November 19, 2024

356 Sarah's Hike

November 19, 2024

Many times in life it feels like we’re in the plot of a movie franchise from 2003, hopelessly watching and waiting for the inevitable drop of the other shoe, the logs or cars to fly off of a semi-truck on a highway that we have to take. Often this stress and future-tense fear can become all-consuming, blinding us to the people we share the car and road with. However if we remember to take a breath and slow down, letting those in your car offer their insight and assurance, you will make it to your destination and this too shall pass.

In this episode, Sarah Elkins offers some insight she found on a hike in the beautiful snowy mountains of Montana, sharing her boundless optimism and valuable thoughts.

355 Create The Community You Need

Building a community can be a daunting yet very rewarding task, in order to find this community often you need to spread out and meet strangers, expanding both your world view and understanding of others.

In this episode Sarah Elkins and Emily Carlson discuss the importance of building community and making your very own personal board of directors to work together for a better tomorrow.

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.

351 Communication Is In Everything We Do

We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it’s human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.

In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.

350 Growing Through Failure

It is vital to our success to fail, we need to try things that are new and be comfortable in the fact failure is normal and expected. By letting ourselves be uncomfortable and fail at new things, we leave room for growth and success.

In this episode Sarah Elkins and Paige Arnof-Fenn discuss the importance of trying new activities and accepting our failures as opportunities to grow.

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!

345 Staying Embodied As An Artist

Like everything in existence, we change and grow and it can become difficult to stay involved in the things that make our lives fulfilling and enjoyable. Our passions can come and go which is normal, but it is always important to remember to take care of yourself and what makes you thrive in order to return to your passions.

In this episode Mary Riitano and Sarah Elkins discuss how acting has come and gone in Mary’s life and how honing numerous skills can help us return to the passions that spark joy in our lives.