Soul Toll with Anusia

Multi-hyphenate AI Consultant: When You Keep Adding 'Kind Of' To Who You Are | Soul Toll S1E9

Multi-hyphenate AI Consultant: When You Keep Adding 'Kind Of' To Who You Are | Soul Toll S1E9 Final episode of Season One! CLAIM THE LABEL By mid-career, most of us have flattened into one identity. One lane. One word on the business card. You can feel it: going through the motions, the hobbies gone, the creativity gone. Aparna Sud refused to pick. If you've ever done the thing for years but still won't claim the word for it - artist, dancer, writer - this one's for you. ABOUT THE EPISODE Anusia opens with Flat Stanley: the kid who goes two-dimensional after a bulletin board falls on him and spends the rest of the book sliding under doors. It's how life can feel by mid-career - flat, on autopilot, narrowed to one lane. Then she met Aparna Sud, who is the opposite. Fully three-dimensional. Aparna is an AI strategy consultant, an abstract artist, a dancer, a yoga teacher, and a neuroscientist, and she talks about all of it like jazz. Aparna makes the case for staying 3D. She talks about permission - it took her seven years to call herself an artist - and how she navigates by asking which doors are opening, where things feel easy, where the energy is. She reframes being more than one thing: not scattered, but where your distinctiveness lives, especially as AI takes over the flat, repeatable parts of work and what's left is the human part. The thread is the label. The drummer who won't say "drummer." The version of you that fits under the door. And her parting instruction: take a few minutes a week to write down where the doors are opening, and take the busyness back out. ABOUT THE GUEST Aparna Sud is an abstract artist, an AI strategy consultant, and a yogi whose work returns to one question: what does it mean to be human, right here, right now. She brings a background in neuroscience, human-centered design, and business, and has taught trauma-informed yoga in women's correctional facilities. Her abstract work explores our shared humanity - the human condition, and why we are here. See Aparna's art: https://www.inspiredcognition.com (Instagram @a.parnz) Read her writing on AI, the future of work, and neuroscience: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparna-sud/ CONNECT Website: https://soul-toll.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5 Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com READ THE BOOK Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N PRODUCTION Director: Michael Dynice Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc. Post Production and Editing: Streamography Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium WITH SPECIAL THANKS Eat Well Kitchen of Marblehead Johnny Ray's Music Emporium We Roadie and Grip Inc. Chic Streets Mabel of Marblehead The Yoga Loft Marblehead Ghislain Viau of Creative Publishing Book Design #SoulToll #AparnaSud #FutureOfWork #ArtificialIntelligence #Multipotentialite #Creativity #HumanCenteredDesign #Neuroscience #Reinvention #AnusiaGillespie

Spiritual Warrior: When You're Built Tough But Quietly Searching | Soul Toll S1E8

Spiritual Warrior: When You're Built Tough But Quietly Searching | Soul Toll S1E8 You can be a jiu-jitsu black belt and read philosophy. You can play D1 football and walk into a crystal shop just to feel grounded. Tough and searching at the same time. Eric Gendron has a name for it. If you've ever gone quiet about a part of yourself because it didn't match the room you were standing in - this one's for you. ABOUT THE EPISODE Anusia walked into Eric's crystal shop looking for a Christmas present and walked into a whole vibe. Eric Gendron is a state champion wrestler, a former D1 football player at Holy Cross, a jiu-jitsu black belt, and the owner of Ravenstone, a crystal and mineral shop people drive across New England just to sit inside. In this conversation, Eric makes the case for the curious skeptic. The history. The science - yes, the same quartz you trust in your watch. And the plain experience of picking up a stone and feeling something you weren't expecting. He walks Anusia through how to choose a stone for how you actually feel that day, not for what you think you're supposed to want. Underneath the crystals is the idea he keeps circling back to: the spiritual warrior. The fighter who is also soft. The competitor who reads philosophy and isn't afraid to say he's afraid. It's the thread that runs from the movies he wore out as a kid to the way he runs his store now. And his parting note - give yourself some slack, try the thing, one step at a time. ABOUT THE GUEST Eric Gendron is a state champion wrestler, a former D1 football player at Holy Cross, and a jiu-jitsu black belt. He owns Ravenstone, a crystal and mineral shop people travel across New England to visit. He sources every stone in person - at gem shows from Tucson to a folding table outside a Motel 6 - and picks each one by hand. Visit Ravenstone: https://www.ravenstonegifts.com/ CONNECT Website: https://soul-toll.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5 Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com READ THE BOOK Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N PRODUCTION Director: Michael Dynice Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc. Post Production and Editing: Streamography Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium WITH SPECIAL THANKS Eat Well Kitchen of Marblehead Johnny Ray's Music Emporium We Roadie and Grip Inc. Chic Streets Mabel of Marblehead The Yoga Loft Marblehead Ghislain Viau of Creative Publishing Book Design #SoulToll #EricGendron #SpiritualWarrior #CrystalHealing #Crystals #Gemstones #EnergyHealing #Spirituality #Grounding #AnusiaGillespie

