE before it is about the I. And when we place our focus on service, and how can I help someone? How can I support someone? It’s interesting how the individual ME gets taken care of. Shortly after my grandmother had passed, I started getting some strong visions of moving out to Southern California. I was in San Diego for the first time around the spring of 2005, if I’m not mistaken, right around the time where Pope John Paul II made his transition. This is during the time that I used to work at Blockbuster Video. Remember when we used to rent movies? I remember being in San Diego for the first time, and I remember vividly having the most peaceful, restorative, blissful night of sleep in my entire life. 

The reason why I’m bringing this up is because, again, you fast forward many years later after my grandmother’s passing, it almost felt like there was a calling, a divine calling that I needed to be in San Diego. And I also started getting some visions of eventually helping to create a children’s hospice for terminally ill children in San Diego. Now obviously, again, life will life. Life will do its things. So shortly after my grandmother had passed, about two years afterward, I was given a testicular cancer diagnosis. I literally had to face my own mortality and look at it in the mirror. And after that, it really took me some time. Because at that point, I was already beginning to do PR publicity work for children’s authors, inspirational authors, and spiritual authors, but I really did my part to trust my own journey. Realized the fact that I was given skills, gifts and talents to really be of service to other people. And from there, things took off with my business. I made the cross country move during the pandemic, during the heat of the pandemic from Western New York, from Buffalo, New York where I spent nearly the first 40 years of my life, and I moved out to San Diego. 

Fast forward now, 5 plus years later since that move. And as I mentioned just recently, I became a certified animal communicator. My grandmother’s with me every step of the way. It’s interesting because I feel that our loved ones give us little, gentle, divine nudges, so to speak. But we have to be open, receptive and listening. So I remember my grandmother’s favorite color is green. So every time I literally step outside my residence, I see green grass. It’s one of the benefits of being in San Diego. My grandmother’s favorite show was Jeopardy. So whenever I see Jeopardy pop on Youtube, as they say, I feel a connection with my grandmother. Anytime that I would remember going to the mall, instantaneous connection with my grandmother. I do like to go to malls. Still, I might be one of the very few people, there’s something very soothing about taking a walk in the mall and just reconnecting with old times here and there. But my grandmother’s with me wherever I go. But one of the things that she has been reminding me of, and this is the last thing that I’ll mention as I look forward to more of your questions, is that it’s important for me to move forward fully to literally trust my next steps. And it’s long since been said that even if you don’t know what the full staircase looks like, you just take that next step. And this also ties into one of my other favorite beautiful quotes because you had mentioned something similar to this when you had asked me the first question. 

One of my biggest sources of inspiration, in addition to my grandmother in the late Fred Rogers is the late Dr. Wayne Dyer. And shortly before he passed, he co-authored a book called Don’t Die with Your Music Still in You with his daughter Serena. When he talks across the country and around the world, he would remind all of us that we all have music to play, skills, gifts, talents. And it’s really important in this world that we’re living. Especially for those who are tuning into this episode of your podcast in real time, it could really look like things are difficult and challenging and maybe to a certain extent that they are. But we’re being reminded that each one of us has a divine purpose. That when we take the time to trust our next steps and when we move forth, even if we don’t know what the whole thing looks like, that everything will be provided for. And that life can become more fulfilling, beautiful, enjoyable, and then some along the way.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: So was there ever a point in your life where you were at the lowest, lowest, lowest? And can you explain when life was at its lowest, what did you do? How did you rebuild yourself?

John Masiulionis: I really appreciate this question too, because one of the things that life has taught me is to remain humble. I am no better than anyone else who walks the planet that said it’s important to still believe in myself and everything like that. But I remember that there was a point in time where I literally had to go through the system. Meaning going through the system, I almost lost everything in terms of my home, my finances. There was a point in time where literally all I had to eat in my pantry when I lived in western New York was a five pound bag of pasta and Ilio DiPaolo’s marinara sauce. Now, Ilio DiPaolo’s is a very well known Italian restaurant in western New York that’s owned by my dear friend Dennis who’s very much a father figure in my life. He is the inspiration for one of the Earth Angels in Walking Each Other Home-Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children along with my grandmother. I’ll talk a little bit more about the story as well shortly. 

