433 Taking Steps To Take Better Care Of Yourself
In today’s episode, Sarah Elkins discusses the importance of taking your time to enjoy the world, to enjoy being you, to take time to make sure You, Dear Listener, are healthy in mind, body, emotion, and spirit.
433 Taking Steps To Take Better Care Of Yourself
In today’s episode, Sarah Elkins discusses the importance of taking your time to enjoy the world, to enjoy being you, to take time to make sure You, Dear Listener, are healthy in mind, body, emotion, and spirit.
Highlights
Encouraging healthy self reflection to lessen loneliness and division.
Acknowledging when you need help or a break is key to not only your own wellbeing but to the wellbeing of those you care for.
Stop and smell the flowers. Life isn’t a race. Take your time and enjoy the world you have helped to cultivate and get the gift of living in.
How our labels change as time moves, but so long as we know the shape of our souls we will be okay.
Quotes
“This is what hustle looks like. Losing track of ‘why’ I’m doing something. Focusing too much on doing something without stopping to ensure that what I’m doing fits my values, my needs, and how I want to live my life daily.”
“What makes things interesting and joyful to me, is knowing that a single label can’t define me. I’m complicated, and so are you.”
“Will you take time right now or very soon to define success for yourself, without attaching money or income to that definition.”
Mentioned in this episode
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
Will you take time right now or very soon to define success for yourself, without attaching money or income to that definition?
What is one thing you’ll do today, tomorrow, and the next day to reach toward that definition of success, and the labels you choose for yourself, and demonstrate through your work?
And how will you feed your own needs, your physical, emotional, and spiritual health so that you have the energy and enthusiasm and capacity to live your definition of success?
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Sarah
Sarah is a Montana based workplace communication trainer, TEDx speaker, DisruptHR speaker, public speaking coach, professional storyteller, musician, and podcast host. Her workshops and coaching packages with teams and their leaders are known to address and reduce miscommunication – the most common cause of tension and stress in the workplace. Using the team’s results from the StrengthsFinder assessment, she guides teams in learning to speak each other’s “language”, learning to value each other’s strengths and connecting with each other through enhanced self-reflection and effective listening.
Sarah’s nearly 20 years working in government agencies inspired her to complete her MBA and to achieve her StrengthsFinder certification to improve work environments for others, guiding teams toward increased satisfaction, productivity, and happiness.
Visit her website to purchase her book, Your Stories Don't Define You in paperback or audiobook.
429 Lynn Harris - Comedy, Creativity, and Community
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Lynn Harris discuss the importance of comedy and creativity in the heart and soul of a community and how overcoming the doubts and assumptions of others can not only strengthen yourself but as well as the people around you.
429 Lynn Harris - Comedy, Creativity, and Community
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Lynn Harris discuss the importance of comedy and creativity in the heart and soul of a community and how overcoming the doubts and assumptions of others can not only strengthen yourself but as well as the people around you.
Highlights
How we defy the expectations and assumptions of others.
If we can’t talk about a problem we can’t even begin to fix it.
The power of community and contributing to it and encouraging others to contribute.
Quotes
“As with all industries and all context; Girls would have to work twice as hard to get half the applause and half the credit.”
“That’s something we’ve learned about community, is that it’s not just us. It’s -especially a creative community of any kind- there’s skill building you can kind of do on your own, and some cases not all, but then what do you do with those skills? Making stuff in other words. So we really encourage our members to actually make things and actually do the thing and do the thing together.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
What I love about this conversation is that accessibility to humor, and we all need this probably now more than ever in our lifetime. We need to find humor, we need to laugh together, and it is one thing that can connect us very similar to music and story. And I can tell you that in just a recent experience where I was talking to somebody on the opposite side of the political spectrum to me, I was reading a book by John Scalzi; When The Moon Hits Your Eye, and I asked him if I could read out loud that had made me laugh so hard I was almost crying, and it was one way that I connected with this person next to me. So I’m asking you listeners, what will you do to find humor today?
