360 Taking Your Own Advice

Sometimes in life we are told by those who come to us for guidance how valuable and insightful our input can be, however it is often difficult for us to take our own words to heart. This can be for a myriad of reasons, but if our personal board of directors insist that we have a good head on our shoulders, certainly we must turn inward and offer advice to ourselves.

In this episode, Sarah Elkins ruminates on the importance of taking your own advice and being mindful of how your stories impact those involved in it, especially when they aren’t around to hear the story being shared.

359 What is Success?

Success and our paths to reaching it look different for every person, especially when it's to someone who isn’t an achiever and doesn’t care for titles. Our own personal success is often more meaningful than a trophy.

In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Robin Hamilton discuss their own personal definitions of success as well as the trials and hurdles on their paths to self discovery and success.

354 Amy's Mess

Hunger, for the lucky among us, is an inconvenience, the final straw during a bad day that fuels a bad temper, or an awkward moment in a silent room. But for many in our community hunger is painful, difficult, and inescapable making it near impossible to do anything let alone attend school. Approximately 2.5 million children are homeless in the United States, many of whom somehow still have to attend school, often hungry. But we can help, whether it be through donations or time, we can help the children in our communities.

Today Sarah Elkins and Amy Adams discuss Amy’s Mess, a nonprofit organization that seeks to feed the children and families of the Helena Community and to spread awareness of the plight of homeless families.

353 Food Stories Revisited

Revisiting episode 292 “Food Stories” Sarah Elkins reminisces on the importance of love languages and how important it is to show those you love how much you care.

Love languages come in many different forms; gift giving, words of affirmation, and for today’s episode specifically, the act of cooking and giving a good meal to those you hold close. It is vital to the health and continuation of relationships that we discover these languages and think about how these actions impact how others view us.

349 Community Building

349 Community Building

How we choose to spend our time directly impacts the way we live both in our careers and in our day to day lives, however if we are spending our precious time surrounding ourselves with negativity and naysayers we are very unlikely to succeed. Which is why it is so important to find a community that encourages and supports each other.

In this episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on the path that led her to success and satisfaction, the importance of the individuals that helped her along the way, and the community they built.

Highlights

Identifying paths and the advocates who encourage you and see the best in you.
What is your role? And are you in a place that helps you thrive in that role?
Belonging and inclusion.

Quotes

“There’s no way I could’ve known this path before I took any of the steps on it. Some people know what they want to do at a very young age, I was not one of those people. What I did have, and continue to have, are people in my life who believe in me, who often see more in me than I see in myself.”
“Feeling so supported and valued, changed the way I spend my precious time and energy.”
“Remember you can’t really build community if you don’t allow and encourage others to contribute. And that means you can’t always be the one giving, you have to be someone who can ask for help and receive it with grace.”

Dear Listeners it is now your turn,

I encourage you to take time this week to consider who is in your circle. Do you have a diverse group of friends and colleagues who support and encourage you? Who ask you the hard questions, and who believe in you, sometimes more than you believe in yourself? Are you that person to others and do you receive that help with grace? If you can’t jot down at least 3 names off the top of your head, you might have some work to do. Here’s one idea to help you find and nurture that community: Look back at the times in your life that you felt confident, when you felt like you were contributing, when you felt like you were contributing and found satisfaction in the work you were doing. Now look for local activities where you are likely like hearted, not like minded necessarily but like hearted people. Maybe that’s joining a book club, spending time at the library or a local bookstore, getting outside for walks -hikes-, or maybe take a walking tour of your community, if you’re feeling really brave maybe it’s time to join us at our next No Longer Virtual Summit.

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!

347 Find The Hidden Prize In Failure

Everything you do, starts and ends with you. From habits we try to make consistent, to our careers, everything we do comes from ourselves, and sometimes we fail which is just as important as success. Often we must fail and learn from those mistakes in order to succeed.

In this episode Sarah Elkins and Charles Clark discuss the importance of the evolution of the self, accepting our successes and failure, as well as the importance of stopping to check in with yourself and ensure you are still in alignment.

346 The Words You Use

You lead from wherever you sit, which is why it is so important to be intentional with your thoughts, words, and motives as you go through life.

In this episode Sarah Elkins and Erin Diehl discuss the importance of picking the right words for yourself and being intentional with the energy we bring to any situation.