Imposter Syndrome Expert: When You're Waiting to Be Found Out | Soul Toll S1E7

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE The voice in your head telling you you don't belong here is loud. Persistent. So convinced it's telling you the truth. What if it isn't truth at all — what if it's just fear, with bad timing? If you've ever been waiting for someone to figure out you don't belong here, this is the conversation. ABOUT THE EPISODE Imposter syndrome lives in the gap between how other people see you and how you see yourself. Kim Meninger has spent fifteen years working in that gap. She came up through tech — EMC, Monster — and now coaches leaders at Amazon, Salesforce, Pfizer, and Bain Capital through the version of self-doubt nobody warns you about until you're already in it. Kim sits with Anusia and takes imposter syndrome apart. It's not a flaw to fix. It's fear. And fear is a feature, not a bug. You can't cure it. You can manage it. Kim walks through where it shows up — transitions, being the only one in the room, hyper-competitive cultures — and what it actually costs you in sleep, presence, and your own potential. The moment is when Kim flips the question. Most people ask how do I stop feeling like an imposter. Kim asks what are you actually afraid of. Then she hands Anusia a list to take home tonight. ABOUT THE GUEST Kim Meninger is a certified leadership coach, TEDx speaker, and host of The Impostor Syndrome Files podcast. She spent a decade in tech before leaving to help professionals and organizations make it easier to be human at work, and now coaches leaders at companies including Amazon, Salesforce, Pfizer, and Bain Capital. Visit Kim's site: https://www.kimmeninger.com CONNECT Website: https://soul-toll.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5 Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com READ THE BOOK Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N PRODUCTION Director: Michael Dynice Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc. Post Production and Editing: Streamography Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium WITH SPECIAL THANKS Eat Well Kitchen of Marblehead Johnny Ray's Music Emporium We Roadie and Grip Inc. Chic Streets Mabel of Marblehead The Yoga Loft Marblehead Ghislain Viau of Creative Publishing Book Design #SoulToll #KimMeninger #ImposterSyndrome #SelfDoubt #LeadershipCoaching #WomenInLeadership #ConfidenceAtWork #CareerGrowth #MindsetShift #AnusiaGillespie

Harvard Mindfulness Researcher: When You Can't Stop Trying To Be Heard | Soul Toll S1E6