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Lynn
Lynn Harris is a culture-shifting producer, award-winning journalist, and author/co-author of six books. Her comedy and campaigns for social justice and gender equity have changed laws and conversations from Capitol Hill to NASCAR. She is founder and CEO of GOLD Comedy—the comedy school, professional network, and content studio where women and non-binary creators grow their comedy careers, build powerful communities, and make funny stuff. Harris co-created Breakup Girl (acquired by Oxygen), one of the first multiplatform internet success stories, and co-hosted, with Ginna Green, The Forward’s A Bintel Brief: The Podcast. Lynn served as the first VP of communications at global human rights group Breakthrough, where her blend of humor and advocacy powered some of the team’s most effective U.S. campaigns. She has also worked as a Tonya Harding lookalike, which is a long story.
GOLD Comedy is the online comedy school, professional network, and content studio where women, non-binary creators, and other “others" build their comedy careers, join a powerful community, and make funny stuff that gets seen on all kinds of stages and screens. Unlimited classes, community, shows, and more, all online. Join from anywhere, anytime!
Be sure to check out Lynn’s Facebook, her personal Instagram as well as Gold Comedy’s Instagram, and LinkedIn! As well as Gold Comedy and Gold Comedy Club!
About Sarah
Sarah is a Montana based workplace communication trainer, TEDx speaker, DisruptHR speaker, public speaking coach, professional storyteller, musician, and podcast host. Her workshops and coaching packages with teams and their leaders are known to address and reduce miscommunication – the most common cause of tension and stress in the workplace. Using the team’s results from the StrengthsFinder assessment, she guides teams in learning to speak each other’s “language”, learning to value each other’s strengths and connecting with each other through enhanced self-reflection and effective listening.
Sarah’s nearly 20 years working in government agencies inspired her to complete her MBA and to achieve her StrengthsFinder certification to improve work environments for others, guiding teams toward increased satisfaction, productivity, and happiness.
Visit her website to purchase her book, Your Stories Don't Define You in paperback or audiobook.
427: Eat Your Feelings - A Cooking Show Demonstrating True Connection, Featuring Sam Nathews
427: Eat Your Feelings - A Cooking Show Demonstrating True Connection, Featuring Sam Nathews
Technically, this is a sequel to episode 423 featuring Cory Brown. Sam Nathews is the cohost for their YouTube cooking show, Eat Your Feelings.
Highlights from the show:
Sam initially wasn't sure about cohosting the show with Cory! He can be shy about performing or entertaining people he just met. It didn't take long to realize how grateful he was that Cory was persistant in starting the project and about Sam joining the show.
Sam shared how the show helped him process his grief over losing his mother, and how being able to talk openly about his emotions has been healing for him. He emphasized the importance of normalizing vulnerability, especially for men.
The Eat Your Feelings show's format of transitioning between lighthearted cooking and deeper emotional discussions resonates with Sam because he sees it as reflective of the ups and downs of real life.
Sam has been touched by the feedback from viewers (and the show's crew!) who say the show has helped them feel less alone in their own struggles and given them permission to be open about their feelings.
Sam hopes the show can continue to provide a model for men to be vulnerable and support each other, especially in smaller, rural communities where that may not come as naturally. He sees it as an important service the show provides.
Quotes:
"...especially when you're in the midst of raw, sudden, super traumatic grief, a lot of the feelings and thoughts that come up can make you feel like this is not normal."
"...we've all cried together. We've all laughed together, we've all burnt the skin off the roof of our mouth together, and it's really, it's just been a really fulfilling thing because of the relationships that we've gotten out of that and the personal growth I've seen ... with the crew on the show..."
"...the tagline of our show is 'everybody's got to eat and everybody's got sh*t to go through."
"...I think the feedback that I've gotten ...is 'thank you guys for talking about this stuff and just showing that it's okay for two guys to talk about hard things and what you're feeling and making it normal that it's okay to feel these things.'"
