Episode 145: Vivid, Memorable Moments Hold Life's Pivotal Stories
As a child, Veronica Valadez thought that picking strawberries as a day laborer was fun, a time to run around the fields with her sister, throw overripe strawberries at each other, and sometimes pick enough strawberries to make some cash for school clothes.
The More Details You Remember of Your Story, the Better for Sharing
As a child, Veronica Valadez thought that picking strawberries as a day laborer was fun, a time to run around the fields with her sister, throw overripe strawberries at each other, and sometimes pick enough strawberries to make some cash for school clothes.
She would come home exhausted, covered in strawberry goo and mud, her tummy full of those sweet red berries. For her parents and older siblings, though, this was work - hard work - and they were being seriously exploited. She didn't realize that until far later in life.
It wasn't until she went to college that she started to understand her childhood from that perspective, and college was part of her life only because she had mentors that encouraged her to go. She was the first in her family to attend a four-year university, and to graduate with a degree.
Veronica's life has been all about self-discovery through her art, her activism, and in how she is raising her children.
During our conversation, Veronica spoke about the importance of her exposure to traditional Aztec dancers early in her college experience. Here’s an example for reference:
I enjoyed this conversation so much, and what really stood out to me was the moment Veronica described when she met her mentor and advocate for the first time.
Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.
Episode 144: When You're a Filmmaker, Your Life is the Most Meaningful Story
Her first career dream was to become a dolphin trainer, and a few years after accomplishing that goal, she switched gears. Her next dream was to be a filmmaker, but in the first semester, just as she was getting started, she had an unwelcome surprise - a cancer diagnosis.
Joy Soto's Film Inspiration Came in the Start of Her Cancer Journey
Her first career dream was to become a dolphin trainer, and a few years after accomplishing that goal, she switched gears. Joy Soto’s next dream was to be a filmmaker, but in the first semester, just as she was getting started, she had an unwelcome surprise - a cancer diagnosis.
During episode of this podcast, with Rocky Connell, master baker, we agreed that whatever energy we put into something is the energy that comes out of it. We were referring to kneading dough and making bread, which makes a great analogy for everything else in life.
In Joy's case, she put her energy into documenting her cancer journey in a film. Just One Year: A Story of Triumph Over Cancer is the result of filming and documenting every step of that journey, from diagnosis to the final treatment. And it wasn't just her story, she involved others who were having similar experiences.
During our conversation, she spoke about a younger cancer victim who became a dear friend as they went through treatment together. That young girl wasn't successful in her battle, but her memory is the inspiration for a program Joy started, bringing young cancer victims to swim with dolphins.
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From her TEDx: Joy Clausen Soto is a cancer survivor, documentary filmmaker and public speaker. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 25 years, she was forced to drop out of film school. Joy survived and decided to film a documentary on her ordeal. The film has been viewed at film festivals and has won several awards. Her story has likewise been featured in many media organizations, including ABC, NBC, and KPBS.
Visit her website to learn more about her.
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.
Episode 143: "Listen Closely": A Film About the Greatest Demonstration of Love
When I saw the trailer for her movie, Listen Closely, I had to reach out to speak with her. Alana started her young adult years as a Can Can dancer in the Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, northern Canada. She stayed there for three months, and came back for four seasons. After her first summer there, she realized she was in love with the north and ended up living in a trailer with an outhouse one of those seasons.
Stories of How Listening Can Change Lives
Resilience isn't something you can learn without practice, and Alana Sheeren has had plenty of practice.
When I saw the trailer for her movie, Listen Closely, I had to reach out to speak with her. Alana started her young adult years as a Can Can dancer in the Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, northern Canada. She stayed there for three months, and came back for four seasons. After her first summer there, she realized she was in love with the north and ended up living in a trailer with an outhouse one of those seasons.
Looking back now, Alana realized that spending so much time alone in nature really changed her. She spent time contemplating, peacefully meditating without even knowing that's what she was doing.
This part of her life truly provided a backdrop for her passion project, and for her love for being alone without feeling lonely.
Listen Closely is a product of grief and love, and the stories of its creation and production will leave you wanting to learn more.
In our call, Alana referred to the Prison of Peace program, as well as Ram Dass and Daniel Siegel.
