We’re working on a plan for “what’s next” in Life Insights.

We generally meet at Kevin Gourley’s Photography Studio at 11740 Jollyville Rd. Suite 400, Austin TX. But we sometimes meet at various restaurants or other locations.

Keep up with what we’re doing: Check back here OR sign up for our email group. Use our Contact Form to request to be added!

We started meeting in 2018 and have evolved through the years! Here’s what we have done, if you’re curious: (wow, it’s a lot!)

Here was our first group when we started this at Kevin’s photography studio:

We have done a bunch of different book studies:

… and a wide range of TED Talk “watch parties” and discussions

… and discussions about various documentaries

We have had some absolutely wonderful guest speakers:

We had a fun time at our Drum Circle and Picnic Around a Campfire at South Wind Equestrian Center in Leander!

We’ve eaten together, pot lucks, dinner outings to area restaurants

We had a fantastic study of the book “The Road Back to You” led by two licensed professional counselors, 
Lisa Blackwood and Sherri Woodworth.

Here are more details about our previous activities:

• December 13, 2024 Field Trip to Community First! Village of Lights
• November 18, 2024 Topic: Loneliness and Isolation – Discussion
  • Watching two TED Talk and discuss
  • 1) How to Fight Loneliness: Everyday hacks for a connected life – Juliana Schroeder
  • 2) The Dangers of Loneliness – Richard Pile
• October 14, 2024 Indigenous People’s Day TED Talk Watch Party and Potluck:
  “Indigenous In Plain Sight” – Gregg Deal
  “Why aren’t there more Native American restaurants?” – Sean Sherman
• Breaks due to travel and my leading workshops out-of-state
• August 19, 2024 TED Talk Discussion “Is someone you love suffering in silence? Here’s what to do.” – Suicide Prevention
• Limited Meetings During Summer Months
• June 17, 2024 Two TED Talks – Discussion
  • The Secret to a Longer Life May Be Your Social Life – Susan Pinker
  • There’s More to Life than Being Happy – Emily Esfahani Smith
• May 20, 2024 6:45pm Watch Party: The Year of Living Biblically | A.J. Jacobs | Talks at Google
• May 6, 2024 6:45pm Dinner Outing to Jack Allen’s Kitchen, Round Rock
• April 15, 2024 7pm Watch Party “Transcending Failure – Rising Strong” – Video interview Oprah Winfrey with Brene Brown
• April 1, 2024 7pm Guest Speaker: John Rudd – President Mobility Worldwide Austin
• Mondays February 5, 19, March 4, 18 “Multi-Part Discussion for February/March 2024 – “That Scandalous Rabbi Jesus” March 4, 18 2024 7pm” led by Guest Bill Henderson [First session included a free taco bar]
• Monday January 29, 2024 7pm – The Charlie Center – Serving the Homeless Population in North Austin – Guest Speaker, Leah Hargrave
• January 26, 2024 Lunch at Newk’s Restaurant
• December 18, 2023 6:30pm – Dinner Outing to La Margarita in Round Rock
• Dec 2, 2023 5:30pm Our annual visit to Community First Village of Lights! 18 of us attended!
• Nov 20, 2023 6:30pm: Gratitude – The importance of giving thanks at Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner
• Nov 6, 2023 7pm: An Important Discussion about Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking | Guest Speaker Teri Jansen
• October 2, 2023 7pm Watch Party: “Changing the way we see Native Americans” – Matika Wilbur – TEDxTeachersCollege
• September, 2023 Break
• August 28, 2023 7pm Watch Party “Rainn Wilson on the secret to happiness: One-on-one with Stephanie Ruhle”
• August 14, 2023 7pm TED Talk Watch Party “How Dolly Parton Led Me to an Epiphany – Jad Abumrad”
• July 10, 2023 7pm TED Talk Watch Party and Potluck “Faith and Doubt – Greg Tonkinson”
• June 23. 2-23 6:30pm Dinner Outing to Y’alls Down Home Cafe in Round Rock
• June 19, 2023 7:00pm Juneteenth Documentary Watch Party & Potluck