But I remember when I didn’t have any food, Dennis said, here’s what I can do to help. Gave me a five pound bag of pasta and a couple of cans of DiPaolo’s marinara sauce, and I literally realized at that point in time like, thank you, God. I didn’t have to go hungry. There was a time where I was almost going to be evicted from my residence, and the exact amount that I needed for my rent to come through came through the form of a new client that I had worked with. This was back, I think in 2016, 2017. So even though it may seem like things have transformed in many respects, I’m in such a better position now than what I was beforehand. But I don’t forget those times because life has a way of humbling us, and it’s really important to take the time to reflect and understand how far you’ve come. But knowing the fact that it’s important to still continue to do the right things, it took me some time to really get with that whole WE versus ME thing that I had mentioned before to really step into my highest, truest and most authentic self. It took me some time to get with the program on that. But through the different experiences that I’ve had between the loss of my grandmother, and the testicular cancer diagnosis, and nearly losing everything finances, and my residents, it literally came to the perceived lowest of the lows to really shake and wake me up. And I think that we all really have a choice. Those experiences in our life, they can serve as catalysts for opening our hearts. They can really help to remind us that there are better experiences around the way. Or we can continue to believe in the old mindsets, the old story lines. 

I think it was Dr. Wayne Dyer that would refer to it as the old morse code, da, da, I am stupid. Da da da, I am ugly. Da da, I’m not going to amount to much in the world. There’s these old stories that we continue to tell ourselves, things that fuel older, not even just older stories, but older patterns, older habits that no longer serve us. And I think that I’ve seen through my own journey, different friends and colleagues, just people that have come into my life, and they may say something to the effect of, well, my grandfather was an alcoholic, and my father was an alcoholic, so that means I’m going to be an alcoholic. We really have the opportunity to break free from older paradigms and older beliefs, and really become the best version of ourselves than we even thought that we could be in many respects. The one thing that I also wanted to mention tied into that is my connection with my grandmother and my connection with God has really guided me through one of the things. And you’re familiar with the San Diego area because you had the opportunity to spend some time here. I find myself regularly at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the entire country, and I may even say the entire world.

There’s two things that I love to do when I go to church. One is to sing church hymns. I feel that there’s something very nurturative, healing and restorative for my mind, body, soul and spirit. And I also love to light candles for people. I’m the guy that will write down a list of 45 people to pray for, and I’ll be the guy that lights 45 candles when I go to the cathedral. And whether it be growing up, I was born and raised Catholic even though I really identify now as more spiritual and universal, I still am grateful for reconnecting with my Catholic roots. Because growing up, everything from Ultra Server, Eucharistic minister, CYO, Church fFolk Group, I did all of that. Reconnecting with my faith during this journey has been absolutely instrumental. And I’m not necessarily someone to force my own beliefs or thought processes down someone’s throat. If anything, I give a gentle invitation to those listening, to those watching who might be struggling in some way, shape or form to remember that they’re not alone. That there are people that care for them. And one of the greatest communities that you can create is with a local church. Or even some kind of a support group for men or women because we don’t have to walk this journey alone. 

And in fact, there is a reason why the name of my children’s book is called Walking Each Other Home-Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children. There’s a well known spiritual teacher just recently passed, not too long ago, by the name of Ram Dass, and he had a beautiful quote that we’re all here to just walk each other home. And when I first heard that quote, I thought of the staircase to heaven. The Stairway to Heaven for all those hard rock fans, I guess, if you want his own rock analogy. And knowing the fact that through every relationship, through every experience, it could be with a friend, a family member, it could even be the ex boyfriend or the ex girlfriend, right? Every single relationship is helping to open our hearts and to help walk us back home to become the highest and best in the most integrous versions of ourselves. And so knowing the fact that, again, everything just has a way of coming full circle in many respects. And I share all of this from a mindset and a hard set of, even though I’ve had these life experiences and I do feel that I have a lot of wisdom to share, I realize the fact that I’m still learning each and every day by far. Don’t have things down pat. It kind of took me a while to understand a lot, and to really even become the man that I really am right now. But I’m grateful for the fact that I haven’t given up. I’m grateful for the fact that I’ve had an amazing support system. I use the term Earth Angels in my children’s book and throughout the course of my life. I feel that God sends us people on our path to lift our spirits, to lend us our confidence when we don’t necessarily have the confidence in ourselves. And even if how many times do we find ourselves praying for God, I’m needing this particular person to help me. I’m needing someone to help me with the brakes on my car. Or I’m planning on moving this fall, and I’m going to need someone to help me move. And it always happens on clockwork. There’s people that come into our lives just when we need it. 