Now that you're curious, listen in, and be sure to watch Alana's TEDx and the trailer for Listen Closely.
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Alana Sheeren is a multi-passionate creative who shows up in all her work with the aim of making the world a kinder, more compassionate place. Whether from the TEDx stage, as host of the Create Your Magical Life podcast or in her work with clients, she combines her training as a therapist and her intuitive abilities with a deep understanding of the human condition to help people create profound and lasting change in their lives. Currently she is directing and producing her first documentary film, Listen Closely, which examines the way the quality of your listening affects the quality of your life and features thought leaders such as Ram Dass, Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, and Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks.
When she’s not working you can find her taking pictures of Southern California sunsets, reading a good book or dancing in the kitchen with her husband and daughter.
Learn more at ListenCloselyFilm.com and AlanaSheeren.com or find her on Facebook (personal & film) and Instagram
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.
Episode 142: Growing Up "In Between": Two Cultures, Two Ethnicities
In this conversation, Angie shared how being raised in a family where racism was subtle but cruel made her more resilient. Her mother is Thai and met her father when he was serving during the Vietnam war. Her mother moved to Appalachia with her new husband when she was around 19 and slowly tried to fit herself into a very small, very white, very conservative town and family.
Stories of Family Racism and its Impact on Resilience
Angie Gallagher lived between two worlds. As a child of an immigrant mother and a white American father, her life was filled with questions and contradictions.
In this conversation, Angie shared how being raised in a family where racism was subtle but cruel made her more resilient. Her mother is Thai and met her father when he was serving during the Vietnam war. Her mother moved to Appalachia with her new husband when she was around 19 and slowly tried to fit herself into a very small, very white, very conservative town and family.
Angie and her sister watched their mother's journey, and each of them was impacted differently in their perceptions of themselves and the world around them.
Angie credits her resilience, persistence, and sense of adaptability and positivity to a pivot point in her life when she intentionally chose that path.
She studied this "in-between" idea of growing up in between cultures and ethnicities for her master's thesis. A highlight of this conversation for me was when she spoke about the action of moving from rumination to result, her realization that deep thinking can only go so far before it causes more harm than good, and that we must move into action mode at some point.
Angie spoke briefly about two films, the Celluloid Closet, and Tough Guise, and also mentioned the work of Jack Kornfield.
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Angie currently works at BurstIQ. Be sure to connect with her on LinkedIn, and you can follow her fantastic photos on Instagram.
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.
Episode 141: Asking the Right Questions is the Key to Great Listening
Joey Held's background is broadcast journalism, and as he has continued in his career in writing, sales, and a variety of other jobs, that background has served him well. After all, being able to ask the right questions at the right time simply opens doors.
He's a very curious guy, especially about people and the way their minds work.
A Recovering Journalist Cannot Help But Continue to Collect Stories
Joey Held's background is broadcast journalism, and as he has continued in his career in writing, sales, and a variety of other jobs, that background has served him well. After all, being able to ask the right questions at the right time simply opens doors.
He's a very curious guy, especially about people and the way their minds work.
Joey hosts a podcast, Good People, Cool Things, and is probably one of the best interviewers I've experienced. He hosted me to chat about my book, and I was completely enamored with him within five minutes of our conversation.
Highlights from this episode:
Joey's experience as a karaoke host (he knows at least 500 songs!)
How performance is different from just singing on stage
Difficult interviews, how Joey gets people to open up when they really aren't excited about being interviewed (hint: tone of voice matters!)
What to do and what not to to when calling someone out for saying something insulting
Calvin & Hobbs still holds up, 25 years later
Asking about the worst gig a musician had can open up all kinds of opportunities for connection and fun stories
During our conversation, Joey asked me about the worst gig I remember, and I told him about a not-so-great performance of the National Anthem, which I wrote about here. In response, Joey shared the story of this performance of the National Anthem (Maurice Cheeks, coach of the Portland Trailblazers comes to the rescue of this lovely singer):
During this conversation, I mentioned Brene Brown’s reference to the Theodore Roosevelt quote about the man in the arena, here’s the article.