Harvard Mindfulness Researcher: When You Can't Stop Trying To Be Heard | Soul Toll S1E6 DEEP LISTENING BEFORE DEEP LEARNING There's a part of you that needs to be heard. To be right. To sound smart. It speaks before you've even listened. This episode is about what happens when you stop, ask why you're really talking, and find what's underneath it all. If you've been doing more talking than listening — out loud, or in your own head — this is the conversation. ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of Soul Toll, host Anusia Gillespie sits down with Dr. Dilara Ally, a researcher at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, for a conversation about listening. The kind you do for other people, and the kind you almost never do for yourself. Dr. Ally works at the intersection of behavioral health, Buddhist practice, and artificial intelligence. She starts with the smallest possible pause — humming, the thing she once asked a room of two hundred women at MIT to do, because it settles the body without asking anyone to perform. Then she goes deeper. She walks Anusia through the meeting most of us know by heart: the one where a part of you needs to prove it's smart, needs to be heard, and won't quiet down. The moment the whole conversation turns on is when she asks that part how old it is. The answer is twelve. What's underneath the noise, it turns out, is usually someone young who just wants to know they matter. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Dilara Ally is a researcher at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital affiliated with the Cambridge Health Alliance. Her research focuses on compassion and Internal Family Systems — how people heal from trauma and find their way back to themselves. She brings a twenty-year Buddhist practice and a former career as a data scientist in the life sciences to her work in behavioral health. CHAPTERS 00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U] Deep Listening Before Deep Learning 01:24 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=84s] The parking lot at MIT, two years ago 02:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=121s] The center hiding in plain sight 03:17 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=197s] Why she made a room full of women hum 04:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=287s] A pause that doesn't ask too much of you 07:23 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=443s] Assume everyone walked in carrying something 10:05 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=605s] A world in a swirl 10:36 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=636s] Where the motto really came from 11:51 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=711s] The data that wouldn't say what they wanted 13:07 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=787s] Listening as a gift of space 15:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=901s] The three places you have to listen 16:59 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1019s] Why am I talking? 18:49 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1129s] The parts that run the show 22:03 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1323s] Who doesn't, if you're a woman 23:04 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1384s] Back in the meeting, needing to sound smart 24:01 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1441s] How old are you? 26:33 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1593s] Twenty years of practice meets the science 29:48 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1788s] The art of the better question 30:31 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv2oeJoU5U&t=1831s] Turn off your phone SUBSCRIBE for new episodes of Soul Toll, dropping weekly. CONNECT Website: https://soul-toll.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa3RfMGs0UGo1QjNGVVBaLWVCU2xCbXlHanBPUXxBQ3Jtc0tsUGdGSXBZUUUyRnU1eklwa0poRVdkZHN2SGZxT3NxZTJzaHpGZG5uRTlzclItR1QzS0FKc0pPWXJMaGktWjAyXy1vbWFsSXowQUxhcHRxOXJPbDN6VjZnekVPZjlBQ05DbFVScFQ1S3l2el9tMUpHWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoul-toll.com%2F&v=vMv2oeJoU5U] Instagram: / anusiagillespie [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmthNDZaNE1ubndXQklWV21VRXpqc01vSkgwd3xBQ3Jtc0ttcGYteS1RLWxjc2RwRGRmZ0ZfWVNCd014UkVuNk1jeW1fcFdibW1JQ0cwX2N1SElKSXJuZldUbk9BS1VWQUVvNllqZThOdHVjNmdpSk9Id1R5ZzVyemx2d3YyYVhXZS00Y29FZGYySDhFV0x6REF6OA&q=https%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2Fanusiagillespie&v=vMv2oeJoU5U] LinkedIn: / anusiagillespie [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmdpcVdHM2RlSUxMUGs1V21rUENDV0tfMm5ud3xBQ3Jtc0tuaGJfbjQ4NldlWWNsUG5PRnBKamFjdXc3akdJNHlpNUd0WkhYMFNVLVdtWnZDNmFvaGVaeDNzN2cxa2ZzaHY2OV9tenNVM3pqTFdXck5waFNwenFqTWRqa1hnakdRUHlvN0NXSXNGY0l0Y3ctSHJIVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Flinkedin.com%2Fin%2Fanusiagillespie&v=vMv2oeJoU5U] Facebook: / anusia.gillespie.5 [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbDJjZmx2N2dveHhrb3pjc2h3NjQtbTE5Z29vUXxBQ3Jtc0ttTV9NZHJweFRIbzVsS3prN3dCbUh2YTFfTkNySkZ0cHF2S3BycDhSeUNoSjd1QkJ4dU9xQWVBV3FmNmVNOWo5c0pLV0RfcFpkWkRJeU0yamFRdWYzdWFtUEZCcS05RnB0d0pKUll0UUQ0enVoTFU5cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.com%2Fanusia.gillespie.5&v=vMv2oeJoU5U] Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com READ THE BOOK Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anus... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2pmWUFVb1lDVXpMd0d3cXQ1Ql9zWlhaUGFTd3xBQ3Jtc0tuelB1dmR4cVpmdjZJY2tLNEl4aEtVOWs2TURSRjZUUm5ua0MzMTh5SlRibjlya1RFeHdoOEZPeGJWNVlVQ2ZXTnlXUEZBNS1rclI3VHZ4empTRVdhTWZoWmg2VERNOTh3aVh1eXk4cDljQnFnSzZqWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSoul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie%2Fdp%2FB0FN9PSS2N&v=vMv2oeJoU5U] PRODUCTION Director: Michael Dynice Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc. Post Production and Editing: Streamography Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium WITH SPECIAL THANKS Eat Well Kitchen of Marblehead Johnny Ray's Music Emporium We Roadie and Grip Inc. Chic Streets Mabel of Marblehead The Yoga Loft Marblehead Ghislain Viau of Creative Publishing Book Design #SoulToll [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/soultoll] #DilaraAlly [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/dilaraally] #Mindfulness [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/mindfulness] #Compassion [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/compassion] #DeepListening [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/deeplistening] #SelfCompassion [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/selfcompassion] #InternalFamilySystems [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/internalfamilysystems] #NervousSystem [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/nervoussystem] #WomenAtWork [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/womenatwork] #AnusiaGillespie [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/anusiagillespie]