I’m grateful to have the chance to share my story with you, Dr. Kimberly, because one of the things that I really love about the work that you’re doing in the world is you’re helping people to share their stories. And when we take the time to share our stories, there’s more healing that can happen. Because if someone is watching or listening to one of your podcast episodes, and if they see Dr. Kimberly went through that and she moved beyond that, that means there’s a chance that I can move beyond whatever it is that I’m moving through. It could be the addiction, it could be the illness, it could be the depression, whatever the case might be, the financial challenges, you can get through to the other side of that. It involves work. It involves discipline. It involves maybe a little luck along the way. But it’s long since been said that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Again, I’m really grateful just for everything and for the opportunity to have conversations such as these, because I feel that that’s really where it all begins, in many respects, is having open ended and open hearted conversations.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: You’ve written more than just one book?

John Masiulionis: Just one book, actually, for now.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Oh, for some reason, I thought that you do help others with books.

John Masiulionis: That is true, and that is through the PR publicity work that I do. And so there’s a beautiful synergy. One of the reasons why I love working with podcast hosts and producers, assignment editors, reporters and anchors is because I feel that collectively, when we can help people share their stories, there’s more magic that happens. There’s miracles that happen. And we can utilize our platforms, television, radio, newspaper, podcast online print. We can use our platforms to remind people that even if you are moving through the most difficult seasons of your life, that there’s hope on the horizon.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Do you feel that you have reached a point where you are truly living your destiny? Or is there still work that you need to get to a point where you feel like you’re really doing the cause that you want?

John Masiulionis: I feel that the short answer to your question is yes, I feel that I’m where I need to be, and where I’ve wanted to be for a long period of time. To add on to that, I feel that we’re all works of art, yet works in progress. And each and every day when I wake up, I ask myself, what can I do to be a better version of myself today than I was yesterday? If I can just be .001% better tomorrow than I was today, as I like to say, mission accomplished. Job well done. Obviously, if I can be 5% better, or 10% better, that’s the plan. But one of the things that I’d like to share on that thread, and even took me time when I first moved to San Diego in the fall of 2020, it literally felt as if I was living in San Diego, but not living in San Diego. It still felt that there were things that I needed to make peace with in the process, and especially making peace with myself. Forgiveness, for me, was maybe one of the things that took the longest to truly embody. I think that on some sort of level, we can all understand forgiveness. We can comprehend it. But really, forgiveness begins with ourselves. And when we can take the time to forgive ourselves for the poor decisions, or for how we treated ourselves, how we treated our minds, our bodies, our souls, our spirits, then we have a greater likelihood of being able to forgive other people. Because it’s almost as if those things that we’re holding on to, it’s kind of like that 25 pound bag of crap that we just drag, and we drag, and we drag, and we drag, and we drag to the point where we are experiencing relationships through the lens of the past instead of through the lens of the present. 

And I would probably say, just within this past year, I probably got to the point where if you hook me up to a polygraph, and if someone said, John, do you feel that you have forgiven yourself? I feel that it’s more of a resounding yes now than it’s ever been. Now, is there still work to do? I feel that we all still have work to do. Going back to the whole works of art, yet works in progress. But I’m doing my part to understand the fact that I’m at this point now. It took me longer than what I would have wanted. I can look and see maybe friends of mine who maybe I’m no longer friends with, that I went to grammar school in high school with. Many of them have kids. They have families, and I just have a three year old Shih Tzu, Maltese. I’m a proud dog dad. A very proud dog dad. I haven’t had the chance to become a father yet, and I feel that that is one of the things that I’m destined to do. I know that I’m going to be a really good father when the time comes. 