Connect with Joey on LinkedIn, visit his website to see all the outstanding services he provides, and be sure to follow him on Twitter.
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.
Episode 140: Your Style Story Isn't Just About Appearance
Renée Lindo found her calling after many years of corporate life, working her way up through the ranks as a sales and marketing professional.
She realized that her personal sense of style, and the way she intentionally presented herself was a big part of her confidence. And if she could help other women see their beauty and build their confidence, she could make a difference in their lives.
Your Image Isn’t Just About Your Looks, What Stories Does That Image Convey?
Do you ever wonder how your appearance impacts the perceptions of the people around you? What about how your appearance impacts your confidence?
I know when I’m dressed in a way that makes me feel good about myself, I carry myself differently than when I’m in pajamas. I also know the way I appear reflects my character in many ways, and that’s why I’m so intentional about what I wear and how I wear it.
Renée Lindo found her calling after many years of corporate life, working her way up through the ranks as a sales and marketing professional.
She realized that her personal sense of style, and the way she intentionally presented herself was a big part of her confidence. And if she could help other women see their beauty and build their confidence, she could make a difference in their lives.
If you’ve ever considered how your image might be holding you back from bringing your best, most confident self to negotiations, interviews, and even first dates, you’ll love this conversation.
Be sure to connect with Renée on LinkedIn, and visit her website to learn more about the services she provides, which go way beyond appearances.
Episode 139: A Silent Retreat, an Adirondack Chair, and an Open Field: A Story of Letting Go
Sabrina Woods is a typical Type A personality. She thrives on setting goals and smashing them out of the park. For most of her life she pushed and climbed, and spent almost every moment DOING.
At some point, though, she started to feel tired. She started to question the constant doing, and began thinking more about being.
She was in between jobs thanks to a reorganization in the higher education institution she was working with, a couple of car accidents, and other stressful events, when she invested in herself by going on a silent retreat over a long weekend.
Pushing Ahead Rarely Leaves Room for Unusual Opportunities
In my years guiding clients in improving communication techniques, whether that's for keynote speaking or simply presenting themselves and their work, I've found that when we uncover pivotal moments in their lives and career, their most meaningful stories, they become more comfortable and confident to speak - anywhere.
As you listen to this podcast, consider the stories you share and how you share them. Think about how those stories build your personal brand, and how people perceive you based on the stories you share.
You'll hear me ask specific questions, revealing details that create an image in the minds of both the storyteller and the listener. This is a key to improving relationships with yourself and others: Being able to share your story in your voice with your genuine intent to connect with those around you.
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Sabrina Woods is a typical Type A personality. She thrives on setting goals and smashing them out of the park. For most of her life she pushed and climbed, and spent almost every moment DOING.
At some point, though, she started to feel tired. She started to question the constant doing, and began thinking more about being.
She was in between jobs thanks to a reorganization in the higher education institution she was working with, a couple of car accidents, and other stressful events, when she invested in herself by going on a silent retreat over a long weekend.
Sitting on an Adirondack chair, looking out over an open meadow, Sabrina became attached to the idea of letting go, allow for flow and openness, and take a break from pushing so hard, from beating herself up over the situation she found herself in.
As often happens, within a few months of "letting go", a perfect part time position dropped into her lap.
If you've been in that tough spot, or you're in it now, worried for the future and listening to the external voices about what you should do, it might be time to let go. Consider the worst-case-scenario, and the true likelihood of that situation occurring.
Sabrina walks us through an example of this strategy during this insightful episode, full of insights, entertainment, and of course... stories.
We touched on how our strengths show up as we make career decisions and in the projects we take on. I promised to reference our strengths here.
Sabrina's top 5: Maximizer / Activator / Ideation / Positivity / Connectedness
Sarah's top 5: Strategic / Activator / Ideation / Command / Adaptability
To learn more about the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment, click here.
When discussing our strengths (Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment results), I mentioned how I describe the theme Maximizer, using This Is Spinal Tap, the movie, as an analogy. Here’s the scene I referred to:
Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn, and visit her website to learn more!
From her website:
Sabrina Woods has been helping individuals for 20 years to look more closely at their interests, skills, values and desires to help them discern what really matters and take the next steps to refocus their lives.
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.