Serial Entrepreneur: When Someone Tells You Your Energy Is Bringing Them Down | Soul Toll S1E5

Serial Entrepreneur: When Someone Tells You Your Energy Is Bringing Them Down | Soul Toll S1E5 DON'T HIRE SAD PEOPLE It sounds harsh until you sit with it. You can't change what's heavy in someone else's life. It's not your job to. And the people you build with, work with, live with — their energy ends up shaping yours, and yours shapes theirs. So who are you bringing close, and what are you bringing into the room when you walk in? If you've been thinking about the energy you bring, and the energy you're surrounded by, this is the conversation. ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of Soul Toll, host Anusia Gillespie sits down with serial entrepreneur Tivan Amour for a conversation about a philosophy he built a company on — don't hire sad people — and what happened when he had to apply it to himself. Tivan and his co-founder once had a stretch of bad hires. When they looked closely at the pattern, the people they were letting go all had something heavy outside of work pulling them down. They couldn't fix it, and they realized it wasn't theirs to fix. That insight became a philosophy. They got intentional about who they brought close, and the business got stronger. Tivan walks Anusia through how he holds it now, how he interviews for it, and why he thinks every interaction is a chance to set the tone rather than inherit one. Then the conversation turns. A few of his closest pickleball partners told him his energy was bringing them down on the court. He could have shrugged it off. Instead he started walking onto the court with intention, deciding to be a nine before he opened the gate. He started winning more. And he started to see that no matter how steady you are on average, you can be the heavy one in any given room and a philosophy is only as good as the rooms you carry it into. ABOUT THE GUEST Tivan Amour is a serial entrepreneur who has spent his career founding and scaling companies across manufacturing, e-commerce, real estate, and B2B software. He sold his last startup to a $2B company, where he built and led a global sales and support team of more than 140. He now serves as Founder and CEO of Upwind, a sales growth firm helping companies accelerate revenue through better outreach, stronger systems, and smarter execution. Outside of work, he spends time with his family, plays pickleball, and kiteboards. Learn more about Upwind: https://upwindcompanies.com/ CHAPTERS [00:00] Don't Hire Sad People [01:04] Lifestyle design as the frame [03:35] Why the philosophy works [05:09] The hires we had to let go [06:36] How do you interview for it [10:02] The word people flinch at [12:01] The conversation with my wife [13:11] What raising money actually costs [15:16] Turning 40 and chasing 30 [17:43] I wonder how sad people sleep [18:55] When you don't get to choose who's around you [19:50] Southern hospitality and what gets mirrored back [22:27] The pickleball partners who told me [25:00] The energy it takes to build something [26:30] You can be the heavy one at any moment [28:00] My version of gratitude [29:25] Everything is a game [31:20] How much control we actually have [32:34] Stop trying to change them SUBSCRIBE for new episodes of Soul Toll, dropping weekly. CONNECT Website: https://soul-toll.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5 Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com READ THE BOOK Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N PRODUCTION Director: Michael Dynice Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc. Post Production and Editing: Streamography Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium WITH SPECIAL THANKS Eat Well Kitchen of Marblehead Johnny Ray's Music Emporium We Roadie and Grip Inc. Chic Streets Mabel of Marblehead The Yoga Loft Marblehead Ghislain Viau of Creative Publishing Book Design #SoulToll #TivanAmour #Energy #Entrepreneurship #LifestyleDesign #Upwind #Founders #IntentionalLiving #Pickleball #MindsetShift #AnusiaGillespie