But I feel that God has given me the opportunity to get my stuff in order, so to speak, to get my ducks in a row, and to really connect with myself on the deepest of levels. Because if I can do that, if I can say I love myself more than I’ve ever loved myself before in my entire life, I feel then the love that I can then give and express to my partner whenever she comes in, to my son whenever he comes in, I know that that love will be coming from an overflow. It won’t come from a need to seek love outside of myself. I think that that was probably one of the things that I really struggled with the most through the course of my life. I felt that it was always outside of myself, and it would come through the new relationship, or through the next $10,000 that would come into my bank account, only then would I be happy. And I had to get to a point where I would say that I can be happy with where I am right now. I can love myself right now, knowing the fact that there’s still work to do. Because to kind of circle back to what you had shared previously, as long as we’re still here living, breathing, we still have purpose, and we still have work to do in that process.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: You have had an award winning book, when did that happen? How did that happen?

John Masiulionis: So the story itself, Walking Each Other Home-Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children, when I experienced grief through the loss of my grandma, that was probably the time in which grief was the most prominent. Even though I had felt grief in many respects throughout my whole life, I knew that I had a story to share. And I remember growing up when I was a child, it was very difficult for me to really be my most authentic self, expressing my creativity was a challenge. It almost felt like it was compartmentalized in many respects that that’s just the way in which I was led to believe that my best was not necessarily good enough, and that my creativity was not good enough. But I remember that there was an author who I became friends with in Western New York, and she was visiting Children’s Hospital at the time. Because one of the things I help authors to do is visit children’s hospitals across the country where they can share the stories with kids room to room. And this particular author said, when is your book coming out? And she was just very blunt like that, when is your book coming out? And then at that point, I became aware that even though other people had probably said for many years, when is your book coming out, I tilted my head at that point and felt, okay. Sooner versus later, I’m going to be ready at the same point in time. 

Being a publicist, I’m always about helping other people share their stories. So I came from the perspective of, I’ll get around to it. I’ll get around to it. I’ll get around to it. I’ll get around to it. And it has long since been said that the thing that you put off the most is the thing that you’re really meant to do. And the longer you put something off, the more difficult that it can become. And I remember finally it was probably around a little under two years ago where I said, okay, it’s time. And was very fortunate to have a full team to assist me with this book. Having multiple editors in the process, having an amazing illustrator, Roksana Barwinska, who works with both well known traditionally published authors and self published authors. 

The story itself is about a brave 8 year old boy named Zachary who’s battling a life limiting illness terminal cancer, and he has a dream. And in the dream, God comes to him, acknowledges that Zachary is moving through fear about next steps and what could happen, what might happen? God sends him four Earth Angels. That’s the term that I mentioned previously. He sends him and his family 4 Earth Angels to help him create and raise the necessary funds for a children’s hospice in San Diego, which is Zachary’s mission and his purpose in life that he needs to fulfill before he passes. 

Now, all of the Earth Angels are inspired by real life people through the course of my journey. There is Jane, the loving grandmother. There is Dennis, the Italian restaurant owner. Both of which, again, I mentioned my grandmother and Dennis DiPaolo, the the owner of Ilio DiPaolo’s Restaurant in the Western New York area in Buffalo. There is Georgeanne, the animal loving storyteller who is inspired by my dear friend and colleague, Georgeanne Irvine, who is one of the longest tenured employees at the San Diego Zoo. She is the award winning creator of the zoo’s hope and inspiration collection, which chronicles many of the journeys of the animals at the zoo that have gone through challenging circumstances and have moved through to the other side to live beautiful and amazing lives. And then there’s also Patrick, the Reiki master. And Patrick was actually one of my former practitioners, my former Reiki master. So they all travel from different areas across North America to meet Zachary and his family in San Diego, and successfully, they not only help Zachary and his family to raise the necessary funds for the hospice, but they also teach Zachary about the different meanings of unconditional love along the way. 

So for example, Jane, the loving grandmother, helps Zachary to remember that unconditional love can best look like spending quality time with the ones that you love. And Dennis, the Italian restaurant owner, reminds Zachary that unconditional love can look like cooking a meal for someone who’s hungry for someone in need. And so Zachary is able to fulfill his mission. The hospice is created, and he’s able to pass away peacefully knowing the fact that he has fulfilled his mission and his purpose, and that now there is a sacred space where children who are moving through life’s most difficult challenges. And parents and families at that as well. Because when someone is moving through grief, and especially the last stages of life, it really impacts more than just the person who’s set to pass away. But Zachary reminds all of us that love never dies, that it only changes form. And so the story, it’s hard to believe that it was actually released one year ago, which is just, I blink my eyes and realize that within one year, I had been on a full national book tour. I’ve had the chance to visit children’s hospices, both in the United States and in Canada. I’ve been very fortunate to moderate one of the largest children’s literacy events in the country at Mall of America this past year. I have shared my story on some of the largest national Christian television outlets in the country and television stations nationwide. I’m very fortunate because I feel that I’m really just beginning this particular leg of my journey. 