• May 19, 2023 7:30pm Attended Williamson County Symphony at the new Lakeline Park in Cedar Park
• May 15, 2023 6:30pm Dinner Outing to Taste of Ethiopia in Pflugerville
• May 1, 2023 7pm TED Talk & Potluck – The Danger of a Single Story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• April 24, 2023 7pm TED Talk & Potluck – How Radical Hospitality Can Change the Lives of the Formerly Incarcerated – Reuben Jonathan Miller
• March 27, 2023 7pm TED Talk – A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person
• March 6, 2023 6:30pm – Documentary Watch Party and Potluck Dinner – Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times
• February 20, 2023 Book Discussion and Potluck: “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”
• February 6, 2023 “Know Your Neighbor” program with a representative from the H.E.Butt Foundation – Presentation and Potluck Dinner
• January 16, 2023 Documentary Potluck Watch Party – “Martin Luther King Jr. – Enough is Enough”
• December 12, 2022 Home for the Holidays Watch Party – Collected Donations for the Hill Country Community Ministries Food Pantry
• December 9, 2022 5:30pm Community First Village of Lights
• November 7, 2022 Book Discussion/Video: “The Four Agreements”
• October 17 and 24, 2022 No Meeting
• October 10, 2022 – Potluck/Watch Party – Indigenous People’s Day
  Indigenous in Plain Sight
  Honoring indigenous cultures and histories: Indigenous Futurisms: Cultures of Radical Love
• October 3, 2022 – Potluck/Watch Party – Two videos by Buddhist Nun Pema Chodron on Transcending Resentment and Relaxing with Impermanence
• September 2022 Break while Kevin & Gail were leading workshops in Colorado
• Monday September 5, 2022 – Eva Cassidy Documentary Watch Party and Pot Luck 
• Monday August 1-29, 2022 The Kindness Diaries – Potluck Watch Parties
• Monday July 25, 2022 Brene Brown – Atlas of the Heart Series Watch Party and Snacks
• Monday July 18, 2022 Mid-Summer Break
• Monday July 11, 2022 Dinner Outing!
• Monday July 4, 2022 Independence Day Break!
• Monday May-June, 2022 Brene Brown – Atlas of the Heart Series Watch Party and Snacks
• Monday April 18, 2022 TED Talk Watch Party: Listening to Shame – Brené Brown – Watch Party and Snacks
• Monday April 4, 2022 TED Talk Watch Party: “What I learned from 100 days of rejection” – Jia Jiang
• Saturday March 19, 2022 Celebrate Grand Opening of Cinful Sweets storefront! Congratulations Cinthya Romriell!
• Monday March 14, 2022 6pm CDT Pizza Night at Pour House Pints & Pies (on Jollyville Road)
• Monday March 1, 2021 7:00pm CST
  Breaking the Isolation Happy Hour
• Monday February 1, 2021 7:00pm CST 
  Discussion over Zoom of a Brene Brown Podcast “Brene on Words, Actions, Dehumanization, and Accountability“
• Monday January 18, 2021 7:00pm CST
  Discussion over Zoom of a Brene Brown Podcast “Brene on FFTs”
• Monday December 21, 2020 7:00pm CST
  Holiday Eggnog Virtual Happy Hour
• Monday November 30, 2020 7:00pm CST
  Virtual Happy Hour
• Monday November 23, 2020 7:00pm CST
  Virtual Happy Hour and chat with Cinthya Romriell about her experiences on Candy Land.
• Sunday November 22, 2020 8:00pm CST
  Watch Party of The Food Network’s Premiere of “Candy Land” 
• Sunday November 15, 2020 8:00pm CST
  Watch Party of The Food Network’s Premiere of “Candy Land” with Pastry Chef / Chocolatier Cinthya Romriell of cinfulsweets.com!
• Monday November 9, 2020 7:00pm CST
  Chit-Chat & Chocolate Tasting with Pastry Chef / Chocolatier Cinthya Romriell of cinfulsweets.com!
• Monday November 2, 2020 7:00pm CST
  Discussion on the Netflix docudrama: ‘ The Social Dilemma’
• October 19, 2020 7:00pm CDT
  A look at how the concept of Native American “Listening Circles” are being used today, with Guest Darius Pettway
• Monday October 12, 2020 7:00pm CDT TED Talk Watch Party: America’s Native Prisoners of War – Aaron Huey
