Becky Blanton
Becky Blanton is a former journalist with 22 + years experience as an award-winning reporter, photojournalist and editor. She’s currently traveling around the USA in her 1975 Chevy Van with her aging Rottweiler and working on a new series of books called “The October Abduction of Thomas Martin,” based on events, UFO sightings, cattle mutilations and bizarre things she’s covered in her life as a journalist. For more info and to see the covers of upcoming books, go to http://octoberabduction.com.
Becky is also a ghost and copy-writer, helping individuals and businesses discover and “tell their story.”
A TED Global 2009 speaker, Becky spoke about her year of being homeless to a standing room only crowd at TED University in Oxford, England July 21st, 2009. The video of her talk may be viewed at: http://www.ted.com/talks/becky_blanton_the_year_i_was_homeless.html
Nine Stories: A TED Talks Playlist
Her first book, Stay Hungry, the Official Guide for Never Settling for What Life Puts on Your Plate, is both how-to and biography, filled with inspirational stories of the journeys of others and herself, but also with the nuts and bolts of how people get out of life’s tough times.
“Staying Hungry” is the name of the winning entry in Daniel Pink’s contest to name the “seventh lesson” of Johnny Bunko in Pink’s book, “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the last career guide you’ll ever need.” The book expands on the talk she will give at TED Global 2009 on July 21st in Oxford, England. Daniel Pink, former speech writer for Al Gore, and best selling author of ”The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need,“ and ”A Whole New Mind,“ recently finished writing ”DRIVE,“ a book about what really motivates us.
Becky’s essay, “The Monster,” was one of 60,000 entries selected for publication in Tim Russert’s best-selling book, “Wisdom of Our Fathers.” Russert told interviewers the essay was the reason he chose to include a chapter on “forgiveness,” in the book.
She makes a “cameo appearance” in Pamela Slim’s book, “Escape from Cubicle Nation,” (page 25)
Her story about how her dog saved her life during a year of living in her van, will be coming out in a book to be published by Penguin Books this fall. Proceeds from the book, tentatively entitled, “Every Dog is a Gift,” will help benefit the Humane Society.
She’s been featured or mentioned in several national stories about homelessness, the TED Talks and about careers, including:
National Public Radio (NPR) The Netherlands - featured guest:
Salon.com - When My Car Was the Safest Place to Live.
AOL: Seven Ways to Sell Your Experience
Inspiration Radio Podcast: InspiRadio, a talk show in the UK, interviewed Becky recently (May 2011)
Becky is one of the original members of Seth Godin’s social media site, “Triiibes.com.”
Six Minutes: How to Give the (TED) Talk of Your Life
Winner of the 4th Todd Newfield Award from Jeremy Epstein.
Mashable: Five People Who Broke The Rules of Social Media and Succeeded
AOL: Cars, the Latest Form of Affordable Housing
The Women’s Empowerment Hour (UPCOMING March 17, 2010)
Other stuff:
Three words that describe me….. Curious, Opinionated, Authentic.
My heroes are Irena Sendler, a 97-year-old Polish woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children from certain death in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, but lost the Nobel peace Prize to Al Gore, a “wealthy American liberal who made a movie containing egregious scientific falsehoods,” about global warming.
I also admire Steven Spielberg; Thomas Jefferson; Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.
Sleeping in two extra hours and then spending an extra hour at the gym makes me smile on Saturday mornings. I prefer buttermilk pancakes with real maple syrup and a side of bacon – limp, not crisp.
I think the common “When I’m thin….” fantasy should be kicked to the curb along with the “When I’m rich….When I have more time….When the kids are grown….When I finally meet my soul mate….When I find my dream job….” fantasies. There will never be a “When.” There is only NOW. So, fat as I am, I am doing the things I want to do “When I’m thin,” NOW. When I am thin I’ll already be kayaking, camping, loving, traveling. After all, it’s not the “thin, rich, retired, married” fantasy we want. It’s the feelings we imagine we’ll have when we are those things.