Just recently, I had the chance to visit one of the largest hospice conventions in the country and meet some amazing people. And this spring, I am actually going to be volunteering at hospice to actually start to learn more about the ins and the outs. Because I do know a good amount about hospice. But by far, I am a novice. And so this goes back to one of the things that I mentioned before. That if there’s something that you’re meant to do, just take the next steps. I remember my art teacher at Fourteen Holy Helpers School in Western New York, in West Seneca, right outside of Buffalo, she would always tell me, growing up, John, a little (inaudible). And I had no idea what the heck Miss Schaffner was saying way back. But I can look back on many decades later and feel that that was her way of saying one step at a time, because we can’t necessarily do everything that we want to do. 

We can’t necessarily experience everything that we want to experience in one moment. There’s a reason why there’s 24 hours in a day. There’s a reason why there are 7 days in a week. There’s a reason why there’s 365 days in a year. There’s a reason why they call it a lifetime, because there’s certain things that do take a longer period of time to come to form and shape. But when you’re stepping forward into your life’s work, there is something that is very rewarding, and it’s rewarding on the deepest of levels with one’s heart and one’s soul. So I’m really excited, and I finally believe that the best stuff is starting to happen right now. I always wanted to experience what I refer to as the rainbow and gumdrops chapter of my life, and I feel that I’m kind of at the beginning of the rainbows and gumdrops chapter of my life. Finally, after all the stuff that I went through, now I’m entering into the rainbows and gumdrops chapter. But I just remind myself, again, I’m no better than the person next to me. And it’s important for me to remain appreciative, grateful, grounded and humble so that I can continue to become a better version of myself each and every day.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: You have already done so much, even before your book. You’ve been fortunate to work with the best of the best too. And so, why a children’s book? Was this a true story?

John Masiulionis: So the short answer was yes and no. Was there a real life Zachary? Yes. So Zachary, again, the main character in the story, Zachary was Zachary the Earth. Zachary the little boy in the store was inspired by a friend of mine, Zachary Beveridge, who is the former street team president of my wrestling radio show that I hosted, Monday Night Mayhem. He passed away at a very young age. Not as young as little Zachary in the story, but he passed away, I believe, from a heart condition that he didn’t even know that he had, if I’m not mistaken. And when the time came to have the main character in the story, and I’d ask myself who is going to be the name of this brave little boy in the story, there’s only one name that came to mind, and that was Zachary. And all of the Earth Angels in the story are inspired by real life people. So there is a real life element. There are real life people in the story. And in many respects, Zachary’s mission is my mission, because Zachary wants to create a hospice for terminally ill children. And I do believe that that is one of the most important things that I’m meant to do while walking this earthly plane. 

Now, I don’t necessarily know, as we’re speaking in real time, if I’m going to be spearheading everything, or if I’m simply meant to be a part of the team, so to speak. Ultimately, what I do know is that it is important to have a space like that here in San Diego. I don’t feel that 20 plus years after first coming out here and really seeing San Diego is this very serene and sacred place. There’s a reason why I’m back here, and I’m still allowing everything to unfold in the process. But one of the reasons why I’m really grateful that I have written this book is knowing the fact that there is a lifeline. There’s a resource of care that’s available for caregivers who are taking care of those who are terminally ill, for families who are struggling with grief, children who are being introduced to grief. More or less for the first time, I’ll share with you a story that I haven’t had the chance to share really publicly in many respects. 

