377 The Art of Storytelling: A Controlled Burn in The Forest Of Life
Throughout life we have a tendency to collect things, whether they be stories, memories, or physical objects, and more often than not we cling to these things despite them no longer serving us in any meaningful capacity. Which is why it is important to sit back, look at your hoard and realize you are not a dragon who must keep every single piece of scrap. You can thank the item, story, or memory and leave it behind so that you can open up to new possibilities and new meaningful things to put in your life.
In todays episode Sarah Elkins educates us on the importance of controlled burns in the national parks of the west, as well as the importance of our own “controlled burns” to clear away the clutter and make way for new, healthy growth in our lives.
377 The Art of Storytelling: A Controlled Burn in The Forest Of Life
Throughout life we have a tendency to collect things, whether they be stories, memories, or physical objects, and more often than not we cling to these things despite them no longer serving us in any meaningful capacity. Which is why it is important to sit back, look at your hoard and realize you are not a dragon who must keep every single piece of scrap. You can thank the item, story, or memory and leave it behind so that you can open up to new possibilities and new meaningful things to put in your life.
In todays episode Sarah Elkins educates us on the importance of controlled burns in the national parks of the west, as well as the importance of our own “controlled burns” to clear away the clutter and make way for new, healthy growth in our lives.
Highlights
Protecting our future and our communities, means protecting our environment too.
Sometimes you need to shed the dead parts of the past in order to grow.
What strategies can you use to do your own “controlled burn”, to remove the things in your life that no longer serve you in a meaningful way?
Quotes
“Even in my life activities I’m finding I need to shed things like relationships that no longer serve me, relationships that don’t feel reciprocal at all, commitments that feel too obligatory and not meaningful. And work activities that aren't moving the needle for me in income or intrinsic reward.”
“A controlled burn requires research, planning, and a whole lot of patience.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with to much mental and physical clutter it might be time for you to take inventory too. Ask yourself the tough questions on what you truly need and want in your life and your home. And I hope you’ll take the next steps to research and plan and patiently reduce that clutter.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
As I mentioned I am celebrating my five year book-versary, starting today Your Stories Don’t Define You was published May 31, 2020. Starting this podcast was a wakeup call for me, I realized I was coaching my guests in sharing their pivotal moment stories, and they were finding great value in our time together, way beyond any promotional opportunity the podcast was offering. The book is designed to guide readers in collecting and sharing their stories with exercises and worksheets throughout. To celebrate my book-versary, I’m offering to sign and ship copies from Montana to you, and every purchase will include an offer for a 20 minute bullseye story mining session. In 20 minutes we will uncover at least one meaningful story for you to fine tune for you to use in your next interview, team meeting, speaking engagement, networking event, or maybe it’s a date.
I really appreciate your support over the years and this is my way of giving that back.
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!
303 Hang On Little Tomato
To achieve personal success in life is a feat worthy of celebration, only at the end of a long road can we triumphantly declare our dreams have been achieved. However it can sometimes seem like that road never ends. Whether it’s dreams of career success, or dreams of a healthy environment, the road to success can be daunting. What is vital to remember is that even the smallest action can make a difference. A snowflake does not know it will become a snowman or an avalanche.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Susan Inches discuss how they have walked their chosen paths and the great friends and trials they encountered along the way and what they learned in their striving to achieve their own personal success.
303 Hang On Little Tomato
To achieve personal success in life is a feat worthy of celebration, only at the end of a long road can we triumphantly declare our dreams have been achieved. However it can sometimes seem like that road never ends. Whether it’s dreams of career success, or dreams of a healthy environment, the road to success can be daunting. What is vital to remember is that even the smallest action can make a difference. A snowflake does not know it will become a snowman or an avalanche.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Susan Inches discuss how they have walked their chosen paths and the great friends and trials they encountered along the way and what they learned in their striving to achieve their own personal success.
Highlights
Most people don’t understand or won’t consider how you got to where you are, and they won’t understand why it matters without you telling them why.
It’s okay to take a while to develop the clarity to see where you are going and what you want to do.
Asking why without judgment, because if you lash out people will not want to work with you.
Protecting the environment is the civic duty of everyone in our community. All actions, regardless of how small, make a difference.
Quotes
“It’s not about content, it’s not about solid waste or fisheries or renewable energy, it's about how to make change happen, and those content areas are just the vehicle for that.”
“One of the things I like to talk about a lot is that the word advocacy is kind of a big scary word, and most people think ‘Oh my gosh I could never do that.’ But what I like to say is, no actually if you like to have friendships or relationships with people, if you like to communicate and talk and tell a story, you’re a perfect person to be an advocate because you can be an authentic storyteller and you can move a decision maker to change their mind or do something different.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
What will you do, how will you model the things that matter to you so that the people around you; children, adults, neighbors, friends, partners, colleagues, will see what matters to you through your actions. What step can you take today that will make a difference to the world tomorrow, even if it’s not doing something, like sharing something divisive on social media, instead let’s take one step towards the positive direction, do one thing that will improve life tomorrow.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Sue
Since childhood, Susan Inches has envisioned a world that is compassionate, inclusive, and environmentally aware. This vision guided her through a 25-year career in public policy. As Deputy Director of the Maine State Planning Office she lobbied for a portfolio of environmental policy issues on behalf of the Governor. Signature policy issues she’s worked on include fisheries, land use planning, smart growth, building and energy codes, energy policy, working waterfront access, community finance, and rural broadband.
Sue now works as a speaker, educator, author and advocate with a focus on the environment and climate change. She is actively engaged in advocating for environmental rights and energy democracy. She holds a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. She has taught advocacy skills at Colby, Bates and Colorado Colleges. Her recent book is Advocating for the Environment, How to Gather Your Power and Take Action.
Be sure to check out Sue’s LinkedIn and her website! And be sure to pick up a copy of Sue’s book here!
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!