---
About Sam:
Sam Nathews is a brand strategist and storyteller, and the co-creator of Eat Your Feelings, a conversation series that blends food, humor, and emotional honesty. With a background in building brands and campaigns, Sam is interested in what happens when we drop polish and talk about the stuff we’re usually taught to hide. He lives in Virginia with his wife, son, and golden retriever and believes some of the best conversations happen in the kitchen.
Be sure to check out Sam's Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. As well as Eat Your Feelings on Youtube and Instagram.
---
About Sarah
Sarah is a Montana based workplace communication trainer, TEDx speaker, DisruptHR speaker, public speaking coach, professional storyteller, musician, and podcast host. Her workshops and coaching packages with teams and their leaders are known to address and reduce miscommunication – the most common cause of tension and stress in the workplace. Using the team’s results from the StrengthsFinder assessment, she guides teams in learning to speak each other’s “language”, learning to value each other’s strengths and connecting with each other through enhanced self-reflection and effective listening.
Sarah’s nearly 20 years working in government agencies inspired her to complete her MBA and to achieve her StrengthsFinder certification to improve work environments for others, guiding teams toward increased satisfaction, productivity, and happiness.
Visit her website to purchase her book, Your Stories Don't Define You in paperback or audiobook.
423 We Need Each Other
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Cory Brown discuss their ideas and the influences in their lives that they have had that gave them the push to act on their ideas or to think them through, as well as the importance of putting something into the world that will make a genuine authentic change.
423 We Need Each Other
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Cory Brown discuss their ideas and the influences in their lives that they have had that gave them the push to act on their ideas or to think them through, as well as the importance of putting something into the world that will make a genuine authentic change.
Highlights
Eat your feelings, coming together over a meal to discuss your feelings.
The importance of mental health and reaching out to others for their sake and our own.
You must be the one to take the first step to make a change.
What can you put into the world to make others feel less alone and begin to heal?
Quotes
“I would do anything I can to help you, but you got to take that first step.”
“Over these past few years I’ve kind of let myself be okay with being emotional. Because I was like, “how can I help people think about these stigmas and try to find these breakthroughs if I’m not willing to do it myself?”.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
Cory mentioned that there was a point in his career where he hit a level of success where he knew that there was something more out there and he chose to serve, and he didn’t know what that would look like at the time but he came up with this idea and almost didn’t activate on it, until somebody said; “Get off your ass and do something. Stop talking about it, and do something.”
Now you know listeners, I am a Gallup certified Strengths Finder Coach. One of the things that I’ve found when using any kind of assessment tool, is that we need to surround ourselves with people who have different talents than we have, for exactly this reason. Everyone who is quiet and talks a lot about things and does a lot of research, has a best friend or partner that activates them. That says; “We’re gonna go get out of the house, come with me.”, “I’m gonna go do this, come with me.” And each of us that has more of the action behind us, we need those friends that do the research first and help us set up for success. So I encourage you, look for your personal board of directors. Those people who will help you take action or help you think through before you take action. Those people who are ‘get shit done’ people, and those people who are ideators and big-picture and lovingly relationship building people. We need each other and this is a perfect example.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Cory
Cory Brown is a veteran, strategist, and creator focused on helping people reconnect with themselves and one another through honest conversation. After more than sixteen years of military service, including a combat deployment to Iraq, Cory experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to talk about mental health in ways that feel human rather than clinical.
He is the founder of Eat Your Feelings, a cooking-centered storytelling project that uses food as a doorway to deeper conversations about resilience, identity, and care. Cory’s professional background spans research, strategy, and leadership, but his current work sits at the intersection of service, storytelling, and creating spaces where people feel safe enough to be real.
Whether in a kitchen or a boardroom, Cory believes how we tell our stories shapes how we understand ourselves and each other.
Be sure to check out Cory’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube! As well as his website Eat Your Feelings Show!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
422 Experience Awe
The natural world is one of few places in the world where we can truly feel at peace. Whether it be to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, or even just to get away from all the screens and pollution, we can find a moment to center ourselves and find genuine awe in the world.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Thomas Reed discuss the importance of the natural world, finding awe, how we talk to ourselves, as well as finding our own courage to seek the paths that call to us.