While I was traveling on my national book tour, I had a signing at the largest Barnes & Noble in Rochester, New York. I had the chance to meet this elderly woman, and I had a very powerful experience with her. She was moving through some sort of dementia and Alzheimer’s, and she had mentioned that one of the things that keeps her going is puzzles. And she came to Barnes & Noble because she wanted to get a puzzle. But at the same point in time, she had said, I haven’t been to this Barnes & Noble in a long period of time. And she said, I don’t have much time left. And I gave her a copy of my book, and I asked her, I’m going to pray for you. And when the time comes, and when you cross over and you see my grandmother in heaven, please let her know that I’ve asked for more time. And that eventually, I will see her again someday. And she, I will do that when I see your grandmother, Babcia Jane, I will let her know. 

And that experience, still nearly a year later, is something that maybe I haven’t even had the chance to fully integrate, because this woman was not on my radar. I was supposed to have left the store a little bit earlier just because I had to hop on a flight to get back home to San Diego, but I feel that God moved in a very mysteriously beautiful way that day, that woman and I needed to connect, and she needed, I needed to give her a copy of the book so that she could have. And knowing the fact that, in some way, I hope I don’t know this for effect, I hope that it provided her comfort in some way, shape or form. Because ultimately, this goes back to one of the things I’d mentioned previously, if we can just remember that we are not alone. And that even during the most difficult and challenging times and seasons of our life, the fact that there are people that care about us, the fact that life is worth living, that you’re a good person, oftentimes, we can just beat the absolute crap out of ourselves. And if we can just remember these simple things, which really are true with a capital T, then I feel that we can make more progress. We can get further along than where we currently are in this particular moment in time. So I just encourage anyone, if you see someone who is struggling, it’s virtually impossible to help the world, but if you can just extend kindness, starting with yourself, love to yourself and just try to help one person out every day, it’s not rocket science. If someone’s needing an extra quarter for the laundry machine, and if you got that quarter, why not? If you want to pay it forward, and if you see a homeless person that’s on the street and maybe you get him a breakfast sandwich, you never know what someone is going through, and that random act of kindness may shift the complete trajectory of their entire life.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: It’s profound. I don’t know if I ever shared this with you or not, but my husband had a chronic illness. He had cystic fibrosis, and before I met him, he had a double lung transplant. Now, it lasted for 21 years because I was married to him, and we were together for 20 years. But as far as the things that you’re talking about, what happened in your book and everything, it really hits home because he was a young child thinking that he was going to pass early in life. But because of his double lung transplant, he was able to extend his life for 21 more years with cystic fibrosis. It’s a genetic disorder that all of your mucus membranes start clogging up and Fibrosing, and most people with cystic fibrosis don’t last past the age of 18, so he was always living to die. And this book that you wrote hits home to me. If he were still around, he would have loved to read this book because it would have hit home to him about all these things happening in this world.

John Masiulionis: I want to thank you for your vulnerability in sharing your husband with me and with all of us. If I may ask, what is your husband’s name? 

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Mark. 

John Masiulionis: Mark. I want to give the proper credit to an author who I had the blessing of working with by the name of Wanda Weathersby. She has a very powerful book that she wrote. And through the course of her book, she firmly believes that when we say someone’s name, they truly never die. So whenever someone shares with me that their husband passed, or their brother passed, or their next door neighbor passed, or their 4th grade teacher passed, I take the time to ask them what is their name because we can keep their memories and their legacies alive. And there’s a reason why I use the term, what is your husband’s name? Because love really is unconditional. Not to get too uber religious or spiritual in any way, shape or form to a certain extent, maybe I’m a firm believer that when our loved ones pass, that we will see them again. 

And however that necessarily looks, sounds and feels like, I believe that heaven is a combination of all of the greatest experiences that you’ve had in your entire life, and all of the most wonderful people that you met in your entire life. So for me, heaven would be going to Disneyland, Trader Joe’s, and there’s the part of me that would say that maybe integrating in some kind of a wrestling event. And I’ll see my grandmother, and I’ll see all of my previous pets that I had along the way, Hunter, and Scotty, and Brownie, and Lady. And I’ll see my first college professor, Zan Robinson, and other people. I’ll see Zachary. People that I’ve lost throughout my journey. I know that I’ll see them again, and I take a lot of solace in that. I take a lot of comfort in that. Through this connection, through our interview, I wrote this story because, ultimately, if it can just help one person, I know this may sound cliche and leave it to the publicist side of me to say this, but if my story could just help one person, then I would know in my heart that it was worth doing of all of the time and the large financial investment to self publish a book. Because it was not easy. It was very costly to do. But ultimately, if this can leave a lasting legacy, not even just for myself, and this was my contribution to the world so that someone, when they read the story, can say, I’m not alone. I have Earth Angels in my life. Or I will see my departed loved one again. Or that it can be a book that someone can read during the dying days of their life. That one elderly woman that I had met who had terminal kidney cancer in Rochester. And so again, thank you for taking the time to share your husband with all of us.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Yeah. You think that we’re going to go one way, and then we go another way. For all of our listeners, this is huge. Think about all the ways that we can touch the lives of others. We just talked about a part of what you do. You are so amazing. You seem like you have put your whole life into your life. We have a little bit of time to talk about the new thing that you’re doing. You’re talking to animals, and that’s huge. A lot of our listeners have pets, and we want to communicate with our pets. We want to know what they’re talking about, thinking about, what made you think to do that?