• Monday October 5, 2020 7:00pm CDT Topic: Life Recovery
  Guest Speakers Ellen Mainiero and Randy Nettles
• Monday September 28, 2020 7:00pm CDT Topic: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator – Tim Urban – TED Talk Watch Party
• Monday September 21, 2020 – BREAK – No class!
• Monday September 14, 2020 7:00pm Topic: Surprising Lessons in Facing Rejection – Youtube Video Discussion
• Monday August 31, 2020 7:00pm Virtual Happy Hour
• Monday August 24, 2020 7:00pm Well-Being During COVID-19
• Monday August 10th and 17th, 2020 – BREAK – No class!
• Monday August 3, 2020 7pm CDT Watch Party
  “The Truth About the Confederacy in the United States” – Jeffery Robinson Video Discussion regarding this YouTube Talk: (click here)
• Monday July 27th, 2020 7pm CDT – Watch Party TED Talk
  “To This Day … for the bullied and the beautiful” – Shane Koyczan
• Monday July 20th 7pm MORE Thought Provoking Questions – Open Discussion
• Monday July 13th 7pm Thought Provoking Questions – Open Discussion – An Informal Discussion – Just a time to get together and pick a couple of questions from this website and discuss. https://bucketlistjourney.net/365-thought-provoking-questions-answered/
• Monday July 6th TED Talk Discussion “Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies” – Daryl Davis
• Monday June 22nd 7pm CDT – Book Discussion 
  “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens.
• June 20, 2020 “A Conversation of Understanding – Race Relations in America” – A special video conference we collaborated to put together with Darius Pettway (https://www.dariuspettway.com/)
  If you missed out, we recorded it! You can view it here!
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ixKLSsNMI
• June 8, 2020 8pm Just Mercy – Movie Watch and Discussion
  A powerful and thought-provoking true story following lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice against racial prejudice and oppression.
• Monday June 1, 2020 7pm Online Happy Hour
• Monday May 18, 2020 7pm
  Online TED Talk Watch Party
  “The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage” by Susan David
• Monday May 11, 2020  7pm
  Online Brené Brown Talk Watch Party
  “Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count”
• Monday April 27, 2020  7pm
  Online TED Talk Watch Party
  “How the Worst Moments in Our Lives Make Us Who We Are”
  by Andrew Solomon
• Monday April 20, 2020 7pm
  Online Virtual Meeting using ZoomWho’s My Neighbor . . . Who Am I? 
  Career/Passions Share Time
• Monday April 13, 2020 7pm
  Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom
  Book Discussion: “Wonder” by RJ Palacio
• Monday April 6, 2020 7pm “Virtual Happy Hour” BYOB 😉
  Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom
• Monday March 30, 2020 7pm “Virtual Happy Hour” BYOB 😉
  Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom
• Monday March 23, 2020 Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom – Simply to connect with each other to share how we’re all making it through this crisis.
• Monday March 9th, 2020 7pm: Perspectives on Growing Up BLIND
  Guest Speaker: Ann Foxworth 
• Monday March 2, 2020 6:30pm Dinner Outing!  CraigO’s Pizza and Pastaria 5501 Balcones Dr. in Austin http://craigositalian.com/Balcones/
• February 3, 10, 17, 24  4, 2020  Book Discussion
  “The Road Back to You”  Led by licensed professional counselors Lisa Blackwood and Sherri Woodworth
• Thursday February 6th, 2020 7am Breakfast at Kerbey Lane Cafe
• Monday January 27th, 2020  7pm Documentary Watch Party
  With potluck food.  CBS News Story: “Photo Finish – Kodachrome” – National Geographic Documentary: “The Last Roll of Kodachrome”
• Breakfast Get-Together Wednesday January 22nd, 2020 7am at Jim’s Restaurant.
• Monday January 6th, 2020  Movie Night!  Kodachrome (the movie)