422 Experience Awe
The natural world is one of few places in the world where we can truly feel at peace. Whether it be to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, or even just to get away from all the screens and pollution, we can find a moment to center ourselves and find genuine awe in the world.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Thomas Reed discuss the importance of the natural world, finding awe, how we talk to ourselves, as well as finding our own courage to seek the paths that call to us.
Highlights
How we interact with the natural world around us.
The importance of positive Self Talk.
Beauty of the natural world and its importance to the human psyche.
Where is the one place you can go to that turns off the chatter in your head?
Quotes
“I don’t know if it was a choice or it was just being me.”
“Use me as your inspiration, that you don’t need inspiration.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
What will you do to experience awe? I am going to give you one chore, one piece of homework, one suggestion at the end of this episode, is to find an opportunity to experience awe. That could be watching your child do something for the first time, and have them be very proud of themselves. I can tell you I had many of those experiences while my boys were growing up and they had a realization as basic as finding their own thumb when they were infants. There’s a sense of awe when you watch other people experience awe or when you experience that sense of awe about another person, like this Chinese woman from a small village that decided to go experience what she did. Experience Awe, go hug a tree, go stand in front of a man made bridge that is inspiring for its unlikeliness, for the fact that somebody had to create that, watch that daffodil start to bloom and realize you didn’t have to do a thing to it to make it show up in all it’s full color. Find awe, remember it, and consider that desire to find awe, your connection to the natural world and your humanity.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Thomas
I studied photography at Rutgers University as a Geography student. Major influences have been Ansel Adams, Edgar Payne, and the Hudson River School.
Zen sensibilities profoundly influence my compositions, as I am a student of Japanese martial arts and aesthetics (chado). Black and white is my genre
My work is centered on the experience of awe at the sight of a landscape, and I hope it leads to the consideration that nature itself is divine, sacred, and that stewardship, as opposed to the dominant utilitarian view, is the only sane attitude.
Be sure to check out Thomas’s Facebook, his Photos, LinkedIn, and Instagram! As well as Peak Wellness, his website Tom Reed, and his books at Tom Reed Books!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
420 Ted Talks: Let's Start Sharing Stories
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on her preparations for her Ted Talk, as well as seeing the need that had to be filled, and how she is filling that need in society with clarity and authenticity.
420 Ted Talks: Let’s Start Sharing Stories
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins shares her experience preparating for her Ted Talk, as well as seeing the need that had to be filled, and how she is filling that need in society with clarity and authenticity.
Highlights
Seeing a problem and figuring out how you can fix it.
Let your ideas loose in the world, you never know who needs to hear it.
Bring yourself to whatever you do and good will follow.
Quotes
“The answer wasn’t to explain away what was happening.”
“I realized I wasn’t just there to give a talk. I was there to bring who I am, and all of my strengths and all of my weaknesses.”
Be sure to watch Sarah’s TedTalk!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
419 Strengths In Storytelling
Our stories are woven into our very being, they are what make us who we are and how we show others who we are and what we are the best at.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins discusses the many iterations of her business, her newest book, and the power that lies in the art of storytelling.
419 Strength In Storytelling
Our stories are woven into our very being, they are what make us who we are and how we show others who we are and what we are the best at.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins discusses the many iterations of her business, her newest book, and the power that lies in the art of storytelling.
Highlights
Improving satisfaction and skills in yourself and others.
Core values and skills shown through our own stories.
Our stories affect those around us in unseen physical and emotional ways.
Quotes
“Your strengths are your stories.”
“That’s the thing about our stories, even when we’re not consciously aware of it we learn alot about eachother.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
Have you always known the power of sharing personal stories to connect with people or is this a turning point for you in that recognition? Do you have trouble thinking of the right stories to share or do you always have a few go to options ready? You may not realize this but when you’re present in your life, you make sharable stories every single day. I’d love to hear what resonated with you on this week's episode, please send me a message via email, Instagram, or LinkedIn to let me know.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!