John Masiulionis: I give a large amount of credit to my channeling practitioner who I’ve known for close to 10 years. His name is Ken Lewicki. He’s an amazing practitioner who lives out in the Bali area. He used to live out in Canada, in Calgary, and I had such a profound respect for those who do anything with pets out here in the San Diego area. There’s a couple by the name of Robert and April, and they own a pet boutique called Bella Woof. And so they groom pets, and they do puppy training, and they have all the different kinds of things, different foods and treats, and sweaters for dogs. You name it, they have it. And pets communicate in such a very unique way. When we ask ourselves, if only we understood what they were saying, and how many times when your little pup says, when they’re barking, they might be thirsty, they might be hungry, they might want to go outside, or they just simply just want your attention, so to speak. But I spent nearly 15 hours over two days right after Christmas really immersing myself in all of this, putting down all the busyness, putting down all the laundry lists of things to do and said, this is what needs to be done. I put this off long enough, and it’s literally been, we’re talking 60 days from when we’re recording this interview to when fully the completion of the training and the workshop took place. I’ve just noticed such a profound shift in my own life and being able to now communicate with pet parents, and let them know that you can have a stronger relationship with your pet. That really is my goal through the work that I do as an animal communicator, knowing the fact that our pup or our feline friend, I recently connected with someone who has a fish. 

We often think it’s just dogs and cats, right? But people have horses, and they have other kinds of animals as well too. And knowing the fact that if they’re struggling with communication with their pet, their pet can also be sick as well. What are some things in terms of connective activities and experiences that you can do with your pet to help them feel better? Now, full transparency, I’m not a veterinarian, so I’m not here to give medical advice in any way, shape or form. If anything, I come from the very unique and supportive perspective that, ultimately, love is the unconditional healer. I’ve just known that from when little Forest came into my life a little over three years ago. Now, I’ve been able to spend more time with them. I would probably say, especially over the past six months or so. Sometimes, he lets me know if I’m still busy and I’m not giving him my undivided attention. But ultimately, our furry friends just want more connectivity and love. And it’s been a blast. I look forward to, if anyone feels a connection to connect with me, to set up a session. I’m in the process now of onboarding clients and working with pet parents across the country and around the world. And that’s one of just the several aspects of the work in service that I’m very fortunate to do. 

So I try to keep it simple, johnmasiulionis.com for those who want to learn more about my work as a children’s author. And to purchase their copies of Walking Each Other Home-Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children, they can go to johnmasiulionis.com. You can also schedule your session as well to connect with me for a one on one session with your furry friend. I do my part to provide not only a 90 minute session where there is a full intake that is taken through. And then I provide a PDF to the pet parent of the specific things that I pick up on, and the specific immersive experiences that they can work on creating with their pet to truly get that relationship to where they want to be. And then, of course, there’s my PR website, which is for PR From The Heart. I’m very blessed and fortunate to be stepping into my, I believe, 13th year of service in the world of PR and publicity, and being of service and support to children’s authors, inspirational authors, spiritual authors, other authors that had the chance to work with poets and athletes, those who are penning memoirs, because those really, truly transcend inspirational and spiritual stories. 