• December 16, 2019 Guest Speaker David Dauber – Accessibility Specialist in the Civil Rights Department of the State of Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in Austin, Texas. and co-producer, performer, writer and promoter of The Gene and Dave Show
• Potluck Dinner and Guest Speaker Kaylee Lartigue
  Kaylee progressively lost her hearing as a young child but never let that hold her back.   She’s an activist advocating for the Deaf community. More info: Click Here
• December 7th 2019 Community First! Village of Lights and Movie Night
• December 2nd Happy Holidays Party!
• Special Program –  We Are Not Broken – Volunteers Info Meeting
• Guest Speaker Matt Freeman – Spiritual Director for Mobile Loaves & Fishes – Community First! Village
• November 1st FUN EVENING – Drum Circle and Picnic Around Campfire at South Wind Equestrian Center in Leander
• Dinner Outing:  Mandola’s Italian Kitchen, Cedar Park
• Book Discussion: “Broken Open – How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow”  by Elizabeth Lesser
• Guest Speaker: Deborah Cole, MSF, LUT
  Author of Forthcoming Book: “Letting Go: How Less Becomes More”
  Topic: “The Heart and Soul of Cuba: The People”
• Guest Speaker: Nichola Cotto, Photographer and founder of an amazing organization:  We Are Not Broken
• Guest Speaker: Bill Schoening, Radio Voice of the San Antonio Spurs helping make a positive impact on men incarcerated in Texas prisons.
• Guest Speaker: Kelly Jones, founder of Unbridled Connection – Creating Connections Between Horses and Humans which supports military and first responders, and their families, by providing a safe, confidential, therapeutic environment that promotes healing through deeper connections and improved relationships.
• Stories and photos from our Rocky Mountain Photography Workshop – Kevin Gourley
• Documentary – Watch and Discuss
  Brene Brown: “The Call to Courage”
  (we watched it a 2nd time, it was so good!!)
• Dinner Outing:  Ike’s Love and Sandwich in Cedar Park
• TED Talk Watch and Discuss: 
  “Say Your Truths and Seek Them in Others” – Elizabeth Lesser
• “The Kindness Diaries”   We’ll watch an episode and discuss.
• TED Talk Watch and Discuss 
  “What Makes a Good Life: Study on Happiness” Robert Waldinger
• TED Talk Discussion with Fiona McInally
  “The Missing Connections in the Fight Against Poverty” 
• Documentary – Watch and Discuss
  Brene Brown: “The Call to Courage”
• “Meet the Author” Session and Potluck Dinner with Author Darius Pettway
• Book Discussion of “A Chance To…” by Darius Pettway
  Darius is working to restore opportunity to young adults by providing them with tools of leadership, self-empowerment and conflict resolution. 
• TED Talk Discussion Forum
  • “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” – Bryan Stevenson 
  • “My Stroke of Insight” – Jill Bolte Taylor 
• Dinner at Nancy’s Sky Garden (Cedar Park)
• Book Discussion: Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habitsby Gretchen Rubin
• Dinner at Almarah Mediterranean Cuisine (620/Lake Creek Parkway)
• Dinner at Kerbey Lane (Anderson Mill/183)
  6pm Monday December 3, 2018
• TED Talks – Discussion Forum
  • Do Schools Kill Creativity? Sir Ken Robinson
  • Bring On the Learning Revolution Sir Ken Robinson
• Book Discussion: The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life  by Erwin McManus
• Documentary and Discussion: Finding Vivian Maier
• TED Talks – Discussion Forum
  • The Power of Introverts – Susan Cain
  • The Surprising Science of Happiness – Dan Gilbert
  • Your Elusive Creative Genius – Elizabeth Gilbert
• Book Discussion: “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life” by Cami Walker
• Dinner at Kerbey Lane
• Book Discussion: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are” by Brene Brown