If you are an author and you have a story to share, and you are looking to create a city wide book media tour, or a National Book media tour, or even simply to facilitate one or two television interviews just to begin to put your foot in the water of what it’s like to truly be of greater service and step fully into your mission, you can head on over to my official website, prfromtheheart.com, and schedule your courtesy connection call. And while also going to the PR From The Heart website, you can learn more about the Children’s Book Spotlight Series. And I’m very fortunate to host one of the longest running, most popular podcasts in the world of children’s literature where I interview prominent celebrities in New York Times bestsellers, and the leading award winning and best selling voices in the Kidlit community. And also, it’s celebrating its 8 year anniversary this fall. 

And then the sister program to the Children’s Book Spotlight Series, which is the Neighborly Reviews Bookcast. We remember and love him as David Newell who played Mr. McFeely on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I know and love him as David Newell. David and I, we deliver heartfelt reviews of the newest, best and greatest children’s books that are on the market right now, and deliver those heartfelt reviews to parents, educators and librarians to let them know what is available in the world of children’s literature. David and I are proud to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the Neighborly Reviews Bookcast this spring. So you can also subscribe to the PR from the Heart YouTube channel. Join the more than 30,000 members of the PR from the Heart families, I like to say that our loyal YouTube subscribers, and share the episodes. I call them Trolley Stops. Whenever we take the time to spend time with someone, I call it a trolley stop, kind of similar to the whole Mr. Rogers language, right? But if any of those Trolley Stops feel resonance with you to pass it along to someone in need, someone who can benefit from watching an episode of the Children’s Book Spotlight series or the Neighborly Reviews Bookcast. 

Again, to come full circle, Dr. Kimberly, I want to thank our mutual friend and colleague, Leng, for bringing us together because you really provide such a great service. I admire the work that you’re doing in the world. And this podcast is going to continue to grow. I encourage you to continue doing what it is that you’re doing because it is not easy. You know that the podcast world can seem very saturated. But I feel that if you really allow yourself to express yourself, I feel that we all have, I call it a soul signature, we all have that beautiful music inside of us, soul signature. And if you allow that to emit and to express, your tribe will find you. So I encourage everyone who’s watching, who’s listening now or in the future, to continue to pledge your support for Dr. Kimberly and the wonderful work that she’s doing for everyone right now during these  very interesting times that we’re living in.

Dr. Kimberly Hubenette: Yeah. It’s been such a pleasure to have you on. And as far as Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!, I think you’re doing it. You know you really are. And so the take, I think, on today’s message is to really do what your heart really feels like you should be doing, because you don’t have to listen to anybody else. Just listen to yourself, and it will come. It will come. Thank you so much for joining us today, listeners. And I really want to thank John Masiulionis for being here today and sharing his story. You are doing a wonderful thing with the world. And sharing your story, and sharing all these things that you’re doing, all three of your life long passions, and I hope that you will continue to grow. I hope that you continue to prosper with your book and share amongst all of the listeners out there. Pledge your support. Maybe call them up. Call John and buy a book. Or call him up to have him help you with your dog, or your cat, or your bird. Thank you so much, and thank you for listening. Listeners, this is Dr. Kimberly Hubenette saying bye for now. And this is Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!, see you next time.

Thank you for joining me on this episode of Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! I hope our time together has inspired you to embrace life’s challenges, find the courage to overcome obstacles, and create a life filled with love, purpose and fulfillment. If you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast. Your feedback means the world to me, and to help us continue to bring you stories and tools to empower your journey. And if you have a story of resilience, transformation or thriving after adversity, I’d love to hear from you. Reach out to me directly at livelovesurvivethrive@gmail.com. You never know, your story might just be the inspiration someone else needs to hear.

To learn more about me and my work, visit my website at www.drkimberlyhubenette.com. While you’re there, be sure to check out my current book, GRID: Once In A Lifetime, You Get To Start Over, a guide to rebuilding and rediscovering life after loss. Get a sneak peek at my upcoming book, Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!, a powerful companion to this podcast, and a heartfelt roadmap to reclaiming joy, resilience and meaning after life’s toughest seasons. You can also connect with me on social media. Follow me on Facebook at authordr.kimberlyhubenette. Follow me on Instagram with the same name, and subscribe to my Youtube channel at Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! for more inspiration and insights.  

Remember, you have the power within you to write your story and thrive beyond your wildest imaginations. Keep relearning to live love, survive, thrive every single day. Until next time, I’m Dr. Kimberly Hubenette, and this is Live, Love, Survive, Thrive!